The next three hours were literally torture for Colthorn. They went through six more vials of acid before they finally stopped. The eight levels of Pain Resistance didn’t help that much, only 0.8% of the pain was resisted, but Colthorn knew that it would help him a lot in the future.
“Alright, that’s enough acid training for today,” Jornan said as one of his hands flashed with soft green light.
Colthorn stared numbly at the blue screen of his Status page. It took him a second to realize that his Health wasn’t dropping anymore and that his father just told him he was finished training. He grabbed a HP potion with a trembling hand and drank it. Even at full Health, he continued to tremble, staring at the screen.
“Come on, Coal,” his father said, picking him up off the sweat-soaked ground, “let’s get you cleaned up.”
He let Jornan carry him up the stairs, and focused on the Notifications that just appeared in front of him.
Pain Resistance gained 11 levels. +11 EXP.
You gained 1 level. +1 INT, +2 Free Stats.
Acid Resistance gained 13 levels. +13 EXP.
That’s a lot... He thought, dismissing the Notifications and closing his eyes.
“I got 11 levels in Pain Resistance and 13 levels in Acid Resistance,” he mumbled to his father, “And I gained a level.”
“That’s great, Coal,” Jornan said, holding him tighter to his chest, “You’ll get to level 100 in no time at all.”
Jornan set him down inside the bathroom, onto a small stool next to the large bathtub.
“Do you need help getting out of your clothes?” his father asked, reaching over and turning on the tub’s faucet. Jornan reached over to the stone ball resting near the tub and set it into the water. When the water flowed over the rune carved onto the stone's side, the stone started to glow orange with heat.
“I can do it,” he said. He only had pants on anyway, simple enough to take off.
While the tub was filling up, and warmed up, they used a small bucket and another side faucet to wash themselves free of the sweat, the leftover neutralized acid, and the rancid smell of dissolving flesh. His dad helped scrub his hair and carefully washed his back. After they cleaned themselves, Jornan grabbed the long pair of tongs off of a hook on the wall, and used it to get the stone ball out of the now-steaming water. Once out of the water, the stone ball started to cool down. Jornan set the stone ball back down on its holder on the floor and replaced the tongs onto the hook. They got into the tub and silently soaked in the hot water.
After a short time, Jornan looked over at Colthorn. “Want to use mom’s rose oil?”
“...Yeah.”
<<<>>>
Colthorn and Jornan walked back downstairs smelling fabulous. He had one of his sketchbooks in hand and was wearing a clean outfit. A red long sleeved shirt and black pants.
Jornan tousled Colthorn's hair. "I'm going to go make more potions. You go keep Mom company."
"Ok," he said, heading towards the storefront.
His mom was still there, dealing with a customer in full-plate armor, the adventurer’s helmet was tied to her belt behind her sword. He went and laid down behind the counter next to the stool his mom sat on, and spread his sketchbook out in front of him. Charcoal pencils clattered softly onto the floor as he flipped to the next empty page. Once he had gotten comfortable, he started to draw.
The first sketch he did was a simple scene of what he imagined himself doing in the future. He drew himself, a little older, leaping sideways, shooting an arrow at a large monster with wicked claws. He made sure to give himself a bow that looked like his mom’s; a large bow that resembled antlers curling back. The monster he was fighting was most likely not real, he just drew it because it looked dangerous. Like something a hero would fight. Once he was done drawing his future self and the monster, he added some trees and bushes around to make it look like they were in the forest.
He flipped the page. The second sketch he did was of what he was doing this morning. He drew himself standing on top of a little stool, flinching backwards. In front of himself, he drew the laboratory counter, where there was a beaker with foam exploding upwards. In the background, between himself and the foam, he drew the upper torso of his father. His father was holding a vial with a faint black aura.
