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Chapter 714: Farewell

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

In the north province close to the frozen land, the weather in the Month of Harvest was already turning cold, but today was unusually cozy and comfortable.

A team of cavalrymen rushed on the desert. The sunlight illuminated their black armor and dyed the emblem of bloody bear gold.

They seemed to be searching for something, but they turned a blind eye to the mercenaries not far away from them as if the mercenaries were transparent.

"As I recall, Collective Stealth is a seventh-circle spell, isn't it?" There was a mister among the mercenaries who did not look like a mercenary at all. He leaned against the horse lazily in a red tuxedo with a cup of wine in his hands, as if he feared that other people did not know that he was a debonair 'noble'.

Katrina replied to Viscount Carendia's question proudly. "The study of light has been going on throughout the history of the Congress. Therefore, we have a profound understanding about stealth. Individual stealth and collective stealth are essentially the same."

"It is not very difficult to create a fifth-circle spell that boasts a partly collective stealth effect. As a matter of fact, you've never seen this spell because it can only trick the common knights, Mr. Viscount."

"Sometimes I envy arcanists. You seem enthusiastic in exploration all the time, and you are never bored, unlike us who spend most of time rotting in gloomy castles. I sometimes feel that life is monotonous and nothing is interesting, and that living is no different from death." Viscount Carendia sipped the wine, pretending that he was a melancholy artist.

Katrina smiled. "Mr. Vampire, are vampires not spirits? Why are you under the illusion that you are still alive?"

"It does make sense…" Viscount Carendia was suddenly lost for words faced with the lady who grew up under 'Arcana Voice' and Lucien's education.

Anna looked at them with a smile. She delightedly discovered that the mysterious, powerful sorcerer, Sister Katrina, and the indescribably handsome vampire, Viscount Carendia, still had their normal side. They were not as arrogant and condescending as she feared that they would be.

After the cavalrymen were away, Katrina turned around to Anna and Yakov. "Have you decided where to go?"

Since Viscount Andree was Count Calcate's only heir, the mercenaries feared possible retaliations even though the man should be executed as the culprit for the demon worship case. It was impossible for the Church to protect unimportant people like them all the time.

Therefore, after the incident was over, they seized the time to find their family. Pretending that they had been killed in the feast of slaughter, they left Calcate City with Katrina and Viscount Carendia.

"Sister Katrina, you left the symbol of the investigators of the Congress of Magic in the manor. I don't think Count Calcate would pay much attention to us. Things will be the same as long as we don't stay in the north province. So, we'll choose a place we're familiar with." After surviving the crisis, Anna was less apprehensive about the lesser dangers. "What about you? Are you returning to the Congress of Magic?"

Having grown up in the Schachran Empire, they were far away from the knowledge of the world. Except for Yakov who worked temporarily with official sorcerers, the mercenaries never heard of the Congress of Magic or Allyn before. They only knew Holm, which was famous for clothing, unique jewelry and mines, and they often needed to protect the merchants who smuggled such goods.

Although Katrina had turned into a high and mighty sorcerer, the mercenaries couldn't help but look at her after hearing Anna's question, hoping to spend some more time with her.

"Other missions are still awaiting me. I won't return to Allyn any time soon. Actually, you can go to Holm. It's freer there and there are plenty of opportunities for practice. You will reach East Haven if you go north to the frozen land and then turn east. From there, it will be easy to go to Holm, especially when you are a knight, Yakov." Suggested Katrina sincerely.

Anna's eyes glittered in excitement, but she soon turned gloomy. "Sister Katrina, I actually thought of that before, but… but I've been born and raised on this land, and I love it from the bottom of my heart. The food, the architecture, the poems, the stories, the customs, and the way people live with each other are already etched to my heart. I don't want to leave this place unless I have to. Perhaps, we will go to the few provinces in the east. There are plenty of resources and opportunities, too."

"I'm thinking the same. Rest assured, I'm a knight. No noble will reject the allegiance of a knight. This is not one of those countries in the south which haven't fought any war for centuries." After a brief silence, Yakov said firmly. Maybe he would go to Allyn some day, but that would be when he was already a level-five grand knight, so that he could look at Katrina equally.

Without saying anything else, Katrina simply reminded Anna and Yakov in secret. "You'd better split with the mercenaries like Hank who betrayed you and not let them know your real destination, or they might betray you again in exchange for Count Calcate's reward."

Although she was not vicious enough to kill them, she did have the prudence of arcanists.

"…Alright." Yakov and Anna were reluctant to accept the suggestion, but they finally nodded ruthlessly after recalling what happened in the prison. As experienced mercenaries, they had been used to death and slaughter, and they were certainly not emotional.

Assisted by magic, the team soon reached the frozen land in the north. Anna held Katrina's hand affectionately, her eyes rippling with mist. "Sister Katrina, I'll visit you in Holm sometime if there's a chance."

"You are welcome to come anytime. If possible, I may return to the empire again. When that day comes, you will be able to return to your hometown without concerns." Katrina's voice became gentle. In the Schachran Empire where there were no electromagnetism messaging, telegrams, wired phones, postal service and mailmen, since Yakov and Anna hadn't decided which city to settle in, they probably would never get in touch again after their farewell.

Thinking about that, Katrina better recognized the significance of her teacher's popularization of alchemical items.

Anna suddenly remembered something else. She asked in a low voice, "Sister Katrina, was the cosmos you summoned a legendary power? Was it from your teacher, your father, or…"

"It's the 'Atomic Universe', the demiplane of my teacher 'Atom Controller'. He's a grand arcanist and a legendary sorcerer." Katrina admitted frankly. Her teacher was certainly not an embarrassment for her. On the contrary, she felt proud to be her teacher's student.

"Legendary sorcerer! Just like I thought! Is he as strong as the seraphs?" Anna appeared both shocked and curious. She did not know what a grand arcanist or Atom Controller was, but nobody dared underestimate a legendary sorcerer. The former governor of the north province was a female legendary sorcerer named Fitia, 'Empress of Snow'. Therefore, marvelous stories about her had been left here. They were so unbelievable that people might think legendary sorcerers were only slightly weaker than real gods.

Katrina was good at snow spells partly because of her teacher and partly because of the horror stories of this sorcerer that she grew up with. She was naturally no stranger to the ruler. This 'Empress of snow', on the other hand, disappeared after the Magic Empire was destroyed. Nobody knew whether or not she was still alive.

"Seraphs…" Katrina smiled but did not reply. For her, her teacher was certainly stronger than common seraphs and very close to the Angel King.

After Anna, Yakov and the rest of the mercenaries embarked on their journey on the frozen land, Viscount Carendia finally said with a smile, "Evans is still not famous enough in the Schachran Empire. I believe they would've been more shocked if you compared him to 'Observer', 'Silver-eyed Count' or 'Rhine Carendia'."

That was because Rhine was on the execution list of the North Church, too. Lucien, having grown too fast and barely dealt with the North Church, on the other hand, was not wanted. The North Church understood its abilities very well and did not list all the leadership of the enemy forces. They'd only chosen the enemies who 'committed crimes' in their jurisdiction.

"The execution list of the North Church is not authoritative enough; the Cleansing List is much more-acknowledged…" Katrina talked as if it were arcanist study. For a sorcerer, to be included in the Cleansing List was an honor.

After a little chit chat, Viscount Carendia became solemn. "I still feel that there are a lot of enigmas in the demon worship case. The truth might not be what we guessed. Perhaps, Viscount Andree was also merely a chess piece…"

His suspicion came from the coincidences in the event. He did not have any proof or speculation so far.

"Yes. That's why I simply listed the incidents we'd been through in the report that I submitted through the artificial planet. I didn't draw any conclusion so that the misters of the Affair Committee wouldn't be influenced. Perhaps, they have intelligence that we are unaware of…" Katrina nodded approvingly.

With the artificial planet, she submitted the mission report easily that night. Sometimes, the world seemed small to her, because there was absolutely no problem in communication when Allyn was so far away. It was not until when she saw Anna off just now that she realized that the world was still big, so big that two people might never see each other again after they said goodbye to each other.

"I've found my father's traces around, so I need to hunt him. I have to step away from your next mission." Viscount Carendia said with a smile, but his eyes were cold.

Father? Hunt? Are you not going to take care of that, Mr. Rhine? Katrina was very curious, but she was rational enough to not pursue any further. She left for Dumute on her own.

...

In Allyn, inside the Atom Institution…

Having just upgraded the Moon Timer, Lucien saw Heidi walking towards him with a journal in her hand the moment he entered the library. His student said passionately, "Master, this paper on 'Elements' has constructed a possible model for your speculation on negative energy and antiparticles."

"A possible model?" Lucien had guessed what it was about based on the current studies. He asked back with a smile.

"Yes, the negative energy is the ocean in the vacuum. Perhaps, that is the source of our magic? Vacuums are not necessarily empty." Heidi was quite interested in that. Annick and Sprint, also interested in the article, joined them.

Lucien smiled thoughtfully, "Yes. Vacuums are not empty."

Chapter 715: Ocean of Negative Energy

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

As they spoke, Lucien picked up this issue of 'Elements' and glanced at the title, only to discover that the author was one Telaviv that he did not know. He was a level-four arcanist and fifth-circle sorcerer.

"He's perhaps a newly-promoted sorcerer. Only such young people could've proposed the model without being burdened by experience…" Lucien thought to himself.

