Sam didn’t sleep well at all that night. The first few hours were normal but then he woke up in agony. It felt like all his muscles were stretching and contracting all at once. Despite his exhaustion, he wasn’t able to sleep any more that night. The pain gnawed at him, keeping him awake.

When Jeremy came to wake him up in the early hours of the morning to go to the forest, Sam was wide awake. He was resting shirtless against the opposite wall from the bed. He was breathing deeply to try counteract the pain.

Jeremy arrived and took one look at him before shaking his head.

“You can join me another day, just rest and recover quickly.”

Sam was grateful for Jeremy’s words. He didn’t have any stamina left to do anything at all.

Sam bided his time in the darkness until the room was brightened by the light filtering through the windows. With the light, Sam took stock of his body.

His skin was red and sore to the touch, like he had been sunburnt. This was despite the fact that he had been under the shelter of the barn awning the previous day.

His muscles, especially those on his arms and shoulders, were visibly larger than the day before. It scared him that his muscles could grow so much larger in one day. This world of Masteries was not normal.

After inspecting his new painful muscles, Sam closed his eyes and tried to rest. It would help if he could get any sleep at this point.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When he was touched gently on the shoulder, Sam woke up realising that he had managed to sleep a bit.

Jerald, who had woken him, offered Sam a bowl of stew.

“Eat. It will help your recovery.”

Sam nodded and thanked Jerald. Without another word, the large man left him to rest. After looking at the stew, Sam’s hunger came to the forefront of his mind and he quickly ate it.

After his stomach was full of hot stew, Sam sighed with satisfaction. He looked around the room and saw the windows. The light was stronger and the room felt warmer than before. He guessed it was already passed midday. At this rate, he doubted he would be leaving the confines of the room for the rest of the day. The pain in his body had only been slightly reduced after his sleep and he was still exhausted. It was like a fog in his mind, numbing his thoughts.

Sam spent the rest of the day trying to rest as much as he could.

That night Sam slept more hours than the previous night but the pain didn’t subside. It was only in the morning that he greeted with some messages and pain relief.

Strength attribute increased by 1.

Labour Mastery: Hardship level 2 gained. 1 Mastery Point awarded.

He couldn’t help himself from smiling at the improvement. He got out of bed and bathed himself. The pain was still there but much less than before. He felt stiffness instead of pain.

Once bathed and dressed, he headed to the kitchen. Hoping to chat to Jerald and get information on what he had experienced.

Sam found Jerald at the table, drinking water from an old mug. When he saw Sam, he spoke.

“Good to see you up Sam. Would you like something to eat?”

Sam nodded eagerly and was given the same cereal he had eaten previously. He chewed it and was reminded distinctly of cardboard. Food was a necessity so he ate it and he couldn’t complain about free food.

After he had finished eating, Jeremy arrived. He spoke when he saw Sam.

“Hey Sam, how are you feeling?”

“Better thanks Jeremy. I am sorry I couldn’t help with the traps. Maybe I can join you when you go check on them again? Thank you for your help with the training. Despite the pain, I managed to reach the second level of the [Hardship] skill.”

Jerald who had formed his signature frown, stopped drinking from his mug and spoke softly.

“Jeremy, what assistance did you offer Sam with his training?”

There was silence in the room. Sam looked at Jeremy who didn’t show any sign of talking. Sam wondered if he should say something but Jerald’s tone had been a little scary. Not wanting to speak out of turn, Sam kept quiet.

"Jeremy Underwood, speak."

Jerald’s voice showed a sliver of annoyance. Jeremy quickly answered and his tone was full of feigned innocence.

"Pa, in order to help speed up Sam’s training, I helped him a little."

He smiled encouraging.

Jerald raised an eyebrow at Jeremy just as Annabelle entered the room. She took a seat next to Jerald and listened in on the conversation.

"Son, I think your definition of 'help' is different from mine. Tell us what ‘help’ you provided Sam."

Jeremy swallowed nervously and replied.

“I used some Labour and Farmer abilities to help him hold up the log longer.”

Jerald held his frown and turned to Sam.

“Is this true Sam?

