Wizard: Starting With Synthesized Gems - Chapter 690

Chapter 687 Something Only a Second-Ring Wizard Can Do!

Locke used the Water Gourd System to find a first-ring wizard trader at the potion shop near the Dragonblood Gathering. He found a shop that had the Swarm Consciousness potion and bought it for 10,000 magic stones per bottle, filling in the address of his student, Williams.

Locke exchanged a few more words with Williams, then let her leave, telling her that someone would deliver the Swarm Consciousness potion. Locke whispered

to the witch Williams, “Well then, see you again after you become a first-ring wizard.”

Williams paused for a moment, then bowed to Locke, saying, “Thank you, teacher.”

Williams turned and left.

Locke looked at her, pondering, between the witch Williams and Senior Sister Shirley, which one would ultimately achieve their goal?

Breaking through the limits of the soul was so difficult.

Every breakthrough was like walking a tightrope; a slight misstep would lead to a fall.

Locke received an invitation from the agents of Solas’s Barefoot and Melochy’s Magic Steps through the Water Hyacinth System. They supposedly wanted to negotiate the acquisition of the Augustus Wizard Shoes brand.

Locke considered it for a moment and then sent them a message through the Water Hyacinth System: ‘I want a Worldstone from a medium-sized world, one that no one has used.’

‘If possible, I’d also like to sell the Augustus Wizard Shoes brand. If not, then there’s nothing to discuss.’

Locke waited a while. The two agents from the shop alliance who received the message neither agreed nor refused, but both simultaneously sent back: ‘Let’s talk at 1 PM this afternoon in Room 3 of the Witch’s Kitchen in Dragonblood Market.’

Locke frowned. Fine, they were playing games with him.

If these two agents weren’t

both second-circle wizards, he wouldn’t even bother with them unless they could give a direct response. But since they were second-circle wizards, he’d go for their sake.

He’d see what they had to say.

Locke summoned the Rainbow Bird and arrived at the Dragonblood Market. Passing by the Feathered Serpent Pavilion, Locke, wanting to find out the current situation of his opponent in the Great Magic Modeling Competition, went straight in to check on Wizard Smith.

Of course, Locke wouldn’t admit he wanted to see someone else make a fool of themselves.

What puzzled Locke was that Wizard Smith was currently chatting and laughing with someone, accompanying a witch down from the second floor.

His body and soul had completely returned to normal.

A look of surprise flashed in Locke’s eyes.

Could his abyssal soul have healed in just half a day?

Even a wizard like himself, who specialized in abyssal potions, couldn’t find a solution in such a short time.

His problem wasn’t just abyssal energy eroding his magic; his soul itself was becoming abyssal, so even his own blank spirituality couldn’t solve it.

Wizard Smith paused for a moment upon seeing Locke, then said with a hint of smugness, “Locke, did you come to see me because you care about me?”

Wizard Smith spoke to Locke on equal terms, probably because he considered Locke to be of the same social standing, so his tone lacked any condescension and instead carried a sense of comparison.

Wizard Smith pointed to a witch beside him and said, “Your Golden Crown Mountain is indeed full of talent. I was only on a quest for an hour at the Feathered Serpent Pavilion, and a witch came to my rescue.”

“This witch is Medea, from the Spiral Basin.”

At this moment, Medea raised her head. She had an oval face, no eyebrows, but a thick head of beautiful hair. The witch smiled, like an oriental beauty, but when she looked up and saw Locke, her pupils suddenly contracted, as if she recognized something.

She subconsciously glanced at the back of Locke’s left hand. Although there was nothing there now, Medea remembered that she had branded Locke’s left hand with the birthmark of “Predestined Death.”

She had wanted to incite a battle between the then-naive young wizard and the great wizard Sura, then profit from the chaos by gathering all the luck of the chosen ones in the wizarding world.

But that failed, so she resorted to using the native.

Medea suppressed the surprise in her eyes and greeted Locke as if meeting him for the first time. “Lord Augustine, hello. I am Medea.” “A mediocre prophet.”   Medea was certain that Locke had only heard of her name and had never seen her, so he shouldn’t be able to fully confirm her identity.   However, even if Locke recognized her, it wouldn’t matter. The Smith family

