Wizard: Starting With Synthesized Gems - Chapter 798

Chapter 795 Michael the Wizard’s Surrender and Locke’s Research Assembly Line

In the director’s office of Solas’s Barefoot, Director Holmwood looked at Michael, the chief wizard shoe designer of the first ring of Solas’s Barefoot, and questioned him, “I ask you, have you made any new progress in the past month?”

“The Black Hummingbird Pineapple Wizard Shoes have once again sold ten million magic stones in Arthas within a month.”

“That means that this year, the top three best-selling wizard shoes on the Arthas rankings will likely all be Augustus Wizard Shoes. Two super-selling items have already secured their positions on the list.”

“I don’t think the Blue Ribbon Shop Alliance can come up with any solutions. Yesterday they even came to me for help, asking me to give them some advice.”

Wizard Holmwood said, “As the chief designer of the first ring of Solas’s Barefoot, you are a genius we selected from among thousands.”

“A true prodigy. What’s your opinion?”

Wizard Michael hesitated, stammering.

“The Black Hummingbird Pineapple Wizard Shoes have excellent performance in all aspects, exceeding the design level of our current first-ring wizard shoes.”

“Even if I unlocked the previously sealed frozen technology resources, it would be difficult to increase the quality by an average of 10% in a short period.”

“This…”

Director Holm said, “Absurd. Just a breeder… the work of an amateur, and it’s already pushing our first-ring designer team, Solas Barefoot, to the point of being helpless?”

“It’s utter nonsense.”

“I’ll give you another month, is that enough? No, half a month, half a month.”

“Can you design the shoes immediately?”

Wizard Michael’s eyes were vacant as he began to think.

“This requires manpower, money, additional investment… and time. Half a month is far from enough.”

“I’ve only completed performance testing on the Black Hummingbird Wizard Shoes this month.”

“Manager, those Black Hummingbird Wizard Shoes are truly impressive. It’s unbelievable that they’re pure magical plant wizard shoes. I don’t have a good solution right now…”

Wizard Holm said, “You’re our first-ring chief designer, don’t you have a good solution?”

“A month, is that possible?”

Wizard Michael suddenly realized that Wizard Holm hadn’t actually worked much on the front lines, nor had he ever spent a single day in a design position; he had been in an administrative role from the beginning.

Wizard Michael bowed to Wizard Holm.

“Teacher Holm, I really can’t do it. Don’t even mention giving me a month, even if we had a whole year for our first-ring wizard team, I couldn’t guarantee we could make first-ring wizard shoes with performance comparable to the Black Hummingbird Wizard Shoes.”

Wizard Michael sighed.

“Now that things have come to this, I accept your accusations. As the chief designer of the first-ring barefoot wizarding shoes for Solas, I couldn’t compete with him in designing first-ring wizarding shoes, even though I had ample data and technical surplus.”

“This is my responsibility,”

Holm Moon Ring Supervisor glared.

“I don’t want to match; I want you to produce a first-ring wizarding shoe that completely crushes the Black Hummingbird!”

Wizard Michael suddenly felt a sense of relief.

When you feel that your leader’s task is completely impossible to complete, it’s as if the responsibility on your shoulders has disappeared, and you feel a sense of ease.

Wizard Michael said, “I’m sorry, Professor Holm, this is indeed something I cannot do.”

Wizard Holm was enraged, his eyes filled with fury.

“As a rising star in the Rose Council and the lineage of the Rose Throne, a genius weaver, you actually admit you can’t create better wizard shoes than a mere amateur breeder.”

“This is a disgrace.”

“Michael, I will contact your mentor. Are you trying to bring shame upon our Rose Throne?”

Holm’s anger seemed to overwhelm Michael like a tidal wave.

Just as Michael was feeling dire and unsure how to respond, Holm’s expression suddenly calmed.

Holm said, “You can leave now. As punishment, I’ve activated Solas’s rules and regulations, forfeiting your entire bonus for this year.”

