Traveling through the second dimension, the joy system encourages me to laugh heartily!

Alice's eyes widened as she recalled her grandfather's stern admonition—if anyone in the family dared to gamble, his hand would be chopped off!

Upon hearing this, a complex look flashed in Kyrie's eyes. She remained silent for a moment, seemingly sorting through past events, before truthfully saying, "In fact, we did warn him many times. But that guy Keith... truly possesses a talent for gambling. Not only is he lucky, but more importantly, he knows when to stop. He often wins back his money and rarely loses less than half of what he has left."

She sighed and continued, "And when funds are insufficient, he knows how to exercise self-restraint and never lets the team fall into a desperate situation where they have no money to use."

It turns out that the thief Keith could increase the team's funds overall, which is why the adventure team members were able to tolerate his behavior.

That's understandable—after all, people die for money and birds die for food.

Moreover, as far as Chen Ming knew, the Black Wolf Fang squad included guys like Paul who had no morals when it came to women, so they probably weren't that strict about morality...

Chen Ming nodded in understanding.

Alice nodded as if she understood, then asked another question that intrigued her: "What's the difference between the swordsmen and warriors in your team? Since they're both vanguards, there shouldn't be a need to differentiate them, right?" She tilted her head, her red hair swaying gently with the movement, her eyes sparkling with a thirst for knowledge.

Kyrie explained patiently, “It actually depends on the weapon used and the school of swordsmanship. If the weapon is a sword and belongs to one of the three major swordsmanship schools, then you are a swordsman.” She held up her fingers and counted them one by one: “Northern God School, Water God School, and Sword God School—these are the three major swordsmanship systems recognized on the continent. If you don’t belong to one of the three major schools, then even if you use a sword, you are a warrior; even if you belong to one of the three major schools, but your weapon is not a sword, then you can only be considered a warrior.”

“Oh, so swordsmen are special warriors,” Alice suddenly realized, but then a new question arose, “Then what kind of profession is a knight? How are they different from swordsmen?”

"A knight is a knight. As long as he is appointed by the state or lord, he is a knight, regardless of his combat strength. However, because knights need to receive systematic education, most of them have a high level of literacy and can do arithmetic. Some of them can even use simple magic."

Kyrie Irvine paused, then added, "However, many knights are of noble birth, and therefore have a high sense of pride, which makes their behavior overly arrogant..."

"I've also heard of magic swordsmen... or magic warriors?"

Kyrie Irwin nodded. “Among those who can use offensive magic, some do indeed call themselves that. Regardless of their profession, how they call themselves is a matter of personal freedom.” A look of reminiscence crossed her eyes. “I once encountered an opponent who called himself a magic swordsman. He could imbue his sword with flames, and his fighting style was like a dance of death. But that requires mastery of both magic and swordsmanship, something not everyone can do.”

"Wow~"

Alice opened her bright eyes and asked one question after another with curiosity.

Gilead patiently answered her questions, sharing his own experiences and teaching her by example, finally concluding:

"It was through these experiences that I came to understand the importance of knowledge. Not just combat skills, but also literacy, arithmetic, and the wisdom of interacting with people... These are all essential for survival in the world."

She pointed to the books on the table: "These words are not just symbols. They carry the wisdom of our ancestors and record the laws of the world. By learning them, you can understand the true meaning of magic spells, and not just imitate their pronunciation."

Alice lowered her head, her small hands unconsciously stroking the edge of the pages, as if touched by something.

Chen Ming seized the opportunity to add, "Gilead is right, Alice. Magic is not just about chanting spells and making gestures. A truly powerful magician needs not only talent, but also wisdom to understand the essence of magic."

He picked up a beginner's magic textbook, opened a page, pointed to the text, and said, "For example, the spell for this fireball. If you just memorize the pronunciation, you'll only ever be able to cast a basic fireball. But if you understand the meaning of each word, you can adjust the spell to change the size, temperature, speed, trajectory, and blast radius of the fireball, instead of just casting it blindly."

Alice looked up, her ruby-like eyes sparkling with thought.

She glanced at Kyrie Il's serious expression, then at Chen Ming's expectant eyes, and finally at the dense text. She asked softly, "Really? Knowing how to read allows you to unleash even more powerful fireballs?"

