Astartes of the Bear School

Chapter 1845, Section 1817: Inertia

"Is this convenient?" Looking at the simple houses on the edge of the adjacent island, Lann asked Tops. "Won't it bother you?"

“There’s no such thing as disturbing you.” Tops waved his hands repeatedly. “If I could, I would love to stay in the academy forever. I don’t come back to live here very often anyway.”

"However, Craig brought the goods I ordered this time, and I'll probably be processing them here. Just don't mind the noise I make, haha."

A bald head and a full beard should have given him a bold or fierce appearance. But surprisingly, this image couldn't hide Tops' introverted and shy nature.

She has a very weak presence.

This might be one of the reasons why he didn't do very well at the magic academy.

Craig drove his donkey cart inside, appearing quite familiar with the place; it seemed this wasn't his first time staying at Tops' rented room in Lienia.

But the two of them were old friends, while he and Tops had only just met. Lann remained very polite and tactful.

After expressing his gratitude again, Tops led Lan inside.

The courtyard was small, with livestock pens inside. The adjacent room contained many utensils made of pyroxene, such as carving knives, mortars, and distillation apparatus.

This looks like Tops' working equipment.

"In this day and age, it's not easy to find a place to rent even if you want to."

Tops said as he watched Lan En lead the Qilin in.

“In the Golden Age, who would really lack anything? I’ve been renting this house for over a hundred years, mainly because of my relationship with the landlord. Otherwise, many people wouldn’t bother with all the hassle of renting.”

In this Golden Age of Law initiated by Queen Marika, there seems to be a situation where the social structure is extremely mismatched with reality.

The abundance of the Golden Law era, along with the immortality of the soul and stable reincarnation, fulfilled almost every dream of ordinary people.

But at the same time, this satisfaction also led to a terrifying stagnation in society.

Just like the rental problem that Tops is talking about now.

Landlords will only take commercial action if they want money or something of value.

But now that they don't want anything anymore, why would they still engage in business activities?
The fact that the cuckoo soldiers refused gold when paying the city entry tax also reflects this situation.

Using gold as currency and a general equivalent is merely a social inertia accumulated over a long period of time. In reality, it was truly useless during the era of the Gold Law.

However, once the pressure in a certain region begins to rise during this golden age of law, this false social inertia will soon be forced to be corrected by reality.

Just like the current situation in Lienia, under the pressure of civil war, even though the scale and intensity are not large due to the existence of the Golden Law, the Cuckoo Soldiers still voluntarily returned to the state of bartering.

Because supplies are the only things that can truly be useful in this environment.

Lan En was no stranger to this situation.

By analogy, the Bear School in the magical medieval world, which has yet to be destroyed, is a similar case.

Most of the Witcher members of the Bear School had lost their emotions, let alone the ability to maintain social relationships. However, in the early days after leaving the Witcher Order, they still found a castle due to the inertia of life and gathered together to form the Bear School.

Later, due to a single mob attack, the Bear School, which possessed a fortified castle, immediately realized that given the coldness of their internal relations, there was no need to form a school at all.

So they immediately ran away and treated each other like strangers.

And this seemingly perfect and gentle Golden Age of Law... is it similar in some ways to the ruthless and cold-blooded Witcher of the Bear School?

Lan En subconsciously looked through the courtyard's skylight towards the northeast.

Through the blue sky of Lienia, the light from the enormous golden tree still shines here.

"By the way, Lann, are you here in Lienia on business?" Unaware of the Witcher's change in expression, Tops was busy moving Craig's goods inside.

Was I being too obvious?

"These days, unless you're there on official business, enjoy traveling, or want to make a pilgrimage, who would go on a long trip?"

Tops said it as a matter of course.

Lan En shrugged at this.

This was exactly what he had anticipated; even during the Golden Age, population movement wasn't very high. Anyone appearing in another region always had a reason. "But be careful if you're going to do anything here, Lann," Tops said, turning around as he carried a wooden crate into the house, recalling the situation before giving Lann a word of caution.

