Utopian System

The salamander's heart was pounding as it flattened itself against the floor, praying not to be seen. Mordred muttered something to himself and leaned back in his chair, stretching. The salamander seized this moment to quickly slide under a nearby piece of furniture.

From its hiding place, it watched as Mordred stood up and walked towards the window, turning his back to the bookshelf. It was now or never.

With a quick movement, the salamander emerged from its hiding place and climbed the shelf. Its eyes scanned the spines of the books, looking for one similar to Elio's. Suddenly, it saw it: a book with a similar cover and a faint smell of mana.

Just as it was about to grab it with its mouth, it heard Mordred turning. With no time to think, the salamander lunged for the book, clinging to it as it fell to the floor. The dull thud alerted Mordred.

"What was that?" the old man growled, approaching the shelf.

The salamander, with the book firmly gripped in its mouth, scurried under the desk just as Mordred reached the shelf. It could see the old man's feet inches away.

Mordred examined the shelf, noticing the empty space where the book had been. "Impossible," he muttered, "where is it?"

The salamander held its breath (if magical salamanders breathe) as Mordred searched around the desk. In a moment of panic, it saw the old man's hand dangerously approaching its hiding place.

At the last second, a knock on the door distracted Mordred. "Now what?" he said, moving away from the desk.

The salamander didn't wait any longer. Taking advantage of the distraction, it slipped out of its hiding place and ran towards the door, passing between the feet of a guard who had just entered.

"Sir, they've seen him return to the wall, it seems he won't be long until he learns about it. We've already called the two..." it heard the guard say before the door closed behind it.

With its heart still beating frantically, the salamander began its dangerous journey back. The book, though small by human standards, was large and heavy for it. Every few meters it had to stop to readjust its grip.

Turning a corner, it almost collided with a pair of guards patrolling the hallway. It quickly hid behind a vase, the book barely visible.

"Did you hear that?" said one of the guards, stopping.

"What?" replied the other.

"I thought I heard something dragging."

The salamander remained completely still, fearing that even its heartbeat might give it away.

"It's probably just one of the girls," said the second guard after a moment. "This place is full of them, after all."

"Thank God for that!"

The guards continued on their way, laughing and joking, and the salamander exhaled with relief. It resumed its journey, more cautious than ever.

It passed by the kitchen where it had stolen the bread, now silent and dark. The smell of food still lingered, tempting it, but it remained focused on its mission.

Finally, after many detours and hiding spots, the salamander reached the hallway where Elio's cell was. But a new obstacle presented itself: Ivan, the guard, was standing right in front of the door.

♢♢♢♢

Time passed slowly. Elio alternated between hope and despair, his eyes fixed on the door, waiting for any sign.

Finally, when he was about to give up, he heard a soft sound. Something was sliding across the floor towards his cell.

Elio approached the bars, holding his breath. And there, in the hallway, he saw something that made his heart leap.

It wasn't a key. It was a book.

♢♢♢♢

The salamander stopped, unsure how to proceed. It couldn't just pass in front of the guard with the book. It needed a distraction.

As if reading its thoughts, it heard Elio's voice from inside the cell.

"Guard! I need to talk to you!"

Ivan grunted but approached the cell door. "What do you want, prisoner?"

"I... uh... have a question about the food," Elio improvised. "Is it normal for the soup to be that gray color?"

"Are you bothering me about the quality of the food?" Ivan growled, clearly irritated.

"No, no," Elio said quickly. "But I saw that there were huge tables with food, there must be some leftovers, don't you think?"

While Elio continued distracting Ivan with his talk about food, the salamander saw its opportunity. It quickly slid down the hallway.

"Look, prisoner," Ivan was saying, "the food is what it is, you must have eaten it on the wall because it's the cheapest. You're not exactly here as a guest."

"Oh, I know, I know," Elio replied, his voice slightly higher than normal as he saw the salamander enter the cell. "I just got carried away by temptation and had to ask, you know. I had never seen so much food, you've tried it, haven't you?"

The salamander, exhausted but triumphant, hid in a corner of the bed where the viewing angle was inaccessible to the guard.

"Alright, alright," said Ivan, clearly fed up with the conversation. "If you shut up, I'll think about it. Anything else?"

"No, no, that's all," said Elio, trying not to sound too relieved. "Thank you for your time, guard."

Ivan grunted a response and returned to his position in front of the cell.

Elio sat down, feigning indifference. But as soon as he was sure Ivan wasn't looking, he took the book.

A smile of relief spread across Elio's face. "Hello, little one," he murmured, extending his hand. The salamander climbed up his arm, exhausted from its adventure, and curled up next to him.

"Oh, little one," he said, amusement, frustration and exasperation in his voice. "I think there was a small misunderstanding in our communication."

The salamander tilted its head, confused. Wasn't this what Elio had asked for? It had brought a book, just as he had shown with his own System book.

Elio bent down and gently stroked the salamander's head. "I really appreciate your effort," he said with a smile. "But I'm afraid this isn't exactly what we needed."

The salamander blinked, still not fully understanding. It had fulfilled its mission, hadn't it? It had brought a book, a mana smelling one. Why didn't Elio seem as excited as it expected?

Elio examined the book. It was very similar to his system book, but something was odd. The system book can only be touched by its owner. The occasion to touch it is when the owner is dead or inside one of the challenges...

Had it brought him an archived book of some dead person? Or perhaps someone inside a challenge? No, that was almost impossible... It must be from someone who's no longer here. Elio turned it over to see the owner's name.

It didn't have a name on the cover, just a word engraved in golden letters: "Genesis".