was unconventional   in their hiring practices, not caring whether someone was a dark wizard or not, as long as they were useful to the Smith family.   Wizard Smith, hands behind his back, looked at Locke with a smug expression and said, “This Medea witch gave me a solution. Very good.”   Locke nodded, looking at Medea witch with suspicion, unsure if she was the same witch who had sealed his fate. “That’s good.”   Medea witch glanced at Locke, a smile playing on her lips, while her heart churned with turmoil.   Years ago, she had met Locke once; back then, he was just a novice wizard, so inexperienced. But now, his magical pressure was so powerful, clearly indicating he had entered a period of spiritual decay.   His every word and action seemed to surpass even that of the great wizard Sura back then.   Such a dramatic change in a short time; his growth rate was truly astonishing.   In the past, Locke was merely a pawn on her chessboard, a tool she used casually in her game against the great wizard Sura in the Land of the Six Towers.   And today, Locke was a researcher at Golden Crown Mountain, while she was just a wandering ghost, without any teaching position.   At this moment, Medea suppressed the envy, even a hint of jealousy, in her eyes.   She bowed to Locke and said, “Lord Augustine, I am a prophet. If you need anything, you may contact me.”   Locke wore a respectful but distant smile. Regardless of whether this person was the witch from the wizarding world with whom he had a past exchange of blows, her current stance indicated they were not friends.   Locke nodded, indicating he understood.   Medea regained her composure. She secretly resolved to become a second-circle wizard, and with the best Worldstone.   Years ago, she had outmaneuvered Archmage Sura and won.   Now, she could outmaneuver Smith and win as well.

“According to the prophecy, if I gain this man’s trust and betray him at the most crucial moment, I can become a second-circle wizard with an untainted Worldstone.” The witch Medea glanced at the wizard Smith. “But I must gain his complete trust.”

“Back then, I schemed against Sura and obtained the fortune of an entire wizarding plane, casting the [Prophecy Poem] and foretelling the direction of my luck. Now it seems I actually had at least two choices back then. One was this wizard Smith, gaining his trust by seizing the crucial moment when he needed to resolve his illness.” “

The second was to gain the trust of this wizard Locke and betray him at the crucial moment.”

The witch Medea weighed her options. “Fate is truly unpredictable. Who could have imagined that an ordinary little wizard from the Land of Six Towers could grow to such a dazzling level, beyond my reach? If I had gained his trust when he was weak, betraying him now would be much easier than staying by Smith’s side.”

The witch Medea made up her mind. “Of course, since I’ve already chosen Smith, I can only stay by his side.”

“But the Storm Tower is a behemoth to me. No, not just to me, but even to the Spiral Basin. I need to take a risk and betray him during the Great Magic Modeling Competition; my abilities alone aren’t enough.”

The witch Medea, looking at Locke and Wizard Smith conversing before her, pondered, “I must introduce a third force—the Dark Wizard Alliance of this region, the Twin Realms!”

At this moment, Wizard Smith said to Locke, “I found this person very useful; she’s a very capable prophet, so I brought her into the research group. To prepare for the Great Magic Modeling Competition, I specifically created a research group to advise me from behind the scenes.”

Wizard Smith glanced at Locke’s clothes and winked. “Sometimes you should get used to your new identity. You should put on a wizard’s robe worth at least 500,000 magic stones. Clothes aren’t just for practical use; they also signify your status.”

“To avoid a lot of trouble. See you at the competition.”

Wizard Smith greeted Locke and left the Feathered Serpent Pavilion.

Locke looked at him and shrugged. “I thought this guy wouldn’t be able to recover from his injuries before the competition, and Storm Tower would replace him. But who knew he’d be so lucky.”

“Luck?”

Locke became alert, looking at the Medea witch’s retreating figure. “Is it really just luck? If that girl really is the wizard I fought remotely in the mage plane, then she’s a dark wizard…”

Locke’s expression was strange.

At the same time, even stranger, he stepped on something, picked it up, and found it was a magic crystal card.

Locke thought for a moment and realized that he couldn’t have just picked up 10,000 magic stones while walking around.

This must be the so-called first-circle prophecy school magic, “Lost and Found.”

Through divination magic, one can somehow, by chance, give away their resources to a wizard—like finding money on the street.

While the effect seems absurd, it’s unbeatable for gift-giving.

Locke picked up a magic crystal card. “Is she giving me a gift to keep her identity a secret?”

“Fine. I don’t have much of a relationship with Smith.”

“I just wonder what that dark wizard is up to, lurking around him. Letting her into the staff of the Great Magic Modeling Competition.”

Locke frowned, because according to his habits, it was impossible to involve an outsider in such an important matter.

…

On the street, Wizard Smith said to the witch Medea, “There’s a problem. Before you came, a mediocre potion master came to treat me and examined my body, but he couldn’t solve the problem, and then he left.”

