Wizard: Starting With Synthesized Gems

At Bonifacius University, Witch Georgina, wearing a wooden mask and showing no expression, was walking alongside Witch Diana by the beautiful lake on campus.

Witch Diana had brought her a bottle of hand cream made by a potion master. Witch Georgina said to Diana, "Thank you, Diana."

"You've always been like this, somehow always seeing what I need."

Witch Diana smiled and said, "It's only a bottle of hand cream. Besides, when I first arrived at Bonifacius University and fell into that mentor's hands, if you hadn't helped me reach the academy director, every report I submitted would likely never have drawn anyone's attention, and they would all have ended up back in that mentor's hands."

"You helped me enormously. I am simply returning the kindness. Georgina, you are a very outstanding wizard. Don't mind what others think of you. You are a truly excellent magical weaver..."

"You are you."

Beneath the wooden mask, a trace of sorrow showed in Witch Georgina's eyes. She moved of her own accord to sit in the pavilion, gazing out at the shimmering surface of the lake.

A student carrying a book walked past her. Upon seeing two formal wizards of Bonifacius University, the student immediately bowed respectfully, then departed after completing the bow.

Witch Georgina said, "Diana, what you said is not quite right. Look at that lake. Is it beautiful? The water in this lake flows from a greater river, and the source of that river comes from the Heavenly Chasm Lands."

"None of us are only individuals. We are also children of our parents, and students or teachers of our schools."

"My parents destroyed the academy's assets. That makes them people of the gravest wrongdoing."

Witch Diana seemed to want to say something but held back. "Georgina, hear me out... what I mean is, your parents did betray the academy and the White Wizard Association, and joined the Twin Demon Realm. But you have never really come to know them as people. Perhaps they never betrayed you?"

"Perhaps you could look at it from another angle. They might at least have been adequate parents?"

The pupils beneath the wooden mask filled at once with anger, and she looked at Witch Diana with fury. "Stealing from the academy is a betrayal of trust. Allowing students to be hunted by black wizards without restraint is an absence of justice. Betraying the academy is a failure of wisdom. Choosing to steal rather than to research and discover on one's own is a refusal of the pursuit of knowledge."

"Of the eight great moral principles of the wizard world, there is not a single one they were able to uphold."

"What more is there to say about people like that?"

"In my eyes, those two are nothing but black wizards. Only black wizards, simply black wizards."

Witch Georgina said in an ice-cold tone, "My attitude toward black wizards is one and the same, trash belongs in the trash bin."

"In this Grand Magic Modeling Competition, I will take the championship without fail, and prove myself to everyone."

"Whether it is articles, awards, or competitions, I will do my best in all of them. Only by doing so can I show everyone that I am a white wizard."

Witch Georgina's tone shifted. "Diana, my dear friend, let's not speak of this any further. What's done is done, there is no need to say more."

"I trained with my supervising teacher today and I am already quite tired. Let's talk about something else. I have looked over the list of competitors for this competition. The participant from the Storm Tower, I know him, and I am familiar with him."

"We met once at a symposium before."

"But there are two competitors in this one that I genuinely do not recognize." Witch Georgina said, "They both seem to be wizards from outside these lands."

"How strange. In past years, the participants in the Silent Chalice Competition were essentially all local wizards, and if you looked closely, their ancestors were almost always Second Circle wizards, or even Third Circle wizards."

Witch Diana smiled. "Oh, you mean Locke and Edgar."

"I have crossed paths with both of them. Both of their parents are indeed most likely not wizards. Edgar and Locke are different from us, they did not come from wizard families."

"When I went to Golden Crown Mountain as an exchange student, I had some exchanges with Locke. Later, when I went to Quinn Jol to attend the Laurel Tree Breeding Symposium, I met Edgar again."

Witch Georgina's eyes brightened slightly at once. "Then you must know both of them quite well? What are the two of them like in terms of personality? What kind of magic do they specialize in? Can you work backwards and deduce what Grand Magic they will construct?"

Witch Diana pursed her lips. "Ahem, ahem, ahem... everything between wizards should be obtained through trade."

