《Only I Am A Reader》 Chapter 1 - The Special Hobby of A Reader ¡°Reporting! We found another victim at the location. There is no sign of the perpetrator on the scene!¡± Looking at the young man that was lying on the ground who was being examined by his colleague, the police officer reported his squad¡¯s findings to his superior with a dark face. ¡°Got it, call for an emergency ambulance and wait for reinforcements. I already called the department to send another squad. Once they arrive, take half of your squad and sweep the area on a larger radius along with them.¡± The young man had injuries of various degrees and shapes all over his body and his clothes were covered in blood. According to the quick examination they made, his injuries weren¡¯t life-threatening and he seemed to have simply fainted, but even then, his face showed a pained expression that couldn¡¯t be hidden by the injuries on his face. ¡°Yes, sir!¡± Taking another look at the young man, the superior police officer let out a sigh as displeasure could be seen on his face, before muttering to himself, ¡°I was going to be transferred soon, why is it that a serial kidnapper had to start his business now?!¡± In reality, he wanted to quickly catch the criminal behind this so that the streets could be safe again, but it wasn¡¯t like he could do much. The criminal this time was simply too careful and always managed to escape after returning the mutilated victims. Unless a better force worked in this case, catching him didn¡¯t seem possible¡­ ¡®Just how many people will have to suffer until then?¡¯ As he looked down with gloomy thought, eyes like that of a hawk with slightly dilated pupils seemed to focus on him from a few hundred meters away. Below these eyes, a half-grin could be seen, but it quickly disappeared, as obvious displeasure took its place. ¡°There isn¡¯t as much ¡®despair¡¯ to enjoy as last time. Could it be that my ¡®care¡¯ has gotten old since it¡¯s the third time? Do I have to give my next ¡®prey¡¯ the sweet salvation of death to get a better reaction?¡± Putting down his binoculars, a handsome man with short chestnut hair supported his arms on the fence of the rooftop as he pondered in deep thought. Inflicting injury and seeing the prey¡¯s reaction to it was what he was most passionate about. However, death would rid him of that reaction, that was why he was hesitant about it... ¡°Perhaps it¡¯s about time, while I would hate to kill my ¡®prey¡¯ instead of continuously giving them my ¡®care¡¯, I have always wanted to taste the delicious ¡®despair¡¯ they would feel just at the moment of their death¡­ I should get going soon so I can start choosing my lucky next ¡®prey¡¯!¡± The handsomeness could no longer be seen on the man¡¯s face as he licked his lips with a malevolent expression on his face, many dark (happy) thoughts seemed to circulate in his mind. ¡°Wow, you have already reached this stage! I guess I was really lucky to find you now.¡± Just as the man picked up his binoculars to take one last look so that he could leave, he was shocked to hear a voice that seemed to carry a hint of sarcasm from behind. He quickly turned around only for his shock to grow stronger! The source of this voice was none other than a youth covering his face with a smiling cat mask, he was wearing a windbreaker and had one hand in his pocket, seeming as nonchalant as ever. The man felt as if he had met some sort of stupid clown. This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. ¡°Huh? Who are you¡­? Rather, how did you get here?¡± The man originally wanted to play the ¡®I don¡¯t know anything¡¯ act, but he already spoke too much, so he quickly switched his plan. He secretly put one hand in his pocket, he would make him the next ¡®prey¡¯ instead! However, he couldn¡¯t be too careless since he didn¡¯t have enough fun, it wasn¡¯t time to get caught yet. He planned to chat with the youth so he could relax his guard even more. This way, the risk of him running away from fear before he ¡®captured¡¯ him would be almost null. The youth was obviously not ordinary and seemed to be sick in the head, so it didn¡¯t seem to be that hard. In the worst-case scenario, he could still use that¡­ ¡°Well, it was a bit tricky since you were quite careful. I had to try a bit harder and wait longer, but it wasn¡¯t that hard thanks to what I learned from my friends.¡± ¡°Your friends?¡± The man panicked a bit as he thought to himself, ¡®Could it be that his friends are skilled police detectives?¡¯ He was sure that such people shouldn¡¯t get involved yet, his ¡®care¡¯ didn¡¯t cross the line for now. ¡°Yes, my friends Sherlock and C. Dupin!¡± ¡°...¡± The man who was preparing what to say next, thinking how to get closer to the youth without being too suspicious, was stunned in place, this guy was really a mental patient! These were imaginary characters that could only be found in books and shows! ¡®This guy must be a gift for me! Seeing and feeling the ¡®despair¡¯ of such a special ¡®prey¡¯ will definitely be a delicacy!¡¯ The man¡¯s thoughts already deviated as drool could be seen on the edge of his mouth; he almost couldn¡¯t wait to catch this ¡®special¡¯ youth. ¡°Oh, why do you seem so excited for? Don¡¯t you realize that I¡¯m here to catch you?¡± The masked youth took his hand out of his pocket as he aimed it towards the man as if he had a gun in hand, a slightly loud voice rang in the man¡¯s ear. ¡°Bang!¡± ¡°Ah!¡± The man panicked for a second in fear as he tried to dodge, only to realize that the sound wasn¡¯t that loud, thinking back to it¡­ It was just an imitated sound! Looking at the youth''s empty gloved hands, he felt stupid for going along with this guy¡¯s stupid trick, if his nerves weren¡¯t tense because of the situation he wouldn¡¯t have fallen for such a simple trick. An irritated expression already started to show on his face. ¡°What do you think of my gun? Did it hurt that badly? It¡¯s better not to move for now till the police come to help you.¡± The youth spoke in a serious voice as he looked at the irritated man, causing the man¡¯s irritation to spike. Dealing with mentals wasn¡¯t as easy as it seemed. ¡°Is that so? What about helping me go to the hospital instead?¡± Since the youth was clearly a mental patient, the man decided to lower his self-esteem and play along; he would feel worse if this guy escaped instead. ¡°Oh, sorry, but I can¡¯t. It would be troublesome showing my face to the police. Besides, I also have something that I need to buy soon.¡± The man almost wanted to facepalm, the crazy youth neither seemed smart enough to talk normally nor stupid enough to be coaxed. Feeling his patience running out, he decided to just go with the last option. ¡°Sigh, Fine! What about now?¡± The man¡¯s expression turned to a malevolent grin once again as he quickly took out his hand out of his pocket, pointing something at the youth. He had obtained a gun through special means before he started ¡®hunting¡¯ to ensure his safety, now he could at least use it to scare the youth into getting ¡®captured¡¯ instead and get out of here quickly! ¡°Hmmm, what do you mean by that?¡± Anger flashed in the man¡¯s eyes, it seemed like this kid didn¡¯t even fear his¡­ ¡®Huh?¡¯ The man looked at his hand in shock, his hand was empty just like the kid¡¯s hand, the gun was still in his pocket. Quickly wanting to put his hand back in his pocket to take the gun, the guy lowered his arm¡­ only to find that it fell back numb. He seemed to have lost control of his arms. ¡°Phew that was close, the neuromuscular blocking drug has finally taken effect.¡± The youth let out a sigh of relief as he opened the rooftop door and went in, returning with a bag on his back as he quickly walked towards the man who had already collapsed to the floor. ¡°Wha¡­ di¡­¡± The man tried to speak but he also lost feeling in his mouth, he could no longer speak. Only then when he felt helpless did he realize that there was a very thin needle stabbed into his arm. ¡®I¡­ was played!¡¯ That was the last thought the man had before he started losing his ability to breathe, he was slowly losing consciousness. He only managed to hear the youth speak a few more words before he fainted ¡°A crazy sadist like you should stay sleeping like that for a while, but it isn¡¯t like I¡¯m one to speak.¡± ¡®After all, this is just a new hobby that I¡¯m trying out to control my reading addiction.¡¯ The youth bent down as he took out an oxygen cylinder, preparing it before attaching it through a mask to the man¡¯s face. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t let you die. My new hobby isn¡¯t killing, it¡¯s catching criminals who go overboard.¡± Chapter 2 - Leo Lock Chapter 2 - Leo Lock Buzz. As a low notification sounded out from the side of the driver, the public bus found an empty spot and parked by the side of the road. Someone had clicked the button beside their seat so they could get off the bus. ¡°Alright, you can get down now.¡± The driver turned his head back to check the passenger who wanted to get off, a slight surprise appeared on his face. He only realized the passenger had already left by the time he got out of his daze, quickly getting the bus on the road once again. As the bus left, the young passenger crossed the street, as eyes kept turning towards him. A slight frown appeared on his face as he quickened his steps. ¡®I should have brought the other lens as well¡­¡¯ He was already used to people getting intrigued by him. After all, he was one of the people who had a rare case of heterochromia, his right eye was green while the left one was blue, it could be said that they caught too much attention. As it usually attracted curious gazes, he had bought a pair of colored lenses that was the opposite of his own eyes so that he could color match them instead. However, he had to take off the only lens he had today in the case that crazy guy reported the color of his eyes that were visible under the mask. {The police have reported that they had finally managed to catch the ¡®Slasher¡¯ who has been responsible for three recent kidnapping and mutilation incidents. A hint that we managed to exclusively obtain revealed that he was already caught by the time the police arrived, also having his face covered by a smiling cat mask, just like the ¡®Stabber¡¯ that was caught a few months ago!...} Having reached the bookstore after crossing the street, the loud voice of the television that the store owner was watching caused the young man with special eyes to relax his frown, letting out a small sigh. ¡®Phew, they managed to take him in without problems.¡¯ He walked towards the closest book wardrobe, searching for new books as he decided to limit his new hobby as much as possible, it was simply too nerve-racking to maintain it. ¡®Perhaps I should spend more time at the gym.¡¯ Even as he tried to divert his attention from the point, he felt excited deep inside. He had managed to catch a psycho criminal that would have plagued the city for a while, all of that was possible thanks to the application of his special ability. ¡®If only I didn¡¯t feel the need to read at every second¡­¡¯ ¡°Oh, Leo! You are back again to get more books?¡± The young man whose name was Leo Lock, turned his face slightly to face the store owner who called to him. ¡°Yeah!¡± To the people around Leo, including his family and schoolmates, he was just a normal guy whose only abnormal point was his special eyes, but in reality, his abnormality didn¡¯t stop at that, it was just that only he knew about it.This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it In fact, if one paid enough attention to certain points, they could also realize a part of it. After all, it all started when he strangely started reading at the age of three even though he could barely talk. After a few months, he started speaking fluently as if he had been taught by a specialized teacher, his parents were especially happy for having such an intelligent child. As years went by, his main interest remained was still reading, other than doing his ¡®responsibilities¡¯ like homework or chores, he spent all his free time reading, barely making any friends or building any kind of ¡®human¡¯ relation. Of course, to others, while this could count as abnormal, they would view it in a negative light, believing he was a born introvert who likes to bury his head in pages. ¡°Hah, are you sure you didn''t finish all the books in the store already?¡± However, that wasn¡¯t the case for him. To him, reading was something he was instinctively attracted to, once he touched his very first book, he couldn¡¯t stop reading whenever he could. It felt very magical to him, and that wasn¡¯t an exaggeration at all. It was truly magical that whatever book he read stayed forever in his memory without blurring till this point in his age. Just this point could have easily given him a chance of being the top scorer of his school, but that wasn¡¯t just it. Just like he could memorize a whole book by reading it once, he would also receive a part of the ¡®experience¡¯ of that book, receiving some of the book¡¯s mainly described skills or research topics. For example, reading a series of surgical books could give him the knowledge and ability to perform the surgery that all the book series focused on, he wouldn¡¯t have full confidence in doing so, but he would more or less have the practical skills to perform it. That was the case with all the forms that books came in, whether that be physical or electronic. Both special points seemed to be very practical, but their effect was faint if it wasn¡¯t stacked. Either way, Leo didn¡¯t bother using them for something like scoring the top spot or proclaiming himself as a one-of-a-kind genius. He was simply fascinated by the ¡®reading¡¯ part itself, laying low whenever possible. ¡°Well, I¡¯m just trying my luck in the book donating section to see if anyone dropped a book that I missed¡­¡± He himself didn¡¯t know why he was special in this way either. At one point, those who he told about his experience such as his parents told him he might simply have a photographic memory. At another, he thought that maybe this was what it meant to be talented and pick up stuff easily. After all, he simply learned advanced stuff faster than normal people his age, but soon, he quickly pushed these thoughts away. ¡°Knock yourself out I guess.¡± Straightening his head back, Leo quickly browsed through the books that people threw in the book store since they no longer needed them before his hand suddenly stopped at one book. ¡®It all started with you I guess.¡¯ The book had a bright red cover, the words ¡®A Study In Scarlet¡¯ were printed in bold. This was the first book that allowed him to reach a certain understanding of his special ability. Even though he was only ten at that time, Leo could clearly remember his shock the day after he finished reading it! The feeling was very faint, but he realized he actually received a part of Sherlock Holmes''s deductive reasoning, he couldn¡¯t let go of details he noticed, deducting some points based on them, he wasn¡¯t right about more than 20% of his deductions, but that wasn¡¯t his limit. After finishing the whole ¡®Sherlock Holmes¡¯ series of books, Leo could confidently say that he was at least half as accurate as Holmes. This was clearly supernatural, even if it was at a low level. Not only was deductive reasoning a fictional ability, but even its realistic explanation was based on a mental disease as well as years of practice. Receiving a nerfed version of such an ability just by reading a series of books finally convinced him that he was really ¡®special¡¯. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s a novel I haven¡¯t read.¡± Leo had long put ¡®A Study In Scarlet¡¯ back as he continued flipping till he found something he hadn¡¯t read yet. A smile surfaced on his face as he walked towards the counter to say goodbye to the store owner. ¡®There¡¯s still nothing that can compare to the pleasure of reading.¡¯ Originally, once Leo confirmed how special he was, he was certainly excited. He believed that this world might be similar to some of the novels he read, people in these novels would awaken varying superpowers, evolving society further. Unfortunately, that thought seemed to be nothing but a fantasy. The world was as normal as it could be, nothing especially shocking such as a human awakening or an otherworld interaction took place. Furthermore, as he grew older, he realized that he was running out of books, even though he read in more than ten languages. Leo simply had to try out other hobbies to cut his reading time to a sustainable minimum. He wasn¡¯t worried about money as the various skills he got from reading could generate enough funds for his reading addiction, but he was worried that there wouldn¡¯t be any more written text for him to even buy thanks to his reading speed¡­ ¡®Chasing Criminals definitely doesn¡¯t cut it.¡¯ Other than spending a few hours at the gym, no other hobby seemed to stick with him. He was at the end of his rope that he decided to employ his deductive reasoning to chase difficult criminals. {It¡¯s said that whoever caught the ¡®Slasher¡¯ and left that mask, had also left his usual ¡®evidence tutorial¡¯ file so that the ¡®Slasher¡¯ could be confirmed as the preparator. A few analysts are already starting to wonder about the identity of the person behind the smiling cat mask¡­} ¡®Maintaining such a high-risk hobby isn¡¯t possible¡­¡¯ Chapter 3 - Hearing Voices? Initiating Trial! Chapter 3 - Hearing Voices? Initiating Trial! ¡°They already want to catch whoever helped catch these criminals. Isn¡¯t this too much? If they had the ability, why didn¡¯t they catch the two themselves?¡± The store owner spoke in an annoyed voice. As a person who lived in the same city, he was worried for his safety with such a dangerous criminal on the loose, now that someone managed to catch him, why were they switching the target to him instead of thanking him? ¡°No need to be so angry uncle¡­ If someone managed to neutralize people like the ¡®Slasher¡¯ then it¡¯s obvious that he is quite dangerous as well. Besides, he is practically destroying the order of society by acting on his own beliefs.¡± That was exactly the reason why Leo found this hobby unsustainable. In order to catch this ¡®Slasher¡¯, he had to break a few rules by sneaking into a few crime scenes and some private property. Moreover, the method he used to deal with the criminal in the confrontation was enough to define him as a dangerous criminal as well. Even though he only used an air gun that was based within his glove, he had made use of it to shoot a thin needle full of a neuromuscular blocking drug into the guy¡¯s artery. While such a drug was used in some surgeries, it could be considered very dangerous in its own way. As long as artificial breathing wasn¡¯t applied during the surgery, the patient would die as his breathing muscles stopped working. ¡°Hmmm, I guess that makes sense, but I still feel gratitude towards this mysterious ¡®Smiling Cat¡¯. I¡¯m also not the only one, some people even made an online fan club for him!¡± ¡°Hahaha.¡± ¡®Eh?¡¯ Feeling somewhat shocked, Leo scratched the back of his head as he laughed, he didn¡¯t think his escapades would result in something like that this quickly. However, he recognized that what he did wasn¡¯t normal. Starting from tracking evidence, finding the killer by analyzing him, to the point of catching him, all that was only possible thanks to the various skills that he had acquired from reading. For example, Sherlock¡¯s deduction had allowed him to know that the criminal liked to watch the crime scene from afar. A few realistic hunting novels made it possible for him to customize a proper air gun within his glove as well as aim and distract his target so he wouldn¡¯t realize he already fell into a trap. Lastly, a few medical research papers allowed him to accurately know how to use a NMB drug and maintain the life of the criminal. One could say that it was a widely cast web that the criminal had little chance to escape from. ¡°Seems like you were lucky today, you actually found something new.¡± Seeing that Leo didn¡¯t seem to be keen on discussing the ¡®Smiling Cat¡¯, the store owner looked at the book in his hand and gave him a congratulating smile.Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. ¡°It¡¯s thanks to your bookstore, I will come by sometime later to help.¡± Leo smiled back as he put the small book in his pocket, although he still had a lot of novels he could read online, he enjoyed reading physical books more, he was quite satisfied with his catch. ¡°You should just take over my spot, you would definitely be a better bookstore owner than me.¡± The store owner liked Leo quite a bit, he hadn''t seen someone more passionate about reading than him, not to mention that his personality was quite amiable. If not for his daughter going abroad to study, he would have wanted to pair him with her. ¡°Haha, school is about to start soon, I probably won¡¯t have enough time, maybe we can discuss this in the next summer break¡­¡± Leo could only continue laughing and scratching his head, he was someone that went as far as chasing psychos to relieve his boredom, it would be pure torture if he was asked to look over a bookstore that he had already ¡®swept¡¯ clean! ¡°Alright, off you go, maybe you will change your mind when the next batch of new books arrives.¡± ¡°You must be joking uncle, I¡¯m really starting to get busy.¡± He had just hunted the ¡®Slasher¡¯ two hours ago, he even had a fan club of his own, how could he simply submit to the temptation of some new books? ¡®He probably made that up to tease me! But¡­¡¯ As Leo¡¯s determination and addiction fought, the battle ended with the winner being his addiction as always. He would come back in a few weeks to check if the store owner¡¯s words are true. If so, he could consider working here¡­ only part-time though! Feeling proud that he didn¡¯t completely submit this time, Leo left in quick steps and walked along the sidewalk. He lived only a few buildings away from the bookstore, which was why he was so familiar with the store owner. After all, this was his favorite store as a kid. Thud! Taking his keys out of the door and going in, Leo closed the door as he announced his arrival, ¡°I¡¯m home.¡± Leo was surprised to find his mother wearing her shoes and getting ready to leave, it was already 2 PM. Didn''t she usually start making lunch at this time? His family¡¯s financial situation was quite well off, especially his mother¡¯s family, so his mother didn¡¯t work, so it was rare for her to leave the house this early. ¡°Oh, you are back already Leo?¡± Mia, Leo¡¯s mother, was also slightly surprised. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that you planned to search a few stores for new books?¡± Knowing Leo¡¯s ¡®habit¡¯, Mia knew that Leo¡¯s ¡®book hunting¡¯ usually lasted till evening, he had returned too early¡­ ¡°I managed to find a new book in uncle Krey¡¯s store, so I returned early.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good, I have an errand to make for your father, you can have a snack till I return for lunch.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Leo simply nodded as he put away his shoes, he wasn¡¯t really that hungry. He was more excited to read his new novel. Quickly taking a quick shower before lying in bed, Leo opened the small but thick book and flipped the pages with zest, this novel wasn¡¯t bad at all! ¡®Sigh.¡¯ He was more satisfied with his catch after he finished it, it was just that he was sad about how quickly he finished it, it didn¡¯t even last an hour! However, just as he was lamenting his inability to suppress his reading speed, Leo felt as if something had broken into his head as he heard a strange voice. [ The energy threshold of the ¡®Reader¡¯ has been reached. ] [ Initiating trial ¡®True Reading¡¯... ] Chapter 4 - Awakening Chapter 4 - Awakening Swishhh¡­ As the wind rustled and moved the trees along, a small house that looked like a small shack came out of the shadow, small voices could be heard coming out of it. "Mother! I have found an amazing spot in the forest today! The flowers there are so beautiful!" Sitting on a large table that seemed to occupy over a quarter of the humble house, the little girl who seemed to be the source of the most prominent voice spoke with enthusiasm, revealing an adorable smile on her small face. She barely managed to finish her words before she stuffed a spoon into her mouth, it was evident that she couldn''t wait to finish eating. "Oh? That''s marvelous my dear, but you should slow down, it''s not like the forest is going to run away!" The only adult on the table, sitting opposite of her, spoke lightly with a gentle smile. She seemed to have no worries in mind other than the wellbeing of the children sitting around her. "Got it, mother!" Despite answering with affirmation, the adorable girl''s eating pace didn''t slow down that much. Seeing that, the mature woman could only smile bitterly at the little girl. "Well, I was thinking of letting Arthur go with you to the forest so you could collect more flowers, but it seems like you will finish before him¡­" The mature woman let out a sigh as if at a loss, causing the little girl who was about to stuff another spoon into her bloated mouth to stop in her tracks. "Oh! In that case, I will eat slower so he can finish eating as well!" "That would be great." The gentle smile returned to the woman''s face, she hadn''t managed this ''Orphanage'' this long for nothing, coaxing a child was a skill she was confident in. Wearing a proud smile in her mind, the woman observed the rest of the children as they ate, only then did she realize that something was wrong. "Arthur?" Sitting just beside the adorable little girl, a young boy sat there staring in a daze, he still held his spoon in his hand like the rest of the children, it was just that he didn''t move it out of the plate. With just one look, one would realize that he was the oldest of the children sitting at the table, he seemed to be at least 12 years old or older. In comparison, the rest of the children all looked to be under 10 years old. "Hmm?" ''Arthur¡­?'' As the boy continued to stare at the air, he seemed to be slightly moved by the name that was called out. He was sure that it was his name, but he felt like he had one more name.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ''Am I Arthur...?'' He was also sure that he had lived his whole life in this little orphanage ever since he became aware, he treated all the other little orphans as his siblings, and the manager as his mother as well as his big sister. He would run errands around the small town ever since he could so as to help with the Orphanage''s financial situation. He would help his little siblings and accompany them to play whenever he could. His life could be considered tough, but he enjoyed every part of it. He even seemed to have a very close sibling who was both his friend and brother... ''Or am I¡­ Leo?'' At the same time, he had memories of living a completely different life. A life that was even longer than his life as Arthur. He lived in a modern city where life was much easier thanks to technology, both his parents were also alive, he didn''t have to work that hard nor did he play with his siblings either. He even went to a place called ''School'' where he met other children that were his age. However, he seemed to enjoy this life much more, the reason behind that was ''reading''. Not any of the things that he took joy in his life as Arthur could compare to his joy when he was reading. Even as he pondered about his true identity, he felt like he couldn''t help but crave reading! Furthermore, he was more special than most humans, he seemed to even remember... taking down a dangerous man all on his own. "Arthur!" As he was called by one of his names once more, his memories as ''Leo'' were amplified even more, his mind seemed to reject accepting ''Arthur'' as his true identity! ''I am¡­'' Both memories seemed to fight, and it felt like his memories as ''Arthur'' would lose at the end as a few of them started fading¡­ He felt like such an ending was acceptable. After all, he felt closer to his strong memories as ''Leo'', but... ''No!'' A part of mind seemed to refuse to let go of the bittersweet life of ''Arthur'', giving strength to its memories to resist fading, it seemed like this battle would go forever unless he decided with all his will. ''I am both Leo and Arthur!'' In the end, he decided to not let go of any of them, both lives were his, and they were all a necessary part of his being, he couldn''t afford to lose any part of them! Only then did his mind finally calm down, he felt enlightened as his memories consolidated. He no longer felt so out of place. "Arthur! What has gotten into you?!" Realizing that had already ignored a dozen calls from his ''mother'' and ''siblings'', the young boy finally broke out of his daze. "Uhh¡­ What? Was someone calling me?" Even though he was aware of why he was called out, the young boy acted as if he had been simply out of focus. He still had to process his memories to fully understand the situation. "We have been calling out to you for a few minutes, I was afraid something had happened to you! Thankfully, you are still alright." The ''big sister'', Ria, spoke with worry, only smiling brightly at the end. "I was worried about big brother as well!" The adorable little girl, Annie, called out, appearing very cut as she tried imitating Ria. "Oh¡­ I was just stuck in a daydream. Let''s quickly eat so we can go visit the spot you found earlier, Annie!" "Mm! Big brother is the best!" Seeing that her oldest ''child'' has ruined her efforts to get Annie to slow down with eating, Ria could only shake her head as she decided to let it go. Eating quickly once wasn''t the end of the world. Besides, she couldn''t bear to dampen the excitement of Annie as she stared at her cute face. "Finished!" "Good job Annie, let''s get going!" As the young boy had already finished his plate in a few big mouthfuls, he quickly picked up Annie and used his handkerchief to wipe her mouth. "Be careful on the way, don''t run too quickly so you won''t fall!" By the time Ria managed to finish her warnings, the pair of excited siblings had already passed through the door. "Don''t worry! I will make sure to take care of her!" Only the young boy''s voice could be heard as they walked in hurried steps towards the forest. "Jeez, just what had gotten into him, he is usually much calmer¡­" As the pair of siblings continued moving at a fast pace, they quickly reached the spot that Annie had found. It wasn''t that deep into the forest, it was just that it was hidden by trees. Not only were there plentiful flower beds but there was also a small lake by the side. As Annie jumped into the small sea of flowers, the young boy made sure she wasn''t hurt, before he stared into the clear surface of the lake that reflected his young face, his expression turning serious as he thought to himself. ¡®Could it be that I have transmigrated into that novel?¡¯ Chapter 5 - The Sword Master’s Second Life Chapter 5 - The Sword Master¡¯s Second Life ¡®Could it be that I have transmigrated into that novel?¡¯ Leo stared at the young face that the lake reflected, questioning his memory of that one book that reminded him of his current situation. He had already confirmed that his main identity was that of Leo, despite the young face of Arthur that was reflected by the lake. Although he had accepted both identities, clear order had to be established, and ¡®Leo¡¯ was prioritized over ¡®Arthur¡¯. After all, now that his memories were clearer, he could remember that he was ¡®Leo¡¯ before he was ¡®Arthur¡¯. He still remembered hearing the strange voice in his mind before everything went blurry as he fainted. By the time he woke up, he was already in a different body that came with its own set of memories. It was like he had truly lived two lives, but he wasn¡¯t that perplexed by it that much. As a reading veteran and a special one at that, he already thought of a plausible explanation. ¡®I guess this can count as a mix of both transmigration and reincarnation¡­¡¯ Both transmigration and reincarnation were popular genres that most fantasy novel authors liked to use, almost every fantasy reader had read a book like that. Originally, young Leo who read his first transmigration book understood that it was nothing but fantasy. However, senior high schooler Leo, who recognized how special his ¡®reading¡¯ was, didn''t completely refuse the possibility. Naturally, it was illogical no matter whether he believed it or not, but Leo decided to ignore logic for now. He had even found the book that ¡®Arthur¡¯ seemed to belong to from his memory. ¡®The Sword Master¡¯s Second Life¡­¡¯ Ironically enough, it was also a fantasy transmigration novel¡­ However, that wasn¡¯t the end of irony, he hadn¡¯t transmigrated into the main character who was already a transmigrator. Instead, he had transmigrated into a side character. Moreover, the side character known as ¡®Arthur¡¯ was supposed to die within two weeks. ¡®Am I supposed to turn this into a challenge-like story?¡¯ Although he found it quite unfair, Leo had also read his fair share of novels about getting transmigrated into a supposed ¡®side character¡¯. In the end, this ¡®side character¡¯ would use his or her knowledge to turn into the actual main character. ¡®It¡¯s a bit harsh though¡­¡¯If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Other than maybe one or two titles, the dozens of novels that he read of that genre weren¡¯t given such a bad start as him. Most of the fatally threatened one usually had a huge head start, whether that be wealth, family, connections, or even a secret ¡®grandpa¡¯. In his case, he was merely an orphan that lived in an Orphanage that barely kept its doors open. Even the only point that could be considered a positive one was actually the reason he was supposed to die within two weeks¡­ ¡®At least I¡¯m not a fatty¡­¡¯ Arthur was none other than the ¡®friend¡¯ of the main character, who as most main characters started his new life as an orphan, he was one of the ¡®siblings¡¯ at the Orphanage. Unfortunately, Arthur¡¯s character wasn¡¯t the friend that the main character would take around the world for adventure, throwing him the ¡®bones¡¯ that would be enough to make him the second strongest after him by the end of the novel. Instead, he was the scapegoat type! At this point, the only point that Leo could rejoice about was that the author didn¡¯t use the ¡®fatty friend¡¯ stereotype in this novel! ¡®Why did it have to be this edgy novel out of all the novels that I read before?¡¯ Leo couldn¡¯t help but feel wrong, this wasn¡¯t even the usual scenario of sleeping after reading a novel only to wake up in it. This wasn¡¯t the novel he read before fainting! It was a novel that he read a few years earlier. If not for his boredom, he wouldn¡¯t have touched his cousin¡¯s edgy novel. Now, it seemed that he had to suffer thanks to the author¡¯s plan of raising an edgy main character¡­ ¡®At least I was given some¡­ time.¡¯ Leo finally stopped complaining to himself since it didn¡¯t seem like he could ask for a reroll, how should he find the transmigration service that transported him here to issue a complaint? While two weeks didn¡¯t seem like much, Leo didn¡¯t think it was impossible to survive. After all, his skills and memories weren¡¯t normal. As long as he thought about it seriously, he could probably figure out a path of survival. Leo couldn¡¯t help but wonder if this was ¡®head start¡¯ as a side character aspiring to be a protagonist, perhaps that was already taken into account? ¡®There are still 13 days left to be exact.¡¯ Remembering this part of the novel, Leo started considering his options. Thanks to both his perfect memorization of the novel as well as what he learned from reading, these options weren¡¯t few at all. Regrettably, that was only before taking the limited time into consideration. As he started eliminating the options that didn¡¯t fit the time criteria, Leo found that there weren''t a lot of options to consider from. ¡®Simply running away isn¡¯t an option to begin with...¡¯ Regardless of whether he was low on time or not, Leo immediately crossed out the easiest plan, this was because his survival chance would instantly drop down to zero if he enacted this plan. ¡®The Fanged Wolves weren¡¯t known for their persistence for nothing.¡¯ As the enemies of the protagonist who decided to target the people closest to him for revenge, the blades of the Fanged wolves were what took Arthur¡¯s life in the original novel. Analyzing their traits and acting according to them was the first step on the path to survival. ¡®I¡¯m not that Arthur!¡¯ Staring into the heterochromatic eyes that were exactly that of his original body, Leo reaffirmed his resolution to survive, he was no longer just Arthur! It was exactly at the moment that a change took place! [ Complete Awakening has been confirmed. ] [ Entry point: Chapter 26. ] [ Issuing the main task¡­ ] Chapter 6 - Personal book And The Main Quest! Chapter 6 - Personal book And The Main Quest! ¡®Did my cheat code finally arrive?¡¯ A thought subconsciously floated out in Leo¡¯s mind before he rejected it quickly, he only felt the impulse to say it because most transmigration protagonists usually blurted out that line as soon as they found something abnormal. Although their names varied according to the author, whether it be a cheat code, a system, or even a golden finger, Leo completely rejected such a possibility. The reason was very simple. ¡®This is how I was brought here.¡¯ The voice was exactly the one that he heard before he fainted, and it was obvious that it was the cause of his peculiar situation. Besides, as an educated person, Leo didn¡¯t believe in real transmigration. At the beginning, he decided to name it as such since he wasn¡¯t sure if the voice he heard was responsible or not, but now that he had heard it once again, his doubt was already confirmed. There was obviously no such thing as a ¡®transmigration service¡¯! ¡®Perhaps I might be able to return¡­¡¯ Most importantly, the surfacing of the voice brought along a great change, it had allowed his memory as ¡®Arthur¡¯ to completely fuse with him, they no longer felt foreign. The 12 years he lived as Arthur had become part of the 18 years old Leo! Even though he didn¡¯t feel like he suddenly became 30 years old, the harsh experience that Arthur lives as well as the way he adapted to it truly became part of Leo. After undergoing such a change, Leo believed that the voice that brought him here was very likely to return him to his world after a certain period or condition had passed, but he wasn¡¯t sure about the specifics. All he could do was wait for the voice that went silent to speak out once again. ¡®Let¡¯s hope this main quest isn¡¯t something impossible.¡¯ According to his knowledge of games and a great deal of ¡®litrpg¡¯ novels, Leo understood that the main quest that the voice spoke about ¡®issuing¡¯ was quite possibly his key to returning to earth, but he wasn¡¯t that optimistic about it. After all, he was just thrown into the novel, and he was already in this deadly situation. Perhaps the main quest would be to just die? [ Trial ¡®True Reading¡¯ detected, Main Quest confirmed. ] [ Target: Reach the epilogue. ] ¡®Eh?¡¯ As he finally got his answer, Leo wasn¡¯t sure how to process it. He had to survive that long in this battle infested novel? According to the original novel, the final battle that could be said to be the epilogue only took place eight years from this point in time. Naturally, Arthur was long dead by that time. ¡®This keeps getting tougher¡­¡¯ Even if he managed to survive that long, he would be almost virtually 26 years old by that time. That wasn¡¯t the same as accepting his memories as Arthur. After all, it only felt like a moment to him then, but now he would have to experience every moment of these eight years. Moreover¡­ ¡°Can you be more detailed? What do you mean by reaching the epilogue. Do I just have to be alive by that point, or am I required to take part in that ¡®epilogue¡¯?¡± Leo found the target itself to be quite vague, and the difficulty would be different depending on the direction. He at least wanted to assure himself by having a clear target.Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. Unfortunately, the voice didn¡¯t seem like it heard him at all. It didn¡¯t speak a word after giving him the target. ¡®At least this can be considered a short novel.¡¯ Shaking his head, Leo decided to focus on the good points. While eight years seemed long, there were novels that lasted for thousands of chapters, ¡®The Sword Master¡¯s Second Life¡¯ was obviously a much better option, it only lasted for 100 chapters. The only reason the epilogue took eight years to reach was that the author liked using time skips, which at least meant there weren¡¯t that many deadly events in this novel. ¡°Can you at least confirm that the main quest is my way back?¡± Trying just one more time, Leo answered the most important question to him. He might not be overly hung up on his current situation, but being stuck here far from home wasn¡¯t acceptable. As his mind jolted, Leo felt excited, it seemed like he could still communicate with this voice! [ Initiation completed, personal book issued. ] ¡®Nevermind¡­¡¯ The excitement quickly died off, the voice wasn¡¯t responding to him, it was mechanically delivering what seemed like ¡®recorded messages¡¯. ¡°At least tell me what this personal book is!¡± Feeling hopeless regarding this unreliable voice, Leo threw a tantrum even though he knew he wouldn¡¯t get the answer, but that didn¡¯t seem to be the case this time! As light seemed to fill his eyes, something appeared out of nowhere, it was a golden book that seemed to have his original face drawn on its cover. It looked to be quite ancient, but only had one page inside of it. ¡®Is this the ¡®personal book¡¯?¡¯ As Leo tried to touch, the book let out another wave light before it sprang open, revealing the only page inside of it. The source of light this time was none other than a small square at the corner of the page, which was also the only part of the page that wasn¡¯t empty. It didn¡¯t take more than a few seconds before subsiding, revealing a fading perfect neutral picture of Arthur¡¯s face. After the picture became completely clear, another change took place on the page, words surfaced up as if they were buried within the page, giving Leo a small shock. [ Book 1 ] Name: Arthur (Leo Lock) Age: 12 (18) Role: Reader ________________________ Personal Statistics: ---------------- Physique: 0.8 Mind: 1.3 (+1.9) ________________________ Quests: ------- Main Quest: Reach the epilogue ________________________ As Leo looked at this ¡®character sheet¡¯ that appeared quite magically, He pondered quietly. Although it contained minimal words, to him, there were quite a few hints that were slightly out of his expectations. While he was still lost in thought, he realized that one last line appeared at the very end of the clean sheet. As he read on, he wondered if the voice was truly incapable of communication¡­ [ Note: The Reader is advised to observe and influence the events of the book. ] To Leo, he felt like it was provoking him. However, he didn¡¯t feel any anger within his heart, there was only¡­ Excitement! ¡°Alright, bring it on!¡± He was just going to start searching for a new hobby back on earth. Didn¡¯t this qualify as another ¡®special¡¯ hobby? Leo just decided to accept the situation, it wasn¡¯t something that he could change. However, he believed he had the ability to completely change the flow of this book! Countless plans and plots played out in his mind before he was shaken out of his daze by a small voice. ¡°Big brother, who were you talking to earlier? Were you talking to the fairy living in the lake?¡± Leo¡¯s face went slightly red as he felt embarrassed by Annie¡¯s explanation. He was too engrossed by the situation that he almost forgot that he wasn¡¯t alone! ¡°Haha, Annie sure knows how to joke! I was just passing time until you finished collecting your pretty flowers! Are you done already?¡± ¡°Mm, Annie managed to collect lots of beautiful flowers! I will make flower crowns for all of you when we get back!¡± ¡°How diligent, alright let¡¯s go back.¡± Holding the basket that was overloaded with exotic flowers, Leo happily chatted with the little adorable girl. He would deliberate as much as he liked once he got back! Chapter 7 - Sword of Epoch Chapter 7 - Sword of Epoch Spots of light shone within the darkness as the starry sky glittered like a sea inlaid with gems, appearing increasingly beautiful as one stared at it¡­ ¡®The sky is really clear¡­¡¯ As of the moment, one of those staring at it was none other than the young boy known as Arthur, Leo¡¯s current persona. After returning back with Annie, the sky had already turned dark and the rest of his ¡®siblings¡¯ had already gone to sleep with Ria following soon after, the only one left asleep was Leo. Unlike the rest of the kids at the Orphanage, Arthur liked to sleep outside when it was summer. This way, not only would he leave one more free bed for his siblings, but he would also have a breeze of fresh air to help him with his sleep. He had a hammock-like sheet hanged between the two trees that gave shade to the Orphanage. ¡®This place does have its own charm.¡¯ While this world was quite the deadly one, it had its own advantages as a fantasy world. Not to mention the clear unpolluted sky, just the plant life was very exotic, the flowers that Annie had collected were truly gorgeous. To someone like Leo, living in such an environment was a completely new but attractive experience. He had already managed to come to an understanding of his situation thanks to the hints given by the personal book. He was transported into this novel through his special ability which the book identified as the role of a ¡®Reader¡¯. If he just had doubts about it at the beginning, it was practically confirmed as soon as he experienced the excitement he felt towards living in the novel. It was just too similar or even identical to the instinctive excitement he felt when reading. However, he didn¡¯t completely understand the situation just yet, he still didn¡¯t understand what suddenly triggered this change within his ability. Was there something special about the book he had read before fainting? Or was the cause something much deeper like the world changing for some unknown reason? Whatever it was, it had managed to evolve his ability from just being able to obtain the ¡®experience¡¯ of the book to allowing him to personally experience the book itself¡­ ¡®Haaa¡­¡¯ Closing his eyes for a few seconds, Leo let out a long sigh before opening it back again. Even though he tried not to think about it, he couldn¡¯t stop overthinking! In order to stop it, he could only switch the topic in his mind into something more urgent like his scapegoat event that was about to happen soon.The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. With that thought in mind, Leo lowered his gaze slightly as he started into the horizon, focusing on a tall structure that seemed to pierce the sky. In his gaze, the tall structure was extremely slim, appearing like a tall stick, but that was just the case due to the spot that Leo observed the structure from. ¡®So that¡¯s the Sword of Epoch?¡¯ It was just the edge of the gigantic longsword that was stabbed into the ground, even from his spot, Leo felt it was extremely imposing. This sword was basically the cornerstone plot point of this novel. Just like most fantasy novels, fantasy abilities always had a mysterious source that they emerged from, and the mysterious source of this novel was none other than this sky piercing sword. ¡®It isn¡¯t that original, but it was slightly fresh at the point it was written.¡¯ Less than three decades ago, this gigantic longsword had fallen from the sky out of nowhere, causing the destruction of an entire city, and giving rise to an earthquake. The people of this world thought that the apocalypse was coming. However, unlike what they were worried about, no other objects fell down from the sky and the sword¡¯s victim list stopped at this, even the shattered ground that the sword stood on started to naturally recover. As people felt that the sword no longer posed a threat, they became more daring. Which signalled the dispatch of the first expedition to explore the location that the sword was rooted on. That was precisely the turning point, as the expedition members got closer to the sword, they could see faint sword shadows floating in the air, and its source was their expedition target, but that wasn¡¯t the greatest discovery of that expedition. As they finally stood before the sword itself, the expedition team found a scroll of paper that covered the lower part of the sword, seemingly containing strange scribblings mixed with their own language. Only when they removed it did they understand its greatness. The body of the sword was full of mysterious symbols, of which they could understand nothing, and that was where the scroll came to play! A great scholar that accompanied the expedition team studied the scroll as the rest of team members were busy getting amazed by the symbol, making the discovery that this scroll was more or less a hard dictionary for the symbols on the sword! The symbols turned out to be practice texts that described sword movements that didn¡¯t make sense. Everything only came to light when one of the guards of the expedition couldn¡¯t resist trying them out, resulting in the faint sword shadows in the air rushing towards his body, announcing the start of the great sword era! By using the movements within the practice text, people became capable of storing what came to be known as sword breath into their bodies, allowing them to display great prowess as long as they wielded a sword, and before anyone knew it the world had already changed¡­ Even the planets and animals that knew nothing about the events that took place changed to various degrees. Some strange beasts appeared, and even some metals changed in nature, the whole world was undergoing an overall evolution. Nonetheless, the one that led this evolution was still humans, ushering into a new hierarchy reliant on sword prowess. Kingdoms were destroyed overnight, and others were declared, completely changing the original map. It was only a decade later that the turmoil in the world started to calm down once again. It was then that one special person arrived in this world¡­ ¡®Tsk, just as to be expected of a protagonist¡¯s lucky aura¡­¡¯ As he finished recalling the main plotline that the author had info-dumped at the very start of the novel. Leo couldn¡¯t help but click his tongue in dissatisfaction. Chapter 8 - The Sword Master’s First Life Chapter 8 - The Sword Master¡¯s First Life ¡®Well, being born in peace still isn¡¯t as shocking as his ¡®Cheat¡¯¡­ tsk.¡¯ Clicking his tongue once more, Leo shook his head, as a fellow special ability holder, he had no reason to feel jealous of this ¡®sibling¡¯ of his¡­ To be more precise, the main cheat of the protagonist wasn¡¯t precisely a special ability, it was just that his ¡®destination¡¯ for his second life was too compatible with him. ¡®His lucky aura is his biggest cheat¡­¡¯ Leo wanted to click his tongue for the third time, but he held himself back. He felt that recalling the protagonist¡¯s plot points was quite similar to the legendary situation of being compared to the neighbor¡¯s son. ¡®He did have his own share of pain though.¡¯ Unlike Leo who could be said to be a mix of a transmigrator and a reincarnator, the protagonist was a pure reincarnator, he managed to awaken his memories from earth as soon as he was born. However, as a baby with the mind of an adult, the first thing he saw was none other than the sight of his parents abandoning him. Having died a lonely death back on earth, the protagonist dreamed of a happy life as soon as he realized that he was given a second chance at living, but whoever gave him his second chance didn¡¯t seem to have the intent of allowing him to do so, or so he thought at first. Luckily for him, the place he was abandoned at was an old Orphanage that was managed by an old woman, there seemed to be no other orphans in the Orphanage other than a young girl who had already stayed a few years with the old woman. It was only then that the protagonist discovered that the life he thought lied there, and while living in poverty caused it to be simple, he appreciated the small loving ¡®family¡¯ he had. That was especially so as they started growing in number every year, he was only 3 years old when his first ¡®brother¡¯ arrived at the Orphanage in a similar manner to his. Just like the old granny gave him a new name, she gave his first brother the name Arthur and took care of them both along with the young girl. It took even less time for the next ¡®sibling¡¯ to arrive. ¡®Just how didn¡¯t Arthur manage to rub off some of his lucky aura¡­?¡¯ Leo wondered as he continued to recall the protagonist¡¯s life, Arthur¡¯s premature death was something that half the readership of the novel complained about back then.Stolen story; please report. ¡®Maybe this protagonist¡¯s lucky aura sucks out other people¡¯s luck instead?¡¯ Being greatly satisfied, the young protagonist decided to seal his memories of his first life deep within the layers of his mind and continue living in simple satisfaction. However, that didn¡¯t last for long. By the age of 10, he realized that he could no longer continue this life, the world seemed to be calling out for the real him, for he was earth¡¯s Sword Master! In his first life, he was a true orphan that lived in the street, suffering a life of starvation and fighting coldness, but that only lasted till he met his teacher. The old sword teacher felt that he had the quality of a stubborn hard worker, so he brought him back with him to his house and taught him how to use the sword. The young orphan only took a few days to impress the old teacher, it was as if he was simply born for the sword, he already reached the standard of a soldier in the first week he started practicing! In the old era of cold weapons, such a genius was meant to be at the very top, he could only truly grow through cold-blooded wars, but the old teacher who was a retired general knew how vicious the war was, deciding that it was better to keep the boy by his side. However, death waits for no one, it only took a few years for the old teacher who had many old injuries to die, causing the young man to discover his background as well as the reason for his early death. Feeling angry at the opposing country¡¯s army for causing the only person he cared for to leave the world, the young man enlisted in the army in hope of taking revenge and further honing his sword skills, the only legacy that his old teacher has left for him. Just like the peak was meant for him, it only took 5 years for him to become a terrifying monster in the eyes of his country¡¯s enemy, earning himself the notorious nickname of the Cold-blooded Sword Master! Having long forgotten about his original cause and only lusting after more blood to feed his sword, the world-known Sword Master ended up falling into a siege that consisted of both enemies and allies. He managed to slaughter every last one of them before his sword broke only for him to die due to the injuries he accumulated, allowing him to reincarnate in the world of swords. ¡®A typical protagonist story.¡¯ After he finished recalling the main points of the protagonist¡¯s plot, Leo cringed thanks to the cliche plot, it was more or less the same as over 100 novels that he read before¡­ ¡®That¡¯s why he can be considered extremely lucky¡­¡¯ As a former world-acknowledged Sword Master, being sent to the world of this novel was similar to being thrown to his home ground, and that wasn¡¯t the end of it, his sword skills had evolved even further thanks to experiencing death once. ¡®Well, perhaps a little unlucky as well.¡¯ However, that was also the reason why he couldn¡¯t live the easy life he wanted. In a world filled with ¡®sword breath¡¯, he couldn¡¯t resist the itch to wield a sword once more once he was young enough to hold it. In the end, he could only resign to fate, making a different resolve. He would change his bloody methods and become a person that his old teacher would be proud of instead. ¡®But that¡¯s exactly why the death flag was planted at his beloved Orphanage.