“I want to entrust this matter to you.”

“With my competition imminent, my physical data is my most important secret. Investigate his background. If he’s from a remote area, sell him into my family’s black market wizarding factory.”

“If he has many friends and suddenly disappears, they’ll definitely be looking for him. Then help me place a few jobs for him, ensuring he has no time for anything else for three months.”

“You must make sure this person doesn’t fall into Locke’s hands. Locke is the darling of the Dragonblood Society in Golden Crown Mountain, with abundant resources; he might be even more ruthless than me.”

Wizard Smith smiled slightly. “These days, I’ve seen too many hypocrites who look respectable. I’m worried Locke is like me; I can’t be careless.”

The Witch Medea knew this was a test, and she successfully gained his trust.

Only by doing dirty work for him could she be considered as being drawn into his inner circle of confidants.

“Yes, sir. I will take care of this for you.” The Witch Medea appeared outwardly normal, but inwardly she was filled with disgust for Storm Tower and the Smith family.

Medea was increasingly convinced that her choice to hire Wizard Smith was absolutely correct.

…

Inside the Witch’s Kitchen, in private room number three.

Locke met with the wizarding representatives from Solas’s Barefoot and Melochy’s Magic Step families. Jesse glanced at Locke as he entered but didn’t stand up.

Instead, Melochy’s Magic Step second-circle wizard, Luwen, a chubby-faced man, stood up with a smile and nodded to Locke, saying, “Welcome, Wizard Augustine.”

“Wizard Augustine, you are indeed young and promising. I’ve seen the wizard shoes you developed; they’re truly amazing. Few wizards can keep up with the technology of renowned wizard shoe brands like ours,”

Luwen smiled. “Is there some special trick to it? Hahaha… Could it be some special technology from Golden Crown Mountain? Has Golden Crown Mountain recently become interested in making wizard shoes?”

Locke didn’t respond; the other party was clearly there to gather intelligence.

And no response was the best response.

The two men before him were ordinary second-circle wizards, roughly at the level of Zaran Bailey, though perhaps not quite as powerful.

Locke was very close to second-circle at this moment, and therefore possessed a certain level of discernment, clearly sensing that their magical pressure, both qualitatively and quantitatively, was inferior to Zaran Bailey’s.

Of course, this was only a preliminary understanding of magical pressure.

Ultimate spells amplify magical pressure, so the specific level required consideration of both ultimate spells and the Permanent Defensive Field.

Magical pressure was merely a stat panel; ultimate spells and the Permanent Defensive Field were skill modules.

Locke exchanged a few casual pleasantries.

The witch Jesse, head bowed, tidied her documents, glancing sideways at Locke. “Do you know that you have violated several of the White Wizarding Association’s patent laws?”

“Firstly, the design of the four wizard shoes you sell in your Arthas shop heavily utilizes our Solas Barefoot design patent.”

“You haven’t applied for any patents with us. Secondly, the price of your wizard shoes is quite low, raising suspicions of unfair business competition.”

Locke blinked. “I thought you two called me here because you really wanted to discuss an acquisition,”

Wizard Lu Wen smiled.

Witch Jesse looked at the documents in her hand and said, “To be honest, I’ve evaluated your wizard shoe brand. It’s actually quite average. It only achieved some sales thanks to a bit of luck and hype.”

“But it won’t last. Especially lately, your wizard shoe customers are mostly speculators looking to swap their products for ours. You should understand that your wizard shoes have no future.”

Witch Jesse pushed a contract towards Locke. “Sign it. Ten million magic stones, and this enormous fortune will be yours.”

“A first-ring wizard getting ten million magic stones is already considered lucky. We’re not buying your cheap wizard shoe brand, but just a possibility unrelated to you personally,”

Witch Jesse said. “I hope you understand that. Offending such a large alliance of shops isn’t a good thing.”

“A first-ring wizard… can’t really cause any trouble.”

Locke frowned and sat down directly opposite them.

Witch Jesse glared at him unhappily.

After all, in her eyes, she was a second-circle wizard, while Locke was only a first-circle wizard; their statuses were not equal, and he shouldn’t have sat down.

However, remembering they were on Mount Golden Crown, the witch Jesse refrained from telling Locke to stand up.

If they were inside their own Soras Barefoot, she would have already slammed her hand on the table and scolded Locke for his lack of tact.

