Also, I've been writing and pushing out extra chapters for three days without stepping outside, and it only just occurred to me that today is the Dragon Boat Festival. I almost didn't get to wish everyone a happy Dragon Boat Festival — and I haven't even eaten any zongzi yet.
It's quite late now. The morning chapter will be pushed back to noon tomorrow, the evening one will go up as usual, and after that things will be back to normal.
Happy Dragon Boat Festival, everyone!
………………………………………………………………………………
Lazarus had thought he'd already been shocked and shaken enough times today — surely he should be numb to such feelings by now. But after hearing Eric's words, he still couldn't help staring at Lucian: "Lucian, you're an absolute monster. The vast majority of Archanists below mid-rank have never received a solicitation letter from a journal. Our Arcane points all come from the review committee's rewards, and then we advance by occasionally getting a paper published after being rejected time and again, slowly accumulating points in return. It often takes years just to earn seven Arcane points."
"It's been four years since I graduated from the magic academy, and I've written over a dozen Archanist research papers. Only three passed review, and just one was published — in the *Arcane Discussion Herald*, no less, and it was the second-to-last article in that issue. As far as I can recall, before reaching third-rank Arkanist, the only people who ever received solicitation letters were those famous geniuses — Mr. Ulysses, Mr. Felipe."
His bitter, self-deprecating manner wasn't overdone — it was more of a half-joking attitude. At least in terms of warmth and social grace, Lucian thought he was far better than Felipe.
Eric's mouth twitched. He wanted to say that he'd never received a solicitation letter either, but the words wouldn't come. He had endured a full twenty years to accumulate a hundred Arcane points and become a third-rank Arkanist.
Finally, he let out a sigh: "'Groundbreaking' — to have the word 'groundbreaking' in the evaluation, no wonder a journal would reach out directly with a solicitation. Even though your new magical principle, Evans, seems to have a narrow range of application, papers that receive that particular evaluation each year — excluding those by Grand Archanists and high-rank Archanists — absolutely do not exceed ten."
"Groundbreaking? I see." Lucian roughly understood the importance of that word in the context of a thesis evaluation and a new magical principle.
Lazar's expression of being thoroughly deflated gave way to excitement. He smiled and started counting on his fingers: "Groundbreaking, breakthrough, extreme importance, widespread applicability, and highly worth exploring — those five are the adjectives the Committee gentlemen use for their highest praise of a thesis. Of course, if your thesis is evaluated as having the potential to change the era, then congratulations, Grand Archanist Evans!"
Just as Lucian was reaching out to take the document from Eric's hands, the tinkling bell in the office rang once more, and the milky-white light once again enveloped the iron cage.
Eric's expression turned serious, and he thought to himself: "Could the Council have important business?" It was less than a minute before six o'clock.
The light gradually calmed, and a document appeared inside the iron cage. Eric picked it up steadily and swiftly, his expression quickly filling with resignation: "Evans, it's a solicitation letter from the journal *Sonic Waves*. They're promising a spot among the first fifteen papers and a recommendation to three abstracting and indexing journals."
He and Lazar had already gone numb from this sort of thing. As long as it wasn't a solicitation from *Arcane* or *Arcane Magic*, it was essentially nothing remarkable.
"Two decent journals sending solicitation letters at the same time," Lazar chuckled softly with a hint of wonder. "Lucian, which one are you planning to choose? I think *Sonic Waves* is more specialized in this field, so it would attract more citations, and the terms they've offered are slightly better than the *Ordinary Archanist Monthly*. Of course, with a 'groundbreaking' evaluation, those three abstracting and indexing journals would accept the paper even without a recommendation."
With nearly forty journals published each month, and a large portion of them covering duplicate research, no Archanist had the patience to read through all of them. This was precisely where abstracting and indexing journals proved their importance.
"I'll go with the *Ordinary Archanist Monthly* after all. They sent their solicitation first, which shows they clearly value my work. Since the terms are roughly the same, first come first served." Lucian smiled calmly and made his decision based on the simplest of logic.
Lazar was somewhat unconvinced: "I think..."
Ding ding ding—three sharp rings pierced the air. Eric's expression shifted slightly as he looked at the Arcane badge still unactivated in his hand: "Evans, it's already six o'clock. I'm afraid you'll have to come back tomorrow to activate it."
"Oh, Mr. Eric, isn't there any other way? I was hoping to visit the 'Ordinary Archanist Library' and the 'Arcane Exchange Room' as well." Lucian said to Eric with a hint of urgency in his voice.
Eric shook his head: "Prosper and the other alchemical constructs always stop working punctually. Unless their master orders otherwise, they won't work a single extra minute. And even if we activated it now, Evans, you still wouldn't be able to enter the Ordinary Archanist Library or the Arcane Exchange Room, because they close at six as well. You'd better come back tomorrow morning. In any case, the review committee's evaluation results, Arcane contributions, and Arcane points won't disappear."
"When your badge is activated, if you reply to the solicitation letter, you'd best follow the committee members' advice and add a letter after your name. Otherwise, the contribution citations could get confusing. As for day-to-day matters, there's no need for that extra step."
Lazar chimed in as well: "The alchemical constructs at the Council headquarters are terribly lazy." As he spoke, he kept glancing at the wall's glow, worried Prosper might take revenge. "Of course, when they're busy, they're quite diligent too. Evans, let's go outside and enjoy dinner. If we can't leave the Council headquarters before half past six, we'll have no choice but to rent a meditation room on floors two through nine and rest there."
"Alright then. Mr. Eric, we'll take our leave." Lucian retrieved his unactivated Arcane badge and clipped it back onto himself.
……
In the lobby of the "Arcane Administration Department," Cindy and Donna were packing up their Magic Notes and other belongings, preparing to leave. When they saw the two emerge, they both smiled and said simultaneously: "Congratulations, Evans—oh, Mr. Evans, your Arcane badge hasn't been activ—"
They hurriedly clapped their small hands over their mouths. Why did they have to bring up exactly the thing that wasn't going well?!