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Daniel woke up to the sounds and smells of Rhea cooking breakfast.
"Finally awake I see? After breakfast you can help Prenn with some chores and then he'll take you to the [Alchemist] to get tested for magic." Rhea called to him as he sat up, bleary eyed.
Prenn barged in from outside. "Hah! Awake in time for breakfast, of course. We can eat, then you an' me are doing some work today, an' maybe we'll see about heading in to town."
Rhea smiled at Daniel with a twinkle in her eye. "That's a good plan, dear."
Daniel smiled.
"And be sure not to mention any of that stuff about where yeh come from. Lord Kyrid is nice enough, but I wouldn't trust him not to take a potentially unhealthy interest in yer story." Prenn warned Daniel.
Daniel nodded and joined the family for breakfast. Elaine came in with a pail of fresh milk and they started to eat. Under his breath Daniel mumbled "BlessusohLord forthesethygifts whichweareabouttorecievefromthybounty throughChristourLordAmen," and crossed himself. The Gondersons looked at him like he was a space alien.
"What did you say?" Prenn asked.
"Oh... that's just something I say before I eat."
"Why?"
"Ehh.. its a prayer. It's more God stuff. Don't worry about it."
Prenn grumbled and they started eating. A few moments later Daniel remembered his level and skill.
"Oh! Guys! I got a class last night! I'm a level 1 [Philosopher]!"
Again, they all looked at him in confusion. This was getting to be a worrying pattern.
"A philosopher? You know? A lover of wisdom? No?"
"I've never heard of that class, Daniel." Rhea said.
Prenn shrugged in agreement.
"Well, where I come from there's a few famous philosophers, Plato, Aristotle, Socrates..." "morons" he finished the quote in his mind.
"And I studied some of their work, but mostly via studying Thomas Aquinas. Anyways. A philosopher is just someone who thinks about the way the world works and tries to understand it. I think our conversation about levels and about God last night is what got me the class."
"A class just from a bit of gab?" Prenn complained.
Daniel shrugged. "I was too surprised to refuse the class, even if it's not as cool as like a [Mage] or something. And anyways it came with a class, I mean with a skill! [Metamechanic Intuition]!"
"Metawhat? What does that do?"
"Well, funny enough, it's only because of that skill that I know exactly what that skill does. It lets me know exactly how any skill or class works, what people need to do to get it, etcetera. I think if you told me enough about yourself, I could even tell you how close you were to leveling up, or what future skills you could get. Unfortunately, it's not encyclopedic. I need to either get the class or skill myself to understand it, or have someone else who has it, or at least has seen it, describe it to me."
"Hmm. I can see how that would be useful to some people. But I already know what my skills do." Prenn said.
"This sounds very unique, Daniel. I wouldn't be surprised if you're the only one with this skill in all of Terandria." Rhea said.
"Really?"
Prenn nodded his agreement.
"Cool."
Breakfast went by quickly and the family went to the daily work of keeping their farm running. It was summer right now, between planting and harvest, so it was a light day's work. After some weeding and taking care of the animals, and replacing a wheel spoke, and chopping some firewood, Daniel was wheezing, glad he at least used to workout some. If he'd been a total office bum he'd have been useless. Finally, Prenn was ready for the 4 mile walk into town.
They didn't talk much, walking in to Trinast. Daniel's mind kept going over different classes, trying to decide what he should do, how he could support himself in this world. His recent mixed martial arts obsession from earth was making him want to be some kind of [Warrior] class, but his knowledge of some key inventions he thought he could reproduce was making him want to be some kind of [Inventor]. Plus, there was the fact that he actually believed in God, and was a practicing Catholic, so he could probably become some sort of [Cleric] or [Monk] or something. But if he could be a [Mage] that would be super cool too! Daniel was firmly entrenched in his own mind as he walked. Prenn made some light rope as he walked.
They arrived in the afternoon after about an hour of walking.
