Chương 163

Rudra sat comfortably on the edge of the stone altar. The damp air of the 70th Ocean God Temple was cool against his face.

"Alright, Kratos," Rudra said, pulling open his inventory screen.

"Guard the door for a minute. I have some reading to do." The half-gold, half-black lion let out a loud, exaggerated yawn. Kratos trotted over to the cave entrance, his paws splashing in the shallow puddles. He flopped down on a dry patch of stone and rested his chin on his paws.

"Make it quick," Kratos grumbled.

"I want to go find a monster that tastes like chicken."

"I'll do my best," Rudra smiled. He dug into the bottom corner of his inventory. Over the past year of raiding dungeons and hunting field bosses, he had collected a lot of loot. Most of the weapons and armor went straight to his knights or the Winston auction house. But the skill books were a different story. He pulled out three leather-bound books and set them on his lap. He had never been able to use them. Most Skill books in Satisfy had strict conditions of use.

If you were a swordsman, a book meant for priests was just dead weight in your inventory.

"Let's see if this 'Boundless Scholar' passive actually works," Rudra muttered. He picked up the first book. It had a white cross painted on the cover. [Skill Book: Minor Holy Heal] Rating: Rare Restores a minor amount of health to a single target. The higher the skill level, the better the recovery amount. Acquisition Conditions: Priest Class. Rudra opened the cover. He didn't even try to read the ancient text. He just looked at the first page. Instantly, his [Fast Reading] passive triggered.

It didn't feel like reading a book. It felt like a warm, incredibly fast download straight to his brain. In less than a single second, he understood the exact flow of divine mana required to mend a minor flesh wound. The book dissolved into a flurry of golden light that sank into his chest. [You have ignored class restrictions.] [You have acquired the skill 'Minor Holy Heal'.] [The effect of 'Endless Learning' has triggered. You have acquired Rare Knowledge.] [Agility +1] [Wisdom +1] [Minor Holy Heal (Lv. 1)] [Active] [You can recover 1000 + (2 x Divine Power) Health upon casting this on a target. - Using Divine Energy instead of Mana increases the efficiency by 100%. - Resource Consumption: 100 Mana. If you come across this story on Amazon, it's taken without permission from the author. Report it. - Skill Cooldown: 5 Minutes.]"Whoa," Rudra blinked.

"That was fast." He didn't waste any time. He grabbed the second book. It was wrapped in dark, silent leather. [Skill Book: Silent Tread] Rating: Rare Eliminates the sound of footsteps for a short duration. The higher the skill level, the longer the duration. Acquisition Conditions: Assassin Class. He flipped it open. One second later, the book vanished. He suddenly understood exactly how to shift his weight from his heels to his toes to completely silence his footsteps. [You have ignored class restrictions.] [You have acquired the skill 'Silent Tread'.] [The effect of 'Endless Learning' has triggered. You have acquired Rare Knowledge.] [Strength +1] [Wisdom +1] [Silent Tread (Lv. 1)] [Active] [You can eliminate the sound of your footsteps - Agility increases by 10%. - Resource Consumption: 150 Mana. -Skill Duration: 1 Minute. - Skill Cooldown: 10 Minutes.]"This is basically a cheat," Rudra laughed. He picked up the third book. It was heavy and reinforced with iron corners.

[Skill Book: Vanguard's Taunt] Rating: Epic Launches a shout that draws the hostility of nearby enemies. The higher the skill level, the better the range and threat generation. Acquisition Conditions: Heavy Knight Class. He popped the cover open. The iron-bound book shattered into light. [You have ignored class restrictions.] [You have acquired the skill 'Vanguard's Taunt'.] [The effect of 'Endless Learning' has triggered. You have acquired Epic Knowledge.] [All stats +2] [Wisdom +2] [Vanguard's Taunt (Lv. 1)] [Active] [Shout a warcry that taunts all the enemies with a radius of 100 meters - It will cause a [Taunted] status effect on the target for 2 minutes. - Resource Consumption: 500 Mana. - Skill Cooldown: 15 Minutes.] Rudra wiped his hands on his coat. He was literally just absorbing raw stats for flipping pages. The [Endless Learning] passive was limited to ten stat boosts a month, but getting free stats just for cleaning out his junk drawer felt great.

"Hey, are you going to eat those?" Kratos called out from the door, eyeing the fading golden light.

"They smell crunchy."

"No, I'm not eating books," Rudra sighed.

"And neither are you." Rudra took a deep breath. The warm-up was over. He reached deep into a locked inventory slot. He pulled out a worn, dark leather tome. The moment the book hit his lap, it pulsed with a dense, terrifyingly strong magical aura. It was Mumud's original spellbook. The legendary item he had claimed from the Siren King's vault months ago. He hadn't touched it since that day.

Winfred had warned him that the magical knowledge inside was so complex that a normal human mind would break trying to read it.

"Let's see if the Sage class can handle a genius," Rudra muttered. He unlatched the metal clasp. It clicked loudly. He flipped the cover open. Instantly, a violent rush of blue mana exploded from the pages. It slammed into his face, trying to force its way into his mind. Thousands of magical formulas, arcane equations, and elemental theories rushed at his brain all at once. A red warning window flashed across his vision. [Mumud's Spellbook has been read.] [Mumud's magical knowledge is flowing into your brain.] [Your Intelligence stat is less than 5, 000. You are unable to accept the new knowledge. Failed to acquire the knowledge...] Rudra gritted his teeth as a sharp headache flared. But a split second later, a warm, calming platinum light washed over his vision, instantly soothing the pain. [Due to the Effect of the Second Class "Deep Sage", the knowledge is reorganized to make it easier to understand.] [You have completed the acquisition of new knowledge.] The book in his hands disintegrated into a million specks of brilliant blue starlight. The light sank directly into his chest. [Mumud's Magic Tree has opened.]