Wizard: Starting With Synthesized Gems

Locke thought for a moment, then asked the senior fellows, "Senior brothers and sisters, I have a question I have been wanting to ask all of you. Is there any way to lower the production cost of virtual roots?"

Great Senior Brother Georuta, Wizard Heidegger, Witch Zeira, and Witch Fiona all looked at Locke with mild surprise.

Witch Fiona said, "This is for your wizard shoes, I take it. No need to be astonished. I have paid attention to your wizard shoes. Or rather, pure magical plant wizard shoes are something of an amusing curiosity even within the small circle of Cloud Marsh Wetlands breeders."

"More than a few wizards bring it up in passing conversation from time to time."

Locke bowed. "Indeed, that is the case, Senior Sister Fiona."

Witch Fiona shook her head. "Then there is nothing to be done about it. Second Circle magical plants have never had any precedent of being treated as quickly replaceable consumable items."

"Wizard shoes, magical garments, wizard cloaks, wizard hats, magical gloves, all of these are fundamentally consumables. The reason Second Circle potions command astronomical prices is precisely because they require Second Circle magical plants and Second Circle-grade magical creatures."

"The entire Second Circle potion market was built up and stabilized into a functioning commodity flow on the achievements of the Age of the Great Void Exploration."

Witch Fiona said to Locke, "An ordinary world could never develop a commodity flow for Second Circle-grade potions as flourishing as the wizard world's..."

Witch Fiona said, "A single virtual root is equivalent to a Grand Magic in its construction cost. It will certainly not be cheap, and will certainly be more expensive than the magical artifacts designed by magical weavers."

"Making a potion only requires using specific parts of a Second Circle magical plant, whereas you are using an entire magical plant to make a wizard shoe. At its core, you are selling the miracle of life, the grandeur of evolution, which is a Second Circle magical plant."

Witch Fiona smiled. "And so this becomes very difficult. But you can raise the selling price and sell at a premium. Only that brings another problem."

Witch Fiona raised an eyebrow.

"In that case, your wizard shoes can only attract botanical wizards."

Locke nodded. Witch Fiona had identified in a single sentence the greatest difficulty he was currently facing, how to reduce the cost of virtual roots.

And this was something that was nearly impossible to achieve.

Locke said, "Senior Sister Fiona, is there any method for creating artificial virtual roots? That would significantly reduce the cost problem."

Witch Fiona furrowed her brow.

"Locke, listen to me. What you are proposing sounds to me like something impossible to accomplish, or at the very least, this is a very serious undertaking, at minimum a sun ring-level funded project."

"If this were my student asking me such a question, I would not hesitate to give them a stern talking-to, to make them more clear-headed about finding a balance between cost and idealism."

A trace of embarrassment crossed Locke's face.

Witch Fiona was reminding him not to let his thinking become too fantastical.

Fair enough.

Even if all of these people were his senior brothers and sisters, once they stepped out into the world they were each and every one a Third Circle wizard regarded by others as unattainably high.

Raising the concept of artificial virtual roots in front of them out of nowhere was somewhat of a challenge to their nerves.

Witch Fiona's expression softened into a smile. "But having ideas is a good thing. Only, pursuing such a greater challenge simply in order to sell wizard shoes... that is truly... cough, cough..."

Witch Zeira smiled. "Junior, do not take it to heart. Senior Sister Fiona was always like this in Teacher's laboratory. She has always been cold on the outside but warm at heart. Saying that to you is because she is afraid you will take the wrong path."

"It is not that your idea is bad. The issue is still the cost problem."

Witch Zeira became serious.

"Second Circle grants and journals are difficult to apply for and difficult to get accepted, and developing a Second Circle project routinely costs five million magic stones or more."

"If the objective is too ambitious and does not pursue achievability, many opportunities will be missed, which is actually detrimental to your development."

"And as for commercial ventures, far too many Second Circle wizards have gone bankrupt through them. We have all seen our share over the years."

Witch Zeira handed him a name card.

"This is my card. Zeira's Botanical Museum. If junior cannot keep the wizard shoe sales going, you are welcome to come to me and earn some extra income."

