Wizard: Starting With Synthesized Gems

Aboard the ferry, Locke divided the historical projection into more than three hundred detailed fragments and carefully examined each one, ultimately confirming that this magical plant was indeed an artificial construct.

"This is not a plant at all," Locke thought. "Let me head back first and try planting it using my own blood. King Otto warned me earlier that the seeds of this magical plant must be grown using the blood of the Black Sun Tower."

"Once it has been cultivated, I can conduct further research."

Locke thought about how he had been away from Group 2 for a while now, and wondered how Witch Mason and the others were getting along there and whether they had settled into the environment.

Locke put the seeds away.

Wizard Warwick and the others saw a dock appear on the surface of the Abyssal River ahead and immediately let out a breath of relief. "Sailing the Abyssal River is still quite dangerous, but fortunately we weren't swept off to some other place, and we've found the Cinder Esoteric Order Academy's dock."

At this moment, a group of black wizards stood on the dock, seemingly ready to receive them.

Among them was also a Second Circle necromancer dressed in a black robe, with a badge pinned to his chest representing an honorary achievement in the field of necromancy.

It was a badge in the shape of a special golden skull, seemingly signifying that he had created a new type of advanced Second Circle skeletal undead in the Second Circle domain.

Witch Shirley immediately tensed. "Warwick, what is the meaning of this?"

Warwick and McKinley also looked genuinely puzzled.

On the dock, the Second Circle black wizard let out a light chuckle. "A Divine Master? No need to be nervous. Since the Cinder Esoteric Order joined the White Wizard Association, we've built up quite a respectable reputation. A good number of our operations have already been legitimized under white wizard status."

"What's more, our academy welcomes every archaeology wizard who comes to visit. I simply heard from one of our students that Wizard Warwick had invited some friends, so I came to have a look. Warwick, how did the exploration of the abyssal ruin go?"

Wizard Warwick immediately said, "Principal Baroque, we obtained tremendous gains on this expedition. At present, the four of us are planning to collaborate on writing a major paper and submit it to a top First Circle journal in the Star Domain Sea."

"Once it is submitted, it will do a great deal of good for our academy's reputation. Archaeology is, after all, a discipline our academy can present openly. It will be extremely useful for building up our academy's archaeology program, and our standing in the field of archaeology should improve significantly. This exploration was made possible in no small part thanks to Locke and Witch Shirley. Both of them are good friends of mine and wizards I trust."

"I intend to ask for their help many more times in the future."

Wizard Baroque gave a slight nod, swept his gaze over Witch Shirley and Locke, and let his eyes linger on Locke for a moment.

At the same time, the left eye beneath his wizard's hat released a pulse of necromancy, and through it, he perceived the natural power coiling around Locke.

Wizard Baroque furrowed his brow, as though the dense natural power emanating from Locke made him somewhat uncomfortable.

"Understood."

Wizard Baroque looked at Locke once more. "I am genuinely pleased to meet so many new friends visiting our Cinder Esoteric Order today. Since you all get along so well, Wizard Warwick, please take good care of these guests on behalf of our Cinder Esoteric Order."

"Do not let there be any discourtesy."

Locke bowed to Wizard Baroque with neither servility nor arrogance and said, "Wizard Warwick's hospitality toward us has truly been very thorough. Thank you, Principal Baroque."

Principal Baroque glanced at Locke, then let out a cold, hollow laugh. "Young wizard, you are quite interesting. I hope you enjoy your time in the Jade Splendor Enclave."

Wizard Baroque turned and left with his First Circle wizard students.

Once they had gone, the four stepped onto the dock, and Witch Shirley quietly put away the wizard sword she had been holding.

Wizard Warwick was also clearly shaken by Principal Baroque's sudden appearance on the dock.

He shot Wizard McKinley a glare. "What happened? Why did Principal Baroque suddenly show up at the dock?"

Wizard McKinley looked a little guilty. "Earlier I was worried we might get blown off course by a tributary of the Abyssal River, so I told a friend of mine at the dock in advance that we were on our way back. If we ran into trouble, at least someone would be able to come and help us. Principal Baroque must have caught wind of it from that, and decided to come have a look while he was at it."

Wizard Warwick shot him another glare. "The more people you bring into something like this, the more troublesome it becomes. My friends Locke and his companion are white wizards, after all."

Wizard McKinley immediately apologized. "Alright, alright. I know I made a foolish mistake. Locke, Shirley, I'm sorry."

Locke and Witch Shirley exchanged a glance.

Things were probably not as simple as they appeared.

If it were not for the fact that the two of them and Warwick's team were on such good terms, with their interests thoroughly intertwined, the other party's visit would likely not have amounted to just a few polite pleasantries.

