The day started like any other, with their household following its trusted routine. Lucas did the cleaning before collaborating on breakfast with his mother. It was eggs again today, along with a few slices of bacon each and a porridge with little apple slices in it. All around, a good meal. Afterwards, instead of taking off early as usual, Lucas stuck around at his mom's request.

"With today being the big day," she said, "there are a few tasks we must complete so tomorrow can be devoted to Skill acquisition and training. First and foremost, I need a more in-depth outline of what you can do with mana. Then we need to figure out everything that might have changed as a result of your actions yesterday."

Lucas nodded his acknowledgment. It was possible that, even though it was proving stable now, the changes he made to the flow of his mana could prove detrimental--especially once the System came in and emphasized what might be of little impact now. The greatest danger posed by the procedure had already past, but it wouldn't hurt to know what he was walking into.

"That time will also be spent reviewing your healing lessons," Mary continued. "Eugene will be coming by later to, more or less, do the same with what he has been teaching you. The plan is for both he and I to help you with Skill acquisition and training tomorrow to prepare for your first real Class." She hesitated for a moment. "Most parents try to control what their children accept from the System. It almost never works and always is bad for their relationship. I will not dictate your Skills for you, and definitely not your Class. You are a smart kid, Lu; you know what you want and how best to get there. But I hope you will still listen to any of our advice, because we truly only want to help you here."

"Of course," Lucas answered her worries without hesitation, "I'll listen. I would be stupid to ignore the advice of the best [Healer] and [Warrior] I know. I basically want my Class to be a mix of your's and Eugene's, anyway."

"Good," his mom gave a relieved smile. "Well then, let's get to work. We are burning daylight, here!"

The first thing she had him do was map out the present state of his mana currents, followed by what their natural condition looked like, on a pad of paper. That alone took him a solid chunk of time, but afterward Lucas was satisfied to see her impressed look at the complexity of his changes. It really struck home to have both states drawn out side by side.

After acquainting her with the general designs and their differences in performance, they worked together to double check the accuracy of the patterns he used compared to her healing Skills by systematically targeting every part of his body with her magic. Though he didn't elaborate on the precise circumstances, Mary had been reasonably concerned to hear he was rushed during the formation process and insisted they go through this, despite the tedious nature. That little admission earned Lucas an earful, but well, he had earned it.

Moreover, their review made him realize he made a few errors in his haste. Strangely, those errors were not present in the current state of his internal mana. They weren't missing, as that would have left a void in the overall design, but replaced with the correct patterns. He could only silently assume that his final bid at pulling the System into the procedure by expelling mana had worked, and it had corrected his mistakes. Maybe it already had a Skill that did the same thing as his healing-formation, and thus knew the proper state things had to be in.

"Everything seems accurate, then?" Lucas's mother asked him once she finished demonstrating her magic applied to every part of his body, not being able to see the mana formations herself.

"Yep, nothing looks messed up!"

His relief was almost physically palpable. Lucas didn't think he would have been able to make corrections, if they had found it was necessary. After his near failure implementing the changes, he was more than a little hesitant to mess with his mana. On the other hand, going into his unlock with the mistakes still in place would doubtlessly lead to further complications, so he knew he would have found the courage to do what was necessary.

"Hmm, then I guess all that is left is to make sure it works..." Mary trailed off ominously.

"Uhhh..."

"Don't worry," she chuckled at his reaction, "I will leave that up to Eugene. We should be able to tell through a simple spar--a single bruise would be enough."

"I wasn't actually worried," Lucas explained. "It's just that the way you said it was a little sinister."

"I know, I know. Let's get to the actual review of your lessons, now," she said.

The next few hours proved even more tedious. Healing wasn't a subject that generally bored Lucas, but going through test after test on the knowledge was more than a little tiresome. They didn't even pause when a man stopped by the clinic to get his sprained ankle treated, and later when a kid came in complaining about her aching jaw. Since their pains weren't urgent no debilitating, they involuntarily took part in Lucas's review.

