Skill is a physical Will attribute, much like strength, and it has its own experience type. When one trains skill attributes like speed, their reflexes become faster, while increasing Guile steadies their hands and limbs, making them stealthier. Enhancing the Accuracy attribute seems to sharpen eyesight itself, akin to the eye blood vessel augmentations in Halo that increase blood flow to the eyes. One could say that the Hero of Oakvale resembled a super-soldier once he maxed out all available powers. This, of course, has its limitations—being a "Jack of all trades, master of none." Ignoring any training branch entirely would be foolish, especially considering that Jack of Blades is a master of all branches. I must master each power better than he does. What if one type becomes negated or useless when fighting him? I’ll use one of the others in a way he doesn't anticipate. As the saying goes, "Never put all your eggs in one basket."

  So, I plan to train in all branches to some degree, but simply following the basics would be a bit boring. Plus, I don’t want to end up looking like a massive gorilla after training Might, as the protagonist did at the end of Fable if they focused solely on being a warrior. Being a bull in a china shop after becoming a literal mini Hulk isn’t ideal. I’d be too bulky to navigate confined spaces or to handle small objects without accidentally fumbling them, like the resurrection vials. That would be a horrific waste since those valuable items are incredibly expensive. It will be tough to acquire more before Jack arrives in less than six months, but I will find a way.

  There are many ways to make money in this world if one knows how. My parents are already stockpiling dried meat, jars of preserved fruits and berries, pickles, and dried vegetables—all for a training expedition to the void. Gathering the necessary resources would take time, even with my mother’s reserve of gold from her heroic exploits. So, I suggested using her Guild Seal’s teleport function to transport goods and traders instead of escorting them through the monster-infested Darkwood. I don’t know why the Guild or any heroes never thought of this, but it makes things much easier.

  This new service, provided by Scarlett Robe, was in high demand; hiring an escort normally costs 500 gold, while she charged a reasonable 300 for instant teleportation. What can I say? I created the Uber of a magical medieval world without needing a "GoFundMe" or "Patreon." If only I could get my hands on another Guild Seal—or better yet, figure out how it works.

  I have a theory about how it operates. When a person teleports, they appear to slowly turn into light and then back from light into themselves at the desired location. This somewhat makes sense since light can exist as both energy and a particle. Light also moves at super-fast speeds, which explains the near-instantaneous effect. In 2014, light could even be turned into a solid crystal by using a superconductive material shaped like a molecule placed around it. I, however, after learning light-based magic, could just will it to do so. This power exists because of Fable: The Journey, where the ancient hero Sol wields light-based abilities. His main spell, Bolt, unleashed a blast of light, and he also used healing magic that appeared to harness light. Perhaps it’s an alteration of teleportation that repositions parts of the body. Or maybe light possesses a healing quality I’m unaware of. Regardless, I could always use willpower to fill in the gaps in my knowledge.

  Light could also be utilized for lasers and invisibility, both of which would be advantageous against anyone. If I manage to find time to train a second Will ability, it will be light due to its versatility and potential. This is something I’ll need to research later, once we’re back in the void.

  Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

  For now, the immediate concern is training skill attributes. Since skill primarily enhances the nervous system, I must be cautious in how I proceed. The Skill attribute screen in one version of the game even showed the nerves glowing within the body image of the menu. I want to break through my body’s limits; if I can make my nerves conduct better than normal, my reflexes will exceed human capabilities.

  The answer already exists in this world. The silver augmentation, used in Fable to give weapons an attribute of silver, increases damage to Balverines who are allergic to silver, and to the undead, who are harmed by its holiness. Pure silver is the most conductive metal of electricity on Earth. Making it superconductive just requires cooling it to freezing temperatures. It conducts heat well, but that’s irrelevant to my current dilemma. I need to transfer an augmentation not to a weapon but to my nerves using my willpower. Not to mention, I first need to find one, and they are as rare as a dragon-riding unicorn wearing a fedora.

  Since this augmentation doesn’t require me to halt training in skill entirely, I’ve started by focusing on speed. First, I had to form another core layer with Skill experience energy around my Will Pool. It really did resemble an onion. At the center was the Will Pool itself, surrounded by the Skill sphere. Layered over that was the Strength/Might sphere. My blue will energy and yellow Skill energy sparkled as they passed through the Might sphere, creating a beautiful display. If I could take a picture, I would.

  Theresa’s archery training interrupted my thoughts as she made light work of dozens of wasps with her arrows.

  “Impressive!” was all I could muster to say.

  “Yeah, with my accuracy ranked up two levels and my foresight, it’s easy to hit them now,” Theresa replied.

  “Wait, how does foresight help? Wouldn’t you have to memorize where they’re going?” I asked.

  “No, silly! I see a transparent image of the target where it will be in a second, and I aim for that,” she responded with a smirk.

  “I see… I didn’t know it could be used that way,” I said, realization dawning. So that explains how Theresa could navigate on her own in the other timeline. Looking at her now, one might almost mistake her for a fourteen-year-old due to her rapid growth. Her current baby face was the only giveaway of her actual age.

  Training skill seems to trigger growth spurts, and for a girl overdue for such growth, she shot up like a weed. In the next few days, I too would have a growth spurt since I just trained speed to rank 1, but it wouldn’t be as drastic as Theresa’s. Girls tend to grow taller sooner than boys anyway.

  After training toughness to rank 1, I hadn’t become muscular, but my body had grown slightly more toned. To others, it might be strange to see a nine-year-old with abs, but such concerns matter little to me right now. As for strength, there are three types of muscle fiber: white slow-twitch, which is bulky and strong but lacks endurance; red fast-twitch, which is faster with better endurance but little strength; and pink muscle, which offers a balance of all three but excels at none.

  It’s the Jack of all trades for muscle, but since its tissue is thin, it’s ideal for avoiding excessive bulk. The hard part will be the insane workout regimen required to train it: high-intensity muscle strain while moving quickly. There’s a reason I trained toughness before starting this regimen—otherwise, this young, weak body could break from too much strain. I nearly died from my last great adventure into the unknown, after all.

  Theresa noticed the contemplative expression on my face and said, “Cheer up, loser! You have a real hero watching your back after all.” She pointed at herself with a fake smug look.

  “Why are you such an asshat sometimes?” I laughed.

  “Ha! What’s an asshat? Where do you buy it, and how do you wear it?” she asked, barely able to contain her laughter.

  “Stop, you’re too much, sis.”

  “Too bad! It’s too late to get you one for your birthday. I bet it would look great on you!” Theresa smirked.