《THE LIBRARIAN》 PROLOGUE Maat gripped the metal bar of the window. Gazing forlornly at the full moon. As if asking for it to help her escape. ¡°Haaa¡­¡± a sigh escaped her mouth. ¡°My last full moon.¡± She was among the many wiccans caught by the mayor of Salem. Although, until this day, he did not give a reason as to why. Not that Maat couldn''t guess it. The mayor was a timid man. He was always worried the wiccans would take his place as a ruler. When the wiccans began to use their power to heal the sickness, or increase the yield of the crops, he was even more convinced that the wiccans were gunning for his position. So he cooked up a scheme. He found a corrupt priest, and started accusing the wiccans of using ghosts to enslave the townsfolk. Little did they know, it was all the corrupt priest''s handiwork all along. The corrupt priest, instead of releasing the souls from their resentment, had used the souls to haunt or possess the townspeople. They become scared, and therefore, believe anything the masses told them. ¡°Heh, damn ungrateful townsfolk!¡± Maat spat out angrily. All those years, the wiccans had been good to the townsfolk. When there''s a drought, the wiccans perform spells to create rain. When there''s a plague, the wiccans pooled all their resources to find a cure. The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. And now, just because of the words of a priest, they just accepted it? Is all the good they have done amounted to nothing? ¡°Hahahaha.¡± Suddenly, Maat¡¯s laughter broke out. ¡°They owed me their lives. So I shall collect. With interest!¡± She stood up with conviction. Under the moonlight, she began to channel her magic. ¡°Daemonium!¡± She chanted. As soon as the word left her mouth, tiny sparks coalesced on her right shoulder. The swarm of sparks turned into a rat. ¡°Master!¡± It hugged Maat''s cheek. ¡°Enough! Go and stand in front of me!¡± Maat ordered. The rat was shocked. Its master was always kind and soft spoken. Who is this cold person barking orders at it? Still, a blood contract ensured total obedience. No matter what, the rat had to comply. ¡°Tomorrow, I shall be executed. So I summoned you to do one last bidding.¡± ¡°Master!¡± Tears began to flow from the rat¡¯s eyes. ¡°W-we have to get you out of here!¡± ¡°It''s no use. The priest had already blessed this prison. No magic can break these metal bars.¡± ¡°But master¡­¡± ¡°Silence! I have made my decision.¡± The rat''s tears had seemingly awakened Maat. Her gaze softened, and she picked up the rat. ¡°Isfet, you have been a good friend to me all these years. Hence, I can only entrust my final task to you. Would you accept it?¡± The rat''s eyes burned with determination. ¡°Anything for my master!¡± Maat smiled. ¡°Good. I shall transfer all of my magic to you. Use it! Use it to protect the wiccans! Use it to avenge me!¡± Isfet clenched his fist. ¡°I will do your bidding l, master!¡± Mast smiled, and kissed the rat''s head. Transferring her power along. ### That night, the people of Salem were horrified. Two unexplainable phenomena appeared in the sky. A purple orb shot up, and began to fly away. And secondly, blood rain began to pour across the town. The people shuddered. They could feel the hatred from each drop of the rain. Little did they know, that this blood rain was just the curtain to the dread they shall face. Soon their crops shall wither and die. Soon, their livestock will have fallen to the barren land. Soon, the children will have gone sick. Tonight, let them stew in fear. So they will be prepared for the hell that will punish their ungratefulness. BLACK WIDOW 1.1: Meeting Santa Claus KNOCK! KNOCK! ¡°Come in.¡± Kelsie Pearce, the Head Librarian, said. In walked a young lady. She is pretty, but what stood out most was her appearance. With her long cascading silver hair, black jeans and high boots with thick soles, she looks more like a goth rockstar than your typical librarian. Kelsie sighed as she shook her head. ¡°Miss Smith. Can''t you adhere to the dress code just a little bit?¡± Shiori Smith just shrugged. ¡°Oh come on, boss. Who cares?! I stayed in the basement anyway. It''d be one thing if I worked at the front desk.¡± ¡°Oh? So if I put you at the front desk, you''ll get a suit?¡± Kelsie teased. Half determined to actually do it. ¡°Hehehe, I may put on a suit. But I''m sure those hags would hate it even more.¡± Kelsie rolled her eyes. With Shiori''s apparent penchant for the macabre, she would probably dress for the grave rather than the office look. The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Fine. I give up.