"Even ignoring the current civil war, Lienia is not safe."

"There are giant lobsters and crabs in the lake, those things can capsize small boats. There is also a dragon on the lake named Smarag. It loves to eat magicians, and it is said that the large amount of radiant stone magic it has ingested has already manifested in its body."

"Ah, and also... we must be wary of the Platinum Children. They are born from the secret arts of the Eternal City beneath the earth; they are artificial life forms, cursed life forms."

"The elders whose legs are gradually disappearing, the 'frogs' who cannot speak, they are all cursed, and they also resent those who are healthy."

"Only the Kalia royal family took these Platinum Sons under their wing because they wanted to fight against the Academy. But I heard they don't get along well with each other. After all, the members of the Kalia royal family are, after all, blessed and normal beings."

“Hmm,” Lann hesitated for a moment, “besides that dragon, there’s also a giant lobster and a giant crab. As for the Platinum Sons, what did you learn about them from…?”

“That’s what the people at the academy said.” Tops put the crates down, scratched his bald head, and looked honest. “But I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that, right?”

"The eternal city beneath the earth, a secret treasure sought by countless magical researchers. But artificial life cannot even accept blessings; there must be something wrong with it, right?"

"Thanks for the reminder, I'll be careful." Lann didn't say much more; after all, Tops meant well.

Even if Lan En had doubts about what he said, he would only draw a conclusion after investigating and having a general idea of ​​the situation.

The eternal city beneath the earth is a secret that isn't exactly a secret within the border region.

It's not exactly a secret because the three underground elevators—one in Lienia, one in Nimgford, and one in the Galid Plains—are all openly displayed.

It is considered a secret because even though the passage leading to the underground is openly displayed, few people have the ability or the willingness to explore it and safely return to the surface.

Beneath the border lies a vast and complex void, large enough to accommodate the birth and development of multiple indigenous civilizations.

Two underground rivers gave birth to these civilizations: the Shifra River and the Ansel River.

However, the underground civilization has been lost for a very long time, and even considering the start of the Giant War, it is considered ancient.

According to the research and speculation of Sir Hundred Wisdom and many scholars from the Borderlands, perhaps even today, all magic practitioners on the surface and forces based on magic can trace their roots back to the Eternal City underground.

It can be said that the underground eternal city is the birthplace of magic in this world.

Although Topps is introverted and shy, his thirst for knowledge about magic is unquestionable.

After helping to settle Craig's donkey cart and Lann's Qilin, he went straight into his workshop.

I plan to use these incomplete materials to process them using the skills of the sapphire craftsmen, and then give them to the Cuckoo Knights to make it easier to get things done.

Lann was somewhat interested in what Tops said about creating 'imitation magic'.

But since they were busy, I didn't want to bother them.

Turning to look at Craig again, this man from the Golden Tree, who had come down from the Altan Plateau yesterday, was saying that he 'liked the feeling of doing business and making money.'

However, right now, half of the goods have been used as city entry tax, and the other half have been directly delivered to the owner, leaving his donkey cart completely empty.

But Lan En didn't see that this guy was particularly happy or impatient; instead, he was resting peacefully and leisurely.

Perhaps his current demeanor already makes him one of the more 'lively, active, and goal-oriented' people among the Golden Tree Clan.

How exhausting would it be to achieve the immortality of all souls in an early society?

Lan En turned and walked out of the courtyard, taking a short stroll around the town in front of the academy.

This small town serves as a transit point, and at the other end there is another bridge, which is the road connecting to the Academy of Realucalia.

Even at midday, the sky above the magic academy was a deep blue, like the first light of dusk, imbued with a rich magical atmosphere.

The Gothic buildings are towering and majestic, with the tallest tower reaching straight into the sky. The rest resemble a series of palaces.

In the town in front of the academy, residents came and went. The person whom Lan En had just stepped aside to let pass threw a small piece of Shattered Gemstone to the demon hunter as a friendly greeting.

At the town gate, the Dujuan soldiers stationed there were still checking and collecting taxes for people entering the town.

(End of this chapter)