Chapter 6 Scheduling Time

Chapter 6 Scheduling Time

There were three rooms on the second floor of 13 Milford Street.

Celes rented the room farthest to the east.

He had little information about his neighbors on the second floor; he only knew that a man in his thirties lived in the western room, while a young couple who left early and returned late occupied the middle room, rarely making any noise.

The man he had just encountered was from the western room.

Since becoming Celes two nights ago, he hadn't seen this neighbor. Now, at first glance, he found the man quite striking.

He wore an orange-red cloak with an exotic flair, fastened at the neck with a beautiful, colorful feather. He donned an extremely flamboyant tall hat and had on pointed boots.

Around his waist hung a belt adorned with fangs, rings, feathers, and bones. Underneath the cloak, each ornament on the belt made crisp clinking sounds as they collided.

His face was painted with oil paints, especially around his eyes, reaching a level of exaggeration fit for a masquerade ball. The red, orange, white, and purple paints made him look like a child who had spilled a palette.

Celes couldn't help but pause before politely nodding in greeting.

The oddly dressed neighbor coughed reflexively and then said nonchalantly, "I'm not up to anything bad."

Celes remained silent.

The man became even more awkward.

Finally, he stammered an explanation for his appearance: "I'm a folklorist! You see, with the development of the Ashless Lands, the Duchy of Const has established stable communication channels with many countries.

"The customs and habits of those countries differ greatly from those of the Duchy of Const. I'm attending a cultural exchange meeting later, so I've dressed accordingly.

"It's strange, isn't it? That's how people from those places dress."

Through the man's explanation, Celes understood why he was dressed that way.

Folklore studies... Celes nodded thoughtfully.

In the history of this world, the current era is known as the "Era of Fog." Indeed, the fog covers much of the land in Fisher, and these areas are called the "Ashless Lands."

The Ashless Lands are barren lands shrouded in layers of black-gray fog, which also isolates the communication channels between countries.

Countless nations, tribes, and villages live in isolation. It wasn't until a few hundred years ago that the fog over the Ashless Lands began to dissipate, leading to its development and increased interaction with other countries.

Now, much of the Ashless Lands is no longer covered by fog. These lands are called the Withered Plains, vast, desolate, and yellow.

During the development of the Ashless Lands, folklore studies emerged as a discipline dedicated to researching the cultures of different countries.

Celes believed the man's explanation but still felt some doubt.

The man seemed oblivious and introduced himself, "My name is Alfonso Carlisle. We've been neighbors for some time now, yet we didn't even know each other's names."

Celes nodded and said, "Celes Noel."

This flamboyantly dressed folklorist nodded back and mentioned he was running late before hurrying off.

Celes watched him leave, then calmly turned his gaze away and returned to his room.

He placed his umbrella by the door, put the manuscript on the desk, and took out his wallet, dice, pocket watch, and stationery from his coat. Then he removed his outerwear and sat silently on the sofa for a moment.

The matter with the Revelator was truly unexpected. He hadn't anticipated encountering the extraordinary powers of this world so soon.

Coincidence?

His gaze lingered on the dice on the desk.

After a moment, he stood up and went to the washroom for a hot bath. The rain continued outside, making the warmth and dryness inside all the more pleasant.

He was very hungry and ate a piece of bread while drying his hair. He wished he could have some hot soup, but there were no ingredients available. He made a mental note to buy fresh food from Logan Market tomorrow.

The apartment didn't have a kitchen, but the ground floor of 13 Milford Street was where Mrs. Finn and her family lived. When Mrs. Finn wasn't using the kitchen, tenants could cook their meals there, provided they cleaned up afterward.

Soon, Celes finished eating the bread and dried his hair. He changed into simple pajamas, feeling relieved that the sticky rain was finally off his body.

However, such weather was typical for Lamifa City in late July. Instead of summer warmth, it was gloomy, damp, and cold. By August, the weather would shift to the opposite extreme, with bright, scorching sunshine.

By late October, the weather would become wet and cold again, but there would be a two-week holiday.

People called it the winter break because after this holiday, Lamifa would enter a long winter. Some also referred to it as the rainy break due to the abundant rainfall during that period.

Today was July 24th, Monday.

Lamifa University would reopen on the first Monday of August, which this year fell on August 1st.

The calendar in this world was similar to Earth's, with twelve months, thirty days per month, and seven days per week. However, specific holidays and festivals differed significantly.