Chen Ming smiled and nodded: "Not only that, you can also learn more magic you've never seen before. For example, the one you've always longed for—the fire phoenix."

Upon hearing the words "Phoenix," Alice's eyes lit up, and her previous reluctance and resistance seemed to melt away considerably. She hesitantly reached out and gently touched the words on the pages, as if sensing the power they contained.

Seeing this, Kyrie Irvine pressed on, saying, "I used to think learning these things was troublesome too, until I faced the world alone and realized how helpless I was. I don't want you to go through that kind of predicament, Alice."

Alice was silent for a moment, then finally said softly, "Well... I'll try to learn." Although her tone was still somewhat reluctant, at least it was no longer a complete refusal.

Chen Ming and Kyrie Irvine exchanged a relieved look. The road to educating this willful young lady was long, but at least they had taken an important step today.

Chen Ming picked up a quill pen, dipped it in ink, and gently placed it in front of Alice: "Then let's start with the simplest thing. How about we learn to write the character for 'fire' today? It's the foundation for casting fire magic."

Alice hesitated for a moment, then finally took the pen, holding it awkwardly in her hand, her eyes showing both resistance and a hint of curiosity. Sunlight streamed through the study window, illuminating the words about to be written, and also illuminating a mischievous girl's first step into the world of knowledge.

From that day on, Alice began to attend cultural classes on time, no longer trying to escape or hide as she had before.

This change surprised everyone who knew about it, especially her father, Philip, and grandfather, Salos.

However, this change was not accidental, but mainly due to Kyrie's unique and effective teaching by example.

Whenever Alice struggles to concentrate in class or begins to resist learning, Gilead will share some of the hardships he endured during his adventures.

Although these stories often have inexplicably painful developments, thanks to her, Alice seems to gradually understand the importance of cultural knowledge. These real and brutal adventures are more moving to this girl who admires strength than any preaching.

For example, on one occasion, Chen Ming was teaching Alice the simplest addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division—don't laugh, everyone, as a simple-minded but physically strong little girl, Alice currently only knows single-digit addition...

"Lord Infinite!"

Alice suddenly raised her hand forcefully, breaking the silence of the classroom. Her fiery red hair shone brightly in the sunlight streaming through the window, and her crimson eyes flickered with confusion.

"What's wrong, Alice?"

Chen Ming put down his textbook and looked at her gently. After spending some time together, he had gotten used to this student's sudden questions and occasional outbursts of temper.

Is it necessary to learn division?

Alice wrinkled her little nose, her tone full of doubt.

Chen Ming knew that Alice not only failed to understand the importance of multiplication and division, but the bigger problem was that she had not even mastered subtraction.

This made him sigh inwardly, but he remained patient.

"Rather than saying it's necessary, it's more accurate to say that division is simply the opposite of multiplication, and it's very simple," Chen Ming tried to explain in the most direct way.

But Alice was clearly not satisfied with the answer: "I was asking when division would be used!"

Chen Ming thought for a moment and gave a common example: "Well, this is used when five people want to divide one hundred gold coins equally."

Unexpectedly, this example sparked even bigger questions in Alice.

“My former teacher said the same thing!” She slammed her hand on the table, making the ink bottle on it shake. “So! I’ve always wanted to ask! Why! Is it necessary to! Divide it equally with everyone else!”

Looking at Alice's flushed cheeks from excitement, Chen Ming realized that this fierce and powerful little girl genuinely didn't understand why she should share with others. In her upbringing, she usually got what she wanted and rarely had to consider the issue of sharing.

So he patiently explained, "This is a hypothetical situation. If five people want to divide it equally, division would be very convenient."

"You said it's convenient, which means it's okay if I don't study, right?" Alice immediately seized on the loophole in her words, trying to find an excuse for her lack of study.

Chen Ming smiled slightly and replied in a gentle tone, "If you don't want to use it, then it's fine not to. However, there's a big difference between not wanting to use it and not knowing how to use it."

"Waaah..."

Alice was speechless for a moment, her little face turning bright red.

