Wizard: Starting With Synthesized Gems

Locke sat atop the Rainbow Sparrow, gazing out over the lands of the Golden Crown Mountain district. Demon Realm Storms had descended all across Golden Crown Mountain, and the massive demonic beast was rampaging wildly, throwing the magical tides of the entire region into unprecedented chaos.

In the distance, in the direction where the Rose Garden lay, Locke watched the demonic beast open its enormous maw. A Demon Realm Storm erupted from the mouth of the black five-fingered beast and came crashing down upon the Rose Garden.

The two magical forces collided, producing a spectacle as though heaven and earth were tearing apart.

The enormous Demon Realm Storm relentlessly destroyed the rose vines, while the rose vines just as relentlessly regenerated.

As long as the rose vines were not destroyed, the entire small town would not be destroyed.

As long as the small town was not destroyed, the magical array that the Rose Garden had set into the spirit veins running beneath the Rose Garden town would not disappear.

And the Rose Garden would still have a thread of hope.

As long as they could hold out until the Demon Realm War ended, the Twin Demon Realm would be forced to leave. So she did not need to defeat the demonic beast with its Third Circle magic pressure. She simply needed to survive for at least one month under its assault.

The garden master witch of the Rose Garden, watching the Rose Garden town be repeatedly destroyed and repeatedly restored, saw a flash of hope in her eyes.

In the next moment, the underground spirit vein beneath the Rose Garden town was pulled directly out of the earth by the demonic beast. The beast clamped its jaws around the underground magical energy network, chewed several times, and swallowed it whole.

The moon ring wizard of the Rose Garden's expression changed drastically. With the ley lines swallowed by the Twin Demon Realm, the magical array the Rose Garden had spent hundreds of years laying out beneath the Rose Garden town no longer had sufficient magical energy to sustain it. One rose after another began to wither.

Multicolored roses wilted and died in a continuous cascade. At the same time, the town was being destroyed piece by piece. One after another, the Rose Garden wizards responsible for maintaining the array nodes were forcibly transported by the Twin Demon Realm's demonic beast up into the Second Sky.

There, within the demonic realm's black holes, their armed resistance would be completely dismantled and they would be entirely consumed by the demon realm.

The moon ring wizard's eyes held despair, because she could see that the demonic beast did not only intend to destroy the Rose Garden and seize the magical fields hidden in the core of the garden. It had spread its magic pressure to cover the entire region where the Rose Garden stood.

The Rose Garden town, along with several nearby mortal nations.

It intended to uproot this entire region and eliminate the Rose Garden completely.

The moon ring wizard gritted her teeth. She now had two choices.

The first was to abandon the wizard academy and flee immediately.

With her powerful magical abilities as a moon ring wizard, she could use her own Grand Magic, the Gilded Rose, to force her way through and cut a path to escape.

But the Rose Garden's large number of First Circle wizards and wizard apprentices would have nowhere to go.

Especially since she had already seen the Rose Garden's only three ordinary Second Circle wizards forcibly breaking their contracts, bearing the magical backlash of being penalized by the True Eye of Truth and the cost of having their civilization credit points wiped to zero, joining together and fighting desperately to get out.

The second choice was to remain and stand her ground.

The garden master looked at the many First Circle wizards still straining to gather magical power and resist the Demon Realm Storm. She clenched her jaw. "The hundred-year tradition of the Rose Garden cannot be severed in my hands. If it were, how could I face my teacher."

"In past Demon Realm Wars, there has never been a precedent for a wizard academy as large as the Rose Garden being completely annihilated."

"What exactly does the Twin Demon Realm intend to do? Have they lost control? Or is it the one behind them..."

The garden master's eyes became resolute. "Having become a discarded piece, I concede I played my hand poorly. It is my failure as a wizard leader that has implicated the wizards of this academy. Therefore, I will live and die with my academy. I would rather be the last garden master of the Rose Garden than cut off my own tail to survive."

The garden master looked in the direction of Golden Crown Mountain, as though trying to determine whether Golden Crown Mountain would send aid.

...

One week later.

Locke found something peculiar. Golden Crown Mountain had assembled wizard armies and gone out in various directions to rescue victims of the Demon Realm Storms, limiting the range of devastation wrought by those storms.

These actions were genuinely effective in responding to the Demon Realm Storm disaster. Yet not once had they proactively struck out to eliminate the demonic beast. Instead, they only moved to suppress it after the demonic beast and the Demon Realm Storm's range had grown too large.

