Chapter 813: Can You Quickly Raise Magic Pressure by Grinding Projects?

Another ten minutes passed. Witch Olivia glanced at Locke, thought for a moment, and then directly summoned three other Second Circle wizards from her group through the water hyacinth system, though they were all ordinary Second Circle wizards.

The four of them wasted no time and immediately began discussing.

Witch Olivia said to the three of them, "At first I thought the fault lay in my own spell model construction, but I later found that was not the case. Even after I changed the spell model, the graft still failed."

One of the Second Circle wizards put on a single-lens sunlight magical monocle and looked at the climbing fern.

"It is just an ordinary tree fern."

"If we want to look carefully for what is wrong internally, two hours would definitely not be enough. Lady Olivia, perhaps the traits of the grafted magical plant are incompatible with the climbing fern. Tree fern climbing fern is not a commonly seen species, after all."

Witch Olivia instinctively wanted to argue, since this was only a First Circle magical plant. Why would one need to consider whether the grafted plant's traits were incompatible?

However, since she was eager to complete the graft at this moment, she said nothing and simply asked the three Second Circle wizards in her group to try grafting.

One Second Circle wizard used the enhanced graft healing method, grafting a magical plant he had chosen onto the climbing fern. The next moment it failed again.

The four looked at one another, all equally incredulous.

At this point, one Second Circle wizard said, "Perhaps the soil is wrong?"

Witch Olivia rolled her eyes at him. "He probably injected something into the interior of this climbing fern, and that something is interfering with the enhanced graft healing. Since the enhanced graft healing spell model is not working, let us try a different grafting spell model."

"Enhanced graft healing is only the most common one. It is not the only option."

"Use the secondary growth incantation. That is all."

"Rupert, use the sunlight magical monocle to observe the climbing fern's internal structure and look for any clues. The rest of you, try with me."

Witch Olivia was, after all, a star ring witch, and immediately identified the key point.

The four worked hard on the climbing fern for quite some time.

One hour later, every effort had failed.

Every spell, no matter how precisely constructed the spell model, would lose its effect the moment it was applied to the climbing fern.

At this point even Locke was inwardly shaken. He had not expected the Talking Tree's strange energy to be this potent, capable of stumping a star ring wizard and three Second Circle wizards.

The four of them were stuck.

And as time passed, the competitive-minded Witch Olivia disregarded the scope Locke had set of her laboratory and began calling in Second Circle wizard friends from within the Rose Council. The number of Second Circle wizards gathering increased.

Another hour passed, and eleven Second Circle wizards had assembled in the White Rose Garden.

Among them were two star ring wizards.

All of them were breeders.

The climbing fern sitting in the center of this group of Second Circle wizards had become a fascinating puzzle in everyone's eyes, full of mystery.

In the span of three hours, they had used a great many methods, and still none of them could complete a graft on this climbing fern.

By the time the agreed three hours had passed, Locke had not said anything more, and Witch Olivia, fixated on cracking the puzzle, had let go of the matter of the one-million magic stone wager. It no longer seemed to matter.

After discussion, these breeders reached a conclusion.

"The more precise the spell model, the worse its effect. The simpler but more reliable the spell model, the longer it holds."

"Yes, the interior of this climbing fern must have had some kind of special energy injected into it that we have not encountered before. This special energy interferes with more complex spell models. It is hard to imagine that such a special energy could exist in this world. Where exactly could it have come from?"

"Magical plants can absorb this special energy, which suggests there is no conflict between this special energy and life energy."

"Three hours was far too short. If we were given more time, we would certainly be able to work out something."

At this point, one Second Circle wizard said, "I somewhat suspect this is the same kind of thing as the strange energies on the Edge of the World. It may be some kind of unusual energy."

Witch Olivia looked at him and denied this with certainty, "The strange energies of the Edge of the World are basically all documented on our Rose Council's side. Any star ring wizard has the clearance to access that information. This is not any of the strange energies from the Edge of the World. But you are right that this magical plant appears to have absorbed some kind of rare energy, most likely the result of an incredibly complex magical formation."

