Monk Took Book Enemies Guide: Every Confirmed Vermin and Creature

Which enemies are confirmed?

Two, with receipts. The Steam achievement list names them directly: a rat “intent on consuming the collection” and a spider “lurking among the tomes” — both achievements task the Novice with killing them, which makes these the only two creatures that can be stated as fact rather than rumor. Everything else circulating in reviews and community posts is clearly marked below.

How does night defense work?

The official description gives you three tools — daggers, crossbows and a holy cross — and names the attackers as “vermin, spirits and all manner of beasts.” Creatures rise after dark and go for the books rather than the monk, so defense is about intercepting threats before they reach shelves — the failure state is a damaged collection, not a downed player. Because the day’s shelving decides what you can see and reach at night, night defense and your filing system are the same system viewed at different hours.

A full no-commentary gameplay session to see the loop in motion:

Monk Took Book — library management and defense gameplay — YouTube

Monk Took Book — library management and defense gameplay

How do you deal with rats?

Rats are book-eaters — the achievement text itself says their intent is consuming the collection, which makes them the most direct threat to progression. Both confirmed vermin have a dedicated kill achievement, meaning the game expects you to fight them rather than only deter them, and the early unlock rates suggest most players handle their first kills in normal play without issue. What is not yet verified is rat spawn behavior — frequency, which shelves they favor, whether the holy cross outperforms the blade against them. Those details land here after in-game testing, not before.

What about the creatures that are not confirmed yet?

Can you skip night defense altogether?

Yes. The difficulty settings can reduce or disable enemies entirely, which converts the game into a pure organizing sim — no daggers, no crossbows, just you and the shelves. It is a legitimate way to play, not an easy mode bolted on: the memory exam of the evening requests remains fully intact either way. If you are new, our beginner guide suggests starting with calmer nights and re-enabling threats once your shelf system holds; the difficulty settings guide covers the confirmed options in detail.

Night work also feeds progression — the vermin kills are achievements in their own right — so completionists will want nights on eventually. The achievements guide tracks the full confirmed list as it is verified.