Terah woke up laying on his back in a dirt field. Hovering just above his eyesight was some bright text like one would see in a game.
[Level your skills through use! Every 10 levels, accomplish a legendary feat such as: defeating a powerful foe, or overcoming a difficult task beyond your limit.]
[Earthbending lvl 1: 0/10 exp]
Blinking in confusion, Terah saw the reflection of brown hair and brown eyes on the screen, and was perplexed at the situation he found himself in. He had been sleeping a moment ago, but now it seemed he was in some faraway land with a system?
Sitting up and taking in his surroundings, Terah noticed that it was midday, there were a few distant clouds, and the weather was temperate. His immediate surroundings found himself on a farm of some kind surrounded by leafy greens that barely rose a foot above the ground.
Off in the horizon, he saw a verdant land filled with green hills, a gentle river, small mountains, villages and many other farms like the one he found himself on.
These geological features all made up a large valley, at the bottom of which was a good sized, walled city.
Terah couldn't make out too many details from here, but by squinting his eyes, he could tell that the structures were Asian in origin, probably Chinese?
Placing a hand over his forehead to shade his eyes, he saw a lot of green flags flapping above the city, and he started to get a bad feeling as he put two and two together.
'Earthbending, and an obsession with the color green? I must've found myself in the land of Avatar the Last Airbender!' Terah mentally exclaimed to himself.
Taking a deep breath to calm himself, Terah harshly exhaled through his nose, and irately tossed some loose gravel. This emotion fueled action seemed to activate something, as a small furrow was created in the dirt.
The amount of earth dug up was the equivalent of digging with a hoe for 5 minutes.
[+1 exp]
Noticing the flash of exp, and marveling at the casual use of Earthbending, Terah momentarily forgot any anger or sorrow at his transmigration, and basked in a moment of childish glee.
He had superpowers.
Grinning like a kid that discovered his mom's credit card, Terah focused on that feeling, and tried to lift a boulder out of the ground like he had seen in the show a million times.
However, for all his effort, all that happened was that a loose clump of dirt about the size of his fist hovered a foot above the ground. Terah held this up for about 3 seconds, and then he began to feel a little lethargic. Losing control over the feeling of bending, the clump of dirt transformed into a heap of dust, and merged back into the soil.
[+2 exp]
Terah was feeling a little disappointed that he couldn't do anything more impressive than what he had just done, but considering he just attained super powers, it was impressive enough.
Feeling thirsty, Terah was going to get up and go search for water, when he heard the clip clop of an animal.
Leaving a cottage that oversaw this farm was a fancy looking carriage with a golden winged pig symbol embossed on the side. As soon as Terah realized that this was a carriage belonging to the Beifong family, he noticed that it was being drawn by a galloping lion-horse!
The creature startled Terah, as it had a horse's body/hooves, and a lion's tail/fur/head. It was frickin massive, and incredibly intimidating!
Four guards riding ostrich-horses surrounded the cabin, and as it passed by, Terah saw that they all had faint-almost invisible-levels floating above their heads. On average, they were somewhere between [15-25] with one officer looking guy at [31].
Terah then got a good look at who was inside, and saw that she had a [???] above her head.
Eyes going wide, Terah felt his heart pulse as he beheld the beautiful woman within the carriage.
Possessing mature curves, smooth skin, sexy black lipstick, and a huge bust, this young lady somewhere between 18-22 was Toph Beifong!
Terah couldn't believe how hot Toph was as an adult!
Gripping his heart, Terah felt that perhaps being in the land of Avatar wasn't so bad. Afterall, if she was an adult, then the war with the Fire Nation should have ended years ago. And considering that canonically, no one really knows who Toph's husband is~~~~
Terah began to rub his hands together like some two-bit villain as he realized the opportunity before him. If he was transmigrated into this feudal society, he might as well aim for one of the hottest, coolest women, right?
Besides, Toph's no-nonsense tomboy, sporty attitude was right up his alley.
As Terah was trying to plan out a future for himself, and reduce the sting of losing his friends/family from Earth, the dust from the carriage caught up to him, and coated him from head to toe.
"Bleh." Terah spat.
Looking down at his gross, dust covered form, he tried to remove it with Earthbending, but found it was a little troublesome.
After about 10 minutes of finagling about, he figured he was being too sturdy with his movements-like those typical Earthbenders who only knew how to throw a big rock-and he decided to take a page out of Uncle Iroh's book, and tried something softer. Mimicking a movement that Katara might make whilst waterbending, Terah bastardized Katara's martial art, and finally felt a connection with the dust coating his form.
"SUCCESS!" Terah shouted in jubilation, and held his hands up to the sky as all the dust poofed off of him.
[+10 exp]
Even the system seemed to think his act was a worthy feat, and had rewarded him with the most exp to date.
[Earthbending lvl 1->2: 3/25 exp]
[Farming lvl 1: 1/10]
As soon as the notification of a level up hit, Terah felt his stamina refresh, and felt as if he had a ever so slight increase in his control.
Clenching his fist, Terah was actually really excited with this dust removal technique. If he could blast dust off his own body, who was to say he couldn't come to manipulate it? As a low level bender, he didn't have much in the way of attack, but an eye full of dust was not something people enjoyed. Furthermore, dust could go into throats, ears, noses, it had tons of other applications.
Since he was an Earthbender, he couldn't limit himself to being a 'big rock thrower.' Besides, he had to be creative if he wanted to impress a girl like Toph.
