Flying Fish Port is a medium-sized city, divided into South City, West City, East City, and North City.
South City is near the Flying Fish Port docks, where the streets are numerous and wide, and commerce is busiest; but it's West City that is the center of the city, which is the area where the nobility lives. East City is the residential area for the relatively wealthy commoners, while North City is a more chaotic gathering place for the poor.
Hobson Library, a benevolent policy of the late City Lord Earl Hobson, is located in the West City area.
Ivan walked up to the library's registration desk, "How do I get a library card?"
The male attendant sized him up and asked, "Do you have a calling card?"
"No."
"A letter of recommendation then?"
"None."
The attendant said indifferently, "Then it can't be done."
Ivan wasn't upset and continued, "I want to go in and read the books."
"You can apply for a reading pass, 10 Gold Coins each, for your use only, but it's valid for a lifetime."
"Is there any other way?"
"10 Silver Coins per day."
Upon hearing the attendant's response, Ivan promptly paid the 10 Silver Coins.
According to the exchange rate of 1 Gold Coin to 100 Silver Coins, it's 10 Silver Coins a day; one could only read for 10 days with a Gold Coin, which means 3 Gold Coins per month. This business is as lucrative as robbery, especially considering the entrance fee to Flying Fish Port is only 10 Copper Coins per person.
Fortunately, he now had a way to earn money, unlike his previous destitution.
[Apothecary Skill: lv1 (99/100)]
[Knight Breathing Skill: lv1 (12/100)]
[Linguistics Skill: lv0 (1/10)]
Under Old Orio's guidance over the past month, his progress in Apothecary Skill had soared, meeting many of Old Orio's requirements, and he was now able to concoct some potions.
Old Orio was generous and willing to give him a cut of the profits from potion making, so he had the ability to earn money. In total, he had received 7 Gold Coins, plus the original 2 Gold Coins, and after spending 5 Gold Coins on buying the Gushing Potion, he still had 4 Gold Coins left.
The expenditure at the library was within his budget.
The Hobson Library wasn't very large, with about twenty bookshelves. Each shelf held a sparse collection of books, all of which were the Hobson family's collected works over the years.
The number of people reading in the library could be counted on one hand, and they were all dressed elaborately.
When Ivan appeared, some glanced at him, but upon seeing his outfit, they were unwilling to look any longer.
Ivan didn't bother to scrutinize the others, instead, he searched through the library's collections, which included poetry, travelogues, biographies, knight novels, common wild beast records, and noble gossip from ages past. On a bookshelf situated toward the inside, he found the section for language books, which included a substantial dictionary.
Ivan briefly thumbed through it and discovered there were four languages available to study: Vandani, ancient Golgandar, Fernundo, and Tidal Language.
Vandani was the language he already mastered and the common tongue of the Aromatic Wheat Dukedom and nearby nations.
It was through the dictionary that he learned Vandani originated from the ancient human language—ancient Golgandar, which occasionally appeared in daily life, such as the 'Bat's Eyes' sign of a medical center.
Vandani is the simplified version of ancient Golgandar.
Fernundo, a language from a nearby continent, is useful for long-distance merchants.
Blorelde, meaning 'tide', is also known as the 'Tidal Language', originating from a powerful knight empire—the Tidal Empire, and is useful for exploring relics left from the Tidal Empire era.
'Let's take a look at ancient Golgandar first.'
Vandani didn't need to be learned, and out of the other three, only ancient Golgandar could be self-taught.
He didn't rush to leave and began to read the ancient Golgandar dictionary.
[Linguistics Skill Experience Point +1]
[Linguistics Skill: lv0 (2/10)]
As he studied until his head was spinning, his Academic Prodigy panel finally moved, not in vain as he resisted the urge to throw the dictionary away.
He shook his head, trying to lighten his mood, when he noticed a man standing not far from him, the male attendant of the library, who was now frowning.
The male attendant said, "Sir, the library is about to close."
Ivan looked around and realized he was the only reader left.
The timing was just right, he took out a few silver coins and rattled them, "Perfect, I'd like to ask you a few questions."
The attendant remained unimpressed and scolded, "Sir, please respect my profession. No matter what you say or offer, no one without a library card is allowed to take away any book. Please do not show off your little tricks."
Hearing this, Ivan fell silent, realizing there had been a misunderstanding.
He explained, "How about this, I'll wait for you not far from the library. I just want to ask you simply about how to find a teacher."
The attendant hesitated for a few seconds and then imperceptibly nodded.
Not long after that, Ivan spent an extra 10 silver coins to get the answer he wanted. Indeed, there were language tutors nearby, but the tuition was not cheap; just to learn one language cost 5 gold coins.
"That's as much as a bottle of Gushing Potion."
Ivan had to give up and wait until he saved enough gold coins to return; as for self-studying ancient texts, it was too much of a waste of time and effort. He abandoned the idea that would be laborious yet thankless.
A new day dawned.
Ivan looked at a blue potion in his hand, then poured it into his mouth and drank it down in one gulp. Five or six minutes later, there was a gentle warm current spreading in his belly; he knew the potion was taking effect.
"Peggy, prepare me twice the usual amount of food."
"No problem, Brother Ivan."
In the backyard, Ivan began his physical training, practicing the well-mastered Gushing Breath Method. His movements were fluid like water; they harmonized with the rhythm of his breathing, filled with an unusual sense of strength, which made Sean, who was watching, quite envious.
He went through the routine three times, one more than usual, making his stomach growl with hunger.
Seeing him finish, Sean approached with a cheeky grin and said, "I want to learn; how about you teach me?"
Ivan glanced at him and replied indifferently, "Sure, as long as you aren't afraid of staying that short forever, and also not afraid of being hunted down by Cassia Swordsmanship Hall." The Gushing Breath Method was a signature practice of Cassia Swordsmanship Hall, and learning it without paying would definitely cause trouble with the hall.
As though doused with cold water, Sean chuckled awkwardly, "Then I'll just wait a few more months, heh, no rush."
Ivan did not go to the Swordsmanship Hall for two consecutive days, waiting until the effect of the potion completely wore off.
[Knight Breathing Skill Experience Point +1]
[Knight Breathing Skill: lv1(13/100)]
Strength: 1.7, Agility 1.4, Constitution: 1.3, Spirit: 1.4
It was a potion that cost 5 gold coins indeed, the effect of which was equivalent to an extra month of training; his strength and constitution had increased by 0.2, and agility by 0.1 point. It also gave him a more direct understanding of the correlation between breathing methods and their corresponding secret medicines.
"A mere 0.2 point increase on the first try, the Gushing Potion must be the lowest grade of Breathing Secret Medicine. Truly fitting."
"These kinds of secret medicines have a characteristic, with the first use having the best effect, the second diminishing, and the third basically being the last. It's best to space them out several days apart, not to use them in succession, because they have a particularly strong resistance."
After reflecting for a moment, Ivan thought of the Whirlpool Potion, which was an intermediate quality secret medicine, and couldn't help but feel an increase in motivation.
On the fourth day's morning, Ivan returned to the Swordsmanship Hall.
Upon seeing him, Donnie pulled him aside to a corner, with something to say.
"What is it, what news do you have?"
"Remember those apprentices?"
"Of course."
"Confirmed news, one of the apprentices has been reported dead."
Donnie whispered the news he had gathered, his words not without a hint of schadenfreude.
Was the path of a sorcerer so dangerous, just over a month in?
Upon hearing this, Ivan's eyebrows twitched; this was not good news at all.