Chapter 90: The Magnetic Revelation

Magnetism!

As the final word fell, time in the entire debate hall ceased to flow, and all sound was utterly drained away.

Every face, from the eager anticipation in the eyes of the young mages to the solemn gravity etched upon the older ones, was, in that instant, overtaken by a single, overwhelming emotion.

Profound bewilderment.

Electricity generates magnetism?

These four brief words, like a forbidden incantation whispered from the abyss, instantly shattered the cognitive barriers of every mage present.

Lightning and magnetic fields.

These were two distinct domains among the eleven schools of magic, as clearly separated as day and night.

One, a furious blaze, tearing through the heavens.

The other, quiet and subtle, drawing forth steel.

The silence lasted for less than three seconds.

“Absurd!”

“What madness is she spouting!”

“This is the most heinous blasphemy against the very essence of the two great elements!”

A thunderous roar of clamor erupted, like boiling oil cast into ice water, instantly engulfing the entire debate hall.

Doubt, condemnation, scorn, confusion… a tidal wave of interwoven emotions, transforming into a tangible mental assault, threatened to tear apart the diminutive figure on the spectator stand.

Even the young mages who championed reform now wore expressions of utter bewilderment.

The conclusion Lia had unveiled far exceeded the boundaries of their collective imagination.

Klein’s body tensed instantly.

He leaned slightly forward, shielding Lia completely with his body, cutting her off from all the malevolent gazes.

A cold glint flashed in his deep blue eyes, and an invisible mental pressure abruptly spread outwards!

Several of the most vociferous mages nearby felt as though their brains had been struck by a massive hammer; their faces instantly paled, and their throats constricted, unable to utter another sound.

“Silence!”

The host slammed the gavel with all their might, its magically amplified sound, like a sudden clap of thunder, barely managed to quell the chaos.

“Miss Farienne!”

Master Elian’s aged body trembled violently with agitation; he stared intently at Lia, his clouded eyes filled with profound distress.

“This old man acknowledges your astonishing talent in elemental studies, but your words today are simply too presumptuous!”

“The essence of lightning is a pure torrent of energy! The root of magnetism lies in the intrinsic affinity of matter! These are truths validated by countless sages throughout history, who dedicated their lives to their discovery! How dare you conflate these two utterly disparate domains!”

He was practically roaring, his voice imbued with the tragic indignation of one defending a lifelong conviction.

In his estimation, Lia’s assertions were tantamount to claiming that fire could burn in the deepest ocean.

Faced with a deluge of questions akin to a mountain collapse and a tidal wave, Lia’s expression remained utterly unchanged.

She did not engage in debate, merely holding the parchment scroll as she calmly descended from the spectator stands.

The crowd instinctively parted, creating a path for her.

She walked step by step towards the high platform, her pace unhurried, yet each stride seemed to land precisely on the rhythm of everyone’s beating hearts.

The overwhelming din, with her advance, eerily subsided on its own.

All eyes converged upon her.

They watched as the diminutive figure, unperturbed by the oppressive aura of countless high-ranking mages, ascended the platform that symbolized truth and glory.

She handed the parchment scroll in her grasp to the host, who had been stunned into speechlessness.

“Esteemed Host, please distribute this treatise to every Master present.”

Her voice, amplified by the resonating crystal, clearly echoed into every corner of the hall.

“Truth requires no defense.”

“It simply needs to be seen.”

The host instinctively accepted the scroll, their soul seemingly just returning to their body, and quickly whispered instructions to an assistant nearby.

Soon, several mage apprentices, clutching scrolls, hurried towards the transcription room backstage.

Lia did not pause; she walked directly to Charles Coulomb, who wore a bewildered expression, and offered a slight bow.

“Master Coulomb, might I borrow your torsion balance device for a moment?”

“Ah? Oh, of course!” Charles Coulomb snapped back to attention, nodding hastily.

Lia’s gaze swept over the instrument, which promised to pioneer the future.

“I only require a stand capable of securely holding a wire, a compass needle to record direction, and an alchemical battery that can provide a continuous current.”

The staff present immediately sprang into action.

They swiftly cleared a sturdy black iron experimental table and, following Lia’s specifications, brought forth a brand-new compass needle, several metal wires of varying materials, and an alchemical battery capable of supplying continuous current, placing them one by one before Lia.

While Lia was assembling this simple apparatus, copies of her treatise, rapidly duplicated by magic, were distributed into the hands of every mage in attendance.

A peculiar silence once again descended upon the debate hall, broken only by the rustling of parchment being turned.

‘On the Magnetic Effect of Electric Current and Preliminary Hypotheses on Its Applications.’

As everyone deciphered the title, many brows furrowed in concentration.

Master Elian eagerly unfolded the treatise, his gaze sharp as lightning, scrutinizing every word.

