The three entered a bloody fight. The man who was beaten by Leonard was also brutally beaten by the other two; only after a Feather stepped in did they stop fighting.
In the span of a day, the man had been utterly humiliated, all because of one person.
'Leonard.'
Thinking of Leonard, the man felt intense anger boil within, but he was strangely scared. Leonard had caused him so much damage already, and they still had to meet.
'Those idiots!'
The man thought of the two people Leonard said would like to hear what he had to say. It wasn't the previous two who had beaten him, but local illiterates who went around stealing and harassing women, and sometimes men. This was only the beginning of his problems; as he was managing the construction site, he had to answer to someone, and when that someone heard of this, it wouldn't be pretty for him.
The man had truly been utterly robbed and humiliated by Leonard.
***
Walking on the uneven road that carriages were afraid of, Leonard thought over his actions. Despite how it seemed, Leonard wasn't someone who liked violence. If anything, he would prefer resolving matters the civil way. Violence was his second option, but sometimes the second option was more effective than the first, like right now.
Leonard had to make do with what little time he had to try and raise his power so that the royalties would consider him a child rather than a dog. To raise his strength, he needed information regarding his Saber class and Qi, and to acquire information, one needed money.
He skillfully walked toward where a library was, making sure to use roads filled with slightly sensible people. He was confident in his fighting skills, but if more than five people surrounded him, he would simply lose miserably. Maybe if he knew how to use his powers properly, he could stop worrying about such trivial matters.
He soon arrived at a large building. Unlike most buildings nearby, it was clean and had proper ventilation; it was separated from the common houses. It had a brown entrance door, and close to the door stood a man in a white trench coat—a Feather. For the library to still be in good condition despite its location, it had to have proper security.
Leonard walked until he reached the entrance. As he attempted to enter, the Feather obstructed his path and stood in front of the door.
"State your business," he said, his voice sounding berating.
"I've come to read books," Leonard said in a flat tone.
"You can read?" the Feather asked mockingly.
"Yes, I can," Leonard replied.
"Really?" the Feather said, his tone still mocking.
"Yes, really," Leonard replied.
The man took out something from his right pocket; it was a piece of paper. He extended his hand, gesturing for Leonard to take the paper. Leonard took the paper without any confusion on his face.
"Read the contents of the paper to me," the Feather said.
Leonard didn't bat an eye and started reading.
"This letter contains words which come from the English language. As per the act introduced by King William III, if a person is able to read the full contents of this letter, they at least possess basic intelligence. This letter was issued in the year one thousand and eighty-two, in the month of January, and is to expire in March. This letter is issued to the libraries of Britannia to ensure only the educated enter to prevent chaos from happening. King William once stated that information is power. We hope that you will be able to understand his words..."
Leonard soon finished reading the letter and handed it back to the Feather. The Feather was slightly shocked at Leonard being able to read, but once Leonard read the paper, he made way for him to enter.
Leonard wasn't offended by the process to enter a library; last time, he had done a similar process to enter the library. It wasn't a bad process; Leonard was happy that such a rule existed. It prevented the unsightly from entering and causing chaos.
Inside the library, he saw a counter where a lady sat wearing a white shirt and black trousers; she had brown hair and black eyes. She seemed to be reading a book. Close to her was another Feather who gave Leonard a glance.
There were plenty of bookshelves in the library, most filled with books of all sorts. The main reason it was full of books was most likely because of the high number of illiterates. The people he could see were all civilized in some way; some seemed to be servants of royal families and some were like him.
He walked past the counter. The lady spared him a glance with her judging eyes, but despite sensing her gaze, he feigned ignorance. He soon stood in front of the Feather and took out a one hundred pound bill and handed it to him. The Feather grabbed the money and inspected it; finding nothing wrong with it, he gave Leonard a nod.
Once he was given the nod, he went to the bookshelves to look for what he wanted. There were plenty of books, and it took Leonard a considerable amount of time to find the books he was looking for. He took three books with him and headed to a nearby table which wasn't occupied by anyone.
'The Twelve Classes'
'The Saber Class'
'Understanding Qi'
These were the titles of the three books he had gotten. Sitting down at the wooden table, he started by reading the book titled *The Twelve Classes*.
The book's first pages were an introduction to classes, how they operate, and how Qi comes in. From what Leonard understood, once a person obtains a class, they develop a Qi corresponding to that class. Qi had stages or ranks; the more one increases their stages, the more abilities they can use and the more their body heightens.
Some classes can have drastic changes the more one ranks up. For example, there exists a class called Berserker; once a Berserker reaches rank four—also called Qi Hardening—their body starts to experience changes. Their skin hardens and changes to a light red color once angered, their body grows bigger, and they experience frequent outbursts of anger.