“It felt like shit, Ver.”
(Helping people?)
“It’s because I’m helping them, but yeah.”
Victor was currently watering some plants that Ver didn’t recognize but knew the names of. It wasn’t because the plants were different from the ones that were on Earth, but it was because Ver knew nothing about plants.
Well, they could be completely different from their Earth counterparts, but I really wouldn’t know. I’m not that interested in plants. We’re too similar in that we stay in the same place our entire lives.
When he asked Victor what plants he was watering, Victor told him that they were corn. If Victor had said that they were just grass, Ver would’ve believed him.
In his defense, the corn was still young and only had a few leaves. They really looked like just regular grass.
(Taking care of all the plants didn’t even cross my mind. But is this really necessary?)
“All the [Farmer] would be unconscious for at least three days, and that would be more than enough time for all the plants to die out.”
That sounded wrong.
Even if Ver didn’t know much about farming and stuff, he knew that plants didn’t die out that easily.
(Really? Are plants really that weak?)
“Yup. The plants we see here aren't natural. They were heavily modified to produce more and better fruit, but that also makes them die much more easily. Abyss, I think some would die in one day even if I’m taking care of them. This is my first time taking care of plants, after all.”
Ver knew that the fruits humans liked to eat on Earth were also not natural, which caused some of them to depend on humans to grow and reproduce. However, it looked like this world had taken it to the extreme.
Why, though? Isn’t it too risky? Ah, right, levels.
The harder a task was, the more experience it gave. So by making it harder to farm, it would in turn make leveling up easier. But there was one thing Ver was confused by.
(Why didn’t they just automate it?)
It was obvious now that this world was more advanced than Earth when it came to farming, so there was no way that they couldn’t automate all of it.
“Because the plants will get lonely and die.”
(What?)
“Well, it’s more like they need at least one sapient being near them to survive. Something to do with the soul that I frankly don’t understand.”
I think people on Earth are still arguing whether souls are real or not, but it looks like in this world they already figured it out.
If he was hearing it correctly, souls could affect the outside world. Which wasn’t that surprising when he thought about it. Those experiments where the result would be different if someone was observing them made a lot more sense.
Or I could be totally wrong. I’m not a scientist.
“For some reason, if a plant is watered manually, the chance of it surviving would be much higher. Not to mention that if you sing, there are certain plants that would grow much quicker and produce better fruit. There are also others that will die if there is loud noise. Sure, there are plants that don’t need people to take care of them, but all of them are always low quality.”
(That sounds kinda ridiculous.)
Victor snorted, and because of what he just said, Ver finally noticed that all this time, Victor had been patting the plants after he was done watering them.
“You haven’t even heard the worst of it. Praising them, telling them stories every day, dancing, telling them jokes. But I think one of the worst ones is when the plant needs something really specific to survive. Like, it has to be at some exact temperature. If the temperature changes by one degree for even one second, it will die. As for magical plants, I heard that they make what I’m saying sound like child’s play, but I don’t know much about them. Knowledge about them is expensive.”
That’s what you have to do to take care of a regular plant?!
Ver finally realized why this world seemed more advanced in some parts while seemingly medieval in others.
Levels.
He suspected that was the case from the start, but the reasoning behind it had always eluded him.
It was definitely not because the system made everyone lazy. Even though Skills could do what the technology in his world could only dream of, he knew how greedy people were.
Knowledge, money, health, convenience, power, and any other desires were never enough for so many people. Even if someone was the richest person in the world right now, Ver was sure that it would not be enough and they would want to be the richest person in history.
Also, who didn’t want to always be healthy? To travel all over the world in an instant? Or to research stuff because it sounds fun?
While someone could make the argument that Skills and maybe magic would slow down the search for knowledge because the rich didn’t have any reason to support that kind of endeavor, not everything was about money, nor was everyone selfish.
Even if a kind person who was smart and also a hard worker was one in a billion, that would still be a lot of people over the course of history. With the system's help, Ver was sure that one person could achieve countless things.
For people in power to deliberately suppress knowledge because they were greedy, power-hungry, or just evil wouldn’t be possible due to the existence of Yellow Class.
So it didn’t make sense to him that his old world was more advanced than this one in… anything, honestly. Especially because Victor said that the kingdom they were living in had existed for around 500.000 years.
Technology exists to make life easier and more convenient, and Ver suspected that people here, or at least those at the top, didn’t want that. It would slow down leveling quite drastically.
