Wizards: Starting with Synthetic Gems

Chapter 580 The Istorian Archaeological Prize and the Nameless King

Locke nodded slightly, remaining expressionless. "So, how far in advance do you want to go, and when do you plan to act?"

Warwick said in a low voice, "Two months later. At the Ashes Cult Academy on the 13th vortex reef of the Wizarding Land [Qionghua Enclave] next to the Three Swamps, you, and a friend of mine, also an archaeology PhD at the first crystallization stage, we will act together."

“We’ll be waiting for you there. The Ash Cult controls a natural underground river entrance to the River of the Abyss.”

Locke frowned. He had only heard of the "Qionghua Flying Land" after arriving in the Three Swamps.

The Qionghua Enclave is located next to the boundary between darkness and light, in the northern part of the Three Swamps Land.

Locke asked in a low voice, "Is the Ash Cult a place for black wizards?"

Warwick chuckled and said, "Yes, you're scared?!"

Locke frowned but did not answer, not out of fear, but because he felt there was no need to take the risk.

Warwick whispered to Locke, “In the dark wizarding lands, you can basically avoid most of the risks by just showing that you are an archaeologist. In dark wizarding society, we archaeologists are highly respected.”

“You don’t need to worry. Many white wizards also put on black robes to enter black wizarding lands, and then put on white robes again when they leave.”

"There's just one thing I need to tell you. In the Dark Wizard Lands, don't show compassion, kindness, or weakness. Otherwise, you'll be like a wounded, shellless beetle, targeted by all the carnivorous insects who will try to skin you alive. In the Dark Wizard Lands, kindness is the most useless thing."

Locke smiled. It's like how a good person can be born in a bad place, but that's not the good person's fault.

In that awful place called the Black Wizard's, one can barely protect oneself, let alone maintain a luxurious capacity for compassion.

I imagine that if I dared to show such emotions over there, I would definitely attract countless wolves in sheep's clothing who would want to bite me hard.

Warwick summoned the Book of Demons in his hand and said, "Do you want to come? This Book of Demons contains information on fifteen Abyss Ruins. Last time, I only gave you the historical data on five of them."

"If you agree to participate in my operation, I will give you all the remaining historical materials before we enter this abyss ruin."

Locke said, "So generous?"

Warwick said in a low voice, "I wouldn't normally be this generous, but when I came here this time, I found that you're already a first-ring crystallization stage wizard. Your advancement speed is just too fast. It's unbelievable."

"That's one point."

"Secondly, if you are also an archaeologist at the first stage of crystallization, then the historical materials within that ruin will be absolutely tempting to you. Giving you the historical materials in advance, making your Book of Dragons the sovereign's book at the first stage of crystallization, will only increase your ambition."

"We're both archaeologists at the first stage of crystallization. I don't believe you can resist the temptation of entering that abyssal ruin and having the chance to obtain the [Legendary Historical Materials]."

Legendary historical materials?

Locke suddenly remembered that he had read about this kind of thing when he was reading the Wizard King's Codex every day.

Some historical materials are of particular significance.

These are major secrets hidden in various eras, which is why archaeologists call them legendary historical materials. Legendary historical materials have a very special nature, involving multiple vortexes of secrets, which disappeared with the death of certain famous wizards.

However, some wizards do not want those precious secrets to simply disappear, so they choose to take those secrets into their tombs and have them sealed away by magical strongholds.

By deciphering and recording such historical materials, archaeologists can greatly enhance their own patriarchal books and all the negative energy particle fields they have collected.

Furthermore, the Witch King's Codex states that while archaeologists themselves do not need legendary historical materials to advance, they do need them to advance to the second level and become expert archaeologists.

Locke asked, "Whose ruins are those in the abyss?"

Warwick hesitated for a moment, but he did want an extra helper, which would increase his chances of conquering the ruins.

Therefore, Warwick said, "That's a relic from the Age of Stars. The Age of Stars has many historical mysteries, and we archaeologists can only explore a small fragment of history."

"In the Age of Stars, there was no distinction between wizarding lands and boundaries, nor were there wizarding academies; there were only one small magical kingdom after another."

"The natural barriers that existed between the various wizarding lands didn't exist in that era. We archaeologists have been tracing why these barriers suddenly appeared and in which specific era they appeared. There are many different opinions."

"Based on our exploration over the years, we have basically determined that although the Age of Stars was chaotic, there were still a few countries that were called 'Hegemons' at the time, and they were the main characters of that era."

