John went to the library. It had many floors to it.
He was salivating at the thought of reading books.
You see, with a proper soul field at foundation establishment. You can read at 5,000 words a minute. But John is in nascent soul. He can read at 20,000 words a minute. In fact, he could read more if not for the physical limit of him flipping through the pages.
So John could read through a book as fast as it would take one to flip through the pages. A book that is 50,000 words can be read in a bit over two minutes!
John walked up to the librarian.
"How many books are there here?"
"Why would I know?"
John mumbled to himself.
"I'll let you know when I've finished reading all of them!"
"Are you insane? It would take a thousand years to read every book here."
"A thousand years eh? I'll give myself a year."
There were over a hundred thousand books in this library.
John went to a book shelf and took one book off the shelf. He then flipped through it casually for about 30 seconds. He had finished reading it!
The information was completely memorized.
Having a nascent soul was insane!
He then picked up another, then another, and once more another!
He was unstoppable!
After an hour he had read through 24 books.
These weren't short books either. He was reading a bit faster then 20,000 wpm!
Eight hours passed by and he had gone through 200 books!
As the librarian's shift ended, he looked at John as if he was looking at an idiot.
"He spends all his time pretending to read books instantly? Who is he trying to fool?"
The librarian had no respect for such a fool!
John had made sure to ask earlier when the library closed. He was told it was open 24/7.
He planned to binge through every single book in one go! Who needed rest? He was a cultivator!
Another 16 hours went by. He had read through 578 books in total!
By now, he was getting weird looks from everyone. He didn't plan to stop. Who cared about the opinions of others? His Dao was to surpass himself. Knowledge was power!
He read history, theoretical physics, engineering, math, artificing, he didn't even skip the fiction works!
A week passed.
He didn't even go to his next class for basic magic.
His thought process was:
"I'll know everything once I've read through the entire library!"'
After a week, he had read through 4,095 books.
A month passed. He had read through 17,580 different books.
Another month passed.
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
Another month passed.
Soon eight months went by.
He had read a total of 120,640 books.
He casually walked up to the librarian, who he had initially asked how many books there were.
"There are one hundred twenty thousand and six hundred and forty books..."
"What?"
John ignored him as he walked away a changed man.
This entire time, he hadn't even created a medium yet!
He wasn't even an acolyte...
But the whole school called him the reading maniac.
For eight entire months, without sleeping or taking a break. He flipped through the books nonstop!
People couldn't help but spread rumors and talk about him.
They couldn't figure out his motive! Soon some started to think he was actually indeed reading the books. But, wasn't that speed ridiculous!?
People at first brushed the story off. But then someone noticed something weird.
"He doesn't sleep..."
Then they noticed something else weird.
"He doesn't eat..."
Then once thinking about these two factors.
"He is actually reading the books!"
Everyone was shocked!
There was a huge commotion the day John walked out of the library.
"The reading maniac has left his lair! I repeat, the reading maniac has left his lair! Everyone be on the look out for this majestic creature."
John didn't notice any of these people as he ignored everyone and went to his room.
He then asked around about purchasing a non-enchanted medium. So that he could try tapping into the matrix.
"It cost 5 magic stones for a single ring?"
John frowned. He had spent all of his magic stones! He was broke...
But don't forget. He had the entire academy's knowledge stored in his brain.
"I suppose the quickest way to make money is through potioneering."
You see. In the cultivation world. John had mastered talismans, artificing, and formations. The only weak spot he had was alchemy. In this world, there wasn't alchemy, but potioneering.
He had all the knowledge in his mind. He knew every plant and characteristic of it. He merely needed the resources and soon, he believed he could become a master at it!
He put creating artifacts to the side, as in this world, xylo, fotia, gi, metallo, and nerono didn't exist.
His style of formations would raise some serious questions.
There was a knock on his door, interrupting his thoughts.
"Come in."
Soon an official wizard had appeared!
John was confused. Why was a professor visiting him in person?
"I have been told, that you have read every book in our library?"
"Yep."
"Would you mind if I tested you?"
"Go ahead."
"In 'Encyclopedia of Herbal Features' on page 122, line 3. What does it say?"
John frowned.
A tornado of information was running through his mind.
"Ahh... I remember this book. The cover was ripped. It says that god-kin flower blooms only once every year."
"How about 'Hybrid Tree Encyclopedia' page 43, line 2?"
"The Tree of Life is an outlier and has a weak consciousness."
"What about 'Adventure's of a Rank 4', what was the final excerpt?"
"The key to building a point mass is not just luck or resources. It is also comprehension in spells! As well as forming a deep connection with Mer. The author stated that he met Mer during the process of forming his point mass. Although, this hasn't been proven with any evidence."
"Can you list all of the books you have read?"
"Sure."
'Treaty of Information', 'Encyclopedia of Monsters', 'Medicinal Paste Guide', 'Secrets to Potioneering', 'Cursing for Dummies', 'Soul Contract Guide', 'Magic Circle Foundations', 'The Infinity Key', 'Legends of Mer', 'Potioneering Basics', 'Artificing Theories', 'Theoretical Spell Modeling', 'The Four Foundational Gods', 'Magic Tower Construction for Dummies', 'Advanced Curses', 'Layering Basics', 'Afterlife Exploration', 'Underworld Theories', 'Elves Body Composition Theory', 'Nightmares Compendium', 'Study on Water Elementals', 'Dwarven Beer Recipes', 'Gorilla Wine', 'Study of Constructs', 'Bird Taming Guide', 'Master and Slave Blood Contract', 'Banshee History', 'Magical Slimes', 'Smithing for Dummies', 'Gnome Mushrooms Identification Guide', 'Magic Core Injury Compendium', 'Banned Spell Models'...
John spent about five hours listing out all the books he had read.
"Enough! I believe you!"
"Are you perhaps, looking for a job?"
John's eyes lit up.
"What kind of job?"
"From the rumors I have heard, I hear you don't require sleep?"
John frowned. He hadn't realized people would pay attention to this detail. It had honestly slipped his mind, due to him being too excited with all of that knowledge.
"So what if I don't require sleep?"
"How would you like to be in charge of cleaning up the library? This would include reading new books that are written and putting them into the proper categories. We are short on people that can handle doing nothing but reading all day. I hear, your reading speed is a bit... ridiculous."
"How much do you pay?"
If John was to get into potioneering, he would need magic stones. Yet, the reason he wanted magic stones was for a magic medium! But to get magic stones, he needed to make potions. He couldn't practice without the equipment and organic matter!
"The pay is 1 magic stone a month!"
"Meh, make it two and I'll do it."
"Deal!"
John couldn't help but think he agreed too easily. The truth was, this guy was planning on going up to five magic stones a month! John had missed out...
But what he didn't know, couldn't hurt him!
John became the librarian...
People that used to use the library as a social gathering place soon found that the environment was more... strict?
It didn't matter what time of day it was. It could be early in the morning or late in the afternoon. There was always John there.
He was always watching.
He never took breaks.
People were honestly a little freaked out by him sometimes.
"Is he even human?"