Wizard: Starting With Synthesized Gems

Chapter 648: Filing a Complaint, and the Stillbirth of the Mortal Age

Locke used the moon as a magic mirror, observing the world, while transforming the magic domain of the magical kingdom into his own Lunar Domain.This lasted approximately one hour.

The young wizard's voice appeared in Locke's ear. "Locke, my judgment of you was correct. Consider this a favor I owe you. You held out against the Expungement Curse and kept my Historical Milestone Curse from being forcibly interrupted. I have deliberately given you an extra hour, but we have now reached the absolute limit."

The scene shifted again.

Locke felt the kingdom's domain and his magic separate from his spiritual essence. In that instant, his pseudo Second Circle state collapsed.

He fell from the height his soul had reached, his magical pressure dropping from 10000 back to 9999.

The Porcelain Moon automatically disassembled. The Golden Palace Legacy Branch and the Porcelain Moon separated into two parts and floated down before him.

And with the loss of the Lunar Mirror, his Forest Alliance Curse collapsed in an instant.

The subordinate forests within his Forest Sanctuary began withdrawing from his alliance one by one.

That illusion of heaven and earth lending their combined strength was lost along with everything else.

Locke let out a quiet sigh, understanding that this was inevitable.

Even so, now that the Second Circle wizard experience card had passed, he felt a small hollow ache settle in his chest.

But he knew this had to happen. He could not have accepted it any other way.

That crude Grand Magic from just now was truly a mismatched assembly. The properties of the Golden Palace Legacy Branch and the Porcelain Moon were not well suited to each other.

The Porcelain Moon had a foreign object within it.

The ceiling of that moon was limited because the foundation was inadequate.

Still, Locke reflected that the Grand Magic he had just experienced had one significant advantage. It had allowed him, through lunar connection and reflection, to integrate his archaeology magic, botany magic, potion studies magic, and bloodline power all together within it.

In other words, that Grand Magic had possessed the power to encompass every magical system he currently commanded.

Though it had been exceedingly rushed due to his own inexperience, it had been born from Witch Yekaterina's guidance, from his discussions with the founding ancestor of archaeology, from his observation of the moon across two time periods of the wizard world, and from the three Lunar Planes within the Night Meteor.

Its ambition was great and its foundation was high, something that no ordinary Grand Magic could match.

'Grand Magic concerns my own future, and also concerns how much recognition my development will receive when I go to the Star Domain Sea. So I need to give it far greater importance.'

Locke reflected, "Originally I planned to use the World-Annihilating Demon Dragon's special talent to create two Grand Magics and fuse all my magical systems within them. But I never expected that in this abyssal ruin, I would encounter the founding ancestor of archaeology, and through that encounter, elevate my Grand Magic to a level that could perfectly integrate every magical tradition I have inherited."

"Choices determine destiny. I am grateful that before entering this space, I made the right choice, made the right wish, and did not ask the founding ancestor to design a Grand Magic for me directly."

Locke thought further. "After I return, I need to gather as quickly as possible all records relating to lunar magic from that era, as well as data on the trajectory and primal force level of the moon in the modern era."

"Having data on the moon from both temporal periods of the wizard world will greatly benefit the fundamental quality of my Grand Magic. Beyond that, I also need to consult a wide variety of resources to better develop the ecological construction of my Grand Magic."

"My Lunar Mirror can also have some energy-locking structures incorporated into it, which would optimize the fundamental tiers of the entire Grand Magic."

Locke thought further still. 'As for the wizard porcelain, I can use the Synthesis Cube to synthesize it, thereby removing the influence of another person's craftsmanship and making it my own.'

'Transforming it into my own properties. And I could also repeatedly create prototype moons for the Grand Magic and synthesize them together, which might further improve the fundamental quality of my Grand Magic.'

'Grand Magic is the foundation.' After experiencing the Second Circle wizard experience card, Locke understood even more clearly the importance of Grand Magic.

The entire path of the Second Circle was devoted to forging one's Grand Magic. If the Grand Magic had poor innate qualities to begin with, there would be very little worth forging.

One would have to forge and patch and mend simultaneously to make up for what was lacking at the foundation.

That was extraordinarily difficult for a wizard.

Though perhaps there were ways to compensate for it.

Locke thought of a time when Witch Yekaterina had told him, during one of their exchanges, that she too had come from a small place to the Cloud Marsh Wetland.

Her Grand Magic had been limited by her insufficient understanding at the time, and so it had poor innate qualities from the start.

But through relentless effort she had used four forging opportunities to continually improve her Grand Magic, ultimately completing the Beast Tide Ecology.

