Wizards: Starting with Synthetic Gems

Chapter 571 Venture Capital and the Entire Group Passes the Second-Class Fund Project Application

In Locke's dormitory living room, Wizard Daniel and Locke sat at a long oak table. Daniel took a sip of Cuiluo green tea and then said to Locke, "My Divination Mist sold quite well on the Weather Festival on August 22nd, earning me two million magic stones. It almost made it onto the day's best-selling list."

"I was originally going to share this good news with you, but when I came to visit today, you told me that your Hydra series of magical plants earned you a total of 6.5 million magic stones."

Wizard Daniel clicked his tongue in amazement. "Six and a half million magic stones! I've never seen so much money in my life. If you were in our Fission Plains, many second-ring wizards wouldn't earn that much."

"In our Fission Plains, if any first-ring wizard could earn this much money, he would probably attract the attention of many second-ring wizards."

Wizard Daniel smiled and said, "However, on the other hand, only a place like Cloud Marsh Wetlands could allow a first-stage wizard to earn so much money. In our Fission Plains, let alone 6.5 million magic stones, even the 2 million magic stones I earned from selling Divination Mist would be impossible."

"Most of the lucrative things in the Fission Plains require connections."

Wizard Daniel said, "A wizard might earn a few hundred thousand magic stones with his own talent, but if you want to go further, it depends on how strong your connections are. Who is your teacher? Are your students successful? Do you have connections in your family? Are you working alone, or do you have many people behind you?"

Wizard Daniel said, "In small places with low foot traffic, once you reach a certain point, everyone can see what you're doing."

“This is nothing like Yunze Wetland. The area here is too big. For example, if you hadn’t told me that September 1st is your breeders’ Love Day, I would have had no idea.”

Locke smiled. "If you hadn't told me that it was your weathermen's day a few days ago, I wouldn't have known there was such a day."

Wizard Daniel said, "These are all holidays that those shops have created to hype up. You wouldn't know about them if you didn't pay attention. After all, these holidays are trivial and numerous."

Wizard Daniel opened his right hand, and a wisp of silver mist appeared in his palm. "Well, congratulations. You've made so much money all at once. Look, this is my divination mist."

The silvery mist, like a gel, appeared in the wizard Daniel's hand.

"The Divination Mist is something I created by combining meteorology with information I read about prophetic magic from Mount Golden Crown. It can amplify the prophetic magic of prophets. For me, it can also be used to deduce some things from the past."

With a wave of his hand, Wizard Daniel caused the divination mist to cover the floor, instantly forming footprints. Most of these footprints belonged to Locke, while others were those of the wood elf maids in Locke's room.

"The wizards of the prophetic school quite like this kind of thing; it sells well there."

Locke nodded slightly. "Indeed. Daniel, you seemed very busy recently; it's been a rare sight of you."

Wizard Daniel coughed. "I wasn't in the wizarding world for a while."

"I've gone to a medium-sized colony plane in Golden Crown Mountain. My research group has some research that requires going to that colony plane. It's a special plane full of lava and flames. Although it's a material plane and a life plane, according to the Earth Wizard's research, it was hit by other planes when it was first formed, causing the Earth's core energy to leak out. Therefore, the entire plane is like a purgatory all year round, and we call it the Purgatory Plane."

"The native life forms of the Purgatory Plane are one of the demon races, and their plane is also facing the problem of nine suns in the sky."

"The primal power leaking from the Earth's core transformed into nine suns in the sky, turning the entire land of that world into a toaster, repeatedly ravaged and making it impossible for normal life to survive. As a result, that demonic race could only pilot their warships to invade everywhere, trying to move out of that plane, but they recently encountered a wizarding civilization."

"They found a more realistic solution—to turn to the wizarding world and let the wizards help them."

"Solving the 'Nine-Day Problem' of that world is a key project of the Throne of Fyodor, the third-circle wizard I'm following."

Wizard Daniel chuckled, “Now, Throne Fyodor has sent me to the Infernal Plane to study the Nine Suns Problem together. Maybe in the end, he'll give me his sub-project.”

Locke looked up at Wizard Daniel and said, "Congratulations."

Wizard Daniel waved his hands repeatedly. "However, this matter is still far from settled. Right now, I'm just being asked to lend a hand in Purgatory. I reckon they're still observing my abilities, since my second-class True Knowledge Academy fund hasn't been completed yet."

"I don't have a clue yet. Well, the main problem is the lack of money. I have a lot of equipment, but I didn't have the money to buy it before, which made my progress very slow. But now it's different."

Wizard Daniel laughed and said, "With the two million I earned at the Weather Festival, I can use my own money to speed up the research process."

Wizard Daniel said, "By the way, now that you have money, have you thought about how to save it?"

Locke glanced at Wizard Daniel with a puzzled look.

