Chapter 8

A Former Ranker's Newbie Life - Chapter 7 (8/271)

7

Finally, he opened the door to leave the shabby building.

Instead of the scene he saw when he entered, a different world unfolded.

It turned out that Siwon's words were true: any door could be opened with the wooden ring to connect to the library.

Dojin stepped over the door.

The world changed as he passed through a dense barrier.

The high mana saturation was to blame.

As the pure mana filled the entire space, his head spun and breathing became uncomfortable.

A hot and stiff pain arose from his right hand, where the magic circuit was engraved.

The pressure was on a different level from when he entered in his previous life.

After all, he didn't enter at such a low level back then.

Still, it wasn't unbearable.

Especially since such a message was floating in front of him, he had to endure no matter what.

Upon visiting the library of Manri, he received a reward of 10 intelligence points for achieving an accomplishment.

And he would likely secure a considerable amount of intelligence stats while staying in this space.

‘Is this what they mean by getting stronger just by breathing?’

Dojin took several deep breaths.

Although it felt like drinking something sticky and was painful, thinking of it as fertilizer for growth made it sweet.

“Cough! Cough!”

Well, not that sweet.

Trying to breathe in a bit more made his lungs feel like they were filled with water, causing pain.

After a long bout of coughing, Dojin's breathing became extremely cautious.

‘I thought I was going to die.’

I need to stop wasting time and start doing what I have to do.

Regaining his composure after a moment of breathing difficulty, Dojin cautiously took a step.

The scenery around him changed rapidly with each step.

Just one step felt like walking hundreds of meters.

There was no need to worry about how to find the desired place or item in such a space.

This place, a masterpiece of spatial magic by Siwon Grace, reads the visitor's consciousness and subconscious, guiding them to where their desired items are stored.

Of course, the only area accessible to a 1-star mage is the lowest 1st floor, but even that was enough for Dojin.

‘...There are so many.’

After about ten steps, he arrived at a place where dozens, even hundreds, of bookshelves filled with books lined up endlessly.

It would take a long time to read them all, but in fact, Dojin couldn't read all the books here even if he wanted to.

In the library of Manri, not only the places a mage can go to but also the materials they can read are limited based on their level.

As a 1-star mage, Dojin could only handle the lowest-grade items on the lowest floor.

So, he started picking out books from the shelves that he could access.

- Basic Magic Knowledge

- Author: Professor Eric Kendra

- Reading Qualification: 1-star magic circuit

When he pulled out the first book, information about the book appeared in the air.

It wasn't a holographic screen visible only to the user but magical letters made of light.

Dojin continued to pick out other books.

- Basic Magic Knowledge

- Author: Duke Mui Bondray

- Reading Qualification: 1-star magic circuit

- Basic Magic Knowledge

- Author: Professor Sergei Vener

- Reading Qualification: 1-star magic circuit

After checking the information, Dojin threw the books on the ground except for the one about understanding mana.

Then, he sat down and opened the book.

“Mana is the most fundamental something that makes up everything. Yes, something. We still don't know what it is. We only understand it through phenomena and experience. Our mages use this pure mana as the material for magic. The magical power made by processing mana to make magic easier to activate is called mana power...”

Thus, the reading began.

It was not just simple reading, of course.

Each book here was not an ordinary book.

The book Dojin held was a genuine magic book written by a high-level mage, containing their knowledge and understanding.

From the leather, paper, ink, and pen to the knife used to engrave the patterns on the leather cover, everything was made with magical artifacts.

Each book could be considered a treasure in itself, containing magical achievements.

A magical phenomenon occurs where the author's 'understanding' is partially transferred to the reader.

Since this book aimed to help understand mana, it felt like his mana affinity was growing.

‘Well, that's just the setting, though.’

Thud. After finishing the book, Dojin closed it and picked up another one.

Since this was not a place where he could stay indefinitely, he had to maximize what he could gain in the limited time.

That's why Dojin's hands were busy flipping through the pages.

Rustle... Rustle... Rustle...

This time, the book 'Understanding the Basic Concepts of Spell Formulas' was written on some animal's skin, not paper.

