Douglas flipped through the photocopied materials in his hands, speaking amid the rustling of pages: "The combination style of the different magical patterns is indeed quite different from ours, but we can't rule out the possibility that he deliberately altered them after obtaining them. Any mage qualified and authorized to access the complete structure of the artificial planet would not be so foolish."
The structural model of a spell or Magic Circle was not the only possible one. As long as it conformed to the relevant principles and processes, the resulting spell model or Magic Circle could achieve the intended effect. Therefore, when different mages constructed a spell based on the same Arcane principle, they would often produce models with identical cores but differing details, each carrying varying degrees of personal cognitive style.
Sometimes, when the details of one's own design were sufficiently refined and closely aligned with the principle, it could yield better results than other similar spell models. This was one of the origins of unique spells — though this superiority was not fundamental, since the spell was still constrained by its core structure and could not exceed its limits.
For this reason, the majority of spells that could be freely exchanged would eventually converge on the spell model with the best effect — what the ancient magical empires called the "standard spell." This was especially evident in the Mage Council, where open research prevailed. In many cases, improvements to a spell had to rely entirely on a deeper understanding of the underlying principles.
However, over the past century, the Archanists of the Mage Council had discovered that perhaps there was no such thing as a truly "standard spell" — that is, the spell model with the best effect was not universally applicable, and different mages each possessed their own optimal model.
This peculiar phenomenon had attracted widespread attention at the time, and further research later revealed that it was caused by different mages possessing different Cognitive Worlds. Thus, the spell model best suited to one's own Cognitive World produced the best results.
Since then, many mages who exchanged for standard spells, in addition to analyzing them, would also make fine adjustments to better suit themselves. Of course, one's Cognitive World only stabilized after reaching the mid-tier, so Magic Apprentices and formal mages had no need to do this.
"Hmph, at least we've narrowed the range. I don't believe he'll do nothing from now on — let a few more things like this happen, and we'll be able to pin down who it is!" Fernando drew circles on the list, loathing such people with every fiber of his being, wishing he could drag the culprit out immediately and make him experience what a true storm felt like.
After discussing this matter, Douglas suddenly asked Fernando, Brook, and Lucian about their research progress on quantum field theory: "Still no solution to the infinity problem? I believe your field theory approach is on the right track. Following this path, you'll eventually unravel the nature of electromagnetic force completely. At least the current explanation is a significant leap forward compared to the past. Perhaps once this theory takes shape, Brook's shattered and frozen Cognitive World could be fully restored, and he might even find his own path to quasi-godhood."
From his tone and choice of words, it was clear that he still cared deeply about Brook, this "rebellious student." But finding a path did not mean one could advance. Setting aside the success rate of advancement, simply perfecting the details of the path would likely take many, many years. After all, Douglas had "seen" the path to quasi-godhood through general relativity for several years now, yet his path could not yet be called "found." At the very least, he would need to discover the existence of planets or black holes before he could use feedback from the "real world" to locate it.
"Infinity..." Fernando repeated the word in a low voice, as if he wanted to devour it whole.
Lucian answered with a smile: "We've decided to submit this series of papers after a while, so that more Archanists can study them together. Perhaps their ideas could give us the inspiration to solve this problem."
"Exactly. Archanic research is different from magic — given a solid foundation and sufficient talent, even mid-to-high-tier Archanists can make enormous contributions. Especially over the past decade, many achievements in the new field of the micro-world have come from young Archanists with relatively modest Archanic rankings. This is an era for the young, and you, Lucian, are its most outstanding representative," Douglas said with a touch of emotion.
Lucian laughed: "A great deal of this is also thanks to your efforts, Your Excellency the Chairman, and yours, Teacher. Your Excellency, how are your preparations for searching for planets going?"
"Better than expected. In about a month or two, I'll be able to perform an ultra-long-range spatial jump. I hope to discover that little fellow that's been giving me headaches for centuries." Douglas offered a rare moment of humor.
"A month or two?" Lucian was genuinely surprised. Hadn't the Chairman previously estimated it would take a year or two?
Douglas chuckled. "I changed my plans — I'm putting the search for ultra-distant planets on hold for now, since the Sun, which is much closer to us, might be easier to find. Though it hasn't been successfully located before either."
During the era of the ancient magical empires, legendary mages had used spatial jumps to search for the Sun but found nothing. They therefore concluded that the Sun, like the Silver Moon, was the "symbol" of some quasi-god and could not be found without its consent. Moreover, comparing the Sun with the Silver Moon, perhaps the "Sun God" was not a quasi-god but a true god!
After all, in the years before Douglas's celestial mechanics system, the Sun — which illuminated the earth during the day, bringing light and warmth — had been universally worshipped and imbued with great significance by mages. Together with the Silver Moon, it had become a special celestial body of paramount importance within the astrological system.
Under this prevailing belief, no further legendary mages went searching for the Sun until Douglas himself ascended to legend. But even he failed to find it, so he tentatively accepted the "quasi-god theory" and, in subsequent cosmic explorations, shifted his targets to the more distant stars.
"Your Excellency, please be careful. Our calculations or the factors we've considered may not be complete. If you teleport directly to the Sun's surface, it would be extremely dangerous." Lucian offered this concerned reminder — the Arcane world's version of a mortal chasing the Sun, perhaps?
As for the possibility of teleporting directly into the Sun's interior, Lucian hadn't even considered it. Whether it was the terrifying heat or the immense gravitational pull, either would prevent the "Gate of Space-Time" from opening.