Someone knocks on the door to my room. Probably Dad. I just curl up under my blanket more. I already didn't sleep very well last night, I don't want to talk to anyone or do anything. Especially not with how I'm feeling. This is too much.
Way too much. Please go away. Please go away. Please go away.
"Xander?" Dad says through the door, his tone soft. "You've got thirty seconds before I come in there."
He doesn't sound angry, but he probably is. I'm getting punished. He's going to beat me. It doesn't matter what I do so I don't say anything and just stay under my blanket, curled up. Telekinesis moves more stuffed animals on top of me, too, and my tail curls up even more. I didn't know it could curl that much.
"I'm coming in," Dad says, then my door opens and he enters and approaches my bed. Once he reaches it, he climbs up onto it and moves so that he's sitting beside the me-and-stuffed animals pile. "You're normally down before Katie goes down to start working on breakfast."
But not today. And that makes me bad and deserving of being punished. Especially because I don't want to come out from under here.
"I know you're anxious," Dad says. "You're stressing out a lot. It's the first day of school. But you managed to spend most of the summer attending summer school."
That wasn't school, those were catch-up lessons to help me be ready for the eighth grade, and they didn't even manage to do that. That's a lot different. This is school. School is bad. It's where I get told I'm dumb and get made fun of and stared at and mocked and I don't want to go so please go away! Please go away! Please go away!
"The actual structure for the class periods," Dad says. "Won't be too different from how they were during the summer. You'll have your first period – the fitness session – from eight to nine-twenty. Remember, we moved it to the first period at some point.
"Then there's second period from nine-thirty to ten-fifty," he continues. "You'll have lunch from eleven to twelve-twenty, giving you time to stretch, do some classwork, or just relax as well. From twelve-thirty to one-fifty is your fourth period, and fifth period is from two until three-twenty."
It's still school. I can't do it! It's too much! Please don't make me!
"Since you've never spoken about why you get so anxious about school," Dad says. "We can only really guess about it. If it's because of bullying, just remember that it's only you and the teachers now so you won't get bullied. And you don't need to worry about how to interact with classmates because it's just you. If you're scared of the teachers, just remember that you are more powerful than them. And if it's about classwork… just remember that Mr. Wilson will answer any questions you have if you get confused. Just raise your hand and he'll call on you."
But what if he doesn't? He'll hate me for being as a dumb as a fucking rock and then he'll fail me.
"You're not doing classes in the normal format, either," Dad adds. "Mr. Wilson will present you with a few different options on what you want to learn. You can choose from that list. If he says you can ask to learn something else, then you can pick something not on that list."
That's not how school works. Students don't decide what they learn, the teachers do.
"Remember how you had a break during the classes, too?" Dad asks. "And could eat snacks, get up, stretch, and stuff? You can do that during the classes here, too. That's normal for the middle school Luke and Parker attend. No snacks for the first half, then a stretch break you can bring snacks out during, and snacks for the rest of the period."
It's still school, though. I can't do it! I can't do it! I can't do it! I'm not brave enough for school!
"And Xander?" Dad says. "One of the laws your great-grandfather has in place for all of North America is that a minor can legally miss school if they're productively employed and make over a certain amount a week. But only on a week after they earn that much."
What does that mean?
"What this means," oh, he's explaining it. Stupid fucking me. "Is that if you're paid at least $500 the week before in a job that's considered 'productive', and you actually properly worked, you're legally exempted from classes… as long as your legal guardian gives you permission. Officially, that's the boys' home you're from – they're the agency with proper legal guardianship over you, even if you're in my care. And I spoke with them, and Tiffany told me it's okay for you to as long as you meet the requirements."
This is so confusing. What is he saying?
"Minors have to be paid no later than 11:59 PM the Friday of the next work week," Dad tells me. "It's a legal standard to ensure some things. It's also part of how the determination for if someone makes the requirement or not is done. And you did get paid more than that much on Friday, and you do have qualified work. The reason for this exemption is because while education is important, if a minor is in a qualifying job and earning that much, then they likely already have some skills that are useful in the workforce and for their future. Well, that's the short version of it, but I think the longer explanation would just confuse you."
I'm already confused. Sorry! I'm trying to be good but it's hard! Especially today!
"Considering that you've earned more in a month than the average person earns in their life," Dad says. "And you'll continue to earn a lot of money, school isn't fully important for you. But I do still want you attending some classes."
