Chapter 537 – Grindset Is Contagious

Chapter 537 – Grindset Is Contagious

The more Eberhard stared at his book, the more irritated he felt. “Seriously, how is this book so boring?!” He was reading while lying down, and even that was exhausting—mentally exhausting!

How on earth did that advanced mage named Moira manage to bury herself in these theory books every single day and read with such focus?

Could it be that once you reached a higher rank and your psychic power grew stronger, even reading stopped being tedious?

Every time Eberhard got tired of lying down, he would get off his bed and take a walk. And every time he walked around, he couldn’t help but sneak a glance at Moira.

He watched as her sofa gradually migrated outward from the inner bookshelves, day by day.

Every time he went over, her little table was piled high with books.

Her reading speed was astonishingly fast too—so fast that one had to wonder whether she was actually reading carefully at all.

No matter who passed by, it didn’t affect her in the slightest.

After making a loop past her area, Eberhard would remember that he’d been kicked out of his magic practicum class to make up his theory knowledge, and the urgency would hit him again. He’d hurry back and resume reading.

It wasn’t just Eberhard—many people had noticed this purple-haired advanced mage.

No matter when you looked, she was always so focused, maintaining a steady state of reading. Unlike the rest of them who, even when they genuinely wanted to study, had prepared comfortable desks, chairs, furniture cards, and even alertness-boosting drinks—yet still, only a few could actually sit still for long.

And none of them could simply lean back in a chair and slip into meditation the way she did.

Every few days, they would inevitably feel the urge to head back to the Dormitory or take a stroll outside the Mage Tower.

At those moments, they would come and check on this purple-haired advanced mage.

If an advanced mage could study apprentice-level theory books with such dedication, how could they possibly slack off?

Motivation would surge right back.

Grindset was contagious. Those who came didn’t want to leave, and those who arrived later, seeing so many people reading here, refused to leave either.

As a result, Library Room 1 accumulated more and more mages, with all manner of chairs, sofas, and beds multiplying throughout the space.

One day, when Mo Lan went to the washroom, she suddenly noticed that someone had even placed a cushioned chair out in the corridor and was sitting there reading.

While washing her hands in the washroom, Mo Lan couldn’t help but think, “Are these mages really grinding this hard?”

She knew mages valued their time, but she hadn’t expected that treating the library rooms as a second home had already become the norm.

She quickly dried her hands and hurried back to her seat.

What Mo Lan didn’t know was that when she finished reading every book in this library room, packed up her sofa chair and little table, and walked out of Library Room 1, every single mage inside breathed a collective sigh of relief.

Eberhard immediately snapped his book shut, rolled off the bed, and converted it back into a card.

He needed to go outside and get some sun. After lying around for so long, he felt like his bones were rusting.

If it weren’t for seeing that advanced mage named Moira persevering the entire time, he would have gone out to relax ages ago.

Who could have imagined it? She had actually lived in the library room for an entire month!

Eberhard had watched with his own eyes as she worked through the books from the innermost shelves, one by one, all the way to the outermost ones.

He even suspected she had gone through every single book in the entire library room.

He certainly didn’t think an advanced mage would waste time putting on a show here, picking up a book she had no intention of actually reading.

It was precisely because of this that he had been motivated to grit his teeth and persevere.

But now it was fine—that ultimate grind queen had left, and he could finally go relax.

This past month had been the most diligent he’d ever been with theory books.

He had actually powered through several important apprentice-level Psychic Magic theory texts, with higher efficiency than ever before.

So Eberhard felt perfectly justified in wanting to step out and unwind. He strode out of Library Room 1 with a spring in his step—and then watched that familiar figure disappear through the entrance of Library Room 2.

“You’ve got to be kidding me! She’s still going?” Eberhard’s composure cracked a little. He walked past the entrance of Library Room 2 and couldn’t resist peeking inside, but he didn’t spot Mo Lan’s figure.

“Forget it, I probably just saw wrong.”

Eberhard consoled himself and decided to go outside anyway—get some sun, feel the breeze, maybe swing by the magic training room to review some spells before coming back to the theory books.

But after walking less than three meters, he let out a deep sigh, turned around, and walked into Library Room 2.

“I’ll just take one look. Just one look! What if she didn’t even come in here to read?”

Eberhard circled through Library Room 2 and found her in the deepest section. She had already pulled about a dozen books and had just set down her reading equipment in a spot—Mo Lan.

In the blink of an eye, she was already seated and reading again.

Eberhard gritted his teeth, then gritted them again, snuffing out his still-budding relaxation plans. He turned around and went back to Library Room 1.

Unfortunately, the spot where he’d originally placed his bed had already been claimed by someone else.

He had no choice but to find a spot in the corridor outside Library Room 1.

Placing a bed in the corridor would block people’s way and get him in trouble with the administrators, so he switched to a sofa chair just like Mo Lan’s. He sat down in it and began reading.

In his mind, he thought indignantly, “I want to see just how long she can keep this up! I couldn’t beat her in the arena, but I refuse to believe that on apprentice-level mages’ home turf, I could lose to an advanced mage!”

But suffering alone wasn’t enough.

Whenever he spotted a familiar apprentice packing up and leaving Library Room 1, he would offer a casual suggestion: “Go take a look at Library Room 2. You definitely won’t regret it.”

And so, a few more apprentices relocated from Library Room 1 to the corridor to read.

They were all apprentices who had been deeply spurred on by Mo Lan, the ones who had frequently gone to observe her reading state to suppress their own growing restlessness.

Another month passed. Mo Lan finished the books in Library Room 2 and moved on to Library Room 3.

Eberhard, who had just stood up, sat back down.

His relaxation plans had fallen through yet again.

He’d persevered this long already—he absolutely refused to lose!

And then…

Half a month later, Mo Lan moved from Library Room 3 to Library Room 4.

Another half month, from Library Room 4 to Library Room 5.

Eberhard wanted to give up several times. Each time, he would walk to the entrance of whichever library room Mo Lan was reading in, go inside, see her studying as diligently as ever, and grit his teeth and walk back.

Every time he couldn’t find her, he thought he’d won—only to spot her in the next library room.

Until three months later, Mo Lan finally left Library Room 9.

This time, Eberhard watched with his own eyes as she stepped into the elevator shaft.

This terrifying advanced mage had finally had enough of reading and left.

Eberhard let out a deep, deep breath of relief and practically sprinted back to pack up his things before leaving the Library Floor.

Half a year! He had stayed in Library Room 1 for a full half year!

He could now guarantee that his apprentice-level Psychic Magic theory knowledge would absolutely crush everyone who had been in his magic practicum class. Passing the assessment would be no problem whatsoever!

He could hardly believe he’d stayed in the library room this long in one stretch! He was starting to smell.