Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
The hall of the Allyn branch of Moonsong League was covered in a layer of cool and soft moonlight.
“Jurisian, what’s the banquet for?” A short young man looked around in confusion, “Why are those elementalists here today?”
It looked like he was only in his seventeen or eighteen, but his voice was rather mature.
The man he was talking to had black hair and dark brown eyes. With a gentle smile on his featured face, the man said, “no idea. The president informed me to come, so here I am. I’m not gonna stay here for long though, a banquet like this is always boring.”
Jurisian was wearing the five-star arcana badge and the five-circle magic badge. Thanks to the introduction of the Influence Factor, he had reached the next arcana level in these years. Also, because of his constant practice in fighting skills, his magic level had also advanced. Now, he was heading for the senior-rank.
“Jurisian, I’d rather it had been you who put forward the light quantum hypothesis.” Another sorcerer from the school of Electromagnetics joined their conversation and moaned to Jurisian. “Why you stopped digging in after discovering the photoelectric effect?”
Jurisian swirled the golden liquor in his glass. The smile on his face remained unchanged. “How do you know I never dug into it, Pono, Feya? But putting forward the hypothesis not only relies on conducting multiple experiments, but more importantly, an open mind and brilliant imagination unconstricted by the past theories. I never paid enough attention to the paper written by Lucien on energy’s discontinuity, so how could I get the key premise for raising the hypothesis?”
Pono was the short man who was talking to Jurisian earlier. He was more talented in magic than in arcana and was one of the sorcerers in Moonsong League who were most likely to reach the senior-rank. Hearing Lucien’s name, Pono said in resentment, “every time I think of that person, I want to destroy the place with lightning balls! My teacher’s cognitive world was broken and solidified because of his hypothesis, and my friend… his blood was all over my face…”
“If I see him outside of Allyn, I’ll put him in trouble!” Pono claimed.
“Put him in trouble? How?” Feya asked sharply, “as a fifth-circle sorcerer? Will all those awards, he could counter a seventh-circle sorcerer, not to mention New Alchemy. Lucien Evans is the future grand arcanist. Stop dreaming.”
She did not want to be this sharp. Her sarcasm came from the feeling of helplessness, for the sorcerer Polo just mentioned whose head exploded was also her friend.
“I know,” said Pono remorsefully, “but if I don’t think in this way, I’d go nuts. At least, when I see Lucien Evans, I do have the courage to spit in his face.”
“That’s very impressive. I think I do, too.” The corner of Feya’s eyes went red.
Jurisian was still wearing the same indistinguishable smile on his face, listening to their conversation quietly. The conversations of the other sorcerers could also be heard.
“If I see Lucien Evans in person, I’ll go and ask him directly how to explain the diffraction and interference of light using his hypothesis.”
“There will be one day when his head will explode because of a similarly bold hypothesis based on the wave theory!”
“I don’t care if he is a grand arcanist in the school of Element and Alchemy or not. Lucien Evans will never understand Light-darkness using his particles. The light quantum hypothesis is very likely simply a part of a correct wave theory. It’s not the end yet! We still have the classic theory in electromagnetism and the experiment image!”
Jurisian slightly rose his eyebrow. In his eyes, those high-rank sorcerers were like some little puppies whining after losing a game.
In such a situation, most sorcerers present were actually talking about Lucien. This was enough to show how much they hated Lucien Evans and his hypothesis. At the same time, on the other side of the hall, the elementalists and alchemists were also having a heated discussion over New Alchemy, although it was no longer a new topic among them. In their eyes, Lucien was going to be the future grand arcanist, the legendary, the new leader of the entire Congress.
Suddenly, Pono’s eyes opened big. He pointed at the stage in the front of the hall,
“There!”
Jurisian looked over and saw that Joaquin walked on the stage together with a cultured young man.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” said Joaquin, “this is Mr. Lucien Evans.”
Lucien Evans? Pono recalled the horrible scene of his friend’s death as soon as he saw the young man on the stage. Until today, he could still smell the blood and feel the squishy brain tissues on his face. The sight of the headless body collapsing to the ground came back to him.
He had this great fury burning inside his heart, but fear seemed to be more. He could not utter the feeling, as if staring at this young man one more second would blow his head up.
The fine glass dropped onto the floor from Pono’s hand with a crispy sound. The scarlet liquid stained the carpet, just like the uncleaned floor from then.
