With the whole ordeal of Quinn, the arena pit, and [Hunter] Regan behind him, things calmed down considerably for Lucas. He spent the next week working with his mother to level [Learning] and the [Healing Arts] Skill, managing to get both of them to their current max level. In his free time, he also managed to max out [Cooking] and get a full level in [Regeneration] through the constant draining of his mana.

Despite his constant attempts at earning additional Skills like [Mana Sight] while doing so, the System did not offer him a single thing. It was looking like Lucas was missing a key condition that would see him find success, but for the life of him, he couldn't think of what it was. Until he came to a realization, the next update to [----------] would remain beyond his reach.

But that was fine for the time being, because Lucas was getting extremely close to maxing out the rest of his General Skills, and it was time to put some work into the two that had thus far gone neglected.

He left his house in the early morning, just after breakfast. The weather had gotten more turbulent over the last week, and a winter storm was on the way in, but that was actually beneficial for his purposes today. Originally, Lucas had planned to level [Vigilance] and [Stealth] by playing games with Quinn and maybe Yenna. However, he'd seen little of the two since the day of Regan's trial. Their parents had been keeping a short leash on them, and they weren't the only ones; Lucas had hardly seen a single pre-unlock kid out on their own for days.

So, he'd been forced to go with his other plan, and he was headed to the market now to enact it.

There was a certain Skill offered to Lucas when he first gained access to his status, one that he'd earned through certain activities that were generally frowned upon. No one could relentlessly seek self-improvement at all times, and when he was younger he would sometimes wander over to the market, just like he was now, to see what he could pick up. The people offering these things for trade did not always know when he took them.

Lucas never pilfered too much and never when the rightful owners or someone else could use the items more. Most of the time, he just snatched sweets from Belinda's kitchen. Thanks to his mother's services to the village, the people would likely just give him whatever item was in question if he asked, anyway, but Lucas always made sure to pay it back somehow.

He knew stealing was wrong, but it occasionally presented a fun challenge and, in this case, had no victims. Truthfully, that wasn't precisely what he had planned for the day either. Lucas intended to level [Stealth] and [Vigilance] by swiping things around the market without being seen, and returning them with their owners none the wiser. Hopefully, the greater challenge would translate to more levels in his Skills.

The plan was to do it all out in the open, as well. [Stealth] was normally used to go entirely unseen--at least that was the most common conception of the Skill--but Lucas theorized that employing it to hide his actions or remain inconspicuous while out in the open would make his leveling faster as well. It wasn't a theory based on much, but he was willing to test it.

Squelching through the mud, he finally arrived at the market and immediately realized his plan might have to change. Normally on this day, the market would be filled with people seeking to trade their wares and trade for others, but the poor weather had apparently discouraged the majority from such activities. There were only a small selection of covered stalls currently occupied and barely any more people traveling between him.

Maybe it would be enough for the first couple levels in [Stealth] and [Vigilance], but Lucas wasn't too optimistic for anything beyond that.

Nothing for it, might as well just start.

Lucas felt the Skills take effect as he approached the closest stall. He found himself walking differently and his awareness of his surroundings, particularly the people in them, sharpening. [Stealth] was a passive Skill that with conditional activation that helped guide his movements--it was a lot like some parts of [Basic Combat Training] in that way--but [Vigilance] was technically always active. It was like an instinct that alerted him of any developments in the world around him, and he only had to pay attention to it for it to 'activate.'

He hadn't made use of it in the events that took place a week ago because, frankly, it posed limited use at its current level. The instinct that Skill provided wasn't very accurate, which is why he remained vigilant of his surroundings, rather than fully relying on [Vigilance]. Now that he had time to devote his full focus to the Skill, however, it would quickly become more accurate and useful.

[*ding Congratulations! [Vigilance] has reached level 2!]

Case, and point.

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

The first stall evidently belonged to a [Tailor], as its tables were laden with clothes of all purposes and sizes. Two other people were inspecting the items, so while the portly man sitting on the tables' other side did notice Lucas, he paid no undue attention to the boy and continued assisting the customers he would be more likely to complete a trade with. Lucas gladly took the boon and started inspect the clothes for himself with feigned boredom.

The other occupants of the tent were on the far left side, and Lucas an aimless browse near them with his back turned and heading to the other end.

"Of course, the vest is water proof," the [Tailor] said with performative affront, "that is quality leather, and I my work is nothing but of the highest standard."

"The vest was clearly made by an [Apprentice], so the price you are asking for is simply ridiculous," the man that was speaking to him said.

"If you don't want the trade, then I wish you well in finding some other [Tailor] to..."

