578: The New Journal Recruiting Locke
After eating the white dew peach and returning to his dormitory, Locke slept in his bedroom for three full days. When he woke up again, he found that three days had already passed.
At the thought of the points that would be deducted from him, Locke's expression shifted slightly.
But when he opened the lingzhi magic plant, he discovered that his direct superior, Team Leader Kelt, had already used his authority to sign in for him.
Although this was a bit against the rules, Team Leader Kelt had instructed him not to tell anyone else.
Locke immediately breathed a sigh of relief. Even if he didn't need to worry about being eliminated due to point issues for now, he still had to worry that he might fail to obtain the water jade peach that should have belonged to him because of those points.
Now, this lingering concern was resolved.
Locke got up, washed himself, and then went to the living room.
Locke checked the time on the standard alchemy clock (standard academy furniture) made by an alchemist apprentice in the living room, only to realize it was already noon.
Furthermore, he had been in a deep sleep for three days and three nights.
"Using the queens chessboard likely consumes more than just magic pressure. If it were just magic pressure, with multiple supplements, I should have basically recovered after resting for one night at most." Locke thought deeply.
Entering the queens chessboard itself carried a certain level of risk.
But as a wizard, how could one completely avoid risk?
All things compete for freedom under the frosty sky; only by constantly ascending can one become a High-Ring Wizard and pursue the path of truth.
Fortunately, his gains were also significant.
Two Wood Elf maids hurriedly brought breakfast to Locke, while a Dark Elf servant reported that several wizards had delivered a few letters while he was resting.
Holding the three letters in his hand, Locke hadn't expected so many people to write to him after just a three-day sleep.
The first letter was from the Fund Management Department of the White Wizard Association. They had approved his defense application and scheduled his final project defense for half a month from now.
It couldn't be helped; they had to gather three defenders to hold a defense session.
Those Second Ring Wizards also had limited time and wouldn't travel a long distance just for a single One-Ring Wizard.
Therefore, he could only accommodate their schedule.
The second and third letters were for Gregor and Williams. Back when Locke had them enter the Breeder Competition, he had them fill in his address as theirs.
This way, it would be convenient for him as their mentor to notify them, and he could also know their competition status immediately.
Secondly, it was a form of protection.
Having experienced the inside story of the previous competition, Locke didn't dare gamble on human nature in this regard.
There was no need to expose the addresses of the two apprentices.
Simply writing his own address would save them from unnecessary trouble.
Locke opened the two letters and nodded with satisfaction. Both Gregor and Williams had successfully passed the second round and were ranked near the top.
Gregor's result was just average, sitting at 57th place.
Williams's result, however, was in 11th place.
Even with the research topic and experimental data he provided, her ability to achieve this rank was absolutely inseparable from hard work and talent.
"Very good, this way both of them can enter the third round." Locke smiled. "Time is truly a mysterious thing."
"The days when I participated in the Apprentice-level Breeder Competition seem to be right before my eyes, as if I participated just last year. Thinking carefully, the time since I became a Formal Wizard really hasn't been long."
"Back then, I reached the top and took first place in the Apprentice-level Breeder Competition. Can I reproduce my past glory through these two students?"
"A wizard mentor can completely intervene in the progress of a student's work through guidance. According to the information I investigated before—the Apprentice-level Breeder Competition is on the surface a competition between apprentices, but in reality, it depends on whether the teachers behind them are capable, and only then on the students' own level."
Locke said indifferently, "We'll see the level of Williams and Gregor."
Locke looked at Ginny, the Red Dragon half-dragon maid assigned to him by Yekaterina, and said, "Ginny, help me deliver these two letters, along with this set of problems and book list, to Gregor and Williams respectively, and tell them they can come ask me if there's anything they don't understand."
"Also, tell them to just do their best in the finals. Don't worry about anything else."
Ginny bowed to Locke and said, "Yes, little master."
