Hector sighed, slumping onto his old rickety bed in a puff of dust. The food had been good, though his father hadn't taken his eyes off him the entire meal. His sister's free education as a Mana-cultivator seemed to not make him too happy. But that didn't matter.
With a grunt, Hector rolled over onto his front and gazed out the window at the dimming sky. His sister was going to be a Mana-cultivator; that was something to be celebrated. Especially by their father—he was always saying how they should do good. But that was hard to do when you were weak and untalented.
Talent. Smiling, Hector tapped his sheets. Talent was something that he wouldn't lack soon enough. The system would give him it in spades. He brought his attention to his golden finger.
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///: System update complete. Would you like to take a look at your new abilities?
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///: +++ [Yes] / [No] +++
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Hector struggled to hold back the smile that came to his lips but in the end, he relented as he mentally clicked yes. He rolled back onto his back and hopped to his feet as the contents on the translucent screen morphed.
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///: [Talent Garden]
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///: This ability allows the user to collect Talent Fragments off a Talent holder. Once the threshold of Talent Fragments is achieved, the user can then form a Talent Seed to be placed in the Mind Garden. Once fully grown the seed will produce a number of Talents one rank lower than the seed's level. The minimum rank being Common.
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Holy crap, Hector thought. I can now grow Talents, that's insane.
He raced across his ramshackle room and bounded out of his door, making his way to the street—he needed to test this out right now. If he could gain any edge in the upcoming operation, he needed to take it.
"I'm heading out," he yelled, bounding through the kitchen and leaving the house. He didn't wait for a reply from Mirae or his father; she would be home when he came back and his dad would be up to who knows what. If Mirae needed anything, he wouldn't be too far—it was just a quick trip around the area.
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Hector walked around the street taking in the surroundings. The cobblestone streets of the Middlec slums echoed with the hollow footsteps of the desperate and the damned. But he moved through the throng with purpose, his eyes scanning the faces of those he passed, searching for Talent holders.
The system, or to be precise his new ability, had said nothing about restraint or incapacitation, so perhaps he could get the Talent fragments without having to fight this time.
As he navigated the cramped alleyways, the stench of rotting refuse and human misery hit his nostrils. Many times he would walk down an alleyway and then stop, being forced to turn and leave due to the stench. The slums were a festering wound on the city's underbelly, a place where hope came to die and dreams were crushed beneath the iron heel of poverty.
But in a way there had been a comfort to that, knowing that he didn't need to try. Just go to the dojo, eke out a good Mana-cultivation level and he could claw someplace in this hell hole for himself. But that wasn't enough anymore.
The system has given me the opportunity to rise well above all this.
Hector frowned as he walked down the street. Ramshackle buildings leaned precariously against one another, their timber frames groaning under the weight of too many souls crammed into too little space. His gaze swept over the crumbling facades, taking in the gaunt faces peering from grimy windows and the hollow-eyed children huddled in doorways.
He had never been that bad, thankfully. His father had made sure of that, working long shifts at the Muddust family refineries for a company that didn't appreciate him.
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///: No talent found... No talent found x 4
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Talents truly are sparse. I'm glad I can at least grow them. If I had to continue at this rate, it would take forever to get anything good.
His mind drifted to his cultivation, to his level and lack of talent; the slow and sometimes unsteady progress he had been making was at times frustrating. His muscles were stronger than the average person's due to the fact that he was in Gravity Forging realm one. But it wasn't enough, far from it. That was made more than apparent when the Collar Gang broke down their door. He needed strength and fast.
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At this point, he was just hoping that there was talent out there that could give what he was looking for. He paused as he came to the end of the street, looking on as a small crowd of people continued to march about their day. It wasn't late but at times it felt like the time of day didn't matter to the slums.
Hector glanced across the road and spotted Diana's bakery.
The bakery's faded sign swung gently in the breeze as the aroma of sweet loaves danced through the area, a refreshing performance for his nose. It was a much needed break from the constant stink that filled the rest of the slums.
Continuing to watch the shop, he considered what to do next. He had still not found anyone with a Talent and it was going to start getting dark soon. He didn't need to make Mirae worry more than she had over the past few days.
It was a problem: Carry on, or go home and try again tomorrow?
But before he could decide, the door to Diana's bakery jingled as it opened. And there, emerging from the shop with a small, paper-wrapped package, was Lincoln.
What a lucky guy. I haven't had anything from Diana's in months.
His lips quirked up with a smile. Lincoln was no doubt running another errand for his mother. A pang of sadness washed through Hector's chest as a distant memory surfaced. "Mother," he said. The words tasted stale.
Shaking his head and putting back on a smile, he took a step forward. But a moment later, he jerked to a stop. At the other end of the T-junction, down the street, shouts came from what looked to be a vendor with his little cart turned over. A group of around four people had cornered him and were shouting in his face. Hector recognized one immediately. Adrian.