Then why tell me all of this?
"That said," he says. "If you can manage to make it through your morning classes, you can miss your afternoon classes for today if you still feel stressed over them. You can go to the workshop and work on whatever you're working on, you can take a nap, watch a documentary, play a game, stream, bake, whatever. All you'll have to do to make up for missing the afternoon classes is a practice packet for each, and you get to choose which ones they are. Can you do that, Xander? Can you try doing just your morning classes? The first one won't even be different from what you've been doing the last two weeks – a fitness session."
I'm not brave enough!
"I'm heading in to work now," Dad tells me. "Going in a little early today. Katie has breakfast ready for you. Go down when you feel ready. Or hungry. See you this afternoon, Xander."
Dad gets up and leaves.
If Katie has breakfast already ready for me, then not eating now would be bad. But if I get up, they'll try to get me to go to school. I don't want to go to school! But my stomach is rumbling a lot, too.
Maybe I can avoid classes somehow.
I get out of bed and switch back to my human form, then get dressed for the day and head downstairs. Katie has blueberry-banana-sprinkle-gummy bear pancakes on the table, along with sausages, fruit, and drinks. Just as I finish eating, Adam arrives for the first lesson.
Oh, no. I have to do this. But I want to go back to bed.
Adam doesn't comment about me wearing the full-body swimsuit in addition to my trunks today, which I'm really grateful for. I don't feel comfortable at all. He also doesn't try to make me speak at all, which is nice. I can't even try to speak right now.
Then it's time for second period, and it takes me five minutes to try and enter the classroom.
"Hello, Xander," Mr. Wilson says as I walk over to my beanbag chair and sit down, setting Trenton on his beside mine. "You can see on the board here the list of subjects you can pick from for this period. Why don't you take five minutes or so to decide which one you want? Once you've decided, get the stuff for it from the shelves and cabinets."
Shelves and cabinets have been added to the classroom to contain the learning materials necessary for the lessons. They're all organized and labeled to make it easier to know what stuff is where. I helped Dad set that up yesterday, though it looks like Mr. Wilson set up more of the learning materials while I was in my swimming class.
Art. That's one of the class options for the period. That should be an easy one since I'm still really new to it. The stuff listed for the lesson for today is just a sketchbook and pencil kit, so I grab those and return to my seat.
I hope this goes fast so that I can take a nap.
[Luke – 13 years] → starts towards the end of Xander's PoV.
Even though I know I cut him off from being my friend, I was still looking for Parker before school. Or at least, still hoping I'd at least see him. Except he wasn't there, and some quiet rumors from our classmates suggest that he's gone back to Dragon Falls Middle School.
Not really pleasant rumors, since some of the kids don't like him since he's not wealthy. I want to say something to them, but decide against it. Some fights aren't worth it and I'm sure he would've quieted them down last year if they bothered him.
Apparently, I'm not the only one who didn't realize how much Parker's family has. They're not extremely wealthy like my family is but they're still rich.
Now it's time for PE, my second class of the day. What's surprising about it for me is that us eighth-graders have a swim class for Mondays. In fact, my PE class routine for eighth grade seems to largely match Xander's. Did it get changed to match Xander's rather than the normal format? Or was Xander's set up to match how it would be for the eighth graders for this year?
Either way, I don't mind it. Starting off the week with some swimming is a great way to do it.
Though hearing the whispers in the changing rooms is a bit annoying. They do know I can hear them, don't they?
"He's not vibrating," someone whispers. "Doesn't he normally practically vibrate?"
"Yeah," another kid whispers back. "But I'm more concerned by him not wearing his leotard. Isn't that in case his magic bursts if he gets too emotional?"
Ever since fixing my mana, I don't burst with sparks if my emotions run very high. That was definitely an issue caused by my mana's messed-up state. No messed up state means no electric bursts.
"I still think letting him in the pool is a bad idea," a third boy whispers. "He's never had a burst while in the water, but if he does, he'll electrocute us all."
"If they do make him sit out," a fourth boy whispers. "I hope he can still at least hang out and watch us. He looks better now than before summer."
Okay, that's new. One of my classmates is attracted to me? I'm really flattered by that and I know I haven't heard those sorts of comments about me before. My muscle definition is a little bit higher than it was a few months ago, too. The fitness sessions with Xander helped me build a little bit more and tone me further.
