"I can't teach you aura suppression," Akira said, as if it were obvious.

Lukas was taken aback, "What? How come?"

"Aura suppression is something learned through experience—and by that I mean having your aura suppressed. There's no chance I'll ever be able to suppress you, not unless you stagnate at copper rank for years while I make it to a higher rank."

Lukas frowned. "But I have been suppressed before."

"By your benefactor, right? But they aren't here now, and even if they were—or you could somehow use that experience as a way to get a handle on aura suppression—I'd advise against it. From what you've told me, this benefactor of yours hasn't been the greatest teacher, and the last thing I want is for you to try practicing aura suppression only to give me or someone else a seizure."

Lukas held out his hands in a confused gesture. "Well, if you're not going to be able to teach me, then how am I going to learn?"

"I'll talk to my mother about it," Akira said, standing, with Lukas following suit. "I'm sure she'll come up with something, but that won't be till later. For now I'm heading out; feel free to do whatever—though I suggest you get some more practice in so you don't forget anything from this morning. I'll come check up on you later this evening, okay?"

Without waiting for a response, Akira turned and headed off, leaving Lukas standing there with Sera, watching her saunter away.

"Well, she's an interesting one," Sera said. "The thing I like most about her is her ability to throw you around like a half‑empty sack of flour."

Lukas rolled his eyes and began making his way toward his guest house. "You're hilarious."

"I am, aren't I?" she mused, keeping pace with Lukas. "So, what are you gonna do now?"

"What she suggested. I'll do some more training and practice for a while before I turn toward more ritual books. Do you think you'd be able to teach me aura suppression? And not just some half‑baked technique that will get me in trouble with Akira."

"Probably not," Sera said as they stepped onto a gravel pathway. "I'm not really able to suppress you while talking to you through the blessing."

"What?"

"Well, I mean I could, but due to the nature of the blessing and me being a god it would be me pressing down on you with divine power—a power that won't help you understand how suppression works. It's best if you wait until one of the elves teaches you properly; they'll be able to use a level of power you can quantify and understand. Besides, you've already got a lot to learn—no need to add something else at the moment."

"Yeah," Lukas sighed. "I've already got a lot on my plate—no point in biting off more than I can chew."

"Exactly! And if I taught you, you'd probably make someone bleed out of their butt the first time you try suppressing them."

Lukas cringed, "Gross, Sera. No need for that."

"But I'm being serious! Bleeding from the butt is one place you can make someone bleed from with that monstrous soul of yours!"

Lukas stopped and fixed her with a long, assessing gaze. "I can't tell if you're messing with me or not."

"That's good—I gotta keep you on your toes," she snickered, "Can't have you catching on to me this early in our relationship."

They continued to talk as they made their way back to the guest house, Lukas speaking telepathically whenever they came across another person. A few tried to stop and make small talk, much to Lukas' annoyance. Unfortunately for him, he didn't have Akira's political or social know‑how and couldn't deftly avoid conversation like she could.

Most who approached were curious about the newcomer, as they hadn't seen Lukas around the estate grounds before now. Not entirely sure what to say, Lukas vaguely told each person he was from out of town and simply visiting. That inevitably led to more questions he struggled to answer, getting no help from Sera.

Then there were the other encounters—the ones with those who'd seen or heard of Lukas walking around with Akira and speaking with Kora in private. These conversations were more varied: some curious about who he was and why he was associating with Akira and Kora, some friendly, others hostile or suspicious. A few were obviously looking to make a connection of some kind—something Lukas avoided as much as possible.

Each conversation was a battle, and the more he had to deal with, the more stressed he felt. Thinking back, Lukas really should've asked what to say in situations like these; coming up with something on the spot wasn't easy for him—he'd never been particularly quick‑witted. Then again, this could be a test to see whether he could hold his own and avoid giving away anything important. Either way, all he cared about was how damn uncomfortable he was.

His final conversation came from a group of five—an adventuring team led by twin elves, a brother and sister. The two had the Anuk family resemblance: bronzy skin and silky black hair. Judging by their looks, Lukas guessed they were Akira's cousins. They were joined by a male cannid and a male and female human, all wearing armor and gear, presumably heading toward the training fields. Annoyingly, they were Lukas' last obstacle to reaching his guest house, the building visible behind a few trees.

