Wizards: Starting with Synthetic Gems

Chapter 697 The Silver Lord's Spiral Ascent
As the Sun Ring Wizard host explained the competition rules, a magical pressure not belonging to this world was released from the Silent Throne. This magical pressure was about the third ring level and instantly enveloped the entire viewing area.

Locke looked around, sensing the changes in the world's power. "It's not just the pressure of otherworldly magic, but also the unique principles of the planes that permeate the air. In other words, this is no longer the wizarding world for the time being."

"This is the area of ​​influence of the World's Reason of the medium-sized plane locked by the Silent Throne—the Silent Plane."

The host, the Sun Ring Wizard, said, "Thank you for the sponsorship of the Yunze Wetland Ten Shops Alliance, thank you for the sponsorship of the Four Great Academies, and thank you for the sponsorship of the Silent Witch of Truth."

"Now, I declare the 21st Silent Grail War officially open. Please, four players and eight supporters, ascend the throne."

"During the competition, the viewing area will be temporarily located at the intersection of the Wizarding World and the Silent Dimension, where we will be able to witness a spectacular large-scale magic modeling competition."

Then, twelve steps leading to the heavens shot down from the Silent Throne, and the wizard Edgar did not hesitate and was the first to stand on them.

Then came Locke, the wizard Smith, followed by Georgina the witch, and then the other wizards.

For the sake of this competition, each of the four contestants had already reached the limit of their magical pressure, and then forcibly entered a period of soul decay, after which their souls had decayed to the limit.

Their intelligence, reaction speed, and memory have all reached their weakest point since becoming first-ring wizards.

Their minds were also affected by the excessive magical pressure, and gaps existed between their souls. The larger the gaps, the higher the magical pressure, and the more their souls declined.

At this moment, with each step the four took up the stairs, their magical pressure increased, and their soul aura weakened further.

Georgina the witch, wearing a wooden mask, looked down at her feet, clearly hesitant. Her sudden stop immediately drew the attention of the other three.

The wizard Edgar sneered, and without the slightest hesitation, lifted his foot and continued walking upwards. The next moment, his soul aura weakened again, and his magical pressure rose once more.

Wizard Smith looked grim, but after only a slight hesitation, he continued upwards.

After observing, Locke discovered that the power of the Silent Dimension was continuously pouring into him. Moreover, under the watchful eyes of everyone, if anything happened to the four of them, a group of wizards who had invested in the Silent Holy Grail Tournament would go bankrupt immediately, and the Silent Witch would also be in a difficult position. Therefore, he continued to ascend.

For a white wizard, there are all sorts of unethical things he might do, but he would never do anything that would make him lose money!
Georgina the Witch gritted her teeth. "To go up is like placing your soul under a thousand knives."

At this moment, the magical pressure of the four people was infinitely close to the second ring. Locke heard a 'crack' sound in his ear. He heard that the surface of the bronze magic furnace that was bound to his soul was covered with cracks and was about to break.

At the same time, Locke saw something flying down from above the Silent Throne. Four Worldstones flew like birds, circling in the sky before descending in front of Locke.

Locke grabbed him.

In an instant, his thoughts, magic power, personality, cognition, knowledge, and emotions flowed uncontrollably into this World Stone.

In just an instant, the originally colorless white World Holy Stone turned blue-silver.

In an instant, Locke felt as if the heavens and earth were united with him, and a continuous stream of power was pouring into him.

The Silent Dimension is accumulating energy for itself, helping it gather magical pressure to propel itself towards the Second Ring in one go.

The so-called second ring, or great magic, is to use the moment when one's own world merges with oneself to make the source of the cyclical magic one creates one's second soul.

A full moon appeared behind Locke, as if it had fallen from the sky and crashed into the earth, shaking the heavens and the earth.

The World Stone and the Moon of Evolution have become one.

The most authentic and orthodox ultimate magic was completed at this very moment.

Locke's magic pressure surpassed 9999 without any hindrance, soaring directly to 10000, and then continued to rise, approaching 11000. After reaching 11000, it seemed to have a tendency to rush towards 12000.

His soul, which had fallen to its limit, rebounded as if it had hit rock bottom, and was reborn from the ashes. The gradually declining vitality burst forth, and the exaggerated life force contained in the life magic enveloped the entire venue.

Locke felt as if his aging soul had been completely reborn, like a newborn being conceived anew.

It was something even better than the immense magic that they had barely managed to cobble together using the Kingdom Domain twice before.

This is a true breakthrough in the second ring road.

They experienced a spiritual rebirth.

