Akira took Lukas all around the estate grounds, showing him all the various training facilities they had as well as some of the parks and leisure spots. Lukas was extremely interested in everything he saw, taking it all in with hunger. He was most excited to see the illusion arena, a dome-shaped building that held complex illusion magic that allowed a person to train in new environments and enemies in safety. Naturally, Lukas wanted a closer look at the dense magical script that lined not only the walls of the arena but also the floor and ceiling. In the end, Akira had to drag Lukas away, begrudgingly promising to give him a look at some point in the future.

At first Akira thought he was acting like a child as he went from one thing to another, asking question after question, but she came to realize he was just curious about the new world he found himself in, and—judging by all the questions he fired her way—he'd created a list at some point. Akira wanted to be annoyed, but in the end she couldn't be. If she'd come from a world without any magic, she'd probably be as inquisitive as he was. Well, probably not; she could see the hunger for information burning in that amber light behind the mask. Eventually he just pulled out a notebook and began writing things down as she talked. Unfortunately, he kept asking questions, and Akira quickly ran out of answers to give. Lukas didn't seem to mind, though; he'd gotten answers to some of his questions and that was all that mattered.

As the pair walked around the estate, they were constantly coming across other members of the family or members of their teams. Most just gave Akira and the newcomer curious looks, but some stopped to chat, introducing themselves to Lukas.

Neither Akira nor Lukas were stupid; both understood that Akira was part of the main-branch family and was thus important. That meant the stranger she was showing around the Anuk family estate was likely just as important. A majority of those who stopped to talk were simply looking for a leg to clamp onto, and Lukas—having no idea how to handle such a situation—left Akira to deal with it.

That being said, there were a few who were genuine in their approaches—at least Akira said so. They were friends and other members of the family who were actually interested in learning who Lukas was. Multiple times a red-faced Akira had to explain that Lukas was not, in fact, a suitor looking to claim her hand, nor was he part of some arranged marriage. It was questions and interactions like those that made Lukas thankful he always wore his mask. His soul might be strong enough to keep lower-ranked people from seeing his emotions, but his face would've given him away. Unfortunately for him, Sera could see straight through it.

After what felt like hours, Akira finally brought Lukas to the library, saving that destination for last since she knew he wasn't likely to leave in a timely manner. It was placed centrally within the main lodge and was absolutely massive. Lukas wasn't sure how it compared with the library he'd visited earlier that day knowledge wise, but he doubted it mattered considering he needed a bunch of surface-level books.

There were massive bookcases that needed a ladder in order to reach the upper shelves, and there were rows of the things, making the place feel like a maze—one Lukas was ready to get lost in. All throughout the space were comfy armchairs and study tables, very few of them occupied. Along the back of the library was a large glass wall that looked out over a beautiful pond behind the main lodge.

Akira had just explained the organization and layout of the library to Lukas when he flashed away on the hunt for knowledge. Akira couldn't help but smile and shake her head as she watched him dash around, grabbing book after book from the shelves. Knowing that he'd likely stay there until he'd read every book in the place, Akira had Lukas grab enough books for the rest of the day and night before leading him away and back to his guest house.

Dropping him off, Akira was certain that he wouldn't be going anywhere anytime soon. She also had a feeling that—despite his hesitation and weariness—he'd come around soon enough, a sentiment her mother shared after Akira told her about the day's events. She made it clear that all dealings with Lukas were to be open and straightforward in order to avoid spooking him and scaring him off. That was fine with Akira; she hated politics and schemes. She was much more of a straight shooter; if she'd been asked to deal with Lukas in bad faith, she'd have felt terrible about it—not necessarily because she liked the guy, but because it just felt dirty and unethical. She didn't like the idea of telling someone one thing and then doing the opposite behind their back for benefits. She was more than happy to do what she was going to do in the first place, though she would've preferred not to have to deal with Lukas at all.

Around three the next morning, Akira headed for Lukas' guest house, ready to drag him out of bed and into the training field. She'd be lying to herself if she said she wasn't looking forward to doing just that. After all the trouble he'd caused her, Akira was looking forward to breaking Lukas down, watching him struggle with her exercises, and beating him up in sparring matches to "test" his combat ability. In fact, she was so eager that she'd gotten out of bed early, all too ready to get the day started.

