Cultivating Talents [LitRPG Mana-cultivation]

"This is stupid and reckless," Jodie muttered under her breath. She turned her head to the side and watched as a man poked steadily at the space above his wrist. A moment later, a door materialised from wisps of smoke in front of him. He pushed against its wooden surface and stepped through with a wide smile on his face.

Hector scratched his shoulder. She wanted to get situated, but they didn't have time for that. "We'll do that in time, Jodie," he said. "But right now, we need to get at least one of these quests the old man mentioned under our belts."

Murmurs of agreement passed through the group. Thinning his lips, Hector turned. The door before him radiated a soft power, nowhere near as intense as the door they'd taken to get into the Trial Realm. There were no sparks of electricity coming from it either. Above the door, it read, 'Combat Mission Hall.' Hector nodded.

He raised a hand and waved the group forward. He then moved ahead, sandals tapping across the tile as the sweet scent of flowers drifted up his nose. They'd been hunting Earthen Moles and Hairless Rats the entire time they were in their cave hideout.

Combat. The dojo had trained them in that since they were young—in Hector and Jodie's case, anyway. This mission hall would be a good fit. None of them had any experience in crafting or making talismans.

Perhaps in the future, Marcus and Delworth could try their hand at it—selling wasn't exactly the same as making, but there could be some overlap—maybe they'd gain something from it. But for now, they'd focus on combat and explore their other options later. They had thirty days, after all.

—- —- —- —-

They all shuffled into the room, Sandels and boots tapping against the clean tile. But as Hector came to a stop, his mouth fell open as he scanned the area. The room they had found themselves in was something he'd never seen before.

Crystal chandeliers lined the wooden roof, casting light on the ground floor and the upper-floor balcony. At the far end of the room, several reception counters lined up against the back wall. Above those counters, hovering just in front of the wall, were lists—similar to what the old man had summoned earlier—with what had to be the missions the old man was talking about. There were also wooden boards dotted around the mission hall, each of them holding mission lists of their own.

Hector turned his head back to his friends, a light smile tugging at the corner of his lips. Jodie and Lincoln held the same look in their eyes, whereas Mirae, Pippa, and Harry turned to each other as if to ask if any of this was real. Marcus and the rest just blinked.

This wasn't quite what Hector had been expecting. He brought a hand to his head and scratched his scalp. What was he expecting? The old man and this place were all outside the bounds of reality for Middlec.

He stepped forward, noting the other groups around the room—mercenaries and lower nobles mostly, though a few groups of commoners loitered near the reception counters. More still filtered in from the other three doors in the room.

By a board a little deeper in stood three individuals: one boy and two older-looking girls. Simple commoner clothes garbed their bodies, and concern wormed its way across their features. "We have to pick an E-rank mission," one of the older girls said, gesturing to the board in front of her.

"It's only worth thirteen points, though," the boy replied, combing a hand through a tuft of brown hair.

"She's right," the other girl replied. She raised her arm and jabbed at her bracelet. "With that amount, we can buy a cheap sword. Then we can take on higher-class missions. If we try to fight something with our fists, it will kill us."

Hector's gaze flickered away from them. A short distance to his right stood a free mission board, the list floating just above its surface, scrolling aimlessly. "Let's go over there," Hector said, thumbing at a board and throwing a glance back at his friends. He walked over to it, the group following behind, and read over the list.

"What do you think we should go for?" Jodie asked. Her ponytail swayed slightly as she stopped at Hector's side and slipped her hands into her trouser pockets.

Crossing his arms, Hector's eyes narrowed. It'd be best if they could get as many points as possible early on. There was no point in picking any of the lower-ranked missions as they wouldn't provide nearly as many points, so that ruled out anything below C-rank.

Though, depending on their difficulty, we could send Harry and Pippa on them. Doing an E or F-rank mission could be a good warm-up for the two of them.

Hector wet his lips, a cool sensation brushing across them as he continued to read. While a few D-ranks seemed like they'd be useful, doing a mission for only fifty to a hundred points was hardly going to put a dent in what they needed. They were going to be in this Trial Realm for thirty days, and they all had to pay ninety points each to stay in the sanctuary. They'd have to do at least eight to twelve D-rank missions just to cover that for all of them.

"I'm leaning more towards this one," Hector said, raising a hand and pointing towards the top of the list, where a B-rank mission flashed. "All we have to do is hunt Sun Rocs." He dragged his finger across the description, taking in the information. "It's a flying creature. Though it also says more information needs to be discovered about it."

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

I wonder if collecting information about these rocs and creatures like them is also a type of mission. Or if it's just a base of knowledge that people can build on to help each other.

"Oh, really?" Lincoln said, widening his eyes in mock surprise. "I wasn't aware you could fly now, Hector."

Hector sighed, lowering his arm and slipping his hand into his pocket. "I mean... yeah. It could be difficult, but sneaking up on it shouldn't be a problem. Then we just take it out from the back. I mean, it's five hundred points."

"I don't think we should," Mirae said. "It's risky, and I doubt it's a B-rank mission for no reason. If anything, we should look at the lower ones. That way, we can play it safer and gauge how strong these creatures are. We don't really know anything about this Trial Realm, after all."

