Wizards: Starting with Synthetic Gems

Chapter 687 Something Only a Second-Ring Wizard Can Do!

Locke used the Water Gourd system to find a first-ring wizard trader at the potion shop near the Dragonblood Gathering. He found a shop that had a potion called Swarm Consciousness and bought it for 10,000 magic stones per bottle, filling in the address of his student Williams.

Locke and Williams exchanged a few more words, and Locke then let her leave, telling her that the Swarm Consciousness Potion would be delivered to her by someone.

Locke whispered to the witch Williams, "Well then, see you again when you become a first-circle wizard."

Williams paused for a moment, then bowed to Locke and said, "Thank you, teacher."

Williams turned and left.

Locke looked at her and pondered, "Between the Witch Williams and Senior Sister Shirley, which one will get what she wants?"

Breaking through the limits of the soul is so difficult.

Every breakthrough is like walking a tightrope; a slight misstep could lead to a fall.

Locke received an invitation from the agent wizards of Solas Barefoot and Melochy Magic Steps through the Water Hyacinth System. They were supposedly negotiating with him to acquire the Augustus Wizard Shoes brand.

Locke pondered for a moment, then sent them a message within the Water Hyacinth System: 'I want a World Stone from a medium-sized world, one that has never been used.'

"If possible, I'd also be willing to sell the Augustus Wizard Shoes brand. If not, then there's nothing to discuss."

Locke waited a while. Within the Water Hyacinth System, the two agent wizards from the shop alliance who received the message neither agreed nor refused, but both simultaneously sent back: 'Let's talk at 1 PM this afternoon in Room 3 of the Witch's Kitchen at Dragonblood Market.'

Locke frowned. Okay, let's play charades here.

If these two shop alliance agents weren't both second-circle wizards, they wouldn't even bother with them unless they could respond directly; otherwise, there's no need to pay them any attention.

But since the two are second-circle wizards, let's go for their sake.

Let's see what the two of them say then.

Locke summoned the Rainbow Bird and arrived at Dragonblood Market. When Locke passed by the Feathered Serpent Pavilion, he went straight in to find out the current situation of his opponent in the Great Magic Modeling Competition, wanting to see how Wizard Smith was doing.

Of course, Locke would never admit that he wanted to see others make fools of themselves.

What puzzled Locke was that at that moment, Wizard Smith was chatting and laughing with someone, accompanying a witch all the way down from the second floor.

At this moment, his body and soul have fully recovered.

A look of surprise flashed in Locke's eyes.

Can his soul abyss-like transformation really be cured in just half a day?
Even if a wizard like myself, who has studied abyssal potions, were to take action, I would absolutely not be able to find a solution to the problem in such a short time.

His problem was different from the magic that eroded his body with abyssal energy; his soul was about to become abyssal, so even using his blank spirituality couldn't solve his problem.

Wizard Smith paused for a moment when he saw Locke, then said with no small amount of pride, "Locke, did you come to see me because you care about me?"

Wizard Smith spoke to Locke on an equal footing, probably because he felt that Locke was on the same level as him, so he didn't have that condescending tone, but rather his tone was full of comparison.

Wizard Smith pointed to a witch beside him and said, “Your Golden Crown Mountain is indeed full of talented people. I was only on a quest for an hour at the Feathered Serpent Pavilion, and a witch came to my rescue.”

"This witch is Medea, the witch from the Spiral Basin."

At this moment, Medea raised her head. She had an oval face, no eyebrows, but a thick head of beautiful hair. The witch smiled, like an oriental beauty. However, when she looked up and saw Locke, her pupils suddenly shrank, as if she recognized something.

She subconsciously looked at the back of Locke's left hand. Although there was nothing there at the moment, the witch Medea remembered that she had planted the birthmark of "Destined Death" on the back of Locke's left hand years ago.

She wanted to incite a fierce battle between the novice wizard and the great wizard Sura, then seize the opportunity to gather all the luck belonging to the chosen ones in the wizarding world.

But that didn't work, so she settled for second best and used the native.

The witch Medea suppressed the surprise in her eyes and greeted Locke as if she were meeting him for the first time. "Lord Augustine, hello. I am Medea."

"A mediocre prophet."

The witch Medea was certain that Locke had only heard of her name but had never seen her, so he should not be able to fully confirm her identity.

However, even if Locke recognized her, it wouldn't really matter.

The Smith family is unconventional in its hiring practices, not caring whether someone is a dark wizard or not, as long as they are useful to the Smith family.

Wizard Smith, with his hands behind his back, looked at Locke with a smug expression and said, "This Medea witch gave me a solution. Very good."

