The process of taking off his current armor and putting on the new set was an arduous one, mostly because Lukas had no idea what he was doing. The first hurdle was getting the old armor off, which Sera had helped him put on in the first place. The fact that the armor wasn't meant for him and wasn't his size didn't do him much good, as he struggled to get out of the combat robes. Next up was getting the new set on.

Aywin had said that the process was intuitive and easy, and it was for the underclothes, vambraces, and leg guards. All Lukas had to do was pull on the under-armor clothing and strap on the vambraces and leg guards. Simple enough. What was trickier was the chest piece with its strange magical straps and buckles that would vanish once in place. Eventually Lukas did figure it out, and once the entire ensemble was on, the armor began to shift itself, changing in size and shape to better fit Lukas' form.

It was rather disconcerting to feel the chest armor tighten around his torso so snugly, like a lover's embrace. Besides that strange sensation, the armor was fantastic. It wasn't too heavy and was surprisingly breathable. Nothing got in the way as he performed a few movements, and looking in the mirror he looked great. The amber lines in the armor perfectly accentuated and brought attention to the unsettling amber lights that shone through his mask. The snug fit of the armor showed off his lean form far better than his previous armor did, which looked baggy and awkward in places, like always wearing sweatpants and hoodies. Then there was the cloak; it effortlessly fell down his back and came down to mid-calf. It was so light that Lukas didn't even feel it draping off of him as its hood hid his ears.

After taking the time to admire himself in the mirror, Lukas threw the old armor into his inventory and unlocked the door. Stepping out, he found both Aywin and Akira waiting for him expectantly. The moment the door opened the two perked up, and when they laid eyes on Lukas both were silent for a second. Lukas, who struggled with anything social, could easily pick out the expression on their faces. Aywin was absolutely delighted and looked at Lukas as though he were a piece of art that had come out better than expected. Akira looked surprised and taken aback. He wasn't entirely sure why, but then again she'd only seen him in bloody rags and armor that didn't suit him.

"You look fantastic, Master Anuk! The way the armor lays on you to show off your powerful figure is perfect. How the amber embellishments add to the overall look and draws attention to those eyes is amazing. And the eyes, the way they peer out from under that dark and shadowy hood! It's like a predator is stalking me, I can feel my fur standing on end already! I have no doubt that you will be leaving a certain impression on all who lay their eyes on you."

"It's good," Lukas said, giving himself another once-over. "It looks great."

"Everyone will know you're a serious adventurer now!"

Turning to Akira, Lukas asked, "What do you think?"

She tilted her head slightly, as if to get a better look at him. "It's… you're more impressive-looking now, that's for sure," she said, and Lukas got the impression she wanted to say more but was holding off until they were alone.

Turning from Lukas, Akira spoke to Aywin, "Amazing work as always, Aywin, by far one of your best yet."

The cannid gave her a deep, respectful nod. "Thank you for saying so, Mistress Anuk, I strive to make each work better than the last."

"If you'll pardon us, we've got to get going. We've spent the entire day in the city and have matters to attend to at home."

"Of course, Mistress Anuk, I hope to see the both of you again, and I hope the armor serves you well, Master Anuk."

Lukas gave the shopkeep a nod of farewell and followed Akira towards the door. Even the small walk through the shop made the difference between his new fitted armor and the combat robes he'd worn before obvious. Just that short trip had boosted Lukas' confidence, not that he was necessarily lacking it. Everything moved and felt smooth with every step, and Lukas was excited to test out what his new armor was capable of. He still had a lot on his plate at the moment, so monster hunting was a ways off, but training in the morning should give him a good feel for what he was dealing with.

Once they were out in the evening-lit city, Akira turned an assessing gaze on Lukas as they walked.

"So, what do you think?" Lukas asked her again.

"I think it's strange to see you wear something that fits. That armor you had on before hid your figure pretty well, even if it was still obvious that you were on the thinner side. I wasn't lying when I said you looked more impressive, and Aywin was right when he said you look more powerful. That and you look more intimidating."

