Compared to plant fibers, clothes made from animal fibers not only have superior texture but are also better at keeping warm and breathing. How much does a cashmere coat cost compared to a cotton one?
Moreover, woolen fabrics require complex processing, are difficult to maintain, prone to pilling with friction, and can shrink easily after washing. The affluent, wearing them once or twice, may not want to wear them again...
These drawbacks might be unfriendly to commoners, but for nobles, isn't this precisely what they seek? A noble's status is reflected in complex processes and extravagant consumption.
Although it has many disadvantages and is easily damaged, it is expensive and comfortable to wear, which is what can truly signify noble status. Those profligate high nobles would certainly pay for it. When all the nobles take pride in wearing the "softest and most expensive fine cashmere," would she still look like a commoner in such attire?
No! Instead, they would think she is the true noble, for she wore it first!
The long night was illuminated by the dim oil lamp. Lilith pulled out a piece of linen, carefully drawing on it with a charcoal stick. The steps of washing wool, methods of removing grease, improved tools for carding wool, the process of spinning and weaving... By the time the linen was full of drawings, the moon was high in the sky.
This piece of linen was just a draft. Once she bought parchment, she would need to transcribe it with a quill and ink. Once sold, this would provide her with a timely influx of money for maintaining her noble disguise.
Lilith stretched, feeling immensely grateful for her past life's hobby of watching handicraft videos. Those videos had taught her a lot, and now they were proving useful. Her friends had laughed, saying she had learned a lot of useless things, but now it seemed she had learned exactly what she needed.
However, many of the "essential skills for transmigrating to ancient times" she had learned were now unnecessary. Techniques like refining salt, making glass, creating mercury mirrors, and making gunpowder were all things this world's advanced alchemy had long figured out. However, the formulas were monopolized by the high nobles, and the products were reserved for royalty and nobles, not for sale.
But it didn't matter. With those formulas, she could make things for herself or secretly sell them on the black market. As long as she kept a low profile, no one would pursue her for making forbidden items. It would also help solidify her noble identity.
Isn't it normal for nobles to have these things?
The oil lamp burned through most of the night, and the oil was nearly gone. Lilith blew out the small flame and smoothly slipped into bed.
The next day, it was time for the magic rune class. Today, they were in a larger classroom, each student sitting before a square sandbox.
These weren't sandboxes for simulating terrain but were simply filled with sand. Next to each sandbox was a smooth stick.
Lilith saw her classmates skillfully pick up the sticks and draw in the sand, making her wonder about the possibility of introducing paper. But she held back, unsure if creating something that could undermine religious foundations and noble status would bring her trouble.
While pondering, an old man with curly brown hair and dry, wrinkled skin entered, carrying a sheepskin scroll. It was their second day of official classes and their first magic rune class, so the old man introduced himself.
"Good morning, children. I am your magic rune teacher, Claude Mike. You may call me Professor Mike."
"Good morning, Professor Mike!" The students stood up and bowed.
"Alright, please sit down," Professor Mike nodded, spreading the sheepskin scroll on the table and beginning his lecture.
"What is a magic rune? Magic runes are vessels for absorbing magical energy and are the marks left by the gods when they used their divine powers before ascending."
"By deciphering and drawing these marks, we can capture the magical elements scattered in the world and control and use them."
"Magic runes have many uses. The most common use is enchantment. For example, engraving a wind rune on a knight's sword can increase the speed of the sword's swing."
"Secondly, runes can be used for teleportation. Magic runes can connect spatial passages, allowing us to travel long distances by engraving them at different locations."
"Finally, runes can be used for summoning. Summoning runes can call forth magical beasts or the undead, and legendary saintly magicians can even summon the projections of gods."
"Of course, the latter two types of runes are for intermediate and advanced magic apprentices. For now, you will learn the basics of drawing runes."
Lilith listened attentively, finding Professor Mike's lecture fascinating. According to the original owner's memories, this continent was full of magical legends, and everyone believed in magic, though no one had seen it. But if she could transmigrate, perhaps magic and gods really existed.
"Alright, children, smooth out your sandboxes. I will begin explaining the basic structure of runes."
Professor Mike picked up a chalk pencil. "Runes are compressed spatial structures, so we must first learn to draw plane geometry." He turned and drew a series of geometric shapes on the board.
"The geometric shapes used in drawing runes are divided into four categories: rectangles, triangles, circles, and polygons."
The students picked up their sticks and began drawing shapes in the sand. Lilith also picked up her stick. Unexpectedly, her transmigration had her starting with elementary math. This magic rune class was essentially an early math class.
Professor Mike continued, "After learning to draw geometric shapes, we must calculate the proportions of runes to engrave them onto different surfaces."
He drew a hexagram on the board, marking one segment as one foot, then drew a square, marking its side as six inches.
"Now, who can tell me, if I want to engrave this hexagram onto the square stone slab, what is the maximum length of its segments in inches?"
The students immediately picked up their pencils and calculated, but after a while, they looked up, puzzled, as if looking at a foreign language.
Professor Mike waited and asked, "Can anyone solve it?"
The classroom was silent. Many students lowered their heads, shrinking into their seats like quails.
Suddenly, Vina raised her hand.
"Oh, my dear, are you going to answer my question?" Professor Mike asked, surprised.
Vina glanced at Lilith. "Sorry, Professor Mike, I can't either, but I want to recommend someone."
Professor Mike's smile faded a bit. "Well, who would you recommend?"
"My friend Lilith, she is a noble and proficient in arithmetic. I'm sure she can answer your question."
Vina turned to Lilith, smiling triumphantly. "Dear Lilith, please tell the professor your answer!"
She had observed Lilith not drawing grids since the beginning, indicating she didn't know the lattice method, the simplest way to calculate products by drawing intersecting lines to form a grid and counting the points to get the product.
If Lilith didn't know this, how could she possibly pretend?
Vina thought maliciously.