“On a roughed up table, filled with what looks to be burns and slashes, is a particular item. A blade but no hilt. From the way it’s sharpened, it appears the item is expected to stay this way.”

“What kind of weapon is this?”

‘This is blade for the son of the Eighteenth army. I did not make it.’

“Eighteenth army?”

‘That’s right. I owe him a favour which is why I’m putting down a engraving on this low tier weapon.’

“Oh.”

“From the expression on our hero, it is clear he has not the slightest idea what master Asteri is speaking of. Ji can only look to Tio for answers.”

‘The eighteenth army holds the undying at bay at a certain place far east.’

“I see!”

“It is only Tio that he can safely trust in this world. Or that was what the case used to be, before she left her previous job.”

‘It is apart of the alliance and one of forty two armies.’

‘This should do it. It was only a simple engraving.’

“Simple?”

‘It can’t be too high a grade or the boy won’t be able to use the weapon anymore.’

“Leaving the blade where it lies, Asteri lets his eyes rest on his promising new pupil.”

‘I was starting to get worried you wouldn’t come, I even thought those old monsters had dragged you into their smokey fog.’

“I just got busy, I went on a quest.”

‘A quest.’

“Distracted, Asteri looks blankly into the air. Our hero studies his face in depth, as if trying to make sure he’ll never forget. We can only assume for what purpose.”

‘Not a lot quest in these last years. But I hear that has changed.’

“Miss Tio should know more about it than me.”

‘Ah, miss Tio, of course. Our resident quest helper. I heard what happened downtown.’

‘It’s to be expected.’

‘Indeed it is.’

“Then about-”

‘Ah, of course mister Ji! Let’s get to it then! This should be simple.’

“What do I do?”

‘I see you’ve already accepted the Rune engraving as your main profession.’

“And I also accepted Woodworking.”

‘Woodworking? You have two main professions?’

“It is not impossible to receive a profession like our hero, but to receive two can be considered somewhat rare. At least in these times.

Perhaps only top tier clans or heirs of large organizations possess such advantage. Not even Tio, one who has worked in the favor of the system for decades.”

‘This is surprising, but it doesn’t matter. Let me enroll you in our advanced program.’

“Asteri, Master Rune engraver. Not to say this feeble lowborn man isn’t worthy of being our hero’s teacher, but to herald such people as masters is laughable.”

‘You’ll have to begin reading the basics, then practice until you reach a certain level of mastery.’

“What about materials?”

‘This is no issue. The basics require only materials to engrave and we have quite the lucrative business set up around it.’

“Oh?”

‘We have thousands of furniture and we have low level apprentices engrave basic utility runes on them.’

‘We have almost your entire catalogue at home.’

‘Of course, your Oh clan has been buying our items for years. Most of our low tier items go to the front lines however, as it is there where they need basic utility like heated chairs or beds.’

“The lowest tiers of Runes, Master Asteri speaks of, require the user to input their mana into it to function. These kinds of Runes should be considered useless, but they have found a curious use for them.”

“Is it cold at the front lines?”

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‘Not only is it cold, it can also be searing hot. The continuous fighting makes for volatile weather, one minute it is snowing the next it is blaring heat.’

“Hoh.”

‘To be honest, we Rune engravers can’t be considered the most profitable in the war efforts. It is the forgers, Bowyers, formation experts and alchemists that compete for that crown.’

“What about woodworkers?”

‘Woodworkers? Well. In general, Woodworkers tend to be very reserved. Their products aren’t lacking. However, their numbers are.’

“For us, these theatrical displays are eye roll inducing. It can be said that all professions are related to each other. It is only the branches of an enormous tree, and they all share the same roots.

It is not rare for the lowborn to speak in grandiose fashion, propping themselves up to be masters of this, masters of that.

For what reason the world’s system decided on such a guidance format is unknown. Perhaps it is to allow the small minded creatures to digest the knowledge slowly.”

‘In short, you should have no problems for a long while, with applicable items to engrave.’

“Awesome.”

“Like all professions, their very basics require materials of low tier to work. It is later where issues begin to crop up.

It is largely due to alchemy that low quality items are capable of receiving higher tiers of, Formation enchanting or Rune engraving.”

‘That’s about it. Not to sound rude, but you’ll need no help from me until you are at least capable of engraving tier forty items. Or about those tiers.’

“Tier forty. That’s around level twelve hundred, right?”

‘That’s right.

As for how you will spend your days, that’s entirely up to you. We have scheduled lessons and practice hours you can join in on.

There will be people managing these lessons, if you want a personal tutor, this can also be arranged.

You’ll have a room here as well. For now it is only satisfactory for sleep, you can of course come and go as you please.’

“This is very generous.”

‘Of course it is. While all professions are profitable, we make majority of our income from apprentice level products, so we provide well for them.’

“Thank you for your time then, Master Asteri.”

‘The pleasure was all mine. You still have my frequency, you can contact me whenever you like.’

‘Goodbye, Master Asteri.’

‘Farewell, Miss Tio.’

“After returning to the street, the pair find themself in a quiet restaurant to sate their lowborn desires. Drawing nutrients from earth and flesh.”

“It’s just some meat and vegetables in a soup.”

‘Did you want something else?’

“No, this is delicious. And warm.

