Varocia : From Gamer to Mentor

"Before we start grinding [Berserk], let's experiment with it first, just like what we did with [Rage]. Princess Edith, can you send me the information of your skill again?" Olgan asked, entering his Mentor mode.

Edith nodded, her expression brightening. "Actually, you don't have to call me Princess. Just Edith is fine."

"Okay, Edith," he replied, immediately dropping the formal title.

She sighed, noticing his ease with the name. "If only Lenna was the same. I've told her multiple times to drop 'Princess', but she never does."

Lenna remained silent, her expression unreadable as she listened.

Olgan turned his attention to the holographic display that popped up in front of him, sent by Edith.

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Skill: Berserk (Passive)
Level: 1 (00.05% EXP)

Description: Your injuries fuel your strength, increasing STR, CON, and AGI based on current missing HP. When HP falls below 50%, you will gradually be consumed by rage, losing HP each second. The lower your percentage Max HP, the lower your sanity, decreasing PER, INT, and WIS. (Note: If any of these stats fall below 0%, you will lose your sense of self permanently.)

Warning: Every hour you remain in a Berserk state, you will lose 10% of PER, INT, and WIS which will be restored after 24 hours.

Current HP: 524/524
Stats (STR/CON/AGI) Increase: +0 bonus each
Percentage Attributes (PER/INT/WIS) Decrease: -0% each

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"Huh? If I remember correctly, your HP was in the 300 range, no?" he turned his head to ask Edith.

She smiled proudly, "The Magect Family doesn't lack equipments! I just equipped myself with items that boost my VIT and HP."

As expected of the whale… he thought silently, masking his surprise.

"Alright, let's first reduce your HP to 50%," he instructed.

Lenna suddenly interjected, "How about you do it, Olgan? You could use the opportunity to train your [Fire Ball] too."

"Do I miss out on [Guidance]'s EXP if I don't train her directly?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"That shouldn't be a problem. As long as I acknowledge you as my mentor during training, it doesn't matter whether you train me directly or not," Edith explained.

Olgan nodded. "Alright, I'll start attacking you then. Brace yourself—wait, will your leather training armor be fine from my [Fire Ball]s?"

"Don't worry; it's enchanted for basic resistance to all elements," Edith reassured him with a nod.

Basic resistance to all elements on a training armor? You damn whale! he thought, a twinge of resignation creeping in.

"Then I'm starting my attack. Please let me know when your HP drops to 50%," he said.

She nodded in agreement.

Magic circles began to swirl on Olgan's palms as he unleashed a barrage of [Fire Ball]s at Edith.

After the third [Fire Ball], her hair ignited, flames dancing atop her head, yet there was no sign of burning.

"Oh, I'm on fire!" she exclaimed, her eyes sparkling with excitement as she looked at the flickering flames.

Why do you sound thrilled? What if you end up bald? Sweat trickled down Olgan's brow as he realized he was inadvertently creating a monster by giving her a Berserker Class.

After countless [Fire Ball]s were hurled at Edith, who stood unfazed, Olgan finally depleted all his MP.

Unsurprisingly, he hadn't even managed to reduce her HP by 50%.

He turned to Lenna, panting, "Lenna, please take over. I'm spent."

Lenna nodded and, after a brief moment, successfully brought Edith's HP down to 50%.

"I'm at 50% now," Edith announced.

"Alright, please show me your [Berserk] Skill."

She nodded and granted him permission to examine the skill.

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Skill: Berserk (Passive)
Level: 1 (04.59% EXP)

Description: Your injuries fuel your strength...

Warning: Every hour you remain in...

Current HP: 262/524
Stats (STR/CON/AGI) Increase: +131 bonus each
Percentage Attributes (PER/INT/WIS) Decrease: -0% each

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What kind of broken skill is this? He stared wide eyes at the staggering 131 bonuses to STR, CON, and AGI!

Or maybe it's not that the skill is too broken; perhaps she's just too rich... Actually, no, I haven't seen Skills of any other DPS Classes yet, so there's no way to measure whether or not Berserker is truly unbalanced, he thought silently.

"Alright, next, let's try to bring your HP down to 49%. Let's see how much your Percentage Attributes decrease," he instructed.

Lenna nodded, slashing gently at Edith with her sword and reducing her HP by 1%.

