Hitting one's head against a wall is rarely conducive. The wall will remain in place, and you'll be left with a bloodied forehead. And hitting the wall harder and in larger quantities only results in an eventual concussion.

However, using one's head against a wall, when taken in the less literal sense, can produce results.

In my case, the wall that I needed to tackle was my horrendous drawing skills.

The need was three-fold.

There was the business of getting the chaoturgist runic tattoo done so that I could practice chaos magic once I managed to get a hold of a chaos artifact. Even if I had a skilled runist do the tattoo on me, I still needed to provide a diagram of what I wanted done. Unfortunately, Lisa didn't allow her books to be removed from her abode, and my drawing skills were far too lacking to copy them down myself. I had attempted to have the System provide the diagram and trace over it, but my lines were wobbly and tended to cross over one another. A steadier and more assured hand was needed.

While there were technically alternative methods of copying over the chaoturgist tattoo, there was still an issue regarding Claude's tattoo. While the System had remembered perfectly and somehow captured both sides of Claude's body, it couldn't draw it out for me. It was significantly more complicated than the chaoturgist runic tattoo, so I didn't even try to trace it out, knowing I'd fail.

And finally, there was the matter of Remlend's curse. Even with Freida Stran's comprehensive information on how to lift the Wallflower Curse, my lackluster drawing skills proved to be a barrier to the remedy here as well.

I needed to learn to draw, but trying to do so independently was counterproductive. The blind should not lead themselves, just as surely as the blind should not lead the blind. Thus, I asked Lady Shuzen's help in procuring an artist who could teach me. Evercrest, in stark contrast to the pragmatic Genise, overflowed with artistic talent. Its streets were adorned with breathtaking mosaic murals, and every party I attended boasted remarkable paintings and sculptures. Moreover, art reigned as the most coveted commodity imported by Father from the Lellei Kingdom for resale elsewhere.

However, to my great surprise, Lady Shuzen had volunteered to teach me to draw herself.

"Remarkable," she exclaimed as she examined my attempt at sketching the blue vase that she had placed before me. "It's utterly raw, devoid of preconceived notions about the form a vase should take, and blissfully disregards the principles of light and shadow."

I couldn't tell if Lady Shuzen was praising or insulting me, but it was evident that I had not drawn the vase as she had expected me to.

Jasper chuckled nearby.

"Sush!" Lady Shuzen scolded Jasper. "Don't laugh!"

Golden yellow silk cascaded over Lady Shuzen's broad shoulders, and the dress shimmered in the light coming from the window. Adorned with jewelry, her ears, wrists, and fingers glinted, while even her long black hair sparkled with delicate ornaments woven into its dark strands. It seemed excessive for any random old day, but I learned that she always appeared to have fallen into a jewelry box on her way out of bed.

We were seated in Lady Shuzen's library of sorts. Floor-to-ceiling windows offered a breathtaking view of the ocean, while books were stacked against one wall in neat shelves that appeared to have been built around each of the individual books, so it was evident should one go missing. They seemed more like a decorative display to admire rather than to consume, with the meticulous choice of binding complimenting the rest of the room's palette of gold, beige, and sage green. The space itself lent itself more to the pursuit of art and entertainment, with plush lounge chairs spread about, facing the beautiful view of the clear blue sky and glistening ocean.

Jasper picked a book from one of the shelves and sat on a sage green armchair near me. He whisked out a small golden letter opener and broke open the pages of the book as he read through the contents.

"This means you're a blank slate!" Lady Shuzen turned back to me. "You've never learned to draw, have you?"

I shook my head.

Mother and Father had various instructors prepared for me and my siblings, but an art instructor was never one of them. Despite that, my other siblings picked up the ability to draw decently well, while I did not. I lacked their talent.

"It wasn't required, and I never had any use for it, so I simply never learned to," I said.

"Well, then, that's something I can relate to." Lady Shuzen smiled toward me and procured two new parchments of paper. "We'll start with the very basics then."

***

Our lesson ended with me having done nothing more than drawing shapes and lines. There were lines that went up, lines that went down, and lines that extended from a singular point out. The interesting part was that the paper appeared to gain dimension depending on how the lines were made.

