The Monastery

With Serie's plan now made public, it was like a sudden thunderclap in the quiet night sky—previously peaceful Äußerst was instantly set ablaze, and the related news began to spread like wildfire.

As Gut walked the streets of the city, he could already feel the shift in the atmosphere quite clearly.

Although most residents of Äußerst weren't mages themselves, it didn't stop them from optimistically imagining the opportunities and changes the founding of the Continental Magic Association could bring.

Setting everything else aside, the fact that the number of mages in the city was sure to increase was enough to fill the locals with joy.

After all, this was still a world plagued by demons and demonic beasts. Even though the Demon King had been defeated over twenty years ago by Hero Himmel and his companions, demonic threats to towns and villages had never truly ceased.

And every human mage was an irreplaceable force in times of crisis.

The more mages there were in a city, the safer the residents could feel in their everyday lives.

Though Äußerst was already bustling compared to when Gut first arrived, he knew this was still nothing.

The news of Serie founding the Continental Magic Association had only just started spreading—its reach was still limited.

Once it reached the Northern Highlands and the heart of the Empire, the response would surely be explosive.

Countless mages from both the Northern and Central Nations would descend upon Äußerst. Mages from all across the continent gathered in one place—that kind of scene would be wildly overwhelming.

But Gut had no interest in being part of the excitement. Restricted by his Secluded from the World trait, after staying in Äußerst for a while, all he wanted was to find a quiet place to hide and minimize his social interactions.

Fortunately, after some exploration, Gut did manage to find a small monastery on the outskirts of Äußerst.

This modest monastery had only one remaining inhabitant: an elderly monk.

And this final monk, due to his age, only visited the monastery once every two or three weeks.

For Gut, it was the perfect place to settle down.

He quietly returned to his room at the inn, packed his things without saying goodbye to the now-familiar innkeeper, brought enough dry rations for half a month, and that same evening, moved into the monastery.

He was lucky—there were signs of recent cleaning on the tables and chairs, suggesting the old monk had visited not long ago.

With a bit of luck, Gut might not even run into him during his "stay."

...

The Next Day

Sha-sha-sha—

With sunlight streaming in, the sound of "spring silkworms nibbling leaves" echoed through the small monastery at the edge of the town.

The source of the sound? The monastery's sole current "resident."

Gut sat hunched over a desk, one hand pressing down on a tattered book, the other swiftly transcribing its contents into a fresh blank volume.

This task of copying nearly ruined old texts into new books was one of the monks' most common duties—considered part of their daily spiritual training.

Thanks to generations of nameless monks preserving this practice, much of the knowledge and culture created by humanity during the Mythic, Ancient, and Unified Empire eras had survived and could still benefit the present day.

Even Hero Himmel and his party had once faced a seemingly insurmountable dilemma during their quest, only to find their solution in a long-abandoned monastery—in a legend transcribed countless times from the age of myth.

So yes, the work of monks had true meaning.

It's just that the path to this meaning was a hard one.

[Ding!]

[Congratulations, Host]

[Daily Quest: Do a Good Deed – Completed]

"Phew… finally hit the word count, huh…"

Gut tossed his pen aside and shook out his slightly numb wrist.

Even with his current physical strength, long hours of writing still wore him out.

Still, the system notification made it all worth it.

Transcribing books—one of the core practices of a monk, preserving the wisdom of past sages for future generations—certainly counted as a good deed.

In fact, ever since Gut's transmigration, over half of his Do a Good Deed tasks had been completed this way.

After all, for someone who had made a home out of an abandoned monastery, it wasn't easy to find other opportunities for good deeds.

...

Meanwhile, in the Imperial Capital, Eiseberg—

Not long after returning from a sweet honeymoon with his wife, the Imperial Court Mage Denken knocked on the office door of his close friend.

"Lernen!"

"It's me! Open up!"