Chapter 811: I Came Here to Sponsor You

Locke asked Wizard Bill about the Rose Council's past zombie projects and failed project documents. Wizard Bill paused, then looked at Locke in puzzlement and said, "What do you want to look at those for?"

"They are nothing more than the work of failures. Anything gained from the work of failures is also part of that failure."

"All right, give me a moment. I will find some higher-quality ones for you."

Wizard Bill quickly handed Locke a pile of documents.

After expressing his thanks, Locke turned and walked toward the reading area, and Bill called after him, "You can get a meal at the Witch's Kitchen on Rose Street behind the Rose Council. The food is especially good."

"Witch Lana is a major shareholder over there. You will find the prices are different when you eat there."

...

Two weeks later, while continuously searching through the Rose Council's zombie projects, Locke found one magical plant development that caught his eye.

"A campaign-level First Circle magical plant?"

Locke smiled and said, "Only a wizard university of the Rose Council's scale could get a project application like this approved through an internal fund."

First Circle magical plant and campaign-level weapon were two terms that, put together, seemed rather absurd.

After all, any wizard organization that needed a First Circle magical plant as a campaign-level weapon would certainly not have enough funds to purchase and maintain it, and whether they could even gather the wizards to use and study it was a question in itself.

And any wizard organization capable of operating it would certainly have no need for a campaign-level weapon built from a First Circle magical plant.

This project had been developed by a crystallization breeder at the Rose Council. Of course, the grant he had applied for with this project was not a First Circle grant but rather a special internal campus fund worth a hundred thousand magic stones.

It appeared to be a Most Beautiful Project Fund established by the Rose Council, which was distributed to ten people per year.

Unlike other wizard academies, the Rose Council had many grants and subsidies that were not set up for performance or research, but to maintain high aesthetic standards.

In other words, the Rose Council had many internal campus funds that could be applied for as long as the work met a pursuit of aesthetic quality.

Locke had read through a great many documents and noticed that within the Rose Council, many fringe members or lone wolves on the edges of various teams would try to apply for this type of internal campus fund.

The competition seemed to be somewhat smaller there.

Of course, they were all scraps that the major factions and teams within the Rose Council did not think worth their attention.

Locke noticed that after this First Circle crystalline wizard had applied for the project, he had quickly run out of funds and halted further development. The work had not even reached ten percent completion.

But the reason Locke noticed it was that this project caught his eye and might truly prove useful to him.

"The Dream Blossom?"

This was a magical plant development based on the First Circle magical plant, the Jaeger Rose, that attempted to produce a flower capable of drawing multiple wizards simultaneously into the same dream.

This flower, capable of allowing multiple people to enter a shared dream at the same time, was designed to bring the consciousness of multiple people into a single dream, with that dream set as a paradise of extraordinary beauty. Based on the description in the project application, it was roughly the kind of scenery that could not exist in the wizard world.

Of course, Locke did not believe a single word of that.

After all, if one did not write it that way, there was no chance of receiving the Most Beautiful Project internal campus fund.

Locke scanned over it, a gleam in his eyes.

"I have already more or less grasped the core principles of the ritual magic the Necromantic Lich left in the Ghost Sacred Order of the southeastern quadrant."

Understanding the principles and being able to apply them were two different things.

Just as knowing the principles behind something, being able to work through problems with it, and being able to actually apply it in practice were three different things.

Locke had no foundation in necromancy studies and would find it difficult to cast a necromancy spell of this high a level. And without the Stygian iron pillar, the Ghost Sacred Order's spells would be no different from mathematical model toys.

But through that spell model, Locke had gained a great deal of information related to the Stygian River.

At this moment, seeing the Dream Blossom, he immediately understood that he could use this flower, along with the special properties of the Stygian River, to achieve a bridging connection at the level of consciousness.

In this way, by using the special nature of the Stygian River plane, where the soul was necessarily enveloped by consciousness, he could use the Dream Blossom to complete the bridging without direct contact.