"So, good?"

"Yes, good. You look like a proper adventurer now."

"Great. We're going back now, right? I've got things I want to do."

"Yes, we're heading back. And what things? All you do is read."

Staring her dead in the eye, Lukas pulled the puzzle box out of his inventory, and Akira rolled her eyes.

"You better watch where you're going because I'm not going to guide you all the way back home the way I did earlier."

Lukas waved away her complaints as he turned his full attention to the cube in his hands, "I'll be fine."

Shaking her head, Akira pulled a communication crystal from her bag of holding and sent a message to her mother, informing her of the day's events. A few minutes later she got a reply which included a request.

While Akira played with her communication crystal, Lukas enthusiastically focused on his puzzle box. He was making progress, but it was slow, not helped by the fact that he was tired as hell. Having his aura mask in place all day was draining, more so than reading and studying for the same amount of time. It was getting better though, and he found himself able to keep it up for longer before it started to take a toll, but it would be a while before he could go an entire day or more without feeling the pinch.

In an attempt to improve his control of the mana in the puzzle and to make up for his tired mind, Lukas activated his Amber Eye ability. The moment he did so the mana in the puzzle slowed significantly, allowing Lukas to make smaller and more precise movements. Lukas had only been using the ability for a few seconds before there was a sudden stinging sensation in his eyes, as though he'd gotten a hair stuck in both. Letting out a hiss of pain, Lukas stopped in the middle of the street and took one hand from the puzzle box to rub at his eyes under the mask.

Having heard Lukas, Akira stopped with him, "Are you alright?"

Rubbing his eyes a bit more, he opened them and found a new notification waiting for him.

Ability (Amber Eye of the Alchemist) has reached lvl 1.

"Oh fuck yeah!" he blurted, surprising Akira, "One of my abilities improved."

"Really?" she asked skeptically, "Which one?"

"The one that lets me see the flow of magical energies. I've been expecting it and I'm glad it finally came."

"And it happened while playing with that cube?"

"Yeah. It's a mana puzzle so I can use the ability on it."

"Well that's a nice way to level the ability, I guess."

For the first time in what felt like forever, Lukas opened his status screen even though he knew not much had changed.

Lukas Hellstrand

Race: Human (Outworlder [unique]) - Level 26 Class 1 - Combat Alchemist - Level 27 Class 2 - Rogue of Night - Level 25 Health Points: 1100/1100 Stamina: 984/1010 Mana: 901/1100

Stats

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Vitality: 110 Endurance: 101 Intelligence: 96 Wisdom: 110 Agility: 154 Perception: 100 Toughness: 134 Strength: 133 Willpower: 72

Free Points: 0

Titles: Prodigious Dimensional Traveler, Unkillable, True Heart of a Warrior, Indomitable Worm, Hierophant of the Risen Goddess, Unceasing.

Abilities:

Combat Alchemist Abilities: (Amber Eye of the Alchemist [lvl - 1]), (Domain of the Combat Alchemist [lvl - 0]).

Rogue of Night Abilities: (Lurker of the Shadows [lvl - 0]), (Star Forged Armory [lvl - 0]).

Race abilities: (Dimensional Traveler), (Tribute of the Fallen), (Steel gut), (Tongue of the Multiverse), (Stranger in a Strange Land).

It was as he thought, nothing had changed as all his improvements had been foundational and not related to his abilities or classes. Even so, the lack of visible progress irked him slightly; it was almost as if nothing he'd done over the last week was important enough to warrant a change on the status page. He knew it was irrational to feel that way, but couldn't help but think it might be time to get some more levels under his belt. Good thing he was already planning on doing some alchemy in the coming week.

