Wizard: Starting With Synthesized Gems - Chapter 752

Chapter 749 Two Wedding Rings and Key Sub-projects

The witch Catherine glanced at Locke and said, “Now that you’ve become a second-ring wizard, you can apply for special funding. The journal publications and project applications at the second-ring level are decisively different from those at the first level.”

“Because of the White Wizarding Association’s protection strategy for first-ring wizards, there’s something deliberately ignored within the four major levels of the first-ring wizarding stage—[verifying the originality of the research].”

“For first-ring wizards, their vision is mostly limited to a wizarding land, or even just a small academy within a wizarding land. A wizarding land might be their whole world. Therefore, the White Wizarding Association’s grant applications and journal requirements don’t require verifying the originality of the research.”

“But for second-ring wizards, all their articles, documents, and project research need to prove one thing—originality.”

“Without originality, you can’t apply for grants or publish articles. Because of this, projects and journals are difficult for second-ring wizards to publish easily,”

said the witch Ekaterina. “To put it simply, all the achievements of the entire first-ring wizarding community, across all four magic levels, are more like atmosphere-building projects to the White Wizarding Association than directly usable results.”

“As a proverb from the Cloud Marsh Wetlands says—if you want one genius, you need a hundred mediocre ones. Therefore, for the White Wizarding Association, the greatest value of first-ring wizards is simply the fact of their existence.”

“And thus, things that are incredibly simple for first-ring wizards are exceptionally difficult for second-ring wizards.”

Locke nodded slightly. The seven old men on the Silent Grail Tournament Committee probably rejected his suggestion immediately for this reason.

For second-ring wizards, projects and journals are of higher value than those for first-ring wizards!

Thinking about it carefully, the level of competition is also different.

Which second-ring wizard isn’t a relative genius?

Publishing papers and applying for projects at the second-ring stage means competing with a group of geniuses at the first-ring stage!

Wait a minute.

Locke realized. “Teacher, so the special grants and key sub-projects of the Academy of Truth are newbie benefits for second-ring wizards. And not just anyone can get them.”

“They are benefits that only researchers at the Golden Crown Mountain Advanced Academy of Truth can get!”

“Because these are project applications that are valuable to second-ring wizards, but whose application difficulty is indirectly reduced.”

The witch Ekaterina looked at Locke with interest.

“You can understand it that way.”

“That’s interesting. It’s quite normal that you want the special grants. But do you know what it means that you want the sub-projects of the key sub-projects?”

Locke thought for a moment and understood.

“It means that I will be deeply involved in the academic route competition between you and the Rose Witch.”

The witch Ekaterina nodded, revealing a satisfied smile.

“Clever,”

Locke said immediately. “Teacher, I am your student, so even if I didn’t want to get involved, I already have.”

Locke was quite clear-headed; he had dealt with the Rose Council before.

He knew that given the nature of those wizards in the Rose Council, he was already labeled in their eyes, and nothing he did would make a difference.

Besides, he was in business competition with them.

The witch Catherine said, “Good. As expected of my student. Your judgment is correct. The weak will only lose their interests; only those who can assert their rights can obtain what they want.”

“In that case, I can indeed consider giving you a sub-project. But then…”

The witch Catherine hesitated, then said, “I didn’t originally want to tell you too much about my relationship with the Rose Witches. But perhaps I can try to tell you a little.”

“Although not too much.”

The witch Catherine gave Locke a meaningful look as she said this.

“Anna is so similar to me in every way. Aside from personality, we often have the same ideas. And we’re both botanical wizards, we’re both breeders, and we’re both skilled in rose magic plants, since peach trees are also in the Rosaceae family.”

Locke thought of the Crimson Demon he’d seen in Catherine the Witch’s office—wasn’t that a two-ring rose magic plant?

Catherine the Witch said, “And this time, Anna schemed against my second and third groups for this…”

Catherine the Witch took out a magic ring; it was a wooden ring.

Locke immediately recognized it as a peach wood ring.

Catherine the Witch tossed the ring to Locke. “A half-finished product.”

As Locke held the ring, he suddenly felt as if he were connecting with a powerful being that had existed since time immemorial. His spirituality, his magic, even his immense power were connecting with that powerful being.

That being was so high, so far away,

yet as powerful and dazzling as the sun.

The connection snapped the next moment, and the ring instantly turned into flames and burst into flames.

Locke saw that the wooden ring on the little finger of Catherine the Witch’s left hand also caught fire and turned into ashes.

Locke asked, “Teacher, was that magic ring you were using to connect me to your great magic?”

The witch Catherine nodded, “Your judgment is correct. Your insight is excellent.”

“Celtic once wore the magic ring I gave him, but he didn’t notice this.”

“A wedding ring is something like that.”

“Tell me about the origin of the wedding ring. It’s a principle mentioned in an article published by a fourth-ring truth wizard from the Starfield Sea—ancient wizards could use ritual magic, employing peach tree sacrifices, to create a magical connection between male and female wizards, forming a special identity.”

“That was the earliest form of wizard-marriage.”

“Many wizards read that article, but probably only Anna and I, along with a few other wizards, conceived of using the laws established by modern holy wizards, the framework of marital relationships, and the developments in modern botany and alchemy, to create a special magic ring—a wedding ring—centered around a magical plant.”

“Currently, the definition of a wedding ring is very vague and unclear.”

The witch Catherine held up one index finger and said, “Apart from the Rose Witch and I, who have concrete results and are about to produce a finished product, other witches have no hope of completing it.”

“That’s the problem. The definition.”

“The first to complete a wedding ring and promote it will define what a wedding ring truly is,”

said the witch Catherine. “Anna and I have different focuses. Our shared view, which is also the only feasible one at present, is that the wedding ring must be distinct from ordinary magical rings and grounded in botany.”

