Wizards: Starting with Synthetic Gems

Chapter 586 A War Disguised as a Competition!

Locke was taken aback by Milady's request, but then realized that it was due to the difference in perspective between a third-ring wizard and a first-ring wizard.

For a first-ring wizard, the most important thing is making money. For a third-ring wizard, the most important thing is still making money, but in addition to making money, there is also academic development.

The strength of a particular discipline can directly affect whether someone can be crowned a king or become a fourth-circle wizard.

Some less prestigious disciplines can only achieve the highest level of achievement at the Sun Ring level, which is completely insufficient to help a third-ring wizard be selected as a Throne Wizard.

Therefore, when a third-circle wizard develops a new technology or a new substance, he basically has to balance making money, gaining fame, and contributing to the overall development of the discipline.

But for me, the most important thing is still making money.

Although No. 2 Overlord Element cannot completely overturn the market of No. 1 Overlord Element, No. 1 Overlord Element's special combination with magical plant species, rich existing technology chain, and numerous practitioners are all its advantages.

However, the No. 2 Overlord Element can indeed tear off a piece of fat from the Overlord Cultivation Method.

Therefore, the most important thing for me right now is not selling the King Pineapple, as that would give away a large portion of the profits to other wizards.

Most importantly, we need to use the Overlord Essence to develop our own Overlord Magic Plant and launch a series of Overlord Magic Plant products.

Similarly, one can sell some of the successfully extracted Tyrant Essence to wizards to use Tyrant Essence No. 2 for Tyrant Cultivation.

Of course, this needs to be done within a certain limit.

Because doing this, objectively speaking, is also helping the No. 1 Overlord Element to prepare in advance for the impact of the No. 2 Overlord Element.

If I were to reveal the No. 2 Overlord Element right now, so that everyone could use it.

At that moment, the stock prices of all No. 1 Overlord Su would plummet, and countless shareholders and industry professionals would hold a grudge against them.

But doing so would not benefit him, as he had no production line for monopolistic cultivation and no second product besides Lygodium japonicum.

By doing this, you are still creating a cake for others to eat.

Competing against teams of breeders with second-ring wizards or even third-ring masters, he had absolutely no chance of winning.

Therefore, the best course of action for him at present is to license the No. 2 Overlord Essence to other interested wizards, allowing the high-ring wizards' research groups to develop it for him, while he can then launch his own series of No. 2 Overlord Transformed Magic Plants.

In this way, one can leverage their first-mover advantage and pioneering advantage to maximize their own benefits while reducing their own pressure.

Otherwise, with so many wizards losing money in the stock market, one person alone cannot withstand so much hostility.

Locke shared his thoughts with the wizard Milady.

Immediately, the second-circle wizard of the Rose Council on the judging panel breathed a slight sigh of relief.

What he feared most was Locke, who, in order to gain fame, directly revealed the seeds of the King Pineapple—something that first-ring wizards were very likely to do.

But now Locke wants to collaborate with the High Ring Wizard to develop the marginal value of Tyrant Element 2, which means his team still has time to deal with market shocks.

If that's the case, he really doesn't need to get so emotional.

The second-circle wizard of the Rose Council remained seated, his mind still a little fuzzy. "I originally hoped this would help my research group produce some results, some papers, to help us apply for the Young Cadre Fund."

'But now I'm so shocked by this young, first-ring wizard. It's a pity my ship is too big to turn around. The equipment, personnel, and all the plans are already in place.'

The second-circle wizard looked at Locke's project report, reading the data on Tyrannosaurus Rex #2. He calmed down. 'Although there have been many twists and turns, my research group doesn't need to change course. Tyrannosaurus Rex #2 hasn't completely overwhelmed Tyrannosaurus Rex #1; it's only slightly superior.'

'But Tyrannosaurus Rex No. 1 has a first-mover advantage and a mature industry chain,' the Moon Ring Wizard quickly judged. 'There's no need to change course, nor is there any need to switch the research focus from Tyrannosaurus Rex No. 1 to Tyrannosaurus Rex No. 2.'

'Currently, only one type of magical plant has been successfully cultivated using the No. 2 Overlord Essence, and the technology is still in its early stages. Although it's quite impressive that a first-ring wizard has achieved this, it's still powerless against the mature market behind the No. 1 Overlord Essence. At least for the next fifty years, it shouldn't be a major problem.'

'After all, there's only one successful example of modifying a single-ring magical plant among the No. 2 Overlord Element plants.'

Sith George, who was standing nearby, saw this scene. He was not an expert in tyranny breeding, so he did not realize that Tyranny No. 2 would have a huge impact on the tyranny breeding market.

I just thought it was a slightly special natural magical ingredient structure.

But when he saw the attitude of the two experts in the subdivided fields of hegemony cultivation, he immediately realized that the No. 2 hegemony element was not simple.