The Cinder Esoteric Order was a black wizard academy after all, and it was still not advisable for him and Witch Shirley to remain here for long.

Wizard Warwick apologized once to Locke and Witch Shirley, though neither of them said much about it.

After all, they were on the other party's turf, and it was perfectly natural for the academy's principal to come and take a look.

On top of that, these eighteen underground levels were themselves a core secret of the Cinder Esoteric Order.

The Cinder Esoteric Order was different from Golden Crown Mountain. The latter was a large and established institution, while compared to Golden Crown Mountain, the Cinder Esoteric Order's core assets and secrets were quite limited in scope.

The four of them walked out of the dark and grim dungeon, after which Warwick first arranged for the two of them to stay in a secluded castle on the Cinder Esoteric Order's grounds. Then the four found an unused classroom inside a castle and began discussing how to specifically write the major paper.

Wizard Warwick and Wizard McKinley called their combined seventeen first-class wizard apprentice students into the classroom.

Locke glanced at these black wizard apprentices and found that most of their magic pressure fell between 200 and 400.

These first-class wizard apprentice students all had some physical impairment on their bodies, as though they had been injured or had suffered some form of magical backlash.

At this moment, the students stole glances at their two mentors and at Locke and Witch Shirley with eyes full of curiosity and a hint of apprehension.

Wizard Warwick smiled and said, "Good. Now we have people to help us get the work done."

Witch Shirley suggested, "We need to finish the paper as quickly as possible."

Wizard Warwick said, "Of course. If necessary, we can also leave the Cinder Esoteric Order Academy and work somewhere else. Whenever the two of you are ready, just say the word."

...

Golden Crown Mountain. Inside the Dune Plane where Group 2 was located.

Thirty levels underground, inside Wizard Cis's office, Wizard Zalan Bailey laid a plan down on the desk. "This is my proposed solution to the water shortage problem we currently face. The two research groups from Storm Tower and the Rose Council joined forces, and I tried some approaches earlier that might give us a chance to persuade Storm Tower to lift the restrictions they placed on us."

"But even if the restrictions are lifted, it would be best for us to have our own independent water source. Storm Tower's specialized equipment is a core secret of theirs, and there is no way we can obtain it. So, Teacher Cis, I believe we can draw water directly from within this plane."

Wizard Cis raised an eyebrow. "Draw water? The air in this plane barely contains any water elements."

"How does one squeeze water out of a bone-dry sponge?"

Zalan Bailey said, "No. During the process of constructing my Grand Magic, I gained an understanding of what ecological transformation truly means."

"This plane actually does still have water. It is impossible for a plane to have no water elements. If a plane had no water elements, it could not stabilize and take form."

A thought stirred in Wizard Cis's mind. "What do you mean?"

Zalan Bailey nodded and said, "I spent a long time going through various materials, and I have some background in this area as well. So I came up with two solutions. The first is to extract the magma from the earth's core of this world and draw usable water from within it."

"Subduction zone magma contains a large amount of moisture."

"After extracting it and going through a detoxification process, it can be used to improve the water and soil conditions."

"The second solution is to build some conversion plants that use sand and natural gas to produce clean water."

"That is the plan I have put forward here."

Wizard Cis raised an eyebrow. "Extract water from sand?"

He quickly looked over the key technical points in the plan. "I have considered this direction before as well. But after weighing many factors, I chose not to pursue it."

Wizard Zalan Bailey said, "My Grand Magic, the Sea Buckthorn Ecology, already had this kind of consideration built in from the very beginning of its construction. Sea buckthorn itself can draw water from inorganic matter."

Wizard Zalan Bailey waved a hand, and in an instant, two illusory projections appeared on Wizard Cis's desk, one of sand and one of natural gas.

"The composite elemental particles that make up sand are numerous in variety, but they are broadly composed of earth-element composite particles and wind-element composite particles, while the composite elemental particles that make up natural gas are, generally speaking, wind-element composite particles and water-element composite particles."

"Given sufficient funding, by relying on my Grand Magic, the Sea Buckthorn Ecology, it would be possible to extract air elements from sand, and then cause the air element particles to react with water-element composite particles to refine and produce water."

Wizard Zalan Bailey said, "According to my plan, once it is completed, Group 2 will be able to free itself from the water shortage crisis and can even sell water to other research institutes in the Dune Plane."

"Not only that, our successful experience might go even further and make the research group from Storm Tower pay a price."

Wizard Cis raised his head, a contemplative look crossing his face. "Perhaps this is indeed a solid plan. At the very least, it can resolve the short-term water shortage problem."

"How many resources do you need?"

Wizard Zalan Bailey said, "This is a matter of great importance. My plan should receive the majority of Group 2's current resources. Therefore, I need sixty percent of Group 2's resources."

