The Strongest Spellblade

While I copied the massive book of flowing Eldarin Script, I felt a breakthrough in my Breathing. It became slightly easier and more controlled. I paused in my copying, setting my pen to the side. I hadn’t been expecting to breakthrough so easily, but the skill had been at the bottleneck for a while.

“Tutor Damian, I broke through with my Breathing, any suggestions for future improvements for the skill?” I asked.

“Ah congratulations, that is a combat skill. But, let me put some thought into it for a moment. Hmm, the best advice I have is to keep using the skill all the time. It will gradually improve. The bottleneck was level 75?” he asked.

“Yes,” I replied. It was rude to ask about other people’s status or level unprompted. While there were skills that could reveal this information, it was considered incredibly rude to do so without permission. Since Damian was my personal tutor and it was a tier 1 skill, there was no reason to conceal its progress.

“Then it will take time, it is as simple as just constantly using the skill. Some say it is the best way to improve more stubborn skills. While you aren’t focused on using it all the time, the skill wouldn’t benefit during those situations. It is when that you need to adjust your breathing and you focus on the skill, that there is more pressure and the skill will level up,” he explained.

It was a slightly complex explanation, but it made sense. Skills improved through adversity. While one could train them through use and repetition, it was much slower. By using Breathing constantly, I was forcing myself to use it all times, even when it was difficult.

It would also wear down the bottleneck on the skill level. With tier 1 skills, the bottlenecks came every 25 levels. For tier 2 and 3 skills they came every 20 levels. For tier 4 and 5 skills, every 15 levels. And for tier 6 skills, there was a bottleneck or breakthrough point every 10 levels.

Leveling got harder each tier you went up and also past each bottleneck. That was why it was said no one had ever reached level 100 with a tier 6 skill. It took too long and was too difficult. This included my mother as far as I knew.

“Hmm, I can sense your frustration. Well, I was able to get some research data from the College of Advancement. Thankfully not too pricey like some of their other stuff. You are probably feeling like you are stalling or slowing down in levels?” Tutor Damian asked me with a smile.

“A bit. I want to gain more levels more quickly. I know I am going fast, but sometimes I am not sure,” I replied. Tutor Damian nodded at this.

“Take a look at this research paper compiled by the College of Advancement and locate your position on it,” he said and pushed a piece of paper over, across the table in the library we sat at. I picked it up and looked it over.

Guide To Leveling Progress For Humans, Correlation To Age

By Hellabella June, Professor of Systems Analysis and Skill Experience

Synopsis

This research paper represents a compilation of over 10,000 human individuals and their class levels across all ages and the vast majority of professions. The standard exception for legends has been included as well, but the research extrapolates the probable skill level total of such individuals. Equations are done purely in relation to age with multipliers for specific groups of individuals with a certain availability of tutoring and other resources.

Given lifespan L (age in years), with skills gained from age 8, the expected skill contribution C is:

C = 65.92 * (L - 8)^0.6

where:

C = sum of ln(1 + S_i) * T_i for i from 1 to N.S_i: Skill level (1 to 100) for a skill in tier T_i (1 to 6).N: Number of skills, constrained by sum of T_i less than or equal to L / 2.For L = 28 years, C ≈ 65.92 * 20^0.6 ≈ 385.72.

I looked back up at my Tutor as the research paper continued. “My math isn’t good enough for whatever this is,” I replied.

“Well, it will help push your Mathematics skill quite a bit. It isn’t that complicated,” he replied. I looked at the synopsis of the research paper once more.

“How do I even handle an exponent of 0.6?” I asked.

“That is where you use the square root method. Let me explain.” I listened closely as Tutor Damian showed me how to approximate such a value using square roots. It was complex, far more than the basic math I had recently been studying. Halfway through the explanation Tutor Damian stopped.

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“What is it?” I asked.

“Sorry, I didn’t think about your current situation. While unlikely this could give you some skills, which we need to avoid. Let me just sum things up for you. I wanted to help your mindset and put you at ease, not create a health risk.” He took everything back. I let out a small sigh but didn’t say anything.

“The equation gives the approximate number of skill levels based on age. Since you are 9 and a quarter years old, approximately, then the equation gives 75.36 as your expected skill level. The paper goes on to say that people with tutors and abundant resources can reach a multiplication factor as high as 16, which would translate into 1,205.82.” I nodded along.

