Wizards: Starting with Synthetic Gems

Chapter 610 The Different Philosophies and the Seeking of Breakthroughs of the Two Major Construction Teams

The intense battle ended just like that, leaving a lasting impression on the judges, both the Sun Ring Wizards and the Third Ring Wizards.

The Grand League Chairman, Wizard Franklin, suppressed a laugh and said, "I checked, and that kid's wizard shoes have already entered Arthas, ranking in the top ten of the Sports Festival's total sales chart. Currently, the sales volume is in the tens of millions, and he can earn at least several million magic stones. He's really a marketing genius. As long as he doesn't get eliminated, he will continue to receive attention."

"I'm really starting to like him more and more."

Franklin the Wizard laughed and said, "It's better than some of our traders who know how to run things."

"Some wizards who have just joined our major league organization are really stubborn."

Roosevelt the Wizard nodded and said, "I didn't expect him to actually beat the Preston Witch. But actually, if the Preston Witch hadn't suffered a bloodline backlash at the end, she might not have lost. That girl was indeed a bit too conventional."

"I never even thought of getting rid of the side effects of my own bloodline."

Roosevelt the Wizard looked at Catherine the Witch and said, "Is that magical plant with abyssal properties the Throne's latest research?"

Ekaterina said, "No. I haven't seen it before."

Roosevelt nodded. "It is indeed a bit rudimentary."

"But if this is his own idea, then it's a different story. This kid has a lot of potential. His future may not stop at being an ordinary second-circle wizard; he's a promising talent among the new generation of Golden Crown Mountain."

Roosevelt the Wizard said, "As for that girl Preston, her stats in all areas are actually higher than Locke Augustine's. Her overall abilities are also higher than Locke Augustine's. However... to surpass the limits of the soul and become a second-circle wizard, one cannot rely on a wizard's comprehensive advantages."

"She seems to have missed the point. Hasn't anyone pointed it out to her?"

Catherine the Witch sighed. "Her parents were both my students. They just doted on their daughter too much. They couldn't bear to see Preston suffer any injustice."

"I can't interfere either."

"Ugh."

"Before the second ring, as long as a wizard has decent talent, we might be able to arrange a good promotion path for her. But facing the second ring... who can guarantee that wizard can plan her future development path?"

The witch Catherine said, "Her parents think they have arranged everything for her. They are my two Sun Ring Wizard students, so I can't say much, after all, they are Sun Ring Wizards."

"Of course, in retrospect, it is indeed necessary to make corrections."

Most of the second- and third-circle wizards remained silent.

As they traveled, they noticed that there were fewer and fewer people traveling with them.

Therefore, they always have more patience and expectation for wizards who have the opportunity to become their companions.

But reality will repeatedly deliver blows to them.

In this world, there are many people who can walk together by chance, but very few who can walk together forever.

Wizard Fisher glanced at the match results with some surprise, but quickly a smile crept onto his face. 'That's fine. In this way, the third generation of the patrol deacons has been defeated by my grandson.'

'The White Dragon Princess of the Academic Committee lost to one of their own. So far, the only wizards who haven't lost a single battle are my grandson and that Locke Augustine. But in this battle, he's already used all his trump cards.'

'Although he's formidable, he's still no match for my grandson.'

Thinking this, Wizard Fischer smiled. 'My grandson will probably come in first place in this magical combat tournament. That will satisfy the Senate's interests.'

'The top three should be occupied by our Golden Crown Mountain. Ideally, first place should go to our Senate, second to the Academic Committee, third to the Inspectorate, fourth to the Land of Ruins Bridge, and fifth... still to our Golden Crown Mountain... We shouldn't have a single first-ring young wizard from Nexus City or Kungudin Academy making it into the top ten.'

Wizard Fisher was already making arrangements with a smile.

He exchanged a glance with Catherine the Witch.

……

In the final match of the fifth day, Locke watched from ring number 1 as Antoine fought Camilla the Witch of the Nexus.

Camilla the Witch started with thirty giant man-eating flowers, the spell model for the [Man-eating Flower Jungle], and she also added three spells that she hadn't added during the battle with Locke.

These are the [Carnivorous Flower Acid Gift Spell], which causes thirty large-mouthed carnivorous flowers to spew out a large amount of acid, and two spells that give the carnivorous flowers steel teeth and make their attacks more active.

