Deep in the night, when Lucian had separated the three types of rays one by one via the electromagnetic field Magic Circle and other arrays, and determined some of their properties, two brand-new elemental light points emerged within his semi-corporeal cognitive world, joining the trajectories of the other elements according to a periodic law.
One of the elements was colorless, exceptionally "lazy," and possessed almost no distinguishing characteristics. The other, a silvery-white elemental light point, continuously radiated three distinct rays: one resonated with the electrons orbiting the element; another was colorless, odorless, and stood apart; and the third displayed strange, shifting, almost imperceptible colors to the naked eye, containing within it fragmented magical runes. These runes formed an unsettling, incomplete, and eerie model.
From these incomplete runes and the partial three-dimensional pattern, Lucian sensed a "curse" power—silent, imperceptible, killing without a trace.
"I'm not skilled in curses. To use knowledge of curses and runes to complete the spell structure and make it true Arcane Magic would require at least half a year of dedicated study." Lucian was already an experienced hand at creating several unique Arcane Magics, and he made this judgment quickly. Moreover, this was with the guidance of the first mapping interaction between his cognitive world and the real world. If he simply tried to improve upon an existing curse spell, the time required would be at least five years.
"However, this curse spell has a high rank—higher than the still incomplete Elemental Order. It's probably the sixth tier. If a mid-tier mage on the verge of high-tier, whose cognitive world has begun to materialize, had radioactive elements as spellcasting materials, they could probably manage to use it, though they'd be drained of mental energy after two or three applications."
The Elemental Order spell was a third-tier spell before the discovery of the electron; its power grew with its rank. After Lucian discovered the electron, the refined "Elemental Order" had become a standard fifth-tier spell, with its separating force increased by twenty percent compared to the third-tier version.
Precisely because the structure of this "curse" was more complex than the "Elemental Order," Lucian judged it to be sixth-tier. However, since much of its structural difficulty lay in the mapping construction of radioactive elements, with the right spellcasting materials and incantation, the structural complexity would drop to somewhere between fifth and sixth tier. For an Archanist with mathematical knowledge and arcane analytical ability nearly at the high-tier level like Lucian, it would be barely possible to cast it by chanting, though the time and mental energy required would be terrifying.
"What should this 'curse' be called? 'Invisible Reaper'? 'Arcane Curse'? 'Evans' Condemnation'? 'Lucian's Gaze'? 'Professor's Concern'?" With a strange new curse spell likely to join his arsenal within half a year to a year, Lucian was in high spirits, considering several possible names before deciding he'd name it once it was truly created.
The "curse" could wait. Lucian began to chant an incantation, combining it with the "helium" he had just collected, attempting to separate helium gas from the air.
This was the benefit of the world of magic: there were many strange yet highly effective Arcane Magics. For example, once you possessed a certain element and knew most of its properties, you could use it as a spellcasting material to "adsorb" gases containing it from the air.
This spell was called "Hathaway's Coalescence," a fifth-tier spell essential in any advanced magic laboratory. An ordinary magic laboratory would find the cost of the Magic Circle prohibitive.
After the arcane and guttural incantation, Lucian didn't sense any gas gathering and frowned, guessing that the concentration of helium in the atmosphere was too low, resulting in poor spell effectiveness and difficulty in adsorption.
Fortunately, Lucian's Atomic Research Institute was configured to the standards of an advanced magic laboratory. He quickly activated the corresponding support Magic Circles, and finally, he felt a faint trickle of gas gathering—from other parts of the room, from the air drifting in through the open window. It took considerable effort to collect a few test tubes' worth of helium.
"The concentration in the air is too low. Does that mean I need to find radioactive element deposits or natural gas fields? Hiss... perhaps in the stars, in the cosmos, I could gather sufficient materials, but the radiation 'curse' there is too terrifying, far beyond what I can handle now. I'll have to ask my teacher for help in the future." Lucian began to consider the problem of future spellcasting materials.
Atlantean the Cursed Eye was also researching the curse problem of the vase. Although he didn't conduct experiments with the clear purpose Lucian had—he wasn't skilled in "Arcane" research—discovering that a certain ray was the nucleus of a "helium" atom and obtaining that curse spell was only a matter of time, likely within a few years. Therefore, Lucian planned to register his paper with his teacher as soon as possible, then reveal it at the appropriate time to maximize the period of exclusivity for his newly created magic.
—Whether regarding the structure of ray-based curse spells or using gasification to improve ultra-low-temperature ice and snow magic, the Council had mature approaches. Lucian intended to borrow from them. So, as long as he discovered new gases with even lower boiling and melting points and curse rays, he could quickly create or improve the corresponding spells without "theoretical" or "technical" barriers.
Settling his mind, Lucian began attempting to liquefy helium gas through a series of cascading Magic Circles and pressure arrays.
Just as dawn was about to break, within a high-tier Magic Circle, colorless droplets of liquid appeared before Lucian's eyes.
Instantly, in his semi-corporeal cognitive world, the colorless elemental light point partially transformed into a fine, drifting mist. Surrounding layers of ice and snow coalesced, and mysterious, profound, crystalline runes materialized, wreathed in chilling energy—complex, yet incomplete.
"If the power requirement isn't that high, the corresponding pressure spell rank incorporated doesn't need to be too high either. Ultra-low temperatures within three to four degrees of absolute zero would likely be a seventh-tier spell."