Sitting beneath a poplar outside town, Mia carefully read aloud the Chinese pinyin in the book in her hands, teaching herself Chinese words.
The book had been made from A4 paper, folded and bound entirely by hand. Fine threads ran through the pages, holding them together.
Thick cowhide formed its cover, rough but sturdy, with no elaborate decoration, only a few marks carved by time. It offered the knowledge inside the best possible protection against outside damage.
Mia treasured the book. Whenever she turned a page, she carefully lifted one corner, then gently turned it over.
This Chinese textbook was precious. Chris had posted a quest, and a player who was a retired professor of Chinese in real life had spent three days writing it.
After finishing it, even though this player-a scholar who loved teaching-had already completed the quest and received his reputation points, silver dollars, and medal, he spent another four days personally adding illustrations.
In the player's own words:
"How can a book that teaches people to read have no illustrations?
What? You say we should just make do? Are you out of your mind? Education isn't something you can cut corners on! It demands care, more care, and still more care!
A game? Even in a game, you can't make a mess of things. If my friends in education found out I'd produced a textbook without illustrations, my reputation in the field would be ruined!"
Players were always oddly stubborn about certain things, but that wasn't a bad thing. Chris didn't stop him. He even appointed the player headmaster of the Bagnia Defense Force's night school.
And sure enough, the professor was delighted with his new position. He devoted all his daily gaming time to the job, making an enormous contribution to spreading Chinese.
"I spent