Wizard: Starting With Synthesized Gems - Chapter 869

Chapter 865 The Great Magic Garden of Elysium and the Study of ‘Human Nature’

At Golden Crown Mountain, Locke’s clone of the Ancient Tree Fruit found the troll wizard Ackerman in the library, inquiring about information regarding ‘humanity’ within the soul.

Wizard Ackerman frowned.

“‘Human nature’ is a very deep area of study in the science of souls. Even for third-ring wizards, or even fourth-ring wizards, it’s a subject worthy of in-depth research.”

“Golden Crown Mountain isn’t particularly skilled in the science of souls. They pay for any soul-related materials that have even a little value, and you only have 500 second-ring contribution points right now.”

“Moreover, Locke, what you want is the synergistic effect between ‘human nature’ and plants.”

Locke looked at Wizard Ackerman with slight surprise and asked, “Hmm? This is actually a blank research area? Is it just that Golden Crown Mountain’s research in this area is currently blank, or is the entire Cloud Marsh Wetland’s research in this area blank?”

Wizard Ackerman said, “It can’t be said to be a blank research area. There is some research, but it’s mostly some useless summaries and speculations from low-ring wizards. This kind of thing is interdisciplinary research.”

“It requires a wizard with in-depth research on the very difficult ‘human nature’ within the science of souls, and also a high-ring breeder skilled in evolutionary biology.”

“Under normal circumstances, these two are difficult to intersect. After all, there is currently no evidence that plant evolution and ‘human nature’ can have any relationship.”

“So, the question you raised is indeed a rather niche topic.”

“‘Humanity’ and the correlation between plant evolution. These words together have slowed down the operation of my memory palace spell model. There’s very little information available about the entire Cloud Marsh Wetland. I estimate that only the Starfield Sea has a wealth of information on this kind of niche topic.”

The Ackerman troll wizard said, “The closest thing to Golden Crown Mountain is the research related to the Red Dragon Throne. The Red Dragon Throne has systematic articles on how magical plants promote the evolution of magical creatures’ intelligence.” “

However, that only promotes the evolution of magical creatures through magical plants. Whether it’s intelligence evolution, physical evolution, or increased reproductive capacity, it’s all within the common research scope of agricultural magical plants.”

“Besides that, the closest thing to your needs in the Cloud Marsh Wetland is the Rose Throne’s ultimate spell, [Garden of Elysium]. [Garden of Elysium] can also endow magical creatures with ‘humanity.'”

Locke was stunned; he hadn’t expected the Rose Throne and his teacher’s research fields to be so similar.

Dragon View Peach Garden and Paradise Garden seem to be two sides of the same coin in the same research direction.

Locke said, “I understand. Then please compile some of the more useful information for me first. It’s free.”

Wizard Ackerman quickly handed Locke a pile of materials.

Locke quickly flipped through the materials, frowning, because there was really nothing useful. After reading them, he found them to be better than nothing, not completely useless, but their effect was extremely minor.

The Ackerman troll wizard said, “See? That’s all. As a friend, I advise you not to buy any paid materials related to this research direction, because the cost-effectiveness is too low.”

“This direction is really too niche.”

“If you want to apply for a top-tier grant, it’s best to choose a more mature and popular direction. Even an old direction with a new angle is much better than this unreliable research direction.”

The Ackerman troll wizard coughed and whispered to Locke, “Although revealing other people’s borrowing records is unethical and violates regulations, I can still tell you that your competitors have made breakthroughs recently.”

“Anyway, some of them are using more underhanded tactics than you think. So, it’s okay for me to talk about them. Recently, those second-ring wizards at the True Knowledge Academy have gradually finalized their research topics.”

“Locke, you don’t seem to have any clues yet. You need to work harder too.”

Locke smiled and said, “I’ll be there soon too.”

He began to think about another problem, because the Nemesis’s Path – Leaf of Power that he had created, which carried part of the power of the ferocious beast panel, had already evolved twice due to the native students from two different worlds.

He could sense that the Leaf of Power had absorbed something from the Ranger’s soul, causing it to evolve.

The transformation of his students’ souls as they grew was also driving the Leaf of Power’s transformation and evolution.

This resembled co-evolution,

but not the kind of co-evolution commonly seen in nature.

Therefore, Locke sent his Ancient Tree Fruit clone into the library to access relevant information.

Currently, his guess was that magical plants could evolve by absorbing the ‘humanity’ portion of a soul under certain circumstances.

However, he couldn’t be entirely certain what caused the Leaf of Power’s evolution.

First, although this evolution had occurred twice before his eyes, it only happened to the Leaf of Power.

Second, that special Leaf of Power already shared some of his beastly authority.

This could be a special authority granted by the World Tree Leaf, rather than some universal law.

