Wizards: Starting with Synthetic Gems

Chapter 627 Grace or Death?

After Locke left, the witch Catherine looked at Douglas, who was the second person to be brought out of the wizard prison by the second-ring witcher and taken into the office.

When Douglas saw the Catherine the Witch, his eyes lit up, as if a person in dire straits had seen their hope.

The witch Catherine said, "I have reviewed your interview materials. Unfortunately, your abilities still do not meet the requirements of Golden Crown Mountain, therefore you have been imprisoned in the wizard prison."

"But considering you helped my students, I'm willing to give you a chance. I'll let you redeem yourself by becoming my teaching assistant at Jinmian Mountain."

"This way you can escape the White Wizarding Association's wizarding prison. Do you want it? Do you want my grace, or death?"

At this moment, Douglas felt that fate was playing tricks on him. In this week, he first went to the Wizarding Court and was tried by the holy wizards of the Wizarding Court, and then went to the wizarding prison that was comparable to purgatory.

He never wanted to go back to that terrible, magic-free prison. Just when he was about to despair, having almost thought he would spend the rest of his life there and that the Witch King within him was not reacting at all, the witch Catherine suddenly sent witchers to the wizard prison to take him out.

This made Douglas feel much more grateful and awe towards Catherine the Witch, the powerful Throne Wizard.

Douglas's eyes burned with fervor as he bowed to the witch Catherine. "Your Majesty, perhaps you cannot trust me, but I am truly willing to work for you. Thank you for giving me this opportunity."

“You rescued me from the wizard prison; you are my benefactor.”

The witch Catherine said, "What put you in the wizard prison was the law of the holy wizards, and your past foolishness."

"But let's make this clear first: even the throne wizard of Mount Golden Crown cannot disregard the orders of the Wizarding Court. You are currently a convict, but if you behave well in the future, I can exempt you from punishment, allow you to start anew, and give you a fresh start."

"But if you don't perform well, you will still have to go back to the wizard prison."

A hint of fear did appear on Douglas's face.

After being possessed by the Three Rings Witch King, he had a smooth and successful life. Even when something went wrong, in the end, others always suffered losses while he benefited.

He believed he had the help of a third-ring wizard, and this led to an unwarranted sense of pride.

And there's this feeling of self-importance and familiarity with these high-ring wizards.

But only after experiencing this ordeal did he truly understand the meaning of the impermanence of life.

Only now did he truly develop a deep sense of awe for the High Ring Wizard.

At this moment, Catherine the Witch sent people to bring him out of the wizarding prison, and he even thought, 'Luckily, His Majesty the Throne seems relatively easy to talk to. Otherwise, I wouldn't have passed the Golden Crown Mountain interview, and according to what was said before, I would definitely have gone to the wizarding prison.'

When he was asked to leave and taken to his teaching assistant position by the Witcher, he still had a surreal feeling, as if he had just woken up from a dream.

'I've just joined the most prestigious wizarding academy on Mount Golden Crown?' Douglas thought to himself. 'The Throne Lord is truly a good man.'

'If I hadn't met this kind person, I would definitely be dead. Compared to my dark wizard mentor, Her Majesty the Throne is already very kind. From now on, I will work hard for her to repay her kindness in recognizing my talent.'

At this moment, the second-ring witcher glanced at him and sneered. "Little dark wizard, you're lucky. If it weren't for His Majesty the Throne's special favor, you'd still be serving time in the wizarding prison. How could he possibly make you an assistant instructor at Golden Crown Mountain?"

"Starting today, you will be working in Group 6 of the True Knowledge Institute, assisting the researchers. You must meet all their requests. Your future will be determined by your work performance. Remember, you are not here to work, but to serve the community and atone for your sins."

Douglas's eyes dimmed.

It seems he was too optimistic. While Catherine the Witch was kind, her second-circle wizards might not treat him well.

Douglas thought to himself, there are so few wizards who are not prejudiced against dark wizards, like the Throne Lord who gives them, these misguided young people, chance after chance.

Douglas could only bow to the second-ring witcher before him and say, "My lord, I understand. I will work hard."

The second-ringed Witcher tossed him a form. "This is the original sentence you were convicted of. According to the law, you would serve 150 years of unpaid labor. Now, all of this punishment can be materialized into your workload at the Institute of True Knowledge, and your wages will be based on the number of years of your sentence."

“If you can earn enough to offset these sins, then you’re a free man.” The second-ring witcher looked at him with displeasure. “Of course, as for you dark wizards… I’d rather you rot. Utterly destroyed.”

