Chapter 5: Frsutration
MC POV:
It's already been over three months since my reincarnation.
Since I can't stand looking at my lovey-dovey parents and listening to them fucking while I am alone and helpless, I spent nearly all that time inside The Orb.
I have been trying to improve my physique and even had some success in that aspect, but I already realized I lack the necessary knowledge to make the most of it.
The capabilities of the Training Room are being wasted on me right now.
There is also a limit to how much information I can get from Selen. She knows a lot, but she doesn't know everything. Things like the most efficient ways to train, how to use magic, or techniques that I could use Origin for are outside her knowledge. She also can't teach me how to use weapons and how to fight. I had to figure these out alone, which made me increasingly frustrated as time passed.
"Status," I said after finishing my last set of pull-ups.
----------------------------------------
///Status///
Name: Arthur Yuki
Race: Human
Title: -None-
Mental Age: ~20
Physical Age: ~25
Potential: Lvl: 1, Grade: EX
Existential Level: Lvl: 1, Grade: C-
Affinity: All
State: Tired, Curious, Hopeful
///Attributes///
Vitality: Lvl: 1, Grade: A
Toughness: Lvl: 1, Grade: D
Endurance: Lvl: 1, Grade: C-
Strength: Lvl: 1, Grade: C-
Agility: Lvl: 1, Grade: C-
Dexterity: Lvl: 1, Grade: D
Energy Reserves: Lvl: 1, Grade: F
Energy Quality: EX
Luck: Lvl: 1, Grade: E
///Skills///
//Passive//
[Perfect Memory: Lvl: 7, Grade: EX], [Negative Status Effect Immunity: Lvl: 7, Grade: EX], [Drawing: Lvl 1, Grade: A], [Information Processing: Lvl 1, Grade: A], [Cooking: Lvl: 1, Grade: D]
//Active//
-None-
//Special//
-None-
///Innates///
Name: [Orb of Desires], Type: Gift, Lvl: 7, Grade: EX
----------------------------------------
"God damn it! I trained as hard as possible for the past two months! Why did it barely step into the next rank?!" I shouted, to no one in particular, trying to deal with my frustration.
Why?! Why!? Why?!!
Why, with all the conveniences of the Training Room and Living Quarters, it grows so slowly!?
I tried everything I could, but I lack the knowledge necessary to even start improving!!
I just want to learn how!!!
*Ping*
----------------------------------------
Your desire to learn reached the necessary level.
'Library' has been unlocked.
----------------------------------------
"Eh?" I exclaimed in surprise.
Was I seriously so frustrated that The Orb itself recognized my desire to learn? I thought I was supposed to work hard, not get a wish fulfillment journey.
However, I can understand why. I wasn't frustrated only by my inability to improve. As comfortable as it was, there was nothing to do in the Living Quarters. I could cook, but without new recipes or ingredients to try, it was getting boring. I could use the Training Room to generate a place to explore, but without the inspiration, I am restricted to places I know.
To sum it up. I was greatly frustrated and bored out of my mind.
I left the Training Room to check out the new room.
As expected, Selen was waiting for me in front of the entrance.
"What can you tell me about this new room? It's called Library, so it sure as hell has books in it." I asked jokingly.
"While you can find any type of book and knowledge there, it seems you have to earn the right to access them first. For example, to get a high-level sword manual, you must start training with the sword and get manuals of lower grades. While inside the Library, The Orb will help you regenerate your mental energy. Also, the Library isn't part of The Orb. It only granted you the access, so if you look for anything specific you will have to ask the person in charge of it." Selen answered.
"I see. Is it limited to just books?" I inquired.
"Yes. You can also find scrolls, videos, holograms, and any medium that contains knowledge of some sort," she replied.
"That's neat," I said with an excited smile and approached the door.
After I entered the Library, I was momentarily stunned. There, I found hundreds, no thousands, maybe even millions of rows of bookcases, seeming to go up endlessly. All bookcases had massive and sturdy pillars, made of cream-colored marble, and covered in gold ornaments and runes, on both ends. Most pillars were shared by two bookcases, excluding these closest to the entrance and at crosssections. The floor was covered in marble-like material but in contrast to pillars, black-colored one.
Upon closer inspection of my immediate surroundings, I found myself even more dumbfounded.
On my left, I saw a cozy-looking corner, with big, probably more than 50 square meters, red carpet, were a few big, long and sturdy tables, made out of wood similar to oak, with a few ornaments. Besides these tables were standing many sofas, chairs, and armchairs, made out of materials perfectly matching the design of the tables and the carpet.
While someone hearing this kind of description may imagine complete chaos, that wasn't the case.
In reality, it looked like a perfectly ordered place. This, however, wasn't what made me dumbfounded.
It was the thing I saw on my right side. Behind a perfectly normal counter, that could be seen in any library, instead of the usual librarian, was a big, more than 2m tall owl, that looked at me with the same curiosity as a child seeing an exotic animal for the first time.
This owl looked very similar to the Eagle Owl. It had vivid orange eyes and distinctive ear tufts, with the upper parts mottled with darker blackish coloring and tawny. Instead of its natural brownish-gray color, its feathers were mainly midnight blue, with some lighter spots giving an impression of a starry sky.
"Hello, Mr. Owl? I am Arthur. And you are? " I said, far more nervous than when I met Matrucksa. At least he had a humanoid silhouette, even if it kept changing.
The owl turned its head nearly 180 degrees, and focused on my eyes, then said in a masculine voice, "I am Einlion, The Librarian."
"..." I stared at it in silence, not sure what to say. My question was more a joke than anything else. I thought the owl was just a pet of the person in charge of the library.
