Wizard: Starting With Synthesized Gems - Chapter 1048

Chapter 1033 The Key to Transforming Virtual Forging into Fake Forging!

After learning about the Probus brothers from the Witch Roy, Locke told her to pass on a message to the other inheritors that he was leaving first. He then quickly went to the auction backstage to collect the Green Dragon Vine, and hurriedly left the banquet to catch up with the wizard Gustin Probus. The Witch Roy put

her hands on her hips and whispered to one of her suitors beside her, “Locke Augustine is such a strange person. I don’t know what he’s thinking, but he actually shares the same views as Wizard Gugo. Another strange person like that blockhead Gugo has appeared among the inheritors.”

The second-ring wizard suitor beside her was also from a prominent wizarding family on Golden Crown Mountain, but since the Witch Roy was talking about Wizard Locke Augustine, he could only smile politely and couldn’t comment, otherwise it would definitely bring trouble to his family.

Locke left the banquet and entered the wizarding town. It was already late, and the sunset was beautiful. The magic circle at the town gate seemed to have summoned some past forms left in the vicinity, causing some illusions and hallucinations.

Locke had just reached a crossroads when suddenly a carriage hurtled towards him. But in the next instant, the carriage vanished as a phantom, transforming into a cloud of gray mist. Then, the mist reformed, becoming a speeding carriage again, heading into the distance.

“Found it.”

Locke’s eyes lit up. He quickly walked towards it, just as the wizard Gustin was about to board the carriage.

Upon turning and seeing Locke, the wizard Gustin urgently addressed the first-ring wizard driving the carriage, “Sir, please set off as soon as possible.”

“I have urgent business,”

the first-ring wizard, from a small academy affiliated with the Summoning School at the Golden Crown Mountain Market, replied immediately. “Lord Probus, please be seated. I’ll have the Nightmare Horses depart immediately.”

Before the carriage were four first-ring magical creatures, Nightmare Horses, mysterious beings existing between illusion and reality. Their bodies were like gray smoke; only the magical alloy harnesses they wore were real and tangible. The rest of the horses were illusory mist.

But in the next moment, the carriage wheels were entangled by green dragon vines, rendering them immobile.

The first-ring wizard was startled.

Gustin, upon seeing the green dragon vines, his pupils constricted sharply. He turned to Locke, somewhat helplessly, and said, “Lord Augustine, why did you do this?”

“You won’t learn anything from me.”

“As for whether you think I received any benefits from my brother, I can only tell you that I did receive a considerable amount of resources from him. My brother saved a substantial family fund during his lifetime, and fortunately, these funds continue to function after his death, providing me with a sum of money every year.”

“If you want to ask me what I think of my brother, I can only tell you that he will always be my beloved brother. If you want to ask me about the details and truth of what happened back then, that would be even more unfortunate. Because back then, I was still a third-class wizard apprentice. My brother couldn’t possibly tell me anything. That’s all I can tell you.”

Locke looked at Wizard Gustin with surprise and asked doubtfully, “I don’t know why, but Gustin, you seem to think that I would assume your brother is some kind of bad person, and that I’m only looking for you to use you to condemn him.”

Wizard Gustin sneered.

“Isn’t that right? The man who killed hundreds of official wizards deserves to be killed by everyone on Golden Crown Mountain.”

“Isn’t that your opinion, and even the opinion of my own conscience? What’s there to ask?”

Locke asked, “Wizard Gustin, do you really think your brother is the kind of person you describe?”

Wizard Gustin snorted coldly and stopped answering.

Locke stopped him from leaving. “Wait. I came to see you because I’m going to the Valley of Despair Laboratory. I want to know everything you know about your brother. I’m going there to restart the investigation into the laboratory’s breakdown that should have started back then.” “

And I need to develop a plan and procedures for repairing the laboratory equipment. As a key figure in the S-class laboratory accident back then, your brother is someone I’m eager to understand. I—I don’t think he’s the kind of person you describe, at least not so easily. I want to know more details. Could you tell me those details?”

Upon hearing this, Wizard Gustin looked up in surprise, his eyes filled with disbelief as he looked at Locke.

“You actually think that way.”

“In the past, whenever a wizard said he wanted to reinvestigate, he just wanted to know from me how evil my brother really was. He didn’t want to know the truth from me; he just wanted me to tell him what I thought were my brother’s character flaws, or to make a lot of factual assumptions and ask me questions with heavy prejudice.”

Locke said, “The world is complex, perhaps they were too eager to know the truth, so they didn’t carefully understand the whole picture.”

The wizard Augustine immediately sneered.

