Chương 5: Tier 1

Ember felt no joy once his advancement came. He had been looking forward to it for days, and yet who could have imagined it would cause such terrible pain, almost making him regret living again? It was so horrifying that he even fell unconscious. Even after he regained consciousness, the weariness lingered, fatigue settling deep into his tender bones. Ember wondered how much of it was due to the advancement and how much to his relentless grinding of skills.

Anyhow, his mood was finally lifted when a notification window expanded in his view. [Congratulations. You have reached Copper - Tier 1.] [Your body's predisposition towards skills and mana has improved. Your potential has risen.] All that was well and good, but Ember did not believe he could survive another advancement like this. [+6 skill slots.] Well, maybe I can manage. [Would you like to learn: Pain Tolerance (Common)?] [Required Skill Slot: 1.] His brows arched, almost accepting the skill.

Pain Tolerance could help him endure these advancements. If accepting the skill would settle the matter, Ember would have taken it in a heartbeat, but he suspected that, like any other skill, he would have to train it. How did one train Pain Tolerance? A cold shudder ran down his spine just imagining it. Before Ember opened his status page, his eyes darted to his mother. She was talking with a young woman, a healer she had brought to check on him.

"Em, are you feeling pain anywhere?" A sense of guilt welled up in his heart. As much as the agonising advancement had scared the life out of him, it seemed to have terrified her even more. Although he had been occupied with enduring the pain, he had caught a glimpse of her sobbing face. He shook his head, chewing the inside of his cheeks to echo, "Hungry." Yes, he couldn't have known that advancing would come with such pain.

The system hadn't even given him a minute to prepare, not that he could have done much anyway. But he could not help it. As his mother hurried to serve him a meal, Ember finally opened his status. Ember Blackstone Human (Copper) - Tier 0 (336/300) →Tier 1 (Progress: 36/600) Class: N/A Titles: N/A Mana Foundation: Mana Circuit: 3% Breath of Mana: 1 Attributes: Might: 0. 3 → 0. 6 Speed: 0. 6 → 1 Will: 6. 6 → 8. 1 Insight: 5. 7 → 9. 9 Mystic: 4. 6 → 7. 9 Immunity: 0. 5 → 1.

5 Class Skills: General Skills: [Skill Slot: 6/12] Common: Active Recall +9 | Focus +9 | Meditation +8 Copper: Mana Sense +5 → 6 Boons: System Access I Affiliation: House Blackstone - Seynhold (Tier 5) Of course, the race advancement did not end at Tier 1, though he was not too delighted to find it would take him double the EPs to advance another step. But at least he had gained six more skill slots. With new skills, perhaps it wouldn't even take that long.

There was finally something new in the Mana Foundation section. Ember had some suspicions about what both mana circuits and Breath of Mana meant, though it would require some experiments with his Mana Sense to confirm them. The growth in his attributes was another thing he was delighted to see. Might and Speed were still lacklustre, whereas the biggest gains were in Will, Insight, and Mystic. Maybe it was related to the types of skills he trained? All his skills revolved around mind or magic.

With all that out of the way, Ember decided to see how astonishing the sixth step in Mana Sense was. He peered inwards, towards his internal mana. Yes, he could do that now. Once he reached the sixth step, it became possible to glimpse the threads of mana within him. One breath of mana. Was that what it was? Could it be used to fling a fireball? Now that he could sense his internal mana, Ember considered for a moment before deciding to see if he could grasp it. Mana was ethereal.

He had no clue whether it was pure energy or if there was some spiritual component to it—whatever that meant. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Anyhow, with his mind made up, he conjured two metaphorical hands over the elusive mana and tried to grasp it. The process was nerve-wracking and strange, almost like trying to hold water in his palm. Although he could get his hands wet and perhaps even bring some water out, most of it would drain away.

The same seemed to be true for mana. After keeping at it for a few minutes while his mother fed him, Ember was left both embarrassed and exhausted. Still far away from flinging spells, he deemed. Then the familiar window expanded before his eyes. [Would you like to learn: Mana Circulation (Copper)?] [Required skill slots: 3.] Ember would have liked some information on the skill. Although its name alluded to what it entailed, it would still have helped to know more.

Unfortunately, the system only provided information once the skill was learned. Since the skill had mana in its name, Ember was more inclined to accept it. Over the months, he had received a number of prompts for all the skills available to him. While some of them seemed interesting, they were all common skills. This was the first time he had received a prompt for a Copper skill after Mana Sense. He did not think further about the points he would lose and accepted the skill.

An electrifying sensation coursed through him immediately. It was clearer now, though the prickliness seemed to have lessened after his advancement. [Skill Acquired: Mana Circulation (Copper) +1] [+10 EPs] [Mana Circulation: The ability to circulate mana inside and outside your body.] Now, the other thing to consider was whether he should take the Language Acquisition skill or not. It only cost one point, which was good.

But spending it would mean he would not be able to gain another Copper skill for a year or longer, considering he would need 600 EPs to evolve his tier again. He really did not want to take it, as Ember had already proven he could acquire language naturally. He was learning new words every day. Then his eyes fell on his mother. She was cradling him in her arms, his chin resting on her shoulder, as she patted his back slowly, humming a soothing tune. His guilt resurfaced. Ember let out a breath.

