The Elusive Book Keeper

The bliss that Zane felt when he finally reached his apartment at the South Ivy Dormitory was a rare one. He slumped on the couch, completely exhausted.

Finally, he understood why many parents condemn the Atlas saying that it is a distraction, that children spend an extraordinary amount of time on it. It was mostly true. He had gone to the library hoping to interest himself in a new book preferably Alchemy or Augmented reality.

However, from checking the forum for Central Library news and tidbits, he had moved to hidden secrets of the Research Hub before entering social media and splurging most of his time.

If not for his Alas vibrating to remind him of his evening class, he might still be in the library. He had rushed from the Central library to the 17th building, the Alchemy Speciality building.

The classroom for the Chemistry of Alchemy course was a bit smaller than the Combat Sniper course, although the instructor maintained that there was a lab available for the course. 

Zane sighed at the memory of that class. He had been going to school since he was three and had listened to over 50 teachers but he could proudly say that this Professor Ben was the most boring of them all.

He had taken a subject that most considered boring and made it completely insufferable. It was amazing. The man spoke in a dull monotone voice as he just read out facts after facts, and Zane's eyes started drooping.

He had to pinch himself to stay awake and take notes. Although now he thought of it, he could have just switched on the recorder and taken a nap like the many members of the class. 

That would not do either, the expressions of most teachers betray them when they are giving out crucial information but trying to hide it, to punish those students who were not listening in class. Back in preparatory school, the teachers did that a lot.

After that class, Zane had gone to the cafeteria in Building 17 to have a meal and he finally understood what both Todd and Precious had been saying in the Combat Department Dining Hall.

The cafeteria of the Research Department reminded him of his middle school cafeteria with daily menu options of A and B. Everyone had to pick either coconut rice with chicken and a side dish of steamed vegetables or Ox-Bone and Kelp Soup. 

Zane wished he could tell that this was just half of the smallest meal package in the Combat Department Dining Hall, perhaps the gazes on his plate would reduce by a fraction.

After eating, he had gone for his Basic Herbology course that helpfully was in the same building. At least that course was okay, the instructor was not some devil in wolf clothing or an old ghost brought back to life still wondering what he was doing in the mortal realm. 

The instructor was an old woman who was enthusiastic about giving them a good foundation in herbology. She recommended a lot of books which were just fine by Zane. He had already read at least a quarter of the books on the list.

He yawned entering the kitchen to pour himself a glass of juice before proceeding to the study table to go over his information collection.

His brain began operating at a very fast speed, memories of the entire day began to surface vividly in his mind.

Precise memory was the skill he had gotten from the OmniSistem. Everything the eyes saw, everything the ears heard, every single memory and information that has passed through the body senses could be recalled with perfect precision.

Zabe began drafting the format from the very first person he met in the morning, that odd prince, he had not managed to gleam much from him, he had been too irritated and uncomfortable. 

He profiled all the characters he had met in his classes. He wrote down their names, physical appearance and every other thing he could remember from their introduction.

When he was done, Zane felt dizzy. He grabbed the table to stabilize himself. His head was throbbing so much.

[Status

Name: Zane Black Valois

Race: Human

Title: None

EXP: (25/100)

HP: 72/110

MP: 110/330

Bloodline: Sphinx 

Class: Level 1 Arcane Scribe

Zane waved off the panel and pondered.

He had just 110 MP left. Zane narrowed his eyes, it had been 286 MP when he checked it last after the Sniping Class, suddenly his eyes widened.

Zane gritted his teeth, trying his best to endure. Slowly his face became one of forced serenity. 

He can comfortably conclude that the Precise Memory skill needed up to 150 MP or more to activate and it was possibly what just caused this insane headache. Truly, beautiful snakes are the most poisonous. 

History had already warned them, don't trust the Trojan Horse. The gift of the gods is always a forbidden fruit. 

He had been so happy that the gifted skill he got was a rare find. He sneered, It was indeed rare.

Imagine using this skill in the middle of a fight or a dangerous position. Wasn't it just washing his neck and waiting for it to be chopped? He was pleased that he used it now. He opened the skill bar.

{Skill: Precise memory lv1

Skill description: Details of information can be recalled with precision.

There was no other information about the skill on the bar. Zane has never heard of the skill in any forum or reads it in any book.

For some reason, he also did not want to ask his system for the information either.

He smirked. This was a life experiment and he was the subject. His eyes glittered, his first experiment. 

He moved his tired body to the bathroom. As he sank into the hot shower, he ġrȯȧnėd as his muscles relaxed. 

His brain however remained active. The skill needed at least 150 mp to be activated at level 1. That amount was astronomical, bear in mind that a simple fire spell needs about 10 mp to cast.

Would the Level 2 of the skill need less MP or more? What more could the Precise memory do? In his eyes, It was already perfect as it was. Could it be improved somehow?

In the tub, his grey eyes gleamed with curiosity.. Despite everything, today had been a great first day and he couldn't wait for tomorrow.