Wizards: Starting with Synthetic Gems

Chapter 656 is not an ancient flower of plants!
On the surface of the Abyss River, black water churns, demon fish leap, and countless abyssal worms stir beneath the surface. The ecosystem within the vast Abyss River is more complex and sophisticated than that of many other planes.

However, the River of Abyss is extremely dangerous. Without special equipment, even Locke at this moment would not dare to venture deep into it, for fear of entering the Abyss Reincarnation System, which would mean certain death.

On the ferry, Locke and the witch Shirley stood on it and handed over the last two underworld coins they had to the ferryman of the underworld.

The ferryman of the underworld rowed his boat, taking the two of them towards the direction of the Ashes Cult Academy.

The witch Shirley pondered, “You’ve analyzed many things with me along the way. If that’s the case, then I believe everything about the Loom Princess was altered by the agents of the Tower of the Black Sun. Then, in some era, a wizard witnessed this and wrote his name on the princess’s empty coffin.”

“Maxwell the Wizard, I wonder who he is. All I can say is that wizarding civilization has a long history, and every era has its own outstanding talents,” Shallie the Witch added. “Of course. You and I are just tiny figures in this wizarding world right now. Today, wizarding civilization has reached unprecedented prosperity.”

“Even you and I, junior brother, are just ordinary members of this era.”

The witch Shirley said, "But since everything about the princess has been altered, how much of the contents of that tomb are false and how much are true?"

Locke pondered, "I estimate that the parts about King Otto are all true. But everything about the princess, except for the fact that she actually existed and the parts related to King Otto that can be confirmed, is probably false."

“We can use cross-validation. We can use Otto’s part to prove the authenticity of the princess’s experiences. Moreover, the Tower of the Black Sun must have tampered with the princess’s echoes… The echoes erupting from the city center are very likely not the princess’s echoes, but Otto’s.”

"It's not a complete echo, but more like fragments of an echo."

"This explains why when we entered the space of that historical landmark curse, the main focus was on King Otto, and the primary perspective was also on King Otto."

Locke pondered, "There's one more thing, is the princess... really a first-ring witch?"

Shirley the witch's pupils suddenly shrank.

Locke asked, "Is the princess really dead? If the messenger from the Tower of the Black Sun enters the tomb and doesn't find the princess's body, what will he do?"

The witch Shirley pondered, "Then he must have stayed in the mortal world, trying his best to find the princess. He must have left traces; perhaps at this very moment, archaeologists have already found the traces he left behind."

"As long as we can find relevant traces, we can corroborate this view."

"But what you've said is, so far, just a guess."

Locke nodded. "It is indeed just a guess."

Locke said, "Now I understand why my Wizard King's Codex says, 'The first principle of archaeology is to learn how to ask questions!'"

"Only by learning how to ask questions can we conduct archaeological work better."

The witch Shirley nodded. "Junior Brother Locke, I hope you won't tell your two dark wizard friends about this part of the Loom Princess's speculation."

Locke looked at the witch Shirley with a strange expression.

The witch Shirley said, "This is what I think. The main purpose of the four of us exploring this ruin together is actually to find the historical truth of the nameless king, the reason for his demotion, and to discover the mortal era."

"Then our entire plan has been perfectly executed."

"As for the part about the princess, firstly, the evidence is not complete, and secondly, it is additional content that we two discovered independently."

"There's no need to share with the two dark wizards."

"Secondly, this matter concerning the princess is very relevant, as you yourself mentioned. The curse of disgracing the princess is still sealed. So, may we leak information about her?"

Locke glanced at the witch Shirley, then closed his eyes. "Within the space of the Historical Boundary Curse, my supernatural abilities are becoming increasingly apparent."

"Let me use my intuition to tell you what will happen if we reveal this part of the princess's information..."

The next moment, Locke opened his eyes. "We will die. Die in the cracks of fate."

“I can foresee that if we really reveal this news, our luck will turn very bad. Misfortune will befall us. Of course, it is already affecting us now. It’s just that our magical pressure has reached 9999, and our fates are heavy. It’s not something that such a small curse can easily affect us.”

“But if we really spread the news about the princess,” Locke said bitterly, “that would be giving the world’s archaeological wizards their wish, and sacrificing the two of us to them.”

