“Can a Skill be altered or removed? The short answer is yes to the former and no to the latter. Skill Evolution is a well documented phenomenon, though it is perhaps not entirely what some people have in mind when they inquire into the possibility of altering their Skills. A poor Advancement choice can be regretful, after all. There are few who research the concept, and fewer still who do so ethically.”

~Unknown

Tina kept her promise and we spent the whole next day together. Fudge could sense my nervous excitement through the Tamer Bond, and he was practically bouncing alongside me as I helped work through the morning chores. Shoveling dog turds in spades was never my favorite pastime, but the prospect of planning the next steps of my Advancement with Tina made the task feel marginally less soul-crushing than usual.

Acting in accordance with my will, mana began to flow from my Skills and suffuse my body. No specific instruction or purpose guided it, I just wanted to feel the way it ebbed and flowed. The endeavor remained an exercise in frustration without the Mana Sense Skill, but I was determined to make progress. That meant practice. A lot of practice.

With each breath, I felt a warmth in my torso. Recovery and Perseverance mana moved to help me catch my breath. Perseverance mana helped me focus despite the antics of my bonded companion which promised endless distraction should I entertain them. When my morning muscles began to ache, Recovery mana rushed to soothe them and-

Oh, that’s interesting.

Mana from Taming [Fudge] was working in concert with Recovery. The ratio still skewed heavily towards the latter, but even so, I’d never noticed it doing that before. The mana felt like a tingle of electricity, zipping from place to place like-

Like Fudge is doing.

I paused mid-step and turned to study the dog in question, whose charcoal fur looked especially prismatic beneath the morning sun. He was on his back in the dirt, gruffling and harumphing while he thrashed around in play. A few of the other dogs were watching and hesitantly deciding if they wanted to join in; since Fudge’s Advancement they’d started showing him the deference usually reserved for Vigil.

Was it possible that Taming [Fudge] could help bring me in line with his behavior? Since Fudge was so full of energy, keeping my own muscles free of fatigue would be compatible with that line of reasoning. If that was the case, then perhaps it could be pushed even further when the Skill was at a higher Tier.

Like some type of totemic symbol…

I urged the Skill onwards, straining to catch any other ways the mana might behave. Some type of bug or breeze must have tickled the spot behind my ear so I began idly scratching it while I mused the possibilities.

Maybe that’s the way Taming can be used to borrow Skills like Tina did. If I can justify an action as being Dog-like - Fudge-like, rather - then maybe…

The itch was insistent enough to distract me from my mana, so I picked up the pace. As I continued to scratch, my fingertip left my scalp with each vigorous passing so I switched to a horizontal motion incorporating my whole hand. I grumbled in satisfaction as I finally hit the spot just right and-

Tina’s giggle snapped me out of my thoughts and I turned to see her covering her mouth with one hand as she stood watching me.

“You looked just like Fudge while doing that,” she teased. I looked and sure enough Fudge was using one of his back legs to scratch behind his ear in the yoga-esque pose dogs were able to achieve.

That hadn’t been my intent at all… The thought brought a frown to my face, so I redoubled my focus and tried to gain a sense of my mana reserves.

Not all of the mana there was my own.

A faint wisp was trickling through the Tamer Bond, drawn in by Taming [Fudge] and intermingling with Recovery. To say it was trickling in doesn’t quite do the sensation justice; the nature of our Tamer Bond made concepts of distance largely irrelevant. It was simply the way my mind translated the information, a subconscious visualization.

Some ephemeral insight, like an instinct, made me certain it had come from Fudge’s Dog Skill. I knew it had since turned into the Fudge Skill, but saying ‘Fudge’s Fudge Skill’ felt strange on the tongue, even when confined to one’s internal monologue.

I briefly considered keeping the information to myself, concerned that Tina might use it as justification to postpone my lessons. That temptation was immediately crushed beneath memories of the fueha attack. Tina’s behavior in the immediate aftermath was borderline feral, and though it might have been tenuous, I couldn’t help but draw a comparison.