It was not because Douglas, Brook, Fernando and Hathaway would not consider the possibility of negative-energy state and antiparticles, and in what form they should coexist with the regular matter if they did belong to this world. However, even if they had such speculations, they wouldn't propose it recklessly but would wait until antiparticles were proved.

If they ever proposed a similar model, the only reason would be that the model would contribute to the discovery and confirmation of antiparticles and negative energy; it's obvious that 'vacuum ocean of negative energy' would not.

In his paper, Telaviv, the strange arcanist, proposed a ubiquitous, all-pervasive 'ocean of negative energy' based on the properties of the microscopic particles.

According to Fernando, electrons would always fill the 'orbit' whose energy level was the lowest. Since negative energy was lower than all existing energy levels, it was obvious that electrons would leap towards that direction. It's like a building's foundation would always be built first, and then it was the basement, the first floor, the second floor, etc.

Not only would the energy caused by such massive transitions destroy the whole universe, but all the observed phenomena so far had convincingly disapproved of the possibility. That was why Dieppe, Larry and other people who concluded negative energy at the beginning thought that their result was mistaken due to their inconsiderations.

After Lucien proposed his quantum equation and foretold the existence of antiparticles, many arcanists began to consider why electrons did not have such changes if negative energy did exist. Therefore, Telaviv reached the bold conclusion that electrons did not 'advance' towards the negative level according to their 'natural instincts' because the negative energy level had been occupied by the other electrons and they could not press any further.

Also, he inferred based on such a distribution of electrons that negative electrons could not be observed by the arcanists, at least not so far. Therefore, in his model, every place in the whole world was filled with negative electrons. They were so dense that humans were essentially living in an 'ocean of negative energy'. Even the vacuum was the same. There were no real vacuums!

Therefore, it was a 'negative ocean' that 'drowned' the universe and boasted 'infinite energy'.

However, negative electrons could be activated. After they transitioned into observable, regular electrons after absorbing energy, a hollow would be left inside the 'negative ocean'. This hollow had the opposite electric charges and the same mass of the negative electrons, and the hollow would be the positive electrons (aka antielectrons and positrons).

After reaching that part, Telaviv continued his guess with the imagination of sorcerers, which was beyond the 'Dirac sea1' from Earth. He believed that the ubiquitous ocean of negative energy was the reason why extraordinary powers such as magic could exist. Spiritual power, willpower and magic patterns were essentially communicating with this ocean of energy in special ways, thereby acquiring unimaginable power that could change the world. Therefore, it was the origin of magic and other supernatural powers and provided an explanation of the conservation of energy in magic.

Hellen, the Witch of Iceland, had tested the conservation of energy between spiritual power and magic a long time ago. The spiritual power consumed equaled the energy that a spell contained at the beginning. The reason why certain spells were much more destructive than the spiritual power consumed was that the spells interacted with the environment and triggered a chain reaction. The most typical example would be 'Eternal Blaze'. However, the question remained, how was the spiritual power refilled after it was consumed?

Replenishing spiritual power with magic potions was normal. Nobody questioned the source of the energy. However, the natural increase of spiritual power was rather strange. Neither the slow recovery in daily life nor the rapid recovery in meditation had a convincing energy source. It was not like the spiritual power was recovered based on nothing, right? When something was increased, something else should be decreased, but no decrease had been observed so far.

There were two mainstream explanations regarding the question before. The first one believed that the recovery of spiritual power boiled down to the reactions within the soul. To put it simply, the soul was like a controllable fusion reactor that provided steady energy for oneself. However, this explanation was faced with the same problem: even reactors needed raw materials; what did the soul consume to generate energy?

In response to that, the most 'romantic' grand arcanist, Oliver, proposed a model that looked legitimate: what the soul consumed was 'itself'. When 'itself' was entirely consumed, it would be the end of one's life. That was why the increase of magic abilities could extend the longevity after the soul was fortified. Longevity could be expanded through rituals also because they filled up the attrition of the soul.

However, this model had its own flaws, and even Oliver did not entirely agree with it. According to his theory, if one were to use less or even no magic, their longevity would be significantly improved, but in reality, the life gap between the arcanists who used magic less often and those who used magic frequently was not distinctive.

The other explanation on the recovery of spiritual power was that the energy came from the 'truth of the world', and 'meditation' was a way to connect the soul to the 'truth of the world'. It could be confirmed by the fact that sorcerers could receive feedback from the truth of the world while the other classes couldn't.

As to where the truth of the world was and how the energy was transmitted, it would be a different problem.

However, it could not explain why knights and magic creatures could also recover on their own, unless they were also connected to the 'truth of the world' but somehow could not receive the feedback of the 'truth of the world'.

Because little progress had been made on what the soul and the 'truth of the world' were, the two mainstream explanations were mere hypotheses that were not supported by any theory or formula.

Telaviv's model of negative energy, on the other hand, described a ubiquitous ocean of energy and explained the recovery of spiritual particles in the most straightforward way based on the Lucien equation as well as the verifiable negative energy and antiparticles.

'Meditation' was the communication between the soul and the ocean of negative energy. Because it was ubiquitous and boasted almost infinite energy, the soul could absorb energy from it to recover the spiritual power. The feedback of the 'truth of the world' would cause certain changes in the cognitive world that intensified the communication with the ocean of negative energy.

By the same logic, the model of negative ocean explained why certain polymorph spells required enormous energy to sustain but little energy to be triggered at the beginning. After Lucien proposed the mass-energy formula, the studies on those spells resulted in suspicion of the conservation of energy. However, Hellen devised a spectacular experiment that the non-conservation of energy in the general sense did not exist.

The model was so significant that Telaviv appreciated the Congress of Magic, Mr. Atom Controller, Lucien equation and the hypothesis of antiparticles emotionally after finishing the main part of the paper. He also nicknamed his model of negative energy as 'spring of magic' and 'supernatural ocean'.

"This is a paper of great significance. It marks that we have a whole new direction to study the nature of magic…" Lucien browsed through the paper and remarked unbiasedly.

Under the magic lamp, Heidi asked, her eyes glittering like crystals. "Master, do you acknowledge the model?"

"Acknowledge? How can I acknowledge a paper that does not have experiments and phenomena? His ideas are very innovative and have given us a new path that may explain the nature of magic, but it remains to be seen whether or not it is a wrong path. Everything has to be based on math and experiments." Said Lucien with a smile.

Although he knew that the model had been abandoned on Earth, he was not in a hurry to disapprove it.

On one hand, Lucien was exploring in the mist himself. The more he studied the microscopic domain, the more he realized that it must be the fundamental reason for the differences between the two worlds. As for which specific part caused the differences, it still required future explorations. Therefore, he could not disapprove it just because the theory was proven wrong on Earth but had to do so with his own experiments and deductions.

On the other hand, Lucien also hoped that the model could inspire the arcanists to consider more about the essence of magic. For a long time, the studies on the essence of magic had been mired in difficulties. Most arcanists had lost their interest in that. Instead of considering why there was magic, they simply devoted themselves to the creation of new spells and the modification of existing spells, hoping that the reason would reveal itself as they went deeper on their respective path. After Lucien proposed the observer effect in the microscopic domain, their methodology seemed correct.

"Our teacher is right. It's only a possible model, but with the model, the quantum state, the quantum superposition and the observer effect do not seem necessary to explain the essence of magic." Deep in thought, Layria said in a daze, which made Heidi chuckle. Was she implying that their teacher's 'observer effect' was wrong right in his face? Well, Annick and Sprint must be happy about it. Their appreciation of the paper was all over their faces.

Lucien smiled. "This can only explain the recovery of spiritual power. It cannot explain why the ocean of negative energy is communicable or why there are a myriad of different spells. That's probably the category of the observer effect, the quantum state and the quantum superposition.

Annick and Sprint did not have any theory to explain those questions. Therefore, even though Lucien could tell that they did not agree with him, they did not propose any argument.

"Are there any other papers?" Asked Lucien casually while he kept browsing the journal.

Chapter 716: The Casual Walk Before Dinner

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

Layria pulled two of them out from the pile of journals. "Basics of Mathematics has been a heated discussion topic this month, and the barber paradox has been drawing the most attention. People call it the big crisis in mathematics."

Although Layria was also good at mathematics, she was still an arcanist who was more into element and alchemy studies, and her interest in mathematics was more for its application. Therefore, she was not at all as anxious as those arcanists from Tower. Instead, she was quite excited.

Taking over Arcana and Nature, Lucien saw the papers written by the president, his teacher, and Hathaway on Basics of Mathematics. On the one hand, they had confirmed the significance of Basics of Mathematics as it helped promote the many studies in mathematics; on the other hand, they also believed that the solution to the barber paradox had to rely on the further development of set theory and its more strict definition.

Before the Basics of Mathematics was born, there was no solid concept of set theory in the Congress. Many mathematician arcanists had realized that set theory could help build the entire palace of mathematics, and thus, it was the foundation of all mathematical findings. Therefore, all the grand arcanists and other arcanists from Tower hoped that they could make the most of the value of set theory while strictly avoiding the possible paradoxes.

However, they did have different beliefs even though they agreed upon the significance of set theory. Some arcanists, for example, Douglas and Hathaway, believed that mathematics should also follow logic, while others, for example, Fernando and Lucien's concept of the axiomatization of math, believed that mathematics consisted of pure symbols and carried no substantial content, and as long as two mathematical theories were not contradictory to each other, studies on both of them could always proceed. Meanwhile, there were still some other trends.