Locke nodded, looking at the witch Medea with a puzzled expression, but he couldn't be sure if she was the same witch who had sealed his fate. "That's good."

Medea glanced at Locke with a smile on her lips, while her heart was churning with turmoil.

She had met Locke once before. At that time, Locke was just a fledgling wizard, so inexperienced. But now, when they met again, his magical pressure was so strong, clearly indicating that he had entered a period of soul decay.

The other party's words and actions seemed to surpass even those of the great wizard Sura back then.

The changes in a person in such a short time are astonishing; their growth rate is truly remarkable.

In the past, her opponent was merely a pawn on her chessboard, a tool she used casually when she was playing against the great wizard Sura in the Land of Six Towers.

Today, Locke is a researcher at Golden Crown Mountain; she is nothing more than a wandering ghost, without any teaching position.

At this moment, Medea suppressed the envy, and even a hint of jealousy, in her eyes.

The witch Medea bowed to Locke and said, "Lord Augustine, I am a prophet. You may contact me if you need anything."

Locke wore a respectful but distant smile. Regardless of whether this person was the witch from the mage plane with whom he had a history of fighting remotely, the other party's current stance indicated that they were not friends.

Locke nodded, indicating that he understood.

Medea regained her composure and secretly resolved to become a second-circle wizard, using the best Worldstone.

Back then, she outsmarted the great wizard Sura and won.

Now, she can outmaneuver Smith and still win.

"According to the prophecy, if I gain this man's trust and betray him at the most crucial moment, I can become a second-circle wizard using an untainted Worldstone." Medea glanced at Wizard Smith, "But I must gain his complete trust."

"Back then, I schemed against Sura and gained the fortune of an entire mage plane, allowing me to cast the [Prophecy Poem] and foresee the direction of my luck. Looking back now, I actually had at least two choices: one was to take advantage of this wizard Smith, gaining his trust by seizing the crucial moment when he needed to resolve his illness."

The second method is to gain the trust of this wizard Locke and then betray him at a crucial moment.

Medea weighed her options. 'Fate is truly unpredictable. Who could have imagined that an ordinary little wizard from the Land of the Six Towers could grow to such a dazzling level, far beyond my reach? If I had trusted him when he was weak, betraying him now would be much easier than staying by Smith's side.'

Medea made up her mind. 'Of course, now that I've chosen Smith, I can only stay by his side.'

'The Storm Tower is a colossus to me. No, not just to me, but even to the Spiral Basin. I can't risk everything by betraying it in the Grand Magic Modeling Contest; my abilities alone aren't enough.'

Medea, observing the conversation between Locke and Smith, pondered: 'I must introduce a third force—the dark wizarding alliance of this region, the Twin Realms!'

At this moment, Wizard Smith said to Locke, "I think this person is very useful. She is a very capable prophet, so I brought her into the research group. In order to prepare for the Great Magic Modeling Competition, I specially set up a research group to give me advice from behind the scenes."

Wizard Smith glanced at Locke's clothes and blinked. "Sometimes you should get used to your status. You should change into a wizard's robe that costs at least 500,000 magic stones. Clothes aren't just for practical use; they can also be used to display your status."

"To avoid a lot of trouble. See you at the competition."

Wizard Smith greeted Locke and then left the Feathered Serpent Pavilion.

Locke looked at him and shrugged. "I thought this guy wouldn't be able to recover from his injury before the match, and Storm Tower would have to make a substitution. But who knew he'd be so lucky."

"luck?"

Locke became alert, looking at the Medea witch's retreating figure. "Was it really just luck? If that person really was the wizard I fought remotely in the magic plane, then she's a dark wizard..."

Locke's expression was strange.

At the same time, what was even stranger was that when he lifted his foot, he stepped on something, and when he picked it up, he found that it was actually a magic crystal card.

Locke thought for a moment and realized that he couldn't have just picked up ten thousand magic stones by walking around randomly.

This should be the so-called first-circle prophecy school magic, "The Road to Discovery".

Through divination magic, one can somehow give away their resources to a wizard by chance, such as finding money while walking.

Although the effect looks a bit funny, it's absolutely perfect for gifting.

Locke picked up a magic crystal card. "Is this a gift to keep her identity a secret?"

"Alright. I don't have much of a relationship with Smith."

"I just don't know what that dark wizard is up to, lurking by his side. How did he even get her into the staff of the Great Magic Modeling Competition?"

Locke frowned, because according to his habits, it was impossible to involve an outsider in such an important matter.

……

On the street, Wizard Smith said to Witch Medea, “There’s a problem. Before you came, a mediocre potion master came to treat me and examined my body, but he couldn’t solve the problem and then he left.”

