Chapter 1328: The Human Legacy

“Your Excellency Scroll, have you finished changing?” Ling called from outside the curtain. “Don’t hesitate to ask if you need help.”

“No—no need, I’m… almost done.” Scroll’s voice came from behind the fabric, slightly unsteady.

Roland raised his eyebrows. This was his first time hearing Scroll sound nervous. She was, as a rule, extraordinarily calm—no matter what happened, she kept a cool head. That particular trait made him more curious than usual about what she would look like when she stepped out.

Whoosh—

The curtain swept open and Scroll stepped carefully into the light.

“Is this… acceptable?”

Roland’s eyes lit up.

She wore a fitted royal-blue high-neck sweater that traced the lines of her upper body, and draped over it a long coat in red and black, its panels falling from below her shoulders to her calves in a silhouette that suggested a formal evening gown. The coat parted at the chest in an inverted V at her waist, revealing just enough to create something that was difficult to name—neither immodest nor plain, simply precise. Deep tones throughout: nothing frivolous. The overall effect was regal, even solemn.

Scroll’s black-framed spectacles and the dark plaits that reached her waist did the rest. Her mature, intellectual beauty was entirely at home in the outfit.

“Stunning,” Phyllis said. “You outshine even the witches back home.”

“I told you I chose well.” Ling’s satisfaction was unambiguous.

“But isn’t it…” Scroll glanced down. Her hands moved instinctively to cover her chest. “Isn’t it too revealing?”

“You’re wrapped up perfectly tightly.” Faldi laughed. “You were fine with the evening gown at the banquet; this is nothing compared to that.”

“Besides, everyone dresses like this in the Dream World.” Ling turned to Roland. “Right, Your Majesty?”

Roland smiled and shook his head. The undergarments and the sweater provided full coverage, but the split coat was a far cry from the long robes Scroll was accustomed to. The unfamiliarity was understandable. “What matters isn’t what anyone else wears,” he said, looking at her. “What does Scroll think of it?”

She looked at herself in the mirror. It was a combination she had never seen before—and yet, even across the vast difference between two worlds, beauty was a thing that crossed boundaries. She could not honestly say she disliked what she saw.

“Yes… Your Majesty,” she answered softly. “I like it.”

“Then that settles it.” Roland signaled the salesperson. “The full set.”

“Excellent taste, sir.” The salesperson produced a calculator and pressed a few keys with practiced efficiency. “This is the newest style for winter and it looks absolutely perfect on her. That will be twenty-four thousand yuan—payment this way, please!”

Roland stopped breathing for a moment. Nearly a third the price of a minivan. But the declaration had been made. He looked sideways at Ling. “How exactly did you choose these clothes?”

Ling stuck out her tongue. “I picked the ones with the biggest numbers on the tags! My classmates say price never lies.”

His hand went to his forehead.

“Your Majesty—” Scroll came close and murmured, “if it’s really that expensive, let’s forget it—”

“I created this Dream World. How could money be a concern for me?” He kept his expression entirely composed and completed the transaction. “Next—dinner. Second floor of the shopping mall!”

“As you command!”

The three witches responded in bright unison.

“Your Majesty… the test?”

“Relax.” He waved a hand. “Time flows faster here, so little is lost in reality. Besides, this is your first time in the Dream World—enjoy it properly before we do anything else. Tell me whatever you want to eat.”

The clothes had already broken the dam. Whatever they ordered from here could hardly make things worse. He might as well let everyone be happy.

Scroll watched the four of them—animated, eager, impossible to resist—and shook her head with an expression she herself could not have named: resignation and amusement in equal measure. “I understand.”

They walked out of the shopping mall with bulging stomachs and full hands.

Under Roland’s lead, the group had made a circuit of every restaurant and food stall in the building, ordering anything that caught their eye—from piping-hot crab roe buns to ice cream mixed with nuts. Everything Scroll tasted was extraordinary. Some of it resembled things found in Neverwinter; yet the distance between those versions and these was the same as the distance between His Majesty’s car and a steam-powered truck. No matter how rigorously she tried to maintain her composure, the best she could manage was to eat gracefully.

“A world like this is… so wonderful.” Walking slowly along the wide streets, Scroll let her gaze drift upward to the night sky. The stars were hidden, but the city blazed instead—rows of streetlamps lighting the path, snowflakes drifting through the warm glow like small bright things that had wandered out of some other world. “It’s like a dream. The city gleaming, the faces of strangers radiant with ordinary happiness…” She paused. “Will reality ever look like this one day?”