"Dude, shush," someone else whispers. "If he hears you say that and gets disgusted, he might fry you dead."
No one's throwing hate at the other kid for that comment, which is a little surprising. Tyler's told me that there are still some people who can't accept same-sex relationships and find them revolting. Not a large number since Adrian King doesn't care, but they do exist.
The boy who made the comment about me doesn't look half-bad, and I know he's from a lesser mage family. Fourth-generation mage, I believe, and his family is probably only barely able to send him here without issue. Yet he's being treated fine.
Which means most of my classmates are probably chill about that comment. There might be someone who isn't, and it won't take much effort from me to let them know not to.
"Sorry, Zeke," I say, and the room goes quiet. "But I've already got a boyfriend. And my magic doesn't burst anymore – the condition causing it was figured out and fixed over the summer. Same condition which made me babble. Anyway, I've changed, so I'm heading to the pool."
I head to the pool and sit on the edge of the pool. We're allowed to do this as long as we don't get in as this is where we're supposed to line up for roll call. Most of my classmates come out over the next few minutes and one of the boys who sits next to me is practically vibrating with nervousness.
"Yes?" I look at him.
"I heard a rumor this morning that Lumaria Energy is making offers on pretty much every company with a battery division," he says. "Even ones which produce power cores rather than batteries. That they're offering to buy out the entire division which produces batteries or cores. And since your family makes power cores, too… I was wondering if it's true?"
Power cores are essentially a form of overpowered battery so the rumor makes sense. If divisions which handle the production of batteries are being bought up, then whoever is buying them would no doubt want to purchase divisions which produce power cores as wel.
"I haven't," I tell him. "I'm not saying it's not happening, but I'm sure I would've heard about it if it were. And it'd be weird for them to do that. When Adrian King wants a monopoly on something, he generally takes control of it before it goes public. That's why internet and phone companies outside of his are basically very niche and often don't last long. He took control of both before they were actual things and ensures his service and quality is the best. Can't be beat."
"Yeah."
For a few moments, the kid continues to seem nervous for some reason. I don't recognize him from last year, so he's probably a new student. It could be nerves about sitting next to the boy who has a reputation for using lightning magic, but it could also be from being around so many wealthy people.
"Name's Luke," I move my right hand towards him.
"Seph," he tentatively takes my hand and shakes it. "Um. What you said in the changing rooms, is it true? That you've got a boyfriend?"
"Yeah," I nod. "Name's Tyler. He and his dad hunt monsters all the time, so his dad homeschools him. You won't see him around here as a result. Right now, he and his dad are out in true wilderness, hunting a pretty powerful boar. They left yesterday for it as the trip to its location is apparently a long one. Got some pictures of us on my phone, can show you after class ends if you wanna see what he looks like."
"That's fine," he says. "Was just curious. Um. How long-"
"GATEWOOD!" The swim coach shouts from the other side of the pool.
"Sir!" I respond.
"No jewelry allowed!" He calls out. "You're wearing an anklet on each side!"
"They were enchanted by Xander King!" I tell him. "His 'standard set' of enchantments completely eliminates any concern you can have about them! Also, the one on my left ankle has a special effect. When it's turned on – that is, the pair of beads are moved to be to either side of the lone one – they look like normal metal beads instead of being red. In addition to that, it prevents my muscles from putting out more strength than that of the rough mana average of those I'm around. That means I'll be able to swim like everyone else without having to constantly mentally remind myself to weaken myself!"
Coach is silent for a few moments.
Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.
"You're full of it," he says.
"No, seriously!" I say. "Xander just showed up at my house over the weekend to gift it to me. Well, he said it was so my classmates wouldn't have to hear me complaining about not being able to participate-" that causes a lot of them to snicker. "-but it still resulted in me getting one. Kind of offensive, but still. I understand the spirit behind it, and I would like to be able to participate in games with others. Something I normally can't do since people look for any reason to claim I cheated when I'm holding back. The anklet makes it impossible for me to cheat that way, since it prevents me from putting out more strength than everyone else has. Oh, but it's based on if I had this muscle bulk and definition with the average mana capacity, not the average muscular strength of everyone else."
Coach sighs.
