Cultivating Talents [LitRPG Mana-cultivation]

Hector slowly slid his foot back, his grip tightening around the two purple blades he held. Static leapt and swirled around him as his eyes latched onto the large Earthen mole standing before him. Twice the size of any other, the creature had thrown—what had become, compared to it—a small blockade of bodies to the side of the tunnel.

I can't back up. If I move, it will go after someone else. But is Jodie all right? Damn. What do I do?

"Hector," Emela spoke from behind. Hector's chest tightened; what was she doing here? He didn't turn. Instead, he focused on the creature, watching for the slightest twitch. "Is that one of the Earthen Moles?"

Before Hector could even think of answering, the beast leapt forward, its sizable claws slicing towards him. He jerked back, pulling on the [Ripple Step] Talent as the claw missed him, crunching into the stone. The ground spat chunks. The creature swiped again. Hector dodged.

Skipping to the side and sliding back, Hector spared a glance at Emela as the creature chased him. A composed look rested on her face. It didn't take her a moment before she charged towards the beast. What was she thinking?

He ducked another swipe before slashing at it with his knife. Missing. The creature roared, the sound vibrating in Hector's ears as he skipped back. The static field was barely slowing the thing down. Emela leapt at the creature, slamming her foot into its side with a heavy thud. It barely moved. Stepping a little, it readjusted itself and bit back at her.

Before Hector could think, he hurled the knife at the creature. The blade sailed through the air, slamming into the side of its face with a thunk, like he'd hit a chopping board. The blow staggered the creature, and it raised its head back in anger, the knife falling free, leaving a shallow wound.

"Move!" Hector yelled at Emela; she was close, too close.

The blonde-haired girl rushed back, circling the creature and coming to Hector's side. As she did, Hector pulled on the [Iron Skin] Talent. This was going to be a risk. He had to be prepared to take a hit. If [Hearty Body] activated, then good. If not… he just hoped Jodie was okay.

The beast leapt at them, and the two jumped apart as its pulsing brown claws slammed into the stone with a crunch. Hector jerked forward, knife aiming for its side. He needed it to expose itself. But it swivelled, moving faster than it had before. Its shoulder smacked into Hector, taking him off his feet.

A wave of water aura rippled to life just above his skin, dampening the blow, as he stumbled and slipped back. He glided across the stone, ducking another one of the creature's swipes. His eyes hunted for an opening.

Emela leapt up into the air and cracked her foot across one of the large spikes on its back. Letting out a furious cry, the creature jerked towards her, trying to take a bite out of her as she jumped back.

"It's the spine, go for the spines!" she called, her voice echoing through the tunnel.

Hector frowned, his eyes flickering to the ridges on the creature's back. His gaze then moved to its throat; that was where the soft tissue was. Why would its back matter? To the side, Hector glimpsed Lincoln shuffling further back, moving towards Jodie and Nyx.

That was good; he would be no use in a fight like this. If anything, he'd probably get himself hurt. Hector shot forward. Emela dodged another swipe. She twisted and cracked a foot into its forearm. The creature didn't flinch. Emela staggered back, tripping. Hector slipped across the stone, and as the creature's claw hurtled down towards her, he slammed into her.

With a grunt, they rolled away, the ground cracking as the creature impacted where they'd been moments before. Hector shot to his feet, charging, as the creature's head snapped to him. Ducking, he slipped by another strike and thrust his knife up into the mole's neck. A dull thud and a crack were all he found. It was protected.

His eyes widened as he spotted a small, thick layer of bone covering the creature's throat. His knife had cracked it. Not enough, though. "Hector," Emela called, tackling him out of the way as the creature's paw ripped through the air above him, a rush of wind blowing past his face.

He smacked onto heavy stone with a grunt before separating from Emela and scrambling to his feet. "That shouldn't be there!" he yelled to her.

"It's the spines. We have to go for its spine." Emela replied.

The creature charged at the two of them again. Emela hopped to the side, running in a curve, going for its side. Hector shot in the opposite direction. He'd have to work the bone. Breaking a spine wouldn't kill the thing.

The creature leapt for Emela, and Hector thrust his knives forward, putting his weight behind them. With a dull thud, the force vibrated through his arms. The blade barely went an inch deep. Too thick. The creature turned, blades ripping free as it roared, lunging at Hector. He hopped back, the bite crunching the air inches away from his chest.

Behind the Earthen mole, Emela leapt up, twisted and cracked her foot into the backmost spine. Snapping it clean off before landing on her feet. The beast's eyes went wide as it spun for the girl. Hector's heart leapt, diving and bolting to Emela. She leapt back, but not far enough. The creature's claw would hit.

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Time dragged to an almost stop as Hector pulled on [Quickening Brace]. The creature's neck was in sight. Emela was about to get hit. Something had to be in front of her; a hit like that would kill her. Hector flicked his wrist, darting one knife at the creature's neck. And as time sped back into motion, he leapt in front of her, blocking with his other knife.

The knife he threw cracked straight into the creature's throat bone, but that didn't stop the beast. Its paw rushed through his static field with a chain of sparks, slamming into his knife. Hector's knee cracked into the floor, bone breaking as he shoved against the weight of the creature.

He screamed. A frost dart tore free from Emela's hand. The creature batted it to the side with a swipe; the claw carried on through, tearing into Hector's chest and throwing him back. Hector thudded to the ground, a cold, wet feeling clawing at his torso. His eyes snapped to the creature as it raised another claw to swipe at Emela, who stood frozen.

