At 4 a.m., before the sun even rose, Norm was already at the barn, milking the cows.
My mom hasn’t even woken up yet.
His mom was usually already up at this time, but she seemed tired when he last saw her, so he let her be.
Norm woke up his dad, though. He needed to drink healthy milk if he wanted to get better.
It was the first time in a very long time since he’d woken up this early. Yet, he felt great.
Ever since yesterday, his body felt really light. Usually, his body felt very heavy. Every step he took felt harder than the last.
It was absolutely because I knew my dad would be alright and because of the [Bless Milk] I had for breakfast. Not because of that dumb idiot, not even a little bit.
Norm was already in a good mood before he met that idiot, and his mind felt clearer after drinking milk that he used [Bless Milk] on, but…
Well, maybe Victor helped a tiny bit, but it was only because Victor was an idiot.
It was only 7 a.m., and Norm had already finished all of his tasks. He was usually slower, much slower.
Who knew being in a good mood makes you work faster? Not me. But what do I do now?
When his dad was still healthy, there were a lot more cows than there were now. Most of them had been sold to buy potions, leaving them with only eight cows.
It made his job easier.
In the past Norm had loved it. The same couldn’t be said for the past month.
Norm just didn’t know what to do with his free time, and he wasn’t in the mood to go back into the village to play with his friends.
Besides, Victor said he would visit him, and even though Norm hated it, it felt a bit mean to be gone when Victor visited.
I'm bored.
Lying down on the grass, Norm closed his eyes.
“Hello.”
Opening his eyes, Norm saw an idiot staring back at him. Then a drop of sweat landed on his face.
“Yuck.”
Rather than apologizing, the idiot laughed, then offered his sweat-covered hands to him.
Norm refused and got into a sitting position on his own.
That jerk.
“What do you want?”
“Just wanted to hang out.”
Victor sat next to him, smiling for seemingly no reason.
“Why are you always sweating so much? Go away, you stink.”
“Oh, I just finished my morning run.”
Of course, Victor didn’t move from his spot. Norm just sighed, putting some distance between them.
He seemed to be in a good mood. Maybe he would listen to my request then.
Summoning all the courage he had, Norm opened his mouth.
“Hey Vic, I was wondering if you could…”
The words wouldn’t come out.
Norm opened his mouth again, before closing it a second later.
He tried several more times, but he just couldn't do it. It was as if there was something preventing him.
Glancing at Victor from the corner of his eye, Norm saw that Victor was staring at him, trying to hold back a laugh.
“Whatever, forget I said anything.”
Annoyed, Norm stood up to leave and tried to forget this ever happened. Before he could escape this embarrassing situation, he felt a hand grab his wrist.
“Sorry, sorry. Your face just looked so funnn—cute, yeah, your face looked so cute that I couldn’t help but laugh.”
Norm stared at him, embarrassment completely forgotten. He got out of Victor’s grip and crossed his arms.
“Are you about to say my face looked funny? Well, sorry I'm not—”
“Okay, okay, I'm sorry. The expressions you made are hilarious, not your face. I misspoke. Anyways, what were you about to say? I would always be willing to help my handsome rival.”
It was the most obvious deflection Norm had ever heard, but he didn’t mind it. He didn’t want to talk about his own face.
“Can you… teach…”
Norm tried again, but the word wouldn’t come out. No matter how many times he tried, he just couldn’t.
He didn’t know why it was so hard for him.
I don’t think I could ask him. Whatever, I don’t think he would accept anyway. I did say I hate everything about him yesterday.
“Do you want to ask me to teach you how to exercise?”
Norm was glad Victor was able to understand him, so he eagerly nodded his head.
“I mean, I’m not exactly close to you—”
“Sure, I don’t mind.”
Wait, what?
For a long time, Norm had been thinking about how to convince Victor to teach him. From paying him with coins, to promising Victor that in the future, he would create milk that would benefit him.
He didn’t think for even a moment that Victor would just agree.
“I can pay you—”
“No need. I don’t really care about coins.”
Victor had already agreed to his request, yet it felt wrong that he would get nothing out of it. Though, paying him with coins was probably not the best idea. His parents were gold-rank adventurers, retired, but still gold-rank.
“I will pay you with my milk.”
“Your milk?”
Victor let out a snort, which made Norm narrow his eyes at him.
“You misunderstand. I’m not insulting you or your… milk. It’s just…”
Unable to hold it any longer, Victor laughed uncontrollably.
