Wizard: Starting With Synthesized Gems - Chapter 932

Chapter 927 Connection with the Silver Peach Garden

In the special laboratory of Group 1 at Golden Crown Mountain, Zeno watched as a crystallized orchid gradually grew on the Golden Path.

This section of the Golden Path was a small, abandoned section of the Golden Path, specially granted to Golden Crown Mountain by the White Wizard Association for cultivating symbiotic magical plants.

Zeno stared at the crystallized magical plant growing on the Golden Path, his eyes burning with fervor.

“The Golden Path has been in disrepair for years, so someone came up with the idea of planting magical plants on it to increase its stability.”

“This idea has indeed yielded some results, but it has also made how to plant magical plants, and what kind of magical plants to plant on the Golden Path, a difficult problem.”

“I previously combined the characteristics of crystallized magical plants and discovered its potential application on the Golden Path. And it worked!”

Zeno’s expression was strange.

“Even so, the success of this experiment is because I overturned several well-known research articles on crystallized magical plants.”

“Could the conclusions above be wrong?”

But those were all legitimate journals from the Second Ring, First District.

Of course, there isn’t a single article in a third-ring journal yet on the crystallization technology of magical plants. After all, even the founder, Patrick Finch, is still a day-ring wizard, so research related to crystallized magical plants hasn’t been published in any third-ring journals.

A hint of self-doubt flashed in Zeno’s eyes.

“But to say that so many articles in top-tier journals have errors or flaws is perhaps just me being too arrogant. Compared to those top breeders, I’m still too young.”

“Never mind,”

Zeno thought, “It doesn’t matter anymore. My ultimate spell is the Eight-Directional Root of the Ironwood Tree.”

“The Eight-Directional Root of the Ironwood Tree is an ultimate spell built on the Golden Route…”

This is also why he entered the research on magical plant crystallization technology, because he suspected that this technology could increase the survival rate and planting cost of magical plants on the Golden Route.

And as it turns out, it does have this potential.

Zeno pondered, “It seems that refusing that witch from the Rose Council was the right choice. If I had accepted her gift, I would have been forced to change the direction of my efforts and forced to change my choices.”

Zeno looked at the crystallized orchids on the abandoned Golden Route before him and fell into deep thought.

“This direction is correct, so I can work towards it and write an application for the top-tier grant. Just to ensure success, I must first publish a relevant paper in a top-tier journal.”

Zeno pondered for a moment. The crystallization of magical plants was a current hot topic, and finding a completely new application within it almost guaranteed him this year’s top-tier grant.

However, to ensure absolute certainty, he should publish a relevant paper in a top-tier journal to increase his chances of success and provide evidence for his research.

Zeno became excited.

“But this requires refuting some already published research on crystallization techniques.”

Zeno’s eyes were resolute.

“My teacher once told me that if one wholeheartedly focuses on their work, they will be invincible.”

“Yes. I should now organize the data and write the article and application.”

“Hurry, there’s still time.”

Zeno turned and began collecting data with a determined look.

He was naturally introverted, and many wizards at the Golden Crown Mountain True Knowledge Academy considered him aloof, cold, and unapproachable.

But actually, it was simply because he found talking to people too stressful.

He was originally sought after as a disciple by three throne wizards, but he chose to follow the witch Catherine to avoid complex situations involving too many people.

Only Catherine saw that he disliked any management position, not only refraining from placing any demands on him in that area but also allowing him to focus solely on research, even assigning him a wizard assistant.

…

Locke asked Wizard Terence through a video call, “Hello, Wizard Terence, I am Locke Augustine.”

“What happened at Silver Peach Garden?”

Wizard Terence replied, “Director Augustine, a large number of designers at Silver Peach Garden have recently resigned and gone to a shop alliance called Olaye.”

“That shop alliance is a product of the Rose School,”

Locke said after a moment’s consideration.

“You mean Aurelia deliberately poached our people for cutthroat competition?”

