The grand hall of the Aleniol branch of the Silver Moon Song Alliance was bathed in a cool, pale radiance.
"Jurisian, what banquet is this? Why am I seeing mid- and high-ranking mages from organizations like the 'Elemental Will'?" A thin, undersized-looking man glanced around in confusion. He appeared to be only seventeen or eighteen, but his tone was anything like a teenager's.
Across from him sat a young man with black hair and brown eyes, a faint smile permanently etched onto his angular face. "How should I know? His Excellency the President notified me, so I came. In any case, I'll leave after a short while at this sort of tedious gathering."
Jurisian wore an Archanist badge bearing five silver stars and a Magic badge with five black rings on his chest. Over the past few years, the advent of the Impact Factor had allowed him to advance his Archanist rank by one level. Similarly, because he enjoyed combat and frequently honed his magical abilities, his magical standard had also risen by one ring, and he was pushing toward the high-tier.
"I say, Jurisian, why didn't you continue researching after you discovered the photoelectric effect, instead letting Lucian come up with the light quantum hypothesis? If it had been you, we could have at least accepted it." Several mid-tier Electromagnetism mages gathered around, speaking to Jurisian with a tinge of lament.
Jurisian gently swirled the golden liquid in his hand, maintaining his faint smile. "Bono, Feiya, how do you know I didn't research it? But proposing the light quantum hypothesis doesn't rely solely on experimental research — it requires broader thinking, an imagination less constrained by past theories. After I read Lucian's paper on energy discontinuity, I set it aside on my shelf. What would I have used to propose that hypothesis?"
Bono was the thin-looking man from before. His magical talent exceeded his Archanist aptitude, making him one of the most promising reserve mages in the Silver Moon Song Alliance for eventually reaching the high tier. At this moment, he said through gritted teeth, "But whenever I think of that damn Lucian, I'm so furious I want to use Spherical Lightning to destroy everything here! My teacher's Cognitive World shattered and solidified just like that because of the light quantum hypothesis, and my friend's head exploded right in front of me — brain matter and blood splattered all over my face."
"If I run into him while out on an adventure, I'll definitely make him pay!"
"Make him pay? He's already a high-tier mage — what can a Fifth Ring mage like you do to him? Besides, just the magical equipment he's earned from all those honorary awards is enough for him to contend with Seventh Ring mages, not to mention 'New Alchemy' and being a future Grand Archanist," Feiya said acidly. But her sharpness was more a kind of bitterness — the bitterness of powerlessness and sorrow in the face of reality — because the one whose head had exploded was a mutual friend of hers and Bono's.
Bono said in frustration, "I know, but if I don't think this way, I'll go mad. At least, if I see Lucian, I'll have the courage to curse at him and spit in his face."
"If it's just the courage to curse, I have that too." The corners of Feiya's eyes had reddened.
Jurisian, wearing his barely perceptible smile, quietly listened to their accounts. The conversations of other mid-tier and high-tier mages drifted into his ears from time to time.
"If I see Lucian? Evans, I will certainly ask him to his face how he plans to use the light quantum hypothesis to explain the phenomena of light interference and diffraction!"
"Someday, I'll use a similar wave hypothesis to blow his head apart!"
"Whether or not he's reached Grand Archanist caliber in the Elements and Alchemy fields, the matters of Electromagnetism and Light-Darkness are absolutely not something those particle-researching fellows can figure out! The light quantum hypothesis might just be one part of some correct wave theory. We haven't lost yet — we still have the classical Electromagnetic theory and experimental frameworks!"
"Losing puppies always howl..." Jurisian silently quipped to himself, not holding back just because they were high-tier mages or great mages.
At a banquet like this, the conversation had essentially revolved entirely around Lucian. It was clear how deeply the Electromagnetism, Light-Darkness, and most other school mages despised the light quantum hypothesis and the man himself. Meanwhile, the mages from the Elements and Alchemy fields were excitedly discussing "New Alchemy" — even though they'd already been at it for days — and in their conversations, they praised Lucian as a future Grand Archanist, a pinnacle Legend, and a man who could shoulder the responsibility of the Magic Council.
Suddenly, Bono's eyes went rigid, and he pointed toward the platform at the front of the hall. "Is that...?"
Jurisian looked up and saw President Joaquin standing at the center of the platform alongside a handsome, refined young gentleman. "Ladies and gentlemen, this is Mr. Lucian Evans."
Lucian Evans? The moment Bono laid eyes on this young man, the scene of his friend's head exploding before him flashed before his eyes. At first it was excitement and anticipation, but soon, milky brain matter and bright red blood came flooding in to fill everything, and amid the thick stench of iron, the headless corpse slowly toppled over.
The instant he recalled this event, beyond the fury, Bono was gripped by an indescribable terror — as though one more look at this man and his own head would burst apart just like his friend's.
With a delicate clink, the fine wine glass slipped from Bono's fingers and shattered on the carpet into countless pieces, the crimson liquid quietly seeping into the fabric, much like the ground that had never quite been cleaned back then.
The sound of the shattering glass seemed to trigger a chain reaction. Clink after clink, dozens more glasses fell to the floor in succession. And gazing at the color of the wine, Feiya could no longer hold back — she bent over and dry-heaved, her own cup dropping to the ground as well.
In contrast, the wine glasses in many mages' hands exploded with a sharp crack, spraying liquid all over their bodies — they had crushed them bare-handed.
Their expressions were twisted and savage, brimming with hatred and loathing, yet threaded through with a deep, primal fear.