Magic Book

Suye walked toward the veranda pillars directly ahead. Veranda pillars were an architectural feature found in both East and West, made up of corridors and columns.

After taking a few steps, Suye helplessly lowered his head and examined his bare feet.

Ancient Greece had a typical Mediterranean Sea climate, without bitterly cold weather. Greeks had no habit of wearing shoes and generally only wore them occasionally when going out. As for slaves, they were not allowed to wear shoes under any circumstances.

Even when they wore shoes, most people merely wrapped their feet in linen.

When in Rome, do as the Romans do. Suye did not put on shoes. He slowly entered the veranda, righted a dark brown wooden four-legged stool, and sat down on it. Ancient Greece liked giving many things distinct names; for example, this sort of four-legged stool was called a "Diphilos."

Suye thought while habitually recording his ideas, but his hand paused in mid-air before slowly lowering.

There was no keyboard around him, nor any pen and paper.

Suye immediately stood and entered the living room.

A short pillar of dark black marble stood in the center of the living room, topped by a half-meter-tall white statue of Zeus. On a table on the other side of the living room stood two smaller statues: Vulcan, the god of craftsmen and fire, and Athena, the Goddess of Wisdom and guardian deity of Athens City.

Greece at this time had no glass, and most rooms had no windows. The living room was extremely dim.

Looking at the somewhat eerie three statues, Suye stopped in his tracks.

This world had magic, divine power, heroes, giants, monsters, and gods.

The room had been thoroughly ransacked and was a complete mess. Only the three statues and a notebook remained untouched.

Suye took a deep breath, walked to a table, picked up the black Eight-Open notebook, and quickly left the living room, returning to the bright veranda.

Suye gently stroked the black cover. The demon cowhide, treated with magical potion, was delicate and soft. Set in the center were the gold-embossed Greek characters: "Magic Book."

Suye's Greek name was branded into the lower right corner of the cover.

Suye's pupils widened slightly. He solemnly placed the Magic Book before him and carefully opened its cover.

There were no extra pages inside this Magic Book. The insides of the two covers were its only two pages. When opened flat, the entire book became a single seamless sheet.

An image of the front of Plato Academy emerged on the inner page of the Magic Book. Its colors grew deeper, and the image shifted from stillness into motion.

Soon, a moving image of the front of Plato Academy appeared on the page, vivid and lifelike.

Suye let out a long breath. The Magic Book had a mysterious connection with its owner. Unless the owner specifically permitted it, no one else could open it.

"Is this... a tablet computer in the magical world? And with a folding screen..." Suye had never expected the Magic Book to be so advanced.

Suye reached out and touched the page. It truly felt like parchment and had nothing to do with a technological product.

Bang...

The moving magical image of Plato on the page exploded. Light even flew out of the page, and a thirty-centimeter-tall three-dimensional marble Stone Archway rapidly rose from the book.

Creak...

A teeth-grating sound of a wooden door turning rang out. Ripples stirred inside the marble archway, and a Four-Horse Carriage over ten centimeters long burst out. Wherever its wheels passed, rainbows paved the way.

The next instant, Suye was caught off guard as the carriage rammed straight into his chest.

Crackle...

Suye was completely unharmed.

The carriage crashed onto the Magic Book. Four white little horses with rainbow manes lay on the ground, kicking their hooves wildly, neighing and rolling their White Eyes.

"Ow..." An Old Man the size of a little finger, with Dragonfly Wings, rolled out of the carriage.

The little Old Man in green grumbled under his breath as he got up and dusted off his clothes. Suddenly, his entire body stiffened. He nervously looked around, and his gaze landed on a Black Pointed Hat nearby. He hurried over on his little Legs, picked up the hat, and covered his round, shiny Bald Head. He secretly sighed in relief, then waved his right hand. A whip appeared out of thin air and flew into mid-air, poised to lash the Little White Horse.

"Stop slacking off!" the little Old Man shouted furiously. His thick white beard trembled lightly and chaotically like a fluffy Groundhog.

