Hector walked over to a small boulder skulking against the tunnel wall and sat down on it, catching his breath. Delworth’s gaze darted between the group as he brought a finger to his lips in thought; all the while, the dull echo of shifting bodies filled the tunnel.

  “So?” Hector asked. Delworth closed his eyes, and Hector shook his head, turning to Marcus.

  Marcus wiggled under Hector’s gaze and glanced at his cousin. His hand reached towards him, but paused before dropping back to his side. He turned to Hector, wetting his lips. “I think if we just give him a moment,” he said.

  Hector sighed.

  Opening his mouth, Marcus let out a low yawn, and his hand moved to cover it. He rubbed at his eyes before falling silent and turning to his cousin.

  After what must have been a good few minutes, Delworth spoke. “From what I recall on the map, the only thing that will be up here is unranked beasts. Though they can vary in strength, the main ones we will find up here are the hairless rats. That’s probably why we ran into their patrol so soon.”

  Hector nodded, reaching for Mirae’s hand as he pushed off the rock and got to his feet. His sister took his hand and squeezed it. Hector then turned to the others. “How far are we now from this place you had in mind?” Hector asked Delworth.

  The boy glanced up, his brown eyes meeting Hector’s purple, and he crossed his arms across his chest. Dirt crunched beneath his boots as he walked towards the edge of the torchlight, where the shadows licked. “We shouldn’t be too far, just a few steps.”

  “Alright,” Hector said.

  In the end, Delworth hadn’t lied. The group marched through the darkness, their oasis of light pushing back the black as their steady footfalls clacked against the stone and dirt. They ran into another patrol—this one much smaller than the last—and slaughtered them with ease.

  That brief interlude barely disturbed them as they continued the journey and finally stepped into a small side tunnel that opened up into a sizable cavern. If Hector had to take a guess, the whole thing was roughly the size of four of his houses length-wise and half as tall.

  Lincoln gave out a low whistle as he stepped across the room. The torchlight didn’t fully pierce the darkness, but it was more than enough for them to see how huge the room was. The sound of every step practically flew across the room, taking a moment to bounce off the far walls.

  “This is it,” Delworth said, nodding to himself.

  Hector’s eyes bounced between Lincoln and Jodie, and the two simply shrugged their shoulders. He released Mirae’s hand, warmth slipping from his grip, and walked towards—what he assumed—was the centre of the cavernous room.

  “Just give me a moment, alright?” he said, closing his eyes.

  Energy surged in his mind as he plucked on the [Gentle Sanctuary] Talent. It churned and bulged, flooding through him like a tidal wave, mixing and twisting. A core of energy dribbled to life within his chest, tightening with power, before a breath later it exploded out.

  A wave of light whipped out of his body, washing over the dirt and stone and stretching out into a sphere of subtle light twenty meters across. At least, if what the system said was true—and it normally was—that should be the case.

  Hector let out a sigh and opened his eyes.

  Alright, that was a lot more intense than I’d thought it would be. I thought I was going to explode. No wonder it took like thirty seconds. Is it going to get even longer when I upgrade it? I hope I don’t actually pop in the future.

  With a weak smile, the first one he’d had all day, Hector took in the sight. The soft glow of the light practically warmed his skin, and relaxation kneaded against his body as he turned back to the others.

  Lincoln smiled, combing a hand through his hair. “Why does it feel like there isn’t anything you can’t do? If I didn’t know any better, I would think you were in the Core Formation realm. Are you?”

  Hector shook his head. “If I were, I wouldn’t be down here hiding from the Collar Gang. If I were, they wouldn’t exist right now,” he said with a sneer. He placed his hands in his pockets and moved over to Mirae, his sandals clacking against the stone. They were safe now, for a time.

  Jodie stepped over. She glanced at Delworth, and then at Marcus, before turning to Hector. “So, what is the plan now?” she asked. Hector massaged his forehead, causing her to raise a brow. “What? Did I say something wrong?”

  Hector shook his head and dropped to his knees, then kicked his legs out and flopped to the ground. “I just need a moment to think, is all. I need some time to process all this. Can I get that?”

  Jodie’s eyes shifted to Lincoln, who shrugged. The girl then turned around and stepped away, falling onto the ground in the lotus position. “Alright, I shall do some cultivation then. That should give us a while to get our stuff together,” she said, closing her eyes.

  With that, everyone followed. Mirae, Lincoln, and Jodie, along with Hector, all took the time to enter meditation. While Marcus and Delworth unpacked the supplies Hector had brought from his house. The two boys had been the ones to carry them on the way over while Mirae carried her own. They didn’t need to fight after all.

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  —— —— —— ——

  After who knows how long, the four of them woke to find Delworth and Marcus huddled at the edge of the dome, sleeping. Mirae woke them up with whispers and gentle nudges before having the two boys join them in the centre of the dome. Sitting in a circle, they all shared a glance before Hector spoke.

  “Alright, I’m not sure how long we’ve rested,” he said.

  A lie, but only a little one; with the Talent Garden, he practically had a ticking timer. The new Talents would be ready soon, and that meant they’d been resting for a while. “But it should have been enough time for us all to get some energy back,” he said.

  Marcus and Delworth nodded, their hands rubbing the corners of their eyes as they let out several weak yawns. Hector sighed and continued, his gaze shifting between Jodie and Lincoln. “I want to talk about my plans going forward, and what I want to do.”

  They all nodded.

  “To put it simply, I won’t rest until I put the entire Collar Gang in the dirt,” Hector said, tightening his fist, his nails biting into his skin. Jodie cringed, her eyes lowering to the stone. She’d have to come around to it, but he didn’t want to force her. “I can’t destroy them yet,” he continued. “So, I plan to make them bleed and at least make a profit from it.”

