Chapter 965 - 909: Acquiring the Correct Method of Reading
The efficiency of a large guild’s operations needs no further explanation. Bloodrose Rosa personally went to the Neutral Goblin Casino, and then the Dragon Slayer teams of Beastman players from various locations also teleported to the casino to trade. In no time, Bloodrose Rosa acquired bags and bags of over a hundred books and hurried back to Divine Punishment City, eagerly awaiting the return of the Mysterious Lady.
Meanwhile, in the Nether Sea, Da Fei was also eagerly awaiting Anlicia’s return. After all, having an NPC handle such matters is a significant test of NPC intelligence, leaving Da Fei somewhat uneasy.
Finally, the teleportation array in the hall of Divine Punishment City flashed, and the Mysterious Lady appeared once again, carrying large bags.
She’s back! Bloodrose Rosa excitedly rushed forward, "Ma’am, I’ve prepared the books you wanted!"
The Mysterious Lady took the bag, opened it, and couldn’t help but praise, "Truly remarkable warriors. Although these are ordinary books, being able to obtain them so quickly from the Dark Alliance is no easy feat—incredible, this is your reward!"
With that said, she took out a card and a quill, and with a grand stroke on the card, she said, "This is a library card. You gave me 115 books, and I grant you the eligibility to read 115 books at the Elf Academy’s Grand Library. Knowledge is power, warriors, keep up the good work!"
—System Prompt: You have received a temporary library card for the Elf Academy’s Grand Library.
Staring at the small card, then at the silhouette of the Mysterious Lady disappearing into the Space Gate, Bloodrose Rosa was dumbfounded. Is this the reward? No experience or gold coins? How limited is this NPC’s quest authority?
This reward indeed doesn’t appear very enticing, especially for professional players. In the early stages of leveling up, every second counts, and whether it’s reading on autopilot or exploring the seas, it’s an unprofitable endeavor.
Moreover, the bigger issue is that this is the Elf Clan’s library, which likely comes with a language barrier. Indeed, while in the game, players face no barriers speaking with enemy players or NPCs, ordering food in other countries, checking maps, or looking at commodities lists; however, when it comes to the literature of an autopilot library, there’s a hurdle. Human Race players can’t understand the texts of the Elf Clan or Beastman Race.
Resorting to dictionaries, being self-taught to master a foreign language becomes necessary, and even if one masters a foreign language, the autopilot reading speed is nowhere near as fast as reading books from one’s own country. With so many libraries and unread books in one’s own country, who has the time to read foreign ones?
Bloodrose Rosa smiled wryly and shook her head. It’s okay, there wasn’t much of an investment anyways. Maybe I’ll deal with it when I have time later. So, she said to Blood Arrow Fragrance and Blood Arrow Floating, who were training skills idly at the pharmacy, "Let’s go, time to level up!"
"Got it."
Meanwhile, the appearance of the Mysterious Lady drew great attention from Little Li. She was the second mysterious NPC to appear after Forging Steel Hand, which shows how rich the content of this Mysterious Space might be. Anything related to the Mysterious Space undoubtedly concerns Da Fei, the Divine Punishment City Lord.
Little Li said to Little Fang, "I checked, the Forging Steel Hand, Duke William, is a frail and sickly prince of the Lionheart Empire. His main industry is selling deer meat, deer hides, deer antlers, bear skins, bear bile, bear claws, as well as timber and herbs. But his territory is in the mountainous forest area in the far north of the Lionheart Empire, where transportation is very underdeveloped, and there are numerous beasts along the way. His goods are difficult to transport out and are usually sold at low prices to the nearby Buck Town. If we could transport his goods to coastal areas, the prices could increase four to five times."
Little Fang laughed, "You mean, after we dig the canal, we trade with him?"
Little Li nodded, "That’s right. Our canal’s inland starting point is Rapids Town, and we could buy goods from the Duke’s family at prices higher than those in Buck Town to stockpile them in Rapids Town. Whether we transport them ourselves or resell them, it’s profitable."
Little Fang was amazed, "But Rapids Town is still a week’s land journey away from Buck Town in the game. The mountain roads are too difficult to traverse, and considering the time cost, it might not even be profitable, right? Trading with anyone near Rapids Town would be more lucrative than dealing with this Duke, wouldn’t it?"
Little Li replied earnestly, "But he is a Duke!"
Little Fang raised her eyebrows, "Political investment? But he has no influence, not even a presence in the politics of the Lionheart Empire, and who knows if he’d survive a gust of wind?"
Little Li spoke with determination, "But Da Fei has surely gotten closer to him, hasn’t he? We must trust Da Fei’s judgment!"
Little Fang acknowledged, "Following Da Fei’s steps makes sense."
Little Li continued, "Moreover, since we received the quest to open the canal from the Kingdom, couldn’t we receive a quest from the Duke to open mountainous transportation tunnels? We have Da Fei’s S-grade excavator and as long as the system provides the quest, we can dig, right? Once we open it up, it wouldn’t even take a week to reach the Duke’s family!"
Little Fang was taken aback, "Honey, are you sure the Duke’s entire fortune could cover the cost of tunneling?"
Little Li’s imagination soared, "What if we uncover rare minerals in the mountains while digging? Even if it’s all stone mines, we could recoup some costs, right?"
