Wizard: Starting With Synthesized Gems - Chapter 923

Chapter 918, three chapters released in quick succession in Zone 1! The ultimate explosion!

Locke calculated his contribution points. He had already used them all, and the best way to enter the Supernatural Purgatory was to publish two articles in the second-ring, first-zone journal.

This wasn’t impossible for him.

‘The three layers of verdant nursery caves in the Spirit Breath Cultivation Method, the special imaginary root of the Great Roaring Dragon Sparrow, and the special imaginary root of the Golden Dragon Claw Air Pineapple—these three, if studied in depth, could all produce articles in the second-ring, first-zone. The Cave Garden is new to me, so I’ll study the Golden Dragon Claw and the Great Roaring Dragon Sparrow, which are related to golden magic, first.’ ‘

I’ve already had Douglas do the preliminary data for these two.’

‘If I publish two more articles in Yunze in a short time, I can enter the Supernatural Purgatory.’ Locke felt there was a lot to do ahead, but this was the moment to solidify his resolve.

Locke looked at Warwick and said, ‘I just got the access to the Supernatural Purgatory.’

Warwick’s eyes lit up slightly. “I knew you’d have a way. I’ll stay at your Golden Crown Mountain for another week, and I can create a [Historical Atlas] for you. Using this temporary magical artifact, the Historical Atlas, can enhance historical reconstruction. As long as we can find someone who met with Maxwell, we’ll definitely be able to glean all the connections between them.”

Locke nodded slightly.

Old Warwick was a veteran archaeological wizard, and he certainly had a wealth of knowledge. He had never even heard of this so-called Historical Atlas, but since that was the case, he would leave it to him.

The two walked out of the private room, and after taking only a few steps, the Moon Ring Witch of the Rose Council, who was sitting in the main hall of the Witch’s Kitchen, suddenly stood up. She looked at Locke and said, “Wizard Augustine, please wait.” The

Moon Ring Witch looked at Locke and said, “I didn’t mean to eavesdrop or steal your information. It’s just that when you and this werewolf wizard were discussing something just now, I vaguely heard some of your rather lengthy plans.”

Locke and Warwick’s expressions remained unchanged.

After all, the two had only exchanged some trivial words after leaving the private room, things that could be overheard. The witch only knew that they seemed to have a long-term research project,

but she didn’t know what it was or even its direction.

The Moon Ring Witch looked at Locke and smiled, “It’s about a special funding project, isn’t it? Actually, there are ways that don’t require this much trouble.”

“Wizard Locke, I admire your talent in breeding science and congratulate you on winning the Golden Cup Flying Magic Plant Championship and collaborating with the Windbringer’s Sanctuary in Dragonfall Lands. That’s a great wizarding academy; many flying machines in the Eastern Frontier were made by them.”

Warwick looked at Locke in surprise, “Locke, you didn’t even tell me about this.”

Locke rubbed his nose and said, “What’s there to say?”

He only participated in the Golden Cup to farm the Tourmaline King Peach.

Who knew he would inexplicably get involved with the Windbringer’s Academy and obtain crucial experimental data on the Golden Spell from the Russell Throne.

Warwick shook his head. “Locke, don’t you know? That’s the Windbringer Academy? One of the wizarding academies that can build the best flying machines.”

“They have a lot of influence in Dragonfall. Even on the front lines of wizarding civilization, they purchase some of their super-quality flying machines. You actually say there’s nothing to talk about? You’ve managed to cooperate with them, that’s impressive. That wizarding university has very high standards; they won’t care about anything that’s not truly excellent.”

Locke said, “It’s just that I was lucky. The Boundary Between Darkness and Light happened to want to cooperate with Dragonfall, and then I used the title of a competition champion.”

The Moon Ring Witch said, “That’s why I admire you, Augustine. I have a project proposal that you can immediately write to apply for top-tier funding. I’m currently selecting a wizard for the Sun Ring Wizards behind me to receive this honor.”

“Witch Augustine, if you are interested, you can have it now.”

Locke paused for a moment, then asked, “Why me? I saw you meeting with Witch Droma earlier, so I suppose you must have met with other wizards as well. You are indeed selecting an excellent breeder. But why me?” The Moon

Ring Witch looked at Locke and said, “Although your reputation is not well-known because of the sudden emergence of the Magic Plant Crystallization Research Route, in reality, under normal circumstances, after winning the Small Rest Cup and the Golden Cup in succession, and publishing two papers in the Second Ring First District journal in a short period of time, you should already be famous and have gained everyone’s attention.”

“Your excellent resume has still caught my eye.”

Locke said, “They all publish in the First District, what’s the difference? Droma and Brandy have also published in the First District now, haven’t they?”

