Chapter 327: Lucien’s Classmates
Translator: Kris_Liu Editor: Vermillion
On the thirty-third floor of the Congress of Magic, in a not very big room, the large windows let in the sunlight, covering all the desks, chairs and shelves with a thin layer of golden halo. The place looked rather clean and quiet.
Fernando received a letter from one of his old friends after bringing Lucien and Thompson back here. So, he entered a small separate room to carefully read the letter, leaving Lucien and Thompson outside waiting for the arrival of their other classmates.
“Mr. Thompson, thank you for allowing me to work in Douglas Magic School. It really helped me a lot when I first arrived in Allyn.” There were only the two of them in the lecture room. To be friendly and polite, Lucien found a reason to talk to Thompson.
Thompson slightly lifted his gold-rimmed spectacles and smiled, “You’re welcome. Actually, it was your own papers that helped you with getting that job. I can say that most arcanists could see the inspiration and value in your papers.”
“But Mr. Thompson, you also recommended my paper to our teacher.” Lucien looked around the lecture room which was like a study but also like a small meeting room and asked a bit confusedly, “I thought our teacher would bring us to his demiplane magic tower for the gathering.”
Thompson smiled, “According to the regulation of the Highest Council, at any time, there must be at least one grand arcanist staying in Allyn. So the grand arcanists have agreed that they would take turns every five years. By the way, we’re both the students of the Lord of Storm, so just call me Thompson. Also, your arcana level should have reached level five, and mine is only level six.”
Thompson took a glance at the badges that Lucien was wearing on his left chest. Lucien had not had the time to upgrade his badges, so they remained at level four and the third circle.
“It’s probably still gonna take three or four months for my arcana level to reach level five.” Lucien answered uncertainly. When he left Allyn, he only had eight hundred and fifty arcana credits. He was away from Allyn for the mission for about a year and a month. Usually, Lucien could get ten credits from his papers and the magic spells he invented every month, therefore, Lucien guessed that he had not become a level five arcanist yet.
Thompson shook his head and sat down on a random chair, “You know better than me how great influence the Periodic Table of Elements has on the researches in the field of Element. This year is the year of elements. Many papers developed in this year are about valence state analysis, and the Periodic Table of Elements is the foundation of these researchers. So, based on the number of papers in the field of Elements I have read, I believe your credits should have gone over a thousand several months ago. However, many arcanists are certainly jealous, so they applied to the commission that there should be a time limit for those fundamental findings such as your Periodic Table to earn points.”
Thompson stopped here after triggering Lucien’s curiosity. Thompson specialized in the school of Elements and Thermodynamics and was an expert in casting spells using explosion, flame, and high-temperature. However, he was not a member of any organizations. Like the Lord of Storm, Thompson was a pure supporter of the Congress. Thompson appreciated Lucien’s talent in the school of Element and he would love to be Lucien’s friend.
“So… What did the commission say?” Lucien asked as Thompson hoped. Lucien also felt happy for K, as he knew that K was right now delving into the field of valence state analysis with his teacher, Larry.
Thompson smiled, “There’s no way that the commission would say yes. Although there are a lot of papers citing your findings right now, after about two years, most of the following papers will not directly use your paper as part of the reference but other later researches based on the Periodic Table of Elements. So your credits gained from it will drop significantly, but it’ll also become more stable.”
“That makes sense.” Lucien nodded. Actually, Lucien had a plan for this. He was going to modify the Periodic Table of Elements from time to time, so his gaining of the credits could be more sustainable. Due to the limited conditions, Lucien left out some details when he first published the table, but now things were different.
Then Lucien and Thompson started to talk about valence state analysis.
A while later, someone knocked at the door and then a young man walked in. His face was very thin, making his cheeks look rather protruding. His eyes were as blue as the summer sky, clear but looked a bit sad. In Lucien’s eyes, he was more like a poet than a sorcerer. However, the badges in front of his chest revealed his power: there were seven silver stars on his arcana badge and seven black rings on the magic badge. Also, he was wearing the badge from Arcana Review Board, on which there was a hand holding a quill, as well as another badge drawn with lots of ice-crystal patterns.
