In our various lands, we observed various forms of wildlife through the Libra System. Whenever we discovered an animal with a high reading on the Libra System, we observed its feeding habits. Through this, we discovered various edible plants and brought their fruits back to our various camps. There, we ate the fruits and replanted the seeds.
In their continent, Keiran and Concordia alternated their roles to keep their collective MP above eighty percent and in so doing conserve their collective mental fortitude. When Concordia's turn to rest came, Keiran took on the farming role and tended to the crops.
At that moment, in our various continents, we all received notifications.
"Congratulations on completing the Hunting And Gathering Level. The Third Level, the Subsistence Farming Level, commences now. It's all well and good to cultivate however…some crops yield a bigger harvest. You have acquired a new skill to help you complete this level" the notification read.
Concordia approached Keiran.
"A new skill? What is it this time?" Concordia asked.
Keiran looked through his menu and found beside the Libra Skill, a new skill named 'Leo'.
"Leo?" Concordia wondered.
"It's another one of the twelve signs of the Zodiac symbolized by the Lion" Keiran said seriously.
"Isn't that the symbol of your family Keiran?" Concordia asked curiously.
"Yes, it is" Keiran said.
"So you might understand it a little better than I do" Concordia said.
Keiran thought deeply about the new hint.
"It's all well and good to cultivate however…some crops yield a bigger harvest huh? Hey Concordia, you do know that Lions typically hunt in groups right?" Keiran asked.
Concordia nodded.
"And ironically, a group of Lions is called a Pride" Keiran said.
"A Pride? Well I know that Lions are often referred to as the Kings Of The Forest" Concordia admitted.
"Lions tend to hunt only when they are hungry. Ironically, lionesses do most of the hunting. Lions are responsible for guarding the territory. Lions may be referred to as the Kings Of The Forest however they are not nearly as ferocious as Tigers" Keiran said.
"What are you getting at?" Concordia asked.
"Pride is not the term used to refer to the leader of a Pride. Rather, the Pride itself bears that title. In other words, for Lions, Pride symbolizes 'Family'" Keiran explained.
"And what of the symbol for your Mother's Family?" Concordia asked curiously.
"There are actually two symbols on my Mother's side of the Family. The First is 'a sword severing a chain'. My Mom keeps saying that the Kirisawa House Of Dream Knights was founded to sever the chains binding Light. The Second Symbol is the Dragon" Keiran said.
"You sure that's not a jinx?" Concordia asked.
"Well, according to the Chinese Zodiac, the Dragon wields the power of Combustion and it's common knowledge that Dragons breathe Fire. Correspond that to a Stone Of Virtue and Fire is the symbol for Fortitude, the only other element aside from Light with the capacity to directly nullify the effects of Darkness" Keiran explained. "A Third Symbol is the Pyrostellis Luminares or 'Fiery Star Heavenly Lights' which is the symbol for our Family both ways" Keiran explained.
"I see, Family on the one hand, Fortitude on the other" Concordia realized.
"What of you?" Keiran asked.
"Well, on my Dad's side, my Family's symbol is the Hound" Concordia said.
"It's no wonder you're so much trouble" Keiran joked.
Concordia laughed and punched him on the shoulder.
"Hounds are well renowned for their heightened senses so in a sense they symbolize 'Instinct'" Concordia explained.
"I see. Makes a lot of sense" Keiran said.
"There's also my Dad's Tomahawks which possess the capacity to transform into the Blades Of Hope" Concordia explained.
Keiran paid close attention.
"On my Mom's side of the Family, our Symbol is the Pendragon" Concordia said.
"It's no wonder the Game we're playing now is entitled Xcalibur. I hear you're actually descended from the Arthur Pendragon" Keiran said.
"On my Mom's side of the Family, yeah" Concordia said.
"So what does the Pendragon symbolize?" Keiran asked curiously.
"Well, the Pen symbolizes 'Intellect' and the Dragon symbolizes 'Fortitude'. Put those two together and there is the connotation for 'Wisdom'. Then there's my Mom's sigil. Ironically, though my Mom is descended from Arthur Pendragon, she didn't inherit his sigil, the Excalibur but rather she inherited a mystical bow called the 'Bow Of Orion'. It's a bow with the power to slay terrible foes" Concordia explained.
"I see, 'Instinct' on the one hand, 'Wisdom' on the other" Keiran said.
Concordia smiled.
"Didn't the backstory of the Game say our progress will be shaped by our unique sets of beliefs and these would guide our technological advancement as well?" Keiran asked.
"Now that you mention it, it did" Concordia said.
