Wizards: Starting with Synthetic Gems

Chapter 695 The Silent Holy Grail Tournament Officially Begins! The Silent Throne Hangs High!

Locke sat on the Rainbow Sparrow, gazing at the land of Golden Crown Mountain. He saw demonic storms descending upon various parts of Golden Crown Mountain, and the giant demonic beast rampaging wildly, causing the magical tides of this region to become more chaotic than ever before.

Locke looked into the distance, towards the direction of Rose Paradise, where the giant demon beast opened its maw and unleashed a demonic storm from its five-finger-shaped black mouth, hurtling towards Rose Paradise.

The magical powers of the two sides collided, causing a spectacular scene resembling the collapse of heaven and earth.

The massive demonic storm relentlessly destroyed the rose vines, yet they continued to regenerate.

As long as these rose vines are not damaged, the whole town will not be damaged.

As long as the entire town remains intact, the magic array that Rose Paradise uses to set up the underground spiritual vein of Rose Town will not disappear.

There is still a glimmer of hope for Rose Paradise.

As long as she survives until the end of the Demon Realm War, the Twin Demon Realms must leave. Therefore, she does not need to deal with the Demon Realm behemoth with the third-ring level of demonic pressure, but rather she must survive at least a month under its attacks!

The witch who ruled Rose Paradise saw Rose Town being destroyed and then restored, and a glimmer of hope flashed in her eyes.

The next moment, the underground spiritual veins of Rose Town were actually sucked out by the giant beast of the demon realm. The beast bit down on the underground magical energy veins, chewed a few times, and swallowed them.

The Moon Witch of Rose Paradise's expression changed drastically. As the ley lines were swallowed up by the Twin Demon Realms, the magic array they had spent hundreds of years setting up in Rose Town did not have enough magical energy to nourish it, and one rose after another withered away.

The colorful roses withered and died, and the town was constantly destroyed. One after another, the wizards responsible for maintaining the Rose Paradise at the node were forcibly teleported to the second sky by the giant demon beasts of the Twin Demon Realms.

The goal is to completely dismantle its armed forces within the black hole of the demon realm, and then have the demon realm devour it entirely.

The Moon Witch's eyes were filled with despair, for she saw that the demonic beast was not only going to destroy Rose Paradise and take away the magical fields hidden in the heart of the paradise, but was also casting its magical pressure over the entire area where Rose Paradise was located.

Rose Town, including several surrounding mortal countries.

This means uprooting the entire area and completely destroying Rose Paradise.

The Moon Ring Witch gritted her teeth; now she had two choices.

First, abandon the wizarding academy and escape directly.

With her powerful magical abilities as the Moon Witch, she could easily use her ultimate spell, [Gilded Rose], to force her way out.

However, the large number of first-ring wizards and wizard apprentices in Rose Garden will have nowhere to go.

In particular, she had already seen that the only three ordinary second-circle wizards in Rose Paradise had forcibly breached their contract and, at the cost of being punished by the Eye of Truth with magical backlash and having their civilization credit score reduced to zero, were desperately trying to escape.

The second option was for her to stay at the college and give it her all.

The park master gritted his teeth as he looked at the many first-ring wizards who were still struggling to gather magic to resist the storm from the demon realm. "The century-old tradition of Rose Paradise cannot be broken in my hands. Otherwise, how can I face my teacher?"

"In previous wars in the Demon Realm, there has never been a precedent of wiping out a wizarding academy as large as Rose Paradise."

"What exactly are the Twin Demon Realms up to? Have they spiraled out of control? Or is there something behind them...?"

The Garden Master's eyes were resolute. "Since I've been discarded, it's my fault for making a mistake. It's my incompetence as the leader of the wizards that has dragged down the wizards in these academies. Therefore, I will live and die with my academy. I would rather be the last Garden Master of Rose Garden than succumb to its tail."

The park owner looked in the direction of Mount Golden Crown, seemingly wanting to confirm whether Mount Golden Crown would provide assistance.

……

A week later.

Locke found it strange that the Golden Crown Mountain had formed a wizard army to go around rescuing the victims of the Demon Realm Storm and limiting the scope of its destructive power.

