Chương 48: Chapter 1.48: Nature and Nurture

Accompanied by a Demi-Decurii of bronze-clad guards, two in front, three behind, they ventured into the winter woods. The few centimeters of snow crunched under their feet, and Favius smiled as he studied the snowflakes drifting between the snow-laden trees. The forest was a mix of old oaks and evergreen pines, and strangely dark under the overcast sky. The only sound beyond the crunching of footsteps was persistent sniffing sounds from both his sisters.

After they had walked maybe ten minutes, Urania's eyes widened.

"I think... I think I can feel it. It's fizzy."

"Indeed," whispered Brutus, seemingly unwilling to break the strange atmosphere of the winter woods. After they reached and crossed the bed of a small stream, the guards helping the children across the scattered stones, they scrambled up the other bank, and this time Caliga's eyes widened.

"I... I can smell it too. It's spicy."

"Very good, my little lynx," murmured Marcus, patting her on the shoulder. Caliga touched her father's hand and they shared a smile. Keep forgetting that he isn't just a merciless politician. Despite everything, he really does love Caliga. They made their way through a thicket, Brutus and the two guards cutting open the way. Brutus stopped and raised a closed fist between one swing of his axe and the next.

The guards froze instantly, and one look at how pale Marcus's face was told Favius that something was very wrong. Brutus spoke in a low, almost casual tone, utterly relaxed and thus utterly lethal.

"I'm smelling something else. Something powerful."

"A spirit beast?" murmured the Decurii by the cultivator's side, and Brutus nodded.

"I think so. There's something strange about the smell, though. It could be old, but also..." Marcus nodded decisively.

"Then we'll go back. Brutus, can you take care of it and acquire whatever we are smelling?" Brutus looked over his shoulder and gestured.

"Yes. I'll take the boy with me. It would be good for him to see it."

"I..." Caliga said, her voice oddly frail in the cold air.

"I also want to go." But Brutus shook his head.

"No. I am well capable of protecting a single person against a powerful spirit beast. But two people? What if you split up? What if I have to make a choice?"

"But—" Caliga began, yet Marcus grabbed her shoulder.

"Caliga, we are going back now." He shared a long look with Brutus.

"Are you sure you can protect Favius whatever happens?" Brutus smirked.

"No." Favius's eyes widened, and even Marcus let out a small gasp.

"Then why?" Brutus shifted the grip on his axe.

"I can protect your son against anything below the fifth tier. And should whatever I'm smelling be beyond the fifth-rank barrier..."

"We are already dead," murmured the Decurii. Marcus's eyebrows shot up, and he nodded.

"We are going back. Now." He gave Brutus a long look, and something was exchanged between the two of them.

"Good luck then." He looked at Favius.

"And please come back alive, son." Favius swallowed as he followed the cultivator into the woods, walking in his footsteps and imitating the man's low crouch. This... I never really thought about those spirit beasts, but does this world have actual monsters? They continued for nearly ten minutes in silence, the pounding of his heart and the crunching of their steps the only sounds. He shook himself as he noticed something.

"Brutus," he whispered.

"We are moving in a circle." The cultivator's chuckle was low as he spun around, his face a broad grin.

"So you finally noticed, boy." He casually leaned the axe against a tree and cracked his fingers.

"Well then, let's pick up whatever this is." Favius raised an eyebrow and hissed at the man.

"What are you doing? What if the creature—" Brutus shook his head and looked into the distance, the direction Favius guessed Marcus must be in.

"Haven't you figured it out yet? There is no creature. I merely wanted some time alone with you, away from any potential listeners. Come." Brutus began walking, yet Favius hesitated for a moment. His eyes narrowed, but he jogged after the cultivator.

"Why? Why couldn't we talk at the estate?"

"Because out here I can be certain that there is no sensory cultivator working for Hesnia trying to listen in on what we are talking about. The mountaintop was sufficient at the beginning, but even that might have been a mistake." The fruity ozone smell grew richer in the air as they continued under snow-laden trees. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

"So what do you want to talk about, Brutus?" Brutus patted Favius's shoulder.

"Your grandmother. You need to be careful about what you say to her. It's imperative that you don't reveal what you really are."

"Yes?" Favius asked.

"I thought that was obvious." Brutus chortled.

"Obvious? Boy, you are giving it away multiple times per day for anyone who cares to observe you long enough." Favius shook his head.

"No, I'm not." Brutus snorted.

"Just one example. Whenever you invoke the divine, you do it in singular, without naming a god. You merely say, 'Oh my God,' as if you had never known a different way of speaking." Favius took in a sharp breath. Fuck, he's right. My language and what I'm doing... He nodded.

"Okay. I'm going to be more careful." Brutus snorted again.

"Again, a strange term of acknowledgement, and you haven't even noticed." Favius narrowed his eyes and repeated the word.

"Okay, okay." It came out as an abbreviated version of "acknowledged" in the local language. He ground his teeth and nodded.

"Very well. Thank you, Brutus." The cultivator hummed as they walked into a small valley.

"Your grandmother might be a powerful ally, but nobody becomes as powerful as she without ruthlessly exploiting opportunities. And you are the opportunity of a lifetime, as my breakthrough and progress in cultivation prove beyond any doubt." Favius nodded, but got distracted when he swallowed the richly herbal air. A moment later, they broke through a last piece of conifer underbrush and entered a clearing. His eyes widened. In the middle of it, there was a perfect circle clean of snow.

