A week later, in the Rose Council region, Locke and Daniel hired two magic carriages to enter an important wizard town within the Rose Council region, Rose Town.
Although Rose Town was just a town, it was beautiful beyond description, filled with clusters of flowers, with rose-type Magic Plants everywhere. Inside Rose Town, there were magic fountains everywhere; in other words, various special types of Spirit Breath were erupting everywhere.
Not many people lived in this wizard town, but they were basically High-Ring Wizards of the Second Ring or above. It was a rare tourist destination in the Eastern Border Region, where every inch of land was worth its weight in gold.
And the academic exchange meeting of Sun Ring Wizard Patrick Finch was held here. Some students of the Rose Council were already standing at the town entrance to receive Sun Ring Wizards and Moon Ring Wizards. Although Locke and Daniel both received invitation letters, they were not Sun Ring or Moon Ring Wizards, so unlike the other Moon Ring and Sun Ring Wizards, they didn't have a crowd of students coming to welcome them as soon as their magic carriage entered the town.
However, when Locke got off the magic carriage, he surprisingly found a First-Class Wizard Apprentice student from the Rose Council already waiting below the carriage to serve him.
Locke glanced at him in surprise.
Because the academic exchange meeting convened by Patrick Finch, the Sun Ring Wizard, was just a meeting held with his personal influence; he didn't expect that students would be assigned to serve him.
Daniel looked at Locke enviously and said, "As expected of a Second Ring Great Wizard. A Crystallized Wizard like me doesn't have a student assigned to receive me individually."
Locke said, "It's just some insignificant details."
The Rose Council student bowed to Locke and said, "Hello, Mr. Augustus. Teacher Patrick heard you were coming and specifically asked me to receive you and lead you to your seat at the meeting."
"This way, please."
Locke nodded slightly.
"Alright. Lead the way."
He and Daniel followed.
At the entrance of an auditorium in the center of Rose Town, it was first planted with rose flowers, and then there was a huge Crystal Rose at the entrance of this auditorium.
Locke looked up at this Crystal Rose, his expression changing slightly.
"Fake flowers?"
"Is this the epoch-making new technology, the eternal flower, that Sun Ring Wizard Patrick mentioned?"
Locke heard some clapping. He looked back and saw a wizard who looked chubby with a face full of smiles, looking like a fat penguin, walking towards him.
"As expected of Locke Augustine."
"You are quite famous in Golden Crown Mountain and the Rose Council. A great reputation indeed follows a worthy man. That's right, this is a fake flower."
Daniel glanced at the exaggerated number of badges worn on the chest of this penguin-like wizard and quickly bowed to him.
"Hello, Lord Patrick Finch."
Locke also nodded and bowed to him.
After all, both were Second Ring Wizards, so the level gap was not that large.
Master Patrick Finch smiled at Locke and said, "Real flowers perish easily. Only fake flowers can be eternal. But if you say this is completely a fake flower, it's not quite right either."
"This is the Magic Plant Crystallization technology I invented."
Locke immediately began to think.
This sounded like some kind of technology for preserving Magic Plants. The Rose Floriography of the Rose Council always had a problem: the magical bouquets they made were likely unable to be preserved for long without the careful care of a Breeder.
Therefore, the Rose Council had been investing in Magic Plant preservation technology.
At this time, Wizard Brandy arrived with two wizards from the Advanced True Knowledge Institute of Golden Crown Mountain to attend this academic conference.
Wizard Brandy looked surprised, then looked at Locke with excitement.
"Locke, I didn't expect you to come after all. I saw you didn't respond to me several times and thought you weren't coming."
Master Patrick Finch looked at Brandy, then at Locke, and then smiled, "I am truly gratified to see such excellent young talents in this meeting."
"I know you are all about to start applying for the special grant. That's why I invited everyone here to brainstorm and give everyone a good development direction."
Master Patrick Finch bent down and picked up a Magic Plant from the ground. He pointed his finger, and the entire Magic Plant gradually began to dismantle, leaving only certain key nodes. Then, starting from these key nodes, the entire Magic Plant turned into crystal.
Beside him, Wizard Brandy and the two other wizards from the Advanced True Knowledge Institute of Golden Crown Mountain were staring wide-eyed.
Master Patrick Finch held this small crystal flower and unexpectedly cast an Accelerated Growth spell on it.
Under this Botany Spell Model, the crystal flower in his hand actually grew rapidly, just like a living Magic Plant.
