26 Boys's Ambitions

Remian called him aside the next morning. "George, I was rather impressed with the way you stepped up for Mindy back then. Tell me, what do you plan to do in the long-term?"

"You mean, what I want to be when I grow up?" George shook his head. "Nothing much. I just want to have my own farm and haveenough food for everybody."

Remian nodded. "So why wait? You don't have to wait until you grow up for that. Let's do it."

"Really?" George blinked. "When?"

He expected Remian to talk about five years or ten years ahead, but what he said was, "Today."

"Seriously?"

"Right now."

Remian marked out a huge (or at least, it seemed huge to George) plot of land with fire. "From here to here, plant food crops. On this side, you can raise Glass Dandelions. Further out, we need Purple Heartbeat Trees and Blue Ring Mushrooms. Also, we should dig a large pond to raise Rainbow Jellyfish."

"You want to farm the ingredients for Tier 1 and Tier 2 magic ink." George understood. "But this… it's too big for me to handle. I mean… you're talking about a farm that covers the whole side of the hill!"

"Yes, that's it, exactly." Remian agreed. "That's why you won't be able to manage it all by yourself. You need a crew."

"I need an army." George's head swam. "Can I ask my squad to help me out?"

"Of course. You should ask the wolfcats for help. They can dig and guard your crops against Blood Rabbits. I've actually seen some of those rabbits eat the Glass Dandelions, so you're going to need to guard against them, or trap and hunt them."

"I can't manage all that!" George protested.

"Oh, and a couple more things. There's a spell you should learn called the Gathering of Light. It's an easy Tier 1 spell, and I have a few scrolls for it, but you should learn to cast it without scrolls. I'm also learning a new water spell from Charlie; I'll teach it to you once I've learned it properly. it should be useful to help tend your crops in the future."

"Wait, wait… now you want me to learn magic too?? On top of Legion training and the farm…"

"You can combine those. Just specialize in using halberds and then adjust your shovel and hoe abit."

"It's still too much for me to handle! I'm just a kid!"

Remian finally frowned. "That's no excuse. It's not an excuse for behaving badly, or being lazy, or anything. If all you want to be is some helpless kid, then get out of the Adventurers Guild. I'll ask Charlie to take you away from the Frontier. This is no place for excuses like that."

"W… wait…!" George gasped. "That's not…"

"Then fight!" Remian pressed. "Stand up on your own feet and make the impossible possible! So you can't do it alone; nobody can! One person can't really do anything much. That's why we ask for help! That's why we form groups! That's why people work together!"

"So you're saying…"

"I already told you. Put together a crew. Ask the wolfcats for help. If that's not enough, get a bigger crew, get more help. Quit trying to make excuses and just start! It might take you a year before it's running smoothly. It might take you ten years. But if you keep excuses, your dreams will forever be only daydreams. You have hands and legs; you have friends, and you have time, and you have energy. You have everything you need to start and start now. Trust me; I know, because I don't!"

"You don't?" George blinked.

"I can't do it." Remian said intently. "But you can."

"Me…?" George still wasn't sure.

"You can." Remian spoke with absolute certainty. "I'll help you. I'll even guide you step-by-step."

"Really?" George felt a huge load lift from his shoulders. "Why?"

"Because I will benefit a lot from it later." Remian pointed out. "I'm going to need those ingredients. In three months, I want to collect 20 portions worth of magic ink ingredients from this farm."

"Three months?!" George stared. "The Purple Heartbeat Trees alone…"

"That's why you need to learn those spells. I'll try to get you some better spells and even some Earth magic later." Remian frowned. "Along with better equipment. But there's no reason why you can't start now."

"W-what do I do?" George asked.

"First, you bribe Carrie and Buff to help you clear some land. Then, you bribe Joshu to get you some Purple Heartbeat seedlings. Those will take the longest time to grow and the objective is to harvest 20 portions' supply daily in three months." Remian paused. "Remember, they have to be paid. Don't let them do it for free even if they offer. Think about what their time and efforts are worth. Ask me or Mandy if you need advice and information.

"If you can clear enough space for fifty trees by next week, the land is yours."

***

In his own opinion, Tim had a much harder job.

"Your job is to build the Guard Tower." Remian explained. "The Legionnaires will be busy building the airport, but that Tower needs to be ready for the next Beast Wave. That means you have roughly two weeks to build a structure strong enough to withstand Tier 3 and 4 Wilds. It doesn't have to be very tall, just out of reach of the biggest Tier 4 Wilds; and it needs to be able to protect all of you at the same time. I suggest at least three floors. Remember, there are sixteen of you now, and you might need space for siege weapons and twice as many defenders someday."

"So… how big should it be?" Tim asked, half-dazed.

"Think about three Guild Halls stacked on top of each other." Remian advised. "With stairs inside. The walls need to be at least two logs thick."

"Thin logs or fat logs?"

"As thick as you can wrap your arms around." Remian paused. "Also, you need to guard your crew. There are Tier 2 Wilds about."

"I can't manage all that!" Tim finally blurted.

"Then ask for help."

"From who? George already got Carrie and Buff to help him clear land for the plantation!"

"So ask Kage and Joshu and Xia. Ask the girls for help."

"The girls? Would they really help me? I mean… wouldn't they rather just sit around gossiping or practicing archery?"

"They should, if they want you to help them back with their tasks later."

***

Mandy watched George and Tim scrambling around trying to do their respective 'tasks' and asked, "Is this really a good idea?"

Remian sighed. "Well, what do you want them to learn? How to make excuses, or how to figure things out for themselves?"

"But… isn't this a bit much? You didn't have to give them jobs this hard." Mandy protested.

"Actually, I did." Remian said. "I didn't have a choice."

"What do you mean?"

"The jobs might be hard, but we need them done."

"Then why don't you do it yourself?" Mandy flared.

"Stop trying to do everything for them." Remian shook his head. "They'll have our full support, but in terms of their own growth, this is best handled by them as much as possible."

"And what kind of support do you mean to give, exactly?"

Remian paused, then said, "Come with me."

He went over to see Carrie who was digging up stumps at the plantation land-to-be. "Hey, Carrie."

Carrie glanced up and waved her tail a little as she kept digging. [Hey.]

"We need more wolfcats." Remian said then. "Do you have any friends?"

She did. Remian sent her out like Joshu, with the same mission conditions and rewards for recruitment. Just an hour later, she came back with a wolfcat family.

The father was a Tier 3 Scarlet Fur Wolfcat about half the size of Carrie. His name had to do with different kinds of reds all being red in the end. Remian considered calling him 'Unified Reds' or 'Reddish Hues' before finally settling on just calling him 'Red'.

The mother was white with gray patches, also Tier 3. Her name had something to do with looking at the moon and howling together with friends every full moon… he just called her 'Lunar'.

They brought four cubs. The cubs were barely able to walk, and slept a lot. Two were red, one was gray with white patches, and the last was white with red patches. Remian figured he'd call them by how they looked; Ember, Scarlet, Moonlight and Flare. These four landed up snoozing in the cave with Mandy while their mother Lunar went to help George and their father Red went to help Tim. Carrie herself went looking for more wolfcats.

"Looks like we have a Carrie Squad." Remian squinted. "And once they grow a bit more, a Vigil Squad."

And then she brought back a whole pack.