Only I Am A Reader

"Baekho Hyung, we got the hedgehogs who were trying to escape!"

Jang-Do swiftly walked toward Leo, bringing three monster heads with the help of his fellow members. This time as well, the operation was a great success!

"Good. Have one of those who didn't participate in the battle report the situation to the Association, the rest should take a break in place before we proceed with the usual."

Although it had barely been over a year since the werewolf raid, by saving the time people spent traveling to major cities like Shanxi for their rewards, Leo had managed to preemptively take care of a few dangerous monster spots in record time.

From werewolves to vampires and other unique monsters that would deal a big hit to humanity once they emerged, Leo prioritized both impact and Geochin's path. Just now, they had dealt with a nest of burrowing hedgehogs similar to the one that the Devouring Centaur had devoured prior to consuming the Phoenix!

As monsters that could penetrate any kind of defense, their existence was fatal to the tough Martial Artists. After all, training could extensively temper one's outer shell, but the same couldn't be said about the soft interior.

Thankfully, they relied on distance and managed to safely annihilate their biggest gathering spot…

"Another one jumped from who knows where. Be careful!"

Or so they thought. Just when everyone laid down their weapons and relaxed their muscles, one such hedgehog jumped out with the intention to pay them back. However…

"Disperse, those who are keeping watch should-"

"It's okay, I got it."

Leo wasn't exactly surprised as he quickly picked up the weapon hanging on his back. With one more swipe to pick another item, something shot out in the hedgehog's direction!

Thud!

"Gehhuuu!"

Receiving the shot-out object in its head, the monster spasmed as its movement stopped. It wasn't completely dead, but it didn't look like it would be moving any time soon.

To begin with, in exchange for its fraudulent ability, a Burrowing Hedgehog's physical defense was extremely weak aside from the part covered in spikes. Their speed and life-threatening attacks were troublesome, but once an attack managed to reach them, they were easy to deal with.

[ Plot Change confirmed. Unique event occurrence has been detected. ]

'I knew something was wrong.'

Having not received the usual notification after the cleaning up was done, Leo was aware that not all the monsters had been dealt with. Nevertheless, he couldn't keep everyone on edge after such a tricky battle, so he raised his vigilance to take down the monster himself!

"Baekho Hyung… Did you really not learn the bow back at the Heavenly Furnace? I'm starting to doubt my memories."

Jang-Do was surprised by Leo's quick response, but he was even more shocked by the accuracy of his shot! Although he didn't manage to land a precise shot in a fatal spot like the eyes or the heart, just shooting down a moving target was a legendary feat considering he only started learning a few months ago.

That was right, making use of the last free time that he could afford, Leo had started learning how to use a bow!

"I'm just slightly better at starting up new things. Even though I wish it would, my progress doesn't keep up at this pace…"

There was no doubt that Leo had a huge selection of skills that he could learn thanks to his early visit to the Heavenly Demon's Library. However, with no time to waste, efficiency was a very important aspect.

He could have just learned every weapon there was from the very start, but it would have only been counterproductive even for a versatile reader like him! In the end, picking up the timing was still the most important.

Starting by focusing on two main melee weapons up to the moment he achieved transcendence, Leo had managed to put down a very stable foundation for his future. In particular, the mutant core's enlightenment was like a protection stamp that validated all of his efforts till that point.

Although some would argue that having learned everything he could might have made the enlightenment more beneficial, Leo had personally confirmed that theory to be wrong after having his own doubts. No matter what, someone's brain capacity wasn't infinite!

Having too little to understand was indeed detrimental, but so was having too much. Considering that he was someone that already knew too much, any more skills would have lowered the qualitative increase in understanding…

On the other hand, learning new things just after that was comparatively easier. With a rise in comprehension ability, it was like receiving the core's benefits over time rather than obtaining a few years' worths of accumulation at once!

Transcendence didn't only increase physical prowess but also heightened the body's ability to learn new skills. With better perception and response flexibility, it was only right that Leo's already fast progress would become even faster!

Most importantly, Leo chose to match what he would learn with the tasks that he had to deal with. After drawing the most time-efficient map for his raid path, he added in the skills that would make them easier. By using that timetable, Leo learned a long-range skill like Bowmanship just in time for the distance-sensitive hedgehog raid!

[ The Reader's Character has managed to replace one of the protagonist's future footprints, taking over a portion of their achievement. ]

[ You have received 189 Reading Points! ]

Additionally, just as Leo deduced, tracing Geochin's path was a chain event! Similar to how he received points as he altered Arthur's path and discovered more about him, he also obtained them by repeatedly erasing the protagonist's footprints before they even landed on the ground.

"Just that is already amazing. As expected, geniuses are something else!"

Jang-Do's words seemed to contain endless jealousy, but he had already lost all desire to compare with any of the four monsters that led him. He was already satisfied with the accelerated progress brought by the endless battles!

"Enough about me. If you don't want to rest that much, then feel free to accompany me in digging graves."