772: Zalan Bailey Becoming a Debt Slave and the Moon of Evolution within the Forest Alliance Spell
In the laboratory of Group 2 in the Dune Plane at Golden Crown Mountain in Yunze Wetland, the climate of the entire Dune Plane had completely spiraled out of control due to the previous design of the Rose Council. Atmospheric pollution had further destroyed the ecology of the Dune Plane, causing it to deteriorate even more.
Zalan Bailey's original plan was to restore a certain amount of greenery to the Dune Plane to reverse its continuous deterioration and form a dual protection through greenery and atmospheric pollution. But now, with the environmental treatment never having been carried out, this plan had turned into an even worse situation for the Dune Plane.
Zalan Bailey himself bore a huge debt due to the massive indemnity claims from Golden Crown Mountain. After auctioning off all his assets and taking out many loans, he was still insolvent and directly became a Debt Slave, signing an indenture with the White Wizard Association Bank, one of the Five Major Banks.
The White Wizard Association Bank would dispatch a Debt Restructuring Committee to auction all his existing assets, including a Shop Alliance he had founded and his own labor for the next two hundred years.
In other words, he would have to work for the White Wizard Association Bank for free for two hundred years before he could pay off his debt and escape his status as a Debt Slave.
At this moment, Zalan Bailey had shackles on his ankles and a second-ring magic item from the Protection School around his neck. At the same time, his entire body was under numerous sealing spells from the Protection School. Even his Great Magic, Sea Buckthorn Ecology, was locked by the magic chains of the Protection School. If he made even the slightest suspicious move, all the magic in his body would erupt instantly to suppress him.
Wizard Sith stood beside Locke and said, "Many laboratories in the Dune Plane are still usable. I am contacting some of my friends to come and handle the environmental pollution in the Dune Plane. Of course, the academy will also send professional environmental treatment wizards over; I heard they are ecological restoration engineering experts from the Hand of the Jungle."
Wizard Sith sighed.
"Back then, I was truly blinded by greed. It seems that even a Sun Ring Wizard, once controlled by their own greed, will become unable to control themselves."
"I fully expected Zalan Bailey's plan to be the fastest way for me to overcome the technical blockade of the Rose Council, but I didn't expect that it was also a trap."
Locke's true body stood beside him, also feeling emotional. Who would have thought that Zalan Bailey was actually a spy?
Obviously, Zalan Bailey alone was not enough to cover the losses of the Dune Plane. Wizard Sith didn't dare ask Witch Catherine to cover it, so he had to cover the remaining part himself.
Additionally, Golden Crown Mountain would bear a portion, so the problem was considered contained.
Wizard Sith said regretfully, "I didn't expect that Zalan Bailey was only able to become a Second Ring Wizard because he received support from the wizards of the Rose Council. Of course, he himself didn't notice anything unusual."
"He just thought he had encountered a series of fortuitous events, making it very simple to become a Second Ring Wizard. He didn't realize he had become a pawn in the hands of High-Ring Wizards."
"Those so-called fortuitous events were all things that turned him into a pawn."
Locke comforted Group Leader Siss, saying, "Group Leader, at least experts from the Hand of the Jungle are coming, so the Dune Plane won't completely collapse."
Group Leader Siss nodded and said, "That is true. Although I usually hate those wizards from the Hand of the Jungle, at a critical moment, only the ecological experts from that organization can help me stop this current vicious cycle."
"The energy of the magic tide in the Dune Plane is currently declining. I originally wanted to draw from the Imaginary Sea of the Dune Plane and fill it into the physical world to compensate for the decline of the magic tide and the ecological collapse. But after thinking it over, I felt it still wouldn't work. It's better to wait obediently for the ecological restoration experts from the Hand of the Jungle to arrive."
Group Leader Siss said, "I've been severely screwed over because of Zalan Bailey. I've lost at least thirty million magic stones."
"This is still the academy being merciful... the main debt is being borne by Zalan Bailey, so he needs to perform compulsory labor for Golden Crown Mountain for two hundred years."
Locke looked at Group Leader Siss and asked strangely, "Wasn't it the direct bank of the White Wizard Association that lent him the loan and compensated for his debt?"
Group Leader Siss said, "Golden Crown Mountain believes he still has some labor value, so they paid the White Wizard Association to buy his debt contract."
