He had been about to disregard [Secondary Title] entirely when he felt the urge to recheck the wording of the answer given by the Laws of the World. It had been in the back his mind since he read it, always feeling like he was missing something obvious.
He pulled it up on the interface.
There will be no retroactive effects on [Farmer] (Special) for accepting a second [Class]. However, all future growth contributions will be balanced as close to 50% as possible. Some actions can only contribute to [Farmer] (Special). In the case of actions eligible to contribute to both, the [Class] with the least cumulative gain will be chosen.
The contributions will be considered on a perpetual basis without any possibility of smaller time blocks. It will start the moment you choose your [Class].
On the first reread, Cal’s initial reaction was to sneer at the disadvantages again. It was only by shutting out his bias that he understood how little of a disadvantage this truly was.
The three new options the Overseer had listed did not appeal to him. They were an interesting thought experiment, but that was all they would be. Especially when he realized how much the contribution split would help if he picked [Mage].
It would require no extra effort from him like the other options. That was his biggest concern. He was not keen to split his attention, nor did he think that would work for him long term. He worked best where there was one thing to focus on, and the only [Class] that let him do so was [Mage].
Cal had been an average [Mage] at best in his past life. This was not something that could be debated.
In the Celestial Order, he might have been one of the rare few assigned to [Mage], but he didn’t care about that ‘honor.’ He would never match up to any [Mage] in a first-rate guild.
Of course, this was in a normal circumstance.
The answer the Laws of the World gave him clearly said that the contributions to a [Class] would only be possible if his actions were eligible. When he did routine farm work, there was no way it would apply to [Mage]. However, when he learned a new spell or used a spell to help his farming, it would definitely qualify.
That was his most significant issue when he was a [Mage] in his last life. It took him over a year to learn a single spell, and that had severely restricted his growth. Now, it was possible to use the extreme benefits from [Farmer] (Special) and apply it as a booster shot for [Mage] growth.
There was a real chance he could reach the near-mythical [Archmage] with this loophole.
Cal knew he was still giving up some growth for [Farmer], but that was outweighed by the benefits that [Mage] would give him. The ones he knew for sure were the massively increased mana capacity and precise measurements of his mana use. And he suspected that he would gain additional elemental affinities, but that was not a sure thing.
I just need to confirm one more thing before I can make a choice without regrets. I have never heard of something like a pocket dimension, but then again, I haven’t heard of a lot of things. The Overseer should know if there is anything similar.
He felt lighter when he had a concrete plan to follow. One that he didn’t have to make with doubts about the intentions of beings far beyond him. He really had been overthinking the intentions of the Laws of the World. The choices they gave him were both great, but one reward was valued far more than the other with what it could give him in the future.
The Overseer’s answer doesn’t really matter too much. Even if he says that pocket dimensions can’t be replicated, I still see myself choosing [Secondary Title]. I’ll need the Overseer’s help in getting the second [Class], so I might as well wait to pick the reward.
Cal stood from his seat on the peak of the rubble hill and stretched. It was nearing dusk, and he could see that the slurry-covered patch was ready for the mulch layer.
He hopped down the rubble hill and walked to the storage room to get the rake. Seris was nearby, standing by the makeshift pond. She watched Nibbles lazily float on the water and looked on the verge of joining the little creature.
Cal had no desire to deal with a soaked teenager. “Seris! Isn’t it time for you to go back to town? It’s getting late!”
Seris gave him a glance before looking at the sky, seeming to realize that the sun would be setting soon. She gave him a reluctant nod.
“I’ll head back now.” Seris gave a longing look at Nibbles right after.
I thought she had enough of Nibbles yesterday. I have no complaints if she wants to take her again.
“Nibbles!” Cal shouted. The little creature floating in the pond splashed around in surprise before shooting out of the water and landing next to Series. Nibbles gave him her full attention. “Do you want to go back with Series today?”
A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
He had barely got the words out before Nibbles nodded eagerly at the chance to escape. He might have bought Seris’s forgiveness with cake, but it seemed he still had some ways to go with Nibbles.
“Seris?” She looked conflicted about whether to take Nibbles or not. But the love of the cute creature won out.
“Alright,” Seris nodded but faced Nibbles with a serious expression. “You have to promise not to insist on smelling everyone. I won’t take you with me if you don’t promise.”
She’s comfortable treating Nibbles like a person. That is understandable since Nibbles has scarily human reactions.
The aforementioned Nibbles was giving Seris a disdainful look.
“Then you can just stay behind. I want to get a good night’s sleep.” Seris pursed her lips and stood her ground. It worked.
Nibbles snuck a glance at Cal before nodding reluctantly.
It’s a shame that Nibbles is too wary to act herself around me. Maybe one more tub of powdered crystals would tip the scales in my favor… no, that sets a bad precedent. I can’t make it easy to get rewarded.
