Chapter 40: Wait a Moment

Chapter 40: Wait a Moment 

Light Burst is a second-tier Light magic, one of the foundational spells every official mage must master.

Though not high-level, this spell is exceptionally practical.

On a pitch-black night, casting one into the sky can illuminate half a small town.

In combat, a sudden release can achieve a short-term blinding effect comparable to the vision-blocking power of third-tier Dark magic.

Thus, Light Burst is also considered one of the conventional opening spells. But to combine it with Thunder magic? That seems entirely unnecessary.

Especially for an Archmage like Stanford.

After all, this is just a second-tier spell—something that can be cast casually. Why complicate things by integrating it into another spell and increasing the difficulty of execution?

Every magic rune is meticulously refined through countless trials. Arbitrarily adding runes, especially those from another element, can easily trigger all sorts of unforeseen accidents.

Surely, Stanford wouldn’t fail to understand this.

Sure enough, after raising the question, Stanford proceeded to explain:

"I’m about to be dispatched to Twit Town to oversee the construction of a Magic Tower. The environment there is extremely harsh, and I’ll need long-term illumination magic. However, my primary specialization is Thunder, so the Magic Tower will inevitably be Thunder-aligned. Incorporating Light magic would not only interfere with the Thunder runes’ operation but also cause significant mana wastage."

His explanation left everyone enlightened.

Everyone knew about Twit Town—four percent of the Empire’s magical materials originated from there. Yet, the Empire’s control over the area had always been tenuous.

There were two reasons for this:

First, its remote location, harsh environment, and constant threat from beasts made effective control difficult.

Second, the town sat on the edge of the Twit Forest, bordered by no neighboring nations. Naturally, the Empire was reluctant to invest too many resources there. After all, those who went there to scrape by were adventurers and desperadoes—if they died, the Empire wouldn’t shed a tear.

Now, the Empire had suddenly decided to dispatch an Archmage and even build a Magic Tower. Such actions surely carried deeper implications.

The clever ones instinctively glanced at Dandell, realizing something.

Ever since the Empire’s Four Pillars began collaborating with the enigmatic Internet God, the Empire had undergone earth-shaking changes.

The most visible transformation was the God of Magic’s ever-increasing control over various regions.

Over the past half-month, multiple noble scandals had erupted within the Empire—tax evasion, conducting forbidden magical experiments, consorting with evil gods, treason, and more.

Behind the rolling of countless heads was the rise of a new wave of mages and the redistribution of resources.

Now, the Empire had decided to invest in Twit Town and construct a Magic Tower. Having secured internal stability, they were now eyeing expansion—transforming the town into a city, carving out new territory!

No wonder they were sending a powerful Thunder Archmage like Stanford!

After all, Thunder and Fire were natural counters to forest beasts. Sometimes, even fifth- or sixth-tier spells couldn’t scare off certain creatures, but a simple thunderclap could send them fleeing in panic.

"Have you tried the Orcott Combination Method?"

"I have. It interferes with the construction of the [Thunderstorm Field]. Even if I use the Three-Dimensional Method, it reduces the [Thunderstorm Field]’s range by over ninety feet!"

"What about solidifying a Light Burst spell separately at the tower’s peak?"

"Not ideal. That would require opening a separate Mana Supply Chain, which would disrupt the mana pool’s operation."

"Any combination of two or more magical disciplines will inevitably influence each other to some extent. Twit Town is no ordinary place—every additional inch of coverage from the Magic Tower serves as an extra inch of deterrence. Sacrificing the tower's power for the sake of illumination is undoubtedly the worst choice."

"Indeed! If you truly believe lighting is that important, I suggest constructing Twin Towers or Satellite Towers!"

"The cost of Twin Towers and Satellite Towers is far too high!"

The group fell into discussion, but none of the proposed solutions seemed ideal. The atmosphere grew noticeably heavier.

"Has there been any breakthrough in the research of St. Elmo's Fire? Could we harness it for illumination?" someone brought up a mysterious discovery related to Thunder magic.

Several Thunder mages exchanged glances before shaking their heads.

St. Elmo's Fire, despite its name, was actually a form of cold light.

Thunder mages had observed that sharp objects—such as masts, antlers, and even dragon horns—emitted a blue-white glow in thunderstorm conditions.

At first glance, it resembled flames, hence the name St. Elmo's Fire.

This discovery had led many mages to believe that Thunder magic might possess Light attributes, or even the potential to be converted into light energy. Some even speculated that, much like how Water magic branched into Ice, Thunder could develop its own derivative.

Unfortunately, no one had yet achieved a breakthrough with St. Elmo's Fire. The conversion of thunder into light energy remained a distant dream.

"Let's move on to the next proposal."

After a moment of silence, Dandell rapped his knuckles against the table, signaling the end of the discussion.

Stanford's expression darkened at the words.

Through the internet, he had already gained a fairly clear understanding of Twit Town.

It was a paradise for adventurers and outlaws—and a place favored by death itself.

It was common for wild beasts to storm into the town at night and carry off residents.

This was the fundamental reason he wanted to incorporate long-term illumination magic into the Magic Tower.

Sustained light would undoubtedly enhance humanity's ability to fend off beasts. But precisely because it required long-term illumination, it was difficult to substitute with mere magic artifacts.

Of course, he could forcibly inscribe Lightburst Magic Runes, but that would compromise the tower's coverage and power—an outcome he was unwilling to accept.

After all, you can't have your cake and eat it too.

"Wait!"

A sudden shout drew the attention of everyone at the Joint Research Meeting.

All eyes turned to the speaker—none other than the usually taciturn Ajef!

Yu Sheng'an looked at Stanford and said, "If the goal is simply to solve the issue of long-term illumination, I have a method that can resolve your dilemma."

"Huh?"

The room buzzed with skepticism.

After the earlier discussion, no one believed Ajef was unaware of the difficulty.

The problem wasn’t that it was unsolvable—it was that Stanford wanted the impossible: both power and illumination.

Given that, how could Ajef confidently claim to have a solution? Had he devised some ingenious workaround?

Interest rippled through the crowd.

Even Dandell turned to Yu Sheng'an in surprise.

As one who bore the title of "God," Dandell was only a demigod.

Still, that made him one of the most knowledgeable about true deities.

Gods, in a sense, were beings who had stolen authority over one or more domains of the world.

Within their domains, none could oppose them.

But in other domains, gods might not even compare to mortals.

Take the field of magic, for example!

This is one of the fundamental reasons why the Keville Empire has managed to maintain its independence despite being surrounded by the Five Great Righteous Gods.

The Internet God has already displayed astonishing prowess in the Wood Spirit and Summoning disciplines, leaving Dandell deeply wary. Now, he dares to claim he can solve the challenges of Thunder and Light?

Could it be that he also possesses profound expertise in Thunder and Light?

At this thought, Dandell’s mind became a whirlwind of unease. He even wondered—could this be the true reason the Internet God chose to spread divine techniques in Keville?

After all, familiarity breeds contempt!

Stanford, oblivious to Dandell’s growing suspicions, exclaimed with excitement, "What method?"

Yu Sheng'an smiled. "Convert thunder into light energy. Wouldn’t that solve the problem?"

As his words fell, the Joint Research Meeting plunged into a silence so deep one could hear a pin drop.