Chapter 329 - 305: This Book Is Hard to Digest

Chapter 329: Chapter 305: This Book Is Hard to Digest

’How on earth was this thing made? How did they manage to miniaturize the Orbits to this degree? And how are they all linked together?’

Lloyd held the bracelet, turning it over and over in his hands. Although he couldn’t really understand it, he was deeply impressed.

He felt that Mizkatoke, in terms of both its products and its technological level, far surpassed the outside world. In some fields, it was even more advanced than Earth.

’But why haven’t so many of the things from here made their way outside?’

’Is it because of the third school rule?’

’In that case, maybe I can find a way to get around it...’

As Lloyd’s mind was racing, he heard Professor Lawrence cough twice, interrupting his Thoughts.

"I didn’t realize you were so interested in these little toys from the Engineering System. That’s perfect. In the future, when we have a joint project with them, you can participate to get some practice and gain some experience."

"Oh, okay."

"Mm... go study outside. If you run into any problems, remember to ask for help. Don’t be arrogant or too proud."

Professor Lawrence added one last piece of advice, then waved his hand to open a Teleportation Gate and send Lloyd out of the laboratory.

Once Lloyd stepped through, he finally arrived in the true school district of the Space System.

The scene before him left him stunned, staring blankly for a long time—

Areas resembling Floating Islands hovered and drifted before his eyes, completely defying the laws of physics as they moved along some kind of trajectory.

On each Floating Island, one could see facilities like lecture halls, Mage Towers, or large laboratories. Below them were various garden-like lawns and greenery, creating a scene that was equal parts sci-fi, fantasy, and dreamlike.

The Space in which they floated wasn’t a simple sky, either. Although it looked like a vast, azure canopy with ethereal clouds drifting within, Lloyd could sense that it was all some kind of ’visual effect’.

This sky, or rather, the region where the Floating Islands were located, was probably the pitch-black Alternate Space he was supposed to study next. It had just been concealed and beautified by some means, resulting in this spectacular, dreamlike vista.

As for his own location, he was inside an invisible barrier, like a transparent bubble, that enveloped him and hovered above this clear sky.

"This is truly incredible..."

Lloyd couldn’t help but murmur in awe.

The little kitten in his pocket poked its head out, its eyes wide as it curiously surveyed the magnificent view.

"Come on, let’s go take a look."

Lloyd scratched the little kitten’s head, then reached out and touched a Control Crystal Ball in front of him. Then, as if piloting some kind of aircraft, he steered the invisible bubble barrier toward the nearest Floating Island.

The moment he landed, the invisible bubble around him dissipated into thin air. A floating screen of light, like something out of a sci-fi movie, appeared before him, displaying information about the area and a simple map.

Lloyd took a quick look and saw that the Floating Island he was on was the teaching district. Next to it were several experimental districts and a library.

From this, he gathered that the real Space System was far more than just the one laboratory he had visited. It was quite large, and there were surely more people than the few he had met.

Still, it didn’t seem as popular as the Ancient Magic System. This teaching district, at least, was quiet, without a single person in sight.

’Maybe everyone’s on break?’

Lloyd didn’t dwell on it. Since he was already here, he found an elegant corridor next to a small pond, sat down wherever, took out the book Professor Lawrence had given him, put on the bracelet, and began to study.

But after turning only the first page and reading for just two minutes, before he could even enter a state of focused ’Self-forgetfulness’, Lloyd found himself frowning.

’This knowledge... it’s not easy to digest, is it?’

’Even though I just put the 5 upgrade points into [Cognition] this morning, raising the Attribute to 275, and I have the help of [Focused Learning] and the bracelet, I still feel like I can’t wrap my head around it.’

Although he could easily memorize the words, their combined meaning was exceptionally obscure and difficult to grasp, making him want to scratch his head in frustration.

’Looks like brute force isn’t going to work. Maybe I need to use these notes?’

Lloyd then opened the notebooks the old professor had given him and took a look.

They were mostly filled with his learning experiences and insights, and they corresponded one-to-one with the fundamental theories in the thick tome.

Lloyd couldn’t help but feel a surge of emotion. 𝑓𝑟ℯℴ𝓂

’The old professor is such a good person, lending me such precious notes. I really have to work harder. I can’t let down his kindness.’

So he buckled down, studying the old professor’s notes to learn his thought process while simultaneously reading the tome in his hands.

Just getting through a single page took a considerable amount of time, far less efficient than his usual "photocopy" style of reading outside.

Fortunately, as he gradually adapted, Lloyd began to get back into the rhythm of studying. The more he read, the more serious and engrossed he became. Soon, he entered that time-forgetting state of ’Self-forgetfulness’, not even hearing the panel notifications in his ear.

His reading efficiency also quietly began to increase. By the time he gradually emerged from the state of ’Self-forgetfulness’, he had already read about a third of the tome.

