Logan looked at the blue potion in his hand.

Yesterday, after delivering the target dummy to Lambert's workshop, he had received the first payment. He would complete the second half after Lambert finished inspecting the decoy, but in the meantime Logan had been happy to have earned some actual, sizable coin.

He had treated the others back at the inn to another round of drinks, although he himself had gone directly up to his room to check on Nugget, bringing the dragon some food from downstairs. This morning, he had taken Cassandra's advice to swing by the Guild Market before his training session. He hadn't had time to explore everything the market offered, but had pick up the potion she had suggested to him.

As he waited alone in the vestibule for his mentor to arrive, he lifted the vial to his lips and downed it, wiping his mouth with the back of his wrist.

The empty container in his hand was now labeled Empty Vial, but moments before it had been a Strong Potion of Focused Clarity. He stored the empty vial in his gear bag.

A few seconds later, a quick jolt of energy spread from his chest through his body, then vanished. His HUD showed a small icon of a head's side profile. Inside the skull was a lightbulb, and inside the lightbulb was a small arrow pointing up, indicating the potion was working exactly as advertised.

The potion had two main effects.

First, and pretty much as expected from the name, it would improve attention spans. It was basically this world's version of ADHD medication. That made it a common potion used by adventurers before training sessions, especially since some training involved lectures too. The trainers didn't mind their students using them because it made the entire instruction go smoother for both parties.

Unlike any Earth meds, though, this granted a magical bonus too. For the next 8 hours, Logan would receive an extra 5% boost in effectiveness on any skills that used concentration.

While that was a small amount, it was the real reason Cassandra had suggested the potion to him and why he had agreed with her thoughts. Any bit would help as Logan relied on his new Aetherlens perk to hide his mana usage as he trained.

A knock sounded at the door, and Logan stood up and stepped back so his trainer could walk in.

No, not walk… slither.

Huh. I wasn't expecting that.

Name: Horace (Battle Bard) Race: Serpentine Type: Person Level: 64 Lore: Serpentines are a sleek, reptilian race with an elegant balance of agility and cunning. Their serpentine lower bodies give them unparalleled speed in water and on land, and they have a natural affinity for poison and stealth. However, their dependence on mobility makes them vulnerable in confined spaces. Strength: Enhanced speed, Stealth, Venom-based abilities. Weakness: Fire damage, Lightning damage.

"Gooooooooodmorning!" The snakelike person's singsong voice stretched the first word out then smashed the second together as if they were all one word. "You must be Logan. I'm Horace, your appointed trainer, at your ssservice."

The serpentine's body zigged and zagged as it carried him into the room. With how the tail curved, Logan couldn't get a full sense of how long it was, but the portion of the body that rose from the ground was easily 7 feet tall.

Horace had a hood like a king cobra, the scales flaring in subtle ripples of dark bronze and forest green whenever he shifted. Faint, intricate markings traced the inside of his hood, like the veins of a leaf. The curl of his serpentine mouth turned upward in a disarming smile, which Logan would not have expected from someone with fangs.

The combination of his open red vest and brimmed black hat with a matching red feather should have struck Logan as cartoonish, but somehow it worked.

"Sssorry I'm late." His tongue flicked as he spoke. "There was an unexpected disturbance just outside. An entire herd of mossback grazers trampled over a farm. A quilled brillybill had ssscared them and sssent them over the edge of their enclosure. It's all taken care of now, though, and you have my undivided attention."

"Not a problem," said Logan.

"Now," said Horace, "I'd like to get to know a little more about you. Please, tell me where you are with your ssstats."

"Sure," said Logan. He had worked with the others, including some input from Mariv over chat, on how to present himself. Part of that meant understanding some things that made Exalted Kin different from other races.

Beyond the obvious affinity-switching, there was another small detail where Logan's first 10 levels came to him easily. Most people, apparently, had that easy streak, but only with the first 5 levels. They called it the soft learning cap.