Locke nodded. This was equivalent to Golden Crown Mountain buying Wizard Zalan Bailey's debt. Thus, after a full circle, Golden Crown Mountain became Zalan Bailey's creditor, and because Zalan Bailey went bankrupt due to debt, he had to work for Golden Crown Mountain for free for two hundred years.
After all, the mess he created was too big.
He could also be considered pitiful.
No, actually, both Wizard Sith and Wizard Zalan Bailey had fallen victim to the academic war between the Rose Witch and the Red Dragon Witch. Both of them had to bear the losses of the Dune Plane.
Locke couldn't help but feel shocked and wary of this situation.
As his magic level increased, the projects he worked on in the future would become larger and larger, and the greater his ability, the greater the transformation he could effect on the surrounding environment.
Consequently, the responsibility he bore would be greater.
Therefore, he should take the lesson from Wizard Zalan Bailey and Wizard Sith as a warning.
When performing ecological transformation in the future, he must follow the principle of minimal interference and must not be eager for quick success, causing long-term destruction for the sake of short-lived achievements.
Clearly, Wizard Zalan Bailey fell into the trap because of stupidity, while Wizard Sith fell into it because of too much haste, combined with a lack of careful scrutiny.
Wizard Sith nodded to Locke.
"Locke, fortunately, I still have a talent like you in Group 2. From now on, you can receive priority support for all resources within my Group 2. Do whatever you want to do."
"I will find someone to handle the environmental pollution in the Dune Plane. As for the water source issue, I have already solved it. I have talked with the Storm Tower, and they can restore the water supply for us."
"It's just that our base can no longer plant Desert Roses."
Wizard Sith said, "I will arrange for the apprentices to harvest and sell the currently planted Desert Roses as soon as possible. Locke, you can look for some drought-resistant economic desert crops that can be planted in the underground base of my Group 2."
Wizard Sith said, "I still insist that if the research of Group 2 is to be better, it must be based on pursuing the commercial market. Only with enough horizontal funding can we better conduct our Group 2 research and complete the tasks assigned to me and you by the Throne Lord."
Wizard Sith had clearly begun to treat Locke as someone of the same class now that he had become a Second Ring Wizard.
Both Sun Ring Wizards and ordinary Second Ring Wizards are in the Second Ring stage; at most, one is an ordinary person and the other is a powerful person.
But they had indeed both arrived at the same social stratum.
Wizard Sith left quickly.
On the other side, Wizard Zalan Bailey, who was wearing magic shackles and working for Group 2 for free, looked at Locke with complex eyes. After Wizard Sith left, he asked Locke in a raspy voice, "Locke, in the competition between you and me, you won."
Locke glanced at him.
Wizard Zalan Bailey suddenly spoke and asked, "Locke, you and I were never enemies, were we? I was just a pawn of the Rose Council. Only now do I know that I was within the Rose Council's calculations from beginning to end."
"And you are an existence that the Rose Council has never been able to control. Everything about you makes the Rose Council tremble with fear."
Locke turned around, about to leave the fifteenth underground floor of Group 2 and return to his office on the thirtieth underground floor. The reason he came here was that he currently had priority usage rights for Group 2.
This was equivalent to being able to use all thirty floors of magic fields in the laboratory at any time.
Since Desert Roses were banned from planting, all the magic fields here had to be cleared.
Locke felt he could plant various pineapple Magic Plants while he was at it. Anyway, Air Pineapple-type Magic Plants were all drought-resistant Magic Plants, and it wouldn't be excessive to use public resources for private use.
At this time, Wizard Zalan Bailey spoke again in a raspy voice, "Locke, actually, I've also gained something. Looking back at all my previous experiences now, I realize how much I didn't know the heights of the heavens and the depths of the earth."
"That soul decline period was too terrifying."
"If the Rose Witch hadn't given me a secret push, I wouldn't have been able to cross it at all. Like a person stuck in a swamp, unable to break free even with all their strength."
"So, having become a Second Ring Wizard, I've already gained. Just being a Debt Slave of Golden Crown Mountain for two hundred years... Golden Crown Mountain is my alma mater after all, so they won't make things too difficult for me."
"I'm already considered lucky. I'm very grateful for the mercy Throne Lord Yekaterina showed me. If it weren't for her intervention, I'm afraid I would be even more miserable. But my future will likely stop here. Two hundred years from now, I will definitely have regressed rather than progressed."
"After all, I am a Debt Slave, not a faculty member or student of Golden Crown Mountain."