A farm that was entirely run by a machine and could produce a huge amount of normal food would be pretty detrimental in this world. While it would feed numerous people, he suspected that it would decrease the number of competent farmers who could produce and improve magical food, which most likely couldn’t be grown by machines.
The same could be applied to almost any, if not every, profession. Someone had to start somewhere, and if everything was run by a machine, how would people get their first few levels?
This is just my speculation, but I think I’m close to the truth. But there is something that has been bothering me for a long time. How did Norm’s dad go untreated?
That one particular fact made Ver think that this world wasn’t that advanced. Which was obviously not the case.
How could there be no doctor in this village? Why couldn’t they just travel somewhere where there was one?
Victor was many times faster than even the fastest car, which maybe made the advancement of transportation lag behind because people could just run everywhere. But it still sounded far-fetched.
On Earth, transportation was arguably the technology that humanity focused on the most. Also, not everyone would be as fast as Victor, like, for example, children.
Wait. How did Norm’s dad get sick again? Bitten by a snake? That… sounded really suspicious. Having venom that takes months to kill its victim is a dumb hunting strategy.
Of course Ver knew that all of it was because there were demons that could control someone’s thoughts and emotions living here for who knew how long. But that was not what he was getting at.
This village was suspicious as heck.
Even the densest person would realize that something fishy was going on here. Which made the doctor and everyone who visited this village really suspicious.
It could be because Victor’s parents also affected the thoughts of everyone who came here so they thought that everything was normal, but he highly doubted it. It just sounded way too risky to control the thought of someone who supposedly traveled everywhere.
The chance of someone realizing that someone else was under a curse was… Ver didn’t know exactly, but since demons were one of the biggest problems in this world, he highly doubted it was low.
He could be wrong about all of this. He was only guessing, after all. So he told Victor about his suspicions surrounding Norm’s dad's sickness.
“I’m such an idiot. Of course they have allies. The things they had didn’t come out of nowhere. As for the snake, I already know that it was Aria’s doing. But it’s not that suspicious for a monster to have that kind of venom, or more specifically, curse.”
(Curse?)
It felt great to know that his deduction was correct, even if there was some part of it that was wrong.
In a magical world, of course the hunting strategy of monsters is different from Earth. Why the heck did I think the snake was a normal animal?
“It’s only a guess, but the ‘venom’ is probably draining his vitality and sending it to the snake. That’s why there was only one bite mark and why the venom took its time.”
(Ah, that makes sense.)
The venom acted like a parasite. The longer the victim lived, the better it was for the snake.
He had to admit, it was a smart strategy. All the parasites that he knew relied heavily on their host. If their host was killed or eaten by something that the parasite was incompatible with, it would die. On the other hand, the snake’s life didn’t completely depend on its host like other parasites did.
(Soooo, are you gonna do something about it?)
“I’ll let Kairos handle it. He’s better than me at handling demons.”
(What?)
That was not at all what Ver was expecting to hear. Considering what happened to Victor, Ver expected him to go and kill them right away.
“With what I have, I think I’m better off killing monsters rather than demons. I’m completely immune to miasma. So I don’t have to rest like other people did when I entered a place filled with it. It would be such a waste for everybody if I didn't make killing monsters my main focus. More importantly, there is no way I’m leaving Norm alone for a long period of time.”
While Ver didn’t like it, he could acknowledge that Victor made a good point. Just because a doctor’s job was to heal people, that didn’t mean that a doctor was better than a firefighter or a plumber.
Also, if it was Norm standing in front of him, Ver wouldn’t encourage him to go around and kill demons. Norm was better off making milk so he could heal people. Which, Ver just realized, was exactly what Victor had just said.
Well, it’s his life at the end of the day. Besides, monsters could be more of a problem than demons.
(Hmm, do you think watering them with milk will help?)
“If you manage to water all the plants with your milk, I’m confident that none of them will die.”
That was reassuring to hear, but was it smart to use his mana that way?
The main reason he ‘saved’ up his mana was because he didn’t have anything useful to use it on.
He could try to levitate and control milk so it would enter someone's mouth. But what would be the point of that?
As far as he could tell, it only took around two hours for them to make everyone drink the milk, so it wasn’t like they needed the help.
On the other hand, if he didn’t help Victor, then some plants would die, which… was not that big of a deal. But it was still a waste.
