I get the next day off from the usual training to catch up with my parents and spend some quality time together. This doesn’t mean Martha forgot about my underhanded methods during negotiations, just that my punishment got postponed. Still worth it.

“So what have you been up to these past years?” I ask them, curious to hear their stories. After all, it was all about me yesterday in the restaurant and talks about my future took the rest of the day without leaving us any time to catch up.

Growling bellies and an impatient Martha interrupting the parent-child moment that should’ve lasted a few more hours in my mind but we can catch up on that right now. For a change from my daily routine, we’re just walking down the streets like a normal family would, chatting, and doing nothing in particular. It’s a nice change I have to say.

“We never got around to that part, did we?” Mom smiles at me. “After you… you know, were taken, I went back to adventuring. I know it's dangerous, I know I promised I’d quit, and I know there’s no need to do that I just… The frustration had to go somewhere.” She looks away, looking a bit guilty.

We discussed that she discontinued her adventurer career after the robbery incident, however I can’t really fault her.

“And I accompanied her.” Adds dad. Now that’s an unexpected turn of events. “It’s safer together and she wasn't the only one struggling to face reality. We were too weak to protect you, to even earn the right to protect you, and that’s a fact, so we might’ve been a bit reckless, however the fighting kept our minds occupied instead of eating away at ourselves constantly.”

“Sounds… fun, besides the whole depression and guilt thing,” I say. “Was it worth it? Level wise I mean.” I still can’t see anything besides ??? using Identify.

“Oh, it sure was.” Mom winks at me.

“Don’t keep me waiting, out with it.” I nudge her.

“I reached 350 and your old man is at 332.” She whispers into my ear.

I’m not too sure why she tries to keep quiet about it when using Identify would reveal her level to anyone…. whatever, showmanship I guess. And to give credit, fifty levels for both of them is quite impressive in a relatively safe region like the inner land of Valeria. It took me three years to get to sixty. Okay, I spent most of that just learning the basics but I’m way lower level, it should go faster.

“That’s impressive. Can I still show off?” I ask. I’ve been really looking forward to demonstrating the results of my work to them.

“I thought you’d never ask. We can’t really throw magic around inside the city so let's grab some light snacks and head to the forest, shall we?” Mom dictates and leads the way.

We quickly find some roasted lamb, caramelized apples and anything I desire, really. They spoil me with whatever I ask for, be it expensive cuts of meat or some sweet stuff I've never even heard about before, likely to compensate for the lost time. I abuse that generosity till I’m about to burst apart and maybe do feel a bit bad for it, a teeny-tiny bit.

They missed buying me stuff and I missed getting goodies so it was a win-win.

***

Moving past the city's gates I realize what a pain in the ass it's going to be waiting in line the way back, so I’ll make sure to get the most out of this trip. We stroll down the path leading towards the nearby Bolna Forest to get some distance from other people and maybe find a beast, a test subject.

“So, what changed about your Class? Got anything exciting?” Mom asks when we get deeper into the woods. She looks really excited to have this conversation, the goofy smile on her face and the eyes bouncing between me and our surroundings looking for danger are telltale signs.

“Still arcane, still many elements, still a jack of all trades.” I start off, barely holding the juicy things back.

“That can’t be all c’mon, don’t make me beg.” Mom raises her hands in a ‘you’re about to get tickled’ motion. This is just revenge woman.

“Well, I merged a few basic Mana Skills into one, named Armory of the Arcane. It's more of a mana construct assistant than anything. I got Mana Vision as a sensory Skill, Arcane Focus instead of Concentration or Quick Witted and my greatest treasure, Manaconduit.” I declare the glorious name of the Skill, my current ace in the hole.

“Which does…” Dad asks.

“Mana regen boost.” I answer with a huge grin.

My parents freeze in place and stare at me like I just said the most ridiculous thing.

“Like… a number or a…”

“Percentage.” I answer, my smile even wider than before.

Some parental murmur follows, and the discussion is too fast and incoherent for me to understand because of the vast difference in Speed. It’s easy to guess they’re talking about the Skill, what I don’t understand is why including me in the discussion isn’t a priority.

“In some cases, I’d say it's so-so but for you and you specifically… a good pairing with the Racial Trait, especially because you’re not a devastator mage. Sounds like the right choice.” Dad’s thoughts are leaking from his mouth after a lull in the breakneck conversation.

I’ll take all the praise, keep it coming.

***

After finding a few wolves and trashing them with little effort, I realized that my Skills weren’t anything flashy. Most of them are auxiliary or passive so all I could show against those weak muppets is the maneuvering and tactics I’ve learned.

My fighting style doesn’t really revolve around anything specific. I just spam attacks, adapt to the situation, and throw different things until one of them sticks. That's it.

Anything I’m missing from my skillset is complemented by my little team, thank the Gods they are on my side. Everything except being able to take a few hits. We did learn to work… acceptably together and even do some combos, although there’s still much fine-tuning to be done.