“I know it’s basically nothing to you, but you don’t have to laugh at me, you jerk.”
“No, no, no. I’m not laughing because of that, Norm. Offering to pay with… your… milk just sounds, you know?”
Victor was wriggling his eyebrows for some reason, while Norm just stared at him, uncomprehending.
A few seconds passed in silence, and Victor’s smile faltered.
“You don’t know what I’m talking about, do you?”
“No.”
“Oh, okay.”
“Can you explain—”
“I’m so thirsty right now. After working up a sweat, some good milk would really hit the spot.”
Norm rolled his eyes.
Does he know how obvious it is when he tries to change the topic? If it was anyone else, they wouldn’t let him get away with it.
“Yeah, sure.”
Going into the barn, Norm grabbed a tray, two empty glasses, and a clay pot of milk.
When Norm was back, Victor was talking to Gob, but noticing Norm, he stopped talking and waved.
“Why are you talking to Gob?”
“Gob? You mean the cow? Wait, did they all have names?”
“Of course, they have names. This one is Gob, over there is Bib, Dol, Fin, Ber, Ben, Tod, and finally Dap.”
After pointing to them one by one, Victor looked confused.
“I thought all cows were female.”
“Yeah, so?”
“Almost all of them sounded like male names.”
That was true, but all of them were named by Norm before he knew about that fact.
The ones not named by him were all sold.
“They are animals.”
Norm didn’t look at Victor's face. If he did, Victor would have figured out he was lying.
There was no way he would tell Victor the real reason. Thankfully, Victor dropped the subject.
“I’ve been drinking the milk your family sells every day ever since I was a kid, you know?”
Victor tried to grab the clay pot, but Norm stopped him. He set the tray on the ground first so as to not spill the milk.
“Hold on, you ding dong. [Bless Milk].”
Norm didn’t have to do it in front of Victor, but he wanted to show off his new Skill. His parents barely had any reaction to it, which was disappointing.
“Cool, new Skill?”
“Yeah, my level 10 Skill.”
A smile appeared on Norm’s face even as he tried to suppress it.
“I thought you already reached level 10?”
The smile on his face grew wider.
“My [Spirit Contractor] reached level 10 and it consolidated with my [Dairyman] Class. Now, I’m a [Milk Saint].”
Puffing up his chest, Norm couldn’t help the pride that seeped into his voice.
“That’s… fast. If [Milk Saint] is even half as good as [Sword Saint], then you have a very powerful Class. Good job, man.”
Excitement flooded through Norm’s body, not just because he found out his Class was good, but because someone finally acknowledged how awesome it was.
Victor was smiling, congratulating him. Norm’s mood was through the roof, so he didn’t even mind when Victor hugged him.
Well, Norm tolerated it for a solid two seconds before he tried, unsuccessfully, to get out of the hug.
The smell of sweat Norm could endure—he smelled something worse every day, after all—but Victor’s shirt was just too sticky, and he felt really uncomfortable for some reason.
Not to mention that he was so much shorter than Victor, so his face didn’t escape his sticky and stinky shirt. What was worse was that Victor was so much stronger than him, so he couldn’t really do anything if Victor wanted to hug him, pat his head, or even grab him like a child and throw him into the air.
Norm couldn’t do anything to stop any of that.
Sure, he smiled a bit during that, but only because getting tossed into the air was actually kinda fun.
“Okay, stop it, you jerk.”
Victor stopped, which Norm was a bit disappointed by.
“I didn’t do anything special to achieve it; it was all Ver, so it’s not worth congratulating me for.”
“So his name is Ver? And the spirit is a he, right?”
“I think so?”
Verus Albus sounded like a man's name, but Ver was a spirit. Norm didn’t know if human logic worked here.
I should ask him next time.
“Also, even if you did nothing, you should still be proud you got to level 10 so fast. Even if Ver did all the work, he did choose you, be proud of that.”
For some reason, Norm wanted to cry, but he held it in this time.
“Why am I leveling so fast anyway? It took me years to get [Dairyman] to level 10.”
“It was probably because Ver is a powerful spirit. I would guess that your leveling speed will not slow down until it reaches the appropriate level for his strength."
“I didn’t know that was how leveling up works.”
The only thing he knew was you gain level by performing tasks in line withyour Class. But repeating the same task each time would give less experience until it finally reached zero.
“The harder a task is, the more experience it gives, and some people even used this fact to intentionally hold back on leveling up, so that after their skill increases, they would do one hard task and get a ton of levels.”
