[NR] High Rank Skill - Chapter 478 (Patreon)

Jason sighs as he thinks. It had been a long time coming, but after learning about what the sixth break resistance was, he finally figured out what the System had done to him so long ago. The difference between pre and post sixth bottleneck is having a core.

That is the only difference. So, way back when the System nerfed him, what it was actually doing was countering the benefits he got from already having a core. Which, looking at it with what he knows now, is fair enough. Being able to basically remove enemy resistance from the equation, likely also including stuff like resistance to being one shot, is a little overpowered.

Though there is one quirk that Jason hasn’t figured out yet. You gain a core as a natural part of gaining power in this world. That means that there is some sort of primal change between having a core and not which elevates a person.

The problem is that when Jason created his core; he hadn’t even started to realize there was more to NeoRealm than just a game. He didn’t even really look into what had changed beyond the surface. Also, the System shouldn’t have needed him to breakthrough to nerf him.

Though there was that oath he had to take. Jason frowns to himself as pieces begin to connect.

First, he already knew the System wasn’t omniscient, despite any such claims. However, he had figured it was the difference between having the Systems lines in you or not. What if the System couldn’t even monitor everything that happened within a person it is paying attention to?

Second, the core changes something about a person that for some reasons makes them a magnitude better at piercing resistances. There is probably other stuff, but at the very least, this should be a natural part to having a core and not something gifted by the System.

Third and last, he had to swear an oath not to tell others about gaining a core early or else it wouldn’t be as effective for them or some such. It has been a while. Anyway, it was better to gain a core early and best to do so without knowing about it.

The only problem with connecting it all was that the System knew about him creating the core right away. He got a title for it and everything, yet the System waited for him to break through a bottleneck to nerf him. This all felt like the pieces of a puzzle that should fit together, yet one of the bits doesn’t quite work.

Good thing Jason isn’t alone and so he turned to Courtney. And her answer? Oddly relieving to hear considering some of Jason’s goals.

It seems, while in theory the System is omniscient to some degree, a thing Jason already knew was patently false. It wasn’t even capable of fully monitoring “itself”. In particular, Courtney used scare quotes on itself because not all system messages are actually from the System.

After all, it isn’t like the System is going to run a quick scan of you every time someone opens their status. Instead, it uses the source of so many stealth programming errors, caching. So unless something major changes, the status screen might as well just be a screenshot.

More importantly, there are some things which update locally. Stuff like the automatic title when you get a core or you do physical training to get stats. Taken together, it sounded to Jason an awful lot like most of what he does flies under the radar.

A very convenient quirk for him. Though it does open him up for major events to happen whenever he breaks through a bottleneck. This is doubly true if he is way outside of the expected range of play, which was likely what forced the System to nerf him.

On a certain level, the only reason the System had noticed was because Jason had for all intents and purposes, been showing off. Not that he would have changed anything knowing what he does now. At best, hiding it would have made the later bottlenecks easier to reach.

That might sound nice, but the further Jason goes, the higher his stat caps will be. If the later fights aren’t tough enough, chances are he won’t manage to star his stats then. A little conceited of him to think that he will manage that, but better to try and fail, then to not have tried at all.

Though as that all fit itself into place, the third point still didn’t quite fit. Why was there an oath? Courtney didn’t know much except that the oath had been around since before players had gotten involved.

So without further information, that one little bit will stay unsolved. Though Jason has a guess based on his experience with Andrew. The locals are more than capable of sussing out the limits and restraints of the System and so have done what they can to keep some advantages in their corner.

Though speaking of advantage, Rosha had finished up her training and received an advantage as well because of her training with Peter. She had signed up for a bunch of basic skills. Stuff like tracking and trap sense and for a hot minute she had them.

It is just that once she practiced them all again through the lense of Peter’s training; they changed. Three skills, including tracking all consolidated down into bushcraft, a much rarer skill of Journeyman rank. That alone was worth tens of or even hundreds of thousands of gold depending.

After all, if it was a crafting skill, Journeyman rank is what is needed to break through to level 75. So learning that skill alone is equivalent to a key to the fifth bottleneck. Of course, it isn’t a crafting skill so likely on the lower end, but still more costly than even her family would have been willing to subsidize.

And speaking of crafting skills, trap sense and another skill both ended up combining with her experiences as well. A little less rare of a result. Though the uncommon skill trapsmith with a rank of Apprentice is still an amazing grab.