Little Fang was incredulous, "Honey, are you feeling alright?"
Little Li scoffed, "Just joking! Alright, the guild leader is about to lead the training session, so let’s get ready to head down the mountain."
Little Fang laughed heartily, "Your idea is quite creative, actually. How would we know if we don’t try? Moreover, nobody but Bloodrose knows about any connection between this Duke and Da Fei. If others find out, the Duke’s family will be flooded with visitors!"
Little Li nodded repeatedly, "Exactly, that’s the point, we need to act ahead of them!"
....
In the Nether Sea, Anlicia finally returned amidst Da Fei’s anxious wait.
Not only did they bring over a dozen history books of the Elf Kingdom, but they also brought over a hundred history books of the Beastman Kingdom. Everyone was stunned!
Anlicia let out a long breath: "I’m exhausted. Now we have almost all the historical books of the beastmen, elves, and humans. We can finally get a comprehensive understanding of the wars that happened during the same periods. Let’s start the discussion with the controversial Holy Helmet Valley War by Lionheart Nicholas VI and see how the beastmen explained it."
Everyone cheered: "Great! Let’s find out which book it is!"
Da Fei excitedly picked up a book and was dumbfounded: What the heck is this written in?
Similarly, Selvia and Catherine were shocked: "Beastman language! We can’t understand it!"
Anlicia shook her head and sighed: "No worries, we have dictionaries. You can learn slowly!"
Learn my foot! I’m already annoyed playing this game on auto, and now I can’t even let it do the work for me. Can I even play this game?
Da Fei was completely irritated, and seeing Elena also rummaging through the books, he couldn’t help but ask: "Elena, can you understand Beastman script too?"
Elena sighed: "As an elf, over a long life, you involuntarily learn a few foreign languages. Not to mention, I was once the crown princess..."
Darn it! Why are you elves so incredible! For a moment, Da Fei, Selvia, and Catherine, these three clueless humans, just watched these two elves flipping through the books with blank faces. Fortunately, it’s the NPCs of the Elf Clan who are impressive, not the players.
Finally, Anlicia burst out laughing: "Found it, the Holy Helmet Valley War! The reason for the Holy Helmet Valley War’s failure, let me read it to everyone—the Blood Roar Tribe’s army trapped the human emperor in Holy Helmet Valley, waiting for the enemy to run out of supplies and surrender. The despicable humans offered to transfer the Gray Valley Forest to request aid from the elves, and the vile and deceitful elves agreed to their request, attacking our army’s supply lines from behind..."
Reading this, Anlicia realized: "I always thought Gray Valley Forest was originally our Elf Kingdom’s territory, but it turns out it was transferred from humans? This isn’t mentioned in either human or elf history!"
Da Fei said unhappily: "One sold land to save themselves, and the other hit when they were down. How could they even mention it?"
At this moment, Anlicia’s body flashed with white light, and a system prompt sounded:
—System Prompt: Your vice hero Anlicia studied the "Lionheart Empire’s War History" and gained major insights, Knowledge +3, Experience +30,000, Intermediate Defense Skill upgraded to Advanced, Intermediate Attack Skill upgraded to Advanced!
Da Fei was stunned and overjoyed! Wow, not to mention adding 3 knowledge attribute points, her weak Intermediate Attack Defense Skill was comprehended without consuming Skill Points!
Divine Book! I’ve finally found the right way to study the Divine Book! For the sake of reading the Divine Book, the pain of looking up words in the dictionary is totally bearable! Yes, only by enduring pain can you show your high status, and the more painful it gets, the more it reflects my superiority over ordinary players!
Anlicia, too, after a moment of shock, shouted in excitement: "Turns out this book really can give insights! It really can make me stronger! I’ve decided, from now on, I’m going to study hard!"
Da Fei quickly applauded: "Classmates, Professor Ann is a role model for us. We who don’t know Beastman or Elf languages must work hard to look up words and learn, striving to master two foreign languages in a short time!"
Catherine and Selvia immediately responded: "We must study hard!"
Elena also promptly said: "Miss Anlicia, please find the account of the Holy Helmet Valley history written by the Elf Kingdom for me."
Anlicia smiled: "No problem."
Da Fei suddenly remembered Lin Tianhao, who could sing in multiple foreign languages. I have to admit, in the real world, he is the real high-level player. I can’t compare to him. However, I’m not completely useless. Even if I can’t compete with him in real life, at least I can excel in the game world.
Each field of work brings its success, wahahaha!
And shortly after, Elena, having read both the elf and beastman histories, also flashed with white light, and a prompt sounded:
—System Prompt: Your vice hero Elena studied the "Lionheart Empire’s War History" and gained major insights, Knowledge +1, Defense +2, Experience +30,000, comprehended Basic Defense Skill, comprehended Defense Skill Sub-skill Unlimited Vitality!
"Wow!" Everyone gasped again: "Another insight!"
Anlicia was even more surprised: "Different from what I learned?"
Elena laughed: "After all, everyone reads from different perspectives!"
"Makes sense!" With the power of two role models, the atmosphere of learning could only be described as enthusiastic. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets at Qidian (qidian.com), your support is my biggest motivation. Mobile users please read on m.qidian.com.)