Cultivating Talents [LitRPG Mana-cultivation]

Jodie's eyes blinked open. The soulwaters of her soulscape lapped at her feet, a cool sensation brushing against her skin and the straps of her sandals.

Meditation had always been something that she enjoyed, something that brought her peace when the world was crazy. She hadn't needed it as much in the past as she did now.

She turned her gaze to the void sky. There, two green stars streaked across the blackness, their tails burning a trail behind them.

The Talents—the power Hector had given her that changed her, possibly forever. Or at least until the next upgrade, or he awakened a new one in her. Though Hector never said it, what he could do was life-changing, though he acted almost as if it were natural.

Her attention shifted to her hands, with their chipped nails and the dirt clinging to them.

These hands used to do nothing but work the forge with her father and cultivate when she could. So much had changed.

Now she was in tunnels under the city, fighting hairless rats, struggling to survive against the Collar Gang, hunting her friends—and her, to some extent.

She gripped her hands tightly; her nails biting into her palms, a breath passing between her lips. The Talents and Hector had changed her, but she couldn't become dependent on these Talents.

If she did, they might disappear one day, and she'd have nothing left.

Jodie rested her hands on her knees and dropped into a seated position, crossing her legs. Her soulwaters rippled, lapping at her thighs, the cool waters sloshing onto them. It slipped off as usual, unable to grip her. She tapped a finger on her leg with a steady rhythm, each beat calming her heart.

The doors to the Trial Realm would open within the next five days. The old man didn't say what waited in there before Lincoln's idiocy caused him to leave, but it had to be powerful or at least dangerous.

The way he'd talked made it sound as if this world was nothing but a minor occurrence to him, as if there were greater horizons out there. But if so, he had to have knowledge that she didn't.

She bit her bottom lip, her eyes skimming over the water and turning up to the void sky, lingering on the trail of the Talents.

Perhaps he knew something about Battle Intent; maybe there was a secret in the Trial Realm that could explain it to me. Never mind. I'll have to find out when I go there. However, I need to focus on meditation first. While I'm still a few months away from Gravity Forging-Three, this should close the gap a little. How do I know when this begins, anyway?

A moment later, as she took another breath, her soulscape shuddered.

Her heart leapt in her chest. Waves rose, rocking her slightly, splashing against her waist, and falling back down as a tremor continued through her soulscape.

In the sky above her, the void shook, and with a deafening bang, it exploded as a large, pulsing purple root snaked across it in an instant. Tendrils of smaller purple roots sprouted off it, growing out into the void. And just below the large root hung a comparatively small moon.

"What is that?" Jodie muttered to herself, squinting as a light poured from the moon. She raised a hand and shielded her brow.

A moment later, waves of mana crashed through her soulscape, slamming into her body as her soulscape continued to shake, the tremors getting worse. A sharp spike of pain stabbed in her head, and she let out a yelp.

The Talents streaked across the sky, shooting under the moon, completely unaffected. It was like they didn't even register the changes that were going on.

Jodie bit back another scream, clenching her fists, her heart hammering as the mana continued to flood through her soulscape. There was no way it should be this intense. Why hadn't Hector said anything? He could have at least given her some warning.

Moments passed as the chaos barreled on, but thankfully, the pain began lessening, going from excruciating to a more simmering ache, almost like dipping your hand in lightly boiling water. Not enough to cause you to pull your hand away, but just enough to be uncomfortable.

I'll have to talk to Hector about this when I get out of here. That damned idiot could have at least warned me.

As Jodie let out a breath, getting ready to actually cultivate as the pain became more bearable, a ping from somewhere in the distance reached her ear. She perked up, her eyes going wide, and again, the ping sounded off.

To her side, a wave of light washed over her and passed by her, continuing to expand into the black horizon before becoming faint and disappearing. She frowned. What was that?

Her soulscape had done nothing like that before. It never even showed that anything like that was possible, yet, strangely enough, it felt almost close. Little more than a few steps away. But then why couldn't she see anything?

Another ping hit her, and she frowned. Part of her wanted to get up, but she couldn't. The mana was still flowing in, and she'd yet to even go through the first stage of cycling, let alone funnelling. If she followed this now, she'd be giving up some cultivation time.

Dammit, but I have to figure out what this thing is. I can't just put it off. It feels like it's important.

Pushing off the ground, Jodie got to her feet, the water slicking off her with ease. The ping hit her again, a wave of light, both relaxing and intimate, washing over her body and passing by her.

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She had to follow it.

Letting out a breath, Jodie walked towards where the ping had come from, step by step, marching through the void, each ping from the unknown source drawing her closer and closer.

After a few steps, it became hard to walk, yet the ping was still there—pulsing through the soulscape.

But she couldn't get any closer; she couldn't move. Every step had become like trying to walk with a prized pig tied to both your ankles and with no cultivation foundation to boot.

Impossible.

Her eyes squinted as calmness washed over her. She recognised this calm. It was one she'd felt a handful of times when the situation had become so dire that her life was at stake.

This was Battle Intent.

But why was it awakening? While it wasn't the full awakening—the sharpened senses hadn't occurred—this was definitely it.

She tried to take another step forward, her feet barely even coming out of the water. She strained and strained, her muscles screaming at her. But she couldn't take another step.

Strange. What is this?

