Only I Am A Reader

"I hope you made sure to savor that last night."

Cheon Jeong lightly spoke as she looked at the group of four, each holding their own pile of items. After her audience with the Heavenly Demon the day before, she had led them back to their rooms in the Heavenly Furnace, but that was the last day they had to spend there.

'I think I might miss this peace and quiet.'

Just like how they came down to the Heavenly Furnace from the actual base, Cheon Jeong's Internal Energy went through the stone wall between the waterfall and the second phase's rooms, revealing the stairs leading upstairs.

Other than the few books that Leo had, the only other luggage that Leo had was a few sets of robes as well as his weapons, the other three weren't much different as there was nothing to miss in the Heavenly Furnace's standard room.

What originally felt like a great luxury had been overwritten during their first outing, the inns weren't that awesome, but they were more or less better than the stone rooms. Comparison could give both satisfaction and dissatisfaction depending on its target…

"Heh, forget it actually. Your new place is much better."

With a hearty laugh, the Blade Spirit led the four throughout the base. Other than the Sky Spire at the very center. The vast area around it was filled with similar stone buildings. The structures could be said to be at least on the level of the ones on top of Mount Hua. Rather, their distribution seemed even more pleasing to the eye as if the one who designed and built them had an acute OCD.

Some parts were still covered with stone, but Leo guessed that they had to be similarly hollow inside. The mechanism mania was all-over Mount Heaven, so things weren't always what they appeared to be.

"Well, here we are."

After wandering around for a bit, their little tour came to an end in front of what looked like a housing project. It wasn't just one building, but a few dozen of them were erected with some distance between each of them. Although the majority of them had the same size and height, there were a few that were relatively unique like the one they were currently facing.

"This should have just enough rooms for the four of you… What are you waiting for? Let's check it out!"

To have one of the Heavenly Strength Society's four pillars guiding you around the place and showing you around didn't seem realistic, but this was another part of Cheon Jeong's unique personality. She seemed very real and unreal to Leo at the same time.

'Let's see…'

The building was carved from stone like everything within Mount Heaven. However, the inside just happened to be padded with wood, making it more like an actual house. There were only two floors, each holding two rooms and a small bathroom, perfectly suited for their small group.

"So, Baekho and Yeon get the top floor, Sohee and Yong get the lower floor, anyone got a problem with that?"

From a certain perspective, Leo thought that it made more sense for the girls and boys to each share a floor of their own, something that Cheon Jeong had set off to oppose.

'Well, not that it makes much of a difference here.'

Each room looked like a small apartment by itself. Whether it was privacy or other causes, the only thing they had to share was the bathroom. Considering that Martial Artists required less bathroom time as they progressed forward, an alternating bath schedule wasn't that hard to set.

"Good. I will give you today to familiarize yourself with the place. See you tomorrow."

Cheon Sohee wished that all rooms were on the same floor so that they could all be together, but there was no other choice than to reluctantly accept reality as it is. Once again, they were given another day of complete rest just like that.

'I'm feeling a little bit itchy…'

Back on Earth, Leo usually adored holidays during which could stay in bed, reading all day long! After having undergone years of systematic training in the Heavenly Furnace, however, constant rest was something that felt alien to him…

"Let's do just that."

Breaking out of routine was a good method to ensure one's mental health wouldn't deteriorate. If anything, Leo had been trying out new things and going to the gym for that reason other than his fear of running out of content!

Since the situation had currently been reversed, then rather than worrying about training all day, Leo decided to laze and read! Even though it looked like he didn't have anything to read, there were tons of books deep down in his 'memory library'!

'Which one should I go for?'

That being said, Leo still wasn't the type to reread something. The photographic memory specific to books made that problem even worse, but… what if he reread the memory in his mind instead of reading from books or his phone?

A lot of books in Leo's life had been read too hurriedly that he didn't get to properly enjoy, and that was especially the case for the books he found in the Heavenly Demon's Library. Having spent years after years in two different lives, Leo felt that he was okay with the idea of rereading after so long, he was just searching for a proper book to read.

'It's hard.'

Breaking a habit was always hard, especially when using something tha is harder to get used to like rereading. In the end, Leo didn't manage to read that much, but he successfully managed to waste his time without doing anything serious.

Leaving himself to sleep that gave him the sense of a 'solve it all', Leo's day ended just like that. However, his plan was quickly cut short as he met a familiar face as soon as he exited his room the next day.

"Hey, senior brother."

Unlike what it seemed like, the Absolute Spear's training had yet to come to an end…

`~~~`~~~`~~~`

Thud!

"This is enough for today, you should go back."

After waiting for him to grab his weapons, Cheon Chang brought Leo to one of the enclosed stone compartments where a training hall that was slightly smaller than the one underground lay.

'Still the same.'

Just as he already expected, nothing had changed even when he advanced to the Peak Stage. The Absolute Spear still remained absolute as long as he held the spear, but Leo was curious about what things would be like if they were to change weapons as always…

"Understood."

Naturally, that test had to wait for later. Although he woke up earlier due to sleeping very early, the other three should have woken up by now. In any case, Leo knew that he still had to get beaten for a few more days before he could get a good grasp of his new abilities as a Peak Martial artist.

It felt like it would be easy to get lost walking around a place like this, but he quickly found his way back. There seemed to be no one around when he entered the small building. However…

"Oh, you are back."

Leo heard the Blade Spirit voice just as he was about to open his room's door. Both she and all of his three fellow classmates were sitting down on the table, they had been waiting for him.

"Come sit."

Despite having only taken possession of it for one day, it still felt awkward to be invited into his own room. Unconsciously sitting down next to Yeon, Leo's eyes moved to the small bottles in front of Cheon Chang!

'More rewards!'

The first reward that he received was something that was meant to be the protagonist's! Naturally, now that he came back with an achievement as great as that of the original Geochin, it only made sense for them to receive something after the Heavenly Demon praised them!

"It might feel lackluster after what the two of you had before, but everyone here will be getting a Blood Serpent each as a job well-done for your performance at the Mount Hua Sword Conference!"

'Not bad.'

Although the Blood Serpent sounded like the name of a creature, this was none other than an Energy Pill! Just like the Snow Blossom Pill, it could increase Internal Energy by 10 years!

A pill of similar quality would naturally not bring about the same amount of excitement that the first managed to. However, there was always an advantage in variety! Consuming the same pill would automatically build up resistance and decrease gain, so obtaining both types of pills was already a great feat!

"So… will be going outside again soon, master?"

"Well, not immediately. Despite doing great, you are still not completely ready to operate outside in your current state. For the next few weeks, you will continue receiving training as you did before… Though it will probably be more relaxed than it is now."

After distributing the four pills, Cheon Jeong answered Cheon Sohee's question without any complication. Just as Leo's expected, this was going to be a prep-period.

"You will also be receiving some records that you will need to read through to get a proper view of Murim. In any case, it's not like your squad will have anything to do for the time being. Just focus on getting ready to be dispatched at any minute."

The monsters' first public appearance atop Mount Hua had been only just a few days back so time was naturally needed before one could take action against the unknown invader… When the information had properly dispersed throughout Murim, only then would true war break out!