Surrounded on all sides by hordes of Decayers, Forwall's 5th Company's weapons and armor had long ago rusted away as a sacrifice to the everpresent corrosion that followed the scourge. Body's bare with nothing but the power of their own Skills and expertise to combat both claw and maw. The story goes that Jayeke Tan, their [Warden Commander] passed out, still fighting on his feet, holding back an entire section of Decayers naked by the corrosion, completely unconscious and on autopilot. They say the stainless steel weapons, the ones barely enough to last the rest of the battle, the 5th Company procured came from long empty gear closets. He leveled. Passed out and still fighting, their [Warden Commander] leveled. [Backup Weapon Lockers] a Skill worthy of the battle, and more so that they won it.

- Greatest Uses of Skills, Unknown [Chronicler] and Enthusiast

[Learner] Level 5!

Skill Obtained: [Reader's Eyes]

Skill Obtained: [Personal Study]

I woke up fast, eager at my newfound Skill. I was sitting, prying myself really, from the desk I had been at. I could feel it, my Skill, my [Personal Study]. That was the thing about Skills, once you had them, you knew how to use them. If not their immediate limitations.

I was in the central room again. The reception area had long turned into a mountain range of books and tables, the valleys they formed contained my notes. Nearest to me, Mount Forbidden, my pile of books and references pertaining to the knowledge found in the vault, the very same books very few would ever risk scribing. Past my immediate surroundings was Mount Art, the mountain which contained most of my readings relating to The Art Of series of books.

The chair I had been sitting at glided backward smoothly, despite my sudden lunge to standing.

Further past the mountains, were the two spiraling staircases up to the second floor. One of which was broken beyond repair. Outward from there, the shelves began and soon books upon books. Enough material to last any scholar centuries of study.

And then the breach.

I shuddered at the last realization. But before I could freeze, I started walking. With every step the books blurred away, the mountains shifted backward and out of sight. The staircases, the floor, the ceiling, they all blurred into nonexistence. The everpresent bookshelves had disappeared and that fact alone managed to shake me.

The first step things began to blur. The third they had started to disappear. By the fifth, they were gone and something else began to replace them. By the sixth, rather than any blurring, items became to come into focus. By the eighth, I could make out forms, shapes. The ninth step was when I realized what I was looking at. The tenth was when I realized I was somewhere else.

It was my [Personal Study].

I was staring at a generous room. I knew with immediacy the space was square, ten by ten meters. I also knew it was empty. Save for one thing, two things. A table and chair. The pair of which looked suspiciously identical to the one I had fallen asleep on upon acquiring the Skill.

No doubt, this was a Skill reserved for someone at least Level 25 maybe even Level 30. I grimaced, understanding that the Blank Book may have been wasted if I had only known to read it at a later date. I perked up at that. The Blank Book was supposed to turn into a depowered Skill Book one that details the Skill with uncanny accuracy and technicality.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

I began to walk, undeterred by the own dimensions of my study. The wall began to blur before I even took my first step, and then I was walking between, to the library. I wondered then how I looked when appearing or leaving. Could I use it as an escape in the case of danger? Did I become intangible as I began to walk? Was I walking in a space between regular space, or another pocket entirely? Too many questions, I shook my head.

Before I could truly process it, I was walking on the library's carpet once more. The central area was the only place that was graced with it. My foot found the soft floor before my eyes could catch up. I moved to my table knowing exactly where the book was plucking it from the pile.

Intricacies of the [Personal Study].

The cover had changed. It was no news to me, but I found it fascinating despite expecting this. Usually, the titles followed no particular naming scheme, to the point that they could easily be mistaken for some other author's rendition of a Skill. The fact of the matter was uncanny, it was as if the books wrote themselves. It was a phenomenon no one could easily theorize. In the case of Blank Books, firsthand, I knew that the contents were literally blank, the same was not true for Skill Books, however. Regular Skill Books were written in a unique script, no two looked the same, and it was said that it was in that written language, unique to each Skill, wherein the secret to this transferring of knowledge was held. What gave these books value was in knowing that it was, at one point, a Skill Book and thus it's contents were highly coveted even in their depowered state. The powered state held the ability to transfer that knowledge, but afterward, the book became mundane, readable to all, yet potent in its contents nonetheless. That accuracy was coveted by [Chroniclers] and [Scholars] alike.

I flipped the book open eyes hungrily reading the text.

The [Personal Study] is a dimensional space accessible only by the possessor of the Skill and none else. While nothing bars the user from utilizing this extra space as storage or for any other function, the actions taken in the [Personal Study] usually amount to a single purpose. Learning. This is because the [Personal Study] slowly accumulates knowledge befitting the user's predilection. If the user seeks magic, dependant on the complexity, a book, tome, or text shall form over the course of some variable amount of time. Further, this personal space, slowly, will form the necessary tools for a particular study the user is disposed to.

My eyes bulged in response to my reading. This Skill was pure insanity. This was akin to Creation Magic! Forming items of nothing was fundamentally not feasible. It was ludicrousy. But, if anything, a Skill would be the thing to break that. There was a law for that after all, the Law of Skill Ignorum, which stated any fundamentals truths were a candidate for breaking under the purview of Skills. 

I read further, not entirely believing the book. It was mad to think I would doubt the text considering its origin, but this for a Level 5 [Learner]? It was unimaginable. My eyes roamed the pages.

While items and tools form freely in the study, nothing formed this way may be brought out. Items desired by the user to form in the study will do so if applicable, this is something the user will be able to sense easily. Books, texts, or pertinent tools toward a subject will form faster if the user is inherently familiar with them. Conversely, items unneeded or undesired will dissipate given a much shorter period of time.

I smirked, realizing the table and chair had formed nearly instantly. It was, since my awakening, the place which I had spent nearly every waking hour at. No doubt, it needed nothing but a few seconds to come into my study. 

Flipping the page brought me more information.

My head ached at the sheer overload of text. It was, hands down, the most straightforward, to the point, piece of technical writing I had ever read that could simultaneously boast the fact it could keep me engaged. I finished the introduction after what felt like an hour.

My first order of business, moving every useful book I could into my [Personal Study]. The plants and hydroponics would follow soon after, the golems too, but I only had so much space, and it wasn't time to leave yet. Instead, I began walking, pulling books with me as the world around me began to blur and sharpen as I strolled between the spaces.

It was, honestly, a workout. One that broke a sweat that was surprisingly not painful. 

In my one hand, The Intricacies of the [Personal Study] opened specifically to a section that detailed the limits of entering and exiting the space. The books began to pile up, Mount Forbidden and Mount Art permanently relocated.  

What better way to limit test than this?