Fantasy Writers 1860

Today was a day off, and it wasn't until noon, when sunlight streamed through the skylight in the roof and fell on Dorian's face, that he finally woke up.

The story of "The Million Pound Stamp" is finished and has been sent to Editor Clancy.

Of course, before mailing them, he spent a whole day observing them and found no suspicious signs such as glowing or floating, which meant that his manuscripts had not turned into illusions.

Even so, he was still a little worried, so he typed out a copy of his original manuscript and mailed it over.

At the same time, Dorian was also puzzled. What exactly were the standards for judging fictional manuscripts in this world? How come his first few Soviet jokes were immediately promoted, but now that he had finished writing this novel, it hadn't been promoted yet?

Does this mean that, according to the rules of judgment in this world, the "Million Pound Note" is less valuable than a Soviet joke?

That's really confusing.

Or perhaps, when I first transmigrated, fate gave me a beginner's gift pack? After that, creating fantasy works wasn't so easy?

In that case, we'll have to choose works with even higher quality in the future...

Dorian began to recall, retrieving from his memory palace one masterpiece after another that he had read in his previous life. Not all masterpieces could be copied without thinking; some required a certain degree of adaptation, while others were simply not meant to be written in this era...

This line of thinking ceased after Editor-in-Chief Clancy's payment for the manuscript arrived in the mail.

Upon seeing so many gold pounds, Dorian immediately abandoned any further thought.

I now have a stable job and a house that, while not large, I'm quite satisfied with. I have no ties or attachments in this world—though the reasons are somewhat hellish.

Since you're not short of money, why rush to write a new work?

Just lie down and relax! We'll talk about it when the money's all gone!

Dorian never expected that the free life he had dreamed of in his previous life would be so easily achieved in this world.

"I don't think I'm completely without relatives. I just remembered that I have a lot of relatives back in my hometown in the countryside... but they've never really been very nice to our family... whatever." With that thought, Dorian, who was about to sit up, lay back down.

In my memory, my parents were ostracized by their relatives and couldn't make a living in the village, so they left their hometown and came to Lentinion to make a living.

Dorian had adapted to the monotonous life here; in this era, there were no cell phones, computers, or the internet, and entertainment was extremely scarce.

His main forms of entertainment were reading newspapers, magazines, and watching plays. However, Dorian, whose threshold for entertainment had been raised long before his transmigration, found it uninteresting after the initial novelty wore off and stopped watching them much.

The most interesting newspaper right now is the Londinion Weekly, and what makes it so interesting is that it serializes its own "Million Dollar List".

So after sending the manuscript away, he never paid attention to any newspapers again.

No wonder writers of this era enjoyed high status and income; they were among the few who could produce entertainment products. Unlike later generations, whose animation, movies, short videos, and short dramas all produced entertainment for people's amusement, even online literature, a written medium, suffered greatly, let alone true literature.

That was an era when literature and art were on the verge of extinction.

But things are different now; now is an era in which literature and art are flourishing.

"By the way, since we don't have anything to do right now, why don't we go to a library?" Dorian, who had been lying down, sat up again.

I had indeed thought about going to the library to gain a deeper understanding of the world, especially the literary world.

Although this is a seemingly different world, many things are still quite similar to those of the same period in my previous life. I hope there doesn't come a situation where I plagiarize a Dickens work, only to find that the work has already been written by a similar variant of Dickens in this world.

If it were really considered plagiarism, that would be hilarious.

So Dorian put on a set of decent clothes he had bought at great expense, inquired at a newsstand on the street, and chose a library that was not far away and was the most suitable:

King Londinion University Library.

Although it is a university library, it is open to the public free of charge and is a government public welfare project. As long as you are dressed appropriately, you can enter.

Most importantly, the university is not far away, and I can walk there without taking a taxi, which saves me some taxi fare.

After about a half-hour walk, Dorian arrived at King Londinion University. At the outermost edge was a neatly manicured square lawn, dotted with red-brick teaching buildings and student dormitories. Countless tall trees, whose names he didn't know, surrounded the area, their yellowing branches intertwining overhead, creating a serene and elegant atmosphere.

Following the signs at the entrance and stepping onto the cobblestone path, Dorian arrived at the library.

The library doesn't look very big; it's just a three-story building. The walls are made of red bricks, and light gray stone strips are inlaid in the door and window openings. The front has a tall portico, with two marble columns supporting a classical-style triangular lintel engraved with the university's coat of arms.

The hall upon entering had a continuous high ceiling, and the walls were covered with many oil paintings and portraits that Dorian did not recognize. The hall was filled with numerous long oak tables, each with two brass lamps, and on each side was a row of leather chairs with high backs.

"Excuse me, where are the literature books?" Dorian asked the librarian who was idly daydreaming at the front desk.

"Oh, hello, I'll take you there..." The librarian was clearly startled, probably not expecting anyone to come at this hour.

Dorian looked around and found that there was indeed no one else in the hall, making it feel like he had the whole place to himself.

