Wizard: Starting With Synthesized Gems - Chapter 741

Chapter 738 Weighted Parliamentary System and Yunze’s Focal Coordinate Axis

At this moment, Locke, on the Yunze Wetland Council interface, actually had the right to vote, choosing to vote for or against.

However, when Locke selected the voting option on this interface, a prompt box immediately popped up—

【Every vote you cast will determine the future of Yunze Wetland and the Eastern Boundary, therefore please treat your vote with care. The Supreme Truth Council of Yunze Wetland and the Eastern Boundary believes that all wizards above the second ring possess sufficient wisdom to judge how to make a reasonable choice.】

【Prompt: The Supreme Truth Council of Yunze Wetland reserves the right to initiate a revote and question the relevant voters if it believes that an issue has been voted on arbitrarily.】

【This prompt will not appear again.】

Locke glanced at the options but did not choose to vote, mainly because he was unsure of Jinmian Mountain’s position.

Moreover, it seemed that most of the second-ring wizards in Yunze Wetland had not voted at this time.

Choosing to agree or disagree with the issue was something far removed from his current situation.

At this moment, Locke looked at the Cloudze Council’s interface with curiosity. A line of text appeared on the screen: “Eastern District Basic Wizarding System – Weighted Council System.”

Locke clicked on this interface to quickly understand the so-called weighted council system, which was actually related to the representative quota law that Hussein had told him about earlier.

In other words, in the Eastern District, every ‘person’ is equal, except that a first-class wizard apprentice is implicitly considered equivalent to ten thousand mortals, while a full-fledged wizard and a second-ring wizard represent even more mortals.

Therefore, in principle, a second-ring wizard is considered to represent a large number of ‘people.’ Their opinions and voting rights are important not only because they are second-ring wizards with power and knowledge.

At least within the discourse of the White Wizarding Association of the Eastern District, second-ring wizards hold a very high status and possess numerous privileges under wizarding law, precisely because a second-ring wizard can be legally considered an aggregate of a large number of mortals.

The so-called weighted council system is this concept: the wizard’s ring number plus the number of wizards equals their voting rights and importance.

The weighted parliamentary system achieves fairness of outcome, not fairness of process.

It acknowledges the differences in innate talents and abilities, thus granting wizards who, through their own talent and effort, and through a certain amount of learning, become second-circle wizards more rights than ordinary people and wizard apprentices.

Locke looked at this Eastern Boundary Basic System—Weighted Parliamentary System—and pondered:

‘This must be a bill confirmed by the Eastern Boundary Council, so the basic system for the fifty-three wizarding lands in the Eastern Boundary will all be a weighted parliamentary system.’

Locke thought for a moment and found that traces of the weighted parliamentary system indeed existed in the Southeast Corner Region, the Six Towers Land, the Qionghua Enclave, and the Yunze Wetland.

Locke also noticed that the Yunze Council interface showed that the Yunze Wetland adopted the standard weighted parliamentary system.

Locke had an idea. He directly summoned the Gray Mist Stone Tablet within the Golden Crown Mountain Regional Council space. The Gray Mist Stone Tablet resonated magically with the second-circle wizard badge he wore on his chest, and the Southeast Corner Region Council interface appeared on the Gray Mist Stone Tablet.

It seemed he wasn’t currently a member of the Southeast Corner White Wizard Association, so he couldn’t access the council interface and could only see the outermost display screen.

It showed two states for the Southeast Corner Council:

1. Total War;

2. Standard Weighted Council System.

Locke pondered for a moment. That meant the Southeast Corner used the most standard weighted council system, assuming that wizards, as their ring rank increased, represented an increase in the number of mortals, thus gaining more power in the council.

Essentially, this was a supplement to the rights of high-ring wizards with teaching positions.

Locke wondered, ‘What kind of system is the Six Towers Land?’

‘It shouldn’t be the standard weighted council system. According to the standard weighted council system, ring rank largely determines everything, but in the Six Towers Land, it’s not just that. If I’m not mistaken, in the Six Towers Land, it should be a weighted council system based on ring rank + bloodline family rank + number of people—a council system biased towards family bloodlines.’ “

That means all fifty-three wizarding lands in the entire Eastern Region have adopted a weighted council system, but the weighted council system varies from land to land.

It’s like a template, but this template changes and has different content in different wizarding lands.

This is why all fifty-three wizarding lands have representative wizarding laws.

And all fifty-three wizarding lands should have an academy system, a mentor system, and a council system; these are likely the three pillars of the common rules of the modern magical age.

