Street Cultivation 3: Chapters 31-32 (Patreon)

Haha, I posted the Katenka cliffhanger on RoyalRoad and joked about it, but to my surprise it motivated a lot of new people to join us! Glad to have all you folks here, and I hope you enjoy these new chapters. ^-^

In other news, I'm glad that some people are excited for The Weirkey Chronicles, but no one had opinions about when it should post. I was thinking of posting bundles of chapters on Wednesdays, perhaps. This wouldn't slow down the posting of SC3 chapters at all, regardless of timing, but let me know if you have thoughts.

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Chapter 31: Ether Experimentation

Normally Melissa didn't pay too much attention to her brother's matches, beyond keeping up with the results so that she could talk to him. She was happy for his progress, but a lot of the fighting was just too fast for her, and it wasn't her favorite thing to watch anyway. Yet now that she was traveling and couldn't talk to him easily, she found herself absorbing everything she could.

A frustrating number of Showdown events weren't put online, or were only put up on special services you had to pay for, and Melissa didn't have time for that. The last really good one she'd seen had been his fight in Siberia, which had actually been pretty exciting. After that, he seemed to have kept a lower profile to build on what he'd learned in that fight.

Sighing, Melissa closed her laptop and rolled over in her bed. Thinking about her brother would just make her loneliness worse and remind her how many days it was until they could meet.

Instead she lay there for a while, thinking about her project. Everyone was supposed to come up with something big for the conclusion of their time as a Young Lucrim Artist of America. For most, that seemed to be just assumed to be either some kind of financial Lucore, or some kind of combat gimmick.

Emphasis on the "gimmick". So many of the things Melissa had seen were basically just a known skill tweaked a tiny little bit so that it would technically count as something new. She didn't get the financial stuff, but she'd bet actual money that it was a similar thing. The point for most of her peers was to get a line on their resume, or their curriculum vitae as they insisted on calling it.

For her part, she wanted to come up with something that was actually useful. This was her best chance, since as a YLAA person she had access to experts, expensive databases, and even some free resources. She thought it was funny how some of the experts actually seemed relieved to see her. A few were corporate tools, but others just seemed glad to get an interesting problem for once and became super helpful as soon as they realized she wasn't crazy.

The problem was that she needed to come up with something that didn't just boil down to making use of her ether void. That would be unique, but it would also just be taking advantage of what she was. She could do that whenever she wanted, so she was trying to develop something cool.

It would have been much, much easier to just stand up and get her stuff, but instead Melissa spent a while stretching half-way across her floor to grab it without standing up. Eventually she pulled back her notebook and pack of a few supplies. Manifesting her ether void had become easy and she no longer burned anything, which she was sure the expensive bed and carpet thanked the heavens for. Creating an aura that took advantage of it without just replicating it, though...

According to the big fancy database of aura techniques, there were 108 classes of manifestation and 108 variations, meaning 11,664 total combinations. Melissa didn't have time to try them all, but she was methodically going through the major classes and recording her results. One at a time, she summoned up her aura, combined it with her ether void, and hoped for some sort of reaction.

A negative result. Most of them were. Melissa dutifully marked it down in her notebook and moved on to the next one. Science!

Most of the others thought she was weird, and not only because she hadn't explained about her ether void. It was actually about how seriously she took it. Even the really committed people assumed that they'd have a cushy position waiting for them after they left the YLAA. The idea of tapping into raw desperation struck them as lower class in some way.

Her work didn't come up with anything new, but Melissa got so wrapped up in it that she jumped and dropped her notebook when her phone beeped. Just a notification... a reminder about Lisa's call! She'd known she'd forget and put in the reminder for that very reason. Setting aside her work, Melissa grabbed her laptop again and got ready.

"Melissa, you look well!" As usual, Lisa smiled broadly when she saw her. She was looking pretty good herself, clearly putting in extra effort while she was part of the dating scene. Normally Lisa only wore small studs in her ears, but she had larger earrings and a silver necklace on that day.

"You wouldn't say that if you knew that I was sitting in our hotel instead of going on the trip." Melissa slumped down on the bed and sighed. "But they're touring a freaking wine cellar today. Maybe I'm just poor, but that strikes me as so ridiculously boring. I can't tell the different between a '91 Baguette and a '97 Eiffel Tower."

Lisa smiled, but also cocked her head. "I didn't think you were in France?"

"Nope, still Spain. Wine is just... very French-seeming to me."

"You might not have enjoyed the tour, but the process of creating wine is actually quite interesting. The flavor is obviously impacted by the weather and differences in the soil, but even natural lucrim drift has an impact."

"Wait, really?" Melissa's head jerked up and she stared toward the door, as if she could see to the tour. "You don't think this was actually some kind of training in disguise, do you?"

"Probably not. As far as I know, wine has never been significantly enriched with lucrim, at least not without ruining the taste. But I know a little bit about it because the natural processes are similar to those for plants that can be used for supplements."