With a憨态可掬 smile, Wizard Luwen said to Locke, “Jesse the Witch is straightforward, don’t overthink it. I think it’s not good for a young wizard like you to get involved in the affairs of the Wizarding Council too early.” “You

‘ll get embroiled in things you don’t understand at all,”

Wizard Luwen chuckled. “In my opinion, you’d be perfectly profitable selling your wizard shoe brand now. You’d immediately receive ten million magic stones, with no cost, no investment required.”

“Why not? By the way, our Melochy Magic Steps can even offer you a part-time job; our shop alliance highly values your talent.”

Wizard Luwen said with a smile, “There’s no need to get involved in council affairs, is there?”

Locke asked疑惑地问道, “Council?”

Witch Jesse glanced at Locke, then lowered her head and remained silent.

Wizard Luwen was taken aback. “You don’t know? I thought you did, which is why you’re so confident. Well, you’re a first-ring wizard…you couldn’t possibly know.”

Wizard Luwen clearly wouldn’t answer the question, but instead said, “Wizard Augustine, a person’s talent has its limits. I’ve looked at your upcoming schedule, and I don’t think you have time to develop a fifth style of wizard shoes.”

“We’re both wizards who have made wizard shoes, so we naturally understand each other. Developing each style of wizard shoes requires money and effort, and not every style can be a hit. Once a style’s profit doesn’t cover costs, or barely covers them but doesn’t generate profit, it becomes a vicious cycle.”

Wizard Luwen said, “How many young wizards have gone down the tragic path of borrowing money and becoming slaves to debt because of this?”

“While you’re still making money, cutting your losses is in your best interest. You should be thinking about using the money for your True Knowledge Institute’s projects, not continuing to wade into these murky waters.”

“Do you think a wizard shoe brand founded by a first-ring wizard like you can survive under the pressure from our alliance of shops?”

“Losing money all stems from winning money,” Wizard Lu Wen said sincerely. “I’m thinking from your perspective. From my point of view, you can’t guarantee that every pair of wizard shoes you make will be successful, and now you’re facing setbacks from objective reality.”

“I’ve seen too many people who make a little money in the early stages, then get carried away, and in the end… sigh…”

Witch Jesse raised her eyebrows and said, “Also, we haven’t settled accounts with you for your illegal activities yet. Kid, I advise you to be sensible.”

Locke raised his head and swept his cold gaze over the two of them. “Gentlemen, you’ve wasted my time. I should have said something; I came here to discuss the Worldstone with you.”

The two men had different expressions, but they clearly found Locke’s mention of the ’Worldstone’ absurd.

Witch Jesse sneered directly. “Just a first-ring wizard.”

Locke glanced at them. “Why are you two putting on this act? Do you think it will have any effect on me? I may be a first-circle wizard, but I’m a first-circle wizard of Golden Crown Mountain, while you two are second-circle wizards from somewhere else.”

“If you think I’ve broken the law, go to the Holy Wizard Court right now.”

“If you think I won’t make money in the future, why did you come to acquire me?”

Locke said, “To avoid wasting each other’s time, I’m too lazy to waste words with you. To put it bluntly, my bottom line is a Worldstone that hasn’t been contaminated by any wizard. Give me that, and I don’t want money, nor do I want this technological route.”

If he doesn’t want to make wizard shoes, he can make magic clothes.

Although it’s all the domain of magic weavers

, magic weavers have monopolized it for too long, making it easy for him to find loopholes.

A look of embarrassment flashed across the faces of Witch Jesse and Wizard Luwen.

Although there were indeed magical levels between them, Locke, as a senior researcher of Golden Crown Mountain, was indeed far too illustrious in terms of background and experience. Their

illustriousness made them reluctant to think too much about it.

Jesse the Witch and Luwen the Wizard exchanged a glance, their eyes devoid of any emotion. They had simply been playing good cop, bad cop.

Luwen might not truly be so empathetic,

and Jesse wasn’t genuinely so cruel.

They were merely trying to force Locke to sign.

But now that Locke had laid down his bottom line, there was no need to continue this tactic.

Jesse tapped her fingers on the table, speaking in a cold, emotionless tone: “A World Stone…that’s impossible. For our shop alliance, a World Stone is a very precious hard currency. We can’t possibly give up a World Stone for your ‘possibility’.”

Locke said, “What a pity. I don’t think I’m ‘possible.’ I’m the representative of a new technology that can threaten you and revolutionize your two wizard shoe shop alliances. I think I deserve a World Stone for the future new wizard shoe shop alliance.”

Luwen the Wizard laughed: “Locke, only second-ring wizards are qualified to form a shop alliance. You’re only a first-ring wizard now; you’ve put yourself in a very dangerous situation.”

(End of Chapter)