"That's the [Alchemist] shop. You know yer way back?" Prenn said, pointing at a building on the other side of the main village square.
Daniel nodded.
"I gots some business to deal with. Yer free to come back for dinner if you want, or try to find a place to stay in town." Prenn informed him and left, off to talk to the [Butcher].
Daniel entered the [Alchemist] shop. There was an old man in the corner, napping with his cap over his eyes. Daniel rapped his knuckles on the counter. The old man jerked awake.
"What? Who? Oh. Er. Hello there."
The old man frowned as he took in the strange dress of this newcomer.
"I haven't seen you before. Are yeh an adventurer or [Runner] or somethin?"
"No, I'm just visiting the Gonderson family outside of town."
"Ah, grumpy old Prenn. How do you know him?"
"Ah, it was just a chance encounter, but he's been kind to me."
"Right. Maybe you mean Rhea's been kind to you, that I'd believe."
Daniel smiled.
"Well, what can I do fer you?"
"Right. I'd like to see if I have enough magic in me to become a [Mage]."
The old man raised an eyebrow. "A bit old to be getting tested, aren't yeh?"
Daniel shrugged. "I never was tested and Prenn thought I should be."
"Hmm. Alright, let's see." The old man began rummaging around under his counter.
"Where is it? Where... Ah! Here we- OW!" The old man stood up too quickly and banged his head on the counter. Daniel winced in sympathy.
The old man put a small vial on the counter proudly, as he rubbed the back of his head.
"Here we are."
"What is that?"
"It's a potion I've recently developed. It will save me a lot of headache with trying to teach people a spell and tiring myself out half the time."
"Okay... How does it work?"
"Easy, just cut yourself, put some blood on this piece of leather, and I'll add a few drops of the potion. the color it changes to determines how much ambient mana you've got."
"Oh cool. Ah... how much is this gonna cost?"
"I could do... 8 coppers?"
Daniel frowned, realizing that a) he had no money and b) he had nothing to trade except his car keys and c) he had no idea if 8 coppers was a lot or a little. Seeing his frown the old man grumbled.
"Well I suppose I could do 7 coppers since you're having to put up with old Prenn."
Daniel smiled. "I realize how ridiculous this will sound, but I've just realized I don't have any money. I'm sure 7 coppers is a fair price," He watched the old mans face to see if he'd look guilty and give away that he'd been over charging "but I can't pay you anything at all right now."
Now it was the old man's turn to frown. "I'm running a business here. 7 coppers isn't too much to ask."
"I agree. Far be it from me to try and mooch off your goodwill... Perhaps we could arrange a barter."
The old man looked suspicious. "What have yeh got to trade?"
"How about... information?"
"What kind of information?"
"Can you keep a secret?"
The old man nodded.
"I have a very rare skill, possibly unique."
The man's eyes widened. "Unique? What is it? What class?"
Daniel smiled and shook his head. "I know you can keep a secret, but I'd still rather not say the exact details. Suffice it to say that I can help you understand your own skills better."
"Understand my skills? I already understand my skills! I've been an alchemist for 40 years! I know what I can do."
"I mean no offense. Surely you're a credit to your craft. I merely meant... well wouldn't you like to know the exact details of your skills? Like everyone knows that [Lesser Strength] makes you somewhat stronger than you already were. But do you know if it makes you one and a half times as strong? Or one and three quarters? Or does it just add five pounds to how much you can carry? What are the limits of it?"
"I see... And can you see all that?"
"No I cannot see it. But if you describe your skill to me, and how you got it, my skill can fill in the blanks and tell you exactly what it can and can't do."
The old man slowly nodded. This almost sounded too good to be true.
"How do I know you're right? You say you have a skill, but you won't tell me what it's called. You could just tell me anything sort of reasonable and I would have no way of knowing if it were right."
Daniel's face fell. That was a good point.
