Chương 56: Harsh Review

My mother called the attendants back in, and we enjoyed the spa day quietly together. She said nothing else, but the day felt ruined. Once it was over, she took me to her suite at the top of the most expensive inn. She sent me to bed that night while I stewed in my own thoughts. Was I weak? Was it so wrong to relax a bit? The fights on the 3 rd layer were hard enough. I didn't want to trap myself on the 4 th layer. It was just a standard safety concern.

But to become a supreme legend, one needed to ignore such things. The next morning, I woke up, and there was a huge breakfast spread prepared, just like it had been back at the estate.

"A bit much when you preach austerity," I said.

"I picked this place because of the privacy, and if I stayed anywhere else, it would cause a commotion. It is just a place to sleep," my mother said. I wasn't sure whether I believed her.

"How does experience work? This has blocked me from earning experience while I've been wearing it, but it can't be that hard just to kill more monsters?"

"Foolish child of mine." She pulled out a piece of paper, wrote something at the top, and then handed it to me across the breakfast table. XP to Next Level = 100 × 1. 1^(L-1) × (1 + 0. 5 × ⌊(L-1)/20⌋)"Solve that for L at 1, 50, 100, 150, and 200." I did the math. The values came out to 100, then 23, 745, then 4, 353, 421, then 694, 883, 344, and 103, 153, 093, 351, respectively. It took me around ten minutes to work out all the values. While there was a decimal, I didn't work on calculating it out.

That wasn't the point of this exercise.

"Every 20 levels, the experience requirement jumps up, and it keeps going up because of the last portion of the equation with the floor function," my mother explained.

"The amount of experience one gets isn't consistent from monsters, but monsters at the same level give minimal experience. Even higher-level monsters only give slightly more, which means fighting Champion monsters regularly. Ones that far exceed my stats, and with unique skills down in the dungeon." The first levels were really easy because the experience requirement was so low compared to the later levels.

"People rush through the early levels easily enough. Therefore, everyone can get the first 20 levels just with crafting experience. But why do most people stall out around levels 40, 60, 80, and 100? The increased experience requirements are just too difficult."

"Mother," I said seriously.

"I gave a lot of thought to what you said yesterday. Relaxing resets my mood and mindset, allowing me to work harder. As you pointed out, this is a marathon, not a sprint. Without looking forward to something, I will struggle to keep going. Wasn't that the point of staying at level 1, to bring up my stats and skills more easily?"

"You just won't make it with your current mindset. Tell me your status, I would bet you have a vice skill."

Level: 1 Experience: BLOCKED Healing: 350/350 Stamina: 340/340 Mana: 200/200 Class: Tier 0, Child (Blue) Effect: Increased Skill Acquisition (+10%), Increased Learning Speed (+10%), Increased Stat Gain (+10%), Increased Physical Gain (+10%) Vitality: 35 (+1) Endurance: 34 (+1) Strength: 29 (+1) Agility: 32 (+1) Perception: 24 (+2) Mind: 64 (+0) Magic: 20 (+0) Focus: 35 (+2) Free Points: 0 Tier 1 (24) (4+): Eldarin History (99 +2), Running (99 +6), Meditation (88+6), Dodge (78+9), Toughness (75 +15), Sword Skills (72+22), Eldarin Etiquette (69+4), Drawing Skills (61), Light Armor (50 +14), Shield Skills (49+14), Spear Skills (40+12), Dancing Skills (36+1), Bow Skills (35+15), Pugilist Skills (34+1), Monster Processing Skills (31+12), Cleaning Skills (21+7), Axe Skills (19), Dagger Skills (17), Speech (17), Combat Tactics (17+4), Cooking Skills (15), Wrestling Skills (12), Stealth (8+8), Sweet Tooth (4+4) Tier 2 (30) (2+): Mana Sense (89+9), Danger Sense (48+8), Soul Sense (47+7), Algebra (23+2), Geometry (20), System Sense (20 +2), Darkness Vision (15+7), Focused Breathing (20 +20), Speed Reading (13), Shadow Vision (13+8), Monster Analysis (11+8), Trap Detection (10+2), Depth Sense (10+9), Focused Rage (4+4), Critical Thinking (3+3) Tier 3 (30): Pain Resistance (68+8), Soul Resistance (46+5), Empowered Will (34+9), Eldarin Runes (28+8), Healing Resistance (20), Fear Resistance (20 +4), Poison Resistance (15), Empowered Writing (13+2), Soul Strike (4+4), Social Resistance (3) Tier 6 (-): Experience Siphon(C) Equipment Gloves: Gloves of Processing (T2) (Blocks Mana T2 and Below) Boots: Armored Boots (T1) (Basic Equipment) Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent.

Report sightings. Head: Armored Helmet (T1) (Basic Equipment) Body: Light Armor (T1) (Basic Equipment) Ring 1: Ring of Concealment (T3) (Hide Status T3 and Below) Ring 2: Ring of Remote Awareness (T3) (Allows for remote viewing from companion ring) Amulet/Bracelet: Experience Blocker (T4) (Prevents all experience gain for primary level) Weapon 1: Basic Steel Sword (T1) (Basic Equipment) Equipment 1: Runic Writing Set (T3) (Write Runes T3 and Below) Looking at that one skill, Sweet Tooth, I felt embarrassed.

"Just like I suspected, a vice skill." The skill was a weakness for the person, as it had little value. System Priests could eliminate it, but it usually came back.

"How? I just had a few pieces," I said with shock.

"You had some as well."

