His eyes snapped open. The intense emotions he could feel from the dream woke him up. His mind continued to replay the newly returned memories of what he had done to Tarn.
Every action that he had taken against Tarn wasn’t done under blind rage as he had assumed. It was calculated.
He had been happier when the memories were lost and was blissfully unaware of his thoughts during the incident.
I knew Tarn was no threat to me, so I didn’t kill him instantly. I chose to do something far worse… simply because I could.
Cal frowned in distaste at the truth. He left his room and exited the house to get some air. It was still the middle of the night with the sun’s rise hours away. The moonlight did just enough to not make him completely blind to his surroundings.
He went directly to the peak of the rocky hill that he considered his sitting spot. It almost sounded silly when he thought of it internally, but he needed to think. And this spot might be the best place for it.
Cal took several deep breaths to clear his mind of all other distractions. He needed to figure out the gargantuan issue that had been dropped on his head. He could feel himself sinking into a familiar state. A trance that he often fell under where he was too focused—
Cal stiffened and opened his eyes in realization. His mind became the opposite of clear.
A trance! I didn’t black out because of anger. Not directly. It led me into an ultra-focused tunnel vision where I acted on autopilot. I thought that only applied when I was farming, but apparently not.
Knowing the likely issue didn’t solve it. He had to break that habit as soon as possible.
Cal remembered the words Tarn spoke to him. They were unpleasant to hear, and they definitely meant the man-child deserved a swift punch to the face, but nothing more than that.
He couldn’t snap into a murderous trance simply because he got too angry. It would potentially cause a disaster he couldn’t return from.
At least, I know I can still recognize friends and superiors in that state. I didn’t resist when the Masters intervened. And I remember motioning for Seris to leave.
That was just a small comfort.
The problem now was figuring out how to break the habit. It wasn’t like he could ask someone to work him up into a rage so he could practice.
Cal frowned as he tried to think of a solution. He could do nothing to replicate the exact situation safely, but perhaps something could be done while farming.
When he fell into a trance, his usual process was to allow his mind to work on autopilot with zero real thought. It wasn’t an exaggeration to say it was equivalent to meditation for him, but a more productive form of it.
He would need to change that. Instead of allowing himself to think of nothing and relax, he needed to be somehow aware of his actions.
… Wouldn’t that mean I’m not in a trance? What’s the point of that?
Cal pinched the bridge of his nose before letting out a slow exhale to release his frustration. All he had were suspicions and guesses at the moment. He would need to actually try before he could draw conclusions. It would be ideal if he could somehow harness that rage-induced trance.
I didn’t miss that I was aware of the properties of the lightning element in that state. I knew it would work directly on Tarn instead of assuming it was useless after my test on the ground. It looks like shutting out my emotions makes me less of a fool. If I leave aside my murderous instinct, it’s not all bad.
He shook his head to clear his thoughts. If he thought that was a good trade-off, something must be wrong with him.
Though, if I’m in a fight, it’s an excellent trade-off.
Cal shook his head again before closing his eyes. His thoughts were a little messy today. Understandable because of his dream.
He let himself relax as his mind started to empty itself of all thoughts.
***
Cal felt his face get progressively warmer. It was easy to dismiss at the start, but now it was enough to ruin his peace. His empty-headed peace.
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He opened his eyes and immediately narrowed them from the sun shining directly into them. He had somehow spent hours sitting there, but there were no regrets.
Not only did the slight disturbance caused by the dream disappear, but it also made him strangely more eager to get to work. Not that he needed it, but any extra motivation was always helpful.
“Is that better than sleeping?”
Cal looked down to see Tavia sitting at the edge of the cultivated plot. She was playing with a metallic ball, rolling it around her fingers while looking at him. He could see the area that touched her skin turn a molten red before quickly cooling the moment it lost contact.
“How long have you been there?” Cal asked with surprise as he stared intently at her hands. He had no idea how she was doing that.
“Not that long,” Tavia replied casually before pointing out, “You didn’t answer. Is that really better than sleeping?”
Cal had to really think about it. Both had a similar result of refreshing him, but that was the only thing they shared. “They can’t be compared. Meditation can’t replace sleep, but it does make me feel better.”
Tavia tilted her head curiously, considering his words before saying, “Maybe I should join you and see if I like it.”
Cal nodded slowly. “Maybe you should.”