Wizard Daniel handed a document to Locke. "Look, this shows the rate at which prices of goods in the Cloud Marsh Wetlands are rising. If you keep your money in your own hands, it could suddenly shrink in value due to the increased supply of magic stones and the rapid rise in prices."

"Therefore, we need to find some financial institutions to manage our finances."

"The most wasteful thing to do is to leave a lot of money to gather dust in our astral rings. A more mediocre thing to do is to deposit it in the five major banks or small and medium-sized wizard banks and earn a fixed interest rate."

"But there are actually some better ways. Recently, my senior in the lab recommended a witch to me who has a nice voice, is good-looking, thoughtful, cares about me, and praises me!"

Wizard Daniel took out the Wish-Giving Mushroom, opened his communication interface, and brought up a witch's contact list. "Look, this is the witch. She explained to me many financial products in Yunze Wetland, such as purchasing wizard gold coin bonds issued by the White Wizard Association, and venture capital, etc."

Wizard Daniel seemed quite excited. "Recently, I listened to this witch and tried my hand at the stock market in Dragonblood Market Castle, and made quite a bit of money. She's even going to teach me about venture capital, saying it will help me earn even more!"

Daniel's eyes sparkled. "There are so many kind people in Yunze Wetlands. This witch said she wants to grow with me and that we hit it off immediately. Oh, by the way, her name is Lena, she's an enchanter, a wizard of the enchanting school."

The more Locke listened, the more strange things seemed. "So, she admires you?"

Wizard Daniel nodded. "She said I'm a genius weatherman."

Locke asked, "What is venture capital?"

The Wizard Gold Coin Bonds were known to the Wizards; they were gold coins minted using gold magic and issued by the White Wizarding Association, essentially a type of government bond. The gold coins themselves were worthless, but they possessed the property of being indestructible.

To purchase a Wizard's Coin, one must pay a huge sum of money in exchange for an ordinary, indestructible gold coin forged with golden magic. There is a certain time limit, after which one can use the Wizard's Coin to exchange for the face value of a regular gold coin.

For example, a Wizard Coin with the number 10 means you can exchange it for 100,000 Magic Stones, while normally you only need to pay 98,000 Magic Stones to buy a Wizard Coin with the number 10.

This is a method used by the White Wizarding Association of the Three Swamps to obtain a large amount of funds in a short period of time.

It is a form of social resource allocation.

Buying Wizard Gold Coins is a relatively safe financial product, but when Locke heard Daniel mention venture capital, for some reason, a bad feeling suddenly arose in his mind.

He glanced at his left hand, at the Angel's Tear bracelet, which he wasn't wearing at the moment. Recently, his supernatural intuition had actually improved to some extent.

Wizard Daniel chuckled, “Venture capital is a type of market investment with high returns and high risks. But don’t worry, that insightful and kind witch has inside information. She will guide me to invest in those wizard shops that may seem mediocre but are actually of high quality.”

"Recently, with her help, I have made a lot of money. Yunze Wetland is really interesting. It turns out that as long as you have the ability to invest money reasonably, money can make money. You don't need to do any research or develop any engineering products."

“This feels amazing,” Wizard Daniel said, his eyes crinkling with a smile. “Making money this way is really fast.”

"It's made me relax a bit lately, and I'm worried about the progress of my second-class True Knowledge Institute fund project."

Locke hesitated for a moment, then said, "Daniel, I think we as researchers should focus on doing our job well."

"Also, from what you've said, it seems you've been quite lucky lately. But you should still be careful."

Wizard Daniel said, "Of course. If I lose money, I'm definitely quitting. Locke, do you want to get rich together?"

“I can recommend this witch to you. You are my best friend on Golden Crown Mountain. I’ve been thinking about this for a long time, and with such a good opportunity, we can do it together.”

"Don't worry, that witch listens to me. She has sources of information about third-ring wizards, so there's absolutely no problem."

Daniel said with great interest.

Locke thought for a moment and said, "Let's not, Daniel. I have enough money right now. First, I don't know anything about venture capital, and second, I'd have to wait."

"Take me under your wing after you've made some money."

Locke adopted a rather cautious attitude toward this unknown matter.

While it's true that you shouldn't give up without even trying, there's no need to be in such a hurry either. Nine times out of ten, the first person to do something will end up failing miserably.

Perhaps we should observe Daniel's situation before making a decision.

As a friend, Locke still offered a word of advice to Daniel, reminding him to be cautious.

But Locke wouldn't presume to stop Daniel from doing such dangerous things, because Daniel was a certified wizard and considered an adult in the wizarding world.

Adults have their own judgment and choices, and regardless of the outcome, they should respect the choices made by a legitimate wizard based on their own will.

At most, I can only offer reminders and suggestions.