Perseverance and Recovery pulsed as the memories of tragedy and violence set my heart to racing. Despite the passage of time, reliving the fear and helplessness of that day was enough to turn my blood to ice. It was a powerful motivator. I never wanted to feel that way again.

“That was not my intention, mom,” I said seriously. “I was experimenting with my mana and starting scratching like that without realizing it.” Immediately, the mirth evaporated from Tina’s expression.

“Explain.” It was not a request. In my peripherals, a few of the dogs took cautious steps away from us, reacting to the intensity in Tina’s voice.

I endeavored to relay the events without bias, almost mechanically listing off what I did, why I did it, and what I’d been able to decipher on my own. By the time I’d finished, I recognized the unfortunately familiar look of exasperation that had settled over my mother’s features.

“I have underestimated the changes to your Taming Skill,” Tina said apologetically. She punctuated the point with a dramatic groan. “I did not think you would be capable of mana-sharing yet. It is typically not possible until the Skill has Advanced at least twice, understand?”

“I-”

“And that is already accounting for specialized variants of Taming,” she blurted out as an afterthought. Even Fudge had been cowed by the emotion on her voice, and I watched him lay flush to the ground with his ears flat.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

CONCERN.

She is just stressed out, buddy. You are not in trouble. I tried to attach reassurance to the thoughts as I sent them through the Tamer Bond. Almost immediately I felt Fudge relax a little bit, but he still watched Tina warily. She’d started pacing.

“Well, since I apparently can do it, what now?” Vague reassurances like ‘it is okay’ or ‘you could not have known’ crossed my tongue but I did not voice them. Given recent developments, consoling my mother in that moment felt like the wrong move.

Best to play it cool and move on, I told myself, though it’d be a lie to say I was confident in the choice.

“Now?” Tina paused mid-stride and furrowed her brows in concentration. “Now, I make you promise me not to ever do that without adult supervision - ideally my supervision.”

“That sounds reasonable,” I quickly agreed. “Why, though? What exactly is your concern?” I tried to move the conversation towards a solution and explanation. “Is it because of what happened when you fought with Vigil?” A blunt approach? Absolutely, but I was not devoid of concern and wanted answers.

“Ah, so you remember that? Of course you would, that was silly of me to ask.” Putting a damper on Tina’s manic energy with shame was not what I had in mind, but the sag of her shoulders suggested I’d done just that. “You are correct, of course, my Will.” She placed her hands against her temples and groaned again. “I had not thought I would need to teach you about this yet.”

“If it makes you feel better, I was going to ask that you start teaching me more stuff anyway, just in case…” I trailed off as Tina’s scowl made me want to wilt.

“No. That does not make me feel better.” A reluctant sigh escaped her lips. “That is not because I do not agree, though.” Tina forced a small smile onto her face. “You will probably have other teachers after me, though, so we need not rush too much.”

“Even for Taming?”

“Even for Taming. They probably will not have it as their Core Skill, as I do, but I will make sure Lionel takes care of the arrangements.” The dangerous glint in her eyes made me irrationally fear for the goofy Slayer’s wellbeing. “I would wager they have at least one person with the Skill in their organization already,” she added with a small shrug.

“That does not answer my question,” I quipped.

“It does not. I was getting to that. Sit.” Tina pointed at the ground and I heard the scuffle of dozens of dogs as they scrambled to follow the accidental command. “Oops, sorry,” she muttered.

“Please, do not be,” I said between chuckles. “It brightened the mood.” I plonked myself on the ground and gave Tina my full attention. “Okay, I am ready.”

Before she started speaking, Tina looked towards the house and let loose a sharp whistle.

“I will need Vigil to help me demonstrate something, but in the meantime…” She cupped her chin with one hand and took a moment to consider her words. “At lower Tiers, Taming typically serves as a way for someone to gain a better sense of their bonded companion and-” As if catching herself in a falsehood, she quickly paused and amended the statement. “This is a very broad generalization, you see? Your Skill allows you to push past many of the usual limits; someone at a high enough Tier of personal Advancement could brute force the issue with excess mana; you get the idea, yes?”

