Luke waited for another notification. Perhaps the experience had been used for something. Perhaps a level-up message was about to appear and make him feel like an idiot for complaining. But nothing came.
He picked up the empty bottle and tilted it toward the light. One violet drop clung to the bottom. Four hundred credits. He had paid four hundred credits to watch a number briefly visit him.
"Young master?" Emma asked quietly. With a sigh, Luke explained everything to her, everything except for his innate talent part. It was not that he did not trust her. There was another reason.
He still did not completely understand his mysterious title. He had a feeling that Emma knowing the information would somehow make her a target as well. At least it was a possibility.
He did not even know how serious this was yet. If it was just an insult like today, he did not mind the bad luck too much. But what if every time it involved life and death? He did not want to unnecessarily involve her in that.
He explained everything else to her, just leaving this single thing out.
Emma gasped in shock. "Young master! I have never heard of anything like this before! An unawakened person gaining experience? And you can use a spatial ring?"
Luke nodded. "Apparently, I can do everything except keep what I get."
Emma looked at the empty bottle, then at his hand. "Could there be something wrong with your status panel?"
"I thought about that." He leaned back. "But it showed the mana when I gained it. Then it showed the experience coming and going. It seems to be working perfectly fine when it tells me I’m getting fucked."
Luke lowered his eyes to Emma’a lap. The mouse was asleep on her lap, surrounded by crumbs. "Forget it, Emma. Don’t worry about this too much. I have a feeling that something or the other will work out soon."
Luke was not saying this simply. He knew he was not ordinary. For now, that was enough. Slow and steady steps. He had only just discovered that he could gain mana. Even if he couldn’t keep it yet, that was more than he had known this morning. There was no point breaking his head before lunch trying to solve the rest.
"Finish your food," he said. "You’ve spent more time watching me eat than eating yourself."
Emma glanced down at her half-finished stew. "Are you sure you don’t want to see a healer?"
"If the pain comes back, we’ll go."
She studied him for another moment before picking up her spoon.
Luke closed his panel. He was tempted to open it again, but staring at the same numbers wouldn’t make them change. Instead, he reached for the bread and discovered that he was still hungry.
He looked at the empty pot. No. Absolutely fucking not. His stomach had already received enough funding for one afternoon. He settled for the bread.
By the time Emma finished, Nibbles had woken up. A tiny nose poked above the edge of the table, followed by two pink paws. He sniffed toward the remaining gravy.
"You’ve eaten your own house and half her bread," Luke told him. "Have some restraint."
Emma laughed. They paid and left a little while later. Outside, Luke stretched his arms and took a deep breath. His stomach felt fine. No lingering ache, no strange warmth, and certainly no sudden understanding of how to throw a fireball.
Still, he had a new pet, a mana stone, and a few questions he hadn’t known to ask before. He could work with that.
"What shall we do now, young master?" Emma asked.
Anything. They could literally do anything. His bad luck for the day was probably over, so Luke did not really care too much. But he did have another thing on his to-do list for the day.
"I have a place in mind." Luke smiled. "This way, Miss Emma."
Emma blushed and hurried after him. "Young master, you don’t have to call me that."
"Why not?"
"It sounds strange."
"You call me young master every other sentence. I think you can survive a Miss Emma."
She looked down, her cheeks turning a little redder. Luke grinned and checked the directions on his interface.
The place was only a few streets away. As they drew closer, the restaurants and general stores gave way to shops displaying weapons, armor, and equipment whose purpose Luke couldn’t even begin to guess.
Emma slowed beside a window filled with staffs. Luke noticed but kept walking. He wanted to buy her a complete set of things, but not just yet. First things first.
They stopped outside a broad stone building. Through the open doors, Luke could hear the steady thud of impacts and someone shouting instructions.
Emma looked up at the sign.
"A training center?"
"Let’s see what they offer."
Inside, a long counter separated the entrance from several corridors. A board on the wall listed private lessons, group instruction, and practice room rentals. Luke skimmed the prices.
A woman behind the counter looked up. "Good afternoon. Are you here to book a room?"
"Lessons," Luke said. "She recently awakened a fire mage class."
Emma turned toward him.
"And I’d like to ask about training for someone who hasn’t awakened," he added.
The receptionist nodded as though that were a perfectly ordinary request. Luke found that unexpectedly reassuring.
"Has either of you received formal instruction?"
"Some academy basics for me. Nothing practical for her."
"We can arrange an assessment first. The instructor will recommend lessons based on your current ability and goals." She glanced at Emma. "What rank is your class?"
"D," Emma answered softly.
The woman entered something on her interface. "And your preferred focus? Combat, professional work, general mana control?"
Emma hesitated. "Combat," she said, more firmly this time.
Luke glanced at her. She met his eyes without looking away.
The receptionist continued typing. "We have a fire instructor available this afternoon. For you, sir, would you prefer weapons or unarmed training?"
Luke considered the question. Yesterday, he had faced a charging boar with absolutely no useful response beyond panic. A sword would have looked impressive, but he doubted waving one around would have improved the situation.
"Honestly? I’d like someone to assess me before I decide on a weapon."
