I ground my teeth. Slavery was the same anywhere you went. I was so close to killing everyone there that my body was practically flooding with magic. But I couldn’t. There was no possibility for subtlety, and I had no plan. It was suicide. I clenched my fists and walked past the crowd.

It ended up taking the better part of an hour to find the library. The building was relatively small, but I’d take what I could get. An older woman sat, reading, at a desk near the entrance.

“Hi,” I said shortly.

She jumped, my voice seeming to break her immersion and returned her to reality. “Oh, hello,” she said, looking up at me. “The fee is twenty coppers a day.”

I frowned. It didn’t occur to me that I might have to pay. Most of the libraries back in Regence were run by their counties, so people could visit them for free. “Can I not look through the books for free? I don’t intend on buying any.”

“No,” she said, frowning in impatience, “why would you be able to?”

I shook my head. “Nevermind. Are you looking to hire, by any chance?”

Looking up at me again, she replied, “Maybe. You’ll have to talk to Mr. Frake, he owns this library. He’s in his office right now.” She pointed to a door to the right of her desk.

I nodded, then walked over and knocked on the door. After a few seconds, a loud voice spoke. “Yeah?”

I opened the door and went inside. The voice belonged to a scholarly looking, overweight man doing some paperwork behind a desk. He looked up as soon as I came in. “Can I help you?”

I plastered a smile onto my face. “Yes, actually. I’m looking for work, and heard that there might be an open position here.”

“We do indeed have a job for you,” he proclaimed loudly. “Organizing and sorting books, a daytime job. Have you got experience?”

“Yes, I’ve worked in a library before.” No lie there. Student librarian was a coveted position back when I was studying magic.

“Great!” the man practically yelled. “The pay is fifty coppers a day.”

I had no idea how the currency worked here yet, so I just nodded. It didn’t seem like he was ripping me off. “Sure, that’ll work.”

“You can start today. Marie will show you what has to be done.” He talked a little more about the job and gave me a literacy test, then directed me back out to Marie. My job was pretty straightforward--basically just checking and sorting books, plus a bit of cleaning. It was far more tedious work than I was used to. I had always been an energetic person, never able to stay still for too long. The monotonous work was incredibly frustrating.

I was, however, able to read quite a bit, most of it being history. The information was quite disturbing, and I found myself with more questions than before. The world history was interesting, but completely different. Gods and goddesses seemed to play a huge part in it, from the establishment of countries to the destruction of entire species. The fact that corporeal deities were written about in history books seemed weirder than it actually was--people seemed to idolize exceedingly powerful, albeit mortal, individuals. Over time, history became misshapen, becoming almost myths.

Once, I had even come across a village that practically worshipped the prime magus. But, still, not everything had answers.

The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

Everything that I’d seen so far--a different global structure, countries, species, and now history suggested something that I wasn’t sure I liked. I almost didn’t want to entertain the idea. But my best guess was that I, somehow, had been moved to another world.

A few countries and religions suggested the idea of reincarnation, but this was entirely different than what I believe they meant. Then again, no human being had come out of a seal before. There was also the matter of astrology. Philosophers had suggested that it was possible, even probable, for planets like Earth to exist in the universe.

So, of course, many new questions came to mind. Could I go back? Why was I here? Did something bring me to this planet, and were they connected to my understanding of the language? I was never keen on abstract concepts, so I was in way over my head.

Sitting down, I thought about Melissa. She was probably enrolled in a magic academy by now. I tried not to worry about her, because I knew that Katrina would take care of her. Melissa was the only person I loved, and I had to return to her. Doubts invaded my mind--even if I could get back, what was to say that three hundred years hadn’t passed already? I banished those thoughts. There was no point in getting caught up in maybe’s, my goal remained the same. I needed to find the person or thing that could help me.

By the time the sun was setting, I was exhausted. After getting my money, I headed back out onto the street. Marie had suggested an inn called Dreamer’s Tavern when I asked her. She’d warmed up to me over the day, and had proven to be a great source of local knowledge.

First, however, I had an idea I wanted to test. The traffic had gone down outside, so the roads were mostly clear. I walked up to a weapon vendor who had on display an array of swords and daggers.

“How much for your cheapest longsword?” I asked.

The man looked up at me and grunted. “Don’t look much like a swordsman.”

I motioned impatiently. “Hurry up or I’ll find someone else to buy from.”

“Fine,” he scowled, bringing up a sword. “This one here is blunt as all hell, and I reckon it’ll crack soon. Twenty coppers.”

I feigned annoyance.“What? For that piece of junk? The highest I’ll pay is fifteen.”

He shook his head. “Fine, take it.”

We completed the exchange, and I walked away with a glorified hunk of metal. Next, I made my way to Dreamer’s Tavern, a smaller but clean building not too far from the library.

A ruckus greeted me when I pushed open the door. The base floor was crowded with a bunch of heavily-inebriated drinkers. My eyes were drawn to the serving counter, where a young man and woman were taking orders and serving food. The man was normal; the girl, however, was interesting. She looked much more muscular than a human, with light, tan-colored fur layering her arms and hands. A faint magical aura diffused into the air around her.

I walked up to the counter, curiosity overpowering caution. I wanted to question her, but the man next to her caught my eyes and stepped forward. “Hello, sir, how may I help you?” he asked.

I hid my annoyance. “I’d like a room.”

“Very good, sir. A room with one bed costs thirty coppers a night. Food is included, of course,” he smiled.

I handed him most of my remaining money, and he passed me a key. “Mindi, get him a dish.”

Mindi, the strange girl from earlier, handed me a plate filled with bread and meat. I accepted the food, taking the time to examine her aura more closely. It was a series of deceptively simple enchantments that seemed to take ambient mana and convert it into raw strength.

I think I understood what was going on. Different species were endemic to different countries, and any in conflict were subject to slavery. It was certainly something to think about.

After finishing my food, I headed to my room. It was pretty much what I’d expected--basically a wooden box with a mattress. I took out the sword I’d been carrying and looked closely at it. This was the easiest way to make money that I’d thought of.

Putting a force augmentation on the blade wasn’t hard, as I’d done so many times. All I had to do was channel mana, manipulate it into raw force, then jam it into an object. There were definitely many more complexities, but that never bothered me. I was a natural, like almost everyone I met said.

I allowed a small smile to creep up to my face. In a way, operating ‘undercover’ was a relief--nobody treated me like I was some sort of god, nobody threw themself at me in hopes of gaining more power.

After making sure the enchantment fine, I got rid of my mana signature and leakage. That was a bit harder, as I was obsessed with making it perfect. Still, it didn’t take long. Once I was finished, I put the sword away and collapsed onto my bed.