To make sure that all the Rodenti were able to survive and Riley's mushroom farm was going to work, we decided to stay here for a couple of days while they set everything up. The idea was that if we just stuck around, it would be a way to make the weather feel safe and we could take the job of the hunters and go out to gather some food for them. Hopefully, that would be enough to increase the amount of supplies they had stored until the farm picked up some momentum.
However, one day after Riley finished setting up the farm, it became pretty obvious that we wouldn't need to be worrying about the place. The mushroom farm was already showing some results. And while it wasn't a good idea to harvest all the mushrooms that grew in less than 24 hours, there was already enough for one round of meals.
Even then, the work didn't stop. During the night they continued to work on things that could be used to improve the farm. And by morning, the installation of such things was already on their way. Using the book left by Riley's old mentor, the witch was able to figure out how to make some spells that anyone could use. Not that they were learning how to use the spell themselves, but there were now spell circles placed on a few rocks. Three of them in total that only required some Energy to work.
The first was a much weaker version of the plant growth skill that Riley had. The second was a moisture collecting spell. Although that wasn't exactly what it did. In essence, the spell would be taking the moisture of the area and removing the salt in the process. It was going to absorb just the water, not anything else. And the third, the most expensive of the spell circles, was one that would release the moisture stored in a barrel towards the mushrooms. It was by no means a powerful force that could be used for attacking. The moisture came out in a mist, almost like one of those inhalers from the old world. But for what we needed to do, the spell was perfect.
Apparently mushrooms really needed moisture to grow as quickly as they were growing. Riley was pretty sure that even without those spell circles, the mushrooms were able to grow in just a couple of days, allowing people to harvest them at least two times a week. Maybe even three if they could supplement the meal with something they got outside. But with the spell circles, it became pretty obvious that they wouldn't even need the supplement.
We finished setting everything up, which was mostly Riley telling us what to do and how we were supposed to carve the spell runes on each block of rock that were picked for the spell circles. At first, none of us really understood what was happening, but once the carving was done, Riley placed some strands of silk along the path of the carvings, stuffing them inside the grooves which functioned as a catalyst for any Energy that was placed inside. That way, anyone at all, as long as they had Energy, could touch those spell circle blocks and activate whatever effect they were supposed to do.
It was frankly amazing to see something like that working. Even more incredible was the fact that the second witch was able to create it just by seeing some loose mentions of things like that in the journal left by Wistra, their old master.
Unfortunately, while Riley and Rex had a lot of things to do during those days, the rest of us weren't so lucky. We could go out and hunt for something for the Rodenti, which we did, but there wasn't really anything near the city. If we were going to try to get some proper food, we would need to go into the forest, and that would take a very long time. Time we didn't want to spend splitting off. Especially since Rex had just reached Tier 2.
The Rodenti was now something called the Trailblazer Rodenti of the Living Stone. And the couple of new skills he acquired were related to making pieces of rock and earth move as if they were living things. He didn't make living rocks but instead it allowed him to make whips, arms, and other appendages out of stones to perform any task that he wanted. There were a couple of skills supplementing this new skill, which made his creations even more lifelike, at least in their movement.
The most powerful creation he was able to move was a small, well, rat-sized rat that could move around almost as if it was a real rat. And apparently, to the Rodenti, rats were kind of like dogs. Pets that could be raised as part of the household. Rex was really excited by the fact that he had this tiny companion.
Even though when it came to fighting, it was pretty much useless. The construct was too weak to do any actual damage, too slow to do anything actually useful, and too flimsy to take any hits. The real benefit of the skill was in the creation of large appendages using rocks. But just the fact that he could create this animal made out of dirt was impressive enough. If you're not talking about fighting, it would be a skill that I'm sure many people would want just to have some companionship.
Either way, we decided to stay with this group of Rodenti for the next 3 days, not just to rest a bit and make sure they were okay, but also to confirm if the farm was working as intended. More than that, we also wanted to make sure that the Rodenti who would be in charge of keeping the farm were able to do so properly.
Riley did say that in a perfect world they would spend a few years being trained, but it wasn't like we had that much time. And 3 days was already more than any of us wanted to spare. Not because we didn't care about these people, but we were all worried about Rex's family, although it was for different reasons for each of us.
