"What? I was just reading about some skills," whispered Alwin.

"You were supposed to look for offensive-type skills," whispered Uchronia.

"What makes you so sure that I'm not reading about some combat spells?"

"You are literally in the utility spells section of the library..."

Alwin looked at the wall of books that encompassed him, sure enough, he was surrounded by books on all sorts of utility skills. What made matters worse was when he craned his body all the way up to the very top of the bookshelf, there was a sign with big bold letters that screamed, 'Utility Skills.'

"Uh... I can't read?" Alwin gave Uchronia a pearly smile and rapidly blinked his eyes.

"Please don't waste any more of my time. Now come with me."

Uchronia grabbed Alwin using her own pair of Spirit Hands and dragged him down the aisle. His own pair of Spirit Hands still held onto the book on Spirit Feet that lay on the ground. As they ventured deeper into the library, he could feel his grasp over his Spirit Hands plummet with every hop he took. He struggled to return the book to its rightful place on the shelf. His hands jittered and jerked, as they tried to hold on for dear life. His heart sank as he struggled to place the book back on the shelf, his grip slipping. Just as they crossed the threshold into the next section, his Spirit Hands were out of his range. They dissipated, leaving the book to tumble onto the ground. Now, the book was all alone without a cherished reader to impart its knowledge to.

This was the worst-case scenario. Without his hands on the book, he couldn't place the book back on the shelf, and without the book on the shelf that could only mean one thing. Alwin was a litterer!

A solitary tear rolled down the corner of Alwin's eye. The guilt was overwhelming. He felt so terrible for abandoning a perfectly good book like that. Who knew if anyone would come along to rescue it and keep it company? Would it just rot away and be forgotten? Would it sit on the cold wooden floor, gathering dust as no one looked upon it ever again? Each jolt from Uchronia's Spirit Hands yanked him further away, his heart sinking with every step. The book’s fate tormented him as he was whisked off by Uchronia to some random part of the library.

"I want you to stay here and pick out at least two offensive skills to learn. Got it?" whispered Uchronia.

Alwin wondered if Uchronia was actually part poisonous plant, simply because of all the venom she exuded.

"Yes, ma'am," Alwin answered.

Alwin could feel the grip of her Spirit Hands loosen, but they still grabbed onto him, hesitant to let go. It seemed like she was debating whether or not to leave him here alone. Was Alwin that untrustworthy? Well, he did end up in the utility books section instead of the offensive skills section. No wonder she was suspicious.

Eventually, she let go, and Alwin was free to explore the library once more. He watched Uchronia leap away, her figure disappearing into the labyrinthine depths of the library. The moment she vanished he hopped to the nearest bookcase and peered at the titles etched on the spines. Starting from the bottom, he meticulously worked his way up, his gaze shifting from one book to the next. Alwin ran a Spirit Hand across the wooden shelf, tracing countless book spines.

"Spirit Sword? No," he muttered.

"Spirit Mace? No," he sighed.

"Spirit Spear? Nope," he groaned.

"Spirit Pan? What? No," he huffed.

"Spirit Axe? Uh..." Alwin trailed off.

Why did all the spells here start with the word Spirit? Plus, why were they all about conjuring different types of weapons? There was even some prankster who slipped a skill to create a frying pan. A frying pan! Talk about a lame joke. As he continued to scan the endless rows of books, the monotony began to wear on him. Seriously, why were all the skills about making weapons?

There was only one option left for Alwin, he had to look upwards to the one that would guide him. It would shine a light on his situation and provide the path ahead. It was time to reach out to the one being he could always rely on in times like these. Alwin drew his eyes upward, tilting his head all the way back until he was staring at the top of the bookshelf, seeking guidance from above.

There, in big bold letters were the words, 'Offensive Skills - Spirit Weapons.'

Well, that explains the predicament he found himself in. It also solidified a theory Alwin had been formulating in the back of his mind. He was not observant. Not in the slightest.

For instance, how could he miss such an obvious sign that labeled what each section of the library contained? Maybe it was because Alwin never bothered to look up in the first place, focusing only on the books that lined the lower shelves. Maybe because the sign was just too high up and Alwin was simply a tiny slime barely taller than the second shelf of the bookcase. Either way, he was definitely not crafting out excuses to make himself feel better. Nope, not that in the slightest.

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

The good news was that now he could get straight to business. Time to find more offensive skills, one that hopefully didn't entail something ridiculous like a frying pan. That had to be a joke, right? Who was going to run into battle with a frying pan of all things?

Alwin pushed his way down the length of the bookshelf. There, he saw the sign he was looking for. In a smaller font, just below the lettering for the section name were the additional words, 'Ranged Attacks.' Alwin jumped for joy at the sight of it. Now, this was more like it! With an arsenal of ranged attacks, he'd be blasting away at any evil humans in no time.

Two skills. That was what Uchronia ordered him to find, and he was going to be a good boy. No! A good squad mate! One that obeys his squad leader! Now what skills amidst this smorgasbord of possibilities would make a good addition to his arsenal?

Alwin's eyes trailed up and down, left and right, scanning the sea of spines for anything that stood out. Then he saw it. The perfect book to begin with. A tome, titled, "Spirit Blast and Beyond." The book practically screamed out to him, beckoning to be opened and explored. This was it. He reached his hand out and grabbed the book, yanking it from the shelf.

