Chương 41: Learning Curve

A frost wyrm was quite a step up from a mere cyclops. Swift, gigantic, and with an ever-present aura of pure ice magic that would freeze anyone who approached in seconds, they were incredibly rare and outright extinct on most worlds. The serpent-like creatures did not possess wings or limbs like the sky gods of old, but a single glance was enough to leave no doubt about their draconic heritage. The one that Alcyr faced had been young by wyrm standards — likely not much older than a hundred years.

Had it matured another century or two, it would not have even fit inside the cavern. But even a young wyrm was still incredibly dangerous. The fact that it was already a Grandmaster was enough of an indication of its threat. For the shamans to have brought such a temperamental beast to the base, they must have been serious about destroying the 4th Regulars once and for all. But how did such a large army make it to the mountain undetected?

The other platoons deployed in the fields should have contested their approach long ago. Perhaps the storm masked their advance? Alcyr frowned. That seems too coincidental. It's possible the blizzard was purposefully conjured instead of naturally formed, but do the barbarians truly possess such powerful magic? It felt unlikely; otherwise, they would have surely used it long ago. He only had theories to work off on for now, but if he was being honest, the truth mattered little in his situation.

My four problems still remain, but at least I know the face of all of them now. A rocfiend, a cyclops, a frost wyrm, and a shapeshifting manticore. This was going to be a productive Well.

After fifteen more loops, he concluded that his main problem was that he could not be everywhere at once. He needed to kill the cyclops and its army of lesser troops so that the base did not get overrun, but if he took too long, the frost wyrm would have time to set up its ice territory, weaken the cavern's foundations, and cause the whole mountain to collapse on them.

If he instead focused his attention on immediately killing the frost wyrm, then the cyclops and its army would take over the base, and Alcyr would be dead anyway — assuming the wyrm did not kill him first, which was a far more likely possibility given how badly it outmatched him. Holding out the siege was not feasible, nor was preemptively dealing with the assault since the storm prevented him from arriving early.

As far as Alcyr could tell, no reinforcement ever came to save them either, meaning he, Lenore, and the garrison were on their own. A conundrum, to be sure. But the sheer scope of the problem did not demoralise him. If anything, he was rather pleased. Especially since he had just unlocked the next stage of his Blessed Blood Mystery. [Mystery: Blessed Blood of Violence] Effect (Dormant): Drastically increases experience gain for skills and Artes related to the Path of Violence.

Drastically increases odds of gaining skills and Artes related to the Path of Violence. Increases strength and aggression in combat, and doubles this bonus when facing Beast-type, Evil-aligned, or Blighted creatures. All effects scale with the current stage. Effect (Awakened) — With the user's permission, grants one random Rare-tier ability associated with the Path of Violence for the categories of Combat Skills, Life Skills, and Artes each. Grants a major affinity boost to Beasts.

Slightly increases the chance for any Combat Skill or Arte to mutate to a higher rarity. Effect (Aspiring) — Locked Effect (Grand) — Locked Awakening condition: Slay Monsters (0/100) He had immediately sought the oracle on the loop right after he unlocked the Mystery's next stage. After reading the description, he pondered briefly. That's a lot more skill-focused than I thought it would be. Aside from the Beast affinity boost, it doesn't give any additional combat passives…

Still, that didn't mean the new stage was bad. The addition of not one or two, but three whole new Rare-tier skills more than made up for the lack of other passives. Alcyr could hardly believe the Blessed Blood's generosity. Mysteries really are ridiculously powerful. Little wonder the nobility are always so arrogant. Now, let's see what we get… He willed the System to activate the Awakened effect of the Mystery. There was a painful surge in his head as knowledge flooded in. He resisted the urge to hiss.

The oracle was still before him, and any overt movement could be taken as a threat to her life. The notifications poured in as his headache left, as abruptly as it came. Alcyr's heart skipped a beat when he saw the skill names. [New Skill: Apotheosis of Battle 1 (Rare)] [New Skill: Apex Constitution 1 (Rare)] [New Arte: Grand Hunt's End 1 (Rare)] This looks promising. Wasting no time, he used the elevated System access given by the oracle to browse the skills' description.

