Read ahead on my P@treon...
p@treon.com/MayaMatengele01
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Florent strolled through the streets of Winston District, reflecting on what he had accomplished that day and what still needed to be done. He began to plan his next steps.
'First, I need to subscribe to the 'Trier Merchant Evening News'. That means a trip to the post office... But this isn't urgent, after all, I haven't even fully digested the 'Apprentice' potion yet...ʼ
'...Still, it wouldn't hurt to experience the post office in this world. I can take care of that on my way home...ʼ
'Wait a minute...ʼ Florent suddenly thought, 'when I first arrived here, there were already newspapers in the study. I remember... yes, it was the 'Trier Daily', one of the most influential newspapers in Trier. But why haven't I seen it in my mailbox yesterday or today?ʼ
The realization struck him... something had felt off, and now he knew why.
But after some careful consideration, Florent realized he had no memory of subscribing to the newspaper...
He dismissed any supernatural explanations, after all, the only artifact capable of orchestrating such coincidences, 'Sealed Artifact 0-08ʼ, was still sealed away in the Church of the 'Evernight Goddess', awaiting the schemes of 'He who must not be Namedʼ and the Goddess's tacit approval before it could resurface...
Moreover, the influence of '0-08ʼ was limited. In the end, Florent could only chalk it up to coincidence.
He continued sorting through his thoughts: 'Next, there's the true nature of this Beyonder organization... From my father's journals, I only know about the more notorious groups, including the churches, as well as some organizations that have existed since the Fourth or early Fifth Epochs, like: ...
- the Demoness Sect
- the Moses Ascetic Order
- the Secret Order
- the Blood Sanctify Sect
- the Hermits of Fate
- the Aurora Order
- the Theosophy Order
- the Numinous Episcopate
- the Life School of Thought
- and the Rose School of Thought...ʼ
'Sam is a Pyromaniac, which suggests he is on the 'Red Priest', or more broadly, the 'Calamity Pathway'... Could this organization be the Theosophy Order or maybe the Demoness Sect?ʼ
Then another possibility occurred to him: 'The Sauron and Einhorn Families also control the 'Red Priest' Pathway. Could they be fishing for something? No, the Sauron Family... Could it be the 'Iron and Blood Cross Order'?ʼ
'...The decline of the Sauron Family and the rise of the 'Iron and Blood Cross Order' happened almost simultaneously. And this Beyonder gathering has managed to avoid being wiped out for so long...ʼ
'...Could the leader of the 'Iron and Blood Cross Order' have seized the Sequence 2 'Weather Warlock' or even the Sequence 1 'Conqueror' Characteristics when the Sauron Family fell?ʼ
'...It's not impossible. If so, I need to be careful. After all, the taller the tree, the stronger the wind...ʼ
Recalling the cross-shaped emblem, Florent couldn't help but feel his speculation might be correct...
He continued thinking: 'Then there's my personal matters. The family gathering and the philosophy gathering are both approaching. I need to prepare... ʼ
'...I should borrow some philosophy books from the library and also study the required materials to digest the potion faster. Ugh, what a headache!ʼ
Before he knew it, Florent had arrived at the entrance of the Trier National Library...
He wasn't surprised, the library was located in Hopton District, which sat between Hernk District and Winston District. He realized he had been lost in thought for quite some time.
Since his most pressing task was to learn some basic philosophy, Florent entered the library without further hesitation and began searching for the books he needed.
Soon, he found himself on the second floor of the library, in the theology section...
To his luck, he spotted a book titled 'A Concise History of Ancient and Modern Philosophy' by Gekai Allen.
Despite its name, the book was alarmingly thick, about one and a half times the size of the thickest 'Five Years of College Entrance Exams, Three Years of Mock Tests'.
Hoping that the text might be printed in large font, Florent carried the book to the reading area. To his dismay, he discovered that the font was actually smaller than in most other books.
Rubbing his temples to ease the sudden headache, Florent read the author's note:
<...I am fortunate to live in an era of philosophical explosion, and I am honored to introduce various philosophical works and terms to my readers. I will strive to write this book in the simplest language possible for all who wish to learn philosophy...>
Florent couldn't help but doubt the author's sense of scale. Then he saw another line:
<...This is undoubtedly the most comprehensive and concise introductory philosophy book you will ever read...>
At this point, Florent was too exhausted to even make a sarcastic remark. All he felt was the daunting difficulty of digesting the 'Apprentice' potion.
'Maybe I was wrong. Maybe this isn't how you 'act' as an Apprentice. I was wrong, so wrong...ʼ Despite his mental protests, Florent's body betrayed him as he placed the hefty book on the table and began reading in detail.
Before long, Florent found himself pleasantly surprised, "This Gekai Allen actually knows his stuff. The book is quite engaging and easy to understand. Who would've thought?"
He then smacked his forehead in frustration, "How could I be so careless? I knew I was coming here to study, but I forgot to bring a notebook, pen, and draft paper... Well, I'll just skim through it today and come back tomorrow to study properly."
As he continued reading 'A Concise History of Ancient and Modern Philosophy', Florent gained a deeper understanding of this world's history.
In this world, philosophy had initially been influenced and suppressed by theology since the beginning of recorded history in the Fifth Epoch. Several prominent philosophers had promoted philosophies steeped in religious overtones.
However, due to the conflicts between polytheistic religions, this world didn't experience a dark age lasting a thousand years like medieval Europe. Instead, it quickly moved past that phase.
With the tacit understanding of several churches, philosophy, while still subordinate to theology, developed independently, taking a path entirely different from the one Florent had known in his previous life.
Philosophy in this world emphasized reason and experimentation, ultimately proving the existence of gods and the necessity of theology.
It was through this path that philosophy achieved a semi-independent existence...
As for the key figures in philosophical history, Gekai dedicated separate sections to them, arranged chronologically.
These included, but were not limited to, the pioneers of pragmatism; Consiso, Mared, and Patterson... the advocate of human freedom, Lumier, and even Roselle, the 'Son of Steam', who introduced concepts like metaphysics and mechanism, and even founded dialectics.
Florent couldn't help but feel baffled by Roselle's multifaceted legacy...