THEOS
Author: Arthur Wordsmith
Chapter 54: Numbers go Brrr!
Luke watched the sheeps figure fade away into the distance with an expression of mild relief.
Why would you think that getting its milk directly, he shuddered, is a good idea? Luke asked, turning to Rex and crossing his arms under his chest.
Well, do you have a better idea?
Luke thought, resisting the urge to facepalm.
I cant imagine having a worse idea, there isnt anything I can think of that would be worse. He lied, knowing objectively that there were worse ideas, but unwilling to even entertain them.
Well if your so
Thats enough. Nel massaged her eyebrows. Thats incredibly stupid Rex. Living in the capital has rotted your brain, and look. She nodded her head toward a sheep in the distance.
Luke squinted his eyes, straining to see what she was pointing at.
Its just a sheep. Rex said, his eyes incapable of seeing the thin tubes jutting our from the ground, and latching onto the sheep from a distance.
Luke realized.
There are tubes sticking out of the ground attached to its belly. Thats probably what Sophia meant when she said there's already a machine to milk them. Luke explained. Already looking around the room to find where the extracted milk was being sent.
Oh. Rex mumbled, his face rapidly turning red as he remembered that specific piece of information. I uh Normally I He hedged. Almost sighing in relief when Nel interrupted him.
Over there. She pointed to the wall full of shelves.
Luke nodded appreciatively, his eyes darting between the three nozzles sticking out of the wall. A small metal plaque above each one, telling him exactly which was which.
Who wants to go first? Nel asked. Glancing between him and Rex.
New guy, you're up. Rex grinned at him.
Why me? Dont you think it should be Nel that goes first. Shes the strongest out of all of us.
Im sure its safe. She assured him. I just I don't like it.
What?
Milk. Its gross. It
Its milk. Luke said.
Thats why you should drink it. Nel argued lamely.
That Fine. He shook his head, not interested in arguing with the siblings about it.
Grabbing a glass from a nearby shelf, he put it under the nozzle labeled Early Warrior.
White liquid gushed from the tap as soon as he slid the glass underneath it, the flow cutting itself off as the glass filled halfway.
Staring at glass apprehensively, Luke brought it to his lips, and gave it a quick sniff. Nodding approvingly when no foul odor climbed up his nose.
He opened his mouth and swallowed the meager amount of liquid as soon as the taste hit his tongue.
He smacked his lips, as the fluid settled into his stomach. Closing his eyes, he felt his mana, frowning as he tried to feel it in his system.
Suddenly it hit. Mana appeared within his body, seemingly out of nowhere. It felt heavy and uncomfortable in him, but luckily the Seed had no problem whisking it away to wherever it stored Stat Points.
+2 Stat Points
+3 Stat Points
+2 Stat Points
He eyed the empty glass, its walls stained white with traces of the fluid, with greed.
He looked at the tap labeled High Warrior.
So how is it? Nel asked.
Not bad, not bad at all. Lots of mana. Luke nodded, before turning to Rex. You should probably drink it in small sips instead of a big gulp, the mana feels a little heavy. I think I wasted some of it too. Luke lied confidently, understanding fully that the Seed didnt waste mana. It's probably more effective drinking that after a good workout.
Ill be fine. He claimed, grabbing a glass, he put it under the tap, and imitating Luke, chugged it all in one go.
Only to stumble to his knees moments later. Ugh.
What happened? Nel knelt down next to him. Putting a hand over his chest as she did, no doubt sensing his mana.
Im fine He grunted. I just need to
Told you. Luke said casually, frowning slightly when Rex shot him a venomous glare in response.
Luke realized, as he awkwardly scratched his chin.
Luke turned away, and looked back at the milk dispensers.
Rex stumbled to his feet. How are you perfectly fine? He asked Luke.
Uhh Its just pain, I guess I'm used to it?
Boiling ourselves was a little bit of pain, how do you even brace for
He demanded.
Luke scratched the back of his head. Are you seriously comparing being boiled alive to drinking milk? How are they even remotely on the same level?
With the wat
Rex, not everyone has the same sensitivity to mana. She explained, putting a cup under the High Warrior tap. It should get less painful the more you do it though.
Frowning, she downed the liquid in a single gulp, wrinkling her nose in disgust as she did.
Blech. She shuddered, holding the empty cup in front of her, she frowned. Its something, She said eventually. Better than nothing, but the mana my body draws is already at the Warrior-tier. Id have to drink barrels of it to get the same benefit as you two. She sighed.
Oh. That sucks. Luke said, sliding his own glass back under the tap. Grinning a little when the machine filled it back up right away. I think I like it here. He chugged it down. Suppressing a grin, as another round of Stat Point notifications filled his vision.
