Wizards: Starting with Synthetic Gems

Chapter 865 Ultimate Magic: The Garden of Elysium and the Study of 'Human Nature'
At Golden Crown Mountain, Locke's clone of the Ancient Tree Fruit found the troll wizard Ackerman in the library and inquired about information regarding 'humanity' within the soul.

Wizard Ackerman frowned.

"'Human nature' is a very deep area of ​​study in the study of the soul, and it is a topic that even third-ring wizards or even fourth-ring wizards can study in depth."

“Jinmianshan is not good at soul studies. He pays for any soul study materials that have even a little value, and you only have 500 second-ring contribution points right now.”

"Moreover, what Locke wants is the synergistic effect between 'humanity' and plants."

Locke looked at Wizard Ackerman with slight surprise and asked, "Hmm? This is actually a blank research area? Is it just that Golden Crown Mountain has no research in this area, or is the entire Yunze Wetland a blank area?"

The Ackerman troll wizard said, "It can't be said to be a blank research field. There is some research, but it's mostly useless reviews and low-level wizards' guesses. This kind of thing belongs to interdisciplinary research."

"It requires a wizard with a deep understanding of the very difficult 'human nature' in the study of souls, and also a high-level breeder skilled in evolutionary biology."

"Under normal circumstances, these two things rarely intersect. After all, there is currently no evidence that plant evolution and 'human nature' can have any connection."

"So, the question you raised is indeed a rather niche one."

"The correlation between 'humanity' and plant evolution. These words together made my memory palace spell model run a bit slower. There's relatively little information about the entire Yunze Wetland. I estimate that only the Starfield Sea has a large amount of information on this kind of niche stuff."

The troll wizard Ackerman said, "The closest thing to Golden Crown Mountain is the research related to the Red Dragon Throne. There are systematic articles about how magical plants promote the evolution of magical creatures' intelligence in relation to the Red Dragon Throne."

"However, that only promotes the evolution of magical creatures through magical plants. Whether it is the evolution of intelligence, physical ability, or the enhancement of reproductive capacity, these are all common research areas of agricultural magical plants."

"Besides that, the closest thing to your needs in the Cloud Marsh Wetlands is the Rose Throne's ultimate magic, the Garden of Elysium. The Garden of Elysium can also endow magical creatures with 'humanity'."

Locke was taken aback; he hadn't expected that the Rose Throne and his teacher's research fields were so similar.

Longguan Peach Garden and Jile Garden seem to be two sides of the same coin, representing the same research direction.

Locke said, "I understand. Then please compile some of the more useful information for me first. It's free."

Wizard Ackerman quickly handed Locke a pile of documents.

Locke quickly flipped through the materials, frowning, because they were indeed not very useful. After reading them, he found them to be better than nothing; they weren't completely useless, but their effect was extremely minor.

The Ackerman troll wizard said, "See? That's all. As a friend, I advise you not to buy any paid materials related to this research area, because the cost-effectiveness is too low."

"This direction is really too niche."

"If you want to apply for top-tier funding, it's best to switch to a more established and popular research direction. Even an old direction with a new perspective is much better than this unreliable research direction."

The troll wizard Ackerman coughed and whispered to Locke, "While it's unethical and against the rules to reveal other people's borrowing records, I can still tell you that your competitors have all made breakthroughs recently."

"Anyway, some of them use tactics that are even more underhanded than you think. So, it's okay for me to talk about them. Recently, those second-circle wizards at the True Knowledge Institute have gradually settled on their research topics."

"Locke, you don't seem to have any clue yet. You need to keep trying."

Locke smiled and said, "I'll be soon too."

He began to ponder another problem, because the Nemesis's Path - Leaf of Power that he had created, which carried part of the power of the ferocious beast's panel, had already evolved twice due to the native students from two different worlds.

He could sense that the Leaf of Power had absorbed something from the Ranger's soul, and thus evolved.

The transformation of the souls of his students as they grow also drives the transformation and evolution of the Path of Nemesis: Leaf of Power.

This is very similar to co-evolution.

But it doesn't resemble the co-evolution commonly seen in nature.

Therefore, Locke sent a clone of the Ancient Tree Fruit into the library to access relevant information.

Currently, his guess is that the magical plant can evolve under certain circumstances by absorbing the 'human' part of the soul.

But at this moment, he couldn't be completely sure what exactly caused the evolution of the Path of Nemesis: Leaf of Power.

First, although this evolution occurred twice in front of him, each time it only happened on the Path of Nemesis: Leaf of Power.

Secondly, that special leaf of power originally shared some of the ferocious beast's authority.

This could very well be a special privilege granted by the World Tree Leaf, rather than some universal law.

Third, I cannot be certain what exactly the Leaf of Power absorbed from the two students to cause its evolution.

