Old Tales of the Mountain Kingdom

A new day.

After finishing breakfast, Sylutia and Talia arrived at Winnie's home. Little Randy was playing in the living room, hugging a large ball of yarn.

"You're here." Winnie emerged from the kitchen, carrying freshly baked cookies to offer them.

"Have some."

Afterward, she picked up Randy and returned him to his room to play by himself, then began their first formal lesson.

"First, I need to determine Miss Sylutia's level of literacy." She placed a thick book on the table.

"This is a graduation gift from Scholar Heide: Annual Rings of the Cedar: Past Events of the Mountain Kingdom. The author is the renowned scholar Arkanash from 300 years ago. This book recounts the early history of the Regas Kingdom, how the Knight King Regard Buwelly conquered the mountains, and the process by which he established the code of law and pacified the various mountain tribes to secure their allegiance."

"Now, Miss Sylutia, please try to read the chapter on page 235, 'The Battle of Snowfall Mountain'."

"I understand." Sylutia took the thick book with great interest.

She quickly flipped to the designated page and tried to decipher the text. She recognized most of the characters, though a few phrases were obscure—likely words her original self had never learned.

"The heavy snow fell for five days and four nights. The pine branches were snapped by the weight of the snow, and we were forced to dismount and trek through the piled white drifts. All that met the eye was a vast, desolate expanse...

Heed, the 'Wind' hunter accompanying us, told me that the scent of 'Winter Slumber' lingered in the air. This blizzard might have been artificially induced, which filled me with dread.

Malang and Puris said they would find a way to assist me in resolving the blizzard, but I thought to myself, what could these scholars from the Candlekeep School possibly do? They are only suited for organizing bookish knowledge and transcribing traces from ancient artifacts. The only thing about them that brings joy is that they are quite good at mathematics and skilled in constructing siege engines, which solved many problems for me.

For two months, we could never find the enemy's main force, wandering the mountains in vain. Many men froze to death in the cold nights. Today, Knight Holin reported to me that thirteen soldiers did not wake up this morning.

I think we are likely lost.

Facing the corpse of Knight Red, anger flooded my body, making me want to burn and erupt like a Blazing Sun. Alas, I am not a 'Blazing Sun', and could only plunge my sword into the rock and soil beneath my feet.

I cannot wait any longer; I cannot let this continue. I had Scholar Malang leave my tent, then walked toward the birdcage covered by a black cloth. Inside stood a strange bird; it would convey my resolve...

The Black-Crowned Magpie cried out. The 432nd ring of the Blood-Brown Redwood scarred over. Beneath the black pines of Snowfall Mountain, I executed Keshle. He fell while bearing a curse, and the greatsword in my hand was notched and chipped.

Regardless, we achieved victory. We defeated the last and most powerful tribe in the mountains and beheaded their leader. The Snow Mountain Hags who assisted Keshle were all nailed to wooden stakes, their blood drained dry.

From twenty-one years ago, when I brought my family's retainers south to settle in the small town by Ear Lake, to the long journey of pioneering, uniting, and conquering, finally sweeping away all obstacles—this long trek has finally come to an end.

It is time to return. My family is still waiting for me, as are those warriors.

We shall build a city at this intersection of mountains, make a covenant with the bedrock, and establish our kingdom.

May it be as evergreen as the cedar, and may our knights' armor remain ever-strong, their longswords ever-sharp."

Finishing the recitation of the slightly lyrical passage, Sylutia set the book down.

Winnie clapped her hands lightly in approval. "Not only was the pronunciation exceptionally standard, but Miss Sylutia's voice is also so pleasant and rhythmic, making one truly immersed."

"If 10 is a perfect score, I would give Miss Sylutia a 9.6."

"Oh, it's not a perfect score?" Talia asked, puzzled.

"Well, Miss Sylutia was likely not born in the Regas Kingdom. She didn't understand some of the local vocabulary and slang, skipping over a few words, so points had to be deducted," Winnie explained.

"I see."

"However, it is gratifying that Miss Sylutia accurately read some of the uncommon and obscure words in the book. You must know that Scholar Arkanash, who wrote this, had a habit of showing off his literary prowess, preferring to use rare words to demonstrate his profound knowledge and taste." As she spoke, Winnie shook her head slightly, as if she had suffered quite a bit while studying this book in the past.

"With that, Miss Sylutia's literary foundation does not need further assessment. Next is arithmetic." She took out a sheet of paper with various math problems and handed it to Sylutia.

The young girl felt a bit nervous before receiving the paper; after all, she had forgotten most of her mathematical knowledge since graduating from university, especially advanced calculus and the like.

However, when she saw the problems on the paper, she instantly relaxed. These were just elementary school-level problems, with at most a little bit of middle school knowledge added in.

She wrote down the answers almost without thinking, taking less than a minute to finish the entire page.

Winnie had just been planning to test Talia while Sylutia was working on the problems, but she didn't expect the girl to hand in her paper the moment she turned around. She had to look at Sylutia's answers first.

"All correct." Her voice held a hint of hesitation; it was somewhat unbelievable.

Talia leaned over at this moment, looking at the various numbers and problems on the paper, and immediately felt dizzy, turning her head away.

"Now I don't need to worry about Miss Sylutia's foundation." Winnie set her mind at ease and asked the girl to wait a moment while she examined Talia's situation.

In this spare time, Sylutia continued to flip through Annual Rings of the Cedar: Past Events of the Mountain Kingdom with interest.

This book was written by Scholar Arkanash 300 years ago. It cites parts of the autobiography of the "Knight King" Regard Buwelly, as well as records from scholars who accompanied the army and accounts from local figures, finally synthesizing them into a long epic describing the founding of the Regas Kingdom.

Regard Buwelly was born in the Gulunga Mountains in the center of the continent, the second son of a local minor noble. Although he could not inherit the title, he had excellent talent from a young age and became a "Third-Rank - Castle" Aspect Power knight at the age of 24. Afterward, he gathered a group of like-minded companions and retainers, came to the mountain lakes in the south, and used this as a starting point to gradually expand his territory. By the age of fifty-six, he had cleared away all obstacles and established the Regas Kingdom. Those knights and partners who followed him through the wars also became the first batch of nobles in the Regas Kingdom.

The founding of the Regas Kingdom was not smooth sailing. The "Knight King" Regard spent twenty-one years conquering the mountains, and after establishing the kingdom, it took nearly another twenty years to bring initial stability to the nation. The various issues of public order, economy, and construction that arose during this process left the Knight King overwhelmed several times. Fortunately, the "Candlekeep School" that supported him sent scholars to this cold and bitter mountain region for decades, acting as advisors, consultants, and mentors to the local nobles, educating them, teaching them skills, and casting castle towers, until finally, the country was truly stabilized.

Scholar Arkanash must have also come from the "Candlekeep School," Sylutia guessed after reading to the end, considering the author's stance and background. Although there were parts earlier that complained about and teased the "Candlekeep School," the various praises and compliments that followed made the earlier flaws seem more like a plot device of "criticizing before praising."

Perhaps there was some bias, but if not for the records of these scholars from the "Candlekeep School," later generations would have no way to understand the history of the past. All in all, Sylutia's impression of the "Candlekeep School" was quite good; they truly expanded the boundaries of civilization and improved the living environment of the local residents.