Locke thought, "Using the Dream Blossom to unify the consciousness stream of the Stygian River, what happens within the dream will happen in reality."

"This is indeed feasible. At least it is feasible in the Stygian plane."

"In this way, the real-world significance of this Dream Blossom is elevated."

Locke looked at the document.

"This wizard could not complete the project, probably because he was still a First Circle wizard with the limited thinking of a lower circle. Trying to achieve the Dream Blossom using a First Circle magical plant is too difficult. Even if it were eventually completed, it would likely fall far short of what was described in the application."

"At most it would briefly connect the dreams of a few wizards, with limited practical effect."

"No wonder it failed to attract any lateral funding from investors who saw promise in the project and wanted to put money in."

Locke fell into thought.

But he was different. He stood at a higher vantage point and could see further. He knew of the virtual sea and virtual roots. Using virtual roots to strengthen the Jaeger Rose would make it relatively easy to overcome the problem that had been insurmountable for this wizard, which was that the Jaeger's instantaneous magical energy was insufficient to sustain a dream of this scale.

And he was familiar with the Stygian River. This Dream Blossom would be easier to realize within it.

"I can try producing a Dream Blossom and see whether it can achieve the effect I have in mind."

Locke looked at the name on the document.

"Carter Dunn."

Locke put away the document, went down the staircase, walked toward Wizard Bill, returned the documents, and asked, "Wizard Bill, who is Carter Dunn? Do you know where I might find him?"

Wizard Bill thought for a moment.

"Oh, him. I remember. Because those documents were records of failed projects with little value, all the projects I gave you were recent ones."

"If even this kind of thing were fifty years old, there really would be nothing meaningful in it."

Locke said quietly, "Thank you, Mister Bill."

"You are truly a learned generalist wizard."

Wizard Bill let out a chuckle, feeling that as a generalist wizard of the Rose Council, being praised like this by a researcher from Golden Crown Mountain was rather pleasant.

Wizard Bill said, "Carter Dunn is a crystallization wizard. I believe he is in a research group led by a star ring wizard, though he does not seem to be given much regard. After all, wizards at the crystalline stage are everywhere in our Rose Council, and outside there are people lining up hoping to get in."

"I remember him. He comes across as rather dimwitted and not very good at navigating relationships. He does not fit in well, and he is a peripheral figure in that research group, the kind of person most people would not pay attention to or remember."

"If you want to find him, go to star ring wizard Olivia Bell's office. I believe it is in the White Rose Garden."

Locke turned and walked away so quickly that Wizard Bill froze for a moment and had no time to stop him.

"Wait... do you have the clearance to walk around freely within the Rose Council?"

Wizard Bill thought about it and decided it was probably fine. After all, the interior of the Rose Council was open, and even if another wizard entered, as long as they did not go into key laboratories and similar restricted places, there should be no issue.

The Rose Council itself was a vast garden, rated as a Five-A scenic area, and many outside wizards came to visit and view the flowers.

Following the directions Wizard Bill had given him, Locke made his way there.

He soon entered a garden of white rose bushes. Locke scanned the garden and, since this was the territory of breeders, most Rose Council wizards here were not familiar with his disputes with the magic weavers and did not recognize him.

Locke moved through the garden and, after a while, finally found Olivia Bell's office, which was an open-air garden pavilion that even had garden basket chairs in it.

It seemed more suited to a camping spot than an office.

Locke was mildly taken aback, noticing that a meeting was in progress, so he did not approach.

Witch Olivia Bell, as a star ring wizard, was presiding over a discussion among her First Circle wizards about a group of rose-type magical plants currently being developed. The First Circle wizards were debating animatedly, their faces full of expression as they explained various technical problems to one another.

As for Carter Dunn, the one Locke had come to find, his situation was not very good at all. He had clearly been gradually pushed to the fringes of the team, and several things he said had no one paying them any attention.

Only occasionally did a colleague give a perfunctory reply or two.