“What a fine excuse of not understanding the whole picture.” “

But those who lack the patience to carefully consider the whole picture are very confident in making judgments about right and wrong. And I have suffered greatly from this—discrimination, prejudice, ridicule, even harassment—Wizard Locke Augustine, let me tell you, those who don’t understand the whole picture, who are unwilling to think deeply about a matter, yet dare to easily make judgments, are not rash, not bystanders, they are part of the evil.” “

On this point, I have experienced it so deeply.”

“This precious knowledge is so painful that I wish I had never understood it.”

Locke remained silent, choosing not to continue expressing his opinion to avoid angering the other party.

After all, this wizard seemed to possess some of the truth about what happened back then; otherwise, he would never have reacted that way upon seeing him.

The wizard Augustine sighed.

“Retract your vines and let this wizard leave. Well, you seem a bit different from the previous investigators, so I’ll trust you for now and tell you about the wizard Probus I remember. Golden Crown Mountain revoked all his honors, and the White Wizarding Association of Cloud Marsh revoked all his certificates and erased most of his awards. Only some journals and his articles remain.”

“In my memory—”

Wizard Gustin walked to Locke’s side and said, “My brother, Wizard Probus, was an extremely talented wizard. He was excellent from a young age, and he could do anything quickly and succeed at everything. He often said ‘I have never failed,’ it became his mantra.” “

He’s like a protagonist from a storybook. There’s nothing he can’t do. He was the fastest wizard in our family to become a second-circle wizard. Before becoming a second-circle wizard, he never encountered any difficulties. What ordinary people consider a life-or-death crisis—breaking through from apprentice to full wizard—was as simple as drinking water and eating to him.”

Wizard Gustin said, “Back then, I was just a minor. I looked up to him. I saw his radiant light, and I thought he was omnipotent. Until he was transferred to the Rain Marsh—”

Wizard Gustin’s eyes were confused. He glanced at Locke, trying to make sure Locke believed and understood his words.

“My brother took me with him when he went to the Rain Marshland. It was a resource-rich wizarding land, full of swamps, but the entertainment there was much richer than it is now.” “

It was a huge laboratory located in a valley. From my current perspective, it seems my brother was researching how to make annual cloud rice a perennial. That way, planting one cloud rice plant could yield several harvests. Combined with the mature cloud rice cultivation technology of twelve harvests a year already established in Golden Crown Mountain, the cost of cloud rice cultivation would be greatly reduced, while the yield would be greatly increased. A great idea, right? But from my current perspective—”

Locke said, “It’s simply impossible to achieve. Or even if it were possible, the results would certainly not be as expected. Was that project the Second Ring Foundation project?”

Wizard Gustin paused for a moment. He gave Locke a deep look because Locke had revealed the truth of what happened back then, making him wonder if Locke had read the files or if he had just come up with these ideas on the spot after listening to him speak.

“You’re very clever, Locke Augustine. That project was his Second Ring Foundation project, so it was a collaborative project between the White Wizarding Association and the Academy. Back then, his magical pressure was at the limit of the Star Ring; he could break through to the Moon Ring at any time.” “

However, his progress in this research direction is far from ideal. First, Cloud Rice is difficult to perennial. As a Second Ring staple magical plant, even from my current perspective, I know how absurd it is to want to be perennial. Staple magical plants above the Second Ring have undergone several evolutions under natural selection to possess their current characteristics, and they inherently lack the potential for perenniality. Those magical plants that can successfully transform from annuals to perennials already possessed the potential for perenniality, or even if they didn’t, they hadn’t evolved a complete set of annual plant essences.” “

Cloud Rice evolved a complete set of annual plant essences to ensure that the rice has all the energy and nutrients in order to produce fruit with a high total magical pressure.”

“So my brother was already under a lot of pressure back then, and then—”

Wizard Gustin said, “I didn’t know very clearly back then. I only know that his personality was very unstable for a period of time, but then he suddenly became very relaxed and hopeful. He was always full of positivity and had a certain phrase on his lips all the time.”

Locke asked, “What phrase?”

Wizard Gustin said, “He often told those around him that he had found a way to make great magic move from virtual forging to pseudo-forging.”

Wizard Gustin glanced at Locke’s eyes, trying to confirm Locke’s attitude.

Locke, however, fell into thought.

“It seems he thought he had found a way to accelerate the forging of great magic,”

Wizard Gustin said, looking into Locke’s eyes. “In my memory, my brother was a very reasonable person. He was straightforward and never charged his apprentices extra fees, nor did he make things difficult for first-ring wizards, nor did he mistreat his team members. He often used his own resources to subsidize his students and subordinates.” “

He was a very good person.” “

And a very principled person. But my colleagues at Mount Golden Crown told me he was a selfish person. I don’t know, after all, different people have different perspectives, and perhaps everyone’s empathy is different. But I—I don’t believe my brother is the kind of person they describe who used his colleagues as experimental subjects in order to break through to become a Moon Ring wizard.”