Seeing Wizard Cis furrow his brow, he continued, "You want to run preliminary experimental data for a Special-Grade Funding Project?"

Wizard Zalan Bailey said, "Yes, this plan of mine is also being prepared for the Special-Grade Funding. "

"I plan to excavate over ten thousand natural gas deposits and establish three thousand conversion plants, hiring a large number of first-class wizard apprentices to come work within our Group 2. It would also be best to have researchers from within Group 2 participate, so that my project can be completed in a short amount of time."

Wizard Zalan Bailey said, "Teacher, I need your help."

Wizard Cis said, "But extracting sand and natural gas directly from this plane would cause enormous damage to the plane's own planar power. And furthermore, the waste and environmental pollution produced by running a full conversion operation like this would also be quite severe."

"The Dune Plane itself is already in a precarious state, like a building on the verge of collapse. I'm concerned that this approach of ours would cause that building to suddenly come crashing down entirely."

Wizard Zalan Bailey said with a puzzled look, "Originally, this Dune Plane would have long since fallen into the Solar Plane and been reduced to raw material for it."

"It only barely exists because of the transformations we have carried out. If left entirely unattended, this world would have long since deteriorated to a level where it falls out of the life plane tier. The world power of the entire plane would continuously decline, the magic tides would disappear entirely."

"Until the plane degrades further and further down to the level of a half-plane."

"So doing nothing at all is the real problem." Wizard Zalan Bailey argued his case. "Teacher, a portion of the pollution generated by my plan can be expelled out of the plane and discarded into the void."

"Another portion can be buried in place within the dunes."

"And the remaining portion can be addressed by establishing environmental enterprises." Wizard Zalan Bailey said, "I know some wizard friends who work in the environmental industry. With their help, I believe the problem can be resolved."

Wizard Cis's eyes lit up at the mention of environmental enterprises, and he gave a slight nod. "If that's the case, it might be worth attempting. However, this project requires considerable expense and would involve large-scale work on this plane. Zalan, you need to be careful."

A flash of joy crossed Wizard Zalan Bailey's face.

This project did indeed require a massive investment of resources, and he also had his own private motives.

He could conduct some of his own experiments within the scope of this project, obtain preliminary experimental data, and then use that data to apply for the Special-Grade Funding.

That was his true goal.

It had originally been a project that only senior Origin Academy researchers could touch.

But now, he, an ordinary Origin Academy researcher, had already become a Second Circle wizard and had earned the qualifications to apply.

By comparison, certain senior Origin Academy researchers within Group 2 were not even Second Circle wizards yet.

Wizard Zalan Bailey thought to himself, "But before applying for the Special-Grade Funding Project, I still need to complete a Tier 1 Funding Project first."

"However, now that I am a Second Circle wizard, that is simple enough."

"As long as this project receives the team leader's approval and the allocation of resources shifts in my favor, I can casually conduct a few related studies on the drought-resistance energy-locking structures of relevant magical plants within the project scope and pass the Tier 1 Funding Project with ease."

"Once this project takes shape, I might even be able to directly conduct ecological transformation of this plane, drawing on Group 2's accumulated technical expertise to carry out large-scale ecological transformation. Turning this Dune Plane into an Oasis Plane! If that happens, my Special-Grade Funding Project might be ready for final evaluation."

A look of deep thought crossed Wizard Cis's face. He thought of Locke Augustine, weighed things carefully for a moment, and then said, "Zalan Bailey, you are currently my most outstanding student in Group 2."

"And also a collaborating wizard."

"So I fully support your plan, but you want sixty percent of the group's resources right now. That is out of the question."

Wizard Cis said, "I can give you at most ten percent of the resources to try and get it running."

Wizard Zalan Bailey furrowed his brow, and at the same time guessed the reason for Wizard Cis's sudden refusal.

"Is it because of that senior Origin Academy researcher?"

"Teacher, I believe my plan is fairly well-developed. As long as it can begin implementation, it will immediately resolve our water shortage and make the Storm Tower research group reap what they have sown."

Wizard Cis said, "It is not just about Wizard Locke Augustine. It is also that I cannot concentrate all of Group 2's resources around a single plan. Even if you are a Second Circle wizard, that is still the case."

"Although I acknowledge that this may be a good solution. So I do support you in pursuing it."

Seeing Wizard Cis hold firm, Zalan Bailey had no choice but to let out a sigh and say, "Very well. Teacher, I will make you realize as soon as possible that my plan can resolve the difficulties Group 2 is currently facing."

Wizard Cis gave a nod. "Of course I believe in you. You are one of my most outstanding students. If you can help me resolve this problem, you will have done me a tremendous favor."

