Wizard: Starting With Synthesized Gems

Golden Crown Mountain. The sun seemed like a crimson-gold crown upon the range of one large and three smaller peaks.

At this moment, all across the main peak of Golden Crown Mountain, treants were passing along the news.

The Demon Realm War had ended, and Golden Crown Mountain had achieved victory. The Gate of Hell on Peach Mountain would be closed again. At the same time, the merits accumulated in the war would be exchanged one-for-one for points and reported to the White Wizard Association of the Cloud Marsh Wetlands.

Second, the Three Kings Tournament had concluded, with the competition school team from Golden Crown Mountain's side taking the final championship.

Third, the Silent Chalice competition had concluded. The team led by Locke Augustine had taken the championship, and Golden Crown Mountain had obtained the rights to 50% of enrollment quotas and priority selection of outstanding students from the unclaimed lands within the three Chasm territories bordering the Cloud Marsh Wetlands over the next ten years.

Quinn Jol, placing second, could only obtain 30% of the enrollment quotas.

The last-place finisher could only receive 5%.

Inside the Veriditas Institute castle, Witch Yekaterina naturally heard the competition results as well, because a treant king of the peach tree species, possessing Second Circle-level magic pressure, was walking through Golden Crown Mountain's peaks and announcing these results.

Victory in two of the Cloud Marsh Wetlands' premier competitions and one Demon Realm War represented Golden Crown Mountain's position in the coming ten years as unassailable, along with a vast influx of resources.

The Silent Chalice determined the student allocation rights, talent priority selection rights, and academy system construction rights for the three unclaimed lands.

The Three Kings Tournament determined the rights over a large quantity of high-quality wizard population at favorable costs, as well as the market ownership rights for the next ten years, for one wizard land along the Celestial River in the eastern border region.

That was a competition between Golden Crown Mountain, the Rose Council, and Bonifacius University.

The Three Kings Tournament was divided into a Second Circle competition, a First Circle competition, and an apprentice competition.

Therefore the school teams participating included three components in total. At present, except for the apprentice competition, which had been lost to Bonifacius University, Golden Crown Mountain had won both the First Circle and the Second Circle competitions.

And the person responsible for this aspect was the Academic Committee.

But in truth, ever since Witch Yekaterina had seized the position of vice-chair on the Academic Committee, her standing within the committee had been rising continuously. So this Three Kings Tournament had been under her leadership.

Inside the office, Wizard Jack heard this news and showed a confident smile. "It seems my choice was not wrong. For the coming ten years, Golden Crown Mountain will occupy an advantageous position in the Cloud Marsh Wetlands."

"With a wise witch like yourself at Golden Crown Mountain, it will have a very active period of performance in the years ahead."

Witch Yekaterina curved the corner of her mouth. "Obtaining resources through competitions is one thing, but whether these resources can be converted into actual strength and elevate the academic ranking is another matter entirely."

"In the end, academic ranking is what matters most."

Witch Yekaterina looked out the window. She was, in a rare case, somewhat surprised that Locke had managed to win the Silent Chalice.

In truth, her arrangement for Locke had been that placing third in the Silent Chalice would be acceptable, and placing second would be considered excellent.

Because Golden Crown Mountain had placed only third in the previous Silent Chalice, they held only 15% of the students from the three unclaimed lands.

The entire Golden Crown Mountain could actually accept losing the Silent Chalice.

At least the Academic Committee truly did not care that much about the Silent Chalice. The ones who cared about the Silent Chalice results were the Council of Elders and the Executive Patrol Group.

They had larger interests at stake in the unclaimed lands.

And the Celestial River region, that wizard land, required large quantities of magical plants and needed two breeding-related disciplines from Golden Crown Mountain's side.

The first discipline was Golden Crown Mountain's traditional strength, a specialized sub-field within breeding studies: high-efficiency agriculture.

The second discipline was the second strongest specialized sub-field within Golden Crown Mountain's breeding studies: water conservancy agriculture.

Both disciplines were Academic Committee disciplines.

So the Academic Committee cared most about the Three Kings Tournament, not the Silent Chalice. The Silent Chalice could even be used as a bargaining chip for the Three Kings Tournament.

By proactively conceding in the Silent Chalice, they could ensure Bonifacius University would not become an obstacle in the Three Kings Tournament.

Only, Witch Yekaterina had not expected Bonifacius University to lose again this time.

This made Witch Yekaterina feel a rare trace of surprise at Locke's growth. That Locke could achieve this meant that certain aspects of his development had already exceeded her expectations.

This was not in accordance with her arrangements.

Witch Yekaterina looked toward the water hyacinth network and saw that the Throne-level wizard from Bonifacius University was indeed actively contacting her and asking why she had gone back on her word.

