99 - GW Raphael

No wonder the wizarding land guarded the formula for the "Source of Magic" so fiercely. If it were to be disclosed, it would probably lead to a witch hunt. Those apprentice wizards who lacked talent and were eager to advance would do anything to get their hands on it.

"So, this is the meaning of 'Blood-Red Thorns,' isn't it?" Lynn immediately felt that the name was quite apt, just like the properties of this potion. Every official wizard who advanced within the Blood-Red Thorns was nurtured by the blood of their companions.

As he pondered this, Lynn turned his attention to the remaining notes. Radak's research was mostly related to psychic magic.

For example, it covered how to use alchemical arrays to extract a person's soul, create revenants, and make containers for souls.

The reason Radak delved into these psychic magic experiments was simple: he lacked the natural talent to advance to the level of a grand wizard. Thus, he resorted to some dark and unorthodox methods.

Radak's true goal was probably to place his own soul into a more talented body. However, this was clearly not an easy task, as the records of dozens of experiments in the notes all ended in failure.

At this point, Lynn felt a bit embarrassed. Strictly speaking, he seemed to have accomplished these things when he crossed over, but he didn't even know the reasons himself.

Regardless, the top priority was to raise his wizard rank. Lynn soon set aside his plans to explore psychic magic. Now that he knew the manufacturing process for the "Source of Magic," he naturally wanted to break through to become an official wizard as soon as possible.

This way, he would eliminate his last weakness.

Throughout the entire night, Lynn was absorbed in the creation of magical potions. Thankfully, Radak's estate had a substantial stock of magical ingredients. He could simply instruct a few apprentices to fetch any materials he needed.

The only problem was Lynn's limited knowledge of potion-making. Although he had the recipes in hand, he had to slowly experiment with each potion's properties, handling, and brewing time. In just one night, he wasted the equivalent of over a hundred magical gold coins' worth of materials.

Lynn was surprisingly okay with this. After all, he wasn't using his own resources.

Potions made by his own hands would surely be more reliable than consuming ones made by others.

He continued to work until the early hours. The old cauldron was now filled with a chaotic-colored liquid. The potion required about three days of brewing. When the color became completely transparent, he could add the most crucial component: a portion of the "Source of Magic."

With the opportunity to break through so close, Lynn forced himself to remain calm and began preparing the second potion.

Before he could consume it, he would need someone to be a guinea pig.

Just in case Radak had tampered with the recipe or done something else suspicious. Lynn didn't want to be caught in a trap.

***

While Lynn was brewing his potion, the entire wizarding realm was set ablaze by the latest issue of the "Magic Weekly."

[Unearthing the Foundation of Magic: The Law of Free Fall]

[A Roar from the Society of Mystical Arts: The Magic Theories of the Wizarding Realm are Outdated]

[From Sails and the Sea Surface: Our Continent Might Be a Sphere]

[The Dual Sphere Experiment of Lookout Airships: Unveiling the Astonishing Oversight of Master Yad]

As a professional journalist, Rol knew how to grab attention. The extra copies of the newspaper were quickly snatched up, and it soon found its way to the desks of every wizard.

"This is simply absurd."

In a grand magical workshop, Grand Wizard Raphael burst into laughter after reading the headlines of the Magic Weekly. He couldn't believe that a third-tier wizard from the outside would claim to overturn the foundations of magic and question the outdated magical theories. It was nothing short of ignorance.

But was that person mad? How could they publicly publish such ludicrous statements?

Raphael felt some doubt, but he patiently continued reading, and his expression shifted from disdain and mockery to scepticism, until he saw the star map on the page. His entire demeanour changed instantly.

Perfect. It was simply perfect.

As an architect with OCD, Raphael firmly believed that the truths of the world must be highly systematic and aesthetically pleasing.

The star charts produced by the astrologers, while showing the orbits of nearby celestial bodies in a beautiful way, became chaotic when dealing with more distant stars. They could only be described as disorderly, and even featured bizarre phenomena of sudden jumps in their trajectories.

So, almost instantly, Raphael was convinced that the star map in the Magic Weekly was correct.

Crash.

Just as he was thinking this, two loud impacts suddenly came from outside the door, accompanied by the sound of cracked tiles. Raphael, who was quite displeased, folded up the newspaper, opened the door and saw two half-meter diameter spheres hitting the ground below the distant tower.

Following that, a commotion rose from the top of the tower.

"It's true, they both fell at the same time."

"Nonsense, I saw it very clearly; the small one was a tenth of a second slower."

One male wizard, craning his neck, spoke confidently. He had been using Farsight magic to watch, and he saw it very clearly.

"But it says here that it's due to the influence of air resistance. Master Yad's theory is actually correct."

"But why aren't feathers and paper the same then?"

"It's said that Master Herlram has already conducted experiments. As long as you remove the air, everything will fall simultaneously."

***

A group of apprentices gathered on the tower, discussing the experiments described in the Magic Weekly. Many of them had flushed faces and were constantly arguing, on the verge of fighting right then and there.

Raphael, upon seeing the two falling spheres, understood that these apprentices were verifying the Law of Free Fall. Even though the height and weight obviously didn't match, the results were evidently the same.

"Grand Wizard Raphael, is our continent really round?" A nearby male wizard, responsible for recording the experiments, asked in confusion.

Since the Law of Free Fall had been confirmed, did that mean the so-called theory of a spherical world was also true?