It was the searing marks that went away first, then it was the dried skin that regained its shine, the eyes never came back, and the same was with the internal organs of the fish.
[ Healer Class level 10 ]
[ class feature: Mana pool expansion Obtained ]
[ Mana pool expansion: doubles your maximum mana point capacity ]
[ class feature: Directed Aura Obtained ]
[ Directed Aura: Concentrate your healing auras on one being ]
“Whoa, my mana pool just doubled Astria!!!” an excited Steve said as he rechecked his mana points. “Mana update”
“0/400”
“Astria, I have 400 points of max mana, that’s quite a lot isn’t it!!!”
Astria’s head moved from left to right and back repeatedly, as she sat in front of Steve in the grass. “Mana Pool expansion is a repeated upgrade that happens with mana-related classes every ten levels. I for example have more than sixty thousand mana with a passive mana regen of six thousand points per hour. That is still not a lot though, as you level up, the cost and complexity of your spells will go up. I am a general Elementalist, that is, I control the fundamental elements of nature that are earth, fire, water, and wind. You can say it is the handyman class of mages.......... No scratch that, nothing gets near the handyman class,” Astria giggled while shaking her head.
“Your max mana will increase 8 times every ten levels. Your class is specialized though, the healer one I mean,” Astria continued.
“Can I also get one more mana enhancing class and cheat the whole system?” Asked Steve.
“Well, most people just specialize in one class and wait for a super rare one to show up. You can get a lot of suggestions from the class system depending upon your actions but most people concentrate on one class, children are taught this in school you know. Once old enough to level, they go ahead and accept their choice. You have got two good and useful classes. I have not met a person with three classes and high levels in all three. If you do more things with your class, you graduate into a general class at the next upgrade. So, a healer can become a priest at level 100, or a more general healer, or a combat healer, some people heal animals and plants to become druids, I have seen healers becoming caregivers if they take care of the elderly or children all the time. I have even seen one become a local politician in tantrax. The possibilities are infinite actually. The class system adjusts as you move forward in life. Like a handyman who graduates into a contractor if he works with a lot of people under his command. Accepting the third class is disastrous, because that third class levels up slowly, like slow-slow. With the battles and injuries that you will see in the coming days, you are bound to become a Priest. We at the station are all sure of it,” Astria informed Steve.
‘I come to a new world, accept two classes and two classes is the limit. Oh boy!'
“Astria, Steve looks mana drained, he has more things to do today,” Regi stood at the door of the food stop. “End of class then,” Astria got up and entered the food stop to get her mana potion stock. Steve just sat there in his mana drained state as he wondered if every day was going to start this way. “Glen says you will be providing me with arrows from now on,” Regi said. Madilyn rushed out with a wooden crate of potions and put it into the wagon. “Hey Steve, Glen wants you to cut wood for Regi every day, he is always out of arrows. Please go to the farm, water the fruit trees, get me ...say a hundred stacks of tetra-grain, get construction glue for today’s work and chop some wood in the southern forest for Regi,” Madilyn informed. “Regi will keep you company and will also maintain a protection parameter for you,” Madilyn said as she went in and brought the scythe, ax, and baskets for the jobs.
With that list of jobs to be done, Steve knew that his handyman class was going to reach level hundred before his healer class. “Take the crate of potions to the station afterward as you continue with your construction job. Also, be gentle with Drax,” Madilyn reminded Steve.
‘Who the hell is Drax? Where is she looking? Oh, it's the donkey-like wagon puller. Oof’
Steve got on the wagon. Regi just ran towards the southern wall without a word. ‘Must be his leg day or something.’
As Steve reached the southern wall, he saw the battle’s carnage. The pyre still burning, bones being swept into one place by guards of the wall.
[ Handyman class level 17 ]
[ Class Feature: Wagon control Obtained ]
[ Wagon control: beasts of burden for wagons accept your orders better ]
“Hey, you must be Madilyn’s handyman. Get me a hundred stacks from the farm, please. I made a deal with Madilyn yesterday and I plan to export tetra grain from windrow to tantrax on my way back there,” the magic item shopkeeper told Steve. “A hundred stacks for you coming up,” Steve replied. With Mark II in scythe proficiency and enhanced stamina, two hundred stacks would be easy.
Steve reached the farm and started with his chores.
[ Handyman class level 18 ]
[ Class Feature: Sythe Proficiency Mark III Obtained ]
“So, what does mark III do now?” Steve was wondering as he moved the scythe in on sweep and tetra grain plants that touched the scythe just fell to the ground. Steve quickly got down on his knees and started to move the scythe in a circular pattern. The result? An alien circle on the field custom made by Steve himself. “Ah, so this is what it does,” Steve said in his definite realization. After clearing a small chunk of the farm, two hundred stacks were collected abnormally quickly.