The full moon behind Locke hung in mid-air, still slowly rotating. The Golden Palace Remnant Branch resembled a divine tree in the moon, and the moonlight shone on the earth. The demonic pressure was immense and mysterious.

The judges of the Silent Grail tournament immediately began to whisper among themselves. "This time, the ultimate magic of Mount Golden Crown is actually a type of magic that has never been recorded before."

"No record? This level of perfection is extremely rare. It's as if a real lunar plane has descended. This level of perfection... it's unbelievable that this was accomplished by a single first-ring wizard."

"The Extreme Magic Modeling Competition is getting more and more interesting. This year, Golden Crown Mountain actually produced an Extreme Magic that is completely different from the Extreme Magic they have participated in over the years. That means we can't even learn from their experience. I wonder what the specific effects will be."

“I saw traces of Void Beasts up there, and… the magical techniques of many academies. Hmm, could there be traces of Magic Pivot City's magical techniques in there? Am I seeing things?”

In the audience, Camilla the Witch covered her face, thinking, "I'm doomed."

She glanced at the teacher secretly, a hint of doubt flashing in her eyes, as if she wanted to confirm something but couldn't quite figure it out.

Camilla the witch stole a glance at her teacher. Fortunately, her teacher didn't seem entirely certain that the massive spell had used technology from the Nexus.

The witch Camilla whispered, "When did Golden Crown Mountain develop such amazing witch porcelain technology? Teacher, did Golden Crown Mountain steal our witch porcelain technology?"

She was filled with anxiety, but then her teacher's face darkened. "Very likely. And it's quite possible that Jinmianshan has gained a certain advantage in this part of the technology. This is absolutely theft, theft!"

Camilla the witch breathed a sigh of relief.

Great, at least she's swayed the thinking from the very beginning. Now, she might actually have a chance to fish in troubled waters.

The people of the Demon City are opportunists; for them, if there is even the slightest possibility, they will try to do it.

Most wizards probably couldn't be as nonchalant as Camilla the witch in fooling people's intelligence, but she would instinctively try it.

Camilla, the witch, looked at the full moon over Locke, a strange glint in her eyes. 'Is our Nexus's natal porcelain so powerful? It can actually create such immense magical pressure with its natal porcelain. And in the very instant the immense magic was completed, the magical pressure immediately reached 12000.'

'He hasn't even truly constructed the energy cycle system for massive magic. If he had, wouldn't the magical pressure continue to rise?'

What exactly will be the effect of this powerful spell?

Camilla the witch's eyes sparkled with anticipation.

Meanwhile, atop the ladder to heaven, Georgina the Witch flipped her left hand, and a spinning wheel appeared in her palm.

The spinning machine has three seats, and all three seats are currently empty.

The spinning machine is working. Even though there are no raw materials, the machine is still turning, and strands of golden silk threads are appearing.

Georgina took a cane-like wand from her astral ring and tapped it three times on the steps.

The spinning machine worked quickly, and soon a golden magic robe appeared on her body.

Her magic pressure also reached a level close to 12000.

On the judging panel of the Great Magic Modeling Competition, the seven Sun Ring Wizards whispered among themselves.

"There's a very small record of Magic Weavers participating in the Silent Grail War. In the past, Boniface University usually sent breeders or wizards from the Evocation School, including weather masters and storm masters. But this is the first time Magic Weavers have participated. Have they solved their problem of not being good at direct combat?"

"If I'm not mistaken, that ultimate magic has a unique characteristic: it can quickly weave magic garments. I checked this contestant's records, and she's a famous magic garment designer, a well-known first-ring magic garment fashion designer in Yunze Wetland."

"No, I have a question. It's good that her ultimate magic can accelerate the weaving of magical robes, but the problem is, won't the sudden increase in magical pressure be a huge disadvantage? Also, this is our Silent Grail War. In such a high-intensity combat environment, wouldn't such ultimate magic be a bit of a disadvantage?"

"Let's take a look. This is the first battle fought by the magic weavers of Boniface University in our Silent Grail, in order to elevate the status of textile science."

"That's true. The field of textiles has recently produced three Third Ring Thrones. Their academic standing has improved, but the current resources are not enough to match the number of high-ring wizards they have. Therefore, their entire discipline is challenging the status of a first-level discipline."

"They are working hard in various fields and striving for honors in various directions."

"Without a True Wizard, it would be very difficult to break into a top-tier discipline just by having many Third Ring Thrones. Of course, there is currently one True Wizard in Textiles. However, that number is still not enough."

Georgina the Witch addressed the three contestants: "Gentlemen, this is my greatest magic, Georgina the Witch's Great Magic—The Loom of Fate."

