The City's Library

I entered the main room of the library, which revealed a vast expanse of shelves upon shelves of books. The room was dimly lit, with the soft glow of lanterns casting flickering shadows across the walls. The smell of ancient parchment and leather bindings filled my nostrils.

I wandered through the aisles, marveling at the sheer number of books. Some shelves towered over me, while others were shorter and easier to browse. The books themselves were of various sizes and shapes, some thick and imposing, others slender and delicate.

The covers were adorned with intricate designs, and some were adorned with precious gems and metals, glinting in the dim light.

What baffles me the most is that all the books are written in a completely different original language created for the game. I could still understand it somehow. It seems the system automatically translates everything for you.

But why create a new language just to translate it back? Wouldn't it be easier to use some already existing language? I guess they aimed for maximum immersion, but still, it seems like a waste.

Maybe there is some hidden reason for it that I'm missing. I decided not to dwell on it and instead focus on the reason why I came here in the first place.

The library was mostly empty; there were a few people now and then, but I couldn't see a single player. Well, that makes sense. Who would be stupid enough to waste their time and money when they could be out there killing monsters and getting stronger?

Most casual players nowadays aren't much interested in the lore or story of the game. I certainly am, and there are definitely others like me out there.

But given how many people want to play this game, I'm sure that I saw just a fraction of the total number of players here. There must be many spawn points, and we were randomly spawned across the game world.

So although I'm quite sad that no one here seems to appreciate the knowledge, there are certainly others browsing similar libraries in other cities right now.

Or maybe I'm just trying to justify my stupidity in spending so much money to look at some dusty lore books.

Wanting to get my money's worth, I started to look through the books. There were so many books on many different topics like history, philosophy, and religion, but nothing about magic. I was getting frustrated, so when I saw an old librarian walking between the isles, I immediately went to ask him.

"Uhm, excuse me, sir. Can I ask you a question?"

He looked at me with surprise and said, "Hello there, young man. What can I do for you?"

"I was wondering if you could point me to where are the books about magic?"

"Haha! Magic, you say? Do you think such precious tomes would be kept in a public library?"

"Hmm, I guess not. Do you perhaps have any books about classes?"

"You want to learn more about classes? You are such an enthusiastic young learner; that is rare to see these days."

He paused for a while and then said, "Tell me, do you like books?"

"I suppose I do if they have useful information," I replied, perplexed by such a strange question.

"Well, as you still lack class and you have a thirst for knowledge, how about becoming a librarian? I'm getting old and I'm in need of a successor, but I couldn't find any suitable candidates to become my apprentice."

As soon as he said that, a pop-up window appeared in front of me.

[You have received a hidden quest: Secret Knowledge]

[Quest description: The old librarian of Arondale's city library is looking for an apprentice. Do you have what it takes to become a librarian?]

[Quest rewards: Class: Librarian (Rare), Exp +100, Reputation +1]

Wait... what? I want to be a mage, not a librarian! Wait... did it say, rare class? What is rare about being a librarian? My head is a mess right now, as I'm overwhelmed by this unexpected turn of events.

Normally, I like to look at guides and forums to see what are the best ways to build a character. However, with everyone going blind into this game, there is no such option. I need to think about this carefully.

But all this while, as I tried to make sense of this, the old librarian stared at me, waiting for my answer.

Ah! I can't focus at all!

Okay, I think I will go for it. While I don't know anything about this class. The fact that it is rare and also comes from a hidden quest means that it must be good, right?

The classes offered at the adventurer's guild were only common after all. This better be good! I exclaimed internally as I pressed the "Yes" button.

"Thank you for your offer. I accept." I replied to the librarian.

"Wonderful!"

"All you need to do now is pass an exam so that nobody could question your qualifications for the job, and you will become a librarian."

"Wait, you didn't say anything about an exam!"

"Well, of course, there is an exam. It is part of the standard procedure. You can find more information about it in Section 2, Paragraph 1, of the Librarian Codex."

"Uh, no need. I will take your word for it. So what is the exam?"

"You see, a librarian's job is not just to preserve and care for the books already in our collection but also to actively search for new ones."

"I recently managed to find clues as to where an exceptionally rare tome can be found. But alas, I'm too old to go and investigate it myself."

"You see, the First librarian who founded this library and was also the most powerful librarian who ever lived in Arondale was famous for his research of Ancient civilization."

"When he died almost 200 years ago, his research results were buried with him. To protect his resting place from grave robbers, he was buried in an unmarked tomb in the city's cemetery. The exact location was hidden by his successors and eventually lost to time."

"But I was fortunate enough to discover the clue that was left behind and can lead you to his grave. It is in the form of a poem, but within it are said to be hidden instructions to locate his tomb."

"So your exam is to locate the tomb and retrieve the book from within." He said finishing his monologue. He then handed me a torn old page with a few lines of text on it.

"This is the poem I was talking about."

Cemetery? Tomb? Grave? I can already see where this is going...

"Ehm, how safe is the cemetery?" I said trying to hide my reluctance.

"If you go there at noon when the power of the Lord of Light is the strongest, you have nothing to worry about, but I would advise against visiting there at night."

"If you don't have any more questions, I need to return to my work. Good luck and take care."

After he said that, he quickly disappeared into the back of the library before I had a chance to think about more questions to ask him.

I released a sigh and made my way out of the library and back to the main plaza to look at this poem and think about how to proceed with this quest.