Esta é uma webnovel de fantasia em um estilo semelhante as séries Discworld e o Guia do Mochileiro das Galáxias.
O mundo de Propasa  tem fortes inspirações nas mitologias mesoamericanas como Inca, Maia, Asteca, Tupinambá, etc.…
Não existe uma intenção de um retrato fiel de nenhuma mitologia, mas uma influência multicultural com o intuito de criar algo diferente.
Existem muitas referências sutis a mitologia, livros, quadrinhos, filmes, RPG e até videogames. Como por exemplo a princesa prometida, um clássico da sessão da tarde.
E antes de começar a ler é bom saber que diferente da maioria dos livros de fantasia lançados recentemente, o livro que tem em mãos possui começo, meio e fim.
Boa leitura.



Em um mundo de fantasia um grupo de garotas recem saidas de uma academia de magia partem para aventuras. (primeiro volume "uma linda feiosa e os dragões de Licorne" esta disponivel na Amazon e clube de autores)

Rhode berjalan ke bagian tengah ruangan dan mengulurkan tangan kanannya. 
"…!"
Cahaya magis berkelip-kelip di punggung tangannya bagaikan aliran cahaya yang mengalir dengan tenang menuju ke lantai. Sebuah ritual pemanggilan yang terbentuk dari 3 cincin membuka. Sepuluh Soul Core tersebut mulai melayang di udara seakan-akan tertarik oleh benang-benang yang tak terlihat. Rhode berdiri di tengah lingkaran ritual sedangkan beberapa baris pemberitahuan sistem muncul di depannya. 
[Phantom Guardian Tambahan Terbuka. Silakan pilih target anda.]
Rhode menunduk. Daftar nama muncul. Dia mengetuk salah satu nama dan dalam kilatan terang, garis-garis cahaya keemasan muncul di antara jari-jarinya bagaikan aliran listrik. 
[Target telah dikonfirmasi. Proyeksikan ke Soul Core?]
Ya. 
Rhode mengangguk.
Cahaya spiritual tiba-tiba berubah. 
Pilar-pilar cahaya putih melesat ke atas dari Ritual pemanggilan itu dan menyelubungi sepuluh Soul Core tersebut. Sorotan cahaya terang menghubungkan mereka. Mereka pun bergetar bagaikan batu-batu pasir yang tersiram oleh air terjun dan membuat cahaya spiritual itu menyusup ke dalam ke sepuluh Soul Core itu. Lalu, terjadilah ledakan. 
Kling!
Sepuluh Soul Core yang mengelilingi Rhode pecah bersamaan dan berubah menjadi sepuluh kartu yang berputar di tempat. Namun, Rhode tidak langsung memeriksa detail-detail kartu tersebut. Dia mengalihkan perhatiannya pada kartu yang melayang di depannya. Sebaris pemberitahuan sistem muncul. 
[Mendeteksi Kartu Inti]
[Silakan Tunjuk Kartu Inti]
Rhode mengulurkan jarinya tanpa ragu dan mengetuk kartu hitam yang punya pinggiran hitam.
[Kartu Inti telah ditentukan – Bergabung dengan 10 Dek Kartu Roh Terkuat – Sukses]
Bum!
Di saat yang bersamaan, kobaran api hitam membumbung dari tanah ke angkasa. Kartu-kartu yang ada di sekitar Rhode menghilang. Api hitam itu melemah secara perlahan dan akhirnya padam, kemudian digantikan oleh sesosok yang bertubuh ramping. 
Dia adalah seorang wanita berumur sekitar 20 tahun dengan kulit yang putih dan lembut. Wanita itu punya rambut berwarna hitam sepanjang bahu yang terlihat serasi dengan wajahnya. Kacamata berbingkai hitam yang dia kenakan memberikan kesan bahwa dia adalah wanita yang berpengetahuan luas. Dia mengenakan pakaian ketat berwarna hitam dan rok sepanjang lutut dengan kaus kaki panjang dan sepatu bot berwarna coklat gelap. Dia juga mengenakan selendang hitam yang bergaris merah. Di bawah cahaya yang terang, tampak pola-pola sihir aneh yang berkelip-kelip. 
Tapi yang paling menonjol dari wanita itu adalah buku tebal dengan sampul keras bermotif indah dan dirangkai dengan sebuah rantai emas. Dia memegang buku itu di dekat pinggangnya dan lebih terlihat seperti seorang pelajar dibandingkan dengan seorang prajurit. 
Reaksi pertama Bubble saat melihat wanita muda itu bukan terkejut, namun sangat kecewa. 
"Ah…Bagaimana mungkin?! Kenapa kau tidak telanjang?"
"Hahhh…"
Walaupun Canary tidak berbicara, namun Rhode bisa mengerti apa yang dia pikirkan. 
Jadi, setelah sekian lama, kalian berdua masih teringat dengan hal itu?
Rhode memutar bola matanya. Bubble dan Canary sepertinya masih ingat kalau mereka berdua telanjang bulat ketika datang ke dunia ini. Sekarang, mereka berharap bahwa wanita muda itu akan mendapatkan perlakuan yang sama? Sayangnya, wanita itu bukanlah Phantom Guardian murni, tapi makhluk yang ditunjuk sebagai roh. Oleh karena itu, meskipun levelnya kembali menjadi 0, namun perlengkapannya masih ada. Gillian juga tidak telanjang bulat ketika Rhode memanggilnya untuk pertama kalinya.
"Ahh…Rhode, Bubble, Canary. Lama kita tak berjumpa…"
Wanita muda itu menahan diri untuk menguap sebelum menyapa mereka bertiga dengan mengantuk. Rhode dan Canary mengangguk, sedangkan Bubble mendecakkan lidahnya sebelum bersembunyi di belakang Canary. Kemudian dia mengintip wanita itu dan menjulurkan lidahnya. 
"Tch. Kak Heart tidak berubah sama sekali!"
"Aahhh…"
Wanita muda itu tidak menjawab Bubble. Dia terlihat seolah-olah akan tertidur setiap saat setelah tidak tidur semalaman. Namun, Rhode dan kawan-kawan sudah terbiasa dengan hal ini. Wanita muda ini adalah salah satu wakil pemimpin dalam guild Starlight, Orchid Heart.
Sama seperti Canary dan Mini Bubble Gum, Rhode mengenal Orchid Heart dalam kehidupan nyata. Dia adalah senior Rhode dalam universitas. Mereka juga bergabung ke dalam klub yang sama. Namun, Rhode sendiri jarang bertemu dengannya di universitas. 
Alasannya cukup sederhana. Orchid Heart hidup seperti penyendiri yang jarang keluar rumah. 
Rhode bertemu dengan Orchid Heart untuk pertama kalinya dalam pesta mahasiswa baru. Saat itu, dia membuat para mahasiswa heboh seakan-akan dia adalah selebriti. Para mahasiswa baru merasa konyol. Meskipun Orchid Heart sebenarnya terlihat cukup cantik, namun dia tidak terlihat seperti 'ratu kampus' sama sekali. Kemudian, dari senior-seniornya yang lain, Rhode mengetahui alasan kehebohan para mahasiswa tentang Orchid Heart. 
Faktanya, ketika pertama kali memasuki universitas tersebut, Orchid Heart juga menimbulkan keributan, dimana dia memasuki universitas dengan nilai ujian terbaik. Dia pun terpilih sebagai wakil dari para mahasiswa baru untuk menyampaikan pidato penyambutan. Namun, pihak universitas pun segera mengetahui keanehan Orchid Heart setelahnya. Walaupun dia terpilih menjadi wakil dari para mahasiswa baru, namun Orchid Heart tidak menghadiri pesta penyambutan mahasiswa baru sama sekali. Sejak memasuki asrama universitasnya, dia tidak pernah keluar dari kamarnya dan menghadiri kuliah. Tidak hanya itu, yang membuat para mahasiswa terkejut adalah meskipun dia jarang keluar dari kamar asramanya, namun pihak universitas sendiri tidak pernah memberikan peringatan atau ancaman untuk mengeluarkan dirinya dari universitas. Tidak ada orang yang mengetahui alasannya, tapi Rhode mendengar banyak rumor. Salah satu rumor yang beredar menyebutkan bahwa Orchid Heart adalah seorang jenius yang datang ke universitas untuk mengerjakan riset. Karena itulah pihak universitas tidak memberikan hukuman atas 'kemalasannya'. Meskipun presentase kehadiran Orchid Heart terhitung sangat rendah, namun dia selalu berhasil melewati ujian-ujiannya dengan lancar. Karena itulah Orchid Heart menjadi sosok legendaris dalam universitas Rhode. 
Orchid Heart bergabung dengan guild Starlight setelah menjadi guild terbaik dalam game. Sebenarnya Rhode tidak terlalu menganggap istimewa Orchid Heart namun seseorang mengingatkannya bahwa dia adalah sosok legendaris di universitas Rhode. Orchid Heart juga mengakui identitasnya. Sejak saat itu, mereka pun mulai saling mengenal. 
Dalam game, Orchid Heart telah berevolusi dari kelas Scholar biasa menjadi kelas spesial tersembunyi yaitu 'Spellcaster Scholar'. Itu adalah kelas pendukung dalam kelas pendukung, tapi berbeda dengan seorang Cleric seperti Bubble, keahlian seorang Scholar terletak dalam penggalian benda-benda bersejarah, arkeologi, serta analisa teks-teks kuno dalam suatu dungeon. Sayangnya, mereka tidak ahli dalam bertarung. Faktanya, kekuatan serangan Orchid Heart termasuk rata-rata. Dalam hal teknik pertarungan, dia hanya sedikit di atas rata-rata di antara anak buah Rhode dan jauh di bawah Bubble dan Canary. 
