Wizards: Starting with Synthetic Gems

Chapter 449 Ten Months and the Super First-Ring Demonic Plant: The Hydra Demonic Plant!
Inspired by his previous encounters with the dark wizard, Locke identified subspecies within his research group that possessed the potential for layered, permanent defensive force fields and began a new round of breeding work.

With the brilliant breeder Montgomery as his assistant, and once the right direction is found, the research progress will be extremely fast.

Meanwhile, following the incident of the vandalism in his dormitory, Barnaby Cooper was stripped of his inheritance rights from the Cooper family for five years. Even if he were to regain his inheritance rights after five years, he would drop from the top of the list to near the bottom, somewhere in the teens.

Their access to resources plummeted, and they were punished accordingly.

His participants were all punished by the Plutarch family, stripped of certain resources, restricted in their time in the laboratory, and had their library access reduced, among other things—all of which are necessary for a wizard's career.

Even their mentor, the wizard Sphinx, had his research funding cut in half because of his lax discipline.

After this incident, the overt and covert exclusion against their research group immediately decreased.

The tragic examples of Sphinders and Barnaby Cooper shocked all the wizards, stopping those who harbored resentment from continuing to secretly ostracize Locke's students.

Meanwhile, the Yunze Cup group fell into a quiet state after the heated discussion about the black wizard incident, with each participant busy conducting experiments.

Ten months have passed quickly.

Inside the White Dragon Tower's top-tier laboratory, Locke, Montgomery, and others were cultivating a nine-headed mimicry chain vine beneath the Dragon Crystal Ecological Dome. Each head was a crocodile head mimicked by the vine's leaves.

It is blackish-iron in color and looks rusty on the surface, as if it is stained with blood. That is actually the result of iron rust beads growing on it.

Throughout the entire top-tier laboratory, all the subspecies of chain magic vines in the ecological garden lit up with specific plant factors. These were the magic probes that Locke had previously implanted. Now, under the influence of the magic magnetic field in Locke's hand, all the plant factors combined with the magic probes were cut off by the invisible magnetic field and concentrated in Locke's hand.

Under the expectant gazes of Montgomery and the other wizards, Locke looked at the numerous plant factors that had gathered in his right hand, forming a plant essence. He hesitated for a moment, then decisively channeled it into the nine-headed chain vine before him.

The next moment, blood-red cracks appeared all over the surface of the chain vine, and a powerful magical wave burst forth from its surface, surging out in all directions.

The nine crocodile heads of the Nine-Headed Chain Vine, mimicking the stems and leaves, all lit up with a pair of red eyes, releasing a terrifying aura.

At the same time, Barbara the witch quickly carried a bucket of mossy wood pith and poured it into the soil near the roots of the magical plant to provide energy for its growth.

After six hours of growth, a mimicry parasitic magical plant with nine branches, resembling rusty chains locking nine crocodile heads—the Chain Vine—was completed.

Montgomery swallowed nervously; this was the culmination of eleven months of their research.

Ten months ago, Locke brought a new idea, which allowed the project to move forward rapidly. In the meantime, they spent ten months gathering a large amount of data and finally completed the magical plant in front of them, a creation from the Starry Sea.

Will they be able to accomplish the functions they envisioned?
At this moment, with only one month left until the end of the competition, the power of this magical plant will determine the future of the four wizards and forty-five wizard apprentices!

Barbara the witch walked up to the chain plant, reached out and grasped the tiny aerial roots on its surface, and let the chain vines wrap around her left wrist. The aerial roots then parasitized her permanent defensive field, while the plant absorbed the energy from her permanent defensive field.

The witch Barbara said, "Someone has to try it eventually. Everyone, who wants to come and try this magical plant with me?"

After receiving the power of Barbara Witch's permanent defensive field, the eyes of one of the Chain Vine's crocodile-like heads lit up with red light. In reality, those eyes were just two unopened flower buds of the Chain Vine.