"Well, maybe there's a skill you could test me on? Something you can activate and we can see if I'm right?"
The old man thought for a moment. His face lit up as he remembered an old skill he hadn't used in ages.
"Back in me youth I used to get in scraps now and again. I picked up [Power Strike] and--"
"Don't tell me. Just from the name I know that it makes your punches stronger. But I'm sure you knew that as well."
The old man nodded.
"Right. So if I can tell you exactly how much stronger it makes the punches, we can test a normal punch from you and a [Power Strike] and compare?"
"I guess so, but I'm a little old to be punching things."
"Do you have a pillow?"
A few minutes later they were standing out behind the shop. Daniel was holding a pillow wrapped around a head-sized bag of grain, resting on his outstretched hand. There was a stick on the ground underneath the bag to mark the starting position.
"Okay, you ready?"
The old man nodded and took his [Brawler]'s stance.
"Alright, whenever you're ready, hit it as hard as you can without using [Power Strike]."
The old man took in a breath, and swung, knocking the bag out of Daniel's hand to land about a yard behind him. Daniel took another stick and marked where it landed. He picked up the bag and returned to the starting position.
"Right, so before you do the [Power Strike] I'll tell you how much stronger it actually should be. So you said you're a level 3 [Brawler]? When did you learn [Power Strike]?"
"When I became level 3."
"Right. And how did you get it?"
"A fight broke out in the tavern between these two boys who were fighting over a girl. Their friends joined in and I got caught up in it. I maganged to knock out one of the boys who had started the whole thing. Caught him right on the jaw, I did."
Daniel nodded. "Okay. I got it. The way [Power Strike] works is that it amplifies how much force your attack imparts to the target. It multiplies it by a factor of 2 + 0.25 per [Brawler] level after the level you gain it at. So for you, that's just 2X, so the bag should fly about twice the distance. Interestingly enough, it also has a bit of a defensive effect, in that it negates the extra force your hand recieves, so as to prevent you from destroying your bones. So pay attention to how it feels when you punch to see if I'm right and it doesn't hurt your hand any more than the last punch did. Unfortunately it seems like you can only do it once per day, although that too would change as you leveled up [Brawler]"
The old man frowned. "It gets stronger as I level? How do you know that? I've never heard of that."
Daniel shrugged. "I have a Skill, remember? You ready to test me?"
The old man nodded and they both took their positions. The old man took a deep breath and PUNCHED.
"[Power Strike!]"
THUMP. The bag went flying and landed in a puff of dirt. Daniel ran and put out a third stick to mark where it landed. Then they took some twine and measured out the first distance. And then compared it to the second distance.
"Just slightly more than twice the distance," Daniel declared triumphantly.
The old man nodded. "Alright, I believe yeh. So, what, you tell me all the details of my skills and then I'll give yeh the test?"
Daniel shook his head with a wry smile. "Don't try to pull a fast one on me, old man. I'm not reading all your skills for the equivalent of 7 coppers. I've already done one for free! I'll do one more in trade."
"Two more."
Daniel hated haggling. "Fine. Alright two more," he agreed as he grabbed the pillow bag and followed the old man back inside.
After explaining two more of the man's skills, Daniel was finally ready to be tested for magic! The [Alchemist] pricked his wrist and a few drops of blood dripped onto a plate. Then the man added two drops of his potion and mixed them. The mixture glowed a bright blue for a moment as the magic activated, and then slowly faded to a very dark green.
"Well what does it mean? Can I do magic?"
"I mean, yeh probably could learn a bit of magic, like [Light] or [Spark] but I certainly wouldn't recommend you becoming a [Mage]. You've got barely enough mana in you for small spells like that, you'll never be able to do something big."
"Wait, really? Are you sure? There's no way to increase how much mana I have?"
"Sorry, friend, but this is just the way it is."
Daniel nodded sadly.
"Alright... Thanks I guess. Have a good evening."
