Chương 71: Insane Progress, Soul Pressure

Level: 1 Experience: BLOCKED Healing: 410/410 Stamina: 420/420 Mana: 240/240 Class: Tier 0, Child (Blue) Effect: Increased Skill Acquisition (+10%), Increased Learning Speed (+10%), Increased Stat Gain (+10%), Increased Physical Gain (+10%), Increased Mental Gain (+10%) Vitality: 41 (+2) Endurance: 42 (+2) Strength: 33 (+1) Agility: 39 (+1) Perception: 30 (+1) Mind: 89 (+5) Magic: 24 (+1) Focus: 42 (+1) Free Points: 0 Tier 1 (25) (10+): Light Armor (100), Eldarin Etiquette (75), Shield Skills (75), Spear Skills (71), Drawing Skills (70), Pulse Strike (67+67), Bow Skills (52), Pugilist Skills (50), Combat Tactics (50), Cleaning Skills (50), Monster Processing Skills (46), Dancing Skills (38), Axe Skills (34), Dagger Skills (29), Stealth (25), Deflection (25), Throw (25), Cooking Skills (22), Wrestling Skills (21), Medium Armor (20), Sweet Tooth (19+15), Speech (17), Dwarven Language (17+17), Dwarven Etiquette (8+8), Dwarven History (7+7) Tier 2 (44) (2+): Mana Sense (100), Danger Sense (100), Focused Breathing (72+12), System Sense (70+5), Soul Sense (60 +5), Focused Toughness (55+15), Darkness Vision (45+15), Algebra (44+4), Trap Detection (40 +3), Focused Meditation (40 +4), Geometry (40 +3), Focused Sword Skills (37), Focused Running (36+16), Shadow Vision (33+4), Speed Reading (20), Monster Analysis (20), Depth Sense (20), Focused Dodge (20), Critical Thinking (20 +1), Mana Vision (20 +8), Focused Rage (12), Eldarin Lore (8) Tier 3 (51) (1+): Soul Resistance (85+5), Empowered Will (83+23), Fear Resistance (60 +3), Healing Resistance (48+8), Poison Resistance (42+22), Eldarin Runes (40), Empowered Writing (20), Fire Resistance (20 +13), Lightning Resistance (20 +17), Soul Strike (17), Cold Resistance (17+14), Mana Manipulation (12+7), Arcane Resistance (10+9), Skill Control (9+9), Physical Resistance (8+5), Alchemy (5), Social Resistance (3) Tier 4 (4): Pain Immunity (2+2) Tier 6 (-): Experience Siphon(C) Equipment Gloves: Gloves of Processing(T2) (Blocks Mana T2 and Below) Boots: Armored Boots(T1) (Basic Equipment) 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: Beginner's Blade(T2) (Sharpness-T2, Durability-T3, Self-Repair-T2) Equipment 1: Runic Writing Set(T3) (Write Runes T3 and Below) Healer Melon was quiet as I read off everything on my status.

It was a lot to take in.

"I have improved 714 skill levels," I muttered in shock.

"It's all the resistance training. We are pushing things to the edge of safety," he replied.

"Really, thank you."

"It's all the potions your mother gave me. Otherwise, I wouldn't have enough Mana. Even then, your Alchemical toxicity is getting high. Even though you aren't consuming anything, there is a slight bit you are accumulating from the Alchemical mixtures touching your skin. Resistance training will have to be decreased going forward."

"I understand. I felt the Tier 4 skill improve, and I have been overly tired some days."

"You are only level 1. Normally, it wouldn't be possible for you to get such a skill at your level. There just isn't enough room in your soul. But with your stats and Soul Resistance, you got the Tier 4 skill. The dwarven skills aren't a surprise, since you have been working on those skills. Skill Control is impressive."

"It allows me to activate and deactivate passive skills, right?" I asked with confidence, and he nodded.

"Exactly. Useful when you are training resistances to stop Pain Immunity from triggering, which I guess you have been doing?" I nodded.

"Yes. What I don't understand is how I gained so many levels. Even resistances are so much higher than I thought they would be."

"It could be a side effect of how malleable your soul is. Skills that provide resistance are layered across the soul. And the training methods use the latest equipment and techniques. I guess I shouldn't mention your new gambling skill."

"Pulse Strike is a valid game."

"It is, but it has nothing to do with your build, similar to Sweet Tooth."

"I have more than enough skills that two tier 1 junk skills aren't a big deal."

"It is more impressive that your stats continue to grow so much on their own. The longer you can keep increasing them without using free stats from leveling up yourself, the better off you will be."

"I will keep that in mind." I wanted to reach 1, 500 stat points before leveling up. It was just something I had come up with in my mind. That way, I could reach level 150 with free stat points and have 20 stat points per level. There was still a long way to go, but I was making good progress considering my age. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. The issue was that there were no good comparisons to make.

Most students entering the College of Advancement received power leveling to level 20 or 40, gaining those free stats. I wouldn't have that advantage. The Tier 6 cursed skill also remained. I had been hoping that the legend who had cursed me would naturally die off sometime soon, but that appeared not to be the case. It had been a foolish hope. Both my mother and father failed to find the perpetrator. Therefore, I was going to have to handle them alone.

I hadn't looked through the book on soul skills my mother had given me, The Deeper Mysteries of the Soul by The Eternal Emperor. I glanced at the first couple of pages, which had tiny writing and were dense with information. Because people frowned upon soul skills and they checked skills at the College of Advancement, I would wait to work on soul skills until I graduated. Afterward, I would gain experience and hunt the legend that cursed me.