Master Patrick Finch put away the Magic Plant, sighed, and said quite mysteriously, "Crystallization is just another way of displaying life."
Quite a few wizards had already gathered around.
Master Patrick Finch stood between Locke and Brandy and said to them, "Both of you are excellent Breeders. Not just you two, there are many excellent Breeders present."
"In the process of researching Magic Plant preservation technology, I accidentally discovered this Magic Plant Crystallization technology. Crystallized Magic Plants are still alive, and they can still grow! This academic exchange meeting is to introduce this technical research route to everyone and call upon talented Breeders to enter this field."
Master Patrick Finch said, "Imagine a Magic Plant that lives forever, surviving without soil, sunlight, or water. What kind of scene would that be? Of course, the current crystallization technology is still far from reaching that level."
Master Patrick Finch said, "I won't deceive you. For many reasons, although the current crystallized Magic Plants won't die, the crystals will shatter. There are still many technical difficulties to solve."
The crystal Magic Plant in his hand suddenly shattered and disappeared into thin air.
"Therefore, I invite all young Breeder geniuses to enter this field together. We will tackle this technical route together. This will be a blessing for our Yunze Wetland."
Many wizards present applauded.
Wizard Brandy's eyes also lit up as he looked greedily at the Magic Plant Crystallization technology.
"So, how exactly can we crystallize Magic Plants while maintaining their vitality?"
Master Patrick Finch said, "I will talk about this at the meeting later. Everyone is about to apply for projects recently, don't you think this is a good direction?"
"Magic Plant preservation technology has always been a hot research direction. Wizard Augustine, if your Magic Plants could be crystallized and made into Wizard Shoes to be sold, wouldn't the product quality be improved? And this wizard from Magic Nexus City, if your piranha Magic Plants could be crystallized into an eternal crystal piranha forest, wouldn't that greatly increase the power of your Spell Models?"
At this time, a wizard asked a question in a cold voice.
"Then there is a question. Since Master Patrick Finch's technology is so good, why don't you research it yourself instead of sharing it with us?"
Wizard Brandy turned to look at the person who spoke, and his face immediately showed surprise.
"Zeno, you're here. And Droma. I knew this place would attract you."
"After all, everyone wants good things."
Locke and Zeno glanced at each other. Zeno was wearing a White Wizard robe and had a buzz cut; he looked like a rather thin young wizard.
Wizard Brandy greeted him, and Locke also nodded slightly to him, but Zeno seemed to ignore them, staring instead at Master Patrick Finch.
Master Patrick Finch said, "First, I am considering the overall level of Botany and breeding in Yunze Wetland. Second, this field is too large, and I alone... simply don't have enough funds to take it all. So I want to bring you all in."
"To put it simply, I'm short on money and people. This is a brand-new field. If done well, the strength of our Yunze Wetland will greatly increase."
Master Patrick Finch said, "Alright, everyone, that's all for now. I know everyone is looking forward to me explaining the Magic Plant Crystallization technology. I will discuss all of this in detail at the upcoming academic exchange meeting."
Master Patrick Finch nodded to Locke and Wizard Brandy.
"Young Breeder geniuses, you are the future of this discipline."
He quickly left with his students behind him.
Wizard Brandy looked at Master Patrick Finch with admiration.
"When will I be able to become such a master Breeder?"
"He is my goal."
A flash of greed crossed his eyes. He felt that the Arctic Ice Peach in his hand was no longer appealing, and only this Magic Plant Crystallization technology was the future.
He said to Locke, "Locke, I told you that you should have come. Did you see that just now? The crystal Magic Plant was actually still alive and could grow. Not to mention anything else, this point alone has already sparked heated discussion."
"After this academic conference, I'm afraid related research will immediately emerge."
"We need to speed up as much as possible."
"If we miss it, we might be left behind by the times. In the future, Magic Plant Crystallization should be a very hot direction for Magic Plant breeding."
Many First Ring Breeders and Second Ring Breeders were discussing the scene just now.
Magic Plant Crystallization was not unusual.
The key point was that the Magic Plant crystal could continue to grow and was still a living organism. This meant that once this technology matured, it might really change the current situation.
Some were secretly guessing that Master Patrick Finch was laying the groundwork to become a Third Ring Wizard, which is why he made this direction public—because he wanted to perfect it to help him become a Third Ring Wizard.
Wizard Droma's eyes also flickered, and he was moved.
