The spears Dale was carrying were ordinary. No magic material, no enchantments, just heavy spears. Dale felt tired carrying them for so long.
"Everyone quiet, we're nearly there," Bron, the group’s captain, whispered. He looked at every man, and when his eyes landed on him, Dale nodded. Some of the men exchanged glances as they trekked into the valley. This journey had cost them a lot of effort, and soon they would arrive at their dangerous destination. From now on, it was complete silence. Soon the sun would be coming up, and the winlewa would wake. The party wanted to be in position by then, and not give any advanced warning. Everyone knew the plan by heart, so talking was pointless anyway.
They had woken up two hours ago, in the quiet dark. It wasn't an issue for them to walk through the night, all of them had developed their senses beyond ordinary human capabilities. Being able to see and hear well was part and parcel of being a hunter. The only non-hunter, Boris, had been training as a hunter before he joined the army. He worked as a guard for the town now. Instead of spears, he carried a large round shield on his back. Their plan largely revolved around him.
Carrying five spears on his back, and one in hand, Bron had crept ahead of the group. You couldn't hear him at all. The spears were so heavy that Dale could only carry two of them before it became hard for him to walk. He was bringing one for himself and another throwing spear for Bron. The strength that throwing these things required spoke of the man's well-developed body and soul.
Bron's soulspace must have been enormous after years of training. He had filled it up with mana constructs for different kinds of body refinement and a specific one for spear throwing, giving up versatility for strength. Bryse, Baron's son, was following the same path for growing his soul. Everyone in the group had at least one extra throwing spear with them for Baron and Bryse.
The hunters followed quietly. Dale kept paying attention to where he was placing his feet and to their surroundings. He got excited about the upcoming fight. For two days they had trekked through the forest, carrying heavy equipment.
The party consisted of all of the hunters from Newwary Hill and Boris, and though there wasn't a hunters guild, they still all knew each other. Eleven men skilled enough to sneak up on the beast and fight it. The core beast had settled too close by, and the town had recruited everyone who could be of help. Usually, the other hunters wouldn't invite him to come hunting with them, so he didn't have a lot of experience with hunting parties. Because of his still undeveloped soul, Dale was too weak to help out during most hunts. This time he almost wasn't invited to come either, but the group had felt more safe bringing one more member.
Dale was looking forward to the experience of a fight with a much stronger prey. Maybe he could impress the other hunters and open up the possibility of teaming up in the future. Most of all, he couldn't wait for the mana that came with killing the beast.
They were three days out from the town. Dale was used to hunting alone, so when the conversation died down during the trip, he had been fine. Long periods of being alone in the woods didn't make hunters into the most sociable people and Dale was no exception.
The winlewa had been spotted flying around near the town for the past month, and it had killed some of the town's livestock. No people had been killed yet, not that the beast couldn't do so easily, but people were terrified.
When monsters roamed about, people stayed inside as much as possible. Farmers refused to work the fields without additional guards posted nearby, but their little town only had so many guards. Stretching them thin did little to make it more secure. When word of the situation got out, traders would stop coming.
Winlewas are colossal lions, much larger than their land-bound cousins. Additionally, connected to their upper backs, are white wings, that together with their air-aligned mana allows them to fly. Legend had it that they had been ordinary lions once, who had been blessed by an air goddess to roam the skies. Generally, winlewas live in packs, but the hunting group's target was believed to be a young buck, out on its own to claim new territory. Luckily there wasn't a pack living close by. Something the town very much was interested in keeping that way. One young beast had inspired enough fear as it was.
Dale's father, Dromm, was the one who found the valley where the big cat made its home, and the hunting party was quickly assembled. Though they would be rewarded by the town for merely chasing the beast away, they had come to kill it. The body of the beast would be a great bounty.
The sun had not come up in the valley yet, but the sky had turned brighter. The valley still was quiet though. Dromm, walking in the front with Bron, raised his hand. Everyone stopped moving. He pointed at the side of the valley. There, on a slightly raised platform, was a large cave opening. Dromm had explained the lay-out of the valley before. They would hug the side of the valley, and try to end up next to the cave. There was hardly any wind to alert the hopefully still sleeping animal. Dromm pointed out the route they would walk to approach the cave.
While walking up to the cave, the sun came out. Birds, bugs, and many unknown origins started making sounds. The group tried as hard as possible to sneak up to the side of the cave unnoticed. Ideally, they could get in front of it, so that the winlewa was trapped. That approach did carry the largest risk as well. Something about cornered rats, but it worked for cats too.