"Alright!" He addresses everyone. "I'm going to name call out your names. When I do, sit in that order along the edge of the pool. That's the order you're to sit in at the start of PE every day!"
Seems like I'll get to keep my anklets on. I just hope people realize it really is holding me back. The anklet is one hell of an invention.
[Xander – 12 years]
The setup information for World of Myst is so confusing. There are so many settings, so many options. And seed? What is a seed? Dad said I could stream after I do the packet and the packet is done, so I want to stream. But since most kids in North America are in school right now, I was thinking of streaming something that might get attention from Europe. They'll be out of school now.
I decided to play World of Myst because while I don't remember most of what Sig told me about the game during bowling on Tuesday, I remember him mentioning that you can do a lot of farming in it. The farming for the game isn't like real farming, it's just using a hoe to instantly turn soil into farmland, using a seed item on it, and then waiting for it to grow. Then I can eat the food, and that sounds like fun.
Raising animals doesn't even take much effort, it's just giving them food and then they breed. Sig assured me they don't actually have sex, which I'm glad for. That would be really gross. They apparently just look at each other and a baby appears, then it grows up after twenty minutes.
I really don't understand the game at all but want to give it a try, just in case it gives me ideas for my creations. The fact that I can farm and make blueberries and strawberries only makes it better.
But I need to actually start the game first.
"Sorry, chat," I say. "All… few of you who are here."
There's not even half as many viewers as normal, probably because of most of my viewers are in school right now. The ones who are here are probably ones from oversees who were watching me despite not knowing Zrebizalan. Or adults who watch my streams and don't have work or school for themselves. Or North American youth who don't start school at the same time as most.
"Um…" I say. "Maybe another streamer could help me? Lemme check the list…"
It takes me a few moments to figure out how to search for streamers playing World of Myst right now. The top streamer currently playing is… that looks like the same username for the girl who Sig likes playing Duty of Loyalty with. She plays World of Myst, too!
By her looks, I think she's about sixteen or seventeen. This is probably an after-school relaxation thing she does. She's just planting crops and talking with her chat. There are a lot of potatoes and carrots in her inventory, but one of the slots has what I think is a squash instead.
He said she's super friendly, so maybe she'll be willing to help me for a few minutes. I pull up her stream and try to send her a private message, but that's apparently blocked. Oh. But it looks like someone in her chat just asked her for advice on something with the game, so I guess it's okay. She's answering it, at least.
When I click into her chat, a rules popup appears. I read through it and confirm I'll abide by them, then wait for Lexi to finish answering the other chatter's message. One of her rules is actually to be nice to people asking for advice and help with the game as everyone is new at some point.
That instantly means she's a really nice person.
Once she finishes answering the other chatter's question, I type my message and send it. After swapping keyboards so I can actually type in English.
[XTK9]: Hello.
It's always good to greet people first.
A few moments after my chat pops up on her screen, Lexi freezes up. Her eyes widen and she looks off to the side, then she gasps and jumps to her feet, pulling her headphones off as she does.
"Oh my gosh!" She says. "Oh my gosh! Chat! Oh my gosh! Chat! Chat! Chat! Did you see that? Oh my gosh!"
She keeps saying that as she walks back a few steps, then returns to her computer. After doing this a few times she puts her hands up to her head, then shakes them a little in front of herself.
"Oh my gosh," she's still saying that. "Chat, Xander King messaged!"
She's freaking out over me messaging her in chat? Oh, crap! I messed up, didn't I?
Lexi sits back down and pulls her headphones back on.
"Xander, I'm sorry!" She says. "Are you still there? Oh, my gosh. I can't believe you popped in! Hi!"
[XTK9]: I'm still here. Did I do something wrong?
"No!" She smiles. "I was just surprised! Are you using a translator? I know your language has different letters from ours."
[XTK9]: I'm using a British keyboard. I've got a Kenzibri one too but I swapped it for talking here.
"So you know English, then?" She asks.
[XTK9]: Yeah.
"That's neat!" She says. "What's up? What's going on? How're you?"
Which one do I answer first? I'll just answer the second one since that's what I'm here for.
[XTK9]: I'm confused by the settings. I'm wanting to stream it and downloaded it, but got confused by all of the options for setting up a world. Is it okay to ask you what you recommend? It's okay if not.
"Sure! Sure!" She says. "Would a voice chat be easier for you?"
