Orion's Herald
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Chapter 46: Can you really have too much choice?
🕑 Added 2025-01-11 20:29:21 +0000 UTCWho could that be at this time of the day?
The old creaky room door slide close as Mirae left the room. Hector made his way over to the window and peeked through the shutters. The streets were now mostly empty. A few of the homeless—a group who somehow suffered more than the average slum dweller—mild about. Perhaps they were looking for somewhere to sleep.
Down the street, a faint glow could be seen coming from just around the corner. The Tavern—a place Hector still couldn’t go—was probably in full swing as more of those who worked day shifts got down to drinking. It was a wonder his dad wasn’t in there. That was at least something he appreciated about his father in this world. He always tried to be at home when he could.
Hector let the shutters slap close as he moved away. The muffled voices of Mirae, his father, and what sounded like old lady Margaret came from the kitchen. It was a surprise that the old bird even left her house, though it was nice that she visited. Margaret was always nice to him.
The floor boards creaked underfoot as he moved over to his bed, bent down, and reached underneath it, gripping the meditation mat. It scrapped across the wood as he pulled it out, wrenching it into the air. It flew and slapped onto the floor, skidding to a stop neatly in the center of the room. Hector glanced to the system notification still at the side of his vision.
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///: “All Talent saplings have finished growing. Please enter Talent Garden space to collect them, and plant new Talents.”
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I would say it took long enough. But I’d be lying if I said I had a lot of time to sit around and wait for it. I wonder what the Systems got for me this time.
Hector walked over to the mat and bent down, grunting—an old habit—as he reached for the straps of his sandals. He undid them and kicked his shoes off, sending them clattering to the side of the room. He then sat on the mat. A sense of calm washed over him. There was something so peaceful about being in either the soulscape, or the Talent Garden.
He rolled his shoulder, feeling the calm within himself. “System begin the Talent Garden space.”
The world melted away once again, and a moment later, Hector found himself standing in the void. The waters of the void sloshed against his ankle. Comforting. He moved his feet; the water glowed its usual blue as he did.
He smiled then directed his attention to the marble pedestals and the Talent plants resting atop them standing in front of him. “Seems I wasn’t so lucky this time,” Hector said, walking towards them, water sloshing at his feet.
Of the three pots, only one had three Talents sprouting from its Talent tree. The other two trees had one Talent each. Was it a great haul? No. But it was better than nothing. He chose the pedestal at the end first. A small wave rippled against the pedestal as he stopped in front of it.
Raising a hand, Hector reached out and touched it. Much like last time, the plant disappeared into golden flecks. Slowly at first, one fleck at a time, until they all fall away like a swarm of golden butterflies. Three glowing white Talents were left floating in the air in front of him.
He reached for the first one, moving his hand around it, then pulling back. The words of the system popped up as his eyes wonder around the scrawl decorating the Talents surface.
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///: Fearbolt: “The Talent holder form a ball of fear in their palm that they can then hurl at a target. Upon contact, temporary fear is induced.”
Cooldown is 3 hours. Increased stacks of Fearbolt can enhance Talent.
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Not exactly what I’m looking for, but it could be good if I need to stun someone quickly. Or at the very least, get away again. But still, does that make it worth keeping? Though, that’s the Talent right now. I have no idea what it will be like in the later ranks.
Hector released the skill, leaving it to float off to the side. He frowned for a moment as he considered the Text. “System, would it be possible to add the Rank of the Talent so that I can see at a glance what it is? It could be a problem in the future when I gather more, and have to just assume.” His gaze drifted up towards the inky black void. The Talents wouldn’t be as easy to discern when they were up there. It was like trying to tell the colour of a star from its light alone.
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///: “It was deemed as a non priority. But that can be done.”
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“Thank you.” He said, reaching for the next Talent.
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///: Personal Purification: [Common] “The holder of this Talent is able to neutralise harmful substance inside one’s body. Up to a limit. Substance that are deemed harmful to the body will be processed.”
“Cooldown is 6 hours. Increased stacks of Personal Purification can enhance Talent”
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Hector’s lips pulled into a smile as his mind went back to the pill. He still didn’t know exactly what it did, and it was most likely defective. After all, no one would throw away a perfectly good pill. The one thing that had stopped him from using it—despite the possible benefits—was the risk of harm.