Nel frowned at him. I know we have a lot, but dont waste it needlessly. She looked around the room. I should be able to set up a training regimen for you two. Something more optimized than just blindly drinking the milk, and hoping for the best. She said, walking around the room. Idly running her hands over the spines of the various books, and inspecting the potion vials as she came across them.
What are you thinking? Rex asked her.
Theres enough healing potions for hot and cold baths here and those are a must. And theyll be a lot more effective with mana from the milk in your system. Ill have to dig some holes, but it shouldn't be a problem. Ill make an exercise routine for you as well. It wont be as well tuned as what Grandfather had you doing in the Capital, but Ill do my best. The closer you two are to the Warrior-tier, the better your odds will be in the Olympics, so we definitely cant slack off. Oh, and She rambled on, and Luke zoned off. Only half paying attention to what she was saying.
Luke put his glass under the tap again. Once again it filled his glass. Chugging it down eagerly, he put it back underneath the dispenser.
What are you doing? Rex asked.
Seeing how much milk we can expect every day. If were going to be here for a while, then at the very least we can figure out how much we have.
Thats a good idea! Nel beamed at him, grabbing her own glass and putting it back under the tap. Drinking the contents reluctantly, she repeated the process one more time, before the Late Warrior tap refused to spit out anymore of the liquid.
Luke mused, once they had everything tallied up. The Early Warrior tap gave nine cups of milk, each one good for nine to twelve Stat Points. The Mid Warrior gave six, each one good for around twenty-three Ptat Points, and while Luke didnt get to test the Late Warrior milk, he expected it to give him around fifty Stat Points.
How are we going to split them? He asked right away, his eyes meeting Nels.
The early and mid stage milk isn't useful to me. She said after a while. You two can split that evenly, and Ill take the high stage.
He cupped his chin as he did the math in his head.
Okay. Luke agreed, and stared expectantly at Rex. Half expecting him to make a fuss and demand a bigger share.
Im fine with it too. He said after a while.
Luke opened his status.
| Skills | Quests | Inventory
Name: Lukas King
Tier: Mortal
Mana: 45 150 / 45 150
Rate: 15% per hour
Strength: 116
Agility: 240
Constitution: 301
Arcana: 300
Stat Points: 101
Bloodline: Locked. Conditions not met. (1/10 000)
Charges: 7/10
He thought to himself, as he read his stats. Doing his level best to suppress a grin as he thought about where to put his newly gained Stat Points. Near giddy at the thought of all the points he would be raking in over the next few weeks, he had to take a few breaths just to calm himself down.
He dismissed his Status and yawned, his eyes gravitating towards the beds.
Why would you think that getting its milk directly, he shuddered, is a good idea? Luke asked, turning to Rex and crossing his arms under his chest.
Well, do you have a better idea?
Luke thought, resisting the urge to facepalm.
I cant imagine having a worse idea, there isnt anything I can think of that would be worse. He lied, knowing objectively that there were worse ideas, but unwilling to even entertain them.
Well if your so
Thats enough. Nel massaged her eyebrows. Thats incredibly stupid Rex. Living in the capital has rotted your brain, and look. She nodded her head toward a sheep in the distance.
Luke squinted his eyes, straining to see what she was pointing at.
Its just a sheep. Rex said, his eyes incapable of seeing the thin tubes jutting our from the ground, and latching onto the sheep from a distance.
Luke realized.
There are tubes sticking out of the ground attached to its belly. Thats probably what Sophia meant when she said there's already a machine to milk them. Luke explained. Already looking around the room to find where the extracted milk was being sent.
Oh. Rex mumbled, his face rapidly turning red as he remembered that specific piece of information. I uh Normally I He hedged. Almost sighing in relief when Nel interrupted him.
Over there. She pointed to the wall full of shelves.
Luke nodded appreciatively, his eyes darting between the three nozzles sticking out of the wall. A small metal plaque above each one, telling him exactly which was which.
Who wants to go first? Nel asked. Glancing between him and Rex.
New guy, you're up. Rex grinned at him.
Why me? Dont you think it should be Nel that goes first. Shes the strongest out of all of us.
Im sure its safe. She assured him. I just I don't like it.
What?
Milk. Its gross. It
Its milk. Luke said.
Thats why you should drink it. Nel argued lamely.
That Fine. He shook his head, not interested in arguing with the siblings about it.
Grabbing a glass from a nearby shelf, he put it under the nozzle labeled Early Warrior.
White liquid gushed from the tap as soon as he slid the glass underneath it, the flow cutting itself off as the glass filled halfway.
Staring at glass apprehensively, Luke brought it to his lips, and gave it a quick sniff. Nodding approvingly when no foul odor climbed up his nose.
He opened his mouth and swallowed the meager amount of liquid as soon as the taste hit his tongue.
He smacked his lips, as the fluid settled into his stomach. Closing his eyes, he felt his mana, frowning as he tried to feel it in his system.