These actions were indeed very effective in dealing with the demon storm disaster, but they never took the initiative to eliminate the demon beasts. Instead, they only suppressed them after the demon beasts and the demon storm had grown in size.

In other words, Mount Golden Crown allowed a certain amount of demonic storms to exist, but only eliminated them after they grew larger.

Locke walked at the foot of Mount Golden Crown, lost in thought. 'Does Mount Golden Crown have a special agreement with the Twin Demon Realms?'

'Of course, Mount Golden Crown doesn't levy taxes on the wizarding academies throughout the Mount Golden Crown region; those academies aren't subordinate to Mount Golden Crown. On the contrary, they are competitors for students and magical resources, so Mount Golden Crown truly has no obligation to help them.'

"It's just a rescue operation; that's already more than enough."

Mount Golden Crown is not the ruler of the Mount Golden Crown region, but it is the most famous and powerful wizarding academy in the Mount Golden Crown region.

However, Locke still sensed something was amiss from Golden Crown Mountain's strange attitude.

This matter is not as simple as it seems on the surface.

For example, the medium and large-scale wizarding academies in the Golden Crown Mountain region, which are the wizarding academies closest to the power of Golden Crown Mountain, were actually sent by the City of Demons to continuously plunder the magical resources of the victims during the storm in the Demon Realm.

The Hall of Eternal Radiance and the Tower of Sandbars, on the other hand, closed their doors, refused to go out, and pretended that nothing had happened.

Only the Kungudin Building Materials College sent some wizards to rescue some of the victims.

Locke snapped out of his daze and saw Princess Preston, the white dragon, standing before him, dressed in a white wizard's robe with snowflake patterns on the cuffs.

There's also the wizard leading the group from Luxu Bridge, the Moon Ring Wizard Chad Schultz.

Preston greeted Locke. "Young Locke, what are you thinking about? You look troubled."

Locke nodded. "Just thinking about things I can't figure out."

Only by standing tall can you see far.

Locke put aside his doubts, thinking that perhaps these problems would be easily solved once he became a second-circle wizard.

If you can't figure it out now, then don't bother thinking about it anymore.

Wizard Chad Schultz looked at the clock, frowning. "What's going on? The Silent Grail War is waiting for us. What's wrong with Antoine? We notified him in advance, why hasn't he come yet?"

"We'll be late."

The Preston Witch said, "It's nothing really. If Antoine isn't coming, we'll find someone else. According to the order of replacements, if Antoine doesn't come, and neither does Julian Witch, then... the fifth place is the wizard from Kungudin Building Materials Academy, so the sixth person will come..."

Wizard Chad Schultz said, "The Silent Grail Tournament is extremely serious. If Antoine really doesn't come suddenly, I'll have to find a way to invite the witch Julian over. Otherwise, I really don't have the confidence to participate in this Silent Grail Tournament."

The Preston Witch, hands on her hips, curled her lips into a frivolous smile.

The three waited for about an hour and a half before Antoine arrived in his magic carriage.

When the wizard Chad Schultz saw Antoine's magical carriage appear, he breathed a sigh of relief, but his eyes were unfriendly as he suppressed his anger.

The Preston Witch then said to Antoine, "Antoine, where have you been having such a blast again? You've wasted so much of our time."

Antoine emerged from the magic carriage, his clothes tattered, resembling that of a beggar. "Sorry, everyone, I just came out of the Fighting Inferno. I went as fast as I could to make it in time."

The Preston Witch chuckled at the sight. "You're exaggerating a bit, Antoine. I'm not used to you doing this."

"Is that supernatural purgatory, the fighting purgatory, really that dangerous, that it could put you in such a sorry state?"

Antoine smirked. "Why don't you give it a try?"

Wizard Chad Schultz urged, "Alright, you three. We have to go. Otherwise, we'll be too late."

"I will use my ultimate magic to rush to the location of this competition, the Silent Grail Arena in the Quinjol region—where the Silent Throne is located."

With a flick of his left hand, the wizard Chad Schultz conjured a tea tree, which then suddenly grew a million times larger, transforming into the Water Saint Tea Tree, with a single tea leaf supporting an entire city.

Then, just as Locke was wondering what method the wizard Chad was going to use to make them move quickly with great magic.

