Only I Am A Reader

"Phew…"

Letting out a sigh of relief, Leo came out from behind the tree, shuddering to have experienced the 'magical' perception of the protagonist.

"A protagonist through and through."

While it was true that everything that happened went along with his plan, Leo couldn't help but marvel at the protagonist's imminent effect on the plot.

Despite knowing that the persistent Fanged Wolves would surely follow up even if he were to survive the first ordeal, Leo had simply ignored it as he already prepared for the conclusion from the very start.

After sealing the original deal with Crane, Leo had spent the time searching for one of the 'shadows' that Ray had left within the town. Hiring a random passerby to anonymously give him a message intended for the one and only protagonist.

Although the protagonist's location at that time made it hard for him to receive the message before the deadly event took place, Leo knew that he was sure to make it before the 'second wave' threatened the Orphanage.

As such, Leo had spent his days as relaxedly as possible. However, even he didn't expect the conclusion to take place this quickly!

Knowing Ray's 'edgy' attitude, Leo was confident that he would just camp outside to intercept the enemy rather than enter the town and risk interacting with his 'siblings', which was why Leo left town to check on him out of curiosity.

'Fortunately' for him, Ray's protagonist aura worked so well that he bumped into the Fanged Wolves on simply trying to reach here, leaving Leo slightly baffled.

'It's even more ridiculous to see it in reality!'

As one of the readers who often ridiculed the strangely convenient or inconvenient occurrence that happened to protagonists for the sake of progressing the plot, seeing it happen before him only made it weirder for Leo.

Furthermore, the scene ended with him being almost noticed from several kilometers away! Even the supernatural elements of this novel didn't make it sensible for such a thing to happen!

Perhaps the only thing that made sense was Ray's ridiculous power that resulted from getting reborn in a world simply tailored for him.

Although Leo couldn't observe much at this distance, he still remembered the scene where the Fanged Wolves' figures casually dropped one after another. As it wasn't hard for Leo to reconstruct the fight in his mind using Ray's features in his memories, he could be said to have witnessed a part of a protagonist's overpowering ability…

As a result of his earlier special experience as a whole, felt even more assimilated into this world, as if the one last thin membrane stopping him from perceiving this world as reality was no longer. As such, he felt even more calm and carefree rather than intimidated by the protagonist's display.

Despite the ridiculous laws that this novel world followed, Leo felt even more familiar with it than his own reality…

`~~~`~~~`~~~`

On his way back, Leo finally got to check the change noted by the personal book. He was too focused on the protagonist's artful massacre to see it back then.

[ Plot adjustment confirmed. Normal event adjustment has been detected. ]

[ Under the Reader's influence, The protagonist's 'Revenge' event's time and location have been adjusted. ]

[ Calculating the value of the plot change according to its impact… ]

[ Calculation complete. You have received 6 Reading Points. ]

'Even this works?'

Rather than causing the occurrence of a new event or changing the outcome of an event, Leo had simply rushed the confirmed revenge event, yet 'book' had a reaction to it.

However, as he thought about it while walking home, Leo came closer to defining the limit of these 'events'.

Other than the event he triggered by himself, the other two were ones involving a 'side character' and a 'protagonist'. It was obvious that The main factor that decided their value was the character involved.

Although the impact was still the deciding factor when it came to the reward, it naturally depended on the event's main character. Otherwise, all of the changes that Leo had made in the Orphanage would have already filled over a dozen pages of the personal book.

Judging by how this event didn't appear in the 'events' tab as well as the small reward, Leo's concluded that the effect of his interference was negligible, but the possibility of repeating such 'normal' events made it qualify as a stable Reading points source in the future.

'I need to figure out their use first though.'

With all sorts of plans floating in his mind, Leo simply decided to be satisfied with today's results, putting his thoughts away…

`~~~`~~~`~~~`

After watching a special revenge event from the backseats, Leo returned to the town and resumed his relaxed life once more. Other than resuming his duties as Arthur within the Orphanage, most of his time was spent idly.

From customizing swords with the now friendly Crane who generously shared some tips about handling swords, to walking aimlessly around the town and playing with his siblings in the forest, Leo briefly enjoyed a carefree life that was devoid from the pains of his reading addiction.

Observing the children that were still full of life under the influence of his action was a new experience for Leo, but he definitely didn't mind revisiting this experience.

However, after living in relaxation for more than a few days, his heart grew restless in a sense of longing and urgency. Before he knew it, Leo was already making preparations.

"It's time to seek my own change…"

He knew that it was time to leave.