Eventually, Sana brought up the subject that was rolling around the back of my mind. “Did you check out your profession page?”
“Yeah, I saw the choices and started deciding, but became confused again,” I replied.
“No surprise there,” Jack interjected.
“Thanks.” My attention returned to Sana. “If you are allowed to use any Skill points on the general tree, are you also allowed to use any Skill points on any branch?”
“No,” Sana answered. “Each branch is separate, and you can only use points from your corresponding profession. The one exception is that on the General Tree, you can use the points from any category, as the General Tree will allow you to increase your skills from all your professions.”
“I guess that makes sense. But why would I use Skill points from my highest skill on the General Tree? Shouldn’t I wait until I get a profession that wasn’t necessarily useful?” I asked.
“Oh, the old debate,” Kaylie replied.
“This is highly contested,” Sana remarked. “Everyone has a different opinion on what the Skill points should be used on. The wisest of us see that as the perks increase, so do the points. Therefore, logical reasoning would state you should diversify as much as you can. To do this, you should use a few points from each profession in the general category and the most points from your strongest category. That way, you can get the most out of your bonuses.” She was smiling upon explaining. She seemed to enjoy this kind of conversation.
Kaylie jumped in, “That is true. You could get the most out of your bonuses, but you will never be truly powerful. If you specialize, you can be stronger in that power. For example, if you use all your Mage talents in one area, then you will be focused and a lot stronger than everyone else with that type of skill. Then, you would have to use points from other categories, such as Warrior, to increase your General category. This would raise all of your professions, including what you are specializing in. However, Sana is right about the cost to go down my path. When you start, the increase in your skills is small, but as the benefit increases, you get less per skill point you use.”
I turned to Jack. “What do you think?”
“I think it’s moot. Most people don’t get more than one profession,” he replied. “If you do, that is great, but I wouldn’t be too concerned about saving or pushing your points here or there. They both pointed out that the cost increases the higher you go. You will likely choose the biggest advantage for the lowest cost, regardless of what you do. Many people talk big, and some even purchase the Skilled talent, but the long time it takes for those to pay off turns out not to be worth it.”
“What do you mean?” I asked with genuine curiosity.
“Well, let’s look at Kaylie. She probably has to wait at least another year, if not years, to purchase her next talent because she is saving up her points.” Jack said, and Kaylie nodded in response. “Now, imagine you purchased the Skilled talent, which very few people ever do. You pay now to get marginally more points later. The cost also increases, so by the end, you could spend your whole life paying for the next level and never even use a single point for increasing any of your actual skills. That is the same for all the General talents. That’s why most people, instead of waiting and strategizing, usually use the points as cheaply as they can to get the most of what they can.”
“What General Skill did you all choose?” I asked.
“Knowledge,” Jack and Sana responded.
“Power,” Kaylie finished.
I was initially taken aback by Jack's decision not to select the Power attribute, but upon further consideration, it made sense. Jack was not a conventional mage, and he already possessed a significant amount of power on his own. I assumed he ignored the skilled attribute because it requires investing points with no guaranteed return. One could pour all their points into it and still not reap any benefits. Conversely, selecting another attribute would immediately grant him a noticeable advantage now. That seemed like what I needed, so I was thinking about copying Jack.
“Hey, Rabbit, I’m going to select the Knowledge tree. Do you agree?” I asked in my head.
“That wouldn’t be my choice, but the end decision is up to you,” Rabbit replied.
“What? You would choose Power?” I asked.
“No. Why would I choose Power? You aren’t even that strong to specialize in Power yet. It would be a ridiculous choice for your build,” he remarked, reacting with disgust at the idea.
“So, you would choose Skilled then?” I said.
“Wow, it only took you all of the choices before figuring it out,” Rabbit added.
“But you heard the others. Don’t they make sense? I mean, you would be spending points and not even earn any,” I insisted.
“Oh, I heard the others. And they are a hundred percent correct for themselves. If I were them, I could see the logic in all of their choices. However, you aren’t like the others,” Rabbit stated.
“What do you mean?”
“Wow. Today, I’m going to have to spell everything out for you. Let’s review your build and the recommended options. I would say Power would be stupid because you don’t have anything really to power up. It is so obviously absurd that we can take it off the board now. You are also not like the others in a couple of important aspects. First, you can live a lot longer than them. Second, you absorbed a soul fragment that changed you fundamentally, so you have infinite possibilities when it comes to skills. You can learn any skill without limitation. Did you ever think what Knowledge does?”
“Give me knowledge, maybe?” I said, not quite sure. I was thinking of the optimal path and math behind them rather than what they actually did.