Depending on if she still moonlighted as the Blind Bandit, the best way to get her attention would be to climb the arena ranks, and take her out in a 1v1.
As he was fantasizing, Terah double checked his exp, and noticed something new.
'Farming? When did I?-'
"Very impressive, young man, but how do you intend to pay for the potatoes?" An old wizened voice called from the side, interrupting his inner monologue.
Flinching in place, Terah was embarrassed that he had been caught shouting like a kid, and turned around towards the source of this voice.
Forced to look up, Terah beheld a muscular old man with [???] floating above his head. Possessing wild long white hair, fierce eyebrows, a long white goatee, and covered in wrinkles, this incredibly tan guy had clearly gotten a lot of sun in his life, and almost resembled a prune.
"Potatoes?" Terah questioned.
"Potatoes. In your excitement of discovery, you took your fun out on my crops." The old man gestured towards the ground.
Glancing all about, Terah realized in his excitement to practice Earthbending, he had ruined a quarter mile stretch of land.
"That's the look. Now, seeing as you're dressed like a down and out vagabond, I'll take your repayment in labor." The old man casually remarked.
'Vagabond?'
Looking down, Terah realized he was wearing his night clothes. All he had to his name was a pair of black underwear, and a faded comfortable shirt with the triforce logo on it.
'Damn, I really do look sus out here in this farm miles away from the main village. Should I just run? This old man speaks peaceably, but given his stature, maybe he's a retired Old Monster?' Terah thought to himself as he stroked his chin.
"Ah, I know that look. Go ahead, run. However, the army will welcome a fresh conscript. The Great War has intensified as of late-not that a vagabond like you would know-ah, feel free to treat this as the ramblings of an old man." The prune skinned bald guy nodded, then looked out to the road, awaiting Terah's response.
As for Terah, this guy's words were like a stomach punch.
'Great War? What is this shit?!'
"Pardon me old man, but shouldn't the Avatar have ended the war years ago?" Terah questioned.
"The Avatar hasn't been seen in more than a hundred years. You really don't know anything, do you, Vagabond?" The old man softly chuckled, yet still looked off into the horizon without turning to him.
Thinking about it, it was only a few potatoes, right? How difficult could it be to pay off? Better than being conscripted for some war he had no stake in. It was one thing if his homeland on Earth was under attack, but he had no relation to the loose coalition known as the 'Earth Kingdom.' Better to just stay low, grind his stats, and emerge like a phoenix.
Going out into the wider world right now was a death sentence. Besides, this old man was mysterious, even if he wasn't a legend, at least out here in the boonies, Terah didn't have to worry about getting shanked in the city.
"...My name is Terah . I'm willing to work off my debt. It's only potatoes, how much could it be?" Terah eventually bit out.
"The dragon-potatoes that you ruined are sold in the capitol, and to the aristocracy. I'd say you ruined about….120, and the going rate is one gold piece per potato." The old man stroked his goatee, and nodded.
Tekai felt his mouth go dry at the price listed.
"You're shitting me."
"No Vagabond, I am not as you put it shitting you. If you can read, I would be happy to show you my ledger-"
"I can read, damnit." Terah instantly responded, angered that someone implied that he couldn't.
"Very interesting, Vagabond. Your form is sloppy, and it is clear you are a novice Earthbender, do not worry, you'll have repaid your debt within 2 to 5 years."
'Two to five years?! Ah hell no old man, you're crazy!'
"You're still free to run~" The old man taunted.
'And get conscripted for some war? No thanks.'
"Let's see those ledgers, old man." Terah crossed his arms and demanded.
"Come along now."
Following behind the doddering old man, Terah was irked as they moved incredibly slowly. Feeling like he was escorting a NPC whilst he wanted to run ahead, Terah took this time to drink in the farm.
The place sat on maybe a 4 mile by 4 mile stretch of land. Resting on a sloped hill surrounded by short grass, the area was fenced off from a dirt road, and had four different buildings and a few other amenities seen on most farms. There was a small, thatched hut that looked like it was meant for sleeping, a chicken coop, a pen for armadillo-pigs, a barn, an outhouse, and a well.
Outside the fencing, there was a herd of lamb-roosters nibbling on the grass, and a forest of trees in the distant, tall mountain range.
Honestly speaking, this was an idyllic environment, and was very pretty. As someone who lived in a city where it was full of grey + noise pollution, this level of greenery and nature really did it for Terah .
Approaching the hut, the old man held out a hand, signalling for him to wait outside.
A moment later, he emerged with a scroll in hand.
"Take a look." The old man pointed at some Chinese characters.
"Aha. When you said read, I thought you meant like body language, like 'can you read the room?" Terah scratched the back of his head in embarrassment, and nervously chuckled.
The old man blankly stared at him, then pocketed the scroll.
"You shall stay here, where you will be afforded 2 square meals a day, and be expected to labor from sunrise to dusk. Afterwards, I shall instruct you in your letters. Come now, Vagabond, I shall show you your duties for the day." The old man said, then walked away with his hands clasped behind his back.
Terah really wanted to run away right now, but he would at least see what it was like for a day or two before he made his decision.
Following in the old man's wake, Terah realized he didn't even know his name, however, pride kept him from asking. He had told the old prune his name, yet kept being labeled as Vagabond. So Terah would simply return the favor.
"Starting in the morning, you will collect lamb-rooster eggs into a bucket, and draw up ten pails of water. First thing, drink for yourself and bring eggs/water to the house for breakfast. Next, the remaining pales will be distributed for the various animals on the farm.
