Ch. 317 - Level-Four Mage

Priscilla's goal was clear. She came on behalf of the Tower and wanted to work with Adam on the radio telescope project.

Adam didn't mind. He controlled the technology, so allowing others to use it was no problem. As long as the agreement included terms that protected his interests, he was fine with it.

The terms didn't need to be too strict. Adam just wanted to make sure he had priority rights.

Priscilla didn't care much about this. The Tower had its own ways of gathering information from the void. Their interest in the radio telescope was just an additional bonus.

The real focus was on the second point: the study of radioactive minerals.

At the end of the war, the mages found energy factories in the radiation creatures. They discovered that these minerals, which released harmful substances, could indeed produce energy.

Even though the creatures used simple methods to extract it, the energy produced was higher than what ordinary energy stones could offer. This energy also had no special attribute, making it easy for anyone to use. Adam even got a lot of ether crystals from this.

Because of this, the mages brought Cthulhu into the Mage World, and now it was part of the Fifth Tower.

But to Adam, the research on radioactive minerals, or atomic energy, was even more important. It wasn't just about finding a new energy source for the Mage World. It could mean much more, especially in a world where knowledge was power.

Of course, this would only be true if the research succeeded.

At the very least, during the research, it might open a path to studying the microscopic world in the Mage World.

In his spare time, Adam thought about why the Mage World hadn't made much progress in studying the microscopic world.

After seeing the power of the Great Archmage, Adam now believed the reason was simple: The mages were already too powerful.

On the large scale, their power was limitless. For mages like the Great Archmage, destroying the world and creating a new universe could be done with just a thought.

With such a clear path ahead, other mages naturally followed this, ignoring the microscopic world, which was so different from the large-scale one.

Priscilla approached Adam because, in his first report, he had predicted the potential of radioactive minerals.

The mages had since set up a joint research group. She invited Adam to join them. She didn't expect him to lead the research but believed that his ideas could bring something new.

Adam agreed. They decided to report to the research group once their current tasks were done.

...

After the communication ended, Adam went to meet his avatars, ready to receive the experimental data from recent years.

He had given them two tasks. The first was to derive Gauss's law for magnetism, and the second was to explore wave-particle duality. Adam was confident about the first task, but the second one felt nearly impossible due to its strange and abstract nature.

In the past, Adam had already successfully translated integral and matrix operations, leaving behind a wealth of pure mathematical methods in the minds of his avatars. This greatly helped in completing the first task.

In fact, just a few years after Adam had left, the law and its principles were successfully deduced, and a complete set of equations was established.

Gauss's law for magnetism states that the divergence of the magnetic field is zero, meaning that magnetic fields have no starting or ending points, and no magnetic monopoles exist. Instead, magnetic fields form loops, with the fundamental units being dipoles rather than magnetic charges.

Of course, this wasn't absolute. If magnetic monopoles were ever discovered, the law would need to be adjusted.

With the differential form of this law in place, Maxwell's equations in an etheric environment became fully applicable, and the barrier preventing Adam from advancing to level four vanished.

Suddenly, a massive amount of magical energy gathered around Adam, forming a vortex and lifting him into the air. A rift opened in the void, and the Etheric Gift descended upon him.

Adam felt a deep sense of fullness in both his body and soul. The magical energy that had been compressed due to his connection with the Origin quickly expanded, reaching its limit. Then, with a soft "pop," Adam broke through and became a level-four mage.

The light from the Etheric Gift faded, and Adam descended back to the ground.

Becoming a level-four mage wasn't much of a surprise for him, so Adam didn't feel particularly excited. However, the new capabilities and power that came from completing the equations were far more valuable to him.

With Gauss's law for magnetism established, Adam no longer needed complex calculations to manipulate magnetic fields. The powerful 'Magnetic Cutting' spell, which once required detailed planning, could now be cast with just one set of runes.

He could even manipulate magnetic field lines to warp space, allowing him to teleport using only electromagnetic magic.

The Slash of Judgement spell also became much stronger. Although it was still too powerful to use casually in everyday situations, its casting time was reduced, and Adam's increased magical reserves made it much more practical in battle.

Adam's perception had also evolved. He could now see the entire electromagnetic spectrum clearly, including the signals from new radio-based communication devices. While this bordered on invading privacy, Adam could intercept and read the standardized radio waves that were still uncommon in space.

Looking ahead, if Adam succeeded in his research on wave-particle duality, he would gain full control over electromagnetic waves, including the ability to directly use gamma rays.

As his power grew, the possibility of creating a gamma-ray burst---one of the most destructive cosmic events---might not be out of his reach.

Of course, that was still far in the future.

Even now, Adam could already control thermal radiation to a certain degree, generating energy that matched the power of advanced fire magic.

Adam paused for a moment, deciding it would be best to wait until he was fully prepared to ascend to the transcendent level before uploading Maxwell's equations.

These equations elegantly explained macroscopic electromagnetic phenomena, and by doing this at the right moment, Adam could tap into a vast source of power from the Origin.

After finishing his promotion, Adam assigned new research tasks to his avatars. His next focus would be on classic physics experiments, such as the double-slit experiment and blackbody radiation. These weren't pressing matters, though, as they would require time to set up the proper conditions for the experiments.

Adam wasn't in a rush. He had no immediate plans to leave after this return, so he had plenty of time to carefully organize these projects.

Just then, Adam received another communication request, this time from Victor.

"Adam, if you're available, come to the lab as soon as possible. We need you to take charge of developing the next generation of communication devices."

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