Of course, it was very hard to tell which was correct and which was wrong. All of them could facilitate the development of math, although to different degrees.

"It seems that we haven't been frightened by the paradox. Arcanists are full of passion to solve the problem." Lucien grinned.

His students were a bit speechless. The way their teacher was talking was like he wasn't the one putting forward the paradox.

Lucien leafed through the journal and saw Bergner's paper on "Goldbach's conjecture". Bergner admitted that the conjecture could not be proved at the moment, but it could be approached step by step. That could be done first by proving that even numbers could be written in the sum of the product of M prime numbers and the product of N prime numbers. In other words, they had to prove "M+N" first, and when they could reduce M and N to one, the problem would be solved.

"Sir, they've given your conjecture an interesting name, '1+1'. But Mr. Bergner is still on his way to prove '9+9'." Heidi grinned. "But sir, you haven't solved it, have you? Did you throw the conjecture at us on purpose?"

"I have not…" Lucien shook his head, feeling amused. He expected that Nature would publish many papers on proving "M+N" in the following years, and he hoped that a few decades later, someone could reach "1+2".

After their discussion on the latest journals was done, when Lucien was about to go back to his own office, Heidi asked, "Sir, I heard that the kingdom is going to hold a Rentato Music Festival, and your opera The Valkyrie will be on the opening ceremony?"

"It should be, if everything goes well," Lucien admitted.

These students' eyes lit up as they looked forward to this opera. In the past years, Lucien had put much of his effort on studying magic and arcana, so he only produced some short piano pieces and light music pieces, which quite disappointed his fans. It was said that the opera was from Lucien's years of effort, and thus, it must be perfect and would become a classic.

Sprint was not one of them. He curled his lip as he did not understand their passion. He did not have a specific preference for music.

Later, Lucien walked back to his own office and started staring at the parchment roll in front of him.

After a while, he finally picked up his quill-pen and dipped it into the ink bottle. He then wrote down a title—"Determinism, Free Will, and the Source of Magic".

Although the title resembled Mr. Schrödinger's famous paper named Indeterminism and Free Will, the contents were only similar to a very limited extent. After analyzing the inherent contradictoriness of determinism, Lucien introduced self-awareness and led the discussion to the relationship between the effect of the observer and the origin of magic. Like the model of the ocean in the vacuum, there was no theoretical evidence for this.

"Since awareness has its influence on microscopic particles, the material basis in our world seems to be less firm, so things around us change when we add spiritual power or corresponding magic patterns to them, and magic spells are thus produced. For example, some of our transformation spells work in the way that they reform our bodies on the microscopic particle level. Most magic spells that are not cast with permanent effects have limited lifespans. In the past, we believed that this was because magic effects were 'rejected' by nature, but now, I prefer to use the effect of an observer to explain it. Once the 'observer' appeared, the magic effect would collapse…

"The change in blood powers might come from the instability on the micro-level, for example, the transition of quanta…

"… Some magics require large quantities of energy, which exceeds our spiritual power. But the question is, where does the energy come from?

"… In some transformation spells, materials can be added or removed. As for reduction, we can understand it in the way that the reduced part of the material is temporarily stored in the time and space created by the magic and will resume after the spell's time is up. While this reduction process is understandable, what about the addition of materials? Do those additional materials grow out of nothing? Even if they are formed in this way, according to the law of conservation of mass and energy, the energy required is great. Then where does the energy come from?

"So my assumption is that when casting a transformation spell, what we get from the surroundings is not energy, but basic substances. But where do these basic substances come from?

"…Maybe the existence of the 'real world' can solve our problem, but how does the 'real world' exist? Does it exist in every corner of the universe, which means that real vacuums never exist? What is the nature of the 'real world'? Why can it provide basic substances?

"…Can meditation be described as a process of increasing self-awareness? In other words, the growth of a sorcerer is the process of a weaker observer to a stronger one…"

Lucien wrote the paper all the way to the end without a stop. Finally, Lucien picked it up and released a sigh of relief. He had to make sure that the paper was logically-sufficient, and thus, he had to make others believe that he was inspired by the model of the ocean in the vacuum.

Lucien then put down the paper and turned to ask himself, "Then how should I explain transformation spells… How do they actually work?"

In the afternoon, after submitting the paper to the Sorcerer Administrative Department, Lucien returned to the Atomic Universe and saw Natasha sitting on the couch, absent-minded.

Lucien wondered why both of them were in such an absentminded state today. He walked to Natasha and waved his hand in front of her eyes.

"What is it?"

Natasha, in her long, purple dress, was woken up from her thinking with a start.

She smiled. "It's close to Rentato Music Festival now, so I think I'm missing Aalto."

"I see. I sometimes do, too." Lucien smiled and pulled Natasha up from the couch. "If you want to, let's go and take a walk in Aalto right now."

"What?" Natasha was a bit surprised. Since when did Lucien start taking actions without any plans?

But she still grinned and said, "Alright. We'll enjoy dinner in Aalto."

There was no need to plan for a casual walk!

Chapter 717: A Day in Aalto

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

Aalto in October was like a piece of fruit on top of a cake, sweet but slightly cold. The broad countryside was covered with golden crop fields that formed a sharp contrast to the yellow Laval trees in the city. Together, they formed a picturesque view. Music, which was produced by diverse musical instruments, could be heard from some distance, which added the beautiful background music to the picture. Aalto deserved its title, the City of Music.

"Melzer Black Forest always looks this dark…" said Natasha. She was standing by the Belem River and staring at the trees on the other side of the water. Autumn wind brushed her long, purple hair in the air.

The black forest was full of memories of her earlier years. There was hard work, pain, and joy in the forest. And she would never forget what once happened to her in it.

"Black fir trees, unique to the area surrounding the Dark Mountain Range. Their color can come from the contamination of a specific alternate dimension…" said Lucien in the tone of a professor.

Natasha was amused. "I don't care why they're black. What really matters to me is that I was once chased by cynocephaluses, suffered bad pain from eating wrong fruits, banged my head to the ground from paralysis due to poison, got stabbed in my lower abdomen and then someone had to put me on his back to run for our lives…"

She knew that Lucien wanted her to cheer up.

"You got chased by cynocephaluses? I thought they've never been a problem to you." Lucien was quite interested. In his eyes, Natasha must have been a little Valkyrie since she was a little girl.

Natasha curled her lips. "Less than ten of them, yes, I could nail it. But the problem was that there were hundreds of them, and one of them could even cast spells!"

"What on earth did you do to make several tribes of cynocephaluses chase after you?" Lucien laughed.

Natasha hesitated a bit and waved her arm in the air. "Can't remember!"

"But you've been saying that you never forget anything…"

"Not all the time. I just can't remember!"

Chatting cheerfully, they walked along the river and enjoyed the soft breeze.

At this time, Natasha stopped and pointed at the riverside where lots of garbage piled up. "Is this the place you dug your first bucket of money?"

"Yeah… Many thanks to the princess who dropped the Nightingale veil that helped me take the first step out of the slum." Lucien saw the garbage piles and got a bit emotional.

On the garbage piles, a couple of poor folks were enduring the stink to look for anything that might still worth something. On the river bank stood a stocky man who was supervising them with his arms folded. Even in October, he was only wearing a thin, brown coat.

Natasha sighed, "This place is still under the control of the gangsters."

"New gangsters after Aaron Gang." Lucien was not surprised. The birth of a new gang was no surprise in Aalto. It was just a matter of time.

The stocky man noticed Lucien and Natasha. He was about to warn them and make them walk away, but he turned to look away after seeing the fancy clothes they were wearing. In his eyes, they could be nobles, so he had to be careful.

To his great relief, the couple did nothing but kept walking toward the gate of the market zone.

It was time for high-tea, and the guards standing by the gate were feeling very fatigued. After taking a glance at Lucien and Natasha, who had slightly changed their looks, one of the guards waved his hand and let them in because both of them looked quite decent.

The market zone was still the same kind of busy, and the common tongue in Aalto accent and how people dressed instantly pulled them back to their early memories.

"It feels like we have never left here…" said Natasha. She had many times ridden through the gate and come to the market wearing a veil to find interesting gadgets, so she was very familiar with this place.

Lucien nodded and then took a deep breath. The air mixed with the smell of barbecue, assorted spices, dyes, tobacco, liquor, and stinks pulled him back to the very beginning when he had to bend his back to feed himself.

"I was once a laborer here," Lucien pointed at one of the shops and said, "but I wasn't strong enough. A single sandbag could make me fall to the ground."

Natasha smiled and listened. From time to time, she pointed at a store and said, "This grocery store is like fifty years old. When I first visited it, it was the grandpa who was running the place, but now, it looks like the grandson has taken over…

"…The owner of that place recognized me when I was buying a heptachord there, and he almost passed out…"

Lucien also shared his experience. "… On this street, John and I taught the gangsters a good lesson…"

That was the first step for Lucien to start accepting the world.

The passersby noticed the couple dressing in fancy clothes walking through the market, but Lucien and Natasha did not care.

Lucien and Natasha walked out of the market and entered the administrative district. The street started getting quieter. Only some street musicians and bards were playing wonderful and soothing music.