The girl's case was at least somewhat interesting. Her jaw wasn't actually injured, she had simply not done a good enough job taking care of her teeth and a rot had set in. One of her teeth had to be removed before true, restorative healing could be done. Nothing too complicated, and she was soon sent on her way with a reminder to keep proper hygiene.

The villagers were actually pretty good keeping clean. Issues like that girl's only cropped up rarely, and were limited to those with low stats. The System, as with all things, played a huge part in hygiene. Also there was someone with a [Soaper] Class in the village, and their products were widely distributed.

A short break was allowed at noon to eat and rest they minds. Lucas made a salad with nuts and berries mixed in, and they both devoured it.

All too soon, they were back to the review. Eugene would be showing up sometime in the next few hours--hopefully sooner than later--and they needed to be finished beforehand. Lucas was determined to do something other than recite the functions of various body parts and the numerous ways they might go wrong, or the differences a [Healer] had to keep in mind when tending to various races. That last one wasn't even all that relevant in the near complete human population of the village, especially considering the few families that weren't what the System considered human, were a sub-race known as saramans, and really weren't that different.

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Still, all knowledge proved useful at some point, so Lucas would endure. He wouldn't deny anticipating the change in activities when Eugene finally showed, however.

Unfortunately, the man only arrived at the tail end of when he was expected and his mom was given the time to test him very thoroughly. Lucas liked the subject, but nearly eight hours of this labor was brain-melting. He'd be dreaming of anatomy lectures tonight, he just knew it.

When Lucas finally heard the front door open, he was out of his chair faster than a bolt from a storm. From the lack of a complaint coming from his mom, he could tell he wasn't the only one that welcomed a break. For the last half-hour, they'd been left with only the most esoteric subjects to review. Lucas had demonstrated such a fine recollection of Mary's teachings throughout the day, any more was just overkill.

"Finally!" He complained. "Mom probably wants to talk to you I'll be warming up outsidewhenyou'redone!" He didn't wait for Eugene's response and just charged right past before anyone could stop him.

He found the training spears in their usual spot, picked his up, and got to work. His mind may have been exhausted, but his body had been holding back all day. He craved a release for his energy, and the lower mental strain of his warmups was quite welcome, as well.

Though he did not need to think so much when he was just stretching, running laps, and generally moving his body, Lucas was still careful to keep proper form and not overexert himself. Today's session with Eugene would probably be just as taxing as the rest of his day had been. He didn't need to tire himself out prematurely and make things more difficult.

Going through these exercises reminded Lucas of Quinn, and how he had not seen the boy for a couple days. They didn't spend time together all that often, as Lucas was constantly busy, but he still found the younger boy's absence strange Quinn always seemed to have a sixth sense for whenever Lucas was practicing the spear, and often joined in.

He wasn't left to wonder for long as just then, Eugene exited the house and joined him. The man was dressed in light clothes that would be unfit for this weather on an un-Classed child, but perfectly adequate for him. Lucas only found his outfit noteworthy because the man dressed comfortably whenever he wasn't at work. I guess we really will be sparring today, he swallowed. Mom must have told him.

"Someone's extra eager today," Eugene grinned.

"Yeah, I was waiting for you for hours," Lucas explained.

The man nodded as he walked over and took the other spear. "Yeah, sorry about that. There were a few things I needed to take care of and I slept in late after another night patrol."

"Luckily for me," he added as he got to his own warmup stretches, "it was my last one for a while. I'll be back to day shifts starting in two days!"

"Mom told me you'll be helping with my Skills tomorrow."

"That's right, but we can get into that later. For now, I want you to come at me like I'm a raider here to sack the village."

----------------------------------------

Lucas no longer felt the need to release any energy. All he had had been forcefully drained out of him through hours of sparring.

