Chapter 3

Mandeok was still slightly miffed that the old man had threatened to bar him from the Library but there was something in the way he had phrased it that triggered Eun Seoks instinct. NPC's only gave quests to Players that had proven themselves to them. For a man he had only met once to suddenly give him an offer such as this; something was up.

'Have I just grasped the snakes tail.'

Unfortunately he had to think of the consequences. Royal Road allowed only three quests to be accepted at once and if this became a chain quest he could be in trouble after he had completed laying the foundations of his character but then again.

He accepted.

"A wise decision. You may go. I will have word sent to you when I have a need for you."

He was dismissed with a flick of the bony wrist as the old man turned back to the papers on his desk. The dwarf nodded his head and returned to the books. He went to start on the B's.

His days were now divided between reading his way through the tomes alphabetically and the occasional errand for the Curator. Generally it was fetch and carry. The old man sought some volume or one volume had to be returned to the shelves.

The trouble came when he had to return a particular book on the Legends of Northern Sur. This book needed to be put back on the shelves of the third ring. His pass wouldn't even allow him into the second ring and a new one was a 20 copper fee he didn't have. He was contemplating this problem when the woman from the desk at the entrance to the second ring acknowledged his presence.

"Forgive me but I'm on an errand for Head Librarian can you let me past so I may return this volume to its proper place."

In this world you have to ask in the right way and use the right words when engaging in conversation with NPC's or anyone for that matter. He had learned in his time in the Library that those who worked here went around methodically checking that there was a place for everything and everything was in its place.

"Pass please." The mousey woman was following proper procedure but he knew the result as he put the pass down on the table in front of her.

"Sorry, I can't let you pass."

In these matters it was necessary to be a little forceful as long as you weren't rude about it.

"Are you sure there's nothing I can do to get in. I really must complete this errand for the Curator."

He pushed the issue and waited as she furrowed her brow. The response was what he had hoped for.

"Well there is something and if you're on an errand for Lord Saint-Hilaire then I suppose you should be able to help me."

She pushed her spectacles up her nose. A devious glint flashed in her eyes.

-:Quest: Young apprentice Librarian Emma needs you to retrieve the materials she needs to repair the manuscript she ruined. Difficulty: E.

The Quest will automatically be failed if the Head Librarian finds out.:-

-:Accept: Yes/No:-

'Damn two out of three slots taken but I can't progress the first without completing this.'

"I'll do it. Don't worry discretion is my middle name."

"Thank you here is a list of what I need. I can't let you pass till this is done though, sorry."

Mandeok smiled politely as he accepted the note she passed to him but behind the mask of calm he wore he was

screaming in frustration

'NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!'

Such a task would mean going outside which would mean paying for another pass.

He was still grumbling about having to leave his books, the damage it would do to is budget and the time it would potentially set time behind when the player from the first day approached him.

She had still been in two minds about this intruder until she saw him being used as the old man's whipping boy. She had been working the library long enough to see how fickle he could be. Just because she was glad he wasn't interfering with her quest didn't mean she wasn't still curious to know exactly what he was doing.

Quests were not always the same even if given by the same person. It all depended on the attitude of the player.

"Something I can help you with?" she asked with a cat like smile on her face.

Mandeok could see through her thinly veiled contempt but he had no idea where to start, which shop to visit for the items or their current market price.

"Actually I'm looking for these." he replied handing the list he had received from Emma to the girl. She scanned through the list.

"Restoration materials eh, I've got all of this on me at the moment."

He tried to keep a poker face but his widening eyes betrayed him to her.

"But if I give them to you what's in it for me. Hmm?" her cat grin spread wider.

His face dropped and his silence spoke volumes.

"I mean you could pay me back for them but then I don't need the money" she had thrown him a lifeline.

"What do you need then." he took her bait.

She took a few well measured moments to consider her answer.

"I have my own quest, I may need some help for it. So when the time comes for it I'll count on you. Deal."

-: Jazmina has sent you a Friend request. Accept Yes/No:-

She sent him a quick friend request that he begrudgingly accepted. If he didn't he doubted she would lend him the items he needed.

What Mandeok didn't know was that Magic users like her learned how to bind and restore books because there main source of new spells came from old tomes. They searched for them in every dungeon or ancient place on the Continent and as such they were sometimes damaged by the time they were found.

She gave him enough of what he needed and he hurried off back to the second rings entrance.

