1.

People are too scared of the word talent, Udo thought.

Elders loved it, children chased it like candy. All to reach the end of what that path offers. But that’s the thing with talent. The rewards were at the end.

He lifted his hammer with one arm as he looked at the trembling mouse in front of him, a girl that barely reached his shoulder.

Udo smiled.

‘There’s this kids show that I like,’ he said.

‘Oh?’ the tiny girl said. ‘Do tell.’

Their two sword users, Jaden and James, went left, facing the girl with the sword. The edge of the blade was nicked everywhere and streaked red. Udo grinned. They definitely had loot.

‘Charles the Tank Engine,’ he said. ‘I think talent is much like Charles.’

‘Talent? Like a tank engine?’ she said.

Her head tilted, and her dark hair tumbled to the side. She was kind of cute, Udo was forced to admit. Too bad. Money above women—the sole lesson his father left him besides a cloud of dust.

Roman tried to flank his right, but Udo waved him away. He’d be enough for the mouse. He was way more worried about the redhead. She looked like she knew how to work that blade.

He turned back to the kid.

‘They take a while to get going,’ he said, stepping forwards. ‘Just like us—rankless, S rank, doesn’t matter. Right here, right now, it’s all about what you’re born with initially.’

The girl chuckled. Her voice rang clear through the tension.

‘You’ll be king for a day. Talent will always pass you up.’

She hadn’t pulled the daggers at her side. Instead, her stance was relaxed, overconfident. Udo smirked That would be her downfall.

‘Only if I give it the opportunity to grow,’ he said.

He twirled his hammer. The blunt edge was perfect to smash a head in with.

‘Besides,’ he said. ‘Better a king for a day than a peasant for life, no?’

She hummed.

‘That’s...valid.’

‘Right?’ he said. ‘So, don’t make me waste your potential. Take the offer.’

Her eyes closed, and she showed off her white teeth.

‘We’re good,’ she said.

Udo pushed his maura into his eyes, watching in minute detail how the tiny muscles on her eyelids began to contract—he breathed out sharply, and his arms lifted, starting his kinetic chain.

Despite his appearance, Udo wasn’t dumb. There’s no way he would solely rely on his natural physique to beat a potential S rank. So, his E rank Basic Body Enhancement flared, powering his thighs and back to the point that the muscles pushed against the skin from the inside, and the head of his hammer smashed through the air without a warning.

Her eyelids were only halfway open when his weapon had but a split second to go to break her right arm. Udo grinned, his heart rate increasing in anticipation of rummaging through her pocket.

This was a skill he learned yesterday evening! Before even most of the accepted students had. He didn’t care how good she was, but she had no way of beating it when he caught her off guard.

It was when he was wholly convinced of his victory that a sharp whistle crashed through the air. His pupils diluted. What was that?

Who was he asking, his mother? Even if she had been here, her answer would’ve been no help, though. All sound vanished after the vibrations of the whistle died—the barking of frightened students, the faint whisper of the birds within the treeline watching his confrontation. Everything was gone.

Then, slowly, like a snail of death that would follow you everywhere for your entire life, a pressure mounted in Udo’s chest. He could no longer feel his breath.

A frown tried to form. Yet Udo found he could no longer control his movement. His mace was still bolting forward, but it was as if he was swinging through a deep lake, needing to exert twice the force to move half the distance.

The hammer sailed onwards, eventually reaching its destination. Bone cracked—no. There was no one standing in front of him when his hammer finished its swing, so there was nothing to crack.

What? he thought. Where did she—

His head whipped upward, and his lower teeth nearly cut off his tongue. The silent lake disappeared with a flash, in time for him to hear the gasp of the audience, and Udo launched off his feet, his brain rattling in his skull.

He crashed to the floor. It took a moment before he understood he’d been hit. He glanced to the side. All the initiates were snickering!

I didn’t get hit, he thought. Not by a goddamn girl! Get up, Udo!

He stood with a yell…so his mind tried to convince him for a second. The illusion went up in smoke, and he realised he was still on the floor. His hands were quivering, the shaft of his hammer had fallen out of his hands, and he could no longer control his muscles.

Right then, like an after explosion, the delayed pain struck him in the face. He rolled on his side, groaning. His head was crumbling to pieces.

In his swaying, watery vision, he saw a tiny girl standing over one of his friends. Was that Roman or James? He couldn’t tell.

A meteor struck his chest as the girl caught his gaze. For an instant, he was back in the lake, and he dared not take a breath lest he choke.

