Wizards: Starting with Synthetic Gems

Chapter 13 Skull Explosions and Trade

Locke left the dormitory and walked along the elegant corridors of the college, passing through the beautiful gardens. There he saw Cohen Julian and his henchmen.

Locke frowned at this; Cohen Julian and his cronies had been making quite a splash lately.

Within a year and three months, the Frankish Empire had defeated the combined forces of the remaining four kingdoms three times and had also invaded the Kingdom of Bain.

Of the seven kingdoms, only three remain: the Frankish Empire.

As the son of a count in the Frankish Empire, Cohen Julian naturally became arrogant in the academy, becoming someone no one dared to provoke, and everyone had to give him some leeway.

He had tried to provoke him, but he always ignored him. In addition, Cohen Julian’s own family had issued him several warnings, so Cohen Julian had given up the idea of ​​being his enemy.

At this moment, in the garden, Cohen Julian's face was extremely pale, and standing in front of him was Professor Old of Aurelian Academy.

Unlike a year ago, Professor Old's face was now black. He looked like a zombie that had crawled out of the grave. It was hard to tell whether he was alive or dead. His face was thin and bony, like a skeleton without flesh.

However, he still wore an eye patch over his left eye and gold-rimmed glasses over his right eye.

Otherwise, Locke wouldn't have recognized him at all.

Cohen Julian said, his face pale, "But I'm a Frank, my country is powerful, you can't make me go to your office after class to copy things for you..."

"The students who copied for you all died mysteriously."

Ald licked his lips, looking greedily at Cohen Julian, his eyes filled with deep contempt. "It doesn't matter what country you're from. You little bastard, hah."

Old seems to have gone mad, no longer caring much about hiding information about the wizarding world from mortals, or perhaps in his eyes Cohen Julian and the others are already dead men.

Old said, "Cohen Julian, you've failed far too many times. So, you'll have to come to my office and work for me too."

“You have no right to refuse; your family will make you do it. This is one of the benefits I'm providing in order to help your Frankish emperor unify this small island more quickly.”

Cohen Julian's face was deathly pale, and his eyes no longer held their usual smugness and arrogance. Facing Professor Old, he suddenly realized that all the things he was so proud of and relied on had become utterly useless, incredibly fragile and pale.

He even believed that his family would sacrifice him to curry favor with Olde.

He wanted to continue speaking, to fight for his own survival, but at that moment, Olde turned his head as if he had discovered a new continent, and looked at Locke standing in the corridor.

Locke nodded slightly to Olde, then prepared to turn and leave.

After all, at this point, Olde didn't seem quite right.

It's better for him to stay away from her.

But Professor Old, contrary to his previous attitude of always pretending not to see Locke, suddenly said, "Locke, congratulations, you succeeded."

Locke knew that the other person was referring to his successful becoming a third-class wizard apprentice.

After becoming a third-class wizard apprentice, Locke met Professor Ald again and discovered that the latter's mental strength was so powerful.

Even a second-class wizard apprentice whose lifespan is rapidly fading seems to possess magical and mental power far exceeding that of himself.

His magical power was subtly suppressed in front of the opponent, his mental energy activity decreased, and he felt slightly dizzy.

Professor Alder left the garden, walked to Locke's side, and said in a voice only the two of them could hear, "Locke, you've become a third-class wizard apprentice."

“I knew you could do it two years ago.” “After all, you were the first student to die in my office and then come back to life.”

Locke's eyes flickered; he couldn't figure out what Olde meant. Was this a simple chat, a test, or even a threat?
Professor Old chuckled and said, "You were really lucky back then. You must have just happened to awaken your wizarding talent, which is why you weren't killed by my life-borrowing ritual."

"We became friends after a fight."

“I haven’t made things difficult for you in the past two years, so I think our relationship should be okay.”

Locke said indifferently, "Professor Old, you are a teacher at the academy, and I am a student. How could our relationship be bad?"

He was reminding Ald, after all, Ald's wizarding family was still in the wizarding world.

This could help Ald regain some of his sanity.

Old laughed and said, "Don't worry. I just want to make a deal with you."

"The wizard ship won't arrive for another three months."

“Tungus has nothing left to teach you. He himself is just a second-class wizard apprentice, old and frail like me, only a few years younger than me.”

"Moreover, Tunguska is skilled in fire magic, so he doesn't have much to teach you. But I'm different. I specialize in necromancy, and I can sense that you and dark energy elemental particles have a certain degree of compatibility."

Professor Old said, "So if you don't want to waste three months, maybe you can help me, and I can help you."

"Of course, you can refuse; this is just a suggestion."

Locke looked at the other party's stubborn eyes and asked, "What kind of deal do you want with me? What will I get in return? And Professor Ald, you are a second-class wizard apprentice, while I am a third-class wizard apprentice. I don't think I can help you."

Ald whispered, “That’s different. My mental and magical power are stronger than yours, but I’m too old. And my magic is too corrupted to do anything too delicate. I don’t trust that Tunguska guy either.”

"I would like to ask you to help me prepare a vial of medicine. I can provide you with the materials and methods. My mental strength is fluctuating too much right now, so it's impossible for me to do such delicate work."

"I know that beginners are very likely to fail."

“I have three sets of materials, don’t worry. If you fail to configure them all, I will not blame you. You can tell Tungus about this and let him help you assess your safety, but I really didn’t lie to you this time.”

Olde's tone softened considerably. "I apologize for what happened before."

"In return, you will receive all my magical notes and notes, and I will also teach you my favorite spell, Skull Explosion. I can also prepare the casting materials and learning materials for you."

Ald said sincerely, "You have already learned the first spell, and your mental strength is now about ten times that of an ordinary person, so you will learn the second spell very quickly. Moreover, the prerequisite courses for Skull Explosion are Animal Necromancy, Magic Manipulation, and Negative Energy."

"You've already learned one of the basics of magic manipulation, so you'll learn the remaining two courses very quickly."

“If you can learn two spells before boarding the wizard ship and increase your mental strength, it will raise your rating,” Professor Ald said. “That should be a huge win for you.”

"If you go to Tunguska for help, that's not necessarily the case. First, you want to learn a second magic trick, but you don't have a magic stone."

"Secondly, at your level, Tunguska can't help you either; he's most skilled in fire magic. He could be quite helpful with that girl, Patty, though."

Patty is studying "Burning Mars".

(End of this chapter)