Third, he couldn’t determine exactly what the Leaf of Power absorbed from the two students to cause its evolution.

The relevant mechanisms required further research.

“I’d better get a high-quality real crystal to record the evolution of the Path of Nemesis: Leaf of Power,”

Locke thought. “This is indeed a very good and broad research direction. Not many high-ring wizards have researched it before; it’s a blank area, but that doesn’t mean it’s wrong.” “

It’s very possible that no high-ring wizards have noticed it. And if my idea is correct, this research direction will be very important to me in the future. It’s also deeply related to my ultimate magic: Moon of Evolution.” “

Of course, if I’m wrong, it’s extremely easy to waste decades on this wrong direction.” “

I’ve progressed so quickly because I’ve almost never gone astray.

Many wizards, once they go astray on a wrong path, really need decades to hit a wall before they can turn back.

After all, from the second-ring wizard stage onwards, no one can tell a wizard that their research direction is absolutely wrong.

” “Old Blue Head is right about one thing.”

Locke thought, “Such a broad direction isn’t suitable for applying for special funding.” “

Do what’s appropriate for your stage. “

If I were to go down this route in my application for the top-tier grant, I could expect to be stuck for five consecutive years.

After all, funds at the level of the Special Grant Fund tend to sponsor more definite and fundamental things.

Locke said goodbye to Old Blue and then left the library.

Locke thought to himself, “Let’s continue to observe how far that mortal Orion from Terrera will ultimately go. I spent three years in the mortal world of the Three Hole Worlds designing this experiment on him; I hope he won’t disappoint me.”

“If he can really help me bring those giants into the selection range of the Path of Nemesis: Leaf of Power, then my Leaf of Power—the Ranger System—will reach the first stage.”

…

In the Three Hole Worlds, Locke’s main body, controlling his treant avatar, stood at the edge of the forest closest to Terrera. Because Terrera had a habit of logging forests, burning wood to make coal, and smelting iron, the forests near Terrera had all been cleared by them.

Locke’s main body, controlling his treant avatar, gazed in the direction of Terrera.

“The experiment carries a certain degree of danger, and I don’t know if it will succeed. Because I haven’t achieved the state of ‘doing whatever I want without overstepping the bounds’ in this world, I can’t even be sure if he’s the chosen one. This world is currently still under the control of the giants and gods; the laws of the world are naturally hostile to me, suppressing everything about me, including my vision.”

“This makes it difficult for me to perceive the entire world.”

“However, even if this experiment I designed fails, according to my expectations, I can still begin my plan to bestow more power.”

“If my judgment on the general direction of the evolutionary reason for the Path of Nemesis: Leaf of Power is correct, then the simplified version of the advanced meditation method I taught Orion—the core I extracted—should allow the Path of Nemesis to evolve according to my expectations.”

“But I skipped the basic meditation method and started teaching him directly from the advanced meditation method.”

“If he isn’t the chosen one of this plane, he’ll probably find it difficult to withstand such a heavy pressure on his soul…”

Locke looked in the direction of Terella.

He didn’t actually teach the natives meditation methods; he simply perceived the core elements of each level of meditation method, especially the core elements related to the direction of inner exploration, and extracted these elements to teach Orion.

The treant avatar said, “Let’s wait and see the results of the experiment.”

Living organisms are too complex.

The human soul is complex.

Plants are equally complex.

Combined, this experiment inherently possesses immense uncontrollable biological variability and systemic complexity.

Even if the Sun Ring Wizard were here today, he probably couldn’t guarantee what the experiment would yield.

Even if his theory was correct, other reasons might prevent the expected results from appearing.

Not to mention, he couldn’t even be sure if his theory was correct.

At this moment, dark clouds blanketed the city-state of Terella, and streaks of red, semi-illusory lightning fell from the sky—war lightning projected by the war giant from the crater. He himself hadn’t come here.

Last time, all eleven giants on the crater descended—that was an exception.

It was an emergency response to a demon god from beyond the heavens.

But after the demon god’s invasion failed, the giants returned to their former arrogant and unrestrained lives.

In their eyes, no one in the mortal realm of the entire ‘world’ could threaten them, so all they needed to do was send a divine punishment from afar.

A streak of crimson, illusory lightning descended from the sky, striking Orion in the chest of the arched arena during the war ceremony.

Instantly, the citizens of Terella erupted in cheers, believing it to be divine punishment, and clapping with jubilation. Some younger citizens even pumped their fists, praising the greatness of the God of War and the ultimate annihilation of the sinner.

But as the smoke cleared,

Orion, his face covered in blood, rose from the ground, having dodged the crimson, semi-illusory lightning before it struck him.

The dark clouds of divine wrath remained in the sky.

