What seems to fuel me this weekend is the insurmountable rage bottled up within me and a hint of boredom. I woke early on a weekend. Yipee. So, I’ve already baked for the day, gardened for the day, and eaten on Penelope's dime for the day. There really isn’t much else for me to do except for maybe sleeping, but it’s far too early for that.

  Which has led me to the library. They finally finished fixing up the damage from last week's imp battle, so I thought it might be a good idea to go and check it out. I was thinking I would look for books on Dungeons and maybe Slimes. After all, I’m still furious about that red slime using my own [Skill] against me. How dare it have the audacity to use the most mundane [Skill] available to everybody and anybody. It might as well have stabbed me in the back with my own knife or pebble, in this case.

  The library sprawls out with the buzz of students. Who goes to the library on the weekend? Don’t they have anything better to do? Well, I’m not one to talk. Enough stalling, let's brave the weird and disorienting organizational system of this library.

  As I step forward, a woman calls out to me. “Chosen One, I was hoping you would stop by eventually.”

  Looking over to the source, I find the Librarian, whom I kind of met when I was last in the library. She was paralyzed, and I was fighting an imp, but we technically met.

  “Hi… I’m happy to see that you’ve recovered from the venom… Muriel,” I say as I look down at her name tag.

  “Thanks to you, I’m doing much better now. I wanted to give you this as thanks,” Muriel says as she hands me a basket of bread.

  “Thank you, I’m a big fan of bread. Now that I have you. Is there any chance you could point me to where the books about Dungeons and Slimes are?”

  “Of course. That is my job. Books about Dungeons can be found in that aisle, and slimes can be found in that aisle,” she says, pointing out the locations.

  “Lovely. Well, I leave you to your work,” I say, carrying a basket of bread.

  “Of course. It’s never a bother,” Muriel says as I walk further into the library.

  What a nice lady. She even gave me bread. I guess I won’t have to eat the cookies I brought. Well, I might as well eat them. I’ve been really hungry these last couple of days. Not the usual hunger either. It feels more ravenous than usual. Thankfully, Penelope is paying for all my meals. I should get something for Dinner after I’m done here.

  Turning the corner of the aisle, I find a whole deluge of Dungeon books and something else. Sitting on the ground reading a book is William, the blond Dwarf from class.

  “Hi, William. Getting some studying in?” I ask as I grab a book named ‘Beginners Guide to Dungeons’.

  William gives me a slow nod. Oh, that’s right. He doesn’t really speak much. I knew a guy like him on the streets. Although in his case, he didn’t speak because he thought an evil wizard was listening to his every word. He was a good guy. What was his name? …Ah, silent Pete. I wonder what he’s up to?

  “Want some bread?” I ask as I sit next to him.

  He gives a slow nod as he grabs some bread from my basket.

  Well, this seems like a good enough place to read as any. Let's dig in.

  A deep yawn escapes me as I flip to the last page of my third book. I’ve never read this many books at once in my entire life. It feels like my brain is on fire, but at least I learned something. Looking down at the small pile of books, I cement the information in my mind.

  ‘Beginners Guide to Dungeons’ was about what you would expect. Traps, creatures, layouts, and the oddities of condensed MP in a Dungeon. There was some actually interesting stuff in there. One thing I found really interesting is that the layout of a Dungeon is constantly changing at different rates based on ambient MP. Some can have their whole layout change in hours, and others barely change in decades. It almost feels like the Dungeon is a living being. I also learned that the Core can be naturally occurring or artificially made. In fact, the University has some artificial Dungeons available to second years.

  The second book I read was ‘A Simple Guide to Slimes’. It wasn’t a very long book. In fact, I don’t think I would call it a book. It felt more like a brochure that a town would make for tourists. I used to steal those for kindling. Back to the point. I learned there are different kinds of slimes that vary in color, size, and general threat. The one we met in the Dungeon was a Red Slime. They’re a higher [Level] slime that doesn’t let its size diminish its speed. It likes to use that to its advantage as it engulfs its prey before they even know what happened. If they can’t get the drop on their prey, they resort to firing nearby rubble. Overall, the brochure was informative.

  Now, the book I just read doesn’t really have to do with why I came in here, but it was interesting. It’s called ‘Advanced Baking Recipes’. I mean, I had to do it. The book was calling out to me. There’s some good stuff in here that I didn’t even think was possible. Folding the cookie onto itself before baking it is revolutionary. I mean, who even comes up with these things?

  William stands up and dusts the bread crumbs off himself.

  “Heading out?” I ask as I place my books back.

  He nods as he rifles through his pocket, pulling out a shiny-looking coin about the size of my palm. He then places the coin in my hand and closes it.

  “Is this for me?” I ask awkwardly while holding the coin.

  If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  He nods yet again and walks out of the aisle without making a single noise.

  It’s not money, but I’ll keep it. I slip the coin into one of the many hidden pockets I made in my jacket. I guess I should also head back to Hall. It is getting late after all. Placing the books back where they belong, I pass a woman who has raven black hair and wolf ears. She also has a green uniform.

  “Luna?” I ask.

  The woman turns around with a smile. “Yes? How can I help you?”