Tapi, sebaliknya, dia adalah seorang jenius dalam hal memimpin pasukan dan memecahkan pesan-pesan rahasia. Seorang Scholar seharusnya merupakan kelas pendukung, tapi semuanya berubah setelah Orchid Heart menjadi seorang Spellcaster Scholar. Kemampuannya sebagai Scholar tidak hanya meningkat drastis, tapi dia juga bisa mengeluarkan sihir-sihir pendukung dengan jangkauan luas seperti Mage dan Cleric. Dia juga punya teknik-teknik serangan level tinggi. Dan yang paling mengerikan adalah teknik khas dari 'Spellcaster Scholar'– Eternal Bibliography.
Dengan teknik ini, para Spellcaster Scholar yang bisa menganalisa teknik-teknik yang digunakan di hadapannya. Ketika analisis itu berhasil, Spellcaster Scholar bisa menyimpan teknik itu dalam Eternal Bibliography. Kemudian, dia bisa menggunakan teknik-teknik itu meskipun hanya boleh satu kali penggunaan. Dalam waktu yang telah ditentukan, Spellcaster Scholar bisa memilih tidak menggunakan teknik ini dan mempelajarinya lebih dalam. Selama pembelajarannya bisa berfungsi, Spellcaster Scholar bisa menguasai teknik itu dan menggunakannya sebagai tekniknya sendiri. Entah itu adalah sihir Mage, sihir spiritual para Cleric, atau teknik Swordsmanship dari seorang Swordsman, Spellcaster Scholar bisa meniru dan melepaskan teknik-teknik itu dengan sempurna tanpa harus peduli dengan batasan kelas. 
Tapi, kelas ini bukanlah kelas yang sempurna. Alasannya sangat sederhana. Semakin kuat teknik yang berusaha mereka tiru, maka semakin sulit bagi Spellcaster Scholar untuk menganalisa dan mempelajarinya. Meskipun, secara teori, Spellcaster Scholar juga mampu menganalisa dan mempelajari teknik seorang Boss, namun mereka membutuhkan waktu yang lama untuk mempelajarinya. Di masa lalu, Orchid Heart pernah berhasil meniru teknik Dark Dragon, tapi dia menyadari bahwa dia membutuhkan waktu sekitar satu setengah tahun untuk mempelajarinya. Itu adalah satu setengah tahun dalam dunia nyata. 
Dalam satu setengah tahun, Dark Dragon itu mungkin sudah mati sebanyak delapan hingga sepuluh kali. 
Karena alasan ini dan level penguasaan Orchid Heart yang rendah, skill pertarungan Orchid Heart tidak dianggap terlalu hebat. Bahkan dengan bantuan latihan Rhode dan pemain-pemain top lainnya, kemampuannya masih sedikit di atas rata-rata. 
Di sisi lain, meskipun kemampuan pertarungannya biasa-biasa saja, namun Orchid Heart adalah komandan berbakat yang langka. Semua orang tahu bahwa mengomando guild dalam game tidaklah mudah karena pemain bukanlah prajurit yang mau menuruti semua instruksi. Selain itu, kekacauan cenderung terjadi ketika ada banyak pemain dalam pertempuran skala besar. Oleh karena itu, dalam sebuah pertempuran skala besar, kekacauan di antara para pemain cenderung terjadi meskipun mereka bergerak berdasarkan taktik perang tertentu. 
Namun, Orchid Heart berbeda. Meskipun ada 50, 500, 5000 atau bahkan 50000 pemain dalam peperangan, dia bisa mengomando mereka dengan sempurna dengan berbekal kemampuan pengambilan keputusan dan reaksinya yang cepat. Biasanya, dalam medan perang yang kacau, seorang komandan membutuhkan waktu untuk memberikan perintah mereka, tapi Orchid Heart mampu memberikan perintahnya dengan cepat dan memberikan instruksi yang akurat bahkan sebelum situasi perang itu berubah drastis. Selain pemain-pemain hebat seperti Canary dan Bubble yang membantu guild Starlight milik Rhode dalam mendominasi game, kemampuan komando dari Orchid Heart juga sangat membantu aspek tersebut. Kalau bukan karena kemampuan Orchid Heart yang mampu menganalisa medan perang dengan lihai, taktik Rhode mungkin tidak akan berhasil. 
Namun, Orchid Heart seringkali salah dianggap sebagai orang yang penuh semangat setiap dia terjun ke dalam game. Faktanya, baik di dalam game atau dunia nyata, Orchid Heart selalu terlihat mengantuk seakan-akan dia akan tertidur setelah memainkan game tanpa beristirahat selama beberapa hari. Mereka yang tidak menyadari hal ini selalu memberikan saran pada Orchid Heart untuk beristirahat karena kesehatan adalah yang terpenting dalam kehidupan mereka. Kemudian, mereka sadar bahwa Orchid Heart selalu terlihat mengantuk meskipun dia baru saja bangun di pagi hari, menyantap makan siangnya, atau sebelum dia tidur pada malam hari. Semua orang sudah terbiasa melihat Orchid Heart dalam keadaan mengantuk seperti ini. Tidak hanya di pertarungan kelompok, tapi juga ketika kelompok mereka dihabisi oleh suatu boss, dia akan selalu terlihat lesu dan lemas seakan-akan dia kurang tidur. 
"Kak Heart, aku rasa kau sudah mengetahui situasi kami saat ini, bukan?"
Orchid Heart menatap Rhode dengan lemas dan mengangguk. Dia memegang Eternal Bibliography di tangan kanannya sedangkan tangan kirinya menulis di halaman buku itu. Orchid Heart bersandar ke dinding. Beberapaa saat kemudian, dia mengangguk. 
"…Ya, aku mengerti, Rhode. Jangan khawatir, aku tahu apa yang harus kulakukan."
"Bagus."
Rhode menghela napas dengan lega. 
"Baiklah, kak Heart, beristirahatlah saat ini. Aku akan menyuruh Canary untuk menyiapkan kamarmu. Aku akan memberitahumu tentang rencana-rencanaku nanti."
"Baiklah, kuserahkan anak-anak itu padamu, Rhode."
Orchid Heart menguap sebelum menatap kartu di tangan Rhode. Kemudian, dia mengangkat kacamata berbingkai hitamnya dari pangkal hidungnya. Rhode menoleh pada Canary dan Bubble. 
"Cari kamar untuk kak Heart. Sedangkan yang lainnya, aku akan mengenalkan mereka pada kak Heart setelahnya."
"Baik, Rhode. Aku akan bersiap-siap."
"Ah…Betapa membosankan tapi aku ingin melihat reaksi mereka ketika menemui kak Heart. Hahaha, pasti akan menarik. Ayo, kak Heart!"
Rhode menggeleng sambil tersenyum getir. Dia duduk di mejanya kembali dan mengamati sepuluh kartu yang ada di depannya. Kesepuluh kartu itu punya level di atas rata-rata berkat Soul Core tingkat tinggi yang digunakan untuk memanggil mereka. Selain itu, beberapa orang membuat Rhode merasa bersemangat. 
Sepuluh kartu itu semuanya memiliki warna hitam dengan pinggiran putih dan memancarkan aura membunuh. Kesepuluh kartu ini dipimpin oleh Orchid Heart sebagai Kartu Inti dari dek mereka. Kartu Orchid Heart menunjukkan Eternal Bibliography dengan sampul keras hitam yang melayang di depan tangannya yang merentang. Di belakang sosok Orchid Heart, ada beberapa pilar logam.
[Mendapatkan Dek Pasukan Luar Biasa 10/10]
[Orchid Heart. Pemanggil (Posisi Nomor satu dari Dek Pasukan Luar biasa. Manusia) Serangan 3 Pertahanan 5. Spellcaster Scholar yang langka. Tidak bisa digabung. Teknik Analisa, meniru dan mempelajari teknik lain. Mantra. Teknik yang dimiliki – Eternal Bibliography (Segala sesuatu dalam dunia memiliki arti tersendiri. Ikuti langkah-langkah pengetahuan dan jelajahi laut yang tak berujung.)
Reverse Time Flow (Atribut Waktu)
Kartu Inti (Bisa memanggil semua kartu)
Range Reward (Memanjangkan jangkauan efektif dari teknik-teknik yang digunakan sepanjang 3x3)
Time Manipulation (Mempercepat atau memperlambat waktu penggunaan teknik. Durasi meningkat seiring dengan level)
Immunitu (Tidak ada batasan dalam menggunakan teknik dari kelas-kelas lain)
Proficiency (Meningkatkan kecepatan peningkatan level penguasaan sebanyak 50%. Meningkatkan kekuatan teknik sebanyak satu sepersepuluh dari level penggunaan)
Kecepatan Perkembangan: 0%]
Selain teknik-teknik dukungan yang luar biasa, nilai serangan dan pertahanan dari Orchid Heart terhitung biasa saja. Tapi Rhode tidak keberatan karena dia masih dalam keadaan level 0. Lagipula, Orchid Heart lebih terlihat seperti seorang jenderal yang mengomando semua orang dari belakang dan tidak perlu maju ke garis depan, jadi tidak ada masalah meskipun dia memiliki kekuatan serangan yang rendah. Dia bisa hidup kembali jika dia tewas. Jadi itu tidak masalah.
Meskipun Rhode sudah bersiap-siap, namun dia tertegun ketika mengamati sepuluh kartu itu. Dia yakin bahwa kekuatan dari sepuluh kartu ini sudah cukup untuk menundukkan satu pasukan besar! 


