Only I Am A Reader

While Leo had spent over half a dozen years doing nothing but focusing on combat and physical growth due to the behavioral constraints imposed on him, the reality was that every minute spent inside any book was absolutely precious!

In a situation where he had access to the Heavenly Demon's Library at such an early point, the value of time had increased even further. Unfortunately, Leo knew that he had to wait till the time was right.

'Even being a fake genius wouldn't save someone from being called absurd.'

Choosing to learn the spear after displaying great affinity with the sword was already stretching it. If Leo had chosen to learn everything he got as soon as he exited the library, it wouldn't have been too far-fetched for him to be subjected to forced learning, or worse, he could be demoted to a normal rank member, become a servant, or even get thrown back to the street.

The Heavenly Strength Society wasn't devoid of love and kind-heartedness, but it had to be earned. One had to show that he deserved it, that he was worth receiving another person's emotional resources. Naturally, acting arrogantly proud as a child would wither these emotions before they sprouted.

Reaching the finals of the Mount Hua Sword Conference, over 3 years of monster-hunting experience, the subjugation of a Unique Transcendence… All of these were steps that Leo had to pass through before he was recognized as a Scarlet Sky Warrior, becoming someone who had finally grasped their own fate!

However, that didn't mean that he had to splurge on everything now that he had the power of choice. No matter what it was, doing things in moderation was the best code of action, which was why Leo had carefully thought about what he would do over the years before he picked a select few skills that were the best options he had.

'The environment is the key.'

Anything Leo gained in a book was bound to be of some benefit back on Earth, but in the war-torn world of Murim, combat skills were the main priority. Rather than focusing everything on an auxiliary skill like Smithing, learning more weapon skills was a much better option, especially when he found out for himself that the practicality of a profession-like skill wasn't the same in every world.

In the same manner, although Leo had spent months cram-learning the basic Smithing of the Sword Continent, he didn't regret it! The environment back then was too peaceful and lacking in resources to branch into anything else. In addition, he didn't fully understand what it would be like when he returned. Either way, its practical application on Earth made it worth more than the fantastical Murim Smithing!

In the more fantasy-like Murim, learning to use metals that he wouldn't come upon on Earth was too world-specific to matter. As such, just like he put aside learning something like Alchemy, for the time being, Leo only invested the leftover of his time to raise his Smithing a little bit more.

"That's good then, we made sure to commission the Iron Chief himself to produce something worthy of your expectations!"

'I know, that's why I commissioned you.'

Leo smiled in response, but his smile was even bigger under the veil. Why would he commission information brokers to make him items if not to exploit their connections?

Although his name was quite generic, the Iron Chief was one of the finest blacksmiths around the entirety of Murim. In fact, he was the one who made the custom speed iron sword that Geochin used. Since he didn't have the luck of a protagonist, he could reap some of the harvests that he had been sowing for years!

Shadow Star wasn't some pushover organization that ran errands for anyone as long as they had money, but I had made sure to make my existence as necessary as it was an enigma.

In order to escape the shadow of the cheat that allowed me in at first, I used my future information to keep them well-fed, so it would be hard to ignore me. Fortunately, my monopoly on the future made it seem impossible for me to not have a formidable mysterious background just enough for the ones responsible to keep their curiosity in check. After all, only the foolish would kill the chicken laying golden eggs…

"I trust that you wouldn't treat me unfairly, so you can directly deduct the cost from my account to save us the hassle. Right…"

Leo was in a hurry to check the weapons carefully, so he didn't stretch the conversation, prompting the Dealer's expression to dull instantly, but he didn't forget to hand her a piece of paper.

"Here, one more tip. Though it might be the last in a while."

The Dealer's poker face was destroyed by her bright expression as she hurriedly received the paper. However, Leo wasn't saying these words to butter her up. Their relationship would remain the same, but he had really run out of their kind of 'goods' just like he was running out of time.

"Well then, see you later."

"Of course, Saja-nim!"

Leo left with a light farewell, but the Dealer was more focused on the paper he just gave her, so he wasted no time leaving.

"Yeon!"

After exiting Night's Curtain, Leo walked for a while before calling out the absentminded girl standing at the end of the street. He couldn't have her wait in front of the tavern so as to keep his identity hidden, so they met halfway to their destination.

"Ho, here."

Yeon's indifferent expression instantly turned into a smile as she pushed three sticks of something that looked like a hybrid of Dango and Tang Hulu towards him. It appeared like she didn't waste her time waiting for him.

"Thank you!"

Leo accepted the candy sticks as if it was something he was used to. They weren't here at Unnam alone, but both Sohee and Yong obediently chose to stay at the inn, so only Yeon accompanied him on this round trip.

"Ready?"

As soon as they got back to the inn, the four of them checked out in a hurry. After all, this was but a quick stop in their journey home. Once again, the Four Heavenly Beasts were called back to Mount Heaven!