  Lincoln frowned, his gaze sweeping to Marcus, before flitting back to Hector. “What do you mean?” he asked.

  Hector shifted on the stone, rolling his shoulders to get rid of the tightness. His gaze then snapped to Lincoln’s, and he searched his friend’s face. There was doubt, but also a hint of something else. The boy could sense an opportunity, and Hector had no plans to disappoint.

  “The Collar Gang controls a lot in the slums. The Sirius Quarter, the Papyrus Quarter, and beyond. They can’t be everywhere at once, so they have to delegate and give a little meat to the smaller gangs underneath them.”

  “I think I get where you’re going with this,” Marcus said. Hector raised an eyebrow, and the boy smiled. “Sorry to interrupt. But if I understand, you want to go after the smaller gangs to mess with their industries.”

  “Not exactly,” Hector said. Marcus’s brow dropped, his eyes moving to Delworth. Wetting his lips, Hector moved his gaze from Marcus to Lincoln. “I don’t want to just mess with their industries. I want to find where they collect their money and take it.”

  “But if you do that, won’t it just bring the Collar Gang down on you even faster than now?” Jodie asked.

  Hector nodded. “That’s why I won’t attack them,” Hector said.

  They all looked at him in confusion. His lips curled into a smile, and his gaze swept to Jodie. The girl, or at least what had happened to her, had inspired him. “I would like you all to think about forming a mercenary group with me.”

  “What, why?” Lincoln asked. “Aren’t we already part of the dojo?”

  “Yes, and no,” Hector said, picking up a loose rock and rolling it between his fingers. “With what Kamble said, I don’t think I can go back, at least not in the open. He’s not strong enough, and I don’t want to bring trouble onto him.”

  Jodie and Lincoln nodded, turning to each other with an understanding look.

  “Besides, while we are members now,” Hector continued, “That won’t be the case in the future. Once we turn twenty, we have to leave the dojo, anyway. After that, the only other option is to find a job. Either in a mercenary company or protection for some trumped-up noble.”

  “Well, that’s not the only option,” Delworth chided.

  “It is for a Mana-Cultivator,” Lincoln replied.

  Hector nodded, glancing at Mirae and resting a hand on her head. Those were the options they would have had. Though that was before what their mother had told them. Now, he wasn’t sure. Not that he owed anything to the woman, but if what she believed was true, he at least had to consider it, for his sister’s sake.

  “Forming a mercenary group,” Jodie said as if she were tasting the words. Hector nodded, and the girl levelled her gaze at him. “It won’t be cheap. The registration alone is one hundred silver.”

  “That’s why we aren’t registering, not yet at the very least,” he said. “I mean, we have a little while yet before we have to leave the dojo. But we can form a group in name at a minimum.” Though they had the silver, most of that would need to be spent on supplies for their new situation.

  “So a gang?” Delworth asked.

  “No,” Hector said, pressing a sharp look towards Delworth. “Nothing like that.”

  “But it sounds like—”

  “I don’t care what it sounds like,” Hector snapped. Marcus rested a hand on his cousin’s shoulder, quietening him. With a sigh, Hector turned back to the rest of them. “We will act as a pseudo-mercenary group. Until we can afford to register.”

  “Well, at least we have a place to hunt,” Lincoln said, gesturing to their surroundings. “And from what Delworth said, people rarely come down here. With no competition, we’ll certainly find a beast with a core that we could sell to the black market.”

  Hector nodded. It was a plan.

  —— —— —— ——

  Sometime later, after they’d gone over the specifics, detailing how they would track the Collar Gang and the targets they should consider. Hector decided it was time to give Mirae a Talent to protect herself as well as see how giving Talents to others would go.

  So he had the group gather around him and Mirae. The four of them sat circling him as he followed the wandering sensation into her soul and manifested within the rippling waters of her soulscape.

  “Alright,” Hector said. Above, a purple light arced across the sky, a tail of purple streaking behind it. Hector frowned. In a way, the last time he was here was because of his dad, and now, in a way, he was here because of him again. It was a cycle of sorts. He sighed. “System, show me the Talents I have available.”

  He already planned to give Mirae the [Moonlight Marionette] Talent. He’d picked that one out for her specifically as soon as he’d seen it. The Talent, with its ability to summon puppets for her to control, was beyond perfect for keeping her safe when he wasn’t around.

  The system screen blurred to life in front of him, the faint white of it shimmering across his clothes.

  ————————————————

  ///: Loading List…

  ————————————————

  Growth Touch

  Street Reader x2

  Vitality Resonance

  Awakened Soul

  Moonlight Marionette

  Primal Aspect

  Frost Dart

  Ember Pool

  Stone Throw x2

  Mud Barrier

  ————————————————

  ///: System Note: This display does not show equipped talents.

  ————————————————

  I want to give her the awakened soul Talent at some point. Sure, I could use it to improve my own, but there is a significant difference between having it and not—comparatively, an enhancement might not be too much. Besides, as long as she’s strong, I won’t have to worry about having to protect her.

  Hector shifted, the soul waters lapping at his feet. He brought a hand to his mouth, letting out a breath as he considered his options. It was better to start with one and move to the second later. Overloading could have an unforeseen effect on her, and he’d already experienced what happened when he added the [Awakened Soul] Talent to himself.

  He dropped his hand to his side and raised his head. His eyes tracking his sister’s mystic Talent as it slashed across the void. “[Moonlight Marionette] it is.”

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