Chapter 50: The Level Zero [Hero] Chapter 49

Over the next week, I spent most of my time working out in the fields with Nolan. He taught me pretty much everything anyone needed to know about being a [Farmer]. Or, more, specifically a [Crop Farmer]. He was a higher-leveled variant of that Class, of course.

Nolan was nearly Level 40, which was supposedly rather impressive. Initially, I had been taken aback by that fact considering that an adventurer who was between Level 30 and Level 40 was considered only C-rank. But there was no such thing as an [Adventurer] Class. Being an adventurer was a job, and with it came a variety of different Classes.

There were only so many variations of the [Farmer] Class. There were [Poultry Farmers], there were [Dairy Farmers], and there [Farmers] that didn’t even have the word ‘farmer’ in the Class like a [Rancher]. They were all [Farmers], and they all had their own variants as well. But even the [Farmer] Class as a whole was hardly as expansive as, say, the [Warrior] Class.

After all, there was a plethora of different sub-Classes of [Warrior], and each sub-Class had a sub-Class of its own, which in turn had a sub-Class of its own… this could continue on for a while.

To exemplify it— a [Warrior] could have the sub-Classes of a [Spearman] and a [Swordsman]. But then a [Spearman] could be [Lancer], a [Speardancer], or even a [Knight]. And a [Lancer] could be a [Mystical Lancer] or a [Master Jouster]. This breakdown would apply for a [Swordsman], and the other two sub-Classes for a [Spearman] although to a lesser extent.

Anyways, that was just in regards to being a [Warrior]. It got very complex and convoluted as it went on, whereas being a [Farmer] was a little bit more linear with fewer variations. There were still plenty of different [Farmer] Classes. But it was incomparable to the variation that came with the [Warrior] Class, or the [Rogue] Class, and whatnot.

So it only made sense that there was only a single [Farmer] above Level 60, whereas there were quite a few adventurers above Level 60— dozens, at the very least— because being an adventurer encapsulated [Warriors], [Rogues], [Mages], [Rogue Mages], and even more.

Point being, there were simply substantially fewer [Farmers] than there were adventurers, so Nolan, despite his level, was quite impressive for his Class. And since he was the one giving in-depth teaching of his job, there was a lot for me to learn. There was a lot that I had learned

The day after he taught me how to till the fields, he showed me his harvest for this month. I swept my gaze over the flourishing field as he nodded proudly at me.

“Impressive, no?” he said. “It is only the beginning of spring, and I am ready to make my first harvest of the year.”

I blinked. “That is fast.”

I was pretty sure that most cash crop farms back on Earth only produced their yields once or twice a year. But this wasn’t my world. This was a world of magic— as I was clearly aware considering my feats, things that weren’t possible back on Earth were very much possible here. Nevertheless, I was impressed.

“How often do you harvest your crops?” I asked curiously.

“Roughly three to six times a year,” he said as he hefted a scythe over his head. He swung down and cut cleanly through the growing wheat.. “Thanks to [Passive - Fertile Soil] and [Passive - Rapid Yields], I should be able to harvest three times a year without doing anything else. But I can purchase magical fertilizers from an [Alchemist] in Whiteridge to double even that. And I have heard from a few of my friends that you can hire a [Druid] to cast a fertility boon on top of all that, although I have never tried that before.”

I watched as Nolan deftly sheared through the field of wheat with ease. He walked through it casually, swinging his scythe back and forth as he dragged a sack behind him. The harvested crops seemed to magically be pulled into the sack, and I gave him an approving look.

“More Skills, I’m assuming,” I said.

“The sack is an enchanted artifact,” Nolan corrected me. “But I am indeed using a Skill to do this.” He stepped forward, bringing the scythe down hard.

I looked on as he sliced through the wheat stems in front of him and more. All the grain up to six feet away from him fell, only to be sucked into the sack. He chuckled as he walked back to me.

“Now you try,” he said.

“Uh, alright.” I accepted the scythe and copied his motions.

I wasn’t used to swinging a scythe around. I was more accustomed to a regular sword. But I had enough accuracy to target only the stalks of the wheat, not damaging the kernels, which would actually be harvested.

Nolan nodded, clearly impressed. “As expected of an S-rank adventurer, you’re doing this without a Skill.”

I shrugged as I lowered the sack of grain. “It’s pretty easy. And I’m not an S-rank adventurer. I’m unranked and unofficial.”

“Ah. I apologize. That is my mistake.” He bobbed his head as he spoke apologetically.

“It’s fine. I know Noele told you that— she was trying to simplify things, I guess. I’m just really strong. That’s all.”

The [Farmer] raised his head as a thought crossed his mind. He leaned closer, eyes glittering like he was a playful child. A look I didn’t quite expect from the normally mature middle-aged man.

“I do wonder how much you can harvest with a single swing of the scythe.” He spoke like it was an idle thought, tapping a finger on his chin, and looking away. But I knew he was clearly hinting at me to give it a go.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” I said with a dubious look.

“Well, I don’t believe it hurts to give it a try.” Nolan turned to me, making his intentions clear. He really wanted to see what I was capable of. He took a step back, nodding placatingly at me. “I’ll even give you some space.”

I sighed. “Sure, I guess.”