“I want to entrust this matter to you.” “I’m about to participate in the competition, and my physical data is my most important secret. Investigate his background. If he’s from a remote area, then sell him into my family’s black market wizarding factory.”

“If he has many friends and suddenly disappears, his friends will definitely look for him. So please help me place a few tasks for him to ensure that he has no time to do anything else within three months.”

"You need to make sure this person doesn't fall into Locke's hands. Locke is the darling of the Dragon Blood Society in Golden Crown Mountain, with abundant resources, and he might be even more ruthless than me."

Wizard Smith smiled and said, "These days I've seen too many hypocrites who look respectable but are actually scoundrels. I'm worried that Locke is like me; we can't be too careful."

Medea knew this was a test, and she successfully gained the other party's trust.

Only by doing the dirty work for the other party can one be considered to have been drawn into their inner circle of confidants.

“Yes, my lord. I will take care of this for you.” Medea appeared outwardly normal, but inwardly she was filled with loathing for Storm Tower and the Smith family.

Medea became increasingly convinced that she had made the right choice in seeking out Wizard Smith.

……

Witch's Kitchen, Room Number Three.

Locke met with the wizard representatives from the Solas Lightfoot and Meloch Magicstep families. Jesse the witch glanced at Locke as he entered the room but did not stand up.

Instead, it was the second-circle wizard, Lu Wen, a fat man with a chubby face, who stood up with a smile and nodded to Locke, saying, "Welcome, Augustine Wizard."

“Wizard Augustine, you are indeed a promising young man. I have seen the wizard shoes you developed, and they are truly amazing. Few wizards can keep up with the technology of renowned wizard shoe brands like ours.”

Wizard Lu Wen smiled and said, "Is there some special trick to it? Hahaha... Could it be some special technique from Golden Crown Mountain? Has Golden Crown Mountain recently become interested in making wizard shoes?"

Locke did not respond; the other party was clearly there to gather intelligence.

The best response is no response at all.

The two people in front of them were ordinary second-ring wizards, roughly at the level of wizard Zaran Bailey, though they might not be as good as Zaran Bailey.

Locke was very close to the second ring at this moment, so he had a certain ability to distinguish and could clearly perceive that the magical pressure of these two people was inferior to that of Zaran Bailey, both in terms of quality and quantity.

Of course, this is only a preliminary understanding of demonic pressure.

The ultimate magic has a multiplier effect on magic pressure, so its specific level must be considered in conjunction with the ultimate magic and the permanent defensive force field.

Magic Pressure is just a panel stat; Great Magic and Permanent Defensive Field are skill modules.

Locke exchanged only a few casual pleasantries.

Jesse the witch lowered her head and sorted through the documents, then glanced sideways at Locke. "Do you know that you have violated several of the White Wizarding Association's patent laws?"

"First of all, the design of the four wizard shoes you sell in your Arthas shop heavily utilizes our Solas barefoot design patent."

"You didn't apply to us at all. Secondly, the price of your wizard shoes is quite low, which is suspected of being unfair business competition."

Locke blinked. "I thought you two called me here because you really wanted to talk about an acquisition."

Wizard Lu Wen smiled.

The witch Jesse looked at the information in her hand and said, "To be honest, I've evaluated your wizard shoe brand, and it's actually quite average. It's just that you've had some sales thanks to a bit of luck and some hype."

"But it won't last. Especially since recently your Wizard Shoes customers are mostly speculators looking to trade in our products. You should understand that your Wizard Shoes have no future."

The witch Jesse pushed a contract towards Locke. "Sign it. Ten million magic stones, and this enormous fortune will be yours."

"For a first-ring wizard, having ten million magic stones is already considered lucky. We're not buying your cheap wizard shoe brand, but merely a possibility unrelated to you personally."

"I hope you understand this," said Jesse the witch. "Offending such a large alliance of shops like ours is not a good thing."

"A first-ring wizard... can't really cause any trouble."

Locke frowned and sat down directly opposite the two of them.

Jesse the witch glared at him unhappily.

After all, in her eyes, she was a second-ring wizard, while Locke was only a first-ring wizard. Their statuses were not equal, and the other party should not sit down.

But remembering that this was Mount Golden Crown, the witch Jesse refrained from telling Locke to stand up.

If she were inside their Soras's Barefoot, she would already be slamming her hand on the table, scolding Locke for being so blind.

With a憨态可掬 smile, Wizard Lu Wen said to Locke, "Jesse the witch is straightforward, don't overthink it. I think it's not good for a young wizard like you to get involved in the affairs of the Wizarding Council too early."

