Ji Won groaned loudly, turning around in bed as he punched the pillow in frustration. An old habit of his.
But this time—the white metal frame of the bed bent—surprising Ji Won who slowly got off the bed.
Lifting the pillow, blanket and mattress off the frame as he saw his fist indented into the steel.
He took a deep breath, before hastily putting the mattress back on, not wanting anyone to lecture him about controlling his strength.
Wow... I think I know why I was getting my ass handed to me so much in sparring..
The system screen finally stopped loading—displaying his first mission.
{User shall have to do a mission in order to regain Gambling Tokens!]
[Mission: Read at least 1 page about 100 different breeds of common monsters found in Dungeons within 10 hours]
[Reward: +2 gambling tokens, 1 intelligence stat, +50 EXP]
[Penalty In Case of Failure: Your heart stops beating :D]
Ji Won's eyes widened in surprise—his mouth hanging wide open as he stuttered.
"Uh- Um- What the fuck?!"
He exclaimed in annoyance and frustration—stomping on the ground he took a deep breath, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Guess.. I'll have to go to the library for once... Maybe the one in SBAH is suitable..."
He sighed deeply, walking towards the door—the system screen floating around him like a mocking teacher.
He walked through the infirmary halls—the sterile and the medicinal smell getting weaker and weaker as he finally reached the exit. Still wearing the white, stripped gown.
He opened the wooden door, the hustle and bustle of the academy greeting him immediately—students walking around in black suits with matching long coats—the official uniform of the academy—and suitcases.
This always feels like I just walked into the damn Monster Trading Guild..
He complained to himself mentally as he slowly dragged himself towards the library—already feeling the boring pages he will have to read in those 10 hours.
I'm bored already...
He lazily pushed open the door of the library—the sight before him making his task seem even more tedious—the library was...
Boring.
No flying books, no cool, wise old grandpa's that held secrets—just a decently large yet simple library with two floors.
A wooden staircase in the middle leading up to the second floor which harbored a bunch of shelves with books and scrolls.
I don't know what I expected... I've been watching too many movies these days... My brain is already rotted and spoiled as is. I can't have it decay any further...
Ji Won exhaled through his mouth, gathering himself once more before walking up to the upper floor.
His eyes locked in on one of the shelves—a wooden board hung over it with 'Monster Encyclopedias' written in bold white letters.
He reluctantly grabbed a sleek—black leather bound book.
It had the annoyingly big title of 'Monster Species: Basics and Necessities For Promising System Bearers by Sunlight Gatherer.' engraved across the front of book in golden letters that reflected the sunlight from the window.
Well... I hope I'm a promising system bearer since I wasted a whole ass braincell just reading the damn title itself.
He descended down the stairs—sitting down at a wooden table on the bottom floor, the cushion on the chair providing a comfortable seat for the next ten hours he was going to be here.
Let's start reading... I hate my life.
He opened the book, skimming through the first page—surprisingly, he absorbed most of the information in one go.
A screen appeared in front of him as it bore the amount of pages he had read, counting each one.
[Page 1 of 100 Read][Pages Remaining: 99][Information Absorbed: 83.4%]
He pursed his lips, wanting to punch the damn screen and shatter it into pieces but—he remembered a random motivational sentence he heard while scrolling on the internet.
Get the hell out of bed ya idiot. Can't even read ya abc's and expect to get on my level? Bruv—if you can't even name me one fun fact about a hundred monster, you never getting on my level!
Said aggressively towards the camera by a very, very violent Irish hunter he forgot the name of.
He slapped himself and put his head inside of the book groaning loudly as the librarian—an old man wearing the same uniform as the students except a small symbol of a book was watching him with a small frown of annoyance,
Kids nowadays.. They think just by reading it'll increase their chances of getting a girlfriend... Idiots.
For the next few hours, Ji Won sat in the library—not reading. Just binge eating snacks and occasionally reading a page or two but surprisingly.
The task was easier than expected.
After the fifth hour, a timer appeared in front of Ji Won's eyes—counting down in an obnoxious jingle that got on his nerves.
Tick Tick Tick Tuck, Tick Tick Tick Tuck...
Over, and over, and over again—distracting him from the reading as he finally punched the screen, but as expected, his hand went through it and the worst thing happened.
He hit a fellow student.
It was a rather large student with charcoal black hair and an intimidating face structure that looked like he was a teacher—not a student.
"Huh? You trying to pick a fight first year?"
He said as he looked down at Ji Won who was clearly intimidated—but the student—clearly his superior didn't seem very aggressive, nor did he seem overly offended.
"Nope.. Um.. Just angry. At something..."
Ji Won wasn't confident—at all, this boy-no, man could throw him across the room and no one would bat an eye.
The student took a deep breath, sitting down at the table with Ji Won, peering into his book with a curious gaze.
"This is a pretty good book, but its more for scholars. Not for battle—from your annoyance you're most like a hunter, not a researcher."
His voice was deep—like gravel mixed with thunder. Every word sounded like it bench-pressed a building.
Ji won slowly nodded his head up and down. A small look of realization in his eyes.
He nervously handed over the book to the student who put it down, instead. Giving him another, smaller book.
It had the same title and author, but at the end was just a new word 'Battle-tested'.
"This will do first year, you'll be getting more useful information and strategies. Just return it to me in the dorms. The room number is 189. Remember it kid."
Ji Won nodded with fervor, a small grateful smile on his face—watching as the student stood up with a grunt.
"Um.. What's your name Sir- I mean.. Bro?"
Ji Won asked in a slightly embarrassed tone—realizing his minor slip up.
The student looked back down at him with a small frown on his lips—he exhaled through his nose before speaking.
"First of all, I hate the word bro. So just call me Dan Daesung. Juniors call me Daesung."
He said in a jaded and distant tone before walking away—his footsteps almost feeling like they were shaking the whole of the library itself.
Phew.. Thankfully I didn't get into a fight with that guy.. But lets read this new book...
His eyes flickered towards the page counter, 47 pages left in total.
This'll be easy enough… Just gotta read like my life depends on it. Oh wait—it kinda does... Fuck you system, I almost forgot about that..
He took in a deep breath through his nose—exhaling through the mouth before reading the pages in a determined manner—eyes zooming across words and pages at a rapid pace.