Settling back into the warmth of Frederick’s cottage after a productive day in his shop was surprisingly satisfying. They had made excellent progress on two separate orders. Despite Nick’s lack of skills in carpentry, the extra set of hands helped significantly. According to Frederick, the large farmhouse table they spent the majority of the day crafting would be ready several days ahead of schedule if they continued at the same pace.
It was hard to describe the satisfaction that came from working to create something from raw materials and elbow grease. Nick had seen plenty of craftsmen and manual laborers from his time working in the hardware store but never tried his hand at any real projects. The assembly of pre-fab furniture certainly didn’t compare. The skill Frederick displayed in his craft was a sight to behold in itself and having a small part in it made Nick feel a strange sense of pride.
For dinner they enjoyed piping hot bowls of stew that included a hearty amount of meat and potatoes. Frederick had started it over the coals of the fire earlier that morning and Nick found it comparable to a slow cooker meal with tender meat and well seasoned vegetables. It was strange to compare an essentially medieval society to the luxuries of modern Earth and it made Nick wonder what other ways the people of Frellon and the broader world dealt with a variety of infrastructure and industry.
Nick was thankful how quickly he’d been adapting to his new world but there was still so much mystery and after spending the day focused on woodwork his mind was ready to dive into more of his burning questions. As Nick finished his bowl of stew, he re-directed their conversation about the work still to do on Frederick’s open orders in the shop to his curiosities.
“There are incredible abilities granted by the stations but it seems like people are still struggling to get by with even basic necessities. There don’t seem to be any amenities here like a clinic or school. Is that normal?”
“We are simple folk in Frellon as I’ve mentioned before. The type of folks that come to live here aren’t looking for much and don’t need much. The population is too small to warrant many of the things you’d find in a big city or even larger town. If there is an emergency the station can be used in a pinch even if it would be more expensive than having specialists local.”
It made some sense to Nick that there were less specialty services based on the small population of the town, but he was still struggling to understand why there wasn’t more advanced technology. It was like an itch at the back of his head that something wasn’t adding up.
“I’ve seen what you can do with wood as a [Carpenter]. It seems like with skills in other crafts things would be more advanced than they are technology wise. If someone could mold metal in the same ways you shape wood for example.”
“You have to remember where we are, Nick. Frellon is a backwoods part of the kingdom and metal is not as plentiful in these parts as wood. Not to mention, metal also makes for better weapons than wood. We are one small part of the machine that funds the war efforts to maintain the safety of the kingdom. There is little time or funding dedicated to luxuries and that exists across any kingdom I’ve heard of.”
“You mentioned that before but it seems unbelievable people would risk so much. Are the benefits offered by the stations so grand to warrant such needless conflict?”
“Not to all. But to most. There seems to be nothing more appealing than the skills and gifts granted to those who earn it from the stations and the most efficient way is through blood. Your world surely has conflict?”
“More than I’d like to admit and I probably don’t even know about most of it, but it was waged by those in power with influence over those without.”
“It is the same here at times. But the stations offer something more. There is opportunity for anyone to rise above their peers and become something truly special. High leveled warriors are highly valued by any kingdom and receive the status and power aligned with their worth.”
Frederick gave Nick a lot to think about. The motivations of the people on Proelium were hard to appreciate, but he had only gotten a glimpse of the powers granted by the stations. Frederick made it clear by his reaction to Nick’s skill how important they were to society across the planet. It was going to take some time for Nick to fully adjust to the idea that people were willing to slaughter each other and risk their lives for what the stations offered, but if the other races that populated Proelium had the same amount of greed and naivety as humans it wouldn’t take long for him to be convinced.
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“I want to know more about classes and skills. How varied are they and what sorts of things can a high leveled person do?”
Frederick took a moment to answer Nick’s question, rubbing his chin in thought for a time before responding. It seemed obvious the answer would be complicated.
