There it was, covered in years worth of dust, hidden all the way in the back of the library. It was the world’s best kept secret. And I, of all people -of all adventurers- was about to open it.
The note I had found outside my apartment door had lead me here. The simple words written on it were difficult clues that took complex solving and elaborate determination. It had taken me years to locate it. In the library alone, it was a minimum of five hours of constant searching.
This wasn’t a normal library. It was quite different from most- it didn’t have shelves. All types of books, thick and thin, colorful and dark stacked upon each other, cover to cover. Some of the stacks almost kissed the tall ceiling, others were just high enough to tower over my five-foot-seven figure, and a few stacks here and there were only tall enough to level up with my waist. I was sweating behind my light gray hoodie and blue jeans, so my dirty blonde hair was up in a ponytail.
The library was vast and bright. Covered over the walls were mighty stain glass windows. They shined beautiful ribbons of colors; which beamed across the tall stacks of books. It was a fascinating sight. The librarian up front mirrored the wisdom of the library. She wore a deep blue blazer and a gray button-up top, amidst a black belt over a dark pencil skirt. She had light, salted hair with wrinkles buried on her face, along with sharp, cat-like glasses, exposing her elderly age.
When I had asked her where the antique and older books were, she strolled with me to the very back of the library, walking with such steady and poise elegance. Then, when she spoke, you could easily notice she was full of experience, knowledge, and intelligence.
Someday, I decided right then, when I quit searching and adventuring, I would work in a library quite like this one. I would dress up in proper clothes and I would speak with quickness, sense, and skill, just like this librarian.
I had that decided.
So now, here I was, holding this book. Not just any book. This book was special, the only one in existence, and I was about to find out why.
At first, I just examined it. It was colored red as a hot coal, decorated with a single gold rose on the binding, and embellished with golden lettering to spell:
BOOK
It was so simple. Clean. Plain.
I ran my finger across the edge of the paper. It almost crumbled to the touch.
Nervously, I finally unlocked the secrets I had been waiting for by opening the book.