Wizard: Starting With Synthesized Gems - Chapter 793

Chapter 790 The Forbidden Forest’s Secret Treasure Tree! A secret is hidden within!

In the library area of the second ring of Golden Crown Mountain, Jugglus, Wizard Alex, and Locke sat together at a tea table in the library’s free area.

Jugglus took a sip of the free wizard tea [Azure Feather Bamboo Tea] provided to second-ring wizards in the library. He had recovered from his previous excitement and said somewhat embarrassedly, “There are two problems. If we want to go to the Forbidden Forest in the southeast corner region, we need a boat ticket and travel expenses. It will cost about 20,000 to 30,000 magic stones.”

“The second problem is that the Forbidden Forest is extremely dangerous; it’s practically a deserted region in the southeast corner. Because of the Forbidden Forest, the magical power in the southeast corner region has declined and become desolate.”

Locke replied, “No problem. I have a way to let you safely enter the Forbidden Forest and conduct your experiments undisturbed.”

Wizard Jugglus’s eyes lit up, and he looked at Locke with an increasingly appalling gaze. Both

the botanist wizard and the breeder could sense the significance in Locke’s words.

Even a third-ring wizard wouldn’t dare enter the Forbidden Forest so casually, yet Locke somehow managed to allow others to enter safely.

Wizard Jugglus Juggler chuckled, “As expected of the champion of the Silent Grail.”

Locke asked, “But I have a question. Wizard Jugglus Juggler, can’t you come up with twenty or thirty thousand magic stones?”

Locke looked at him suspiciously.

Logically speaking, such a small amount of magic stones could easily be borrowed from students and first- or second-ring wizard colleagues.

Wizard Jugglus Juggler looked somewhat embarrassed.

Wizard Alex spread his hands and said, “I can explain that. Jugglus Juggler recently went on a new sea route and now owes a large sum of money.”

Wizard Jugglus Juggler looked at Locke, his expression distressed.

“Since we’re all breeders, it should be easier for you to understand. I previously misjudged a certain region in the endless void, believing it contained a special area where elemental contamination was causing plant evolution that would be beneficial to me. So I organized an expedition to enter this new route, but who knew…”

“I gained nothing, yet I still had to pay the expedition team’s wages, equipment costs, and rent void exploration equipment, small void flying vehicles, and the corresponding dimensional exploration qualifications to enter the new route.”

“In addition, I paid the wizard tax a few days ago, leaving me penniless. I even owe money to various banks and acquaintances. As for what kind of money, I’d rather not say more.”

Wizard Jugglus whispered to Locke, “Alas, Wizard Locke, you must feel the same way. You go to a certain area with great enthusiasm, spending a lot of money, fully expecting to gain everything there, only to wander around for months, even years, and gain nothing.”

“On the contrary, someone in the team got injured or sick, and you had to pay their medical expenses and compensate them for related costs.”

Wizard Alex sighed, “Void exploration is indeed a very expensive thing. A round trip is very expensive.”

“Not to mention, there are countless dangers in the void, and any loss will incur compensation.”

Locke nodded slightly, understanding now.

No wonder the wizard Jugglus Juggler was hostile towards him.

It turned out that he was having a really tough time.

Taxes, the cost of organizing the expedition, subsequent debts, and the fact that he hadn’t gained anything of value from the expedition, plus the recent rejection of his application for special funding.

He was facing a dire situation of running out of resources.

If things continued like this, he might even become a slave to debt.

It just goes to show that the gap between the upper and lower limits of research expenses is simply too large.

No wonder the wizard Jugglus Juggler was so excited when he heard that he could provide him with a valuable research subject.

The wizard Jugglus Juggler tentatively asked, “Locke, are you sure we don’t need to organize another small expedition team for this trip to the Forbidden Forest?”

Locke shook his head slightly.

“No need.”

“Not us, it’s you. My main body is too busy to do this project. You do it. I’ll leave an avatar in the Forbidden Forest; you can go there alone. As for lodging… I can provide it. I’ll give you 30,000 magic stones right now.”

Wizard Jugglus’s eyes widened.

For a moment, he felt as if Locke was radiating golden light.

How could Locke be so rich?

He had so many projects?