Sam nodded. He noticed that Jeremy hadn’t mentioned the healing portion which Sam felt had helped him the most.

Jerald was about to speak when Annabelle joined in, cutting to the chase.

“So he didn’t heal you Sam?"

Sam frowned. It seemed Jeremy had left this part out on purpose. He guessed that Jeremy would get in trouble when Sam confirmed that the healing had taken place. However, Jerald and Annabelle’s line of questioning told him they were already suspicious. He decided to be honest, that was after all, what Jerald had asked of him.

“Jeremy offered to help me learn faster and I accepted. He healed me with his [Lesser Healing] ability.”

Jerald sighed and Annabelle glared at Jeremy. She spoke with a voice full of annoyance.

“Jeremy, you should know better! What you did was foolish. No wonder Sam was bed ridden for a day!”

Jerald added his own words.

“Son, I have told you before that there are no shortcuts worth taking when it comes to training. This especially applies to the Labour Mastery.”

Jeremy’s lips were a thin line as he looked a bit annoyed. He said nothing in response to his parent’s words.

Sam frowned and spoke his thoughts.

“I am a bit confused. Did the healing cause the pain? My strength and [Hardship] skill increased this morning as the pain subsided. It seemed that the pain was necessary for the improvements.”

Jerald shook his head and spoke.

“After training, stiffness and pain are to be expected but not enough to lose a day. Using healing whilst training, unless there is an injury, is not recommended.”

Annabelle chimed in.

“Muscles are grown naturally by putting strain on your muscles. If you heal the muscles, they do not heal naturally. The body can become confused and attempts to heal wounds that have already been healed. The result can be that the muscles injure themselves causing the healing to be worthless. Pain is a side effect of this process.”

Jerald nodded in agreement and added his own knowledge.

“[Hardship] can be levelled through endurance and as well as pain. My guess is that the pain gained you the second level of [Hardship] more than your strength training with the log.”

“Now that we have explained the situation, I believe a suitable punishment is required. Maybe Jeremy should spend some time with Uncle Berry.”

Annabelle said the words with a glint in her eye. Jerald nodded in agreement.

Jeremy replied for the first time. His face was neutral and hid his emotions.

“Ma. I have visited Uncle Berry on many occasions and have learnt many things from him. I think I would be able to help more if I stayed at the farm to help Pa and yourself.”

Jerald raised an eyebrow at him and Annabelle shook her head.

“There is much more you can learn from Uncle Berry. We have been running this farm without your help for many years. Sam could join you on the journey and maybe the countryside will help him remember his past. I also believe you owe Sam an apology for your actions.”

Jeremy sighed and then looked at Sam.

“Sam, I am sorry for causing you pain. I was interested in witnessing the benefits of speeding up your training.”

“I accept your apology. You are forgiven.”

Sam still was a little bit confused around the whole matter. Yes, he had endured pain but he had been rewarded for it. If he had just been in pain for no reason, he would have felt very differently.

At Sam’s quick response, Jeremy smiled widely.

“Sam have forgiven me for my actions. I believe it would be best if we put this behind us.”

Annabelle shook her head and spoke.

“Taking advantage of the ignorant is still not a good thing Jeremy. Your attitude shows little remorse. You will be going to visit Uncle Berry. There will no further discussion regarding this.”

Annabelle tone was final, leaving no room for discussion. Jeremy seemed to understand this as he nodded and changed the topic.

“I need to inspect the farm’s perimeter to check on the fence and see if the has been any trouble so I go now.”

After receiving acknowledgement, Jeremy left. Sam had a feeling that Jeremy was not pleased with the way the conversation turned out. Sam hoped he wasn’t blamed. Who was this Uncle Berry person and why didn’t Jeremy want to visit him.

“Uncle, Aunty. I do not think I am that ignorant. If Jeremy caused my suffering and I gained nothing, I would be angered but that was not the case.”

Jerald nodded and replied calmly.

“You are correct but this outcome worked in your favour. You became stronger due to enduring the pain but was it necessary? You could have spent the day training and become even stronger. In this situation, it was the actions and not the result that is the problem. Risky behaviour can be dangerous especially when magic is involved.”