"I'd wager she'll have you working on shade work next," Jasper remarked, examining the final results.

I ignored the bet, which I knew he meant half-seriously.

"Why were you cutting into that, by the way?" I asked instead, nodding toward the green book in his hand.

"Ah, these books were printed in the old-fashioned way," Jasper explained. "It's no longer done this way normally, but most books in Lellei are still printed this way. Essentially, the edges weren't trimmed perfectly smooth when the paper was made."

He paused, gesturing towards the book in his hands. "Now, because of these rough edges, when the pages were bound into a book, they weren't automatically separated. Thus, you'd need to take a small knife or a letter opener, like this one," he tapped the golden knife on his armchair, "and carefully slice through the pages along the folds to open the book. It's a laborious process, but it adds a certain charm and character."

I frowned, recalling having seen several books with uneven edges at my grandmother's and Lisa's shops. However, in neither of the two cases did I need to cut the pages open.

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I asked Jasper about this.

"Typically, you would only need to cut open the pages once, upon first receiving the book or whenever it's brand new," Japsed explained. "After that initial slicing, the pages should separate more easily as you turn them, especially with use."

"That means Lady Shuzen hasn't read that book?" I asked.

Jasper laughed at my question.

"Luca, she hasn't read any of them. She can barely read and write," he stated, to my shock.

I glanced toward the giant wall of books.

So it wasn't my imagination. These books were serving merely as decorations.

"How can that be?" I asked.

Even if I wasn't good at studying, I at least still knew how to read and write.

Jasper closed his book, walked over to the shelf, and put it back in place. "Most people don't know. Even back in Adovoria, most are illiterate. They may read a street sign or the bar menu, but they'll never get past the first paragraph of 'Larthsong, Last Stand of Agony.' You'd have to have someone teach it to you, and if your parents don't know how to read or at least hire someone to teach you, you'd never learn."

How did I never notice?

I blinked, trying to recall my original life.

When my family was alive, I took reading for granted—perhaps not for myself, but for my family's and our people's ability to read. Then, when they all died, I realized I couldn't recall a single instance when someone else around me had a book in hand. Besides, people working the streets of East Genise and fellow guards in The Order didn't have the time or luxury to read books. And whatever little reading that I or any of my fellow soldiers needed to do was simple enough.

It never occurred to me that the real issue might have been that they probably couldn't read even if they wanted to.

I squinted, recalling one instance where I read a ransom letter left behind while Grandov was away on a mission. The other soldiers of The Order appeared impressed and showered me with compliments after I stumbled through the text. It was an embarrassing affair for me.

"But Lady Shuzen is so well off," I said. "She can afford a tutor, can't she?"

Jasper gave me a conspiring grin. "Lady Shuzen wasn't always Lady Shuzen."

"Besides," he continued," she doesn't need to know. Her role in life doesn't require it. If need be, she has someone who can read and write her letters for her."

I frowned.

It was ironic for me, of all people, to think this, given the extent to which I avoided reading. Yet, there was a profound sense of misfortune. Despite my struggles with reading and writing, I could. I had been formally trained.

Through reading, I had gained the capability to produce basic illusion magic. Reading was how I was learning about chaos magic and what it entailed. Reading and writing unlocked doors that were otherwise closed.

My barrier was different from others. My mind had trouble with letters, but others weren't even taught them.

And especially with the System's assistance, reading had been made accessible even for me. No matter the text or even language, the System made it digestible.

"Scaw!" A seagull sounded outside on the balcony.

I sat up, straightening my back.

An idea had popped into my head.

What if.…

<< Hey System, when you show me blue screens with text since I'm the only one that sees them, are they produced with illusion magic? >>

[ Yes, but it is pretty different from the rudimentary magic you have been producing. ]

I licked my lips.

The System wasn't wrong. The most impressive use of illusion magic thus far was creating what appeared to be a ghost of Lady Shuzen and scaring the living daylights out of Jasper.

However, if the System also used illusion magic, there may be a way to replicate it.

I stood up and walked over to the bookcase. My eyes traced the titles, looking for something foreign.

"Jasper, are there any languages you don't know?" I asked.