Wizard Jugglus felt like he was about to die of poverty, yet someone in the same True Knowledge Academy was almost rolling in money.

Two words jumped into Wizard Jugglus’s mind:

sugar daddy.

Powerful backer.

Then came regret, regret that he had dared to be so arrogant towards such a sugar daddy and powerful backer. He shouldn’t have!

Locke looked at Wizard Jugglus, still with a faint smile.

“However, we need to discuss the distribution of our articles and the ownership of the project beforehand.”

Wizard Jugglus became serious, and he thought for a moment.

“You provided the research objectives, the research facilities, and the resources. I’m only contributing my time, so I think if I write an article based on this and submit it to a journal, I can give you first authorship; I only need to share the first authorship…”

Wizard Jugglus was a little uneasy.

Actually, he wasn’t truly cold-hearted; he was just so poor that he was starting to feel uneasy, which was why Locke had acted that way earlier.

He didn’t know if Locke would allow him to share the first authorship, after all, how could he dare? Locke had provided the main components of this collaborative project.

Locke was also somewhat amazed; he hadn’t expected a second-ring wizard to become even poorer.

Research truly was the most expensive thing in the world.

If it weren’t for the huge cash flow from the wizard shoe market, he’d probably be in the same dire straits as Wizard Jugglus.

No wonder second-ring wizards struggled to advance.

How could one progress quickly with such a lack of money?

At certain junctures, things could be overcome simply by spending a little more money, but because of a lack of funds, they were stuck in the same place.

Locke waved his hand.

“No need. Whether it’s articles, journals, or any projects resulting from them, you don’t need to share any of it with me.”

A hint of doubt flashed in the eyes of Wizard Jugglus.

Locke said, “We are both students of Professor Ekaterina, and we are in the same academic lineage. I admire Wizard Jugglus’ research on magical plant and elemental evolution more. So, I’m just giving you this resource that I can’t digest. That’s all.”

For a moment, both Jugglus Juggler and Alex, standing to the side, felt they had been too narrow-minded, that their previous thoughts had been far too short-sighted and selfish.

At this moment, Locke seemed like a beacon of light in their eyes. Even

Alex, who had initially been indifferent and merely observing, was somewhat moved.

Locke, however, was deep in thought.

‘I was only using Jugglus Juggler as a favor, making a deal with the Silent Bee Fairy.’

‘That guy isn’t honest. If I take his work, given how short of money he is, he’ll just ask me for the funds he needs later. If it were just about providing money, that would be fine, but I might end up going to the Forbidden Forest, contributing manpower and effort, and owing him a favor.’

‘The undead contaminating the magical plants, while related to evolution, isn’t my primary interest right now. If it consumes my energy and affects my application for special funding, that wouldn’t be good.’

‘On the contrary, the knowledge from the subfield of elemental evolution research on magical plants is what I need.’ Locke

looked at Wizard Jugglus and said, “Jugglus, I’m very interested in elemental evolution botany. I wonder if we could exchange ideas?”

Wizard Jugglus blinked; he genuinely believed Locke had read his articles and admired his talent. “Of course. If this research yields any results, I can share them with you.”

Wizard Jugglus felt Locke was so generous; he should try to befriend Locke in the future, as it might bring even greater benefits.

Locke and Jugglus continued their conversation for a while, mainly discussing the unfinished ideas Locke had gleaned from reading Jugglus’s free articles on the first stage of the process.

With the help of such a deeply knowledgeable wizard on plant elemental evolution, Locke gained a general understanding of elemental evolution in just two hours.

The wizard even tossed him a magic book.

Wizard Jugglus gave Locke the magic book, “Elemental Soil Evolution,” saying, “This is the best book I’ve read on the elemental evolution of plants.”

Locke glanced at the old book, realizing the author was from thousands of years ago, probably long since turned to dust.

“Thank you, Jugglus.”

After communicating with the wizard Jugglus, he realized something he had misunderstood. The full name of elemental evolution in botany is elemental soil evolution.

That is, the focus is on soil, not elements.

It utilizes the rhizosphere effect of plant roots, and based on this, it produces a kind of evolution.

In other words, elemental evolution is essentially a smaller subfield under the life sciences—botany—nutrient soil science.