"Leo huh? Coincidentally, Subsistence Farming was developed once our ancestors began to form family groups and Hunting And Gathering was no longer enough to sustain their families" Keiran explained.
"I see" Concordia realized.
Keiran nodded.
"But what did that final hint mean?" Concordia asked.
"We've gathered the seeds of edible plants by observing the feeding habits of animals that produced high readings on the Libra System and we've sown them…however…it will take a while for them to flower and begin to bear fruit. Until that moment comes, we'll have to sustain our HP through Hunting And Gathering. Aside from that, different crops have different times of harvest. Some are harvested annually, some biennially and others perennially. Annual crops are harvested once a year. Biennial crops are harvested once every two years and perennial crops take much longer to be harvested" Keiran explained.
"I see" Concordia realized.
"And aside from that, different crops provide different levels of support" Keiran said.
"Support huh? Leo…could this be what the hint means?" Concordia wondered.
"Some crops can provide enough food even when planted scarcely. On the other hand, some need to be planted in large quantities to provide enough support" Keiran explained.
"Still, there's no way to know for sure what a harvest may bring in until the time of harvest. Multiple factors determine the quality of the harvest and these range from weather conditions to soil conditions notwithstanding the amount of effort the farmer puts into tending the crops" Concordia said.
"That's true" Keiran admitted.
In the land that corresponded with the Tropics, I explained to Ciella what Keiran had just explained to Concordia.
"I see" Ciella realized the significance of the Leo System.
"Now, let's check the functionalities of the Leo System" I said and accessed the Leo System.
There was a scale as well however unlike with the Libra System where the scale was horizontal, the Leo System had a vertical scale. At the centre of the scale, also the point of origin where the scale was split into perfect halves was the marker 'Ground Level'. There was also a notification.
"The Leo System measures the degree of support a particular crop can provide against the location where the harvest is stored" I read.
Ciella looked concerned.
"Is this something I should be concerned about?" Ciella asked as she recalled Arlene's earlier warning about sigil natures and outcomes.
I laid a comforting hand on her shoulder.
"I believe Arlene in teaching you about sigils also informed you that as long as your heart is in the right place, there is nothing to be concerned about even if on a surface level, the results appear to be counterproductive" I reassured Ciella.
Ciella nodded.
"She did" Ciella admitted.
"If my memory concerning the basic principles of agriculture I learnt in Junior High serves me correct, I believe there are basically two types of root systems in plants. The first is the tap root system. Plants that fall into this category have roots that dig vertically into the earth reaching towards bedrock. Then there is the fibrous root system where the roots of a plant form mesh like structures that spread out" I explained.
Ciella listened closely.
"All forms of life ultimately get their energy from the Sun, however, different life forms manage their energy in different ways. Plants take their energy directly from the Sun, Herbivores feed on Plants, then are devoured by Carnivores and when they die, they become sustenance for Plant life and the cycle continues. Green Plants are capable of channeling various elements obtained from both the air and the ground into the processing of their food. The fruits we often eat are actually storage facilities where plants store the processed elements after photosynthesis. Different plants store their fruits in different locations. Tubers for instance are stored underground while most bulbs are stored above ground. I think that's what the Leo System measures. When the metre is below Ground Level, the life-form being observed most likely stores its fruits underground. The lower the metre, the greater the support this type of plant provides. If the metre is above Ground Level, the plant in question most likely stores its fruits above the surface. The higher the metre, the greater the support this type of plant provides as well" I explained.
"I see. In a weird sort of way…it's kinda like my name…and yours" Ciella said.
She seemed to have mixed feelings of joy and concern.
"There also appears to be some sort of periodic marker that seems to indicate the average period of time it would take for a plant to reach its time of harvest. However it appears that the Leo System only applies to crops we have harvested in the past utilizing the Libra System. It makes sense. One cannot know what one has never experienced in some form" I explained.
"I suppose we should prioritize seeking multiple varieties of crops through the Libra System then?" Ciella said almost as though she were uncertain of her answer.
"You're right" I said with a reassuring smile. "Then measure the period till the time of harvest with the Leo System. If we're fortunate, we might find varieties that have short timespans between their times of harvest. That way, after harvesting one variety of crop, we won't have to wait very long to harvest the next batch. We should also take into account seasonal changes and their effects on each variety of crop as well as environmental affinities for each crop type" I explained to Ciella.
"Sounds tough" she sighed heavily.
In our various lands, by observing multiple varieties of animals with similar genomes and mapping that to our own genomes, we were able to gather numerous varieties of fruits that they preferred. We brought them back to our various camps, ate the fruits, then we replanted the seeds taking into consideration the average timespan between the time of planting and time of harvesting of each variety of crop as recorded on the Leo System.