Mage Adam-Chapter "353"

Prometheus, the True Spirit Archmage—this was a name Adam had known since the moment he first gained awareness. A name that rang like thunder in his ears.

A pioneer, a revolutionary, an explorer, a great leader, the light of wisdom, the incarnation of truth.

In the world of mages, every word of praise seemed only fitting when used to describe this True Spirit.

Adam had always known that one day a True Spirit Archmage would come to inspect the Research Institute, but he had not expected it to happen so soon—let alone that the one who came would be this figure.

“Greetings, Your Excellency,” Adam said respectfully.

The True Spirit Archmage smiled and nodded. A gentle power lifted everyone to their feet, and then he spoke to Adam:

“Hello, Adam. Would you mind showing me around the Institute?”

The other mages, tactful enough, withdrew. Adam extended his hand in a courteous gesture.

“Of course, Your Excellency.”

Wherever Prometheus passed, every mage along the way silently stood and paid him respect, their gazes fixed upon him until his figure disappeared from sight. None dared make an exception. His stature in the hearts of mages was clear beyond doubt.

The Atomic Research Institute was no longer what it had been; there were now many areas worth visiting. Behind each sealed ward of magic arrays, high-energy or radiation experiments might be taking place. And beyond those, the theoretical department was busy organizing symbols, each of which carried immense meaning.

Prometheus seemed delighted. He grew curious at every station, asking questions, only continuing after he had received satisfying answers. When the tour was complete, he said to Adam:

“Unbelievable. In just a few decades, since the day you first became a mage apprentice, you’ve already brought so many changes to the Mage World.”

“I never sought to accomplish anything special. These studies benefit me just as much,” Adam replied modestly.

The True Spirit shook his head.

“Mages are always like this—research begins from the self. But merit is merit. No one has the right to deny it.”

Then he suddenly asked:

“How is your own research progressing? I mean the work on electromagnetic magic.”

Lately, Adam had devoted all his energy to atomic research. The work on electromagnetics had been handed off to clones inside the Holy Tower laboratories, tasked with computation and verification. Adam had long been renting vast amounts of computational power, and by the numbers, the results were no worse than if he did it himself.

The progress was fairly good. Most importantly, the two lines of research had complemented each other. With the Institute confirming the existence of more subatomic particles—standardizing fermions and bosons within the Aether Void—it was providing crucial advancement for his studies in quantum electrodynamics and wave–particle duality.

“Not bad. I should have a breakthrough soon,” Adam replied.

Prometheus patted him on the shoulder.

“Don’t rush—but don’t slack either. Anne once worried you’d damage your foundation by trying to ascend to Super Dimensional too hastily. But now, I see she underestimated you. Even setting aside your electromagnetic work, the results here in this Institute alone are enough to propel any mage to Super Dimensional level—and among them, one of the strongest in terms of attack. The atomic bomb… a very fine creation indeed.”

He paused, then smiled.

“When you feel the time is right, go to Anne—or come to me. We’ll provide you with all the Source Power you need for your ascension. Unlimited. Use as much as you like.”

Adam’s eyes lit up. At present, four-fifths of his soul was filled with Source Power—but some of it came from the rewards of planar sacrifices, not pure mage-world Source. He still remembered Arnold the Super Dimensional’s warning at the time, and had long been striving to purify himself.

“No matter whether you choose, after your ascension, to leave the Holy Tower and become a Free Super Dimensional, or remain within it—your Super Dimensional Mage Tower’s resources and costs will all be covered by the Mage Council. You only need to make the request and provide the technology. Everything else will be taken care of.”

A surprise. A true surprise. Adam had not expected such generosity from the Council. By what he had heard from Super Dimensional’s in their casual talk, building a Super Dimensional Mage Tower required an enormous expenditure—even when following pre-set templates. But Adam, having founded an entirely new magical system, would necessarily build a tower unlike any other. And difference meant even greater costs. Now, someone else was offering to foot the bill—nothing could be better.

“Thank you,” Adam said sincerely. “This is incredible.”

Prometheus waved his hand dismissively.

“You’ve earned it. One more thing—would you allow my projection of will to remain here at the Institute, to join in the research?”

The appearance of His Excellency Prometheus filled every researcher in the Institute with pride. To work on a project in which a True Spirit Archmage personally participated was an honor that carried weight wherever it was spoken of.

His wisdom was vast and profound. In just a few days of engaging with the projects, he raised numerous critical questions.

First: he directly rejected Adam’s attempt to use fission as a method of applying magic. He firmly told Adam that such a plan had no real meaning.

“The reason?” Adam asked—echoing the curiosity of everyone present.

“Magic is a lower energy derived from Aether. It is born of Aether, and thus possesses a higher grade of energy. But after studying the principles of fission, I realized—even if it could be applied to magic, what it would yield would only be ordinary energies of a lower grade. Mages would not grow stronger from it. And besides—magic is different. It resists such treatment.”

With a single sentence, the True Spirit pierced to the heart of the issue. His words set everyone thinking. And after some time, none could deny that he was right—if the energy grade declined, it was worse than useless.

Adam, deep in thought, said:

“Your Excellency means… the technology should be appled directly to Aether itself? Can that even be done?”

Prometheus nodded.

“Yes. If Aether undergoes fission, what it produces would be vast amounts of magic. If it can be realized, it will far surpass the current method of Aether-to-magic conversion in efficiency. Moreover…”

He waved his hand casually. In response, Aether particles shimmered from the void and converged toward him, condensing in an instant into an Aether crystal in his palm.

“By your terminology, Aether is the macroscopic manifestation of higher energy. To tamper with it is far easier.”

Aether is the macroscopic manifestation—these words struck Adam’s mind like a thunderbolt. The Aether crystals he handled daily… were they not Aether itself?

He should have realized long ago. Aether and magic were not the same thing.