The three of them arrived at their inn in the late afternoon. They found Lux in the dining area, bent under a table. "Uncle." As soon as the older man heard Tercius’s voice, his head jerked up hitting the wooden surface and rattling the whole table.

"Ow…How did it go?" Lux asked, rubbing his head. Tercius observed that the older man somehow seemed… fidgety.

"Uncle, what is it? Did something happen?" Tercius asked, as his senses sharpened, suddenly concerned. Did an attack occur? Observing the room, he saw that everything was in order. There were no signs of any struggle. No broken furniture, the front door was in the same condition as it was when they rented rooms here… everything seemed the same.

"It’s nothing… it's…" Lux sighed. "Look, I was just out for a minute, and she must have slipped past by me… and now I don't know where she is. I made the innkeeper close all of the doors and windows, so she should be inside." the older man said but did not look at Tercius while he talked, something that never to this day happened. His uncle was never the one who looked away. Others did that when Lux looked at them.

"Who?" Tercius asked, but before the words left his lips, he knew the answer. Amber. The "she" that his uncle meant could only be Amber. His eyes glowed the next second, only to be closed the next. He was once more blinded, just like that time in Tripatis.

His uncle probably figured out what happened because when Seliana and Penelope rushed to see why he was suddenly holding his head and audibly gritting his teeth, his uncle assured them that everything was alright. A few moments of pain passed and he once more used Mana Sight, his eyes glowing an eerie green as they observed the surroundings from where he stood. There is too much overlap! he thought and moved slowly to the side as he observed the first floor of the inn. His head moving left to right, he surveyed where the kitchen was supposed to be, the hallway, the pantry, but there was nothing that looked like Amber. Sure there were cat-shaped silhouettes, after all which self-respecting innkeeper did not have a pest exterminator, but Amber was so small that she could still fit on his palm. All of these other shapes were giant compared to her.

Then as he got to where the washroom was supposed to be, and he noticed a small shape. One that was familiar to him. A few meters from her, another animal stood guard. It’s that dog.

"I found her," Tercius said, immediately moving there.

His feet carried him to the washroom, where at the center of the room lay a large canine that one of the other guests brought in with them. As he neared it, the dog raised its head and turned his way, with a growl on its lips. "Get out of here." He started waving his hand at the dog, but the beast merely stood up, showing the teeth it possessed, and continued growling. "Shoo."

At that moment his uncle came in after him. Seeing the big black shaggy beast the size of a cow, his uncle paused. Tercius did not blame him, the beast’s size was formidable. He should have found the owner of the dog before he acted, but with Mana Sight he did not see what was exactly going on, so he reacted on an impulse.

Right between two large wooden barrels sat Amber. She did not seem concerned at all, merely gazing at the dog with her small eyes narrowed, as if challenging him to try something. When the dog gave another growl, out of nowhere a stream of water hit him right on the nose.

The dog started snorting as Tercius turned his head towards the sloshing barrel of water. What was that? What just happened?

As he observed, another whip of water shot out from the open barrel, striking the dog straight on the nose once more. The dog whined once more. With wide eyes Tercius suddenly realized that Amber was not the victim here.

She was the bully.

Probably.

The dog merely kept her confined there to seek redress and justice. Using Mana Sight he observed the scene, as Amber sent another whip to strike the dog. From her body, in very small quantities, Mana was leaking into the barrel. It passed through the wood, mixing with the swirling waters in some strange fashion. He returned his gaze to that space between the barrel and Amber because there he saw something that he observed just two days prior. Something very similar to what happened when he observed the mage during that fight with his uncle.

It was Mana. He saw it with Mana Sight, so it must have been Mana. But… something was off about it.

Lux took the opportunity while the dog held its snout trying to get the water out of its nose, to snatch Amber, and push Tercius out of the washing area. Tercius was snapped out of his thoughts when the stream of Mana that connected Amber with the water snapped.

The dog growled after them, and he heard the sounds of when the dog's paws and nails made contact with the stone floor.

The door to the washroom had no handle, merely pushing it either way was enough to open it. Once they went through, his uncle pushed it closed then merely placed his back against the door when the dog started pushing from the other side.

"Bad Amber! What possessed you to provoke a beast that can eat you in one bite?" Tercius chided her. "Uncle, give her to me."

His uncle kept jerking forward and backward, as the pressure from the other side came and went. "First go and find the owner, I won't be staying here the whole day."

***

The owner ended up being a young woman, and she profusely apologized for how her Brut, the dog, gave them trouble. She told them how he never behaved this way, always being gentle and cuddly and Tercius did not have the heart to blame the poor innocent animal. He confessed his suspicions to the woman who was visibly relieved to hear what he had to say. She did not seem to hold it against Amber, to whom she took an instant liking.

All of them ended up having dinner together, as a way of apology.

While the human part of the company got along swimmingly, those belonging to the animal kingdom were glaring and growling at every other moment.