“Then we need to achieve one thing.”

“The wedding ring must be able to connect the male and female wizards with immense magical power!”

Locke’s eyelids twitched. He knew this was practically the most cutting-edge research in Yunze Wetland, and if successful, the results would be unimaginable.

It would open up a completely new market, a new category of magical equipment, and could even become a specialty of Yunze Wetland.

The witch Catherine said, “In the ancient past, witch couples were not only a legal status, but also a special spiritual relationship.”

“The specific principles are too complex to discuss now.”

“Anna and I both believe that for a wedding ring to succeed, the male and female witches must share their ultimate magical power; only then can they be considered a true witch couple.”

“But my focus differs from hers. I believe a wedding ring is a ring of identity, a ring of responsibility, a ring of contract; therefore, it must first be a soul artifact, capable of having only one owner in its lifetime.”

“The ultimate magical powers of the two ring wearers will connect, providing an opportunity to construct a third ultimate magical power. Simultaneously, by forging their own ultimate magical powers, they can create this third shared ultimate magical power.”

“In other words, the two witches wearing the wedding rings already possess an extra slot for constructing an ultimate magical power, and because of the support of both witches, plus my ingenious design, the construction of this third ultimate magical power won’t consume too much of their energy.”

“Two wizarding couples can easily possess one more ultimate spell than others without wasting excessive resources on it.”

“The witch Anna’s view differs from mine. She believes wedding rings are rings of love, art, spirituality, and romance. Therefore, she believes the ultimate spells of the two ring holders should be shared, allowing them to use each other’s ultimate spells together.”

“This way, either of the two wizards can directly invoke the other’s ultimate spell when fighting an enemy, using two ultimate spells simultaneously.”

“Her view is that wedding rings can change owners, and even a stable relationship isn’t necessary; spouses can be changed freely as true love changes. Because her ring, in essence, is merely a lover’s ring.”

The witch Catherine hesitated for a moment, then said, “I have no problem with her lover’s ring; I think it’s fine. As long as it doesn’t taint the concept of wedding rings I initially proposed.”

“The wedding ring was prepared for the Ten-Person Project. It can help me complete the project faster and bring me huge economic benefits. Not only that, since I created the concept for the wedding ring, I don’t want anyone to publish their work first and replace my definition with theirs.”

Locke asked curiously, “Teacher, did the Rose Throne Lady copy your idea for the wedding ring?”

The witch Catherine hesitated for a moment.

“I’m not sure. I’m certain this is my own independent idea. I was also surprised when Anna published her article defining wedding rings.”

“Apart from the different focus, everything else—the craftsmanship, the spell model, the core concept, and the basic principles—is almost identical.”

“I’ve been in court with her over twenty times over this. It’s not about winning, because everyone knows these things are hard to clarify. It’s just about letting the people of Yunze Wetlands know that we made our own independent discoveries. The best way to end the academic disputes related to wedding rings is for me to be the first to release a qualified wedding ring product and definitively define wedding rings in this market.”

“As for Anna’s ring? She can change the name to something like ‘Love Ring,’ it’s none of my business. As long as it doesn’t taint my concept of wedding rings.”

Locke nodded slightly.

Catherine the Witch’s definition of wedding rings should be similar to two wizards cultivating one ultimate spell, reducing the resources required for a wizard to develop an additional ultimate spell.

Of course, while a wizard can theoretically develop countless ultimate spell levels, in reality, generally, a wizard can only have one ultimate spell.

He himself, because of his dragon bloodline, is able to have two ultimate spells.

At this moment, Catherine the Witch’s wedding ring would grant ordinary wizards an extra Great Magic slot with minimal burden.

If successful, it could potentially lead many second-ring wizards to choose marriage.

Of course, many wizards wouldn’t casually enter into a complicated marriage just for an extra Great Magic slot,

given the potential involvement of ancient ritual magic.

The Rose Witch’s wedding ring, on the other hand, allows wizards to freely access each other’s Great Magic, essentially enabling arbitrary Great Magic pairings.

Both concepts are excellent,

but they seem to raise the issue of power dynamics.

This is what the two third-ring throne wizards are concerned about.

It’s clear that for high-ring wizards, the benefits go beyond mere tangible gains.

The witch Catherine said, “My primary focus is to serve the Ten-Person Plan. And my primary focus is the manufacture and design of the wedding rings.”

“You can have a sub-project,” she said.

“However, we need to be fair. You need to work for me, and if you do well, I’ll give you the sub-project. As for the special grant, you’ll have to compete with the other second-ring wizards in the Institute of True Knowledge.”

“This sub-project… currently, you’re the only candidate. As long as you complete my two tasks, it’s yours.”

Two wooden rings appeared in her palm.

Locke looked at the two wooden rings.

The witch Catherine held up a finger. “First, I need you to quickly create several top-selling second-ring level wizard shoes, at least three, and make your shop alliance at least a second-tier wizard shoe shop alliance in Cloudze Wetlands.”

“Second, these are the prototypes for two wedding rings. I promised you before that I would come up with a way to solve the bloodline defects of the dragon bloodline in the modern magical age. I was actually referring to the [Wedding Ring Project].”

“Don’t misunderstand. I’m not asking you to marry a second-ring witch. Do you remember the Heart Charm? I planted it on your forehead before.”

“I have an experiment I want you to cooperate with. If it succeeds, then in the future you only need to forge one Great Spell, which is equivalent to forging two Great Spells simultaneously.”

“Having two Great Spells is not a disadvantage, but an advantage.”

Locke immediately nodded. “Teacher, I’m willing to cooperate.”

(End of Chapter)