Chương 13: Skill Upgrade

"And done," I finally said. I had finished copying the dictionary and going through the entire thing.

"Congratulations. I am guessing you maxed out Writing Skills and Eldarin Language?" Tutor Damian asked me.

"Um, my mother doesn't want me to look at my status, except once every three months."

"Ah, yes. I am used to checking when I have completed a hard task to confirm a breakthrough. Well then, let's not disregard what she said. Your mother is correct. Still, it isn't a bad assumption to make. Copying an entire book like the Eldarin Dictionary is normally enough to max out the Eldarin Language and Writing Skills. We can move on to Eldarin Script and Focused Writing." He then pulled out a much thicker tome, which he set on the table with a thud.

"What is that?" I asked as he got out another blank tome.

"This, my young student, is the famous epic poem, Transversal of the Dungeon by famed playwright, Aaron the Orator, transcribed to preserve his words for all time. Supposedly, he had a Tier 5 skill related to poetry. You are to copy the entire thing in the same writing style. Oh, here is another book, showing the artistry of Eldarin Script." Instead of block letters, it was all flowy with one letter connecting to another.

"Why?"

"Well, it is the original language, derived from the Runic Script to make learning easier. Then, the script served as the origin of our language. Creating a chain of skills from tier 1 upwards, which makes learning all this much simpler than it was in the distant past." I looked at the thick tome and opened it.

"All of this?" I asked with despair.

"It will take a long time, but it is the best way to raise the skills in tandem. It is what they teach at the College of Advancement after all," he explained.

"You went there?"

"Long ago. But yes. Those were some of the greatest and hardest years of my life. The place is absolutely cutthroat. The earliest one can enter is at 12, and you get to stay for up to seven years as a student. Most people fail out in year 5, which is when I had to drop out."

"Is it that hard?"

"That and the cost. Only the top three students in the year receive scholarships. For the rest, it is an academic bloodbath that brings out the worst in people as everyone tries to outdo one another. The curriculum of the various courses are designed on purpose to maximize level gain and pass through bottlenecks on your skills."

"What about someone like me who had studied ahead?"

"That isn't as much of an advantage as you would think, but an invitation for harder courses. Each student must achieve a certain number of skill levels annually. Failure to do so will result in expulsion. Each professor can only have a certain failure rate, so only the best and brightest students are allowed to pass. The College of Advancement produces at least one person who becomes a legend in each graduating class. Sometimes more."

"What? That…really?" I asked in surprise, and he nodded.

"Just like exploring the dungeon can push your physical and combat skills, the College of Advancement will push your mental skills to the limit. If you pursue runes or magic, there really is no better place to study. Basically, anything except combat."

"No other requirements?"

"Not for someone from your background. Just your mother's name alone would get you in without question. It doesn't guarantee that you will remain there, but it will get you in with no complications. Otherwise, there are competitions and numerous other headaches to contend with when trying to gain admission without backing. Also, the expense is enormous. Well, for someone like me, not for someone like you."

"Where is it? I know it isn't here in our Kingdom of Terandar."

"Farther north, in the Ice-Capped Mountains above the city of Undercraft, which the dwarves control, and the elves control the ice forest at the base of the mountains, further north near the Frozen Coast. Humans still make up most of the individuals at the College, due to our numbers. But the other races have different entry requirements in relation to their age." Now I had even more questions. Before I could ask more, Damian cut me off.

"Your curiosity is good, but it's time to focus on your skills. It should take you a year to copy that if you focus." Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings. I looked between his pointed finger and the giant tome. My hand already felt like it was going to fall off. I felt another headache coming on, and I wasn't sure if it was because of the alchemical product I had taken or just the thought of copying all of that.

"The look on your face is the same one I had when my tutor told me about this years ago."

"It's just…a lot," I finally said, and he nodded.

"If it were easy to gain skill levels, then everyone would do so. The College of Advancement has an entire research division devoted to maximizing skill levels and stat gains through training. Just as adventurers plumb the dungeon for meaning, academics do so through optimization and refinement."

"At least it isn't noble history," I muttered and got to work slowly, copying everything. I had to study each word and figure out the movement of the pen that was used to write it. I then copied it down into the empty book that was provided. My writing was excellent, and I had the Drawing skill, which helped. I could feel my mind and body drawing on the knowledge while I slowly worked on copying Eldarin Script. It felt weird knowing that the skill had been dumbed down into lower tiers.

