The first thing Jeb noticed when he stepped inside was how hot it was. “How can I help you, Jeb?” his grandfather asked.
Jeb realized then that he had completely forgotten to do any of his chores. “Grandfather, I’m so sorry! I completely lost track of time while learning a Glyph, and I forgot to feed the cows yesterday. Also today I guess. I can go-”
His grandfather interrupted him, “Jeb, can I let you in on a secret?”
Jeb nodded.
“People without Farming Classes, and Unclassed in particular, don’t really add anything to the productivity of the farm. The reason we give you chores is to teach you a work ethic and hopefully give you the experiences that lead to a better Class. As soon as we found out that you weren’t a Farmer, Aunt Bess knew that she would be taking back over the cattle. That being said, though, I want to remind you that it’s literal seconds for her to spend on, given the Skills and experience she has.”
That was equal parts relieving and demoralizing. His grandfather continued, “I’m sure that’s not what you came down here for, though. Have you had any time to think about what you want to do with your Class?”
“I think so, but I do have some questions about Magic.”
“Well, given that I can count on a single hand the number of times I’ve talked to a Mage, and that includes my two conversations with you, I don’t know how much help I’ll be. Still, go on.”
Jeb gathered his thoughts for a moment, making sure that he was explaining in the right order.
“So, as you know, I’m a Mud Mage. Well, a Least Mud Initiate but-” his grandfather gestured that he understood, “So I have the Class Skill of Least Mud Magic. That makes it easier for me to learn Water and Earth Spells.”
“I’m following so far.”
“But I think it might be good for me to learn Air and Fire Spells as well.”
His grandfather looked slightly puzzled at that. “Any particular reason?”
Jeb had been expecting immediate approval, so he paused for a moment as he considered how to defend his case. “On some level, I don’t want to be bound by what the System seems to want for me,” he finally said. There was a glint of something in his grandfather’s eye, so Jeb continued, “There were some other reasons, but they’re more nebulous right now.”
“I’d recommend you spend some time making at least one or two of them concrete. Living your life out of spite isn’t a good starting place for a happy or long one. That being said, though, I can’t think of any reason that learning more Magic would be a bad thing for a Mage. Certainly learning Skills and skills from other Classes hasn’t hurt me at all.”
“Is that why you’re learning glassblowing?” Jeb asked.
“Hmm?” His grandfather finally seemed to notice that the annealer was sitting open, “My apologies Jeb, it must be sweltering in here. But no, that’s mostly just a hobby I’m pursuing. Now that my children are grown, I’m hardly needed for anything around here.”
“Ah,” Jeb said, still confused.
“You’ll understand when you’re my age,” his grandfather said, “But since you don’t want to be a Mud Mage, have you considered what you want to be? That question should be helpful for you to start plotting out your path.”
“I think I still haven’t really processed that I’m never going to be a Farmer,” Jeb replied. “I meant to spend some time on that, but I got distracted by learning Glyphs.”
Jeb’s grandfather smiled at that. “I hope that your love for learning never changes, Jeb,” he said, reaching out to ruffle Jeb’s hair. “You could consider trying to merge the two, and become some sort of Agrarian Mage. Before you say anything,” he went on, seeing Jeb’s immediate rebuttal, “just because there isn’t Agricultural Magic yet doesn’t mean there won’t be in the future. The System rewards hard work.”
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“I had been considering how I could go on that path,” Jeb said, remembering another reason he wanted to learn a Fire or Air Glyph, “and I thought that a Fire or Air Spell could help us dry out the crops faster. That seems like the sort of thing that could be really useful on the farm.”
“That it does! Now then, while in front of the family, I only recommended you wait to Level up, I’ll be blunt here. I’m asking you not to Class up before the Censusmaster arrives.”
That was a little surprising to Jeb. “Why? Don’t you get great benefits from higher Class Tiers?”
“Honestly, there are three reasons. First, I went through the Census records. Our Censusmaster has a habit of forcing anyone with a Magical Class above Third Tier to enroll in the Academy, and I don’t want you to have to leave.”
Jeb wanted to argue that he could wait at Level Three or Seven, but his grandfather seemed to know that already. “Second, if you don’t level up, there’s a chance that he’ll assume you aren’t worth his time, so you’ll be able to spend the next year really tailoring your Class Skills to be ready for Farming Magic. Finally, the longer you wait to take your next Tier, the better the options tend to be. We generally recommend everyone wait at least a few months at Tier One. It’s why I’ve been waiting to take my next level since before you were born. With as much Vitality as I have, there’s not much harm in waiting.”
“But wait, I thought you were only Level 510,” Jeb said.
“If you stall out at the Level before a Tier up for too long, Censusmasters will often force you to try to Tier up anyways,” his grandfather said, clearly remembering an incident. “And at Tenth Tier, we’re required to present ourselves to the Republican. Since I’m nothing but a lowly Farmer from some useless province,” he rolled his eyes, “I’ll likely be stuck there for a few decades before he makes the time to see me. I want to watch you kids grow up, so I’ve just been waiting to take the next few levels for a while.”
“I guess if you can resist Classing up, so can I,” Jeb said. “Can I still complete Quests and get experience?”
“Absolutely, I would recommend you do as many as you can. Quests don’t give anything level-scaled, so the occasional Statistic gains you might get are worth far more at lower Levels.”
“Is there any limit to the number of Quests I can have at a time? Also, how do I get more Quests?” Jeb asked.
“There is no limit, but be careful that you don’t accidentally start any timed Quests. The penalties for not completing them are generally pretty bad. As to getting more Quests, most every Skill you unlock should come with at least a few Minor Quests. Some Achievements will come with Quests as well, but those are less common.”
Jeb thanked his grandfather and left.
Checking his Status, he saw that he had significantly more Quests than before.
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Quests: Major: Slay the Dragon of the West (Progressive, nearly expired) Minor: Begin Your Magical Studies (Progressive) Begin Your Journey of Introspection (Progressive) Second Tier, Modify a Spell-Glyph Glyphmastery (Nested Progressive) Grok Glyphs (Referential, Nested Progressive)
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As much as he was loath to, he pulled up the Major Quest, since the “nearly expired” was a little worrying.
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Slay the Dragon of the West Major Quest First Tier Leave Your Home The Journey to Greatness begins with a single step. Leave the small town of your birth to begin your quest to Slay the Mankiller. Timer: 3 Hours remaining (bonus time given for finishing Class-Granted Quests (8 hours).
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It was about three hours to the edge of his family’s property, which also marked the border of the town. Jeb started running, hoping that it hadn’t rounded the time up at all.