Cultivating Talents [LitRPG Mana-cultivation]

A hand whipped up with a crack, and Hector raised a fist, blocking it. Surprise flashed in the noble's eyes, and Hector's heart hammered in his chest. That attack was much faster than he'd been expecting.

With a grunt, the noble swivelled, his heel whipping up to Hector's head. Hector ducked under it and threw a punch of his own, but a palm blocked it. The noble twisted again, appearing at Hector's back in an instant, his elbow thrusting backwards. It cracked into the back of Hector's head, almost knocking off the hood of his cloak and sending him staggering.

And before Hector could centre himself, white flames flitted across his body and pain erupted, dropping him to his knees. It burned, licking at him but not searing his flesh. This fire was both real and illusory at the same time. Behind him, the noble, too, dropped to his knees and was screaming in pain, the illusory flames eating away at him.

A scream slipped past Hector's gritted teeth as the fake flames felt like they were charring his flesh.

"Hector!" Mirae cried.

Through the intense pain, Hector's chest tightened as a sense of annoyance bubbled up, but forgiveness suffocated it an instant later. She'd said his name.

Above him in the air, a voice boomed out across the hall. "There shall be no violence on this sanctified ground. Punishment awaits anyone who misuses or ignores this law. The fire will consume those who violate the law on multiple occasions."

As the voice faded out, the flames lowered and flickered away, and the pain stopped. Hector, placing a hand on the cold tile, staggered to his feet, pain throbbing through his body as his skin pulsed.

Behind him, the noble was back on his feet, being helped up by two of his lackeys. He looked toward Hector, his disgust unhidden.

"So your name is Hector. I might not have the ability to hurt you in here, but if I catch you out there, you won't be so lucky."

I could say the same to you, you trumped-up pig.

With that, the noble and his group walked away. A slight limp punctuated the noble's step; clearly, the pain hadn't faded. Hector gripped his chest and looked toward Mirae, the fight replaying in his mind. With his Talents, he would have put the boy down with ease. But without… he still had a lot of work he needed to do.

"I'm sorry," she said.

He raised a hand and rested it on her shoulder. With a chuckle muffled by the mask, he shook his head. "Don't be. I don't even know what happened. It was all so quick."

"That noble had some skill," Lincoln said.

Hector nodded. "He was far more versed in combat than I expected him to be. The slums seem to have given me a misguided sense of ability for fighters within the city. Nobles are no joke, and I guess from Emela's display I should have known that. I need to strengthen myself quickly, and if this place is really where I can do it, I can't give up that chance."

More people began trickling in. Some of them who'd been present earlier stepped away from Hector, clearly worried about drawing the noble's ire to themselves, while the other lower-class nobles looked at him with a sense of disgust, muttering amongst themselves.

"Ugh, I can't believe they think they can actually compete against the Frostkeeps," a grey-robed girl said, talking into her friend's ear while eyeing him. "They won't be lasting long, if you ask me."

"Are you alright?" Mrs. Strongmail asked. Her brown eyes shimmered with a hint of concern as she held her hands on Pippa's shoulders. Her gaze travelled around the hall before resting back on Hector.

He nodded at her, rolling his shoulders a little. "Nothing that I can't handle, though I do worry that he could be a problem in the future." The noble continued to move through the crowd, though Hector couldn't quite see his figure clearly anymore.

The boy had made his way over to a larger collection of what seemed to be the Frostkeep family. Emela was no doubt among them with Nyx. Had she seen what had happened? That was unlikely, given the number of people in the hall. To think someone had come all the way over here just to bother them. The nobles truly were efficient at wasting time.

"Forget about it," Lincoln said, dusting off Hector's cloak. "The guy had a few cheap tricks. Sure, he's good, but we're better. He just got lucky and clocked you on the back of the head. That was all."

Jodie scoffed. "Luck had nothing to do with it."

As Hector went to reply, a large hologram flickered to life in the centre of the circular array of doors. It was the old man from before they'd entered the Trial Realm, the one who'd started all this. Hector craned his head up toward him, trying to take in his figure, the rest of them following suit.

"Welcome, young ones," the old man said. "I'm glad that you small tribes could finally step in and seek to ascend. My name is irrelevant. Should you figure it out, that will be your boon." He then nodded to himself, stroking a hand through his beard. "I am but a humble initiator. For those of you who appear confused, this is a trial realm. Here you will fight for your points and secure a rank."

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The old man shifted his gaze, sweeping over the enormous hall. He coughed into his fist and readjusted himself. His cloak, which would have surely been grey, but was blue in the hologram, swayed a little.

"Around you, as you can see in the centre, is a collection of doors. Within these doors, you will find mission halls." The doors lit up as he spoke, rays of sharp light cutting from them and shooting into the sky. "Some mission halls will require you to complete hunting quests for points, while other mission halls will require that you complete alchemy quests."

He paused, wetting his lips, as his eyes ran over the hall. "There are other mission halls where you can find talisman quests and crafting quests. You will have access to all these mission halls, venturing in, accepting quests and completing them to earn points."

