Wizard: Starting With Synthesized Gems

Chapter 668: Entering Soul Decline and Obtaining the Moon Witch Stone

"The Revelation Witch Stone?" Locke thought for a moment and cast his memory back to the time he had obtained numerous treasures from the Loom Princess's vault.There had indeed been one item among them that was not an ancient artifact at all, but rather a recently fallen mineral still entangled with abyssal energy.

Locke reached into his astral ring and produced a smooth, rounded stone encased in abyssal energy.

The instant Wizard Smith saw this, his eyes all but glazed over, and he reached out to take the Revelation Witch Stone from Locke's hand.

In the next moment, the magical power between the two of them became a fierce gale that swirled back and forth between them.

Every trace of Wizard Smith's composure nearly fell away, replaced by eyes brimming with desire for the Revelation Witch Stone. He extended his hand, and a spell model formed at nearly instantaneous speed.

The magical lighting of Private Room No. 1 began to flicker and fail, plunging into darkness. Within that darkness, an enormous meteorite wrapped in lightning came crashing toward Locke.

One intricate spell model after another appeared in Wizard Smith's hands.

Locke instantly perceived, in the moment the other party made his move, a breath of aging emanating from his soul, which indicated that the other party's soul was approaching its lifespan limit.

Even though the other party still appeared quite young.

And the magic in his hands appeared to be a Grand Magic of rather unusual construction.

In the next instant, the phantoms vanished. In Wizard Smith's hands appeared an extraordinarily complex spell model composed of fifteen concentric circles, along with one hundred and eight stellar bodies moving along the edges of these concentric circle spell models.

It was as though a voice reached Wizard Smith's ears. "I understand, Grandfather. This is Golden Crown Mountain. I know."

"I was impulsive just then. I'm sorry."

"Grandfather."

Locke immediately understood that the Third Circle wizard of Storm Tower had been watching from the shadows the whole time, and was simply restraining himself out of respect for his elder's dignity, choosing not to appear in person to negotiate.

Wizard Smith looked at Locke, who remained seated calmly on the sofa across from him without any change in expression, and laughed. "I genuinely don't know whether just now you were struck dumb with fear, or whether you had it all figured out, or whether you simply didn't care at all. You didn't cast a single defensive spell."

"You didn't even think about using your permanent defensive field."

Locke looked up at him and said, "It's nothing. I simply felt that Wizard Smith wouldn't act irrationally."

Wizard Smith smiled. "Indeed, that's true."

Locke looked at him and said, "Still, just now there was a faint breath of decay within your soul's aura. And you're only about thirty-five years old."

"It's soul decline, isn't it."

"Your magical pressure reached its upper limit long ago and has been continuously pressing against the ceiling of your soul capacity. Your soul is already struggling to bear the load. Unless you voluntarily relinquish a portion of your magical power, your current physical condition probably won't hold for long."

Wizard Smith made a sound of acknowledgment, unconcerned. "It's only soul decline. I can't become a Second Circle wizard ahead of time because of the Silent Chalice Competition."

"The Silent Chalice Competition is a Grand Magic modeling competition. The moment we enter the Silent Plane, we can instantly begin constructing our Grand Magic. What it comes down to is simply whose Grand Magic's cyclical structure is the superior one, and nothing more."

"So it doesn't affect the competition at all. And after the competition, I can immediately become a Second Circle wizard. Storm Tower has already prepared a plane for me. I imagine Golden Crown Mountain has done the same for you."

Locke was somewhat at a loss for words and said nothing.

Wizard Smith continued of his own accord, "To be honest, I had assumed our Golden Crown Mountain opponent would be Witch Preston. She may be haughty and willful, but she's a troublesome adversary."

"If it were her, I could basically guess the blueprint of her Grand Magic. It should be a bloodline studies Grand Magic, probably related to the White Dragon clan, most likely the Grand Magic, [Sleeping Dragon Glacier]."

"It's her family's hereditary Grand Magic. Troublesome, but there's a reference answer for it."

"As a matter of fact, before the competition, five research groups under me analyzed the champions of the Spell Combat Tournament from the various academies." Wizard Smith said, "Your winning the championship was completely beyond my expectations."

"Furthermore..." a shadow crossed Wizard Smith's face. "The champions from the other two academies also surpassed what my five research groups' students racked their brains day and night to painstakingly predict."

"After all that, I've apparently just been wasting my time."

Locke raised the ordinary stone in his hand.

Immediately, Wizard Smith's gaze followed Locke's palm upward.

