John definitely had a point about feeling pain, and that wasn't supposed to be possible in a dream. Raif also couldn't remember ever having a dream that involved thinking this much, generally when his dreams were extra crazy it never occurred to him to ask why until he woke up. It was generally more like his subconscious took him for a wild ride and left him feeling horrified or wishing he could resume it when he woke up, and this definitely didn't feel like that. With a shrug Raif decided to assume this was real for now, and worst case he would wake up and have had one hell of an interesting dream.
“Well, my first question would be exactly how am I supposed to learn all these skills you spoke of? No offense but this forest doesn't seem like the best place for that” Raif asked.
John smiled, happy Raif had skipped past any denial and seemed to be accepting of things without wasting what little time they had. “Simple, once you pass me you will find a portal that will take you to the Island of Vanos. There you will find Masters of all the different skills who will teach you the basics of their crafts. They will be able to teach you not only how to get started, but how to continue to grow until you too are able to master their crafts after you return to your world. Take this book and read it when you get a chance and it will help you understand more of the basics.”
Taking the book Raif thanked John before mentioning “You have mentioned several times that it is possible to increase my personal strength, and while I believe I understand the basic process behind increasing skills, you didn't mention how I can do so other than what I assume is the standard process of breaking my muscles down and building them back up. People have been and are plenty strong from that alone, but what you said seems to suggest more is possible”
Suddenly without warning John and the sword he had next to him seemed to vanish from his spot on the log across the fire from Raif, the flat of the blade now pressed against the side of Raif's throat. The action had taken less than a second from start to finish, and Raif was flabbergasted. John had just made Olympian athletes look like toddlers he had moved so swiftly. Then just as suddenly the blade was gone from Raif's throat and both it and John were once again in position across the fire from him as though nothing had ever happened. The display of speed and power combined with his own vulnerability made Raif jump and nearly shit his pants it was so sudden. Seeing as how John was back in his place and smiling rather smugly Raif gave a small embarrassed cough and raised his eyebrow at John, his pucker factor now off the charts.
“Heh, you travelers fall for it every time, although points for not screaming like an infant I suppose” John said before continuing. “As you can see, it is very possible to obtain personal strength. Your personal strength is based on your primary attributes which gives you what we like to call a person's level. Someone's level is only visible when you are in the Wilderness or if they have a bounty in which case you will be able to see both their name and level so you know where you stand if things get hairy. You can read all about primary attributes and their secondary skills in the book I gave you later, suffice it to say that gaining personal strength is done by absorbing energy. You can gather energy by killing monsters or winning duels against other people, although some are known to prefer killing other people in the wilderness for energy as well. When you defeat your foe the energy you gain is divided into each relevant attribute you used during the conflict.”
“So if you stayed hidden and managed a kill shot without actually engaging your foe in combat you would gain experience in dexterity and perception, but nothing in strength, vitality, or agility. That would be because you used your perception to find you opponent and find a place from which to catch them off guard, and because it requires a lot of dexterity to aim that well. If on the other hand you wanted to develop your strength, vitality, and agility you would more likely need to engage your foe directly. Even then the only way it would increase your vitality would be if you were actually injured in the encounter, whereas your strength would benefit from swinging your weapon in combat, and agility would increase from any dodging or quick movement if you were fighting on rough terrain. That said it is entirely possible to hit all of your primary attributes in a single engagement so long as they are used. However, the amount of energy you gain from any single engagement is finite, therefore if you manage to isolate your fights to favor one specific attribute it will climb much faster than the others, whereas constantly trying to raise them all simultaneously will lead to a much slower but equal growth Don't worry the book I gave you will provide some more details and the trainers on the island will be able to help even more” finished John.
“Well that sounds pretty fucking awesome, almost like a video game!” Raif said happily, now actually hoping this wasn't a dream. “So you mentioned basic resources regrow overnight and allow the population to sustain itself, and that higher tiered resources could no be monopolized. How does that work?”
