Chapter 11 I Don't Pet the Bunny

The book, The Gods and Creation, Crue let me borrow was interesting. I probably stayed up later than I should have reading it. Just as interesting was that when a book was stored in my inventory, then taken out, I could still read the contents of the book with my Gamer Glass. So I had a permanent copy of the book I could access. I tried taking my Introductory of Races and Species out of the inventory. It was laying right there on my bed, but when I looked there was a changed icon. The icon, instead of being a book, looked like a piece of paper. It had the same title and the same contents. When I tried to take the paper out of the inventory.

*This item can not be removed.~

So even though it was in my inventory it was just a digital copy. This new aspect of Gamer Glass would be very useful. As long as a book had been entered into my inventory at one point I would be able to access its information any time.

I tried a search, and the information from The Gods and Creation had been added to my search. So now if I wanted information on Amoris all the information that had been in the book would show up on my search list. So it wasn't even necessary to read all the books I was putting into my inventory. This would make my trip to the library easier.

I entered a search for Zeus. I wanted to know if he was similar to the Zeus I had learned about in school. The Greek deity was probably the most well known of the mythological deities. Probably because archaeologists have been able to gather so much ancient stuff. Homer probably had something to do with it too. Though, trying to work your way through the Iliad in sophomore English was not fun.

*Zeus the All Father, God of the Sky, lightning, rain, and storms. He is known to reward truth and charity. He is one of the three original Gods of Elrich born from the Abyss. He is known to take a parental interest in the actions and overall prosperity of mortals. However, this can lead to a fascination with single female mortals.

Many of his godly children were born from Zeus' love of mortals. (*With only three exceptions.) There are records of mortal children as well. Many of our current countries were once originally founded by the children of Zeus. *Footnote: For more information see Amoris, Erasmus, and Zyanthis.

In the beginning, there were only simple animals and plants on Elrich. Then Zeus and his brother Edomael were born from the Abyss. While Zeus became Lord of the Sky, Edomael chose to remain the Lord of the Abyss. Zeus seeing the land of Elrich already rich in animals and plants created humans with his brother Edomael. Together they formed humans out of air and earth. Zeus breathed life into the humans while Edomael made them mortal. They were both pleased with their new creations.

That was when Apep woke. No one, not even the gods, knows if Apep was here before Zeus and Edomael or if he was born later. What they can agree on is the Apep was born of chaos. Rising from chaos with a humanoid upper body and a lower body of a snake he gazed upon the humans with jealousy.

Zeus had ten godly children. Those children created more mortal children. This is how the different races in Elrich were born. Seeing these mortal children Apep's jealousy deepened. Footnote: For more information on the races born from the Twelve Gods see Chapters 3-15.

Apep decided to create his own children, the demons. They were beings created from Apep's scales and had many different appearances and abilities as each of his scales was slightly different. Since Apep was born from chaos many of his children also carried that chaos within them and were able to use magic. Apep sent his children to attack the mortal children of the gods.

The Twelve Gods saw their children dying at the hands of this chaos magic and decided to harness the Abyss. Working together the gods granted mortals with the ability to use magic as well. However, since the mortals were not originally created to harness magic only some of the population could use it.

The mortal children of the gods could now fight back against the demon children of Apep. Apep enraged by this sent his most fearsome children after the gods themselves. There was a great battle in which the mortals teamed up with their godly parents to defeat the Great Demon Kings. The Twelve Gods triumphed against the Great Demon Kings with the help of their children and launched a counter-attack.

Apep, seeing his children under attack by the gods, went forth into battle himself. The forces of chaos against the forces of the Abyss released untold amounts of power into Elrich. Monsters were born, species born of both chaos and abyss came to be, Oceans were turned to deserts, deserts became mountains, mountains were blasted to nothingness. Still, the gods fought.