I took a step forward and sliced horizontally with the scythe. I didn’t swing too hard, although I tried my best to mimic what he had done earlier— when he sliced through wheat he didn’t even touch. And a powerful gust of wind swept out.

The entire field rippled as it was practically blasted by a brief hurricane. Wheat heads fell to the ground by the hundreds in a radius of fifty feet ahead of me, and large swathes of the rest of the field were completely uprooted.

Nolan barely stayed on his feet, even when he wasn’t affected by the swing. Most of the field behind me— where he stood— remained untouched, only ruffled by the dispersing winds. But everything ahead of me had been shredded apart. I stared at the damaged crops and the uprooted plants, before shaking my head.

“I’m more precise with a sword. Or my fists.”

I turned back to Nolan. The [Farmer] tried to work his jaw.

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“That is…” he trailed off for a moment.

I handed the scythe back to him, and it slid down the palm of his hand. He stared at the partial destruction of his field, before finally gathering himself.

“I think you were right,” he laughed as he scratched the back of his head. “That wasn’t a very good idea.”

And I just snorted.

The day after that, Nolan showed me what it was like to plant the seeds for the next harvest. It was honestly pretty dull. He didn’t have any fancy Skills to show off. He just sprinkled the seeds by hand, and I followed.

We also paid a visit to his oxen. They had a nice plot of land for themselves. But there were only a handful of them, so it wasn’t a large grazing field.

It wasn’t like Nolan’s farm was small. His farm was large enough that I’d expect it to be manned by half a dozen farmers through manual labor. Or maybe back on Earth, a single farmer could look after it with modern equipment such as combine harvesters or a plough.

But the existence of Skills made up for the lack of technology.

Anyways, for a few days, nothing all that interesting happened. I did run into a wandering chicken while working the fields with Nolan. But he just waved a hand dismissively.

“That’s Bucky,” Nolan said casually. “She is well-known around these parts. Loves paying a visit to every farm once in a while, and she loves stealing my seeds. Don’t you, Bucky?” The [Farmer] laughed as he scratched her neck beneath her beak.

“Isn’t Bucky a male name?” I pointed out.

“She likes that name,” he replied simply.

“Fair enough.” I watched as Bucky sauntered over and to a bag of seeds and began feasting on it. “Why’s a chicken wandering around like that, anyways?”

“Bucky grew too high-leveled for her [Farmer]. She escaped, and no one can catch her. If you try, she’ll just run away. She’s a fast one… aren’t you, Bucky?”

Nolan spoke like he was talking to a dog or a cat. He patted the chicken as she just ravaged his bag of seeds before stepping back.

“I didn’t know chickens could level up,” I remarked idly.

“Everyone can level up,” Nolan said as he drew back from Bucky. “Animals included. They just don’t have a reason to level up. But Bucky here found that reason.”

I furrowed my brows and knelt down. Bucky cocked her head at me as I peered at her. “Maybe I should get you as a pet…”

I could even train her until she was Level 100 so she could deal with all my annoying problems for me as I retired to a farm. While the image of a chicken fighting a dragon and whatnot seemed funny in my head, I genuinely considered it for a moment. It would be really nice for me, but I still dismissed the thought.

“Nah, that would be animal cruelty,” I said as I patted her gently. “Good chicken.”

She just clucked back at me.

And as the week came to a close, I felt content with myself. I had learned the ins-and-outs of farming with an expert on the field— both figuratively and literally. I worked the same jobs a [Farm Hand] would, and I pretty much spent all my time with Nolan.

Deon and Skye had left Wolfwater some time at the start of the week, heading for Whiteridge since they’d already helped out enough. And Garron was staying over for now. I saw Noele a few times during the day. But she was spending most of her time with Garron, showing him around Wolfwater. And fortunately for me, I managed to avoid her overenthusiastic mother.

It wasn’t that I disliked Nicole. I could only handle her in small doses. Otherwise, she was too overwhelming. But she had a lot of work to catch up on after what was pretty much an extra month off her job, so she was making up for it now, and so she barely spent any time at the farm.

Nevertheless, I found my time here in Wolfwater to be… relaxing. Almost therapeutic. It was calm here in this farming village. A nice change of pace compared to being an adventurer in Windrip. Things were quiet, and I wasn’t just rushing to get to the next goal.

I was finally living a normal life.

Perhaps it wasn’t what I imagined when I swore to myself that I just wanted to relax and enjoy myself, but I was relaxing and enjoying myself. And that was all that mattered. Because I really felt like I… enjoyed being a [Farmer].

I really liked working at a farm. And as night fell, I collapsed into my bed with a satisfied sigh. I closed my eyes, luxuriating in the silence of the farm. I could hear the occasional crickets in the distance, but it wasn’t polluted with noise here like living in a city.

I would have fallen asleep. I wanted to just let myself indulge in my slumber. But I waited. I recalled Nolan’s words. He had told me that all I needed to do to get a Class was to carry out the acts associated with the Class until I saw myself embodying the Class.

It was very simple. It sounded very simple. I had done all the farmwork needed to be a [Farmer]— I had learned how to be a [Farmer]. And most of all, I saw myself living the rest of my life in Vacuos as a [Farmer].

So I waited.

But the System pop-up never came.