Wizards: Starting with Synthetic Gems

Chapter 789 Overwhelmed by Projects and the Type III Nature Guardian [Shepherd Spirit]

In the Golden Crown Mountain Library area, Locke, Alex, and the wizard Jugglus Juggler exit the second ring area.

Alex and Jugglus hadn't published any second-ring journals or written any well-known second-ring spellbooks, so they didn't have many second-ring contribution points.

The three of them were wandering around the free area.

Before leaving, Locke asked Wizard Jugglus, "Alex Wizard said earlier that Wizard Jugglus's application for this year's top grant was not approved, and that one of the judges said it was related to me. But what exactly was it related to?"

Locke asked with a smile.

The wizard Jugglus's face was cold, seemingly angered by Locke; his pupils turned ice blue.

Meanwhile, the second-ring wizard Ackerman, a generalist, coughed quietly. He seemed to want to say something but hesitated, as he was a generalist wizard and knew very well what these second-ring wizards were researching.

He thought about it for a moment, but still didn't say anything.

Wizard Alex broke the cold atmosphere, "Wizard Augustine, Wizard Jugglus Juggler, like you, is quite obsessed with evolution. You were both sent to the Dune Plane by your teacher."

A remark from the wizard Alex reminded Locke of something.

Locke looked at the wizard Jugglus Juggler and said, "So, it's related to the accelerated evolution of plants?"

He was startled. He channeled his magic into the astral ring on his right index finger, connecting with the Ganoderma lucidum plant. He quickly and secretly accessed the relevant articles published by the wizard Jugglus Juggler.

I've recently studied the Water Hyacinth system interface quite a bit and discovered that within this system, you can access many wizards' articles and view their representative works.

Although some paid articles require purchase to read, at least you can see the title, summary, and introduction.

Locke searched for the wizard Jugglus Juggler's name and the Wizarding Academy, and found that he had published many first-ring journals, but only three second-ring journals to date, and the journals in which these three articles were published did not seem to be very good.

There is not a single article in Zone 1.

It seems that publishing in this second-tier journal is indeed quite difficult.

Locke also confirmed that none of the articles published by the wizard Jugglus Juggler so far mentioned that particular phenomenon in the Dune Plane.

"Yes, without the Zero Elixir, even if that phenomenon were discovered, it would be impossible to translate it into application, or even to amplify the phenomenon and obtain crucial evidence through the Zero Elixir."

"Furthermore, my ability to completely pinpoint the special stone spirit's spirituality was due to the Zero Elixir amplifying its evolution. Without the Zero Elixir's amplifying effect, I might not have been able to analyze the stone spirit's true function."

Locke looked thoughtful.

"My teacher once subtly helped me participate in the Silent Grail War, which was probably a reluctant move under a pre-arranged agreement."

"But she guided me to discover the special stone spirits of the Dune Plane. It's just that our teacher had many disciples and followers; we used similar materials and equipment, shared the same mentors, and were trained in similar ways."

'Therefore, under these circumstances, it's perfectly normal for the wizard Jugglus Juggler to discover the evolution of the special magical plants in the Dune Plane, just as I have. But he may not be certain that that rapid evolution originated from the Stone Spirits.'

At this point, Locke became somewhat anxious.

I also want to try publishing a paper in a second-tier journal using this rapid evolution.

Unexpectedly, they have now encountered a competitor.

When the wizard Jugglus heard Locke mention the rapid evolution of plants, his expression changed slightly. His icy expression finally softened, as if the ice had melted in the sunlight.

"Indeed, the inspiration for your [Leap Evolution] also comes from the Dune Plane."

The wizard Jugglus Juggler snorted coldly.

"In the first half of the year, Zaran Bailey confidently declared that all of Group 2's resources were in his hands, and Group Leader Sith was extremely supportive of him."

"Now it seems he was just exaggerating."

Locke continued to smile.

"That was my teacher Catherine's arrangement for me, and I was inspired by it."

