I opened the thin front cover of the small book that had just fallen onto my head from the high wooden shelf. I held the light volume steady in both of my hands, turning my focus directly to the very first page of paper inside. The texture of the page was slightly rough under my fingers, and the black ink stood out clearly against the plain white background. I looked inside and read that money can be earned by exploring unexplored dungeons or being a merchant and selling products, or getting paid by job. The first sentence on the page stated very plainly that a person could gather wealth by traveling into deep, mysterious places that had never been seen or mapped by anyone else before. I stared at the words carefully, reading each letter to understand the meaning fully. The text explained that these unexplored locations contained valuable items that could be collected if someone was brave enough to enter them and search the dark corners. I moved my eyes down to the next line of print to see what other methods were listed inside the small volume.
The second method written on the paper described how an individual could accumulate coins by engaging in trade and commerce within the world. I looked inside and read that money can be earned by exploring unexplored dungeons or being a merchant and selling products, or getting paid by job. The book explained that being a merchant involved buying various items from one location, carrying them safely across different areas, and then selling those products to people who needed them for a higher price. I read through the short sentences, following the simple instructions about managing goods, setting up a small shop or a stall, and exchanging products for currency. The text was very direct and easy to follow, outlining the basic ideas of trade without adding any complicated details or extra stories. I kept my hands steady on the edges of the open page, ensuring that I did not miss a single word of the written advice as I continued to look at the ink lines.
The third and final option mentioned on the rough paper was related to regular labor and employment. I looked inside and read that money can be earned by exploring unexplored dungeons or being a merchant and selling products, or getting paid by job. This section explained that a person could simply find a specific task or a position offered by someone else and receive a steady wage in return for completing that work. I turned the page over slowly to see if there was any more information or advice written on the following sheets of paper, but the next pages were completely blank and empty. There were no more sentences, no more chapters, and no more guidelines inside the rest of the volume. I've only read it for 1 minute and that's all it has inside its entire covers. Exactly sixty seconds passed while I examined the text, and I quickly realized that the small book contained nothing else besides those three simple points on the very first page. It was an extremely short text that provided only the most basic concepts of earning wealth before ending completely.
I closed the thin volume firmly, letting the front cover snap shut against the rest of the pages with a soft sound. I held the small book by my side and turned my body away from the shelf where it had fallen. I decided to explore the rest of the large room since I was already inside the quiet space. I've walked deeper into the library, moving my feet with slow and steady steps along the narrow pathway that ran between the tall wooden structures. My feet made a very quiet sound as they pressed against the dark floor blocks under the dim light. The rows of shelves stretched out far ahead of me, filled with thousands of different books and old documents that remained perfectly still in the silence. I've walked deeper into the library, passing by several intersections where different aisles crossed each other in the gloom. The air felt very cool and heavy with the scent of old paper as I continued to advance into the interior of the spacious room.
As I continued to move forward through the long aisles, a very strange and unusual sensation began to grow inside my mind. The space around my body seemed to change in a way that did not make sense. I've walked deeper into the library and I felt like the library is extending or an endless maze. Every time I passed a tall wooden shelf, the corridor ahead of me seemed to grow longer and longer, stretching out into the darkness far beyond what I could see. The rows of books appeared to multiply on both sides of my path, creating new turnings and pathways that had not been there before. I felt like the library is extending or an endless maze because no matter how many steps I took forward, I could not find a rear wall or a clear exit from the room. The entire environment felt like a giant labyrinth that was growing larger with every movement of my feet, trapping me inside a continuous pattern of tall structures and dark corners that went on without any visible limit.
I stopped my forward progress completely, planting my feet firmly on the smooth floor blocks to look around the confusing space. I wanted to find something distinct among the endless rows of identical shelves that surrounded my frame. As I lifted my chin and directed my sight upward toward the highest section of the structure next to me, I noticed a book that is on top of the tall shelf. This specific volume was resting perfectly flat on the very highest ledge of the wooden structure, far above my normal reach. It was positioned right at the edge of the tall shelf, looking like it had been placed there separately from the other texts below it. I noticed a book that is on top of the tall shelf, and its unique position immediately caught my attention in the middle of the quiet labyrinth. The volume stayed completely still on the high wood, and I decided that I wanted to reach up and grab it to see what was written inside its pages. I kept my balance steady on the dark floor blocks while I stared up at the object, planning how to lift my body high enough into the room.
I stepped back a single pace to give my body enough space to perform a high movement. I focused my eyes entirely on the object resting far above my head, preparing my muscles for the effort. I bent my knees deeply, lowering my physical frame toward the floor blocks to build up a lot of power in my legs. Then, I pushed off the ground with a sudden and strong force, launching my entire body upward into the empty air of the room. I jumped and grabbed the book with a very quick and precise movement of my right hand. As my body rose high into the air next to the tall wooden structure, I extended my arm fully and wrapped my fingers securely around the edges of the volume. I jumped and grabbed the book perfectly in the middle of my upward movement, pulling it away from the top ledge just as my momentum began to slow down. My hand held the text tightly as I started to descend back toward the ground. I straightened my legs fully as my body traveled back down through the empty air of the aisle, moving away from the high wooden shelf structures.
I kept my grip perfectly secure on the object I had just retrieved from the top ledge, holding it close to my front frame as I approached the ground. I finished my descent through the quiet room and landed on my feet with a solid movement, balancing my entire weight evenly across both of my two feet upon the flat surface of the floor. But my feet did not remain steady on the solid ground for more than a single fraction of a second. As soon as I touched the surface, the dark material beneath my feet completely disappeared or gave way without any warning. And suddenly I go through the floor and fell down into the darkness below. The hard structure failed to support my weight completely, and suddenly I go through the floor and fell, traveling through a sudden opening that appeared right where my feet had landed. I lost my balance entirely as my body dropped down into the empty space beneath the library room, falling rapidly through the dark air away from the tall shelves. I felt myself traveling downward into the deep void under the mansion, holding the text tightly in my right hand as everything closed.