3 Strange New World (Part 3)

"I hope you all understand the seriousness involved with skills," Tael said as the class looked reluctant to continue training their skills. "You need to learn to monitor and adjust the amount you'll spend on a skill to prevent something like this from happening. If you always put your all into it and use your maximum potential you'll end up in a similar state or worse."

Eol gingerly sat against the wall, rubbing his temples while trying to think through what had happened. He knew that most of his Will was spent during his Infusion practice but he hadn't expected his own body to react so strongly once it was spent.

'If I'd only known about that problem sooner.' Eol thought as he rubbed his head again. 'I could have avoided wasting all my energy.'

He glanced around the room, seeing many people wearing concerned expressions as they tried to figure out whether learning skills was worth it. 'Well, I guess some people don't want to hear the truth.' Eol thought as he studied their expressions. It was only natural that power wouldn't come without a cost to wield it. As Tael kept saying, this wasn't a game. It was real life. Everyone had assumed since the booklet said to think of it as a game-like world that there would be no real repercussions.

"So, do you guys still feel ready for more?" Tael asked with an encouraging smile. "Because there's plenty of time left in this class."

Her question was met with disgruntled expressions. It was clear nobody had the heart for this training anymore. Tael silently nodded as she read the atmosphere. "In that case, let's move on to the one-on-one interviews. I need to start building your profiles to make some suggestions about your future career paths. Tomorrow we'll go over techniques to increase your stats."

"So, who wants to go first?" Tael asked. However, nobody raised their hand.

"I'll go first," Eol said as he shakily got to his feet. "I don't think I'll last too much longer anyway."

Tael nodded at this as she cast a weary gaze over her other students. "Wait here and make sure you behave. Maybe get to know each other a little better. Once your interview is done, I'll assign a room to you for your use during your orientation week. This way, please."

Eol nodded as she said the last part to him. He then made his way towards the door, feeling like the others were staring daggers into him while whispering about what he'd just gone through. He didn't care what they thought; he knew what he wanted to do. He had no idea if this was real or not but he was going to pursue his interests using every ounce of strength he had.

It was only a short distance down the hall of the Pioneer Relocation Bureau's building to the small interview room. Eol smiled as he looked through the cloudy glass at the flowers growing outside. He had been worried it would be quite a dark room, but instead, it had an inviting air to it.

Two couches sat in the room facing each other with a wooden coffee table between them. He was pleasantly surprised to discover the aroma of freshly brewed coffee wafting from two cups waiting there.

"Please, take a seat." Tael chuckled as she gestured to the nearest couch before sitting on the other one. She gracefully crossed her legs as she raised her cup to her mouth and peered over its rim at Eol.

The latter was quick to take her up on her hospitality. He made himself comfortable on the couch before sipping on the coffee with a pleased expression plastered on his face. 'This isn't so bad.'

"So, Eol." Tael began once she ascertained that the latter was relaxed. "We've already spoken a bit during the skill training. But I'd like to hear your thoughts on what ideas you have for a career. It's all too often pioneers want to do something they were already trained for in your world. However, things work differently here so it usually leads to more studying or we simply don't have the same type of job in this world."

Eol nodded along with Tael as he took another sip of his coffee while thinking about his future. The conversation had come around to possibly talking about his past life, but he wasn't sure if he was ready to reveal everything just yet. After all, he had been a nobody. A simple hardworking office worker that spent his salary on games with no real prospects for his future except moving up the career ladder. If there was any chance this world was real, then he'd rather not share any personal information in case it could lead back to him on earth if he ever found a way home.

"Well," Eol started after taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly. "As I said earlier, I'm interested in crafting professions. Particularly any career path that would allow me to create new items of all sorts. Things to make life more comfortable, travel easier, and create powerful equipment."

Tael nodded as she listened carefully to the young man's words. She seemed pleased by them as she leaned forward with interest on her face. "That's very much an interesting idea." She paused as she tapped her fingers on the table. "What's the reason behind why you're so into creating tools?"

"I... well..." Eol stammered nervously as he tried to think up a good answer. His previous dream had faded away when his family moved to a different city. He didn't have anyone left in his old town who knew his name anymore. He felt lost, alone, and confused. That led him to seek out friends online. Originally, he became a crafter to feel needed. But that quickly changed as it became something he genuinely enjoyed as he sought solutions to different problems. "I just want to test my limits."

Tael smiled at this as she placed both hands flat against the table. "Well, that sounds like it could be quite fun too." She looked down at the coffee cup before raising her gaze once again. "But I need to ask: what's your skill level in crafting as you call it? Using your own hands, of course."

