Wizards: Starting with Synthetic Gems

Chapter 551 Becoming a Group Leader

Inside a top-tier laboratory in a colony dimension.

Catherine the Witch played with the magic mirror in her hand.

All the mirrors in her castle are actually connected to this magic mirror, not just the mirrors, but all reflective surfaces in the castle.

Through this magic mirror, the witch Catherine discovered that Locke had discovered the truth about ritual magic, and a smile curved her lips. "Not bad. I was wondering why that little fellow, with his comprehension, hadn't discovered the true use of ritual magic so quickly."

"However, it's not too late now. In fact, it's just right."

Fafnir the Golden Dragon retorted, "Using a magic mirror to monitor others is really not in line with your status. You still prefer to observe the movements of everyone around you."

"However, you could just tell those things to the little dragon directly. Why beat around the bush like that?"

The witch Catherine said, "Some things are different when you discover them yourself versus when someone tells you about them."

“You are a dragon, not one of us wizards, so you don’t know that for us wizards, it is crucial to discover this ourselves. If I tell him, it would be like removing a step that could have helped him climb higher, which would only do him harm.”

“He is a wizard, a researcher at the Advanced Institute of Truth, so he must have the insight to discover the hidden truth behind everything. Only in this way can he have the opportunity to go further.”

Fafnir, the Golden Dragon, suddenly looked at the witch Catherine, then realized what was happening. "You're grooming him?"

Catherine the Witch smiled. "I would rather he stay at this level for ten years than tell him the answer directly. Fortunately, so far, he hasn't disappointed me. At least so far, his performance has met all my expectations."

Fafnir the Golden Dragon looked at Catherine the Witch. "Catherine the Witch," he said, "I've always believed that the more someone lacks something, the more they tend to emphasize it. You always say you like to give people freedom, but have you ever truly given freedom to your researchers?"

"This question really intrigues me."

Before Catherine the Witch could speak, the golden dragon Fafnir vanished. "Hehehe, don't misunderstand. I have no intention of discussing this further with you; that would be too troublesome. You know I hate trouble. Let's just consider this a little amusement in my immortal life. We have a serious disagreement about that little dragon."

"let us wait and see."

"Let's see how far this wizard from the outside world can ultimately go."

Jinlong Fafnir chuckled softly and then disappeared into the top-level laboratory.

……

In the breeder's public laboratory, Locke arrived at his workstation and his face darkened when he saw the attendance sheet that Gregor had brought him.

Goodness, 10 points were deducted in one day, and 70 points were deducted in seven days.

In reality, all I had to do was sign in at the lab, but the problem was that because I was trapped in the Emerald Sleep, I couldn't even do that. I ended up running right into the trap of the point-based elimination system designed by the witch Catherine.

"Mentor, you've ruined me!" Locke muttered to himself as he signed his name on the attendance sheet.

Oh well, as long as I do a good job with my research, the mere 70 points deducted are nothing.

The only purpose of points is to avoid being eliminated.

Also, try to get the Water Jade Peach, as it might have some special uses.

The Celtic group leader, accompanied by a female first-class wizard apprentice, approached Locke, rubbing his hands together, and said, "Locke, I really can't help you with attendance, because it's a rule set by His Majesty the Throne."

“All the wizards in our six groups must abide by this rule; no one is exempt.”

"So, there's nothing I can do to help you."

The Celtic team leader tentatively asked, "I don't know why, but the Throne didn't ask for leave for you. Although I know you've been with the Throne all week, because she didn't ask for leave for you, the points can only be deducted according to the rules."

Locke pursed his lips and nodded. "Yes, okay, Celtic Team Leader."

The Celtic group leader handed Locke a box. "Here you go, this is your reward for passing the third-class fund: a Water Jade Peach."

"Also, this first-class wizard apprentice is a newly assigned student."

Locke looked at the first-class wizard apprentice and found that her magic pressure was higher than when Gregor came here, at 750.

Dora Williams wore a grey wizard's robe and had blonde hair in a ponytail; she appeared to be very intelligent and quick-witted.

She immediately bowed to Locke. "Hello, teacher, I am Dora Williams, your student."

The Celtic group leader told Locke, "According to the academy's rules, you will be assigned some first-class wizard apprentices in the future, who will be both your students and your laboratory assistants."

Undoubtedly, Locke's excellent performance with the third-tier fund last time improved his standing in the eyes of the Golden Crown Mountain's top management.

Therefore, the quality of the first-class wizard apprentices that Golden Crown Mountain sent this time was even better than the last time.

fair enough.

This makes it easier for formal wizards to emerge from among one's students.

They wouldn't have to feel as frustrated as Newt Scamander, whose own students blocked their exit conditions.