To the side, another group stepped away from their board with determined looks. Hector couldn't see the quest they'd picked, but there seemed to be some confidence in them.

"Well, whatever we pick," he said, turning back to his friends, "we have to pick it fast."

"Agreed," Jodie said, causing Hector to raise a brow. She'd been so opposed to it earlier, but now she was saying they needed to be quick. Had she finally seen the situation they were in?

Hector turned to Mirae, Pippa, and Harry. As his sister was now in Gravity Forging-One, she'd be coming along with them—Harry and Pippa would not be, though that was only for now. In the future, once they'd gauged the threats in this place, that might change.

"So, what's the plan?" Lincoln asked. He shifted his head to the side, eyeing some nobles who lounged in chairs nearer to the front of the mission hall, by the reception counters. "Are we taking the lower-ranked missions?"

Hector nodded, resting a hand on his sister's shoulder. "We will be, though not too low. Mirae is right; we don't yet know the exact danger out there. Plus, since she's coming with us, it's probably best we don't take on anything too crazy. Even if the points are high."

"I mean," Jodie said, leaning in closer to the board. "This C-rank mission isn't too bad. It's worth 200 points. That alone is enough to buy all of us rooms for the day."

Hector nodded, raking a hand through his white hair so that it no longer blocked his vision.

"Basic rooms are also just the cheapest option," Mrs. Strongmail said from behind. She raised her wrist in front of her, jabbing at the air. "There are more expensive rooms, and they provide some benefits. Some of them have denser mana, and others function as training rooms. Perhaps if we gather enough points, we can buy ourselves things that could actually assist us, rather than just struggling to survive."

Hector nodded. That was the plan. While diving headfirst into the highest-ranked mission would be brash to say the least, it'd also provide the most benefit. They would have access to a lot more resources than people who picked the lower-ranked missions.

"All right," Hector said. "We'll pick a C-rank mission. Mirae, care to do the honours?" he said, gesturing towards it with a sharp jerk of his head .

The white-haired girl tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and stepped forward. She crossed her arms, then brought a finger to her lips, eyeing the board. After a moment, she reached up and jabbed. The mission she'd picked was a C-rank one, located in the Shade Forest to hunt a Shadow Wyrm. A moment later, a ping came from her bracelet. She looked down, her eyes widening a little.

"It says I can share this with anyone I choose," she said, looking up at Hector. "Though it splits the points between all involved. I'm going to share it with all of you now."

Well, doesn't that mean you could force people to help you complete a mission and then get all the rewards?

She jabbed at the air; then, a second later, Hector's bracelet vibrated. A small panel then popped up, detailing the mission on one side and a map on the other, which showed the direction to the Shade Forest. From what it looked like, the forest was not too far from their location.

Hector took a few more seconds to scrutinise the map, marvelling at the varied topography on it. There were swamps, forests, cliffs, and deserts—all in this space. While he couldn't say for sure how large it was, it definitely was not small.

"All right then," he said, lowering his wrist. Excitement bubbled in his chest, sending waves of energy through him. "I guess it's set." He looked over the group once more, a smile coming to his lips. "Let's go do some hunting."

—- —- —- —-

A wave of nausea rolled through Hector's body, but he kept himself centred. His sandaled feet landed on the smooth tile of the Grand Hall as he exited the mission hall. Stepping out, the room held a lot fewer people than it had previously—it was almost sparse. Though a few groups still gathered around the place, especially at the edges, where larger collections of nobles mingled.

"Who'd have thought they'd clear out so fast?" Jodie said, stepping next to him.

"Well, a lot of them probably really wanted to figure out what was going on," Marcus said, poking at the air just above his bracelet. "I know I do. As soon as I figure out how this all works, I'll be trying to accept any mission I can, as long as it doesn't involve too much fighting. I don't think I'm ready for that yet."

Hector raised a brow at his topknot-sporting friend. The guy didn't know his own strength; while not skilled in fighting when compared to even Lincoln, Marcus was no slouch. The boy fixed his blazer and dusted down his knees, sparing a glance at Hector and flashing him a smile.

"I think you'll be fine even in a little combat, Marcus," Hector said. "You don't give yourself enough credit."

Marcus's shoulder shook, and he straightened a little, his eyes scanning the area. Delworth, at his side, eyed his cousin. He turned his head to Hector and pointed at himself. "Do you think I can also fight?"

Hector smiled and nodded. When he'd first met Delworth, the boy had been taking a beating from the Farmhands—Hammond and his crew. A bubble of amusement surfaced in Hector's chest as the images played in his mind.

Delworth had seemed so uncaring about his injuries back then, more focused on finding his masks and apologising for being late for their meeting. It was so long ago, yet at the same time, it wasn't.

"I think you'll be fine if you train yourself up, Delworth," Hector said. He then turned back around, eyeing those still lingering in the hall. Towards what he assumed to be the north, a gathering of Frostkeeps lingered. They pointed at each other and gestured, though he couldn't quite make out any of their features, his mask not helping the problem at all. One thing was clear, though: they were gearing up to go out.

"Do you think the nobles will dominate this realm?" Harry asked, balling up his fist.

Hector turned to the boy and stepped forward. Raising a hand, he rested it on his shoulder and shook his head. "I think this will probably be the fairest playing field we'll have for a long time. We can make a change here."