Wizards: Starting with Synthetic Gems

Chapter 543 The Summoning of Catherine the Witch
After reviewing the contracts, the Celtic team leader messaged Locke, "Both contracts are good; both are normal, whether it's a buyout or a revenue-sharing agreement."

"You can sign."

Only after receiving advice from the local wizards of Yunze Wetland did Locke dare to sign a profit-sharing contract with Wizard Terence.

The contract between the two parties has been signed.

These contracts still cost 30,000 magic stones each, are created by contract masters, and are contracts that the Eye of Truth should pay attention to.

Wizard Terence smiled and said, "Then it's a pleasure to cooperate. This is the address of one of our industrial parks in Alsace. If needed, you can go there to complete the follow-up mass production of Hydra."

"Once it's finished, all you need to do is provide us with the Hydra seed."

Terence took out fifty magic crystal cards from the Astral Ring and handed them to Locke.

These seeds were, of course, enchanted with magic, rendering the adult plants unable to reproduce.

After all, the agreement he signed with Arthas was not a permanent buyout.

Wizard Terence rose, and Locke bowed to him before watching him leave the witch's kitchen.

This means I've taken on another horizontal project and directly received fifty magic crystal cards.

As for how much money you will receive each month in the following two years, that depends on the operation of your subsequent projects.

Gregor saw Locke stand up and quickly made way for him, having only vaguely understood Locke's conversation with Wizard Terence.

After all, things like shop alliances, two trading methods, and high-ring wizards are far too far removed from what a wizarding apprentice can achieve.

The world of a wizard apprentice has not yet reached that level; his world is more focused on learning.

Locke placed fifty magic crystal cards into his astral ring.

In this way, with the addition of the 500,000 from the second-class project fund and his own 200,000 in savings, he would have another 1.2 million in magic stone funds that he could mobilize.

I've become wealthy again!
The main problem is that scientific research is just too expensive. Such a huge amount of money can be burned up as easily as burning firewood once it's invested in scientific research.

In other words, you have a cheat code.

Without a cheat code, wizards often find themselves burning through all their money without achieving anything.

Locke said to Gregor, "Let's go back."

Gregor said, "Yes, teacher."

As Locke left the Witch's Kitchen, he encountered Wizard Daniel at the Dragonblood Gathering. The two paused for a moment upon meeting.

While discussing with Wizard Terence, Wizard Daniel finished his defense, and a wizard manager from the Shop Alliance was also present with Wizard Daniel.

Judging from the direction the two were heading, it seemed to be the witch's kitchen as well.

Wizard Daniel greeted Locke warmly, saying, "Locke, this is Wizard David Franklin. He is the wizard manager of the [Hanover Weather Customization Studio Alliance]."

Franklin the wizard had not attended Locke's dissertation defense before, so he did not recognize that Locke was also present at the final report today, and simply nodded politely to Locke.

He was a second-circle wizard, only there to establish a partnership with wizard Daniel, so naturally he had to maintain a certain airs.

Locke said to Wizard Daniel, "It seems you had a good day. Did you also land a side project?"

Wizard Daniel nodded. "Oh? So that means you've already finished talking with the wizard manager of the shop alliance."

Locke laughed and said, "Yes, we just finalized the deal and I received fifty magic crystal cards directly."

Franklin looked at Locke in surprise and immediately realized that Locke had also participated in the final defense today, otherwise he wouldn't have just finalized a horizontal project cooperation with a wizard manager from a shop alliance.

Moreover, the other party should be considered to have achieved some success.

Otherwise, they wouldn't have directly discussed the value of the fifty magic crystal cards project. It's just unclear whether this is a buyout or a revenue-sharing arrangement.

If it's a buyout, then it can only be considered normal.

However, if it's a revenue-sharing arrangement, then the fifty magic crystal cards would just be the initial authorization fee, and the contract Locke negotiated with that wizard manager wouldn't be considered a small contract.

When Wizard Daniel heard about fifty magic crystal cards, his eyes lit up. "You've struck it rich, Locke! You've managed to get fifty magic crystal cards all at once. Wizard Franklin and I are going to the Witch's Kitchen to discuss a project."

"You're really something, Locke."

