Four days of blisters and the blistering sun, and Vesper was still miserable. The hard earth was barely any better than it had been before Vesper started working for Olbin. And Olbin… Vesper couldn't stand Olbin. He was lazy and condescending. Vesper had never seen Olbin leave his hut and work the field himself. At this rate, even with Olbin's help, the field would not be ready for planting before summer. Turnips didn't grow themselves.

Today was better, though. According to the King's decree, Vesper had today off. Grunkor was even willing to comp Vesper the room for the day.

Vesper had reservations about Grunkor at first, but after a few nights staying at Grunkor's inn, the goblin showed to be an alright innkeeper. For the most part, he left Vesper alone and was friendly enough. Vesper didn't know much about Grunkor or how a goblin had managed to buy an inn. Someday, Vesper would spend time getting to know Grunkor, but today was not that day.

Today was not to be wasted. The not-so-grand but still ancient library of Lucridge stood before Vesper. He entered the door and beelined his way towards Quill.

"Ah, you're back. Your name is Vesper, right? Asked Quill, who was reading some book in front of him.

"Do you have any material on how to read?" Vesper asked, only slightly embarrassed.

"Huh. You're a [bookworm]. I'm pretty sure reading is one of the requirements." Quill paused.

"Yeah. I don't know how to read. So what? Can I get some materials on how to read?"

Quill stared at Vesper, stunned. He didn't quite believe his ears, a [bookworm] who didn't know how to read? That was like a fish who didn't know how to swim or a bear who didn't know how to hunt. Quill couldn't shake the queasy feeling in his stomach. Guilty. Quill already felt guilty for denying Vesper a job. It was unusual for libraries to deny any book-related class, and the fact that Vesper was helpless only made Quill feel worse.

"I might be able to show you the letters, and somewhere there are some beginner illustrated books I can get for you." Maybe this would ease Quill's guilt. That was what Quill hoped anyway.

"Thanks!" Vesper said, plopping down across from Quill.

"Oh. You want to do it now?" Quill said, flustered. He closed his book.

"Yes. The sooner I get on it, the better."

"By the gods. It's one of the few holidays of this cycle, and you want to spend it learning to read? Well, you're studious at the very least.

Quill stood and began wandering around the library, plucking books from the shelves. With books in hand, Quill returned. He also brought some parchment and a quill and ink.

These are the 23 letters…

It was a slow process, repeatedly going through the different letters and sounding out their sounds. Why Quill forced Vesper to repeatedly go over the sounds, Vesper didn't know. It seemed monotonous and a waste of precious time. But Vesper knew that Quill knew more about letters, so he didn't complain.

The fun part was when Quill showed Vesper the simple books and let him slowly read through them by sounding out each syllable. He was still a long way off from reading anything noteworthy, but it was a step in the right direction.

"And that should do it." Said Quill, relieved his time teaching was over. He found teaching frustrating, something that requires much more patience than what he had. "You'll have to come to the library to see the books. I'm afraid we don't have any local wizards for a bookportation system to be set up."

"A what?" Vesper asked.

"Bookportation. It's when mages place teleportation and protection spells on checked-out books to have them teleported back to the library after they're overdue. Practically indestructible unless you have access to Phoenix fire or liquid rot." Quill looked horror-stricken after saying those last few words as if reliving the trauma of those terrible moments of torn pages and lost words.

"What's liquid rot?" Vesper asked.

"True evil. Warriors who claim that demons and void horrors are the plagues of this world are mistaken. Liquid rot, Vesper. That's truly horrifying. Imagine watching books slowly decompose until their words are lost to the sands of time." Said Quill, his voice filled with Vitriol.

"I'll watch out for liquid rot," Vesper said, the placating Quill.

"Yes, make sure you do. Even the smallest drop of that stuff can rot a few pages." Quill paused. "I'm afraid I have work to get done. If you need anything, feel free to ask. This library is old, and not all the books are cataloged, but I'll try my best to find what you need."

"Thanks, Quill. I'll stick with these books now."

Vesper kept reading, slowly sounding out each word. Oblivious to Vesper, who was too focused on the words in front of him, Quill was having trouble focusing with Vesper talking. He tried everything to block the noise, covering his ears, plugging them with paper, and moving to the far side of the room. Quill would never stoop so low as to interrupt learning. No good [scholar] would. Quill would be lying, though, if he said the noises weren't grating on his nerves. Twice already, Vesper had mispronounced some of the rarer vowel cases.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

Quill cherished his sweet relief from Vesper's vocals when Vesper realized that the sun was already setting. He'd lost track of time. Vesper briefly panicked when he realized he had to put back his books, only to remember that he'd gotten a skill for that. Excitement overtook him as he cast [Shelve Book]. The books in Vesper's hand whizzed towards the bookshelf, like a homing fireball, lodging itself snuggly between two old books.

"Ah, you're actually a [bookworm]. I believe you, but, uh, had a bit of doubt after learning you didn't know how to read."

"Yeah, I am," Vesper lied. If only Quill knew Vesper had a rare class, then maybe Vesper wouldn't have to farm. At least that was what Vesper thought.

Vesper wished he could've stayed and worked on his class longer, but the King's holiday was coming to a close. Back to farming for Olbin, he shuddered, thinking about his torn up and blistered hands.

Like usual, Vesper showed up on time to dig in Olbin's field without Olbin leaving his little shack. The exchange of coins at the end of the day was the only time Vesper saw Olbin. To say Vesper was curious about what Olbin did all day was an understatement. Booze was the most likely explanation and would explain his breath.

