[Force Mana]

[*ding Congratulations! [Identify] has reached level 10!]

All of Lucas's focus immediately diverted from the maelstrom of mana and kitchenware occurring around him, and to his new level. Identifying an aspect of Belinda's Skills had apparently been novel enough to finally max out his own. He'd practically just gotten a level beforehand, as well, so that one use must have been worth a lot of progress.

"Lu?" Lucas was pulled back to the moment by a nudge from his mom's elbow. "Got anything to share?" she asked expectantly with a grin slowly emerging on her face.

Belinda and Eugene had fallen into their own conversation after greetings were exchanged, but with Mary's words they both cut off and focussed their attention on the mother and son pair. Lucas swallowed his nerves and broke into his own grin.

"I just maxed out my last General Skill," he told the three adults.

"Congratulations!" they all exclaimed, but surprisingly it was Belinda that was the loudest. She came over to give Lucas a hug, and after a moment said, "Looks like I won't be the only one evolving today!"

Lucas laughed and lightly returned her embrace. "I don't know if I'm quite ready to change my Class today, though."

"Well, what else is there to wait for?" Belinda pulled away and looked at him with evident confusion.

In answer, Lucas turned to Eugene, who was sitting on the other side of Mary with a fond expression as he watched the proceedings. "I wanted to ask you about your stat-augmentation Skill," Lucas told the man.

"I thought you might," Eugene nodded to himself, "that sort of Skill would be the best way of actualizing a [Healer]-[Warrior] hybrid Class."

Belinda, who had returned to her seat by then, looked between them appraisingly. "I thought augmentation Skills were incredibly hard to get, though. What exactly did you intend to ask?"

"Uh...Well, I just wanted to know if there was anything in particular I'd have to do to get one and maybe see it in action." Lucas scratched the back of his head before hesitantly adding, "Besides, I think one of my Skills might help a little."

That only confused the woman even more, but his mom and Eugene shared a look before she turned to Lucas. "The blank?"

Lucas nodded. "Yeah, it has something to do with mana."

"That would make a lot of sense, actually," she said, clearly thinking of the abilities Lucas displayed prior to even his unlock.

"The thing with your eyes and affinity?" Belinda asked.

"Yep," he confirmed.

"I don't mind showing you the Skill," Eugene spoke up, "but there isn't really that much to see and even less I could tell you. I only got it as part of my Class."

"That's fine, anything helps," Lucas said, though he couldn't quite hide his slight disappointment.

"There's one thing that might help," Eugene quickly added. "The Class is called [Avatar of the Spear], and the description it gave before I selected it heavily implied it would have an augmentation Skill. Maybe keep an eye out for other [Avatar] Classes?"

"Thanks! I will," Lucas made a point of saying cheerfully.

"Enough of that, for now," Mary told them, then addressed Belinda. "Let's hear more about your Class. This," she said while waving her hand around the room, "is a lot more spectacular than your last one."

"Thanks," the [Cook] responded. "It's called [Omnipresent Chef], and even though that's not strictly accurate, it is almost like I can be everywhere at once."

"No kidding," Eugene added as he leaned forward to avoid a mixing bowl that was passing by particularly close behind, "and a good thing, too, because there's no chance of you taking on an [Apprentice] or assistant if this is how your kitchen will be from now on."

"What level are you at now?" Lucas butted in.

Belinda turned to him and smirked. "250. Last evolution I can probably look forward to for that Class, but I'd say it was worth it."

Lucas sat back in his seat, slightly stunned. That was extremely high level for anyone, but he thought that was especially true for a non-combat related or adjacent Class. Without one of those, you had to really push yourself and test your limits to reach that high a level. It also explained why the woman's food was always so delicious, though, so Lucas wasn't overly surprised.

There was a time he considered following a similar path to Belinda's. Lucas enjoyed making good food, and he could see how taking such a Class would allow him to build a perfectly satisfactory life for himself. However, doing so would be akin to abandoning all his other aspirations. Anki was a dangerous world, and he needed to be capable of defending himself if he wanted to see its farthest reaches.

Although, Lucas thought while taking another look around the kitchen, maybe there is some combat potential in a [Cook] Class. He pondered that thought for a moment before eventually shaking his head. It was [Healer]-[Warrior] for him or bust at this point.

As Lucas was occupied with his thoughts, Belinda had gotten up and gone to put the finishing touches on a few foods. As she was tending to a roast of meat, she asked, "Who all is hungry? First batch of food since my evolution~!"

"Thank you, that would be amazing!" Lucas's mom answered for them.

"It's nothing special," Belinda spoke over her shoulder as she retrieved four plates, "just a nice little, hot sandwich wrap. Perfect for lunch on a cold day, if you ask me."

"I'm sure it'll be delicious," Eugene said.

"Yeah, well, when it comes to food, you're an easy one to impress, dear brother," Belinda smirked.