"Frankly, I don't believe you scum have any chance of reforming. Many of my classmates and students died at the hands of you dark wizards..."

"You say you were just a nobody in the dark wizarding world before? Ha! If you ask me, no dark wizard has clean blood flowing through their veins."

The second-ring witcher roughly slipped a magic ring onto his right thumb. "This is a witcher's tracking ring. No matter where you run, we'll find you."

"The ring itself has the function of constantly absorbing your magic power. Your normal magic power will be suppressed. If you dare to run away, this ring will kill you. If His Majesty hadn't asked me to remind you, I really wouldn't want to say this."

Douglas could only manage a wry smile; he never expected that he would be arrested simply for coming to Golden Crown Mountain to watch a sporting event.

If he had known this would happen, he shouldn't have listened to the Witch King and given that emerald cat's eye stone to Locke Augustine.

The second-ring witcher looked towards the door, a slight expression appearing on his face. "Mason Witch, this is the man assigned to your work. Take him back; if he dares to escape, kill him without mercy."

“I have already transferred control of the magic ring he wears on his thumb to all the researchers in your laboratory.”

Mason the Witch bowed respectfully to the Witcher. "Yes, sir."

After the witcher left, Mason looked at him coldly. Unlike her enthusiasm for Locke, Mason's gaze towards the dark wizard was filled with curiosity, fear, caution, and disgust.

“Come with me. We have a lot of work to do. It just so happens that our small group is a research team with Locke Augustine at its core. We have three second-class grant projects that need to be completed as soon as possible. I’m too embarrassed to ask our boss to help us, so we should handle this small matter ourselves.”

"So, you do have a lot of work to do."

Douglas was extremely frustrated. He lowered his head and followed behind Mason Witch down the corridor.

At that moment, he finally heard the voice of the Witch King Lagmamon, "Douglas, you have finally infiltrated Mount Golden Crown."

Douglas stiffened. He had been unable to contact King Lagmamon for the past week and had assumed that the king had left him.

Douglas, suppressing his excitement, asked, "Teacher, where have you been this past week? Why haven't you shown up?"

Lagmamon's voice responded: 'For the past week, the witch Catherine has maintained a certain level of attention on you. I wasn't sure if she could detect me, so I dared not appear before her. Now that she has finally lifted her extra attention, I dare to speak to you.'

"But don't worry, I've read your memories from your soul this past week and know what happened. The wizard's prison... it's somewhat similar to the supernatural purgatory of our time. It seems that no matter the era, these things will always exist..."

Douglas was incredibly excited. 'Teacher, that's wonderful. Now that you're here, I know what to do. And it turns out the Throne has been watching me all along, that's great! She must be willing to give me a chance…'

'...' King Lagmamon fell silent. 'Yes, if that's how you see it, then it truly only brings you benefits, not harm. That's fine with you too.'

Lagmamon wisely refrained from explaining that Catherine the Witch's treatment of him was merely an attempt to bestow a favor upon him. In truth, Lagmamon had the ability to help him pass the interview, but midway through, he suddenly sensed a bleak and hopeless future. This realization jolted him awake; if he were to actually help the boy pass the test, the boy would surely die!
The only way to avoid death and being imprisoned in the wizarding prison is to demonstrate some value while also having the opportunity to receive favors from the witch Catherine.

Only in this way could the powerful witch believe him.

They believed they could turn him into their own loyal followers.

Otherwise, that powerful witch might think that her cheap student has grown up and can no longer be nurtured or tamed.

Realizing this, King Lagmamon immediately began to feign death.

King Lagmamon was filled with awe. 'In every era… there are powerful wizards pursuing eternal power. These wizards are often figures who manipulate the winds of change, wielding immense influence over their time. Meeting that witch Catherine, I seem to see in her some of the qualities of those powerful wizard kings of the past.'

King Lagmamon said to Douglas, “Douglas, however you joined Mount Golden Crown, you are now here. Since you have joined by chance, seize the opportunity. You are indeed a lonely prisoner now, but you can become a shining star of Mount Golden Crown in the future.”

"Don't be discouraged by your current predicament. Believe me, as long as you seize the opportunity, you will turn things around sooner or later!"

“Douglas, I will help you. Besides, getting involved in the basic research of this era will also benefit me. Don’t forget, you have a third-circle wizard as a cheat code; with my help, you will shine brightly in basic research!”

Douglas seemed thoughtful, his eyes revealing a bright interest in the future.

Indeed, with the help of a third-ring wizard, he would quickly excel in basic research.

