Jacob was greeted by System messages when he woke up the following morning.
System Message: Class analysis completed. Options available based on user suitability.
Available F-rank Classes: Farmhand, Village Defender, Field Planner
In his groggy state, Jacob focused on the Farmhand class just to be hit with a rude awakening, but then a confusing turn of events.
Confirmed: Farmhand selected
Pending Unique Reward Detected
Class Evolution initiated
External factor detected: abnormal magical capacity
External factor detected: enhanced gate survival
External factor detected: non-system spell activity
Warning: classification instability
Farmhand (F-rank) has evolved into Arcane Cultivator (F-rank [Unique])
Notice: Unique class paths can be hidden behind original class path.
Well, Jacob thought to himself, what a turn of events. Not sure where that unique quest came from, but I'm glad it salvaged that 'misclick'. I wonder how to hide this class, though.
As he thought about it, his User Page showed up to reveal his current status.
User Page
Name: Jacob Hemlock
Age: 12
Integration Status: Complete
Class: Farmhand (F-Rank)
Hidden: Arcane Cultivator (F-Rank [Unique])
Combat Level: 1 (XP: 0/1000)
Base Stats:
Strength: 5
Endurance: 8
Dexterity: 3
Agility: 3
Intellect: 4 (???)
Skills: none
I guess the base stats are distributed after getting a class. I'll have to ask someone about that combat level, but I have a feeling it has something to do with fighting. I wonder why Intellect has question marks next to the level, Jacob thought to himself as he looked over his user page, and why would it show such a low stat?
Shaking his head from the grogginess of waking up and the confusing events of the system so early in the morning, he rolled over in bed as he prepared to get out of it for the day, before he was interrupted by the system notifications once more.
Quest Received: General Quests
3. Utilize Class to Transform a Base Herb into a Magical Herb
Rewards: 100 quest xp, Magical Cultivation skill (Unique Class Specific).
Oh, neat, now I have to figure out how that works. He thought to himself as he got ready and joined his family for breakfast.
Oren was already killing goblins in the forest before Jacob even woke up, and Mira had not returned from the caves yet.
Breakfast came and went without anyone tripping the geas around Lila. She was curious about the ceremony they had for Jacob the night before, and everyone talked about how magical it was without mentioning the system once.
When everyone went their separate ways, Jacob and Arthur went out to the barn with the notebook in hand.
On their way, Jacob decided he would ask his father about his unique class.
"Dad, I unlocked a unique class this morning, and I got a quest that seems to require using its unique nature to cultivate a magical herb from a normal one. The class is called Arcane Cultivator."
Arthur nodded his head as they made their way to the barn, "I've never heard of a unique class, but if you received a quest from the system to apply your new powers, then the quest itself is usually a hint. Maybe try fiddling with the herbs in the greenhouse when you're done here and see what you can do?"
"That sounds like a good idea," Jacob responded as he got a few ideas on how to progress in the quest. "Also, the system is letting me hide the name and rank of this class behind the Farmhand class. What do you think about that?"
That comment actually caused Arthur to pause for a second as he thought. "I would suggest hiding that class for now. You should also be careful who you tell about it. The system usually does things like that for a reason."
"Like the bloodline curse?" Jacob asked as Arthur turned back to the barn.
"That curse." Arthur began, "It was something from before the journals, but it wasn't from the system. All we have is a legend now, but the legend is that we Hemlocks weren't always peasant farmers. I'm not sure what our family was before, but I do know a curse like that isn't put on just anyone. And it can't be cast by a random mage either. There is something to this whole ordeal that I'll have to ask old Thom about, but besides that, the system can be thanked for giving us a way out of the curse at all."
Jacob nodded along as they reached the barn, curious as to who would want to curse a whole bloodline.
Upon entering the barn, Jacob noticed the dust illuminated by the shafts of light that peaked through the slits in the barn's siding. They helped illuminate the workbench where Arthur took his seat.
"I tried to read this when I was your age," Arthur said, tracing a calloused finger over the first line. "It looked like chicken scratch back then. The secret to our family script is that it relies heavily on syntax and position. The meaning of a single rune shifts entirely depending on what it's strung together with."
Jacob leaned in closer to study the ink his father was looking at while talking to him.
"Take this one," Arthur said as he pointed to a sharp, angular mark. "On its own, it represents 'stone' or 'hardness'. But look at it here, placed next to the rune for 'flow'. When they are written together like this, the first rune stops meaning 'stone' and instead acts as a modifier. The combination then translates to 'unyielding endurance'."