The rest of the trip back to the estate was rather uneventful. The most interesting thing to happen was Lukas looking up from the puzzle box long enough to recognize that they were walking down a street near Lyric's apothecary. He considered taking a detour to see how the man was doing, but with Akira still with him he decided against it, not wanting to drag the elf couple into his outworlder nonsense. He did promise himself that he would visit the two at some point once he found the time and could go alone. In the meantime, it was probably best that he keep a distance, though.

When they finally arrived back at the estate the sky was dominated by the pinks and oranges of dusk, the massive trees of the forest casting long and thick shadows that cooled the air from the day's heat. Lukas was looking forward to getting back to his guest house, playing with his new puzzle for a bit before going to bed. He would've liked to get some reading done as well, but he was a little too tired to get any worthwhile studying done.

Lukas was about to jump into the shadows and make his way towards his residence when Akira grabbed him by the wrist, stopping him in his tracks.

"Hang on," she said, "You're not going anywhere."

"Hmm? What now?"

"My mother requested that you join us for dinner."

Lukas frowned beneath his mask, "Who is 'us'?"

Akira rolled her eyes at him, "Just my mother and I, no one else will be there."

"Okay? But why does she want me to have dinner with you guys?"

"To see your new armor, obviously, she also wants to talk to you about your aura control."

"Well… she only requested I be there, right?"

"Lukas, you're coming," she stated, before dragging him towards the lodge as though he were a reluctant toddler.

While Lukas wasn't a toddler, in most regards, he was still reluctant. His problem wasn't with meeting Kora—he'd had a few run-ins with her already, whether that be at the library or out on the estate grounds. She seemed nice enough and never pried for information, only asking how he was doing and what he was up to. Lukas' hesitation came from the invitation itself; he didn't care about showing off his new armor or whatever, but he didn't like that it was over dinner.

Lukas really didn't want to take his mask off in front of the two and he had plenty of reasons why. Chief among them was that he liked wearing the mask and how it acted as a separator between him and the world. With the mask on he could be the mysterious and intimidating figure he'd already portrayed himself to be, but with it off he was just some socially awkward guy and the whole world would see that. With the mask off Akira and Kora would be able to read his expressions, and while Lukas didn't exactly hide his feelings he didn't want his face to be a dead giveaway. Then there was the fact that Akira and her mother were extremely pretty while Lukas was not. He wasn't ugly, at least by Earth standards, and was rather handsome, his grandma had said so, but having his mask off and letting those two pretty people see his face wasn't going to happen.

Unsure of what to do, Lukas just followed Akira through the lodge until they reached the area for main-branch family members. From there Akira led Lukas towards a rustic dining room decorated in warm autumn hues. Inside they found Kora already sitting at the head of the table, waiting for the two of them to arrive. The table was already set neatly with all the different plates, forks, and spoons one would expect at a fancy dinner. Delicious-smelling food was out on the table; Lukas had no idea what any of it was, but the main course seemed to be some kind of large turkey-like bird, judging by the look of the thing.

Upon seeing their entry, Kora stood and looked over at Lukas, "My, don't you look dashing."

"Uh, thanks, Aywin did a good job of adapting it to better suit me."

"Indeed he did, there's a reason why we send all of our family members to the man. Now, why don't you come and join me at the table?" she said, gesturing to the seats at either side of her.

Akira unhesitatingly walked over and took a seat on her mother's right, Lukas was more reticent but still sat on her left. Once they were all seated, the two women looked expectantly at Lukas, and he knew they were waiting for him to take off his mask, something that wasn't going to happen. Instead of acknowledging what they wanted, Lukas just sat there silently. An awkward moment of silence passed before Akira glanced at her mother before digging right in, with Kora starting at a more measured pace. Lukas just folded his hands in his lap and waited, feeling quite uncomfortable, doing his best to keep that fact out of his body language and his aura.

Kora only took a single bite before turning back to Lukas, "Why don't you eat as well? There's plenty of food here."

"I'm fine, thank you."

"You're sure?"

"Quite."