’Huh... that’s it? That’s so slow?’

Lloyd was shocked by his own inefficiency.

’But I felt like I was doing so well just now?’

’Speaking of which, how long was I reading for? Why is my body so stiff?’

As he wondered this, he slowly started moving his limbs, which had gone numb from sitting for so long. The friction between his bones produced a series of crisp CRACKING sounds.

The little kitten, which he had set aside to play by itself, seemed to have fallen asleep long ago. Noticing Lloyd stirring, it quickly tumbled over and meowed at him.

"MEOW MEOW MEOW!!!"

Although Lloyd couldn’t quite understand its language, he could guess that it was probably hungry...

"Hold on, I have some food in my pocket... Ugh... I’m not going to get frozen shoulder, neck problems, and a herniated disc or something, am I?"

A little worried, Lloyd quickly grabbed an eggplant he’d bought outside yesterday from his pocket and tossed it to the little kitten.

Then, following the City of Order’s ’Fitness Manual’, he did a round of restorative exercises—squats, push-ups, and sit-ups—vigorously moving his limbs.

Once he started to feel his body again, Lloyd took out his pocket watch to check the time.

He remembered that when he came in, the watch showed the time in the outside world as 9:00 AM, and now it pointed to 8:50...

If time in Mizkatoke didn’t flow backward, that must mean he had unknowingly studied for almost twelve hours. He had nearly exceeded the time limit set by Professor Lawrence.

’No wonder my whole body feels as stiff and uncomfortable as if it’s turned to stone...’

’It must be because of this bracelet, right? Its effect is stronger than a normal [Intense Concentration] Orbit, so did the duration double as well?’

Lloyd made a simple deduction in his head, then turned to look around.

His surroundings were still bright and sunny, completely unaffected by sunrise or sunset.

’Maybe there’s no day and night cycle here in Mizkatoke?’

’Speaking of which, what time is it outside now?’

Curious, Lloyd quickly took out the supposedly precious ’Synchronized Hourglass’, tapped it, and infused it with a bit of Spiritual Power.

He then watched as the hands of the pocket watch in his hand began to spin, finally stopping at a little past 10:00.

This proved that only a little over an hour had passed in the outside world.

Lloyd tapped the hourglass again, and the watch hands spun once more, returning to 8:50, displaying the time in Mizkatoke.

’No wonder Dandy described this thing as so amazing. Just this ’time zone switching’ function alone is incredibly important.’

Lloyd nodded. He was about to check what the endless stream of panel notifications had been about when he felt the little kitten tugging at his pant leg.

"Meow meow!"

The little kitten meowed twice and batted at the eggplant with a look of disgust, indicating it couldn’t eat this thing.

"You’ve really been spoiled by Weiya. You can’t even handle an eggplant? Don’t you want to become a mature little kitten?"

Lloyd asked irritably.

"Meow~ Meow meow meow!"

The little kitten gave a self-righteous reply, as if it were arguing its case.

’Too bad I can’t understand what it’s arguing about...’

"Forget it. Let’s go back to the dorm and make some food. I’m hungry too."

Lloyd rubbed his stomach, feeling the pangs of hunger.

Following the instructions on the sign from before, he found another Control Crystal Ball at the foot of the lecture hall on the Floating Island. It had a similar function to the one in the dormitory area; when he placed his hand on it, a bunch of teleportation ’options’ appeared before his eyes.

Lloyd was about to teleport back to the dormitory area when, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a classroom in the lecture hall with its lights on. He could even see someone moving around inside.

’Must be other students from here, right?’

’Not bad. Even though the Space System has few people, at least it’s not completely deserted.’

Lloyd thought to himself, having no intention of bothering anyone.

He activated the Crystal Ball and returned to the dormitory area, landing directly in front of his luxurious little villa.

But the moment he arrived, his vision suddenly went dark as the surrounding light abruptly dimmed.

’Huh... So Mizkatoke does have a day-night cycle? It’s just the Space System that doesn’t?’

Lloyd thought for a moment, then turned to look at the two small villas closest to him.

One was glowing with an evil, dark green light, and strange, non-humanoid shadows could be seen flickering within...

The windows of the other emitted a strange, eerie blue light, accompanied by a low, dull CRUNCHING sound...

Terrifying!

’Don’t tell me I’ve been assigned to some ’non-human student’ district?’

Lloyd’s scalp tingled with fear, and he completely lost any interest in greeting his neighbors...

He returned to his own dorm, shut the door tightly, and then ran to the kitchen to cook. He used the spare moment to open his panel, preparing to review the previous notifications.

But the moment he saw the panel, he froze on the spot.

"Huh? What’s with this huge pile of Attribute points?"

He had no idea how he had inexplicably ended up with 30 Attribute points waiting to be allocated.