Chapter 2 – Silence in the library
Kifirin was indulging in reading. Yes, indulging. Gorging herself with words. Engulfing book after book, greedily. It is said that books are the food of the soul, and in her case, it was right.
We could say that our heroine was the truest being to the bookworm creed. As life has lost most of its meaning and interest to her, she had naturally fallen into reading to pass time.
Reading to learn.
Reading to feel.
Reading to live.
Books had become her fuel, and the last binding keeping her sane.
Books were holy.
And so she had chosen Heimlin city as her starting point. As capitol of the Strategos Empire, land of the wise and learned, Heimlin sported the grandest library ever: The knowledge Library. Books there numbered in the hundreds of millions, and the great edifice that bore them had many, many floors. It was the highest building in the whole Empire, and yet it was surprisingly beautiful. One could even say graceful. The mighty Alexandria would pale in comparison.
The myth said that the Bright lord himself had willed it into existence, and ruled that to come into any position of power, be it the king or the lowest official, then one was to at least earn the golden Reader rank. He would suffer no fools at the head of the empire he founded. He also declared knowledge free. Entrance to the library had no cost. However, to be allowed at certain floors, one had to have reached certain Reader ranks.
It was a fair system, moreover it permitted the Strategos Empire to flourish under the shadow of the library and the guidance of the wise. The Strategianos were the cherished children of Order. As such, the empire was aligned with its most respected parent.
Followers of chaos were scarce on this golden land.
Now, what was that about Reader ranks? It was the same system as currency or mercenary ranks. Copper, silver, gold, platinum, crystal and dakinum. The worthiest was obviously the last, Dakinum.
In the knowledge library, the more you read, the higher was your standing. To attain a rank you had to have read a set number of books. Copper was 100. Silver 1 000. Gold 10 000. Platinum 100 000. Crystal 1 000 000. Dakinum 10 000 000. Head librarian Davros was rumored to have attained Dakinum rank, but never deigned to verify the tale. He was too busy reading.
By reaching silver rank, you also completed the basic mental training. This was also what Kifirin was after. She would enjoy herself reading while gaining stats. A win-win situation.
A great happiness warming her heart, she had entered the untouched library. It had been spared by the earthquake, and not even a tremor had been felt inside. Such was the power of the bright Lord.
The orgy was going well
-------
Ding!
System notice: you’ve gained a skill!
As you have an unbelievably super-duper quick reading pace and it’s FUCKING warping time, you have been given the “Timey-wimey reading” skill. You may NOT delete it, I ain’t got time for shit like smoothing out the timeline.
Genuinely yours,
Systra.
[FORCED] PASSIVE – Timey-wimey reading [beginner 1 – 0%]
Your reading speed is out of this world, leaving into the dust even the most dedicated of readers. It feels like time does not flow the same way for you when you read (Are you really human? Geez, seriously)
• When you’re reading, time warps to accommodate your speed (ratio of 1 : 3)
>> Whenever you read for 3 minutes, only 1 minute will really have gone by
• Satiation level drops normally (not affected by the timey-wimey)