Bringing paper-making technology to this world was an idea Sui Xiong had long ago.
The spreading of culture was very slow. One of the crucial reasons was that there was a lack of cultural carrier: paper. Here, the books were compiled into booklets with papers made with various beast skins, hence the incredibly high cost. A blank booklet for about 30 pages would at least cost six gold coins in the wholesale store, while the retail price normally cost eight to ten gold coins.
Why aren't there many mages in this world? Some of the people laid the blame on the commoners' brain power, emphasised that only people who were highly intelligent could become a mage. Actually the problem wasn't that, but the money.