¡¯ Having finally reached the crucial point, Leo started outlining his plan towards surviving that event... Chapter 9 - The Persistent Fanged Wolves Chapter 9 - The Persistent Fanged Wolves ¡®It would have been much easier to do this if the entry point was chapter 6¡­¡¯ As the chapter where the protagonist decided to finally leave the Orphanage and venture into the sword path, chapter 6 was basically the true start of the novel and also the last time Arthur saw the protagonist before his death. If he were to be sent to that chapter instead of chapter 26 that he entered through, Leo was confident of destroying the cause of his death flag, regardless of the fact that he would only be 7 years old at that time. However, he didn''t have the choice to choose the entry point, it was something that his ability chose on its own. As such, Leo didn¡¯t linger on this thought for long. ¡®The author really liked playing the emotional growth game.¡¯ During these 20 chapters, the author had written a total of three arcs just to show that the protagonist has changed, but it was also one of these arcs that set the death flag on the whole Orphanage. At the start of his second arc, the protagonist, who had decided to no longer deal with everything by unsheathing his sword, was ¡®lucky¡¯ enough to stumble across the ¡®Fanged Wolves¡¯, a mercenary team of certain renown. At first, they simply had a conflict of interest as the ¡®Fanged Wolves¡¯ tried to shamelessly claim the loot of a ¡®Sword Beast¡¯ that wasn¡¯t theirs, which quickly ended with the protagonist giving them a beating and letting them know their place. However, the persistence of the ¡®Fanged Wolves¡¯ was nothing to scoff at, just because they wanted to snatch that loot back, they hired ¡®shadows¡¯ to stalk the protagonist in order to find a chance to steal it. Naturally, as a former war veteran, the protagonist instantly noticed that he was being stalked, so he also gave the ¡®shadows¡¯ a beating till they spat out everything. Realizing that it was none other than the shameless mercenaries that he forgave before, the protagonist suppressed his bloodlust with his will to change. Instead, he decided to take a more peaceful approach. ¡®It would have been better if he just massacred them all¡­¡¯ Leo silently complained at this point. By taking this ¡®righteous¡¯ decision, the protagonist practically planted the Orphanage¡¯s death flag as deep as he could. Using the skills he learned in the army as well as threatening the ¡®shadows¡¯ to work with him, the protagonist started digging down the hidden information of the ¡®Fanged Wolves¡¯ to reveal the mercenary group¡¯s wrongdoings, but he managed to find something much more serious than he expected. Other than the usual shady work that most mercenaries were involved in, he discovered that the ¡®Fanged Wolves¡¯ kidnapped children and sold them to a mysterious organization¡­The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Even in this fantasy world, such a thing was greatly frowned upon, and that was especially the case for someone who came from Earth like the protagonist. Moreover, as the primary target of the ¡®Fanged Wolves¡¯ were usually Orphanages, the protagonist felt his bloodlust rising as he thought that his ¡®Orphanage¡¯ might be the next target. ¡®It was just a step away¡­¡¯ However, he still held back in the end, he wasn¡¯t qualified to ¡®judge¡¯ them. Instead, the protagonist decided to spread the information he had obtained. As a result, the ¡®Sky-Piercing Sword Empire¡¯ where the ¡®Fanged Wolves¡¯ operated immediately launched an attack when they confirmed the authenticity of the information, wiping out the ¡®Fanged Wolves¡¯ like an insignificant bug. ¡®At least, he should have checked for the remnants!¡¯ By that point, the 2nd arc had come to an end and the 3rd arc already started as the protagonist moved on, it was only when the 4th arc started that the protagonist realized that his ¡®righteousness¡¯ came to bite him back in the ass! As if the author started running out of ideas, he suddenly wrote about another small mercenary group that was a hidden branch of the ¡®Fanged Wolves¡¯, even after stressing that they were completely wiped out earlier, making the readers complain about it at that time. Continuing their main branch¡¯s ¡®legacy¡¯ of being persistent, the hidden branch of the ¡®Fanged Wolves¡¯ started scheming for revenge, and luckily for them, they had the perfect means to do so! Within the pile of information that they collected regarding several Orphanages that they planned to target soon, they discovered that their enemy was also an orphan who came for an Orphanage on their list, providing them with a great opportunity. Since they couldn¡¯t openly face the protagonist, they would instead destroy his ¡®home¡¯ and lure him to their trap, taking revenge for their ¡®fallen comrades¡¯. ¡®From my current position, I can especially relate to the readers back then¡­¡¯ As the ¡®home¡¯ of the protagonist that gave him hope and the will to change, its destruction along with the death of his siblings reset him back to his old bloody state. It wasn¡¯t until he uprooted the hidden branch along with a few of their close connections that he calmed down. At that point, the readers who raged before raged even harder, the author claimed that it was necessary for the protagonist¡¯s character development, but the readers denied that and accused him of wanting to make the protagonist ¡®edgy¡¯ again. For Leo, a reader who read whatever he could get his hands on as long as it wasn¡¯t of very poor quality, he didn¡¯t stand on a specific side back then, but as the current Arthur that was about to be used as one of the scapegoats for the ¡®character development¡¯ and ¡®emotional growth¡¯ of the protagonists, he couldn¡¯t deny being salty about it now. If the author wanted the protagonist to show his ¡®edge¡¯, why didn¡¯t he do so earlier? ¡°Well, that¡¯s irrelevant to me anyway.¡± Having recalled the plotline that caused his future death, Leo ignored the negative thoughts as he closed his eyes for a few seconds, deeply contemplating the main part of his plan. ¡®It¡¯s doable.¡¯ Recalling the grade of the swordsmen within the hidden branch of the ¡®Fanged Wolves¡¯, Leo simply nodded. Those who launched the attack that caused his and his siblings'' death were at most of the third grade, it was still possible to eliminate them as long as his plan played out without any hiccups! ¡®Let¡¯s see if this challenge is enough for me to feel an excitement comparable to that of reading¡­¡¯ Closing his eyes once again, Leo let go of himself to sleep. After all, he needed to wake up early if he wanted to implement his plan! Chapter 10 - Blocked Meridians! Start of The ‘Home Defense’ Plan! Chapter 10 - Blocked Meridians! Start of The ¡®Home Defense¡¯ Plan! ¡°Big sister Ria! I will be going out early today.¡± While Ria stood in the kitchen corner of the humble Orphanage, ready to start preparing breakfast, Leo went in and quickly snatched something from the table before turning to leave. ¡°Eh? Why are you in such a hurry for? Shouldn¡¯t you at least wait for breakfast?¡± Ria was slightly confused, Arthur usually went out early to do some odd jobs to help with the Orphanage¡¯s financial situation, but he always did so only after eating breakfast, sometimes even helping with making it. It seemed like something was different today. ¡°No worries, I will just eat this apple on the way.¡± Showing the apple he picked up from the table, Leo didn¡¯t wait for an answer before leaving quickly. ¡®Something has been different about him since yesterday. Could it be that Arthur got into something dangerous?¡¯ Ria shook her head in worry. While Arthur didn¡¯t show it much, he was greatly affected by the disappearance of his ¡®brother¡¯ who left without leaving any word. If he was starting something reckless, she didn¡¯t know if she could help him. ~~.~~.~~ ¡®This town isn¡¯t too bad.¡¯ As he moved around in the town of Norn, where the Orphanage was, Leo was quite immersed in the sceneries that turned so real from just being words on paper. ¡®Let¡¯s see, it should be around here¡­¡¯ Reaching a particular part of the town, Leo could see several columns of steam rising as he felt the temperature rising slightly, he had reached the target of this little trip. ¡®Blacksmith street.¡¯ Living in this world where the sword meant power, it was almost compulsory for every village, town, and city to have a few blacksmith shops, they would usually be gathered together. Blacksmith street was basically a necessary stop for every wandering swordsman. Unlike several fantasy novels that Leo read, ¡®The Sword Master¡¯s Second Life¡¯ never strayed away from its title, the only weapon that could use sword breath was swords, even if you were a high-grade swordsman, if you didn¡¯t have a sword in hand, you would be useless in battle. ¡®I guess my entry point could be considered good.¡¯ Finally spotting his target, within the street, Leo slowly walked towards it as he thought about his current situation. While it would have been much easier if he entered from an early entry point like the chapter where the protagonist left on his journey, he would have been constricted to only one plan, influencing the main character.Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. On the other hand, entering through the chapter that showed the last warm scene of the Orphanage to ¡®prepare¡¯ readers to feel pain from the massacre, Leo was able to have more options to choose from. Although being 12 years old wouldn¡¯t make executing these plans easy, it was still doable in comparison to trying to do so while being only 7 years old. Despite complaining about it jokingly, if Leo had the choice in deciding one between the two entry points, he would have still chosen his current one. ¡®The blackbird.¡¯ Unlike the crowding customers that surrounded most of the other blacksmith shops, the shop that Leo stood before was like the desert within a rainforest. ¡®It¡¯s convenient that special people always exist around protagonists.¡¯ Including the plans that were rejected by Leo, almost all of the plans he came up with had the target of becoming a swordsman who nurtured sword breath himself. Unfortunately, due to the constraints of time, doing so could only be delayed after surviving the scapegoat event, that was especially the case with how ¡®special¡¯ Arthur¡¯s body was. Being a person who had the ¡®legendary¡¯ body of ¡®Blocked Meridians¡¯, Arthur was a person whose body couldn¡¯t contain and nurture sword breath. Some readers have even contemplated that the author planned to have Arthur as the second protagonist considering how he had a part of the usual ¡®main character template¡¯, but they were quickly slapped in the face when he died within the first 30 chapters. ¡®I already know of a solution for ¡®my¡¯ problem, but it¡¯s not the time for that yet.¡¯ As a reader, Leo naturally knew of a method to solve his current body¡¯s problem. However, not to mention how long that would take, just obtaining a proper ¡®sword breath manual¡¯ would already take more than 13 days. Taking that into consideration, Leo¡¯s ¡®house defense¡¯ had to rely on strategy and deception, but in order to do so, he had to have enough capital. Knock. Knock. The ¡®blackbird¡¯ always has its door closed, Leo knocked on the door out of courtesy even though he knew no one would answer the door. Just like no people crowded the ¡®blackbird¡¯, the hammering noise that was specific to blacksmith shops didn¡¯t sound out either. The constant smoke that came out from the chimney was the only part that made the small building look like a blacksmith shop. Creeeeak¡­ As the door slowly creaked open from the pressure of the knock, Leo waited a few seconds before stepping through the door. ¡°Sorry for intruding¡­¡± Lightly voicing out an apology, Leo didn¡¯t expect to receive an answer as he looked at the main sitting staring at the fire. The man¡¯s face which was partially lit by the fire didn¡¯t appear to be that old, but half of it was obscured by his black beard which was mixed with gray thanks to the flying ashes. Even though he noticed that he was being observed, the man didn¡¯t bother as he continued staring at the furnace melting a strangely shaped sword seemingly mesmerized by its ruin. Leo did nothing for the next 15 minutes or so, he simply found a spot to sit on as he waited for the rest of the sword to completely melt. ¡°What can I do for you? If you are here to ask for a sword, then you came to the wrong place.¡± Only when nothing was left out of the sword did the man turn to Leo and speak out, his voice seemed friendly but his words weren¡¯t. ¡°Sorry for bothering you Mr. Crane, I didn¡¯t come here for a sword. I came here to discuss something with you.¡± Leo didn¡¯t seem bothered as he had already expected the man¡¯s behavior, he didn¡¯t back down as he stated his purpose, which was also the first step to his plan. ¡°Discuss something?¡± ¡°Yeah, I would like to discuss ¡®selling¡¯ my idea.¡± Leo gently smiled as he ordered his words in mind, it was time to use a transmigrator ¡®home specialty¡¯, otherworldly knowledge! Chapter 11 - Improving Steel Forging? Chapter 11 - Improving Steel Forging? ¡°Sell your idea? What made you think that I need my idea?¡± Crane looked at the kid that just stated something absurd. Even though he had been facing nothing but failure lately, he wasn¡¯t desperate enough to require the help of a boy that didn¡¯t look to be older than 15 years old. Although he was slightly curious about how he knew his name. ¡°Well, someone close to me mentioned you once before. I believe you should have an idea of who would that be if you thought about what we have in common.¡± Leo didn¡¯t remove his smile as he talked calmly, as this novel¡¯s reader, he naturally didn¡¯t find it hard to deal with most of the characters. He was confident in getting what he wanted. ¡®I didn¡¯t read a dozen books about communication for nothing.¡¯ Furthermore, he was using his connection with the person who this world revolved around. This was practically a piece of cake since Crane was one of the characters that were placed close to the protagonist out of convenience. ¡°You¡­ You know that sword lover brat?¡± Looking at the young but confident kid sitting before him, Crane quickly remembered another brat who had a similar temperament. Perhaps this could also¡­ ¡°Yeah, he is more or less my brother. He is no longer around, but he told me to come to you in case I met a troublesome situation.¡± ¡°That brat! Does he think I¡¯m running a charity here?¡± Crane started remembering that time when that brat that was even younger came into his shop. He asked to ¡®inspect¡¯ his swords because he felt ¡®lonely¡¯, making him appear like a weirdo. However, after they exchanged words, Crane felt like he obtained a lot of insights. He was a person who clearly knew how to repay favors, so he ended up giving him the most treasured sword in the smithy. Wasn¡¯t it a bit overboard for the brat to send his ¡®brother¡¯ to freeload on him? Naturally, Crane wasn¡¯t completely sure that the kid was actually that brat¡¯s relative, he could just be a scammer. ¡°No need to get angry Mr. Crane, like I said, I don¡¯t want to get help for free. I plan to sell you my idea, you are free to decide its price yourself after hearing me out.¡± ¡°You trust me enough to tell me without worrying that I won¡¯t pay you anything?¡± Crane started feeling confused. Was this a new scam that the kid wanted to try out? Or was it really that he trusted that his work was worth it? ¡°I can¡¯t say I trust you having only met you today, but I trust my brother who trusts you.¡±If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. Leo played the protagonist card once again, but what he said was nothing but nonsense. In the novel, there was no case where the protagonist mentioned the ¡®Blackbird¡¯ to Arthur. However, while Leo didn¡¯t trust either Crane or the protagonist, he trusted the words he read, and in the few chapters that Crane appeared in, he was as honest as one could be. The last thing he could do would be to steal someone¡¯s ¡®precious ideas¡¯. ¡°Well, have it your way. While I find it nearly impossible that you would be abnormal as your ¡®brother¡¯, I will hear you out, but don¡¯t expect me to accept a repetition of what he told me back then.¡± Crane shrugged as he rested his head on his palm. He was quite bored and unmotivated now that his 1111th try failed today, he might as well listen to the kid¡¯s words. It would at least be better than doing nothing. ¡°Alright, let me start with a question then. You are still trying to find a way to improve steel, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± As soon as Leo asked his question, Crane raised his head as he looked at the kid in slight shock. Asking that question wasn¡¯t hard if that brat from before shared what he told him with his brother, but was he seriously proposing that his idea was related to this? ¡°I can see you are already starting to doubt me, but let me continue first. Aside from when you try to make the standard steel swords, you find it hard to control the temperature well enough to produce a tougher version of steel that isn¡¯t brittle, correct?¡± ¡°How do¡­ know that?¡± Crane stopped having doubts about this being a scam as he continued to listen to Leo. He only started to wonder whether he genuinely wanted to sell his idea or a spy that came to check on his progress. ¡°Well, the reason is obvious, isn¡¯t it? I¡¯m also someone who is interested in smithing, so it isn¡¯t hard to notice your current situation looking at the scrap metal and the sword from earlier.¡± Leo smiled even brighter. The man should have already caught the bait. It was about time to use the knowledge he had obtained from reading the Science University course about iron and steel. ¡°You mean to say that you have a way to solve this problem?¡± In ¡®The Sword Master¡¯s Second Life¡¯, the level of cold weapon production was drastically low. Before the Sword of Epoch changed the world, the only ones who could produce steel were the few kingdoms and empires that ruled the world. Unless you were part of an army, the best you could get your hand on was a normal iron or bronze sword. The reason behind that was simple, the principle of sword forging was restricted so that commoners wouldn¡¯t pose threats. Furthermore, even if one knew the main gist of it, controlling temperature over 1000 degrees celsius couldn¡¯t be done easily. However, all of that changed just like the rest of the world did, after sword breath filled the world and the long war that lasted a decade, steel sword forging methods became widespread. The smithing industry flourished, especially thanks to the discovery of a certain volcanic rock that mutated under the effect of sword breath. This rock was capable of producing the fire required for steel production! Unfortunately, as several types of mutated metals emerged as well, steel forging stood in its tracks. All the smiths that researched making better swords focused on these new metals, which surpassed the usefulness of steel in no time. ¡°Unfortunately, I don¡¯t have the means nor the ideas to solve your current problem¡­¡± As Crane heard Leo¡¯s answer, the slight hope he had was almost instantly extinguished, what was he expecting to come out from a kid¡¯s mouth anyway? Unlike his fellow smiths, he refused the idea of making people reliant on the rare metals; several small wars started just over the control of one mine or two. He sincerely wanted to make steel, which could be made from the abundant iron, capable of contesting with the swords made from these metals. ¡°But¡­ What if I tell you that I can guide you to another method that can produce instant success?¡± Chapter 12 - Introducing Alloy Steel Chapter 12 - Introducing Alloy Steel ¡°Huh?¡± Just as Crane was thinking of how to throw out this kid who came to give him a dose of depression, he was brought back to reality by Leo¡¯s follow-up line. ¡®This kid¡­¡¯ Even though he was getting older more quickly due to his exhausting work, and while he invested all his time in smithing, Crane felt slightly indignant as he realized what just happened. The little kid was leading him by the nose! He was manipulating the conversation to his favor! ¡°Well, I¡¯m not giving up on steel if that¡¯s what you are suggesting¡­¡± Although Crane was irritated by the way Leo spoke, he didn¡¯t deny him speech. He was still curious about the method he had in mind. ¡°Naturally, my idea still revolves around steel. It¡¯s just that it may sound a bit unorthodox if you view it from a conservative point of view.¡± Leo could feel that Crane wasn¡¯t exactly happy with how the conversation was going. At the same time, he could also tell that he had successfully gained his complete interest! Crane would no longer just treat his words as the babbling of a kid! Moreover, as he heard Crane¡¯s words, Leo had even more confidence in his plan. After all, while Crane seemed stubborn and unaccepting of change by sticking with steel till this point, the feelings he showed didn¡¯t portray that, he didn¡¯t really care about steel as a material as much as he cared about the consequences brought by relying on mutated metal. If someone managed to convince him that sand would work, he wouldn¡¯t mind trying it! He only cared about the material¡¯s availability. ¡°Alright, go ahead.¡± Crane went back to his earlier resting pose as he waited. He didn¡¯t mind the method being unorthodox. In fact, his current methods could be considered unorthodox in the current era. ¡°I know this might seem a bit strange with how most blacksmiths are particular about the nonexistence of impurities¡­ but, what do you think about adding other metals to your steel base?¡± Leo spoke carefully as he waited for a reaction. Unlike how it was in his world, the people in this world were still particular about the basics of work like the old ages, they couldn¡¯t change the base of the pyramid to see if it would give a better result. That was one particular reason why innovation took a long while to take place.This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. ¡°You want to mix other metals with steel?¡± As Crane heard the base of Leo¡¯s idea, he was still wondering if the kid was just making another joke so that he could lead him to the true purpose behind this conversation, but he couldn¡¯t find any hint of emotions on his face other than seriousness. ¡°Yes! I know you have already reached the limits of steel. You have already discovered the optimal ¡®heat¡¯ to reach the best state of steel, even if you push it further it would almost be impossible to reach your target! Only by mixing in other metals with the properties or attributes that you require that you can achieve a breakthrough!¡± While Leo knew that ¡®heat¡¯ wasn¡¯t the word used to express temperature, he spoke in a way that was more familiar in this world. Even though steel seemed like something ¡®fancier¡¯ than iron, it was practically just heated iron. The only requirement was a high enough temperature to dissolve carbon into iron and before cooling it to trap the carbon inside. Naturally, carbon content had to be limited so that it wouldn¡¯t alter the steel into the point of being brittle. After all, carbon content was an impurity in itself. Crane¡¯s methods weren¡¯t wrong to begin with, he was someone that managed to find the optimal temperature to produce high carbon steel that¡¯s most optimal to forge swords with just by trying and trying without knowing the principle behind it. Basically, he managed to reach the right temperature and time to control the carbon content within the acceptable limit through trial and error. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t that cause the sword to turn too brittle? Although I didn¡¯t do so myself, all the records say that those blacksmiths that used such methods ended in failure. Why do you expect that you would obtain results instead?¡± Crane wasn¡¯t convinced, even as he just pushed ¡®pure steel¡¯ to its limit, he faced the problem of brittleness too often! If even more foreign metals that could act as impurities were added, then making wooden swords might be better. ¡°That¡¯s because they relied on common sense when it came to things that couldn¡¯t be considered in this way! Unlike what most blacksmiths think, I don¡¯t believe that you need to add as many foreign metals into the mixture. In fact, I think that adding about less than one part out of a hundred would prove much more useful!¡± As a person who had a barely complete knowledge regarding iron refinement, Leo was guiding Crane into the path of alloy steel! Unlike what most people think when the ¡®alloys¡¯, a mixture of metals didn¡¯t really have to be in equal amounts or large enough to make a difference, that was especially so when it came to alloy steel! Just a basic 0.6% of carbon content managed to elevate iron to tough steel! Even when it came to more advanced alloy steel, the content of added metal usually hovered within 1%, with some exceptions being as high as 2%, just this little amount along with the correct mixture could elevate the steel¡¯s properties by another level! ¡°Even if¡­ we do say that your words might be true. You are just suggesting a common direction with some modification, and while I can accept this as a favor, that would be only after results are proven. How do you plan to resolve your trouble if it comes before then?¡± Crane¡¯s voice turned a bit gentler as he contemplated the possibility in his mind, but he couldn¡¯t help but feel perplexed regarding the young man¡¯s source of confidence¡­ ¡®Finally¡­¡¯ In fact, Leo was waiting for this exact moment to end his play, everything was just preparation for this point! While he could explain the chemical principle behind steel and alloy steel, it would be hard to explain how someone like him came up with something like that. As such¡­ ¡°What if I tell you that I already have a few detailed ¡®recipes¡¯ in mind?¡± He was just going to use the protagonist as a cover once again! Chapter 13 - Target Obtained! Unexpected Bonus! Chapter 13 - Target Obtained! Unexpected Bonus! Smoke rose as Crane held a basic sword blade with a plier-like tool, unable to remove his attention away from it. The blade didn¡¯t even have a hilt yet, all that was completed of it was the metal part, but Crane didn¡¯t seem to care as he simply struck its flat side at the anvil. Klang! ¡°Incredible!¡± Seeing that the blade was still intact after his heavy strike, Crane couldn¡¯t resist shouting in shock, this was inconvincible. A sword that contained so many different metals actually showed no signs of brittleness! ¡°It really works?¡± However, he quickly came back to his senses, hesitating to invest more hope too early. Instead, he proceeded to slash the blade¡¯s sharp edge at a wooden block. Woosh! ¡°Astonishing! Did that kid really suggest this ¡®recipe¡¯?¡± At this moment, Crane¡¯s mind was nothing but a pool of chaos, he was happy for finding a path that was advancable, but he was also perplexed about the nature of the path that was denied long ago. Most importantly, he found it hard to believe that the one who guided him to this path was none other than a pair of siblings that weren¡¯t even 16 years old! Not only was the metal that resulted from the metal tough, but it was also sharp and flexible, it could even recover its shape on its own! ¡°Mhm, I only suggested the idea to my brother and he provided me with the specifics. It¡¯s not really possible for me to have come up with all of this on my own¡­¡± Leo scratched the back of his head as he answered awkwardly, hoping that Crane would be immersed enough in his new discovery. As one who read enough books on steel refinement, he naturally remembered the composition of a few alloy steel types that were best suited to be used as swords in this era. He had simply recited the composition of ¡®9260 steel¡¯, which had silicon and manganese as its main alloying elements. Crane wasn¡¯t exactly convinced at first. However, Leo didn¡¯t mind since everything would be revealed as long as one experiment was performed. Thankfully, as a smith who researched the possibility of replacing mutated metals by abundant metals, he had several samples of the required metals for ¡®9260 steel¡¯, all that Leo had to do was describe the color and properties of these metals since they didn¡¯t share the same name in this world. ¡°Alright, I have questioned you enough. It¡¯s not like I don¡¯t know your brother is abnormal, and you don¡¯t seem to have stolen it either¡­¡±This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. Naturally, having had to give a full ¡®recipe¡¯ for ¡®9260 steel¡¯ along with specific description of the required metals, Leo didn¡¯t admit to being the source of this part of the information. He simply stuck it up to the protagonist! Nothing would be too abnormal as long as the main character was its source! That was especially the case considering Crane was a special character that didn¡¯t really discriminate by age as much as normal characters. ¡®Since the scapegoat event is caused by the protagonist, he shouldn¡¯t mind me using him here¡­¡¯ Leo didn¡¯t have any qualms about his method as it was for the sake of his and the Orphanage¡¯s survival. Moreover, the degraded blacksmithing in this world was basically a piece of plot armor that the author has set for the protagonist, it was just that he refused to rely on his ¡®modern¡¯ knowledge early on and use it much later. ¡®I will make good use of it.¡¯ Although there was the risk of causing a butterfly effect through this action, it was unlikely for Crane to spread this before he perfected it to a certain level, and it would be spread publicly, the grounds would still be even between powers in that case. ¡°No matter how you came to learn of this, you have indeed delivered an idea that I would buy.¡± Crane put the blade away after swinging it for a few times, he was truly satisfied with the result. Although this mixed steel still couldn¡¯t compare with mutated metals, its durability and lifespan were greatly boosted, which were the most important properties of swords in this era. He didn¡¯t regret going through a tiring conversation for the sake of this ¡®recipe¡¯. After all, ¡®9260 steel¡¯ was known as spring alloy steel in reality, it could allow objects made of it to return to their original shape despite significant bending or twisting, thus giving swords superior strength, flexibility, and edge retention! In this world where losing your sword meant losing your prowess, such properties were practically life saving. Crane believed that he had already taken a steady step to his end target. ¡®It¡¯s too precious¡­¡¯ Measuring the worth of this ¡®recipe¡¯ and Leo¡¯s guidance in his mind, Crane nodded as he headed to the inner chamber of the shop, returning with a clincking bag. Clink¡­ Clink¡­ ¡°Since you demanded financial help, you can take this as payment for your ¡®idea¡¯. However, this can only be considered a part of it since my funds are currently limited.¡± The reason Crane was meticulous with what he received was because he was meticulous with payment, as long as he received something that satisfied him, he paid at least as much as he weighed it to be worth and sometimes even more. Unfortunately, research was something that ate up money very quickly. Moreover, he had just obtained a new field of research, so he could only give away half of his accumulated wealth even though it was still lower than the value he had in mind. ¡°Thanks for your patronage!¡± Leo simply smiled as he received the bag and put into another one that he brought along, a sack of coins would definitely be conspicuous if he didn¡¯t hide it probably. He could tell from the weight of the bag that he had at least received enough for his plan, so he didn¡¯t check the number of the coins for the sake of his image. However¡­ ¡®I still need to¡­¡¯ Just as Leo was thinking about the secondary target for his trip to the ¡®blackbird¡¯ he was slightly surprised by Crane¡¯s following words. ¡°In exchange, I will give you a chance to ask for anything that¡¯s within my power for the rest of the payment.¡± ¡®It looks like I gained an unexpected bonus¡­¡¯ Leo smiled even deeper in his mind, things were going smoother than expected. Chapter 14 - One More Target Achieved! Resolve! Chapter 14 - One More Target Achieved! Resolve! ¡®That¡¯s one problem solved in advance.¡¯ Since the option of running away was out of hand, Leo couldn¡¯t possibly confront the attackers while his ¡®siblings¡¯ were still inside the Orphanage. Originally, He planned to trade for an ¡®opportunity¡¯ to ask for a favor from Crane with the other spring alloy steel ¡®recipe¡¯ that he memorized, all so that he could solve this problem, but he surprisingly got more than he sought to get. Although Leo knew about Crane¡¯s generosity with payment as well as the preciousness of his ¡®idea¡¯, he still didn¡¯t expect to receive an ¡®opportunity¡¯ from Crane, especially one as broad as described by Crane. ¡®In that case¡­¡¯ On the other hand, while the other ¡®recipe¡¯ that Leo knew was still valuable, it had less value when compared to the one he already revealed, it had a major weakness to corrosion, so what it could be exchanged for would be much lower in value. ¡°What if I told you I have one more ¡®recipe¡¯ to help with your research?¡± Leo spoke out calmly as he made his mind, it was too wasteful to use a great opportunity on a one-time favor, he had a better use for it in mind. ¡°Well, I naturally want it, but as you can see, I already offered all I could.¡± Crane looked at Leo helplessly, was the kind incapable of knowing when to stop? He was tempted to cut his funds even further, but he held back, ideas were worth nothing if they weren¡¯t to be successfully applied. ¡°No need to decline so quickly, I plan to give this ¡®recipe¡¯ as a deal, you only need to accept a simple request of mine.¡± Leo followed up quickly as he waited for Crane to process his deal. He wanted to rush into discussing the great opportunity, but this part was still more important. ¡°So you want to save my favor and use the ¡®recipe¡¯ to exchange for an immediate request?¡± Crane¡¯s eyes lit up, to him, favors and requests were worth more than money. If he were to pay for the other ¡®recipe¡¯ this way, his conscience would be clear. ¡°Indeed.¡± Leo simply nodded, letting out a sigh of relief in his mind, it seemed like Crane was as eager as him to close this deal. ¡°Fair enough, I can accept this deal as long as your request isn¡¯t overboard.¡± Crane smiled in response, he didn¡¯t mind accepting requests that didn¡¯t cross his moral line. ¡°No worries, my request is pretty simple. All I ask for is for you to give shelter to my ¡®siblings¡¯ for one night.¡±Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. Leo didn¡¯t beat around the bush as he went straight into the topic. The reason he chose the ¡®blackbird¡¯ as his primary target to procure funds was mainly due to this request. No matter the place, any knowledge related to sword-making was basically priceless, this wasn¡¯t the only place he could get money from, but this was the only place he would trust to hide his ¡®siblings¡¯ while he dealt with the attack. Not only was Crane a trustworthy character by script, but he was also quite powerful, protecting people from the first attack of the Fanged Wolves wasn¡¯t a hard task for him. ¡°You¡­ You are expecting to face an attack and you only ask for this? Don¡¯t you want me to help you deal with it?¡± Crane couldn¡¯t help but feel perplexed once more. The person who spoke before him was just a kid, yet he planned to face everything himself. Did he also not know the concept of asking adults for help? ¡°Brother already told me about your situation, you don¡¯t wish to join any more conflicts, and I don¡¯t plan to let anyone get caught in my conflict either, and that includes my ¡®siblings¡¯.¡± Leo¡¯s expression turned firm as part of his disguise as a 12-year-old got washed away. This time, he was speaking out his real thoughts. Although this conflict was initiated by the protagonist, Leo found himself the next one on the responsibility list. As a reader, he felt that breaking the established plot of the book that turned into a reality was part of his responsibility, not to mention that he was most likely the reason behind it turning into a reality, to begin with. ¡°I see you already resolved yourself, it¡¯s true that I didn¡¯t plan to directly interfere, but I will accept your request.¡± Crane looked at Leo with pity, he wanted to break his rule and save him considering his great contribution to his research, but he decided against it. This wasn¡¯t the first time he witnessed the death of someone promising, and he couldn¡¯t simply save them all. ¡®Just what brilliant idea would such a kid think of when he grows up¡­? Forget it!¡¯ Most importantly, he couldn¡¯t come out of hiding for the sake of his research. If he was forced to stop, wouldn¡¯t the kid¡¯s contribution go to waste? ¡°Thank you, I greatly appreciate it. As for my other request¡­¡± Leo kept his smile as he looked back at Crane, he could tell he was feeling emotional, and he planned to make use of it. Since the protagonist didn¡¯t use this plot device character to its full worth, he planned to do so in his place! `~~`~~`~~` Dragging a small cart behind him, Leo walked as stealthy as possible as he passed by the Orphanage¡¯s door. He didn¡¯t want to wake up his ¡®siblings¡¯ that were probably asleep by now. However... ¡°You are only coming back now¡­?¡± Sitting at the step of the door, Ria put down the book she was reading as she questioned the sneaking Leo. ¡°I¡¯m¡­ sorry. I managed to find a great job today, and I had to start on the spot. If not, I wouldn¡¯t have missed lunch¡­¡± Leo apologetically bowed his head, he had deviated greatly from Arthur¡¯s behavior pattern, but he couldn¡¯t possibly take his time due to how tight it was. ¡°I already told you that earning money is something for me to worry about¡­ Why are you being so stubborn at this age?¡± Ria wanted to scold Leo, but couldn¡¯t get the resolve to do so as she noticed the determination on his face. If only she could resolve their financial problems themselves... ¡°I know, I don¡¯t plan to overwork myself, it¡¯s only for a limited time anyway. Let¡¯s call it a night as well, I have a big surprise for tomorrow!¡± Leo didn¡¯t wait any further as he dragged his cart towards his ¡®bed¡¯ in a hurry, he had to sleep so he could start his following preparation early tomorrow. Ria opened her mouth to reply, but only let out a sigh in the end, she felt that she was the real one at fault. ¡®Sigh, you are just like your brother¡­¡¯ Chapter 15 - The Standing of A Reader! Chapter 15 - The Standing of A Reader! ¡®He went out even earlier today¡­¡¯ Ria went back into the Orphanage after checking out the empty bed hanging outside, her face reflecting deep helplessness. Ever since her ¡®grandma¡¯ died, things have been getting worse. The help that they usually received lessened as the years went by, she had been barely keeping things up with Arthur¡¯s help, but Ria didn¡¯t find that acceptable. Even though he was the oldest, he was also a child just like his siblings, it wasn¡¯t fair for him to sacrifice his childhood for the Orphanage¡¯s sake. It was fine when he was just working for parts of his free time, but spending the whole day working made Ria more worried. ¡°I¡¯m back!¡± Just as she was contemplating risky solutions, Ria was surprised to hear the voice of the person she had in her mind. ¡°I hope you haven''t already started making breakfast since I brought some.¡± Leo entered the Orphanage with a cheery face, he put the steamy bag that was hanging on his back on the table after announcing his arrival. ¡°Oh, big brother brought something back!¡± Having just woken up, Annie slipped out of the bed and ran toward Leo while still rubbing her eyes. She was still sleepy, but she smelled something good! As Annie jumped into Leo¡¯s embrace, the other children woke up due to the voice and smell, it seemed like something good had happened today. ¡°Wash your hands, everyone, I got something special for you today.¡± Leo smiled warmly as he opened the bag which let out even more steam and smell, the children could barely hold back from salivating as they raced towards the bucket in the corner to wash up. He had gone out even earlier today to run an errand that was a critical step to his survival plans and it ended very well, so Leo decided to make a small celebration with his ¡®siblings¡¯ since things have been going smoothly so far! ¡°Here you go!¡± As the children eagerly ran back to their seats, Leo took out a piece of steamy round bread and handed it to Annie. ¡°Here!¡± Annie was already salivating but she gave it to the child sitting beside her who in turn did the same, the cycle continued till everyone had a piece in their hand including Annie. ¡°Alright, you can start eating now, and eat slowly, there is still another one for each of you.¡± Leo¡¯s words were like the keys to the flood gate, the children no longer held back as they bit into the fragrant bread, spreading its fragrance even more. ¡°So good!¡± ¡°Thanks, big brother!¡± ¡°Thank you¡­¡± Leo observed the scene full of bless as the children ate with relish, his heart felt warm as he fulfilled a part of Arthur¡¯s wish.This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. During his life as Arthur, he always wanted to do something like this, but this meal consisting of meat stuffed bread was too expensive to keep their budget in one piece. However, he was no longer worried about that. He turned around to look at Ria, who was still hesitating about how to react, with appreciation. Although she wasn¡¯t very capable when it came to earning money, she did well raising the children, which came out as obvious since they took the time to thank him while wolfing down the bread. ¡°You should also have one.¡± Sitting down as well, Leo took two more pieces and pushed one towards Ria. He bit into his own as he enjoyed the taste of meat that rarely appeared in Arthur¡¯s memory. In fact, it even had a unique taste when compared to the meat he ate on earth. ¡°...it¡¯s not bad to do something like this once in a while, but you shouldn¡¯t overwork yourself in order to do so.¡± Ria wanted to decline first, but she took the bread in the end. She smiled gently, feeling a little less sad. ¡°I told you there is no need to worry, the job I found is more for the sake of learning than earning! It¡¯s just that the boss is so generous that he also pays me well.¡± As he finished wolfing down the bread, Leo rummaged in his pocket before taking out a small bag and handing it to Ria. ¡°This is?¡± Ria took hold of the bag, opening it to take a look before shock found its way to her face. There were five shining coins inside of it. ¡°No need to be shocked. You know that blacksmithing is a very profitable business, right? This is just half of my upfront pay, and that¡¯s only for the next two weeks!¡± Leo himself was shocked when he checked the money bag he received before he slept, there was a total of 130 gold sword coins inside. A gold sword coin was introduced in the novel as being enough for a family of four to live normally for a month. Although he knew Crane¡¯s special character traits, and his past as a veteran from the Sword Establishment War, he still didn¡¯t expect to receive such an exaggerated amount of money. This was worth slightly over ten years of a family¡¯s expenses¡­ ¡°Really? Are you sure you aren¡¯t doing anything dangerous?¡± Ria carefully closed the money bag as she stared at Leo with doubt, she was worried he was just using these words as a cover for the true source of the money. ¡°Have I ever lied to you before? Although I¡¯m still young, I don¡¯t get tricked that easily! Just use the money for the sake of our family, and don¡¯t be too thrifty, there will be more once I get my second pay!¡± Leo gave Ria a meaningful smile as he reassured ¡®Arthur¡¯ in his mind. Since he already accepted this life of his, he would accept all of it as long as it conflicted with his logic. He had been overthinking the topic of dealing with people within the novel till now, and he was finally sure of his answer. As people who could breathe and speak, he wouldn¡¯t treat them as mere imaginary characters. He would respect their life and care for those that were close to him. Since he could help them, he wouldn¡¯t hesitate to. Likewise, he didn¡¯t plan to use the modern world¡¯s common sense here. He would kill or even start a massacre if necessary, he wouldn¡¯t be any better than the protagonist if he hesitated in every situation. Most importantly, his baseline was still survival. While he would do his best to protect his ¡®family¡¯, he would only do so within the acceptable range. As a ¡®Reader¡¯, Leo believed that he didn¡¯t completely belong here, he had his own life to go back to. For he was ¡®Leo¡¯ before he became ¡®Arthur¡¯. ¡°Otherwise, I will just have to take care of buying food for all meals as well¡­¡± Having settled the question that has been clouding his mind, Leo felt more refreshed as if the fusion of both of his personalities grew more sublime. He quickly ¡®threatened¡¯ Ria who was still hesitating whether to accept the money or not. ¡°Alright, you can do what you want¡­ Just remember that you can stop whenever you want, we can share the burden.¡± Ria could only smile bitterly and put the small bag away, perhaps depending on someone wasn¡¯t so bad after all¡­ ¡°What burden? I¡¯m having a great time learning from the boss! Besides, I don¡¯t have to work all day like yesterday, I will still be free at mealtimes.¡± Leo wolfed down another bun before he stood up, he had charged up on motivation and bless. He was ready to start the third step of his ¡®home defense¡¯ plan! ¡°I will head out.¡± After patting a few of his little ¡®siblings¡¯, particularly little Annie, Leo stepped out of the Orphanage and walked towards the little cart parked by the side of his ¡®bed¡¯. Removing the small blanket that was covering the cart, Leo looked with anticipation at the metal lumps that were loaded in it. ¡®Let¡¯s hope the start isn¡¯t as rough as I expect it to be¡­¡¯ Chapter 16 - Training! Hearing The Mysterious Voice Once More! Chapter 16 - Training! Hearing The Mysterious Voice Once More! ¡°This spot should do.¡± As Leo let go of the cart¡¯s handles, he looked around before taking a deep breath of fresh air, getting ready to start the long-term part of his plan. His back slightly ached from pulling the cart all the way to a hidden part of the forest, but it wasn¡¯t yet time to get an animal to pull it, that was something to worry about once the approaching crisis was dealt with. ¡°Let¡¯s start with a light warm-up.¡± Pulling out two pieces of metal through the short metal rod that connected them from the back of the cart, Leo swung his right arm a few times before pulling out a similar object with his other hand. After repeating his movements for a few seconds he switched the position of his arms before swinging his arms once more. ¡®I didn¡¯t expect the first training that I would do in the world would be weightlifting¡­¡¯ According to most of the fantasy novels that he read, protagonists would usually start by training some ¡®mysterious practice method¡¯ to gain strength, even those who transmigrated from Earth didn¡¯t bother using Earth¡¯s methods. As such, Leo couldn¡¯t help but feel slightly awkward. Despite that, Leo¡¯s plan didn¡¯t change much, he still continued warming up using the crude-looking metal dumbbells! Since he had to deal with the approaching crisis in less than a month in this young body of his, he needed to use whatever method possible. ¡®Things would have been different if I brought my body along.¡¯ If he were asked to deal with the Fanged Wolves¡¯ attack using his first body or at least with access to items from the modern world, things wouldn¡¯t have been too complicated. Unfortunately, that wasn¡¯t the case. Unlike fictional time travelers or transmigrators, he didn¡¯t have cheats or critical knowledge like a ¡®mysterious practice method¡¯, he wasn¡¯t even a novel-jumping protagonist who had a good base start. In fact, Leo couldn¡¯t find a proper term to describe himself other than the term used by the ¡®personal book¡¯. He was nothing more than a ¡®Reader¡¯. His only advantage was what he read, whether that be the novel he was currently in or the numerous books he read on Earth. ¡®I need to build up endurance.¡¯ Although he was doing weightlifting, Leo didn¡¯t expect this to increase his strength significantly in just two weeks, that was simply farfetched, especially when he was using weights that only ranged between 2.5 kgs and 5kgs. However, the purpose behind this training was to increase his body¡¯s endurance.Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. Regardless of the actual plan that he planned to act on during the night of the attack, it was obvious that it would put a huge strain on his current young body. Even if territory tactics were used, he was just one person against many. Moreover, his expected enemies had the aid of sword breath while he didn¡¯t. ¡°Hah¡­ hah¡­¡± Thanks to the big favor that Crane owed to Leo, asking for training equipment wasn¡¯t that hard. Although they hardly looked anything like modern dumbbells, they still did the job. ¡®It was only three hours yet it felt like eternity¡­¡¯ Since he planned to do ¡®General¡¯ training with the target of increasing endurance, Leo decided to designate 3 hours of his day to this training as he relied on repetitions instead of increasing the weight. He wanted to spend more time on it owing to its importance, but that was his limit. After all, too much training was more detrimental than too little training. Even though Arthur¡¯s body wasn¡¯t overweight or underdeveloped thanks to his daily working routine, he was still malnourished due to the Orphanage¡¯s financial state. Just these three hours made him feel broken all over. Taking that into consideration, Leo didn¡¯t plan to push himself more than it was acceptable to. Besides, there were other tasks that he needed to do in preparation. Naturally, he didn¡¯t dive into the next task immediately, he threw himself on the ground and lied down to rest for the next twenty or so minutes. ¡®Time to refresh!¡¯ Even though he was feeling very sweaty from the training, Leo had held himself back so his muscles could recover. However, after proper time had passed, he picked up a bucket from the cart and dashed with his exhausted legs towards the stream¡­ It was time to take a shower! Despite the fact that showering using a bucket wasn¡¯t as comfortable as using a ¡®shower¡¯, Leo anticipated the shower all the same. Nothing felt better than a shower after hitting the gym regardless of the current time, era, or world! Splash! ¡°Haaaa¡­¡± Let out a satisfied sigh, Leo wiped away the water as he gradually changed his wet clothes. Now that he had money, he wasn¡¯t cheap to himself, especially when it came to something like clothing. ¡°It¡¯s definitely tastier after working out!¡± Taking a bite from the meat stuffed bun, Leo couldn¡¯t resist pushing the rest of it into his mouth. Although the bun was no longer freshly baked, it tasted at least twice better as an after-training meal! After eating and resting for half an hour or so, Leo got up once more and headed towards the cart. While his endurance training was over, he wasn¡¯t done with ¡®training¡¯ just yet. The object that he pulled out this time was none other than the prototype sword that Crane had crafted the earlier day! This also became Leo¡¯s property thanks to the favor that he chose. ¡®Now that I think about it¡­ this is my first time holding a real sword.¡¯ Taking the sword out of its sheath, Leo brushed his hand along the blade¡¯s flat face, feeling incredibly smooth to his touch. ''Crane¡¯s skill is undoubtedly nothing to scoff at¡­¡¯ As he admired Crane¡¯s smithing skills, Leo got into a basic stance as he remembered what he read about basic swordsmanship moves. Although he had yet to become capable of nurturing sword breath, Leo didn¡¯t plan to wait till then to train his swordsmanship. He still needed to get used to a sword for the last stand in his ¡®home defense¡¯ plan. Moreover, he didn¡¯t have all the time in the world to waste. Since he would get a low start on sword breath nurturing, he might as well get familiar with sword-wielding in advance. However, as Leo swung down the sword in a basic chop, also known as a vertical cut, the voice that had been silent since he received his ¡®personal book¡¯ sounded out once more! Chapter 17 - First Attribute Unlocked - ‘Skill Reading’! Chapter 17 - First Attribute Unlocked - ¡®Skill Reading¡¯! [ The First ¡®Reading¡¯ Attribute has been invoked. Updating conditions have been met¡­ ] [ ¡®Personal Book¡¯ has been updated. ] Thud! Suddenly hearing the voice that has been silent for a while speak out of nowhere, Leo was immediately taken by surprise that his sword swing ended with a plunge to the ground. Despite trying his best, his body was just too small at this moment to handle a sword of this length and weight, not to mention being inexperienced with holding one, so the startle was enough to make him lose his balance. Pat...pat¡­ ¡°Great timing¡­¡± Patting away the dust after getting up and lifting the sword from the ground, Leo complained to the voice that never spoke back as he thought of the personal book. Nonetheless, he was greatly intrigued by the sudden change. Although he quickly came up with a few theories, Leo was interested in knowing the real reason a mere sword swing would invoke the lazy voice. ¡®Let¡¯s see¡­¡¯ Although no light filled his vision this time, the floating book still appeared before Leo¡¯s eyes before he poked it open. [ Book 1 ] Name: Arthur (Leo Lock) Age: 12 (18) Role: Reader ________________________ Personal Statistics: ---------------- Physique: 0.8 Mind: 1.3 (+1.9) ________________________ Personal Skills: --------------- ¡®Swordsmanship¡¯ - Prologue - page 2/10 ________________________ Quests: ------- Main Quest: Reach the epilogue ________________________ ¡®So this time it¡¯s skills¡­ and another page?¡¯ Having thought of this possibility thanks to his plentiful knowledge of novels, Leo wasn¡¯t too surprised to see some sort of a skill panel added to the ¡®Personal Book¡¯, it was just that the content of this skill panel was a bit strange¡­Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. ¡®Don¡¯t skills usually get rated by levels or tiers?¡¯ As if to fit Leo¡¯s current identity and role to the limit, the ¡®level¡¯ of the skills seemed to be determined by ¡®pages¡¯, making it feel out of place. ¡®Is this ¡®prologue¡¯ supposed to be like a ¡®level 0¡¯ of some sort?¡¯ Judging from a book¡¯s normal progress, the prologue usually worked as a ¡®Chapter 0¡¯ of sorts, so it made sense once one thought deeply about it. Moreover, that wasn¡¯t the only change that has taken place in the book, it now had an additional page! It was mostly empty but what he heard the voice speak of was now recorded on it. ¡®I guess I will figure it out with time.¡¯ Knowing that he wouldn¡¯t get an answer about either change even if he asked, Leo simply kept his theories to himself. In any case, as this ¡®Swordsmanship¡¯ progressed, the logic behind the ¡®Personal Skill¡¯ panel would reveal itself on its own. Regardless, Leo knew that standing in his place thinking about it wouldn¡¯t get him anywhere, so he assumed a basic stance once more and started recalling what he ¡®learned¡¯ from the swordsmanship books he read. After all, training was more likely to produce visible results than plain guessing. It was just that¡­ He didn¡¯t expect it to be that fast! [ The attribute, ¡®Skill Reading¡¯, has been activated! ] As he received another sudden message from the mysterious voice less than a minute away from the last one, Leo was even more surprised than last time. Luckily, he managed to react correctly this time so he didn¡¯t greet the ground with his head this time. ¡®Skill reading?