In other words, Golden Crown Mountain was permitting a certain degree of Demon Realm Storm to exist, and only acted to eliminate it once it grew beyond a certain threshold.

Locke walked along the foot of Golden Crown Mountain, sinking into thought. 'Does Golden Crown Mountain have a special agreement with the Twin Demon Realm?'

'Of course, Golden Crown Mountain does not tax the wizard academies across the Golden Crown Mountain district. Those academies are not subordinate units of Golden Crown Mountain. They are competitors for students and magical resources, and so Golden Crown Mountain genuinely has no obligation to help them.'

'Providing rescue aid is already generous enough.'

Golden Crown Mountain was not the ruler of the Golden Crown Mountain district. It was simply the most well-known and most powerful wizard academy in the district.

Yet Locke still sensed something off in Golden Crown Mountain's strange attitude.

This matter was not as simple as it appeared on the surface.

For instance, the mid-to-large-scale wizard academies within the Golden Crown Mountain district, those closest in power to Golden Crown Mountain, such as the Demon Hub City, were taking advantage of the Demon Realm Storm to dispatch wizards and scavenge magical resources from the victims.

The Eternal Glory Hall and the Sandbar Tower had shut their gates, refusing to venture out, and were pretending nothing was happening.

Only Kungudin Construction Academy had dispatched some wizards to rescue certain victims.

Locke came back to himself and found standing before him, dressed in a white wizard robe with snowflake patterns embroidered along the cuffs, the white dragon princess, Witch Preston.

Alongside her was the supervising wizard from Landbridge, moon ring Wizard Chad Schultz.

Witch Preston gave Locke a wave. "Little Brother Locke, what are you thinking about? You look deeply preoccupied."

Locke gave her a nod. "Only thinking about some things I cannot quite work out."

Only by standing at a greater height could one see further.

Locke set aside his doubts. Perhaps once he became a Second Circle wizard, these questions would resolve themselves naturally.

If he could not work them out now, there was no point in dwelling on them.

Wizard Chad Schultz looked at his watch and frowned. "What is going on? The Silent Chalice Competition is waiting for us. What is Antoine playing at? He was notified in advance. Why is he not here?"

"At this rate we are going to be late."

Witch Preston said, "Well, it is not that big a deal. If that fellow Antoine does not come, we can swap in a substitute. Going by the order of substitution, if that fellow Antoine does not come and Witch Juliana does not come either, then the fifth in line is a wizard from Kungudin Construction Academy, so the sixth in line would be the one who comes..."

Wizard Chad Schultz said, "The Silent Chalice Competition is extremely serious. If Antoine truly fails to appear, I will also need to find a way to invite Witch Juliana. Otherwise, I genuinely have no confidence going into this Silent Chalice."

Witch Preston stood with her hand on her hip, curling the corner of her mouth into a flippant smile.

The three of them waited for approximately an hour and a half before Antoine finally arrived in a magic carriage.

When Wizard Chad Schultz saw Antoine's magic carriage appear, he let out a sigh of relief, but his eyes were unfriendly and he was visibly suppressing his anger.

Witch Preston, meanwhile, said to Antoine, "Antoine, where have you been carousing this time? You made us wait this long."

Antoine stepped out of the magic carriage. His clothing was tattered, as though he had come as a beggar. "My apologies, everyone. I have only just come out of the Fighting Purgatory. I was already moving at the fastest speed I could to make it in time."

Witch Preston was amused by this sight. "That is a bit extreme, Antoine. I am genuinely not used to seeing you like this."

"Is that supernatural purgatory, the Fighting Purgatory, truly so dangerous that even you would end up in such a state?"

Antoine curled the corner of his mouth. "Would you like to try it for yourself?"

Wizard Chad Schultz urged them along. "Alright, all three of you. We need to go now. Otherwise, we will not make it in time."

"I will use my Grand Magic to get us to the competition venue as quickly as possible. It is in the Quinn Jol district, the site of the Silent Chalice Competition, where the Silent Throne stands."

Wizard Chad Schultz flipped his left hand over, and a tea tree descended. Then the tree suddenly grew to millions of times its size, becoming the Water Saint Tea Tree, with a single tea leaf large enough to hold an entire city-state.

