Lucas was at a loss, with no idea what to do. He couldn't simply go forward with a blank Skill in his status--one that resisted all attempts to get rid of it. It would be too much of a weakness.

Well, 'weakness' might be going too far. But the point remains: I'd be missing out on the benefits of a full Skill.

There was only one thing he could do; if he could not think up a solution on his own, he had to ask for help. Eugene and his mother would know something, he was sure.

"Mom," Lucas cut in on their conversation. The two adults readily turned to him.

"Ready to start training your Skills up?" Mary asked.

"Uhh, not quite yet," he told her. "There is something strange in my status."

"Well, ask away," she prompted.

"Have you ever heard of a blank Skill? One that just takes up a slot all on its own, without the person accepting it?"

His mother opened her mouth as if she were going to say something, paused, closed it, before opening it once more. "No...That would be a first. What do you mean by blank? Can you not see its description?"

"I can't even see its name," Lucas clarified.

"Have you tried replacing it?" Eugene asked. "If you concentrate on both the blank Skill and the others you have available, you should be able to replace it."

"I tried that," Lucas nodded, "but nothing happened. The System seemed like it would allow it, but when I actually tried to swap the blank out for [Running], it didn't work."

"And you're sure you didn't accept the Skill on accident?" Eugene questioned.

"Unless it's possible to accidentally do it in your sleep, then no. I only looked at my full status after I couldn't slot a tenth Skill, though, so I have no idea how long it's been there."

"Hmm," Mary sounded thoughtfully, "try focussing on its activation. It is very likely it's a passive Skill, seeing as active General Skills almost never show up right out of an unlock, but there is still a chance. Just focus on its spot in your status, and using it should be like stretching a limb."

Lucas stood from his spot at the table and moved into a more open space. If it really was an active Skill, this might be best. He did as he was instructed, his eyes on his status the whole time, and tried to make something happen.

Unfortunately, it didn't work. Or if it did, there was no immediately noticeable effect. It was far more likely that the blank was meant to be passive, however.

"Any other ideas," he asked the two adults after a few minutes standing and doing nothing.

They conferred amongst themselves, puzzling over this unforeseen predicament. Lucas went back to the table to finish his food, as it didn't look like they were going to offer anything up for now. His plate had gone a little cold already, but it was far from inedible, and Lucas's mind was still too distracted to devote much energy to heating it up.

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Could this be because I messed with things I shouldn't have? The [Regeneration] Skill is amazing, but what if I've completely lost one of my General Skill slots? Am I ok with that trade?

"I think," his mom finally addressed him, "that if no solution presents itself soon, your best bet would be to look for a solution when you change your Class. The guide may be able to help you understand this."

"The only problem with that is you would be going into the evolution without ten fully leveled Skills. It may impact the quality of Classes you are offered," Eugene added.

"Actually," Lucas replied, "that may not be an issue. The blank doesn't even show a level, so it would be impossible to bring it up to ten."

Both of them threw up their hands in a defeated shrug, finally overwhelmed by the abnormality of his issue. Lucas supposed it wasn't the worst thing to wait for a solution. With all his achievements so far, and the way his other Skills were practically tailored for the Class he was pursuing, one Skill not at level ten wouldn't even affect him all that much--if at all.

"Ok, I guess I'm ready to train them now."

Eugene stood. "You're with me first, then. If we work hard, you might have [Basic Combat Training] and [Fitness] maxed out by the end of the day."

"What about [Vigilance] and [Stealth]?" Lucas asked as he followed the man.

"Those will probably take longer to level. Honestly, the best thing to do would be to sneak around the village in your free time, [Identify]ing everything you can," Eugene admitted. "That way, you can train three Skills at once."

They cleaned up their breakfast and said goodbye to his mother, before heading outside. Eugene had brought the training spears inside at some point the previous night, and he retrieved them on the way.

"You might get some levels in [Regeneration] with me today, as well. But either that one or [Identify] will take you the longest."

That made sense to him. He was already dreading having to examine every little thing to grind out levels of the Skill. [Regeneration] was a whole different beast, however. Lucas was quite eager to level what amounted to his own, custom-made Skill, even if the most viable way to do so involved punishing spars. He didn't exactly have a way to effectively drain his mana right now.

Though, now that I have full access to the System, I might be able to safely expel my mana at will...That would be a much better way to level [Regeneration] than weathering bruise after bruise.

Once out side, Eugene passed him his usual training spear. He was just about to explain to Lucas what exactly they'd be doing, when a voice called out to them.

"Lucas! Eugene!" Quinn came running from down the street. "Can I join you again?"

"We'll be leveling Lucas's Skills today, Quinn," Eugene told the boy. "You're free to join and follow along, but that is where most of my focus will be."

Quinn nodded in understanding as he joined them. "That's fine. Is there anything I can do to help?"

Eugene considered for a moment, before turning to Lucas. "You haven't distributed your stats yet, have you?"

"Nope. They kind of slipped my mind with all the Skills."

"Well, good," Eugene said. "Hold off on that for now. Your mother and I will help you do it before you change Classes, but for now it is better they are left as they are." He turned back to the younger boy. "Once Lucas starts increasing his stats, you won't be able to train with him anymore, till you unlock," he warned.

"Ahh--does that mean I won't be able to at all?" Quinn looked completely crestfallen.

"If you are serious about it," Eugene started, "we may be able to work something out. But that won't happen if you think you might change your mind at any point. We can talk about that more later, though. Let's get started."

With those words, Eugene passed the new addition to their training session the other wooden spear. What followed was truly a new experience for Lucas. The very moment he got into what could be called a combat situation, he was made to understand just how much Eugene had been holding back with him over the years.