Lamifa University operated on a three-semester system. The first semester ran from August to late October, followed by a two-week winter break, which could extend if the rainy season was prolonged.

The second semester lasted from early November to February, with a one-month spring break at the end of February. Like the winter break, the spring break marked the arrival of spring.

The third semester spanned from late March to early July. The annual exams usually took place in the first week of July, followed by a three-week summer break—or the rainy break in July.

Graduates received their holidays earlier, giving them ample time to find jobs.

When Celes was a student at Lamifa University, he was familiar with this academic schedule. But as a professor, things became much more complicated.

He now had to prepare his lesson plans for the last week of July.

The college required him to teach two general elective courses and two specialized electives. The general electives spanned the first and second semesters, while the specialized electives were split, one in the first two semesters and one in the third.

The specialized elective in the third semester was manageable, but the two general electives and another specialized elective were pressing matters, with classes starting in just a week.

Celes sighed almost imperceptibly.

He quickly calculated his schedule for the coming week—Wednesday and Saturday afternoons at the Historical Society; Sunday for moving and organizing his office. That left him with full days on Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday.

Moreover, he would need to review the textbooks and reading lists for his students and mentally prepare for an apprentice whose identity and research topic were still unknown.

...It was going to be hectic.

He lowered his eyes and wrote down his course titles on a scrap of paper: "Literary Overview from the Epoch of Birth to the Epoch of Fog," "Appreciation of Literature in the Epoch of Silence," and "Literature of the Epoch of Silence and Its Theoretical Evolution—A Study of Three Notable Authors."

The first two were general elective courses, while the last one was a specialized elective from the previous semesters.

Overall, they remained consistent and progressively more in-depth. He could prepare all three courses together.

Finally, he underlined three terms: Epoch of Birth, Epoch of Silence, and Epoch of Fog.

The Epoch of Birth was the first era recorded in history, rumored to be the era when gods were born.

After the birth of the gods came the birth of humans. People believed in and worshipped the existence of gods, hence the second era was called the Epoch of Faith.

Human civilization gradually flourished, establishing empires and developing productivity. Empires fought each other, and deities watched over their followers from behind the scenes. The third era was known as the Epoch of Empires—a long and glorious era.

The fourth era was shrouded in mystery, with limited records that were often vague and cryptic. It was referred to as the Epoch of Shadows, indeed a hidden era.

Following the Epoch of Shadows, both gods and humans seemed to enter a period of extreme decline. In the fifth era, gods fell, the continent was covered in mist, and empires fragmented, leading to isolation. This was the Epoch of Silence, a time of chaos and silence.

After the fifth era, the sixth era saw humanity recovering and rebuilding. The God of Past and History appeared, and people once again lived and developed under divine protection, extending their influence back to the Land Without Ash.

The dividing point between the Epoch of Silence and the Epoch of Fog was the emergence of Antinium.

This deity, the only one remaining, was also considered the guardian of humanity. They truly existed and protected humans in some way.

Thinking about the eye symbol on the door, Celes wondered if this God of Past and History was the source of the Seer's power, or did They bestow Their power upon the Seer?

After a moment of contemplation, Celes shook his head; there were too few clues.

Deciding not to dwell on it, he looked at the course titles he had written on the scrap of paper, then opened the materials he had taken from Professor Cabel's office.

Some of the materials were already organized, part of the course syllabi. Celes was fortunate to find a complete teaching outline and syllabus for "Literary Overview from the Epoch of Birth to the Epoch of Fog."

He neatly set it aside to review later.

Continuing through the materials, he found some scattered notes and syllabi but still felt a headache coming on, realizing he would likely have to compile his own materials and reading lists for the two courses related to the Epoch of Silence.

Fortunately, that was within his expertise.

He pulled out the useful parts and set them aside, planning to look for his old notes tomorrow to create a framework for these two courses.

He remembered taking Professor Cabel's specialized elective course, but he couldn't simply replicate it—it wouldn't be proper.

As he thought, he casually pulled out a manuscript.

Glancing down, he suddenly paused because the content of this manuscript seemed unrelated to Professor Cabel's lectures.

It appeared to be something Professor Cabel had scribbled down haphazardly, with words like "madness" and "shadows" scattered throughout.

Recalling the mysterious fourth era, the Epoch of Shadows, Celes became intrigued by the contents of the manuscript.