431 The Launching (1/2)
The formal evening dress that Douglas used to wore had been replaced by a flowing grey magic robe of fine texture, on which countless dots and lines formed various mysterious patterns. He was also wearing an ancient Magic Empire top hat of the same color, surrounded by many colorful crystal stones that resembled a tiny celestial system.
The way how Douglas was dressed reminded people that Douglas was not only the establisher of the Congress of Magic, but also a survivor of the ancient Magic Empire after its downfall. The aesthetics that had been fostered when he was young are still imprinted in his brain.
”Lucien, thank you for your suggestion. With strict calculation and complex alchemy procedures, I have made an artificial planet. The next step will be sending it to the preset orbit.” Douglas greeted Lucien genially.
Meanwhile, Douglas put his right hand on the magic pouch, and a silver-grey sphere instantly rose up in the air in front of him.
As the product of a first-time experiment, the size of this artificial planet was quite small, only half the size of a human body. The tiny, mysterious planet was covered with silver-grey metal gloss and inlaid with all kinds of gems and sophisticated magic lines. The whole sphere seemed to be completely wrapped in layers of magic circles.
”It looks very sophisticated…” Lucien murmured. According to Lucien, the purpose of the experiment would be achieved as long as Douglas could prove that a satellite was able to revolve around this world. Other further functions were factors that could be considered later, such as communication, investigation, location, as well as being used as a weapon, or it would be a waste of time.
Douglas grinned. ”Not really, not really… This universe is full of hazards: this magic circle is designed to resist low temperature…”
Very patiently, Douglas started introducing every magic circles on the surface of the metal ball to Lucien.
Lucien could not agree with him in his mind, yet he still listened to Douglas carefully to learn more about the magic circles and asked questions from time to time. In the end, Lucien asked on purpose,
”Mr. President, why don't you add the magic circles for receiving and sending signals? So we can locate it from here and keep a closer track of it.”
”I've put the similar permanent magic circles in it,” Douglas was not disturbed by Lucien's many questions at all, but answered him with patience, ”… also, the function of its main magic circle goes beyond your imagination. It's a magic circle that could almost rival legendary magic.”
”What is it?” Asked Luciana curiously.
”I'll keep it as a secret for now. You'll see when it works.” Douglas smiled at his students.
Artil's narrow eyes stared at the metal ball frenetically. ”I can't wait to see it… I can't wait to show those idiots that our teacher's theory is correct, to show them that their dream about Ether is just an illusion!”
Fernando snorted. ”Claiming victory before the experiment even started. You're the most stupid idiot I've ever seen.”
Fernando's words lashed out as usual, even though Douglas was just beside him. If it had been Douglas who said those words, Fernando would have given the same response as well.
Artil dared not to debate with Fernando. He lowered his head, feeling quite humiliated.
Bergner, the Prophet from Tower, looked at Douglas with slight concern. ”The reason why no planet has been found yet is complicated. Maybe we can't observe an artificial planet in the universe neither. Mr. President, you have to be prepared for the possible failure. The failure can't completely deny your theory.”
Bergner was wearing Tower's unique grey, pointy hat. His brows and beard had all turned white. Except for his eyes, which were as deep as the starry sky, he looked like an ordinary old man.
Since it was a reminder from the Prophet, the look on the students' face slightly changed. They wondered if Mr. Bergner had already seen the result by casting Horoscope…
But their concern was wiped out by Douglas immediately. Douglas smiled casually and said, ”I have failed many times trying to find a planet. One more failure isn't something that can defeat me. It only means my theory is not yet perfect. Maybe I missed something, and all the failures will lead me to find the answer. A throne of success is always made by failures. Don't be dazzled by my current reputation and status so that you forget that I have also already been through countless failures.”
Douglas looked up and stared at the virtual starry sky of the demiplane above. ”The world is so vast and broad. The further you explore, the smaller you feel about yourself. What did this world look like at the very beginning? Where will the many questions lead to in the very end? We have no idea. Anything that is unknown deserves our reverence. We can't keep ourselves away from them because of fear and uncertainty.
”If today our experiment works, we will prove that human beings can also create planets and create a world. We are taking the first step!”
Douglas' smiling eyes turned to look at Lucien, ”And this is all thanks to Lucien. His unrestrained thoughts and reversed way of thinking have freed me from my past experience.”
Hearing the praise, Lucien thought to himself that the president's small step probably meant one giant leap for mankind.
Fernando noticed that Lucien was being absent-minded. He gave Lucien a threatening stare and then turned to Douglas. ”No more lecturing. An award-winning speech should be saved until success, or it would turn into a joke.”
Bergner also smiled and explained, ”What I just said was not a prophecy. I was simply showing my care to an old friend. If I want to do a fortune telling for Douglas, I would have to prepare for at least a month for the result to not be too ridiculously wrong.”
Artil, Luciana, and Norman gradually cheered up.
Douglas did not say anything. He nodded slightly and put the artificial planet back into his pouch and turned on the magic tower.
The stars in the virtual night sky suddenly went out. The mountains, forest, lake, prairie, and the magic tower itself were completely encased by the darkness.
Then the white lines on the magic tower lit up one by one and formed a very complex magic circle.
As soon as the magic circle became complete, the magic tower started trembling fiercely with a loud buzzing noise. A great power, like a roaring ocean, gathered in front of Douglas and formed a mysterious gate inlaid with countless constellation symbols.
”All of you, go back to Allyn, and watch the sky carefully,” said Douglas.
Meanwhile, his formidable spiritual power spread out. The power was like a burning sun, and it made Lucien and the others unable to open their eyes or spread out their spiritual power.
Finishing his words, Douglas pushed his spiritual power fiercely toward the stargate and opened a gap. Then he stepped in and disappeared in the darkness and void.
This was how a satellite was launched in this world. Lucien stared at the gradually vanishing gate, speechless. No expensive fuels, no giant rocket, no ignition device. All Douglas needed to do was to take the satellite with him and do a space jump.
Lucien truly realized that, in this world of magic, there were still many aspects that were more advanced than that of the Earth. It's just he still had no clue how they worked.
In this world, a grand arcanist himself was a rocket, a satellite, an intercontinental missile, a combination of power and glory!
”To explore the planets far away from us, it will take two to three years to prepare a space jump. The longest might take several decades. As for a short-distance jump like this, it only takes a few days of preparation,” explained Fernando.