Only I Am A Reader
chapter-197

Leo had been happily looking at his advanced 'Scarlet Sky Breathing' that confirmed his advancement, a new talent even showed up to commemorate his following procedure, but…

"Oh, are you done?"

Cheon Chang's voice reminded him of how sudden his breakthrough was. He had literally bailed out of the battle to focus on it, which wasn't exactly wrong for a 'friendly' battle. However, what he did next could only count as overdoing it.

It was fine if he had just used the opportunity to expand his Dantian so that the energy he absorbed wouldn't be wasted, but he even continued his meditation to absorb an additional Scarlet Cloud Pill. Since his usual meditation sessions lasted up to five days, it must have been…

"Ahem… Yes."

Even if he treated him as his senior brother, Cheon Chang was still a pillar of the Heavenly Strength Society. However, the nonchalant stiffness on his face made it obvious that he didn't mind.

"How did it feel like? Honestly, this was a bit later than I anticipated."

"It's hard to describe, but it felt like I had become part of the surroundings as if someone or something was accepting me…"

Leo tried to roughly explain how it felt to resonate with nature. It was hard to describe in words, but the closest feeling he had to it was being in Ray's shoes. During the glimpse he caught, Leo had momentarily experienced what it was like to be connected with the endless Sword Breath in the air. This breakthrough brought by Martial Arts advancement gave him a similar connection, though it was similarly just a glimpse…

"That… might explain your latency. It's either that your foundation was too stable or… the path I pushed you on was too much."

Leo himself wondered about the reason he was stuck for this long. It was one thing for Yeon to have long become a 2nd rate Martial Artist herself, but even Cheon Yong had done the same a few months earlier…

Cheon Chang barely spoke as most of his guidance was provided through battle, but when he spoke, his words usually held quite a bit of value. Leo had a few ideas himself, but the Absolute Spear had nailed down the main ones.

A stable foundation sounded like nonsense, but Cheon Chang meant that Leo mastered martial arts so quickly from the first start that it didn't feel like an achievement. However, Leo knew that a large part of that came from his 'Skill Reading'. It was possible that his advancement wasn't recognized to this point as he 'borrowed' the writers'...

'If not…'

As for the other possibility, trying to master both weapons might have raised the hurdle in some way. After all, his Swordsmanship was already advanced the moment he got to this world, so the lack of balance could possibly have had a detrimental effect.

'Not that it matters now.'

Leo might have been worried about till this point, but now that had finally advanced to the next stage, it meant that what had been holding him back had at least been loosened up. Since his Spearmanship was on the cusp of jumping to his Swordsmanship's level, he didn't have to worry about this most likely second possibility!

"Speaking of which, how long did I…"

As long as he moved ahead with his plan, Leo wasn't worried about Martial Arts progress, rather…

"Just a week, that's fast considering you simultaneously expanded your Dantian. It's also just in time for the monthly meeting."

Though it only felt like a short while, Leo was surprised that everything took just a week. However, that also meant that Cheon Chang had been watching over him for that long…?

"Just go, we can finish our conversation tomorrow."

Leo wondered if something had changed for Cheon Chang to be this talkative, but he disappeared as quickly as usual. After walking out of the training hall in high spirits, Leo quickly arrived at the 'dining' room.

"Oh! Baekho orabeoni made it this time!"

Unlike the empty state that the table remained at for the first few months, ten students clad in black robes including Yeon and Cheon Yong sat awaiting breakfast's arrival. Over the year or so that passed, eight other children had already advanced to the second phase!

In contrast to the original gender ratio, only one girl had moved forward other than Yeon. Leo already knew of her as a relatively strong side character, but his focus was mostly poured on training and…

"Mhm."

Leo only nodded in response like the rest of the children did before sitting on the open chair between Yeon and Yong. It was almost instantaneous, but Yeon had definitely moved her chair closer the moment he sat down.

"Ho."

It didn't conform to common sense, but the harsher Yeon trained, the more soft her icy temperament would become. According to his analysis throughout this year, Leo felt like she was more confused than him about the link connecting them, but it felt like she was quickly coming to understand it.

"Senior sister is as quiet as usual…"

The new girl, Cheon Sohee, was actually none other than Cheon Jeong's second student. Compared to Yeon, she was as lively and playful as the Blade Spirit. Just like one would expect from a novel, her beauty couldn't be suppressed by her age. The fact that she sat next to Yeon only amplified their 'shine' even more.

She was quite sociable for someone that went through the hellish first phase, but Cheon Sohee still interacted with Yeon and Leo the most. After Yeon and Cheon Yong's advancement, Leo was considered the king of newbies as the oldest second phase student who was still a 3rd rate Martial Artist. Some mocked him for that, but Cheon Sohee seemed to look up to him for some reason.

'Is it Yeon's influence?'

Yeon didn't appear that pleased, but she didn't seem to mind either. In any case, Leo retained his identity as a social recluse. Sometimes facing the silent Cheon Chang in battle felt easier than interacting with his fellow students.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

The food was being moved in when Leo noticed Cheon Yong's intense smiley gaze, he was really…

"I see you have finally taken that step. I'm already looking forward to it!"

The battle thirsty Demon Dragon was already taking shape.