Wizards: Starting with Synthetic Gems

Chapter 514 The Results of Negotiations with Shinchiin

After thinking it over, Leonis said, "Half... isn't out of the question."

A flicker of pain crossed Leonis's eyes. "But you need to help me concoct the Forge Potion, also known as the Lord of Cinder's Secret Brew. I need at least two portions. Professor Augustine, are you confident you can do it?"

"I need two portions of the King of Cinder's Secret Brew."

Locke thought for a moment. A year ago, he probably would have had to refuse this deal or carefully consider whether to accept it.

However, after a year of training at the Feathered Serpent Pavilion, things are different now. With my current potion-making skills, plus the two treasures, the Primal Flame and the Purifying Filter, concocting the Lord of Cinder's Secret, also known as the Forge Potion, is just a matter of a little effort.

Locke said, "Okay, but not today. I need to get back into shape. How about the day after tomorrow?"

I haven't fully recovered lately. Since the last battle with Nidhogg in the Wizarding Realm, I've been feeling listless. And to concoct the Forge Potion, I need to concentrate intensely.

After thinking for a moment, Locke decided to delay, in order to prevent his condition from worsening again before he had recovered.

After all, as Catherine the Witch said, she could only recover from this part of her illness by sleeping naturally.

Ultimately, it was because the battle he fought last time with the wizard who was in the first stage of crystallization and used ritual magic was just too intense.

I should try to avoid battles of that scale in the future, since each one is a huge drain on my energy.

When the wizard Leonis heard Locke ask him to wait a day, he was a little nervous, but after thinking for a moment, he said, "Alright, then we'll meet at the Feathered Serpent Pavilion tomorrow."

"Before I came here, I tattooed the Dimensional Exile spell of the Protection School on my body..."

Locke nodded slightly, unconvinced. Every dark wizard, for some reason, always felt that he might be a threat to them.

But it's actually unnecessary.

It's like the losses I incurred in previous battles; every battle inevitably involves some expenditure.

It's not that winning a fight guarantees anything. Even if I had won before, I would have been listless for more than a week, spending almost all my time sleeping.

Even so, his condition has not recovered to its best.

Therefore, using robbery to obtain desired items is rather inefficient. Since there is a peaceful transaction available, there is no need to resort to violence.

It's more appropriate to wait until you're unable to trade before considering whether or not to take action.

Locke asked, "Would you like me to arrange accommodations for you?"

Leonis thought for a moment, "Okay, it's not easy to find accommodation in this White Dragon Tower. If you could arrange something for me, that would be great."

"Professor Augustine is now very famous in our archaeological circles."

Locke looked puzzled. "Warwick wouldn't go around telling everyone, would he?"

"and many more……"

What am I thinking?

How much expectation can one have of an archaeological wizard who makes a living by selling information, and how much can one hope that others will keep quiet?

Leonis said, "Warwick often tells other archaeological wizards, 'Professor Augustine, you have the Primal Fire, and your potion-making skills are extremely profound.'"

"So, in the past year, many archaeological wizards have heard of your name."

Locke gave a wry smile.

Oh well, I'm not going to be a dark wizard anyway. This way, some archaeology wizards will come to me in the future, asking me to help them concoct potions, and I can take this opportunity to collect archaeological resources.

This is something that is very beneficial to me.

Let's do this for now.

As for the saying "a tall tree catches the wind"?

To be honest, for someone like me who wants to explore the path of truth, this is a non-existent, false proposition. Every step towards a better wizarding land and a better teaching position involves eliminating countless wizarding rivals.

Take my desire to enter the Advanced Academy of Truth as an example. The number of admissions to the Advanced Academy of Truth each year is a fixed number, which is subject to macro-control by the White Wizard Headquarters Association.

If you get in this year, no one else can get in.

In the process, I've already offended some people.

If you don't want to offend anyone, you can only be mediocre and go with the flow.

If you want to climb the ladder, you need to make your name known to others; hiding your talents and biding your time will only cause you to miss opportunities.

Of course, attracting too much attention is not a good thing either.

Locke nodded, stood up, and wrote down an address for Leonis. "Mr. Leonis, this is an empty residence. You can stay there for now. There are some servants there, and you can use them as you please. However, in our White Wizarding Association, even servants cannot be killed at will."

“Once it gets on the radar of the ethics review committee, the problem will be huge.”

I was recently targeted by the ethics committee because of the death of the wizard Nidhogg. Fortunately, I had the True Sight Crystal, which recorded the whole process. In addition, with the influence of the Plutarch family's White Wizard Association branch in the Six Towers, I will not be punished.

On the contrary, the Basil family felt guilty and therefore made a series of concessions to the Plutarch family, even transferring several properties to them.

Wizard Leonis laughed and said, "Alright, I won't cause you any trouble. I'm a guest here, so of course I can't cause you any trouble."

The two exchanged a few words and agreed on certain conditions. Then, Leonis noticed that Locke seemed to have something on his mind, so he took the initiative to leave the quiet room on the second floor.

Locke was the only one left in the quiet room.

Locke summoned the Gray Mist Slab, which vibrated continuously, indicating that Director Morrison was contacting him.

Locke accepted Director Morrison's request for a video dialogue, and the next moment, Director Morrison's image appeared, seemingly in an ecological garden.

The ecological garden was filled with potato-like magical plants floating in mid-air. These potato-like magical plants were cultivated not in soil or hydroponically, but through aeroponics.

The potatoes float in mid-air, and without contacting the soil or water, some floating clouds can actively spray rainwater mixed with nutrient solution to nourish them.

This is an extremely ingenious cultivation method, which Locke had only seen in books before. This method can minimize the risk of plant diseases.

Because it doesn't require contact with too many things.

Potatoes, in particular, are susceptible to diseases caused by the mutated fungus, making them a type of "magic plant."

However, this method of cultivation is fine for ordinary potatoes, but for potato plants with a ring or higher, a large amount of nutrients is required, so the requirements for breeding equipment are very high. Therefore, there is no laboratory in the Six Towers region that can do this.

As soon as Director Morrison appeared, Locke heard him instructing several first-ring wizard assistants on the technique of cultivating potato magic plants without physical contact.

After finishing his explanation, Director Morrison turned to Locke and said, "Little Locke, I've been quite busy lately, as you've seen."

"However, I still managed to steal a moment from my busy schedule to, as a member of the Yunze Cup tournament committee, negotiate with the two advanced academies of truth on your behalf."

Director Morrison said, "By the way, have you met with Catherine the Witch?"

"This time, she suddenly made a lot of concessions in our negotiations. It's really strange, considering she recently wanted to join the ten-person plan for Yunze Wetland."

"The demand for resources, talent, and projects should be extremely high, but I didn't expect her to be so easy to talk to this time."

Director Morrison said, "In comparison, it's a real shame that Boniface University, which I had previously strongly recommended you to, is now out of reach."

"And disappointment."

“They won’t even budge on project autonomy.” A flash of anger crossed Director Morrison’s eyes. “The recently appointed Dean of the Higher School of Truth in Boniface, a third-circle wizard named Valentinian, is a wizard specializing in textiles within the Alchemy school.”

“He neither understands nor respects breeding science and botany.” Director Morrison was clearly quite disheartened and sighed. “If it were last year’s director of the True Knowledge Institute, who had a background in breeding, I would be very confident that I could have negotiated a very good contract for you.”

"Unfortunately, this year's Dean of the Institute of True Knowledge at Boniface Academy is a newcomer, and he comes from the alchemy school, so he knows nothing about our botany."

(End of this chapter)