Farmer Mage

Chapter 45: Boost Removed

Cal had a growing smile as he read the interface. It died immediately when he read the warning.

He quickly scanned the skill options again, hoping he had missed something that would make picking an option obvious. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case.

If there’s a choice I need to make hastily, it can’t be something that will help with my farming. I would rather make a mistake picking a water element trait. I should skim the options again.

Trait choices available. Choose one.

[Aquatic Resilience] - You can heal when submerged in water. The higher your [Tier], the faster you heal. This trait is a passive effect. There is no limit or duration.

[Flow Sense] - You can sense the water flow in your surrounding environment. The depth of your senses depends on the amount of mana used to activate the trait. Limit 1 use per week. Warning: Activation of this trait will stop the regeneration of the mana used for 2 days.

[Mist Walker] - You can create a mist around yourself, covering up to 10 acres depending on its intended purpose. The benefits of the trait range from cooling to complete control over the created mist domain. Limit 1 use per week. The duration of the trait is 1 hour, regardless of the mana used. Warning: Activation of this trait will bar access to mana for 1 week.

Cal threw out [Flow Sense] immediately… again. There was no doubt that was the worst of the options right now. He already had an irrigation solution with the help of Nibbles. That might turn out to be a failure, but even if that was the case, Orrin would be able to help him eventually.

That leaves me with [Aquatic Resilience] and [Mist Walker].

He knew the safe option was [Aquatic Resilience]. He knew choosing it wouldn’t be harmful other than possibly having a rarely used trait since he needed to be submerged in water to get use of it—and perhaps underwhelming at lower [Tier] ranks. The problem was the same negative could be applied to [Mist Walker].

The penalty of [Mist Walker] was so harsh that it would be impossible for him to test the trait any time soon. It was unacceptable for him to be without mana for a week. Not only would that make him fail at farming, it would leave him mostly helpless against any real threats.

And by threats, Cal wasn’t just thinking of beasts that might come across his field. He was also thinking of the guild, no matter how amicable they currently seemed.

Really, only the Overseer is amicable, and I have little clue about how anyone else might feel.

The penalty wasn’t the only issue with [Mist Walker]. The benefits had a range that was extremely wide.

The benefits of the trait range from cooling to complete control over the created mist domain.

The trait's low point is so useless that I question what it means by ‘complete control.’ I have tried to get the interface to expand on it without luck. In the worst-case scenario, it could just mean I have the ability to ‘water’ ten acres of crops. In the best-case scenario, I’ll have a trump card that will let me instantly turn the tide by having full command of everything the mist covers.

Cal shook his head as he wasted precious seconds thinking of how bad it could be. He had waffled on making the choice until only seconds were left. He couldn’t delay any longer.

The interface disappeared when Cal’s finger tapped [Mist Walker].

He stared in silence at nothing in particular. He didn’t know how to feel about what he had picked, even more so compared to any of the previous, disappointing picks he had to make.

It’s fine. [Aquatic Resilience] would have been useless anyway. I doubt there would be a convenient body of water for me to dip myself into. Nor do I think I will be allowed to make myself a little pool to heal myself in the middle of a fight.

Cal tried to make himself believe the excuses he was thinking of. It wasn’t working.

His doubts would linger until he tested [Mist Walker], and that couldn’t happen anytime soon. If the penalty wasn’t so harsh, he would feel much better about the choice.

I made a gamble. If I’m right, I have no regrets. I can somewhat replace the effects of [Aquatic Resilience]. I can’t say the same with having total control over an area. Besides, what is the point of a healing skill when I can be killed before I even have the chance to use it. That psycho girl from the other guild would have laughed and did exactly that.

He sighed and checked the time remaining of the [Tier] boost.

Three hours.

This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

There was nothing left to do other than continue cleaning the field. Cal returned the barrel of seeds and plow to the storage room before getting back to work. And to hopefully forget some of his doubts.

He worked on making the field around his house more palatable. Hours passed as the hill of broken surface layer debris grew steadily as the field was cleared. Half of the field in the front of his house had the dirt showing, with the other half still covered with broken rubble.

[Advanced Shovel] has degraded to Good Quality.

That was expected. It was more surprising to Cal it had taken this long to degrade. The only disappointing thing was that the shovel’s trait, Geode Seeker, didn’t activate at all.

It looked like his field was a zone with no precious materials buried deep underneath.

He continued well into the night until the interface finally showed him the message he had anticipated.

[Tier Boost] period concluded.

