Garrett was utterly dazed from gnawing on reference books and dizzy from studying magic circles. Over two days, whether he opened or closed his eyes, whether he ate or drank, he was constantly dealing with a heap of theoretical knowledge, strange symbols, and bizarre formulas:
"The essence of identification is recognizing the true nature of materials... To recognize materials, one must start by understanding their properties..."
"Understanding materials can begin from the following aspects..."
"Identification magic, as a spell, functions to summarize and interpret information obtained through spells..."
The two days of secluded study were not without results. The good news was that identification magic already had magic circles for information like specific gravity and pH level; just a drop of blood was needed for display, sparing him from devising new magic.
The bad news was that elents such as potassium, calcium, and sodium, newly discovered by the magical community, had no existing magic available...
Of course, there were also blood sugar, blood lipids, uric acid, creatinine, and an endless list of substances that needed testing. Garrett hadn’t found the tools and had to roll up his sleeves and figure it out himself.
"So, what research direction have you chosen?"
As the two days flew by, the Lord of Thunder individually reviewed Garrett’s progress in a regular eting and expressed reluctant satisfaction. Garrett’s heart hadn’t settled back into his stomach when his teacher pressed:
"Having read so many books, have you co up with any ideas of your own?"
"Yes..."
Garrett flipped open his notebook. On the latest page, a line was heavily circled in red:
"So far, the majority of information obtained through identification magic has not been conclusively interpreted. Moreover, the principle behind identification magic, and why it can receive feedback, remains without a universally accepted theory."
Combining previous results from "Determining Lineage," Garrett speculated:
"Identification magic, or at least ’Determining Lineage,’ involves magic rays—perhaps one type or several types—shining on the blood, then interpreting the results based on how the blood absorbs these rays?"
It felt akin to a liquid chromatography device...
"So, the next research directions are: first, to determine the nature of the magic used in ’Determining Lineage’; currently, I suspect it involves a type of ray, or light?" Garrett spoke confidently:
"The second is to determine the significance of each piece of feedback obtained."
"That sounds like you’ve thought this through." The Lord of Thunder nodded noncommittally:
"For the second direction, you’ve already made progress, just continue with that; for the first direction..."
His gaze shifted, sweeping to his left:
"Byron has insightful research on Sunburst, focusing on decomposing sunlight. You could discuss it with him, perhaps he might have so ideas."
"Yes, teacher!"
To his left, the first mage, a burly figure, respectfully bowed:
"Little Garrett, your paper on infrared and ultraviolet rays inspired greatly. Recently, I’ve discovered there might be other components in sunlight, but it’s uncertain. Perhaps, this is what you’re looking for?"
Heaven-sent help. After the eting, Garrett happily followed Byron down to the 375th floor of the Tower of Heaven, to Laboratory No. 8. Upon entering, soone handed him a cup of ice cream, shrouded in white mist, dreamlike...
It was liquid nitrogen ice cream, indeed, from the mage who had swallowed a cup of liquid nitrogen last ti, a result of the low-temperature materials group.
Despite their complaints about the mages’ lack of creativity in molecular gastronomy, Garrett enjoyed the ice cream. While eating, he reviewed his senior’s achievents:
Hmm, the wavelength of infrared rays, having determined the nature of far-infrared, was progressing towards mid-infrared;
Ultraviolet rays, having identified UVA (long-wave, low frequency) and UVB (mid-wave, low frequency), and theorizing about UVC, were advancing towards extre ultraviolet;
As for other components...
"Senior brother, perhaps Seraina might be able to help a little..."
Byron’s face imdiately displayed a subtle smile. His broad hand heavily patted Garrett’s shoulder, nearly flattening him:
"Little Garrett, well done! Among our fellow apprentices, you’re the youngest yet most accomplished in this area! However, I have a piece of advice for you, keep the girl by your side, don’t always think about pushing her out there..."
"Senior brother!!!"
Garrett rubbed his shoulder indignantly. Ah, a mage, why so muscular? To scrub flasks? Even scrubbing flasks doesn’t need such force!
As Garrett picked up half a cup of ice cream, threatening to pour it on the paper, Byron finally surrendered, raising his hands. The two brothers laughed, and Garrett, composing himself, whispered:
"Senior brother, you know, Seraina is a silver dragon..."
"Hmm." Byron gave him a prompting look. A silver dragon, sure, the teacher had already quietly warned us not to provoke her or interfere with her. And then?
"She says she can see things humans can’t. Especially in sunlight, besides infrared and ultraviolet rays, she can feel so other rays. Would you want her to join the research group? We’ll discuss her compensation separately, and she needs access to the summit!"
"Absolutely!"
Byron’s eyes imdiately brightened. The most troubling issue for his research group was that these rays were sotis detectable and sotis not.
Was the equipnt inaccurate? Were the students monitoring the equipnt dozing off? Or was that kind of light in the sunlight inherently intermittent?
There was no conclusion yet. If there was soone, oh, a dragon that could directly sense it, that would be perfect! Relatively speaking, letting her access the summit wasn’t a big deal!
"I’ll write the report! I’ll apply for the permissions! Don’t worry, if she doesn’t want to reveal her identity, I’ll apply for a separate room for her!"
The next day, led by Garrett, Seraina rode the little train up to the summit, swaying along. With the pass badge applied for by Byron, she entered the lab confidently...
"Hmm... I really can see sothing different." Standing in front of the equipnt, Seraina’s silver-blue eyes silently shifted to vertical pupils:
"But it’s very little. Garrett, I can’t see very clearly like this..."
"What would you need to see most clearly?"
"Of course, to transform back to my original form!" Seraina lazily stretched her body:
"We observe this world not just with our eyes. If there’s a place where the sunlight can directly shine on my scales, I can perceive it most clearly!"
"...So I should go to the School of Prophecy to apply..."
Master Byron felt like he had been hit on the forehead with a hamr. Hmm, the top of the Tower of Heaven, under the massive magical array of the starry do, imagining a silver dragon lying there, that image was indeed very beautiful... But moving all my equipnt to the tower top?
Would the School of Prophecy kill ?
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