Wearing worn-out clothes and clunky shoes with messy silver hair.
Except for being clean, that is how Silver looked as he chatted with Old Sax, who looked clean and respectable.
It is a good thing that Old Sax understands how poor people in the port town were.
Everyone in the port town doesn’t actually lack food because fish is too cheap here; they even dry and preserve some because there are too many.
As for shelter?
There is an abundant amount of wood just outside the town in the opposite direction of the sea.
It is only other amenities that are not that good.
“So what kind of book do you want to read right now?” Old Sax suddenly asked with a pondering look on his face as he relaxed his sitting position while fiddling with his beard with one hand.
“That’s the thing. I don’t know what I have learned to get into the school district, and I also don’t know what we have here in the library, so I don’t have a plan, Old Sax,” Silver said with a troubled look as he glanced sideways at the old man, trying to look pitiful, which he does, by the way.
The poor kid gets up and looks so authentic that he doesn’t seem to be pretending at all!
Oh wait?!
He is a real poor kid after all!
“Hmmm… You’ve been conversing with me like an adult all this time that I almost forgot that you are still just a kid after all! Hahaha!” The old man suddenly said in exclamation as he was taken aback from the realization before laughing out loud.
“Right, kid. What’s your name, and who are your parents? Why did you even think about going here if you don’t know what to learn?”
“Just call me Silver, like my hair! No surname! I’m from the orphanage,” Silver said with energy.
“As for why I got here, it’s because the school district is a school, so you must be knowledgeable to get in, right? The library is the only place I know where I can get more knowledge. At least I thought so because I heard people say that there are many books here. Books mean knowledge, so yeah? ”
“Pffft! Hahaha! The school district is a school, so I needed knowledge, he said!” The old man guffawed while slapping his thigh.
“What? Is there something wrong?” Silver said with a very confused look.
He looked embarrassed from being laughed at; he also didn’t feel shame or frustrated.
He did not notice the changes, but this is definitely not like his previous self at all.
“Of course there is something wrong, kid!” The old man heaved a breath and then stopped laughing.
“The school district is not a school for scholars. They don’t teach scholars there. At least I don’t think so. If you want to talk about scholars and magic, then it will not be the school district that you want. It is the magic kingdom of Altena, which is also quite far from our place.”
“What?! Then what do they teach in the school district?! How does anyone even get in there?!” Silver exclaimed from incredible surprise, with eyes wide open and jaw dropping.
His voice was so loud that it echoed in the quiet and small space of the library.
“Hey! Don’t be so loud, kid! This is a library!” Old Sax said with amusement as he pretentiously cleaned his ear with his little finger while changing into a sideways sitting position with the support of an elbow to the desk.
“Well, there are many ways to get in there. Some did it through money, which has the clearest path. Some got in through connection by getting a recommendation letter. Some through passing a test of skill or ability. The most excellent ones got in there through incredible talent. As for what they teach in there? Mostly skills of certain professions, like accountants, managers, and trades. But the most popular ones were blacksmithing, mixing, combat, and magic. They mostly teach adventuring in there, and then the students, after learning everything they can or want, will mostly end up going to Orario to join a familia and start their adventure in the dungeon.”
“Oh!” Silver can only exclaim in surprise as a response because he really doesn’t know what to say after hearing all of that.
Error!
Error!
Silver.exe is lagging and almost crashed.
“Tell you what, I will give you advice and a preliminary plan,” the old man said with a thoughtful look in his eyes.
“Today I will just help you study the monster guide and the materials guide for the dungeon, and then I will teach you the basics like math and geography. Later when you go back home. You should ask your matron to teach you how to train and fight. If you want to learn other things, then ask your matron or me; we should be able to give an answer. As for running errands… You should just stop. I will just hire you to be an assistant here. Cleaning the shelves and the books, then studying or practicing when you have nothing to do.”
“Eh?! Hire me?! Is that okay?! You know Mother Mathron?! What?!” Silver exclaimed again but not as loud as the previous one.
“Yeah, I know her!
We were both adventurers before.
We might not be in the same familia, but we were one of the few people from our place that managed to get out and get back.
Some might not have gotten back because they are already dead.
Some might still be struggling.
While some might not want to get back anymore after seeing the prosperous world outside, even when life out there is too hard.
From time to time, some people do have some dreams and ambition.
But they just go about it recklessly.
You are the only one I know that is actually trying to prepare for it.
Which is smart,” the old man slowly said with a nostalgic look.
“So you were an adventurer too?!” Silver exclaimed again but much quieter; he seemed to have gotten tired of being surprised.
-Word count = 1034-