¡± She raised her hands, surrendering. Then, her expression turned serious. ¡°So? How did it go?¡± People who knew Shiori, knew how tiny her smile is. She could be cured of cancer, and that tiny smile is the most joy she could produce to the public. So, seeing her smiling wide right now, really caught Kelsie off guard. ¡°...it went THAT well, huh?¡± ¡°Hehehe, of course. The Smithsonian has agreed. They have agreed for us to make a copy. Soon, the Library of Congress shall have our own copy of the Salem Witch Spell Book.¡± Kelsie almost jumped in joy. ¡°Hahaha, that''s great.¡± The joy was short lived however, because she remembered something. ¡°Hey wait a minute. They are not usually that charitable. What''s the catch?¡± ¡°Hehehe. It''s just a small favor. They wanted us to assume a part of responsibility to restore the book. All they want¡­¡± Before she could finish speaking, Kelsie slammed her hand on the desk. ¡°Do you know how expensive it is to restore a book? We barely had any funding as it is?¡± Shiori quickly interjected. ¡°No, no. Listen first, boss. They don''t want money. Just manpower. A.k.a. me.¡± ¡°Huh? Why you?¡± Shiori scratched her head, feeling awkward. ¡°Well¡­one of the professors of the Smithsonian book restoration team was my professor. And she said I should stop hiding in the basement, and use my degree for what it''s intended.¡± Hearing that, Kelsie burst out laughing. ¡°Hahahaha, she called you lazy, huh? She must''ve cared for you a lot.¡± Shiori clicked her tongue in annoyance. ¡°Yeah. She can be kind of a bummer, but she did care for her students. Which is even more frustrating!¡± ¡°Hehe. What''s wrong with a good professor?¡± ¡°That''s why she''s annoying. She''s a good person. I can''t hate her if she''s decent. In fact, I gotta be thankful for her now. Ceh!¡± Kelsie chuckled. ¡°Thank god for her then. Not only can we save money, we can soon have a copy of a rare book. Now, that''s something.¡± Shiori''s eyes were gleaming. She was also excited. Imagine, an actual spell book. It''s like meeting Santa Claus! BLACK WIDOW 1.2: Flying Rat When she arrived at the Smithsonian, Shiori was both elated, and annoyed. She was excited because of the atmosphere. Thanks to the discovery of the spell book, the entire Smithsonian looked like Halloween. Almost every public inch of the overgrown museum was adorned with macabre imagery. It suits her outfit very much. Which now had a hint of a biker chick going on. What she was annoyed with, was with the overuse of it. For a place constantly dealing with death, it is perplexing how the Smithsonian could make something as cool as the Salem Witch into something tacky and gaudy. ¡°I knew you''d chosen this spot. Hahaha.¡± Shiori scoffed. She didn''t want to join the crowd at the big unveiling ceremony. But she also did not want to miss it. So she picked a secluded balcony right on top of the press conference. To her dismay, one Lindsay Greene is already waiting for her. ¡°Hello professor. Astute as always, I see.¡± Lindsay sported her usual wide grin. That, coupled with the pastel yellow midi dress and gladiator sandals, she looked to be in her late twenties than forties. Her actual age. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. ¡°Oh come on, Shiori. Is it that bad meeting me?¡± Shiori had long shed her curt business smile. Now she is actually smiling. Which is a thousand times more radiant. ¡°Urghh fine. It''s good to see you too.¡± Lindsay shot her fist upward. ¡°Yearghh, that''s more like it. I''m glad I took this job.¡± ¡°Speaking off,¡± Shiori turned a bit serious, ¡°why do you need me? If it''s just a simple restoration, you don''t need me. Those undergrads are much more enthusiastic at this than me.¡± Lindsay sneered. ¡°Who said you''re doing then restoration? You think I''m gonna let your destructive hands touch those delicate pages? Pfft!¡± ¡°You¡­! Fine, I can''t deny that. Then why am I here?¡± ¡°For your unique interpretation, of course.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°Take a look at that screen right there. Tell me what you see.¡± She said, pointing at the picture displayed on the projector at the press conference. Shiori was intrigued. She looked at it, and instantly recognized what it is. ¡°It''s¡­Voynich?!¡± ¡°Hah, I knew you''d recognized it instantly. That''s right. The words and diagrams on the spellbook is similar to the Voynich manuscript you''ve been studying. Either they are copied by the same person, or¡­¡± ¡°Or they came from the same source!