"You'll get involved in things you have no idea about."

Wizard Lu Wen laughed and said, "In my opinion, you will definitely not lose money by selling your wizard shoe brand now. You will immediately receive ten million magic stones, without any cost or effort required."

"Why not? By the way, our Meileqi Magic Step can even offer you a part-time job. Our shop alliance values ​​your talent."

Wizard Lu Wen laughed and said, "There's no need to get involved in parliamentary matters."

Locke asked in confusion, "The council?"

Jesse the Witch glanced at Locke, then lowered her head and remained silent.

Wizard Lu Wen was taken aback. "You don't know? I thought you did, which is why you were so confident. Well, you are a first-ring wizard... you couldn't possibly know."

Wizard Luwen clearly wouldn't answer the question, but instead said, "Wizard Augustine, a person's talent has its limits. I've looked at your upcoming schedule, and I don't think you'll have time to develop a fifth set of wizard shoes."

“We are all wizards who have made wizard shoes, so we can naturally understand each other. Developing each wizard shoe requires money and effort, and not every wizard shoe can be a hit. Once the profit of one shoe cannot cover the cost, or only just covers it and cannot make a profit, it will fall into a vicious cycle.”

The wizard Lu Wen said, "Many young wizards have thus embarked on the tragic path of borrowing money and eventually becoming slaves to debt."

"While you're still making money, it's best to cut your losses now. I think that's in your best interest. You should be thinking about using the money to work on your True Knowledge Institute's projects, instead of continuing to wade into these muddy waters."

"Do you think that, under the combined attack of all these shops, your wizard shoe brand, founded by a first-ring wizard, has any chance of survival?"

“Losing money always stems from winning money.” Wizard Lu Wen said sincerely, “I’m thinking from your perspective. From my point of view, you can’t guarantee that every pair of wizard shoes you make will be a success, and now you’re facing setbacks from objective reality.”

"I've seen too many people who make a little money at first, then get carried away, and in the end... they end up... sigh..."

The witch Jesse raised an eyebrow and said, "Also, we haven't settled accounts with you for your illegal activities yet. Kid, I advise you to be sensible."

Locke raised his head and swept his cold gaze over the two men. "Gentlemen, you've wasted my time. I should have said something: I came here to discuss the World Stone with you."

The two men had different expressions, but they both clearly found Locke's mention of the 'World Stone' somewhat outrageous.

Jesse the Witch scoffed. "Just a first-ring wizard."

Locke glanced at them. "Why are you two putting on this act? Do you think it will have any effect on me? I may be a first-ring wizard, but I am a first-ring wizard of Golden Crown Mountain, and you two are second-ring wizards from who-knows-where?"

“If you think I have broken the law, go to the Holy Tribunal right now.”

"If you two think I won't make money in the future, why bother with the acquisition?"

Locke said, "To avoid wasting each other's time, I'm not going to waste any more time talking to you. To put it bluntly, my bottom line is a Worldstone that has not been contaminated by any wizards. Give me that, and I won't take the money, nor will I take this technological route."

If you don't want to make wizard shoes, you can make magic clothes yourself.

Although they are both in the domain of magic weavers.

But since the magic weavers have had a monopoly for so long, it's easy for them to find loopholes.

A look of embarrassment flashed across the faces of both Jesse the Witch and Luwen the Wizard.

While there are indeed magical levels among them, Locke, as a senior researcher at Golden Crown Mountain, is far more illustrious in terms of background and experience compared to them.

Their brilliance made them reluctant to think about it further.

The witch Jesse and the wizard Luwen exchanged a glance, their eyes devoid of any emotion. Just now, they had simply played good cop and bad cop.

The wizard Lu Wen may not really be that good at thinking for people.

And Jesse the Witch wasn't really that mean.

It was just to force Locke to sign.

Now that Locke has clearly stated his bottom line, there's no need to continue with this approach.

The witch Jesse tapped her fingers on the table and said in a cold and emotionless tone, "World Stone...that's impossible. For our Shop Alliance, World Stones are a very precious form of hard currency. It's impossible for us to give up a World Stone of real money just for your possibility."

Locke said, “What a pity. I don’t think I’m capable of that. I’m the new technology representative who can threaten you and revolutionize your alliance of two wizard shoe shops. I think I deserve a Worldstone for the new wizard shoe shop alliance in the future.”

Wizard Lu Wen laughed and said, "Locke, only second-ring wizards are qualified to form a shop alliance. You are only a first-ring wizard now, and you have put yourself in a very dangerous situation."

(End of this chapter)