Only I Am A Reader

"Only you are left."

Inside the white 'Reading Space', Leo was surrounded by objects of various shapes. The familiar Sword Breaker was lying on the ground, accompanied by Crane's steel alloy sword. A set of leather armor was a few steps away from them, even a bundle of smooth blonde hair was tied up next to it, a part of it covered by a smiling cat face, making the mask look alive.

However, Leo's attention was all focused on the last page still within the confines of the hardcover. The image of a distorted piece of metal dispersing illusory swords was especially enticing.

[ Item - 'Progenitor Sword Core Fragment' ]

Compared to the other items which were all objects that he had seen before, the image shown by the page was his first impression of this so-called 'Core Fragment'.

This was an item that Leo blew away a fifth of his 'savings' to obtain without being sure of its value. However, he simply couldn't deny the various possibilities that it could contain just for the sake of ascending one more grade!

Tearing the page off, Leo's concentration on its scattering 'animation' was immediately disturbed. The page wasn't the only object undergoing a transformation, rather, the book that turned empty was shining in inky black as well!

Still holding the shining book in his hand, Leo was surprised that his perception of it was changing. The empty hardcover was getting heavier, but the inky glow didn't manifest physically, it fluttered away into nothingness soon after…

"This is…"

The reason for the book's increase in weight was immediately revealed! A neat stack of freshly produced paper had filled the empty cover, making it finally deserving of its name. Most importantly, the pages weren't empty, nor were they full of gibberish!

"The Sword Master's Second Life?"

The new pages still told the story of the Sword Master who traveled into a faraway world of fantasy. Through his speed reading, Leo confirmed that the content was completely identical. Only… That only persisted up to the 26th chapter!

The scene he experienced for himself flashed in Leo's mind as he read it in its literary form. Flipping through several more pages, Leo realized what he was holding in his hand! This was 'The Sword Master's Second Life' that he 'edited'!

Although this new book didn't depict every moment of his life as he lived it, it included him as a secondary main character. Giving him exposition chapters every now and then, highlighting the journey of his progression.

"Did this really happen…?"

However, what amazed Leo weren't these parts as they were already events that he knew about. Instead, the changes that showed out through the story, whether it was to Ray, Jade, Jared, or any other core character in the story, everyone had changed in one form or another.

While it varied from one simple action to a couple of completely new chapters, the changes thoroughly showed the effect Leo had for being part of the story! This was no longer just an edit but a complete rewrite!

Impressively enough, the writing style didn't change for the better or worse, it practically remained the same, as if… It was the same author who had made this new version.

'This is strange…'

Reading the end scene where he vanished just before Ray's eyes, Leo couldn't exactly tell what he felt. He had no way of confirming these events actually happened other than the ones he was a part of. Nonetheless, it was still greatly interesting to read through what happened from another point of view.

"Right!"

Absentmindedly putting the book back on its shelf, Leo's eyes finally noticed the perfect distraction for the distraction he had just suffered from, the original purpose of his entrance to the Reading Space once more!

Lying in the middle of the circle of items, the distorted piece of metal slightly shone as it reflected in Leo's eyes. There was no light to be reflected, but Leo quickly realized that this was but an illusion!

"I knew it!"

His body was actually resonating with the core fragment, altering his perception of it, and confirming Leo's suspicion, the fragment in his body was showing desire towards its 'sister'!

This was exactly what Leo intended for, since this was Reality Reading's reaction to his possession of 'Sword Body', it had to at least have this much of an effect!

'Should I really do it?'

His body was already fully prepared to bend down and pick up the core fragment from the ground. However, Leo slightly hesitated… Could he really bet on his body's mutation to interact with something like this?

The deaths that occurred from the intense exposure to the sword fragment in his body weren't a small number. Although the applied chemicals contributed to that, a fragment of the Progenitor Sword wasn't something that normal humans could interact with.

Naturally, Leo's body was already that of a Swordsman. Moreover, he was a second-generation mutant with a great degree of acceptance to his fragment. At the same time, however, this fragment couldn't have been called a 'Core Fragment' for nothing!

Most importantly, it was precisely because his body was mutated that Leo feared the result of direct interaction. If the mutation went out of his control, there would be nothing that he could do to stop it!

"As long as it isn't for too long…"

In the end, Leo still succumbed to his desire to hold the fragment. A mutation built over years of controlled treatment like his couldn't be ruined just from a second of exposure. As long as he got rid of it at the first sense of danger, his life… shouldn't be in danger.

"Oh…"

As soon as he touched the fragment, Leo's senses immediately tingled! However, it wasn't painful like his 'rejection' experience from earlier, rather, it was more like a soothing massage!

His body was extremely happy to feel this sensation, even Leo's mind felt a great familiarity with the small object. It seemed to be faintly emitting something…

"Really?!"

Leo barely recognized the situation. However, his hand was already transforming!