Now that we had some time, I reviewed my prompts, starting with the most recent ones.

  You have gained 261,888 experience points from killing Queen Carbinium Spider.

  Congratulations, you have leveled up! As a Grey Elf, you received 1 ability point in Agility, 1 in Intelligence, 2 in Constitution, and an additional 2 points to distribute each level in any category. You have reached levels 21 through 25 and received a total of 10 freely distributable ability points.

  You have gained levels 2 through 22 in Time Magic. Congratulations, you now have a profession available: Mage. You have earned 504 Skill points: base 252 multiplied by 2 because of the gift from the universe.

  Skill points earned from unlocking this skill: 504

  Total Skill points: 504

  Do you wish to see your Profession Tree?

  You have gained levels 2 through 9 in Spatial Magic. You have earned 88 Skill points: base 44 multiplied by 2 because of the gift from the universe.

  Skill points earned from unlocking this skill: 88

  Total Skill points: 592

  At level 9 in Spatial Magic, your spell Teleport has evolved. Cost: 15 Mana. Cast Time: Instantaneous. Cooldown: N/A Range: 1-25 feet.

  Objects teleported have new limitations: objects cannot exceed 1.45 square feet in size and weigh no more than 4.35 pounds.

  You have gained level 10 in Swordsmanship.

  You have gained level 4 in Herblore.

  As we carefully navigated the narrow tunnels, I briefly shifted my focus from my mental prompts to ask a pressing question. "Hey, guys, I received a profession and Skill points from two of my skills, so my soul fragment seems to be working. However, I'm looking at my other skills, which have also improved, yet I don't see any Skill points for those. Does anyone know why?"

  Kaylie, trailing just behind me, replied enthusiastically, "Congrats! That's quite an impressive achievement, especially so quickly. It has to be a record. It's most likely because those skills are in a different category from the profession you've earned. For instance, I have a mage profession, so when I enhance my Light Magic, I gain Skill points. However, if I improve my Singing Skill, it doesn't affect my points because I do not have the Bard profession."

  “Wait,” I interrupted. “Are you saying that singing is an actual skill, complete with its own Talent Tree?” I remembered when Kayji sang and how powerful it was, but singing felt more like an art than a skill to me. Then again, I suppose everything blends a bit of both.

  “Exactly. After you encountered a Ban-Sior, I thought you’d realize how powerful a voice can be,” Kaylie said, sounding as though she had just won an argument before I even had a chance to respond. “But it’s more than that. Not every skill is meant for combat. True, combat is a quick way to advance your skills, but it's not the only way.”

  “Then if you get points for other skills in the same branch, why aren’t you focusing more on increasing your Light Magic instead of your Fire Magic? Wouldn’t that get you Skill points faster?” I asked.

  “Faster, maybe, but not necessarily more,” Kaylie replied. “Remember our earlier discussion about how some people are naturally good at certain things, others are average, and some may never excel? If you’re not naturally adept, progress can be painfully slow.”

  “Yeah, but wouldn’t it make sense to focus on your Light Magic to accumulate more points quickly?” I persisted.

  “Not necessarily true,” she explained patiently. “Yes, focusing on Light Magic might get you points faster, but you won't necessarily earn more points overall. You only gain as many points as the level you achieve. So, if you diligently work on Light Magic and reach level 9, you earn nine Skill points. However, if you put in three times the effort on Fire Magic and manage to advance it to level 28, you end up earning roughly the same amount of Skill points for the increased effort. You are correct about the equilibrium. If someone can advance more easily in a skill, they would most certainly pursue it. But once progress becomes challenging, people often switch to what's easier and more familiar to them.”

  “I guess there is no easy path.”

  “How did you get a profession? It doesn’t seem possible,” Kaylie asked.

