Farmer Mage

Chapter 3: The Selection

“Trainee Cal,” the Overseer greeted, “are you volunteering to go first?”

“Of course! It looks like everyone else is too scared to move. I should lead by example,” Cal made himself sound as pompous as possible. Changing character in front of Oleg was one thing, but doing so when all the Trainees were watching—most of whom disliked him—was unwise.

The Overseer smirked and stepped aside to give him a straight path to the blood-red pillar. “Place your hand on the activation pillar and push as much mana as you can into it.”

Cal nodded with a determined look and glanced at Oleg.

I know how to manipulate the result. I worked hard to get the [Mage] class last time, and now I’ll work hard to get one of the ‘inferior’ classes. Oleg looks up to me. It will make him more nervous when he sees me ‘fail.’

He stepped forward, nodding to the Overseer as he passed, and placed his palm on the rough, uneven pillar. It pulsed red when he pushed his mana out.

Cal ensured his outward expression was tense, showing he was putting in all the effort possible but was truly doing the opposite.

The [Class] system was a strange concept to most people, and even though it had existed for centuries, it still wasn’t well understood. This activation pillar would link his internal mana with the laws of the world, assigning him to a [Class] and activating a personal interface.

It would decide the rest of an individual’s life—mostly. Some exceptions allowed reassignment, and he intended to use that to his advantage today.

Cal abruptly held back his mana, stopping it from flowing into the activation pillar—something that would have been impossible for a Trainee to do purposely. Only the experience carried over from his memory of his first life allowed him to do so.

This should look like I lost my concentration. The guild won’t accept the [Class] I get unless I make it look like an accident.

He noticed the alarmed look on the Overseer in the corner of his eye when the activation pillar started to pulse rapidly, indicating that it was about to assign a [Class]. It was far too early for [Mage] to be assigned, which is what the Celestial Order badly wanted him to be.

In truth, Cal had little idea of what other types of [Class] existed. There were rumors of ones higher than [Mage], but as far as he knew, the Celestial Order had none that were part of the guild. As for ones lower than [Mage], he knew of [Caster] and [Alchemist] since those were the most common in the guild, but he had little knowledge of anything lower.

He knew for a fact that they existed on the edges of guild territory since he had heard the higher-ups occasionally deride the ‘others’ as glorified servants.

I remember laughing at those who had access to mana but were still destined to be servants to their betters. I was too arrogant to even learn their [Class], thinking I would never stain my eyes with their presence. The irony of trying to be one of them now doesn’t escape me.

Cal blinked when the pillar flashed red brightly before becoming inert. A familiar interface appeared before him, with letters and numbers in blood red.

Name: Cal Maddox

Class: Farmer (Special)

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Tier: Initiate 1

Skills:

None

Traits:

[Second Chance] - The laws of the world have recognized that you have lived this life before. It does not know how you accomplished this, but you will be rewarded for surprising it. For the next week, you will experience a boost towards tier upgrades.

Rewards:

[Tier Boost] - All actions that contribute to increasing your tier level will automatically be counted as double the normal increase. (7 days remaining)

Cal had to admit he had never heard of [Farmer], nor did he think that could be a [Class]. He also had no idea why [Farmer] had the word 'special' next to it, but with the additions to the interface, he had a guess. In his first life, he had never seen [Traits] or [Rewards]. This could be a feature of a 'special' [Class].

“Farmer? Damn it!” The Overseer cursed quietly beside him.

Cal became aware of the barely-held-in snickering from the crowd of Trainees behind him. He turned to see Oleg staring in shock, but the Trainees in line behind him couldn’t hide their joy at his ‘downfall.’

He knew he wasn’t well-liked, but not to this level. However, he didn’t pay it any mind. His goal wasn’t to try and look impressive, just to get himself out of harm’s way.

Cal glanced at the activation pillar to see [Farmer] displayed in large letters at the top. He was thankful it didn’t also show the word ‘special.’ That might have made the guild keep him close despite the [Farmer] class.

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“What happened?” The Overseer moved closer and hissed in his ear. “Did you use all the mana you had?”

He sounds ready to kill me.

“N-No,” Cal shook his head, making himself look nervous. “I wasn’t able to before the connection broke off.”

The Overseer was calmed by the answer, but only a little. He still looked furious. “Then you’re eligible to retry next month. Stand to the side and get out of my sight.”

Cal hurried to the directed spot and met Oleg’s eyes. His friend had gotten over his shock, only to look terrified at the thought of stepping forward.

“Initiate Cal has been inducted to the agricultural division as a farmer! A fine addition to the Celestial Order! Trainee Oleg, step forward.”

The Overseer deserves praise for saying that with a smile. And I need to find out what the agricultural division is. In my first life, I was taken from the Selection immediately after I was assigned as a [Mage], so I missed the other [Class] options that existed. I won’t stay ignorant this time.

Cal smiled weakly when Oleg looked to him for reassurance. It caused his friend to walk toward the activation pillar with shuddering breath.

Good. The more nervous he is, the better. I’ll make it up to you later, Oleg.

He still couldn’t help but feel bad when the activation pillar didn’t react at all after Oleg placed his palm on it.