The next moment, the flower buds between the leaves of the Water Saint Tea Tree suddenly condensed water vapor, and then, like the buds gathering liquid, launched a jade-like water cannonball at each of the four people.

One-ring Botanical Magic: Tea Bead Water Bomb.

Locke blinked, and instantly and instinctively used the five-headed serpent to form a natural force field.

Then, he was engulfed by the water bomb, and a huge inertial force rushed towards him. At the same time, because a large amount of liquid covered his body, his vision went black.

"Damn, this is how it moves!" Locke was speechless. "Given the strength of this magic, if my natural force field weren't strong enough, I would have been seriously injured by it."

Locke had caught a glimpse of the water bomb just now, and it had smashed Antoine's exquisite magical carriage, then swallowed Antoine whole. He wondered if it was a personal vendetta.

……

The Silent Throne.

This is a giant seat suspended in the sky. It is essentially a three-ring magical artifact that has locked onto the Silent Dimension and specially modified it to achieve a special cooperation with the world will of that dimension.

At the same time, beneath this Throne of Annihilation is a vast circular viewing arena.

At this time, the stadium was already full of people, with not a single empty seat.

Once the seated tickets are sold out, standing tickets will be sold. Not only will the standing tickets be sold out, but more will be sold, because some wizards will inevitably encounter some unforeseen circumstances and be unable to come.

From the very beginning, the White Wizard of the tournament committee assumed that there would be wizards who would buy tickets but not actually show up.

Therefore, both standing and seated tickets were oversold.

Anyway, if it gets too crowded, you can get a refund. But for the White Wizard, it would be really unacceptable to lose money because he didn't sell more tickets.

Besides, as long as you cram in the stands, you can always squeeze in some people.

Second-ring and first-ring wizards from all over the world came to this competition venue.

The Grand Magic Modeling Competition is valuable for both first-circle and second-circle wizards. Wizards from Golden Crown Mountain, Boniface University, and other major wizarding academies from all over the world come to watch the competition.

For example, in the competition venue, the City of the Magic Pivot spent money to buy a good spot in the front, and the Witch Camilla was right there in it.

She angrily bought a serving of popcorn, then sat in the front row, looking up at the Silent Throne in the sky. "Damn Locke. He forced me to send my sister to the Edge Wizarding Lands."

"I'm going to watch this match closely."

"Let's see what your ranking is." Camilla glanced guiltily at her cooperating mentor beside her. 'Having taken so many of my destined magical porcelains, I don't know how I'm going to explain this to the academy.'

'If this guy were to pull out a bunch of my academy's signature magical porcelain right in front of me, how would I explain it to my teachers and colleagues watching the match? Last time, someone speculated that I had traded my signature magical porcelain to Locke, but no one investigated further.'

Camilla the witch thought with a guilty conscience.

On the other side, Wizard Mike from Kungudin Building Materials Academy was also sitting in the audience, looking up at the Silent Throne. "Teacher, is that the third-ring artifact, the Silent Throne? Such powerful magical pressure. I can't even determine its total amount; its magical pressure is like the size of a world."

The Sun Ring Wizard beside Wizard Mike, upon hearing this, laughed and said, "Your perception is correct. The Silent Throne has locked onto the Silent Plane, so that is indeed the magical pressure of a world."

"This is a magical artifact created by the Third Ring Throne Wizard, who spent a great deal of resources and painstaking effort. It has a history of over a thousand years."

“Take a good look. Actually, this is the first time we’ve seen the real thing either. Just like you, we’re very surprised. In fact, because we’ve seen more of it than you, we’re even more surprised.”

Many wizards also came from the Wizarding Academy of Little Rest Mountain, the second most powerful force in the Quinjol region.

A wizard at the first ring limit, accompanied by his sun ring wizard teacher, looked at the throne in the sky with resentment and muttered, "If I hadn't lost to that bastard Edgar, I would have had a chance to enter that throne and participate in the competition."

“Damn it, none of the younger generation of wizards on Quinnjoll’s side were a match for me, but then Edgar suddenly appeared. Teacher, I’m not reconciled.”

The second-circle wizard of Little Rest Mountain glanced at him. "Unwilling to accept it? That's right. Martin. This is what happens to losers. What do you think will happen to those who fail in a competition?"