¡± Shiori was too excited to wait for Lindsay to finish. She finished the sentence for her. Lindsay''s grin now was widened so much, people would have think that the Joker poisoned her. ¡°So what do you think? Will you take the job? The pay is decent, and you get meal allowance. Is that okay?¡± Shiori waved her off. ¡°Who cares about that! I want unlimited access to the pages. Do that for me, and I would work for free. However long it takes.¡± Lindsay produced a thumb drive from her clutches. ¡°Hehe, I can''t do that. Just text me your bank account details later. In the meantime, here''s the scanned copy of the pages.¡± Shiori was shocked. ¡°You''ve scanned them already?¡± ¡°Of course. I am the professor. I''m your professor. Of course I know what you want. Just take a look at the scanned copy first. Once it is safe for the pages, you can take a look at the actual thing.¡± ¡°Great. I''m off now, professor. Thank youuu¡­¡± Shiori wore her helmet as she rushed out of the museum. Lindsay shook her head as she chuckled. ¡°Damn! For a goth chick, she could really turned cute and childish sometimes.¡± Without any of them realizing it, a rat with blood colored fur was watching. Even more bizarre, was the rat appeared to be flying. As Shiori''s Kawasaki Z1 exited the parking lot, the rat zoom across the airspace. Following her home. BLACK WIDOW 1.3: Voynich Manuscript Shiori pushed her bike onto the stern of her Nordhaven N41. After securing the bike into the custom airtight box, she jumped off and began unfastening the boat rope. After doing it for almost every day of his entire twenty plus years of living, the work was like breathing to her. In a short while, she was already in the middle of the ocean. ¡°Hehe, all these years. Still not a boring view to look at.¡± Shiori loved it here. The stars and the moon illuminating the dark sky, the sound of waves gently slapping against her boat, the salty smell of the water¡­it was very relaxing. She took a deep breath¡­ ¡°Time to work!¡± She sat down on the cushioned lounge chair at the bow, and took out her Asus X Flow 13. This thirteen inch laptop was her most loyal companion. Sticking through her ever since she was doing her PhD. This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°Hahaha! It''s really here!¡± Shiori plugged in the thumb drive, and clicked on the first JPG file on the folder. It was the front cover of the book. It is written in Old English. Shiori, proficient in most of the tongues of old, recognized the words instantly. ¡°Wiccan¡¯s Codex of Life!¡± Her finger began to get busy. Gliding on the track pad, clicking one after another of the scanned pictures. And she was pleasantly surprised. ¡°HAHAHAHA! I DID IT! I FINALLY DID IT!¡± Shiori''s lifelong goal was to decipher the Voynich Manuscript. Yet it still eluded her. Most of the writings and the words are a bunch of gibberish. And now she understood why. ¡°It seems like the Voynich Manuscript was just scribbles. An early draft. Pfft, it''s not even that.¡± She stopped a bit to think. ¡°The Voynich must have been just a bunch of notes or drafts. This is the completed one.¡± Lindsay knew that Shiori lived on a boat. She had long been telling her to find an apartment. She even offered Shiori a room in her house, free of charge. Well, thank god she lived far away from people. Or her maniacal laughter alone would cause her to be institutionalized. A short while later, she frowned upon realizing something. ¡°Damn! Those witches-wiccans or whatever. Poor them. To be framed like that. And for what?¡± Shiori looked at the images of the book. ¡°Could they all be wanting this?¡± It is a logical assumption. The Dark Ages was a lawless era. Saying that it''s a tough time is an understatement. Plagues, starvation, wars. As someone had eloquently mentioned, anything that is not you will be trying to kill you. So, having life saving knowledge like this one would be highly sought after. Particularly for those with power like the king. Suddenly¡­ BUKK!!! ¡°Arghhh! What the hell¡­¡± Shiori was startled. Something just fell on the bow. A few feet in front of her. She slowly looked, and was surprised. A rat covered in red fur was standing on its two feet. Staring intently at her. BLACK WIDOW 1.4: A Wiccans Inheritance ¡°Awh, poor little guy.¡± Shiori looked up, checking to see if there''s birds or maybe even a plane passing by. But the sky''s clear. ¡°Where did you come from, little fella?¡± She said, approaching the rat with bright red fur. ¡°Keep your dirty hands to yourself, human!¡± The rat warned. Shiori was glued to her spot, greatly surprised. The rat can talk! ¡°....What?¡± That''s the only word Shiori could produce right now. The rat ignored her catatonic state. ¡°Can you read the book?