Cultivating Talents [LitRPG Mana-cultivation]

A silence settled into the tent. Hector closed his eyes, resting his hands on his lap as he sighed. You couldn't live in the slums and not risk your life to a certain extent. If you went to the dump, there would be someone who wanted anything valuable you found. They might even kill you for it.

He'd seen as much happen once. Some guys practically beat a boy to death simply for not having enough strength to protect himself—weakness was a sin in the slums. Emela had to know that even if she lived on the slums' outskirts.

Fire crackled, the flames dancing as their warmth washed over Hector's skin. Opening his eyes, he glanced towards Emela, placed a hand on the tent floor, and fidgeted with the fabric. "If you don't want to come, I won't hold it against you. Though we're a mercenary company now, and I need you guys in on this."

"He's right," Jodie said, sighing. She shifted her legs, loosening up a little as she adjusted her posture. Her hand rested on her lap as she leaned forward. "We all agreed to join what Hector was creating. We all agreed to pitch in. While I agree with Emela that this will be dangerous, I can also see that there is an opportunity here."

Emela sat up, her eyes meeting Jodie's. She crossed her arms and waited for the ginger to continue.

"If there is a way behind this door to get stronger, wouldn't you want to take it?" Jodie asked. Her head turned to Lincoln, her blue eyes boring into him. "Aren't you sick and tired of ending up in a sorry state? You had to run when that Earthen Mole attacked. When we fought the Farmhands, I saw you flat on your butt several times. Don't you want that to change? Don't you want to actually defend yourself?"

"And you think that whatever's behind that door will give me that?" Lincoln snapped, his gaze narrowing at Jodie.

"I think there's a good chance of that," Hector answered. While he couldn't confirm what was behind the door, the Earthen Moles had benefited from the energy being released by the door. There was no other way to explain the fact that every single one of them was a mana beast. Even if they couldn't open it, the ambient mana alone would be enough of a reason to take that cave.

"We should vote then," Emela said, pursing her lips. "We are a mercenary company, after all. Might as well act like one. All those in favour of taking the Earthen Mole cave, raise your hand."

Lincoln glanced at Hector. As their eyes met, Lincoln shrugged and started fiddling with his fingers. Hector sighed, turning to meet Emela's gaze. It wasn't a bad idea by any means; if anything, it was the right decision. Hector refused to drag his friends into anything they didn't want to commit to.

Jodie raised her hand first. Lincoln followed, then Marcus, then Mirae, and then Hector himself. While Marcus and Mirae weren't part of the fighting force—yet—it was still important that they get a vote. Hector raised an eyebrow at Emela. "I guess we have our answer," Hector said.

Nodding, Emela sighed. Her hand combed through her fringe, curling a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "I guess we do," she said, "but I hope you are all aware of what you're risking. Whatever's guarding that door is more dangerous than the Earthen Mole we fought last time. If we're going to do this, we need to prepare."

Hector nodded, his mind racing. She was right. This was going to take some preparation. Traps would be good. If they could weaken it before they had to fight it directly, that would make things a lot easier. Maybe with a little more effort, they could do enough damage to it that the fight would end before it even started.

"Alright then," Hector said. The fire in the middle of their circle crackled, sparks jumping from its flickering flame. He glanced at Lincoln. "I don't suppose you know how to make traps?"

Shaking his head, Lincoln gestured towards Hector. "I mean, you are the handyman. I would have thought that was more up your street. You've built a lot of stuff, haven't you?"

"Building stuff to patch a few things up is different. We need something that could actually do some damage, or at the very least, hinder it a bit," Hector said.

"Considering that it's going to be at least a Rank 2 or 3 mana beast, anything normal won't help," Marcus said. He glanced up at the tent canopy, his eyes swimming in thought for a moment. Eventually, he turned back to Hector. "If my memory is correct, my father should have some talismans that we could use to injure it a little. I can get us a discount."

Hector nodded.

"Well then, with that covered, why don't you tell us about this new pact?" Lincoln said, sitting forward with some interest.

—- —- —- —-

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"Hold on, hold on, are you saying that you guys aren't even from this city?" Lincoln said. His mouth fell open as his hands dug into the tent floor. "Are you guys hearing this? No, I'm wrong. From what you're saying, you're not even from this world."

Hector tilted his head to the side. As far as he was aware, he and Mirae were born in Middlec.

His eyes shifted to the others as a slight weight lifted off his chest. He had contemplated how he'd tell them, but it coming out like this—Jodie exposing him—was for the best. He could give them all the information he had without feeling he had to hold something back.

"That's quite something," Emela said. She turned to Nyx, the two girls sharing a look before she turned back to Hector. "So, are you from a powerful family or something, given what you said about the seed? You can't be just a nobody, right? Perhaps a noble."

"Hector's not a noble," Jodie scoffed. She crossed her arms and gestured with a hand towards him. "I mean, come on, does he look like a noble to you?"