It would be, so we figure out a way to get that set up without either of us needing to share private information. The streaming site apparently doesn't have a feature for two streamers to call each other so we have to use something separate. Dad agrees to it, probably because I say it's someone Sig loves playing with. We also set it up so that our own chats can hear the other person in the call, which is neat.
It means that our viewers won't hear only one side of the call. That would be really annoying. This is a lot better than using the British keyboard, though. I struggle with a Kenzibri one, the British one has different keys due to their alphabet being different. It takes a frustrating amount of time to type out a single word, much less whole sentences.
"Hello, Xander!" Lexi says once the call is active. "You can close my stream if you want, since we're on a call now. I've pulled yours up so I can see what you're doing. What's confusing you?"
"Most of it," I answer, though I'm sure my accent is kind of thick. "Um… can you understand me fine? I know English, but that doesn't mean I don't speak it like a Kenzibri."
"I can understand you fine!" She says.
"Okay," I say. "I know it has little, um… the word is… um… the popups?"
"When you hover over stuff?" She asks.
"Yeah."
"Tooltips."
"Those," I say. "I know those are there, but they ain't too descriptive. Not for me, at least. I don't understand most of this. And what seed does it want? How do I get a seed into the game?"
"The game randomizes the world when a new one is made," she says. "But it's based off of something called a 'seed', which is a string of numbers. Think of it like the base for the world you play, just like how a seed grows into a tree. It looks like you're playing it in Zrebzialan, have you switched your keyboards back?"
"Um… not yet."
I switch the keyboards.
"You don't need to put in a seed," she tells me. "That's just if there's a particular world seed you want to use. The world will always load the same if the same seed is put in. If none is, it generates a random number to use as the seed. The seed determines the biomes – the terrain – where structures spawn, where certain mobs – monsters – spawn, and a few other things. Most people play with random seeds, as they like going in without knowing what's going to be there. They feel it makes it more fun to explore and discover what's around."
That does sound fun, as long as it's not dangerous.
"Okay."
"What kind of play style are you looking at?" She asks. "Let's start with game difficulty, that's the second setting button under the seed. There's Peaceful, where no hostile mobs spawn. In other words, no monsters can spawn at all unless they're spawned in with commands. Even if they are, they won't attack you. After that is Easy, where monsters spawn normally, but they're weaker and are less likely to have equipment, buffs, and allies who spawn with them. Some monsters also won't have their effects – most of the ones which can inflict burn, stun, and poison don't. After that is Moderate. Compared to Easy, monsters are a little stronger and have a little more health and mana. Those with effects can inflict them, with the chance being small for some. Same with the strength of the effect. There's also a chance for them to spawn in a group or with a buff.
"After Moderate comes Normal," she says. "This is the default option. Hostile mob strength, health, mana, buff chance, and group chance are all higher, as is the strength of the effects they inflict and their buffs. Then there's Hard, which increases all of those. After that is Dangerous, which increases them all further and adds the ability to inflict effects to a few more mobs. Then there's Hardcore, which is Dangerous but where you have only one life. If you die in Hardcore, the world file is deleted. Technically. You can spectate in it, but you can't play anymore. Then there's Calamitous, which is Hardcore but even more difficult, and every monster has a good chance to inflict a status effect upon successfully hitting you.
"In addition to all of that," she continues. "Your Hunger and Stamina meters drop faster the higher the difficulty setting. If you play on anything more difficult than Normal, they also drain passively over time, even when you're not doing anything."
"Okay," I say. "Um… I think Easy."
Peaceful sounds better than Easy, but I don't want to be accused of cheating by avoiding monsters altogether.
"Just click on that button until it says 'Easy'," she tells me. "Next, you should figure out…"
Lexi walks me through each and every setting and what it does. I turn commands on so that I can change the settings at any time – such as if I want to turn fire damage on. She assured me that it's okay to have a lot of things off or on which normally aren't. The game's designed to be played the way the player wants to play, which is why the settings are right in the world creation menu.
I'm not sure what to name the world, so I name it "World 1". The chance of me playing this long-term is pretty slim so it's okay to be uncreative with the title. I mostly just want to check out the game while streaming for the afternoon.
The world loads, and Lexi is quiet, probably to let me look around and see what's in view. My chat is freaking out for some reason.