She looked away, and the moment passed. Udo immediately heaved for breath, greedily clogging his throat with air.

A red streak passed him with a steady pace. Right behind it was the tiny girl.

‘You…’ Udo squeaked hopelessly. ‘What happened…in those two days…’

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The girl stopped. She didn’t have to stoop low to reach his ear.

‘Charles just got a boost,’ she said.

A tap on his shoulder, then she was gone, and Udo’s head fell limp on the tiles.

5.

May and I gave the beaten sentry a taste of their own medicine.

I removed an E rank water core from hammer boy’s pouch.

‘Lucky,’ I said.

It wasn’t a D rank core, of course. But it was something.

‘Another fire one, too,’ May said.

She held the E rank flame core in the air, angling it in the early sunlight. Since she could inspect it and see the name, there was no reason she did so but to make the other initiates jealous. They drilled holes in our back, yet none made a move. All stood on the edge of our range, eagerly awaiting their turn to get back at the mobsters.

We didn’t keep them long, and the two of us strode away to the tune of increasing, pained moans, and a whole lot of begging.

6.

image [https://i.imgur.com/5fvkExX.png]

The infirmary wasn’t far. It was a squat building on the second tier of the academy. Besides a counter, behind which a clerk was reading a book, there was no one in the hospital.

‘Welcome,’ the clerk said.

He was young and wore a student uniform. His energy signature was also many times weaker than that of the elders.

Inspect, I thought.

[Name: Marcus Raze - Rank: D]

Interesting. I thought all staff members would be at least B rank. Was he an elder initiate? He could also be hiding his rank like Felix, a suspicious corner of my mind offered. I wondered if there was a way to know if someone was faking their grade? Something to investigate.

The boy put away his book.

‘Inspecting people is considered rude,’ he said.

I stopped mid-stride, and my brow rose.

‘I—’

‘—didn’t know your target could sense an inspection?’ Marcus finished.

He smiled.

‘I get that a lot. These are just some of the basic rules you need to learn as an initiate. Monsters can sense it, too, if they are strong enough. So, be warned.’

My surprise was shoved down.

‘Thank you,’ I said, bowing my head.

He raised his hand in a ‘don’t mind it’ gesture.

‘You’re here for your friend, I take it?’

May limped forwards.

‘Both of us,’ she said. ‘I’d like all of my wounds healed.’

Marcus nodded before shooting me a speculative glance.

‘Treatment costs credits,’ he said. ‘You can trade in items you find in the wild at the trading centre on the fourth tier for them. Our costs increase as your wounds get more significant.’

May, ever the greedy one, had her face turn ugly.

‘How much for a wounded calf and shoulder?’

He motioned her to a chair at the side of the desk.

‘Inspection is free of charge.’

Then, he carefully removed May’s bandages, which were nothing more than Felix’s torn up robes.

‘Did you apply these,’ Marcus said, looking at me.

‘We were out of the regular bandages,’ I said.

His head whipped side to side.

‘No. It’s good work. This moss…’ He peered at the substance. ‘Lucky find. It stopped your cells from dying.

‘Your calf is the worst of your wounds,’ he said, rubbing his chin. ‘Ten credits. I’ll cast a healing spell that will make you recover in full.’

‘How much is ten credits?’ I said.

My hind brain was already trying to use the price to come up with a ballpark number for healing my curse. It wasn’t looking good.

‘An E rank core goes for twenty-five,’ he said.

May breathed out, glad she had looted the mobsters. She went into her pouch, removed one of her fire cores, and turned to me.

‘Can you trade it for me?’

I nodded and was about to take the core when the clerk stopped me.

‘Treatment is immediate,’ he said. ‘The cost goes on your tab. You’ll have a negative balance until you visit the trading centre and pay your debt.’

He placed his hands on May’s calf and shoulder and closed his eyes. The scent of roots and earth penetrated the room. Seconds later, a green hue radiated from Marcus’s skin.

‘Lesser Nature’s Blessing,’ he said.

New, flush skin replaced the holes in May’s body at visible speed. She was fully recovered within the minute.

‘I’ll send word to the centre,’ Marcus said. ‘You can settle your debt tomorrow.’

May rolled her shoulder and ankle, stomped her heel on the floor, and smiled.

‘What a strange system,’ she said.

My lips curved. Thank the heavens, she was healed.

‘Seems easy to exploit,’ I agreed.

One of my fingers twitched…was I going to exploit it? If May’s wounds were half of an E rank core, the siren’s gift may not be enough to pay for my curse.

The clerk chuckled as if he read my mind.