Witch Olivia's thinking had gone entirely off track. For some reason she had not continued along the line of thinking that it was a special unusual energy, but instead concluded that Locke had used complex spell models to rewrite the effect, producing this situation.

Locke thought that it was quite possible that for a star ring wizard, the special energy in the Forbidden Forest was still so rare that she had not thought to look in that direction at all.

But so the Edge of the World had similar unusual energies?

After that, another two hours passed. These Second Circle wizards mobilized their connections and brought more people in, though so far only ordinary Second Circle wizards or star ring wizards had been called. No higher-circle breeders had yet been summoned.

A silver-haired witch wearing a silver rose wizard robe used a long string of needle and thread to stitch the climbing fern together with a rose magical plant. The graft between the two held for the longest time of any attempt.

These Second Circle breeders all thought they had succeeded.

But ten minutes later, one thread suddenly snapped, and then the stitched threads at the graft site began snapping one by one, and the two magical plants separated again.

The silver-haired Witch Valerie Sawyer shook her head slightly upon seeing this.

"There was not enough time."

Witch Olivia frowned.

She had not expected the problem Locke had posed to be so thorny.

At the same time, the examination report made by a Second Circle wizard using his sunlight magical monocle was ready, and a group of Second Circle wizards gathered around it, only to find that the internal condition of this magical plant showed almost no abnormality at all.

They looked at one another.

"If it truly were the effect of some spell model, there should first be some indication of natural magical structural components at work internally. And if it were the effect of some potion, that should be detectable too. Why was absolutely nothing detected?"

"Is this actually just an ordinary First Circle magical plant? From the report, nothing has been tampered with. How on earth did he do it, managing to leave so many Second Circle breeders at a complete loss?"

"It is not that we are at a complete loss. We were simply not given enough time."

Witch Valerie Sawyer, the silver-haired witch, seemed to have ability, and held a fairly high standing in the Rose Council. She said quietly, "Everyone, my two hours of research were not entirely without gain. In fact, I found that using the sound of a flute can extend the duration of this climbing fern's graft."

"In other words, though we do not know why, as long as there is a kind of music, this climbing fern can be successfully grafted."

"Of course, this is only an ideal scenario hypothesis. And the special music required might have very complex frequencies and timbres."

Locke looked at Witch Valerie Sawyer in surprise, not having expected her to have such ability, having so quickly touched on something at the edge of the Forbidden Forest's Wild Surge energy.

Through the water hyacinth system, Locke looked up this witch's name as he heard it mentioned in their discussion.

Locke found that she had published multiple Second Circle journal articles, even Second Circle Tier 1 articles, with her main direction being the cultivation of magical plants using magic weaver techniques, a relatively private and niche direction of magical plant cultivation.

And looking at the corresponding and co-first authors of those articles, Locke noticed she was probably aligned with the Rose Throne faction.

Most critically, her mentor appeared to be Melechi Wizard, as one of her articles published in a Second Circle Tier 1 journal listed Third Circle Wizard Melechi as the corresponding author.

Well indeed. This was the Rose Council after all. His contest with Witch Olivia, which Witch Olivia had been unable to resolve for a long time, would through the process of calling in allies easily bring in old acquaintances he had never actually met.

Witch Valerie Sawyer turned and glanced at Locke, gave a slight nod, then returned her attention to the climbing fern in her hand.

She frowned.

"If the Queen's Chessboard were used, perhaps the analysis of what is inside could be done more quickly."

Witch Olivia coughed awkwardly, feeling somewhat guilty, since this whole situation had originated from her wager with Locke, and if Witch Valerie Sawyer used the Queen's Chessboard, whose responsibility would the five-hundred-thousand usage fee be, hers or Witch Valerie Sawyer's?

Witch Olivia said with a guilty air, "It is just a wager. There is no need to bring in large-scale equipment."

