Lucian took a soft breath and, as though turning to a fresh page of fate, opened the hardcover book. He found the first chapter, "Pronunciation," and was both pleased and unsurprised to discover that the letters were the same ones used in one of his Magic Notes.
Moreover, since Lucian already spoke the Common Language fluently, all he needed was to master the pronunciation of the thirty-two letters and learn the basic spelling rules. That would let him sound out words, compare them against the spoken syllables he used every day to understand their meanings, and convert those everyday syllables into written words through spelling rules and the letters themselves. With this method of comparative memorization, learning the Common Language would be remarkably fast.
Victor did not notice Lucian's small delight. He earnestly and seriously went through the pronunciation of the thirty-two letters several times, watching Lucian make strange marks on a piece of paper. After Lucian had read them over twice, Victor nodded with satisfaction and moved on to the next ordinary youth: "Read them seriously dozens of times. When I come back to you, if you can recite the entire list from the book from memory, I'll start teaching you the basic spelling rules and grammar."
He was only encouraging Lucian. As a beginner, it was impossible to memorize the pronunciation of all thirty-two letters this quickly—unless you were one of those people with extraordinary memories, and such people, as long as they were willing to work hard, could generally achieve something in whatever field they pursued.
Lucian carefully read through the pronunciation of the thirty-two letters once, then compared them against the phonetic notation he had made on paper using a mix of Chinese characters, English letters, and pictographic marks. After confirming there were no errors, he calmed his mind, focused his concentration, and activated the Library within his soul.
On the Library's shelves, a new section labeled "Common Language" had appeared. On it sat a sheet of paper covered in strange marks and a black hardcover book—identical to the two items before him.
Opening the black hardcover book, Lucian was not surprised to find that only the first page held any content; the rest was blank.
He then flipped through *Common Language Pronunciation and Basic Grammar* from cover to cover at great speed. Satisfied, he saw that within the soul Library, the black hardcover book had become complete.
"Exactly as I predicted," Lucian murmured to himself with a smile.
With the help of the soul Library, Lucian felt even more confident about learning the Common Language in a short time, and so he began attempting to memorize the pronunciation of the thirty-two letters.
The first attempt was full of errors. The second still had many mistakes. On the third, the errors began to decrease, but some of what he had been able to recite earlier slipped away… It took a full fifteen repetitions before Lucian had forcibly committed every letter's pronunciation to memory.
Of course, Lucian understood that this was only short-term recall. Without a period of consolidation, he would forget quickly. And during this process, he made another discovery: the spiritual power he used to invoke Divine Arts was remarkably helpful for memory.
After Lucian had stammered through two more recitations, Victor had finished making his rounds and returned to Lucian's side.
There was a faint trace of fatigue on his face, but compared to when Lucian had first arrived, the restless pacing and anxious agitation were gone. It seemed that shifting his attention had done a great deal to help him relax.
"Lucian, recite it for me once," Victor said with a warm smile.
Lucian did not hesitate. He opened his mouth and began reciting. Halfway through, he suddenly forgot the pronunciation of one letter. In a moment of vagueness, he simply looked up the phonetic notation on the paper inside his soul Library and then finished the rest smoothly.
It wasn't that Lucian wanted to cheat. He simply had limited funds, and every moment he could use to learn more was precious. Even if something hadn't been fully mastered, with the Library there, he could always digest it later.
Victor had been ready to correct Lucian's pronunciation mistakes and any unclear spots, but when the boy finished, he was momentarily stunned. After a pause, he asked with puzzlement: "Have you studied pronunciation before?"
The question, spoken a touch loudly, drew the heads of the other students from their books. They looked up at Lucian with curiosity.
"No," Lucian said, shaking his head in denial.
Victor didn't doubt him. He nodded slightly and offered a word of praise: "Your memory is quite excellent. That's very rare. Good—let me start teaching you the spelling rules."
The others glanced at Lucian with fresh surprise, not expecting his memory to be that outstanding. Of course, some wore sneers of disdain, convinced that Lucian must have studied pronunciation before; otherwise, how could he memorize everything so quickly? They figured he was putting on an act to win Victor's favor, hoping to be accepted as a true student who could study music in the future.
But this small matter did not stir up much of a wave. Especially among the noble students, three of whom were already learning music from Victor—they quickly lowered their heads again and returned to their sheet music and music theory.
For the next hour or so, Lucian studied the spelling rules without distraction. In this moment, in this setting, Lucian finally came to a thorough and clear realization:
Time was money!
Because every extra day cost a great deal more.
"All right, gentlemen and ladies—relax a bit, have some fruit, drink a cup of tea, and we'll continue afterward," Victor said. He seemed to be in better spirits, and as the servants brought in tea and several platters of sliced fruit, he headed toward the second floor.
The tea was served in pale porcelain cups with simple floral patterns and handles, each infused with different additions—jasmine, orange slices, and the like—giving the liquid a warm amber hue. The fruit included some that Lucian found familiar and others that were strange varieties he had never seen before.
A young man dressed in ordinary noble attire, with hair the deep blue of ocean water, smiled and said to his companions: "It seems Victor has found a bit of inspiration. If the inspiration keeps flowing, today's lesson might come to an end early."