Behind the competitions were the strategic games of the great academies. The competitors were nothing more than a group of lower-circle wizards, arranged by their academies' high-level leadership.

The higher one stands, the farther one can see.

A First Circle wizard's perspective was completely different from a wizard apprentice's, and a Second Circle wizard's perspective was again completely different from a First Circle wizard's.

And as Third Circle wizards, serving as the backbone of the wizard world, they naturally had a different perspective.

Wizard Jack seemed to have reached a cooperative arrangement with Witch Yekaterina, and so spoke in a relaxed tone. "This time, Bonifacius University voluntarily chose not to clash head-on with your powerful Second Circle competitors in the Three Kings Tournament."

"So they bet everything on the Silent Chalice. It seems Bonifacius University reached a cooperation agreement with your Golden Crown Mountain through the Three Kings Tournament, and also reached a cooperation with Quinn Jol by giving up one market. But they ended up placing third in the Silent Chalice too."

"I imagine Bonifacius University's side is furious."

Witch Yekaterina said, "The dealings between high-level parties are one thing, but for those lower-circle wizards, the competition is another thing entirely."

"Dealings can only increase the probability that their academy's competitors will take the championship. Nothing more. I believe the main problem that has caused so many issues in the Cloud Marsh Wetlands today is the difference in cognition between high-circle wizards and lower-circle wizards, which many high-circle wizards have not yet perceived."

"Certainly, for high-circle wizards, standing higher means seeing farther. But one important reason why lower-circle wizards still matter greatly to us is that sometimes, when you stand too high, certain things are not seen as clearly. And at the same time, certain things also become not so easy to accomplish."

Witch Yekaterina said, "For high-circle wizards, these competitions may seem like nothing more than a transaction. But for lower-circle wizards, these competitions are an important opportunity for them to obtain the resources needed to advance. Therefore, confirming a transaction does not determine who wins the competition. I believe Bonifacius University's side will very quickly understand this point."

Witch Yekaterina thought of Locke unexpectedly winning the Silent Chalice championship, and the corner of her mouth curved upward in a smile.

But she quickly thought again of something less pleasant, which was the matter of the traitors within her organization.

...

Beneath the Silent Throne, Locke walked out of the Silent Plane. Seven sun ring wizards, the competition committee, and wizard journalists from various Cloud Marsh Wetlands publications all converged on him at once.

These people were eager to welcome the champion, but they also had another purpose.

A wizard journalist directly addressed Locke, "Breeder Augustine, were you able to successfully stop the Silent Plane's apocalypse at the end because you had already discovered the truth of the Silent Plane?"

Locke felt the magical power within his body, which had already dropped back to 9,999. His soul had returned to its period of decline.

His soul's aura was like a candle flame in the wind, like an elderly person at the end of their days.

Only with thoughts of the World Tree leaf, he was not particularly worried.

At the same time, because he had won the championship, he could directly bring the Moon of Evolution and the world-scale realm merged with it out of the Silent Plane. So at this moment he could sense the Moon of Evolution.

Only now the Moon of Evolution had no World Stone, and so had withdrawn from its Grand Magic state and reverted to its foundational spell.

At the same time, the world-scale realm, having lost the support of the Silent Plane, was shrinking rapidly, down to roughly one thirtieth of its original size within the Silent Plane.

And with time passing, it had the possibility of fading away. He had to reach the Second Circle as quickly as possible to ensure the realm's continued existence.

And to restore the realm to its original scale would require creating an environment similar to the Silent Plane.

At this moment, faced with the wizard journalist's question, before Locke could respond, the chair sun ring wizard of the competition committee, Wizard Tatar, spoke up with a somewhat urgent tone toward Locke. "Augustine, did you discover the truth behind the apocalypse within the Silent Plane?"

"That is an unresolved question left by the great Silent Witch during her Second Circle stage. Although she is now a Truth Wizard, because her own magic pressure exceeds the Silent Plane's by far too much, like a carriage that cannot be fitted inside a snail shell, she cannot enter it with her true body."

In truth, a projection could also enter.

But in practice, this was also impossible.

Because a Truth Wizard's projection bore the truth she embodied. When she entered a plane whose total magic pressure differed too greatly from her true body, her truth would contaminate that world.

And the world would then change in its appearance.

Once that happened, she would naturally be unable to know what had occurred in the Silent Plane at that time.

This was not to say she was incapable of certain things.

Rather, for someone at her level, the problem from back then was simply far too minor. The moment she appeared, the problem would automatically disappear.

This was also one of the reasons why all high-circle wizards needed their own students so greatly.