The witch Shirley nodded and said, "Even if your two dark wizard friends find out about this later, they won't blame you. Archaeological research is inherently full of taboos, unlike other research. There are many rules."

“Curses from ancient times are not uncommon. I currently have no fewer than seven.”

"So, I don't really care about that. It's just a necessary price to pay for exploring the ancient past."

Locke nodded slightly and put the Angel's Tear bracelet on his wrist. In that instant, his gradually emerging supernatural abilities were immediately blocked. Before that, Locke could feel that the faint misfortune that was wrapped around him was also blocked by this second-ring magic artifact.

The witch Shirley looked at Locke and smiled, "Locke, this time we have to thank your super-intuitive ability for detecting the logical paradox. That's how we discovered the hidden truth."

"Your super intuition is getting stronger and stronger."

Locke looked up at the witch Shirley, and what he really wanted to say was that his supernatural abilities had only just awakened and were still very weak.

The reason he didn't discover much was largely because he had indeed noticed that the princess appeared too infrequently within the space of the Historical Boundary Marker Curse, and that eerie feeling lingered in his mind.

But the witch Shirley seemed to think that it was mainly her super intuition that worked, and Locke thought about it and decided that it was fine.

There's no need to emphasize how smart you are.

The witch Shirley said, "I've heard my teacher say that if you use your supernatural abilities too much, you'll lose the ability to distinguish between reality and prophecy. Junior brother, do you really have this tendency? I'm not a prophet, so I'm really curious."

"I don't know what that feeling is like."

Locke looked at the witch Shirley's curious eyes, pursed his lips and said, "Senior sister, I don't know what that feeling is like either."

The main reason is that I have just gained supernatural abilities and have not yet experienced the side effects of being a prophet.

Because the witch Catherine gave herself the Angel's Tear artifact in advance, this problem could be considered to have been prevented in advance.

Extrasensory abilities will not cause this problem if they are not used frequently.

This kind of problem only occurs when you use it day and night.

That would make it impossible for one to distinguish between prophecy and reality.

The witch Shirley quickly maneuvered the ferry across the surface of the River Abyss, and on her way back to the Ash Cult, she encountered Warwick and the wizard McKinley's ship again.

At that moment, the four exchanged a glance. All four were somewhat disheveled, none of their wizard robes were clean, but after looking at each other, they all burst into laughter.

Wizard Warwick chuckled, “Thank you all for helping me explore the Abyss Ruins. Currently, each of us has some crucial data. I have the key data for locating the Abyss Ruins and for making a preliminary judgment on its age and who its owner is.”

"Wizard McKinley is an expert in judging the strata and drifting trajectory of the River of the Abyss. Only those of us who have studied the River of the Abyss for a long time and have the River of the Abyss dock are qualified to study and learn this."

“You two each have your strengths. Moreover, you've spent more time in the Historical Boundary Marker Curse Space than we have. Why don't we write a major paper on the exploration of the ruins together, then publish our articles individually and submit them together for an award?”

Wizard McKinley said weakly, "Yes."

"I can study the complex trajectory of the Abyss River drifting in that city. I collected key data before I left."

Locke nodded and said, “Of course. I saw how the mortal age ended and learned many of King Otto’s secrets. I can take charge of this section.”

"Also, there are many ancient plants in that city, so I can write the part about ancient plant history."

"Using ancient plant history to corroborate the history of that city, and plant seeds and the products of plant dehydration and carbonization can reflect the climate and environmental changes of that era, as well as some small details of that time."

After thinking for a moment, the witch Shirley said, "I have a 3D model of the entire city's tombs, as well as a lot of artifact authentication data, which can corroborate our theory."

Wizard Warwick chuckled, “That’s wonderful. It seems we’ve reached an agreement. Let’s celebrate our pleasant collaboration. In that case, that archaeology award will most likely be ours this year. Perhaps, Wizard McKinley and I can even become vice-heads of the Ash Cult because of it.”

The witch Shirley's eyes flashed with disdain. "The vice-dean of the Dark Wizard Academy? What's the point of striving for something like that?"

Warwick knew that the witch Shirley looked down on dark wizards, so in order not to hurt their feelings, he just chuckled a few times.

Locke opened his Astral Ring to check his haul. He couldn't use the Transformation School equipment anymore, but he could read the information about it later. As for the magical artifacts, he could sell them in a package.