Seeing that Daniel was obsessed with this lately, and that he had indeed made a lot of money and even showed him his 250 magic crystal cards, Locke could only congratulate him.

After Daniel left, Locke went to the public laboratory and received congratulations from Mason Witch and others, as well as compliments from a group of researchers from the Institute of Truth.

These people each had their own motives, but at least on the surface, they all gave Locke some praise.

After they left, Locke received a Water Jade Peach from the Celtic group leader, and now he has four Water Jade Peaches in his inventory.

After everyone dispersed to do their own things, Mason Witch and the others came over to congratulate Locke once more at their workstations.

Mason Witch said, "Six and a half million... This number is something we poor researchers wouldn't even dare to dream of." Freya Witch's eyes were practically bulging with money. "Not only can we not believe it, that's fifty-four years' worth of our salaries! Even if I did ten horizontal projects, I wouldn't earn that much money."

"Besides, I might not even have ten horizontal ones! You truly deserve to be our team leader!"

Barrett the wizard whispered, "A few days ago, I thought you, Team Leader Locke, would be short of money, but I didn't expect you to earn so much money in such a short time."

Locke looked up at the wizard Barrett.

Wizard Barrett explained, "Your behavior before was very similar to how the Celtic Team Leader was when he was broke. All three of us noticed it, so we took the initiative to pay for it ourselves for the past few days and didn't ask Team Leader Locke for money even once."

Mason Witch and Freya Witch exchanged a smile.

The witch Freya laughed and said, "Barrett told us not to tell anyone, for fear of embarrassing you, Team Leader Locke. Actually, I think the team leader is not so narrow-minded."

Locke felt a warmth in his heart. No wonder these three hadn't asked him to pay for anything lately. They had just sent him bills and asked him to go to the finance office to get reimbursed for the money they had advanced using the fund.

It turned out they had noticed their predicament a few days earlier.

Locke said in a low voice, "Thank you, everyone."

Mason Witch said, "Locke, we should be thanking you. Our three applications for second-class grant projects were all approved a few days ago."

Locke asked in surprise, "So fast?"

The witch Freya said, "It's mainly because your final report last time was very impressive, group leader."

"Therefore, our three project applications will naturally be much easier to review by the White Wizard Association's Fund Management Department. Especially since, in the eyes of other wizards, the three of us are working on projects under your guidance."

"Therefore, this greatly reduces the difficulty for our project application to pass the second-class grant project."

Freya the witch said, "However, in this way, all members of our group will receive a second-class grant from the Institute of True Knowledge."

The Zhenzhi Institute Fund is divided into four levels. The second-level fund projects are definitely not considered low-level projects within the Zhenzhi Institute.

They all received second-class grants from the Zhenzhi Institute. If they can all successfully complete their projects, it will be quite a remarkable achievement.

Locke said, "Don't worry about the second-class grant projects. As long as we work together, let alone the second-class, we four can complete even the first-class projects!"

When Mason Witch, Freya Witch, and Barrett Wizard heard Locke mention the first-class project fund, they swallowed hard, suppressing their inner desires.

They originally thought that it would be great if one of the three of them could complete the second-class project grant, but now all three of them may be able to complete the second-class project grant.

Moreover, Locke told them that they might be able to complete the first-class project funding.

This is a great temptation for them.

Moreover, this was said by Locke, not just some random person spouting nonsense, so it's highly credible.

The witch Freya laughed and said, "It seems we're about to be carried away by Locke."

Locke shook his head slightly. "You've all helped me a lot. Without you, it might have taken me about a year to complete this project, but now it's only been two months and we're almost done. We've helped each other."

Locke said, "Now that I have enough funds, I'm planning to find a shop alliance to rent the Queen's Chessboard. Do you have any good ideas?"

Mason Witch and Barrett Wizard shook their heads.

The witch Freya said, "You can go to the Joseph Golem Shop Alliance, or the Feathered Serpent Pavilion. Although these two shop alliances are not large, their rules are not as strict. They won't completely abide by the rule that first-ring wizards cannot use the Queen's Chessboard."

“I’ve heard before that Adrian Iverson from the Advanced True Knowledge Institute once borrowed the Queen’s Chessboard from the Joseph Golem Shop Alliance during the first crystallization stage for some reason. He spent one million magic stones.”

"Of course, he's already at the ordinary second-level stage."

"However, I've only heard about it secondhand. So I don't know the specific details." Freya the witch undoubtedly has the widest circle of friends among the four, so she's quite well-informed.

Locke thought for a moment and realized that the Queen's Chessboard would be very useful for both second- and third-circle wizards, not only in breeding but also in potions, alchemy, enchanting, and even psychoanalysis.

Therefore, many store alliances have this kind of equipment.

It's just that the equipment is so sophisticated that it won't be used by first-ring wizards.