I just nodded, not wanting to interrupt just yet.

“As Taming Advances, the Tamer Bond allows more and more through it, including mana. With mana, comes the ability to touch upon your bonded companion’s Skills. Sounds useful, you see?” Behind me, I heard the hurried footfalls of Vigil’s massive form as he leapt into the kennel. Within moments, he came into view and sidled up next to Tina. “Ah, Vigil, perfect timing.”

I’d inferred much of this already, but it is good to get confirmation, I thought as I watched Tina give Vigil a pat on the head. The praise was enough to set his tail to wagging. It was time to ask the obvious question.

“If Taming is so useful, why does not everyone pick up the Skill?”

“Exactly!” Tina looked proud as she rounded on me with a grin. “Taming is one of the best Skills around, so it makes sense that everyone would choose it.” I took the statement with a grain of salt, confident that her bias was showing. Frankly, I felt the same way but I figured anyone who’d experienced the Tamer Bond would.

Tina deflated slightly as her excitement was smothered by the harsher realities of the world.

“For some, it is a matter of synergy. Why choose Taming instead of a Skill that more overtly fits with your Core Skill and build?” She looked at me and allowed herself a good natured smirk in defiance of the emotional slump. “Remember, my Will, not everyone has a Universal Core.”

I chuckled, accepting the jab for what it was. Nearby, Fudge grumbled, as if scolding Tina on my behalf.

Fucking adorable.

“For most, it is because of the Beast High.” I watched as Tina took a deep breath and held one of her hands out. “Remember when you asked us how to use one of your Skills to benefit another person? You want to eventually learn how to push your Recovery Skill into someone else to help Jusep, right?”

The specifics of those techniques were still being kept from me, and given the context in which they were being brought up I was doubly glad I’d taken Lionel’s advice and not tried to experiment on my own.

“I remember.” I almost gulped out the answer.

“When you learn to do this, the mana and Skill remain yours; you will just be carefully directing them from within someone else.” As she spoke, I watched a strip of her hair gradually take on a metallic sheen. Like paper dipped into a puddle of water, silvery tones began to bleed into her usually brunette locks as she duplicated a fraction of the magic I’d witnessed all those years ago.

If she ever practices this, it’s never where I can see, I noted, suddenly curious as to how much mana-sharing fit into Tina’s Advancement plan.

“When we accept mana through the Tamer Bond, it becomes a part of us.” Like a serpent, the stained portion of her hair began to weave itself together and coil down Tina’s outstretched arm, growing beyond its usual length in the process. “Animals have a different relationship with their Skills than we do, and because of that there is an issue of compatibility. It is only through the Taming Skill that we can safely use the mana at all, and I use the word ‘safely’ loosely here, you see?” When the hair reached her palm, it morphed into a jagged spike.

“To draw too deeply of bestial mana is to invite bestial behaviour.” The words came from Tina’s mouth, but they didn’t sound like hers, more like she was parroting something she’d heard once before. “There are horror stories of Tamers who have gone completely feral, overwhelmed by the mana of their bonded companion, which is why it is important you learn how to protect yourself.” When she stared at me, I noticed her eye closest to the altered hair was speckled with shards of silver intruding upon the green.

“Will you teach me?”

At the question, Tina scoffed and I watched as the changes she’d invoked quickly reversed themselves. Compared to when she’d drawn on the full force of Vigil’s mana, she made it look effortless.

“My Will, you have no choice in this particular matter. Yes, you will learn how to bolster your sense of self. In this, it is my hope that Perseverance will be a great boon. It is one of the few reasons your father and I were so supportive of your desire to acquire Taming to begin with.”

Not entirely effortless, then, I realized. It was not often Tina directed such sharp words at me. Not that I minded at that moment; I completely agreed with her sentiment.

“Can we start right now?”

As the last of the silver faded from Tina’s eyes, it did little to erase the lingering intensity they held within.

“Definitely.”