At least in Farming Is Life, Skill Books were really hard to come by. As it was a game dominated by players, they would quite literally hound every single NPC they would come across, purchase them all, then keep a monopoly over them. That, in return, jacked up the prices of Skill Books sky-high. It was a pretty bad market. It was much worse than purchasing gear or seeds. After all, Skill Books impacted players directly. Especially with the rarer ones.
But that didn't happen here. Lloyd didn't have to worry about players hiking prices sky-high. He guessed he could even buy certain Skills from the Farmer's Market. It was possible residents here in Solaris also acted in a similar way, but he had no way to tell if that was the case or not. Not yet, anyway. For now, Lloyd's eyes remained on two different colored books inside his Inventory. One was colored black, while the other was colored amber. It was a Skill Book, and a Spell book accordingly. He saw a (Random) tag over both of their names, so he wondered what he would receive.
"Welp, only one way to find out. I see no reason to hold onto these. Let's start with the Skill Book first. Mastery books are especially good. It allows your crops to outshine other people's crops because your skill is higher. But the question is, will I get something related to farming, or perhaps something else?", Lloyd asked himself as he reached his finger out. He tapped the Basic Mastery Skill Book (Random). Following that, he was greeted with a prompt.
[Ding! You have used the Basic Mastery Skill Book (Random).]
[Ding! You have acquired a new Skill! Basic Axe Mastery (E) has been obtained.]
[Ding! Your Harvester Log has been updated. It is now ready for viewing.]
"...Axe Mastery? Huh.", Lloyd uttered, asking himself the same question that popped into his head upon seeing this prompt before him. "I mean axes can work with shields, if you use a short-handed axe. Bigger ones will need both hands. I'd normally expect something related to blades. But I think I can make this work. I didn't see any axes in that shed, though. The closest to that were those pitchforks. But Basic Axe Mastery wouldn't relate to that...", Lloyd murmured. Was he about to make axes his primary weapon of choice since he received this Skill? He wasn't sure.
There was also something to point out here, Lloyd finally learned the ranks of the Skills the Earth Goddess Gaia gave him, and that shocked him to his core. Most were S to SSS ranked. He didn't think he'd receive such high ranked skills from her!
One more thing to silently thank for. Lloyd truly felt grateful. Even if this Basic Axe Mastery was ranked E, these types of Skills can be upgraded. Not in Farming Is Life, but in other games Lloyd had come across. They all had certain conditions to trigger that advancement. For now, Lloyd navigated his Harvester Log, and decided to review the Skill's description.
[Basic Axe Mastery]
You have come to a basic understanding of how axes work in Solaris.
Grade: E
Strength: +3 Endurance: +3 Dexterity: +3
Rank Up: 0/1000
Bonus Effect: Market Recognition
You are now capable of purchasing Axe-type weapons from the Farmer's Market.
Available Grades: Crude -> Fine
Bonus Effect 2: Axe Specialization
Your axe-related performance in combat has now been improved with the following effects:
Single-Handed Axe:
+10% damage
Double-Handed Axe:
+20% damage
Throwing Axe-Type Weapons:
+10 Dexterity
+Increased Chance to inflict a critical hit. Luck's effect will trigger if a critical hit is landed.
Wooosh!
Before Lloyd could act, a subtle earthen-brown glow wrapped around his entire body, and empowered him. He felt stronger! On top of that, no matter the type of axe Lloyd will come to use in the future, he will deal additional damage thanks to this mastery Skill. When starting out in any game that has Skills like these, getting these mastery Skills were definitely the way to go at the beginning.
"I didn't imagine I'd become an axe-wielder of all weapons. In those eastern stories, most of its main characters either use Spears or Swords. On the occasion, a Glaive...", Lloyd uttered. But his system threw him in for a loop, and granted him a basic understanding of how to use axes. They were strong in their own right. While they could not slash or pierce, axes could render one's defenses useless, and tear apart one's armor swiftly, and efficiently. Lloyd wouldn't be surprised down the line, he will start to see pierce-type damage, or true damage, ignoring one's defense outright.
And since he had gained his two pieces of equipment and this skill, he wanted to have another review of his Harvester Log. But he knew he wasn't finished. He had another book to open. A Spell Book!
The only question was, Lloyd didn't see any stat related to Mana, apart from Spirit. Even if he did learn this Spell now, would he have any way of using it? He doesn't even know how to use magic yet! The Spell would just sit there in his Spellbook, looking at him, menacingly.