The wizard Jugglus Juggler had an icy expression.

"Same, same. It's just that mine might be better."

"But you discovered it first and used it to complete your great magic."

Locke remained noncommittal, knowing the other party was just being stubborn, and guessed that he probably wanted to use the accelerated evolution of the magical plants in the Dune Plane to apply for special funding.

The judges felt that his team had already presented something similar, and therefore deemed his work lacking in innovation and failing to offer a unique approach.

Of course, Locke mentally calculated the other party's experimental progress and realized that even without him, the other party would most likely not be able to get the grant application.

However, Locke noticed something else, because most of the articles published by Wizard Jugglus Juggler during the first ring were related to elemental evolution.

All three articles in the second-tier journals were related to the evolution of elements.

One of the articles, published in the second-tier journal "Elements and Plants" in Zone 3, mentioned that plants can absorb elemental pollution from a region, which can lead to an exponential increase in the mutation ability of magical plants.

The reason why only Zone 3 can be published, but not Zone 2, seems to be due to insufficient evidence.

Locke looked at Wizard Jugglus and asked, "Wizard Jugglus, you are very good at dealing with elemental pollution? Hmm... you seem to have a deep understanding of elemental evolution, and I would like to discuss this with you."

“I have a pinellia plant, and also…”

The wizard Jugglus Juggler snorted coldly.

"Number 2, the Overlord Element."

“I know. But I’m not interested because these things have nothing to do with the evolution of elements. Your understanding of evolution is still too rudimentary.”

Locke kept smiling.

The troll wizard Ackerman, standing to the side, looked on with great curiosity.

'Strange. From my interactions with Locke, I've learned that he's known outside as the Bewitching Wizard, ruthless and even more ferocious than dark wizards—and that reputation is truly well-deserved. Why is he being so polite to this Jugglus Juggler today?'

Ackerman found it strange.

'This isn't like Locke.'

'Has Locke changed his ways today? Or is he plotting something?'

Locke smiled, seemingly very satisfied with the wizard Jugglus Juggler's answer.

"I wonder what special views the wizard Jugglus Juggler has on elemental evolution?"

The wizard Jugglus seemed still worried about his experiments in the laboratory, so he said, "I'm very busy. Besides, elemental evolution is different from the convergent evolution that Banxia possesses."

"I...have no interest in saying more to you. We can't see eye to eye, so a word is too much."

"Alex, let's go."

Alex nodded to Locke, expressing his goodwill. After their brief exchange, he had a good impression of Locke.

……

Within the Forbidden Forest, the King of the Forbidden Forest turned and walked back into the jungle.

Locke looked at the King of the Forbidden Forest. He was like a high mountain or a dark cloud. No matter where he appeared, he was a presence that made people feel pressure. The King of the Forbidden Forest was once mistaken by many wizards as the Grim Reaper.

The King of the Forbidden Forest had just turned around when, unbeknownst to him, something beneath his robes seemed to be stirring with unease. In an instant, his black robes fluttered as if in a strong wind, and something like putty tried to emerge from beneath them. It was like a slime monster, with a distorted face appearing in his sleeve.

The face roared, looking at Locke as if to say something.

The next moment, the World Leaf that Locke had placed in the Astral Ring automatically left the Astral Ring and flew towards him like a dart, piercing him. Then, the face formed by the slime shrank like a deflated balloon.

The thing returned to the sleeve of the King of the Forbidden Forest.

Locke, meanwhile, retracted his World Leaf. He frowned, realizing that his greatest foundation—the World Leaf—had been activated by an evil aura leaked from the King of the Forbidden Forest, and had automatically attacked that evil being.

So this is what the King of the Forbidden Forest looks like...

This is the hidden place within the Forbidden Forest, a place of death for even the wizards…

What was that thing struggling to escape from his sleeve?
Why would it trigger such a violent reaction from its own World Tree?