I'd require funds to enlist help from other legends to take on this perilous foe. I knew the legend killed elite guards and escaped the estate. There were no wounds or other marks on the guards killed. With a tier 6 skill, the legend was probably between level 120 and level 140. A threat that affected nearly everyone. Taking on someone like that would require me to have at least four other legends with me, to be sure we could win and stop them from fleeing. It would be expensive.

Although it was funny to imagine staying at level 1 forever, I wouldn't. I'd seek vengeance on the person who made me a target. I'd seek my mother's help if she were here. It surprised me that she hadn't made me learn soul skills earlier, but I still remembered the warnings. The risk involved would be significant. A single error could lead to my death. Because of the stigma, the College of Advancement probably didn't have anyone with those skills.

"What about my sensory skills in Tier 2?"

"Just leave them for now. You still have Soul Sense and System Sense. There are other sensory skills as well. Your mother strongly suggests merging them to get a stronger Tier 3 skill."

"What's the skill?"

"Sensory Aura, a tier 3 skill. Very strong, but it uses a lot more Mana. It is best to wait until your reserves and stats grow more before getting that skill, so you can always keep it active. That is the downside of merging skills. They improve, but the Mana cost goes up, especially at Tier 3."

"So, keeping some low-tier skills is worthwhile?"

"Sometimes, or at least until you have maximized the level for all skills that you plan to feed into the higher-tier skill. It will let you level up your higher-tier skills much more quickly." I frowned.

"Focused Meditation is struggling even though I use it every night."

"Well, it is at a bottleneck. Even though you are practicing it often, there is very little pressure. A useful long-term skill, but one that is difficult to improve. No one mediates during combat or while doing other activities."

"I wonder if the College of Advancement has a class to improve the skill."

"Maybe. But it might not be as effective as you are hoping. Some skills are hard to level, since they are so personal. The Meditation series of skills falls into this category. While you can get outside help with resistance skills, Focused Meditation would be a much greater challenge."

"What about trying to meditate in a distracting environment?"

"Possibly. However, if there is any threat, your focus will then divert away from the skill. Otherwise, you are focusing inwards. With something like Mana Manipulation, there are exercises you can do. But something like Focused Meditation will be a challenge."

"Any skills I am missing?"

"Not that I can see, but I got something you were interested in. The College of Advancement just released its class list for the upcoming year," Healer Melon said and pulled out a small booklet.

"Consider it an early twelfth birthday gift."

"Thank you," I replied as I took it and opened it up. Tier 1-0001: Eldarin Language (Core) Professor Amelia Cornaxe (17. 8) A language skill that will eventually form the basis of Eldarin Runes in tier 3. Also, the primary method of communication between humans. M-F 8-12 (4 Hr/Wk) Tier 1-0002: Writing Skills (Core) Professor Scriba Quillmaster (16. 0) Develop foundational writing abilities for clear communication and documentation, essential for rune inscription and magical research.

M-F 10-12 (2 Hr/Wk) Tier 1-0003: Meditation (Core) Professor Johnson Diggleworth (12. 3) A critical skill for rapidly replenishing Mana reserves. Necessary for higher-tier Meditation skills and to support spell skills Mana consumption. M-Su 0-24 (2 Hr/Wk) The list continued endlessly. Classes and skills were primarily grouped by tier and number. Next came the skill name, then the track the skill was on. The primary tracks were Core, Rune, Crafting, Alchemy, Combat, Spell, and Other.

Core skills received strong recommendations from the College of Advancement. Mediation, due to its role in Mana regeneration, was useful in several study tracks. The Other track included skills that fell outside the six main tracks but were still offered as main courses at the College. Then came the professor's name, followed by the expected level gain per month for each student. The professors were assessed on the average level increase of their students, similar to how students were graded.

As Healer Melon noted, Meditation had issues competing with other subjects because of its low monthly gain, despite being a Tier 1 skill. I saw that the skill was available around the clock. Only that class or skill had this much time allotted to it. Next, the skill and course were briefly described. My father was listed as an Assistant Professor for Speech, a social skill, categorized as Other in Tier 1. It made sense, even though he was one of the few Assistant Professors teaching a listed course.

The College of Advancement most likely didn't have anyone better with social skills, but he didn't have a track record to get the position as a Professor. I'd have assumed the College of Advancement could recruit a noble with good social skills, which didn't occur. The dates, times, and time blocks of each course followed the descriptions. Students had to attend daily, even though it was weekly, if they hadn't maxed out the skill.

The professor wouldn't be penalized if students skipped class, but it would negatively impact the students' records. Full-time students were required to go to many classes. One could fill their schedule, but that would leave no study time. Despite the minimum times given in the course descriptions, I was sure the lessons would be very informative. Classes would be held at the fastest possible pace. Thus, even though a person could take many classes by only showing up once a week, no one did that.

Their minds would be blown, their progress would slow, and the professors would be irritated. Maybe not literally, but it would burn a person out. The College pushed people to achieve their highest potential. That was the entire point. As skills increased, monthly progress slowed, and daily effort, at six hours, increased. I started to wonder how scheduling operated in the subsequent years. Thoron said most subjects were designed for self-practice at the training hall.

The students seldom encountered their professors for the courses. Tier 3 skills involved extensive study and practice, with feedback from assistants. Tier 1 classes were mainly self-guided, but they monitored attendance more closely and had more teaching assistants because of the larger student numbers. I was still a little confused, but going through the list of skills was interesting. The school clearly desired a student to specialize in a skill group.