With the blessing of these three spells, the magic of Camilla, the witch of the Nexus, seemed to transform into a jungle of steel-like man-eating flowers, constantly launching terrifying attacks on Antoine.

It was like descending upon a primeval jungle.

In that dangerous, dark jungle, a terrifying frenzy of carnivorous plants unfolded—a technique that even Camilla the Witch hadn't used during her battle with Locke.

Of course, a very important reason is that Locke used Full Moon Growth to seal off her carnivorous flower jungle.

This meant that Camilla the witch didn't have time to cast any further spells.

Locke was puzzled. Where did she get these thirty more man-eating flower plants? Did she have some stored before?

Because of the Preston Witch's reminder, Locke decided to focus solely on watching Antoine's battle, even abandoning the observation of other wizards' battles.

He saw that, besides himself, Julian the Witch, Preston the Witch, and some other wizards, as well as the wizard from Quentin College, a wizard from Luxu Bridge, and a witch from the Seven Colors Nursery, were all observing from the side.

On Arena Number 1, magical light flashed from Antoine's ten fingers, and ten elemental spells shot out instantly: fireballs, wind blades, and lightning blades, each one an elemental spell at the first stage of crystallization.

The torrent of ten spells blasted a path through the carnivorous flower jungle. Then, a fiery magic mirror, as tall as a person, automatically jumped out of Antoine's Star Realm Ring. Like a black hole, it absorbed all the acid into it.

“Tch.” Antoine’s eyes darkened. “The witches of the Nexus are a real nuisance. The total amount of magical pressure is just too much.”

"If we had Augustine's Full Moon Growth Magic, it would be much easier to resolve."

"I can accept that the wizards of Golden Crown Mountain have given me a little trouble."

"How dare this mere Demon Pivot City block my path! In that case, it shall be punished!"

Antoine's bronze magic bracelet on his left wrist automatically detached from his arm and transformed into two magical artifacts resembling whirlwind wheels, spinning continuously in mid-air.

One is the Wheel of Thunder.

One is the wheel of wind.

This is a Thunderwind dual-wheel vehicle!

The two demonic wheels sped forward, crashing directly into Camilla the Witch's true form and temporarily clearing away all the carnivorous plants that were blocking their way.

The self-recovery ability of the man-eating flower jungle is useless against high-speed, saturated magic attacks.

The witch Camilla was knocked off the stage the next moment. She covered her mouth and gagged. The next moment, she looked up at Antoine standing on stage number 1.

"An offensive bronze soul artifact..." the witch Camilla murmured to herself.

When a soul artifact attacks a wizard, it will cause some damage to the soul. Even if the arena has special magical protection and there is no physical soul damage, the terrifying attack that directly targets the soul is a phenomenon that is extremely rare to encounter in the natural world.

That kind of soul, nakedly exposed to the outside world, vulnerable to attack, cannot be protected by arena magic.

Therefore, the witch Camilla was still immersed in the lingering fear of the attack.

The wizard Antoine gave her a cold look, put away his magical artifact, and turned to leave the arena.

Seeing this, Locke immediately realized that Antoine's problem was indeed very serious.

His strength doesn't come from having many magical artifacts.

His total magical pressure is so high that it's unreasonable, which is why he can use so many magical artifacts at the same time.

“Those two offensive bronze magical artifacts consumed a tremendous amount of magical pressure. Even I could only control those two bronze magical artifacts at most at the same time,” Locke pondered. “But he was able to control eleven other magical artifacts simultaneously, which required a huge total amount of magical pressure and terrifying control to fully control.”

“Wait a minute.” Locke thought for a moment. “I remember that alchemists have a spell system that can manipulate multiple magical artifacts simultaneously.”

"It can also enhance control over magical artifacts. Alchemists specializing in combat follow an equipment-based approach. But shouldn't the Senate's wizards primarily be power masters?"

Locke pondered, "That doesn't make sense either. Even if Antoine is an alchemist, to support him in simultaneously manipulating so many demanding magical artifacts, he must possess a total magical pressure that is difficult for any individual to achieve."

"My opponents ahead of me, and him, the witch Julian, the wizard of Kungudin, those powerful wizards..."

"To secure a victory, I actually need even greater strength. Haijinsha has been developed to its maximum potential for now, so what should I do?"

Locke thought about his full moon growth, which still had many problems.

I've already identified two problems.

