"I guess this is enough," Harth said. "You have made enough progress in such a short amount of time to make Iri almost go all out. Still, you should have realized that your journey only started."

Raiden nodded... until now, he didn’t see anyone using abilities like the ones Iri used to heal Javier in the mine. So, that was probably something that he was going to learn in the foreseeable future. Healing skills seemed interesting, but he was interested in others as well.

Although Raiden felt like asking about those techniques with his family, he decided to wait and see since they were never mentioned. Just like they never mentioned anything like Aura Force until now.

In the end, Lenore told Raiden and the kids to take a week off before heading to the next level of the tower of mastery. She warned them that things would get a bit more serious now since they were at their appropriate levels, so they needed to relax a bit.

Still, Raiden soon found himself quite bothered by the excess of free time. A single day without doing anything aside from looking after his plants had been enough for him. Still, when he went to look for his spear, he didn’t find it.

"Sorry, little brother. Mom’s orders," Iri said. "She asked me to hide your spear for a week. You seriously need to learn how to relax. Our line of work is quite troublesome and dangerous, and training all day every day won’t do anything to help you deal with that."

Raiden studied those words in silence... they made sense, but he still didn’t feel like he could take it at ease at any point in his life. He knew how it was not to have any agency over his own life, and he didn’t want to experience that ever again. If he knew that he would have that much free time, he would have borrowed some books from the Tower of mastery.

"... I guess I will walk around the village to kill time and perhaps talk with those two for a bit," Raiden said after a sigh.

"Why not spend some quality time with your big sister for a change?" Iri asked.

"Nah, I am fine," Raiden said.

Iri’s mouth ended up hanging open, and her shoulders dropped. It seemed that he went a bit too far with his joke, so he quickly corrected himself.

"It was a joke, sorry," Raiden said. "Come to think of it, I don’t see you hanging around with kids of your age."

"That is because we are no longer kids, humph," Iri snorted and then looked away a bit angry.

Iri was a bit of an oddball in their village. Unlike most kids her age, Iri was quite sociable with Raiden and his friends, always engaging them in conversation and participating in their activities. However, despite her friendly nature, she didn’t have any friends her own age.

This weird situation puzzled Raiden. Iri’s outgoing personality made her likable and approachable, yet for some reason, she seemed to be somewhat isolated from her peers. The topic of her friendships, or lack thereof, seemed to be a touchy subject for her.

Recognizing her discomfort, Raiden decided to avoid the topic altogether. He understood that everyone had their own personal struggles and boundaries, and respecting Iri’s was important to him. Instead, he focused on the strong bond they shared, supporting her in their training and day-to-day life without prying into her personal affairs.

"So, what do you do here to kill time, big sis?" Raiden asked. "You don’t have any hobbies, do you?"

"Are you calling me boring?" Iri asked.

"Just hobbyless," Raiden said. "I am not implying anything. I also need a hobby. Doing what I have to do isn’t a hobby, after all."

Raiden knew that while his rigorous training and martial pursuits were necessary, he also needed a hobby, something to help him relax and provide balance to his intense lifestyle. However, he wanted a hobby that could be useful for his future, one that would not only offer relaxation but also benefit him in other ways.

Several potential hobbies crossed his mind. The first option was woodworking. Crafting items from wood could enhance his hand-eye coordination and precision, skills that were directly transferable to martial arts. Additionally, woodworking could offer a sense of accomplishment and creativity, helping him unwind after intense training sessions.

The most obvious thing he considered was learning a musical instrument, such as the flute. Music has a way of soothing the soul and could help him develop better breath control and rhythm, which are important in martial arts. Practicing an instrument could offer a meditative experience, allowing him to express emotions and find peace through melody.

"I guess I will buy some knives and then carve out things with wood, like arrows," Raiden thought. "I can’t imagine people here buying wood sculptures or something similar. Perhaps people from outside would, but..."

"Remember, no training," Iri said. "Why don’t you try to make a wood sculpture that would capture my beauty with absurd detail?"

"That would be difficult," Raiden said and soon saw the large frown appearing on Iri’s eyebrow. "As a beginner, I wouldn’t be able to do anything too advanced. That would be too difficult to capture as well because... I guess now that I can see it, you are quite pretty. You still have some room to get better, but you will get wrinkles if you keep frowning like that."

"I can tell that you are playing games, trying to stir me up a bit and then caress my ego," Iri said. "Anyway, let’s bother the old man and buy some carving knives, but remember, no training."

Iri, noticing her brother’s new interest, decided to join him. She had no hobbies of her own and thought this could be a good way to pass time together. To get started, she bought some carving knives for both of them.

Woodworking turned out to be a rather time-consuming hobby, but both Raiden and Iri found it surprisingly enjoyable. There was something deeply satisfying about shaping a piece of wood into something tangible and useful. For Raiden, the process of carving helped him unwind and gave him a sense of accomplishment beyond his martial training.

Raiden started slow, focusing on simple projects to build his skills. During that week, he began by carving basic shapes and small objects. His first creations were simple wooden weapons, a practice sword, a miniature shield, and even a small replica of his spear. Naturally, the spear was much smaller than the real one, but the intricate work required to replicate its details helped him hone his precision and patience.

Iri, too, found the hobby unexpectedly pleasant. Although she had no prior experience, she enjoyed the meticulous nature of carving. It allowed her to spend quality time with Raiden and provided a creative outlet she hadn’t explored before. The activity was peaceful and grounding, offering a welcome break from their rigorous training schedules.

"Here is your spear since you behaved well," Iri said when the week passed. "How do you feel now after spending a week just relaxing?"

"The same as always," Raiden said.

"I guess you wouldn’t know since you are still so young," Iri said. "You should notice the chances tomorrow when you spar with the others."

"Are things that intense on the next floor?" Raiden asked. "I couldn’t have asked for more. Those two will probably complain a lot... now that I thought about it, they didn’t come this weak. Maybe Mother told them to relax with their own families as well."