Then, just as Locke was curiously wondering what method Wizard Chad intended to use to move them quickly with his Grand Magic, the next moment, the flower buds between the leaves of the Water Saint Tea Tree suddenly condensed water vapor, and like a flower bud concentrating liquid, they fired at each of the four people a jade-like ball of water.

A First Circle botany spell, the Tea Pearl Water Bullet.

Locke blinked, and instinctively used the Hydra to form a Nature Force Field.

Then he was swallowed by the water bullet. A tremendous inertial force came crashing into him, and at the same time the large quantity of liquid enveloping his body caused his vision to go dark.

'Damn, this is how we are traveling!' Locke was at a loss for words. 'Given the strength of this spell, if my Nature Force Field had not been strong enough, I would have been seriously injured by it.'

In the brief glimpse he had caught just now, he saw the water bullet directly smash Antoine's fine magic carriage and then swallow Antoine within it. It was unclear whether that was intentional.

...

The Silent Throne.

This was an enormous chair suspended in the sky. At its core it was a Third Circle magical instrument, one that had locked onto the Silent Plane and subjected it to special modifications, establishing a unique cooperative arrangement with the world will of that plane.

Below the Silent Throne was a massive circular spectator arena.

At this point, every seat in the spectator arena was filled, without a single vacancy.

The seated tickets had sold out, and standing tickets were being sold too. Not only were they sold out, they were oversold, because there were always some wizards who would encounter something unexpected and fail to show up.

From the very beginning, the white wizards on the competition committee had assumed that a certain number of wizards would pay for tickets and then not attend.

Therefore, both standing and seated tickets were oversold.

In any case, if it truly became too crowded, refunds could always be issued. But from the perspective of white wizards, earning less money by not selling enough tickets was simply unacceptable.

And for a spectator stand, as long as people were willing to squeeze, there was always room for more.

Second Circle wizards and First Circle wizards from all over had come to the competition venue.

The Grand Magic Modeling Competition held a degree of value for both First Circle and Second Circle wizards alike.

Wizards from Golden Crown Mountain, Bonifacius University, and various major wizard academies from all regions had come to watch.

For example, the Demon Hub City had spent money to group-purchase a good front-section seating area, and Witch Camilla was prominently among them.

She puffed out her cheeks, bought herself some popcorn, and sat in the front row, looking up at the Silent Throne in the sky. "That damned Locke. He forced me to send my little sister away to the peripheral wizard lands."

"In this competition, I want to see just what he is capable of."

"Let's see what ranking you end up with." Camilla looked guiltily at the collaborating mentor sitting beside her. 'He took so many of my natal witch porcelain pieces. I have no idea how to explain that to the academy.'

'If this fellow publicly produces a pile of our academy's natal witch porcelain pieces, then my observing teachers and colleagues will... how am I supposed to explain that? Last time, someone already speculated that I had traded the natal witch porcelain to Locke, and it was only that no one pursued it further.'

Witch Camilla thought with profound guilt.

On the other side, Wizard Mac from Kungudin Construction Academy was also sitting in the spectator stands, looking up at the Silent Throne. "Teacher, is that the Third Circle magical instrument, the Silent Throne? What tremendous magic pressure. I cannot even determine its total magnitude. Its magic pressure feels as vast as an entire world."

The sun ring wizard beside Wizard Mac heard this and laughed. "Your perception is correct. The Silent Throne has locked onto the Silent Plane, so that is indeed the magic pressure of an entire world."

"This is a magical instrument created by a Third Circle Throne wizard, who poured vast resources and painstaking effort into its creation. It has already stood for a thousand years."

"Watch it carefully. We are also seeing the real thing for the first time. Just like you, we are also astonished. If anything, because we have seen more, we may be even more astonished than you."

The second most powerful force in the Quinn Jol district, the wizard academy of Little Repose Mountain, also had many wizards in attendance.

A First Circle peak-stage wizard who had come with his sun ring wizard teacher looked up at the throne in the sky with resentment, and said quietly, "If I had not lost to that bastard Edgar, I would also have had the chance to enter that throne and compete."

"Damn it. Among the young generation of Quinn Jol there used to be no wizard my equal, and then out of nowhere, Edgar showed up. Teacher, I am not willing to accept this."

The Second Circle wizard from Little Repose Mountain gave him a glance. "Not willing to accept it? Good. That is precisely the right response, Martin. This is what it looks like to be on the losing side. What did you think would happen to those who fail in competition?"

