"Eh, no one again, just you," Professor Kratus said with a shake of his head and a frown on his face.
"Probably all working on skill levels," I suggested.
"Bah! Skill levels — there is no skill for common sense. Sure, there is Critical Thinking, but most people don't realize what it does. It allows you to think rapidly in short bursts when there is a lot of pressure, like in a fight. But it doesn't make you smarter. What do you know about the stat Focus?"
"It allows one to focus, as the name implies, on a specific task. But that doesn't stop a person from daydreaming or thinking about other things. Free will, as we know it, is not affected.
"Good. You have clearly read the general guidance books that the College has on offer. These lectures exist because too many students think they know how something works and make assumptions. Those assumptions led to trouble later. While they are rushing to gain skill levels in their last year, they miss the most important things," he said with a shake of his head.
"Yes, Professor."
The last lecture had given useful information, which was why I was coming to this one as well.
"Mana Interaction is a complex and varied topic. What is Mana?"
"The interaction between the soul, body, and mind. The soul creates, the body stores, and the mind directs."
"Decent, but what about on a qualitative and physical level of description?"
"Mana Points can vary between individuals based on one's Magic stat and skills. While there has been an effort to standardize cost, most ignore the general consumption metrics unless they are in crafting, converting to their own internal Mana consumption metrics only they know."
"And for crafting, what is one unit of Mana?"
"It is the lowest amount of Mana required to sustain a Light Orb for one second. This base unit has been adjusted several times, and there are disputes about it."
"Very good. Unlike liquids or physical objects, Mana has a mental component to it, which influences the end results. There has been a push to lower the standard Mana unit for a long time. That is why most Mana reading gauges use percentages instead of hard numbers. Too much confusion, not enough standardization. Since the dwarves know that controlling standards is a powerful social weapon and their corporations compete for control of such things."
I had some knowledge of this, but he was connecting various facts I knew together.
"Now, Mana interactions. The most common are elemental interactions. Water, Fire, Air, Lightning, and Earth, with each elemental spell having properties that beat the previous element. You can overcome these with power or physical interaction. Why are other elements rare?"
"Because they require more complex Mana use and tend to be higher tier spell skills. Something like an Acid Beam would be tier 5 while a Water Beam is only tier 3."
"Or they don't fully exist either. It has always been a question: does the System create new skills, or do they naturally emerge? It has been an endless debate. Controlled experiments have revealed that skills that are more widely known are easier to learn."
"But another argument is residual Mana in the air containing the impressions of those skills. Long-term analysis of monster composition in the dungeon indicates that this influence is real. The number of monsters with soul skills has decreased over time, while the number of monsters with healing skills has increased slightly."
"Really? I thought they were rare?"
"They still are. But the increase of healing-type monsters has increased approximately 24.4% over the last 400 years. While the increase isn't noticeable to any one individual and they are still rare, it is a noticeable percentage increase. Long-term data collection has revealed interesting facts like this," Professor Kratus said.
"What does it mean for me?"
"Nothing much. I could tell you about predicted monster compositions in the dungeon, but those are just percentages, while individual encounters can vary. This lecture highlights Mana control. It is a way to support skill leveling or creation greatly. It isn't something that is taught but only discussed between Professors and highly capable adventurers. Most prefer to follow the legacy of others."
Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.
I had the legacy of my mother, and my father had offered me his. No one would ever turn down my mother's legacy.
"What exactly are you suggesting?"
"You have maximized your Mana Manipulation. The College ensures that students acquire this skill. The reason the College requires it for spell skills is that controlling them is a lot easier with Mana Manipulation. But there are further skills if one wants to continue down this route for those who want to build their own legacies."
I winced at that suggestion. I had more than enough to learn already. "Just something to think about. There is no class or requirement, but I want to make you aware of such things. Micro Mana Manipulation and Macro Mana Manipulation are tier 4 skills. The hardest part is that the skills don't merge."
"What?" I asked in surprise, and the Professor smiled slightly at my shock.
"Unlike most other skill paths, Mana skills that focus on control expand as you go upwards; they don't decrease. There are over 87 unique manipulation tier 5 skills that the College knows of in its records. There is a lot of overlap between them, but it just highlights how manipulation skills become increasingly complex."
