Wizard: I Have a World of the Dead

The fifth floor of the Meris Library is named the Floor of Governance.

As the name suggests, the subjects taught at this level are all related to politics, such as: governance, law (kingdom law, lord law), and economics (taxation, trade, currency circulation).

Diplomatic etiquette, political strategies, aristocratic lineage, war mobilization, and so on.

This is the ultimate goal of all scholars in the Great Library, the knowledge base they dream of entering.

The assessment at this level is particularly rigorous. Passing all the knowledge in the first four levels is only a basic requirement; after that, one still needs to be personally assessed by the Grand Scholar of the Library.

More importantly, it also requires the Earl of Edmund's approval.

Since its founding many years ago, the Meris Library has trained countless scholars, but only a handful have actually made it to this level.

But Lynch's situation was much simpler.

After all, Lynch’s power comes from power itself; he doesn’t need anyone to bestow it upon him.

This level of knowledge was established around noble classes like his, in order to solidify the class system surrounding the nobility.

It is people like him who give this level of knowledge its existence, not the knowledge itself that gives him power.

It's a bit convoluted.

Simply put, this layer is about politics, and it is politics itself.

You can pass by scanning your face.

After a symbolic, perfunctory assessment, Carls allowed Lynch to pass the test.

To Lynch’s slight surprise, Carls actually discussed some issues with him seriously at the end of the assessment.

Carls said, "Scholar Lynch, having finished reading the contents of the fifth floor, I would like to ask your opinion on it?"

Lin Qi asked in confusion, "What do you mean, how do you see it?"

Karls said, "I think our current order and rules are outdated. Don't you think we can make some changes to make this kingdom a better place?"

Lin Qi was taken aback: "Change?"

Karls nodded: "Excuse my bluntness, but the outdated aristocratic politics are indeed no longer suitable for the development of the kingdom."

"Nobles and ordinary people are not really that different. They have the same brains and the same way of thinking. Knowledge does not give them any special treatment just because they are nobles."

"A society cannot progress and develop based on bloodline."

"What we truly need to rely on is knowledge to bring progress and a better future to the kingdom. What do you think?"

Carls chuckled, "I think you've realized that too, otherwise you wouldn't have specifically invited Colin back, wouldn't you say?"

Lin Qi glanced at the guy with some surprise, then nodded and said, "Ouge Port has indeed done a very good job."

Karls shook his head: "Not enough."

"Most of the bachelors who graduate from libraries these days can only do some minor work; they can't get into the really crucial places where they can make significant changes."

Karls looked out at the distant ocean: "I think if we want to make this country better and people richer, we should let knowledge change everything."

"Power should be held by those who truly possess knowledge, not by lineage."

Lin Qi almost thought he had misheard.

He really wanted to ask if this guy knew what he was talking about.

He thought about it carefully and realized that the Cecil family was not some nobody, but a powerful class that held real power, just like him.

Although Karls was not a lord in the family, he held a very high status and was among the top in line of succession.

So what is this? A legendary idealist?

He nodded: "We can give it a try."

Karls' eyes brightened even more: "Really? You think so too?"

"Very good!"

He said excitedly, "When I discuss this issue with other nobles, they always laugh at me, saying I've gone crazy from reading too much. Even my brother says I'm mentally ill..."

Lin Qi twitched his lips: In some ways, that's true.

After a heartfelt outpouring of emotions, as if he had found a kindred spirit, Karls eagerly asked, "So, where do you think we should begin? Do you have any suggestions?"

Don't mention "we"... we're not even that close...

After thinking for a moment, Lin Qi said, "Let's popularize education and let as many people as possible learn knowledge."

Lynch felt that he had given a truly practical and conscientious answer.

Unfortunately, Karls did not agree.

He shook his head: "That's really not a good idea."

"What can commoners do? They are greedy and foolish, they hate the nobles and hate that they are not nobles. Even if they have knowledge, they will only want to curry favor and consolidate their power."

He paused, then said with great certainty, "We should persuade the Duke, the King, and the nobles to work together to achieve the goal of making this kingdom a better place."

Um...