"You are like this, and Little Repose Mountain is like this too. The entire ecosystem of the Cloud Marsh Wetlands is a fiercely competitive one, and the Five Great Wars are only one part of that competitive ecosystem."

"In this ecosystem, who dares to not fight with everything they have? Anyone who falls behind by even a fraction loses a corresponding fraction of resources."

"So the leaders press forward with diligence and dare not let their guard down for a moment. The challengers strive with great determination, seeking to overtake those ahead of them. Those who came first have the advantage of the early mover. Those who came later have the advantage of learning from those before them."

The sun ring wizard from Little Repose Mountain had eyes full of ambition. "You only need to remember that a thousand years ago, Quinn Jol University was not one of the seven top-tier academies. So a thousand years from now, our Little Repose Mountain can also rise to overtake them."

"Martin, a single win or loss does not matter. Watch this competition you were unable to participate in. Savor the experience of being a loser who can only sit on the sidelines and watch the winners compete."

"And then go work hard."

Wizard Martin swallowed. That was all well and good to say, but... Teacher, you really do not have to be quite this cutting.

What do you mean, savor the experience of being a loser sitting on the sidelines.

This...

Wizard Martin covered his face. "Anyway, if that fellow Edgar dares to lose to someone else, I will be even more furious. Since he beat me, he had better not lose this competition."

On the other side, wizards who had come from the Bonifacius district were discussing things among themselves.

A rapid painter from the Black and White Gallery, a mid-to-large-scale wizard organization in the Bonifacius district, asked quietly, "I hear that the main competitor from Bonifacius University this generation has parents who are both black wizards."

Another crystallization-stage First Circle rapid painter from the Black and White Gallery immediately looked at his colleague in surprise. "The offspring of black wizards? Then on what grounds can she compete? Why should someone like that be allowed to study magic?"

"The offspring of the contemptible."

The first wizard from the Black and White Gallery who had spoken shrugged. "I also have no idea what Bonifacius University was thinking."

"Perhaps they have lost their minds. If you ask me, the offspring of black wizards should never be given any opportunity."

The second Black and White Gallery wizard coughed and said quietly, "That's enough. Stop talking."

The first rapid painter from the Black and White Gallery frowned in annoyance, thinking the other was interrupting him. He turned around, and an awkward expression spread across his face.

Because the spot where they were standing was beside a corridor, and the wizards of Bonifacius University had just happened to walk past them, having been directly behind them just moments ago.

And the wizard they were calling the offspring of black wizards was standing right there in the group, wearing a wooden mask.

It was unclear how much of their conversation had been overheard.

Witch Georgina, wearing her wooden mask, glanced at the two Black and White Gallery wizards with a slight frown.

Two of Georgina's Bonifacius University assistants, walking beside her, said quietly, "Don't mind them. The Black and White Gallery? A wizard academy that is already on its way down. By all accounts, their enrollment figures get worse every year."

"They are being beaten down year after year by Cassirose Arts University."

"The ink painters of Cassirose Arts University simply cannot tolerate a rapid painter wizard academy gaining too much of a foothold in the Cloud Marsh Wetlands."

"People like them cannot represent the broader population of the Cloud Marsh Wetlands."

Witch Georgina gave a nod. "Thank you, Adam Smith."

Adam Smith deliberately said loudly, within earshot of the two Black and White Gallery wizards, "Heh, who knows how much longer the Black and White Gallery can keep operating in the Cloud Marsh Wetlands. If their enrollment keeps declining like this, within a few years they will probably have to relocate to another wizard territory just to maintain their standing."

Both Black and White Gallery wizards flushed with anger and embarrassment.

But at that very moment, someone suddenly appeared, laughing heartily and speaking in a rhythmic, sonorous voice, "That is because rapid painters are not true magic, not true art!"

"A gallery full of 'masterpieces,' step closer and all you find are formulas. Your color calculations are precise, but the audience wants to leave. Your quick sketches flash fast as lightning? Machines will replace you by morning."

"Rapid painters, put away your sketchbooks and admit you are nothing but tools. Art is wildfire consuming the plains, and you are human printing machines!"

The Grand Master wandering bard of Cassirose Arts University, the one who had served as the chief reviewer for Locke's Tier 2 funding project, Master Milady, was advancing toward their group one rhythmic step at a time, exaggerated gestures in full swing, delivering each line with theatrical flourish.