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John sighed at this one before replying, “The fact that question comes to mind so quickly for you makes me question your species, but I suppose the fact that you are here makes a bit of greed and avarice a common factor. Then again it is inveitable for even the most peaceful species to have individuals get greedy and attempt to gain power over others rather than personal strength. Lower tiered basic resources are generally all a civilization needs in order to survive and they tend to sprout up in zones with non-aggressive wildlife which become excellent places to establish towns and cities. The further one travels from these “safe zones” the more dangerous and aggressive the wildlife becomes, however if a group attempts to monopolize a resource, sooner or later a more powerful variant of the wildlife normally only found in the towers will spawn and attack usually killing any who are monopolizing that resource before returning back to the tower. Additionally if the one who attempted to organize the monopoly isn't killed because he isn't present they will usually earn themselves a bounty which assures their eventual demise. The towers themselves are in the most dangerous parts of the world in terms of how strong and aggressive the local wildlife is, and if your species was the apex predator before, they won't be after the cataclysm.”
Moving his cloak to the side, John pointed at his armor, “This leather was obtained from a Green Dragon which is a monster normally only found in and around the towers. It is a ferocious apex predator that requires an immense amount of personal strength or a party of reasonably powerful people in order to defeat. Trust me when I say you will not be able to defeat one for some time if ever. That said, the real value is in the level 50 and higher tiered resources which can be sold for astronomical amounts of money. A tier 50 resource for example can only be obtained in areas designated as the “wilderness” where there are no penalties for murder. Murdering others in the wilderness or hunting bounties elsewhere is the only way to do so, and bounties are only spawned when someone attempts to kill or otherwise greatly harm another sentient life form outside of the wilderness. I have heard there is a lot of that going around when a world first converts, but it quickly settles down once the consequences become well known. That more than anything else is why most Guardians pick a small number of people to come to this world before their own world converts as they make great bounty hunters and help a civilization come to terms with their new mostly peaceful reality quicker.”
“Finally, the final part of your question and what I see you are most curious about is the true higher tiered resources” John continued. “Any of the level 60 and above resources can only be found in the towers themselves, and cannot be taken out except as a finished product. The towers limit group size to 5, and for some reason nobody has ever seen another person they did not enter with inside a tower, so carrying capacity greatly limits what someone can exit the tower with. Naturally these higher tiered resources are also considerably more dense and heavy than those of the lower tier, so even specializing in strength won't really help much. Additionally every person who enters the tower must be able to pass an entrance requirement, which varies by the tower and requires a high level in several of the skills and primary attributes. The Tower of Earth which is known to have high tiered ores for example will require someone to be at least level 50 in mining, smithing, strength, dexterity, and perception. Of course there is little point in venturing into a tower you can't access anywise as you will be unable to craft your reward inside and would leave empty-handed. There are other towers including the Forest Tower which is known for having high leveled trees growing within, and the Tower of Blood which has higher leveled creatures to refine personal strength.
All of these towers have the level 60 through 90 resources which is more than most will ever be able to obtain. For the truly powerful and equally fool hardy there is the Tower of Life which requires all skills and primary attributes to be at level 90 as a minimum. The maximum group size to enter there is two, but it is the only place level 100 resources for the true skill masters can be obtained. Rumor has it that the Guardian lives on the top floor and if a duo is able to surpass all the obstacles and meet with it, they will be granted immortality. Of course I don't know if that's true or just a rumor. But enough about that, it is many years away and requires far greater strength than even I have so I would focus on getting the most out of the opportunities currently available to you” John finished.
As John finished answering the question he suddenly glanced down the path Raif had come from before nodding at Raif, “It seems out time has come to an end as another traveler is approaching. Best of luck to you in your time on my world, make the most of it, for relatively few from any race are given this opportunity before their cataclysm.”
Deciding it would be best to take some time and read the book anyway, Raif got to his feet and thanked John before walking back to the path. As he walked down the path towards this supposed portal he resisted the temptation to start reading through the book and did his best to remain vigilant. After witnessing John's demonstration he had come to grips with the fact that he was powerless to stop any hostile acts by someone oh that caliber, but it was no reason to get complacent. They say complacency kills for a reason apparently, and damn he really hoped this wasn't just an elaborate dream.