“Unfortunate,” The Overseer didn’t wait long to call it. “Oleg is no longer a Trainee. Vacate the spot for the next Trainee and exit the guild premises before the end of the day.”

Cal winced at the unforgiving, dismissive tone. He tried to catch Oleg’s eyes, but his friend couldn’t bear to look at anyone as he quickly left the training ground.

I need to find him before he leaves.If I wasn’t required to stay, I would leave this farce of a ceremony right now.

He waited impatiently for the Selection to finish. Still, one positive was that he learned the different types of [Class] that could be assigned. Of the ones that would be genuinely welcomed into the Celestial Order, [Mage] was nonexistent—as expected—[Caster] was the majority, and a few Trainees were assigned to [Alchemist].

Those Cal was already aware of. It was the others that were new to him.

[Builder], [Carpenter], [Gardener], and other mundane-sounding [Class] were assigned. And the most common among these were [Farmer].

I was assigned to the most common of the menial types of [Class]. No wonder the Overseer was furious. Looks like I cut off the flow of mana too early. However, it might work to my advantage when I continue to underwhelm the guild’s expectations.

Cal glanced at the increasingly crowded space around him with confusion.

I thought the Celestial Guild had around a ninety percent attrition rate? Well over fifty percent of the Trainees have been assigned a [Class]… I’m missing something.

He ignored how the lucky—or unlucky—few assigned a [Class] who would become ‘true’ members of the Celestial Guild sneered at him with superiority. They were naive fools about to be thrown into the blender. Instead, he was interested in the person about to step up to the activation pillar.

Tavia worried her bottom lip as she did her best to hide her nervousness, but Cal’s sharp eyes caught some obvious signs. Her well-manicured fingers twitched toward her body, stopping at the last moment to avoid fiddling with her robes. Her breathing was too stable, as if she were consciously controlling it.

She must have failed the Selection or gotten one of the menial [Class]. That’s the only reason I can think for never seeing her again in the guild in my first life.

Tavia gently placed her palm on the activation pillar, which started to pulse as Cal expected. However, it went on for far too long.

Impossible… this is a sign of being assigned [Mage].

A glance at the Overseen practically confirmed Cal’s guess. The man couldn’t keep the smile off his face as the pulsing stopped.

[Mage]—Cal stared at the lettering in numb surprise. This might have resulted from him changing what was supposed to happen. Maybe a [Mage]needed to be assigned, and since Cal took himself out of the running, Tavia was chosen as a replacement.

I shouldn’t assume that. Maybe this still happened in my first life, but something else caused Tavia to disappear. It could be possible that she went out of her way to avoid me… yeah, that’s more likely.

“Initiate Tavia has been inducted to the elite division as a mage! A true pillar that will support the Celestial Order’s future! To the several trainees left, this should be your aspiration! The next Trainee, step forward!”

The Initiates assigned to [Caster] and [Alchemist] finally stopped looking at him with mocking sneers. They were now busy staring at Tavia in envy.

No wonder I don’t remember any of them. My talent was the only reason my attitude was tolerated in my first life. I might have been nothing in a more powerful guild, but I was more than enough for a third-rate guild like the Celestial Order. They will be crushed immediately if they’re this expressive with emotions.

Cal watched a few Trainees completely fail to get a [Class] and walked off the training ground dejected. Only three were left before he could try to find Oleg.

“What happened?”

The question was whispered, so much so that Cal didn’t respond initially, thinking it must have been directed at someone else.

“Cal,” a soft voice hissed. “What happened during the Selection?”

Cal looked to his side in surprise and stared dumbly at Tavia.

Her closeness put her pale, almost porcelain-like skin in focus as the sun highlighted the soft, ever-present blush that tinged her cheeks. Her most unique trait—eyes a striking shade of violet—were narrowed at him.

When did she get here? And what’s she doing talking to me? I only need a single hand to count the number of times she initiated a conversation. Maybe she’s using this to twist the knife when I’m supposedly hurt. It would be understandable but disappointing if Tavia was capable of that cruelty.

“I’m not sure what you mean,” Cal smiled dimly. “You saw what happened.”

“You might be a pain in my side, but there’s no way that result is real,” Tavia insisted.

He raised his eyebrow. “I would have thought you would be the first to be happy about this. Congratulations, by the way. You deserve your assignment.”

Tavia stared at him in suspicion before shaking her head in wonder. “You really mean that.”

“I do,” Cal nodded. “I’ve seen how hard you work.”

“No, I mean you’re not resentful at all,” Tavia said, pushing away his reasoning. "You almost sound happy.”

That’s not good. I should be the opposite of that.

“You won’t be the only mage for long,” Cal smirked confidently. "I’ll redo the Selection in a month and join you. Don’t be too comfortable, Tavia.” That was a lie.

She rolled her eyes, but her smile wasn’t hidden. “Good, I was worried I wouldn’t have you around to annoy me.”

I must be hallucinating. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Tavia smile. Maybe this is her when she isn’t stressed. And she doesn’t sound like she intended to avoid me even if I had continued being an ass. So what happened to her in my first life?

“Do you really think you have the right to talk to someone like Tavia? Your situation has changed. Learn your new place, Cal.”

He met Tavia’s eyes before facing the man who interrupted them.