Nearby, several wizard fans exclaimed in recognition, having identified the Third Circle Wizard Master Milady.

One of the most accomplished wandering bards in the Cloud Marsh Wetlands.

Setting aside Fourth Circle Truth Wizards and Third Circle Throne Wizards, Master Milady had a realistic shot at claiming the title of the finest wandering bard below the Throne rank, or in short, the finest below the Throne.

Adam Smith blinked. "Master Milady!"

The two rapid painters from the Black and White Gallery immediately bowed their heads, pretending not to see.

After all, Cassirose Arts University was their Black and White Gallery's greatest adversary.

And those ink painters never stopped looking down on them as rapid painters.

Now, the two of them, both First Circle wizards in unfamiliar territory, had run into a Third Circle wizard from Cassirose Arts University.

The wisest thing they could do was to bury their heads like ostriches and pretend to be invisible. Otherwise, they were only asking for humiliation.

Master Milady looked toward Witch Georgina, and suddenly his tone turned serious and warm. "Georgina, you are the most artistically gifted magical weaver I have ever encountered. The artistic spirit contained within your work genuinely astonishes even me. That is why you are the finest competitor Bonifacius University could have."

Witch Georgina's eyes brightened slightly, and she bowed to him. "Thank you, Master Milady. Master, the way you face the world with humor and levity is an optimistic and positive spirit worth learning from."

Adam Smith's eyes also brightened, and he asked Master Milady, who was known for his affable nature and his enjoyment of mingling with low-circle wizards. "Master Milady, do you believe Lady Georgina can win this competition? Is she your top pick?"

After all, for an artist, that kind of praise was already an extraordinarily high assessment.

Master Milady paused for a moment. "Well... Witch Georgina is certainly the most artistically gifted magical weaver I know. But Wizard Edgar of Quinn Jol is also the most vitally alive breeder I have ever seen."

"And Golden Crown Mountain's Wizard Locke Augustine... he made me reflect that Witch Yekaterina has found another herself. That young man is remarkably clever, and has surprised even me on occasion."

"So asking me who I favor most, that is difficult to say."

"That is precisely what makes the competition worth watching, and worth anticipating."

Master Milady gestured expressively, making his way to the VIP spectator seating, singing and dancing as he went. "This world is a chessboard, every one of us a piece. Some are kings sweeping all before them, some are pawns who get kicked aside."

"They laugh at me for caring too much, I laugh at them for caring too little. The true winners never fear, win or lose is up to you and me, the board will show who stands tallest."

Adam Smith wiped the cold sweat of second-hand embarrassment from his brow. "The Master is still as... as creative as ever."

Witch Georgina watched the Master's retreating figure, murmuring softly. "Win or lose is up to you and me, the board will show who stands tallest..."

Adam Smith looked toward the waiting area on the competition stage, frowning. "Quinn Jol, the Storm Tower, and ourselves are all here. Where is the Golden Crown Mountain team?"

"Have they still not arrived?"

The supervising teacher from Bonifacius, seeing this, was also taken aback for a moment. "The Golden Crown Mountain supervising teacher should be Wizard Chad Schultz, who participated in the Silent Chalice ten years ago."

"I had some dealings with him back then. That man has an extraordinarily arrogant personality. Whether he has changed in ten years, I cannot say. But he is someone who is always punctual. They are about to exceed the time limit. With this many spectators and competition personnel watching, is he truly going to make everyone wait?"

Because of the unique nature of the Silent Chalice Competition, competitors would not be eliminated for going over time unless it was absolutely unavoidable.

This moon ring wizard thought for a moment and said, "Let's go, Georgina. We will head up first."

"What on earth is the Golden Crown Mountain team doing?"

"You will all be ascending the Silent Throne very soon. Georgina, how far along is your soul decline? Will you still be able to bear it? Since the competition was approaching, I had you all stop using Weakening Potions two weeks in advance."

"Hmm? Could it be that Golden Crown Mountain is intentionally stalling to disrupt our condition? That is exactly the kind of thing Chad Schultz would do. Back then he played dead and nearly blindsided me. Fortunately, I spotted the problem in advance."

This moon ring wizard found herself more and more convinced that something was wrong, and her expression darkened as she gritted her teeth.

"Whatever you do, do not let the enemy's scheming affect you. We go up first. Just wait until I see his face. I will give him a lesson he will not forget."