Daniel had already been in the library with Madi, so he showed Orrin around.

“He’s got it all separated into different sections. The first two rows here are mostly history and record books, stuff that he used in Madi’s education,” Daniel pointed out as they walked through the aisles.

“Here, he’s collected a bunch of different class books, split into fighter, magic, and other. Some of the melee books are pretty cool, but unless you have the qualifications for them, the classes are basically useless... or that’s what I thought before you mentioned class changes might be possible. Don’t ask me what that means, I didn’t spend too much time looking at ‘other’ yet.”

Orrin’s eyes ran over the different classes printed on the side of the books. Although his menu store gave him so many options, he had to manually select one to read the description. Maybe some of these would help him pick out something helpful.

“Over there are the fiction books his late wife loved. Madi told me nobody actually reads those books, but Silas won’t get rid of them. The aisles in between are everything else he can get his hands on. Lots of different skill builds, theory books, strategy guides, and stuff like that. That’s where I found my idea to combine wind magic with my class. There’s a book on past heroes.” Daniel ran his finger along the books until he found what he was looking for.

He pulled a battered looking book out and handed it to Orrin.

“A few hundred years ago, some guy Steven was summoned to fight a war for one country or another. He used wind magic to partially become the wind, attacking with some custom weapon he had made. Handheld triple punching knifes is what it says. I swear if it wasn’t for the fact that he lived about 400 years ago, I’d say he was cosplaying Wolverine.”

Orrin held the book close and started reading over the other book spines. He pulled out a few that looked interesting. Spatial Magics. Alchemy and You. How to Avoid Getting Stabbed or Crushed.

“I see you two are already preparing,” a voice came from behind them. “I respect that.”

Orrin turned to find Silas wheeling himself into the room.

“Someone told us we couldn’t go out and actually level until I talked with you.” Daniel crossed his arms.

Silas waved away his comment and rolled past them. “Come on. This is what I want to talk about.”

Orrin stuck close as Daniel followed Silas to the far side of the library.

“These were my wife’s.” Silas ran his hand along the shelves, wiping dust off. He rubbed the dirt between his fingers and looked off into the past.

He turned and smiled at the boys. “The best place to hide something is in the open.”

He took four books out from the middle of the stack and reached behind the resulting hole. Shorter than the fiction books he held, he pulled a thin and shabby book out. “Nobody would search a sentimental keepsake of a widower. As far as I know, this is the only copy of this book still in existence.”

He handed the book to Daniel.

“Secrets To Being A [Hero]?”

Silas’ eyes lit up. “So it’s real?”

“What?” Daniel looked up as he opened the book.

“I was sold this book when I was a young man. It gives off a distinct magic flavor but no intelligence or scouting magic could pierce the hidden text. The crazy old man who sold it to me swore on everything important to him that it was a book for heroes by heroes. It’s nice to have it confirmed.”

Orrin peeked over his shoulder. “It’s blank.”

Silas’ sneer was quickly controlled but Orrin saw the judgment. “Of course it is. Only heroes can read it.”

Thank god, Orrin thought. With all the weird things happening lately, he was glad for this little confirmation that he was not in charge of saving the world.

“Other books I’ve read have mentioned things like this,” Silas continued as Daniel flipped through the pages. “Help sent through the ages from one [Hero] to another. One of them." He wheeled back to the section Orrin had been browsing. “It is in here somewhere; I read it just a few years ago.”

A minute later, he found what he was looking for. A Tale of Wind and Earth.“Scholars ignore this, as it’s a romance novel written by the only surviving member of a failed [Hero].”

“What exactly is a failed [Hero]?” Orrin interrupted.

Silas sighed. “What does it sound like? He died before completing his mission. His lover wrote a book; it wasn’t a success and she died in obscurity.”

He leafed through the pages. “One passage stuck out to my wife. She was a [Hero] expert, or maybe I should say fanatic. Her dream was to meet one, but as far as I know, Daniel is the first one in 65 years.”

“Here it is.”

Silas read aloud.

"Charles would rarely talk of his home or even his time before creating our party. I had met him when he was already nearing level forty and he spoke little of the trials before. After completing our mission for the elves, we were plied with elven wine and food. Elven food is mostly plants, and elven wine is created for elves. To put it simply, we all were drunk after one glass.

We told drunken stories and secrets. Most of what the party talked about that night was forgotten by morning. Except when Charles talked. His struggles in the desert where he was summoned, the days without water as he tried to find civilization, and his first few monster kills wove a story so compelling and terrifying, I will never forget his words.

Charles’ magical abilities were already unique but he told us that upon hitting level ten, he’d made a mistake. He had been given multiple choices for changing his class. He’d taken one interesting in name but that plateaued quicker than the rest would have. Abandoned in the middle of the desert, with no knowledge of our world, he’d had to spend the next thirty levels trying to undo his blunder. But not all was gloom, he told us of his homeland and...” Silas stopped. “That’s why I wanted to talk before you hit level ten. You must select the proper class upgrade at level ten.”

“I haven’t heard of anything like that,” Orrin said.

“Of course not, it is only heroes who naturally upgrade. And from every source I’ve been able to find, level ten starts you on the path. I have found almost no information on what parameters are needed for further upgrades, but I’m sure it is just as onerous as it is for the rest of us.”

Orrin though of Emily’s flower story.

“This book has some information on that.” Daniel had finished flipping through and had returned to the beginning to read in depth. “But the first page specifically says I should never share this information with anyone but another [Hero].”

“Respectable, but I am here to help at your pleasure.” Silas smiled but Orrin saw the gritted teeth.

This guy is totally out for himself, Orrin thought. We need to get all we can from him and bail. I should see what the other countries are like. He made a mental note to check the history section out.

Silas excused himself, as he had more meetings. Running Dey was a full time job.

Daniel went back to his room to read his book and Orrin wandered aimlessly through the stacks of books. He’d put together about seven books total to read when the door opened again.

“You finish already, Daniel?” Orrin asked over the bookshelf.

“It’s not Daniel,” a voice said, as Orrin heard the door lock.