The group was friendly enough, curious about who he was and whose team he was part of without being pushy.

"I'm not with any of the Anuk teams; I'm here as a guest for the time being," Lukas told them.

"Really?" the elf man said, surprised. He was around Lukas' age and wore light, flexible armor with two short swords at his hips. "You're obviously fairly low‑leveled, but there's a lot of potential in your aura. Is that why you're here—potential recruitment to one of the Anuk teams?"

"Something like that," Lukas said.

"Well, we've already got five, but you might be a good fit for us. You're a rogue, aren't you? Someone to stab beasts from behind is just what we want. We've got two front liners, a healer, an archer, and a mage, so you'd be a welcome addition. In fact, we're headed to the illusion arena now—why don't you join us for a bit so we can get a real look at you?"

"Thanks, but I'm going to decline. I've already got enough going on today."

"Of course," the elf man said. "But we wouldn't be that long; I'd be very interested in seeing what you're capable of. I'm certain it's more than we expect from a freshly minted copper."

"As I said, I have a busy day ahead of me and can't afford any detours."

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"Right, I'm just saying—"

"Lance, cut it out," the elf woman said, wearing the same exasperated expression as the rest of the team. "The guy's busy—learn to take a denial. Sorry about him," she told Lukas. "He has a bad habit of pushing even after being told no, and it's gotten him in trouble in the past."

The others snickered, and the elf man—Lance—rolled his eyes. "I'm just—"

"Save it, Mr. Fancy‑Pants," the cannid told him, putting a hand on Lance's shoulder. "No need to make a bad impression."

"Exactly," the elf woman nodded. "He's busy today but could be available another time. Don't spoil that opportunity by being annoying."

"Fine," Lance huffed before heading off.

The others followed, leaving Lukas with the elf woman. "Sorry about that—he can be a handful sometimes. The name's Lyla, by the way."

"Lukas."

Lyla smiled, "Nice to meet you, Lukas. See you around."

With that, Lukas was left alone, and before anyone else could come along he melded into the shadows and made for his guest house, easily dashing through the foliage. Exiting the shadows, he appeared at his front door, waiting for Sera to reappear, but she didn't.

Looking around, Lukas reached out through the blessing. "Where are you?"

"I'm going to leave you for a bit. I've been sticking around for the last few days to make sure nothing went awry immediately."

"You're leaving?" He frowned.

"I know it'll be hard to go on without my constant comforting and reassuring presence, but that'll only make our time together even more precious."

There was silence for a few moments before Sera's laugh came through the blessing. "I might not be there in physical form, but I can still see that sour expression you're wearing. I'll still be around—always watching—don't worry. I'm just taking a step back to allow you to grow on your own without feeling like someone is there to hold your hand or get in your way. I'll still pop by in the evenings to talk, but during the day you'll be able to focus on improving without being distracted by my presence."

Lukas was silent for a few seconds before nodding. "That's… that's probably for the best. There's a lot I need to go over and even more I need to do; that'll be easier if I'm alone and can focus on my tasks."

"Exactly, so I'll leave you to it. Reach out if you need anything."

With those words Lukas was left alone. He couldn't feel her presence retract exactly, but it was as if a weight had been placed on his shoulders. He was alone. Taking a deep breath, he stepped inside and tried not to let the feeling get to him. He'd spent a lot of time alone before coming to this world—and after—but this felt different somehow. Sera had been a near‑constant companion for the last few days, and despite her jokes Lukas did find her presence comforting. It was a reminder that he wasn't completely adrift in this strange new world.

Of course, he knew Sera was watching him—hell, she could be invisible right next to him—but without being able to turn to her and see her, she felt absent. All he could do was shake his head and get used to the feeling. It would pass in time; once he turned his attention to something else he probably wouldn't even notice her absence. Putting the matter aside, Lukas moved to the house's training room and got on with his day.

He spent the next handful of hours going over what Akira had taught him, revisiting the stances and movements he'd been shown. They were awkward and left him feeling stiff, and more often than not he'd find himself toppling over. His only solace was that no one was there to see him face‑plant over and over again. He did multiple repetitions of each exercise, trying to get as much as he could from each, and while progress wasn't stellar, he started to get the hang of things. One thing was for sure, though—Lukas would be doing these basics for a while.