Beside Locke, Daniel whispered to him, "I checked Master Patrick Finch's information and found that he is a very good person with a good background. His students and colleagues all have nothing but praise for him. I'm afraid this technology is real."
"Could it be that he wants to become a Third Ring Wizard and needs to perfect this direction as soon as possible? Now most Third Ring Wizards have gone to the Genesis Academic Conference to discuss the future of the Wizard World."
"This is indeed an opportunity for him."
"Locke, what do you think? If you enter this technical direction, I think it will be very promising."
Locke frowned.
"Let's go to the meeting first."
He didn't have much of a mental stir. After all, his recent research direction had long been decided; the special grant project would mostly fall on Ancestral Evolution.
After completing the special grant project, he still had to study the resonance evolution of Magic Plants and 'humanity'.
Without a very good reason, how could he suddenly change his research direction?
Wizard Daniel said with expectation, "True, let's listen to the Great Wizard's lecture first. This lecture has invited many researchers from the Advanced True Knowledge Institute of Golden Crown Mountain. These people are all your competitors this year."
Locke nodded slightly.
At the same time, he kept an eye on the movements of Melchior Magic Step and Solas Light Foot (30k). At this moment, both of them should have started hosting their themed events.
And Witch Scarlett should have already started exerting her influence.
Locke used the Ganoderma Magic Plant to open Alsace's back-end interface and discovered that the pre-sale numbers for his Magic Plants were skyrocketing... Over at the back-end of Solas Lightfoot's themed event, Solas Lightfoot had also chosen a wizard town. The wizards in this town were the traditional producers for Solas Lightfoot and their descendants; the entire town was named Solas Town.
It was the birthplace of Wizard Solas and currently one of the places in the Yunze Wetland with the most magic shoemakers.
Currently, the Solas Lightfoot event was reaching its peak. It should have been the moment where the ten major traditional wizard universities or independent wizard exploration teams from the Yunze Wetland they had previously negotiated with successfully signed a large batch of orders for second ring wizard shoes.
But at this step, things were indeed stuck.
Manager Holm rushed to the back-end and asked the chief Second Ring designer of Solas Lightfoot in a low voice, "What happened?"
The chief Second Ring designer's expression was unsightly.
"It's almost time for these star exploration teams to take the stage and announce the signing of ten-million-magic-stone contracts. However, these exploration teams are refusing to sign contracts with us for ordinary second ring wizard shoes. They have another product in mind."
Manager Holm's expression turned grim.
"Is it a product from Melchior Magic Step?"
The chief Second Ring designer shook his head slightly. "It's Augustus."
Manager Holm was suddenly amused, a hint of a smile appearing on his face.
"Augustus?"
"Did I hear that right? Their second ring wizard shoes can only compete on quantity, not quality. Once we announce our promotional event, they won't even be able to move quantity."
"I remember it was called something like Great Blood Wave Wizard Shoes. I had people test those shoes long ago; they're fine in the Blood River Basin, but there are issues in other regions. Our clients conduct dangerous void explorations; there's no room for error. The opportunity cost is higher than any other cost."
"They have a very high preference for quality."
This was precisely why second ring wizard shoes were the foundation of the wizard shoe market in the Yunze Wetland.
Because only Second Ring Wizards have such a massive demand for void exploration.
The Second Ring chief designer of Solas Light Foot (30k) looked incredibly grim. "No, it's exactly the opposite. For some reason, Locke Augustine's Magic Plant breeding technical level has improved very rapidly. In a short period, he has ascended a massive level."
"Take a look at these Magic Plant traits."
Manager Holm looked at the data charts handed over by the chief designer with curiosity. His expression changed slightly because, according to the data, Locke's second pair of second ring wizard shoes, priced at two million magic stones, had performance very close to the best version of Solas Lightfoot's ordinary second ring wizard shoes.
The version of second ring wizard shoes they were pushing this time was the [Radiant Messenger], which was made with special material threads and could enter various extreme environments.
But looking at the various data tests on paper, the performance of the Radiant Messenger at five million magic stones a pair was comprehensively lower than the Magic Plant performance of the golden dragon claw air pineapple at two million magic stones a pair.
Manager Holm's eyes widened.
"Wait, how did he do it? Half a year ago, he could only design a barely decent pair of second ring wizard shoes. In just half a year, can the performance of the Wizard Shoes he designed personally catch up to the shoes designed by our best designers?"