Therefore, Locke reasonably speculates that these three pillars might originate from the decrees of the White Wizarding Association headquarters, and thus exist in all eight regions of the wizarding world.

However, the weighted council system is only unique to the Eastern Region; perhaps the other seven regions use a different system. “

Locke instantly realized a problem.

“The wizarding world seems to be avoiding adopting a single system, so each region and wizarding land has different variations.”

“Why is that? Is it to better explore the truth… or is there some special purpose?”

One must stand tall to see far.

At this moment, he had too little information, so Locke himself was also confused.

Locke looked at the Yunze Wetland Council interface, where there was a focal coordinate system composed of two number axes. One

axis had two

ends: Mercantilism – Free Market!

The other axis had two ends: Consumption-Driven – Production Priority!

These two axes intersected, forming a special coordinate system. Locke could see that due to past issues in Yunze Wetland, coupled with the influence of legislation from the higher-level Wizarding Council’s Eastern Boundary Council,

Yunze Wetland was currently positioned entirely on the free market side, while also largely on the production priority side.

Therefore, Yunze Wetland had chosen a combination of free market and production priority.

However, this wasn’t Yunze Wetland’s own choice; it was decided by the entire Eastern Boundary Council.

In other words, the entire Eastern Boundary Council currently favored increasing production capacity through technological development and hoped for a free market with as much free trade as possible.

Standing on a wooden boat on the azure waves, Locke finally understood many things he hadn’t understood before.

A question had lingered in his mind for a long time.

The White Wizards Association, as an organization, is responsible for a large amount of public infrastructure and public safety.

These things all cost money.

Money is the fundamental commodity of the White Wizarding Society!

Organizations that can’t obtain money, whether it’s a wizarding academy or the White Wizarding Association, are merely empty shells. For a long time, I’ve been puzzled as to why the White Wizarding Association doesn’t collect any taxes on transactions involving any market or commodity.

If the White Wizarding Association were just an empty shell, that wouldn’t make sense either.

Because the Association directly controls the airship routes of wizards across the land, manages a vast amount of assets within the White Wizarding Society, and its various departments, from the Dispatch Department to the Witcher Corps, are extremely powerful.

Essentially, the Witcher Corps is a group of wizards supported by the White Wizarding Association, specifically for combating dark wizards and addressing security issues; this definitely requires a large sum of money to maintain.

But where does the money come from?

Why doesn’t it collect any commercial taxes, so that I don’t receive any tax revenue from buying goods or selling my magical plants?

Whether in the Southeast Corner, the Six Towers, or the Cloud Marsh Wetlands, the White Wizarding Association essentially doesn’t take any commission from any of my goods.

Previously, he hadn’t thought about it in detail, but now he realized it was because the entire Eastern Region leaned towards a free market.

Locke looked at the definition of a free market, which roughly meant completely believing that the flow of capital would bring wealth, hence the entire Eastern Region was currently a zero-tax zone.

At the same time, the entire Eastern Region believed that production was the key to economic activity, thus requiring the Eastern Region’s wizarding lands to strengthen production capacity, enhance all academic activities related to production energy, and allocate certain special funds accordingly.

Locke pondered, “That’s why the economy in the Eastern Region is so developed. The wizards here believe that as long as a large market is maintained, everyone will benefit from it.”

In contrast, mercantilism uses taxation as a barrier or valve to intercept wealth.

Perhaps just as only the Eastern Region fully utilizes a weighted parliamentary system, the free market and emphasis on production are characteristics of the Eastern Region under the leadership of Starfield Sea.

As for the other seven wizarding regions, the specific situation is unknown.

Therefore, the defining characteristic of the Eastern Boundary is a completely free market without commercial taxes or tariffs. Within this free market, even the industries of the White Wizarding Association and Wizarding Universities can only enter the market as ordinary industries, competing with numerous wizards.

It can be said that the entire Eastern Boundary is a massive free market, potentially possessing a massive production chain.

Locke only realized this after seeing the focal coordinates of the Cloud Swamp Council.

This is merely a common feature of the Eastern Boundary; other boundaries are likely different, and the fifty-three wizarding lands within the Eastern Boundary are all unique.

For example, Locke observed that the Cloud Swamp Wetlands had invested heavily in protecting logistics and light industrial production. The dozen or so past issues were mostly related to either protecting logistics or certain magical light industrial production.

Locke noted these points down, marveling at how different one’s perspective could alter even the landscape.

Having only recently become a second-ring wizard, many things he hadn’t understood before were now crystal clear.