[Ability Description] Apotheosis of Battle: A skill that grants increasing strength, speed, and physical damage resistance the longer a fight drags on. The effect also increases as the body sustains more cumulative wounds over the course of the same battle. Resets after the battle ends. Apex Constitution: The sight of your form now becomes physically oppressive to those weaker than you. Drastically increases stamina and physical prowess. In addition, greatly enhanced resistance to all ailments.

Grand Hunt's End: An Arte of immense power, but one that grows exponentially weaker with each successive use against the same enemy. Its damage is increased against Giant, Beast, Monster, and Evil-aligned targets. Each condition is evaluated separately, allowing an enemy that fulfils multiple conditions to suffer the damage bonus multiple times. Not bad at all. Apotheosis of Battle was what one classified as a 'ramping skill' — a skill that made the user stronger the longer a battle went on for.

While such a skill effect wasn't entirely unique or unheard of, it was still rather rare and quite fervently sought-after by guileful warriors. Their true value lay more in deception than raw power. Ramping skills could catch unsuspecting enemies off guard with how inconspicuously they strengthened the user over time. By the time the foe realised their mistake in letting their opponent 'ramp' up through a deliberately prolonged battle, it was likely already too late.

Apotheosis of Battle also had potential synergy with Red March Swordplay or future regenerative skills. Since the skill specified cumulative wounds, even if Alcyr healed his injuries mid-battle, the bonuses granted by the skill would still add up. Apex Constitution was arguably the weakest skill of the trio, but even then, it was an amazing addition. The intimidation effect would be helpful against weaker opponents or as a tool for negotiations.

More strength and stamina was also always good, and the enhanced resistance to ailments — bleeding, diseases, mental afflictions — shored up another potential gap in his defences. Grand Hunt's End, however, was a game changer. Alcyr nearly burst out laughing when he read the Arte's description. It suited his needs perfectly. Just about all of his key targets fulfilled at least two of the four Arte's conditions. Those poor creatures have no idea what's coming for them…

He hadn't forgotten about the last part of his Mystery's new stage — the increased chance of skill mutation. Skill mutations were a rare event where a skill spontaneously upgrades itself to a higher rarity while maintaining its level. Although this sounded extraordinary, skill mutations generally had an abysmally low chance of ever happening. No one knew what were the conditions to trigger it, and recorded cases each year numbered less than a handful throughout the entire kingdom.

The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Alcyr wasn't sure if he wouldn't have traded that last part of his Mystery's boon for another more tangible passive, given the choice. Maybe with Sword Fanatic and this bonus combined, I might see my Sword Discipline skill upgrade sometime soon… He could only hope. The Common rarity of Sword Discipline was really starting to hold him back.

Even the Common-rarity Arte, Cleave, now felt weak compared to his new Power Strike Arte or the empowered Red March Swordplay Arte, despite Cleave's higher levels.

"Well, if everyone had Rare skills, then they wouldn't be called 'Rare' anymore, would they?" Ural pointed out when Alcyr brought up the topic with him one afternoon as they sparred.

"Their increased power is balanced out by how much harder they are to obtain and level. The difference gets even crazier for Epic and Legendary rarity skills, and the System doesn't even give those out naturally."

"I was taught that as well," Alcyr said, clashing blades with Ural.

"The only way to get a skill past the 'Rare' tier is through a skill mutation or a Mystery."

"In other words, you either get lucky, or you were born lucky." The shock trooper parried his blow and stepped back, shrugging.

"It's a terrible gamble either way. The world is unfair, no?" Alcyr didn't reply. It was childish of him to complain, yet he was also rational enough to see that Ural had a point. Even after so many fights, Alcyr was still heavily reliant on his basic Sword Discipline skill for combat. Something like 'Paired Sword Mastery' didn't really count, since it was more a weapon-style skill than a weapon skill.

So long as he was stuck with Sword Discipline, his overall combat prowess was never going to improve substantially, even if he got the skill to Level 100. If he could just get a Rare variant, or even just an Uncommon one, his powers would double overnight.