Locke looked thoughtful.

Since this leaf of the World Tree is related to my profound magical depth, I should continue to explore the ancient creatures—the World Tree—the guardians of nature, for my own safety.

The King of the Forbidden Forest turned and looked at Locke in astonishment.

"World Leaf. As expected of a ferocious beast, every guardian of nature possesses a unique World Leaf that belongs to them alone."

"Thank you. Your World Leaf, together with mine, is just enough to suppress them."

"The magical tides have been rising higher and higher lately."

"Troubled times."

“Every time there are major changes in the outside world, the Forbidden Forest will also experience various setbacks.”

Locke was stunned. Could it be that the King of the Forbidden Forest was also a guardian of nature?
Does he also have leaves from the world?
Which lineage of the World Tree does the Forbidden Forest belong to?

What exactly is the Forbidden Forest?
Locke suddenly realized that although he was now a second-circle wizard, he could see the southeastern corner of the region even less clearly.

The wizards only lived in the southeast corner region, but the southeast corner region held a greater secret.

Locke gave chase.

"Wait a minute, King of the Forbidden Forest, if you are also a guardian of nature, what are your duties? Are you also a ferocious beast? Can you tell me, what exactly are the duties of the Forbidden Forest?"

I had previously guessed that the Forbidden Forest was likely a massive, extremely powerful spell, perhaps even a fully-forged, extremely powerful spell like those of a third-ring wizard.

But now it seems that this view is also wrong.

These are ideas generated by low-level thinking.

Locke was about to give chase, but the King of the Forbidden Forest had vanished from his sight the next moment and reappeared in the jungle fifty meters away.

With each step he took, it was as if he were teleporting, appearing in a more distant place.

'Space travel?'

A tiger's eye appeared on Locke's forehead.

The King of the Forbidden Forest and the Silent Bee both glanced at the tiger eye on his forehead.

'No. That's not the kind of spatial manipulation magic used by the Charms school; it's a kind of natural magic.'

Locke realized what was happening.

'The King of the Forbidden Forest doesn't seem to be a wizard.'

'Hmm? What's this?'

Locke stared wide-eyed at the strangest thing he had ever seen in his life.

As an individual at least at the third ring level, the King of the Forbidden Forest did not possess various magical powers, but rather dozens of... Root Realm auras.

'It's not his root realm; it seems to belong to someone else, all appearing on his body. There are also some other special things resembling root realms. Could it be that the King of the Forbidden Forest's entire body is imprisoning various monsters?'

'Then he's definitely not a Type I Guardian. He must be some other type of Guardian!' Silent Bee stood in front of Locke, this mischievous fairy flying up and down in front of him.

"Hello, ferocious beast. I am a fairy who serves the guardians of nature. In the distant past, we fairies were all under the command of you guardians of nature. But now, there are very few of us fairies left."

"The Fairy King, who was in charge of creating fairies, disappeared a long time ago for some unknown reason."

"Currently, fairies still exist only deep within the Forbidden Forest."

Locke stared at the unusual dark green bee with a look of surprise.

"A native magical intelligent being of the wizarding world with a unique appearance and shrouded in special powers?"

"Is it a new race?"

Silent Bee was speechless. "I'm not a magical creature, I'm a fairy. Well, in this era, there are probably no more than ten wizards who have ever seen us."

"Only the guardians of nature can command us."

"We are the guides of the forest, the words spoken by nature. Those few words have become the spirits of all things, and that is us—the fairy clan. I am the Silent Bee Fairy."

The Silent Bee flew behind Locke, flying backwards, and used its wings and striped rear to push against Locke's back.

"Don't worry about the King of the Forbidden Forest. He's broken and broken, and their Type III Nature Guardians are [Shepherds]. They're more thoughtful, less talkative, and have different personalities. Our King of the Forbidden Forest, for example, has a heart that's like our Forbidden Forest itself. No one can fathom the temperament of the Forbidden Forest."