Everyone was striving to reach higher levels and tiers with their skills. To go in the opposite direction seemed an odd thought. Whoever came up with the idea was probably a genius, or it was just a teaching method that someone developed. I asked Tutor Damian about the history behind the drive to lower the tier for our language. He gave me a wry smile but answered.

"It was a teaching method. It took too long to teach Eldarin Runes and then Eldarin Script directly. People created and spread the Eldarin Language. The spoken words are mostly the same, and there are a lot of similarities."

"So, the System just recognized a new skill, just like that?"

"Yes. However, this typically occurs at higher tiers, specifically Tier 4. There are entire groups of people trying to figure out hidden skills and knowledge that the System might recognize, but most attempts end in failure," he explained.

"What about tier 1 skills?"

"The discoveries mostly involve some crafting. Tier 2 discoveries mainly involve minor or passive use of mana. The lower the tier, the more impressive such a discovery is."

"That seems backwards."

"To some extent. But you aren't learning the skill; you are discovering it. That is the difference. To make something easier for other people, that is the epitome of a Tutor."

"No special titles or awards from the System?"

"No. Those are just fairy tales. There are no special titles or awards. Only skills, stats, and classes. I suppose better classes might be considered an award from the System, but there is considerable debate on the subject. If there were such a thing, your mother would have one for sure." If there were a list of the people with the highest level, then my mother would be on it and in consideration for the top.

While I didn't have a good idea about the other great legends out there beyond children's tales, I knew my mother stood above so many different people. Everyone had said that repeatedly.

"So, the skill upgrade just happens?" I asked Damien. I had thought I would need to do it manually.

"Hmm, it is complicated, young Justin. Skills have set paths. Studying the next skill in the path automatically upgrades it and provides a boost. There is no need to focus on upgrading them specifically. Even without immediate upgrading, you can later upgrade them and merge them into a higher-tier skill. This creates a hidden bonus that makes it quicker to learn that skill."

"For tier 5 and 6 skills, this is even more important since they are so slow to level like mud or concrete, rather than water. However, as they level up their base skills, water washes the mud away, making their leveling process much easier. There are supporting skills and direct skills. Direct skills are those you get on a path, like Eldarin Language, and then Eldarin Script, and then Eldarin Runes. But another example that I know your mother wants you to get is the tier four skill Weapons Mastery."

"What kind of skill is that?"

"It combines several lower-tier weapon skills. That is why she is having you focus on so many weapons. That skill will likely lead to something better. And even if it doesn't, higher-tier skills are always more powerful and versatile," Tutor Damian explained as I listened carefully to him.

"In fact, that is the end goal for various language skills. To upgrade them enough to the language in runic form and then merge those runic languages for the tier 4 skill Runes Mastery."

"But someone could get that skill without the lower-tier skills, right?"

"Yes. However, it is far harder to level up. That is why supporting skills are important, and direct skills are the best. It's why having lower-tier skills and leveling them is far more impactful than rushing ahead and trying to get a lot of high-tier skills. Then you are stuck with a very slow leveling speed."

"Couldn't they go back and do the earlier skills?"

"They could, but it just creates a mess and rarely works like you think, since skill experience flows to higher-tier skills rather than lower-tier skills. Since you have the time and are starting early, it is best to get tier 1 skills and level those up. While it might seem like a lot of work and time, it ultimately saves time."

"Then why don't more people do this?"

"Impatience. Think how you felt when I told you to copy that massive book to level up Eldarin Script. It will take around a year of hard work to do by hand. Then add in other languages. Getting all the support skills maxed out for Runes Mastery can take a lifetime. And people have jobs, families, and other responsibilities. Even with Vitality extending one's life, people need a Mind stat to have more skills and study effectively." I was truly grateful to my mother and the life she provided for me.

I knew countless other people were nowhere near this lucky.

"A fire is visible in your eyes. Keep that determination, for the path to high-tier skills is long and hard." I nodded at this. It was a struggle to maintain my motivation. When I was fighting in the dungeon, it was easy. I got caught up in the violence and the fighting. That was when I realized this training was another test from my mother. Could I focus and keep working hard, even when it was really boring?

While Sabin's fighting training was physical and exhausting, I was frustrated that he constantly outclassed me. No matter what I did, he would easily match me and keep pushing me to improve. My mental studies were also exhausting. I got back to copying the cursed cursive script with its loops and twirls. Whoever invented script writing was pure evil. I knew I needed to learn this to then learn runes, but focusing on it was one of the hardest things I had to force myself to do.