134 Concerning the Magical Library

Since arriving in Valienda, Theresa had suddenly felt that much of what she considered common sense needed an update. From how to navigate the streets, to the varieties of daily fruits and vegetables, to how one should greet and pay respects to strangers—of course, being one to "do as the Romans do," she had actually adapted quite happily. However, ever since entering the Valienda Academy, she suddenly felt there were far more things she needed to adapt to.

Beyond living in a tree hollow, even a trivial matter like going to the library to borrow books caused her a fair amount of distress.

The academy's library was nothing like the grand buildings, rows of bookshelves, and stacks of tomes that Theresa was accustomed to. Instead, it was an open-air, colossal tree. Moreover, many of the tree's leaves could flutter and move freely, and quite a few elves, half-elves, orcs, and humans were using their various abilities to chase after these flying "leaves."

"This is the library?" Theresa pointed at the giant tree before her and exclaimed. Because she was so startled, her voice was a bit too loud, drawing mocking glances from those around her. She hadn't intended to be so unrefined, but the contrast between this "library" and the one in her mind was simply too stark.

"Hahaha, I knew you would react like that!" Flora laughed heartily. "Almost every foreigner who arrives in the Land of Nature has the same adorable reaction as you. You haven't seen wrong, and I haven't pointed incorrectly; this 'Red Cedar of Wisdom' is our library. I must educate you a bit here: our nation has always cherished nature, so we generally don't like using animal hide or paper materials. We have the best recording medium: the red cedar leaf. As long as one's mental power is strong enough, one can record millions of words on a single leaf! Of course, the most important thing is that the red cedar leaf is 'alive'; it can be used repeatedly, is environmentally friendly, and there is absolutely no risk of missing pages."

"So, those leaves being chased are actually books?" Theresa’s adaptability was quite formidable; she immediately drew an inference and asked back.

"Correct!" Flora snapped her fingers happily. "This 'Red Cedar of Wisdom' has become an ancient spirit, so its leaves also possess consciousness. You must have enough ability to chase or capture them to 'read' the content on them. Alright, tell me what books you need, and I'll help you find them."

Flora was a warm-hearted girl, so warm-hearted that it completely overturned Theresa's previous impression of the elf and half-elf races. After all, in her thirteen years of life, she had only encountered a few half-elves, the most notable being the cold-natured Mu and the prickly Mu Fei. Under the "exemplary influence" of those two examples, it was no wonder Theresa had formed the impression that half-elves were difficult to approach.

Facing such an enthusiastic senior, Theresa was naturally relieved. She rattled off several book titles. After Flora took on the majority of them, she set up her levitation board and headed into the air. Theresa stood under the tree, watching her move freely through the sky, unable to help but reveal a look of admiration—the levitation board was designed based on the physiological characteristics of half-elves, and humans simply could not use it.

Admiration aside, she still had work to do. Theresa walked up to the massive tree that blotted out the sky and attempted to release her mental power. Flora had said that to capture the leaves, alchemists used mental power, mages used mana, and warriors relied on physical strength and battle aura.

The moment her mental power was released, Theresa felt as if she had entered an enormous, net-like structure. Fine, dense threads of mental power were intertwined, forming an omnipresent web. The red cedar leaves were like "little spiders" hanging on this network, scurrying about freely and randomly. Whenever someone tried to chase them, the leaves would use the strength of the mental network to interfere with the capture attempt and escape. It could be said that these red cedar leaves were like cunning prey—slippery and hard to catch.

Theresa did not rush. She quickly locked onto her targets and then calmly observed and waited, like the most patient hunter, watching the slightest movements of her prey to formulate a capture plan.

After observing again and again, at a certain moment, she instinctively sensed that the time was right. The threads of her mental power, which had been trailing along the tree's network, suddenly surged forward like a silkworm weaving a cocoon. In an instant, she enveloped the targeted leaves, binding them tightly and securely, allowing no chance for escape!

Flora had been darting up and down in the air, chasing a leaf—she was doing it for fun, so she wasn't in a hurry to catch it. She was frolicking happily when suddenly, she sensed a sharp, piercing flash of mental power streak past her. At that moment, her nerves twitched violently, and she grew alert, her long, pointed ears standing straight up. Her eyes, usually crinkled into crescent moons, widened, and she scanned her surroundings with intense vigilance.