After getting familiar with the place for a while, Dorian quickly took down several thick volumes of "Literary Yearbook", "Publishing Industry Yearbook", "History of Literature", as well as a series of history books such as "History of Britannia", "History of the Chinese Empire", and "Lives of Kings" from the densely packed bookshelves.

He didn't read very carefully; for yearbooks, he mainly checked to see if there were any works he recognized. As for history books, he read them even more superficially, skipping over anything that didn't differ much from his memory, at a speed approaching quantum speed reading.

[...In 1645, the Jurchen tribe mistakenly believed that Li Zicheng was dead and that the Ming Dynasty was no longer a threat, so they announced the reinstatement of the policy of shaving heads and changing clothes. This policy aroused strong resistance from the people in the newly occupied areas...]

Ok?

What is a misjudgment?

After flipping through most of the book, I finally found the place where the timeline changed.

From this point on, he slowed down his reading speed and continued reading carefully:

[...Amidst rising public anger, Li Zicheng reappeared, regaining the people's approval and support...In 1654, Li Zicheng declared himself emperor and established the Shun Dynasty...]

Dorian: ?

Could it be that it has been possessed by a time traveler?

No, no, no, perhaps they simply experienced failure in the first half of their lives, attained enlightenment in the Taihang Mountains, and then began their struggle again… Surely not every historical figure with even a slightly legendary aura is a time traveler? If that were the case, wouldn't Napoleon and Zhu Yuanzhang be even more of a time traveler…?

After establishing the Shun Dynasty, Emperor Taizu Li Zicheng worked diligently to govern, adhering to the principles of reverence for Heaven and love for the people. He exempted all land taxes, allowing the people to recuperate and thrive. He emphasized education, reformed the school system, vigorously introduced Western knowledge, established Western schools, built factories and railways, established the Royal Academy of Sciences, recruited European scientists with generous rewards, reformed the army, invented new weapons, and conquered the Ying Kingdom.

Dorian finally couldn't hold back anymore.

Well, this feat is definitely something a time-traveling predecessor would do!

While he was still half-convulsed, a clear, melodious voice, like a silver bell yet also somewhat boisterous, rang in his ears:

"Hey~ Are you also interested in the story of that ancient Eastern country?"

Dorian looked up sharply, following the sound, and saw a girl in a pale yellow dress standing beside him, holding several thick books in her hands, tilting her head curiously to look at him.

Her long, slightly curly golden hair cascaded down like a waterfall, dazzling like the sun. Her features were as delicate as a doll in a shop window, and her brown eyes were sparkling with curiosity.

Dorian paused for a moment before realizing that she was talking to him.

"I suppose so," Dorian replied indifferently.

"Which college are you from? I've never seen you before." The girl's cheerful tone was as if she were seeing a human for the first time.

This intense E-human aura is like a small sun, almost dehydrating Dorian.

There are so many people you haven't met. Do you really think you can remember everyone from college?

Although he really wanted to say that, after carefully examining the other person's delicate and lovely face and confirming that he truly didn't recognize them at all, he patiently said, "I don't study here. King's University's library is open to the public, isn't it?"

"I knew it, you looked unfamiliar. I've seen everyone from the school before... It's true, the library is open to the public, but even so, it's rare for outsiders to come here normally..." The blonde girl gave a polite and elegant smile.

Most of the people who can study here are probably rich young ladies.

"So, is there something you need?" Dorian asked.

"No, no," the girl smiled and waved her hand. "I just came looking for a book, and found it was already here with you."

Dorian closed the thick book in front of him, revealing its gold-embossed cover: "Is this the 'History of the Chinese Empire'? You can take it if you want to read it; I've already finished it."

After saying that, he was about to hand it to the blonde girl.

"Thank you very much." The blonde girl took the book without any hesitation. "If I may ask, are you a scholar of Oriental history? As far as I know, this book is very difficult, and no one usually reads it, yet you read it so quickly..."

"No, I'm just an ordinary history enthusiast, someone who's a bit interested... Besides, didn't you come to see it too? Are you a researcher of Oriental history?"

Since there wasn't much to do right now, Dorian didn't mind chatting with the cute girl in front of him a bit more.

"Because I have someone from there in my life, she's a very good friend of mine. But now I realize I know so little about her, so I want to start by learning about her homeland..."

Where are you from?

Does she know a Chinese person?

It's not surprising when you think about it. After all, the Shun Dynasty in this world started industrialization early on. Although the progress of industrialization was not as rapid after that time traveler left, it is still one of the world's leading powers. Those humiliating histories did not happen in this world, so it's normal for them to send some students here.

"Really? It seems you've made a good friend! That's a good thing..."

Dorian chatted with her for a while longer, but when the clock struck, the blonde girl seemed to suddenly remember something and reluctantly said goodbye to Dorian.

"Oh, I'm sorry, we've been chatting for so long and I haven't introduced myself yet... My name is Alia Robin Mondford, and I study in the Faculty of Arts."

"I am Dorian Winchester White, a writer, if you will..."