Wizard: Starting With Synthesized Gems

At this point, Locke finally understood exactly what the many Second Circle wizards who had stopped to watch had witnessed.

The notorious War Butcher wizard of the Cloud Marsh Wetlands had been killed at the hands of someone who had only just become a Second Circle wizard.

Were it not for the fact that he was the Silent Chalice champion, this scene would likely have left some wizards feeling deeply unsettled.

At this moment, Locke exchanged a few more words with the several wizards from Golden Crown Mountain's Academic Committee, accepted Wizard Chad's invitation to visit the tea gardens at Landbridge, and also received social gathering invitations from several ordinary Second Circle wizards on the Academic Committee's side.

Now that he was a Second Circle wizard, his status had risen accordingly, and in an instant he had gained many new acquaintances.

Seated in the magical carriage, Locke felt the Lucky Four-Leaf Clover Ring on his left hand, a ring that allowed him to contact Witch Sophia three times, of which one use had already been spent.

Through the ring, he could sense that Witch Sophia's magic pressure was continuously declining.

He had no idea what was happening to Teacher Sophia.

Locke looked at the ring in the palm of his left hand with a contemplative expression. However, the magic pressure coming through from the ring's other side was very unstable at the moment, so he did not dare to contact her directly.

He would return to Golden Crown Mountain first and deal with his wizard shoes. He needed to use this window of time to quickly convert the accumulated attention from before into magic stone resources and brand reputation.

At the same time, he could now establish his own shop alliance.

He just was not sure how many magic stones a Second Circle wizard would need to pay in wizard taxes each year.

Additionally, he could now formally begin preparing his application for a special-grade funding grant, and also find a way to ask Witch Yekaterina to give him a key individual sub-topic of research.

Becoming a Second Circle wizard meant he was now qualified to apply for both of these.

Only, he was still just barely entering the world of Second Circle wizards, and there were still far too many things he did not understand.

He could only return as soon as possible and fill in the gaps in his knowledge.

Aboard the magical carriage, the convoy had just left the mountainous region and entered a vast black-soil plain. This region was home to several powerful ordinary nations that had for generations supplied Quinn Jol Academy with special magical ore resources, and several of Quinn Jol's preliminary academies had also been established across this stretch of land.

At that moment, Locke suddenly noticed that Witch Yekaterina had sent him a voice call request.

He paused for a moment, then immediately accepted the voice call.

Witch Yekaterina looked toward Locke and said, "Locke, you have become a Second Circle wizard? That is somewhat faster than I anticipated."

Locke rose from his seat inside the magical carriage and gave Witch Yekaterina a formal bow. "Yes, Teacher."

Witch Yekaterina was seated before a dressing mirror, with no one else around her. Her hair was down, cascading loosely over her shoulders.

Locke found this scene somewhat surprising, because Witch Yekaterina had a dedicated magical hairdresser, though for some reason there was no sign of that person today.

Witch Yekaterina picked up a comb and began combing her own hair, offering an explanation of her own accord. "I had my hairdresser dress my hair three times today, and each time I was dissatisfied, always feeling that something was missing. One thing led to another, and an entire morning passed, and I found I had not left this bedroom at all because of the back-and-forth."

"In my irritation, I sent her away, and now it is already four in the afternoon and I am still in my room."

Witch Yekaterina looked into the magical mirror before her and said, "Locke, my dear student, do you know why that is?"

Locke hesitated, because he had absolutely no way of reading Witch Yekaterina's mood.

At this moment, Witch Yekaterina sat quietly in her chair like a water lily freshly risen from a lake, carrying an aura of serene elegance. Her tone was calm, yet the words she spoke seemed to hold an unusual undercurrent of emotion.

Locke said, "Teacher, you are a Throne Wizard, with thoughts beyond my fathoming. As a mere Second Circle wizard, my insight is limited, and it would be difficult for me to speculate about your feelings."

"Standing higher allows one to see farther, but at this moment I still cannot see your magic pressure."

Indeed. During his First Circle stage, looking at Witch Yekaterina had been like looking at an ordinary person.

And now, as a Second Circle wizard, Witch Yekaterina still appeared to Locke with no discernible magic pressure whatsoever, like an ordinary person.

Locke hesitated briefly and said, "If there is one thing I can perceive, it is that, Teacher, not only do you have no magic pressure flowing outward, but even your spiritual force is not leaking at all. It is as though you do not exist in my field of vision, as though you are not present in that space at all."

That was the only improvement he had made.

The only difference he could perceive between his First Circle stage and his Second Circle stage.

