Chapter Five

1

I sat on a stone bench under a big tree outside the library, with two books in my hand: "The Chronicles of Adventurers" and "The Annals of Emonia: Thirteen". In the first book, on page five hundred, I saw the name Ma Rutian. Born sixty years ago, his parents were commoners in the Othrie Empire, and their Magic class was ordinary. He grew up in another small country, which ironically didn't even have a proper name, but was written about in this book as being destroyed by Duton thirty years ago.

"No human rights for a destroyed country!"

Turning the page, I read about his lifetime achievements, which were similar to those of the adventurers in the previous five hundred pages. The only difference was why he could be called an adventurer. Until he entered a golden pyramid in Es Esonia at the age of twenty-nine, there were no records of his adventures. The book only described that event as "extremely chaotic" without further details.

"The author is from the empire, so his knowledge may be limited."

From the second book, I learned a lot more. The author was a historian from Emonia, and the thirteenth volume focused on events sixty years ago. This country had already been established on that land before the war between gods and demons, but its original name had been lost in history due to its long history, leaving only the current name that had changed over millions of years.

Emonia was a country that highly respected great individuals. In the past, the pyramids were the tombs of pharaohs. After a revolution, the country built new pyramids, in which only those who made irreplaceable contributions to the country were buried. Their respect for the past great individuals became the spiritual pillar that was passed down from generation to generation. However, the people of this country had a strong sense of exclusion, mainly due to adventurers like Ma Rutian. Magic in Emonia was very mysterious. They believed that the wisdom left behind by great individuals would help them unravel the mysteries of this peculiar Magic. At the same time, the challenges designed within the pyramids also attracted adventurers. Over time, the people of Emonia became resentful towards outsiders, as their respect for great individuals was disturbed. It was natural for their emotions to intensify.

In "The Annals of Emonia: Thirteen", Ma Rutian was depicted as an unforgivable person. It seems that the author wrote the book with strong emotional bias. However, there was more content compared to the previous book, although it was still limited. The only relevant detail was that when Ma Rutian left the pyramid, someone heard a dragon's roar.

"Ah, in the end, there's nothing really conclusive. But at least I know the general idea."

I closed the book, leaned against the trunk of the tree, and a fallen leaf landed on my nose.

"Huh..." I blew away the leaf. It seemed like a good idea to take a nap here. Soon after, I drifted off under the tree due to the exhaustion caused by my heterochromia.

2

"Hey, classmate... Classmate?"

"Hmm?" I suddenly woke up and realized that it was already late in the evening. A boy next to me kept patting me.

"You're awake. You've been sleeping here for a long time. Are you okay?"

I smiled at the person who woke me up, brushed off the dust from my clothes, and noticed from his attire and the item in his hand that he was probably a teacher.

"This outfit? High school section?"

"I came to borrow some books."

"It's rare to see high school students interested in borrowing books here. The books in this library aren't appealing to everyone."

"That's true. I still find novels more interesting."

I flipped through the pages of the thick books in my hands. They were exhausting even for most people to read.

"Classmate, it's a good thing to enjoy reading. Life isn't just about magic and battles. Appreciating literature is also nice."

"Teacher, you seem to be quoting my lines!" His words felt familiar; I had said something similar before.

"Do you have similar thoughts?" The teacher's eyes lit up, as if he had found a kindred spirit.

"I do, but it really sounds like something I've said before."

"Mr. Zhong Li... Qin Yang, why are you still here?" I walked around the tree and saw Zi Li behind it, still holding her broom. Does she always carry that broom around?

I vaguely remembered the name Zhong Li; I seemed to have seen it on a piece of paper before.

"Qin Yang? The Duke's son?" The teacher's question seemed to be about something he cared about.

"It's him. He didn't even have money for international cooperation, but he used magic in the library!"

"Unless there are other magic operations happening simultaneously, the 'PAS Magic Network' won't work. Did he really use magic?"

After hearing the teacher's words, I realized that this was the reason Zi Li cared so much about whether I used magic or not.

"Look at his eyes..." Zi Li pointed at my eyes and examined them closely, noticing that they were still black, a normal color.

"What are you looking at? It seems that the teacher is quite familiar with the 'PAS Magic Network.'"

"I have always been responsible for maintaining the library. Except during class time, I always stay here with this library. It's like another family to me."

Suddenly, I thought of something and asked, "Were you a student in the high school department?"

"How did you know? I haven't been back to the high school department for a long time."

"I just feel like I've seen the name Zhong Li on the attendance list."

"Haha, I haven't experienced something like roll call in many years. Thinking back to that time, when I was still a student, my teacher really inspired me a lot."

"The teacher's teacher must have been an amazing person." Zi Li admired the teacher, and Zhong Li's charm as a teacher was quite impressive.

"If you say that, Zi Li, I'll get embarrassed."

"Is there a connection between Qin Yang and you?"

"Class representative Zhong Li, the teacher remembers you."

"Qin... Teacher, is that you?"

Zi Li watched the teacher with a bewildered expression. He seemed to have seen something he had been hoping for.

"Yes, you seem to have grown up." I didn't think there was any need to hide the fact that I had traveled through time. Aren't these things rare in this era? People randomly encounter some stroke of luck and end up traveling through time, just like me, a red elf cat falling into this side and not being able to return.

"But... but, teacher, you're the Duke's son?"

"I've already said that I'm sixteen, not the age I was back then."

"I don't understand. I just thought you looked familiar."

"For me, it feels like we were separated just half a month ago."

"The teacher traveled through time?"

I patted his shoulder and said, "Seeing your current appearance, teacher, gives me a sense of accomplishment."

"Teacher! I... I'm going to inform my old classmates. They will definitely be thrilled." Zhong Li danced and said to me, "Next month, there will be a class reunion. Teacher, you must come!"

Zhong Li bowed deeply, and Zi Li watched her, completely puzzled and confused.