Draw up some water now."
Terah wordlessly stepped forward towards the well, dropped a bucket down, then began pulling on the rope.
Feeling his soft-uncalloused-hands burn from handling the rope, Terah was surprised at just how heavy this pale of water was!
Struggling to bring the water up, he eventually picked up the pale, and set it down.
[Physical Body Training lvl 1: 1/10]
A new notification popped up, but Terah ignored it as he was busy wiping his hands on his shirt to reduce the sting from the rope burn.
"You're awfully soft for a Vagabond. I suppose you'll break into it. Now, after you've filled the armadillo-pigs watering hole, and spread the mud, we'll be ready for our next task." The old man joyfully smiled as Terah grimaced.
Glancing once more at the [???] hovering above the old man's head, he knew that running, while tantalizing, probably wasn't worth it. This damned old man must be some kungfu Old Monster. He had to be!
Terah grit his teeth, and got to work, hoping he would eventually learn something from this old goat.
After watering the pigs, then watering the plants, his [Physical Body Training] had increased to level 2. This boost in level had him feel like he was marginally faster, stronger, and better coordinated.
However, he was still sore all over, and he still had more work to do, such as plucking out weeds.
"For this next task, do not use your hands. Vibrate the soil, and ease the weed out of the dirt, make it come to you. Be delicate, and do no harm to the weed, as it is part of the armadillo-pigs diet to be fed to them later."
"Sounds simple enough." Terah nodded, pleased that after an hour of labor, he finally was able to do some Earthbending.
Getting to work, Terah spotted a budding plant that was different from the potato leaves, and tried to shift the dirt just as the old man had asked.
However, on his first attempt, he caused a dirt clod to erupt from the soil, showering himself with dust.
"Puh ptuah." Terah spat, then removed the dust from his body.
"Patience. You must work the soil like she is a beautiful woman. Do not be rough, but not too gentle either. Take a soft-hard approach to this matter" The old man advised.
Terah frowned, and tried again. This time, there wasn't an eruption of dirt, but the weed was extremely dirty and damaged, unsuitable for even an animal to eat.
"Try a different motion with your hand. Like this." The old man shook his hand left and right in a 'so-so' gesture, or maybe it was a hand sign that could be interpreted as 'half and half.'
Mimicking the old man, Terah pulled upon his bending, and began to ever so slowly shift the earth apart.
'I'm doing it!' Terah internally cheered as the weed ever so slowly was pulled out.
As soon as the weed came out, it was 65% intact. His technique still clearly needed work, but he was getting there!
[+1 exp] some exp floated nearby, rewarding him for his success.
"You will be doing this every day. Once I am satisfied with your technique, you will be responsible for harvesting the dragon-potatoes." The old man said without a single hint of praise or compliment.
Terah rolled his eyes. The old prune may have a [???] above his head, so Terah would give him some slack, but he could have at least said a 'good job.'
"What next?" Terah crossed his arms.
"Wild wolf-snakes have been roaming these lands as of late. I want you to construct a 4ft thick compact stone wall that's 10ft tall around the farm. Come."
Following the old man to the edge of the fence. Terah stopped when the old man handed him a piece of whitish/blackish/greyish rock as large as a cantalope.
"This is granite, one of the hardest stones in the world, and is a difficult material for an Earthbender to manipulate. During your free time, I want you to compress this into a ball the size of a fist. Once you have finished that, you will be ready to construct the wall. In the meantime, you are to begin work on a moat outside this fence." The old man instructed.
"Is there anything else you want me to do, old man?" Terah replied in a voice dripping with sarcasm.
"You are allowed rest and water in between your tasks. Dig until sunset, then meet me at the barn for supper. Afterwards we shall see about your education, and getting you some new clothes." The old man said, and then walked away.
Looking down, Terah once again realized he was still in his night clothes.
Grumbling to himself, Terah started working on making a moat around the fence.
It was exhausting, grueling work, but it was rewarding.
At first, he would receive 1 exp every 1ft of dirt he removed. But as his Earthbending reached [Level 3: 0/1,000] he began to see diminishing returns. Now he only gained 1 exp for every 5ft of excavated dirt.
It seemed that this proficiency system was largely based around the difficulty, and novelty of the task.
Working for another three hours, Terah sat down on the grass with a clay cup of water, and felt the ache in his muscles, as well as an ache in his spirit.
Bending, apparently, took a lot out of you. It was both physically and mentally exhausting.
But his growth had been rapid.
[Earthbending lvl 3: 930/1,000]
In just a few hours of work, he could already feel his control and stamina increasing.
During this break, Terah enjoyed the cool breeze on his skin, and stuck his toes into soft and loamy soil.
Closing his eyes, Terah wiped a tear from the corner of his cheek, and tried to use the doldrums of work to help forget about the pain of loss.
Holding tightly onto the granite rock, Terah busied himself by squeezing tightly onto it from both sides.
He imagined his hands like they were a press, or a pressure cooker, and willed the rock to collapse in on itself.
After ten minutes of nonstop trying, he had perhaps decreased the outward volume by about a quarter of an inch.
[+50 exp]
'Holy smokes, I was right. The more difficult or challenging the task, the better the reward! I only depressed this thing a tiny amount, and was rewarded with such a large amount of exp! Of course, digging holes is a little more efficient with my time, but if I can learn how to mold this, then I can just find a bunch of hard rocks, and work on those instead!' Terah excitedly thought to himself, and looked at the piece of rock as if he had gold in his hands.
