"Well then. Let us start with the basics." Abigail began her lecture, "There are 6 level tiers


    Normal, which are you; Bronze, us, Eclipse, Silver, Gold, Adamantium; and lastly, Ancient."


    "Got it," Ob responded.


    "In order to reach ancient level, you need to amass 21,000,000 total experience points. Which is a total of 7,000,000 per power, per skill."


    "What the damn hell! That''s a lot. Damn." Ob exclaimed.


    "It is. This is why there are so few ancient tiers. Some take centuries to reach Adamantium. Normal tier ends at level 2, 0 exp is needed to reach it. Everyone without a full magic powerset is considered normal. Bronze tier ends at level 24. 30k exp is needed to complete Bronze.Silver tier ends at level 59. 100k exp is needed to complete Silver. Gold tier ends at level 92. 430k exp is needed to complete Gold. The adamantium tier ends at level 100. 6.4m exp is needed to complete Adamantium. Ancient tier never ends. The exp never stops. There is no higher level barring gods, demi-gods, or cosmic beings."


    Abigail paused to look up to see Ob staring at her intently. He was paying full attention and had no questions so far. She must admit, she was impressed. Her boyfriend, on the other hand… was passed out snoring in the corner next to the fire.


    "So realistically, it''s 90k exp for Bronze. 300k exp for Silver, 1.29m exp for Gold, 19.3m exp for Adamantium. I understand. That''s a massive jump between Gold and Adamantium." Ob said.


    "Exactly. The tricky part about tiers is they do not tell the whole story. You could be a Silver with only one skill in Gold. Or you could be a Silver with all your skills in Silver. This is what makes being a crusader so fun. You choose your path, how you train, how you grow. You can completely ignore a power if you want or train them all evenly." she continued, excitement building in her tone.


    "Can you be an ancient without having each power maxed out?" Ob questioned.


    "No, you cannot. This is what makes it so hard to reach ancient tier. They have obtained the full 21m exp. To add to your statement, Adamantium tier is 92% of the exp pool." Abigail stated.


    "Ah yes, that is a giant gap." Ob responded, "So with things like identify, it will only show levels, not exp, right?"


    "Correct," Abigail said, "you''ve picked this up really quickly."


    "Yeah," Ob knew the reason why was because this reminded him of video games that he used to play back on Earth. The leveling system all but confirmed that someone from his dimension had, in fact, landed here and brought back things to his world. He wasn''t sure how his new teacher friend would react to knowing he was not from this dimension and could understand what she was saying because of a false reality created based on this dimension. So there is a way back home. I am not sure I want to be home. But there is a way home. Ob thought to himself. How do you train or gain experience?


    "It depends on your powerset and skills. For me, I get experience every time I successfully heal or defend myself or someone else. Making my experience growth painfully slow if I am not in a party or working in a healing temple. Which is very boring. My skill, Toxic Curse, will only grow if I deal with anything toxic. This is why it is my lowest skill level, only level 5, while my other levels are 15."


    "That must be frustrating. If there is a skill-based on movement, the more you do that movement, the more it levels up? It is not all fighting monsters and getting power."


    "No, it is NOT all about power. It is about finding the pathway that is best for your magical power set and doing that. Having a party to help you can be fun, but you can also do it alone. Not sure why anyone would want to."


    Ob noticed a spark in her dark green eyes. She loved being out in the world; she loved being able to explore new things. "I understand. Is that how the two of you got connected? Is there some party creation place or something?"


    Abigail made a sound that sounded like rustling leaves on a warm autumn day; Ob really enjoyed that sound. He assumed it was her laughter, "No, Vin and I have been friends for our whole lives. Our tribes are really close to each other, and we trade with each other. We decided that we wanted to form our own crusader party, but the minimum is three. We also require some power. I cannot attack with my powerset; I can just defend. Vin is strong but not a damage dealer, more like a powerful scout."


    "Ah, I see; that''s why he said I should go to be a Maverick?"


    "Yes and no, you are strong, Ob, very strong; your magical potential is insane. It is all over your aura, the aura of someone who is not to be messed with. Like a venomous snake, it will leave you alone if you leave it alone but provoked. It is deadly." Abigail stared at Ob for a long time. It was as if she was trying to read Ob''s story through his eyes, but she could not. Ob''s heart skipped a beat. I guess I am attracted to her... This could be a problem. Ob thought.


    "Oh," he said shyly, "em thanks… I appreciate it," giving her a genuine kind smile.


    "Yes. What other questions do you have?" Abigail turned her gaze away, hiding a blush.


    "What are attributes? I see them in my vision, and I don''t know what they do."


    "You see them? That is not something you should be able to see. These are things that people have an innate sense of but should not see them. Can you describe what you see?" Abigail asked quizzically.


    "I believe I can answer that question for you, Abigail." Eclipse spoke into the minds of Abigail  and Ob, "Ob possesses an ability that allows him to view the world differently; this appears as he calls it a heads-up display and user interface. They show him his attributes, stats, vitality, and manna as they are depleting in real-time, without the innate sense you or I do. This is how he sees them."


    Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    "Yeah, what the princess said." Ob echoed.


    "That is the second time you have referred to her as a princess. Am I missing something?" Abigail asked.


    "Yes, but now is not the time," Eclipse said while glaring at Ob.


    "Ahh, my bad."


    "Hmm, Eclipse, do you see how he sees being his soul-link? What is that ability called?" Abigail asked.


    "I do. That is privileged information, I am afraid. We cannot tell you all of our secrets now, can we?" Eclipse replied.


    "No, I suppose not. Attributes are Stamina, Vitality, Manna, Speed, and Strength.