"It's still 3%, the same as before," she reported.

Olgan nodded, allowing Lenna to slowly decrease Edith's HP to 40%. Noting that the results were unchanged, he stopped here. There was no need for further experimentation and risk lowering her HP further.

"Alright, it's time for some speed grinding. Lenna," he called out to Lenna.

"Yes," she replied, ready for action.

Once again, the process unfolded.

With a bemused expression, Aqualia watched from the sidelines as Edith drank a Recovery Potion and allowed Lenna to gently strike her with the sword.

Edith glanced at her Status Interface and called out, "One!"

At the sound of "One," Lenna executed another light slash.

"One!"

Slash.

"One!"

Slash.

"One!"

"….."

The cycle continued, evoking a sense of deja vu in him, though this time it was shorter, as Lenna quickly fell into a rhythm.

As Lenna began to synchronize her strikes without needing Edith's prompts, Olgan found himself captivated once again by the elegant and beautiful dance of her swordplay.

He opened his Skill Panel, focusing on [Guidance].

The EXP was climbing rapidly!

With a satisfied smile, he settled onto a nearby bench, watching as Edith speedrunning her skill, exploiting the system.

For some reason, Lenna had to adjust her timing each time Edith's [Berserk] leveled up, but there seemed to be no major issues, so he let them be, not wanting to interupt their concentration.

By the time noon arrived, Edith's [Berserk] had risen to Level 7, while Olgan's [Guidance] climbed to Level 4.

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Skill: Berserk (Passive)
Level: 7 (51.32% EXP)

Description: Your injuries fuel your strength, increasing STR, CON, and AGI based on current missing HP. When HP falls below 44%, you will gradually be consumed by rage, losing HP each second. The lower your percentage Max HP, the lower your sanity, decreasing PER, INT, and WIS. (Note: If any of these stats fall below 0%, you will lose your sense of self permanently.)

Warning: Every hour you remain in a Berserk state, you will lose 10% of PER, INT, and WIS which will be restored after 24 hours.

Current HP: 262/524
Stats (STR/CON/AGI) Increase: +131 bonus each
Percentage Attributes (PER/INT/WIS) Decrease: -0% each

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Skill: Guidance (Passive)
Level: 4 (26.51% EXP)

Description: Your insight and experience will contribute to your students' growth. Increase the Skill EXP gains of your students as long as they understand and find your teaching useful.

Warning: Students under the effect of Guidance will have all of their attribute decrease by 1% every 10 minutes. These decreased attributes could be gradually regained over the course of 12 hours of resting.

Skill EXP gains: +13% + (2% of INT)% = +14%

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Reading through the skill's information, Olgan realized that leveling up [Berserk] mainly lowered the HP threshold at which the decrease in Percentage Attributes would begin—now set at 44%. This likely explained why Lenna had to adjust her timing multiple times.

Despite the EXP bonuses from [Guidance] and [Natural Mentor], the leveling process was slower than he had anticipated. Still, it was progressing at a decent pace, so he had no real complaints.

As they discussed their progress, a voice called out from behind them. "I have prepared lunch."

Aqualia appeared, pushing a floating cart brimming with an enticing array of dishes, all neatly retrieved from her Inventory.

Another Kaseto Steak... he groaned inwardly, though he couldn't deny the dish's deliciousness.

His gaze drifted to the light brown soups nestled among the various dishes. "What are these soups?" he inquired, curiosity piqued.

Aqualia replied, "They are Kaseto bones soups."

Will my bone structure turn into a mini tree if I eat so much Kaseto every day? He sighed, the thought amusing yet very concerning.

Once they settled down at the tables and chairs, also taken out from Aqualia's Inventory, Olgan noticed her standing to the side, not eating anything.

He beckoned her over, "Do you want to join us for lunch?"

Aqualia turned to look at Edith, who nodded encouragingly.

"Is that alright?" she asked, seeking confirmation.

"Of course," Olgan replied with a warm smile.

They began eating together, the atmosphere seemed to fill with joy as they chatted about various topics, mostly centered around their grinding and exploiting experiences.

When they finished their lunch, the trio felt full of energy and ready to resume their grinding. If [Berserk] reached Level 10 before dinner, they planned to find a way to exploit [Berserk Cleave] as well.