"You are like this, and so is Xiaoxishan. The entire ecosystem of Yunze Wetland is a huge competitive ecosystem, and the Five Wars are only a part of this competitive ecosystem."

"In this ecosystem, who dares not to fight hard? Anyone who falls behind even a little will lose a corresponding amount of resources."

"Therefore, the leaders work diligently and dare not slack off in the slightest. The latecomers strive to catch up and surpass them. The first to arrive has the advantage of being first, and the latecomers have the advantage of being second."

The Sun Ring Wizard of Little Rest Mountain had ambition in his eyes. "Just remember, a thousand years ago, Quinjol University wasn't one of the seven top colleges. So, a thousand years later, Little Rest Mountain can rise to the top."

"Martin, temporary wins and losses don't matter. Watch this game that you couldn't participate in and experience what it's like for the loser to just sit on the sidelines and watch the winners compete."

"Then, you should work hard."

Martin swallowed hard. That's what he said, but... Teacher, your words are a bit too sarcastic.

What does it mean to savor the feeling of a loser who can only sit on the sidelines and watch the game?

This……

The wizard Martin covered his face. "Anyway, if Edgar dares to lose to someone else, I'll be even angrier. Since he beat me, he can't afford not to win this match."

Meanwhile, the wizards from the Boniface region were discussing among themselves.

A sketch artist from the Black and White Gallery, a medium-sized wizarding organization in the Boniface region, asked in a low voice, "I heard that the parents of the main participants in this year's Boniface University competition are all dark wizards."

Another sketch artist at the Black and White Gallery, who was in the first crystallization stage, looked at his colleague in astonishment. "A descendant of a dark wizard? How can she compete? How can someone like that learn magic?"

"The offspring of the base."

The wizard from the black and white gallery who spoke first shrugged and said, "I don't know what Bonifacius University is thinking either."

"He's probably gone mad. If you ask me, we shouldn't have given the descendants of the dark wizard any chance."

The second wizard from the Black and White Gallery coughed and whispered, "Stop talking, stop talking."

The sketch artist from the black-and-white gallery who spoke first frowned in annoyance, thinking the other person was interrupting him. When he turned around, he saw an embarrassed expression on his face.

Because of their location, next to the corridor, and the wizards from Boniface University who had just walked up to them, who had been standing right behind them.

And the wizard, a descendant of the black wizard they were talking about, stood in this group, wearing a wooden mask.

I wonder how much of their conversation the other side overheard.

Georgina, the witch wearing a wooden mask, glanced at the two wizards in the black and white gallery and frowned slightly.

The two Boniface University assistants beside Georgina whispered to her, "Ignore them. Black and White Gallery? A wizarding university that's going downhill. They say the student body is getting worse every year."

“They are suppressed by Cassilos University of the Arts every year.”

"The ink painters at Cassilos University of Arts simply cannot tolerate the emergence of a skilled quick-painting wizard academy in Yunze Wetland."

"This group of people cannot represent the general public in Yunze Wetland at all."

Georgina the Witch nodded. “Thank you, Adam Smith.”

Adam Smith deliberately said in front of the two wizards from the Black and White Gallery, "Hehe, I don't know how much longer the Black and White Gallery can stay in Yunze Wetlands. If it continues to have no students, I guess in a few years, in order to maintain its status, it will have to move to another wizarding land."

The two wizards in the black and white gallery immediately showed a look of embarrassment and anger.

However, at that moment, someone suddenly appeared, laughing loudly, and said in a rhythmic voice, "That's because sketching isn't real magic, it's not real art."

"The gallery is full of 'masterpieces,' but upon closer inspection, they're all formulaic. The color formulas are accurate, but unfortunately, they make the viewer want to vomit. Sketches that are as fast as lightning? Machines will replace you sooner or later."

"Sketchers, put away your sketchbooks and admit you're just tools. Art is a wildfire, and you're nothing but human printers!"

Then they saw Milady, the master troubadour from the Cassilos University of the Arts who had served as the chief judge for Locke's second-class grant project, hopping and skipping as he approached them, using rhythmic phrases and exaggerated, rhythmic body language.