¡¯ Not even being given a chance to think about the nature of the change this time, something else other than the voice abruptly invaded his mind! ¡®This is¡­¡¯ Although his head hurt, Leo felt comfortable deep inside as he felt incredibly familiar with what was taking place in his mind, this was none other than the effect of his ¡®Reading¡¯! The intensity was increased to another level, but Leo was absolutely sure that this was none other than an amplified version of his special ¡®Reading¡¯, this was exactly how it felt when he obtained skills or knowledge after reading a book! Naturally, just as the intensity was increased, the gain of such a ¡®Reading¡¯ was more than the norm. While Leo was still inexperienced with handling the sword, he already knew all he needed to know to get familiar with it within a short period of time. The basic sword moves were already solidified in his mind! All that was left to realize most of what he received was a short time of practice! ¡®Is the true effect of my ¡®Reading¡¯...?¡¯ Feeling excited to have discovered more about the one thing that made him special in this world, Leo stabbed the sword into the ground as his mind started going wild¡­ Everything was kind of disjointed at first due to the timing, but as he called the ¡®Personal Book¡¯ out once again and checked the new pages with the messages in order, things started becoming clear. ¡®So the reason for the change was the activation that was enabled after the invoking of the attribute?¡¯ Although it was still cloudy overall, Leo understood that his ability was evolving since he entered this novel¡¯s world. In fact, his entrance to this world was due to this strangely triggered evolution. As for the specifics, it seemed that using a sort of skill he learned from reading was the prerequisite to evolving the ability to obtain skills specifically, after which, it seemed that any similar skill-learning through ¡®Reading¡¯ would be enhanced by the attribute called ¡®Skill Reading¡¯. As for the degree of this enhancement¡­ ________________________ Personal Skills: --------------- ¡®Swordsmanship¡¯ - Prologue - page 6/10 ________________________ ¡®It isn¡¯t that visible since I haven''t actually practiced what I obtained yet, but this increase¡­!¡¯ Even if one were to disregard the possibility that higher page numbers required more effort, compared to the progress of 2 pages that he already had thanks to what he obtained from ¡®Reading¡¯ on Earth, the enhancement of ¡®Skill Reading¡¯ could be said to have made it three times more effective! ¡®It seems like I didn¡¯t feel that instinctive excitement from nothing¡­¡¯ Looking at the floating book once more, Leo took out the sword from the ground as he clenched the handle with both hands. As a reader, there was indeed more to look forward to in a book! Feeling slightly less fearful of the coming event, Leo resumed swinging his sword with more enthusiasm, looking forward to further progress... Chapter 18 - The Satisfaction of Progress! Chapter 18 - The Satisfaction of Progress! ¡°Hahhhhhh¡­¡± Letting out a big breath, Leo headed towards the cart and put the sword back into its sheath before collapsing on the ground. ¡®This much should be enough.¡¯ Having spent two hours on sword training, Leo didn¡¯t have any strength to do anything straining left. He simply stared at the bright sky as he inhaled and exhaled to flush out the exhaustion. Although he didn¡¯t spend as much time as he did on weightlifting, Leo was more satisfied with the result of his sword training in comparison! That was especially the case after he inspected the personal book! ________________________ Personal Skills: --------------- ¡®Swordsmanship¡¯ - Prologue - page 7/10 ________________________ Despite only doing minimal practice like basic sword moves and getting familiar with handling a real sword, doing so for two hours after an intense workout was half-torture. However, the result was enough for Leo to call it a great day! Progressing one more page didn¡¯t seem like much, but considering he was barely on page two with all he knew on Earth including the few days he tried kendo as a hobby, this page meant a lot more. Furthermore, this page of progress wasn¡¯t even the complete result of realizing and digesting what he received from ¡®Skill Reading¡¯, Leo had merely familiarized himself with part of what he received. In fact, if he didn¡¯t know that exceeding certain limits could cripple him, Leo wanted to spend more time training, at least until he digested everything! ¡®I finally got a taste of it myself.¡¯ Having been a reader since he could remember, Leo had lamented the lack of certain abilities that various protagonists had like the rest of his fellow readers. A status panel and the measuring device were definitely on the top of his list. The reason behind that was simple. Exerting effort for the sake of a certain target was great and all, but feeling great only at the end of the road wasn¡¯t. If goals or achievements had some sort of progress bars attached to them, people would have been more productive in general. Otherwise, people on Earth wouldn¡¯t have too invested in games that provided them with that step-by-step satisfaction! Precisely because of that, the only side hobby that Leo managed to persist on was working out. After all, not only could he see visible progress directly in the form of changes to his body, but he also enjoyed the satisfaction he felt after successfully finishing a workout session.The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Nonetheless, Leo believed that he would have been more invested if he had some sort of a status panel that showed the result of each training session in numbers rather than progress that could only be confirmed every few weeks or so. Even protagonists of some novels emphasized that they felt more motivated after receiving a ¡®system¡¯, a ¡®watch artifact¡¯, or anything similar to a progress monitor! ¡®Bookie has been silent since then.¡¯ After congratulating himself for receiving a taste of the ability that he wanted for so long, Leo went back to analyzing the nature of his ability while resting. ¡®Book¡¯ was none other than the name that he gave to the mysterious voice as it was both awkward and cumbersome to call it ¡®the voice¡¯ every time. Since the words he spoke out got written into the ¡®Personal Book¡¯, then naming it ¡®Book¡¯ didn¡¯t feel too strange. He was originally wondering if he would receive another message from ¡®book¡¯ after his ¡®Swordsmanship¡¯ progressed by a page or more, but Leo had now confirmed that this wasn¡¯t the case. It didn¡¯t seem like he would receive spam messages for every slight ability increase like some protagonists did. ¡®That¡¯s better.¡¯ Putting the ¡®Personal Book¡¯ away, Leo stood up as he patted the dirt off his clothes, taking out the second bucket of water to re-refresh! Regardless of there being monitored progress or not, nothing could beat a shower after exerting a lot of physical effort! ¡®Time to hit the Blackbird¡­¡¯ Despite feeling slightly sleepy, Leo put away the thought of taking a nap as he left the cart in its place and marched on to the town; he didn¡¯t plan to incorporate mid-day sleeping into his routine until tomorrow. After all, there was still a lot that needed to be prepared for the sake of his ¡®home defense¡¯ plan, and considering that a great part of it relied on Crane to forge it, Leo had to spend a big deal of his time today to discuss the blueprints he had in mind with Crane. The reason he even spared some time on the first day for training was just so he would start getting used to it as time was tight. Otherwise, he might have just spent the whole day in the Blackbird. ¡®It¡¯s already different.¡¯ As he reached the blacksmith district, Leo lightly smiled as he observed the visible change that had taken place. Unlike before when the Blackbird could be easily overlooked, the strongest sound of hammering now came out from it even though only a day had passed. Various onlookers were attracted to the enthusiasm that seemed to radiate from the Blackbird, only to be greeted by a tightly shut door. ¡°heh¡­¡± Leo couldn¡¯t help but laugh about the irony of the situation. It was mentioned in ¡®The Sword Master¡¯s Second Life¡¯ that Crane named his shop the Blackbird to symbolize a furnace that has lost its heat, only producing burnt ashes as a ¡®failure¡¯, yet the shop currently appeared to be the most active in the whole district. ¡®Motivation is a strong feeling.¡¯ Wishing to be pushed this strongly by the same feeling, Leo was infected by the radiating enthusiasm as the accumulated fatigue seemed to be leaving his body. ¡°Who is it this time?!¡± A slightly irritated voice came from behind the door as Leo grinned once more, it was likely that Crane had a few earlier visitors thanks to his enthusiasm. ¡°It¡¯s me, Arthur.¡± ¡°Oh! Arthur! You came just in time!¡± Just as Leo was wondering about the quick change in the mood... [ Plot change confirmed. Unique event occurrence has been detected. ] Chapter 19 - Plot Change! Reading Points! Chapter 19 - Plot Change! Reading Points! [ Plot change confirmed. Unique event occurrence has been detected. ] ¡®Eh?¡¯ A shocked expression covered Leo¡¯s face as he stood in place. Unlike last time when he was trying something for the first time, he was simply doing nothing but waiting for Crane to come over and open the door which was actually shut this time. Despite that, Book didn¡¯t fail to startle him with its straight voice. However, as Book¡¯s messages didn¡¯t stop there, things became a little bit clearer. [ Side-Character ¡®Crane¡¯ has managed to learn a preliminary technique that¡¯s out of Book 1¡¯s setting under the Reader¡¯s influence. ] Click! ¡°Your timing is great, I just finished what we planned yesterday! Come on in !¡± Crane opened the door with a face full of smiles, urging Leo to get in with great excitement. ¡®This is¡­ the cause of the message?¡¯ The first thing that Leo¡¯s eyes laid on was none other than a sword that still had vapor emitting out of it. The blade was slim, double-edged, and had a rather short length of about 50 cm. Its handle was a simple black encasing covering its bottom, giving it an overall feel of being simple yet efficient. Regardless of all of that, what caught Leo¡¯s eyes was none other than the sword¡¯s quality, the smooth surface, and the even edges were simply incomparable to the sword¡¯s ¡®brother¡¯ from yesterday. Just from looking at it, one could tell that Crane had got the hang of forging with alloy steel! Naturally, this wasn¡¯t the ultimate result of forging with alloy steel, but it definitely deserved Bookie¡¯s evaluation of Crane having reached a preliminary understanding. Based on this deduction, Leo was confident that Book¡¯s message was the result of Crane¡¯s finishing of this sword. However, what he wasn¡¯t sure of was why did Book notify him of this change. Fortunately for him, this wasn¡¯t the end of the messages either. [ Calculating the value of the plot change according to its impact¡­ ] [ Calculating the Reader¡¯s contribution to the plot change¡­ ] [ Calculation complete. You have received 10 Reading Points! ] ¡®Calculating¡­ Reading Points?¡¯The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Reaching this point, the confusion in Leo¡¯s mind started to clear out as he connected the dots and remembered something he read earlier. ¡®To influence!¡¯ Since he had confirmed that no one could see the personal book other than him with Annie¡¯s help, Leo didn¡¯t hesitate as he just called it out to reconfirm what he saw. [ Note: The Reader is advised to observe and influence the events of the book. ] ¡®So this is what it meant by that?¡¯ Having been thinking about this specific note that seemed to be more like an overall goal in comparison to the ¡®Main Quest¡¯, Leo was slightly excited to have finally found a clue! Although he didn¡¯t know what Reading Points were supposed to be used for, it was easy to conclude that it was some sort of value. Even though he might not be able to use it yet, an option for using it might pop up at the right time just like ¡®Skill Reading¡¯ did. What deserved contemplation was the criteria that identified a plot change. Leo couldn¡¯t help but wonder if saving a random person that was supposed to die in the novel would also be a plot-changing event or not. Was Book¡¯s emphasis on Crane being a ¡®Side-Character¡¯ supposed to be the dividing line? Furthermore, despite not knowing the value of the Reading points, to Leo, 10 seemed like a small number in comparison to introducing modern concepts into a fantasy world. ¡®It¡¯s probably because it¡¯s Crane¡­¡¯ Knowing that Crane was unlikely to spread what he learned in a way that would cause great change was one of the reasons Leo had chosen him as his money-making target, so it made sense that the plot change caused by Crane learning a modern technique wasn¡¯t of great value. ¡®I lack something to compare to anyway.¡¯ Since this was his first time encountering this event, Leo could only shrug it off till he had another sample to compare with before making a final judgment. ¡®Let¡¯s focus on what I have to do for now.¡¯ Considering that this event didn¡¯t have any direct impact on his overall situation, Leo didn¡¯t plan to waste time thinking about it. Instead, he moved his gaze from the sword as he turned to talk to the excited Crane just before the silence made it too awkward to talk. ¡°I must say I didn¡¯t expect such a fine result this soon even when I was thinking about it, my brother did say you were special¡­ but you should start taking care of yourself.¡± Despite the fact that Crane¡¯s excited state made it hard to tell, Crane seemed too exhausted once one inspected him with careful eyes. Leo could tell that the dark circles around Crane¡¯s eyes had grown darker and his face looked slightly more haggard. It was likely that he had pulled an all-nighter to practice for the sake of making this sword in its current state! ¡°Are you serious? Do you think I could actually sleep even if I wanted to after what you had shared with me yesterday? Besides, that¡¯s none of your business. I only agreed to accept your forging orders, not orders regarding my health!¡± Although seemingly impolite in the way he spoke, Leo knew that Crane was just spouting nonsense due to the excitement. The large grin on his face easily gave it out. ¡°Alright, alright, you can do what you want, but you better not mess up my stuff!¡± Not willing to back out, Leo grinned as well as he spoke in a commanding tone. After all, it was true that Crane agreed that he would trade the favor he owed Leo by unconditionally accepting all of his forging requests as long as it wasn¡¯t something out of line. So Leo at least had the right to jokingly order him around! ¡°You brat! It seems like your genius isn¡¯t the only thing that surpasses your age, you are just as cheeky!¡± Crane gave a heavy pat to Leo in response before he headed towards the table as Leo followed him. After all, they still had a lot of work to do... Chapter 20 - Final Preparations Chapter 20 - Final Preparations Poke! ¡°Ha?¡± Feeling something tickling his face, Leo rubbed his face in confusion as he tried to go back into dreamland, but the tickling didn¡¯t stop! ¡°Who¡­?¡± As he started to feel annoyed by the constant tickling, Leo opened his eyes to check out the source of this annoyance, only to find two pairs of eyes staring at him. ¡®Huh?¡¯ Finally starting to wake up, he looked at the two adorable faces that were staring at him, one of them was human, but the other wasn¡¯t¡­ ¡®OH!¡¯ Completely awake this time, Leo remembered why he started his morning this way. ¡°Is it already 8?¡± He had been too engrossed in planning traps along with Crane yesterday to notice that he ended up returning late, so he left a note beside his siblings¡¯ beds to wake him up at 8 AM if he wasn¡¯t already awake by then. Leo wasn¡¯t the one to usually need someone to wake him up, but what he did the day before was simply out of his usual routine. ¡°It¡¯s already 10, I only woke up now so I came to wake up big brother!¡± Shaking her head adorably, Annie reported the time, prompting Leo to shake his head as well. ¡®It seemed that I underestimated the fatigue I accumulated yesterday.¡¯ As for the other pair of eyes¡­ ¡°That¡¯s an interesting way to wake me up, but thank you still.¡± After patting Annie, Leo removed the small creature that was standing on his chest, which was the source of all the tickling that woke him up. Meow! It was none other than the familiar white-furred cat that usually moved around the area the Orphanage was, Arthur himself was the first to get familiar with the cat, so Leo had a strong impression of it. ¡®I miss my own cat¡­¡¯ Trying not to remind himself of the world that he wasn¡¯t even sure he would be able to return to, Leo gave the cat to Annie, before handing her a small piece of candy. ¡°Here¡¯s your reward for waking me up, remember to only eat it after breakfast!¡± ¡°Thanks, big brother!¡± Annie excitedly held the candy high up in her hands as if she was holding a bar of gold before putting it away and hugging Leo with the cat in between. ¡°Alright, alright, don¡¯t worry, there¡¯s more where that came from! By the way, do tell mother that I wouldn¡¯t be here for breakfast, but I will be there for lunch.¡±This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. After enjoying the wholesome hug, Leo left his hammock and gave Annie one more pat before walking away. ¡°Got it!¡± Not forgetting to retrieve the two buckets that he put away, Leo took a detour to the water stream that¡¯s close by to wash his face and fill the buckets. ¡°Refreshing!¡± Feeling like he was just revived, Leo lifted up the two full buckets as he went back on his way to his training spot. On the way there, Leo couldn¡¯t help but zone off as he thought about the last few days that he spent in this strange yet mesmerizing world. Although things have been going smoothly so far, he didn¡¯t have much time to enjoy things due to the edge that came with the coming ¡®event¡¯ Yet, as time went by, he understood the charm of a novel world to him even more. Unlike how things were in his world, where he would be constantly looking for new books to ¡®devour¡¯, in this world, his reading ¡®addiction¡¯ had calmed down quite a bit. Moreover, his sense of enjoyment felt like it was enhanced, even for the little things that usually didn¡¯t matter or count. ¡®It¡¯s getting better by the day.¡¯ The only explanation that Leo could come up with was that he could be said to be currently ¡®Reading¡¯. In fact, one of the very few words that he remembered ¡®Book¡¯ to have said before he was sent here was ¡®Reading¡¯ itself. ¡®Alright, that¡¯s enough overthinking for the day.¡¯ Shrugging off the thoughts and ideas swimming in his head, Leo put down the two buckets at the training spot that he arrived at before walking off again. ¡®It¡¯s time to start the actual routine.¡¯ Unlike the day before where he was just getting started with planning, today was the day to start the routine that he planned to follow for what was left till the upcoming ¡®event¡¯. At the very beginning, Leo put ¡®warming up¡¯ as a target, lasting for about an hour to two. Starting by foraging the forest before hitting the town to grab some breakfast. Even though 1 or 2 hours might seem like too much for warming up, that was just Leo¡¯s secondary purpose, his main purpose was none other than the foraging itself, especially what he specifically foraging. ¡®This one!¡¯ As he walked slowly through the forest, Leo suddenly stopped in front of a certain beautiful flower, but instead of admiring its beauty, he put on a pair of gloves he bought yesterday before picking up the flower and throwing it into the small bag beside his pocket. ¡®It¡¯s a good catch.¡¯ Around the place where the flour was taken out, there was nothing growing but mushrooms, even grass disappeared for a certain perimeter around the spot. The reason behind this was obvious, this flower was an especially poisonous one! This was precisely the target of Leo¡¯s ¡®foraging¡¯, after having started on producing traps as well as gaining the basics of swordsmanship, the only vital part that was left to prepare was poison to complement the traps. After all, while some traps had high lethality, there was a limit to what they could do to adult sword breath users, if they weren¡¯t enhanced by something like poison, then the 12-year-old Leo would lose his chance to face them off as a group. ¡®Thank god the author liked to add a lot of filler content. Hehe...¡¯ Leo laughed a bit as he thought about the ironic situation. Back when he first read the novel, the readers had always complained about the author adding too much filler in an already short novel. However, it was that filler that helped him in his current situation! If it wasn¡¯t for the fact that the author added a lot of scenes where the main character would talk to one of his companions who was a botanist, Leo could have had it harder to solve his predicament. Although a flower like the one he just found had obvious signs, not all were like that, and the effect of using the modern world¡¯s method in a fantasy world was bound to be limited, not to mention the methods of the poison extraction itself. ¡®It isn¡¯t much, but that¡¯s enough for today¡­¡¯ Unfortunately, after searching a certain part of the forest for an hour or so, Leo didn¡¯t manage to find any other plant that he was after, he decided to be content with what he got and headed back to town to grab breakfast. Splash! After a satisfying meal and a quick shower, Leo continued the rest of his routine, starting with three hours of weightlifting, and following along with two hours of sword training, he finally took another shower before he went back to the Orphanage to have lunch with his siblings. Spending some time playing with his siblings, he left the Orphanage once more and headed to the Blackbird, returning three hours later for dinner before sleeping early. That was how Leo spent the following few days... Chapter 21 - Basic Swordsmanship Chapter 21 - Basic Swordsmanship Swoosh! Deep within the forest that surrounded the small town, wind rustled through as if to respond to the soft sound produced by the smooth blade that kept moving nonstop. ¡®It¡¯s still stuck.¡¯ Having already grown used to checking the Personal Book whenever he wanted to, Leo didn¡¯t stop his training or lose his focus, simply glancing at his target part with slight bitterness. Over a week had already passed since he had standardized his training and routine, with only one day left before the unwelcome event. However, one of his few topics of focus, ¡®Swordsmanship¡¯ didn¡¯t seem like it wanted to move after reaching a certain point. ________________________ Personal Statistics: ---------------- Physique: 0.82 Mind: 1.3 (+1.9) ________________________ Personal Skills: --------------- ¡®Swordsmanship¡¯ - Prologue - page 10/10 ________________________ While his Physique showed an increase of 0.01 today, his ¡®Swordsmanship¡¯ has been stuck on 10/10 for four days so far. The progress overall wasn¡¯t small considering the start and the lack of time, but Leo couldn¡¯t help but be disappointed since he anticipated the change that would follow the completion of the so-called ¡®prologue¡¯. ¡®I guess this might be how far simple modern sword books can get me¡­¡¯ Naturally, Leo understood where the lack was, the Personal Book was nothing more than a parameter that measured things, ¡®leveling up¡¯ wasn¡¯t going to give him an increase in ability. In fact, it was the opposite, the change of the ¡®level¡¯ simply meant he grew stronger through his efforts. Unfortunately, having already digested what he obtained through ¡®skill reading¡¯, Leo knew that simple training wouldn¡¯t push him further without more information to base his training on. ¡®It¡¯s disappointing but I can¡¯t just stop.¡¯ Despite that, Leo didn¡¯t plan to abolish his sword training until he obtained more source material. Just like he lacked practical knowledge of the sword, he also lacked familiarity and experience. Even if he obtained a part of that through ¡®reading¡¯, it was greatly incomplete.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. Less than two weeks ago, he was just a modern human whose concept of fighting was purely fictional. No matter how much he knew or read, he would remain inferior to the people of this world whose lives revolved around the sword. If he didn¡¯t put in the effort for the sake of minimal progress, he would be stuck in place. Using it against the Fanged Wolves wasn¡¯t the main purpose of his sword training from the very beginning, Leo already knew two weeks of training wouldn¡¯t amount to much, especially with the lack of sword breath. This was mainly in preparation for the phase where he would solve his problem and obtain sword breath. As a person who never held an actual sword before, Leo didn¡¯t plan to slack off on it to even slightly catch up with monsters like the main character who held nothing but the sword. Otherwise, it would be better to give up on following the main quest and let the Fanged wolves end things early. Even if it was unknown if he could live through his first ordeal, Leo didn¡¯t plan to remain stagnant. ¡®Feeling progress is great, but it¡¯s not an addiction¡­¡¯ Although he convinced himself of that, his doubts were undeniably growing stronger as the date of the upcoming battle grew closer and closer. However, just as Leo cleared away his thoughts, and focused on his sword to banish these doubts. Something broke out of its ¡®long¡¯ period of silence. [ The prologue of the Reader¡¯s ¡®Swordsmanship¡¯ has ended. ] [ ¡®Swordsmanship¡¯ has been corrected to ¡®Basic Swordsmanship¡¯. ] [ The first chapter of ¡®Basic Swordsmanship¡¯ has started. ] The state of forced immersion that Leo had put himself into was also forcefully broken by the sound, but he didn¡¯t mind as he glanced back at the book to see the changes announced by ¡®Book¡¯ reflected in it. ________________________ Personal Skills: --------------- ¡®Basic Swordsmanship¡¯ - Chapter 1 - page 0/10 ________________________ The change and its timing were surprising, but Leo didn¡¯t simply feel happy about it. Instead, he pondered about it even more. ¡®Basic¡­ is this a good change or a bad change?¡¯ As things have progressed similarly to what he had guessed, Leo questioned the title change of the skill. Did it mean that his skill was lacking to be called anything but basic? Or was it the opposite? ¡®Perhaps it¡¯s only now that I can even call it basic.¡¯ He could now understand the reason for the long delay, the ¡®level¡¯ of ¡®Swordsmanship¡¯ wasn¡¯t only influenced by the basis and the technique itself, it even encompassed familiarity and experience with the sword. It was only now that he was familiar enough with the sword to be judged to have reached the ¡®basic¡¯ threshold. Reaching this far in less than two weeks could be called a small achievement, but it was greatly supplemented by ¡®skill reading¡¯, if it wasn¡¯t for it, Leo knew that even a month of ¡®familiarity¡¯ wouldn¡¯t even compensate for the difference. ¡®Well, if I do survive, I will have more than enough time to make up for my shortcomings.¡¯ Having come to realization of the aspect of ¡®Swordsmanship¡¯ and the Personal Book¡¯s judging criteria, Leo felt slightly enlightened and encouraged. No matter how little it was, every bit of effort did matter, regardless of how much it did. ¡®Tomorrow is the big day.¡¯ After Leo was done with his sword training, his mind felt like a rollercoaster of emotions and thoughts. He was undeniably afraid of failing the plan, but a huge part of the fear was suppressed by the excitement that looked forward to experiencing the true wonders of this fantasy world, strengthening his resolve in return. Shrugging the distraction off, Leo put his swords away before he marched once again towards the Blackbird, it was finally time to pick up the finalized items. After two weeks of preparation, it was finally time to put his plan in motion! ¡®I will at least make sure they regret this.¡¯ Although Leo wasn¡¯t completely confident when it came to surviving, he was at least confident that he would make the Fanged Wolves suffer! Chapter 22 - Arrival of The Event Day! ‘Home Defense’ Plan Starts! Chapter 22 - Arrival of The Event Day! ¡®Home Defense¡¯ Plan Starts! ¡®I should get up¡­¡¯ Lying in his hammock and staring at the gigantic sword on the horizon, Leo started gathering his will to leave the bed¡­ In reality, Leo had already woken up a few hours earlier than scheduled, almost at sunrise, unable to indulge in sleeping more than necessary. The reason for Leo¡¯s insomnia was very obvious, his mind was simply too active thinking about how today would end. Although he had completed every last bit of his preparations, almost to perfection, Leo still couldn¡¯t help exchanging thoughts with himself as both excitement and anxiety had engaged in an ¡®emotional¡¯ battle of their own. Having woken up that early, Leo didn¡¯t surrender to his overthinking and instead kept going through the plan he put for himself today, trying to itch what he already memorized even deeper into his head. Leo wasn¡¯t the type to overdo things, but he couldn¡¯t start his plan too early since he wasn¡¯t the only participant in it. Besides, nothing much changed just because he woke up early. if his mind was too stubborn to accept resting, then he would at least rest his body as much as he could considering how much he had to exert it later. ¡®No matter the result¡­¡¯ The first thing he did after washing his face was head to the big bakery in town. After all, the first segment of his ¡®home defense¡¯ plan started with treating the whole Orphanage to another special breakfast. ¡°Wake up everyone, I have got a surprise for all of you!¡± Although slightly earlier than the usual average waking up time of his ¡®siblings¡¯, Leo gently shook his siblings one by one to wake them up before throwing the bait. ¡°Big brother got us meat buns again!¡± As usual, Annie was the first to get up as she immediately recognized the familiar smell. Despite the fact that the quality of their food increased thanks to Leo¡¯s ¡®donation¡¯, the meat buns that started that trend still had their special place in the hearts of the little kids. ¡®If only it wasn¡¯t this expensive¡­¡¯ Receiving the same reaction for the meat buns, Leo felt slightly helpless. If this was his world, having something like meat buns every day wasn¡¯t that hard, but due to the special setting of this word, even meat buns were treated as a sort of ¡®luxury food¡¯. Even his bag of shiny ¡®gold swords¡¯ couldn¡¯t allow him to spend this much on food. Not to mention his ¡®siblings¡¯, even Leo had to switch his breakfast into something cheaper, pursuing nutrition rather than taste. Although there were more than a few ways to earn money using his modern knowledge, He didn¡¯t plan to get swept into money-making before he had a solid spot to stand on, that was disregarding the possible butterfly effect that modern knowledge could have. ¡®It¡¯s not worth it.¡¯ While changing the plot and the setting could allow him to gain ¡®reading points¡¯ taking that last incident as a reference, Leo didn¡¯t find it worth losing his ¡®future knowledge¡¯ advantage in exchange for ¡®points¡¯ that had an unknown value. No matter how much its worth was, even if they surpassed gold in value, they would be cheaper than sand if he ended up dying due to the aftereffects. ¡°I know that I have been rarely joining you for breakfast lately, but thanks to that, I have managed to prepare a small surprise for us!¡±Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. After the buns had been distributed and everyone settled in and started eating, Leo paused to introduce the start of the plan. ¡°Anoder surrprise?¡± Annie questioned with a full mouth that only made her look cuter. She and the other kids thought that the meat buns were enough as a cause of celebration, they didn¡¯t expect that the surprise Leo mentioned was something else. ¡°Mhm, most of you don¡¯t know, but I managed to get a good job at one of the smithies in town. The boss there treats me very well, and the pay is also great. In fact, right after God¡¯s help, he is the main reason why we get to eat better as of late!¡± Switching into Arthur¡¯s way of speaking, Leo started explaining the situation in order to reach his target. ¡°Woah!¡± ¡°Anyway, as we spend quite a bit of time swamped by work, we make small talk by exchanging our thoughts. Since he knows I¡¯m part of our family, he always keeps asking about my brothers and sisters who are the best in the world. He didn¡¯t stop talking about wanting to meet all of you, so today we are going out on a small field trip!¡± Responding to the interest shown by his siblings¡¯ surprised sounds, Leo continued telling the story he cooked up. Only a quarter of it was true, but it was the setting that he and Crane came up with for the sake of his plan. ¡®More like an evacuation trip¡­¡¯ ¡°A field trip?¡± This time, it was Ria that spoke out. She had been silent trying to enjoy the joyful mode as much as possible, but she couldn¡¯t help but raise her eyebrows when she heard Leo¡¯s last words. ¡°Yes, considering today is the smithy¡¯s monthly break. The boss has suggested we do a house visit so he could finally meet my siblings, while they get to see the cool stuff he made. Ah, don¡¯t worry, all of the dangerous stuff is kept away.¡± Leo did his best to sound like Arthur disregarding the influence of his main personality, but he still noticed the worry on Ria¡¯s face. ¡°Are you sure this is a good idea? We don¡¯t want to impose¡­¡± Ria couldn¡¯t help but have countless scenarios play out in her head. Did this ¡®Boss¡¯ have bad intentions towards her ¡®children¡¯? Was this the reason he was treating Arthur this well? All the worst possibilities ranging from simple accidents to child trafficking went through her head, but as she saw Arthur staring at her with ¡®those¡¯ eyes, all this worry vanished, shifting its direction to something else¡­ ¡®Something is wrong¡­¡¯ ¡°We can go, right?¡± As Leo followed up with this question, coupled with the expectant eyes of the children, Ria could only nod in confusion. She could tell that Arthur had another important reason behind this ¡®field trip¡¯. Even as the only ¡®adult¡¯ in the Orphanage, Ria often relied on Arthur as she did with his ¡®older brother¡¯. Despite being ten years older than him, Arthur was something more mature than her thanks to the influence of his abnormal ¡®older brother¡¯. If he needed them to leave the Orphanage today, then something must be happening. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s get ready, help each other get dressed, we are going on a field trip. No running though.¡± ¡°Yay!¡± Trying to hide her worry, Ria confirmed her answer as the kids jumped with joy before hurrying to change. Only Leo stood in his place as he smiled and nodded. ¡®It worked.¡¯ Leo let out a sigh of relief deep inside. While it wasn¡¯t shown much in the novel due to the little ¡®screen time¡¯ the Orphanage got, Arthur was quite a smart kid, the influence of the protagonist who entrusted the job of protecting the place to him wasn¡¯t small, which made him an anchor that even Ria sometimes relied on. Being Arthur himself, Leo knew that the special ¡®leave it to me¡¯ look didn¡¯t always work on Ria. Thankfully, Ria seemed to be even more affected by it than usual, otherwise, the first segment of the plan might have failed considering how suspicious its details were. ¡®That¡¯s the best I could do with the time I had¡­¡¯ Seeing Ria¡¯s expression that seemed like she wanted to talk, Leo pointed to his ¡®siblings¡¯ who already changed. It didn¡¯t take much time considering their age. ¡°Haa. Great, you are all ready. Every three hold each other¡¯s hand, we are having a ¡®field trip¡¯.¡± ¡®Success!¡¯ Letting out a sigh, Ria smiled before she announced the start of the ¡®evacuation trip¡¯, consequently blowing the horn for the start of Leo¡¯s ¡®home defense¡¯ plan! Chapter 23 - Crane’s Transformation Chapter 23 - Crane¡¯s Transformation After enduring the countless stares that rained on our little ¡®squad¡¯ of kids, Leo¡¯s ¡®siblings¡¯ stormed into the Blackbird with anticipation. ¡°Oh, you are finally here!¡± However, the first thing that came into Leo¡¯s sight threw him into confusion. If it wasn¡¯t for the voice that was still familiar to him¡­ ¡®This is¡­ Crane?¡¯ Other than the voice, Crane went through a miraculous change. His hairy face that made him look like a hobo bigfoot was no longer there, instead, it was replaced by a handsome face with a neat haircut and a groomed short beard. Furthermore, his baggy workshop clothes were replaced by a set of casual slim-fit clothes. If only the first impression was taken into consideration, one could easily mistake him for a noble. ¡®His background does fit, but isn¡¯t this too exaggerated?¡¯ If the old Crane looked more like a beggar, the current Crane seemed like a royal. Even though the author had hinted towards Crane having a special background, Leo didn¡¯t expect this transformation after just asking him to clean himself up a bit. ¡°Arthur? Are you planning to stand still like this for long?¡± While Leo was still in shock, his ¡®siblings¡¯ had already run to Crane who ¡®bombed¡¯ them with candy, even Ria who was still hesitant seemed to relax a bit as she stepped in. ¡®This makes my job easier¡­ but why do I feel slightly irritated?¡¯ Crane didn¡¯t even seem to be faking his fondness for the children, and the children seemed to easily accept his amicable face in return. Leo could barely comprehend the change that even extended to his personality. What happened to the grumpy guy that he met at the very beginning? ¡®It¡¯s great that I had such a positive effect¡­ I guess.¡¯ ¡°Ah, no, I was just taking a quick look to make sure nothing dangerous is in the open.¡± Just like Crane that changed, the unclean smithy full of ash was squeaky clean, even the fire in the furnace was put off. Furthermore, all the failed weapons and sharp objects that had littered the place had all disappeared, shocking Leo even further. ¡®Just how did he do all of this in one day?¡¯ Considering the effort that has been put into all of this, Leo understood that it was unlikely for this ¡®house visit¡¯ to be the main motivation behind it. Instead, it seemed like Crane had merely used it as a trigger for the change. ¡®Not that it¡¯s that important now.¡¯ As a reader, Leo couldn¡¯t help but theorize the reason just like he did when he read interesting novels. However, he quickly tried to suppress the urge since it wasn¡¯t the time to think about it with his life on the line. After organizing his thoughts once more, Leo walked towards the couch where Ria was seated and sat beside her as he watched Crane playing with the children. ¡°I thought Arthur was exaggerating when he spoke about you all, but now I think he did the opposite! You really should have come here earlier!¡± Perhaps it was because they were related to the protagonist, but Leo couldn¡¯t deny Crane¡¯s words. Just like both Crane and Arthur who were special to varying degrees, all of the children in the Orphanage were extremely adorable. In fact, if they weren¡¯t supposed to die today, one could say that they had rubbed off quite a bit of protagonist aura from the main character.This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. ¡°You flatter us, sir Crane, I¡¯m more impressed by your hospitality.¡± Time seemed to flow by quickly as Ria watched the children play with Crane while exchanging a few words themselves. On the other hand, Leo barely relaxed as he kept replaying the next part of the plan in his head. Without anyone noticing, it was already past midday as Crane put down Annie before proposing lunch. ¡°I made this myself, even though I¡¯m a blacksmith. I must say that I¡¯m pretty confident with my cooking!¡± Crane proudly announced as he started the fire in the pot that he had prepared earlier, moving on to the table and distributing the plates. ¡°No need to be reserved, just hop on into whichever chair you like, the food should be ready to serve in a few minutes.¡± Although Ria was slightly embarrassed by how straightforward Crane was, she couldn¡¯t really refuse the lunch that he had already prepared with how friendly he was, especially with the children¡¯s eyes sparkling in anticipation for a change of palate, having already been stimulated by the smell. ¡°Then we will have to impose on you, sir Crane.¡± With Ria finally standing up and pulling out a chair to sit on, the obedient children quickly did the same. Despite wanting to do so much earlier, they knew that they had to restrain themselves outside. In fact, the only reason they played this freely with Crane was that Leo vouched for him. The way they were raised as a ¡®family¡¯ wasn¡¯t just for show. ¡®Let¡¯s do our best so this laughter can last longer¡­¡¯ Being the last to move into the table, Leo couldn¡¯t help but feel emotional observing the delight of his siblings. Ever since he came to this world, he experienced a lot of emotions that he could only feel through reading before. For the sake of this vibrant life, he didn¡¯t want this world to collapse. ¡®Why do I suddenly feel slightly edgy?¡¯ ¡°Alright, you can dig in.¡± While Leo was doubting the possibility of an edginess infection from the protagonist, Crane had already served the stew he heated along with a few pieces of soft bread. After observing the appetizing plate, Leo brought the spoon to his mouth. ¡®Is there nothing that he isn¡¯t good at¡­ eh?!¡¯ Entertaining the possibility that Crane was a hidden protagonist himself considering how good he was at everything after his transformation, Leo was taken by surprise as he tried his hardest to resist spitting what he just tasted¡­ ¡®So he is the ¡®legendary¡¯ cook character?¡¯ Compared to the appetizing smell and appearance, the taste reminded Leo of a certain stereotype character that appeared in a few novels he read. Not knowing what to do, Leo could only look at Crane whose face turned green, seemingly realizing the taste of the food he was proud of. ¡°Ahem, it seems like the seller had sold me spoiled ingredients. Forgot about this stew, we will regrettably have to do with the food of the restaurant across the street¡­¡± Quickly collecting plates that were thankfully untouched by the rest of those on the table, Crane put them aside, rushing to the door. ¡°Sir Crane, no need for that, we can just end¡­¡± Having not tasted the food yet, Ria confusingly tried to convince Crane that there was no need to change it considering how it looked, but Leo was quick to stop her, though Crane was faster to leave the smithy. ¡®Should we leave¡­?¡¯ Not unsure what to do, Ria considered just leaving, but quickly refused the idea considering its rudeness. In the end, she didn¡¯t get to think much as Crane returned with a restaurant worker transporting meals into the table. Looking at Crane who started eating himself, trying to hide his embarrassment, Ria repressed her thoughts and just started eating herself. The atmosphere on the table could only be described as awkward at the beginning, but as the children ate with zeal, the smithy turned cheerful once more as they started conversing while eating. Being the first one to finish, Leo put his utensils down and wiped his mouth before standing up. ¡°Since I¡¯m done eating, I will head out to prepare for tomorrow. I will see you all a bit later.¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± Hearing Leo¡¯s intent and seeing him acting on it, Ria stopped eating herself and stood up, only to be stopped by Crane¡¯s gesture. ¡°Don¡¯t worry and just continue your meal. You see, today might be a break for the smithy but he still has work to do for tomorrow. You can all stay here until he is done¡­ what he has to do, can only be done by himself.¡± Klang¡­ As the sound of the door closing could be heard, Ria sat down helplessly. Whether it was intentional or unintentional, Crane¡¯s words clearly resounded in her mind as she remembered the look she exchanged with Leo. Chapter 24 - Setting Up The Field Chapter 24 - Setting Up The Field ¡®That¡¯s one thing settled¡­¡¯ Having left the Blackbird in a hurry, Leo let out a sigh of relief when he didn¡¯t see Ria coming after him, he at least didn¡¯t have to worry about them today. ¡®It¡¯s now up to him.¡¯ Even if the Fanged Wolves were to figure out their location, Leo was at ease as Crane was more than enough to handle them. After all, while Crane wasn¡¯t someone who liked to get involved, he also wasn¡¯t the type to sit still if someone invaded his ¡®territory¡¯. Furthermore, seeing how Crane liked his ¡®siblings¡¯, Crane was confident that the first part of his plan was a great success. ¡®It¡¯s time for my preparation now.¡¯ Hastening his steps, Leo made his way back to the Orphanage in a hurry. While the Fanged Wolves would only attack by nightfall as mentioned in the novel during the follow-up investigation, Leo had left especially early in order to set up his ¡®field¡¯ in preparation for their arrival. The first thing he did after arriving was taking out his cart, before emptying it into a large box he had specially prepared for today. Following that, Leo pulled his cart into his hidden training spot, filling it up with some of the materials that he had stashed there. ¡®This is the last one.¡¯ The same process was repeated a few times before Leo finally came back with the last batch. However, he was moving particularly slowly this time, as the items he was transporting this time were mostly stored in glass. Even though Leo was extremely determined to finish this as early as possible, he didn¡¯t dare to screw this up. After all, If the contents in the glass containers leaked out, then let alone his plan working, he might even help the Fanged Wolves finish their mission early¡­ ¡®Safe¡­¡¯ After spilling a lot of sweat on the way and having a few close calls, Leo was finally able to rejoice that the first task of the second segment, ¡®setting up the field¡¯, was done. ¡®It¡¯s really hard to escape death.¡¯ Unfortunately, Leo¡¯s happiness didn¡¯t last long as he knew that the following tasks would only get more dangerous. Even in the best-case situation, he would end up ¡®gift wrapped¡¯ for the Fanged Wolves as a ready-to-kill target suffering from paralysis. Nonetheless, only by using such dangerous objects could he think of escaping inevitable death. Since he had the choice, Leo desired survival even if he were to die trying.The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡®It¡¯s too late to back off now, anyway.¡¯ After transferring all the materials into the small shack, Leo steeled his resolve as he proceeded into the next task, pulling a roll of thin thread and a small hammer out of the box before slowly taking a few steps out of the shack. Following that, he took out a small bundle of nails from his pocket, and moved a few more steps to the side, before nailing one of them to the ground. Having successfully hammered the nail just enough so that it would be hidden by the long grass, Leo took a few more steps circularly before bending down to repeat the earlier nailing process. ¡°Not bad.¡± Reaching the first nail he hammered down after walking in a full circle, Leo grabbed the roll of thread that he had laid down beside the nail, fastening its end to the nail and quickly moving towards the next nail. After he fastened the thread to the second nail, Leo took out a small bell that had a thread attached to it and tied it to the thread that hung between the two nails. ¡®Done¡­?¡¯ Looking around to make sure he only left one opening so he could finish his preparation, Leo went back to the shack, holding a shovel as he went back out. Directly getting to work, he pushed the shovel into the ground, spending the next half hour digging several pits of certain patterns and depth. Gulp¡­gulp¡­ Putting down the shovel, Leo grabbed his wooden water bottle and emptied it into his mouth, wiping away the sweat that was dripping from his forehead. After this brief pause, Leo resumed his preparation, collecting the dirt he dug in his cart before pulling it away and dumping it deep in the forest. Leaving the cart there, he returned and went through the opening he left before closing it off with another thread and heading back into the shack. ¡°Here we¡­ go!¡± Grabbing the wooden box that was full of mechanical parts into the center of the ¡®ruined¡¯ ground, Leo started pulling out certain parts, installing the traps into their specific spots. Due to the complicated process for setting up the traps, an hour went by before Leo was finally able to empty the box, carefully walking back into the shack so that he wouldn¡¯t trigger anything that he had set up. ¡®Next is¡­¡¯ Shivering slightly, Leo went into the shack and brought out a batch of the glass vessels filled with ¡®colorful¡¯ liquid. He had already worn his pair of thick gloves before opening one of them and replacing the lid with a dropper-like head. The light of the sun was already starting to fade by the time Leo managed to finish applying ¡®color¡¯ all over the traps. He let out a long sigh of relief, thanking God that no accident had taken place. After memorizing the spots where the traps were laid once more, Leo went back into the shack, only to come out dragging a few large sacks. One of them had grass that he had freshly pulled out earlier while digging, the other sacks, however, were ones he had already prepared throughout the last week. Trying to do it as accurately as possible, Leo distributed the grass over the traps in a careful manner, balancing it to be the right amount just to cover them up while not standing out. ¡°This should ha¡­ do it.¡± Looking at the calming green patch that was full of deadly traps, Leo had a big grin on his face. The sun was already setting, but he could be said to have finished in time. Retreating into the shack again, Leo collapsed into one of his siblings¡¯ beds. It was finally time to rest, but Leo¡¯s head was still very active as he anticipated the arrival of his special guests, his smile twisting slightly... ¡°I will be waiting!¡± Chapter 25 - Nightfall Chapter 25 - Nightfall ¡°So this is the home of that righteous trash?¡± A large man with a grim face spoke out in an angry town as he turned to the group that was following him. ¡°Yes, team leader! That greedy broker asked for a large sum just to reveal such simple information. It seems like that hateful kid really cares about the people who live here to put that much effort into hiding its location.¡± The large man¡¯s frown turned into a smile as he imagined what that brat¡¯s face would look like after they were done with this place, but it didn¡¯t take long before the smile dissipated. The man¡¯s face quickly distorted as he seethed with rage fueled with pain. Even then, his face still looked particularly remarkable, the large horizontal scar that went through half his face was hard to miss. ¡®This is only the beginning! You will definitely regret what you did to me!¡¯ Ever since that night when he got into an argument with that arrogant brat, he was no longer capable of laughter or smiling. The constant pain that he felt from the wound that took one of his eyes kept him frowning all the time. Every time he remembered that brat¡¯s face, his face felt like it was burning, so he developed the habit of beating someone up for venting in the last few days. ¡®It¡¯s a good time to vent.¡¯ Fortunately for him, he could already see the small shack that was hidden in the periphery of the forest. If the information they bought wasn¡¯t wrong, then his most relieving venting was just around the corner. Jingle~ ¡°What was that?¡± As they approached the shack, the group of men that were walking confidently vigilantly held the hilt of their swords after hearing a soft sound. Although they were only supposed to face a group of children and a weak woman, they were still on their tiptoes in the one possible chance that the kid their boss talked about was there. ¡°Must have been the wind hitting the grass or something, no need to be that scared~¡± Despite being the first to hold his sword, one man from the group acted as if it was nothing and walked forward. While he was indeed a coward, he wanted to be the first one to have a taste of one particular target¡­ ¡°Alright, don¡¯t make any more noise. Remember to c-¡±Stolen story; please report. ¡°Gaaaaah!¡± A jarring scream sounded out just as the scar-faced leader was in the middle of his whispers. Even though the opposite of his order was carried out, the leader didn¡¯t question his subordinates, instead, he exchanged looks with them in confusion. The man who was just acting brave a second ago had disappeared, the only thing left of him was the resounding of his scream. Only the man who was just by his side could see what happened, fear apparent on his face as he stared at his ¡®colleague¡¯ who had turned into a kebab. ¡°What the heck is this?!¡± Slowly stepping back to get away from the hole full of spears, the man quickly followed the example of his friend. ¡°Kahhggg!¡± This time, the rest of the men were able to understand what just happened, what seemed like a bear trap had caught hold of the unfortunate man¡¯s leg. ¡°Traps¡­?¡± The scar-faced leader found it hard to believe how the situation turned out, but two of his men had already gone down. ¡°Everyone, stay still. Don¡¯t move around carelessly, try to look for something to disarm the traps with. As for-¡± Just as the scar-faced leader was trying to reassure the rest of his men so that they wouldn¡¯t fall into the same mistake as the other two did in panic, he went silent as his gaze focused on the second man who fell to the trap. ¡°I think he is already¡­ dead.¡± The man who had just vigorously screamed no longer showed any signs of life as foam climbed out from his mouth, his eyes turning white. ¡°...Poison?¡± At this point, the leader was unable to process what just happened at the last minute, the situation seemed to only escalate, and his head couldn¡¯t come out with an explanation. ¡°Ahkk!¡± While he was carefully looking around in search of the instigator of all of this, another man of his screamed as he was trying to pick up a pebble. This time it wasn¡¯t a trap. Thanks to the timing they chose to attack the Orphanage, the scar-faced leader had to concentrate as he looked at the body of the man who just fell, only to notice something falling out from his back. ¡°Which piece of shit did this?! Come out!¡± The object that fell was a small throwing knife, although the wound that it left was shallow, it seemed to have caused great pain to the man. ¡®More poison?¡¯ The scar-faced leader looked around with ferocious eyes, he felt scared deep inside as he looked at the man¡¯s mouth that was already foaming, but he turned his fear into anger as he finally obtained a clue of human involvement. Creaaak¡­ As he kept scanning the woods surrounding them with his eyes in search of the thrower, the leader¡¯s scarred face suddenly turned to look back at the source of the surprising sound. The door of the shack that had been closed up to now, was now open. A small figure emerged from the darkness. ¡°Another¡­ kid?¡± ¡°kgyaahh!¡± Staring at Leo¡¯s face that was hardly visible, a familiar sound invaded the scar-faced leader¡¯s ears. Chapter 26 - True Purpose Chapter 26 - True Purpose ¡®As expected, it¡¯s hard.¡¯ Having been tempered by the countless killings that he read in novels, Leo wasn¡¯t very affected by the sight of death that he had caused, especially when it was deserved and with a proper cause. However, he was frowning due to having missed his target. While he had spent some time trying to train in knife throwing, Leo didn¡¯t invest much time into it. After all, unlike swordsmanship which was easier to get into, ¡®throwing¡¯ wasn¡¯t a simple technique that could be grasped in less than two weeks. The ¡®Personal Book¡¯ that didn¡¯t show any new skill in the list was a testimony to that. Furthermore, the books that he had read about throwing knives amounted to zero, it wasn¡¯t something that was common to being with. As such, knowing that his accuracy would still be horrible even if he invested a large part of his limited time to it, Leo had opted to focus more on things that would be more helpful. ¡®But this is enough¡­¡¯ Despite wasting over 5 knives coated in poison just to hit his target once, Leo was more than satisfied by the result, he didn¡¯t plan to kill all of the enemies with them anyway. They had their very own purpose. Unfortunately, he could no longer just watch from the safety of his ¡®home¡¯. It was time to proceed with the last stage of his plan. ¡®Haaa¡­¡¯ Drawing in a big breath, Leo tied the curtain back to close the hollow window before walking out. ¡°Another¡­ kid?¡± Looking at the intended confusion that the Fanged Wolves¡¯ team had been thrown into, Leo took his chances as he drew out another throwing knife from his belt. ¡°Kgyaahh!¡± ¡®Nice?