"So, you want to learn more about this world? Where do you want me to start?" Yggdrasil invited the next conversation, pulling me aside and listening to whatever details I wanted to know.
"Proficiency. Let's start there. What is it? What does it do?" Yggdrasil and I both moved together in the frozen world, walking back towards Dorrendale as I began asking.
"Well, proficiency is to just tell how good the tool you're using is. Digging a hole with a proficiency five shovel means you can do it more efficiently without fatigue being exerted onto yourself. Usually, it means that the tool itself consumes less stamina, is stronger, and has a wider area. Most of the tools and weaponry in this world operate on this system of magic. If you want a stronger tool, the chances are you need to upgrade its proficiency. And to do that, you would need an exact replica of that tool. You see, in this world, whoever creates the tool and the repeated tools matter. If somebody who made your first copy of the tool makes the second, the proficiency provides better stat increases." Yggdrasil explained.
"So, I had a proficiency level of one on my staff because I found another staff. Did that mean I have a high level? I don't imagine many people could mimic the branches that fall from the big tree over there." I said, pointing to the large tree I loved to stare at in my downtime.
"You can tell. The number has a plug-sign before it if it has the maximum stats on the weapon. Let's see... what else would you like to know?" Yggdrasil asked me while I led him down the alleyway to my house.
"I want to know more about magic. Specifically, Magic I can use to fight off Joro. What can I do against him? How can I stop him? Who else is dangerous like Joro is?" I asked him.
"Huh, well, I do believe the Eight Patriarchs and Prism are the ones you need to be worried about. I don't think the patriarchs are a big enough problem right now, but as for Prism, every single one of them is a big enough threat. What kind of magic do you need? I'm not entirely sure, but you could use the opposite of each magic type to ensure survivability. If Joro hits you with ice, hit him with fire, that kind of thing. Magic is a special type of dust here that radiates off of all living things. Mana, on the other hand, is a construct that only Humans like you use. Everything has magic, but not everything has mana." Yggdrasil explained.
"I'll need you to explain that one more. That's pretty confusing." I replied to him. Yggdrasil nodded. He seemed a lot more docile than he did before.
"So, everything radiates magic dust, But Mana, like for you, is a quantifiable number. It's measurable. Mana on other beings or things, like chairs or tables, doesn't exist, but they radiate magic dust, that's how you recharge your mana. The same can be said for life force. But anyways, Mana is exclusive to you, you can manipulate magic into mana, other beings cannot." Yggdrasil explained further.
"I see. Thank you for all of this. And what about limit breakers?" I asked him again. Yggdrasil entered inside of my base and sat down on the trinket table.
"Limit breakers?! You've already seen one?! Well, every person has a limit-breaker attack. That attack will almost instantly kill you and drain both your stamina and mana. Of course, it also means that everything takes longer to recharge, so you have that to worry about as well. Would you like to know your limit breaker attack?" Yggdrasil asked me. I nodded and he explained it to me.
"... I see..." I mumbled. So, that was my limit breaker...
"What about skills? How do they work? How can I store more?" I asked him.
"Well, you know about saying the skill and it being more powerful, but do you know why that happens?" He asked me. I shook my head, and Yggdrasil continued on.
"It's because your exhales emit magic dust, coming from a being with mana. When you use your mana, you can strengthen the attack, but if you learn a specific air-element skill, you can keep the skill intensity at its maximum potential." He told me.
So, Joro used his limit-breaker and kept silent, but since he mastered all elements, he was able to keep it at full power...
"Say, if I use limit-breaking skills and don't say the name, will it still have the same consequences?" I asked Yggdrasil. At this point, we both were looking around my new base.
"Think about it, if you say the skill's name or you don't, the same amount of mana is used. It's a limit-breaking skill, they break you no matter what." Yggdrasil went on. "Basically, all skills have the same requirements no matter what... unless..." He looked up toward the ceiling while lost in thought.
"How invested are you in your skill? You can craft potions, but how creative are you? Are you using them to boost skills? Are you using them to increase proficiency? What are you using those potions for?" He asked me.
"Why are you helping me so much right now? You're being way too nice." I commented on Yggdrasil's behavior, but he only covered his face and started laughing.
"I summoned two heroes here! And you know what, one of them could fight a dragon, and the other can't fight a simple human. You aren't a hero, you're one of my shameful failures, and I cannot let that slide. Yet, I can't cheat you to glory either. So, that's why I'm helping you... but with that information, we should be clear now. If you start thinking and acting like a Hero, you might get better results." Yggdrasil said.
"Thanks... as long as you're helping me. But, how did Fuki get so strong? What did he do differently?" I added on, but Yggdrasil looked as if he was getting tired of me now. I didn't want to upset him anymore, especially since he helped me out so much.
"When somebody directly in Prism trains you, it's fairly easy to learn the skills and ways to become a true hero. Well, it's time to return to the beginning of the day... Anima." Yggdrasil smiled at me.