Serenade for strings in G major, Moonlight, the second movement of New Country Symphony, Pathetique, For Silvia…

As Natasha listened to the music pieces, they triggered lots of her memories. She said to Lucien, "You left Aalto a long time ago, but your music works are still remembered by people. They're classic."

"Listen, your march is also being played," said Lucien.

Natasha was quite proud, but she also said, "If we compare it to a few years ago, I have to say that your music pieces are less popular now. There are many new pieces coming out."

Both of them paid close attention to the development of music in Aalto, so they were familiar with the new music works.

"It's good. Things are always under development and progressing. If there are no new pieces coming out, Aalto's music will have been dead. Fortunately, it's not." Lucien did not mind it.

Natasha and Lucien came to a restaurant where in front of the door there was a street musician playing Pathetique. It was very challenging to most musicians, but he was very good at playing it. Many people were gathering because they could appreciate his skills and talent.

The first part of the music was played very well, as the depression, pain, and tragedy in it were all fully presented, and the last movement was even better. The exquisite skills had fully gripped the listeners' hearts.

Loud applause followed.

The young piano player was a bit surprised by the applause. He was just sitting behind the piano, looking a bit lost.

He was from a small town and came to Aalto a few months ago. He was talented, and he had been practicing very hard since he was a kid. However, the things that he experienced in the past several months had started to make him doubt himself, and the poverty he suffered from had forced him to take such a job playing in front of the restaurant. The warm round of applause was totally out of his expectation.

"Good. There are true feelings in it, not just showing skills and playing." Natasha also applauded and took out a coin.

Smiling, Lucien stopped her. "Are you gonna give him a queen coin?"

After driving away the South Church, the Kingdom of Holm was also minting new coins. A queen coin was equal to a Thale, but there was the queen portrait on it.

Natasha was a bit embarrassed. "Didn't notice. You've got a Thale?"

Lucien took over the coin and gave it a gentle stroke. The queen coin instantly turned into a Thale.

The young players started bowing to the listeners to show his gratefulness. At this moment, he saw a shining coin falling in front of him.

A Thale? He was shocked. That was too generous.

A soft voice spoke, "You played very well, and there were your feelings in it. Your feelings turned this music piece into your own version. That's very good. But your understanding of the music piece and some skills are still a bit problematic…"

The young player was very surprised, but the gentleman's analysis was right. He had been feeling bothered by some problems in his playing but could not find a way to solve them, and the words from the gentleman had taught him a great lesson.

After a while, when he realized what just happened, he found that the gentleman and his wife had left. He could only see them walking away from behind.

He wanted to chase after them to say thank you, but the owner of the restaurant was still watching him.

"Thank you!" he said out aloud from behind.

Such a profound and well-mannered gentleman must be a musician!

Lucien did not look back, but he raised his hand.

"You like being a teacher." Natasha smiled.

Lucien said, "It's not really about being a teacher. It was out of appreciation. If it had not been Mr. Victor and his instruction, I wouldn't have had such accomplishment now. So when I see someone who needs help, if I can, I'll give them some help. Perhaps some help is the last thing they need to be successful. I'm giving back to society."

"Giving back to society… Ummm…" Natasha was a bit amused.

Now they had walked to the Musicians' Association in Aalto and saw the unique-shaped building, which was known for its unbalanced beauty.

In their eyes, the building looked the same to them, as if they just saw it yesterday. But shortly after, Natasha shook her head and looked around. "I'm not sure if it's a good thing though, that Aalto isn't changing at all. By contrast, Rentato is under constant change."

Rentato was during its most rapid development period, just like how Lucien had expected. The entire city was going through great changes.

"If we don't consider ordinary people's life, maybe Aalto is more suitable for the current music style…" said Lucien objectively.

"You're right. I don't think Rentato's atmosphere really fits the symphony. I think it should be something else." Natasha nodded seriously.

"Different cultures and different ages give birth to different kinds of music," said Lucien honestly. He believed that one day, Rentato would even produce rock music.

Natasha was about to say something, but a surprised look appeared on her face. "Mr. Victor…"

Mr. Victor was walking out of the association building. Surrounded by many musicians, he got on the coach and headed for the Psalm Hall.

Lucien watched Mr. Victor getting on the coach, but he did not do anything.

"Don't you want to meet him?" asked Natasha.

Lucien shook his head and said in a low voice, "It's not necessary…"

Showing up in front of him would disturb his peaceful life. It wasn't easy for Lucien to make the Church forget about Victor.

Natasha grinned and changed the topic. "Then let's go to the Psalm Hall. I wonder who's playing there."

"Sure," Lucien agreed. The anti-magic circle was of no use to a legendary.

Chapter 718: The Wrong Person

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

Years later, the Psalm Hall looked the same luxury and magnificent. The architecture style was very different from that of Rentato.

In the hall, the waiter was welcoming the nobles and musicians here for tonight's concert. When it was getting closer to the time for the concert to begin, he was getting less busy, so he could finally feel a bit relieved.

For an ordinary citizen like him, being a waiter in the Psalm Hall was a rare opportunity. If he did a good job, he might get a better job offer from a noble or a musician. Therefore, he was very careful with every single word he said and every single movement he did tonight.

Seeing that some young popular musicians were adjusting their bow ties and walking toward the backstage, he was feeling even more relaxed now. Every week, there was a concert in the Psalm Hall, and rarely were there spare seats left. However, the crazy, grand occasions that he once saw seven or eight years ago never happened again.

Seven or eight years ago, he was only a teenage boy, but he could never forget how the young musician's music works made the entire city crazy.

He wondered if people in other countries were as crazy about music. His elder brother kept telling him that people in Aalto loved music because they had nothing else to do.

The waiter thought to himself, But for ordinary people, what else could they do for entertainment?

Suddenly, he heard the bell ringing. A pumpkin coach arrived in front of the gate.

The waiter was surprised to see a pumpkin coach, but somehow, he felt that it was okay for a pumpkin coach to be here.

Before he could think much, a gentleman in a black tuxedo got off the coach. He then helped a lady in a long, purple dress to get off.

"Madam and sir, are you here for Mr. Francisco's concert?" asked the waiter respectfully.

"Yes, please. We need two seats," said Lucien calmly.

The waiter turned around and led them into the hall. He felt that he had forgotten something important. For example, did they have tickets? For example, why could they just ask for two seats in front of the concert hall?

"Why pumpkin coach?" Natasha was amused by how Lucien took her here.

Lucien rubbed his chin. "Don't you feel it's like a fairy tale?"

Then he turned to look at the Psalm Hall and sighed. "In fact, I'm more familiar with the stage than the audience seats."

"… I never performed here." Natasha also felt a bit regretful. As a princess, she could not.

The waiter found two armchairs and put them in the last row. The musicians sitting in the last row did not care.

As soon as Lucien and Natasha sat down, the concert started. The musician tonight was Mr. Francisco. He was wearing a fine black tuxedo tonight. He first bowed to the VIP seats, and after that, the rest of the audience.

He had straight nose and thin lips, and his cheekbones were a bit high. He had the very typical look of people from the Holy Heilz Empire. And he was still quite young.

"I was always there. See, that's Mr. Victor, Mr. Othello, Franz…" said Natasha.

Lucien also recognized Elena, Grace, and Felicia. He smiled and said, "They could never imagine that I would be here in the same hall with them for the same concert."

Again, Lucien had no plan to meet them.

Francisco picked up his baton. Lucien and Natasha instantly stopped chatting and started enjoying the music. According to the list, this was a piece of symphony called Growth.

Starting from the music scores that were full of suspicion and questions, the melody slowly turned more and more cheerful, which presented the audience a picture of youth and love.

In the melody, every listener revisited their childhood, adolescence, and first love, and then the music scores and musical instruments started getting sharper and more intense. As the pitch rose, the music was like a storm that dragged every single listener back into their most depressing and painful memories.

However, after the storm, the sky had become more clear and blue, and the sun had become even brighter. It was telling the audience that the pain and sufferings would finally go away, and one's life could only become richer with these sufferings and pain.

When the peaceful life reached its limit, the playing of flute was replaced by the confident march, indicating the upcoming challenge.

"Very good, but different from a traditional symphony," Natasha applauded and commented.

Lucien smiled. Such a branch in the symphony in Aalto had finally come into being.

"Single movement symphony. It's more like a poem. While traditional symphony values structure, it is free and focuses on its central idea…"

The musician sitting in front of them heard their conversation and turned around. "You don't know the symphonic poem? Mr. Francisco created it! Did you two just come from somewhere else? This is the most heated music topic in Aalto recently."

Lucien and Natasha exchanged a look between each other, and both of them shook their heads. Lucien was always busy with studying arcana and magic, and Natasha kept focusing on the kingdom stuff and improving herself as a knight. Even though they followed the development of music in Aalto, they did not always know the most up-to-date information.

The musician continued, "But even though you don't know much about symphonic poems, sir, your comment was very accurate. It's obvious that you have a good understanding of music. May I ask if you're a musician from another country?"

"I'm not a member of any Musicians' Associations. I just… love music," said Lucien rather ambiguously.

A dead person would not be a member of the Musicians' Association of Aalto.

The musician did not insist on asking. The musician explained the symphonic poem and Mr. Francisco to them during the break time. "He's a musician from the Holy Heilz Empire, and he was a student of Mr. Christopher for two years. Recently, he is known for his passionate piano playing and bold innovation. The symphony you just heard is named Growth, and it's one of his most famous pieces."

