Uncharacteristically, I find myself spending my morning in the Library. I had already informed Titan that I wouldn’t be able to help today. He didn’t press for any further details, merely giving me a monotone “OK” before stomping away, leaving crushed rocks in his wake. How does he even move with a body that heavy? Things from other worlds really are no joke.

It seems that I’m getting lost in thought again. Well, I can’t blame myself; scouring the Library for a big enough book does get quite boring.

I continue rummaging through bookshelves. “Hey, Librarian, you got anything bigger than this?” I shout over my shoulder, waving a rather large book in the air.

“How many times do I have to tell you? I don’t know! Stop pestering me!” She yells back from behind the clerk’s desk, clearly agitated. “And stop calling me ‘Librarian’!” She hastily adds, before returning to her book.

What a bad temper that Librarian has. I’m sorry, but no one is remembering that long-ass name you have. Besides, you’re so easy to wind up, I can’t help but continue. Your reactions are way too good.

“Sorry, what should I call you then? Nerd? Bookworm? Loner?”

Oof, it seems like the facts were too much for her. That face of hers turned red real fast. Did I go too far?

“Anyways!” She coughs while adjusting her glasses, “Why do you even need a big book?”

“Why else? For paper of course.” To demonstrate my point, I tear a page from the book, its soul-scribed text dissipating as it’s removed. The pages regenerate so it should be fine-

Gasp

I turn at the sound. Hmm? What do we have here?

“What’s with that expression Miss Librarian? You look like you’ve just watched your family get murdered…” Trailing off, a devious grin spreads across my face. “Oh wait, you spend more time with books than people, so technically they are your- “

“Just shut up!” She erupts, her face practically burning with rage. “You’re just here to annoy me again, aren’t you? If so, just leave!” She yells, throwing furious gestures. “And also, call me by my name! Say it with me! Se-ra-pho-ri-an-ve-li-a!”

“The-ra-nope, way too long.” My hands instinctively fly to my ears, protecting me from the torrent of obscenities that followed.

After a while, she finally calms down. “If you need paper that big, couldn’t you just get some from Aerilith?”

Oh yeah, Aerilith. The Librarian’s is almost on par with her’s. She never appears for meals. Instead. We leave food at her doorstep, which she always finishes. She even leaves a small thank-you note each time. How sweet. Now, let’s compare that to the profanity pissing Librarian we have over here. Hmm, yeah, not a great look.

“I’m going to be honest, I almost forgot she existed.”

“Heh, you did?” the Librarian smirks. “Are you so stupid that you can’t even remember seven other people?”

What, you think you still have any chance at redeeming yourself? A half-baked comeback like that will never beat me! “She’s always holed up inside that hut of hers, I rarely see her. Also, I don’t hear from her regularly either since I’m not part of the loner squad, so… “

“Get out!”

Welp, looks like the fun’s over. There isn’t much left for me to do here anyways, getting that paper is my top priority. The sooner I can get started, the better. Guess it’s time to go pay Aerilith a surprise visit.

After tucking in my seat and reorganising the bookshelves, I weave my way between chairs and tables as head off towards the door, which has already begun to open…

A quick dive sends me under a nearby table. Shit! That was a close one. It almost slipped my mind that this could happen.

Sneaking a peek reveals an unassuming Lyria trotting in through the door. “Asrion! Asrion… Asrion?” She says to herself.

Lyria never has anything to do, so of course when she gets bored, she’d come to ‘play’ with the youngest of the bunch – that is me. The Library is the last place an idiot like her would go to, I bet you she’s already looked everywhere else.

Blankly, she scans the grandeur of the Library like a searchlight. I tuck myself deeper under the table, praying that she doesn’t find me. Some moments later, her search ends abruptly as her eyes finally lock onto something.

“Loner girl!”

Thankfully, it’s not me.

“Loner girl-Loner girl-Loner girl!”

Lyria begins her assault on the poor Librarian, hopping around her while shouting incoherently. Tugging on her black hair and clothes. This stupid girl, who doesn’t possess even a single shred of empathy, probably thinks nothing of the now trembling Librarian, who appears to be on the verge of tears.