You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
Glue collected, fruit plants watered, Steve moved further south nearer to the jungle to cut a tree from the very first line of trees. Regi sat on the very tree Steve was cutting with his ax. “Will this tree be enough for you?” Steve asked at his third hit on the tree. “For today, yes,” Regi replied with a thumbs up, his eyes scanning south for danger. The tree eventually fell and Steve continued to chop the wood into arrow size stumps.
While Steve loaded the wooden pieces into the wagon, Regi, in an alert posture shot an arrow in the southern direction. “Wha, what? Is something there,” Steve asked as he looked south and saw a skeleton with an arrow in his head, lying on the ground with his hands and legs moving erratically. It was the first time Steve had seen a skeleton moving, with the teeth and the shining bones with the joints and the autonomous motion. Steve puked on the floor as reality set in. He could hear his heartbeat. “Steve... Steve, are you okay?” Regi’s voice fell on his ears like a distant muffle, as he lost control over his senses. Steve fell unconscious.
---------------
“Report for the Paladin,” Regi informed joy in the station hall. “He is inside, please go through,” Joy replied as Regi entered Glen’s office.
“Report: Singular skeleton in the southern forest. Neutralized. Steve fainted, sent back to the food stop. Confirmed: Steve has not seen skeletons or combat in his life before,” Regi completed his report. “Search any strays today in the jungle, take tracker with you. About Steve, yeah I guessed that long back. Send Joy in on your way out,” Glen replied in mundane calmness.
“Joy, make a job list,” Glen said as Joy entered his chamber. She swiftly sat on the chair and opened an inkpot and quill set on Glen’s table. “ One, plan an inward-looking bunker on the southern wall with a window on the wall. It will act as the healer’s station and guard duty station. Give Steve anything he wants for that. Design it to his convenience. Two, plan a dry moat on the battlefield, just a depression in the ground would be sufficient. Any landscaping ideas for the battlefield are welcome. We are defending, the advantage is our’s to tap. Three, create a plumbing system for the new residents, the flamboyant team wants washrooms. That's steve again, isn’t it? Have you paid him for his work yet? He is going to be rich by the end of this if we win. And I don't know what victory looks like.”
---------------
A dazed Steve grasped on his consciousness again in his bedroom at the food stop. It was around noon from the intensity of the sun. He entered the main hall of the food stop and saw a crowd which included the flamboyant team and another group of adventurers. “You feeling well now? You got knocked out huh... the lunch service is going to begin, please get me the orders,” a busy Madilyn requested Steve while pre-cooking some of the items on the menu. Steve entered the hall and made his way towards the flamboyant team. “May I get your orders guys?” Steve was up and running again. “Your the handyman who fainted this morning, why not stay away from skeletons next time,” One of the flamboyant team members interjected. “We will take 5 plates of fried track fish, a pot of hot water, and cookies,” Peter, the team leader of the flamboyant fighters replied with full composure as he gave his teammate a solid stink eye as if ordering him to shut up. “Order coming right up,” Steve had come up with a simple order noting system using pieces of paper and chalk. The yellowish pages gave a good contrast to the white chalk and the process was repeatable once you dusted the chalk off. Steve moved next to the new faces he saw in the crowd. “Good Afternoon adventurers what can I get you today?” “We will get the cookies with cream and the fries thank you, five of each is fine,” one of the five replied. “Coming up!!” Steve avoided further conversation, he would know about the team later anyway. Making his way through the crowd, Steve ended up in front of joy, “Hey Joy, what can I get you?” “I need a handyman to do most of the work I need to be done. Show up at the southern wall after your lunch shift,” so saying, Joy stood up and left the food stop.
Steve handed Madilyn the orders. “Joy was asking for you, ill do the serving this shift then. You can go to your job,” Madilyn ordered Steve while flipping two-track fishes in the oil with her two hands. Steve just stood there for a second as he saw Madilyn dip her hands into boiling oil. “Yes, chefs get burn-proof hands at higher levels, now go.”
---------------
Steve showed up at the top of the wall where Joy was waiting for him with a shovel in her hand. “See those two parallel lines? You have to dig a moat in between those lines. Depth should be about your height. Also, list your requirements for a healer’s center,” Joy stated as she handed Steve the shovel.
“Will five beds be enough? I would like to keep a bed capacity of one-third of the fighting force, if possible,” Steve was now looking at another project that was too large in numbers. Joy’s eyes went still as she did the mental math for the number of beds that would eventually be required for around 2.5k adventurers. “That’s like 830 beds, Steve. We will have to start with five beds in a room and build along the wall eventually. For now, make a window in the wall as your window towards the outside and one room with ventilation, a small floor gradient, and a liquid outlet,” Joy ordered. The word liquid outlet touched Steve in all the wrong places. She was talking about blood, enough to make its way out of someone’s body, onto the floor with a gradient, and into the ‘liquid’ outlet. Steve abruptly moved away from Joy with a shovel in hand, down the wall and moved towards the two lines marked by a red powder. “Regi’s report is just plain wrong, forget combat, this guy hasn’t even seen a bar brawl,” Joy noted in a low voice.