Locke exited the Golden Crown Mountain Regional Council’s illusion space and returned to the real mountainous region.

As soon as he returned to reality, he heard a familiar voice beside him.

“Hello, Breeder, I’m Jesse Bailey, you can call me Jesse the Witch. I’m a Platinum Trader who just joined the Solas Barefoot Shop Alliance this year. Hmm, have you heard of the Solas Barefoot Shop Alliance?”

Locke turned his head in surprise, only to see the seemingly dead Jesse the Witch standing right in front of him. A large gash ran down her abdomen, but she seemed completely unaware of her own death, speaking to him.

Her appearance was so youthful, and most importantly, she showed no trace of the despair and hopelessness that come with being burdened by debt.

At this moment, the eyes of the newly minted second-circle wizard and Platinum Trader, Jesse the Witch, seemed to shine. She was so radiant, completely oblivious to the fact that she would soon become a debt slave to the Solas Barefoot Shop Alliance, and be actively abandoned by them.

The Solas Barefoot saw her as a worthless asset, wanting to use her in exchange for him, to eliminate the Alliance’s enemies.

Jesse the Witch looked at Locke and smiled.

“Young second-circle wizard, it’s truly rare for you to become a second-circle wizard at such a young age. You’re not even 24 yet, are you? I’m so envious, but I’m not far behind. I’m only 150 years old, and I’ve already become a second-circle wizard!”

Locke did some mental calculations, realizing that the witch Jesse was indeed lagging behind the requirements of the Golden Crown Mountain’s Institute of Truth.

She only became a second-circle wizard at 150.

Even a regular researcher at the Golden Crown Mountain level needs to reach the first-circle crystallization stage (in reality) before the age of fifty.

And even outside of the Golden Crown Mountain Institute of Truth, other ordinary Institutes of Truth, or most medium-sized or larger wizarding academies in the Cloud Marsh Wetlands, have strict age requirements for wizards.

For example, Wizard Rush is almost a Sun Ring wizard even though he’s not yet fifty, and Team Leader Chad is in his early forties and is already a Moon Ring wizard.

It’s not that a 150-year-old second-ring wizard isn’t excellent, but in the Cloud Marsh Wetlands, an environment teeming with geniuses and high-ring wizards, the sheer number of wizards and geniuses is overwhelming.

Therefore, a single step behind is equivalent to falling behind at every turn.

If this is the case in the Cloud Marsh Wetlands, one can only imagine how terrifying the Star Sea will be.

Every choice will either lower or raise one’s future ceiling.

Locke sighed. He glanced at the abdomen of the witch Jesse; she was now dead, and Locke no longer harbored any hatred towards her.

The witch Jesse was dead; the younger version before him was merely a product of the [Echo].

Not far behind this younger version of the witch Jesse, who had just become a second-ring wizard, lay her dead body.

Centered on her body, waves of magic surged forth, forming vortexes. Simultaneously, the shattered Great Magic on her body struggled to maintain its existence, but that Great Magic had already crumbled and was gradually becoming unsustainable.

It was like a dying man grasping at anything that could help him survive, hence the brief struggle.

But by this time, the Great Magic had shattered completely, the entire spell crumbling into chaos, yet fragments still tried to find order within the chaos.

Then, a younger version of the Witch Jesse appeared before Locke.

But this Witch Jesse was merely a remnant of the echo; she was never the original witch, who was dead.

Locke didn’t want to get too involved with the debt slave, lest he be harassed by her creditors, so he walked to the terrified first-class wizard apprentice groom and said, “Alright. The matter is resolved.”

“Thank you for your hard work. Here are five hundred magic stones as compensation.”

The groom was flattered and hesitated to accept the reward from the second-circle wizard.

Golden Crown Mountain had already paid him two thousand magic stones for his services, so this was a small tip.

A first-class wizard apprentice’s monthly income is around 1,000 magic stones, while his income as a coachman specializing in beast taming magic within the Summoning School is slightly higher, but still only around 2,000 magic stones.

Locke had obviously calculated it beforehand, so he directly gave him a sum of money—one-fifth of his monthly income. This was a considerable amount for the first-class wizard apprentice.

Therefore, the first-class wizard apprentice hesitated to accept it at first, only daring to take it after seeing the impatience flash in Locke’s eyes.

The first-class wizard apprentice inwardly marveled at the generosity of this second-circle wizard, unlike many stingy second-circle wizards.

Locke straightened his wizard robes, finding that after the battle, they were indeed undamaged and spotless. He casually cast a cleaning spell, then stepped into the carriage. “Alright, let’s rejoin the main force.”