Perhaps we should consider how to solve these two problems.

At this moment, cracks suddenly appeared on the surfaces of the fifth and fourth arenas, followed by a continuous fall of fragments from the two cloud arenas.

Currently, only three arenas remain in the Cloud Arena for the magic combat tournament.

This signifies that the competition has entered its final stage of vying for the championship.

The stands were filled with cheering wizards.

The wizards watching the live stream became more animated as the two cloud arenas collapsed from mid-air.

Off-site betting platforms are emerging one after another.

Everyone placed bets on the players they thought were most likely to win the championship.

Meanwhile, the second-circle wizard host of the spell-fighting tournament stepped forward and coldly announced the final new rules to all the remaining contestants. "There are currently 27 wizards remaining in the competition."

"Therefore, the competition has entered a system of advance notice. The list of all matches for tomorrow is now being released..."

The second-ring wizard host began announcing the competition list.

Locke learned that his fourth match tomorrow would be against the dark horse from Kungudin Academy, while the remaining five matches would be against relatively ordinary players from other wizarding organizations.

Based on my current proficiency with the Peach Bow Thorn Arrow, I only need a maximum of three arrows to deal with these opponents.

The wizard from Kungurdin College—Wizard Mike—walked over carrying a spiral steel staff and said to Locke, "I never thought we'd be facing off tomorrow."

“Locke Augustine, your plant magic is powerful and magnificent, but our spells as architects are as old as mountains, and our hardness is high enough!”

Wizard Mike looked at Locke and said seriously, "This is the first sports festival that Kungudin Academy has participated in at Yunze Wetland! I want my academy's name to be hung on the champion's throne."

“Welcome the challenge.” Locke asked, “I remember Kungudin Academy just moved here, right? They hadn’t participated in the sports festival before. But I’m curious, why did Kungudin Academy leave its original wizarding territory?”

When Wizard Mike saw that Locke was not angry but instead spoke to him calmly, he was taken aback for a moment, and then he said, "You seem to be different from the other wizards of Golden Crown Mountain. You are not so resistant to wizards from the outside world."

"Kunguding Academy originates from a wizarding land called [Nine Plains Mountain]. Kunguding Academy is one of the two top powers there!"

"It's just that our Kungudin Building Materials Academy lost out to the top wizarding academy in the Nine Plains Mountains, the Arcane Foundations Brotherhood."

"At the invitation of the White Wizard Association in Yunze Wetland, we simply left Jiuyuan Mountain and came to Yunze Wetland."

Wizard Mike said confidently, "It's no secret. We, the Kungudin Academy, are not some shameful and despicable outsiders, nor are we here to work as laborers in your Yunze Wetlands."

"We entered Yunze Wetlands with honor and dignity, to wage a battle for academic dominance against your Golden Crown Mountain." "The Arcane Foundations Brotherhood won against us by sheer numbers; our Kungudin Academy absolutely does not endorse their construction philosophy. The Arcane Foundations Brotherhood believes that, as long as conditions are met, efficiency is more important than detail! Our Kungudin architects strive for perfection, but the Arcane Foundations Brotherhood's style is more or less the same."

“We were invited by Yunze Wetland, which believes that our ideas are more suitable for this place.”

Locke nodded slightly.

Indeed, if it were Yunze Wetland, it would certainly place great importance on exquisite items.

Given the different development styles of Kungudin Academy and Arcane Foundation Brotherhood, Cloudweed definitely prefers the former.

In a sense, it's not surprising that Kungudin Building Materials Academy was invited. Architects and earth wizards are also the mainstream magical research areas in Yunze Wetlands, receiving almost as much resource investment as botany and breeding.

Locke said, "I see. The battle for academic status between wizarding organizations is indeed brutal; the losers lose a lot, while the winners gain everything."

“Wizard Mike, I respect your desire to represent Kungudin Building Materials Academy and establish your position in the Golden Crown Mountain region of Yunze Wetland. But…” Locke’s tone shifted. “This competition is also very important to me.”

It concerns whether I can obtain the coordinates of a medium-sized plane that has never been developed by wizards, and it is said that the prize planes for the plane conquest competition are of relatively high quality.

It is a plane carefully chosen by the Wizard of Truth: The Silent Witch.

That's why even the descendants of third-ring wizards have a strong incentive to seize this thing.

