Looking at the man focused on his book, Lia thought. He was clearly reading to raise stats. And he likely thought only the libraryโs books did that.
Iโll tell him.
After a momentโs thought, Lia approached him.
โExcuse me,โ she called.
โ…?โ The man, having just finished a book, closed it and looked at her, his expression full of curiosity.
โItโs not just here that stats increase,โ Lia said.
โWhat?โ he replied, his voice tinged with surprise.
Smiling at his reaction, Lia continued, โStats increase elsewhere too. You just need to read books.โ
โOkay,โ he said.
โ…?โ Now Lia was puzzled.
Whyโs he reacting like that?
Unlike before, his voice was oddly calm.
Whatโs with this woman?
Soohyuk was quite confused.
Whyโs she suddenly talking about stats?
Approaching out of nowhere to say stats donโt only increase here? That any book would do? He wondered what she wanted, what reaction she expected.
Did she want me to be shocked?
Maybe she hoped heโd be surprised.
โYou just read books, not just here,โ she said again.
โI know,โ Soohyuk replied, nodding.
โWhat?โ she asked, her expression now filled with surprise. Her voice carried that same shock as she said, โThen why are you here?โ
A perfectly reasonable question.
โTo read books,โ Soohyuk answered.
โBooks?โ
โYes, this is a library, isnโt it?โ
Soohyuk replied to her question, glancing around before looking back at her. Her questions continued.
โYouโre not reading for stats?โ
โNope.โ
The woman said nothing more. She stared at him silently for a moment, then turned away. As she did, Soohyuk opened another book and started reading.
Swish.
[Wisdom increases by 1.]
After finishing, Soohyuk closed the book.
Is she gone?
Checking the message, he looked around the library. The woman was nowhere to be seen. She must have left.
Well, if stats only increased here, maybe sheโd have stayed.
If stats were exclusive to this library, she might have remained.
Swish.
Soohyuk stood and walked to the shelves for another book, thinking.
How long will it take?
He was incredibly curious about how long it would take to read all the libraryโs books.
โHa, finally graduated,โ Yeonjung muttered, his voice full of regret.
โYou were so excited, why the regret?โ Soohyuk asked.
โItโs not regret, more likeโฆ emptiness?โ Yeonjung replied. Heโd longed for graduation, but now that it was over, he felt hollow.
โReally?โ Soohyuk asked.
โYou donโt feel anything?โ Yeonjung countered.
โHmmโฆโ Soohyuk let out a hum, thinking. Then he said, โIโm a bit bummed I canโt use the library anymore. Thatโs about it.โ
Soohyuk felt some regret, but it was entirely about the library. Graduation meant he could no longer use the school library.
Well, not impossible, but going to school just for the library? That time was better spent elsewhere.
Better to log into Pangea.
Now, Soohyuk had Pangea, filled with unread books. Spending time in Pangea reading was more efficient than visiting the school library.
โWelcome!โ
โHello.โ
โLetโs sit here.โ
Arriving at a Chinese restaurant, Soohyuk and Yeonjung responded to the ownerโs greeting and took a seat.
โWhatโre you getting?โ
The two began choosing from the menu.
โChampon. You?โ Soohyuk said.
โJajangmyeon! Itโs jajangmyeon for graduation,โ Yeonjung replied.
Soohyuk chose champon, Yeonjung jajangmyeon. With their choices made, Yeonjung called out, โOwner! Weโre ready to order! One champon, one jajangmyeon, and some water dumplings, please!โ
โGot it!โ the owner replied, completing the order.
Yeonjung turned to Soohyuk and continued, โWhere are you at?โ
โ…?โ Soohyuk raised an eyebrow at the sudden question. Where was he? In the restaurant, obviously.
โPangea,โ Yeonjung clarified.
โOh,โ Soohyuk exclaimed, understanding. โIโm still in the library.โ
โWhat?โ Yeonjung asked, his face full of confusion.
โYouโre still in the library?โ
Yeonjungโs surprise came from Soohyuk still being in the library.
โDude, arenโt you there too long? Itโs been a month and a half. Youโre not planning to stay there forever, are you?โ
Pangea opened on December 31, and today, February 15, was graduation day. A month and a half had passed, and Soohyuk was still in the library?
โThere are still books I havenโt read,โ Soohyuk explained.
Heโd read a lot, but not every book in the library. There were still sparkling books left.
โLeaving after you read them all?โ
โYeah,โ Soohyuk nodded.
Heโd leave Oren, the starting town, once heโd read every book in the library.
As they talked, their food arrived.
โWhere you headed after? Got a plan?โ Yeonjung asked, picking up a water dumpling.
โThe Magic Tower,โ Soohyuk replied, removing mussel shells from his champon.
โGoing mage?โ
โYeah.โ
โThen why not somewhere else?โ
Many mage-aspiring players went to the Magic Tower, but only a few chose other empires or kingdoms. Over time, it became clear that starting elsewhere was better.
โNot just for growth, but the NPCs there are jerks, I hear,โ Yeonjung said.
It wasnโt just one or two thingsโgrowth speed, treatment, almost everything was better outside the Magic Tower.
โThey say if your levelโs too low, they wonโt even talk to you.โ
The Magic Tower was full of mages, and most NPC mages were exceptional. Newbie players just starting magic wouldnโt get good treatment, especially with so many other players around.
โI have a reason to go to the Magic Tower,โ Soohyuk said.
โA reason?โ Yeonjung asked, his face skeptical.
โNot the library again, right?โ
โExactly,โ Soohyuk replied, poking through his champon with chopsticks.
โAll the shells out?โ
No more mussel shells in sight. Soohyuk grabbed a handful of noodles and slurped them down.
Wow.
He couldnโt help but be impressed.
Pretty good.
The spice level was perfect for him.
Do they deliver to my place?
Soohyuk thought about the distance between his home and the restaurant.
Iโll ask on the way out.
It was a tricky distance. He decided to check later and turned to Yeonjung.
โ…?โ Soohyuk was puzzled. Yeonjung was staring at him, a water dumpling in hand.
โWhatโs up?โ Soohyuk asked.
Yeonjung popped the dumpling in his mouth, chewing with a bewildered expression. โYou didnโt start Pangea just to read books, did you?โ
โYeah,โ Soohyuk said, reaching for a dumpling.
Not entirely for books, but they were the biggest reason. Reading in Pangea was cheaper than in reality, and it offered endless new books.
โYou gonna keep reading forever?โ Yeonjung asked again.
โNah,โ Soohyuk shook his head.
โIโll hunt monsters and do quests too.โ
He wasnโt just reading. He planned to hunt and complete quests, but for a reason.
To meet conditions.
Someday, heโd read all the Magic Towerโs books. To read new ones, heโd need new libraries. Like the Magic Towerโs library requiring a mage job, other libraries had conditions. Hunting and questing were to grow his character to meet those conditions.
โReally?โ Yeonjung nodded at Soohyukโs response and continued, โThen let me know when you need help. This semi-ranker will back you up!โ
Though Yeonjung started Pangea a bit later than Soohyuk, he poured all his effort into growing his character. His ranking was quite highโnot among the top 1,000 rankers, but within the top 3,000, earning him the title of semi-ranker.
A semi-rankerโs help, like Yeonjungโs, was invaluable. Given Soohyukโs level, nothing would be impossible with his support.
โAlright, Iโll hold you to that,โ Soohyuk replied with a smile.
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Dang I wonder if itโs possible to grow that fast
Tho be hilarious itโs a vr pod and they done positive benefits