Wizard: Starting With Synthesized Gems

Chapter 634: The Energy-Locking Structures of Magical Plants and Continued Deep Research into Air Bromeliad Magical Plants

Wizard Cis looked at Locke and said, "Some wizards at the Rose Council want to cultivate desert roses themselves. But even though we only grow desert roses on the side to generate some economic value, in the short term they would struggle to surpass Group 2 in terms of cost and supply.""And our largest source of water came from a large-scale device developed by the Storm Tower, which requires periodic maintenance by the Storm Tower's people. But the Rose Council used some means or another to get the Storm Tower's wizards to stop maintaining our Group 2 equipment, which has left us with virtually no water at all!"

"Without water, in a desert like this, things become extremely dangerous!"

Locke asked Wizard Cis, "So do we have no water at all right now? I can see many wizard apprentices in the research station watering magical plants, and the drip irrigation system appears to still be running."

Wizard Cis said, "That is water we stored previously. We can also transport water in from outside, but the cost is very high and the quantity is insufficient."

"The amount of water this research station requires at every moment is staggering. Furthermore, water from other worlds cannot simply be used here because its world laws will conflict with the sand and soil of this world. It must first pass through a specialized large-scale conversion device before it can be used normally. That is extremely costly."

"We can also pump the limited amount of groundwater from beneath this plane. But that would be draining the pond to catch the fish. If we're not careful, it could cause further damage to the entire plane's ecology."

"Do not assume this is already the endpoint for this plane. It is not. Deep beneath the surface, large numbers of lower-level plant communities still exist, and they continuously produce magical tides, air elements, and wood elements for this world. If the ecology is damaged further and even those are gone, this world will become an even more terrifying inferno."

"The temperature could potentially climb from one hundred degrees Celsius to three hundred. Once it reaches that point, this plane would be completely finished."

"So we cannot extract too much groundwater."

Locke's mind moved quickly. "If that is the case, we could borrow water from the other research stations in this world."

Wizard Cis sighed. "I have indeed been doing that. But the price for obtaining water that way is still very high. Those people would never miss any opportunity to charge money."

Witch Mason asked with a puzzled look, "Wizard Cis, Golden Crown Mountain has its own meteorology academy. Why can't we build that equipment ourselves?"

Wizard Cis sighed. "Research is underway. In roughly ten years, we should be able to build it ourselves. The most accomplished organization in Cloud Marsh Wetland when it comes to meteorology is undoubtedly the Storm Tower."

"In particular, their ability to maintain stable production of certain outputs in extreme and hostile environments is the Storm Tower's specialty. Golden Crown Mountain has not invested as deeply in that field, at least not nearly as much money as the Storm Tower has."

Wizard Cis said, "But you don't need to worry too much about any of this. It has only raised our cost of obtaining water. Using groundwater, using stored water, borrowing from other research stations, and transporting water from the main material plane are all temporary solutions."

"I am also making arrangements to find a way to produce some water independently without relying on the Storm Tower. It isn't as though there are no options at all. Have a look at that banyan tree on level 27."

Locke looked toward the twenty-seventh level, where the crystals embedded in the ceiling emitted a faint glow resembling sunlight. Above the banyan tree, a cluster of rain clouds had gathered, and they were letting fall a sparse drizzle into the magical fields surrounding the tree.

Wizard Cis said, "Banyan trees have the ordinary ability to accelerate the formation of rain clouds. So I am working on having some banyan magical plants transplanted in, to supplement the moisture within my base on a small scale."

"Water is everywhere in Cloud Marsh Wetland. But in this world, it is ten thousand times more precious than gold."

"Locke, I am simply telling you about the difficulties our research station is currently facing. You don't need to worry too much. If the sky falls, I will be the one holding it up. As for your team's research task, it is the same as Group 2's overall research objective, which is to study the drought-resistance plant factors of various plants and investigate the mechanisms behind them."

Wizard Cis led Locke and the others down to the thirtieth underground level, and as they made their way through the research station's corridors, quite a few wizard apprentices coming from the opposite direction greeted them in passing.