It was time he finally began to understand her better. He brought out the status log, skimmed through a deluge of prompts, and selected the option to acquire the skill. [Skill Acquired: Language Acquisition (Common) +1] [+1 EP] As he had imagined, he did not magically acquire the common language instantly. But in the coming days, he began to notice a large difference. Ember merely had to pay a bit of attention, and he became more aware of what each word meant.

After learning to walk, Ember paced around the house and outside as much as his body allowed. He received the prompt for a Common-ranked Running skill easily, though he was unsure about getting it. Ember felt he could manage without a dedicated skill for running. What concerned him more was whether his movements and physical activity would improve his physique. He got his answer within a few days, when his Might improved by 0. 1 points. Well, it was better than nothing.

All he did was move around, though his mother still did not let him leave their compound most of the time. She did take him for a stroll every day around the neighbourhood. It seemed to all be owned by House Blackstone. Their house was far more influential than he had first given them credit for. They even had an inner pool where his sister, Rain, tried to teach him swimming. The skill prompt came within an hour, but he did not take it, saving the two points for something more useful.

Even running would be better than swimming, in his book. Almost a year had passed since his father left, and the house remained tranquil and at peace. There was rarely anyone to bother them. Ember had also acquired some common knowledge about their house and the world. Most of it came from Rain reading her books aloud while their mother watched over her studies with her most threatening wooden spoon. Blackstone seemed to be one of the few ancient houses in Seynhold, with a history spanning over a thousand years.

They were a house of knights, and over the years, they had produced quite a few of them. His father, Cliff Blackstone, was one of them. He was an Iron Knight, his class exceeding level 80. He had heard most of it in passing conversations between Rain and their mother. Compared to his father's knightly class, his mother was a common Cook. He was also quite surprised to learn that even Rain did not yet have a class. Supposedly, one could only gain a class after turning fourteen.

Ember had a hard time believing that fourteen was a magical number. It was far more likely that they simply wanted to keep destructive powers out of the hands of children. Then again, his ten-year-old sister could perform minor healing. It was not exactly destructive magic, but it was still something. There were additionally division in classes like the racial tiers. It starts with Copper, then Iron, Silver, followed by the legendary Gold class. Rain had become more diligent these days.

Every morning, she went to the main house to train and returned in the afternoon, thoroughly exhausted. Apparently, she was a prodigy there, ranking among the top ten in mana skills. After returning home, she would rest for an hour or two before continuing with sword and shield training. Despite her slender frame, she persevered, as it was a requirement for the Knight class she was aiming for. Ember had over a decade to decide what he wanted to become.

For now, he was content to be loved and to train his skills in tranquillity. His tier progression had already crept towards the halfway point, suggesting that the next advancement would not take that long. Advancing to Tier 1 seemed to have improved his aptitude and potential. Mana Sense had become much easier. Additionally, he could grasp more mana, improving Mana Circulation to the third step.

Regrettably, the circulation skill burned through his mental energy far quicker than Mana Sense did, or his progress might have been even greater. Language Acquisition grew the fastest. Nowadays, there were rarely any words he failed to understand. His Mana Sense and Mana Circulation training had mostly become internal. In the evenings, he would try to decipher the threads of mana within light constructs. They were still beyond him, but he was improving.

Most of his waking hours were spent in meditation, as it seemed to be the only thing that could restore his mental energy faster. Even so, Meditation had remained stagnant at +8 for close to three months. Then, finally, a few weeks before reaching his second year in this world, it happened. [Focus (Common) +9 → Max] [+10 EPs.] [Focus has reached its common-class threshold. You meet the requirement to evolve the skill.] [Would you like to evolve Focus?] [Required skill slots: 2.] Ember had been deliberating over acquiring Running, Reasoning or something more stupid like an Acting skill for the past few months. Who would have thought that leaving a couple of slots open would reward him like this? Well, he had a premonition about it a few times, though nothing conclusive. As he accepted the prompt, more words flickered into existence. [Please choose one of the paths: Copper Perception: Widens your area of awareness. Heightened Focus: Improves mental acuity and fortitude during heavy-duty tasks.] So I even get to choose? While the two options elated him, Ember felt a headache growing as his mind wavered between them. The choices seemed to diverge in opposite directions: one broadening his awareness, the other sharpening his focus for mana training. Honestly, he would have been happy with either. He reckoned Copper Perception would be greatly beneficial for the fighter classes, or in skills like Archery.

But it wasn't like he'd have to fight wild beasts from infancy. Heightened Focus was no slouch either, especially with emphasising the terms 'heavy-duty tasks'. After a lot of bargaining with himself, he finally chose one. While wide awareness was useful, his current needs revolved around greater mental acuity and fortitude so that he could train more effectively. [Skill Evolved: Focus (Common) Max → Heightened Focus (Copper) +1] [+10 EPs.] Now, with three Copper skills, his path towards Tier 2 grew much smoother.