Locke reflected, "But if that is the case, what should my second Grand Magic be built to become?"

Locke noticed the scene shifting again. The space and time within the entire Historical Reconstruction had already fallen into disarray, so the timeline was not linear but rather jumping and flashing back to various fragments.

Witch Shirley looked at Locke and said, "Junior fellow apprentice, I never expected you to temporarily reach the Second Circle state within this abyssal ruin."

"Just now, if not for you, even I could not have remained in this space for long. Junior fellow apprentice, there are only the two of us left now. Those two detestable black wizards are gone."

"That is probably for the best. The two of us are enough."

Locke nodded. "Agreed, senior fellow apprentice. Only, from here on, we cannot afford to have anyone else leave this space. If we do, the spell will be interrupted."

…

High above at the Storm Tower, forty kilometers in the sky, inside a room within the great circular structure, Wizard Smith looked at the leader of the Thunder Demon Society with a grim expression.

"What you are telling me is that the item I wanted was not obtained?"

"Not only was the Revelation Witch Stone not secured, it may have fallen into someone else's hands?"

The Thunder Demon Society's leader was about to explain that their wizard organization had suffered catastrophic losses this time, nearly total annihilation.

The ruin had been far too strange.

At first things had been manageable. It was just mazes and mechanisms. But afterward they had been dragged into a special world, and within that world, their organization had been almost completely wiped out.

Only he himself had managed to escape, relying on a final Abjuration School technique.

But the Thunder Demon Society's leader looked at the dark expression on Wizard Smith's face and immediately felt a chill in his chest. The words he had been about to say died in his throat.

It was hard to believe that this refined and elegant young wizard noble, here in this empty private office, could reveal such a terrifying expression.

Wizard Smith covered a True Sight Orb on the desk with a black cloth, and immediately the Thunder Demon Society's leader felt a wave of cold spread across his back.

He immediately recalled a number of rumors about how the Smith Family of the Storm Tower conducted its affairs.

It was said that many black factories in the Storm Tower's territory had been opened by the Smith Family.

The Smith Family, as a wizard family with a Third Circle wizard, even engaged in the buying and selling of wizards and the trafficking of cheap labor.

But rumors were always only rumors.

Because some wizards had once taken the Smith Family to court, and the Smith Family had won some of those cases and lost others, which made the family appear to still be operating within the law.

Now it seemed the rumors about the Smith Family were not entirely fabricated.

Wizard Smith closed the office door, and the last trace of elegance vanished from his face. "This was a task assigned by a Third Circle wizard."

"If a divination-school wizard had not predicted in advance that Second Circle wizards could not enter that area, do you think I would have sent a mere Thunder Demon Society?"

The Thunder Demon Society's leader's lips were trembling. "We did everything we could. Our organization has effectively been destroyed."

"We exist in name only. Lord Smith..."

Wizard Smith's eyes were cold. "Incompetence always has a price. It is already your honor that your Thunder Demon Society was allowed to work for me. At this point, what more is there to say?"

The Thunder Demon Society's leader suddenly thought of something. "Wait... Lord Smith, it was Golden Crown Mountain. Among those wizards who used those strange methods, two of them were wearing the insignia of Golden Crown Mountain."

Wizard Smith's footsteps immediately stopped. "Golden Crown Mountain? Oh? So the Revelation Witch Stone fell into Golden Crown Mountain's hands?"

Wizard Smith lowered his head and began to think. "If that is the case, this becomes more complicated."

Wizard Smith's face resumed its refined and elegant smile. He opened the office door, lifted the black cloth from the True Sight Orb, and called in one of his students.

To this first-class wizard apprentice he said, "Zagu, go investigate for me which wizards from Golden Crown Mountain have recently traveled to the Jade Splendor Enclave."

"There should not be many. The Jade Splendor Enclave has little of interest to offer."

"Golden Crown Mountain's main operations are largely not in the Jade Splendor Enclave either."

The student immediately turned and left.

The Thunder Demon Society's leader let out a quiet breath of relief.

Wizard Smith turned to look at him and straightened his wizard's robes for him, then said in a mild tone, "You and I will wait. Let me look into which Golden Crown Mountain wizard did this and what kind of background they have."

"Who they are."

"Then we will handle the outcome based on the situation. If the other party's background is ordinary, I will seek justice for your Thunder Demon Society right away. We are all members of the White Wizard Association. When exploring a wizard secret realm together, how could one party be responsible for such heavy casualties among the Thunder Demon Society? This is simply unacceptable!"

Wizard Smith said with indignation, "Do not worry. I will stand up for you."

