John sat in the warm bath, gazing at the cloudy blue sky. The sun was just barely peeking over the horizon, and John wondered. ‘Can I do it?’ he thought. His last phone call with Liv might be his last one if he didn’t complete the dungeon conquering thing. Her words still rang clear in his head.

“No matter what, you need to be the one who takes the last hit on the dungeon boss,” Liv said.

She spoke as if John had someone to tag along with. And defying his expectation, Liv did have a plan for him.

“The Marvel squad,” John chuckled. “With that kind of naming sense, I’m worried what I’m getting myself into here.”

Yet that matter was still far in the future. After asking Hanz about the date, John found out he had five days before the new dungeon opened up. So at least for now, he still got some leeway to settle things here in Satbury town.

After finishing his bath at the bathhouse, John took a stroll down the main road. He wore the clothes made by his beloved and usually it would draw a few eyes. But after last night, the town folks were grieving their lost ones. A long line of wagons was departing from town, heading to the gravesite near the western plains from town. It was enough for John to know what was hidden beneath those white sheets on those wagons.

Despite not being responsible for it, John still felt that little guilt in him. With his head down, he walked away. Thinking of where to go, the little sightseeing of the town was turning to be a horrible experience. Most of the stores were still closed, while some open ones weren’t intended to be open. Yet one store was different.

From the outside, there was no customer around. John took a step inside, and the smell of books and old papers tickled his nose. The man looked around over the books that decorated the shelves that spanned from the front to the back of the store. He thought books would be a rare commodity here in this new world, but it seemed he was wrong.

“How may I help you, nomad?” a voice rang near the back of the store.

John narrowed his eyes at the appearance of a man with a full gray beard. The bearded man was tall, easily reaching the full height of the shelves to his sides. Unknowingly, John took a few steps back. That lesson he learned back then was still fresh in his mind, never trust a bearded man that easily. It was biased of him to think as such, but what could he do? He almost got turn into a slave and it was better to be wary rather than letting his guard down.

“You know who I am?” John asked, sliding his feet closer and closer to the entrance.

“I would be a fool not to notice the obvious,” said the bookseller. “The clothes were a big giveaway.”

“So,” the bookseller continued, “what brings you here, warlock? Do you fancy a book or two?”

John turned alert. The thing about him being a warlock was only known to him, Fellelone, Liv, and perhaps Alden. And the bookkeeper knowing about it proved to be something of concern. ‘Can he read my mind?’ that was the first thing he thought of.

“Curb you hostility down, warlock, it's not that weird for me to know who you are,” the bookseller turned to the shelves and neatly rearranged his precious books.

“Care to tell me?” John wasn’t going to let his guard down. A bad experience was meant not to repeat itself.

“I’m an appraiser, I can see things that others can’t,” said the bookkeeper. “Now, are you here for a tome, or are you here for simple spellbooks?”

“What do you mean by tome?” John’s inexperience showed. A budding warlock that didn’t know a thing about his own job.

“Simple,” the bookseller flicked his finger and a book came out from the shelf behind him. It floated towards the bearded man and he gently held it by the hardcover.

“You’re a mage?” John asked.

“Unfortunately not. The arcane spell I showed you is just a simple telekinesis spell,” said the bookseller as he handed the thick book to John. “And anyone who has a decent amount of mana could learn it.”

John only stared and didn’t even touch the scary-looking book. Why he said so was because of the hardcover that looked like thorns jutting out from an urchin. Even the color black didn’t make it approachable.

Noticing John’s reaction, the bookseller retracted the book. “What you see here is a tome, and what is different about them from other books is what they are made of and the concentration of mana embedded inside of it,” the bookseller flipped the book open in front of John and showed the inside filled with strange-looking letters. “The main idea behind it was to boost the spell capabilities of mages, acting as a catalyst. So in other words, this tome here is a weapon for mages.”

A weaponized book, that was a first for John. His eyes couldn’t stray away from the odd-looking tome which was now getting more valuable in his eyes.

“How do you use it?” John got curious.

“Simple really,” he flipped to a random page, and as he uttered a few words, the runes on the tome started to glow in a bright purplish hue. Three bright orbs floated around the bookseller.

They looked similar to John’s Lantern’s Light, yet the light they emitted was a tad stronger than his. And the orb even appeared the same as a light bulb back on earth.

“Usually I could only do two, but with the tome, now you see three,” the bookseller flashed a smile underneath that thick beard of his. “It’s a simple case of flipping to a random page and cast your arcane spell, easy isn’t it?”

“Do every tome have the same effect?” John asked.

“It varies largely, and it depends on who made it,” the bookseller replied. “Unlike swords and axes, making a tome is a tad more difficult. The precision and focus it needs might as well be comparable to a famous sculptor with their statues.”

“Then what about this tome,” John eyed at the tome in the book seller’s hand.

“The Tome of Oscura heightened a person spell up to ten percent, and further mastery over the book might give you the possibility of enhancing the spells you’re using to the next level,” the bookseller weaved his words as despite how lax he looked, the bearded man indeed was trying to sell it.

“And if you’re stuck in a situation where close combat is inevitable, the tome functioned pretty well as a shield, or you can opt for bashing your enemy with the tome itself,” the bookseller was now giving the most outrageous pitch. “I guarantee you this, the tome cover is even harder than a troll’s skin.”