The chief Second Ring Wizard shoe designer added helplessly.
"It's not the best. Radiant Messenger isn't the best one designed by our Shop Alliance. It wasn't even selected for the White Wizard Association's recommended equipment list."
Many wizards from the exploration teams in the back-end glanced sideways at them, and these teams were buzzing with discussion.
Clearly, they had been dissatisfied with Solas Lightfoot's harvesting behavior for a long time, and now, regarding this matter, it had completely exploded.
Manager Holm quickly forced a smile.
"Our chief designer is blunt; he didn't mean it that way. Radiant Messenger will soon be on the White Wizard Association's Second Ring Wizard shoe recommendation list. Please rest assured on this point."
A male wizard who was clearly a Storm Master with a scar on his face cold-snorted. He wore a wizard robe with Storm Tower patterns, and his whole body emitted an aura of iron and blood.
"Do we not know whether it's on the list or not? Let us put it this way: the price of the Golden Dragon Claw Wizard Shoes is only at the level of Vicos, but the quality is comparable to your Solas Lightfoot, and there's no subsequent annual maintenance and preservation fee. Why wouldn't we choose Augustus?"
Manager Holm suddenly put on a confident smile and picked up the data in his hand—one sheet for the Golden Dragon Claw and one for the Radiant Messenger.
"Did I hear that right, Moon Ring Wizard of the Storm Tower—Wizard Storm Claw? How could a world-conquest expert with your prestige choose a wizard shop whose brand has just come out, is very small in scale, and doesn't even have a single store or supply chain of its own?"
"In terms of turnover and various data, Solas Lightfoot is not something a small Shop Alliance can compare to. Choosing a big brand is very reliable, whether it's after-sales service or quality maintenance."
Manager Holm said, "Radiant Messenger is made using special [Cloud-Light Silkworm Silk], which can make our foot strength even stronger. The key is that our product has extensive combat experience after design and production. Everyone, please look; this is the performance record of entering a medium-to-large-scale world."
That Wizard Storm Claw was sitting on a chair in the back-end with his legs crossed. He suddenly gave a cold laugh. He had always been used to being arrogant and tyrannical in the Storm Tower; facing Manager Holm's soft rebuff, he was naturally provoked directly.
"Combat records? If your Solas Lightfoot has them, his Augustus has them too. They have actual experience fighting against the God Race."
Manager Holm's heart skipped a beat.
"God Race? Which God Race?"
Those God Races in the Great Void were all very difficult to deal with and were enemies of the Wizard Civilizations.
Using the God Race for combat testing?
Manager Holm found it strange. Could it be that Golden Crown Mountain had given augustus wizard shoes special resource subsidies? Otherwise, where would Augustus get the resources to use God Race opponents for testing?
Before Manager Holm could react, the Sun Ring exploration team leader from [Oak Paradise], a medium-to-large-scale Wizard Academy in the Rose Council region, spoke up: "We don't all want to buy augustus wizard shoes either. After all, it is indeed a new brand, and the other party currently only has one Second Ring Wizard shoe super-item. So we are planning to replace our exploration team's ordinary second ring wizard shoes with Augustus's to give them a try. The rest of the Wizard Shoes will still be purchased from Solas Lightfoot."
Another exploration team leader discussed in a low voice: "I heard that the Black Giant Hummingbird Wizard Shoes are also a super-item for First Ring Wizard Shoes and are currently the best First Ring Wizard Shoes in the Yunze Wetland. It's just that before, to maintain cooperation with Solas and for team members to adapt to tactics, we didn't want to have a bunch of different brands of Wizard Shoes in the team, so we didn't get them."
"Looking at it now, we should get some to try out."
Manager Holm felt his body go cold as a massive pressure appeared on his shoulders.
The fury of Solas Lightfoot's shareholders and board of directors... the fury of the Throne Lord... the fury of Wizard Hades... Manager Holm gritted his teeth and said, "But after all..."
He looked toward the star exploration team from the Rose Council, the student of Witch Lana—the Moon Ring Wizard, Witch Luna.
This wizard had recently led an exploration team alone and conquered a medium-to-large-scale plane. Her momentum was at its peak, which was why she had been invited.
However, this Witch Luna frowned and shook her head slightly.
White Wizards all prioritized interests.
The cooperation between Solas Lightfoot and the exploration teams was more like friends gathered together temporarily for profit, so they would also scatter because of profit.