“Of course—given enough knowledge,” Roland said, hands clasped behind his back as he walked. “That is the essential difference between these two worlds. Through knowledge, Border Town became Neverwinter. One day, Neverwinter can become the Dream World. And the first step of that journey is standing directly in front of you.”

“In front of… me?”

“Yes.” He smiled and raised his chin toward the building before them. They had crossed the road without her noticing and now stood at the entrance of a large, beautiful structure. A golden plaque hung above the doors, its characters reading: City Library.

Scroll followed him inside and stopped breathing.

The hall was as vast as Neverwinter’s central square. The ceiling soared more than ten meters overhead behind a transparent pane of glass that brought the sky, dark as it was, into the room. Around them, escalators carried people smoothly up and down; five tiers of corridors spiraled up the walls in layered rings. Rows upon rows of shelving stretched in every direction, each shelf filled—packed—with books.

All the books in Graycastle. No—all the books in the Four Kingdoms combined would not begin to fill this space.

Scroll’s hand moved to her chest without thought. She understood immediately, and completely, why he had brought her here.

“This is the place you will come to most often, from now on.” Roland’s voice was quiet. “Bring back the key to our world.”

She breathed in slowly, then bowed her head toward him with a gravity she had not needed to manufacture.

“Your Majesty. I will not let you down.”

It would take a long time. It would produce no visible results for a long while yet.

But every change began from steps like this.

Knowledge was like fertilizer. Scatter it, and things grew.

Roland had been pushing this project forward for years—sending Ling and the others to school, building toward this goal steadily, without fanfare. Scroll’s upgrade would not transform everything overnight, but it would dramatically shorten the road.

It takes ten years to grow a tree. It takes a hundred years to bring up a generation.

One hundred years from now, Roland was certain, the real world would be unrecognizable.

It would not matter whether a person carried magic or not. They would build it with their own hands—a new world shaped by knowledge, not by birth—something that resembled, perhaps, the Dream World they were standing in tonight.