Suddenly, when they were nearly there, Dale heard a deep, rumbling roar coming from the cave. The monster was aware they were here. The whole party moved. They weren't going to be able to trap the beast in the cave anymore, but they were close enough to try and take it down. Everyone started sticking their extra spears into the ground in two bunches next to Bron and Bryse. The hunters with bows unslung them, keeping one spear at the side. Daniel had set one spear next to Bron as well. Other than that he waited, spear in hand.
Then they saw it. Walking out majestically, the core beast cast its predatory gaze on the people gathered before its home.
It was huge, it stood roughly two meters tall at the shoulder. After walking out of the cave it unfurled its white wings, and its wingspan must have been more than ten meters. Dale thought the beast was beautiful. Its legs were covered in white feathers, its white mane gave it an elegance of a wisened scholar and its piercing blue eyes seemed to reflect an open sky. Dale was at the same time terrified and awestruck.
"Attack!" Bron shouted. Five hunters, one of them Dale's father, swiftly started firing. Bryse threw the first spear. It flew fast and true, aimed at the winlewa's face. It just cocked its head to the side. The spear lodged into the big cat's tough mane. Bron then threw his spear. If Bryse's spear was fast, Bron's spear was a blip. It hit the winlewa in the side, piercing one of its wings.
"Aim at its wings, boy! Make it incapable of flying away."
Dale snapped out of his wonder and focussed on the battle. He was standing among the hunters but wasn't able to attack the beast. He and some others stood there with their spears ready, waiting for what was next.
The winlewa was pissed off from the sudden volley of attacks, though it was only slightly hurt. It grunted, shook its wing to dislodge the spear, and rushed at them.
"Into the phalanx!" Dromm shouted, giving Dale a quick look. The group that hadn't attacked turned their spears towards the incoming core beast. Three bowmen slung their bows on their backs and picked up spears as well. Dromm just moved behind the spears of the others and kept firing.
Bron and Bryse threw another spear each. Both left gashes on the rapidly approaching and pissed-off animal's front legs. Still, it didn't look too hurt, and it was already upon them.
The phalanx formation convinced it not to charge into them directly, but it was so agile that it easily ran around them. The long spears were unwieldy, and the group of hunters couldn't turn them quickly. One of the main reasons to bring the heavy spears was just to buy them a second in this initial charge. It attacked them from the side, trying to charge through their formation. Boris stepped up and raised his shield. Dale knew that Boris had a Stone Wall mana construct, which only helped his body refinement a bit and was otherwise pretty useless right now. Meanwhile, the winlewa stood up on its hind legs and towered over Boris. Dale looked up to see the hate-filled stare on the beast's face.
When the winlewa was about to crash down on Boris four things happened. Bron and Bryse launched two more spears. Bryse's spear had hit it in the lower chest, leaving a deep wound along its ribs. Bron had aimed at its wing, hitting it and slamming the wing backward. Dromm had also waited for this moment to fire. Using his mana constructs in tandem the arrow flew faster and had more impact. It hit the core beast's face, getting lodged in its jaw. Finally, just when the monster's paw was about to slam into his shield, Boris formed his mana into a solid plate that overlapped with his shield.
The winlewa broke the mana shield easily and trampled down on Boris.
"Move forward!" Dromm shouted. One of the older hunters roared and stabbed the lion in the face. Dale moved forward with his spear and stabbed at the beast. He couldn’t even pierce its hide, but the joint effort of the group of spears pushing forward Forced the creature back.
"Keep pressure!" Bron shouted and the hunters kept advancing on the beast. Dale looked down at Boris. He lay on the ground under his shield, with his broken arm sticking out wrongly. The town guard shuddered and then got up. Holding the shield, with his right hand now, he kept up with the group.
Meanwhile, the winlewa had kept backing up. The party was pushing forward and the beast turned and ran for about thirty meters. It turned back to them and its feathers started glowing. A draft picked up around them. "Brace yourselves!" Bron shouted. The winlewa was preparing a wind blast with its air-aligned mana. Dale dropped his spear and ran to step behind Bron. He put all his weight leaning against the captain's back.
The winlewa flapped its wings forwards and an almost solid wall of air shot out towards the party. The wind raged and pushed the rest of the party to the ground, but Bron and Dale stayed upright. The beast flapped up in a massive jump and started to fly away. Bron aimed and fired his last spear in the upper-right shoulder of the lion. It staggered in the air but continued to fly and was picking up speed.