Witch Valerie Sawyer's pupils were silver-colored. She was extremely serious-minded, and was about to speak when Witch Lana walked in. The magic pressure of a sun ring wizard felt to these Second Circle wizards like the arrival of a sun.

Witch Lana was like a sun touring a sacred mountain. The moment she entered, everyone immediately sensed that vast magic pressure.

There were twenty Second Circle wizards assembled here, along with several star ring wizards, but before this sun ring-level magic pressure they were like stars paling beside the sun, their light dimmed to nothing.

Witch Lana walked in with a smile and said, "All of you are the backbone of the Rose Council or its rising stars, all at minimum future luminaries. I was wondering where everyone had gone. So you all ended up in a little place like this."

Witch Valerie Sawyer bowed to Witch Lana with great respect and said, "Teacher Lana, I apologize for having missed the time of our appointment. I did not do so deliberately. This climbing fern puzzle had me stumped no matter how I thought about it."

Witch Lana glanced at the climbing fern in her hand, then said, "It is just an ordinary climbing fern."

Witch Lana's voice reached Locke's ears.

"Young man, I advise you to quit while you are ahead."

"As far as I know, just a moment ago, Hades, a sun ring wizard student of Solas Wizard, specifically dispatched a star ring wizard student to come and resolve this matter."

"Your actions may very well be interpreted by the Rose Council's higher-ups as something akin to a blockade. If you do not quit while you are ahead, you will lose face shortly."

Locke was of course very receptive to advice. After all, from the beginning he had only wanted to convince Witch Olivia thoroughly.

Locke looked at Witch Olivia and said, "Respected Lady Olivia, the agreed time for our wager has passed. You still intend to honor it, do you not?"

Witch Olivia let out a cold snort. She had never had any intention of breaking the agreement, and besides, with so many people here, breaking it over someone as worthless as Carter Dunn? He was not worth that.

This person had always been a peripheral figure in her research group.

She truly could not understand why Locke thought so highly of him.

But after careful consideration, Witch Olivia confirmed that Carter Dunn was a crystallization wizard of little value. Not only was there no use for him staying with her, but even going over to Locke's side, he should be of little use to Locke as well.

After weighing things repeatedly and confirming there was no issue, Witch Olivia decided to honor the agreement.

Witch Olivia said, "Of course. In accordance with our agreement, you may invest directly in Carter Dunn personally. I will arrange his schedule accordingly."

Locke smiled and said, "Witch Olivia's word is her bond, and her character is noble."

Locke turned to leave with Carter Dunn, but Witch Olivia called after him, "Wait, Wizard Augustine."

Witch Olivia's eyes still held puzzlement. She could not figure out, no matter how she thought about it, why so many of them had been unable to successfully graft this climbing fern, and what kind of mystery it contained.

"Wizard Augustine, would you be willing to tell us what mystery is contained in this climbing fern?"

"You have already won this wager."

Locke said, "I am not entirely sure either. This magical plant was something I obtained in the Stygian River. I sensed its peculiarity and so brought it to let you try. Who would have thought that even your star ring wizards and Second Circle breeders would be unable to solve it."

Locke spoke half-truthfully.

Witch Olivia was speechless. So Locke had been using all of them to test a puzzle for himself.

A wager.

This fellow had killed two birds with one stone and made use of everything available. His resourcefulness was formidable.

Quite a few of the Second Circle wizards showed an expression of sudden understanding.

They had all been thinking that a new Second Circle wizard from Golden Crown Mountain, who had not even obtained a Second Circle breeder certification, could not possibly be this exceptional.

Now that they heard Locke's explanation, they each relaxed.

So it was a naturally occurring special phenomenon.

But neither Witch Valerie Sawyer nor Witch Olivia showed much change in expression.

First, they would not completely believe what Locke said.

Second, even an ordinary wild magical plant, especially a First Circle one, would require considerable time for them to fully study. So they generally assigned such things to their students.

