As Lidien followed the soldier, absorbing the month's news, his mind returned to the mission with Lily to retrieve the Relic hidden inside the dwellings of the past Lidien's grandfather.
If it wasn't for the Man Eater's Clan actively dispatching Hungers to search for the Relic, the Blood Rose Clan wouldn't have sent Lidien, a native of that area, to find and retrieve it.
As he pieced together the fragmented memories of his past self, a realization crystallized that all the tragedy Lidien experienced was because of the Relic that Mother wanted to possess for the Blood Rose Clan.
His blood boiled, not because of the past Lidien's tragedy, but because he felt thankful that the painful memories of the past Lidien were the reason he was "alive" today.
As he traversed the Central Territory, he saw buildings made of mud and stones aligned as a residential area. Though most of the people wore different kinds of clothing, from loincloths to silk robes, he knew this was due to the uniqueness of the Blood Rose Clan compared to other Clans.
The Blood Rose Clan was established by Lady Rose when she successfully controlled the Rift of the Shattered Mirrors. To expand her prowess, she raided Tribes with her adopted Sons and Daughters, enslaving them and offering them freedom upon enslaving others, until it was big enough to dominate the Central Region of the Savage Expanse.
But freedom comes with a price... and it was an addiction... to dominate and suppress others weaker than them to feel powerful.
And it makes them cling to Mother's hem without even realizing it.
These dark thoughts on power and addiction stayed with him until he arrived at his destination.
"Slaves are not welcome inside the Knowledge Spire."
Lidien stared at the middle-aged man who eyed him from head to toe, then sighed.
Realizing he was still wearing the clothes Lily gave him upon exiting the cave where they got the Relic made him want to slap his own face from shyness.
Thanks to the soldier explaining that he was a Prince who immediately set off to the Library after his long journey, the middle-aged man guarding the Knowledge Spire trembled at his post.
Lidien could only force his smile, twitching...
The Knowledge Spire was composed of five floors, each floor could only be accessed depending upon the status of the person. The first floor was open to the public but not for slaves, the second floor was for social workers who helped maintain the Clan Territory, the Third floor was for Soldiers, the Fourth Floor was for Officials, and the Last floor was for Executives.
Upon receiving the token, Lidien immediately entered the Knowledge Spire.
As the door opened, all eyes were on him.
Some looked at him with contempt because of his worn-out clothes, some were full of curiosity murmuring how he could enter and bypass the middle-aged man who was known to be strict, while others just glanced at him before continuing their reading.
Lidien immediately went to the counter and presented his Token; as the clerk's eyes widened, Lidien immediately put his hand between his lips, telling him not to make a sound.
The clerk gulped and could only stare at Lidien.
"Bring me someone who could read and write..."
Then Lidien pulled out a Merit Slip and placed it on the desk before finding a spot to wait.
Merit Slips were considered the currency in the Blood Rose Clan, and they could only be rewarded upon completing a mission placed in the Mission Hall. The easiest mission someone could get was maintaining the Territory clean, and it was only worth 1 Merit Point, good enough for a small piece of rock-hard bread.
After waiting for a few minutes, a woman in her twenties with dark brown hair stood in front of Lidien.
Lidien told her to sit beside him and placed a book in front of her, before telling her to read it slow and softly, word-by-word.
The woman followed his instructions, thinking that the child in front of her was just bored and wanted someone to tell him a story, since he had brought a romance literature that most of the women read.
Lidien activated his Incite of Blood, trusting his own mind.
Staring at the text that looked like a worm that didn't know where it was going, he didn't have a choice but to memorize each symbol and word as the woman read, slowly getting used to it.
Though reading was already a given in the Clan, as it was taught to children who were born into it, for enslaved people from the tribes it was a different story. All of them only knew how to hunt and gather food in the wilderness, and Lidien was part of the latter.
Lidien was so focused that his consumption of Verve and the pain in his Sparkline felt insignificant, as studying was the only strength he had in his previous life; he would not stop unless he masterfully understood the basics of studying... and it was reading.
As the books towered from romantic books to simple mathematics, to different theories that came from the Arcane Domain, the woman's stomach gurgled, making Lidien escape his trance.
Staring outside, it was already dark and the street was only lit by the torchlight.
He glanced at the woman and smiled, before handing her a Hundred Merit Slip.
"Thank you for your time..."
The woman was stupefied, her fingers trembling as they closed around the slip. A hundred merits. It was more than she earned in a season, and when she looked up, Lidien was already gone.
Walking down the street, Lidien couldn't help but hold his head while walking; the pain from his overusing of his Sparkline kicked in, yet he was smiling.
All his questions that only he could answer were already answered.
Now, what Lidien needed was a technique... that could help him make his Sparkline sturdy and a meditation that could let him easily enter his Dreamflow, and all of it was only accessible from the third floor of the Knowledge Spire to the last.