Chapter 56 — A Very Tavi Morning
In the end, Toren decided not to risk any physical training that evening, choosing to help with the alchemy instead, and over dinner, he explained his plan for leveling their group up before the high-tide with what he had found around the stead.
Emina had similar concerns about the mine, that the mine would draw unwanted attention and people up to no good. Warnel took a surprisingly different view: that it could be an opportunity, that traffic past their property would mean customers they could sell things to and help them not be as reliant on hunting and the tavi harvests to pay their debts. The one thing they all agreed on was to keep the find secret for now.
Toren kept to himself his suspicions about the mine forming or connecting to a rift-world. There was nothing to be gained by having the Hatterwicks worry about something so far beyond any of their ability to handle.
A welcome Skill increase awaited Toren with the morning.
The mana-rich food really was a boon for their growth.
Marton’s wife had talked about the benefits of a mana-rich diet when they spent that day with the hound-raising family, but seeing the results had certainly made Emina a believer, a believer enough that it could be the only reason for the breakfast placed before him.
“Tavi porridge?” Toren asked, his brows rising in surprise. Looking at the bowl’s contents with [Mana Sensing], he could be forgiven for wondering whether it was made with the woman’s [Cooking] Skill or her [Alchemy] Skill.
“There was a recipe in the storage room, noting it was supposed to help with mana density and grow Skills and Abilities faster,” Emina sheepishly admitted. “Turns out my [Scraps to Treasure] Ability can remove the drain worms from the tavi fruit.”
“[Scraps to Treasure]?” he repeated dully.
Emina nodded. “It’s a variant of the same [Heal Fabric] Ability that Warnel evolved to [Mend Material]. I mainly use it to make fancy ribbon from fabric scraps, turn matted or worn felt plush again, or even-out the color of fabric after a poor dyeing result. With [Mend Material] working on living tissue… I thought maybe if I viewed the fruit as being ‘scrap’ because of the worms…”
Seeing Toren’s ‘of course, a way is found to remove the worms after we sell the fruit for cheap’ expression, Emina waved her arms in front of her, flustered.
“Ah-! It won’t work for a full harvest; the mana cost is much too high! So, we still would have had to sell the harvest like we did, but for the unsellable ones we keep, making them usable for food should be fine.”
So, it was like that.
Oh, well. Not like they would have had time anyway, and they did get paid in both coin and credits for the worms.
Tasting the porridge and feeling the mana infuse into his body, Toren decided that tavi porridge for breakfast was something he would take with him to the afterlife.
He didn’t rush the spoonfuls, but there was no thought for conversation until the bowl was empty.
Emina had an amused expression on her face when he looked up.
“Hmm… so, you can improve any raw material? Any item?” Toren asked, curious.
Emina shook her head to deny it then made a see-saw motion with her hand. “I mean… I could probably take the Ability in that direction, but… I get the feeling that it would lose something in the change—that there’s… karma? …in giving materials that would have been discarded or not used to their best potential a new and greater purpose, I guess?”
Oh? That sounded like the kind of fae magic bullshit that had the potential to grow into something ridiculous. Maybe related to Warnel’s deal with the fae spirit? No wonder she didn’t want to reset her Profession.
Toren gave her a nod. Maybe Warnel was right, even a stall set up by the road to sell Emina’s cooking to mine workers and travelers could have potential to bring in significant coin.
Speaking of Warnel… with his awareness from the claim stakes, he found the [Haberdasher] already out doing something.
“Warnel?” Toren asked.
“Took his sword,” Emina offered and motioned to the outside as if that explained what her husband was up to, and truthfully, it probably did.
“Is that tavi? Are we starting on alchemy already?” Laiya mumbled, bleary-eyed from where she had pushed the curtain to her room aside. When her mother slid a bowl of the porridge onto the table, her eyes hooded. “Really, Mom?”
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Emina laughed. “You’re the third person to give me that look. The first two cleared their bowls to the last.”
The empty bowl sitting in front of him lent a fair amount of believability to her words.
“Ah, Toren, I’ll take your bowl. Unless…?”
“I’d better not,” Toren reluctantly declined Emina’s offer for a second serving. “More than this and I’d probably have to attempt using [Meditation] to convert the mana to XP.”
Toren watched with amusement as a skeptical Laiya did the same as he had, clearing her bowl to the last.
“Did drain worms always taste this good?” she eventually asked with a conflicted expression.
“No, silly,” Emina laughed even harder. “The tavi was completely worm free.”
Laiya still looked dubious, but her gaze dropped to her stomach, where the mana was no doubt spreading into the rest of her body. “This much mana, is this even safe?”
Suddenly a little unsure, Emina looked to him for confirmation.
Toren gave his condition and Laiya’s a deeper look with [Mana Sensing]. “If we do some physical conditioning before using any potions today, this much should still be beneficial. In Falma’s case, it may even allow to add more Skills to her Skill Core.”
“You are so knowledgeable for your age, Toren,” Emina complimented, to hide her relief at not having caused them mana-poisoning in her eagerness. “You must have had great teachers and been well along on your path before having to reset your Profession.”
He shrugged. “Level 15. As a [Hunter] apprenticed to Old Sellim. The orphanage library had a lot of books about Profession paths, Ability evolution, and Skill merging. I think whoever donated them wanted us to have a chance to rise above our unfortunate fates.”
Emina raised her eyebrows and stared at him for a moment. “And you’ve already earned it all back in just the tenday we’ve been in Farharbor? That is impressive. More than Warnel and I have done in all our years living in Greenvale.”
Toren wasn’t sure how he wanted to answer that. With his current core-density and aura, denying it would effectively reveal that he had a high-rarity Profession. Instead, he made a wry smile and went for self-deprecating humor, “At least, I no longer have to weather the looks of pity.”
The older woman patted him on the arm, and went to prepare a bowl for Falma who had stumbled into a seat at the table.
“Ugh, the bugs don’t know when to quit. This jungle is too noisy! And the smell… stewing tavi and worms for potions again?” Falma asked, rubbing crust from her eyes, before sighting the contents of the bowl placed before her and grimacing. “This was Toren’s idea, wasn’t it?”
“Well, I’d better go help Warnel,” Toren said with amusement and got up from the table to put on his armor. “Laiya, I’ll have improved spear forms for you to practice when you are ready to get started.”
~~~
Name: Toren of Theravos
Race: Human
Age: 20
Profession 1: Level 7 Burningblood Berserker (3200/14000)
Mana: 112/112
Strength: 16
Constitution: 14
Dexterity: 14
Agility: 12
Wisdom: 12
Intellect: 8
Will Power: 18
Perception 15
Appearance: 8
Charisma: 8
Luck: 10
Attribute Upgrade Points: 6
Traits:
Sacrificial Guardian
Abilities:
Burning Blood (Rank 1) Proficiency: Mid
Control Blood (Rank 1) Proficiency: Low
Flurry of Blows (Rank 1) Proficiency: Low
Ability Upgrade Points: 6
Profession Skills:
Severe Wound Recovery 5 → 6
Focus Rage 4
Combat Awareness 6
Berserker Weapon Arts 1
Pain Tolerance 6
Physical Conditioning 6
Intimidate 4
Skills:
Danger Sensing 3
Stealth 18
Mana Sensing 14
Wilderness Harvesting 12
Theravos Language 11
Religion 10
Meditation 5
Divided Focus 4
Bone Strengthening 3
Hunting 20
Archery 19
Running 13
Wound Binding 8
Arithmetic 4