"The target of this tomb exploration is the tomb of one of the great overlord kingdoms, the tomb of the wife of the nameless king who almost unified the wizarding world for the third time after the Age of Stars and became the final defeated king of the empire."

"If he had succeeded, he could have significantly altered history, recreating that magical empire from the past, ending the Age of Stars, and changing the present. Unfortunately, he failed."

"And it has left behind many mysteries."

Warwick's eyes lit up with intense interest. "That's right, it's his wife's grave. According to the research of Second Ring archaeologists, the nameless king's former kingdom was called the [Neustria Magic Kingdom], but it was cursed and stripped of its name after failing to unify the kingdom."

"Everything about that nameless king is unknown. All records about him have been erased. We don't know why he failed, or why he died—whether it was suicide, murder, illness, or assassination. We know nothing about the life of that nameless king!"

"Many secrets were hidden behind the Age of Stars. The curse of namelessness has prevented us, the archaeologists of later generations, from determining the specific history of the Nameless King and the Magic Kingdom of Neustria, and has made it even more impossible to determine the specific historical timeline of the Age of Stars."

"But the fourth-circle truth wizard of the Starfield Sea has launched a project to organize the [chronological history] of the Star Age and write the [historical text] of the Star Age! This is a huge project, and countless archaeologists are actively participating in it, aiming to completely trace the true face of the Star Age."

Warwick became extremely excited. "This is the plan released by the Wizard of Truth. If successful, we can completely decipher the Age of Stars and remove the veil from that era. For us archaeologists, there are no secrets; they should remain secrets!"

Locke asked curiously, "The Wizard of Truth? He's the White Wizard?"

The title of Truth Wizard is an honorary title bestowed by the White Wizard Society.

Warwick coughed. "The Starfield Sea doesn't care that much about black wizards and white wizards. Especially us archaeologists, many of our high-ring wizards have official positions there."

"Stop researching the issue of dark wizards and white wizards. Anyway, these things are none of our business." Warwick seemed to know something, and he wanted to say something, but he was also afraid of some kind of power, so Locke always felt uncomfortable whenever he talked about this.

As an archaeologist, knowing some of the secrets yet being unable to reveal them throughout one's life is a source of unimaginable suffering.

Warwick said, "That Wizard of Truth established a unique award—the Istria Archaeology Prize. This award is very important among our archaeologist community, and winners of the first, second, and third rings are selected every year."

"The winner can be an individual or a team."

"The winner of the Istoria Prize will receive a substantial financial reward, as well as prestige and prestige among their peers! Moreover, they will receive a commendation from the Istoria Throne Wizard. There are many benefits."

“The Istoria Prize, to a certain extent, represents our achievements in the field of archaeology!” Warwick said. “With this exploration of the tomb of the nameless king’s wife, we not only have the opportunity to obtain legendary historical materials, but if successful, we can also participate in the Istoria Archaeological Prize as a team.” “The award’s application team can have a maximum of six people; as long as there are six or fewer people, they can apply collectively!”

Warwick said, "It took me a lot of effort to confirm that the abyss ruins were the tomb of the nameless king's wife."

Locke asked in bewilderment, "As you said, you've confirmed that it's the tomb of that nameless king's wife, a major discovery. So why don't you develop it yourself instead of sharing this benefit with us?"

Warwick laughed and said, "I'm not as narrow-minded and short-sighted as ordinary dark wizards. I'm an archaeologist, a wise man, so naturally I can see clearly what's most advantageous to me."

“First of all, there is no essential difference between receiving the Istoria Archaeology Prize and me receiving it alone! On the contrary, it requires tremendous effort to obtain this prize, and I do not believe that I could do it on my own.”

"I'm not very confident."

"Secondly, my real core interest is the legendary historical material needed to advance the Book of the Sect Master to the second ring. Also, I need to obtain the special resources needed to advance to the second ring by winning the Istoria Award and conquering that special abyss ruin."

A look of seriousness appeared on Warwick's face. "But that tomb is extremely dangerous. First of all, I can't be completely certain whether it's the tomb of that nameless king's wife, something no archaeologist can do before deciphering the Abyss ruins."

"If it's a trap... if it's a deceptive cenotaph, or an empty tomb, then that's fine."

"But if it's a trap tomb specifically designed to kill tomb raiders, then it's troublesome. Moreover, the Nameless King suffered a nameless curse back then, so the wizards at the time took many precautions to prevent future wizards from breaking the nameless curse and learning about the Nameless King's life."

