Only I Am A Reader

[Whatever, I guess he can have it.]

The current situation and the one that was supposed to happen were completely different. Both Geochin and Yeon had originally received the full prize from the very start. However, it was Cheon Jeong that casually gave up on taking the item with the most value for her student.

Unlike the current version of the novel, Cheon Jeong's interest in Baekho quickly faded away days after meeting him. She was currently connecting things together from the background, but she had been searching for another target in the original version.

'I already took that chance away, anyway.'

The chance meeting between Geochin and Yeon on the stage wasn't just a mere bonding moment. A lot of future plotlines relied on it. One of them had to be the favorable impression that the Blade Spirit had about Geochin, something that Leo made sure that it was no longer possible to achieve for the time being!

With the disappearance of Geochin's interference, Cheon Jeong was no longer easygoing now that the other side was blatantly trying to trick them off using the fact that they had the home-ground advantage. The cheery mood turning sour didn't seem good for future cases of cooperation, but…

'Just according to plan!'

Fully considering the situation even before the Mount Hua Sword conference had started, Leo anticipated the Sword Sage's logic. It wasn't like it was hard to guess how reluctant they would be considering how rigid and corrupted the so-called Righteous Faction was. This was another one of the reasons why he had to take Geochin's place.

"So?"

In order to build up towards successfully completing the side quest, Leo knew that he had to destroy the seeds that would lead up the alliance. Naturally, there was no way he would let the relationship between the Heavenly Strength Society and the Righteous Faction develop under his eyes!

Most importantly, Leo wasn't just blindly following the quest's direction. It may look like something great now, but this alliance was something that would eventually be detrimental to the Society. Making it so it wouldn't end up that way was his main goal.

"Right... I guess I forgot due to the stress of the situation."

An apologetic smile crept up to the Sword Sage's face. Although his words appeared to be completely sincere, there was no one around that believed them other than the helplessly honest Pung Miyoung…

"Here."

Taking out a small spherical object, the overseer handed it to the delivery girl. Seeing the orange orb covered in a faint purple aura, Leo's eyes brightened up! The objectives of his bold interference were quickly arriving one after the other!

"Thanks."

Lost in momentary excitement, Leo stepped forward to receive the remainder of the reward himself. Just by touching it, he felt like he was instantly rejuvenated! As expected on one of Mount Hua's specialty treasures!

"Ah… Okay."

Having dropped the orb in Leo's palm, Miyoung looked at Yeon before quickly retreating. Just when she knew who to give it to this time, she received a different response.

'Oh?'

The relaxation obtained through the small orb suddenly shed away as Leo noticed Yeon's confused gaze falling on him.

'Could it be…'

He couldn't tell much as someone who was socially oblivious, but his long reading experience gave him a little hint.

'That she is developing that dangerous trait?'

If anything, it made every sense that Yeon could be slowly turning into a Yandere, but Leo believed that he didn't overdo it to reach this point just yet. Was this the destiny that Baekho only managed to avoid by being mentally incapable?

'We… Can deal with this later.'

It wasn't exactly something bad. In fact, it could be the exact opposite. However, Leo still planned to detailedly analyze the severity of the situation. It was just not the time to do so right now.

"Oh, a Violet Plum Core. Not a bad prize at all, no wonder you didn't want to give it away."

Cheon Jeong smiled as she looked at the small orb in Leo's hand. The Violet Plum Core just happened to be one of the rare natural treasures that could help with recovering Internal Energy. In short words, it was basically a natural energy reserve!

'I will gratefully accept this gift.'

The Violet Plum Core's value was dependent on who was using it, but it was still highly treasured due the limited volume of items like it. The only reason a highly prized item like this was included in the reward list was that a protagonist was involved in this matter.

For someone suffering from a severe lack of Internal Energy compared to the amount of strength he could display, the Violet Plum Core was one of his bread and butter core items that helped him spam his abilities. By taking it away, Leo ensured that Geochin's strength progression wouldn't be as smooth as it should have been!

'I need it more than you.'

Leo found it likely that Geochin would still find an alternative to his shortcoming some other way thanks to his 'luck', but not letting the Violet Plum Core pass by him was more important for Leo than weakening the protagonist. After all…

'I do need to prepare for that meeting.'

It might just be a slightly rare item in the eyes of Murim's Martial Artists, but only someone like Leo could truly recognize the Core's value. Only something like it could help him build the foundation to realizing his current abilities back on Earth!

Having changed almost everything he had intended to, Leo's ears seemed lonely to not have heard the expected message. However, he fully knew that this was only normal…

Compared to the small Sword Continent were things developed in an linear and expected manner. The underlying plots and connections in the Murim made it so that even stepping with a different foot could result in a great diversion.

Although all of these small deviated events appeared to be something great, they were but the consequences of Leo's victory against Geochin. Naturally, they wouldn't end up counting as a new plot changing events in this case!

"Ha, about time. So what do you say?"

Cheon Jeong's lips parted once more as everyone's eyes turned to the figure in the distance. Another mischievous smile quickly formed as the Blade Spirit turned to look at the pair…

"Do you want to do it here?"