He flipped the page. Colthorn thought of what happened next after he learned to make the potion. They went to get cake at Wa Lin’s Bakery, and while the cake was delicious, he remembered something else. To the left of the page he drew his mother, holding the box with the cake. He remembered that she was looking down at him with a sad expression on her face, eyes filled with worry and... guilt? Colthorn didn’t know, but he tried to draw it anyway. Behind Alagossa, in the center of the page, he drew the counter and Wa Yong. There was a shy blush on Wa Yong’s cheeks as he invited Colthorn to play with him and Alissa. He would have liked to go play with the others and try out the game Queen’s Gem—both Yong and Alissa have talked about it in their Messages—but they were most likely finishing the game about now.
Why did she look sad? He thought, looking at the sketch, remembering his mother’s expression earlier that day. Aren’t I doing what I’m supposed to?
He flipped the page. As he stared down at the blank page in front of him, Colthorn thought of his dad. When his dad was sitting on the floor, leaning back against the wall. He had his elbows resting on his knees, hands balled into fists in front of him. His head was tilted upwards, eyes closed, forehead scrunched up as he frowned, his lips pressed tightly together. The box of green acid vials and the boxes of health potions were sitting beside him. Colthorn did his best to recreate the scene that he remembered. The only thing he drew besides his dad and the boxes, was the wall his dad was leaning against.
He flipped the page. He drew his dad again, this time he was wiping away tears with his sleeve. It was a simple portrait of everything above the chest. Slumped shoulders, tear-stained cheeks, and sad eyes.
Why was he crying? Wasn’t the training a good thing to do? Didn’t he say the training was worth it?
Colthorn stared at the drawing for a little bit before closing the sketchbook. He lay there, on the floor, and rested his forehead on top of his arms. He closed his eyes and continued to think about the sketches he’d just drawn.
They’re sad because they love me. They don’t want me to be hurt. It’s only because of the Quest.
Colthorn repeated the three phrases in his mind, just as he had done the last time he drew his parents. It was a small habit that he’d picked up; every time he saw his mother or father with a sad or worried or guilty expression, he drew it. He had collected dozens and dozens of drawings of his parents. It was evidence that they loved him. Evidence that, if it weren’t for the Quest, his parents wouldn’t have made him train so hard. And so, he clutched the sketchbook in his arms, which contained at least ten other drawings similar to the ones he just finished, and repeated the three phrases over and over in his mind.
They’re sad because they love me. They don’t want me to be hurt. It’s only because of the Quest.
He opened his eyes, and in his mind he added a new phrase.
I do this to grow stronger.
<<<>>>
Restocking the shelves was a fairly easy task. All he had to do was grab a box from the lab, bring it to the storefront, and sort the potions onto the appropriate shelf. Colthorn liked this part of the day. He wasn’t being hurt, he wasn’t being rushed, he was able to do something that actually helped out his parents, and he even got to use his new Appraise skill on all the potions he unloaded.
Colthorn set the box he was carrying down onto the ground between the store’s counter and the shelves of potions. Inside the box was about a hundred potions, fifty potions sitting on another fifty. Most of the potions were basic Health, Mana, and Stamina potions but there were a few other potions as well. He happily Appraised each potion as he took them out of the box, then Appraised the potions on the shelf to find where to place it, and repeated the process until the box was empty.
He never really cared much about what kinds of potions they sold at the shop before, but now that he could Appraise them all he saw a lot more interesting ones than he expected. He saw potions of frog leaping, potions of Hill Giant strength, potions of monster detection, potions of fire breathing, and other unique abilities in potion form.
Appraise gained 4 levels. +4 EXP.
Colthorn looked at his work proudly. The shelves were fully stocked and the special orders were labeled and placed under the counter. He grabbed the empty box and took it back to the storage room.
Jornan was sorting some of the potions he had just made into a small box, the kind that held 16 potions instead of 100. Those small boxes were sold for an expensive price, but it was cheaper than buying the 16 potions individually.
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
"I finished stocking the shelves, dad," he said, setting the box down.
His dad looked up, "oh good, I'm also finished here."” Jornan closed the box then groaned as he stretched his arms above his head. “Let’s go get dinner going.”