Trait [Second Chance] removed.

The laws of the world are conflicted. You have diligently used the boost period, yet the same actions frustrate some. They are divided on what to do with you.

…

…

…

The empty messages continued, and every time one appeared, they made Cal’s heart skip a beat. He didn’t think his actions during the boost period would have a consequence.

Even if I knew, I would do exactly the same things. How am I supposed to know I should have done the opposite? If those two beings I heard before I was sent back in time are part of the laws of the world, I might be finished.

Cal waited nervously for the interface to show something other than the constant blank messages he had been getting for well over a minute. If he wasn’t so terrified he was about to be erased without any chance of resisting, he would be furious that he was back in this position.

He had become a [Farmer] to avoid this. He wanted to avoid life and death situations, at least until he could dominate any true challenges, and now he was right back there for doing too good of a job at being [Farmer].

…

The majority have overruled the dissenters. You will be rewarded for your actions instead of being punished.

Congratulations, you have nearly maximized the benefits of your [Tier Boost] period! The laws of the world are pleased with your exceptional progress and have decided to reward you. You may choose one of the following rewards:

Secondary Title - You have the privilege to choose another [Class] in addition to [Farmer]. There will be no special variants to the [Class]. It will be standard.

Pocket Dimension - Gain access to a personal pocket dimension with unlimited space. This space can only be used to store inanimate objects, and it can only store objects considered ‘yours.’ Shared objects do not qualify.

ERROR

You have a previous unpicked option. Only one option can be furloughed—

The laws of the world have created an exception. You have one day to make your pick before you lose either the reward or skill choice permanently.

Cal’s heart had been skipping out of nervousness, but now it felt like it was about to explode from sheer excitement. This was a reward that others would fight wars for, and it was given to him on a silver platter.

He could be a [Mage] again. He had zero intention of doing things any differently than he was right now, but regaining that [Class] would give him the massive reserves of mana it was known for.

Wait. Do I even need that?

Cal tilted his head as he thought it over. There were also advantages with spell casting—especially with more difficult spells—but it couldn’t be forgotten that he had been an average [Mage] at best.

With my current [Class], I can get most of what a [Mage] has. Maybe it would be better to pick something other than [Mage].

He knew there was a [Class] that was more prized than [Mage], but that was as far as his knowledge went. He didn’t even know what it was called. Still, would it have mattered?

Cal had been thinking furiously about why he might pick ‘Secondary Title,’ not because that was his preferred choice, but because ‘Pocket Dimension’ was suspiciously more attractive. That shouldn’t be the case when these two choices were given directly by the ‘laws of the world.’

It solves so many of my current issues and will be of tremendous use in any emergency.

All the high-ranked tools he worried about could be hidden in this pocket dimension. The rock he had been carrying around for days would weigh far less on his mind.

Just the latter was enough to push Cal to choose ‘Pocket Dimension.’

I was given a whole day to pick an option. That’s the only thing that makes me hold myself back. There might be something I’m missing that should be obvious. Why would I be given such uneven rewards?

Cal knew that the Overseer was due for another visit soon. He would choose before the Overseer arrived if it was earlier than the extra day given to him.

Cal dismissed the interface with a smile. He felt refreshed about what awaited him in the future. It was more secure than he could have hoped. It lightened him in a way that suggested it was subconsciously affecting him more than he could have ever known.

This is just the first step. I’m no longer on shaky ground, but that doesn’t mean I should slow down.

He glanced at the patch where he planted the Sunfire Grains. It should be ten times faster with the use of [Blessing of the Time-Warped Seed], but that didn’t mean much when he didn’t know the original time.

Cal narrowed his eyes when he saw that the soil looked dryer from the last time he watered it. He cast [Rainfall] and used all of his mana, with the added capacity from leveling up his [Tier].

He watched the rain fall until the end without stopping it. The soil became more mud with the addition of this much water, but that was perfect, in his opinion.

I can see it already getting absorbed. I have to ask Drex how thirsty these things are. How are they supposed to grow in a challenging environment if they need this much water?

Cal froze as a thought came to mind.

The skill I used to accelerate the growth of the Sunfire Grains has a lot to do with this.

He accepted that he needed to wake himself up in the middle of the night and ensure the Sunfire Grains wouldn’t die of thirst. He returned everything to the storage room and prepared for an eventful night.

Tavia hasn’t returned. I hope that doesn’t mean I get another one of her ‘brilliant’ design choices tomorrow.