Engrossed in reading the book, Bruce missed the sudden notification from the system.
After a while, he finished the whole thing.
"I see... so that's how it is. Evolution can be controlled and accelerated through manipulating certain rules and laws in the universe, this is what birthed the evolutionary pathways."
"There are a total of 12 levels in evolution. That is true for all evolvers. But depending on the pathway they walk on, their powers and specialties differ from one another. Wizards have access to nature magic, Dark Guides are more connected to the dark..."
Bruce's eyes shone with enlightenment. He couldn't help but praise the book after finishing it.
"It's a good introduction. But unfortunately, the author left many concepts of evolution unexplained and focused on simpler aspects. For example, he used the Wizard pathway as a reference, he should've explained..."
Completely immersed in his own world, he didn't realize that he was talking all by himself in the library.
"That's right, he should've explained that part more clearly. But I suppose, all of those are not really necessary for an introductory book... Huh?"
Only after a minute or two did he snap out of it, startled by what he was doing.
Suddenly, he felt goosebumps all over him.
Bruce looked at his surroundings and felt the stares of everyone near him land on him, looking at him as if he was a strange creature.
Even the cute librarian looked at him amusedly, resting her head against her hands.
'Uh...'
Bruce realized that he spoke too much. He rubbed his nose before putting the book back in where he found it.
He had half the mind to stare back at them, but he noticed that the system interface had appeared in front of him at some point.
[Ability No. 3]
[Top-level comprehension: You can understand most things quickly and gain insight on everything you focus on. You are a genius.]
Giving it a quick read, Bruce knew he had struck the jackpot this time!
A burst of excitement erupted in him. He almost jumped over in joy, fortunately he managed to restrain himself.
He immediately forgot about everyone staring at him, and instead focused solely on the system interface.
This ability was priceless, even moreso than "Lower Immunity" which he evolved in the Body Domain.
After reading the "Basics of Evolution", Bruce knew that the evolutionary pathways, especially at later levels, involved a lot of concepts and laws.
Unlike the early levels, where the evolver can use the experience of other evolvers on their pathway to breakthrough smoothly.
The later levels relied solely on the evolver's aptitude in comprehension. They can no longer rely on the experiences of other people.
All organizations and forces in the universe valued seedlings with good comprehension.
It could be said that talent in comprehension is the best kind of talent to have.
Bruce lucked out with this talent. He clenched his fist as he fist bumped the air. With this, he can master his skills much faster!
'Perfect timing. I was just feeling troubled about how I can master Time Dilation...'
Time Dilation was a time-ability under the temporal domain. Anything remotely related to space and time was sure to be complicated.
Although he managed to comprehend and master "Lower Immunity", it was partly due to luck and the simplicity of the skill.
But "Time Dilation" was nowhere near as simple as regeneration...
Thus, "Top-level Comprehension" was simply too timely. It gave him more than enough confidence to master overly complicated skills like the former.
"Mastering this skill takes priority." Bruce muttered under his breath, thinking of renting a private room later to go to the mind domain.
He obviously can't attempt to practice his skills at his dorm anymore...
But he was curious, how would the Cipher assist him in mastering "Top-level Comprehension"?
The mind domain was complicated. It involved a lot of secrets. Hopefully it wouldn't be as torturous as the body domain...
'No way, right?'
Bruce's mouth twitched. It shouldn't be the case. He had a feeling that his previous experience was a special case.
However, even if it were as torturous, he had no choice but to try, this skill was simply too amazing to let go.
He looked at the time on his watch and saw that it was time to go. He was overstaying his welcome in the library.
'I have discovered 3 abilities... one of them from the body, another from the mind, and the last from the temporal domain.'
His plan for today was to visit relevant facilities and clubs in the academy to look for an opportunity to awaken his seven hidden gifts.
His first stop, obviously, was the Grand Library.
"But before I go to the next place, I'll pay a visit to someone first..."
While saying that, he glanced at outside the library. He saw multiple figures standing conspicuously, as if waiting for someone.
Bruce cracked his neck, a devilish smile appearing on his face. He walked outside of the library and saw them following him.
His guess was right.
Then, he led them outside the academy facility and to the academy grounds. They were amateurs, he thought.
As the heir of a multi-billion company, Bruce had experienced a lot of people following him in his previous life.
There was no shortage of experts among them, and thus these bunch of children were simply playing with fire
Soon, he led them to a narrow alleyway in the academy.
The group of dogs didn't even realize that they had been noticed until they noticed that they stopped at the alleyway.
Most obnoxiously, they even tried to rub their hair awkwardly and move a few steps away, acting as if they simply lost their way.
"Alexander sent you, didn't he?"
Bruce asked them, getting straight to the point. He put his hands on his pockets, looking at them casually without a hint of fear.
"W-wha?! How did you...?"
"Idiot, don't answer him!"
One of them berated the other, causing the former to realize his mistake. But the mistake had already been made.
"He found us out, what are we going to do?"
"The boss told us right? Just beat him up! Cmon!"
"Okay!"
They looked at each other before coming to an agreement. Then, they snapped their necks to Bruce, gazing at him cruelly.
Bruce counted how many they were in his mind. Five. That was simple enough. Rookie numbers, to be exact.
Without wasting anymore time, the five of them rushed in to him to fight him. They unleashed their skills at him.
The one from the left unleashed a giant fireball.
"Woah," Bruce casually stepped aside, dodging the fireball easily. "Don't play with fire too much, kid. You can get yourself burned. If you're gonna try to hit someone, at least don't be so predictable."
The person was embarrassed.
Woosh!
After saying that, Bruce casually ducked. One person, with a speed ability, suddenly appeared right in front of him.
"I'd like a speed skill too. I'm envious." he sighed before kicking the person's head to the wall. "One more tip. Use your abilities as trump cards."
If he didn't see the man using his speed skill to approach him from a distance, he could've been caught off guard by the sudden increase of speed.
It taught him a lesson to stop underestimating these group of idiots.
Even if they were dumbasses, they were still people with superpowers.
Without wasting anymore time, Bruce stood up and threw a punch to the nearest person, causing them to fall over.
The person from the left threw another fireball. But this time, Bruce couldn't dodge in time and used Time Dilation.
Time slowed them for everyone but him. He stood up and looked at them with a smile.
Even in slow motion, each and every one of them realized that the devil had smiled upon them. They felt a crawling sensation run over their spine.
"Play time is over."
Bruce cracked his fingers.