Well, the perfect opportunity has presented itself. It would be rather rude of me not to take advantage of it. I tiptoe my way over to the door before dashing out, ignoring the desperate cries echoing from behind me.

…

After knocking for the tenth time, my patience wears thin. Ok, fine, one more time. This’ll be it, just watch.

I take a deep breath…

And barrage the door with a series of blows. “I know you’re in there!” I scream. “So just open the damn door!”

Still no response huh? Well, unfortunately, that leaves me with no choice but to return later. What? You thought I was gonna be all like, ‘never give up!’? I’m not stupid, it’s not like waiting here would change any-

This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

“Coming…”

A soothing voice catches me off guard, monotone yet musical, its softness washes away my pent-up frustration.

The door unlocks and I’m welcomed by a woman, slightly taller than me. Her skin bears an otherworldly shade pale, making her appear almost lifeless, if not for the faint flush of her cheeks. Long, dishevelled golden hair cascades around her shoulders, while her pristine silver dress flows gently in the breeze.

“Oh my…” the woozy voice says. “Look who it is, it’s…” her diamond eyes stare into space, half-shut.

“I believe the word you’re looking for is ‘Asrion’.” A bit shocked by her appearance, my voice defaults to formal.

“Ah, yes, the new one…” she yawns.

The conversation has already come to a standstill, replaced with an awkward silence. We stand facing each other from either side of the door. Hmm, what to say, what to say?

“May I come inside? I need to discuss something.”

“Ahh… let me ask for permission…” She starts to retreat back into the hut.

Wait, get permission from who though?

“No, that won’t be necessary.” I quickly interject. I’ve always heard that she was a bit, well, ‘out of it’, but seeing her up close proves that to be a heavy understatement. “I’m just here to get some paper.”

“Well then… come inside... “

I follow Aerilith into the hut, stepping over small puddles of paint, tipped over buckets, brushes, and other unfamiliar analogue art equipment. The room is a chaotic mess of colours, filled with the stench of paint, both fresh and dry. The only items spared are a bed and an upright easel, displaying a half-finished painting. To put it bluntly, the atmosphere feels woozy, much like Aerilith herself. The sensation is akin to a fever dream. Despite the disordr, her unblemished, almost ethereal appearance sharply contrasts with the mess surrounding her.

We reach the corner of the hut, where a stack of large papers, around A3 size, lies. Aerilith crouches down and grabs a sheet, offering it to me.

“Here you go…”

Uhm…

“May I have one that’s preferably blank?”

“Oh…” Her voice sounds emotionless, but slightly disappointed. She looks down at the paper, smudged with paint. She sluggishly places it back onto the pile before digging out another one.

“Here…”

“I believe that one is more red than white.”

We repeat this same exchange countless times until eventually I have some plain paper in my hands. Finally… any longer and I think I’d have gone woozy myself. Well, no need to worry, my job here is done. Now I just need to find something to write with…

As if on cue, I spot a small pencil hiding in the corner of my vision.

“May I take a pencil too?”

“Sure…”

Whew, some good luck at last. My original plan was to experiment with different rocks and see which one would make the best marks, but if I can get a proper pencil, that’ll save me both time and effort. Despite the room’s odd vibe, it really does have some useful stuff.

“Why do you have so many things?”

I mean, my room is super bare. All I’ve got are the necessities, like a bed and clock. This sloth of woman here has all that plus every piece of art equipment you could ever need. If you weren’t working digitally that is.

“Hmm…” Aerilith stares blankly at the ceiling, mouth agape. “Sera said that the room comes with things you can’t live without…”

Wait, can’t live without? That either means that art is so deeply engrained within her that it’s practically a part of her being, or it’s a consequence of my minimalist mindset. I mean, I’ve always been low on spending money, so you can’t really blame me for being a bit of a penny-pincher, right? Even when I started earning my own money, I still couldn’t shake off my frugal habits.

After exiting the hut, I wave with my free hand.

“Well then, I guess I’ll get going then. Thanks a lot!”