It seemed that Mr. Christopher had another student after Silvia's death, which was a piece of good news to both Lucien and Natasha.

"He's very talented, for sure. You've heard him play. It's a masterpiece! After Mr. Evans passed away, people in other countries said that music in Aalto would gradually die, but now, they should realize they're wrong! Aalto's music is in its blood. In the atmosphere of the entire city, with all the legacies left by all the masters, great new musicians will always come out. Mr. Francisco is an example!"

The musician was a bit excited. His eyes were shining as he looked at Lucien and Natasha, waiting for their support.

Lucien smiled. He said in a solemn and casual tone, "That's right."

"Yes." Natasha nodded, feeling encouraged.

After the concert, when the musician turned around again to talk to the noble couple, he realized that they were gone. Only two empty armchairs were left.

Since when did the Psalm Hall accept adding seats? Somehow, he started feeling a bit creepy.

And somehow, he realized that the noble couple looked a bit familiar to him. He started thinking hard.

...

In Ratacia Palace, Paradise Corridor.

Standing behind the arch window, Lucien and Natasha enjoyed the sunset glow together as the garden was dyed in red. The twenty-four huge mirrors reflected the view like a dream.

Natasha told Lucien the stories that once happened to her here. She was known for her physical strength when she was young, and she once almost destroyed this place.

"We already enjoyed the dinner. It's sunset. It's time to go back now. Such a nice walk," said Natasha while stretching her arms.

Lucien nodded, and he looked at the other end of the palace. "I don't even know who's the current grand duke. Isn't he being rather low-key in the family?"

"It never occurred to him that he could ascend to the throne, but I believe that this is just temporary. Our children, grandchildren, and their offsprings will finally come back to the throne," said Natasha confidently.

After leaving Ratacia Palace, Lucien and Natasha headed for the city wall. At this time, a person in a red robe walked out of the nearby noble manor. It was their acquaintance, Gossett.

Since they were ready to leave, Lucien and Natasha only slightly changed their looks and did not hide their air.

Gossett saw them, and his eyes suddenly opened big!

"Lucien Evans… Natasha Violet?!" Gossett felt his body totally numb, and he could not breathe. He wanted to run away, but he was unable to; he wanted to cast divine spells, but he was unable to.

His legs were shaking uncontrollably.

Suddenly, he saw Lucien turning around and looking at him, smiling. His black pupils were as deep as a lake. Cold sweat covered his forehead.

After a long time, when Lucien and Natasha walked out of his sight, he could finally breathe again. Gossett hurriedly contacted Philibell, the Grand Cardinal.

"Your Excellency, I just ran into Lucien Evans and Natasha Violet! We can still catch them if we turn on the defense circles!"

It wasn't until he started speaking again that he realized that his voice had completely become dry and hoarse, as if he had not talked for a hundred years.

Philibell was astonished, and he soon found Lucien and Natasha using the divine circle. They were slowly walking toward the city wall. In front of them, there was a boundless universe.

Then Philibell's eyes squinted slightly, and he said to Gossett seriously, "You got the wrong person!"

Chapter 719: Model

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

The weather was cool and refreshing, and the sky was high with vast clouds. That was exactly the sight of the Month of Gold in Allyn.

"That's why I love October in Allyn the most…" Thompson, a member of the Affair Committee, stood next to the window with his teacup in his hands while appreciating the scenery outside.

While remarking, he turned around and pushed the gold-edged glasses on his nose, before he asked Conden, his student, "You walked in without asking for my permission after only one door knock. Is there anything urgent?"

Thompson had been amiable to his friends, students, and subordinates and cared little about protocols. Therefore, he did not blame Conden too much for barging in.

As they spoke, he closed the mission report on the desk. That was a rule of the Affair Committee. Those who should not see it must not see it even if they were his students.

This mission report was exactly the one submitted by Katrina. Because she had investigated the demon worship case clearly, the report did not receive much attention in the Task Zone. The senior-rank sorcerer who was supervising the Task Zone browsed through it and believed that the case was already evident. He determined that Katrina's mission had been accomplished. Naturally, her report went to the file room.

Thompson, however, paid much more attention to the demon worship case, because it had something similar to the several cases in Rentato, Cocus, and the northland where primeval devils were summoned or worshiped, and yet it was fundamentally different.

Therefore, after finishing his work, he retrieved the report and prepared to analyze it carefully, seeing if any Demon Lords had also started to develop the power of faith. More importantly, he wanted to figure out whether the incident was independent, or if it was part of the series of cases that took place within the jurisdiction of the Congress of Magic so that he could find the Bird of Death behind the curtain.

It was a pity that he saw nothing but the fact that a grand knight increased his strength by worshiping demons from the report.

"However, some of the details are too coincidental. The people involved are already dead, and a long time has passed. It's barely possible to continue the investigation. It's not like I can go to the abyss to ask the Demogorgon of Darkness whether or not Viscount Andree worshiped him, or capture Nicolle, the Storm of Death, to let him confess why he recruited Viscount Andree as his student, right?" Putting his right hand on the report, Thompson tapped it softly.

Conden, who stood on his opposite side, was a slim and tall young man. His cheeks were hollowed, and his skin had been "burnt" into redness as if he had taken too much sunbath. There was also a fashionable monocle on his right eye. He apologized quickly, "I'm sorry, Master. After I knocked, the door was opened with a gap. I thought that it was a hint that you were asking me to come in…"

Thompson knew his student's impatience and honesty very well. He asked in confusion, "The door opened on its own? I forgot to shut it?"

"I don't know. Well, I ran into Alferris in the hallway. He seemed satisfied…" Conden suddenly remembered something else.

Thompson grimaced regretfully. "Leave him alone… Can I help you with anything?"

A while back, he made a bet with Alferris, thinking that it was impossible for him to be tricked by Alferris' illusion since he was close to the ninth circle, particularly in the Allyn magic tower. Therefore, if Alferris could take away any items from his office without anybody's help, he would open the treasury and allow the dragon to pick a lot of gems. It seemed that he had already failed the bet. However, it did not seem entirely bad. At the very least, he didn't have to be on alert all the time anymore.

"Master, Mr. Evans has submitted a paper entitled 'Determinism, Free Will, and the Source of Magic', in which he constructed a model regarding the essence of magic. Although many questions remain unanswered, such as why magic patterns could help us communicate with the truth of the world and what the mechanism behind them is, the paper has indeed opened a new gate for our studies on magic and supernatural powers… After somebody discovered the paper in the library by accident today, it immediately became a hit…"

Conden seemed excited. Plus his impatient character, he talked as fast as a storm, and Thompson could barely understand what he was saying. "Wait, wait, wait. Give me the paper first!"

For a senior-rank arcanist, reading a paper was much easier than listening to the excited narration.

Taking over the paper that Conden borrowed, Thompson glanced at the date. He said both in surprise and in relief, "It was submitted three days ago? No wonder it was not published on Arcana or Magic…"

Generally speaking, no journals would refuse the paper of a grand arcanist as long as it was of some value. They would even compete for such papers. However, Lucien's works were almost exclusively published on Arcana, Nature, and Elements, although he sometimes wrote for the "Monthly Journal for General Arcanists" when asked to. There was no way that Arcana would have let go of such an important paper, and since it was about the essence of magic, Magic wouldn't allow other people to publish it easily, either.

He kept reading, and he frowned at the part at the beginning of the paper. It seemed that determinism was truly in peril!

However, as Lucien's narration went on, his eyebrows relaxed again. He pushed his glasses now and then and remarked in a low voice, "The observer effect is not entirely absurd… The 'unsteadiness' of the material foundation… That's new, but if it's true, everything behaves so normally when magic and supernatural powers are not involved. Should it be attributed to the mysterious transition between the microscopic scale and the macroscopic scale? Huh, Lucien had also thought about that… Weak observers and strong observers…"

His attention was completely on the paper. Even though the paper hadn't been confirmed by any experiment or phenomena, and the observer effect was rejected by the mainstream of the Congress, it was logically self-consistent and seemed legitimate.

Conden was not surprised by his teacher's reaction. He picked up a quill and wrote his teacher's questions and opinions on a piece of paper.

"… The energy that replenishes the spiritual power comes from the truth of the world? The additional matter caused by magic comes from the truth of the world? Huh… " In his suspicion, Thompson remembered something. He hurried to turn around and drag an issue of "Elements" out of his bookshelf. Then, holding his glasses, he said in shock, "Is it a problem that the ocean of negative-energy state can solve?

"Yes. The arcanists who read the paper were all reminded of the ocean of a negative-energy state. It happens to have resolved a few critical questions in Mr. Evans' paper on the essence of magic!"

Conden's ears were keen enough to capture his teacher's murmur.

He said excitedly, "The two of them are connected. One is focused on the source of magic energy, and the other offers a hypothesis on the essence of magic. Together, they've established a complete magic system!"

When he said a "magic system", he did not mean a system of spells.

"I'm afraid that this is the first legitimate model on the essence of magic, no, of all supernatural powers, that has theoretical support." Thompson also grew excited.

In the history of magic, the earliest sorcerers had already asked what magic was essentially and proposed their own answers, such as the system of four elements, namely earth, fire, wind, and water. The ancient sorcerers established a piece of speculation on the foundation of the world, where they believed that there were energy planes made of purely the same elements. Such planes had been named "Country of Fire", "Ocean of Water", etc. Their answers also included the root system, which believed that magic had a root, which was part of the truth of the world.