[…While replicating Master Charles’s experiment, in pursuit of a more stable charge source, I constructed a miniature alchemical battery… During the experiment, I unexpectedly observed that the moment current was connected, a compass needle placed nearby exhibited a subtle, almost imperceptible, deflection…]

Upon reading this, Elian’s breath hitched slightly.

He continued to read.

The treatise, penned with rigorous precision, detailed how all possible external factors—such as geomagnetic field interference, air currents, and experimental table vibrations—were systematically eliminated.

Each attempt to control variables, each consistent result from repeated experiments, felt like a series of small hammers, chipping away at his mental defenses.

[…It can be confirmed that the sole source of this deflection phenomenon is the flow of electric charges within the wire…]

[…Changing the direction of the current caused the compass needle’s deflection to reverse…]

[…Increasing the current’s intensity resulted in a larger deflection angle of the compass needle…]

Line after line of cold, objective text formed an unassailable logical loop.

Elian’s hands began to tremble uncontrollably.

He felt the theoretical framework he had upheld for a lifetime groaning under the unbearable weight of this slender treatise.

He abruptly lifted his head, his gaze fixed on the figure on the high platform, who was unhurriedly connecting the wires.

By this moment, Lia had completed all preparations.

A thick, straight brass wire was secured by a stand, positioned horizontally in a north-south alignment.

Directly beneath the wire, the navigational compass needle lay still, its black pointer steadfastly indicating north.

To one side of the experimental table rested a simple alchemical battery, constructed from layers of copper and zinc plates interleaved with salt-water-soaked cloth.

Though remarkably simple, the entire apparatus now commanded the unwavering attention of everyone present.

“Masters, have you all finished reading?”

Lia straightened, surveying the hall.

No one responded.

All eyes were fixed intently on her hand, poised to connect the wires.

Lia spoke no further.

She picked up the connector of the wire attached to the battery’s negative terminal and, under the gaze of thousands, gently touched it to the other end of the brass wire.

Szzzt—

A faint, almost imperceptible, sound.

Within the closed circuit, current began to surge.

And in that—instant!

The motionless black compass needle, as if abruptly flicked by an invisible hand, instantly deflected to a clearly visible angle!

Then, it settled motionlessly in its new position.

A violent commotion erupted among the crowd; countless individuals sprang from their seats, craning their necks, their faces etched with an indescribable shock.

It moved!

The compass needle truly moved!

“Silence!”

Elian roared, expending every ounce of his strength, his voice like thunder, forcibly quelling the entire hall.

He stared fixedly at the deflected compass needle, the color draining from his aged face, his lips trembling, yet he could not utter a single word.

On the high platform, Lia’s expression remained as calm as still water.

She released her hand, severing the current.

The compass needle wavered slightly, then slowly returned to its original north-pointing position.

She reconnected the current.

Once again, the compass needle deflected to the exact same position without an inch of deviation!

The entire hall fell into a deathly silence.

If the first time was a coincidence.

The second, an illusion.

Then what of the third, the fourth, the fifth time…

Each connection and disconnection was accompanied by the compass needle’s precise and unerring deflection and return.

This was no longer coincidence.

It revealed a brand new axiom of the world, beyond doubt, beyond refutation!

Lia ceased her actions.

She looked towards Master Elian, her voice ringing out clearly.

“Master Elian, you asked, what does a flowing electric charge bring?”

She extended a finger, pointing to the compass needle that had veered from its rightful northern direction due to the presence of the current.

“This is the answer.”

“It brings a new force, a completely new force, capable of overturning the world’s established rules!”

Lia did not stop there.

She picked up another wire, connected to the battery’s positive terminal, and replaced the negative connector from before, completely reversing the direction of the current.

She reconnected the circuit once more.

This time, the compass needle did not deflect towards the east.

Under the watchful gaze of hundreds of eyes across the hall, it gave a sharp tremor, then unhesitatingly turned towards the west!

Thud.

From among the conservative faction’s seats, an elderly mage’s eyes rolled back, and they tumbled stiffly from their chair.

Yet, in that moment, no one paid them any mind.

The worldview of every single person present was shattered into fragments before the compass needle that had so decisively turned westward.

Master Elian stared blankly at the compass needle pointing west, then lowered his gaze to the schematic diagram drawn in the treatise he held.

The clear arrows, the precise descriptions, perfectly aligned with everything unfolding before his eyes.

He opened his mouth, a faint sound escaping his throat, as if he wished to speak, but ultimately, no words emerged.

His once ramrod-straight spine visibly slumped in that very moment.

The entire grand debate hall, in that moment, grew so silent that one could hear the beating of their own heart.

Flowing electricity had, indeed, generated magnetism.

This conjecture, once deemed utterly absurd, now stood before everyone in the most irrefutable manner.

A brand new era, in the very instant the compass needle deflected, had drawn open its heavy curtain.