"Only, little master... there is one thing I need to tell you. While you were in a deep sleep, a masked Black Wizard once came to Golden Crown Mountain looking for you."
"He said he was an old friend of yours named Warwick. I told him you were busy and couldn't come out to receive him for the time being. As a result, he seemed very angry, thinking I had snubbed him, and left."
Locke was stunned for a moment, because the date for his two-year agreement with Warwick had not yet arrived; there was still a year and a half left.
But why did Warwick come looking for him ahead of time?
Locke glanced at Ginny and said, "Oh, he's just a bit sensitive as a person; he wasn't targeting you."
Ginny smiled and said, "Little master, you are truly understanding. I really thought I had been negligent toward him."
"Before he left, he said to meet in private room 31 of the Witchs Kitchen inside the Dragon Blood Assembly castle at four o'clock in the afternoon three days from then. If you don't show up by then, he will leave on his own."
Ginny said, "Ah, calculating the time, it's about this afternoon. It's noon now, only three hours left until the agreed time."
Locke was slightly speechless.
He remembered adding him as a friend on the grey mist slate, so why did he need to come looking for him in person? Had some temporary change occurred in the plan?
Locke nodded and said, "I see, Ginny. You may go."
Locke frowned, thought it over carefully, and decided to go to the meeting.
This was Golden Crown Mountain, the territory of White Wizards. In this regard, he had no worries about the future.
Since that was the case, there was no reason not to go.
Warwick possessed the historical records and Abyssal Ruins coordinates he wanted.
Thinking carefully, the location marked by the Abyssal Ruins coordinates wouldn't happen to be a medium-sized Abyss Plane, would it?
That would be interesting.
In the Endless Void, wizards generally can only use the world stone from within a medium-sized world to advance to a Second Ring Wizard. Otherwise, with the individual power of a One-Ring Wizard, they would certainly not be a match for a higher-level world, which would be counterproductive.
But there is only one special world—the Bottomless Abyss.
Because the Bottomless Abyss is a super-giant unique Plane formed by the convergence of countless Planes of different sizes, it is the only unique Plane that can be used to advance to a Second Ring Wizard.
Of course, using an Abyss Plane to advance to a Second Ring Wizard does somewhat test the wizards' imagination. When using the world stone of an Abyss Plane to create Great Magic, it's not certain who will be the master and who will be the guest.
But this was indeed a direction worth understanding, especially since he had a certain understanding of Abyssal Potion Studies and the Abyss Energy system.
Locke was about to get up when he heard a knock at the door. He ordered the maid to open the door, only to see a common Second Ring Wizard standing outside.
"Please don't be surprised, Mr. Augustine." The visiting Second Ring Wizard said with a beaming smile, "I am Bartolomeo Hayes, a wizard mentor at Quinn Joel University."
"I've come specifically to visit Breeder Augustine."
Locke was stunned for a moment, then calmly instructed the servants to attend to this Second Ring Wizard.
The two of them sat down at the long table in the living room.
Locke said curiously, "Lord Hayes, what business do you have coming to see me? What is worth you coming all the way from Quinn Joel University?"
Wizard Hayes smiled and said, "Actually, it wasn't a special trip. It just so happens that a medium-sized wizard organization nearby invited me to give a lecture, and I felt it was very close to Golden Crown Mountain, so I stopped by to meet you."
"I am actually here representing the second district journal, 'Life and Reproduction'."
Locke was stunned and blurted out, "Is there such a journal among the second district journals?"
Mainly because when he had Schneider help him submit papers before, he had also briefly scanned the names of the second district journals in Yunze Wetland.
There were a total of 46 various First Ring second district journals in Yunze Wetland.
But there didn't seem to be a 'Life and Reproduction'.
As soon as Locke said this, he immediately reacted and said, "I meant no disrespect, Lord Hayes."
