“Salutationsssss. Welcome to the Igna Private Library, young one. Are you here to gain knowledge? Or perhapssss some wisdom?”

Gi openly stared at the giant snake who was also apparently the librarian of this monster city. He really was confused about Igna. He'd seen casual violence several times since he'd been here, but otherwise it felt so... Human? Weren't they monsters? Was Hillin's town more the rule rather than the exception?

"What is going on here?" Gi found himself asking instead.

The snake laughed sounding like a steam pipe being open and closed repeatedly. "Wisssdom then. While I am happy to assist the younger generations, I am running a business."

Poe, seemingly bored, floated off of his shoulder and started exploring the stacks of books that were there. Gi and the snake watched him float away as Gi's brain finally caught up. This was exactly what he needed. More information. "How much?"

"Twenty silver for two season's membership and an additional twenty silver per quesssstion."

If 20 copper was a night's stay? How much was twenty silver? Was it copper, silver, and then gold like he thought? Or was the system more foreign. "Before I agree, can you explain the currency for me?"

The librarian swayed, studying him. Gi figured he was deciding if that meant he had the coin or if he did not. Whatever he felt, he answered. "One hundred copper to the ssssilver. One hundred ssssilver to the gold. Gold to platinum."

"So your services are expensive then."

"Some say knowledge is power. What price is there on power for a monster?"

It was hard to argue with that logic especially when he found himself with lots of questions. One of those being, why did the humans and monsters share a currency?

Gi slipped a gold coin out of the pouch in his robe and dropped it on the table. The snake's mouth split up into a horrible grin. "Four questionsss."

"Five."

"The membership is non-negotiable."

Gi wanted to argue, but he was both weaker, ignorant, and desperate for information. Hopefully, he only had to pay for one expensive lesson. He nodded in acquiescence and the snake swiped his coin.

"Firsssst question?"

He didn't know the rules of the current stage. He didn't know any of the players in this city. Hell, he didn't even know why his stats were capped. He massaged his cheek with his good paw as he thought about what was most important.

"So... As soon as I left the Fort, some monsters were waiting for me. They seemed to want to capture or kill me. Why?"

"You are the Progenitor of your clan?"

"Yes?" Gi still didn't know exactly what that meant.

"Then that is why. One way to progress is to steal another's fate. Capture? Perhapssss they thought to guide you to the next stage before taking your progress. A Progenitor can be a unique opportunity for others."

"Really? Progenitors are that important? What's the difference between a clan and a species?"

"A species is led by a Progenitor, but the Progenitor is also the leader of their clan. A clan is often formed from their own species but not alwaysss. Your underling is an example of a clan member who is not a part of your species. Some boonsss of a Progenitors may fall to their species while others for their whole clan."

"That makes sense," Gi said, still rubbing his cheek.

"Two more questionsss..."

"Two? But I only- fuck." The snake had counted his question about clans and species. That had just been an idle curiosity rather than something he needed to know. He'd have to be more careful for the next two. Expensive lessons indeed.

What he really needed was a way to get two for the price of one. His abilities had said they were capped and he didn't understand the tasks either. Both were important, but there was one question he was desperate to ask so he couldn't count on using both for that. Time to be vague and hope for the best.

"How... do I progress?"

"I was surprised that wasn't the first question. In the Child stage, you are building your foundation, but those foundationssss can only go up to a cap. Now, you must earn that strength."

The snake paused and Gi almost asked a follow-up question, but he caught himself and gestured at the librarian to continue.

"Killing monsters grants Orbs. A Soul Orb generally. You slot Soul Orbs into your characteristics. Every hundred will increase your level. Every five levels, you will get a choice to better yourself, your clan, or your species. Only Orbs from kills you or your clan make will work. However, you can use Orbs that weren't collected yourself and boost your base characteristics up to the cap. That is... if your body can take it."

Gi kept quiet as he digested what the librarian had to tell. The snake seemed pleased that Gi was learning, but it was hard to tell. He still wondered how he was supposed to know if his body could take more. He also wondered where his Subgenitor was. Having another otter watching his back would be worth all the gold in his pouch.