Alwin held the book in his hands. It was thick and weighty, a sharp contrast to the earlier book that talked about Spirit Feet. He could tell right away that this was much more substantial, the book's heaviness emphasized that much. There's no way that the book would only introduce one skill, Spirit Blast, right? Unless the book featured a misleading title in order to draw in more readers. That was such a scummy move, who would do such a thing?

There was only one way to find out.

With a flick of his wrist, Alwin flipped open the book to reveal its contents. As he did, a pale white glow emanated from the book, bathing Alwin in its otherworldly radiance. In a flash of light, Alwin found himself transported to a white void. Just like the Spirit Feet book, there was a book avatar across from him. Its dark cover and blue trimming contrasted with the otherwise stark white background of the area.

"I am the avatar of the 'Spirit Blast and Beyond' book. Prove your worth. Defeat me, and you shall earn the right to learn the ways of the Spirit Blast," the voice came from the book.

"But what if I already know how to use Spirit Blast?" asked Alwin.

"Then defeat me to learn what lies beyond Spirit Blast. Are you ready, boy?" said the floating book.

"Probably!" answered Alwin.

"Spirit Blast!" cried the book.

The pages of the book fluttered open, and from within it a burst of energy manifested into a single orb that zipped through the air. Alwin's eyes widened as he realized the ball was rocketing right toward his face. His reflexes kicked in, and he launched his body to the side. The spectral orb whizzed past Alwin, before dissipating into nothingness.

"Two can play at that game," said Alwin. "Spirit Blast!"

From within Alwin's core, he molded his mana, using his trademarked paper mache method, to form the spell. Once a large enough concentration of energy was amassed, he shot it right out of his core, manifesting into a small blue sphere that zoomed forward. The orb pierced through the air, heading right for the avatar.

Once more, the pages of the book flipped open and another orb of magic was formed from the pages. It shot out towards Alwin's own Spirit Blast. The two orbs were nearly identical in size and shape, but as they met in mid-air, it was clear whose orb had the upper hand. Alwin watched in horror as his precious attack was utterly obliterated, barely even slowing down the avatar's orb.

Alwin gritted his teeth and cast out another Spirit Blast. One after the other, volleys of Spirit Blasts were shot towards the book's avatar. All of them, to Alwin's surprise, were disintegrated by the enemy's Spirit Blast. What in blazes was happening?

With Alwin’s relentless assault, the avatar should have been overwhelmed. Alwin's attack should be crashing through the book's defense, tearing apart its pages and knocking it back. Yet, the book still floated there, smug as ever. It was Alwin who was about to take a walloping if his reflexes weren't there to save the day.

Alwin dodged and rolled away, as that one singular Spirit Blasts from the avatar zoomed past him, dissipating into nothingness the moment it flew too far away. Why was his Spirit Blast so weak compared to a book’s?

If Spirit Blasts weren't good enough, maybe his Spirit Hands might work. He summoned the spectral appendages to his side, waiting for the next attack to arrive. While another Spirit Blast came hurtling his way, Alwin raised his Spirit Hands to his face, mirroring the stance of ancient humans when they participated in the sport of boxing.

Alwin threw a couple of quick jabs as he prepared to intercept the ball of mana. With each heartbeat, the Spirit Blast drew closer and closer. The impact was imminent. Alwin's breath hitched as he squeezed his Spirit Hands shut, clenching them into fists. He threw his hands back, coiling his strength, and in a single burst of power launched them forward.

The hands and blast collided for mere microseconds before they were overwhelmed and the avatar's Spirit Blast destroyed them. Now there was nothing standing in the way of it and Alwin's ever so loveable face. He was completely open to attack.

Alwin braced himself for impact, his face scrunching up as if he had just eaten the world's most sour lemon. The book's Spirit Blast landed square on Alwin's face. As he screamed in pure agony, a flash of bright light engulfed Alwin, blinding him.

Even when the light faded, he found himself still screaming his head off, eyes sealed shut. It was only when he felt someone tap him, that he wrenched one of his eyes open. In front of him stood one of his classmates, a Leafling. It was Concord.

What was she doing inside here? Was she here to face the avatar of the 'Spirit Blast and Beyond' book too? It was then Alwin realized that the world was full of color instead of the white room he was in earlier. He was back in the library and apparently had been screaming for who knows how long.

Using her Spirit Hands, she brought a finger to her lips, and Alwin got the message. He may have been oblivious, but he wasn't that oblivious. Finally, he stopped screaming his heart out, much to the relief of Concord. Alwin watched as she hopped off to another part of the library, leaving him alone once again.

Well... that was awkward. Even after he realized he was in the library he still stood there screaming for another solid ten seconds, maybe he was more oblivious than he thought. But, that wasn't going to stop him from fulfilling his mission.

The book still had its cover sealed shut, and there was no way he was going to let the avatar of that book make a fool of him. Alwin cracked the knuckles of his Spirit Hands and set his hands upon the book. As soon as he flipped open the cover, a bright light radiated from the book, enveloping Alwin.

Time for round two.