¡¯ Unexpectedly, his first try at the second target managed to make contact, Leo was barely keeping himself from smiling as he managed to get the best possibility, thanks to that, he got the most intimidation effect he could get. ¡°Boss¡­? Should we retreat?¡± One of the more ¡®brave¡¯ subordinates spoke out as he stared at the frozen scarface. He himself could also not understand what was going on, but he was afraid of death. Taking any step forward would spell his doom, and even standing in place couldn¡¯t guarantee his safety, the only difference was how painful his death was going to be. ¡®I need to get out of here!¡¯ The only one who held a grudge with their target was their new boss, he was a member of the branch guild, he felt no need to see this mission through.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Furthermore, as the eyes of the strange kid that seemed to be wrapped in leather shone as he stared at them, he couldn¡¯t help but feel ominous. ¡°Retreat? How can you be such a coward?! It¡¯s only a small kid using tricks, one stab is enough to kill him.¡± Having slightly come back to his senses, the scar-faced leader yelled at his subordinate. Retreating? Just seeing the same insolent eyes of that kid filled him with unending anger. The only way he could relieve it was to crush the kid before him! ¡°You know what? Since you want to leave, let¡¯s do it this way. You can go through the trap that was already used on one of the two idiots and get the kid. If you do this, we all get to leave! Great, right?¡± Looking back at his chicken-like subordinate, the scar-faced leader showed a rare smile as he suggested. He couldn¡¯t feel any sword breath on this kid, unlike the other brat. As long as these traps were disarmed, he was nothing but a punching bag for him. ¡°I¡­ understand.¡± The eyes of the subordinate screamed with horror, but as he saw the scar-faced leader was placed on his sword¡¯s hilt, he ¡®bravely¡¯ accepted the boss¡¯ suggestion. ¡®Plan A failed¡­¡¯ After hearing the ongoing conversation, Leo could only sigh deep inside. While he did the best he could to intimidate the Fanged Wolves¡¯ team, it seemed like their leader was very determined to finish the mission. It seemed like there was no escape from confrontation. The fear of standing still that he had instilled was no longer useful. After all, he could no longer use his unskilled throwing to target those out of the boundary of his ¡®field¡¯ now that all eyes were focused on him, otherwise, it would lose its original purpose in his plan. ¡°I¡¯m coming to get you, little brat!¡± Looking back at his boss, the subordinate didn¡¯t dare to dally as he steeled his resolve. While there was a chance that he could survive trying to catch the kid, if this new boss who had the worst temper was angered further, he could immediately lose his life. ¡®I can do it.¡¯ Feeling somewhat confident, the man didn¡¯t advance immediately, instead, he grabbed a copper coin from his pocket before throwing it slightly further away from the guy who was caught in the bear trap. ¡°Here I come!¡± Seeing that the coin hit the ground normally, the man felt even more confident. He was originally afraid of the surprising throwing knives, but the kid had strangely stood still after his last throw. ¡®He is probably afraid of me.¡¯ Smiling at the kid who was still staring at him, the man continued using his method to move forward in steady steps, feeling fearless as he advanced further. Chhit! Throwing the coin once more, the man was startled by the sound that was coming from the kid¡¯s direction, quickly realizing that he had drawn another knife. Whirr! Seeing the knife thrown in his direction, the man panicked, but he managed to react in time thanks to his desire for survival! ¡®I¡¯m¡­ alive?¡¯ Not feeling that anything had hit him, the man cheered to have managed to avoid the hit. However¡­ ¡°Heh, cheap tric-¡± Click. Before he could finish what he wanted to say, a mechanical sound made its way into his ears. Unfortunately for him, it didn¡¯t come alone. Trik! Kik! Kik! Half a dozen arrows had suddenly penetrated his back! ¡®First Kill.¡¯ Chapter 27 - Consecutive Kills Chapter 27 - Consecutive Kills ¡®First kill.¡¯ Despite having already caused the death of a third of the squad, Leo only counted the first victim to be his first kill. The reason for that was simple, this was his first intentional kill. Unlike the first two who simply died due to their ignorance of the ¡®field¡¯ he had set, or the other two that were killed by the inaccurate knives that he threw for the sake of intimidation, Leo had particularly killed this man using his battle plan. Considering that he lacked both physical strength and sword breath at the moment, Leo had set his ¡®field¡¯ for the sake of killing the Fanged Wolves¡¯ team. Unlike the straight-forward traps set on the edge of the ¡®field¡¯, the ones that were installed deeper into the circle were designed so that they would kill every target in their ¡®area¡¯ as long as they were triggered. The true purpose of the throwing knives was none other than to force the thugs to fall into the traps he had installed. Although this didn¡¯t count as true confrontation either, Leo believed that the kills he earned through this method were his since he was forcefully ¡®handicapped¡¯. ¡®Eight more to go¡­¡¯ As silence pervaded for a few seconds, Leo stared back at what was left of the dozen-men squad who were hiding behind their leader, making calculations to prepare their path to death. ¡°Freaking cowards! How long are you going to stay still like this?! Are you gonna cower in place just because that dog died thanks to his incompetence?¡± The scar-faced leader¡¯s temper flared as he perceived the boy¡¯s stare as if he was mocking them. Feeling both shame and anger, he drew his sword and roused his sword breath to intimidate the rest of the men. However, unlike the first man who was quick to accept his fate in fear, these men who had witnessed his fate weren¡¯t as eager to try their luck. Even in the face of confirmed death, dying to these traps covered in horrible poison seemed more intimidating¡­ ¡°I see¡­ Since none of you want to do it, how about I do it instead?¡± Hearing their boss¡¯ magnanimous suggestion, the horror on the subordinates'' faces subsided. Whether the boss really caught the kid or not didn¡¯t really matter, as long as he either succeeded or died to the traps, they would survive this seemingly never-ending night! However¡­ ¡°But.¡± Swoosh! ¡°If I¡¯m to do it myself, then I have no need for the rest of you!¡± Rattle¡­ Rattle¡­ Just as the men were rejoicing deep inside, horror found its way to their faces once more as they stared at the object that rolled their way. The object itself shared the look on their faces. After all, it was nothing other than the head of the man standing the closest to the scar-faced man!Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. Thud! ¡°I will do it!¡± As the corpse of the man collapsed to the ground, the man that was closest to him shouted to announce his willingness to follow the boss¡¯ command, fear controlling his mind once more. ¡®...Seven more to go.¡¯ Ever since the possibility of intimidating the Fanged Wolves¡¯ team to leave from the very start had vanished once, Leo didn¡¯t consider it anymore. In fact, he was ¡®grateful¡¯ to the boss for being so resolute. Having already revealed his plan, it would be more detrimental if the leader was to act more reasonably. With the possibility of a tactical retreat to counter his ¡®field¡¯ out of the way, Leo was confident to survive his ordeal. ¡°Then go.¡± Having surrendered to his will to live even a second longer, the second subordinate picked up a small pebble from the ground to imitate his predecessor¡¯s method. Although using a larger object to detect the trap seemed like a better method, with the example of the earlier victim dying to the spreading steel arrows, triggering traps indiscriminately was scarier than securing a step¡¯s space. Despite the fear of the poisoned knives still persisting, the man took his chances and used the same path his predecessor had used. Chhit! However, he still didn¡¯t dare to relax, his worry proving necessary as he heard the sound of the boy drawing another knife. ¡°Hah!¡± Expecting this to happen, the man didn¡¯t panic with the earlier experience as his guide, quickly moving backward and stepping back on his colleague¡¯s body where the steel arrows trap had already triggered. ¡°Who¡¯s smart now?¡± Feeling smug about himself for surviving the boy¡¯s trick, the man smiled at him. However¡­ ¡°Khaak.¡± Something had lodged itself into his body! ¡®Second kill.¡¯ Unlike the last time, Leo didn¡¯t stand still, instead, he threw one knife after the other, managing to land one on the smug man¡¯s body thanks to him standing still for a few seconds. ¡°Do I need to waste my breath on all of you again?¡± Unaffected by the man¡¯s death as if he had already got used to it, the scar-faced leader glared at the rest of his subordinates, prompting the one currently closest to him to silently walk towards the shack. ¡°Gkahk!¡± ¡®...third kill?¡¯ Fortunately for Leo, the man didn¡¯t seem to have particularly learned anything from the earlier two experiences. Despite using the same method as them, he walked carelessly enough to trigger a trap before he even reached the two dead bodies piled on top of each other¡­ ¡°Ptuff! Stupid!¡± Spitting on the ground, the scar-faced leader cursed the man for his ¡®noble sacrifice¡¯, glaring at the next man to proceed. As if they had already resigned to their fate, the turn whose turn had come walked into the ¡®field¡¯ sweat piling on his forehead. Acting as carefully as possible by taking each step after testing for traps every single time, the man successfully crossed the three dead bodies and reached the farthest spot ever reached by the Fanged Wolves¡¯ team. Wherr! Regrettably, as if his luck had reached its end, the man classically fell to another trap while trying to avoid another throwing knife. ¡®Fourth¡­ kill.¡¯ However, despite managing to reduce the number of his opponents to less than a third, Leo wasn¡¯t exactly cheerful as his body tensed up. After all¡­ ¡®It¡¯s time.¡¯ A straight path to him was completely cleared! Chapter 28 - True Confrontation Chapter 28 - True Confrontation ¡°Hahahaha!¡± The scar-faced leader burst out laughing despite the pain coming from his scar intensifying, seemingly uncaring about the deaths of his subordinates. ¡°I must say, I have really underestimated how nasty your tricks are. Even though they look like this now, these guys are actually quite up in the ranks of our branch guild, but you managed to reduce them to corpses in so little time. However¡­¡± ¡®A psychopath¡­?¡¯ While Leo was readying himself for the upcoming predicament, he was surprised by scarface¡¯s change of tone. Despite being exposed to this horrifying incident, the man quickly recovered and even felt more nonchalant than before. It looked like the pressure broke him in the wrong way. As the cause of these deaths, Leo understood that he wasn¡¯t normal either as he barely felt anything. However, it wasn¡¯t hard for him to understand how skewed the mindset of the Fanged Wolves¡¯ team leader was, especially considering they went as far as to kidnap harmless children as a side job... ¡°...Now that you have run out of tricks, do you want to beg for mercy? Who knows, I might even spare you if you do.¡± The scar-faced leader amusingly suggested, thanks to the unusual behavior of the resolute boy as well as the mental pressure he underwent, he had already considered this boy and his original target as one. At this point, even the constant pain was starting to fade away against the ecstasy he felt as he imagined that haughty kid begging for his life. ¡°No? Alright, it won¡¯t be late for you to do so after being caught.¡± Seeing that the boy remained silent, the scar-faced leader shrugged as he gestured for the men to move on. ¡°Leave it to me!¡± Unlike his ¡®past¡¯ colleagues, the man whose turn had come was full of smiles for having barely survived this ordeal. He proudly went ahead with the intent to quickly end this hellish night. Taking brave large steps towards the shack, the man didn¡¯t even need to test for traps as the traps in the specific path his predecessors had stepped through were already triggered. All he needed to do was catch the kid to be able to leave with his head intact! ¡®Here it comes.¡¯ However, unlike what the man expected, Leo didn¡¯t cower in place, flashing out of his spot as adrenaline flowed through his body. Even with all his preparations, Leo already knew that he wouldn¡¯t be able to finish off the Fanged Wolves¡¯ team without making a move himself, but that didn¡¯t mean that he planned to abandon his ¡®field¡¯. ¡°You rat!¡±This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Having already stopped over the last corpse blocking his way, the man screamed at the boy that would have fallen in his clutches soon enough. It wasn¡¯t that he didn¡¯t want to do some extra work, but¡­ ¡®This was supposed to be my chance to survive!¡¯ While it made sense for a scared kid to run, the infuriating boy didn¡¯t run into the shack like a good chicken, instead, he ran into his circle of traps! Feeling the horror creeping back to him, the man couldn¡¯t help but look back at the terrified faces of his dead colleagues, contemplating if he should just walk back. However, as he was greeted by the boss¡¯s glare when he looked back, the man quickly abandoned his thoughts as he in turn glared at the kid moving through the dark. ¡®Perhaps¡­¡¯ Unknowing if he had suddenly grown too smart, the man took slow steps as he observed the kid who was fearlessly through the deadly traps, quickly coming to an understanding. ¡®I¡¯m a genius!¡¯ Although they had already considered the area to be a pit from hell, the man believed that they had simply been deceived by the boy. After all, wasn¡¯t he able to safely run through the area? As long as he followed the path the boy took, he was bound to catch him eventually while still being in one piece! ¡°You are done!¡± Hastening his steps, the man confidently followed the boy around, his confidence increasing as he successfully avoided falling into any of the traps. Moreover¡­ ¡®Got you!¡¯ As if he had already realized that man had almost caught up to him after picking up the pace, the body had already stopped running. The confident man believed that he had already succumbed to his fate. ¡°Alright, be obedi-¡± Believing that the kid planned to surrender to him, the man reached his hand to his inner pocket to grab some robes... Swoosh! However, contrary to his expectations, the boy¡¯s livid expression didn¡¯t betray any hint of surrender as he quickly drew the now recognizable sword from his back and slashed at the man. ¡°This crazy¡­¡± Hurriedly drawing his own sword, the man successfully blocked the attack that didn¡¯t seem to hold much power, but his expression had completely changed as he looked at the boy¡¯s sword. The sword¡¯s craftsmanship appeared impressive, but that wasn¡¯t what drew his attention, it was rather the mixed green and purple liquid that decorated its blade¡­ Recognizing the liquid thanks to the corpses he just walked over, the man¡¯s hand that was holding the sword slightly trembled in response. ¡®Now!¡¯ Taking this as a chance, Leo withdrew his blade and directly stabbed in the direction of the man¡¯s belly instead of slashing this time. ¡°Eeek!¡± Despite losing focus out of fear, the man that was still one of the cream of the crop in the Fanged Wolves¡¯ branch guild used his quick reflexes to dodge the attack since his hand was still shivering in fear due to the liquid that oozed onto his blade. Unfortunately¡­ Click. After successfully causing the man to move, Leo had already dashed away. Only distinguishing the result from the sound that quickly reached his ear. Thud. Not even managing to scream to announce his death, the man¡¯s almost headless corpse fell to the ground thanks to the mini-arrow shower blowing his head away. ¡®Fifth kill...¡¯ Sweat crawled down Leo¡¯s face as he glanced at the remaining three men, adrenaline still being pumped out. Despite his preparation, he simply couldn¡¯t stay calm when it came to true confrontation. Chapter 29 - Out of Cards Chapter 29 - Out of Cards ¡®Fifth kill¡­¡¯ Leo put his sword back into the sheath filled with poison as stepped through the dangerous field. Every second or so, he would cautiously look at the three men. Despite the supernatural strength of swords empowered by sword breath, the wielders of these swords were ultimately still humans, a fatal attack was enough to take their life. However, as the ones holding such powers in their hand, injuring them was impossible if one didn¡¯t at least have equal power. For someone like Leo, killing them the normal way would be as tough as climbing Mount Everest in a few hours. Fortunately for him, the users of sword breath still had a few weaknesses. One such weakness would be ranged weapons such as arrows or javelins that took away sword breath¡¯s advantage in close combat. However, unlike such weaknesses that would lose their advantage against sword breath as the user¡¯s rank increased, poison was still the most prominent weakness that sword breath users had. ¡®Even the protagonist almost died from poison¡­¡¯ Nonetheless, the use of poison was still greatly restricted in the world of ¡®The Sword Master¡¯s Second Life¡¯. It wasn¡¯t that a force imposed that restriction, but poison users themselves, the reason for that was very simple. In order to rely on poison to combat sword breath users, one had to be ready to lose his life in the process! Unless poison that could kill almost instantly upon application was used, poisoning a sword breath user wouldn¡¯t guarantee your life. Even having a few more seconds in his life was enough for the sword breath user to take the enemy down with him. Naturally, Leo knew all of this, which was why he was using a particular blend of poison that was as effective as instant death poison could get. In his situation, he was more than ready to die to his own poison rather than surrender his life to the Fanged Wolves. Still, in order to survive as much as possible, other than his eyes, Leo as a whole was wrapped in makeshift leather armor. Only then was he bold enough to fill his sheaths in poison, running around a poison field and slashing with swords soaked in poison. ¡®They are coming.¡¯ However, Leo didn¡¯t simply rely on poison. In fact, if there was a factor more vital to his plan other than poison, then it would be the element of surprise! Having come here with the plan to crush a group of little kids, the Fanged Wolves¡¯ team wasn¡¯t prepared for anything, just a few simple steps managed to claim the lives of two of them. The other deaths were quite similar, other than the two unlucky sacrifices, the rest of the men were killed as they were surprised by the tactics that were thrown at them out of nowhere. Unfortunately, that was only the case down to the one who had just died. Leo¡¯s ¡®field guerilla¡¯ tactic was the last card he had to play in the ¡®confrontation¡¯ segment of his plan, he had no more surprises left, and the men were already exchanging looks whose meaning he could predict. The only thing that he could rely on other than the remaining part of his ¡®field¡¯ was his limited sword skills¡­The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°It seems like our little rat already realizes he is cornered seeing how restless he is getting. You already know what to do, right?¡± The scar-faced leader quickly gestured to the last two men, regardless of how smart the two were, they understood that going in alone increased their chances of death. Even the one whose turn was last nodded as he didn¡¯t want to bet his life on the success of his colleague. ¡°Mhm.¡± The two men quickly marched through the open path, circling around the shack they tried to trace the safe spots that the boy had walked through. After observing for a few minutes, the two nodded at each other again before sprinting into the field with coordinated movements. As flexible as the body of a small kid was, it still couldn¡¯t beat the speed of the two grown adults, as per their expectations, the body suddenly stopped as if he hit the brakes. ¡°Heh, do you think we will fall for this trick again?¡± Having held back on running with all their force, the pair stopped in safe spots in front of the boy who had drawn out his ¡®colorful¡¯ sword once again. Expecting this course of action as well, they already drew out their swords once they stopped. However, unlike their predecessor, they didn¡¯t stop at that. A sharp aura rose from their body as a faint halo spread out around their blades, they had gone all out and even used their breath in their fight against the ¡®helpless¡¯ boy. ¡°The poison on your blade is indeed scary, but how long do you think your sword would last under ours?¡± While the pair wished they could just kill the kid to remove the threat of his nasty poison, they knew that their heads would roll if they disobeyed their new boss¡¯s order of capture just like their colleague that made an example for them. As such, they only planned to destroy the sword that threatened their lives instead. Unlike their predecessor who had underestimated the boy¡¯s close combat ability, they wanted to deprive him of any means of resistance that could potentially cost them their lives. Woosh! ¡°Uhk.¡± Despite being prepared when the boy slashed at them, the pair quickly took a few careful steps back as the boy¡¯s slash didn¡¯t go as expected, he had actually stopped the slash mid-way, only using the sword as a medium to splash poison at them! ¡°You wicked rat!¡± Although the pair managed to successfully evade the slash of liquid, they were delayed long enough for the boy to dash away and restore some distance between them. ¡°Keuk.¡± ¡°Uck.¡± ¡°Ewk¡­¡± The grunts of the pair kept sounding out as the body kept applying his newly conjured ¡®hit and run¡¯ tactic, making the whole chase seem futile. ¡®Here!¡¯ However, different from what they thought, Leo wasn¡¯t doing this out of desperation. Having reached his destination, he stopped even quicker than usual, risking falling into his own trap. ¡°Hold still!¡± Experiencing a mental breakdown thanks to the dozens of close shaves with death, one of the two men couldn¡¯t hold back as he tried to directly grab hold of Leo. ¡®Not yet¡­¡¯ Trying to seem as calm as possible, Leo felt the second pass like it was an hour, waiting for the correct timing. ¡®Now!¡¯ Just as the man¡¯s hand was above Leo¡¯s shoulder, a familiar sound crept into the guy¡¯s ear, horror apparent on his face. Click. ¡°Gyaak!¡± Another scream rang out in the deadly field! However, before it completely faded, what seemed like a resonance of sounds could be heard. ¡°Gyakk!¡± Chapter 30 - Final Struggle Chapter 30 - Final Struggle Despite having had almost two weeks for the sake of preparation, Leo¡¯s preparation couldn¡¯t be said to be completely perfect. Having had to spend most of the time he had left after training, processing poison, or planning for the mechanical traps, it could be said that Leo spent the largest portion of his time preparing his ¡®field¡¯. Since he had decided on using extreme lethality to deal with the lethality of a sword breath user, Leo naturally didn¡¯t forget to perfect his ¡®weapon¡¯ as much as he could. However, being tight on time after finishing the preparation for his ¡®weapon¡¯, the tactics that he came up with when it came to using this ¡®weapon¡¯ were still rather limited. That was just how hard it was to deal with a sword breath user. ¡®Now!¡¯ After running out of cards in the process of disposing of close to a dozen men, Leo was left with no choice but to rely on innovation. The ¡®hit and run¡¯ tactic he applied was something he had come up with on the spot. Regardless of how creative someone could be, coming with a solution to a hypothetical situation was always harder than coming up with a solution after experiencing the situation for real. That was precisely why simulation was a necessary process in the modern world. Being on the brink of life and death was naturally a great factor to give the final ¡®push¡¯ to ideas! Having come up with the ¡®cornerstone¡¯ of the plan, all that Leo needed to do was build around it. Relying on the intimidation effect of his ¡®poison slash¡¯, he was able to break the focus of one of the two men, using his speedy steps to deceive the man about the specific safe spot to step on. Click. ¡°Gyaak!¡± Almost throwing away all caution and risking being affected by the trap, Leo didn¡¯t completely retreat after the trap was triggered. Immediately making use of the confusion the triggering had caused the other man to truly stab him this time! While the man was skilled enough to at least block Leo¡¯s stab, most of his attention was on his colleague, trying to understand the situation and avoid getting affected by the trap, not to mention having lost his focus under Leo¡¯s latest tactic. Ultimately, he ended up being stabbed in the lungs, becoming Leo¡¯s first direct kill... ¡°Gyakk!¡± ¡®It worked!¡¯ Leo didn¡¯t even bother retrieving the sword that was protruding from the man¡¯s chest as he quickly retreated. His heartbeat dramatically increased having survived the immediate dilemma. ¡®This...¡¯ Finally coming back to his senses from the momentary trance, Leo looked down to see a part of the leather covering his stomach had been torn. It seemed like a needle of the ¡®honeycomb¡¯ that had just activated had gone his way.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. ¡®Phew.¡¯ Fortunately, the needle didn¡¯t reach his skin, having only torn the leather and covered it with ¡®color¡¯. Seeing this, Leo didn¡¯t panic as he walked back to the two men that had already become corpses, tearing a clean part of their clothes to wipe the poison away. Expecting something similar to happen, Leo had specifically chosen the ¡®honeycomb¡¯ that spat out needles due to the low damage stray needles did. Since he was risking taking damage from his own trap, he picked the one that had the lowest ¡®area of effect¡¯ damage. Wishsh! Drawing out the sword that was stuck in the man¡¯s chest, Leo finally looked back towards the scar-faced man that motionlessly watched what had just happened. Clap! Clap! Clap! ¡°Useless trash, they still died after all. I should have expected that someone associated with that brat wouldn¡¯t be normal. Seeing that you managed to kill the whole team without having a hundredth of his strength, I believe you are even better than him.¡± Breaking his silence, the scar-faced leader who no longer had a team to lead walked slowly towards the ¡®field¡¯ as he clapped his hands in admiration. ¡®He is dangerous.¡¯ Staring at the scar-faced man as he grew closer, Leo felt slightly shaken. Unlike the ones he managed to kill, this man had completely overcome the confusion and fear that he had instilled at the very beginning. He appeared to be very nonchalant about the whole situation. ¡°Well, I did help you take care of one, but let¡¯s not get into details. To be honest, it feels like a pity to just capture you now. What do you say about becoming my underling?¡± The scar-faced man had yet to step into the field, throwing a look to the head he had sent rolling before smiling at Leo. ¡°Still no? Do you have to heartlessly refuse all of my offers like this? Well, I guess I will have to beat some sense into you first.¡± ¡®Was he hiding it?¡¯ Leo¡¯s mind was thrown into confusion, the scar-faced man had strangely transitioned from a man with fiery temper into a ¡®snowman¡¯. At this point, Leo even doubted his earlier thoughts about being the trigger to such a strong mentality change. ¡°Here I come.¡± The scar-faced man voiced out the same words as his subordinates. However, as if he didn¡¯t care, he continued stepping forward without circling around to go through the cleared path. Retreating in the opposite direction, Leo observed the scar-faced man, a threatening thought forming in his mind. ¡°I must really say that I¡¯m a big fan of your ¡®killing field¡¯. However¡­¡± The scar-faced man smiled at Leo as if he saw through his thoughts, not even bothering to look at the ground as he advanced. ¡°It¡¯s already useless.¡± ¡®So, that¡¯s why¡­¡¯ As he walked back while watching the scar-faced man take more steps, Leo completely understood the man¡¯s crazy behavior towards his subordinates. ¡®He used them to make a map.¡¯ The scar-faced man hadn¡¯t been merely hiding behind as he watched his men die as Leo thought at first. He was simply making use of his ¡®resources¡¯ to ¡®decrypt¡¯ the ¡®field¡¯ that Leo had painstakingly created. Thinking back to it, Leo also understood the reasoning behind the men that he threw to clear the path. It was obvious to him now that they were necessary distractions to make him unaware of this development. Having been completely focusing on survival, Leo naturally didn¡¯t have time to care about the little details¡­ ¡°Well then, shall we dance?¡± As the scar-faced man casually walked closer, Leo put his sword back into its sheath so as to re-¡¯color¡¯ it. It seemed like he was forced to engage in a final struggle for the sake of survival. Chapter 31 - For Survival Chapter 31 - For Survival ¡®He really hid it well¡­¡¯ Despite being intimidated by the confidence of the scar-faced man, Leo didn¡¯t immediately believe in the guy¡¯s words. However, as he increased the gap further and tried to confuse the scar-faced man just like he did to his recent victim, Leo completely confirmed that his guess was indeed true. Unlike the pair who had traced his path through direct observation, the scar-faced man already made his own map from watching his men dance around the deadly field. Rather than bluffing, Leo felt like the man underplayed his words instead¡­ ¡®I¡¯m really out of cards now.¡¯ Despite the worsening situation, Leo found himself getting increasingly calmer, trying to make use of that, he quickly came up with an analysis of his current situation. With the map of traps already memorized in the mind of the scar-faced man, Leo understood that he had more or less lost his main advantage that came in the form of his ¡®field¡¯. Having lost the base of his tactics, the things he could do were getting less and less¡­ In fact, Leo fully knew that just testing the scar-faced man was only possible because he was familiarizing himself with the field, and intentionally moving slowly. It was obvious to Leo that he had specifically one that to instill despair into him. Leo could particularly tell as someone who had relied on such methods earlier. ¡®Only one blank card.¡¯ However, it wasn¡¯t like he lost all advantages. Although it appeared to be useless, after the ¡®vanishing¡¯ of the ¡®field¡¯, his current main advantage was none other than the scar-faced man¡¯s will to capture him alive. Originally, Leo expected the Fanged Wolves¡¯ team to aim for his head on account of what he did as well as what was exposed in the novel, but it seemed like the scar-faced man had no such intention. The reason behind that was still a mystery, regardless, Leo intended to use it to its full potential. ¡°Done playing around yet? Shall we get started?¡± As if to express his boredom, the scar-faced man dashed towards Leo at a moderate speed, almost closing the gap that had barely formed. ¡®Running isn¡¯t an option.¡¯ Having summed up his thoughts of the situation, Leo stopped in place and drew out both ¡®colorful¡¯ swords from the sheaths attached to the back of his makeshift ¡®armor¡¯. ¡°Oh? You want to use those brushes again?¡± However, in response to Leo¡¯s actions, the scar-faced man who was already standing in front of him drew his sword. ¡®Ugh¡­¡¯ Despite knowing that he was unharmed, Leo couldn¡¯t help but frown as he perceived the feeling of being cut. The reason behind his frown wasn¡¯t the fake pain, but the cause of it¡­ ¡®Third-grade.¡¯ Although he had yet to nurture sword breath, thus being incapable of measuring the grade of sword breath, Leo knew that the scar-faced man was a grade higher than the pair he had just killed, and considering third-grade was the peak strength the Fanged Wolves had used according to the novel. He quickly came to the conclusion of the man¡¯s strength. In Leo¡¯s case, where he didn¡¯t possess a drop of sword breath, the grade of his opponent seemed irrelevant, but Leo knew that his chances of survival were even further lowered... Even so, Leo slashed his left sword towards the scar-faced man in an attempt to use the only power he currently had, the power of poison!The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Tsk, I thought you had more to show.¡± Showing no hint of fear, the scar-faced man¡¯s sword moved quickly, a dozen strikes landed on the ¡®colorful¡¯ sword before it gained enough kinetic energy to spray its poison! Swissh! ¡®As expected¡­¡¯ Taking two steps back, Leo stared at the fragments of the sword that were laid down on the ground. He knew that the same trick wouldn¡¯t work on a sword breath user of a higher grade, but he didn¡¯t regret trying it. ¡°So, will you come with me obediently now or?¡± Looking at the eyes of the scar-faced man that didn¡¯t implore that he was in a hurry, Leo sheathed the other sword, showing a hint of surrender in his eyes. ¡°Put away your sword breath first.¡± ¡°Oh! He finally speaks!¡± Speaking for the first time since the start of his encounter with the Fanged Wolves¡¯ team, Leo spoke words that indicated his will to surrender as he stepped forward. ¡°Sure, sure, if you are afraid of this, then I will put it away.¡± The scar-faced man¡¯s face was full of smiles as if he was already sure of his victory, not even a hint of worry appeared on his face. Letting out a breath as if relieved, Leo took a few more steps, only the space of two steps separated him from the scar-faced man. With resignation visible from all of his body gestures, Leo lightly lowered his head and held his hands to the front to declare the lack of resistance. ¡°Alright, now you can¡­¡± However, as the scar-faced man put his hand forward, Leo didn¡¯t finish his words as he suddenly jumped up! ¡°You¡­¡± As the scar-faced man moved his sword up in response, the sword went through Leo¡¯s abdomen before the man pulled back his sword in surprise, showing his clear unwillingness to kill. Mmm! As the scar-faced man tried to react to the situation, using his empty hand to grab hold of Leo¡¯s back, he found that Leo had already clamped his arms and legs around his body, unwilling to let go. ¡°Crazy!¡± Unable to produce enough force with his left hand, the scar-faced man quickly tried to put the sword back to its sheath so he could use both hands. However, just then, he felt the pressure that was applied to his body had lessened. ¡°...Die!¡± Barely processing what happened, the scar-faced man¡¯s eyes showed true fear at last, the ¡®colorful¡¯ body a throwing knife being reflected on them! Ssplicht! The sound of a knife penetrating flesh sounded out, the scar-faced man¡¯s eyes that were already enlarged almost jumped out of their sockets. ¡°Kgyaaaaaah!¡± Klang... The scar-faced man¡¯s mouth opened, letting out the loudest scream that had sounded out that night, his sword dropping to the ground. Unlike him, despite feeling the aching pain coursing from his abdomen, Leo¡¯s mind felt crystal clear, one particular feeling overpowered his mind as he pulled the small knife out of the man¡¯s scar. ¡®Die¡­¡¯ ¡°Die. Die. Die¡­¡± It was pure killing intent! Shlpicht! Plicht! Splicht! Sp¡­ Not sparing any thought to the man¡¯s intensified pain from reopening his wound, Leo continued stabbing and pulling the knife in and out of the man¡¯s face. The only eye that was left on the man¡¯s face was already deathly white, but the stabbing didn¡¯t stop. ¡®It¡¯s over¡­¡¯ Finally coming to his senses a few minutes later, Leo finally let go of the body that was already on the ground, half of his face already being an unrecognizable mess. ¡°Ugh¡­¡± Not even being given the chance to consider what just happened, the pain that he had finally perceived caught Leo off guard as soon as he stood up, almost causing him to sprawl on the ground like his victim. ¡®Not yet.¡¯ Not daring to collapse just yet, Leo staggeringly walked to the shack, grabbing a feel of the grass, until he pulled out a dozen of threads. Click. Click. Click. Click¡­ The sound of a screw popping out sounded out before Leo went into the house, grabbing a sack of dirt and moving to a certain spot before dumping it into the concealed pit. ¡®Now¡­¡¯ After finishing the mandatory tasks that he had set for himself, Leo barely managed to leave the boundary of his ¡®field¡¯ before he let go of his consciousness... Thud. [ ...Plot change confirmed. ] Chapter 32 - Night of Ghastly Screams! Waking up! Chapter 32 - Night of Ghastly Screams! Waking up! A few streets away from the Blacksmith District¡­ ¡°Here, it should completely heal within a month.¡± Sitting in a room filled with an herbal aroma, an elderly man firmly tied the ends of the white fabric covering the wrist of the man sitting opposite to him. ¡°Ah, thank you, doctor Kane! The voices yesterday freaked out my youngest. If I didn¡¯t react in time to catch that heavy box he dropped, my hand wouldn¡¯t have been the only broken thing you would have to fix today¡­¡± Scratching his head with his free hand, the middle-aged man awkwardly smiled at the elderly doctor. ¡°By the way, do you happen to know the cause of those screams by any chance?¡± ¡°Cough, I heard quite a bit from the words of my patients, but none of them make sense. Most of them made up some stories about great swordsmen having a legendary battle, but those ghastly screams that resounded from the forest were definitely something more than that.¡± The elderly doctor let out a small cough as a hint of fear showed on his face. Most of the people in town were curious about what happened just like the man in front of him, himself included, but no one had the guts to go check it out. ¡°Indeed, it sounded like a hellhole had opened out of nowhere. Do you think there are ghosts in the forest?¡± ¡°What? Even if I¡¯m old, I¡¯m not senile enough to discuss this foolery with you! I would rather believe the poison king had passed by the town yesterday rather than believe in ghosts!¡± As the pair started arguing loudly, their words unknowingly slipped into the ears of someone sleeping very close by, causing an expression of discomfort to cover his face. ¡°Huh?¡± The boy¡¯s eyelids opened up, uncovering different colors underneath them, still hazy from sleep. ¡®This is¡­ where?¡¯ Looking at the unfamiliar ceiling, Leo didn¡¯t bother questioning whether he was alive or not as most novel characters did. Instead, he wondered where he was. Although his memories were still hazy, Leo couldn¡¯t help but feel ironic about having fallen into such a cliche situation¡­ ¡°Oh, you are finally awake?¡± Hearing a familiar voice, Leo felt relieved deep inside. Thankfully, he didn¡¯t get to test what would happen if he died inside the novel. ¡°Did their discussion wake you up? It¡¯s not like you can blame them since you were the cause of it. You did make a mess there.¡± Finally entering Leo¡¯s line of vision, Crane smiled as he brought his chair closer to Leo¡¯s bed. ¡®I let it out...¡¯Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. Mostly remembering what happened before he lost his consciousness, Leo bitterly smiled at Crane in return. As a special reader, Leo enjoyed the privilege of obtaining various skills and abilities, but that wasn¡¯t the extent of what he obtained¡­ Skills and abilities were simply the useful parts of what he obtained, the rest were either useless or harmful, what Leo exhibited that night was one of the things that stood on the border of both. It was ¡®emotions¡¯. Compared to skills that were usually unique to the book or a certain number of books, emotions were present in every book, with every book he read, Leo gained ¡®emotions¡¯ that he wasn¡¯t the source of. As these ¡®emotions¡¯ assimilated into his own, they became part of him. Unfortunately, the stronger his emotions became, the more of a problem they caused. Having noticed this problem early, Leo mentally locked the stack of emotions with the help of mental training, keeping it under suppression so that it wouldn¡¯t affect his ¡®normal¡¯ life. However¡­ Although everything could have been said to be barely under his control yesterday, the variant that came in the form of the Fanged Wolves¡¯ team leader proved too much of a hurdle. In the end, he could no longer suppress one of these ¡®emotions¡¯ due to his own going out of control. ¡®It overflowed.¡¯ As he focused on killing his enemy to survive, he couldn¡¯t suppress his killing intent, allowing it to overtake him for a small window of time. Despite the fact that everything was already back in control, Leo felt apprehensive about the incident. Was it a good thing? Or a bad one? He felt lost. ¡°Ah, I¡¯m sorr-¡± After coming out of his trance, Leo looked at Crane in surprise as he blurted out- or at least tried to blurt out an apology before being stopped by Crane. ¡°It¡¯s okay, there is no need to apologize. I know I said I wouldn¡¯t involve myself, but I was terribly wrong. I feel ashamed having let a child like you go through this experience.¡± Staring at Crane in surprise, Leo felt slightly shocked by his words. If there was one thing that the novel had emphasized about Crane, then it was nothing other than his unwillingness to get mixed into the problems of others. To Leo, this change in Crane¡¯s personality felt even more shocking than his visual change. ¡°Besides, wasn¡¯t I the one who helped you make those¡­ ¡®machines¡¯? It¡¯s only right that I take them away myself. Though I do have to say, you really went wild with that ¡®herbal essence¡¯...¡± ¡°Haha, it wasn¡¯t like I had much of a choice.¡± Although he had concluded quite a bit about how the aftermath was dealt with from Crane¡¯s words, Leo still wanted to make sure nothing unpleasant had happened. ¡°Ugh¡­¡± However, as he tried to sit up, the pain that had subsided spread out from the wound on his abdomen. ¡°Take it easy, you lost quite a bit of blood there. We can leave the talking for later, just rest for now. Not that I think you will get to rest anyway.¡± Leaving his words behind, Crane didn¡¯t even wait for Leo to answer before he left through the door, Leaving Leo speechless. ¡®I guess this is the town¡¯s ¡®Hospital¡¯...¡¯ Looking around instead, Leo discovered it was the simple medical facility of the town. Although it was his first time here as both Leo and Arthur, Arthur had visited this place a lot as a child along with his ¡®Brother¡¯. Despite the lack of medicinal developments, Leo looked at the bandages that covered his abdomen with satisfaction. Although the doctor was a little noisy, his medical skills were acceptable. Just enough pressure was applied to the wound to stop the bleeding. ¡®Right!¡¯ Remembering hearing faint words before he lost consciousness, Leo stopped examining his wound as he called out for the personal book! [ Plot change confirmed. Impossible event occurrence has been detected. ] [ The¡­ ] However, before he even managed to glance at the new words that were inscribed into the book, ¡®something¡¯ crashed into the ¡®hospital¡¯ room. ¡°Arthur!¡± It was then that Leo got to understand the meaning of Crane¡¯s words... Chapter 33 - Impossible Event Bonus Chapter 33 - Impossible Event Bonus ¡°Here you go, open up.¡± Wondering how he got in this ridiculous situation, Leo speechlessly stared at the spoon filled with porridge standing in front of his mouth¡­ ¡°Do I really have to do th-¡± ¡°Uh uh. No complaining, we agreed that you would fully listen to me till you recover! No taking back your words!¡± The source of the hand that was holding the spoon, Ria, simply used her finger to deny Leo any more talking. Although only a smile was pasted on her beautiful face, a scary aura seemed to radiate behind that warmness. ¡°O-ok, I got it. Ahum¡­¡± Helplessly agreeing, Leo could only open his mouth and accept the spoon into his mouth, smiling awkwardly to show his obedience. ¡°Good, that¡¯s the Arthur I know.¡± Although getting spoon-fed by a beauty was always a jealousy-inducing event that caused his ¡®fellow readers¡¯ to curse the protagonists often. Leo¡¯s experience of it felt pretty awkward, even the thought of returning to the night of confrontation instead of enduring this crossed his mind. ¡°As long as you are happy, I guess¡­¡± Despite his thoughts, Leo decided to simply accept it. After all, he wasn¡¯t the only one that sacrificed for the sake of the other. Surprisingly enough for Leo, after storming into the town¡¯s medical facility the day before, Ria didn¡¯t ask about the details of the night he survived from, only asking about his health and how the wound was going. It was already obvious that something big had happened as rumors spread, but Ria acted with consideration. In return, she just asked for him to behave well until his wound healed. Naturally, Leo couldn¡¯t find it in himself to deny her request. ¡®Thankfully, Crane took care of the rest.¡¯ After Leo spent half of the day with Ria and his siblings, Crane came over once again after they left and explained what happened after Leo left the Blackbird and how he found him. Having done a great job persuading Ria to stay the night with the children in the inn that accompanied the opposite restaurant, Crane had gone to sleep, satisfied with his accomplishment of the favor. However, perhaps under the effect of the children¡¯s purifying souls, Crane¡¯s sleep, which wasn¡¯t even affected by the screams that night, broke under the guilt as he woke up in sweat. With his sword in hand, Crane dashed towards the small Orphanage which he had a hard time reaching, only to find Leo collapsed and surrounded by ghastly corpses¡­ ¡®When did I actually do that¡­?¡¯A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. According to Crane, some bandages which were cut from the roll of the Orphanage were already covering Leo¡¯s wound when he went there. Still, Crane quickly picked him up and sent him to the doctor. However, Leo himself didn¡¯t remember doing much after killing the last enemy, everything that he did after that seemed to be what he set as necessary. Even then, Leo didn¡¯t expect that he managed to do that much, his hazy memory didn¡¯t help with that either. ¡®Perhaps something else came out that night?¡¯ Fortunately, after Crane moved Leo to the doctor, he went back prepared. Wearing safety cloth, he took out the traps which he personally made before digging the dirt full of poison that surrounded the little Orphanage and burying it deep in the forest along with the bodies mixed with it. Despite owing nothing more to Leo, Crane not only managed to save him before he lost too much blood, but he also completely cleaned the aftermath, allowing Leo¡¯s heart to rest with ease. ¡®You can¡¯t die before I properly repay your debt¡­ huh?¡¯ Although Crane didn¡¯t confront the Fanged Wolves¡¯ team, which he could have easily crushed, thus saving Leo the trouble, Leo was more than happy with the help Crane had shown, especially since he could feel the character growth that Crane had gone through. Remembering the sketchy words that Crane had awkwardly said at the end, Leo could almost see the protagonist aura radiating from him... ¡®Should I finally check it now?¡¯ As Ria had already left the medical facility after feeding him and staying by his side for a bit to go take the children from the Blackbird, Leo looked around the empty room as he considered. Thanks to his siblings storming the facility after Ria to check on him, Leo never got the chance to check the personal book till now. [ Plot change confirmed. Impossible event occurrence has been detected. ] [ The Reader¡¯s character has managed to counter a fixed event of Book 1 by eliminating all of the events¡¯ element characters under his influence. ] [ Calculating the value of the plot change according to its impact¡­ ] [ Calculating the Reader¡¯s contribution to the plot change¡­ ] [ Calculation complete. You have received 100 Reading Points! ] [ As the event¡¯s rating exceeds requirements, a bonus will be given. ] [ Bonus randomization in progress¡­ ] [ Your reading of ¡®Basic Swordsmanship¡¯ has deepened as a bonus! ] ¡®Impossible¡­?¡¯ `~~~`~~~`~~~` Elsewhere¡­ The leaves danced with the wind as they fell from the trees that surrounded the big courtyard, uncaring of the world. However, before they managed to reach the ground, the leaves were torn into equal pieces. A blade that seemed to dance along with the wind precisely cut the leaves, letting out a soothing song. Observing the young man dancing with his sword, a stunning young girl took careful steps as she tried not to interrupt the beautiful song of the blade. Even so, before she got too close, the sword dance suddenly stopped as the young man sheathed his sword, turning to look at the girl¡­ ¡°Is something the matter, Tianna?¡± Despite feeling apologetic to have stopped the young man¡¯s training, the girl nodded as she handed a folded piece of paper to the young man. ¡°Yes, The shadow that was stationed ¡®there¡¯ has something urgent to report.¡± Taking hold of the paper, the young man unfolded it as he scanned it with his eyes, his nonchalant expression turning angry all of the sudden. ¡°We will set out now, please prepare the minimum package that we will need for one quick trip.¡± ¡°Understood.¡± Hearing the young man¡¯s stiff words, the young girl simply nodded before leaving the courtyard, simply acting as if the furious expression on the young man¡¯s face was nothing... Chapter 34 - First Appearance Chapter 34 - First Appearance ¡®Impossible¡­?¡¯ Looking at the new page full of words, Leo couldn¡¯t help but question the ¡®impossible¡¯ rating that the book had given to his successful survival. Although it did make sense to him that he received 10 times the ¡®Reading Points¡¯ of the last event, especially considering that it would have an impact on the protagonist, the fact that the book recognized the event¡¯s rating as above the ¡®requirement¡¯ sparked a lot of thoughts in Leo¡¯s head. ¡®Is it different from the novel?¡¯ The fact that killing the Fanged Wolves¡¯ team or at least driving them off wasn¡¯t a requirement meant that Leo would have likely survived even if he didn¡¯t do so. However, this strongly clashed with the novel, where the death of the whole Orphanage was confirmed. While it was very obvious to Leo that the Fanged Wolves¡¯ team leader wanted to capture him alive, he originally thought that this was due to his plot-breaking behavior that attracted the man¡¯s interest, but that no longer seemed to be the case. Ever since he was thrown into this world, Leo didn¡¯t receive anything from the voice nor the book. So, to suddenly receive something like a ¡®bonus¡¯ made him feel more serious than usual. It was possible that simply relying on someone to save him was the personal book''s requirement, but Leo¡¯s gut feeling denied that possibility. ¡®Am I the cause?¡¯ Taking all points into consideration, Leo wondered if this was a butterfly effect that he caused or just a misportrayal from the novel. In either case, Leo came to an understanding that the effect of knowing the events of the novel was even more limited than expected. Nevertheless, Leo was more than satisfied with what he had for now. Regardless of the future, he had managed to overcome an ¡®impossible¡¯ situation as described by the book, so he settled with feeling great and checking his ¡®bonus¡¯. [ Book 1 ] Name: Arthur (Leo Lock) Age: 12 (18) Role: Reader ________________________ Personal Statistics: ---------------- Physique: 0.83 (-0.09) Mind: 1.3 (+1.92) ________________________ Personal Skills: --------------- ¡®Basic Swordsmanship¡¯ - Chapter 1 - page 2/10 ________________________ Quests: ------- Main Quest: Reach the epilogue ________________________ Events: ------- - Teaching Crane - Unique - Counter Elimination - Impossible ________________________ Despite looking at the ¡®personal¡¯ tabs being Leo¡¯s intention, the first thing that caught his eyes was the addition to the ¡®book 1¡¯ page. Seeing the new events tab, Leo wondered about its late appearance, it wasn¡¯t like his survival was the first event he had ¡®influenced¡¯. The only things that came to mind were that it had either rating or time restriction.Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. Regardless, the tab didn¡¯t have much value other than being reference material, so Leo browsed the rest of the page as per his original intention. ¡®Is it the wound?¡¯ The next thing to catch his eyes was none other than the deducted numbers in parentheses beside his Physique. Despite increasing by 0.01 points, his overall physique was currently lower than he started. However, it wasn¡¯t hard to guess the cause of this decrement. As an impartial parameter, it made sense for there to be a temporary decrease in Physique having been wounded as well as losing quite a bit of blood. According to Leo¡¯s calculation, it should be fully restored to normal in less than two weeks. ¡®This is a pretty good function.¡¯ Although seeing the deduction mark wasn¡¯t particularly dopamine-inducing, the fact that even injuries were monitored allowed the Physique statistic to act like a ¡®health bar¡¯. If he was to be injured in the future, Leo wouldn¡¯t even need to rely on his medical knowledge to know when he fully recovered! As his eyes descended to the Mind statistic, Leo stared at it for a moment as he pondered about the reason for the increase. Even though he had already speculated that the numbers in the parentheses were his original Mind value as Leo, seeing it increase rather than Arthur¡¯s mind value made him fall into deep thought. ¡®It has to be that¡­¡¯ The only thing that happened that night which Leo could relate to Mind growth was him letting go of his suppression over the assimilated emotions, but even then, Leo wasn¡¯t sure what to make of it. Was it a good thing to let it out every once in a while? Or did it have to happen under certain requirements? Would he still be himself if he did so? Or would he just become an agglomeration of thousands of authors¡¯ emotions? ¡®Let¡¯s just be happy with my accomplishment for now!¡¯ Pushing his dreadful thoughts away, Leo¡¯s eyes finally landed on the tab that he was looking forward to, the personal skills tab! Ever since he came to after that night, Leo could feel that the knowledge that he had absorbed from sword books had increased even further. It was similar to when ¡®Skill Reading¡¯ was first activated but at a much slower but consistent rate. Having originally thought that this was the insight he gained from confronting sword breath users, it finally made sense to him after Leo checked the personal book today. ¡®It deserves to be called a bonus.¡¯ In all seriousness, Leo was more than satisfied to have received this specific bonus. Although he didn¡¯t know what were the other possible options in the randomization, the ¡®deepened reading¡¯ was what he needed the most at this moment. Even though training to get more experienced with the sword could help advance ¡®Basic Swordsmanship¡¯, it was something that had limited effect as it required time. On the other hand, receiving extra insight from his readings not only allowed Leo to directly advance his skill but also gave him direction as to how he was to further develop his swordsmanship. In this remote town where he lacked both books and teachers, such a bonus was like an oasis in the middle of the desert. ¡°Big brother!¡± In the middle of his rejoicing, Leo¡¯s thoughts were cut short by the sound of little Anne and his siblings. It seemed like Ria had brought them over for another visit. `~~~`~~~`~~~` ¡°I¡¯m heading out!¡± Announcing his departure, Leo left the Orphanage as he took slow but calm steps towards the town. Having spent a week staying at the doctor¡¯s place, this was already his third day after his dispatch. Although Leo¡¯s injury hadn¡¯t completely healed yet, unlike modern hospitals, staying for too long in this small town¡¯s medical facility that could barely count as a pharmacy wasn¡¯t possible. After gaining some freedom, Leo wasn¡¯t in a rush to start his practice again until he reached full recovery. Thankfully, Ria had already stopped ¡®babysitting¡¯ him. Since he couldn¡¯t do anything physical, Leo couldn¡¯t help but turn back to his one true addiction, leaving the Orphanage every afternoon to visit the town¡¯s library. Although the books there were either history books that held too little information or books speaking of fantastical legends, Leo still found enjoyment in reading them. However, he was elated to find out that he was as addicted. Rather, he felt like he would prefer some sword training rather than reading the library¡¯s children''s books. ¡®It won¡¯t be long anyway.