When I woke up the next morning and opened my eyes, I was confused by the color of the ceiling, but then I remembered the events of the previous day.
I quickly got up washed myself with a warm bucket of water. I could afford the rooms with a magic shower head but I wanted to save money for the bookstore.
'But first I really need new clothes'
My modern clothes were out of place and dirty, as well as my only item from my world besides [The Myriad Colors of Dawn]. I placed that very book in the room's safe and headed downstairs for breakfast. It was the first time I experienced someone making me a warm meal, and I certainly felt something because of it.
I asked the waiter for the time.
"About 7am sir"
'Two hours huh? I can pickup some clothes and a book in that time easy'
Thinking this, I asked for the directions to a decent tailor and set out. As I was walking I pondered on the screens and their functions.
'I'm certain that there are more functions to these screens. From what I've seen so far they look like some sort of RPG interface, and if that's true I should be able to access some more functions. Let's start with... Status'
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[Magnus Witherthorn]
Rank 1 - Mortal
Essence - 21
Essence type - Myriad Elemental
[Strength] - 21
[Agility] - 26
[Dexterity] - 20
[Intelligence] - 22
[Spirit] - 108
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Active skills:
Passive skills: [The Blessing of Myriad elements - SS], [Greater Arithmetic Mastery - A]
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'Most of the stats are self explanatory, though I'm not sure about [Spirit] nor why I have so much. This essence stuff is probably some type of energy. Most likely, I've got some because of the blessing. The ranks though, I'm not sure. If I were to guess I'd say it's something like a level of power, lots of fantasies run on that kind of system. Now then, let's try... identify'
As I thought this I focused my gaze on the person walking in front of me, a short man with an excessive amount of muscle and a bald head.
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Identification module can only be used for books
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'Hm, I'll try this when I get to the bookstore. But modules huh, let's see if I can view all of those, modules'
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[Status]
[Skills]
[Identification]
(Introduction) :):):) click here, click here!!!
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'Well that's not conspicuous at all'
Thinking this I poked the fourth option. When I did the voice I heard in the shrine sounded once more, but this time in my head, as if he was talking directly to my mind.
"Ho Ho, it seems you found this much faster than I thought you would, child. I expected you to take at least a week, but no matter. I'm sure you looked into this little gift of mine, fascinating isn't it? But that's not all, there's more to it, much more. How to access that you might ask? Well don't worry it's quite simple, read! Read anything and everything, the more you read the more of my gift you can discover. No then I must stop here, I'm sure you've got lots to do. Well then, I hope to see you sometime soon;)'
'He's certainly much less serious than last time, and why the hell did he project a winky face into my mind. Anyway, I'm gonna keep reading whether or not someone tells me to, so I'm bound to find out more about this gift of his soon'
As I finished this I arrived in front of my destination, the tailor, Pablo's thread. It was a stout single storied wooden building with large front windows, letting me see the multitude of different dresses and formal attire displayed. I walked in through the front door and was greeted by even more racks of clothing, practically filling ever spot in the room. I walked up to the front desk, behind of which sat a short women with long thin fingers that were hard at work at what seemed to be some sort of embroidery. Noticing my approach she looked up.
"To order or ready made?"
"Ready made, two sets of simple working clothes and a traveling set"
"Alright, Clair get over here and measure the costumer!"
With a few sounds of things falling and crashing a flustered young girl appeared through a door behind the desk and hastily apologized to the store owner.
"Sorry Miss Floven, I'll clean it up right away"
"Don't worry about it, your still to nervous, now get to work"
"Yes Miss Floven"
With that she turned her bright eyes to me, no longer flustered but extremely curious.
"Follow me please sir"
She led me though the maze of racks to a short wooden platform surrounded by a bunch of measuring equipment and mirrors.
"If you could please stand here sir"
As I stepped on the platform and she began to take a series of measurements she seemed to lose a bit of her professionalism as her curiosity won over.
"Where did you get these clothes, I've never seen anything like them. I can't even determine the material"
"I come from very far away, you've probably just never seen anyone from my home town"
"Wow, far away huh, I've always wanted to go on a journey, but my parents insist that it is far too dangerous"
Saying this she finished taking my measurements.
"Stay here for a moment I'll go grab something that fits you.
She ran off for a few minutes and came back with a stack of clothing.
"This will all fit you, I'm certain. Take this to Miss Floven to pay. Oh and before you go, I've gotta say, you need to smile more!"
That last sentence stumped me more than anything I've encountered yet in this new world. With a confused tone I asked,
"Smile more, why?"
"Well for the entire time you've been here, you've had that glum look on your face. Everyone needs more smiles in their lives"
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As I walked out of the tailor in my new out fit and hefting a new backpack I was still pounding the girl's words.
'Glum? Do I look glum all the time? I don't have anything to be glum about though.'
I was only knocked out of my thoughts when I arrived in front of the biggest bookstore in the outer layer of the city, Heavenly Page. The building held up to its name, being 10 stories tall and beautifully constructed from some sort of golden stone. I walked inside and admired the bookshelves that stretched to the ceilings. I wasted no time and found a nearby clerk who pointed me towards my destination, the history section.
