Only I Am A Reader

The limit of being in a world barren of Sword Breath didn't only restrict Leo's advancement, but it also turned his True Sword Breath into a consumable resource, 'True Breathing' was impossible without a source of replenishment.

If the current Leo ended up encountering any situation that actually required the use of Sword Breath, he barely had less than 7 hours' worth of reserve. Most importantly, running out didn't end up with being powerless, it was practically a death sentence for a mutant like him…

"Let's keep going!"

For the sake of self-sufficiency, Leo could only proceed. He wasn't just betting on his life, rather, he had enough confidence in his success.

To an observer who didn't experience what he was experiencing that might not seem to be the case. Leo, however, could tell how smooth this consumption was. In fact, he could no longer even call it consumption… This was a fusion!

While the superhuman senses he gained were limited to sensing Sword Breath in his body, Leo could guess what was happening based on his body's reaction. He felt like the digested fragment was sharing its 'soil' with the core fragment, using its familiarity with both fragments to blend together… Instead of screwing up his mutation, Leo felt like it was being perfected!

The treatment that both he and his 'parents' went through had basically conditioned his body to accept the Progenitor Sword's nature. Now that he even had a part of it inside, this was even more visible!

"...Done?"

Feeling in full control once more, Leo stretched his arm in anticipation. Was it a success? Or…

Leo's eyes immediately widened, there were no changes from the outside, but his only superhuman sense had caught what was happening inside! His Sword Breath reserve was being devoured!

The number on the 'Personal Book' kept declining rapidly. In a matter of a minute, 3 hours' worth was already drained from the space in Leo's body! Undeniably, it was the fused fragment that was greedily feeding on everything!

If the original fragment could be compared to a docile pet that drank and ate under when its owner let it do so, the fused fragment was ravenously consuming whatever came in front of its mouth!

"Anytime now…"

However, faced with this life-threatening situation, Leo's calm expression was restored. He only closed his eyes to focus on sensing the ongoing changes.

His Sword Breath had already dropped to double digits, but Leo could sense the obvious decrease in the draining rate. Suddenly, everything stopped!

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Personal Statistics:

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True Sword Breath: 9/400

Physique: 1.96

Mind: 2.16

Sword Breath: 400

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It had been very close, but Leo's lips curled up into a smile. It was now time to receive his payment!

As if the dam had been opened, 'water' gushed back into his body. The source was the reason for the desertification, but it came to right its wrongs!

"Here it is!"

This was what Leo had been waiting for, the Progenitor Sword might be able to, but a mere fragment couldn't produce something out of nothing regardless of being a core one or not! In order to get the production machine up and running, a proper amount of fuel was required!

Naturally, it wasn't like Leo knew the future or something like that. Rather, he had already witnessed a similar process just during the final battle. After years of exhaustion, even the Progenitor Sword required some catalyst to fuel a great ability like 'Recall'.

After replenishing the numbers back to double digits, the great surge stopped, but Leo's slight worry had already dissipated.

'It's up and running!'

There would be no need to drain anything if the fragment would just spit it out. After letting out the excess, the fused fragment was now in full function. Leo wasn't sure if its speed would be the same as normal 'True Breathing' or not, but his Sword Breath had now restored its recoverability trait!

"It changed!"

The change wasn't restricted to Leo's statistics, within the zeroth page, the main cause behind this naturally had its own literary transformation!

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Personal Talents:

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- 'True Sword Body' - 7/10 (-2)

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'Breathing Sword Body suits it more.'

Even as he joked about it, Leo understood the implications behind this change. If his body was previously emulating swords, then he was now closer to that state. At the very least, he could now function as a mini-Progenitor Sword!

The Sword Pearl may have allowed him to achieve passive 'Breathing', but it was still an item that relied on external sources to achieve its objective. However, he was now the perfect example of self-sufficiency.

Whether it was the weapon or the energy required to operate it, Leo now possessed the ability to produce both on his own. The living weapon had just experienced a technological upgrade!

Picking up Sword Breaker from the ground, Leo directly absorbed it into his body. Since the core fragment was completely fuse, he didn't lose the ability to 'equip' swords. Seeing the familiar buff within his statistics, Leo's thoughts converged as he flashed back to his room.

'

'That's enough for today.'

While the day was full of exciting experiences, it had also been quite a busy one. After trusting his instincts on such a serious matter earlier, Leo's nerves felt exceptionally tired. It wasn't like the Reading Space would run away on its own any time soon.

'What I need now is…'

Having just returned home after so many years, Leo wanted to put aside any thing that was related to that world. There was a lot to test and understand about himself, but the curious Leo only wanted to be a normal young man for the moment. This was what he urgently needed to keep a hold of himself!

"Can I join in?"

Back in the living room, the family that Leo had just run away from to explore his fantasy were merrily playing a board game. Bringing shock to everyone's faces, Leo sat down amid the four.

"What?"

Seeing that everyone was staring at him, Leo feigned confusion as he threw a chip into his mouth. This was the start of a very unconventional birthday night…