Not only that, but eating a low grade pill with too many impurities could stunt your growth and limit the ability to channel mana outsides the body. Not something people would normally worry about, as you weren’t allowed to sell pills below average grade—not legally, anyway.
But with this Talent, things had changed. Hector ran his finger along the Talent’s smooth surface, his skin gliding across it with zero resistance. He had to use this one, if not just to eat the pill. He didn’t know how effective the pill would be once purified, but it was better than nothing.
His heart fluttered as he pushed the Talent to the side, then reached for the last Talent of this first tree. So far, he’d had quite a good bag. The fear Talent had its uses, but the purification one was a showstopper. Would it allow him to costume pills without worrying about their effects—provided he actually found another one?
Would he find another one? The dump was many things, but it was hardly a gold mine. It was more likely Hector would find the shell of a pill than the whole thing. The talent gave off a low hum as he reached for it—some of the only noise in the void aside from the sloshing water.
He cupped it in his hands and pulled it towards him, as the systems words formed before of him. Just in front of the Talent.
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///: Growth Touch: [Common] “The Talent holder, once they have placed their hand on a suitable surface, can increase the growth of low-lying plants around them. The plants will grow until dense shrubbery is formed, creating difficult terrain to move through. This Talent is limited to a certain distance around the Talent holder. The shrubbery disappears after 1 hour”
“Cooldown is 4 hours. Increased stacks of Growth Touch can enhance Talent”
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Hector ran his tongue across his front teeth as he re-read the words. It wasn’t bad. But for him, it was useless. He sighed, pushing the Talent off to the side, as he turned to the last two pedestals. The bag had just got considerably worse. What could he use the last Talent for? Mirea may benefit from it in her garden—for an hour, anyway. But that wasn’t exactly his main focus right now.
He, water sloshing at his feet, stepped over to the second podium and touched the plant. Which fell away in a shower of gold, just like the previous. This Talent wasn’t as exciting either. The bar had been set by the purification Talent. And the Talent, [Stone Throw], turned out to be simple. It would allow him to rip a rock free from the earth and hit someone with it. Not amazing.
Sure he had no doubt that higher ranks would be something to think about. But right now, there was no difference between him using that Talent and him picking up a brick off the floor and throwing it at someone. Besides, he didn’t have an unlimited amount of Talent he could use at one time.
Sighing, Hector pushed the [Stone Throw] Talent off to the side and moved over to the last pedestal. One Talent sat atop the Talent tree swaying gently—where exactly did that wind come from? The void was empty for the most part. He reached towards the Talent, but paused before he could touch it.
This would be the last one, for today anyway. He wouldn’t have the time to sit and boost the growth speed tonight, as he needed to cultivate. It was slow, but t was something he had to do. And tomorrow, he had to go and meet his friends.
His heart tightened. It needed to be something good. Though, if he was honest [Personal Purification] was already a lot. Could he ask for much more?
Hector placed a hand on the Talent tree and it fall away in a shower of gold, leaving one Talent floating in the space above the pot. The white Talent hummed with a soft light, as if inviting him to hold it. Hector reached forward and grabbed it, bringing it towards his chest as his eyes scanned over the scrawl writhing on its surface.
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///: Awakened Soul: [Common] “The Talent holder’s soulscape is expanded, allowing from the holder to draw in more Chaotic mana motes from the environment. With this, the Holder’s ability to draw in mana is essentially doubled. ”
“Passive. Increased stacks of Awakened Soul can enhance Talent”
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Hmmmmm…
Hector took a step back, releasing the Talent and letting it float in front of him. He regarded it. The shimmering white surface had suddenly become the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. The way it floated in the air. Serene. Calm. Unearthly. Was this it? The Talent that he’d been hoping for.
A bubble of excitement grew in his chest as his lips peeled back into a smile. This was the actual showstopper. This Talent. This would allow him to change his future.
Hector almost told the system to close the space right there and then, but caught himself. All three plant pots were now empty, and he had four Talnets floating off to the side. He couldn’t just leave them like that. He let out a shaky breath, plucking [Awakened Soul] out of the air then and moving it under his arm, as he made his way over to his cluster of Talents.
Which one would he re-plant? It could only be two. Because if he was right, he should have eight fragments that he collected. “System, can I get a list of all the fragments I have so far?”