Around noon, Lukas stopped the physical exercises and moved on to other things—namely meditation and aura control. Normally he would do both at the same time, but since he was struggling to channel mana properly and had just learned how to manipulate his aura correctly, he'd leave them separate for now. He'd combine the two in the future once he had a decent grasp of both practices. Attempting to channel mana, practice aura control, and consolidate gains would push the limits of his Intelligence, Wisdom, and Willpower stats.

Wrung out from training, Lukas was eager to plop himself onto one of the cushions in the meditation chamber. He would've liked to get back to the books waiting for him in the living room, but he had enough discipline to know he really should focus on training first. If nothing else, he needed to make enough progress to keep Akira happy. Then again, thinking about it like that made him feel lazy—like he wasn't putting in enough effort.

Pushing distracting thoughts aside, Lukas focused on the room. The dense energies at its center swirled around him as he took his place, almost digging into his pores to be allowed into his body. Unfortunately, the energies couldn't help him regain his diminished stamina—only refill his mostly untouched mana pool.

Once comfortable, Lukas began meditating, encouraging the mana to flow through his channels. He was attempting to move mana through his Lurker of the Shadows ability like he had before—and was still having very little success. There was progress, but far less than with the physical training. It felt like making a homemade candle: dipping a string in hot wax over and over as one layer after another was added. The process was tedious and boring, but Lukas forced himself to stick with it.

The mana flowed through his channels and he could feel it—like a small wave of power passing through him before dissipating, almost like breathing. During each attempt he felt a swelling sensation as pressure on his channels grew; immediately after, the mana dispersed. Lukas realized this was because he was reaching the limit his channels could handle, and to protect themselves those channels vented the mana to prevent damage. That, and he was still struggling to hold it for very long.

He briefly thought he'd have to shut off this reflex to allow more mana to pass. Lukas quickly shot down that idea, recognizing how stupid it would be to disable such a safeguard and flood himself with mana his channels couldn't handle. That would put them under stress they likely couldn't bear. Akira had told him that if he couldn't hold onto the mana it would harmlessly disperse—which it had done so far—but shutting off the escape route would be like overinflating a balloon.

He needed to remember what the exercise was: you weren't supposed to flood yourself with as much mana as possible; you needed to circulate mana through the channels, pumping it through those metaphysical veins. Keeping this in mind, Lukas' progress increased—though he still struggled. The whole point was to get familiar with the process and gain enough control to attempt the technique without accidentally activating a different ability.

A few hours and a lot of mana later, Lukas brought his meditation session to an end. He felt he'd made solid progress but didn't want to go further without Akira there to ensure he didn't develop bad habits. So, he switched to aura control. He didn't push himself hard—at least not by projecting his aura outside the house. When it came to retracting, though, he gave it his all, determined to progress. He knew he was supposed to learn everything about aura manipulation, as Akira had said, but retraction seemed especially important for him—at least until someone taught him suppression.

It wasn't until around three in the afternoon that Lukas finished his training. He probably should've gone longer, but he could only improve so much in one day. Besides, he could feel the hours slipping away and was getting antsy after such a busy stretch. Now that he had free time, he planned to dive back into study mode.

Getting up from the meditation chamber, Lukas made his way to the living room. Upon entering, he saw the layer of chalk dust covering nearly every surface. With slumped shoulders, he sighed and forced himself to ignore the mess for now. Instead he walked over to a small, disorderly pile of books on the floor.

A part of Lukas knew he should probably go up to the lab and do some alchemy, but he had a good reason not to. He'd gone over quite a few basic magical‑theory and ritual texts in the last twenty‑four hours and was surprised to find a decent amount of overlap with alchemy. Granted, it wasn't a lot, but it was enough for him to want to dig further for new insights. Already he could feel a few ideas crystallizing, but he was still too far from anything concrete.

For now, he'd keep up his studies, doing the occasional bit of alchemy to test ideas. Any more and he'd start spreading himself too thin. Lukas would've loved to dedicate more time to alchemy—he loved alchemy—but things were up in the air and he wasn't sure what schedule he'd have. So he'd stick with learning as fast as he could.

Picking up where he left off, Lukas grabbed the next book on his list, pulled out his notebook, and got comfy on one of the least dusty couches. For the next six hours he devoured knowledge, jotting furious notes in an unstoppable frenzy.

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