Chen Ming knew that this girl with a strong sense of self-respect couldn't stand others questioning her abilities. As long as he gently asked, "Can't you do it?", she would obediently shut up and stop arguing.

However, this didn't completely solve the problem. Alice would always come up with all sorts of strange and twisted logic, trying to steer the situation towards the idea that "it's okay not to learn this." This is a trick used by all kids who don't want to study.

In situations like this, Gilead needs to step in.

Chen Ming turned to the Orc Sword King, who was sitting quietly to the side, and asked, "Kirienu, have you ever encountered a situation where you were troubled by the inability to divide things equally?"

Understanding the deeper meaning in his words, Gilead nodded and immediately began to recount a difficult experience:

"Yes. That happened shortly after I became an adventurer. Our party took on a quest to explore an underground labyrinth, and we brought plenty of food."

Kyrie Irvine's narration was direct and unembellished: "But unfortunately, we were attacked by a group of underground ratmen, and most of our food was stolen..."

The study fell silent, and even the usually restless Alice listened intently.

Gilead continued, “We decided to turn back immediately, but we made a mistake when we were dividing the remaining food according to the number of days it would take to return. None of us were good at calculations, so we just distributed it by feel.”

Her tone turned heavy: "For the first two days, everyone was able to eat their fill, but by the time we reached the last stretch of the journey, there was absolutely no food left. We went three whole days without food or water, and I thought we were going to die... Along the way, because we were so hungry, we picked up monster droppings to eat, but that made us sick."

At this point, Kyrie Irvine's expression twisted slightly, as if he could still recall the nauseating smell, "While enduring nausea, abdominal pain, and diarrhea, a large group of monsters appeared around me..."

This stomach-churning story lasted a full five minutes.

Kyrie Irgen described in detail how he fought the monsters with his weakened body, how he almost lost his life due to exhaustion, and how he was finally rescued by a kind adventurer who happened to be passing by.

Chen Ming's face turned pale as he listened, and his stomach began to feel uncomfortable. But to his surprise, Alice seemed to think this was a story of martial prowess.

Her eyes lit up with excitement, as if she were listening to a heroic legend, not a tragic story of someone almost dying because of bad math.

“So I want to learn division,” Kyrie Irving said, looking at Chen Ming intently after finishing his explanation. “Please, Master Infinity, continue the lesson.”

These words had a wonderful effect, and Alice immediately calmed down.

Chapter 258: Alice's Weekend

Chen Ming knew that the Boreas family seemed to all have a fondness for the beastmen.

This sentiment permeates every aspect of daily life; wolf emblems are commonly found in castle decorations, and family histories often recount tales of fighting alongside orcs.

Although Alice's attitude wasn't very obvious, she was indeed exceptionally close to Gilead, a closeness that transcended the ordinary master-servant or teacher-student relationship. In the original story, Alice's favorite people at the beginning were her grandfather Shros and Gilead, even her father was ranked lower in the hierarchy.

Therefore, Alice will still obediently listen to what Gilead says.

Of course, it's also possible that Gilead's story was so vivid and engaging that it convinced Alice. The Sword King's adventures were full of thrills and excitement, far more captivating to this lively, energetic, and incredibly strong little girl than dry textbooks.

In short, under Kyrie's tutelage, Alice understood the importance of cultural knowledge in daily life, and her studies gradually got on track. She began to be able to perform simple multiplication and division, and her reading and writing abilities improved significantly. Although she was still far from meeting the standards of an outstanding student, she was at least no longer completely illiterate.

Moreover, Kyrie Irvine can provide Chen Ming with tremendous help in swordsmanship.

Despite possessing formidable combat abilities aided by divine magic, allowing him to unleash astonishing power through various magical enhancements, if magic, along with skills like Instant Teleportation, Sword Saint's Blessing, Life Source, and Steel Body, are disregarded and only Battle Qi cultivation is considered, Chen Ming currently only reaches the level of a mid-level warrior.

More importantly, he was self-taught in both fighting spirit and swordsmanship, and never consulted a teacher.

Therefore, as the Sword King, Kyrie Irvine was also an excellent swordsmanship teacher for Chen Ming—this was agreed upon from the beginning: Chen Ming would teach her magic and academic subjects, and she would instruct Chen Ming in swordsmanship. This mutually beneficial teaching model allowed both of them to benefit.