It can be considered a very special kind of nutrient soil.

Therefore, the elemental evolution that the wizard Jugglus spoke of did not refer to a certain magical plant developing a specific elemental attribute, but rather that a certain magical plant absorbed certain elements from the soil, and not only did it not die, but it also developed a certain evolutionary bias under the influence of these elements.

Locke read the book on elemental soil evolution given to him by the wizard Jugglus, quickly deepening his basic knowledge of this subject.

The wizard Jugglus Juggler said, “So your Fire Tree Silver Flower Spell is indeed unique. Before you told me, I didn’t realize that the Fire Tree Silver Flower Spell could allow magical plants to directly and permanently acquire a certain attribute.”

Locke asked doubtfully, “But my Pinellia can give certain plants a certain attribute through convergent evolution.”

The wizard Jugglus Juggler said, “That’s right. In the end, the difference between the two isn’t that big, but the difference is huge. As you said, Wizard Locke, Pinellia gives the surrounding magical plants the attribute of summer, including Tyrant Element No. 2, all using the [convergent evolution] mechanism.”

“Convergent evolution allows them to undergo a certain evolution in a short period of time, while the Fire Tree Silver Flower Spell forcibly gives them an attribute.”

“Moreover, since convergent evolution is a kind of evolution, the so-called evolution certainly won’t necessarily give a certain magical plant a certain specific and unchanging attribute. You also discovered that the same attribute can have different spiritualities, and the differences are huge. But the Fire Tree Silver Flower Spell gives a magical plant a specific fire spirituality. This is not evolution; this is enchantment.”

“But your talent has turned this enchantment into targeted evolution.”

“Strictly speaking, the ‘Fire Tree and Silver Flower Spell’ doesn’t belong to evolutionary magic at all; it’s an enchanting spell,”

Wizard Jugglus Juggler succinctly stated.

The Fire Tree and Silver Flower Spell was the result of Wizard Edgar’s research, the core of his unfinished “Return to the Tree of All Things” spell.

Locke pondered for a moment. The Fire Tree and Silver Flower Spell was essentially a magical model for constructing an energy-diverting furnace for the return of all things.

Of course, it couldn’t be an evolutionary spell.

Edgar had taken the wrong path, which was why the “Return to the Tree of All Things” spell model had never reached perfection.

It was Locke’s collaboration with him within the Silent Grail, helping him complete a Fire Tree and Silver Flower, that perfected his “Return to the Tree of All Things.” As the second-place winner of the Silent Grail, he should be able to take the perfect version of the “Return to the Tree of All Things” spell model with him.

Wizard Jugglus Juggler pondered, “So your ‘Moon of Evolution’ can transform some enchanting spells into evolution. In other words, it allows enchanting to become evolution.”

Locke nodded.

This is determined by the dimensional information reversal characteristic of his Moon Cultivation Method.

Communicating with a genius can indeed clarify one’s thoughts.

He currently possesses a vast magical system, and this exchange with the wizard Jugglus Juggler helped him clarify the magic related to elemental evolution, making him more aware of his advantages.

However, the wizard Jugglus Juggler was unaware of the Moon Cultivation Method, and therefore didn’t know that he could also use the Fire Tree Silver Flower Spell to trim dimensional information and roughly control the reversal of the general dimensional information he desired.

Therefore, the Fire Tree Silver Flower Spell is still an enchanted weapon for him.

…

In the Forbidden Forest, Locke said to the Silent Bee Fairy, “Alright. I’ve found someone to help. He’s also a wizard, and this is his portrait and his spiritual aura. He’ll arrive here in a little over a month; I hope you can let him pass.”

“Don’t worry, he is… mine…”

Locke pondered for a moment; when traveling, one’s identity is self-given.

“He’s my student. A second-circle wizard.”

“He can solve our problem.”

The Silent Bee Fairy’s eyes widened as she looked Locke up and down.

“Ferocious Beast, you really have a lot of influence out there. The King of the Forbidden Forest is truly blind. I told him long ago that with your return, the Forbidden Forest’s strength would increase, and our situation would improve significantly. But he said you were just a nobody among the wizards.”

“You can’t help us at all.”