    Stamina determines how long you can run without getting tired, which is helpful in battles if you run around a lot like Vin. There is no stat for Stamina. It is inherent. You can feel it within yourself.


    Vitality, well, is your life force; if that hits zero, you die. It determines how resistant you are to attacks and how resilient you are. You could equate it to health, but that is a massive understatement of all that it does. The higher your vitality, the harder it is for you to be damaged by something in your tier.


    Manna is your pool for magic; depending on your power set and abilities, it can recharge over time at various speeds. The higher level you are, the faster it restores, the bigger your pool is. I have been told there are ways to learn to recharge it more quickly, but I have yet to come across that.


    Strength is how much damage you deal with; the higher your strength, the more damage.


    Speed is how fast you move, react, and perceive. The higher the speed stat, the faster you are.


    Typically, you gain an option to add to an attribute per level and per skill. Every tier up, you receive an additional 15 attribute coins to use on whatever you''d like. There are items, albeit very rare, that you could use to substantially boost your attributes. Sometimes, our aura and soul will slowly internally boost a quality if you have a particular affinity to any of those, but that is also rare.


    I have heard that there are high tiers who can read the attributes of their opponents. But I believe those are just stories to tell young crusaders to be careful. Unless you are in a trusted party, you should keep your attributes to yourself, especially your vitality." Abigail finished her long spiel.


    "Hmmm, okay, I see. I see. Can I ask you a potentially personal question?" Ob asked.


    "You can, but do not be disappointed if I do not answer." She replied


    "Fair enough, you mentioned that you do not have any attacking skills; how is that possible? How are you meant to survive in this world without any attacking skills?"


    "That is a great question. I have to be a supporter, and I need a party. That is just the way it is." She replied softly.


    "Hmmm, I think you might be using them wrong."


    Abigail stiffened, and her aura started to spike in anger. This woke Vincent up. "What!?" If looks could kill, Abigail''s look towards Ob probably would have killed him…. Again. "How dare you. You dare ask all these questions, then say I am misusing my powerset. The powers that I have had for 3 years!"


    Ob stays perfectly calm, letting the anger wash over him. He showed no fear, no remorse, nothing. Vincent noted this. Did he say that on purpose to see her angry? Was this a test? Ob was a definite normy, a significantly removed Normy, but he was measured. He did everything with a purpose; at least, that is the vibe that Vincent got. Vincent was a skilled hunter. This meant that he could get a read on most creatures: humans, elves, you name it. He could read their body language. Ob dripped with confidence and power. Ob was different. Rivaling his girlfriend''s intelligence and a dragon''s emotional control, he was a force not to be trifled with. Vincent just watched; he did not ready for a fight. He had a feeling that this, in fact, was a test.


    "Yes" Is all Ob said.


    Abigail sprinted towards Ob in a flash, faster than Ob could even perceive the movement, and slammed him into the ground by the neck. Ob could feel blood trickling out of his head. Eclipse looked on with smoke starting to bellow out of her nostrils. Ob told her to wait; he had a plan. "Do you feel that? Do you feel that pain? I may not have magical powers that do damage, but I still do." Abigail said, squeezing his neck through gritted teeth while talking to him. "Here is another lesson: Tiers matter at the power level. Although you may be 6 levels lower than Vincent," she said, still choking Ob, "because he is in the Bronze tier, his damage does more, and you would do less." Ob looked at Abigail with raised eyebrows and a smirk.


    Status: You have been cursed.


    Toxins have entered your manna pool. You are slowly losing health and manna. As the toxins spread, they will deal more damage over time.


    "Great, could you let go of my neck and heal me now, please…"


    Abigail shook her head, clearing the anger. What just happened? Why had she just snapped at Ob? Why didn''t the dragon attack her? Why did he say great? Abigail shook those questions and saw that Ob was turning a sickly purple color. She gasped and chanted a quick spell in Elvish''s tongue.


    Status: You are being healed.


    Toxins are leaving your manna stream.


    "Thank you for that," Ob said, standing up and shaking off the dust on his tunic.


    "What just happened?" Abigail asked nervously


    "Congratulations, you just learned how to do damage with your skills," Ob said, smirking, walking over to Eclipse. Patting her on the snout. Eclipse kept daggers on Abigail but leaned into Ob.


    "That was very interesting," Vincent said, emerging from the shadows. "Ob, how did you know that she could do that?"


    "Her skill is literally called Toxic Curse," Ob responded. "I couldn''t think of a more attack-sounding name than anything. Abigail, you''re sweet, but wear your emotions on your sleeve. I could tell as soon as you said Toxic Curse that something was pissing you off."


    "You noticed that too," Vincent said.


    Ob walked over to Abigail and took her hands in a friendly shake. "Thanks for healing me; not sure how I would have shaken that curse off. It was potent. Thank you for teaching me all of that. It really means a lot. Listen, I think we should put an end to the lessons and let tempers cool off. Plus, I am starving!! I think I saw a small town about a 2-minute walk that way. I''ll go grab some food and stuff. I think we''ll be in this cave for some time. I have a lot of training to do." Ob was already heading out the entrance without waiting for a reply from the other two, "Eclipse, you coming?" The two of them walked out together.


    "Well," Vincent said, walking over to Abigail. Kissing her on the cheek, "That was fun. I think we need to talk about our new friend before he gets back. His bond with his dragon is growing stronger every minute."


    "Yes," she said, kissing him back, "he is a swift learner and highly perceptive. There is something about him that is off, but my instincts are not telling me of danger, even when I attack him. He did not strike back. What a strange man.