The Enigmatic Bookstore

The carriage was passing through a mountainous path. The rough and uneven route was like a winding river flowing among a multitude of large and small rocks.

When she woke up, a floating window appeared in front of her.

[Congratulations to the host for completing the side mission]

[Reward: 100 points]

Through the thin netting, a pale smile appeared on the lips of the passenger inside the carriage.

“Finally… this mission is over." she whispered.

The carriage continued on its way. It was now in a deep valley surrounded by several tall mountains, linked together like a chain. At the northern end of the valley, there was another height where their path extended along its slope, climbing up and disappearing at a blind spot.

A cold, biting breeze blew through the mountains. The sky was gray, and gradually a thick fog spread over the blue-gray rocks of the mountains like a blanket.

Another floating window appeared.

[Analyzing the second mission…] [New mission activated]

“New mission?” A woman’s voice from inside the carriage repeated and then fell silent again.

......................

The city was as busy as ever. A huge crowd was heading to work, school, or elsewhere. Buses stopped at each station, loading and unloading waves of people.

The weather was relatively clear. However, small cotton-like clouds could be seen in parts of the sky.

In the midst of this, a thin girl with a school bag slung over her shoulder struggled to find a small space for herself among the indifferent crowd. Panting, she took out a small book and began to flip through it.

The book was about a princess who was condemned to be burned for witchcraft. The girl continued to turn the pages.

“Poor thing, even though you saved them, you ended up tied to the stake; just because they didn’t understand you.”

She closed the book.

“huh, another kind character who gets killed because of their foolishness. The author said a surprise is coming, so probably some prince will show up, save her, and everything will end happily.”

Feeling disappointed, she put the book back in her bag. The bus kept shaking, people bumped into each other, and the unpleasant smell of sweat from all sides was very annoying.

In such conditions, what was the point of reading a clichéd story about a self-sacrificing female hero?

“Why isn’t there a hero who is selfish? What is the point of prioritizing others besides suffering and death?” she thought to herself.

Most heroes were one-dimensional characters who only thought about saving the world. However, when the danger disappeared, only death awaited them. And not an honorable death in battle, but betrayal by those they had endured the most hardships to protect.

“It’s not that I want an irrational villain, what I want to see is beyond a one-dimensional villain or justice seeker. I’m looking for a logical character.”

She spent her time with these thoughts. The bus passed another turn and reached her stop.

She sighed and struggled through the crowd to make her way to the bus doors. The sound of grumbling could be heard from all sides of the bus, and this was the worst thing about being in a public vehicle.

Finally, she got off and walked the distance to her school.

As she thought about her favorite story, she imagined her ideal hero. A multi-dimensional, powerful, and independent character, intelligent, logical, neither purely evil nor a foolish justice seeker. An imperfect human who gradually learns and doesn’t hide their shortcomings through some illogical superpower…

She turned her eyes towards the school entrance, where a large number of students were gathering in front of the big, multi-story building with several tall columns at its entrance.

She followed the crowd and entered the main building.

Students were talking about various topics; sometimes trivial, sometimes scientific. However, what she heard was talk about a new online novel.

“Oh? Did you see it too? As soon as the initial chapters were released, the site’s servers crashed!” one of the students said excitedly.

“Ugh! Yeah… because of that, I couldn’t follow the new chapter of my novel…” another replied sadly.

“Come on! Are you still reading that stupid novel?!” another asked in surprise.

“The beginning of the story was really interesting, but gradually it lost its excitement and now it’s just an ordinary story,” she sighed and said disappointedly.

“Hey Ellie!!!” one of them noticed the thin girl.

Ellie, who had just sat down behind a desk, looked at the two and nodded. She hung her bag and then, while waiting for the teacher to arrive, organized her things.

“What do you think about the new novel?” the girl asked.

“Disappointing,” Ellie nodded and replied with an indifferent face.

She paused for a moment.

“Dungeons and monsters, revenge and time travel, these are attractive elements but they are constantly used in the same format. The only difference in these stories is the artistic design and the amount of bloodshed.”

“Exactly!!!” the other girl agreed.

Ellie smirked and continued. “But that’s not all. Watery relationships, cheesy romantic stories, without content, purely emotional and without a shred of logic are just as annoying.”

Before she could hear a response, the school bell rang and everyone went to the school yard.

A long line formed and the students passed by the school officials, who seemed like a checkpoint.

Ellie brushed her hair aside. Due to lack of sleep, her eyes were sunken. Her skin was paler and bonier than before.

“Damn it, he probably wants to come and spout nonsense again. Why doesn’t he end this damn morning ceremony when no one cares?”

“Shush!!! He’ll hear you!!”

The students didn’t have much love for the morning ceremony. However, they never expressed their dissatisfaction out loud.

Ellie was like the others. Who liked to stand in the school yard early in the morning and listen to the vice principal’s pointless speeches?

The students, panting, gathered in orderly rows in front of the stage. Ellie also squeezed herself into one of the rows and waited for the speech to begin.

Reluctantly, a few people descended the stairs and started the ceremony. After a while, the vice principal, dressed in a neatly pressed suit, stepped forward and stood behind the podium.

Ellie felt a headache due to lack of sleep. She took a few pills from her pocket and swallowed them, thus beginning another day at school.

A few hours later, when the school bell rang, Ellie boarded the same bus line and headed home. On the way, she bought some knick-knacks and stood in front of a few shop windows. She loved books and movies, so she spent most of her time reading.

She believed that life was too short to be spent without books. Perhaps it was this belief that led her to a small second-hand bookstore in the suburbs after school that day.

Ding ding!

When the small shop door opened, the sound of a bell hanging above the door echoed through the stifling space. A thin layer of dust covered the old wooden counter. The smell of resin and old paper was overwhelming, and faded leather covers were piled haphazardly on the counter.

“Ahem!”

She coughed deliberately but heard no response.

“Ahem!!!”

“Yes?!”

Suddenly, a bald head emerged from behind the pile of books, and immediately, two black eyes behind thick glasses scrutinized the girl.

“I… I wanted a book…”

Feeling quite uncomfortable, Ellie quickly composed herself.

The librarian adjusted his glasses and smiled, a smile that Ellie didn’t find pleasant at all. It was different from any smile she had seen before. She couldn’t describe it accurately because no word could capture what she saw. Perhaps the word “sinister” could somewhat describe it.

The librarian’s shadow suddenly grew like a beanstalk and fell over Ellie. He looked like a devil who had found a fresh prey.

“Do you have something specific in mind, or would you like us to find a suitable book together?”

In the oppressive silence between them, the librarian asked in a calm tune.

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***