Cultivating Talents [LitRPG Mana-cultivation]

Hector grunted as he sat down on the tree stump, one of the recent additions to the cave hideout. Apparently, while he was unconscious, they'd sold the hide to some merchant who wanted it. Emela had organised the whole thing. He rubbed at his chest, the Earthen Mole's claw attack still haunting him.

"Are you alright?" Mirae asked, stepping closer. Harry followed behind her, a pensive look covering his features.

Hector nodded, gesturing for her to come closer and resting his hands on his lap. She'd taken care of him while he was unconscious, spending every moment with him and tending to his injuries when she could—even if that was just feeding him the vitality soup. "What's up? Hey, Harry, how are you holding up?"

Fire crackled and popped, the flames licking at the metal pot that now sat over the campfire. They had set up a small table next to the fire, and Mrs. Strongmail stood in front of it chopping ingredients on a cutting board resting on the table's surface. Pippa, standing at her side, threw wry glances at her mother as if she wasn't sure what she was doing.

"Actually," Mirae said, stepping next to Hector. She raised a hand, rubbing at his shoulder, concern creasing her features as she scrutinised him. "Harry has something he wishes to ask you; it's just that he isn't sure how." Mirae gestured to the boy, now standing just behind her.

Harry shifted a little under Hector's gaze, the boy's eyes focusing on some loose rocks on the ground. Hector wet his lips and frowned, running his tongue across his dry, cracked lips. He needed a drink of water or something. He shook his head. "What's the problem, Harry? Is it about going home?"

That would make sense; he's been down here now for what—six days? It would make anyone go crazy. More to the point, he hasn't even seen his mother once in all that time. The woman must be worried sick.

Shaking his head, Harry sighed. He brought a hand up, scratching his head and ruffling his tuft of brown hair. "I wanted to know… now that you're healed, that is. If I could receive some training. I mean, I can't return to the dojo, and I feel like I'm a bit of a burden as is. I need to get stronger so I can help."

Hector sat up a little, wood scratching against him as he shifted on the stump. He took Harry in again. Short, but growing. A sturdy frame, though it could use some filling out—hunger usually did that to people. And in his eyes, a look of determination burned. "I don't know. Aren't you worried you could get hurt? I mean, if you leave here, there's always a chance those people could come after you."

"I know," he said, stepping forward. "That's why I need to get stronger. I can't sit down here hiding away from the world forever, hoping that they don't come after me. That's not living; that's not life. I want to be strong, like you."

Hector coughed, Mirae's hand rubbing at his back. He gave her an appreciative smile and turned back to Harry. Strong? An oversized rodent had almost killed him. Strong didn't quite fit Hector at the moment. "And you think you'll be strong enough then? You think you'll be able to protect yourself, then?"

Taking a breath, Harry paused. That was reassuring; if he'd just blurted out some passionate answer, that would have been a problem. It was one thing to want something; it was another thing if that want was based on thoughtless passion.

As mutters drifted over, Hector turned. Jodie stepped next to Pippa and her mother. The ginger's eyes lit up as she moved around the older woman, praising her for her choice of meal. Hector glanced up at Mirae, and she chuckled. "You should have seen her face when she woke up and saw all the supplies Emela and everyone brought back."

"Oh," Hector said, smiling. The others were coming down later today. They needed to talk about how the supplies were going to get to this merchant through the cave system, and Hector wanted to plan their attack on the Earthen Mole cave. They needed to know what secrets that door held.

"I don't know if I'll ever be strong enough," Harry said, "but that doesn't matter. Life has no meaning if I don't struggle. I'll be nothing but a bird in a cage, waiting for the day that I die, destined to achieve nothing and for time to forget me. I want to achieve something—I want my life to matter."

Mirae smiled, turning to Hector as if the boy had made the most moving speech she'd ever heard.

"What?" Hector asked, chuckling.

"Are you going to train him?"

Hector nodded and sighed. He tapped a finger on his leg, tilted his head to the side, and glanced at Harry. "Instructor Kamble didn't teach you anything but cultivation, did he?"

Both Harry and Mirae nodded.

Hector ran his tongue across his upper teeth. They had learned the most basic of foundations; their journey had essentially just begun. That gave him quite a few options. Now that they weren't going back to the dojo, at least not as full members, the techniques they could all learn from outside forces had expanded. All they needed to do was find some.

"I can teach you two the Orion Fist and Orion Leaping Strike. They are the two techniques that were passed on to me and should serve you well," he said to both of them. Hector jutted his chin towards Pippa. "I'll also be teaching her the basics. As for her mother, we will see what can be done."

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

Mirae pouted, gently slapping Hector on the shoulder. "If you were going to teach us all anyway, why did you make him stand there and give you such an emotional speech?" She said, resting a hand on her hip.

Hector shook his head, rubbing where she'd hit him, with a light smile. "I had to know that he was serious about it, is all. I don't want to make someone fight if they aren't ready for what comes with it."

"And you think Pippa is?" Mirae asked.

The shorter girl had taken her mother's place, dicing the ingredients as Mrs. Strongmail stood next to her, guiding her through the process. Jodie stood at the back, watching the entire procedure. A smile slipped onto Hector's lips; it was moments like this that were important.

He turned back to Mirae. Pippa was ready. "I've seen the same look that Harry has in Pippa's eyes. She's a fighter, and I think if you're not too careful, she could outclass you."