The coachman immediately drove the two Flame Spirit Steeds away from the valley, heading towards the main road.

Meanwhile, at the primary academy on a small mountain in the nearby mountains, the headmaster of the second-class wizard apprentice academy breathed a sigh of relief, as if granted a pardon.

Those adults, radiating terrifying magical pressure, were finally gone.

What level of wizards were they? They

didn’t seem to be ordinary, formal wizards; could they be the legendary wizards at the Qi Transformation stage?

The old headmaster, looking at the group of apprentices—commoners and nobles—seeing them seemingly oblivious to what had just happened, instead looking at him with awe, awaiting his reprimand, and seemingly not understanding why he had been so serious earlier, suddenly chuckled.

Sometimes, ignorance truly is a blessing.

The old headmaster said softly, “The adults are gone. You can do as you please. Don’t leave the academy casually these next few days. Be careful.”

The commoners and nobles immediately looked at the old headmaster with awe, and only after he left did they exchange glances, their expressions suggesting they were trying to guess what had just happened.

It was as if they could truly guess what had transpired.

Meanwhile, in the large procession of magical carriages, Wizard Chad stepped down and asked Locke, “Locke, have you become a second-circle wizard?”

Seeing everyone waiting for him, Locke also walked to his carriage and confidently told the wizards of Golden Crown Mountain, “Yes, Senior Chad, I am a second-circle wizard now.”

Inside the magical carriage, Antoine rolled down the window and looked at Locke curiously. He hadn’t expected Locke to become a second-circle wizard so quickly after leaving the competition.

It seemed he needed to speed things up too.

Antoine’s lips curled into a smile, his eyes filled with joy as he looked at Locke, and he even felt a sense of relief.

“Very well. It’s precisely because of people like these that I can completely let go of my airs as a reincarnated third-ring wizard.”

Antoine also gained something from this competition. He didn’t have the memories of a third-ring wizard, so he had to relearn everything.

When he becomes a sun-ring wizard and awakens his past life memories, it will be like several lifetimes of memories superimposed. He will have several lifetimes of research experience that ordinary wizards would have, naturally increasing his chances of becoming a third-ring wizard.

On the other side, the witch Preston frowned in disbelief.

For her, Locke’s advancement speed was simply too fast.

In the blink of an eye, Locke was already a second-ring wizard, no longer on the same level as her.

At the same time, the wizard Chad’s eyes lit up slightly, and he asked with great interest, “How much magic pressure do you have after becoming a second-ring wizard? Before, the distance was too far and the magical power was too chaotic, so I couldn’t estimate your magic pressure.”

The wizard Chad explained.

Locke said, “Sixteen thousand magic pressure.”

In this way, he possessed five extremely powerful magic runes.

Chad the wizard’s face lit up with joy. Locke’s wizarding rank didn’t really concern him, but as the leader of Locke’s Silent Grail team, he naturally felt honored.

He said, “Well done. As expected of the Silent Grail champion. You’re much more capable than me.”

On the other side, Fisher the wizard rolled down his car window, glanced at Locke, and nodded slightly.

As the last student of Empress Catherine, Locke was indeed remarkable. Not only had he won the Silent Grail championship for Mount Golden Crown, but he had also outmaneuvered a dark wizard from Crimson Deep Court in front of everyone.

He had greatly enhanced the prestige of Mount Golden Crown.

Wizard Fisher spoke up, “I’ve already contacted the White Wizarding Association and informed them of the situation. Someone will be coming to handle it soon. Let’s return to Golden Crown Mountain.” “

The White Wizarding Association will send a Witcher squad. Any case involving dark wizards will be thoroughly investigated by the Witcher squad.”

“Locke, the wizard you just killed… was a second-ring bishop from Crimson Deeps, nicknamed ‘The Butcher of War,'”

Wizard Fisher said calmly.

Locke was taken aback, about to say, “Someone like him can be called the Butcher of War?”

But then Locke suddenly realized that even a second-ring wizard was formidable on the battlefield.

Wizard Fisher, seemingly guessing Locke’s thoughts, added, “The Butcher of War was notorious during the Five Great Wars for his preemptive attacks on low-level wizards. He also had a notorious reputation in the Cloud Marsh Wetlands, having killed many low-level white wizards, their deaths gruesome. However, because he rarely provoked the seven top academies, no powerful wizards had previously bothered him, allowing him to roam freely for a time.”

“Now he’s met you. So, he’s dead.”

(End of Chapter)