Locke had used the time spent talking with him to contact Team Leader Cis and learn from him what the Revelation Witch Stone actually was.

There were two types of witch stones, one artificially created and one naturally formed.

The Revelation Witch Stone was naturally formed, originating from a type of special [Meteorite Plane] that moved through the infinite void. These [Meteorite Planes] drifted through the various gravitational fields of the infinite void, and when a plane had been worn down to nearly nothing, with only its core remaining, it would be captured by some other plane.

Once that core was worn down by eight or nine tenths further, whatever remained was the Revelation Witch Stone.

This special meteorite was said to have a powerful auxiliary effect on Divination School magic.

It was also a rare material for Alchemy School wizards to use in crafting magical items.

By the same token, certain Second Circle potions also required this special witch stone.

Only, Locke was not a Second Circle potion master and had no use for this stone at present.

And moreover, there was something wrong with the stone in his hand. It was permeated with far too much abyssal energy, and appeared to have been tampered with by some great demon lord. It was therefore not an ordinary Revelation Witch Stone.

As for why Storm Tower before him wanted this stone, the reason was equally straightforward. The Revelation Witch Stone was also of great use to weather wizards.

This rare witch stone could be used to construct many special weather systems.

And just now, Locke had glimpsed that Wizard Smith's Grand Magic was very likely some kind of meteorite system.

It was indeed quite unique.

The Grand Magic blueprint also seemed to carry traces of divination magic, so his interest in the Revelation Witch Stone was understandable.

A single Revelation Witch Stone like this one could serve many Storm Tower weather wizards, more than enough for them to use for a long while.

Wizard Smith said, "Speak then. What do you want to trade for it? I imagine you've already figured out what this thing is."

Locke glanced at him. "A trade is fine."

The Revelation Witch Stone was of no use to him at present, and this particular stone was compromised to begin with. For it to be saturated with such dense abyssal energy with no tampering from a great demon lord would be hard for anyone to believe.

Locke even suspected the great demon lord had placed something inside this Revelation Witch Stone. Unless absolutely necessary, he had no reason to make use of it.

The Revelation Witch Stone was not something he needed.

Wizard Smith's interest was immediately piqued. "Tell me."

Beside them, the Thunder Demon Society's wizard leader watched this scene with resentment. Wizard Smith had never taken the Thunder Demon Society seriously at all. He had claimed to bring him to Golden Crown Mountain to get justice for the Thunder Demon Society, but now Wizard Smith was reaching a mutual understanding with the Golden Crown Mountain wizard before him and was actually conducting a transaction right in front of him.

Wizard Smith hadn't regarded him as worthy of consideration at all.

The wizard's eyes flashed with hatred, and that hatred was not directed at Locke, but at Wizard Smith.

Locke sat on the sofa and said to Wizard Smith, "I've heard that Storm Tower possesses a wealth of astronomical knowledge. I want the hidden knowledge your school holds regarding the lunar plane, astronomy, and meteorology."

Wizard Smith furrowed his brow. "Hidden knowledge? Be more specific."

Locke said, "I want all the research materials from the sun ring wizard Mana Hayes's research group on the lunar plane."

Wizard Smith fell into thought. "That..."

Locke said, "Beyond that, I also want you to exchange your Storm Tower's Moon Witch Stone as part of the deal."

Wizard Smith looked up sharply in astonishment, staring at Locke. "Are you on a call with Throne Lord right now?"

Locke had indeed agreed to trade the Revelation Witch Stone with the Smith family only after consulting Witch Yekaterina, and it was also Witch Yekaterina who had suggested trading for the Moon Witch Stone.

After all, this matter was connected to the Silent Chalice Conquest Competition, and the Revelation Witch Stone was clearly related to Wizard Smith's Grand Magic construction, and could very likely improve the quality of his Grand Magic.

So out of both reason and propriety, he needed to inform his cooperative wizard, and could not make this decision unilaterally.

It was also Witch Yekaterina who had reminded him that the Revelation Witch Stone had been specially tampered with by a great demon lord, and urged him to get rid of it quickly rather than keeping it on his person.

Keeping it would bring misfortune.

Wizard Smith waited for a moment, appearing to be on a call with the Third Circle wizard on his end as well, and quickly received a response. "Fine. It's a deal."

"Let's sign a contract. I can immediately trade you the Moon Witch Stone, but the materials you've requested will take some time to arrange."

Locke said, "We can sign the contract first. When you're ready to complete the trade, we'll carry it out then."