Wizard Mike gave Locke a thumbs-up. "Then let's see who's tougher. Let me give you a fair fight; that's the point of any competition."

"Let's see if botanical magic is more sophisticated, or if our architects' buildings are more indestructible."

After saying goodbye, Mike the Wizard turned and left the arena.

Locke, however, did not leave the arena. His first action was to reply to Scarlett the Witch's congratulations.

Scarlett the Witch sent herself a message saying that her product is now among the top three best-selling products in the history of her business.

"Locke, your idea of ​​endorsing your own products is brilliant," Scarlett the Witch said. "By the way, some shop alliances have contacted me asking if you'd be willing to do some product endorsement work; they'll pay you..."

'You currently have very high endorsement value.'

"However, my advice is best not to. After all, those are your competitors. If you work a little harder now, you might make history! Make a pure magical plant wizard shoe reach the top three in sales during a sporting event!"

In a research base of the Arthas Shop Alliance, Scarlett the Witch glanced at her backend and saw a pile of complaint messages.

Meanwhile, Scarlett the Witch ignored some of the easily influenced leaders who warned her to be wary of the weavers' ideas, suggesting that the top ten was about the limit and that marketing efforts could be slowed down.

Scarlett the Witch frowned. "In the Arthas Shop Alliance, sales are king. These leaders have no say in personnel matters or resource allocation for me. I might listen to minor issues, but I have no reason to listen to them on important matters that affect my reputation."

Scarlett the Witch sneered. "Who knows if these people were paid by the Magic Weaver."

"Locke, my good partner, now it's up to you."

At Golden Crown Mountain, in the Cloud Arena, Locke saw the message Scarlett the Witch had sent him, nodded, and then sent an "I understand" emoji.

Next, he searched for the wizards of the City of the Demon in the crowd.

While observing these wizards' battles, I discovered a problem with my Full Moon Growth ability. One major issue was that my magical pressure couldn't sustain the use of Full Moon Growth for too long.

The magic of "Full Moon Growth" originated entirely from his own observation of the Void Beast, and therefore, this magic is still in a semi-finished state.

Locke found his seat on the Nexus side.

A group of wizards from the Nexus were looking at him with wary and distant eyes, but Locke just smiled and didn't seem to care.

The City of Demons and Mount Golden Crown have been vying for academic prestige for many years, and their relationship is very strained.

It's impossible to tell who's right and who's wrong, or who started it in the first place.

Locke looked at Camilla, the first-ring witch prodigy of the younger generation in Nexus.

Locke said, "Witch Camilla, could you come out for a moment? I need to talk to you."

The witch Camilla showed no intention of coming out, remaining seated. "Hmm? What business does our genius researcher from Mount Golden Crown have with me? I'm afraid I cannot entertain you. You weren't going to let me win on the competition stage."

Locke smiled. "I had a very important deal with you. But since you're not interested, then forget it. It's a pity, I originally thought you would be happy to accept this deal."

Locke turned and left without looking back.

Seeing this, the witch Camilla was immediately intrigued. She watched Locke's departing figure, hesitated for a moment, and then said, "Wait."

"In that case, let's find a quiet place to talk."

Locke was not surprised by this.

During the battle, Locke realized that the witch Camilla was an opportunist and extremely greedy.

Therefore, she will definitely agree to make a deal with me.

On the ground, there is Golden Crown Mountain, Dragon Blood Market, and Feathered Serpent Pavilion.

The witch Camilla sat on the sofa in the quiet room and said, "Augustine, tell me. What brings you here?"

Locke handed her one of the two cups of duck head spring tea that the green dragon half-dragon shopkeeper had given him for free. "It's nothing, I just want a piece of natal witch porcelain made in Demon Pivot City."

The witch Camilla had just taken a sip of wizard's tea when she almost spat it out.

She quickly pulled a tissue from the table and wiped her mouth.

Camilla the witch shook her head slightly, her eyes filled with amazement as she looked at Locke.

Witchware is the only academic field with an advantage in the City of the Demon, and the natal Witchware is a new thing that has only been around for the last ten years. It is impossible for wizards outside the City of the Demon to obtain it.

To Camilla's shock, Locke had the audacity to directly demand a piece of the Nexus's natal witch porcelain.

Moreover, he remained completely calm.

Even she, who considered herself an opportunist, was shocked by Locke's request.