  I paused, considering her question. “I’m not exactly sure. After I absorbed the soul fragment, I progressed to level 22 in Time Magic. I've been using the spell nonstop since I got here. It was a weak spell that slowed down time by only 1%, but at the cost of my mana regeneration, so I could use it constantly, especially since I really didn’t have any other spells.”

  “And you were using that spell during every fight?” Kaylie asked.

  “Yeah, I only deactivated it after that last battle. Does that matter?”

  "Of course it matters, especially if it helps you win battles. You could spend time knitting while others fight, but that won't help increase your combat skills or grant you any experience for leveling, even if you're in a group of five," Kaylie said.

  The perfect party size for everyone to gain experience from kills without it being diluted was five. Any more than that, and the experience points would be reduced based on each person’s actual involvement in the battle.

  Even if you were in a party of five or fewer, if you didn’t contribute, you wouldn’t gain any experience. I learned this firsthand when we fought the Hippo. I did my best, firing arrows at the creature, but none of them hit. I doubted the animal even noticed the projectiles. Consequently, I didn’t earn any experience from the encounter.

  This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  "Leveling up skills is easiest in battle or when facing something challenging. Just doing the same old thing doesn't advance your abilities or push your limits. Even with you using it in every battle, I can't see you reaching level 20," she said, stopping in the tight space. I had to turn and look at her. "You know, it must have been that gift of doubling your most used skill that did it."

  I had nearly forgotten about that. I received a message from the universe, which congratulated me on accomplishing the impossible. In my first month on this strange planet, I had managed to reach level 20, a feat so rare that it came with a special bonus. The universe generously doubled the Skill points I earned for one month, as well as the experience for my most-used skill.

  At the time, my skill was frustratingly stuck at a measly level 1. Even with the bonus of doubling, it didn’t advance past that point because my aptitude was too low, and I had already maxed out on the skill.

  “Hey, Rabbit,” I thought to myself. “I think I understand why my Herblore jumped to level 4 in the last battle, even though I haven’t eaten an herb in a while. I suspect it was being held back because my aptitude was too low. But I'm not exactly sure why I didn’t see improvements in other skills I've worked on before.”

  “I agree,” Rabbit responded mentally. “Whenever you acquire a skill, it begins tracking your progress and experience in that particular skill. When you absorbed the soul fragment, your aptitude in the skill reached 100%, which significantly lowered the requirements for increasing the skill level. My guess, and this is just a guess, is that if you hadn’t acquired the skill formally, it wouldn’t track any experience at all. So, for instance, you were trying to sneak around, but since you never officially acquired the Sneaking skill, you didn’t gain any experience from it, despite your efforts. I suggest you ask the others to teach you some magical spells.”

  “Are you just saying that because you’re interested in learning how they work?” I asked.

  “They have to be unique compared to your other spells, especially given their different classifications. I've been analyzing the two spells you can cast, and with some modifications, I might be able to enhance their power or even create our own. Developing new spells would certainly deepen our understanding,” Rabbit explained.

  "Really? You can create new spells?" I exclaimed with unabridged enthusiasm.

  “You’re getting ahead of yourself,” Rabbit cautioned. “I’m still trying to grasp the underlying principles. It’s not just about casting, but involves mathematical theory, mana balance, and transdimensional physics. While some of those might be straightforward for me, I wouldn’t recommend testing a new spell without a deeper understanding. Generally, I'm still puzzled by how mana is balanced in certain ways. I hope to glean more from studying other spells, but a book on the topic would be invaluable.”

  "No problem, I’ll just add it to my next Amazon order. I wonder if I’ll get free shipping all the way out here,” I quipped.

  “That is a prime example of a terrible joke,” Rabbit shot back, his voice gleeful, almost like a child’s.

  “Hey, Kaylie,” I said, rubbing my sore neck. “Do you think you could teach me some spells?”

  “Sure, I think you could learn quite a bit. But you’ll have to teach me some of your spells in return,” Kaylie replied, her voice carrying the hint of a smile. After a brief pause, she asked curiously, “So, how many Skill points did you end up with?”

