—A slave who breaks his shield in a few months? It seems that the citadel is about to reactivate, or are you someone special among the slaves?... I see you're almost 600 years old... You must be very patient, aren't you?

Adam immediately stopped reading. Someone with a very lively and cheerful voice spoke from behind him. With a hint of fear, the young hero turned around to see who it was.

Adam saw a man sitting on a log, looking very well-dressed in a formal and elegant suit, a top hat, and a gold cane with a silver eagle at its ends. Half of the man's face was hidden by a silver mask in the shape of an eagle, and the other half was covered by a long, white beard that hid his entire mouth and chin.

The masked man observed Adam looking bewildered and spoke with a cheerful voice:

—You can sit down, my boy. Even if you were once a slave, now you're a wizard. There's no need to be so formal in this conversation.

Adam glanced around, still feeling uneasy about the unfamiliar old man. He had ignored the fact that he was no longer in the cave and seemed to be inside the book.

Right now, Adam found himself on a beach by the sea, seemingly at night, with a masked man sitting on a log warming his hands by a campfire in front of him.

The young hero moved hesitantly to sit on one end of the log beside the masked man. At this moment, Adam needed information, and this man seemed to be the only way to continue the story and complete the challenge set by the book.

Seeing Adam sit down by the fire, the masked man asked curiously:

—My name is David, what's yours?

Adam looked at him cautiously. He remembered the advice: "Keep your mouth shut until the end". The masked man saw that Adam didn't respond and said with a few coughs:

—*Coff*...*Coff*... I didn't mean it literally about keeping your mouth shut.,.*Coff*...*Coff*...My bad. I forgot about your status as a slave. I suppose in your primitive mind, you take everything literally.

Even though the masked man was revealing information that only a wizard would know, Adam remained suspicious and scrutinized him. He didn't want a part of him to explode from talking too much, like it did in the last book he read.

—You can speak, kid. No one will punish you— David said, seeming eager to talk, which was unusual for the librarians Adam knew.

Adam focused on the long, messy beard of the masked man. A mole formed on Adam's ear, and he murmured:

—He feels uncomfortable with your silence, but the old ugly man isn't lying...

Upon hearing the information, Adam confirmed that this masked man was the ancient wizard he spoke to in the book, so he quickly spoke to avoid further discomfort to the one who would help him complete this challenge:

—My name is Adam, but I'm not a slave. There are no slaves on the middle floors. The gold and silver floors were inhabited by lunatics in my time.

—Then, why are you still wearing robes?— the masked man responded with some distaste —But I don't doubt your words. It's quite possible that all the wizards reached their peak and ascended together.

—The robes represent status in my time— Adam said, proudly showing his black robe to the wizard —Only the bookshelves seek something as trivial as decorations, desperately trying to catch our attention.

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

—Really? It seems like you lived in an excellent time— David said joyfully. There seemed to be a smile under his beard, judging from his happy tone—I suppose you've already noticed, but my duty is to protect young wizards until their initiation: that is, your fifth magical book. The sixth one is an addition for having good karma.

—Yes, a bookshelf told me that. Are you still alive, or are you like a godfather?— Adam asked, looking at the bearded man.

—I don't know what a godfather is, but I didn't die— David said, moving his beard strangely —Wizards don't die, they ascend... when they grow tired of living.

—In my time, ascensions are rare, so people die— Adam said with some regret at not having lived in the golden and silver floor era.

—It's logical. Everything is cyclical— David said, looking at the fire —The ancient librarians struggled to ascend just as much as the recent ones do... However, there's no need to worry about that because you can escape the cycle quite easily.

—How can I ascend easily?— Adam asked curiously.

—Climb up or down the stairs until you reach floors where times are golden— David said, looking at the fire —If the library is infinite, infinite are its possibilities. You just have to move enough until you find another citadel full of wizards, heroes, scholars, hermits, and so on...

Adam was a little disappointed by the answer. He understood that if something like that were easy to find, rumors would spread everywhere, and he would have to climb floors his whole life just to find such a place.

—Do you know where I can get more information about the wizards?— Adam asked. The eyeless old man didn't answer this question, so it was better to ask a wizard directly.

—If there are few wizards in your time, you'll have to discover on your own— David said with some regret —You can also ask magical books or bookshelves, but not those on your floors... Look for floors without librarians nearby, where the bookshelves value you more than their rules.

—Do you know what changes occur in a wizard's body?— Adam asked with concern —Is there a way to avoid or correct them?

—Poor thing...— David said with even more pity —You can regenerate what's lost and have some fun, but wizards can't have children, so we take the children of slaves as our pupils.

—But what do we gain by not having children?— Adam asked with urgency. This topic seemed to matter to him a lot.

—Love...— David replied, looking at the fire nostalgically —It's complicated for our kind to think about others. In exchange for losing parts of your body, the path of the wizard turns you into a less cold and more emotional being. The first emotion you obtain is the ability to value your disciples or adopted children.

—Only love? Don't we gain anything practical?— Adam said incredulously, not feeling any strange emotions since he lost his manhood —It seems like we lose more than we gain in this religion...

—No parent loves their children...— David replied reflectively —It's a mental condition of our kind: we feel obligated not to be able to inherit anything. It's a shame that you never had children, so you can't understand what you gained...

—But my father...— Adam wanted to say that his father loved him until he went completely insane, but then he remembered that he was almost 600 years old, more of an adoptive father than a real one—That's why there are so few children?

—Yes, in part...— David said, looking at Adam with some curiosity about his era —That's what eventually leads to the appearance of deserted floors. It's a way to make sure the secrets remain secrets forever...

—So, our species is doomed to extinction?— Adam asked, arriving at the most terrible conclusion of this idea.

—Yes... over time... the library will be empty— David responded slowly —However, there are bookshelves that oppose the library and seek to change this fate.

—Which bookshelves would those be?— Adam asked. He believed he knew the answer, but having the chance to confirm it was better.

The wizard brought his hands closer to the fire and looked at it for a while, as if he wanted to verify something, before calmly answering Adam's question:

—The citadel of the wizards has some rather rare bookshelves called 'The Day Care Centers.' Or, more accurately, to guard this bookshelf and give it all our ascents is that the citadel exists. When the entire infinite library approaches the extinction of our species, the wizard's plan will be carried out, and the day care centers will start functioning, saving our race.

—But...— Adam said with concern. —The day care centers are already functioning...

—Then you're definitely an idiot— David said quite seriously, not seeming to joke with his insult —You chose the worst religion possible for these times. Wizards are emotional and don't fare well in solitude. You need the company of another wizard... Or you will die.

—Is there no way to deal with solitude through reading?— Adam asked with concern, not wanting to be depressed again.

—As a wizard, no... but you're a hero— the old man said, looking at Adam's glasses —Heroes don't give up, villains don't suffer, so those paths may end up saving you from suicide.