The Saiyan Gamer
Chapter 16: The Librarian
"I finished the book."
I placed the book on the desk in front of me, and the old man looked up at me with a curious look. Silently, he slid the book into his hand and looked over it, before putting it back down.
"You read it all?" He asked, a single eyebrow raised.
"Yep," I replied. "Start to finish."
"Then where is the auction house?"
"On Goliath Street, off of 12th street. Next to all of the expensive hotels," I recounted effortlessly. "It'll be hard to miss."
He studied me for a few seconds, and I watched him back, reading his sheet in the time it took him to reply. Nothing special was on it, except for the fact that he's owned this store of books, which they called a library, for decades, even before the war started. And that his name was Betule.
"You read extremely quickly," Betule told me. "Much faster than most kids your age."
"Really?" I asked. "How fast do people usually read?"
"Between 600 to 1200 words a minute for the average person. You read that book in fifteen minutes so…" He put a finger on his chin and leaned back. "2000 words a minute. That's very impressive."
"Oh," I said slowly, unsure where this was going. "That's good, right?"
"Of course it is. Although reading speed isn't important if you don't remember the content," He leaned back in his chair and picked the book back up. "What is on 2nd street?"
"I don't really have time for this. The auction closes at 8, and it's already 7:30," I told him, already turning around to leave.
"Hm, if you participate in this short test, I'll give you five books, free of charge," He tempted me, and I paused. That is… Fine.
I learned a lot from that single book. Not only did it teach me about the history of Mossgrove city, which in itself was interesting, but also other things I didn't quite understand. Before, I didn't even know what a shop was. All the talk with Leeku and Turles about money hadn't meant anything to me before, but after reading about all the different types of stores in the city, I had a better grasp on what I could use money for.
Now it made sense why Leeku was willing to risk her life to sell Raphalos' heir. Money could buy you just about anything. From basic necessities like water and food, to houses that made Bardock's look like my cave. It surprised me briefly that Tuffles didn't hunt for their own food, but that was an afterthought compared with the rest.
Laws were interesting, but some seemed stupid to me. I didn't know much about them, but the brief mentioning of them was idiotic. Not only was killing not allowed, but fighting wasn't even allowed. You could get locked away in a 'prison' for fighting someone, even if they challenged your pride. Very strange.
That didn't apply to Saiyans, though. There was a small section that highlighted very thoroughly that Saiyans had no rights while inside of Mossgrove. They could be killed without being arrested, which explained what happened earlier at the gate. Even still, it wasn't encouraged, because Saiyans bought a lot from the city, which is what helped keep it afloat.
They'd been separated from the main Tuffle empire when the shields went up, physically and financially. They had to build on what they had, which wasn't much. They survived mainly because the Tuffle empire threatened to wipe out any large force that tried to destroy Mossgrove, and because Saiyans bought their technology in spades.
So while killing Saiyans wasn't against any laws, they were still allowed in the city. There was an expectation though. The only Saiyans that had laws in Mossgrove were rich Saiyans, and 'Half-Tuffles'. That subject interested me, but there wasn't any more information on it in that book.
I looked around at the vast collection of books around me, and I knew that I'd found yet another hobby. Reading. I turned back around to face Betule, and said, "Okay. I'll do it."
He smiled lightly. "Good. First question. What is on 2nd street?"
Without hesitation, I said, "There is no 2nd street. When building the street, there was a misunderstanding between the builders and they somehow skipped it."
"Correct. And what is the name of the 4th tallest building on 34th street?"
"It is the Petal hotel," I said. "It's the 8th tallest building in the city."
"Where is the Police station?"
"40th street, in the center of the city."
"Fascinating," He stopped, and for a second I thought his eyes sparkled. "Not only can you read fast, but you also have incredible memory."
"I guess so… So remembering what you read isn't normal?" I asked.
"Most people don't fully retain all of the information that they take in. You seem to keep most, if not all of it," He explained. "Do you remember the name of the worker who started the confusion that created 2nd street?"
I thought for a few seconds, combing my mind. "Uhh… I know that it started with a Thorn Apple?"
"Thaun Able, but close," He corrected me. "You don't have a perfect memory, but it's pretty close to it."
"Oh… Does that only apply to books?" I asked, taking a further interest in the book around me.
"I suspect not, but only you can answer that question," He said. "What I do know is that we Tuffles are visual learners and your ability to read that fast means that your brain can process information a lot faster than others. That should follow you in any other learning you choose to pursue."
That must be why I learned how to use Ki so fast… I frowned. That was one point towards the possibility that my other half was Tuffle. One point too many.
"Are the questions done?" I asked, no longer wanting to continue this conversation.
"The only question left is, what books would you like?" He offered me a small, warm smile, while fanning his arms out. "Take your pick."
I began to step away, but not before pausing and turning to him. "Why are you giving me these books for free? I only answered questions that you already knew the answers to."
He looked down at me, the smile still on his face. "My job is to spread knowledge to those who seek it. But more importantly, to those who can preserve it just as I do."
And with that, he was on his way. I watched as he walked further into the library, before I sighed and looked outside. It's dark already… They've already waited for me this long, a few more minutes won't hurt.
I found my way back to the alleyway pretty quickly, following the only green dots on the map until I found Luna, Zaria, and Leeku waiting. Luna wasn't invisible anyway, but she was laying down in a dark enough shadow that her form was completely hidden, apart from her glaring eyes. Zaria looked exhausted, but she sat quietly on the floor with her head between her hands.