It was hard not to be tempted with a tome like this. But the method of John’s fighting clashed with how to use the tome. He couldn’t really draw his blade while one hand held an open book. It just didn’t seem practical to him in the long run.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t think I can buy one. You see, the way I fight is pretty different from a usual warlock,” John felt bad declining but he had to say it.

“No worries, warlock, but I do think you would fancy this,” the bookseller cast his arcane spell and books came floating around him as he presented it to his customer. “Take a look, you might find something you like.”

Slowly, John was getting sucked in, and being the type of guy that couldn’t decline a polite offer, John took his time looking through those books. In the end, he came out of the store with a paper bag filled with books. ‘He got me, didn’t he,’ John realized a bit too late. Nonetheless, the books he bought were pretty useful.

“A pleasure doing business, warlock,” the bookseller thanked John at the entrance, bowing lightly over his patronage.

“It’s John, John Creed,” John said. “And what of yours?”

“The name Izor, Izor the Appraiser.”

***

After buying his books, John found a small restaurant hidden away from the main road. All those walking and talking really did a number on his stomach. A few quick bites would be delightful for him.

“Hello?” he greeted politely, taking a step inside the small restaurant. It was big enough for only ten people at most. Yet some of the chairs and tables were broken, with a few stains on the floor that didn’t look like blood. In the middle was a woman cleaning it down with a rug in her hand. John’s voice made her turn.

“I’m sorry, but we’re closed,” she said. Her hands didn’t stop rubbing away the stains. Yet as her eyes found John, the man looked familiar.

“Oh, it’s you,” she stood up and walked over to him with a bright smile hanging on her face.

“Excuse me?” John was confused. From the way she looked at him, it seemed she recognized him from somewhere.

“I’m the one who you saved last night, remember?” she said with an apron tied around her waist.

Frankly speaking, John did save a lot of people last night. But thinking about a woman only came out two things. It was either the woman with her kid or the woman at the bathhouse. Deep down, he didn’t want her to be the latter since he didn’t want to be remembered being naked. Yet he took a shot at it. “At the bathhouse?” John asked.

The ebony hair woman nodded, and John could feel the embarrassment creeping up on him.

“Ah…it’s good that you are okay,” John said with the most robotic voice. He just hoped she didn’t remember anything about his dick dangling around.

“If it wasn’t for you, the goblin might have vile me, thank you kind sir for saving me,” she bowed politely like she was in a ballroom attending a classy event.

“Oh, it’s nothing. I just did what I could, and to be fair, people should help people, right? That’s why we live in a community, don’t we?” John said while giving the warmest smile.

The woman turned her head away after seeing that smile, if John wasn’t being so oblivious he would have noticed the blushing face of the woman. “By chance, are you hungry?” the woman said, her voice getting a bit shyer.

“I do, but you said–”

“I’ll do it!” she said with her tone raised by a notch. “I mean…I’ll cook for you. It’s the least I could do for someone who saved me.”

John saw the willingness behind her eyes, and glancing outside, he saw a few trees right across the street. Then he had an idea. “How about this, since you’ll cook for me, I’ll help you with repairing your chairs and tables.”

“No, I can’t do that to my savior,” she said.

“How about friends? Friends do help each other, you know?” with John’s urging, she gave in. While she was at the back cooking, John went up to the tree across the secret and worked his magic.

John used plant manipulation and through his efforts, a small mallet was made along with a few sturdy wooden nails. With the right tools, John came back and started hammering.

By the time, she finished cooking, John had set up all the tables and chairs in perfect condition. With a little bit of help from plant manipulation, it made his work a lot easier.

“So how is it? Cool, huh?” John smiled as he was kinda proud knowing he could do this using his arcane spells.

The cook’s mouth fell as she could only witness the miracle before her. “How did you…” she even lost her words, not knowing how to react to this. Tears streamed down her warm pink cheeks as she placed down the hot piping foods she made.

“Th-th-thank you, sir,” she stuttered a bit since she was sobbing. Wiping her tears, she looked at John with reddish eyes. “I don’t know how to pay you for this,” her trembling voice was like on the verge of crying again.

“Well, you did,” John pointed at the thick orange creamy soup paired with a toasted crunchy bread. He took a piece of the bread and scooped up the soup into his mouth. John took a chunk out of it, and his eyes went wide.

“This is seriously good,” he said with his mouth filled with food.

The woman chuckled seeing his antic. John devoured his food and after filling his fill, he said goodbye to the innocent young maiden. “Thanks for the soup, I’ll try visiting if I have the chance.”

As he was about to leave, he could feel a tug on his clothes. He turned and saw her desperate eyes.

“I still don’t know your name, sir,” she asked.

“I’ll tell you if you drop the sir, didn’t I tell you we’re friends?” John said.

“Yes, you did but—”

“No buts, and it’s John, by the way,” he said.

“Si…I mean John, that’s a heroic name,” she said. “And I’m Catelyn, a pleasure to meet you.”

“Likewise,” John said it and took his leave. But as he walked down the road, the blue window appeared.

He stopped and stared at it for a while. Then he nodded, “God, there’s a lot of things I don’t know about this system. I better find out if I can increase my other stats.”

With a new goal in mind, John headed back to the saloon.