Wizard Gustin glanced into Locke’s eyes, and seeing only inquiry and no value judgment in Locke’s eyes, he sighed.

“It seems I misunderstood you before. You really seem to be an investigator without preconceived values or judgments.”

“Thank you, Locke.”

Locke smiled and said, “I’m just doing my duty. I’m an investigator for the Academic Committee right now, and since I took this position, I have to live up to it. As an investigator, I can’t have any preconceived notions; that would only make me biased and unable to judge things objectively.” “

If you could have preconceived notions, then I wouldn’t need to investigate at all.”

Wizard Gustin said, “On that day in the Valley of Despair Laboratory, more than a hundred official wizards suddenly experienced abyssal transformation.”

Locke was quite surprised. “Abyssal transformation?”

“The files I’ve seen don’t mention anything about wizards abyssal transformation.”

Wizard Gustin looked at Locke with surprise and said, “Wizard Locke, has any wizard ever said you’re—naive? Do you think the academy will tell you everything? And you’re the first investigator to tell me that the academy hid information about a hundred wizards collectively abyssing in the files. You can’t do that. How can you investigate the truth like this?”

He suddenly said to Locke, “Now it seems you’re one of the few investigators who can think objectively. I should trust you. This is a letter from my brother to a friend, the only thing I’ve kept. I’m giving it to you. If it’s you, I can trust you.”

“I’m sorry about before. I thought you were like those people,”

said the wizard Gustin. “That’s all I know. This letter describes how my brother believed he had discovered a method to successfully fake extremely powerful magic.”

Locke took the letter.

“So, do you think this can be faked?”

Wizard Gustin sneered, self-deprecatingly saying, “If he had truly discovered a method for successful fake forging, how could he have ended up like that? Locke, I will never forget the day my brother became an abyss demon.”

Locke said, “That’s strange. The laboratory in that valley was supposed to be conducting only botanical experiments back then.

Could it be that they were also conducting research on abyssal creatures at the same time?” “

And I remember that research on abyssal creatures required multiple reviews by the ethics committee, which was extremely strict. Did your brother like to conduct experiments in the summoning school or the conjuration school/bloodline school?”

Locke suspected that Wizard Probus might have violated regulations by conducting experiments in the laboratory back then. Wizard Gustin

wasn’t angry about this.

“A very reasonable suspicion. But I really don’t know, just like I don’t know why the Academy hid the reason for the abyssal transformation of the hundred wizards from you back then. Locke—that’s all I know. Mr. Augustine—”

Locke nodded. “Hmm? Speak your mind.”

Wizard Augustine suddenly bowed deeply to Locke. “I know this request is selfish. But I simply cannot believe that my brother was a madman who risked the fate of all the wizards and apprentices in the entire laboratory to conduct illegal experiments just to break through to become a Moon Ring Wizard. My brother is indeed very likely the main person responsible for the S-class experimental accident, because he was the head of the laboratory at the time. But I have faith in my brother; he is truly a good person, and he always likes to help his students.” “

And his colleagues who don’t have money.”

“If possible, I also ask you to bring me the truth about my brother. And, bring me the truth as well.

For decades, I have suffered greatly from the experimental accident back then. Everyone thinks that my rapid advancement is because I received the gift of my brother’s dangerous experiments. No matter how hard I try, no matter what achievements I make, I can only get a dismissive comment—’Your brother left you a lot of wealth,’ right? Investigator Augustine, if you can really find out the truth of what happened back then and clarify the rights and wrongs, that would be wonderful.”

“I’m not trying to shirk responsibility. I just want to know one thing—whether the injustices I’ve suffered over the past sixty years are deserved or truly undeserved misfortunes.”

Locke nodded and said to him, “Wizard Gustin, please rise. You don’t need to. As an investigator, I will certainly fulfill my duties. As for any promises I can make to you—I cannot promise that I will definitely find out the truth, and besides, the truth may not be what you wish for.”

“But I can promise that I will do my best to find out the cause of the experimental accident from back then,”

Locke said firmly.

Wizard Gustin looked up at Locke, then smiled bitterly.

“In the past, wizards in your position either harbored prejudice against us brothers or simply refused to care about us. Perhaps it’s our luck that you’re investigating this matter. Locke, I take back what I said about you being naive.” “

It’s funny, really. I actually handed you this letter, which I hadn’t told anyone else, in a moment of emotional outburst. Well then, I’m off.”

“I hope you go to Despair Valley and at least come back alive. I’ve heard that it’s now a desolate wasteland. The mortality rate for wizards who go in to investigate is as high as seventy percent. Therefore, that area has been designated a forbidden zone by the Rain Swamp. Be careful; if you die, I doubt I’ll ever find another investigator as dedicated as you are.”

Locke smiled.

Having learned all the information provided by Wizard Gustin, Locke, carrying the letter, boarded the Cloud Whale and quickly returned to his dormitory.