He swiped his hand through the air, and a list formed at his side, scrolling through a variety of items. "With the points you gain from completing these quests, you will buy various equipment, training manuals and cultivation resources, as well as food to eat during your stay. There are also many other things you can purchase using these," he said, taking a hand from his robe and raising a bracelet with a marble in the centre.

A moment later, a shimmer of energy flickered onto Hector's wrist. A bracelet identical to the one the old man held had formed there, its cool metal resting against his wrist. The grey marble in the centre of it held a number inside it made of golden light, which showed the number ten.

"You will all start with ten points," the old man continued. "You can spend these points however you like, but if you have no points, you cannot buy anything. That is it. Points are non-transferable, and you must pay to maintain your stay within the sanctuary through the purchase of a basic room. If you do not hold a basic room, the formation will eject you into the wilds. That is all I will say for now on the matter."

As the old man finished, waves of questions rose, but he addressed none of them. Instead, his gaze shifted, travelling outside the wall. Hector turned. There, the insects continued to rage against the magical dome that shielded the entire colossal hall. If anything, they had become more vicious, swarms of them beating against the invisible force like whips, crashing into the dome with explosive force.

"Insolent pests," the old man muttered, and swept his hand aside. A wave of energy washed out from him in a pulse, ripping through the hall and smashing into the tides of insects that waited beyond the walls. The wave evaporated them in an instant, leaving nothing but loose strands of smoke.

"That's the last time I'll intervene in this Trial Realm. I can provide you with no more safety. Follow the rules of the sanctuary, and progress as much as you can. This is a great chance for you, lowly, uncultured tribesmen, to become budding knights of the galaxy. Do not waste this opportunity."

With that, the form of the old man flickered away.

—- —- —- —-

"Really? The points are inside this?" Pippa said, raising her wrist and examining the metal bracelet. "How does it work?"

"I'm not sure," Harry muttered. His eyes drifted down to his own, and he rotated his wrist back and forth. "But the points should be inside it. Mine says ten."

Hector raised a brow. The black veins that ran along Harry's neck, though faint, hadn't reacted. The [Gentle Sanctuary] Talent wasn't active, but somehow his curse was still being suppressed. Was it the Trial Realm's doing, or the distance?

"So you have ten points," Pippa confirmed.

"I do." Harry nodded, dropping his hand back to his side and scanning the hall. His eyes met Hector's, and he nodded at him.

Hector eyed Pippa and Harry for a moment before shifting to Jodie, shaking his head at her. They were wasting time trying to figure out these bracelets and gain some semblance of an idea about what was going on. "He said that the more points we have, the more resources we can gain, so we'd best get moving."

Around him, groups began disappearing. Doors made of plain wood shimmered to life from loose smoke, and people stepped into them. Where were they going? Perhaps it was the basic room the old man had spoken of.

"I think that's one of those rooms he talked about," Mrs. Strongmail said, poking at the air above her wrist. "I can see it on the list in front of me. It says you can purchase a room, a basic room, for three points and it will last a day. There are other types of rooms as well."

"Three," Marcus muttered. "This trial realm goes on for thirty days." He raised his hand and began counting on his fingers. "If that's the case, we'll need at least ninety points just for the formation not to kick us out."

Hector shook his head. He didn't care about all that. If they had points, they wouldn't even have to worry about how many they needed. They'd be drowning in them.

"We should get going now," Hector said. "Every second we waste here is a point we're missing."

"I don't think so," Jodie said, narrowing her eyes at him. She crossed her arms and gestured with a hand at the sight beyond the pillars. "We don't know what lies beyond those walls. Sure, the old man may have dealt with those bugs, but there are other dangers. We should take this slow, strategise, and think about how we'll do things."

Lincoln looked between the two of them and let out a low whistle. "Well, that's quite the reversal—now Jodie's acting cautious and you're being reckless."

They both narrowed their eyes, and Hector let out a breath. "You're right, but with this, we don't have time to waste. Look at the nobles; they're already moving," Hector said, gesturing. He turned his head toward where he'd last seen the Frostkeeps.

Around the hall, groups of high-class nobles began streaming through various centre doors, moving with a sense of purpose. It was only the more confused ones and the commoners who entered the wooden doors. It's almost as if they knew what would be here.

Though, as Emela said, they had information on what was in a sub-realm, so it was more than likely that they had some idea of what was going on. "We don't have time to just wait around and strategise."

"But, Hector, it's dangerous," Jodie said.

Hector frowned, his eyes drifting to Mirae. "I get that, but—"

"How about we vote?" Delworth said, cutting the argument off. "That way, we'll know what everyone wants, and we'll go with that." He turned to Marcus, who nodded at Delworth's suggestion.

Hector tilted his head, crossing his arms. That would work and clear this up before it turned into a debate. His decision was the right one, and the others would see that. Even if Jodie didn't. "We vote."

"Who would like to focus on getting a mission first?" Delworth asked. "Raise your hands."

With that, everyone, aside from Jodie and Mrs. Strongmail, raised their hands. It wasn't unexpected, though it surprised him that Mirae agreed. She'd normally be as cautious as he was. Though he had to put that to the side for the moment.

"It's decided then," Delworth said.