Rhode adalah pemimpin guild legendaris yang paling berpengaruh dalam game Virtual Reality Multiple Player, Dragon  Soul Continent. Demi mengatasi rasa kesedihan karena adiknya meninggal dunia,  dia memainkan game tersebut selama tujuh tahun. Selama ini, Rhode berusaha mengurangi kesedihannya lewat game, tetapi sayang, hidupnya kembali hancur saat mendengar kedua orang tuanya meninggal akibat kecelakaan pesawat.
Satu bulan setelah insiden itu, dia memutuskan untuk keluar dari game dan kembali ke dunia nyata. Sebagai perpisahan, Rhode melawan Boss monster yang paling kuat dalam permainan bersama dengan teman-temannya.
Akhirnya, dia bisa mengalahkan boss monster tersebut dengan mengorbankan nyawa avatarnya. Rhode  tersenyum saat avatarnya menghilang. Tetapi, dia malah tidak hidup kembali dalam platform game tersebut.
....
“A.. Apa...!”
Rhode terdiam dan menatap langit-langit yang terlihat asing.
Dan setelah itu, pemain legendaris yang berhasil mengukir sejarah selama 3 era menghilang begitu saja. 


Rhode walked to the center of the room and extended his right hand.
"…!"
Dazzling magical radiance flickered from the back of his hand like a soothing stream flowing from along his arm to the ground. A summoning ritual formed by three rings unfolded and the ten Soul Cores gradually hovered in midair as though guided by invisible strings. Rhode stood in the middle while lines of system prompt revealed before his eyes.
[Additional Phantom Guardian Unlocked. Please choose your target.]
Rhode lowered his head and a long list of names emerged before his eyes. He tapped on one of the names and in a dazzling flash, golden rays emanated from between his fingers as though running electric current.
[Target confirmed. To project into Soul Core?]
Yes.
Rhode gave a slight nod.
The spiritual radiance surrounding him abruptly transformed.
Columns of spotlessly white light from the summoning ritual rushed into the sky and enveloped the ten Soul Cores. A twinkling light beam connected them and they trembled like sandstones washed by a strong waterfall, allowing the spiritual radiance to infiltrate them from the inside out. Then, an explosion occurred.
Clink!
The ten Soul Cores surrounding Rhode cracked harmoniously in the crisp sound of rupture and transformed into ten cards that spun constantly on the spot. However, he didn't check their contents immediately. On the contrary, he shifted his gaze to the card hovering before him and a line of system prompt emerged.
[Detected the Core Card]
[Please appoint the card]
Without any hesitations, Rhode extended his finger and tapped lightly on the card with a black base and white edges.
[Core Card appointed—Joining the 10 Strongest Spirit Decks—Success]
Boom!
At the same time, a beam of pitch-black flames burst skyward from the ground. The cards hovering around him vanished to nowhere. The pitch-black flames slowly weakened, faded away, and was replaced with a slim figure.
It was a young lady who was about 20 years in age. She had fair, clear skin and dark, shoulder-length hair complemented her pretty facial features. The black-framed glasses gave her a knowledgeable boost in looks. She wore a black, thin skin tight top with a knee-length skirt, long socks, as well as a dark brown martens boots. Not only that, but she also had a black, red-lined fur shawl. Under the bright lights, strange magical patterns were seen flashing by.
The most eye-catching thing on her was the thick book with a gorgeously patterned hard-cover and stringed together by golden chains. She held it by her waist and she looked more like a scholar than a warrior in the battlefield.
Mini Bubble Gum's first reaction after seeing the young lady wasn't surprise, but utter disappointment instead.
"Ah… Really! Why aren't you naked!"
"Sigh…"
Even though Canary didn't speak, her exaggerated sigh had shown her thoughts.
So, after a long time, you two are only here for that?
Rhode rolled his eyes. It seemed that these two young ladies still remembered how they were fully naked when they first came to this world and now they were expecting the same sort of treatment to her? But it was a pity that she wasn't purely a Phantom Guardian. Instead, she was being appointed as a summoned spirit. This was why, even though her strength was forcefully brought down, the equipment on her wasn't stripped off. Gillian was also clothed when I first summoned her, isn't it? 
"Ahh… Rhode, Bubble, Canary, long time no see…"
The young lady stifled a yawn before greeting them in her semi-conscious state. Rhode and Canary nodded in response while Mini Bubble Gum let out a 'tch' and hid behind Canary. Then, she peered out and stuck her tongue out.
"Tch. Sister Heart didn't change one bit!"
"Ahh…"
The young lady didn't have any response to Mini Bubble Gum and she appeared as though she was about to fall asleep anytime after staying up for the whole night. However, the group was long used to this behavior from her. This young lady was one of the vice leaders of Starlight Guild—Orchid Heart.
Just like Canary and Mini Bubble Gum, Orchid Heart and Rhode knew each other in real life. She was Rhode's senior in university and they were also in the same activity club. However, he didn't get to meet her more than ten times throughout his life in university.
The reason was fairly simple. She lived life like a shut-in.
The first time Rhode met Orchid Heart was during the university freshmen party. Back then, this senior of his caused an uproar among the students as though she was a huge star. The freshmen felt ridiculous. Even though she looked decent with delicate and pretty facial features, she wasn't close to being the campus belle at all. Then, Rhode realized from the other seniors about the reasons behind the uproar.
In fact, Orchid Heart had also caused an uproar when she first entered this school. Back then, she entered the school with the best examination scores and was chosen to represent the freshmen in giving the opening speech. However, the school quickly learned about her odd side thereafter. Although she had been chosen to represent the freshmen, she didn't attend the freshmen ceremony at all. Ever since she entered her university dormitory, she never stepped out of her room to attend classes. Perhaps this wasn't too surprising if that was all. After all, many students let themselves go and pigged out after entering university and it was a common occurrence for them to skip classes. However, what astounded the students was that even though she basically didn't step out of the dormitory, the school had never given her any warnings or expelled her before. No one knew about the reason, but Rhode had once heard plenty of rumors. One of the rumors mentioned that she was a genius who came to this university to work on some research, which was why the school gave her the lenient treatment. Moreover, even though her sense of presence was frighteningly low, she always passed all her exams smooth and steadily. This was why she had become a legendary figure in the school.
Then, it was after Starlight Guild became formidable that she joined them. Rhode wasn't especially mindful about her, but he discovered that Orchid Heart was actually that legendary figure in his school after someone reminded him. Orchid Heart had also admitted her identity and that was when they started to know each other.
In the game, Orchid Heart advanced from the Scholar class to the special, hidden class of 'Spellcaster Scholar'. It was a support class within a support class, but unlike a Cleric like Mini Bubble Gum, the Scholar's expertise was in excavating remains, archeology, and analyzing the ancient text left behind in dungeons. It wasn't great in battles—in fact, Orchid Heart's attacking skills were rather average. In terms of battling technique, she was only above average at best among Rhode's subordinates and was totally incomparable to Mini Bubble Gum and Canary.
But on the contrary, she was a total genius in commanding armies and unearthing hidden messages. A Scholar should have been a support class, but everything changed after she excavated the advanced 'Spellcaster Scholar' class. Not only did her abilities as a Scholar improved drastically, but she could also cast some AOE support spells like the Mages and Clerics and possess high level attack techniques. What was the most insane was the unique technique of the 'Spellcaster Scholar'—[Eternal Bibliography]
Through this technique, the Spellcaster Scholar could analyze any techniques being cast before her and once the analysis succeeded, she could store the technique into the [Eternal Bibliography]. Then, she could use the technique for her attacks and defenses, but it would only be limited to one usage. With sufficient time, the Spellcaster Scholar could choose to not cast the technique and undergo deeper learning of it. As long as the learning worked, the Spellcaster Scholar could grasp the technique and use it as her own. No matter if it was the Mage's magic spell, Cleric's spiritual spell, or Swordsman's swordsmanship, the Spellcaster Scholar could imitate and discharge them perfectly and wouldn't be faced with any class limitations.
But this class wasn't all that godlike and the reason was simple. The stronger the technique was, the harder it would be for the Spellcaster Scholar to analyze and learn it. Even though, theoretically speaking, the Spellcaster Scholar could also analyze and learn a BOSS's technique, it would take a long time for her to accomplish it as often times would it require the BOSS to cast the technique a few times before she could fully analyze it, which made the learning part even more challenging. In the past, Orchid Heart had once succeeded in copying the Dark Dragon's technique, but she realized that one and a half years was needed to learn this technique. And it was one and a half years of time in real life.
In one and a half years, perhaps the Dark Dragon would've died eight to ten times already.
Due to this reason and in addition to her low level of mastery, her combat skill only hovered above average even with assistance from Rhode and the other top-rated players.
On the contrary, when one door closed, another door opened. Even though she was incompetent in many aspects on combat skills, she was a talented commander who was rare to come by. Everyone knew that commanding a guild battle in game was tough as players weren't soldiers who strictly abided by instructions. Moreover, chaos was bound to happen when there were that many players in large-scale battles. Therefore, even though the battle tactic appeared doable in large-scale battles, it would often erupt into utter chaos thereafter.
However, Orchid Heart was entirely the opposite. No matter if there were 50, 500, 5000, or even 50,000 players on the battlefield, she could command them perfectly with her exceptional decision-making and quick reactions. Normally, there would be some delays when commanders gave their orders during chaotic warfare, but Orchid Heart was so quick that she could give out accurate instructions even before the situation took a drastic turn. Apart from formidable players like Canary and Mini Bubble Gum who had assisted Rhode's Starlight in dominating the game and unleashing the best of their backstabbing, Orchid Heart's commanding skills had also contributed greatly in that aspect. If it wasn't for her capability in sorting everything out clearly and orderly in the battlefield, perhaps Rhode's tactics wouldn't have succeeded so easily. 
However, she was often mistaken for being a person who would be full of zeal whenever she indulged herself in the game. In fact, no matter if it was reality or game, she would always appear sleepy as though she could close her eyes and fall asleep anytime after pushing through several days and nights of gaming without a break. Those who weren't aware of this often advised her to take a break if she couldn't endure the fatigue, as health was the most important. Then, they realized that she looked sleepy no matter if she had just gotten up in the morning, eaten her lunch, or before she turned in for the night. Everyone was used to seeing her sleepy eyes that were without any traces of tension. Not only in group battles, but also when their group was wiped out by the BOSS, she would always seemed to be lacking energy and vigor as though she didn't have enough sleep.
"Senior Heart, I guess you're aware of our current situation, right?"
Orchid Heart looked with modestly downcast eyes and nodded slightly. She held the <<Eternal Bibliography>> in her right hand while her left hand scribbled across the page. She leaned on the wall and her neatly cut fringe swayed along her movements. After a few moments, Orchid Heart gave a firm nod. 
"… Yes, I got it, Rhode. Don't worry, I know what to do."
"Good to know."
Rhode heaved a sigh of relief.
"Alright then, Senior Heart, have a good rest while I get Canary to arrange a room for you. I will inform you of my upcoming plans later."
"Sure. I'll leave those kids to you then, Rhode."
Orchid Heart let out a tired yawn before gazing at the card in Rhode's hand. Then, she pushed up her black-framed glasses from her nose bridge. Rhode turned to Canary and Mini Bubble Gum.
"Find a room for Senior Heart. As for the others, I will introduce them to her afterward."
"Okay, Rhode, I'll go get prepared."
"Ah… How boring, but I do want to see their reactions when they meet Sister Heart. Hahaha, it's gonna be fun. Let's go, Sister Heart!"
Rhode shook his head with a bitter smile. He sat back to his table and scanned the ten cards before him. The ten cards had an above average level due to the top-rated Soul Cores used to summon them. Besides, some of them had even raised his spirits.
All the ten cards had black base and white edges and exposed some murderous aura within its solemnity. The ten cards were led by Orchid Heart as the Core Card and on her card showed the <<Eternal Bibliography>> with a black hard cover floating before her widely spread arms and behind her were several metallic pillars. 
[Received the Ultimate Army Deck 10/10]
[Orchid Heart. Summoner (Number 1 Position in the Ultimate Army Deck. Human) Offense 3 Defense 5. Rare Spellcaster Scholar. Unfuseable. Analyzes, copies, and learns techniques. Incantation. Techniques Possessed: <<Eternal Bibliography>> (Everything in the world has its own meaning. Follow the footsteps of knowledge and wander into the endless ocean.)
Reverse Time Flow (Time Attribute)
Core Card (Can summon all cards)
Range Reward (Extend effective range of techniques by 3 x 3)
Time Manipulation (Accelerate or delay the technique casting time. Duration increases along with levels)
All in one (No punishment for using techniques from other classes)
Proficiency (Increase the speed of growth for mastery levels by 50%. Increase strength of techniques with max mastery levels by one-tenth)
Rate of Growth: 0%]
Apart from the godlike support techniques, her offense and defense values were unremarkable. But Rhode was able to accept this fact as she was level 0, after all. Moreover, she was more like a General who commanded everyone from the back and didn't need to lead the charge, so it didn't matter even if she had low offensive values. She could respawn even if she died, anyway.
Even though Rhode was mentally prepared, he was stupefied when he glanced over the ten cards. He was confident that the strength of these ten cards would be sufficient to take on an entire legion!