Of course, you can talk to your mentor before selling, just in case Jinmianshan is interested.

After all, it has great research value.

For him, the most valuable thing was that complete set of ancient magical plant seeds.

Meanwhile, Locke held a gel-like water ball in his hand and looked at the colorful water ball-like object in his hand with a strange expression.

He picked up the instruction manual, made from the special skin of a magical creature, and read: 'Resin Balls, a substance extracted from ancient things within the earth. It is high-quality magical planting soil; seeds placed in it will grow magical plants. It is moderately toxic; mortals must not come into contact with it, and only first-class wizard apprentices are permitted to handle it.'

"It is highly water-efficient during planting, forming a gel-like substance after absorbing water and slowly releasing it. It improves soil, reduces the frequency of fertilization, helps withstand flooding, enhances seed vigor, increases germination rates, and strengthens plant growth."

It can increase plant reproductive capacity.

Locke's pupils suddenly contracted.

Meanwhile, the witch Shirley and two dark wizards were already discussing how to write a major article, who would write the overview, and who would be responsible for which specific section.

Whose manuscript should I submit?

The four agreed to share everything, but they didn't know who to contact for communication, which needed to be discussed further.

Finding someone unrelated would be too lenient on him.

However, if the names of any of the four, or even a few of them, were used, there might be some issues of seniority-based discrimination.

Meanwhile, Locke took out an earthenware pot.

He looked at the colorful, pigeon-egg-sized resin balls in the earthenware jar, hesitated for a moment, then took one out and smelled it.

"It is definitely not the natural resin secreted by some kind of tree-like magical plant. It is a magical extract of some substance."

"But since it's called resin, it's most likely related to tree-like magical plants."

"Moreover, archaeological magic can uncover the secrets hidden within finished products. Although the specific techniques, processing methods, and principles cannot be known, their general origins can be traced."

“If the princess has something to tell me, it’s possible that she’ll do so by leaving me something. This strange thing of unknown origin, which is said to come from the depths of the earth, could be that kind of thing.”

"The princess knew that anything she left behind would be shrouded in the curse of exoneration, and might not survive. Furthermore, the Tower of the Black Sun would continuously examine what she left behind over a long period of time. She might not be able to escape the examination. Therefore, what she left me was not written text, but material things. She gambled her future on the fact that the ancestor's archaeology would definitely be completed."

“So tracing the origin of this thing might reveal some information,” Locke pondered for a moment. “Moreover, the properties of this thing itself seem quite remarkable. If I could master the method of mass production, it would be very useful to me, especially for Group 2’s research.”

Locke thought of the Curse of Removal and decided it would be best to return to Mount Golden Crown and explore its origins.

If it were on Mount Jinmian, even if it attracted the curse of being expelled from the list, even if the sky collapsed, there would be tall people to hold it up.

Before doing it yourself, you can ask Catherine the Witch for her opinion first.

After all, this is a serious matter, and such things cannot be handled carelessly.

If it causes significant losses, you will still have to pay for it yourself.

Locke took out the seeds of the ancient flower from his astral ring and looked at them. "These are the seeds of that flower."

He snapped his fingers, and instantly a historical projection appeared on the deck of the ferry—a projection of an ancient flower.

Locke put on the Focus spell monocle. "I didn't find it in the Historical Boundary Marker spell before, but now that things have settled down, looking at it this way, I realize that this thing just looks like a magical plant. But... is it really a magical plant?"

"Why do I feel like this is a high-density polymer that looks like a magical plant? A plastic flower? The texture of this seed is also wrong. And there's something strange about the subtle spiritual aspects. Although the details of this seed and flower are lifelike, just like real plants, even the microstructure is the same, everything is too smooth. It doesn't have the roughness that real plants produce due to the interaction of matter."

"This is just a plastic flower."

Locke exclaimed in surprise, "So the plants that destroyed King Otto's royal court were actually artificial flowers from the Tower of the Black Sun?"

This exploration of the Abyss Ruins has had a profound impact on me.

Botanical wizards typically study modern magical plants. But this one traveled back in time, uncovering historical mysteries and conspiracies, and even began studying a plastic flower from the past…

"This can be considered an advantage of interdisciplinary studies."

Locke stroked his chin and said, "But why is it a plastic flower?"

(End of this chapter)