The priest stared blankly at Maddie for a few seconds, before realizing that we were from another world and that actually wasn't a stupid question, "One gold is a hundred silver, one silver is a hundred copper. The poor can live off of ten or so copper a day for food, most spend closer to fifty copper. A night at the inn is one silver, good quality clothes are around five silver pieces per item, swords and quality adventurer equipment cost between one to five gold per item, depending on craftsmanship, uhm… does that give you an idea?"
"So if, let's say, five copper pieces is equivalent to a dollar? Then a gold would be…" I did some quick mental math, "A two-thousand-dollar payday? Not bad for five days' work."
"Not bad, indeed," Ash agreed.
"Go for it," I sighed. "We'll figure something else out for ourselves. If nothing else, it'll be good experience for you, learning how normal monster hunters do their work."
"Indeed," Lysander agreed.
Emi reluctantly nodded as well. Chloe didn't share an opinion.
"So what are we supposed to do in the mean time? Sit around looking pretty?" Maddie grumbled.
"Typically, women work inside the walls, watching children, performing labour, or Skilled work. If you're interested in earning your keep, what you do would depend on what you're proficient at. I know a few people who might be looking for some temporary extra help."
"So while Ash is out there being a valiant hero, we'll all be milking goats and sweeping floors?" Maddie grumbled.
"I've got some medical knowledge," Emi pointed out. "Though I guess magical healing makes a lot of that redundant…"
"Oh, you want to complain about redundant skills?" Maddie snarked, "I'm a Computer Science major. I'm fluent in Java, C, C++, linux shell script and a half dozen other languages… Yet somehow, I don't think those skills will be useful in a world without computers."
"You might be able to implement some sort of conditional logic with enchanting," Lysander suggested.
"Basic logic is one thing, but what about memory? Object oriented abstraction? Somehow, I don't think I'll be writing proper C++ code again in this lifetime," Maddie grumbled.
"I've got a mage class, anything I can do with my magic? I wouldn't mind raising my skills," I asked.
"What magic do you have again?" the priest asked.
"Fire and Holy," I replied. "Though I'm also planning on buying Air with my skill points, and perhaps a bit of…" I suddenly realized what I was saying halfway through my sentence, "Erm… maybe slightly less than holy magic…? For monsters, of course. It seems to be highly effective on tough enemies."
The priest smirked, "Unholy magic isn't a crime. It's got a sinister reputation, seen with suspicion by some, but from a purely theological perspective, it's no worse than any other school of magic. The System was given to us by the gods, Unholy magic is one of their gifts as well. We would not scorn those who use it against humanity's enemies."
"Err… right, that's good," I replied.
"As to tasks you could perform…" the priest continued, "With Holy magic you could aid Adam on his rounds through town, cleansing filth and disease, and perhaps healing the wounded if you've access to an appropriate spell. I'd pay you five silver for that."
"As for using your combat magic? There isn't really anything useful for you to do in town. Pest control perhaps? I'd heard of a nearby town that once had an issue with Tainted vermin. They would hide and multiply, contaminating the crops with Taint. The village used a woman as bait, to luring the creatures out of hiding, and then killed them when they showed themselves. I don't know if we have any such creatures hiding in our fields, but I could ask around."
"That could be my backup plan, I guess. I could stand to buff up my holy magic a bit more, maybe I'll be a healer for the day. I could bring my healbitch along too, she doesn't have a Purify spell, but she's got a much better healing spell than me."
"I'd give you another two silver and fifty copper, for your slave's work," the priest said, with a nod.
"Actually, you might be able to purify if you've got a skill point, can you take Holy magic, Chloe?" I asked.
My slave shook her head no, and Father Jordan explained. "Only humans are given the gift of Holy magic. Wood Elves like Chloe have their wild nature magic, other demihumans have different skills and abilities as well, even different class options sometimes."
"I see."
"So what do I do? Vermin hunting?" Emi grumbled.
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"You could take a healing ability too, if you have a free skill point," I suggested.
"No way! I'm going pure Warlock, all the way baby!" Emi replied.
"I believe I would be most useful applying my skill for research to the aid of my fellow transmigrators. I would like to browse a library if at all possible, to find some reference books on the precise mechanics of the System, stats, Skills, and class upgrades. Failing that, I intend to simply practice my magic to grow my skill levels and make myself as formidable an opponent as possible. You could join me in my research and practice, Emi."
"Rothvale is too small for a public library, but our chapel does have some books of lore you could browse, assuming you know how to read, that is."
"I can read in twelve different languages," Lysander replied, her voice ice cold.
Yeah… I was pretty sure Lysander was going to murder this priest if he kept talking down to her like she was dumb. Maybe females weren't all that educated in this world, but the priest should know we were an exception by now. The priest read the slave contract out loud to us last night, but it was written in plain English, just like normal writing on earth.
With that, we settled on our plans for the day.
Ash would go with Father Jordan, pick up his sword, and sign up for the hunting trip, returning five days from now richer in levels and gold. Chloe and I would go with Adam the pretty-boy acolyte to heal the sick and injured townspeople. Adam had high skill levels, but was only a level 1 [Mage], with the [Holy Magic I] skill. With his low level and average stats, he had an adorably small pool of mana. With our higher levels and better mana reserves, Chloe and I would be a pretty big help. If we finished healing all the townsfolk, we could even start fixing up livestock.
Emi and Lysander would visit the rectory's private library, to gather information about our new world. Maddie was left as the odd one out. Father Jordan told her to come along and meet the owner of the local tavern. They'd probably love to hire such a pretty barmaid.
Before we left, I took a look at my unpicked skills and unassigned attribute points from yesterday. The attributes were easy, I dumped them all in Willpower. It would give me more mana, and help me resist having my spellcasting disrupted by pain or… other strong sensations.
Skills were more complicated. I immediately bought [Air Magic I], and [Unholy Magic I]. I tried, and couldn't find the [Advanced Mana Manipulation] Skill Lysander told me about yesterday. I asked, and she explained that I also needed to have regular [Mana Manipulation] at level ten before I could unlock it. Wait, did that mean Lysander had already maxed that skill out? Damn, she was scary.
I could unlock more magic schools, but I decided to hold off up spending my last skill points. Maybe once I maxed out a few of my current skills, some new and better options would appear.
I took a final look at my Status.
Name: Tyler Erikson
Age: 21, Sex: Female
Species: Human
Class: Mage 8
HP: 70 / 70
STA: 90 /90
MP: 138 / 144
Str: 6
Dex: 11
End: 9
Per: 13
Int: 21
Will: 17
Mag: 20
Perks: Greater Blessing of Vyreth
Skills:
Mana Manipulation 5
Fire Magic (I) 2
Air Magic (I) 1
Holy Magic (I) 4
Unholy Magic (I) 1
Meditation 2
You have (3) Skill Points.
Spells:
Firebolt
Gust
Purify
Lesser Healing Hands
Lesser Curse: Doom
Soon, we were ready to go. Ethan led Lysander and Emi to the library, Maddie and Ash left with the priest, and Chloe and I went to follow Adam on his rounds.