Eugene considered that for a moment, then shrugged. "Fair enough."

The wraps didn't take long to plate, and soon enough all of them had a dish before them. The wrap consisted of a generous amount of chicken, paired with thinly sliced tomatoes and greens, some sort of semi-sweet and savory spread, and a creamy sauce all wrapped up in a thin flatbread. As she said, nothing special in theory, but when Lucas took his first bite...It may have been the best sandwich he'd ever had. The chicken was smoky and came with a strong spice tempered by the creamy sauce, and the vegetables added a nice, crisp crunch while lightening the dish up a bit along with the spread.

Even then, Lucas had had plenty of food like it in the past. But as he was chewing, it was like an intangible blanket of comfort descended upon his shoulders and held him in embrace. He found himself unconsciously relaxing back into his chair, and a single look at everyone else showed they were having similar experiences.

"Your services are going to be so much more popular with the rest of the village," his mom delightfully informed the [Cook].

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Belinda's face showed a rising blush as she swallowed a bite of her own wrap. "Thank you," she said with her gaze rooted downwards.

Not much more conversation passed as everyone focussed on their food. It was a relatively filling dish, but not one of them ended up having leftovers. When he was done, Lucas stepped outside for a moment to use the nearest communal toilet. Their lunch had been an early one, so it was still midday by then. The weather had warmed up enough that other people had been drawn outside and he found a line waiting for him at the toilet. Of course, even in the worst weather most people would be willing to make this particular journey, or else be forced to use the ever distasteful chamber pots. It was simply Lucas's bad luck to arrive at a particularly busy time.

As he waited, he observed the people around him--those passing by on whatever errand as well as those in line. He watched a man march by in a rush, but take the time to toss a kid their ball after it rolled into his path. He watched the woman at the head of the other line for the toilet give up her position to a mother and her two children, whom were clearly running out of time. He watched a pair of guards patrol through and politely greet various people.

He wasn't blind to the near constant glances he was getting when people thought he wasn't paying attention. A group of adults huddle in front of a building down the way were even openly staring at him, and speaking in what could be seen as a conspiratorial manner. Lucas didn't pay much mind to it all--to be fair, he had made somewhat of a spectacle of himself lately. First with his eyes' changing color, and second with the events taking place around the recent trial. Combined with his generally low social presence in the village, and this sort of attention was understandable.

Maybe I should make an effort to be more social, though, Lucas thought as he shifted uncomfortably. Luckily, the line for the toilet passed much quicker than he had expected, and he was able to slip inside and away from all the scrutiny. He didn't stick around when he got out, either, and swiftly found his way back to Belinda's kitchen.

He was a bit surprised to find the building open to all passersby, with his mother and Eugene waiting outside. Following her Class evolution and their private lunch, Belinda had apparently seen no reason to keep the kitchen closed for the rest of the day. It couldn't have been open for long, but Lucas watched several people enter and exit as he approached.

"There you are," Eugene said as he caught sight of Lucas, "we were beginning to think you had fallen in."

"No, we were not," Mary grinned and playfully hit the man's shoulder.

"So," Lucas stopped before them, "what now?"

The adults shared a look as if their were silently discussing just that, before Eugene turned back to him. "Well, you said you wanted to see my Skill, right? I've got a shift coming up, but so long as it doesn't take long, we can do that."

"Works for me," Lucas shrugged.

"Come on, let's head back to the house before you guys start that," Mary decided.

They made their way back and discussed Lucas's imminent Class selection. There really wasn't much holding him back from going forth with it at this point, and he told them--if all goes well with his inspection of Eugene's Skill--he'd even consider doing it as early as tonight. To his surprise, his mother and Eugene actually warned him against that idea, stating that it should always be done when someone is able to keep guard over you. Understandably, it wasn't the best idea to keep your guard up all through the night--it invited laziness and discontent.

"How long does it usually take, though? Belinda's couldn't have taken more than a few hours if you got it done this morning," Lucas addressed Eugene.

"It doesn't always take the same amount of time," his mom interjected. "Some people finish their selection near instantly, but I've heard stories of people taking up to a week."

"A week!?" Lucas exclaimed at the incredulous statement, then looked back to Eugene. "What would you have done if Belinda's took that long?"

"Our father would have taken a shift watching over her, and we'd switch off whenever necessary," he informed Lucas.

"Oh. Well, still, that is too long. I don't want to go unconscious for an entire week."

"It all depends on how long you take, silly," Mary tousled his hair.

Their conversation drifted off as they got to the house. Lucas's mom went to make tea when they got inside, and he and Eugene took a seat in the front room.

"Alright," Eugene sat forward, "what exactly do you need me to do? Stat-augmentations aren't exactly visible, so I assume you're going to do something with mana?"