Such vision on magic had been affecting generations of sorcerers even to this day, as could be confirmed by the term such as fire element. However, due to the lack of exploration by the ancient sorcerers, their visions of magic were purely imaginary and did not have any theoretical reference. It was more like a fantasy than a model defined with arcana.

During the heyday of the Magic Empire, the sorcerers paid more attention to regular research and application. No one bothered to consider the essence of magic. All they needed to know was that spiritual power was the prerequisite to cast spells. Therefore, even someone as great as the Sun King, Thanos, did not come up with a model on the essence of magic.

After the Congress of Magic, studies on the essence of magic were continued. However, due to the insufficiency of other theories, little progress had been made. Therefore, Douglas and the other grand arcanists did not propose their model of magic essence recklessly, in case their whimsical ideas affected other arcanists.

It was not until today that Thompson finally saw a model that described magic from the essence and the origin, and it was also based on the cutting-edge research in the microscopic domain!

Whether or not the model was correct, it was definitely historically significant… Thompson was somewhat in a trance. He had witnessed history again, which happened a lot in the past ten years.

Conden said excitedly, "Somebody described the result of the two papers as 'Evans-Telaviv Model'. It's the first model on the essence of magic!"

After a while of discussion, Conden bid him farewell, claiming that he needed to read it more carefully after he was back.

Thompson was somewhat amused seeing his student folding the scribbled paper and putting it inside the magic pouch carefully. Then, his student walked to the door.

Suddenly, Thompson realized something and shouted, "Stop!"

However, Conden had already stepped into the corridor at this moment!

He turned around abruptly, with a mist surging around him. After the mist died away, he turned into a little crystal dragon with beautiful scales.

He dragged a huge ice cream from his underbelly and licked it with great satisfaction. He then said with a childish and gloating voice, "Thompson, you've lost!"

The dragon had come when he was considering questions, distracted him by saying that the door was not closed and "Alferris" passed by, gave him a paper to captivate him, behaved exactly like Conden, and only took away the scribbled paper where their discussion was recorded… Recalling those things, Thompson had to admit that Alferris had new breakthroughs in illusion, but he was the one who suffered losses!

Seeing Alferris off with an awful face, Thompson couldn't help but continue studying Lucien's paper. "Weak observers… Strong observers…"

He was suddenly stunned. Thinking of the recent investigation, he thought, somewhat in fear, "The accumulation of the power of faith seems to be the gathering of special electromagnetic waves, but it is actually the gathering of weak observers to evolve into a strong observer?

"Well…"

How would the experts who were good at playing with the power of faith view the paper?

Chapter 720: Brook's Expectations

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

In the Thunder Hell, Fernando's magic tower…

As long as he was in Allyn and not occupied by other things, Lucien would communicate with his teacher on arcana and magic once a week. When he walked into his teacher's library today, he discovered, to his surprise, the old-school gentleman Brook who was wearing his white wig.

Didn't they "dislike" communicating with teachers face to face and prefer letters? Lucien secretly thought to himself.

Before Lucien greeted him, Brook had already raised his glasses and smiled. "Your paper on the source of magic has been a hit in Allyn in the past few days. I've gotten a lot of inspiration from it too. Congratulations on proposing the first official model on the essence of magic."

Fernando complained not far away, "The observer effect is not a good thing. It will make the world unreal…"

Lucien smiled. His teacher's persistence in the objectiveness of the world could barely make his teacher think highly of the observer effect, particularly since the explanation did not have any convincing proof or meticulous deduction yet. It was nothing more than a scary "prophecy" that a grand arcanist randomly proposed.

"Thank you. To be honest, I'm just getting started about that. There are many parts in the paper that still need discussing, and so does the ocean of negative-energy state," said Lucien sincerely. He believed that his teacher and Mr. Brook could tell that, too. Then, he intentionally changed the subject. "Master, Mr. Brook, what were you discussing?"

He would rather not face his teacher's roar if he could avoid it.

"I was inspired by your quantization of the electromagnetic field when you studied spontaneous radiations. Also, Annick and Sprint's similar works on electrons have shown remarkable value too. Therefore, I'm hoping to introduce the quantum theory into the classic electromagnetic theory to establish a quantum field theory so that electrons and photons can be better studied and the essence of the electromagnetic force may be figured out."

When he mentioned the essence of the electromagnetic force, Brook's old, slim face seemed to be glowing. That was his cognitive world subconsciously influencing the reality.

On the other hand, when he mentioned the studies in the microscopic domain, he cautiously used photons instead of electromagnetic waves. It was obvious that he found the wave-particle duality of light much more acceptable now. He did not reject the theory that made his cognitive world broken and solidified at the beginning at all. Instead, he was full of momentum to study it.

Fernando, whose hair seemed to be always messy, added in a bad mood, "Then, he dragged me into his studies to solve his problems, completely ignoring that I was busy studying the reason why the reactor lost control and the theories on the weak interaction…"

"Weak interaction" had been named by Fernando with reference to "strong interaction", the nuclear force that Lucien and Hathaway proposed.

He looked reluctant and unwilling, but his red eyes were glittering. Lucien secretly chuckled about it. If his teacher was unwilling to, nobody could or dare force him to study the quantum field theory. It seemed that he had fun in it and was passionate and motivated to establish such a system.

But of course, Lucien knew very well that the establishment of the quantum field theory would go through a long and difficult process from "second quantization" because of the unavoidable problems that loomed in calculation right now, such as the infinite greatness caused by divergence, which had to be resolved through new mathematical approaches. Also, it was only one of the obvious problems.

"After recent studies, we have basically established a general quantum field theory, but it is so flawed that we plan to publish it in advance so that more arcanists could discuss it." Brook's delighted and thoughtful reply was within Lucien's expectation. "It's great that you've come. There are some questions that I would like to discuss with you."

He sent an invitation straightforwardly.

Fernando's expression slightly collapsed. He cursed in a low voice, "Goddamn infinity!"

Lucien did not refuse it. He was always happy to join such arcana discussions, which could help him transform the knowledge inside his spirit library into the knowledge that he grasped himself.

Taking over their manuscript, Lucien browsed through it quickly and asked, "Is it not a relativistic quantum field theory?"

"That's the future plan. Now, we are focused on solving the general problems. If you are interested, we can discuss more often." Brook did not keep it a secret. The discussion he said was clearly one that entailed paternity right.

It seemed that his teacher did not invite Mr. President to join the discussion. Perhaps because he was worried about the relationship between Mr. Brook and him? Lucien concluded. However, Mr. Brook was not wrong that research should be conducted one step at a time.

"Douglas is too busy preparing for his super-remote space jumps and working on his own projects to pay attention to any more fields. Otherwise, he would be happy to join our work. But right now, discovering a planet may be more important than living for him…" Fernando said, as if he knew what was on Lucien's mind, not caring that Brook was right next to them at all.

Lucien had studied the problems before. Therefore, he successfully joined Fernando and Brook's discussion and proposed many insightful ideas.

Fernando and Brook were not surprised at it. They would never believe that Lucien, who proposed the quantization of the electromagnetic field first, had never done any research in that respect.

Time flew fast while they were discussing. In the end, Brook stood in satisfaction and picked up his staff. "While the most critical problem still stands before us like the Saint Truth, we have finally made some progress. Fernando, let's publish the paper by the end of the month and let more arcanists see it. Hopefully, they can come up with more creative and useful ideas."

After the previous communication, he understood that Lucien did not have solutions to the few primary problems either. Of course, he was already prepared that such difficult conundrums might not be resolved in years. He had been through a lot of similar cases.

"I don't think there are more than a hundred arcanists in the Congress who can understand and are interested in the quantum field theory…" Fernando had always been famous for his vicious tongue. "Perhaps they prefer the ocean of negative-energy state and the source of magic caused by the weird features of microscopic particles. That fits all their fantasies."

"Ocean of negative-energy state. That's truly a bit unrealistic. It's hard for me to imagine that I am living inside an ocean of negative-energy particles but cannot sense it at all, but it's not entirely impossible. Hehe. Maybe vacuums are truly not empty," he remarked. "Lucien, what's your opinion on the ocean of negative-energy state? It resolves the energy and matter in your magic design."

"As a matter of fact, I believe otherwise," replied Lucien cautiously.

Brook was clearly interested. "You have other ideas? It's not about the truth of the world that we cannot study just yet, right?"

"My ideas are based on the uncertainty principle. Mr. Brook, do you remember the short enormous rise and fall of energy that I described in my paper?" Lucien admitted his direction of studies honestly, which couldn't be kept a secret from his teacher.

"Vacuum fluctuation?" As he expected, Fernando simply asked back.

After a brief pause, Brook remembered what it was about. "Because time and energy are a pair of values that fit the uncertainty principle, the more certain time is, the more uncertain energy will be… In a very short time range, because of the uncertainty principle, enormous energy will flow out and suddenly disappear even in the vacuum. On average, it still agrees with the law of conservation and can barely be perceived…"

It was even more unrealistic than the ocean of negative-energy state. Tides of energy were rising and ebbing around people all the time, but none of them sensed anything or got affected!