He handed them over to the Apprentice after checking around to make sure they were alone. She smiled brightly and quickly squirreled them away into the draw of the desk. He heard a ding as the quest was completed and breathed a sigh of relief.

"When I'm on duty you can access the second ring." she smiled sweetly at him before burying her face in a book.

He nodded and passed through the entrance to the second ring. With no time to look around he headed straight for the third ring entrance. His goal so close at hand. His hopes were dashed by a beady eyed young man seated on a stool by a high desk, the dwarf could barely see above.

'Freaking dwarf height'

"I have a book that must be returned to the shelves in there would you let me pass to complete my errand for the Head Librarian?"

Two beady eyes stared through him and the raspy voice replied

"Deposits in this tray."

Mandeok had a sense of déjà vu.

"Are you sure there's nothing I could do to get in and return the book?"

"Deposits in this tray." This time the man actually tapped it with the tip of his quill.

Several more attempts got the same response. The only thing that changed was the level of irritation the clerk was showing each time he had to repeat himself. Mandeok saw this going nowhere and placed the book in the tray.

Deflated he headed back, stopping only long enough in the second ring to grab a few books that looked interesting but even they couldn't lift him from the despair he felt.

'Went through all of that just to be denied.' it was maddening.

No quest failure notification appearing was at least a small comfort.

He returned to finishing off his light reading project. It was a few hours before it dawned on him what a golden opportunity he had been given. Saint-Hilaires words replayed themselves in his mind.

"........ if you are smart you will realise the job is its own reward."

He had been a fool. To damn short sighted to see the bigger picture of the quest. He now had access to the second ring, during Emma's shift only but it was still more than he could afford presently.

It was a few days before his next job for the Head was given. By then he had devoured his select genres all the way up to T. A rather large tome on political policy called The Treaty of Tullen was giving him some trouble. It was the overly complex language and many clauses that were the source of his aggravation.

His diversion from this problem came in the form of the raspy voiced guardian of the third circle.

Now that he was out from behind his desk Mandeok realised just how small he was. His back was hunched and his hair was immaculately swept from one side to the other but apart from that he was a fairly forgettable person.

"You come with me. Lord Saint-Hilaire has assigned you to me. As such you will assist cataloguing the collection to speed up my audit."

The quest description changed to the description of the next link in the chain. Difficulty didn't change but that meant very little.

He frog marched Mandeok to the third ring and handed him a clip board full of book titles.

"Find the book. Mark it off. Finish the page. Bring it to me. I'll note it in my ledger as you go to complete the next page."

With that Mandeok was shooed into the forbidden realm of the third ring. No time limit was attached to this part of the quest so he spent his time cataloguing the third ring, cherry picking a few things from the second ring and finishing the reading from the first ring.

The third ring audit took up the rest of his time but the source books he had access to made his wisdom and intelligence rise by 40 points each. A second volume of a book on the history of Versailes nomadic tribes gave him the insight he needed to unravel the legal jargon in the Treaty that had stumped him. Untangling its convoluted wording had boosted his stats, giving him the last push he needed to reach his ambition.

He also learned that the Head Librarian Lord Saint-Hilaire had been a notable scholar in his youth and in his formative years had served as tutor for at least two Princes. Now in his retirement he tended the Library he had donated his lifetime to expanding. So with the audit finished and the quest updated he wasn't surprised to find he had to return to the Old man.

"Your time with us is almost up. I see that you have been assisting where necessary." he motioned to a book on his desk, its cover was worn and looked hastily mended.

"I have but one final errand for you. Our archive has become infested. If left unchecked we risk losing some of our most valuable pieces. You will take care of it."

The quest description changed again. This time though the difficultly also rose to an E rank quest rating.

-: Serabourg's historic Library houses an extensive collection of rare works. Most are too damaged to be displayed and some are just too dangerous. These works are kept in the archive in the bowels of the Library. Lately an infestation of Silverfish has lead to the further damaging of several irreplaceable tomes :-

"I've spent my time among the annals of this library and will need some time to prepare." Mandeok started. He was silenced by a single raised finger from across the desk.

"Indeed one should be prepared but know this the more time you take, the more knowledge we lose and as a result the less any potential reward shall be."

With that it was over.

Mandeok left the office with a twisted feeling in his stomach. He had no idea what sort of level or volume these Silverfish would be at or whether there would be any conditions attached to the quest. The one thing he was sure of was that he needed to top up his supplies and find a weapon. Both of which would only be accomplished by leaving the library and incurring the re-entry fee.