When she got to Lukas' guest house, she didn't bother announcing herself, instead just walking straight through the front doors—fully expecting Lukas to be asleep in one of the rooms upstairs. What she wasn't expecting was to find him awake and active, drawing something on the floor of the living room. She was so taken aback by what she was seeing that she didn't even realize he was talking to himself. Walking over, she saw that he was drawing out a ritual circle with one hand while referencing his notes with the other, piles of books strewn all over the place.

"What are you doing?" she asked, looking over the mess he'd made—likely the result of dozens of other ritual circles.

Startled by her sudden appearance, Lukas jumped slightly and turned to look at her. "Harmony ritual to balance out the ambient magic," he said, as if it were perfectly normal to make a huge mess in the middle of an expensive and ostentatious living room.

"Why..?"

"I'm practicing drawing out ritual circles."

"And you decided the best place to do it was on the living-room floor?"

Lukas looked from Akira to the half-complete ritual drawn on the floor, then back to her. "I couldn't find anywhere else to do it, and it's not like I could do it outside—it's too dark."

"Well, wrap it up; we're starting your training this morning."

"Let me finish up here; I've almost got it working."

Akira let out a sigh. "Fine, but you only get this one. Make it quick."

Lukas nodded before turning back to his work, scribbling runes and sigils on the floor with ritual chalk. Where he'd gotten it Akira had no idea, but she couldn't be bothered to ask.

As Lukas put the last touches on the ritual, Akira asked, "How long have you been up? I figured I'd have to drag you out of bed this early, and I'm disappointed that I didn't get to."

"Hilarious. I never went to sleep," he said without looking up. "More important things to do."

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Frowning, Akira glanced at the books piled nearby. "How many of those did you get through?"

"A half-dozen maybe?" Lukas shrugged. "I kind of lost myself in them."

"Good gods, you're insane. Training will be harder if you haven't slept."

"I'll be fine. When I first started learning alchemy I wouldn't sleep for days—mostly because I forgot to," he murmured to himself. "But there were other times when I didn't sleep before spending the day hunting beasts and monsters."

Akira just shook her head. "Rest is required, you know. Just because you can channel mana now doesn't mean you can forgo sleep entirely."

"I'm aware. I know the effect lack of sleep has on mana control."

"It's not just mana control—it's all the energy in the body and the way mana flows through you."

Finished with his ritual, Lukas stepped back to look over his work, glancing between the floor and the notebook he held. Nodding with satisfaction, his amber eyes began to glow brighter, surprising Akira. A moment later he activated the harmony ritual and watched it take effect. Mana flowed through the circle, and the lines began to glow white. A split second later there was a small flash as the ritual took hold, and the ambient energy leveled out.

"Finally!" Lukas exclaimed, scribbling in his notebook.

"What's up with your eyes glowing brighter?"

"An ability. It lets me observe the flow of magical energies. It's mostly used for alchemy, but I've found it's useful for spotting flaws in a ritual—places where the mana doesn't want to flow, is restricted, or is inefficient."

Akia nodded with appreciation, "Sounds useful. I assume it's an ability from your alchemy class?"

"It is useful, especially for someone who couldn't manipulate mana a month ago. It's helped me a lot, and I'd be nowhere near where I am now without it," Lukas said, ignoring her question.

He took down the last of his notes before snapping the notebook shut and storing it in his inventory. "I'm done. Where are we going?"

"We're going to one of the training fields," she said, staring at where the notebook had disappeared, "You might want to be less blatant with that storage ability—I'm pretty sure it's one of your racial abilities, and it's a really good one."

"It is what it is," Lukas sighed, "Besides, you already know about it."

"And what about that looting ability? Is that racial too? Those two combined would get you hunted down if anyone knew and you weren't protected by my family."

"I'm well aware; I don't need you to tell me how precarious my situation is," Lukas said, walking past her. "Now let's get this training started."

Akira watched him head for the door, leaving small mounds of chalk dust on the floor behind him. With a roll of her eyes she moved to follow. "I'm really looking forward to testing your combat ability."

Leaving the house and the chalk dust behind, Akira brought Lukas to the training field she usually used. It wasn't as nice as some of the others, but she didn't mind. It just meant that she was alone most of the time. The field was exactly that: a cleared area about the size and shape of a football field. Most of it was empty, but training equipment ringed the edges—combat dummies, weights, and obstacles for an impromptu course.

