Another Gain

"Imperial Industrial University's library? It must have tens of thousands of books.

"An amount of reading an ordinary person could hardly manage in a lifetime. If it were me..." Gallo thought, then shuddered.

The sheer volume of a library's contents was staggering. Even in his previous life, when everything was digitized and stored on hard drives, it would have taken up enormous amounts of space.

Although Imperial Industrial University's library wasn't open to the public, it shouldn't be a problem to ask a student like Stur to borrow a few books and bring them out.

Gallo flipped through the last book Stur had brought him at astonishing speed.

When he closed the back cover, the contents of the entire stack were imprinted in his mind.

This time, Stur had brought books on a wide range of subjects, from Advanced Engineering Mathematics to A Brief History of Continental Trade.

What surprised Gallo even more was that after finishing the books, the number of available points in his attribute panel had increased by one.

He had gained two available points in a single day. The first came just after he finished reading the box of Professor Jeffrey's expedition materials that Professor Vanason had brought him.

This time, it was after he finished the stack of books Stur had brought.

Gallo thought, *There were seven books in this stack. Combined with what I'd read before, that brings me to just over fifty. The system must require that much reading before granting a knowledge-related point, which is why I gained one available point.

*Following that logic, the reason I gained the previous point must have been the materials Professor Vanason brought. At first, I thought there was only a fifty percent chance I was right.

Now I'm certain.

This gave him a clearer idea of how to earn available points from the system. For now, reading seemed to be the way, with both quality and quantity mattering.

"Just as I thought..." Gallo murmured.

"What did you think?" Stur asked curiously. "Have you finished again?"

Gallo didn't answer Stur's curious question. He tied the stack of books back together and said, "I'm done. You don't have any other books, do you?"

"That's all. I brought you most of them earlier, and you finished those too. Most of these books are related to my major. The rest are just a few I read now and then to pass the time."

"Just as I thought. A poor university student wouldn't have many books. You'd prioritize your major and whatever you need to complete your studies," Gallo said.

Stur smiled awkwardly. There was nothing wrong with what Gallo had said, but it sounded strange to hear it put that way.

Gallo continued, "Could you do me a favor? Would you mind borrowing a few books from the university library for me? Any subject is fine."

"Sure, but you can only borrow three books at a time. If you don't have any preferences, I'll just bring you three at random."

"Thanks."

After getting his answer from Gallo, Professor Vanason hurried back to the faculty offices.

As he neared Professor Jeffrey's office, he heard the sound of a colleague angrily raising his voice inside.

"I was the one who let him take it... I don't care whether you think your affairs need to be kept secret... Do you really think anyone would believe you if you told them?"

Hearing only snatches of the conversation, Professor Vanason couldn't tell what Jeffrey was saying or whom he was angry with.

He hesitated, but in the end, he knocked on Jeffrey's office door.

The voices inside fell silent at once. Then the door opened, and the young woman he'd seen in Jeffrey's office that morning appeared.

Vanason remembered her name: "Sacia Taylor." She came from a distinguished family.

"Thank you, Miss Sacia. Could you give Professor Jeffrey and me some time alone?"

"Of course, Professor." Sacia stepped aside. Her voice was as clear as a lark's in a mountain stream, but her tone remained as calm as still water.

Vanason closed the door behind him and set the box of materials beside Jeffrey's desk.

Jeffrey glanced down at it, then looked straight at Vanason with tired, scrutinizing eyes. "Why? Weren't you interested in my research this time?

"They were even quite unhappy that you took the expedition materials from me."

Vanason thought of the elegant figure who had just left. Then he braced both hands on Jeffrey's desk, leaned in, and stared at him sternly. "This is absurd!

"Are you a university professor or a priest?"

"What?"

Professor Vanason then recounted everything Gallo had told him, from beginning to end.

Jeffrey stood there completely stunned after hearing him out. He stammered, "How... how did you... how did you figure it out so quickly?"

If Vanason had merely glimpsed Jeffrey's theory on a few scattered pages of notes, he might have dismissed it as a joke born of Jeffrey's imagination.

Jeffrey also believed that he had recorded only a tiny fraction of what he truly thought in those notes. After all, the expedition materials would eventually be filed with the university.

He wouldn't write down every private thought he had. These weren't his diaries.

So the fact that Vanason had inferred what he really thought from such scattered materials in so little time had genuinely astonished Jeffrey.

After a brief silence, Vanason sighed. "I imagine you and the people funding this expedition have had some disagreements.

"After all, if you insist on this absurd idea, I'd be furious if I were the one funding it. I'd definitely complain to the university, and then they'd punish you.

"You'd be disgraced in the academic world."

Jeffrey watched Vanason and let out a breath, then laughed at himself. "There are some things you don't know. And you don't need to worry about whether the university will punish me. Those people won't complain to the university.

"Besides, I haven't written any publicly released academic reports, papers, or journal articles about this expedition.

"Even if word gets out, it can be dismissed as a rumor."

"Why don't you take a good rest for a while? Or maybe..."

He hesitated before continuing, "See a psychologist."

Jeffrey was silent for a long moment, then said, "Don't worry about me. I won't make any of my thoughts or opinions public.

"But there are some things that really need to be done as soon as possible.

"As for the people funding the expedition..."

He paused, then continued, "They won't object to my ideas or complain to the university. But don't ask me why."

Seeing Jeffrey in this state, Vanason didn't know what else to say. He'd originally thought that after Jeffrey returned from the Southern Continent, the two of them would have plenty to discuss about Jeffrey's discoveries.

He hadn't expected things to turn out this way.

Before leaving, however, he asked Jeffrey for his research notes on the hieroglyphic symbols on the rubbings.

Jeffrey asked, puzzled, "You've already returned all the expedition materials, including the rubbings brought back from the expedition. They're all in this box.

"Without the rubbings, what do you need my research notes for?"

Vanason had originally wanted to tell him about Gallo, but in the end, he came up with a different excuse. "Can't I just use them for academic research?

"I happen to want to study the ancient hieroglyphs of the Askia Dynasty again, and you're better at this than I am."