¡± ¡°...huh?¡± ¡°The book! The spellbook! Can you read it?¡± Shiori gradually found the strength to nod. But her answer surprised herself more than the rat. Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. She may have been studying the Voynich Manuscript since she was in high school, but that doesn''t mean that she could read it. It never occurred to her that she could suddenly read the spell book! She was too excited about the content, she forgot this crucial fact. All these shocking revelations, perhaps fried her brain a little. For she started howling with laughter. ¡°What''s so funny?!¡± The rat asked. Annoyed by Shiori''s suddenl laughter. Shiori waved her hands. ¡°Oh, it''s nothing. Please excuse me, dear rat.¡± She said as she wiped the tears from the corner of her eyes. ¡°Whatever. It''s not important. I have an offer to you from my master.¡± Shiori''s eyes gleamed with excitement. ¡°Master? Are you a familiar? Is your master a witch?¡± The rat was enraged. ¡°Don''t insult my great master to a common trashy witch! She''s a wiccan. A great wiccan!¡± Having yelled at by a rat, Shiori was a bit down. She was no longer interested in talking to the rat ¡°Sorry mister rat. What is the offer from your master?¡± ¡°Hmph! My master is giving you an opportunity. Should you be successful, you can inherit my master''s power. You could be a wiccan yourself. A great wiccan at that.¡± Shiori''s enthusiasm returned, rising to a higher peak. She could learn magic?! Actual magic?! Imagine that. She could apply her Hogwarts Legacy skills in real life. How thrilling would that be?! ¡°What''s your answer, human?¡± The rat urged on. ¡°Yes, I''ll accept!¡± Shiori wasted no time but to answer. The rat said nothing further. It held out its palm towards Shiori. Purple orb began to form in front of the rat. Once the energy orb stopped growing, it shoot the orb towards Shiori. Shiori didn''t have a chance to even react. The orb hit her. Thankfully it did nothing. It just went inside her, and settled in her brain. ¡°ARGHHHHH!¡± Shiori suddenly had a headache. A terrible one. So bad, she fell to the ground. Her hands clutching her head. And moments later, Shiori''s consciousness left her body. BLACK WIDOW 1.5: Yggdrasil ¡°Whoa! This¡­this is¡­just¡­AMAZING!¡± When she opened her eyes, Shiori found herself in a magical valley. The luscious greenery, the glimmering blue lake, the soft and fluffy clouds surrounding the perimeter. People can tell her that this is heaven and she would easily believe them. ¡°Hehehe, now I can relate to those isekai characters.¡± Shiori chuckled. Indeed, it was perhaps similar to those anime realms she had been obsessed over since she was a little girl. With the dragons and the phoenix and all other magic creatures. And the city in the valley is full of a bunch of humanoid creatures such as elves and dwarves. ¡°I wonder if I could turn into a slime like Rimuru? Or die infinitely like Subaru?¡± Shiori stopped to ponder. ¡°It doesn''t work like that, Miss Shiori Smith.¡± Somebody spoke in an amused tone. Shiori turned around like a twister. Too startled to find somebody knowing her name here. Standing a car''s length from her, was a beautiful lady. She''s wearing a beautiful purple dress that complimented her pink blushed pale complexion beautifully. If not for the witch''s hat on her silver hair head, Shiori would assume that she was on her way to a royal ball. Wait a minute. Witch''s hat?! ¡°Urm¡­are you the witch that will give me the test? The¡­arrogant rat''s master?¡± She asked, trying to guess. The lady in purple pouted. ¡°Wiccans, Miss Shiori. We are wiccans. Since you''re gonna join us, please at least respect your own organization.¡± ¡°Hehe, sorry sorry.¡± Shiori chuckled awkwardly. The lady''s downcast expression disappeared. Replaced with a bitter smile. ¡°Also¡­please don''t mind the rat. Isfet has gone through many hardships over the years. I¡­I could only apologize on my familiar''s behalf.¡± Shiori hurriedly went to the lady to stop her from bowing to her. ¡°Oh uh, no. It''s okay. I don''t mind it at all. At the very least, that rat was straight to the point. Plus, compared to most people, the rat''s not that bad.¡± The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. ¡°Hehehe, I''m glad to hear that. And I hope that you''ll take care of Isfet for me.¡± ¡°I''ll do my best.¡± The lady beamed brightly with joy. ¡°I''m glad, Shiori Smith. I''m glad Isfet met a good person like you.¡± Shiori blushed. ¡°Urmm¡­how do you know that I''m a good person? Or rather¡­how do you know my name?