Chapter 59: Dark Tide
The afternoon meeting proceeded as usual. Reiner continued to listen to the research results of the mages and was also thinking about the next marketing plan for his cola.
He was very fortunate that he bought two bottles of Cola in Torrendo and took them with him. When Reiner saw Frederick's expression after drinking Cole, he knew he had succeeded.
As there was not much time left for lunch, Frederick simply established a magic contract. Reiner would provide a sufficient amount of Cola in the next three meetings of the Mercury Balance. This drink would be the designated drink for academic conferences and would be introduced to the mages participating in the conference.
At the same time, Luna Nova Cola would also be sold inside the Rainbow Tower. The two alchemy workshops belonging to Mercury Balance would also join Reiner to produce Cola. As a result, the center of the magic world would begin to produce Cole for the first time.
There was only one fundamental reason for these seemingly incredible contracts, and that was Reiner's own knowledge.
In this world, knowledge was power. The more knowledgeable one was, the higher the status one had. Although Reiner had not yet obtained the official rank of a mage, his thesis and the extraordinary observation he demonstrated at the conference were enough to win Frederick's respect. This was also an investment of Frederick in disguise.
Looking at the mages who were enthusiastically speaking on the podium, Reiner suddenly felt that it was a wise decision to come to the annual meeting of Mercury Balance. This time, he not only got acquainted with the upper-level figures in the magic field, but also promoted Cole, laying down a good foundation. It could be said to kill two birds with one stone.
The meeting soon came to an end. Today's content was shocking enough. Fortunately, with Lanchester's preparation in advance, there were no mages present who had a cognitive collapse like that of Cologne. On the contrary, many mages felt that their Heart Lakes were fluctuating.
Frederick explained to Reiner that the so-called feedback from the world was a phenomenon that existed widely in magic. The reason for this phenomenon had not been explained so far, and it was one of the unsolved mysteries in the magical world.
Whenever people's understanding of things was closer to reality, the feedback of the world would come to them. This effect would gradually weaken. The first discoverer would enjoy the benefit from the feedback the first and the most, and the following people would receive the benefit from it less and less. When these things become common sense, there would no longer be any feedback.
This was why the mages have to establish a paper review mechanism to encourage academic research, because personal progress would also drive overall progress. In the past, the ancient mages only kept the discoveries for the elite and relied solely on the elite to learn and progress. This was simply not ideal. The new system was also one of the reasons for the rapid development of magic over the past three hundred years.
Just like now, Reiner who was the first to electrolyze water received the greatest gift. Although it was not obvious in his body, as Reiner's magic level continued to improve, this effect would become obvious.
The other participants also accepted this theory through the explanation, so their strength would be improved a little, but it was far from the benefits that Reiner himself had obtained.
Of course, the formation of cognition was a gradual process. If one's own cognition was formed without verification of facts, then it was very likely that they would encounter cognitive collapse, causing them to be devoured by magic. The consequences of backlash were more serious, ranging from disability to severe death.
Reiner was a little grateful that he had not rushed to write all the theories he knew on the earth, otherwise, if he encountered a difference from this world, he might have exploded and died.
......
Walking out of the conference hall and still in the hallway, Reiner was stopped by two mages.
"Hello, I'm Fleming Ernst and this is my student Kanon."
That was Fleming and Kanon.
Hearing the other party's introduction, Reiner thought for a while, and then recalled that the paper on the assumption that the fire element had a negative mass was Fleming's work. He thought that the other party was here to argue with him, but he didn't expect the old man would deeply bow to him, seeming to apologize to Reiner.
"My student Kanon was one of the reviewers of two of your papers. Because of my stubborn opinion, he did not give a high evaluation to the first paper. I'm sorry."
Fleming said, judging from Lanchester and Frederick's attitude towards Reiner, this mage apprentice should be able to become the mainstay of the mercury balance in the future, and he would eventually know about the paper review, so Fleming decided to confess in advance to win the favor of the other party.
"It's okay. In fact, it was the review comments of the paper that made me aware of my lack of cutting-edge knowledge. That's why I came into contact with the latest issue of "Alchemy" and read the paper on electrolysis by His Excellency Penzance, and then I started trying to electrolyze water."
Reiner quickly understood the reason. He didn't keep it in mind, but responded generously.
"As I said, my discovery is just standing on the shoulders of giants. Even without me, I believe that all high-level mages will be able to discover these theories sooner or later."
"Perhaps in the future, the history of alchemy will record this meeting and progress of you, Mr. Ian Gray discovered the mystery of water, and the two of us may become villains in the story."
Fleming thought Reiner would be an arrogant person, but he didn't expect the other party to be so humble.
"You are pulling my legs, Sir Ernst."
Reiner felt that this scene was a bit familiar, but he quickly shook his head, ditching the unintelligible guess.
"However, Mr. Ian Gray, I have a small suggestion."
Fleming said with a smile.
"Next time if you want to publish a groundbreaking paper, you can let us know in advance, otherwise it may cause an accident like this time."
He pointed to his student, and then briefly told Reiner about the commotion caused by his thesis.
Quite unexpectedly, Reiner did not expect that there would really be a mage that was seriously injured because of his papers. On the one hand, his knowledge of the world had deepened again, and on the other hand, he felt deeply guilty that he had ruined a talented mage's life.
"Of course you don't need to be guilty. If they can't accept the new theory, then their progress will be stagnant. This is his own problem."
Fleming saw Reiner's worry, and went on to say.
"However, it might be okay if it were someone else. But this mage just happened to be the son of the François family, the pure blood faction. Mr. Ian Gray, you may have to be more careful in the future."
"François?"
Reiner had never heard of this name before, but from Fleming's words, it seemed that he was in danger. He thought about it and asked.
"I don't know what plans you have for the evening. If there is no trouble, I'd like to invite both of you to dinner together."