Spending another half hour on the rock, Terah worked interchangeably between this stone, and the moat.
Grinding exp, and working on his task, he became mightily hungry as dusk rolled around.
As the sun was about to set, he made his way to the hut, and knocked on the door.
"Go around out back, and enter through the cellar!" The old man's wizened voice called out.
Shrugging his shoulders, Terah heeded the command, and went around the hut. On the ground there was a cellar door.
Opening a squeaky door, Terah went down some short steps, and was surprised at how bright it was. Everywhere he could see, white crystals lined the walls, and provided light.
"Never seen crystal before, eh Vagabond?" The old man called out to him.
Snapping his head up in embarrassment, Terah saw the old fellow sitting at a simple wooden table, chowing on a bowl of steamed rice, and some meat.
"Go down that hall, and take the third left, there you will find your room and two sets of workers' clothes. Take a wash, and while you are a guest in my home you are not to enter any room that is locked, do you understand me?" The old man was as calm as ever, yet Terah detected a hint of threat, causing him to unconsciously shiver.
"I got it old man, thanks for looking out for me."
"Hmph, you're nothing but a potato vandal. Wash up, then come grab some food. Your lessons start in half an hour, don't be late." The old man said between bites of his food, and said in a gruff manner.
Terah smiled at the old man, and cupped his fists like he had seen in the martial arts movies.
"You're doing it wrong, Vagabond. Cup your fists like that, and people will think you're a fire nation spy." The old man tutted as Terah had been walking deeper into the complex.
Keeping that advice in the back of his mind, Terah was kind of awed with how large this underground living area seemed. There were tons of closed doors everywhere, and it made him wonder why there weren't more underground homes in the show. Heck, the only other open door down here led to an incredibly well stocked kitchen! It had cabinets for cooking utensils, a fire pit, and everything else a feudal kitchen needed!
The farm looked rather poor on the surface, but if the dragon-potatoes really sold for as much as the old man said they did, then maybe all his extra money went into this place?
Leaving his curiosities behind, Terah entered a bathroom with an empty barrel large enough to fit a man. In the corner, there was a rope and a funnel. Putting two and two together, he pulled on the rope, opening the funnel, and water began to pour into the bath.
Dipping a hand in, he was pleasantly surprised to learn that it was warm!
Entering the bath, Terah lost himself to the time as he let the sweat and dead skin soak away.
After washing up, he explored his room.
It was small with a cot, and a desk. Within, there was more of that white crystal, but it was covered with a black cloth by some blinds. If he wanted light, he could simply pull on a rope to 'shut it on or off.'
Lying on the desk were two pairs of a beige tunic, and brown pants. Interestingly, there were no shoes, so it looked like he was going to have to continue going barefoot everywhere. In fact, come to think of it, the old man didn't wear any shoes either.
He wanted to think more deeply on that topic, but his belly grumbled, and he had to hurry up, or else there was a risk he wouldn't get any food.
Changing his outfit, Terah decided he would have to wash his old night time shirt another time, as it was incredibly soft, and the only thing that he owned that reminded him of home.
Once he emerged from his room, he felt as if he didn't have much time left for the old man's deadline, and rushed back to the common room.
Seeing a pot full of rice, a single strip of meat, and a bowl full of water-along with utensils/bowls-Terah fixed himself a large meal, and wolfed it down like an animal.
Whilst he ate, Terah noticed that the old man had set up something that looked like an easel and a canvas full of paper.
"Come grind this ink after you have handled the dishes." The old man ordered, and pointed at something resembling a mortar/pestle, a pale of water, and some burnt black stuff that resembled carbon.
Taking one last bite, and washing his hands/dishes in an area to the side of the room, he came back to get to work.
"What should I do?" Terah asked.
"Recall the lesson with the weed. Be firm and gentle. Too hard, and the ink will splash everywhere, too soft, and it will not mix well leaving a watery product behind." The old man advised.
Picking up the black stuff, and placing it in the mortar, Terah recalled the consistency of ink he had used for pens, and began mixing the water until it reached a level that he was satisfied with.
Surprisingly, he got it in one shot. However, this was a lengthy process that took about half an hour, and stunk to high heck!
Being careful not to stain his clothes, Terah stood up from his finished work, and slightly bowed at the aged man.
"I'm eager to learn. Thank you for this opportunity, old man." Terah thanked, knowing just how important reading/writing were.
"That remains to be seen." The old man thinly smiled, then dipped his brush into the ink, and began to write a Chinese character, then started to explain its significance.
Giving all his attention, Terah memorized its meaning, then tried copying it on a piece of paper the old man had provided.
[+1 exp]
[Literacy lvl 1: 1/10 exp]
A notification popped up, rewarding him for his work. However, the old man was not satisfied.
"Again. This edge is too soft." The old man chastised, and slapped at his hand with a ruler.
…..sometime had passed, and Terah felt his right hand swelling as it was brightly colored red.
The results had sort of been worth it?
By the end of the session, Terah had grown to level 5 in literacy. Apparently his own natural talent in this field was rather high, so he learnt faster. It was interesting to see that the system not only rewarded tasks that were more difficult to overcome with higher exp. But it also sped up exp gain if it was something Terah was naturally predisposed towards.
In the three hours spent writing, Terah felt as if he had a basic mastery of about 10 characters, and was getting the hang of writing them.
"That ends for today, Vagabond. Rest well, and remember, work begins at sunrise." The old man said as he finished putting away the supplies.
