Earthling in Uncharted Dimensions

"The most commonly seen attribute affinity is Vitality. The person with Vitality affinity would have longer endurance and higher stamina when comparing with others. This gives them an advantage in long battles and duels.

The Agility affinity gives a person increased mobility and dexterity. This creates a much powerful advantage in battles and can turn tides on a small scale. This affinity requires mental and physical coordination which takes time to master.

The Offence affinity is about the strength and power the strikes can provide. A person with this affinity is prone to show more brute force and sow destruction in a duel. This affinity is tough to maintain as this could get out of hand easily.

Defence affinity is the best so far. It increases one's tolerance to strikes and damage resistance which helps to soak in the damage. This is difficult to activate as it requires life-and-death scenarios to take effect."

The four paragraphs just conveyed a lot of information to Jonathan. He sat there staring at the page with wonder in his eyes.

It looks like the attribute affinities are better than the elemental affinities. But the diversity of the elemental affinities are not to be belittled.

The discussion in Jonathan's mind regarding the best among the both ended up in an equilibrium. Thus he closed the second book and opened the third one.

The one who placed this book in the Elements section must be a jerk!

Jonathan had an urge to curse the person who placed the nameless black book in the Elements section, as he opened that book. The name 'An Introduction to The Equilion's Military' was not the kind of title Jonathan was looking for.

But, since he took the book to read, he decided to go through it. And that decision proved beneficial to him.

So the army ranking system of Equilion is simple. The initial stage is called Recruit, a complete rookie who just entered the military. Then comes Soldier, the trained newbies. Then the position rises to Lieutenant, liken how Hugo is. Above that is the final and highest position that a commoner could achieve, the Captain.

Between Soldier and Lieutenant, there is an intermediary state called Squad Leader. The person is assigned to lead the soldiers in squadrons and form unity between individual soldiers.

While reading in his head, several images came flashing into his mind. The face of Aleria and Hugo flashed and their position and their functions were revealed to him.

"Well, not a complete waste."

Mumbling to himself, he closed the book and placed it aside. He only reached for the next book after quenching his thirst with the water from the pouch.

"Finally!"

The thick royal blue bind of the book was appealing and devoid of any name. When he opened the cover, his heart jumped up in delight.

The Encyclopedia of Elements!

From the index itself, Jonathan realised that this was the book he was searching for. He skimmed past the first couple of pages and his heart began to beat with curiosity.

The initial pages were about elements and attributes. After discussing their good and dark sides, the book directly entered the realm of advanced knowledge. What made his face bloom a satisfactory grin was the fact that this book had all the info he had been looking for.

"Judge Stone and Judge Crystal are the standard equipment for affinity detection. Yet they have various limitations. As a preliminary analysis, they do their work with precision.

The Obsidian Stone is the advanced level of detection. The set of five stones handed over from the kingdom of dwarves proved its worth in cutting the time for pondering over the actual manifestation of the ability. When a person is determined to have an affinity regardless of the type, there is 50% of success that the person will awaken a 'Skill'.

Skill is the concept of an ability engraved into a person's being. It is a serendipitous achievement for a person which that brings out the maximum potential of a person's innate affinity. From words to actions, from emotions to situations, the skill might be literally anything.

Skill is a mysterious power that could not be replicated by hard work. Some people stumble across their skill accidentally while some uncover it with trails and errors. In rare cases, some people learn and master their skill at a very young age.

Those who awaken the Skill vary so much that no one really knows how it manifests. However, it is observed that the individual's lifestyle is definitely related to the manifestation of skills.

For instance, a soldier who has Strength affinity could awaken his skill in a life-and-death situation. He might go through a tough time where his very soul screams for survival. All the setup of the event would eventually trigger his skill, 'Berserk'.

An athlete who has a Wind affinity might be losing in a race. His eyes that rests upon the victory in the game will push the limits. The person could successfully activate his skill, 'Dash'.

The origin of Skills is as old as history. It is said to be a gift from the True-Gods and people with skill is treated respectfully. They could become the beacon of justice or an infamous criminal or a wandering explorer.

A person could only awaken a single skill. It is an unwritten and unchangeable rule. But some people learn their skills like the outside of their palm and uses it to its maximum extent which increases their field of usage."

Jonathan read ahead and found that the later portions are useless information. He skipped the pages while taking a quick peek at their contents. There were diagrams on those pages which made his observation easier.

Then he came across an interesting sub-heading!

"Affinity Deviation."

The name itself was captivating as he remembered the words of the female instructor that conducted his affinity test. She said that though Jonathan has Stone affinity, the deviation towards Nature affinity, probably from his racial peculiarities, are strong enough to poke its head across the Obsidian slab.