Lucas nodded. "I just need you to activate it and let me see your hand," he told the [Warrior], simultaneously reaching out with his own.

"Hmm, well that's easy," Eugene overtly shifted before taking his hand.

Without further ado, Lucas started. In order to extract any meaningful information, Lucas needed to be able to view the man's internal mana. Thus far, that was a feat he had never accomplished, but he was reasonably confident he'd worked out a way to make it happen. Almost through instinct alone, Lucas began to pull on his own mana currents, extending a small stream to their joined hands. If he was correct, all he needed to do was make contact with Eugene's mana and establish a temporary connection so that he could view everything he needed. Now, he put that theory to the test, and unfortunately it wasn't going so well.

Lucas emitted his mana easily, taking care to keep it in a mostly inert, non-harmful state. His problem started when he tried making contact with the man's mana and just hit a wall. That wasn't even entirely a metaphor--it felt like Lucas had physically walked into a solid wall. He tried everything he could think of, but for some unknown reason, Eugene's body completely held off his mana's approach.

"Do you know how long this is going to take?" Eugene asked, completely oblivious to Lucas's ongoing struggle and sitting there somewhat awkwardly. "I don't have the MP to keep this Skill up for very long."

"Sorry," Lucas replied. "Could you maybe try casting another Skill at the same time? This time, an external one?"

"Does a buff work?"

"Yeah, that is perfect," Lucas nodded and concentrated back on his mana.

[*ding You have been affected by [Prolonged Endurance]! -75% stamina consumption of all actions for the next 5:00!]

The arrival of a notification marked the use of Eugene's buff, as well as Lucas's opportunity. In order to apply the buff, the inviolable fortress of Eugene's body opened up to let out a bit of his own mana. As it turned out, Lucas's didn't have to do any more than that, because as soon as their mana made contact between their palms, his senses were opened to a whole new world.

Or, well, another aspect of it at least. Suddenly, Lucas could see the [Warrior]'s mana currents with comparable clarity as to when he first started exploring his own. Lucas was dimly aware of more notifications, but he shut them out as he made every effort to commit the flows of Eugene's mana to his memory. They were quite a bit different to Lucas's, especially compared to before he made [Regeneration]. Larger, more robust, somehow, and with clearly practiced purpose. He had to go over every little length carefully to avoid missing anything, not yet knowing what was truly important.

"Ugh, that feels weird," Eugene shook his head. "I'm going to have to drop the Skill soon--nearly out of mana," he warned.

"Go ahead," Lucas said without looking up, "I need to see how it looks with it off, too."

Eugene eagerly obliged before he could completely drain his mana, and Lucas continued to take careful note. He watched the man's currents settle back into a more sedate, neutral state. All the most significant changes received extra attention, as they would likely be the effects of Eugene's augmentation. When he was done, Lucas sat back up and immediately grabbed a nearby paper and writing stylus, jotting down all his notes before he had time to forget them.

"Get everything you need?" Eugene asked.

"Huh? Uh, yeah. I think so." He paused and considered everything he was writing. "I'll probably need to take some time to figure all this out," Lucas said. "I might not be able to do my Class selection till the day after tomorrow."

"Whatever you need," Eugene replied. "The last thing your mother and I are trying to do is rush you."

Lucas looked up and smiled. "Thanks."

That was when Lucas got a chance to look over his notifications, and received a pleasant surprise, as well as a more nebulous one.

[*ding You have received the General Skill [Sense Mana]!]

...

[*ERROR* - effects of General Skill [Sense Mana] have already been incorporated into slotted Skill [----------].]

[Inspect [----------] for more information.]

Finally. That will have to be addressed later though, too busy right now.

His mom came in a short while later with three cups of tea, and seeing as Lucas continued to be absorbed in his notes, the two adults made conversation till Eugene eventually had to leave for his shift. Even after, Lucas moved to the kitchen and continued to study his findings, as well as his own mana currents, as his mom took care of a few patients that stopped by. It wasn't till late in the afternoon that he finally came back to the moment.

Lucas got up and took a long stretch to work out the soreness that had crept into his muscles. While he was zoned in, his mom had already started on dinner, so Lucas quickly hopped to assist in any way he could. He always felt bad to leave the meal preparation to her, and he resolved to get back to cooking full meals for the two of them soon. Lucas's [Cooking] Skill would soon be uncapped, anyway, so it was a win-win.

As they sat down to enjoy a hearty stew, he and his mom talked over all the day's events. They both expressed excitement at Belinda's evolution, and vowed to share a meal with her again soon. They talked about the weather, and the warm spell that had blown in and quickly out in the middle of the day. All in all, they simply enjoyed each other's company.

Lucas took care of their dishes as they finished up, then returned to the table.

"Tomorrow," Lucas said.

"Tomorrow?" His mom asked.

He nodded in confirmation. "I'll be ready to do my Class selection tomorrow."