Wizard Terence said. “That’s true. Those people were lured away with high salaries, but I think it’s incredibly foolish. Aurelia simply can’t handle so many designers.”

“Once Aurelia achieves its goals and gains a foothold, it will discard them at any time,”

Locke said. “Or Aurelia could acquire Silver Peach Garden and take over our business, so those people could stay with Aurelia forever without worrying about being fired.”

Wizard Terence paused, then said angrily, “But that’s impossible.”

Locke said, “I’m just saying that’s how they think.”

Wizard Terence’s eyes darted around, and he looked at Locke tentatively, asking, “Manager, are you going to invite a high-ranking wizard from the academy to teach those fools a lesson?”

“I’ve heard that the executioner wizard Trajan is on Golden Crown Mountain. If he could come to our Tianjiang River, he could definitely solve our problem.”

Locke said, “Brother Trajan? He doesn’t handle this. Our teacher entrusted this matter entirely to me.”

Wizard Terence pursed his lips, his eyes widening. He had a bad feeling.

“You, the supervisor, are handling Silver Peach Garden entirely?”

“If we encounter a crisis of annihilation, will any wizards from the academy intervene? Silver Peach Garden is a brand founded by Lord Red Dragon Throne, a very old alliance of shops…”

Locke said, “It’s just normal business. Even if our business is bad, there’s no reason for any high-ring wizards from our academy to intervene.”

If they could intervene, he would probably have already been surrounded and even killed by the high-ring wizards of the Rose Academy.

In the end, this kind of business is still largely within the realm of normal competition.

Wizard Terence’s expression changed slightly, and he became somewhat dejected.

Locke glanced at him but said nothing.

After all, even Rose went to great lengths to take over the alliance of two long-established shops. It’s perfectly normal for this Star Ring Wizard to doubt his own abilities.

On the contrary, this proves that this person really cares about Silver Peach Garden, and I don’t need to worry about him sabotaging things behind the scenes.

Or perhaps he’s been bribed.

Locke asked him, “Our Silver Peach Garden is currently suffering continuous losses. Is it due to poor management, or is it that we’re making money but can’t get it into the accounts, or is it because our market positioning is unclear, or is it because our products are outdated?”

Hearing Locke say that the products were outdated, Wizard Terence, though not as enthusiastic as he had initially felt as if he had found a savior, gave a wry smile and honestly stated his opinion.

“I think both are true.”

“Firstly, some stores certainly wouldn’t earn so little money; some haven’t even had a single sale in months. Therefore, previous managers hired professional auditors to investigate, but they never found much useful information.”

“Not making money, still not making money…”

“And we really don’t have any super-selling items right now. Although Silver Peach Garden was glorious under Lord Throne’s leadership, being voted the most creative weapon and plant shop alliance for five consecutive years, all of that has vanished since Lord Throne left the front lines.”

“Furthermore, our designers keep getting poached.”

Locke looked at Wizard Terence.

Wizard Terence explained, “We’re currently trapped in a death spiral. Because we lack funds, we can’t hire top designers and have to train them from scratch. And once we train a skilled breeder, they’ll be poached by better shop alliances because we can’t offer them better compensation.”

“Even if it’s not Olayer, there will be others—those older, more powerful weapon and plant shop alliances. Over time, we’ll gradually sink into this death spiral.”

Locke said, “Since you see it so clearly, why can’t you break free?”

Wizard Terence gave a bitter smile.

“How can one person lift a fallen giant? There is a shortcut.”

“It’s about someone investing in Silver Garden to break this death spiral.”

Locke asked, “How much?”

Wizard Terence smiled bitterly.

“Without a hundred million magic stones invested, it’s unlikely this death spiral can be broken.”

Locke fell silent.

He certainly wouldn’t invest that much money himself; under normal circumstances, no wizard would dare invest so much in a dying shop alliance.

In other words, under normal circumstances, this shop alliance would definitely die.

Her teacher had entrusted this task to her, probably as a last resort.

