Chapter 294: Learning |
The food provided in the inn was much richer than outside. On the tray brought by the attendant, there were soft white bread exuding the aroma of wheat, two bowls of creamy mushroom soup, a plate of pan-fried smoked sausages, and four steaming hot baked potatoes.
In this special period, this meal could absolutely be described as luxurious or even extravagant. Due to the arrival of winter and the war with the Demon Race, in fact, getting enough to eat was a major problem for people in many places.
The Demon Race's invasion caused people to lose a large amount of arable land and miss the planting season. Although this town seemed relatively peaceful, commodity prices had also experienced drastic fluctuations.
The prices of all daily necessities were rising, and many times, they couldn't be bought even with money. Essentially, it was a problem of a lack of supply sources. The wheat that the Norm Merchant Guild sold at a low price to other villagers was actually surplus grain stored in warehouses before the large-scale war broke out. As for meat, there was almost only cured meat and sausages left.
In this kind of world, even nobles had to tighten their belts to live, worrying if they could survive until tomorrow. The state of ordinary commoners could only be described as merely staying alive.
Bai Mu and Xiao Wei finished this food completely without wasting anything. The seasoning was very simple, only salt, without using high-grade spices, but because the ingredients were relatively fresh, the taste was very good.
The next day, the people of the Merchant Guild sent a map, as well as some frontline intelligence and documents for passing checkpoints.
When leaving the town, Bai Mu saw refugees with ragged clothes and disheveled hair outside the city walls, showing numb expressions. They stood in the ice and snow; the youngest looked only five or six years old, yet couldn't even cry out loud.
Guards were interrogating them one by one about where they came from. The leader of the Merchant Guild, who had just arrived in the town yesterday, brought a group of people to the city gates, distributing black bread and warm woolen fabrics to the refugees one by one. After communicating with the guards, they took these refugees inside the city walls.
Bai Mu also remained silent and followed behind the Southern Hero, heading with him towards the more northern, more desolate, and more dangerous war-torn lands.
During the journey, Bai Mu was mainly responsible for logistics work. The Southern Hero often traveled through some desolate wilderness areas, taking the opportunity to liberate those regions ravaged by the Demon Race.
When encountering injured refugees, Bai Mu and Xiao Wei would use 'Emergency Treatment' and 'Light of Healing' to treat them. The Hero, on the other hand, would tell these refugees where the safe roads were, and which towns to go to where local nobles would take them in.
During this period, there were also some villages that weren't severely damaged, and the labor force in the village was still present. At these times, Bai Mu would step forward, using the Book of the Witch and his carpentry skills to quickly help them rebuild their houses.
The houses built by him all had relatively unique shapes. In his eyes, although the humans of this world were far superior to the real world in terms of physical fitness, combat power, and magical levels, they were extremely backward in terms of systems, productivity, and architecture. Especially those small village houses, they were full of flaws and drawbacks everywhere.
When repairing and rebuilding, Bai Mu couldn't help but use his accustomed style, resulting in a few wooden houses standing out from the crowd among a bunch of thatched cottages, with considerable improvements made in load-bearing and roof beams.
In this process, Bai Mu and the Hero also received gratitude from the villagers, sometimes even gifts. But they didn't take any survival-related items like food or clothing, only taking some bizarre magic books or strange ores or objects.
The Hero's pace was very fast. Due to the existence of precognition magic, he arranged his schedule to be fully packed. About every three to four days, they would encounter a battle or arrive at a new village.
The Hero almost never took those safe areas. The paths he traveled were full of danger everywhere. During the travel time, the Hero would teach some basic knowledge related to mages to Xiao Wei.
During their free time resting at night, he honed Bai Mu's sword skills through dueling.
"This is a sword skill I created myself," the Hero said. "The goal is to break through the opponent's flaws and kill with one strike. Since I have mastered the magic of precognition, in my eyes, the opponent's flaws are everywhere. But even without precognition magic, one can also discover flaws through experience and instinct. However, sometimes, you will encounter powerful enemies with airtight defenses. At this time, you shouldn't wait for the other party to reveal a flaw, but actively create flaws through induction and the connection between moves."
Bai Mu earnestly pondered the Hero's words and used his body to comprehend the Hero's sword skills.
These principles were simple to say but hard to do. As of today, it was already his 22nd day since entering this world. Yet his dueling record with the Hero was still 0 wins. As for losses, it had gone from 13 losses all the way to 63 losses. On average, he lost to the Hero 3 times a day, and it was always a loss without any suspense.
Compared to him, Xiao Wei's progress was incredibly fast. She had fully mastered Mana perception and was comprehending her own exclusive magic according to the Hero's teachings.
"Generally speaking, first-class mages all have their own fields of expertise," the Southern Hero said. "Golems, elements, arcane... By achieving mastery in their respective fields, they can become first-class mages. And among mages, there is a saying called 'the power of imagination'."
"Magic is 'imagination'. Imagine what rain looks like, and you can make the sky rain. Imagine what fog looks like, and you can make the surroundings foggy. Or like me, imagine that you can see the future, and you can foresee the future."
"Exclusive magic, compared to magic books that can be recorded with text and techniques, is more like a talent. Some people don't need long-term study and can still become first-class mages. In their exclusive fields, they are unique. With only 30 days of time, for a beginner, learning introductory magic is almost an impossible task. But... if it is the 'power of imagination', then no matter how impossible things are, they will turn into 'magic' and happen."
After Xiao Wei mastered Mana perception, the Hero left the time to Xiao Wei herself, letting her find her own exclusive magic through meditation. She closed her eyes and pondered quietly by the bonfire, like a statue, motionless.
Bai Mu, on the other hand, continued to learn the Hero's sword skills in actual combat, using his body to remember those moments.