After some thought, Lucian asked, "As particle velocity and energy increase, the orbital radius grows correspondingly. But the cyclotron has limited space, so theoretical infinite acceleration will inevitably be constrained by external conditions. To break through this limit, you'd either need to use spatial-type magic to subtly expand the interior space, or build the cyclotron on a massive scale — targeting a radius of several kilometers, even tens of kilometers."
If their questions had been vague, Lucian would have used this reasoning to deflect.
"Master, that's not what we mean,"
Annick added shyly, "We tried adjusting the frequency of the electric field's changes to accommodate the shift in orbital period, hoping to push particle energy higher. But we have no existing knowledge to draw on — we can't calculate what the later orbital period should be. So we wanted to ask you: when you invented the cyclotron, did you ever notice this phenomenon? Could you point us toward the problem?"
It seemed they had genuinely discovered something real. Lucian gave a slight nod. "Annick is a very cautious person. If you're willing to raise the question, it means you've verified it repeatedly. It's a real phenomenon. But after I designed the cyclotron, I was forced into extra-planar space before I could run any experiments with it. I can't immediately think of the cause. So let's explore this together."
"The formulas governing motion within magnetic and electric fields appear correct upon derivation, and they were perfectly validated in the early stages. So when the problem appeared later, what was different from before?"
"The velocity got much faster,"
Sprint thought for a moment and said, "The energy increased, and the orbital radius grew larger."
Lucian waved his hand. "The latter is essentially just the velocity increasing. So if we compare the different conditions before and after the discrepancy, could it suggest that at high velocities or high energies, the formulas no longer apply? Or perhaps some other property of the particles themselves — such as charge and mass — has changed?"
Lucian had already suppressed his own surprise. He decided to throw this question out and spark discussion among the Archanists, laying both empirical and psychological groundwork for his future submission on the special theory of relativity.
"Heh, how could increasing velocity possibly increase mass or boost charge?" Heidi said with a grin. How could higher velocity alter mass — a fundamental, intrinsic property of matter?
Sprint and Annick wore similar expressions, far more inclined to consider that at high energy states, some portion of energy might convert into electrical energy. Even if the formula broke down at high velocities, that was still worth more discussion than the absurd notion of mass increasing.
"There's still some time before the end of the month. Keep working on this. If you don't make significant progress, submit it as a discussion piece — I'll get Mr. Drummond to approve its publication in *Arcane*." Lucian brought the topic to a close for now and began inquiring one by one about the research progress of
Still, only two-odd months had passed since the institute's founding. That the Atomic Research Institute had already uncovered two phenomena — "superconductivity" and "relativity effects" — was already extraordinarily impressive. The other experiments had naturally yielded no substantive breakthroughs, though Jerome had made deeper discoveries regarding the properties and uses of x-rays, finding that with amplified energy, they could also serve as a slow-acting curse.
Having checked in on the Atomic Research Institute's affairs, Lucian boarded the arcane steam train and returned to Luntart, waiting for evening to arrive.
……
Tall, powerfully built, with golden hair and a handsome face, John attracted frequent glances from passing ladies-in-waiting and maids as he patrolled Nexos Palace.
"John, time's up — my turn to patrol. The day after tomorrow you're on duty at the Nexos Palace communications room. Don't let the pretty girls of the Holm Kingdom make you forget," said Fingal, the burly Great Knight, arriving at nightfall to relieve John. Natasha had distributed the knights who had followed her to the Holm Kingdom among various critical posts throughout Nexos Palace.
John laughed and clapped Fingal on the shoulder. "You think I'm you? All right, I'll take the family to the villa to settle in."
He strode quickly to the palace's side hall, found Joel, Elisa, and Evan, and — guided by a maid — set off toward the villa granted to them in the Nobility District.
"The architectural style is classically elegant, quite distinct from Altor," Joel remarked, examining their new villa with great interest. He showed little of the sorrow one might expect from leaving Altor, for as John had explained, the Queen spent one year in the Holm Kingdom and one year in Valorit, so the family could return home next year. His heart held more of the excitement of experiencing a foreign land — and an unspoken, complicated emotion: *He* must be somewhere in the Holm Kingdom, right?
Without Joel's artist's sensibilities, Elisa simply looked around and found herself very satisfied with the environment. "A villa granted by the royal family indeed — far better than our home."
Passing through the flourishing garden, they reached the villa's entrance. The dark-haired, blue-eyed maid shyly produced a brass key and unlocked the front door. Then, with practiced ease, she pressed something on the wall. With a click, the grand hall blazed with light — crystal chandeliers radiating brilliance as darkness retreated in an instant.
The sight struck Joel, Elisa, and the others with a force of pure wonder. Their own hall was as bright as daytime, dazzling and magnificent — like the Heavenly Mountain described in *The Holy Scriptures*, where night never falls.
The dark-haired maid noticed their expressions and said with a touch of pride, "Baron, these are crystal electric lights — something you can only see here in the Holm Kingdom. They're powered by electrical current transmitted from the river far away. They're very simple to use; you just press the switch."
As a royal maid representing the Queen, she could not casually call them arcane crystal lights as ordinary people would — the proper formal term was "crystal electric lights."
She pointed to a row of switches beside the door and demonstrated, flipping them one by one. "Like this."
Crystal lights lit up one after another, and the entire villa seemed to mirror the stars — breathtakingly beautiful, radiant with splendor. John, Joel, Elisa, and Evan could scarcely take it all in, wondering if they were still dreaming.
"Absolutely incredible. I'm starting to like this place," said Evan, who had been an adult for some time but still possessed the youthful love of novelty, already mentally planning how he would boast about this to his friends back home.
The maid led the still-dazed group into the hall and pointed to the bar near the dining room. "That orange-gold wall panel can be opened. The lower compartment is used to chill wine and various foods, while the upper compartment freezes ice. Put it in your wine glass for an extraordinary taste — it also dispels the heat."
As she spoke, she pulled open the wall that concealed the arcane refrigerator. A small crystal light inside activated, illuminating shelves: the upper section held iron-molded ice blocks of various sizes along with some frozen cheese-like items, and the lower section was filled with bottles of fine wine, drinks, and food. "There is also a temperature-adjustable wine cellar in the villa's basement. They're all powered by electrical energy — no willpower of their own is needed, so even ordinary people can use them."
She directed this last remark at Joel and Elisa.
"Oh, this is awesome! Compared to it, an ice cellar is positively primitive," Evan praised without pause, pulling out a bottle of golden liquor and pouring it into a nearby glass. He added a few ice cubes, gave it a swirl, and took a sip. The oppressive heat of the Month of Passionate Sun vanished in an instant.
"What's this called?" John had recovered his composure and asked thoughtfully.
The maid smiled. "The inventor designated it a 'refrigerator.' This device is not only extremely expensive but also impossible to produce quickly. As of now, aside from Her Majesty the Queen and a handful of great nobles, you are the only ones who have one."