Scholar Peter

Ace had not been idle either. Ever since awakening the memories of his past life and realizing that his mother, Marina, was unable to keep Romon in line, he had secretly saved money in all sorts of ways—buying wine for Romon, reselling scraps from blacksmithing, and so on. He was almost up to one Gold Taler.

The cost of literacy lessons for one month was thirty Silver Talers. One hundred Silver Talers equaled one Gold Taler, so it was roughly enough for three months of study.

The Common Tongue in this world used an alphabetic script. As long as one memorized the alphabet and phonetic symbols, grasped the grammatical structure, and combined it with the pronunciation habits of one's native language, three months was enough to learn to read and write.

Ace had not considered using the knowledge from his past life to innovate and make money yet. Whether it was brewing liquor, making glass, or developing new farming methods, he had indeed dabbled in such things in his previous life.

But this was a world with gods, extraordinary beings, and temple priests. Before coming of age and becoming a citizen, any unusual innovation carried some danger. Every year, quite a few freemen were sentenced to exile by citizen juries.

Only by becoming part of the city-state's ruling class could he use the knowledge of his past life to earn money and fund his search for the path to the extraordinary.

Before he knew it, the sword blank had been ground into a sharp shortsword. Ace fitted it with a wooden hilt, leaned it beside the extinguished furnace, and looked out the door with firm, hopeful eyes.

It was already evening. Marina and Ace were eating dinner: slightly hard-baked black bread with a little butter, accompanied by oatmeal porridge.

Ace had long grown used to such a simple dinner. He ate bite by bite while casually chatting with his mother, Marina.

Ace and Marina had just finished eating when Romon actually came home. That was unlike him. Usually, he would not stagger home under the moonlight until the moon hung high overhead.

Late that night, Ace tossed and turned, unable to sleep.

He got up and pulled a clay jar wrapped in coarse cloth from beneath his bed. Carefully opening it, he found a pile of Silver Talers inside. He counted them one by one. There were ninety-seven in total.

The city-state had no public schools like those in his previous life. Knowledge was basically monopolized by nobles and citizens. Some knowledgeable citizens were willing to teach students for a fee, and the market rate was around thirty Silver Talers a month.

In the city-state, the teacher one chose for literacy lessons basically determined one's future profession.

If one's teacher was a judge of the jury court, then one would definitely work in fields related to law and litigation in the future.

If one's teacher was a musician, then one would likewise follow the refined path of performance. As for his own future path, Ace had already decided. He wanted to study under the city-state's famous Scholar Peter.

Peter was widely acknowledged as the most learned man in the entire city-state. A City-State Scholar, he had broad interests and a considerable collection of books at home.

Becoming his student was the best choice for Ace. It would allow him to gain the widest possible range of knowledge and search for the secrets of the extraordinary.

Early the next morning, the summer sun rose early, and Ace was awakened by the sounds of Romon exercising.

He got up and dressed, rubbing his sleepy eyes as he watched Romon train. As descendants of citizens, Ace's family had inherited an excellent training method created by Rhonamuth for ordinary people, specifically meant to develop physical abilities and combat skills.

Ace washed his face and joined Romon in the morning exercises. He had no resistance to it and learned very seriously. After all, this was a dangerous world filled with extraordinary beings. Having a little more ability to protect himself could only be beneficial.

Heroes guarded the city, so there was naturally little danger if one remained within its walls. But there would also be no opportunity to encounter, much less capture, extraordinary creatures.

Only in the remote wilderness beyond the city-state did low-level monsters roam. They were as difficult to clear out as weeds, and heroes disdained such troublesome work.

Young nobles, citizens with strong combat skills, and monster hunters would go there to fight low-level monsters. Nobles and citizens did so for training, while monster hunters did it for bounties.

Seven or eight veteran soldiers who had undergone strict training like Romon could hunt no more than three low-level monsters at once in the wilderness.

Ace was ten years old this year. He planned to keep training his combat skills over the next few years, hoping that by adulthood he would have strength comparable to Romon's. Then he could organize a monster-hunting team to hunt and study monsters.

Ace's talent for combat was actually quite ordinary, but diligence could make up for shortcomings. He believed that as long as he persisted with sensible training, he would still possess respectable strength by adulthood.

After the two finished training, Ace spoke to his parents with a serious expression over breakfast.

"I'm ten years old this year. If I want to become a citizen, this is already rather late to start learning to read. I've been saving money for the past three years, and now I have enough for about three months of tuition. I want to study literacy under Scholar Peter. Every summer, he recruits a certain number of students. Based on the pattern I've observed, enrollment should begin in the next few days."

After hearing this, Romon fell silent.