Quite a bit deeper into the forest my Mana Vision notices an irregularity around 100 meters ahead so I tread more carefully. Yeah, meters… what a weird thing to measure distance with. Why not base it on something relevant, like how far a wisp of fire can fly when the wielder has let’s say thirty Intelligence and thirty Focus and uses only nine mana? Earthian stuff is weird.

Meters aside, I don’t know if it's because of the level I pumped into Mana Vision or simply because my stats grew by leaps and bounds since I got the Skill but being able to have it on for longer than three seconds is a real game-changer.

Back to the shadow stalking us. My parents definitely noticed the anomaly before I did and that answers why they went silent not too long ago. They’re letting me do my own thing. When the creature creeps from shadow to shadow once again I catch a glimpse of its body and use Identify right away.

[Panther lvl 75]

Finally, something interesting has shown up. Maybe I can work up a sweat against this big kitty.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

Throughout my years here I learned an important lesson that took way too long to sink in; Fuck around and find out. I’ve fucked around plenty thank you very much, so planning and safety first.

I pretend to not notice the lurking creature, walking on like nothing happened while cooking up a plan. Considering it’s stealthy, the beast should be speed-oriented and slippery. I need to lure it out using the good old bait always on hand. Me. Trapping or immobilizing it would be nice to then blast it to pieces with nowhere to hide but beasts are always either small and hard to catch or big and difficult to kill.

As my thoughts flow and I put one foot in front of the other, all of a sudden the mana disturbance made by the panther vanishes.

Okay… no need to panic, it’ll show itself sooner or later.

I glance around searching for any signs of the beast but it’s almost like it just left us completely. I check the area in a full circle around us only to find it devoid of life besides some bugs and small birds. Then I remember my first fight with August.

I look up to the foliage only to see two yellow eyes flash before the panther leaps down at us like a… yeah like a wild animal. It’s almost twice as long as I am tall, although making out any distinctive feature isn’t easy as its body is so dark I can barely differentiate it from the surrounding shadows.

I don’t even need Premonition to guess the panther’s trajectory and thinking of countermeasures in a fraction of a second has become a practiced standard in the last three years. I lash out with a small arc of electricity to stop the pouncing beast while also raising a bunch of stone spears right below it to skewer to finish off the predator. As the spark hits the panther loses control of its body, even if just for just a second, turning the leap into an uncontrolled fall right towards my spears.

“Almost too easy.” I declare victoriously, yet my parents just chuckle.

As the panther’s body makes contact with the spikes it melts into the shadows, disappearing with only its presence in the shadows proving it hasn’t just completely vanished. The umbra where it became immaterial stays a bit darker than in its natural form, almost as if someone cast a shadow upon a shadow. The pitch-black blob moves over to the nearby treeline where the panther materializes again and hisses at me threateningly.

“You spoke too soon.” Dad mocks me. “If someone told me it’s divine law for things to go awry after saying those words I’d believe it.” He snickers.

That’s a stupid law but so be it, would’ve been too easy anyway.

The panther starts circling around us a lot more warily now, waiting for the perfect opportunity, searching for weakness. I quickly coat myself in a thin layer of mana armor, only thick enough to stop light blows because with Premonition I should be able to avoid, at least partially, anything lethal, and the armor can be quite taxing on both my mana and control. A slight shimmer on my body signals the completion of my mana armor, with my hands itchy and legs coiled to jump I’m ready to respond to any moves the beast makes.

Instead of waiting too long, I discharge another small lighting strike just to probe its reaction, and the moment I raise my hand it dissolves into the ground, having learned its lesson from the previous exchange.

Not that I need to move to do magic, it just helps with aiming.

My Mana Vision, now used to the beast’s dark mana signals, manages to track its movement inside the shadows, circling around the trees with incredible speed before heading straight for me. I don’t panic, instead prepare a welcome gift for the kitty in the form of two hefty ice spears. They form as I pull all the moisture from the surrounding plants and air, sharp rough and deadly, ready to launch the moment the beast reappears.

Unsurprisingly, it emerges after around three seconds of leaping straight at me. I launch the spears and prepare more countermeasures, not betting everything on this one attack.

Looks like years of mercenary practice really did reach me as the panther just claws its way through the ice spikes like wet pieces of paper, creating a situation where the old me would’ve been caught off guard and panicking. The me of today blasts a stream of fire into its face that might have little stopping power but I’d love to see anything diving face-first into fire without its instincts screaming to dodge.

Seeing the fire approach the beast rolls forward midair, trying to reach its own shadows once more, however, it fails to submerge into the darkness as the blaze envelops its body in a deadly embrace. I’d say its skin is burnt pitch black by my attack if the color of its original fur wasn't darker than the burn marks in the first place.