The Moon Ring Witch laughed, “Witch Augustine is joking, there is an absolute difference.”

She held a document in her hand, “As long as Witch Augustine nods, this document is yours.”

The Warwick werewolf wizard next to Locke looked extremely ugly.

Because if Locke accepted this information, would he still risk searching for the Black and White Grimoire?

He could see that there seemed to be some connection between searching for the Black and White Grimoire and his top-tier funding.

Warwick hesitated, but then he thought, putting himself in his shoes, if there were project information that could immediately grant him top-tier funding, would he refuse?

A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.

If it was so easy to get this information, he himself would not refuse.

Locke asked, “Can I ask what the project is?”

The Moon Ring Witch handed the information directly to Locke. “The Augustine Wizard can see it for himself.”

She was calm and composed; after all, the information was vast, and Locke couldn’t possibly memorize it after reading it.

Locke glanced at her, took the information, and began to read.

“Special imaginary roots of crystallized magical plants, crystallized imaginary roots.” Locke’s expression changed slightly. He quickly checked several key data points and the key experiments mentioned in the literature, finding that they were all done well.

In other words, this was a project that could be expected to be realized.

The only difficulty lay in the speed of progress.

“The crystallization of magical plants initiated by the Rose Council has actually reached this stage; even the crystallization of the Imaginary Root, which is crucial for second-ring magical plants, is underway.”

“However, this final step is also quite troublesome.”

Locke discovered that while the most difficult part of the project had been overcome, several steps still required collecting a large amount of data and planting a large number of suspected Imaginary Root sources—the Light Void Sea Vine from Ancient Vine Village.

This was a lengthy process.

The documents estimated that it would take a genius breeder about fifteen years to complete, and even with his own synthesis cube, Locke estimated it would take at least three years.

No wonder the Rose Council was sending this kind of project around.

Locke understood. Experiments of this level required true geniuses to advance and accelerate their completion.

Clearly, the Rose Council couldn’t wait for the crystallization of the Imaginary Root of the Magic Plant Crystallization, which would take fifteen years.

Locke understood the key reason they were looking for him:

his experimental results were being produced exceptionally quickly.

Obviously, the Rose Council needed to find breeding geniuses to help them accelerate this plan and also secure several top-tier grants to further their Magic Plant Crystallization technology.

Locke frowned. Before reading the information, he had some reservations, but after reading it, he completely gave up.

The reason was simple:

a time conflict.

His own projects required a significant amount of time to complete.

Taking this project might seem to bring him top-tier grants easily, but in reality, it would severely narrow his future prospects.

This seemingly advantageous but ultimately detrimental approach was unacceptable.

Locke returned the information to the Moon Ring Witch and shook his head slightly.

“I’m sorry, I can’t do this. I have other research projects, and I simply don’t have the energy for it.”

The Moon Ring Witch raised an eyebrow.

“Is there anything better to research than the Magic Plant Crystallization Technology? Augustine, you… missing this might be the greatest opportunity of your life. Do you know what completing this project means? It means you’ll be remembered in history.”

“If the Magic Plant Crystallization Technology is fully successful, this project can at least guarantee you becoming a Sun Ring Wizard!”

Locke nodded slightly.

Warwick, the wizard beside him, was afraid Locke would be swayed again, so he said to the Moon Ring Witch in a perfunctory tone, “I know, I know. My friend is just stubborn. Alright, we archaeological wizards have our own ideas. Goodbye.”

Warwick quickly left with Locke, afraid that the Moon Ring Witch would talk to Locke again and affect his determination.

If Locke’s attention was diverted, would he still be able to find his Black and White Magic Book?

The Moon Ring Witch glared angrily at Warwick, “You… just a lowly grey wizard…”

The Moon Ring Witch of the Rose Council frowned as she watched them leave.

“These wizards of Mount Golden Crown are all…”

“Inconsiderate.”

“Augustin rejected me, fine, but why did Zeno reject me too? Of the candidates I can choose from, only Droma and Brandy are somewhat decent. Although the project data has been given to many wizards, it won’t just be given to one second-ring wizard…”

This kind of project, as long as different focuses are found, can completely apply for different top-tier grants.

This is also why top-tier grants are easier to obtain than second-ring grants.

Normal second-ring grants rarely use this tactic, but because the review process for top-tier grants is more lenient, even if doing the same research, one can find slight differences and then apply accordingly.

The Moon Ring Witch murmured, “Does this mean we only have to choose between these two?”

At this moment, there were people like her throughout the various universities in Yunze Wetlands, trying to persuade the second-ring researchers of the seven top wizarding universities to change their research direction and pursue the magical plant crystallization research route.