“Bye…” Aerilith whispers as she mirrors my wave, albeit more slowly.

Well, that was a successful trip, don’t you think? I’ve got everything I need, so now it’s time to head back home, get my head down, and start strategising. If I want any chance at beating those beasts, a full-proof strategy will be essential. Gathering my thoughts onto paper will allow for higher productivity and efficiency, and I won’t run the risk of forgetting anything important. After that, I can then get to starti-

With a bump, I’m thrown to the ground, papers and pencils scatter onto the cobbled road. Ugh, I’ve dropped everything, gotta pick them up quickly. Before my hand can grab a nearby pencil, another hand gets there first.

“Apologies, young one.” Werloth says, offering his other hand towards me.

“No-no-no, it was my fault for not paying attention.” My voice meek with embarrassment, as I take him up on his offer.

Werloth continues to help me retrieve my scattered supplies from the road and surrounding teal grass.

Finally, I’ve gotten everything back. Just as I’m about to leave, Werloth shoots me an unexpected question.

“Young one, if I may ask, why do you require these?”

“Uh, erm…” I stammer. “I j-just, I just wanted to try something new, you know? Was getting a bit bored? Heh-heh.” I begin to shy away. “Well then, I guess I’ll see you later!” Feeling like his eyes are piercing right through me, I uncomfortably rush off, continuing down the road.

Shit, why did he have to ask that? The Trials are a bit of a sensitive topic here you know. Wouldn’t it be bad if I were to just casually mention ‘Oh, I was thinking of going back to The Trials. Yeah, the reason we’re all trapped here for eternity.’ Yeah, no, I can’t see that ending well.

I glance back, watching as Werloth’s figure shrinks into the distance. I really hope he bought that lacklustre act of mine, if not, who knows what could happen?

Well, there’s no point in worrying about that. For now, let’s just focus on the task at hand…

…

Sitting down on the familiar wooden floor of my hut, I twirl a pencil between my fingers while looking down at the paper spread out in front of me.

Hmm, where to begin? I might as well start with some sort of brainstorm. Annotating a picture of the crocodile may be a good idea, I don’t perfectly remember how it looked like but that dream from yesterday is still fresh in my mind. Getting the main features down should be easy enough.

I draw a quick sketch of the crocodile. After doing so much digital art, I’ve gotten pretty damn good at drawing, so my final result is quite accurate.

Let’s see what we have here – its got those massive teeth. I don’t remember it biting me; it just kept attempting to ram me. Still, it’s always a possibility, so I’ll note that down. Those spikes running down its spine prevent me from climbing onto its back, and also makes it more difficult to jump over that tail swing. Those claws also look like they could be a problem…

After going through this though process for a while, the sketch is now surrounded by annotations. I still have no idea what the purpose of that third eye is, maybe it’s just for aesthetics? It also feels like something is missing, I do remember landing some hits in, but the memory is fuzzy. Somehow, I can recall the fact that there were multiple of them – three to be precise. However, I can’t remember what happened before that. Was there some sort of trigger? Well, sitting here won’t help me remember it, the best solution would be to just keep it in the back of my mind throughout the course of the fight and react accordingly.

From what I’ve read and heard from the others, The Trials are always the same. You will always face same challenges in the same order, so there shouldn’t be any reason for me to be greeted by all three of them at once. I’m not even sure if those were all of them.

No point in wasting time pondering on that now, I’ve got the information in front of me so now it’s time to come up with a strategy. Jumping over the tail seemed to work before, but because of it I was caught off guard. Is there some other way? Maybe sticking my sword out as it’s charging at me? No, the impact would blow me away. Wait, what if I also used my shield? I may take some damage, but if I can pierce one of its eyes that, would put me in an extremely advantageous position. Still, there’s gotta be a more reliable way…

My eyes flick to the clock. Almost dinner time already, huh? Getting everything together took longer than I expected. Oh well, I skipped out on breakfast so I’m starving. There’s not much I can really do right now anyway. I should relax and prepare myself for tomorrow.

There’s still a lot of work to be done.