Wizard Zalan Bailey pursed his lips and said to Locke, "But I'm still not reconciled to being used as a pawn by the Rose Council without even knowing it, completely falling into their grasp."
"Locke, I am not reconciled."
Locke walked out of the fifteenth underground floor. From the moment Wizard Zalan Bailey targeted him and then targeted Witch Mason, he had no good feelings toward him.
However, Locke also felt a bit more wary of the Rose Council in his heart.
He returned to the thirtieth underground floor, and then he received a message sent from the Silent Grail Committee.
It was a set of spatial coordinates.
Three dimensions of space, plus one dimension of time, plus one dimension of void coordinates.
These five-dimensional coordinates could determine the location of that medium-scale world within the Endless Void.
The committee chairman told him:
'Dear champion of this session, Locke, this is your prize—an undeveloped Plane. The Silent Witch specifically gave instructions for us to pick a good one for you.'
'The intensity of this medium-scale Plane is quite strong among medium-scale Planes. Of course, because of this, the natives of this world might be very powerful.'
'Champion Locke, you must be prepared. A thing like a Colonial Plane can be a huge springboard if used well, but if used poorly, it will make you go bankrupt.'
'The previous champion, Rush, used the resources of the Colonial Plane he obtained, developing it personally without letting the Plane's resources fall into the hands of outsiders, and was thus able to become a Star Ring Wizard within three years.'
The chairman of the tournament committee, Wizard Tong Tatar, seemed to pay close attention to the movements of the champions and contestants of each session.
Locke replied to the message.
'Thank you, Chairman and Silent Witch.'
'But did it actually take Wizard Rush three years to become a Star Ring Wizard?'
Wizard Tatar replied: 'Yes, three years is already very fast. Ordinary Second Ring Wizards can take anywhere from thirty to a hundred years to become a Star Ring Wizard. Some even have insufficient talent, insufficient resources, no background, and haven't met a benefactor to pull them up, so they stay as ordinary Second Ring Wizards forever.'
'You can ask your teacher how to become a Second Ring Star Ring Wizard; I won't overstep. In short, you still need to read papers—reading too few papers is useless—and you must have resources. Only with the resources of an entire undeveloped medium-scale world can you quickly become a Star Ring Wizard and skip the vast amount of time required for accumulation.'
'Generally, a champion of the Silent Grail can become a Moon Ring Wizard within ten years. Wizard Rush had other fortuitous encounters, which is why he was able to become a Sun Ring Wizard.'
"Between a Moon Ring Wizard and a Sun Ring Wizard, there is a massive threshold for advancement. It is a difficult task for everyone."
After a while, Wizard Tatar sent a message: 'But it's not necessarily certain; the advancement speed of the contestants in each Silent Grail session is getting faster and faster. Take Wizard Chad from the last session, for example; according to past conventions, he should still be a Star Ring Wizard, but when I saw him last time, he was already a Moon Ring Wizard.'
'He must have had his own fortuitous encounters as well.'
'This can be attributed to the increasingly rapid development of magic recently, with more and more resources available, and... as the magic tide upgrades, the difficulty of advancement in the Eastern Border Region is also decreasing. For your generation, because of the Demon Ascension Plan, the advancement difficulty is decreasing even further.'
'You've really caught a good time.'
Locke expressed his understanding.
At the same time, he blinked his right eye. Beneath the twenty thousand acres of sea surface within the demiplane inside his right eye, an old element conversion pool had been installed. Consequently, the magic tide of the entire demiplane had been forcibly raised, allowing it to withstand the power of his Ancient Tree of Life.
Locke looked toward his ten thousand acres of forest.
Because he had superimposed the Moon Fa Realm onto the Forest Sanctuary, the area of his Forest Sanctuary had upgraded from five thousand acres to ten thousand acres.
Apprentice-level treants were everywhere here. These apprentice-level treants were numerous, with thirty-seven different species, all of which he had obtained from the Silent Plane.
Meanwhile, the First Ring tree-type Magic Plants here included Gem Holly, Clear Sky Birch, Beech, Sentinel Holly, Thorn Queen, and so on; there were a total of one thousand First Ring tree-type Magic Plants.
As for the Ancient Tree of Life, which was part of the forest core, it possessed an astonishing Second Ring magic pressure.
If not for the insufficient resources of this demiplane, the magic pressure of the Ancient Tree of Life would not be just over ten thousand as it was now, but should have been sixteen thousand and one points of magic pressure, the same as his main body's magic pressure.
