The moment they arrived, he collapsed onto the grass outside the house, arms spread wide like an angel.
Joseph stood nearby, looming over him with a satisfied smile.
"Great work for a first day. Most kids give up halfway." He patted his knee before standing. "Rest for now, but stay outside." And with that, he took off again, running at a much faster pace.
By the time he was on his third lap, Peter had managed to sit up, watching him in awe. He kept going—lap after lap—before finally stopping beside Peter.
Peter couldn't hold back the question. "How can you run for so long?"
He shrugged. "Better stats, years of practice, and pure will."
"Can I see your status?"
It was kind of funny that Peter had never asked his parents about their stats before.
Joseph exhaled through his nose, then gave Peter a look. "Fine. But rest time's over after that—we'll start flexibility training."
Peter nodded quickly before he could change his mind.
Status…
[
Name: Joseph
Race: Human
Class: Blade Dancer lv. 84, Villager lv. 3
Level: 87
Age: 38
Title: None
Stats:
Health: 980
Mana: 520
Constitution: 99 Spirit: 52
Strength: 60 Agility: 62
Int: 24 Perception: 12
Skills: Mana Sense lv.36, Swordsmanship {one-handed sword} lv.68, Battle Trance lv. 24, Shadow Step lv. 52, Iron will lv. 32
]
"Only Battle Trance and Iron Will are Uncommon rank. The rest are Common rank skills," Joseph said.
"Battle Trance enhances focus and dulls pain. Shadow Step is a stealth skill. Iron Will provides resistance against mental attacks and fear."
"I wish I had more, but when you have limited options, you have to focus on minimizing weaknesses while building an effective skill set," he explained.
"I get it." That was exactly what Peter was trying to do—using generalized skills to stay adaptable.
After that, they moved on to stretching, exercises that felt a lot like yoga. they spent about fifty minutes on flexibility training before Joseph spoke again.
"Alright, today we'll focus on meditation and mana circulation."
They sat facing each other and spent the next thirty minutes meditating.
Joseph told him to empty his mind, to observe any thoughts that surfaced, then slowly let them go.
He then guided Peter through using Mana Sense to examine the mana circulating within him.
Sensing it was easy, thanks to the sheer amount Perter had. The real challenge was controlling it. He had too much. Any attempt at circulation ended in failure.
Peter half-expected a system prompt, something to inform him that he had unlocked a skill—but nothing came.
Training wrapped up around nine. Joseph went first for a bath while Peter had breakfast, then they switched. By the time Peter stepped out, he was already off to work.
That left Peter with Mariah, who gave him an hour to rest before his academic lessons.
He spent that time lying in bed, working on IDE.
After that, He followed her upstairs to the second floor, where she handed him a quill and a small glass bottle of ink.
The next three hours were spent learning to read and write in the common language.
Literacy rates in this world were surprisingly high, largely because people were motivated to unlock and improve their Intelligence stat.
Unlike Perception or Luck, Intelligence was one of the few stats that could be increased through sheer effort.
For now, they focused solely on mastering the language rather than delving into other subjects.
When lunchtime arrived, Mariah left him to practice what he had learned while she prepared the meal.
They ate together, then resumed studying in the afternoon.
By evening, he was free to do whatever he wanted.
Not long after, Monica and her group came by, inviting him to play. He agreed and spent the next few hours with them.
It might have seemed odd for Peter to play with kids, but he genuinely enjoyed it. For now, it was his only real source of entertainment—and they were his only friends.
Adults kept to themselves, never seeing him as more than a particularly smart child.
Humans were social creatures. Going too long without companionship would only lead to mental stress.
Besides, isolating himself in his room all the time would only make his parents worry.
Once everyone headed home, he did the same, having dinner with his mother. His father wouldn't return until late at night after finishing his shift.
After dinner, he went to bed—but he didn't sleep just yet.
For the next four hours, he worked on his IDE before finally calling it a night.
…
Days turned into weeks, and weeks into a month—a whole month of following the same routine.
Peter made steady progress in everything. His morning training remained mostly unchanged, though he could now run two laps instead of one. Mana circulation was still difficult, but he was improving, so there was little cause for concern.
In the meantime, he unlocked a Running skill but chose not to accept it.
His study sessions also saw progress. He had mastered the common language and could now read it fluently, much to his mother's delight. His handwriting, however, was another story.
Writing with a quill was anything but easy. His progress was slow, and his letters looked like squashed insects. Mariah, unimpressed, insisted they keep practicing until his handwriting was as elegant as hers.
On the bright side, he finally unlocked Intelligence—though only in the last week.
Once that happened, Mariah expanded their lessons. She introduced a book on herbs and animals she had tucked away and began teaching him about nobility, currency, and geography.
It was all incredibly useful.
They also tackled mathematics. Compared to this world's standards, Peter was already proficient, but the subject remained his least favourite.
... To be continued
P.S. We will start having time skips now to show more action events like hunting trips, sparing sessions and what not. Basically, The story will be picking pace.