"How will I know when it's sunrise since we're underground?" Terah asked.
"You'll know." The old man said plainly, but Terah couldn't help but feel there was something ominous in that statement.
Shaking his head, Terah decided to put it out of his mind, and went to his room.
Collapsing in bed, Terah hardly had any energy left to worry about his future, or the loss of his family, and he fell asleep.
~~~~~~~~~~
The next day, the shudder covering the white crystals in his room seemed to open of their own accord, and blasted Terah in the face with the power of a strong flashlight.
Rolling over in surprise, Terah rubbed his eyes, and sat up looking blankly at the wall.
"Not a dream, huh?" Terah muttered to himself and sighed.
Shaking his head, he stood up to stretch, got dressed, then went about his tasks.
Entering the lamb-rooster pen, Terah saw that these guys had the heads of a chicken, with the body of a lamb, and the wings of a rooster coming out the side. They were actually pretty big all things considered.
Looking around, he found a bag of feed, a bucket, and about a dozen ostrich sized eggs laying around.
As he began to toss feed into the coup, the animals went crazy picking the food up with their beaks. Whilst they were distracted, he moved to collect an egg, and a lamb-rooster began to caw at him, and soon the entire room became loud as all heck.
Evading a few beaks, Terah collected four eggs, then made his escape.
"Damn crazy old man." Terah swore to himself at the hellish experience,
He then went about providing water for the armadillo-pigs.
By working the well, he leveled up his Physical Body Training to the second level, and completed his water drawing experience much faster than yesterday, saving a minute or two of time.
He also fed the armadillo-pigs some of the weeds he had collected the other day. These animals were much more chill than the lamb-roosters, and mostly ignored him whilst they chowed down.
Petting one on the body, he was surprised at how soft this armored shell was.
"Oink!" The pig head cheerfully snorted, and sniffed Terah 's hand.
This one had a white star birthmark on its forehead, and had a friendly disposition.
Giving out the last weed to the animal that let him pet it, Terah noticed a new notification.
[+5 exp]
[Animal Handler lvl 1: 5/10 exp]
As soon as this notification sounded, he noticed that this pig was actually a female. He couldn't explain how he could tell this, but the system was the only explanation.
"See you around, Star." Terah smiled as he named the armadillo-pig, scratched under her chin, then departed for the underground kitchen.
Not seeing the old man anywhere in sight, Terah started a fire, and began making scrambled eggs. He started the rice, and noticing a wok, and some meat, started to fry it up. The portions were extra large, because as someone who had grandparents who farmed, he knew that the first meal of the day needed to be huge, to give the calories necessary to do all that hard work.
After some time had passed, he had scrounged up a few spices, and put an herb on top of the meal as garnish.
Carrying two bowls into the common room, Terah silently placed a bowl in front of the old man, then began to dig into his meal.
As he tiredly ate, and mentally prepared himself for the day, he noticed that the old man's bowl was completely empty!
Was his cooking not good enough? Did the old man dump it on the ground?
Terah was feeling kind of bad. The herbs/spices weren't anything he was familiar with, and this dish was a little experimental. Did he put in too much, or not enough?
As Terah was fretting over this potentially disastrous meal, the old man praised him for the first time since they first met.
"Good job. You will prepare breakfast and dinner from now on." The old man nodded-mostly to himself-then disappeared into some stairs that led into his cottage.
[+xxxxx exp Major Advancement Requirements Met!]
[Culinary Skills lvl 50: 0/10,000,000 exp]
Terah's eyes went wide. He always knew he was decent at cooking, but he had no idea his previous skills would translate into the system!
….wait, did that mean the system rated his Physical Body at level 1?! He was stronger than that, right?
'Tsk.'
Fuming to himself at the stupid faulty system, Terah chomped down on his food. He had a long day ahead of him, and Terah stuffed himself close to bursting.
Letting loose with a loud belch, Terah quickly cleaned up, then went about his tasks.
Watering the crops, collecting eggs/weeds, feeding the animals, digging the moat, and compacting the granite rock, these were the tasks Terah did during the day, and then as sunset rolled around, he cooked dinner, and learned under the old man.
This carried on for two weeks, and Terah had become somewhat muscular thanks to the help of the system, however, despite all his gains, he had reached a bit of a bottle neck.
After finishing the tasks for the day-thanks to his improved abilities increasing his efficiency-he had an hour before sunset, and had some time to relax.
Sitting next to Star under a shady tree, Terah errantly fed the sweetest weeds to his armadillo-pig companion, and errantly scratched under her chin as he internally fumed.
All his skills were resting at level 9, and no matter how much he grinded, none of them would go up to level 10.
[Earthbending lvl 9: 9,999/10,000 exp]
Every act he did netted him [+0 exp], almost as if the system was taunting him.
Struggling to come up with ways to surpass this hurdle, Terah thought back to the first night when he arrived in this world. He vaguely recalled a system notification regarding 'Major Advancements Met.' The text had appeared after he had satisfied the old man's pallet.
'So what am I missing, do I need the old man's approval to advance??? Nah, that can't be, that's too stupid. Think, what is it that the system rewards most, affinity, and the difficulty of the task, right? Since I was so good at cooking, and the old man is so difficult to please, I broke through from 49 to 50. Therefore, if I want to break through my Earthbending, Physical Body Training, Literacy, Animal Handling, etc, I have to go beyond my limits!'