Maybe 'Don't eat me, please!!' would be best, but... I have heard this name before. I am not sure where.
Deciding there was no point in thinking about it right now, I approached the counter and asked, trying to sound polite, "Can you tell me about the manuals, books, and other knowledge sources I have access to?"
"Of course, hoohoo~. " the owl said, hooting at the end. "As of right now, you have access to all the materials explaining the basics. You also can peruse history books, encyclopedias, and novels. As for other media, like holograms, videos, and recordings, the same applies to them. If they teach you something, for example, cooking, you must start from the basics, unless you already have that knowledge. To put it bluntly, you have access to everything you can comprehend, hoohoo~." Einlion explained.
That verbal tick... It will take some time to get used to it.
"Can you bring me these books? I had to face the reality that my knowledge about how to train my body is too shallow. I will read everything I can." I said, fully prepared to do just that.
"You don't realize how silly the thing you just said is, hoohoohoo~." the owl replied and started laughing.
Why do you have to laugh at my conviction...? Just bruh...
"As you can see, there is an uncountable amount of books, in fact, infinite since they contain all the knowledge from all the records, hoohoo~. Don't you think, that what you asked for is impossible, hoohoo~?"
Einlion inquired.
"...You are right. I didn't think it through." I replied after a moment of silence.
"In the first place, trying to learn too many things at once is a bad idea, hoohoo~. Instead of having one weapon or ability you can trust and depend on, you would have a bunch of half-baked tricks. While becoming a jack-of-all-trades has its own merits, it will never surpass a true master of one discipline," he explained. "Also, even if you are able to master more than one thing, it will take a lot more time, and time for mortals like you is a priceless commodity, hoohoo~." the librarian added.
"Can you give me some advice then?" I asked. "I will take a choice myself, but hearing another opinion never hurts, especially if the person in question is much more knowledgeable," I added.
"Hoohoo~ While training your body is important, training your willpower is even more so. All the energy systems I am aware of, whether we are talking about mana, chakra, ki, or aura, require a strong will, and the purer the energy your try to control is, the stronger your will has to be. If energy is a weapon, then its amount and purity determine its size and weight. Using the same analogy, your willpower is like the hand that wields it. If your grip isn't strong enough, it will slip through your grasp and potentially harm you in the process, hoohoohoo~" Einlion explained.
"I see. If my willpower was stronger, I could train for much longer than I did and wouldn't throw a tantrum after only two months..." I concluded.
"Yes, however, thanks to that tantrum, you came here. I would say it's a pretty good trade offer, hoohoohoo~" the owl said.
"Are there other uses for willpower?" I asked.
"You can pressure someone weaker, leaving them without the will to fight. It also helps to withstand pressure from someone stronger, and more experienced, hoohoo~ If that wasn't enough, it will help you ignore pain, and stay focused," he replied.
"What do you think about learning how to use a sword and martial arts?" I asked.
"Mastering a martial art or weapons like a sword or spear is also good hoohoo~. With enough mastery, you can ignore things like the difference in physical abilities, but you will understand why only once you reach that point hoohoo~. Before that, however, you should focus on mastering your own body. Things like a proper breathing technique, and movements requiring the least effort, will increase your strength and allow you to fight longer." Einlion explained.
"Thank you. I will take your advice to heart." I said with a sincere smile.
His advice can be summed up as "master what you already have", which is very logical.
How should I go about choosing the study material? Since he is in charche of this place, Einlion must know which materials for beginners are the most useful. All of them can't have the same value. I think I will trust him with that one as well.
"I have decided. Please give me the best books explaining how to train my body and my control over it. Please do the same with books about willpower, energy control, swordsmanship, and hand-to-hand combat. I would also request any other media that will help with comprehending these, be it videos or holograms." I requested.
"Hoohoo~ You want to try looking for these yourself?" he inquired.
"I have already followed your advice to this point so I will depend on your recommendation in books as well. If there is any other book that you think I should read please bring it as well."
He nodded, and the moment I blinked, books, scrolls, some strange cubes, and other itmes were already on the counter.
He sure is fast. Let's see what we have here.
Among the materials he prepared, some were more eye-catching. These included: "Swordsmanship for Dummies", "How to Meditate", "Combat Strategy for Idiots", "Basics of Energy Control", "Hand-to-hand Combat for Noobs", "God of Cooking Vol.1", "How to breath"
Why do so many of these sound like a bad jokes..?
I looked at him with a deadpan, "These are part of the best..?"
I no longer feel as hyped as before...
"Of course, they are, hoohoohoohoohoo~" he replied and started laughing in his strange owl way.
Like hell it is!!! Are all the powerful beings such teasers!?
Seeing through my inner monologue, Einlion said, "You said to yourself you need to start from the basics. Excluding the titles, these books are among the best I know. For example, "God of Cooking Vol.1" is based on the journey of a being that used level six existences as his ingredients. Of course, such methods would appear only in the later volumes, but you have to start somewhere. I arranged the materials in a few stacks based on what they are about, like swordsmanship and so on hoohoo~. Read them the way I arranged, and you will have no problem understanding them, hoohoo~. I suggest you start reading as fast as possible since it will take at least four months to read everything I prepared hoohoo~." he explained.
"That long?!" I exclaimed in surprise.
"Yes, it should take you around this much time if you stop training, hoohoo~. I have included a few books that you may find interesting, so I wish you a good time while reading hoohoo~."
Deciding not to waste even a second, I directed my footsteps towards the cozy corner dedicated to reading and started my studying session.
I feel excited since its a knowledge that will help me do things as ridiculous as cutting a whole building or lifting a few tons with one hand in the future.
It's time to grind.