“That was a good fight you two. Have some water.”

Clive and the mayor were extremely proud of them. The two of them trained since they were 5 years old and 2 years later, they were both excellent fighters. Kan had trained his hardest in being both a combat locksmith and mage locksmith while Leo had trained his best at being a swordsman. The more and more they sparred with each other, the stronger they got. To Clive and the mayor, both of them were rising dragons that would become experts in the future.

As Clive offered Kan and Leo water, they didn’t hesitate to gulp it all down. Although the match between them had only been about 10 minutes long, they had both used their entire strength to bring down their opponent. Now that all their tension was gone, they were left exhausted.

“Hey Leo, how did you gain so much strength towards the end. I thought I had you perfectly trapped but then you bursted out with so much strength.”

“I don’t know. While I was trapped, I felt that I was going to lose but as I struggled to escape, a voice said something in my head. It said that I had unlocked the skill [Burnout].”

“”WHAT!?””

The mayor and Clive were extremely shocked at what Leo had just said. They were astounded and yet confused at how young Leo had learned a skill. Kan and Leo looked at them in confusion because they didn’t understand what was happening. The mayor realized this and began explaining to them.

“A skill is, as it implies, a skill or technique you are given. But by who or why, no one knows. There has been stories of people waking up and gaining a skill or even the story about how a knight defeated a beast and gained a skill the beast had. No one knows the requirement to gain a skill, but it is said that anyone can gain a skill. The ability of the skills can differ from person to person. Some of the skills that have been recorded include a skill that increases a person’s chopping speed when cooking, a skill that summons shadow knights, or even a skill that makes a person heal faster. The only thing that is the same amongst all skill learners is that they all heard a voice when they were given their skills.”

The mayor had explained all of this in one breathe. He was currently ecstatic and couldn’t hide it. His great grandson had just learned a skill at the age of 7 years old. How couldn’t he be excited for him.

Leo’s eyes were glowing as he heard the explanation from the mayor. He realized how important a skill was and was joyous about learning one.

“Leo, Leo, Leo! What is your skill!? What does it do!? Can you show it to me again!?”

Kan was just excited as excited as the mayor and Leo. He had just learned about something entirely new to him. He once again felt a stirring feeling inside of him. It was itching at him and telling him to learn all the secrets behind skills.

“Wait don’t say anything Leo. Let me tell the both of you right now, so listen carefully. Never tell the secrets of your skill to anyone unless you absolutely trust them. Skills are the trump cards of any person. If a person with malicious intent ever learns of your skill, this means they can easily bypass it and kill you. Now let me ask you again Leo, do you want to tell us about your skill?”

The mayor asked Leo in all seriousness. He wanted Leo to make the decision because it was his skill and only his. If others were to find out about it, it could be used against him one day. Hearing the mayor’s seriousness, Leo thought hard about what to do. He looked at Clive, Kan, and the mayor’s face. He knew he could trust all of them and soon came to his conclusion.

“I want to tell all of you about my skill.”

“Ok. Let’s all go inside and rest for a bit then.”

They all went inside and Kan cooked up a small meal for all four of them. Besides training as a combat locksmith and a mage locksmith, he had also been improving his cooking. His cooking skills was at the level of Claire’s cooking 6 years ago. He could now cook simple dishes and with help, he could even cook more complex dishes. As Kan was cooking, something unexpected happen.

‘You have learned the skill [Chef’s Kitchen].’

“WHAT?!”

Kan was absolutely astounded at what was just said in his head. He was just cooking and all of a sudden a message was spoken in his head. Clive, the mayor, and Leo were surprised at Kan’s scream and came running to the kitchen. When they entered they could see that nothing was wrong so they were relieved.

“What’s wrong Kan?”

“I...I...I just learnt a skill.”

Kan uncertainty told them what just happened but none of them had a reaction. They couldn’t process what Kan just said because they were all in shock. Leo just learned a skill and now Kan learned a skill. They were all shocked and could only say one word.

“””WHAT?!”””

Everyone was silent after their initial shock. Suddenly Clive began to laugh.

“Hahaha!! Aren’t our kids great mayor. Both of them learned a skill in a single day.”

“It’s like skills are falling out of the sky right now. Hahahaha.”

The shock was the strongest for Clive and the mayor. The two of them have lived longer than both Kan and Leo so they each have a few skills of their own but it took them years to acquire these skills. But in front of them now were two 7 year old kids with their first skills already. The only thing they could do was to laugh it off.

“Kan. I will ask the same question the mayor asked Leo. Do you want to tell us about your skill.”

“Yeah, I do.”

Kan didn’t hesitate in his reply at all. He didn’t have any reason to distrust anyone in his group. They were all people he grew up with and knew.

“Ok. Let’s eat first then we can talk about both of your skills.”