Coming to this realization, Terah thought about what was feasible, and began to draw up some plans for each of those categories.
But first came Earthbending.
The thing that he had to overcome had been staring him in the face this entire time.
It was the damned granite rock!
He had reduced this piece of debris into a dense little ball, but it was still twice the size of his fist. No matter how much he had tried, he didn't seem to be able to squeeze it any tighter.
Furrowing his brow, Terah searched his memory, to see if any of the old man's offhand remarks would shed light on his situation.
Over the last two weeks, he hadn't said much of anything…however, he often gave advice that spoke about the hardness and softness of things. This entire time, Terah had been exceedingly rough, and had the mentality of a pressure cooker pressing onto the granite.
But perhaps he was going about this wrong.
By adding some softness to his technique, could he really compress this rock further?
Deciding it was worth a try, instead of pushing 100%, he tried adding a layer of sponginess to the rock, expanding it just a little, before contracting it.
Eyes going wide, he realized that by following this method, the rock had sunk deeper within itself by an entire millimeter!
This was an infinitesimally small margin, but if he did the exact same thing a thousand more times, he would have reduced the granite to the size of his fist!
"Oink, Oink!" Star snorted happily, seemingly aware of Terah's inner turmoil.
She then sniffed his hair, and walked away now that his emotions had stabilized.
[+1 exp, Major Advancement Requirements Met!]
[Animal Handler lvl 10: 0/15,000 exp]
Terah blinked his eyes in surprise, and turned around to see Star walking away from him to go back to her pen.
"Thank you Star!" Terah cupped his hands to his mouth, and shouted.
"Oink, oink!" Star replied, almost as if to tell him not to worry, and to bring her weeds with longer stalks next time.
Terah sat staring at her departed figure.
'Did I just imagine that?!'
The advancement of Animal Handler sort of almost let him understand Star!
Did he have this connection with every animal, or just her?
Wanting to test this theory, he approached thd lamb-rooster coup.
"Hey, you!"
"Bawk!"
Aaaand nothing.
Disappointed by this development, Terah returned to his shaded spot under a tree, and shook his head.
Honestly, being able to sort of understand an animal he was close to was really cool. Maybe one day, he'd be able to communicate with them as if they were speaking English.
Chuckling to himself in amusement, Terah got back to business, and started squeezing and contracting the stone. It was tough, brutal work that agonized his mind, and exhausted his stamina, but by the thousandth rep, he had achieved success.
[+1 exp, Major Advancement Requirements Met!]
[Earthbending lvl 10: 0/15,000 exp]
Holding the granite sphere in his hand, he chucked it up in the air like a baseball, and caught it. The ball had some real heft to it! If someone bended this with the right amount of force it could dent or possibly penetrate metal armor!
With his newfound bending prowess, Terah played around a bit, and tried his hand at making the moat.
By this point in time, he was 90% done with the moat, and was tempted to try to finish it this afternoon. Even though he was technically done for the day, he wanted to see just how far he had come.
Doing the same thing he had always done, Terah envisioned himself moving even more dirt.
This time, instead of removing a few hoe's worth of dirt, he picked up a clump big enough to resemble a man's body.
"Hahaha, seriously, this is awesome!" Terah cheered to himself as he effortlessly finished the last 10% in record time.
After completing the moat, Terah clapped his hands once, and the dust violently flew off his body in a whoosh towards the front of his body. This was something he had practiced just about everyday, and was quite confident in. There was another dust technique Terah had been practicing, but he never got it to go very far. However, he also put in a lot of practice for it, and now that his proficiency had jumped the hurdle between level 9 and 10, maybe he could finally do it?
He then twirled his index finger, applying that soft-hard concept he had been learning, and the dust whirled into a mini tornado.
A vortex of dust about the size and height of a heavyweight boxer spawned onto the scene. Rocks were picked up within the technique, yet they weren't being actively manipulated by Terah . But they could be at any moment. This meant he was saving tons of energy with this technique.
He then repeatedly started to clap his hands, and twirl his finger to get more practice in. By alternating between these two methods, he furthered his control, as well as explored the energy expenditures involved in these techniques.
When bending, body movements seemed to play an integral role in the process. The more complex the effect, the more exaggerated the body needed to move. This led to more strain on the practitioner.
Boomi, for example, really had to work his body when he lifted that GIANT rock in the duel against Aang. Essentially, big attacks required large, dramatic movements. This type of fighting unleashed powerful, ultimate attacks, but in Terah 's estimation, this was just asking to leave oneself open.
Dustbending, Terah discovered, required little movement, and hardly strained him.
Clapping his hands, twirling his finger…what would happen if he Dustbent, started to move his hands like he did when typing on his phone, controller, or keyboard?!?!
He was about to test his ideas out, when he noticed the old man approaching out of the corner of his eye.
"You have made progress." The old man stated without much-if any-fluctuations in his tone. He was so neutral, it was as if he was saying 'the sky is blue.'
"All thanks to your teachings, old man. The concept of soft-hard really helped me out." Terah replied. Half his statement was true, the other half was bullshit flattery, because in retrospect, the old man had really hit him with knowledge from the school of ancient kung-fu fuckery.
Terah was onto the old man's game.
While it was kind of cool to figure things out on his own, as a modern man, he was accustomed to having every question answered by the internet. Figuring shit out the old school way was annoyingly hard, who knew?
"Save your praise, Vagabond, your progress is in the service of paying off your debt. By the way, prepare an extra helping tonight, and every Tuesday, and Thursday moving forward." The old man said, then turned to leave.