They fought until one mortal hero sent the God Apep back into the chaos. When asked what reward he wanted for helping to defeat Apep the hero told the gods. 'I only wish to live a simple life. I do not want to be remembered or lauded as a hero. I only wish to live peacefully. If you must give a reward give it my fellow mortals who fought this battle with us. Give them your Blessing so that they may forever live in peace.'

Zeus moved by the unselfish nature of the hero agreed. All the Gods swore never to speak of the hero and forbid anyone from chronicling his name. However, his great deed would always be remembered every time a god Blesses one of their children.~

Creation myths were certainly interesting. In one story I was able to learn quite a bit about this world. Still, I couldn't really decide if the Zeus of Elrich's pantheon was the same Zeus as on Earth. They had a lot of similarities, but the story clearly states that Zeus was born from the Abyss with his brother. The story from Earth had Zeus born from Cronus and Rhea and when Cronus started eating his kids, Zeus kicked his butt. They sounded nothing alike.

I decided it wasn't worth overthinking and tried to fall asleep. It was harder than I thought it would be. I had had a busy day and you would think I would be exhausted, instead my mind was running a gymnastics marathon. I was filled with anxiety about this new life I was going to start living. All the 'what ifs' filling my head, bouncing around like a classroom filled with sugared up kindergartners. Still though, I finally was able to shut down. My mind falling peacefully into sleep after only two hours of tossing and turning.

~~~~~

The morning came too quickly. I woke up groggy and wishing for a strong coffee. Lucky for me there was a bakery cafe right next door to Marge's. I stood in line with a bunch of housewives, waiting as each person ordered enough bread for their family. Loaves of baguette-style bread were packed into baskets.

I ordered the strongest tea they had with lots of sugar and three muffins. I sat at the outdoor tables and drank the tea. It was strong, perhaps not as strong as coffee, but still strong. I made a mental note to ask Crue if appliances to make tea were expensive because if I could afford it I wanted to be able to make my own.

I ate two muffins and stored the third in my inventory. It was early and I might get hungry again before lunch. Then again, I would probably still be at my meeting during lunch, but the Guild did serve some sort of food. We would probably have lunch while discussing the particulars of the job. If all else failed I could eat some more strawberries, I was trying to lose my paunch so no chocolate for me until it was gone. Not that eating muffins and lots of sugared tea were any better. I really hoped I wouldn't have to go on a crash diet. I tended to get cranky when I was hungry.

I walked to the library with those thoughts on my mind and chocolate in my inventory tempting me to partake. There was just something about having an abundance of something and not letting yourself have any that really made you want that thing more. It probably didn't help that I probably could certify as a hardcore chocolate addict. Telling myself that I could have a single bar a day, made me feel a little better. If I knew I could have it whenever I wanted then it was easier not to think about it.

I opened the door to the library with the tinkling of bells. The building was two stories, but the main library was a single large room with only a separate room behind the librarian's desk. While there were a lot of windows the interior seemed sort of dark. Even that second room had windows to let in what light they could. Dark wooden floors, dark wooden shelves, the same dark wood paneled walls. The desks and chairs by the windows were also made of dark wood. There were a few of the magic core lamps lit sporadically in the room that brightened the place up a bit.

"Hello, how may I help you?" A young looking girl came from between the shelves several books in her arms. I was guessing she was a rabbit Zyanthrope, with her long brown ears hanging like a lop-eared rabbit. Her long curly brown hair was pulled into twin braids that trailed in front of her and down to her waist. On her nose a pair of black metal glasses that slightly obscured eyes that were an odd color, both green and brown, but I would be reluctant to call them hazel since the colors didn't really mix.

Her outfit looked too big for her. A long ankle-length blue skirt and a white long sleeved blouse with a high collar really made her look even smaller than she actually was. Her clothes were made to suit someone who was tall and slim. The girl in front of me was short and curvy. Even with her 3-inch heeled boots she still would have only come up to my shoulders. Slightly taller than the dwarf Marge, but not by much.

