Two days later, Adam was beginning to think that ignoring the duchess’s plan to meet the tutor had been a mistake. Perhaps if he had met the man when he had originally been scheduled to, he would be receiving an actual education at the moment. Instead, he was reading through a few of the more basic books explaining the workings of the system, while the tutor was instructing the children on things far above his own meager knowledge.
Adam had met the man the previous day, and been subjected to a series of tests and appraisals covering things from mathematics to reading, magic to melee weapons, and Alchemy to Zoology. That would have been perfectly acceptable, but the man needed at least a day to process the results and fabricate a lesson plan. Even then it would need to be matched to his actual skills, so it would be a work in progress for some time.
That wasn’t to say that his current activities weren’t interesting or useful.
The System gives nothing for free, everything must be earned. In nothing is this made clearer than with Knowledge Skills.
A Knowledge Skill is any skill that provides more information, understanding, or knowledge about a topic, and are not to be confused with Utility skills which are differentiated by Utility skills providing an increase in measurable ways such as speed, damage, quality, or mana cost reductions. Knowledge skills can range from weapon wielding to weapon crafting, and a vast array of similarly styled skills. Examples include Swordsmanship styles, all recipe skills, Herbalism, and Identification. Most crafting or trade skills also fall under this category, as do any other skills that provide nothing more than knowledge.
Progressing Knowledge skills is simple, but requires constant dedication to learning. To progress all one must do is learn. This requirement is seen by some as The System cheating them out of a useful skill, however it is just the key to more knowledge.
Imagine a large manor house full of hallways and rooms of all different types, and every single door between each of them is locked by a different key. Gaining a Knowledge skill is the act of acquiring the key to the front door. That lets you into the foyer, a room filled with the basic information such a skill gives to you. That foyer, or beginning information in turn leads to a number of hallways and rooms. To open those doors you need a key, which is to learn something that is in each of them on your own. Once you do, the door opens, and the knowledge contained within is yours.
Hallways can be thought of as lines of research, focused directions of study, or intentions of usage. Focusing on blocking with a sword, stitching to prevent leakage, properties or uses of iron, identifying differences between enchanting styles on amulets.
Small rooms off of hallways are smaller pockets of learning. They can contain marginal increases in the understanding of whichever hallway they are found off of. In that same vein of thought, larger rooms are simply larger increases in that same knowledge. Basic rooms of any size can also contain one or more recipes, basic attacks, identifying marks, or whatever the skill provides.
Great rooms are the true rewards of a Knowledge skill. These represent both skill unlocks as well as access to branching hallways, or even both options at once. If you are following the path of blocking with a sword, perhaps a great room will unlock the ability to negate more of the damage, how to direct the blocked weapon in a particular direction, or even reflect a portion of the damage blocked. For crafting skills great rooms often are representations of new techniques, access to new materials, or plans and understanding of new tools to assist in the use of said skill.
In truth, you never know what you will find behind any particular door, and some rooms even contain doors that lead to or from more than hallway. Each skill is different, but they all have the requirement of needing to continue learning things on your own before they reward you with the advanced knowledge that the skill contains. Remember, you need to advance your own understanding of the basics before you can use the advanced techniques and knowledge that your skill can reward you with.
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Adam closed Skill Categories: A Treatise on Skill Classification. When the man had handed him the book he had been more than a little concerned at the difficulty of reading such a tome, and, while it was incredibly dry and long winded in its explanations in the later portions, the initial description of each category was short enough to be coherent without boring him to death. In keeping with a recently developed habit, he weighed the giant book in his hand, contemplating using it for murder or monster hunting. Different scenarios strolled through his imagination, but there was no tingling sensation of one of those Knowledge doors opening in his mind. He was slightly disappointed that he couldn’t use books as weapons, but on the other hand, it also didn’t jump out of his hand. Adam interpreted that as meaning he could still hold them to read or throw them to squish bugs, but nothing more substantial.
He tilted his chair back, unnoticed in the corner of the room, his eyes sweeping over his soon to be charges and their teacher. Adam had been placed in the corner chair, partially hidden behind a pillar, while the duke’s kids had their schooling. Even with it being the first day all three of them were in the same room for tutoring, he could already interpret how the rest of his time spent in that room would go.
The tutor, who had neglected to introduce himself, was focused almost entirely on Marcus. Abigail got a small portion of his time as well, but Adam only received a couple of books and a small table behind the man. In combination with his instructions to, “Read and keep your questions to yourself,” it was obvious that the man wanted nothing to do with him. As the book he had just been reading stated, he only needed to learn something, and a Knowledge skill would open up one of those new rooms for him. With a Knowledge skill that covered, according to the skill description, everything, he assumed he had a stupefying number of rooms in his mental mansion to unlock. Add Multitask and Organization’s combined ability to soak up anything he could hear, as well as Mother’s Intuition grasping pieces of what each of the kids learned, and he had to take constant breaks from reading as his mind was shaken by the overwhelming amount of new things he was learning, each of which lead to Mother Knows Best opening more doors for him.
The building headache was a good reason for him to be pleased that the man was ignoring him. It also reminded him that he had only recently realized that Organization was actually the second skill that would count as one of the Passively Active skills that Martin had warned him about. Mother Knows Best had several of the same warning signs, and, with the headache, he finally knew why. Organization was again helpful enough to pull up a memory of the skill’s description and underline the relevant warning signs.
Mother Knows Best: Raising a child takes a sublime understanding of all things. Yet it is not enough to simply know things, Mothers have to know them better than everyone else because Mother Knows Best. How else are Mothers to know everything their child is doing?
Knowledge skill. Provides more knowledge about everything one learns. Includes everything needed to raise a child. Know everything your child gets up to.
While learning how to fight with Martin the man had focused on only one thing, a vastly different situation from the one he was currently enduring. Not only was he reading a densely educational tome of knowledge, but he was also eavesdropping on the combined lessons the tutor was attempting to teach to both of the kids. With his three skills working together, he had taken his learning ability several steps beyond cramming. The only thing keeping him upright was the minor increase to his passive healing from Mother’s Love, and Mother’s Endurance keeping him going.
Sighing, he tipped the chair back forward and laid his head on the desk. It wasn’t that comfortable, but the table’s cool surface helped with his headache. Knowing he couldn’t escape the room and its cascade of knowledge, he decided to lessen the burden on his mind. He released the iron control he had been keeping on Organization. At some point he would have to learn to work with the skill instead of constantly restraining it. If he was going to be learning so many other things, he might as well add one more. His pained groan was hidden by the tutor’s voice as the man continued the mixed lessons.