Eugene ended up pulling him through every last drill he'd been taught, only it wasn't through systematic review as with his healing lessons, but practically battle. There was nothing else Lucas could call it: he'd been made to fight for his life, nay, his very soul! Realistically, Lucas knew he was never in any real danger. But when every mistake he made, every time he was just a little too slow at performing some move or another, earned him another bruise, Lucas would forgive himself for the dramatic flair of thought.

On the positive side, they now knew at least one of the effects of the changes to this mana currents. Lucas did indeed possess innate, passive healing now, as was readily apparent each time he got to watch his bruises slowly fade before his eyes. Slow being the operative word.

Maybe Lucas would be able to increase that speed with a Skill or stat investments, but it still posed some use as it was now. No more would he have deal with small cuts, scrapes, and minor bruises. It remained to be seen whether the changes would make it harder for him to get sick.

He quickly checked the timer one more time. Just a handful of hours now, till his unlock. Though, with his current mental and physical exhaustion, he might not be able to act on the event till tomorrow morning. It wasn't even dinner time, but Lucas felt he could pass out now and sleep through the night anyway.

"Alright, that's enough sleeping in the dirt. Let's head inside," Eugene called to him, like a sadist.

Not once did Lucas actually push the man. At times, Eugene even fought him without a weapon and in a bad impersonation of a monster. Though, he supposed with the way he thoroughly trounced Lucas, the impersonation wasn't that bad. Thus was the tyranny of levels and stats.

"Urrrgh," Lucas dragged himself to his feet.

"Come on," Eugene patted him on the back, "you'll feel better once you get some food and water in you."

Inside, his mother was just getting done with preparations for a meal for three. It was his favorite pasta, and he shot her a grateful thank you as he sat down to eat it. He was so tired that all his attention was devoted to his task and he completely missed the adults' conversation, even though it took place right beside him. Lucas only moved his focus from his meal when he was nearly done and his mom addressed him.

"Lu! Hey, Lu," she shook his shoulder. "Welcome back to the land of the living. Really wore you out today, didn't we?"

"Oh, yeah," he nodded slowly. "I was just thinking I might not be able to actually do anything about my unlock till tomorrow morning."

"That wouldn't be the worst thing," Mary commented, "to go into it with a fresh mind and renewed energy."

Lucas actively thought it over, instead of the idle speculation he'd done so far. Like she said, it would be best to go into it well-rested, if only so he could fully process the Skills that he was offered and didn't reject anything without thinking.

"I'll be here to help tomorrow, either way," Eugene told him. "If you want to head to bed early then go for it."

"Alright," Lucas conceded. "I'll get some sleep and we can do this in the morning."

"Not yet, though," his mother cut in before he could leave. "We have one last thing to finish off the day."

She rose and walked to their pantry before returning with a cake, the sweet red kind with creamy icing that Belinda makes.

"It is a little early, but this is something that my parents did for me just before I unlocked and got my first Skills," she told him as she placed the cake down and stuck a small candle in it before lighting it. "Happy tenth birthday, Lu! Make a wish for the future, then blow the candle out."

He didn't have to think it over long, he knew what he wanted.

I wish for Mom to be happy, maybe with Eugene too, and for me to get the chance to see the world in the future while I pursue the very ends of magic in this world. Mostly, I wish for my life to continue being just as good as it already is.

The cake was delicious, as expected. Once he finished, Lucas said his goodnights and left the adults' at the table to reunite the next day. He made sure to clean off the sweat and dirt from earlier before heading to bed, and he was out before his head even hit the pillow.

His sleep was deep and dreamless, and when he woke up the following morning, he was greeted with a long-awaited series of System messages.

[Time left till System unlock: 0:00:00:00]

[*ding Congratulations! You have learned the [Child of Mana] Class!]

[Congatulations! [Child of Mana] has reached level 1-10! You have 50 free stats!]

[*ding New General Skills available!]