Chapter 10: The Sound of Rain is Nice, Good for Studying (1)
It was raining outside.
Dark clouds and raindrops obscured the sun, making it appear a murky grey.
Pitter. Patter.
The rain wasn’t particularly heavy.
It was the perfect sound for focusing.
“Careful.”
<Please be careful not to slip, Master.>
“Yeah, I’m good.”
Kyung-joon was climbing the library wall using a ladder he had borrowed from the storage room.
As he reached the rooftop, the sound of rain became clearer.
Pitter-patter. Pitter.
‘This is definitely the sound of the heavens.’
Thinking that, Kyung-joon reached out towards the rainy sky.
In his hand was the Magic Memory Stone.
Kyung-joon held his breath, careful not to let any unnecessary noise interfere.
Teemo also remained silent.
Woosh.
Faint mana flowed from his hand and touched the Magic Memory Stone.
The stone flickered, alternating between light and dark.
This was proof that Kyung-joon was meticulously controlling his mana.
‘The inherent mana frequency of this Magic Memory Stone is 3924 MHz. I have to match it exactly.’
Kyung-joon continued to adjust the sensation of mana in his hand.
And then, the moment the inherent mana frequency of the Magic Memory Stone and the frequency of mana emitted by Kyung-joon aligned…
Wooooong!
The Magic Memory Stone began to shine brightly.
This was the critical moment.
Kyung-joon recalled the sensation of mana he had felt after repeating the experiment hundreds of times.
He had repeated the experiment countless times.
He had racked his brains for days on end, never giving up.
All for this single moment.
So now, he could recall it without closing his eyes or peeking at any records.
Not with his head, but with his entire body.
“……..”
The important thing wasn’t what he heard with his ears.
The sound of raindrops hitting the roof.
The sound of them cutting through the air.
The sound of them bouncing off the roof after hitting his body.
He listened to all these sounds not with his ears, but with his entire body through mana.
Very slowly and cautiously, he captured the sensations he felt.
He moved and shifted them, meticulously engraving them into the deepest part of the Magic Memory Stone, one by one.
Wooooong!
And so, the sound of rain began to be engraved into the Magic Memory Stone, passing through Kyung-joon and his mana.
[You have gained a new understanding through the fine manipulation of mana.]
[You have learned the rare skill 『Fine Mana Manipulation』.]
[10 hours have been added to the Dimensional Study Room.]
[Fine Mana Manipulation]
▶Allows for more delicate control of mana. 『All magic skill levels +1』
※Does not apply to skills ranked higher than rare.
▶Skill Level: Lv.1
▶Skill Type: Passive
▶Skill Rank: Rare
Kyung-joon, with his eyes closed, couldn’t see the status window.
He was simply standing with his entire body focused, pouring the sound of rain into his mana and engraving it onto the stone.
And so, Kyung-joon remained with his hand outstretched towards the sky until the rain stopped and the sun revealed itself once more.
🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷
“Damn it, why does it have to rain?”
“The feeling of getting wet is so real.”
“It’s not that great when it’s too realistic. It’ll probably just get in the way of hunting.”
Even though it had been over a year since its release, there were still quite a few beginners in the starting village.
Players passing by the library to receive quests from the beginner helper in the plaza…
“Huh? What’s that?”
“A person?”
They suddenly stopped by the library they usually ignored.
It was because of a man on the roof.
“Why is he on the roof?”
“What’s he holding in his hand?”
He stood with his eyes tightly closed, his hand holding something outstretched towards the sky.
It was Kyung-joon.
“Huh? It’s glowing!”
“Where, where?”
The stone in Kyung-joon’s hand flickered a few times, then suddenly began to shine brightly.
“Wow… that’s cool.”
“It’s like a scene out of a painting.”
“Yeah, it’s weird how atmospheric it looks.”
Players stopped in their tracks and gathered around the library, one by one.
All to see Kyung-joon on the roof.
“What do you think he’s doing?”
“Hidden piece?”
“I don’t know… Should we ask him?”
“Hey, don’t do that. He looks super focused. He’s not moving an inch.”
“True. He’s like a living statue.”
“Do you think he’s trying to get a screenshot with the background?”
“Maybe. The World’s background is pretty.”
Everyone shared their opinions, but no one could figure out why Kyung-joon was doing what he was doing.
Who in their right mind would think that standing on a rainy rooftop with an outstretched hand was all for recording the sound of rain?