Leeku had her arms crossed and leaned off the wall when she caught sight of me. Annoyance flickered over his face, before she asked me, "What took you so long?"
"Got distracted," I admitted, stopping in front of her. "But I know where the auction is now."
"Well you did better than me," She grumbled under her breath. "Didn't find out shit."
"Did you guys have any luck?" I asked Luna and Zaria. Zaria didn't respond, but Luna stood up and stretched herself out.
"Found a map, and then we stole some food," She said. I took a step towards Zaria and kneeled down so that I was at her level.
"Are you okay?" I asked. She slowly lifted her head towards me, and when I looked into her eyes I wondered why she looked like she was about to pass out. And then I remembered what her sheet said. "Oh, you were in pain this entire time weren't you?"
She nodded her head, and I frowned. "You could have reminded me and I would have made you a cloak or something. Why didn't you say anything?"
I felt the link click in our minds, before she said, 'I owe you my life. Whatever you ask me to do, I'll do it. I'm used to being in pain anyway.'
I didn't know what to say to that, so I stared at her for a few long seconds, before standing up and turning to look down the alley. I didn't realize that what I did earlier had such a big effect on her. But we could think about that later. Right now we needed to find somewhere to relax that wasn't in public.
"Where's Turles?" I asked the group.
"I'm not sure. Hasn't shown up yet," Luna said. I stared at the wall next to me and a map of the city popped up. Now that I knew plenty of things about Mossgrove, all the streets and shops were labeled. In the flood of yellow dots, I could see a green dot walking towards us, only about a minute away.
Quietly, we waited. In the silence, I pulled out some Meta-Wolf fur and crafted it into a furry cloak for Zaria to wear. She put it on, and I was surprised to see that it fit her perfectly.
"There he is," Leeku said, pointing to the end of the alley. And she was right, but he wasn't alone. Standing at the end of the alley next to Turles was a Tuffle. Said Tuffle had brown hair and they both were grinning and laughing as they approached the entrance of the alleyway. They stopped there, though, and Turles waved at the boy, before he walked off and Turles walked towards us.
When he got close enough, before I could even get a word in, Leeku stepped right up to Turles, her face angrier than I'd ever seen her. Her creamy skin was a scarlet red and her fists were clenched so tightly that her bones popped.
"What was that?!" She questioned him. He looked down at her with a raised eyebrow, before lifting up a cup and taking a sip of whatever brown liquid was in it.
"What?" Turles asked. "I found someone to show me exactly where the auction house is. Is there a problem?"
"YES! Of course there's a problem!" She barely contained her yell. "You were making friends with a Tuffle!"
"And?" He pressed, taking a step closer to her so that they were almost nose to nose.
This time she actually did swing, but Turles was prepared. He lifted his arm up and blocked the punch with ease, the attack stopping dead at the moment of collision. I noticed, as she went in for another attack, that they weren't using Ki. If they were, just that block would have caused a decent sized crater.
Turles dodged her attacks with ease for a few seconds, until suddenly his eyes sharpened and he made his move. He dropped his cup, and before it even hit the ground, he had her arm pinned behind her back against the wall.
"Before you were annoying, but now you're just being a bitch," He said as she tried to resist.
"You're a traitor! Tuffles are our enemy!" She growled over her shoulder.
"They were our enemy," He said firmly. "The war is over."
I released a breath that I hadn't realized I was holding. On one hand, I knew that if it did turn out that I was a Tuffle, Turles would still be my friend. But it also meant that Leeku would likely try to kill me. I frowned as the interaction continued.
"The war is not over!"
"It looks over to me," He said casually. "There haven't been any fights for years. They live in their bubble, and they're not going to come out."
Her face only got progressively more red, and I could feel her Ki beginning to form. In response, Turles also began to pour out to match hers.
"Listen guys! We don't want to draw attention to ourselves!" I interjected, stepping up and trying to separate them. "We can't be fighting like this!"
"She started it," Turles quipped.
"You littl-"
"It doesn't matter! Let's just find somewhere to stay for the night and you guys can fight when we get back home!" I raised my voice above them both, causing them to both snap their attention to me.
It was silent for a few seconds, as Leeku visibly calmed down and stopped struggling. In turn, Turles let go of her and took a step back. Honestly, I was surprised that it worked.
"The auction house is closed, so we're going to have to stay here tonight," I informed them. "It'll only be for tonight. It opens at noon, we can sell the Egg, and then we'll be out of here."
"Fine," Leeku growled under her breath. "As long as I don't have to share a room with this traitor."
"Fine," I sighed. That book really did come in handy. "I know a place where we can get two rooms without spending a lot."
"You're forgetting something," Luna spoke up. I looked down at her, not sure exactly what she meant. She shook her head, before saying, "Zaria is too tired to use her magic to keep me hidden. Seeing as I didn't see any other giant animals on the prowl, I'm going to assume my presence will not be welcome."
"Oh…" I hadn't thought about that. "There's plenty of places where you'll be safe for the night. The closest would probably be on 7th street. There's an abandoned building there. The ground beneath it wasn't good for building or something so they just left the half built tower there."
She stared at me for a few seconds, before tilting her head and sighing. "Alright. But if I get the chance to escape, then I will. I've seen enough of this place to know it isn't a place for me."
"Alright. Be safe," I said as she stalked off further down the alleyway. When she was gone, I turned to the group and clapped my hands together.
"Alright let's get moving."
Sorry for taking so long to update. Between a new job and starting school, life's been busy! I'll likely post chapter 17 soon, as I've been depriving you haha. Hope you enjoy.
