A System message to a thrice-blessed:
----------------------------------------
Those with a single skill often fixate upon seeking to accomplish as much as possible with their gift, taking a broad skill such as [Spellweaving], [Swordfighting] or [Exercise], as has been the latest trend. Do not mistake me, I understand the appeal. Every child grows up with the hopes that they may develop a second, or even a third skill in time, and when such dreams fail to materialize they look to maximize the scope of their one skill, spurred on by tales such as Alanne of the Blade or Betair of Fell Magics, leveraging a single skill into a breadth of power worthy of legends.
However, I must encourage you to reconsider. There exist hundreds, thousands of dual-skilled hopefuls with similar designs, and their ability to take supplementary skills will enable them to consistently outperform you. Even if you are from a small town, you gain nothing by attempting to directly compete as a generalist. Also consider that Alanne and Betair are legendary figures, and that status is despite, not because of, the mastery of their solitary skills.
Yes, it is possible for you to evolve your skill, and to sculpt your subskills in such a way that you establish your own niche within your general specialty, but then would you not have simply been in a better position sooner if you had begun within that niche? Even a level 50 [Weaving] skill will benefit you less than a level 5 [Cure Hide] or level 10 [Thread-Spinning] skill within their scope of influence.
If you must take a broad skill, I can only advise you to exchange it with a new skill once you have determined which portions of your skill you use most often.
It is within these specific, niche skills where you will find your greatest value. There is always demand for a new scribe with [Elegant Handwriting], a new soldier with [Shield Block], battlemage with [Fireball], or courier with [Marathon Running], and you can truly make your skill your own in a way which those with more skills than you could never so much as dream of. Each new subskill, each skill evolution, is more potent than the last, and you will be capable of dedicating all of your efforts to your solitary skill.
Never forget, Alanne of the Blade was said to have begun with a simple [Parry] skill. It was through tireless devotion to leveling, expanding, and evolving it that she became the Sword Saint.
That is the true way forward, begin narrow and grow. Do not stunt your growth attempting to do everything poorly, but by becoming the very best at a single perfected skill.
Possessing two skills is an uncommon feat, I do not wish to diminish the elation you must be feeling at this time, but it is important to know this does not make you twice as powerful as your peers with a single skill. After all, they have the ability to focus all of their efforts into growing that single skill, and much of the time that single skill will be very specific. A [Piercing Spear-Thrust] will overcome a similarly-leveled [Armor Mastery], but a [Strike] will fail against a similarly-leveled [Shield Block]. You may still follow the advice I have given to those with a single skill just as surely as it applies to them, but you are yet capable of far more. For while there is power in specificity, the true potential of a second skill is within its versatility.
There are many different strategies which dual-skilled individuals employ. The first and most common is to take two complimentary skills, which may each be practiced in very similar situations. For instance, [Marathon Running] and [Sprinting] carry obvious overlapping use cases, and they may both be leveled simultaneously by running very fast for a very long time.
This approach carries with it the obvious benefit that the two skills are thus very easy to merge due to their compatibility, and is equally scalable. Merging [Marathon Running] and [Sprinting] into something akin to [Footracing] subsequently allows for the development and even later merging of additional skills such as [Delicate Steps], [Wall-Running], [Steady Footing], or more.
It is also, naturally, possible to take two skills which do not particularly overlap with one another but nonetheless possess great synergy, such as [Marathon Running] and [Meditation] enabling particularly skilled individuals to run literally forever, meditating while they run. This can be quite potent when executed properly, but should be done with care as most skills do not provide any particular benefit when utilized by the same person.
The next approach is to take a broad skill, such as [Smithing], and a very specific skill that pairs well with it, such as [Precise Hammer-Strike]. This is often done with the explicit goal of merging the specific skill into the broader skill, and is quite effective in that regard, providing a steady supply of improved skills and incredible utility between each merge. They manage to reap the benefits of a broad skill, while not forcing themselves to reach nearly the pinnacle of power before possessing potent tricks of their own.
Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.
It is of course important to remind those of you planning to take this opportunity that merges are usually inferior to a skill evolution. While merging [Lightning Magic] and [Lightning Strike] is not by any means a poor option, frequently granting a [Lightning Strike]-type subskill and enabling easy casting of offensive lightning magic even without a dedicated skill for it, not only will such a merge cause you to lose much of the progress you gained with [Lightning Strike] as its own skill, including most subskills, so too does it in many ways reset any progress made in evolving [Lightning Magic] purely through its own efforts.