After dinner, Colthorn helped his dad cook and he even got a skill level from it, Jornan sat at the table and was going over some textbooks with Colthorn. Training Skills and working in the shop was important, but one shouldn’t ignore basic education. The Standard Language skill was basically forced upon everyone by the gods, and only needed minimal effort to study to level up. The Glanic Language skill, however, required more in-depth study, even though it was the language they spoke at home. The brief history listen was basically his dad telling awesome stories of the old kings and queens of Malroth.
“Did you know that almost a hundred and fifty years ago there was a King that when he was crowned king he immediately declared war on the kingdoms Eglines, Yodrean, Laovan, and the Oglistan Empire? His name was Galidon, but he’s commonly known as the One-Day King, because his wife, Queen Follette, killed Galidon that same night for his idiocy. She sent the other kingdoms letters of apologies and managed to avoid war. Her actions prevented a civil war as well; the nobles at the time were going to stage a coup because of the king’s declaration. Queen Follette wasn’t punished for what she did and went on to be queen for another twenty years before her and Galidon’s son inherited the throne.”
Colthorn liked that story, but he hated the math worksheet that he had to do next. His dad had to help him with nearly every problem. Seriously, when would Colthorn even need to add that high?
That’s a dumb question. He thought, groaning at his plight. My Health, Mana, and Stamina are already big numbers and they’ll get bigger every time I level up...
He sighed and tried to pay attention to what his dad was saying.
By the time they finished the lessons it was already dark. Alagossa had joined them upstairs and was lounging on her favorite chair next to the empty fireplace. The thick math textbook slammed shut.
“Alright Coal, we’re done for the day!” his dad exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air, “Feels good to be done doesn’t it?”
A chime sounded and a blue screen appeared as Colthorn nodded in agreement.
Standard Language gained 2 levels. +2 EXP.
Glanic Language gained 1 level. +1 EXP.
Congratulations!
You’ve gained the skill: History of Malroth!
+50 EXP
Your father has taught you about some of the important events and people that shaped Malroth to be the kingdom that it is today, and you have shown yourself to be an adept student of history.
Passive effect: +0.1% INT per skill level to remembering historical facts about Malroth.
You gained 1 level. +1 INT, +2 Free Stats.
“You know what feels even better? Getting a new Skill!” Colthorn exclaimed, pumping his fists.
“Sweet! Did you get Mathematics?”
Colthorn froze, then his smile melted away into a scowl. “No,” he grumbled, “I got History of Malroth. A math Skill would’ve been so much better!”
“Aw don’t worry about it bud! You’ll get a math Skill soon; you’re doing much better than last time!” Jornan said, ruffling Colthorn’s hair. “Did you at least gain a level?”
His smile returned, “yep!” He pulled up his status page to allocate his free stats. “Oh, looks like I forgot that I leveled up earlier today. I have four free stats to assign.”
He placed 2 into Willpower, 1 into Strength, and 1 into Alacrity, then watched as the rest of his status page updated to match his new Stats.
Status
Skills
Quests
Library
Friends
Notices
Settings
General Info
Name: Colthorn Leokast
Class: [Child of Jornan/Alagossa Leokast (Sta)]
Race: Half-Human, Half-Elf
Level: 0th 73
Age: 7
Experience: 4.7/73
Health: 230/230
H. Regen: 4.1/day
Stamina: 140/140
S. Regen: 3/day
Mana: 550/550
M. Regen: 5.7/day
Stats
Strength: 19
Intelligence: 73
Constitution: 9
Will: 37
Alacrity: 41
Acuity: 41
Pending Stat Points: 0
Favored Skills:
Botanize 0th 54
Standard Language 0th 21
Basic Alchemy 0th 49
Glanic Language 0th 14
Drawing 0th 36
Geologize 0th 30
Skills:
Acid Resistance 0th 14 Analyze 0th 45 Appraise 0th 5 Archery 0th 43 Astronomy 0th 1 Cleaning 0th 38 Climbing 0th 37 Cooking 0th 2 Field Dressing 0th 30 Follower of the Sibling Moons 0th 2 Harvest Plant 0th 45 History of Malroth 0th 1 Hunting 0th 35 Jumping 0th 24 Knife Handling 0th 30 Pain Resistance 0th 19 Running 0th 50 Stealth 0th 50 Tracking 0th 36 Tumbling 0th 21
“Alright little Coal,” Alagossa said, getting up from her chair to join them at the table, “it’s getting late and we have another busy day tomorrow. You should be getting to bed.”
