The First Cultivator

Douglas shuddered as the barrier was dispelled. He knew the Professor was powerful. He thought he knew what a cultivator was capable of. He wrong. Very wrong. Malus was somewhat famous for his prowess. He was a dueling champion not that long ago. Now he was dead. Killed as little more than an educational aid by a cultivator. It was humbling.

"Well… fuck," Jonathan said. Douglas nodded in agreement. No other response seemed appropriate as the staff began mopping up the mess.

"You think the professor is interested in humans?" Victoria asked suddenly. Douglas turned to look at her. She was fetching in her brilliant red dress, accentuated by her low-cut cleavage.

"You might have competition for that, a lot probably," Jonathan said, gesturing to the Nicola who was even now surrounded by fawning nobles, most of them women.

"Fuck," Vicotria said. "Perhaps I should have gone after him more aggressively that first day."

Douglas didn't berate Victoria for her words. Anyone would want to bind such a power to their clan. Douglas turned to regard the other kin. Most of them had dense mana pools, but not overwhelmingly so. He expected that in a few months his mana would be greater. He was about to dismiss them when he felt it. One of the deer-kin, away from the rest, had an exceptionally dense mana pool. Insanely so. It was so dense that it was stirring the surrounding mana slightly. He shifted his focus to the mana pool's owner. The deer-kin was a young female with long brown hair and brown fur spotted with white dots. She was fairly lovely in a lime green dress. How close was she to becoming a liquid cultivator? She was far beyond the other deer-kin, except for the professor. Douglas hesitated for a second before tapping Jonathan on the shoulder.

"Who's that?" He pointed toward the deer-kin without being too obvious.

"Who?" Jonathan asked, looking in the direction he pointed. He then blinked in surprise as his sight landed on the kin.

"No clue. Why are you asking? I thought you weren't interested in kin."

"Yes! Very good! Join the furry side!" Victoria hissed like a villain from a bad story as she slapped him on the shoulder while wiggling her eyebrows suggestively.

"I said I wasn't interested in nulls," Douglas said, ignoring Victoria. "She isn't a null. Haven't you felt her mana pool?"

"Wow…" Victoria said her playfulness was abruptly gone. "That's some intense mana. I didn't think such dense mana was possible. Will that be what it's like before becoming a liquid cultivator?"

Douglas shrugged as he straightened his robes. It was time to introduce himself. He swung by the bar where the headmaster was talking to a striking woman and ordered two drinks. Alcohol in hand, he approached the deer-kin who was watching as the blood was wiped from the floor.

"Shocking, isn't it?" Douglas asked. The deer-kin turned toward him, her face surprisingly calm.

"Not really. I watched my people get enslaved. The violence here was nothing compared to that day. I'm just eager for my advancement." Her voice was smooth and soft. It belied her words.

Douglas held out one of the drinks to her. She hesitated for a moment before taking it.

"Thanks."

"I'm Douglas."

"Kelsa."

Douglas took a long sip, debating what to say. Should he try to be funny? His skills in that area were often compared to the grace of an oblong potato rolling down a hill. Perhaps asking about her past might be a good idea? But that could dredge up bad memories, actually, it almost certainly would. A neutral topic might be best.

"I've just started cultivating. It's harder than it seems. Can you give me some tips?"

Kelsa looked at him for a long moment before smiling. Douglas found he rather liked it.

"Sure, let's have a seat and chat." She gestured to an empty table. Douglas extended his arm, which she took. Was that a slight blush? He thought it was. Douglas smiled as they headed toward the table. This was going better than he thought.

***

Nicola finished shooing away the sycophants as Abigail joined him, a hot, wet towel in hand. She extended it out toward him. He muttered thanks as he wiped the last of the blood off.

"Feel better?" Abigail asked after he handed the towel to a nervous-looking servant.

"Yeah, thanks." An awkward silence fell between the two of them. What should he say? After such an act of violence, Nicola felt distinctly uncomfortable. The man had been insufferable, and he didn't regret his actions. That surprised him for a moment. Had he changed that much? As the most powerful cultivator here, he was due respect. Perhaps if the man groveled for forgiveness, he would've been granted it. He waited for the accusing voice to echo through his mind. Kinslayer. But it never came. Nicola smiled. This is what it meant to be a cultivator. If you had the power, then you could do whatever you wanted. He felt… free.

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He turned to Abigail. He was about to ask her to join him in his chambers tonight when a familiar shout reached him, the elder. A black rage filled him. That old fool was causing trouble during his celebration!? The lack of… face was appalling.

He stormed over to the commotion, and as if by instinct, everyone got out of his way. His ki pushed aside those who didn't move fast enough. He ignored them as the scene became clear.

The elder was near a table where Kelsa and a familiar-looking human stood. As he neared, he recognized him. Douglas, one of his better students. The man had quickly picked up on the mana compression technique and was working hard. He treated cultivation with the respect it deserved.

"You won't mate with a human! I get to decide your partner!" The elder boomed.

"We weren't going to mate!" Kelsa snapped. "We were just talking!"

"Talking back to your elder!? You've become rather disrespectful lately, Kelsa. I see it's up to me to teach you your place." He raised his hand for a blatant slap. Kelse looked shocked at the turn of events as Douglas moved to intervene. Nicola beat him to it. In a blur of motion, he was there holding the elder's raised wrist.