Locke said, "It's just the commercialization of my winning entry in the Yunze Cup."

Wizard Daniel said, "Oh, so Lord Franklin has taken a liking to the idea I conceived in my dissertation about using the natural world's fog—its spiritual mechanism—to create divination fog. It's about using the changes in fog to perform a certain degree of divination."

"This is what I gained from several months of basic research at Jinmian Mountain. I have to say that basic research is indeed very necessary. It broadened my horizons, allowed me to see more, and raised my ceiling."

"It even allows me to do things that my previous weather systems could not do."

Wizard Daniel said, "My third-class grant project has also been approved, and I have successfully obtained a second-class grant project."

Franklin the wizard glanced at Locke and Daniel the wizard, and he had a feeling that the two were good friends and were trying to negotiate a higher price.

However, out of professional ethics, and because he genuinely believed in Daniel's idea and thought it might be able to help him gain some credit with the shop alliance, the wizard Franklin suddenly spoke up: "Don't worry about that. The amount involved in the contract I'm negotiating with you will only be more than 500,000 magic stones."

Wizard Daniel swallowed hard. "Your Shop Alliance is really rich."

After exchanging a few words with them, Locke left.

He looked in the direction where the wizard Daniel had left, where Daniel was still discussing with the wizard Franklin: "My new friend is really something."

"I have rarely seen a wizard whose research progress can be compared with mine."

"In the Fission Plains, my wizard colleagues could only keep up with me at the beginning, but often within a few months, I would fall far behind them, and from then on, they would become estranged from me. In their eyes, I saw unfamiliarity and deliberate alienation."

"It seems I can really make friends this time," said Wizard Daniel.

"Yunze Wetland, Jinmian Mountain... it's truly a magical place. There are just too many super geniuses, or rather, freaks, here."

Locke glanced at Wizard Daniel, utterly speechless.

You call me a freak? I think you're the freak.

They've practically cheated themselves; the analysis of the new magical plant mechanics is being done in batches, like an assembly line.

Daniel the Wizard's research progress was almost the same as his own.

This talent is truly terrifying.

This completely extinguished the slight sense of relaxation that Locke had just begun to feel.

There are simply too many super geniuses on Mount Jinmian. Geniuses from other regions would only be ordinary people here.

They might even be at the bottom of the pack and be eliminated.

To obtain the ultimate top-tier funding, one needs to stand at the pinnacle of all the geniuses at the Golden Crown Mountain True Knowledge Institute.

Therefore, I still need to work hard. When I get back, I should do more data analysis to see if I can discover more unknown natural magical structural components.

The goal is to discover unknown natural magical structural components as if it were an assembly line.

It's important to know that even the Zhenzhi Academy, a top-tier institution like Jinmian Mountain, only has one or two special funding slots available each year.

But thinking about it again, if I can't even stand above all the geniuses of the Golden Crown Mountain True Knowledge Academy, then what am I supposed to talk about, going to the Starfield Sea?

As Locke walked down the street, he sighed, "It seems that this level is at most a far cry from that of ordinary researchers at the True Knowledge Institute."

"But we haven't distanced ourselves from the researchers at the Advanced Institute of Truth yet. Perhaps Daniel, like me, is an anomaly, but who knows if more anomalies will emerge among the researchers at the Advanced Institute of Truth."

"I need to work harder and not be complacent about my current achievements."

Locke took Gregor back to the laboratory, and they spent the entire day conducting experiments.

At midnight, the Celtic team leader suddenly came to his workstation looking for him, and he looked nervous, as if he was under great pressure.

He stood in front of his workstation, glanced at Gregor who was working, and then said, "Locke, Catherine the Throne is looking for us."

Upon hearing this, all the researchers working in the work area of ​​Group Six tensed up.

It was as if some enormous, invisible pressure was descending upon them.

Locke glanced at the Celtic leader with a strange look. For some reason, the Celtic leader would become very nervous every time he heard the name of the witch Catherine, even if he said it himself.

The pressure is off the charts.

I don't know how he got along with Catherine the Witch, but so far, I think Catherine the Witch is a pretty good high-ring witch.

Although, I have never actually met him face-to-face alone so far.

Not once.

