Only I Am A Reader

"It's time."

Exactly eight days after triggering his first Special event, Leo dropped the sword he was holding as he quickly sat down cross-legged. The last bit of Sword Breath had finally made it into his body!

As he had been monitoring his progress using his 'Personal Book' as usual, Leo preemptively knew when to stop. However, compared to the usual 'feeling' that he sensed, it was more than obvious this time. Leo felt that he could easily tell even without seeing numbers!

The last stream of Sword Breath didn't have the luxury to swim through Leo's body, getting directly condensed into 'solid' along with the last bit of liquid Sword Breath. In a single breath, Leo's body froze as if time itself was frozen.

'This is… Confusing.'

Once he tried to concentrate his senses, Leo felt as if he had another set of 'bones' inside his body, one congealed from the solidified Sword Breath that filled the empty 'space' to the brim. In the end, however, this so-called 'solid' state was merely metaphorical. Even in all shapes and forms, Sword Breath wasn't tangible.

Compared to the usual 'full' sensation that escalated ascension after ascension, Leo only received a hint of it before it completely vanished as if he was back to step one. He could still rouse his Sword Breath, but the constraints of the 'space' within his body were no longer perceivable!

"Gnnn."

Although Leo wanted to immerse himself in this state for longer, he could only resist before proceeding with the preparation for his 'last' abnormality. His survival to this moment was enough proof that it wasn't a threat, but Leo could only doubt that now that he was at the end of the tunnel.

The intensification of the muscle reconstruction was gradual, but it had definitely spiked up towards the upper end. If there was something that Leo was sure of, it would be the great value of his gains if he were to survive!

Countless Scenarios played out in Leo's head, but he steeled his heart for every outcome. Since he understood everything after taking the very first step on this path, he naturally had to take responsibility for his decisions!

"Hm?"

However, nothing proceeded as Leo imagined it to be… Let alone dying from muscle-melting, Leo didn't even feel a hint of pain!

It was as if his perceptive nerve cells had simply decided to stop functioning, his somatosensory system basically turned offline…

It wasn't until a few minutes later that he could feel the weak breeze that sneaked to his room through the window.

"Why?"

Grasping his arms in confirmation, Leo's eyes were fully widened. He wasn't a hidden masochist, so he definitely didn't miss the pain. Nonetheless, he couldn't help but wonder about the cause of this phenomenon.

There was no way the abnormality didn't occur this time since there was still a certain change. Moreover, he was starting to feel the difference in strength just now. In the end, only one explanation popped into Leo's mind.

'Adaption?'

Building upon his previous expectations, Leo was somewhat certain that the new change was almost beyond his somatosensory system's ability to endure that it decided to temporarily shut down to bypass being 'fried'. However, one question still remained on Leo's mind… Just why was his body so evolutionary on top of being already special.

"I may be able to find answers very soon…"

Taking this phenomenon into consideration, Leo's assumption about Arthur's situation was almost completely clear, he only lacked confirmation, something not that far away either.

"Either way…"

[ Book 1 ]

Name: Arthur (Leo Lock)

Age: 19 (18)

Role: Reader

Reading Points: 1174

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Personal Statistics:

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True Sword Breath: 900/900

Physique: 2.98

Mind: 1.49 (+2)

Sword Breath: 900

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Personal Skills:

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'Intermediate Swordsmanship' - Chapter 2 - page 9/10

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

'Basic Horsemanship' - Chapter 1 - page 8/10

'Basic Close Quarter Combat' - Chapter 1 - page 7/10

________________________

Personal Abilities:

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

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Events:

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- Event Erasure - Special

- Teaching Crane - Unique

- Jared's Survival - Unique

- Rewriting Destiny - Unique (2)

- Counter Elimination - Impossible

________________________

"I really did it."

Throwing away all the taxing thoughts, Leo called out his 'Personal Book' in a rare moment of being dumbfounded by what he saw…

He had planned almost everything from the very first step to this moment, so it shouldn't have come out as a surprise to reach this point in the end. However, looking at his unchanged 'Universal Sword Breathing', Leo couldn't help but feel unreal!

In just slightly over 7 years, he had successfully managed to touch the pearl where only a certain few could reach… By relying on his identity as a Reader, he was almost as quick if not faster than Ray! That wasn't even counting the handicap of starting as a person with 'Blocked Meridians'!

"It's weird, but… It's not bad to feel like a protagonist every once in a while."

Before he knew it, Leo's burst of emotions was already being suppressed as usual, but he simply decided to ignore it as he checked the few other changes displayed in the 'Personal Book'.

Naturally, the most prominent one was none other than his Physique's increment. Although it lacked a little bit, Leo's current overall physical qualities were basically equal to that of three average men superimposed!

'Would it be possible?'

With the much strength coupled with Sword Breaker's ability, Leo was confident in defeating other peak Sword Grandmasters in terms of power, but he wasn't sure if that would apply to a certain 'cheat'.

Other than the Sword Breath statistic that froze at exactly 900 compared to usual, the last change brought by Leo's fresh ascension was a long-deserved page advancement in Swordsmanship. This change was naturally a joyful addition, but it also made Leo wonder how he would be able to flip the last page…

Only a dozen or so minutes separated them, but the current Leo was confident on disposing of a squad consisting of his pre-ascension self, that was just how exponential the power curve climbed at the very end!

"But that's not the end."

Exciting his room with a calm smile, Leo directly marched towards the Capital's marketplace, it was finally time to prepare for his next step!