More important, though, was that Logan gained threshold perks faster than everyone else. According to them, the System granted threshold perks if you reached a certain level while having the stat most closely related to a skill at a certain threshold, hence the name threshold perk.

For the first perk of a strength-based skill, that meant having Strength at 100 when you reached level 25 in the skill. Logan's stat requirement, regardless of the stat associated with the skill, was only 50. Every time he earned a threshold perk, brackets surrounded the stat score, which suggested the number was a modifier. The others didn't have brackets in their notifications.

The second threshold perk was granted if you reached level 50 while having that stat at 200. Then it was level 75 and the stat at 350, and finally level 100 with a maxed out stat of 500. Few people had ever met the requirements for the third perk, and nobody in the party knew of anyone who had ever qualified for the fourth. It was simply infeasible for anybody to get that many stat points.

They didn't get anywhere near as many bumps from a level up as Logan did, though.

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If the pattern continued, Logan's stat requirement for threshold perks probably meant he only needed half the typical numbers. Each of his stats were already above 50—except his irrelevant Charisma and, of course, his virtually nonexistent Vitality—and he even had a few stats that were over 100.

Pain Resistance was the only skill he had missed out on because it had reached level 25 before his Endurance met the requirements. That was a shame, because that perk was supposed to halve all pain endured. It was also a skill the Adventurer's Guild trainers targeted first because it was so useful in the adventuring line of work.

Even though Logan was missing out on that cushy benefit, he still could easily endure ten times what he used to be able to on Earth. Hopefully, since his skill was already level 42 and naturally made pain more tolerable, his tolerance levels wouldn't stand out as odd.

Ultimately, Logan was pretending not to have an affinity. That meant he would mostly be focused on core, resistance, and combat skills. Of those, Agility and Dexterity were most important to Logan for training.

Since Horace would want to focus on reaching 100 in those stats, even though Logan really only needed to reach 50, Logan's story was to say Dexterity was at 95 (it was at 98) and that his Agility was on the cusp at 90 (it was at 75). That would be believable for someone at level 16, especially if those were the supposed two primary stats a person specialized in.

Even the level mask gave Logan some leeway when he inevitably let his naivety show. His Intelligence might truly be over 100, but that only made it easy for him to pick up on how this strange world worked. It didn't give him knowledge he lacked.

Horace, arms folded across his scaly chest, nodded. "Impresssive. Well, we can certainly focus on raising your Agility. Let's sssee…"

A notepad appeared in Horace's arm. Logan almost missed it, but the serpentine wore a braided gold bracelet that seemed to shift ever so slightly. It must be an interdimensional storage item. If so, it looked far easier to haul around than a gear bag. Even though Logan had his storage ripple, he was trying to avoid using it while in public spaces.

The serpentine began jotting things down and speaking to himself as he slithered from one end of the vestibule to the other. His tail was tripled in folded lengths, trailing behind him.

"Clearly, gauntlets are your weapon of choice. I will sssay, it is a bit of a more advanced weapon. If you didn't already have it, it would have made it easier for us to nudge you up a few points in each ssstat. It awards 6 Dexterity and 3 Agility just for learning… alasss, once learned, those are one-time bonuses."

"What about spears or daggers? If I get some of those as skills, that could give me a few more stats, right?"

Body rigid, Horace wobbled back and forth with uncertainty, as if a snake charmer was dazzling him. "Yesss, and some trainers do practice this mentality of learning each and every posssible skill in their favorite ssstat. But I caution against that.

"It's not proven, but I have a theory. You see, there are plenty of people in history who have used this exact method of improving ssstats. The broadsword, for example, relies heavily on Strength. I have seen people try to cheat the System by training in clubs and greataxes and greatswords just for the ssstats, but invest all their energy in honing Broadsword as their shining skill.

"And yet, many of these people perished rather quickly. Incidentally, it mostly happened when they found themselves in situations where they needed to use a greataxe or other implement for which they had a skill but lacked the training in the weapon itself.

"My unproven theory is that the System has a hidden trait that presents us with opportunities based on our skillsets, and sometimes having a skill that is unused just introduces an unnecessary cog where things can backfire on you."

