Divine Water

Renato was growing more comfortable with the Silent Lady. Though she looked unremarkable, her resilience and sharpness far surpassed those of his previous sword.

After briefly reviewing his opening stances and transitions a few times, Renato steadied his breathing and strapped the sword onto his back again.

Given the limited facilities, there were no swordsmanship targets here, nor anyone to spar with. Continuing to practice against empty air would only mean switching his brain off and wasting time.

Just as Renato was about to leave, a woman walked slowly over from the edge of the woods and called out to him.

She was a female half-elf, with fine wrinkles crowding the corners of her eyes. Though her beauty had faded, her features still offered a glimpse of how lovely she had been in her youth. She wore soft leather armor in gray-brown and azure, decorated with small, smoothly polished pebbles. The wooden Holy Symbol on her chest bore an image of a waterfall flowing into a pool, revealing her identity as a cleric of Eldath.

"You're Renato, correct? I hope I haven't gotten that wrong. That's the name I heard from Bagg."

Simply walking away would look suspicious, so Renato could only steel himself and speak with the cleric before him.

"I'm Renato, if you mean 'Young Master.'"

After all, too many people in Brekka Town shared the same names. There might be five men called Joe at once, so adventurers generally addressed one another by nicknames.

"Allow me to introduce myself. I am Elma Springwater, a priestess in service to the Quiet One."

Her gaze was clear, her tone gentle.

"I heard what you did. You selflessly helped an injured companion escape danger. It has been a long time since I last witnessed such noble conduct in these troubled woods..."

"Marcus deserves most of the credit. I just lent a hand. Besides, Bagg is my comrade. We were helping each other out. There's nothing noble about that."

Renato only wanted to get away as quickly as possible, so he changed the subject.

"I still have a commission to attend to, so I'll take my leave..."

"There is no need to be so modest. Good deeds deserve recognition. Though I have no coins to spare, I can grant you the grace of the Mother of Waters."

The elderly cleric crouched beside the pond and filled a glass bottle with pond water.

Renato saw her cast no spell or perform any ritual. She chanted no incantation, nor did she loudly call for a miracle, yet the pond water in the glass bottle became perfectly clear, free of all impurities, and shone with a magical glow.

Looking at the glass bottle held out before him, Renato was somewhat at a loss for words. Rather than accept it immediately, he asked:

"What does this bottle of... holy water do? And what will I have to give in return?"

Seeing the young adventurer's wary expression, Elma merely smiled.

"This is the grace of the Mother of Waters. Divine Water can cure disease, heal madness, and soothe the dead... You need not worry about the price. Your good deed has already paid it."

"So it works like a healing potion? It can heal injuries?"

At Renato's question, Elma answered with a hint of resignation.

"Her Divine Water can soothe all things... But you may think of it that way. This bottle of Divine Water can heal grave injuries and pull someone back from the brink of death."

He bore Dakoul's mark, and the religious knowledge in his mind reminded him that it was best not to casually accept "gifts" from other deities.

After a moment's hesitation, Renato's curiosity finally won out. Though he had no intention of drinking this liquid of uncertain origin, he still tucked Eldath's Divine Water into his satchel.

"May the peace of the woods remain forever in your heart."

The nervousness of witnessing a divine miracle up close for the first time soon faded. That afternoon, Renato arrived at the Adventurers' Guild headquarters in Brekka Town: a three-story clock tower, the grandest building in the entire town, with a large bronze bell hanging on its top floor.

The first floor housed the guild offices and served as the administrative center for the entire town. This place belonged to no noble; all its affairs were managed by the guild. Miscellaneous matters such as serious brawls between adventurers, building permits, and the registration of commission materials all had to be handled here.

But he had not come today to argue with the guild staff. Renato climbed the stairs and reached his destination.

The second floor was both a library and a reading room. The shelves were fitted with magic that activated when triggered, preventing people from browsing at will.

Renato paid a reading fee of one silver coin at the counter by the entrance, allowing him to read every book on the first bookshelf for the rest of the day.

A Guide to Magical Creatures of the South-Central Region, Thirteenth Edition. Looking at the lengthy title on the cover, Renato preferred to call it the Monster Guide.

The book was not thick, at fewer than a hundred pages. That was also why he was confident he could finish it in a single afternoon.

Though he called it the Monster Guide, in addition to the twenty-seven representative magical creatures and their variants listed in the contents, its appendix also provided detailed descriptions of twenty-five monsters commonly found in the region.

"Kobolds: burrowing reptilian humanoids whose constitutions and strength are as weak as those of goblins. Unlike goblins, however, their talents for digging tunnels and making traps compensate for their physical shortcomings..."

The wide variety of habitats and habits was an eye-opener for Renato, while the vivid monster illustrations gave him a clear impression of these unfamiliar creatures.

His existing knowledge, together with the wealth of illustrations, shortened his reading time. In less than two hours, Renato finished the Monster Guide.

The library won't close until evening. I still have plenty of reading time left. Leaving now would be a bit of a waste.

With that thought, Renato returned the Monster Guide to its place and searched the shelves for books he wanted to read.

Chronicles of the Lost Kingdom, Noble Genealogies and the Evolution of Heraldry in Falania...

Judging this shelf to be full of useless books, he quickly shifted his gaze to the shelf below.

The Legend of Sword and Staff, A Noble Girl's Diary, My Scaled Wife Loves to Be Spoiled-Tales of My Romance with a Dragon... What the hell are these twisted literary works? Who would pay to read this stuff?!

After several minutes of inner struggle, Renato reluctantly put down the book he had just pulled out, only to catch sight of an intriguing volume from the corner of his eye.

The Voice of Dragons: An Introduction to Draconic and a Linguistic Guide. Not bad. A book on linguistics. Learning another language can never hurt...

He not only knew Common, but also Elvish, Dwarvish, and Deep Speech.

Granted, his Elvish was not particularly fluent, he could only recognize written Dwarvish, and Deep Speech was taboo, unsuitable for everyday use.

Still, Renato was quite confident in his talent for languages.

"Learning Draconic is not merely a matter of memorizing vocabulary and grammar. It is the key to understanding an ancient, proud, and powerful way of thinking. Every syllable bears tens of thousands of years of history, the pride of power, and the essence of the elements. To presume to simply 'translate' Draconic through mortal thought is a desecration of this great language. May you hold reverence in your heart and speak with caution."

Renato looked at the author's name on the cover: Aravasta Copper Tongue. The author was probably a dragonborn or a true dragon. No wonder the preface was so thoroughly steeped in "dragon."

Ignoring the book's incomprehensible pronouncements, Renato turned to the contents and began memorizing basic Draconic vocabulary and grammar according to his usual study habits.

That evening, Renato returned to his small room at the inn. He leaned his longsword beside the bed, lit the oil lamp on the desk, and wrote on paper as he recalled the Draconic vocabulary he had learned that afternoon.

Most of the sample passages in The Voice of Dragons are Draconic poems with convoluted sentence structures. They're baffling, and completely unsuitable for beginners...

Renato rubbed his temples. It seemed that, after graduating from university, he once again had no choice but to start learning an unfamiliar language.