Leo right away rushed towards Nithin and quickly asked, "Sir Magician, what happens next?"
Nithin became confused. 'What does he mean?.. oh, he couldn't finish it all? And he's asking what happens next in the book, is that it?'
Nithin concluded that was most likely the case. "I don't know.. I haven't read the story."
Leo turned quiet before asking, "Can I return again?!" His friends, his master, everyone was at ten Dalton Academy; he had to alert them as soon as possible! The puppet was already at the fourth star aura rank. If it crossed the Stage of Domains to the fifth star aura rank, none would be able to stop it!
Nithin again frowned. 'Oh, he's asking if he can read it again or not?'
Nithin looked outside. It was already dark. He had already stayed here late. He had to go back home too.
'That would be a problem. Sorry, it's already late; you were here almost the whole day now.'
Leo looked outside. It was really dark as the magician said. 'Wait, does that mean only one day passed here?.. no, that's not the important thing. He has to return to that world again.'
"Please, sir magician, is there any way?" Leo spoke up.
Seeing such desperation, Nithin had to nod his head. The book he chose was good for him, and he couldn't help but be curious what happens next.
But sadly, he can't say, "You can stay and read the book here." For one thing, his family would be worried; another thing, the library itself would teleport tomorrow, and it's almost the closing time.
But seeing the desperation, he couldn't just say 'No.' Was there any other way? he pondered while Leo waited patiently for the magician to reply.
"Oh, you can buy the book and read the story again. You can start from where you left off."
Leo's eyes lightened up. So going back was really possible! He quickly put his hands in his pockets. He had some high-tier Mana stones; with those, he would be able to buy the book. But the moment he put his hands in both pockets, there was nothing.
He looked down, thinking he dropped them somehow. But then he realized he wasn't the Leo in the book he was. His strength was there, but the clothes he was wearing, the sword, were all gone, including the mana stones.
Leo gritted his teeth. He had nothing on him; does it mean he can't buy the book? Was this the end? Before, he thought of something and looked on his chest at the small silver-colored button.
He quickly ripped it off from his garment. "Sir magician, this is silver. My mother gave me.. can I buy with it?" he said nervously. Truthfully speaking, he knew very well how valuable the book was! It's not impossible to say the book doesn't have any value. And this amount of silver he would never dare to use, even if the book was of the hundredth caliber, but he had to try; so many lives depend on him.
Meanwhile, Nithin was just looking at the torn garment of his and the small silver button the boy was holding.
He knew how book hooks can be frustrating. He, as a reader, himself knew even sleep becomes mandatory when something good happens in the book. But wasn't it too much, ruining your own clothes for it, and a gift your mother gave?
Nithin could only sigh. What will his parents say when they see their boy with torn clothes? As for the money, he was just teasing the boy. He had already decided to give the book for free.
"Please, sir magician, you have to take it."
Nithin sighed, "Just take the book.. no need to pay. Consider it as goodwill from me."
Leo's face lit up. He bowed down, thanking repeatedly, making Nithin think, 'Are all books this good in the library, or is it just the first time experiencing them, making it seem like they are good?'
Leo stopped after a moment before he grabbed the book. He was just about to leave the store to find a quiet place to dive into the world.
"Wait, I know you are very desperate to read. Sit down for a second."
Leo hesitated but thought the place was quite far. Even with birds, it would take the mad alchemist a few days to return to Dalton Academy.
He sat down right in front of him. "Anything that matters, sir magician?"
"Nothing, just stay put for a few moments," Nithin spoke, holding a book and pen.
Leo nodded and did as he was asked. The man wasn't an ordinary man. He was pretty sure even among magicians he wasn't ordinary. He also gave him the opportunity to earn strength and was unlikely to harm him. Looking at Nithin writing something down, he was curious what this magician was doing.
Meanwhile, actually, Nithin wasn't goofing around. He was testing the system.
After Delvis left, the system notification was turned off, so he didn't notice anything. But when he saw the status, he saw many things! Firstly, he got so many points and traits, including a few more things that changed.
[Name: Nithin Arvell
Level: 1 (2/10)
Ink points: 1230 (?)
Traits: 1x (Immortal) 1x (Poison immunity) 1x (Advance swordsmanship), 1x( Advance Mana circulation)
1
2
-----------+34
2
3
________+7
Current Readers (2/2)
[1] None
[2] None
--------------
So many things happened that it almost overwhelmed him. And it was also confusing; he needed someone to check all of these things. He forgot to do it with Delvis, but he couldn't let go of Leo.
He pointed the pen at Leo. "It's nothing, ignore this gesture." Leo nodded, still confused.
Meanwhile, it worked. The page turned on its own, revealing his status window to him. He could now check if his hypothesis was correct or not, if he could really edit others.
[Name : Leo ]
[Race]: Human
<> Current Combat rating: 2.3
Trait: None
Plot: Currently desperate to get back to the world of Chronicle knight to change.
World event: None ]
"I see," Nithin mumbled, looking at the Combat rating. It was 2.3. He didn't know what it implied, but he was sure it was nothing much, considering the fact it was of a twelfth-year kid.
Unknown to him, his hypothesis was completely wrong. Nithin couldn't see his real status window. If he did, he would be shocked to find skills like Assassination and Swordsmanship listed. The only thing correct was the combat rating. But even that—his interpretation of "2.3 being weak"—was utterly mistaken. The number didn't measure raw strength; it measured movement kill efficiency per second. In other words, how many humans his body and skills could potentially kill within a second. A rating of 2.3 meant he could end two lives—and almost a third—every second.