Artificial Fantasy

Chapter 28: Grand Library

"It's not that. It's just... I need to stop by the town's library first."

I became surprised at the mention of a "library". "A library? You do realize we can go to a public library in real life." I knew he loved reading books, but I doubted we had enough time to do so.

"I know. It's just that one of my [Masteries] is a [Scribe] and according to the wiki, I'm supposed to create books and papers, and if the NPCs permit me, I can also copy ones that exist in the game world. I thought I could get a bit of practice at the library for a few minutes. We might even get more information about the game's lore that's not even listed in the wiki yet!"

The game's lore, huh? That was something I've wanted to know about for a while. "Alright. But only for a few minutes, okay? We still need to log out for lunch and work on our weapons."

"Right! Race you to the library!" Before I knew it, Kazu quickly ran off and shouts, "Last one there's a rotten egg!"

"Wait, Kaz! Don't go off on your own! I'm still your [Guardian Player] and I'll get in trouble if I lose you in this crowd!" Sheesh! I knew he has a lot of energy when it comes to this game, but he seriously needed to chill out a bit.

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Thankfully, after a few minutes, we reached the library unscathed. I was a bit worried back there since Kazu had suddenly left my side while forgetting about our safety pact, and the fact we didn't even know where it was beforehand. Thankfully, with the help of a passerby and our mini-maps, we didn't run into any problems along the way, and I managed to catch up to him in time. However, I didn't expect that the library's two-story building would look so similar to a church or old-fashioned academy building. And for some reason, I didn't see any players around the entrance. Many of them just passed by without even looking at the building. Strange, out of all buildings in this city, why ignore this one? Whatever the reason, I just felt relieved that we wouldn't encounter any straight long lines today.

As we entered the building, my eyes widened to see several large, long bookshelves lined across the walls with ladders and stools leaned against them, and near some tables in front of us. I could also see large candle chandelier hanging above the interior, as well a strange glowing globe in the middle of it. I turned around to see a wooden sign plastered on the wall near me. While it seemed to be written in the game's fictional language, the pop-up window allowed me to read what it was saying.

[Speak aloud and suffer the lightning bolt from above.]

"What the hell?" I'm completely confused at what the sign said until I quickly heard someone screaming from behind the bookshelves.

"Hey, what's taking you so long, you magic nerd! Keep writing or else, I will burn your ass o-"

Before I knew it, the globe suddenly turns red and blasted a yellow lightning bolt, which flew behind the very same bookshelves, and I heard the loud player's voice scream in pain. I guess that's what the sign meant by "a lightning bolt from above". Even in a virtual library in a fantasy world, the librarians have crazy ways to teach rule-breakers and loud patrons a lesson. It reminds me a lot of the time me, Damon, and Zac all in trouble thanks to us arguing about our studies last year.

Library rules aside, I noticed that Kazu had already left by my side as he approached an elderly woman. I didn't hear what he was saying to her, as I was browsing around the library trying to not accidentally wander off too far from Kazu, but I guessed he was trying to ask permission to check some of the books as he mentioned before. Eventually, I saw him leave the counter and suddenly flashed some kind of card as he approached me while grinning mischievously.

"I see the librarian finally gave you permission." I wasn't too surprised at seeing what seemed to be Kazu's library card for <Initio's> library. Other than the magic set present, it looked like any other ordinary library to me.

"Yep. I thought getting a library card would be kinda hard since I had to complete a [Quest] to get one. But turns out having a [Scribe] skill let me skip all of that. Even more surprising, instead of telling them about it, a s-"

"Hold it. As much as I want to hear how you got it, should you be working on your skill right now? I still need to make our lunch back home."

"Right. Until then, why don't you try getting your library card? I think it'll a while until I'm finished with my training."

My library card, huh? That might be interesting. Plus, it might be the easiest way to stick around the library while Kazu trained his skills. "Why not? It wasn't like I can do anything else but wait. Just try to behave like in real life, okay?"

"Alright. I won't be long." Kazu then heads off into the row of bookshelves, to start his training. As for me, I began to wonder if I should even try the [Quest] that he mentioned...

"Hey, young scamper! Yes, you! The one with the strange cowlick!" I quickly froze in shock as I heard an elderly woman's voice behind me. As I turn around, I saw that it was the receptionist that Kazu spoke to a few minutes ago. Upon taking a closer look at her with the game's HUD, it revealed that she was the NPC in charge of the library. I knew this because the crystal symbol next to the librarian's name is colored blue while most players have green crystals next to their names. I was not surprised at this revelation, but I was curious about how she noticed me before I approached her. Maybe I encountered some kind of quest trigger or something? "Come on, lad! I ain't got all day!"

Yikes... She reminds me of a lot of the librarian, Ms. Revel, back home. Just looking at her menacing glare made me want to leave here immediately. But knowing my current situation so far, all I could do is just approach her slowly and carefully. "U-Uh... Yeah... Can I also have a..."

But just before I could finish my sentence, the librarian suddenly ducked down behind the counter. I was confused at this until she came back up and quickly put down several papers, along with an ink well and feather pen right in front of me. "That mage mentioned you a lot during his registration. But I don't trust a young lad who only reads 4 to 8 books. If you finish these forms though, I'll let you stay here for as long as you like."

Read 4 to 8 books?! I was a bit offended at her claim about me. "Hang on! I actually st-"

But before I could finish, the librarian quickly smacked some kind of a riding crop-like staff onto the counter, causing me to flinch and quickly back away from her. "Silence! Now sit down and work on your paperwork or else. I'm quite stressed out by you lads and I don't want any more noise in my library."

Okay... I wished I could finish my previous sentence, but I could only say in a fearful tone creeping up in my voice, "Y-Yes, ma'am!" Just as I left the librarian, a new window popped up in front of me.

[Urgent Quest: Complete the Library Exam *

To access the full features of the library, Ms. Resolane is giving you a test to see if you're worthy to enter her facilities. Leave no section or question empty!

Recommended Party: 1]

So this was the [Quest] Kazu mentioned? Seriously, I thought I could escape from my studies back in real life for a while. Guess there are types of knowledge quizzes and tests that are required to be completed to finish a [Quest] like this. And considering that what she said might be true, I had no choice but to grab most of the papers and writing utensils and quickly sit down at a table to start working on my paperwork. I had already angered Ms. Revel last year, and I didn't want to unintentionally provoke another librarian. Besides, it was just a few questions like you'd see in an exam. How hard could it be?