Chapter 490: Oxygen
Ace spoke softly through the soul resonance: ” ‘Vital-ization Reaction’ doesn’t sound very good. Since it is Vital Air and related to all acids, perhaps it can be called the Acidifying Element. Combining the prefix and suffix of this term, we get Oxygen.”
(Note: The word ‘Oxygen’ in the West is derived from the Greek word for ‘Acid,’ so it is used directly here.)
Olli felt as if she had been enlightened. She heard Ace’s voice in the soul resonance and couldn’t help but say: “Indeed, it can be called Oxygen. The so-called combustion is an Oxidation Reaction.”
Her momentum climbed rapidly. In almost a flash, she achieved the status of a Level 2 Life. Inside her empty mental imagery world, Level 2 Runes condensed one by one. A rune structure in the shape of a burning flame formed rapidly.
The remaining runes formed another rune structure, covering the flame like a bell jar—transparent with a clear aura, making the flame shine even brighter.
Olli had a sudden flash of insight. With the help of the Great Source aura, she quickly condensed her mental imagery world. Phantom images of Oxygen and combustible materials appeared successively in her mental imagery world, gradually becoming solid. A phantom of a Golden Spell Model also gradually appeared.
The Great Source aura contracted violently and disappeared. Subsequently, a golden light bloomed, and Olli, dressed in a moon-white magic robe, walked out gracefully.
She slowly withdrew her outwardly radiating power and bowed slightly to Ace.
Ace nodded in return and said in a clear voice: “Congratulations, 3-Ring Wizard Olli. Such real Great Source feedback is undoubtedly a great discovery and innovation.”
While speaking, Ace looked around. The wizards’ faces were pale. They both anticipated the new theory and trembled slightly physically. Even with Natal artifacts to stabilize their minds, some of them were still afraid, because Natal artifacts could not guarantee absolute safety.
People looked at Olli with both anticipation and fear. That graceful figure still looked beautiful in Arno’s eyes, but in the eyes of the crowd, it was like the descent of the Goddess of Judgment.
Betty felt the fresh air and the blazing mana, having a faint premonition of something bad. Her eyes stared tightly at Olli, her expression nervous.
Olli had seen the illusions of heads exploding during theoretical innovations in the dream world. She simply said to the crowd present: “This is a renovation of the Phlogiston Theory. We will view the phenomenon of combustion in a more reasonable and explanatory way.”
The wizards’ expressions changed drastically. Betty’s face turned livid. The wizards of the Element School also looked terrified, and whispering sounds rose and fell.
“Elements again?!”
“Don’t! I had such a hard time constructing the Combustion Spell Model!”
“It’s over. I haven’t constructed a Natal artifact yet. I don’t want my head to explode.”
“Lord Olli hasn’t completely denied the Phlogiston Theory yet. Let’s stay calm and listen.”
“Can’t listen. Really can’t listen. I’m leaving first.”
…
In the blink of an eye, more than half of the wizards had dispersed. The remaining wizards were either not closely related to the Element School or were people who had full confidence in their Natal artifacts.
Ace had already understood Olli’s new discovery through resonance. In fact, after the Phlogiston School discovered that air was composed of at least two parts, the discovery of the Oxidation Reaction was only a matter of time. Ace looked around and drove away the other wizards, leaving only those who were Official Wizards or above.
Arno still guarded Olli’s side, like an iron tower.
Ace gathered everyone, applied a barrier, and said: “Olli, tell us about your latest understanding of the combustion phenomenon.”
Olli nodded. She snapped her fingers, and mana began to pulse. A kind of fresh air gradually filled the place under the rhythm of mana, and everyone felt that breathing became incomparably smooth.
She snapped her fingers again. That fresh air was gradually extracted. The remaining air smelled somewhat foul, and everyone present felt difficulty breathing.
Bayen frowned slightly and asked in confusion: “Fire Air and Foul Air?”
Olli nodded and then shook her head. Her clear voice rang out: “I believe that combustion does not need the concept of Phlogiston. All combustion phenomena we have discovered so far are related to Oxygen, which is what you call Fire Air.”
Logan seriously repeated the word “Oxygen,” feeling that the construction of this word seemed somewhat familiar.
“From the pronunciation, it seems somewhat similar to ‘Acid’…”
Olli’s voice continued. She said loudly: “We only need to base our understanding on one hypothesis to understand many elemental phenomena.
“I believe that elements or primary matters are the end points that analysis can reach. We assume that elements are the most basic and simplest substances, and we should never assume that they are composite unless experiments and observations can prove that they are indeed so.
“In addition, we should also base our understanding on this axiom: Since artificial or natural operations cannot create anything out of nothing, in every operation, the total amount of matter existing before and after the operation is equal. The quality and quantity of its elements remain unchanged; only exchange and transformation occur.
“On this basis, we can confirm that combustion is not caused by mysterious Phlogiston, but is a tangible Oxidation Reaction.
“The so-called adding Phlogiston is removing Oxygen, and removing Phlogiston is adding Oxygen. All combustion is an Oxidation Reaction.”
Olli’s words were so concise and yet so powerful. The wizards felt as if they had suffered a heavy blow. Logan and the others recalled past experiments, and the Natal artifacts in their mental imagery worlds tottered.
The foundation spell models of the Element School wizards were extremely unstable, almost about to disintegrate in an instant. Some wizards did not use Natal artifacts, and at this moment, they shed tears of regret.
Betty did not have a Natal artifact. At this moment, flames churned in her mental imagery world, and explosions were everywhere. The violent reaction made her face flush, and blood overflowed from the corners of her eyes, mouth, nose, and ears.
She gritted her teeth and said word by word: “Phlogiston has not been proven, but it has not been falsified either. Assuming Phlogiston is in the combustible material is undoubtedly wrong, but we can assume Phlogiston is inside Oxygen. In this way, everything can be explained.
“The Phlogiston Theory is just a transition on the road to exploring the truth of combustion. We have discovered the Oxidation Reaction; we just need to readjust our foundation spell models based on it!
“Lord Olli, please display the runes you obtained under the Great Source feedback to help us. I will transfer the corresponding points to you.”
Olli did not hesitate. She quickly projected and condensed the Level 2 Runes and Golden Runes she had obtained. The wizards looked at these runes as if clutching at a life-saving straw.
Bayen’s state was also a bit bad, but the foundation of his mental imagery world was Deterministic Astrological Prophecy based on Magical Mechanics, so the impact he received was minimal.
Time passed bit by bit. The sky gradually turned bright white. The Official Wizards barely managed to fix their foundation spell models. The shock of this theoretical innovation had basically passed.
After confirming that the Official Wizards were basically fine, and after review by the Supreme Council, Olli’s General Theory of Combustion was published in the Magic journal.
At the same time, Betty’s Phlogistonated Air was also published in the Magic journal. Of course, several Official Wizards published papers opposing this view, because there was no need to name Oxygen as “Phlogistonated Air.”
But in any case, the holy radiance of Phlogiston had been stripped away. The theory regarding combustion had opened a brand-new page.
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