"Georgina, take off the mask on your face, and I will tell you. Come to think of it, as your very best friend, I have never even seen your real face."

Witch Georgina's fingers immediately touched her wooden mask. "This? That is out of the question. Ever since my parents were judged by the Sacred Wizardry Tribunal, I have worn this Second Circle magical instrument. I am unwilling to live in this world wearing the face they gave me, not unless I win the Grand Magic Modeling Competition and earn the recognition of the world."

"A new life."

"Only then will I be able to take off this mask. Ask for something else instead, Diana."

Witch Diana frowned, then raised an eyebrow. "I was joking with you. It seems seeing your true face really is no easy matter."

"Georgina, beyond transactions, there is also friendship. You are my friend, and naturally I will help you with everything I have..."

Witch Diana shared what she knew about Locke and Edgar.

Witch Georgina gave a slight nod. "Based on what you have told me, Wizard Edgar specializes in reviving ancient treants, and has a whole host of magic related to Ancient Life Trees."

"And Locke is a breeder who specializes in developing Sea Gold Sand and lunar magic?"

"Edgar has an arrogant personality, yet he pays attention to detail. Locke has an easygoing personality, yet is actually very assertive underneath."

A spell model appeared in Witch Georgina's eyes, resembling an extraordinarily complex magical lock that was being continuously assembled and then disassembled.

Witch Georgina said to Diana, "Thank you, Diana. As a prophet and a magical weaver, once I have their information, I have ways of dealing with them."

"My deepest thanks to you, my dear friend."

Witch Diana smiled and narrowed her eyes. "No need to thank me. Because I seem to also be on fairly good terms with them. So I only dared to tell you because I feel that after all this time, they have probably changed greatly."

"If they are still standing in the same place as before, then losing would not be undeserved." Witch Diana sighed. "I had originally wanted to participate in the Silent Chalice Competition myself, but as luck would have it, the timing conflicted with the sports festivals held by the various academies, and I had no way to enter."

"My luck was poor, and I also did not understand the rules well enough."

"Or perhaps someone felt I was in the way and would block a certain person's path, so they used the rules to have me removed. By the time I realized something was wrong, it was already too late." Witch Diana said, "Georgina, you are my closest friend. The regret of being unable to participate myself, I hope you can make up for on my behalf."

"Both Locke and Edgar are, in my eyes, the finest of opponents."

"To be able to face off against them on the same stage... I envy you greatly."

Witch Georgina said, "Diana... I understand. So, as a tribute to those two good friends of yours, I will use the information you have given me to defeat them both on the competition stage, and then tell them that it was you who gave me this information."

The melancholy vanished from Diana's face at once and she broke into a full smile. "Very well, then I will keep helping you calculate their development. This counts as me crossing swords with them from afar, too."

"Your Fate Weaving magic system has a great need for detailed information..."

Witch Georgina immediately sat up straight and listened attentively. "Please deduce the growth of those two for me, Diana."

...

At Quinn Jol University, in the Wisdom Spring at the foot of Sacred Spring Mountain, Wizard Edgar walked in with a haughty expression, chest out, head held high.

Two Second Circle wizards standing in the forest at a distance from the spring, serving as supervising teachers, were conversing in low voices.

"It's simply abnormal. This person's growth curve is completely broken. If I hadn't looked into it, I would have assumed he was a Third Circle wizard's reincarnation."

"I've heard that among the young First Circle wizards of Golden Crown Mountain this generation, there is indeed a Third Circle wizard's reincarnation, by the name of Antoine."

"Antoine? That spendthrift? That degenerate?"

"Yes, that's the one. He will likely be a strong rival in this competition. This competition concerns the enrollment quotas for the next full ten years across several Unclaimed Lands. If our ranking is poor, it is foreseeable that we will lose at least twenty Sons of the Elements because of it."

"Those Unclaimed Lands have been proven to be extraordinary. Although the area is small, the resources are sparse, and the population is thin, it is precisely where exceptional talent emerges. The wizards who survive there and pass through the various academy examinations to enter our Cloud Marsh Wetlands academies are geniuses among geniuses, every single one of them. On top of that, they have a ruthless edge to them, and are quite capable of producing results in the laboratory. So the academy's requirement for the Silent Chalice Competition ranking is absolute, we must not finish in the last two places."

