After getting to know Lucian, Lazar had grown accustomed to the fact that the quiet, composed, and eloquently spoken young man would occasionally say things that no one else could understand — seemingly for his own amusement. So he answered on Lucian's behalf with a smile: "Mr. Eric, open up *Arcane*, the first issue, look at the very first article, and you'll understand why Lucian wrote the foreword, and why he wrote it that way."
His gaze traveled upward, and a paper's title appeared before his eyes: "On the Discovery of a New Particle."
"A new particle? This month…" Remembering how friends had been dropping by or writing letters throughout the month to discuss atomic theory with him, Eric felt a vague mix of excitement and unease stirring in his chest.
"Mr. Eric, please try to stay calm." Noticing that Eric's stiff, expressionless face had begun to show some rather obvious signs of reaction, Lazar chuckled and teased. He knew Eric wasn't skilled in elemental magic and certainly wouldn't use atomic theory as his foundation for understanding the world, so he wasn't the slightest bit worried his head might literally explode.
Eric skimmed through the paper at speed, then abruptly looked up. In those pale gray eyes set in his impassive face, a fanatical light blazed to life: "Something far smaller than an atom — a brand-new particle. Lucian, the reality of the world is even more complex than we imagined! Your contribution is comparable to the confirmation of planetary existence!"
For researchers of Arcane and Arcane Magic, this meant more than the periodic law of elements, more than the discontinuity of energy. The former merely summarized a pattern; the latter was still confined to hypothesis. The discovery of the electron peeled back another layer of the thin veil draped over the world — a further revelation of its true nature.
"If they actually exist…" Lucian added inwardly, almost by reflex. He hadn't expected that Mr. Eric, who had thrown himself into administrative duties, still retained a measure of pure devotion to Arcane — to the exploration of the world's truth.
"No, no — the existence of planets hasn't been confirmed yet. The significance of the electron's discovery should be compared to light being an electromagnetic wave, Maxwell's equations, the three great laws, and the miracle experiment. From the vastness of the starry sky down to this infinitesimal scale, we who exist within it all are so… 'insignificant.'" Eric swiftly corrected his own mistake, muttering incoherently under his breath.
Lazar held back the urge to tease him again — after all, the steward was already turning to Lucian with a grin: "I've never seen Mr. Eric like this before. I'd only heard that when he was at the magic academy, he would occasionally get into this sort of state."
After a few minutes, Eric gradually calmed down and smoothed what little hair he had. "Evans, having you write the foreword is absolutely no issue at all! You're quite right — the gate to the microscopic world is opening before us. Just how small can matter be?"
"We still know very little about the microscopic world — it calls for all Archanists to explore it together. But Mr. Eric, discussions of truth can wait. First, could you help me bring out the documents and the badges? Otherwise, the other important items won't be able to come through the transmission."
Lucian interlaced his fingers and folded his hands together, offering the reminder with a touch of humor.
Only then did Eric remember the small cage still held badges and documents inside. He reached in to retrieve them while saying to Lucian: "There's a line on the inside cover of *Arcane*: 'Issue 10, Year 789 — Special Presentation for Mr. Evans.'"
"A special collector's edition…" Lucian hadn't expected *Arcane* to go to such lengths.
"Six — sixth tier?!" Eric's voice stuttered. The badge he'd pulled out along with the two documents bore six silver stars on a black field, and its radiant glow seemed bright enough to dazzle the eyes.
"Sixth tier?" Lazar narrowed his eyes to look, feeling equally stunned. He knew the discovery of the electron would bring Lucian a generous award of points, but he hadn't expected him to qualify as a sixth-tier Archanist right now.
Reaching the sixth tier meant officially crossing the threshold into the upper ranks — belonging to the upper echelon of the Magic Council!
"Could they have made a mistake with the badge?" Eric examined it with some puzzlement. "'Lucien Evans, Arcane points: three thousand and sixty-nine.' It really is sixth tier…"
Lazar opened his mouth, then laughed in bewilderment: "Perhaps the discovery of the electron was considered so important that the Review Committee awarded more points than we expected. One of those two documents should be the review evaluation."
"Evans, may I take a look?" Though he was eager to know the exact point award for the electron discovery, Eric did not forget his manners — especially now that Lucian had become a sixth-tier Archanist!
Lucian didn't mind at all and smiled: "Go ahead and read it aloud, Mr. Eric. Lazar seems curious to hear it too."
In order to prevent the impact of the content from spreading too quickly, Lucian had only submitted the paper a few days ago. He hadn't expected the review results to come back bundled together with the published journal issue.
"It's not 'seems' — it's 'definitely,'" Lazar said with a self-deprecating grin.
"Committee Member Laventi's assessment reads: 'A simple yet elegant experiment' that confirmed from the order of magnitude the existence of a particle smaller than an atom, revealing a new domain brimming with possibilities."
"Lucien Evans's discovery is, without question, groundbreaking. It has opened the gates to the microscopic world. Perhaps in the future it will change our era. Only when we look back from that vantage point will we truly be able to assess just how momentous this discovery is. At the same time, it broke through outdated concepts and overturned the theory that the atom is the most fundamental substance — it is of paramount importance and exceptional value for discussion. Recommended award: six hundred Arcane points and five thousand Arcane credits."
Eric read out Review Committee Member Laventi's evaluation in a measured voice, though the Arcane point award was not as high as they had imagined.
The subsequent evaluation from Roclini was largely similar to Laventi's, also recommending six hundred points. The combined verdict read: "A pioneering discovery in the microscopic domain that has broken through some of the limitations of atomic theory — an contribution of extreme importance within the field of elemental magic, of exceptional value for discussion, and one that may, in a certain sense, usher in a new microscopic era. Award: six hundred Arcane points and five thousand Arcane credits."