Each of them quickly ate their food and washed their dishes. After eating, they headed towards the room which had been used to hold multiple meetings. Over the years this room became the place where they held all their important meetings. They entered the room and all sat around the table.

“Ok, you can go first Leo. If you want to know more details on a skill. just focus on the skill’s name and a description should appear to you.”

Leo followed the mayor’s explanation and concentrated on the name of his skill and a detailed explanation popped up. There were many details describing what it could do, what level it’s at, and even question marks in some areas.

“What does it say Leo?”

“It says that the skill name is [Burnout] and there is a description of the skill below it. It says: “[Burnout] is a skill that will call out the rest of the user’s energy into one strong burst of energy. This bust of energy will make the user faster, stronger, more precise, and more sensitive to the surroundings. But it will leave the user completely exhausted after the time has run out. At level 1 the time limit is 10 seconds. Every sequential level will add 10 seconds.” After the description it says what level the skill is at, and it currently says level 1. Underneath that is multiple lines of question marks.”

“From what you have described, it seems that it is a boosting type skill. It seems like the perfect trump card to use when your opponent underestimates you at the end of the battle.”

“Grandpa what is a level?”

“Hmm. Let me see how to describe it. You can say that a level is a physical representation of your proficiency in something. For example when you first started swinging your sword, you could barely lift it. You can say your level was at 1 but now you can swing it easily so your level in swinging has increased.”

Kan listened with rapt attention as the mayor was explaining levels and skills to Leo. He was trying to absorb all the knowledge he could get from the mayor, so he could improve himself. He needed to quickly become stronger so he could protect everyone precious to him.

“Are you ready to talk about your skill Kan.”

“Yeah i’m ready Daddy.”

Kan began focusing on the name of his skill and exactly what Leo described appeared in his mind.

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[Chef’s Kitchen]

“[Chef’s Kitchen] is a skill that will allow the user to cook anywhere he wants to. To use the skill all one has to do is call the name of the skill and their surrounding will become a kitchen. This kitchen will allow the user to cook food that has buffs or debuffs. Depending on the user’s skill in cooking, the probability of a dish with a positive buff will increase. At level 1 all dishes will have a 3% chance of a buff and a 5% chance of a debuff.(Depending on the complexity of the dishes. the probability changes). Each sequential level will increase probability, storage capacity, and the length of time food stays fresh.”

Level 1

Utensils stored: 0

Food stored: 0

???

???

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Kan began explaining his skill to all of them but as he explained more and more, they realized that his skill was not as simple to understand as Leo’s skill. Kan’s skill was more complex and not used for battle but to cook.

“What’s a buff and debuff Daddy.”

“Buffs and debuffs in simple terms are used to support your teammates. There are some types of magic out there that can increase a person’s speed or even strength, this is what a buff does. A debuff is a type of magic that applies negative effects on people like slowing someone down or even making it so there attacks are weaker.”

“Just like a combat locksmith right. We can increase our speed and strength through unlocking out body and others weaker by locking them.”

“Yes, correct. Being a combat locksmith does have abilities to buff and debuff others. But your skill is more uncertain. It doesn’t specify what types of buffs or debuffs it can contain so you will have to experiment to figure out the different types. What is also interesting about your skill is that you can store things in it. It is rare to a have skill that is able to store items because that uses the concept of space magic.”

“You can say that Kan’s skill is more of a support types skill, maybe a barrier type skill too since he is able to summon a kitchen. Why don’t you try summoning your kitchen Kan?”

After the mayor asked him to use his skill, Kan began concentrating on his skill. A few seconds later his skill was activated. There was now a small kitchen around Kan. There was a small table with drawers and also a small stove next to it. After looking around the kitchen Kan looked back at the mayor, Clive, and Leo and found that they were still looking at him and not the kitchen.

“Can you guys not see the kitchen.”

“”“What kitchen?”””

It seemed that the three of them couldn’t see the kitchen and only Kan was able to. Now that Kan looked at the kitchen more carefully, he could see that part of it was inside of the mayor but he still didn’t notice. His kitchen was only able to be seen and felt by him.

“There’s a small kitchen right here with a table with drawers and a small stove. It seems that only I can see it and touch it.”

“Hmm. Interesting, this is the first time I have ever heard of this type of skill. It might not be used for combat but it seems useful for everyday life.”

“Yeah, it does. You can cook anywhere you go.”

Clive and the mayor weren’t to impressed with the skill because they didn’t understand it. It was the first time seeing this type of skill and they believed it was only useful to make food and nothing else.

Kan felt differently than the both of them. He felt that this skill was extremely useful. He was able to store food in his skill so he didn’t have to carry any food anywhere. There was no chance of him being stranded and having no food to eat. The most useful aspect of his skill was the buffs and debuffs. If he could get to the point where he could continuously create food with buffs then he could strengthen himself without the need of exhausting his combat or mage locksmiths abilities. Even the debuffs from his skills, if used correctly, could be very strong.