540: Conclusion Report for the Third-Class Fund
Third floor of the True Knowledge Institute castle.
In the hundred-person roundtable conference room, the fund defense meeting was not set up solely for Locke Augustine. After all, everyone was a wizard, time was limited, and everyone was very busy.
Today, four researchers, including Locke Augustine, were gathered to conduct their conclusion reports for the Third-Class True Knowledge Institute fund.
At this moment, Locke Augustine was waiting outside the door; among the wizards giving their conclusion reports today, he was ranked third.
Just then, Witch Freya pushed the door open and walked out, exhaling softly. "I'm finished. It's just a pity that I still couldn't get the review committee to agree to expand my current Third-Class fund project into a Second-Class True Knowledge Institute fund project."
"Locke, it's your turn to go in. I hope you have good luck."
Locke Augustine said, "Thank you, Freya."
Locke Augustine walked into the conference room. There were thirteen wizards sitting inside, but the ones primarily responsible for the review were a Second Ring Wizard from the Golden Crown Mountain True Knowledge Institute, a Second Ring Wizard from the Bonifacius University True Knowledge Institute, and a Third Ring Wizard from the Quinn Joel University of Prophecy and Secret Arts.
Locke Augustine froze for a moment when he saw the Quinn Joel University insignia on this Third Ring Wizard, as he had just read a large number of articles from the Quinn Joel University Constructors School a few days ago due to Albert's matter.
This Third Ring Wizard from Quinn Joel University, Hao Brooks, was an old man with long white hair and a white beard. He wore a pair of plain glasses and a white wizard robe.
At the same time, based on the badge he wore, Locke Augustine judged that he was likely just a Third Ring Wizard, not a Throne Wizard.
He was likely a Prophecy School wizard.
A Third Ring Wizard of the Prophecy School!
At the same time, he was also a Breeder.
The Third Ring Wizard, Wizard Hao, looked very easy to talk to and greeted Locke Augustine. "This young wizard, please begin your conclusion report."
Wizard Hao glanced at the article Locke Augustine was submitting for defense and said, "The content looks very rich."
The defense for True Knowledge Institute fund projects requires at least two external wizards, and they must hold wizard mentor positions, one of which must be a senior wizard mentor position.
Therefore, Third Ring Wizards and Second Ring Wizards from various True Knowledge Institutes who hold sufficient teaching positions are all likely to be invited to participate in the project conclusion defenses of other schools' True Knowledge Institutes.
Locke Augustine briefly introduced himself and thanked the wizards who had come to participate in the defense, including the three judges and the other wizards who had come to participate, observe, or learn.
Locke Augustine swept a glance at the empty seat beside Wizard Hao. The chair was extremely luxurious, using the fur of a high-level magic plant as a seat cushion, and the chair itself was made from the wood of high-level tree-type magic plants.
That was Witch Yekaterina's seat.
Co-mentors have the right to participate in fund project conclusion defenses, so although Witch Yekaterina did not come, a seat was still arranged for her.
As for the minor leader of Group Six, Wizard Celtic represented Witch Yekaterina's will and participated in this conclusion report.
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Locke Augustine got straight to the point. "I continued the research methods of the Group Six research group under Throne Wizard Yekaterina of Golden Crown Mountain, and completed the study on the coexistence relationship between four types of pineapple-type magic plants and the fertility of magic creatures, as well as the related mechanism pathways."
The two Second Ring Wizards on the review panel whispered to each other. It seemed that because others usually only analyzed the mechanism pathway of one pineapple-type magic plant and magic creature fertility at a time, they were somewhat surprised that Locke Augustine had analyzed four at once.
The Second Ring Wizard from Bonifacius University quickly looked through Locke Augustine's article. "The data is very detailed. If there is no issue with data fabrication, then this young One-Ring Wizard's research speed is... very fast."
The Second Ring Wizard seemed to recall something. "I remember now, this young wizard actually almost entered our Bonifacius Hall of Advanced True Knowledge."
"Later, we let you have him, Witch Esther."
Witch Esther was a young Second Ring Wizard of Golden Crown Mountain. She revealed a sarcastic smile. "It's just that you, Bonifacius, weren't chosen by the talent."
The Second Ring Wizard from Bonifacius chuckled awkwardly a few times.
Next, the Third Ring Wizard, Wizard Hao, asked Locke Augustine several questions, and Locke Augustine answered them all fluently.
Wizard Hao asked, "You believe that the Great Yellow Duck Pineapple has a first-level symbiotic relationship with the Lightning Bee, and a second-level symbiotic relationship with the Thunder Bird. Then, how do you determine that the Lightning Bee's enhanced reproductive ability is only because they like to nest inside the Great Yellow Duck Pineapple, and not because of any natural magic structural component?"
Locke Augustine replied quickly, "It is like this. I simulated the internal geometric structure of the Great Yellow Duck Pineapple and asked a colleague within the True Knowledge Institute who has mastered lightning magic to help me create an electrostatic field similar to that of the Great Yellow Duck Pineapple. This also attracted the Lightning Bee to nest and helped them reproduce."