Locke nodded and smiled at him, saying, "This is my ultimate magic—Evolution Moon."

Wizard Smith, standing to the side, didn't look too good, because his ultimate spell, [Meteor from Beyond the Heavens], only had a magic pressure of around 10500 after the initial construction was completed.

Unfortunately, the Celestial Meteor build is heavily reliant on its construction. Currently, it's only a preliminary framework, so the increase in magic pressure isn't very noticeable.

This made Wizard Smith's expression quite unpleasant.

In his eyes, this was called a lack of initial momentum, but the problem was that it wasn't a problem with his ability; it was just that the Great Magic: Meteor from Outer Space was a Great Magic that had developed in the middle stages.

So he remained silent, only saying, "Ultimate Magic: Meteor from Outer Space."

Wizard Smith stood with his hands behind his back, brimming with confidence. "Once we enter the Silent Dimension and begin constructing massive spells, my magical pressure will undoubtedly surpass that of all of you."

Locke and Georgina immediately looked at the wizard Edgar.

The wizard Edgar frowned, clutching a Worldstone as if hesitating. He glanced back at the arena, then made his choice, combining the Worldstone with the Time-Shadow Fern he carried.

Suddenly, a fern as tall as a five-story building appeared behind him.

This magic fern has seven fern leaves arranged in a spiral. The veins are deep purple, the leaf flesh is as thin as a cicada's wing, and the edges of the leaves have fine, reverse-serrated edges. It will tremble slightly when touched.

Therefore, when the Time Shadow Fern appears, the leaves collide with each other in the breeze caused by the chaotic magical pressure, producing a 'click' sound like clockwork gears.

It's as if a clock is ticking here.

Edgar seemed somewhat sullen. "This is the ultimate spell I'll be using in this competition—Timeshade Fern."

Locke looked at Edgar with a puzzled expression. "I thought it would be some kind of powerful magic related to tree people, especially the Tree of Life. Isn't that the kind of magic you're good at? Why did you suddenly change your mind and use this kind of magic?"

Wizard Edgar said, "This kind of competition doesn't require my true ultimate magic. So I just casually used a casual ultimate spell to participate in this competition."

Locke smiled. "You're quite easygoing."

Wizard Smith's expression turned even uglier, because after Edgar constructed a massive spell, his magic pressure actually reached 13000!

Overwhelmed by everyone!

So, he was the only one present who looked like a complete novice, and there wasn't even a wizard sitting on the floor with him.

This made him feel very embarrassed.

However, among the three major spells that the Smith family mainly focuses on researching, only the Celestial Meteor spell places particular emphasis on its construction. Therefore, the starting magic pressure of the Celestial Meteor spell must be the lowest, only around 10500.

Wizard Smith thought to himself, "Don't take the magical pressure at the beginning of the competition seriously. The real test will be when I construct my ultimate magic once the competition starts."

……

The seven Japanese environmental assessment committee members discussed among themselves.

"Of the four contestants, apart from Smith, the other three have all unleashed powerful magic that has never been recorded before. This is truly extraordinary, an unprecedented event."

"The Demon Ascension Plan in the Starfield Sea has a significant impact, but the timing is indeed excellent. Currently, the Eastern Region is experiencing an unprecedented period of prosperity, with countless geniuses emerging from all over the world. This is the era when the Demon Ascension Plan is most likely to succeed."

"Actually, there's no need to underestimate the Celestial Meteor spell. Although the Smith family's Celestial Meteor is a regular in our competitions, it's very special; it's a combined, massive spell. It's particularly dependent on the level of construction ability. So it's normal for the magic pressure to be a bit lower in the early stages. Moreover, although Celestial Meteor is an old spell, it's easy to create new things with it."

In the spectator arena, many wizards watched the four extremely powerful spells with utmost seriousness.

Wizard Mike and his teacher were there to see the Silent Grail for the first time, so they were just there for the spectacle.

Hussein and Daniel, the foreign wizards watching from the stands, did not notice anything unusual at the beginning of the match.

However, many wizards who had watched numerous Silent Grail Wars, such as the wizards of Little Rest Mountain, the wizards of the four major academies, the wizards of the Tower of Transformation, and other local wizards, sensed something unusual from the very beginning of the competition.

Because three of the participants this time actually brought out brand new, extremely powerful magic.

This would have been incredible in past competitions.

Because innovation means risk, and innovation does not necessarily mean progress; in fact, many innovations are actually regressions.

Beneath the Silent Throne, Locke heard a call from the Silent Dimension; it was as if millions of people were whispering in his ears.