Wizard Hayes waved his hand. The smile on his face was a bit awkward, but he still appeared easygoing. "This is indeed a problem for our 'Life and Reproduction'. To be honest, 'Life and Reproduction' is a journal that just recently advanced to the First Ring second district. It was founded by my teacher, Barbato—a young cadre wizard and a Third Ring Wizard."
"It was originally a third district journal for many years and only recently advanced to the second district."
Locke nodded slightly, thinking quickly: 'Youth Cadre Wizard is a Second Ring title. For a Sun Ring Wizard, it's considered a decent title, but for a Third Ring Wizard, it's merely ordinary.'
'The top-tier title for a Third Ring Wizard is Throne Wizard. Since the other party emphasized that his teacher is a Youth Cadre Wizard and a Third Ring Wizard, it means he's just an ordinary Third Ring Wizard.'
'A journal run by an ordinary Third Ring Wizard... it really will be difficult to climb the tiers in the early stages.'
For instance, Witch Yekaterina has her own journal, a Second Ring first district journal called "Volcanic Plants".
She didn't establish a First Ring journal.
Therefore, her students cannot submit to her journal; otherwise, her submission box would be flooded daily with papers from wizards of various True Knowledge Institutes.
Presumably for this reason, she didn't start a First Ring journal.
Locke had already guessed why the other party, as a Second Ring Wizard, would lower himself to seek out a mere One-Ring Wizard like him.
Wizard Hayes said, "It's like this. My teacher, Wizard Barbato, has always wanted to establish a First Ring first district journal to serve as a safety net for our lineage."
Wizard Hayes spoke quite openly.
Locke nodded slightly. Many journals were indeed the private domains of the students of various High-Ring Wizards; it was much easier for their students and friends to get published there.
Wizard Hayes smiled. "However, to raise a journal's tier, one needs influential, high-quality articles and excellent sources of submissions. To attract excellent sources, one needs credibility, and to have credibility, one needs excellent sources."
It was a closed loop.
Only by breaking this loop could a journal be established; otherwise, it would remain an ignored, low-quality publication.
Wizard Hayes said, "I know that 'Life and Reproduction' might seem beneath an excellent wizard like yourself, but I've still come to request a manuscript from you."
Locke frowned and said, "If I'm the first author, I only submit to tier 1, and only to a few top journals in tier 1."
Wizard Hayes said hurriedly, "Of course. Your corresponding author is Witch Yekaterina. Our journal wouldn't dare accept an article with a Lord of the Throne as the corresponding author..."
"Even before accepting it, we would find a way to confirm with the Lord of the Throne and only dare to include it after receiving consent."
Wizard Hayes said wearily, "You can't imagine how difficult it is for us to run a journal. If it were a top journal in the First Ring second district, it would be fine, but if a newly upgraded journal like ours dares to publish an article where a Throne is the corresponding author without their consent, it violates a certain unspoken rule."
"It's not that there haven't been journals in the past that tried to take shortcuts by riding on the coattails of a Throne. Without exception, those journals were boycotted by everyone, received no submissions, were ignored, and were eventually revoked by the White Wizard Association."
"But I've noticed, Breeder Augustine, that you previously seemed to have your students as first authors while you acted as the corresponding author for several submissions to second district journals."
"My goal is those articles you intend for second district journals."
Wizard Hayes looked at Locke tentatively.
The two looked at each other and smiled.
Wizard Hayes laughed. "Then let's not beat around the bush. My goal is those journals. I think this will also be very beneficial for you. Your purpose in publishing journals is to obtain contribution points, which can be exchanged for many things useful to you."
"For example, thirty thousand contribution points can be exchanged for a Colonial License for a medium-scale Plane. Of course, those Planes are generally ones that have already been developed many times."
"Thirty thousand contribution points requires 20 first district journal articles, but it can also be obtained through 38 second district journal articles." Wizard Hayes knew what Locke wanted most right now, because it was also what he had wanted most not long ago.
"Furthermore, the White Wizard Association stipulates that only contribution points obtained through journals can be used to exchange for a Colonial License."
