Theodore's irritable words instantly drew everyone's attention.
Without further explanation, he handed the so-called research manuscript to the others. As Kevin and the others read it, mocking expressions appeared on their faces.
But when the manuscript reached Helram, the great wizard did not laugh. Instead, he found mention of a concept called air resistance…
Lynn calmly sipped his tea, waiting for the academy professors to finish reviewing his "research materials." Although he wasn't fully versed in the magical theories of the Wizard's Land, Corru had left him with two foundational texts—*Elemental Analysis* and *Common Basic Magic*. Lynn's manuscripts were extensions of the existing theories in the Wizard's Land, and they were quite easy to verify.
In just five or six minutes, the dozen or so pages were quickly read by the wizards. Given the outlandish nature of the so-called law of free fall, they skimmed the rest, only to find something even more absurd.
"Listen, your name is Lynn, right? I have no idea what Corru was thinking when he had you bring this utterly ridiculous manuscript to the Wizard's Land, but let me be frank—the magical theories of the Arcane Society are full of flaws…"
Kevin casually tossed the papers onto the table, exasperated. "And you actually believe this continent we stand on is a sphere? That's utterly laughable!"
"And why can't this world be spherical? No one has proven otherwise, have they?" Lynn set down his teacup unhurriedly.
While he hadn't yet reached the heights necessary to confirm it from space, the fact that he was here, experiencing gravity almost identical to Earth's, suggested a lot. The changing seasons and the movement of the sun and moon could easily be evidence of a planet's rotation and orbit around a star. Moreover, when he first arrived at the port, the first thing he saw was the top of the Screaming Tower, followed by its base!
And then there was the star map. By placing the star at the center, he could construct a perfect planetary system—a most direct piece of evidence!
If the star map hadn't indicated that this star was orbited by only five planets, Lynn would have begun to suspect this was another parallel Earth.
Because the resemblance was striking!
"Since Ieyetta Harbor faces the sea, I assume you've all noticed when looking out at ships on the horizon, the sail is always visible before the hull?"
As Lynn spoke, he stretched out his hand, and with a surge of magic, a large, murky water sphere appeared before them, into which he inserted a quill.
The water began to swirl, and as the quill floated to the surface, only the tip of the feather was initially visible…
The wizards immediately grasped Lynn's point. The large water sphere represented the continent beneath them, and the quill symbolized a ship. If the land were flat, they would see the entire ship from a distance. Only a curved surface would cause the sail to appear first.
Theodore and the others exchanged glances, their brows furrowing. The theory seemed plausible, but something felt amiss.
"That doesn't prove the continent is a sphere. It could be a half-arc, couldn't it? That would explain everything," one of the academy professors quickly retorted. "And according to your theory, the water should have flowed down due to gravity long ago…"
As he spoke, the professor replicated Lynn's demonstration, creating a small earthen sphere to simulate the continent, then coating its surface with water.
As soon as he released the sphere, the water flowed downward, forming a puddle on the table.
"See, just like this… It's completely impractical!"
The professor spoke smugly, and Theodore and the others nodded in agreement.
"And if the continent were a half-arc, the water wouldn't fall?" Lynn retorted, exasperated.
The academy professors were momentarily stunned. The long-distance visibility of ships at sea strongly suggested that the water was adhering to a curved surface, and therefore should logically flow downwards rather than remaining in place. This clearly defied common sense!
Before they could process this, Lynn continued, "And how do we determine which way is down?"
"That's obvious! The sky is up, and the ground is down. Gravity dictates that!" Theodore frowned, confused by the seemingly foolish question.
"Is that so? Then what about this?" Lynn raised an eyebrow, dismissed the water sphere, and placed his hand on the earthen sphere, compressing it with the force of *Mage's Hand* until it became a solid ball.
"If the force exerted by *Mage's Hand* represents gravity, then for the center of the sphere, which way is up and which way is down?"
Theodore was stunned. Lynn's simple yet profound analogy of the sphere as a continent left him speechless. The very clarity of the demonstration made the implications all the more shocking.
For the center of the sphere, gravity would pull equally in all directions, meaning that front, back, left, and right would all be "up," while "down" would be towards the core. Thus, water would naturally adhere to the surface of the sphere.
The professors quickly grasped this point and began debating heatedly. Kevin, unwilling to accept the idea of a spherical world, insisted that the continent was flat and that the visibility of sails before hulls was a mere coincidence, insufficient as conclusive evidence.
However, Philip and others held the opposite view, believing that Lynn's argument wasn't without merit and that it deserved further investigation to confirm its validity.
As the professors argued passionately, Theodore looked at Lynn and posed another question, "Are you suggesting that a force compresses everything towards the center of this continent, allowing water to cling to its surface?"
Before Lynn could answer, Helram, who had been quietly reviewing the manuscript, finally spoke up.
"The truth is quite the opposite. The center of the continent exerts a force that spreads outward, creating a gravitational field… pulling everything inward. Is that what you meant to convey?"