'This is... a ritual magic?'

Locke was currently a second-ring wizard, and his eyes could directly see the dimensional power in the air and the direction of its flow.

Countless dimensional forces were converging towards him.

"Someone is performing a ritual on me. If I accept the power of these planes, I will be instantly pulled there. A normal second-circle wizard could refuse, but right now, because I became a second-circle wizard thanks to the World Stone lent to me by the Silent Plane, I cannot refuse."

'It turns out that ritual magic can gather the power of a plane towards a certain being, and then, after that being receives this power, suddenly pull them there.'

Now that Locke had become a second-circle wizard, his understanding of priestly magic had become much deeper.

He chose to accept it.

The power of those different planes converged on him.

The next moment, Locke disappeared.

Meanwhile, all the other contestants disappeared.

On the Silent Throne, the landing points for four people entering the Silent Dimension are projected.

……

The Silent Dimension.

A heavy curtain of light gray clouds lay piled up beneath.

Occasionally, a ray or two of sunlight would manage to penetrate, but it would be stained a sickly orange-red by the coal dust, as if diluted blood plasma had been splashed on the roof of the building.

Throughout the city, towering steam chimneys and brass and lead pipes crisscross beneath the city's spires, like the city's veins.

The river next to the city is filled with bloated parchment paper and various kinds of household garbage.

The beings of the Silent Plane have fallen silent, leaving only the rumbling of machinery, still echoing and awe-inspiring.

In this industrial city, a train runs through the entire city.

On the third carriage of the train, a group of women wearing whalebone crinolines and metal corsets, adorned with various metal ornaments, and men wearing suits with straight, slender frames supported by steel wire, were holding a sacrificial ceremony.

The person in charge of the ritual was a sixteen-year-old girl. Her metal corset made her look slender, and she wore an exaggerated skirt with two metal earrings hanging from her ears.

At this moment, the girl was performing a sacrificial ceremony.

A burly man in a white vest and black overalls pulled out a flintlock pistol, whistled, stared at the girl's forehead, and chuckled, "Holy Maiden, stop playing tricks here. Your god doesn't exist."

“Your Majesty, I was sent here to kill you. You said you would perform miracles before me to prove that your cult is not a cult, and to prove that Your Majesty is a fraud and a liar. I listened to you and let you prove it. But your god seems to be disrespecting you. Since he won't appear, then let me take your head and present it to His Majesty.”

Inside the carriage, both the man and the woman were furious at the rudeness of the armed man in front of them.

They just seemed particularly wary of this man.

So even though they had guns and there were many of them, not one of them dared to shoot this person.

The girl gritted her teeth. "I'm telling the truth. Aren't you curious why you gunfighters are born with gun-fu? Why are you the only gunfighters with superpowers and able to kill those monsters?"

"Let me tell you, a long, long time ago, everyone could have the same abilities as you gunslingers through their own efforts. Your emperor was one of those people who worked hard. Later, he became emperor, and he broke everyone's spine."

"He boarded the train and closed the doors. He hid the true knowledge, and for his eternal rule and to maintain his own absolute power, he prevented anyone from learning superpowers. You Gunslingers are just born with superpowers, the lowest level of abilities, so the Emperor recruited you to be his henchmen."

The girl sneered. "Does he really need you? No, he needs no one. He's a tyrant."

"Many of the monsters in our civilization might have been created by the emperor."

Gunslinger whistled. "It's because of your stupid story that I've wasted so much time. In the end, the miracle you spoke of never happened."

"You've wasted my time. With your utterly wicked and misleading words, the emperor would surely kill you; you wouldn't be wronged."

"What you're saying is all unreliable. Because you simply don't have the information channels to know so much about the higher-ups. You're just an ordinary girl who spreads rumors and lies."

The girl looked at the musket pointed at her forehead, then looked down at the small altar at her feet, which held a sacred artifact, a Holy Grail.

That is the silent Holy Grail.

The next moment, however, the Silent Grail disappeared, and a full moon of rock replaced its model.

The girl immediately changed the way she addressed the Silent Witch to the Moon of Evolution, without realizing it, as if she had no idea that some of her perceptions had been permanently altered.

"Lord of the spiraling silver light, eternal witness of all things. I pray to you for your grace, that your radiance may tear the heavens apart, that your will may reshape reality."

“I call upon you once more, that the spiraling phases of the moon may at this moment become your sacred body.”

The girl looked around nervously.

These were the words the goddess taught her in a dream, which were said to summon the gods.

The girl frowned. Goddess?
How come she remembers him as her male god?

One memory was replaced by another.

(End of this chapter)