But given his status, he might be able to use the Queen's Chessboard of the Feathered Serpent Pavilion, so it's definitely worth a try.

It is impossible to master the basic usage of the No. 2 Overlord in a short period of time without using the Queen's Chessboard.

"Among the journals in the first-ring stage, the general journals of the Three Swamps are the highest-ranking and the most difficult to access. This is the opposite of the logic of journals in the higher-ring stages, probably because wizards in the first-ring stage need to read a wide variety of literature," Locke pondered. "Therefore, in most cases, the specialized journals in the first-ring stage are actually easier to access than *Green Grass and Clouds*."

The reason why two of my articles were able to be published in the first section last time was because one of them was a natural magical structure that had not been discovered before.

It is the darling of "Green Grass and Clouds", and its natural magical structure has potential effects on multiple magical fields.

Another article describes the method and principle of using the power of Mister to accelerate the process of becoming a first-ring crystallized wizard. This kind of article, which is related to breaking through levels, is also a favorite of "Green Grass and Clouds". If it were in another direction, it might not be able to be published in "Green Grass and Clouds".

There are eight specialized botany journals in Zone 1 of Yunze Wetland, and countless more in Zones 2, 3, and 4.

Among journals in the first quartile, those in the first quartile are undoubtedly the most valuable.

Locke estimated that he could publish several chapters in the first section because of this No. 2 Overlord Su, and basically all of them could be published in "Green Grass and Clouds".

But perhaps we can go a step further and submit our work to the general journal "Qingming Leize" in the Leize lowlands.

Within the first region, it is generally acknowledged that "Qingming Leize" is more difficult, requiring a higher level of difficulty to access.

At the same time, I might also consider submitting my work to... the general journal for the first ring of the Starry Sea region, "First Ring Starry Sea"!
That's widely recognized as the top-tier journal in the first ring!
Of course, this is just a try, and there's a high chance it won't be accepted for submission.

Similarly, you can also try submitting to some of the more difficult journals in the specialized sub-fields, such as "Pan and Agriculture" published by the fourth-ring truth wizard of Yunze Wetland Botany.

This journal is rare; its prestige surpasses that of a first-tier journal like "Qingcao Yunze".

This is at least true for wizards specializing in agricultural breeding within the subfield of the Life Science school of breeding magic.

Although the value of general journals in the first category is generally higher than that of specialized journals.

However, there are also some rather unique journals in various industries.

However, strictly speaking, Tyrant's Seed is not considered traditional agricultural breeding, so Locke estimated that if he were to apply to this holy land in the eyes of agricultural breeding wizards, he would most likely not pass.

Perhaps I could try the journal "Plant and Analysis," founded by Boniface University, which has a very high level of expertise in plant natural product analysis.

This journal is also very difficult to publish, and it has a great reputation in the Three Swamps region, and is highly recognized by wizarding communities in various places.

Now that Locke has the money, he is confident that he can produce all the relevant experimental data for Tyrannosaurus Rex No. 2 as soon as possible.

At that moment, after Locke and Mason Witch and others exchanged information about the work progress, he returned to his workstation and was about to organize the data when he discovered that his Wish Ganoderma had vibrated inside his Astral Ring.

He took out the wishing lingzhi mushroom, only to find that a strange witch he didn't recognize had sent him a friend request.

Her name is Lena the Witch!
Locke saw the message on the friend request: "Hello, senior. I am Lena Guldo. I am a market analyst from the School of Prophecy, specializing in group prophecy."

"Senior, do you want your wealth to grow rapidly? I'm a fortune teller, and you have money. If we work together, we can definitely make a lot of money in a short time. If you don't believe me, you can test my abilities with a small amount of money first!"

Locke's expression was strange. "The Witch Lena? Could it be the kind witch Daniel mentioned? But didn't Daniel say she was an enchanter? How come she's now calling herself a market analyst from the school of prophecy?"

"Is it the same person? If so, then she probably doesn't know that Daniel and I are quite familiar with each other."

"Moreover, she must have a problem."

Locke thought for a moment, took a screenshot of the friend request, sent it to Daniel, and then rejected the friend request. After that, he didn't pay any more attention to the matter.

Locke pondered, "I should have thought of that sooner. This is Yunze Wetland, a thriving industrial and commercial area; all sorts of people will be here."

'Now that I have a lot of money, and many wizards have seen it, naturally, some people with ulterior motives will approach Daniel and me. I hope Daniel will come to his senses soon; there's nothing else I can do to help.'

Daniel seemed to believe that he had some kind of special relationship with the witch, and that if he interfered, he would only offend her.

Rather than doing that, I'd rather talk less.

Besides, he is a certified wizard and an adult.

Every adult should take responsibility for their choices.

(End of this chapter)