The relevant mechanisms require further research.

It would be best to obtain a high-quality real crystal to record the evolution process of the Path of Nemesis: Leaf of Power.

Locke pondered, "This is indeed a very good and broad research direction. Not many high-ring wizards have researched it before; it's a blank area, but that doesn't mean it's wrong."

'It's quite possible that no high-level wizards have noticed. And if my thinking is correct, research in this direction will be extremely important to me in the future. It's also deeply connected to my ultimate magic, Evolution Moon.'

'Of course, if I make a wrong judgment, it's extremely easy to waste decades on that wrong path.'

The reason I've made such rapid progress all this time is because I've almost never gone astray.

Many wizards, once they go astray on a wrong path, may need decades to hit a brick wall before they can turn back.

After all, once you reach the second-circle wizard stage, no one can tell a wizard that their research direction is absolutely wrong.

Old Blue is right about one thing.

Locke remarked, 'Such a broad direction isn't suitable for applying for top-tier funding.'

Do what is appropriate for each stage.

If I were to go down this route in my application for the top-tier grant, I could expect to be stuck for five consecutive years.

After all, funds at the level of special grants tend to sponsor more definite and basic things.

Locke said goodbye to Old Blue and then left the library.

Locke thought to himself, "Let's continue to observe how far that mortal Orion from Terella will ultimately go. I spent three years in the mortal world of the three planes designing this experiment on him, and I hope he won't disappoint me."

"If he can really help me include those giants in the selection range of the Path of Nemesis: Leaf of Power, then my Leaf of Power - Ranger system can reach the first stage."

……

In the Three Cave Worlds, Locke's main body controlled the treant avatar, standing at the edge of the forest closest to Terrera. Because Terrera had a habit of cutting down forests, burning wood to make coal, and smelting iron, the forests near Terrera had all been cut down by them.

Locke's true form, however, was manipulating the treant avatar, gazing in the direction of Terella.

"The experiment carries a certain degree of risk, and I don't know if it will succeed. Because I haven't achieved the state of 'doing whatever I want without overstepping the bounds' in this world, I can't be sure if he is the chosen one. This world is currently still under the control of the giants and gods, and the laws of the world are naturally hostile to me, suppressing everything about me, including my vision."

"This makes it difficult for me to see the whole world."

"However, even if this experiment I designed fails, as I expect, I can still begin my plan to unleash more power."

"If my judgment on the general direction of the evolution of the Path of Nemesis: Leaf of Power is correct, then the simplified version of the advanced meditation method I taught Orion—the core of which I extracted—should allow the Path of Nemesis to evolve as I expect."

“But I skipped the basic meditation methods and started teaching him directly from the advanced meditation methods.”

"If he weren't the chosen one of this plane, he probably wouldn't be able to withstand such a heavy burden on his soul..."

Locke looked in Teresa's direction.

He didn't actually teach the natives meditation techniques, but he perceived the core elements of various levels of meditation, especially the core elements related to the direction of inner exploration. He extracted these elements and taught them to Orion.

The treant said, "Let's wait and see the results of the experiment."

Living organisms are too complex.

The human soul is also complex.

Plants are just as complex.

When these three factors are combined, the experiment inherently possesses a great deal of uncontrollable biological variability and systemic complexity.

Even if the Sun Ring Wizard came here today, I doubt he could guarantee what the outcome of this experiment would be.

Even if one's theory is correct, the experimental results may not appear as expected due to other reasons.

Not to mention, even they themselves cannot be sure whether their theories are correct or not.

At this moment, dark clouds covered the city of Terella, and streaks of red, semi-illusory lightning fell from the sky. These were the war lightning bolts projected by the war giant from the heights of the crater; he himself had not come here.

Last time, all eleven giants on the crater came down from the mountain, but that was an exception.

It was an emergency response to a demon god from outer space.

However, after the demon invasion failed, the giants returned to their former arrogant and unrestrained lives.

In their view, no one in the mortal realm of the entire 'world' could threaten them, so all they needed to do was send a divine punishment from afar.

A streak of red, illusory lightning descended from the sky, shooting towards Orion's chest as he stood in the arched arena during the war ceremony.

Immediately, the citizens of Terella City-State erupted in cheers. They thought a god had descended to punish them, so they all clapped with joy. Some of the younger citizens began to wave their fists, praising the greatness of the god of war and the ultimate destruction of the sinners.

The smoke of battle has cleared.

Orion, his face covered in blood, got up from the ground and dodged the red, semi-illusory war lightning before it struck him.

The dark clouds in the sky, representing the wrath of the gods, have not yet dispersed.

The Principle of War sensed the War Giant's anger, which transformed into immense pressure pressing down on Orion's shoulder. Clearly, the War Giant on the crater, realizing that its attack had failed to kill a mere mortal, did not harbor any doubts but instead skipped that phase and succumbed to rage.