She was so cute. Super cute, I wanted to touch the fuzzy looking ears. They looked so soft. To have her hair unbraided and run my hands through those curls. My hands itched to pet her.

"My name is Eri, I'm new in town and I'd like to use the library. Do you know where the librarian is?" I figured that speaking to the librarian would help me get acquainted with the shelving system they used.

"My name is Illia. I'm the librarian. Would you like to become a member or just use the reading rooms?"

Surely this little girl wasn't the librarian? I opened my Gamer Glass and requested a status screen for the girl.

*Name- Illia Cloverheart

Level- 9

932/932

Zyanthrope- Rabbit- Female

Age- 19

Yellow Springs Associate Librarian

She was older than me! The old former high school student inside me sympathized with her. I knew what it was like to be the small guy. I was just lucky I had hit my growth spurt eventually. I wonder at what age a Zyanthrope rabbit hits their growth spurt. Maybe this was as big as she was going to get?

"Sir?" Illia questioned. I hadn't been paying attention. Did I miss a question?

"I apologize, it's still rather early for me and I was distracted, you're the first rabbit Zyanthrope I've met." She smiled the same smile people in customer service have been giving absentminded clients for centuries.

"That is quite alright. There aren't many of us this far north. I was asking if you'd like to use a reading room or become a member."

"What is the difference?"

"To be able to borrow the books you must become a member. There is a fee of 40 copper coins to join and 25 copper coins every month after that. We can waive the membership fee if you pay for at least six months in advance. Of course just reading the books here and not taking them with you is free.

"You have a membership fee for a library?" That was a surprise. I had never heard of a library charging membership fees to be able to take books home.

"We have to be able to fund ourselves somehow, but like I said if you can not afford the membership fees you can always read the books here." She gave me a look that clearly meant what do you expect?

"I don't know how long I plan on being in this town."

"Then I would recommend the monthly payment plan. However, if you think you might be staying longer than six months it's cheaper."

"I think I will take the six-month membership, please." I could just put books in my inventory and have a copy but I liked the idea of having a hard copy book to be able to read if I wanted.

Illia smiled and placed her books on the desk. She pulled out some paperwork and had me fill it out. She went over the paper and using something that looked like the All Seer she made me a library card.

"That will be 1 silver and 50 coppers for a six-month membership." She handed me the card and accepted the money. "If any books are lost or damaged you will be responsible for repayment. If you are unable to pay then a debt will be added to your ID. You will be unable to leave the town until that debt is repaid. Please keep that in mind." She bowed her head a bit when giving this speech. Somehow it felt like she was apologizing to me. Well, the speech did make it seem like she didn't trust me with the books or that I would be unable to pay if a book was damaged.

"I'd like to see any books you have on identifying the monster of this area. Then maybe books about monsters in general. Perhaps if you have any books about the history of the Adventurers Guild?"

"Are you an adventurer then?" She asked she seemed to be interested in the actual answer and not just giving lip service.

"Well, I just recently was hired by the Guild to be their new Surveyor. While I have the skills needed to perform the job, my actual knowledge about monsters is lacking."

"Oh, I see! Then you might consider some of our monster behavior and biology books to go along with just the identification books you requested. Would you also like to see our dismantling books? They might give you a better understanding of which monsters are more valuable since they itemize the usable parts of particular monsters."

"I'll take a look at all of them and then pick a few to begin with if that's OK?"

"Of course," she looked around the room. "Let's set you up over here by this window." She took me to a desk that was in the back corner next to a window letting in the morning sun. Then she ran off and shortly came back with a stack of four books.

"These are just a few of our most popular monster books. This one," she tapped the top one on her stack, "is more specific to this region. I suggest you start with it. I'll be right back with the other books you requested."

"Thank you, these will be a big help."