Witch Yekaterina curved the corner of her mouth slightly, while eyeing the fierce and imposing tiger eye on Locke's forehead with mild surprise.

"That eye's pupil technique is quite impressive, to be able to see that I have no outwardly leaking spiritual force, as though I were nonexistent. Being able to perceive even this much means you have already progressed tremendously compared to when you first arrived at Golden Crown Mountain."

"The you of today is someone that your former self would need to crane your neck upward to look upon."

"Being able to perceive this phenomenon means your rate of growth has slightly exceeded my expectations. This is very good. Locke, my student, the way you speak still pleases me greatly."

Witch Yekaterina's expression became serious.

"Locke, now that you have become a Second Circle wizard, you can help me with something."

"Something extremely useful."

"You have only just become a Second Circle wizard, and many wizards at Golden Crown Mountain do not yet know your true capabilities. So this favor is actually something only you can do for me. It is of great importance to me."

"Originally I had not considered asking you for help, but the speed at which you became a Second Circle wizard has exceeded my expectations. This is a pleasant surprise. Under the circumstances, at this critical moment, you can serve as an unexpected card in my hand to help me turn the situation around."

Witch Yekaterina said, "Only, now that you are a Second Circle wizard, you are free to make your own choices. You may choose to help or not to help."

Locke immediately said, "I will help."

Witch Yekaterina's mood lifted another notch at Locke's unhesitating response.

"Very well. Let me tell you then the reason for my poor mood today."

"My Group Three team leader, Esther, has defected, and she has taken several wizards with her. She used the access her position afforded her to take materials from several of my important research projects."

Locke was taken aback.

Because Team Leader Esther was a sun ring witch, and also one of Witch Yekaterina's most trusted right-hand aides.

When he had participated in the Origin Academy project funding defense, he had encountered her once as one of his defense committee reviewers.

A wizard like her had now defected?

No wonder his teacher had been in a foul mood for most of the day.

Locke sat inside the magical carriage, bowing forward in a respectful gesture. "Teacher, Team Leader Esther... no, Witch Esther, has actually defected from Golden Crown Mountain. What drove her to this? I am of course willing to chase her down for you, but she is a sun ring wizard and I am only an ordinary Second Circle wizard."

"There are tens of thousands of magic pressure between us. Even ten of me combined would not make much of a difference in bringing her back."

Witch Yekaterina said, "Do not sell yourself short."

"Her reasons for defecting are not difficult to guess. It is nothing more than dissatisfaction with the distribution of resources. But you have misunderstood one thing."

Witch Yekaterina raised her right hand, and in an instant a defensive school spell enveloped the area around her, simultaneously extending to cover Locke's magical carriage.

"At this moment, Esther is rapidly fleeing out of the Golden Crown Mountain district, while Wizard Cis, Wizard Kelt, and three other sun ring wizards are in pursuit to apprehend her."

"A Third Circle wizard from the Academic Committee has also set out, and will not allow her to leave the Golden Crown Mountain district so easily carrying important data. Because of this... I am consumed with worry, so worried that I cannot bring myself to leave this bedroom. The Third Circle wizard from the Academic Committee acting personally has exceeded my expectations, and I am deeply concerned whether Esther will manage to escape to the Rose Council's territory."

Witch Yekaterina said, "I am sick with worry over this matter, and so I would like you to secretly help her, to help her escape from the Golden Crown Mountain district."

Locke was completely baffled.

Teacher, this logic is far too convoluted.

A brief silence fell between the two of them.

After quite some time, Locke finally worked it out. Witch Yekaterina was asking him to help Witch Esther escape from the Golden Crown Mountain district.

This...

But why?

Witch Yekaterina did not seem to have any intention of explaining.

She said to Locke, "I had been consumed with worry, but finding out that you have become a Second Circle wizard at this very moment is like having a pillow delivered right when I felt like sleeping."

Locke hesitated and said, "Teacher, I can only do my best."

The most critical thing was that he realized the situation had not fundamentally changed. He, an ordinary Second Circle wizard, was being asked to involve himself in matters among high-circle wizards.

Although he had some understanding of Wizard Kelt and Team Leader Cis's magic, and both of them were breeders, regardless of all that, Team Leader Cis was a sun ring wizard. Wizard Kelt, on the other hand, was only an ordinary Second Circle wizard.

If it came to a real fight, Kelt might not necessarily be his match.

Fifty-fifty, perhaps.

Only, the man was also his creditor, and he would feel rather awkward about beating his own creditor, given that he still owed the man money.

Witch Yekaterina waved her hand and said, "Here."

