Chapter 185 - A World’s Specialty
'This also counts as an ability?'
This was Leo's first double attribute triggering! His body and mind were greedly digesting the benefits, but he had little to no idea why it happened in the first place!
He could tell that he was getting more used to the channeling that lagged behind the skill at first. In fact, it was even climbing forward, but why was this specifically acknowledged as an ability?
[ The Prologue of the Reader's 'Footwork' has ended. ]
Just as Leo opened up the Personal Book to check, Spearmanship's advancement record quickly crumbled as his newly acquired skill bolted beyond the prologue! The Heavenly Demon's Library was truly an incredible cheat code tailored for him!
[ 'Footwork' has been corrected to 'Basic Footwork'. ]
If one was to compare it to the 'Hidden Pieces' that he discovered and obtained on the Sword Continent, then it was qualified to be the hidden piece of hidden pieces! Unfortunately, exploring that library was something that Baekho was already destined to achieve, otherwise, Leo would have received a sizable sum of Reading Points…
[ The First Chapter, 'Basic Footwork', has started. ]
'Let's see…'
[ Book 2 ]
Name: Baek-Ho (Leo Lock)
Age: 9 (18)
Role: Reader
Reading Points: 316
________________________
Personal Statistics:
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Internal Energy: 104/111 (Scarlet Sky)
Physique: 2.54
Mind: 0.47 (+2.21)
________________________
Personal Skills:
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'Advanced Swordsmanship' - Chapter 3 - page 1/10
'Intermediate Smithing' - Chapter 2 - page 0/10
'Intermediate Close Quarter Combat' - Chapter 2 - page 8/10
'Intermediate Spearmanship' - Chapter 2 - page 9/10
'Basic Horsemanship' - Chapter 1 - page 9/10
'Basic Footwork' - Chapter 1 - page 1/10
________________________
Personal Abilities:
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- 'Scarlet Sky Breathing' - 3rd-Rate - 9/10
- 'Internal Energy Channeling' - 2/10
________________________
Personal Talents:
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- 'Cleared Energy Channels' -
- 'Body of Accelerated Recovery' -
________________________
Events:
--------
- Suffering Delayment - Unique
- A Star's Emergence - Unique
- Sleeping Dragon - Unique
- Twin Star Rising - Unique
________________________
Throughout the last two months, Leo's 'Book 2' page had undergone several rounds of change, especially when it came to the amount of Internal Energy that almost stood at 10 years. However, the most striking change still had to be the effect of the recent reading session…
Almost every skill had advanced by one page just through the effect of basic reading, promising many more possible triggers. However, the new ability still didn't make sense to Leo.
'Why?'
He didn't need to see it in the Personal Book to know that ability that he had just 'read', but Leo questioned its specific addition. If this was possible, then why wasn't there an 'Energy Circulation' or an 'Energy Channel Clearing' ability? Why was 'Internal Energy Channeling' all-inclusive, while 'Scarlet Sky Breathing' summarized all of the basics?
'Is it a book's speciality?'
Lost in thought like that, Leo couldn't help recalling the amplified effect of learning 'Swordsmanship' that he encountered on the Sword Continent. He had only assumed it as a possibility and didn't decline it, but it seemed like there was a deeper essence to it!
The effect wasn't as noticeable, but Leo could tell that most of his training had been more efficient ever since he came to this world. He had originally concluded that his young body made it easier to learn, but now that he looked back at it, wasn't this a world of 'Martial Arts'? Wouldn't it make sense for it to be another hidden boost?
Just like basic training was considered to be martial arts training, the very essence of martial arts in the world of murim was still centered around the use of Internal Energy. Considering that Internal Energy Channeling was like a second nature to true Martial Artists, Leo couldn't deny its identity as an 'ability' of sorts, something that his ability recognized as something it could 'read'.
From another point of view, this wasn't something to think too much about as it mostly served to provide a parameter for the most basic skill in murim, but from Leo's point of view, utilizing true martial arts techniques would only become easier if 'Ability Reading' triggered every time. In that case, what he just obtained didn't feel like a library, but a large bag of tricks…
When it came to accumulation, however, Leo was doubtful. Every technique had its own unique channeling method, was accumulating mastery worth it or…
'Forget it.'
In the end, Leo didn't let himself get too swept into overthinking. 'Ability Reading' was powerful, but he could tell its effect was minimal just now. Compared to 'Scarlet Sky Breathing' which was only a few pages away from the peak of the stage from the very beginning, this wasn't really a ground-breaking ability. Even if it helped, it was just something that would make things a little bit easier for him.
Tap! Tap! Tap!
Pushing his budding overconfidence away, Leo continued practicing the Heavenly Reign Steps to digest the result of his 'reading'.
His special abilities were indeed beneficiary, but they also followed the law of balance, he wasn't given a strong push in one direction like most protagonists' cheat did. Instead, the grounds were slowly being evened, allowing him to possess what he lacked in comparison to geniuses like Yeon, Cheon Yong, and most importantly, the protagonist!
'It's slowly coming together…'
Other than Cheon Yong who was given his books by Iyeolhan, Leo had also picked another technique just like Yeon did, but he only focused on the Heavenly Reign Steps for the rest of the day. He didn't even bother with attempting to practice other footworks to increase his diversity, simply focusing on grasping the core of the technique!
Only choosing to sleep like normal people after fully exhausting his stamina and Internal Energy, Leo started his next day with Internal Energy Meditation, recovering in preparation for the very next step…
Knock. Knock.
By the time Leo was back in full shape, a firm knock resounded from behind the door. Iyeolhan's solemn face greeting him the moment he opened the door. He was definitely wondering when it would start but it seemed like…
"Get ready, a joint meeting will be commencing soon."
It was time to get beaten up some more.