In the corridor, he encountered Wizard Daniel. He greeted him; Wizard Daniel had signed a contract with him, seemingly wanting to join his Silver Garden, at least sending a clone to the Tianjiang River coast.

This might be the deacon’s intention. It

might also be partly his own.

Locke entered his room, instructing the elven servants to remain silent. He then sat on the sofa in the living room, extending his palm towards an apprentice-level magical plant, the Golden Paper Rose.

This was a rose resembling golden paper, typically used as decoration in a wizard’s living room. Although extremely dangerous for apprentices and mortals, as it possessed an enchantment that rendered them senseless, allowing them to only detect a peculiar golden paper rose fragrance.

Locke then infused the magical plant with his spiritual energy. The plant merely stretched and unfurled its branches and leaves slightly, but as Locke, determined to investigate the events of the Despair Valley Laboratory, deliberately sought to uncover the truth, a strange thing happened. The same spiritual energy from him caused the Golden Paper Rose to bloom profusely, with several buds beside the already opened main flower growing wildly.

In an instant, the Golden Paper Rose became magnificent, covered in blossoms resembling golden paper roses.

Locke said, “Indeed, that’s how it is. I discovered this characteristic in Gregor. No matter how powerful spiritual energy is as a hidden life force, without a goal, that power lacks cohesion. With a goal, the spiritual energy has a direction to flow, and the same spiritual energy can become even more powerful.” “

I see. So, according to this principle, when I use the spiritual energy cultivation method, besides considering the structure of the spiritual energy condensation cube and the types of combinations of spiritual energy cubes, I can also infuse all spiritual energy with a goal. This goal will make the life force of life inexhaustible and persistent until the goal is achieved.” “Using

the same principle, I can even forge my own ultimate magic.”

Two ultimate magics appeared behind Locke.

“A spiritual breath with a target is no longer just a simple spiritual breath. With a target, the spiritual breath begins to flow, and only through this flow can it be considered life.”

“Spiritual breath is life, it is breath, it is light, therefore it needs to flow, and this flow must have direction. This may be why special types of spiritual breath and different ways of flowing spiritual breath can give rise to specific mystical meanings.”

Locke quickly consulted several magic books related to mystical meanings. Because they were written in rather obscure language, Locke, with his already determined conclusions, skimmed through these books, quickly reading through the wizards’ works, and finally confirmed that this was indeed a mainstream interpretation of mystical meanings.

That is, giving spiritual breath a specific target allows its function to be more fully mobilized.

This is also the core point of the spiritual breath cultivation method.

“This is probably also the key to completing the pseudo-forging.”

Locke’s eyes flickered. “After realizing this, my ultimate magic actually started to show signs of reforging, and my magic pressure increased at an accelerated rate. Have I found a way to fake forge? That’s great!”

Locke became excited. He first suppressed his excitement, then opened the letter that the wizard Gustin had given him, preparing to read this letter that Gustin had hidden for sixty years. The next moment, however, he was struck dumb, and then smiled bitterly.

“This is ridiculous.”

“I actually thought the same way as the wizard Probus from sixty years ago. That means my idea was wrong.

From virtual forging to fake forging is indeed not so simple. I actually mistakenly thought that giving the ultimate magic a target would complete the virtual forging and achieve fake forging.”

Locke looked at the letter, and saw the first line:

My friend Mr. Harley, I have something to tell you excitedly. I have discovered how to complete fake forging. This time is different from our previous exchanges. At those times, I only guessed about fake forging ultimate magic, but now I have found the decisive factor in completing fake forging ultimate magic—the target.

I consulted the study of spiritual energy; I’m truly a genius. Why didn’t other wizards think of such a brilliant idea?

By giving a powerful magical target, one can drastically increase power. I even completed the forging of my second form of ultimate magic a full year ahead of schedule.

I’ve decided to share this information with you.

You should thank me, Mr. Harley.

Mr. Harley, regarding the experiments in the laboratory in the Southern Wizarding Capital, thank you for telling me. They were actually working in the same direction as me, and we achieved results almost simultaneously. I don’t know how they did it; I must publish the paper immediately. If someone beats me to it, all the hard work of everyone in our laboratory will be for naught.

After reading the letter, Locke covered his face, finally calming down.

“If that’s the case—thinking about it carefully, the goal seems to still be in the process of ‘virtual forging.’ The so-called goal is just a part of virtual forging. I actually mistakenly thought it was the key to completing virtual forging. Virtual forging—it’s always pursuing truth in an illusion, and what it pursues is all illusory. So the goal is also something illusory.

“But what exactly is the key to entering virtual forging?”

“I can’t find it in the research. Is it because this kind of knowledge is wrong as soon as it’s said? So it’s better to let us think about it ourselves. It’s indeed easy to misunderstand.

“