'I need more information about this world if I'm to live in it'
I searched the bookshelf for the comprehensive world history book that the clerk had recommended and found it after a few minutes. It was a thick book that seemed old but still sturdy, with a faded gold cover. As I admired it, I used identify.
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[Rutford's Book of Everything]
Rank A
A detailed book on world history written by the famous, and eccentric, historian Rutford Hanswan. It can be found in almost every academy on the Heaven Sworn Continent.
- comprehending the truth behind this text will set you on the path of knowing all
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'Well this is a useful function, and this looks like a good book'
Thinking this I took the book to the counter and purchased it for 2 gold, as much as everything I'd bought at the tailor. With the thick book now in my pack I headed towards the golden pig to read until my shift started.
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As I made my way to the workers bureau I thought about the history book.
'This continent was created a few billion years ago by a God called Ebon. This wasn't some supposed God either, almost all historians agree on his existence. And with all the magic I just read about, a God doesn't sound too far-fetched. In the millennia that followed, many great kingdoms rose and fell and many grand wars were fought, some so great they had created mountain ranges and ravines. I want to read the rest of that, let's get this work over with'
With the golden badge I was quickly led to Gats who provided me with a high quality uniform and set me to work. For the next seven hours I toiled away at stacks of paper work filled with calculations much more complicated than the ones I worked on yesterday. As I worked I noticed two things, one, even after 40 bundles of documents my arithmetic skill didn't rank up. And two, I was able to write much quicker than yesterday, as if my hands were more dexterous. The first problem I accounted to a S rank skill being much more powerful then an A rank skill, and the second I accounted to what I'd seen on my status screen earlier.
'Because of the blessing, I have more essence than I did yesterday. I'm guessing that the more essence I have the higher my stats are. Thinking about it I did feel much more well rested this morning, that must be because of the essence'
With that thought on my mind I got back to work.
At 4 I walked out of the bureau and went straight for the golden pig. I ate an early dinner then got back to reading [Rutford's Book of Everything] in my room.
As the book progressed, so did the amount of information that remained from those times in history. And along with that came something I recognized. Rutford began to include the known rank of the important figures in the many governments.
'Well that solves another mystery, I was right, the higher you rank the more powerful you are. And from what I experienced at work I'm always certain that the more essence you have the higher your rank'
I continued to read Rutford's masterpiece and for the first time in the day's I had been in this new world I really relaxed. Rutford was an amazing author and his masterpiece earned the title. The facts were delivered with ease and excitement and history came alive in my mind. When I was finally done with the thick book the sun had fallen behind the horizon and the city had come to life with light, but I was more focused on the screens that had appeared when I shut the book.
[You have finished reading The Rutford's Book of Everything]
[You have comprehended the truth behind the text, allowing you to draw power from it]
[You have obtained Identify]
[Because you have comprehended the truth behind three different types of texts you have unlocked a new system module, Knowledge Emporium]
'Let's look at the skill first then'
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[Identify]
Rank A
By focusing essence into your eyes you are able to peer into the secrets of the world.
- because of compatibility between this skill and the system it has been merged into the [Identification] module
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'That's convenient, now let's see what this [Knowledge Emporium] is all about'
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Storing texts in the [Knowledge Emporium] allows them to be stored in a encrypted pocket of space while also inscribing their contents onto your mind, giving you a perfect recollection of them. Note that only fully comprehended texts can be stored. The amount of space inside the storage can be expanded by comprehending more texts
Stored texts 0/10
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'And this is even more convenient, If I can make it large enough I wouldn't have to lug around tons of books every time I change locations'
With this thought I imagined [Rutford's Book of Everything] being stored, and a second later it disappeared. For a moment, nothing happened, then I was hit with the worst headache I have ever experienced. It felt like my mind was being torn apart. I wasn't even able to think, let alone scream. At a later date when I learned that I was supposed to pass out before the pain hit, I would curse at myself for being so stubborn.
When the pain stoped a few minutes later, I was laying on the floor gasping for breath.
'I suppose such a great ability in bound to come with a price, shit, that was horrible. But the system wasn't lying when it said I would be able to perfectly recall the book. It's like I've read it hundreds of times over a course of multiple years'
I got up and sat on my bed before starting to think about my future for the first time since I arrived in this world.
'I really underestimated this world, as well as how powerful my blessing is. Rutford's writing makes me understand that this world is far, far, more dangerous than earth. There are many records of young people getting killed because they had a special ability, and my blessing and system is about as "special" as it gets. Living a peaceful life reading is hopeless at this point. The moment someone powerful recognizes my blessing, I'm dead. If I want to survive, I need power. And a lot of it at that. I need to make sure no one can kill me for my skills, and need to do it quickly. Luckily the gift that old guy gave me makes this much simpler, I just need to read as many books as I can'
With my goal set, I laid down and fell asleep.
NOTE* Chapter has been Restored