The Silent Bee Fairy circled Locke’s head once. “Hahaha, great! With someone as influential as you, Ferocious Beast, our lives are going to be much easier!”

“Ferocious Beast, don’t worry, we will absolutely not make things difficult for your students. You and your students are guests of our Forbidden Forest, as for the other wizards…”

The Silent Bee Fairy stopped flying.

“Those people are all treacherous, so that’s a different story. For them, it’s better to keep the Forbidden Forest as a forbidden zone. We’ll kill them one by one.”

Locke asked, “Does the Forbidden Forest hate wizards?”

The Silent Bee Fairy said, “Come, I’ll take you to enjoy the Forbidden Forest’s unique delicacies and ferocious beasts.”

The Silent Bee Fairy said, “It’s not hatred. It’s trouble. A long time ago, the Forbidden Forest tried to trust wizards, but those wizards couldn’t control themselves. They would sneak into the Forbidden Forest to poach its magical creatures. They even captured the Forbidden Forest King’s own kind. Later, to protect his kind, the Forbidden Forest King hid the species and names of his kind, as well as his own appearance.”

“Because he is a secret, and when wizards see a secret, they can’t help but explore it.”

“Wizards want to explore everything about the Forbidden Forest King.”

“In short, wizards always love exploring the Forbidden Forest, wanting to uncover all its secrets. The Forbidden Forest doesn’t want to be seen through, which is our right. But the wizards don’t want to give us that right. Therefore, the Forbidden Forest gradually closed its doors, and we completely forbid wizards from entering.”

The Silent Bee Fairy said, “Oh, right. Now, a part of the Forbidden Forest is still used as a secret realm by wizards. I heard from the previous generation of fairies that it was the result of negotiations between the Witch Myster and the King of the Forbidden Forest. The Witch Myster has done a great favor for the Forbidden Forest, so we cannot break our agreement with her.”

Locke looked at the Silent Bee Fairy in surprise, not expecting to hear the Witch Myster’s name from her.

He had previously guessed that the Witch Myster must have made some kind of agreement with the Forbidden Forest, and now it was confirmed.

His guess during his apprenticeship was correct.

He just didn’t know what the Witch Myster’s current status was in the wizarding world—had she aged and died naturally, or was she still existing in this wizarding world, constantly breaking through her limitations?

As for why Lilith’s Hut had fallen to third place in the Southeast Corner Region, with the top spot going to Vildantia University and Four Seasons Garden, it’s not hard to guess.

Time flows, years pass, and even the most powerful organizations will decline. Lilith’s Hut’s ability to maintain its current level is already quite respectable.

Of course, after the war between the Black and White Wizards, Lilith’s Hut suffered the least damage, and the Chimera Market was the best preserved.

Therefore, after the war, Lilith’s Hut will likely be number one.

Locke reminded the Silent Bee, saying, “After resolving the problem, Fairy, don’t forget your promise to me.”

The Silent Bee replied, “Of course, of course. We wouldn’t dare deceive a ferocious beast.”

“Once the pollution within the Forbidden Forest is resolved, I will bless your treants.”

“So that you too can possess a talking tree.”

Locke was extremely satisfied.

He followed the Silent Bee forward, wondering what the unique delicacies of the native inhabitants of this mysterious Forbidden Forest were like.

He was truly amazed; he didn’t know how he had ended up in the Forbidden Forest.

After traversing a winding path, Locke followed the Silent Bee to a tree laden with treasures. The tree looked extremely noble, adorned with various jewels.

Its branches were hung with countless treasure chests.

Locke looked up at this extraordinary tree, its intricacy comparable to a Christmas tree, and was puzzled, glancing at the Silent Bee.

The Silent Bee, seemingly aware of Locke’s prestige, became even more attentive to him.

“You’re a respected figure outside, so naturally we’ll treat you to the best of everything.”

“This is the Forbidden Forest’s specialty—the Treasure Tree.”

Locke immediately activated his tiger eye on his forehead, enhancing his perception to observe the Treasure Tree.

He discovered that this Treasure Tree was indeed a magical plant, but its imaginary roots seemed particularly unique, like the Underworld Iron Tree.

