73 - Bet

"Unbelievable, this thing is actually flying!"

If the sight of the airship soaring through the skies amazed the wizards, it was nothing short of awe-inspiring for the townspeople who gathered to watch.

Because everyone in Lydia's group was known to the townsfolk. They were a bunch of half-humans who usually caused a ruckus and had a penchant for tinkering with strange contraptions.

The most crucial point was that just like the common townsfolk present, none of them had any magical abilities.

And now, Lydia was right before their eyes, piloting something larger than a house, ascending into the sky, accomplishing something even many esteemed wizards couldn't!

"Daddy, can I fly like that too in the future?" A young boy who had climbed onto the statue to touch the airship looked at the man in the gray robe, excitement shining in his eyes.

"What are you thinking? I'm sure some wizard secretly used magic on the airship..." The man in the gray robe didn't believe for a second that a half-human could fly using their own power. In the land of wizards, all miracles belonged to the great power of magic.

"Who said it's magic?" Darren responded to this with annoyance, correcting the man with some frustration. "I assure you, every part of this airship was crafted by us half-humans with our own hands, without a trace of magic!"

"When Lydia comes back down, anyone can go up to the airship and see for themselves..."

"As long as you pay ten silver coins, anyone can take a ride on the airship and go for a spin in the sky. I heard from Lynn that this thing can fly really high, even higher than many clouds, and if you're lucky, you might even get to touch the clouds in the sky," Darren said, quite pleased with himself.

Higher than the clouds?

The children in the square couldn't help but look up at the sky, watching the enormous airship grow smaller as it moved farther away. They imagined what it might feel like to touch a cloud – surely, it would be as soft as a sheep's wool, right?

The other townspeople were also intrigued. A machine of this size, most likely, cost a fortune. Just ten silver coins for a trip into the sky didn't seem too expensive.

After all, it was the sky!

At the same time, hundreds of meters above, Lydia stood on a specially designed chair, looking down at the crowd below, which was becoming smaller and smaller until they resembled tiny dots. Finally, the entire harbor city's landscape lay before her.

Everything seemed so small, just like the wooden models she used to keep in her workshop, as if she could crush them with a single step.

"Is this what it feels like to soar into the sky? It's absolutely amazing!" Lydia looked around, excitedly gazing at the distant, rolling mountains and the vast sea.

Although she had ascended into the sky on a rudimentary flying machine more than ten days ago, it had only reached an altitude of a few dozen meters, and she couldn't afford to lose focus for a moment.

Unlike now, where the airship could float on its own without her control, allowing her to do whatever she wanted up here.

Suddenly, a strong gust of wind blew by, and the previously stable airship began to sway slightly.

First-time fliers often experience an inexplicable fear, but Lydia was not the least bit afraid. On the contrary, she boldly climbed to the edge of the airship, spread her arms, and faced the strong wind, letting out cries of excitement, and releasing the exhilaration she felt.

It wasn't until she spotted a pure white cloud floating not far from the airship that Lydia had a daring idea. She jumped down and returned to her seat, gripping the control lever, and directed the airship straight toward the cloud!

The massive airship collided with the cloud, passing through it. Lydia's vision was now enveloped in a sea of white. Her cheeks and arms felt damp, and the sensation was akin to standing by the seaside, with the gentle sea breeze brushing past her.

"This must be a happy cloud!" Lydia giggled.

However, amidst the playful antics, the half-human girl hadn't forgotten the task Lynn had entrusted to her. After a leisurely tour in the airship, she hovered above the square once again, then pulled a lever at her side.

The bottom of the airship's deck immediately opened, and two spheres with vastly different masses dropped from the cabin, but due to the tethering ropes, they hung in the air, swaying left and right, causing the airship to tilt slightly.

Next, the half-human girl brought the alchemical goggles to her eyes, leaning out, awaiting Lynn's gestures and commands.

This pair of goggles was the only magical item she carried, housing a far-sight spell that sharpened her vision like a griffon's, enabling her to see Professor Lynn amidst the crowd from a distance of two thousand meters clearly.

***

"It seems like the next issue of the Magic Weekly is going to sell like hotcakes!"

Ten minutes ago, Rol, who was at the square, was quite satisfied with the illustrations he had created, adding his own feelings at the bottom of each one. He already had a rough expectation of the newspaper's sales figures.

Lynn leaned in to take a look. On the parchment, there were three drawings: Lydia boarding the airship, cutting the ropes, and soaring into the sky.

Although time was limited, the sketches were exceptionally vivid. This sketching technique was no different from a human-shaped printer. No wonder the other party became a specialist for the Magic Weekly.

With a brief delay, the airship had already reached high in the sky, looking like a small dot from their position.

"This is too high!" Theodore gazed up, astonished at the airship continuing to ascend. Initially, he had thought that this thing could fly at most a few hundred meters high. However, in just a short while, the airship had already exceeded two thousand meters in altitude.

Fortunately, the difficulty of the far-sight spell wasn't very high, and most of the wizards present were proficient in it. So even from this distance, they could still see things quite clearly.

After ascending to an altitude of two thousand five hundred meters, the airship stopped and then, using the propulsion of the steam, began to move slowly forward.

It could not only fly but also navigate, and it did so remarkably steadily!

"At this height, it's probably beyond the attack range of most magic." Tick looked at the floating airship in the distance, his expression growing somewhat solemn.

In a certain sense, this machine was a war weapon. Mounting two crystal cannons on it would allow for long-range attacks.

If there were twenty airships armed with crystal cannons, conducting an aerial assault on Iyeta Harbor, it was without a doubt that the entire city would be reduced to ruins, without even the intervention of the great wizard Herlram.