That sounds like a pain to Norm. Skills helped in leveling up, so it seemed very inefficient to him.
Do they just want to brag about how fast they were leveling?
“Why would someone do that? Are they dumb?”
Victor chuckled, then ruffled Norm’s head.
“It’s because they want one or two good Skills, rather than a lot of weak Skills.”
“Stop that! And explain more, you jerk.”
“Two Skills are the limit you can get from a single level up. So if you gain, let’s say, ten levels at once, the Skills you get will become really powerful—more so if you reach a milestone during it. The system is fair, after all.”
That still didn’t sound worth it to him. There were a lot of times where he refused a level up or a new Class, but those times he didn’t have a choice in the matter.
“It sounds like a hassle, and I think lots of skills are better than a single strong Skill. It sounds more fun.”
Victor smiled at that, and they talked about normal stuff after that.
Nothing important, just useless stuff. Like arguing about what shape that cloud in the sky was.
It was nice.
The feeling of the wind hitting his skin, the smell of grass in the air, and talking like he had no problem in the world.
Norm missed this feeling, and he wondered when he lost it.
The world looks so beautiful right now.
It was already night, and Norm’s mood was surprisingly even better than it had been in the morning. Even the looks and whispers he got didn’t lower his mood at all.
After they finally remembered to drink the milk, Victor said that Norm's milk was the greatest thing he had ever tasted, which made Norm really happy.
Well, Victor did chuckle after saying it, but he swore he was telling the truth and was not making fun of him.
I also learned how to stretch and some exercise called high-intrusive? Intensive? Or was it intensity?
Norm didn’t remember the name, but he did remember the moves Victor taught him and how long he should do each one before resting for a bit and moving on to the next.
It was tiring, but highly satisfying.
I should do it each day when I get the time.
Opening the door to his house, Norm was greeted by the sight of his mom sitting at the dinner table, face serious.
“Sweetheart, we need to talk.”
All of his good mood vanished, and anxiety started creeping in.
Is dad's condition getting worse? I could have sworn he was getting better.
“Is it about dad?”
His mother nodded, then told him everything, from how the cure-all potion could only prevent it from getting worse for a little bit, to how the [Healer] couldn’t do anything to help him. She even begged the [Village Chief] to give her the best potion he had. His mother got the potion, but it still failed.
The [Healer] then told his mother that only a really high-level [Healer] would be able to cure him, and the closest one was in the capital. It would take at least one month of travel to reach it, times that his dad didn’t have. What’s more, they didn’t even have a way to travel to the capital or the money to pay the [Healer].
“It’s not hopeless. I think… no, I can heal him, trust me.”
“Norm, you haven’t even reached level 20, the [Healer] I talked to was close to level 40.”
“Yeah, but I think I could do it.”
It was not baseless confidence; his dad’s skin had looked a tiny bit healthier compared to a few days ago. If he gave him healthy milk every day, then he was sure his dad would be healthy again.
“Norm…”
“Mom, please trust me. I can do this.”
His mom covered her face with her hand, then started to cry.
Norm tried to comfort her by patting her back. It was what his mom always did to him when he was upset.
It really helped him whenever something stupid or bad happened. He wished it would also help her.
This was such a good day too.
“Hey, Ver.”
Ver sensed something was wrong. Not only was Norm still lying in his bed, staring mindlessly at the ceiling, but his blanket was also wet.
Did something happen?
Ver sent in his concern.
“The [Healer] couldn’t heal my dad, and I think… I think I'm his last hope.”
Norm was curling up under his blanket, and Ver realized then that his eyes were red and puffy.
The blanket and bed looked really wet. If that was from his tears, then how long had Norm been crying? Did he even sleep?
“I don’t think I can do this. I'm only Norm, Norm the normal, Norm the average, Norm who wouldn’t achieve anything meaningful with his life. How can I heal my dad when everybody else fails?”
Positioning himself above Norm’s head, Ver splashed him with regular cow’s milk.
“Ver?! What are you doing—”
Ver sent in his fury, shutting him up.
What Ver was about to do next was a gamble, but he felt it in his soul that he had to do this.
Through the connection from [Verus Albus: Share Emotion], Ver tried to speak with Norm.
The Skill refused to budge, but it didn’t matter; the Skill was weak.
(I'M HERE, YOU IDIOT!)
Thankfully it didn’t drain his inner energy all that much.
“You could speak?! Wait, of course you can. What am I talking about? You’re probably even smarter than me, and that answers the question whether you’re a man or a woman.”