An hour later Tercius sat on the floor in his room, in front of him a bowl filled with water, as he tried to convince Amber to repeat her feat from the washroom. His skill Teaching was active and he tried to convey his intentions, but for some reason she ignored him.

"Don't force it, she will do it again once she is ready," Lux said. "Tell me about how things went in the Library."

So Tercius recounted everything from the way the Library looked inside, to the conversation with Master Belior, showing his uncle the new medallion he got and the scheduled time of departure was.

After Tercius recounted everything, Lux pointed out something. "So you finally have your answer," Lux said, oddly happy for the boy.

"That I do. It came up during the conversation, a slip of tongue, but now at least I know its name. Mana Metamorphosis. Now I just need to find out what that word means." Tercius said, elated at the progress made.

"I can help you with that, just let me think for a moment." his uncle said, then placed his fine beard into one hand and thought about it for a few moments. "Metamorphosis is when something changes abruptly, some kind of radical shift. I think it's most widely used for when insects abruptly transform from one form to the other."

In situations like these, when strange new words came his way, he usually resorted to finding one that fits the description in his old language, even though it has been years since he spoke a word of his original language. Then he equated these words in his mind, and things always seemed to run much smoother after that. If he did not find one, then it took some time to adjust to it. Tercius listened to what his uncle said, and scoured his brain for the appropriate word. Then it came to him.

Metamorphosis.

The second skill required for casting magic was Mana Metamorphosis.

After all this time, I have the answer…Tercius started with a small laugh and ended up with something that would wake up the dead. But he did not care, he celebrated this moment.

Lux observed the loony looking boy, with a small smile of his own.

Lux’s eyes slowly left his ecstatic nephew and moved to the small being that gazed at Tercius. With a small tilt to her head, the palm sized River Lioness blinked as she observed the laughing boy, her scaly expression one of confusion. Looking at her, one would never guess at her capability. From his cousins pet, Lux had learned that older River Lions have control over water, but a months old hatchling?

Years later, by the time she got to an age where most river lions just acquire the ability, if she stayed at Tercius’s side, her skill with it would be… Lux shuddered to think. He once observed his cousin's River Lion move a whole pool of water just to take swim in it. The sight of one domestic cat sized animal moving that amount of water was… Granted, Buzz was a really old River Lion, one that lived far longer than they usually do. In his old age Buzz spent most of his time sleeping in warm places with a bit of eating and swimming mixed in between.

Animals, especially ones that had short lifespans, seemed to have an accelerated growth in skills, and the earlier they start, the higher their abilities get.

Tercius mere presence in Amber’s life changed her. He gave her a head-start that was sure to provide great payout in the long run.

Thinking of it now, Lux was no different from that little being. If only he met this nephew of his a bit earlier.

The laughter fit abated, something else popped into Tercius’s mind. "By the way uncle, I must say I am disappointed. You could not keep watch over one small animal for a few hours," Tercius said, followed by a disappointing tsk.

"Shut up,"

The expression he saw on Lux’s face sent Tercius on another bout of loony laughter.

***

Morning soon arrived and his uncle had a plan for their last day together.

He also insisted that Seliana and Penelope go to the lodgings Master Belior offered for them at the Library, and take all of the pets and possessions with them. Seliana made a fuss about all of her stuff that would be left in Lissea but relented once Lux made a promise to make arrangements to store her stuff for the winter and once the spring arrived, his trusted contacts in Lissea would take care of getting it to her to Chameos.

So at the tenth hour of the morning, Tercius and Lux were alone and heading to the place his uncle had in mind.

The Arena.

At first, he thought that they would go and observe others fight, but then at the entrance, his uncle shattered his preconception.

"We require a private arena with all weapons and armor supplied," Lux said to the pasty-faced man who seemed to be in charge.

"For how long?" the man asked as he checked his list.

"A full day,"

"Third floor down, number 7 is available," the man said. "That’s 200 dweta per hour to a total of 4800 dweta,"

His uncle counted the coins in tretas and they received a token of some kind, along with a paper for time bought. Then they went down the dark wide passage. The staircase was a bit slippery, and the light barely existing, so he had to make sure of every single step of his. "Uncle, are we going to train? Even today?"

"Don't be ridiculous. Today is a special day, so we will do something equally special. You will see," Lux said and then went quiet.

Tercius’s thoughts kept swimming, searching for some clue of what his uncle could mean with that mysterious statement. Special? In a private arena with weapons and armor? We will just end up practicing... Oh. He means to help me break the barrier of Shield Mastery and Sword Mastery.

Tercius had tried to do it for a year now but found no success. Both his father and uncle spent hours sparring with him, and the skills stayed where they were. He remembered the moment, at the docks in Spheros, when his skills of Mathematics and Running broke the barrier. It was a moment of want and great need, a moment where he did not think, but rather did.

His back grew cold.

Uncle is probably going to pull off the kid gloves. he thought and unconsciously swallowed his rising apprehension. The door with the number 7 on it was just ahead. He knew that what came next was going to be on another level than before. His breathing grew deeper, his lungs pulling in more air, as he watched a man take their token and open the door.

