Ashley reached for a dusty tome nestled high on the shelf, a puff of dust fell over as she pulled it free. Her eyes shone with a mix of skepticism and unbridled curiosity. "Alright, let's see what we've got here," she said, brushing off the cover with a wave of her hand.

The book she held was thick, its covers worn and faded to a dull hue. The title, Quillmancy for Dummies who Only Hit Stuff with a stick in the Boonies, a mildly offensive title, but as a college professor Ethan has an erroneous habit of judging a book by it's cover. After all, the book was barely legible, as if it had been forgotten by time. Alas, this is a book that passes Ethan's standard- a book that has been used a lot.

They went outside the guild and found a cozy nook bathed in warm light and settled in, eager to uncover the secrets within. Ethan quickly raced his fingertips through the pages, absorbing the intricate and elaborate illustrations as he go.

"Quillmancy," he read aloud, his voice a blend of awe and disbelief, "is the manipulation of reality through encoded scripts. A volatile artform restricted only to those who wields the wealth and ability to access it. Effects may vary depending on the method of casting, language use, the caster's intentions. Efficacy and duration of the spell may be affected by physiological and psychological barriers."

"Okay, sounds uncunningly similar to the models of communication," Ethan remarks.

Ashley raised an eyebrow, a smile, almost a grin, spreading across her face. "So, you're telling me this is basically magic for language majors?" She leaned back slightly, her arms crossed, a playful challenge lingering in her tone.

Ethan chuckled, warmth lighting up his features. "Pretty much."

As they delved deeper into the chapter, their intrigue grew. Quillmancy is an artform rooted in the profound understanding of each word's origin, weight, and cultural resonance. Those who'd mastered it could command words with remarkable precision shaping even time itself to their whims. "That seems broken", Ashley comments.

Ethan's enthusiasm bubbled as he eagerly continued reading about Quillmancy's fundamental laws:

Essence in Etymology – a primary requirement to tap into the power of the Quill is significant understanding of its roots and creation.

The Tome of Ancient Scripts – A legendary collection of ancient words filled with limitless potential, usually written in mystical ancient script, found in fragments scattered across rare and forgotten tomes. ("This literally exists in the real world as reference for spells in fantasy genres, albeit in another name" Ethan muses to himself)

Caution and Causality – To casters' the emotional state as well as intention and understanding of the word can sway reality in unexpected directions. Carelessness may lead to unwanted circumstances. "Every word in a classic text could be a symbolism and interpreted, very interesting," Ashley says to herself with a determined and challenged expression.

"The etymology part seems intriguing, we're mostly using language from our old world, so should we use the old world's etymology or this world's etymology? I'm confused..." Ethan says.

"The caution and causality seems breakable, like those loopholes speed gamers abuse all the time. It may look chaotic at first, but..." Ashley looks at Ethan expectantly awaiting him to connect the dots.

"If, we find the order to the chaos. We get to exploit loopholes too," Ethan replied. He was no stranger to game mechanics, in fact he used to be an avid gamer himself. Going as far as playing with his students during summer breaks or whenever he finds a spare time.

Ashley notices a footnote explaining how skilled Quillmancers could weave simple words into strings of sentences, sometimes even paragraphs, enhancing their magical effects—a talent not so readily available to many novices. However, she is confident of their backgrounds in literature, allowing them to forge word combinations that danced on the edge danger and imagination.

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"It's like… poetry magic," Ashley states softly, her expression reflective. "We're not merely casting spells; freely rewrite them to achieve diversified results."

"More like, writing magic. It is wise to err on the side of caution though, if this world operates on an equilibrium I bet there's consequences for drastic modifications of spells," Ethan refutes.

"While we're on the subject, I'd like to try something," Ethan continued.

Quoting a poem by William Blake, Ethan begins chanting, "Tyger Tyger burning bright, in the forests of the night…"

A sudden surge of flame erupted before them seemingly forming into a quadrupedal creature, Ethan smiled from ear to ear as he continued the stanza to finish the spell.