"However, my mind was not on sweets in the dungeon. I wasn't planning a spa day to relax when I left. I think about getting stronger and removing weaknesses, not even those listed in my status. Your focus decides your future. And you, my son, are focusing on the wrong things."

"I survived. I got Soul Strike."

"You did. An interesting skill, but am I supposed to be impressed by a tier 3 skill? If you even want to become a legend, that is the bare minimum requirement. If it were easy to reach heights such as mine, everyone would do so." She sighed heavily.

"At the higher levels, skills become increasingly important in winning fights, since increasing your level is impossibly hard. That is why I have been having you focus on your foundation as much as possible. But without the proper mindset, you will struggle in the following years, when things come slower, and your progress isn't so grand."

"There are probably more soul fruits down there. I found a natural treasure."

"You did. Do you want a party? A celebration? The monsters you killed were simple. No advanced fighting tactics and weak skills. The deeper you go into the dungeon, the more you will experience despair as everything becomes harder, slower, and far more dangerous."

"But I am advancing faster than anyone else!"

"If you were on your own without my support, could you say the same thing?" My mother asked, and I shut up.

"Your skill level gains were about half before you consumed a soul fruit. And that includes the initial level surge all children have when they unlock their status at age 8."

"But I was still doing well," I countered.

"No. You were not my son. You have only seen the bottom of society. Perhaps that was my mistake. I wanted to instill a sense of humility and understanding in you, but it appears to have backfired and created an elitist mindset, when you are nowhere close to that level without my involvement." What should I say in response to this? I wiped my eyes, feeling utterly miserable. My mother would not see me cry, and I made sure of that.

"You have never known true unending pressure. Pressure to live. Pressure to do better than others. You received everything. Tutors, Healer support during training, natural treasures."

"I didn't choose that," I pointed out, and she nodded.

"It was my choice. A shame I could not have more children to pit you against one another to create a sense of competition."

"You would have your children fight each other?"

"To use as a measure of comparison. Your growth has been too much, too quickly. It has distorted the proper way of thinking. I will take things in hand myself in the future."

"What does that mean?" I asked nervously.

"That I have failed as your mother. That I will now take a personal hand in your training from now on."

"What? But I thought it would be boring?"

"It will be to a certain extent, but I have acquired the services of a Healer. They will make sure you don't die. I will bring you both to the 6 th layer of the dungeon. There you will fight, and I will critique you and push you just as I pushed myself when I was your age. I didn't have a Healer then, but having one will allow you to keep going further than ever before.

"Maybe that is why I need a break. When you were by yourself, you didn't have the support to push as hard."

"Perhaps. Perhaps not. Some things will remain unknown. During this last time in the dungeon, you only gained 428 skill levels. A year would be the perfect amount of time. You are 10 and a half years old. Almost old enough to qualify for the College of Advancement. I will give you a taste of real training, then you will go there and compete."

"Compete?"

"Yes, for the top spot. These are the smallest requirements I can give you. If you graduate in the top spot, I will continue to support you. If you are placed in any other position even after all my help, then you are hopeless. Being an adventurer or a spellblade that will reach my level is beyond your ability."

"That…that isn't fair," I said, but I knew it was a weak argument. She just looked at me.

"Life isn't fair. My family's death at the hands of monsters was unjust. Enslaving countless beings by the Eldarin Empire was unfair. You can either complain or become stronger. I don't tolerate whining."

"We will be in the dungeon for a year?"

"Yes. With personal training from me. If you aren't fighting, you will work to improve your skills."

"That is easy to say when you have a spatial storage."

"You could have drawn the runes in the dirt, over and over. You could work out math problems before you go to sleep. Even now, I am constantly training my skills. Instead, you focus on sweets and spa days," my mother said with a slight sneer. She was clearly getting upset with me. I said nothing else as we finished breakfast in silence. My mother was being incredibly harsh, but it was hard to refute her. There was truth in her words.

If I wanted to be the best, it wasn't enough to put in just the bare minimum of effort. I had to go beyond that. It was hard, too hard, especially when down in the dungeon. I could have pushed myself more, but mentally, I felt drained all the time.

"What now?" I asked after finishing my breakfast. Servants cleared everything away.

"Now, I will have a sword made from that metal you found. A Master Blacksmith has been arranged to craft a sword for you," she said, and I got excited about that.

"I also procured this for you to take, if you want to." She set a wooden box on the table and opened it up. Inside, there was a glowing white crystal.

"I thought I wasn't supposed to take any more natural treasures or Alchemical products?"

"That was just a suggestion. This is a Mind Crystal. It will help with training your Mind stat, so having too many skills won't be an issue. There will be skills I want you to get, and increasing that stat is important," my mother explained and pushed the wooden box over to me.

"Is it even safe?"

"It is a natural treasure of the dungeon, not an Alchemical product. I have consulted with a healer; there is no need to worry," she said, and I felt a sense of relief. After the last time, I was hesitant about using anything she gave me.

"What do I do?"

"Hold it, and your soul will naturally absorb it. I have already checked with the Healer I recruited, and it is fine." While she might be harsh, I still trusted her. I picked up the Mind Crystal, and my soul felt weird, as if someone were giving it a massage. I shuddered in place as my body convulsed slightly.

"Hold on to that for a day, and it will be completely absorbed. You can rest for the rest of today and harden your mindset. Tomorrow we will go into the dungeon together." I hesitated for almost a minute. She said nothing, but I was sure she was mentally noting my hesitation. She would consider it another failure.