"Old man, prepare an exam for me using the characters you have taught. I feel as if I am on the cusp of advancing my literacy, but require a challenge."
"Oh hoh, you do not believe I am instructing you adequately?" The old man said, and stroked his beard repeatedly.
'Ah shit, the old man rarely gets angry for real. I messed up big time…might as well go all in. All for the sake of numbers going up, right?'
"Yes. Respectfully, the peaceful atmosphere my meals have created has stifled my focus. Please do more to challenge my mind." Terah bowed, semi dreading what this [???] leveled old man might do to him.
Instead of being shouted at, or attacked, Terah was surprised that the old man was looking at him as if he were a fine jade, or some prized possession.
Honestly speaking, he felt violated. Is this what it felt like for girls when they got perved on by sleazy older men?
Terah shuddered, and couldn't help but scrunch his shoulders inward.
The old man frowned at this, and seemed to be broken out of whatever daze he had found himself in.
"Perhaps you are not half bad, Vagabond. Prepare the meal the same as usual, afterwards, you shall have your test." The old man smiled and walked away.
'….the old man smiled! fuck.'
Shaking his head to regain his bearings, Terah left for the kitchen, and began preparing the night's meal.
When he was finished, and emerged into the common room, he almost dropped the food when he saw who was sitting across from his teacher.
It was Toph fucking Beifong!
Hovering above her head was a number [40] showcasing that he could see someone's level when it was within 30 of his own. Surprisingly, it was a lowish number, but he didn't really have any context for how strong or weak it was. At the very least 40 was higher than the average soldier guarding her, right?
Anyway, level aside, Toph was absolutely gorgeous!
Clad in a white silken outfit, the black haired blind beauty had her ginormous bust resting on the table, and seemed to be laughing at something the old man said.
Terah felt a pulse in his pants, and barely willed himself not to pop a boner.
Setting down the food, Terah stared.
"Can I help you?" Toph turned in his direction, and asked in that faux highclass tone she adopted when in noble company.
Knowing that Toph was secretly one who enjoyed crass language, Terah decided not to be polite with her, and in this private setting, wouldn't treat her with the social niceties that he would if he was surrounded by her family or guards.
"You can say thank you for the food for one, and you're in my spot, scoot over." Terah shooed her away.
"Sorry, did you do something with your hand? That's incredibly rude. I wanted to sit here because I'm blind, and wanted to be close to master-"
"Old Man, where did you drag this disrespectful little girl from?" Terah interrupted Toph, and addressed the old man, he then sat down on the bench at the table, and pushed Toph aside. "This place acts on seniority. I've been under the old man's care for a few weeks now, and am only seeing you for the first time. Show some respect."
As he pushed her aside, Terah noticed how mouthwateringly soft she was. At the same time, she was also solid. Like Chun-Li from Street Fighter, Toph was deceptively muscular. She really was the perfect tomboy.
Catching himself almost getting hard again, Terah tried to ignore her heavenly smell, and stuffed his nose into his bowl, then began to eat like a wolf.
"How do you find your test, Vagabond?" The old leered.
Terah choked on his food due to the old man's taunt, and spat rice all over the table.
"Not too rough nor too gentle, I followed your advice, old man." Terah responded with a grin and a thumbs up.
Upon being ignored, Toph seemed like she wanted to say something, but instead politely began to eat her food to mask her annoyance.
"Don't eat so slow, Bandit. We'll be here all night if you don't finish your meal." Terah taunted.
Toph seemed to freeze at Terah's words, and shot a glare his way.
"Aren't you supposed to be blind, princess?" Terah said with a grin.
"Don't call me that." Toph replied testily.
"My bad, Bandit. While you're here, just call me Vagabond, and the Old Man needs no introductions, welcome to our humble dragon-potatoe farm." Terah introduced.
"Our?" The old man raised an eyebrow.
"Ah ha ha, so whatchu in for, Bandit, did you also smash some of the old man's potatoes?" Terah asked between bites.
Toph seemed to slowly get into his rhythm, and the taunts somewhat worked as she also started to eat faster, and less 'ladylike.'
"You seriously smashed master-old man's potato farm?" Toph exclaimed with a wide eyed look, and stifled a giggle with her hand.
Terah scratched the back of his head. Seriously, why did everyone treat them so highly, they were just potatoes!
Toph must've 'seen' the look on his face via her echo-location vibration skill, and she started openly laughing, ignoring all etiquette.
Terah wanted to laugh along, but one look at the old man's stone cold face, and Terah made sure not to move a muscle. That was a guy who was serious about his potatoes!
Toph seemed to get more amusement from this, and let loose with a snort, and even louder laughter.
"Vagabond, huh? I'll remember that."
Terah decided he had spoken enough, and started collecting the dishes to clean up. Women, in his experience, didn't mind being talked to, but nobody wanted to be accosted, or spoken at by a chatterbox. As someone who had a penchant to be a chatterbox, it was a tough realization to Terah, but at least he was self aware.
Besides, the [+1,000 exp] he received after Toph finished her meal said it all. Why use words, when he could let his food do the talking? As his father semi-frequently said, to win a woman's heart, you have to win her stomach.
Terah didn't know how true that was, but his mom was an abysmal cook, whilst his dad had passed on some of his skills to him. So maybe he was correct?
