Jeb made his way back home, still reeling from the Song that he’d heard. A part of him was sure he could still hear it if he listened hard enough.
When he made it home, he quickly ran to where his Aunt had told him to meet her. “Good to see you Jeb,” she said, “how did your meeting with the Bard go?”
“It went well!” Jeb said, “he started me on the Singing Skill, because apparently Musician is a Synergy Skill, and you need Musician to get Bardic Magic.”
“Interesting,” she replied. It was clear there was more she had in mind, but decided Jeb would be the wrong person to ask. “Before we begin with teaching you Pollination, I feel like I should explain why we had you get Animal Handling first.”
“That would be great!” Jeb said. As much as he was happy to trust his family, knowing why they were leading him in a given direction was also nice.
“I’m going to have you get Pollination by establishing your own bee hive. I know that there are a number of magical classes that interact with animals,” that was news to Jeb, “and so having a bee hive you can bond with could be helpful. That, and one off my hives is getting ready to swarm, so I’d like to get ahead of that.”
“That doesn’t really answer why I needed Animal Handling first, though,” Jeb replied. “Oh! Is it because it’s hard to establish a bee hive, and so I need the boost that Animal Handling will give?” That sounded reasonable to him.
“Ooh, that’s a good excuse I can try to use if I ever need to lie about it,” his Aunt replied, “but no, it’s relatively easy to establish a hive, especially since I’ll be helping you. The real issue is that people often get the Apiarist Skill if they don’t have any other animal related Skills. That’s far less useful for what you want, and as you know, getting related Skills is very difficult.”
“That makes sense.”
“I’m glad! Now then, let’s get you ready to establish a hive. Many beekeepers will tell you that the hive is smart, and that you can and should talk to them. I won’t make comments about the intelligence of other hives, but while I was an Apiarist, I did make sure to grow my hives to be smarter. So, very much so do be respectful with the bees, and make sure you tell them what you’re doing and what you want them to do. Any questions?”
“None that I can think of right now!” Jeb’s Aunt showed him how to put on the beekeeping gear he would need for the next few weeks.
“I rarely wear this anymore because the hives know me. You, however, are new to them. Safety is a good practice to have.” Jeb put on the gloves, hat and coat.
“What about my legs?”
“There’s a fine line between respecting the bees and being afraid of them. I don’t want you to cross that line, so we’ll keep the pants off. Now then, this” she gestured to a box near the trees, “is a beehive. It’s where the bees live.” She helped him transfer a bee into an empty box.
“This is a queen-to-be bee. If we let the hive grow much longer, there would have been too many bees in that box, and they would have flown away. Instead, we can build another box for them, and establish another hive. Since you’re going to be in charge of these bees, we’re going to have your hives further away from mine, to make sure that the bees imprint on you, rather than on me. Now, then, you should spend some time with the queen.”
“Is there anything I should do?”
“Explaining what you’re establishing the hive for is a good idea,” she said, walking away. “You’re a smart boy, you’ll figure it out.”
Jeb watched his Aunt depart. He trusted her, and so he decided to start talking to the bee.
“Honestly, I don’t know entirely why I’m establishing this hive. I’m hoping to get the Pollination Skill, and I’m hoping that can help me change my Class. Oh, right, you wouldn’t know any of the backstory.” Jeb considered where to begin.
“I’ve grown up my entire life knowing that I would be a Farmer. But, when the System gave my my First Class, it made me a Mud Mage instead. I don’t want to have to leave my family, so I’ve been trying to do whatever I can to make my future Class something that I can stay on the farm with.” It felt ridiculous to bare his heart to a bee, but it was also strangely nice.
When Jeb had finished recounting his story, the sun was starting to fade down in the sky. His Aunt walked back over to him.
“Don’t you have other obligations you should be doing? Whatever happened to your plan to raise your Vitality?”
Jeb had completely forgotten.
“I can see from your expression you’ve just now remembered that. Make sure to complete your Running and Lifting Quests as well.”
Jeb pulled up the Quests.
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Minor Quest First Tier Run Run for a minute per point of Endurance you have. (Repeatable)
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Minor Quest First Tier Lift Lift ten pounds per point of Strength you have. (Repeatable)
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Minor Quest First Tier Stretch Stretch for a minute per point of Dexterity you have. (Repeatable)
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Minor Quest Second Tier Move Exercise for a minute per point of Vitality you have. (Repeatable)
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Those were all far easier than the requirements to unlock the Skill, not that Jeb was complaining.
I wonder, Jeb thought as he started to run, if stretching my fingers before playing the lute would count. His routine before had only been seven minutes, so he wouldn’t have completed the Quest even if it did. Still, it was worth an effort.
Seventeen minutes later, Jeb got the Notification he’d been waiting for.
