Chapter 55: The Oracle of Elements and the Violet Morningstar

This was no longer a mere deduction.

It was an oracle.

“Enough…” Adèle’s voice trembled, and she instinctively recoiled half a step.

“Stop talking… Lia, please stop…”

As she gazed at the rudimentary chart pieced together from cards, her perception seemed to expand infinitely.

The scattered elements were no longer isolated points; instead, they were stars, strung together by an invisible gravitational force.

In Lia’s hands, they had been woven into a magnificent constellation chart, upon which were inscribed the fundamental laws of creation governing the material world.

“This chart…” Adèle drew a deep, shuddering breath, striving to calm her heart, which pounded like a drum. “What… what is it called?”

Lia’s gaze swept over her, then settled on Klein, who had remained silently beside them.

She knew with absolute certainty that this chart would mark the culmination of alchemy in this world, and simultaneously, the genesis of all material science.

“The Periodic Table of Elements.”

Lia’s voice was soft, yet it seemed to reverberate through the very air of the alchemy lab.

Elements.

Periodicity.

Table.

Adèle savored the name, her eyes, once clouded with confusion, suddenly clearing with profound understanding.

Periodicity…

Yes, the periodic variation of properties!

From the most reactive metals to the most inert gases, completing one cycle, then beginning a similar yet distinct progression on a new row!

The supreme law, it seemed, had always been hidden within its very name.

Klein’s gaze fell upon the prophetic blank spaces.

This was no mere chart.

It was, unequivocally, a treasure map pointing to the very essence of the world, meticulously charting the coordinates of every undiscovered bounty, even detailing their weight, hue, and inherent properties with astonishing clarity.

***

The advent of the Periodic Table of Elements plunged Adèle into a fervent obsession, causing her to forsake sleep and meals.

She had finally discovered the lifelong pursuit she craved, dedicating her entire being to the monumental task of unearthing the ‘foretold elements.’

Lia, having provided this revolutionary theoretical framework, then gracefully stepped back, her mission accomplished.

Her ‘Mind Weave’ meditation technique had, at last, broken through the bottleneck of its third stage.

When she next delved into Klein’s voluminous magic notes, the entire world seemed to transform before her eyes.

The spell models, once as impenetrable and arcane as celestial scriptures, were now effortlessly dissected, demystified, and reduced to fundamental physical equations in her perception.

“Repulsion field construction… so it’s about using specific frequencies of spiritual power to guide aether, generating localized high pressure. Essentially, it’s a force transmission effect.”

A subtle smile played on Lia’s lips.

“Guiding a lightning bolt… hah, isn’t that just creating a low-impedance ionized channel? Even a glow discharge in a laboratory is more complex than this.”

“Fireball spell? Its energy conversion efficiency is pitifully low; most of the energy is dissipated uselessly as light and heat. The kinetic energy that actually generates an effective impact is less than thirty percent—a veritable paragon of energy waste…”

Learning transformed into grading homework.

Mastery evolved into performance optimization.

She focused her attention on a three-ring spell, ‘Inferno Shield.’

In Klein’s notes, this spell was marked as ‘structurally redundant, with low energy utilization, but currently without a superior solution.’

In the old model, fire elements were crudely compressed within the repulsion field; should the shield shatter, the flames would indiscriminately erupt in all directions.

‘Isn’t this just a pressure cooker? A defectively designed one at that,’ Lia mused inwardly.

Her spiritual energy probed the model, but instead of adhering to the existing rune pathways, she began to re-engineer the energy circuits.

She achieved this by constructing several minuscule, asymmetrical ‘pressure release vents’ within the repulsion field’s inner layer, then programming the trigger conditions with spell runes.

Half an hour later, Lia completed the simulation within her mental realm.

When the simulated shield sustained a lethal blow, it no longer erupted in chaotic explosion; instead, three searing tongues of flame shot out like venomous snakes towards three predetermined directions.

The total energy output remained unchanged, yet the effective destructive energy density had increased by at least twofold!

When she presented this optimized model to Klein, he fell into an uncharacteristic silence that lasted a full minute.

“You… how did you conceive of this?” Klein asked, his gaze fixed on Lia.

Lia blinked, responding with an easy shrug, “It’s like managing a flood; it’s always better to channel it than to simply block it.”

Klein, of course, understood the principle of channeling over blocking, but to integrate this concept so flawlessly into a fixed spell model, transforming it into such precise rune structures—this transcended the mere definition of ‘genius.’

This was creation itself.

She could even casually fine-tune the energy circuits of certain spell models, achieving more potent effects with less mana.

This terrifying pace of growth profoundly shook even Klein.

He could only attribute it to Lia’s extraordinary theoretical insight, which positioned her on a plane far beyond that of any other mage, allowing her to survey the foundational architecture of the entire magical system.