If she could help revitalize this shop alliance, she would undoubtedly be doing her a favor.

Perhaps with this achievement, she could secure the sub-project of the key project.

Once she secured this sub-project, she might gain access to the magical knowledge related to the key project. If this key project were to successfully conclude and become a flagship project for Yunze Wetlands, she might also reap some benefits. In short,

the more she learned, the more she realized how complex the situation was and how difficult it was to obtain this sub-project.

It was clear that her mentor was intentionally relinquishing her benefits to her student; even if she secured top-tier funding, she might not be able to obtain the sub-project of the key project.

Locke said, “No wizard would invest so much money in Silver Peach Garden.”

“I’ve been quite busy lately and haven’t been able to come directly to the Tianjiang Riverbank. As for Olaye, let’s deal with it as it is for now.”

“Based on my understanding of Rose, her plan won’t stop here. I think there are many more moves waiting for us. As long as we react accordingly,”

Locke said, “In that case, let’s remain calm and observe Olaye. By the way, I have two more plans.”

Wizard Terence was surprised that Locke spoke as if he were very familiar with the Rose School’s Star Ring Witch.

Wizard Terence said, “Manager, what are you saying?”

Locke said, “If the audit can’t find anything, then there’s a systemic problem of embezzlement. Have them conduct their own audits and compile financial statements for each shop.”

Wizard Terence nodded. “That’s only natural.”

But it certainly won’t be of much use.

Because almost every new manager does this, but they never find anything.

Locke glanced at Terence and noticed the disappointment in his eyes, but said nothing.

“Secondly, I possess a second-circle flying magical plant. I’ve already partnered with the Windseekers’ Sanctuary to establish a shop alliance called Aladdin. I want Aladdin and Silver Peach Garden to jointly develop this magical plant.”

Terence, the wizard, paused upon hearing “Windseekers’ Sanctuary,” almost thinking he’d misheard.

He asked Locke, “Manager, are you referring to the Windseekers’ Sanctuary in Dragonfall?”

Locke nodded.

Terence was inwardly amazed. ‘The Windseekers’ Sanctuary is the top wizarding university in Dragonfall, a wizarding university transformed from a shop alliance. It has a prestigious reputation and only collaborates with truly outstanding wizards or works.’ ‘

No wonder he’s a researcher from Golden Crown Mountain. Although he’s only an ordinary second-circle wizard, his strength is undeniable.’

Terence suppressed the inevitable underestimation he felt due to Locke’s lower magic level and sensed Locke’s true power.

Wizard Terence glanced at the data Locke had sent him. He scanned the magical plant and immediately recognized its exceptional quality.

“These data…”

Wizard Terence seemed to see the kind of outstanding works and designers that only appeared in the golden age of Silver Peach Garden.

Wizard Terence said, “Supervisor, the magical plant’s trait data is excellent. It’s definitely worth developing.”

Wizard Terence realized that Locke was a talented breeder, although he wasn’t entirely optimistic about its future prospects, as some supervisors had also been renowned breeders.

While they weren’t the young wizarding geniuses of Golden Crown Mountain, some were still leading breeder experts in their respective regions.

But now, his attitude towards Locke had become more respectful.

Locke said, “Gather the remaining excellent breeders and designers to discuss a plan for attaching parasitic magical plants to this plant.”

Wizard Terence’s heart skipped a beat. He had spent far too much time talking to so many inferior breeders lately; only now did he feel as if he had returned to the atmosphere of discussions in the old Silver Peach Garden.

“So, we’re using this Great Roaring Dragon Sparrow as a weapon platform? Good idea. With such excellent flight data, it would be amazing to create such a powerful flying weapon platform,”

Locke said. “I think we can develop two types: one for air-to-ground bombing and the other for air-to-air annihilation.”

“In addition, we need to equip it with a spell called Attila’s Lightning Chain…”

“Let’s use this project to keep those wizards who haven’t left yet,”

Wizard Terence nodded repeatedly.

(End of this chapter)