Alwin waltzed around the library on all six of his new set of legs. Books, shelves, and bookshelves filled his vision. Also within his vision were a bunch of monsters all absorbed in their books, but he chose to ignore them because they looked boring. Speaking of boring, did you know that this internal monologue session was just Alwin procrastinating. By all means, he should be looking for a new skill book to read, but that seemed like so much effort. What was more fun was pacing about in the library and having a conversation with yourself.

Throughout all of the walking and thinking to himself, there was this pressure that was building up within him. It was like a pot about to bubble over, but instead of being filled with water, it was filled with something far more sinister. Anxiety. This brew of worry mixed together with fear, panic, doubt, and hopelessness created the perfect storm for an anxiety attack. It was fueled by procrastination. If not, how would he end up as the Valedictorian? Or even become a Minister for that matter?

Those thoughts weighed heavy on his mind. Eventually, he caved in and actually did something productive—he decided to find out which section of the library he was at. A normal monster would have simply looked up at the signage overhead, but Alwin decided to do things his way.

With the addition of his brand-new ant legs, there was only one course of action available to him. The towering bookshelf loomed overhead, each shelf a cliff, each a foothold for losers—Alwin didn't need any support to climb! He jabbed one leg into its wooden side, feeling it catch, then hauled himself upward.

Step. Grip. Step. Grip. His antennae quivered as he gauged the distance to the next ridge. Below, the library stretched out like a sprawling abyss, littered with oblivious readers who, thankfully, hadn't noticed the ambitious insect on his expedition.

A slip here, a wobble there—he froze mid-climb, his body clinging to the shelf as if gravity had just remembered he existed. But with a determined huff—or maybe just an ant-sized grunt—he pressed on, inching toward the summit, a hero on a quest to conquer the literary peaks.

Reaching the top shelf, he scaled over the final ledge and popped his head over the precipice, surveying the land of knowledge laid bare before him. Thousands upon thousands of books lay below him, most of them boring and technical manuals on whatever. There was only one thing that caught his attention—a small wooden placard with the word 'Cooking Section' inscribed onto it.

That's it? He spent all that effort climbing a mountain just to discover it was the cooking section. That seemed like a waste of library space. Who cares about cooking? It's cook or be cooked in this world and ironically enough, cooking skills weren't going to help him be in the former.

"Hey, that's not true. Without cooking you can't survive and if you can't survive then you're dead," a voice called out from below.

Who was that? Who was invading his personal thoughts? Who dared to read the mind of the mighty Alwin! A glance down revealed a yellow-colored FluffPaw munching on a muffin. It was the monster, the myth, the legend, Gus.

"Wait, you're a mind reader, Gus?" asked Alwin.

"Nope, you were just narrating your thoughts for some reason."

Alwin paused. He stopped. He pondered. Was he actually doing that? How? And why? Also, when did his internal dialogue become an external dialogue? Things weren't making any sense anymore. However, in the midst of his confusion, Alwin made a mental note to think softer in the future, just in case something like this happened again.

Another thought entered Alwin's mind—he was being a pest. That statement was meant both literally and figuratively. Turns out that when you're all the way on top of a bookshelf while trying to have a conversation with your friend who was all the way down on the ground level, you have to project your voice just to be audible. In other words, Alwin was shouting which earned him the glare of numerous library-goers.

Not wanting to disappoint the masses any further, Alwin opted for the best option—get off the bookshelf as fast as possible. This time he chose a practical approach instead of climbing down the whole thing. Using the power of one of the fundamental forces of the world—gravity—Alwin leaped off the top of the bookshelf.

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With Antennae flailing wildly and all six of his feet paddling furiously against the air, he crashed straight into Gus, knocking the poor FluffPaw back. Fortunately for Alwin, there was a plushy body that cushioned the blow allowing him to walk away practically unscathed. Unfortunately for Gus, Alwin forgot one crucial aspect of his current form. Every part of his body was covered in flames except for his eyeballs.

Alwin stood upright, inspecting his fallen comrade. Gus' mouth agape and eyes wide open, He stared horrified at his friend. It wasn't because the fluffy little boy had suffered major burns thanks to a no-good Fire Soldier Ant, it was because Gus was inhaling the flames as if it were just air. The flames, bright and wild, should have reduced Gus’ lightning-yellow fluff to a deep charcoal black, and yet they swirled around him, coiling around him like obedient serpents, spiraling toward his mouth.