"Of course. The initial assessment is twenty credits each. If you book lessons afterward, that amount will be deducted from the fee."
Luke nodded. "We’ll take both."
After registering their names, the receptionist handed them two numbered tokens. "Room four for the fire assessment. Room seven for physical training."
"Can my mouse come with me?" Luke asked and turned to his shoulder, which was now conveniently empty. It looked like the little guy had disappeared again. This time he hadn’t even waited for the little mouse at the same spot. Would the mouse still be able to return to them?
Luke had no idea. How was he even going to find him in this huge settlement? He scratched his head. Maybe he could put out a help-lost advertisement or something. Before he could finish his thought, the familiar squeaks sounded.
Luke looked down to find the mouse at his feet, along with another mana stone. He was speechless. He silently pocketed the mana stone and picked up the mouse to show to the receptionist. "Can this little guy come with me?"
"Sure." The receptionist shrugged. "But be warned, if your beast creates any problems in the training center, you’ll be responsible for the damages."
Luke hesitated. This little fellow was fond of running away now and then, but otherwise he was harmless. So it should be fine? He looked down at Nibbles. The mouse looked back, whiskers twitching. He looked innocent enough. He was also very tiny and weak. What could he possibly do?
"Okay. It should be fine." Luke nodded.
With that settled, they headed down the corridor. Emma stopped outside room four, while Luke continued to room seven after assuring her that he would wait if his assessment finished first. He knocked.
"Come in."
The room was spacious, with padded flooring and several racks of practice weapons along one wall. A broad-shouldered man stood beside a training dummy, tightening a strap around its middle. He turned as Luke entered.
"Here for the assessment?"
Luke handed him the token.
"Karim," the man introduced himself. "Put your things on the bench. Any recent injuries?"
"Well..."
That took a little explaining. Karim listened to the account of the boar attack, then asked him to move his arms, bend, and take a few deep breaths. Nothing hurt.
"Tell me if that changes."
Luke nodded and settled Nibbles on the bench. He gave him a piece of bread, hoping breakfast would keep him occupied for the next half hour.
"What do you want to learn?" Karim asked.
"Something that will help me survive if that happens again."
"Will you be hunting alone?"
"Definitely not."
"Good. And you haven’t awakened?"
"No."
Karim nodded without the slightest change in expression. Luke was beginning to like this place.
The instructor started with simple exercises. Walking, jogging, squatting, balancing. Then he had Luke strike a padded target and move between marks on the floor.
Within minutes, Luke was breathing harder than he wanted to admit.
His memories contained plenty of academy drills. Unfortunately, remembering someone doing push-ups did not make doing them himself any more pleasant.
Karim made a few notes. "You need conditioning. Your balance is decent when you’re standing still, but you lose it when you change direction. We can work on that."
"And weapons?"
"We’ll try a few."
The man brought over a wooden sword, a spear with a padded tip, a dagger, and a small practice shield.
Luke reached for the sword first. It felt good in his hand for about three swings. Then he felt awkward and uncomfortable. He tried the dagger, the spear, and the shield. Nothing seemed to work.
Karim shook his head. "This is normal. This seems to be your first day touching these weapons. So it natural for you to be confused. Keep trying them out every day, and perhaps one might eventually stand out for you. You could also just pick one and commit to it. At the end of the day, a weapon is what you make of it. Power and strength come from within."
Luke nodded. "What would you recommend?"
"For now? Footwork, conditioning, and learning how to fall without injuring yourself. We can work a weapon into the lessons."
"How much?"
"Group fundamentals are ten credits a session. Private instruction is fifty an hour."
Luke considered it. After the potion, ten credits to learn something that wouldn’t immediately disappear sounded reasonable.
"Does the group accept unawakened people?"
"Yes. No skills or mana reinforcement during the exercises. Everyone follows the same rules."
"Then I’ll start there."
Karim nodded and sent the schedule to his interface. "Three sessions a week. There are morning and evening groups. Pick whichever you can attend consistently."
Luke checked the available times and chose a morning session.
"Anything I should practice before then?"
Karim showed him a few simple exercises, correcting his posture and making him repeat each one until he could do it without prompting. Luke paid attention and tried to learn as much as possible.
Soon the session time was up. Before leaving, he asked the question that had been bothering him.
"Can I actually become strong enough to fight beasts without awakening?"
"Some beasts, yes. Others will kill you regardless of how well you swing a sword. Training will improve your chances. Equipment and a good team will improve them further. But you need to understand what you can handle."
Luke nodded slowly. It wasn’t the answer he wanted, but he appreciated the honesty.
He collected Nibbles from the bench. The mouse had finished his bread and fallen asleep beside a practice glove.
Outside, Luke checked room four. The door was still closed, and he could hear a woman speaking inside. He settled onto a bench in the corridor to wait. His legs immediately informed him that sitting down had been an excellent decision.
He opened the training schedule again. Then, almost without thinking, he brought up his status panel. No changes.
Fine. It had been half an hour. Even he wasn’t unreasonable enough to expect—
All of a sudden, a loud shriek sounded, and before Luke could understand what happened, someone jumped into his arms.