The Principle of War sensed the giant’s anger, transforming it into immense pressure that pressed down on Orion’s shoulder. Clearly, the giant, realizing its attack had failed to kill a mere mortal, had not questioned the matter but instead succumbed to rage.

In its eyes, the mortal world held no secrets, thus rendering reasonless;

only the venting of fury mattered.

After all, the giants on the crater generally possessed second-ring level magical pressure, while the mortals in the present world of the third plane were truly just mortals.

There are two breakthroughs in the limits of the race’s soul between second-ring beings and mortals.

In other words, a first-ring being is already a god-like existence to mortals, while a second-ring being can rightfully claim to be a god to mortals.

However, for the wizards who had seen the Astral Gods and the powerful false gods of the Endless Void, the giants’ behavior seemed rather narrow-minded.

After all, according to the information Locke had accessed through the Golden Crown Mountain Library before his arrival, the giants certainly lacked the characteristics of the Astral Gods, who possessed at least a third-circle wizard’s rank.

A true god couldn’t be lower than the third circle!

They also lacked the characteristics of the false gods, who at least possessed divine status, or bestowed divine offices upon their followers, constructing a complete system of divine office, and even managed to possess their own divine kingdoms, much like true gods. The

giants clearly lacked these qualities.

Locke initially suspected they were the Nature Gods, but now it seemed that, apart from the unseen God-King, the other giants were not Nature Gods, or perhaps something had been manipulated.

On the spectator stands of the arched arena, the high priest wearing a golden mask stared wide-eyed at the youth standing in the center of the towering vortex of dark clouds, his eyes bloodshot.

Why wasn’t that sinner dead yet?

Why hadn’t that sinner fallen under the wrath of the gods?

At that moment, Orion looked up at the dark clouds in the sky and saw the war giant hurling something towards their location: a bronze suit of armor infused with the power of the god of war.

The helmet of the bronze armor was empty, yet it shone with a scarlet divine light.

That was the lightning of war.

The citizens, soldiers, and heavily armored knights of Terella, along with the high priest and his priests, all knelt before the empty armor falling from the sky.

They were united in their hatred, glaring hostilely at the only outcast present—Orion of Terella.

“The great god who drives the indestructible chariot has descended! Sinners will be annihilated!”

“May the great god glorify our Terella, and help our wars be victorious, with no possibility of defeat!”

“Great god of Terella, the great god who forever actively invades others, you are the most powerful!”

Locke’s treant avatar immediately saw that the armor was merely mortal armor, but the war principles of the entire Three-Dimensional Plane were currently possessing it. Therefore, just as the War Giant himself wore that armor, the War Giant could remotely manipulate the armor to fight through the war principles.

Locke’s expression was strange.

“But in that case, the armor is just mortal armor, and the energy dissipation of such manipulation is too high. The war principles of the Three-Dimensional Plane, equivalent to 11,000 magic pressure, after fully manipulating the armor, only have a magic pressure equivalent to about 200 first-class wizard apprentices.”

This is ridiculous.

If this were seen in the wizarding world, it probably wouldn’t elicit any ridicule, as other wizards might think he was conducting some kind of special experiment.

However, upon closer examination, in the Three Dimensions without any power or civilization system, the giants and gods merely rely on a crude control of specific dimensional principles to wield their abilities.

Their only skill might be unconsciously applying dimensional principles, creating techniques based on instinct.

Therefore, it’s entirely possible for someone to remotely manipulate their magic pressure, reducing it from the second circle to the level of a first-class wizard apprentice…

They are essentially a group of primitive people wielding high-tech weapons.

Ultimately, the truly powerful ones are the World Tree leaf behind them, or rather, the God-King, and that ‘God-Supreme God’ whose origins remain unknown.

At this moment, the armor worn during the war ritual picked up the two swords Theodora had dropped, twirled them, and then, with his left foot forward and right foot back, assumed a poised attack stance against Orion.

Orion picked up the dagger he had stuck in the ground, wiping the blood from his face with his left hand. He remembered his treant master’s teachings: ‘When hunting, keep your eyes fixed on your prey, meticulous and focused. Every breath is a fatal strike with your hunting knife.’

‘Find the Way of Nature in the sound of your breath.’

The Leaf of Power, the Way of Nemesis on his chest, continuously provided him with strength. Simultaneously, this Leaf of Power summoned a second Leaf of Power with a 0.5 ring, [Light as a Feather].

Orion pondered: ‘I’ve trained with my treant master for three years; now is the time to test my skills through this god.’

The next moment, the bronze-armored figure swung its twin blades at his head, aiming to decapitate him.

But Orion remained calm and composed. Facing the twin blades dance of the bronze-armored figure controlled by the war giant, he wasn’t foolish enough to parry with his dagger, which was shorter than the blades. Instead, he nimbly dodged around the bronze-armored figure.