Eol shrugged his shoulders as he stared back up with uncertainty written all over his expression. "I've never really tested it."

The smile on Tael's face widened as she reached into a pouch on her belt and pulled out a small glass vial filled with a white liquid. It had a faint smell of flowers mixed with its aroma. Tael set the vial on top of the wooden table between them and gently shook it until the contents swirled around inside.

"This is called alchemical ink," she said as she took the lid off the container. She then poured the mixture onto the table where it spread across its surface like paint. "It allows me to draw or write anything using my thoughts."

She touched one finger to the surface as if drawing an image from memory. A moment later the lines began to glow bright blue as they created a detailed picture of a large house with two chimneys, a porch, a garden, and a barn behind it. The detail was astounding! As he watched, he saw several people form in the yard, tending to plants and animals in their care.

Tael pointed to the house while looking at Eol with a warm smile on her lips. "This was a revolutionary creation. It made the lives of many much easier and is often used in enchanting and other trades. If you could create something like this in the future, then I think your goal is noble indeed."

"In my opinion, you'd be best suited to pursuing the career path of an artificer." Tael continued while studying Eol's expression. "Artificers pick a trade like alchemy or metalwork. They master their trade, then buy in ingredients and contract masters of other crafts to help produce artifact-level items. So this would be a good fit for you."

Eol hummed as he listened to her explanation. 'It does sound suitable, but it's not quite what I had in mind. How can I know what the best end result will be if I have to bring in other masters with limited knowledge of what they're capable of?'

"Beyond that," Tael continued as her expression turned serious. "Trades, and creating artifacts especially, is extremely expensive. You have the cost of rare materials from around the world. Transport costs. Prototype costs. Well, you get the picture."

"I see," Eol hummed as his eyes sparkled. 'Learning and doing everything myself will take longer, but it will cut down on the costs. Which means more funds to try crafting other things! I'll probably have to sell my stuff through established stores to build up a name for myself. Then, when my reputation grows, I can look to opening stores.'

'It'd be good if I could hunt monsters for their materials too. Transport? Guess that means getting a ship. That's... a lot.' Eol sighed.

Tael nodded with approval at Eol who was deep in thought. "So you've got an idea of how you want your life to go?" She asked with raised eyebrows. "And you don't think this is all just fantasy because of your past life?"

Eol shook his head vigorously before slamming both hands against the table. "It's not that. It's just I've decided to make the most of this life while it lasts. No matter if it's real or not!" He then took another sip of coffee before continuing in a calmer tone. "This place feels so real, yet there are still plenty of unknowns. I'm sure there are plenty of things in this world to keep me entertained."

The young man frowned as he thought back over what he had seen and heard since arriving on Ghaena Island. 'It's a strange new world, with a lot of opportunities. And I plan to seize all of them!'

"Well, that's refreshing to hear." Tael chuckled as she covered her mouth with a hand. "I suppose there won't be much need to conduct further interviews with you. It'll be more about finding you work opportunities. Hm, tomorrow I'll introduce you to the merchants guild after class. That'll be a good first step."

"Right, you'll need to think about what fighting style you want to have. I'll be introducing you all to class trainers tomorrow." Tael said as she finished her coffee.

"Class trainers? Isn't Artificer a class?" Eol asked with some confusion lacing his voice.

"No, Classes are more about combat methods. What you need to become an artificer are talents. So, considering you're good with infusion skills, you'll probably want to consider melee-type styles of combat."

Eol raised his eyebrows at that. 'Melee, huh? I hated tank roles in games. So a shield is out. I'll need to see if there's anything suitable for sailing too if I plan on sailing around for crafting materials.'

"Thanks for letting me know, Tael. I'll be sure to think about it." Eol said as he bowed his head.

"It's no problem," Tael chuckled. "It's my job, after all. Now, as for your assigned room. It's on the third floor, go right once you leave this room, up the stairs, and it's the last door on your left. There are just basic essentials, so don't expect too much. You'll be woken up for breakfast before classes start. Now, off you go and get a good rest."

Eol nodded before standing from his seat. He then turned to bow one final time before leaving the interview room. Once outside, Eol started to make his way to the indicated location.

The building felt quite new as the wood never creaked beneath his feet. 'So, this is my room for the next week.' Eol sighed as he opened the door with the key from Tael. Inside was a small room with a single large bed. A desk with a chair sat in front of the window, while another had been placed against the wall opposite the entrance. The other half of the room contained a wash basin along with a mirror above. 'Yeah, this is pretty basic.'