Mathew closed his eyes to concentrate like he was trained to do. Changing his subclass from student to tamer should be instantaneous.
| (Gold) Do you wish to change your subclass from [student] level 43 to [tamer] level 1? |
| Do note there are no tamable monsters in your immediate area. |
| [yes] | / | [no] |
Mathew almost opened his eyes in surprise as he noticed the golden color of the message he just received. Normally, it would be a blue background with white lettering, but golden letters meant that a god has meddled with the message. Which part he had a solid guess on, but which god, not so much. After selecting no he opened his eyes to notice all the kobolds looking at him.
| (Blue) The kobolds have observed your attempt to access [tamer]. Learn failed, monsters can not learn [tamer]. |
| The kobolds have observed your attempt to leave [student]. Learn success, monsters of ‘Hollow Core (Unique L+ dungeon)’ gained access to the subclass [student]. |
| ‘Hollow Core (Unique L+ dungeon)’ connected [student] subclass with [mentor] subclass. |
| Affinity with ‘Hollow Core (Unique L+ dungeon)’ has increased to ‘friendly’ from ‘neutral’. |
| Earned 1000 General Experience Points (GEP) for showing [student] class. |
| Earned 500 GEP for assisting ‘Hollow Core (Unique L+ dungeon)’ gain [mentor] subclass. |
| Earned 100 GEP for showing ‘ Hollow Core (Unique L+ dungeon)’ inability to gain [tamer] subclass. |
Mathew became stunned. 1600 GEP was a small amount compared to the overall needs to level a class but GEP can be placed in any class. Equipped or not, as long as the person had at least one level of the class. With it he could level any level 1 class of his to 5 right now or level almost a dozen level 1 classes to 2. However, his focus on these facts did not last as the female cook kobold moved over to him and gave a gentle hiss.
| (Blue) The kobold ‘cook’ sees you distressed and excited. The ‘Hollow Core (Unique L+ dungeon) had never had mortals upon its domain before. As the first you shall set a standard for all mortals to follow. For good or nil, for fame or fortune, for trade or conquest, for benevolence or maleficence. The trail is yours and yours alone to tread. |
| So what shall you do young trailblazer? |
| (Gold) Here is a little tip from a watching goddess. All you need is before you. Keep in mind choices have consequences. |
Mathew stiffened reading the message. His assumption of these being dungeon monsters was correct, but having the actual dungeon’s name be told to him put any doubt he had that the kobolds were dungeonless. Add in the fact that a goddess was overseeing it, spooked him to his core. He was so out of focus that he did not notice the strong female kobold picked him up and returned him to the bed he was in before. Fatigue and having his hunger sated found him quickly drowsy. He barely noticed the ‘cook’ kobold laying down in the middle of the floor without any bedding.
Opening his eyes to the same cabin logs as the night before, Mathew looked around him and found himself alone once again. The memory of his fallen comrades once again threatened to cause him to cry, but the animal skin dividing the rooms was lifted and the cook kobold showed her head in the gap. With a hiss, she called him, and he quickly followed her into the next room. There the smaller male of the two was there holding leftover stew. He quickly took it and ate it, then realized he had too much in him and something has to come out. Both kobolds looked amused at the sudden squirming and the male showed him the outhouse. It was strange that they had one, even basic magical conjured wipe. With that business taken care of the dungeon’s screen appeared again.
| (Blue) Quest: Those that do not work do not eat. |
| The kobolds have been generous by treating your wounds and feeding you. The kobold ‘farmer’ wants you to help prune his crops and gather those ready for harvest. |
| Task: work ten hours on the field with a satisfaction rating of at least 60% |
| Reward: dinner, extra |
Mathew considered the quest a moment. It was of course right, the kobolds had no obligation to help him, but now they have, he has an obligation to repay their kindness. Otherwise, once he is king, he will not be respected by peers and commoners alike.
The kobold field was not what he thought it would be when he got the quest. He knew the kobolds were primitive, but he never expected near an acre of already tilled and planted crops. From beats to corn. From wheat to gords. He saw at least a dozen different crops. All of them were summer crops at the least as well. Not enough to feed several people, but enough for five kobolds and then some. The farmer kobold first showed Mathew each crop. Showing which is to be tended to by de-weeding. Revealing which ones have gone bad due to invasions of insects or wild animals. Then he started with the turnips. All Mathew did was follow the kobold around with a basket and put the ready crops in it. After the forth the kobold seemed to sigh and took the turnip back. He had just mindlessly been following along when he noticed the kobold wanted more from him. The kobold started pointing at small holes in the vegetable before giving it a long throw at a pile of rubbish near the edge of the wood. The kobold took the basket and gestured to Mathew to go to the next crop.