  Oh, Hopper is going to have a hop when he hears this.

  I hide a devilish smile. “I’m Hopper's roommate. He's told me great things about you.”

  “Oh, yes. CJ, right? How’s Hopper doing? I haven’t seen him in a bit,” she asks, holding her books close.

  Hopper says they’re friends, but the way he talks about her is not how I’d talk about a friend. I wonder if the feeling is mutual. This seems like the perfect time to find out.

  “He’s actually not doing so well,” I exaggerate.

  “Really, is he okay? Is he sick again? He would always get sick around this time of year. I swear,” she says with fondness.

  “You could say he’s sick. He’s been working himself to the bone. I mean, he’s burning the candle at both ends kind of deal. I think the only time he rests is when he sleeps,” I exaggerate.

  “Oh, that doesn’t seem like him. He’s usually more laid back than that. Back home, he’d always skip out on work and find any chance to goof off,” she says, reminiscing on those times.

  Hmm. That doesn’t sound like him. He’s uptight, hard working, and as far as I can tell, I’ve never seen him slack off. Then again, I’ve only known him for two weeks, but back on topic. I’m not getting a romantic spark from her. Maybe it is one-sided. There’s one more thing I can try. I’m sorry, Hopper.

  “It must be that girl. Well, I’d hate to keep you on a weekend,” I say, subtly dropping a bomb.

  Luna grabs my wrist with more force than I was expecting. “What girl?” she asks calmly.

  “Just some girl from class.”

  “Is she cute?”

  “Uh… Yes,” I say, committing to the bit.

  “Hmm. Thank you for this information, CJ,” she says in a scary tone.

  “Uh, I don't think he's into her. He just said she was inspiring. She works really hard, and I think he wants to emulate that work ethic,” I say, trying to salvage the situation.

  Luna lets go of my wrist. “Well, that’s nice. It’s good to see him making friends. You’d tell me if he was interested in anybody, right?” she asks with a forceful tone.

  “Yes, I would tell you immediately. As far as I know, he’s really focused on studying. After all, he's at the bottom of the Advanced class. So he has to keep up the work,” I say, trying to get out of this situation.

  “He’s in the Advanced class?”

  “You didn’t know?”

  “Nope.”

  Damn it, Hopper. Why did you get me into this situation, and why didn’t you tell me that Luna is scary? I thought friends were supposed to look out for each other.

  “I’m sure he wanted it to be a surprise. Which I just ruined. I need to leave before I say anything else,” I say as I try to leave.

  “Anything else? Like what, CJ?” she says coldly.

  “Nothing. There’s nothing I’m not telling you. So, that was just a slip of the tongue,” I say, growing nervous.

  “What aren’t you telling me, CJ?” she says, looming over me.

  I look behind her. “Hopper?” I ask.

  As she turns around, I make a break for it. I rush past the aisles of books and the librarian, Muriel. In seconds, I find myself outside on a cold winter night, and before long, I burst through the doors of Azalea Hall. Catching my breath, I look up to see Penelope.

  “What are you doing?” she says as she drinks tea.

  “Oh, nothing. Just my nightly jog through the snow. As one does. Definitely nothing suspicious. What are you doing?” I say as I sit across from her.

  “Waiting for a friend. We’re going to have tea. What did you do?” she asks with an accusatory tone.

  “Nothing, but in an unrelated note. What do you know about Lupin's twin sister, Luna?” I ask nonchalantly.

  Penelope places her teacup down. “She’s an efficient fighter. Where Lupin is all strength and brutality, Luna is about efficiency and speed. She’s considered the fastest second year. Why?”

  “No reason. No reason at all. On a side note. Do you know of a cute woman in our class who is evil to the core?” I ask, hoping for a scapegoat.

  Penelope squints at me. “No. What did you do?”

  “I may have done something stupid,” I say while serving myself some tea.

  “Like what, Charlatan?”

  “May have insinuated that Luna’s ‘friend’ is… possibly romantically entangled with somebody else,” I say, choosing my words carefully.

  “Oh My Gods. Why would you do something like that? You already angered Lupin- Wait. No. Luna and Hopper,” she whispers as she comes to a realization.

  “Quiet. I didn’t tell you anything. You figured it out yourself. You understand me?” I panic.

  “That’s why Lupin is angry with Hopper. He’s snogging his sister.”

  “They’re not snogging. They’re just 'friends' apparently. Although based on the reaction I just saw. It could be more,” I whisper as I take a sip of tea.

  “This is interesting. We need to keep an eye on this.”

  “Of course, and we’re doing this out of our worry for Hopper. No other reason,” I [Lie].

  “Of course. What other reason would there be?”

  Penelope's friend comes into view. “I’ll be going now. I’ll keep you apprised of the situation,” I say as I walk to my room.

  As I enter my room, I collapse onto my bed.

  “Have a long day?” Hopper asks.

  “Yeah. I’m going to sleep. Night,” I say.

  “Night.”

  The hum of silence fills the room.

  “Heads up. I talked to Luna today and told her you were in the Advanced class. Night again,” I say under my breath.

  “You did what!?”

  Damned bunny ears.