In the air, many others who had been acting like Flora also froze. Right under everyone's gaze, the agile cluster of leaves suddenly showed signs of abnormal sluggishness in several places. This allowed some who had been sweating profusely from the chase to take advantage and snag the leaves they wanted. This delay lasted less than a second. The next moment, seven or eight red cedar leaves turned into streaks of red light and darted rapidly toward the base of the tree, disappearing into the hands of a human...

Of course, that human was Theresa.

Almost the moment she unleashed her mental power, she realized she had made a blunder, but the arrow had already left the bow—there was no turning back. She could only let her mental threads complete their task, which simultaneously drew the attention of the surrounding elves and half-elves. She could already vaguely sense many people sizing her up and whispering to one another.

"A freshman, a freshman! She's just a freshman who doesn't know better, please forgive her, everyone." Flora gave up on the leaf she had been chasing and bowed apologetically in all directions, offering an explanation for Theresa. Whether it was because Flora held enough influence or because her words were reasonable, many elves softened their expressions and went back to their own chases. A few who remained dissatisfied found it beneath them to argue with an "ignorant freshman" and simply remained silent.

"Theresa, you are just too incredible!" After apologizing, Flora flew down and circled Theresa, clicking her tongue in wonder. "Amazing, truly amazing, and so bold! Next time, don't do that. That was a clear act of provocation; you'll get yourself a white handkerchief thrown at you."

The so-called "throwing a white handkerchief" referred to a challenge to a duel.

Theresa touched her forehead and poked her tongue out playfully. "Cough, this is my first time, I don't have the experience. I absolutely won't do it again... But, having said that, finding books this way is truly efficient!"

Flora looked down, compared their "spoils of war," and couldn't help but praise, "It is, the efficiency is high. No wonder people say alchemist is the most comfortable profession... By the way, Theresa, your mental power must be at least level four, right? Why are you still reading these basic alchemy texts? Isn't that a waste of your talent?"

"Cough, my mental power is only level three; it hasn't reached the terrifying level of four," Theresa clarified. "However, I studied in the Empire before. Since I'm new to the nation, my father suggested I start from the basics, so..."

At this, she shrugged with an expression of innocence and helplessness.

Flora, upon hearing she was from the Empire, immediately became excited, her eyes glowing. She pulled Theresa along, pestering her for all sorts of information about the Empire, chattering away with great enthusiasm.

***

After finally seeing Flora off, Theresa returned to her tree hollow cottage before the sun had fully set. The place had transformed from a simple, standardized dormitory into a warm home with Theresa's own style. The little wolf, the little eagle, and the two little spirit foxes deserved most of the credit—most of the decorations were their handiwork.

Theresa first gave the four little ones a grand compliment, making them puff out their chests with pride, as if they were ready to fly into the sky. Only then did she stop and send them off to play, while she herself curled up on a comfortable lazy-boy sofa with a stack of red cedar leaves.

"Read, read, hurry up and read!" the Book Spirit in her consciousness was jumping up and down anxiously—it had been acting this way all afternoon.

Theresa calmly ignored the bad-tempered spirit, picked up a red cedar leaf, and tentatively channeled her mental power into it. Immediately, rows upon rows of information slowly and clearly appeared in her mind, as if there were a book in front of her being read into her brain word by word.

After only a short while, Theresa grasped the trick. "Reading ten lines at a glance" became a breeze, and her reading speed soared. Before long, she had finished reading a basic textbook. Finishing the book didn't mean she was done; she still had to carefully ponder the words within. If "swallowing whole" described her earlier reading, then now, she had to "ruminate."

The process of "rumination" was completed by Theresa and the Book Spirit together. As they pondered and contemplated together, the learning efficiency was faster than Theresa could have imagined. In less than half an hour, she had thoroughly mastered the contents of one of the basic books!

Such high efficiency clearly stimulated Theresa's nerves. Like an insatiable glutton, she repeated the cycle of "reading-rumination, rumination-reading" continuously, through sunset to sunrise, and sunrise to sunset...

*Bang, bang, bang...* A series of urgent knocks ended in a loud crash as two people rushed into Theresa's small tree house. One was Flora, and the other was a tall, muscular half-orc.

"My goodness, Theresa, how could you let yourself get so haggard!" Flora gasped as soon as she saw Theresa's condition. Without a word, she pulled her up and pushed her toward the bathroom, all the while nagging and fretting incessantly...