Chapter 11: Daina

“Then, come find me at the city-state Public Library on the first Monday of next month. I have public business, so I must leave first.”

Carter gave Ace a big hug and turned to leave.

That was an unexpectedly good piece of news, Ace thought as he watched Carter walk away. He had long wanted to collect more books, especially books about various supernatural matters , and all kinds of knowledge about Monsters, magical plants, and Heroes. This was a perfect opportunity to study them in detail.

The next few days, Morton told Ace to visit Teacher Peter’s study when he had time, as it was time to discuss his major specialization.

It was a good opportunity for Ace to tell his teacher about the dictionary he was compiling. Peter would be the best channel for promoting the dictionary. He was a great city-state scholar, had influence with senior city-state officials, and commanded great authority in the cultural and academic fields. With his help, the compilation and promotion of the dictionary could be twice as effective with half the effort.

“Ace, you have been with me for a year, and I have witnessed your talent and hard work. You have basically gone through all my collection of books. Now it is time to determine your more professional direction of study. What do you wish to major in?”

“Respected Teacher, I plan to study medicine.”

Among mortal professions, medicine allows for the study of supernatural creatures without suspicion, making it the best choice of profession.

“I thought you would choose law or language. Why do you want to study medicine?”

“I like law and language as well, but too many ordinary people suffer from diseases and are harmed by supernatural creatures. I hope to help them escape their suffering,” Ace said righteously.

“A noble thought. I am not very proficient in medicine. You will study the fundamentals here with me first. Next year, the city-state’s best physician, Telos, will recruit students, and I will recommend you to him for study. I hope you can always maintain your sincerity.”

“Thank you, I will bear that in mind. Also, I’ve noticed that when many beginners read, the definitions of many words are not clear enough, leading to difficulties in reading. Why not write a book to help beginners clarify the definitions of words?” Ace quickly spoke up, seeing that Peter intended to end the conversation.

“Interesting. Do you already have a solution?”

“I have some ideas. I want to compile a dictionary in two volumes: a volume for common vocabulary and a volume for rare vocabulary. First, I will arrange several thousand common words in alphabetical order, summarize and annotate their definitions, and then slowly collect rare vocabulary. I may often need to consult with you, Teacher, in the future.”

“That’s certainly fine. If you succeed, it will be a tremendous help to beginners. Are you sure you don’t want to reconsider the language direction? I think it might be better suited to your talent.”

“No, becoming a good doctor is my lifelong ideal.” Ace said earnestly, though what he was thinking about was how to dissect supernatural creatures and how to trick Heroes into giving him blood, since bloodletting treatment works wonders, after all.

Compiling a dictionary is a meticulous and arduous task. Ace planned to complete the first volume of the dictionary, sign Peter’s name and his own as authors, and then have Peter submit it to the Ministry of Culture and Education. At that point, fame, wealth, and city-state contribution would all be gained, and Citizenship would be within easy reach.

The plan was good, but the work still had to be done step by step. Organizing the words and clarifying accurate definitions would all take time.

A month quickly passed. Ace arrived at the city-state Public Library. The Public Library is located on the west side of City Hall Square and is built with alternating gray and black marble. It is three stories high and looks magnificent and grand. Ace walked to the entrance of the Public Library and saw Carter waving to him from a distance.

“Hey, Ace. I was worried that you might be stopped at the door because you are too young, so I came to wait for you at the entrance.” Carter looked very pleased today. He quickly walked toward Ace, took Ace’s hand, and walked inside the door.

“You are Ace? So young!” a girl of about 17 or 18 exclaimed. She seemed a little discouraged, looking dejected.

She had fluffy flaxen hair, a delicate face, and her clothes were a bit worn. Her exposed calves were straight and round. She looked full of youthful energy. She wore a white literacy badge with a large “Excellent” on her slightly raised chest.

“Don’t get excited, Daina,” Carter waved his large, fan-like hand. “This junior of mine passed the literacy exam the same year as you. Don’t let his young age fool you; he is famously clever and diligent among Teacher Peter’s disciples.”

“I remember you. You were the top scorer in our literacy exam that time. I’ve always admired you. I didn’t expect you to be so young and beautiful,” Ace complimented her. Saying nice things doesn’t cost anything, so why not say them and make everyone happy?

Daina’s delicate face blushed significantly. She fanned her cheek with her hand, feeling unexpectedly shy about being complimented by a boy five or six years younger than her.

“Daina came to work at the library after passing the exam. She is especially studious and is determined to become a female scholar, hahaha,” Carter winked at Ace.

Ace was a little confused, completely failing to understand what Carter wanted to express with the wink. If he laughed along, it would seem like he was mocking Daina, so he simply kept a straight face. Daina seemed used to Carter’s behavior, and her expression was completely normal.

“Daina is also involved in the work of selecting and collecting books this time. Let’s go report to the Director together and then start work.”

After the group reported to the Director, they went to the second floor of the library, where more than a dozen people were already flipping through books.

“The entire workflow is: first, collect the books sent by citizens and register them—this part is complete; then, roughly read the citizens’ books and classify them according to the Ace Library Management System; next, read the classified books carefully to filter out valuable books; and finally, transcribe them. You can pick a stack and start working.”

Carter patted Ace’s back forcefully and said cheerfully.

Ace rubbed his back, selected a stack, and immediately immersed himself in the book classification work.

About two weeks passed. Ace had become familiar with the people at the library. He first chose the books related to his planned major, medicine, and read them carefully. He now spends his days classifying books at the library and his evenings at Teacher Peter’s house discussing the accurate definitions of common vocabulary. His life was very fulfilling.

After reading professional books for a long time, his head felt a little foggy. Ace walked over to Daina’s area, intending to look at various biographies and legendary stories. He casually picked up a separate, unnamed booklet.

“Why is this one kept separate?”

“This is a physician’s military diary, detailing some of his experiences during 30 years of war conquering barbarian tribes. It doesn’t quite meet the standards for the collection. I checked the register; the owner of this diary sold it to the library for 20 Silver Thales. It looks like it will just be treated as scrap paper.”

Daina answered without looking up.

“I happen to want to relax my mind a bit. Let me take a look at it.”

“No problem, it’s yours.”

(End of this chapter)