Sith George looked at Locke with admiration, then at the Celtic group leader with surprise. 'Strange. I'm Her Majesty's right-hand man, personally training many researchers for her. Why aren't such outstanding talents prioritized for our group two?'

"Especially our research project in Group Two is currently facing significant difficulties, and this is precisely the time when we need talent."

On the stage of the defense, Master Milady smiled. "Oh, is that so? Then I wonder if we can reach a cooperation agreement? I have a research group that specializes in the cultivation technology of Overlord Plants, and we have raised the current highest level of Overlord Plant cultivation technology from the original Star Ring level magical plants to above the Moon Ring level magical plants. Our achievements in the Cloud Marsh Wetland are world-renowned."

"If you collaborate with my research group, then Locke, you can also obtain a huge amount of funding."

Master Milady said, "Moreover, advancing the process of cultivating dominance based on dominance element 2 requires a lot of resources."

Master Milady gestured. "Going it alone is completely impossible."

"I can give you a licensing fee, a monthly payment. If the No. 2 Overlord Element system is established, you will gain immense fame! I truly believe in your future, Little Locke!"

Locke knew this too.

He wasn't stupid enough to develop the dominance technology on his own; such an approach would be completely inconsistent with his need for money and experience.

Locke cautiously said to Master Milady, "Master, regarding this matter, I need to consult my mentor, the witch Catherine, before I can give you an answer."

This invitation came from a third-ring wizard, so I could only ask my teacher to intervene, because there are many things I don't understand about high-ring wizards.

It would be far too dangerous for a low-level wizard to directly cooperate with a wizard who is five major levels below him.

Master Milady said, "I am a close friend of the witch Catherine. Perhaps I can ask her if it is possible to have Mount Golden Crown and Cassilos University jointly train you."

"Alright. I think no member of the judging panel has any objections to your presentation and will reject it. Thank you for giving us a wonderful presentation."

Milady the Wizard laughed.

Locke breathed a sigh of relief. This time, he did not submit a first-class grant application because he had not yet decided whether to develop more pineapple-type magical plant mechanism analyses or to focus on in-depth dominance cultivation technology.

Both of these routes are eligible to apply for the first-class grant project from the Zhenzhi Institute.

But I must choose the path that will benefit me the most, and my greatest interest right now is to become a second-circle wizard.

Therefore, he is considering which path to take next. He needs to spend some time refining his future direction before applying for a first-class project grant from the True Knowledge Institute.

After bowing to the judges, Locke left the meeting room. He noticed that many wizard representatives from the Shop Alliance followed him.

This time, however, Locke did not stop, but quickly left.

He had a stable partnership with Arthas and had also gained fame.

If there is a second product, it can be sold in Alsace, and a contract can be signed with Alsace. There is absolutely no need to negotiate cooperation with other store alliances.

Those shops that lack strength often go bankrupt every year; if you rashly cooperate with them, you'll only end up getting ripped off.

Locke saw the Celtic group leader, followed him, and immediately walked with him into a corridor and entered an empty classroom.

The Celtic group leader stepped forward and congratulated Locke, saying, "Locke, congratulations on passing the second-class grant project of the True Knowledge Institute."

"You asked me to look up information about your opponents in the Spellfighting Tournament. I urgently asked one of my former students, a first-ring wizard, from another campus of Golden Crown Mountain, to spend some time compiling the information for you."

"This is not good. You have a lot of competitors this year."

Locke looked at the Celtic team leader and said, "Thank you, team leader. But what's wrong?"

The Celtic group leader found a seat and said, "As you know, for a wizard to break through to the second ring, they need to cross the soul limit a second time. It requires a lot of resources, and even a certain amount of luck, as well as many years of hard work."

"The Spellfighting Tournament is related to the Silent Grail Plane Conquest Tournament. Many wizards who have been stuck at the first stage for years see this as an opportunity for them. But those people are another story; their gambler mentality is not worth mentioning."

The Celtic team leader looked at Locke and said, "The key point is the two types of people I'm about to mention. The reward for the Silent Grail Plane Conquest Tournament is a completely new plane coordinate. Therefore, this will attract two types of people to participate in the related competitions."

"The first type is the true genius, who does not want any flaws in his great magic."

"The second type consists of individuals with strong backgrounds who are not worried about colonization opportunities in ordinary colonization planes, but who need a completely new colonization plane coordinate."

The Celtic leader said, "This time, there's a wizard with a very powerful background—Antoine Fisher."

"His magical pressure reached the first-ring limit of 9999, making him a senior researcher at the Golden Crown Mountain True Knowledge Institute, one of the five mentors there. But he didn't get in through exams. His father is a third-ring wizard. Most importantly, he's a member of the Senate."

"The Fisher family is one of the founding members of the Council of Elders, and they have a very powerful family background. Antoine Fisher is a wizard who was pushed out by the Fisher family to seize the opportunity to participate in the Silent Grail Plane Conquest Tournament."