Rex wanted to make sure that the family was okay. Michael was also worried about our companion's family and wanted to help out with the attack against the Eater Nest. But Riley, Astrid, and I were more worried about what Lethea, the Mnems had told us and how they needed us to find an Eater hatchling to discover more about what was going on in the world.
Not that we didn't care about Rex's family, but the fact that an entire army of Rodenti gearing up to attack a giant nest was an opportunity that we couldn't afford to lose. If we did, we would need to somehow invade the nest on our own and try to recover an Eater hatchling without any assistance. And honestly, I really didn't like our chances of being able to do something like that. I was already doubting the odds of it working, even with their help.
During those days Michael, Astrid, and I were not doing really anything. We were sitting by the arena watching some of the Rodenti who just reached Tier 1 practice with weapons, and we were giving some advice when possible, although none of us really knew if our combat styles would fit this group of people. Especially since they already had one of the elderly Rodenti teaching them the basics of fighting.
We watched as two new Rodenti entered the arena. It was a man and a woman, both who were part of the group who attacked the giant Eater.
"You know, I still don't really get one thing," Michael spoke up.
"What?" I turned towards him.
"How were people able to force everybody to just stay at Tier 0? Even if they are forcing everybody to use their skills to empty the Energy every day, what about when they're sleeping? I figured that maybe in a few months or even a few years, people should get to Tier 1." The two Rodenti started fighting, using staffs to hit each other. There was very little technique in their movement. But that was intentional.
I nodded. "Yeah. That's a bit strange. It's not like there's a way to steal someone's level, right, System?"
[That is correct. It is impossible to, as users stated, steal a level. However, it is possible to steal progression.]
"What?" Michael, Astrid, and I asked at the same time.
[It is possible to steal progression, the System repeated, even though none of us felt better about the answer.]
"How? What? How is that possible?" I asked.
[During a fight, every time user hits an enemy, user is stealing some particles from the target. The amount is minor when comparing to how many particles are acquired after defeating an enemy. However, that does not mean user is unable to acquire the particles that they do once they hit an enemy.]
"So if I just slap Michael right now, I would steal some particles from him?" I looked at the elderly Rodenti, who had a satisfied expression. He wasn't teaching the two younger ones how to fight. For now, he was teaching them how to not fear a fight.
"Oh, great, why won't you?" the Archer protested.
I rolled my eyes and said, "It's just an example."
[That is correct. If user were to attack Michael, Astrid, or any other being that possesses particles on their body, user would acquire some of those particles. In exchange, the target would lose said particles.]
"Why?" Astrid asked the question that was in our minds.
[Once beings that possess the System have a violent clash, the particles around the location where the impact happened will battle with each other to identify the strongest particle. Once that is decided, the particles involved in the conflict will follow the ones that were deemed to be the strongest. The same will happen to a minor amount of particles from the surrounding area of impact.]
"Hang on, does that mean that if I punch something that's really strong, I'm going to lose particles?"
[That is possible. However, keep in mind that this conflict is not something that happens with all particles equally. Each barrel of particles belonging to two users will have their own conflict. It is possible that in a punch, you both lose and gain particles in minor amounts that would not affect progression. It is also possible that the difference in strength between one user and the other is large enough to allow a large number of particles to be absorbed by the strongest user. This is very unlikely to happen with beings of the same tier. However, beings that have different tiers are more capable of stealing large amounts of particles from beings of lower tiers. Even if to those of higher tier, that amount of particles is not enough to make any significant change in their progression.]
"So that's how the Rodenti kept each other in check?" I asked. "They would have the strongest people taking away the progression of those who were starting to get close to leveling up?"
[System cannot confirm if that really is what happened. However, it is a possibility.]
"Somehow that seems worse," Michael frowned.
I nodded in agreement. "Yeah."
But before we could continue the conversation, Riley came running towards us. They stopped a few meters [ft.] to the side and placed both hands on their knees while taking deep breaths.
"Are you okay?" Michael asked with a worried expression.
The witch nodded, giving a thumbs up, and took a few more breaths. It was strange to see them like that, especially considering how much it took for someone with a decent level of Body to be actually struggling after a run. Unless they really ran towards us at full speed. But why would that be something they had to do?
After we waited long enough for Riley to catch their breath, they looked up with wide eyes and asked, "Did you know we can get sub classes?"