Horace shook his head with a small flicker of his tongue. "So, I prefer a holistic approach. I would rather see you gain titles or learn basic skills that can benefit you in the long run."

That made sense to Logan.

Horace's next question was about what skills Logan had that focused on specific attributes. Horace showed Logan how to check his stats for a detailed breakdown of which stats came from leveling as opposed to distribution of free-points, initial one-time learning bonuses, and titles.

"Don't worry if it's overwhelming. Take your time."

Logan opened the interface expecting to get a headache. When he saw it, it was indeed complex. Surprisingly, though, it seemed pretty intuitive.

"Have you found it yet? Don't worry, even those with decent Intelligence can ssstruggle with it."

Ahh, now I get it. Logan's Intelligence was a strong stat. This was the perfect time to downplay how high it actually was. He made a show of squinting as he stared at the screen. "Aha!" He finally said. "Got it."

Congratulations! You have learned a new skill! Deception (Common), level 1 Honesty may be admirable, but sometimes lying is more efficient. And hey, the truth is flexible—especially when no one checks the facts. Still, it might be best not to tell people you have this skill. (But they probably have it too.) +1 INT, +1 PER, +1 WIL

He felt a little guilty about that, but leaned into it more by immediately pursing his lips again as if the screen actually confused him.

Deception is level 2! Deception is level 3!

Except for Veilpiercer, Aetherlens, and Deception, Logan shared each skill that wasn't paired with an affinity. Deception increased to level 6 as he acted as if he were puzzling over the details.

He paused when he reached Parry, and this time the confusion was real.

"Uh, Horace? I see all the breakdowns, and everything matches up. But I do actually have a skill on my status screen that doesn't seem to account for any bonus points at all."

Horace smiled and nodded. "Only one?"

When Logan cocked a brow, the serpentine continued.

"I would imagine it's a skill that you gained when you were busy and you dismissed the notification before it could fully populate. People often do this when they are in danger so they can focusss on the present. Perhaps it's Dodge?"

"Close," said Logan. "It's Parry. Um, I actually don't even have Dodge."

Horace blinked. "Oh. That's unconventional. Most people don't learn how to parry until well into their levels. But I'm impresssed. You really must be… brave to not even have Dodge as a skill at all."

Logan suspected Horace had been about to say stupid but caught himself.

"But Parry makes just as much sssense in this rationale. I assume you were busy deflecting something. But you sssee, to gain the bonus in a skill, you must open its details at least once. Normally that happens as the skill is granted. If you dismiss the notification too sssoon, you just have to manually tap into the details later."

"Huh," said Logan. He had never realized that, nor had he ever thought to ask the others about it. He had, after all, only just realized the skill was unaffiliated with any stat gains.

For the first time, he opened up the skill's detailed view.

Parry (Rare), level 4 What do you get when you mix timing, precision, and a mild desire not to die? Your new skill! Turns out, meeting violence with slightly better-aimed violence really pays off. +7 AGI, +2 DEX

"Neat. That worked."

Horace smiled and gave a satisfied nod. "That should bring both your Dexterity and Agility to 97. Which meansss we only need a few more points in each."

"Cool," said Logan, genuinely happy. Then he realized the smile on Horace's face had grown wider. It was the smile of a teacher who seemed very excited to teach a new lesson.

A little too excited.

"I'm guessing you have something in mind?"

"Well, of course. Let's enter the training area proper. I've sectioned off the eastern lip for us in advance. It will work perfectly for this."

Horace slid over to the door and opened it, revealing the semi-open air of the second floor of the Adventurer's Guild. It looked a lot different from up here. Logan had expected the entire floor to be open, but it appeared the only opening faced out toward the street. The other three edges of the room were walled.

Logan shrugged it off. "What's the lesson?"

Horace laughed. "Why, you practically handed it to me yourself." He cleared his throat and rose another foot taller, a mischievous gleam in his eye. "Let's teach you how to Dodge."

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