"Try to keep this matter from reaching the Third Circle wizards if at all possible. If it comes to that, it would reflect badly on me as well." Wizard Cis said in a low voice, "I might be removed from my position by the Throne Lord."

Wizard Cis patted him on the shoulder and said, "Therefore, if your project truly performs well, I will consider giving you priority access to the vast majority of the group's resources."

Wizard Zalan Bailey curved his lips into a smile. "That's good to hear, Teacher. Rank and status don't really amount to much in the end. Everything still needs to be proven by results."

"I have always firmly believed that in our Group 2, results do the talking."

Wizard Cis smiled and said, "Of course. Golden Crown Mountain has always been that way."

"All right, Zalan. I can grant you priority access to the various laboratory equipment ahead of time. That should leave you with nothing to be dissatisfied about."

Wizard Zalan Bailey immediately smiled. "Thank you, Teacher."

Once Wizard Zalan Bailey had left his office, Wizard Cis sat in his chair and sank into thought. "Transforming water from sand and natural gas..."

"That is actually a viable approach. I didn't expect Zalan Bailey to think of it. His Grand Magic does genuinely have that kind of potential. It does offer a solution to the urgent problem I'm facing."

Wizard Cis thought further. "But within Group 2, there is another wizard who may be able to offer me a different answer. So there is no need for me to rush into agreeing to Zalan's request just yet."

"He and I are both Second Circle wizards right now. And although he is only an ordinary Second Circle wizard, once I agree to something, it would not be easy to take back."

"So I may as well wait a little longer," Wizard Cis thought.

In any case, for the time being, he had used various methods to secure a sufficient water supply temporarily, though it had driven up the cost of water, indirectly increasing the expense of every experiment.

With that thought in mind, Wizard Cis felt a pang of frustration. He used the Wish Lingzhi magical plant to open the water hyacinth system, and in the chat interface he saw a message from a Second Circle wizard. "Got results for you. Boss Cis, I called in my connections and made a lot of inquiries."

"I even plied a few Second Circle wizards with wizard wine over dinner until they were drunk, and I finally managed to find out the reason why the Rose Council is suppressing us."

"The real reason behind the Rose Council going after your Group 2 is no small matter. It is definitely not just about the small desert rose market."

"From what I've gathered, it turns out that several Third Circle wizards from the Rose Council, especially the team led by Throne Wizard Carol Carlyle, have been researching for years and finally produced results. It involves a project that combines rose-type magical plants, flower-language magic, and ring alchemy to create magical wedding rings."

"And they actually pulled it off."

"This is essentially the creation of a new subcategory of soul artifacts."

"But one specific type of desert rose is absolutely required. By their estimates, this is a future market worth billions of magic stones. The Rose Council is taking it quite seriously and is moving in advance to consolidate the relevant supply chain."

"Storm Tower's involvement makes sense now, because this is a high-level move by the Rose Council. They already paid a sufficient price in advance for Storm Tower to place a targeted technological blockade specifically on your research group."

"Boss Cis, you had better thank me. If it weren't for my silver tongue and wide circle of friends, no ordinary Second Circle wizard could have dug up intelligence this confidential for you."

Wizard Cis furrowed his brow. He hadn't expected things to be this complicated.

He sent a message back. "Is that certain?"

The reply came immediately. "Absolutely certain. Unless every one of those people was collectively lying to me. I spent I don't even know how much wizard wine finding this out. By the way, can I expense it?"

Wizard Cis closed the water hyacinth system directly.

Then he sank into thought.

If that were the case, then Wizard Zalan's earlier hope of resolving Storm Tower's technological blockade on Group 2 through negotiation was simply not going to happen.

Because this involved the Rose Council's future industry plans.

And since this industry plan had nothing to do with Golden Crown Mountain, Golden Crown Mountain would certainly not get into a dispute with the Rose Council over something like this.

Wizard academies of the scale of Golden Crown Mountain and the Rose Council would absolutely never argue over matters that brought no financial return.

"A future market worth billions of magic stones?" Wizard Cis let out a sigh. "The schemes of Third Circle wizards can bankrupt us Second Circle wizards. I never imagined that my decision twenty years ago to develop the desert rose industry as a way to subsidize Group 2's research costs would turn out to be so foolish in hindsight."

"Without realizing it, I got drawn into a conflict between Third Circle wizards over their industries."

"If I had known this earlier, I would never have touched the desert rose industry even slightly. But now that this has happened, there is simply no other way to resolve the problem."

Wizard Cis thought it over. "If we want water resources, it seems the only options are either to follow Zalan's advice and build a complete sand-to-water conversion equipment system here, or to wait and see whether anyone else in Group 2 comes forward with a new plan."

"Of course, I need to think of something myself as well."

"Only by pooling everyone's ideas together can we address the heavy pressure the Rose Council is bearing down on us with."