"Fuck!" Bron shouted as he glanced around. Everyone had gotten up again. They couldn't chase the lion if it flew out of the valley.
Sten, one of the older hunters, raised his bow and aimed. Dale could feel mana somehow being transmuted. Just before the winlewa flew over a line of trees Sten shot. The arrow hit the winlewa's wing. One second the beast didn't move. Not good, when you are flying. It dropped a little, crashed into a tree, and finally fell to the ground.
"On me!" Bron sprinted after the winlewa, grabbing his spear along the way. Everyone followed immediately. "It shouldn't be paralyzed anymore!" Sten yelled while running.
In a few seconds, we were upon the beast and surrounded it, spears pointed. The archers nocked their arrows and started channeling mana. It was in a sorry state, the accumulated injuries across its body and the crash had taken their toll. It stared menacingly at the hunters, but it just looked pitiful. The archers let their arrows fly, and they sank into the creature’s flesh. It slowly died, slipping from life in a few stunned, hazy blinks.
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A quiet wind blew through the valley, the world condensed into a single point and expanded again.
The hunters looked at each other. Someone started laughing, then they all started cheering. Dale let himself fall on his ass and just sat there, staring at the beast’s corpse. Bryse did the same.
"Take a five-minute rest and then we'll set up camp," Dromm said.
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Dale sat next to Boris around the fire. Bron and Dromm had started to dress the carcass immediately after the fight. Much of its body was valuable for soul cultivation. They would return home with as much skin, bones, and feathers as they could carry, all precious alchemical components, and sell it all. The meat was also rich in mana, but it would spoil before too long. Since they didn't have the tools to cure it in the wild, they were staying in the valley for the next three days, eating the meat continuously. Access to this resource was Dale's only payment for coming, and he was looking forward to it.
During the butchering and cooking, six of them had returned to their morning camp to retrieve all the camp supplies they had left there. Without the spears, they had returned in two hours.
They had set and cleaned Boris's arm and then given him a health potion that the group had brought. Dale knew like no other how expensive those were, but it was necessary. A broken arm could be dangerous, and it would be impossible for Boris to provide for himself. The town had given them the potions for this expedition. They would have to pay the potion back later out of the profit they would make.
Dale had watched with fascination as the cuts closed. It was his dream to become an alchemist himself. Brewing potions like these would become his bread and butter.
The group was well-prepared, yet they had only two of these potions. The town had given them to the group as upfront payment, partly to make anyone who joined the party feel more at ease. Daniel wondered if there were any more health potions in all of Newwary Hill. Perhaps the guardhouse had stored more.
Not being able to return both potions would reduce their pay somewhat, but having killed the winlewa, they would be able to sell the spoils. What's more, they also had access to free mana and soulspace cultivation.
Dale and Bryse had cleared the camp and had started a fire. There were slabs of meat grilling on a big flat stone by the side of the fire. Sten was making sure they were cooking evenly.
"What are you gonna do with the mana, Bryse?" Dale asked while poking the fire a bit. A personal question, but Dale and Bryse had grown up together and shared a love for cultivation. "Split it between body refinement and my spear boost construct. Dad isn't happy with the state of either," Bryse laughed.
Bron's improved hearing came through. He looked up from a few paces away and said: "That's right, boy. Neither of your constructs is worth the soul space they're taking up right now. You are leaving strength on the table."
Grimacing a bit, Bryse continued, "So yeah, I have to slim down my constructs, but with the bigger soul space I will also be growing them at the same time." Dale grinned, not pointing out the contradiction there.
Dale rubbed his neck while asking the next question. "What is your soulspace at?"
"Oh, I can nearly fill two mana stones, and my constructs should be the size of around three mana stones... You?" Bryse added some wood to the fire.
Now Dale grimaced. "I can fill a bit more than two mana stones."
He could barely fill two stones, and Dale had never locked his free mana into mana constructs. In other words, Bryse had two and a half times more soul space. They had grown up together in the same town, but his training as a hunter had given Bryse plenty of opportunities to grow strong and improve his soul.
Not committing to mana constructs made Dale too weak to hunt core or mana beasts alone, even weaker ones. Sometimes he would go hunt with others, usually with his dad. Dromm would teach him about hunting and give him a chance to obtain some mana for cultivation.