The panther hisses and roars in pain, rolling on the ground to put the remaining embers nested in its fur out and I won’t just sit back and watch it like a fool. A barrage of stone shards and another arc of electricity zooms at the distracted creature , yet just as the finishing blow is about to land it disappears again.

That Skill must have a cooldown or a time limit or something, but why was it that it couldn’t use the shadow merge thing when my fire reached it?

We dance around a little more, me attempting many various tricks, big and small, from fire to air, with the only development being the panther adapting and improving on its approach. One attempt even allows it to close the distance and nick my mana armor, making my heart skip a beat and my parents almost jump in to end the fight. Its claws are just as razor-sharp as they look and would slice through the thin layer of magic with ease before turning me into minced meat.

The face of my parents tells me how much they’d love to interfere, be the savior in this battle, and protect their child from danger. They also know that I’d be fucking livid if they so much as stepped a little closer.

Conclusion so far? Fire is the only thing that had any significant impact, but even that didn’t stop the beast from entering its shadow every time. The answer is pretty simple honestly, no shadows mean nowhere to hide.

The next time the panther circles me and prepares to leap I respond with a wild combination, tailored to counter the beast. The moment its body leaves the ground, I crouch and throw a ball of light beneath it, nothing too strong yet just enough to make all shadows vanish. Before the beast could even realize its hiding place is gone and reorient itself from the blinding light a pillar of stone catches it in the guts to keep it airborne right before another, potent bolt of lightning strikes it in its chest.

It falls to the ground, growling in pain like many times before, except right now its call is answered. It’s not the usual situation one would expect from my luck, the cries are not that of adults. Cubs, barely the size of domestic cats stumble out of the underbrush towards the panther I was fighting until now, towards their mom.

Right now I’m hesitating for the first time since killing that rabbit three years ago, except this time the opponent came at me with the intent to kill and probably still hasn't given up on that goal. My breath is heavy as I aim another bolt of lighting gathered in a ball at the predator, debating whether the right choice is to do the profitable thing or the benevolent thing.

This is not a hunt we’re only here to see me show off and not rob a few cubs of their mother, if it attacks I kill it, if it doesn’t I might let it walk away. Is there a chance the panther might kill an innocent traveler or careless hunter? Yeah, it's possible but I won’t feel guilty even one bit because that’s just how the hunter or hunted setup works

The panther growls at me threateningly, maintaining its hostile stance and I keep the light ball raised, not willing to gamble that much. We remain like that for almost half a minute, me just standing in place and the panther looking back and forth between its cubs and me. Finally, it turns around growls something to the kittens, and carefully starts walking towards the underbrush throwing some occasional glances my way.

I sigh in relief and check the departing beast with Mana Vision once more just in case, to see if this is a bluff or not. These creatures can get frighteningly smart. Even if I kind of wanted to take down that beast, leaving defenseless cubs in the wild after killing their mother would’ve left a sour taste in my mouth. I would’ve done it if the mother attacked, but still…

A hand lands on my shoulder and when I look over I see dad’s smiling face behind me.

Huh, I remember seeing their faces during the fight yet they somehow managed to stay out of this all along. I have to learn how they did that.

“Did I do well?” I ask with a smile lacking any pride or cockiness. I kinda failed at doing my job to be fair.

“You did way more than that.” He hugs me tightly. “You can’t believe how proud I am.”

“Yeah, you fought like a real veteran, fierce like your mother.” Mom appears on my other side and gives a shameless compliment. “You not only showed us today what your Class allows you to do but also let us see who you’ve become while growing into the you we see today.”

“And we’re extremely satisfied with it. You did the right thing and more importantly, you showed compassion above cold killing instinct. We haven’t said this out loud but we were scared you were just pretending, that you were a different person after the years spent with the Fist…” He releases a huge sigh as if the weight of a thousand mountains just disappeared from his shoulder. “I’m so happy you’re still our Eli and we’re proud of you.” Dad ruffles my hair.

I can’t wipe the smile off my face as my eyes get a little wet and my chest fills with pride. I did the right thing.

Also, I really missed this. The best part about receiving honest compliments from my parents isn't the satisfaction I feel but the fact that I made them proud. That I showed them something to make their eyes sparkle. I love it.

We make our way back to the city to continue the happy family moments in a bit cleaner and safer environment and maybe with some food to brighten the mood.

[Your Class [Hungry for Mana - Arcane] has reached lvl 63, +3 Free Points, +2 Speed, +1 Endurance, +8 Mana, +8 Willpower, +6 Intelligence, +6 Focus.]

[Your class Skill [Arcane Affinity] has reached lvl 58.]

[Your class Skill [Manaconduit] has reached lvl 23.]

[The general Skill [Dodging] has reached lvl 45.]

[The general Skill [Premonition] has reached lvl 40.]

Praise be the Gods, the System values effort above outcome.