'A decent weapon for no more than 8 copper'

It would be tough as most low level staffs were geared toward magic users. Giving small increase to intelligence or wisdom and although he had more of both than a player his level he still had no known spells to exhaust his mana pool on.

In the end he left to gather herbs hopping that a solution would present itself in time. At least he could sell the surplus to increase his budget, if only slightly. It would take more time then he thought he had to raise any level of meaningful capital.

While he was out in the fields he received a message. It was the first Whisper he had gotten since he started the game and the unexpected way it appeared made him jump. Imagine how you would feel if your peaceful day flower picking was suddenly interrupted by a voice in your head asking if you were there.

-: Dwarf you still close to Serabourg?

-:Hello...who is this?

-:Seki who do you think!

-:Jazmina-ssi? Is that you. How have you been. So this is what a PM is like interesting.

-:Aigoo this fool of course it's me. Now answer the question are you still in Serabourg?

Players true personalities came out over PM's as NPC's couldn't hear them. If they could many would be shocked at the

two faced-ness of players they thought were honourable people.

-:..yes, why?

-:Good time to repay that favour.

She was talking about the supplies she had lent him. Other players may have denied it or just ignored her but Eun Seok had been raised to always return tenfold what he received. His current financial woes meant he couldn't pay her back but it sounded like she had another use for him.

-: Meet me in the Library and I will explain what I need you to do.

With that she ended the conversation. An unusual silence filled Mandeoks head before it was replaced by the familiar sounds of his own thoughts.

*****************************

Jazmina was waiting impatiently by the front desk. True she had not told him what time to meet but she expected him to be sharp about it. Her frustration only grow when he entered the building. The same straggly bearded dwarf in beginner clothes he had been when she first met him. The only difference now being the large branch he carried with him.

She sighed but all she expected of him was to be bait for her own ends.

*****************************

He stood near her giving his new weapon a few practice swings. It wasn't balanced like the one in the training hall but it would do and if it broke he would wield what was left like a mace. If that shattered he would lay into his foe with his thick dwarven arms and his stout dwarven legs.

The only contact in his friend list stood a few feet away from him. She was wearing a robe and a wide brimmed hat of crimson and black. By her dress he guessed she must be a mage of some variety. When she adjusted her hat he saw her hair was swept up into a crown braid. Sensing her companions stares she took out a simple wooden staff about a two feet in length, half the size of Mandeoks current weapon, with a single jewel at the top.

"You'll help me while I look for something in the archives. Right lets go."

Without even giving him time to answer she turned and headed through a door and down some stairs behind the front desk. All he could do was follow her. It didn't really matter he was heading to the archives anyway and with another person, clearing the silverfish might be easier.

They descended for a while, the current stair case spiralling down into the darkness, lit only by jewels in the wall placed every few turns. The light they emitted was eerily pale and it bathed the stairs and walls in a sickly white.

They came to an old wooden door at the bottom of the stair case. Its impressive frame was reinforced by heavy iron hinges that made it look even sturdier. Mandeok suddenly realised they had no way to open it but Jazmina merely reached out her hand and gave it a push. The force behind her delicate hand wasn't enough to open it but it did move enough to imply it wasn't locked. When mandeok brought all his dwarven strength to bare against it the ancient door creaked open in surrender.

The light from the jewels in the hall cut a semi circle in the darkness of the room beyond the door. As soon as they stepped through the door closed behind them. The darkness flooded back in. To reclaim the territory it had lost with the coming of the Adventures. They stood in the stillness before someone clicked their tongue and a small ball of flame illuminated the two.

Jazmina looked more annoyed then when she had been standing back at the desk but Mandeok couldn't fathom why. At least he knew she now had a possible fire spell. His thoughts were distracted by a rustling. She sensed it to as she moved their new torch toward the direction of the sound.

Two antenna wiggled into view followed by the head of their owner. A sort of silvery armour covered the body of the

thing as it scuttled further into view. Mandeok did the only thing he could.

"Identify"

A second or two passed before a box of text appeared before, as though the system was thinking whether or not to allow it. It was just the very basic information because of the low level of the skill he'd used. Frankly he was just glad it had worked first time. If not he would have wasted 30 mana, a disadvantage he didn't want before the fight even began.

-: Identification: Silverfish. A pest that has grown to sizeable proportions by consuming texts that were magical in nature. Along with size it has gained a fair resistance to magical energies :-

'So my first enemy is a insect mutated by magic, interesting' Mandeok thought as he tried to consider how to go about defeating this foe.