  Looking at my totals, I received 504 Skill points for raising my Time Magic to level 22 and 88 points for increasing my Spatial Magic to level 9.

  “I received a total of 592 Skill points,” I announced.

  “What?” The surprise in their voices was unmistakable, and everyone halted except Jack, who was trailing behind.

  He called out, unsure of what caused the sudden stop. “What happened?”

  “Alf just said he’s got 592 Skill points,” Sana, who was behind Kaylie, relayed to him.

  “Holy crap! How did that happen? Are we sure Alf knows how to count?” Jack joked, his voice laced with disbelief and snark.

  “What’s the big deal?” I asked.

  “The big deal?” Kaylie echoed, her eyes widening in disbelief. “Just think about it. Most people start at skill level 20 and slowly accumulate points. To gather as many as you have, you'd normally need to reach about level 40. Most people never see that level in their entire lives. It’s like you’ve been handed a miracle.”

  “Actually, level 39,” Rabbit corrected.

  “Thanks, Mr. Know-It-All,” I shot back in my head. I had nearly blurted it out for everyone to hear, but I bit my tongue just in time.

  “Are you going to choose 'Skilled'?” Sana asked from behind her.

  “What is 'Skilled'?” I echoed, puzzled.

  “Wow, someone handed the baby a hammer, and it doesn’t know how to use it,” Jack remarked, amused.

  “There are three different tracks that…” Kaylie started when Jack intervened.

  “Seriously, can we talk about this when we're not in these cramped tunnels? My back is killing me,” Jack grumbled, prompting us to resume walking, albeit hunched over. Kaylie sighed heavily, choosing to hold off on further explanation for now.

  Filled with intense curiosity, I summoned my Skill Tree to appear before me. Instead of the familiar tree-like structure, I was greeted by a screen displaying three captivating options. The bold title “General Profession Screen” immediately caught my attention. Below it, a note clarified that Skill points could only be used within their designated profession, yet they could also be allocated to the overarching category of the General Profession.

  The General Profession selections were as follows:

  Power: This branch enables purchases that enhance the power of any profession.

  Knowledge: This branch enables purchases that enhance proficiency in all skills within a profession, thereby reducing the time required to learn each skill level.

  Skilled: Increase the number of Skill points earned each level. Note: This is not retroactive before the day of acquisition.

  Only one skill branch may be chosen.

  That was intriguing, as all three options—Power, Knowledge, and Skilled—were separate from any specific Profession Tree. These choices were available to anyone who became a professional, not just those who, like me, had the mage path open. Power, in particular, caught my attention, especially the thought of unleashing more devastating fire spells or sending chills down the spines of my foes with subzero temperatures.

  The terms 'Knowledge' and 'Skilled' gave me pause. In my previous gaming experience, the term 'Talented' was often used to describe a skill that made leveling up easier. But here, 'Knowledge' seemed to fulfill that role. I had always been drawn to the concept of 'Talented' because it eased the learning curve, and 'Knowledge' appeared to do the same, enhancing proficiency in all skills within a profession and reducing the time it took to level them up.

  However, the 'Skilled' branch was even more compelling. It offered the opportunity to gain additional Skill points with each level. It was a game-changing advantage. Not only would I earn more points as I leveled up, but I could also boost the total number of points I had already accrued. This was significant, especially considering the sheer number of points I had earned on my first day alone, going from level 1 to level 22. The 'Skilled' branch presented a powerful means to maximize my growth and progression.

  I kept going back and forth in my mind, weighing the benefits of each choice and worrying that I could only pick one. Eventually, the tunnel came to an end, and I was able to stand up straight again.

  Jack, the last one out, declared, “Finally, no more bending over,” as he stretched and cracked his back.

  “Shame, it seems like you missed your chance,” Rabbit quipped, his sarcasm expected. I ignored him, focusing instead on the city before us.