[LOTM Roleplay]A book and a beginning.
The brass bell above the bookstore door rang softly.
"Thank you. I hope to see you again."
The young customer smiled before leaving with a stack of detective novels tucked beneath his arm.
I watched him disappear into the afternoon crowd before flipping the sign on the door.
CLOSED
Another ordinary day.
I stretched my arms and looked around the bookstore.
It wasn't the largest in Backlund, but it was large enough to occupy most of my day. Two floors of bookshelves filled nearly every wall. History, geography, poetry, medicine, theology, novels—if someone wanted a book, there was a good chance I had it.
My parents had built the bookstore from nothing.
When they passed away several years ago, they left everything to me.
The bookstore, some land, and Investments. Nearly thirty-two thousand pounds in total.
Enough that I never truly had to work again.
Still, I liked working here.
There was something comforting about books.
Unlike people, they rarely lied.
After locking up, I followed my usual routine.
A walk with no destination.
Just wherever my feet happened to take me.
Backlund could be noisy, but there were quiet streets if one knew where to look. Parks with old oak trees, narrow lanes lined with brick houses, little cafés hidden from the main roads.
I enjoyed those places. Perhaps because they reminded me life didn't always need excitement.
Sometimes a peaceful afternoon was enough.
A week later, shortly after noon, an elderly gentleman entered the bookstore.
His beard was neatly trimmed. His dark coat looked expensive despite its age.
More importantly, he carried three heavy wooden boxes.
"I heard," he said politely, "that you purchase private libraries."
"We do."
He smiled.
"My grandchildren have no interest in books."
"I'd rather someone else appreciate them."
The books were in excellent condition.
History.
Travel.
Natural sciences.
Religion.
Several introductory texts on mysticism.
Nothing illegal.
Nothing particularly rare.
As I examined them, one volume caught my eye.
Its title was simple.
Basic Principles of Mysticism
"...Interesting."
The old man noticed my gaze.
"That one isn't sold in ordinary bookstores."
"I'll include it free of charge."
I blinked.
"...Really?"
"It has little value to me nowadays."
I thanked him and completed the purchase.
Before leaving, he smiled.
"I hope you enjoy reading it."
That evening, after dinner, I opened the book.
Unlike the sensational novels that claimed to reveal magic, this one read almost like an academic introduction.
It even briefly mentioned mysterious individuals known as Beyonders.
According to the author, Beyonders possessed supernatural abilities obtained through special potions.
There was almost no detail beyond that.
The book also repeatedly warned readers not to perform unknown rituals. It claimed many ancient ceremonies were genuine.
I leaned back in my chair.
"Either this author was remarkably committed to his fiction or I've been missing something my entire life."
Tucked into the final page was a folded note. The handwriting matched the old gentleman's.
'If the contents interested you, visit Red Café tomorrow at six in the evening.'
'Bring the book.'
I stared at it for a long moment.
Curiosity had won.
•••
The next evening, I arrived at the café a few minutes early.
The old man was already waiting.
"You came."
He gestured toward the empty chair.
"Good"
After tea was served, he asked,
"What did you think of the book?"
"I think it's either the most convincing work of fiction I've ever read or it's true."
The old man's smile widened.
"It's true."
For the next hour, he patiently answered my questions.
There was indeed a hidden world beneath the ordinary one. People called Beyonders obtained supernatural abilities by consuming potions.
Every Beyonder belonged to a pathway.
"There are twenty-two orthodox pathways known throughout the world," he explained, sketching twenty-two symbols onto a napkin.
"Each pathway has its own abilities and its own path toward godhood."
I asked.
"So twenty-two paths. That's all?"
He paused before answering.
"Recently pathways that don't belong to the original twenty-two have been seen."
He took another sip of tea.
"Such the Dancer and Astronomy Aficionado pathways."
Finally, he asked,
"Would you like to become a Beyonder?"
I looked at the book resting on the table.
Yesterday, my greatest concern had been organizing a shipment of travel journals. Today, I had learned magic was real.
"Yes. I would."
He nodded, as though he'd expected that answer.
"Then tonight, I'll take you somewhere most people never see."
•••
The gathering occupied the basement of an ordinary-looking tavern.
Had the old man not led me there, I would have walked past it without a second glance.
The room buzzed with quiet conversation. Everyone wore masks or concealed their faces beneath hats.
Some traded herbs.
Others bartered monster materials.
One woman sold handwritten ritual notes.
Another man quietly displayed sealed glass bottles containing shimmering liquids.
The old man leaned toward me.
"Observe first."
I nodded.
He led me from stall to stall, helping me identify genuine ingredients while steering me away from overpriced imitations.
"This seller is honest."
"Avoid that one."
"Those herbs are old."
By the end of the evening, every ingredient for the Sequence 9: Bard potion rested inside my satchel.
•••
Back at my apartment, I carefully laid each ingredient across the dining table.
The old man remained silent, watching.
"I won't brew it for you," he said.
"You should learn from the beginning."
Following the instructions from a separate potion formula he had purchased for me at the gathering, I measured each ingredient with painstaking care.
The liquid gradually transformed from clear to pale gold then into a brilliant amber that seemed to catch the lamplight.
The room grew strangely quiet. The old man looked at the finished potion.
"It seems you've done everything correctly. I must remind you that once you drink this your life as an ordinary man ends."
I wrapped my fingers around the warm glass.
I raised the potion to my lips and drank.
And just like that, I became a sequence 9 Bard.