But precisely because of this, you'll have a lot of freedom within Ekaterina's group. After all, apart from the monthly group meetings with hundreds of people, you won't have any interaction with your mentor.

This means maximum freedom.

But for some reason, the wizards in Group 6, especially the Celtic wizards, almost had PTSD just from hearing the name of Catherine the Witch.

The Celtic leader said to Locke, "Locke, pack your things and come with me to see the throne."

He glanced at the clock in his hand. "We can't be late. You have five minutes to pack."

"Be on time, you must be prepared..."

The Celtic team leader walked away, trembling.

Locke looked completely bewildered. He turned to look at Mason Witch and Barrett Wizard, "Team leader, are you that afraid of our mentor?"

At her workstation, Mason Witch shrugged and said, "That's a third-ring wizard, we're afraid too. But we're afraid because he's our mentor, a third-ring wizard, but we only feel awe. I don't know why, but our team leader is particularly afraid of Catherine's Throne."

"Perhaps there are reasons we don't know. And... the mentor is a witch whose thoughts you have absolutely no idea what she's thinking. Maybe that's why the group leader is afraid of her."

Locke nodded.

In fact, the mentor's personality largely determines the atmosphere within the research group.

For example, Daniel's mentor, Fyodor, was said to be kind and generous, so the atmosphere in his research group was at least on the surface harmonious, and everyone treated each other like brothers.

However, I've also heard that as a result, the speed at which we produce results is slower than other research groups.

Locke, having spent some time in Group Six, also realized that Group Six was a very pragmatic research group—free, efficiency-oriented, and results-oriented.

This also reveals a glimpse into Catherine the Great's personality.

Mason Witch said to Locke, "By the way, Locke, I also want to congratulate you on passing the final defense. You completed a third-class True Knowledge Institute fund project in just four months, that's really impressive."

"As expected of a researcher from the Advanced True Knowledge Institute, I now realize the gap between our ordinary True Knowledge Institute and your Advanced True Knowledge Institute."

"This is my second year at the True Knowledge Academy. I just finished a third-class True Knowledge Academy grant project and am still applying for a second-class True Knowledge Academy grant project. Who knew you would surpass me so quickly?"

Wizard Barrett looked at Locke with admiration. "My progress is about the same as Mason's."

He recalled that he had inquired about Locke's project progress earlier, and his face flushed slightly. "As expected of a researcher from the Advanced True Knowledge Institute, your project progress is quite fast even within our ordinary True Knowledge Institute... Moreover, I heard that you completed the mechanism pathways of action for four pineapple-type magical plants in one go."

"Not only did you complete it quickly, but the quality was also very high. I used to be a little unconvinced, thinking that you researchers from the Advanced True Knowledge Institute were nothing special, but now I think you are indeed more capable than us ordinary researchers from the True Knowledge Institute."

"Compare them and you'll understand everything."

At his workstation, the wizard Panno wore a bitter expression and said, "I should have thought that Locke, at least you would stay with me for a while and find new research topics together. Who knew I would be the clown."

Wizard Barrett said to him, "I think you should think about the year-end rankings first. If you continue like this, you'll be eliminated at the bottom."

“You are only in your second year at the Academy of True Knowledge. You have three years left. There are a large group of first-ring wizards outside who believe they can meet the requirements for leaving the academy within three years.”

"Therefore, there are still many wizards outside who are eyeing your position."

The wizard Panno sighed helplessly.

Locke, across the workstation, offered him a word of comfort. "Good things come to those who wait, so don't give up. Perhaps you can write a project proposal that will be accepted before September."

"That way, you won't be eliminated because you're at the bottom of the rankings."

Pan Nuo said, "For now, this is all I can do."

Locke gave Gregor a few instructions, then left the office area at the last minute and found the Celtic team leader, saying, "Team leader, let's go."

The Celtic team leader, standing next to Locke, took the opportunity to say, "Locke, I really didn't expect you to be so capable. I had many misunderstandings about you before."

Locke nodded slightly.

The Celtic team leader said, "But now the misunderstanding is cleared up. You alone are almost as good as half of my sixth team."

"You are too efficient in doing research."

"I take back what I said to you before. I now think that having you in our Group Six is ​​really great, it's my luck."

(End of this chapter)