Human Continent , Capital City Astra
Inside a hotel room near Rift Mountain, Era 4345
"Hoo…" Rio exhaled deeply as he collapsed onto the bed. "I'm already tired from just this much. I'll definitely need proper training once I'm back at the academy."
In the end, he had succeeded in stealing the protagonist's opportunity. It had been easier than expected, almost disappointingly so. Still, this wasn't everything.
There was one more thing he needed to take.
I'll do it tomorrow, Rio decided.
As for checking his status, he chose to wait until after acquiring that final reward. It would feel much more satisfying that way.
"Hehehe… life's pretty good."
Early the next morning, Rio boarded the bus once again and set off on his next act of theft.
After several hours of travel, he reached his destination.
The Dark Forest.
"It really is dark," he muttered. "Even in broad daylight, I need a torch just to see the path."
He raised the flame slightly. Shadows twisted unnaturally between the trees.
"If I hadn't read the novel, I'd have gotten lost already."
After walking for about half an hour, Rio stopped in front of a massive boulder. He carefully inspected the surrounding trees. All of them were pitch black, their trunks dotted with strange white spots.
His gaze settled on the tree at the center, noticeably taller than the rest.
He punched the trunk.
Surprisingly, the thick bark split open with ease, revealing a hidden lever embedded inside. Rio pulled it without hesitation and waited.
A few minutes later, the ground trembled softly. The boulder slowly shifted to the side, revealing a staircase descending underground.
Rio stepped down.
After fifteen minutes of climbing, he reached the bottom, where a tightly shut wooden door awaited him. He opened it and walked inside.
The room beyond was small and empty, save for a single, ancient book floating silently in midair.
The moment Rio touched it, the book dissolved into countless particles of light and surged into his head.
A massive flood of memories followed.
An hour passed before he finally finished digesting everything.
[You have successfully learned 'The Elemental Sword Art'!]
[Your understanding of 'The Elemental Sword Art' has been upgraded to F+!]
[You have unlocked the first skill of 'The Elemental Sword Art': 'Lightning Sword'!]
"Good," Rio nodded. "I got it."
"Let's head back to the academy."
Although the Dark Forest had no monsters, he had no desire to linger any longer.
Several hours later, Rio returned to his dorm room and immediately flopped onto his bed.
"Today was a good day," he said with a grin. "Let's check my status now."
[Name: Rio Flash]
[Class: Swordsman]
[Rank: E-]
[Max Rank Potential: No Limit (X)]
[HP: 800/800]
[MP: 300/300]
[STR: 37/100]
[SPE: 29/100]
[AGI: 27/100]
[DEF: 35/100]
[INT: 26/100]
[Talent: Limitless (X), Sword Aptitude (X)]
[Techniques: Basic Swordsmanship (E-), Elemental Sword Art (F+)]
[Skills: Body Strengthening (F-), Lightning Sword (G-)]
[Evaluation: You are an absolute anomaly! Although you are weak right now, you possess unlimited potential!]
"Oh?" Rio raised an eyebrow. "Even my evaluation improved. Nice."
"Hmm… so the Limitless talent came from Rift Mountain," he mused. "And it even upgraded my sword aptitude."
Now, all that remained was a full month of training before the academy's entrance ceremony.
As for the main protagonist, how would he grow strong without this talent, which should have originally been his?
Rio chuckled softly.
"It's simple. That guy has a system shop."
"He can buy talents, items, and skill books directly. This talent must be expensive, sure, but he'll still get it eventually."
"So there's no need to worry."
The original plot wouldn't collapse just because of a little… borrowing.