‘You cannot use the centre until you settle your debt. You’ll figure out how handy it is when you go to visit. Now, you had trouble as well? You don’t look injured.’

I considered lying about the ailment, maybe that would make it cost less. But it would solely hurt me. So, I gave him the relevant information, going over what had happened with the siren in broad strokes. From how he frowned harder and harder as I continued, my odds were jumping in a tar pit.

‘The academy carefully cultivated the monsters in the valley,’ Marcus said. ‘There shouldn’t be any spirits capable of cursing in the first layer.’

He asked me to take a seat and examined me like he’d done May.

‘You said the injection was near your neck?’

‘Yes.’

I jerked. His fingers brushed over the exact spot the wound had been.

‘I don’t see anything,’ he said.

His hand slid down my neck to my arms, then back up and towards my navel.

‘Except for your core,’ he said.

His voice had grown strained, and my feet slipped into the same pit my odds had willingly leapt into.

‘Is there something wrong it?’ I asked.

A hunter’s core was their centre of power. If the siren had mutilated my core—I didn’t voice my next thought in an effort not to jinx it.

‘There’s not necessarily something wrong,’ Marcus said. ‘It’s just…’

He trailed off.

‘Don’t sugarcoat it,’ May said. ‘She can handle it.’

I appreciated her confidence in me, but it was not at the right time.

Marcus collected his words before answering.

‘The activity of your core is higher than regular,’ he finally said. ‘Three, maybe four times as much.’

My forehead scrunched, making a decent effort to reach lower and touch grass.

‘Is that why my capacity has diminished?’

Marcus rubbed his temples.

‘I’m not sure. There appears to be a stream of energy leeching out of your core. But the destination is hidden to my senses. However—’

‘However?’ I said, my voice rising.

‘My educated guess is that it’s not harmful.’

‘Questionable,’ May said, ‘given that she lost half her energy.’

‘The flip side,’ Marcus said, ‘is that her core should be quicker in activating.’

He gave me a questioning look, and I had to nod my agreement. I’d noticed it during our earlier brawl.

‘Which means?’ May said.

‘My abilities come out quicker,’ I said.

I don’t think my body ever felt that responsive. Not even in the lake, where I thought I was quicker than on land as it currently stood.

So. The Siren was helping me after all? My insides had trouble accepting it.

‘That’s why I think it’s not malignant,’ Marcus continued, not aware of my thoughts. ‘Maura capacity can be increased. Core activation speed is largely an inherent trait that is hard to train.’

‘We can increase our maura capacity?’ I said.

May sneered.

‘Why do you think we have a mind stat? For the giggles?’

I opened and closed my mouth. Right. Not my smartest question.

‘Enhancing your capacity starts after your physique reaches D rank,’ Marcus said. ‘You’re quite close to that threshold from what I can tell.’

‘Is there a way—’ I started.

‘Physical Cultivation,’ Marcus said, with the rush of someone who had answered the same question a million times. ‘Elder Kang’s lesson. He’s the expert.’

I hummed my thanks.

Marcus backed away from the chair.

‘We can chase the bottom of this “curse”. However, I think it’s better if you wait and see. The procedure would be quite costly.’

‘How costly?’ I said.

‘A few D rank cores would be on the low end,’ he said. ‘And that’s solely for the research. Treatment cost will be calculated afterwards.’

I bit my lip. A few D rank cores? I’d gotten my first one today! And it wasn’t even with my own power. How long would I need to walk around with the ailment?

Marcus rubbed my back.

‘My advice is to experiment,’ he said. ‘See if you can find an activation condition. That’ll make researching it easier and shave off the price. With some luck, you’ll figure out the curse’s use. Perhaps treatment isn’t needed.’

‘Let’s hope,’ I said.

A wave of fatigue hit me as his words died. My eyelids dropped for a moment, and Marcus chuckled.

‘Return when you figured out more,’ he said. ‘I’ll be here. For now, I’ve got reading to do.’

May basically dragged me off the chair, and we exited the building after thanking Marcus for his help.

I looked up. The sun was nowhere near its peak, so it was still early in the morning. Around ten or so? There was time.

‘I’m going to bed,’ I said.

A power nap would do me good.

‘Same here,’ May said.

Then, she remembered something and lifted her sleeves between her thumb and index finger like she was touching a dirty rag.

‘Change in plans,’ she said. ‘We are showering first.’

‘Go ahead,’ I said. ‘I’ll go later—’

My arms floundered as the witch grabbed and hauled me to the showers by the ears.