[NR] Tradition Still Has Its Place Though - Chapter 615

Jason sighs, “Fine, I was hoping to buy a less expensive example since I’m not even sure I want to build such a thing. For now, I’ll be wanting an Energy obelisk manual. Though going by how most Energy things work under the System’s suppression, I assume the manual will be super specific?”

Courtney nods, “There are no generic uses for Energy. Some abilities that are generic enough to use Energy, but nothing for Energy. I don’t know if this kingdom will have one, though. Anything else you’re interested in?”

Jason, “Since we just talked about Qi, might as well mention something that is in theory specific to that power. I want knowledge of how Qi tattoos are designed.”

Courtney, “A bit out of left field, but I can see what you’re going for. Powered tattoos are a popular enough thing in certain subsets of people. I even believe that technically all three powers have their own versions. Why do you want examples of the Qi tattoos specifically?”

Jason, “Because they aren’t going to have an Energy tattoo I want nor the knowledge of how to create them. So with that in mind, how to make Qi tattoos is the next best thing. A Mana tattoo would be more like a special sort of enchantment, whereas a Qi tattoo would be based around the body.”

Courtney, “Well, you’re in luck. Instead of trading for the information, we can just borrow a book on it from Rosha’s family. While specific tattoo designs are tightly kept secrets, the method of making them isn’t. Now, what other weird things do you want?”

Jason, “Well, less weird so much as it would be rare, any material attuned to Energy. Not even large supplies of them. I simply need stuff to experiment with. Besides, proper materials will help setting up rituals in the future.

“Then there is the mundane. I can’t give specific examples as I’m not sure what is available, but stuff like a shield that can protect a house or for them to build a road to us. Things which a nation will have and even if I could eventually do it myself, they can manage without breaking a sweat.”

Courtney, “Well, that is more on the reasonable side of things. Though I’d actually prefer more like the first. If you try and trade for a ton of small nonsense, whoever you sell it to isn’t going to be happy. It would be easier to get them to build an Energy obelisk in our clearing than it would be for a bunch of random smaller stuff.”

Jason shrugged, “Well, I’ll cross that bridge when we get there. For now, I guess I need to watch some tutorials on making a book. Like, it is going to be thick with multiple ‘c’s.”

Courtney, “For something like this you’ll want to just use the finest vellum we can find in as big a form factor as possible. Not only will you probably want some of the major graphs laid out in full, but yeah, you’re going to need quite a few pages anyway you slice it.”

Jason, “Well now wait a moment, why vellum? I was figuring a high cotton percentage paper would work. They should have something like that available.”

Courtney, “I will admit, part of the reason is tradition. Vellum is what grimoires and such are made of, so people expect it. Having a first pattern made of it? Now that’s fancy!

“Though the bigger reason is that vellum lasts longer, especially with magic and what not kicking around. After all, paper is made by shredding something with a lot of fibers and making a sheet of it. Vellum is, in a way, a fancy form of leather and since it isn’t shredded down, maintains the source animal’s natural toughness. Even just using a minor magical beast to make it results in amazing gains.

“Now, since we are selling it, that isn’t the biggest worry for us. Except a sturdier book not only will sell for more, but more likely to gain better effects. If any of us was an enchanter, we wouldn’t have to worry as much. None of us are though, so you’ll have to settle for an enormous book. They won’t mind, they’ll have unwieldier tomes.”

Jason sighs, “Fine, vellum it is. Do you have any guides to read for the whole ‘book making’ thing?”

Courtney, “Just look up some basic layout tips and how to bind books in NeoRealm. Better to focus on laying out things in a way that teaches people the best. Which, to many people’s annoyance, doesn’t always follow the traditional rules of book layout.”

Off to the side, Rosha laughs, “Ain’t that the truth! One of my older aunts still grumbles about it. Her family was big in the publishing industry before NeoRealm and they tried to force their ideas of what a book should be into the game. They failed of course!”

Courtney sighs, “It was a foolish thing to start with. With VR, how a book should be laid out if you don’t need to print it out has changed wildly. Yet they went in expecting a magic society to be just as limited as the middle ages.

“Nevermind the magic to replicate regular books better than a printer. Some magical texts can only be hand scribed. Trying to use magic, a printing press, rubbings, or anything to copy them fails. Besides, to reduce them down to ink and paper would be a crime.

“It is a shame you can’t use magic, because there are numerous free techniques for it to make books come to life. Whether it is moving pictures like some kind of video or illusions better than even modern hologram tech, magic really allows for you to put the world on a page.”

Jason shrugs, “Eh, I’ll do what I can. Though a minor 3d element would help with some more complicated graphs. Lines going over and under one another can get confusing. Instead, I’ll just have to play around with the layout even more in my space so the overlaps are kept to a minimum.”