When Dale had mana, he spent a bit of it on body refinement, focussing on his senses. Without body refinement constructs, the efficiency was terrible. He spent most of his mana on buying unrefined alchemical components and refining those. A piece of bone, a horn, or whatever. Spoils from other hunters, like the spoils they would bring home after their current hunt. He could make it easier for others to extract mana from those during cultivation. At his current level, Dale was happy to break even on selling the refined products back. More often than not, he made a loss. Alchemic refinement trained his mana control, but it had left him poor and had not increased his strength. If he wanted to become an alchemist, he needed the practice.
Bryse didn't know what to say, so they both just sat there and stared at the meat being cooked.
"It’s almost ready, lads!" Sten said. Most of the hunters had already had their share and were deep in meditation. Bron, Dromm, and Sten would stand guard until the first group finished.
By eating the meat, they would digest mana that would help them develop their soulspace. Using a tiny amount of mana was a more efficient way to expand your soulspace, but the quicker, more wasteful option was to overload your soul with mana.
Bryse and Dale both looked bright-eyed at the meat. Although they could only eat the smallest amount of meat before collapsing from overmana, the fact was their soulspaces were still small and would develop the most from this opportunity.
Sten brought them a platter of meat, cut into small strips. Dale and Bryse immediately started eating. Dale tasted blood and a hint of the flames it was cooked on. It was very juicy. The experience of the flavor quickly took a backseat to mana flowing into Dale's body and soul. Dale felt warm and energetic at first, which changed to feeling bloated when he started eating his second piece.
Bryse was on his third piece already, the fourth in hand. Dale had started sweating. He took a deep breath and steadied his mind. The mana rushed through his body and into his soul. He was full of mana, but he could still control it properly. He started eating his third piece and tried to direct the raw mana coursing through his being, sending it from his body into his soul, which was rapidly building up in pressure.
Bryse's skin had become red. He was chewing his fifth piece with difficulty. When he swallowed the last piece he walked to an empty spot of grass, sat down, and closed his eyes. Dale wasn't sure if he could finish his third piece.
By now the mana had started rumbling in his soul. It was as if the mana wanted to smash his soul apart. That's the point, Dale thought. Dale took another bite, and then another. He clamped down on the quaking mana. Finishing the third piece, he got up and found a spot for himself.
He sat up against a tree and closed his eyes. It was difficult as the mana threatened to overwhelm him, but he sat in the most comfortable position possible and relaxed all his muscles. Fully relaxed, he then emptied his mind. He focussed on the swirl of mana in his soul. When any thought came in, he pushed it out again and returned his focus. Once his body and mind were in the right place, he started altering the mana.
Dale had digested too much mana for his soulspace to hold. That was the point of the training, but Dale had pushed far past his limits. I should be able to keep the mana under control. Just breathe, and then start applying the mana. Dale imagined his soul as a ball full of mana. Now that the vortex of mana was pushing against the sides, his soul was under pressure to expand. All Dale had to do was slice off a fraction of the wild mana, calm it, and then let his soul absorb it.
He focussed on the tiniest amount of mana and started to separate it from the whole. His body felt warm. Making a mistake now could lose him all his mana, or even damage his soul, reducing or breaking his soulspace. Dale stopped this line of thought and concentrated on the mana again. He calmed the mana and stretched it out like a floating mist. He pushed the mist against the boundary of his soul and felt it fusing with the wall of his soulspace.
After absorbing the mana mist, Dale returned his focus to the mana whirlpool. It still felt as big as before, and his soulspace didn't feel any different either. Dale repeated the process. Over and over, he repeated it. When Dale let the mana stream beat the wall of his soul too hard in one spot, Dale would try to keep it away from there, while dissolving mist on that spot. At those moments the absorption process seemed to go a little faster.
Dale didn't know how long he continued. Sliver by sliver he built down the dense mana. When the amount of mana came closer to the new size of his soulspace it became easier to manage, but the reduced pressure made it harder to push his soulspace outward. Still, he continued, losing some mana now and then.
When Dale had been cultivating for a long time, the remaining mana fit wholly in his soulspace, and it finally settled down. He didn't know how much time had passed, but the sun had set already. He was exhausted from the training, the fight, and the walking before it. He saw Bryse had gone to sleep. Dale walked up to his sleep roll. Right when he lied down, he faded into unconsciousness.
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"Morning, son." Dromm walked up to him with a waterskin in hand. "How are you feeling?"
Dale stretched and sat up. "Good, dad. Soulbruised, but I'm bursting with energy." He gladly took the waterskin and took a big swig. "Ooo," Daniel knocked his head back in enjoyment.
