Chapter 3: Grammar and Language

Morton planned to spend three months laying a good grammar foundation for them.

Ace copied the thirty-two letters and phonetic symbols onto the parchment and then drew them on the ground as he memorized them. Compared to other children of the same age, Ace was noticeably more serious.

As someone who had systematically studied English in his past life, the rules of this type of alphabetic writing were similar, allowing him to quickly draw inferences.

After fluently memorizing the thirty-two letter shapes and phonetic symbols, he requested to borrow the grammar textbook early from Mr. Morton.

“Mr. Morton, I have memorized the thirty-two letters fluently. May I borrow the grammar book early now?”

Morton checked the results of Ace’s memorization and found that he had indeed fluently memorized the thirty-two letters and phonetic symbols.

“The grammar textbook can be lent to you in advance. This is the curriculum for the next few months. You may have many questions while self-studying, so keep a record, and when I start teaching tomorrow, you can come to class with your questions. The effect will be better.”

Ace took the small booklet made of parchment. The title written on it was General Basic Grammar, authored by Peter.

Ace had already set his study plan in his heart. Although directly tackling the grammar book might be difficult, he had a native language environment. Correct pronunciation coupled with familiar word meanings would allow him to basically understand everything.

As for the uncertain parts, he could ask Morton questions in a concentrated manner every day. In this way, he estimated that he could establish correct grammar habits and start reading directly in less than a week.

Ace had little tuition money, so he had to increase efficiency and learn faster.

In the evening, after Ace finished his fighting skills training, he held the borrowed grammar book, faced the furnace fire, ignored Romon’s “Clang! Clang!” of hammering iron, and studied the basic grammar so attentively that he forgot to sleep and eat.

Romon looked at Ace studying seriously, feeling a little soft-hearted and guilty. He put the finished standard short sword aside, walked out gently, afraid of disturbing his son’s study.

He went to the tavern today and, through the tavern owner, put out word that he was going to sell a set of family-inherited full body heavy armor.

A set of heavy armor is extremely complicated to forge. Romon himself was not yet skilled enough to do so; his skill level only allowed him to forge standard farm tools, weapons, and shields.

Because of the high level of technology involved, heavy armor was very expensive—a full set of heavy armor was almost equivalent to a villa in the Eighth District.

This heavy armor could not be sold in a hurry, or the price would be drastically cut. Fortunately, he had three months to slowly wait for a suitable buyer.

The next day, as the sky was just getting light, Ace arrived at Peter the Polymath’s villa with dark circles under his eyes. He arrived early in the backyard, closed his eyes to review his grammar knowledge, and waited for Morton.

As Peter the Polymath’s assistant, Morton was naturally extremely diligent, as his teacher was also a highly diligent person. He dealt with his teacher’s trivial matters early in the morning and came to the backyard to find Ace already waiting early.

A slight smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. Seeing Ace so diligent reminded him of when he first sought knowledge. It was time to give the lovely junior some guidance.

“Ace, you came so early. Do you have many questions you want to ask?” Morton walked up to Ace and said loudly.

Ace opened his eyes. It was Morton. “Yes, Mr. Morton. There is a lot of grammar knowledge that I am unsure about, and I am eager to learn from you.”

As Ace asked his questions, Morton answered them easily. Soon, Ace’s doubts were resolved, and Morton was also very pleased. As a teacher, everyone hopes to have a student who can draw inferences from one example.

Others arrived successively during their question-and-answer session. Many were brought by their parents. Seeing this studious scene, Ace would probably become “the child of someone else” in their parents’ mouths, making the other children’s feelings towards him even more subtle—admiring yet disliking him.

Life continued. These days, Ace maintained a routine of two points on a line: studying knowledge, eating, exercising, and sleeping, which was busy and fulfilling.

After about ten days, he had mastered the grammar knowledge fluently.

Morton was familiar with his learning progress. Although he was very surprised by Ace’s learning efficiency, when he thought of his level of hard work and intelligence, he felt that everything was as it should be.

Morton did not stick to the established teaching schedule and decided to let Ace study the next stage of knowledge.

“Ace, you have truly opened my eyes these past few days. I never thought someone could be this smart and diligent. Congratulations, you have completely mastered the grammar and can move on to the next stage of learning,” Morton said with satisfaction.

“None of this would have been possible without your guidance. If the student is a boat, then the teacher is the lighthouse. You have pointed me in the correct direction.”

Ace politely complimented him; in reality, the reason he could learn so quickly was the solid foundation laid by the high-intensity exam-oriented education of his previous life.

Morton was extremely comfortable with this flattery. He smiled softly and said gently to everyone: “You are all here to learn literacy. The ultimate goal is to pass the Medimus City-State’s Unified Literacy Exam and obtain the qualification certificate. After mastering the grammar, you will study three books: Myths , Epic Tales , and Medimus Founding Chronicle. Now, Ace will come with me to get the books. The rest of you continue to study grammar; I will ask questions when I return.”

The children below immediately wailed. Not everyone was as exceptionally studious as Ace. Many children just wanted to play freely and did not want to memorize the obscure grammar.

Ace followed Morton up to the second floor of the villa, where a spacious, sunlit room was Peter’s private library. Peter’s older disciples managed it in turns. Inside, there were nearly a dozen bookshelves, filled with books recorded on parchment.

Ace’s eyes couldn’t help but light up. Knowledge is always the most precious thing, especially in this life, where it is almost monopolized by Nobles and Citizens. Fortunately, the city-state is in a state of vigorous expansion, so all upward channels have not been completely blocked.

After Morton greeted the duty administrator of the library for the day, he said to Ace, “Teacher Peter’s library is a place dreamed of by every knowledge seeker in the city-state. It holds almost all the books in the city-state, comparable only to the Royal Library. Today, I will lend out Myths. You will use the parchment you brought to transcribe it here. The original cannot be taken out, but the copy can. This is the teacher’s generous gift, and the copy will become your family-inherited book.”

Ace understood the meaning of this. Many teachers teaching literacy would not allow free transcription. Knowledge is a form of power, and almost only Nobles and Citizens have their own family-inherited books. Ace’s family originally had a few, but unfortunately, his father did not value knowledge and sold them all when they moved to the Eighth District.

He quietly thanked Morton. The book’s cover was made of thick parchment, with Kaya Myth written on it in capital letters, and Peter’s Handwritten Copy written below in lowercase letters.

Ace found a table and chair and began to transcribe diligently with a quill pen. Occasionally, older disciples came to borrow books. Everyone was very quiet, diligently transcribing and reading. The atmosphere here was even better than the libraries of his past life.

After about ten days, Ace finished transcribing the three books, including Myths , and also preliminarily learned Peter’s beautiful Bird Script. He also gained a general understanding of the world view of this world.

(End of this chapter)