The grass was vibrantly green, as if in the middle of summer, and a small fig tree no higher than his hips stood there. About a dozen plump, rich fruits of an unnaturally deep royal purple hung heavy on the tree's verdant branches. He felt the tingle of static electricity in the air.

"This..." Favius murmured, and Brutus whistled.

"An extraordinary find. Even I will benefit from it. In a few decades, this tree might even produce figs worthy of a Transcensor."

"How?" Favius murmured and looked over his shoulder.

"We aren't that far from the road. How has no one sniffed it out before?" Brutus laughed.

"Your standards for cultivation are skewed. I could smell it clearly. But there are no more than a few hundred Magnicultors in the Republic, and this is a rather remote road. Even Marcus—" Brutus shook his head.

"If I hadn't pointed it out, he would not have noticed it."

"And what about some peasant stumbling onto it?" Brutus again chuckled.

"Mortals know well to stay away from wild spirit foods and report them." Favius narrowed his eyes.

"Wouldn't it be smarter for them to eat them themselves?" Brutus gave Favius an odd look.

"All spiritual resources belong to the landowner. The price of stealing such a resource is the loss of both hands." Favius swallowed hard. Despite everything, I keep forgetting how barbaric this world is.

"And furthermore, plants like these often have a guardian spirit beast that is likely to eat any peasant farmer who stumbles upon it." A tingle went down Favius's spine, and he shivered despite the warmth emanating from the plant.

"I thought you said you had invented the creature." Brutus shrugged.

"There are traces of something here, but it's at most of Magnicultor rank and hasn't been close to the plant in a while." Brutus gestured with the axe.

"And it wouldn't stand a chance against me." He gestured to the tree.

"Go ahead. Pick the fruits." Favius nodded, got out a cloth bag, and slowly, reverently walked toward the plant. He brushed his hand over the leaves, and the familiar electric tingling of a cultivator's aura stung his fingers. He smiled and took a breath of the heady spicy smell of the fruits. His mouth began watering.

"Toss me one," called Brutus, and Favius shook himself out of the reverie. He twisted his wrist, and the fig came off the tree without any resistance. He looked at it longingly, then threw it to Brutus. The cultivator took a bite, nodded, and consumed it in a few bites. He licked his juice-stained lips.

"Yes... yes. Give me two more and have one for yourself. The rest we are taking back." Favius nodded, picking all of them until after he slung the bag over his shoulder. He held a single juicy, perfectly ripe, and utterly alluring fig in his hands. Reverently, he raised it to his mouth. This... I never thought food could be this good. He inhaled the smell and moaned in pleasure. The fruit parted in his mouth with the perfect consistency and juiciness.

He took in a sharp breath as the indescribably delicious taste hit his tongue. Within a few bites, the fig was done, and heat started spreading throughout his body. He placed a hand over his chest, feeling a pulsing and tingling from his core. Feels like I've just come out of a hot bath. He smiled, and the two of them walked back.

"Why did we not eat the fruit with the others?" Brutus chuckled.

"Because the moment you picked them, they started losing their potency." Favius's eyes widened, and he stared at the bag he was carrying.

"So I'm ruining them?"

"Yes and no. Cultors and Praecultors will benefit from preserved or casually grown spiritual foods without difficulty." Brutus ducked under a snow-laden branch which Favius could walk beneath without difficulty.

"But on the third rank of Alticultor, fresh and wild spiritual foods are required. The more powerful the food, the more quickly it will decay to the second rank if it isn't consumed." Brutus smirked.

"That is why a man like Marcus is never going to become a Magnicultor. He lacks the temperament to seek heroic adventures, to hunt beasts and herbs in the wildlands." Favius hummed and considered.

"So that's what you meant with taking me hunting?" Brutus chuckled.

"Oh, that was certainly one aspect. Though for the most part, I simply believed you would enjoy a good hunt. After all, it is a common sport among us nobles." They continued, and a quarter of an hour later, they rejoined the others. They passed through the cordon of nervous guards. Marcus held onto a sword of magical rainbow steel, though he held it like a talisman, not a weapon. His sisters were nowhere in sight.

"So we heard no sounds of fighting. What happened?" Brutus shrugged.

"I must have scared it away. I believe the beast's aura was merely strange, not a sign of it having legendary power." Guards all around them let out loud sighs.

"Call your daughters, Marcus," Brutus said with a broad grin. They jumped out of the carriage, and Favius opened the bag. His sisters gasped openly, salivating, and even Marcus took an involuntary step forward, leaning in. The soldiers around them whispered in amazement. Brutus gestured at all of them.

"One for each of you girls, I would think. And Marcus, if you are serious about advancing your cultivation, you should have two."

"The rest—" Brutus raised his voice.

"Centurii Hefnus. Share it out among your men." Marcus's eyes narrowed. But he dismissed the irritation and stepped forward, greedily grabbing two figs with indecent haste. Favius shook his head as he saw his relatives devouring the fruits, while the tense mood among the guards turned into unbridled excitement as they shared out quarters and halves of the remaining figs.

"This... this was amazingly tasty," murmured Urania, and Caliga nodded in silent agreement. Favius glanced at Marcus, who was smiling dreamily. He shook his head. This world, with all its magic, still has so much I don't understand. With an air of heavy satisfaction, the convoy returned to the road, and soon Favius, alongside his sisters, felt the onset of a pleasant drowsiness. He yawned, and Brutus patted his neck.

"Take a nap. It's not uncommon to tire after consuming spiritual materials of such quality. I'll keep watch." Favius yawned and smiled. Whatever is going to happen in Cindrath... He stretched before leaning into Urania, who was already fast asleep. We are going to handle it.