So much so that the witch Camilla didn't have time to refute immediately, but instead asked Locke, "You... should know that Mount Golden Crown and Nexus don't have a good relationship, right? You should also know that I'm very unhappy with you for beating me before?"

"You know even better that the Natal Magic Porcelain is currently something only a few elite wizards in our Demon Pivot City possess?"

Locke calmly took a sip of the duck head spring tea. "I know all that you're saying."

The full moon growth currently faces a very serious problem: the magical pressure required to maintain its current scale is something that it cannot provide for an extended period of time.

Expanding the scale and increasing the strength is even more impossible.

However, during his battle with the witch Camilla, he noticed that his natal witch porcelain would combine with the spiritual realm. Therefore, he only needed to combine one of his natal witch porcelains with the spirituality of the magical moon that grows under the full moon, and let this witch porcelain act as the core of the moon, in order to enhance the growth of the full moon.

Of course, this was a risky attempt.

This meant that for the first time, he had combined pure magic with alchemical creation.

Locke said, “I just think there’s always a trade involved. We both have tough battles ahead. So I want to exchange value with you. I can provide you with Tyrant Element No. 2, and you can use that to enhance your thirty Man-Eating Flowers, making them stronger out of thin air.”

"Take your man-eating flower jungle to unprecedented strength."

"This gives you a chance to compete for a top-three finish in the Spellfighting Tournament. Anyway, your Nexus City probably doesn't plan to win this year's championship. Just getting into the top three would be great for you personally."

Camilla the witch's eyes flickered; clearly, she had long harbored designs on Overlord Number 2.

She didn't have any ideas about Locke's Abyss-Transforming Plant, because firstly, it was too dangerous. Unlike Locke, she had no resistance to the abyss, and using such a dangerous thing would only reduce her own combat power.

Second, it is easy to get an ethics review committee involved.

Locke no longer mass-produces magical plants. The cost and pressure of the ethical review mechanism have been transferred to Arthas, whose production bases are located in various colony planes, thus escaping most of the attention of the ethical review committee.

However, the Abyss Plants are very special, and the ethics review committee will likely take notice immediately.

Furthermore, Locke does not yet have the technology to mass-produce Abyss Devourer Sea Gold Sand, so Locke has no plans to promote Abyss Devourer Sea Gold Sand.

The Abyss Devourer, Sea Gold Sand, has lost its ability to reproduce normally and can only be transformed using a magical potion.

To concoct this potion, even a second-ring potion master would likely not be able to do so without specialized training.

The difficulty in crafting the Abyss Devourer Potion, along with the cost of its materials, makes it more than ten times harder to obtain than the No. 2 Overlord Essence.

The two are not comparable.

The two are not comparable in terms of danger.

The second Overlord, Solock, still has the ability and confidence to mass-produce at the first stage, but the Abyss Devourer Potion is a different story.

Even I'm afraid of losing control of this thing.

At this moment, the witch Camilla deliberately put on airs. "So this is what you came to see me about."

“Locke Augustine, what you said is very good and correct. It’s a pity that I just don’t want to make the deal the way you suggested. It’s such a shame.”

Camilla the witch looked at Locke triumphantly, anticipating the look of regret on his face.

Locke, however, remained calm.

Locke had no intention of forcing the issue; if Camilla the Witch didn't work, they would try someone else.

Locke nodded. "I understand. In that case, let's leave it at that."

Locke stood up abruptly.

Since things have already been said to this extent, there's no need for me to force it, and it's not like she's the only one with access to purchase my personal Wu porcelain.

Camilla the witch was taken aback. As an opportunist, she felt a pang of heartache, as if she had lost a treasure out of thin air.

The more Locke acted this way, the more she wanted to make a deal with him.

The witch Camilla exclaimed in astonishment, "Wait, you're not going to persist? Aren't you going to give it a try?"

Locke turned to look at her. "In fact, you've already rejected me twice. If you're not willing to cooperate, then there's really no reason for us to continue wasting our time."

Locke left the quiet room immediately.

Camilla the witch's expression changed several times. She realized that Locke wasn't deliberately manipulating her; he had genuinely changed his target in an instant.

This made her, an opportunist, feel as if she had lost money.

"Wait a minute, Locke."

She chased after him, catching up to him in the corridor. "I think I can indeed make a deal with you. After all, the Zodiac Porcelain isn't as mysterious as you think."

(End of this chapter)