"A few of the more powerful Regulars in the company are who they are today because they started out immediately with strong weapon skills," Ural continued.

"The Sword Knight from Second Platoon is rumoured to have unlocked an Epic-rarity weapon skill the moment his System awakened when he was sixteen years old. I'll let you guess which weapon it is." Alcyr chuckled lightly.

"What about you, then? What is your primary weapon skill rarity?" Ural grinned.

"That's a secret, but let's just say I like to cheat." Well, of course, you would…

More and more loops passed. To Alcyr's surprise, the days passed relatively slowly and pleasantly, despite the continuous deaths each night. It helped immensely that he did not wake up in severe pain and weakness at the start of each new loop, unlike the last Well. Rather, his mornings were so comfortable, they bordered on sinful. Meeting each new loop with a soft bed and warm company at his side did wonders for morale. The days were also much longer.

While he might usually wake up late, there were still plenty of hours left in the day to act however he wished. The post-blizzard sun and the lax atmosphere of the Lafmere made the afternoons slow and lazy. With his heavy coin purse and the group staying on the nicer side of town, he had plenty of food, drinks, and other luxuries to indulge in should he so choose. It almost felt like a holiday. Alcyr was fully capable of living an ascetic life if needed, but he did not spurn comfort or hold it in contempt.

There was more to life than just suffering. His mentor made sure to teach him that, even after the hell he went through. That didn't mean he wasted his time. Even as the fiftieth loop passed, he still continued looking for ways to resolve his predicament, and with a full purse and a town's worth of services at his disposal, there were many different methods of personal growth he experimented with. For example, tutors.

Lafmere didn't have the best skill tutors available — it was a frontier town, not a heartland city. And while there was a military outpost here, it was mostly for recruiting peasants and lowborn mercenaries, and the quality of the tutors matched their clients. Still, there was no harm in seeking them out, especially since his coin purse reset each loop. The few Irregular tutors he found were mostly teaching basic combat or survival skills — Field Triage, Shield Discipline, Spear Discipline, and so on.

Most he already had in his arsenal, and the few he didn't were either too niche or outside his combat style to matter. Instead, Alcyr began looking into skills that could act as a power amplifier for his current combat effectiveness. Crafting. Alchemy. Magic. Rather than seeking mere martial might, it was important to learn abilities that could multiply his lethality, rather than just add to it. Lafmere wasn't big as far as most towns went, but it still had a small and thriving artisan guild.

The Irregulars still needed arms and armour, after all. Plus, the many adventurers and mercenaries that came here also paid well for repairs and specialised equipment. The artisan workshops were also where he usually bought his throwable incendiaries for the night. Fire bombs, oil pots, flaresticks… All were excellent at corralling the blightwolves or at weakening the cyclops's ice armour, as well as levelling his Pyrotechnics skill.

Against the frost wyrm, however, the explosives he could obtain with money alone were not enough. The artisan guild was hardly making firebombs strong enough to take down a Grandmaster-tier monster. Even if said monster had a weakness to fire due to its high frost affinity, it still wasn't going to die to a standard firebomb, or even a hundred. And since that was the case… I'll just have to make one big enough to kill it myself.

On the afternoon of the fifty-seventh loop, Alcyr made a strange request with the leader of the artisan guild.

"You want me to teach you how to craft a bomb?" the man asked incredulously.

"What the hell are you on, boy? We don't have time to waste with fools like you! Go join the Irregulars and die in a ditch somewhere…" The man's rudeness did not bother him. Alcyr was not wearing his armour — he learnt long ago it made others uncomfortable and less willing to do business with him. The artisan leader likely didn't have a perception skill as well, meaning he could not sense Alcyr's overwhelming strength. All they saw was a deluded young peasant making absurd offers.

A large and well-built peasant, perhaps, but that only made them guess he was a dumb labourer, not a soldier. But that was fine. Alcyr had learnt long ago the fastest and most efficient method to change their minds.

"I'll pay fifty silvers for an hour's lesson," Alcyr offered.