Its ability to change color is due to the release of specific fluorescent pollen from these flower buds.

After obtaining Barbara Witch's Perpetual Defensive Field [Tree Spirit Skin], each tiny leaf of the Chain Vine became larger.

The wizard Tacitus hesitated for a moment before walking over. His permanent defensive field was the botanical magic [Poisonous Spore Purple Mist]. At this moment, the Chain Vine also absorbed his permanent defensive field, and half of its tiny leaves turned purple. Meanwhile, magical pressure was stored in the Rusty Bead Flower, and the 'eyes' of the second mimicking crocodile head turned red, secreting red fluorescent pollen.

The crucial moment arrived. Amidst the expectant, tense, and waiting gazes of Locke, Montgomery, Barbara the Witch, Tacitus the Wizard, and the group of wizarding apprentices, two overlapping, permanent defensive force fields immediately appeared on Barbara the Witch and Tacitus the Wizard.

The innermost layer is the treant skin of Barbara the witch. Not only has her own skin turned into rough tree bark, but the skin of the wizard Tacitus, who should have been a botanist, has also changed, becoming rough, hard, and highly magic resistant treant skin.

At the same time, both Barbara the witch and Tacitus the wizard were shrouded in a deep purple mist of poisonous spores.

For a very short time, the entire laboratory fell silent, as if there was no sound at all.

But what followed was a collective cheer, applause, and celebration from the wizarding apprentices, and even Leopold weeping with joy, which shows how much mental pressure they had been under.

Barbara the witch and Tacitus the wizard also laughed.

Montgomery watched this scene and muttered to himself, "Success, it actually succeeded. Such a wildly imaginative idea actually came true."

"This is the first time I've seen a magical plant on a wizard that can be superimposed with the permanent defensive force fields of different wizards."

“This is absolutely incredible. Our names will be written into botany textbooks along with Locke Augustine.”

Locke's eyes flickered slightly when he saw this.

The countless funds invested over the past ten months have almost exhausted the four million magic stones invested. Moreover, he has been constantly synthesizing and testing special formulas. With the joint efforts of so many wizards, a miracle has been created.

In the first stage, an 8th-level crafted item that can unify a permanent defensive force field is the Super First-Stage Magic Plant!
This magical plant creation will indeed be included in textbooks and materials as it participates in the Yunze Cup competition.

This is an achievement that Locke alone could hardly accomplish in a few years. It was achieved through the research team, massive investment, a certain amount of luck, his own hard work and ideas, and his own magic touch.

Barbara the witch suddenly realized something, raised her left hand, gathered all her magic power, and used Blood Flame to attack the witch Tacitus beside her.

Instantly, her blood flames dissipated, utterly unable to harm the sorcerer Tacitus in the slightest.

Barbara the Witch shook her head with a wry smile. "I can't think of any way I could attack Mr. Tacitus, who is protected by two layers of permanent defensive force fields."

"A truly despair-inducing double permanent defensive force field."

Montgomery walked over, grabbed the chain vine, and let it parasitize his body, illuminating the eye on the third crocodile's head, and a life force field enveloped them.

"To be precise, according to Boss Locke's previous plan, this magical plant should be called Hydra. Hydra can stack up to nine permanent defensive fields, that's our design. Currently, we can only prove that it can successfully stack three wizards' permanent defensive fields. Boss, come and hold the magical plant quickly!"

"We need to add a fourth wizard's permanent defensive field, but where do we find the remaining five wizards?"

Locke pondered for a moment, then took out the letter Alicia had given him. "I'll call Alicia over, and have her invite four absolutely reliable first-ring wizards who will never leak any secrets."

"We have no choice but to test it. Otherwise, we won't know where Hydra's limits are, how many advantages it has, and how many disadvantages it has."

"Montgomery, prepare several confidential contracts made by the Contract Master."

Montgomery beamed and said, "Yes, I was prepared."

(End of this chapter)