Rhode is a legendary guild leader of the most influential guild in the VRMMO, Dragon Soul Continent. In order to cope with the death of his beloved sister, he dived into the game for seven long years. During this period, Rhode tries his best to alleviate his emotional pain through gaming, but alas, his life shatters once more when he heard his parents perish in a plane crash.

A month after the incident, he made a decision to quit the game and return to the real world. But just before that, as a final farewell, Rhode decides to fight the most powerful BOSS in the game with his guildmates. In the end, he defeats the BOSS at the expense of his avatar's life. Rhode smiles as his avatar dissipates in a beam of light. However, instead of respawning at the usual platform...

...

"W-wha...!"

Rhode shot up and stared at the unfamiliar ceiling.

And thus, a player who had been creating legends in the game for three eras disappeared just like that...

Prologue
Skanderbeg - The Albanian Hero
The Advent Of World War II
Chapter 1
The Resistance Movement
Racism and Anti-Semitism Under  Nazi Germany
Chapter 2 
High Profile Espionage
Poland Invasion
 Chapter 3
Life in Auschwitz
Chapter 4
European Turmoil
Chapter 5
The First Assassination Attempt
Chapter 6
Operation Valkyrie- Second Assassination Attempt
Third And Subsequent Assassination Attempts
The Death of Erwin Rommel
Chapter 7
Atrocities in Occupied Poland
Chapter 8
Dresden, Germany
Last Ditch for Escapees
Chapter 9
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakian Resistance Movements
Chapter 10
German Occupied France
Oradour-Sur-Glane Haute- Vienne, France
Chapter 11
Atrocities at Oradour-Sur-Glane
Testimony of a Survivor-June 1944
Chapter 12
Operation  Anthropoid
The Hunt for the Assassins
Revenge For Heydrich's Death
Homage for Reinhard Heydrich
Chapter 13
Vichy, France
Jasenovac, Independent State of Croatia
Testimony of an Author
A Tale of a Horror Church
Chapter 14
Life and Atrocities in Jasenovac
Chapter 15
Atrocities in the Concentration Camps
Frasheris' End
Chapter 16
Limoges, France
Mountains of Lidice, Czechoslovakia
Chapter 17 
Albania
Italy Invades Albania
Germany Invades Albania
Resistance Movements Arise
Chapter 18
Vichy, France
Allies land in Normandy
Fall of Berlin
Epilogue
The German Roots
Does Nazism Still Exist?
Bibliography

The Sons Of Skanderbeg is an epic-drama, espionage, suspense, and historically accounted for  where significant events, places and names in world history are involved. The story narrates and describes the stunning and horrendous war crimes committed during World War II. Although fiction, the story may be one aspect of war survival that involves the scenes of espionage and daring escapes portrayed by the main character of the story.  It tells about an organized  resistance movement  of German officers with Jewish roots from Albania  who are deployed to different Nazi-occupied  European countries  to assassinate key Nazi officers including Hitler  and  neutralize German military offensive in strategic areas of occupied  territories. The leading surviving characters  Jora, her husband and Qamil, an army make their daring escape from Czechoslovakia to Italy by train to reach Albania.   In the end, Jora’s husband in his struggle against the German Gestapo in the train is killed. Jora is left pregnant and is cradled by Qamil to the end. Exploring and struggling each intrepid circumstance around the enemy lines, the option is to escape or die upon fulfilling their mission after which they have to get to Albania to live a lesser Jewish persecution  and fight with the mother movement based on the land for an absolute freedom.

She laughs and walk to a sofa where she sat on it. Liam, him, Sat opposite on the other Sora. She sigh and stood up quickly getting the Book she was Reading just before.
"What Book is it now?" liam ask
"A bibliography. " she replied 
"oh" He responded. 
"Of headmaster" she added
"of who?" he ask sitting up " why? there's such a Book here"
"Seems like it" she replied. She opened the Book and kept reading.
"why are you even Reading it?" he ask
"reasons" she replied. Her brows furrows as she came across an info.

"What's wrong?" he ask.
"umh... nothing..." she close the Book " i just didn't understand it. I'm going to borrow this Book, where do i go to borrow it?" she ask

"I'll show you" he replied as he stood up and walk to a scaner "You Can scan your Book here with the code bar on the Book. Then you have to write your name on the screen and take a ticket. They will then tell you when you will need to give back the Book. Its the same process you scan it and then you put it here in this box. It will be put back by the library duties club. " He explain.

"oh ok, thank you" she replied as she scanned the Book, type her name and put it in her bag. 
She walk back to the sofa and sat, Liam followed and sat next to me. An awkwardness laid itself around them. 
"Well umh... i'll go" she Say as she stood up, she walk but trip on her own foot. Liam reacted quickly and catch her before her fall. 
"Are you okay?" he ask
"y-yeah, i'm alright" Her cheeks went a little pink. Liam then let go of her, He was still looking at her Green eyes while doing so: he had never Seen such pure Green eyes. 
"You have very beautiful eyes " he said.
White look at him with wide eyes as she Blushed even more. "wh-what?" 
"huh? oh sorry !!" he blushes a little too.
White was a little surprised but she responded "its fine " she smiled brightly "thank you for your help" She added as she left the library. She made her way to her dorm. She sigh seeing only Eve and Rose. "I'm tired, i'm going to sleep" she Say as she went to her bedroom, she put on her PJs and fell on her bed, burying her head in her pillows. "I'm going to read that Book Tomorrow" she Whispered to Herself.

A Man stood in front of a stone, with a White flower in his hand and tears in his eyes.

"I miss you, why'd you leave me?" he ask, muttering under his breath. He bend towards as he placed the white flower on the stone with words engraved. He wore a black suit, and his Brown hair was brush back with gel. He was alone. Well, everybody left, he just stayed there, remembering the happy Times with the person now sleeping under all this dirt and mud.

