"Grafton... do you have a teacher in the field of Alchemy... I mean, a true mentor who has passed down their legacy and given you real guidance... a Master?"
Lance's question seemed to voice the thoughts of every Alchemy Master present.
While geniuses could certainly grow wild on their own, Alchemy was a profound and arduous discipline where every step required vast knowledge accumulation and trial and error. Without a master to guide them at critical moments, it was hard to imagine a teenager reaching such heights.
Several gazes focused on Lucien like physical weight—probing, curious, expectant, and even hiding a deeply buried longing.
Only Nicolas, upon hearing the question, let his eyes drift slightly to land on Lance's face.
His brow furrowed ever so slightly. Why does the expression on this young man's face look a bit... familiar?
Uh, he's not thinking of poaching my student, is he?
Lucien glanced discreetly at his teacher, catching the way Nicolas was sizing up Lance.
With a perfect blend of apology and firmness on his face, he replied:
"Mr. Lance, yes, I do have a Master in the field of Alchemy." Lucien's tone was sincere and respectful. "He is the one who truly guided me through the gates of Alchemy and selflessly taught me countless precious lessons. He is my most important mentor on this path."
"However, my Master prefers peace and quiet and does not wish to be disturbed. Therefore, please forgive me for being unable to reveal his name."
As his words fell, the last bit of hope on Lance's face dissipated, turning into undisguised regret. He slowly leaned back in his chair, letting out an almost inaudible sigh.
The other white-haired masters nearby had similar expressions and postures—envy, regret, and perhaps a complicated emotion of "jealousy" toward that unknown old fellow's good luck swirled in their eyes.
Nicolas took all this in, his eyelid twitching slightly.
Oh, great! They really ARE trying to steal my apprentice!
And more than one of them is thinking it!
Fortunately, no one questioned Lucien's statement, nor did anyone tactlessly pursue the matter further.
Alchemists and Potioneers were never short of "reclusive" types. These wizards would dive into some mountain or forest and spend their entire lives researching their discipline, some even dying without seeking fame or profit—though those were relatively fewer.
The Alchemists present just found it absurd. How did a guy who liked to live in seclusion and ignore worldly affairs find such a perfect successor like Lucien?
Isn't it usually hard to find one even with a lantern in broad daylight?
This luck was like Merlin personally smashing a pie into his cauldron!
Could it be that staying in the wilderness increases the spawn rate for talented and broad-minded kids like this?
Amidst their chaotic thoughts, no one spoke for a moment, causing the atmosphere to stagnate slightly.
It was Madame Maxime who broke the brief silence. "Hehe, it seems that once 'SwiftSpeak' becomes popular, those owls responsible for delivering letters in the magical world might have to retire early."
She cracked a harmless joke, naturally guiding the topic back on track. "Speaking of which, Lucien, 'SwiftSpeak' draws from the Muggle 'Internet.' So, following this line of thought, is there also a similar 'hub'? Responsible for receiving, processing, and distributing those... um, 'data packets'?"
Hearing this question, the corners of Lucien's mouth curved up slightly. Here comes the real core topic.
"Yes, Madame. In my complete vision, a distributed 'Magical Communication Hub' can indeed be established in the future."
"Currently, the efficiency and stability of SwiftSpeak's direct point-to-point connection—especially when transmitting complex audio and real-time images—are heavily influenced by distance and the magical environment of both parties... Establishing a dedicated magical hub could greatly optimize the pathways and improve the efficiency and stability of information flow..."
"Of course," he changed the subject, appearing extremely candid, "technically speaking, to achieve the future goal of wide-range, near-zero-latency communication for SwiftSpeak, there are two main routes. One is what I just mentioned, building an external magical communication hub network; the other is to continuously optimize the alchemical core and rune arrays of the SwiftSpeak book itself, enhancing its own magical processing and remote connection capabilities..."
The development cycle for the latter would be relatively longer, and the results were uncertain.
The former required massive resource investment and cross-regional coordinated construction, but once built, the performance improvement would be immediate and scalable.
In Lucien's mind, the Emerald Tablet Fragment Loan still had half a year left.
Optimizing and perfecting SwiftSpeak's cross-border and even global communication within this timeframe was the only way to maximize its popularity and sales.
The ideal situation would naturally be to get the Ministries of Magic of various countries involved to jointly build communication infrastructure for the wizarding world.
This Tri-Wizard Tournament was also an excellent display window and promotional opportunity.
Not to mention the whole world, at least the eyes of the entire European magical community were focused here.
And these renowned Alchemy Masters on the judges' table held significant influence in their respective countries and even international wizarding society.
If he could "conquer" them first, then the resistance to getting the Ministry of Magic to cooperate would undoubtedly be much smaller.
Additionally, Lucien had made up his mind to push forward with the verification and preliminary construction of the magical communication hub network, while not relaxing his research on optimizing the SwiftSpeak unit itself.
Two paths. Whichever one achieved a key breakthrough first would be a victory for him.