¡¯ _______________________ Personal Statistics: ---------------- Physique: 0.83 (-0.01) Mind: 1.3 (+1.92) ________________________ After nine days of rest, Leo¡¯s wound had mostly closed. Thankfully, there was no infection nor organ damage, so it was nothing but a mere flesh wound. The reason he was weaker than usual was due to the blood loss. ¡®It¡¯s about time¡­¡¯ Spending a few hours in the library itself, Leo selected a few of the better books to borrow before leaving, slowly treading towards the town¡¯s entrance. Passing through, Leo walked even further till he reached a familiar spot where an old tree was erected among the short grass. After spreading a small blanket beside the tree, Leo sat down and leaned against the tree. Putting the bundle of the books to the side, he took out a pair of binoculars¡­ ¡®Not today either?¡¯ Using the binoculars to look at the area ahead, a slight disappointment appeared on Leo¡¯s face as he didn¡¯t spot any human figures. However, before he finished scanning the area¡­ ¡®This is¡­¡¯ Three small figures suddenly appeared in the binoculars¡¯ line of sight, one particular figure among them looked eye-catching regardless of his unclear appearance. Taking another look, a small smile took shape on Leo¡¯s face. It seemed like it was about time for the protagonist to finally make an appearance... Chapter 35 - Ray’s Protagonist Aura Chapter 35 - Ray¡¯s Protagonist Aura ¡®Ken Tsurugi, no. Ray is finally here¡­¡¯ Although he did need to move to recover from the ¡®rust¡¯ he gained after being grounded to bed for a whole week, Leo didn¡¯t really need to walk as far as to leave town. His real reason for his little trips out was none other than to see the main character that he expected to arrive soon. Formerly known as Ken Tsurugi, an edgy name that could be basically translated to Sword Sword, now carrying the name of Ray, the protagonist was as ¡®dazzling¡¯ as one would expect, regardless of how unclear his figure was. However, as Leo¡¯s eyes lay on him, his head hurt a little, revealing conflicting thoughts within¡­ Arthur, who Leo thought had completely become one with him, was showing longing. He on the other hand was having mixed feelings. Admiration, pity, envy, even longing. As one addicted to reading, forced to accept the pains that it brought him alongside joy, Leo couldn¡¯t help but have some sort of attachment to the protagonist. Even if he were to disregard his second persona¡¯s feeling, Leo couldn¡¯t ignore what he himself felt about a character he had once self-inserted into! Although other readers often mocked ¡®self-insertion¡¯, it was one of Leo¡¯s main coping mechanisms to bring more joy than pain. Just by looking at the main character he felt slightly liberated. Ever since he found himself within this world crafted by words of fantasy, Leo found the things that he had been searching for one by one. Starting from the disappearance of his addiction, to feeling similar joy for every action. Experiencing life as a truly normal person with all of its joys. Now, he even got to meet the character he once resonated with, elevating his thought process. ¡®Was this what I lacked?¡¯ Looking back, it wasn¡¯t even a month since he arrived here, but Leo felt like he had grown a few years¡¯ worth¡­ ¡®Hmmm?¡¯ Coming out of his trance with a clear mind, Leo observed the three figures, finally noticing the expensive carriage that was behind them. It was obvious that they couldn¡¯t have arrived that fast on their legs, but why did they dismount now? ¡®Ah, as expected of the protagonist¡­¡¯ Due to the binocular''s limited range, Leo only realized the reason now. Just opposite to Ray and his company, a few dozen men wearing glaring wolf emblems that were recognizable even from this far were blocking their path. ¡®I did plan this, but the protagonist¡¯s plot magnet is really fearsome¡­¡¯ [ A Normal event has been adjusted. Plot adjustment confirmed. ] `~~~`~~~`~~~` ¡°Well well well, if it isn¡¯t the kid who relied on his trashy morals to destroy our guild!¡± A slim man who had no defining features walked from within the crowd of the armed men. Although he seemed like a nobody, he was actually the vice-leader of the Fanged Wolves¡¯ branch guild. A sinister smile appeared on his face as he observed the trio before him. Despite the kid being the source of their main guild¡¯s destruction, he had only done so by relying on the Empire¡¯s laws. Even the team that clashed with him only reported that he was barely stronger than them. As for his companions, the girl beside the kid looked as weak as a falling leaf, and the black-roped man was just a stealthy assassin, now that he was walking out openly, he proved no threat either.A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. ¡°We were originally going to slaughter your ¡®home¡¯ to draw you out, but it¡¯s great that you came on your own. It leaves a bad taste in my mouth that you exterminated another team of ours, but I will make it up by letting you watch what we planned to do with your own eyes.¡± They were on their way to find out the reason behind their advance team¡¯s delay considering the important ¡®item¡¯ that needed to be secured for their backers. However, now that they stumbled upon the kid, the vice-leader understood that the team was likely to have been annihilated considering what they were supposed to do. ¡®Great.¡¯ Luckily, the boy didn¡¯t act smartly like he did last time, revealing himself rather than hiding to strike at the proper moment. The vice-leader felt lucky to have managed to get rid of the hidden danger to their plan. ¡°I was really sure that what I did would be enough, but I was naive. Once again, I made a mistake that almost cost me the lives of those who I cared for.¡± On the other hand, Ray stood still as he looked at the man with clear eyes, his hand clenching on the handle of the katana attached to his waist. ¡°Ho? Are you regretting screwing with us at last? Too bad, you should have done so long ago. Get him.¡± Unaware of what was about to befall him, the vice-leader mocked the young man as he nonchalantly ordered his capture. ¡°Being lenient with those who deserve death was a mistake, I¡¯m no judge, but the Fanged Wolves shall cease to exist by my sword.¡± Perhaps due to his speech that exuded a great ¡®edge¡¯, flashes of sword-shaped light started to gather around his body, seeping into it as he slowly drew his sword. ¡®He is¡­¡¯ Sspatt! The legs of the two men who were first to walk towards him froze in their place, a clean-cut forming on their necks as a pair of heads slid down to the ground¡­ Thud. ¡®...breaking through?¡¯ Unable to comprehend the situation, the vice-leader froze as he stared at the phenomena taking place. The young man was supposed to be barely a third-grade sword breath user, but the power he displayed was that of¡­ Before the featureless man managed to collect his thoughts, he felt time freezing as his view descended. Only when his face met the dry grass did he understand that he had also met his end. Even though no screams resounded, a merciless slaughter was carried out as the ground was dyed red, highlighting the lonely figure of the young man as he sheathed his sword, untainted by his victims¡¯ blood. Entranced by a great sense of familiarity, the young man felt warm as his eyes appeared completely lost. ¡°Ray¡­?¡± Having patiently waited a few minutes, the girl couldn¡¯t help but call out to the young man who stood there in trance, worry apparent on her face. ¡°...Let¡¯s go back.¡± Coming out of his trance, Ray calmly walked towards the carriage as if he had just taken a simple walk. ¡°You aren¡¯t going to visit them?¡± ¡°No, only more incidents like this will result if I show my face here. Besides¡­¡± [ To this world¡¯s protagonist, I know you have been having a hard time deciding what to ¡®do¡¯ as of late. However, I regret to inform you that the wolves you had stomped are yet to be done. Danger is looming for your ¡®home¡¯. I will do my best to fend them for now, but you will have to correct your fault for the sake of their survival - Your friendly Reader ] Remembering the message that he received, Ray was once again lost in thought. Wondering about the sender and his ambiguous words... ¡°We need to finish the job this time.¡± Hearing Ray¡¯s words, the black-robed man expressed his great agility as he walked through the bond of blood, dragging out the only survivor of the slaughter who purposely got off with nothing but a hilt strike to his neck. ¡°Hm?¡± Just then, Ray¡¯s head turned back as he stared at the horizon. He had definitely sensed something, but¡­ ¡®A tree?¡¯ ¡°Is there something wrong, Lord?¡± Taking one last look at the lonely tree, Ray had an indiscernible feeling. However, he could only turn his head back, dismissing his thoughts. ¡°It¡¯s nothing, let¡¯s get going.¡± As the horse carriage started marching in the opposite direction, a small figure walked from behind the tree, staring at the carriage in return... Chapter 36 - ‘Normal’ Event Chapter 36 - ¡®Normal¡¯ Event ¡°Phew¡­¡± Letting out a sigh of relief, Leo came out from behind the tree, shuddering to have experienced the ¡®magical¡¯ perception of the protagonist. ¡°A protagonist through and through.¡± While it was true that everything that happened went along with his plan, Leo couldn¡¯t help but marvel at the protagonist¡¯s imminent effect on the plot. Despite knowing that the persistent Fanged Wolves would surely follow up even if he were to survive the first ordeal, Leo had simply ignored it as he already prepared for the conclusion from the very start. After sealing the original deal with Crane, Leo had spent the time searching for one of the ¡®shadows¡¯ that Ray had left within the town. Hiring a random passerby to anonymously give him a message intended for the one and only protagonist. Although the protagonist¡¯s location at that time made it hard for him to receive the message before the deadly event took place, Leo knew that he was sure to make it before the ¡®second wave¡¯ threatened the Orphanage. As such, Leo had spent his days as relaxedly as possible. However, even he didn¡¯t expect the conclusion to take place this quickly! Knowing Ray¡¯s ¡®edgy¡¯ attitude, Leo was confident that he would just camp outside to intercept the enemy rather than enter the town and risk interacting with his ¡®siblings¡¯, which was why Leo left town to check on him out of curiosity. ¡®Fortunately¡¯ for him, Ray¡¯s protagonist aura worked so well that he bumped into the Fanged Wolves on simply trying to reach here, leaving Leo slightly baffled. ¡®It¡¯s even more ridiculous to see it in reality!¡¯ As one of the readers who often ridiculed the strangely convenient or inconvenient occurrence that happened to protagonists for the sake of progressing the plot, seeing it happen before him only made it weirder for Leo. Furthermore, the scene ended with him being almost noticed from several kilometers away! Even the supernatural elements of this novel didn¡¯t make it sensible for such a thing to happen! Perhaps the only thing that made sense was Ray¡¯s ridiculous power that resulted from getting reborn in a world simply tailored for him. Although Leo couldn¡¯t observe much at this distance, he still remembered the scene where the Fanged Wolves¡¯ figures casually dropped one after another. As it wasn¡¯t hard for Leo to reconstruct the fight in his mind using Ray¡¯s features in his memories, he could be said to have witnessed a part of a protagonist¡¯s overpowering ability¡­Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. As a result of his earlier special experience as a whole, felt even more assimilated into this world, as if the one last thin membrane stopping him from perceiving this world as reality was no longer. As such, he felt even more calm and carefree rather than intimidated by the protagonist¡¯s display. Despite the ridiculous laws that this novel world followed, Leo felt even more familiar with it than his own reality¡­ `~~~`~~~`~~~` On his way back, Leo finally got to check the change noted by the personal book. He was too focused on the protagonist¡¯s artful massacre to see it back then. [ Normal event change has been detected. Plot adjustment confirmed. ] [ Under the Reader¡¯s influence, The protagonist¡¯s ¡®Revenge¡¯ event¡¯s time and location have been adjusted. ] [ Calculating the value of the plot change according to its impact¡­ ] [ Calculation complete. You have received 6 Reading Points. ] ¡®Even this works?¡¯ Rather than causing the occurrence of a new event or changing the outcome of an event, Leo had simply rushed the confirmed revenge event, yet ¡®book¡¯ had a reaction to it. However, as he thought about it while walking home, Leo came closer to defining the limit of these ¡®events¡¯. Other than the event he triggered by himself, the other two were ones involving a ¡®side character¡¯ and a ¡®protagonist¡¯. It was obvious that The main factor that decided their value was the character involved. Although the impact was still the deciding factor when it came to the reward, it naturally depended on the event¡¯s main character. Otherwise, all of the changes that Leo had made in the Orphanage would have already filled over a dozen pages of the personal book. Judging by how this event didn¡¯t appear in the ¡®events¡¯ tab as well as the small reward, Leo¡¯s concluded that the effect of his interference was negligible, but the possibility of repeating such ¡®normal¡¯ events made it qualify as a stable Reading points source in the future. ¡®I need to figure out their use first though.¡¯ With all sorts of plans floating in his mind, Leo simply decided to be satisfied with today¡¯s results, putting his thoughts away¡­ `~~~`~~~`~~~` After watching a special revenge event from the backseats, Leo returned to the town and resumed his relaxed life once more. Other than resuming his duties as Arthur within the Orphanage, most of his time was spent idly. From customizing swords with the now friendly Crane who generously shared some tips about handling swords, to walking aimlessly around the town and playing with his siblings in the forest, Leo briefly enjoyed a carefree life that was devoid from the pains of his reading addiction. Observing the children that were still full of life under the influence of his action was a new experience for Leo, but he definitely didn¡¯t mind revisiting this experience. However, after living in relaxation for more than a few days, his heart grew restless in a sense of longing and urgency. Before he knew it, Leo was already making preparations. ¡°It¡¯s time to seek my own change¡­¡± He knew that it was time to leave. Chapter 37 - Departure Chapter 37 - Departure On the last day of the first month since his awakening in this world, Leo woke up at dawn and quietly slipped out of the Orphanage while everyone was sleeping after leaving something behind. ¡®I¡¯m sorry, but¡­ this is necessary.¡¯ He slightly hesitated on his way out as he imagined Ria¡¯s face when she read the letter he left by her bed. In the end, however, he steeled his heart and walked away. While he knew that he was a necessary part of this Orphanage, Leo could dally no longer. At the very least, the coins he left alongside the letter should remove the financial burden from Ria¡¯s shoulder. ¡®I will make sure to come back later.¡¯ Unlike his ¡®brother¡¯, he wasn¡¯t bound by the author¡¯s plans. It was necessary for him to leave, but that didn¡¯t mean he couldn¡¯t come back later once his matter was finished. In reality, Leo didn¡¯t want to end his happy days in this nameless town, but the current him wasn¡¯t capable of protecting these days, not to mention reaching the epilogue. Considering the nature of Ray¡¯s growth, danger wasn¡¯t that far away from his first home. Saving the Orphanage once extended its days, but didn¡¯t guarantee endless protection. Since the protagonist¡¯s ¡®reverse scale¡¯ still existed thanks to Leo¡¯s interference, there were likely others who would come to poke at it in due time. ¡®They are no longer alone in any case.¡¯ Just as Leo was thinking about one more positive change that he influenced, he bumped into a familiar face as he was making his way to the town¡¯s stable¡­ ¡®Maybe I should have thought of a mountain of gold instead.¡¯ ¡°You are leaving already?¡± Looking at Crane who smiled at him while drinking tea, Leo questioned Crane¡¯s way of hiding things. After all, it wasn¡¯t exactly normal to drink tea at dawn, specifically in the tea shop situated in the same street as the stable. He had merely hinted that he might be leaving early soon, but once again, Crane proved to be meticulous when he was serious, although his cover wasn¡¯t particularly bright. ¡°Fancy seeing you here at this time.¡± ¡°Right? If I didn¡¯t wake up early today for a change, I might have missed you.¡±If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Shamelessly going on with his act, Crane sipped his tea calmly. Leo almost couldn¡¯t connect the current him and the old grumpy Crane¡­ ¡°Well, you already know that it¡¯s hard for me to leave otherwise. You also know I can¡¯t stay here forever, especially in my current state.¡± Trying his best not to laugh at the clumsy contrast, Leo sincerely conversed with Crane. While the time they spent together wasn¡¯t much and they even had a rough start, Crane could be considered the first friend that Leo had made in this world. ¡°I know. I know. You don¡¯t need to explain anything, it¡¯s not like I want you to stay anyway. Rather, with you gone, I¡¯m finally free from slaving around for you!¡± ¡®A tsundere?¡¯ Leo smiled at Crane as a thought popped into his mind. Perhaps only Crane¡¯s nature as a ¡®side character¡¯ could explain his quirkiness. ¡°Hah! Don¡¯t get happy too soon. I will make sure to come back for more swords later. Also¡­¡± After throwing the joke back at Crane, Leo¡¯s smile faded as he hesitated to continue. In the end, he walked past the tea shop, only finishing what he wanted to say when his back faced Crane. ¡°Do take care of them if you can.¡± Not waiting for Crane¡¯s answer, Leo quickly walked into the stable, putting everything behind him¡­ `~~~`~~~`~~~` As one of the things he prepared for his departure, Leo had already rented a simple horse carriage from the town¡¯s stable for a maximum of six months for a dozen gold swords. Since Leo wasn¡¯t sure how long he would be away, he paid extra just to be safe, the deposit was refundable anyway. While it seemed more sensible for Leo to just rent a horse on its own, Leo wasn¡¯t traveling package-less, he simply couldn¡¯t on the horse¡¯s body to carry all of his luggage. Most importantly, Leo¡¯s current small body would simply suffer if he spent such a long time on horseback, although a medieval carriage wasn¡¯t that much better, it was an improvement nevertheless. Fortunately, horse-riding was one of the ¡®hobbies¡¯ that Leo had tried before so he read quite a bit about it. As such, when it came to carriage driving, all it took him were a couple of days of training at the stables to safely reach his first destination without a problem, the forest. It was a bit rough to drive in a forest, but Leo needed to go there first to pick up the stuff that he prepared for his journey over the last few days. Thankfully, the carriage was neither big nor fancy, so it didn¡¯t pose too much trouble. ¡°Here we go.¡± By the time Leo finished loading his luggage and tidying them, the sun was already shining brightly, its golden rays illuminating the sky and emphasizing the majestic sky-piercing sword. Taking one last look in the direction of the Orphanage, Leo climbed into the driver seat and firmly held the horse¡¯s reins, calmly driving it through the shortest path out of the forest. As much as he was unwilling to leave, Leo was also full of will to reach his end destination. After all, as long as he arrived there, there was a big chance that he could ¡®repair¡¯ his body! No matter how much he enjoyed the breeze of normalcy that he went through, Leo was ultimately a ¡®reader¡¯ deep inside. As a reader, it wouldn¡¯t be normal if he didn¡¯t at least try to get a hang of the supernatural power that he could read about yet not acquire! ¡®Let¡¯s look forward to it.¡¯ Neighhhhhh! Shedding away his regrets with anticipation, Leo¡¯s horse carriage made its way through the direction opposite to the nameless town, the horse¡¯s neigh announcing the beginning of a long journey... Chapter 38 - Journey To The West Chapter 38 - Journey To The West Neighhhh! After setting off from the nameless town, Leo kept driving the carriage on, only stopping after six hours to have a meal for both himself and the horse. Although his carriage driving was still crude, the path wasn¡¯t bad enough to require carriage maneuvering skills. Thankfully, Leo¡¯s destination wasn¡¯t that hard to reach either, all he had to do was walk in a straight path towards the west. Everything seemed to be proceeding smoothly, but Leo¡¯s mind wasn¡¯t idle, analyzing another aspect of his ¡®ability¡¯. ¡®Does it need a specific book?¡¯ Despite practicing carriage driving for so long, no sound came out nor did changes appear within the ¡®Personal Book¡¯. As per this experiment, Leo concluded one possible requirement for the activation of ¡®Skill Reading¡¯. While he had read several horse riding books that had some side hints and tips for horse carriage drivers, but such books didn¡¯t count. Other than the basic requirement of having read a book holding the skill, it seemed that a bare minimum amount of knowledge was required to exist in the book. Having originally considered the possibility of his ¡®Reading¡¯ compensating for the lack of information, Leo sighed at his exaggerated delusion. ¡®Nothing is really free.¡¯ Advancing one more step in understanding himself, Leo took out a bucket and a leather water jug, pouring a drink for the horse before hanging a bag of sliced carrots on its neck. ¡°Here you go bud.¡± After settling the horse¡¯s meal, Leo wasn¡¯t in a hurry to have his own. Instead, he grabbed a heavy bag out while reaching his hand inside another to pull out a long slim object. Dropping the bag of dumbbells to the ground, Leo pulled his new sword out of its sheath, revealing a slightly longer blade to the one he was using, letting out a breath before starting his training! Although he was currently on the road, Leo didn¡¯t plan to slack off his training. Rather, having realized his inadequacy while facing the Fanged Wolves that night, he was even keener to train. However, it wasn¡¯t like he could keep his old routine either since he couldn¡¯t stay still for long. As such, he improvised his routine to suit his current living style. With no time to rest between each segment of his training, Leo switched the order to start with sword training so that muscle exhaustion wouldn¡¯t cause it to be ineffective. On the other hand, he shrunk both training segments to 45 minutes to fit his packed schedule. Gulp! Gulp! After finishing one and a half hours of jam-packed training, Leo collapsed on the grass as he drank water in big gulps. While he didn¡¯t bring much water with him, Leo didn¡¯t restrain himself. The grass around appeared slightly dry, but small water bodies like lakes were spread around the area If push came to shove, he could even take a little detour and drive to the river that flew along his path, so there was no need to worry about water. When it came to the food, however¡­If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. After filling his belly with water, Leo went back to the carriage and snatched two meat buns from his food bag before hurriedly biting one of them. ¡®This is a celebratory lunch!¡¯ Convincing himself that it was worth it to eat this expensive meal as a celebration for him setting off, Leo took consecutive big bites to satisfy his growling stomach. In reality, he was simply trying to remember the taste of good food in preparation for his ¡®dark¡¯ future. After all, he couldn¡¯t buy more than two days'' worth of fresh food on a long journey. Trying his best to forget the dried beef and rock bread that filled half of the carriage, Leo started biting into the other meat bun as if he had just come out of a famine¡­ `~~~`~~~`~~~` As the days went by, Leo started getting used to his new traveling life despite the difficulty. With time, it was starting to become more of a fun new experience rather than a hassle. Other than sleeping from nightfall to dawn, he spent 12 hours driving the horse carriage, only taking a break of two hours in between to train and let the horse rest. Blurrllrrble¡­ After over two weeks on the road, the symmetric green patches that spread over the area made it easy for Leo to get lost even with how simple his route was. So, he opted to travel alongside the river in advance. Maintaining both the water supply and a clear path to follow. The soothing sounds of flowing water were undeniably a great traveling ¡®companion¡¯! ¡°Easy, easy¡­¡± Nonetheless, Leo¡¯s true traveling companion was none other than the nameless horse that he rented along the carriage. As they passed their days together, Leo managed to thoroughly familiarize himself with the horse using sugar cubes and the tricks he learned from his readings, finally earning the right to climb over its back! ¡®It¡¯s still rough, but I need to get used to it.¡¯ Considering the lack of proper vehicles in this world, Leo knew that he would need to travel by horse in the future, especially with his identity that made it better for him to move alone. He had even brought a saddle with him for this specific purpose, waking up half an hour early in order to practice horse riding. Neigh¡­ As rough as it was to even ride for a few minutes with his small body, Leo still managed to preserve, and his preservation completely paid back! ________________________ Personal Skills: --------------- ¡®Basic Swordsmanship¡¯ - Chapter 1 - page 4/10 ¡®Horsemanship¡¯ - Prologue - page 6/10 ________________________ Although it took a while for him to obtain it, Leo successfully managed to obtain his second skill in this new world! Unlike ¡®Swordsmanship¡¯ which managed to activate ¡®Skill Reading¡¯ from the very first slash, ¡®Horsemanship¡¯ didn¡¯t activate as soon as he got on horseback. It was only a few days later when he first managed to properly ride the horse without falling, that he heard the voice that he sorely ¡®missed¡¯. Thankfully, the horse was rather tame as one that transported humans for a few years, otherwise, it would have taken even longer without its cooperation. Through the disparity between the two skills, Leo understood the activation requirement of his ¡®attribute¡¯ even further, clearing the path for the skills that he planned to ¡®activate¡¯ later. ¡°Alright, that¡¯s enough for today. Let¡¯s get going.¡± Climbing down from the horse, Leo attached it to the carriage once more, loading back his belongings before returning to his driver spot. ¡°Here we go!¡± Neighh! Starting another day of his journey to the west, Leo drew closer to his long-awaited destination as enjoyed the light breeze and the ¡®music¡¯ by his side. The only thing that stopped it from being a perfect morning was the rock-like breed that he had to munch on for breakfast. Crunch. ¡°I should try cooking.¡± For some reason, the endless horizon seemed to hold the mirages of mouth-watering food that day... Chapter 39 - Arrival At Sword Fall Chapter 39 - Arrival At Sword Fall Splishshsh¡­ "Time sure flies fast." Washing his face using freshwater from the river, Leo dried it with a makeshift towel, using his other hand to cross something in a small booklet. As of today, Leo has been Arthur and Arthur has been Leo for two full months. After getting absorbed into his daily routine, always being on the move, Leo hardly felt the days come by as he focused on bettering himself so that his traveling time wouldn''t be wasted. The break that was restricted to two hours, in the beginning, was gradually inflated to three. Whenever the horse appeared exhausted, he would give it extra resting time if possible, spending this time doing some light training. Thankfully, all the hard work and exhaustion he suffered from weren''t for nothing. The changes on the first page of the ''Personal Book'' didn''t stop. ________________________ Personal Statistics: ---------------- Physique: 0.86 Mind: 1.34 (+1.95) ________________________ Personal Skills: --------------- ''Basic Swordsmanship'' - Chapter 1 - page 5/10 ''Horsemanship'' - Prologue - page 8/10 _______________________ Other than the Mind statistic that had a dual increase thanks to his distance meeting with the protagonist, the three other items on the page had increased as a result of Leo''s training for the past month. Using the ''Impossible'' event bonus, Leo was able to push his ''Basic Swordsmanship'' half the way despite its rank-up. However, by this point, what he gained from the bonus had been already consolidated, any further increase either required more knowledge or experience. On the other hand, his ''Horsemanship'' was still seeing progress with time as Leo didn''t fully consume his gains from the activation of ''Skill Reading''. Instead, it was much harder to practice it compared to the sword. After all, it was easier to wield an inanimate object than to control a living being.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. As a change of routine, Leo had even tried collecting wild plants to cook, however, his attempts at mixing ration beef jerky and what he could find on the road to cook a proper meal all ended in failure. Giving up, Leo settled for using salt and black pepper to make his rations slightly more edible. ''It was starting to feel tedious, but¡­'' In the end, no matter how absorbed or determined Leo was, as the days went by, the passion for a new experience was starting to fade. By now, it wasn''t hard to say that past ''serial homebody'' Leo was starting to get tired from traveling endlessly. Fortunately, before he reached the stage of lazily neglecting his training, Leo had finally managed to see the figure of his destination during today''s daily scouting activity. "If it''s this close, then it''s reachable before sunset." Abandoning his early day horsemanship training, Leo quickly ate a light meal as he fed the horse before getting on the road once more. As Leo drove forward, the shadows of the tall figures were already visible to him even without using his binoculars. However, despite seeing his target ahead of him, Leo didn''t drive in its direction as his carriage went alongside the river''s path. ''It would be hard to distinguish my target otherwise.'' The area that Leo was heading towards was an out-of-place assortment of mountains and rocky structures. It made one rub his eyes and wonder if he saw something wrong, unrelating to its bizarre shape or location, that abnormal rocky area held the grandiose name of Sword Fall! According to the records of history written after the Sword of Epoch fell, this area was formed at the same time the Sky-Piercing Sword arrived. As if it''s nature''s way of balancing things, this area of rocky structure sprouted out of the ground at the same time the gigantic sword pierced itself in the ground. Thus earning its grand name. Although the area gained some popularity at the start, with rumors spreading about the countless mysteries that it held as well as its relation to the Sky-Piercing Sword, the commotion surrounding it quickly died down after people discovered its unnatural normalcy. Other than being a rough dry land amid the green patches spreading miles around, Sword Fall held nothing to be curious about. During the start of the great war where everyone was racing for a proper chance, the rumors were buried down, only to be used in children''s tales as a base for legends. ''But ''he'' found something...'' As Leo recalled the history of Sword Fall from his memories while advancing, Ray''s confident face floated into his mind. Just per the rules of novels, identifying feats as impossible was only limited by which character tried to do it. Random NPC-like characters might find it truly impossible, but the protagonist or even his fellow side characters didn''t conform to these definitions. ''...Thankfully, that is.'' However, Leo wasn''t feeling jealous, rather, he was thankful that Ray had achieved this impossible feat, which could indirectly help him with his predicament. Since he would only find nothing if he just directly walked into Sword Fall, searching for his objective, Leo decided his route so that he would make use of the way the protagonist found his way to his true destination. "It should be around here." After trodding along the river for a while, Leo''s carriage was roughly opposite to Sword Fall, so he slowed down as he searched for his target. Although this river flowed in one line, Leo had already spotted a few branches ever since he started traveling by its die. He was currently searching for something similar, however, the branch he sought wasn''t a normal one. ''There it is!'' After a few minutes of slow driving, Leo finally managed to find the rough marks of what seemed to be a dried-up river branch. ''If it''s according to the novel¡­'' Speeding up the horse as he followed what was left of the dry water branch, Leo drew closer and closer to Sword Fall. Before he knew it, he was met with a large rocky structure that forced the horse to stop. Neighhhh! ''...Then I just need to dig.'' On his arrival at Sword Fall, the first thing Leo did was take out a shovel from his carriage, before proceeding to dig the sand where the marks of the dry water branch had ended at... Chapter 40 - Sword Fall’s Treasure Chapter 40 - Sword Fall¡¯s Treasure Originally, a few years into the future, forced into a sticky situation by his plot magnet, Ray would come to Sword Fall in search of one of its rumors to get out of his predicament. However, even as the protagonist, he wasn¡¯t able to chance upon his objective the moment he stepped into Sword Fall along with his companions. Instead, he was ¡®lucky¡¯ enough to notice one small detail that normal characters didn¡¯t. As he wandered Sword Fall in despair, Ray was very close to giving up as he collapsed on the ground, but the spot he collapsed at just happened to be close to a few faint marks. Upon inspecting these marks, his botanist companion concluded that it was likely a dried-up water path. So, considering the nature of their objective that she was the most familiar with, the heroine suggested digging through the path, which later turned out to be the entrance to the urgently needed opportunity. ¡°It¡¯s definitely getting softer.¡± Leo, however, didn¡¯t have the luck of a protagonist, nor did he plan to wander Sword Fall in search of faint marks in the middle of rough sand. As such, he could only improvise on the method used by Ray. Since the marks caused by water erosion would fade easier the further the water source, Leo started from the river itself where marks would be more apparent. By the time he reached the rocky structure, the marks were hardly noticeable, if he hadn¡¯t traced it from the beginning, Leo didn¡¯t know how he was supposed to notice the slight depression in the ground. ¡®As expected, protagonists are really in another ¡®league¡¯ of their own¡­¡¯ Blurrllrble¡­ Soon enough, the sound of success reached Leo¡¯s ears. After digging through the ground that grew increasingly softer the deeper he went, Leo observed the visibly wet sand as flowing water could be heard. ¡°This is it!¡± Confirming that he hadn¡¯t just followed a ¡®blank¡¯ dried-up path, Leo started to dig around the depth he reached so he could secure a footing. Before long, a small area surrounding the original digging spot was leveled down. Following that, Leo climbed out of the dug area, taking a large nail and a bundle of sturdy robe out of the carriage. After firmly fixing the mail into the rough ground, he tied one end of the rope to it before tying the other end around his waist. Only then did he return to digging. Crickk¡­ Plop! Plob!Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. A few more shovels later, the wet sand automatically fell on the impact of the shovel, dropping into the source of the water flowing sounds. It seemed to be an underground water tunnel. ¡®Finally.¡¯ However, even as Leo grew excited to be a step closer to his objective, he didn¡¯t rush to jump into the water. Unlike Ray who had the help of his companions from the outside after he ¡®accidentally¡¯ fell into the tunnel while digging, Leo was on his own. Taking that into consideration, Leo climbed up out of the dug area once more, taking out another nail and rope pair as he did earlier before going down again. ¡®This would do.¡¯ Squatting in front of the sturdiest point he could find, Leo stabbed the nail into it and tied the relatively shorter rope to the nail, he then pulled its other end and threw it through the hole. After confirming that the rope has reached the ground thanks to the sunlight that invaded the underground tunnel, Leo slightly tugged the rope around his waist before holding onto the rope to climb down to the tunnel¡¯s ground. Thankfully, the height of the tunnel and Leo¡¯s weight weren¡¯t that much, so his descent was swift and without accidents. His clothes were completely submerged in the water reaching up to his neck as his foot touched the ground. Barely able to stand within the water, Leo quickly unfastened the rope around his waist which was at the limit of its length, tying it to the other rope. ¡®My way up should be secured with this.¡¯ Having solved the problem of his exit, Leo turned his back to the rope and struggled to march forward within the water stream. As the fading golden light that radiated from the end of the tunnel drew closer, Leo¡¯s steps grew stronger as the water level decreased. ¡®Closer¡­ I need to get closer¡­¡¯ Taking one last step to support his jump, golden light filled Leo¡¯s vision as he crossed the exit and splashed into the shallow stream that extended through it. However, as he laid his eyes upon the scenery to the front, Leo froze in his position, mesmerized by the blinding sight. Unlike what it appeared like, the water path that seemed to have dried up was nothing but a fake front to the stream which flowed underground instead, providing water to the inner canyon hidden within the rocky structure. The canyon didn¡¯t only have a water supply, but it also had a window for sunlight through a small crack from above, providing the basic necessities for plants to thrive. ¡®There it is¡­¡¯ Surrounded by exotic forms of vegetation, a lone stalk bathed in the golden rays of sunset dropping down from above, standing tall at the center of the shining water pool¡­ ¡®The Treasure of Sword Fall.¡¯ The stalk exuded a silvery metallic sheen as if it was a sword pierced into the ground, its petals gracefully wrapping around the pistil to form the resemblance of a hilt. Taking slow steps forward, Leo admired the beauty of the plant that looked more like a work of art, his eyes shining in anticipation. This plant that looked nothing like a plant was none other than the objective that both Leo of today and Ray of the future sought. ¡°The Cleansing Sword!¡± Standing before his door to the supernatural, Leo slightly hesitated as he took out a short dagger from his pocket. ¡®This will work¡­ right?¡¯ Leo recounted what he read as he carefully drew the dagger closer to the breathtaking flower... Chapter 41 - Sword Cleansing Chapter 41 - Sword Cleansing According to a certain theory surrounding Sword Fall¡¯s creation, upon the Sword of Epoch¡¯s penetration of the ground, the Sword Breath that flooded out of it didn¡¯t stay contained underground. Instead, it was released from another outlet, causing the rise of several abnormal rocky structures. Building upon this theory, the countless rumors suggested that the tremendous flood of Sword Breath didn¡¯t completely dissipate into the air. Rather, what was left of it agglomerated to form a peerless treasure that would turn whoever uses it, even an ordinary person, into a sword master! However, among the outrageous rumors that were only bound by the limit of the people¡¯s imagination, one specific rumor was far too detailed to even count as a rumor. It was the rumor that suggested the existence of a ¡®Cleansing Sword¡¯. Unlike its exaggerated peers, the rumored ¡®Cleansing Sword¡¯ was said to be a flower birthed from the ¡®plowing¡¯ done by the pure Sword Breath, combining its essence of sharpness and the gentleness of plants, giving it the ability to ¡®cleanse¡¯ anything while being safe to consume by living beings. ¡°He didn¡¯t use it for this, but¡­¡± After an unfortunate encounter with the Poison King, despite managing to decapitate his foe, Ray was inflicted with an incurable poison that threatened to take his life at any time. ¡®Luckily¡¯, proving her family¡¯s deep history in the field of botany, the heroine confirmed the existence of the ¡®Cleansing Sword¡¯ at Sword Fall. The only problem was that she didn¡¯t know its exact location. However, the lucky streak of a protagonist continued as they managed to access the hidden canyon, allowing Ray to consume the ¡®Cleansing Sword¡¯ and successfully cleanse his body from the deadly poison. ¡°He did suggest it.¡± Naturally, Leo¡¯s reason for coming here wasn¡¯t to obtain a cure for poison. What he was after was the ¡®Cleansing¡¯ property of the flower. [This bountiful Sword Breath¡­ It feels like a waste to use to cleanse poison. If what I felt wasn¡¯t wrong, this could be even used as an ¡®Elixir¡¯ for people with blocked meridians. Perhaps, if Arthur was still¡­] After experiencing the ¡®Cleansing¡¯ upon consumption, Ray was quick to guess the flower¡¯s most meaningful use, but all it seemed like was an afterthought by the author to make the readers shed a tear or two. Nonetheless, in Leo¡¯s current case, he depended on this guess to seek a path ahead. Since this world mostly conformed to the author¡¯s words, it wasn¡¯t too far-fetched for the ¡®Cleansing Sword¡¯ to work. ¡°It¡¯s worth a try in any case.¡± Despite the novel being shorter than its peers, more than one solution to his ¡®Blocked Meridians¡¯ was introduced with the introduction of more characters. It was just that the closest and simplest solution lay in the ¡®Cleansing Sword¡¯, if it didn¡¯t work, Leo wasn¡¯t completely out of options.The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Ending his deep contemplation, Leo used his dagger to carefully remove the ¡®hilt¡¯ of the ¡®Cleansing Sword¡¯, leaving the blade-like stalk standing tall in place. ¡®This should be okay?¡¯ According to the botany expert, only the petals holding the pistil held the true value of the ¡®Cleansing Sword¡¯. Moreover, after deep analysis, even Ray concluded that there was a constant stream of Sword Breath feeding the roots. If the stalk was left unharmed, another flower would grow in due time This was precisely why Leo cut the ¡®hilt¡¯ so carefully and also the reason why he specifically chose to try this solution to his ¡®Blocked Meridians¡¯ first. Although other methods were confirmed to work, using any of them would deprive the original character of their chance. The possible butterfly effect could be tremendous. On the other hand, the regenerating ¡®Cleansing Sword¡¯ was sure to have as little effect as possible, otherwise, Leo wouldn¡¯t dare to gamble with the life of the protagonist if he wanted to safely reach the epilogue. [ Hidden event occurrence has been detected. Discovered Hidden Piece, ¡®Cleansing Sword¡¯. ] Suddenly hearing the voice in his mind, Leo was startled at the possibility of having triggered a plot change leading to Ray¡¯s death, but after hearing the message¡¯s content, his beating heart calmed down. [ You have received 20 Reading Points. ] ¡°Phew¡­¡± After waiting for a few more minutes to see if he would receive another message, Leo finally let out a sigh of relief. Ray¡¯s protagonist aura might find another method to save him if the ¡®Cleansing Sword¡¯ disappeared, but Leo didn¡¯t want to bet on it. ¡°Let¡¯s get this processed then¡­¡± Taking out a wooden bowl from his pouch, Leo removed the pistil before putting the rest of the ¡®hilt¡¯ into the bowl. He then took out a wooden handle to use as a pestle. Borrowing the heroine¡¯s method of preparing the ¡®Cleansing Sword¡¯ for consumption, Leo used the bowl as a mortar, pounding the petals into powder. Bang! Bang bang! After a dozen minutes of pounding, Leo scooped some water from the pool surrounding the ¡®Cleansing Sword¡¯ into the bowl, using the pestle to give it a quick stir. Putting the bowl of silvery ¡®medicinal soup¡¯ in front of him, Leo sat down cross-legged and took a deep breath before bringing the pistil close to his mouth. ¡®Here goes...¡¯ As a fantasy plan that was closely related to the plot device of the whole story, the ¡®Cleansing Sword¡¯ was different from other flowers. The piece that looked like a pistil wasn¡¯t actually the flower¡¯s reproductive organ, rather, it was the carrier to the core essence of the Sword Breath. On the other hand, the petals covering it carried the gentle essence of a plant, containing the Sword Breath within the pistil from ¡®exploding¡¯. In order to properly consume the ¡®Cleansing Sword¡¯ following the heroine¡¯s prescription, Leo bit into the ¡®pistil¡¯ before grabbing the bowl and hurriedly drinking the ¡®soup¡¯. ¡®Gahh!¡¯ On biting into the ¡®pistil¡¯, tyrannical energy invaded Leo¡¯s whole body, he felt like he was on the verge of completely breaking about from the inside before the ¡®soup¡¯ finally made its way inside. Calming down the flood of sharpness rampaging through his body, the ¡®soup¡¯ transformed it into thin streams, spreading it around his body as the agony Leo felt soon turned into clear relaxation. Not knowing how much had passed, Leo was completely immersed in the sensation of ¡®Sword Cleansing¡¯, only to be woken up by the voice once more! Chapter 42 - Gains of Success! Change of Destiny! Chapter 42 - Gains of Success! Change of Destiny! The voice was closer to that of a man, but it didn''t have a tone to make it seem human, empty but heavy were the only ways to describe it. Upon hearing it, Leo was woken up from the trance brought over by his ''Sword Cleansing'' experience. His initial reaction wasn''t to focus on what the voice announced, rather, Leo''s focus was all directed to the difference he felt in his body. "Heup!" Taking one big breath, Leo jumped on the spot, he could feel that his body had grown lighter in a tremendous manner. Although there was a slight increase in his agility, the ability that changed the most was his flexibility. Compared to the current him, Leo couldn''t help but feel that his movements were quite sluggish in the past. "Uh¡­" After the wondrous moment of experiencing the visible change in his body passed, Leo was shocked by a concentrated smell of sweat. However, the shock quickly faded away, wasn''t it normal for a ''Cleansing'' to throw out the impurities of the body? Even Ray himself experienced something similar, so it only made sense for Leo who had ''Blocked Meridians'' to do so. After all, the increase of his flexibility was just a reflection of how much ''Blockage'' he had. While this whole ''disease'' of his wasn''t exactly scientific, Leo knew that it was as ''real'' as this world. Moreover, even Leo himself didn''t know how much time had passed during his state of ''Cleansing''. The sun had already set by the time he consumed the ''Cleansing Sword'', the hidden canyon barely illuminated by moonlight didn''t make it easier to guess. "Let''s clean up first¡­" Although Leo wanted to quickly open the ''Personal Book'' to see the quantified changes to his body as well as the voice''s messages, he started with scooping water with his wooden bowl to remove the grayish sweat on his body. This was the kind of discipline he developed while trying to resist reading, giving up in favor of his desires wasn''t advised. "Haaa¡­ Much better." After having a rough shower, Leo was finally able to relax. Thankfully, he had expected the situation so he brought along spare clothes in preparation, it was only that he was so excited about consuming the ''Cleansing Sword'' that he forgot to take off his clothes in advance. Only when Leo sealed the ''deathly'' clothes he took off in the now empty pouch did the smell of the place return slightly fresh once again.A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. ''Now is the moment of truth.'' Leo''s heartbeat rose quickly as he called out for the ''Personal Book'', warming up his body that had just cooled down. Although he had already experienced positive changes, Leo wasn''t sure if his problem was completely solved. It wasn''t like this was one of the novels where people had ''inner sight''. However, Leo splashed some water into his face. No matter the result, his effort wasn''t a loss, just the bodily changes he felt were more than worth the month-long journey. Only when his head cooled down did Leo open his eyes to check the result. [ Book 1 ] Name: Arthur (Leo Lock) Age: 12 (18) Role: Reader Reading Points: 176 ________________________ Personal Statistics: ---------------- Physique: 0.9 Mind: 1.34 (+1.95) Sword Breath: 0.01 ________________________ Personal Skills: --------------- ''Basic Swordsmanship'' - Chapter 1 - page 6/10 ''Horsemanship'' - Prologue - page 8/10 ________________________ Events: ------- - Teaching Crane - Unique - Change of Destiny - Unique - Counter Elimination - Impossible ________________________ ''It worked?'' Despite believing that he already calmed down, Leo''s heart threatened to jump out of his body as soon as his eyes laid on the new addition to his ''Personal Statistics''! Even though the number of his new statistic was almost negligible, its existence meant that he was no longer incapable of storing more in his body! In summarization, he was no longer a ''cripple''! He had originally thought that the one to reveal whether he succeeded or not would be the ''messages'', but it seemed some of the residues of the ''Cleansing Sword'' remained within him. Before he flipped the pages to check the voice''s messages, Leo quickly scanned through the page, discovering several more changes¡­ The most noticeable of them was the addition to the first segment, the ''Reading Points'' that he could only count through the recorded messages were now viewable, the numbers didn''t add up, but that made sense considering that he hadn''t checked the following pages yet. ''So I needed to reach a certain amount for it to appear?'' Guessing the reason for this addition''s late appearance, Leo switched his attention to the other changes. The change in his Physique was perhaps the most understandable. Since it was the statistic that encompassed all of his body''s functions, it only made sense for it to increase by much as an indication of his agility and flexibility boost. On the other hand, the ''Basic Swordsmanship'' which had been stuck for a while suddenly had an increase. Despite not being that obvious, the miraculous flower seemed to have a positive effect even on his techniques. "I did feel more familiar with the sword during the ''Cleansing''." Since familiarity was an important aspect when it came to ''skills'', getting flooded with Sword Breath would definitely have an effect. As for the last change in the event tab¡­ [ Plot change confirmed. Unique event occurrence has been detected. ] [ The Reader''s character has managed to escape his character setting under his influence, carving out a new but unknown route to himself. ] [ You have received 40 Reading Points. ] Leo directly flipped the pages to check the identity of the event added to the tab. However, he was slightly confused by what he read. If this change had such a big effect as ''escaping the character setting'', shouldn''t it have a higher rating? Rather, if it''s just a unique event then why did it give so many points? The only conclusion that Leo could come to was that the Book''s assessment of the changes occurring to his ''Character'' was especially lowered to match his influence. Otherwise, every step he took differently would cause events to occur on an endless loop. Nonetheless, even a repressed assessment still gave him this many points, proving how critical the change was. Although the event''s description was vague and didn''t precisely mention the confirmation Leo was after, he was 99% sure that his attempt was a success. Unfortunately, Leo didn''t have a ''practice method'' yet, so he couldn''t completely confirm his state. Even if he read the novel before, ''techniques'' were often omitted and left to the reader''s imagination. "Well, I guess my next destination is already confirmed." Feeling thankful deep within his heart, Leo scratched off the routes he planned in case the ''Cleansing Sword'' turned out to be a miss. Now that it turned out to be a success, his next target would be¡­ ''To Swordkeep!'' The best set of ''practice methods'' that he could get his hands on! Chapter 43 - To Swordkeep Chapter 43 - To Swordkeep The first light of daybreak slipped through the rocky ceiling¡¯s cracks, falling on Leo¡¯s sleeping face as his eyelids twitched in response. ¡°Haaa¡­¡± Letting out a suppressed yawn, Leo stretched his arms with relaxation apparent on his face, the break of a smile on his face proving his decision to spend the night in the canyon to be the right choice. ¡°That was one satisfying night.¡± He had simply decided to sleep in the canyon since it was already nightfall by the time he was done with his ¡®Cleansing¡¯. However, Leo was happily surprised by his sleeping experience. Not to mention the soft grass carpet coating the ground, just the perfect warmness preserved within the canyon was enough for Leo to give it five stars. Gulp¡­ gulp¡­ ¡°Refreshing!¡± Perhaps thanks to the magical nature of the canyon, the few mouthfuls that Leo drank out of the pool surrounding what was left of the ¡®Cleansing Sword¡¯ seemed to be a dozen times tastier than the water coming from the source itself. Considering the relatively harsh conditions that he lived in during his journey here, Leo was tempted to spend a few more days surrounded by ¡®nature¡¯, but he proceeded to wash his face and do a few stretches in preparation to leave. ¡°Well then, thanks for everything¡­ and do say hello to Ray for me.¡± Jokingly speaking to the blade-like stalk after filling his water jug to the brim, Leo took one last look at the mesmerizing canyon before turning around to depart. Although it was slightly harder to walk against the water flow in the tunnel, the weakened stream didn¡¯t stop Leo from arriving before the pair of dangling ropes which he left exactly for this moment. After tying the longer one around his waist, Leo confidently climbed the other rope till he reached the stopped where he dropped off without any accidents ¡°Let¡¯s finish this fast and fill up my empty stomach.¡± Despite having safely escaped from the danger of confinement, Leo didn¡¯t remove the ¡®safety rope¡¯, grabbing his shovel to start his ¡®renovation¡¯ project. As a location that would only be discovered once more by the one and only protagonist of this world, Leo naturally couldn¡¯t leave the site like this for anyone to find. He not only had to restore the tunnel¡¯s ceiling, but he also had to recreate the marks that would lead Ray to the canyon just like it did for him.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Thankfully, the only tricky part was just restoring the opening, once it was done, the rest of the ¡®project¡¯ was finished within the first hour without any trouble. Neighh! Noticing the approaching figure, the horse neighed in alert before calming down upon recognizing Leo¡¯s face. Having already prepared to spend the night inside the canyon, Leo had already left a bucket full of water alongside a bag of sliced carrots for the horse before dropping into the tunnel. However, the empty bucket proved that the water was slightly lacking. ¡°Hey buddy, you must be thirsty. Let¡¯s go get you some water.