This forest already fully possessed the style of an ancient-era forest.
Its total magic pressure was unimaginable; if it continued to expand, there was no telling to what extent it could grow.
"Currently, as the Forest Sanctuary expands, the more Eternal Defense Fields I can engrave, and the greater my total magic pressure becomes."
Locke thought to himself: "Currently, the number of Eternal Defense Field Spell Models I have engraved is seven, while the current forest should be able to support the engraving of fourteen Spell Models. As the total magic pressure of the forest swells, it's expected that the number of engravable models will also increase."
Previously, one reason he had stopped increasing his selectable number of Eternal Defense Fields was that having the two great Mist's Powers was already enough.
Another major reason was that the seven Eternal Defense Field Spell Models at the time had already reached the upper limit of his Forest Sanctuary.
Before he became a Second Ring Wizard and the Ancient Tree of Life broke through to the Second Ring, the strength of his Forest Sanctuary had reached its limit.
Therefore, he had only engraved seven Spell Models during the First Ring stage.
Even if he had forcibly engraved Spell Models back then, he probably could have only engraved about nine.
Nine should have been the upper limit.
This was restricted by the ratio of a wizard's own total magic pressure to the forest's total magic pressure. Once the forest's total magic pressure exceeded the wizard's own magic pressure by too much...
The wizard would no longer be the core of the forest; instead, their status would continuously weaken, turning into that of an ordinary tree within the forest.
Therefore, there was actually an upper limit to the number of spell engravings for the Forest Sanctuary during the First Ring stage.
Unless the wizard didn't care about their status dropping to that of an ordinary tree in the forest and expanded the forest at will.
The forest has no upper limit, but the wizard's own growth does.
If not for the Ancient Tree of Life, Locke estimated that during the First Ring stage, he could have actually only possessed six spell slots for the Eternal Defense Field.
At this moment, a moon appeared above the Forest Sanctuary; it was exactly the Moon of Evolution.
Not only that, but this moon also appeared above Witch Williams's Forest Sanctuary and Wizard Albert's Forest Sanctuary.
Other people's Great Magic was within a medium-scale Plane because they used the power of a Plane's core world to prove their Second Ring status.
But he had used a single leaf from the World Tree of the Natural Prime Force Plane to prove his Second Ring status.
Consequently, his Great Magic had undergone a slight special change.
Locke looked up toward the sky above the Forest Sanctuary.
'I didn't expect that my act of wanting to fulfill Wizard Wizard Lewis's last wish by developing the Forest Alliance Spell would actually allow me to receive such a reward.'
'I am not following a normal Great Magic route at all right now.'
Locke looked at the moon in the sky and began to feel troubled.
"Normal Great Magic is performed in a medium-scale world using a world stone. But I..."
He took out a world stone, placed it in his palm, and gave a bitter smile.
"What does this count as? I didn't use a world stone at all; instead, I used a leaf from the World Tree, which is very similar to a world stone. I didn't prove a Plane's Second Ring; I proved the Endless Void's Second Ring. Logically speaking, my Great Magic should appear in the void."
"But I am personally within the void."
"So, my Great Magic has become such a strange existence, existing only within my own Forest Alliance Spell."
Because he hadn't used a world stone to achieve Great Magic, the physical entity of his Great Magic actually didn't exist in any medium-scale Plane.
Instead, it existed in the present Wizard World, because this place is part of the Endless Void.
He had proven the Great Magic of the Natural Prime Force Plane, and this place was part of the void's nature.
Therefore, he could only follow the flow and let his Moon of Evolution be anchored upon the Forest Sanctuary, and through the Forest Alliance Spell, it appeared above all Forest Sanctuaries.
In essence, this meant that all wizards who studied his lineage of the Forest Sanctuary became one of his ecological communities, becoming part of his Great Magic.
Locke didn't know if this would work.
Regardless, the current situation was strange.
"As long as I let more wizards use the Forest Sanctuary to become Official Wizards, I can make more Official Wizards... become my ecological community."
Locke said with a strange expression: "It seems I've walked onto a unique path. Next time I find an opportunity, I should still have a chat with my teacher, Witch Catherine."
"To see what insights she has."
Back when he was at the Wizard Apprentice stage, because he had used too many Rose Jades, his mental power had been tainted by the ether element, making his mental power somewhat heavier than that of an ordinary wizard.
