Chapter 21: Sacred Proverbs of the Lord of Radiance

If Dien solved the problem of 【Mending】 before Xia Duo learned to read, then at worst, Xia Duo would just find someone else; but if Xia Duo learned to read first, Dien would have to pay a steep price if he wanted to continue.

It was unclear if he could afford it, though Xia Duo guessed he likely couldn't; otherwise, he could have traded with others long ago and become an Official Apprentice sooner.

……

After agreeing on the terms of the trade with Dien, Xia Duo impatiently asked Dien for instruction; he needed to know the written language too badly, as his learning speed would increase significantly once he could read.

Facing Xia Duo, who demanded to start the lesson immediately, Dien did not hesitate; he did not believe Xia Duo could memorize all the characters within a few hours, and as long as he hadn't memorized them and wanted to continue learning, he would at least gain a question opportunity for tomorrow.

The slower Xia Duo learned, the more question opportunities he would gain; at this moment, he had no intention of deliberately stalling, perhaps because he was confident enough that he could solve the 【Mending】 problem before Xia Duo learned the characters.

Dien turned back and took a booklet bound with Parchment from his standard wooden crate, handing it to Xia Duo, "This is the 'Sacred Proverbs of the Lord of Radiance' I copied when I first learned the characters. But because I had no money to buy a new Blank Notebook, the first half has already been scraped off; you just learn from the second half, the common words are all there anyway."

Xia Duo took the Parchment booklet, not looking at what had been newly written in the front, but opening it directly from the middle, where the edges of the small booklet were already worn black.

Perhaps because Xia Duo happened to flip to the "Sacred Proverbs of the Lord of Radiance," Dien did not flip it again, but stood face-to-face, pointing at the characters on that page and reading:

"Law is authority; law maintains the order of society, otherwise, the world will surely fall into chaos. Sacred Proverbs of the Lord of Radiance: The power of the law cannot be shaken; its necessity is just like the morning sun rising in the east every day. All disputes and any crimes can be perfectly resolved within the law."

"Study the law and integrate it into your life; every word and every sentence must be followed. Thus, you will discover a whole new world within the mysteries of the law. As long as you follow the law, you may soar there freely without fear of just punishment; do not doubt the decisions of those in high positions, only then can the power of following precedent grow strong, and only then can the mighty will of Amanata be proclaimed to the world; serve your superiors sincerely, and you will surely receive their sincere rewards; however, if you evade responsibility, you will surely not escape severe punishment."

Dien read one sentence, and Xia Duo repeated it.

These Proverbs were similar to the "Analects" from before Xia Duo crossed over; they were all words spoken by great figures and indicated certain concepts held by those great figures. This half of the "Sacred Proverbs of the Lord of Radiance" should have been compiled by the Church of Amaunator, serving both as a literacy primer and a way to subtly spread the Faith.

However, Xia Duo's worldview had long since formed, and his attitude toward these Proverbs was more critical, deconstructing them with his own worldview.

There were some Proverbs he actually disagreed with strongly, but Xia Duo was not foolish enough to say so directly; the Netherese were still very serious about their Faith, at least not like the people of Earth who would casually make up things about gods.

This booklet was quite small, and having only read half of it, they finished the first pass very quickly.

Xia Duo felt that learning the language this way was too inefficient; it was simply rote memorization, with no technique involved at all.

He had never seen anyone learn a language like this; even the ancients on Earth had dictionaries and lexicons!

Previously, when he was learning the Common Tongue from Xiao Nier, he knew there were Scholars in town who taught Netherese script, though the price was steep, and it was said they learned through poetry.

He had assumed the Mage Tower would be more advanced, with things like specialized dictionaries or study manuals, but when he had asked Dien just as they were reading the second sentence, there were none—at least, Dien had never heard of any dictionary.

Xia Duo couldn't help but feel a bit discouraged; if he really had to learn the language this way, who knew how long it would take!

Xia Duo felt it was necessary to compile a dictionary himself; he knew the principle that "sharpening the axe does not delay the wood-cutting," and besides, having a dictionary on hand would make it convenient to review at any time.

"Dien, let's stop here for today. I want to go buy a Blank Notebook; some things are hard to remember with just the mind."

"No problem, whenever you have a need, you can find me anytime."

Seeing that Xia Duo was stopping for today, Dien was overjoyed and hurriedly stood up to see Xia Duo off. Xia Duo felt somewhat awkward; he had only just mentioned wanting to buy a notebook and hadn't even stood up yet, but Dien was already impatient to send him away.

"Forget it, I'm leaving. Tell me what question you want to ask tomorrow in advance; tell me after I ask mine, after dinner."

Dien immediately stated his question, and then gave Xia Duo a piece of advice—

"When you buy a Blank Notebook, it's best to go to the Material Requisition Office; those are all brand new. If you try to save money and buy from other Apprentices, the Inner Pages of the notebook will definitely have been scraped until only the last chance for writing remains."

"Alright, I've noted your question, and thanks for the advice. I'm leaving."

In fact, Xia Duo hadn't thought about buying a Blank Notebook from other Apprentices; not only was he a newcomer without connections, but he might also get scammed, just as Dien had said.

A brand-new piece of Parchment, under normal circumstances, was thick enough to be scraped 5 times, meaning one sheet had 5 chances for writing. Whether for correcting mistakes or reusing, new ones were definitely better than those used by others.

……

Most of the Mage Tower's Material Requisition Offices were on the Public Level, such as the No. 3 Requisition Office where he had previously collected his apprentice wooden crate. This time, Xia Duo was going to the No. 1 Requisition Office; he had asked the Tower Spirit, and basic materials like Parchment, ink, and matches were requested or purchased at the No. 1 Requisition Office.

As for more Advanced things like experimental materials, one needed to go to other Requisition Offices to request or purchase them.

Familiar with the route, he took the Elevator to the Public Level. Along the way, Xia Duo didn't see many Apprentices walking outside, and it wasn't until he was near the No. 1 Material Requisition Office that there were more people.

But these people were almost all in a hurry, not wanting to waste a single second.

Occasionally, two people would be whispering, but they would deliberately stop when Xia Duo passed by, then stare at him until he left. This behavior, as if guarding against a thief, made Xia Duo feel quite unpleasant.

Arriving at the No. 1 Requisition Office, the layout inside was like a general store. Behind the counter, two "nameless" Apprentices were busy entertaining, counting, and organizing the materials on the shelves behind them.

"Uh—hello, do you have Blank Notebooks for sale? How much?"

Hearing Xia Duo's question, one Apprentice turned around and said, "100-page Blank Notebook for 15 Gold Coins, a single sheet of Parchment for 2 Silver Coins. How many do you want?"

Upon hearing that a Blank Notebook cost 15 Gold Coins, Xia Duo's heart instantly turned cold; he only had 27 Silver Coins on him, and the Mage Tower's wage was only 1 Silver Coin per day.

To buy a Blank Notebook, he would have to work for at least 4 months—the opportunity would be long gone by then. This was the miserable life of an Apprentice without the support of a family or faction!

And if one bought Parchment individually, the price per sheet was one-third more expensive than buying in bulk; this was simply highway robbery!