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///: Loading list…
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///:
| Mystic - 2
| Uncommon - 8
///:
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Ah, yeah. I had eight uncommon fragments, didn’t I. Shame. If I had snagged a rare, I could have at least got a few uncommon Talents out of this. Well, it can’t be helped. With these eight, I should be able to make one seed using five of them.
“System,” Hector said, smiling eger to get this over and done with. As soon as he finished here, it would be time to start the most productive cultivation session he’d ever had. “Bring me five of the uncommon fragments.”
He released the [Awakened Soul] Talent, letting it float off. It moved over to the other four Talents, stopping next to them, forming a neat file. The Talents all hummed with a subtle light.
Hector glanced to the sky, watching as a line of lights zipped through the void. The lines dipped, falling towards him. The lights—fragments—glowed a subtle green as they got closure, stopping a just before him and rotating in a circle. It wasn’t surprising that they were a different colour. After all, it was how you could identify the rank in Talnets so it made sense that it carried over to the fragments.
He raised a hand, holding his palm out flat. The circle of fragments moved, stopping over his palm and hovering in place. Hector shifted, water rippling at his feet as he took it in. It was a shame they wouldn’t form an uncommon seed. He was so close, yet so far.
“System,” Hector said, clenching his other hand into a fist, as it hung at his side. “Fuse them into a Talent seed.”
The hovering fragment shook before racing forward and slamming into each other with a crack. The smell of oil went up his nose as a subtle heat radiated out onto his palm. Tightening and squeezing, the cluster of fragments glowed brighter as lights snaked from the core before falling back in, leaving a white trail. The trails formed over and over again until they all formed the shape of a seed.
With a pop, releasing a ring of white light, a new Talent seed hovered just above Hector’s palm. He raised his other hand, grabbing the seed in both. Did those lines and the way they formed have anything to do with the scrawl he saw on a normal Talent? Water sloshed at his feet as he made his way back over to the plant pots.
He stuck his hand in, moving the soil around. It cracked with electricity as he gently dug deeper in. Small mounds of soil, speckled with blue light, gathered at the pot’s edge as he did. Why didn’t he feel anything? A jolt, a spark, he felt none of the things he come to understand he’d feel when he touched something electrical. Was it even electricity?
He brought his hand back and regarded the hole. It was more than deep enough and would have to do for now. Placing the seed in, feeling its smooth surface slip from his grip, Hector sighed. He covered the seed with soil, obscuring its white light. He’d water it when the other two were planted, now it was time to see which Talent he’d keep.
The five glowing white Talents floated in the air, giving off a subtle hum. White light flickered off their surface, dappling Hector’s T-shirt with patterns of light. He trudged over to them, water splashing as he did. Small waves accented with blue rippled off from his steps into the distant void. He regarded the Talents. Which one would he choose? He had two in mind that he was not losing, so that only left the [Fearbolt], [Growth Touch], and [Stone Throw].
None of them were bad, per se. But they didn’t have as much utility as Hector would have liked. While the growth skill might be good for Mirae, it would only help so much and, who knew when he was going to get another two. Though that was true for all his Talents.
He raised a hand and held his face. Last time he’d almost got rid of a Talent that had proved vital. He couldn’t make the same mistake. There was only one Talent that could be used no matter the situation, not needing a suitable environment or rocks around. [Fearbolt], that would be the Talent Hector would keep.
With a wave of his hand, the three Talents he was keeping shot off into the air. Leaving behind the two he’d plant. He then spent the next few minutes converting them into seeds before planting them.
He dusted his hands off with a few slaps—there was no dirt on them; it was just what made sense. With the seeds planted, he could now focus on more important things.
“Hector!” Mirea’s voice boomed through the void. “It’s time for dinner.” His smile cracked his lips. He’d timed it perfectly. Things were really looking up. His chest swelled as images of him drawing in heaps of chaotic mana came to mind. As soon as dinner was finished, it would all truly begin.
Comments
Casual Ham
We all start with the best of intentions lol. Well, keep it up. I'm enjoying the story so far :)
Leonardo Phipps
I used to be. Not this time though. With this story, I outlined all the major events and beats. But I give myself a little freedom to explore. So the answer is... I’m not sure anymore.
Casual Ham
Are you a pants-er, then?
Leonardo Phipps
I know right. I'm aware that sounds strange considering I'm the one writing it, but I'm on this journey with you.
Casual Ham
Finally a cultivation talent! It'll be interesting to see how big of a difference it makes.