"I heard that the Fisher family prepared a large number of magical artifacts, spell scrolls, and high-level magic wands for him for this competition."

"They even asked a second-circle wizard to use powerful magic to temper his magical pressure."

Locke looked puzzled.

Seeing that he didn't understand, the Celtic leader simply stretched out his left hand, and a bright green vetiver grass appeared in his hand. The seeds on the surface of the vetiver grass fell, and instantly one grass turned into a group of grasses.

The vetiver grass multiplied and grew into a grassland.

Locke immediately realized that it was the Celtic leader's ultimate magic.

In an instant, the immense demonic pressure descended upon him like a sun, and he felt as if he were a person without an outer garment in the freezing cold.

To counteract this pressure, one's own magical pressure can only continuously condense, and one's own permanent defensive force field automatically compresses to resist this bone-chilling feeling.

'Is this ultimate magic? This is the first time a wizard has used ultimate magic on me, just holding back the attack, and I feel a sense of despair.' Locke's eyes seemed to conjure up a vast, geological-scale grassland."

It blends seamlessly with the distant azure sky.

The total amount of magical pressure cannot even be calculated in terms of individual biological entities; it can only be measured by the total amount of magical pressure in natural phenomena.

One wizard is equivalent to one region!
This is a second-circle wizard.

The Celtic leader said, "You see, a second-circle wizard's ultimate spell puts immense pressure on a first-circle wizard. Faced with my ultimate spell, you can only automatically compress your permanent defensive field out of self-preservation. This can bring you two benefits: first, it helps you progress quickly and increase your magic pressure."

"Secondly, under the pressure of the magical tidal winds generated by my immense magic, your magical pressure will become extremely solid. This can slightly increase your chances of advancing to the second ring. But the greatest improvement will still be in battle!"

"If you can adapt to the suppression of the radiation zone of a normal second-circle wizard's ultimate magic at all times, wouldn't you have a huge advantage in battles against others of the same level?!"

"Like standing on a high place, looking down at the low place."

The Celtic leader withdrew his powerful magic and looked up to see Locke staring at him with a surprised expression. "What's wrong, little Locke?"

Locke shook his head slightly. "It's nothing. I didn't expect you to be so capable, team leader."

The Celtic team leader immediately puffed out his chest. "Of course. I'm your direct superior, after all!"

He felt he had gained some 'adoration' from Locke, which made him very happy.

"Although I didn't have the means to obtain a flawless World Stone, I became a second-circle wizard by using a World Stone from a mid-level plane that was in the possession of the wizarding organization I originally came from."

This was the first time Locke had heard the Celtic leader mention his past. "I thought you were from Golden Crown Mountain, leader."

The Celtic leader shook his head. "I'm not. I come from the medium-sized wizarding organization, Tranquil Garden, but Tranquil Garden has been disbanded because of... the Abyss War. There's also war in the Three Swamps, but those are dimensional wars."

“If I were a wizard native to Mount Golden Crown, would I speak with such a lack of confidence? You brat, no, let’s get back to the point.” The Celtic leader coughed and said, “Antoine Fisher is the one the Senate has put forward to compete for a spot in the Plane Conquest Tournament.”

“He enjoys the baptism of the great magic of a second-circle wizard every day, a luxury that ordinary people can never obtain.”

"In addition, a third-generation member of the Academic Committee is also participating in the competition. It's impossible that the Inspection Deacon Group didn't react, so they also put forward one."

"Besides that, you also have a lot of magical pressure that makes you a match for 9999. They are genuine researchers from the True Knowledge Institute. Although they don't have a strong background, they have the talent to compete with you."

"Furthermore, the Games Festival is not just a local event for Golden Crown Mountain. The essence of the Games Festival is that Golden Crown Mountain will demonstrate its strength to the major wizarding organizations in the vicinity."

"Therefore, on that day, there will also be a large number of wizards from other wizarding organizations, all of whom are wizarding geniuses with a magic pressure of 9999. They have gathered the power of their entire school to cultivate you, the pride of Mount Golden Crown, to make a name for yourselves on that day."

Locke pondered for a moment. "So, the sports festival is just another form of show of force by Golden Crown Mountain?"

The Celtic leader nodded. "You can understand it that way. So, don't underestimate the Spellfighting Tournament just because you think it's an ordinary competition. I have absolute faith in your research abilities and your supernatural intuition. But the Spellfighting Tournament is not an ordinary competition; it's... a war!"

"Because so many people died in face-to-face war, war was turned into an invisible sporting event. In our Yunze Wetland, this is what we call a sporting event."

"Locke, you're going to compete against the younger generation of wizards from our Golden Crown Mountain region, and win by force. Are you really prepared for this?!"

(End of this chapter)