The four little white horses rolled their eyes and tilted their heads at the little Old Man. Seeing that the whip was truly about to come down, they immediately got up obediently.

The little Old Man panted softly. The Dragonfly Wings behind his back drooped to the ground, limp and weak.

"You are..."

Suye had seen this little Old Man before. He seemed to be Master Plato's assistant.

"All the students at Plato Academy have received their new semester notices already. Why are you only opening your Magic Book now?" The little Old Man stood atop the Magic Book, glaring and blowing his beard as he looked up at Suye. A strange Green Light flickered in his pupils.

"Something happened at home," Suye said helplessly.

The little Old Man impatiently waved a hand. A tiny White Paper envelope appeared out of thin air in his hand. "You failed last year's exams. If you fail again this year, you will be permanently expelled from Plato Academy! School starts tomorrow, don't forget!"

The little Old Man tossed the envelope into the page, jumped into the carriage, and the whip in mid-air lashed down heavily with a crisp crack.

The four little white horses immediately raised their front hooves and neighed. They turned and charged into the Stone Archway, vanishing into the rippling waves and leaving a trail of tiny rainbows behind.

The carriage remained where it was.

Suye stared blankly at the little carriage.

A roar came from inside the carriage. "These idiots are even stupider than goblins! They're practically Plato Academy's fourth through seventh fools!"

Suye seemed to remember something, and a subtle change appeared on his face.

Cursing under his breath, the little Old Man jumped out of the carriage. With one hand, he dragged the carriage—which was like a house to him—and nimbly rushed into the Stone Archway.

The faint sounds of whipping, roaring, and miserable neighing came from within the Stone Archway.

The Stone Archway swayed, changed from three-dimensional into a paper-thin image, and slowly sank back into the page.

One letter after another flew out from the page, lining up above the Magic Book and gently swaying.

Suye quickly looked through them. There was Plato Academy's new semester notice, a new semester message from Niedern, his linguistics teacher, and some idle chatter from classmates. There were no important letters.

With a wave of Suye's hand, all the letters fell back into the page like stones sinking into water and vanished.

The opened Magic Book returned to a sheet of White Paper.

Suye's right fingers twitched lightly as his thoughts raced. Horizontal lines appeared on the Magic Book at intervals of one centimeter. Then vertical lines appeared, until the page was filled with countless squares.

Suye stared at the square in the very center. With a thought, the Greek word for "I" appeared.

Then Niedern's name appeared in a nearby square.

Niedern taught linguistics and also managed the class, making him the equivalent of their Homeroom Teacher.

Suye looked at his teacher's name, recalled everything that had happened before, and gently shook his head. Not to mention that Lawrence would stop him from going to Plato Academy to seek his teacher's help—even if he found Niedern, the man might not be willing to help him.

One hundred Golden Eagle Coins could buy two houses in the Poor District. It was a huge sum for anyone, especially since Suye's grades were terrible and he was a notorious Academic Trash.

Suye believed that Lawrence had only dared to make a move because Suye was not valued at Plato Academy.

Then the name "Figo" appeared in a neighboring square. He was a warmhearted Bronze Warrior whom Suye had known since he was very young.

Suye shook his head again. Figo's influence was far inferior to Lawrence's.

Then Suye listed one name after another.

Suye knew very well that in such a short time, he could not possibly fight Lawrence with his own strength. He could only rely on others.

Suye kept listing everyone he knew, and the empty squares grew fewer and fewer.

This was the Star-scattered Method Suye had learned before. The Big Shot who taught him this method had said that 99 percent of the problems encountered by 99 percent of people could be solved through the Exhaustive Method and the Trial and Error Method.

After listing every name, Suye circled three of them.

One was his teacher, Niedern.

One was a priest of the Temple of Vulcan, god of craftsmen and fire.

The last was Kelton.

After thinking for a long time, Suye crossed out the other two names and left Kelton.