“That tomb is extremely dangerous. I only flew over it once before I was in a life-or-death situation,” Warwick said. “Therefore, I need to invite a powerful archaeology professor to work with me. Together, we can use our magical powers and intelligence to conquer that tomb.”

"Of course, I wouldn't be foolish enough to invite archaeologists from the Second Ring Road to go with me. If I did that, I might not even get to drink the soup, let alone eat the meat."

Locke tapped his fingers on the table. "I have a question: why did they cast the nameless king's curse on her, but not on her wife?"

Warwick quickly said, "I think this has something to do with the fact that the nameless king's wife was just a princess from a tiny country, a country that was incredibly small, and he himself was only a first-ring wizard."

"Of course, the biggest reason is that the Nameless King divorced his wife before launching the war."

"This is the main reason why his wife was able to escape unharmed."

"But even the tomb of a princess in the smallest magical kingdom is still dangerous. Most importantly, it may contain the power of the era's curse of exoneration."

"Therefore, cracking it is still extremely dangerous."

Locke nodded slightly. So, before undertaking any great undertaking, that nameless king severed ties with his family to ensure he had no worries about the future?

Warwick stared at Locke. "Want to work together?"

After some thought, Locke told Catherine the witch the general outline of Warwick's invitation to him, but without going into the details. He only mentioned Warwick's so-called Istorian Archaeological Prize and the ancient tomb from the Age of Stars.

He did this to ensure his own safety and to let Catherine the Witch know his approximate location.

Otherwise, it would be too risky for someone to travel alone to the Qionghua Enclave and enter the territory of the black wizards.

Secondly, I need the witch Catherine's permission to leave Mount Golden Crown for such a long time, otherwise my points may be deducted.

Catherine the Witch replied instantly. 'You may go.'

"But since you have the resources, and the Istoria Archaeology Prize can be judged by a maximum of six people, why don't you ask your dark wizard friend if he'd be willing to mentor another first-tier archaeologist?"

"We don't need to share the funding from the Istoria Archaeology Prize here. Traveling with your own lineage of wizards will also provide extra security."

Locke paused for a moment, then received a wizard's resume sent to him by the witch Catherine.

This is a witch who is also an archaeologist, a holy priestess, and a botanical witch.

She was a student of Catherine the Witch when she served as the chief wizarding mentor in other gardens of Mount Golden Crown. Later, she became a full-fledged wizard and chose to stay at the school as a chair wizard.

Judging from this resume, the other party is definitely one of the most direct descendants of Catherine the Great.

Locke then looked at Warwick and asked, "By the way, would you be willing to bring another first-ring archaeologist?"

Locke omitted the mention of Catherine the Witch, saying only that she was his friend, and then recounted her situation to Warwick.

Warwick paused for a moment. "Anything is fine as long as it's within six people. I've only managed to get two people so far, so with you, it'll be three in total."

"I also think we don't have enough manpower to conquer such a difficult tomb. But to enter the River of Abyss, we need either Abyss energy or strong Abyss resistance. Is your friend capable of that?"

"Many archaeologists were excluded from my cooperation scope because they were unable to enter the Abyss River."

Locke knew that since the witch Catherine had made this suggestion to him, it meant that she must have a way to get his senior sister to enter the Abyss Ruins together.

Locke replied, "Of course."

Warwick said, "Then I have no objection. This will also relieve your worries. I have two people on my side, and you have two people on your side. Dynamic balance is the best way to cooperate. But before that, we need to sign a contract overseen by the Eye of Truth. I've already signed one with you, but we need to sign one with her too!"

"You white wizards are at least known for keeping your contracts. As long as you sign a top-level first-stage contract worth 30,000 magic stones, I have no objections."

"She should pay for the contract herself."

Locke inquired about the witch Catherine.

Catherine the Witch replied instantly. 'Of course.'

Locke said to Warwick, "Okay."

Warwick immediately smiled with satisfaction and put the five layers of black magic robes back on his silver wolf head. "Having a disciple of Golden Crown Mountain with me will certainly increase the chances of success."

"This doesn't do me any harm."

"Pleasant to work with."

"Then see you in two months."

Locke saw that he had wrapped himself up into a black 'fur ball' again, and hesitated, wanting to persuade him to stop doing this meaningless performance art, but considering Warwick's sensitive personality, he wisely remained silent.

(End of this chapter)