"taking down the forum is not our ultimate goal. We are going to rely on the identity of the forum administrator to take down this server. Do you have any ideas?" Cobra is very good at using questions to motivate people.
Many people do not even understand the previous demonstration, how can they put forward any suggestions now? if there is an invasion, we do not have to come here to listen to the lecture.
"the forum has a function, called upload, you can upload some pictures and other attachments to the forum, you must know this!"Cobra smiled. "that's what we're going to take advantage of!" Now let's take a look at the administrator's interface, have you found it? The administrator can set the type and size of the upload attachment. I have a backdoor program in hand and the format is EXE, so I will set the EXE file to be uploaded. "
Cobra set up successfully, hit the interface to develop new posts, and uploaded an EXE file to the forum, that is, he put a backdoor program on the hard drive of the website server.
"the backdoor program has been put on it, and now as long as we know the specific location of the backdoor program on the other side's server, we can use the permissions of the database or other means to run it!" Instead of explaining what it takes to confirm the exact location of the backdoor, Cobra runs it directly in its own way.
Hu Yifei's level is very limited, he did not understand this step, but Cobra can get another computer to run the specified program on his own computer, which in itself is very powerful.
Cobra opens the connection program at the back door, enters the IP address of the server, and quickly gets a black window with no image display, but you can enter a variety of commands. Cobra enters the simplest DOS command, which is used to display its own IP address.
The IP address shown is the same as that of the server, which proves that Cobra has entered the server and got a lot of permissions.
Cobra typed a few more commands to compare the results displayed with the situation on his own computer to confirm that it was from two different computers. Of course, Cobra also has a more direct way, he directly typed in the command, let the server directly restart, soon, the backdoor program lost the connection, and then enter the link just BBS, also indicated that the server cannot be found.
Although the people on the scene do not understand hackers, they also know that the Cobra intrusion is indeed a success.
"just because a small BUG, set up on the forum program on the server caused the whole server to be controlled, now let's go back and see how big a loophole it is!" Cobra smiled at the people at the meeting, picked up the cup and drank slowly for two minutes before Cobra put down the cup and said, "Let's see if the server restart is over!"
Hu Yifei suddenly realized that when he said that Cobra had been drinking water for so long, he was waiting for the server to restart. No wonder Hu Yifei thought there was something wrong with Cobra.
Cobra re-entered the web address of the forum, and this forum was shown again, and it seems that the server is working normally again. "the theme of our report meeting is network security, and the intrusion just now is just to tell you how important security is." How to make your computer absolutely safe? that's what I want to talk about.
Maybe many students at the scene will have some questions, saying that it doesn't seem too troublesome to look at your intrusion just now, so will it be very easy to prevent the invasion? "
Cobra smiled. "in fact, this idea is absolutely right. Security is much easier than intrusion. Security depends on the usual bit by bit, which can be done with habits. But intrusion requires extremely unusual inspiration and thousands of experiments, which not everyone can do."
As if afraid that people would not believe it, Cobra once again demonstrated the problems of 1: 1 and 1: 2, and the web page was displayed normally and prompted for an error, just like the previous display. "now, please take a look at how I fix this loophole!"
Cobra once again used the back door to connect to the server, found the forum program source code file, opened, but only modified a sentence, the people at the scene saw very clearly, he just added a few characters to it. But a miracle happened. after Cobra saved the forum code file, he reopened the forum, and this time, whether it was 1x1 or 1x2, the web page showed normal.
"all the pages show up normally. What other information can you get?" Cobra asked everyone with a smile.
Hu Yifei's chin fell off, no way, just a few characters, the loophole disappeared instantly, this intruder will be dumbfounded, not to mention admin, you are asking the administrator's account is "idiot", "retarded", "shit", the web page will also show normal.
"of course, I can modify it like this!" Cobra opens the source file again, deletes the characters you just added, goes down a few lines of code, and inserts a symbol there. This time is even more magical, wait for him to save, then go to SQL injection, whether it is 1: 1 or 1: 2, the web page all prompts an error, only enter the correct URL, do not add any extra words after the URL, the web page will display normally.
"as you can see, whether it is safe or not depends on whether you write more or less characters!" Cobra smiled. "that's why we often say that there is only one letter between security and insecurity!"
There was thunderous applause in the venue, and everyone was very impressed by Cobra's wonderful performance.
According to the original arrangement, Cobra would have to perform the prevention of overflow attacks, but as a result, the emotions of the people at the scene were mobilized, and a lot of questions were raised on this SQL injection alone.
The fat man sitting next to Cobra laughed so much that his mouth could not close his mouth. The effect of the scene was much better than expected. When he saw it, he stood up and interrupted the question at the scene. "because the time for the report meeting is limited, this question session is over. Next, let me introduce to you the current situation of the cyber security industry, as well as the prospect forecast!"
"first of all, I would like to introduce myself. I am the general manager of Huafeng Network Security Technology Co., Ltd. My name is Yan Feng!" The fat man smiled and bowed to the audience. "I'm kind of an industry insider, but I still feel a little nervous when I give you this report. Let's just take it as my superficial opinion and share it with you. If you have any different ideas, you can put forward them."
The fat man was very modest, but then he was really impolite. He blew the development prospect of network security into a flower, without exception, and it was the same set of "huge market demand, serious shortage of employees, forming a huge talent gap".
He also took out the data that did not know how to statistics, and fooled the students at the scene in a daze. Finally, the fat man also made an analogy, saying that being safe is like being a doctor, specializing in seeing and giving doctors to the Internet. From ancient times to the present, doctors have never been unemployed.
At present, the pressure of employment is so great, especially for computer students, it is really difficult to enter the kick industry after graduation. now there are so many people who want to be kicked that a recent graduate cannot rank at all. How to find a stable and reliable job is a top priority as soon as we enter the university, so Fatso's words moved many students at the meeting, and some people began to ask, "so if we want to get into this business, what do you need to learn?"
Fat man and so on is this sentence, can still pretend to be reserved coughing, just said: "at present, the market about the network security engineer certification, such as Cisco, such as CIW, NISC, CISSP, have our own certification, but also have foreign certification, training prices are not cheap, but the real professional training institutions are rare." Many training institutions recruit people under the guise, but the substitute teachers have never worked in the security industry at all.
How can this train qualified security engineers? therefore, we see a very strange phenomenon. On the one hand, training institutions train a large number of network security engineers, on the other hand, network security companies have to find talents on their own, and then adopt the old and new approach. Establish your own talent reserve system. "
"We Huafeng also had this kind of trouble. later, we simply conducted a training session for network security engineers ourselves, and the result was unexpectedly good. Apart from two students who stayed with us to work in Huafeng, the rest were hired empty.
There are professional network security companies, as well as securities, banking, and e-commerce enterprises. They also need a large number of network security professionals."
When the people below saw that the fat man could not get to the point for a long time, he became a little anxious and asked directly, "is there still any training in your company?"
"come on! Of course! Why don't you do it! " The fat man's tone is very firm. "now we have signed commissioned training agreements for security personnel with many domestic enterprises, so we Huafeng will continue to hold such training courses in the future." Maybe some students are about to ask, saying that the trainees trained by others do not recognize the company, so why do the trainees you train rush to get it? " The fat man pointed to his fat face, "of course there are reasons, but it's not because my Yan Feng's face is big."
The scene immediately laughed.
"Why are our own trainees popular? First, Huafeng itself is a network security company, so we know very well what skills our employees need to master; second, because the teachers we hire are unusual, let's think about it: can the apprentices taught by Cobra himself be the same as those so-called engineers who can buy certificates for just a few thousand yuan in the market? "
Cobra's wonderful performance just now has completely impressed the people at the scene, so as soon as these words came out, the students in the field immediately became excited, "is it true that your students are trained by Cobra himself?"
"exactly!" The fat man nodded deeply. "A famous teacher makes a great apprentice, and others rush to use our students. What they recognize is the gold signboard of Cobra. All our courses are taught by the teacher Cobra."
There was a lot of noise at the scene, and many people have begun to talk about whether to attend Huafeng's training course. It is not everyone's luck to be a disciple of Cobra.
Hu Yifei looked coldly at the court, thinking that the students were really simple, and it was so easy to be fooled by the fat man. Hu Yifei felt wrong again. He seemed to be a student. He was not fooled now, just because he had already been fooled.


Some students have lost their patience, and regardless of the end of the report, they rushed to the front to surround the fat man and asked if they could sign up now. They had to book a seat in the next training class, even the people from the computer association responsible for maintaining order. I was very interested.
Cobra sat beside him, drinking water calmly. Everyone was in awe of him, but no one went up to surround him.
Seeing that it was a good opportunity, Hu Yifei took a piece of paper out of his pocket and approached Cobra with an air of humility and education. "Mr. Cobra, I have some questions. I'd like to ask you for advice!"
Cobra was impressed by Hu Yifei, so he put down the water cup and said with a smile, "Please speak!"
Hu Yifei spread out the paper on the desktop, which was covered with professional terms he had extracted from his hard disk notes. "I want to learn these skills, but I don't know where to start. I hope Mr. Cobra can give me some advice."
Cobra took the paper, picked it up and looked at it with a look of surprise. He looked at Hu Yifei and said, "where did you hear about these things?"
"Wolf den stronghold!" Hu Yifei clenched his mouth. "some people up there say that these technologies are the most cutting-edge technologies. I want to learn them, but I've been inquiring about them for a long time at the wolf's nest stronghold, and no one can tell me where to start!"
"Oh, that's right." Cobra mused, folded the piece of paper and received it in his pocket. "there are six technologies you mentioned above. I don't know which one you want to study."
"six items?" Hu Yifei's eyeballs fell out. He searched the Internet for a long time before he determined that they were four items, but how did they become six? "then if I want to study them all, where do I need to start?"
Cobra laughed, looking at Hu Yifei's performance, he may not really know, "young man, studious is a good thing, but you must remember to eat more than to chew." To tell you the truth, I don't know any of the above. According to my own understanding, no one knows these technologies in China at present, and only three people have mastered the alternative technologies of three of the six technologies.
If you can figure out one of them, I think your annual salary is at least ten million yuan a year! " Cobra's smiling expression doesn't seem to be a lie.
Hu Yifei was very discouraged. After this, he could not find a sensible person in China. Although there were three people who could do it, it was still an alternative technology. Cobra said it was very attractive, with an annual salary of 10 million yuan, but he had to learn this technology first. Hu Yifei thought of the notes on the hard drive again, and he didn't know what the original owner of the hard drive did.
He was so strong that he was so sick that Cobra had a great technology in his mouth, and he was proficient in all of it. I just flipped through two of his notes. If I read more, I don't know what new technology will emerge.
"that's the way it is." Hu Yifei sighed, "then forget it. Don't bother Mr. Cobra!"
Cobra looked at Hu Yifei's frustrated look and said: "in the computer field, no matter what technology is, can not be separated from the basic knowledge structure, people who can develop these technologies, just have more creativity and inspiration than others." If you really like computers, you might as well lay the foundation first! "
"Thank you, Mr. Cobra, for your advice. Where should I start if I lay the foundation?" Hu Yifei also asked that Cobra's words still enlightened him a little bit. Just like the SQL injection just now, the difference between 1: 1 and 1: 2 shows that in the eyes of ordinary people, there seems to be no problem, and it is even impossible for anyone to try to add those characters after the URL, but in the eyes of hackers, it immediately becomes a sharp weapon of attack. What is bad is not the foundation, but the mode of thinking and inspiration.
"Let me give you a bibliography!" Cobra took out his pen and paper and wrote to Hu Yifei on the spot. He was still a little fond of Hu Yifei, not because this guy had heard of himself, but because others went to consult Yan Feng about the training course. Only Hu Yifei came to consult technical problems. Although this guy is a little too ambitious, he may not be able to learn safety technology if he can have a correct attitude.
Hu Yifei's idea is different again. He thinks that if he lays a good foundation and has those notes as a guide, he may really be able to study those technologies. With an annual salary of 10 million yuan, what a thick wad of money it has to be. He will no longer have to worry about his purse. When he gets rich, he will first pay back Duan Yu's money. This kid is nagging every day for fear that he will not pay back the money. When the time comes, he will add two zeros to him and smash this Grandet.
Cobra finished his bibliography and took out a business card from his pocket. "you can buy these books later and read them carefully. If you have any questions, you can ask me again!"
"Thank you, thank you!" Hu Yifei thanked Hu Yifei for putting his business card and bibliography in his pocket. Hu Yifei was very moved by the well-known hackers of the Cobra generation who were able to be so enthusiastic about themselves.
Hu Yifei asked for the signed book and network security tool set that Yan Feng promised to him just now, and sneaked out of the ladder classroom while the old pig was not paying attention.
The old pig has been thinking about having dinner with a beautiful woman. At the end of the report meeting, he stared at the door, looking for the figure of Hu Yifei. As a result, when the last person came out, he did not see a hair of Hu Yifei, and Hu Yifei's phone was turned off. Realizing that he had been fooled, the old pig stood there scolding his mother, "motherfucker Hu Yifei, you wait, I must grass you a hundred times!"

The rookie's ironic hacker road. 
Hu Yifei, who was originally a computer rookie, inadvertently found a second-hand hard disk, and has since embarked on the wretched road of hackers. 
If you want to see how Brother Hu is smart on the network, please click on this article and read it carefully. 
The funniest hacker novel, the cruelest hacker world.

Dara involuntarily lowered his shoulders, his chin sank to his chest.

"Yes, but I was thinking about finding a solution, the key to the treasure, Hmm, hmm," said Dara with a wheeze.

