Riwall did not see the kind soldier again, probably because he screwed up the moment he stepped inside the barracks. Riwall felt guilty about it but shrugged off the feeling quickly; it's not like he knew of his orders before engaging in a conversation with the man.
He shared with Anna and Greg about what he learned. Both made no effort of hiding how much they did not give a single shit about it.
"And? They feed and train us while protecting our families. Why would we complain?" Anna let a hint of threat lingering after the last question. Clearly, she believed they owed a lot to their benefactors. Greg agreed.
"Anna is right. We can't complain about our lives after all. Just look around us. We have a sturdy roof above our heads, masters that care about us and, most importantly, each other."
Riwall felt touched by the importance Greg put on their friendship, even Anna nodded with enthusiasm after he mentioned it.
"Look, I get it guys, they are doing a lot for us, just please don't let it blind you about the future. They are not running a charity; all this debt we are accruing will be due one day."
Both adopted expressions of pensiveness for a while before Anna raised her hand while blushing.
{What the hell is she thinking about?}
"Yes, Anna?"
"Uh... What means 'accruing'?"
His mind blanked, and Friday practically screamed inside his head.
[THEY ARE KIDS! HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO REPEAT THAT?]
-------------------------
Another two years passed in the blink of an eye.
No matter how much he pushed, his skills could not break the cap of level 50, but his use of them improved by leaps and bounds. At times he could even pressure Edward or Eleanor, but they were always able to suddenly increase their speed or precision somehow. He knew levels had an influence, but after some months of this same situation repeating itself, even Friday began suspecting something else was in play.
Since talking with the unknown soldier, Riwall had been feeling anxious about the future, their homes felt more like a prison day after day. Friday had to remind him daily to not dwell on these matters and, most importantly, to not drag Anna and Greg into it aswell. He even ended up developing the habit of meditating daily in order to rein in his anxiety.
For some reason, he even got to reach the cap of his crafting skills. All his masters told him never to share the numerical value of his skills to anyone, so he did not. But Theodas ended up sharing with him that there were five ranks to let someone know a little more about your skill level, without sharing it directly.
They were: Beginner (1 to 9), Journeyman (10 to 19), Expert (20 to 29), Master (30 to 39), Grand Master(40 to 49), and Legend (50).
{Wait, doesn't that means that I am a Legend in literally every one of my skills?}
[According to this classification, yes. But it does not make any sense.]
"Excuse me master, but could you share with me your rank on smithing?"
"Sure!" He proudly raised his chin and hit his own chest. "Never forget little chipmunk. You have the honor of being taught by a true Master!"
[That makes even less sense now! Even on your best days, you can't craft anything close to what he does.]
{No need to rub it on my face but you are right. I feel like being a 'legend' in any skill is not something common, and I doubt Anna and Greg have any skill capped. So how can they be stronger than me in some areas?}
Contrary to Theoda's expectation, Riwall did not have the face of someone surprised. If he did not know better, it looked like Riwall was even pitying him for some reason.
The elf just clicked his tongue at the boy's underwhelming reaction and moved on as if nothing happened.
Riwall found himself back in his own room after the smithing class. Since Anna had her first period, each one of them got a room for themselves.
As of now, his panel was like this:
-------------------------
------Panel------
-Name: Riwall Madec
-Age: 12
-Level: 01 (0%)
-Mana purity: 100% (Prismatic)
-----BLESSES-----
---Temelth's Bless---
-Languages - MASTERED
-Unknown (locked)
-Unknown (locked)
-Unknown (locked)
-Unknown (locked)
-----ATTRIBUTES-----
--- Mental Attributes---
-Intelligence:10
-Wits:10
-Resolve:10
--- Physical Attributes---
-Strength:10
-Dexterity:10
-Stamina:10
--- Social Attributes---
-Presence:10
-Manipulation:10
-Composure:10
-----SKILLS-----
--- Mental Skills---
--Academics Branch - Level 8--
--Wellbeing Branch - Level 6--
--Elemental Magic Casting Branch - Level 10--
--- Physical Skills---
--Melee Combat Branch - Level 10--
--Ranged Combat Branch - Level 10--
--Physical Finesse Branch - Level 8--
--- Social Skills---
--Negotiation Branch - Level 3--
--Arts Branch - Level 10--
--Leadership Branch - Level 3--
- Level 29
--- Work Skills--- (NEW)
--Crafting Branch - Level 10--
-------------------------
By now, the trio got into the habit of celebrating their birthdays. Their masters heard about these celebrations and decided to take part in it. Riwall was the oldest, and his birthday was only one day before Anna's. Greg's birthday was almost five months later.