The exploration teams that Solas Lightfoot sponsored themselves didn't have the prestige and ability that these star exploration teams had.
It was hard to convince the public.
Witch Luna pondered: "The golden dragon claw air pineapple Wizard Shoes are indeed more in line with our team's interests. Vicos's price, Solas Lightfoot's quality, and the most crucial thing is that they can also replace magic gloves."
"High quality and low price."
"The fact that I'm not speaking up now is already out of consideration that we are all wizards of the Rose Council. I am not a wizard of the Rose Throne Academic Lineage; my teacher is Witch Lana, and Witch Lana is a student of the Rosebay Throne."
"I am from the Rosebay Throne's faction. I don't need to give Holm face, nor do I need to care about the face of Wizard Solas and the Sun Ring Wizard Hades."
Thus, at this moment, Witch Luna remained impassive.
Manager Holm saw that these exploration teams had reached an agreement among themselves, and his brow twitched. As things stood, unless he paid to subsidize the wizards in these teams, he probably wouldn't be able to change this trend.
Of course, he couldn't be sure if these people were putting on an act right now, waiting for his next move.
Holm was plotting in his heart whether he should promise a massive price cut or directly subsidize these wizards.
But the stock price behind Solas Lightfoot was complex; he was actually very hesitant to make a commitment right now.
Because there was no meeting and no meeting endorsement, how could he, a mere manager, have the authority to make major concessions on second ring wizard shoes for ten teams of wizards?
Holm was currently racking his brains for a counter-strategy. Just as he was organizing his words, that Wizard Storm Claw from the Storm Tower suddenly spoke up: "Augustus's Golden Dragon Claws sold 7 pairs in an instant. Wait, now it's 8 pairs. The speed is very fast."
Wizard Storm Claw had a certain malicious curl to his lips as he looked up at Holm.
"If we don't order now, they might be temporarily out of stock. It's not easy to find a pair of second ring wizard shoes with actual combat experience."
"We should place our orders as soon as possible."
Many wizards who were still waiting and watching for Manager Holm to propose further concessions thought about it carefully. They were actually genuinely interested in the Golden Dragon Claws.
It wasn't just a matter of price-performance ratio.
Rather, all the data for the Golden Dragon Claws on paper was already extremely good, comparable to Solas Lightfoot's best Wizard Shoes. Meanwhile, Solas Lightfoot had a hunger marketing strategy; currently, they were unwilling to put their best second ring wizard shoes up for sale, only offering second-rate goods like the Radiant Messenger.
They wondered if it was the same for Wizard Shoes at other stages like Star Ring, Moon Ring, and even Sun Ring during the Second Ring phase.
Their thoughts were not hard to understand.
If the best Wizard Shoes were so easy to buy, then who would buy those with average designs? Therefore, they had a tradition where one had to purchase a certain number of ordinary second ring wizard shoes before being allowed to buy the best second ring wizard shoes.
Even that depended on luck.
In other words, they simply couldn't buy Solas Lightfoot's best second ring wizard shoes that were kept on a high shelf.
In contrast, the appearance of the Golden Dragon Claws was like a ray of light breaking through the dark clouds, giving them a new choice.
Secondly, as polar exploration Wizard Shoes, the Golden Dragon Claw perfectly demonstrates its unyielding metallic nature. Moreover, it possesses a certain degree of attack power and the characteristics of magic gloves.
Even just as magic gloves, they are quite excellent Wizard Shoes.
Soon, these wizards began placing orders one after another.
Manager Holm's expression became incredibly unsightly as he witnessed this scene. He knew the die was cast.
Now, he had to prepare for the subsequent public relations fallout.
Shortly after, it was time for the ten exploration teams to take the stage and sign their contracts. These ten teams performed the process of signing various contracts publicly before the audience of Solas Wizard Town.
However, observant individuals soon noticed that almost all ten exploration teams had, by unspoken agreement, avoided signing contracts for standard second ring wizard shoes.
Doubt appeared in the eyes of the residents of Solas Wizard Town.
"Why didn't they sign the contracts for the standard second ring wizard shoes? Could there be a better choice of Wizard Shoes?"
"Everyone, look at the Alsace Platform. Heavens, look at the number one Magic Plant product in this platform's category."
"Where did this Augustus Wizard Shoe Shop Alliance come from? Golden Dragon Claw Wizard Shoes... Could it be that those exploration teams didn't renew because they wanted to save their quota for these Wizard Shoes? That's impossible, right..."
