15 About Classes and Bounties
Three hours later, the air above the village lit up with an announcement; {Feat Accomplished! Cody Rivers: 250m Tree Climb}. Cody himself found a little holographic notice popping up. {You have been awarded 100 credits for accomplishing the Feat: 250m Tree Climb}.
"One hundred credits!" Cody breathed. "Finally!"
Climbing up this tree seemed simple enough at first; there were plenty of branches and they weren't far apart, but 250 meters was a LOT more than Cody imagined at first. It had taken him a lot more time and effort than he'd ever expected, and he'd seriously considered calling it quits more than once during his arduous climb.
But at last, he made it, and 100 credits was more than twice what he'd earn from guarding the food store for three hours. For the amount of exertion it required though, Cody felt it was barely worth it.
"What are my total earnings now?" Cody asked.
"161 accumulated." Orb answered.
"Great. I'm more than halfway to 300." Cody grunted. Then, he looked about. "Hey, Orb?"
"Hmm?" The orb hovered in the air next to him.
"How do I get down from the tree?" Cody asked. "I'm still here, and the Feat's ended already."
"You'll have to climb down." The Orb told him.
That took quite a bit more time and a whole lot more caution.
***
By the time Cody got back to the ground, he'd had it. "I'm so tired…"
Forget it. There was no way he was going to stand around a food store chasing rats for an hour in this condition. Nuh-uh.
"Orb? How do I plant bean sprouts?"
"Please refer to the online database." Orb requested.
Right. Orb wouldn't give him all the answers for missions. The point was that he discover them for himself.
So he did a little research. "Huh. In other words, I just need green beans and some container for water and maybe cotton. Where can I get those?"
"The nearest vendor selling those items appear to be Specs' stall."
Specs! Right. Of course she'd have it ready.
***
It wasn't just bean sprouts sets she sold. "Are those… berry bushes?"
"Yep. They're already grown and ready to bear fruit. Just use some flowering fertilizer and give it a couple of weeks or so."
"Where did you get these?!"
"I have a friend who has a garden full of them. She gets 50% of the sales price."
Cody, out of sheer curiosity, did a little research on berries on the database. Blueberries took three to four years before they were ready for harvest. Blackberries took two years. Strawberries could be ready in one year. In all of these cases, they sure took a lot of time.
"So, how about it? Fifty credits, and you can take a strawberry bush home to your Personal Space right now. I'll even throw in a Bean Sprout set as a free gift."
Cody shook his head. "I'll just take the Bean Sprout set."
She was selling those at 5 credits.
"Okay, forty credits! Forty credits for your own strawberry bush! Plus the pot!"
"No, thanks, just the bean sprout set, please."
"Thirty! I'll even carry it in to your Personal Space for you!"
"Sorry, Specs. Not today." Cody said. "I need my credits for classes."
***
Speaking of classes, Cody checked them out after 'planting' his bean sprouts.
There was a long list of available classes. A lot of them had prerequisites that he didn't meet, qualifications that he'd never heard of, or having completed other courses and such. Cody filtered them, asking for the beginner level stuff. This left a list of about ten different courses…
"Five thousand credits?!" Cody gaped. "No way I can afford that! Filter out everything that costs more than 50 credits!"
This left just four options.
1. Mina Sword Style Basics – no prerequisites. Recommended: As long as you can walk and can use both hands and arms, you should be fine. Teacher: Herman of Minar, Third Sphere TA. Fees: 40 Credits.
2. Domestic Ground Driver's License – age 16 minimum. Recommended: NOT recommended because you really want a flight license, not a ground hog permit! Teacher: Gra'Sou of Kal'Noth, Third Sphere TA. Fees: 40 Credits.
3. Life Force Activation – prerequisite: innate Life Force (Psuche). Recommended: If you're a human born in this age, you probably have Life Force unlocked in your genes already. This is just a beginner's course on how to use Psuche actively rather than leave it sitting there passively. Teacher: Cyrita of Ancayx, Third Sphere TA. Fees: 50 Credits.
4. Rudimentary Telepathy – prerequisite: At least 0.1 Psionic Strength. Recommended: Anyone who wants to be able to use Psionic Interface devices. So long as you can talk, you should have the brain power to meet the requirements. Teacher: Cheryl of Flora, Third Sphere TA. Fees: 50 Credits (10 credits discount, one week only! Usual price: 60 credits).
"Whoa." Cody eyed the list. "That's it? Everything else is much, much more expensive…"
He fumed for a bit. Then… "How can I earn credits in a hurry?"
Orb answered. "Accomplish feats, complete missions, hunt bounties, inherit legacies…"
"Wait. What?" Cody stared. "What are bounties?"
"Rewards offered for retrieving various items or hunting specific creatures."
"What bounties can I get here?" Cody asked.
"Within Initial Village itself, there are 5 bounties that can be found."
A holographic panel opened up in front of Cody.
1. Remove Zapper Caterpillars (10 cr each)
2. Retrieve Elder T's lost ring (50 cr)
3. Catch the Trash Can Bandit (100 cr)
4. Help Trap the Mole Serpent (100 cr)
5. Find and Eliminate Cause of Weed Mutations (250 cr)
"Wow. That last bounty... I could take several classes with that one alone." Cody said. "Why would anyone do missions if we can do bounties?"
"Warning: First Sphere students are not recommended to attempt bounties at Initial Village alone."
"So… I have to team up with other people to do them? They're like… team missions, then?" Cody guessed. That would explain the higher rewards; they'd have to split the earnings.
"86.4% of Initial Village Bounties on record were accomplished by teams." Orb agreed. "11% were done by a single person. 2.6% conscripted the entire student body."
"Conscripted?"
"They were forced to participate."
"Why was everyone forced to participate?"
"The danger had grown too great."
Cody gulped. "So you're saying… that if these bounties aren't done… sooner or later…"
"A nail in time saves nine. A tile in time saves a hundred." Orb answered quietly.
Cody didn't understand at first, so he went online and searched out the phrases. Then he understood.
In other words… if left unfixed, these situations would get worse and worse and become harder and more expensive to fix later.
This also meant that among the five bounties that Orb listed, at least one of them, if left alone for too long, would become so bad that everyone would be forced to help deal with it together.
"Orb… are you telling me that this village isn't safe?!" Cody had a hunch already, but he still hadn't found anything concrete until now.
"Current security level for Initial Village is measured at 73. Threat level is estimated at 14. At this ratio, safety for Initial Village is graded at Very Safe."
"But there's danger growing, right? That's what you said about the bounties. How long until it gets dangerous?"
"Threat levels are rising at a rate of 2-5 per day. Security Levels have dropped by 10 over the past three days. When threat levels exceed security levels, Initial Village will be classified as 'in danger'."
Cody took the time to calculate. In other words, eight to twelve days.
"What happens then?" Cody asked.
"All available personnel will be conscripted to save the village."
"And if we fail?"
"The village is destroyed permanently."
