Chương 32: Year Of Hard Work

This would be the last time I checked my status before turning 10. It had been a year since my mother had first returned home after crushing the nation of Crownsmith, and another half a year had passed since she had given me the timeline. Both Tutor Damian and Healer Castelle were present while I checked my status to consider my future training and medical issues.

Level: 1 Experience: BLOCKED Healing: 210/210 Stamina: 180/180 Mana: 70/70 Class: Tier 0, Child (Green) Effect: Increased Skill Acquisition (+8%), Increased Learning Speed (+8%), Increased Stat Gain (+8%), Increased Physical Gain (+8%) Vitality: 21 (+0) Endurance: 18 (+0) Strength: 16 (+0) Agility: 18 (+0) Perception: 10 (+1) Mind: 47 (+6) Magic: 7 (+1) Focus: 21 (+2) Free Points: 0 Tier 1 (23) (3+): Running (90), Breathing (87+5), Eldarin History (89+14), Meditation (75 +10), Dodge (69+8), Eldarin Etiquette (57+7), Toughness (53), Drawing Skills (46+5), Sword Skills (41), Shield Skills (29), Light Armor (29), Dancing Skills (28), Pugilist Skills (27+13), Spear Skills (23), Monster Processing Skills (19), Cooking Skills (15), Bow Skills (15), Cleaning Skills (14), Axe Skills (14), Dagger Skills (12), Speech (9+4), Wrestling Skills (8), Combat Tactics (7+5) Tier 2 (20) (2+): Mana Sense (60 +18), Danger Sense (40 +7), Soul Sense (16+14), Darkness Vision (8), Algebra (3+3), Geometry (3+3), Monster Analysis (3), Trap Detection (1), Depth Sense (1), Speed Reading (1+1) Tier 3 (24): Pain Resistance (20), Soul Resistance (20 +9), Empowered Will (11+5), Fear Resistance (4+2), Poison Resistance (3+3), Eldarin Runes (2+2), Empowered Writing (1+1), Social Resistance (1+1) Tier 6 (-): Experience Siphon (C) Equipment Gloves: Gloves of Processing (T2) (Blocks Mana T2 and Below) Ring 1: Ring of Concealment (T3) (Hide Status T3 and Below) Amulet/Bracelet: Experience Blocker (T4) (Prevents all experience gain for primary level) Equipment 1: Runic Writing Set (T3) (Write Runes T3 and Below)"Idiots!"

Healer Castelle yelled.

"Why do you have Algebra and Geometry? Speed Reading?"

"Well, these skills always show up with each other. I didn't fully realize it, as it's standard. As for Speed Reading, that is on Justin, not me," Damian said.

"That is why I called you both idiots. A weight of 67 from his skills and a 47 Mind stat. That is at 70%, barely above Meldor's Threshold. Idiots!" He shouted the last word again and glared at both of us. We were silent for a bit while he kept glaring.

"Well, the Mind stat has kept up, at least," Damian finally said, breaking the uncomfortable silence.

"If it hadn't, he would be dead from your idiocy," Healer Castelle said. I was thinking about the numbers.

"What about the Soul Resistance skill? Wouldn't that help me?"

"Possibly. But counting on a skill like that is risky. No more skills. Absolutely no more in the next three months. I want your Mind stat to be at least four points higher with no skills. I mean it. The risk is insane. I don't know why you and your mother insist on being so reckless."

"Leveling up to increase my stats would slow down my skill growth, and there is the curse."

"System save me from fools. Your skills are already leveling up so fast, one level and the ten free stat points that come with it would solve this problem," he declared.

"Or not. It doesn't escape my notice that his skill gains keep hovering over Meldor's Threshold. His soul could have become flexible enough yet still retain enough preservation to allow it to stay right there," Tutor Damian countered.

"You would need a Soul Mage to check and confirm. And even if that were the case, it is like playing with fire in your hands for a bit of warmth. Eventually, you will get burned. At least his other stats are high enough that we don't have to worry about stat imbalance, but if this continues, that will be an enormous problem."

"When will that happen?" I asked This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

"If one of your stats is greater than the rest of them combined divided by two, which is 55. 5 in your case. It will start impacting your health. Since it is your Mind stat, that means headaches and tiredness, since your body can't keep up." That didn't sound good.

"Poison Resistance wasn't planned, but the risk is real. I can't keep saying this enough."

"I understand."

"Understand, yes, but if you will listen, it is another matter. I understand wanting to push yourself to the limit, but your body and soul can't sense this danger. That is why you disregard it. There is a reason they named it Meldor's Threshold, even after the man's terrible experiments. At first, he seemed nice, but then people discovered his true nature. Like this limit. It doesn't seem serious, but if you cross it, terrible things will happen, your soul will go 'poof', and completely unravel."

"I understand, Healer Castelle." I tried my hardest, but acted foolishly and carelessly. I used my hand to clear the moisture from my eyes.