It looks like I'm in some sort of village, and the villagers all look like shirtless men with butterfly-like wings. There are large mushrooms and ferns around, and floating blocks which glow. A few streams flow around me, and the grass has a faint blue hue to it. Smaller mushrooms grow everywhere, and a couple of them even glow. Some of the other smaller plants glow as well, and there are trees with glowing fruits.
That's not all, and I really like this place. It's a really nice village to start out in and if this is a starting village, then the ones I have to explore to find must be amazing.
"Xander?" Lexi breaks her silence.
"Yes, Lexi?"
"You have the most absurd luck I have ever seen."
That doesn't sound good.
"What do you mean?"
"That's a Fairy Village," she says. "NPCs normally look like just men or women, their outfits based on their spawn biome. They might have another feature if they're from another dimension… but butterfly wings are exclusive to the fairies rather than regular villagers and whatnot. They're from the Fairy Islands biome, which is the rarest biome in the game. With how rare they are, and how they tend to be smaller islands, it's extremely hard to find a natural Fairy Village, that is, a village which spawned in a Fairy Island biome."
"Um… I'm not sure I understand."
"There's been a hunt for over a decade," she says. "To find a seed with a spawn in a Fairy Village. So far, only two seeds that spawn in a Fairy Island have ever been found… and neither of them had a Fairy Village in their biome. You got a Fairy Village seed with a random seed."
So this is good? Or bad?
"Also," she adds. "Crops grow twice as fast, animals breed twice as quick, and animals grow twice as fast in a Fairy Island biome. That's doubled if it has a natural Fairy Village. Hostile mobs can't spawn within them, even in the oceans below and between them, and even in the ground below, unless there's a different biome there. And Fairy Villages are the only place to find the Fairy Wings item, which you can use to fly without needing anything else.
"Basically," she says. "You just got the most ridiculously amazing start. With pure luck. You've got a perfect place for a base. Not only that, but if you go down to the ocean and into the land beneath it, you can find ore and stuff without having to worry about hostile mobs showing up to bother you. Fairy magic just keeps them out."
This is so confusing.
"The first thing you'll want to do when starting a new world," she says. "Is get some tools and food. If you don't have a village or wreck or something like that nearby, you'll need to break trees to make wood tools to make stone, upgrading in tiers. But if you've got chests nearby, you can check to see if those have what you need. All of the houses and shops in a natural village will have things in them. Not necessarily tools, but you're pretty much guaranteed to get food."
"You want me to steal?"
"They aren't going to be using them," she snorts. "They can't access chests like we can. The supplies in the chests are there for players to acquire."
"I don't wanna steal!"
"It's not stealing," she says. "But if you want to avoid taking from the villagers' chests, you can pick up mushrooms off the ground. They restore a little bit of hunger. That's important – hunger drains a little bit as you jump and run, and even more if your stamina is empty. When your hunger is full, your stamina recovers. If you run out of both, you can't run anymore and will take damage if you do something which reduces either. Well, those are basics and a simple way of explaining, but it'll do for now."
"I don't like mushrooms."
"You don't taste them in real life."
"I don't wanna eat mushrooms!"
"Okay, okay," she chuckles. "Fairy Islands also have fruit scattered around. Berries of a few different types. Before you do that, you should check the village's Quest Board. Look for what looks like a well or a fountain, and there should be a bell and a bulletin board set up near it. That's the village square, most villages have those."
"Okay… um… how do I move?"
My face heats as I realize I started playing a game and don't even know how to move in it.
"Er… I'm not sure for a Zrebzialan keyboard," she says. "On a British one, it's just with the WASD keys. Can you look at your British one and see where those are on it, then look for matching key locations on yours? I'm returning to playing my game so I won't be watching you, but I'll still be helping you."
Back to farming for her!
This is a lot more help than I was expecting. I was just thinking she might tell me something like 'yeah, just turn on/off these settings' and 'this is what a seed is' and that would be it. The fact that she's willing to keep helping me after the settings page is really nice. Sig must really draw good people to him.
Is that what his divine blessing does? Make it easier for him to make friends with good people? Trenton will probably have an explanation for how it does that without affecting free will if I ask. I've probably asked before but forgot.
"We have more keys," I mutter as I compare the two.
It takes me a couple of attempts to figure out which keys work for it, and Lexi tells me how to position my hand so that I can.