Some things were actually simpler for lower-circle wizards to handle.

Wizard Tatar spoke with deep feeling, addressing Locke, "If you could answer the great Silent Witch's unresolved question, that would be truly wonderful."

"That is something we all hope to see happen."

"Locke, you have already obtained the truth of the Silent Plane, have you not?"

The eyes of the other six sun ring wizard judges also became very complex.

Locke swept his gaze across the seven wizards with their powerful magic pressure. At this moment his declining soul was so fragile before these seven wizards that he was somewhat dizzy, and so hesitated for a moment. He nearly, due to the soul's declining period, actually blurted out that he had already discovered the truth.

But he quickly caught himself.

Locke, under the expectant gazes of everyone hoping for a certain answer, gave a slight shake of his head.

"I apologize, Chairman Tatar. I have disappointed everyone. I did not discover why the Silent Plane would inevitably be destroyed."

All seven sun ring wizards' eyes brightened slightly for an instant.

In an instant, Wizard Tatar showed a satisfied expression, then put on a look of regret. "What? How can that be? We all saw you resolve the apocalypse."

Locke thought for a moment and said, "Well, it was actually like this. I discovered that the reason the disc creature could descend onto that plane was primarily because, although that plane's total biomass was large, the composition of the biomass was entirely human beings, with no plants. By descending the realm and summoning a large number of plants, I made up for the problem of that plane's lack of plants."

"At the same time, I used my Moon of Evolution to cause those magical plants to undergo the phenomenon called Surge Evolution."

"And after the Surge Evolution, I had the collective magical plants undergo a secondary collective evolution, having them collectively acquire an earth attribute element. These changes in the magical plants' attributes triggered changes in the plane's magical tide attributes. The attributes of two worlds' magical tides formed a conflict, triggering a chain reaction, and magical tides biased toward water and earth attributes would trigger the large-scale generation of wood element particles..."

Locke proceeded to make up a plausible-sounding explanation. "This caused the Fallen Rain Realm to be forced to retreat."

This was something that could theoretically be accomplished.

Because Locke had obtained a World Tree leaf, and if that World Tree leaf could be extracted from the Second Circle climbing fern and placed on the moon plant on the moon's dark face, Locke could use the Moon of Evolution to bestow upon the magical plants in his ecological community the Earth Plant Essences inherent within the World Tree leaf.

This was something Locke had perceived upon obtaining the World Primordial Magical Plant. A World Primordial Magical Plant, because of its World Tree leaf, had the special function of spreading its own plant essences to other magical plants.

The seven sun ring wizards, along with the wizard journalists from various publications, all showed expressions of deep thought.

Even the seven sun ring wizards, who knew Locke was making things up with a straight face, began to think seriously.

Because what Locke described did seem to represent a viable line of thinking.

It was potentially achievable.

Only to realize it would require enormous amounts of data monitoring, repeated experiments. And Locke's idea at this point had only reached the stage of a thought experiment.

It had not been truly verified.

And verifying it would require tens of millions of magic stones, and potentially double-digit numbers of formal wizards.

In other words, Locke absolutely could not have directly realized this idea during a competition.

The seven sun ring wizard judges, although knowing Locke was talking nonsense, all continued smiling and nodding involuntarily.

They knew this was an excuse.

But at this moment, Locke had given them face. They were naturally extremely satisfied.

This young person really did know how to handle people.

No wonder even the great Silent Witch had taken a liking to him.

He really was a good young person.

Locke looked toward Wizard Tatar and said, "What allowed me to successfully stop the two planes from colliding this time was my use of the Surge Evolution mechanism between plants to change the attributes of the magical tides, which in turn changed the attributes of the planar force. Through the special relationship between two types of planar force attributes, the apocalypse was caused to disappear."

"This both provides strong proof of the Surge Evolution relationship, and can demonstrate the importance of plant ecology to planes. Perhaps this could be worth two First Circle Tier 1 or Tier 2 journal articles?"

The seven sun ring wizards' smiles simultaneously stiffened.

All seven looked at each other.

Well then. This person was truly audacious, openly making a transaction request to seven sun ring wizards in a public setting.

The corner of Wizard Tatar's mouth twitched. He had just thought Locke knew how to handle people, but was he perhaps too good at handling people?

There was absolutely no way Locke could have completed, during a competition in a plane, a project that would require tens of millions of magic stones, double-digit numbers of formal wizards, and more than ten years of time.

But as the competition committee of the Silent Chalice, none of the seven of them wanted Locke to say publicly that he had discovered the reason why the Silent Plane would inevitably ultimately be destroyed.