Lin Qi originally wanted to say that quantitative change leads to qualitative change, and when there are more knowledgeable people, one or two troublemakers will naturally emerge.

But he already said that...

Lin Qi nodded: "You're right."

I can only wish you good luck.

......

Lynch didn't take this little incident to heart.

After passing the fifth level's test, he didn't delay and went to the sixth level that same day.

This is a floor that Lynch is very interested in.

The sixth floor is called the Hidden Floor.

Unlike the previous levels which offered a wealth of knowledge, this level teaches only one subject—

Mysticism!

Upon entering the sixth floor, Lin Qi looked around.

Unlike the spacious classrooms on the lower floors, this place only has a very small room, a few square meters in size, even smaller than his study in the castle.

There were no rows of bookshelves in the room, only a simple table and chairs.

There was only one book on the table.

"Isn't this a bit too rudimentary?"

Lynch's first thought was that Thorne was trying to fool him, randomly finding a dilapidated house and telling him it was the sixth floor—

The person who brought Lynch to the sixth floor was Thorne, who had greeted him when he first arrived at the library. This guy was very reluctant from the start, saying that he wanted to wait for Grand Scholar Merris to return.

The key to the sixth floor is held solely by Grand Scholar Merris, and Thorne holds it in Merris's absence.

Thorne reluctantly brought Lynch up only after the Grand Maester of Karls cited the rules.

Even so, he was still full of complaints on the way here: "The sixth floor is nothing special, and it's not something that just because you're smart you can get by."

"Those who can understand it don't need to learn anything to understand it, and those who can't understand it are meaningless even if they are full of knowledge."

Since we're already here, let's take a look around first.

Putting aside his doubts, Lin Qi walked to his desk, sat down, and picked up the book that was on the table.

Unlike the previous floors where items can be borrowed, the sixth floor can only be read here.

This is a thin booklet with a black cover, on which is written "The Curious Boy".

"A collection of stories?"

Lin Qi was taken aback; this clearly looked like a storybook.

What happened to the mysticism we were promised?

Could it be that the cover is just a facade? And the content inside actually contains little-known information about Yang Mi?

He opened the cover.

What came into view was an illustration. It was black and white, with rough lines, as if it had been sketched with charcoal.

The painting depicts a little boy born in a large castle, held in swaddling clothes by a maid, who seems to be a nobleman.

The following text begins in a fairytale-like tone: Long, long ago, a little boy was born in a castle…

isn't it?

Is it really just a storybook?

Unconvinced, Lin Qi continued flipping through the pages, but the result greatly disappointed him.

This is actually a storybook.

Lin Qi flipped through the pages, but found no trace of the so-called mysticism; instead, he read more than half of the story.

It's basically about a little boy... Yes, this lousy story doesn't even have a protagonist's name.

This little boy was born in a castle, into a family where he had no worries about food or clothing; he was born with a silver spoon in his mouth.

As the little boy grew up, although he lived a very comfortable life, he gradually developed worries.

He would always look out the window at night, wondering what was in the starry sky and what was hidden among those twinkling stars.

In his search for answers, he began traveling the world, seeking out knowledgeable scholars.

One day, he came to a world-famous library, where he was greeted by a learned scholar.

The scholar was a nobleman, and he wore five keys around his neck.

Ok?

Seeing this, Lin Qi gradually sensed that something was wrong.

He looked at the illustrations in the storybook; from the first page, every page of the storybook had an illustration.

"This person...doesn't he look like a scholar from the University of Karls?"

The scholar depicted in the illustration on this page bears a striking resemblance to the University of Karls.

He turned to the next page.

The next page reads that the library has seven floors, and the answer the boy seeks is on the seventh floor. Only by learning the knowledge from the first six floors can one reach the seventh floor.

The little boy was very clever. He studied and studied, and soon he had learned the content of the first five floors.

then,

The Grand Scholar led him to the sixth floor.

The accompanying illustration shows two people walking on stone steps. The scholar, who resembles Karls, walks in front, while the boy follows behind, wearing a long robe with diamond-patterned cuffs.

Lin Qi looked down and noticed that the cuffs of his clothes today had a diamond pattern.