“Furthermore, you’re likely to be transferred from your current position. I hope you’re prepared. This is a reasonable action I must take as the head of Solas’s Footwear.”

“The First Ring Chief Designer represents Solas’s Footwear’s century-long honor, representing that you, the Shoemaker, are almost the best in the First Ring stage. Therefore, as a Shoemaker, you absolutely cannot lose to a Breeder.”

“Michael, I’m very disappointed in you. I don’t even want you to continue working for me.”

Wizard Michael felt bitter.

He knew that if he left this office now, Head Holm would relegate him to the margins of Solas’s Footwear.

His rank would never be promoted again, and he might even be demoted.

His future would be completely ruined.

Even geniuses, unless they reach the point of completely disregarding conventions, absolutely need a platform.

Only true super geniuses are absolutely unstoppable.

But ordinary geniuses need a lot of resources to grow quickly.

But he wanted to stay and tell Supervisor Holm that he could design a better pair of shoes than the Black Hummingbird within a month.

Wizard Michael pondered for a moment, then felt even more desperate.

The design of the Black Hummingbird wizard shoes lingered in his mind.

For a whole month, he tested these wizard shoes.

As a shoemaker, he was initially filled with pride.

He initially judged the design of these wizard shoes by shoemaker standards, measuring their design and craftsmanship against their system.

But soon, he was amazed by these wizard shoes.

He even secretly tried them on in a secluded corner. He became a shoemaker because of his lifelong love for shoes; it

had become an obsession.

He knew that some things existed even without a single person.

But shoes were different.

Without people, there were no shoes.

Shoes serve people.

Shoes are an acquired creation, a symbol of civilization. For millions of years, shoes and civilization have complemented each other; at a certain stage, the place where a shoe print was made was the place of civilization.

A good pair of shoes may not be apparent in everyday wear.

But when wearing those good shoes for extreme sports or in harsh conditions, the difference becomes apparent.

Shoes were his favorite.

He had secretly worn those black hummingbird wizard shoes and became obsessed.

Yes, those wizard shoes weren’t comfortable.

The stress analysis wasn’t good enough; they didn’t conform to foot shapes beyond standard human biology.

The gait cycle was also poorly designed, possibly not at all; the toe roll angle wasn’t considered.

The material’s moisture content and thermal conductivity weren’t taken into account.

The artistry of those wizard shoes was low.

It was clear that the wizard who designed them lacked extensive experience in designing wizard shoes.

But the black hummingbird wizard shoes were still the best available, so good that it frightened him.

Because these wizard shoes had returned to the very essence of wizard shoes—functionality.

It was hard to imagine that a pure magical plant could produce wizard shoes of such quality.

Wizard Michael even regretfully wondered if a shoemaker had helped Locke Augustine design a pair of wizard shoes, could they have created something like those exceptionally good shoes from a hundred years ago, before the market was unified?

Those shoes that truly drew him into the industry?

Michael knew he couldn’t create shoes that surpassed the performance of those wizard shoes in a short time, so he turned and left Solas’s office.

Wizard Holm glanced at Michael coldly.

“Hmph.”

“I don’t know if it’s your incompetence, or if those wizard shoes are truly superior. Or maybe you’re deliberately trying to antagonize me.”

“This person is unusable,”

Wizard Holm pondered. “Since he can’t be used, I’ll marginalize him.”

Wizard Holm tapped the table with his fingers.

“But now, His Majesty the Throne and all the Third Ring teachers are about to leave Cloudswamp Wetlands for the Southern Boundary.”

“Lord Solas will also be leaving. The level of oversight will decrease significantly, my power will increase, and many things will be possible. No, this can’t continue. Otherwise, the Solas family business won’t collapse, but I’ll lose my position as head.”

Wizard Holm pondered, “Until I replace Michael, I can’t fully control the people in the First Ring Design Department. So, the best solution is to transfer a Second Ring wizard to design a pair of First Ring wizard shoes, bypassing the department and level requirements.”

“This isn’t in accordance with the rules, but it’s the best solution right now.”