"Starting now." The artisan leader froze in his work. Nearby, another craftsman nearly dropped his cargo. The words 'fifty silvers' grabbed everyone's attention within ear's reach. Privately, Alcyr marvelled at how easily he spent his money now. A few months ago — while he was still an Irregular — fifty silver coins were worth a full year's worth of wages for him. He would have spent it on nothing less than the finest arms and armour he could find in the 3rd Irregular's armoury.

Now, he was using it to barter for a mere hour of basic tutoring. His offer immediately shut the artisan leader up. The man looked at Alcyr suspiciously, but his greed eventually won over.

"A full gold," the quartermaster counteroffered greedily.

"And it won't be me teaching you; I don't have the time. However, I can find one of my assistants to teach you the basics."

"An assistant is not worth a full gold piece. Fifty-five silvers for an hour."

"Don't waste my time. Ninety-five, and that's my generous offer to celebrate our new friendship."

"Seventy-five. And you cover the cost of the equipment used in the lesson."

"Done." The artisan leader grinned widely, and Alcyr knew he got scammed once more. Not that it matters, he thought with some amusement. His finances would recover once the next loop comes. He would not even have bothered bartering if not for the skill experience. [Barter has improved to 27] It took six more loops before Alcyr finally gained the skill he needed from the assistant.

[New Skill: Crafting 1 (Common)]"I don't even know why you're bothering with this," the man complained as he examined Alcyr's shoddy work.

"I'm not saying you won't eventually become good at the skill, but why waste your time and money learning Crafting when you can just buy whatever you need? Bombs, traps, incendiaries… There's a reason why the production of war gear is left to craftsmen instead of soldiers, you know. Specialisation is king." Alcyr shrugged.

"I have the time." The assistant sighed.

"Suit yourself, you loon. I suppose this is the result of your peasant education failing you."

"My education was fine. But I appreciate your concern." Alcyr didn't take offence at the insults. In truth, the other man wasn't speaking nonsense. If one wanted to be a craftsman, then they spent their lives learning crafting-related skills. If one wanted to be a soldier, then they dedicated their time to martial pursuits instead. Doing both was stupid. There was little overlap between the two skill sets, and the person would be forced to split their efforts across two separate learning paths.

This might seem worthwhile in the beginning when skill levels were still low and easy to raise, but in the long term, the System's inner workings rewarded depth exponentially more than breadth. Every skill could be learned by anyone willing to invest the time, but mastery of any skill demanded total commitment due to the cascading experience requirements at higher levels. However, my circumstances are not like others, Alcyr thought. Under ideal conditions, time and money are two things I have an endless amount of.

It would be foolish for me not to exploit it. There was also another reason that motivated him to take on the Crafting skill, and that was related to his newest skill gained. [Crafting has improved to 2] [Pyrotechnics has improved to 12] Alcyr eyed the second bomb he made. The assistant looked surprised.

"That's a little better than your previous one," he reluctantly said.

"It looks closer to a High Initiate's work rather than a complete amateur's." Alcyr smiled. His theory was right. The skill, Pyrotechnics, didn't just bolster any incendiary he threw. It also improved the quality of any incendiary he crafted. The fact that Pyrotechnic levelled up when he created the bomb proved it. Once he unlocked the Crafting skill, both the Pyrotechnic and Crafting skills automatically worked in tandem, applying both their bonuses to the item he was making, creating a stronger explosive.

Not only that, but when he used the device he made, Pyrotechnic would reapply its bonus once more, making the explosive even stronger. In a sense, this allowed him to compound the skill's modifiers, multiplying its effectiveness. It was a trick his mentor had taught him before. The common man might scorn the union of skills from different paths and trades, but there was a synergy to be found and exploited there if one looked.

Some of the strongest and most powerful individuals throughout the Hundred Worlds only reached the apex of their fields through such unorthodox synthesis. Theoretically, using any explosive I crafted would be twice as effective as if I used one that I bought from a crafter, he thought. That is, of course, assuming our crafting-related skills are of the same level. He was nowhere near that level of proficiency yet. What he had, however, was the time, money, and tutors to get him there.

I wonder how big of a firebomb I can make once I finally claw my way out of this Well…