Jazmina on the other hand was not one for thinking, she was aiming to be a mage specialising in fire magic and had the Real World personality to match. Quick tempered she preferred to shoot fire balls at any problem till it either went away or she burned down the surroundings. In fact the only reason she, a level 20 player, had to endure working at the Library was so she could either acquire or gain access to a scroll containing information about a powerful Pyromancer's Lair.

It would be a blessing for any mage but a true goldmine for any aspiring pyromancers like herself. So when the first enemy appeared, and while her meat shield did nothing, she calmly outstretched her arm and charged her spell. Small flames licked her palm

The thick fingers of the dwarf grabbed the delicate wrist of his companion. The first thing he thought as he looked her square in the face really showed his age

'Tch! This is why kids nowadays are no good. No common sense and no patience.'

She was struggling against his grip and he could feel the heat from the flames she was creating.

"First it has some magical resistance; second we don't know how many there are and thirdly if you miss you might set this whole place on fire."

Cold undeniable logic cooled her passion for battle. With the heat dissipating from her hand he released her wrist from the vice like grip. He put a firm hand on her shoulder and slowly began to back up towards the door. The ball of flame they used as a light source floated with them.

They felt their backs bump against the solid frame of the door. A small box appeared.

-:Numbers of monsters left: 1023. Books lost:0:-

The ball of fire meanwhile had floated near something hanging on the wall. It fizzled from the emanating heat before bursting into flame. Setting off a chain of torches igniting themselves all around the room.

The two Adventures stood wide eyed. Before them wriggled maybe twenty of the foot long silver insects. Their antennas probing the air as they sensed a change in their environ. The fiery mage let out a very girly squeal upon seeing the horde of creepy crawlies. Disorientated by light and now attracted to the sound the silverfish in the room advanced toward them.

Mandeok appraised the situation. The room was actually quiet large, its curved walls reminded him of the library floors above. An open passage way at the far end meant it was safe to assume the layout could be similar. His weapon may have just been picked up from the forest floor but it would serve his purpose well. One end, the part that had once been attached to the tree, was thicker than the other. He could quiet happily use > with that end while > with the other.

The closest couple had reached them by now. In front was the first one they had encountered. The mage was meant for more long range engagement so he would be of more use here until they could gain some ground and put some distance between them and their foes.

The front runner leap at them. Its tiny legs flailed in the air as it searched for a surface to cling to. Its rows of teeth oscillating in its small mouth, bared towards them menacingly.

Had it eyes fully adjusted to the new light levels it may have noticed the blurred staff end flying towards it. Mandeok batted it away with a flick of his branch.

"Have a taste of my Namu Mangchi."

He twirled it in front of him like a propeller before sweeping it to the right and left. The ends of the branch tracing figure eights in the air like he had done at the Training Hall when he wasn't striking the dummy. Enjoying the feeling it had made when it connected with the silverfish he was surprised when a box popped up.

-: New Skill: Staff Ward(Beginner level 1 (0.0%)):-

A defensive move that benefited from his staff mastery. Was he truly favoured by the Gods.

No. It was just the last of the results of his training showing through. It hadn't been easy defending against the dummy's nonexistent attacks but it had given him the time to get used to the motion. It was the sweetest fruit that had blossomed from his four weeks of blood and sweat.

Another two made a lunge. He twirled the staff and cried "staff ward." sending the insects flying back 10 feet. They landed on their backs and curled into defensive balls. They rolled over and righted themselves, advancing once more on their target, now a little more angry from the assault.

Jazmina had recovered enough upon seeing her companion knocking back the first wave to gather enough mana. Channelling what she had into her staff, the end of which began to glow white hot, small tendrils of smoke wafted from it. > was not part of her usual spell rotation but it cost comparatively little mana and could cause further damage. The drawback being it required close range to use.

Another silverfish drew close and the dwarf raised the staff above him. He brought the thick end down onto its head. The brutal smash was not as effective as he hoped. The insects thick silvery armour absorbed most of the impact. Not enough to stave off the stun effect however. She watched Mandeok draw the staff back to a ready position and the silverfish stagger a little. She struck before it could recover.

The room was filled with a stench like burning plastic and the screech of the insect. As the walls and shelves quivered with the sound the antenna of all other silverfish straightened. They were now aggro'ed to the squishy mage.

If Mandeok and Jazmina had formed a party when they entered the archives then he would have seen the massive chunk of damage her attack had done. It may not have killed it but the burn status it inflicted had chipped away what remained of its health. Their first kill.