“Knowledge attribute would let you increase proficiency in any skill by learning it faster. Now, let’s say you found a soul fragment that changed all of your affinity in skills from zero to one hundred percent. Would Knowledge do anything for you? Would it increase your proficiency higher, or would it be wasted on you?”
Despite Rabbit's abrasive nature, I must acknowledge the value of his insights. While he can be flighty when in action, he could be insanely helpful when things were calm, and he didn’t have a chance to pull a prank on me. His ability to process massive amounts of information enables him to see multiple scenarios and provide insights that I may miss. In this case, I was considering each of these choices from my companions' perspectives, rather than my own changed circumstances.
“Would it?”
“How would I know? I’m just sharing my thoughts,” Rabbit said. “But here’s the main point: the gift you received from the universe gives you double the Skill points for the rest of the month. With that boost and the way the prompt was worded, it seems like you could earn extra points based on what you’ve already accumulated. I’m not sure how this will balance out, and we should ask the others, but I think you might gain more points than less.”
I then reread the prompt for Skilled, and it went like this:
Skilled: Increase the number of Skill points earned each level. Note: This is not retroactive before the day of acquisition.
Then I read the gift the universe gave me:
Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.
Well done! You have done something that has rarely been accomplished. You have reached level 20 within one month of existence in this world. For this outstanding accomplishment, your skills will be augmented. You will be rewarded with double the Skill points for the rest of your first month, and your most used skill will double its experience.
From that, I understood what Rabbit was saying. While I couldn’t use any points before today, I have effectively gained all my points now because my race held me back from increasing skills. If, for example, I could improve my Skill points by 10%, then I would earn 59 points for nothing but purchasing the first skill. I wasn’t sure on the exact percentage as I couldn’t see below the top level of the tree before I bought the skill. However, I did have three people right in front of me who were very knowledgeable about this subject, or at least that’s what it seemed.
“Hey, I have a question,” I spoke out loud. “Once I purchase one of these talents, like Skilled, what will be the purchases underneath? I can’t see them.”
They all looked at each other, and Kaylie decided to talk. “There is a magic that prevents us from speaking about it in specifics. We can talk generalities, of course, but anything more specific won’t work.”
“You’re kidding. Why?” I asked, confused.
Sana stepped in, as she often did. “We don’t think the goal is to limit knowledge of the General Tree, but rather to restrict details about the specific Skill Trees. As far as we know, everyone shares the same three General Trees, but Skill Trees seem to vary widely from person to person. Since you’re a Grey Elf, I’m not sure how much of a Talent Tree you have, if any. That might have changed for you, or it might not have. Some people have limited trees, while others have very extensive ones. Think of the trees as a representation of your potential, rather than just a set of bonus attributes. Since everyone’s potential is different, each tree is unique.”
This made sense, but it was still troubling. I was confident that my potential, thanks to the soul fragment that allowed me to learn any skill, was now limitless. However, I wasn’t sure if the skill trees recognized that. Like so many things in this world, I didn’t fully understand how it all worked, which made it even harder to figure out what I should do next.
With limited options available, I turned my attention to selecting my General Tree. After weighing my choices, I closed my eyes and decided on Skilled. As soon as I made the selection, the radiant star representing it burst into a shower of light, illuminating the next star in the sequence, while the other options faded into obscurity. The first star transformed into Skilled I and displayed the following:
Skilled I unlocked.
You may earn 10% extra Skill points from any source and may use them in any category.
Skill points earned from unlocking this skill: 118
Total Skill points: 710
Yes, free points! Surprisingly, I was able to unlock the first level without spending any Skill points. But it wasn’t entirely free. The decision came at a cost. I had to use my only free choice in the General category, which meant I couldn’t select another category. It was an either-or situation, and now that I had chosen Skilled, I couldn’t go back and pick Power as well.
Despite this, the most significant advantage came from the universe’s gift that doubled my Skill points. Instead of the expected 59 points, I received an impressive 118. What was supposed to be a small bonus turned out to be a huge advantage, especially given how much I had been held back in my levels. I couldn’t imagine anyone else benefiting from it as much as I did at this moment.
After seeing what I was getting, I knew I had made the right choice. I looked at the next star in the field and read what it said:
Skilled II.
You may earn 20% extra Skill points from any source and may use them in any category.
Cost: 20 Skill points.
I didn't even consult Rabbit and spent the Skill points.
Skilled II unlocked.
You may earn 20% extra Skill points from any source and may use them in any category.
Skill points earned from unlocking this skill: 118
Total Skill points: 808
I did some quick math in my head and was disappointed to find that the bonus would not accumulate as I had anticipated. I had assumed that I would receive a bonus on the initial 10% of the Skill points I just received, but this was not the case. This could mean that there would be no negative consequences for spending the Skill points on the actual skill, either.