They even wanted them to discourage these geniuses, to make them abandon their current research routes, and to feel despair or disappointment about their future.

After all, the difficulty of the traditional research route was definitely higher than that of the magical plant crystallization route.

The Moon Ring Witch frowned, lost in thought.

Meanwhile, Locke quickly sent his main body and clone to the laboratory, and arranged for his student Gregor to take Douglas’s body and a stalk of golden wheat to an area with thunderstorms.

He needed to write two articles in a district-one journal as quickly as possible, submit them to Yunze, and then, through Trajan’s relationship with his teacher, immediately obtain contribution points as a reward.

After all, he was supposed to wait a month for his article to be published in the journal before Golden Crown Mountain would award him the contribution points.

Three days later, amidst a thunderstorm, Douglas found his wizard robes soaked. He got up, somewhat dazed. Wasn’t he fighting the Dark Lord?

How did he end up here?

This is… Douglas’s pupils suddenly contracted.

Isn’t this the Wizarding World?

Looking at the summer valley with its dark clouds and thunderous roar, he suddenly realized that this wasn’t the Dark Lord anymore, but the Wizarding World.

Douglas wiped his face. “My little boss actually saved me.”

He tried to call upon the Wizard King Lagmamon in his mind, but to his dismay, the Wizard King Lagmamon didn’t respond.

“Teacher… has indeed fallen into a deep sleep.”

Douglas sighed. Without his teacher, he suddenly felt a pang of panic, and even in this thunderstorm, he thought of Locke Augustine.

At least he still had his little boss.

Gregor stood atop the valley and called out to Douglas, “Lord Douglas, my teacher instructed me to place you under the thunderstorm. Because of the Demon Winter, I searched for a long time in the mortal realm before finding this valley. He said that after you wake up, you should immediately return to Mount Golden Crown and enter Group 2’s research institute to help him with his experiments.”

Douglas suddenly laughed .

Only Locke could come up with something like this.

To expect him, a sick man, to go to work in the lab as soon as he woke up—it really did seem like something that senior would do.

Douglas smiled, feeling a sense of relief.

If Locke was acting this way, it meant everything was still under his control.

Although his teacher was in a deep sleep, he had told him that as long as he became a second-circle wizard, the soul energy boost from that breakthrough should awaken him.

Of course, normally it would take about twenty years for him to awaken again.

Douglas clenched his fists; he would definitely find a way to break through to become a second-circle wizard and awaken his teacher as soon as possible.

Douglas thought of the ruins within the Golden Crown Mountain.

But to break through, he needed the treasure. How could he do that?

Douglas’s magic surged, his wizard’s robes quickly dried, and he transformed into a bolt of lightning, flying from the bottom of the valley to its top, landing beside Gregor.

He stepped out of the lightning and said to Gregor, “Gregor, Williams has been a full-fledged wizard for a while now. Aren’t you worried?”

Gregor smiled wryly. “Lord Douglas, even if I were worried, it wouldn’t make a difference. By the way, Lord Douglas, my teacher said he’s very busy lately and needs your full help.”

Douglas paused, then felt quite pleased with himself.

‘My teacher is already in a deep sleep, and the young master still needs me so much? Does the young master really think I’m capable? It seems he truly needs my help.’

‘Then I must hurry back.’ “

…

In the Rose Council, Rose the Witch’s true form discovered that her application for the top-tier grant, submitted to the academy, hadn’t even been sent to the internal review panel for cross-review.

She immediately glared angrily at the staff.

“What’s going on?”

the staff member coughed. “Rose the Witch, your research is indeed excellent. But the problem is that recently we’ve been promoting… the Magic Plant Crystallization Technology. Your work isn’t in that area, so this year the academy thinks you should wait a bit longer.”

Rose the Witch was both amused and annoyed. Behind her was a star ring, a symbol that could terrify countless civilizations in the endless void.

At this moment, two forces within her were constantly impacting her immense magic, indicating that she was infinitely close to becoming a Star Ring Wizard.

Rose the Witch’s true form frowned.

“Are you kidding me? Are you eliminating dissidents?”

“If you do this, won’t only breeders have a chance to get the top-tier grant in the Rose Council this year?”

Rose the Witch hadn’t expected that even the Magic Plant Crystallization Technology would harm her.

She frowned.

“But I remember that Star Ring Wizards can’t get top-tier funding, and I’m about to advance to Star Ring.”

The staff member spread his hands guiltily and said, “But rules are rules, and there’s nothing we can do about it. Perhaps you could temporarily switch your research to the magic plant crystallization technology while you still have time?”

Rose the Witch gritted her teeth. How could she possibly change her research direction for a grant ?

Damn magic plant crystallization!

