After leaving the store, he went to the Interactive Mall Directory (I just remembered the name), and used the device to show him the way. It indicated that the bookstore was located on the first floor.
He headed down, followed the displayed path, and finally arrived at the shop. Once inside, he looked at the books he had found and realized that they were expensive.
Most of them cost around 1,000 to 2,000, and some were priced even higher.
"Ain't no way some books cost this much," he said.
As he wandered around the place, he also discovered a book that was the same as the one he had read the night before.
...
Python Crash Course: A Hands-On, Project-Based Introduction to Programming (2nd Edition)
Price: 2,300 pesos
...
"If it's this expensive, why did the original owner leave this book in the apartment?" he thought, since it was worth far too much.
That amount of money could have helped someone survive for two weeks or even longer, depending on how carefully it was budgeted.
As he continued to look around, he found another copy of the same book he had already finished reading.
...
[Hacking: The Art of Exploitation]
Price: 3,300 pesos
...
His eyes ached just from looking at the price, this situation reminded him again on how poor he truly was.
"The reason for the books in being expensive must be because digital versions were still uncommon, such as PDFs and EPUBs weren't widely used or easily distributed yet,"
Back in his own world everything can be downloaded online, that is the reason why technical books were becoming less expensive due to the dominance of E-books.
There were still some people who wanted to buy books, but only a few were left. As he wandered around, he saw many books related to programming, yet he had no money to spare.
With no other choice, he left the bookstore and decided to buy some clothes instead. As he entered the clothing store, those same gazes still lingered on him.
After picking out his clothes, he spent about two thousand leaving him with only one thousand left.
After buying all of the necessities and with no more money left he claimed the reward.
[Claiming reward, '5× Rebate on All Purchases Made During the Quest']
[Calculating total expenditure…]
[Total spent: 56,203 pesos]
[Rebate applied: ×5]
[Funds returned to host: 281,015 pesos]
...
Then his phone rang again, and he smiled when he saw the money came. With this amount of money, he could have gone back to buy those books, but he felt it was not worth it.
Moving on he went to the mall's restroom first and changed into the new clothes he had bought, to at least make himself presentable.
Aside from his unkempt hair everything looked good. He stepped outside and then used the new phone he had purchased.
After inserting a SIM card and using Google Maps, he found that the nearest library was only a short distance away.
After hailing a taxi the trip did not even take ten minutes. Upon arriving, he did not dawdle and went straight into the public library.
The place was large, with many sections, tables, and areas for seating. After walking for a while, he finally arrived at the section dedicated to programming, computer science, information systems, and countless related disciplines.
The most astonishing part was that every book here was free to read. Luckily, he had not bought any from the bookstore, or it would have drained him in no time.
He was not a collector since he only sought knowledge, so once he finished a book it would have little value to him or rather none at all.
Standing there, he noticed a poster and realized that this place was none other than the Continuum Library, ranked third among the largest libraries in the entire country.
It was founded by a wealthy patron named, 'Caleb Will' who opened its doors to the public, and this library existed to nurture young minds.
Many students came here to prepare for their graduations, as books that could not be found in ordinary bookstores or even in other countries were preserved within these halls.
With that he began. The best part was that the library was open twenty-four hours a day, allowing him to read whenever he wanted.
However, he soon realized that his reading speed was too slow if he wanted to learn all the skills he needed.
At this pace, it would take him around three to five days to become unrivaled in computer-related knowledge.
That was why he wanted to shorten the time as much as possible, because for him time was of the essence.
Even though he was not being chased or maybe he was, he needs to be prepared so he still needed to grow stronger quickly.
With that in mind he moved to another section and took about five books.
...
[Breakthrough Rapid Reading]
[Speed Reading]
[10 Days to Faster Reading]
[Reading Faster with Better Comprehension]
[How to Read a Book]
...
The books he chose were all related to the domain of reading, so he hoped that by finishing them he might gain a new skill.
Based on his tests from the night before, he realized that making a mission harder to accomplish resulted in greater rewards.
That was why he decided to start with five books instead of just one. After taking the five books, he looked for a place to sit.
Everyone around him was focused on their own reading, and he paid them no mind as he finally found a seat.
It was right in the center of the room, as both sides and the spots near the edges were already taken. After placing the books on the table he started.
"I want to read all of these books," he commanded like a captain.
...
Quest: Reading
Description: The host has discovered that time and effort is his greatest limitation. To pursue mastery, he must optimize how knowledge enters his mind.
Objective: Read all the books.
Reward: Cognitive Skill
...
[The creation of Quest had finally reached its limit]
[Cooldown '1 day']
So after creating the quest he opened the first book and began from the very first page.
After reading the first page, his lips began to move on its own.
"Don't subvocalize.... Widen the gaze.... Stop chasing every word.... blah..." he read in a low voice.
His eyes did not moved from the book as he continued reading, and by the time he reached the last page, his eyes were not sore and strained.
"Next book," he said as he took another.
After the second the third books followed one after another, his mumbling growing faster and more faster and faster.
"Chunk the words and trust comprehension, you must let the eyes lead..." said by the page he just read.
Then pages flipped time by time and it also took him another hour to finished a book that is over 800 pages.
First he stopped for a moment to rest his eyes and after a minutes he continued again.
By the fourth and fifth books, his voice had dropped to a whisper since his lips was tired and dry. When he finally closed the last book, he leaned back slightly.
"Dang, my back aches pretty badly," he said as he stretched.
He had been sitting there for over five or six hours, making his butt numb against the chair. He even felt as if his legs could no longer move.
But all of it was worth it when the system finally replied.