The residents of Solas Wizard Town were almost all loyal users of Solas Lightfoot and the descendants of loyal users.
At this moment, the name of augustus wizard shoes began to spread among the residents below the square.
In this instant, who knows how many people took notice of augustus wizard shoes.
Even though it was currently the victory banquet for Solas Lightfoot, Holm watched the residents of Solas Town without a hint of a smile as he heard them discussing augustus wizard shoes and the Golden Dragon Claw.
Holm knew in his heart that things had gone south.
He had to say something now; he had to turn the tables. Perhaps he still had a chance to stage a comeback.
But in the next moment, his Ganoderma Magic Plant vibrated frantically.
He opened the Ganoderma Magic Plant only to see a Sun Ring Wizard director from the Solas Lightfoot board of directors looking at him with a grim expression.
"If it weren't for Witch Rosetta's reminder, I wouldn't have known such a thing was happening. Look at what you've done. Holm, you have disappointed us too much."
"The previous setbacks could still be considered minor skirmishes. Failing to suppress the pure Magic Plant wizards in their infancy was already a serious error on your part. And now, at Solas Lightfoot's most important commercial gathering, you've staged such a shocking farce. Out of ten exploration teams, nine did not sign second ring wizard shoes contracts with us."
"Bastard, you bastard!"
"The board has now reached a decision. Effective today, you are relieved of all duties at Solas Lightfoot. From this moment on, you are no longer the administrative manager employed by Solas Lightfoot. Your work will be fully handed over to Witch Rosetta."
"Witch Rosetta has already submitted a follow-up plan to the board that has piqued our interest."
Holm was about to explain, but the video call was disconnected in the next second.
Manager Holm's eyes were vacant; as a Moon Ring Wizard, he had rarely been so lost.
"To think such a thing would happen. A small brand that appeared a year and a half ago could actually make me lose my job."
"Augus... tus."
He walked forward blankly, one step at a time, while the group of wizards behind him watched with complicated gazes.
Wizard Holm also saw Wizard Michael standing in the crowd, sneering at him.
He suddenly realized something.
He had been targeted.
Augustus chose this moment to strike, using a single pair of super-quality Wizard Shoes to steal the spotlight from Solas Lightfoot's victory banquet today.
This timing... without inside information... how did he do it?
Wizard Holm gnashed his teeth.
"Witch Rosetta."
"You really haven't... left yourself any way back."
"Are you that confident? Even if you had discussed it with me, it would have been better than this. You actually schemed to ruin me."
Wizard Holm's face turned pale as he remembered his massive debts, the many projects in his hands that hadn't been paid for yet, the equipment he had recently bought on loan, and the entire wizard mansion he had purchased with a loan.
That mansion was surrounded by the residences of Sun Ring Wizards.
He had spent a fortune to live there just so he could mingle in the circles of those Sun Ring Wizards.
But now it seemed that the mansion was instead his burden.
Wizard Holm walked out of the square and suddenly looked up and let out a loud shout.
"No!"
Instantly, all the residents in the square, as well as the wizards from the exploration teams who were signing agreements, looked up at this former administrative manager of Solas Lightfoot.
Wizard Storm Claw curled his lips.
"What a pathetic sight. But it looks like the Yunze Wetland is going to have one more wizard shoe brand. Locke Augustine, hmm, acceptable."
"You owe me a favor."
Wizard Storm Claw looked at Wizard Holm with an unfriendly gaze.
Anyone who dared to offend him had to die.
At the same time, Meileqi Magic Step encountered a similar situation; Witch Rosetta had also teamed up with their board of directors to suddenly fire their administrative manager.
This left the administrative manager of Meileqi Magic Step with absolutely no time to react.
Of course, his own brain was overloaded as well; he never expected that on this day of confrontation with Solas Lightfoot, the one to suddenly checkmate him wouldn't be Solas Lightfoot.
Instead, it was the Augustus Wizard Shoe Shop Alliance that he had completely looked down upon beforehand.
At this time, Meileqi Town was also discussing augustus wizard shoes.
A resident of Meileqi Town asked the mayor, "Then won't an Augustus Town appear in the future? Doesn't every famous wizard shoe Shop Alliance in the Yunze Wetland establish a wizard town? Will Augustus Wizard Town also participate in our Wizard Town Sports Meet?"
