Adam's godfather also seemed quite agitated, crossing things out in his notebook, erasing and crossing them out again. When his godfather reached a good combination, Adam couldn't understand what he had written due to the heavily scratched biography pages. His godfather noticed the mistake, erased the content of the pages, and instead wrote:

'The best option from my perspective is to choose: Track footprints, Highlight clues, and Anti-blindness.

Track footprints: It helps us trace some dangerous or very useful creatures. Seems like a good choice.

Highlight clues: It will help us understand some secrets of the bookshelves. It may save our lives and open up other options in the future.

Anti-blindness: It's the best in the store: Take it no matter what! Take it, and your life will be filled with joy! It's the key to your future, kid!'

Adam looked at the instructions and asked again, 'Wouldn't it be better to take something that helps us fight? There's an option that allows you to set fire to what you see.'

His godfather responded by crossing out his question and angrily writing:

'That's a curse, you fool! How can you read a book if you're going to set it on fire!

Just like tracking footprints, it's something that always works. Imagine seeing the ground stained with another color, and your new floor color will be the footprints of the librarians.

But remember: You're not a warrior; you're a librarian! We don't seek to save the world from danger like brave heroes; we seek to come out alive like cowards! Although everyone despises cowards, in the end, cowards tell the stories of the brave!

Take what I said and add a design that hides your eyes from the librarians, but allows you to read: Be careful with your words! This bookshelf doesn't lie with its rules, but it can still ruin your life if you ask for something lightly.'

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

Adam thought it over, especially the words about the design of the eyepiece. He didn't want to get something useless. After some time, he explained the details of his design to the person made of pebbles.

—Well, that would be a total of 310 pages of characters,— the merchant commented with great surprise when he saw that the customer wanted everything. It seemed like it hadn't happened in a long time —It's 300 for the enchantments and 10 for assembly.

After saying that, the pebble person searched the room for a while until he found a green notebook. With the notebook in hand, he asked:

—How many questions do you plan to answer?

—None. I'll pay with the 310 pages of characters— Adam said, looking suspiciously at the bookshelf's reaction. The last thing he wanted was for it to break its rules at the last minute.

—Are you going to pay with all the pages? That's odd; it hasn't happened in a very long time— said the pebble person, his voice sounding somewhat bitter when he said that —Pass me your identification card, and we'll see if you really have the pages.

Adam handed over his ID card and then placed his finger on the green notebook. When Adam's data was scratched into the notebook, a very sad expression appeared on the merchant's face, and tears began to flow from his single eye. His tears were quite unusual; they were black and seemed to be made of ink.

Immediately after, the pebble person burst into loud sobs, startling Adam; the boy had never seen such an emotional bookshelf before, nor did he even know they could cry.

A considerable amount of time passed, and the bookshelf, amidst its tears, said:

—What a bitter time you have to live in, young one. And even more so for a hero. You have a dark path ahead of you.

—Why is it a bad time?— asked the scared, red-haired boy.

In Adam's opinion, this bookshelf must be one of the most important on the middle floors, and for it to tell him that bad times were coming was dreadful.

—It is not the duty of bookshelves to answer the questions of librarians— the merchant replied amid sobs —But books can: study the history of the stone bookshelf.

After saying that, the merchant approached the white rabbit plush and showed it to Adam, saying:

—The reward for having amassed so much fortune in this life is to have your name in my store.

Adam looked at the white rabbit; the inscription on the heart that the rabbit held had changed, and now it said: 'Adam'