Tutorial - Skills

Every human has a minimal set of abilities required to survive. Breathing, crying, eating. Most humans also have the skills to do slightly more complicated things. Running, typing, talking. And some know even more. Martial arts, climbing, swimming.

The most complex, valuable, and useful abilities can become a Skill.

A Skill is a set ability of any kind that has been registered with the Guardian System.

When you attempt to register a Skill, both you and the Skill will be automatically analyzed. The system will create a full progression path for the Skill, from novice to complete mastery.

The Skill's theoretical maximum potential will be based on what you've shown of it, records of similar skills' achievements, statistical analysis, and other factors.

Its progression path will be based on the system's vast database. The progression will be divided into precisely ten levels. Then, you will be given a level based on the mastery you have shown to date.

Once you register a Skill, your progression in it is made easier. You will know how many levels you still have to master and be able to spend AP to speed up your progress.

Skills come with a limit and costs.

Starting at the F rank, you receive one Skill Slot per rank. You can only register a Skill if you have available Slots.

You currently have one Skill Slot available.

To check the price of registering a Skill, start a Skill Registering process and showcase the ability you want to register.

Shen was downright amazed by what he had read.

One of the most significant hurdles in cultivation was finding oneself unsure of how to improve. Young students had trouble listening to their masters because everything was so new and wondrous and, at low levels, easy. Maybe that's even why Alicia paid so much attention to Shen and tried hard; it wasn't as simple for her.

That fit what happened later on the road of cultivation. Martial artists found what they called bottlenecks, obstacles that were hard to overcome. Most were left stuck while the successful few kept rising, like liquid going through a bottle's neck—hence the name.

To have the path ahead pointed out by simply spending AP... No matter the cost, that was incredible. Of course, that wasn't so different from finding a master who could do the same, but finding a master willing to teach was more easily said than done no matter how much money you had. Teaching others was giving rise to potential competitors. Even in a clan, only close family or those who proved their loyalty time and time again were given the privilege of private time with a master. In the Alliance though, it was only a matter of having enough AP.

"Register Skill," Shen said and got a notification.

| Skill Register Process started. Showcase at least one minute of any ability you want to register.

Shen did even more than what was requested of him. Already grabbing his spear, he showed his very best movements. He even tried his best to showcase the moves he had the most difficulty with, just to make sure the system would evaluate him correctly.

When he stopped, almost five minutes later, he got a new system message.

Skill Register

Free slots: 1

Available Skills:

- Breath Control — E — 16,000 AP

- Battle Movement — D — 128,000 AP

- Spear Art — C- — 512,000 AP

To be honest, Shen found those prices fair. The mere opportunity to spend AP to improve was worth that much to him.

Alicia, who had thrown some fireballs to try to register a Skill, disagreed.

"Are you kidding me?" she almost yelled. "Eight thousand for an E- Fireball Skill?"

He didn't take the time to change her mind right now. They had five minutes remaining until the battle resumed with their enemies stronger. Instead, he focused on his own considerations, starting with: was it worth it to spend 16,000 AP on a breathing Skill?

No, it definitely wasn't. Not right now, at least.

It would be one thing if spending the points would make him a master instantly. However, he would be spending AP to get the opportunity to spend more AP. The Learning Ability Upgrade still looked better than buying a Skill because he hadn't met a bottleneck yet.

Thankfully, the system wasn't done. A new message popped up on top of the Skill Register.

Tutorial - Race to the Top

The Multiverse Alliance exists to battle the Void.

The Guardian System can create infinite F-rank beings, many E-rank ones, and some at the D rank, but anything above that is beyond its capabilities.

The Void isn't so kind as to only send weak enemies for the Alliance to kill.

As such, we need elite Guardians. For your world's sake, the faster you improve, the better.

In many places in the Multiverse Alliance, a contribution ladder will determine your rewards. Most times, they will be public, but sometimes, they might be hidden. Always do your best to improve and achieve mission goals, or you might regret it.

The top 10% AP achievers up to now—points spent included—will be given one F+ tier Skill or lower for free.

The top 1% will be given one E+ tier Skill or lower for free.

The singular top achiever will be given one D+ tier Skill or lower for free.

In any circumstance, you have to first make the system recognize such a Skill and need a Skill Slot available.

When he finished reading, he got a new, quick message.

Tutorial Reward

Congratulations!

You currently are the top AP achiever!

You can get one D+ tier or lower Skill for free!

Your Skill Register page has been updated.

Skill Register

Free slots: 1

Available Skills:

- Breath Control — E — FREE

- Battle Movement — D — FREE

- Spear Art — C- — 512,000 AP

That changed things.

To begin with, if being the best came with benefits, the cost of teaching Alicia had just increased considerably. However, it was also the cost of getting information about the outside world.

All things considered, he decided it was still worth it if he started speaking faster.