However, as Second Circle breeders, and especially since Witch Valerie Sawyer was a fairly outstanding breeder among Second Circle breeders, both of them had been unable to complete a graft on an ordinary First Circle magical plant.

That was absolutely not normal.

Whatever the origin of this climbing fern, for them it represented a thorough challenge to their professional standing.

Locke gave Witch Olivia a nod and said, "Witch Olivia, while you and your colleagues were not able to solve the puzzle of this magical plant, you have at least traced out some of its contours. That is already very impressive."

He waved his hand and drew the magical plant back to himself.

Witch Olivia's expression softened slightly. She felt that Locke knew how to handle people and had given her an appropriate way to step down at the right moment.

She now regarded Locke with somewhat more warmth.

"Breeder Locke, this exchange also made me realize that only through exchange can we make progress, and only by comparing notes with each other can we raise our own level and understand our own position."

"This exchange today has been highly beneficial to both of us."

Locke gave a slight nod and turned to leave.

Witch Valerie Sawyer watched Locke's departing figure and frowned, seeming to be debating whether to speak up and ask to buy the climbing fern from him.

'Never mind. I can take a trip to the Stygian River myself and look for that kind of climbing fern.'

'I already took note of that climbing fern's spiritual characteristics during our contact just now.'

'Locke Augustine is an adversary of my teacher lineage. If I asked to buy it from him, he would certainly refuse. Since it is something I can find on my own, there is no need to make a deal with him.'

...

Locke walked through the garden with Carter, while Witch Lana gave Locke a sideways glance.

"Really. If I had not happened to pass by today and given you a heads-up, were you planning to set up a blockade here for the whole day? While you were in your wager with Olivia, operations in several laboratories were already being affected."

"If I had not come today, how were you planning to wrap this up?"

Locke bowed to Witch Lana and smiled, saying, "I was already planning to inform Witch Olivia that the result of our wager was clear."

"Of course, I am still very grateful to you for coming to warn me today."

Witch Lana said, "I came to warn you today, first because it was on my way, and second not for your sake but for the Rose Council's. That star ring wizard student of Hades might not necessarily resolve the breeding studies puzzle you created quickly."

"If he fails to resolve it, Hades may dispatch his moon ring wizard student."

"And if this moon ring wizard student also happens to fail to resolve it quickly, things will escalate."

Witch Lana became serious, with no smile whatsoever on her face.

"Wizard Hades is a stubborn man. In everything he does, he demands an outcome that satisfies him. When Solas Wizard was still at the school, he could keep Hades in check. Now that Solas Wizard has gone to the southern territory for an academic conference, Hades will certainly pursue this matter with you to the bitter end."

"And your Wizard Trajan from Golden Crown Mountain is also a combat type. If things go poorly, Golden Crown Mountain and the Rose Council may come to blows today. I came out early as a peacemaker to head off both of your sides."

Witch Lana said, "Today, as an ordinary Second Circle wizard who is not even a certified Second Circle breeder, you have certainly made quite a splash."

"But can you tell me, where exactly did that climbing fern of yours come from? I am not as easy to fool as they are."

Locke smiled. "Lady Lana, do you want it? If you do, I will simply give it to you."

Witch Lana froze for a moment, then coughed.

"One should not accept gifts without having rendered a service. You and I are only ordinary acquaintances, or rather, not even acquaintances. You are just a senior researcher from Golden Crown Mountain, while I am a senior wizard mentor of the Rose Council."

"Strictly speaking, I am your senior."

"Since this magical plant is so special, it is not appropriate for me to accept it."

Locke said, "I picked it from the Forbidden Forest."

Locke admitted this outright, first because it was not a secret. Wizard Gakula had also seen the Wild Surge energy in the Forbidden Forest, which meant a fair number of wizards knew that this unusual force existed in the Forbidden Forest.

Second, the thing was not really his to begin with. The Forbidden Forest was home to existences at the Third Circle wizard level. Telling Witch Lana did not matter.