The melted carcass of the silverfish faded to grey smoke. If they had been a party Mandeok may have got some of the experience from that kill but as they weren't he didn't.

The experience she gained from it was not to bad considering the level difference but at least now she knew they were weak to fire.

"Tank for me with that stun and knock back thing."

Mandeok had the Health and Mana to take more than a few hits from these bugs. So it wasn't such a bad idea. He nodded in acceptance and took a step forward, stationing himself between the aggravated bugs and his fragile mage.

They moved forward tentatively, Mandeok swept them away and Jazmina branded those that were stunned by his powerful blows. She raked in most of the EXP but he picked up a few points here and there. The first ring was cleared after around 500 bugs became grey smoke.

The few items they dropped were scraps of paper. Jazmina didn't care about collecting them so he was free to scoop them up as he saw fit. She had her eyes on the bigger prize while he thought 'a bird in the hand.'

The layout of the archive was similar to the floors above all be it more maze like. Rows and aisles of books shelves that twisted and winded around the room could come to dead ends or loop back on themselves. They spent more time than they really needed down there because they got lost so frequently.

With every ring they cleared the number of silverfish per ring decreased but the level they were at went up. Mandeoks herbs meant they didn't need to return to the surface at all and so just blindly pressed on into the crumbling bookcases.

-:Numbers of monsters left: 3. Books lost:20:-

They had reached the ninth ring. Mandeok had no idea how the lost book count would affect the outcome but he had attacked any silverfish he saw happily munching on a book. Neither of them had shared their respective quests and they still hadn't formed a party. By the occasional happy look on her face he could tell she had either levelled up or her skills and spells had.

They had scouted the ring and determined that it only had two silverfish. Unlike the other rings there was a solid stone wall at its centre with a great door. It held no handle nor hinges and looked immovable. There were no gaps around the edge that one might expect from warping with age. They examined every inch of it but could find no way of opening it.

Jazmina reasoned that the door wouldn't be opened until they defeated the enemies in the room. Seeing nothing wrong with the statement he agreed. So they found themselves in the corridor of the silverfish to the right of the door. If the walled off 10th ring had been a clock the door would be 12 and both silverfish were located in similar dead ends at 3 and 9. The maze connected the two straight through the 6 o'clock position.

This latest foe registered their presence as soon as they entered its corridor but it didn't move from its spot. They tried to taunt it to them. The thing refused to budge so Mandeok shuffled towards it. It moved quicker than he was prepared for and a single swipe of its three pronged tail shaved off 5% of his health. He leapt back to evade any follow up but nothing came.

The silverfish just went back to sitting in the dark at the end of its corridor. They took a moment to let their meat shield heal and headed off to the others lair.

It was the same thing. Again they couldn't provoke it to them and he lost chunks of health every time it defended the space it was in.

Eventually they managed to overwhelm one of them and whittle it down to its last few points of life when the unthinkable happened.

It glowed with a silvery aura and gained a buff. They watched in horror as its health climbed slowly back to around 90%. Unable to continue they fled with what remained of their lives.

"I think that was a >." the mage said after they had rested enough to think straight.

Mandeok just looked at her

"It allows you to channel health into a team mate. There is a dungeon out West with a similar boss fight mechanic. I vaguely remember the video of the Guild fight."

"So.....what's that mean for us?" he queried

She pouted as she formulated a plan "We need to kill them at the same time. Do you think you can do that, take one without my help?"

The last part felt a bit insulting but Mandeok held his tongue and just nodded. Before standing up, checking the durability on his wooden staff and heading for the silverfish in the North.

When she had reached the one in the Southern part of the maze she sent him a quick whisper to begin.

He stood at the boundary of the lair with his weapon drawn. After her message he moved forward inch by inch. Sliding his feet slowly so as not to disturb his stance. The silverfish reared at his approach. Lashing out with its tail when he got within range.

Mandeok was prepared. He had enough mana to confidently use his three staff techniques for almost a half hour but knew that in Royal Road you could attack without using mana or weapon skills. The weapons themselves functioned much the same as they would in the real world. So he decided to save his skills for when he was in a pinch.

He parried the tails by side stepping and using the staff end to alter their direction. Every few parries he would launch a > at the things legs trying to knock it off balance if even for a few seconds. When that succeeded he would raise the staff and unleash a punishing > to any part of the insect that was in reach.

Rinse and repeat.

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