Vampire Reborn

The Library of Anri was famed all throughout the lands. Scholars from various neighbouring cities would traverse many miles almost as pilgrimage just to acquire access to this great house of knowledge.

And, the exterior of the building well represented its fame as Alucard stood at the foot of its long, marble laid steps looking up at its massive, almost dwarfing frame.

The library itself was made out of premium materials, more exorbitant than any library he could have ever imagined, with numerous statues of people of unknown origin lining up the steps leading up. The black, limestone-like pillars that held up the archway leading towards the magnificent, large, open doors bore an intricate design he had seen so many times before, the one of the nine-tailed cat.

To Alucard, it felt like a place too grand for him to belong, even the others going up the steps around him could not help but peer over with a hint of disdain. However, luckily for him, he had done his research and could not help but smirk from under the shadow of his mask.

As he entered through the doors, it was almost as if he had entered an entirely new reality. The building appeared extensive from the outside, but it was somehow even more spacious once he entered.

The circle-like dome surrounding him was high, the ceiling considerably distant from where he stood. Where ever he glanced, there would always be a book, walls did not exist in this new world, only bookshelves for as far as the eye could see. There were many scholarly people troding the patterned marble, pale brown tiles of the establishment, making distinct sounds that echoed and bounced throughout the room, yet were something almost soothing and not at all distracting.

Still, the library was more than big enough to house all of its visitors, in fact, he would be hard-pressed to spot more than a few people at a time unless he went out of his way to do so, such was its size.

However, unlike what he would have expected from a normal library, this one was oddly much louder. People had no filter controlling the volume in which they spoke, making it a rather boisterous environment, especially at the door. If he were to speak now, he was more than certain that his normal voice would be drowned out.

Yet, that sound was no hindrance to the grandeur of what he witnessed as he could not help but take a moment to gawk in awe, but more than anyone he knew that it was no place to waste time on something so trivial.

As he took a deep breath further inspecting his surroundings, as a new visitor, there was only one way to go unless he wanted a quick warrant of arrest for trespassing, and that was towards the front desk that was unusually empty.

There he saw a man that he certainly did not expect in such a dignified establishment, he even blinked several times to ensure that it was not some trick of the light and what he saw was indeed reality.

It was a man dressed in a long, navy robe etched with lines of gold, his black boots were crossed on his wooden table, a red book covering his face, one that he seemed to be deeply entranced with reading.

There were many other, more presentable representatives at the front desk, but, for some reason, out of all of them, none drew him in more than that man that stood out like a sore thumb.

"Good day sir, I'm new here, would it be possible to obtain a library card for entry?"

"Huh?" He received a rather annoyed response from behind that book, one powerful and far deeper than he expected. "Couldn't you read that sign? It clearly says do not disturb. Now leave me be,"

"My apologies sir, but to tell you the truth, I am incapable of reading..."

"Huh?" The man spoke once more, this time lowering his book to see the face of whom he was addressing.

Just like his voice, the man's face caught Alucard by complete surprise. He had imagined him to be a cranky old man, but instead, he did not look a day older than thirty. He was a handsome man with a box-like face. His black, wavy hair was of moderate length, falling down just under his eyebrows in an even part. His eyes that were not too far underneath were a similar colour of black and were keenly staring at his visage.

"You, you're not from around here are you… Masked stranger…" He sighed, putting his legs down and finally sitting properly.

"No, I'm not… I'm a new resident of the city and a new adventurer as well…"

"An adventurer you say..." His expression suddenly shifted to one of intrigue as he took particular notice to the copper plate hung around his neck. "What business would someone like you have here?"

"Well, I've heard of this deal that the library made with the adventurers guild allowing adventurers free access to the first floor of the library, is that not true?"

"Damn right it is! You adventurers are a pretty stupid bunch! Whenever you would go anywhere, you would always bring embarrassment to the guild due to your stupidity and lack of knowledge. So, we cut a deal with the adventurers guild. They'd pay us money for us to take in their adventurers for free, only for the first floor. On paper, all was well… We would receive more funding, you would be less braindead, more people would want to become adventurers to take advantage of the free access, and we'd have some potential returning customers if they wanted to access more than the first floor."

'What's up with this guy?' Alucard could not help but think.

"So, let me guess, that didn't work out as expected?"

"Yep! The mage adventurers who had always wanted to study here took the opportunity, but every other brute could not care less, it should have been something fully expected!" He laughed at himself, setting his book down, the cover something that Alucard could not read.

"Why are you telling me all of this? What's the point?" Alucard wondered.

"Because your the only illiterate brute who's actually come here since the first inception of this deal! They all thought of it as a waste of time when they could be training or monster hunting!" He laughed heartily at himself once more, pulling a pipe out of thin air before quickly lighting it in a slick yet flashy manner."Everyone else at least had a semblance of how to read, learn and extract knowledge. Reading properly and having a basic level of the sciences and world nature is an opportunity reserved for very few… It is a privilege to be taught how to do so properly but most people don't seem to see the true value in that… There is a reason why every noble child is taught how to read and write from a young age... You know kid, I lost good money because of you… I really didn't think one of you would come..." His mood became slightly sombre, yet the smile on his face did not dissipate.

"I see… I actually really agree with you, being eloquent in the language, reading, writing, knowing maths, history, the nature of the world… All of these are invaluable tools. Without them, you would be a stranger in your own world… You never know when you might need them. Besides, it would help make you seem dignified in front of royals and nobility, even as a commoner."

"You know… For an uneducated bum, you're pretty smart and well-spoken… What's your name…" The unknown man behind the counter smirked and released a puff of smoke from the pipe in his hand.

"Alucard… My name is Alucard…" He immediately responded.

"Alucard eh? Not a common name is it? But, you know what? I like it!"

"If you don't mind? What's yours?"

"I'm known by many names around here, but you, you call me Raven,"

"Raven… Not a bad name either! Now, how will I be able to get a library card?"

"That's the easy part, the guild already did all the background checks on you. All that's needed is to register your copper plate attached to your guild identification with what we got around here."

"So how can I get started?"

"Don't worry, I already got you registered, you can come in and out whenever you want, as long as you have the guild plate on you of course, think of that as your library card I guess. The magic sensors should now detect that you are a tier 1 patron, as long as you don't go up to the second floor, there should be no problems."

"Oh! I didn't realize! Thank you very much Raven," Alucard smiled and nodded his head slightly before he looked over towards the true entrance of the library.

However, when he took his first step, he heard that same deep voice he caught from before, yet the tone sounded profound.

"Wait!"

"Apologies, did I miss something?" Alucard nervously turned around, looking over towards that same man who once again put his legs up on his desk and began reading with a cold, dominant air.

"You... you lied to me about your name… didn't you?"

'FUCK ME SIDEWAYS!'