Cultivating Talents [LitRPG Mana-cultivation]

The stink of rotten flesh masked with mud wafted towards Hector as the Earthen Mole leader loomed in front of him, like a small building. Its two enormous paws, claws thrumming with earthen mana, twitched. Its injured arm. Weaker. The greatest threat would be the right paw and its large teeth.

Three ice shards tore past Hector like arrows. The creature's good arm snapped up, the shards shattering against its darkened flesh and exploding into fragments, harmlessly pattering to the ground.

The Earthen Mole leader dropped its claw and released a bone-shaking roar. Wave after wave rushed through the air, slamming hard into Emela. The blonde-haired girl staggered back, raising an arm, movements stiff, and clutched her head, fingers digging into her hair.

Not good. Hector tugged at the back of his mind. Power surged up his throat, ballooning before bursting from his mouth in shrieking waves, slamming into the Earthen Mole, and shaking dust loose from the ceiling. Dazed confusion took over its features, its eyes foggy, and it paused.

"Emela!" Hector shouted, his heart leaping in his chest. The girl raised a hand, signalling she was all right. A calming breath slipped past his lips. Nodding, he rushed forward.

The Earthen Mole's right claw swept toward his chest in a wide arc. Pulling on [Ripple Step], he dropped to one knee, the claw whistling overhead as his knife carved across the creature's thick forearm. One cut below the elbow, a second an inch lower. Both slices barely penetrated past the first layer of thick brown skin. Static electricity crackled along his arms, leaping from his blade to the Earthen Mole's flesh.

As the Earthen Mole wrenched its right paw back, Hector pulled on the static. Sparks burst, exploding across its wrinkled flesh, and he dragged himself to the side, leaping onto the stone in a roll.

Ice shards ripped past him, slamming into the Earthen Mole leader's face, barely staggering it as they exploded into dust. Now was the time. Taking the chance, Hector exploded off the ground, slamming an Orion Leaping Strike double kick into its face.

A screech tore through the air as the Earthen Mole swung its head at him. Angling himself, Hector rode the creature's momentum, sliding along its attack with his leg, guiding himself down. Dropping to the stone and stepping out of the way, static thrummed.

This Earthen Mole's toughness could almost compare to the Gravity Forging-Seven man he'd run from. Hector jerked his chest to the side and moved his arm as another one of the Earthen Mole's claws ripped by. His leg muscles bunching, Hector jumped back, landing next to Emela.

"We're barely doing anything to this thing," Emela said, sweat coating her forehead as her eyes shifted from side to side.

"I can see that," Hector said, gritting his teeth. "It's a lot sturdier than I thought it would be. You'd think that wound would have weakened it."

Screeches of dying Earthen Moles bounced around the cave, playing in Hector's ears. His friends were doing their jobs. He and Emela just needed to keep this guy at bay.

"I think it has, or you would have been dead by now," Emela said as the creature lumbered forward. "If it continues at this rate, we'll make a mistake before long, and then we'll be dead." Her blue eyes shifted to him.

Well, thinking about it won't help. I have to act now and come up with a plan on the fly.

Hector zipped forward, dropping to his knees and skidding under a clawing arc. He bounced off his knees a moment later, jumping up at the Earthen mole leader's side, his mana-forged knife crackling with static.

One slash bit in barely an inch. The second bounced off the thick skin—a shallow mark. Throwing himself backwards, Hector took space as ice shards screamed past with a haze of frost, slamming into the Earthen Mole's face. It let out an ear-piercing cry, rattling the walls, with dust falling from the ceiling.

Hector's gaze snapped to the side. Had they finished up yet?

Closer to the entrance, Jodie slammed her heel down into the head of an Earthen Mole. She swivelled on her heel, and her hand whipped out, claws piercing the throat of a mole that leapt at her, opening it up from the neck to the stomach as it continued forward before slumping to the side. Dead.

A pool of fire bubbled a few feet from her. A red, swirling ball of flames spat free from it, slicing through the air and slamming into an Earthen Mole that leapt from Nyx's rear.

Lincoln fought at the back, a fierce expression on his face, dodging and striking at the Earthen Mole. He was holding his own, but that was for now.

"Jodie," Hector yelled, pulling on the [Blazing Arsenal] Talent. A pool of fire bubbled to life at his side, and he charged toward the Earthen Mole leader. Jodie would understand what needed to be done. She had to.

Two focused fireballs to its face should be able to stagger it and give Emela a chance. If they could disrupt the mana flow that empowered its defence, it wouldn't be able to resist.

The Earthen Mole leader's jaw snapped forward, static arcing harmlessly off its withered brown skin, as Hector kicked off the ground, shunting himself to the side.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

Three ice shards sang through the air with a whistle, slamming against the creature's face, shattering in a shower of crystals. Hector's legs pumped, the taste of copper flooding his mouth as he raced through the creature's legs, zipping by and dodging its erratic movements.

He leapt, sliding across the jagged stone on his knees, hissing as the Earthen Mole's paw slammed into the ground behind him. "Jodie, now!" he screamed, his heart hammering in his chest, as he pulled on his own [Blazing Arsenal].

Flames whomped through the air with a heavy groan, exploding into the creature's face in a deafening boom. The beast roared, staggering back on its hind legs, smoke and flames clinging to its retreating form, skin crackling.

"Emela!" Hector screamed, his throat raw, voice cracking.

In a blur of white and blonde, Emela darted past Hector. She skipped, launching off her feet, kicking off the Earthen Mole's knee and sailing up. Hector pulled on the static lingering in the Mole's body, having it explode across the Earthen Mole as Emela's heel slammed into its chin with a dry, heavy thud.

