Light Burst was a second-tier Light Magic spell, one of the foundational spells that Formal Mages had to master.
This spell was not high-level, but it was exceedingly practical.
On a pitch-black night, firing one into the sky could illuminate half a town.
In battle, releasing it suddenly could inflict temporary blindness comparable to the vision-blocking effect of third-tier Dark Magic.
Thus, Light Burst was also considered one of the standard opening spells. There was no real need to incorporate it into Lightning Magic.
Especially not for an Archmage like Stanford.
After all, it was only a second-tier spell. He could cast it with a flick of his hand, so why integrate it into another spell and increase the difficulty of casting?
Every Magic Rune had been refined through countless trials. Adding runes rashly, especially runes from another element, could easily trigger all sorts of unforeseen accidents.
Stanford should have understood that.
Sure enough, after raising the question, Stanford explained:
"I will soon be assigned to Twit Town to oversee the construction of a Magic Tower. The environment there is extremely harsh, and I need long-term illumination magic. However, I specialize in Lightning Magic, so the Magic Tower will inevitably focus on the Lightning Element. Adding Light Magic would not only interfere with the operation of the Lightning Magic Runes, but also result in tremendous mana waste."
Stanford's explanation immediately enlightened everyone.
Everyone knew of Twit Town. Four percent of the Empire's magical materials came from there, yet the Empire's control over it had always been weak.
There were two reasons for this:
First, it was remote and harsh, surrounded by beasts, making effective control difficult.
Second, the town lay on the edge of Twit Forest, with no neighboring nations nearby. Naturally, the Empire was unwilling to invest too many resources there. Besides, those who went there to make a living were Adventurers and outlaws. If they died, they died. The Empire would not mourn them.
Now that the Empire had suddenly decided to dispatch an Archmage and even build a Magic Tower, there had to be deeper meaning behind this move.
The clever ones instinctively looked toward Dendall and realized something.
Ever since the Four Pillars of the Empire had cooperated with the mysterious God of the Internet, the Empire had undergone earth-shaking changes.
The most obvious change was that the Magic God's control over every region had grown stronger by the day.
Over the past half month, numerous noble scandals had erupted throughout the Empire, including tax evasion, conducting evil magical experiments, contacting Evil Gods, colluding with enemies, betraying the country... and more.
Behind the rolling heads was the rise of a large number of mages and the redistribution of resources.
Now that the Empire had decided to invest in Twit and build a Magic Tower, it was clearly planning expansion after stabilizing its internal affairs—turning the town into a city and opening new territory!
No wonder they were sending a powerful Lightning Archmage like Stanford!
After all, the Lightning Element and Fire Element were natural nemeses of forest beasts. Sometimes, beasts that could not be driven away even by fifth- or sixth-tier magic would scatter in terror at a simple clap of thunder.
"Have you tried the Olcott Combination Method?"
"I have. It affects the construction of the Thunderstorm Domain. Even if I use the Three-Dimensional Method, the range of the Thunderstorm Domain would shrink by more than ninety feet!"
"What about permanently fixing a Light Burst spell at the top of the tower?"
"Not ideal. It would require opening a separate mana supply line, which would interfere with the Mana Pool's operation."
"Any combination of two or more magical elements will affect each other to some extent. Twit is no ordinary place. Every extra inch covered by the Magic Tower is an extra inch of deterrence. Sacrificing the tower's power for illumination is undoubtedly the worst possible choice."
"Yes. If you truly think illumination is important, I suggest building Twin Towers or a Satellite Tower!"
"The cost of Twin Towers and Satellite Towers is far too high!"
After a round of discussion, none of the results were satisfactory, and the atmosphere grew somewhat heavy.
"Has there been any breakthrough in the research on St. Elmo's Fire? Could St. Elmo's Fire be used for illumination?" Someone brought up a mysterious discovery related to Lightning Magic.
Several Lightning Mages present exchanged looks and shook their heads.
St. Elmo's Fire was called fire, but it was actually a kind of cold light.
Lightning Mages had discovered that sharp objects in thunderstorm conditions emitted a bluish-white glow, including masts, antlers, dragon horns... and so on.
At first glance, it looked much like flame, hence the name St. Elmo's Fire.
This discovery had led many mages to believe that Lightning Magic might possess Light Element properties and might even be capable of converting into light energy.
Perhaps it could even develop an Ice Element branch like Water Magic.
Unfortunately, no one had achieved any groundbreaking progress with St. Elmo's Fire so far. Converting lightning into light energy remained a distant dream.
"Next proposal!"
After a stretch of silence, Dendall tapped the table, preparing to end the discussion.
At those words, Stanford's expression immediately dimmed.
Through the Internet, he had long since gained a fairly direct understanding of Twit.
It was a paradise for Adventurers and outlaws, as well as a place favored by death.
Beasts charging into town in the middle of the night and carrying off residents were common occurrences.
That was the fundamental reason he wanted to add long-term illumination magic to the Magic Tower.
As long as light was maintained, humanity's ability to resist beasts would undoubtedly increase greatly. Yet because it had to be long-term illumination, magical tools could hardly replace it.
Of course, he could forcibly add Light Burst Magic Runes, but that would affect the Magic Tower's range and power. That was precisely what he did not want to see.
In the end, he could not have both fish and bear's paw!
"Wait!"
At that moment, a shout drew the attention of everyone in the Research Council.
They looked toward the voice and discovered that the speaker was none other than the usually taciturn Asheff!
Yu Sheng'an looked at Stanford and said, "If it is only a matter of solving the problem of long-term illumination, I have a way to resolve your difficulty."
"Hm?"
Everyone was immediately filled with uncertainty.
After the discussion just now, they did not believe Asheff was unaware of the difficulty of this matter.
It was not that the problem could not be solved. Rather, fish and bear's paw could not both be had, while what Stanford wanted was precisely both.
Since Asheff still dared claim that he had a solution, could it be that he had some ingenious idea?
Everyone became interested.
Dendall also looked at Yu Sheng'an in surprise.
Though Dendall possessed the title of "god," he could only be considered a Demigod.
Even so, he was among those who understood gods best.
From one perspective, gods were beings who had stolen authority over one or more domains of the world.
Within those domains, no one could stand against them.
But in other domains, gods might not even be the equal of mortals.
For instance, the field of Magic!
This was one of the fundamental reasons the Kevil Empire could remain independent while surrounded by the Five Great Gods.
The God of the Internet had already displayed astonishing power in the Wood Spirit and Summoning School, making Dendall deeply wary. Now he even dared claim he could solve the problems of the Lightning Element and Light Element?
Could it be that he also possessed profound attainments in the Lightning Element and Light Element?
At that thought, Dendall's mind became a tangled mess. He even wondered whether this was the fundamental reason the God of the Internet had chosen to spread Divine Art in Kevil.
After all, only through understanding would one not feel fear!
Stanford knew nothing of Dendall's growing thoughts. He asked with delighted surprise, "What method?"
Yu Sheng'an smiled. "If we convert lightning into light energy, wouldn't the problem be solved?"
As his words fell, the Research Council became so silent that one could hear a pin drop!
Note: St. Elmo's Fire is not fabricated. It is a real natural phenomenon.
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