His uncle turned towards him with a small smile on his face, and Tercius had to restrain himself from running away. Tercius knew that he could outrun his uncle, and the desire burned within him. But he snuffed out that fire willingly. This was something he would need and he would rather pay the price now than at a later date.

"After you," his uncle said, sweeping his hand towards the open door with a flourish.

Tercius went in.

***

He shouldn’t have gone in.

His vision was swimming, his nose clogged with dried blood, he might be missing parts of his front teeth, the back of his head probably had a bump the of Amber's size, his shield arm ached…

The list went on and on.

Yet his skill barriers did not break.

"You are not trying," Lux said somewhere from above. "This is not a spar, you need to fight back,"

He tried to speak but instead had to gurgle and spit out the bile and blood that clogged his pipes. He could only turn his head to the side, not raise it, so the whole thing sort of leaked down the side of his face, into his ear and hair.

"Tercius, why are you not trying?" Lux said, his voice genuinely confused. "Get up and have at it one more time,"

Oh is what I was doing so far something else than trying? his brain said, but his jaw did not move.

"I am disappointed," his uncle said and tsked multiple times. "So much potential and all of it wasted on you,"

Tercius tried rolling over, but something along his spine refused to move. His uncle avoided hitting him in and around the head and neck, while the rest of his body did not get that preferential treatment. What messed up his head was that the last time he actually managed to close in on the man, and his uncle probably reflectively slammed him with his shield, bashing him straight into his face. Tercius did not even see it coming, one moment he was on his feet, the other his back was on the floor, his mind regaining consciousness.

"Let's get you back on your feet, and then give it a real try, none of these half-baked attempts. Understood?" Lux said, as he crouched near him, bringing his head up a bit, as a cool liquid went down his throat. "Rest for 20 minutes while the potion does its work and then we continue,"

It seems that losing consciousness merits a 20-minute break… Maybe I should do it more often? he thought, the appeal of the possible rest echoing strongly within him.

They were only about four hours in so far, and this was already the sixth time this happened. He had another 20 hours if his uncle was to be believed. After the first time he got knocked out, his uncle woke him up with a bucket of cold water, got him up on his feet, gave him a small dose of the potion, and then they went back at it. After the fourth bucket of water, the cold stopped having the intended effect.

That was when his uncle started making rude statements about him.

Then Tercius would get on his feet, take the sword and shield and continue with the brutal routine. The swords they used were made of metal but dulled, so there were no slashing injuries involved. It still hurt like hell.

Tercius closed his eyes for a moment, a second at best, when someone started shoving him. A vaguely familiar voice said, "Seliana went out and bought these potions, she made sure to get the best of the best. Get up!"

"Just a minute, I need a minute," Tercius said, as his mind cleared. And as his uncle said, his body did not have any aches, at least not how it was before, but he felt tired, drained. Spent.

"You don’t need a minute." Lux snorted. "You need to get over your barriers. Up. You can rest as much as you want, but only once you do it. Don’t worry, I am sure that you can do it before the time for departure arrives. If not…well, we’ll let little Penelope and Seliana go on ahead. You can stay for another week."

No. Oh no. Oh, hells no. Tercius panicked. Get up!

He was on his feet as swaying the next moment.

"Just a second, let me check my skills," Tercius said. Then he started conjuring skills one at a time to see if there was any change.

1. Language Acquisition (40)

2. Visualization (40)

3. Meditation (60)

4. Stone Shaping (40)

5. Gardening (40)

6. Mathematics (42)

7. Running (42)

8. Precision (34)

9. Stone Sight (20)

10. Teaching (20)

11. Mana Manipulation (20)

12. Mana Sight (20)

13. Sword Mastery (20)

14. Shield Mastery (20)

15. Energy Manipulation (20)

16. Energy Sight (20)

Mathematics gained one level the previous day when he was doing those tests for Master Belior.

During the last four hours, his Running and Precision both gained a level, so even if Sword Mastery and Shield Mastery stayed on the same level, at least he had a consolation prize. He was almost sure that he was going to get at least a few more levels in these two skills during his uncle’s training routine.

He was constantly using Running, using the advantage of faster movement speed to last a bit longer, but at times his uncle moved with a speed that belied reason. One moment he was three meters ahead of him, the next, Lux’s shield was smashing right into his face.

Tercius was sure some kind of skill was at work here, but exactly what kind, his uncle would not reveal.

"Don’t ask a question like that, it’s incredibly rude. And never tell anyone else all of your skills. Hells, keep quiet about them, period," was what his uncle told him. Even after Tercius mentioned that his uncle technically knew all of his skills, the response that he received cut straight to the core. "So merely because you are a trusting idiot, I need to be one too? That’s not how the world works. Grow up,"

Taking the fallen sword in one hand and the shield in the other, he looked at his uncle.

No, for the next day, he is no uncle of mine. he reasoned, as his green eyes narrowed. This man is now my opponent, and it is high time I start treating him the way that position merits.