Courtney gestures in the direction of the bamboo stalk, “Then what about those things? They have tribulation in their name.”

Gregor shrugs, “They can generate a burst of lightning that those who have observed agree that it is like tribulation lightning. I don’t know if it is exactly the same mind you. That would require me to both have witnessed someone breaking through the ninth bottleneck and the founder needing to use the stalks again. As it is, the nine bamboo have been used to bring down a tribulation twice.

“The first time was obviously used to make taking down the swarm bears possible. As for the second time? Well, the forest didn’t just try to mess with the kingdoms cutting it down. I was alive for that second one but not living near any of the bamboo so I didn’t see it. Scholars admittedly can’t agree on how close it is either but when the System uses specific names like tribulation, it tends to not be misleading us. If only because if it did mislead people that would cause quite the backlash.”

Courtney rubs the bridge of her nose, “But how does that explain having multiple high-level people crammed into a small area?”

Jason sighs, “You know the heavenly court? Big ol’ myth from our world about there being an ultimate ruler of all the gods?”

Courtney shrugs, “Sure, it isn’t exactly local but there are enough pantheons.”

Jason shakes his head, “No, not pantheons, heavenly court. It is a matter of semantics, but that is only because cultures in our world tended to have one major religious group or another so no one had to make a difference. So for most, the heavenly court is just another pantheon but that isn’t true.

“Look at all the major pantheons, they have anywhere from just a family of gods up to a decent collection of gods. But the one thing most of them have in common is that it isn’t really a system. Hell, most of the pantheons are ruled by a god who can be described as the head of the family instead of any actual political position.

“There might be other religions like the heavenly court in our world, but I’m only familiar with it as of now. Anyway, the heavenly court is not like that. It is a true bureaucracy. Each river has a god to make sure it runs properly, every mountain a mountain god, and even a small town could have a local protective spirit.

“The Emperor is a true ruler and when a heavenly figure breaks his rules, it isn’t because they are following their own system. It is because they are breaking the heavenly laws. While the System is much more hands off, it is filling a similar position.

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“But notice how I mentioned that basically every place had some kind of heavenly being? That is what we have here! Every random town we visit seems to have at least one person with a level in the three digits. The System might not be literally placing people everywhere like the heavenly court did, but I’m willing to bet it acts behind the scenes to make sure this happens.”

Gregor nods, “While I can’t be certain of the gods in your world but we have a few similar situations here. An orderly heavenly bureaucracy will always lead to more gods, especially on the lower end. But while I’ve been with you until now, why do you consider this a bad thing? At least it sounds like you aren’t too into there being so many high-level people around.”

Courtney frowns and interrupts, “I think I might understand. While the larger heavenly court has more beings that are called gods and here we have a ton of beings with a triple digit level, these things do not represent true power. Smaller pantheons might have less gods, but the quality of each god is that much greater. Especially when in the heavenly court someone could just be granted a position.

“And that is exactly the kind of thing the System must be doing to have the high level people so evenly spread. Nothing against you, Gregor, but to gain levels in theory should require someone going out to gain said levels. Someone who would just stick around in a random town or city isn’t going to level at the speed necessary to outpace their age even if they do have hundreds of years. No, the System must be boosting people it knows will stick around in their home base.”

Gregor gestures at Peter, “I’ve gained so many levels because of his adventures. He brings me back all kinds of interesting enchanted things and components to further my craft. Though because of my youth I’m on the adventurer’s path and not the crafter’s path when it comes to breakthroughs.”

Courtney shakes her head, “How you breakthrough doesn’t matter. At least it shouldn’t if what Jason has guessed is true. The System itself allows you to breakthrough despite not being ready either way.”

Jason nods, “If anything, the crafter’s path is more natural. No matter how you advance it is partly a practice of sharpening your will either through repetitive practice or continual failures from reaching beyond your own abilities. But no, the real problem is gifted experience. Just like in a bureaucracy where someone could be lifted to a position beyond what they can handle just by being favored, the System is doing something similar.”

Courtney continues, “And while our group hasn’t done too many quests, the amount has always seemed equal to the effort or luck required. That is not the case for locals. You guys might get almost nothing from a quest while another guy could get to level ten just by delivering letters around a city in relative short order.

“Isn’t it strange that travellers seem to get compensatory amounts of experience while locals almost seem to get random amounts? That’s the System manipulating things so those it favors rise while those it doesn’t have to work for it all the harder. If I had to guess, government officials and other similar positions probably get quite a hefty amount of experience just for doing their jobs.”

Peter raises an eyebrow, “I can’t confirm or deny this, but why does this matter?”