Cleaning up, he farmed dozens of [+1 exp]'s towards his Culinary skill every time he swiped a rag across a dirty plate. As a result, the tedious annoying work became something of an exp grinding ritual that Terah took as a relaxing habit. Of course he would oogle Toph out of the corner of his eye occasionally-he was a man after all-but farming exp at the moment took priority.
After he had finished cleaning up, Terah got to grinding the ink, and eagerly looked forward to the old man's lesson.
Once he was done, he noticed Toph had once again occupied his spot.
She really was a petulant brat.
This time, Terah didn't give her the satisfaction of an interaction, and gave her the cold shoulder. Taking her previous seat, Terah nodded at the old man to show he was serious about what he had said earlier.
The old man, seeing this shift in him, slowly nodded.
This time, instead of writing things out on his board to explain as he went along, there were pre-written characters on the paper that Terah was unfamiliar with. Old Man then pulled out an honest to goodness book.
"Bandit here has been sent by her family to study poetry. I shall read the lines out loud, and on this canvas are the ones that I have not taught you, Vagabond. You must fill in the blanks, and copy my diction word for word as I speak."
Terah nodded his head in affirmation. Basically for this test, he was going to act like a court transcriber. Except he wouldn't have a keyboard, and he had a word bank from which he didn't recognize the words being used. The old man was really answering his request to challenge him!
Holding onto the book, the old man began his recitation.
"Energy may be likened to the bending of a crossbow; decision, to the releasing of the trigger."
'Huh, this doesn't sound like poetry?' Terah thought to himself as he began to furiously copy down what was being said, and was constantly checking the canvas that held the wordbank.
"Whoever is first in the field and awaits the coming of the enemy, will be fresh for the fight; whoever is second in the field and has to hasten to battle will arrive exhausted."
[+10 exp]
[Military Strategy & Tactics lvl 1->2: 0/100 exp]
Terah couldn't believe what was going on. The old man was teaching Toph-and by extension him-the art of war?!
"If fighting is sure to result in victory, then you must fight, even though the ruler forbid it; if fighting will not result in victory, then you must not fight even at the ruler's bidding."
This line of the old man's seemed to resonate with Toph, and she practically vibrated in place. Terah almost lost himself in her beauty, but restrained himself, and tried to fill in the blanks as best he could.
"You can be sure of succeeding in your attacks if you only attack places which are undefended." This time the old man subtly glanced from him to Toph with a knowing look.
Terah rolled his eyes. The old man may pretend to be a devout scholar, or genial farmer, but unsurprisingly, he was a pervert deep down. Honestly, Terah wouldn't learn from anyone else. He was much better than some arrogant scholar in fine robes, that much was certain.
The old man put up with his crass jokes, and didn't mind how Terah behaved so long as he got the work done. Really, the old man wasn't half bad.
Wanting to ace this test, and live up to the old man's unvoiced expectations, Terah placed his entire focus on the paper before him, and answered everything to the best of his ability.
After an hour of this, the old man finally stopped, and took Terah 's paper to grade.
"Escort Bandit outside, her family will be here to pick her up soon." Old Man waved him out.
"Come on, let's go." Terah stood up, and didn't bother offering Toph his arm, then moved to open the cellar doors.
Toph sat still, and crossed her arms underneath her chest, really making her breasts pop.
"Don't tell me you want me to hold onto you? Well, as the princess demands~"
"I told you not to call me that!" Toph said with some heat, then stomped her way towards him, 'accidentally stumbled' and roughly shoved him into the wall as she passed by.
"Ah, youth." Old Man muttered just as Terah felt like his ribs might crack due to the impact.
Trailing after Toph, and rubbing his sore ribs, Terah breathed in the cool night air, and enjoyed the sound of crickets on the horizon. Summer was approaching, and nights such as these were a blessing when the days had begun to grow hotter with each passing day.
"You don't have to be so formal when you're around here, Bandit. If you haven't noticed, Old Man and I don't wear shoes." Terah said, and slouched against a wall next to her.
Toph gave him the cold shoulder, and was silent the entire time.
They rested like this for maybe 15 minutes until the clippity clop of the lion-horse was heard on the horizon. Lit with lanterns on the side, the carriage slowly made its way to the farm, and would arrive any minute.
As the carriage neared, Terah had a slice of moist almond cake wrapped in a towel, and shoved it into Toph's hands.
"Lady Bei-" A guard shouted, but Terah spoke up to keep the illusion going.
"See you Thursday, Bandit. Maybe we can spar some time." Terah said with a cheeky grin, and mirth in his voice.
He then turned, and disappeared into the cellar.
"Oh yeah, I'll see you Thursday!" Toph sarcastically out at his back…"dumbass." Toph then muttered to herself, and bit into the cake.
Closing her eyes, she savored the soft yet surprisingly firm texture of the cake.
'Vagabond, huh? How interesting.'
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AN:
Power Levels:
0-9 = Villager
10-19 = Average Soldier
20-29 = Veteran Soldier (Season 1 Sokka)
30-39 = Low Ranking Officer (Season 1 Katara)
40-49 = Mid Ranking Officer (Season 1 Aang)
50-59 = Dai Lee/Royal Guard
60-69 = High Ranking Officer (Jet/Suki)
70-79 = Generals/Admirals (Mei/Ty Lee/Zhao)
80-89 = Final Season Zuko/Katara
90-99 = White Lotus Masters
100+ = Avatar State
About the system: leveling is done via repetition, but at level 9, 19, 29, 39, 49, 59, etc, the MC will be locked at that level until he accomplishes something spectacular, and can advance to the next tier.