The changes within Lucian's Cognitive World had truly come to a stop. Apart from the additional special spell models and symbols, it appeared at first glance no different from before. But upon closer inspection, one could notice that the edges of the world had begun to curve, and a subtle curvature also surrounded the stars. The elemental light points filling the space had become clearer — protons and neutrons were bound together by an inexplicable force, while the electrons orbiting them took on the shape of an "electron cloud." When observed intently, it would suddenly revert to the appearance of discrete particles.
The foundational background forces — fire, wind, and water — had undergone minute alterations as well. Strands of electromagnetic waves and light were now connected to the "wind," and the mysterious force binding the atomic nucleus shimmered with glints of water-light, reflecting off one another.
The internal structures of atoms had paired up and combined in groups of two or three, forming different spell symbols that converged into the models of two legendary spells: "Atomic Fission" and "Eternal Blazing Sun." These two spell models, together with even more profound and abstruse symbols, composed a complex, dizzyingly intricate three-dimensional pattern.
"So this is the Legendary Profession based on the 'New Alchemy' system?" Lucian examined it with curiosity. Since he had not yet truly entered the domain of quantum mechanics, there were no corresponding Fundamental Legendary Spells for it — only the earlier "Fission" and "Fusion."
A Fundamental Legendary Spell was the most essential spell of a Legendary Profession — the shortest incantation, the easiest to cast, and under identical conditions, the one that best projected the power of a Demi-plane, making it naturally more powerful than a non-fundamental legendary spell. For any Legendary Profession, there were initially only two Fundamental Legendary Spells, and one of them might even depend on one's own Demi-plane. However, as research in a given field deepened and new theories emerged, the number of Fundamental Legendary Spells could potentially increase.
For instance, the Demigod Lich's Fundamental Legendary Spells were "Wail of the Demigod Lich" and "Life Sacrifice Rite." The Storm Lord's were "Raging Storm" and "Storm Barrier."
Lucian's Legendary Profession, born from the New Alchemy system, was a bit more unusual — neither of its two Fundamental Legendary Spells required reliance on a Demi-plane.
Lucian found two sheets of elven tree-bark paper imbued with tremendous power — material suitable for crafting high-tier scrolls — and transcribed and illustrated the new Legendary Profession along with its two Fundamental Legendary Spells upon them.
A soft, refreshing green glow emerged, gathering and sealing the three-dimensional pattern that already harbored mysterious power, recording it. Of course, given the nature of the material, it could only serve as a record.
"What should the new Legendary Profession be called?" Lucian pushed his monocle up, and without spending much thought, chose the most direct and evocative name.
The Feather Pen descended, and a few words appeared beside the sheet of tree-bark paper:
"Atomic Mastery"!
As for the two Fundamental Legendary Spells, seeing how pressed for time he was, Lucian formally named them according to their original titles: "Atomic Fission" and "Eternal Blazing Sun."
The other Legendary Profession, based on the theory of General Relativity, Lucian did not transcribe for the time being. After all, every Legendary Archanist, beyond teaching their own students, kept one or two special legendary spells in reserve as a trump card. So Lucian intended to keep the two core spells of this Legendary Profession confidential, discussing and exchanging ideas about them only with his teacher.
"This new Legendary Profession shall be called 'Spacetime Observer'… and the two core spells shall be named 'Gravitational Collapse' and 'Spacetime Scepter.'" Lucian named both the spells and the new profession based on their respective characteristics. Unfortunately, this was not the Legendary Profession he himself would be advancing into. Still, once the quantum system was truly established, it would likewise give rise to its own understanding of spacetime.
After storing the tree-bark paper and the thesis in his storage pouch, Lucian realized that he had unconsciously advanced to the Ninth Ring. A new spell, "Time Stop," had materialized at the center of his soul. He frowned slightly and thought, "The more my Arcane power and Cognitive World develop, the more I can feel just how bizarre the so-called 'Feedback from the Real World' truly is…"
"Moreover, none of the phenomena recorded by previous Legendary Archanists included that vast, transcendent starry sky. They all described sensing something far away in the infinite distance, in a place beyond reach, as if something intimately connected to their own soul gazed down upon them from on high. I've felt that too — but I also have that boundless, mysterious 'Illusory Starry Sky.' It seems the Feedback from the Real World is an interaction brought about by that…"
Unable to figure it out, Lucian set his doubts aside for the moment and opened his office door — only to run directly into his teacher Fernando, who had teleported straight in front of him.
"Talk on the way — switch to the 'Truth of the World' channel!" The hot-tempered Fernando, not bothering to satisfy his own curiosity and questions, seized Lucian and flashed them both to the corridor outside a room on the thirty-first floor, Zone One, of the Allion Magic Tower. He called out to Samantha and the others inside: "Prepare to start the program — resume the live broadcast of 'Truth of the World.' Lucian will be the main speaker!"
"Yes." Samantha cast a curious glance at Lucian and the Storm Lord, but wasted no time reactivating the broadcast Magic Circle that had been shut down earlier.
Inside the broadcast studio, the Archanists stared at the two of them with barely contained excitement and exhilaration. They too had a keen interest in the celestial phenomena from earlier and were especially eager to learn what theoretical foundation lay behind the extraordinary gravitational reflection phenomenon — such knowledge would be an excellent remedy for the blow their confidence had just sustained.
Taking advantage of a brief moment, Fernando reached out to Lucian through their mental link: "What new theory have you come up with this time?"
After a pause, he added: "Is it world-shattering?"
Lucian tugged at the corner of his mouth. "Teacher, didn't I tell you? I was attempting to integrate gravity into the framework of Special Relativity and generalize it to more universal reference frames. I've made some progress recently and have been organizing the material. I was originally a bit hesitant, wanting to refine it further — at least obtain an exact solution — but today's events made me decide to finish it ahead of schedule. And from this framework, there is an explanation of the nature of gravity that comes closer to the truth."
"An explanation of the nature of gravity…" Fernando seemed to exhale in relief. "As long as your explanation doesn't involve some supreme being having created gravity, then there's no question of 'shattering' anything in this blank field. So what caused the changes that followed?"
Lucian gave his pre-prepared explanation: "I stayed at the Atom Research Institute tonight because I was conducting an experiment to search for neutrons. Near the end of my Cognitive World's semi-solidification, I got a bit too excited and impulsively completed the experiment I had paused earlier. Through the conservation of momentum and energy after the collision, I confirmed the existence of the neutron. That, in turn, triggered the Legendary Profession from the New Alchemy system, which then caused the semi-solidification of my Cognitive World to evolve in that direction."
"Too coincidental — it might fool outsiders, but do you think it fools me!" Fernando growled in a low voice. He suspected Lucian had long had a clear direction — after all, when he first proposed the New Alchemy, he had already made very precise predictions about the neutron's existence, but had deliberately held off on conducting similar experiments in order to earn more citation points through the New Alchemy framework. "The fact that you completed it at this particular moment suggests your Legendary Profession wanted to gravitate toward the New Alchemy direction rather than toward gravity and relativity, doesn't it?"
Lucian gave an awkward smile. "Yes. The atomic domain is the foundation of my research — it's the direction I'll keep working toward."
Having accepted Lucian's explanation, Fernando suppressed his urge to roar. "Let me see the thesis. Go prepare for the lecture."
Lucian nodded, took out the thesis and handed it to his teacher, then walked over and sat down across from Samantha.
Just then, another figure materialized — Helen, wearing a white magical robe, had arrived at the broadcast studio.