"What strange thing?" Lucian asked, feigning ignorance while feeling his acting skills were becoming more refined by the day.
However, that they had discovered something after only a few days still surprised him; he had expected it to take at least a month or two. Had his instructions been too detailed and precise?
Rock spoke with barely contained excitement, "I think we might have discovered something new, Lucian. It's just too damn awesome. Hurry, get to the lab—you'll see what it is as soon as you look!"
Rock was, by nature, an erratic thinker, unbound by convention, and at this moment he didn't hesitate to drop a curse word.
For someone of Lucian's caliber, such a discovery might not count as an outstanding achievement. Every one of his papers had earned a Level Two evaluation, either garnering widespread acclaim or sparking furious debate. In just a few short years, he had risen from having no arcane points to becoming a Fifth-Level Archanist, standing out among his generation. Even many Mages who had lived for two or three centuries did not dare compare themselves to him in this regard.
But for mid-level and junior Archanists, and for Magic Apprentices like themselves, a new discovery often meant a base reward of at least ten arcane points. Not to mention that any new discovery was sure to attract many people to explore it further, and the citation points would be a considerable sum. Even with several people sharing, within a month he might well break through his bottleneck and become a Second-Level Archanist. Perhaps in a year or two, he could even step into the mid-ranks, laying a solid foundation for advancing his magical grade. How could Rock not be excited by this?
"Calm down, Rock, calm down." Lucian paused his own magical analysis, tightened his robe, and followed Rock to the adjacent laboratory.
"Lucian, I'm so damn good at judging character. Following you, a genius Archanist, is truly full of surprises. Your intuition is just too keen. If it weren't for you, how would we have connected the conductivity of solutions to gas discharge? If I had waited another few months, until I had swapped for my Second-Level Archanist badge and returned to the academy... those idiots in the Electromagnetism department would have had their jaws hit the floor..." Rock chattered away, revealing his true nature as a motormouth. His train of thought was so jumpy, however, that he completely forgot to describe the new discovery, though his admiration for Lucian was plain.
Because they could themselves "create lightning" in the air without suffering any significant effects, the Mages in the Electromagnetism department had always subconsciously neglected research into the phenomenon of gas discharge.
Lucian subtly pursed his lips. Although he didn't know yet if Rock had discovered cathode rays (electron streams) or the phenomenon of electrical plasma, wasn't Rock being a bit too excited? Wouldn't those things scare him half to death later on?
Still, for Rock, Lazar, and other sub-mid-level Archanists, their cognitive worlds were still very incomplete, making them more receptive to new theories than most mid-level and high-level Mages, and less prone to world-shattering cognitive dissonance. They were excellent potential supporters.
Mr. Planck, who on Earth had first postulated the quantum of energy, had once said this famous thing: A new scientific truth does not triumph by convincing its opponents and making them see the light, but rather because its opponents eventually die, and a new generation grows up that is familiar with it.
Of course, for the Arcane Council, every high-level Mage was an irreplaceable cornerstone. The fewer there were who suffered head explosions, the better.
The renovated laboratory gleamed with a metallic luster. Countless cold lines formed complex runes and Magic Circles, and black wires and pipes were arranged in a highly artistic manner. From the ceiling hung claws—some made of metal, others refined from magical beast corpses—allowing Magic Apprentices to operate dangerous equipment.
At Lucian's special request, both the alchemy platform and the Magic Circles had been equipped with defenses against curses and taints. Many Mages weakened and died from being unknowingly "cursed" during their experiments. Furthermore, Lucian knew very well that the anti-curse Magic Circles he had repeatedly selected all incorporated lead in their construction; otherwise, if one day he suffered an untimely "early death" from radiation injury, the joke would be on him.
"Hurry, repeat the experiment just now for Lucian to see." Rock led Lucian to the discharge Magic Circle and instructed Sprint and Hetty, members of his group. Lazar was already waiting there.
The two Magic Apprentices, who lacked the steady temperament needed and had not been selected by Jerome for the meticulous and patient low-temperature matter transformation experiment, were nonetheless extremely thrilled and excited by their unexpected new discovery while assisting Mr. Rock with Teacher Evans' assigned project. It seemed they could already picture themselves wearing the full Archanist badge.
Sprint first activated a separate Magic Circle, evacuating most of the gas from the discharge Magic Circle until it was in a highly rarefied state. Then Hetty activated the discharge Magic Circle, generating a very high voltage.
The gas discharged and emitted light, but what was strange was that on the glass panel opposite the cathode Magic Circle, a green glow also appeared. When Hetty stopped the operation of the Magic Circle, the green glow vanished accordingly.
"Look, Lucian. Nothing appears to be emitting from the surface of the cathode Magic Circle, and there are no similar papers in the past. It might be a ray never before discovered." Rock looked at Lucian expectantly, waiting nervously for his answer. In the minds of most mid- and low-level Archanists, Lucian was already an authority in the arcane field; he should be able to discern something from this phenomenon.
Lazar, Hetty, and Sprint all held their breath simultaneously, filled with apprehension.
The scene instantly became somewhat frozen, much like the atmosphere when Lucian, Thauph, Asikana, and others had faced the Storm Dominator.
Lucian smiled and shook his head. "Until it's verified through experiment, it's all just a hypothesis. The only certainty is that in past discharge experiments, no one noticed this point. But we cannot rule out the possibility that the rays are familiar electromagnetic waves or streams of particles. We now need to design different experiments to verify it. Each of you will participate in the research, and the experiments you design yourselves can be written into papers for independent publication."
As he spoke, Lucian activated the discharge Magic Circle. When the green glow appeared on the opposite glass, he placed an obstacle between the two. Immediately, a corresponding shadow appeared on the glass, confirming the relationship between the glow and the discharge Magic Circle.