“So who are you then, if you aren’t just the old master of a tea house here in the capital?” I try to act serious, but my mind is racing as I attempt to piece everything together.
He starts to refill his cup from the pot as he looks at me thoughtfully, “You’ve likely never heard of me. Almost everything I did was as an unaffiliated adventurer with the royal courts – those jobs paid the best, and probably still do. My name is Mallorc, though most people used to call me ‘Sage’ or ‘Scholar’.”
Before he can continue, I cut him off, “And you truly have a combat class? I’ve seen you change the water temperature before, and the flavor of your tea is always identical. That seems too consistent not to be guided by the System. I don’t understand unless you are some kind of water mage or something.”
Mallorc looks like he’s holding back his mirth at impatience and takes another frustratingly long sip before he answers me, “Yes, in the purest sense of your question, I have a combat class. My case is… unique. The government doesn’t do well with classes that don't fit neatly into prescribed boxes. So officially, I am classified as a utility and support class. My class is called Tea Sage and almost all of the base skills you unlock during selection appear purely utility and support. Truthfully, it isn’t the base skills that make this class special. It’s the inheritances created by me and my predecessors that truly make this class powerful.”
He holds his hand up to stop me before I can say anything at all, “I will help you select this class if you choose to do so, but I want you to know that you will be committing the next few months to learning the basics before you will be ready to hunt in even the easiest portals. In the meantime, you will continue working here as a tea house assistant. Do you accept these terms?”
The words were barely out before I was nodding aggressively. Of course, the answer was yes; this was the first opportunity I had that would lead my dream to become a reality.
“Good, good. Then, business will appear to continue as normal. Every night this week, you’ll join me for tea after work, then run through a meditative practice until morning.”
He pulls a slim manual from his suit jacket – it radiates a quiet aura of reflection and calm. As he hands the manual to me, I feel a sense of heat and steam radiating from the booklet. Inside, I glimpse complex meditative forms paired with precise breathing patterns.
“If you slack off for even one night this week, your odds of the class being offered to you are halved. You have always been a decent employee, but you’ll need absolute diligence over the next few months. The road ahead will be challenging. Before I send you off to go through those forms, do you have any questions?”
“Just about a million, but I’ll temper myself. First off, do I continue calling you Master or Old Man or Mallorc?” I can’t help it, no matter how much I am trying to hold back, my body is shivering with anxiety to learn more about my master’s past and the prospective future his training will allow. “Master or Old Man will suffice. I will let you ask two more questions before I send you off. Just letting you know, now this class requires a lot of introspection and self-growth. Though the path is similar for each of its cultivators, no two are ever quite the same.”
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I stop at that. I guess if meditation guides and inheritances are the key to growing this class, it makes sense that at a certain point, I will have developed my own inheritance to pass on to my future student, that is, if I can take the path that far. “You said it will be a few months before I can enter even the easiest portals. Why does it take so long?”
He blinks, and I can tell he is holding back frustration, “This class requires deep thought and not wasting questions on what you can already intuit. I told you all you need to know to answer that question yourself. Why do you think it will take so long?”
I think back on what the Old Man said tonight. Earlier, he mentioned that the skills themselves are more utility-focused, so it might have something to do with leveling them up, as well as studying the inheritances left by previous class holders.
“Is it because none of the initial skills will be useful in a portal, so I will need to level them up and train specific fighting styles to beat even a weak monster?”
I almost miss the subtle nod he gives, “Yes, I know you would be able to figure it out. The initial skills generated with the class are genuinely about caring for and serving tea. There are some long-term buffs you can apply to yourself or teammates, but at the lower levels, they are not sufficient to bother noting. Mainly, you’ll need to discover which inheritance–or combination of inheritances–resonates with you, and begin your mana attunement from there.”
“I’ve never heard of mana attunement regarding people adjusting to a class. I thought once a class was selected, the System automatically morphs your body and mana to match your selection.”
“A common misgiving born from how little people truly understand the System. Truthfully, even though the System has been around for hundreds, if not thousands of years, we still have a very poor understanding of how or why it operates.” At that, I shiver slightly – the System has always been seen as flawless, unquestionable. But he’s right: no one actually knows why it exists.
He continues, pulling me from my train of thought, “Some argue divine, some mystical, some just argue that’s the way the world works. But one thing I have learned is that if the public generally understands something about the System, then they are most likely wrong. Anyway, last question, then you need to go meditate, it's getting late.”
It really was getting late; the glowstones had dimmed to almost dead for the night, and no light came through the windows, indicating almost an hour had passed since we sat down.
“Okay, my last question. If I am still working at the store after my Sowing Day, does that mean I am no longer an apprentice and I can pull a wage?”
The Old Man laughs harder than I have ever seen him before and sighs deeply, “Yes, you can pull a wage after your Sowing Day, but that is only if you get the class. If you fail to follow my instructions and don’t get the class, you’re fired–effective immediately.”
Honestly, that was a fair trade-off. Success means I get an awesome, life-defining class. Failure means I am jobless with no prospects.
“Deal!” I shout, reaching out a hand to shake his hand before bowing my head in respect.
