Personally, I think he might be interested in a different convention of magic compared to the ones being used now which has sacrificial circles, written word, geometry, numerology, glyphs, etc.
It is mentioned that most esoteric spells are pre cataclysm and passed down familiarly by word of mouth. Which is why they’re so scarce and closely guarded.
What’s interesting to me is that esoteric spells don’t require the normal convention to cast like modern sorcery. They are essentially like free casting in functionality.
Then, given Lacers reputation as the youngest free caster, it seems like an appropriate connection that he is looking for a way to access magic more ephemerally like esoteric spells or maybe come up with a whole new magic system entirely.
From context clues, I believe that the way magic is performed today is not the same way it was done pre cataclysm and this suggests more mysterious aspects about magic or that it is shaped by perception (which we already know) but so much so than is thought - to the extent that even the systems of magic aren’t fixed, but influenced by those who use it and how they think about it.
Thus, magic could have been performed very differently then. Perhaps it required less sacrifice, components or setup and thus, more convenient to use? More intuitive and less structured? (Soft Vs hard). Maybe it could achieve more?
This might suggest that free casting can be achieved without the higher power level that is referenced to be needed and for me, that has certain implications about the will and what it actually is and does.
Also it’s perceived understanding of how it’s meant to function. Perhaps it’s not being utilised the most optimally with the way modern sorcery is now.
(I have many thoughts on this but if I write it all now it will probably make this too long for anyone to want to read)
This also aligns with his unusual interest in aberrants (maybe that’s the whole reason he is in the red guard to begin with). They think about, are affected by and access magic in an entirely foreign and alien way.
Another theory is that more planes exist than the ones that are already known and the cataclysm is a result of some terrible disaster regarding one or multiple of those planes in some way - leading to catastrophic failure.
Perhaps his research involves trying to design spells to access those different planes?
Like, I believe that the black wastes are an example of catastrophic failure regarding one of those currently inaccessible unknown planes.