Lucas wasn't allowed to leave his mother's sight for the next two weeks, even trips to the toilet were barely an exception. Though Mary handled the situation gracefully, it was clear that she took him leaving the village on his own very seriously. It offered him a bit of perspective on his actions and how they went over with others.

For all that Lucas had a maturity beyond his physical years, or at least for all that he thought he did, he was still very much a ten year old that didn't always think things through very clearly. Those two weeks he spent being constantly worried over had him resolved to make a better effort to do so in the future.

Those two weeks happened to be incredibly good for his Class and Skills, however. It went without saying that he wasn't able to work on his more physically-inclined Skills, but hardly an hour passed when he wasn't working on another, and his efforts were enough to earn him several Class levels.

[*ding [Aspirant of the Storm] has reached level 26-29! You have 40 free stats!]

[*ding [Rapid Regeneration] has reached level 16-19!]

[*ding [Arclight Renewal] has reached level 24-29!]

[*ding [Overcharge] has reached level 2-11!]

[*ding [Identify] has reached level 12-13!]

[*ding [Keen Mind] has reached level 13-20!]

[*ding [Cooking] has reached level 14-22!]

[*ding [Learning] has reached level 26-29!]

On top of that, all the studying earned him a new Skill.

[*ding You have received the Class Skill [Hyper Processing]!]

[Hyper Processing: sometimes it is not the best answer that is most important, but the first. Experience increased mental processing and thinking speed with each level.]

[*ding You have learned [Hyper Processing]!]

[*ding [Hyper Processing] has reached level 2-16!]

At that point, Lucas already had several Skills that at least touched on his mental faculties in some way, so taking this one might have seemed excessive. His initial reasoning had been that he could always replace it with the next Skill to pop up if he found it wasn't to his liking. Any thoughts of that were soon abandoned as [Hyper Processing] became one of his most impactful Skills, however. With it in use, it was almost like the world moved ever so slightly slower, he noticed more, and his ability to react quickly to any particular thing was vastly improved.

The Skill's effects might not have been as beneficial if they were constantly active, but it didn't pose such an issue since he could choose to employ its effects whenever he wanted. Like a muscle, he could flex [Hyper Processing] at any point, and all other times he experienced life as usual.

So, he chose to keep it, at least for the time being. He still had one more Class Skill slot to fill before he needed to consider changing it out for anything else, and he could probably push that point all the way up to his next Class evolution. There was a chance that it might combine with his other Skills, like [Keen Mind], if he kept it through the evolution as well.

Another highlight of those two weeks was the time he spent working with mana and leveling [Rapid Regeneration] and [Overcharge]. He'd already speculated that he could level those two in tandem, and he was definitively proven right. Lucas couldn't exactly [Overcharge] his mana in the background without worry as he went about other activities, as it required some measure of his focus to use, but he was able to do so between activities and even while he cooked.

There was also the intense discomfort that started when he was around 50 MP over his maximum capacity to consider. That alone was enough to break his focus on anything else he was trying to accomplish, and it wasn't the end. At one point he had pushed through to 70 over his limit, or roughly a tenth of his maximum, and the discomfort turned into unadulterated pain. Lucas had been so quick to dump it all into [Arclight Renewal] that it only lasted a moment, but he still wasn't eager to experience it again.

To make matters worse, that stunt did not fail to catch his mom's attention, and he was made to offer an explanation. From that point on, he wasn't allowed to go more than 30 MP over his max. It wasn't exactly something anyone else could hold him accountable for, but he had no thoughts of disobeying.

Two weeks after getting grounded, he got up as early as usual to get chores done and start on breakfast. On this day, however, his mom was actually up before him. He found his chores done and her already starting on the morning meal as well, so he joined her side.

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"Morning," he groggily greeted, not yet fully awake in truth.

"Good morning," Mary turned and tousled his hair with the hand not holding a spatula.

She was currently frying up a number of eggs and sausages, so Lucas went and retrieved bread to slice for toast and pears to contrast the heavier, savory tastes that would otherwise make up the meal. He and his mom worked side-by-side without speaking up till it was time to plate everything. Then, they headed over to the table to dig in.

"No tea this morning?" Lucas asked. He could actually use a cup.

Mary shook her head, only glancing up from her plate for a moment. "We're running low. I'll have to pick some more up from the market today. Hopefully, Mrs. Selina has a fresh batch to trade."

Lucas nodded and went back to eating. There was nothing for it, if they were running low--he'd just have to wake himself up some other way. Then he paused.

"Wait, 'you' will have to pick some up, not 'we?'"

