Inside the Custom Magic Plant Competition Committee office.
A Formal Wizard judge listened to Senior Breeder Jonas Cortes' remarks with an amused smile, raising a document in his hand bearing the name of Green Sprout Workshop. "Truthfully, the champion will most likely emerge from one of these established workshops. It's difficult for individuals to compete against them."
"These workshops hold significant advantages in breeding combat magic plants. They possess comprehensive historical data for reference."
"Individual breeders, however, rely entirely on their own talent to guarantee quality. They lack complete production processes and accumulated practical combat data, making it hard for them to compete with workshops."
"Even if they manage to develop a magic plant with impressive theoretical data or decent combat performance through momentary genius, such plants often contain subtle flaws that are hard to detect."
"Unlike the combat magic plants developed over generations by major workshops - their shortcomings have been refined to perfection, their technology thoroughly mature!"
"Moreover, our combat department has extensive experience in using such plants. The advantages are undeniable."
The Formal Wizard raised the documents submitted by Green Sprout Workshop. "The apprentice-level magic plant [Gear Iron Thorns] they submitted this time shows remarkable improvements."
"They enhanced the response speed of [Gear Iron Thorns], and even employed the Magic Resonance Breeding Method to induce specific beneficial mutations. While defensive capabilities haven't increased significantly, both resilience and durability have greatly improved."
"The project lead this time is Mary from Green Sprout Workshop."
The Formal Wizard chuckled. "Who would have thought she could find room for improvement in this supposedly perfected apprentice-level plant? Truly the most talented among the recent young students in Breeding Studies at our Lilith's Cottage."
Hearing the name [Gear Iron Thorns], the assembled Formal Wizards exchanged knowing smiles.
Green Sprout Workshop's Gear Iron Thorns represents a century-and-a-half-old project. Beyond sharing its name, this magic plant bears no resemblance to its original version. Through generations of breeders refining it, this plant has become the combat department's standard apprentice-level defensive magic plant.
When combined with the plant-type spell [Thorn Armor], Gear Iron Thorns provides formidable defensive capabilities, even including some physical counterattack potential.
Senior Breeder Jonas Cortes cleared his throat. "It's not so absolute. We should still give young breeders opportunities."
"We can't completely shut out young breeders from outside Green Sprout Workshop."
"I found the defensive magic plants submitted by Vine Whisper Workshop and Cloud Pine Workshop quite impressive this time. Some individual breeders' submissions also contained pleasant surprises."
"Since the top three will all receive collective procurement contracts, winning the championship isn't everything."
Jonas Cortes smiled and said, "Of course, the combat data for Gear Iron Thorns is very comprehensive. The battle wizards in their combat department use them frequently, which is indeed a significant advantage."
The wizards present nodded in agreement.
Wizard Jonas Cortes glanced at Zach and added, "But sometimes, unexpected surprises are necessary."
"Otherwise, the academy's competition would lose its meaning."
"Precisely because of this, as the chief judge, I am very interested in the final outcome of this competition."
"I hope the young talents of this academy can bring more moments that catch my eye."
After the discussion, everyone returned to their tasks.
The time of Formal Wizards was precious, so some accelerated their work while others delegated the competition review to trusted students.
Zach stood in the corner of the office, looking at the documents in his hand.
These were the materials Locke had submitted about the Perseus Lichen Eye.
A glimmer of confidence flashed in his eyes.
He had full faith in the data and traits of the Perseus Lichen Eye. Locke had even included a combat footage of the Perseus Lichen Eye against a First Class Wizard Apprentice Vampire.
This would undoubtedly give the Magic Plant a significant boost in scoring.
However, what worried Zach was that while the Perseus' Eye Lichen was excellent, it lacked one crucial element.
It had no historical record of deployment in warfare.
The original Magic Plant of Perseus' Eye was the Emerald Lichen, which was merely one of the main ingredients for the Bear Spirit Bile Potion. It had no connection to combat magic plants, let alone any record of wartime use.
This was the biggest flaw in Locke's Perseus Lichen Eye.
Combat magic plants were different from other magic plants. The evaluation criteria weren't just based on paper data.
Actual combat performance, historical deployment records, and battlefield performance were equally important.
Data could be falsified, and performance might not be fully considered, but combat records were the gold standard.
A trace of anxiety flickered in Zach's eyes. 'The biggest issue with Locke's Perseus Lichen Eye is the lack of actual wartime deployment records.'
'All of Locke's works are procured through me. The higher his ranking, the more rewards I receive, and the higher my standing in the procurement department.'
'I hope the judges can recognize the excellence of the Perseus Lichen Eye and not let this minor flaw overshadow its brilliance or lower its rightful ranking.'
Zach fell into deep thought. Given the current situation, the first-place winner would most likely be the improved variety of Gear Iron Thorns from the Green Sprout Workshop.
The top three spots would likely be dominated by the top three workshops within Lilith's Cottage.
Because they had historical combat records.
He needed to find another way; otherwise, under the complex rules of the Custom Magic Plant Competition, the Perseus Lichen Eye's true potential would be severely underestimated.
Zach looked up at Wizard Jonas Cortes, a flash of inspiration crossing his mind. 'Got it. Locke, oh Locke, you help me, I'll help you—we're already a community of shared interests.'
'Wizard Jonas Cortes' favorite student is First Class Wizard Apprentice Clifford Stevens, who is also a certified Breeder and doesn't seem to have participated in this competition. I can definitely invite him to dine at the Witch's Kitchen and, through him, get the main judge of the competition, Wizard Jonas Cortes, to pay attention to Perseus' Eye Lichen.'
Zach's eyes gleamed. 'At the same time, I can leverage my connections to invite the captains of the combat squads from the battle wizards' side, especially those I'm on good terms with, to consider purchasing Perseus' Eye Lichen privately as a priority.'
'For trial use.'
'That way, Locke's creation will have actual combat records!'
'Though it can't compare to Gear Iron Thorns, which has participated in numerous classic fierce battles with extensive hardcore war data, it can still slightly compensate for Perseus' Eye Lichen's shortcomings.'
Zach thought, 'Right, I should also treat Locke to a meal soon and tell him about this. After all the work I've put in, it would be too unfair if he remained completely unaware of it.'
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