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Congratulations! You have completed the Minor Quest Running First Tier “Run” You have outlasted your Endurance. Rewards: 1 Endurance, 20 EXP
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As he looked, though, he saw that he had another Notification.
The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
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Congratulations! You have completed the Minor Quest Athletics Second Tier “Move” You have increased your Vitality. Rewards: 2 Vitality, 39 EXP
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That made sense, as he thought about it. His Endurance was higher than his Vitality. Jeb wondered if the exercise had to happen all at once, or if doing each of the other Quests would be enough to raise his Statistics as time went on.
Something felt strange as Jeb thought about it, though. His Physical Statistics improved his body, so why couldn’t he feel a difference between before and after running? He felt slightly tired, sure, but not noticeably more alive or enduring.
Maybe my family will know, Jeb thought, looking for his grandfather. Jeb needed to find something that weighed 150 pounds, and he wasn’t sure where he could find something like that.
“Hm?” his grandfather responded to his question. “Right, you took the general Lifting Skill. There are ten pound bricks in the drying room. Put fifteen in a sack and pick it up.”
Jeb did so, but he had a feeling there was a better way to pick up heavy weights than loading them in a sack. Still, he didn’t struggle to complete the Quest. His uncle had him lifting plenty heavier things while unlocking Animal Handling.
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Congratulations! You have completed the Minor Quest Lifting First Tier “Lift” You have grown your Strength. Rewards: 1 Strength, 20 EXP
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All that left was the Quest for Dexterity. Jeb went back to his room after showering himself off and got ready to play the lute. This time, however, he made sure to stretch for longer than he had been before. To his surprise, he saw the Notification after eight minutes.
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Congratulations! You have completed the Minor Quest Atheletics First Tier “Stretch” You have improved your Dexterity. Rewards: 1 Dexterity, 20 EXP
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Jeb started playing through his lute scales out of muscle memory before he remembered that he was supposed to practice singing. He started with the first scale he usually worked through, but realized that he couldn’t sing that low. The next one was singable, at least in theory.
For whatever reason, Jeb had a much easier time finding the right pitch while the Bard was in the room. Still, Lute Playing helped him at least a little, as he remembered tuning the lute, changing its pitch to be in tune. Picking the same note over and over, he eventually matched it.
Then Jeb remembered that he was supposed to be using the syllables the Bard had taught him. Thankfully, that didn’t make him forget the pitch, but it made finding the next one harder somehow. By the time that the sun was setting, Jeb had made it through one scale, though he could feel that his voice was going to be sore in the morning.
“Family, I have a question,” Jeb hazarded as everyone sat down.
“What’s your question Jeb?” his mother asked.
“When I complete a Quest and one of my Statistics increases, I don’t feel any different. Do the Statistics do anything, or are they just pointless numbers?”
“Great question, Jeb,” his grandfather replied. “Statistics are not meaningless, but they also don’t track perfectly. For instance, your Endurance doesn’t decrease as you run, despite the fact that the distance you can keep running goes down, right?”
“Right?” Jeb responded. “I think, at least.” Technically Jeb had never run until he collapsed so he wasn’t positive about that fact.
“I can see where your thoughts are leading. Don’t try to run until you collapse Jeb.” Jeb blushed at that. “Anyways, your Statistics show what you are capable of at your peak. For most people, that means after a good night of sleep, but especially since you’re still growing, they’re also a sign of your future potential. A child with 12 Strength wouldn’t be able to lift more than an adult with 11, right?”
“That makes sense,” Jeb replied, “thank you!” The rest of the dinner went on and Jeb fell asleep, ready to continue raising his hive the following day.
Jeb’s Status Sheet at End of Chapter:
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Jeb Human Age: 16 Class: Least Mud Initiate Level: 1 Experience: 796/100
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Total Statistic Load: 135 Physical Load: 64 Strength: 16 Dexterity: 9 Endurance: 18 Vitality: 17 Presence: 4
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Mental Load: 71 Intelligence: 21 Willpower: 20 Magic Affinity: 15 Mana Depth: 3 Charisma: 12
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Mana: 260
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Glyph Attunement: 8 Least Conjure Water Tier 1 Spell Least Shape Earth Tier 1 Spell Least Hold Earth Tier 1 Spell Least Create Earth Tier 1 Spell Least Destroy Earth Tier 1 Spell Least Shape Earth - Efficient Tier 3 Spell Least Move Air Tier 1 Spell Least Create Fire Tier 1 Spell
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Skills: Least Mud Magic Meditation Mana Manipulation Spell Glyphing Improved Glyph Groking Gift of Gab Running Identify Soil Savvy Animal Handling Fertilizing Lifting Athletics Lute Playing
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Achievements: Focused Meditator Student of Magic
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Quests: Major: Slay the Dragon of the West (Progressive)
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