In the span of a second, Alwin saw the flames disappear into the yawning void that was Gus' gullet. Before Alwin could even utter a word, Gus let out a deafening burp, unleashing a puff of smoke from within.

"Yummy, thanks for the meal."

Gus patted his belly, satisfied. All traces of the once fiery inferno that consumed his entire body had vanished without a trace. Well, all except for the smoky smell that followed.

"Um... welcome?" was all Alwin managed to sputter.

Choosing to ignore everything that had just transpired—why waste the brainpower—Alwin finally asked a burning question. "What are you doing here anyway, Gus?"

"Oh, I'm here looking for cooking recipes, but there isn't anything interesting on this level. What about you?"

"I'm here looking for new skills to learn so that I can become the Valedictorian."

"Sounds tough. Anyway, bye-bye."

"Where are you going?" asked Alwin, stopping Gus before he could make a getaway.

"I was going to look for recipes on the next floor. Apparently, you need to beat some challenge or task to get up. Hey, since you're going to be the Valedictorian, think you could help me?"

"Of course! No library can stop me! Lead the way, good sir!"

As Gus led the way toward the room that would challenge their mettle, he popped a question. "Hey, what's your name?"

"What do you mean? I'm Alwin. We've known each other since the day we were born."

"You are? But you're an ant and Alwin's a slime, so how can you be Alwin?"

"You know what? You're right. I'm not Alwin, I'm actually Winal."

"Well, nice to meet you, Winal."

"Nice to meet you too, Gus."

Now that introductions were complete, the duo charged forward with renewed vigor, ready to defeat whatever obstacles lay in store for them. Alwin snickered internally, eager to see what kinds of tricks he could play on Gus. If only Gus wore clothes instead of being in the nude—although that was the norm for most monsters—then he could pants him! This time, Alwin remembered to keep his thinking on the quiet side in case he accidentally blurted out his thoughts again.

Gus led the way, zig-zagging through the labyrinth of bookshelves. He forwent using his two paws to carry himself and instead opted to do things the old-fashioned way—hopping. The two paws were tasked with something much more dire and urgent. They were shoveling muffins into his mouth, pulling them out from Cor knows where.

“See that bookshelf over there,” he said, his paw shooting forward to point at the farthest bookshelf, the motion scattering crumbs from the half-eaten muffin he clutched.

"Which one?" replied Alwin or should we say Winal." This whole place is covered in bookshelves."

"The one over there," said Gus as he repeated the same motion, though this time he sent even more crumbs flying everywhere.

Winal or shall we say, Alwin squinted, staring at the offending object. It was hard to discern the details at this distance, but it sure looked like a normal bookshelf to him. But wait a minute—was that a doorknob he saw emanating from between the tomes?

He shared this speculation with Gus. To which Gus nodded and shoved another muffin into his already bulging cheeks. With muffins stuffed all over his face, he slurred out a reply. "Yeright. Datish da doorknohb."

The realization smacked Winal so hard that he almost stumbled. Of course, it was a secret entrance! The kind with bookshelves that slide open to reveal hidden passageways. Classic. Alwin scuttled forward, his ant legs clicking against the brass doorknob. He gave it a push to the left. Nothing. He shoved it to the right. Still nothing. Maybe it needed to be greased up?

"What are you doing, Winal?" asked Gus.

"I'm trying to open the door but it's stuck. I think it might be rusted up."

"Do it like this." Gus grabbed the doorknob, with Alwin's legs still on it. He could feel the sticky residue from Gus' paws adhere to his appendages, but the FluffPaw paid it no heed as he pulled on the doorknob.

With a groan and a creak, the bookshelf swung open, revealing a hallway bathed in golden light. The brilliance flooded the corridor, leaving Alwin clinging to the knob in stunned silence while Gus ate the flames that dared to burn his paws off. “You just got to pull."

"Let's go!" cheered Gus, marching triumphantly into the unknown.

Winal took a tentative step forward, carefully examining the path ahead of him. Golden light blazed everywhere, pouring down from unseen lamps that lined the ceiling. In front of him stood Gus, hopping up and down in excitement. In front of Gus, lay an ash-black monkey holding a musket. And in front of thegun-wieldingg monkey stood a stone statue of an open book. Whoever carved the stone to make the pages look so lifelike deserved a prize for their artistry.

"Hey, there, pardners. You here to go to the next floor too?"