Sam understood their reasoning but he also knew that without risk, there was no reward. Playing it safe could often mean missed opportunities.

“I understand and will be careful going forward. Will you let me continue training?”

Jerald chuckled and responded.

“I am glad you are eager to resume training and we can discuss it but first, let us discuss your progress. You mentioned that you have [Hardship] at level 2?”

"Yes, is it too slow?” Sam was nervous about his progress. He had nothing to compare it to.

Jerald shook his head.

"Exactly the opposite. That is far too fast. It took me 6 months to get to that level and Jeremy took 4 months. First [Water Baptism] and now one day of training..."

Jerald's speech trailed off as put his arms on the table and rested his face on his palms in disbelief.

Annabelle rubbed his shoulder and smiled at Sam before speaking.

"Sam, do you have any Talents? If we had more information maybe we could understand the reason behind your quick learning."

"How do I check my Talents?"

Jeremy snorted which got him a look from Annabelle before she answered.

"Think the words: Talent list."

Sam followed her instructions.

Talent List:

Individual:

[Late Bloomer]

[Otherworldly Knowledge]

Magic:

[Water Baptism]

He started immediately inspecting them.

[Late Bloomer]: A talent held by a being who was without magic until it was thrust upon them later in life. 300% bonus to gaining and improving Masteries. 10% further bonus for every year after age 16.

[Otherworldly Knowledge: Held by a being that is from another world. The being brings their world’s knowledge with them. 100% bonus to the Knowledge Mastery.

[Water Baptism]: A being whom the element of Water has blessed. The user gains 10% bonus to all attributes whilst fully submerged in water.

Sam was stunned by the information. He willed the notifications to disappear and then realised he had closed his eyes subconsciously.

He opened them to see Jerald and Annabelle staring at him with interest.

Before he could speak Annabelle put her fingers on his lips, stopping him.

Her fingers smelled like milk and honey.

"One of sacred rules of the Underwood family is to never share their Talents with another. If you would like to stay here any longer, you will need to abide by this rule."

Sam frowned and asked.

"Why is there such a rule?"

Jerald’s voice was low and sad as he answered.

"The reason is simple: jealously. Many of our ancestors have watched other families do unspeakable acts in order to gain the Talents belonging to other families. It is for this reason why we keep this rule."

"Thank you for the explanation Uncle but how do people gain Talents?"

“There are many ways. You can gain them through great feats of strength, cunning or magic. There are too many Talents in the world to count. However, they are not equal. Some Talents are powerful enough to start or end wars whilst others only give slight improvements. Talents can also be blood line related. They are called Birth rights and mean that the Talent can be passed onto to holder’s children. It is these Talents that many people seek out to make their families more powerful. Lastly, there are also Pacts; these are made by families to strengthen each other. People also seek out these sacred Pacts in order to gain more strength.

Sam blinked at the information. Birth rights and Pacts? He didn’t have any of those. He would have to think more about the Talents he had and what to do with this new information. He replied with a smile.

“Thank you Uncle. That information is very useful. To answer Aunt’s question, I do have Talents."

Jerald nodded and spoke.

"Our rules specify that the names of the Talent must not be said or their abilities. Naturally as family members we can learn over time what kind of abilities each of us have. If we didn't, we would all limit our potential as a family because we wouldn't be able to leverage such Talent. Based on your learning ability so far and the fact that you have multiple Talents, I will assume one of your Talents is related to learning the Labour Mastery, which is amazing by itself. You should never tell anyone that information. Rather lie to protect yourself.”

Jerald smiled with excitement before continuing.

“Talents can be split up into categories which speak to their origins. There are Individual, Birth rights, Magic and others. Would you be willing to tell us what categories your Talents are from?"

Sam took in the information eagerly. The fact that he had two Talents that gave bonuses to Masteries definitely was information that he must never share. The Otherworldly Knowledge was definitely bizarre enough to endanger his life.

"I only have Individual and Magic."

Jerald and Annabelle shared a glance before she spoke.

"Thank you for sharing Sam. Our breakfast has long been completed and we have a lot of work to do. You can join me at the cows today so that you can have a full recovery before resuming training."