Vesper looked down at the small amount of work that he'd done. It was hardly noticeable, and Olbin never bothered to check. An idea was forming in Vesper's mind: a flawed idea. Vesper wasn't a [thief], but was it really stealing if the work was pointless? He simply didn't need to farm every day. Olbin never paid close attention to the work Vesper accomplished.

It was about time that Vesper spent time figuring out how to level his class. Vesper convinced himself it was an investment that would reward Olbin handsomely. If Vesper could become even slightly proficient at reading, maybe he'd find a solution in one of the library's countless books.

Vesper strolled to the library and poked Quill on his back, causing the poor [scribe] to jolt, banging his knees on the table. "Ouch!" Quill yelped as he hopped around in mild pain.

"By the gods, you frightened me, Vesper. Also, you do know the King's holiday was yesterday."

"I know. It's none of your business what I do with my time." Vesper scowled.

"True enough. I remember when the head [scholar] would pry into what I was reading, that nosy bastard. Imp romance novels are perfectly respectful, yet I never lived that down."

"Too much information, Quill." Vesper groaned. "Can you find me some more books, preferably something a little bit harder?"

"Yes. But you're allowed to browse the fine selection in this library. If you couldn't tell, I'm busy trying to keep this library running. So far, I've made little headway. Noble sponsors are hard to come by, and all six of my requests to meet with the city council have been denied. Can you believe that so many people want to see such an iconic landmark crumble to dust?"

"Yeah. The library is a money sink that does nothing to line the pockets of the council."

"I'll have you know the indirect benefits of a well-functioning library, far outweigh the economic costs to maintain such a facility."

"Do libraries cut logs?"

Quill narrowed his eyes.

"No, libraries don't cut logs."

"Then there is no point in having a library." Reasoned Vesper.

Quill shook his head, disappointed.

"That's faulty thinking, but I'll go grab you some books and mind my own business." Quill stood and walked across the rows plucking books.

Vesper sensed the general theme from Quill's selection. Among the pile was The Value of Reading, The Great Fall to Ignorance for Children, and Elementary Education and Industry. Vesper shrugged and started reading, albeit slowly. He tried to use his skill [increase reading speed], but it didn't work when he read the words aloud. He didn't know enough written words to read in his head yet.

For a children's book, The Great Fall to Ignorance for Children sure did have a lot of visceral decapitation prose. One chopped head, followed by another, Vesper became confused on who chopped whose head off, about halfway throughout the book. He did find the few pages on Malakzor the Tyrant burning down half the libraries in the kingdom interesting. It ended with the boring part on the collapse of bureaucracies which Vesper skipped. It was better to be bored wandering through the library's many books than bored while reading one.

Was roaming the seemingly endless shelves of books a good use of Vesper's time? It was not. Nevertheless, Vesper roamed the library, running his hand down the spine of books, reading their names.

[Keeper of Secrets] - 1,200 Exp Gained. Congratulations, you reached level 2! Congratulations, you've reached level 3!

Vesper froze, his face pale. Vesper trembled, looking around to see if Quill was paying attention to him. Leveling wasn't easy; it took months, if not years, for the average class to gain levels, and he'd just gained two levels instantly. Of course, skills were gained only every ten levels, class upgrades every twenty.

What had happened? Vesper had been wasting his time, not doing anything in particular. Just reading the names of books as he slowly walked down the isles. Vesper eyed the book his finger touched. It was an ordinary book that looked like any other, except dirtier and not very interesting. Yet this was the book that he'd been touching when he leveled, and that was far more interesting than any of the books on Kingdom Wars, Imp Romance, or Elven Comedy.

It was not easy to pull out the book wedged in between two other wedged books, as if it had been in this library for so long that bindings had fused together. It was enough of a deterrent to stop a casual observer from plucking the uninteresting book from the shelf. Vesper, however, wasn't a casual observer and wrestled the stuck book. Pop! Vesper stumbled onto his butt as the book was dislodged.

Although the cover looked old and wrinkled, the pages stayed a pristine white. An ominous red eye was engraved into the cover, but that didn't stop Vesper from opening the book. Inside the book was a language far different from the one he was taught by Quill. Wherever this book came from, it wasn't local. Or at least that was what Vesper figured.

"Are you doing alright back there, Vesper? Need any help finding what you're looking for?" Quill hollered. It might've been rude, but Vesper and Quill were the only people in the library. Quill had grown used to having the place to himself and didn't mind raising his voice within the library's halls.

Vesper quickly shoved the book where he'd found it as Quill rounded the corner.

"Ah, there you are. It's getting late, Vesper. I'm closing down the library for the night; I have some business with the council I need to attend to." Quill eyed Vesper suspiciously.

"No, no. Nothing happened here. All the books in this row are perfectly normal."

"You're acting strange, Vesper. Wait… Is that Imp Romance right over there? I didn't take you for the romantic type. The other scribes might've made fun of me for my interest in the subject, but I won't. I'm quite a fan myself." Quill walked over and plucked Damsel and Demon from a shelf and handed it to Vesper.

"Um... Thank you. Yes, I'm into Imp romance." Vesper lied. He didn't dare pull out or even look at the strange book he'd found.

"Take it. Normally I wouldn't let you take books out of the library, but I haven't met any scholars that find the value in these pages. Plus, every good [Bookworm] should have some late-night reading material."

"Thanks, Quill."

"No problem. Quill responded.