The moment everyone else's attention was fully on the haggling, Lucas used his right arm to swipe a pair of socks close to the table's edge. He kept up his slow walk beyond that point and slipped them into his pants' pocket. At the end of the line of tables, he stopped for a moment to pick up a nice shirt, before eventually leaving the stall.

[*ding Congratulations! [Stealth] has reached level 2!]

[*ding Congratulations! [Vigilance has reached level 3!]

[*ding You have received the General Skill [Shoplifting]!]

Lucas dismissed the notifications without looking at the new Skill, he knew he wasn't going to take it. Instead, he immediately turned around the stall's corner and quietly crept to the back, where the [Tailor]'s transport cart would be. He was out in the open now, so even though his goal was to go unheard, he was careful not to exaggerate his gait in service of it.

The cart was where Lucas suspected it to be, so he quickly snuck behind it and deposited his pilfered socks within one of its drawers. Then he started toward the next stall with an equally unhurried pace.

[*ding Congratulations! [Stealth] has reached level 3!]

The consecutive System notifications were going to get annoying real quickly, so Lucas mental shoved them to the corner of his awareness. It would be more gratifying to view his progress all at once later, anyway. Plus, the sounds might end up distracting him at an inopportune moment and getting him caught, if nothing was done.

The next stall's wares turned out to be of the dessert variety. Behind the tables, the [Confectioner]'s gaze latched on to him as soon as he came close, unfortunately, so he adjusted his course as subtly as he could and made toward the next stall. He fared much better this time when he watched the craftsman using the stall step out for a moment, just before he reached it.

Naturally, Lucas immediately got out of sight and snuck when an opportunity presented itself. This stall only had a couple tables, however, with relatively few items upon them. The absence of nearly anything he could take would not go unnoticed for long.

The craftsman would not be gone long, either, so he had to decide on his course of action. A quick look revealed only a few things that could potentially go unnoticed long enough to not pose Lucas any problem: a charcoal writing stylus, a half-eaten bread roll, and pair of gloves. In the end, once he heard the sounds of approaching footsteps, Lucas took the stylus and briskly left.

It was a poor day for this sort of Skill training, Lucas later decided. After hitting every occupied stall in the village's market district, and returning every item in some way, he checked his notifications.

[*ding Congratulations! [Stealth] has reached level 4-6!]

[*ding Congratulations! [Vigilance] has reached level 4-6!]

All that, and he only got a total of five levels. It almost wasn't worth it, but progress was progress. It still was only late morning by the time he left the area, though the sky did not lend credence to that fact. He could come up with some other way to get the last four levels before the end of the day.

Just then, his back started tingling with such intensity, Lucas dove into the mud on the side of the path he'd been walking. Just in time, too, as his sudden movement caused his attacker to slip on their unstable footing and crash into the mud as well.

[Hunter]

"Fuck!" Harry exclaimed as he hit the ground.

His attacker was none other than Regan's minion in her scheme, the one the Elders had threatened punishment upon as well. Lucas hadn't seen him around the village since that day, but evidently whatever punishment the Elders decided upon was not as severe as the boy's former senior.

"If you know what is good for you," Harry started talking as he got to his feet, "you will stand still and take a beating. Resisting will only make me hit you all the harder, in the end."

They were in a relatively abandoned part of the village at the moment, and the path was not one that people frequented. Lucas didn't know what level Harry was at, but the boy couldn't have been much older than him. Problem was, the early levels were attained the easiest and he had had time to level his Skills past ten, while Lucas was still stuck with that as his max. That didn't take into account stats, either.

"Why are you even trying to attack me? I thought Regan forced you to help with her arena?" Lucas stalled.

"Oh, I'm not hung up on that banshee being gone now," Harry slowly advanced toward him, "but your actions nearly dragged me down with her, and I want some payback."

Harry charged, but even though he must have had higher stats than Lucas, his movements were lumbering and clumsy. Lucas rolled out of the way when he went for a tackle and got another mud-bath instead.

Lucas definitely wasn't going to just submit to whatever treatment the older boy thought he deserved. So while Harry was still flailing on the ground, he did the natural thing and stepped in to kick him in the knee. His strike made the boy collapse back down onto his chest with a yelp and Lucas took the opportunity to run.

"You're not gonna get away that easily!" He heard his would-be assailant yell after him.

A quick glance over his shoulder showed Lucas that his kick had not been hard enough to keep Harry down, and he was already starting his pursuit. He cursed, turned back around, and started broke into a sprint rather than a run. It looked like, whether or not he wanted it, this fight was happening. Lucas was determined not to lose it.