The shocks made Norm get out of bed. Yet, even that was quickly drowned out by his despair.
“But Ver, I…”
Ver tried to send in his emotions, but he couldn’t.
The connection from the Skill was not gone, but it felt like it was broken beyond recognition.
“No. You’re right, Ver. If I'm doing this alone, I don’t think I can do it. But I have you.”
Norm clenched his fist, wiping a snot with his sleeve.
“I heard that a spirit could destroy a city with a single spell, grow an entire forest in an instant, and even revive a dead person. Also, Victor told me you are a powerful spirit. I might not have anything special about me, but the same couldn’t be said about you.”
There were a lot of things that Ver wanted to say to Norm, especially about how Norm thought about himself. However, Ver couldn’t.
He was afraid he would be in slumber again if he tried.
“Besides, moping around wouldn’t change anything.”
Norm closed his eyes and took a deep breath several times. He then got out of his room and came back with an empty glass.
“Okay, here we go then, [Create Milk].”
MANA, HELP ME.
BE BETTER.
“[Bless Milk].”
BE BETTER.
The quality of the milk didn’t suddenly change just because Norm had found the will to keep going, but they did level up.
[Milk Saint Level 12!]
[Verus Albus: Share Emotion Removed!]
[Verus Albus: Telepathy (Norm) Obtained!]
Yes! Finally a way for me to communicate properly.
It was a shame Ver couldn’t test the Skill. His inner energy and his mana were dangerously close to being in the red zone, and he didn’t know how much the Skill would drain him.
I could test it out tomorrow.
His sister always said being impatient was no good, which was good advice, but she usually said it when Ver asked if it was his turn to play the video games.
“I got two levels. I'm not even sure what I should feel. This is a bit insane.”
Isn’t it already more than one month since they got the Class? Reaching level 12 wouldn’t be that crazy, right? It could even be called slow.
From the video games he played, reaching level 12 would only take a few hours, a day at best. No video game would take a month to reach level 12.
However, that was a video game, and this was real life. The rule wouldn’t be the same.
The level cap was probably level 100. The text didn’t say I would get points from our Class reaching level 101. Or maybe reaching level 200 was possible, and I just wouldn’t get points from it. Who knows.
Ver almost used the Skill to ask Norm what the level cap was, or the average time for leveling, or why Norm didn’t take more than two Classes the first time Ver met him, and so on and so forth. But Ver held back. He only had to wait for a day.
“Thank you, Ver. For everything.”
With that, Norm got out of his room, determination etched into his face.
Before Ver fell asleep, he looked out the window.
More than once he wished he could explore this world. To finally run around after so long. Maybe even meet new friends. But he couldn’t.
Ver didn’t regret his action, even though it made him unable to see anything besides Norm’s house for what would probably be a long time.
He had been unable to move for years. A little wait was nothing to him. At least this time, he knew he would not be stuck in one building forever.
Besides, he could freely talk to Norm tomorrow, and in his perception, he wouldn't have to wait long. He slept a lot, after all, so it really wasn’t that bad.
Opening the door to his dad's room, Norm found him staring at the ceiling.
“Hey, dad.”
His dad turned to look at him, smiling.
Norm already knew how thin his dad's body was, how his skin hugged his bones like there was nothing between them. But looking at him now after the talk with his mom, Norm realized his dad could pass away at any moment.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Your mom already told you everything, huh?”
It was a rhetorical question, so Norm didn’t answer. He just sat down on the chair right next to his dad’s bed.
“I’m sorry. I was selfish. I didn’t want to spend my last moments with you in a gloomy mood. I wanted to see you happy. I'm sorry. Don’t blame your mom. Please, this was all my idea.”
The thought of blaming his parents didn’t even cross his mind, which, maybe, Norm should have done. He just wanted to know why.
“I could heal you, dad. So don’t give up yet, please.”
His dad didn’t even have the strength to lift his arms, so Norm helped his dad drink the healthy milk.
“Thank you, son. This is delicious.”
“Yeah, it will also heal you, dad.”
Looking down at the floor, Norm couldn’t stop the tears from falling.
What if I'm too late? What if today is the last day I’ll ever see him? What if—
Norm felt a hand touching his head, and when he looked up, he saw that his dad was patting his head.
“You… you could move your arms.”
It wasn’t Norm who said it, but his mom, who was suddenly standing right beside him.
At that moment, a family started to believe in miracles.