No one.
Except for Kyung-joon himself, of course.
“That figure… truly beautiful! Determined yet melancholic…! “
[The wandering painter Painter is deeply moved by your appearance.]
[Friendship with Painter has increased by 10.]
[Painter wants to capture your current appearance in a painting.]
It wasn’t just the players who were interested in Kyung-joon.
The wandering painter Painter happened to be passing by the starting village!
Painter was deeply moved by the sight of the man standing resolutely with his hand outstretched towards the rainy sky, his hand glowing.
Now, Kyung-joon had begun to attract the attention of not only players but also NPCs.
‘Don’t lose focus. Feel the mana with your entire body.’
However, Kyung-joon was so focused that he didn’t even notice the people gathering around the library.
Pitter. Patter.
Fortunately, their murmurs were drowned out by the sound of rain and didn’t reach the roof.
If they had, the Magic Memory Stone would be filled with not only the sound of rain but also unnecessary noise.
“Wait, isn’t that mana? You can’t learn magic in the starting village…”
“It must be a hidden piece.”
“Let’s ask him when he comes down. I have to know.”
[You are gaining attention from others.]
[Fame has increased by 1.]
[Fame has increased by 1.]
[Fame has increased by 1.]
．
．
．
[You have acquired the unique title 『One Who Reaches for the Rainy Sky』.]
And so, the people, forgetting their own business, all stood together in the rain, watching Kyung-joon.
Until the rain stopped and the sun revealed itself once more.
🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷
When the rain stopped and the sun appeared, Kyung-joon had no choice but to log out.
『What were you doing on the roof just now?』
『That glow in your hand, was that mana? I heard you can’t learn magic in the starting village, so how…?』
『Hey, share the hidden piece with me and I’ll tell you something in return. It’s really awesome info.』
『I am Painter, the wandering artist! Your appearance just now, so beautiful and resolute, yet melancholic enough to make my heart flutter like crazy! May I capture that moment in a painting? Please, boy!』
As soon as he came down from the roof, he was met with a wave of handshake requests!
Or ‘HSR’ for short.
Kyung-joon was utterly flustered by the HSR, something he had never experienced before in his life.
It was the kind of thing an ordinary person might experience once in a lifetime, if ever.
‘Countless handshake requests… scary!’
A day after escaping the HSR…
Back in the quiet library, Kyung-joon decided to check the results of yesterday’s efforts.
[One Who Reaches for the Rainy Sky]
▶In the rainy sky, there was one who reached out towards the dark, ominous clouds. In the darkness, he whispered:
『Let there be light.』
“But I didn’t say anything…… And what’s this about ‘let there be light’……”
Kyung-joon had never imagined that simply reaching out his hand on a rooftop would lead to this!
He could only scratch his head awkwardly.
Looking past the completely absurd title description, he checked the effects below.
▶Fame +50, Receive better treatment from NPCs in the starting village.
▶Title Type: Regional (Starting Village)
▶Title Rank: Unique
“Fame…… what good is it if it’s high? Do I just become famous?”
<To put it simply, that’s all it is. There are no other additional effects. However, it’s not a value to be underestimated.>
Titles in The World, befitting their name, didn’t increase stats or anything like that.
Instead, they increased fame.
Frankly speaking, fame seemed like an insignificant value, but in a way, it was as important as the five main stats.
A user with a level of 200 but 0 fame wouldn’t be recognized anywhere.
On the other hand, a user with a level of 100 but over 1,000 fame would be welcomed by NPCs everywhere.
They might offer free services, praise the player as a hero, or even grant access to special quests from individuals inaccessible to ordinary players.
In other words, fame made possible what stats and levels alone couldn’t achieve.
The effect of Kyung-joon’s acquired title, 『Receive better treatment from NPCs in the starting village』, was also an ability unattainable through high stats alone.
“Not bad. It doesn’t hurt to be treated well by NPCs.”
Besides, there was also the rare skill ‘Fine Mana Manipulation’ that he had learned on his own.
It added 1 level to all his magic skills below rare.
As he had seen in other games, this type of skill was genuinely useful.
Of course, Kyung-joon was more pleased with the bonus ’10 hours added to the Dimensional Study Room’.
10 hours in the Dimensional Study Room.
Considering the 2x Time Dilation, it was effectively 20 hours of study time gained.
