The Fourth Secret: A Fantasy LitRPG Adventure (Divine Apostasy Book 4) A. Kay (best management books of all time .TXT) 📖

Baton of a Thousand Uses to his belt, and put on his jewelry. Thankfully, the Coiled Lightning Rings no longer shocked him. Lastly, he put on his Hooded Pacifist’s Cloak of Wandering. It felt good wearing all his gear again.

Ruwen touched his wrist to the wall. “Lower library.”

A portal opened and Ruwen entered the lower library for the first time. He stepped away from a wall covered in tiny squares of colored glass. The mosaic depicted a massive Octorse, a book in each of its tentacles.

Moving away from the rear wall of the library, Ruwen found a gigantic pool to his right, at least three hundred feet wide and more than double that long. It extended out of the library and into a river. The water appeared transparent, and only the strange warping of the creatures in the pool made it obvious they were in liquid.

White sand dunes covered the floor, and to the right a wall of coral acted as bookshelves. Strands of kelp stretched to the water’s surface and books hung off them like leaves. A mermaid hovered in front of a book, before circling around to another.

Ruwen looked up to find the library had no ceiling. Clouds were visible and various sized platforms partially blocked the view. A grey dragon the size of Ruwen’s house back in Deepwell landed on one of the larger platforms and moved out of sight.

Turning to his left, a pool of magma twenty feet across bubbled lazily. A creature vaguely like an alligator crawled out of the lava and moved into a stark landscape of pumice and flames. Thin rectangle columns rose out of the rock and the alligator moved to one. The rectangle glowed with script as if lava moved through it.

“Greetings, Ink Disciple,” Qwyn said.

Ruwen turned and smiled at the spider. “I have you to thank for the new title. Great job.”

Qwyn briefly placed her head on the ground. “It is a pleasure to be in the stacks again.”

“This isn’t what I expected,” Ruwen said.

“The more humanoid stacks are deeper in the library. You are in the elemental portion. Would you like to tour the other sections?”

Ruwen looked up at the sky. The platforms he could see had beautiful gold and blue colors. “I would love to, but I can’t.” He couldn’t tell if that disappointed Qwyn, but he felt the need to explain. “My life is complicated, and I’m afraid it will only get worse. I’m already late for something important.”

“I am sorry to hear that,” Qwyn said.

Ruwen looked at the spider. She sounded sincere, and he hadn’t forgotten how she’d stayed at the library and worked for terrible wages under the last Ink Lord. Her love of knowledge and books resonated with Ruwen. He’d only ever felt that with the librarian in Deepwell, Tremine.

“I don’t know when I’ll return,” Ruwen said.

Rami, can I delegate my authority?

Yes. But you retain responsibility. If they misuse your Custodial powers, you will suffer the consequences.

Ruwen enjoyed doing things himself. He liked to think things through and be logical. Most people didn’t though, and the risk of being punished for someone else’s mistake made him anxious. He had already provided Qwyn with enough funds to make the library much better. It didn’t need his presence to thrive.

The more Ruwen thought about it, the more he realized not being here might be better, but not for the reason he’d originally thought. He’d assumed things would work better with his guidance, but what did he know about flaming books and underwater shelves. And if the last two months had taught him anything, it was that he needed the help of others if he wanted to succeed.

Ruwen faced Qwyn. “I don’t want the library to suffer because of my absence.” He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Controlling everything in his life had become impossible. As soon as he returned home, rebuilding New Eiru would start in earnest. He needed to become more comfortable with delegation. “I am promoting you from Senior Librarian to Chief Librarian and granting you my Custodial powers. Your first job will be to hire a new Senior Librarian. From now on, you will focus on the strategic issues facing our library.”

Qwyn’s entire body vibrated, and she lowered it to the ground. Her legs continued to twitch.

Ruwen continued. “I have two conditions. One, do what you think is right for the creatures here, not what you think I would want. Two, set aside five percent of the budget for me. I need to open a branch location and I’ll need funds for that.”

“Your trust in me is humbling,” Qwyn whispered. “I joyously accept.”

“The Black Pyramid is the most amazing place I’ve ever seen. I want our library to reflect that. I know you do, too. Good luck, Chief Librarian.”

Qwyn lowered her head to the ground, and Ruwen returned the bow. He strode to the rear wall, admiring the mosaic. Once again, he had run out of time here in Blapy.

New Eiru, and his parents, were waiting.

Chapter 37

Ruwen stepped into his room in New Eiru, Whiskers right behind him. His clock read 9:17 PM. Ten leeches appeared on his face, neck, and arms, and he dropped into the third meditative level to stop from panicking.

Sunset had passed here, and the Amulet of Leeches hadn’t fed on anything today. That meant they’d feed on Ruwen. They each did one to three damage every five seconds for a minute. He stood in his room, arms away from his body, eyes closed, and waited until it was over. Maybe the women were right about this amulet, and he should replace it.

With ten slimy leeches hanging from Ruwen’s body, the minute seemed to take forever. When it had, Ruwen mentally spoke to Lir. Are my parents done reviving?

Yes. They finished fifty-eight minutes ago. No abnormalities.

And Hamma’s dad?

Completed sixty-two minutes ago. No abnormalities.

Can you update my map with everyone’s locations, please.

Done.

Open the doors for Whiskers, please. Thank you.

Of course, Architect Starfield.

Ruwen looked at