"The academy is also offering a special reward. If a competitor manages to take first place and win the championship, the academy will distribute at least one third of the Sons of the Elements gained as a result to that wizard's collaborating mentor. You know, don't you, that the faction of our Throne wizard teacher is in great need of a large influx of fresh talent like this."

The other Second Circle wizard glanced in Edgar's direction. "Then we are fortunate to have Edgar. Among the young First Circle wizards of this generation, aside from him, none of the wizards from our own Origin Academy whom we have cultivated here can match the Grand Magic modeling strength of a Third Circle wizard's reincarnation."

"Heh heh, even without the hard requirements from the academy's higher-ups, if Edgar were to finish in the last two places, he would be unable to accept it himself."

The first Second Circle wizard who had spoken laughed and said, "That is true as well. His personality is just like that. I've grown used to it over time. Although I found him arrogant at first, I've come to find him rather endearing after a while."

"By the way, we can arrange one more highest-level First Circle wizard secret realm for Edgar before the competition. Also, breaking through to the Second Circle wizard stage in the near future should be a relatively worthwhile endeavor, given the timing. After all, who knows what the Cloud Marsh Wizard Council vote will turn out to be once more time passes."

...

At Golden Crown Mountain, Locke was resting in his dormitory. He had stopped meditating, since at this juncture, meditating was essentially tantamount to suicide.

Locke drank a vial of Weakening Potion and noticed a message that Daniel had sent him through the water hyacinth network, saying that his energy carrier fog had produced an important result. If Locke was interested, he could bring part of the findings back with him when he returned that evening.

Locke immediately replied on the water hyacinth network to say he needed it.

That was exactly what he had been hoping for.

At that moment, Locke heard a knock at the door. When he opened it, he found it was Witch Williams.

Locke paused for a moment. "Williams, your magic pressure has already reached eight hundred?"

During this period, Locke had been focused entirely on himself and had hardly paid any attention to his two students.

He had only been sending them potions at regular intervals.

Witch Williams gave Locke a respectful bow. "Teacher, I have come this time to apply..."

Locke felt a flicker of deja vu, as though he were seeing a past interaction between himself and Witch Sophia. "I know. You have come to ask me to submit an application to the academy for a breakthrough potion on your behalf, haven't you?"

"Of course."

The formula for the breakthrough potion was sealed away by some mysterious divine lock. Even at his current level, he could refine a breakthrough potion with ease, but since the formula was unknown, and he was forbidden from reverse-engineering it, the only option was to apply to the academy.

Locke had no interest in attempting to reverse-engineer the breakthrough potion either, because no black wizard had dared to do so up to this point.

Without thinking too hard, it was easy enough to understand why. All the black wizards who had tried were already dead.

Witch Williams said quietly, "Beyond that, I would also like to purchase a vial of Hive Mind Potion from you."

Locke gave a nod, understanding her meaning. "So you have made up your mind to walk the path of the Forest Sanctuary."

"Very well. In that case, I will simply give you a vial of Hive Mind Potion as a gift. Let me reach out to my contacts at Dragon Blood Market and see whether they have any in stock."

Witch Williams said in surprise, "I couldn't possibly accept that, Teacher..."

Locke glanced at her. "Williams, you have always been an intelligent person. I trust you greatly."

"So consider this Hive Mind Potion a gift from me. Think of it as a present from your teacher."

Williams said, "Thank you, Teacher."

Locke thought for a moment. "There is also one other matter... actually, let's leave it until after you become a formal wizard."

Locke felt her situation was different from Albert's, and so it would not be appropriate for him to propose, before Williams had become a formal wizard, whether she would like to use the Forest Alliance Curse to link their two Forest Sanctuaries and form a forest alliance.

Doing so could too easily come across as using his own position to pressure her into agreeing.

She was quite possibly going to be his first formal wizard student, and there was no need to create that kind of distance between himself and a student over this. It would be better to wait until she became a formal wizard and then ask her.

That way there would be no suspicion of him pressuring her into anything.