"Enough," Nicola said. He didn't shout or roar his displeasure. Yet his calm voice silenced all those around him.

"How… how dare you," the elder squeaked. He was trying to shout, but Nicola suppressed his voice using a thick buffer of ki around his airways. It was like trying to shout underwater. Nicola held the elder firmly and said nothing. The elder began to tremble beneath Nicola's intense stare. The fact that he just killed a man must have been fresh in his mind. After a minute, Nicola finally let go. The elder instantly pulled back, rubbing at his bruised wrist. It had taken all of Nicola's self-control not to break it.

"Go home. We'll talk later."

The elder looked like he wanted to protest, but turned away, gesturing to the rest of the herd. He ignored Kelsa and Nicola as he left in a silent rush.

"Thanks," Kelsa said.

"I'll deal with him later," Nicola said. "He no longer recognizes his place."

Kelsa didn't respond but turned to Douglas. "I enjoyed our talk, but I should go."

"I… enjoyed it too," Douglas said, and Nicola could see the man meant it.

They gave each other awkward goodbyes as Nicola returned to Abigail. He wanted the nightcap sooner rather than later. The stress of the day was getting to him.

***

Several hours later, Nicola was walking back to his manse for the first time in weeks. The time with Agigail had been nice. She was more than willing to join him in his chambers. She was somewhat aggressive in bed. He rather liked it. Now it was time for something far less pleasant.

When Nicola opened the front door, he immediately knew something was wrong. The herd was gathered outside of Kelsa's door as the sound of a struggle could be heard within. He moved to open the door when one of the herd blocked him.

"The elder didn't want to be…" Nicola didn't let her finish. He backhanded her, making sure to avoid using any of his great strength. The last thing he needed was another unintended kin death at his hands. She stumbled backward before falling on her ass. The rest of the herd backed off as Nicola kicked open the door. He let out a sigh of relief. It wasn't as he feared, but that was no lack of trying on the elder's part. Kelsa's shirt was ripped, exposing a single breast, but the elder looked like he had picked a fight with a cougar-kin.

"YOU FUCKING ASS!" Kelsa shrieked. "I TOLD YOU I'M NOT MATING WITH YOU!"

"I DECIDED WHO…" The elder began.

"SILENCE!" Nicola roared. Both of them fell silent as they noticed his arrival.

"You! How dare you treat me with such disrespect!? You've forgotten our ways!" The elder shrieked. "You and Kelsa both. You've lost our traditions. Ungrateful." His sentence was cut off as Nicola lifted him off the floor by the throat. His eyes were wide and disbelieving.

"You.. You would raise a hand against me!? Against the herd!?" The elder rasped. Nicola didn't say anything.

"You would kill a fellow kin? One of the herd?" The elder asked with a mocking smile that was abruptly cut off as Nicola squeezed harder, cutting off his air.

"It wouldn't be the first time," Nicola said in a dark whisper, then drove his hand through the elder's chest, obliterating his heart. The elder grasped the arm that was now protruding from his chest. A look of complete surprise on his face. Then his arms went limp, and Nicola tossed the corpse to the ground as the rest of the herd shrieked behind him, backing away. He ignored them.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm… okay," Kelsa said, looking down at the dead body. "I, I can't believe you did that."

"The old ways are over. The path of cultivation is made by walking on the dead. I just wish I realized this sooner."

"…" Kelsa didn't respond. She didn't look fearful like the others, but seemed to contemplate his words.

"How close are you to advancing?" Nicola asked.

"Oh… um, a few months. I haven't had any leylines to work with so…"

"I'll arrange for you to have one. I need your support. Can you do that?" Nicola asked. Kelsa regarded him for a long moment.

"Yeah, I can do that."

"As for the rest of you. I need your obedience. If you won't give it, then leave," Nicola turned to glare at the cowering herd as he let his words sink in.

The remaining twelve herd members shivered but lowered their gazes. "We'll obey… elder."

"NO!" Nicola snapped, and they withdrew at the tone. "That was the old way. Call me…" Nicola paused, thinking as he ran his hands over his still-growing horns. "Young Master of the… Fleet Hoof Clan." There were already clan members who were staff at Dageth, why not him?

"Yes… Young Master," they said as they knelt on the floor. Nicola smiled as Kelsa joined him, looking down at the herd.

"You know, I never realized how small they were…" Kelsa said, and Nicola knew the feeling. They had every opportunity to get stronger, and what did they do? Nothing. They were happy to live off his success, his effort. Now he saw them for what they were, weak. They let them grovel there for a full minute before addressing them.

"You shall address Kelsa as Young Mistress and serve her as my vice clan leader. In the morning I want you to go out into the city and find recruits. Not weak ones like yourselves, but those who want power. Find them. Kin are best, but even humans will work as long as they want power and will give their absolute loyalty in return. I will make them strong. If you won't work at becoming stronger, you'll serve in other ways. Oh, and dispose of that." He gestured to the corpse of the elder as he walked past the herd… no clan servants.

He exited the front door and took a deep breath of the cool, crisp night air. He felt alive. He was a cultivator, and he wouldn't let anything stand in his path.