"Even a small wizard organization deserves fair treatment."

The Thunder Demon Society's leader's eyes were dazed.

Grievances have their origins, and debts have their debtors.

But whose account should the Thunder Demon Society's debts be settled against?

…

At the Rose Council, Witch Suela Sharp burst into the public office where her academy was located in a disheveled state, snatched a bottle of water from the desk, and gulped it down frantically.

Her expression was agitated and her eyes were filled with fury and resentment.

Around the office, a number of elegantly dressed flower-language wizards witnessed this scene and raised hands to cover their mouths in surprise, staring at Suela Sharp.

Someone asked, "Witch Suela, how did you end up like this? Where are your fellow apprentices? Where are they?"

Witch Suela Sharp was still gasping for breath. "Where is Director Lana? I need her to give me justice."

"Golden Crown Mountain... those Golden Crown Mountain wizards went too far!"

"I need her to give me justice!"

A flower-language wizard cried out in shock, "What? Are you saying that you ended up like this because of something Golden Crown Mountain wizards did?"

Witch Suela Sharp said, "Yes, it was them!"

…

Within the abyssal ruin, Locke and Witch Shirley saw the scene before them shift once more.

A mortal king in heavy armor, wielding a great sword, had his blade leveled at a First Circle crystallization-stage lich.

The battle between them was ferocious.

The lich's spells from the Necromancy School were varied and powerful, and with a casual killing stroke, it could summon death energy, using death to call forth more death, like a snowball rolling larger and larger.

In the mortal king's great sword, an iron ball was inlaid at the center. Every swing of that sword sent flames dancing through the air.

He was a mortal, but as long as he held that king's sword, he possessed the magical pressure of a First Circle crystallization-stage wizard.

The iron ball was clearly no ordinary object. It bore the hallmarks of a high-circle wizard's craft.

Locke and Witch Shirley quickly understood. This must be the era of the Mortal Age's arrival.

The mortal king severed the lich's head and then planted his foot atop it.

The lich's head fell to the ground, its voice filled with bitter refusal. "No, I curse you, Otto. You helped the mortals, you stood on their side. I curse you."

"Wizards deserve immortality."

"Wizards should live forever, rule forever. Wizards should keep this world frozen in place forever and never let it advance again. We were not wrong."

The mortal king brought his sword down, and flames descended. The lich's skeletal head was completely consumed by fire.

The mortal king curled the corner of his mouth. He said aloud, "We give thanks to the great king Otto. With your power, we are able to stand against these monsters."

Locke saw the mortal king conducting a ceremony of sacrifice here, but this time the recipient of the sacrifice was not the Black Sun Tower, nor was it "Heaven." It was the Heliothos Imperial Court.

The lich and its undead servant army dissolved in the burning flames into pure spiritual energy, which drifted up into the sky.

The mortal king and his mortal army celebrated here. They had won yet again.

The mortal king raised his flaming great sword and proclaimed, "The Heliothos Imperial Court now commands close to seven tenths of this world's territory."

"The great king Otto will be crowned again in the city of the princess's birth. This will be the second coronation, and it will announce the arrival of the Mortal Age."

"The liches have become a thing of the past."

Locke and Witch Shirley exchanged a glance.

Witch Shirley said, "It seems that during this time period, the lich king has already been killed by Otto."

Locke nodded.

The scene shifted again, and they found themselves before a different mortal king. This mortal king was whispering conspiratorially with his subordinates in a small dark room.

Inside the wooden chamber, the mortal king said in a low voice, "Everyone, when all is said and done, Otto is still a wizard. If he does not leave this era, will the Mortal Age truly arrive?"

"Now we have the king's swords that Otto gave us, and with that power, we have even slain many of those monsters that were once undefeatable."

"So can this power be used against the great king Otto?"

The mortal king raised the thunder great sword in his hand. Within the wooden chamber, the weapons of every subordinate were illuminated by the magical radiance of that sword, and lightning crackled across the surface of each weapon.

A king's great sword could bestow blessings upon one's army, granting one's forces a measure of magical power as well.

This was a pinnacle achievement of alchemy and potion studies magic combined.

Locke and Witch Shirley exchanged a glance.

Locke said, "It seems that the Mortal Age Otto envisioned had already lost control even before it formally began, while it was still taking shape."

Witch Shirley said, "He underestimated human nature. He harbored animosity toward wizards, yet placed far too much trust in mortals."

"And yet he forgot that whether wizard or mortal, both are human."

"The ambitions of mortals granted power, whose strength was not obtained through study and research, means they have no accurate judgment of things. The speed at which they spiral out of control will likely be even faster than wizards..."