Cultivating Talents [LitRPG Mana-cultivation]

Hector rolled the Beast Cores from one finger to the next, their glass-like surfaces clinking against each other as they moved. Crazy. Were the stronger cores bigger than this?

His gaze shifted to the cave entrance, the light from the [Gentle Sanctuary]'s shimmering dome reflecting against his purple eyes. Footsteps echoed down, causing Mirae, who stood at the side practising the Orion Fist with Pippa, to look over.

Nodding at his sister, Hector gestured for her to continue practising as he slipped the Beast Cores into his pocket with a soft clink. He walked over to the entrance, sandals tapping against the stone. It was more than likely to be Lincoln. Mrs. Strongmail had butchered a few Earthen Moles and Hairless Rats now, and it was time for them to be delivered.

Lincoln emerged from the darkness of the entrance, concern written on his face. Had something happened in the tunnels? Hector narrowed his eyes, looking past Lincoln and into the inky darkness behind him. Another Earthen Mole couldn't have popped up, right?

"What's up, Lincoln?" Hector asked, extending his hand to shake with Lincoln. Sweat covered his friend's hand, and Hector shook his hand off as he took it back, wiping it on his trousers. "Is it that bad?"

"That would depend on your definition of bad," Lincoln sighed, shaking his head. He tucked his hands into his brown pants and glanced up at the cave ceiling. "Whatever he activated has affected more than just this cave. The city is in an uproar; the gangs are more disorganised than usual, even the Collar Gang is being affected."

Hector shook his head, his eyes moving to the tree stump that sat by the crackling fire. Whatever Lincoln was talking about was something heavy; it was probably best that they sat down.

Hector moved towards the makeshift seat and gestured for Lincoln to follow. "I take it the door has drawn some attention in the city, then. What's going on? Did something get destroyed?"

With a grunt, Lincoln huffed down onto the stump. He kicked his feet out, careful to avoid the fire, and levelled a gaze at Hector. A slight confusion swam in his eyes as his lips parted, then closed again. He sighed. "Nothing got destroyed, not yet anyway. People in the slums have speculated that it's an attack, but I'm pretty sure it's not."

"What are you talking about, Lincoln?" Hector picked up a stick that rested at the side of the stump and prodded at the fire. Sparks flew, biting at the air as a chunk of wood collapsed in on itself, falling on the others.

Lincoln glanced over at Mirae and Pippa. The two girls had almost stopped their spar, only throwing light, aimless punches and loosely blocking, all the while occasionally and obviously glancing over. They were getting distracted. That wasn't good. Hector gave Mirae a sharp glance and gestured with his stick for her to continue.

"A sphere of mana has formed in the middle of the city," Lincoln said, turning back to Hector. "It's absolutely enormous. You can see it, even from the slums, as clear as day. If I had to guess, I'd say it's half the size of Central Middlec. Some people thought it would get bigger, but thankfully it stopped growing."

"So you're saying that this sphere has something to do with the door we activated?" Hector brought a finger to his lips as he continued to prod at the fire with the stick.

"No, I'm one hundred percent certain that it has something to do with the door." Lincoln shifted on the stump, removing his hands from his pockets and resting them on his lap. "Because as we speak, doors that look just like it keep shifting around the city almost randomly. No one can track them."

"Alright, well, damn, I'm not sure what to make of that," Hector said, bringing his hand to his mouth, his skin brushing against his dry lips. "Has there been any talk about how, or what, might happen when the door opens?"

If people learn that there's a trial realm, that could complicate things a lot. We'll have to fight others for the resources inside.

"No, there has been no word on what might happen," Lincoln said, glancing down at his dirt-stained hands. He splayed his fingers towards the fire, his shoulders sagging a little as he let out a sigh. "Some in the slums speculate monsters could burst out. But those thoughts are few and far between. The real problem is the interest the nobles have taken in it. The great families are even involved. They have released no official statements yet, but it wouldn't surprise me if they try monopolising the doors."