"It's a finely designed and very well-built device..." Herlram also understood this quite well, turning to look at Lynn once more and asking, "The design plans for this airship shouldn't have been completed recently, should they?"

If a half-month ago, Lydia had created a rudimentary flying machine, it was immediately obvious that it was a rough prototype. But this airship was a fully-fledged product.

From takeoff to hovering in mid-air and onward, everything was very smooth. The design was also meticulous, indicating it was highly advanced technology.

"Yes, this airship was jointly designed by me and some friends from the Society of Mystical Arts. It's just that within the borders of the Sekas Empire, it's difficult to find a suitable place for flight experiments," Lynn explained, subtly praising the wizards of this land.

The wizards present nodded in agreement. In the Sekas Empire, wizards were hunted down, and they couldn't openly conduct flight experiments.

"Since you've never tested it before, why are you so certain it will fly?" Tick asked with puzzlement.

"Because I've used mathematical calculations based on the principles of magic in advance!" Lynn stated straightforwardly. "As long as you know all the data and perform precise calculations, there's no room for error!"

Before embarking on this flight experiment, he had already used arcane science to weigh objects of different masses, roughly confirming that the gravity on this planet was almost identical to Earth's.

Now that the airship had reached the expected altitude, all this data had been deduced through arcane science in advance.

"Arcane science..." Tick muttered, a term he had never encountered before. It seemed that apart from awarding official wizard medals, it was also necessary to learn about this thing called arcane science. He felt it was likely essential for alchemy.

Professors like Kevin and Philip thought Lynn's statement was somewhat too absolute. Could so-called arcane science really predict everything?

However, they couldn't refute it at the moment because the ascending airship was the best proof.

On the side, Rol once again took out his pen and jotted down Lynn's words, intending to emphasize them in bold on one of the pages in the Magic Weekly.

"Master Herlram, may I request you to use magic to temporarily turn this square into a sandy surface?" Lynn gazed at the sky for a moment, then suddenly spoke.

"Sure, but could you explain the reason?" Herlram asked, puzzled.

"Now we're at a sufficient height, and I'm planning to conduct an experiment. If it were on level ground, there might be too much commotion!" Lynn spoke nonchalantly.

"Experiment?" Herlram hesitated for a moment, then quickly understood what Lynn was referring to. He immediately used an amplification spell to command everyone present to step back twenty-five meters, creating a sufficiently spacious area in the middle.

A high-level wizard personally issued the order, and nobody dared to disobey. The townsfolk quickly moved backward, creating a circular area with a radius of twenty-five meters in the previously crowded square.

Herlram first released a large magical barrier to prevent any accidents. Then, he cast another spell. Under the influence of magic, the sturdy ground tiles in front of them quickly cracked and disintegrated into countless fine grains of sand.

Lynn took this moment to look at the gathering of wizards and townspeople in the square. Utilizing the principles of sound wave transmission, he increased his volume.

"Everyone, over the past half-month, you've probably heard about my Law of Free Fall and Planetary Theory to some extent. I believe many of you have doubts, thinking that it's a ridiculous imagination, a deception for public attention. How could the continent possibly be round? How could an iron object and a stone fall to the ground at the same time?

But let me tell you, don't be deceived by the appearance of things. The phenomena you usually see are merely the result of air resistance. In fact, if we eliminate the factor of air resistance, an object's free-fall speed has no relation to its weight or shape!"

"Are you questioning Master Yad's theory?" A young male wizard in the crowd interrupted.

The relationship between the speed of a falling object and its weight is directly proportional, and it is also affected by the shape. This was almost common knowledge, and there were countless real-world examples to confirm Master Yad's conclusion.

"Then why don't we make a bet instead?" Lynn raised his tone.

"In ten minutes, I will have Lydia lower the airship to an altitude of about forty meters, and then drop two iron balls from high above. These balls will have vastly different volumes and weights. But I bet both balls will hit the ground at the same moment, and the time difference will not exceed one second!"

"The wager is set at three magic gold coins, and anyone can participate!" Lynn said with a smile.

The purchasing power of three magic gold coins was roughly equivalent to five to six thousand dollars in the previous world, and it wasn't a small sum even for wizards. However, it wasn't so much that it would hurt.

The young male wizard didn't hesitate much and tossed three coins over.

If Lynn was lying, according to Master Yad's theory, the heavier iron ball should fall much faster than the smaller one.

People with thoughts similar to his were not in the minority, so within a short time, more than twenty wizards had joined the bet. Rol was no exception, as he held deep doubts about this theory.

Many townspeople were also itching to join, but not many dared to participate in a bet with the wizard lords.

"What about you? Are you going to give it a try?" Lynn turned to the students from the class of arcane science behind him, jokingly asking.

Pierce and others quickly shook their heads. Elok shivered uncontrollably. The last time the professor initiated a bet, he almost lost a fortune comparable to the entire Iyeta Harbor.

In the blink of an eye, he had won sixty-nine magic gold coins. Lynn also felt somewhat sentimental. Indeed, earning a fortune was impossible with just a regular salary.

But he wasn't just using the airship for this experiment to make money; the most important thing was to vindicate his theory.

Although on his first day in Iyeta Harbor, he had confirmed this within the academy, thanks to the vacuum environment created by Herlram.

Creating a vacuum environment was incredibly challenging; only high-level wizards could do it. So, this conclusion was limited to a small-scale dissemination. Most people preferred to believe what they saw in front of them.

Therefore, Lynn decided to use today as an opportunity to prove this theory indisputably to everyone!