“So… are you enjoying the view down there?” Rita asked, her voice teasing as she looked over her shoulder at Leon with a playful glint in her eyes.
Leon chuckled softly. “Well… I can’t say no.”
“It’s a special service, just for you, Mr. Leon,” she replied with a grin, continuing her slow ascent up the stairs, her nightgown swaying gently with each step.
‘Is she flirting with me… or is she just a slut?’ Leon wondered silently, keeping his expression carefully neutral. ‘Either way, I’m not that interested in her immature body.’
“The view’s really good, though,” he added aloud, a fake smile tugging at the corner of his lips.
“Haha…I heard the Alchemist’s House has been at the bottom of Velthorne’s rankings since… well, since forever.” Rita spoke with a smile.
“Yeah, that’s right,” Leon replied flatly as they reached the third floor.
“Although they don’t have much of fighting powers, they sure get rich after passing out from the University.” Rita replied.
“They sure do.” Leon replied with a smile as both of them reached on the third floor.
Rita turned toward him, gesturing toward the rows of towering shelves. “You’ll find all the books on potion brewing in sections B-17, B-31, and C-03. But only up to rare rank potions.”
“What about legendary potions?” Leon asked, tilting his head.
“Seventh floor. No access. Restricted.” She gave him a small smile. “If you need anything, just call my name. But only for the next hour—I’ll be asleep after that.”
“Got it,” Leon replied under his breath, already heading toward the shelves she’d pointed out.
‘Alright… before I start reading, let’s make a new skill,’ he thought as he activated his system.
<Skill Crafter>
[Please pick a name for the skill…]
“Focused Reading.”
[Skill ‘Focused Reading’ has been created.]
[Rank has been set to ‘F’ by default.]
[State the use of the skill.]
“A passive skill that activates whenever the user reads something. Every passing minute while reading will consume 100 mana and grant one Learning Stack.
Each stack increases the user’s reading speed and learning efficiency by 1%.”
‘It’s a simple design with a normal task. The system shouldn’t have any issues with it.’ Leon thought in his mind.
[Processing…]
[Description accepted.]
[Estimated mana cost calculated: 50 mana to activate, 100 mana per stack.]
[Cooldown calculated: 45 seconds after each use.]
[Would you like to learn the skill or destroy it?]
‘Good cooldown. Mana usage is manageable. This should help me a lot.’
“Learn it,” Leon said quietly.
[Congratulations! You have successfully learned the skill {Focused Reading}.]
Leon nodded in satisfaction. “Time to get started.”
He moved quickly between the shelves, scanning titles until he found what he needed. One by one, he pulled twelve books from their places and stacked them neatly on the nearby reading table. Without wasting a second, he sat down and cracked open the first book.
<Focused Reading>
[+1 Learning Stack]
[+1 Learning Stack]
[+1 Learning Stack]
…
As the minutes passed, the skill kicked in. One stack. Then another. Then another.
His mind sharpened. His speed increased. Words on the page seemed to burn straight into his memory.
—
[119 Learning Stacks]
—
2 Hours later,
*Flip*
Leon turned the page of the third book. With a single glance, the entire page embedded itself into his memory like a carved rune.
*Flip*
Another glance. Another complete absorption.
Page after page, the words blurred into his mind, and he could feel the knowledge settling into place faster than ever before.
‘If I kept reading like this, I can read every single book in this library in about one month at most.’ Leon thought with a smile.
On the northern side of the third floor, five students from the Phoenix Academy of Mages were seated around a long study table. Open books lay scattered across its surface as the group buried themselves in revision for the upcoming finals.
“Man… I’m seriously about to fall asleep,” one of them muttered, rubbing his eyes. “Justin, can I take a quick nap? Just ten minutes?”
He turned to the one sitting at the head of the table—a tall, sharp-featured young man with red hair, sleek glasses, and a presence that practically screamed leadership.
Justin pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and gave the boy a cold stare. “Kel, you’re sitting with the elite circle of Phoenix Academy’s top-ranking mages. Do you think we got here by napping during study sessions?”
“N-No,” Kel stammered, snapping his book back open.
“Good. Since your brain clearly needs stimulation, get up and bring me the volume on water magic from shelf B-32. That walk might keep you awake.”
“Y-Yeah, okay.” Kel rose and walked off quickly, muttering under his breath. “Man… I shouldn’t have agreed to join this group. Sure, the benefits are nice but—”
He froze mid-thought. Just a few shelves ahead, sitting alone at a table under the dim light, was someone quietly flipping through a thick book.
Kel’s eyes widened.
‘No way… That guy—!’
Without another word, he spun around and bolted back to the group.
“Justin! Justin!”
“What now?” Justin asked, glancing up with a frown. “Where’s the book?”
“It’s not that! The guy—the one who fired that beam out of his finger that day!”
“What about him?” Justin asked with a curious expression.
“He’s here. Right now. Reading just a few shelves away!”
Justin shot up from his seat, his face tightening with tension. The other three students followed, alarmed by Kel’s urgency.
“Are you sure?” Justin asked.
“I saw him with my own eyes.”
“Lead the way.”
The group started moving, their steps echoing sharply across the quiet floor.
Step. Step. Step. Step. Step.
Leon’s ears twitched.
‘Hmm… footsteps. Two? No… three… no—five or six maybe. They’re heading this way.’
Without raising his head, Leon whispered under his breath.
“Inventory, withdraw.”
<Inventory>
With a subtle motion, he pulled out Nyxter, his dark-bladed sword, unsheathed it silently, and slid it beneath the table by his leg.
“Threads. Threads. Threads. Threads. Threads.”
Five invisible mana threads lashed out from his head. Each thread bound itself tightly to every single blade of the Nyxter and all the blades floated against the table’s downside—ready to strike at command.
Seconds later, the group reached Leon’s table.
Justin stepped forward and pulled out the chair directly across from Leon, sitting down without invitation. The others stood nearby, watching him.
*Flip. Flip*
Leon didn’t look up. He continued turning the pages of the book calmly, his eyes scanning every word—but his mind was locked onto every single movement in front of him.
Justin leaned forward and spoke with a smug smile.
“Are you even reading that, or just looking at the pictures of herbs ?”