¡± The lady smiled. ¡°Well, I am inside your head. I know what kind of a person you are.¡± Shiori was shocked. And then she was weirdly disappointed. ¡°Oh. So this place is not real?¡± ¡°Says who?¡± ¡°Huh? Didn''t you just said that this is all in my head?¡± The lady chuckled. ¡°Yes, we are in a dream I conjured. But this place¡­this place is indeed real?¡± Shiori''s childish joy returns. ¡°Then¡­can I go there one day?¡± ¡°Hehehe, of course. But maybe we should wait until you passed the test first.¡± ¡°Then what are we wasting time for? Let''s go and do the test.¡± The lady shook her head as she laughed. She extended her right hand to Shiori. Shiori took it, and they were instantly teleported. This time, they were hovering over the center of the blue lake. ¡°I, Maat, call upon the spirit of the World Tree. Master of the wiccans, defender of the mortals, executioner of the wicked. We seek your wisdom on our new sister. Heed my call. YGGDRASIL!¡± The lady extended her left hand. Magic began to gather on her palm. When it reached the size of an infant, she released the light orb into the lake. Shiori waited with bated breath. But nothing happened. Not yet at least. Her eyes just followed the light orb as it made its way to the bottom of the lake. And then, something did happened. Something¡­fairy tale like. The light orb burrowed itself into the bottom of the lake. Instantly, young leaves sprouted. And the scene after was just like Jack and the Beanstalk. A huge tree shot up from the bottom, and grew right into the sky. ¡°Gosh, that nearly hit us. Hehehe.¡± Maat chuckled. Shiori was too shocked to reply. Imagine being killed by a tree. That''s a Hogwarts moment right there. ¡°Urm¡­is the tree the test? Do I¡­do I have to climb it?¡± Maat clicked her tongue. ¡°Why would I want you to climb the tree? What''s that got to do with magic?¡± ¡°Hehehe, I''m just saying.¡± ¡°Hmph! Now put both your arms on the tree, and absorb it.¡± Shiori was taken aback. She stared at Maat, then scanned the humongous tree. In her mind, even if she could absorb a tree, whatever that is, there ain''t no way she could take in this giant green thing inside her body. She would explode. ¡°Urm¡­what?¡± Maat frowned, confused. ¡°You don''t know how?¡± ¡°...no!¡± ¡°Fine, don''t get snippy.¡± Maat grumbled. ¡°A wiccan''s source of magic is the Wisdom Tree. The Yggdrasil. A wiccan became wiccan when they absorbed the Wisdom Tree into themselves.¡± Shiori''s jaw dropped. ¡°I have to absorb this giant thing?! What''ll happen to my body?!¡± Maat rolled her eyes. ¡°Nothing will happen. Once the Wisdom Tree has been absorbed, you can mold it into anything you want. Usually, us wiccans turned the Wisdom Tree energy we absorbed into a book or a grimoire. But really, you could turn it into anything. A castle, a ship¡­whatever you want.¡± ¡°Hahahaha. Wow. That''s a cool feature.¡± Shiori almost jumped with joy hearing that. ¡°Yeah, yeah. Now hurry up. Establish a connection with the tree, and absorb it.¡± Shiori rolled her eyes as she placed her hands on the tree. Now she knew where the rat got its bad manners from. ¡°Close your eyes. Let the beating of your heart guide you into the Tree. Let the energy from the Tree flow inside you like water. And channel it into your heart.¡± Shiori did as she was told. It worked. She sensed energy entering her body through her hands. Converging inside her heart. Maat noticed the tree shrunk as time passed on. She could not help but to grin widely. ¡°My oh my. You are one talented wiccan. Now you can already form the energy into whatever you want. Remember. Choose something you could store your spells.¡± Shiori didn''t need to choose anymore. Where else would you keep information? Soon, her core began to take a shape of a building. RE-INJURED!!! Hello all. Ahoy! I''m really sorry. There''s no update for today. I had to go back to hospital. My wounds opened up again. I had to go back to get it cleaned up and stitched since doctor said I had an infection. If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Doctor said I had to buy the antibiotics. I told her I don''t have any money to buy medicine. She said she understands, but it''s either medicine or amputation. So...had to dig down the piggy bank again. I thought it was funny. And she had a beautiful smile, so maybe it was all worth it after all. ???? Anyway, I hope I''ll be seeing you again tomorrow. I will do my best to fight this drowsiness spell the painkillers cursed upon me. And since I sold the scrap metals used to be known as my bike, I could finally afford cup ramen. So...YEAYYYY!???? See you tomorrow...