However, all he got were just three rules and a very clear insult.
1. An Akashic Librarian must remain neutral and unbiased, even in personal matters, to ensure objective documentation.
2. An Akashic Librarian must keep the existence and details of the Akashic Record hidden from all mortals (This does not apply to you in your current universe).
3. All Akashic Librarians have a sacred duty to the Truth; maintain integrity by recording events truthfully, even if it means revealing uncomfortable truths.
There were many more that made him smile warily. He was glad that Rule Two didn't apply to him as of now because then he would be in trouble.
Earth had mythologies and several stories surrounding the Akashic Record, so it was quite impossible to hide its existence.
Of course, people may not believe that it is real, but they know about it. His task was to ensure they didn't believe it was real.
The manual was detailed and included what was expected of him in the future. These expectations all fell within his understanding: record events and perform related tasks.
"It says here that as a Class F Librarian, I should have access to certain abilities, but they aren't on my status at all," he asked.
<
"What? It's written on my status that I am a Librarian, so what's going on?"
<
Hearing the Codex, Richard didn't even know what to say. It acknowledged that he was a Librarian but somehow indicated that he wasn't a Class F Librarian, which was the lowest form of Akashic librarians.
"Then how do I become Class F?" Richard asked, giving up.
Just like back in the Records, there was no need to argue unnecessarily when he knew he wasn't going to win. If the Codex said it was so, then it was. It had no reason to lie and was incapable of lying.
<
"I see," Richard replied as he fell silent.
It was a sensible rule. Even on Earth, many people work in the library industry, but very few are recognized as actual librarians, even if almost 99% of them are. The Reference Librarian is the most recognized because they are the ones people meet to attend to their issues. They are the most librarian of all librarians.
As an Akashic Librarian, he believed he embodied all sections of the Library alone. He was both the Acquisition librarian and the Reference Librarian. His duty involved gathering knowledge and also maintaining and disseminating that knowledge.
Hence, the more people knew about him, the more powerful he should become—just like a standard librarian is paid more if they receive professional recognition.
"How many people need to recognize me as an intellectual before I get to Class F?"
<<5/1,000,000.>>
"What the f**k? Where am I supposed to get this many people from?" Richard shouted.
He expected the requirement to be ridiculous, but not to this extent. Maybe 10,000 people or 50,000 at most, but one million? That was excessive.
He was very sure that he had yet to meet that many people in his lifetime, including those he had passed by. It was absurd, no matter how he thought of it.
"What about Class S+ Librarians?"
<<0/100,000,000,000,000.>>
"Twelve zeroes… Shit! 100 trillion people… where are the remaining people supposed to jump out of? There are only eight billion people on this planet." Richard continued his complaint for a while, but no matter what he did, the Codex never gave an answer or even attempted to respond.
It was understandable, though. The Codex was only a learning and recording tool; it wasn't some virtual assistant that could answer all his questions.
"Okay, I am assuming that if one million people recognize me, I would become a full-fledged Class F Librarian, but when do I gain my Class F abilities?"
<
"Fuck," Richard cussed in frustration.
This was as absurd as things could get, and yet, there was nothing he could do about it. It was the requirement, and he needed to achieve it on his own.
"Well, at least the internet still exists," Richard said as he relaxed his back against the wall to think. The internet was the only way he saw to achieve this