"It's a good thing they're constantly on the move, then," Hector said, glancing to the side.

Mrs. Strongmail strode across the stone, her leather boots crunching dirt underfoot as she came over to the two of them. "Sorry to disturb you, lads. I've just come to let you know that I've finished with the carcasses, for now. I'm going to take a bit of a break and then prepare some dinner for all of us."

Hector smiled and nodded. The woman was proving her worth more and more every single day; without her, a huge pile of corpses would just sit at the side of the cave. They might not even be able to get them out of the sewer cleanly. Jodie's butchering wasn't exactly neat.

"Thank you, Mrs. Strongmail. I appreciate the work you've done." Hector got to his feet, dropping the stick to the side of the stump as his gaze shifted from Pippa's mother to the neatly stacked piles of Earthen Mole and Hairless Rat parts next to the butchering table. "Take all the time you need and rest. We just have something to discuss, and then we'll be over to check on the goods."

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He turned to Lincoln. "Did you get the wooden sled I asked you to bring?"

Lincoln nodded, placed one hand on the tree stump, and pushed off with a grunt. He stood, his brown eyes moving to the cave entrance. "I couldn't drag it in; it's a bit too wide for the passage, but it should allow me to carry most of that," he said, gesturing to the stacks of animal parts.

"I'll take my leave then," Mrs. Strongmail said, turning and walking towards her tent.

I wonder what other abilities she has. She seems almost like a bit of a jack-of-all-trades. It probably wouldn't hurt if I had her teach the others a thing or two.

Mrs. Strongmail ducked into her tent, and Hector turned back to Lincoln. But as he went to speak, something tugged on his shirt. At his side, Mirae stood, holding a hand behind her back, swinging slightly.

"What's wrong, Mirae?" Hector asked as he leaned forward, moving a strand of Mirae's loose ponytail behind her shoulder and straightening her shirt. "Are you done with your training today?"

Mirae shook her head, Pippa stepping up behind her. His sister gestured to her friend, and a coy smile came to her lips. "We overheard you and Lincoln talking about the door you all found. And I've been thinking."

"Have you now?" Hector said with a slight smile. He raised a brow at Lincoln, who chuckled and stepped away, making his way over to the butcher table. "And what have you been thinking about?" Hector rested a hand on Mirae's head and gave it a light rub.

Slapping his hand away, Mirae patted back down her white hair and sighed. "You said that the room had an increase in mana, right? So we were wondering," she said, gesturing to Pippa, "if you could take us there to cultivate. I feel that I'm closing in on Gravity Forging-One."

She's right. If she's close to Gravity Forging-One, it would be best to get her into that room. The only problem is what we would do about the [Gentle Sanctuary]?

Hector's gaze drifted; next to Mrs. Strongmail's tent sat Jodie and Harry. The boy had been cultivating most of the day and was sure to be making good progress. Hector raised a hand and scratched his chin. It was unclear whether the 'curse' that was on him would weaken as he got stronger, but if he left this sanctuary, it would flare up.

"Give me some time to think about it," Hector said, lowering his hand and resting it on Mirae's shoulder. "After all, there will be some issues if you leave," he said, his gaze snapping to Pippa before resting again on his sister. He gave her shoulder two light squeezes before turning and making his way towards Lincoln.

Behind Pippa grumbled, "What did he mean by that?"

"Oh, nothing. Don't worry about it," Mirae said. "Come, let's go finish our training."

"Everything alright?" Lincoln asked as Hector stepped over. Lincoln rested his hands on the butcher's table and tapped his fingers against the wood.

"Nothing much; Mirae brought up a good point, is all." Hector stopped next to a pile of mole rat hide, dropping into a squat and poking at the slightly rotting meat; the undertone of dirt lay heavy in the scent, even with the rot. It was a miracle that the Montegs could make use of it. He turned his head to Lincoln. "Where were we?"