"Um… Lexi?" I ask after walking through the village for a minute. "I found a fountain with a bulletin board, but I don't see a bell."
"Alright," she says. "That's okay, they don't always have one. If they don't, that means there's a church that spawned with the village, and the bell is in its belfry. That's the tower with a bell in churches."
"Oh," I say. "I'm at the village square."
"Alright," she says. "The bulletin board can be found in nearly every village square for a natural village, as it's got override for pretty much everything. It has 'quests' listed on it. It'll start off with three, and will generate a new one at midnight in the in-game day. The default cycle is twenty-four minutes for one day, or one minute per 'hour'. It'll keep generating them until there are ten on the board, then no more until ones are taken and completed.
"If you complete ten quests from a village," she continues. "That village's quest generation speed decreases by four minutes – that is, it goes from twenty-four minutes to twenty minutes. After twenty-five quests, it drops down to sixteen minutes. Fifty brings it down to twelve, and one hundred brings it down to eight, the quickest when using just that.
"Quests aren't a required thing," she tells me. "They're just there to encourage players to do different things, and they grant useful rewards, especially for newer players. When a village speeds up quest generation, it also increases the difficulty of them but also increases the rewards. This is because the assumption is that the quests are getting easy for you and the rewards are less useful. Why don't you see what quests there are? They might help you with resources, if you don't want to loot the chests."
"I don't wanna steal!"
I right-click to access the bulletin board, after Lexi tells me that's how to do it. A window pops up.
Tobriotos Quests
3/10 Next Quest: ~13min
Harvest 128 wood logs and place them in a village chest at the smith's.
Reward: 16 iron ingots
Harvest 128 wood logs and place them in a village chest at the bower's.
Reward: 1 enchanted bow; 2 quivers of magic arrows.
Harvest 128 mushrooms and place them in a village chest at the butcher's.
Reward: 32 raw steaks.
"Those aren't bad," Lexi says after I tell her what the current quests are. "Since they're generic 'wood' and 'mushroom' ones, that means you can use any wood or mushrooms, and it doesn't have to be the same type. And as I said, those quests are meant to help out players who don't want to do certain things. If you don't want to go mining right now, you can do the wood quest. Break a tree by attacking it – use left-click – and once you get its logs, you can make an ax to make chopping faster.
"The iron ingots," she continues. "Will let you make iron tools. Or steel, once you get something which can act as carbon. That's even better. You're on a fairy island, so getting iron will actually be difficult until you leave – and returning isn't too easy. I'd recommend that one first, then the mushrooms one. If you plan on leaving the island, I would highly recommend getting the enchanted bow. It'll be useful with taking out monsters from afar and the enchantments will likely be better than what you can get for awhile."
"Okay."
"Also," she adds. "A villager chest is a special chest type which villagers can interact with. They can pull things out of them and put things in. Players can put things in and take things out of them as well. The quest will not complete until the related villager collects the items from the chest, then places the reward in the chest. The reward can only be taken out by a player, and will be in a package form. If you want to accept a quest, click on it and then accept it. There's no penalty for not accepting them, but you can only have up to three at a time at the start."
"Okay," I accept all three.
"Finally," she says. "If you want to leave the fairy islands… I'd recommend getting the fairy wings item first. It's something you can equip which lets you fly, as I mentioned earlier. You'll want them to return."
"Okay."
"I'll let you get to what you're doing," she says. "But I'll stay in the call. Make sure to mute yourself so I'm not hearing you when you don't want me to, okay?"
"Okay," I say. "And Lexi?"
"Yes?"
"Thanks for being so helpful," I tell her. "I was just expecting help with the settings at the most. If even that. This is way more than that."
"You're welcome!" She says. "I don't mind helping people out, and any friend of that maniac's is a friend of mine!"
to use and develop them further, though that's not all. Adrian King recognizes that some kids just aren't suited for school but have skills which they can use in work. It has to be something they're interested in, it has to require some degree of practical skill (mostly, and more nuanced than that), and it has to be something they can use even as an adult. Shelf-stockers, busboys, waiters, cashiers, burger-flippers, etc. aren't able to get the exemption.
fully mandatory, but it's highly recommended (Trey is requiring Xander to do them).
getting the exemption looks good on job applications in the same field they were working in later in life, if they ever do a shift to another company/business in the same field. Think of it as a "this young man/woman has actual skill".