Chapter 222: An Unexpected Visitor |
Morale Support: Scherzo
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The man looked no more than 30 years old, with slightly long brown hair that gave him a somewhat unruly appearance. He was dressed in a formal robe in the latest style, with only a single gold trim on the cuffs.
However, no one would mistake him for a mere first level Mage, because the gold trim representing his rank was much thicker than usual, resembling a shimmering band encircling the cuff.
This was the mark of a Legendary Mage.
A Legendary Mage!!!
Almost as soon as they recognized him, everyone present who were still sane immediately bowed in respect.
No one could have expected the arrival of a Legendary Mage.
Reiner certainly recognized the man. Though they had never met each other, he had heard many rumors about him through various channels, especially since people often compared Reiner to him.
“I halted my own experiment to come here, not to witness this family drama.”
The man sneered at the emotional dispute between Percival and Lisa, mercilessly mocking them before glancing around the room, his gaze finally landing firmly on Reiner.
“Reiner Ian Gray, where is the thesis you mentioned in your letter?”
Upon hearing the question, Reiner immediately presented Sirius’ thesis. The room fell silent, with even the sobbing Lisa stifling her tears. Everyone stared at the Legendary Mage, holding their breath.
After all, this mage was notoriously whimsical and known for his sharp tongue and blunt words.
Once, in the High Council’s meeting hall, as a High Mage, he had debated with more than a dozen other High Mages for three days, ultimately emerging victorious and spreading his fame far and wide.
After becoming a Legendary Mage, he had engaged in academic debates with almost all other Legendary Mages, except for the modern magic founder Lord Braggs. He was immensely talented and exceptionally knowledgeable.
This was Isaris Ableton, the master of the law system. His proposed Three Laws of Motion became one of the cornerstones of the law system, with far-reaching impact. As the youngest Legendary Mage, he became an idol for many mages.
Ableton casually pulled up a chair and began reading Sirius’s thesis word by word. Sometimes he shook his head and sighed, other times he fell into deep thought. His every move kept everyone on edge.
Finally, after half an hour, Ableton put down the thesis and sighed with a tone of lingering admiration.
“Wonderfully written.”
He then casually added, “It reminds me of my past self.”
His words made Reiner slightly embarrassed, realizing that the rumors of Ableton’s extreme arrogance were not unfounded.
“Your Excellency, what do you think of this thesis?”
Reiner asked.
“The unification of several motion equations has been my wish for many years. I’ve tried many methods, none as elegant as this one. This thesis perfectly solves that issue, especially the definition of imaginary numbers. Simple, yet groundbreaking.”
Ableton gave a serious evaluation of the thesis and continued, “It seems Lord Braggs was right. We cannot always use known methods to solve unknown problems. We must explore unknown methods to solve known problems.”
He then glanced at Percival.
“A thesis like this, even though it’s purely mathematical, I believe its value ranks among the top ten thesis in history. I can’t believe it was rejected. The people reviewing this thesis must have brains like mush! Trash, idiots, absolute fools fit for a museum display!”
“Your Excellency Ableton, I actually believe that the neglect of this thesis is largely due to long-standing prejudices among mages.”
Reiner retorted, his words making others tremble, since he’d directly addressed the Legendary Mage like this.
“What do you mean?”
Ableton put down the thesis. He had been somewhat interested in Reiner before, and now he was willing to listen patiently.
“Our research, for a long time, has mostly been for the feedback from the world, for the improvement of our own magical power. Even High Mages seldom focus on things that do not directly benefit them. Mathematics is one of those neglected fields.”
Reiner carefully chose his words while observing Ableton’s expression.
“For a long time, mathematical research has been passive. When mages encounter difficult magical problems, they turn to mathematical tools. For example, calculus. If it wasn’t for the difficulties in deriving motion equations, Your Excellency, you probably wouldn’t have developed calculus.”
Reiner! Aren’t you being too bold?
Igor’s heart skipped a beat upon hearing Reiner’s words. He quickly looked at Ableton, but the Legendary Mage merely nodded slightly.
“Indeed, during my research, I increasingly recognized the importance of mathematics. Many topics were hindered by mathematical difficulties.”
Ableton nodded, signaling Reiner to continue.
“Just like this thesis, since it is purely mathematical, even if recognized, it does not be of much use to the researcher. Magical power doesn’t improve. It’s not as valuable as some mages advancing through clever tricks. Over time, people will increasingly distance themselves from mathematics, a subject which seems to lack applications.”
In short, Reiner was saying that the current academic world is too pragmatic, with all research focused only on practical gains, and little investment in fundamental theoretical research. There were even people mocking those who study basic theories.
“Even though I understand that a mage’s philosophy is highly efficient pragmatism, perhaps we can encourage those who pursue research without immediate practical applications. Or, we should reconsider the kind of people we reward.”
Reiner posed.
“Mages who study magic and create colorful spells, and those who study mathematics and seek truth, both deserve praise. We should judge a mage’s research not just by its ‘usefulness’ but by how much closer it brings us to the truth.”
His words made Ableton ponder whether it was meaningful to devote energy to researching a theory that might not have immediate practical value, or perhaps none at all.
Seeing Ableton deep in thought, Reiner continued.
“Ancient mage Thales Anaxis summarized the theories of trigonometry and conic sections. Eighteen hundred years later, Lord Wild Reagan used them to establish the laws of stellar motion.”
“Lincoln Woolthorpe divided sunlight into seven colors a thousand years ago. At that time, it was merely a toy for entertaining children, but only in recent decades have mages understood why light is so colorful.”
“And Sirius Odman, who proposed the concept of imaginary numbers ten years ago, created the Sirius Transformation, which only found application in describing electromagnetic field equations ten years later.”
After a pause, Reiner continued.
“Who can say whether, in the future, when we reach for the stars, we might rely on a seemingly insignificant mathematical formula discovered today?”
His words left Ableton in silence. These theories, dismissed as useless when first proposed, were ultimately proven by time.
“Wings that cannot fly still have meaning.”
Reiner glanced at Savros and continued.
“They are the foundation for soaring in the sky one day.”