His mother set down her fork and looked up at him, nodding after a moment. "Yes. You'll be working with Eugene today. We've spent enough time working on your other Skills lately, so it's time to work on the one's he can teach you."

Lucas swallowed. He looked down and said, "Thank you. And I'm sorry again, Mom."

"Enough of that," she reached across and lifted his chin herself, "you have apologized enough. At this point, I'm satisfied you've learned your lesson."

"I have," Lucas was quick to agree. And he really had--going outside the village on his own was not worth the trouble and worry he caused other people.

"Good," she nodded. "Well, as I said, you'll be with Eugene today. I'll walk you over to the guards' before I head over to the market, and he will bring you back tonight."

"Thank you!" Lucas quickly scarfed down the rest of his meal and took care of his plate.

Once he was done, he grabbed a clean washcloth and a bucket to at least clean himself somewhat before leaving. While wiping himself down in the other room, he got an idea and did a quick check of his status. Sure enough, as he predicted, a certain Skill was available again.

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

From time to time, Skills had been popping up for everyday activities like this one, but mostly he had not considered them worth the slot they would take up. Lucas really wasn't coming up with anything else, though. Also, this one would absolutely pose some use, so in the moment, he chose to slot [Hygiene] at least till something else came up.

[*ding You have learned [Hygiene]!]

I haven't learned hygiene, I've learned a Skill, Lucas bristled slightly at the unintended double-meaning of the System's notification. He knew perfectly well how to keep himself clean, he just hadn't had any magical ability for it.

He shook the thoughts from his head and quickly finished up. A level 1 Skill didn't offer much of an effect, but Lucas would make good use of it for however long he had it.

[*ding [Hygiene] has reached level 2!]

All finished, he rejoined his mom. It wasn't long till the two of them were on their way from then, trekking through the village.

"Bbbrrrr," he shivered against the frigid air.

"Wrap your coat around you a bit more," Mary advised as she pulled him close.

The weather was only turning colder as of late, and unfortunately, this morning exemplified that. Snow hadn't come in at their altitude just yet, but one look to the nearby mountain showed that probably wasn't far off. Everything seemed to be colored with a blue hue, as well, and the cold was enough for everyone to bundle up in their thickest warmest clothes whenever they went about as well. Smoke didn't necessarily fill the air, but it was present enough to be clear that every house was burning through wood to keep warm. As they walked, Lucas and Mary even passed by a few guards carrying loads of firewood from house to house.

"I don't know how I'm going to work on my physical Skills in this," Lucas told his mother.

"You'll manage," she assured him. "Maybe you'll even be inside for it."

"That would be nice."

The two of them ate up ground with their walk, to some degree pushed by the desire to find warmth, the semi-frozen path crunching beneath their feet. At their pace, it really wasn't long before they arrived at the guards' base, and they wasted no time welcoming themselves inside.

"Hahh," his mom exhaled in slight shock at the temperature difference between outside and within the building. "I swear it gets colder here every year."

Lucas looked to her. "Just here? Is there somewhere we could go that wouldn't be this cold?"

Mary looked uncomfortable as he asked this. "Maybe when you are older," she hesitantly answered, "you'll just have to tough it out for now."

He nodded, not having seriously considered his proposition in the first place. Oh, Lucas would explore beyond the village one day, but his mom was right. Only when he was older.

They were interrupted by the sound of footsteps coming down the adjacent hall. They only waited a few moments before an old man dressed in the characteristic leathers of the guards joined them.

He looked them over. "Can I help you, [Healer]s?"

Mary place a hand upon Lucas's shoulder. "Just here to drop this one off to train with Eugene, could you possibly point us in his direction?"

"Oh!" The old man's face lit up in understanding. "Right, I heard about what he's doing," he nodded and looked down at Lucas. "You're the second one to show up today. Come on, they're just down here." The guard turned back down the hall he came from without waiting for their response.

Lucas shrugged to himself, and went after the old man, his mom following just behind. They stopped halfway down the surprisingly long hall before a door like any other.

"This is it. Good luck," the old man clapped Lucas on the back, nearly sending him into the wall before he turned to leave. Lucas remembered to [Identify] him.

[Mage]

[*ding [Identify] has reached level 14!]

What is a [Mage] doing with that high STR?

Before Lucas could dwell any more on the old man, he was ushered through the door by his mother. On the other side was a large, open room with a sand-covered floor slightly lower than that of the hall. To one side, up against the wall, was a rack full of assorted training weapons of the wooden and metal variety.

In the middle of the room were two familiar figures drilling spear forms. At the sound of their entry, both figures were distracted from their focus and turned.

"Lucas!" Quinn exclaimed. "Finally, I've been waiting forever!"