Chapter 4: Reading to get exp!

Chapter 4 - Reading to get exp!A small figure, long red hair that reached her back, big round eyes that blinked cutely every few seconds, and a round small face like a doll. Dressed in the school's blue uniform and old hat was Alex's little sister who was only fifteen, her name was Emily and she had a striking resemblance to Alex.

Alex could not help but marvel at how good-looking his sister was, she was cute and small; the perfect sister figure.

But his face immediately turned cold after she got closer and he was able to properly see her appearance, he could not help seeing her figure overlapping with that of Lucas.

Her red hair looked rough and her uniform was covered in drops of juice, her cheeks were bruised like someone had slapped her repeatedly. Adding to Alex's anger was the pitiful look on her face as she walked quietly with a head slightly lowered.

"Emily," Alex muttered while clenching his fists, he wanted to punch the face of whoever did this to his cute sister!

"Big brother?!" Emily gasped in surprise when she saw Alex. She was the one who usually waited for him, why was he so early today? Didn't he have work in the library?

'Oh no, big brother is going to see me like this!' Emily shrieked inwardly and immediately put on a happy face as she smiled warmly while walking over to Alex. Her current expression was a great contrast to her previous lifeless look, the way she switched expressions so quickly pained Alex even more.

This meant that she was already used to it and was now proficient in changing expressions within seconds.

Alex decided not to expose her, he would solve things soon.

"How was school today?" Alex asked with a smile while rubbing Emily's hair.

This action caught Emily by surprise and she was unable to hide it from Alex, he chuckled. Of course, she would be surprised since the old Alex never did this.



"Mm, school was fine." Emily quickly recovered from her surprise and responded while offering a charming smile. The bruises on her face were unable to hide her beauty even a bit.

"You fell, sorry about it. Don't worry, big brother will take care of things soon." Alex said with concern while gently touching her left cheek with the back of his hand.

Emily reacted to this and pulled back slightly while holding her cheeks.

"Ah, yes. I slipped while going to class, didn't know you would notice." she said with an embarrassed smile.

The pair of siblings talked about random stuff as they left the school premises, a group of students watched them from a distance as they left. They were three girls who were around Emily's age and were in similar uniforms.

"Hehe, her brother didn't dare ask what happened to her. Such a loser, I would be ashamed to have a brother like that." one of them said with a mocking laugh.

"Of course, he won't dare to, he knows his place." another girl voiced out.

"There's nothing he can do anyway, I can always ask my sister to deal with him if he tries to make trouble with us." The last girl who had red hair like Emily and Alex added, her tone was arrogant like a certain someone Alex saw not long ago.

....

The two reached home after walking for about thirty minutes, their house was located in the outer part of Balon city where a lot of houses with old cracked walls could be seen.

They found their mom preparing dinner in the kitchen and their dad wasn't back from work yet, Alex went straight to his room after greeting his mother.

Alex took off his uniform and changed into an ordinary shirt and shorts, he sat on the bed in his room that was wrapped in an old bedsheet.

Alex began to feel the energy in his body, since he was still in the Apprentice Mage rank, his soul sea wasn't big and he easily located it.

Currently, in Alex's soul sea were two different types of energies, which were the space and lightning energy. One was his naturally awakened element while the other was gifted by the system.

Another thing that Alex also noticed was that the mana in his body was very scattered and he was barely able to control it.

"This must be the reason he wasn't able to improve in four years, his affinity with mana is at rock bottom!" Alex sighed after this discovery.

He then tried directing the mana into his soul sea but he was only able to get a very small amount to enter. The amount of mana could not even be considered a wisp and Alex would have missed it if not that he could feel its presence.

He immediately knew that he would not be able to get anywhere by following the normal method that other mages use to improve themselves, luckily he had his system!

Alex looked to the side of his bed and couldn't help but appreciate the effort of the former Alex. The dude had a pile of books which included books from his first year in the academy till the time he died in the library.