¡± Departing in the direction of the river, Leo quietly munched on a few beef jerkies as he contemplated his next route. `~~~`~~~`~~~` Despite the month-long journey, Leo didn¡¯t immediately turn back into the nameless town where Arthur¡¯s heart lay. Instead, he continued following the river path even further. While he had indeed removed the limitation set by his character setting and had a ¡®Change of Destiny¡¯ as the book described it, this was barely the basic requirement to get by within this world. After all, there were a lot of people who didn¡¯t have his condition yet remained as normal people due to lack of motivation or ¡®practice¡¯. In order to start on the path of the sword, Leo¡¯s journey had to continue. His next stop was none other than Swordkeep, the border city of the Sky-Piercing Sword Empire. ¡®The City of Swordsmen¡­ was it?¡¯ Although it wasn¡¯t the empire¡¯s capital, the popularity of Swordkeep gave it enough qualification to contend for the title. The city famous for being ¡®City of Swordsmen¡¯ was an important stop in any swordsman¡¯s path. Although most kingdoms followed the trend of the Sky-Piercing Sword Empire after it took over as the hegemon of the era, using swords and blades as names, the empire severely restricted the spread of ¡®Sword Breathing¡¯ methods outside its own borders. Ensuring a constant flow of funds and manpower to maintain its supremacy. As a result, Swordkeep flourished to the point of being overpopulated, swordsmen seeking apprenticeship gathered from everywhere. In response, those seeking apprentices, guilds seeking members, or even ¡®Sword Breathing Manuals¡¯ made their way into the city, creating an unfailing cycle of profit for everyone. ¡°Hopefully my information isn¡¯t too updated.¡± Unlike most of those who traveled to Swordkeep in search of any possible opportunity to step on the path dominating this path, Leo¡¯s trip to the City of Swordsmen had specific targets in mind. Since he aspired to achieve enough strength to survive till the epilogue, Leo couldn¡¯t simply settle for anything, especially considering the hidden setting of this world. It was just that the conditions for the method he sought to obtain were stringent. ¡°There is always another way anyway.¡± In the end, Leo decided not to stress over it. What he ¡®read¡¯ contained knowledge of the past and the future, combined with the knowledge of his own reality, any change or target desired was possible with enough effort. However, Leo still conformed to his way of laying low. The butterfly effect was one thing, but Leo didn¡¯t want to set a foundation in a world he would leave soon. Only when he confirmed that there is no way back would Leo start getting serious. Even the same method could be obtained in one way or another. Regardless of the success or failure of his trip to Swordkeep, Leo put himself first before his goals. Although what he knew didn¡¯t make him completely omniscient, even just a hint of omniscience was enough to have a mind carefree of endless worries. Neigh! Just like this, Leo¡¯s journey resumed, having taken his first step as ¡®Reader¡¯, no longer held by the shackles that he set off with from the nameless town... Chapter 44 - The Chaotic City of Swordsmen Chapter 44 - The Chaotic City of Swordsmen Despite falling under the territory of the Adamant Sword Kingdom, one of the kingdoms surrounding the Sky-Piercing Sword Empire, the nameless town that both Arthur and Ray originated from was practically separated from the Kingdom¡¯s governing system. Unlike Swordkeep, which was situated around the Sword River¡¯s basin, the nameless town was situated in an area that held no value other than the small forest by its side. After weighing gains against the distance disadvantage, the Kingdom simply abandoned the town and its taxes allowing it to operate autonomously. Nonetheless, with the forest¡¯s ¡®help¡¯ as well as the merchants who would occasionally pass, the town was on the borderline of being self-sufficient. Especially with how it was the only settlement in a largely unpopulated area. ¡®It¡¯s not perfect, but it¡¯s worthy of being the protagonist¡¯s birthplace.¡¯ The nameless town didn¡¯t appear to be anything special, but it was the closest point to travel from the Adamant Sword Kingdom to the Empire, which allowed Ray to easily reach the City of Swordsmen. ¡°It sure is convenient being the protagonist¡¯s sibling, only when it doesn¡¯t get you killed though.¡± Naturally, now that it was Leo¡¯s turn to go there, it didn¡¯t long to get there either. After finishing his business at Sword Fall, it only took Leo 3 weeks before the flourishing city came to sight. ¡®Calling it overpopulated is an underestimation¡­¡¯ Rather than the tall buildings of the city, the first signs of the city that Leo recognized were none other than the two long lines in front of the gate. The sight was simply shocking when seen in reality compared to just being read. If that was just the number of people wanting to enter the city in one day, then how many people resided inside? ¡°The Entrance fee is 10 Silver Swords.¡± After spending two hours waiting in the line designated for carriages, Leo was finally able to enter the city after paying the fee. Although it was slightly expensive, it was to be expected of a city made for the sake of ¡®milking¡¯ money. Thankfully, following the same logic that made entry expensive, the entry conditions were quite loose to maintain the constant stream of coins. Other than screening his face through a booklet of wanted people, Leo was let in without further inquiry of identification. ¡®Interesting.¡¯ To Leo¡¯s expectations, the city was even more ¡®full¡¯ behind the city walls. The people crowding the streets were a chaotic mixture of all classes, painting the picture of the convergence of civilization in one singular city. As Leo¡¯s carriage moved slowly through the ¡®clogged¡¯ streets, the way Swordkeep operated became more apparent to him. The city had an overall fancy feel to it, but the streets were mostly dirty due to the overpopulation. Extravagantly dressed men and women, armored swordsmen, beggars, all kinds of people could be seen walking side to side. The chaotic feel was still there, but the lack of conflict indicated the initial success of the city¡¯s intended development.Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! ¡®He isn¡¯t here today¡­¡¯ After taking a full circle around the city, from one inn to another, in order to find lodging, Leo was finally able to find a suitable one that had a small empty room. Despite being elated at returning to civilization and finding a place to sleep within this crowded city, Leo was slightly disappointed, having not caught sight of his target for coming here. Neighh... ¡°Well, it¡¯s not like I¡¯m in a hurry. Right, buddy?¡± After storing his carriage of settling the horse into the stables, Leo stared at the bright moon while feeding the horse before he climbed the stairs up to his room. The day was mostly spent getting into the city and finding a place to settle. As such, Leo simply skipped his training for the day and dived into the comfort of his new bed, letting his thoughts dissolve into his dreams. Although he didn¡¯t manage to immediately get his target, this was in alignment with Leo¡¯s original plan. After all, other than obtaining a ¡®Sword Breathing Manual¡¯, Leo planned to squeeze out every benefit that he could possibly obtain from this City of Swordsmen¡­ `~~~`~~~`~~~` ¡°It isn¡¯t as comfortable, but it will do.¡± Despite sleeping a couple more hours than usual, Leo woke up dissatisfied due to his high expectations. Even a man-made bed couldn¡¯t compare to the hidden canyon¡¯s ground¡­ After spending another hour to finally get into the inn¡¯s bath, Leo took a shower and changed into a new pair of clothes that he brought the day before during his quest for a suitable inn. Walking out of the inn, Leo¡¯s first destination was the closest bookshop. Although Leo desired a break from reading, spending slightly less than two months without reading a word had stirred up Leo¡¯s faded addiction. Unlike before, where he was slightly sick of it, Leo was now looking forward to it. Most importantly, he was very eager to explore the variety of books that the City of Swordsmen had to offer. According to the name and nature of this city, at least half the books were bound to be on the topic of swords. However, just like any product, most of what was for public sale was useless and full of showy words, holding no real value. ¡°Time for some book hunting!¡± Fortunately, one of the things that Leo enjoyed the most was finding gems within a pile of trash! During the weeks he spent reaching the city, he failed to raise his ¡®Basic Swordsmanship¡¯ by more than one ¡®page¡¯ even with the familiarity boost, so Leo wanted to make use of his stay here to obtain some books that would deepen his understanding through ¡®Skill Reading¡¯! After hitting the closest bookshop, Leo dove into the piles of books showcased there, trying to find something worth his trouble within the scams. In the end, it took him two full hours before he left the bookshop with two books in hand¡­ ¡®Most of it overlaps, but some parts are worth it.¡¯ No matter how flashy the books tried to sound, the only usable contents were the old bland books about the basic use of swords. Regretfully, the knowledge within these books was mostly useless to the current Leo, so he kept the two books that had the freshest contents in compromise. Holding one book under his arm while he browsed through the other, Leo made his way to the next bookshop while he observed his surroundings in search of his original target. Repeating the same process till sunset, Leo went back to the inn with half a dozen books in hand, his search resulting in nothing. However, Leo didn¡¯t seem overly vexed about it as he simply put the books away before he threw himself into training according to the schedule he followed during his journey. By the time he was done, Leo didn¡¯t bother showering as he dove into the bed once more. Along with this new routine, Leo spent the following days immersed in ¡®searching¡¯, reading and training using what was left of his time. However¡­ ¡®Found you.¡¯ Contrary to his hopes for a quick find, it wasn¡¯t until a week later that Leo was finally able to come across his primary target... Chapter 45 - Skill Reading’s Activation Conditions Chapter 45 - Skill Reading¡¯s Activation Conditions Upon waking up early at dawn, Leo didn''t leave the comfort and warmth of his bed, simply reaching up to the small desk beside him to grab a book for his morning read. Leo had adapted this to his routine to wash away his sleepiness Although the book was mostly redundant, Leo still read through it as a whole, seeking the parts he lacked, hidden within each line and page. By the time he was done with the book, a most welcome voice spoke to his mind. [ Reading attribute, ''Skill Reading'', has been activated! ] Following the re-emergence of the message that he was looking forward to the most, Leo''s mind got to experience the deepened extraction of knowledge from his recent reads once more. In order to make the most of this unexpected activation, Leo shrugged off the blanket as he jumped out of bed, immediately picking up his sword and performing the reinforced basics he just learned repeatedly. Despite his gain, however, Leo stared into the empty air in pressed lips at the end of his mini-workout, disappointment visible on his face. "It seems like I''m stuck again¡­" ________________________ Personal Skills: --------------- ''Basic Swordsmanship'' - Chapter 1 - page 9/10 ''Horsemanship'' - Prologue - page 9/10 ________________________ Rather than this being the first time he heard the voice of the ''Book'' since he arrived in Swordkeep, this was already the second time! Over the last six days, Leo had ended up buying and reading a few dozen books in hopes of filling up the blanks within the basics he learned, this process proving to be very effective in no time. After the ''new'' within every book he read piled up, ''Skill Reading'' managed to activate two days ago, advancing his ''Basic Swordsmanship'' by one more page. Moreover, over the last two days, the page count didn''t stagnate, increasing further as Leo digested his newfound learnings.This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. Undeniably, this could be considered as very swift progress. However, the problem lay in the fact that the third ''Skill Reading'' activation of ''Basic Swordsmanship'' failed to cause any immediate change... "It might be possible to take one step further, but I will need something more than just basics to start the next ''chapter''." Similarly, the third ''Skill Reading'' still had to be digested, but Leo recognized the limits of how far it could push him. In fact, he doubted that even a fourth ''Skill Reading'' would show no effects unless he found something of better quality that''s suited for the current him. ''Let''s not get greedy¡­'' In reality, reaching the point where his basics felt so close to being complete in mere three months was enough to satisfy Leo or make him overjoyed even. However, perhaps due to his awareness of how far his ability could push him, Leo''s sight couldn''t help but reach far ahead. "At least I only need to find the proper book to progress." Most importantly, the biggest gain that Leo had realized during this week was none other than his increased understanding of ''Skill Reading''! Unlike his initial impression, ''Skill Reading'' wasn''t a one-time per skill ability, rather, as long as Leo read enough new content, the ability would naturally activate, similar to how his ''Reading'' worked passively, unaffected by Leo''s intent. Although it took quite a bit of time for it to activate this time, this was only due to the limited ''New'' content. Otherwise, Leo believed that even one book would be enough for the activation of ''Skill Reading''. Naturally, that was considering the knowledge that it held would be completely foreign to him. "Today seems like a good day!" Opening the window and feeling the comfortable breeze of the wind, Leo felt especially optimistic after getting to understand more about himself. Not loitering any further, he quickly went down to get into the line for showers in hopes of chancing upon his objective¡­ `~~~`~~~`~~~` "Roasted chicken skewers! Roasted chicken skewers! Come get them while they are hot! Only one silver sword for three!" Clinck. "I will take three." As he walked through the streets that he was already starting to get used to, Leo kept a book under his arm while he enjoyed the deliciously marinated chicken, making sure to not lose sight of his surroundings. Living up to its reputation as the city visited from everywhere, there were all kinds of unique and special food, boasting an incredible variety. As an apprentice ''foodie'' himself, Leo didn''t waste the chance to try out a few things during his ''quest''. ''This one is a win.'' Compared to one of the days where he almost threw up after trying a fish cooked in a ''special'' way, Leo was satisfied with his find for the day. However, when he was just about to bite into the last skewer, his mouth froze open as his eyes stared at the end of the street. The end corners of streets within Swordkeep were usually the spots where beggars laid around, so most people usually avoided them, including Leo, but the current him barely remembered to close his mouth before marching towards a specific end corner in big strides. Clinck! Hurriedly retrieving a copper coin from his pouch, Leo''s pupils dilated as he threw it down into a rusty metal bowl, awaiting the response of the man sitting beside it¡­ The elderly man wearing terribly ragged clothes raised his face to look at Leo who tried his best to hide his excitement. Although the man''s face was covered in gray, his eyes didn''t seem to match his current appearance in any way. ''Found you.'' Calming himself down, Leo smiled in the direction of the elderly man''s face as he presented the skewer in his hand to him. "Hey there grandpa, you seem like you haven''t eaten in days! I know this isn''t much, but that''s all I have with me now." As the elderly man stretched out his hand and grabbed the skewer, Leo couldn''t simply let the fish who caught his bait let go, proceeding with the rest of the script that he prepared for this exact moment. "Instead, what do you think about following me to grab a proper meal?" Leo smiled innocently as he patiently watched the elderly man devour the chicken skewer... Chapter 46 - Long Awaited Encounter Chapter 46 - Long Awaited Encounter ¡°Oh my, you don¡¯t just seem like you haven¡¯t eaten for weeks¡­¡± After bringing back the elderly man to the inn, Leo guided him to the dining room where he ordered several lunch portions for the starving man while slowly eating his own. Naturally, the reason why Leo did all of this wasn¡¯t that he had a sudden change of heart regarding money management. Rather... Just like any other recurring cliche in the countless novels that Leo had read¡­ Beggars, elderly men, weaklings, such people who were unlikely to be of any importance were authors¡¯ favorites when it came to the reveal of supreme beings who held unimaginable forms of power or knowledge. The author of ¡®The Sword Master¡¯s Second Life¡¯ was no different. However, unlike the usual reasons for these great beings¡¯ ¡®hidden forms¡¯ whether that be an incurable energy, a powerful enemy, or even seeking a mundane life, the reason used by the author was slightly¡­ ¡®fresh¡¯. ¡®He is a great actor for sure.¡¯ The elderly man sitting before Leo, devouring food like the embodiment of gluttony was simply acting. He was really starving, but that wasn¡¯t because he couldn¡¯t eat, the man chose not to eat so he could pull off his quarterly ¡®apprentice selection¡¯. ¡°So, what is someone like you doing starving on the street?¡± As the pace of the elderly man¡¯s devouring slowed down and went back to normal eating pace, Leo threw a question before he leisurely put a spoon of rice into his mouth. Unlike most old men who ended up being the protagonist¡¯s masters due to his otherworldly manners, this elderly man was someone who didn¡¯t fall under the protagonist¡¯s charm. This, however, didn¡¯t mean that he had no relations to Ray. In fact, he was the master of Ray¡¯s master! ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± Hearing Leo¡¯s question, the elderly man answered obliviously in a ragged voice, his eyes still focused on the food before him. ¡°Hmm? I¡¯m pretty sure you are someone of an extraordinary standing¡­ a scholar if you were to ask for my guess.¡± The elderly man who was Leo¡¯s primary reason for visiting Swordkeep was a scholar, but he was no ordinary scholar. He was none other than the great scholar who accompanied the first expedition to the Sword of Epoch! Not only was he the first interpreter for the symbols inscribed on the Sky-Piercing Sword, but he was also the man who stood behind the current Empire¡¯s rise! ¡°Failed scholars are everywhere. Although it¡¯s commendable for you to guess something like this, it means nothing.¡±This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. As the man who possessed knowledge of every ¡®Sword Breathing Manual¡¯ that existed in this world, he had peculiar methods when it came to reaching his objectives. After he supported the rise of the Sky-Piercing Sword Empire, the old man who fully inspected the Sword of Epoch knew that this wasn¡¯t the end. His based premonitions lead him to seek an apprentice who he would teach his ¡®treasure¡¯, all so that he would succeed in what he predicted that the Empire would fail to achieve. However, instead of using the Empire¡¯s power to make tournaments or examinations for the sake of picking the best ¡®seed¡¯, the great scholar personally conducted quarterly ¡®tests¡¯ starting with his acting as the first test. Luckily for Leo, these specific details were exposed by Ray¡¯s master who explained everything as he brought him along to meet his grandmaster and ended up ruining one of his quarterly selections. ¡°That¡¯s true, but I don¡¯t think you are a normal scholar, let alone a failed one. I think you are more of an¡­¡± In order to obtain this great scholar¡¯s ¡®treasure¡¯, Leo originally planned to try and succeed at passing his tests. Unfortunately, the moment he met him, he immediately decided to give up this idea. The very first moment his eyes met the scholar¡¯s eyes, Leo felt completely seen through, instantly realizing the reason why Ray¡¯s master was the only one to pass his test in decades. Although his age and control allowed him to pass the first step, Leo knew that he would be exposed if he went against this man who accumulated years of wisdom and experience. ¡°...Imperial Scholar?¡± As such, Leo decided to fully unleash his advantage as a reader! Why should he act in front of an experienced actor? Wouldn¡¯t it be better if he showed off his ¡®intellect¡¯ to convince his opponent rather than be exposed as a scammer? Although the focus of the scholar¡¯s tests emphasized character, he also tested the examinee¡¯s capacity to learn and understand. Since he already passed the first compulsory test, Leo simply used it as a ticket to solve a question of his own making rather than wait for the scholar to present his questions. ¡°Oh? You think so?¡± Parting with the food for the first time, the elderly man¡¯s eyes looked at Leo¡¯s young face in interest, seemingly waiting for further explanation. ¡®Did someone tell him?¡¯ Sensing the doubt in the man¡¯s eyes, Leo could almost tell what he was thinking considering the reality of the situation. ¡°I don¡¯t know if you are trying to hide it or you simply lost most of it under the wearing of time, but even under the pressure of hunger, your eating manners still have hints of finesse to it. Such ingrained etiquette is something that normal scholars don¡¯t have¡­ The same thing can be said about the way you followed me here.¡± Perhaps due to the fact that he already knew the identity of the man before him, Leo didn¡¯t have to pretend to notice the gaps in his acting, rather, it was very obvious to Leo¡¯s eyes that he could even mention them one by one. Instead of answering Leo¡¯s suspicion, the man stared into his eyes for a whole minute before the end of his lips curled up. ¡®Interesting¡­¡¯ ¡°I see you have quite the discerning eyes¡­ What do you say we continue this conversation after I change into a more suitable attire?¡± A clear and healthy voice dissimilar to the way the man spoke before made its way out of his mouth as he stood, his eyes waiting for an answer. ¡°I don¡¯t see why not, I have a few more hours of free walk time left anyway. I¡¯m sure your story would be more interesting than the boring sight of the bustling streets.¡± ¡°Much appreciated¡­¡± Smiling in return, the man almost walked away before turning his head back for Leo, leaving a few more words before he completely left. ¡°...Oh yeah, you can drop off the grandpa, just call me Rain.¡± Chapter 47 - Orchestrated Success Brought By Impeccable Synergy Chapter 47 - Orchestrated Success Brought By Impeccable Synergy ¡°So, before we continue, what should I call you?¡± After Rain disappeared into the stairs of the inn, a man dressed in a simple yet neat attire made his way down to Leo¡¯s table half an hour later, directly getting cozy in Rain¡¯s place. ¡®Great makeup skills¡­¡¯ Catching sight of the healthy face devoid of hair other than a groomed dark beard, Leo couldn¡¯t help but exclaim deep inside, despite expecting this change. If it wasn¡¯t for the change being simply too overwhelming for other customers to link this man to Rain, a commotion would have already broken out in response. This transformation could even compare to Crane¡¯s who truly used to look like a hobo! ¡®As expected of the protagonist¡¯s grandmaster.¡¯ Even if he were to disregard Rain¡¯s makeup skill, Leo couldn¡¯t help but muse at the fact that Rain only needed to walk upstairs to find an empty room to change in. Was this the ability of someone who quite literally ¡®owned¡¯ the city? ¡°Oh¡­ You can call me Leo, Mr. Rain.¡± Having priorly decided to go around by his true name, Leo smiled in response as he tried to erase the signs of surprise on his face, quickly collecting his wandering thoughts. ¡®This is just the beginning.¡¯ Although Leo was sure that he had already caught Rain¡¯s, he was still yet to fully convince him to change his routine. Since there was no need to hide things against Rain¡¯s insight, Leo planned to simply use his advantage to the maximum. ¡°Alright, before I answer your original question, what do you say I redirect that question back to you?¡± As he gestured for the waiter distributing drinks, Rain rested his chin on his right hand, casting his piercing eyes at Leo¡¯s face. ¡°I personally don¡¯t mind. Actually, you can already guess according to the common trend. I¡¯m just another young man who succeeded in some business and used his savings to travel to the City of Swordsmen to embark on the path of domination.¡± Ordering some juice from the waiter who closed in as well, Leo truthfully spoke of his intentions, making use of his innocent childish face. The path of domination was naturally one of the common names used to refer to the sword path. This was, after all, the era of the sword. ¡°Well then, Leo, your guess of my identity is mostly correct. However, if you expected this, then why did you approach me?¡±Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. ¡°I don¡¯t know really, you looked like an irregular when mixed in with the other beggars, so I figured you had something interesting to tell. Besides, you looked genuinely starving unlike most of the rest who made a job out of it.¡± ¡®He isn¡¯t lying...¡¯ If any 12 year old were to tell him that he approached him because he noticed his disguise, Rain would rather believe that someone had discovered his plans and was trying to take advantage of them. Nonetheless, he could tell that the young man before him was completely speaking the truth. Not only did the young man pass his first test, possessing enough insight to find the ¡®true¡¯ man in need within a group of pretentious people, but his manner of speaking seemed to be ahead of his physical age by more than a few years! Normally, such a ¡®chance¡¯ meeting was hard to explain. However, there was an impeccable synergy brought by the premeditated encounter of a ¡®Reader¡¯ who had a mental age far surpassing his body¡¯s age, and a crucial ¡®Side Character¡¯ who held a cheat-like insight on the level of a lie detector! ¡®Perhaps it¡¯s time for a change like he said¡­¡¯ His one and only apprentice often advised him to change his impossible selection of tests, but he refused, those he sought for his ¡®cause¡¯ had to at least meet the standards he set. Now, the young man before him seemed to surpass all standards, just that it wasn¡¯t his specific standards¡­ However, did this really matter? Rather, why were the standards required in the one that would achieve this ¡®cause¡¯ only limited to his? Although he was a knowledgeable man, Rain knew that his knowledge wasn¡¯t all-encompassing. It was just that he tried to manage within the boundaries of his knowledge. Since fate presented him with someone special in his own way, who was he to refuse it? Pressured by the premonition that the encroaching threat was nearer than ever, Rain¡¯s train of thought changed for once. ¡®Perhaps this meeting was destined from the very moment that he decided on this quarterly selection process¡­¡¯ ¡°I must say that your reasoning is quite peculiar, though I do appreciate your honesty. In return, let me give you my answer in the form of a question.¡± Unaware of the thoughts converging in Rain¡¯s mind, Leo could only calmly await the results of his attempt at manipulating the world¡¯s flow in his favor. ¡°My actual identity isn¡¯t something that I can reveal yet. However, since both your interest and your wish to tread the sword path guided you to me¡­¡± Sensing the seriousness in Rain¡¯s gaze, Leo reflected it on his face, holding back a smile that begged him to surface. If his guess was correct, then... ¡°Would you trust me to guide you into that path in return?¡± ...his orchestrated encounter was a success! ¡°I can¡¯t guarantee it will be easy. In fact, it might be harsher than normal, but I can guarantee you won¡¯t be losing out.¡± Looking into Rain¡¯s deep eyes, Leo hesitated for a second to collect the response he prepared in advance, and most importantly so that he wouldn¡¯t come off as suspicious. ¡°That¡¯s one surprising reason, but I can¡¯t say that I¡¯m not intrigued¡­¡± Pausing in the middle of this seemingly life-changing decision, Leo took a sip from his cup of juice before he gave an answer. ¡°Alright, I accept your offer. It¡¯s not like there are many who can offer something better than Mr. Rain who is ¡®almost¡¯ an Imperial Scholar. Moreover, I had no leads till this meeting anyway.¡± Showing a rare moment of childish naivety, Leo happily smiled at Rain in response. ¡°Good. if you have already decided, then go get your belongings, it¡¯s better if we start right away.¡± Chapter 48 - A Swordsmanship Performance Chapter 48 - A Swordsmanship Performance ¡°Did you check out?¡± After Leo handled his belongings and transported most of it into the carriage parked in the inn¡¯s stable, he went down and paid the day¡¯s ¡®rent¡¯ before appearing in front of Rain with a bag on his back. ¡°Yes.¡± Since Rain told him to leave the inn, Leo had no plans of keeping his inn room any further. Whether Rain planned to guide him somewhere within the city or out of it, or even in the worst-case scenario where he went back on his words midway, Leo had little business left to do in Swordkeep after scoring this successful encounter. ¡®Plan B doesn¡¯t start here.¡¯ ¡°Then let us get going.¡± However, just as Rain was about to leave on foot, Leo tugged his sleeve as he pointed towards the inn¡¯s back with his face. ¡°Your¡­ business must have been a successful one.¡± As he followed Leo to the stable, Rain¡¯s lips couldn¡¯t help but curve upward, putting his hand around his chin in contemplation. Even for a simple horse carriage, no matter if it¡¯s rented or bought, the money needed for it wasn¡¯t something that a normal child¡¯s savings could afford. Rain initially thought that Leo had taken a public carriage to the city as most people did. After all, they were both affordable and readily available thanks to the city¡¯s popularity. ¡°Well, it was more of a one-time transaction. Thankfully, intellectual property is a very lucrative business.¡± ¡®Intellectual property?¡¯ Although the specific name seemed somewhat elusive to Rain, he could still guess its meaning, but he couldn¡¯t help but wonder what kind of ¡®intellectual property¡¯ that someone of Leo¡¯s age could come up with¡­ ¡®He is really too much¡­¡¯ In reality, Rain was more inclined towards Leo being some rich noble¡¯s son, but his movements and manners denied that completely. Despite being supposed to act as the mysterious mentor, Rain felt like their roles were reversed with Leo being a more mysterious student. Despite feeling the urge to ask in order to satisfy his curiosity, Rain felt that he lost this right along with his condition of keeping his own identity hidden. ¡°Alright, I will show you the way.¡± Resigning himself to go along the path he decided, Rain defeatedly climbed into the carriage, waiting for Leo to drive it to their destination. ¡°Understood, Teacher.¡± Neighhh! Not cutting any corners, Leo immediately got into his student role as soon as he got into the driver seat, directing the horse into the crowded street... `~~~`~~~`~~~`Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. As Leo drove his carriage in accordance with Rain¡¯s directions, the tall compact buildings started to vanish while the crowds surrounding it thinned considerably as they advanced. In no time, they made their way into the smallest part of the city, the Private District. Owing to the city¡¯s purpose of being intended more so for containing guests rather than maintaining a long livelihood, it was designed in a way where over 90% of the city was used for building inns, rentals, restaurants, and other similar facilities. On the other hand, private properties were scarce within the city. However, that made it so it held an unimaginable value. In the City of Swordsmen, those who had a house in the Private District were treated like a noble regardless of their actual status. ¡°Stop here.¡± Following Rain¡¯s gesture, Leo stopped the carriage in front of the largest terrace house within the street. ¡°Teacher sure was sacrificing a lot to find a student¡­¡± Although the terrace house lacked the warmth of the little crowded shack he used to live in, Leo didn¡¯t mind ¡®bearing¡¯ to live here. Just thinking about how Rain would quarterly spend a few days on the street rather than live in this house gave Leo a prime example of how ironic the cycle of needs was. ¡°Everything is done for a reason... Now, let us waste time no more, grab a sword.¡± Not sparing the time to do what people normally did when inviting new guests into their home, Rain didn¡¯t even bother entering the house¡¯s main body. After skillfully guiding the horse to the small parking spot by the house, he only waited till Leo grabbed a sword out of his carriage before he took him directly into the porch. ¡°Show me your confidence that got you all the way here. Show me your sword.¡± Standing in front of the lone deckchair within the porch, Rain sat down as he gazed intensely at Leo. Although he valued character the most, hence why he chose to impart his ''treasure'' to Leo, he at least had to evaluate the technical skill of his choice. ¡°Mhm.¡± After a silent nod, Leo brandished his steel alloy sword. It wasn¡¯t like he expected to receive his target without any prelude. Instead, he was excited to show the skill born from the combination of his ¡®Reading¡¯ and the effort he spent over the last three months! Not hesitating further, Leo demonstrated his ¡®Basic Swordsmanship¡¯. Although it was just simple sword movements supplemented by nothing but simple stances, Leo had confidence in his performance. While advanced techniques had powerful movement connections and corresponding footwork to support their use, all these techniques required a solid foundation to be built upon, and that was what Leo had! ¡®Even this?¡¯ Watching Leo¡¯s clean movement with his thumb supporting his chin, Rain couldn¡¯t help but be surprised. Although most swordsmen built sufficient foundations due to the systematic training the Empire developed with his idea as the basis, it was hard to see it from someone this young unless he started training in his early childhood years. ¡°Leo¡­ When did you start your sword training?¡± ¡°I was only able to get a proper book on swordsmanship recently, so I started sooner than half a year ago.¡± Not pausing his action as he treated his display as a chance to get his daily training, Leo answered as nonchalantly as possible. Despite spending a mere 3 months, Leo vaguely doubled the period in a way that he wouldn¡¯t be lying. The ability of a ¡®genius¡¯ was okay, but if he were to be labeled as a ¡®monster¡¯, Rain would probably be curious enough to dig out his relations to Ray. In that case¡­ ¡®The suspicion that I just cleared would cloud the sky¡­¡¯ ¡°Less than half a year?¡± ¡®A talent in both body and mind!¡¯ Not wasting his time in thought anymore, Rain sprung up from his chair and grabbed a wooden stick from the ground¡­ ¡°I have seen enough! Try to follow my moves!¡± Under the excitement of his great find, Rain directly performed the content of his ¡®treasure¡¯ without restraint, looking forward to seeing how fast this mysterious student of his would grasp it¡­ ¡®Let me see what you got!¡¯ Before he knew it, Rain had already acknowledged Leo¡¯s student status in his heart! However, to his disappointment, what he imagined¡­ didn¡¯t come to be. ¡°Ahem¡­ Would it be possible to receive written instructions instead?¡± Chapter 49 - ‘Origin Manual’ Chapter 49 - ¡®Origin Manual¡¯ ¡°I have seen enough! Try to follow my moves!¡± ¡®As expected, this is problematic.¡¯ Even though he was prepared for something similar, Leo couldn¡¯t help but frown at Rain¡¯s enthusiastic performance. While it was undeniably true that he was special, even a ¡®monster¡¯ comparable to protagonists, Leo¡¯s specialness was conditional! When it came to real talent, although Leo wasn¡¯t mediocre, he was average at best. His precise memory and instant comprehension only worked on words inscribed on pages, this was his limitation as a ¡®Reader¡¯! Nonetheless, Leo tightened his grip on the sword as he tried to follow Rain¡¯s performance to the best of his ability. In a sense, being normal wasn¡¯t a bad experience in itself¡­ ¡®Why is it this shallow¡­?¡¯ As Rain threw glances at Leo while performing the moves ingrained in his memory, a faded frown slowly imprinted itself on his forehead. Being the person who represented the peak of sword study in the great sword era, Rain was someone extremely proficient in judging ¡®swords¡¯ despite nurturing close to no Sword Breath in his body. It wasn¡¯t like he had ¡®Blocked Meridians¡¯ just like Arthur did, but other than his advanced age, his body was possibly the one with the lowest affinity with Sword Breath in the whole region, making his accumulation of knowledge reflect no direct value to himself¡­ However, it was precisely because of that he could devote himself to his studies the most! If he couldn¡¯t be an emperor then he could be the emperor¡¯s teacher, having accepted his path as a mentor, Rain rose to his current position, being at the top of the world. But why? Why didn¡¯t his judgment of the boy before him make sense? Where was the result that he was so sure to witness? The rehearsal he saw could hardly be described as anything but average, it was as if the boy before him was different than the one he was with a moment ago. He was looking forward to a first-time success, curious about the boy¡¯s affinity with Sword Breath, but now he felt like a bucket of cold water emptied above his head¡­ ¡°Ahem¡­ Would it be possible to receive written instructions instead?¡± Still trying to wake up from his shock, Rain¡¯s disorientation only increased when he heard the boy¡¯s comment as he finished his poor imitation. ¡°Written instructions?¡± Emptily staring at Leo for a few seconds, Rain wasn''t sure what to make of his request¡­ His ability to mentor was the one thing he was most confident in, his tailored training systems and personal correcting were things that most people could only seek but not receive, yet the youth before him didn¡¯t even bother considering this opportunity!This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. Even if his first try was lackluster, Rain found no reason for him not to try again. Wasn¡¯t this being too much of a defeatist? Did he have to expose his identity as the Imperial Advisor for the boy to reconsider his request? ¡°Yes. It¡¯s hard to admit, but my ability to comprehend under direct teaching is average at best. In contrast, I have more confidence in my ability to self-study.¡± ¡®Is he¡­ embarrassed?¡¯ Being brought back to reality, Rain couldn¡¯t help but consider the age of the youth in front of him. Although he showed qualities surpassing someone of his age, that only made it make more sense for him to be embarrassed by his one inferior quality. ¡°Naturally, I do have a written record, but are you sure of your choice?¡± Still being unable to completely understand the reason for the disparity between what he showed before and what he showed now, Rain didn¡¯t directly deny Leo¡¯s request, sternly advising him to reconsider instead. ¡®Could we be of the same nature?¡¯ The only possibility that surfaced in Rain¡¯s mind was that Leo might even have an affinity with ¡®Breathing¡¯ even worse than his. Otherwise, he couldn¡¯t fathom why his talent with the sword was omitted to this degree in his ¡®performance¡¯. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Haa¡­ So be it.¡± Still affected by his disappointment, Rain let out a sigh and accepted Leo¡¯s decision without discouraging him from any further. He sluggishly leaned the stick on the deck chair before walking towards the main body of the house. ¡°Let¡¯s head inside, I will assign your living quarters first. Come receive what you requested after you settle in.¡± Hoping that his guess wasn¡¯t true, Rain tried to clear his mind and have patience when handling this new student of his. Even if he was trying to run out of confrontation, it wouldn¡¯t be too late to personally direct him after he realized that he needed to accept his condition, taming his pride. ¡®It might be slow, but gradually advancing should make his acquisition more solid¡­¡¯ `~~~`~~~`~~~` After ¡®disappointing¡¯ Rain, Leo was assigned one of the single rooms situated at the bottom floor far from the ladder to the top floor where Rain was staying. Leo then leisurely spent the following half an hour transporting his belongings from the carriage to give some time-space for Rain to cool off, he even wasted a few more minutes feeding the horse before he finally went upstairs. ¡°Take it.¡± Hearing Rain¡¯s voice that seemed to be silenced by a door, Leo noticed the neatly sized book left on the desk facing the stairs. It was finally time to claim the objective of his ¡®quest¡¯! ¡®Success!¡¯ As he went down the stairs, Leo¡¯s hands twitched as they held the crystallization of his effort. Although it took both time and hardship, he took his second step towards his goal, the end of the road that no longer symbolized mere survival. ¡°Hoooo¡­¡± After reaching his new bed in what felt like an eternity due to his excitement, Leo let out a long breath before his eyes and the book simultaneously to start the ¡®read¡¯ he was most looking forward to since he started reading at the age of 3! Slowly flipping the pages while appreciating Rain¡¯s great handwriting, Leo suppressed his reading speed in an attempt to savor the primary effect of his ¡®Reading¡¯. Moving from one page to another, swimming between words and illustrations, Leo¡¯s eyes didn¡¯t separate from the book in his hand before the sun had already set. ¡®Let¡¯s save it for tomorrow...¡¯ Filled with apprehensions regarding the effect of what he just read on himself, Leo resisted the urge to return to the porch with his sword, laying on the bed with forcibly closed eyes. After a few minutes of struggle with his heart, Leo¡¯s conditioned biological clock finally won the battle, sending him on a long journey towards dreamland as a familiar voice flashed in his mind. [ Hidden event occurrence has been detected. Discovered Hidden Piece, ¡®Origin Manual¡¯. ] [ You have received 24 Reading Points. ] Chapter 50 - Second Attribute Emergence Chapter 50 - Second Attribute Emergence Upon waking up at dawn, Leo stared at the empty ceiling for half an hour before he finally decided to get up. ¡®This is a first¡­¡¯ The dark circles reflected in the mirror were something that he had missed ever since he came to this word. After all, they only emerged back on Earth thanks to his one and only addiction. Whether it was staying up late to read or being unable to sleep due to excitement for further chapters, everything revolved around reading. Today, however, Leo¡¯s dark circles made a comeback under the effect of being excited about something else for the first time! Feeling strangely familiar with the house¡¯s relative modernness, Leo acted freely just like Rain instructed, visiting the bathroom on the lower floor for a shower to wash away the sleep he lacked. After cooling his body, Leo decided to ¡®invade¡¯ the kitchen and make some breakfast to cool his head as well. All in preparation for the grand reveal. Tssssh! Interestingly enough, Rain¡¯s kitchen was stocked with fresh ingredients despite the fact that he was still roleplaying as a beggar the day before. Leo could only wonder how many jobs were opened because of Rain¡¯s peculiar habits. ¡°Oh? Did you make something?¡± Woken up by the smell, Rain soon made his entrance into the kitchen, positively surprised by the sight before him. ¡°Yes, I hope I wasn¡¯t overreaching by making you a portion.¡± Although Leo wasn¡¯t particularly interested in cooking, he still made use of his ability by reading a few dozen cooking books for simple meals to consume along with his daily reading routine. Whether it was presentation or taste, Leo¡¯s instinctive skill could make someone¡¯s appetite flare, which was especially so for someone of this world. ¡°Is that so? Then let me try it fir¡­¡± Feeling the lack of need to resist the plates that his eyes had already digested, Rain sat down and put the spoon to his mouth, immediately raising his eyebrows in response. ¡°Oh my, that¡¯s¡­ full of taste!¡± The lack of modern cooking tools and species might have undermined the meal¡¯s potential, but even then, Leo¡¯s egg and chicken mix almost restructured Rain¡¯s palate. The side of steamy pancakes was specifically something he couldn¡¯t believe to be made by someone of Leo¡¯s age! ¡®He really doesn¡¯t cease to surprise, does he?¡¯ ¡°Ahem¡­ So, how did your self-study go?¡±This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. As Rain¡¯s slight disappointment in Leo unknowingly faded away, he felt an even greater urge to supplement his only visible shortcoming. With his spoon finally, put down, Rain immediately brought up the topic while wiping his mouth with a napkin, leaving his ¡®victims¡¯ completely clean. On the other side of the table, Leo was still finishing his meal as he ate at a normal pace, hovering his spoon mid-air to give an answer after suppressing his excitement. ¡°Well, I was hoping to explore the answer to that after breakfast.¡± Under Rain¡¯s mindful gaze, Leo peacefully resumed his meal, gesturing towards the coal stove with his free hand. ¡°There is still an extra portion if Teacher wants to continue sharing a meal.¡± Glancing in the direction of Leo¡¯s fingers, Rain hesitated for a second before leaving his seat... `~~~`~~~`~~~` After the pair finished their meal, they quickly transitioned back to the positions they were in the day before, burning with anticipation for two different things. ¡°Alright, show me what you got.¡± For Rain, this display was just a formality, a step towards his objective. Rather, he was looking forward to seeing the effect of his guidance on an intelligent youth like Leo based on today¡¯s result. However, things were completely different for the target of his expectations. He was both excited to use ¡®Sword Breathing¡¯ for the first time as well as anxious to see how ¡®Skill Reading¡¯ would react to it. ¡°Understood.¡± Brandishing his sword once more, Leo recalled the moves that were already part of him. As he did so, he couldn¡¯t help but praise the author of the book in his heart. Even though he was more inclined towards weapons like spears and halberds that gave some ranged fighting capability, unlike a large portion of readers who were sword nerds, Leo was still thankful that this world revolved around swords instead. While it was true that swords were relatively harder to master due to their versatility, it was comparatively easier to pick them up as a weapon. If one were to shorten the blade enough, most people would be able to handle it with ease regardless of their age or build. Some would argue that spears beat swords in that aspect, but that only applied to the borderline aspect of ¡®picking up¡¯ a weapon, one would still have to spend more time to usefully handle a spear than a sword. Most importantly, as the foundation of the novel¡¯s only supernatural ability, the sword¡¯s versatility made it perfect for the ¡®unreasonable¡¯ moves of a ¡®Sword Breathing Manual¡¯. If he had to perform a ¡®spear dance¡¯ rather than a sword dance, Leo was sure he would suffer regardless of whether ¡®Skill Reading¡¯ helped him or not. The ¡®Sword¡¯ in the title was possibly the author¡¯s best decision in the whole novel. ¡®This is the moment of truth.¡¯ After calming himself with some logical overthinking, Leo finally started to fluidly move his sword, applying the pattern that he learned yesterday. ¡°Oh?¡± Catching the beginning of Leo¡¯s movement, Rain couldn¡¯t step his brows from rising once more. Although they weren¡¯t as complete as his original expectation, the difference after that one night was definitely visible. ¡®What kind of¡­¡¯ However, that was nothing but the beginning, as the sword transitioned from one movement to another, it gradually got more and more closer to its complete form. At the same time, Rain¡¯s insight allowed him to notice even deeper details! Leo¡¯s ability wasn¡¯t even advancing with each movement, he was simply growing by the second! Unable to think or let any word out of his mouth, Rain was mesmerized by the sight as the sword dance came closer to its end. At the same time, unknown to Leo in his current state, a voice emerged in his consciousness. [ The Second ¡®Reading¡¯ Attribute has been invoked! Updating conditions have been met¡­ ] Chapter 51 - Sword Calligraphy Chapter 51 - Sword Calligraphy ¡®This is the moment of truth.¡¯ Letting out one final thought, Leo tried his best to edit out anything but his sword from his sight, all in order to achieve the highest immersion in his first execution of this ¡®Sword Art¡¯. Although the majority of people were more inclined towards using the term ¡®Sword Practice¡¯ instead, Leo couldn¡¯t find a better way to describe the contents of the manual he read. If he were to specify the description even forward, only one word came to mind, Calligraphy! Using the sword as a brush to draw patterns similar to words, linking them to achieve a true combination of art and sword skill, the description closest to perfect would naturally be ¡®Sword Calligraphy¡¯! As the blade shone under the sun, Leo tightened both hands around its hilt as the sword finally moved it out of its stationary state, drawing out the first stroke of the beginning pattern, filled with zeal to complete his own piece of art. However, as if they were nonexistent from the very beginning, the thoughts that crowded Leo¡¯s mind simply vanished, accompanied by his suppressed excitement that just exploded, allowing him to transition into a state of complete clearance as if following the transition of his sword to the second stroke¡­ [ The Second ¡®Reading¡¯ Attribute has been invoked! Updating conditions have been met¡­ ] [ Reading attribute, ¡®Ability Reading¡¯, has been activated! ] Even as voices surfaced in his mind, Leo was completely unaware, just as he was unaware of his surroundings. The only thing that he perceived was the sword as well as his hands that served as his connection to the sword. Even his body was disregarded as if something else was moving the sword. Although his eyes were open, Leo wasn¡¯t sure if he could see or not. Everything other than the slim piece of alloy steel felt extremely blurry. Swishh! Swishh! Swish¡­ One stroke begat a second, and two strokes begat a third, before he knew it, Leo felt like he swung his sword for years, whenever all of this would end was anything but known... [ The ¡®Personal Book¡¯ has been updated. ] ¡°Haaa¡­¡± It was only when he heard a voice that he missed dearly that Leo took in a huge breath of air as if he just managed to escape after being completely submerged in water. The relaxation he felt definitely didn¡¯t feel like suffocation, but the sequence of happening made everything feel reversed.The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. ¡®What was that?¡¯ Not even managing to bother considering where he was, Leo immediately called out to the ¡®Personal Book¡¯ as he tried to ease the disorientation he felt towards time. Ignoring the statistical page, he directly checked the latest log page while trying to reconnect back to reality. ¡®Ability¡­? Is the intensity so much different just because it¡¯s an ¡®ability¡¯...?¡¯ As his perception gradually returned to normal, Leo was able to slowly tell what happened. Once more, this was another form of ¡®Reading¡¯ with his original ability at its base, it was just that this time, the ¡®Reading¡¯ felt even more surreal than it was with ¡®Skill Reading¡¯. In reality, Leo had expected another ¡®Skill Reading¡¯, his apprehensions were regarding whether it would activate or not, or whether its effect would be useful or not. However, he somehow ended up having a completely different experience being thrown into a more aggressive ¡®digestion¡¯ of what he received. The ¡®first¡¯ stated by the voice when it first mentioned ¡®Skill Reading¡¯ did hint at something. However, Leo didn¡¯t expect to discover this ¡®something¡¯ this soon... ¡°What are you waiting for? Do it again! This time at the same rhythm!¡± Although Rain was still flabbergasted regarding what he just witnessed, he didn¡¯t care about getting an explanation at the moment, all he cared about was seeing the result of it. Leo¡¯s incomprehensible growth made it so that his ¡®performance¡¯ was disconnected, now he wanted to see a complete execution with the same skill the last stroke had! On the other hand, the Leo who only had a fragment of his questions answered finally remembered the situation he was in, holding back the intent to check the first page and holding back the thoughts that were about to crowd his mind with it. He simply put everything away as he followed Rain¡¯s instructions. Even if he didn¡¯t completely understand everything at this moment, did it really matter? Wasn¡¯t his excitement for the result of ¡®Sword Breathing¡¯ the true reason his heart wanted to jump out of his body? Despite the interlude caused by ¡®Ability Reading¡¯, his goal was still the same, and he was going to see it through! As the sword went back to the beginning, Leo restarted his attempt at ¡®Sword Calligraphy¡¯, this time, he was completely in control of the process! From one stroke to another, and from one pattern to another, every transition was smooth and comforting. The complete piece of ¡®Calligraphy¡¯ took a whole 10 minutes to finish, but Leo didn¡¯t even feel the passing of a minute. Just at this moment, Leo felt something familiar seep into his body from his surroundings, completely filling up the emptiness in his body before slowly starting to fade away¡­ At the same time, another familiar stream made its way to his body. However, not only did the stream feel even closer to him, but it also only entered through his hands that were glued to the sword¡¯s hilt. As the great wave that filled his body eventually faded, Leo couldn¡¯t help but feel empty, but he quickly rejoiced at the faint feeling of something swimming in his body. ¡®It worked¡­ right?¡¯ Although it was less sharp and tame in comparison, these streams Leo sensed were undeniably of the same kind as the flood he received upon his consumption of the ¡®Cleansing Sword¡¯. if he wasn¡¯t simply hallucinating due to his forceful mind suggestion, Leo was confident that he had successfully accomplished his first set of ¡®Sword Breathing¡¯! Undoubtedly, this was the moment where Leo wanted to check his ¡®Personal Book¡¯ the most since his arrival in this foreign world. However, he was able to quell his desire successfully as he directed his gaze towards Rain¡­ [ Plot change confirmed. Unique event recurrence has been detected. ] Chapter 52 - Universal Breathing Chapter 52 - Universal Breathing Among the hundred ''Manuals'' that were inscribed atop the Sky-Piercing Sword released to the world, all of them only had one basic feature, ''Absorption''. Countless scholars, historians, and great swordsmen compared these ''Manuals'' based on absorption speed, required stamina, skill threshold, and so on, researching deeper and deeper, but all of these comparison points still revolved around ''Absorption''. No matter how different their ''Art'' was, all ''Manuals'' were fundamentally the same. However, unknown to these scholars, historians, and even the first expedition''s members, there was one more ''Manual'', one that they disregarded to this date due to a loss in translation! The manual that allowed the total number to exceed a hundred definitely stood out for being different. Unfortunately, the difference wasn''t welcomed by many. In fact, the manual was unanimously identified as nothing but ''gibberish''. Other manuals were completely translatable just relying on the scroll, at most only a tenth of their content needed deciphering, but the situation was completely reversed when it came to that specific manual, not even a tenth of it was within the scroll! Given the hunger for power brought by the gigantic sword, the original scroll that held the translation script for the language inscribed on the sword was quickly torn apart and scattered around the world. Even if someone wanted to try deciphering it, the complete preliminary ''dictionary'' was no more. However, unknown to many, there was one exception. Influenced by his habitual thirst for knowledge, amid the first expedition''s members, one person had committed the scroll''s content to memory! ''It wasn''t easy¡­'' Despite the consensus view that it was an incomplete manual, this particular person didn''t abandon it. He simply delved further into the study of the unknown language that the manuals came in before achieving a grand result! The unacknowledged manual, or the ''Origin Manual'' as this person named it, was different indeed, in more ways than one. As if being proportionate to the difficulty of translating it, it was one of a kind. Aside from sharing the common function of ''Absorption'', it monopolized the unique ability of ''Production'', deserving of the ''Origin'' in its name! However, his discovery brought him worry rather than elation. Instead of shallowly celebrating it by announcing his impossible feat to the world, Rain, the only scholar to have knowledge of the extra manual, read further into it. Not only did he grow suspicious of the scroll''s source, but he also contemplated the possibility that it withheld the information needed for the only manual that seemed to have true value. Counting all of this into consideration, Rain accepted one more role under his name.