I sat down on the floor, with my legs spread and my arms supporting my back. "I finally did something without anyone's help, let's go!" I said to myself while wiping off my sweat.
Olivia's grandfather finally woke up and sat down the bed, she grabbed a towel and wiped off all of his sweat, asking him if he was finally okay.
His voice was weak at first, then suddenly went louder as he coughed, "Did you...? Are you a botanist?" he asked me with a loud voice, coughing phlegm all over the place while Olivia was wiping it off.
"Me? ugh.... yes, I am a botanist" I answered while I wiped off the phlegm off my cloak.
"How!!??, there aren't many lefts of us!!, where did you learn alchemy??? Where!??" Her grandfather suddenly busted with energy like he wasn't poisoned at the first place. His tone felt like he was angry at something.
"I ugh..., I read the book that Olivia had, there- there, on the table!"
He coughed again, regaining his composure, "I'm sorry I lost my mind all of a sudden, it's because there are less than 25 botanist in Egaria as of now."
"What? is it really that bad of a class?—" I asked, with a curious expression, All of a sudden, Olivia ran up to me, hugging me tightly as her tears wiped on my shirt, "Thank you thank you thank you Jorr!! I owe you everything!" she said, breaking down in tears, I stroked her hair gently and let my other hand wrap around her waist.
"Hehe I told you I would do everything!" I said with a smug face, as she cried more she eventually calmed down and her grip on me suddenly disappeared, she gave me a light kiss on the cheek before passing out with a smile on her face, probably due to all of the fatigue on her body.
I smiled in return and carried her resting body beside her grandfather, "She probably did everything to earn enough for an antidote", her grandfather calmly tucking her in while gently patting her cheek.
"So let's get back to what we were talking about" Her grandfather spoke as he walked towards the table, examining the alchemy book and the notes of Olivia.
"My dear, she tried to understand the book, even if its incomplete, she did very well to decipher almost everything." He said, collecting all the papers of Olivia. "This book.... It was passed down generation to generation in our family. We are a bloodline of botanists, but I was the last one, There was no one to inherit our study and tradition."
"We are considered a lost class, a class that no one will ever dare to try." He followed up as he walked towards me, carrying the book.
"I never completed this book, all this had is the basics of alchemy, hoping someone might find it useful." He looked hopeless, as if there was no reason to continue his job on passing down the torch of his bloodline.
"Its only a mere copy of the original!!" The old man burst in energy again, slamming the book near my foot. "I lost interest in this damn thing because the other volumes went missing!" He screamed, anger filling up his face.
"Where are the other books?" I asked with a gentle voice. I could feel his voice filled with resentment, his expression shifting from anger to sadness , his eyes looking down on the book as if he is looking at a reflection of himself.
"It's..... My son.... Olivia's father.... He borrowed the other volumes and went to a far city filled with mages, in hopes to revive our tradition...." He said as he sat back down on the bed, his hands covering his face.
This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
"Where is he now?"
"Gone..... He went on the trip last 4 months ago.... He never came back with his wife....." the old man said, his voice filled with calmness, like he already accepted the events that unfold in the past.
"I never told Olivia about her parents, I always said they were coming back soon after mastering the botanist class..", he said, holding her hand while I stood up, picking up the book and went near them.
"Maybe.... maybe I can find the other volumes soon... Not now.... But maybe soon when I get stronger..."
The old man smiled, "I forgot to introduce myself.... I'm Thorne.... Thorne Briarroot...." Thorne said as his face began to brighten up after all that burst of emotions from earlier.
"I'm Ju... Jorr... you can call me Jorr" I said while almost mixing up my old name with my new name, as of now I don't even know why I accepted the name but it has grown on me.
"Nice to meet you Jorr..." Thorne said, while I handed back his alchemy book.
The window appeared, and the next thing I read made me worried about my future.
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NAME: Thorne Briarroot HP: 73/100
CLASS: Botanist MP: 100/100
LEVEL: 38 STATUS: Fatigued
SKILLS:
Basic Alchemy - Passive
Harvest - LVL MAX
Knife Proficiency - Passive
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"38.... and all he has are these skills... Why do I have examine but he does not have..." I thought, puzzled by his stats and skills. His HP and MP are the same as mine but his level is way higher than mine. "Maybe the level does not relate to how many monsters you have killed, maybe there are other ways to gain experience and become stronger". I whispered while trying to understand more about this world.
Another window appeared, its Olivia's this time.
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NAME: Olivia Briarroot HP: 73/100
CLASS: N/A MP: 100/100
LEVEL: 8 STATUS: Over Fatigued
SKILLS:
Knife Proficiency - Passive
Understanding of Alchemy - Passive
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Her Information did appeared short, she did not have a class, all she had was passive skills that I probably think could be obtained by just practicing.
"Thank you Jorr, for helping out when we really needed it.... I hope... I hope you can find the remaining volumes... and please... find her parents..." Thorne said, while reaching out for my hands, shaking it firmly.
I nodded, "You're welcome Thorne... I'll try my best to find the other volumes while I explore Warfaind, tell Olivia I'll come back and buy from her cart soon.", I smiled at Thorne while firmly shaking his hands too.
I was set out to explore more of Windfall, my mind confident that I could take on anything, But there was another problem that I didn't notice, I had no idea how to earn any silvers to buy better equipment and weapons. "So ugh.... Is there a fast way to earn silvers here?" I asked Thorne, looking embarrassed because of the sudden change.
"ahh... Silvers you say... You can find easy commissions at the Adventurer's Society, but I think you would have to take their aptitude test before becoming an Adventurer."
"Ah hah... So it's back to square one again.." I said to myself while scratching the back of my head.
"Just go straight down the market street and you can find the large building with a sword signage on it." Thorne followed up while I walked towards the door.
"Alright, I'll come back here soon once I find what you are looking for!" I said, taking small steps, Thorne waving goodbye at me. I went downstairs and back to the street, where once again I can here the noise the town is making.
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NAME: Justin Joe HP: 100/100
CLASS: Botanist MP: 100/100
LEVEL: 1 STATUS: Normal
SKILLS:
Examine - LVL 2
Harvest - LVL 1
Basic Alchemy - Passive
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