Jacob nodded, his mind already analyzing the geometric patterns on the page, which were suspiciously similar to the runes they used for enchanting, just simpler. "So it's completely context-dependent," He replied after his analysis of the runes and his father's words, "A single character could mean five different things depending on the rest of the sentence."
"That's precisely my point," Arthur smiled with pride at how quickly his son was catching on. "It's essentially a layered cipher. If you try to translate it rune by rune, you'll end up with gibberish. You have to read the whole phrase at once to understand what it's actually saying. Let's start with the basic root symbols before I confuse you too much with the syntax."
For the next hour, Arthur patiently walked Jacob through the foundational runes. Then, he explained the grammatical rules, the way modifiers stacked to alter meaning, and how the physical orientation of a rune changed its tense.
After getting through the basics, a surprising chime rang in Jacob's ear with the mechanical voice of the system indicating that he had gained a new skill.
When he opened the notifications window, he was greeted with:
Skill Unlocked: Languages (Uncommon) Lv. 1
Sub-category Learned: Hemlock Runic Script (Mastery 1/6)
Seeing that his son seemed to be looking at a notification, Arthur smiled in excitement. If he's already learned the skill, then this'll make things so much faster. He thought to himself.
Once Jacob was done looking at his new skill information, he looked at his father.
"I learned the Languages skill, it says my learned language is the Hemlock Runic Script with a mastery of 1 out of 6." He mentioned.
Arthur nodded, "That will help you learn everything without having to really memorize the runes and rules on your own. As you study this journal, your understanding will simply improve. Give it a try."
As he looked back at the journal, he noticed that the previously abstract, shifting shapes no longer required much conscious effort to decode.
The mental translation happened very quickly as he applied what he knew of the language in deciphering it.
The complicated runic syntax seemed to snap into focus, and he began to understand what individual words and some sentences on the pages were.
As he managed to figure out one sentence that was simply talking about optimal crop rotations, he heard that previous chime from the system and the robotic voice telling him he had gained a level.
Instead of looking at the message, he continued trying to learn how to read from the journal. After learning a few more sentences, he gained another level and checked the message this time.
System Notice:
Languages 1 -> 3
Mastery: (1/6) -> (2/6)
"Alright, that should be enough for now." Arthur said as he noticed Jacob checking his system messages again, his son's blank stare at nothing in front of himself, "I can show you how to gain a couple of the other skills I know that the journal won't be able to walk you through."
Jacob replied as he asked, "You can teach other skills?"
That gave Arthur a chuckle, "Of course, how do you think anyone learns anything? It's not like I can directly give you information. You still need to learn it, but reaching level 10 in any skill helps you pass it down to someone else. The system acknowledges it as guidance, and it speeds up skill acquisition. Not to mention how hard it is to even find a new skill to begin with."
"By the way," Jacob asked as his father was preparing some paper and writing instruments that were stored in the drawers of the workbench, "How did you manage to break the bloodline curse? I was about to be stuck with the Peasant Farmer class for life until you managed to get rid of it."
"Mmm, I was telling your mother about it last night, so it slipped my mind to mention it this morning. Our lineage has been cursed with the Peasant Farmer class farther back than the journals go."
Arthur scratched the scraggle forming on his chin as he thought about how he wanted to reveal what exactly happened.
"Old Thom has been a family friend for a long time and has pushed our family to break the curse for some reason. This also goes with what I was saying about skills earlier. Even with the journals, our family had only managed to learn eight skills over the years until I managed to learn Intent Shaping. Old Thom then gave me the means to learn the 10th, which was the last requirement I had to break the curse."
That caused Jacobs' eyebrows to raise as he said, "I figured it was hard to acquire skills, but that hard? Can't you just hire someone to teach you a skill?"
Jacob's words caused Arthur to shake his head sadly, "It's not that simple, at least not around here. Our neighbors hold their uncommon skills to themselves as their lifeblood. It's usually what gives them a place in the village, and they wouldn't trade that for gold."
"There is another reason," Arthur continued, "Learning 10 skills and leveling them all up to level 10 is required to progress past the level 10 cap, and it's one of the requirements to shed your first F-rank class without a significant feat. Most people around here are unable to do that, hence the village life instead of traveling and fighting in dungeons."
"Everyone but your mother, that is." Arthur sighed as he thought back to his younger days.
"Mother?" Jacob asked with some confusion.
That caused Arthur to chuckle a bit. "Yes, your mother used to go to dungeons before we were married. Many groups would fight over her because of her healing abilities. She had managed to learn the requisite skills and then advance them after completing the 'Big-3' when she was still just 12 years old. Then she started delving."
"I thought she was from here, though?" Jacob asked with a bit of confusion.
