GrainfieldsDay 12 of the Grainworks Initiative
Mark woke up, got ready for the day, and headed to the inn for breakfast. His plans were to head south into the Brightwater Valley to do some surveying and also check on the progress of his new outpost and the barge team heading upriver. He was almost done with breakfast when he saw Sarah heading over, which made him want to groan, as he was most likely in trouble about the toys he ordered, but he did not think those had shown up yet, so maybe not.
Sarah said, "Mark, I am glad I caught you. I wanted to talk about creating the school today and wanted to make sure that was ok.”
Mark said, “Depends. Do you need me? I was planning to head south.”
Sarah said, “I just need to make sure you're okay with it. Other than that, from what I understand, you just need an outpost or village to create it in.”
Mark said, "Go for it. A school will help everyone, not just the kids. If this works the way the System usually does, it'll become another tool Beaver Crossing can build on."
Sarah left Mark after getting his permission and headed to the back room where the council met to create the school. As she was not sure what she was doing, she did not want to be in the common room if something flashy happened. She grabbed a chair and sat down.
Sarah said, “I want to create a System-Sanctioned School."
[Institution Creation Requested]
Institution Type: School
Settlement: Beaver Crossing
Checking Requirements
◈ ◈ ◈
[Requirements Verified]
Beaver CrossingFounder Present
Educational Background Recognized
Previous Educational Experience Detected
Qualification Granted◈ ◈ ◈
[Teaching Skill Recognized]
Previous educational experience satisfies
requirements for initial certification◈ ◈ ◈
[Skill Acquired]
Teaching Level 1
Improves ability to explain basic conceptsIncreases effectiveness of one-on-one instructionSlightly improves student learning speed◈ ◈ ◈
[System-Sanctioned School Created]
Settlement: Beaver Crossing
Institution Level: 1◈ ◈ ◈
Sarah sat there reading over the message. Nothing stood out as flashy, just a simple system setup that matched what she learned should happen in Brightwater Valley. Then a new system message popped up.
[Beaver Crossing School]
Level: 1
TeachersStudentsSubjectsCurriculumProgress◈ ◈ ◈
Like all the other system screens she had seen before, this was a simple menu. So being a teacher, she started on the first line and selected Teachers.
[Teachers]
Assigned Teachers:None
Assign Yourself? YES / NO◈ ◈ ◈
She of course selected Yes.
[Teacher Assigned]
Sarah
Role: Head Teacher◈ ◈ ◈
Sarah then opened the subjects menu.
[Core Subjects]
Basic EducationTeaching
Select 5 Elective Subjects
Choose 5
CookingFarmingSurvivalBuildingTransportationAnimal HusbandryForestryHuntingHerbalismExplorationUnauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.MiningSmithingLeatherworkingTailoringFishingMedicine◈ ◈ ◈
Sarah studied the list for several minutes. She could only choose five. More would come later, but these first choices would shape the direction of the school. As she scanned the list, she picked out five that she thought best suited their current situation. Her choices were Cooking, Farming, Survival, Building, and Transportation.
[Curriculum Established]
Core SubjectsBasic EducationTeaching
Elective SubjectsCookingFarmingSurvivalBuildingTransportation◈ ◈ ◈
Now she had to figure out what those choices meant, and she opened cooking first.
[Subject]
Cooking
Progress: 0 / 5 Skill Completions
Unlocked Skills
Cooking Level 1Fire Starting Level 1
Locked Skills
Kitchen PrepField CookingFood PreservationBakingButchering
Every five successful student skill completions unlock another skill within this subject◈ ◈ ◈
She then clicked on the cooking skill.
[Cooking Level 1]
Students Enrolled: 0
Lesson Status: Available
Begin Lesson: YES / NO◈ ◈ ◈
Sarah then clicked yes and was presented with another screen.
[Lesson Generated]
Cooking Level 1
Requirements
Observe one complete meal preparationPrepare three simple mealsSuccessfully prepare one meal without assistance
Reward
Cooking Level 1
◈ ◈ ◈
Sarah smiled. “So that’s how it works.”
Sarah then went into the menu and registered as a student.