These imaginary roots formed a ring, passing through the Imaginary Sea and its phase, ultimately connecting to the plant’s fruit.

Of course, this was just a preliminary observation based on what he saw with his n*ked eye.

He couldn’t be sure of the specifics.

But the imaginary root of this magical plant was indeed very special.

‘Netherworld Iron Tree, Forbidden Forest Treasure Tree.’

Locke pondered, ‘The study of imaginary roots at the second-ring stage is truly complex; no wonder it’s one of the core knowledge areas of botany at the second-ring stage.’

‘This is really too profound. If I want to perfect the Moon of Evolution and bring it to the level of Imaginary Forging, I need to strengthen my research on evolution.’

‘And if I want to design second-ring magical plant wizard shoes that can be mass-produced, I need to conduct in-depth research on imaginary roots. I still have much to learn and research.’

Locke felt the difficulty in allocating resources, energy, and wealth.

Because I need resources and a platform, I need to work on projects first. However, when it comes to projects, I can’t completely decide what research I want to do.

The best way for me to improve myself is through research related to evolution.

Of course, I can try to work on evolution-related projects and obtain the two major projects from the True Knowledge Institute.

This will accelerate my growth.

Locke asked, “So this Treasure Tree is the Forbidden Forest’s special delicacy?”

The Silent Bee Fairy puffed out her chest.

“That’s right, because ferocious beasts have influence outside, that’s why I invited you to the Forbidden Forest King’s secret treasure—the Treasure Tree.”

“I’ll tell the Forbidden Forest King later that I hosted you. I think he’ll praise me.”

“What is one of the essences of the Forbidden Forest? Ferocious beasts?”

Locke looked at the Forbidden Forest Treasure Tree, pondered for a moment, and then, combining his understanding of the Forbidden Forest with what the Silent Bee had told him, said, “Secrets.”

“Although I can’t see the specific duties of the Forbidden Forest, I don’t know if such specific duties exist, and I can’t fully see the essence of the Forbidden Forest, I know that one of the essences of the Forbidden Forest is secrets.”

“The Forbidden Forest is a treasure trove of secrets, and the Forbidden Forest King is one of the most tempting secrets in this treasure trove.”

The Silent Bee Fairy looked at Locke in surprise, and then said, “As expected of a ferocious beast, you are really smart. The fruits of this Treasure Tree are secrets. You can put your secrets into the flowers of this tree, and then after a certain number of years, the flowers will turn into fruits. Those fruits are treasures, they are secrets.”

“In other words, the Treasure Tree can hatch secrets.”

Locke was a little confused.

“A tree that hatches secrets?”

What’s that? It

sounds so abstract…

The Silent Bee Fairy gestured for him to enter.

“Now, please place an item related to your secret into a flower bud of the Secret Treasure Tree. Then, you only need to wait five years, and you can harvest that secret.”

For a moment, Locke suspected this was a scam to steal his treasure.

But the Silent Bee quickly added, “It can’t be a magical artifact; it can only be a decaying mortal item, a natural creation, not any man-made one. And it must be deeply connected to your secret. After five years, the secret fruit will hatch.”

Locke realized he was overthinking it. The outside world was so complex, with so many scammers; it was normal to be cautious.

But if that were the case, aside from what would actually hatch, the key issue was that he didn’t have many items that fit the description.

After all, it couldn’t be man-made; it had to be a natural creation.

Locke said, “Silent Bee, the delicacies of your Forbidden Forest are truly unique.”

“But you said it can hatch secrets, I still don’t understand what that means, and I need to think carefully about what you want to put on me.”

“Would a World Tree leaf work?”

The Silent Bee Fairy showed a horrified expression, her antennae crossing.

“Ferocious Beast, don’t joke with me. That secret is too great; this tree can’t bear it.”

“Magical plants, bloodlines are all acceptable.”

“As for what will hatch, I don’t know. It’s only said that this tree possesses the potential to unearth that secret, making it even greater.”

Locke pondered for a moment.

“Bloodlines too?”

“Would a drop of my blood work? But my blood should contain magical power. I wonder if that would still count as a natural creation.”

The Silent Bee Fairy laughed.

“Ferocious Beast, all life is a natural creation.”

(End of Chapter)