The Mayor of Meileqi was also dumbfounded.
"That... I don't know. The current scale of the Augustus Wizard Shoe Shop Alliance shouldn't be that large yet, right?"
The residents of Meileqi Town whispered among themselves, discussing this wizard shoe Shop Alliance that had suddenly burst onto the scene.
At this point, it wasn't just these two wizard towns; many people in the Yunze Wetland had noticed this great show. Thus, in the major academies of the Yunze Wetland, wizards were watching the process of a new god rising and a giant falling.
Many people also took the opportunity to place orders at the Alsace shop.
In the Rose Council region, within the Rose Council academy, Witch Rosetta was in the Witch's Kitchen, stirring wizard coffee with a silver spoon.
"Locke Augustine, I truly did not misjudge you. You possess the potential to subvert the wizard shoe market; that is the reason for my cooperation with you. You helped me gain control over these two Shop Alliances. Thank you."
The magic pressure on her body was fluctuating; clearly, she was poised to break through to become a Star Ring Wizard at any moment.
She took a sip of coffee.
"It's time to advance to Star Ring Wizard. Controlling these two Shop Alliances will allow me to obtain some of the rare magical materials I need. I was originally missing a few, and while I could still forge a Star Ring · Great Magic, it would inevitably be imperfect."
"Locke Augustine, you have given me the interest to devour you."
A flash of crazed crimson light shot from Witch Rosetta's eyes, but it quickly retracted, and her gaze regained its rationality.
The work assistant beside Witch Rosetta immediately stepped forward and, before anyone else could notice, poured a tube of Second-Ring Potion into her coffee cup.
"Master, please be careful... there are many people here. If someone sees, it might cause some within the Tacitus Family to look down on you."
Witch Rosetta quickly drank the potion mixed with the wizard coffee.
Only then did the hint of crimson madness in her eyes somewhat subside.
Witch Rosetta curled her lips and looked at her work assistant.
"Do you think I'm a lunatic?"
The little work assistant was completely stunned; under Witch Rosetta's gaze, her body began to tremble.
"I... I don't know. Master, you are the smartest witch I have ever seen, and the most capable. You are not a lunatic."
Witch Rosetta said in a cold tone, "No, I am a lunatic. Only by recognizing this can I break through to the Star Ring."
...Master Patrick Finch's academic conference lasted all day.
After it ended, Locke shook off the many wizards who wanted to strike up a conversation with him and hurriedly led Daniel out of the conference.
Wizard Daniel said, "Wait, Locke, there are still many free delicacies over there made by the flavorists from the Witch's Kitchen. Why are you leaving without trying any?"
Locke turned his head to look at him.
"My Wizard Shoes sold well today. So I need to go back to tally the gains and plan to arrange the production schedule as soon as possible. I'm busy and need to get back to work."
"If you want, you can stay for a while longer."
Daniel felt the abnormally fanatical atmosphere behind him and shook his head slightly.
"Better not. After you pulled me out, I somehow don't want to go back anymore."
The two of them walked through the main gate.
Several First-Class Wizard Apprentice students from the Rose Council guarding the gate immediately bowed to Locke and Daniel.
As Locke walked out the door, he saw Wizard Zeno getting into a carriage.
Wizard Zeno boarded the magic carriage and vanished in a puff of smoke.
At the same time, some Breeders were also walking out one after another, but most people still remained there engaged in heated discussions.
Before getting into the carriage, Daniel asked Locke, "What, are you not interested? From what I heard, that indeed sounds like a popular direction. If you were to research in that direction, perhaps it would be easier to apply for a special grant."
"Or do you have misgivings?"
Locke said, "That is a technological product being promoted by a Sun Ring Wizard. I've looked at it; there are already many results, and it is indeed something real. No matter which angle you look at it from, there are no problems."
"But the problem is that I have my own rhythm and plans. That direction doesn't suit me, and there's no need for me to think too much about it."
Wizard Daniel was stunned for a moment and said, "True. I only came out with you to see the world, after all. But now that you say it, I'm deeply convinced. No matter how good someone else's thing is, it's not as solid as your own."
"Moreover, I felt that there were people in that meeting... spreading anxiety."
"They are worried that if they don't catch this trend, they will fall behind the times and fall a step behind others. They are too anxious and can't digest it themselves, so they have to hold an academic conference to spread it to others. I find that it makes me very uncomfortable. You too, Locke?"
Asking for monthly tickets.