"Well, having a Surveyor that knows his monsters is beneficial to everyone in town. I will do my very best to help you out. I helped our current Surveyor a few years ago when he started. It's a shame that he's only able to do it part-time, but he's really happy being a priest. So I guess you should do what makes you happy. He's done a lot for me personally so I want to help you out as much as I can since you are his replacement." She beamed at me her ears twitching a bit. If she had had a tail it would probably be wagging back and forth. She seemed really excited to help me out.

"Oh, so you know him? What's he like?"

"He's a very kind man. He likes to tease people and that can sometimes get him in trouble, but he is very kind. He's the type of person that honestly wants to help others. He has a fairly famous military family even though they are common. It's a shame that he's considered a bit of a black sheep for joining the priesthood. If you get the chance to meet him I just know you'll like him. He's really hard not to like."

"I have a meeting to meet him later this morning. He's going to be training me. I'm looking forward to it."

"He's actually taking time away from the temple to train you? That's unusual." She frowned a bit then shrugged it off. "I'm sure he's got it worked out.

"I'll go get the other books. You get started on those and let me know if you think they will be of some help or if this stuff is too basic for you."

"I'm sure this will be fine, thank you." I held up the first book and waved it a bit.

Illia came back twice more, leaving a pile of thirteen books on the desk.

I began by flipping through them and glancing at the index. The monster catalogs would be a great addition to my search function. Even if I couldn't remember all the monster and their attributes having the information in my search would make it easy for me to look it up if I needed it. I quickly placed the books into my inventory and brought them out again.

Just like before there were digital copies left behind. I did a few random searches and compared the information in the book to the information given to me on my screen. While the information in the book was more detailed, the information on my screen didn't leave out anything important. I promised myself that I would be diligent and actually read the books and not just rely on the search.

Next were monster biology books. While the monster catalogs had briefly touched on the biology of the monsters these books went in-depth about their reproductive abilities and body structure.

*Skill Gain- Monster Biology

*Skill Gain- Entomology

*Skill Gain- Zoology

So it was possible to learn skills from books. If I leveled up the skills would I automatically know the information in the books without relying on the search function? I would test it out later when I had more Exp to spare.

I had my meeting next, then later I would go shopping with Crue. Depending on my work schedule I would have to find time to kill monsters and gain some Exp. I also needed to remember to pay off my debt and visit Lotte. I also wanted to make some time for visiting the library again. It all depended on my future work schedule.

Well, with the time I had, I was going to read some more of these books.

*Skill Gain- Dismantling

*Skill Gain- Appraisal

"How are you getting along here?" Illia stood beside the desk interrupting my reading of a basic monster dismantling guide.

"Actually, I'm really getting into this one." I held up the dismantling guide. "To be honest I didn't realize how much technique went into cutting up monsters. I have a bit more respect for the guys that do this at the Guild."

"Many of those guys are butcher's sons. They were raised learning the craft so to speak. When I go out and bring something back I always have the dismantling team at the Guild take care of it. I don't have the confidence to do it myself and it takes a lot of strength to be able to cut through muscle and tissues like that."

"You are a Guild member too?"

"Most people in Yellow Springs supplement their incomes by hunting the monsters so most of us are Guild members. I'm still only rank H though. I don't get to go out as often since I usually need to have a supporter."

"What is a supporter?" I asked curious. She paused and gave me a slightly odd look. Why was she looking at me like that? Did I say something dumb? She suddenly started as if she had been pinched and continued.

"Oh, I have some low-level mid-range magic, but I don't have any physical attack skills. So I need to go out with someone who is willing to support me as I fight and come to my rescue if I get into trouble. It's similar to being in a party, but with one person attacking while the other acts as a bodyguard in case something goes wrong. There aren't very many people willing to help out a newbie like me so it can be difficult"