[Student Registered]
Sarah
Current LessonsCooking Level 1◈ ◈ ◈
[Training Started]
Cooking Level 1Progress0 / 3 Requirements Complete◈ ◈ ◈
Sarah realized this was not simply about learning something; it was about doing it. This one was easy; she was at the inn. She headed off into the kitchen and found Dale.
Sarah said, "Dale, can you help me try something out?”
Dale said, "Sure, I guess. What are we doing?”
Sarah said, “I created a System-Sanctioned School for Beaver Crossing, and I signed up as the first student learning Cooking. There are three requirements: observe one complete meal preparation, prepare three simple meals, and successfully prepare one meal without assistance.”
Dale said, “Nice free kitchen help for today. I can't turn that down.”
Dale motioned for her to follow him, and they went into the kitchen. Sarah just followed Dale around. First, she watched him work. It was a simple breakfast of toast, eggs, and some bacon. When it was finished, she even delivered it to the table that had ordered it.
The breakfast rush had basically ended for the morning, so they spent the next few hours prepping for the lunch rush. Dale had her peeling potatoes, peeling carrots, cleaning and preparing turnips, cutting onions, and preparing spices. Sarah was really enjoying herself. She already considered herself a decent cook, but since arriving in this world, she had mostly eaten at the inn instead of cooking for herself. It was fun to make food again.
For lunch, Dale had Sarah help him make three meals. The first was a vegetable stew with carrots, onions, turnips, and herbs, all slow-cooked in a pot. Dale helped instruct her on when to add each item and how to stir and cook it properly. Next, they made a pan-fried fish with root vegetables. That took some fresh fish, boiled potatoes, carrots, and some light seasoning. Sarah was taught how to fry the fish correctly and season it just right and prepare the other items to accompany it.
Last, they made a rabbit and vegetable soup. It consisted of rabbit meat, onions, carrots, herbs, and a thick broth Dale had. In cooking, Dale taught her how to prepare and cook the rabbit, how to simmer and prepare the onions, and how to spice it to make others drool while they ate it. Now they were at the final step. Sarah had to make a meal by herself using the things that Dale had taught her along the way. The choice for her meal was a hearty vegetable soup.
The soup consisted of potatoes, carrots, onions, herbs, water, and salt. Sarah washed all the vegetables and cut them as she had learned in the proper way. She went over to the stove and started it and put the pot of water, herbs, and salt on to boil. She then added all the vegetables to the pot. She cooked it, testing the vegetables regularly to make sure they were done, then added a little spice when she realized the soup was on the bland side.
When finished, she dished up two bowls and set them on a little table in the corner of the kitchen. Dale sat down and tasted it. He told her it was good but offered a few suggestions for next time: grill the onions a little at the start to bring out their flavor and add the vegetables in the right order so each type reached the proper consistency. But all in all, he gave it a thumbs up. Then Sarah received a system message.
[Skill Acquired]Cooking Level 1
Prepare simple meals using basic ingredientsJudge food doneness more reliablyReduce common cooking mistakes that waste food◈ ◈ ◈
Sarah was delighted by the payoff from her first school skill. She was so excited that she went around and gave Dale a huge hug. He just laughed and asked her what was so exciting.
Sarah said, “I got it. I really got the Cooking skill.”
Dale said, “Already? I figured that would take you a week.”
Sarah then explained what she had created with the System-Sanctioned School, including the Cooking skill choices and the locked skill options. Dale was really excited about this. When he hired a new person, it was a lot of trouble to get them their first few basic skills. Sarah invited him as a student to the school and had Dale look at the interface. He promised her that he would send everyone in the kitchen staff to her who did not have the two unlocked skills of Cooking and Fire Starting to get them registered in the school and get the classes, because he wanted them to gain access to the advanced classes that were currently locked.
Now that Sarah was done getting her first skill and figuring out how the skills and school worked, she went to find new students. Out in the common room were about half of the kids that came with her. She gathered them together and explained about the school and the skill choices they had, and she was going to have the kids all start with the core subject of Basic Education. At the mention of school, a boy in the back started to complain.
The boy said, "Bah, we came to a new world. I learned to ride a horse, and now you expect me to go to school again? Forget it.”
Sarah said, "Good."
The kids started to blink at her.
Sarah said, "Because this isn't the kind of school you remember."