— Third update as always, at eleven-thirty.
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In the magical laboratory.
Gaston stared at the whitish-pink solid granules inside the reactor, his expression grave as he released an Identification spell. When the results came back, his strange dark-yellow pupils contracted involuntarily: "It really is urea, without a single trace of biological material…"
He gazed quietly at the urea granules for a long time, the corners of his mouth gradually curling upward into a smile that was both elated and sardonic: "Those Pale Hand corpses-and-corpse-puppeteers have finally run into something big this time…"
Due to differences in philosophy and clashes over resources, friction and discord between the Elemental Will and the Pale Hand had simmered beneath the surface for a long time. As a council member of the Elemental Will, Gaston had clashed with senior mages of the Pale Hand both openly and covertly on numerous occasions. Now, seeing what appeared to be the imminent collapse of the Theory of Human Vital Force, he was naturally quite pleased by their misfortune. After all, his Meditation environment had virtually nothing to do with the Theory of Human Vital Force—a slight adjustment was all that would be needed, with no real impact whatsoever.
"Lucian… Evans really embedded such a critical experiment inside this paper… Did he truly have no knowledge of the Theory of Human Vital Force, or was he testing the waters? The former is far more likely. Only someone completely unaffected by the Theory of Human Vital Force could break free of preconceived notions and synthesize urea artificially so quickly." Gaston had not the slightest doubt remaining about Lucian's Arcane talent—the man possessed rigorous logical reasoning, a spirit of bold hypothesis and meticulous verification, and now, it seemed, hands-on experimental ability as well.
Having dealt with the reactor, Gaston was about to leave the laboratory when, with a thunderous bang, his door was violently knocked open. The Magic Circles arrayed upon it shattered silently one after another.
"Who?!" Gaston asked sharply, a seven-hued spherical barrier instantly materializing around him.
Seventh-circle spell: Spell Reflection Barrier.
No answer came—only another deafening crash. The laboratory door, along with every Magic Circle upon it, went flying. The spell-light triggered by the defenses struck the person entering, only to be absorbed by the ninth-circle Absorb Magic effect wreathing his body.
"Gaston, have you seen Evans's paper? The final section—the artificial synthesis of urea!" Ravendy's booming voice rang out, clearly brimming with excitement.
Gaston stared at him blankly, then let out a sigh: "Mr. Ravendy, please knock first."
"Oh, I was too worked up. This is a masterpiece that could overturn the Necromancy division's Theory of Human Vital Force! Have you read it?!" Ravendy's volume did not diminish one bit, even as he spotted the reactor and the urea Gaston had collected in a magical test tube. "You've completed this experiment too?!"
Gaston looked past Ravendy and made a downward-pressing gesture, signaling him to lower his voice: "Yes, Mr. Ravendy. I've verified the experiment Evans designed—synthesized urea from non-living gas. But I don't think it's conclusive enough. The Pale Hand might refuse to acknowledge urea as a vital substance. By the way, Mr. Ravendy—you haven't shown this paper to anyone else, have you?"
"No." Though Ravendy was blunt and hot-tempered by nature, a man who had become a Ninth-Circle Archanist was no fool. A moment's thought was all it took for him to grasp what Gaston was getting at. "You want to keep the Necromancy division in the dark first, and then release the paper all at once once you have definitive results?"
Gaston nodded earnestly: "Mr. Ravendy, if you look at the paper, it bears only the words 'Elements' and 'Alchemy' as its classification. That means when the paper was assigned, since Evans embedded the experiment within elemental research and alchemical reactions, it was deemed unrelated to Necromancy. In other words, the people in the Necromancy division don't know about this experiment. The only concern is Evans himself—I'm worried he might have let it slip."
The chance to use such a legitimate, above-board research achievement to deal the Pale Hand a crushing blow was one Gaston relished wholeheartedly.
"I don't agree with you, Gaston." Ravendy shook his head gravely. "A discovery this paradigm-shifting is fundamentally different from an exclusive spell. Regardless of whether it is definitive, it should be published immediately, so that every Archanist can see it and discuss it. Only through open discussion can we find the direction for a breakthrough and a method for synthesizing a conclusive substance as quickly as possible, driving new progress in Arcane research."
"Gaston, have you forgotten the spirit upon which the Arcane Council is built? The quest for truth through exploration and open, candid exchange! We may belong to the Elemental Will, but above all, we are members of the Arcane Council!"
Gaston considered this for a moment: "Fine. But this will set off a wave of widespread debate, and I'm somewhat worried about Evans's safety."
Ravendy was the Vice President of the Elemental Will, and the public revelation of urea's artificial synthesis would be equally impactful coming from him, so Gaston did not press the matter.
"Have Evans move into the house between our two residences." Ravendy's answer came without a shred of hesitation. "But before that, I'll go find a few Great Druids to verify the correctness of the earlier portions of Evans's paper—to let them see the potential for widespread crop yield improvement."
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