"I see, I'm new myself, but most of my skills are physical. I guess it would be problematic if you couldn't fight off an attack if a monster got close."

"It's because of that I don't get to go out often."

"What do you do instead when your not out fighting monsters or here?" I waved at the library.

"I spend a lot of my free time writing," She smiled a beaming smile as if she was happy I had asked. "Someday I'd like to become a novelist. I want to write stories about a fearless mage adventurer. You always see stories about the strong hero saving the day, I want to make a story where the main hero is a really powerful mage. He'll have a child companion who is his apprentice. They run around the kingdom battling monsters and evil armies."

"That sounds like a lot of fun. Have you made any progress with it?"

"Well, I've written and rewritten my first story dozens of times. Each time I submit it, it always gets rejected. People don't want to read stories about mages, they want to read stories about sword-wielding heroes."

"That's a pity, I think a story about a hero mage sounds interesting."

"I think so too!" She got really animated and pulled a chair over from a neighboring desk. "I think my problem is that I am too inexperienced with powerful magic. I think the story would be more believable if I could accurately understand the way magic reacts to the world."

"Aren't there books on that? I mean books with lists of magical powers and how they work? Can't you use a reference like that?"

"There are a few books that chronicle magic and magic types, but none of them really detail how they work. They might tell you that fireball is a type of magic. They will even tell you what the magic looks like. A ball of fire that is a long-range magic and can cause fire damage on impact. That's not very helpful to me. I need to know how that fireball will react to being thrown against a tree versus being used against a monster.

"I would imagine the smell at the very least would be different. The smell of burning wood is a lot different than the smell of burning fur. Then there is the impact. A tree is stationary and I would think it would explode upon impact. I know a monster doesn't explode because there are adventurers who are able to bring in intact monsters after killing it with a fireball, but why is that? Why don't they explode?"

"I see your point. You need first-person experience."

"And to get that experience I need to get stronger, but since it's hard to find a supporter it's been difficult to level up and gain some of that experience."

This was a good chance, but did I want to take the risk? I really liked this girl and this would be a good opportunity to make a good friend. Who was I kidding? I wanted to impress her. I didn't have a lot of experience with women, but I knew that you wouldn't get anywhere if you didn't ask.

"Couldn't your boyfriend take you out?" Not very subtle, but I would find out if she was single.

She laughed in a self-depreciating way, then blushed. "I don't exactly have a boyfriend, but I do have a friend who is willing to help me out when he has time. He's really very kind, but as I said earlier he's very busy."

"Earlier? Do you mean the priest who's going to train me as a Surveyor? He takes you out hunting monsters?" I was getting the impression that she might have some feelings for this guy, but that nothing had come of it. Did I still have a chance? Should I go for it?

"Yes, he sometimes lets me tag along with him when he does his scouting as a Surveyor."

"Well, I wouldn't mind taking you out. I think I need some training first, but if it's just taking you out to kill some Green Tailed Apes it should be fine." I didn't really have any issues with the apes so watching her back as she killed a few wouldn't be too dangerous. I could also keep an eye on the map for surrounding monsters and get out of the area if something as strong as a Red Wolf showed up. I would also be able to observe some minor combat type magic. It would be a win-win for me.

"Really! That would be amazing," she jumped out of her chair in a burst of enthusiasm. "When do you think we can go? I will need to take the day off. I'll have to tell Mary," she paused and turned to me, "she's the other librarian."

She was so cute with her hands held up against her chest her ears twitching with her happiness. Once again I really wanted to pet her. I held myself back. Don't go molesting the librarian, even if she is cute and fluffy.

"I look forward to meeting her," I held out my hands in a calm down motion.

"I don't really know what sort of schedule I'll be working on yet. I really should get some training on the local monsters first. I promise that when I figure it out I will let you know. We can plan to go out sometime in the morning and spend the day killing monsters."