Light from the mana stone at her hip shifted across the cave as she pushed off the Earthen Mole, sailing through the air and thudding down, her feet skidding back. A moment later, a thick disk of ice burst free of the creature's head, engulfing its skull.

With a heavy thud, the creature crashed to the cave floor, a wave of air and dust rushing by and slamming into Hector and Emela, shaking their clothes and hair as Hector raised a hand, blocking the fragments. That had to have killed it, right?

As the dust settled, Jodie and Nyx stepped to their side. Jodie let out a low whistle, raising her clawed hands and lowering her stance. "Do you think it's dead?"

—- —- —- —-

Around the cave, bodies of Earthen Moles lay on the stone as Hector sat on the ground and tried to calm his mind. That had been more than he'd been expecting, a practical miracle they'd survived.

"It's over," Hector said, his shoulders shuddering slightly. He glanced at Jodie, standing at his side, claws at the ready.

His eyes shifted again from the charred husk to the shredded, open bodies. The corpses of the Earthen Moles lay slumped on the cracked stone, dark red blood spilling out beneath them like a pool of growing ink.

Hector exhaled, placing a hand on his chest and slowly lowering himself to the ground. Crossing his legs, Hector followed his ragged breath, stale blood-tainted air filling his lungs as his mind calmed.

Jodie shrugged, leaning forward a little as if to peer through the smoke that was slowly settling. The girl was probably annoyed she didn't get to fight the thing; after all, the last one had almost killed her. Shaking her head, she spun on her heel and made her way towards the back of the cave, steps coming to a stop next to Lincoln.

Hector arched a brow as, with a tight grunt, Jodie dropped into a squat and plunged a clawed hand into the exposed pinkish underbelly of the Earthen Mole Lincoln had killed.

"What are you doing?" Lincoln asked her, disgust twisting his lips as he staggered back, sandals scuffing against stone, sweat slipping down his brow.

She looked up, blue eyes levelling a steely gaze at him. With a squelch, she wrenched her clawed hand back, blood splattering onto the stone. "What you should do instead of looking so put out," she said, a glowing, blood-covered earth-type beast core pulsing slightly between her claws.

Hector's right shoulder popped slightly as he rolled it. Jodie was getting on to something. Drumming his fingers across his knee, Hector glanced at Emela. Hunched over, the blonde-haired girl rested her hands on her knees, Nyx at her side, her eyes warily scanning the room.

He should probably give those two a bit, though I don't think Emela will be very good at digging out beast cores.

"She's right, Lincoln," Hector said, placing a hand on the cool stone, pushing off the ground and hopping to his feet.

He made his way over to Lincoln. Purple static crackled to life across his palm, and with a flip, he held the knife handle out for his brown-haired friend. "If you could begin with those few bodies, I'll join you soon."

Hector gestured with the knife handle to four charred corpses slumped in various positions to the side of the room; some of the Earthen Mole corpses had limbs blown off and chunks missing.

Lincoln's gaze drifted to Emela and Nyx. Hector tapped him on the shoulder, shaking his head slightly. "I can only summon two knives. Besides, I don't think they'll be too pleased to be doing the job bare-handed."

"Hurry up, you dolt," Jodie—hands deep in the underbelly of an Earthen Mole—urged as Hector turned away from Lincoln and moved back to the door.

The door stood before Hector, intricate designs running across its surface. A shiver of appreciation ran through him. Although it looked recently built, the thing must be ancient.

Hector stepped to the side of it. It was a single door, with no wall behind it, standing upright. Logic dictated that if it were to open, that would be it; the door would go nowhere. But his gut told him this was more than just a door—especially with the mana coming off it.

"What do you think it is?" Emela asked, stepping next to Hector. She rested a hand on her hip, tilting forward a little and examining the symbols running across it. "I can't understand any of these designs."

"Well, it's a door; that much is obvious," Hector said, glancing at Nyx as she moved next to Emela. "But I've seen nothing like this before; after all, people don't just build doors in the middle of rooms."

Emela nodded with a sigh, using a finger to curl a strand of loose blonde hair behind her ear. "I'll give you this. Originally, I was sceptical about how much mana could be in this room, but standing in front of it, I can say it's truly unreal. This shouldn't be possible."

Her gaze turned to him, excitement buzzing within her blue eyes. "If we were to cultivate next to this thing, that would save us all so much time." A pained expression slipped briefly onto her features, but was gone a second later.

"That's why I said taking this room for the door was reason enough to raid this cave in and of itself." Hector raised a shaky, dirt-covered hand, reaching out for the door. Something like this had to lead somewhere.

There could be some secret alternate space behind it that would let someone train super-fast. If what I'm thinking is right, that could be crazy. I could train for a day, and when I came out, only a few hours would have passed in the real world.

"Are you sure you want to touch it?" Emela asked, raising a brow. Concern creased her features as her eyes shifted from Hector's hands to the door.

"I didn't almost get torn apart by an oversized mole just to sit and look at the thing," Hector said. His hands pressed against the cool metal, cold pulsing through his palm and fingers as he pushed. The door remained motionless. Even as he pushed harder, it didn't budge.

"It's not moving," Hector said, slamming his other hand against the door with a meaty thud. He grunted, the taste of copper filling his mouth, sandaled feet digging into the stone as his muscles strained against the door. "Is this just one giant piece of metal?"

Light flickered at his side; a holographic man taking form next to Hector. The man's lips pulled tight, his eyes narrowing as he stroked his thick white beard. Hector jumped, fright shooting through his veins in a sharp pulse. He scuttled back, falling in line with Emela and dropping into a fighting stance. "By the Great Lake, who are you?"