Before the bronze-armored warrior’s twin swords could touch his skin, he would use the speed advantage provided by the [Light as a Feather] spell model to move across the ground like a swallow, dodging the attack.

*Bang!*

The bronze-armored warrior swung an iron sword, cleaving the limestone ground in two. Shards of stone flew, striking Orion’s cheek below his left eye, causing him to bleed profusely.

The iron sword snapped in two.

The bronze-armored warrior spun in place, wielding his other iron sword, drawing a crescent-shaped arc in the air. He

nearly slit Orion’s throat.

Facing imminent death, Orion grew increasingly calm; he could almost hear his own breathing.

The inhabitants of Terella cheered for the miracle of the God of War’s descent.

The cheers, the threat of death, and the whistling of the iron sword cutting through the air—the sounds were cacophonous, but Orion remained remarkably calm.

He thought of his treant teacher’s teachings.

‘Follow your breath, attack the enemy.’

In the instant the bronze armor turned, he took a breath, and in that instant, he rushed behind the bronze armor and slashed down fiercely.

‘Crack!’

A crack appeared in the bronze armor.

Instantly, the bronze armor, which had been bearing the principles of war of the three worlds, could no longer hold on, and its internal power began to leak out.

One by one, the components of this bronze armor fell off.

From the greaves to the wrist guards to the muscular torso armor…

piece after piece fell.

The stands in the Terrera circular arena suddenly fell silent.

Because everyone had seen that the god of war had unleashed his divine wrath, and his bronze armor messenger was about to kill Orion, but Orion had not only survived, but had also killed the bronze armor.

This caused the people of Terrera, who worshipped power, to gradually shed their fanaticism, and a shift in their hearts began to occur in their hearts towards Orion, the sinner before them.

Orion’s final attack left his knee bleeding profusely. He had used all his strength to strike the bronze armor controlled by the war giant, causing him to kneel on the ground.

He limped towards the high priest, climbing the steps one by one.

The Terella people around him had stopped cursing him and, with a complex mix of emotions, silently made way for him.

Orion reached the high priest, each step leaving a bloody footprint.

At this moment, the high priest, wearing a golden mask, showed obvious panic in his eyes.

“Stop! I am the high priest of the god of war. According to the rules, you are not allowed to come within ten meters of me. Even if you are the lord of the city-state of Terella, you must kneel before me, bow to me, and kiss my toes.”

Faced with the high priest’s questioning,

Orion placed the dagger directly on his golden mask, and the high priest trembled.

“You actually threatened me with v*olence…you…”

Orion whispered, “But the followers of the God of War don’t worship v*olence, so what do they worship? The law?”

“I defeated Theodorora in the war ritual, and I can become the lord of Terella. Then tell me, you all-knowing high priest, like the wise man you’ve always played in Terella. I defeated the God of War in the war ritual, my martial arts surpass his, so what can I become?”

The high priest, wearing a golden mask, was speechless, feeling Orion’s words strike him like thunder, as if his mind were about to explode.

He couldn’t utter a single word.

His finger trembled as he pointed at Orion.

Orion removed the high priest’s golden mask.

Then, Orion sighed.

He actually still had some expectations of the high priest of the God of War.

He expected that behind that sacred golden mask was a calm and wise face, even though he could kill such a person with a single blow, he could never subdue a noble soul with wisdom through force.

Unfortunately, behind the golden mask was an ordinary-looking old man’s face. The old man was so frightened that he was grimacing and his eyes were barely open; he was almost crying.

Clearly, such a person possessed little wisdom.

Orion suddenly snatched the war scepter representing the High Priest of the God of War from his hands. As a result, all the priests shifted their gaze from him to the war scepter in Orion’s hand.

The priests were terrified.

They all looked at the scepter,

as if the High Priest himself was unimportant, only the scepter mattered.

Orion looked at the scepter thoughtfully.

“So, originally, everyone respected only this scepter, not you as a person, is that right?”

A chilling voice echoed from the dark clouds in the sky—the manifestation of the principles of war in the mortal realm, responding to the voice of the war giant.

“Sinner.”

“Deserves to die.”

A giant’s finger descended from the sky, aiming for Orion’s chest. Although the attack had diminished to the level of a crystallized wizard due to the great distance, it was still a crystallized-level attack.

Orion had no chance to dodge.

The finger struck his chest directly, and the already wounded Orion coughed up blood. A cloud of blood mist was squeezed out from behind him at the location of his chest. The war giant had disregarded everything, willing to expend a large amount of divine power and the response of the principles of war, risking temporary decline, to launch such an attack from afar, to completely annihilate an insignificant mortal from a city-state that he had once considered insignificant.

In the distance, Locke, the treant avatar, frowned as he watched this scene.

(End of Chapter)