Authority?

Any attempt to get more information on his most peculiar Skill out of the System yielded no results, so Lucas got to thinking. There were several strange things about this update to [----------]'s description. Firstly, Skills generally only updated if they evolved or surpassed a random level threshold. It seemed that it was brought about by the [Mana Manipulation] Skill being offered to him, as well. The fact that Lucas could already manipulate mana without the System's assistance--though he wouldn't have turned down any upgrades to that ability--presented some implications.

Would [----------] update again if he earned other Skills that he could perform naturally? If it did, did that mean the blank Skill was what gave him those abilities in the first place? Or was it the other way around and he only had it because he was capable of these things?

The second strange thing about the update was its appearance. Lucas's blank Skill finally had a description, but it did not appear like the description of any other Skill--it wasn't very descriptive at all. Did [Limited Mana Authority] only encompass his ability to manipulate the energy, or did it also include his deeper perception of it compared to everyone else? If that were the case, it might explain why it was called authority.

It was also called limited, however, and the Skill still had no level. There was no clear way to eventually removed the limitation. This function of [----------] could very well improve organically through use like a pre-unlock person exercises to build muscles. It could also be that the path of improvement is more nebulous, and tied to his understanding and relationship with mana.

That point kind of lead into the next: would [----------] update once more if he got another Skill that governed one of his innate abilities? There was a relatively easy way to find out, and all he needed to do was find a way to make the System offer him [Mana Sight], or whatever it would choose to call it.

Lucas had gotten more than a little bit distracted as the three of them were walking. He suddenly realized they had arrived at an unassuming house, and Yenna had slipped inside after a few words he had missed, leaving Quinn and Lucas alone outside.

He looked over at the boy, and though Quinn did not raise his gaze from the ground, it was clear his attention was on Lucas as well.

Lucas looked out over the surrounding area, the overcast and slightly wet weather as well as the small amount of foot traffic around them, and sighed. "I won't ask what you thought you were doing," he spoke to the open air, "because I think it's pretty clear." The boy had already made known his feelings concerning the time Lucas would spend leveling while he still waited for his unlock. He likely sought out a way to close the gap that would form between them, and found Regan instead.

"I don't know why you're so insistent on staying near or as strong as me, but it's not worth your life," he continued seriously and physically turned Quinn so that their eyes had no other choice but to meet. "And make no mistake, Quinn, fighting the shaven in that basement was putting your life at risk."

"You're not my dad, Lucas," Quinn angrily shoved his hands away and took a step back. "I knew what I was doing."

"My mom had to heal you, Quinn. The risk wasn't even worth it, as those sorts of fights won't make you improve any more than regular training till maybe your unlock."

Quinn's anger suddenly deflated at the reminder of his injuries, and probably the memory of the shaven pinning him not even two hours before now as well. Things would not have turned out as well for the boy as the day before if Lucas hadn't intervened, even if Regan or someone else might have done the same just moments later; when the shaven had him pinned, Quinn didn't have those moments to spare.

The boy returned his gaze to the ground. "I'm sorry," he practically whispered.

Aside from with his mother or maybe Eugene, Lucas was not generally one for significant displays of intimacy; after all, he didn't really have many close relationships to speak of and had only recently admitted to himself that Quinn was a friend. Even so, he didn't hesitate to step forward and lightly embrace the boy.

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Quinn stiffened first before accepting the hug and returning it twofold, as if in an attempt to crush Lucas's ribs. "I'm sorry," he repeated in Lucas's shoulder, "I won't do anything like that again."

Lucas patted his back pat him on the back and withdrew by an arm's span when it started getting uncomfortable. "It'll be ok," he tried to smile at him reassuringly, "just stick to supervised training for now. Just till you unlock."

The boy nodded his agreement, but he just looked sullen defeated as he ran an arm over his eyes. That was as long as they got for this conversation though, as just then Yenna rejoined them.

"Everything ok?" She slowed her approach as she took in the atmosphere.