A luminous lychee appeared in her hand, and she placed it into the magical mirror before her. "This is a world marvel I obtained in the New Sea Route. After a person consumes it, they will transform within a day into a Sun-Herding Dragon with magic pressure equal to your own."

"After consuming it, you will possess the full panel and spell pool corresponding to a Sun-Herding Dragon. All of your spells will take on the appearance of a Sun-Herding Dragon's, and your Moon of Evolution will transform into a ball of dragon fire being herded by a Sun-Herding Dragon."

"While in this state, even if you sustain fatal injuries and die, it is only the Sun-Herding Dragon that dies. You yourself will be completely unharmed."

"How about it? You consume this Dragon-Tasting Marvel, acquire a new spell pool and panel, and while you will not be able to keep them afterward, you can broaden your horizons, see the power system of another plane, and witness the strength of one branch of the Second Circle dragon clan. It will benefit you as well."

At that moment, the Dragon-Tasting Marvel passed strangely through Witch Yekaterina's magical mirror and drifted to a stop before him.

Locke had a suspicion that Witch Yekaterina might actually be more proficient in magic related to magical mirrors than he was, though he had no evidence for it.

Locke reached out and took the lychee floating in midair. "Understood, Teacher."

He peeled the lychee's skin, and inside appeared a crystal-clear lychee fruit, like a miniature dragon pearl.

Locke swallowed it, and in the next moment a magical mirror appeared before him.

The mirror reflected a duplicate of himself with the exact same magic pressure as his own, sitting obediently beside him, eyes fixed straight ahead. Had it not been completely motionless, Locke would have thought Witch Yekaterina had made a copy of him.

Witch Yekaterina said, "This is an illusory double I have made of you. It cannot move or speak, but since it only needs to ride in a magical carriage, none of that matters."

"Its magic pressure is identical to yours. No one will be able to detect any flaw."

Locke glanced at Witch Yekaterina, somehow feeling that she had calculated in advance that he would be riding in a magical carriage and had prepared for it ahead of time.

No, she could not have known in advance that he would advance directly to Second Circle in the middle of a commercial competition between shop alliances.

It was probably just a coincidence.

Witch Yekaterina pointed at the magical mirror before him and said, "Step inside. You will be transported to Esther's vicinity. Remember to bring the Angel's Tear magical artifact I gave you, as it will block many types of divination magic. You must not allow Esther or any wizard from Golden Crown Mountain to realize that this dragon is you."

Locke gave a wry smile and nodded. He had not expected that he had barely just become a Second Circle wizard, stepping out of the category of wizards with little practical use, and becoming a wizard of use to Witch Yekaterina, only to immediately be given an assignment.

Of course, from a certain perspective, this was also a sign that his status had risen.

Because before this, he could only study and conduct research within the Origin Academy. In Witch Yekaterina's several previous operations, she had never once issued him a command like this.

At that moment, Locke's body transformed in an instant into a great dragon covered in scales blazing like flames. He stepped forward, and in the next moment he left the magical carriage and appeared thousands of miles away.

He descended from the sky like a rising sun, golden flames erupting from every scale on his body, his every breath crackling with intense sparks.

At the same time, Locke noticed that he had dropped straight down into the Chasm territory bordering the Golden Crown Mountain district, specifically the Dragon Mountain Range of the Atlas Mountains.

Before him stretched a vast Atlas Dragon Mountain Range, its peaks home to a dense dragon-race ecology dominated by wyverns, along with what were known as dragon pits. Dragon pits typically contained seas of sulfur, and within those sulfurous seas were dragon eggs, hatchlings, and adult wyverns.

In short, it was an exceptionally dangerous place.

And the moment Locke's magic pressure appeared, it descended upon this place like the sovereign of all dragons.

In an instant, countless wyverns rose into the air from the mountain range.

Witch Esther's lips were stained with blood. She was currently under siege from multiple wizards, and upon seeing the surge of wyverns triggered by the Sun-Herding Dragon, her eyes lit up.

There was always a way out.

She had not expected that at this critical moment, her luck would be so extraordinary as to encounter a Sun-Herding Dragon lurking on the outer edges of the Dragon Mountain Range.

A Sun-Herding Dragon was a Second Circle-grade dragon, a little on the weaker side, but still counted as a king among dragons. Its appearance had now triggered a dragon disaster.

This was her chance to escape.

On the other side, Wizard Cis's expression changed drastically. "How can this be such a coincidence? A Sun-Herding Dragon just happens to be on the outer edges of the Atlas Mountain Range?"

Wizard Kelt's eyes flashed with fear as a sky-blotting, sun-obscuring mass of wyverns appeared ahead, filling the air with dragon roars.

"A dragon disaster..."