The Celtic leader said, "In addition, I have ordered the witch Mason, the witch Barrett, and the witch Freya to all serve as your assistants."

“Our group originally had eleven wizards, but because two of them were fired, we now only have nine. I’ve assigned three wizards to help you with your research on the mechanisms of action of pineapple-type magical plants.”

"The remaining six... no, five wizards are the ones who are conducting our six groups' research over the past twenty years—research on the mechanism of action of madder-type magical plants."

The Celtic leader raised his hand and patted Locke on the shoulder, saying, "You're now my right-hand man."

“Our group six has suffered heavy losses. Three wizards are no longer usable. The newcomers still need to be trained, so we can only rely on you all to work harder.”

The Celtic leader's attitude towards Locke is different now. Because Locke is going to conduct research on 23 kinds of air plants at once, which is almost equivalent to half of the workload of their sixth group in the past twenty years, the Celtic leader now attaches great importance to Locke. He even directly asked the three original formal wizards of the sixth group to put down their work and go to cooperate with Locke.

To form a group within a group with Locke.

Undoubtedly, he placed great hopes on this adjustment, seeing it as a chance to turn things around within six months.

After the Celtic team leader left, he went to another place where there were two unfamiliar researchers.

It seems that after the two researchers in Group 6 who falsified data were dismissed last time, the native wizards of Yunze Wetland were recruited again as replacements.

Locke glanced over there; the two new researchers were currently behaving very cautiously, so it was impossible to discern their true personalities.

Early this morning, Locke overheard his colleagues discussing that one of them was a formally graduated wizard from Mount Golden Crown, and the other was a newly graduated formally graduated wizard sent from Luxu Bridge.

The Institute of True Knowledge was their first job after becoming official wizards. Naturally, their resumes during their wizarding apprenticeship were very impressive, as they were often good at participating in various competitions.

Mason Witch, Freya Witch, and Barrett Wizard surrounded Locke.

Freya the witch stood in front of Locke's workstation and whispered, "Locke, what did you do? How did you become our team leader?"

Barrett the wizard whispered, “I’ve heard about it. Locke completed the mechanism and pathway analysis of four types of pineapple-type magical plants in one go, and also discovered a natural magical structure component that had not been discovered before. He also wrote a project application to conduct research on 23 types of pineapple-type magical plants at once.”

"Many researchers in Group Six have heard about this. They are all quite surprised. I only knew that Locke quickly completed the third-class project grant, but I didn't know that Locke's second-class project grant application was so amazing."

Freya the witch blinked. "That's really exciting. Analyzing the mechanisms and pathways of so many magical plants, how many could we identify? That would help our ordinary researchers at the True Knowledge Institute complete their third-tier grant projects."

Locke never expected that the Celtic group leader would form an internal subgroup within the six groups, making him the leader of three official wizards.

However, this is not bad for me either.

After realizing that his performance had never exceeded Catherine the Witch's expectations, he wanted to accelerate his research progress. Compared to Daniel the Witch and within Catherine the Witch's plans, to secure a top-tier grant and a sub-project within Catherine the Witch's special program, he needed to become even more outstanding.

It was even more outstanding than Catherine the Witch had anticipated.

Even just a little bit.

Then one can obtain one of the three funds that one came to the True Knowledge Institute for.

People with a personality like Catherine the Witch can gain her great respect and trust as long as they slightly exceed her expectations.

But exceeding her expectations, even by the slightest, is extremely difficult.

But now that the Celtic team leader has taken the initiative to cooperate and become the team leader, it will undoubtedly save him a lot of trouble.

After thinking it over, Locke finally spoke: "I remember that all three of you have completed your projects with third-class grants, but your second-class grant applications haven't been approved yet, right?"

This is why the Celtic team leader was able to get them to put down what they were doing and follow Locke, since the three of them were still in the project proposal writing stage and didn't have anything they absolutely had to do.

The three nodded quickly. Mason Witch and Locke exchanged a glance, confirming through their eyes that they both knew about the mysterious society hidden in Golden Crown Mountain and were both being tested by that society.

In this way, Locke and Mason Witch are natural allies.

They have a special bond.

Mason Witch said, "Second-tier grant projects are more difficult than we thought. So the three of us are looking for research topics, and we've all been rejected more than once."

"The three of us originally planned to give it our all and see if we could finish the second-class grant before leaving the Zhenzhi Institute."

"If any of the three of us can apply to go first, the other two will dedicate resources to help him complete the project. After he leaves the station, that person will contribute some resources as compensation to the others."

Freya the witch nodded quickly. "The three of us are good friends, which is why we made this private agreement."

