Only I Am A Reader

Swish! Swoosh! Swish!

Finishing his daily set of 'Universal Sword Breathing', Leo could sense the usual 'branding' in the work. However, this wasn't the limit of its effect this time!

Not even bothering to focus on the process he was very familiar with, Leo continued munching on the protein bars that he prepared just for this moment. He wasn't sure if his body had the same characteristics as his old one now that his mutation was complete, but he was preparing just in case.

'I hope it works though.'

As nonchalant as he seemed to be, Leo's heart beat with anticipation! He was undeniably advancing to the fifth grade within his reading space!

Every bit of fear that he previously felt at this moment was replaced with excitement. As someone who already played the game till its end, there was no longer any need to be scared of death by muscle-melting! Instead, knowing the reward for enduring it, he was hoping for the pain to come more than ever!

"Perfect!"

The stings he felt all over his body formed a smile on Leo's face. The process wasn't exactly the same, but his body reconstruction was undoubtedly taking place.

With fewer worries coupled with the experience of a much more horrid pain, Leo managed to faintly sense the change. This body of his had grown naturally without any 'special treatment' to induce this reconstruction, but he also had a fused fragment in his body which he didn't have back then!

Not only did the fragment manipulate his bones to tear his muscles in a very fine procedure, but it also influenced his organs and glands to accelerate its reconstruction to match the tearing rate. Even Leo was fairly surprised with how 'alive' the fragment was acting, but he somehow understood that it was making use of its opportunity to enhance its host.

'Could a part of the sword spirit be unconsciously responsible for controlling this?'

Sensing his Sword Breath's stabilization, Leo slipped into thought as he called out his Personal Book. He was naturally familiar with the sword spirit that communicated with Ray, but he couldn't even guarantee its state after being taken away by him, let alone it existing within a fragment.

However, this was the only guess Leo had at this point. This fragment was selectively taken out of the Progenitor Sword, so the chances of it maintaining its sword spirit weren't nonexistent. What he had just experienced also coincided with his wish for body reconstruction, making it plausible that the sword spirit was unintentionally acting on his will…

[ Book 0 ]

Name: Leo Lock

Age: 18

Role: Reader

Energy: [--- ]

Reading Points: 0

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Personal Statistics:

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True Sword Breath: 500/500

Physique: 2.12 (+0.6)

Mind: 2.16

Sword Breath: 500.2

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Personal Skills:

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'Advanced Swordsmanship' - Chapter 3 - page 0/10

'Intermediate Smithing' - Chapter 2 - page 0/10

'Basic Horsemanship' - Chapter 1 - page 9/10

'Basic Close Quarter Combat' - Chapter 1 - page 10/10

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Personal Abilities:

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'Universal Sword Breathing' - Grade 6 - 9/10

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Personal Talents:

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- 'True Sword Body' - 7/10 (-1)

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It had barely been ten days since his return, but the efficiency of Leo's passive breathing was perfectly proven, 'Breathing' wasn't even the only thing that he focused on for the last few days.

Whether it was Swordsmanship or Close Quarter Combat, Leo had already fully integrated their muscle memory in his body. Furthermore, he had lightly started working on his mixed fighting style again.

As for his regressed talent mastery, he at least spent an hour each day, using his experience to lessen the time of transformation, make it more specific. If nothing went wrong, Leo expected a complete restoration in less than a month's time!

However, even as Leo went through his achievement through the last day while thinking about the plausibility of his theory about the sword spirit, his gaze couldn't help darting at the top segment of the page with mixed feelings.

"Seems like it's moving even faster now…"

Despite the early emergence of this 'Energy Bar', Leo's understanding of it was merely based on guesses as the voice in his head stayed silent ever since he restored his memory, but it wasn't like they were based on nothing concrete.

The very first words that he had heard when his 'True Reading' contained the concept of an energy threshold in its midst, which was more than enough to understand the use of said energy…

Most importantly, unlike the Sword Breath that was brilliantly visible to his senses, Leo sensed nothing since the appearance on the 'Energy Bar' until it reached its current partially filled state.

With all of that as a basis, Leo could already tell that his recent journey wouldn't be the last. Moreover, the unstable pace at which the bar filled up also made it obvious that his next one wouldn't take much longer either.

"The main question is… Am I in control?"

It would be a lie if Leo denied his desire for more 'True Reading' experience, the confirmation of his ability to do so soon was worth getting excited about. However, using his first experience as a reference, it was quite possible that the following ones would happen out of nowhere, something that Leo hoped wouldn't be true.

At the same time, the existence of this intangible energy provoked Leo's thoughts of other supernatural entities. If this was the reason behind his basic reading's upgrade, then this pointed at the possibility of a worldwide phenomena!

Meow!

"You are right again, we will deal with it as it comes."

Holding Dark who jumped to his hands as soon as he appeared back in his room, Leo calmed down as usual. If even this cute cat came to accept his magical teleportation and used it as another form of fun, then how could he possibly worry about things that were beyond his control?

"Leo~ Dinner's ready!"

Upon hearing Mia's voice, Dark struggled to leave Leo's hands as he immediately rushed down, playing was fun, but food was necessary!

"Coming!"

Bitterly smiling at this decisive abandonment, Leo went out to wash his hands.. It wasn't like I had time for overthinking anyway. After all, this was the last day of his school break…