In the fifteenth floor of the Arcane Council's headquarters, inside a grand and brightly lit office. The deep yellow carpet, rich with exotic flavor, was soft and comfortable underfoot; the arcane crystal chandelier on the ceiling, even unlit, was dazzlingly magnificent; the dark crimson desk was carved with intricate Magic Circles, suggesting it was no ordinary wood; in one corner behind the bar counter, fine wines for entertaining guests and beverages for personal enjoyment like "Skyblue" were arranged on display... This was the exclusive committee office Lucian had received upon becoming the fifty-fourth member of the Arcane Review Committee. Papers to be reviewed would be transmitted in through the tower's teleportation array. "If I'm not in the office, have the papers sorted and categorized first, then deliver them to my home in a batch each evening. If I'll be away for an extended period, transfer the papers to my teacher, the Storm Lord." Lucian instructed the normally-sized steel golem before him. Papers that required his personal review absolutely could not be delegated downward — they were all "bombs" carrying subversive viewpoints. He'd just have to work a little harder. Though such papers might not appear even once in several years, so there was no need to worry about them dragging down his push toward the high tier. The steel golem's eyes flickered with red light, and it answered in a cold, metallic voice: "Yes, Master." After becoming a review committee member, in addition to the exclusive office, he could also claim a magical servant from the exchange area — Arcane Puppets, Gas Servants, Elemental Lives, and various golems were all available, though none above high-tier rank. After some "careful" selection, Lucian chose the most expensive "Model 812" steel golem, which was said to maintain combat capability for several minutes even within a moderately strong magnetic field. Lucian said nothing more, straightened his collar, and stepped out of the office. Walking along the corridor toward the exit, he encountered several mid- and low-tier Archanists working in the Review Committee. When they saw Lucian's face and the badge on his chest depicting "a single hand clutching a Feather Pen," they all bowed respectfully in the mage's salutation: "Arcana be with you, Committee Member Evans." "Good morning. Thank you all for your hard work." Lucian gave a slight nod. As he stepped into the main hall, the adamantine golem guarding the door also rumbled in a deep, resonant voice: "Farewell, honored Committee Member Evans." This thing was said to be capable of rivaling a Gold Knight? Lucian's eyes gleamed slightly as he looked the adamantine golem up and down, really wishing he could haul it home. But even the Council didn't have many of these golems — they could only be stationed one or two at a time before the doors of the three great committees, the High Arcane and Magic Library, the Material Repository, the High Containment Chamber, and the headquarters of the Supreme Council. Even a high-tier mithril golem was beyond Lucian's current financial means to dream of.
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On the thirty-third floor of the "Alina" Arcane Tower. As usual, Lucian came to his teacher's study to have his learning assignments reviewed and endure the harsh criticism and guidance. Inside the study, besides the Storm Lord, there was also Temps wearing gold-rimmed spectacles, and Alverez curled up at Fernando's feet like a small dog after being shrunk, snoring away. "Temps, I'll look at your paper later — I have something to discuss with Lucian." Fernando set down the paper in his hands and looked up at Lucian. "Your soul, whose potential has been developed, should have stabilized by now. It's time to switch to a better Meditation technique. Moreover, your spiritual power is at the fifth ring — using an ordinary mid-tier Meditation technique won't be very effective. I have here a Meditation technique I've personally improved, one that's quite suitable for pushing from the fifth ring to the high tier, and even after advancing to the sixth ring, it's no worse than other high-tier Meditation techniques — sufficient to carry you all the way to the eighth ring. Would you like to learn it?" What do you think? Lucian felt his teacher was asking an utterly pointless question — how could he possibly delay something this good? Besides, once his Cognition World had achieved initial substantialization, even without the Storm Lord's offer, he'd have gone to the "High Arcane and Magic Library" to exchange for one. "Thank you, Teacher. I was actually planning to search for a Meditation technique just like this." Hearing Lucian's answer, Fernando produced a pre-prepared black, antiquarian-looking book: "My Meditation technique is quite good, but the one most suited to oneself is always the one you develop through your own exploration. Once your Cognition World has achieved initial substantialization, you can combine several high-tier Meditation techniques with your own understanding of spiritual power and the soul, refining it bit by bit. If you can create a Meditation technique at the high tier that's both perfectly suited to you and harmonious with the very nature of spiritual power, you'll have far greater hope than others of stepping into the realm of legend." "Improving a Meditation technique is dangerous and grueling work — before your Cognition World has achieved initial substantialization, it's best