A few days later.
Arcane Magic Council Headquarters, eighteenth floor.
Laboratory Seven was spacious and brightly lit. In various positions and in specially partitioned alcoves stood alchemical platforms with cold, sharp geometric lines, alongside Magic Circles inscribed with complex, mysterious runes. Different colours of light glowed against the silver-white metal walls, lending the entire room an almost dreamlike quality. Yet within the laboratory there were only Lucian,
As the presiding Archanist of the Atom Research Institute, Lucian cleared his throat and spoke with a solemn expression: "Our research has not yet begun, our members are still few, our results have yet to appear — everything is merely getting started. Ahead of us lies an entirely new frontier, a world that has never been developed, waiting for us to explore and open it up. I believe that along this road, we will witness magnificent landscapes and reap bountiful fruits."
As he continued speaking with such "earnest gravity," Lucian's mischievous streak grew stronger: "Today, we take pride in the Arcane Magic Council. Tomorrow, the Arcane Magic Council will take pride in us!"
Everyone who had just been roused to excitement and eagerness by Lucian's opening words was struck speechless. Wasn't that ambition a bit... excessive?
Seeing that his purpose had been achieved from the changes in their expressions, Lucian dropped the jesting tone and began assigning research tasks: "I need to go attend the monthly discussion meeting shortly. Lazar, you'll be in charge of the institute's day-to-day affairs for now. Jerome, take half of the apprentices and study the property changes of various substances at different low temperatures. Focus for the time being on common materials — charcoal, iron, mithril, adamantine, and so on. Since we want to study what lies behind the laws of elements, we need to be familiar with the properties of substances, and up to now, no one has ever comprehensively conducted experiments on the changes of various substances under ultra-low temperatures."
"My requirement is that you take a reading at every single degree Celsius. You might discover something from it. This is a tedious, precision experiment. Jerome, you have patience and a mild temperament — you're perfectly suited to carry it out. Oh, and be extremely careful of the danger of ultra-low temperatures during the experiments."
So far, the Arcane Magic Council's research into ultra-low temperatures had only reached the level of liquid hydrogen — still about ten degrees Celsius short of the temperature needed for superconductivity. This bottleneck wouldn't be solved until helium was discovered. Lucian wasn't expecting them to discover superconductivity right now. Instead, at around minus one hundred and eighty degrees, charcoal would undergo a remarkable transformation, becoming extremely absorbent of air. It would be a powerful tool for creating vacuums, and once combined with existing Magic Circles, it would be of tremendous help to Lucian's future research.
Since the institute was named the "Atom Research Institute," it was naturally going to study changes in matter. Jerome therefore had no objections and nodded, accepting the task.
"Rock, take the other half of the apprentices and conduct research on gas discharge under different atmospheric pressures. Larry and K are already close to perfecting the theory of ionisation — proving that the conductivity of solutions occurs because dissolved substances split into positively and negatively charged 'ions.' So what causes gas discharge?"
"Ions" was the term coined by Larry and K.
Seeing that Rock agreed without question either, Lucian turned to Lazar once more: "You'll coordinate between the two sides. Whoever needs more hands, help them. If neither side needs assistance, you can work on your own experiments."
"Don't worry, I'll keep a close eye on them," Lazar said with a chuckle. "Lucian, just how much is rattling around in that head of yours? You come across any random result and you can immediately make connections to something else. No wonder you've been called a born Archanist mind."
It was because he'd already made connections to other things that he'd grabbed some random result as cover, Lucian thought with self-mockery.
...
Having made all the arrangements for the Atom Research Institute, Lucian stepped out of the laboratory.
"Evans?"
"Mr. Evans?"
At the corridor junction, Lucian ran into
Every serious Archanist capable of reading the journal *Arcane* had fallen into a similar state of confusion during this period. More than a few had been driven to near-madness by it. After all, as long as one had even a little curiosity and ambition, it was impossible not to dwell on a question that seven Grand Archanists were debating.
"Actually, I've recently found a direction and am currently undertaking the arduous work," Lucian said, revealing progress bit by bit according to the timeline Fernando and
"Oh? What direction?" both Isabella and Rachel asked in surprise. They had never expected Lucian to have made any progress at all — their earlier questions had simply been an outlet for all the pent-up emotions that had accumulated, now that they'd finally run into the man himself.
The moment the words left their mouths, both women quickly caught themselves and apologised repeatedly, making clear that they hadn't intended to pry into the details of Lucian's research.
Lucian smiled without the slightest irritation: "My arduous work is nearly at its end. My teacher already knows the specific content, so there's no harm in revealing the general direction."
"Could you tell us?" Rachel asked with a warm smile, noticing that her teacher was full of curiosity but too embarrassed to ask directly. She thought Lucian's attitude was perfectly natural — if her own teacher were a Grand Archanist and knew about her experimental progress, there would be no concern whatsoever about someone stealing her results.
"From the perspective of my classmate Troy's recently established theory of molecular motion — introducing probability and such into an analysis of the formula." Lucian essentially threw the door wide open.
