Debuffed Farmer

There’s often a lot of information hidden within the wording and phrasing of language. As such, you can deduce more than just the information provided in the content. Anyways, this isn’t an English language lecture, blah blah blah.

Even though the employee didn’t give me a specific number of books I could read, I assumed that he wouldn’t let me read too many.

I needed to build information on top of each other. I need to find the most basic book and read that first. I looked through the titles.

—The foundation of interceptors and equivalent exchange

What on earth is an interceptor?

—Utilisation of D-waves to maximise emission efficiency

From what I knew, d-waves are the naturally occurring, supposedly useless waves in the atmosphere. If this was regarding the utilisation of them, it’s likely a more advanced use case.

—Realisation of EM-waves for users below Level Two

This seemed somewhat more useful. I wasn’t exactly sure to what scale ‘level two’ was, but if it was just regarding realisation, this should be good.

Shit, I’ve only got three seconds and one page. I guess I’ll flip to somewhere near the front but not the first page. Here goes.

–

Page 23

When manifesting EM-waves, ensure that no barrier is between the edge of your body and the desired area. Obstructions may result in the creation of Low Density Areas (LDA) which are difficult to manipulate and—

—when creating a section of EM-waves, the quality of the region is directly related to the density of EM-waves in relation to d-waves specifically. Therefore, some areas of low d-wave amount may be preferable for lower-level—

–

“Your three seconds is up. Close the book right now.”

I swiftly shut the book.

The amount of time it required for my brain to process a section of text meant that I couldn’t memorise the full page. It was certainly quite annoying and it was almost impossible to locate the important sections of information without prior context.

Fuck. I didn’t manage to read anything regarding how to actually make EM-waves.

I continued to look around at the different books.

—Maximise EM-wave quantity in Highly-Contested Areas

I might be able to luck out and get some reference to actually producing EM-waves. Still, it feels way too advanced for my current level.

“Hey Rin, what are you looking for?”

“Just some book that explains how to create EM-waves.”

“What are those?”

“I’m not sure either. That’s why I’m looking for a book.”

She swiftly turned to the shopkeeper.

“Hey, what books would I be looking for if I’m a complete beginner to this stuff?”

Suddenly, the man went from a stern high-school teacher who’s trying to keep their students off their phones to a high-school teacher with… other tendencies. Okay, maybe that’s a bad analogy. His cheeks were red, face contorted and lips curled—it was an expression that was both terrifying and maybe pleasant? Depending on who you were.

Smiling brightly at Seria, he pointed at a specific book—Dossier’s Guide to Realisation.

“This should be perfect for you. It’s got the simplest explanations and everything you would need.”

Fuck, what’s up with the confusing-ass name? It doesn’t even sound like a beginner’s guide, no wonder I didn’t look at it.

I began to lean over—

“Excuse me, what are you doing?”

“I’m just going to take a l—”

“You don’t get to.”

“But she’s with me.”

“I don’t care. My store, my rules.”

Goddammit. I’ve got to pray that Seria can get a good understanding of the contents. She’s literate, right? I’m sure she can get me the basics at least.

I guess I’ll use the most of this time and look around for some other books.

—The Yamada Hypothesis and Zone of Absolute Control

Wait, this book mentions the Zone of Absolute Control. I have a basic understanding of that concept, but it’s hard to visualise without fully understanding d-waves and EM-waves.

I guess I’ll take a quick look.

–

Page 41

Once you have passed that threshold, you will feel a slight buzz on the edge of your skin. In the beginning, you have to concentrate in order to perform actions within your Absolute Controls Zones (ACZ). This may include actively thinking about your affinity within the context of the battle—

—It is incredibly important to ensure you are able to consistently utilise your ACZs, especially when you aren’t fully focused or if you are unconscious. This ensures that you will never be able to be attacked in surprise and not have time to react.

–

“Time’s up, buddy.”

Wow, calling me buddy now? To be fair, I was undermining the purpose of the bookstore, but who cares. Is it really that deep?

“Yeah, yeah. I got it.”

To be honest, most of what I just read was basically common sense. It had no logistical or mechanical information which was what I was looking for. At this rate, all I could do was rely on Seria. Please, I beg that you retain some of that information.

On the bright side, it did look as if she was quite focused on the book.

After scanning through a few more titles, I settled on one regarding d-waves—History and Scientific Explanation of D-Waves.

–

Page 12

During the early stages of the Lancaster War, technology was developed to detect d-waves. It was during this time when the Level Framework was also established. It provided a system on which to measure and relate the strengths of different people with each other. Initially, it maxed out at level 4, however, in recent days, people have reached as high as level 6.9. Level 7+ is considered possible to reach but impossible to retain for long periods—

–

“Okay, I’ve had enough of you. Are you actually planning on buying something or not? You look broke.”

“I need to choose the most relevant one to me.”

“Give it up. I know you’re just here to—”

Suddenly, Seria slammed her book shut.

He turned to her.

“So, how did you find it~?”

“I need to have a think about it.”

Alright, Seria. Let’s see what you’ve learned.