"He has a distinct look," Marcus said, his eyes falling to the tent canvas. "It's odd to see people with white hair, let alone purple eyes."

Jodie opened her mouth to speak, but paused. Apparently, she didn't have an answer to Marcus's observation. "That is a good point," Jodie said. "When you put it like that, I can kind of see it. Especially with Mirae."

Hector's sister shuffled a little closer to him as the group's eyes fell upon her. Hector rested a hand on her knee, giving it a light squeeze. From what his mother had said, they were beyond normal. She'd talked with disregard about taking over a planet as if it would be something trivial.

Perhaps to her, it's something trivial. She has the power to leave a planet and do so with no one even knowing she'd been here. If I had to guess, she's well beyond the Mana Ignition Realm.

"So, are you going to do it?" Lincoln asked, his brown eyes meeting Hector's. "Are you going to conquer the world? Take over Middlec?" Lincoln chuckled at the last part.

Hector shook his head. "I don't know about taking over the world, or even Middlec. I have to survive down here first. Strength is my only protection, and I need to gain that as soon as possible."

The others nodded.

"Ah, now I get why you were so confident about reaching Gravity Forging-One soon," Jodie said to Mirae. His sister's cheeks flushed a little as she averted her gaze. "That must be a crazy boost in cultivation speed if it can get you to Gravity Forging-One in less than a month. It took ages for Hector to achieve the same thing."

"It's a little of that, but it's also mostly down to a Talent I've given her," Hector said, taking some of the pressure off his sister. "Maybe you will be lucky and I can awaken some similar Talents for you guys."

"Here's hoping," Lincoln said.

"Alright, I have some meditation to do," Hector said. "Then I have some things I'm going to go over with Mirae and the others. I say we take four days to prepare for an attack on that cave. Are we agreed?"

—- —- —- —-

"Hector, can I talk to you?" Mirae asked, stepping closer as the others left the tent, the new pact freshly enforced on their skin. The flaps fell shut with a crumple, and Hector turned to his sister. Worry tugged at the corners of her lips, her eyes lingering on the tent entrance.

"What's up?" Hector asked, placing a hand on her shoulder. Expectations of a lecture on the dangers of going to fight the Earthen Moles played in Hector's thoughts. His sister worried when he did anything, but this was a bit more dangerous.

"I saw something the other day," Mirae said. Her purple eyes turned to meet his, and she sighed. "I don't think Emela is who she says she is."

Hector froze, his mind stalling. What did she mean by that? "What did you see in your vision?" he asked.

Mirae's visions always happened, a fact proven by their father's death. Though there were exceptions. During the Hilda Festival, Mirae had seen the guards capture Hector. If it weren't for his Talents, it would have happened the same way.

Mirae's eyes dropped as she brought a hand to her mouth, silence taking hold for a minute. "It's not so much what I saw—that's another discussion—it's who I saw her with. These people didn't look like slum dwellers. They would fit right in with the nobles, and that's why I said what I said about Emela… Hector, they looked like siblings."

Some similarities hardly make people siblings; after all, it's not rare for people to look alike. But if Mirae is saying this, then it's not just because they look alike; there's bound to be more to it.

Though if I'm honest, Emela, being a noble in secret, would actually make some sense. She's a bit more put together than anyone I've seen in the slums, and some things don't add up.

A little way from them, on the tent canvas, the small pot of [Vitality Stew] bubbled, the flames beneath it crackling as they warmed the metal. "Did you notice anything else about them?"

"I mean, they all looked very fancy." Mirae's gaze wandered over to the pot, eyeing it for a moment. "I can't quite say for sure. But another reason I believe them to be siblings is that they seem to know each other well. There was a certain disdain in their eyes, one that wasn't formed just after a few meetings, especially when the older one slapped her."

Hector brought a finger to his lips. Someone capable of slapping Emela was not weak. She, after all, was Gravity Forging-Five; if someone had slapped her, they would have had to be a lot stronger. "And from what you're saying, I take it she didn't retaliate?"

Mirae shook her head.

Hector bit his lip and frowned. If she didn't fight back, that implied not only was this person stronger, but if she fought back, she'd receive a punishment—if they were siblings.

And going off the apparent similarities and the disdain Mirae had mentioned, that was likely, especially if she was a noble. After all, even those in the upper class had their struggles.

"Are you going to confront her about it?" Mirae asked.

Would he? Hector stepped towards the tent entrance, weighing his options. If he accused her, he'd have to say where he got his accusations from. And he couldn't reveal the fact that Mirae could see the future—for now, that information was only for the two of them.

"I'll think about it," Hector said. He turned back, gesturing for her to follow. "For now, I want to get you, Pippa, and Harry into a training regime. The next few days are going to be hectic. Do you think you'll be able to handle it?"