"...what immortal hand or eye, framed thy fearful symmetry!"

All of a sudden, a flaming tiger manifests before them menacingly looking around then finally bowing to its summoner. Luckily there were only a handful of onlookers who ran away from the sight of a flaming tiger.

"So... reciting an actual poem is the loophole?" Ashley inquired with excitement in her eyes.

"Seems like it, we should do more experiments on the magic's duration and potency, perhaps reciting the entire poem makes it last longer?", Ethan mused.

So there is indeed order to the chaos. We just need to fully grasp the requirements and specifications.

Looking around them he notices both awed and scared faces amongst a crowd that starts growing in number.

"We should continue reading this in back in the guild," Ashley retorts.

Eagerly venturing further into the pages, they discovered more about the mysterious Tome of Ancient Scripts. This collection didn't just contain mere words of languages from Earth; it housed concepts potent enough to reshape reality itself. Yet, there is a only a small collection of this words in the book they're reading and decoding it felt like a chore.

Ethan have come across these words before back on Earth but did not paid much attention to it. "This is a compilation of words found in a compendium bearing the same name. The words are mostly in other languages like Greek, Latin, Spanish and the like" he says.

With renewed determination, they plunged deeper into the book, confidence swelling with every turn of the page. They tried various applications of language theories they had back home, trying their best to uncover the arts' potential while testing its boundaries. With Ethan's flair for prose and Ashley's passion for poetry, they began crafting phrases that produced more intricate effects—casting not just light but warmth, or summoning gentle breezes that lifted delicate objects into the air.

Night came and they were granted the exclusive perk of staying in the inn for free for a night due to their newbie adventurer status. This is also the guild's way of advertising the many amenities, utilities and services they offer once Ethan and Ashley decides to be full fledged adventurers. Both of them spent the night lavishly, eating, drinking, and sleeping like kings. Basic necessities were provided, even a change of leather clothing fit for upstarting adventurers.

Ethan held the book, flipped its rustic pages and looked into it further during the night, Ashley would come by from time to time to take turns reading the book (yes, they are not sharing the same room, the adventurers' guild is wealthy enough to accommodate two newbie adventurers).

"It's just fillers and expositions. We need information on how to grow stronger fast," Ashley muttered.

"I agree, seems like the book is limited. Perhaps if we want to learn more, we gotta put ourselves out there and experience the world ourselves," Ethan replied.

"Agreed. We should probably look for party members too"

"You know that I'm an introvert. Socializing isn't my strongest suit."

"Then it'll just be you and me. For now."

"That works for me."

Ashley reached her hand out and pats Ethan on the head. It was oddly comforting. He recalls having done that to students as a non verbal gesture of "You can do better" or "It'll be alright".

The professor never knew he needed one too.

The following day, while honing a word combination to summon heat, a Guild attendant approached with purpose, scroll in hand.

"Ethan Erstellen and Ashley Briar?" he inquired, his expression a mix of caution and intrigue. "We have a minor task for you two new adventurers. It's nothing monumental, but it'll provide good practice. We need someone to handle a few goblins causing trouble for the farmlands just past the forest's edge."

Ashley's face lit up, exchanging a spirited glance with Ethan. "A goblin-clearing quest? Classic! We're stepping right into the heart of fantasy!"

A flutter of excitement mingled with nerves surged through Ethan's chest. "I guess this is our first real adventure."

"Should we visit a shop first? You know, gear up a little bit. There might be interesting items in store for us!" Ashly excitedly inquired.

"I don't think that'd be necessary. This is a tutorial stage. Nobody dies in the tutorial stage!" Ethan stated with the utmost confidence.

They agreed to embark on the quest, setting off with a mixture of anticipation and excitement. In a world where the old rules no longer applied, will their passion for literature be the key to unlock thrilling possibilities or would their carefree decision lead to their untimely demise?