He would recognize his round rump anywhere. It seemed as if Adrian and his dump guard had finished at the dump today and were now doing a little cashing in on the vendors that were closing. It would seem that this one had been unable to pay.
The young man cowered on the floor as Adrian and his three cronies stood over him. The wares from his cart littered the ground around him, small trinkets and what looked to be some incense. Vital commodities to ward off the stink of the slum.
Hector frowned as he began to walk over. He had already taught Adrian a lesson once this week—maybe the idiot would give up without a fight. After all, he loved to prey on the weak, and compared to a poor hapless vendor, Hector was to be feared.
He threw a glance to Lincoln who still watched from the bakery door with a frown on his face. It took him a moment to spot Hector but when he did he gave him a nod and made his way over, but Hector raised his hand. He gestured for Lincoln to stop, signalling that he would handle it. The fight from last time had shown that he was more than enough to handle Adrian and his goons.
As he approached, he assessed Adrian and the three other boys. He had taken Adrian's talent last time, so it stood to reason that he would be weaker than in their previous conflict in the dump. And Hector had even acquired another talent, one that was sure to give him an edge in the coming conflict.
Not that there would be much of one.
Hector took in a deep breath before shouting, "Adrian, you worthless mutt. What are you doing?"
The chubby boy turned, his pudding-like cheeks red with anger. "Who the — Ghost. Why am I not surprised."
"Maybe because I live around here," Hector said, raising an eyebrow and coming to a stop a few feet away from him. He glanced at the three other boys around Adrian—they were gaunt, emaciated, and no doubt starving. Just the way Adrian liked them.
"What do you want Ghost?" Adrian crossed his arms and scanned him. "I don't know if you can tell but I'm a bit busy right now."
"I see that," Hector said, gesturing towards the vendor. "But I think the man has had more than enough so why don't you and your other mutts back off."
Adrian sneered as he uncrossed his arms and chuckled. "The other day at the dump must have been quite the confidence boost for you. I can't believe one lucky punch has got you making demands of me. That's hilarious." He fixed Hector with a glare. "Get lost Ghost, before I have to hurt you."
Is he forgetting how I laid him out?
He looked to Adrian's goons; each of them had a look of confidence on their faces. They actually thought that they were a threat. Then Hector realized: these guys weren't the same ones from the dump; the fool had somehow convinced some more people to join his little gang.
It wasn't a surprise—the hungry were a lot easier to convince than those with full bellies. "Hey, it was a fair fight. It's not my fault that I dropped you in one punch," Hector said, watching how the three grunts reacted. If they heard that Adrian had already lost to him maybe they would reconsider.
At least if they are smart they will reconsider. Though something tells me the hunger has stripped them of all rationality.
The three other boys seemed to not even register what he had said, as they looked at Adrian as if waiting for something. A smile crept to Adrian's lips, and he let out a bark of laughter. "You didn't lay me out. We both know that. I let you and your freak of a friend leave with your lives. It seems I may have been a bit too forgiving."
Hector scowled but found the anger he was beginning to feel give way to some humour.
He's truly pathetic. I almost feel sorry for him. Though I get it, you can't look weak around starving dogs.
"Okay Adrian, this is how it's going to go. I'm going to count to ten, and if you and these starving idiots aren't gone by the time I'm done, I'll refresh your memory of what happened last time. How does that sound?"
The boy's face somehow became redder as he jiggled with anger. His eyes flickered around as if looking for something. Whatever it was, a smile came to his face and he crossed his arms. "I don't need a ten second warning. Get him, boys."
This guy has lost his mind.
He dropped his stance as the moves for Orion Fist played through his mind. The starving boys charged him as one, which was good for them as anything less and they stood no chance. He shot forward and delivered a knee to the first boy's empty stomach.
Before the second and third could react, he hooked a leg around one of their neck, swivelled and slammed him to the floor with a crunch. The power of Quickening Brace activated and time seemed to crawl.
He wasn't moving any faster, but his thinking had increased. He could see where he would end up, giving him an idea. He slowly adjusted himself, lining his fist up. And when time snapped back into motion his fist slammed cleanly into the jaw of the final boy, laying him out with a thud.
Hector stood in place with the boys littered around him like discarded trash, locking eyes with a wide-eyed Adrian. "Your turn," he said, unable to stop the smile from coming to his lips.
Adrian growled, then roared as he charged towards Hector with his teeth bared. Hector ducked to the side but wasn't quick enough as Adrian grabbed the side of his tunic and dragged him in. Hector kicked off the cobblestone and delivered a knee to his gut. It did barely anything—his knee sunk into Adrian's blubber, losing most of its energy. It did stagger him, giving Hector a moment to back up, but it was ineffective.
It seems I'll have to aim for his head if I want to do any damage.