The old man waved as Daniel turned and begun his trudge back to the farmhouse, lost in his thoughts.
That's one class off my list of options... Man, that would've been so cool to be an epic wizard. What's left? [Warrior] [Cleric] [Rogue] [Ranger]... Plus all the non-combat stuff. I guess that's the important choice: combat or non-combat. Hmm. I guess it depends on how dangerous and monster-filled this world is. No point in becoming an overpowered tank or master archer if there's nothing to fight. There's so much about this world that I just don't know. Being some kind of [Templar Knight] would be so cool though. But getting stabbed or eaten... would not be cool. I guess if I was a super rich [Merchant] I could just hire a bunch of [Warriors] but is that really as safe as just being able to defend yourself? Hmm. Honestly I bet the best thing is just to be unique since if you need something common you can just find someone to help you. So I guess something with religion would be pretty unique around here. But Prenn didn't seem too pleased with my talk of God, so that might paint a target on my back. Plus, priests and monks in my world have to be celibate. Does that apply here? Maybe I should go with the technology angle. Ehh. Nah. That's lame. I can build stuff without a class. I think that if this world is dangerous, then it needs a [Templar Knight]. Plus, swords are cool.
Daniel looked up from his internal monologue to see that he was back at the Gonderson farmhouse.
"Thank you again for helping me out. This whole thing would have been much worse without your family feeding me and explaining things to me."
Rhea smiled, "Of course dear, you're welcome. So? How did the test go? Are you going to be a [Mage]?"
Daniel shook his head. "I don't have enough mana in me for that."
"So what are you going to do?" Elaine asked.
"I was still thinking about that. I was wondering, and this might be hard to answer but, how dangerous is this world? Like, are there lots of monsters around? Lots of bandits and wars? Are fighters frequently in need?"
"Well, the Goblins are a threat every few years. And we definitely have our share of wars between the kingdoms here on Terandria." Rhea answered.
"Peh. Those nobles are always finding new excuses to fight." Prenn added.
"True. But Lord Kyrid generally does a good job of keeping [Bandits] away and the Adventurers Guild tends to take care of most monsters. In general we live peaceably enough most of the time." Rhea continued.
"That doesn't really sound very peaceful. But I guess it's all a matter of comparison... Alright yeah, that settles it. I'm going to try to become a religious knight of some kind. Combining [Cleric] and [Warrior]."
"That's certainly... unique. But how exactly do you plan on gaining those classes? I'm not even sure [Cleric] is a class." Prenn said.
"Fortunately my [Philosopher] Skill gives me an idea there. Do you have some string I could use?"
Prenn dug around in a chest until he found some twine. Daniel went outside and collected two likely sticks, one about half the length of the other. Then he tied them together to form a cross. Then he started tying square knots in the twine, counting of the spaces in his head. finally, he cut the end and tied it to the beginning, completing the loop.
"What is that? A necklace?" Prenn grunted.
Daniel held up his hastily constructed rosary for inspection.
"It's called a rosary."
"What's it for?"
"Praying."
Of course, Daniel had to explain what praying was, and then why a rosary helped that, and then he had to demonstrate how it worked by awkwardly praying his Hail Marys in front of the family.
"And you say one for every knot on that thing? Sounds like that would take forever!" Elaine commented.
"Yeah... It can take a while."
"Alright lets leave the man alone while he prays." Rhea shooed everyone off to their various evening pursuits.
Daniel sat by the fire and prayed a rosary. It was the first one he had done in quite a while, and he was more than a little uncomfortable. But he didn't rush through it, and by the end a lot of the mental turmoil he'd had from his sudden transition to this strange world had melted away. With a peaceful smile on his face, he looked around and realized that the family had gone to bed. He found the blanket from the previous night and curled up in front of the fire again, ready to sleep.
[Postulant Class Obtained!]
[Postulant Level 1!]
[Skill - Prayer Obtained!]