Locke accepted the card and expressed his gratitude. "Thank you, senior sister."

Witch Fiona smiled. "If you have needs, you are also welcome to come to my shop alliance to earn extra income."

"All of us have failed at starting businesses several times before finally succeeding. Based on my experience, Second Circle wizards go bankrupt an average of one or two times."

Witch Zeira turned toward Witch Fiona and walked over to her, starting a serious discussion. "I would say Third Circle wizards average three or four bankruptcies."

"Though I would argue that not going bankrupt at all is the most frightening outcome. That kind of wizard is the most likely to develop a certain misconception about themselves because of good luck, and then step into a trap they can never climb back out of."

The two Third Circle witches moved to the other side of the room and began their discussion.

They had only exchanged a few pleasantries with Locke. The gap between them was too great, the circle difference and age difference both too large, making it difficult to sustain much conversation.

Great Senior Brother Georuta also patted Locke on the shoulder and said, "Junior, Second Circle grants are extremely difficult to apply for, with an absurdly demanding application process. Even if you have a good idea, the application for a Second Circle grant will be compared against the entire wizard civilization's grant application database. If there is a similar idea already in the application pool, a technical route comparison will be conducted."

"Both wizards involved will undergo a comprehensive assessment to determine who is better positioned to realize the idea. In this process, the wizard with more seniority will more easily get their application approved. Of course, wizards with less seniority are not without chances. They will simply face more difficulty."

"And so, to improve the chances of approval, one needs to find points of innovation."

"But even if both are approved, they will subsequently enter a technical route comparison phase. That is to say, the Association will provide ongoing funding and support to both parties based on their respective progress."

"Both the application itself and the post-approval stage involve comprehensive comparative assessments. This is the Second Circle grant's double competition system."

"Throughout this process, many wizards, in order to outpace those whose technical route is similar or substitutable to theirs, or whose research occupies the same ecological niche, will pour a great deal of their own money into the effort. If they ultimately lose the competition, they will go bankrupt. Many Second Circle wizards go bankrupt for exactly this reason."

Great Senior Brother Georuta said, "Many of the projects that First Circle wizards work on are not actually obtained by the wizards themselves. Let me give an example. Sometimes I am invited to review First Circle and Second Circle grant applications on behalf of the Association."

"For First Circle grant applications, it is simply a matter of seeing if there is anything of mild interest. If there is some interest, the application is approved."

"If the batch of applications is truly dire, I still have to hold my nose and let one or two through."

"I have to pretend they were well-written, tell the Association and the author of that application that I made an effort to find their few virtues, and use those as my stated reason for letting them pass."

"But Second Circle grants are different. I also have to compare them against other applications in the database to see if there are any with a similar idea but a better technical route and stronger applicant credentials."

"And your competition is an entirely different category of people. Every Second Circle wizard is a genius. You would need to beat out applicants from across the entire wizard world in the same field."

Great Senior Brother Georuta said, "Additionally, in Second Circle grant applications, sun ring wizards and moon ring wizards have a very significant advantage. They are more likely to have their applications approved. They have credentials, equipment, teams, and experience, as well as the certainty that comes from having completed large numbers of related projects."

"Even though sun ring wizards have a somewhat separate sun ring grant, they will not pass up Second Circle grant applications either."

"In short, Second Circle grant projects are difficult to obtain. And if the grant is not from the Association's Second Circle grant, but from miscellaneous grants set up by various institutions, obtaining one means very little."

"Because it cannot grant access to key laboratory usage."

Great Senior Brother Georuta said, "The most important thing is actually access to key laboratory equipment. Key laboratories at major wizard universities have expensive equipment and require a grant project to be eligible to apply for usage. And if you want to build your own key laboratory..."

Great Senior Brother Georuta chuckled. "We Third Circle wizards, and even those Throne wizards, would not be fighting tooth and nail over the chance to establish a key laboratory."

"Certain critical data and sample banks are only obtainable in key laboratories, and that material is not publicly available."