Nearby wizard fans exclaimed in surprise, recognizing him as Master Milady, a third-ring wizard.

One of the most accomplished wandering poets of Yunze Wetland...

And the fourth-ring Truth Wizard and the third-ring Throne Wizard will be removed, then Master Milady might be able to compete for the title of the first bard under the throne, or simply the first person under the throne.

Adam Smith blinked. “Master Milady!”

The two sketch artists from the black-and-white gallery immediately lowered their heads, pretending not to see them.

After all, the Cassilos College of the Arts is most hostile to their black and white gallery.

The ink painters always look down on them, the quick-draw artists.

Now, the two of them, both in the first ring, have encountered a third-ring wizard from Cassilos University of the Arts in this unfamiliar place.

Therefore, their wisest choice is to pretend to be ostriches and bury their heads in the sand, otherwise they will only humiliate themselves.

Master Milady looked at the witch Georgina, his tone suddenly becoming serious as he comforted her, "Georgina, you are the most artistically talented magic weaver I have ever met. The artistic spirit contained within your works astonishes even me. Therefore, you are the best contestant from Bonifacius University."

Georgina the witch's eyes brightened slightly as she bowed to him and said, "Thank you, Master Milady. Master, your cheerful attitude towards the world and your optimistic and positive spirit are something I should learn from."

Adam Smith's eyes lit up slightly as he turned to Master Milady, an incredibly amiable and approachable wizard who enjoyed mingling with lower-level wizards. "Master Milady, is Ms. Georgina capable of winning this match? Do you think she's the favorite?"

After all, for an artist, such praise was already considered extremely high.

Master Milady paused for a moment. "Well... Georgina the Witch is indeed the most artistically talented magic weaver in my opinion. But Edgar the Witch of Quinjoll is also the most vibrant breeder I've ever seen."

"And the wizard Locke Augustine of Mount Golden Crown made me sigh. It's as if Catherine the Witch has found another version of herself. That kid is very clever, even he has surprised me."

"So, if you ask me who looks the best, it's hard to say."

"That's why the competition is worth watching and worth looking forward to."

Milady the Wizard gestured as she took her seat in the VIP audience, singing and dancing as she said, "This world is a chessboard, and everything is a piece. Some people become kings and sweep across the land, while others become pawns and get kicked around."

They laugh at me for being too persistent, I laugh at them for being too casual. The real winner is never afraid. Victory or defeat is up to us, the game of chess reveals the true skill.

Adam Smith wiped the awkward cold sweat from his forehead. "Master, still so...so creative."

Georgina the witch watched the master's departing figure, muttering to herself, "Victory or defeat is between us; the game of chess will determine who is superior..."

Adam Smith glanced at the waiting area on the other side of the arena, frowned, and said, "Quinjol, Storm Tower, and we're all here. Where are the people from Golden Crown Mountain?"

"Have they not arrived yet?"

Boniface's team leader was also taken aback by this scene. "The team leader of Mount Golden Crown should be the wizard Chad Schultz, who participated in the Silent Grail War ten years ago."

"I played against him back then. He was incredibly arrogant, and I don't know if he's changed in ten years. But he's a very punctual person, and he's about to go over time. With so many spectators and competition staff, does he really intend to keep everyone waiting?"

Due to the unique nature of the Silent Holy Grail Tournament, contestants will not be eliminated due to exceeding the time limit unless absolutely necessary.

The Moon Ring Wizard thought for a moment and said, "Let's go, Georgina. Let's go up first."

"What are the people from Jinmian Mountain up to?"

"You will soon ascend the Silent Throne. Georgina, how weak are your souls? Can you withstand it? Because the competition is about to begin, I am asking you to stop using weakening potions two weeks in advance."

"Hmm? Could it be that Jinmianshan is deliberately stalling for time, trying to disrupt our plans? That's something Chad Schultz would do. He faked his death back then and almost tricked me out of the game. Luckily, I saw through his scheme beforehand."

The more the Moon Ring Wizard thought about it, the more uneasy he felt. His face turned ugly, and he gritted his teeth.

"Don't let the enemy's schemes affect you. Let's go up first. Good heavens, I'll teach him a lesson when I see him."

(End of this chapter)