One day, Lia was in her room, using her spiritual energy to simulate the rune structure of a six-ring spell, ‘Chain Lightning.’

Ding—

A clear, resonant chime, ethereal and distant, echoed through the high tower without warning.

The very next instant, Klein’s figure materialized at her doorway.

His expression was unusually grave.

“Get ready, and come with me.”

“Where are we going?” Lia asked, halting the flow of her spiritual energy.

“To the Academy.”

Klein’s voice was taut with tension.

“The Headmaster wishes to see you.”

***

At the heart of the Royal National Academy of Magic stood a towering white spire that pierced the very clouds.

The spire itself was carved from a single, colossal block of unknown, pristine white rock, its surface shimmering with a visible magical luminescence.

This was the Academy’s very heart, the apex of its power—the abode of the Headmaster and the Board of Regents.

Klein led Lia through a teleportation array, appearing directly in the circular grand hall on the white spire’s uppermost floor.

In the center of the hall stood an elderly man with hair and beard as white as snow, clad in a simple grey mage’s robe.

A benevolent smile graced his features.

This was Augustus, the Headmaster of the Royal National Academy of Magic, a Ninth-Ring Archmage known as ‘The Star-Gazer.’

“Klein, you’ve arrived.”

The old man smiled, nodding to Klein, before his gaze settled upon Lia.

His eyes were gentle, yet possessed a penetrating quality that seemed to strip away all pretense.

“You are Lia, aren’t you?”

“Yes, Headmaster,” Lia replied, inclining her head slightly.

“No need for formality, child,” Augustus waved a dismissive hand. “I’ve summoned you here, on behalf of the Academy, to offer our gratitude.”

He extended his hand, palm turned upwards.

Three parchment scrolls, sealed with magical imprints, floated silently above his palm.

“This treatise, which restored simplicity to the laws of object motion, ignited a storm that still swirls above the ruins of the Schools of Curses and Defense.”

“And this theory, linking the stars to the earth, has those two old fellows, Laplace and Horace, still bickering incessantly over the measurement of a single constant.”

“Then there is… the computational method known as ‘calculus,’ which describes change and accumulation.” Augustus’s tone grew exceptionally solemn. “It is a key—a key powerful enough to unlock all the old-era doors, and equally potent to shatter all the old-era barriers.”

His voice resonated throughout the grand hall.

“Any single one of these contributions would be enough to immortalize a name in magical history.”

“And you, in less than half a year, have given us three.”

“By regulation, such monumental contributions would qualify you for immediate promotion to honorary lecturer of the Academy, and even merit the construction of a dedicated mage tower in your name.”

“However, we have decided against that course of action.”

Lia paused, momentarily stunned.

“Your theories are far too advanced, and far too… revolutionary.”

Augustus’s gaze deepened.

“They are a tempest of change, capable of sweeping across the entire continent. Before that storm truly breaks, you require time to grow, and even more importantly… protection.”

“To thrust you into the eye of that storm prematurely would not be nurturing; it would be stifling.”

He retracted the scrolls, and in his other hand, a velvet box materialized.

“Therefore, the Board of Regents has unanimously decided to temporarily seal your contributions.”

“As compensation, and as the Academy’s investment in your future, we bestow upon you this.”

The box slowly opened.

Nestled within was a star-shaped medal, crafted from violet crystal. It bore no magical fluctuations, appearing utterly unadorned.

“The Violet Morningstar Medal.”

Augustus explained.

“It symbolizes the Academy’s highest honor, bestowed only upon those… geniuses who have made groundbreaking contributions to the world’s understanding.”

He picked up the medal and personally approached Lia.

“It holds no inherent magical properties.”

“However, within its core, one of my most cherished offensive spells from my youth is embedded: ‘Star Shatter.'”

A faint, distant nostalgia tinged the Headmaster’s voice.

“Its power is sufficient to instantly obliterate a small town.”

“It can also… severely wound any foe below the Ninth Ring.”

“It can only be used once.”

“It is my hope that you will never have cause to use it.”

Lia’s heart gave a sudden, sharp clench.

‘A single strike capable of gravely injuring a Ninth-Ring Archmage? That’s practically a life itself.’

She reached out, preparing to accept this gift, which felt both heavy and scalding in its significance.

Augustus, however, did not immediately release it; he simply gazed at Lia in silence.

“Child, do you know?”

His voice suddenly took on a somewhat distant, ethereal quality.

“Before you, this medal has only ever been bestowed upon two individuals.”

“One, who later became a legend we still look up to.”

“The other…”

Augustus paused, then placed the cold medal into Lia’s warm palm.

“Became the Kingdom’s greatest traitor.”

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