More glasses dropped. Staring at the color of the wine, Feya couldn’t hold back her nausea anymore. The scene reminded her of that day, the day of blood.
Unable to control their anger, many sorcerers directly squeezed the glass in their hand into pieces. Wine splattered over them,
Their faces became distorted because of the hatred but also fear.
As the sound of glass breaking died away, silence dominated the entire space. Even the sound of breathing had disappeared.
“Ladies and…” Lucien took a step forward and bowed politely.
Lucien did not even finish his starting words. As he took a step forward, the guests backed away subconsciously. Some were shaking their heads as if they were trying to get Lucien’s words out of their brains, or their heads would also explode. Among them, there were a few senior-rank sorcerers from Moonsong League who Lucien also knew, yet they were the same afraid as if Lucien would utter some extremely subversive theories at any time.
Silence resumed.
Lucien wondered if his name had joined one of the spooky campfire stories or nasty stories to scare young kids. Luckily, there was no kid here.
Joaquin was a bit pissed with how these sorcerers from Moonsong League responded to Lucien’s arrival — They had lost their decency!
Joaquin coughed a bit, and the solidified atmosphere started to break, yet no one dared to challenge Lucien in the face, although many of them were bragging about this minutes ago. They were afraid of Lucien; this fear was a result of many broken skulls, fresh blood, and brains.
“We’re gathering here today for awarding Mr. Lucien Evans with the no. 21 Silver Moon Medal, to recognize his great contribution to the school of Light-darkness and the school of Electromagnetism, for raising the Light Quantum Hypothesis,” Joaquin said a bit sorrowfully — The award was first established in memory of the birth of the wave theory and the classic electromagnetic theory, but now, the award would go to the hypothesis which overthrew them.
Jurisian examined Lucien calmly. It had been three years since the hypothesis first came out and he had already accepted it. As a young and less conservative arcanist of the new generation, he was not saddened by the fact. However, Joaquin’s words seemed a bit sarcastic to him — Lucien Evans’s great contribution? Contributing headless bodies and broken cognitive worlds?
The guests present finally realized the reason for being here today. It seems that without doubt, His Excellency Mr. Brook had found the evidence to prove the hypothesis.
“I always believed that It’s rather stupid to be obsessed with the question ‘particles or waves’.” Lucien, the devil king in the audience’s eyes, started speaking again in the aggressive air of confidence before taking over the Medal. “Is it really hard to accept the truth, to admit that the experiment results indeed show duality? We should see this from a broader and higher perspective. The micro-world goes beyond our imagination, thus we need to recourse to only the experiment results and math equations.”
No one dared to utter a word, however, it did not mean that they agreed with Lucien.
Duality? Both particles and waves? How could that happen?
Lucien glanced at the expression of the audience and didn’t go any further. It was better to just give them some hints. Smiling, he continued. “This’s my first time winning the Silver Moon Medal, and I am totally confident that this is not the last time. In this brand new realm, honor is only saved for those who are open-minded and unbiased.”
Then, Lucien took over the medal and wore it on his left chest, next to his Ice & Snow Medal.
He had won the highest honor of five different fields. Including Lucien Evans, only two accomplished this achievement in the Congress.
“The Silver Moon Medal, Light Quantum, level-seven perfect-rank magic item.
“Electric currents can paralyze the body and destroy the soul. The sorcerer wearing this medal could gain greater power in paralyzing his or her enemy when striking the target with lightning. Meanwhile, the power of the spells in the school of Electromagnetism and Light-darkness can be empowered to the seventh-circle.
“Great magnetic force will form a halo and encircle things within, which works perfectly when the targets are metal golems or knights wearing non-magnetic-proof armor — Seventh-circle Electromagnetic spell, Magnetic Halo. Cast three times a day.
“The giant lightning shall destroy everything — Seventh-circle Electromagnetic spell, Thunder Rage. Cast three times a day.
“Thanks to Lucien Evans for putting forward the Light Quantum Hypothesis, allowing us to see light from another perspective.
“We have figured out what lightning is, but not yet what light is.
“From Edwyn Brook”
…
Rentato, Hexagram Station.
The black-haired man who was always chewing something in his mouth walked casually on the platform. He looked ordinary, like a random passing-by traveler.
Night watcher rank no. 13, level-eight radiant knight —”Flesh Manipulation” Ramiro.