A laugh sounded behind me. "You give me too much credit. There are far more languages that I don't know than I do know," replied Jasper.

“What about Rostovian?” I asked, recognizing the foreign letters I'd often seen inside Natalia Ashford's bakery. She and her family were originally from Rostovia and arrived in Adovoria for better opportunities.

"No way," Jasper responded.

I grabbed a beige and golden leather tome and brought it over to the amused-looking Jasper.

"Don't tell me you know it?" he joked.

"No, but I'm going to see if I can read it," I replied, cracking open the book with Jasper's golden knife. "Or rather, have you read it."

I hovered my palm over the text as I had done with the creation of Lady Shuzen's ghost. Given the limited capacity of my mana, I focused the illusion's actual creation upon Jaspers's eyes so he was the only one to see it.

<< System, please translate the text. >>

As soon as the blue screen appeared, I focused on replicating the text into an illusion of my own. It wasn't a perfect replica but it was good enough for my intentions.

"Curse me blind!" Jasper exclaimed. "What is this blue thing? I can read the text. Is this this book? Am I reading Rostovian? What sort of magic is this?"

Questions poured out of Jasper while his eyes continued to scour the text. Some were rhetorical, and some were asked with a response in mind.

Meanwhile, a grin spread across my face as realization dawned: if I could utilize illusion magic to translate whatever I needed to someone else, be it text or drawings, I could. Admittedly, the lines were still a little fuzzy, leaving room for improvement, but it presented a viable alternative to mastering actual drawing skills. For instance, replicating Claude Noire's tattoos would have taken me hours or even days, even if I had become proficient enough with the pen. With this, it was instantaneous.

[ Congratulations! Skill upgraded! ]

[ Illusion Magic: Level Increased ]

[ Illusion Magic: Level 4 ]

[ You can now create a mediocre illusion at 12 by 12 by 12 feet for 1 Mana Stat. ]

I smiled at the blue notifications—they were a rarity, given that I had turned off most functions to access the Merchant Shop and make a profit while at Lellei. However, as it had done with the Intelligence stat, the System snuck in these now and then.

I was so absorbed in my skill's upgrade and its possibilities that I failed to realize the room had fallen silent. Jasper had stopped talking and was gazing at me.

"What?" I asked nervously.

"Luca, do you have any idea how insane this is? This is more than just a translation. Somehow, I understand Rostovian. I knew you were reading invisible books and making ghosts, but to think you could do this? It's amazing!"

I felt my cheeks redden at the praise.

"Say, I don't suppose someone that can't even read can read with this?" Jasper suggested.

"That was the goal; I was going to try it out on Lady Shuzen," I stated.

The trouble was maintaining the illusion magic so that she could read the text on her own, without my presence, but that was a bridge to be crossed at a later time.

"If it works, do you think you could replicate this on a larger scale?" he asked.

I shrugged. "I don't know; this is the first time I've tried anything like this."

"Give me that golden coin of yours ." Jasper smiled. "In return for a small favor, I'd bet on you being able to do just that."

***

I rubbed my temples as I remembered my conversation with Jasper two weeks ago. I gazed down at the drawn plans sprawled across the table, each dot indicating a region for a message to be sent to. The people standing around the table in the dim room gazed at me expectantly after their full plan and my participation was explained to me. It went far beyond pulling something dramatic during Lady Shuzen's engagement party. It was on a scope equivalent to flipping the whole table that was the Lellei Kingdom.

Now, I understood what Jasper had in mind regarding the use of illusion magic on a larger scale. And the small favor.

Damn it. His requested favors are never small. I knew that. This was supposed to be a relaxing Round of traveling and studying magic, not getting involved in something overly troublesome.

As if reading my mind, Jasper leaned over, whispering into my ear. "You want to improve your illusion magic skills, don't you? You'll be supplied with all the mana potions you need by them. And the most effective path to mastery lies in practical application, wouldn't you agree?"

I sighed heavily.

He wasn't wrong. Finding a similar approach to communicating with Adovoria's citizens could fortify our resistance against the encroaching threat of the Kobar Empire.

Practice makes perfect, especially when the fate of a nation hangs in the balance.