On the bright screen a message appeared. It was from one of his fellow students saying [It’s time that you learned your lesson. Each and every time you always let us do the heavy lifting, but no more! We leave our project in your hands. Good luck William!].

William stood with his eyes fixed on the blinding screen. No way! He quickly typed back [You big brains know that I suck at this school stuff. We’ll all get the worst grade if I am to write our homework!]. William huffed and clenched the phone in his fist…

These bastards would actually leave him hanging like this!? Then he saw the new message [Stupid! We both know that if you don’t make this a passing grade, you’ll be the one who gets the rap! So get to it. Remember we chose: Medieval warfare. As our subject. Make us proud, Willy]. William cringed at that awful nickname and wanted to vent his frustration.

His teammates were going to make him stand with the whole project alone this time. What group project!? This was blackmail! But William knew that he wasn’t on friendly terms with the teachers. They would 100% believe in their proficient students first, before even listening to him. So all he could do was grit his teeth and get to work.

His teammates weren’t coldblooded. They knew how far gone William was when it came to studying so they gave him some quick advice, telling him to go to the library and read some books on the subject. William swallowed and felt a minor migraine coming. Books… When was the last time he touched such a stiff thing?

William was one of those delinquent teens who loved to play around. He had a hard time conforming to school, not because he was lacking intelligence. But his intelligence was different and stubborn when it came to writing and arithmetic. His brain and body however was as one.

He was an excellent fighter and often brawled with the neighboring school teens. They would get a taste of blood and a few whacks. William also loved girls. He had a lot of girl friends, they would often meet and fool around (not in the naughty sense!). He was still a proud virgin! Thanks to his romantic sisters…

They would always nag “No, a man doesn’t do such things”... Or “Don’t make girls hate you, act more like this!”. Their advice was like golden nuggets. He was able to use this knowledge to unlock many wonderful friendships and memories.

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But back to reality! He wanted to get this assignment done with as soon as possible. So he rode his skateboard to the entrance of the old library. Dust was getting puked out of the door every time a visitor went through. William pondered if he should bring a cloth mask to breath in there.

He ventured inside and was greeted by oceans of books. They were shelved high up above and in rows of shelves. How was he going to find anything in this labyrinth!? William looked over to the desk that was at the entrance.

A stern librarian with arched, sharp eyebrows and black thick glasses, were also observing him. William gave the creature a contorted smile and asked, “Hi, how are you? Sir? Miss? Uhm… You see I’ve come to read some books”. 

The librarian didn’t seem impressed and said with a growling voice “Youngsters these days… This is a library young man. There is nothing in here but books. Which book or in plural books are you looking for? Let me guess…”. The librarian sized him up and grinned while saying “Perhaps the adult section would be your preferred choice? Let me guide you there”.

William winced at this notion. He wasn’t here to look for porn, okay! He rebuked the fraud and said “Stop blurting out nonsense! I’m here for books on… Eh…”. He checked his phone before saying “Books on medieval warfare”.

The librarian shrugged his shoulders and went ahead while saying “Wait here”. 5 minutes after going he came back with a small tower of books in his embrace. He gradually shifted their weight onto William, while stating “In total 7 books on medieval warfare. There are more, but there is no need to surround yourself with 50 hardcovers at once. Come back if you need new ones. If you’re not going to read them here, get a membership and borrow them at the reception desk”. Then the cold librarian held his nose high and left.

William was smaller than said bookworm and could barely look out from the books. They obstructed his vision a great deal, so he quickly found the closets table and dumped them onto it.

Then he reluctantly sat down and began to swipe through the countless pages. With each word he was getting more and more bored. Having flipped through three books already he didn’t have much hope in the fourth.

He saw the title and read it aloud “The First King”? Then he turned it around to read the summary. The text made his heart beat faster. This sounded so interesting!

The summary told of a world where the strong survive and powerful thrive, filled with pillage, murder, drama, castles and dinosaurs. How fricking cool is that!? This makes one's blood boil with ambition and excitement! And it’s all in a medieval setting.

William was overwhelmed by his excitement and began devouring the book. Page after page flew by. Soon the dark had fallen and the library was about to close.

William was still immersed in the universe so he went ahead and borrowed it, neglecting the books he actually should be reading right now…