章節 28: Mythical Beast
The lesson continues in the afternoon. Riz starts to get sleepy after eating his lunch. However, since this is his first class, he needs to make a good impression in front of Stuart.
*Creak*
He opened the library's door. Stuart is there flapping the pages of the book. By now, most of the books in the library have been converted into paper-based.
Stuart lifted up his head as Riz opened the door. He stops reading and puts the book away.
"You're here. Now let's start the lesson. This afternoon, I want to tell you about a mythical beast"
"Mythical beast?", Riz's eyes sparkle like a child getting a new toy. He had known the existence of a mythical beast when learning about Ryntum history.
Unfortunately, the book didn't have a detailed explanation and he himself is busy with other stuff.
"First of all, before I explain about mythical beasts, I need to tell you about mana...", he starts explaining.
"Mana is some sort of energy. It is unseen by human eyes. It is said that mana has always existed since the existence of time. It can be absorbed by most living creatures into their bodies.
By the way, when I said living creatures, it only included animals and plants. Even so, not all animals and plants are capable of absorbing mana.
Humans on the other hand aren't capable of absorbing mana at all.
The reason for this is still unknown.
Mana influences their traits and abilities. It enhances their bodies and improves them to become the superior version of themselves.
The hierarchy among the creatures depends on the quantity of mana absorbed. Some creatures had their abilities evolved or obtained new ones.
There are some that evolve to become completely new species.
A long time ago, many animals were capable of using mana. Humans call them 'mana beasts' and 'mana plants'.
Compared to mana beast, the possibility of a plant becoming a mana plant is really low. Mana plants are rare but bring a lot of benefits to humans.
On the contrary, mana beasts were abundant in numbers but they were strong and as intelligent as humans. It's really hard to capture them.
Soon, humans realize that they can manipulate mana temporarily by eating mana beasts. They begin to hunt the mana beast despite its difficulty and drive most of them to extinction.
There are only four known types of beasts that survive; dragons, phoenixes, unicorns and leviathans. These four are to be said at the top of the hierarchy.
According to the historical records, those who try to hunt one of these four beasts, they will find their settlement raze to the ground.
The mythical beast is actually just a mana beast that has continued to exist since ancient times", Stuart ended his story.
"So that's why nobody hunts them down"
"Exactly, nobody wants to sacrifice their hometown or nation for the sake of temporary power. Mythical beasts don't care whatever reason humans have, they will just destroy it"
"Where do they live? The book that I read previously stated that it has been so long since they were last spotted.", asked Riz.
"Phoenix resides in the forest located between three nations; Cerdeauxia, Inverloch and Ingnynes. Dragon is probably in island territory that belongs to Vakia. As for leviathan, some people spot it when sailing in the sea. The location of the unicorn is unknown."
"Is it a confirmed fact? How do humans know?, asked Riz.
"They look for the signs. Mythical beasts can influence the surrounding area. Plants and animals that live near them will be affected by mana emits from mythical beasts and turn them into mana beasts", Stuart patiently explained to Riz.
"Don't people hunt those mana beasts? They're not part of four mythical beasts species"
"We don't, although they're not part of four mythical beasts, they evolve due to mythical beasts' mana. They were subjected to mythical beasts' rule and protection."
"Rule? Like a king?"
"Mythical beasts are a ruler themselves. They're the one at the top of the food chain, not human. Many people misunderstood this fact simply because mythical beasts rarely appeared in front of humans"
"....", Riz didn't ask any more questions, he is thinking about something.
"If you don't have any more questions, let's end the class for today. See you in the next class.", Stuart ends his lecture and exits the library, leaving Riz who has lost in his thoughts.
...
On the weekend, Riz met with Arnold and Goban at his new workshop that was located near his paper workshop.
His paper workshop has expanded several times in the past few months. He has sold the production method to several nobles for an astonishing 300,000 Ros to reduce the burden.
However, the demand on his side for paper is still increasing.
He currently has two companies, Gatharix Paper Company and newly established Gatharix Publishing Company.
His publishing company will be responsible for producing textbooks for schools. In the future, he plans to use his publishing company to control the masses.
"Here kid, the prototype of the press. See if it is functioning well", said Goban.
Without further ado, starts to demonstrate to his newly recruited worker the way to use the printing press.
Riz roll ink onto the ink ball. He then uses two ink balls to speed up the process of inking.
He rubs the ink ball together until the ink is the same thickness and is uniformly distributed throughout the entire surface.
Riz assembled the movable type and rubbed an ink on it.
He fixed the moistened paper with pins on the tympan. The frisket protects the edges of the paper from soiling, is placed on top and after which the paper-containing tympan is folded down over the inked type.
The carriage then rolled under the platen. The paper is pressed onto the inked type using a platen.
Arnold, Goban and the workers watch the entire process from the sidelines with a great interest.
Riz took out the paper and showed the printed page to them. He then asked, "How about it?".
"Unbelievable!", said Arnold.
"Amazing! Even though I know what it does, I'm still amazed", said Goban.
"Any questions?", Riz asked his workers.
All the workers just shook their heads.
"Then, go and practice using this press until all of you get it right", Riz gives order to his worker.
They quickly approached the press, eager to try the magical machine in front of them.
"Goban, Arnold. I want you to make another nine printing presses for me. Only one is far from enough. The same goes for the type, make as many as possible."
"No problem kid, but the price will be steep as it requires a lot of iron", Goban said.
"It's okay, money is not a problem"
Riz can only sigh, currently he can do nothing about it. The production rate of iron mines is low. Furthermore, this is the era where cold weapons are used.
Iron is considered a strategic resource for every nation; only a handful of them make their way to the market.
'It's look like I need to increase the production of iron mine'.
There are only one iron mine in the vast Ryntum territory which is in Coreton but it has a small deposit.
The Kingdom of Bagyarosia has a fertile land but lack of mineral resources.
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