<Still, isn’t the greatest reward what you hold in your hand?>
“Hehe, you’re right.”
The Magic Memory Stone held tightly in Kyung-joon’s hand!
Engraved within that small stone was the sound of nature’s rain.
Originally, recording sounds onto the Magic Memory Stone was extremely rare and difficult.
But thanks to Kyung-joon’s diligent studies, he was able to convert sound into a form of ‘mana’.
This was more impressive than it seemed.
It was significant enough to write a simple thesis at the Fairy-Elven Magic Academy!
Or, if he compiled it into a portfolio and submitted it, he might even receive an immediate acceptance letter.
If Korea had Seoul National University and the US had Harvard, The World had the Fairy-Elven Magic Academy.
An acceptance letter from there would surely be met with envy and admiration from everyone in The World.
However, neither the thesis nor the acceptance letter to the magic academy interested Kyung-joon.
“Now I can study while listening to the sound of rain in the game even when it’s not raining!”
<It’s all the fruit of your hard work. Congratulations, Master.>
<￣▽￣)b>
Kyung-joon had done all of this simply to listen to the sound of rain while studying.
Kyung-joon focused his mana on his hand.
Soon, mana flowed into the Magic Memory Stone engraved with the sound of rain.
Pitter. Patter.
The sound of rain began to fill the air.
Even though the library was empty and warm spring sunlight streamed in through the windows.
“Hum hum~ hum hum~”
And so began another day of studying for Kyung-joon.
[Your Intelligence has increased by 1 through continuous studying.]
[Your Intelligence has increased by 1 through continuous studying.]
[Your Intelligence has increased by 1 through continuous studying…]
．
．
．
🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷
It had been a while since Kyung-joon started playing the sound of rain every time he studied.
As expected, the sound of rain was the best for studying.
He had been so focused that he had reached the last page of the book, even though he had only planned to preview the material up to the midterm exams for Physics 1 and Chemistry 1.
He studied not only physics and chemistry but also important subjects like Korean, English, and math.
For areas where his foundation was weak, he went back and reviewed material from his freshman year of high school, and sometimes even middle school.
How long did it take him to do all this?
Two months? Three months?
No, the final exams would be over by then.
One month.
It took Kyung-joon less than a month to finish all the studying mentioned above.
It was a process that would normally take others more than half a year.
This was all thanks to the accumulated time in the Dimensional Study Room and Teemo’s easy-to-understand explanations.
[Dimensional Study Room]
▶Time Dilation: 2.0x
▶Accumulated Time: 15 hours
“It’s about time I started something new.”
<Indeed. At this rate, we’ll run out of time in less than three days.>
He had been supplementing his Dimensional Study Room time by studying magic in his spare time, but there was a limit to that.
It was a testament to how much his study load had increased.
And so, a new study plan emerged.
Of course, he wasn’t going to just study anything randomly.
Just like when he had learned carpentry to build a study chair…
Or when he had used the scientific method to record the sound of rain for studying…
He wanted to try something that would help him study.
“Hmm, what should I study?”
As Kyung-joon pondered with his hand on his chin…
A strange sound came from the librarian’s desk.
“Blah blah~ blah blah~ So listen, in the end, the mana transmitter and the mana core meet and……”
Burari, who had taken over as librarian in place of the crazy Libra.
He had gone to see his younger sister Libra for a few days and had come back… well, crazy.
The sight of him talking to someone invisible in the air was quite bizarre.
It seemed like he was studying, but it was still noisy.
That’s when it hit Kyung-joon.
“Maybe I should find a new place to study.”
<(ఠ ̥̆ఠ)!>
<You’re thinking of leaving this place?>
“Yeah. I’ve been here for too long. It’s been over a year. It’s time for a change of scenery.”
Just like when Kyung-joon had first escaped his noisy siblings and come to the starting village library.
His goal this time was to find a new place to study.
A quiet place where he could concentrate.
<It will be difficult to find a building quieter than this library here in the starting village. You will probably have to go to another village.>
“Hmm, is that so?”
<Are you thinking of going to another village?>
“No, I don’t want to bother with that.”
Kyung-joon put away his open book, the Magic Memory Stone engraved with the sound of rain, and the posture-correcting chair he had made himself into his inventory.
He was getting ready to leave.
As he finished his preparations, he spoke softly.
“If there’s no suitable place, I’ll just have to make one myself.”
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