I’m a bit worried about that woodworker. After experiencing Asteri’s hospitality, I don’t believe that old withered tree will provide similar accommodations.”

‘I’m afraid I don’t know this particular woodworker. We always dealt with the Rune engravers.’

“The meal alone appears to be enough for our hero to increase his level. His rested bonus continues prove itself a boundless fountain of experience.”

“Let’s head over.”

‘To the Woodworker?’

“Ye.”

“In the room filled with hundreds of not thousands of wooden carvings, a lone human like silhouette whittles away.”

“That’s him.”

‘I didn’t know we had a tree primordial in the city.’

“Is he the only one?”

‘As far as I know. Tree primordials usually live very secluded lives. Some never leave their forest homes.’

“Oh? Trejerth is a tree primordial, I think. I met him in the wildlands.”

‘Hoh? You’ve met more tree primordials than me then.’

“Look at his hands.”

‘Can’t he hear us?’

“I’m not sure. But look at his hands. Look.”

“The Wither-wood’s hands take this grotesque form to polish their creations. It is not uncommon for a tree primordial to be able to change their appearance over time.”

‘What about them?’

“They’re like sandpaper.”

‘Paper made out of sand?’

“What? No, it’s like. Never mind, I mean they are used to polish wood. His bare hands.”

“Unlike our ignorant hero, miss Tio here has not only experienced quite a few more decades than him, she is well educated and open minded. The sight of the Wither-wood has not shaken her.”

“Alright, alright. Old man, you there?”

‘Maybe he is deaf?’

“Deaf and probably somewhat blind. Hold on I got an idea.”

“For some inexplicable reason, our hero has lied down on the ground and begun pushing himself up and down.”

‘What are you doing?’

“I’m getting a slight pump on.”

‘What do you mean?’

“I can’t have that old man thinking I’m a woman forever.”

“Having found his exercise adequate our hero begins by puffing out his chest and walking in front of Birki, the Wither-wood tree primordial.”

“Birki!”

‘Oh? Oh? Who is it then?’

“In truth, the Wither-wood’s have an inclination to fall into a state of intense focus. A feature seen in most tree primordials, and especially so in the Wither-wood.

This old tree’s hearing and sight can be called into question, but so exaggeratedly to be completely oblivious to the world around it.”

“Hello! I’m here to learn Woodworking from you.”

‘Oh, what a strapping young man.’

“Good. You can see after all.”

‘You shouldn’t be so rude to the elderly, Ji.’

“Old people are the most in need of rudeness, Tio. This is something dad taught me.”

‘Your dad told you to be rude to the elderly?’

“Yes. And grandfather agreed with him. So it must be right.”

“Birki, being a very slow and reserved individual, even more so after his extended reclusive life, only waits patiently as Ji and Tio chat.”

“I was hoping to learn Woodworking from you, Birki.”

‘Oh?’

“...”

“The lack of response caused our hero to feel awkward, a rare occurrence, but a welcomed one.”

“Birki?”

‘Hm? Yes?’

“Can I learn Woodworking from you?”

‘Woodworking?’

“Woodworking, ye.”

‘Of course.’

“Every word pronounced slowly, in a deep hoarse voice, almost grating enough to polish wood. A good moment of silence precedes any answers on his part.”

“I have a feeling this is going to take a while.”

‘And who is this strapping young man?’

‘...’

“Tio-Oh.”

‘Good. Would this young man like to learn some Woodworking?’

“As if spellbound by the Wither-wood’s rhythm, our hero and miss Tio wait for the man to finish speaking.”

‘I’d like to try.’

“You would?”

‘Why not?’

“Well, I guess there no reason not to try.”

‘Great, we can do it together.’

“We want to learn from you together.”

‘Good.’

“The calm conversation comes to an abrupt end when the Wither-wood stands up in a hurry and his left hand begins growing with frightful speed. Like a spear jotting worth.

The speed might seem fast, but when this Wither-wood’s capabilities are considers, this action can be taken as slow.”

‘Take this.’

“The elongated hand snaps off into into two near identical pieces. This time it is Tio who is shocked into silence, while our hero, used to this action by his acquaintance, Tréjörð.”

“Thank you.”

‘And take these.’

“The two daggers appear out of thin air in Birki’s large hands. These two daggers are almost identical, the same rune engravings and even unseen enchant.”

“Thanks.”

‘Thank you.’

‘Now play for a while. Come if you need help. I will be here somewhere.’

“The daggers are not too extraordinary but they do promote a calm heart and increase a person's focus. This can be considered a priceless item for a novice Woodworker.”

“Should we go back to the Rune engravers?”

‘I think it is preferable to this place.’

“Our miss Tio seems to have managed to implicate herself in our hero’s fate. Her status changeD from a generic employee to a something of a companion or a sidekick.

This is perhaps not unexpected if one consider the last thousand years of history, where multiple Beta’s roamed the earth.

It was common then to be affected by simple proximity. For such actions to repeat, is expected. A rather grand example of this is the awakening of the system. The millions of quests being created now.

On the macro this is easy to see. And very difficult to associate with our hero, but it is indeed due to one Ji Aleksy a thousand year old popsicle.

There is a reason why the largest percentage of people receiving quests came from the very city our hero is residing. It is his influence, like a stone thrown into still water.”