Isabella nodded thoughtfully: "Troy's new theory has been developing from its initial proposal to its recent refinement for over ten years now. It was full of controversy at the start and subjected him to considerable torment. It wasn't until his explanation of the Second Law earned him the Ice Crystal Medal that the opposition died down significantly. It's a pity that most Archanists still don't favour it. So even when trying to explain your formula, Evans, very few would think to approach it from that angle."
She felt an urge to try, to attempt an analysis of the formula based on what Lucian had revealed. Not to rush out a paper before anyone else, but out of a pure Archanist's devotion and curiosity toward a problem. Rachel at her side felt the same way.
At the same time, Lucian's calm, assured, and unhurried manner convinced them that he had very likely already completed the work of explaining the formula and was merely waiting to submit his paper.
...
Fernando's study.
Because of the arrangements for the research institute, by the time Lucian arrived, Troy, Thauph, Asikana, and Reichi Carter were already gathered. Only the crystal dragon Avarice was nowhere to be seen.
"Thauph, why hasn't Little Crystal shown up yet?" Asikana liked to use a nickname for Avarice.
Thauph pushed his gold-rimmed glasses up his nose: "Haven't seen it for nearly a month. It probably sold itself off again because of its greed..." His tone wasn't entirely certain. Still, no one was worried about Avarice's safety — as long as it didn't leave within a five-hundred-kilometre radius of Arlidge, everything would be fine. Anyone ignorant of its true nature would certainly be no match for it, and it was far more likely they'd be the ones tormented. As for those who did know its origins, they either wouldn't dare bully it or simply wouldn't be that bored.
"Pay it no mind. It's perfectly safe," Fernando said curtly. "Let's begin the discussion. Troy, you start."
Troy snapped out of his deep reverie and looked at Fernando, then glanced at Lucian: "Last month, I explored an underground magma cavern..."
After finishing his account of his discoveries, he looked at Fernando and Lucian once more: "After this month's issue of *Arcane* was published, I became interested in the Evans formula that you and several other Grand Archanists, Teacher, were discussing. After attempting explanations from other angles and failing, I tried importing my theory of molecular motion. This time it seemed I was on the right track, but the work is extremely arduous. I probably still need another week or two to finish. Let me share my current research — I hope it might give you some inspiration, Evans."
Though he had won the Ice Crystal Medal and served on the Arcane Review Committee, Troy's personality was somewhat delicate and timid — more like a poet than a mage. Even though he was openly researching based on the *Arcane* journal, he worried that Lucian might misinterpret it as an attempt to steal his results and thereby damage their harmonious classmate relationship. So he instinctively tried to ingratiate himself.
"That you thought of this approach shows you're not completely stupid. But Lucian has already completed the explanation of the formula from this angle — let him tell you about it," Fernando said, refusing as always to give his student a compliment.
Troy, Thauph, Carter, and the others all looked at Lucian with considerable surprise. He had already solved it? If Lucian had found the correct approach before *Arcane* was published, the issue would surely have been delayed to await the completion of his research. So he must have found the direction and completed the gruelling work in just the few short days since *Arcane* came out. Truly terrifying!
"Thank you, Troy — your theory gave me the inspiration..." Lucian gave a rough account of his work, but when it came to the crucial premises and assumptions underlying the formula, he deliberately omitted one vital condition. Troy, Asikana, and the others were still absorbing and memorising the material, planning to go back and analyse it in detail, so none of them noticed the omission.
After that, Thauph and the others shared their own research, and Fernando concluded by describing the progress on several of his major projects, using questions arising from them to guide his students.
"Evans, I think I'm looking at another future Ice Crystal Medal recipient," Reichi Carter said half-jokingly to Lucian as they discussed things among themselves and walked toward the door after the meeting.
Just then, the study door burst open and a shrunken Avarice came bounding in, then said in a childlike voice with surprise: "You've finished the discussion?"
"Little Crystal, where did you go? We finished several minutes ago," Asikana asked, amused.
Avarice raised both claws to cover its eyes, peeking at Fernando through the gaps: "I overslept..."
"Thauph, what research have you been doing this month?" Thauph asked, seemingly understanding the situation and struggling to contain his laughter.
Avarice drew itself up with an air of solemnity: "I've been researching the nature of dreams."
"So you slept for nearly a month. Ha ha!" Thauph burst out laughing without restraint.
A dragon that loved its sleep, as expected. Lucian laughed along.
...
The night was clear and tranquil, everything hushed and still.
Troy sat in his study, organising everything Lucian had described during the day. He began reading through it carefully, recording his thoughts as he went. Asikana, Thauph, and the others were doing much the same thing, though they still had many magical analyses and Arcane research projects to complete and could only set aside a small portion of their time for this. The answer already existed, after all — there was no need to rush.
Isabella and Rachel each sat beneath the bright glow of magical candles, beginning to research the principles underlying the formula based on Lucian's hints.
Lucian, meanwhile, sat quietly behind his desk. After a long while, he picked up his pen and wrote the title of his paper:
*On the Distribution of Energy in the Blackbody Spectrum.*