……

At Dragonblood Market Castle, Locke entered the Golden Peach Garden, found Trader Bruce, and purchased sixty beech trees for 360,000 magic stones.

Trader Bruce looked at Locke with a puzzled expression and said, "Mr. Augustine, I watched your previous matches. You are truly a capable wizard. But why are you buying so many beech trees this time..."

Locke smiled but did not answer.

The previous situation was special, but it's impossible for me to use the Queen's Chessboard every time I develop a No. 2 Overlord Cell Conjugate; that would be too extravagant and unnecessary.

Using sixty beech trees, it is entirely possible to cultivate the corresponding No. 2 tyrannosaurus cell conjugate that can be used.

This will save a lot of magic stones.

It offers good value for money.

Moreover, it is estimated that at least half of these sixty beech trees will eventually be added to their own forest sanctuary.

It doesn't need to be completely eliminated.

Locke said to Bruce, the trader, "Take me to pick up the goods."

After they finished picking up the goods, Trader Bruce said, "Mr. Augustine, the hidden showroom recently received another batch of luxury magical plants. Would you like to take a look? Each one is very useful..."

Locke waved his hand, indicating that he didn't really need it right now. "I don't need it for the time being. I'll contact you if I need it again in the future."

He left the shop and went to a shop in the Dragonblood Gathering that sold portable magic mirrors, or magic glasses.

Locke glanced at the witch shopkeeper, who was in charge of greeting him during his first stage of vaporization, then took out the letter of introduction that Catherine the Witch had written for him. "I want to see your boss..."

The witch shopkeeper instinctively said, "Boss, we don't see outsiders."

But when she saw the emblem representing Catherine the Witch on the letter, the witch's face immediately showed surprise, and she nodded slightly to Locke and said, "I'm sorry, sir, it turns out you are a student of the boss's good friend."

"Please come with me. The boss said that if you are that person's student, you can go directly into the lounge without an appointment."

Locke followed her into the staff lounge and waited for a while. About half an hour later, Locke finally saw a blonde elven witch with a monocle over her left eye and an exaggerated pointed wizard's hat walking towards him.

The witch seemed a little confused, with a bird feather still stuck to her hat. At that moment, the shopkeeper couldn't resist and reached out to remove the bird feather from her hat.

The witch glanced groggily at the bird feather in the shopkeeper's hand. "How rude of me! I don't want to be laughed at by Catherine for this."

"I made sure I tidied myself up before I came out."

The female shopkeeper said respectfully to her, "Boss, it's possible that when you went out to deal with that bald-tailed phoenix, this phoenix feather fell onto your hat."

The Victoria witch said, "Oh, that must have been when it fell onto my hat."

The Victoria Witch winked at Locke, seemingly bribing him. "Little one, could you please not tell my best friend about this embarrassing incident?"

Locke bowed to the third-circle alchemist. “Your Excellency Victoria, you flatter me. You are my elder, and I felt your majesty from the first moment I met you.”

The witch Victoria paused for a moment, then smiled with slight surprise. "I never expected Katya's last disciple to have this kind of personality. It's really interesting; Katya's students are usually very serious. Hmm... maybe Katya is just intimidating. I was her classmate back in school, and I always thought she was a very serious person."

The Victoria witch recalled for a moment and said, "The atmosphere around Katya would involuntarily become serious. Katya rarely joked with others."

Locke estimated that Katya was the nickname Catherine the Witch used by her close friends.

The Victoria Witch looked at Locke and said, "By the way, what was Katya's purpose in sending you here to see me?"

Locke immediately said to her, "Teacher, I would like to purchase the Celestial Light contact lenses from you."

The witch Victoria's expression instantly turned serious. She extended her left hand, took the letter of recommendation from Locke, and began to read it carefully. "Since it's her suggestion, I naturally have no objection."

“I can sell it to you at cost price. Two million magic stones each. Well, that cost price doesn’t include labor costs. But if the magic artifact is damaged later, apart from my laboratory, I don’t think any alchemist would be able to repair it.”

Do you know what Cosmos contact lenses are?

Locke shook his head honestly. "The Victorian witch, I don't know."

The Victoria witch took a small contact lens from her astral ring. "Try putting this on your right eye. It's okay, you can try it."

Locke hesitated for a moment, then opened his right eyelid and placed the contact lens over his right pupil.

　There won't be a third update today. The author needs to work on the outline, so updates will only be around 11,000 to 12,000 words per day. Otherwise, it's too fast, which isn't good. I need to polish the story and prepare for the Abyss Ruins.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)