"As for the Forbidden Forest... well, you are a ferocious beast, and I am not a fairy who serves you, so I cannot tell you the true purpose of the Forbidden Forest."

Silent Bee sighed. "The King of the Forbidden Forest said that many guardians of nature are also traitors."

"The King of the Forbidden Forest is also not in good condition; he went astray. There's nothing we can do; we've lost contact with the World Tree for a long time, and it hasn't been restored yet."

Locke pondered for a moment, because he had a connection with the World Tree.

But he soon realized that his connection with the World Tree was achieved through various meditation techniques within the wizarding system.

This part is the core system of the wizarding civilization.

This is something that the Forbidden Forest faction has never encountered before.

Therefore, they may really not be able to make contact with the World Tree.

The Silent Bee Fairy fluttered before Locke. "Look," she said, "every blade of grass and every tree in this forest is a living being. Everything here welcomes you."

"Of course, you can't hurt the ferocious beasts either. Otherwise, everyone will still be angry."

"And they'll be even angrier."

The Silent Bee Fairy said, "The King of the Forbidden Forest is still having a headache."

"After that wizard entered the Forbidden Forest, he spread a special energy everywhere, causing the plants in our Forbidden Forest to mutate. The King of the Forbidden Forest is still thinking about how to deal with it."

Locke fell into thought.

Clearly, the Pale Pilgrimage's target is something within the Forbidden Forest, and the Rose Council, their teacher's adversary, is also targeting this place.

Because of his status as a nature guardian, he seemed to be considered half an insider of the Forbidden Forest, or at least a guest.

'Perhaps we should first communicate with this creature who claims to be a fairy and learn about the Forbidden Forest he speaks of.'

Locke made the judgment that best served his own interests.

Locke looked at the Silent Bee. "What kind of energy pollution is this? Perhaps I have a way to deal with it."

The Silent Bee, remembering that Locke was also a wizard, became excited and led him through the Forbidden Forest. "Ferocious beast, I'll take you to see it."

"In the distant past, the ferocious beasts were the most powerful among our guardians. Perhaps you really do have a way."

Locke followed the Silent Bee through the jungle and saw a forbidden forest where the land had turned into white soil, and large swathes of plants had become albino magical plants.

Those albino plants appear to be a special kind of plague, and it is very likely a plant plague created by the Pale Pilgrimage for the Forbidden Forest.

"This soil possesses a powerful magic of death."

A look of caution flashed in Locke's eyes, and he wisely did not approach. Seeing that Locke did not approach, the Silent Bee did not approach either.

"How is it? How is it?" The Silent Bee fluttered up and down in front of Locke.

It flies very fast.

Locke said, "From what I know so far, it seems that the soil was first contaminated with necromancy, and then the mechanism between plants and soil was used to cause the magical plants to be invaded by necromancy, which seems to have created a special path of evolution towards the undead. I must say, this is the first time I've seen this situation."

Momo looked at Locke nervously and asked, "What should we do? Is there a way to solve this quickly?"

"Many ethnic groups within the Forbidden Forest have been affected. If this continues, many will disappear."

Thinking about this, even the kind-hearted Silent Bee felt like crying.

Locke knew why.

Because the Forbidden Forest is different from other forests, it is a place where all magical plants are highly mutated.

The magical plants here are highly specialized, and the magical creatures are even more specialized. The extinction of one magical plant can often wipe out a large number of magical plants and magical creatures.

The Forbidden Forest is both incredibly powerful and incredibly fragile.

Locke pondered, "This is a type of elemental evolution, which I have no background in. Besides, I've been very busy lately. I simply don't have time for this."

Silent Bee became dejected.

Indeed, that is the case. At present, my most important task is to use the agreement I reached with Hussein to explore the plane, complete the testing of the wedding ring, and come up with a way to reduce the cost of the imaginary root.

Apart from these three things, nothing else is more important.