Wizard Smith furrowed his brow, remained silent for a moment, then said, "Mana Hayes is one of my elders. She has agreed to provide you with materials her research group has already published, along with materials published only in Storm Tower's internal library. Will that be acceptable?"

Locke nodded and said, "Good. Then let's sign the contract."

Both parties signed the contract and completed the exchange simultaneously.

After Locke and Wizard Smith added each other as contacts on the water hyacinth network, a file was immediately sent over.

After checking it over and confirming there were no issues, Locke looked at the fist-sized piece of moon rock that had been exchanged from Wizard Smith.

So this was Moon Rock.

According to legend, this was a naturally formed witch stone that could only be excavated from the deep mineral veins beneath the lunar plane. It was the condensed essence of the lunar plane's spirituality, embodying all manner of the lunar plane's qualities.

With this witch stone in hand, his understanding of the moon could grow far deeper.

And Wizard Smith, having obtained the Revelation Witch Stone, pursed his lips in a smile and then broke into unreserved laughter.

He seemed to have completely forgotten about the Thunder Demon Society's wizard leader. That person held no further value for him.

His purpose had been achieved.

Wizard Smith looked at Locke, and his eyes now held nothing but the calculation and wariness of one sizing up a rival. "You've seen my Grand Magic blueprint, so you must know how important this stone is to me."

Locke said, "Indeed. It looks as though you can use it to elevate the fundamental quality of your Grand Magic by an entire level."

Wizard Smith asked with curiosity, "Aren't you worried? You're arming your enemy."

Locke gave him a puzzled look. "This trade benefits both sides. What do I have to worry about?"

"You're arming your enemy too."

"As long as my growth rate is fast enough to outpace yours, I hold the advantage from this transaction."

"Fear of trading simply comes from a lack of confidence in oneself. But that kind of self-doubt only causes one to miss opportunities."

Wizard Smith curved the corner of his mouth and said, "A growth rate faster than mine?"

"Very well. At the Silent Chalice Competition, I'll make you regret trading the Revelation Witch Stone to me. Farewell, my young friend from Golden Crown Mountain."

"I hope you can still maintain this confidence of yours, wherever it comes from, when the time arrives."

Wizard Smith laughed and said, "By the way. It seems your soul has entered decline as well."

He didn't spare another glance at the Thunder Demon Society's leader wizard, as though that person had ceased to exist.

The Thunder Demon Society's leader wizard didn't even know whether he should leave or stay.

Locke gave him a cold look, only unable to think of a reason, within legal bounds, to make him disappear right now.

And it appeared that he was no longer looking to cause trouble for Locke, so Locke stopped paying him any attention.

Locke took the Moon Witch Stone and left Private Room No. 1 of Witch's Kitchen. Looking at the witch stone in his hand, he wanted to return to his laboratory at once and begin studying its properties.

Using this Moon Witch Stone should allow the spell-moon he created to come even closer to a real moon.

His Forest Alliance Curse might finally be completed through this.

Wizard Smith was right. His own soul had more or less entered the decline period. Even the Bronze Furnace soul artifact could not raise his soul capacity limit by very much.

Right now his magical pressure was leaking continuously, and he felt fatigue at every moment.

The powerful sensation of growing fullness that had accompanied his magical pressure when it was approaching the First Circle limit had now vanished. He no longer felt like a man in the prime of his strength, and instead felt like a weakened patient.

That feeling of growing fullness had become a feeling of growing depletion.

This was soul decline.

And this was also a terrifying threshold that had stymied countless beings throughout the infinite void across all of history.

Through the ages, how many prodigies had been stopped at this very threshold.

Locke sensed a powerful witch standing before him. She appeared to be a Second Circle wizard, and the vastness of her magical pressure was fathomless.

Locke paused at the entrance of Witch's Kitchen.

An unfamiliar golden-haired witch looked at Locke with a dissatisfied expression. "Locke, don't you recognize me?"

Locke looked at the wizard academy emblem on her chest.

The Rose Council?

Could it be?

Locke looked at the flower-language wizard standing beside this golden-haired witch, someone he had met once in the tomb city. She was looking at him with a gaze full of hatred.

Then, upon hearing the golden-haired sun ring witch's words, her expression immediately shifted to one of astonishment.

Locke looked at the sun ring witch before him and said, "Witch Lana?"

Witch Lana gave a laugh of exasperation. "We've been corresponding for several months, and you've said you've read all of my articles. And yet you've never even looked at a single portrait painting of me?"