"So you need to seize the two things you can obtain through your current advantageous position. First is the special-grade funding project, and second is the key individual plan sub-project. These two projects... can also grant... access to key laboratory usage."

Great Senior Brother Georuta patted Locke on the shoulder. "As someone who has been through this, the advice I give you is to put everything you have into obtaining these two projects."

"It will be of absolutely great benefit to you."

"Second Circle wizards get a certain favorability when applying for their first Second Circle grant. That is to say, when applying, they receive a certain unwritten consideration. Of course, this has never been explicitly stipulated anywhere."

"And so when you apply for the first time, roughly before you become a moon ring wizard, that will be the time when your application is most likely to be approved. Every subsequent time, you will need to compete against your peers, and your proposal will be reviewed by a large number of peers in ways you will not know about."

"Junior, you must make the most of your first application opportunity. If you miss it, the loss will be too great."

Locke gave a nod. This was all invaluable experience.

The kind of thing that was never explicitly stipulated anywhere and yet was standard industry practice was the most valuable knowledge of all.

Learning these things would give him the greatest possible help.

How much benefit this could bring him.

At the very least it would help him avoid inadvertently losing a Second Circle grant project opportunity without even knowing what had happened.

Great Senior Brother Georuta said, "If you can obtain the two projects I just mentioned, you will have two more opportunities to use key laboratory equipment than other Second Circle wizards."

"That means your growth rate will be faster than others. Your growth rate being higher than others makes you stand out in the eyes of grant reviewers who value credentials and future growth trajectories."

"You will find it easier to apply for grants in the future."

"It is a snowball game."

Great Senior Brother Georuta gave a slight shake of his head.

"Though I sometimes feel that becoming too focused on metrics can end up destroying certain things."

Great Senior Brother Georuta turned and walked over to the other side to discuss things with Wizard Heidegger.

Now at this small gathering, it was just Locke and Trajan sitting together.

In truth, even in the outside world, Locke and Trajan would absolutely not be sitting at the same table, because the gap between a sun ring wizard and an ordinary Second Circle wizard was also quite significant.

But at this moment, the close relationship of fellow disciples under the same teacher had undeniably brought the two of them closer.

Wizard Trajan smiled. "Before this it was always me being lectured by those senior brothers and sisters. Now that there is someone below me to cushion the blow, junior, I like you."

Locke was silent.

Wizard Trajan poured a cup of peach blossom brew into the empty cup before Locke. "Artificial virtual roots, if you wrote that in a grant application, it would definitely be rejected. Because it is simply not achievable. Second Circle grants have a hidden rule, which is that they place heavy weight on achievability."

Locke gave a nod.

Whether that truly meant weighing actual achievability and feasibility, or whether grant reviewers had a severe bias toward prestige and would readily assume that certain wizards could achieve things while others could not, that was something he could not say for certain.

Locke said, "I do want to produce a Second Circle wizard shoe and build my brand. Does senior also think that is not very likely?"

Trajan hesitated before speaking. "Actually I think, junior, that you have fallen into a thinking trap."

Locke looked at him with curiosity.

Wizard Trajan said, "It is not the case that artificial virtual roots is the only method that could lower the cost. Perhaps there are other routes."

"You might want to think about it."

Locke sank into thought, then gave a nod. "Senior's reminder is on point. When one person thinks alone, it is easy to fall into cognitive traps and become less creative in one's thinking."

"So I should find more people to discuss it with."

Wizard Trajan smiled and pointed at his own wizard shoes. "Look at my wizard shoes."

Locke looked at the shoes. "Blue Band?"

Trajan nodded. "A subsidiary shop alliance of Solas Light Foot, and a frequent presence on Arthas's wizard shoe bestseller rankings. Oh, by the way, on the First Circle wizard shoe bestseller rankings, you seem to be on the verge of overtaking this shop alliance. The top two spots are both yours now."

"Blue Band had previously put forward a plan to monopolize the top three monthly bestsellers in Arthas's First Circle wizard shoes for the next ten years. But looking at things now, that seems to be getting somewhat difficult."