"Yeah, everything's fine," Lucas confirmed and nodded back at her house. "Everything go well in there?"

"Mostly, but I'm ready to go."

And she really was. Yenna took off in the direction of Quinn and Lucas's houses without hesitation, leaving the boys to quickly catch up or else be left behind. Her house was closer to theirs than the basement arena was, but they still had to traverse a good portion of the village to reach their next destination.

The trio passed fairly close to the center of the village on the way, and their pace was slightly slowed by the increased foot traffic in the area. It wasn't a big day for the market district, and judging by the numerous time they passed by adults gossiping amongst each other, they could easily infer that the heavier population had something to do with Regan. The building the on-duty guards operated out of, as well as the location the Elders periodically met up at were in the area, so it really wasn't difficult to guess.

None of them were in a huge hurry to clarify the misconceptions people were making in gossip, however, and they were gone shortly. Quinn only stepped in his house for a moment when they finally reached it, before he exited once more and they moved over to Lucas's place.

It was only around mid-afternoon when Lucas finally reentered his home, so he was surprised to find his mom wasn't in the clinic as she would normally be at this time. In fact, a quick search showed she wasn't in the house at all. They likely missed each other around the village center, but she'd probably be back soon so Lucas had the others get comfortable in the front room while he retrieved three mugs of water.

Upon his return, he distributed the mugs and settled into his mom's usual seat--as the other two had taken the larger couch, and the only other spot was the chair for patients--and settled in for the indeterminate wait.

"So...what exactly are you an [Apprentice] to?" Lucas eventually asked Yenna when the silence got too awkward for him.

She didn't answer him immediately, but set her mug down after a few moments of him waiting patiently. "My parents make a lot of the guards' gear, so my Class it a bit of a mix of smithing and leatherworking, and woodcarving."

"Huh. So you help make weapons and armor, then?"

"If I'm lucky," she grimaced. "I'm still young and low-level, so I get a lot of the unimportant or undesirable tasks." Her stare grew haunted and intense. "I can reliably tell you that the process of preparing leather to be used in armor is terrible."

"I'll take your word for it," Lucas said. Whatever could cause that much horror on the girl's face was not something he wanted a part of.

They lapsed back into silence, but a more comfortable one in Lucas's opinion. Quinn was just about to speak up when the door abruptly swung open to admit Lucas's mom. Mary moved with purpose, only pausing a moment to take in the three kids, evidently surprised to find them all in the front room, though he doubted she hadn't known they'd be here.

The woman's gaze passed over Quinn, then Yenna, then finally rested on Lucas before she addressed them all. "Good to see you are all here," she sighed. "We'll all go meet the Elders and guards soon, so rest while you can."

The last part must have been meant for the other two, because immediately after saying that, she caught Lucas's eye and nodded to the back of the house. He got up and followed her through the door.

"I'm so glad you're safe," she immediately mobbed him with a hug once they had some privacy. "I had no idea it would be so dangerous when I asked you to look after Quinn, are you okay?"

His mom started fluttering around him, checking for any wounds and pulsing her healing ineffectually.

"Mom, mom--I'm okay. It wasn't a big deal," he caught her on of her passes and they hugged once more.

"I saw the monster corpse, mister. That was very much a big deal."

"Psh, thing went down in like, three hits."

"Ha! Well, if one of those hits is strong enough to cave in its skull, that would certainly do it. You will have to tell me how you managed that later, okay?" She looked him in the eyes.

Lucas nodded. "Okay."

She held his gaze and sighed. "Good job, Lu. I'm proud of you."

Lucas didn't really know what to do with that, so he mumbled a thanks and simply continued hugging her.

"Ok, we should probably get moving," Mary said after another few moments. "We don't want everyone to be left waiting on us."

Together, they exited the kitchen and returned to the front room, startling Quinn and Yenna out of their hushed conversation. Minutes later, they all left the house and started back in the direction they'd pretty much just come from.