Chapter 2

After James had woken up the man had spent a month drilling him on all the information he needed to know. He learned that this place was a giant floating island, not unlike Asgard. He also learned that powerful people could sometimes come to the library. The only way to come is if a rift opens up in their world. He also learned that all fictional worlds were, in actuality, real. Having been an avid reader he had inevitably ventured into the realm of anime and manga.

He was excited to possibly meet his favorite fictional characters immediately, but was disappointed to hear he couldn't. The man was purposely suppressing the rifts while he trained me to allow us to progress without interruption. There was a set of rules that came with being tower master, and to say they were strict was an understatement. He clearly remembered that lesson.

When he entered for his daily lesson he was surprised to see the man, he still didn't know his name, uncaristicly serious. Usually he had a playful smile but today he looked grim. As he sat down the man began speaking, "Today you will learn about the set of rules that come with being a tower master. Should these rules be broken, you will be stripped of your title by the power possessed by the tower." He was surprised,he didn't know the tower could do that. He was also surprised to hear the man had to follow rules, he honestly thought he did whatever he wanted, but still steeled himself and listened. Nodding, the man continued, "Rule number one, 'A person or group who comes to the library may never take out more than one book at a time'. Should they attempt to take more than one, subdue them. Rule number two, 'Should a book not be returned within 2 weeks, you are obligated to venture to the world of the person who borrowed it, and take it back.' That is arguably the most important of the rules. Rule Number 3 'Should the current master of the library feel they are close to death, they must take an apprentice.' The tower must always have a master, no matter what. And the final rule, 'The tower master or apprentice may never love nor marry.' This rule is to prevent the growth of occupants in this world. Should that happen, there would be an imbalance in this reality and the tower would fall. I am sorry but these rules must never be broken." He sat there in shock for a moment before leaving the room.

After he had calmed down a bit and reluctantly realised why those rules, specifically the final one, were needed. He still wasn't happy about it, to know that you could never love someone was truly disheartening, but he got over it and returned to his lessons the next day. His teacher taught him about how to deal with visitors and how to be charismatic and welcoming. He was pretty bad at that part so his teacher made him perfect a fake smile. Another thing he learned was how to care for the library.

Apparently, the blue orbs all worked from the same generator and that generator needed to be filled with magic energy every week for them to work. When the old man died and passed the tower to him, he would need to do it or they would fail and the tower would be plunged into darkness, and the books would stop being repaired. When the old man deemed his knowledge passable, they moved to training.

Arriving at the room he was surprised to see the old man not sitting but standing in the center of the room holding what looked like 4 wrist gauntlets. The old man spoke up, "Today we will be starting on your physical and magical training. These gauntlets are adjustable gravity seals, they will increase your gravity and allow you to progress faster. When I deem your physical strength acceptable I will unlock your magic and we will start with that. Now, put these on and run laps until you drop." As the old man finished I put on the weights and groaned, but got to it.

As it turned out, he could only do 20 laps around the room with 2x gravity before he collapsed. Apparently the human body was not made to support that gravity and the only reason he went as long as he did was the conditioning for his various extreme sports. The old man was impressed, but he wished the old man would die so he never had to do that again.

And so for 10 months he continued to do physical workouts, pushups, situps, and, the old bastard's favorite, laps. Everytime he got used to the gravity it would be increased and he would have to get used to it all over again. By the time he was done and he took the weights off he could run faster than a car and smash boulders with his fist. He had to begrudgingly admit that the old man's training worked. When he was finally deemed strong enough they started the study of magic.

He groaned as he woke up, the previous day's training still weighing on his muscles. When he arrived at the training room the old man was holding a giant book, as thick as his arm. "This is a book on elemental magic, a magic that, as the name implies, lets you harness the elements and use them at your will. I will pour my magic into your body, unlocking it and giving you huge reserves fueled by my own. Now come here, sit with your back to me." He did so and all he felt was the old man's cold hand on his back and a muttered "Sorry" before the worst pain he had ever felt racked through him. He screamed and screeched for hours even after the old man had stopped pumping his magic through him. It was the worst thing he had ever felt, anything else paled in comparison, even dying.

By the time the pain stopped he was crying and curled up into a ball, sweat pouring down him. He wasn't a protagonist, he couldn't suddenly get stronger than this. All he wanted to do was die. The old man put his hand on his forehead and he passed out.

Over the next 2 years he trained to get control of the elements, he was a master at controlling the 5 basic elements and he was trying to combine them into secondary elements such as ice. One day, when he got up, he felt different… like there was a strange energy in his body. He rushed to the training room to tell the old man, but all he found was silence and a cold body. That day he cried. After giving the old man the burial he deserved, he got his first visitor as tower master.