Chapter 1328 - The Human Legacy

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations “Your Excellency Scroll, have you finished changing?” Ling asked outside the changing room. “Don’t hesitate to ask if you need help.” “No, no need, I’m… almost done.” The slightly panicked voice of Scroll came from behind the curtain. Roland raised his eyebrows involuntarily—this was his first time seeing Scroll nervous. Usually she was extraordinarily calm and imperturbable and no matter what happened she always maintained a cool head. In fact, this trait of hers added to Roland’s anticipation at seeing Scroll’s appearance after she changed into her new outfit. Whoosh— The curtain pulled open and Scroll cautiously stepped out of the changing room. “Is this… okay?” Roland’s eyes lit up. Scroll was dressed in a tight-fitted royal blue high neck sweater, beautifully emphasizing the figure of her upper body. Draped over it was a red and black long coat, the flaps of the coat began from underneath her shoulders and reached her calves, giving off a formal evening gown vibe. The coat parted at her chest and ended as an inverted V at her waist, teasing the lines of her full bosom and flat abdomen. It created an indescribable sense of beauty. Overall, deep and dark tones encompassed the theme of her clothes, and did not give off any sense of frivolity at all; instead, it seemed regal and solemn. Adding on Scroll’s black-framed glasses and the black plaits that reached her waist, her mature and intellectual beauty was even further accentuated. “So beautiful,” Phyllis exclaimed. “You’re stunning even among the witches.” “I told you I made the right choice!” Ling’s declared smugly. “But… isn’t it too revealing?” Scroll subconsciously covered her chest with her hands. “Not at all, aren’t you wrapped up pretty tightly?” Faldi laughed. “You were fine with the dress during the evening party; this modified winter outfit is nothing compared to that.” “Also everybody wears clothes like this in the Dream World, right Your Majesty?” Ling added. Roland smiled and shook his head. Even though she had undergarments and the sweater, it was understandable that she would be quite unused to a coat that was split at both the top and bottom in comparison to the long robe she usually wore. “What’s important isn’t what other people wear, but what Scroll thinks of it.” He paused and looked at Scroll. “Do you think you like this outfit?” Scroll looked at herself in the mirror—it was a get-up that she had never seen before, however even though there were huge distinctions between the two worlds, beauty was something that traversed boundaries and resounded with everyone. She couldn’t help but concede that she liked her current outfit. “Yes… Your Majesty,” she replied softly. “Then that should do.” Roland called for the salesperson, “I want this entire set.” “You have excellent taste sir. This is the newest style this winter, and it looks absolutely perfect on this lady over here!” The salesperson took out a calculator and pressed a few buttons. “That’s twenty-four thousand yuan, please make payment over here!” “Eh—” Roland stopped breathing for a moment. That was almost a third of a price of a minivan! But his grand promise had already been made so it was too late to go back on his word. He looked to his side at Ling. “How on earth did you choose those clothes?” “I selected the ones with the biggest numbers on the tags!” Ling stuck out her tongue. “My classmates at school said that price never lies.” Roland couldn’t help but place his hand to his forehead. “Your Majesty, are these clothes… really expensive?” Scroll went closer to him and murmured in a low voice, “Let’s just forget it then…” “I’m the creator of this Dream World; how could money be a problem to me? Piece of cake.” He pretended like it didn’t bother him at all and bought the clothes. “Next, we’ll have dinner on the second floor of the shopping mall!” “As you command!” The three witches cried cheerfully in unison. “Your Majesty… what about the test?” “Relax.” Roland waved his hand, “Time flows faster here, so not much time will be delayed in reality. Moreover it’s your first time in the Dream World, you should enjoy it to your fullest before you do anything else, tell me whatever you want to eat!” He had already pulled out the big guns with the clothes, so no matter how much they ate, their expenditure couldn’t get much worse. He thought he might as well make everyone happy. Scroll looked at the four thrilled people, feeling both resigned and amused. She shook her head. “I understand.” … Everybody’s stomachs were bulging when they walked out of the bustling shopping mall. Under Roland’s lead, the line of people had basically swept through every single restaurant and food stall in the mall, ordering anything that looked good: from piping hot crab roe buns to ice cream mixed with nuts. To Scroll, everything they ate was mouth-watering and delectable. Although some of them could be found in Neverwinter as well, compared to here, the gap was as wide as His Majesty’s car and the steam-powered truck. No matter how much she tried to restrain herself, the only thing she could maintain was a graceful appearance while she ate. “A world like this is… so wonderful…” While leisurely strolling across the wide streets, Scroll sighed while gazing out at the deep night sky. Although the stars were obscured, the city lights were nevertheless ablaze with all their glory. Rows of street lights illuminated the path and snowflakes danced in midst of the gentle light, like pixies embellishing the curtain of the night. “It’s like a dream… The city is dazzling and gorgeous, the faces of all the passers-by are glowing with happiness… Will we be able to make reality like this one day?” “Of course, as long as we gain enough knowledge,” Roland said with his hands clasped behind his back as he walked. “This is the biggest difference between the two worlds. Through knowledge, Border Town was able to become Neverwinter. One day, Neverwinter can also become the Dream World. And the key to beginning this journey is right before you now.” “Right… before me?” Scroll was stunned. “Yes.” Roland raised the corner of his mouth. Shopping was not the only reason he had brought Scroll here. After they crossed the road, they stood in front of a beautiful building. Before the huge entrance hung a golden plaque with the large words, “City Library” on it. Upon entering the library, Scroll couldn’t help but gasp. The vast hall was just as large as the central square in Neverwinter. The roof above them was over ten meters high and looked like a transparent patio. Around them, automatic escalators carried people up and down, and five stories of corridors spiraled up the hall in layers upon layers. Innumerable book shelves were lined up in rows and every shelf was filled with books. All the books in Graycastle… no, even all the books in the Four Kingdoms added together would not compare to the number of books here. Scroll subconsciously put her hand to her chest, clearly realizing why His Majesty had brought her here. “This is the place that you will come often in the future.” Roland smiled. “Bring the key to our world for me.” She inhaled deeply, bowed her head at Roland and solemnly promised, “Your Majesty, I will definitely not let you down.” This was destined to be a time-consuming job, and it would be difficult to see any immediate effects in a short amount of time. But all changes came from small steps like this. Knowledge was like fertilizer. As long as it was scattered, it could propel humans to grow. In the past Roland had always been pushing this project forward. Sending Ling and the others to school was also for this goal, and Scroll’s upgrade would unquestionably dramatically accelerate this progress. There’s a saying that goes : “It takes ten years to grow a tree and a hundred years to bring up a generation of good men”. Roland was certain that one hundred years later, the real world would experience tremendous changes. It didn’t matter if it was people without magic power or witches with magic power. At that time, they would all use their own two hands to craft a brand new ‘Dream World’.