"For now, I've said enough on the subject. Now we have the next concern. Tier 3 skills and your level." Another issue? Now, I really wanted to cry.

"Too many?"

"You have eight Tier 3 skills and ten Tier 2 skills. If each skill is like a support brace in a building that is your soul, the tier of the skill represents the strength of the brace. The higher the tier, the more fragile the bracing."

"Shouldn't it be stronger the higher the tier?"

"No. Higher-tier skills draw from more of your body. Putting more strain on it. Stats are the core foundational material used in the building. The walls, windows, and doors are all skills. Larger skills have larger openings in the building, putting more pressure on you, and acting as the frame. The level of your status represents the very foundation on which your status rests. You are building a larger house, but the ground is tiny." I frowned as I tried to process the metaphor in my head.

It was complex but understandable.

"You mentioned that my stat gains were like furnishings?"

"More weight is being added to the house. The more time you spend in a specific room or stat, the more weight is added. That is why stat imbalance and skill imbalance are concerns. With skill imbalance, you could explode one day."

"Explode?!"

"Yes. The weight of your skills is too much, and the ground under your foundation gives way. What do you think happens then?"

"The house falls over?"

"Exactly, which means your soul rips free of your body, and you explode. These aren't problems most people would face, since they get advised by family and friends or a System Priest and don't push things like you are doing. But you have pushed things to their very limit. That soul fruit, while making your soul more receptive, has strengthened it to a degree. So, no new skills otherwise the complications will be too much."

"I never liked the house metaphor. And I think it is his class, not the level. That is more recent research from the College of Advancement, or research that has been confirmed. The class matters more than the level for the base support of the skills. A green class is quite strong," Tutor Damian said.

"The house metaphor gets the point across to stubborn people," Healer Castelle said, clearly talking about me.

"You clearly want to keep pushing his skill level gain for as long as possible. As for classes, would you bet his life on such research? Because that is what you are saying."

"His rate of skill level gain is insane. What would take years for another person is only taking months. While there is a lot of risk, I can understand why both of them want to pursue this," my Tutor said.

"Foolishness and idiocy, but what do I know? I am just a foolish Healer who has studied souls, stats, and skills for decades," Healer Castelle muttered while glaring at the two of us. I took the moment to reflect on my skill development.

"My skill level gain in relation to my tiers is 349," I finally said after adding up everything in my head. My Mind stat and maxed-out Mathematics skills came in handy. One reason almost everyone took Mathematics was to understand their status better and perform calculations quickly.

"Yes, not as impressive as the previous three months, which were 393. However, it matches up with the six months before, which were 348 each for the three months. Still on track for being ridiculous," Tutor Damian said, happy to change the subject.

"That is probably helping you. That certain skills have had masteries before you got the tier 3 is the only good thing I can really say," Healer Castelle added in.

"Well, you won't have any skill masteries anytime soon."

"What comes after Eldarin History?" I asked.

"Eldarin Lore, which then combines with other lore skills and becomes the tier 3 skill Artifact Analysis." My mother and Tutor Damian said a good rule to follow was that Legends tried to have 20 stats per level. That put me at around level 7. 9 if I used that as a benchmark.

"What about training up skills like Poison Resistance and Social Resistance since I already have them?"

"Um, well, that goes beyond what your mother has approved of. She wants you to focus on foundational skills," Tutor Damian said nervously before gaining more confidence.

"Resistance skills are tricky, since they gain levels slowly while training them. Only when a threat is real, do they level."

"What he means is that you need specialized trainers for certain skills, and he isn't capable of teaching them. And he is right. They are hard to level without an actual threat. That is why your Soul Resistance skill has grown so much," Healer Castelle said.

"And we can't train it specifically," I said.

"That is stupidity at its finest. Your soul is so unstable, I wouldn't dare poke it, who knows what would happen?"

"We have a lot of mental skills to focus on. While it is probably impossible, getting your Eldarin Runes to level 100 before the age of 12 would be a tremendous achievement. And that should be our focus," Tutor Damian said.

"Really?" I asked in surprise, and he nodded.

"Trust me on this. Mastering a set of runes at such a young age is almost unheard of except for people solely focused on that skill. While it will be a struggle, I know your mother was very insistent that you learn runes. That is why she hired me to tutor you." I gave him a look since he had just given me books and answered questions.

"You do little teaching."

"Because you are good at self-study. If you have questions, I will answer them, and once you write runes in earnest, I will point out corrections. I have already been doing that. Also, when you have hit bottlenecks, I have given you tests to get past them," he pointed out. That was all true.

"As my only student, I am trying to maximize your skill gain without hand-holding you. You might level a bit more if I did that, but once I am no longer around, you will struggle. That skill, Speed Reading, is a learning skill that isn't easy to get."

"So, there are more learning skills?" I asked with interest.

"No. They are all forbidden. I am forbidding them. Don't give me that look. And you, don't get any ideas," Healer Castelle told me off and then pointed at Tutor Damian. We both became embarrassed at the chastisement.