' First, we need to brush up on more basics. Even though you have some amazing spells, your power level is lacking. If you don't raise your level even the little black box can't help you.'
Izzy nodded she couldn't only rely on the system. She needed power of her own and held up the phone.
" System is there a library in this place?"
[ Yes]
A map appeared on the phone and Izzy followed it. She decided that theoretical knowledge was needed before she could start practising. Theonymphi had provided her with basic knowledge of magic but she needed more.
The library was a large building neatly placed inside the tower. It was located on the first level and it was massive. The entire library was circular with spiralling stairs leading to each level. There was a total of five levels and Izzy marvelled at the number of books, present in the library.
There were probably thousands of books and Izzy never felt so eager to read in her entire life. She walked in and had the sudden urge to look up.
There sitting on a pillar clutching onto a stick and seemingly asleep was a person. Their presence was insignificant and not many people noticed this person.
Something in the back of Izzy's mind seemed to tell her to be wary of this person and so she bowed in the nameless person's direction and then went to browse the shelves.
The person sitting atop the pillar opened his eye and followed after Izzy's direction. He clicked his tongue once his eyes landed on the burnt orange uniform and sighed.
Izzy looked over the book not knowing where to start. All the books had strange names; The Waning Fist, Water's peak and Tiger Leg.
She decided to take some books out and found a secluded area to read them.
" System can we scan these book without making them disappear?" Izzy said in a hushed tone holding the phone to her mouth.
[ Yes. However, the system suggests book consumption as a more viable option. If the books are stored inside the system. The knowledge assimilation rate will be higher.
Currently, the host will only be able to assimilate at a rate of 60.97%.
The host needs a higher intelligence in order for all knowledge to be absorbed at 100 %, without the need to consume tangible resources.
Host: Isabella Han
Age- 18
Occupation - Student
Status - Alive
INTELLIGENCE- 7
STRENGTH-4
WISDOM-5
CONSITUTION-3
DEXTERITY-8
Abilities - Song of Thunder
Title - The Visitor, The Great Reader ]
Izzy glazed over the stats and saw that her constitution had improved but nothing else had. Her strength was low and so far her highest stat was dexterity.
Izzy looked over at the books scattered on the table.
" How many books can we scan without consuming them successfully?"
[ The books simple enough for the host to understand]...
The answer was vague mostly because Izzy had no clue what these books were speaking about. So she picked the ones that made the most sense and then looked around. Once there was no one around she scanned the books.
[ Scanning complete.
Would the host like to assimilate the knowledge.
Yes or No]
Izzy clicked Yes.
A sharp pain pierced her mind and she fell to her knees. The pain was different from her first experience. There was clearly a difference as hundreds of words scrambled around in her brain.
The amount of knowledge in her mind made her feel dizzy and Izzy curled up on the floor clutching her head.
" Mother of Cows," she said as the pain finally faded.
She hadn't expected scanning the books without making them disappear would be so painful.
Izzy blinked rapidly and finally felt her mind calm and the knowledge compile itself.
Despite this, she still needed time to comprehend and practice what she had learned.
Izzy then returned the books to their rightful places and left. She speed walked out of the tower and found a quiet place near the dorms to practice.
She breathed out and closed her eyes and listened to her surroundings. The first thing she tried to understand was The Waning Fist.
Pictures of moves flashed in her mind and Izzy tried to follow them. The Waning Fist was based on martial arts. It was a basic type of fight magic that worked well with magical fighters. Izzy began to understand that magical fighters were different from spellcaster mages.
The Waning Fist explained in its contents that the advantage of a magical fighter was their strength. A spellcaster mage kept their distance in combat but a fighter needed to find a way to break that distance.
Once that was done any normal mage could be easily defeated, as mages are typically physically weak.
The Waning Fist was also a soft type of art. That focused on the body's breathing and using a different type of breaths at the right moment to activate strong attacks.
" Ho!" Izzy let out a breath trying to execute the first set of moves. Her fist flew forth and nothing happened.
' You can't just jump into physical arts without training your body first' Theonymphi said. He was floating around watching Izzy train.
' You're too pudgy. So just stick to being a spellcaster mage'.
Theonymphi didn't want Izzy wasting her time of physical arts when she could just go with being a normal mage. She already had the foundation for a normal mage set out for her.
" No", Izzy said " I will do both. They are both beneficial and I can do it".
Izzy then got down on her hands straightened her body and began to do push-ups.
' Trust me, girl. No one practices both spellcaster magic and physical arts. You should focus on training one to the best of your ability. Don't waste your time'
Izzy ignored Theonymphi and continued doing her push-ups in an effort to strengthen her body.
Hearing Theonymphi say that no one practised both arts, Izzy thought that this was a good thing. It was something she could capitalize on in a battle.
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Once her training was complete Izzy who was sweaty, asked Theonymphi to use some of his magic to help her clean up.
After that, she followed the system to the dining hall and was surprised a how similar the place looked to a restaurant. The Cifidel kingdom reminded Izzy of a very feudal society.
She had expected the dining hall to be similar to a tavern but suddenly felt like she was back home. Some of the elements were, of course, lacking in modernity but the entire set up; the chairs and tables even cutlery resembled everything on earth.
Izzy walked around and saw that all the food has prices on. She gulped and slapped herself, she had no money. The smell of food filled her nostrils and Izzy's tummy grumbled as she pouted.
' I'm not stealing food for you' Theonymphi said noticing her predicament.
Izzy rolled her eyes. She wasn't going to ask him to steal in the first place. Her shoulders slumped and Izzy made to walk out of the hall when she saw the mean girls arrive.
Their eyes scanned the room and then locked onto her immediately. It was the blue-uniformed girl along with Ashley and Britney from this morning.
" Oh no" ...
Izzy could predict how this entire situation was going to go down. She clenched her fists and watched as they approached her.