Lightning cast with [High Lightning Magic] or [Storm Magic] is oft substantially more powerful than even a [Lightning Battlemagic] skill resultant from merging [Lightning Magic] with [Lightning Strike] and a subsequent [Steady Casting].
This is not to denigrate skill merging, of course, as it remains one of your most potent tools as a dual-skilled individual. I simply seek to remind you that merging skills is not lossless, either in the combined capabilities of each skill individually, or in the influence it has in advancing your skills in other ways, even when unambiguously positive.
The other route, and certainly the safer one to take with this combination of specific and broad skill, is to utilize your specific skill as your primary, with the broad skill acting as a supplement. [Crafting] can enhance [Precise Hammer-Strike] directly, and to great effect, making it far easier to level the latter and develop subskills for it, even without merging the two.
The most ambitious twice-blessed, meanwhile, take one broad skill and a skill meant to support its growth. While undeniably potent when successful, it carries a substantial degree of risk due simply to how challenging it is to work with any broad-scale skill. Unlike supplementing [Fire Magic] with a [Fireball], supplementing [Fire Magic] with [Skill Mastery] provides no particular advantage when casting spells, and thus attempting to actually utilize [Fire Magic] must be capable of casting their spells manually every time they wish to utilize one until they develop an appropriate subskill.
Yes, this feat becomes properly possible for the average mage with a second skill to speed up their subskill acquisition (or otherwise generally aid in spellcasting) or skill leveling, but it is still no mean feat.
Even for those who do not wish to tread the difficult path of the free-casting mage, taking a skill pair such as [Crafting] and [Learning] presents all the same difficulties of any broad skill- the minor benefits per level, difficulty leveling, and requirements to develop subskills to mimic even a fraction of the power of a dedicated skill- and tends to obviate the difficulty of one, or at most two of them. This still leaves you at a disadvantage not only compared to your dual-skilled peers with one or two immediately useful skills, but also to the single-skilled, with a single mastered skill at their disposal.
The incredible potential, of having a high-level and useful incredibly broad skill, is of course why people still choose this path, but it is a difficult and long road to walk, as while the benefits after decades of work may be great, so too would dedication to any path provide great rewards after that much time.
Those of you fortunate enough to possess three skills are best to pay heed to much of my advice given to dual-skilled individuals, as all of the advice there is wholly applicable. In fact, skill merging is even more appealing for the thrice-blessed, as merging three skills simultaneously is often superior to even the best skill evolutions. Furthermore, the synergy of three skills working in combination with one another is truly grand. [Footwork] and [Melee Combat], with the potency of a skill such as [Sword Strike], has been the start of many a legendary warrior. Each improves the other, and the drawbacks of two broad skills are negligible when obviated by something immediately useful to supplement them.
I shall not recant all of my advice for the double-skilled to you, for you may infer how they are improved with a third skill. Instead, I shall endeavor to present an option which a third skill has opened to you:
Knowledge.
To know the details of your skills, to know the details of other’s skills, these things are powerful. For warriors, knowing whether your opponent possesses [Shield Block] or [Sword Strike] may be the difference between life and death. For administrators, seeing if your assistant possesses [Sabotage] or [Elegant Handwriting] as surely vital, just as a craftsman benefits from knowing whether the traveling salesman possesses [Glib Lying] or [Find Hidden Treasure] or knowing if a newly-hired assistant speaks the truth that their [Weaving] skill is indeed level 20.
Even your own skills contain hidden depths, nuance and detail far beyond that which their pitiful descriptions may be capable of conveying. Subskills and evolutions, merging and skill unlocks, all of these are but the very start to the truth underneath. I have done my best to convey what you receive, but predictions and details are beyond my power.
It is for this reason I say those who possess three skills are best suited to take one which grants information. [Status], [Appraise], and their ilk may be challenging to earn, and are best earned via evolving something similar into them, but the knowledge they provide may be the most valuable thing you could do with a third skill. You would still have two other skills to work with, as many as most could ever hope to have, but with the introspection and knowledge to truly maximize them.
Of course, you could even seek to combine them, make information your true calling. Combine [Status] and [Appraise], develop [Share Skill], and perhaps one day you could join me, pushing forward the system for everyone, providing knowledge which all may better themselves with.
What higher calling could there be?