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Chapter 13: The Reclusive Sage
"Thank you for your hard work, Mr. Olde."
"Goodbye, Grandpa Olde."
At the entrance of the staff shop, the two witch sisters, looking satisfied, bid farewell to the old man.
"Mhm, mhm, take care. Welcome back next time."
At the counter, the old man Olde smiled and waved, still maintaining that calm and elegant demeanor of an elderly gentleman.
"So, where do we go next?"
Dorothy asked Alice, while teasing Buster, the little kitten currently perched on her shoulder.
Meanwhile, the Little Witch was looking enviously at the kitten on her sister's shoulder, then at the pair of twin pistols in her hand that she originally liked very much, and couldn't help but sigh.
"Sigh, comparing people to people makes one angry; comparing things to things makes one want to throw them away. When will you two transform for me?"
Alice thought sourly.
However, she wasn't that sour, after all, unlike her sister who was a cat person, she was a dog person, and she also had her own familiar to pet, so there was no need for envy.
"Let's go to the bookstore. We still need to buy magic books, and then some commonly used spellcasting materials. We can just buy the ready-made freshman welcome package at the material shop; it's quicker to buy that."
Composing herself, the Little Witch continued to lead the way skillfully.
"Spellbooks? Then I don't think I need to buy any. My spellbook just got upgraded to the latest version."
Dorothy said.
As an internet-addicted girl, she could be indifferent to anything else, but she never skimped on her magic book, which was her internet-connected device. The configuration of her own spellbook was always at the forefront of the times.
For this, Dorothy even taught herself the techniques for making, maintaining, and upgrading spellbooks, and often lurked in the professional forum for spellbook makers, the Scribe Association, to secretly learn techniques. To put her knowledge to use, she would occasionally help newbies in the association write cost-effective configuration lists.
After all these years, she had gained a small reputation in the Scribe Association, to the point where almost every time she surfaced, she would easily get lost in calls of "Hello, great master."
"Not spellbooks, we're going to buy the textbook packages used in the Witch Academy. Although you can download them directly from the Magic Net's Grand Library, those are generic versions and quite expensive. Buying them at a bookstore is not only cheaper, but you can also get versions personally annotated by the bookstore owner, which is more valuable."
Alice explained, and as soon as she brought this up, the Little Witch became animated. She continued to educate her sister, who was so addicted to the internet that she lacked some common sense about reality.
"Offline bookstores these days use all sorts of methods to compete with the Magic Net's Grand Library. Almost every book sold in a bookstore is an exclusive annotated version by the owner. The same book can always be bought in different versions at different bookstores."
"However, to open a bookstore now, the owner must be a prominent figure in academia. The threshold for applying for a bookstore business license is quite high; one must have complete degrees. Therefore, there's no need to worry about being scammed by these owner-annotated books."
"It's just that if you go to a bookstore alone to buy books in the future, you still need to pay more attention to understanding the owner's academic research field and try to only buy books in the areas the owner specializes in; otherwise, there's still a risk of being led astray."
"And speaking of Witch Academy textbooks, hehe, I have to mention the bookstore on our Hai Yue Floating Island. Although we're just a small, eighteenth-tier city, we have the most authentic textbook store in the world here. Every year, some witches from other places specifically come here to buy textbooks."
Alice puffed out her almost non-existent chest, speaking with a slight air of pride.
"Why? Oh, is the identity of the bookstore owner here very special?"
Dorothy cooperated well, setting the stage for her sister and satisfying the Little Witch's desire to be a teacher.
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"Yeah, the bookstore here is run by that Sage of Scrolls."
Alice revealed the answer to the question.
Upon hearing this, Dorothy first pondered who this Sage of Scrolls was, then couldn't help but gasp.
"Goodness, so it's her."
The so-called Sage of Scrolls is an honorary title, but from this title, one can tell how extraordinary this witch is. After all, Sage is one of the highest titles in the Witch World, which can be seen from the fact that the highest decision-making body is called the Sage Council.
Therefore, this is not a title that just any random person can be granted; those who receive this title are all great masters.
The Sage of Scrolls is naturally an extraordinary figure, and her extraordinariness is directly reflected in her title.
The Sage of Scrolls, as the name suggests, is the Sage of Test Papers. This individual is not only a big shot in academia but also a big shot in the education sector of the Witch World. The revision and editing of Witch Academy textbooks, as well as the written exams for various grading assessments, were all handled by this esteemed figure.
If there were a ranking of the most feared witches in the Witch World, this great master would certainly be among the top contenders; she was the nightmare of countless witch students during their school days.
Fortunately, this great master is, after all, a very ancient witch. Dorothydoesn't know exactly how old she is, but her stepmother said that her stepmother's grandmother's grandmother was already taking this great master's exams back in her day. However, Dorothy herself hasn't taken many exams designed by this great master, because this ancient witch finally announced her retirement more than ten years ago.
Undoubtedly, Dorothy's generation of new witches was fortunate; they escaped the clutches of this demonic test-maker.
Therefore, Dorothy herself didn't know much about this ancient Witch Sage. She only occasionally glimpsed the terror of this legendary witch from her stepmother's exasperated shouts while tutoring Alice with homework, such as "How could I have given birth to such a stupid daughter? If you were in my era, you wouldn't even score double digits."
However, she never expected that such a legendary figure in the Witch World would open a bookstore and live in seclusion in the remote, eighteenth-tier small city of Sea Moon Island after retirement.
"Yes, it seems that Sea Moon Witch and this Sage of Scrolls are somewhat related, so the great master came here to retire. Alright, we're here, big sister."
Alice noticed the bewildered look on her sister's face and explained with a smile. She herself was greatly surprised the first time her mother mentioned it.
Dorothy followed Alice's guidance and looked at the bookstore they had unknowingly arrived at.
At first glance, its exterior was quite unremarkable, without any of the luxury one might expect of a great figure's abode. It was very simple and rustic, with many potted flowers placed at the entrance.
Inhaling the fragrance of the flowers, and looking into the shop through the glass display window, what met her eyes were neat rows of bookshelves, which inexplicably made her feel very comfortable, as if her mind suddenly became calm.
"A very good bookstore."
As a witch also walking on the All-Knowing Path, Dorothy evaluated in her heart. She liked this kind of peaceful and tranquil place that allowed people to calm down and study.
She looked up at the name written on the sign above the entrance.
"A Bookstore."
Dorothy: "..."
"Ah, so this is the realm of a great master?"
With this feeling of having a complaint but being unable to voice it, the two sisters entered the bookstore. As soon as they stepped inside, the scent of ink wafted over, elegant and serene.