"She is, and she grew up on the farm that was just past that field," Arthur replied as he pointed out past the far western field on the north side, even though they were still in the barn. "But she managed to gain class skills from the system after completing the 'Big 3', through what she will tell you was dumb luck, and then started her career as an adventurer."
"Wait a second," Jacob replied, "I have only seen Mom use small-scale healing spells before. Nothing like what you are describing, what gives?"
That caused Arthur to sigh, "Because, when she chose to marry me and settle down on the farm, the bloodline curse affected her as well. Her main class was locked, and she could only use her subclass as a seamstress."
"Oh," Jacob replied with a bit of shock, "That actually makes some things make sense. Wait, so if I want to know more about dungeons, then I can ask Mom?"
That caused Arthur to grin as he replied, "Not only that, but your mom also unlocked her previously locked class with the lifting of the bloodline curse. She could probably safely guide you through dungeons herself."
"I have a feeling that she wouldn't want to delve anymore," Jacob replied.
Arthur nodded as he replied, "That's part of what we talked about last night. She feels that her place is here on the farm, but she won't hesitate to help defend it if monsters try to swarm it again. You should still ask her for advice on running dungeons before you try to form a group with your friends and clear anything higher than F-rank, though. I bet she would also love to tell you about questing. She is probably more experienced than most adventurers in the village."
I could just ask mom about combat levels, Jacob thought to himself for a moment before replying to his father.
He then nodded in agreement, "Alright, what's the next skill I need to learn today?"
Arthur smoothed out a blank piece of parchment on the cluttered workbench. He picked up a piece of charcoal and began to draw a series of intersecting lines, geometric angles, and numerical formulas.
"I have ten maxed-out skills that helped me break the curse," Arthur explained as he sketched. "Crop Husbandry, Soil Tending, Animal Handling, Tool Maintenance, Legal Tradecraft, Farm Management, Languages, Mathematics, Innate Shaping, and Mana Flux."
Jacob leaned over the table, watching the numbers and shapes take form.
"We are going to start with Mathematics and Tool Maintenance," Arthur said, tapping the charcoal against the parchment. "We can knock both of those out right here in the barn."
For the next hour, Arthur drilled Jacob on the relevant geometry and arithmetic required for large-scale farm management.
He showed him how numbers dictated everything from seed distribution to the structural load-bearing limits of a grain wagon, including the quantifications needed to be taken into account with the enchantments on their equipment.
Jacob's previous knowledge of mathematics from Earth ended up helping immensely here, as he was able to see where algebra would actually be useful in many of the problems Arthur created to help him develop the skill. However, he decided to save the more advanced versions of math for later, since his father had managed to get to level 10 with only arithmetic.
From there, Arthur transitioned directly into the physical mechanics of the farm equipment, walking Jacob through the exact methodology of repairing and preserving tools without relying on their magic.
Because Jacob had already spent the past few months applying similar logic to his automated seeder and the harvester, besides his short break for training, his mind absorbed the structured lessons perfectly.
In less than an hour, Jacob had managed to learn the basics he needed to practice in order to grow his skills.
Two, now, familiar chimes rang out in quick succession, accompanied by translucent blue screens as he focused on the notifications after hearing the robotic voice of the system.
Skill Unlocked: Mathematics (Common) Lv. 1
Skill Unlocked: Tool Maintenance (Common) Lv. 1
"That covers the basics we can do while sitting down in the barn here," Arthur said, dusting the charcoal from his hands and standing up from his stool. "The rest of the agricultural skills, like Crop Husbandry or Farm Management, are detailed perfectly in the journal. You can read up on them here, and if you need help figuring them out, just come find me in the fields. I can show you how they work in practice."
Jacob nodded and dismissed the notifications. He looked back at his father. "What about Mana Flux?"
"I'll teach you Mana Flux once we are done with our tasks for the day. I had some spare time this morning, but I do still have some work to get to," Arthur replied as he promised to address the skill later.
He gestured toward the barn doors, where the morning sun was already climbing higher into the sky. "The farm still needs tending, and you're going to want a clear head for that one. It's a bit more demanding than basic math."
"And what about Legal Literacy?" Jacob asked, closing the heavy leather cover of the journal.
"We'll tackle that after dinner," Arthur replied, a serious glint returning to his eye. "It'll actually do you some good to sit with me tonight. You can watch exactly how I put together the official royal injunction request for the count."
Arthur grabbed a sturdy-looking pitchfork from the corner of the barn and gave Jacob a pat on the shoulder. "Study up on the agricultural skills when you have the time, but for now, I believe you have some chickens to feed."