Not wanting to slowly float toward Norm, who he could sense was pretty far away, Ver teleported to him and saw him playing tag with the goats. Well, maybe tag was a bit of an understatement. The goats were trying to ram or kick him, and with how fast they were moving, Ver was sure that a grown adult from Earth would die if one of the goats 'tagged’ them.
(Hey Norm, could you help me make some milk?)
Norm was distracted for a second, and a goat rammed into him, sending him flying way higher than Ver expected.
Thankfully, when Ver flew toward where Norm landed, he immediately got up like nothing happened.
(Sorry.)
“Don’t worry. They can soften their blows with wind or something. I don’t really understand their explanation, so don’t ask me for details.”
(Huh, cool. Are you training?)
Norm looked embarrassed for some reason, and he averted his gaze.
“Yeah, I hate fighting, but I hate it way more when I can’t help my best friend. Victor is risking his life, and I can’t do anything to help him. Being useless just feels horrible.”
Just as Ver was about to tell Norm that he was far from useless because he had literally healed everyone, Ver stopped because he realized that it wouldn’t make Norm feel better.
Norm felt useless because he didn’t help Victor, not because he didn’t help anyone. When Victor was fighting Aria or Garron, it was true that Norm didn’t do anything. But that didn’t mean that Norm was useless.
(Just because a soldier is the only one who is fighting in the front line doesn’t mean that everyone else is useless. Do you think that a blacksmith or a farmer is useless, then?)
The way he said it might have been a bit harsh, but Ver felt that Norm’s line of thinking could lead to something dangerous. If Norm thought that the outcome of a fight was entirely decided by the one wielding the sword, then whether intentionally or not, he would disrespect everyone else.
That kind of thinking didn’t only apply to fighting or even something that was positive. History only wrote about the ones who stood out, like leaders or scientists. Not regular farmers, because why would they?
They didn’t change the world, right?
So there was no reason to remember them.
“No, they aren’t useless. But I’m no [Blacksmith] or [Alchemist]. I only gave Victor some milk for his training. That’s it.”
(That’s not the only thing you do. Victor is immune to miasma and mind control because of you. Also, if it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t be able to heal Victor as much, and during the fight against Aria, he needed every last drop of milk. As for the fight against Garron, didn’t Victor use the milk we created?)
One person could change many things, but if they were alone, then they wouldn’t be able to do anything.
All the notable figures that were written in the history book didn’t do everything alone. Ver was sure that there were a lot of people who helped them who didn’t see the light of day.
For most people, it didn’t matter who made the clothes that Albert Einstein wore, or where the food that he ate every day came from. But if not for them, he wouldn’t have even survived, let alone become a scientist.
They changed the world.
That was why Ver never thought that one profession was always better than the other. Except for the ones that were clearly bad, like loan sharks or anyone who worked for the bank. They were all scum, every single one of them.
“Even if I don’t exist, I’m sure Victor would still find a way to win. If you made a contract with literally anyone else, or if Victor decided to make somebody else his best friend, they'd probably do just fine, maybe even do a better job than me.”
Huh? What the heck is he talking about?
To say he was confused would be an understatement. However, it didn’t come from not understanding what Norm was saying. Ver understood it perfectly; it was just absurd.
(Norm, there is no ‘if’ in this world. The only thing that exists is what happened. There is no world where you weren’t the one who did any of the stuff I just said. It’s worthless to think of a hypothetical scenario when it comes to something that already happened. Rather than concerning yourself with pointless stuff, be proud of what you’ve done.)
People often weren’t rational. Ver knew that, but it still made him a bit mad every time it happened. Not that anyone could tell if he chose to hide it.
(You don’t have to know how to fight to be able to help Victor. We could create milk that would make him stronger, faster, and even smarter. However, if you want to stand by his side when he fights, then it’s okay too. There is nothing wrong with it. But remember this. Help comes in all forms. Just because it wasn’t obvious doesn’t mean that it’s not important. If you belittle yourself because of your profession, then you also mock all the others who have the same or similar profession as you.)
“I didn’t—I mean, I didn’t mean to—”
Norm sighed and shook his head.
“I’m sorry.”
Ver didn’t expect an apology from Norm, not because he thought that Norm was one of those people who thought an apology was beneath them, but because there was no need to apologize to him.
Well, that’s normal, isn’t it?