……

Every afternoon is swordsmanship class time.

The training ground was located in a spacious courtyard on the east side of the lord's castle, with fine sand covering the ground and various training equipment displayed around it. Sunlight filtered through the tall treetops, casting dappled shadows on the sand.

Kyrie Irvine would usually teach Alice some basic swordsmanship first, instructing the little girl to swing her sword 1000 times in a corner—after all, Chen Ming already had a certain foundation, so the swordsmanship lessons would naturally be separate from Alice's.

Watching Alice reluctantly walk to the corner of the training ground, muttering complaints but still obediently starting to swing her sword, Chen Ming couldn't help but laugh.

Next, Kyrie Irvine will pick up a wooden sword and spar with Chen Ming, providing hands-on guidance. The Black Wolf Sword King's teaching style is direct and effective, with few unnecessary fancy moves; every move emphasizes practicality and efficiency.

"Remember the posture for stepping forward, and also carefully observe your opponent..."

During sparring, Kyrie Irvine would point out Chen Ming's weaknesses one by one and offer suggestions.

Since it was a class, Chen Ming did not use any auxiliary magic to enhance himself. He relied solely on his intermediate warrior strength for sparring, which was naturally far inferior to that of Sword King Kyrie Irwin.

Before long, his wooden sword was flung away by Kyrie's wooden sword, arcing through the air before landing on the sand.

Although sparring was tough, Chen Ming actually felt his swordsmanship improving rapidly—with each sparring session, he learned new techniques and his understanding of swordsmanship deepened day by day.

……

Eleven months passed, and the seasons cycled back from warm spring to early spring again. The cherry blossom trees in the courtyard had begun to bloom with pale pink buds.

However, recently, Chen Ming noticed that Alice, who had been attending classes obediently, had started to become irritable again. She would impatiently bang on the desk in class, throw tantrums over simple questions, and even occasionally try to skip class—although Kyrie Irvine always caught her in time.

What happened? Why? Did something happen that he doesn't know about?

Chen Ming was initially very anxious, worried that there might be something wrong with his teaching methods, or that Alice might be having some kind of trouble.

But after careful observation, he soon realized something: Alice lacked rest time and did not take any vacations.

Alice is currently studying four subjects: academic subjects, magic subjects, swordsmanship subjects, and etiquette subjects.

In modern terms, it would probably be Chinese language + mathematics, professional courses, physical education, and moral education.

Since there are no clocks in this world, classes are not divided into morning, noon, afternoon, and evening sessions based on meal and snack times.

A typical schedule is: breakfast? class? lunch? class? dinner? class.

That's roughly the feeling.

From dawn till dusk, Alice had almost no free time; all her activities were strictly scheduled within her study routine.

Chen Ming reflected on the problems with this arrangement: A growing child does need appropriate rest and recreation time.

Eleven months of intensive study would be a burden even for an adult, let alone for Alice, who is naturally active.

Realizing the problem, Chen Ming immediately began planning how to adjust the schedule and give Alice appropriate rest time.

Then, he specially invited Gilead and the teacher who taught etiquette to his study for a meeting.

By the way, Alice's etiquette teacher doesn't live in the mansion, but in her home in [Roya City]. She arrives at the castle by carriage every day without fail, rain or shine.

Therefore, Chen Ming sent the butler to deliver the message.

When the two teachers arrived at the study, he greeted them first, saying, "Nice to meet you, I am Chen Ming."

“My name is Edna Leren, and I am in charge of teaching Miss Alice etiquette.”

Ms. Edna returned the greeting with impeccable elegance, her skirt swaying gently, every movement so natural and just right, her voice soft and clear, with a soothing tone.

No wonder she's a teacher specializing in etiquette.

Upon closer inspection, Chen Ming saw that she was a middle-aged woman, around fifty years old, with fine lines beginning to appear on her face. She had a soft, round face and always wore a kind smile, giving her a gentle impression. She wore a dark blue long dress with delicate embroidery on the collar and cuffs, neither overly ornate nor lacking in elegance.