The old blind man looked at the cake that Adam had bought. Even though it was still unopened, it seemed like the young hero was so excited that he had forgotten about the cake. With joy and curiosity to see what it was like, the old blind man reminded him:
—Are you going to eat your celebration cake, young man?
—Yes, do you want some? So I won't eat it all by myself... — Adam replied with a smile, setting the cake on his desk.
—No, I can't eat... — said the old blind man without any regret. It had never crossed his mind to eat a librarian's food. But he was always curious whenever he saw a closed box— Enjoy your party. Meanwhile, I'll prepare a list with my magic books for you.
Adam happily opened the box containing the cake. As he did, confetti burst into the air, startling him. Then, on top of the chocolate cake, a message began to form with filling:
> "Congratulations on receiving the black robe, Adam!"
The young hero felt thrilled and tasted the cake, along with the coffee he had bought to celebrate. Unfortunately, the coffee was a total disappointment for Adam as it was quite bitter, and he didn't really enjoy bitter flavors. However, the cake was delicious, and Adam relished every bite until the old blind man handed him a list of his magic books.
The young man opened the biography of his godfather and asked for a combination of four possible books. The list included 85 magic books, but many of them would result in immediate death if Adam used them. Others had conditions like language or other requirements that the boy couldn't meet. Consequently, only 46 books remained that could be used immediately. It was a considerable number of potential magic books, but it's worth noting that the old blind man was a bookshelf native to the wooden floors, where books in that language were abundant.
Most importantly, the list included the other books that Adam had obtained during his childhood, and as a result, it also listed the consequences of reading them.
The first magic book obtained by Adam, 'Golden Vegetables', was a book covered in metal chains with a wooden cover and a few yellow pages inside. The name of the book usually had no relation to its effect. Thus, Adam wasn't surprised to discover that the effect of the first book he had obtained allowed him to breathe underwater. In essence, the book was quite useless since there were hardly any places where it could be of any help, but it might come in handy to solve some problem.
This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.
The second magic book that Adam won, 'An Hour of Adventures', was an ordinary black book. Its effect didn't seem to be very impressive, as it only served to automatically create a map of the areas you had explored. To use it, you needed drawing paper, a type of not-so-expensive character sheet that could be bought wholesale at the bank.
The third magic book that Adam found had no name and was made of human skin. The book's effect was to reincarnate the creature whose death created the book. In other words, it was a resurrection method used by the Toy Maker, making it unusable.
The fourth magic book, 'Ham and Cheese', was a brown leather book, and its function was to make Adam's thumb emit a faint light similar to an oil lamp. This book turned out to be utterly useless: there were hundreds of items that did the same, but Adam figured it might be useful in some strange situation, so it was better to read it.
—But what rubbish books I got!—Adam complained, looking at the list with disappointment.
—They may be useless to you, but creating Toy Makers is pure gold for me!—The old blind man exclaimed with joy —And besides, the black book is very powerful. I'm sure someone gave it to you on purpose, kid.
—Creating a few measly maps? All the floors have 18 hexagons...—Adam said angrily —Besides, a creature gave it to me, not a librarian.
—It may not be useful to you, Adam—said the old blind man with a mysterious smile—But it's useful for your race. There are no secrets in your maps: you'll be a pathmaker, and for millennia, your maps will be remembered!
—I doubt it... the librarians don't even remember the names of those who ascend—Adam said angrily. He owed the wooden bookshelves a favor because of this book. It was obvious they had high expectations of him, and he was disappointed to find out its useless effect —Those who read my maps will surely die of boredom from seeing the same 18 hexagons repeated for eternity.
—Unfortunately, you don't understand how important that book is...—the old blind man said with some annoyance at the boy's anger—Anyway, I'll figure out a way to copy your maps. That's the advantage of being linked to my cave.
—Of course, the best investment of your life, right?—Adam said ironically, seeing the effects of his four useless books. —And on top of that, I have to learn a language from scratch to read this crap: What a disgusting book!
—You'll understand it in the future, quite near actually—the old blind man replied mysteriously.
—Oh, my great future! But I'm more interested in my past. You're finally going to tell me 'the truth'—Adam said with irony. He had spent so much time with the old blind man that he didn't think he'd ever tell him. —Come on, tell me: Who was I in my previous life?
—You were... a child named Adam—the old blind man replied, laughing like a scoundrel —Bring your father to my cave, and I'll tell you everything.
Adam smiled ironically upon hearing the redundant answer from the old blind man and said with self-mockery:
—First, the black robe, and now you want me to bring my father: What's next? Another magic book. I don't even know why I doubt it.