"The entire day," her smile dropped a bit, "that would be a lot of back and forth bringing back the carcasses to the Guild. It would be a waste to just leave them."

"Oh, we don't need to worry about that." I held up my Inventory Bracelet and explained its functions.

We discussed when would be the best time for her and I promised once again to come by and let her know when I would also be free. After talking for so long it was nearing the time for my meeting.

I checked out all the books she had suggested and with a wave, I left the library. I was feeling somewhat optimistic about the future. Sure, there were a lot of uncertainties, and that made my anxiety act up a bit, but this world seemed like a good place filled with good people and interesting new things.

I had gained a few skills by reading those books, which was another bonus for the day. It made me wonder if the same could be done for other skills. If I read a book on magic then would I gain that magic skill? I had the list of magics Amoris gave me, but I hadn't gained anything from flipping through it. I didn't have the Gamer Glass at that time though. Had I looked at either of those books since I got the Gamer Glass? I couldn't recall.

So on my walk to the Guild, I opened the phone book sized magic list. I read the first few pages. It was the same as the condensed version. It gave the name of the magic, the type, the power, and how it could be used. None of the magic listed gave any sort of detailed information.

*Ember, a fire type magic. It is a level one type magic. Can be used in cooking and starting fires.~

It was like that. Not really an explanation of how to use it or even what the skill looked like. It was like Illia said there wasn't enough information to really get an understanding of the magic itself. I wondered if I would get a skill gain if I found a magic book with more detail. Perhaps one specifically oriented to teach magic theory to the reader? I made another mental note to ask Illia if such books existed.

Closing the screen I began to mentally prepare myself for my first day of work. The first day on the job was always slightly stressful. I wasn't the type of person to go busting into a job full of confidence. Usually, those types of people just screwed up more than the people who were more jittery. While I knew I could do the basics of the job, search for monsters, it was the training that had me nervous. I was new to all of this and until this point I hadn't been a very outdoors type of person.

This was a new world and I had to function within it. To do that I had to learn some basic survival skills. This training wouldn't just be for my job but would be important to my overall survival period. I could, in theory, just live off the money I made from selling chocolate. However, if the town was ever attacked by monsters, or if I was personally attacked by another Gorilla Viking, I would need to be a lot stronger to survive the encounter.

I really didn't want to die again. So while selling chocolate seemed like the safest route, in the long run, it would become the most dangerous path. While this town seemed peaceful and idyllic there was always a looming threat of disaster. Amoris had been very clear on that point. I would need to become strong in order to survive. So while hunting monsters was dangerous it was my best chance for overall survival.

I tried to maintain my optimistic attitude and not let the nerves get to me as I opened the door to begin my employment. Today was going to be a good day.

Name- Eri Veritas

HP 2335/2335

MP 64/64

Level- 11

Age- 18

Race/Species- (Human) Unknown

Gender- (Male) Unknown

Occupation- Surveyor of Adventurers Guild

Exp- 217

Physical Power- 220

Stamina- 278

Defense- 348

Agility- 489

Intelligence- 92

Magic Power- 8

Metal Rain Lv 1

Healing Hands Lv 1

Paralysis Resistance Lv 3

Mind Magic Resistance Lv 1

Skills

Staff Fighting Lv 2

Basic Sword Lv 2

Skull Bashing Lv 2

Martial Arts Lv 2

Spear Lv 1

Stalking Lv 1

Jumping Lv 1

Running Lv 2

Pain Tolerance Lv 3

Deception Lv 2

Poker Face Lv 1

Etiquette Lv 3

Rock Throwing

Dancing

Harvesting

Empathy

Small Talk

Discretion

Monster Biology

Entomology

Zoology

Dismantling

Appraisal

Racial Ability-

Hidden Among the Masses- 20

Stealth- 95

Items Equip

Inventory Bracelet

Gold- 3g 8s 28c (3828c)

Debt- 43 copper- Yellow Springs

Blessing 1- All Map Exploration

Blessing 2- Exp Points Required by Level Up / Current Level

Blessing 3-Exp Increase X Current Level

Blessing 4- Item- Gamer Glasses

Titles- Emissary of Amoris

Devotee of Amoris

Oracle of Amoris

Grateful Petitioner

Lover of Leaves

Enemy of Apes