A few more minutes passed, Lukas allowing himself to get lost in his own thoughts, wishing he were at his residence doing any number of things other than what he was doing now. Then Kora spoke again.

"Akira tells me your training is coming along nicely," she said over the soft clink of silverware.

"I have a lot to learn and I feel like I don't have much time to learn it. Throwing myself at everything is the only thing that makes me feel like I'm progressing enough to face whatever comes at me in the future."

"An admirable mindset, though I feel as though I should let you know that you're in no rush. You're under the Anuk family's protection which is no small thing."

"I've never been one to be reliant on others," Lukas said stiffly, "Nor do I like being beholden to any person or organization, which is why I'll be repaying what Akira spent on my armor today. The sooner I can protect myself the better."

Akira stopped eating, glancing between Lukas and her mother.

"Agreed," Kora said, surprising both Akira and Lukas, "You're obviously self-sufficient and independent by nature and will balk at any help or protection given to you without some kind of cost. This is why I will personally be overseeing your aura training."

"What!?" Akira demanded.

Kora ignored her daughter's outburst and continued to address Lukas, "With your soul strength it's prudent that you learn how to leverage it properly, and learn from someone with a soul strength on par with yours or better. I will teach you to suppress the aura of others as well as other aura techniques that typically come at higher ranks. Before you object, I'll remind you that providing you with proper training is part of our agreement and thus doesn't come with a cost, so you have no need to feel any kind obligation toward me or the Anuk family as a result."

"...Alright," Lukas eventually agreed, "When will this aura training take place?"

"In the evening, around this time. We'll start tomorrow as I can sense how tired you are. Speaking of tomorrow, I'd like for you to accompany Akira on a few of her contracts."

"Hang on—" Akira tried to interject, but got a look from her mother that made her sigh and return to her food.

"This will give Akira a sense of what you're capable of so that we can better guide your training going forward. Having been on your own for an extended period of time before coming to Pinewood I imagine you're quite accustomed to fighting the beasts, we want to see just how accustomed."

"Do you think we can push that back a day or two?" Lukas asked.

"Oh? Why do you want to do that?"

"With all the studying I've done I've accumulated some insights and inspirations for my alchemy. I haven't tested any of them yet, and now seems as good a time as any. If I make any improvements with my concoctions I'll be able to test them in the field while I'm out with Akira."

Kora nodded, "That's fine. You'll go the day after tomorrow; we'll push back the start of your aura training to then as well."

For the next hour Lukas made small talk with Kora and Akira, mostly answering questions about Earth and what he was studying. Eventually, Kora had mercy on Lukas and excused him. Lukas considered taking some of the food with him, but he still had a few dishes that Calayis had made for him and he didn't want to fill his inventory with food he didn't even need. Instead he just left the lodge as swiftly as he could manage, finally heading towards his own residence. By then it was already nighttime and Lukas slipped through the shadows, flashing through the darkened forest until he reached his guest house. The second the door was closed behind him he dropped his aura mask, wasting no time in heading for his room, not even sparing the living room and the books there a glance. He was exhausted after a long day and wanted to collapse into bed, which was exactly what he did.

The moment Lukas stepped into his room he flopped down onto the bed, shutting his eyes the second he hit the sheets. He didn't bother taking his armor off, he was too tired; besides, it had a self-cleaning enchantment so it wasn't like it was dirty. Lukas was about to drift off to sleep when he felt a weight press down on the edge of the bed.

Peeling his eyes open he found Sera sitting there, leaning against the headboard above him, a cheek in one hand, "Hey there, Handsome, I like the new armor. Makes you look very spooky. It's kind of sexy," she teased.

Lukas just gave a tired grunt in response.

"It's too bad I can see your ugly mug through the mask. It's a good thing you didn't take it off in front of those elves, especially since it was at dinner, they might have thrown up."

"I'm way too exhausted to deal with you right now," he barely managed.

Sera laughed lightly and ruffled his hair, "I'll leave you then, you've got a big day of alchemy ahead after all."

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