After a few minutes of crawling through the unusually long tunnel, Apolo finally saw the exit, motivating him to crawl faster until he reached the wall that marked the end of the tunnel. Pushing the wall with some force, it began to move like a door, revealing the children's book pavilion.

Exiting the tunnel, Apolo stretched his tired body from all the crawling and carefully observed the library in front of him. It more closely resembled a bookshop due to the meticulous decorations. Shelves were everywhere, and the "shop" seemed to have three levels that could be easily observed from the entrance thanks to an open space in the middle of the "shop" that allowed glimpses of the top floor. Moreover, if one were to look up, they could see the shop's ceiling, which, to Apolo's surprise, was covered in fluorescent star stickers.

In the children's book pavilion, there was relatively little light, but it seemed that this pavilion had been intentionally designed that way because it was filled with fluorescent items that glowed in the dark, enhancing the beauty of the place.

The walls of the shop were covered in these fluorescent stickers, and if one paid enough attention, they could find childlike drawings painted with fluorescent crayons everywhere, so poorly done that it seemed they had really been drawn by children. The shop's floor was completely covered with a colorful carpet adorned with little drawings, and every few steps, one could come across some crystals that dimly illuminated the pavilion's shelves from the ground.

Truly, this was a room that would excite any child, and yet Apolo was more tense than ever as he cautiously surveyed the unfamiliar environment around him. There were several warnings marked by his ancestor in his legacy about this pavilion. Even though these warnings were precisely the reason why his ancestor had hidden the book in this place, initially, no wizard had a real need to search for children's books, and secondly, no one other than Apolo's family would dare to explore this place for too long.

The main reason why this room could be quite dangerous was precisely that it was the children's book pavilion. For millennia, the family had been a major taboo in the world of wizards, and according to Apolo's ancestor, even in ancient times, wizards tended to castrate their own disciples so that they could only focus on magic. Therefore, according to Apolo's ancestor, the wizard who created this room, the Archmage Bastian, did it solely for the thrill of creating a massive death trap for wizards who defied this "noble" tradition. So, this pavilion was never intended to be a place for reading. Nevertheless, Apolo was not worried. He was following in the footsteps left by his ancestor, so he clearly knew how to survive in this pavilion.

For a few minutes, Apolo stood at the tunnel entrance, pressing against the wall while he looked into the darkness ahead. He concentrated on listening to the faint footsteps on the carpets, which could only be heard by someone with superhuman ears like his. When he noticed that time was passing and the footsteps were not approaching, Apolo began to clap to create some noise:

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

*Clap... Clap... Clap...* The young man clapped, taking a few minutes between each clap, and each time he did it louder, as if he were trying to get the attention of "someone" but not "everyone".

*Clap*...The young man clapped loudly again and suddenly stopped, listening carefully as it seemed that someone had started to approach the tunnel entrance where he was. While the young man patiently waited, gazing into the dangerous darkness ahead, the gold ring on his hand began to glow, allowing him to see how the glow revealed a red-haired boy in white robes slowly approaching him. The boy had his hair covering half of his face, so his eyes could not be seen, but his mouth was visible, showing a fairly friendly smile.

When the boy was a few steps away from Apolo, he opened his mouth to speak, displaying sharp teeth, although they were quite difficult to see in the darkness unless one was already aware of them:

—Nice to meet you, so another wizard came to look for one of our books. What's your name, big guy?

—...—Apolo logically didn't answer; he had been warned: "Don't talk to anyone in the library!" However, he took the opportunity to approach the boy with a friendly smile.

—Oh, right, acolytes can't speak in the library; I forgot...—Murmured the boy, pointing his little hands at his mouth—How about I guide you to an incredibly interesting book: they say it holds the mysteries of finding meaning in life!

—...—Apolo paused his plans for a few minutes and looked at the boy strangely, somewhat uncomfortable with the words he had just said. However, Apolo quickly remembered the words of his ancestor, which he had memorized by heart, and stuck to his initial plan. He unfroze and nodded excitedly, causing a cheerful smile to form on the boy's face.

—Come on, this way, big guy! In this pavilion, there are many interesting books. I also know a book that can change your destiny, even if it's cursed and predicts your...—The boy explained with an excited smile, turning around to start walking in a direction. However, as soon as the boy lost sight of Apolo, the giant pounced on him and grabbed him by the neck.

*Aghghh*...The young man tried to call for help, but Apolo was strangling him, so he couldn't speak. Desperately, the boy tried to hurt Apolo by kicking him a few times, but it had absolutely no effect, and he couldn't break free from the giant's grip.

Gradually, the boy stopped struggling, and when he had stopped moving, Apolo let go of him, causing the boy to fall onto the carpet. Immediately, the boy began to breathe violently while looking at Apolo in terror. Cursing internally, Apolo pounced on the boy again and began to strangle him once more until the boy stopped fighting, and Apolo let go of him.

This time, the boy had stopped moving, but Apolo made sure the kid was still breathing, ensuring that he had a safety net in case things went wrong. Carrying the unconscious boy on his back as if he were a sack of potatoes, Apolo ventured into the darkness of the shop while illuminating his path with a faint flame that had emerged from the tip of his finger.