When they encountered full wizards, both parties simply exchanged a polite nod.

Wizard Cis brought them to his office and handed each of the four a document. "Our research station is primarily focused on studying the drought-resistance mechanisms of various magical plants."

"As for the economic value, that is an additional requirement I put in place to ensure our research station has greater research resources. It is not a requirement from the Throne, but an additional one I have issued as Group 2's leader. Otherwise, with our researchers relying solely on the White Wizard Association's project grant subsidies, and myself relying solely on what the Throne provides, how could I possibly sustain a base of this size?"

Wizard Cis said, "I simply never anticipated that the desert rose magical plants would eventually be coveted by the Rose Council themselves. Ha. The flower-language wizards at the Rose Council really are desperate for anything they can get their hands on."

"We were perfectly capable of providing them with a steady supply of various desert rose varieties for their magical bouquets. Yet they had to come and stick their noses in."

"If we stop production, the value of desert roses will only rise. In the end, it is the Rose Council's own flower-language wizards who will suffer."

"Desert roses are a fairly common complementary flower in magical bouquets, after all!"

Locke said quietly, "But it will only be the flower-language wizards as a whole who suffer, not any particular individual."

Wizard Cis let out a cold snort. "Precisely. And that is exactly the kind of person who acts for their own gain at everyone else's expense."

Wizard Cis looked at Locke and said, "Which is why I have asked the members of Group 2 to find, as quickly as possible, a drought-resistant cash crop that can replace the desert rose."

"And to cease research on desert roses. Of course, our existing stock of desert roses is too large to redirect away from overnight."

Wizard Cis said, "Locke, do you have any good ideas?"

The three other wizards, Witch Mason included, immediately looked toward Locke.

Locke hesitated for a moment, then said, "Growing air bromeliads?"

Witch Mason pressed her hand to her forehead.

Well, that was indeed what their team had been doing all along.

Wizard Cis blinked. "Air bromeliads? Ah. I was aware that you have done extensive research on bromeliads. But this is Group 2's project, not Group 6's. Air bromeliads... don't have much economic value, do they?"

"Even if air bromeliads are indeed magical plants that originate from arid regions."

"The issue is that Group 2 needs crops with high economic value."

Wizard Cis smiled and said, "That's all right. I'm not in a rush. Your team can think it over carefully, take your time. Perhaps there is a better option than air bromeliads."

Wizard Cis waved toward someone outside the office door. "Eros Ramsey, come in for a moment."

"Everyone, Eros Ramsey is one of Group 2's most experienced researchers. Feel free to ask him anything you don't understand. He will help you quickly get acquainted with Group 2's research directions, so you can apply for your Tier 1 Origin Academy project grant as soon as possible."

He looked on with admiration. "I only just completed my Tier 4. I haven't even got my Tier 3 in sight yet."

"I don't know if I'll manage to complete a Tier 3 project grant before I leave."

Locke said offhandedly, "Keep at it, Wizard Ramsey."

The four of them then left the office and made their way to the common workspace.

Seated at four adjoining desks under the dim lighting of the common workspace, they began reading through the materials.

And as Locke read through the afternoon, his expression grew increasingly peculiar.

Because the more he read, the more he felt that he was simply meant to be here researching air bromeliad magical plants.

For one thing, within this research station, the most valuable commodities were water and soil.

Yet air bromeliads were essentially cultivated without soil.

Furthermore, air bromeliads preferred dry conditions over wet ones. While they could not go entirely without water, their needs were minimal at the very least.

They were precisely the type of magical plant best suited to the environment of this research station.

Most crucially, air bromeliads had virtually no economic value on their own, but the issue was that his wizard shoes might well require three varieties of air bromeliad magical plants as raw materials.

That changed everything.

Locke thought, 'Growing the air bromeliads I need for my wizard shoes here could also lower my production costs. Renting magical field space at Golden Crown Mountain is extremely expensive. But here it is different. The cost of land here is far lower compared to Golden Crown Mountain.'

'And this way, I can kill two birds with one stone.'

