By the time Alex finally closed the book in his hands, he felt a dull stiffness spreading through his shoulders and neck.
He leaned back slightly and glanced toward the windows of the library.
The sky outside had already darkened.
More than ten hours had passed since he first stepped into the building.
During that time, Alex had not only finished the book titled "About the City," but had also gone through several others that seemed useful. The quiet atmosphere of the library had allowed him to focus completely, and for a long time he had been absorbed in page after page of information.
The first and most basic thing he learned was the name of the city.
Greenheart City.
The name made perfect sense.
According to the books, the city was built in the middle of a vast forest that stretched for an unimaginable distance. From above, the area supposedly resembled a heart of greenery surrounded by endless trees, which was how the city had earned its name.
But the forest surrounding the city was not merely beautiful scenery.
It was dangerous.
The deeper one travelled into the forest especially toward the northern regions the more dangerous beasts one would encounter. Some of these creatures were only slightly stronger than ordinary animals, but others possessed terrifying strength and strange abilities.
The forest was both a source of wealth and a place of death.
Hunters, cultivators, and herb gatherers regularly entered it to search for resources. Magical beasts could provide valuable materials, while rare herbs could be used for medicine or cultivation.
Alex had spent most of his time reading about these beasts and herbs.
However, did he manage to learn everything?
The answer was simple.
No.
A huge NO!
The more he read, the more he realized just how vast the knowledge was. Every book led to another. Each page mentioned creatures he had never heard of before, plants with strange properties, and regions within the forest that he could barely pronounce.
There were simply too many species.
Too many varieties of herbs.
'Even if I sat here and read nonstop for months, it probably still wouldn't be enough to memorize everything.' He thought.
Realizing this, Alex changed his approach.
Instead of trying to memorize everything, he decided to focus only on the most common beasts and herbs for now. Those were the creatures and plants that people encountered most frequently in the forest surrounding the city. More importantly, they were the ones considered manageable for cultivators at the lower levels.
For someone at his current strength, aiming for anything more dangerous would simply be reckless.
So he carefully read through the sections that described the common species their appearance, their habits, the areas where they usually lived, and how people typically hunted or avoided them. When it came to herbs, he focused on the ones that could be easily identified and sold without much risk.
Still, one thing continued to linger in the back of his mind.
The strange plant he had encountered earlier in the forest.
Alex had quietly searched through several books, flipping through pages whenever he saw sections about unusual herbs or rare plants. Yet no matter how many volumes he checked, he couldn't find anything that resembled the plant he had seen.
At first, the absence bothered him.
But after going through book after book with no result, he eventually stopped looking for it.
'There are too many books here.' he thought while sliding another volume back onto the shelf.
'If it's recorded somewhere, it might be others books.'
Finding it would take far more time than he could spare.
And time, at the moment, was not something he could afford to waste.
Because there was another problem he could no longer ignore.
His money.
The coins he carried with him were slowly disappearing.
Every meal he ate, every small service he used, even the entry fee to the library all of it quietly chipped away at the small amount he had. The expenses were not large by themselves, but together they were steadily draining his resources.
Sooner or later, the coins would run out.
And when that happened, things would become far more difficult.
Alex stared at the pages of the book in front of him, though his mind had drifted elsewhere.
'I can't rely on what I have forever.' he thought.
If he wanted to survive in this world, he would have to again go into the forest and gather some more herbs and fighting monsters is out of options for now.
With that in mind, Alex returned the books to their shelves and walked toward the front desk.
The same woman who had taken his entry fee earlier was still sitting there.
After paying the additional silver coins for the extra hours, he stepped out of the library and made his way back toward the inn.
The evening air was cool, and the streets were calmer than before.
At that time, he remembered and checked his status.
'I've accumulated enough energy…'
A small spark of excitement flickered in his chest.
'Another breakthrough.'
Realizing this, Alex quickened his pace. He returned to the inn as quickly as possible, went straight to his room, and sat down on the cultivation mat.
Taking a deep breath, he calmed his mind.
"System, breakthrough."
The command was simple.
Alex crossed his legs and closed his eyes.
Almost immediately, the energy within his body began to move.
But this time it was different.
During his previous breakthroughs, the energy had surged violently, almost like a raging river forcing its way through narrow paths. The process had been rough and intense.
Now, however, the flow felt smooth.
Gentle.
The energy circulated through his meridians like a calm stream, steadily gathering strength without resistance.
Minutes passed quietly.
Alex remained completely still, focusing only on the movement of energy inside his body.
About half an hour later, the moment finally arrived.
A subtle yet clear shift occurred within him, as if an invisible barrier had quietly given way.
His cultivation advanced.
He had stepped into the Third Stage of the Foundation Realm.
A faint notification appeared in his mind.
~Phew~
Alex slowly opened his eyes and let out a long breath he hadn't realized he was holding.
A light sense of relief spread through him.
'That took longer than before.' he thought.
His first breakthrough had taken only a few minutes.
The second one had lasted around seven or eight minutes.
But this time…
At least thirty minutes had passed.
Alex sat quietly for a moment, thinking about the difference.
His cultivation was clearly advancing, but each step seemed to require more time and energy than the last.
Still, despite the longer process, the breakthrough itself had felt far more stable.
Alex looked down at his hands for a moment, sensing the slightly stronger flow of energy within his body.
A faint smile appeared on his face.
He had grown stronger again.