Adam and the bear continued their long journey until they reached the 3rd out of 5 lower floors. Adam wasn't used to venturing so far from the cave, so he was somewhat nervous; escaping this time wouldn't be as easy.

—Alright, now we have to get to hexagon 8 out of 18— said the bear as he led the way down the hallway.

The bookshelves on this floor were adorned just like the 5th lower floor, most of them made of silver and gold. The floors were made of marble, and the lamps remained the same angelic statues seen on the 5th lower floor. However, there was a significant difference that bothered Adam: this floor was completely empty. He didn't come across anyone, nor did he hear any noise.

Noticing the anomaly, the young hero asked the bear about the situation:

—Do you know why there's no one in the main hexagons?

—There are more people here than on the 5th out of 5 lower floors— the bear replied, surprising Adam —But they don't walk through the main hexagons; they live in the secondary ones and usually avoid these hallways.

—Why do they avoid these hallways?— asked Adam: Walking through the secondary hexagons would unnecessarily prolong the journey —It doesn't make any sense.

—Oh, but it does— the bear replied gruffly —There's a creature that kills them if they don't avoid it. So, the librarians living on this floor try to stay away from it.

Adam was frightened by the response and quickly asked:

—Shouldn't we leave these hallways, then?

—Calm down, big guy!— the bear complained, seeming annoyed by the change of plans —The creature is slow; you could run and avoid it, as long as I warn you about it since you can't see it. So just follow me and keep your mouth shut until we reach our destination!

Adam became even more scared and looked around, but everything seemed normal. The bear looked at him as if he were a clown, having just told him that the creature was invisible. Why bother looking around?

The two continued until they reached hexagon 8, and when they entered, Adam was surprised to see the large number of people walking through the hallway of this hexagon. It seemed that more people lived on this floor than on all the middle floors. All the librarians wore shabby white tunics and seemed to ignore each other as they moved through the hallways.

This hexagon seemed to be a residential area. These areas consisted of walls made of doors, side by side, which made the rooms appear like very small squares. But the truth was that if one opened the door, the room was much larger on the other side. Adam knew this because there were similar hexagons on the middle floor, and he had explored them a bit.

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Unlike the wooden doors in the middle floor hexagon that Adam knew, these doors were made of silver and engraved with angelic patterns. The floor followed the same marble decoration as the rest of the lower floors, and the lamps were not angelic statues but torches that emitted a green fire, giving the hallways a greenish hue reflecting off the silver doors.

Adam followed the bear to a corner of the hallways and saw the bear crawl under one of the doors. Adam tried to follow, but the door was locked from the inside.

*Click * Adam heard the door unlock from the other side.

The boy tried to open the door again and this time managed to slip into the room. As soon as he entered, he heard the bear order:

—Close the door before someone else gets in!

Adam obeyed and quickly closed the door. As he closed it, he was hit by an overwhelming rotten smell. It seemed like this was the living room: a large number of beautiful furniture could be seen, along with a very nice fireplace that emitted the same green fire as the torches.

Adam was completely amazed by how beautiful the room was; if it weren't for the rotten smell, it would be a good place to live after he decided to read his magical books and leave the cave.

—You seem surprised— said the bear, watching the curious boy exploring the room and touching all the furniture —Do you know why the lower floors look so nice, kid?

—No, I don't even know why the middle floor is all made of wood— Adam replied as he opened the furniture out of curiosity.

—It's because of promotions and the bookshelves...— the bear replied in a calm voice, as if trying to steer the conversation towards a specific point —The bookshelf that controls this hexagon once had so many promotions that it used them to decorate itself.

—What happened?— Adam asked in surprise, recalling the people in rags outside.

—Nothing...— the bear replied, looking Adam in the face seriously, as if trying to convey some hidden message —Absolutely nothing happened; everything remains the same.

—It doesn't seem possible for someone who can't read to get promoted— said Adam, not understanding how they had managed it.

The bear stared at the beautiful green fire of the fireplace, muttering:

—It's a mistake for librarians to measure the library's times based on their short lives. The lower floors belong to the bookshelves, and not just any kind: they're all magical.

Adam listened to the bear, who was the size of a finger, and for some reason, his slurred voice sounded very mysterious at that moment. The bear continued to deepen his voice even more and commented:

—A very particular group of librarians realized this fact too, so if you don't manage to leave these floors with a black tunic before turning 20, you're as good as dead, kid...

—What?!— asked Adam, unable to believe the bear.

—I'm telling you this because I want my fucking mushrooms!!— the bear shouted, glaring at him. Unfortunately, he was just a cute bear, so his gaze didn't provoke much fear —What you're going to do next, you'd never do unless you knew that your miserable life ends at 20 if you don't leave these floors.

Adam remained silent, listening to the bear; even though it was cute, its words were horrible. The young boy was already taking out his yellow notebook because he didn't trust the bear, who had asked him to kill someone not too long ago.

The bear looked back at the fire, took a deep swig from his bottle, and threw it into the fire, conjuring another bottle in his hand. Without turning around, he shouted at Adam angrily:

—Listen carefully, you dumbass! You're going to go to the bathroom and look inside. Then, you'll ask your godfather until your hands bleed from writing so much. When all the tears on your face dry up, and your nose has no more snot to dirty your tunic. You're going back to the bathroom to get the smell, and that's how we'll get the damn box!