Once they were in the middle of the field, Akira turned to Lukas. "First we start with stretches to get the body ready for the day, then we move on to movement training. After that comes martial arts, meditation, and aura control. Questions?"

After receiving a shake of the head from Lukas, Akira led the way, demonstrating various stretches for him to copy. She was merciful enough to start off easy, mostly to gauge what he was capable of. It quickly became clear that Lukas was extremely inflexible and had probably never stretched before in his life—which he hadn't. Even so, he didn't complain, though he did grumble at the pain of stretching stiff muscles. Other than that, Lukas copied every motion, awkward and off-balance more often than not. Still, Akira was impressed he made it through all the stretches—if a little annoyed. She managed a few jabs when she saw he was already sweating once they finished.

"How are you this out of shape?" she asked, looking down as he knelt on the grass.

"I'm not out of shape," he protested. "I just don't stretch before killing things. Why stretch? It's not like I'll pull a muscle, and even if I do I have potions."

Akira rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "It's not about pulling a muscle; it's about being in control of your body and knowing your limits in battle. If you need to dodge, you need to know how far you can push your body."

"I usually just take the attack and deliver one of my own."

"That's incredibly stupid," she chastised.

"Like I said, I've got potions—and poison. If I need to eat an attack to lay on some poison, I'll take that trade," he groaned, forcing himself to stand.

"You need to stop or you'll end up dead before you hit iron rank. You aren't built for taking hits; as an alchemist and rogue you'll get stats in agility and wisdom, not toughness."

Lukas perked up, his head snapping towards Akira, "Did you say stats?"

"Yeah," she said, pulling out her Adventure Society crystal and showing it to him. "When you become a member, you get one of these. It breaks down your power level. It assigns you a level relative to your overall strength and lists nine attributes with numerical values."

"What are the nine attributes?" he asked eagerly, already pulling up his own status page to compare.

"It lists vitality, endurance, intelligence, wisdom, agility, perception, toughness, strength, and willpower."

"And what does each of them do?" Lukas asked, burning to finally understand his stats.

"Vitality ties to health and recovery, and dispels poisons and afflictions over time. Endurance relates to stamina and how much punishment you can take. Intelligence is how much information you can process at once and also makes magic stronger. Wisdom determines mana capacity and memory retention. Agility is speed and reaction time. Perception covers all your senses—sight, sound, smell, touch. Toughness increases durability but slows healing. Strength is raw power. Willpower boosts mental defenses and focus. And proper training squeezes every drop of potential from each stat point."

Halfway through, Lukas had whipped out his notebook, scribbling down every word. "Why didn't you tell me any of this?" he asked Sera while writing.

"Hey, don't blame me—I didn't know," she said from her spot in the grass. "Those crystals must be new. Your ability is still incredibly valuable—especially with free points, titles, and seeing abilities."

"That's assuming the crystals don't already do that," Lukas pointed out.

"You could just ask," Sera shrugged.

"Do those crystals give any other information?" Lukas asked Akira.

"No," she said, putting the crystal back into her pouch. "Just level and stats. We'll get you one once you sign up with the Adventurers Guild."

"How accurate are they? And do I have to join the Guild?" Lukas asked with hesitation.

"They're accurate for most people; only freaks like you skew them. Any crystal you get will probably be way off. And yes, you're joining. Anyone who's anyone is in the Adventurers Guild. Seeing as you'll be shot straight to the top of high society because you're an outworlder, you have to join. Plus the Guild provides resources only members can access."

"High society?" Lukas wrinkled his nose beneath the mask. "No thanks."

"Tough," Akira said. "Once people find out what you are, they'll want to meet you, and we can't hide you forever. At some point you'll have to meet local aristocrats—probably at a ball."

She noted his reluctant posture and shook her head. "Look, I don't like high-society nonsense either, but it's necessary. Do you think I wanted to do my debutante ball? I despised the idea, but my mother wouldn't let me join the Guild unless I went."

"What even is that?"

"A ball where eligible young women like me are introduced to high society."

That had Lukas' brow shoot up, "So you basically had to deal with a bunch of horny aristocratic brats trying to get with you?"

Akira burst out laughing. "Yeah, that about sums it up. You know, my mother might be right—watching you interact with nobility could be fun."

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