—- —- —- —-

Hector's eyes shifted to Lincoln. The boy sat across from him on the tent floor, a pensive look on his face. He'd hardly spoken since he'd arrived, instead choosing to mutter to himself about something he hadn't brought to Hector's attention yet. But they'd talk soon.

Sitting at Hector's side, Emela raised a brow. "Where did you get that?" she asked, pointing at Jodie's forearm, on which a new tree-like tattoo had taken its place.

Jodie raised her arm, showing the tattoo in the tent's mana stone light. The deep black of the tattoo shimmered slightly as she moved about. "I got this from Hector. Actually, it's one of a few things we need to talk about as well, aside from the deal with this merchant," she said, giving Hector a sideways glance.

Resignation slipped through Hector's chest as he sighed. When he'd told her, he hadn't expected her to keep it a secret from the others. That's not how Jodie worked; unless she believed it was important to keep someone out of the loop, she probably never would. She cared about her friends and wanted them to know exactly what was going on, especially if it could affect them.

Hector nodded, gesturing to Mirae, who sat on his other side. "We have something to tell you, but that will have to wait until after you've caught us up," he said, glancing at Emela.

The blonde curled a loose strand of hair behind her ear before turning to Marcus. "Well…"

For the next few minutes, Emela told Hector and Jodie what had happened while they were out. Marcus interjected a few times to clarify what he had done. The two of them had struck a deal with a young merchant named Ervig. He represented the Monteg family in their trade, and their interest in the Hairless Rat hide was substantial.

According to what Marcus said, the Montegs had a way to make the hide tougher once they processed it. So much so that once it had gone through treatment and processing, the finished product would be twice as tough as ordinary leather and just as flexible. Hector almost jumped at such a claim.

If that were true, the Hairless Rat hide would be worth a lot of silver to this family. Though there was a catch, they could only sell it to the Montegs. No one else in the city knew how to do what they could—at least according to them. And Hector wasn't exactly in a position to verify if that was true.

"So we both need each other," Hector said, raising a finger to his lip, the dried surface scratching as he rubbed it. "We are the only ones who can get them the Hairless Rat hide, and they are the only ones that can process it."

Emela nodded. "We agreed to take forty percent of the earnings the Montegs make from using the leather produced."

His jaw-dropping, Hector turned to Emela. "How did you convince a merchant to give you forty percent?" He glanced at Marcus. "Was this you?"

Fiddling with his hair, Marcus adjusted his bun and shook his head. "No. Emela can be quite convincing when she wants to be. She explained to the merchant how valuable it was and how much they needed us, and he gave in."

"It's not like they are going to come to the sewers and fight the rats themselves," Emela said, dragging her finger across the tent floor. She glanced up at Lincoln. "Your tanner friend would have been useless if it weren't for this Monteg person."

Lincoln shrugged. "There's more than one tanner in the slums."

Hector raised an eyebrow. Had the deal almost falling through gotten under Lincoln's skin? Clearing his throat, Hector signalled for everyone's attention.

I'll have to talk to Lincoln later. Finding someone to sell the Hairless Rat parts to hadn't even been his job to begin with, so he shouldn't be too hard on himself.

"We need to talk about that door in the Earthen Mole cave," Hector said, looking between the group. The power the door gave off was no joke. It was as if several Core Formation mana cultivators were giving off enough power to crush the slums in a heartbeat. He needed to see what was inside.

"You want us to attack their cave?" Lincoln said, leaning back and resting his hands on the floor, eyes turning to the tent ceiling. "I don't know if I can go, if I'm honest with you. If something as strong as the last one is in there…"

Lincoln trailed off, his eyes falling to his lap. Hector clenched his jaw. He couldn't promise the others that it wouldn't be dangerous. Nothing valuable comes without risk, but this could be an enormous opportunity for them. Scratching at his chest, Hector's gaze moved around the tent absentmindedly.

"It will be dangerous, and it's highly likely that something even stronger than the Rank 2 Earthen Mole we fought will be in there."

"Then why do you want to go back?" Emela asked, her brow furrowing as she fixed her gaze on Hector. She raised a hand, gesturing to his chest. "Look at what happened last time you went there. Even now, the caves are still teeming with those things. Why would you want to go back?"

Hector's head dropped. Why did he want to go back? It was simple. Right now, he was weak. He couldn't protect his father, and he couldn't even get revenge for him. Everything Hector did risked him and his friends. But this risk could change that. It could give him enough strength to go against the Collar gang, to stop hiding.

The fire in the middle of the circle crackled as it licked at the bottom of the pot Mirae had been using her Talent on. His eyes moved from it, shifting to meet Emela's blue eyes. "I have to," he breathed. "In a way, we have to. We don't have a choice."

"We do," Emela said. "We could not risk our lives."

Hector huffed, glancing at Nyx, who sat next to Emela. The black-haired girl avoided his gaze; instead, her eyes moved to the floor. She'd been there when they'd fought the Farmhands, when they'd almost died. "I don't know if you've realised, Emela, but we've always been risking our lives."

Hector shook his head, his white hair falling past his eyes. "Even now, my life is at risk, and I can't go home like you can. So, I'll take any opportunity I can if it will give me power and allow me to protect those I hold dear. Wouldn't you?"