Colthorn hugged them goodnight and went to his room and flopped onto his bed. It had been a long day and Colthorn was exhausted. He rolled over onto his back and opened his status page again.
Level 73... that’s what? 37 levels to go? No, wait... 3 plus 7 is ten... carry the one... that’s 110 not 100. I have 27 levels to go until Tier 1.
He reached up and tapped the Notices page. In just one day, he’d gained 5 new skills and 4 levels. That was amazing progress; the result of many months of training paying off in a single day. Sure, he got some EXP from leveling up his other skills, but most of his levels came from gaining a massive 50 EXP each time he gained a new skill. And since starting his training at the age of 4, that had been the focus. Train for a new skill, then, when he got it, continue leveling that skill while he starts working to get a new one.
His mom and dad started his training with simple skills. He'd go out running with his mom, shoot a toy bow at some targets, and his mom would teach him about some of the plants in the forest. When he had gotten Running, Archery, and Botanize his mom started teaching him hunting skills like Stealth and Tracking. His dad also started letting him into the lab, teaching him about what he does and what everything was in his lab, which eventually got him Basic Alchemy and Geologize.
That's been his life for the last 4 years. Constant training and learning skills. The most recent skills he'd been training to get, on top of all the skills he's leveling up, were the Cooking, Astronomy, the resistances, and Appraise. He still had to get Poison Resistance, Mathematics, and a skill called Awareness, but he was sure that he'll get those skills within the next few days.
I wonder what skills I'll start learning next... Mom said she'll teach me some mana skills, but what will Dad teach me?
Colthorn lay there on his back, silently staring at the blue screen floating above his face. His eyes went over the glowing white text, re-reading the many notifications he'd gotten that day. Eventually his eyes wandered to the tabs at the top. He reached up and tapped the Quests tab. The screen changed to display his ongoing quests, and right at the top was the quest that changed his life.
He still remembered when he'd first gotten the Quest and excitedly told his parents about it. He had shared his Quests page with them so they could read it. Not to read it to him, of course, because even if he struggled to read the words, the meaning was made clear in his mind by the gods. At first they were excited and were cheering for him when he said he got a quest, but when they actually read the Quest their smiles faded.
His father had been against it, saying that it was impossible and would only be torture for him, and that even if he fail the quest he could be a Potioneer. His mother said that the gods never give impossible quests and that if he succeeded, the hardship would be worth it and then he would be able to choose what he wanted to be, but if he failed his choices would be limited. His parents went back and forth, arguing over whether or not to do the quest. They had sent him to his room, where he was left to wonder if he had done something wrong. The next morning they sat with him on his bed and asked if he wanted to try to do the quest or accept the penalty. When he said yes, he wanted to do the quest, they hugged him and his mom immediately started his training.
Back then he had just wanted to do the quest because it was a quest. But now that he was a little older and knew a bit more about skills and perks and classes, now he wanted to finish the quest because he really wanted the reward, and he didn’t want to just sit back and take the penalty.
Only 27 more levels. 27 levels and I'm finished.
Quest!: Building a Foundation
Task: Become Tier 1 before the age of 10.
Time Limit: 02:01:08:03
Restrictions: N/A
Reward: System Perk “Defier of Tiers: +10% to all Stats while in the presence of hostile higher tiered beings.”
Penalty: System Perk “Tyranny of Tiers: -10% to all Stats while in the presence of hostile higher tiered beings.”
Colthorn lay there, staring at the quest, until his eyes drifted shut and he fell asleep.