Do ratmen dream of the sacred tree of spirits?

Chapter 13 Dream

Gradually, the "ledger" became blurry in Fafnir's eyes.

Today was so tiring... I need to go to sleep now. I wonder what will happen at Grammar School tomorrow. I haven't returned my lunchbox to "Old Mud Pit" Tavern yet. The Grammar School cafeteria should be open tomorrow...

……

"Ugh, really, how come I'm so sleepy sitting in the front row during the first period?"

"Then you can answer this question, student. If you were to start a business, what would be the primary consideration?"

"Well……"

What was I thinking about again? How should I know? It's been so long since I took this course...

"Don't you know? Then please have a seat."

"Investment management, fundraising management, and allocation... Let's focus on fundraising management..."

I'm so sleepy...

"To raise funds, you can borrow from creditors, which is basically a bank loan. However, this loan has to be repaid."

Of course, fundraising can also involve shareholders investing capital. Shareholders contribute money, and this money doesn't have to be repaid—it depends on whether you have a conscience, haha…

For example, if you want 10,000 yuan, you can either borrow it from a bank or a classmate, and that money has to be repaid. But if you ask the 'shareholders' or your parents for it, do you still need to repay it...?

……

"Hey, my little Fafnir, money has a time value. Think about it, would you rather I give you 1 silver coin now or 1 silver coin a year from now?"

"Ah, yes, that's how guiding spells work too, so you can experience it sooner, haha. Our supernatural powers and spells also have a time value..."

……

"Discount rate, expected rate of return, and cost of capital are just different perspectives. Fafner, why don't you talk about the cost of capital? Just give me a brief overview... Don't know? Then you shouldn't be a grammar student; you should be a volunteer..."

Come on, by discounting a company's cash flows using the weighted average cost of capital (WACC), we can obtain the company's overall value. WACC refers to the weighted average cost of capital rate, not the weighted average cost of capital amount...

Oh no……

Go to sleep now...

……

Fafnir was awakened by the sound of bells.

It wasn't the six o'clock prayer bell, which he was fast asleep at the time, but the ten o'clock chime from the clock tower. He opened his eyes, stared at the crack in the ceiling for a few seconds, and then remembered that he was going to rest again today.

I didn't have to do any work on my second day at school.

I slept too soundly last night, probably because my spiritual vision consumed too much of my spiritual energy. Even that cup of inferior moonflower tea couldn't completely sustain me.

Fafnir deliberately saved a curd cheese pie yesterday, just for today.

He savored the food as he thought...

What are we doing today?

He touched the book "Introduction to Spirituality" beside his pillow, then touched his library card in his pocket. "Let's go to the library."

The library doors were open, Sister Fanning wasn't at the reception desk, and Fafnir went straight up to the third floor.

Fafnir walked to the spellbook shelf. Besides *Introduction to Spirituality*, there were several thicker books nearby: *Illustrated Guide to First-Order Spells*, *Fundamentals of the Spirit World's Structure*, *The Ritual Collection of the Church of the God of Death*, and so on.

Fafnir pulled out a thin booklet: "The Spiritual Training Manual".

The content is very practical: how to estimate your total spiritual energy, how to control its consumption, how to speed up recovery through specific breathing techniques... A table is attached at the end to record the daily meditation time and the efficiency of spiritual recovery.

Fafnir skimmed through a few pages of "The Spiritual Training Manual" and then put it back.

He doesn't even know his total spiritual potential yet, so it's too early to look at these training records.

He stood in front of the bookshelf for a while, and finally picked up the book "Introduction to Spirituality" again—the copy he had borrowed was still in his dormitory. He had skimmed through it last night, but hadn't looked at many parts carefully, and now he needed to read it from the beginning.

There were more people on the third floor than yesterday. Two students sat at a long table near the window, textbooks open in front of them, discussing something in hushed tones. Fafnir found a corner seat, opened his book, and began reading from the first chapter again.

"What is spirituality?"

He had already received a preliminary answer to this question from Victor, but the book presented it in a more systematic way. Spirituality is the strength of the connection between a living being and the spirit world; it can be perceived, guided, and shaped into magical forms.

Not everyone can become an extraordinary person, but everyone possesses spirituality—it's just that the spirituality of the vast majority of people remains unawakened throughout their lives.

Fafnir recalled what the tall, thin boy had said yesterday: "Spiritual perception was taught in the first week of the introductory course."

That means these students will receive spiritual training after enrollment, and as a volunteer, he might not have come into contact with these things for a long time if it weren't for Victor's extra help.

He continued reading.

Chapter Two discusses ways of spiritual perception. The book mentions two methods: one is relying on talent, with certain lineages having an innate sensitivity to spirituality; the other is gradually cultivating it through long-term meditation.

The former is often not replicable and is merely an occasional "awakening." Grammar school courses naturally adopt the latter, and students usually need three to six months of meditation training to develop stable spiritual perception.

Fafnir reflected on his experience last night. Victor's guiding technique had skipped the months of training, directly propelling him into a state of meditation and spiritual vision, allowing him to easily perceive spirituality.

This method is labeled "advanced guidance" in the book. The annotation states that this method is suitable for special cases, but the recipient needs a lot of subsequent self-training to consolidate it; otherwise, the guidance effect will fade within one to two weeks.

He turned to Chapter 5, Basic Meditation.

The book describes in detail a set of breathing rhythms and attention guidance methods, but it is not quite the same as the one Victor taught him; the steps in this version of the book look more complicated.

Time slipped by between turning the pages of the book, and by the time Fafner felt his eyes getting sore, it was already past noon.

Fafner closed his book, stood up and stretched, noticing that the students across the long table had changed.

A girl is sitting here, engrossed in copying something, the quill pen making a soft, scratching sound.

Fafnir felt he should get something to eat, check if the canteen was open, or return the lunchbox to the "Old Mudpit" tavern.

He put the book back on the shelf and went downstairs.

Sister Fanning had returned to the reception desk and was eating a piece of bread with a dark drink next to her.

She glanced at Fafnir, still chewing on something, and mumbled jokingly, "Little Mouse, what brings you to the library again? Finished reading 'Introduction to Spirituality'?"

"Sister Fanning, I've read part of it, but haven't finished yet."

"No rush, take your time and try to finish it before you leave grammar school. You can't borrow this kind of book outside of school; knowledge isn't something you can just share."

She swallowed her bread and took a sip of her drink: "Have you eaten?"

"not yet."

"The cafeteria won't open until this afternoon, so please wait a bit."