Normal Life Just Isn't the Same

"A library is like an island in the middle of a vast sea of ignorance, particularly if the library is very tall and the surrounding area has been flooded."

-Lemony Snicket

*****

I was starting to feel more confident in my abilities as a wizard, but as much as I wanted to keep practicing magic, I had the rest of my life to attend to. First was school. I hadn't attended for two months, and my grades were probably all 0's.

Second was the Library. There were still mysteries that I hadn't explored surrounding it. I still wasn't sure what it meant to "open" the Library. Would other people enter it? Other wizards? I was extremely curious.

But before that, I wanted to get back on track with my regular life. I still wanted to exist in society, especially if I wanted to rule as earth's first superhuman! I was hoping that due to the description in my status of "above average intelligence due to containing the power of the Library" would actually show some effects in school.

It was a monday morning, so I had a whole week of school ahead of me. When I got to my first period class, everyone in there looked at me funny. The teacher's face was filled with surprise.

"So, look who showed up."

He said.

"Yeah, sorry. Family emergency."

This was the holy grail of all excuses.

He sighed, but didn't ask any more questions. This was a school in a pretty rough area, and the teachers were too underpaid to make a fuss about a single student. This was an english class, so it wasn't too hard to understand the material even though I'd been missing for two months. English was something I'd always excelled in.

The rest of the day went similarly. The teachers were surprised but didn't make a big deal out of my return, and didn't bother to ask too many questions. At lunch time, I collected as much missing work as I could, and brought it home that evening.

Sigh... I didn't have many friends at school. It's not because people hate me or anything, but I just never made an effort to meet new people. The few friends I had weren't very close, and would only see me outside of school occasionally, so not seeing them for two months was actually relatively normal.

I didn't have a girlfriend, either, or even any love interests, so nobody particularly missed me. Well, to be fair, I certainly didn't miss school either. Magic was way better than this pre-calc homework...

But then I had an idea. I decided to let myself pass out, and found myself in the Library as usual. This time, I searched through earth's records, searching for the teacher's edition of my textbook! Huzzah!

All the answers to my pre-calc homework, right here in this book! I love you, Library! I was tempted to kiss one of the bookshelves right there, but decided that that would be sexual assault against the poor, defenseless Library.

With this, all my school problems would be solved! I quickly checked out every teacher's edition textbook for all my classes, and got to work filling in my missing work. It was easy, but boring and tedious, and the sheer volume of work I was missing caused it to take hours.

Once I was finally done, it was four in the morning, and I hadn't gotten much sleep. Unfortunately I hadn't yet figured out how to bring anything into the library, so I had to complete my homework while awake. Fortunately, since I'd started training my mana, sleep became far less important. It seemed my body had been thoroughly invigorated, allowing me to go days at a time without sleep, so I didn't feel particularly tired except for the mental exhaustion after having don't hours of tedious work. Now that school had ceased to be an issue, though, due to my impenetrable method of cheating, I could finally focus on my second greatest interest after magic. The ancient, badass art of library administration. There was a problem. Now that sleep was no longer a necessity, it became difficult for my body to get tired. The only method I could think of to force myself to sleep was to overuse Counterfeit Mana, but that also took a heavy toll on my body. I needed a more reliable method… maybe a spell? I looked through the Pamar book I had found the mana structure for Wind Step in. No, no, no… as I flipped through the pages, none of the structures seemed to fit my needs, up until the last page. It seemed that I would need to enter the library once again in order to find a method I could use to put myself to sleep. It was still the early morning, and I probably wouldn't need to sleep again until it was night again, so I decided to go get some fresh air. I threw on a hoodie and headed out onto the streets. I lived in a pretty rough neighborhood, on account of having just a small an amount of money wired to me every month by my grandfather for living expenses, so everything was dirty and the streets were lined with smoke shops and convenience stores. I made my way down to the school, who's field was had pretty much the only greenery in the town. Once I got there, I sat down in the grass and started to digest what had happened to me over the past month. It had all happened so quickly that I'd barely had the chance to process it all. Magic… it still hadn't really hit me yet that not only did magic turn out to be real, but that I had the perfect resource to learn as much of it as I pleased. I smiled as I daydreamed about all the possibilities. I focused on my mana, feeling the core of power in my naval. My mana reservoir was certainly growing. With the Library at my disposal, just how much stronger would I get?

*****

In a old, forgotten cathedral with ivory walls, a lone, old bishop prays before an effigy of his supreme god, one who has been long disregarded as generations have passed. For centuries his call has gone unanswered, but he persists in his devotion to his almighty master. As his eyes are closed in fervent prayer, he fails to notice that today, something has changed- the effigy, bearing the form of a large tortoise carrying a stone shell laden with symbols begins to glow in a dim, gray light. This would not go unnoticed for long. The bishop stirs as his prayer is interrupted by a voice that speaks in a tone so deep that it would be incomprehensible if not for the volume that it presented itself. It delivers to the bishop a single, monumental message- "PROGENITOR OF THE FORGOTTEN CREST, THINE IS THE PILGRIMAGE THAT MUST BE EMBARKED UPON. THE GATES OF BABEL WILL OPEN."

The bishop stands from his prostration, taking no pause before beginning preparations for the task at hand. A revival is imminent, and he will be the one to bear witness to it.

[Name: Calvin Sanchez]

[Title: Librarian Operator]

[Skills:]

[Wind Step /Active/ [LVL 1]:

Manipulates the wind to increase the caster's agility, as well as reducing their weight.]

[Counterfeit Mana /Active/ [LVL 1]:

Upon activation, your mana will appear to be far greater in density than it really is, attracting greater quantities of mana at a much faster rate and creating a more threatening aura within your mana reservoir.]

[Interpreter (1/1) /Active/ [LVL 1]:

Learn any language recorded in the Library by hearing it spoken or seeing it written and subsequently activating the skill.]

[Book Search /Active/ [LVL MAX]:

Search the records of the Library for a specific book by title or keywords.]

[Body:

Human Body (Librarian Enhancement)

An above average earthen human body enhanced by mana. Beginner level mana reservoir. Above average musculature. Above average intelligence due to containing the power of the Library.]

[Authorities:]

[Authority of the Library Operator]

[Binds:]