'The grant project and the applied project overlap...'

'That would save a great deal of my time. A person's energy is limited. If I try to do everything at once, it will eat into the time I have for other things, such as the time I spend developing ideas for Grand Magic!'

'Therefore, continuing to research air bromeliad magical plants is absolutely the best course of action.'

'Even if it makes me look like some kind of air bromeliad hermit.'

Locke thought it through further. 'The watering principle for air bromeliads is little and often, with a light misting two to three times per week. Their water consumption is not high.'

'Of course, getting a Tier 1 project grant approved on that basis alone will require some additional thought.'

Unlike the ease with which he had operated in Group 6, Group 2 appeared to place greater emphasis on research into drought-resistance mechanisms.

He would need to adjust his research approach and place the focus on the drought-resistance mechanisms of air bromeliad magical plants.

This would require him to first understand Group 2's current research methodology. Otherwise, it would be all too easy to fail the Tier 1 project grant application on the first attempt.

The Tier 1 grant was not a low bar, after all.

And Group 2's research was a domain in which he had no prior foundation.

After reading through the materials, Locke found that Group 6's research and Group 2's research did share some common ground, for instance, both the study of mechanisms to enhance reproductive capacity and the study of drought-resistance mechanisms were rich fields for uncovering new naturally-occurring magical force structure components.

Beyond that, studying the drought-resistance mechanisms of magical plants was even more likely to lead to the discovery of new energy-locking structures within magical plant organs, new magical plant mechanisms, magical plant micro-organs, and so on.

Because drought-resistance mechanisms were a form of stress-response mechanism, magical plants in this kind of environment might momentarily undergo certain transient structural changes, or shifts in the secretion rate of internal natural magical force structure components.

So the discoveries to be made were actually quite distinct from those one might find in Group 6's line of research.

Every year, Group 2 had previously managed to discover new reactive mechanisms by which magical plants responded to drought, as well as isomers of the same natural magical force structure components.

The most important discoveries of all, however, were new energy-locking structures within magical plant organs.

Energy-locking structures were a defining characteristic of magical plants when responding to drought. They existed for only very brief periods, required specific environmental conditions, and were therefore extremely difficult to detect.

Their difficulty of discovery and their significance both surpassed that of finding a new natural magical force structure component or an isomer of one.

Even for Group 2, over a previous five-year cycle, only a single new energy-locking structure belonging to one magical plant had been discovered.

An energy-locking structure was a magical plant's attempt at maximizing its utilization of energy, and it had applications across many different areas.

A single new energy-locking structure discovery could give rise to numerous spell models and might even lead to the birth of an entire spell series.

Many new energy-locking structures appeared only fleetingly in individual magical plants.

After all, even without an energy-locking structure, a magical plant could still cope with drought through certain specific natural magical force structure components and internal physiological changes.

Many exceptional energy-locking structures were highly likely to disappear within a single accidental mutation of one individual magical plant.

So in the study of drought-resistant plants, if a wizard were to discover a new energy-locking structure, it would require tremendous fortune and would stand as the finest testament to their talent.

Of course, the more common outcome of studying drought-resistance mechanisms was simply the discovery of specific plant factors associated with drought resistance, such as relatively common natural magical force structure components, familiar energy-locking structures, and changes in magical plant macro- and micro-organs.

Even discovering a new isomer of a known natural magical force structure component was a difficult achievement.

After some thought, Locke raised his head and looked at the other three. "Everyone, what if we just continue studying bromeliads in Group 2 as well?"

Witch Freya pulled an exaggerated expression. "Still bromeliads? Is there going to be any difference at all between being in Group 6 and being in Group 2?"

Wizard Barrett said matter-of-factly, "Studying drought-resistance mechanisms and studying reproductive capacity mechanisms are two different directions, and the discoveries one makes will differ accordingly."

Witch Mason smiled and said, "I agree. This way our team will be far more familiar with the subject from the start, which saves time and energy on getting up to speed. And Team Leader, you can also take the opportunity to make some progress on your bromeliad wizard shoes."