Lincoln waved him off. "We can't worry about that right now; the city hasn't responded yet. All I'm suggesting is that we stay vigilant." Pushing off the butchering table, Lincoln made his way over to a dull pile of stacked Earthen Mole claws and spiked spine ridges. "These are a lot less sharp without the mana flowing through them."

"Yeah." Hector wiped his finger on his tunic and got to his feet. The slums were in chaos; even the Collar Gang had been affected. By all rights, now would be the best time to launch an attack against them. But that would be a waste of time and probably achieve little. He needed to do actual damage. The Collar Gang had to feel it.

Two tent curtains flapped, and Hector perked up.

Stepping out of their tents, Jodie and Harry looked around. Harry ruffled his red hair; his eyes were slightly unfocused as he waved at Hector. Jodie, on the other hand, sneered as she saw Lincoln, but made her way over, shaking her head.

"I would say it's good to see you, Lincoln, but it's not," Jodie said, stepping over and curling a strand of ginger hair behind her ear. There was a freshness about her, like she'd made some progress. She spared a glance at Hector and gave him a nod before turning her attention back to Lincoln.

"So, what did the Montegs say? Will they be able to take the Earthen Mole parts, or is it a no-go?" She asked, shifting her gaze between the various piles that dotted the resource table.

Lincoln rolled his eyes, stepping away from the pile of Earthen Mole spikes and claws before turning to face Jodie.

"It's not exactly a no," he said, shaking his head and letting out a sigh. "The guy said he would consider it, but from the sounds of what I described to him, he'll only take the spikes and the claws. Nothing else. They really only care about the Hairless Rat hide."

Hector stepped back, a breath slipping past his lips. It was odd that they'd only take the Hairless Rat parts. The Earthen Mole hide didn't disintegrate like the Hairless Rat's did, and it seemed to be made of thick stuff. Perhaps in the future, they could find a tanner who'd actually want it.

"So," Jodie sighed, "I guess we just bring him the claws. And perhaps we could bring the hide along. Who knows, maybe we could change his mind."

Lincoln chuckled. "Unlikely. The Montegs seem pretty serious. Not that I've ever dealt with someone I couldn't handle, but this guy—he's tough."

"You mean you've met no one you wouldn't try to manipulate?" Jodie said with a scoff, glancing off to the side.

"Alright, well, that's fine. By the way," Hector said, "what about the Beast Cores?" He reached into his pocket and pulled out the two cores he'd been rolling around his fingers earlier. They clinked in his hands as he held them out.

"You think he'll take these?" Hector asked, handing them to Lincoln. His friend's dry hand brushed against his as Lincoln took them and weighed them in his palm.

"I don't know anyone who wouldn't take a beast core." Lincoln slipped the cores into his pocket, resting a hand on his hip as his gaze drifted from pile to pile. "Which one should I take first?" he muttered.

"How much do you think we'll get?" Jodie asked.

Lincoln shrugged, his eyes moving to Harry, who stepped by, nodding at Hector and making his way over to Mirae and Pippa. The boy was a good kid. Polite. Hardworking. He'd be a fine mana-cultivator, as long as whatever had infected him didn't kill him first.

"If I had to guess," Lincoln continued, "I'd say we'd get a few silver. Perhaps a couple of gold for everything, but I'm not sure aside from that."

Is that it? Just a few silver. People leave the city to risk their lives for Beast Cores. There is no way they would go to such lengths for just a few silver. Is Lincoln wrong, or are these cores just not valuable enough?

"I was hoping for some gold," Jodie said. "Earthen Moles aren't an easy kill. We risked our lives for these. The big one, at least, should get us a gold—it's Gravity Forging-Seven, or close to it."

Hector nodded. "It was on the cusp of a breakthrough. That reminds me," he said, glancing back at Mirae. "I want to talk to you guys about improving your cultivation before the trial realm."