"What about something that offers perfect control?" I asked, and the Professor shook his head.
"The holy grail of skills. Many researchers consider Perfect Mana Manipulation the ultimate skill. But nobody has ever discovered it; people have only theorized about it as a possible tier 7 skill. But how would one even get something like that when the range of manipulation skills is immense? There are only records of three tier 6 manipulation skills. They vary immensely and are not suitable for others besides their original skill holder to learn. They were too unique and customized."
"That is why the College focuses on broadly applicable skills," I said in realization.
"One reason, but yes. If enough people have the same base skills, the hope is that it will create a stable path to higher-tier skills. The success of this over the centuries is still being debated, but we will continue onwards. Perhaps in a few millennia, we will have better answers when more data is collected."
"Any other manipulation skills you recommend?"
"Those two to start. There are textbooks available for study and recommended exercises. However, even auxiliary courses do not teach them for a reason. The level gain is horrendous. People maximize only those skills because of their sheer use."
Professor Kratus explained that people cannot easily cross-level those skills with other skills because of their niche application.
Ah, that meant I wouldn't be trying to learn them for a long time. "I understand; I will keep that in mind."
"At least one person around here appreciates this knowledge. Well, the legends can pay through the nose for the same knowledge. In a couple of decades, or a century, the students who graduated will come crawling back for this knowledge. Since whatever nonsense they learned outside the College is incomplete or faulty or both."
"Are there any more lectures planned?"
"No, just these two general lectures, but if you have questions about higher order System interactions, you can come talk to me."
"Um, what about System skills?"
"Meta skills, or skills that directly influence other skills. Skill Control and System Control are the most obvious ones. They have their uses, but going down that path is one of faith and belief. We have investigated such things, but ultimately that is the domain of System Priests."
"Why? I would think that meta-skills would reveal quite a bit?"
"You would think so. But meta-skills aren't something that are easily learned. There are no custom meta skills in the higher tiers like other skill groups. Meta skills offer more control, but don't offer insight. Similar to a clerk moving paper, you improve at moving it and understanding nothing about the paper itself, including its creation, content, or purpose. You just get better at moving it. That is why they are called priests, since they believe in the System and the meta skills they have."
"No one has explained it like that before."
"Let me guess, they said little if anything?"
"Yes," I replied.
"System Priests are an odd bunch. While we have a couple residing at the College for skill removal, ultimately, they aren't individuals you can understand. Their thinking is profoundly different from that of adventurers or professors. I wouldn't call it bad or worse, but profoundly different. Like fire to water. While we burn with passion and the drive to advance, they flow along. The only things you will get from talking to a System Priest are questions and headaches," Professor Kratus said.
"You have investigated meta-skills?"
"Yes, and didn't get anywhere with them. They aren't skills you can train. They require belief. While you might think you are training System Control and Skill Control, what you are doing is believing in those skills, which is why they are increasing in level."
"Can't I just believe more to increase their level?"
"Can you? Belief is like water. You can see it, feel it, but if you try to grasp it, it flows away. That is why the mentality of a System Priest is completely incompatible with most other things. They train themselves to be as ignorant and as frustrating as possible. The less that goes through their heads, the stronger they become."
"But the System is real, and those skills are real? I would be better off if I did not believe in them?" I asked, still confused.
"You believe in their verifiable impact. But the tier 4 skill, Skill Adjustment requires one to believe they can adjust skills. Can you believe that?"
"I…if the skill exists, I can," I replied with hesitation.
The Professor shook his head and gave me a smile one would give a small child. "Just adjust your skills, just do it. Why are you thinking so much? Just believe in the System and it will be possible."
"Oh," I finally replied.
"Oh, is correct. System Priests just believe. You understand concrete effects like most other people with common sense. That is why the Faith of The System is so…frustrating. Even if the System materialized into a humanoid body and danced naked in front of a person, they would believe in that, not just spontaneous skills with no effort. Just understanding given to them by the System itself."
"I have spent decades trying to learn such skills systematically. To peel back whatever nonsense that makes them so frustrating to learn. In return, the only thing I have learned is frustration."