However, it wasn't the real question he wanted to ask. The one that had been bugging him since he got here.

"Why do I feel different?" Gi raised up a paw. "Before you answer, let me explain. When I was in the Infancy and Child stage, I had these instincts and urges that drove me. It helped push me towards what I needed to do. It helped me not be afraid. But here? I've felt so... helpless?"

He knew part of that was how the Child Stage had ended. He'd been unable to defeat the Eldritch Leader even with the full help of Hillin and Krayli. He wanted to be angry with Nori for taking the kill, but honestly if she hadn't, they'd all be dead. He'd let Danna down.

The snake hissed out a laugh. "Ah, yesss. Your baby teeth have fallen out."

"What?" Gi asked with only a slight panic, thinking he'd used up another question, but that had been his last one.

"The First One was the beginning for all of usss. It is said that the First One was originally a human like most species. When he rose to godhood, he fought with the other gods until they combined forces and turned him aside.

"However, they could not destroy him. He was more powerful than any of them. Unwilling to battle against the First One and the Old Ones, they came to an agreement with the First One to proxy their battle in the realm of mortals, pitting monster against man."

"What does that have to do with my question?"

"The First One could not trust newborn souls to have his ferocity so he imbues each of them with a small portion of his will that slowly fades as you progress. These are his Progenitors and the center of his conflict with the other gods' humans. Now, his will no longer bolsters your Heart and you are left with only your base essence. This Heart has been nurtured on the path of conflict by the First One himself true, but compared to being directly reinforced? It's weak."

Gi understood, but his mind worked furiously as he tried to understand all the implications of that. One part really seemed dissonant to him though. "If we are basically soldiers in the First One's battle, why are all the monsters here so... humanlike?"

The librarian tsked. "That is too many questionsss. However, it's both a good one and yet still useless so I'll answer it."

The librarian leaned close as though telling Gi a secret, his hissing breath blowing against his fur. "A wolf always has a reason. Alwaysss. It hunts when it is hungry. It fights when it needs to. Even mindless beasts merely act when provided impetus. Only humans seek out cruelty and venom. Only humans enact carnage at levels that are incomprehensible to a simple beast. So for us to be truly monstrous, we must be like humans. The First One is only finishing a game that the mortals had already begun."

That made Gi think of The Father in the vision that Danna had shown him. It was the only one that hadn't had her in it so it seemed important. Was that an example of how to be ruthless? Was that her goal? Was that why as a monster he had a human god?

"Thank you, uh... what was your name again?"

"Felix."

Just then, Poe returned dragging a book over to the counter, having used his expanded size to actually get it there. Gi and Felix simply stared at the dragonfly.

"Boss, let's get this one!" He dropped it onto the counter and then collapsed beside it, shrinking back to his new smaller size. Gi leaned over to check it out. It had a depiction of what looked like a rhino covered in steel plates on the cover. He read the title.

"The Fattest Unicorn..." Gi practically groaned, but he had promised to get Poe whatever he wanted. "Is this covered by my membership?"

"It is..."

Gi picked it up and slipped it into his robe. "Well, thanks again, Felix."

Poe dropped onto his shoulder and the two of them stepped out of the library. He glanced back towards the tent that they'd caused problems at earlier, but they'd already returned to shouting their wares. The body of the goblin he'd killed had been kicked to the side, its brains smeared across the ground.

Gi felt his gag reflex start up again, but he stopped himself by looking away. No, I need to be tougher than this. I need to be dominant. That's what Danna wanted for me. She wanted me to be like The Father. Thoughts of The Father sent a shiver running through him, but he took a deep breath and forced himself to look at the goblin he'd killed. He would do this. He could become strong.

It wasn't as easy as when he'd had the First One's will, but he managed to suppress his weak heart. He could be a true monster just like Danna wanted. And if he was going to be a proper monster, he had one thing he had to take care of before anything else.

"Come on, Poe. We've got some monsters to kill."