“That is a question asked by many people for as long as the stations have been around. The simple answer is the variety is endless but that wouldn’t provide you much insight. The reality is most people end up with classes across a handful of types that are well accounted for in terms of the skills they may provide and what types of things give experience to level them. There are entire libraries dedicated to tracking class skills and upgrades but generally there are combat and non-combat classes with a few that fall somewhere in between that some consider support classes.”
Nick nodded thoughtfully as he continued.
“The combat classes can range from [Lightning Mage] to [Archer] to [Berserker of the Tarric Seventh Tide]. The cultures and races one comes from may have a big impact on the types of classes recommended, but there is not inherently any class better than any other, but leaning into the specialty is important. I’m a non-combat class but that doesn’t mean I can’t fight with a sword or shoot an arrow and kill monsters. I simply won’t gain experience or get a skill that will help me with those things so I am better served crafting and utilizing my skills to their fullest if I want to earn experience.”
“I think I’m starting to better understand. Specialization makes efficiency of activities even more important. I will never be able to craft wood as well as you so ensuring the work most suited to you makes its way to your shop is critical. Division of labor is deeply defined by classes. That makes it even more sad for those that end up with a class they dislike or find doesn’t fit them.”
“Indeed. Class regret is a big problem and many find themselves lost in life. Unfortunately, a lot of them end up as part of the less savory parts of society. Many find themselves doing things illegal or unethical to make coin if they can’t find a way to accept the class they choose.”
The implications of some of the information Frederick shared with Nick was troublesome. The type of specialization he was talking about would make it almost impossible to be competitive in an industry without the right class and it would be important to make sure to pick a class that had a demand or else you could still end up scraping by on the edge of society to try and find a place with the higher leveled competition.
“It seems I still have a lot to consider.”
Frederick nodded but gave Nick a warm smile, “Take your time. The winter still has a ways to go and I could use your help in the shop. You make a fine assistant and the company would do me good this time of year.”
Nick smiled back and again felt incredibly thankful toward Frederick. He had no idea if the gods were pushing fate to allow them to meet but it was a mercy to Nick that they had done so. He was still feeling bitter toward Hez about being ripped from his world so abruptly but he could already feel himself warming to the idea of what lay ahead.
Frederick and Nick found ourselves winding down in front of the fireplace after dinner. The nights were long during the winter so it was still early despite the lack of light coming from outside. He introduced Nick to a game of his world involving dice and scoring. It was oddly similar to Yahtzee that Nick played as a kid sending his thoughts back to time with his family in the mountains during summer vacation. The memory sent a pang of loss into him as he remembered his parents, but he did his best to put it aside in his mind.
The evening passed in contentment as Frederick shared stories of his life and Nick commented on how strange he found some of their way of life onProelium. Nick learned about some of Frederick’s time in the capital and a bit more about his experience working with some of the influential upper class that explained his insight into some of the ongoing conflicts and historical politics. Frederick was apparently quite highly leveled in his class and offered some of the most well-made furniture to be found. Nick reflected on the pain he must have felt to lose his wife and settle into a simple life away from the memories of her from the capital.
As they started to wind down before bed, Nick also learned how different their hygiene patterns were between worlds. He admittedly had been feeling a little self conscious about the stench he’d been putting off after a day of working in the shop and learned deodorant was an alchemist's product in Proelium and it was highly effective. Between deodorant and some other personal hygiene products mass produced by a variety of classes to ensure cleanliness, disease was kept under control despite most people showering no more than once a week depending on the season.
Needless to say, Nick spent a handful of coppers in the station market to purchase a few supplies and was feeling much better about maintaining a respectable level of cleanliness. He also found healing tonics and potions in the market that would resolve all types of ailments and injuries but they were expensive. Frederick explained they were used primarily by the military or as a last resort if a [Healer] could not be found due to the rarity of their ingredients.
Nick was still unsure of his future but things were coming together in his mind as he drifted off to sleep once more on the floor of Fredrick’s cottage.