Adam explained the subject with enthusiasm, eager to learn more about how the bookshelves worked: that was information no book would tell you. After attentively listening to the information, the blind old man smiled because the boy was talking about something that genuinely mattered to him, and he said:
—A lottery, use, work, secret, karma, and gratitude. It doesn't seem enough; there must be some trick you don't understand, young man.
Adam could grasp the secret of these bookshelves: the more complicated a bookshelf made it, the better the reward it could offer. He had gathered some hints about this valuable information on the day he obtained the mask. But the blind old man had just directly told him the five fundamental factors to consider when dealing with a bookshelf.
—I can think of one more trick...—Adam responded cunningly, opening his eyes again and looking at the blind old man.
—What is it?!—the old man asked quickly and impatiently.
—Is the book I obtained today magical or cursed?—Adam asked with a smile, closing his eyes again to relax in the lake water —It's a good deal... I'm more than sure I'm not mistaken... Remember, I'm a student from that school, and I'm the one who bought the pass to infinity from Cesar: Who else, besides me, would understand the baron's secret?
The blind old man gazed at Adam for a few minutes, knowing deep down that this information was worth half of the books in his bookshelves. It was nothing less than the conditions for someone to achieve such madness, to ascend with a pass. If he could replicate the same, he would become a divine entity to these librarians.
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Possibly, that was the baron's real long-term goal and his riskiest bet. Spreading the information was complicated by the secret, but in a few millennia, myths would start circulating through the aisles of these bookshelves about the possibility of ascending using the baron's schools.
For the blind old man, understanding this was understanding the baron, and understanding the baron was a chance to achieve a high status in this library. This information was opening his mind to the possibility of transforming into a bookshelf that defied infinity and became a god to the librarians.
The baron had accomplished it, but it would take millennia for myths to spread through the bookshelves. Moreover, the blind old man could now prevent it from happening and try to replicate his method. Besides, the blind old man's secret plans were also very ambitious; that's why he raised heroes and having a divine bookshelf nearby could ruin the plans of many bookshelves, including his own.
The blind old man pondered for a good while. He wanted the boy to think he was being deceived, not the other way around. Finally, with a somewhat reluctant voice, the blind old man answered Adam's question:
—It's a magical book, but not very useful...
—Something is better than nothing...—Adam responded with great joy; it seemed that talking with his godfather had taught him something valuable, and today he had obtained costly information —One possible condition could be languages. The more languages you learn, the better the rewards. The school only teaches languages, and all the teachers learn languages like crazy.