Skill learning issues

[cromcrom]

I think that, especially if there are many skills, skill learning should be very smooth.
I mean that improving skill should be done automatically when You use it. However, this should be very very slow. Then, visiting trainers should greatly improve the speed of learning the skill when you use it, up to some level.
Like you start as a novice. You keep practising, trying to tame animals, and you manage to improve very slowly your skill interacting with animals, or whatever, because you don't really know what to do.
But if you go visit an adept in taming, he will teach you what to do, how to do it, and so on. So when you practice for real, you will improve your skill very fast. These kind of teachings "unlock your potential". Then, you can take direct lessons from master, that will cost you money, but directly increase your skill.

However, once you reach the level of master in a skill, there will be nobody to teach you. So you will eventually have to grind your way to the Grand Master or Legendary level, that will make you a really legendary skilled character.
To summary:

No training: very slow progress.
Teachings for the next "step" (adept, companion, expert, master, grand master, legendary, whatever...): cost some money, maybe some quest or stuff to do for the teacher. Increases skill progress to the next level. Then have to pay again, and so son.
Lessons: directly receive some experience or skill points. Very costly, but you don't have to practice to gain skill points.

Lessons and teachings should be delivered by the guy who has the level you seek, obviously. Beyond a level, there should be no more teacher, and you would have to grind your way to legendary level.

What do you guys think ?

[Bearhug67]

I don't know much about the skill and learning system to say much about it. But it sounds ok even the word 'grinding' makes me squirm as grinding is one of the biggest fun killers in so many games.
But well, it cannot avoid completely. No pain, no gain

some additional small ideas, thinking less of skill levels as more or other factors to add even a bit more spice.

Learning by doing is a good teacher, some trainer might not just help you to learn something but teach you instead additional extras like e.g. how to improve the harvest, how to use tricks how to sneak past creatures, how to get more usable wood out of a tree, etc.

I presume most skills require being good in one or two skills to have a chance for success. Maybe high values could help to improve the chance for learning the skill and/or using it successfully.

Using some items for some skills might increase the chance for success, increase the effect, range or time of the skill. The quality of the item can have an influence as well.
Without the item the skill might be still possible but a bit more difficult.

Books or scrolls might be another source for learning besides teachers. They might even give you training you could not find otherwise. For some of those materials you might need a minimum skill and/or attribute to learn from it.