Wizard Holm considered the feasibility of this approach.

Solas’s barefoot practice was originally strictly prohibited, with Second Ring wizard designers working in First Ring departments.

But now, because of the Genesis Academic Conference, this loophole seemed to be able to be secretly opened.

Holm, the wizard, pondered, “Based on the discussions at the last technical seminar, the second-ring designers unanimously agreed that Locke Augustine would not be able to create mass-producible second-ring wizard shoes within fifty years.”

“Therefore, the real battle lies in the realm of first-ring wizard shoes. I only need to hold this position.” “

In that case, the current resources of the second-ring design department are superfluous and can be allocated to the first-ring design department, which needs support the most.”

After much deliberation, Holm finally made up his mind, secretly handwriting a document to quietly transfer personnel from the second-ring design department.

“We’ll find a second-ring designer who has free time and doesn’t have any projects of their own.”

“That shouldn’t be a problem. Even if the board asks, as long as I produce results and it doesn’t affect the second-ring design department, it won’t be a mistake, but a merit.”

Manager Holm pondered, “It was my insightful judgment to go against the majority.”

“I have so much debt on my hands. If I lose this position, the apparent income isn’t a big loss. But those people who give me gifts every year will probably never visit my office again. That would have a huge impact on me.” “

Therefore, I absolutely cannot lose this position as manager of Soras.”

Wizard Holm used the Ganoderma lucidum plant to directly contact an ordinary second-ring designer.

“Hey, Wizard Hick. I remember you haven’t been busy lately, have you? Hmm? You’re about to start a design project? Well, it hasn’t even started yet, has it? Why don’t you put it aside for now? I have something…”

“Hmm… I’m giving you a peacock calcite mine in a mid-level world, the [Rock Spirit World]. All you have to do is design wizard shoes that surpass the Black Hummingbird’s as quickly as possible.”

“Yes. Don’t worry about that. I’ve already arranged meetings with technical experts and discussions across multiple departments. We’ve confirmed that Locke Augustine doesn’t have the corresponding technological reserves to find a way to reduce the cost of the imaginary root within fifty years.”

“Unless he gets special funding or something that would allow him to enter a key laboratory. But he probably won’t get that project in the short term.”

“Yes. So, even if the Second Ring Design Department transfers one of you, it won’t have any impact. Neither of us will be punished by the board.”

“Okay, it’s a deal.”

…

At Golden Crown Mountain, Scarlett the Witch informed Locke that their Black Hummingbird had once again achieved a resounding victory, generating millions of magic stones in revenue.

Locke spoke with her for a while and they agreed to go to the White Wizard Association a week later to collect the business license for the Shop Alliance and pay the wizard tax and license tax.

Scarlett the Witch seemed very hopeful that the Augustus Shop Alliance could truly be established and become a famous brand, a dark horse emerging from a market completely monopolized and with a rigid hierarchy among wealthy wizard shoe shops.

Locke glanced at the tens of millions in revenue and nodded.

“I currently have twenty million. If I don’t do research, it’s a lot. If I do, it should support my expenses for a few months. In that case, I can fully launch my projects. The two projects in the Southeast Corner need to start as soon as possible.”

“As for the Imaginary Root, I can also begin a two-month library stay and conduct experiments using my clone during this time. I’ll return after my clone has settled things in the Southeast Corner.”

Locke’s eyes were full of confidence. “Through the Evolution Month, I can shorten my plant cultivation cycle. Using the blooming and withering of flowers will allow me to quickly obtain improved samples for large-scale verification.”

“With the combination of blooming and withering flowers, the synthesis of magic cubes, and the descriptions, I can quickly obtain a large number of magical plant subspecies. I can find many useful things from their plant essences. Perhaps, if I make good use of these two months, I can really find a way to mass-produce second-ring wizard shoes.”

He had already initially built a complete system for himself to accelerate the production of second-ring items.

This system was the most valuable

because it could also be used on other projects.

(End of Chapter)