not to attempt it, or you'll easily find yourself climbing to the top of Alina's 'Stupidest Ways to Die' list, with every mage laughing at your intelligence. I don't want my student becoming synonymous with 'fool.'" Fernando looked at Lucian with his ruby-like eyes, his expression severe. "Even after initial substantialization, you must still exercise caution, lest you go 'boom' and nothing remains. Understood?" "Understood, Teacher." Lucian didn't dare tell his teacher that his Cognition World had already achieved initial substantialization — he decided to wait two or three years before mentioning it, both to avoid arousing suspicion and because he was grateful that his many affairs hadn't yet led him to turn his attention toward developing his own Meditation technique. The reason his Cognition World had achieved initial substantialization so quickly wasn't merely because he'd proposed that energy exists in discrete packets — it was also because the shock delivered by the fact that the universal constants of his two worlds were identical had caused his Cognition World to reshape itself. This was his greatest secret, and casually revealing it would be nearly impossible to explain with any other rationale. Taking the antiquarian book, Lucian immediately felt a twinge of embarrassment, because the cover read bluntly "Fernando's Meditation Technique" — his teacher's naming conventions were awfully crude and direct! "Lucian, for the next three years, it's best not to leave Alina. If you truly must leave, you absolutely must report it to me or the Affairs Committee beforehand. You're currently ranked fifty-third on the Purification Sequence as the 'Archdevil' — the foremost being below the legendary tier. Countless members of the Night Watch, Cardinals, and Holy Knights are desperate to kill you. I wouldn't even find it surprising if Philibert or Bahaura moved against you personally." Temps, a member of the Affairs Committee, offered this reminder from beside him. Lucian nodded solemnly. Being targeted by the Church was like being clamped onto by a mad dog. Even someone as proud and aloof as
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After Lucian finished receiving guidance and departed, Temps gazed at his retreating figure and sighed twice: "Lucian is about to receive two more Horm Crown Rings, and possibly an Immortal Throne as well. I'm already an eighth-ring mage, yet the highest honors still feel like a rainbow at the edge of the sky — something to admire but never touch." Alverez, fast asleep, suddenly twitched its ear, as if it had heard a temptation too unbearable even for a dream. "Barring any other surprises, an Ice and Snow Medal is all but certain." Fernando seemed to want to provoke his combat-loving student. Alverez quietly cracked open its eyes, and within its slightly translucent amber pupils, phantom images of gleaming gemstone rings and amulets shimmered. Temps smiled helplessly: "Before even reaching the high tier, Lucian may already hold the highest honors in three different fields of Arcane Magic — something that's only happened four or five times since these awards were established." "Discovering electrons from gas discharge phenomena — it's hard not to draw a connection to lightning." Fernando suddenly said something seemingly unrelated, which left Temps quite puzzled. Fernando continued on his own: "Brooke noticed this and took the risk of plunging into the thundercloud layers. With a clear objective, he finally verified that electrons are indeed one of the natural causes of lightning. In other words, if the Silver Moon Song Alliance were being a bit more generous, there'd be absolutely no problem giving Lucian a Silver Moon Medal as well." A suspiciously transparent liquid appeared at the corner of Alverez's mouth. It hurriedly lifted a paw to wipe it away, its gaze flickering uncertainly. "The highest honors in four different fields — an honor never before achieved..." Temps felt he should probably stick to the very promising career of being a combat mage. "But Lucian is an Elemental Will member. The Silver Moon Song Alliance will likely become rather stingy — they'll very probably turn it down on the grounds that he only proved the existence of a smaller particle without verifying lightning as its cause." Fernando let out a snort. "If they want to play blind and deaf, let them — I can't be bothered to scold them. One day, Lucian will make it impossible for them to refuse the award." Temps let out a flat "uh." He hadn't expected his teacher, who never praised anyone, to have such confidence in Lucian. "I'll gradually shift the focus of Lucian's training toward electromagnetism." Fernando picked up Temps's paper with full confidence. So in the end it really was confidence in your own work, Temps thought helplessly as he pushed up his glasses. Seeing Fernando carefully reading the paper, Temps waited with some unease while Alverez silently began to squirm, inching its way toward the door. Once it had slipped away, Fernando looked up and smiled: "With Alverez looking after him, I can feel much more at ease about Lucian's safety." "Heh — I wonder how many years it'll sell itself for this time?" Temps quipped from behind Fernando's back, utterly unsurprised.
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After leaving Fernando's study, Lucian took the elevator back to the eighteenth floor and stepped into the "Atomic Research Institute" office. "Good afternoon, Committee Member Evans."