Chapter 38

Gret's path as a mage began in a peaceful setting.

In his previous life, he had read countless web novels filled with power struggles, humiliations, and the oppression of commoners by noble children... but none of that was happening here.

As Gret walked from Hartland City to the Mage Tower, he imagined countless common scenarios, but none of them came to pass. It wasn't that his classmates were all morally upright, adhering to the twenty-four-character creed, but rather... there was no one around.

Mage Gehrman was nowhere to be seen.

The Mage Elliot, who had been blown out of the Mage Tower last time, was also nowhere to be found.

The outside of the Mage Tower was so quiet that one could hear the birds singing. Gret guessed that the experiments were probably going smoothly, or the mage had switched to a different experiment that wouldn't explode.

The other few low-rank mages or mage apprentices—Mage Gehrman had mentioned "disciples" yesterday, so there must be more than one—were also nowhere to be seen.

Considering that the explosion yesterday occurred on the fourth floor and Mage Gehrman had only allowed him to read the books on the first floor, Gret had reason to believe that the upper floors had a library exclusively for mages and mage apprentices. These extraordinary beings who had entered the world of magic would not come downstairs unless necessary.

As for classes... it could only be said that today was not a class day?

The first-floor library of the Mage Tower was empty, with only Gret present.

The servant who guarded the entrance to the Mage Tower led him to the library, said, "You're not allowed upstairs," and then turned and left. Gret wanted to ask where the restroom was, but before he could open his mouth, the servant was already gone...

Not even a jug of water was provided.

Ah, in the past, school libraries didn't provide drinking water either. He had to get used to it.

Gret put down his backpack and walked to the bookshelves. As soon as he entered the library, he saw the bookshelves, made of fine dark chestnut wood, reaching from floor to ceiling. The tops of the columns and the shelves were intricately carved with beautiful patterns, and just looking at the decorations made one feel that the books on the shelves were of great value.

... These bookshelves must be worth a year's salary for me, right?

Gret speculated, quickly scanning the books on the shelves. The library had only two bookshelves, and the books were thick and large, about the length from his elbow to his fingertips, and nearly as thick as a fist.

To accommodate such large books, the shelves were divided into only four levels from top to bottom. The shelves were made of solid wood, over five centimeters thick, and the middle sections were bent under the weight.

Because the books were so large, the two bookshelves together held no more than a hundred books...

Gret quickly calculated in his mind. Well, well, compared to the textbooks for their seven-year integrated master's program... in terms of quantity, it was about the same, ha ha.

After all, the medical textbooks were called "Blue Love and Death" by the younger students, totaling 53 volumes, plus political courses, general foundation courses, and some elective courses to fill the quota. Just the textbooks alone were close to a hundred.

Not to mention, in addition to the textbooks, there were a bunch of practice books, reference materials, clinical guidelines, and so on, all of which had to be memorized.

We are professionals at studying. No fear.

Gret encouraged himself. So, next, he needed to pick out the books he needed to read!

The book titles that Mage Gehrman had mentioned!

"Basics of Incantations"!

"Structure of Magic Patterns"!

"Introduction to Elements"!

"Pharmacology of Magic"!

And the most fundamental, magic script!

As for the other books on the shelves, they might not be unimportant, but he should start with the basics!

Gret tilted his head to look at the titles on the spines, but couldn't make sense of them. He tilted his head to the left, still couldn't figure out what the words were, whether they were written vertically or horizontally, or which way they were oriented. He had no choice but to tilt his head to the right...

After a few rounds of neck exercises, Gret finally accepted a harsh reality. He couldn't recognize any of the words on the spines.

There was no choice but to read the contents!

He tiptoed and lifted a book from the shelf. As soon as he picked it up, his arms sank, and he had to use extra strength to hold it steady.

... So heavy!

These days, being a librarian is a physical job!

Gret marveled. He carefully placed the book on the table, straightened it, and studied the cover. The deep blue leather cover was thick and soft, with silver cursive letters winding around like vines. After a moment of trying to decipher them, he had no choice but to open the front page.

Unrecognizable.

Still unrecognizable.

Even when he flipped to the contents, he still didn't know what the book was about, and he couldn't recognize the text. The only good thing was that this large book was a handwritten manuscript, with letters ten times larger than the printed text from his previous life. The entire book's content was, at most, one-tenth of what it would be.

No, not even one-tenth. The paper was several times thicker than in his previous life, thick and yellow, with clear fiber marks. With thicker paper, there were naturally fewer pages, and the recorded information was also less, which was not surprising.

Gret sighed in relief, but then his heart tightened. The papermaking techniques of this era were still quite crude, so they could only record ordinary knowledge.

It was easy to imagine that in the future, to copy spells, the paper or parchment or magic beast skin used would be several times more expensive than this paper. If the material was too poor, it couldn't withstand the magical power, and it would likely burn up as soon as it was written...

In the future, he would have to provide his own materials to copy spells!

He would have to buy his own paper, pens, and ink!

He would have to check the prices... Uh, he felt so poor...

Gret sighed, closed the book with tears in his eyes, and returned it to the shelf, then went to move the second book.

The second book.

Unrecognizable.

The third book.

Unrecognizable.

... The tenth book.

Unrecognizable...

He was already sweating lightly, partly from exertion and partly from frustration. He had come early, and his stomach hadn't started to growl yet, but the physical labor and mental strain were already taking their toll.

No wonder being a librarian is a hidden profession. This job really leads to great achievements!

He wiped the sweat from his forehead and continued moving books. The seventeenth book finally had a title in the common language, "The Grand Mage's Miraculous Journey." Gret had a bad feeling just from the title, and after reading a few lines, it was indeed a novel...

A low-quality adventure novel. If it were on起点 (Qidian), it wouldn't even be signed.

... So, how many of these things he had moved with so much effort were novels?

Oh no...

Gret beat his chest. The bad news was that he would have to battle these novels for an unknown amount of time, but the good news was that he had fewer textbooks (to memorize)...

"You can't do this."

A voice suddenly sounded behind him.

Gret's hand froze as he was pulling out a book.