"Moreover, I have performed a detailed analysis of the natural magic structural component within the Great Yellow Duck Pineapple, and confirmed from multiple aspects that the symbiotic relationship between the Great Yellow Duck Pineapple and the Lightning Bee is not completed through the natural magic structural component."
"The data related to this experiment is written in the article at..."
The three wizards on the review panel flipped through the article, and after viewing the data, they couldn't help but nod.
Wizard Hao smiled and said, "It is indeed very complete. I heard you just entered the True Knowledge Institute. It seems you have adapted very well to the Yunze Wetland."
In the seats, several Second Ring Wizards from the Shop Alliance also looked at Locke Augustine one after another.
Their eyes flickered as they evaluated whether Locke Augustine's research would be helpful to the industries of the Shop Alliance behind them, and whether it had economic development potential.
Next, the three wizards on the review panel asked Locke Augustine a dozen more questions. Locke Augustine answered them all fluently, and clearly explained his experimental methodology to demonstrate the consistency and coherence of his experimental data, showing that he had not fabricated data.
The three wizards on the review panel nodded one after another, indicating that judging from the article and Locke Augustine's answers, it was indeed very likely that he had completed the analysis of the mechanism pathways of the four magic plants' effects on magic creature fertility within two months using the fund's budget.
This efficiency received the unanimous appreciation of the review panel.
The Second Ring Wizard from Bonifacius University blinked. No matter what, this talent had flowed out from their Bonifacius University, which made him feel some heartache.
Witch Esther beside him laughed softly, "Thank you."
"Thank you, colleague from Bonifacius, for letting this talent go to our Golden Crown Mountain. I heard that you didn't even discuss contract terms with him. Even when Wizard Morrison, the director of the Yunze Cup Tournament Committee who came from your own school, negotiated with your True Knowledge Institute's dean, Lord Valentinian, Lord Valentinian didn't give him any face, making Wizard Morrison so angry that he caused a scene."
The Second Ring Wizard judge from Bonifacius University didn't look very good and insisted, "A capable One-Ring Wizard is like developing a treasure. Before this, who could have imagined that this wizard's research efficiency would be so high? Besides, perhaps he is just suited for this type of work."
"Our Dean Valentinian comes from the Textile Studies direction of the Alchemy School. He wants our True Knowledge Institute to increase resource investment in the direction of Textile Studies. So, it can only be said that this young One-Ring Wizard is not the talent our True Knowledge Institute urgently needs right now."
The Second Ring Wizard judge turned to look at Wizard Celtic. "However, Wizard Celtic, this young One-Ring Wizard is from your group, right? You've found a treasure. You've trained him well."
Wizard Celtic looked at Locke Augustine's article report and was stunned on the spot. He couldn't believe that this was the conclusion report Locke Augustine had written.
The detail and reliability of the data astonished him.
He didn't expect that Locke Augustine, without any cooperation from their Group Six and with almost no help, could write such a perfect conclusion report in a short time using only their equipment and research methods.
And it wasn't analyzing the mechanism of one magic plant at a time, but analyzing the mechanism of four magic plants at once.
Wizard Celtic had originally prepared in his heart that if Locke Augustine didn't pass the defense, he would appropriately encourage him to join the cooperation with Group Six.
If he passed, he would persuade him to cooperate with Group Six to do projects more efficiently.
But at this moment, Wizard Celtic was stunned because he realized that the rhetoric he had prepared was useless.
Locke Augustine had only used two months to analyze the mechanism pathways of four pineapple-type magic plants. He was a genius at this, and his efficiency was terrifying.
Then no matter what he said, it would be useless; he alone was almost matching the workload of half of his Group Six.
Only then did Wizard Celtic understand why Witch Yekaterina would rather have Locke Augustine and refuse the One-Ring Crystallization Stage wizard who came from their own school in Golden Crown Mountain.
Wizard Celtic endured his embarrassment and laughed loudly at the Second Ring Wizard from Bonifacius University, "It's alright. I know Locke Augustine has always been a very capable wizard."
Wizard Celtic tried hard not to let this wizard from another school see that there was a rift between him and Locke Augustine, otherwise it would be too embarrassing for him.
"Wizard Augustine has always been a very independent wizard; even within my team, he didn't communicate with too many people. But it is precisely this point that makes me appreciate him very much, because... because sheep always gather together, while wolves always walk alone."
Wizard Celtic said, "Usually, I also gave him the greatest degree of freedom, precisely because I believed in his ability incomparably..."
The further Wizard Celtic spoke, the more coherent he became; he probably even believed this rhetoric himself.
Wizard Hao from Quinn Joel University said, "Everyone, the results are out, right? Then let us announce..."
On the podium, Locke Augustine changed the topic. "While analyzing the mechanism of the four pineapple magic plants, I discovered a type of natural magic structural component and confirmed that this is a brand-new type of natural magic structural component that, to my knowledge, has not been recorded in the Wizard World."