Suddenly it hit. Mana appeared within his body, seemingly out of nowhere. It felt heavy and uncomfortable in him, but luckily the Seed had no problem whisking it away to wherever it stored Stat Points.
+2 Stat Points
+3 Stat Points
+2 Stat Points
He eyed the empty glass, its walls stained white with traces of the fluid, with greed.
He looked at the tap labeled High Warrior.
So how is it? Nel asked.
Not bad, not bad at all. Lots of mana. Luke nodded, before turning to Rex. You should probably drink it in small sips instead of a big gulp, the mana feels a little heavy. I think I wasted some of it too. Luke lied confidently, understanding fully that the Seed didnt waste mana. It's probably more effective drinking that after a good workout.
Ill be fine. He claimed, grabbing a glass, he put it under the tap, and imitating Luke, chugged it all in one go.
Only to stumble to his knees moments later. Ugh.
What happened? Nel knelt down next to him. Putting a hand over his chest as she did, no doubt sensing his mana.
Im fine He grunted. I just need to
Told you. Luke said casually, frowning slightly when Rex shot him a venomous glare in response.
Luke realized, as he awkwardly scratched his chin.
Luke turned away, and looked back at the milk dispensers.
Rex stumbled to his feet. How are you perfectly fine? He asked Luke.
Uhh Its just pain, I guess I'm used to it?
Boiling ourselves was a little bit of pain, how do you even brace for
He demanded.
Luke scratched the back of his head. Are you seriously comparing being boiled alive to drinking milk? How are they even remotely on the same level?
With the wat
Rex, not everyone has the same sensitivity to mana. She explained, putting a cup under the High Warrior tap. It should get less painful the more you do it though.
Frowning, she downed the liquid in a single gulp, wrinkling her nose in disgust as she did.
Blech. She shuddered, holding the empty cup in front of her, she frowned. Its something, She said eventually. Better than nothing, but the mana my body draws is already at the Warrior-tier. Id have to drink barrels of it to get the same benefit as you two. She sighed.
Oh. That sucks. Luke said, sliding his own glass back under the tap. Grinning a little when the machine filled it back up right away. I think I like it here. He chugged it down. Suppressing a grin, as another round of Stat Point notifications filled his vision.
Nel frowned at him. I know we have a lot, but dont waste it needlessly. She looked around the room. I should be able to set up a training regimen for you two. Something more optimized than just blindly drinking the milk, and hoping for the best. She said, walking around the room. Idly running her hands over the spines of the various books, and inspecting the potion vials as she came across them.
What are you thinking? Rex asked her.
Theres enough healing potions for hot and cold baths here and those are a must. And theyll be a lot more effective with mana from the milk in your system. Ill have to dig some holes, but it shouldn't be a problem. Ill make an exercise routine for you as well. It wont be as well tuned as what Grandfather had you doing in the Capital, but Ill do my best. The closer you two are to the Warrior-tier, the better your odds will be in the Olympics, so we definitely cant slack off. Oh, and She rambled on, and Luke zoned off. Only half paying attention to what she was saying.
Luke put his glass under the tap again. Once again it filled his glass. Chugging it down eagerly, he put it back underneath the dispenser.
What are you doing? Rex asked.
Seeing how much milk we can expect every day. If were going to be here for a while, then at the very least we can figure out how much we have.
Thats a good idea! Nel beamed at him, grabbing her own glass and putting it back under the tap. Drinking the contents reluctantly, she repeated the process one more time, before the Late Warrior tap refused to spit out anymore of the liquid.
Luke mused, once they had everything tallied up. The Early Warrior tap gave nine cups of milk, each one good for nine to twelve Stat Points. The Mid Warrior gave six, each one good for around twenty-three Ptat Points, and while Luke didnt get to test the Late Warrior milk, he expected it to give him around fifty Stat Points.
How are we going to split them? He asked right away, his eyes meeting Nels.
The early and mid stage milk isn't useful to me. She said after a while. You two can split that evenly, and Ill take the high stage.
He cupped his chin as he did the math in his head.
Okay. Luke agreed, and stared expectantly at Rex. Half expecting him to make a fuss and demand a bigger share.
Im fine with it too. He said after a while.
Luke opened his status.
| Skills | Quests | Inventory
Name: Lukas King
Tier: Mortal
Mana: 45 150 / 45 150
Rate: 15% per hour
Strength: 116
Agility: 240
Constitution: 301
Arcana: 300
Stat Points: 101
Bloodline: Locked. Conditions not met. (1/10 000)
Charges: 7/10
He thought to himself, as he read his stats. Doing his level best to suppress a grin as he thought about where to put his newly gained Stat Points. Near giddy at the thought of all the points he would be raking in over the next few weeks, he had to take a few breaths just to calm himself down.
He dismissed his Status and yawned, his eyes gravitating towards the beds.