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. ''This is why it''s my ''treasure''...'' Shrouding the ''Origin Manual'' in complete secrecy, he vowed to only reveal it to those who he acknowledged, all so that they would stand up to the unknown target of his suspicion if it ever came to be true! Needless to say, a manual of such something simple. While its unique ability didn''t necessarily mean that it was the hardest to master compared to the other manuals, it was definitely at the higher end of the spectrum. ''Yet¡­ What just happened?'' His wish of witnessing a ''first-time mastery'' was just an empty thought he had. Even his grand apprentice who had even more talent than his first apprentice only pulled off a true ''Sword Breathing'' in his fifth try. The boy before him managed to succeed in his third try, however, that wasn''t even the most shocking part under Rain''s observation. Leo''s second try was what truly astonished Rain! ''Was I thinking in the opposite direction?'' Within the realm of his knowledge, Rain only had one explanation to what he saw, unmatchable affinity! While that contradicted Leo''s first try, Rain found himself to be easily accepting Leo''s excuse. It wasn''t impossible to grasp things slowly when being force-fed. Everyone was different! ''A terrifying ability to self-study¡­ and an even more terrifying Sword Breath affinity!'' In Rain''s eyes, Leo no longer seemed suspicious. His words that hid no deceit forced Rain''s heart to point towards the incomprehensible gears of fate! Only destiny could drive such an abnormal yet pure apprentice in his way! "Should I¡­ do it again?" Snapping out of his reminiscing, Rain raised his eyebrows before relaxing them, his lips breaking into a satisfied smile. "No, you did more than enough. All you need to do now is go back to your room and try to savor what you just underwent to the best of your ability." One''s grasp of ''Sword Breath'' after his first ''Absorption'' was something that decided a few certain factors in a swordsman''s path. As someone who mentored dozens into this ''threshold'', witnessing countless ''first-times'', with two specifically being in correspondence with the ''Origin Manual'', Rain didn''t need to stare much before confirming Leo''s experience. "Got it, Teacher!" Excited to get some time alone just when he wanted it the most, Leo only lowered his head slightly before he dashed to his room¡­ `~~~`~~~`~~~` Despite Leo''s excitement to see his new ''Book 1'' page, he still followed Rain''s advice to try his best to remember his perception of ''Sword Breath'' within his body. ''I can feel it quite clearly¡­'' However, he didn''t consume much of his concentration to achieve this. Rather, it felt like something natural. ''Is this another effect of the ''Cleansing''...?'' Unknown to Rain, this certainly wasn''t his first experience with ''Sword Breath''. Regardless of its savageness, Leo could tell that his particular ease of accepting ''Breath'' must have had to do with his ''medicinal'' treatment. Nonetheless, Leo still did his best to make use of the moment. Only calling out to the ''Personal Book'' after the thin threads swimming around seemed to fall asleep. [ Plot change confirmed. Unique event recurrence has been detected. ] [ The Reader''s character has managed to further alter his path, obtaining a new destiny. ] [ You have received 22 Reading Points. ] ''Recurrence?'' Checking the event first to prepare for the most important reveal, Leo was slightly surprised by the wording. Was this supposed to be a ''chain event'' similar to chain quests? As he pondered about this new hint and its possible use, Leo slowly flipped the pages in anticipation, finally reaching the first page¡­ [ Book 1 ] Name: Arthur (Leo Lock) Age: 12 (18) Role: Reader Reading Points: 222 ________________________ Personal Statistics: ---------------- Physique: 0.91 Mind: 1.35 (+1.96) Sword Breath: 0.05 ________________________ Personal Skills: --------------- ''Basic Swordsmanship'' - Chapter 1 - page 10/10 ''Horsemanship'' - Prologue - page 9/10 ________________________ Personal Abilities: ----------------- ''Universal Sword Breathing'' - Grade 1 - 7/10 ________________________ Events: ------- - Teaching Crane - Unique - Rewriting Destiny - Unique (2) - Counter Elimination - Impossible ________________________ Chapter 53 - Reading Analysis Chapter 53 - Reading Analysis The first part that Leo¡¯s eyes laid on was ¡®Personal Statistics¡¯. Despite already confirming the presence of Sword Presence in his body, he was curious about the quantification applied by the personal book. ¡®I wonder how many points are needed to reach grade 1¡­¡¯ Due to the lack of a conversion rate, Leo held little to no clue, but his attention quickly shifted to his other statistics which had surprisingly increased. ¡®Is it just a coincidence or?¡¯ The fact that Sword Breath was more of a tool rather than ¡®nutrients¡¯ that could enhance the body was well established in the novel, but Leo was slightly suspicious of this timely increase. ¡®It should be clear in time.¡¯ Deciding to put his doubt away until gathering more evidence, Leo¡¯s eyes went down to the fresh addition brought by the newly unlocked attribute. ¡®Not ¡®Origin Manual¡¯...?¡¯ According to both his memory and the log pages, the voice had definitely described the ¡®Sword Art¡¯ that he performed today as ¡®Origin Manual¡¯. However, now that it became an ability, its name had completely changed? In the first place, what made such a performance qualify as an ¡®ability¡¯? Was it because it corresponded to this world¡¯s law, allowing one to absorb and produce Sword Breath? After experiencing the exaggerated effect of ¡®Ability Reading¡¯, Leo couldn¡¯t help but get absorbed in thought. However, in the end, he only came to one conclusion that was more of a guess. ¡®Skills exist and apply in every world, but abilities are restricted to one world and given power by this world¡¯s law¡­?¡¯ Perhaps due to his origin, Leo had to undergo a more thorough process to ¡®Read¡¯ the ability to ¡®Sword Breath¡¯ in contrast to basic skills applicable everywhere. In essence, his ability to ¡®Read¡¯ seemed to have a different set of ¡®frequencies¡¯ according to the ¡®type¡¯ and ¡®effect¡¯ of reading. ¡®As for the ¡®Universal¡¯... why does it feel familiar?¡¯ Thinking back to the changed name, Leo felt like he had discovered something. He originally found the name odd as it opposed the name mentioned in the novel. However, as soon as he ignored the possibility of ¡®Universal¡¯ being used to make it grand enough, a thought flashed in his mind, pointing towards the word¡¯s actual definition! ¡®Universal¡­ means something used by all or related to everyone. Is this supposed to be the original purpose of this ¡®Sword Art¡¯...?¡¯ Although none of his thoughts could be confirmed even with his knowledge of the novel, Leo felt that it fell into place logically according to the main plotline. Regardless, he could only keep it in mind for now and move on to the next point. It was interesting to see that the ability retained a grading system similar to the one used in this world, but Leo still had to see how it would change with time. Feeling satisfied with his current findings for the time being, he gave the rest of the page a quick scan for any additional changes. Other than the editing of the ¡®Change of Destiny¡¯ and the number added to it, indicating a ¡®chain event-like¡¯ sequence, the only thing worth noting to Leo was his maxed-up ¡®Basic Swordsmanship¡¯.This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. Despite not practicing the skill at all today, the imaginary ¡®years¡¯ Leo spent during his ¡®Ability Reading¡¯ seemed like enough of a reason for a certain increase in familiarity with the sword. Moreover, it was vaguely mentioned in the novel that ¡®Sword Breathing¡¯ had a slight positive effect on the user¡¯s sword skills. ¡®Let¡¯s do some cardio and get back to sleep.¡¯ After focusing his gaze on the accumulating pile of ¡®useless¡¯ points, Leo left his bed and started doing some light stretches. Even though it didn¡¯t feel like much time had passed, there were only 2 hours left before dawn by the time Leo was done with his brainstorming session. The time he spent sensing Sword Breath especially took a large portion of the day. Since Rain expected him to spend the whole day on this task, Leo quickly slipped back into the warmth of his bed after he finished exercising. Sensing the lifelike threads which he had no control over as of yet, Leo gradually calmed down as his consciousness traveled to dreamland. That night¡­ Leo dreamed of his life back on Earth for the first time. `~~~`~~~`~~~` ¡®What a timely dream¡­¡¯ Staring into the ceiling as he recalled the faint illusion of going back, Leo only let out a faint sigh before he left the bed. As he had barely slept an hour yesterday, Leo had woken up two hours later than usual. His stomach was growling from skipping lunch, but he still took his time to shower before he visited the kitchen. ¡°Good morning, Teacher.¡± ¡°Oh, good morning.¡± Unlike the day before, the kitchen wasn¡¯t empty this time. Rain, who woke up earlier, was already there, sipping a cup of milk tea. ¡°I will be preparing some breakfast, would Teacher like some?¡± Taking out ingredients from the pantry, Leo threw a glance at Rain. His eyes looked nonchalant, but his mouth slightly twitched, allowing Leo to easily receive an answer. ¡°Do as you like¡­ hssp...¡± Ignoring the dishonest answer of Rain who awkwardly sipped his tea, Leo quickly fried some chicken breast, he then proceeded to cut some pepper and tomatoes, letting the onion turn colorful as he mixed it from time to time. After throwing the vegetables into the pan and letting them cook for a bit, Leo finally added the cut chicken breast and gave it one last cook as he added some spices. ¡®This needs some ketchup and mayo¡­¡¯ Lamenting the lack of modern condiments, Leo split the pan¡¯s content into two plates, putting one in front of Rain before sitting down to eat. ¡°Not bad.¡± Being more capable of controlling his facial expressions today, Rain calmly enjoyed Leo¡¯s ¡®new¡¯ recipe, perhaps Leo wasn¡¯t the only one receiving benefits in this exchange¡­ ¡°Teacher, there¡­ is a question that has been weighing on my mind since yesterday.¡± Having been waiting till Rain finishes his food, Leo paused his own meal as he raised his finger inquisitively. ¡°Go on.¡± Feeling his satisfaction with Leo¡¯s performance boosted by the meal¡¯s deliciousness, Rain didn¡¯t try to read Leo¡¯s face as he merrily tapped the table. ¡°Although I was able to sense something after recalling the feeling of the ¡®streams¡¯ that entered my body, I don¡¯t seem to be able to move them. They didn¡¯t budge even after I wholly focused on them!¡± While Leo already had the answer to this ¡®question¡¯, he innocently recited it in a ¡®recounting¡¯ manner, revealing a hint of worry on his face. ¡°Oh! It¡¯s great that you already reached this point. Don¡¯t worry, there is nothing wrong with the manual.¡± ¡®Perfect.¡¯ As the tip of his lips curled upwards, Rain¡¯s satisfaction rose, his eyes almost producing sparkles. ¡°It¡¯s undeniably true that your ¡®performance¡¯ yesterday signified your entry into the path of swordsmen. However, the stage you are currently at is a necessary procedure to the next step that you were expecting to achieve by now. It¡¯s commonly referred to as the accumulation phase!¡± ¡®I think ¡®Foundation Establishment¡¯ is a more adept name though¡­¡¯ Making a mental note, Leo ¡®excitedly¡¯ listened to Rain¡¯s explanation... Chapter 54 - Foundation Establishment? Chapter 54 - Foundation Establishment? ¡°Some call it the ¡®Entrance Stage¡¯, while others call it the ¡®Ascendance Period¡¯, but regardless of how different the names are, they all refer to the same thing. However, I prefer to call it the ¡®Accumulation Phase¡¯.¡± As a ¡®newbie¡¯ to the sword path, Leo was supposed to have no knowledge of this ¡®Phase¡¯. So, he had to act like it. After all, even his transmigration senior Ray asked the same impatient question. ¡°The reason for that is simply because of the name¡¯s accuracy. Unlike what most believe, one isn¡¯t able to muster Sword Breath just by taking it in, they first have to ¡®accumulate¡¯ a certain amount of it, only then would be called true ¡®Swordsmen¡¯.¡± Even though the author tried to stay away from Xianxia tropes as much as possible, most readers including Leo couldn¡¯t help but spot the similarities between the so-called ¡®Accumulation Phase¡¯ and ¡®Foundation Establishment¡¯. Just like how ¡®Cultivators¡¯ had to first establish a foundation to use ¡®Spirit Energy¡¯, Swordsmen also needed an accumulation of Sword Breath to establish the ability to control it, transcending the membrane that separated between ¡®Absorption¡¯ and ¡®Wielding¡¯. Naturally, there were still glaring differences between the two. Most ¡®Cultivators¡¯ would still have their prowess increased as they advanced through ¡®Foundation Establishment¡¯, but that wasn¡¯t the case for Swordsmen. During the accumulation phase, unless one managed to step through the last threshold, he would be no different from an ordinary sword user no matter how close they were to the end goal. It was specifically that difference that made the ¡®Accumulation Phase¡¯ the most vulnerable stage in every Swordsman¡¯s life. ¡®Even the unruly Ray had to stay under his master¡¯s protection¡­¡¯ Considering the state of the world after the great sword war, it would usually spell doom if your ¡®Accumulation¡¯ status was revealed. In a land where competitiveness had already reached its limit, Swordsmen weren¡¯t exactly welcoming of people who wished to join their ranks. The City of Swordsmen was known as the path towards both death and success, depending on who taught you and their ability, you could either safely enter the upper echelons or die for naught. The competition for resources and power was simply that grave! ¡°So I just need to ¡®perform¡¯ till I can control it?¡± ¡°Precisely. Just ¡®accumulate¡¯ until you have enough. You can take as much time as needed, as my student, I can guarantee that you wouldn¡¯t be in any need to hurry.¡± ¡°Alright¡­¡± Leo only nodded innocently in response to Rain¡¯s confidence, appearing to be lost in thought¡­ ¡®So reliable! As expected of the protagonist¡¯s grandmaster!¡¯ Having successfully completed another ¡®Play¡¯, Leo went back to finishing his breakfast as his mind span at full force. It seemed like he had to adopt a different routine starting today! `~~~`~~~`~~~`The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. After finishing his plate, Leo had a small cup of milk coffee to freshen up in preparation for training. Hsssp¡­ ¡®The taste is barely passable, but it will have to do¡­¡¯ The lack of technology made food and drinks lacking, but Leo couldn¡¯t complain when he was living the luxurious life of being Rain¡¯s student. Not everyone had a ¡®magically¡¯ replenished kitchen, after all. Changing into lighter clothes, Leo lost the house¡¯s shade as the glaring sun greeted him upon entering the porch. Although it was currently midsummer when it was the hottest, Rain didn¡¯t seem to particularly care. He was nonchalantly sunbathing on his deck chair, but Leo could tell that he was waiting for his ¡®performance¡¯. ¡®Let¡¯s do a little warm-up.¡¯ Despite being excited to try ¡®Universal Sword Breathing¡¯ and analyze it further, Leo didn¡¯t directly proceed. No matter how simple ¡®Sword Calligraphy¡¯ looked, it required great physical exertion to perform it correctly. For Leo who had just eaten, it was better to start with light exercise first for preparation. Phew¡­ It was only half an hour left that Leo wiped his sweat and picked up the sword that he left at the porch the day before. The sword quickly sprung into motion as soon as it was taken out of its sheath. Swish! Swoosh! Swissh! After a good night of sleep, Leo¡¯s brain had done its part absorbing his gains from ¡®Ability Reading¡¯, allowing him to perform the ¡®Sword Art¡¯ more smoothly. Other than stamina consumption, Leo didn¡¯t find it particularly hard to link the strokes into patterns, rather, the execution method felt even more familiar. Although it couldn¡¯t be compared to the day before, Leo felt that he had progressed by the time he finished his ¡®performance¡¯, it didn¡¯t take him long to understand that he had yet to digest all of his gains. ¡®Here it comes¡­¡¯ Being more focused this time, Leo could clearly feel thin threads entering through his body¡¯s pores, which corresponded with the ¡®Absorption¡¯ of Sword Breath from the atmosphere. At the same time, he felt the slightly more familiar threads making their way through his hands. ¡®So this is ¡®Production¡¯...?¡¯ Although Leo lacked the perception to sense his surroundings clearly, the distinctive ways through which the ¡®threads¡¯ made their way into his body allowed him to easily infer a probable conclusion. Unlike the ¡®Sword Breath¡¯ produced by the Sky Piercing Sword that blended with the air everywhere, the ¡®Sword Breath¡¯ produced by the ¡®Universal Sword Breathing¡¯ built up on the sword¡¯s blade before seeping into the executor''s body through the hilt and into the pores of his palm and fingers. ¡®Hmmm¡­ is it about a tenth of the total amount?¡¯ ________________________ Personal Statistics: ---------------- Physique: 0.91 Mind: 1.35 (+1.96) Sword Breath: 0.09 ________________________ Using the sword as a cover to where his eyesight landed, Leo called out his ¡®Personal Book¡¯ to check the change. ¡®It¡¯s the same so far.¡¯ Confirming the identical gain of 0.04 points of Sword Breath, Leo quickly glanced at Rain as if he was breaking out of his ¡®trance¡¯. ¡°You did good, but the second move in the third sequence¡­¡± Other than a word of praise, Rain started pointing out Leo¡¯s faults in the most direct way possible. It was true that he was starting to get fond of his new student, but that only meant that he had to be even harsher when doing his role as Leo¡¯s teacher! ¡°Understood.¡± Just as clearly displayed by the ¡®Personal Book¡¯, Leo knew that he still lacked total mastery over his ¡®Sword Calligraphy¡¯. Even if his talent was average, he was sure to improve faster under the teachings of the number one sword mentor! Although his arms¡¯ muscles spasmed slightly, Leo didn¡¯t hesitate to directly start a second ¡®performance¡¯ while taking Rain¡¯s notes to mind. It was necessary to rest, but Leo had long treated this as another form of workout! He naturally needed to overwork his muscles, how else would his muscle tissue tear otherwise? Chapter 55 - Accumulation Chapter 55 - Accumulation Munch¡­ Munch¡­ Munch¡­ ¡°Thanks for the meal. Hssp¡­¡± Finishing his breakfast, Leo took one last sip from his milk coffee in preparation to start his day, before he knew it had already become a habit of his. Starting with the usual quick shower, Leo got to the porch before Rain, spending an approximate amount of half an hour doing light exercise. By the time he was done, Rain was already in his ¡®sunbathing¡¯ state, ready to observe his performance¡­ Swoosh! Swissh! Swishsh! Having long dropped the occasional pleasantries, Leo immediately got into the next part of his routine, performing ¡®Universal Sword Breathing¡¯! ¡®Let¡¯s see¡­¡¯ Just in accord with his set schedule, Leo received the sensation of ¡®Breathing¡¯ ten minutes later. With a little excitement on his face, he called upon the ¡®Personal Book¡¯. ________________________ Personal Statistics: ---------------- Physique: 0.92 Mind: 1.35 (+1.96) Sword Breath: 2.98 ________________________ ¡®As expected!¡¯ Despite this being already the 7th day since Leo had started his ¡®Accumulation Phase¡¯, his enthusiasm didn¡¯t seem to fade even one bit as he glanced at his accumulation of Sword Breath! After a minute of brief rest, he went ahead with the next set when he saw that Rain didn¡¯t have any particular notes to add. Swissh! Swoosh! Swish! As a result of his experimentation in the past few days, Leo had quickly determined his limit in regards to how many sets he could perform, allocating a total of 2 hours as his personal ¡®Breathing¡¯ time. The 0.48 points of Sword Breath gained after 12 sets of ¡®Sword Calligraphy¡¯ didn¡¯t seem like much, but Leo still strictly adhered to his schedule, towards which Rain was very welcoming. Not to mention the fact that any further physical exertion from his arms after those 2 hours would only prove harmful, the effects of an extra set were something that Leo was already aware of¡­ Even if one were to force his arms to ¡®perform¡¯, the ¡®Art¡¯ produced would be severely reduced in quality, the gains brought by it would naturally be affected. In fact, receiving nothing was something that occurred often as a result of overexertion! However, even if the number of sets that Leo could perform was restricted, that didn¡¯t mean that his gains had to be fixed! ¡®It can be increased!¡¯ Just like the decrease of quality had a great adverse effect, an increase in quality had the opposite effect in return! Under the careful and direct teachings of Rain as well as the digestion of what he ¡®Read¡¯ before, the new panel on the ¡®Book 1¡¯ page finally had a change by the time Leo had finished his ¡®Breathing¡¯ just the day before. ________________________ Personal Abilities:Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ----------------- ''Universal Sword Breathing'' - Grade 1 - 8/10 _________________________ Without straying from the rules set by the author, Leo¡¯s first set of ¡®Sword Calligraphy¡¯ directly had an increase in it, achieving a sizable improvement from 0.04 points to 0.05 points and reaching an efficiency of 125% when compared to the original result! ¡®This way, a day¡¯s gain would reach 0.6 points!¡¯ Since he still had no way to tell the particular amount required to reach grade 1, Leo had set small goals reaching up to a hundred, with this additional increase, it seemed like his first target of 10 points wasn¡¯t far from reach¡­ Thud! Two hours later, Leo collapsed on the ground as his Sword Breath surpassed 3.5 points. His arms were lightly spasming, but Leo¡¯s sense of fulfillment made it so the pain felt faint. Even with no clear goal in sight, Leo¡¯s ¡®Personal Book¡¯ still acted as a great tool for mental support. Thanks to the clear sense of ¡®touchable¡¯ progress, Leo¡¯s ¡®Accumulation Phase¡¯ lacked the desperation and mental weariness that most fledgling Swordsmen had to endure! ¡°Well done. It¡¯s been a mere week, yet I¡¯m already having trouble finding faults in your performance¡­¡± A few rare words of praise escaped Rain¡¯s mouth as it curled into a bitter smile. If things went on like this, he might get used to being such a ¡®lazy¡¯ teacher. ¡°That¡¯s thanks to your help, Teacher.¡± Despite having the undigested ¡®content¡¯ gained from his ¡®Ability Reading¡¯ as a base, Leo couldn¡¯t deny the preciousness of Rain¡¯s accurate advice. Contrary to what he told Rain to obtain the manual¡¯s ¡®Source¡¯, self-study wasn¡¯t specifically his forte. After another ten minutes of simply lying on the ground, Leo sprung up to take another shower to combat the heat before walking up to the top floor. In order to make use of the rest of his time, Leo had requested to go out in search of books to fill up the basic knowledge that the novel omitted. He also didn¡¯t give up on supplementing his swordsmanship even in its current apparent state of stagnation. In response, Rain fulfilled his request by giving him the privilege of visiting his own library, saying that he could go out if he still didn¡¯t find anything that interested him. ¡®It was worth it.¡¯ Choosing Rain as a teacher was the best choice he had made in Leo¡¯s opinion. Even though he risked waiting for 2 months in the worst-case scenario, the benefits obtained were worth more than the wait. While the library similarly didn¡¯t have any advanced swordsmanship books as it lacked Rain¡¯s private collection, every basic book in it had something new to ponder upon. Despite the static ¡®10/10¡¯ that the ¡®Personal Book¡¯ showed, Leo felt that he was advancing beyond that limit. ¡®The ¡®pages¡¯ required to fill a ¡®chapter¡¯ are probably the minimum requirement¡­¡¯ Whenever Leo made his way into the library, he would only exit to prepare and eat lunch. Although Rain didn¡¯t want to burden him at the start, his palate which was already restructured to accept modern recipes coupled with Leo¡¯s cooking skill made it hard for him to refuse. After an interlude for food, Leo would resume his stay in the library to let his stomach digest the food before proceeding with the last section of his new routine. ¡°Ready?¡± ¡°Ready.¡± Under the fading sunlight, Leo found Rain waiting for him for the second time of the day to start the second segment of advised training! Even though Leo¡¯s morning ¡®Sword Calligraphy¡¯ made it so he wasn¡¯t able to do any sort of practice that relied on his arms, including sword training, that didn¡¯t stop Leo from working out. The second book personally given to him by Rain was particularly helpful in that department! ¡®It was very timely.¡¯ On the first day he started adapting to his new routine, Leo originally planned to work out the rest of his body aside from his arm. However, Rain seemed to have other plans as he handed him another book for him to ¡®self-study¡¯. Although the book had no title and seemed to be newly written by Rain, it surprisingly contained an advanced swordsmanship technique! At first thought, Leo couldn¡¯t help but wonder why Rain gave him something like this despite knowing his condition the best, but he quickly came to an understanding after giving the book a deep read. ¡®There¡¯s no skipping leg day when every day is leg day, heh.¡¯ As subtle as Rain¡¯s hints were, Leo¡¯s preliminary ¡®Reading¡¯ allowed him to notice the emphasis he placed on footwork! While it was true that he couldn¡¯t practice this swordsmanship as a whole, training his footwork was still feasible. His inability to execute the whole technique didn¡¯t allow ¡®Skill Reading¡¯ to trigger just yet, but Rain¡¯s advice coupled with his initial ¡®Reading¡¯ was enough for him to see some progress in that department regardless of the whole technique. ¡°Your steps are too shallow! Increase the strength and don¡¯t make them this wide!¡± ¡°Understood!¡± Just like this, Leo spent the last two hours of his day training under Rain before collapsing on his bed, surrendering himself to deep sleep in hope of getting enough rest in preparation for the following day¡¯s training¡­ Chapter 56 - Overflowing Anxiousness Chapter 56 - Overflowing Anxiousness ¡®I will miss this¡­¡¯ Eating the heated leftovers of the chicken pasta that Leo made for lunch the day before, Rain couldn¡¯t help but sigh in regret. One of the royal chefs assigned to him was supposed to be the one doing the cooking from the very start. However, after experiencing Leo¡¯s cooking for the first two days, Rain could only dismiss the chef under Leo¡¯s earnest request to take care of the cooking as a ¡®freeloader¡¯. Naturally, the food made by royal chefs was just as astounding as Leo¡¯s if not better, but the fresh taste of Leo¡¯s recipes relieved Rain¡¯s boredom of eating ¡®fancy¡¯ food every day¡­ ¡°He is undeniably the best candidate that I could have chosen within the current decade.¡± Even disregarding how satisfied his stomach was lately, Rain had nothing to complain about being Leo¡¯s teacher over the past few months! As a youth who had barely lived for a dozen years, Leo¡¯s preservation in adhering to his strict schedule gained him more than a few praises from Rain who was particularly ¡®stingy¡¯ with his praises. Even then, what really astonished Rain was that he was as strict when it came to applying Rain¡¯s advice. ¡®To think I thought he was prideful at the beginning...¡¯ The ability to put aside one¡¯s self-esteem in order to improve the best was a characteristic that could be rarely found, especially in the current era where some could kill just to satisfy their pride. ¡®I thought I had just underestimated him, but he simply couldn¡¯t be estimated to begin with.¡¯ Even for someone like Rain whose number of students surpassed the number of existing ¡®manuals¡¯, Leo was an abnormal student who seemed both human and inhuman at the same time. During his morning training, Leo expressed the talent of a monster, comparable only to one more person in Rain¡¯s memory, while at night, his talent regressed back to human levels. This particular contrast allowed Rain to rediscover the joy of being a mentor, something that he lost very early on his path¡­ Despite being inelaborate regarding his teaching, only hinting at the answers for the questions that might arise in Leo¡¯s path, this mysterious student of his was too good at connecting the dots, directly applying what Rain hinted at as soon as possible. Hssp¡­ ¡°Sadly, this can¡¯t go on much longer¡­¡± As he took one last sip of his milk tea, Rain stood up as he let out a disheartened sigh, feeling quite contradictory himself. ¡®I should be happy, but¡­¡¯ Finally making his way into the porch, however, Rain¡¯s oral cavity couldn¡¯t help but widen! ¡®Ha?¡¯ It seemed like his intuition was as sharp as his insight today¡­ `~~~`~~~`~~~`Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. Swish! Swoosh! Shwish! Seeing that the deck chair was still empty by the time he was done warming up, Leo waited an extra 5 minutes before he continued according to schedule. ¡®Even if it isn¡¯t the goal¡­ I should be pretty close, right?¡¯ Leo¡¯s excitement to wield a supernatural ability had carried him far, but at this point, his resolve couldn¡¯t help but waver. Over the last five months starting from the moment he confirmed the positive effect of ¡®mastering¡¯ the ¡®Universal Sword Breathing¡¯, his ¡®Personal Statistics¡¯ segment kept changing considerably¡­ Even though there was no increase in Sword Breath gain after his mastery went up to 9 points, the extra 0.01 points he gained after the mastery was maxed up 2 months ago further accelerated his progress. Reaching one goal after another, Leo simply looked forward to the next goal, waiting for a change. ________________________ Personal Statistics: ---------------- Physique: 0.98 Mind: 1.38 (+1.97) Sword Breath: 99.89 ________________________ Yet, here he was, only two- no, the first set was already close to done. Only one set stood before him reaching the last of the goals that he had set. Using Ray¡¯s experience as a reference, Leo guessed that he would be able to finish his ¡®Accumulation Phase¡¯ within 6 months at most, double the protagonist¡¯s record. However, being this close to the major goal he had set made various thoughts arise in his mind¡­ What if he was still incomparable to a protagonist¡¯s ability despite having better conditions than him? He had the same manual at hand, his teacher¡¯s teacher, and a special ability of his own, but was that really enough to overcome the gap on his peer¡¯s ¡®home ground¡¯? What if his previous ¡®illness¡¯ had a negative effect on his ¡®Breathing¡¯? What if the required amount wasn¡¯t 100 but 1000 instead? What if¡­ Despite Rain¡¯s approval of him, Leo wasn¡¯t sure how to judge someone like himself who didn¡¯t completely belong to this world. He could tell that he was somewhat ¡®full¡¯, but the confidence he might have felt was overwhelmed by anxiousness. In the end, the ¡®Personal Book¡¯ that pushed him forward only reinforced these thoughts. As the second set was coming to an end, Leo dreaded the possibility that surpassing its gain would result in nothing. ¡°No!¡± Just as the doubt almost overwhelmed him to the point of being close to running his ¡®Sword Calligraphy¡¯, Leo¡¯s grip tightened around his sword trying to get a grip of himself! His grip kept tightening till his hands were blood-red, only stopping when his skin was about to get ruptured. ¡®It overflowed again¡­¡¯ Taking advantage of his apprehensions, the ¡®Read¡¯ emotions that he was used to suppressing almost managed to consume him once more, throwing him into eternal self-denial. ¡®So what if it isn¡¯t the goal?¡¯ Although Leo didn¡¯t have the ability to completely suppress these emotions again in their current state, he could only fix the ¡®loophole¡¯ that they used to escape their prison. ¡®If half a year isn¡¯t enough, I could always do it in a year! If a year isn¡¯t enough, 2 years would still do!¡¯ As a reader, Leo had simply adapted to his new status too quickly, losing hold of what his limits could be. Ironically, he almost considered himself as another main character without realizing it¡­ ¡®If 2 years won¡¯t cut it, then I just have to go treasure hunting and any limits would simply disappear!¡¯ Immersed into a role that doesn¡¯t fit him, Leo almost forgot the essence of his ¡®role¡¯. Whatever he needed could be obtained with the knowledge he had, he didn¡¯t need to rely on ¡®luck¡¯! Seeking confirmed opportunities still had a certain degree of danger to them, but that wasn¡¯t the limit of what he ¡®knew¡¯. There was more than one way to avoid this danger! Under the threat of mental collapse, Leo was able to realize the core fault that made him vulnerable before it was too late. Reconfirming his standing in a round of self-reprimanding, the berserk emotions had no choice but to retreat to their ¡®shell¡¯. ¡®It doesn''t matter.¡¯ With an ¡®ascended¡¯ mind clear of all distractions, Leo acceptingly made the final stroke of his ¡®Sword Calligraphy¡¯, calling out to the ¡®Personal Book¡¯ to check the result regardless of the outcome. ¡®Hmm?¡¯ However, the only thing that Leo managed to see was the Sword Breath statistic blurring out before his eyes lost focus! Chapter 57 - Abnormal Ascension Chapter 57 - Abnormal Ascension Eyes out of focus, Leo couldn¡¯t help but wonder if this temporary loss of eyesight was caused by some damage to his optic nerves. However, he quickly realized what was taking place¡­ It was as if all of his sensory abilities were being redirected to supplement his sense of ¡®touch¡¯! ¡®It¡¯s happening?¡¯ The stream that roamed his body in a carefree manner up to this moment was orderly spreading around every inch, it¡¯s movement appeared to be almost completely systematic! The stream consisting of the thin threads that Leo ¡®produced¡¯ and ¡®absorbed¡¯ went from simply relaxing in the little space within his body into settling down in the body itself. The whole process felt like the Sword Breath was transitioning from being ¡®vagrants¡¯ into Leo¡¯s ¡®residents¡¯. ¡®It¡¯s happening!¡¯ As strange as it was to experience this process by oneself, but everything up to this point was the ¡®normal¡¯ experience of someone who crossed the ¡®Accumulation Phase¡¯. By now, whatever anxiety left in Leo¡¯s mind was vaporized in favor of relief and excitement. It was just that¡­ This relief and excitement were quickly overwhelmed by shock and confusion! ¡®Uh?¡¯ The magnified perception of Leo¡¯s somatosensory system flared as something other than simple touch could be felt. Leo almost felt like screaming from the sudden intense pain! The ¡®ascension¡¯ process that was going according to script took a wild turn out of nowhere. Leo could practically feel his muscle tissue where ¡®his¡¯ Sword Breath settled being torn apart by the moment! ¡°Ugh¡­¡± Although thoughts raced to reach Leo¡¯s mind as he tried to understand his current situation, pain overtook everything. His sword had already fallen out of his grip and his suppressed screams were very close to breaking out. However¡­ The pain started to fade away just as suddenly! Despite his mind being in a groggy state as an aftereffect of the sudden pain, Leo could sense that the muscle tissue that was torn apart was quickly reconstructing, everything seemingly under the effect of ¡®his¡¯ Sword Breath. ¡®What was that supposed to be?¡¯ It was only a few minutes later that Leo¡¯s mind cleared up with his senses being restored to normal, the short time made it appear as if nothing had really happened. The only evidence left of it happening was Leo¡¯s agitated state. ¡®Hmmm¡­¡¯ As his eyesight was finally restored, the very first thing his eyes were laid upon was the ¡®Personal Book¡¯ that was yet to be dismissed. In less than ten minutes, the whole ¡®Personal Statistics¡¯ segment had changed. Surprisingly, the one part that changed the least was the Sword Breath which simply reached 100.01 points¡­This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. On the other hand, the most eye-catching part was none other than a new blurry line that appeared at the very top of the segment, its letters were being thickened in turn as if someone was currently writing it! However, even as it was being ¡®written¡¯, the blurry shadow of the words was too familiar to miss. ¡®...Sword Breath, again?¡¯ Although that only made it more confusing, a thought quickly emerged in Leo¡¯s mind. ________________________ Personal Statistics: ---------------- True Sword Breath: 100/100 Physique: 1.06 Mind: 1.4 (+1.99) Sword Breath: 100.01 ________________________ ¡®An MP bar¡­?¡¯ Other than the addition of an adjective, the only notable change was the numbers separated by a slash, making it look oddly familiar to the MP or HP bars used in games. Considering that the process that he just went through was ingraining ¡®free¡¯ Sword Breath to be his so he could wield it, both the adjective and the ¡®bar¡¯ made sense to Leo. It was just that they were slightly out of his expectations. Once one crossed the threshold to reach ¡®Grade 1¡¯, the process of ¡®True Breathing¡¯ was something that they naturally obtained. Even if they consumed any of the Sword Breath that became theirs, it would naturally regenerate at a constant rate. At the same time, it was impossible to replenish it faster through ¡®Sword Breathing¡¯, a process that only contributed to the accumulation of ¡®free¡¯ Sword Breath in order to build up to the next grade. Ordinary Swordsmen could only ¡®feel¡¯ how much of their ¡®true¡¯ Sword Breath had been consumed, but the accurate ¡®data¡¯ of the ¡®Personal Book¡¯ proved its usefulness once again. ¡®...Should I be happy about this?¡¯ Although Leo was eager to immediately test the supernatural ability that he had finally gained. He couldn¡¯t help but glance at the line representing his ¡®Physique¡¯ with mixed thoughts¡­ An increase of 0.08 points in a matter of minutes was as supernatural as wielding Sword Breath, being more than comparable to his progress over the last 5 months, but Leo still had countless questions about its source. It was undeniably the muscle tearing and reconstruction that increased his physical ability. However, why was his ¡®ascension¡¯ the only one different from that of other Swordsmen? Did this have something to do with his ¡®Blocked Meridians¡¯? Or was this the influence of his ¡®presence¡¯ as a semi-foreigner? No matter the reason, Leo could confirm nothing. None of the special people in the novel had encountered a situation similar to his including those who had Leo¡¯s condition. Even Ray himself, the main character of this world, didn¡¯t gain such a strange benefit. ¡®Was Arthur special?¡¯ In the end, the only conclusion that Leo could reach was that the root of this incident lay in Arthur¡¯s body. After all, ¡®cheats¡¯ relating to the ¡®soul¡¯ like Ray¡¯s didn¡¯t have an effect on the corporeal body. After some deliberation, Leo finally suppressed his curiosity under the burning eagerness to test the one thing that he sought from this world! His first attempt to mobilize his ¡®True¡¯ Sword Breath was accordingly clumsy, but he gradually got the hang of it. Just like how he mentally ordered the ¡®Personal Book¡¯ to appear and disappear, the Sword Breath ingrained in his body started to gather into his palms as if it was attached to a nerve cell that relayed Leo¡¯s orders. ¡®Finally!¡¯ His palms shining in a transparent silvery light, Leo steadily picked up the sword on the ground! As soon as his hands came into contact with the hilt, the transparent light acted like a hydrophile that just came into contact with water, climbing up the hilt as it spread to surround the blade, giving it a silvery sheen that made it appear extraordinary! Unable to find a proper target to unleash what he held in hand, Leo could only attack the hard leather sheath leaning on the fence closest to him, his eyes shining in anticipation. ¡°Oh.¡± It was only when the sheath collapsed into two pieces leaving a clean cut at each piece¡¯s end that Leo noticed the pair of eyes focused on him¡­ Chapter 58 - The Cause? Chapter 58 - The Cause? ¡°...Congratulations on crossing the first hurdle.¡± After a short period awkwardly exchanging stares, Rain was the first to break the silence as he gave an affirming nod to hide the bitter smile that hadn¡¯t faded away yet. He was strangely melancholic at the very start of the day. Now, it felt like everything simply fell into place. ¡°It was only possible due to your care.¡± Returning a bow-like nod in response, Leo didn¡¯t deny Rain¡¯s great role in allowing him to reach the current step. The peaceful ¡®freeloading¡¯ environment that Rain guaranteed for him coupled with the guidance he provided had at least cut the time he would have needed to ¡®ascend¡¯ by no less than a third. Most importantly, the ¡®Origin Manual¡¯ was something that Leo couldn¡¯t do without, being an indispensable requirement for all of his plans. If he had failed to get accepted by Rain, then he would have had to face risks much longer with no ability to back it until he managed to meet Ray or his master. Moreover, there was even more risk in meeting Ray this early. ¡®Oh!¡¯ Noticing that he hadn¡¯t retracted his Sword Breath just yet, Leo did so as he threw a glance at the ¡®Personal Book¡¯ only to see that the bar had fallen down to 98¡­ ¡®1 point is slightly less than a minute?¡¯ The awkward exchange earlier didn¡¯t last more than 2 minutes. Although it required more experimentation, Leo preliminary concluded that his current maximum ¡®storage¡¯ would completely run out in the matter of an hour and a half. ¡°Alright, this is something that calls for celebration. You should stay here and familiarize yourself with your newfound ability¡­¡± Looking at Leo¡¯s clumsiness, Rain¡¯s sadness vanished as a faint understanding smile replaced its bitter counterpart before he turned around and walked back from where he came from. As Leo stood in place waiting for Rain to finish his speech, he finally saw him coming back out a few minutes later. His clothing had changed from the comfy pajamas-like wear he used to wear at home. The white shirt covered by a sleeveless black vest and its corresponding pair of black trousers made it clear that he was going out. ¡°I will be heading out for a short while in the meantime. I¡¯m sure you have many questions regarding your new experience, we can have a lengthy discussion about these when I get back¡­ Perhaps alongside a plate of early dessert?¡± Suggesting something to satisfy his sweet tooth, Rain gently smiled at Leo, the uncertainty in his expression no longer existed as he walked out of the house without waiting for Leo¡¯s answer. `~~~`~~~`~~~` ¡®Seems like it¡­¡¯ After Rain left, Leo was slightly lost in thought as he lowered his sword before he shook his head and raised it once again. Although he had guesses regarding Rain¡¯s behavior, he decided to indulge himself in the one thing he was looking forward to for months, one slash was far from enough to release his excitement! Holding his sword in a ready ¡®plow¡¯ stance, Leo playfully controlled his Sword Breath, mobilizing it and retracting in succession, cheerfully watching the silvery sheen spread and retreat on the blade. ¡®It feels like continuously flipping the switch on both sides.¡¯ Despite his usually rational attitude, Leo simply couldn¡¯t help but act childish out of instinct. Most humans had chuunibyou phases in their life, but there was a huge difference between pretending to have some sort of ¡®power¡¯ and actually having it!This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. His main intent was still to get used to controlling True Sword Breath, but there was no harm in satisfying his urges at the same time! Swish! Swoosh! Swissh¡­ With an enjoyable start, Leo continuously slashed with the silvery blade, practicing the basics that he didn¡¯t touch in months as he excitedly felt the sharpness and power that every slash carried! ¡®What a shame¡­¡¯ At the current moment, the only thing that Leo lacked was targets. He wished that he was back in the forest again so he could test his ¡®power¡¯ at trees and rocks. Was his current ability enough to slash down a tree in one strike? For the next half an hour, Leo¡¯s slashing didn¡¯t stop until he was done releasing all the expectations he held back ever since he came to this world, especially during the ¡®Accumulation Phase¡¯. Only then did the calmness finally return to his face. ¡°Haa¡­ haa¡­ that was healing¡­¡± Panting after finishing his heavy ¡®practice¡¯, Leo let go of his sword and fell to the ground as he used both arms to support his back. The negative blow that he took during the last step could be said to have been fully ¡®cured¡¯. Other than checking the time and confirming that his True Sword Breath had fallen down by 32 points, Leo did nothing but relax as he stared at the blue sky while waiting for Rain to return. ¡®I should probably ask about it.¡¯ While his eyes appeared to be nonchalant, Leo¡¯s mind was running at full speed to plan how his little discussion with Rain would go. It was true that he no longer required much from Rain by this point, but that didn¡¯t mean he would break his ¡®play¡¯ just like that. Besides, he did have a question that he was actually curious about¡­ ¡°Done?¡± Before he lost himself in the sky, Leo¡¯s eyelids twitched at hearing the sudden voice as he was brought out of his trance to see Rain holding a box. ¡°...Yes.¡± ¡°Follow me then, I believe you will be pleased!¡± Picking himself up from the ground, Leo quickly followed Rain¡¯s steps towards the kitchen, swallowing his saliva as he imagined the contents of the box. Just like Rain, he had quite the sweet tooth himself! ¡°Take a seat.¡± Rain didn¡¯t bother to change back as he put the wooden box on the kitchen counter, opening it to unveil a round cake covered in brown. He directly cut a piece and put it into a plate before handing it to Leo. ¡®So there is chocolate in this world!¡¯ Although Leo was excited to eat cake, something that he couldn¡¯t make himself due to the lack of an oven, he was more surprised about the fact that there was chocolate in the medieval-like world! ¡®I missed this¡­¡¯ Confirming that it was truly chocolate and not something else as he took the spoon out of his mouth. Leo wondered about the limitations of this world¡¯s food. Even as a reader, he didn¡¯t know much about this department as the author wasn¡¯t particularly into writing ¡®food¡¯ scenes. ¡°So, what do you have for me?¡± After cutting a piece for himself and sitting down, Rain took a bite as well before starting the discussion. ¡°...How am I able to control Sword Breath with nothing but thought?¡± ¡°Good question. So far no one has a confirmed answer, but the popular hypothesis, which I also believe in, suggests that a Swordsman¡¯s Sword Breath completely fuses with the body on the last step before reaching the next grade. Just like your limbs move with nothing but thought, your Sword Breath acts as another ¡®limb¡¯ for you to control.¡± ¡°How do I know when I¡¯m out of Sword Breath? Do I have to ¡®perform¡¯ again to restore what I used?¡± ¡°Just like you would know that your arms are tired after training, you would naturally feel it when you are ¡®empty¡¯. You also don¡¯t have to¡­¡± Even as he knew the answer to most of the questions, Leo continued firing out questions that one would expect from a newbie Swordsman. Rain also patiently answered every question although he confirmed none of the answers. ¡°Anything else?¡± Half an hour later, Leo suddenly stopped asking as he appeared to be in thought, prompting Rain to ask himself. ¡°W-Well, after I got to experience the miraculous ability of Sword Breath, I felt somewhat conflicted¡­ I heard there are some unfortunate people who are born without the ability to gain anything from ¡®performing¡¯. As much as I was relieved that I didn¡¯t suffer the same fate, I couldn¡¯t help but sympathize with them¡­ Just what condition is the cause of this?¡± After successfully following the regular questioning pattern, Leo finally voiced out the one question he sought an answer to! Chapter 59 - Contradicting Clue Chapter 59 - Contradicting Clue While it was true that the previous questions Leo asked were for the sake of cover-up, they were also necessary to build up to his actual question! ¡°Hmmm, you mean people with ¡®Blocked Vessels¡¯?¡± Although Leo referred to his original condition as ¡®Blocked Meridians¡¯, this was simply his own interpretation using the common condition mentioned in hundreds of ¡®Cultivation¡¯ novels. In this novel where people didn¡¯t believe in the existence of ¡®Meridians¡¯, it was usually referred to as ¡®Blocked Vessels¡¯. ¡°Is that what causes it?¡± Not knowing the condition¡¯s name was merely Leo¡¯s acting to keep his disguise, but it was true that he knew nearly nothing about it as the author only used it as a convenient plot device, it was never really explained in detail. That was especially the case considering that it wasn¡¯t the protagonist who suffered from it as per its usual use. ¡®I need to receive a hint at the very least.¡¯ The incident that acted as an ¡®epilogue¡¯ to his ¡®ascension¡¯ might seem to be beneficial and without aftereffects, that only held true for the first time! Who knew if he would be able to endure the pain the next time or the one after it? What if the ¡®reconstruction¡¯ didn¡¯t come after the tearing? If that really happened, Leo would at least end up crippled if not dead! Since he came to the conclusion that Arthur¡¯s body was the source of this ¡®advantageous¡¯ opportunity. Leo believed that he needed to know a little more about his ¡®condition¡¯ in preparation to solve any possible future ¡®problems¡¯ in advance¡­ ¡°That¡¯s at least the term that most people use. Some people who studied this phenomenon believed that some people naturally accumulated ¡®something¡¯ that prevented Sword Breath from settling inside the body or were even born with it; this was even proved with tests done on the bodies of said people. However¡­¡± Pausing to eat the last piece of cake on his plate, Rain looked at the window as if particularly affected by his own words before he opened his mouth once more. ¡°That explanation wasn¡¯t all-inclusive. In fact, only a fraction of the bodies inspected showed evidence supporting it. Countless other people who suffered the same fate had no abnormalities in their bodies.¡± ¡®Hmmm¡­¡¯ Noticing the disappointment on Rain¡¯s face, Leo felt slightly awkward for rubbing salt on his wound. But since Rain had already come to terms with his condition, Leo didn¡¯t end the discussion as he still needed to confirm his guess. ¡°So no one knows the real cause behind other cases?¡± ¡°Indeed. Furthermore, what everyone suffers from is mostly different. Some are still able to accumulate Sword Breath while unable to cross the threshold of the ¡®Accumulation Phase¡¯, others can only obtain a pitiful amount that makes it laughable to even try, and some others would receive nothing at all, to begin with. In reality, the condition known as ¡®Blocked Vessels¡¯ is none other than a makeshift term that is used to refer to all of these cases since the cause for most of them is still unknown.¡± By the time Rain finished speaking, the small frown on his face was already gone as he went back to smiling as if he put a weight off his shoulder. ¡®It¡¯s plausible.¡¯Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! If there were other causes for the inability to ¡®practice¡¯ other than the normal ¡®Blocked Vessels¡¯ disregarding ¡®Low affinity¡¯ which was practically different, then Leo¡¯s condition could be a completely different one! ¡®There was definitely something ¡®cleansed¡¯ back then, but¡­¡¯ Both the voice in his head and the intense sweat that he let out proved that he did suffer from some sort of ¡®Blockage¡¯. However, what if this ¡®Blockage¡¯ wasn¡¯t the originator of his problem? What if it was rather something that originated from some other sort of ¡®special¡¯ condition? ¡®Just¡­ How special is the body of a scapegoat character supposed to be?¡¯ ¡°Alright, that¡¯s enough for now. I would suggest you take a break from training today to think everything over and have some rest. Just remember that we are going somewhere early after breakfast.¡± Seeing that Leo was lost in thought, Rain left his seat with both of their empty plates. Leaving a small notice for Leo as he quickly made his way out of the kitchen¡­ ¡°Oh?¡± `~~~`~~~`~~~` Dawn break. ¡°It¡¯s as strange as usual¡­¡± After spending the rest of the day in the library, half-absentmindedly reading and thinking about Arthur¡¯s condition, Leo went to bed as usual. As soon as he woke up, however, his clear eyes stared at the ceiling as he found himself to be abnormally calm. He was still childishly enjoying obtaining a flashy ¡®power¡¯ as a person who came from a normal world just the day before, but now, as if it was nothing but a dream, his excitement seemed to have turned faint. In Leo¡¯s memory, this wasn¡¯t the first time something like this had occurred. Back then, he had just mysteriously arrived in this fantasy world, breaking all kinds of logic, yet it didn¡¯t even take him a day before he accepted everything in a similarly abnormal manner. At this point, Leo couldn¡¯t tell whether it was just his natural ability to adapt as a human or something that had to do with his ability as a ¡®Reader¡¯. As Leo headed to the kitchen as usual thinking about the mysteries that plagued his mind, he was shocked to see that Rain was there this early. Moreover¡­ he was wearing an apron at that! ¡°You are awake as early as I expected. Just sit down for now and let me make breakfast for once.¡± Hearing Rain¡¯s words, Leo¡¯s abnormal calmness faded as he did his best to hold back his reaction. Even as serious as Rain¡¯s face was, the well-bodied old man wearing an apron seemed to be too much. He did say he was preparing breakfast, but¡­ wasn¡¯t he just putting prepared ingredients into pots before moving them to the charcoal stove? ¡°If you say so, Teacher.¡± Sitting down as he turned his face to the side to hide his twisting expression, Leo waited till Rain finished preparing his ¡®pre-made¡¯ stew. ¡°What do you think?¡± ¡°It¡¯s¡­ good.¡± Considering how Rain devoted most of his life to the pen and the sword, the meat stew he made using his ¡®heat management¡¯ skills wasn¡¯t bad. Thankfully, Leo managed to escape the random plot of being forced to eat ¡®colorful¡¯ food. After finishing his stew early and going back up to change, Rain waited for Leo who was washing his hand in front of the kitchen¡¯s door. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s get going.