On the review panel, the discussion among several wizards suddenly paused.
Wizard Hao looked at Locke Augustine gently, nodded, and then flipped through Locke Augustine's article. "Is this discovery written at the end of the article? Usually, wizards write it at the front."
"I didn't see it before."
On the review panel, the other two Second Ring Wizards quickly flipped the article to the last part, and Wizard Celtic also began to breathe rapidly, flipping the article to the end.
The end of the article recorded that Locke Augustine used the ice magic mirror, sunlight magic mirror, and electromagnetic magic mirror to map the three-dimensional structure, function, and mechanism pathway within the organism of that type of natural magic structural component at three levels.
Locke Augustine quickly explained it once.
The Third Ring Wizard from Quinn Joel University, Wizard Hao, smiled slightly, "I didn't expect that just participating in an ordinary Third-Class fund project defense would actually make me take it slightly seriously."
"I have seen it; this is indeed a very rare natural magic structural component. But I am not a wizard of Lightning Studies, so it is difficult to confirm whether the Wizard World has discovered this structure before."
"Are there any General Studies scholars or wizards of Lightning Studies here?"
In the audience, two Second Ring Wizards stood up; they were a General Studies scholar and a wizard of Lightning Studies, respectively.
The two gathered around Wizard Hao, while the two Second Ring Wizards on the review panel and Wizard Celtic also read the last part of Locke Augustine's article—the part about discovering the brand-new natural magic structural component—very seriously, word by word.
Ten minutes later, the Second Ring Wizard of the General Studies School put down the monocle of Concentration Spell from his left eye and said, "That's correct, this is indeed a brand-new natural magic structural component. At least within the database of the Three Ze Lands, there is absolutely no relevant record."
The other wizard of Lightning Studies looked like he had discovered a treasure, greedily staring at the three three-dimensional structure diagrams of the natural magic structural component at the microscopic level, the three functional diagrams at the magic level, and the one mechanism pathway diagram within the organism. He wished he could immediately memorize all these complex patterns.
"Yes, yes, yes, this is indeed a brand-new natural magic structural component of Lightning Studies. My god, usually even if someone discovers a new natural magic structural component, they wouldn't make the data so detailed and the nature exploration so complete. This One-Ring Wizard has already recorded most of the data for this natural magic structural component."
Wizard Celtic snatched the copy of the article from his hand. "Wait a moment, this is the property of our Golden Crown Mountain University. You are not the review expert invited for this defense; I only asked you to identify it slightly."
"If you want to read it, remember to go to the library and use contribution points to purchase it."
This Second Ring Wizard of Lightning Studies raised his head and looked at Wizard Celtic with a helpless expression. "Celtic, five years ago, you weren't this stingy."
At this moment, the Third Ring Wizard from Quinn Joel University, Wizard Hao, smiled and looked at Locke Augustine, "I listened to two boring defenses earlier, and I was a bit drowsy. I was just sitting here out of politeness."
"To be honest, listening to One-Ring Wizards give defense reports on simple experiments is a kind of torture for me."
"It was only out of politeness, and because the Third Ring Wizards of your school inevitably have to go to our school to endure this kind of pain, that I am sitting here. But listening to your defense really made me take it a bit more seriously."
Old Wizard Hao smiled, "Young One-Ring Wizard, your article is qualified even if submitted to the tier 1 Green Grass Cloud Marsh."
Locke Augustine bowed to him, "Respected Mentor Hao, I have indeed submitted it, and just this morning, I received notification that my manuscript passed the review."
Old Wizard Hao nodded, "That is to be expected. A brand-new natural magic structural component has always been the favorite of Green Grass Cloud Marsh."
"It is very easy to get published. Congratulations, young One-Ring Wizard. At my age, being able to see a young One-Ring Wizard like you shine so brightly is truly a pleasure."
Old Wizard Hao smiled, "For us, being able to see outstanding juniors is a joy. But can you tell us how you discovered this natural magic structural component?"
"You seem to possess some kind of extraordinary intuition for this subject, making it especially easy for you to produce results. Can you share your little trick with us?"
Locke Augustine thought to himself, it's coming.
He had anticipated before that someone would ask him this question during the defense.
Wondering why he could so quickly find the mechanism pathways of numerous magic plants and discover a brand-new natural magic structural component.
Locke Augustine considered for a long time and decided to attribute this ability of his to his Breeder talent.
Locke Augustine paused, attracting everyone's attention.
Now, in the roundtable conference room, even the representative wizards of the Shop Alliance had stood up and run to the side of the review panel, crowding close, wanting to see Locke Augustine's article.
Locke Augustine said, "Perhaps it is because of my special talent in the field of Breeding Science."
"I joined the True Knowledge Institute of Golden Crown Mountain by winning the Yunze Cup championship."
"I have a particularly strong interest in Breeding Science, so I directly cultivated a variant of the Great Yellow Duck Pineapple—thereby discovering a new natural magic structural component."