Barrett the wizard said to Locke, "Of course, now that you're the group leader, you're in charge. We'll obey you as our group leader."

Locke nodded and gave them his first piece of advice as group leader. "Then, I suggest you cancel the agreement."

Locke knew that he was essentially on equal footing with the three men, so he spoke in a consultative tone rather than a commanding one toward apprentices.

This is a technique for managing peers, which I learned myself in the Land of Six Towers.

In peer management, the biggest mistake is thinking that you are the leader and can order your colleagues around, which often offends others.

Therefore, I can only offer advice and always remember that we are all colleagues.

You have to be like a businessman and use profits to win these people over.

Locke said to the three men, “If you follow me, all three of you can complete a second-class grant project.”

The three of them lit up.

Freya the witch said, "Alright, the three of us will listen to you, group leader."

Barrett nodded and said, "Mm."

Mason Witch said, "I've liked Locke from the very beginning, from the first day you joined our group, group leader."

Locke and Locke exchanged a glance. The two shared a special bond, making it naturally easier for them to open up to each other.

The core of peer management lies in creating reasons that make cooperation impossible to refuse.

Locke, however, accurately grasped the key point of the three people—the project.

As long as I can bring projects to this newly formed team, I will become a de facto leader within the team.

Of course, this was the first time Locke had engaged in such in-depth cooperation with someone of equal rank. Previously, in the Land of Six Towers, he was naturally half a rank higher than Montgomery and others because of his relationship with Alicia and the Great Wizard Sura, as he possessed the authority of a family wizard.

But this time, things are different. Although he is very good in Group Six, he does not have any representatives from any interest groups standing behind him.

Therefore, Locke could sense that managing this small team this time was different from before.

Locke looked at the three researchers. Although these three researchers were far inferior to Daniel, they were still geniuses even if they were taken outside.

They are all geniuses who far surpass Albert.

With their help, I should be able to discover more natural magical structural components in the future, right?

However, if the discovery is merely of more natural magical structural components, it is likely still within the expectations of the witch Catherine, who believes she possesses super-intuitive dragon talents.

The experiments conducted by the six groups could at most only have resulted in the discovery of more natural magical structural components.

What else can I do?
Locke fell into deep thought.

Locke retrieved three documents from his workstation and handed them to his three colleagues. “These are the preliminary experimental data from the three types of pineapple magical plants I conducted. I couldn’t have done it all by myself. Now that our group has four certified wizards, it’s like we have four times the chance to apply for access to the three magic mirrors. All four of us can use the three magic mirrors to analyze them…”

"We must strive to make the information on pineapple-type magical plants in our group more comprehensive than that on madder-type magical plants."

"You guys finish this project for me first, and I'll help you find suitable research topics and apply for your grants."

Locke said, "The four of us helping each other can create all the power we didn't have before."

As peers, establishing common goals is paramount; otherwise, the group will only shirk responsibility, with unclear boundaries of accountability, superficial agreements but low actual motivation.

The most distinctive feature of a peer relationship is that there is no power dynamic between superiors and subordinates.

For example, he has the power to decide the future of his students Gregor and Dora Williams with a single word, but not the same power over his three colleagues.

Therefore, one needs to create a common goal and a common enemy to build cohesion within the group.

Mason Witch, Barrett Witch, and Freya Witch, inspired by Locke's vision of the future, indeed became very proactive.

After the three of them left their workstations, Locke turned his attention to Williams, the new student, and handed Gregor a bottle of high-grade Bloodlust Potion.

Locke asked Gregor, "By the way, Gregor, are you going to participate in the apprentice-level competition?"

Gregor's face turned ashen as he recalled his previous experience of participating in a breeder competition and suffering a crushing defeat. "No... teacher, I don't want to participate in the competition."

Williams' eyes lit up, and he quickly stepped forward and said to Locke, "Teacher, I want to sign up for this year's Yunze Wetland Apprentice-level Breeder Competition."

Gregor decisively and silently retreated, wanting to minimize his presence.

Locke looked at Gregor with a puzzled expression. "Why are you so reluctant to participate in the competition?"

Williams looked at Gregor with a puzzled expression. "Isn't it better to listen to the teacher and participate in the competition?"

Gregor was very nervous, his face pale. "Very...very good, the teacher is usually very kind to me. But the problem is...I can't handle stress. Last time I participated in the competition, I didn't get any results."

Locke frowned slightly. He had originally wanted Gregor to mentor Williams, but now it seemed that this idea was impossible.

I'd rather have Williams take Gregor instead, since the two students have completely opposite personalities.

Of course, Gregor's personality also has its advantages; at least you don't have to worry about him doing anything dangerous without your knowledge.

(End of this chapter)