"Blue Band only has one sun ring wizard, and a formally recognized wizard instructor at the Rose Council at that. Junior, I imagine by now you have a sense of just how many high-circle wizards were giving themselves headaches over you these past months."

"But the reason I bring this up is to tell you that within the wizard shoe domain, sponsoring athletic competitions and hosting tournaments is actually a very minor part of things."

"Do you know what the truly major part is?"

Locke was quick-witted. "Plane explorers?"

Wizard Trajan nodded. "Correct. The majority of customers in the wizard shoe market are actually plane explorers. Plane explorers regard wizard shoes as a consumable item. Walking through different worlds is extremely dangerous for individual wizards."

"Even though the permanent defensive force field means there is no direct risk to one's life, other problems arise. For instance, if we want to go to the Styx Plane to search for specific magical plants, a single drop of Styx water contains a vengeful soul. Even a Second Circle wizard who falls into it is like a drowning person who cannot climb out, eventually being drained dry within it."

Locke nodded with deep feeling.

"Yes, that sensation of being submerged is truly unbearable."

Because he had once been nearly drowned in the Styx through a ritual magic used by the High Priestess of the Spirit Cult, borrowing the power of the Styx.

Wizard Trajan smiled. "I did not realize, junior, that you have quite a rich history of experiences. You have even been to the Styx Plane, and I have never been there myself."

Locke immediately recounted what he had experienced.

Wizard Trajan listened and gave a nod.

"Ah, so that was simply someone pulling your consciousness into the Styx. Your body never truly entered the Styx. That makes sense. Even Second Circle wizards dare not come into contact with Styx water. If you had truly entered the Styx and come back unscathed, I would truly have needed to study what you are made of."

Locke thought about this carefully and realized that the spirit magic he had encountered in the southeastern quadrant back then had not actually pulled him into the Styx at all. It had only hooked his consciousness into it.

So that was it.

Wizard Trajan pointed at the Blue Band shop alliance's wizard shoes.

"These are their Second Circle magical artifact sun ring-level super flagship product, the most classic style in their shop, the Blue Ribbon wizard shoes."

"Blue ribbons on either side of the wizard shoes allow the wizard wearing them to command the winds of magic. Once activated, the wearer moves as though blue ribbons are flying through the air, and provides seven consecutive fifty-meter blink abilities within a short span of time."

"But all of that is secondary. The true selling point of this flagship wizard shoe is that it can rapidly adapt to the world laws of various worlds and make corresponding adjustments, then allow the wearer to walk upon them."

"That is to say, even in the Chaos Sea, I can walk upon it using these shoes, though only for approximately half a minute."

Wizard Trajan said, "The Chaos Sea will annihilate the form of all things and return them to a primordial state."

Locke listened attentively, because the Blue Band shop alliance, being a subsidiary enterprise of Solas Light Foot, was one of his future competitors.

This was his senior fellow, sharing with him his experience using the flagship product of one of his future rivals.

"Consecutive spatial blinks seven times within an extremely brief window."

"Capable of walking using any world's laws in extremely dangerous locations. Even in the Chaos Sea, a place where no Second Circle wizard can remain for even a single second, wearing the Blue Ribbon wizard shoes allows one to walk for half a minute."

Locke thought seriously.

"In other words, as senior says, the plane explorer community is the largest purchaser in the wizard shoe domain. Other wizards who want to buy wizard shoes only want a specialized magical artifact. It is only plane explorers for whom wizard shoes are an absolute necessity."

"Without wizard shoes, they would truly be unable to take a single step."

Wizard Trajan looked toward Locke. "Locke, do not let the previous victory cloud your judgment. The Solas Light Foot and Melechi Magic Step you are facing were once dragon-slayers themselves. They were not built through the administrative decree of some high-circle wizard, nor do they exist through past relationships or certain privileges."

"The reason those two shop alliances rose in the first place was because countless magical weavers joined them for some lofty ideal, and through technological development and their ability to track the future, they overthrew the then-corrupt shop alliances of the Cloud Marsh Wetlands."