"That's normal. You'll be right," Dromm pulled Dale up and patted him on his shoulders.
"Did you cultivate as well last night?"
"Yes, after my watch. I'm gonna take a nap now. You'll be alright?"
"I'll be great. I can't wait to see my progress," Dale laughed.
Dale got three mana stones from his pack. Lesser mana stones were smooth dark grey pebbles, with a green rune covering the surface. Dale sat down with one stone in hand. He relaxed all the muscles in his body and cleared his mind. He found this helped him before cultivating. By now it had become second nature.
He pulled a trickle of mana from his soul and circulated it through his body. It gradually got absorbed on its way. Taking a deep breath, Daniel pulled out more mana. He directed it into the stone to fill it up. The mana was invisible, but he could feel it leaving his hands.
When it was full the rune became a brighter green. Dale grabbed and filled the second stone. Then he grabbed the third. By now, Dale knew his soul had grown quite a bit. The mana kept flowing into the third stone until it was more than half full.
My soulspace has increased by more than a quarter already, and it will still grow more. Dale thought.
Dale put the stones in his pack and walked through the camp. He could go back to cultivating, but he wanted to take a break. He didn’t feel ready to start bruising his soul again.
Most of the hunters were working on their soulspace, sleeping, or taking a break as well. Some of the older hunters like his dad would work on cleaning the winlewa's body. Bron was working on it now, removing the feathers from the wings and stacking them under a net. Bron nodded to Dale as he walked up and went back to work.
Boris was sitting around the campfire, his arm in bandages hanging around his neck. Dale walked up and threw some wood on the fire. “How are you doing, Boris?”
“Fine,” Boris said, “I thought that cat would be the death of me, but now look at it,” Boris nodded to Bron and the half dismantled carcass. Then he poked the fire a bit with a stick in his left arm.
“Luckily you’re fine, your mana-shield came in handy.” Boris laughed “Bah, that cat broke it like glass, and it still saved my life. These beasts are something else.” Dale agreed with that. Even with all their preparation the winlewa had very nearly killed Boris.
“Did you cultivate as well?” Dale asked.
“I did…” Boris replied, “but my arm is aching and it is breaking my concentration. I’m missing out here.”
Dale grimaced. He would hate that, but Boris was smiling. “It’s fine. I will get paid enough anyway. Can you cook some more meat?” Next to the fire was a big slab of rock that had spare meat. Anyone could take whatever they could eat. It was ridiculous to see so much mana just lying around.
“Sure Boris, how much do you want?” “Get that piece there for me,” Boris pointed. That was a giant slab, way more than he had eaten the day before. Dale quirked an eyebrow at Boris. “What? The meat is already losing mana. The guys with larger soulspaces already can’t top up anymore.”
Dale looked at the meat and suddenly felt stupid. Why was he taking a break? This was such a great opportunity and it was already sliding away. Right after cooking the meat for Boris and himself, he sat back down to cultivate.
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Everyone had gathered in the morning. Dale had his pack and a sack full of winlewa bones and feathers. Bron had finished butchering the beast on the second day. That evening the meat had nearly lost all of its mana, and they had decided to leave the next morning.
Dale had been able to eat up and cultivate three more times. As his soulspace increased he could take in more mana, and combined with the fact the meat was losing mana, he progressively ate more and more. The third time he had to stuff himself, but the cultivation was still productive. The previous evening the mana hadn't been enough to fill his soul anymore. Others with much larger soulspaces could hardly tell mana was still coming in.
Dale was rather glad he couldn’t cultivate any more. He felt miserable.
Cultivating had bruised his soul a lot. He had noticed the first time that bruising the wall of his soul with turbulent mana allowed his soul to absorb the mana mist more easily, so he had repeated that the second and third time. His soul felt like a bruised plum, that had then been thrown off a mountain.
It had worked though. The second time Dale cultivated, he had made more progress than the first time. He filled three and a half mana stones after that session, and after the third time, he could fill four of them. His soulspace had doubled on this trip. He also had twelve extra filled mana stones in his pack.
The guys with larger soulspaces had taken in more mana and blew that number out of the water. His dad had filled a greater mana stone and then some. That was just another benefit of having more free mana space. Dale was fine with that. He wished he could have collected more mana, but his progress was already much better than expected.
Bron looked everyone over and told them to move out. Dale would go home and take a nice long rest.
All he had to do now was walk for two days with a stinking sack of bones and a lion’s headache.