Mage's Profound Truths

Chapter 13: The Morta Script

Although Merlin found old Etta's offer a bit strange, since Kalis said the old man was highly accomplished in appraising antiques from the Morta Empire, he no longer had any concerns and respectfully bowed slightly to Etta, saying, “Merlin is willing to follow Teacher and learn!”

“Very good.”

Etta, who just moments ago looked quite stern, suddenly changed expressions and began to smile: “Merlin, come this afternoon to begin learning some of the basics of antique appraisal.”

Since Merlin couldn’t grasp Etta’s temperament, he dared not refuse and could only nod in agreement, saying he would come in the afternoon. Then Etta sent both Merlin and Kalis out.

“Miss Kalis, who exactly is Teacher Etta?”

Merlin finally couldn’t resist and asked Kalis.

Kalis paused for a moment, then said quietly, “Mr. Etta seems to have come to Blackwater City from somewhere else. He lives alone, and I’ve never seen any relatives of his. He’s a bit reclusive and only enjoys collecting antiques. I met him by chance and consulted him on some matters about antiques. When I encounter things I don’t understand, I also come to ask Mr. Etta. As for the rest, I don’t know much either.”

Merlin nodded and then parted ways with Kalis, taking a carriage back to the castle.

※※※

In the afternoon, Merlin returned once again to Etta’s small building.

By now, the weather had cleared. The heavy snow that had fallen all day had finally stopped, though the air remained bitterly cold. Merlin wrapped his coat tightly around himself, climbed to the second floor, and knocked on Etta’s door.

Soon, the door opened. When Etta saw it was Merlin, his expression remained calm.

“Fairly punctual. Not bad.”

Etta said nothing more and let Merlin inside.

Merlin came to the fireplace, where Etta seemed to enjoy sitting. Merlin noticed a thick book placed next to it.

Etta glanced up at Merlin and then said, “Antiques are the sediment of history. A single antique might carry a particular historical period. So, to understand antiques, you must be well-educated and deeply understand their historical background. For example, the antiques you like from the Morta Empire—if you want to truly identify them, you must first understand the Morta Empire. Do you know what the most important thing in the Morta Empire was?”

Merlin shook his head. His knowledge of the Morta Empire was very limited.

“It’s the script. For a unified empire, script is essential. Only through script can we learn many things about the Morta Empire. Of course, script is also a very good method for identifying Morta-era antiques.”

Etta then picked up a small booklet from the table and handed it to Merlin.

Merlin casually flipped to a page and found it filled with strange symbols he had never seen before. Etta explained, “This is the Morta script—used during the Morta Empire.”

“Morta script?”

Merlin’s eyes lit up. These Morta characters were very different from the Light Script currently used in the Kingdom of Light, which resembled Latin letters from his previous life and formed thousands of words.

But Morta script looked like rows of tadpoles. To Merlin, they were completely indecipherable.

“Merlin, if you want to identify antiques from the Morta Empire, you must start by learning Morta script.”

Thus, Merlin began studying the complex Morta script under Etta.

Learning a script was dull, but Merlin was full of enthusiasm. Perhaps due to the natural sensitivity of his body to languages, he showed talent. By the end of the afternoon, he had already learned over a dozen words.

Of course, mastering a new script requires perseverance. It can take months or even years to truly learn.

The afternoon quickly passed. Seeing the sky darken, Etta said coldly, “That’s enough for today. Go home and practice the Morta words you learned.”

“Teacher Etta, I will definitely review them well at home.”

After saying this, Merlin bowed slightly again and turned to leave the small building.

“Phew…”

Outside, the air was freezing cold. The chill wind cleared Merlin’s slightly muddled head. He saw Moss’s carriage already waiting.

“Moss, back to the castle!”

Merlin got into the carriage, stretched out his legs, leaned against the back, and gently rubbed his temples. Though today’s study with Etta was tiring, it was the most fulfilling day he’d had since arriving in this world.

※※※

Several days passed, and Merlin commuted daily between Etta’s place and the castle—just two points on a line. Life was very simple.

“Steward, is something the matter?””

After breakfast, Merlin asked softly. He had long noticed that the butler seemed a bit off today.

The butler hesitated for a moment, then finally spoke. “Young Master Merlin, Miss Meixue has been gone from the castle for nine days. She hasn’t returned for such a long time—should we send someone to Gran City to check?”

Merlin was slightly taken aback. He had been so focused on studying the Mortan script these past few days, his life filled with purpose, that he had indeed forgotten about Meixue.

