Compared to the time when he had just started Idle Practicing the Breath of the Shadow Blade technique, the difference in experience gains now was just that huge.
Back then, the difference between an Advanced skill and the Breath of the Shadow Blade in terms of experience gained was almost ten times—with Breath of the Shadow Blade naturally being the one that gave more.
Even when compared to his other Advanced skills, the difference had narrowed to about four times.
The gap was definitely getting smaller.
… So, what had changed between then and now?
It was Comprehension.
The attribute that had now exceeded a hundred, and that directly affected these things.
That was something he had already known.
But when it came to the experience he was getting through Idle Practicing, that wasn't the only discovery he had made.
There was also the difference between the Basic and Mortal prefix skills.
For skills carrying the Basic, Intermediate, Advanced, or even Expert tiers, Christian had concluded that there were only two main factors that influenced the amount of experience he could gain from them, aside from the natural increase that came with advancing in tiers.
The first factor was his ability—whether it was improved by his rising comprehension stat or assisted through something like the Passion Reader skill. The more capable he became in the skill, the more experience he would gain from it.
The second factor was the type of knowledge material he was practicing with.
Was he researching and uncovering knowledge on his own, or was he simply studying an already existing material?
If it was research, the experience gain would be higher. And if it was studying something already known, it would be lower.
But for the Mortal prefix skills…
Christian suddenly paused in his thoughts.
Calling them Basic prefix skill or Mortal one felt a little awkward, especially when trying to compare them as categories.
So, he thought of giving a name for each of these types.
One type always seemed to involve essence from the very beginning, while the other required progress and advancement before even approaching it.
The Mortal prefix skills would be called Essence Skills, and the others, those that developed gradually, would be called Progression Skills.
Christian quietly praised himself for coming up with such simple yet meaningful names on the spot, before returning to his previous train of thoughts.
Essence Skills were fundamentally different from Progression Skills.
Aside from the two usual factors, ability and material, there was actually a third factor influencing the experience gained: the skill level itself.
With Progression Skills, once his ability and knowledge were sufficient, the experience he gained remained relatively constant.
But with Essence Skills, even that wasn't enough, the higher the skill level, the more experience he seemed to gain from them.
Again, this might not have seemed like a big discovery on the surface.
But why was this difference there in the first place?
Christian was naturally curious.
He had a feeling that if he could just understand the reason behind this subtle variation, it might lead to a much bigger revelation… one that could affect far more than just his experience gains.
But without enough clues, he was forced to hold off on drawing any conclusions.
And so, with a faint hum of unresolved questions lingering in his mind, he moved his gaze away from his level and experience… and focused on his attributes.
Twenty for Constitution, and twenty-seven for Essence.
For Constitution, it could be said to have risen a lot, especially when compared to the stagnating value of ten he once had.
And as for Essence, something he didn't even possess before, now standing at twenty-seven, the number stood out even more.
… But Christian wasn't entirely satisfied.
He still felt he was progressing a little too slowly.
So, hoping to find a solution, or at least find a possible reason behind this… other than the one he already knew, he ended up doing something for the first time:
He asked Sophia for an answer.
He hoped she would give him something new, something different from what he had already uncovered himself through Iris.
But in the end, he was disappointed.
Her answer was the same:
Accumulating Essence and training in Essence techniques was naturally a slow process.
… Moreover, she added that, considering his age and the fact that he had only just started, but already became this strong, he was already progressing too fast.
Christian didn't like that answer.
So, he turned to his "stepdaughter," Olivia, hoping that maybe she, with all the teachers from another world around her, might give him a different response.
… And this time, he wasn't disappointed.
She began by saying that, yes, part of the reason was indeed what Sophia had said: his age.
But that alone wasn't the whole reason.
The real problem was that the technique he was using was simply too low-leveled.
It was one of the possibilities he had already considered, so he wasn't surprised.
Still, just for reference, he asked Olivia what kind of technique she was currently practicing.
And the answer left him stunned.
It was a technique that could Visit NovelHub for more amazing novels and chapters.
Fifth stage... and a hundred years.
For the first time, Christian found himself doubting his current lifestyle. That maybe… he should have tried to go to the Academy with Olivia.
But, even as the thought crossed his mind, he knew deep down that, even if time were to turn back, he would still make the same choice.
So instead, he asked Olivia to explain everything to him in full detail.
And through her explanation, he confirmed something he had already suspected:
Not all techniques that could take someone to, say, the second stage, were the same.
There were superior ones among them.
… So, did that mean there was a ranking system for techniques?