He always felt that saying sorry to someone who was not affected was kinda dumb. YouTubers or streamers did it often, but that was because their fans would be mad if they didn’t.
I’m so stupid. That’s probably the main reason why people do that. To appease the other person. Also, I should probably tell Norm why I came here before I forget.
When Ver started explaining the new stuff he had just learned about plants in this world, Norm stopped him and said that he already knew about all of that.
I’m so dumb. Why did I think he didn't know this stuff again?
“Some of my friends are [Farmer]. They always complain about how weak some of the plants are, so I know quite a lot about them.”
One of the goats nuzzled Norm’s arm, and without looking at the goat, Norm started rubbing its head and scratching its chin.
As Ver watched the wholesome scene in front of him, a terrible thought suddenly crossed his mind.
If plants change this much, then how about animals?
Ver knew that humans on Earth had given most, if not all, domesticated animals traits that were useful to humans but harmful to the animals. For example, some animals had been bred to have larger muscles so humans could get more meat from them, even though it could also cause health problems for the animals. Or they had been bred to have shorter legs because some people thought it was cute, not caring that it would make their lives much harder.
It wasn’t like he hated the practice, but there was such a thing as taking it too far. Like the monstrosity that for some reason quite a lot of people support the existence of.
Cutting meat from an animal over and over again while it was still alive was wrong no matter how the ‘experts’ put it. They said that it was okay because the animals couldn’t feel pain and would regenerate as good as new in a few days, but Ver knew that the animals were suffering from the way they moved and the sound they made.
There was also that time when a nation that was considered a powerhouse on Earth was destroyed by rats. People still debated where the rats came from, but everyone agreed that humans were to blame.
(Hey, Norm. Can the cows survive on their own if you don’t take care of them?)
Ver wasn’t being subtle at all, but he didn’t care. It was okay to eat animals, but making them suffer was not okay, no matter the reason.
“I think they will survive just fine. Why did you ask?”
(Are you sure? They are not suffering, right?)
Norm looked genuinely confused, but then a look of understanding appeared on his face.
“Ah, you’re worried that we treat animals and plants the same. Don’t worry, my dad said that it’s against the law to add any traits that would be disadvantageous to them. Anything that would cause an animal undue suffering is against the law. I don’t know all that much about the law, to be honest, but I don’t have a Yellow Class, so I think I’m good.”
That was relieving to hear. But then he realized something concerning. Why did he care about animals but not plants?
When Ver asked Norm why animals and plants were treated so differently, Norm’s answer thankfully put his mind at ease.
“Animals can suffer, plants can’t. Of course we treat them differently. I think one of my friends, Ester, said that plants are closer to bacteria than they are to animals, but I don’t exactly know what she meant.”
Ester? The naming convention in this world is all over the place.
One of the goats was currently eating Norm’s hair, but for some reason, Norm didn’t look like he minded it at all.
“Soooo, are we gonna create the milk or not?”
(I think it’s best if we go back to Victor first before we do that. It’s not like you have something that could carry it.)
“Oh yeah, I didn’t think of that.”
Ver stared at Norm, wondering if [Greatly Increased Intelligence] meant something else. There were different types of intelligence, so it was possible that the Skill only increased Norm’s intelligence regarding music or maybe language, not… this.
After meeting up with Victor, Ver used as much of his mana as he safely could to create milk. He didn’t want to feel sleepy because he still had to teach Norm everything he knew about milk.
The lessons were mostly Norm doing his own thing while Ver told him all the stuff that he thought Norm should know regarding milk before testing him to help him remember everything.
However, in the middle of the lecture, Ver realized that there was no way that the milk here was the same as the milk on Earth. Because Ver couldn’t tell anyone about Earth, he just told Norm that the milk he knew was probably completely different from the milk Norm produced.
Thankfully, Norm didn’t find it odd. Which, Ver realized immediately, was because of Skills. Every milk was probably different depending on who produced it. Their milk could literally heal anything, so obviously other people also had at least one Skill that would improve their milk.
This is frustrating! I couldn’t resolve the misunderstanding because no matter how I tried to put it, the word just wouldn’t come out!
When night came and they went back home, a notification appeared in Ver’s vision that he instinctively knew came from Victor.
[Seeker of the Right Path Class Obtained!]
[Seeker of the Right Path Level 1]
[Increased Mental Energy Obtained!]
Well, that was kinda surprising. Everything really can become a Class. Neat.