In his eyes, there are no secrets in the mortal world, so there is no need to think about why.

All you need to do is vent your anger.

After all, the giants on the crater generally possessed level two magical pressure, while the mortals in the present world of the three-dimensional plane were truly just mortals.

There are two breakthroughs in the limits of the race's soul between the second ring and mortals.

In other words, a first-ring being is already a god-like existence to mortals, and it is an undeniable fact that a second-ring being would claim to be a god. However, to wizards who have seen the true gods of the astral plane and the powerful pseudo-gods of the endless void, the giants' behavior seems rather narrow-minded.

After all, based on the information Locke had accessed through the Golden Crown Mountain Library before he arrived, the giants certainly did not possess the qualities of a true god of the celestial realm, who possessed a rank starting from a third-ring wizard.

A true god cannot be below the third ring!
They also lack the characteristics of false gods, who at least possess divinity, or bestow divine office upon believers, construct a complete system of divine office, and may even have their own divine kingdom, as if they were imitating true gods.

Giants clearly lack this trait.

Locke initially suspected they were nature gods, but now it seems that, apart from the god-king he had never met, the other giants were not nature gods, or that something had tampered with them.

On the stands of the arched arena, the high priest wearing a golden mask stared wide-eyed at the young man standing in the center of a vortex of dark clouds that seemed to topple the sky. His eyes were bloodshot.

Why isn't that sinner dead yet?
Why hasn't that sinner fallen under God's wrath?

At this moment, Orion looked up at the dark clouds in the sky and saw the war giant throw something towards this location—a bronze armor infused with the power of the god of war.

The helmet of the bronze armor was empty, yet it shone with a scarlet divine light.

That was the lightning of war.

The citizens, soldiers, and heavily armored knights of Terella, along with the high priest and priests, all knelt before the unarmored figure that had fallen from the sky.

They were united in their hatred, glaring hostilely at the only outcast present—Orion of Terrell.

"The god who drives the indestructible chariot has descended! Sinners will be destroyed."

"May the great god glorify our Terrell and help our wars be victorious in every battle, with no possibility of defeat."

"Terera, the great god, the god who always actively invades others, you are the most powerful!"

Locke's treant avatar immediately recognized that the armor was merely that of a mortal. However, the principles of war from the entire Three-Dimensional Plane were currently incorporating it, so just as if the War Giant himself were wearing that armor, the War Giant could remotely manipulate the armor to fight against others through the principles of war.

Locke's expression was strange.

"But in that case, the armor is just the armor of a mortal, and the energy dissipation of such manipulation is too high. The war principle of the three cave worlds, which is equivalent to 11,000 magic pressure, only has a magic pressure equivalent to about 200 first-class wizard apprentices after fully manipulating the armor."

This is ridiculous.

If he were seen in the wizarding world, it probably wouldn't cause any ridicule, because other wizards might think he was doing some kind of special experiment.

However, upon closer examination, in the Three-Dimensional Plane without any power system or civilization system, the giants and gods merely relied on a crude understanding of the principles governing specific planes to exert their own methods.

Their only skill might be the unconscious application of the principles of planes, creating techniques based on instinct.

Therefore, it is entirely possible for someone to remotely manipulate their magic pressure to shrink from the second level to the level of a first-class wizard apprentice.

They were a group of primitive people wielding high-tech weapons.

Ultimately, the truly powerful ones are the World Tree Leaf behind them, or rather, the God-King, and the 'God Supreme God' whose origins remain unknown to this day.

At this moment, the armor worn during the war ceremony picked up the two swords that Theodora had dropped on the ground, twirled the swords with them, and then, with his left foot forward and his right foot back, he made a poised attacking move towards Orion.

Orion picked up the dagger he had stuck in the ground, wiped the blood from his face with his left hand, and remembered his treant teacher's teachings: 'When hunting, keep your eyes fixed on your prey, meticulous and focused. Every breath is a potential fatal strike with your hunting knife.'

'Find the way of nature in the sound of your breath.'

The Path of Nemesis - Leaf of Power on his chest continuously provides him with power, while this Leaf of Power summons a second Leaf of Power with a 0.5 ring, which is [Light as a Feather].

Orion pondered, "I've trained in martial arts with Master Treeman for three years, and now is the time for this god to test my skills."

The next moment, the bronze-armored figure brandished two swords and slashed at his head, trying to cut off his head.

But Orion remained calm and collected. Faced with the dual-sword dance of the bronze armored figure controlled by the war giant, he was not foolish enough to use his dagger, which was shorter than the swords, to block. Instead, he nimbly dodged around the bronze armored figure.