Since he wasn't good at magic, he had decided to excel in his studies; this was how he had been able to move up in class despite his horrible mage talent.

Alex moved closer to the pile of books and began to fish out books related to mana circulation. Mana circulation didn't just involve moving mana around one's body or ways of using mana, it covered a very wide range of anything that had to do with mana like crafting magic equipment, spell structure, magic items, and anything that had mana in it.

He also picked books about magic beasts since that was part of the mission of the system as well.

For the following hours, Alex did nothing but read these books that had been stored for years. He would receive a system notification whenever he finished a book.

[Mission completed, 5 exp!]

[Mission completed, 5 exp!]

[Mission completed, 5 exp!]

[Mission completed, 5 exp!]

[Mission completed, 5 exp!]

Daily missions:

Read books about mana circulation 3/10

Read books about magic beasts 2/10]

...

ALMIGHTY PATH SYSTEM (error)

Host: Alex Zoran

Level: 0

Exp for next level: 25/100(error)



Rank: apprentice mage

Elements: space, lightning

SPECIAL ABILITIES:

Dual-element body: The host can use two elements.

All-knowing mask: The host has master-level appraisal knowledge, and can conceal himself from the prying of others.

....

Alex stared at the amount of exp he had acquired within this short time, he still wanted to read more but he had to stop for now because it was time for dinner and his sister had come to call him.

Alex closed the book and climbed down from his bed, he approached the door and opened it to see his sister standing respectfully outside.

"Come on big brother, everyone's waiting for you downstairs." Emily smiled at him before running off, Alex followed behind her in slow steps.

They arrived at the dining room where their parents were already waiting for them, the table had been set and their parents sat next to each other at round dining table, Alex and Emily occupied the remaining chairs.

They chatted while eating. Although the old Alex had suffered humiliation outside and was wearing a downcast expression most of the time, he was always cheerful when around his family so Alex did not have to worry about them getting suspicious of him.

They talked about how Alex was doing in the academy and if he needed anything, his father would get it for him as long as he had enough funds to spare.

Alex obviously turned down this proposal, he had his own plans and did not want to stress his parents.

All he needed to do right now was to keep reading, as long as he kept reading he would get stronger. The only thing that would be of help to him currently were books, and it just so happened that he worked at a place with thousands of them!

'This must be beginner's luck!'

They also talked about the upcoming all-academy star competition. Alex's father asked if their academy had decided to join this year and if Alex had plans to join.

"Don't tease the boy, just let him grow in peace!" Alex's mother pinched his father's waist while scolding him. As his mother, she was very sensitive to these kinds of topics and was defensive of her son whenever it was brought up.

Given Alex's circumstances, how could he possibly make it into the competition?

Alex only smiled at his mother's action. He could feel her protectiveness and it reminded him of a lot of people in his past life, he vowed to give her a very big surprise; it was a mission from the system anyway.

Alex finished his food and immediately went back to his room, he had readings to do!

Some hours later...

Mission completed, 5 exp!]

[Mission completed, 5 exp!]

[Mission completed, 5 exp!]

[Mission completed, 5 exp!]

[Mission completed, 5 exp!]

Mission completed, 5 exp!]

[Mission completed, 5 exp!]

[Mission completed, 5 exp!]

[Mission completed, 5 exp!]

[Mission completed, 5 exp!]

Daily missions:

Read books about mana circulation 20/10

Read books about magic beasts 15/10

[Weekly mission completed!]

Read books 40/10

Reward: 40.



.......

ALMIGHTY PATH SYSTEM (error)

Host: Alex Zoran

Level: 0

Exp for next level: 200/100(error)

Rank: apprentice mage

Elements: space, lightning

SPECIAL ABILITIES:

Dual-element body: The host can use two elements.

All-knowing mask: The host has master-level appraisal knowledge, and can conceal himself from the prying of others.


.....

Alex had accumulated a total of 200 exp before midnight!