Witch Lana showed a look of sudden comprehension.

"So it is from that absolute domain that is not an absolute domain. Even a Third Circle wizard who enters the Forbidden Forest faces a very high risk of perishing."

"It should be put this way, the higher the circle of the wizard who enters that forest, the greater the risk of death. Otherwise, we would have long since sent people in to develop the Forbidden Forest."

"The reason you could enter the Forbidden Forest and survive was probably because you were still a First Circle wizard at the time. You cannot enter now. A Second Circle wizard who enters the Forbidden Forest basically cannot come back out."

Locke was mildly taken aback.

"Is the Forbidden Forest that dangerous?"

No wonder that of the Pale Pilgrimage's Second Circle wizards who had entered the Forbidden Forest, only one star ring wizard managed to escape, and that only through the Grand Sovereign's Proclamation.

After hearing that Locke had actually answered her question, Witch Lana's expression immediately returned to warmth and a smile.

"Well then, Locke."

"In that case, keep it and study it properly. It might make for a special-grade grant project."

Witch Lana, having had Locke speak honestly to her, felt somewhat closer to him.

"I recall that your Golden Crown Mountain's Tourmaline King Peach can directly increase the magic pressure of your Second Circle wizards. One Tourmaline King Peach, on the first consumption, can increase magic pressure by a thousand. The second consumption can increase it by five hundred. The third only by two hundred. From the fourth consumption onward, each one only increases magic pressure by around a hundred."

"After that, each consumption provides approximately a hundred, but it is only effective for ordinary Second Circle wizards."

"As I understand it, you only need to successfully conclude a Second Circle-level grant project to receive one Tourmaline King Peach."

Witch Lana looked at Locke curiously. "You broke through to Second Circle. Did your mentor not arrange for a Tourmaline King Peach to be given to you? The Throne Wizard should be able to exchange for one every few years."

Locke shook his head.

"Our teacher probably trusts more in my own capabilities."

Witch Lana raised an eyebrow. "It may also be that she is waiting for you to make the most of the first time you eat a Tourmaline King Peach, when the special effect of a thousand magic pressure increase is granted. The Tourmaline King Peach can reduce the difficulty of constructing a Grand Magic."

"But once you eat a Tourmaline King Peach once, the massive magic pressure increase of the first time is lost forever."

Locke immediately felt that Witch Yekaterina was truly far-sighted.

It seemed Witch Yekaterina had let his Senior Sister Shirley eat a Tourmaline King Peach because she needed this king of magical peaches to reduce the difficulty of breaking through her racial soul limit?

Witch Lana looked at Locke and said, "I do not understand why you made such a scene for an ordinary crystalline wizard, unless he is just a pretext for you to pick a fight. All right, if you cause any more trouble, I will proactively contact your senior, Wizard Trajan."

Locke looked at Wizard Carter. At this moment, his first Second Circle magical plant was ready, just waiting for the east wind.

The first step was to directly produce a campaign-level First Circle magical plant.

Carter should have a simple laboratory in this academy, and a magical field could be rented, as could equipment. Locke had already made a full plan.

And what excited Locke most was his sudden realization that he actually had a way to quickly reach a magic pressure of nineteen thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine, the ordinary Second Circle limit.

After becoming a star ring wizard, two conditions were required. First, magic pressure exceeding twenty thousand. Second, forging a Grand Magic and giving the Grand Magic a power system.

Originally he could only accumulate slowly through grinding, but who would have thought that Golden Crown Mountain had the special resource of the Tourmaline King Peach.

And to obtain Tourmaline King Peaches, one simply needed to continuously complete Second Circle-level projects.

Determination filled Locke's eyes. In other words, by grinding articles and projects, by grinding and grinding and grinding, his magic pressure could also be pushed up directly through Tourmaline King Peaches.

These benefits provided to the Origin Academy by the academy, how could he not use them?

How could he not?

Once he left Golden Crown Mountain, access to them would be gone.

Locke was full of drive at this moment.