Later, it was only through long-term consumption of Golden Crown Mountain's wizard tea, as well as taking some potions and the special magic peaches of Golden Crown Mountain, that he managed to purge this side effect.
Therefore, Locke had a relatively high tolerance for side effects produced by wizards researching magic.
This was considered a risk that needed to be undertaken in the pursuit of truth.
'Speaking of which, during this period, I should use the magic field in the Group 2 laboratory to plant a large number of pineapple Magic Plants and utilize the equipment here to complete the design of my Second Ring Wizard shoes.'
Locke thought to himself: 'I'll also take this opportunity to help Witch Mason and the other two complete their applications for the first-class fund.'
'After all, if you use someone else's labor and don't give them benefits for a long time, even the best of friends will harbor resentment. To maintain a team's efficiency, you must provide tangible benefits. I'm not a wizard who lacks resources; it's better to distribute some real things to them.'
'Oh, I almost forgot about the Ghost Saint Church matter. I still need to visit Witch Stephania.'
At that moment, Locke's clone in the Southeast Corner Region looked at the convoy he was following. He heard the seven Vaporization Wizards in this convoy discussing that the Southeast Corner Region's Black Wizard Alliance was holding its latest strategic meeting at Verdantia University.
Locke found it strange.
The headquarters of the White Wizard Association in the Southeast Corner Region seemed to be located at Verdantia University.
Could it be that after he left the Southeast Corner Region, the Black Wizards had already conquered Verdantia University and occupied the White Wizard Association headquarters there?
'No, the Black Wizard Alliance certainly doesn't have that kind of power. There must be an external force intervening in the situation here. I wonder if Verdantia University has fallen, and what happened to Four Seasons Garden and Lilith's Cottage. Patty was likely captured into this convoy for this reason. But why hasn't the White Wizard Association here requested aid from the White Wizard Association headquarters?'
Locke recalled the wizard law; he had previously flipped through some parts of the wizard law and read some of the simpler chapters.
Right, the White Wizard Association branches in various places maintain independence, much like an independent country.
But if they request aid from the White Wizard Association headquarters, it represents that they are no longer capable of controlling the local Wizard Land. They would need to pay a large amount in taxes and undergo asset restructuring, which would bring about powerful jurisdiction from multiple departments of the headquarters, such as the Tax Bureau.
So, under normal circumstances, unless it's a last resort, a White Wizard Association branch will not apply for the headquarters to intervene in the matter.
There was no difference between that and applying for bankruptcy to the headquarters.
It would mean that all interests of that Wizard Land would be completely dominated by the Association headquarters for a long time!
Locke followed behind the convoy. Since this convoy was going to hold a strategic meeting of the Black Wizard Alliance, he might as well follow them and participate a bit.
To see who had intervened in the Southeast Corner Region.
Of course, the primary goal was still to search for the Ghost Saint Church and find a way to obtain the magic performed by that female Ghost Saint leader back then.
That magic had provided him with the inspiration for the Styx Imaginary Root server. He absolutely had to obtain it; it was very likely a key factor in whether he could conquer the imaginary root.
Locke looked toward Patty at the very back of the magic carriage.
"Patty right now... seems like a dead person, but also seems like she's not. I see, is she undergoing a blood race transformation? The Black Wizards have forcibly turned her into a blood thrall."
"Patty, you've ended up in quite a miserable state."
At this moment, in the last carriage of the magic carriage convoy, Patiasa, as a second-class apprentice witch, was serving the number one ranked wizard candidate seed of the Blood Curse Court, Grem Stein, with a bitter face.
Patty looked at the tyrannical and temperamental Grem Stein, her heart filled with bitterness. She stepped forward in the carriage and said, "Lord Stein, the magic materials you need for the ceremony have all been prepared... they are right here."
She held a tray, upon which were the beating hearts of various creatures.
Stein gave a cold laugh, picked up a still-beating bull heart from the middle of the tray, and put it in his mouth to chew.
"Tastes good."
"I wonder what the heart of a lowly and weak White Wizard witch like you tastes like."
Patty's face turned pale, and she hurriedly knelt down while holding the tray.
"Lord Stein... I've served Official Wizard Potion Masters at Verdantia University... I know a lot about identifying medicinal ingredients, I studied herb identification... Oh, and I know many types of potions. Having a blood thrall like me will surely give you a greater advantage over the other wizard candidate seeds.