After all, this involves whether his two grant applications will be approved.

Locke really didn't have much time to do anything else.

The research on the Netherworld Iron Tree alone is enough to entice all my attention.

He even began to feel that there were too few capable people.

Locke had an idea. 'Wait, I can't do this in the Forbidden Forest, but I can find someone else to do it.'

"Professor Catherine has so many students and followers, and she has many large project teams under her command. I can always find a second-circle wizard who is interested in this matter."

'Just bring them over to complete this project.'

Locke pondered, "Anyway, it seems that only I, because of my identity as a ferocious beast, can communicate with the fairies in the Forbidden Forest. For other wizards, this place is only polluted by the special undead calamity."

Locke looked at the Silent Bee and said, "Silent Bee, if I can solve this problem for your Nature Guardian, what benefits will I receive?"

The silent bee's eyes widened. "Benefits? Protecting nature requires rewards?"

Locke coughed and said, "No?"

Silent Bee pondered for a moment. "Yes. Ferocious Beast, I saw you summon a treant when you were fighting outside. I can use [Fairy Enlightenment] on you once."

Locke asked in confusion, "What is that?"

Silent Bee chuckled, "That's amazing! Fairy Enlightenment can greatly enhance the intelligence of the Tree People, allowing them to speak."

Locke's eyes brightened slightly.

Wouldn't that mean that Long Guantao, who is similar to one's own teacher, can give magical creatures humanity?

Silent Bee said, “In the distant past, we fairies could enlighten the talking trees. The tree people of that time were different from the tree people enlightened by you wizards. The tree people of that time could speak, enjoy life, and have preferences. They were a true living race.”

“True life. I can help you enlighten the tree person. All I have is immortal dust.”

Locke looked at the Silent Bee with suspicion. Really? Unlimited times?

No, it's most likely limited to a certain number of uses.

However, even if it's just to make one of your tree-people a "talking tree," that would be good.

This allows one to see for oneself what a true tree person is like.

Locke said to Silent Bee, "Deal."

The silent bee gaped. "You actually have a way? You ferocious beast!"

……

Locke's true form looked at the wizard Jugglus Juggler and said to him, who was about to reach the door, "Wait, wizard Jugglus Juggler. I have something for you to see."

The wizard Jugglus turned around impatiently.

Suddenly stunned.

Locke used historical reenactment, capturing scenes from that part of the land.

Upon witnessing this scene, the wizard Jugglus's eyes lit up. "This is a rather special evolution of the death elemental magical plant... cough cough cough..."

Locke chuckled, "I wonder if this will entice Wizard Jugglus to discuss it in detail."

When the wizard Jugglus Juggler saw this, his mouth watered.

For a wizard, discovering an unknown phenomenon or an unknown form of harm means a huge discovery, a big prize, an article, a project, or a title.

The wizard Jugglus Juggler looked surprised.

"You're willing to give me such a precious phenomenon?"

Locke said, “I have too many things to do, I’m too busy to keep up with the research. And I don’t have any promising students. Wizard Jugglus, are you interested? I’ve read your articles, and you seem to be an expert in the evolution of elements.”

"I want to work with you."

The aloofness that had been in Jugglus Juggler's eyes towards Locke vanished completely, replaced by an instant surge of fervor.

It was as if they were looking at their sugar daddy.

The wizard Jugglus smiled. "How could I not be able to keep up with the research? Locke, you seem to have a special talent for finding projects and research targets."

Alex blinked.

Senior, your expression changes way too quickly.

The wizard Jugglus sighed.

"Looking back now, I think the reason my application failed this year was entirely due to my own lack of ability. It had nothing to do with you, Locke, and I shouldn't have taken my anger out on you. I'm truly ashamed."

“Locke, we are all students of the teacher, and we should cooperate, not be enemies.”

"After all, we have a common enemy—the students of the Rose Throne."

The wizard Jugglus's eyes became clear.

(End of this chapter)