Rose the Witch thought about it and could only give up. After all, other academic branches of the Rose Council were putting in the effort; what could she do?

…

Three days later, with Douglas’s help and the abundant research equipment resources of Group 2, Locke quickly produced two articles, which he immediately submitted to Yunze.

Of course, the research speed was so fast because Locke’s excessively powerful golden magic talent helped him find the correct research path.

Moreover, these two Zone 1 articles only summarized the mechanism of the special imaginary root of the Great Roaring Dragon Sparrow, how it works, and how it is cultivated. Another article analyzes how the special imaginary roots, the nail-shaped imaginary roots, of the Golden Dragon Claw Air Plant are cultivated, their mechanisms of action, and so on.

The key is that he himself can actually cultivate these two special imaginary roots.

For an average wizard, this level of research is sufficient to explain what these two imaginary roots are, since it explains how to cultivate them, what they can do, and what effects they will have.

But for Locke, he felt he could conduct further research to find out why these two imaginary roots mutated and what the essence of the mutated imaginary roots is.

However, this level of research can be done later.

In addition, during these three days, Locke unexpectedly wrote a third article, namely, the essence of the special dragonfire of the Great Roaring Dragon Sparrow. He used the Queen’s Chessboard to analyze that special dragonfire, and by igniting a special spiritual breath he named “Golden Spiritual Breath,” that special dragonfire could be produced.

This is why Locke felt he hadn’t truly understood those two imaginary roots; firstly, he only knew how to cultivate them, but not how they were formed.

Secondly, he only knew that the imaginary dragon horns of the Great Roaring Dragon Sparrow could be used to fish out golden spiritual energy, and the basic fishing mechanism, but he did not know why golden spiritual energy was produced.

Moreover, he had just analyzed the basic characteristics of the Golden Dragon Breath using the Queen’s Chessboard.

This meant he had just written an article each on the Dragon Horn Imaginary Root, the Nail-shaped Imaginary Root, and the Golden Dragon Breath, but the research on these three could be further deepened and consolidated.

At this moment, Locke urgently asked Gregor and the Witch Mason to submit three articles.

Then, Locke, through the wizard Trajan and the Celtic group leader, tried to contact the editors and other staff at the Yunze Journal to inquire about the review progress and asked Trajan to ask his friend to expedite the review process at Yunze.

A day later, in the office of the Yunze editor, an editor responsible for reviewing the articles saw the two articles that had been submitted. He immediately realized that the authors had already published an article in a Zone 1 journal at Yunze, and that this article had been requested to be reviewed more quickly.

“Dragon Horn Imaginary Roots, Nail-Shaped Imaginary Roots.”

After reading these two journal articles, the editor immediately understood why someone on the editorial board had been pushing them. Although the articles were written somewhat hastily, the authors had excellent resumes, with one listed as a corresponding author in Throne Wizard, and they had already published a first-tier

journal article in Yunze. Moreover, research on special imaginary roots was a regular feature in the various second-tier journals of Yunze Wetland.

“I remember his first paper accepted by a Zone 1 journal in Yunze was about a special imaginary root that could fish out special spiritual energy.”

“Now it’s research on two more special imaginary roots. No wonder the editorial board is so interested.”

“I’ll have three colleagues review it.”

“If there are no problems, both articles should be accepted.”

The editor said, “The editor-in-chief is currently worried that the next issue of the journal might be full of research on magical plant crystallization.”

“These two articles will solve the editor-in-chief’s headache.”

“This wizard is quite clever, knowing that these two articles are easier to get accepted at this time.”

…

At the edge of all things, the wizard Salonirus picked out Locke’s article from the submissions, and smiled after reading it.

“Locke’s trying to ambush me again.”

“This time I won’t fall for it.”

“Golden Spirit Breath…that’s a good name. Maybe the wizards above will like it. I’ll find three students from Russell’s Throne as reviewers. Anyway, he seems to have gotten in touch with Russell’s Throne recently.”

In less than a week, Locke, through various connections, found out that both Yunze and Wanxiang’s two major journals had accepted his three articles!

In other words, by quickly converting his previous savings and working tirelessly, he had finally managed to churn out three articles in Zone 1 journals in a short time, obtaining all the contribution points needed to enter the Supernatural Purgatory, even exceeding it by 1500 points.

After hearing this news, Locke breathed a long sigh of relief in his dormitory.

This sudden burst of energy had cost him all his money, exhausted a lot of favors, and temporarily depleted his article reserves.

But he had indeed published three Zone 1 articles.

Next, as long as he could find a way to get more contribution points early, he could enter the Supernatural Purgatory.

And once he entered the Supernatural Purgatory, he might be able to find Maxwell the Wizard…

(End of Chapter)