So Locke wanted to leverage the approval and agreement of the seven of them to forcibly obtain a powerful academic endorsement or evidence, allowing him, after becoming a Second Circle wizard, to quickly use this academic backing to publish one or two related Second Circle journals.

In other words, he wanted the seven of them to pinch their noses and pretend to acknowledge Locke's conclusion, and implicitly assume that Locke had already completed the project he described.

Wizard Tatar found the situation somewhat comically exasperating.

One could only say the Eye Demon Wizard lived up to his name.

That said, he had no personal objection to Locke. Seizing every opportunity and pursuing metrics was also the working style of Cloud Marsh Wetlands wizards.

Locke doing this actually did not generate any ill feeling from him. He just found it somewhat funny.

Wizard Tatar smiled and said, "The logic of publishing Second Circle journals is completely different from that of publishing First Circle journals."

"Publishing Second Circle journals is much harder than you might imagine, Locke. So this requires further discussion. Even if we agree with your conclusion... we..."

Wizard Tatar stopped abruptly, choosing to leave it at that.

"But the things you have described, I believe, would be more than sufficient to warrant two publications in Green Grass Cloud Marsh."

The other six sun ring wizards also nodded quickly.

"Yes, that is my view as well. Even after becoming a Second Circle wizard, you can still publish First Circle journals. Most First Circle journals do not prohibit Second Circle wizards from submitting."

"Indeed. Especially Green Grass Cloud Marsh. Even if you have no use for it yourself, your students and friends certainly will. After you become a Second Circle wizard, you will discover just how easy First Circle journals are to publish. After all, for journals at the First Circle stage, creating atmosphere and playing house far surpasses their actual significance."

Locke furrowed his brow slightly.

For some reason, at the Second Circle stage, journal publishing seemed to become considerably stricter, to the point where, despite this being related to the Silent Chalice competition, not a single one of the seven sun ring wizards on the competition committee before him dared to commit to helping him publish a journal.

His original plan had been that Tier 1 was certainly out of reach, but perhaps he could scrape together two Second Circle Tier 2 publications.

But looking at the situation now, there must be something within it he did not understand.

So all seven sun ring wizards before him absolutely would not make this commitment for him, and could only commit to helping him publish in Green Grass Cloud Marsh.

Locke had no choice but to let it go.

He spoke with the seven sun ring wizards of the competition committee for a while longer. The seven congratulated him on winning the championship and achieving the final victory, followed by an exchange of various courtesies.

Then they stepped aside.

Because the next segment was the award ceremony for the four competitors to take the stage.

Of course, it was now three competitors.

Locke, Edgar, and Witch Georgina stepped onto the award platform. Amid the applause of many wizards, they each received the medal representing this competition.

The Silent Chalice medal was also a Second Circle magical artifact badge.

The badge was shaped like the Silent Throne, and this magical artifact came with one Second Circle spell, Silence.

Once activated, this spell could create a zone of absolute soundlessness within a thousand-meter radius, in which no sound could exist.

This would cause many techniques relying on air vibration to strike enemies, or certain illusion spells using sound as a medium, to completely lose their effectiveness.

The enchantment spell on all three badges was identical. Only the badge Locke received bore a gold number 1, Edgar's bore a silver number 2, and Georgina's bore a copper number 3.

On the award platform, as they were about to enter the champion's speech segment, Wizard Chad was muttering behind Locke, urging Locke to give a proper speech as champion, to make up for the regret of his own competition ten years ago when there had been no champion speech segment.

Although Locke had no idea what connection this had to making up for his regret.

Witch Preston was also extremely excited and was practically itching to get up on stage and give the speech herself.

But at this moment, the voices in the crowd suddenly quieted. Wizards automatically parted to make way, bowing toward a silent figure who was walking among them.

The Silent Witch descended from her seat in the sky and walked silently through the crowd, coming to stand before Locke and Edgar.

Locke and Edgar paused for a moment, then gave the Silent Witch a formal bow.

Two ink-colored magical boxes floated before the Silent Witch, then each floated toward Locke and Edgar respectively.

"Welcome to the world of Second Circle wizards."

"The two of you remind me of those years when I had just become a Second Circle wizard. That time feels so distant now. How truly nostalgic. Youth... is such a wonderful thing."

"These are gifts for you. Inside each is the most suitable resource for you."

"Watching this competition, I am very happy."

In the next instant, the Silent Witch vanished.

Wizards murmured among themselves. The Silent Witch had actually given two of the competitors additional gifts. It was just unclear what she would give.

Unfortunately, Locke and Edgar would not open them openly right here.

The seven sun ring wizard judges were also surprised by this.

And the wizard journalists from wizard publications were madly snapping shots of this scene with their True Sight Orbs, while urging their students to quickly write up a news brief.