"The Rose Council was not one of the seven premier wizard universities in those days either. It rose later. So do not let one victory lead you to underestimate them. If you truly want to carve out a path in the wizard shoe market and gain more resources to give back to your research and magical advancement, you have to face your opponents squarely."

Wizard Trajan curved the corner of his mouth.

"Face them squarely, and then when you make your move to kill them, be even more ruthless."

"After all, these people have all become the very dragons they once slew. If you showed the Melechi Magic Step and Solas Light Foot of three hundred years ago what they have become, they would probably despise their current selves."

Locke gave a nod, feeling that he and this senior fellow were of one mind. Face them squarely, respect them, and then when the time came to act, act with even greater ruthlessness.

And furthermore, through his conversation with this senior fellow, Locke had discovered the true method the High Priestess of the Spirit Cult had used all those years ago when she had pulled him into the Styx.

That itself was of no real consequence.

After all, it had happened a very long time ago.

Only, Locke had drawn from this an inspiration, a flash of ideas. Changing his approach, perhaps there was no need to lower the cost of producing virtual roots in order to reduce the cost of Second Circle wizard shoes.

Virtual roots were after all the most distinctive characteristic of a Second Circle magical plant, and his understanding of virtual roots was still very superficial.

So superficial, in fact, that just now when he had raised this concept in front of Witch Fiona, it had been dismissed as an immature idea from someone who did not know better.

Locke was in deep thought.

"Both magical plants and I are living beings. When my consciousness was pulled into the Styx, I felt as though I would be forever submerged within it. If this mechanism could be applied to pull a Second Circle magical plant's spirituality into the Styx, and then place a virtual root within the Styx, could that allow multiple wizard shoes to simultaneously share a single virtual root within the Styx?"

But doing this would be equivalent to indirectly establishing a fictional virtual root service center.

The key point was whether it was possible, through the submersion of a thread of consciousness, to cause the true body to also submerge. That was the Styx's characteristic. No other river possessed this ability.

After all, consciousness was only consciousness. Even if his consciousness submerged in the Abyssal River, his true body should be unaffected.

Unless his consciousness, upon returning to the true body, brought abyssal energy back with it.

But at that point, a contradiction arose. From Locke's current level of understanding, if a consciousness could return to the true body, it could not be called submersion.

And if it was truly submersion, then returning to the true body would be impossible.

And so the magic used by the Spirit Cult's High Priestess back then, in order to achieve its effect, must have relied on the Styx's specific characteristics.

Locke made up his mind on the spot to have his avatar go and find that High Priestess again.

Perhaps through spirit studies, he could find a solution to the unsolvable problem of being unable to reduce virtual root costs.

Of course, this was only an idea.

The distance between an idea and a grant application proposal was like a chasm, to say nothing of the distance between an idea and actual realization.

There were enormous difficulties embedded throughout.

Simply keeping a virtual root in existence within the Styx for an extended period without having it destroyed by Styx creatures was a major challenge on its own.

Locke thought, "I have this inspiration now, and I have first my senior fellow to thank, and second the High Priestess for the magic she used on me all those years ago."

"When I go back this time, I should definitely pay her a visit to express my gratitude. Just like meeting Witch Zoe again. Witch Zoe was also generous, giving me a Second Circle-grade wizard treasure map."

At this moment, the small house was suddenly enveloped by an enormous magic pressure that descended from the sky, a pressure so terrifying it was nearly indescribable. Countless rose petals drifted down into the wizard town.

Locke was taken aback.

"This is the Rose Witch's magic pressure."

"What is she here for?"

"Right. A congratulatory gift."

A voice drifted in from outside the wizard town, brimming with the flavor of gunpowder.

"Red Dragon Witch, I hear that a personally tutored disciple of yours has become a Second Circle wizard. Truly something to celebrate."

"Your student has become a Second Circle wizard. It would not do for me not to come and take a look. Coincidentally, I have a granddaughter of the same age as your student. Let the young people interact more. My granddaughter is almost a star ring wizard now. She is after all just a little more outstanding than your new student."

"Just by a tiny bit, mind you."

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