"But I didn't find a clue, on the other hand, I don't know what topographic map to look for: what is it called? What is its scale? Where was it published? "- afflicted Dara.

"Yes, and is this a map?" Maybe some code? Now, you guessed it damn complicated ?! And I thought I would get rich quickly, oooh! "Dara groaned and yelled.

He mused with himself, even rather with his subconscious. But the subconscious knew better how to rummage through his mental knowledge base, in his head there were a lot of different information, data, fragments of conversations. The subconscious mind did not need to drink special pills to combine the scattered data into a single system.

The subconscious mind can do this best.

Dara, I thought, but the subconscious told him: hey Bro, don't think too much, let's go to the bomb shelter and see if there are clues there? Where is the best place to hide a leaf? In the woods! Where is the best place to hide diamonds (thanks to Hollywood movies) in the pond! And topographic maps are best hidden in a library or room for propaganda and campaigning.

You remember that the bomb shelter was built before the start of World War II. In the house for senior officers. In those days, the second empire especially developed ideological struggle, agitation and propaganda.

At every factory, military unit, and collective farm, rallies of party activists were organized every Saturday, where they urged non-partisans to join the party. They branded the enemies of the second empire, held political informational conversations with visual aids. Sarcastic posters were shown as a second empire, attacking capitalism and the bourgeoisie with boots.

It showed on topographic maps how imperialist capitalist military bases surround the second empire from all sides.

"You didn't catch what I'm talking about, Dara?" asked the subconscious. Dara imagined her sitting in a virtual room on a thick cotton blanket and chuckling at him.

"Yes, you are right, I think I understand what it is about!" Dara began to jump up and down, he could not restrain joy.

"It seems we are back on horses!" (That is, back in business).

"Exactly, if there is a place for campaigning in the bomb shelter, there may be topographic maps, even if I can't find the key to the treasure, we can always sell old topographic maps, they haven't been taken into account anywhere, they have been deducted from the balance sheet!" shone with an unknown fire.

"Are you going to sell topographic maps?" How much do they cost? "His subconscious mind clarified the information from Dar.

"Oh, don't tell me that for a copy of the card in electronic form you can get from 1 to 15 dollars at Stokes, but the original costs from 100 to 570 dollars. Already some income, if there are a lot of cards, you can easily earn "10 thousand dollars" in anticipation of a big jackpot worn by Dara's hands.

"Well, tomorrow we will try to catch luck by the tail!" he said.

***

Baraz, his grandfather, Barno, gathered with him in company to visit the old house of the "specialist." Under or near which there was a bomb shelter.

 The young girl became interested, she wanted to remove it on her iPhone and put it on the network. But Baraz forbade her to do this. Barno was angry, but then thought that just going down to cover would be interesting. Then she will be able to tell about this to her American friends in New Jersey.

Dara was a little worried that the uninvited comrades put him in search of prey! But to refuse them was not possible.

Tomorrow morning he was supposed to meet with Aghabek, and perhaps wealth was waiting for him there !!!

***
But before they began to search, Dara had to get acquainted with the Instructions for the search for historical artifacts

- the study of laws, regulations regarding the search for treasures and historical artifacts in the country

- obtaining permission to search activities and registration card

- payment of tax on point activity

- upon receipt of income through the sale of finds (coins, jewelry, etc.), from advertising from YouTube, up to a certain month, pass a certificate of income and pay income tax

• Medieval Guides, ancient manuscripts, old books - write out titles

• Old maps - find names from guides on the map

• Archaeological, historical, historical and geographical modern bibliography, specify map data

• Toponymic names of geographical places, highlight on old and new topographic maps, determine the name, how it is translated, what is their etymology.

• Search for locations using high resolution satellite images in Google Map

• Creating a database, with the registration of information about the coordinates, toponymic names, years of occurrence, entering additional attribute information

- Verification of the data collected in the registry of cultural heritage in the organization involved in their protection

- Exclusion from the database of historical places that already have the status of cultural heritage monuments (this is a red zone where any research is prohibited by law)

• Creation of thematic digital maps of the terrain of the first approximation, without specification on the locality (without data binding in field studies)

• Clarification of the location of historical artifacts on the ground, using a hand-held GPS navigator and a satellite image of high and super high spatial resolution

• Creating a refined thematic digital map with places of historical artifacts (but not in the red zone)

- Departure to the place with instruments (geophysical, metal detectors, an instrument for determining the spectra, there is special software that allows the spectra to determine the possible presence of underground foundations of buildings, quadcopters with 3D laser scanners - if they are allowed in the country for use)

- Conducting research, entering all the objects found in the database in which layer is found. When discovering monuments of cultural heritage, call specialists from museums and organizations for their protection.

Finding treasures at the official level is not easy, being a white seeker of treasures is not as profitable as it seems, but everything is interesting according to the law.

Dara, I thought, yes, apparently, I'll have to ask Baraz again to help me with submitting permission and registration, getting the search engine ID card!


Tomorrow you still need to go to the bomb shelter and maybe find the key to the treasure ?!The clock is already 5 hours 45 minutes in the morning. You need to sleep at least 4 hours, so as not to fall on the street from lack of strength, Dara thought.

COMPLETED

A small story about adventurers, local history enthusiasts, treasure hunters. They wander around cities, forests, mountains, steppes and deserts, seek metal artifacts and search magnets for historical artifacts and sell some of them at auctions, donate some to museums and keep some in their home collections. They work in archives and funds, second-hand bookkeepers do not forget, they look for old books, road workers and topographic maps of the 17-20 centuries.

There is the only main character Fang and his partner Dara.

---
English is the same as in other novels. While it is far from good. The approximate number of chapters is from 60 to 100. Updates 3 chapters per week. The number of words is from 600 to more 1200.

COMPLETED

--------------------------------------------------
This is a work of art. Any resemblance to real people or real events is purely coincidental.

War of 1812
This article is about the British-American War from 1812 to 1815. For the Franco-Russian conflict, see French invasion of Russia. For other uses of this term, see War of 1812 (disambiguation).
The War of 1812 was a conflict fought between the United States, the United Kingdom, and their respective allies from June 1812 to February 1815. Historians in Britain often see it as a minor theater of the Napoleonic Wars; in the United States and Canada, it is seen as a war in its own right, though it was separate.

War of 1812
War of 1812 Montage.jpg
Clockwise from top: damage to the U.S. Capitol after the Burning of Washington; the mortally wounded Isaac Brock spurs on the York Volunteers at the battle of Queenston Heights; USS Constitution vs HMS Guerriere; The death of Tecumseh in 1813; Andrew Jackson defeats the British assault on New Orleans.
Date 18 June 1812 –17 February 1815
(2 years and 8 months)
Location 
Eastern and Central North America, Atlantic and Pacific Oceans
Result 
Treaty of Ghent

Military stalemate; both sides' invasion attempts repulsed
Status quo ante bellum
Defeat of Tecumseh's Confederacy
Belligerents
 United States

Choctaw
Cherokee
Creeks
Seneca
 United Kingdom

 The Canadas
Tecumseh's Confederacy[1]
Shawnee
Creek Red Sticks
Ojibwe
Fox
Iroquois
Miami
Mingo
Ottawa
Kickapoo
Delaware (Lenape)
Mascouten
Potawatomi
Sauk
Wyandot
 Bourbon Spain

 Florida (1814)
Commanders and leaders
United States James Madison
United States Henry Dearborn
United States Jacob Brown
United States Winfield Scott
United States Andrew Jackson
United States William Henry Harrison
United States William H. Winder (POW)
United States William Hull Surrendered (POW)
United States Zebulon Pike †
United States Oliver Hazard Perry
United States Isaac Chauncey
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland George, Prince Regent
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Lord Liverpool
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Sir George Prévost
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Sir Isaac Brock †
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Gordon Drummond
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Charles de Salaberry
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Roger Hale Sheaffe
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Robert Ross †
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Edward Pakenham †
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland James FitzGibbon
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Alexander Cochrane
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland James Lucas Yeo
Tecumseh †
Strength
U.S. Army:
7,000 (at war's start)
35,800 (at war's end)
Rangers: 3,049
Militia: 458,463*
U.S. Marines
U.S. Navy and Revenue Cutter Service (at war's start):
Frigates: 12
Other vessels: 14
Privateers: 515 ships[2]
Native allies:
125 Choctaw
unknown others[3]
British Army:
5,200 (at war's start)
48,160 (at war's end)
Provincial regulars: 10,000
Militia: 4,000
Royal Marines
Royal Navy
Ships of the line: 11
Frigates: 34
Other vessels: 52
Provincial Marine (at war's start): ‡
Ships: 9
Native allies: 10,000–15,000[4]
[2]
Casualties and losses
2,200–3,721 killed in action[5]

4,505 wounded
15,000 (est.) died from all causes[a]
4,000 slaves freed [6]
20,000 captured[7][8]
8 frigates captured or burnt
278 privateers captured
1,400 merchant ships captured
British Empire:
1,160[9]–1,960 killed[2][b] in action

3,679+ wounded
10,000 died from all causes[2][c]
4 frigates captured
~1,344 merchant ships captured (373 recaptured)[5]
15,500 captured
Native allies:
10,000 dead from all causes (warriors and civilians)[2][d]

Unknown captured
 * Some militias operated in only their own regions.
 † Killed in action
 ‡ A locally raised coastal protection and seminaval force on the Great Lakes.
From the outbreak of war with Napoleonic France, Britain had enforced a naval blockade to choke off neutral trade to France, which the US contested as illegal under international law. To man the blockade, Britain impressed American merchant sailors into the Royal Navy. Incidents such as the Chesapeake–Leopard affair, which happened five years before the war, inflamed anti-British sentiment in the US. In 1811, the British were in turn outraged by the Little Belt affair, in which 11 British sailors died.[10][11] Britain supplied Native Americans who raided American settlers on the frontier, hindering American expansion and provoking resentment.[12] Historians debate whether the desire to annex some or all of British North America (Canada) contributed to the American decision to go to war. On June 18, 1812, US President James Madison, after heavy pressure from the War Hawks in Congress, signed the American declaration of war into law.[13]

With most of its army in Europe fighting Napoleon, Britain adopted a defensive strategy. American prosecution of the war effort suffered from its unpopularity, especially in New England, where it was derogatorily referred to as "Mr. Madison's War". American defeats at the Siege of Detroit and the Battle of Queenston Heights thwarted attempts to seize Upper Canada, improving British morale. American attempts to invade Lower Canada and capture Montreal also failed. In 1813, the Americans won the Battle of Lake Erie, gaining control of the lake, and at the Battle of the Thames defeated Tecumseh's Confederacy, securing a primary war goal. A final American attempt to invade Canada was fought to a draw at the Battle of Lundy's Lane during the summer of 1814. At sea, the powerful Royal Navy blockaded American ports, cutting off trade and allowing the British to raid the coast at will. In 1814, one of these raids burned the capital, Washington, although the Americans later repulsed British attempts to invade New England and capture Baltimore.

