Chapter 86: The Sun’s Fury and a Scholar’s Legacy

News from Silver Rock City arrived at the Vitera family estate via a common carrier pigeon accompanying a merchant caravan.

Marcus was trimming a rare Dragonblood Rose in his garden when his servant presented the small, wax-sealed scroll.

He set down his silver shears, accepted the scroll, and with a slight exertion of his fingertips, the wax seal crumbled silently.

The message, hastily penned and urgent, reported the latest developments in Silver Rock City.

Mr. Dorian, a Seven-Ring Elemental Mage, had passed away suddenly three nights prior, succumbing to an acute cerebral affliction.

The letter described how Archmage Dorian had been taken ill without warning while engrossed in an academic journal from the Royal Capital, a gift from a business associate.

His children were now fiercely contending for his vast estate, and the city’s ore trade had descended into utter chaos.

Marcus finished reading, his expression unreadable.

With a faint whisper of magic from his fingertips, the parchment bearing the news of death dissolved into dust, scattering among the flowers to enrich the soil.

“Go, in my name, convey our deepest condolences to the Dorian family.”

He picked up his silver shears, resuming his pruning of the branches, and gave his instructions without turning, his voice devoid of any discernible emotion.

“Furthermore, write to inform our people in Silver Rock City that they may begin making contact with members of the Dorian family.”

“Adopt a humble demeanor; we are there to offer assistance, not to exploit their misfortune.”

“Yes, Master.”

The servant’s figure receded silently.

As Marcus snipped off the last superfluous branch, he gazed at the perfectly blooming Dragonblood Rose, a faint smile finally gracing his lips.

A conservative Seven-Ring Mage and his entire estate were worth less than a single academic paper.

Truly, this was… an intriguing era.

Just as he was about to issue new instructions, he noticed the communication crystal on a nearby table flickering a few times before it dimmed completely.

Marcus frowned. It seemed the impact of the Sun’s Fury was far greater than anticipated, an event that might prolong his plans, or perhaps even…

***

Inside the Mage Tower.

Adèle paced restlessly in Lia’s room, the communication crystal before her having remained dim for two full days.

“It’s strange,” she complained to Lia, who was engrossed in calculations nearby. “The ore merchants from Silver Rock City are always so punctual. Why is there no news whatsoever?”

“Several letters of inquiry from mages in other regions have also ceased communication, as if the Royal Capital has become an isolated island.”

Just then, Lia’s door burst open.

A senior student whom Lia didn’t recognize rushed in, her face etched with tension and bewilderment.

“Lia! Adèle! Master Horace of the Theoretical Council is here! He looks dreadful, and he’s been locked in the study with the Master for nearly two hours now!”

Lia lifted her head from a pile of calculation drafts.

‘Horace?’

‘What could he want with Klein?’

Lia’s curiosity was piqued.

After waiting a while, estimating that enough time had passed, she rose and went to the kitchen.

She selected a delicate tea set and several plates of Adèle’s freshly baked sweet biscuits.

Carrying the tray, she approached the study door and knocked softly.

“Come in.”

Klein’s voice sounded weary and resigned.

Lia pushed the door open and stepped inside.

The atmosphere in the study was heavy.

Horace, having shed his usual cheerful disposition, paced fretfully before the bookshelves, his greying hair a disheveled bird’s nest.

Klein, meanwhile, sat behind his desk, one hand propping his forehead, his brow deeply furrowed.

“Klein, Master Horace, I’ve prepared some refreshments.”

Lia gently placed the tray on the side table.

Horace, who had been pacing, abruptly halted. Seeing Lia, he paused in surprise, then, as if struck by a sudden realization, slapped his forehead with a loud thud.

“How could I have forgotten about you!”

He covered the distance to Lia in a few hurried strides, grasped her wrist, and unceremoniously, almost rudely, pressed her onto the nearby sofa.

“Little Lia, sit! Sit!”

Klein merely glanced up, sighed resignedly, and offered no objection.

Horace, too preoccupied to care for formalities, sat directly opposite Lia, leaning forward as a torrent of complaints spilled from his lips.

“Something terrible has happened!”

“Just five days ago, an extraordinarily rare phenomenon known as the ‘Sun’s Fury’ erupted in the sky!”

The Sun’s Fury was the mages’ term for a solar flare.

“The Royal Capital was shielded by its protective magic array, so we felt little impact. But outside the Capital, nearly every city’s communication crystal failed simultaneously!”

Horace grew more agitated with each word, gesticulating wildly.

“The entire kingdom, save for the Royal Capital, is now deaf and blind! Trade routes are severed, news from the borders can’t get through, and local lords are unreachable!”

“His Majesty the King’s hair is practically turning white with worry!”

He gulped down some tea, then huffed indignantly.

“His Majesty commanded the Lightning School and the Magnetic Field School to resolve the issue immediately. And what happened? They almost came to blows during the King’s council meeting!”

“The Chief Mage of the Lightning School unleashed a miniature chain lightning spell on the spot, intending to demonstrate the power of magical flux.

But the Vice President of the Magnetic Field School, with a magnetic deflection, redirected the lightning bolt, which promptly obliterated the Minister of Finance’s three-hundred-year-old prized vase into smithereens!”

“The King’s face turned green with fury right then and there!”

“Neither side thought highly of the other, and after three days of bickering, there’s been absolutely no progress!”

Having aired his grievances, Horace’s expression dimmed once more.

“My purpose in coming here was to ask you, Klein, about your teacher.”

He looked at Klein behind the desk.

“Back then, your teacher was the only mage in the entire kingdom who publicly proposed… the possibility of a mysterious connection between electricity and magnetism.”

“I had hoped he might have left behind some research manuscripts…”

Klein slowly shook his head.

“Master Horace, I was only seven when my teacher passed away. I couldn’t understand the manuscripts in his study at the time, and later, the association intervened, sealing and taking away all the materials.”

He paused, a flicker of reminiscence and reluctance passing through his blue eyes.

“As an adult, I tried to reconstruct some of my teacher’s conjectures from memory. However, I found that the wildness of electricity and the intangibility of magnetism simply couldn’t be unified.”

“There seemed to be a missing link between them… a bridge capable of mutual conversion.”

“But I have never been able to find it.”

Horace’s last hope shattered. He slumped back onto the sofa, letting out a long sigh of dejection.

Silence descended upon the study.

A moment later, Horace straightened up, his gaze falling upon Lia, who was casually sipping tea on the sofa.

“Lia.”

He spoke with utmost seriousness.

“What are your thoughts on the situation caused by this Sun’s Fury?”

Klein also looked up, turning his gaze to Lia.

In an instant, Lia became the focal point of the room.