The next skill level appeared, stating the same thing, but had a cost of 40 points. I wondered if the price would double with each subsequent level, making it increasingly expensive to level up. Nevertheless, with the generous gift of 118 Skill points I received in each level up, I felt confident in my decision to invest in the third level, eager to see what it had in store for me.
Skilled III unlocked.
You may earn 30% extra Skill points from any source and may use them in any category.
Skill points earned: 119
Total Skill points: 887
The next level was now accessed, and much to my relief, the cost was 60 Skill points, not 80 as I had anticipated. I guessed that the price would increase in an exponential progression, and I didn't even need Rabbit to figure this out, starting at 100, then 160, 260, and so on. My calculations proved accurate, and I seized the opportunity to unlock skill levels 4, 5, and 6. While level 6 might have seemed excessive, the reality was that it only cost me 42 Skill points in total, considering the 118 Skill points I received, and I would still receive the permanent 10% boost to the Skill points I earned. I saw this as a wise investment for my future.
Skilled VI unlocked.
You may earn 60% extra Skill points from any source and may use them in any category.
Skill points earned from unlocking this skill: 118
Total Skill points: 922
“Let’s go check out that Mage Skill Tree,” I said in my head.
“Wait. Let’s spend more points here,” Rabbit advised.
“Why? If I spend more points, I will only lose points and not get them back.”
“You’re thinking about just today. You’re not considering the future,” Rabbit countered.
“Well, I can spend future points on increasing this Skilled talent if you want, but we should get some stuff that can help us here and now,” I replied.
“You forget so quickly. We have an advantage today that will never come again. If you wait until tomorrow, you won’t receive those 118 Skill points anymore, as you have already received them today. If you spend more on this talent today, it will be cheaper than ever.” Rabbit upped his voice as he knew I was going to cut in. “And I know you think that you will get bonus points in the future. That is true whether you buy this today or not. However, after this opportunity, you will no longer earn 118 Skill points per level of Skilled talent. If you wait longer than that, you will be wasting all the Skill points that come along until then.”
As I tried to cut in again, he upped his voice for the second time.
“Uh uh uh. You forgot the doubling of the Skill points you earned. It is also unlikely you will get to the 900 Skill points you have right now anytime soon. It would take you until level 48 in Time Magic without the doubling bonus and level 37 with it before you get that amount of points again. And I seriously doubt you could make it to level 37 before the bonus runs out.”
Rabbit was right, of course, which also meant that I should spend those points now because I wouldn’t get another opportunity like this one. However, in my head, that also indicated that I should use them on something that could make me great. The significant advantage was the Skill points that I would earn today. I received a hoard of points from my jump to level 22 in one day, and that would never happen again.
I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and considered my options carefully. I felt confident in my decision to use my Skill points and started by spending 160 points, followed by an additional 260. However, when I saw the cost for level 8 was a whopping 420 points, I couldn’t help but hesitate. I realized this was equivalent to 20 levels at my current skill level, but then I remembered what Rabbit had said and ultimately decided to take the leap and spent the 420 points to reach level 8. I felt a mixture of emotions. In my head, I knew it was the right choice, but emotionally, it felt like spending all my money on something that I would never see.
Skilled VIII unlocked.
You may earn 80% extra Skill points from any source and may use them in any category.
Skill points earned from unlocking this skill: 119
Total Skill points: 479
The next level was priced at 680 Skill points, and I was 200 points short, which meant I wouldn’t be able to reach it anytime soon. It was a difficult decision, but I reminded myself that investing in my growth and development was comparable to working out or eating healthily. Although it may not be enjoyable in the moment, the long-term benefits make it worthwhile.
“Okay, can we go to my Mage Skill Tree yet?” I asked.
“I have seen it, and I know the second you get a glimpse at it, you are going to use almost all of your points instantly,” Rabbit stated. “Can you do me a favor? Can you at least wait until tomorrow? You will lose those extra Skill points tomorrow, so we could end up spending them, and it wouldn’t be that bad.”
He was trying too hard to convince me, but he did know me pretty well. I knew myself too, which was why I didn’t open the Mages tab first. From the many games I had played, I knew that choosing new powers was always more tempting than sticking to long-term strategy. If I hadn’t done this first, I would have already spent every point on some flashy new spell.
Still, the curiosity burned, and I wanted to know what was behind that curtain. But since Rabbit rarely asked me for anything, I felt obliged to allow it. He wouldn’t gain anything from it and was only trying to help me. Once the day rolled over and I could no longer get extra points, I knew I would probably go crazy pouring everything into new abilities.
“Of course, one more day is nothing,” I assured him.
