Eugene and Lucas parted with Quinn, promising to meet up again later. They headed inside for the midday meal and to discuss Lucas's Skill training.

"I've been thinking about starting a mentorship program with the guard," Eugene suddenly told him as they entered the front room. From the sounds and smells coming from further back, his mother was taking a break from the clinic to prepare food--he should probably be there to help and level his [Cooking] Skill.

"Like what you do with Quinn and I? Do you no longer want to do guard work, or something?" Lucas asked.

"It's not like that," Eugene shook his head. "The village isn't large enough for that to be a full-time job. It would really just be like a new duty added on top of everything else."

Lucas pondered that for a moment. "Like a certain amount of time, if a guard becomes a mentor, is accepted as training time for a kid? So it would be just another work shift for the guard--part of their duties, not something added on top of them."

The man nodded. "You get it. More people would have to be recruited for regular shifts, so that patrol and everything do not go undermanned, but it would work out better in the end. More combat Classers to defend the village."

"It might mean less kids taking other Classes, though," Lucas pointed out. "But I think you should do it. If it remained small, there wouldn't likely be many problems."

Lucas went to join his mom then. Eugene stayed to mull over his thoughts in the front room a bit more, but Lucas would simply be wasting time in staying, now that he'd said his piece. He didn't like leaving his mother to cook when she made breakfast on her own as well. Plus, [Cooking].

In the kitchen, a similar scene as when he had visited Belinda the other day was playing out, just on a smaller scale. Mary flew between various stations, assembling a meal for three with a chaotic brand of grace. He knew she did not have a [Cook] Class, so the flurry that was before him was purely a spectacle of stats and regular old experience. Mary may not have had a Class for it, but a person could still learn a skill or two--especially when they have been feeding a child for the last ten years.

He joined in on her mad flight with a lesser, but still considerable and practiced grace. For a long time they did not speak. Lucas peeled vegetables while Mary prepared the pot they would boil in; he tended to the meat roasting over the fire as she prepared its sauce; he toasted bread while she removed everything else from heat; they both took part in assembling the various ingredients into three sandwiches. As soon as the plates were made, Lucas was alerted to his Skill's level rising by two.

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"You two aren't done for the day, are you?" His mother finally asked. "And thank you for the help, cooking is such a busy activity for one person."

"I don't know," he answered honestly. "I was so tired when we stopped a little bit ago that I didn't even ask-and you're welcome."

She reached over and ruffled his hair. "Well, go call Eugene in and we can ask," she instructed as she picked up the plates and brought them over to the table.

Lucas did as he was told, finding Eugene seemingly taking a nap where he'd left him. Though when Lucas called out to the man, he roused immediately and followed him into the kitchen. The three of them made idle chatter as they ate. Mostly, that was just the adults discussing the mentorship idea Eugene had come up with while Lucas was lost in thought.

Lost in wonder or excitement might have been a better description, truthfully. Talking to his mother had made him notice the disappearance of his soreness and fatigue. He checked his body whilst eating, and though there remained some bruising that had not yet faded, almost all signs of his sparring were gone. Moreover, Lucas felt as if his stamina had already completely replenished and he could go again.

During the next brief lull in the adults' conversation, he spoke up. "Are we going back out there after this?" Lucas asked his trainer.

"Hmm? Oh, yeah. As soon as the meal has passed a little, we'll get right back to sparring," Eugene said. "I told you we would have some of your Skills capped by the end of the day, and I wasn't lying."

Lucas nodded and went back to his food. The sandwich was good, as usual. His [Cooking] Skill probably wouldn't show any major improvement till sometime after he changed his Class.

His [Regeneration] was perhaps even better than he had considered it, on the other hand. The current bonus to his health and mana regeneration should still be pretty low, and yet his energy had returned to him so quickly after the spar...

Though the Skill could not really be considered a proper augmentation, Lucas could see it becoming the main focus of his Class--it was that good. That being said, he still wanted a true, active body-enhancement Skill to be part of it. Maybe something that focussed on the damaging aspects of lightning magic, instead of the restorative. One that just boosted his stats would be welcome too.

So, so, so many possibilities right now. I need to just focus on training right now, and leave the dreaming for later.

"Ready to go back out?" Lucas asked Eugene a little bit later, once everyone finished their meal and he had taken care of the dishes.

"Am I ready?! Are you ready?" Eugene countered as he got up. "I'm not the one that will be having the hardest time of it."

"Let's go," Lucas simply said.

"Work hard out there!" Mary cheered after them. "'Cause tomorrow you will be working with me again, no matter what level you reach in your combat-related Skills."

"I will," he yelled back. "And don't worry, I'll be ready!"