"It's my fault. I've spent these past few years drinking and indulging myself, without saving enough tuition for you. I've heard Peter teaches very well, but it takes at least three years of study to pass the literacy examination. Learning is a hard and long-term endeavor, and money is indispensable."

A complicated look filled his eyes as he gazed at Ace hesitantly.

"Your grandfather once said that everyone has their own destiny."

"Destiny gives each person responsibility. I failed the literacy examination, so I lost my Citizenship and delayed you as well. I failed destiny's trial, and I failed to be a good father."

"You don't need to worry about future tuition. Our family is descended from citizens, so we still have a few possessions left. Have your mother take you to Peter's place to enroll today. Bring along the blank parchment at home too. I'll raise the rest of the tuition."

Ace was greatly surprised and moved by Romon's words.

He had always thought Romon was a good man, but not a good husband or father. Romon had never properly planned for the family. He had only wallowed in the glory of the past and numbed himself with alcohol.

He had not expected Romon to take up a father's responsibility today. It brought a little warmth to his heart.

Ace and his mother Marina arrived at the First District. This was the core area of Medimoth City, with neat, broad stone-paved roads, olive trees planted on both sides, and upscale shops lining the streets. It was lively and prosperous.

The two passed through the bustling Commercial Area and arrived at a Residential Area filled with rows of villas and beautiful surroundings.

"Ace, your father grew up here."

Marina gripped Ace's hand a little tighter, just as her emotions tightened within her.

She admired the lives of citizens and hoped her son could join their ranks, yet she also feared placing too much pressure on him.

She did not speak much at home. Every day, she diligently finished the household chores and watched over her husband and son. Having the family together was already a great happiness to her.

She also had many hopes. She hoped her husband would care more for the family, and hoped her son would rise above others. But that was simply her nature; she rarely spoke of such things.

Ace could sense his mother's complicated feelings as well. He let out a long breath and said, "One day, our family will return here."

The two arrived before Scholar Peter's villa. A neatly and simply dressed attendant came forward, bowed slightly, and said with a smile, "Honored madam, young sir, are you here to seek instruction?"

Marina returned the bow somewhat nervously and said, "My child wishes very much to study knowledge under Scholar Peter. Could you bring us to see the honored Mr. Peter?"

"Of course, madam. The doors of knowledge are open to every seeker." The attendant bowed slightly and led the two into the villa.

In the sitting room, Ace waited with seven other children. His mother followed the attendant to pay three months of tuition, which was paid once per quarter.

The seven children were around seven or eight years old, five boys and two girls. Ace had no desire to speak with the others for the moment. His purpose was clear: learn to read, then gain the qualification to borrow books from Scholar Peter's private collection.

Before long, Peter entered the sitting room. He had a long goatee and wore white robes with a red sash. His expression was stern, making him look like a strict elder.

"I am your teacher, Peter. Your parents have sent you to me to learn knowledge and enrich your minds."

"What you gain here will depend on how hard you work. Even a dull person can surpass ordinary people through diligence and perseverance. Even a clever person who is lazy is like someone trying to carry water in a fishing net, destined to gain nothing."

Peter's opening words made several children nervous. Ace nodded slightly. This teacher suited his tastes. Although people in his previous life had praised him as a genius, he had hated the word genius in both lives. There were only two words: diligence.

If he had to put it another way, it was the intelligence of an ordinary genius combined with absolute diligence. Attributing someone else's success to talent was erasing their effort and comforting oneself. Others did not succeed because they were geniuses. They succeeded because they were clearly smarter than you and worked harder than you.

Diligence in study, diligence in thought, diligence in summarizing, diligence in reflection—this was the necessary path of learning.

Peter then introduced an older disciple named Morton, a red-haired young man with a few pimples on his face. He was Peter's assistant and was responsible for giving the eight students their first lessons in literacy.

Scholar Peter was a renowned scholar in the city-state. His assistant was, in a sense, a personal disciple, with the chance to be recommended by Peter for a low- or mid-level public position in the city-state one day.

Morton saw the students' parents off. They would return to pick up the children around six in the evening.

The eight students followed Morton to the backyard. Morton said, "Starting today, I'll be responsible for teaching you to read. Please briefly introduce yourselves, and then we'll begin learning literacy."

After everyone had introduced themselves, Ace learned that three of the eight were nobles. The rest were descendants of citizens. He alone was a freeman.

Children naturally formed groups. It was not deliberate discrimination, but a subtle sense of distance still existed. Fortunately, Ace had not come to make friends. He had come to use his limited time to learn as much knowledge as possible.

"Writing is, in essence, the expression of language. To learn writing, we must first learn the thirty-two common letters and their phonetic symbols..."

As Morton explained, Ace understood that the writing system of this world was indeed alphabetic. The first priority in learning was to remember the letters and phonetic symbols, along with the corresponding grammatical structures.