The monk looked down from his bookshelf as the two children clung to the legs of the young hero, and observed Adam trying to make his way down the long hallway with annoyance. After thinking for a moment, the monk spoke cheerfully:

—Oh, young hero, because of your great deeds, the kind-hearted librarians trust you. You are a hero in their hearts! Just show them the way, and they'll follow you to battle.

Adam turned around and watched the monk vanish into his bookshelf after saying that. Following his intuition, Adam took off his glasses and looked into the eyes of the two children.

The two kids stared at him in bewilderment, and Adam yelled as if giving an order:

—Let go of my legs and let me walk!

The two children looked less bewildered but clung even tighter to the young hero's legs, as if fearing that he would escape and leave them in this unfamiliar aisle. Adam observed their reaction and realized he must be doing something wrong: bookshelves don't usually give meaningless advice, so there must be some secret in the monk's words.

The redhead tried again, looking at the kids intently, but this time, he tried to ask them to let go differently. With a tired voice, the young hero said, dragging his words:

—Please, would you release my legs so we can solve this problem and all go back home...

However, the children still wouldn't let go, and they seemed even more frightened now. Apolo even started crying on Adam's leg out of fear, making everything even more complicated.

Upon hearing the child's cries, several heads formed on the nearby bookshelves and stared suspiciously at Adam. The blind old man also appeared on his bookshelf and shouted with concern:

—Do you want to get killed that badly?! Make the boy stop crying, you idiot!

Adam, bewildered, looked at the bookshelves in the aisles, and the old man wasn't lying: they had the same look they had when the baron looked at Sofia that time. It seemed like they were contemplating whether to attack or not.

Terrified, Adam tried again: he knelt on the floor to be at the children's eye level, causing them to let go of him. Then, the young hero looked into the children's eyes with fear and pleaded desperately:

—Please, don't cry, or they'll kill me!

Upon hearing the young hero's pleas, both Apolo and Hermes burst into tears and hugged Adam. It seemed like in the children's minds, they had wandered into a terrifying forest at this moment and were too scared to take a simple step. Adam observed as more bookshelves popped their heads out due to the commotion, and even a giant wooden head was forming in the middle of the wooden hallway.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

The giant head seemed to belong to a sick old man: his wrinkled face was made of rotten and broken wood, and several parts of his face seemed to be missing. The old man's head had lumps of moss growing all over his head, making it look like malignant tumors. Apart from that, the sick old man had no facial features, and the only decoration he had was an arrow that seemed to pierce through his entire head.

—Damn it! Are you doing this on purpose, kid?—the blind old man yelled with desperation; if things continued this way, he would waste 10 mushrooms and lose his hero.

With hatred for having forced him to give more advice, the blind old man shouted:

—Idiot! Remember, what phrase did you say every time you left my cave?

—A good day of adventures...—Adam murmured fearfully, seeing how the giant head had just formed a large eye in the middle of its face, which almost occupied its entire face.

—Damn it...—the blind old man said as a tiny eye formed on the forehead of the sick old man, above the giant eye. Looking at Adam with concern, the blind old man did not give any more advice and hid in his bookshelf, as if trying to avoid participating in what would happen next.

—You've got to be kidding me...—Adam muttered incredulously as an idea popped into his head.

However, the young hero noticed that a mouth with sharp teeth was forming inside the giant eye of the sick old man. Understanding that there was no time to hesitate, Adam stood up abruptly and turned his back on the giant head.

The young hero looked at the two children who had fallen to the ground due to his sudden movement. Then, with his hands on his hips, and trying to feign as much bravery as possible, the young hero yelled with excitement:

—Yes, this adventure is dangerous! Yes, these aisles are infernal! But don't be afraid! Because the red-haired hero is here to save you! Let's go get those sweets, kids!

The two children stopped crying as if a spark had ignited in their brains and stood next to Adam, but this time, they weren't afraid and didn't cling to the young boy's legs.

—Yes, a true hero doesn't hesitate... not even in the face of their own stupidity— said the old, sick man with a hoarse and fierce voice from behind Adam. It was as if creaking wooden planks accompanied his words, and a putrid smell emanated along with his voice.

Cold sweat started to appear on Adam's back, but despite the fear that consumed him inside, he tried to maintain a forced and confident smile on his face for the two children who were looking at him attentively, ignoring what was behind him.

Adam noticed that something was staining his feet, and from the corner of his eyes, while keeping his gaze fixed on the children, he desperately saw a reddish ink-like substance enveloping both the kids' feet and his own.

Gathering all his courage, Adam continued his speech with the determination of a hero who knows that his life depends on these words:

—It seems we've encountered a very dangerous beast! But as long as you believe in me and move forward: We will survive! Repeat after me: Heroes never fail!

—Heroes never fail! Heroes never fail!—shouted the two children, raising their arms with excitement as they prepared for the battle.

Hearing their cheers, Adam mustered more courage and turned around to face the gaze of the old, sick man. However, as he turned, the young hero was stunned to find that none of the three were in the wooden aisles of the middle floor anymore, and the giant head could no longer be seen anywhere.