“Now based on the last time we checked, your total skill levels multiplied by tier are 1,012 for tier 1, then 182, and 78 for tiers 2 and 3 respectively, which totals up to 1,272, far above the maximum multiplier to account for people with tutors by around 67 skill levels. I am counting the two skills you have mastered at tier 1 as well. Working backwards, if we divide your skill number by 16 we get 79.5 which translates into an age of around 9 and half years,” Tutor Damian explained.

It was a lot of math, but that was what the College of Advancement focused on, or a major area of its focus at least. Breaking down every facet of the system that controlled a person’s status. “What you are saying is that I am about a quarter year ahead of the most advanced people my age,” I said.

“Exactly. If you really want to evaluate your progress, the College of Advancement encourages the use of equations developed from large data sets. It can get a bit tedious when you have more skill masteries and have to take them into account, but it is a good way to just check your progress in general,” he explained.

“It is complicated,” I muttered.

“That is the College of Advancement for you. They try and make things simple so they can sell their research, but even the simplest things tend to be headache inducing and confusing. That is why Mathematics is a key skill to have regardless of your job in life.”

“Older people would have a lot of skills,” I replied.

“We have quite a few. Especially if we raise our Mind stat. But we also get masteries in lower tier skills. This kind of stuff is nice to know, but it isn’t necessary. For people like your mother, and other legends, she would tell you not to worry about other people’s progress, focus on your own growth and the task at hand as much as possible.”

That aligned with what I knew of my mother. Focusing in the moment to increase one’s skills. That was why she didn’t want me constantly checking my status over every single level.

“I am surprised other kids are that high,” I replied.

“While you have more advantages than most, the elites of this world also pass on similar advantages to their kids. With how difficult it is for people with high stats to conceive, resources and training tended to get focused on a select group. The earlier skill levels are the easiest. The paper goes on to talk about how skill levels tend to stagnate the older one becomes. That is the power of this exponent in the equation, in relation to age,” Damien said, and I nodded at this. I still didn’t understand the math, but it did feel good to know that I was ahead of other kids my age.

“Competition is good, but don’t let math dominate your life. Some people get caught up in it like their status page. You would be missing the forest while staring at some trees. An overall holistic growth is the most important and building up a foundation key for long term success,” he said.

“Did my mother talk to you about that and tell you to say that?” I asked.

“Yes, but not in so many words. I also won’t lie. She isn’t wrong based on my experience and knowledge that I have gained over the years. I have had peers in the College of Advancement who had this issue. They tended to struggle the most and were desperate. That kind of mindset is a poor one to have long term. You need urgency, but focus. Speed, yet precision.”

“You definitely got that from my mother,” I said.

“She had some ideas she wanted me to impart onto you, but I teach my students in my own way. It is quite rare that I handle just one student,” he said.

“Even nobles?” I asked.

“Most would send their kids as a small group to someone like me in order to save save money. Even though I dropped out of the College of Advancement after my fifth year, that is still incredibly impressive. A professional tutor of my qualifications isn’t cheap,” he explained.

“It must be very hard, if it is impressive making it that far,” I said.

“It is. The graduating class is normally less than 10 each year from a starting class of 10,000.” I was shocked at those numbers. “They get over 100,000 applications a year. There is not greater institute of higher learning than the College of Advancement. There have been attempts to replicate its success, but all of them are minor places that have little recognition.”

“Why is that?” I asked.

“Centuries of building up a powerful alumni network of legends. Legends have higher stats, higher Vitality. So, they live a long time. Some take offense to other institutions, which makes their existence difficult. Also, people leaving their legacies behind. It builds up over time,” he explained.

“Oh. Do you think my mother wants to send me there?” I asked.

“I am not sure. It is a cutthroat environment. The minimum age to enter is 12, but there is no maximum age. However, it is taken into account with your application. They look at your overall status, age, and background. Anyone over level 100, can visit freely, give lectures, or stay there for free.”

“Keeping a high level force available at all times,” I replied.

“One of the reasons and to boost the College’s standing in the world.”

“Why is the dropout rate so high?” I asked.

“Everyone is graded against others in their class, with the lowest performers being cut. Skill growth is the biggest factor in deciding who stays and who is let go. Most people make it through 3 years, but after that numbers quickly start decreasing as the grading criteria are raised. It is brutal, in a different way than the dungeon, but no less brutal for it.”