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Light Burst was a second-tier Light Magic spell, one of the basic spells that every formal mage had to master.

This spell was not high-level, but it was extremely practical.

On a pitch-black night, casting one into the sky could illuminate half a town.

In battle, releasing it suddenly could briefly blind opponents, an effect comparable to the vision blockage of third-tier Dark Magic.

Therefore, Light Burst was considered one of the standard opening spells. There was no real need to incorporate it into Lightning Magic.

Especially for an Archmage like Stanford.

After all, this was only a second-tier spell. It could be cast with a flick of the hand, so why incorporate it into another spell and increase the difficulty of casting?

Every Magic Rune in a spell had been refined through countless trials. Adding runes arbitrarily, especially runes from another school, could easily trigger all kinds of unforeseen accidents.

Stanford should have understood that.

Sure enough, after raising the question, Stanford explained:

"I am about to 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. But I specialize in the Thunder Element, so the Magic Tower will inevitably focus on the Thunder Element. Adding Light Magic would not only interfere with the operation of the Thunder Element Magic Runes, but also cause an enormous waste of mana."

Stanford's explanation brought everyone to a realization.

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 extremely weak.

There were two reasons for this:

First, it was remote and its environment was harsh. It was surrounded by beasts, making effective control difficult.

Second, the town lay on the edge of Twit Forest, with no neighboring countries in any direction. Naturally, the Empire was unwilling to invest too many resources. After all, those who went there to make a living were adventurers and desperadoes. If they died, they died—the Empire would not mourn them.

Now that the Empire had suddenly decided to send an Archmage and even construct a Magic Tower, there had to be deeper meaning behind this move.

The clever ones instinctively looked toward Dendall, realizing something.

Ever since the Four Pillars of the Empire had joined forces 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 various regions had steadily increased.

Over the past half month, numerous noble scandals had erupted within the Empire, including tax evasion, evil magical experiments, dealings with Evil Gods, treason... and more.

Behind the rolling heads came the rise of large numbers of mages and a redistribution of resources.

Now the Empire had decided to invest in Twit and construct a Magic Tower. After stabilizing its interior, it was planning expansion—turning the town into a city and opening new territory!

No wonder it had dispatched Stanford, a powerful Thunder Element Archmage!

After all, the Thunder Element and Fire Element were the natural bane of forest beasts. Sometimes, beasts that could not be driven away even by fifth- or sixth-tier spells 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, it would reduce the Thunderstorm Domain's range by more than ninety feet!"

"How about separately fixing a Light Burst spell at the top of the tower?"

"Not ideal. That would require opening up a separate mana supply chain, which would interfere with the Mana Pool's operation."

"Any combination of two or more schools of Magic will affect each other to some extent. Witwei is no ordinary place. Every additional inch of the Magic Tower's coverage is another inch of deterrence. Sacrificing the tower's power for Illumination would undoubtedly be the worst possible choice."

"Yes. If you truly think Illumination is important, I suggest building Twin Towers or a Satellite Tower!"

"The Twin Towers and Satellite Tower cost too much!"

After a round of discussion, none of the outcomes proved satisfactory, and the atmosphere sank slightly.

"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 Magic mages exchanged glances 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 resembled flame, hence the name St. Elmo's Fire.

This discovery had led many mages to believe that Lightning Magic might possess Light Magic attributes and might even be capable of converting into light energy.

Perhaps it could even develop an ice branch, just as Water Magic had.

Unfortunately, no one had achieved a breakthrough with St. Elmo's Fire to this day. Converting lightning into light energy remained a distant prospect as well.

"On to the next proposal!"

After a stretch of silence, Dendall tapped the table, preparing to end the discussion.

At those words, Stanford's expression immediately darkened.

Through the Internet, he had long since gained a relatively direct understanding of Twit.

It was a paradise for adventurers and desperadoes, 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 precisely because it needed to provide long-term Illumination, magical items could hardly replace it.

Of course, he could forcibly add Light Burst Magic Runes, but that would affect the Magic Tower's coverage and power, something he was unwilling to see.

In the end, you could not have both fish and bear's paw!

"Wait a moment!"

At that moment, a shout drew the attention of everyone in the Research Council.

They followed the voice and discovered that the speaker was none other than the usually quiet Asheff!

Yu Sheng'an looked at Stanford. "If this is merely about solving the problem of long-term Illumination, I have a way to resolve your dilemma."

"Hm?"

Everyone was immediately filled with uncertainty and surprise.

After the discussion just now, they did not believe Asheff was unaware of how difficult this matter was.

It was not that the problem could not be solved. It was that fish and bear's paw could not both be had, while what Stanford wanted was precisely both.

Since Asheff still dared claim he had a solution, could it be that he had come up with some ingenious idea?

Everyone's interest was piqued.

Dendall also looked at Yu Sheng'an with astonishment.

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 a certain perspective, gods were beings who had stolen authority over one or more domains of the world.

Within those domains, no one could contend against them.

But in other domains, gods might not even compare to mortals.

For example, the domain of Magic!

This was one of the fundamental reasons the Kevil Empire had been able to remain independent while surrounded by the Five Great Gods.

The God of the Internet had displayed astonishing power in the Wood Spirit and Summoning School, which had already made Dendall deeply wary. Now he even dared claim he could solve a problem involving the Thunder Element and Light Magic?

Could it be that he also possessed profound attainments in the Thunder Element and Light Magic?

At that thought, Dendall's mind became a mess. He even began to wonder whether this was the fundamental reason the God of the Internet had chosen Kevil to spread Divine Art.

After all, only through understanding would one not fear!

Stanford knew nothing of the thoughts growing in Dendall's mind. With delighted surprise on his face, he asked, "What method?"

Yu Sheng'an smiled. "If we convert lightning into light energy, won't the problem be solved?"

The moment those words fell, the Research Council became so silent that a pin drop could be heard!

Note: St. Elmo's Fire is not fictional. It is a real natural phenomenon.