Before the bronze-armored warriors' twin swords could touch his skin, he would use the speed advantage provided by the [Light as a Swallow] spell model to move across the ground like a swallow, dodging their attacks.

'Boom~'

The man in bronze armor brandished an iron sword and slashed it into the ground. The limestone ground was instantly split open, and fragments of stone flew everywhere, hitting Orion's cheek below his left eye and causing him to bleed profusely.

The iron knife broke in response.

The bronze armor spun in place, wielding another iron sword, drawing a crescent-shaped trajectory in mid-air with the sword.

He almost slit Orion's throat.

Despite the near-death experience, Orion grew increasingly calm, as if he could hear his own breathing.

The inhabitants of Terella cheered for the miracle of the god of war's descent.

Cheers, threats of death, and the whistling of iron blades cutting through the air filled the air with a cacophony of sounds, but Orion remained remarkably calm.

He thought of Teacher Shuren's teachings.

'Follow your breathing, and attack the enemy.'

The moment the bronze-armored figure turned around, he took a breath. In that instant, he rushed behind the bronze-armored figure and slashed down with a fierce blow.

'Click~'

A crack appeared in the bronze armor.

Suddenly, the bronze armor that originally bore the principles of war of the three worlds could no longer hold on, and its internal power began to leak out.

One by one, the accessories on this set of bronze armor fell off.

From greaves to wrist armor to muscular torso armor...

One by one, they fell.

The stands in Terrell's circular arena suddenly fell silent.

As everyone witnessed, the god of war unleashed his divine wrath, and his bronze-armored messenger was about to kill Orion. But Orion not only survived, he also killed the bronze-armored messenger.

This caused the power-worshipping Terella people to gradually shed their fanaticism and begin to shift their stance in favor of Orion, the sinner they saw before them.

Orion's final attack caused his knees to bleed profusely. He had used all his strength to slash at the bronze armor controlled by the war giant, which caused him to kneel on the ground.

He limped toward the high priest, climbing the steps one by one.

The Terrellians around him had stopped cursing him and, with mixed feelings, silently made way for him.

Orion walked step by step, leaving bloody footprints, until he reached the High Priest.

At this moment, a clear look of panic flashed in the eyes of the high priest wearing the golden mask.

“Stop! I am the High Priest of the God of War. According to the rules, you are not allowed to come within ten meters of me. Even if you are the lord of the city-state of Terella, you must kneel down and bow to me and kiss my toes when you see me.”

Faced with the high priest's questioning.

Orion placed the dagger directly on his golden mask, and the high priest trembled.

"You actually threatened me with violence...you..."

Orion whispered, "But if the followers of the god of war don't worship violence, then what do they worship? The law?"

“I defeated Theodorora in the war ritual, and I can become the ruler of Terella. Then tell me, all-knowing high priest, like the wise man you have always played in our Terella. I defeated the god of war in the war ritual, and my martial arts surpass his, so what can I become?”

The high priest, wearing a golden mask, stared in disbelief, feeling as if Orion's words had struck his mind like a thunderbolt, threatening to shatter his brain.

He couldn't utter a single word.

His finger, which was pointing at Orion, was trembling.

Orion removed the high priest's golden mask.

Then, Orion sighed.

He actually had some expectations for the high priest of the god of war.

He expected that behind that sacred golden mask was a calm and wise face, though he could kill such a person with a single blow, he could never subdue a noble soul with wisdom by force.

Unfortunately, what he saw behind the golden mask was an ordinary-looking old man's face. The old man was so scared that he was making faces and his eyes were not fully open. He was so scared that he was about to cry.

Clearly, such a person has no wisdom whatsoever.

Orion suddenly snatched the war scepter representing the high priest of the god of war from his hand, and as a result, all the priests shifted their gaze from him to the war scepter in Orion's hand.

The priests were terrified.

They all looked at the scepter.

It's as if the high priest himself is irrelevant; what matters is the scepter.

Orion looked at the scepter thoughtfully.

"So, originally everyone respected only this scepter, not you as a person, is that right?"

From within the dark clouds in the sky, a chilling sound emanated—the principle of war responding to the voice of the giant of war, manifesting in the present world.

"sinner."

"Deserve to die."

A giant finger descended from the sky, aiming for Orion's chest. Although the attack was reduced to the level of a crystallized wizard due to the great distance, it was still a crystallized-level attack.

Orion had no way to dodge it.

The finger pierced his chest directly, and the already wounded Orion coughed up a mouthful of blood. A cloud of blood mist was squeezed out from his back corresponding to the chest. The war giant had disregarded everything, willing to consume a large amount of divine power and the response of the principles of war, risking temporary decline, in order to launch such an attack from afar and completely annihilate an insignificant mortal in a city-state that he had once considered insignificant.

In the distance, Locke, watching the treant in disguise, frowned.

(End of this chapter)