“Awesome! We’re going to have such a good time!” Seris picked up a resigned Nibbles before turning to Cal. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Cal!”
“Before you go, take this,” Cal took the booklet for [Liquid Core] out of his inner pocket and handed it to her. When she stared at it blankly, he added, “It’s the spell I promised you.”
Seris gave him a blinding smile as she accepted it and left his field with a skip in her step. Cal watched till she disappeared over the tree line before continuing to the storage room.
[Liquid Core] will be easy to sell to the Initiates in town. They know Seris works for me, and even if they try something, Nibbles is there to protect her. I’m curious if she will ask me before selling the spell booklet. I think she will, but giving Orrin the money might make her forget courtesy. I hope that isn’t the case.
He pulled the rake off the wall and returned to the patch of land ready for mulch. He needed to cover around a thousand square feet of soil with mulch, which, with his previous experience, would require around twelve sacks.
It was a fraction of the sacks of mulch that were piled up.
This reminds me to ensure Drex gets me the new supplies on time. Without loam, I can’t repair any more land.
Cal made quick work of the applying the mulch and raked it flat. Like he did with the previous patch, he kept the rake’s tines within the mulch and no deeper.
He stepped out of the patch and raised his arm to point his palm at the sky. The mana rushed out of his mana core, and stormy clouds stormed over the patch.
Light rain fell on the mulch for half a minute before the mulch soaked it all up and darkened. He cut off the flow of mana and ignored the dissipating clouds. He was waiting for the glow that meant success.
A few seconds later, the patch glittered like sparkling gemstones were scattered over the mulch.
Next is planting. I just have to wait for the glow to reduce in intensity.
Cal was about to study one of the earth spell booklets when he heard the familiar sound of far too many carts approaching the field. In his opinion, it had become far too common, and this would hopefully be the last time such a convoy was needed.
Unless it involves Drex delivering supplies.
He returned to the house and stashed the rake in the storage room before waiting for the convoy near the front door.
Most of his field was still dug up, so the convoy of carts had to form a single line to navigate the small path cleared to the house. Thankfully, the area near the house had enough space for all of them to unload their goods.
Tavia’s carriage had been leading the pack and stopped near Cal. She gave him a distracted nod before quickly unclasping the horses from the carriage and went to the carts. She was eager to direct the order in which the goods had to be moved.
Cal didn’t care much about any of that. His focus was on the furnishings, specifically their color.
Soft blue. Off-white… almost all of them are off-white with some soft blue thrown in. Tavia doesn’t look happy about this. It means I’ll like it.
He stood out of the way as the mortal workers removed the furnishings inside the house. He had noticed that the replacements Tavia had bought were the same pieces but in different colors. As she had intended.
Cal frowned when the workers didn’t move the new furnishings into the house. Instead, they surrounded the only cart that hadn’t been unloaded. It had been hidden by the activity around it, but he recognized the people sitting on the cart.
Tavia walked briskly to Cal. He asked, “What are Miren’s builders doing here?”
“It’s a surprise,” Tavia said a little nervously. “Before we continue, do you mind if the Starlit Marble was removed?”
Cal blinked in surprise but found that he didn’t really care. It was doing him no favors. Still, it could be helpful in the future... somehow. “I wouldn’t do it without good reason.”
‘Then this will definitely be to your liking!” Tavia waved the builders in along with whatever was on the cart. A simple sheet covered what they moved inside. “Don’t peek inside!” She returned to her directing.
As the minutes passed, Cal began to think of all the other productive things he could be doing instead of waiting for the workers to finish the move. By the time he was nearly fed up, it was over.
The convoy slowly started to exit his field with carts newly loaded with the old furnishing.
“Ready!?”
He looked away from the retreating carts to see Tavia staring at him with sparkling eyes.
She can’t be this excited about the new colors. Now I’m actually curious about this surprise.
They entered the house, and Cal was hit with the soft tones that pleased his eyes. There was nothing he could complain about.
A large rug covered most of the floor in front of the seating. Tavia unceremoniously pulled it up to reveal a black, perfectly spherical stone embedded under a transparent covering that blended into the floor.
Cal couldn’t feel it before since the draw was weak. Now that he knew this existed, he could feel the stone sipping mana from the environment. But it wasn’t enough to negatively impact anything.
“This is a hearthstone,” Cal said with shock.
“I bet you can use this, can’t you?” Tavia commented smugly.
It started to click in his mind that the Overseer was talking about this. Tavia had somehow managed to trade in the useless starlit marble for this. A hearthstone that could be used to substitute a mana core in emergencies.
Cal felt the urge to pull Tavia into a tight hug. She had done more than she could know. He wasn't sure how she accessed a hearthstone, even with the Overseer's help.
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Complete stat sheet in author note (under spoiler tag)
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