In Britain, there was mounting opposition to wartime taxation and demands to reopen trade with America. With the abdication of Napoleon, the blockade of France ended and Britain ceased impressment, rendering the issue of the impressment of American sailors moot. The British were then able to increase the strength of the blockade on the United States coast, annihilating American maritime trade and bringing the US government near to bankruptcy. Neither side wanted to continue fighting. Peace negotiations began in August 1814, and the Treaty of Ghent was signed on December 24. News of the peace did not reach America for some time. Unaware of the treaty, British forces invaded Louisiana and were defeated at the Battle of New Orleans in January 1815. These late victories were viewed by Americans as having restored national honour, leading to the collapse of anti-war sentiment and the beginning of the Era of Good Feelings, a period of national unity. News of the treaty arrived shortly thereafter, halting military operations. The treaty was unanimously[14] ratified by the US Senate on February 17, 1815, ending the war with no boundary changes.

Origins

Forces

Declaration of war

Course of war

Treaty of Ghent

Losses and compensation

Long-term consequences

Memory and historiography

See also

Notes

References

Sources

Further reading

External links

Last edited 7 days ago by Laszlo Panaflex
RELATED ARTICLES
Results of the War of 1812
Bibliography of the War of 1812
Wikimedia list article
HMS Prince Regent (1814)
Wikipedia

The town guards swaggered over to us. The waiters and attendants of the restaurant moved instead to soothe the other patrons of the restaurant about the disturbance.

One of the town guards, a broad-faced man with a rough mustache and stubble chin, pulled at an empty chair and pushed it over towards our table. He sat on it, facing backwards, and grabbed a chicken leg off the spread.

He munched on the meat and then pointed with the bone at Yae, "I remember you. Didn't I tell you to keep out of trouble? I see you've found yerself a whole new set of troublemakers."

Yae frowned slightly. "They were the ones to accost me, what was I supposed to do? It was self-defense, that it was."

"I'm not talking about some little crooks. You should just have ran away instead of makin' a show of it! Violence is not a solution to everything!" and then he pointed at me, "And you… what's your excuse?"

I smiled. "It was crazy, officer! There were these idiots who just wouldn't let us go until we allowed them to run their faces into our fists! Repeatedly!"

He scoffed. "A joker, huh? You'll find we have no patience for jokes in this here parts. No one asked you to butt in, you lot did more damage to the town than anyone."

"They were threatening to do things to Yae!" Elze shouted out. "You can't blame us from DOING YOUR JOB FOR YOU! What sort of town guards are you anyway? Where were you when all of this was happening?"

"Hey, what we know is what we can do about. If rascals want to rumble in the streets, that's not something we can fix until someone tells us so we can go there! You know how big this town is? We were actually just about to get there when you lot just all decided to run away! Don't you play dumb now, there's lots a' people who saw you fighting recklessly in this here good town!"

"Hmm? Why is damage to the town more important than criminals accosting people out on the street?"

Monika pulled up relevant info about town guards. When thinking about town guards, what immediately leapt to mind was Sir Terry Pratchett's novels about the City Watch of Ankh-Morpork in Discworld.

/"But that itself was inspired by the Rembrandt Van Rjin's painting of the Night Watch, which itself was commissioned by Captain Banning Cocq and seventeen members of his Kloveniers – civic militia guards! So… town guards might not actually be directly employed by the local lord or mayor!"/

She looked at the town guards. /"Yet volunteer militia would certainly be better dressed, better equipped, and better motivated for crime prevention. I think maybe they're less volunteer police officers than the more structured protection racket of the local government."/

Wait.. that brought up a strange idea. Could… could the whole thing actually have been staged, and the town guard were about to swoop in and show themselves being all protectors of the peace? The deliberately leaked Yae's location as bait as an excuse to show off and gleefully and justifiably break some heads? Remind the shopkeepers about how much they were 'needed', maybe?

I shrugged. "So what's the problem?"

"The problem is that you used magic in town. That's against the law. You damaged town property! And that's gots its penalty!"

"One could also argue that being under fear for our lives, NOT resorting to magic would have been dumb as hell going four against about, what, ten armed and hostile criminals? Criminals who had some strange courage to commit such violence in the middle of the day, threatening **** and death, and people were just watching interested at seeing a young girl beaten down."

Then I shook my head sadly. "I do not have much sympathy for this town."

"Who needs yer worthless sympathy? Two gold penalty for ye," and he looked at the girls, "each of ye, or ye spend a month in the clink!"

"Ha! Good lu-"

I reached under the table and patted Elze's knee to keep her from resorting to violence. She glared at me, pop-eyed, from the side. I shook my head gently. We did not actually have the budget to pay for an interesting restaurant floor fight scene with tables and plates and fleeing diners flying all over the place.

I had a thing against ruining other people's honest business for no good reason. I was always on the side of the poor innkeeper on those kung-fu movies and wished they had a decent bouncer to toss these hot-headed idiots out on the street.

"I guess that just leaves one question, then…" I reached into my chest pocket and flashed my purple Adventurer's Guild card. "Am I being detained?"

Monika groaned and palmed her face.

The town guard tsk'ed. "Just like I figured. You lot always think you can get away with anything. Just a Purple? Don't get too full of yourself, boy."

"There's nothing wrong with taking free legal advocacy that comes with being a duly licensed adventurer. The Guild does not usually interfere, but that doesn't mean they can't be asked to intervene. Some of us choose to follow laws as much as possible – and expect that the law treat us fairly as well."

"Just for that, it's three gold and if not we're bringing ya in right now!"

I raised my gloved hand up, still urging Elze or Yae not to move. The town guard flinched a bit, but then there was that flash of eagerness passing across his face?

I held that pose for several long agonizing seconds. I measured how much hassle it would be to just fight our way out of this joint. The guards had their hands on their swords and bent down slightly ready to move, but as the seconds passed no one budged.

I stared at the guard in front of me, meeting his eyes with the blankness of my own plastic-shelled visage until I could see him sweat. His face broke open in a contemptuous sneer. 

"You… you don't even actually want to do that, do you?" I murmured. "You want me to swing the first punch…!"

I closed my raised right hand to one pointing finger. "[Playback], please."

Then I had Monika replay the recording of what he had just said for the past thirty seconds. The sneer slowly faded from his face as he realized we had some magic to accurately replay events as evidence to his own superiors. Null magic was personal magic, it was not something they could stop just from denying access to magic stone.

"Oh. Right! I forgot, you did say you could perfectly remember and repeat again everything you could see and hear!" Elze gushed out melodramatically.

All the way back at the start, I had asked for and read the Guild guidebook. Reflet Guildhouse was happy to assist, it was always good to see new adventurers treating their new career seriously.

There was actually a very strong precedent for this and helped to protect the Guild's neutrality across different nations. Trumped-up charges was the best way for local lords to try make adventurers 'learn their place', until they learn that the adventurer they were hassling just so happened to have strong ties to an army or well capable of blasting through their town walls all on their own.

The Guild usually did not interfere with their adventurers unless what they were doing impacted the reputation of the guild as a whole. It actually turned out that local puissant lords thinking they could push around the guild and threaten adventurers was a threat to their neutrality. If their kings had already granted the Guild their grace to operate, from where do these petty tyrants get their arrogance?

Adventuring was also an old past-time of royals sending their sons to more directly gauge the mood of the populace and ferret out malingering lords. As the history of the Adventurer's Guild stated, not just a few adventurers became nobles in their own right, even kings. The monarch of a certain northern neutral kingdom was even a Guild Grandmaster.

"Is it just because we're adventurers? Do remember that there is nothing that prevents nobles and royalty from becoming adventurers as well, town guard. I know that you don't know who I am, so let me just ask you this – are you feeling lucky?"

I smiled thinly. You want to hassle me with legalese for dealing with your job of failing to keep the peace from criminals in your own town? Then be prepared for me to hassle you back with politics.

"Feth!" he spat aside. "You adventurers are all the reason we have this problem in the first place! You all think you can just walk into town and cause trouble? We have to live with the mess you all leave behind!"

"I would normally be much more sympathetic with the damage we caused, but really it's a good reminder that there are some people whom stupid untrained criminals can't just push around. If they had any real strength, they'd have been adventurers instead."

He grit his teeth. Implied of course, was that anyone with any real strength would be an adventurer instead of a mere town guard.

"So what if we're just town guards? You're going up the whole of Amanesque! You're just another criminal if you try to fight us!"

"And if I actually don't, you're just another crooked servant trying to steal good coin from their lord by under-reporting income from fines! I get to spend time in jail and get this whole thing made into a scandal for your master and then win money from him! You get to lose your head!"

I laced my fingers together in a Gendo pose and grinned. "Some property damage is nothing compared to evading your lord's rightful dues! I think we should be talking about how much you should be paying /me/ to keep silent about this instead."

"You…! You won't get away with this!"

/"Wait, why have the roles seem to have reversed so suddenly?"/

I kept pushing. "You won't get away with lying about anything, town's man. That eight gold you're trying to extort from me, I could pay a whole lot of adventurers and barristers to swarm this town instead. You know you don't have the personal strength to bring me in, and if you wake up the knights they're not going to thank you for it.

"You're vastly overstating the damage you're using as an excuse for this. I could easily prove that it was nothing more than some broken flagstones on the road and some scratches on the wall. That would be trivial to fix even by the shop guilds nearby. Why don't we go talk to the actual magistrates about the proper fines, hmm?"

/"Oh, I get it. All of this – it's a provocation. It's funny, maybe they actually were going to try to frame you or scam you through the Guild but you accidentally used their very own tactic against them first!"/

He scowled back at me for a few long moments, and I feared we'd have to resort to violence anyway.

