Chapter 148 - Invitation
Click.
Having no interest in seeing the end of the first chapter in a possible protagonist's life, Leo left the cafeteria as soon as he finished his noodles, walking back to class as he contemplated his next steps.
'I need more than just this…'
While Leo's first goal was to adjust to the new ability that his main body had, collecting all the information he could to ensure he could stand up to any possible danger, he naturally didn't forget his true role.
Regardless of whether he had the ability to decide when or not, Leo understood the necessity of equally preparing for his next 'True Reading' experience. Even though everything had gone well the first time, Leo knew that his own cheat attribute was held back by his limited reading in the topics that he required.
The only reason he could make up for that disadvantage was his knowledge of the plot. However, there was no guarantee this would work every time. After all, exploiting the plot was only possible if he had the strength necessary for it.
The skills that he already had were a bonus, but not every novel was a place where survival was possible by relying on one or two skills. Spearmanship, shield techniques, riding techniques… Leo believed that having some knowledge in every usable field was necessary, only then would he have the foundation to jump-start through the first steps, making up for his lack of more substantial cheats.
'Back to it.'
Undoubtedly, the best place to gather books of such a wide range was the internet. After devoting the morning to gather materials for his first goal, Leo spent the dozen or so minutes he had left before the next class starting his long-term collective research.
Ringring! Ringring!
Ringring! Ringring!
Ringring! Ringring!
'Hopefully, it's not much harder.'
As class after class ended, Leo pretended to be focused as he pondered about his next destination. If he could truly only enter novels that he had read about in the past, then a general guess was possible. However, Leo's main problem persisted, he had simply read too many novels!
Even if he promptly stopped himself from reading novels that contributed nothing to his skills starting this point, the thousands of novels that he already read were too much to equally prepare for. Most importantly, some extreme fantasy books that relied on 'hocus-pocus' magic weren't even things he could prepare for whether he knew he was going there or not. In the end, a perfect plan was impossible, but that didn't mean Leo had nothing in mind.
Within the endless pool of novels that Leo read, 'The Sword Master's Second Life' was quite a low fantasy title. If that wasn't a simple coincidence, Leo at least had some confidence that he wouldn't be thrown into something too exaggerated, meaning that basic skills that he could obtain from Earth would still have their proper use!
'Should I take a look?'
Passing by the area where clubs were situated, Leo contemplated taking a quick look at the kendo club. He was to discard the thought when he sensed Yulia's silhouette at the end of the hall, prompting him to exit the main building instead.
'Might as well.'
Considering the countless applicable scenarios that usually occurred at the end of a protagonist's school day, Leo walked towards the kendo clubroom, peeking through the transparent glass door as he casually looked around.
As the club members seemed to be just warming up, Leo's eyes ended up straying into the flashy poster beside the door. It seemed like some sort of…
{ Ready for some action after the school break?
Think you get what it takes to make your way to the top?
Join us and sign up for the new semester kendo nationals!
Fame and wealth await! }
'Ugh!'
Leo could barely hold the urge to spit blood after reading the poster. Not to mention its awkward wording, he could already imagine a major cliche arc starting because of it!
Encountering some sort of a magical experience in another world, returning to the modern to use the benefits gained to change one's boring life, this was a very common novel plot that usually pumped up some reader's blood. For Leo, however, this was already a very overused trope that lacked common sense!
Even if he did go through the first part of the story and obtained 'Advanced Swordsmanship' that would likely floor people at the same age, Why would he do something that was the same as exposing himself to possible lurking eyes? Protagonists starting from the bottom may require attention, but Leo was more than satisfied with his calm and natural life.
'Wait…'
In the middle of mocking the fantasy in his head, Leo's eyes unnaturally blinked as he stared at the poster with raised eyebrows.
'This is?'
"Oh? Are you interested in joining us for the tournament? I remember seeing you here before. Your name was…"
Emerging from the glass door with a towel on his shoulders, a male student with a large build amiably smiled at the lost Leo. However…
"No, I'm okay thanks."
Leo didn't spare his words any thought as he coldly turned to walk in the other direction, leaving the kind-faced club president in confusion.
'What was that?'
Leo's face appeared calm on the outside, but he was inwardly panicking! Something was wrong with that poster!
{ Respected Roleplayer, you are invited to attend the initiation meeting of the World Reservation Council. Please take note of the date and address so as not to miss it… }
He had been just laughing off his plot analysis, but the words on the poster suddenly twisted and distorted, reforming into a whole new text! One far from being simple!
Although the words weren't exactly direct, Leo could tell that this had to do with his ability. 'Roleplayer' was a game-like name, but he recognized that his identity wasn't much different. After all, he was someone that 'played' the 'role' of a reader!
'This is faster than I expected…'
Leo's heart beat accelerated at his first supernatural encounter on Earth. He was just thinking about searching for leads… Yet they directly came knocking at him out of nowhere!