When I hit solid ground, I staggered forward into a forest of towering bookshelves stretching into what felt like infinity. Dust motes drifted like lazy fireflies through warm, golden light. Before I could take in anything else, a window appeared.

  Floor 2

  Objective: Find the Exit of the Living Library

  Secret Objective: Unknown

  Time Left: 23h 59m 59s

  “Living Library, huh,” I muttered. “Looks friendlier than Bikini Bottom Dungeon, at least.”

  I dismissed the notification and kept scanning the rows of books. A living library meant shifting shelves. Probably a maze. Good—usually that meant exploration instead of—

  A book popped off the shelf.

  It snapped open midair.

  A page tore itself out, folded faster than origami on crack, and formed a spear.

  “Wait—”

  The spear shot toward my face like a bullet. I barely dodged, the tip slicing a line across my cheek before embedding itself in the shelf behind me.

  So much for “less fighting.”

  I summoned my bat and took a stance. Another spear launched. This time I was ready.

  Sweet Spot Activated.

  I swung. The deflection didn’t just knock it aside—it rocketed across the room and punched a hole through the opposite shelf.

  “Oh. That’s cool.”

  A new idea formed. The next spear flew. I swung but missed the angle. It zipped past the book. Another came—missed left. The book wasn’t changing its rhythm; it just kept spamming identical spear shots like a training dummy with an attitude.

  Perfect practice.

  Spear after spear flew at me. My timing improved with each attempt. On maybe the tenth shot, everything lined up.

  I swung.

  CRACK.

  The deflected spear drilled straight through the book. It dropped to the floor like a dead bird.

  Bookling – Lvl 4 Defeated

  Experience Awarded

  Skill Unlocked:

  Deflect Missile — Uncommon

  Redirect incoming projectiles with precise timing and force.

  Synergy Detected with Density Breaker.

  Skill Upgrade: Deflect Missile — Rare

  Redirect any physical projectile regardless of weight or momentum.

  The system recognized intention. Apparently skills could evolve by synergy. Good to know, even if getting shot at by papercraft wasn’t ideal.

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  The Bookling dropped nothing. Of course. Why would a book drop anything useful? Still… disappointing.

  I moved deeper into the hallway, bat raised. The deeper I went, the more prickling tension crawled up my neck, like someone was flipping through my thoughts like pages.

  The shelves shifted. Not loudly—just a quiet shuffle, like they’d always been arranged that way. The hall split into a fork. Right or left. Both identical.

  “Cool. No hints.”

  I chose right. Ten minutes later, I froze. The corpse of the Bookling lay on the floor.

  “…Great.”

  I’d walked a perfect circle.

  I tried the left path. Ten minutes later—Bookling corpse.

  Both paths looped back.

  This time, instead of choosing either direction, I examined the shelf between the two paths. The books there wouldn’t budge. Glued in place.

  “Screaming ‘FAKE SHELF.’”

  I swung my bat. Wood splintered and a massive hole tore open, revealing a new passageway.

  “Bingo.”

  I stepped through into a large reading room—tables, chairs, tiny lamps. Cozy, if it wasn’t part of a shifting hell-maze. A door sat at the far end, but first I searched the walls. A shelf on the left refused to move. Fake.

  I smashed it open, revealing a closet-sized chamber containing a small wooden chest.

  “Oh hell yeah.”

  I opened it.

  Empty.

  “Why do I even—”

  The room’s lamps flickered.

  Five books launched off the shelves and hit the floor with heavy thuds.

  Their covers snapped open. Pages ripped free.

  “…Here we go.”

  Two Booklings folded into spear forms again. Two thickened into tackling battering-ram shapes. The last rose into the air, swirling pages around itself as a spark ignited above its spine.

  “Oh good. A wizard book.”

  It hurled a fireball. I dove aside as the blast scorched the floor. The spear Booklings fired simultaneously. I swung—

  CRACK.

  Deflected the first.

  Swung again—angle off. Grazed my hip.

  The tackling Booklings charged, covers snapping like jaws. The first hit me full-force. I staggered but held my stance. The second barreled past as I jumped aside, splintering a table. The Pyromancer Bookling fired again. I rolled forward as another explosion ripped through the room.

  “YOU—ARE—THE—PROBLEM!”

  I sprinted for the Magic Bookling, but the tacklers cut me off. They lunged. I swung—

  The first toppled sideways into the second. Both crashed into a table. The spear Booklings attacked again.

  CRACK.

  First deflection—clean.

  CRACK.

  Second—perfect.

  One spear impaled a Bookling instantly. The other narrowly missed its partner as it jerked aside.

  The Magic Bookling shrieked and unleashed rapid-fire fireballs. I zigzagged through them, batting two away and letting the third whiff past my shoulder. The tacklers recovered, regrouped, and charged in a pincer formation.

  “Seriously? Last time I open a chest.”

  The first lunged. I swung upward.

  WHAM.

  It smashed into a hanging lamp.

  The second lunged low. I twisted and slammed my bat down.

  CRUNCH.

  Flattened.

  Only the spear Bookling and the Pyromancer remained.

  The Pyromancer fired a fireball. I deflected it right at the spear Bookling; it ignited instantly.

  “You see?” I shouted. “That’s how books react to fire, you physics-defying notebook!”

  The Pyromancer responded by firing three more.

  I dodged through them, sprinted across a table, then leaped. My bat came down hard—

  WHAM!

  The Magic Bookling spiraled into a shelf and dropped motionless.

  Bookling Spearman – Lvl 4 Defeated

  Bookling Spearman – Lvl 4 Defeated

  Bookling Tackler – Lvl 5 Defeated

  Bookling Tackler – Lvl 5 Defeated

  Bookling Pyromancer – Lvl 6 Defeated

  Experience Awarded

  I approached the charred heap. A new window appeared.

  Loot Acquired:

  Spell Scroll – Elemental Bolt (Common)

  The scroll materialized in my hand. Warm. Faintly glowing.

  Spell Scroll Detected.

  Learn Elemental Bolt?

  [Yes] [No]

  “Sure,” I muttered.

  The scroll unraveled and dissolved into light.

  Spell Learned:

  Elemental Bolt — Common (Rank 1)

  Fire, Water, Earth, or Wind. Cooldown: 20 seconds.

  A spark flickered from my palm.

  “…Okay. That’s cool.”