"Focus on your salad too," Mariah remarked across the table, her eyes glaring at Peter.
"Fineee…," Peter sighed, while Joseph chuckled.
"Tom told me something interesting today," Joseph said to Peter, drawing Mariah's attention as well.
"Didn't he go to train in the evening today?"
"He's called Tom???"
"Yes, he did. And that's what you are focused about? His name?" Joseph replied, answering both at once.
"The scary looking guy, with tons of cool scars and a ripped body is named Tom?" Peter found it hilarious.
"Be respectful, Peter," Mariah chided, prompting him to apologize.
"Well, he is a much warmer person compared to whatever your first impression of him may be. His position demands him to be stricter, that's all. Whether it be as Vice-Captain or as Instructor," she continued in Tom's defense.
"His Skills play a part in it too. He has one or two leadership-related skills," Joseph added.
"Leaving that aside, I heard you experienced skill high while he was trying to measure your familiarity with the sword," he said with a smile.
Mariah widened her eyes, clearly surprised. Peter wondered if she would restrict him from sparring until he dealt with skill high.
"How is that possible? He just advanced a year ago," her tone was full of disbelief, yet her eyes held pleasant surprise. Peter relaxed.
"It is certainly not unheard of. Exceptionally gifted noble scions do experience it pretty early too," Joseph shrugged.
"Is it something special?" Peter interjected, feeling left out. Both parents turned their faces toward him.
"Skill high is something that most people experience in their lifetimes unless they were particularly foolish or unlucky enough to not have any harmony in their skills," Joseph explained after exchanging a glance with Mariah.
"For those that do experience it, it happens much later in their lifetime. The easiest way to experience it is to have multiple skills that harmonize with each other," Mariah added.
"Having a high compatibility with a skill in comparison has much higher requirements," Joseph followed.
"Commoners usually experience it mostly in their early 20s at the earliest as far as we know," he continued.
"That's why your case is so unusual. You don't even have your class yet and barely meet the requirements for the least number of skills required," he said, resting his chin on his palm, pondering aloud.
Peter didn't. The harmony was between four skills, not two, he thought to himself.
"Well, regardless. This only highlights the fact that you have talent in this field," Joseph remarked with pride as he turned toward Mariah.
She just sighed and nodded.
"Tom said that you can teach me how to deal with skill high," Peter told Joseph, looking at him expectantly.
"Not now. If you're done with dinner, go to your room and sleep. You can talk about it in the morning," Mariah remarked while collecting the dishes to clean.
Peter could only nod and stood up to clean his hands before making his way to his room.
…
"To conquer a beast, we must first understand it."
They were sitting across from each other after their morning running and sword practice. Peter listened with full attention.
"Imagine your body as a carriage, and your soul as its driver. Skills are passengers on the carriage," Joseph said, staring at Peter. Peter nodded to show he was following along.
"When a passenger turns out to be very friendly to the driver, that's what we call high compatibility among Skill and the User." Peter nodded again.
"When multiple passengers turn out to be friendly to each other, that's what we call harmony among the skills," Joseph continued, smiling as he elaborated with his dumbed-down explanation.
"During both scenarios, the passengers could take control of the carriage from the driver. This phenomenon is referred to as skill high."
"The thing to note here is that the passengers are very skilled in driving the carriage on a specific path. For example, when a swordsmith experiences skill high, he might create the best sword he has ever made in his life."
"But he wouldn't be able to fight or farm better even with the skill high?" Peter asked, playing along and making a guess.
"Yes. Precisely. When uncontrolled, this phenomenon is known as skill high. But when controlled, we call it skill immersion. Skill immersion lacks all the potential pitfalls that skill high represents."
"In skill immersion, we don't give complete control of our body. We let them provide us with knowledge but maintain control of our actions. Do you understand?"
Peter pondered, then nodded back at him.
"But how will we do that?" he asked.
"First, a person has to identify when they are falling into skill high. Being aware and having the ability to fall into it on demand is extremely useful," Joseph replied.
"Then it is a battle of will. Immersion would flood you with ideas and ideas, almost like a mental attack. You have to remain lucid and in control in that situation. It is important to remember that you are the master of your body, not your skills. They are only aids."
"I only know of one method to train your will: meditation. It is a slow process. Turning skill high into skill immersion. Even then, it is a constant losing battle," Joseph sighed.
"I have been training my will for two decades now, and I still haven't managed to fall into immersion on demand. And when I do fall into it, I cannot maintain it for more than half an hour," he confessed.
"Why is that?" Peter asked. It didn't seem like it should be so hard.
"A sword needs a whetstone to grind against for it to get sharper. The same is true for us. As we grow, we need a bigger challenge to clash with. That's why so many people rush into dungeons and wilds, despite knowing the dangers posed by them," Joseph said with another sigh.
"Your dad decided to give up on becoming sharper to spend life with your mother," he smiled, caressing Peter's hair.
"Don't worry, I will become the whetstone to grind against for you in a few years," Peter promised him. Joseph didn't have to risk his life chasing greatness—Peter would be his challenge.
Joseph smiled, then laughed.
"Come, let me guide you through the meditation today," he said, gently caressing Peter's hair again.