The power of calm continued to glide inside her. Something told her she had to keep moving, had to get closer to where that ping came from. Understanding lay in getting closer; every step that she took would give her more clues towards this Battle Intent.

But the question was, what had triggered this? Before now, her soulscape was quiet—no ping, no sound. But now, suddenly, there was a direction, a path she could follow. No. Would follow.

Did it have to do with this meditation?

Her gaze flickered up to the sky. There, the purple root, shrouding most of the void sky, continued to thrum. And below the root, the moon continued to pump. The vast quantity of mana flooded the void, almost saturating the air. It was more than she'd felt in her entire life—it had to be well over double.

It was because of this. It had to be.

Perhaps the vast quantities of mana had pushed her soulscape over a threshold. Had it stimulated something? Every time she entered Battle Intent, it was under stress. Perhaps that was how it connected to her soulscape. Maybe this new Talent Hector was using put her soulscape under a similar form of stress.

Her eyes lingered on the moon and the mana pumping out of it. Like a hole opened up in a water container, it seemed almost endless. It had somehow made her soulscape react. It had pointed to a way to grow and learn about her battle intent.

She lowered her head; her gaze turned back to the distance as another pulse rushed over her, fanning out into the void. Her muscles tensed, and she attempted to take another step forward. But fatigue screamed inside her. She couldn't move.

She was stuck.

I will figure out a way to get closer. Perhaps it's my cultivation realm. Maybe if I reach Gravity Forging-Three, I can take another step, get a little closer.

A ping slammed into her again, and she clenched her fists, her eyes levelling on the unseen origin in the distance. She had direction.

Her cultivation would be the foundation she would use to walk the path of Battle Intent. She wouldn't become dependent on Talents; she'd walk her own path.

—- —- —- —-

"Keep your arms tucked and twist your hips when you swing," Hector said, grabbing Mirae's wrist and positioning her arms at her side. "Keep your chin tucked as well, and when you're ready to throw a punch, whip it out."

He let go of her wrist and nodded for her to give it a go. With a grunt, Mirae twisted her hips the best she could, her fist flying forward. It was a little off, but she was getting there. Within a few more days, she should enter the novice rank with the Orion Fist technique.

At her side, Pippa and Harry were doing the same, their fists whipping out, concentration written on their faces. Harry had come a long way and would enter the novice rank within a day or so. He'd probably do it before the doors opened in three days. That should be enough for the boy to handle himself within the Trial Realm, depending on what it contained.

"Is it like this?" Mirae asked, throwing another jab forward.

Hector nodded. It was better—not yet there—but it was getting good.

Behind them, the central campfire pit crackled, spitting out sparks and embers, the smoke briefly surfacing before petering out as the [Gentle Sanctuary] Talent cleansed the air. He'd given the Talent to Harry in the last few days. Mirae needed to cultivate and would shortly step into Gravity Forging-One. He was but a few moments away from reaching a breakthrough himself; the next session would do it.

He turned over to the butchering table, where Jodie and Mrs. Strongmail chatted, both of them discussing the Hairless Rats and the creature's meat quality.

In recent days, they hadn't been hunting as much, so Mrs. Strongmail had less to do—though it was still important to make sure that they kept the supplies up, at least until the Trial Realm opened. After that point, it would have to fall by the wayside until the trial realm was over.

From what Emela had told them about sub-realms, they could be in there for up to a few hours or even months. It wasn't anything concrete.

This is turning out to be something stressful, but also quite rewarding. If we can boost our cultivation speed further in the Trial Realm, we might be able to take out that supply line that we discovered. When I make it to Gravity Forging-Three, possibly four, Gravity Forging-Six shouldn't really be much of a threat to me anymore, provided I have the right Talents equipped.

As Hector turned back to Mirae, rapid footsteps echoed into the cavern from the entrance. Frowning, Hector stepped away from his sister and craned his head toward the darkened tunnel. There, Marcus and Delworth, mana stones bouncing at their hips, barreled out, sweat dripping from their brows, their chests rising and falling in rapid movements.

Had they been running from something? That shouldn't be the case. While they weren't hunting as much lately, he and Jodie had made sure the tunnels closest to them were clear.

"Hector, I have news. Something big's happening in the slums."

Frowning, Hector signalled for Mirae and the other two to continue training and walked over to Marcus. What could've happened in the slums that even Marcus would consider big? Last he'd heard, the doors and people's fascination with them had been the talk of the town.

The things were popping up all over the city—slums, Central Middlec—there'd even been tales of the doors appearing by the edge of the Great Lake. There was no rhyme or reason to where they'd shown up.

"What is it?" Hector asked, his sandals scuffing across the cavern stone as he stepped over to Marcus. "Is it to do with the doors?"

Marcus shook his head, resting a hand on his chest, catching his breath. He waved a hand for Delworth to speak as he took a deep inhale. Delworth nodded, stepping forward.

"Well, you see, there have been talks around town. Apparently, according to some people… I'm not sure exactly where they got the information. But you know how these things—"

"Delworth, spit it out," Hector said, interrupting the boy.

Scratching his cheek, Delworth swallowed and nodded.

"There's talk around town, specifically in the slums, that the Collar Gang and the Scoda Gang are planning to enter a truce. They haven't decided upon the details yet—there are some hiccups with the matter—but it's in the works."