“Tomorrow,” Tavia promised with a smile before she stood up. “I have some things to take care of at Silverpine so I’ll be gone for the day.”
Silverpine. A town in the Mystic Woods region on the east side of the territory.
Cal just noticed that she wasn’t dressed as comfortably as yesterday. She was back to wearing her usual robes.
“Oh! And there will be someone coming to remove the Starlit Marble sometime today.”
“I thought it was removed yesterday,” Cal frowned in confusion.
“Nope. You need specialized workers for that, and it wasn't possible on short notice.”
“… I see.” Cal eventually shrugged it off. He didn’t intend to leave the field, so it wasn’t an issue.
“I’ll see you later, Cal. And try not to make more mountains while I’m gone.”
Cal chuckled as he watched Tavia head to her carriage and leave the field.
She had said that before.
In all fairness, the new, hilly piles of rubble happened while she was there yesterday.
He looked to his right and saw three new hills formed—two that were at full size and one that was shorter. With his field cleared of all the mess, the shorter one wasn’t likely to grow any time soon.
I’m already short of supplies to repair the soil. No need to open up more areas before I finish.
Cal hopped off the peak and landed where Tavia was previously sitting. He froze on the spot as the thing he kept forgetting to do reappeared in his mind.
I should test my physical limits.
He turned to look at the hill he jumped from and estimated it was around five times his height, around thirty feet tall. He would have liked to make the hill taller, but it was already inefficient enough to try and make a hill of this size.
Cal had to waste time rolling the wheelbarrow up the increasingly larger hill to empty the bucket.
Without my self-admittedly strange obsession with making small hills, I would have finished the cleanup hours earlier.
He pushed aside a matter he did not wish to change. He wondered what it meant when he didn’t even think that danger was possible when hopping off the thirty-foot pile of rocks.
Wait. If I push myself, I can run from Lumina to the Northern Wastes in half an hour. And that was with making sure Seris didn’t fall off my back. That should mean I’m capable of other physical feats.
If he could safely land after jumping off a thirty-foot hill, he should be able to jump ten or so feet without issue. He wanted to test this.
Cal didn’t hold back. He bent his knees before jumping as hard as he could.
“AH!” A surprised yell left his lips when he shot off the ground. His eyes were wide as he zipped to a little over the height of the hill at the peak of his jump.
Cal’s mouth was open in shock as he descended.
Thirty feet. I jumped over thirty feet in the air.
He landed on the dirt with a soft grunt, right beside the spot where he jumped. The place had an imprint of his feet. The force of the jump compressed the soft soil under him.
Cal didn’t move for a good minute as he thought about why he had these over-the-top physical capabilities. He had taken it for granted since it felt natural to him. He didn’t notice something was wrong until he made himself think about it.
It couldn’t be because of [Farmer]. It just wasn’t how that [Class] worked. And the types of [Class] that contributed to physical enhancement were looked down upon.
Even a third-rate guild like the Celestial Order wouldn’t bother wasting resources on supporting someone with a class like [Warrior]. The name of the [Class] might sound impressive, but all they ended up being was cannon fodder. A single Master in the Celestial Order could take on a literal army of those without an issue.
This physical enhancement doesn’t take away from anything else. I seem to be getting it as a side benefit. So, should I even care about why I have it?
The only thing it did so far was help. It did allow him to travel ridiculously fast between different regions of the territory. He calculated the speed he traveled between Lumina and his station since that was when he put in the effort.
Lumina is around forty miles away from the field. I was able to cover the distance in half an hour… I can run eighty miles an hour. Faster than a horse. Faster than most beasts.
Cal scratched his chin in confusion. The only thing he could do now was set it aside. It didn’t matter if the [Class] he possessed was ‘Special.’ It still had nothing to relate with [Farmer]… or did it?
I feel myself getting slightly stronger when my [Tier] level increases. Though, when I was an Initiate, it was mostly endurance instead of strength. Perhaps that changed when I became an Apprentice.
He honestly couldn’t remember since that was the last thing he was paying attention to. It was foolish in hindsight.
“Forget it,” Cal muttered as cast [Rainfall]. The soil was looking a little too dry for comfort.
He already had a plan for the day. He hoped to find the sweet spot between a trance and self-awareness.
All he wanted to accomplish today was the hint that it was possible. That would be enough for him to dedicate as long as it took to make it a reality.