Carter Dunn appeared to be a bespectacled young man dressed rather plainly, while his colleagues' wizard robes were varied and elaborate.

Of course, Carter Dunn's robe was only relatively plain by comparison. His wizard robe still bore some simple rose patterns.

Carter Dunn gathered his courage, looked toward Witch Olivia, and said, "Lady Bell. I believe we could use a set of magical force frequencies and apply the magical force resonance cultivation method to induce a brocade-color mutation in the Engodo Rose. This would make the rose's appearance extraordinarily beautiful."

"I am willing to try. I only need you to approve a certain amount of resources and the right to use the equipment."

What made Carter Dunn uncomfortable was that Witch Olivia directly ignored him, as though she had not heard a word he said, and turned to stop the scattered discussion going on beneath her.

Witch Olivia said, "In order to coordinate with the work on the flower speech side, I would like everyone to develop as quickly as possible an Engodo Rose that can produce a special bioluminescence at night."

"That is all for today." ℯℯ𝑙.

Witch Olivia turned and departed.

As she went, she glanced curiously in the direction where Locke was standing, but did not think much of it, since the White Rose Garden was also an area open to visitors.

A special feature of the Rose Council was that most of the academy's areas could be visited by outside wizards. After all, if they were not viewable, how could outside wizards appreciate the art?

She left quickly.

Witch Carter Dunn sat where he was as the crowd thinned and dispersed, and let out a sigh. Two first-class wizard apprentices who were tidying up the remaining clutter on the tables kept their heads down and dared not disturb this crystallization wizard mentor, nor dare to ask anything.

Carter Dunn rubbed his temples.

"If things keep going like this, I am definitely going to have to leave."

"I have been completely pushed to the margins. Lady Olivia will not even say a single word to me. How did things come to this. Five years ago when I first entered the Rose Council and signed the lecturer wizard contract, I still had such high hopes."

"I have tried every kind of effort. Perhaps I am not suited to stay at the Rose Council."

Carter said quietly, "If I get dismissed, losing face will be unavoidable. Perhaps it is better to leave early. I can find some excuse, say it was a medical leave or something, and that makes it easier to look for work."

"That way when people ask about it later, I can still hold my head up a little."

Carter sat with his head down in dejection.

"Should I try harder? But perhaps Lady Olivia is right. My talent really is ordinary, and my ideas are not good either. I may not be suited to stay at the Rose Council, or even to continue doing research."

"Maybe this is simply my ceiling."

A figure appeared before him, and Locke's voice reached his ears.

"How could that be? I think you are still quite excellent. Carter Dunn."

"I need you."

Carter Dunn froze. Had he really been so careless that a wizard was standing right in front of him and he had not noticed?

The next moment, Carter Dunn hurriedly stood and bowed to Locke and said, "Hello, unfamiliar Second Circle Wizard."

"I was not aware of your approach and failed to bow in time. Please accept my apology."

Carter Dunn noticed the Golden Crown Mountain badge Locke wore.

Locke said, "Carter Dunn. Let me ask you something. Do you do research to explore truth and pursue your own interests, or do you do it for fame and success and the admiration of others?"

Carter Dunn paused, then said to Locke, "Great Wizard. I pursue research for the former, of course. From the very first day I entered the wizard world, I have been moving forward in order to explore more truth. Every time I gain some knowledge I did not have before, my heart is filled with joy."

Locke nodded and said, "So for you, success is not a necessity. You only need to be doing."

Carter Dunn paused, then understood, and immediately bowed to Locke and said, "Thank you for this insight, Great Wizard."

"You are right. As long as I am exploring truth, wherever I am, whether or not I succeed, my heart will be at peace. I truly do not need to care too much about immediate success. As long as I do my own work well, I am already satisfied."

Carter Dunn thanked Locke sincerely, and the despondency on his face disappeared.

"Great Wizard, if I may ask, have you come here as a visitor? And you came to find me because..."

In the sunlight, Locke smiled and said, "I came to sponsor you."