Hector again reached for the back of his mind, pulling on a Talent. [Force Cry]. Energy swirled into his throat like a wave, tightening into a ball. It tore free of his mouth an instant later in a concentrated wave, slamming into the Earthen mole, lifting it off its feet.

"Emela, take it," Hector said with a pained cry. He tossed the purple knife to his friend as the creature staggered back. Its beady black eyes dazed, and its feet unsteady. Emela's head snapped towards Hector, and she snatched the knife from the air, rushing at the beast.

She plunged the knife towards the creature's throat. It chipped against it, barely going in. Emela screamed with fury, her eyes going wide as the veins in her arms bulged. Her arm exploded back, and the force sent the knife forward, slicing through the bone and into the creature's throat, going deep to the hilt.

The force sent Emela tumbling back. She rolled to a stop a few paces from Hector, her eyes snapping up, locking onto the creature, blood leaking from its throat. As it raised a paw, trying to claw at the knife, it paused, and a second later, ice erupted from its head in the shape of a disk. The Earth mole crashed to the ground, dead. Ice shattering across the stone on its impact.

A wave of calm rushed through Hector. The blackness that had been growing at the edge of his vision took his moment of weakness, and the world went black.

—- —- —- —-

The tent flap opened. The sound of crackling fire slipped in as the blonde-haired girl stepped in. Mirae glanced up at the girl, a weak smile forming on her lips, before her gaze moved back to her brother. She brought a hand to Hector's cheek, brushing it against his warm skin. "Nothing has changed; he's still not waking up." She glanced over to Jodie, who lay on a sleeping bag next to him. "She hasn't reacted much either."

"I see," Emela said, stepping deeper into the tent. The soft light of the mana stones washed over her brother and Jodie, making the blood that soaked their bandaged chests take on a darker shade. Emela spoke again. "And his healing?"

Mirae glanced up at her. She let out a soft sigh. "When you rushed back in here, I thought I was going to die. I thought the rest of my world had fallen away." She shook her head. Hector was the only thing she had left. "Thankfully, the soup is doing its job. Though nowhere near as fast as with Nyx. Neither of them has the Talent my brother gave her."

"So he'll be all right?" Emela asked, her voice shaking a little. Her blue eyes lingered on Hector, a sadness growing on her face.

Chatter came from outside the tent. Mirae glanced towards the tent flaps. Some voices got through. Lincoln, it seemed, was questioning Mrs. Strongmail on how long the butchering would take. Mirae turned to Emela, "I take it you are leaving soon?"

"I can stay," Emela said, lowering herself to the cheap carpet and crawling over to Mirae.

Mirae frowned, her eyes moving back to Hector. That was new. She'd always left, no matter what happened. Since when had she cared so much? "I don't mean to sound rude, but don't you have, like, a curfew or something?"

Emela nodded. "But he… my friends are more important right now." She glanced down at her hand. The thick, almost black veins on it bulged against the skin, the lines running up into her arms. She'd had them since she came back carrying Hector. It looked like they caused her pain.

"You should have some soup. They're both due for another round anyway," Mirae said. She reached for a small pot that bubbled a few feet away, a sweet scent bubbling off it as the vapour played in the air.

The [Vitality Stew] Talent did amazing things to anything she put in the broth. The ingredients would disintegrate upon being placed in, thickening and adding volume to the soup. Its flavour remained sweet and bready no matter what Mirae added; the only stipulation was that the ingredients had to be fresh, harvested within the last three days. That meant that hairless rat guts made up most of it.

Emela cringed a little as Mirae picked up a small bowl and spoon. She dipped the spoon into the soup, letting the liquid fill it, before placing it into the bowl; the sweet aroma wafted up her nose. She filled the bowl this way and then looked back at Emela. Confused.

"You hurt your hand; you should eat," Mirae said. "How are you going to explain that to your parents?" She gestured to the lines running up Emela's hand.

Emela muttered under her breath, but Mirae could only hear the dismissal in her voice—the girl probably didn't have a good home life. A knot of sympathy took root in Mirae's heart. Her arms wanted to wrap around her, to give her some comfort. But her hands were full, and she needed to feed Hector and Jodie.

She scooped out a spoonful and pressed it against Hector's lips. The soup took on a golden glow as it touched his skin, flowing past his lips with a shimmer and sinking away with a heartbeat-like pulse. She spent a few minutes doing that before scooting over and doing the same for Jodie.

The two then sat in silence for a few moments. Eventually, Mirae shifted.

I don't know how long it'll take you to heal, brother. But we still need supplies. I know if you were awake, you'd do everything to make sure we all have what we need. You always have. The least I can do is the same for you.

Mirae's eyes moved to Emela. The girl sat with her twin braids resting on her chest, and her fringe a mess. Hector's blood smeared her white tunic, but other than that, she seemed fine—if Mirae ignored the bulging veins in her hand. Emela's eyes never left Hector, even as it was clear her thoughts were somewhere else.

As Mirae went to speak, the tent flaps shifted, opening, and Nyx stepped in, followed by Lincoln. "Emela. Mrs. Strongmail has completed the butchering."

"I'm staying, Nyx," she replied, barely looking up at the black-haired girl.

"M—Emela, you can't; your parents would lose their minds," she said, panic jumping in the corners of her eyes. That had to be some of the first emotion Mirae had seen from the black-haired girl.

"I—"

"You should go, Emela," Mirae said, cutting her off. "My brother will be fine. If anything, you can help a lot more by finishing what he asked."

A pained look overtook Emela's expression. Her crystal-like blue eyes moved from Hector and rested on Mirae. "But I don't think I can do that. Not in good conscience. Not when I owe him my life."