Only I Am A Reader

The Sky-Piercing Sword Empire was the ruler of the continent, while the Gigant Sword Association was the ruler's arms. They were already existent entities, but the reason behind their rise to prominence was undoubtedly the descent of the Sword of Epoch. Under the same effect, however, there were whole organizations that came to being.

The Holy Sword School was one such organization, it started out with the hope of uncovering the mysteries behind the Sword of Epoch's appearance. Their first task was to provide equal opportunity, they sought a method to remove the grand hurdle of 'Blocked Vessels'!

Unfortunately, no matter how noble their target seemed to be. The countless causes hidden under the banner of 'Blocked Vessels' weren't something that could be hypothetically studied. Even with the help of the unending stream of funds from rich nobles who suffered from the same problem, the research was a dead end.

However, the head researcher couldn't simply take no for an answer, he was a firm believer that there were no red lines in the field of research. With the help of the influence he garnered under the banner of hope, he pushed for human experimentation by buying kids from the wrong parents, collecting orphans went without saying, wealth and influence were still stronger than the sword at one point. In no time, the School was ready to take its next step!

Whether it was Elixirs, ores, swords, or beast material, the head researcher splurged the School's funds on the collection of all kinds of mutated items. With the testers and test materials in possession, he proceeded to combine his expertise in chemistry with the mystical elements of the various mutated materials, using the children he collected as the litmus paper to test his creations.

Nothing was truly impossible with the right means to achieve it. After years of research, the Holy Sword School was on the verge of producing a set of 'potions' that covered most of the 'Blocked Vessels' conditions. However, it was also then that one of the higher-up researchers could no longer endure the guilt. He ended up reporting the school's illegal methods before hanging himself.

"Where did such a dramatic tale come from…?"

Reading through the bundle of paper that recorded the history of this organization as he summarized it for himself, Leo couldn't help but wonder about the source.

Unlike other organizations that were thoroughly described by the author, the Holy Sword School had merely been a convenient plot device for the author, something that he could pin everything on till the arrival of the finale. Not to mention this much history, even the School's name was never mentioned before the novel ended!

Was this another piece of discarded plot? Or was it something that his ability filled it in? Was there any chance that this was actually a real world? Or was it some sort of simulation?

No matter the answer, it was hard for Leo to dwell on the topic with such a large 'history book' in front of him. Wasn't this what he was searching for? It was true that he couldn't stay here for long, but Leo was confident in his reading speed.

"He really is a crazy old man."

Throwing a glance at the headless corpse on the ground, Leo let himself get absorbed by reading once again. Under the ratting out of the guilty researcher, the Holy Sword School was erased from sight. However, the head researcher who escaped the fall didn't particularly care.

He didn't really hope to cure the world, only wanting to prove it possible, which he did achieve. It didn't matter that he lost the front to his work. Naturally, there was still the downside of losing all test subjects, but that wasn't necessarily a problem.

By relying on the successful set of potions, the Holy Sword School's remnant easily recovered its funds and was ready to operate once more. They started collecting children once again, only this time, they had a grander goal! To overthrow the rules of Sword Breath!

However, breaking the rules differed greatly from solving a problem. The researchers debated the limit of having to wield a sword to use the extraordinary power of Sword Breath, but what they sought wasn't something a 'human' could do, they couldn't rely on the same methods to achieve their target.

The School's ideal of relying on extraordinary means to achieve the impossible was on the verge of collapsing, but it was specifically then that they had a visit from a certain individual, someone proclaiming he could provide what they lacked!

"It's him!"

Leo's immersion broke once more, the final boss was finally mentioned!

This mysterious man provided them with more than one extremely mutated item that surpassed the value of what they obtained before, but all of that paled next to what he presented for them to work under him, a fragment of the Sword of Epoch!

The fragment was beyond anything they worked with! It varied from one subject to another, but it had a visible effect on the human body depending on the application. With the fragment in hand, their target didn't seem to be far off! Creating the first mutated human was no longer a dream!

Although this came with the cost of completely submitting to the mysterious man, the benefits and opportunities the man provided blinded the Holy Sword School's remnant including the head researcher, what mattered the most was still their target!

After establishing their own 'subject collection' network, the integrated Holy Sword School started working on their new project with passion. The subjects' 'number' grew too big as they 'expired' too fast, but there were clear results accompanying the accelerated burning of their 'stock'.

Under years of research and contemplation, the group of researchers finally decided in one direction of development, locking down on the mutation they desired to achieve. Not long after, the first 'seeds' were chosen and planted.

"So this is who 'I' am."

Upon reaching this part of the record, Leo paused for a second as he stared at a page full of drawn pictures. Arthur wasn't just a normal subject here as he originally suspected… He was the eleventh seed!