He had wanted to slowly give her a complete picture of the Eternal Empire so she wouldn't lack anything in her own explanations, but now he would only give her the gist of it. In a couple days, he should be done and ready to listen to her.

On a more exciting note, he could get a Skill for free. He had no doubt he would one day get to the E rank himself, so he still had time to buy the Spear Art. He was a long way to reaching a bottleneck on it anyway.

On the other hand, getting the Movement Art now would be great for him. For starters, it would let him save a lot of AP. It would also give him first-hand experience on the Skill Subsystem, letting him know how useful it could be and the prices of leveling up Skills. Finally, by comparing how well he thought he was with the Gale Footwork to what the system evaluated, he would get an idea of how well the system did its job.

"Get D tier Battle Movement Skill," he said.

Skill registered: Gale Footwork

Tier: D

Level: 2 / 10

Next level: 30,000 AP

A battle movement art based on the Gale Concept of the Laws of Wind.

Shen frowned. By his estimations, he was at least thirty to forty percent on his way to mastering the Gale Footwork. The system was suggesting he was only half as good as he thought.

That could mean the system didn't evaluate him well or that the Gale Footwork he knew was incomplete.

He shook his head. He had no way to know and wouldn't worry about it for now. At least until level 5, things should be as he knew, so he would come back to it—

Suddenly, knowledge flooded his mind.

The earlier levels of the Gale Footwork came to him as a memory burned into his brain. Multiple moves in their perfect form, numerous variations, various situational usages. Moves he thought he already knew were corrected, and some he had never even imagined were ingrained in his mind. He acknowledged innumerable points to improve his existing movements and thought of various ways to try new variations to reach the next level.

Everything took mere moments, but the amount of knowledge added to his brain was incredible.

When it was done, he got a notification and a message.

| Skill Sync Complete — Gale Footwork (D) — Level 2

Tutorial - Skills

Congratulations on registering a new Skill!

When purchasing or leveling up a Skill, every knowledge the system has classified as pertaining to the level you achieved will be given to you in a way you cannot forget or misremember.

Skills are precious and greatly sought in the Multiverse Alliance.

You have 2 minutes remaining until the stage's enemies resume their activities with improved stats.

Fight well!

Shen was impressed. Incredibly impressed. That function alone made the Skill Subsystem one of the most valuable things he had had in his entire life.

Oh, how he wanted to get that for his Windstorm Spear Art too!

He briefly considered not buying the learning upgrade to save AP for the Spear Art Skill but decided against it. Thanks to the Skill he had just gotten, he had a parameter to see precisely how far his already slightly improved learning ability had brought him. Some of the movements he could do were much more advanced than any inexperienced mortal had any right to achieve. He credited it wholly to his learning ability.

A small part of him whispered there had to be more. Alicia had the same improved learning speed as him, yet it didn't let her improve as quickly. That part told him he was talented too.

He had once heard an elder whisper to their disciple that if Shen's meridians weren't broken, he would be the most talented in Feng Clan history. At the time, he had thought it was just a way to make Shen feel better and more hopeful.

But maybe...

He silenced that thought quickly. One of the easiest and fastest ways to stagnate and fall was arrogance. Talented or not, nothing would be given to him without hard work.

Shen had two minutes, so he took that time to experience the new movements given to him. He realized they weren't just memories but also muscle memory of an apprentice who had trained for a month and knew somewhat what to do.

He moved like a gale, free, unbidden, untouchable.

"Did you get a Skill for free?" Alicia asked.

Shen stopped and nodded at her. "Yes. It's very convenient. I cannot stress how much I recommend you buy one when you can." Then he thought of something. "But don't waste your Skill Slot on a bad Skill either. Each one is valuable."

He bet there were ways to buy new Slots or free some he was already using though. It would be just sad for an A-rank being to have a Skill Slot wasted on a D Skill they got early on their journey.

Alicia frowned, then sighed. "I guess that's my next goal then. The F+ magic stat is cheaper though."

That reminded Shen that the Stat Store had also been updated! He quickly checked on it.

Stat Store

Your AP: 41,562

-

Rank: F → E | 10,000 AP

-

Max Health Points: 100 → 101 | 101 AP

Health Regen: 12 → 12.1/h | 1,210 AP

-

Max Stamina Points: 100 → 101 | 101 AP

Stamina Regen: 6.6 → 6.7/min | 670 AP

-

Strength: F → F+ | 5,000 AP

Agility: F → F+ | 5,000 AP

Resistance: F- → F | 2,500 AP

The prices weren't terrible. Shen still preferred the learning upgrade because he could theoretically improve his stats by cultivating, but it was nice to know he had the option to improve his stats in a fight if he needed.

Well, that was it for now. Ten minutes had almost passed.

The rabbits were mutating right in front of him. Their muscles moved below their pelt, which was becoming hairless. Soon, only a hairless aberration with grown muscles and a sharp horn at the red-eyed head remained.

When the ten minutes mark finished, they attacked.