Chapter 8 Altor

  Yes, there are three watches tonight.

  ………………………………………

  Opening the magic notebook, row after row were unfamiliar and strange letter texts that did not belong to either of the two languages Lucien knew before crossing over. After crossing over, this body itself belonged to a poor man who had never learned any text, it was already the most brilliant luck among the countless difficulties Lucien encountered so far that he could understand and speak the language of this world from instinct without affecting communication.

  Lucien is now a true illiterate, unable to read even one word of the magical notes.

  Lucien smiled self-deprecatingly: "The feeling of being illiterate is really unbearable."

  Although the day that came through the crossing had experienced many things, Lucien became much more mature and calm compared to before. Even before looking at the notes, he was worried about the threat of the Church and hesitated whether to learn magic. Now, however, a huge disappointment still struck Lucien's heart. As an idealistic, moral, cultured, and disciplined new era university student, the feeling of being illiterate was unbearable, especially when it came to texts related to supernatural powers beyond human capabilities.

  Without much hesitation, after calming down for a moment, Lucien had firmly decided in his heart: "The most important thing right now is to learn the script of this world!"

  Even if Lucien himself does not choose to learn magic in the future, learning to read and write, acquiring knowledge, is still a viable way to get rid of his current status as a poor commoner, especially since he has no powerful strength, robust physique, or swordsmanship skills. Under these circumstances, the possibility of changing his current identity through military achievements, adventure, or being a mercenary is extremely slim.

  With the idea and determination, Lucien quickly dispelled his disappointment and a bit of passion for struggle emerged in his heart. He continued to flip through the magic notebook to see if there were any other secrets hidden inside, such as treasure maps or something like that.

  As he looked on, Lucien furrowed his brow slightly because he saw many familiar things in the magical notes, such as various standard geometric shapes and some strange patterns composed of lines.

  "Magic circle, or magic seal?" Lucien guessed based on the "Truth Emblem", and then quickly flipped to the back of the magic notebook, where he saw rows of formulas similar to chemical equations, but without symbols, just text: "Magic equation? Magic potion formula?"

  These two similarities made Lucien have some guesses, but he couldn't understand the text and could only be suspicious for now.

  After finishing this magical notebook, Lucien opened another one. The words on this book were even more distorted, and the letters resembled floral patterns.

  "Isn't it the same script?" Lucien wondered, opening the third book which had illustrations of plants, minerals and monsters on it, seemingly a "bestiary" type of book, but with text that matched the second magical notebook.

  "The language I'm familiar with is probably the one on that first magical notebook." Lucien inferred from the difficulty of the texts.

  Lucien lay in bed, forcing himself to fall asleep after flipping through the three magical notebooks and books several times without gaining anything more.

  For Lucien, the desire to change his circumstances was so strong that from tomorrow on, every day would be a struggle for survival. If he couldn't get better sleep and felt sluggish, there was no way to face tomorrow and seize opportunities.

  Although Benjamin's healing magic had completely cured Lucien's wounds, the intense battle and mental and physical exhaustion soon put Lucien to sleep.

  And in the sewer, the witch's secret chamber has been completely destroyed.

  At this time, a black mouse ran over from somewhere, with blood-red eyes that were cold, indifferent and eerie.

  It circled around the ruins, chirped twice, and then ran towards a sewer in another direction. After a long time, it found a hidden small hole, drilled in, and disappeared.

  …………

  In the early morning, Adet district gradually echoed with the sounds of people's voices and water splashing, breaking through the quietness of the night, and suddenly made Lucien feel vitality and energy.

  Lucien, who usually liked to toss and turn in bed for a long time before getting up, forced himself out of bed as soon as he woke up, lit the stove, boiled water, and toasted the last piece of black bread.

  Lucien was eating a bread as hard as sawdust while planning today's schedule.

  If he didn't distract himself by thinking about things, Lucien would absolutely be unable to swallow this black bread when he wasn't starving.

  "First, go and find out where you can learn to read and write, as well as the conditions for doing so. Also, I need to find a new job, or else I'll starve to death at home before I even have a chance to learn. Lucien didn't know much about this world, so he could only make simple plans, "It's best if familiar people don't find out, in case they see through my disguise."

  Lucien simply cleaned his face with the clear water in the water jug, took out the seven coins from the plank box and put them on himself, although not many, but at least there was a little sense of security.

  Locking the door, Lucien went straight to the house where Aunt Elisa lived. He had no impression of the layout of this holy city, so he had to ask someone.

  "Hey, Lucien." A black-haired girl greeted Lucien with thick curiosity.

  Lucien barely recognized her, only managing a standard smile and a nod of acknowledgement: "Hey, I've got something to do at Aunt Elisa's house." Then he hastily brushed past her.

  "Hey Lucien, what's it like being a ghost?"

  "Lucien, what does it feel like to cast divine magic?"

