049

—Tough day at school, boy?—Someone asked from Adam's back.

Adam turned around and saw the person on the stairs, they seemed to be a guard who was changing shifts.

The boy did not know what to answer or rather his mouth was opening and closing many times trying to find an answer to this riddle, but it seemed that there was no correct answer.

When Adam turned around, the guard was able to recognize the boy, there weren't many and this boy always stopped at his door to study and stayed there for a couple of shifts. When he saw that Adam's robes were covered with blood, the guard knew what had happened and said with great sorrow:

—It's all right now, boy, unfortunately the shelves are always cruel to us.

Adam understood, the answer to the riddle was patience and let the guard's mind create a good excuse for you.

Seeing that the boy seemed to come to his senses again, the guard put his hand on Adam's shoulder and added:

—But listen well, kid, that's also why we can't be afraid of bookshelves. There are already many who were afraid before us, now those of us who live have to be brave because of the blood that stains each one of the secrets of this library.

Adam was quite motivated by the words of encouragement and followed the guard who escorted him to the first middle floor stairwell exits.

When the guard saw that the boy was leaving normally he went back up the stairs, it seemed that he took the trouble to go down a few more steps to help Adam.

Adam, somewhat calmer, walked to the eyeless old man's bookshelf, but before he could get there, the eyeless old man came out with joy and yelled at him, resounding throughout the corridor:

—But look who's here! The red-haired hero! The famous library adventurer who defeats evil in his wake!

Adam didn't know where to hide, they weren't supposed to draw attention to the shelves, but the old man was messing everything up, in a bit of a hurry he ran to the shelf and said quietly:

—But why are you screaming? The whole hexagon will hear us!

A smile appeared on the old man's mouth, and proudly he said:

—Why don't you check out my shelves to find out?

Adam looked at the shelves of his and was surprised it seemed that the black book was magical too, but it seemed too normal for him to notice. But Adam was too nervous to celebrate, the old man noticed the problem and let Adam in.

Once inside Adam calmed down, the first thing he did was tell the whole thing to his godfather to ask for his opinion, meanwhile the old man without eyes commented:

—Adam, my boy, you never cease to amaze me. Two magical books, you are the first hero to bring me so much joy! I knew a lunatic like you desperate to survive would be a good investment, but this really is a pleasant surprise.

Adam ignored the delusions of the eyeless old man and carefully read his godfather's response: 'You're already in the war, now you can only take advantage of it or die trying. Make sure the eyeless old man sees you as something valuable.' The last sentence only appeared a few seconds before it disappeared, so only Adam could read it.

The eyeless old man noticed that Adam was still talking to his godfather, so he went outside to appreciate the new book on his shelf, looking for him in which position he would get more attention from the librarians. After a while the eyeless old man reappeared in the cave and with a very worried voice he commented to Adam:

—Unfortunately, the book is written in the language of the mezzanines or as you call it the language of the creatures, not many librarians read it on these very safe floors, but it is the first book in this language that I have obtained, so it may be useful to capture globetrotters or missionaries.

Adam did listen carefully to this part and opened the book, indeed he did not understand anything, this was another language, and he would have to master it if he wanted to read the book. With much annoyance, Adam asked:

—Do you know what I can do to learn this language or translate it?

—Yes, go down, very low—answered the old man without eyes—until you find a series of infected floors and without librarians. The shelves in that area will pamper you to learn the new language. Believe me, they are desperate for librarians, the poor bastards who live in that area.

Adam was even more annoyed, he didn't know what he meant by an infected floor, but from the name it should be a horrible place.