Life Is Looking Better and Better!

Lynn's heart shook violently, and he nearly cried out!

He forcibly suppressed the surging emotions within him.

Was this... a belated cheat ability?

He discovered that as long as he picked up a book, it could be rapidly scanned by this so-called "Memory Library."

Within his retina, he could call up any of the scanned books at any time, even if he had never read them!

Lynn suppressed his excitement, keeping his face expressionless as he rapidly scanned book after book into the "Memory Library."

Literacy Primer, Continental Common Tongue Lessons, The Story of Lilith the Succubus That Must Be Told, Basic Herbal Compendium, Ancient Language Dictionary, Ogre's Delicious Recipes, A Summary of Knight Training, Heraldry of the Nobles of the Kingdom of Hess...

He "scanned" every book he considered useful.

The bookstore owner and Skinny Monkey stared at Lynn's strange behavior in bewilderment.

Had this kid gone crazy?

What the hell was he fiddling with?

Ignoring their odd looks, Lynn continued running both hands over book after book.

Having taken his money, the bookstore owner could hardly scold him and could only glare helplessly from the side.

It was not until evening that this farce finally came to an end.

Lynn returned to the gang with Skinny Monkey, thoroughly satisfied and carrying the newly purchased Literacy Primer and Continental Common Tongue Lessons.

Back in the woodshed, he excitedly summoned the light screen while Skinny Monkey was using the latrine.

The screen stored the contents of every book he had "read," neatly sorted into categories and crystal clear.

Below the screen was also the word "Analysis," clearly another function of his cheat ability.

Lynn tried using Analysis on Common Tongue of the Kingdom of Hess.

A progress bar appeared above the book: [Basic Analysis in Progress: Common Tongue of the Kingdom of Hess... 0.7%]

Clearly, it could help him analyze and learn this world's writing, allowing him to understand its contents!

This function greatly reduced the difficulty of reading and learning. He no longer needed to study and comprehend every book one by one.

Though this cheat ability seemed rather bare-bones, offering no combat power and no quests, lotteries, or stat points.

It was still enough to turn Lynn into an educated man—a "scholar" or "teacher," perhaps.

Once the excitement in Lynn's heart faded, an indescribable sense of disappointment rose within him.

Fine... I admit this cheat ability is still pretty lousy...

Having one is already better than nothing. What more am I asking for?

With that, Lynn consoled himself while "flipping through" the books in his mind to learn about this world.

Over the following days, he played the shrewd and ruthless "Abacus Snake" during the day, acting as an accomplice to evil.

He coldly watched the Bloodhand Gang's thugs use the even crueler debt-collection methods he had devised, listened to the victims' wails, and kept his heart as cold as iron.

The path of the strong was destined to be paved with mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

At night, he trained like mad in the woodshed and hungrily studied this world's language and knowledge through the panel.

With the dual advantages of reading and analysis, he absorbed knowledge at an astonishing pace.

From A Summary of Knight Training, he learned that gaining strength required vast resources and systematic training.

For systematic training, one could either attach oneself to a noble, begin as a knight's attendant, sign a contract of servitude to serve that noble, and thereby obtain a "Breathing Method" and "Combat Techniques."

Or one could join a "knight academy" and receive a formal knight's education.

But joining an academy required money—lots and lots of money.

"Poor scholars, rich warriors" had never been an empty saying, especially for a profession that grew stronger by tempering the body.

Become a noble's thug? How would that be any different from his current situation?

Entering a knight academy was the best path Lynn could think of to escape the fate of the lower class.

Thus, his goals became increasingly clear: accumulate wealth, study, train...

Then find an opportunity to leave the Bloodhand Gang and head to a knight academy!

That night, Lynn closed Gazetteer of the Kingdom of Hess and rubbed the space between his brows.

After this period of frantic "reading" and the panel's analysis, his understanding of this world was no longer shrouded in total darkness.

The Kingdom of Hess, where he lived, was merely a not particularly powerful kingdom in the north. Nobles were everywhere, and knights wielded a power known as "life energy," making them the masters of the battlefield.

In this "Black Marsh City," the strongest person was a grand knight!

More mysterious still were those elusive wizards, who were never seen from beginning to end.

The books gave only vague descriptions of wizards, filled with awe and fear.

They merely mentioned that wizards possessed powers mortals could not understand, capable of manipulating elements, peering into souls, and even extending their lifespans.

They were transcendent beings who stood above the mundane world and lived on the Wizard Continent.

Even those few scattered words were enough to set Lynn's heart racing.

"Wizards..."

Lynn softly savored the word, longing gleaming in his eyes.

Compared to knights, wizards were clearly far more to Lynn's liking.

Knights were just a bunch of reckless muscleheads. Mages were the true path to truth!

But wizards were far too mysterious. How was he supposed to come into contact with one?

There were rumors in the city that wizard academies held a "student recruitment assembly" every five years, where anyone between the ages of ten and fifteen could take the test.

This body of Lynn's was probably thirteen or fourteen, perfectly meeting the requirements.

But... the wizards had held a "student recruitment assembly" only last year. He would have to wait another four years for the next one.

By then, Lynn would already be seventeen or eighteen and would have no eligibility to take the test!

For a moment, he had no idea what to do.

Forget it. I should first find a way to join a knight academy. Once I've seen more of the world, I'll surely be able to learn something about wizards.

Just then, his thoughts were interrupted by an argument outside. It was One-Eyed Wolf and the deputy gang leader, Ghost Fox.

Since they were in the same gang, Lynn inevitably had dealings with Ghost Fox, the deputy leader.

He was a genuine smiling tiger. Though not particularly strong, he had plenty of tricks up his sleeve.

He managed all the gang's illicit businesses and had pocketed quite a few benefits from them.

Lynn had thoroughly offended him on his very first day. They had little contact afterward, apart from several clashes when Lynn audited the various businesses.

"Jack! You're going to make a move against me over some kid of unknown origin?!" Ghost Fox shrieked, his voice edged with exasperation.

"Make a move against you? I'm cleaning house!"

One-Eyed Wolf's voice rumbled like thunder. "Every account book has been totaled up clearly! A full four hundred gold coins! Do you think I'm fucking blind?!"

"That's slander! It's all that little bastard's doing!"

"I've risked my life for this gang for so many years, and you're fucking turning on me just like that? Why don't you ask the brothers whether they'll stand for it?!"

At those words, many gang members immediately voiced their support.

Clearly, the deputy gang leader had spent plenty of time winning people over these past years.

One-Eyed Wolf swept his gaze over every person who had responded, his expression darkening until they all lowered their heads.

"You can leave. Don't ever come back."

One-Eyed Wolf let out a sigh. In the end, he still could not bring himself to do it.

They had been brothers who had struggled side by side for many years. There was still some affection between them.

If he insisted on taking down Ghost Fox by force today, the gang brothers would likely suffer heavy casualties fighting one another.

The entire Bloodhand Gang might cease to exist.

Ghost Fox snorted coldly and left directly with the subordinates willing to follow him.

He firmly believed that one day, he would return openly and proudly!

Lynn watched the two confront each other coldly through a crack in the woodshed.

This conflict was within his expectations. It could even be said that he had personally brought it about.

The account books he had carefully "sorted out" were like a fuse, igniting One-Eyed Wolf's long-simmering fury over Ghost Fox lining his own pockets.