But then he spat at the floor. "…. feh. I've no time for this noise. Lord Klass is nae impressed with any dang adventurers, you'll see. But I'm not gonna be stupid enough to get his attention, it's always in a bad way." 

He seemed to weigh the risks of me making some official ruckus versus the ruckus he wanted to get. Without a wrecked restaurant, he wouldn't have as much excuse for the hefty fines and the pleasure of seeing us on the rack. Once outside, adventurers would be far more easily able to overpower them, escape, and leave town with minimal damage. Just some adventurers roughing up the town guards... that was not worth the knights' time, making them chase down some miscreants on command. 

The tail should not wag the dog.

But adventurers wounding the pride of the powers of the nobility, that was another matter entirely.

He grabbed at a sandwich and motioned for the other guards to start plundering our table as well. "Count yerself lucky it's too late in the evening for me to bother dragging all of youse all the way down town!"

"Yes, that certainly is a believable excuse not to do anything," I replied neutrally.

The town guard snorted again, and then spat out a glob of phlegm at my face. "Wind," I uttered. The snot-ball was deflected off to the side. A waiter yelped out in disgust and dismay at the stain on his uniform.

"Whatever, boy. I'll be watching you. One more step out of line, and I'm tossing you into a cell, see if I don't!"

"We're just passing through, we'll be out of your hair by tomorrow." Or what's left of it, I didn't say. "And if we do meet again, I will remember you too."

Grumbling, they left the restaurant. They took whole dishes with them, and I meant including the dishes. They could probably pawn those off somewhere too.

"Honestly, such ruffians!" the waiter snorted in their wake. He glanced at our purple card and his nostrils dilated in barely-disguised disdain, but a Purple could become a Red or Silver eventually (and thus earn far more) and get famous. A town guard would always be just another trumped-up commoner.

"... I think it's great that you solved that without violence, Mister Zah," said Linze. Unlike her sister, she was much more sensible and didn't enjoy the thrill of combat and didn't hurting others even if they deserved it.

I exhaled roughly and slumped in my seat.

… yeah, this place needed a Sir Samuel Vimes far more than it needed a Batman.

-
-​

In another world with the most interesting smartphone! 

Behold the antics of Zah Playa Von Chara, someone actually prepared for his isekai adventure, and Monika, the traumatized AI living in his smartphone. They bring a new perspective into a tired old genre! Follow them along this Reconstruction of a cliche harem isekai story, bringing their unique brand of laugh-out-loud hilarity, innovative battles, real drama, and real consequences for every decision! 

Updates weekdays at 6AM GMT+8. 



- Disclaimer:
Isekai wa Smartphone To Tomo Ni is (c)Patora Fuyuhara. Doki Doki Literature Club is (c)Dan Salvato. All other properties copyright by their respective owners. This is a work of derivative fiction meant for non-profit purposes only.

Gu Ming wasn't' very accomplished, and he was also most certainly not any disciple of Professor Gu Ziling. But he did have some relation to Professor Gu Ziling of the Eastern Wei Academy; he was his nephew. He was relying on that connection to use Gu Ziling's name in organizing the class. Gu Ziling knew about what his nephew was doing, but it wasn't anything uncommon, and it had no effect on him to help give his nephew a leg up from time to time.
Gu Ming's didn't have any significant accomplishments, but he did know how to talk. He had a special knack for misleading people. Of course, it's not OK to recite back a book, though there was so much content to his bibliography that as long as he always added a little content it could be OK. He well understood what sort of goods the students attending this class were, and so he had quickly hit upon his strategy.
He lectured on the simple and the basic at great length – to a painstaking extreme – taking half the day lecturing on the most basic theory, and giving derivation after derivation. He covered those having a high degree of difficulty with a sentence.
It might seem to a layperson that the teacher's content was rather detailed and rich, while an expert would scoff upon hearing him, and find him to be a fool.
But Chen Mu listened with utter absorption. His fundamentals were so deficient that he would sometimes come across something he didn't understand, and he wouldn't even know which book to search in or where to go for the book. Suffering without a guide for those three years, Chen Mu's progress was extremely slow. In the eyes of a card master, those basics were a matter of course, and he would think that nobody needed such a detailed introduction. Gu Ming's exhaustive lecturing on the basic content was actually much to Chen Mu's liking, as many things that he had previously puzzled over without understanding them were finally becoming clear.
From then on, Chen Mu did not miss a single one of Gu Ming's classes. Theory and practice complement one another and must be advanced together. For three straight years, Chen Mu had been relying on his own blind carving and polishing to attempt to improve on the one-star power-card. But that had given him plenty of experience. Now with both sides complementing one another, he progressed more quickly.
Where there had been a few places where he felt foggy, his grasp of the architecture of the one-star power-card was becoming more clear day by day.
"OK, this session's classes with be complete after the next class. Oh, I have a piece of good news to tell everyone. Since this class is being jointly conducted with Eastern Wei Academy, we can participate in the annual Eastern Wei Academy advanced studies exam. After you leave, everyone make a card and bring it to me next time. If any among you is selected, there's a good possibility of being singled out to enter Eastern Wei Academy for advanced studies!"
Although there wasn't much substance in his belly, because he was a skilled talker, and had some charm and wit about him, his relations with the students were not at all bad.
The next day, everyone handed up the cards that they had made. What Chen Mu turned over was a one-star power-card.
Eastern Wei Academy's so-called advanced studies exam was specifically organized to target jointly conducted specialized training classes. Its purpose was to provide students who stood out from the crowd attending the training classes a chance to proceed to regular study. But, it had gradually become a mere formality those last few years, whether because of the way the classes were being conducted or because of the school. It was not working out at all. It was embarrassing that across thirty years of the advanced studies exam, only two students had ever been selected.
Gu Ming didn't take it seriously and was quite clear with himself about those students of his; there was likely not one among them who could make a complete card. And so, he didn't register the names on the cards, but directly took them cards and wrapped them up inside a paper bag. Oy, tough break, eh? Yeah, but he had to teach three classes! 
After finishing all his classes, Gu Ming ran over to his uncle's office in the Eastern Wei Academy and casually tossed the three paper bags on the desk, before going out to kick back and have a good time.
When Gu Ziling returned to his office to see these three paper bags, he couldn't help furrowing his brow. Gu Ziling was over a half-century old, and his chiseled face had already started to show quite a few wrinkles. Although he knew that it was all a matter for lip service, the formalities must still be gone through. But how would an august professor be left to do that sort of thing?
Gu Ziling pressed the activation button on his wrist apparatus. Compared to Chen Mu's, his device was much more refined and exquisite, only as big as the palm of his hand. It had lots of complex designs carved onto its simple silver background. The three bands were made from the naturally polished skin of the Hardy Domain's sawtooth alligator. There were four card slots on the apparatus. One could tell at a glance that it was worth a considerable amount. 
A translucent screen popped up in front of him activated by the communications card in his apparatus, on which appeared a long list of names. The communications card had been invented just thirty years before, but it was already widely used. There were different grades of communications cards, according to their range beyond line-of-sight. The highest-grade communications cards could accomplish communications across the entire Heavenly Federation without error, but for a price not affordable by ordinary people. For now, what the ordinary resident used was generally a one-star, covering their own city. Gu Ziling wanted a slightly higher grade three-star, to accomplish regional communication.
Gu Ziling lightly tapped one of the names on the screen with a finger wearing a sapphire ring.
After perhaps five seconds, the image of a handsome youth appeared on the screen. His somewhat delayed appearance showed a bit of impassivity, and his eyes were somewhat cool. 
"Are you looking for me for something, Professor?" Zuo Tingyi asked respectfully, though with an icy tone. 
Having known the student himself for a long time, Gu Ziling said, "Come to my office for a bit."
About ten minutes later, Zuo Tingyi arrived at the office. 
"Go through these things." Gu Ziling pointed at the three paper bags on the desk.
Zuo Tingyi grunted assent and began to sort the cards in the bags. It was evident that Zuo Tingyi didn't have the slightest bit of impatience, and Gu Ziling nodded his head in satisfaction. Zuo Tingyi was his favorite student. Not only was he talented and smart with excellent grades, but he was also respectful of his teacher, and did his work meticulously. Nearly all the instructors who had taught him were extremely fond of him, and he conducted himself quite well, sending significant gifts for every holiday. He was practically the perfect student in the eyes of all the teachers.
Zuo Tingyi arranged the cards one by one. These cards were mostly too awful to look at, with errors by the hundreds. Although there was no change in Zuo Tingyi's expression, internally he was rather grudging. For this kind of trifling matter to fall on his head could really put a fellow in a bad mood.
"Reject."
"Reject."
This card is really off the charts! Such a simple card, surprisingly having no fewer than fifteen errors.
Another reject!
Zuo Tingyi's forehead then wrinkled deeply.
He'd finally found a presentable card.
Zuo Tingyi let out a sigh of relief. In ordinary circumstances if a one-star power-card were to appear, he absolutely wouldn't have given it a glance from whatever he was focused on. But in this circumstance, the insignificant one-star power-card unexpectedly caught his attention. 
After he finished sorting through the three paper bags, there remained only one card in front of Zuo Tingyi. A one-star power-card.
Zuo Tingyi was just intending to report to Gu Ziling when he thought to take a little precaution to avoid looking like a fool. All those discarded cards gave the normally moderate Zuo Tingyi some lingering concern. Don't let some little mistake get by that he hadn't found on the card himself. That loss of face would be a big one.
He brought the barely rescued one-star power-card cautiously to his face at once.
Yi!
He uttered a light oath while his face subtly transformed.


This is both a work of science fiction and an exploration of the meaning of life, love, literature and art. Brainpower is no longer the main ingredient for being human in this far distant future world.  Spirituality, physical balance, and diligence all come together as integrity for Chen Mu, the Card Apprentice.  The cards which Chen Mu masters in his own scrappy way, distill all the powers of the cosmos –  human and nonhuman –  into something that is not a book, not technology, and neither art nor magic, but is these and more.  Learn about these strange cards, which can embody everything you might imagine for the future of technology, but also a future beyond technology which promotes the best, and sometimes the worst, from mankind’s past.

discworld bibliography

As tranças do rei careca.

Memanggil Pedang Suci

Summoning the Holy Sword

Sons of Skanderbeg

The White Flowers

SUPER NET DISK

The Adventures of Treasure Hunters - 1 season

I Want A Badge

In Another World with JUST MONIKA

The Card Apprentice

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