Perhaps the skin used instead of paper was human.

After all, Mui Bondray, the author of this book, was a recognized fanatic in the mage community, known for his extreme magical fundamentalism.

“Spells are actions that artificially cause phenomena. Spell formulas are diverse, called by many names such as magic, sorcery, and witchcraft, and each has its own unique way of forming spell formulas. However, they all share the common goal of artificially intervening in the laws of the world to bring about phenomena that are difficult to occur naturally, whether small or large. This is the basis for calling them all magic...”

Revisiting the settings of LOST, which he had forgotten while playing the game, was surprisingly enjoyable.

Everything is rising. Whatever it is, it's rising.

There is no gamer who can rest in such a situation.

Dojin, being an extreme type, had no time for rest.

Reading books related to magic circles, he pulled out and read books as they came to hand.

Among them were magic skill books containing skills themselves, not just basic magic knowledge.

Each time he found a skill book, the satisfaction was sweet.

Starting with the 1-star magic skill 'Ignition,' basic attack magic skills piled up in his skill window.

This was all thanks to the great magic circle set up by the great mage Siwon Grace in this space and the synergy effect of his untainted low-level body.

Even if a high-level user entered, there would be some growth, but entering in an empty state made the growth faster.

‘I’m getting hungry.’

After reading books for a long time, Dojin lifted his head, feeling hungry.

Even in a regenerative world, you die if you starve.

But there was no need to worry.

Dojin had come here prepared to bury his bones and had made the necessary preparations.

This was the list of food he bought at a grocery store upon arriving in Jiron.

He spent half of the gold he received as a reward at the gateway.

He bought jerky and bread with the money that could have bought a 1-star skill book.

And it was the cheapest, toughest, and hardest kind.

He even scooped water from a fountain near the magic tower.

The amount of food he prepared, saving money to the extreme, was enough to last a month in this place and more.

Of course, living on such a diet for a month would worsen his health.

But what did it matter?

Health? How do you take care of it?

That can be fixed by eating a lot of broccoli later.

Now was the time to focus on more important things.

Dojin chewed on the tough, fishy jerky and dissolved the hard bread in his mouth with water.

“This time, about how to activate a spell formula by omitting its components...”

Even as he ate, Dojin's eyes followed the letters in the book.

* * *

He achieved an accomplishment for reading more than 20 books a day.

He also achieved an accomplishment for consistently doing so for a week.

And two weeks passed.

Thud.

After finishing another book, Dojin looked around.

‘Hmm... I don’t think there are any more books I can read, no matter how I look.’

He had read all the books in this section so thoroughly.

To be precise, he had read all the books that a 1-star mage could read.

“Ugh...! Well, I can’t read any more books. The problem is that I’m going to starve to death because I’m out of food.”

Dojin stood up for the first time in a long time and stretched.

His body, stiff from sitting and reading for a long time, screamed even at a light stretch.

After a stretching session that felt like his bones were breaking, Dojin checked the results of his two weeks of hard work.

Dojin

Level: 8

Class: Mage

Strength: 7

Agility: 8

Health: 61

Intelligence: 54

Skills: (5) [Heat]

It was worth the effort of being called a bookworm by the system for two weeks.

Just the intelligence stat, which he hadn't invested a single bonus point in, had risen to 54, making him a stat monster that was hard to find at the same level.

His skills had also made significant progress.

The high-utility magic 'Pyrokinesis' he learned from Sisala Omen.

Basic elemental magic like 'Ignition,' 'Wind Arrow,' 'Ice Arrow,' and 'Light.'

Compared to the two or three magic spells a mage user who transferred from the Imperial Academy would start with, this was an overly luxurious start.

Moreover, Dojin was still inside the library.

If he could find more books to read, he could continue to grow here.

‘I’ve rested enough, so let’s go.’

Dojin took a step.

But perhaps because he had been in sleep mode for too long?

His head spun for a moment.

Or maybe it was because he had been sitting for so long and suddenly stood up.

For about 1 to 2 seconds.

Dojin's consciousness flew away.