¡± Not needing to change his casual outfit, Leo walked out with Rain who wore an outfit similar to the one he wore the day before. ¡®This is somewhat refreshing¡­¡¯ As the duo made their way out of the private district and blended into the crowd, Leo¡¯s expression brightened. Having spent over 5 months isolated from the outside world doing nothing but training, he couldn¡¯t help but feel nostalgic about taking a walk outside even in the crowded streets of SwordKeep. However, after walking silently for over an hour, Leo couldn¡¯t help but grow curious about their destination. He knew that ¡®something¡¯ was probably happening soon, but he had little clues as to what this prelude might be. ¡°We are here.¡± Before long, Leo found himself stepping into a silent alley that the crowd didn¡¯t extend to. As Rain suddenly stopped in front of what seemed to be a door, Leo¡¯s eyes caught sight of something distinct that they were accustomed to, a tall line of black fumes extending out of a red chimney¡­ ¡®Ah.¡¯ It seemed that they had stopped by a blacksmith. Chapter 60 - Breathing Steel Chapter 60 - Breathing Steel Knock. Knock. ¡°Come in.¡± While Leo was still analyzing the inconspicuous smithy, Rain knocked two light knocks before a rough voice sounded out from behind the door. Receiving a response, Rain opened the door revealing a short corridor, directly going inside. Leo¡¯s eyes stopped wandering as he followed Rain¡¯s steps. ¡®This is¡­ extravagant.¡¯ The smithy beyond the corridor was nothing like the shabby Blackbird that was influenced by Crane¡¯s despair, everything was shiny and orderly, the unique swords hung on the walls gave the place a vibe of ¡®fanciness¡¯. Clang! Duang! Clang! As he inspected the place from the inside, Leo¡¯s eyes were attracted to the constant hammering, finally noticing the blacksmith that was hidden by the furnace. ¡®This is a¡­ blacksmith alright.¡¯ Unlike the lean Crane who could no longer be recognized as a ¡®blacksmith¡¯ after shaving his beard, the man hammering in front of Leo exactly fitted the picture of his occupation in most people¡¯s imagination. Whether it was his short stature, the thick red beard, or his hulking body, everything about him screamed ¡®fantasy smith¡¯. Bang. ¡°You are here for ¡®that¡¯, right?¡± Putting down his hammer, the smith glanced at Rain¡¯s serious face as he grabbed his pliers to pick up the piece he was working on. ¡°Yes.¡± Fshhhhh¡­ Leo could barely hear Rain¡¯s affirmation as the screeching sound of vaporizing water covered everything. Only after the voice faded did the smith put his pliers aside and approach the opposite wall. ¡°To be honest, I was surprised when you came yesterday to ask for one of these so soon. I wonder if you were lucky or just impatient?¡± Leo was slightly surprised as the smith threw a glance in his direction along the last of his words, but having somewhat guessed the reason they came here, he was more interested in the smith¡¯s target. ¡®Oh?¡¯ As the smith¡¯s hands finally lay on one of the hanged weapons, Leo grew even more interested, even in the midst of so many unique and special weapons, the one the smith reached for was the most ordinary of them all! Taking it down with some trouble due to his height, the smith put the sword down on the table at the center of the smithy just before Leo¡­Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. ¡°What are you waiting for, hold it, it¡¯s yours after all.¡± Staring at the sword in a daze, Leo scrutinized the plain sword as he grabbed hold of it, compared to the most recent swords Crane had made him, this sword¡¯s body was slightly thinner, it was also about 10cms or so longer. Shiing. With the sword out of its sheath, Leo¡¯s eyes widened as he noticed the craftsmanship that seemed to be even a level higher than that of Crane. However, he was much more shocked in his heart than he showed¡­ As soon as the blade came out of its cover, Leo instinctively felt a great familiarity with it. Despite this being his first time holding it, he was quickly entranced by it, it was as if something inside of him longed for it! Coming out of his trance as soon as he came to realize his situation, Leo couldn¡¯t help but raise both of his eyebrows as he exclaimed deep in his mind. ¡®Breathing Steel!¡¯ It wasn¡¯t his heart that longed for this foreign blade, rather it was another ¡®part¡¯ of him that was very recently acquired! It was nothing other than the Sword Breath that just settled in! According to this specific reaction towards the sword, Leo immediately came up with the blade¡¯s crafting material, it was undeniably Breathing Iron! Bearing half the name of the ¡®energy¡¯ that contributed to forming it, Breathing Iron was one of the most common metals among the variety of mutated metals that emerged around the world. The raw form of the metal itself had no outstanding properties when compared to normal iron. In fact, it was slightly weaker, but even so, it was one of the most sought-after metals since the beginning of the Sword Epoch. The reason behind that was simple, this mutated metal only showed its true potential when used to make swords! ¡°Is this really for me?¡± Leo¡¯s hand trembled slightly in excitement, although it wouldn¡¯t be that hard for him to obtain something similar using his knowledge, it was surprising to obtain it this early. The sword geek in Arthur heavily affected him at this moment. Under the influence of Sword Breath, Breathing Iron that was forged into Breathing Steel swords had one of the most basic but useful abilities in this world, it amplified the strength of Sword Breath by 5%! While five percent might seem like nothing, Leo knew the importance of whatever small difference in this world where ¡®grades¡¯ mattered the most. When it strictly came to the ¡®ability¡¯ of their Sword Breath, only a few special ¡®tools¡¯ could break the equality between all Swordsmen at the same grade, and a Breathing Steel Sword was precisely one such item! ¡°Indeed. You can say that this is a¡­ gift.¡± Although Leo¡¯s instinctive question was directed at the smith, Rain was the one to answer with a heavy nod, a faint smile could be easily noticed on his face as he witnessed Leo¡¯s response. ¡°Alright. Off you go, I still have more work to do¡­ make sure to take care of that sword.¡± Following Rain while still dazed by his new item, Leo found himself outside of the smithy before he knew it, tightly gripping on the sheathed sword as he stared at Rain¡¯s back. ¡®I guess it¡¯s about time¡­¡¯ In the same manner that they reached their destination, the duo silently walked back to Rain¡¯s terrace house, the only difference was that a new ¡®companion¡¯ had accompanied them back¡­ ¡°Follow me.¡± Going through the door, Rain maintained his movements as he sped to the kitchen. He was already sitting down by the time Leo entered the kitchen. ¡°Sit¡­¡± Leaning his new sword on the wall, Leo sat down at his usual seat, his now calm gaze resting on Rain¡¯s face. ¡°I know this might seem abrupt, but I will be leaving Swordkeep today.¡± The serenity on Leo¡¯s face remained unfazed as an understanding smile surfaced on his face, he slightly nodded upon hearing Rain¡¯s last words. ¡°This is farewell¡­¡± Chapter 61 - Separation Chapter 61 - Separation ¡°This is farewell¡­¡± As he dryly spat these words, Rain couldn¡¯t help but feel regretful despite coming to terms with his decision. ¡°Although we have spent so much time together, I still can¡¯t tell you much about myself just yet, but¡­¡± The bond that he had formed with Leo felt the most real at this exact moment. Rain didn¡¯t know if age was getting him and he viewed Leo as a descendant of sorts, but if he could, he wanted to continue this serene yet diligent life. ¡°What I can tell you is it¡¯s not as simple as you guessed at the beginning, which makes me unable to do things as freely as I want. After all, with great ability comes greater responsibility.¡± In reality, Rain was exactly truthful with his words. With his position within the Empire, even if he wanted to take a vacation for a few years, no one would dare to oppose him. However, the problem lied elsewhere. As much as he was given all kinds of services and privileges at any spot under the Empire¡¯s rule, he was equally under eyes and scrutiny. Most importantly, while it was true that the Empire rose to its current position thanks to him, the relationship he had with them was quite complicated. If Rain had to guess whether they viewed him as an ally or a threat, he would unhesitatingly point at the latter. In the eyes of those who tasted his ability, he was someone who could re-enact their experience with another country. Although it wouldn¡¯t be as easy at the current stage of the era, it would at least pose a viable threat to the Empire¡¯s hegemony. What he did so far wasn¡¯t too much, but if he were to get involved with Leo further, Rain knew that the Empire would probably take quick action to turn the brilliant Leo into another ¡®puppet¡¯ of theirs. Although that would ensure a ¡®fledgling¡¯ like Leo a smooth growth, the goal for which sake Rain taught Leo required him to be ¡®free¡¯ unlike Rain himself¡­ ¡°It¡¯s not the end of the road either. Even if we are separated, I will still recognize you as my student and I hope you would do the same. If fate allows it, we may meet once again sooner than you think.¡± ¡°Naturally, a teacher for once is a teacher for life!¡± Leo deeply nodded at Rain¡¯s words. As a character that was expressed quite well in the novel, Leo knew that Rain wasn¡¯t the type of ¡®teacher¡¯ who would risk his students¡¯ life so they would gain experience or resources, at least not until they were ready. Unfortunately, the only way Rain could provide him with actual resources would require the Empire¡¯s channels or would be under their eyes. Even without thinking deeply about it, Rain didn¡¯t want him to get caught in the Empire¡¯s net. Ever since the moment when he had reached grade 1, Leo was already more than 50% sure that it was time for separation, the subsequent events only made him more sure of it, while the ¡®parting gift¡¯ was the nail in the coffin.If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. ¡°In that case, you should be aware that you have a fellow student. The age gap is a bit much¡­ but if you do meet him or his student, they would probably give you a helping hand on your path. As for how to recognize them, you will know how to when you meet them.¡± Hoping that Leo would be able to rely on others as well, Rain didn¡¯t hesitate to mention his first student before he stood up. His words didn¡¯t end at that though. ¡°If you want to stay here, then you are free to do so, but I wouldn¡¯t recommend it. I believe that you have been able to become an excellent Swordsman even without my help, but if you do go further ahead, I only ask of you to do what you can when the time comes.¡± As Rain¡¯s streak of mysterious words continued, Leo continuously nodded in his mind. His teacher might be thinking that he was giving him hard hints, but he mostly understood the meaning behind it. ¡°Haaa¡­¡± Just as Leo let out a helpless sigh at the complicated situation, Rain¡¯s footsteps stopped at the kitchen¡¯s door, his speech seemingly not done yet¡­ ¡°Remember, we may not know what awaits far ahead, but it¡¯s our actions that decide it. If you don¡¯t want to be swept in the currents, then you need to have enough ability to swim against it.¡± Tap, tap, tap¡­ ¡®I do know some stuff though¡­¡¯ Hearing Rain¡¯s departing footsteps, Leo self-mockingly summarized his situation. Despite knowing parts of the ¡®future¡¯, he still lacked the ability to affect the currents of this vast world¡­ `~~~`~~~`~~~`~~~` After falling into deep thought, the loneliness finally got the better of Leo, beckoning him to head out of the kitchen and check the door to make sure Rain had truly left. ¡®Well, I guess it¡¯s time to leave myself.¡¯ Standing in front of the door while surrounded by the empty silence, Leo went back to his room to pack his things. Although the separation was a bit more dramatic than he had expected, everything had more or less followed the route that Leo desired. Not only did he obtain the ¡®Origin Manual¡¯ that he couldn¡¯t do without, but he also truly stepped into the gate of the supernatural. Moreover, there were other highlights within these two great goals. Whether it was the advanced sword technique or the Breathing Steel Sword that Rain had given to him, just one of the two was enough to give him a solid push in the path he chose for himself. After Leo finished packing everything back into his carriage, Leo took one last look at the porch where he spent most of his time for the last half a year before he climbed into the driver¡¯s seat. Having already predicted that there wasn¡¯t much left before separation, Leo''s most recent day was spent in the library so he could finish reading whatever he hadn¡¯t finished. Although he could have done so much earlier, since coming to this world, Leo had made it a habit to read as slowly as possible to enjoy the act rather than satisfy his fading addiction. In conclusion, with Rain now gone, Leo had nothing left to gain from staying around, at least for the time being. After buying some rations for the way back, Leo struggled through the crowded road before finally passing Swordkeep¡¯s gate embarking on another long journey¡­ ¡®I will be back.¡¯ Pushing away the hints of sadness that crept towards his heart, Leo already thought of something to be excited about. Now that he had crossed the ¡®Accumulation Phase¡¯ safely, it was finally time to properly start his advanced sword technique training! Chapter 62 - On The Way Back Chapter 62 - On The Way Back After spending the rest of the day before driving the carriage, Leo only stopped the carriage at nightfall to get his daily sleep. ¡®Back to the ¡®lovely¡¯ rations¡­¡¯ Having lost the comfort of his bed, Leo¡¯s first night outside after so long wasn¡¯t celebration-worthy. Moreover, as he remembered what he would have for breakfast, Leo¡¯s morning wasn¡¯t the best either. However, it wasn¡¯t like he could complain about it. If anything, Leo could only be thankful for having lived in relative luxury for close to half a year, at the very least, he was able to get a faint taste of the palate he had greatly missed. Looking back at the experience of living with Rain, Leo couldn¡¯t help but let out a deep breath. No matter how one looked at it, this was the most abnormal cohabitation situation that he had read about if not lived through it. On one side was an elderly man with a shady background, always speaking in hints and puzzles without revealing much about himself. While on the other side, there was a transmigrator teenager living in the body of a child, simply accepting every abnormal thing about Rain because he more or less knew everything about him. The synergy was one thing, but anyone who observed the last half a year was bound to be plagued with confusion. ¡°Well, at least I can get back to training with you buddy.¡± After washing away the negativity with freshwater, Leo started his day with some training on horseback according to his old routine. Following that, Leo went ahead with his physical training which he hadn¡¯t executed normally in a while¡­ or at least he tried to. ¡°I guess these weights are useless now.¡± After experiencing a long period of physical growth in Rain¡¯s terrace house, the 5 kg weights that accompanied Leo during his long journey no longer proved useful, only some more complicated training that required low weights could barely be done. In a sense, after the last push that he received during his ¡®ascendance¡¯, Leo¡¯s current body had already caught up to his original body before he started going to the gym. Even with no indicators on it, it was a good guess to say that a value of 1 matched the physique of a normal grown human. Although it seemed useless with Arthur¡¯s early death, one advantage Arthur had against all of his advantages was that his body responded surprisingly well to physical training. ¡°Is it about time I did some light close combat training?¡± It wasn¡¯t exactly necessary for Leo to replace the weight training until he got Crane to make him heavier weights, in fact, he could just replace it with the light exercises that he did for warming up, but Leo had something else in mind!Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. All this while, he was striving to acquire the one thing that made this world special, but now that he attained it, he was finally able to look beyond it. While Sword Breath was an unimaginable power, it had one basic flaw, it could only be used with a sword in hand. Whether it was daggers or sword-bladed spears like naginata, none of them qualified to receive the enhancement of Sword Breath. Most importantly, Sword Breath didn¡¯t follow the popular concept of being able to materialize ¡®Energy Blades¡¯. Considering that Leo didn¡¯t know when he would encounter a situation where he would be left swordless, getting familiar with a combat method other than swordsmanship was something that he only stood to gain from. ¡®This one seems like it would take a while as well.¡¯ Unfortunately, even after an hour-long training session using what he read from mixed martial arts books, ¡®Skill Reading¡¯ didn¡¯t manage to activate just yet. Similar to ¡®Horsemanship¡¯, it seemed like he required some time to properly execute the moves and digest his preliminary ¡®Reading¡¯. However, Leo wasn¡¯t disappointed, rather, he was engrossed in thought towards the deeper mechanics of his ability! So far, of all the things that he had trained, it was only when it came to ¡®Swordsmanship¡¯ and ¡®Universal Sword Breathing¡¯ that ¡®Skill Reading¡¯ and ¡®Ability Reading¡¯ were instantly activated. This specific pattern made him consider more than a few possibilities before narrowing them down to two. Both the skill and the ability were the very first things he tried before the attributes were unlocked, but at the same time, Leo couldn¡¯t ignore the nature of this world. Since it was his ability that brought him here, could its ¡®branches¡¯ be affected by the world¡¯s emphasis on ¡®Swords¡¯? The first possibility was the safest bet considering it couldn¡¯t be refuted as of now, while the second was nothing but speculation. In the end, Leo knew that only time would tell¡­ ¡®A preliminary confirmation is possible though.¡¯ Having already decided to do a mix of two different routines, Leo didn¡¯t directly start his daily ¡®Breathing¡¯. Instead, he proceeded to follow his traveling routine, doing an upgraded version of his normal sword training! No longer being in a hurry to pass the powerless ¡®Accumulation Phase¡¯, it was finally time for Leo to start his advanced sword training! It was finally the moment that Leo awaited, hoping to advance his ¡®Swordsmanship¡¯ that remained stuck for almost half a year! However¡­ ¡°So it isn¡¯t specifically sword-related ¡®Reading¡¯?¡± Despite spending an equally long hour trying out the sword technique that he held back on for so long, ¡®Skill Reading¡¯ didn¡¯t directly activate according to his speculation¡­ However, at the same time, Leo knew that through this hour, he hadn¡¯t connected his sword movements correctly. Furthermore, he failed to pair it correctly with the footwork that he could execute with relative ease. In the end, he couldn¡¯t really confirm whether he failed to re-enact the technique correctly, thus disallowing the ¡®Sword¡¯ specialty of this world from triggering, or if it was because it wasn¡¯t the first activation. Regardless, Leo wasn¡¯t exactly in a hurry to know, rather, he enjoyed the process of linking everything together according to Rain¡¯s book. He might fail now, but he awaited the moment of successfully activating ¡®Skill Reading¡¯! If the technique was as hard as to be incorrect despite his preliminary ¡®Reading¡¯, then he was looking forward to his skill after fully mastering it! ¡°I have got a long way home anyway.¡± In contrast to being disappointed, Leo immediately sprung into ¡®Sword Breathing¡¯. While it was hard to do the same number of sets after sword training, doing six sets over the next hour seemed doable. Just like that, Leo¡¯s journey continued as the days passed, drawing closer to his destination and training results all the same¡­ On the day Leo finally caught the town¡¯s shadow from afar, a new change took place in his ¡®Personal Book¡¯! Chapter 63 - Reunion Chapter 63 - Reunion ¡°Haaaaa¡­¡± ¡®I did myself in¡­¡¯ Letting out a large yawn, Donald couldn¡¯t help but blame himself for being too active in his recent years. He was happy about it, but he didn¡¯t expect his third child to require much effort! In reality, his third child wasn¡¯t especially needy, it was just Donald¡¯s misperception. Things had been calm in the last five years with his simple horse raising business, so having a child or two didn¡¯t raise any trouble. However, having recently started a transportation ¡®company¡¯ based on his original business, things had been so hectic that the sleepless nights brought by his newborn became unendurable. Ding¡­ ¡°Hm?¡± Just as the weary man was about to doze off on his chair, the door¡¯s bell rang to notify the arrival of a customer, but the drowsy Donald failed to notice someone going in. ¡®Am I hallucinating?¡¯ ¡°Excuse me.¡± It was only when a young but firm voice reached his ear that Donald noticed the customer who he thought was invisible as he lowered his eyes, a cloaked youth that seemed to be no more than 15 years old entering his vision. ¡°Y-yes, how may I help?¡± ¡°Ahem, I had rented a horse carriage from this shop about 9 months ago. Sorry for going beyond the agreed renting period. I believe the rent code was 99?¡± ¡°Oh? Let me check¡­¡± Taking out his register book, Donald tried to jolt his memory as he flipped the pages, his mind lighting up as soon as he reached the page he searched for. Although the youth seemed to have been through a growth spurt, his face barely recognizable and his height incomparable, Donald remembered the day he visited his shop almost a year ago. Back then, he thought the boy was kidding when he talked about renting a horse carriage for half a year, but his mocking smile could only turn into a genuine one when the boy dropped a sack holding a dozen gold coins on his desk. ¡®He returned?¡¯ In Donald¡¯s business, one could rarely guarantee that horses rented for trips out of town would be returned, which was precisely why the deposit was so expensive. At the very least, half a dozen gold coins coupled with the renting fee would cover the cost of the horse without much loss. Of course, once they managed to catch a glance of the ¡®thieving customers¡¯, they would wring them dry for the total amount of ¡®delay¡¯. Before the sixth month had even passed, Donald had already considered the horse ¡®sold¡¯ and spent the deposit on his recent project. However¡­This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. ¡°Oh¡­ you are three months late, half of the deposit will be taken as an additional payment. Is the carriage outside?¡± Donald simply couldn¡¯t afford to return the rest of the deposit! Other than his daily expenses, all of his coins were already running within the project. For once, he hoped that either the horse or the carriage were damaged so that he could lower the money he owed! ¡°Yeah, but there is no need to check it or return the deposit. I would like to buy both the horse and the carriage if possible. How much do you want for it?¡± Just as Donald¡¯s head was spinning to find a solution to his predicament, the youth¡¯s words sounded like the music of salvation, only paling when compared to the clinking of gold coins as the youth pushed his hand into his pouch! ¡°Six gold coins¡­?¡± Blurting out an answer in relief, Donald only came out of his daze under the doorbell¡¯s ring, his eyes staring at the extra three shiny coins laid on his desk¡­ Ring¡­ `~~~`~~~`~~~` Less than a kilometer away, a lovely kitten was flailing its small paws at the fast-moving green stalk. Its tiny face had a heart-melting look of determination, it would definitely tear the green thingy apart once it captured it! Meow! However, the determination on the kitten¡¯s face soon faded away, replaced by visible confusion. It seemed to have sensed something¡­ Meow¡­? ¡°Hehehe... Little kitty, you are so adorable! Oh?¡± The culprit behind the movement of the green ¡®enemy¡¯, a child, who was just as ¡®small¡¯ and lovely as the kitten, suddenly paused her laughs as she noticed that the kitten¡¯s attention had shifted from her for some reason. Turning her head to look in the same direction as the kitten, the little girl knew why the kitten was distracted. A big horse was coming their way! Just now, she was simply distracted as she played with the kitten, otherwise, she would have heard the sound of the horse¡¯s hooves hitting the ground even earlier than the cat. ¡®This is¡­?¡¯ As much as the little girl was excited about playing with the big horse, she was slightly wary of the reason it approached them. She felt conflicted as she resisted the urge to run at the approaching horse. ¡®If only big Brother was here!¡¯ However, it was then that the horse stopped before the driver jumped down from his position, he was previously hidden by the carriage ceiling¡¯s shadow, but both his stature and face were now clear. ¡®...¡¯ The little girl stood up at what she just saw, quickly rubbing her eyes as they widened. She turned her head back and opened her mouth to the maximum like she was about to shout something, but¡­ Thud! The sound of small wood logs falling to the ground reverberated, causing the little girl to promptly stop, her mouth¡¯s muscles relaxing by reflex. Behind her, a woman far exceeding her adorable height stood rooted to the ground, her eyes seemingly in a trance as something transparent dripped slipped from one of them. ¡°I¡­¡± Being locked in this ¡®frozen¡¯ situation, the youth that just jumped down from the carriage bitterly opened his mouth, but he couldn¡¯t continue what he planned to say as the woman quickly advanced forward, almost running towards him. Seeing this, the youth slightly lowered his eyelids down, bracing for whatever was coming for him as the woman finally stood before him, but all that he met was¡­ ¡°Welcome back.¡± ¡­Nothing but a hug. A big warm hug. Feeling something warm trickling on his left shoulder, Leo swallowed back the apology he prepared as he moved his arms to return the gesture, only three words leaving his mouth before silence pervaded. ¡°I¡¯m back¡­¡± He might have turned ¡®13¡¯ a few days ago, but his heart could only turn warm at this unexpected reunion¡­ Chapter 64 - A Year of Great Change Chapter 64 - A Year of Great Change ¡°Big Brother is back!¡± Seeing the hug that almost radiated actual warmth, little Annie broke out of her frozen state, shouting as she ran to join in! ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Brother Arthur is back?¡± ¡°Bro¡­¡± Alerted by her shout, Annie¡¯s siblings swarmed out of the Orphanage with wide eyes, their mouths gaping as they followed Annie¡¯s example! ¡°Yes, yes, I-I¡¯m back¡­¡± ¡®I can¡¯t breathe¡­¡¯ The warm touching hug was overwritten by a ¡®breathtaking¡¯ embrace, leaving Leo gasping for breath while barely keeping his smile. ¡°I thought you left like hhh¡­ Ray.¡± After letting out her suppressed emotions, Ria finally broke the hug as the children followed suit. Mumbling as she wiped the tears that made her eyes shine under the sun. ¡°Didn¡¯t you read the letter?¡± Even though Leo felt bad for not having a proper goodbye before his first ¡®outing¡¯, he could only do so because he wanted to avoid a complicated situation like this, especially just after the Fanged Wolves incident. However, he did make sure to mention that he would return before a year had passed in his letter. As much as he mutually missed everyone at the Orphanage, he felt that Ria was slightly overreacting. ¡°I did, but Ray also said he would come back¡­¡± ¡®Ah, another ¡®support¡¯ from my ¡®brother¡¯...¡¯ Naturally, Leo knew that it wasn¡¯t something normal for someone of his age to travel out of town so early, but the experience of Ray¡¯s departure simply made his own almost traumatizing. ¡°Well, here I am.¡± In reality, Leo knew that he was sorely lacking when it came to communication, to a person like him who saw more papers than faces, even a few books on the topic didn¡¯t help much. Being in this awkward situation, he could only be ¡®robotic¡¯ like this. ¡°I knew that Big Brother would come back soon! I told them so!¡± Annie smiled widely while still being stuck to Leo, it was obvious that she wanted some praise for still believing in him. ¡°I also knew little Annie would be waiting so I came back as fast as I could!¡± ¡°Be careful!¡±If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Patting the adorable Annie, Leo held her up so as to break out of the heavy mode, putting her on the back of the horse before dragging out a sack from the back of the carriage. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it''s really obedient.¡± After spending so many days with the horse, Leo was familiar enough with its docile behavior resulting from its long years of domestication as a transport horse. In the first place, this was the reason he had rented a horse instead of buying one from the very start. He wanted to test it out before using his long renting period as a buffer for an instant exchange. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s get inside, breakfast is on me, I bought meat buns!¡± `~~~`~~~`~~~` ¡®That was¡­ hard.¡¯ Only when he was back at the training spot that he missed dearly could Leo finally be at ease. Thankfully, Ria was happier about him returning safely than angry at his surprise departure. Staring at the blond-haired figure at the surface of the lake just like he did the day he arrived at this world, Leo couldn¡¯t help but feel a strange sense of nostalgia, almost a year had passed since his arrival! Although a year wasn¡¯t really much, his experiences through this year were anything but ordinary. Starting from his preparation to stand up to impending doom, coming into contact with a mystical plant, his encounter with the most influential person in this world, at this moment, everything felt like a dream. However, in contrast to what he felt, the figure reflected by the water showed even more than that. His face, height, as well as long hair tied into a ponytail firmly stated their degree change as a testament to the passing of a few years at the very least. The only thing that remained unchanged with his heterochromatic eyes that were carried along with his ''mind'' into this world. At the same time, Leo similarly called out to the ¡®Personal Book¡¯ just like he did for the very time, its first page revealing an even greater difference. [ Book 1 ] Name: Arthur (Leo Lock) Age: 13 (18) Role: Reader Reading Points: 222 ________________________ Personal Statistics: ---------------- True Sword Breath: 100/100 Physique: 1.1 Mind: 1.35 (+1.96) Sword Breath: 104.51 ________________________ Personal Skills: --------------- ''Basic Swordsmanship'' - Chapter 1 - page 10/10 ''Basic Horsemanship'' - Chapter 1 - page 1/10 ''Close Quarter Combat'' - Prologue - page 6/10 ________________________ Personal Abilities: ----------------- ''Universal Sword Breathing'' - Grade 2 - 5/10 ________________________ Events: ------- - Teaching Crane - Unique - Rewriting Destiny - Unique (2) - Counter Elimination - Impossible ________________________ Despite the change being great overall, the most noticeable change which also mattered the most at this moment was the change in age. Two days away from town, Leo had finally figured out Arthur¡¯s birthday! As a typical orphan that was picked off from somewhere, even Arthur himself didn¡¯t know his birthday before. In a sense, the ¡®Personal Book¡¯ acted as a calendar of sorts¡­ Following that, the physique that was still going strong shone the most. In contrast to the supposed limit of his body as a 13-year-old child, Leo didn¡¯t feel like he was hitting a wall anytime soon. Remembering the 0.8 points of physique that he had started with, Leo felt a small sense of accomplishment. Lastly, the ¡®Personal Skills¡¯ segment that wasn¡¯t even there when Leo first ¡®opened¡¯ the ¡®Personal Book¡¯ now had as many as three entries, one of them being a recent addition that he finally managed to obtain after a month of testing. ¡®Not bad at all.¡¯ The surface of the lake appeared to be faintly distorted as a wide smile spread on the face that appeared like it was close to coming of age. Having already come to accept his new reality, Leo was satisfied with the progress he obtained in an eighth of the time he had to survive for. Although his presence as a variant made his future shrouded in mystery, Leo felt like he finally had the confidence to take on whatever the world threw at him! ¡®No slacking off still.¡¯ Swoosh! Taking out the sword he was holding out of its sheath, Leo was already immersed in his sword training before he knew it. While his satisfaction wasn¡¯t a facade, his closest goal was still incomplete, being yet to achieve some mastery over the advanced sword technique. Even though he was finally back home, the effort he put forward could only increase but no decrease wherever he may be! Chapter 65 - A Reader’s Path of Learning Chapter 65 - A Reader¡¯s Path of Learning Shhhhh¡­ A faint snore spread through the line of beds decorated with children of different ages, the whole scene gave a sense of wholesomeness despite appearing clumsy. However, within this bundle of innocence, a slow-moving figure was revealed by the blurry sunlight rays of dawn. ¡®Careful¡­¡¯ After being woken up by his biological clock at the usual dawn break, Leo was regretfully sneaking out of this nest of warmth. Although not in their specific order, the seasons had their natural cycle even in this fantasy world. As winter was starting to bare its icy fangs, Leo could only resign and return to his original sleeping position within the Orphanage, he had simply had enough of ¡®sleeping outside¡¯ on his way back. While he had become a true ¡®Swordsman¡¯, the supernaturals in this world only had increased lethality but no other special attributes like ¡®Cultivators¡¯ or ¡®Players¡¯. He still felt cold all the same. The air was especially chilly at this time of the morning, but Leo wore all he could and bravely marched outside and into the forest with only one motivation in mind, training was the best way to warm up! Back in his training spot, Leo unsheathed his sword once more. Breaking his routine from the day before, he went ahead and started executing ¡®Universal Sword Breathing¡¯! While moving something ahead usually meant prioritizing it, Leo''s current situation was the exact opposite. He might have moved his ¡®Breathing¡¯ ahead, but that was only to quickly finish the part of the training that he had cut down the most. ¡®Let¡¯s get this done with.¡¯ In reality, while ¡®Breathing¡¯ could be considered an enjoyable process from Leo¡¯s point of view, being something that you would immediately see the results of. However, ever since he advanced into grade 1, Leo understood the difficulty of climbing the path of domination¡­ The very first thing that his ¡®ascension¡¯ had brought him was a slight deviation in the ¡®patterns¡¯ that needed to be ¡®written¡¯. Although it wasn¡¯t as miraculous as the mind transmission mentioned in ''Cultivation'' novels, Leo suddenly realized that he needed to change his usual ¡®Sword Calligraphy¡¯ as soon as he tried it for the first time after his advancement. Not only did the change in the ¡®Personal Book¡¯ prove this point, but his attempt to use the basic form resulted in 0 gain. The change itself was only slightly more difficult, but the problem came in the lower starting mastery. With no accurate advice from Rain nor any further ¡®Ability Reading¡¯, Leo¡¯s ¡®Breathing¡¯ efficiency reached its lowest point. Most importantly, Leo was sadly able to confirm the novel¡¯s description of grade 2 ¡®Breathing¡¯, when doing the same number of sets, the Sword Breath absorbed or produced was half as much! The desperation he felt in the past simply felt like a joke. At this current rate affected by his low mastery, Leo knew that it would take him about a year to reach the next grade. Although that was well within his expectation, that only motivated him more to focus on his swordsmanship¡¯s advancement, trying his best to take the last critical step first!Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. ¡®Done.¡¯ In the end, Leo settles down for a maximum of 4 sets till the next routine revision. Having only ¡®gathered¡¯ an amount similar to what he gained from one set at his Accumulation Phase¡¯s peak, Leo concluded that these forty minutes of effort were more useful for warming up than their intended purpose for the time being. ¡°Still better than nothing though.¡± Even then, Leo naturally didn¡¯t plan to stop his daily ¡®Breathing¡¯. His routine adjustment was nothing but temporary. After all, a great river was nothing but the gathering of countless drops. ¡®Well, it won¡¯t be long before I stop walking the conventional route anyway.¡¯ Having reassured himself of a ¡®bright¡¯ future, Leo barely rested for a few minutes in order not to lose the precious warmth that he had generated, moving into the main dish of the day, sword training! Of all the books that he got access to at Rain¡¯s terrace house, Leo had only kept one. After practicing one set of sword movements, Leo sat down on the ground, quickly flipping the pages of this exact book. Unsurprisingly, It was none other than the book containing the sword technique that was currently giving him a headache. While it was true that all the books that he had read were all memorized into his head without exception, Leo especially liked the return to the physical book itself to revise his mistakes in a more concrete way. The book itself also had a sentimental value as a token written by Rain himself. ¡®Another mistake¡­¡¯ As if to be expected of something created by the greatest sword mentor, all of these movements were specifically meant to react in a battle between fellow Swordsmen. Although there were only a total of 24 forms, the variations hidden within were uncountable, each form studied how to attack, counter attack, and defend against a certain movement of the opponent. In contrast to techniques consisting of hundreds of movements, this nameless sword technique didn¡¯t require too much time to perform its basic forms, but the complexity hidden within it made perfecting even the basics a feat beyond simple effort. As a technique built upon Rain¡¯s observation of countless Swordsmen and their battles over the years, the versatility it achieved in its intended field was unrivaled, but this ambitious result wasn¡¯t built on nothing. As Leo practiced the technique day after day, Leo had quickly come to understand the great cost¡­ One had to achieve a great degree of mastery to use the technique properly, otherwise, it was no different from gambling with one¡¯s life! Considering the specificness of the movements, Leo could imagine how even 1 cm of deviation would have unpredictable results! Whether it was in reality or as mentioned in the novel itself, obtaining limited mastery of a dozen or so sword techniques was a much safer bet for most common Swordsmen. In the end, compared to spending a large amount of time that could be used for ¡®Breathing¡¯ to obtain questionable results, mixing styles was a far easier method to achieve relative versatility. ¡®But¡­ I¡¯m almost there!¡¯ Even though Leo wouldn¡¯t dare boast of achieving the stage that this technique visualized, being capable of completely ¡®manipulating¡¯ his opponent, his two months of training wasn¡¯t for nothing either! Building upon the footwork that he was already very familiar with, Leo was very close to ¡®killing¡¯ the shadow that he imagined himself fighting without injury! Although that only showed a little bit of this technique¡¯s prowess, it was the extent of what Leo hoped to achieve on his own. In reality, his main target was far more than the technique itself, otherwise, he would have just followed the normal route. As a ¡®Reader¡¯ whose learning path was different from other people, what Leo really aspired to obtain was the experienced swordsmanship of someone who mastered such a technique, something that only he could obtain through ¡®Skill Reading¡¯! In the hands of others, this book was a treasure that they could only stare at, but in his own hands, Leo couldn¡¯t help but feel that he was extremely compatible with it. To him, all his effort so far was nothing but a small price to pay for what he was to receive! ¡®If not today, then tomorrow!¡¯ Feeling closer than ever to his target, Leo put away the book before his sword swung into action. At this moment, Leo couldn¡¯t help but feel like he had all the time in the world¡­ Chapter 66 - Sword Advancement Chapter 66 - Sword Advancement At the little secluded orphanage, the whole family had gathered together once again. With their big brother in their midst, the children had their appetite boosted as they enthusiastically dipped their white bread into their bowls. The yellow lentil soup was the product of his first attempt at cooking for the whole Orphanage. It was a recipe that he had specially learned to fight the cold. Unlike the rest of her siblings, little Annie had already torn her loaf of bread into small bits and immersed it within the soup. After giving it a good mix, she used her spoon to scoop the bread bits, putting them into her mouth as her eyes sparkled. ¡°It¡¯s great! As expected of Big Brother!¡± While Ria was against it at first, Leo had somehow managed to convince her that he learned to do some cooking in the time he was absent. The satisfaction that the children showed as they readily consumed it excellently proved his point! ¡°You are going out again today?¡± As Leo used his last bit of bread to wipe the soup out of the bowl, Ria calmly looked at Leo with a hint of resignation. ¡°Yes. I¡­¡± After he settled back at the Orphanage, Leo was originally worried that Ria would question him about his absence. However, other than asking if he had anything he wanted to tell her, she didn¡¯t persist in asking for an answer. It wasn¡¯t that Leo wanted to conceal his experience, but there were simply too many details that he couldn¡¯t explain without revealing his identity, not to mention that information related to Rain were potential time bombs. He had no plans to isolate himself from his new ¡®family¡¯ as Ray did, but he had to keep his matters to himself for both his and their safety. ¡°It¡¯s okay, you don¡¯t need to explain. Just don¡¯t stay out too late.¡± Ria quietly shook her head, her lips curling into a gentle smile. Although Leo was hiding something, she could tell that the reason he left was probably to seek a ¡®strength¡¯ of some sort. While she couldn¡¯t help but be worried about him, she could only accept reality and try not to restrict him as the person who failed to protect their ¡®family¡¯, thus indirectly pushing him to take this role. Even though she had pretended that nothing serious had happened back then, Ria was fully aware that the incident that caused Leo¡¯s injury a year ago was nothing simple. At this point, she could only hope that Leo knew what he was doing¡­ ¡°...Thanks, I will be heading out then.¡± Feeling assured by Ria¡¯s tactful acceptance, Leo¡¯s heart felt lighter, giving his ¡®siblings¡¯ extra pats before he left in great spirit. `~~~`~~~`~~~` Swish! Upon reaching the training spot, as usual, Leo proceeded with his sword training under the faint warmth of noon¡¯s sunlight. Despite the difficulty of practicing Rain¡¯s sword technique, the physical excretion was far less exaggerated compared to performing ¡®Sword Calligraphy¡¯. Under the temporary decrement of time invested into ¡®Breathing¡¯, Leo was able to realize more than one training session a day, reinvesting the time that he priorly used for footwork training to train the technique as a whole. ¡®I¡¯m getting closer¡­¡¯ Unlike Leo¡¯s original expectation of reaching his goal within two days, this was already the third since he started training back at the forest. Nonetheless, he still felt closer and closer after practicing each preceding set. Every set simply felt like it would be the last¡­Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Swish! Swissh! At this point, Leo had already reached his third set of this second training session of the day. Having gotten used to visualizing an enemy shadow, to Leo, each practice set he engaged in felt as intense as an actual battle. Using the Fanged Wolves¡¯ thugs as a reference, both the thug¡¯s and Leo¡¯s ¡®live¡¯ hung by a thread, trading blow for blow! Klang! Although no actual sound could be heard, Leo¡¯s immersion into the battle allowed him to ¡®hear¡¯ his successful deflection of the thug¡¯s sword using the technique¡¯s 22nd form. It wasn¡¯t the first time he reached this point, nonetheless, Leo rejoiced as he followed with the 23rd form¡¯s attack¡­ However, all of the sudden, Leo¡¯s eyes widened as if he saw something, quickly interchanging the 23rd form into the 24th form, managing to dodge the follow up of the thug¡¯s feint and¡­ Sppst! ¡®This is it!¡¯ Unlike the deflection that he was used to, he had finally done something different, he had pierced the ¡®heart¡¯ of the imaginary thug! Leo¡¯s joy instantly intensified, disregarding that he had yet to hear anything. Even if this wasn¡¯t enough, he had at least made progress, in more time, he would eventually reach his goal. ¡®Wait¡­¡¯ However, Leo¡¯s thoughts suddenly paused as he raised his eyebrows, or at least tried to do so. For some reason, both himself and the imaginary thug were frozen in place at the moment the sword got through to the thug¡¯s heart! Just then, the frozen time that seemed like it would last for eternity suddenly resumed out of nowhere, but Leo soon realized that this wasn¡¯t the end of it. Time hadn¡¯t simply resumed but even accelerated! Without intending to, Leo withdrew his sword out of the imaginary thug at an inconvincible speed as the imaginary started to turn surreal¡­ The ¡®life¡¯ seemed to come back to the thug¡¯s body as he and Leo engaged in battle once more! Under the effect of the apparent time acceleration, Leo¡¯s and the thug¡¯s swords clashed an uncountable time, every single set felt like it only lasted for a second, but the thug kept losing his life faster, even then, he would still come back to ¡®life¡¯ to trade blows with Leo one more time¡­ Before he knew it, Leo¡¯s mind had gradually reached an empty state that only focused on his sword, trapped in an unending battle where he sought to get rid of his enemy for real. [ The First Chapter of the Reader¡¯s ¡®Swordsmanship¡¯ has ended. ] [ ¡®Basic Swordsmanship¡¯ has been corrected to ¡®Intermediate Swordsmanship¡¯. ] [ The Second Chapter, ¡®Intermediate Swordsmanship¡¯, has started. ] ¡°Hm?¡± Opening his eyes, Leo looked around in surprise as he immediately called out the ¡®Personal Book¡¯ to check what he had just heard. The situation was mystifying, but he quickly made sense of it due to an earlier experience¡­ [ Reading Attribute, ¡®Skill Reading¡¯, has been activated! ] ¡®Why?¡¯ Spotting the one message that he hadn¡¯t heard a letter off, Leo was surprised due to the amplified effect. Although it was slightly less in intensity compared to what he experienced from ¡®Ability Reading¡¯, Leo was lost in thought regarding the reason behind the different amplitude. Was it because he directly advanced into the second chapter? Did the difficulty of skill decide the effect of ¡®Skill Reading¡¯? Or was this still related to the ¡®supernatural¡¯ element of this world and the skill itself? After experiencing the true technique for himself, Leo could tell that it went slightly beyond something normal humans could execute. He could also feel the limitations of his body. ¡®That¡¯s just ¡®Intermediate¡¯...?¡¯ Even when counting all of the times his ¡®attributes¡¯ had activated, the degree of digestion was indisputably the worst. Surpassing what he had imagined the technique¡¯s required control and strength wasn¡¯t something that the current him could muster, his stature that barely reached 1.6 meters was specifically an obstacle. Nevertheless, despite the severe indigestion, Leo¡¯s technique had finally turned from a set of practice and something that¡¯s usable in real battle. Most importantly, Leo¡¯s true target was perfectly achieved, his swordsmanship had finally surpassed the level of the Fanged Wolves¡¯ thugs! ________________________ Personal Skills: --------------- ''Intermediate Swordsmanship'' - Chapter 2 - page 2/10 ''Basic Horsemanship'' - Chapter 1 - page 1/10 ''Close Quarter Combat'' - Prologue - page 6/10 ________________________ For the moment, however, Leo didn¡¯t care about the details, he was beyond satisfied just by looking at his first ¡®Chapter 2¡¯ skill! Whether it was his body¡¯s limitation or the indigestion, both weren¡¯t real obstacles. In the following year, he only had to grind at his undigested gain as his body naturally grew! Overjoyed by his latest achievement, Leo generously decided to end his training early for the day as he happily made his way out of the forest¡­ ¡®Is it about time I go say hello?¡¯ Chapter 67 - Forced Into A Tricky Situation Chapter 67 - Forced Into A Tricky Situation ¡®It does feel better here¡­¡¯ The streets of the nameless town weren¡¯t as crowded as Swordkeep, but it didn¡¯t lose out in liveliness. The independent cycle that the people had established within the town made them like a big family of sorts rather than unrelated residents. After experiencing the busy life in Swordkeep that centered around profit, Leo came to appreciate the calm but warm streets of his ¡®home town¡¯. Despite being back ¡®home¡¯ for over three days, Leo hadn¡¯t visited the town after he formally bought his horse. After all, he really had no reason to visit the town. Other than Crane, all the people he cared about lived within the bordering Orphanage. However, even though he wanted to visit Crane, Leo had simply been too focused on advancing his ¡®Swordsmanship¡¯. In order not to lose the edge he was at, he chose not to occupy himself with other matters, and one of these matters he put aside just happened to be something that he needed to discuss with Crane. More specifically, the ¡®project¡¯ he had to discuss with Crane also relied heavily on his advancement as he wanted to adjust what they were going to make according to his renewed understanding, so it felt more worth it to delay the whole thing for a few days. ¡®Thankfully, it didn¡¯t take too long.¡¯ While Leo wasn¡¯t exactly a social butterfly, he wasn¡¯t clueless either. Naturally, if he was yet to trigger ¡®Skill Reading¡¯ within the first week, he would just stop his streak for the time being to visit Crane. Although the relationship between him and Crane started as a business one, he was no less than a friend after his overall change. ¡®Hmm?¡¯ Just as a faint smile was taking shape on Leo¡¯s face on recalling the past, his relaxed observation of the scenery suddenly paused as his eyes briefly squinted, something wasn¡¯t right¡­ Resuming his ¡®sightseeing¡¯ once again, Leo dismissed his alert as he continued his walk. Still, he was absentminded all the way till he entered Blacksmith Street, his eyes slightly out of focus. It was only when he stood before the Blackbird¡¯s door that he came out of his trance, casually throwing a look behind him, he knocked before pushing the door to enter. ¡°Just a sec!¡± Hearing Crane¡¯s voice from inside, Leo finally managed to notice how different the Blackbird was compared to before. It seemed like his appearance and personality weren¡¯t the end of Crane¡¯s change. Although he failed to notice the difference from outside due to being lost in thought, the hanged weapons, the additional wall that separated the forge, and the new paint made the place look more like a Smith Shop rather than a personal smithy. If it wasn¡¯t just for display, then it was likely that Crane had started to accept clients. ¡°Yes. What can I¡­ Oh? Arthur?¡± Coming out from the forge as he used a towel to wipe his sweat-covered face, Crane nonchalantly looked at Leo before his eyebrows rose. ¡°It¡¯s nice to meet you too, Crane.¡± ¡°You really came back¡­ Wow, just what did you do for the last 9 months? You have certainly grown up quite a bit¡­¡± Receiving Leo¡¯s smile as a response, Crane couldn¡¯t hide his surprise at Leo¡¯s change, but he suddenly paused before his mouth widened to a greater surprise.Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. ¡°You also¡­¡± ¡°Yeah, I was lucky enough to meet ¡®someone¡¯.¡± Leo wasn¡¯t surprised that Crane recognized his identity as a ¡®Swordsman¡¯, this was something that all fellow Swordsmen could do if they tried sensing their own Sword Breath. With Crane¡¯s ability, it would be stranger if he didn¡¯t notice. ¡®He is as abnormal as his brother. Perhaps even more¡­¡¯ As Crane¡¯s surprise gradually subsided, he couldn¡¯t help nodding in his heart. He already felt that Leo wasn¡¯t normal, but he simply went beyond his expectations. ¡°I see you started taking smithing requests?¡± ¡°Yeah, research is great and all, but doing something different every once in a while isn¡¯t bad. Besides, my funds were starting to run a little dry¡­¡± Just like old friends who met after a long while, Leo and Crane exchanged words to commemorate their meeting. It was only when Crane spoke for a bit that he seemed to remember something. ¡°Right, did you come here just for a visit or did you also have a request?¡± ¡°I did come to visit, and I also have an idea to debate with you, but¡­¡± Pausing to take a quick look at the window, Leo took a deep breath before he continued. ¡°...Can you make me something quick first?¡± `~~~`~~~`~~~` Heading out of Blacksmith Street, Leo relaxedly walked back towards the forest end of the town. He was taking his usual route back to the Orphanage, but in the middle of the way, he thought of something before taking a sudden turn. He Originally wanted to pretend that he noticed nothing, but as Leo considered the possibilities resulting from that decision, he changed course towards the forest itself. Back at his training spot, Leo knelt to the ground to grab his steel practice sword out of its hiding place. He stood up as he looked around, his hand tightening on the sword¡¯s hilt before his lips parted. ¡°Come out. I know you are here.¡± As silence resumed its reign, Leo stood unmovingly in place. On the other hand, his pupils didn¡¯t stop as he continuously scanned his field of vision. Shsh. shsh¡­ After standing in silence for no less than 5 minutes, Leo¡¯s pupils finally paused as the bushes rustled! A figure emerged from within! However, the size of the emerging figure didn¡¯t make sense¡­ ¡°Annie?¡± Leo couldn¡¯t help but wonder if Annie had hidden to surprise him, but his thoughts quickly changed along with his complexion as he noticed the stealthy hand coiling around Annie¡¯s neck like a treacherous snake that revealed its fangs in the form of a dagger¡­ ¡°B-Brother¡­¡± Little Annie¡¯s small body trembled as she stared at Leo in horror. Shsh. shsh¡­ Followed by more rustle, a slightly bent figure that was larger in comparison to the captive he held climbed out of the bushes while still holding onto her before speaking from under his mask. ¡°Hello there. I think it would be better if you throw the sword so we can talk properly.¡± The thin man who was dressed like every other town man hinted at his impatience by drawing his dagger closer to Annie¡¯s neck. Only his mask seemed out of place. ¡°Let her go.¡± Coldly glaring at the masked man, Leo hesitated before dropping his sword to the ground, his gaze softened a bit as he nodded to reassure his little ¡®sister¡¯. ¡°Good boy. Now raise your hands above your head and cross them together. Come closer if you want to exchange yourself with her.¡± The masked man rambled on as if it wasn¡¯t his first time doing something like this. After throwing another glare in the man¡¯s direction, he slowly approached him. ¡°Let. Her. Go.¡± ¡°Not bad, you have some guts at least. As you wish¡­¡± Removing his right hand from around Annie¡¯s neck, the masked man pushed it forward to stand before Leo¡¯s neck. At the same time, he quickly swiped his left hand forward to grip at the intersection of Leo¡¯s hands, holding them with a grip of ¡®steel¡¯. ¡°We will get the rest later anyway.¡± As the dagger seemed like it would finally make contact with Leo¡¯s neck, his eyes glinted before a¡­ ¡°Gahh.¡± A suppressed shriek resounded out in the forest¡­