"It can be described as an unsteady ocean of energy." Lucien compared it to the ocean of negative-energy state so that it could be understood easier.

Fernando never objected to the uncertainty principle. What he objected to was Lucien's proposition on the intrinsic qualities of matter that it entailed. Therefore, instead of roaring at the "rising and ebbing ocean of energy", he said carefully, "It can also explain the source of energy. Also, it has something to do with the field theory that we are working on. I think if we work on it, we will come up with a new model that contains antiparticles."

"In our studies, the intensity of the electric field and the intensity of the magnetic field are a pair of values that fit the uncertainty principle, which means that they cannot be zero at the same time. So, electromagnetic fluctuations happen around us all the time too?" Brook recalled their recent studies.

Lucien nodded his head. "Theoretically, yes."

Brook said both solemnly and excitedly, "Perhaps we can devise an experiment to observe such electromagnetic fluctuations… If it's true, vacuums will be truly marvelous!"

After he left in excitement, Fernando finally said to Lucien, "I don't think you said everything you wanted to say in the previous discussion, did you?"

You've seen through me again? Lucien smiled. "It's mainly about the definition of matter. Since we regarded the electromagnetic field as a matter a long time ago, why can't we take one more step? Perhaps the field is a fundamental form of matter…"

"Let me think about it." Fernando pinched his forehead.

Seeing that his teacher was tired, Lucien said goodbye to him. At this moment, Fernando said rigorously, "The observer effect is not a decent theory. You'd better not get addicted to it."

Then, after a brief silence, he said, "However, your speculations on the 'unsteadiness' of the material foundation, on the source of energy and matter, and on the fluctuating ocean of energy in the vacuum are all significant areas of research."

Lucien was immediately amused. Master, you could've been more straightforward if you wanted to praise me.

…

"Weak observers… The ocean of negative-energy state…" Inside the Holy City, Benedict III remarked in a low voice while looking at the sunset out of the window.

Chapter 721: Live Stream

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

In Samara, a small city in Paphos of Holm…

At the end of the Month of Gold, nightfall had been advanced. The time when sunset dyed everything red was now dim and dark. However, since Paphos was one of the top three prosperous cities of Holm, road lamps and poles were raised everywhere on the streets of Samara. Connected by the electric wires, the magic lamps began to glow with warm and brilliant light, driving the darkness away from their range.

The citizens of the town walked on the street toward the Baron Bechig Square, the only square in town. The magic radio of the city hall had been installed there. Every day, when the night fell, it would deliver the programs such as "Arcana Voice" to everyone aloud.

Since there were more and more channels, the citizens now had trouble choosing. While "Arcana Voice" was excellent and was their primary choice, no program could fit everyone's appetite. There was always a program in "Arcana Voice" that some citizens disliked. It was a pity that the magic radio was not their property, and they could not switch channels in such cases.

"I have to work harder and save money to buy a magic radio from 'Gift from Elements'!" Banus, a young man wearing a shirt, clenched his fists and declared.

His friend next to him said jealously and hopefully, "I'm told that in the major cities such as Rentato, whoever subscribes newspaper for a whole year will be given a magic radio for free!"

"Really? That's much cheaper, isn't it? Do the newspaper sellers not fear that they'll be bankrupted?" asked Banus in disbelief. He had never heard such a good thing before.

His friend was a freckled big boy, who combed his hair and said, "I'm told that those newspapers are all issued by the radio stations for the purpose of increasing the coverage of magic radios. Her Majesty even signed and released the 'Broadcast Encouragement Act' that the Congress submitted. For every magic radio that the radio stations give away, they will receive certain subsidies and tax reductions. Furthermore…"

He lowered his voice and said mysteriously, "I was told that the Congress of Magic is boosting it, too. They give enormous subsidies to the radio stations by way of advertisements. Therefore, the radio stations barely suffer any losses…"

"Sorcerers?" Banus grew excited. Then, he suddenly realized it. "Right, magic radios were developed by them in the first place. The more it is sold, the more they will earn!"

"Of course, you think that the sorcerers who study the nature of the world are fools? They're much smarter than you!" the big boy mocked him.

As for the magic radio's political significance, they did not understand it at all.

Banus suddenly snorted. "Ali, how did you learn it? That's not something that 'Arcana Voice' said!"

He only just began to feel strange. How did his friend, who grew up with him in the same place, became a savant overnight?

The big boy Ali curled his finger and said in a low but proud voice, "Somebody else told me. It's a noble lady from Rentato!"

"A noble lady from Rentato? How did you make acquaintance with a noble lady from Rentato?" Banus was shocked. For the people who dwelt in small cities like them, even though "Arcana Voice" had broadened their horizon, they still revered the nobles of their city from the bottom of their hearts. They thought that those nobles lived a luxury and enjoyable life that was entirely different from the way they lived.

However, the nobles in their city were not worth mentioning compared to the nobles in Rentato, the capital! If the nobles in Rentato were swans, the nobles in the capital of Paphos would be geese, and the nobles in their town would be ugly ducklings at most—ugly duckling being a term from "Arcana Voice". The greatest hobby of their nobles was to follow the fashion in Rentato and mimic the nobles of the capital in how they dressed and entertained themselves.

Their nobles were already humble enough, and the civilians like Banus were even more so. They subconsciously believed that they were truly "bumpkins".

Ali chuckled. "A pen pal. She's my pen pal!"

"Pen pal? What's that?" Banus' long face was full of confusion.

"I asked you to learn words, but you never listened to me. After the postal department was established, activities were introduced by several newspapers to allow people in different cities to become friends by writing letters to each other. Because the communication is entirely based on words, it's called pen pal."

Ali explained it to Banus in a great passion. "Think about it. Maybe we cannot get out of this town our entire life, but we can still have sincere friends in Rentato, Paphos, and other major cities; friends who are both strange and familiar and who we can talk to without meeting them in person. What a beautiful thing it is…"

He was obviously fascinated by friend-making through letters.

"It sounds great!" Banus opened his mouth. He was also attracted to it.

It was not until then that he learned the importance of literacy. The greatest difference between him and Ali was that Ali's father used to be the servant of a certain secretary and learned how to read by the way before he taught it to his son. Banus, on the other hand, had only picked up a few words thanks to Ali's occasional lectures. He could not read a newspaper at all!

"Such communication does not involve conflicts, lust, faces, or identities. It's the sincerest way for people to talk to each other." Ali acted as if he were the host of a psychological program in "Arcana Voice". "I learned everything I said from my pen pal. She's a noble from Rentato and has her own magic radio, which allows her to listen to other channels. She can also learn from other nobles. She certainly wouldn't lie about that."

"Good boy, you've hooked up with a noble lady!" Banus bashed Ali in the back.

Ali protested, "What do you mean by hooked up? We are pure pen pals!"

"Dare you say that you never fantasize about her? What kind of noble lady is she?" Banus glimpsed at Ali. He knew his friend too well.

Ali became gentle. "Her tone in the letter is always soft. She must be a well-educated girl. Also, she did not hold any bias after learning my identity. She answered my every question and shared the funny incidents in her life. Her words are slim and beautiful, just like herself…"

Looking at Ali's face and hearing his description, Banus couldn't help but suggest, "Ali, you must remember that she is a noble and you're just a common civilian."

"I know. We're pure pen pals!" Ali waved his hands, hinting that he understood it. Then, he changed the subject and talked about the view of Rentato that his "pen pal" told him, further exaggerating the changes that were already unbelievable by themselves.

"Big cities are really great. There are such kindhearted noble ladies and such astonishing, life-changing stories…" Banus was shocked. Although "Arcana Voice" mentioned similar changes, it was not nearly as detailed as what Ali described. "Also, only the city dwellers will be given a magic radio if they subscribe to newspapers for a year!"

"Yes, I have to visit Rentato someday!" Ali looked fascinated.

Thinking quickly, Banus suddenly proposed in excitement, "Let's go and subscribe to newspapers in big cities! The train tickets and the annual subscription of newspapers will only cost half as much as a magic radio does! A lot of our money can be saved!"

"It's impossible. Similar things happened before. So, only people with the citizenship of the big cities enjoy the free-radio privilege." Ali sighed bitterly.

"This… this is discrimination!" Banus completely forgot his compliment and expectancy for the big cities just now and blurted out, "F*ck the big cities!"

They walked forth as they discussed. Soon, they reached the Baron Bechig Square.

"It's the opening ceremony of the Rentato Music Festival today. Will there be any special program on 'Arcana Voice'?" asked Ali hopefully.

Banus nodded. He was about to speak when his eyes suddenly widened. "S-Sorcerers!"

Above the square, a young sorcerer wearing a black long tuxedo was floating. Silver light spread out from his hands and was connected to the weird "curtain" at the center of the square. Around the curtain, there was another couple who were taking out items and finishing the arrangement. They were obviously also sorcerers!

"They… They're really sorcerers!" Ali stuttered in surprise.

Then, the two of them grew excited. It was rare to see the performance of sorcerers so closely other than street magic. Therefore, they squeezed through the crowd and tried to approach the center of the square. Alas, they could barely move one inch further. Every citizen who had come to the square thought exactly the same as they did!

"What happened? Why are there sorcerers here?" Seeing that it was impossible to cram in, Ali hurried to ask the citizens before him.

One of the citizens, who was nosy and liked to brag, replied loudly, "It's said that the opening opera of the Rentato Music Festival will be live-streamed!"