"I might be jumping the gun here...", Lloyd uttered. "Spirits and Magic didn't exist in Farming Is Life. Its primary energy system was Stamina. But here in Solaris, there's multiple energy systems at play here. Mana, Qi, Stamina, and potentially even more I'm not aware of yet. Even if I do learn this Spell now, I am not equipped with the tools to use it. It might be tied to one's Occupation...", Lloyd murmured to himself, wondering whether or not that was the case.
Sure enough, a blue screen prompted shortly after Lloyd felt his body change from using the Skill Book.
[Ding! You have achieved a deeper understanding of how the world of Solaris works. There are many complex layers revolving around the world that you have not experienced yet. Many of these aspects are tied to one's Occupation. While residents of Solaris typically hold one Occupation, you have the ability to switch between them. This function did not exist in Farming Is Life. With your possession of the Harvester Log, you have gained the ability to change Occupation as you so please. If you grow tired of the Farmer Occupation, you can initiate an Occupation Change. Current method of acquiring this is unknown. You will have to explore that yourself.]
[Ding! Your current Occupation, Farmer, has had its description updated and is now available for viewing.]
[Ding! Due to deepening your understanding of Solaris, all stats have been increased by +2!]
[Ding! Points*2 has been triggered. All stats +2 -> +4.]
"Well...that was unexpected. That really was the case, eh?", Lloyd mused, seeing this new information present before him while becoming stronger from the sudden boost in stats. Sure enough, energy systems such as HP, MP, etc were locked behind different Occupations. He might need to switch out of one entirely to start using them. It was as Lloyd initially assumed. More than likely, he can't use Spells right now.
So Lloyd made a decision to not learn this basic spell for now. He'll keep it in his Inventory. Whenever he comes across a new energy system, that will be the time to learn it. Instead, Lloyd decided to navigate back to his Harvester's Log. He didn't immediately review his newly-added description of his Occupation. He went from the top again. He now had two Fine pieces of equipment equipped, and a new skill added, so he wanted to see his information starting from there.
It left Lloyd pleasantly surprised. These definitely weren't the stats of a typical Level 3!
[Harvester Log]
Name: Lloyd Vantira
Age: 16 Year: 1
Season: Spring
Month: March Day: 1
Plot Number: 91 Acre(s): 1
Occupation: Farmer
Level: 3
Next LV EXP: 30
Affinity: Earth
[Equipment]
*Left-Hand: Fine Hoe-Lv3
*Right-Hand: Fine Sturdy Shield-Lv2
ATK: 17 (+8) END: 23 (+14) DEX: 12 (+3) SPR: 12 (+3) LUC: 10
* The + are from Equipment Stats.
Available Points: 10
Skills: Gaia's Blessing (SSS), Points*2 (SS), Appraisal (S), Luck (S), Spirit Link(A), Basic Axe Mastery (E)(New)
Temporary Skills: Parry (E)(New)
"I really need to know what these stats are like compared to others. Am I comparable to a Rank 2 like Frank, or perhaps that Rank 3 Cultivator, Senior Shanshan? He flew too quickly for me to even use Appraisal on him. I'll also need to see if Levels reset once we Rank Up. So many things to test still...", Lloyd uttered. This was his life to live after all. If he wanted to try something out, he could. He didn't have anything holding him back from doing so. He was completely unknown to those residing here in Solaris.
Apart from his new acquaintance Frank, that is.
Before Lloyd decided to proceed forward with something, he wanted to have another look at his Occupation. He saw it now had a Level tagged next to it, meaning that he could potentially rank it up, just like Skills!
[Farmer-Lv1]
You have chosen to walk the path of cultivation through the land itself. Tending crops is no longer a pastime, but that of discipline. Unlike most Occupations, Farmer sharpens observation, patience, and timing. As your Rank increases, higher-grade crops and new crop categories will become available. Strive diligently, and perhaps one day, you may harvest crops capable of enhancing magic, qi circulation, or the body itself!
Weapons: Swords, Spears, Axes, Wands, Bows
Stats per level: +1 Strength +1 Endurance +1 Dexterity.
*Spirit Link increases SPR by 1 per level.
**Luck increases LUC by 1 per level.
***These two stats are not influenced by current Occupation.
Rank Up: 0/1000.
Common Crops: Potato (Spring), Lettuce (Spring), Tomato (Summer)
Specialty Crops: Strawberry (Spring)
Bonus Effect: Increased LUC stat may provide various kinds of effects.
Bonus Effect 2: Grants a unique Skill: Crop Consumption (A).
"...What?", Lloyd uttered, letting his eyes remain on Bonus Effect 2.
Lloyd...can get stronger by consuming the crops he harvests!?''
With such an overpowered Skill, is there even a need to switch to other Occupations at this point!?