He remembered Meixue saying that her exchange visit to Gran City would only take three to five days. Now it was almost ten days—no wonder the butler was worried.

“In that case, let’s hold off on sending anyone to Gran City. I’ll try to find some time later to ask Anson if he’s heard anything.”

The butler nodded, then instructed the servants to clear the table.

“Whew...”

As Merlin stepped out of the castle, a cold wind blew, making him shiver. Though it hadn't snowed in the past few days and the weather had been clear, it was still bitterly cold outside.

“Moss, to Teacher Etta’s place.”

Merlin hesitated briefly. He usually visited Old Etta in the afternoon, but since he had to ask Anson for some information today, he decided to explain the situation to Etta first.

And so, the carriage slowly left the castle.

※※※

Standing at Etta’s door, Merlin called softly, “Teacher Etta.”

After a while, there was no response, so Merlin reached out and knocked.

Creak.

The door was pushed open with just a light touch.

Merlin hesitated briefly, then walked in. After looking around, he saw no sign of Etta. Clearly, he wasn’t home.

“Teacher Etta is really too careless. Leaving the door unlocked—what if a thief breaks in?”

Merlin muttered. Blackwater City’s security hadn’t been great lately.

But Merlin knew Etta was eccentric and secretive. After spending almost ten days here, he still didn’t know what Etta did for a living.

He only knew that Etta lived here alone. Besides himself and the occasional visit from Kellys, no one else ever came.

So Merlin guessed that Etta had come to Blackwater City all by himself.

Seeing that Etta wasn’t home, Merlin sat by the fireplace to quietly review the Mortan script he had learned.

After about an hour, the room had grown noticeably colder. Merlin casually added some firewood to the fireplace.

Just then, he heard footsteps coming from the stairs outside. It must be Etta returning. Merlin stood up quickly.

Bang.

The door was slammed shut. Etta entered, surprised to see Merlin. “Merlin? Why are you here?”

Merlin noticed that Etta was wearing tall leather boots covered in mud, his coat soaked with dew. His face was pale, and he looked tired. Who knew where he had been?

“Teacher Etta, I came to ask for a leave. I may need to take care of some family matters this afternoon, so I won’t be coming today.”

To Merlin’s surprise, Etta didn’t seem angry—instead, he was unusually calm. After a moment, he nodded and said, “I’ll be going on a long trip for a few days, so your lessons will be suspended for a while.”

Merlin was somewhat surprised. Etta usually seemed rather idle—what could be so urgent?

“When will you be back, Teacher Etta?”

“Hard to say. Maybe three to five days, maybe ten days or half a month. But remember, even if I’m not around, you must diligently practice the Morta script.”

“I have some notes here about learning Morta script, and some translations between it and the Light script, which I compiled over the past few years. Take these and study them on your own. They should help improve your understanding of the Morta script.”

Etta then took out a thick stack of documents and handed them to Merlin.

Merlin was slightly dumbfounded. These weren’t simple notes—they were akin to dictionaries in his past life.

And they were meticulously recorded by Etta himself—truly priceless in this era.

Though Etta was strict, he clearly valued Merlin deeply.

“Don’t worry, Teacher. I’ll definitely practice the Morta script diligently at home.”

With that, Merlin took the materials and turned to leave.

“Wait…”

Etta’s expression flickered, and at last, he seemed to make up his mind. He pulled out a black ring from his coat and tossed it to Merlin.

In a deep voice, he said, “Take this little trinket. Consider it a token for calling me ‘teacher’.”

“Teacher, this…”

Merlin hesitated, but Etta waved his hand impatiently.

“Go, go. Do whatever you need to. I’m tired and want to rest.”

Without the slightest courtesy, Etta directly ushered Merlin out the door.

Merlin went downstairs and climbed into the carriage, placing the documents beside him.

He was still a bit stunned. Etta seemed off today—first the notes, now the ring.

“That old man Etta is always mysterious and weird… What on earth is going on? Still, this ring is quite odd. Looks old too…”

The black ring was of unknown material, light as a feather in Merlin’s hand.

It was pitch black and engraved with a fearsome, three-headed monster that looked vivid yet eerie.

Surely no one would willingly wear such a ring.

Merlin played with it for a while, but found nothing unusual. He slipped it into his pocket and said to Moss,

“Moss, let’s go. Time for etiquette class today.”

The carriage slowly departed from Etta’s little building.