"Live… Live-streamed?" Banus and Ali opened their mouths in shock. They had heard the term "live stream" from Arcana Voice before, but they never thought that they could experience it in their little town!

A screen and the magic circles around gradually took shape. The sorcerer who floated in midair began to connect the "artificial planet" on the orbit for the final debugging.

"Sir, is everything alright?" a sorcerer down below asked.

The middle-rank sorcerer nodded and replied, "You've done a great job. This is the best opportunity to demonstrate the new image of sorcerers."

"Hehe. The Aalto Music Festival can only be seen in the town square of Aalto. That's too petty!"

The goal of the Congress of Magic was to allow every city that had a local branch of Congress to be able to view the live stream through satellites!

Chapter 722: Transition From Listeners to Viewers

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

Thanks to the broadcast of "Arcana Voice" a few days ago, Banus and Ali were both aware that the "Rentato Music Festival" was scheduled on the last Saturday of the Month of Gold every three years for a duration of three days. They had come to the Baron Bechig Square today to learn the splendor of the Rentato Music Festival from "Arcana Voice" as soon as possible and to indirectly listen to the most touching and classic melody of Mr. Evans' "Valkyrie" from interviews and other problems.

They did not foresee this at all. Looking at the floating sorcerer in midair and the dark "screen" that was taking shape with the combination of complicated silver patterns, they weren't back to themselves for a long time.

It was not until the silver lines glittered one after another, letting out a gentle but warm light, that Banus and Ali were finally woken up from their shock. They craned their heads and looked ahead excitedly and confusedly.

"Live stream? Is the teletorium of 'Arcana Voice' set in the Rentato Royal Grand Theater today?" Although Ali had learned about "live stream" from "Arcana Voice", he did not really know what it was about.

"Teletorium", on the other hand, was learned from his pen pal's letter. "Allyn Impression", the weekly newspaper, had a special issue that introduced radio stations and interviewed famous anchors. As a gossip newspaper that came late but was most famous of all, Allyn Impression was not only loved by the arcanists but also pursued by the citizens of Rentato who were curious about the daily life of sorcerers and the affairs of the big shots. The circulation of the newspaper had already surpassed "Arcana" and "Magic", making it an unusual case of getting rich for the sorcerers.

Banus did not quite understand what "teletorium" was about, but he was astonished by the Rentato Royal Grand Theater. He asked in excitement, "Can we hear the entirety of 'Valkyrie' today?"

Holm was a country where plays, oratorios, and operas were popular. Even though the average music level was not as good as Aalto's, it was still rather distinguished in those aspects.

In Stuart, the Pearl on the Ocean on the opposite side of the Storm Strait, the citizens generally believed that the operas from Holm were much better than those from other countries in terms of plot, content, and meaningfulness. To put it more frankly, Rentato's operas were indeed better than Aalto's. After all, pure music was so brilliant in Aalto that the other fields were all eclipsed. Its playwrights and singers were not as good as Rentato's.

Therefore, even though he was a common civilian, Banus had an unusual interest in operas. He had been longing for the Rentato Royal Grand Theater, known as a holy land of operas, for a long time. Of course, due to his economic status, he and Ali could only watch plays in most cases. They mostly listened to operas on special occasions.

"If 'live stream' has the same meaning as what 'Arcana Voice' said, we will definitely hear 'Valkyrie' today!" Ali was very excited.

With the duration of "Arcana Voice", it could only play parts of the classic operas, but never the whole piece, and the opera singers that the baron of the town could invite were only mediocre. Therefore, even though they could not see the performers whom they had adored for a long time, it was still a most gratifying experience to appreciate a state-of-the-art opera at the earliest chance.

The best musician, the best singers and opera performers, and the best theater. It never occurred to them that they could enjoy the "luxury" of the nobles as civilians!

Banus rubbed his hands in excitement. "Hehe. We're also lords this time! However, what's that curtain about? They could've simply broadcast it. It's all about listening after all."

"It should be a wall, right? Huh, it's probably meant to enhance the effect. Ms. Nightingale mentioned in Arcana Voice that some listeners might hear noises due to signal problems…" Ali tried to find a reasonable explanation.

Banus waved his hands hard. "I forgot that. Ali, you do have a great brain!"

Ali raised his chin proudly. I told you that I'm smarter than you!

After the silver lines all glowed, illusionary and delicate patterns appeared around the "curtain". They combined in an amazing structure that dazzled Banus, Ali, and the other citizens into silence.

The middle-rank sorcerer who floated in midair finished the final debugging. As weird aria-like sounds came out of his mouth, a star in the sky glowed and sprayed a cluster of brilliance.

"Well…" Banus opened his mouth again. Could sorcerers command the stars in the sky? Wasn't it the power of the gods?

In the dreamy and astonishing scene, the black "curtain" was enshrouded in pure, flawless light that resonated with the stars in the sky, building the most beautiful painting with the flying fireflies.

The star in the sky was less dazzling and became normal and steady, and the black "curtain" seemed to be turning transparent. A silver moon slowly rose inside, driving the darkness away.

A slow and peaceful melody floated out, so beautiful that it sounded like a clear lake that was rippling under the moonlight. It pacified everybody's heart, bringing them vague sweetness, peace, and sorrow. They felt both somewhat gloomy and at ease.

Both Banus and Ali were intoxicated by the light of the silver moon that was gradually spreading out and the dreamy melody. The whole square fell quiet.

They were no strangers to "Moonlight", the most beautiful piano song. Not only would the elegant restaurants hire musicians to play it, but Arcana Voice also often used "Moonlight" as the background music for the program. However, this performance of "Moonlight" was still better than any time they heard before, thus allowing them to appreciate the most wondrous side of the music. How could they not be fascinated?

The cold moon grew brighter, and a white piano appeared in the darkness behind the "curtain". Next to the piano, a woman whose long hair reached her waist was seated, with one side facing the audience. She was wearing a black evening dress, revealing half of her fair shoulders. Her face was delicate and peaceful.

The moonlight seemed to have donned her in a silver gauze. Her long and agile hands bounced and danced in the brightness, creating the most beautiful notes.

"How beautiful…"

"How touching…"

Banus and Ali were so enthralled by the performance that they could think of nothing else.

In such an atmosphere, even a mediocre face would have been 100% mind-blowing.

In the quietness, the first movement of Moonlight came to the end. The lady turned around, showing everybody her beautiful and tranquil face.

"Welcome to 'Arcana Voice'. I'm your old friend, Nightingale." A sweet and familiar voice came out of the lady's mouth.

"Ms. Nightingale?" Banus stammered.

"It's… It's a real person?" Ali's eyes were almost popping out. How did the curtain, no, the wall, just turn into a living person who could play "Moonlight"?

Everybody who witnessed the act in the square was similarly stunned, including the middle-rank sorcerer who floated in midair. He almost forgot that he was still in midair. Although he knew and got involved in the Congress' "stream plan", such an opening was still a major shock for him.

"As a matter of fact, I am as surprised as you that the image signal transmission through the artificial planets can achieve such a result. This should be the most 'real-time stream' in history. Friends who are listening to 'Arcana Voice' at home, if you feel that I'm talking strangely, go to the nearest square and check it out. In fact, I already announced it last night…" Louise's sweet voice came over, solving the question of the "viewers".

"A real-time stream?"

"We can see Ms. Nightingale in Allyn from Samara?"

"Magic is too… marvelous!"

"Incredible! Incredible!"

Noises burst out in the square. The excited audience began to talk to each other about how they felt, even if they did not know those standing next to them.

Louise smiled. "'Valkyrie' is about to begin in the Rentato Royal Grand Theater. I'll stop wasting your time. Now, the sorcerers in the theater will take over."

The moonlight dimmed, like spreading ripples that blurred everything. By the time it was clear again, Louise was already gone from the "curtain", replaced by a splendidly-decorated theater that was full of gentlemen who wore tailcoats or long tuxedos and ladies in gorgeous dresses that dazzled the audience in the square.

"The Rentato Royal Grand Theater!" said Ali in amazement.

Banus was both happy and sad. "But I still want to watch Ms. Nightingale play the piano…"

...

Inside the teletorium of the Sky Radio Station in Allyn…

Seeing that the signal had been switched to the Royal Grand Theater, Louise finally patted her chest, greatly relieved. "I was so anxious just now."

"Louise, weren't you a musician before? You've already held concerts. Why were you anxious about a solo performance in a teletorium that nobody watched?" Samantha, who was supervising the program nearby, said half in comfort and half in confusion.

Louise shook her head. "Nobody watched? There must've been more than a hundred thousand people who watched the live stream. I felt anxious when I thought I was performing before so many people. Also, in concerts, people mostly listen to music, and they can barely see the musician on the stage. Such a live stream is the opposite. Everybody can see my every movement clearly. If it weren't for your encouragement, I would've tried to record it in advance as Mr. Evans suggested…"

"Understandable. Everybody will be nervous in their first 'real-time stream'. Mr. Evans only proposed the idea. We planned and carried out the details on our own. However, well played, Louise." Samantha nodded in approval.

Louise gradually relaxed. She complained, "Mr. Evans should've guided us more on such an important issue."

If he could hear her, Lucien could only open his hands and suggest that he had zero experience in that. Holding a satellite stream before TV was invented was not a case that had ever happened on Earth. It could've only been achieved in a world of magic.