“Lucien, this is Cole, another student of the Lord of Storm. Cole is a member of Arcana Review Board and an expert in studying molecule movement in Thermodynamics. Right now, he is working on further investigating in the second law of Thermodynamics using Probability and Statistics,” introduced Thompson.
The second law of Thermodynamics was first put forward by Fernando and some other experts in order to refute a hypothesis developed years ago. When Phlogiston Theory was abandoned, more and more sorcerers started to realize the connection between heat and energy. They also came to understand that when the temperature of an object dropped, energy would be released, thus many believed that they could use the heat from the endless ocean water to run the magic circles forever, but they kept failing.
Then Thompson turned to Cole, “This is our new classmate, Lucien Evans, the winner of Holm Crown prize.”
Cole put on a friendly smile, “Hi, Evans.” He was not very talkative. After greeting Lucien briefly, Cole sat down in the corner and stayed in his own world, as if he was the only one in the lecture room.
Later, another two seventh-circle sorcerers arrived. The female sorcerer was Ashikana, and the male named Lacie Carter. They both looked not too young and also not too old. When it came to their achievement in magic and arcana, they fell behind Cole.
When Lucien was about to talk to them, someone knocked at the door eagerly in a rude manner. Lucien’s classmates all smiled, and then Thompson stood up and opened the door.
It was a dragon, with a beautiful layer of scales like crystal.
It was Lucien’s first time seeing a dragon this close. He could not hide his curiosity.
The dragon also took a glance at Lucien curiously and said to him in a child-like voice, “I know you. You’re the sorcerer with that good-looking ring!”
Then the dragon stared at the ring, Element, on Lucien’s right hand, and it could not move its eyes away. He said to Lucien, “Can I have it? I can sell myself to you for a hundred years!”
“Alferris, that’s enough,” Thompson said to the dragon and then turned to Lucien, “He has sold himself, and he can’t do this again.”
Lucien was a bit startled by the dragon’s words. Hearing what Thompson said, he was a bit relieved. Buy why was there a dragon here?
Alferris unwillingly looked way. After covering itself with a layer of light, the size of the dragon shrank and it walked into the lecture room like a big hound.
“Alferris is a crystal dragon. When our teacher found him fifty years ago, Alferris was still in his eggshell. He has been studying magic and arcana after the Lord of Storm with us, and he has revealed his outstanding talent in arcana. Due to a mistake in an experiment years ago, Alferris was cursed, so he cannot grow bigger or transform his look in about a hundred years.” Thompson explained to Lucien.
Therefore, the dragon was both Fernando’s pet and his student.
“So, Alferris, what have you been working on recently?” Seeing that the dragon was still peeking at the ring Lucien was wearing, Lacie, the blond and green-eyed sorcerer, smiled and asked.
“Uh? Recently?” Alferris looked rather casual, “I’ve been sleeping. Not doing much recently.”
Thompson said to Lacie directly with a big smile on his face, “Alferris sold himself for money, and he is being studied by someone else recently.”
Alferris’ appearance warmed up the lecture room. Soon, Fernando walked out of the separate room.
Fernando sat down on a random chair and said to his students seriously, “As usual, we hold a meeting like this every month to share our research progress and discuss the problems we encounter. Hopefully, we can all be inspired.”
This was an explanation made for Lucien, the new student. And then Fernando continued, “I just got a letter from one of my old friends. I think I shall read part of the letter to you, so you can know how other arcanists understand and perceive the development of magic and arcana. This letter is from Viscount Lauren, an archmage, member of Arcana Review Board, the winner of Silver Moon Medal and Ice & Snow Medal.”
Viscount Lauren was a nobleman from the Kingdom of Brianna, and he was right now also living in Brianna.
Then, Fernando started to read the important part of the letter, “… Along with the establishment and improvement of Electromagnetic System Theory put forward by Mr. Edwyn Brook, the overall system of arcana has gradually come to shape. The system represents a mature, advanced and wonderful arcana world in which Mr. Derrick Douglas’ theory serves as the sun while Mr. Edwyn Brook’s theory as the silver moon. Everything found in this world is connected by those strict and stunning laws. Although we are still on our way of exploration, and although we are still seeking for more laws to better explain the connections, the two systems I mentioned above shall be the only two fundaments supporting to the world. Our further findings shall all belong to the two major systems.”