  "I saw one of the guards lost his right hand, wasn't it very dangerous last night?"

  It was only a few dozen steps to Aunt Elisa's house, but Lucien encountered several inquiring neighbors. Overnight, Lucien seemed to have become a well-known figure in the Adrien district.

  Lucien didn't know anyone and could only make his way to Aunt Elisa's house perfunctorily.

  Not yet at the entrance, Lucien heard a familiar voice: "Little Evans, you got up really early today."

  Lucien let out a quiet sigh: "Uncle Joel, good morning."

  Joel was dressed more neatly than usual, holding a very classically styled harp: "Has little Evans eaten breakfast yet? You've just recovered from illness, there's no need to rush about finding things to do. Your Aunt Elisa has been calling you over for dinner."

  Lucien asked Joel about the terrain, preparing just this excuse. Seeing him bring it up on his own initiative, he felt even more at ease: "Thank you, Uncle Joel. I've already eaten and with Lord Benjamin's divine treatment yesterday, all my illnesses are gone. I don't need to rest anymore."

  Jorl nodded and beckoned Lucien to walk alongside him: "With the pastor's divine magic, I'm at ease. Wait for you to go to the Copper Crown Tavern to find Boss Korn, he still owes me a bottle of Lays wine, will help you introduce a good job."

  As Lucien was about to leave, Joel thought for a moment, put away his usual smiling face, and said seriously: "Little Evans, you're already 17 years old, not young anymore, it's time to think about your future life."

  "Uncle Joel, what do you mean?" Lucien asked with some understanding.

  Joel sighed: "Relying on physical strength to work, after the age of 40, the body will deteriorate quickly, and it will be difficult to find a job again. If there is no savings, no good sons or daughters, within a few years, poverty and illness will take them away. This kind of person, Uncle Joel has seen many, and very few live beyond 45 years old. You'd better take advantage of your youth and learn a trade. Although the apprenticeship contract is for ten years, if you learn well, later on, going to a small place, you can definitely have a good life."

  As they spoke, the two of them walked along a road and passed through a city gate that was being watched by guards. Suddenly, Lucien's eyes lit up at the sight of the wide roads, clean streets, bustling shops on either side, and people coming and going wearing colorful, varied clothing, including long dresses, and even occasionally appearing in luxurious clothes adorned with jewels and decorations, as if the air itself seemed to be filled with wonderful music. It was like two different worlds compared to Adrien District.

  "Thanks, Uncle Joel." Lucien could feel Joel's genuine concern.

  "Besides, if you were apprenticed to a master craftsman who had only one daughter, you might even find yourself becoming the boss by marrying her. Our little Evens is quite a catch, isn't she?"

  Lucien could only smile awkwardly after being teased by Joel like that.

  As he spoke, Joel suddenly stopped and walked to the street corner, put a prepared hat on the ground, and sat down beside it, ready to play his lyre.

  Is Uncle Joel a street performer? Lucien is no stranger to this way of life.

  Joel pointed to a luxurious and magnificent building in the distance, similar to Lucien's Baroque style in his previous life, and smiled: "Here you can see the Hall of Hymns directly. For me, performing here is like performing in the Hall of Hymns."

  Lucien hadn't even responded when Joel, as if moved by some thought, pointed to the Psalms Hall and muttered: "Since more than 400 years ago, the church guided the Holy Heilz Empire westward, occupying the last core of the ancient Hilvanas Magic Empire, Alto, expelling dark creatures and magical beasts to the vicinity and depths of the Dark Mountains. Since then, Alto has been one of the most famous cities on the entire continent."

  "Over three hundred years ago, when Charles I was still a cardinal, he compiled the church's hymns and songs under the papal tiara in Alto, established the norms for sacred music and singing. When he became pope, he officially promoted the Carolingian chant and choir to every church, earning Alto the title of City of Gregorian Chant."

  Due to its proximity to the Dark Mountains, elves, dwarves, and dog-headed people often change their faiths and become members of the public country. The intersection of different music makes Alto the music capital of the entire continent. The emergence of polyphonic music, the formal formation of symphonies, and the invention of instruments such as the Gisu violin all occurred here. Great musicians left their names in history.

  "For every minstrel, every musician and every composer, performing in the Alto Santo Hall is the greatest honor."

  "Uncle Joel, although I couldn't get into the hymn hall, I was able to play nearby and it made me very happy."

  ……

  Farewell to Joel, Lucien asked the way while experiencing the style of Alto, many street performers and singing poets at the corners, and from time to time, songs and piano sounds floated out of shops and residents' houses, as if the whole city was shrouded in music.

  Just back from the inner city gate of Adrien district, Lucien saw the tavern with a copper crown at a glance.

  Outside the wine shop, from time to time, girls and women would come over, sneakily peeking inside, then leave in disappointment.