"There are also strict limits on the ratio of first district journals, second district journals, and third district journals for a wizard wishing to exchange for a Colonial License."
"Fourth district journals don't count."
Locke listened as Wizard Hayes recited this knowledge as if it were his own family treasures.
He had already gradually learned most of what was being said.
But there was one point he truly hadn't known before.
That is, the Planes available for colonization through the Colonial License exchanged with contribution points were all Colonial Planes that had already been developed.
This made Locke frown.
During the process of Great Wizard Sura creating Great Magic for him, Great Wizard Sura and his ghostwriter had argued. Through that argument, Locke learned that once a wizard uses the resources of a world to advance, the world acquires part of their traits, and they acquire part of that world's traits.
Thus, for latecomers, the world is no longer pure.
This causes the latecomer's Great Magic to be slightly influenced by the personal traits of the first wizard to use that world.
Although this influence is very slight—so slight that most wizards can tolerate it—some wizards still care.
Especially for those wizards whose goal isn't just the Second Ring.
Great Magic is of vital importance, so for Locke, the world Plane used to construct Great Magic should ideally be a brand-new world that hasn't been touched by any wizard.
It turned out that even those Planes under the Colonial Licenses exchanged within the contribution point system were places that had already been developed by others.
Locke was momentarily dazed.
His desire for contribution points suddenly plummeted.
If a wizard publishes dozens of second district papers and over a dozen first district journal papers only to obtain such a Plane, then unless it's absolutely necessary, he might as well wait.
After all, now was not a time when "time waits for no one."
The White Wizard Society has an entire faculty system related to this, specifically used for allocating these types of resources.
He should be able to obtain the kind of resources he wanted.
Wizard Hayes didn't seem to notice Locke's distraction and continued, "And there's an advantage to submitting to our journal. Our journal has no seniority bias."
"Just as you submitters have no seniority bias, our journal has none either. Those manuscripts of yours that were rejected can be published directly in our journal."
Locke glanced at Wizard Hayes and thought for a moment. "But... I'd like to see the past submission information for 'Life and Reproduction'."
He at least had to make sure this journal wasn't a complete trap.
If an article with his name as the corresponding author were published in a journal filled with cronies, it would be bad for his reputation.
However, if it was truly as this Second Ring Wizard said—that the journal was founded by the Third Ring Wizard Barbato, who hoped to upgrade it to tier 1 and create convenience for their lineage—then cooperating with them wouldn't be a loss.
This way, neither side would have seniority bias.
Wizard Hayes showed a look of understanding and handed the prepared materials to Locke. "Have a look, Breeder Augustine."
"My teacher is a newly promoted Third Ring Wizard, so this journal has just been upgraded from the third district to the second district."
"I've been following my teacher since I was a Formal Wizard. After he promoted to a Third Ring Wizard, he immediately managed to get me a Colonial License for a medium-scale Plane. Thus, I also became a Second Ring Wizard."
Wizard Hayes smiled. "We have great ambitions; naturally, we are not people who seek petty gains."
After reviewing the materials, Locke confirmed that it was indeed an ascending journal, so he said, "Alright, Lord Hayes. I will consider submitting to 'Life and Reproduction' next time."
Wizard Hayes nodded and said happily, "Our journal is also preparing to become a tier 1 journal. We very much welcome young talents like Wizard Augustine to submit."
"As the Managing Editor of 'Life and Reproduction', I can promise you that our journal will always prioritize receiving your submissions and seriously consider them for publication."
Locke bowed to Wizard Hayes.
This was actually an exchange of value.
It meant he would consider submitting to 'Life and Reproduction', which currently lacked prestige, and in exchange, the journal would seriously consider articles with his name in the future and give them priority.
If luck was on their side and 'Life and Reproduction' became a tier 1 journal, his favor would still exist.
Then, as a corresponding author, he could obtain a slight privilege in this tier 1 journal.
This would become a form of accumulation for him.