The day after Greg's party, the first major change in their lives since moving to the barracks was announced in a meeting in the training court where all their masters took part.
As the Commander, Eleanor took the lead on breaking the news.
"First of all, congratulations are in order. Every single master in this room has deemed you worthy of taking the next step in your training. At this point, I'm sure you all harbor some doubts about a few things. The truth is simple; we have been hiding quite a few things from you. Edward, please show them." She was wearing her Commander Persona, so there was no hint of emotion in her voice.
Edward took a step forward and surprised the trio. They hadn't even noticed him in the room until now. Immediately Riwall found out the reason. He was donning a snow-white hunting gear that seemed to make him imperceptible.
Riwall expected that hunting gears would be made of leather or cloth, with a more practical design like skin-tight. But Edward's reminded him of Monster Hunter armors, and although there was a skin-tight single piece covering his body like a diving suit, you could barely notice it below the beautifully crafted armor on top of it. Its hard parts were made of bones and were strategically placed to protect the wearer's vital points, and everything else was made of grey leather. Completing the set, he was wearing a beautiful white fur coat.
{How could we not notice it? It's a completely inconspicuous look.}
[He is probably going to explain it now. Otherwise, there is no reason for him to wear it today. I checked your memories and your eyes passed over him many times, but for some reason we both just ignored it.]
"Goodmorning, kids! I know you have many questions, please hold them for the end of our explanation, we will be talking about many things today. First, none of you noticed me until now and the reason for that is this armor. This is only to show you the power of a good piece of equipment."
After this little unnecessary flexing on their faces, he went on.
"I'm not one to play with words, you all know that, so I will get straight to the point. Until now, you have learned the many things you can push your mana into. You can activate a weapon or armor special effect; activate an enchantment; cast spells and so forth. But you have been naive and uncreative in your use of mana. Tell me, Riwall, is mana bound by matter?"
"I think so..." His uncertainty reflected on his voice. If Edward asked this, it is because they had a misconception about mana.
"The answer is NO" Anna and Greg gasped while Riwall was busy trying to get his head around this.
"You have been treating mana as an entity bound by the physical world. The thing is: everything can be influenced by mana, even the System."
He let that sink in for a few minutes before continuing.
"I know you have felt like skills are only a numerical representation of your prowess in some areas, but it's much more than that! Tell me, have any of you infused your mana into one of them?" He said the last question with a smirk; he loved the face they made when he told them something new.
Riwall's mind came to a halt, and even Friday took some seconds to process this new information.
[Riwall, this is the missing link we have been searching for all this time! How could we be so blind? That's why you managed to level up so many skills till the cap, and yet lose fights against Anna and Greg in their specialties.]
{Huh? What do you mean? They did not know about infusing mana into skills too, and what is that about the reason for me capping my skills? Was it not because of your influence?}
[As you know, we have total control over our mana, it only leaves your body when we want it too. Anna and Greg are not so lucky, so their mana must have been interacting with their skills since day one. And you are right about my influence on how you were able to cap your skills, but it seems like the System rewards a person when they do not infuse their skills with mana. Think of it like an exp bonus for playing on extra-hard mode.]
The analogy did the trick, and everything fell into place. He did not even have time to think about the implications when Edward continued.
"Let me demonstrate the difference between using a skill's passive benefits vs using the active ones. Riwall, get a sword and shield and attack me. Refrain from infusing your skill with mana yet. It should take some effort because you have always done so unconsciously. Then, attack me with all you got!"
Edward and Eleanor had been under the impression that he was always feeding his skills with mana unconsciously. They were in for a very big surprise.
Riwall attacked as he always did and Edward expertly dodged. The hunter felt something was wrong because Riwall's attack was as fast and strong as usual. It should have been weaker if the boy had cut the mana supply.
Before he had time to verbalize his worries, something unusual happened.
{Friday, can you feed mana to my skills?}
[It's surprisingly easy! I can even visualize how the more mana I put into it, the closer I get to the max level.]
{What do you mean 'to get closer'?}
[Just picture the skill as a drinking glass. The higher your level, the taller is the glass. Now, I can just pour some liquid into it, which is mana by the way, or I can fill it to the brim. The more mana, the stronger the effect.]
He was elated to hear that.
{Ha ha ha! Time to get some payback on this old hunter for the harsh training of the last four years!}
[I think we should proceed with caution, so I recommend using only enough mana to activate the effects of a level 15 skill.]
Edward felt a shiver down his spine when he saw how Riwall was smiling at him. He only felt that when facing mighty monsters.
Friday reluctantly began slowly pouring mana into the skills she thought would help him out in the fight. They were:
{To hell with caution! We are going all out!}
She let go of all restraint and his mana flooded to the chosen skills.