"I should have known! Everything is supplements with you!" Melissa grinned just to make it clear that she was joking, since she didn't mind talking about that stuff. "Speaking of, did you get my package thing? What do you think? Could it work?"

Instead of answering immediately, Lisa picked up an object that proved to be the little black bottle Melissa had sent. Lisa let the pause stretch, which was super anxiety-inducing, but eventually she spoke. "As a supplement, it would function. You've come remarkably far in so little time. But even if you can produce these for no cost..."

"I can't. Come on, LisLis, just lay it on me."

"It's too niche as a supplement and if you tried to make a business off it, the business wouldn't survive." Lisa set down the bottle and gave an apologetic shrug. "You know I wouldn't buy any from you out of pity, so that means I'd get, at most, one or two bottles a year."

"I figured." Melissa groaned and slumped down on the bed, not caring that the camera would be mostly her hair. "It's really, really hard to make a living when all the big corps are... well, it'd be silly to lecture you about that. But I'm glad at least it worked."

"There is one exception. If you knew someone who needed a lot of this kind of supplement, a private deal with them could make your career. Because the pill is partially fashioned within your ether void, the number of people who can make it is extremely low. That part was really clever, if I'm coming off too critical. Find the right person and this alone could get you a job."

Though Melissa's heart leapt for a moment, it leapt straight back down as she understood. "As a dependent, you mean. I'd be completely reliant on that person needing me. They stop needing my pills and bam, I'm jobless and homeless."

"That's true, but it's really true of most people." Lisa gave her a weak smile. "Almost everyone could get fired at any moment, and they're probably not ready. People think that they're safer in normal jobs, but when the economy turns bad, it's really not. A corporation doesn't care about you, but if your employer knows you personally, they might be more generous."

"But they could also be a real creep. No, no... thanks for giving it to me straight, Lisa. I'll keep working on the idea, but I think my aura thing is more likely to be my project."

"Hey, it's up to you. If we're talking about work, wh-"

"Ugh. I know I brought it up, but I get too much talking about work here." Melissa perked back up and twisted a lock of hair around her finger with exaggerated sass. "So come on, girlfriend, dish. How are things with your boytoy lately?"

"I regret starting to tell you about my personal life every day." Lisa smiled as she spoke, but then released a heavy sigh it seemed like she'd been holding for a long time. "I don't think things are going to work out with Nathan. I liked his confidence and I thought the arrogance would wear off once we got to know each other, but instead it's getting under my skin."

Lisa went on to explain about several minor incidents, mostly looking for affirmation. Normally Melissa was not into that sort of thing, but she liked Lisa, and the older woman obviously needed someone to confide in. Melissa mostly kept herself to simple confirmations and a few questions until Lisa finally brought herself around to the conclusion she'd really known all along.

"So I'm thinking of breaking up. I thought I might do it indirectly, because I don't want a lecture... is that bad of me?"

"No way! Nathan is a douche." Melissa shook her head slowly. "I never liked him, I just didn't say anything because I wasn't going to insult your boyfriend. You should call Diego again. He was nice."

"But he wanted a family right away, and I just don't think our goals..." Lisa wiped her eyes with one hand and her gaze became clearer. "No, I can't do that. I just have to keep playing the numbers game, I guess."

"Hey, hey, don't focus on the negative. As far as I can tell, your business is doing great, right? I'm basing that entirely based on the number of abs I counted in your new website intro."

Though she laughed awkwardly, the tension at the corners of Lisa's eyes eased. "I didn't like that, but everybody says that's what draws in customers. I'm finally turning a profit, but you can't make much money just focusing on discerning clients. You need to cater to a few power addicts and jocks."

"I wasn't complaining about the abs, mind you." Melissa actually found Lisa's ongoing success a bit inspirational, though she couldn't bring herself to say that. In Melissa's family, "self-employed" meant either being a bum or running a multi-level marketing scheme. The fact that Lisa was making it on her own was nice.

"If we're back on this..." Lisa leaned forward onto one arm. "I really am curious about the sample I sent you. Did you run the tests?"

"The golden stuff? Sure." Melissa actually had that within scrabbling distance, so she grabbed the petri dish and showed it off on the camera. "It burned right up, just like the previous one. I don't know how good the color is for you, but it's all that green-gold residue."

To Melissa's surprise, Lisa's expression immediately turned serious. "You really ran that through your ether void?"

"Just like you said, yeah. Do you need me to do it again right in front of you or something?"

"I trust you, it's just..." Lisa ran both hands through her hair, suddenly very distant. "I thought I removed all the lucrim and lucrim-boosting components. There shouldn't be a reaction like that..."

"I think you did. At least as far as I could tell." Melissa shifted her head to the side, letting some concern onto her face. "Is this a problem?"

"It might be, but I can't be sure yet. What could be reacting?" Lisa stared at nothing for a while, then suddenly gathered herself. "Melissa, I'm sorry, but I need to cut this short. If there are trace components in there, that's a bad sign. They're toxic at best, or maybe... listen, I need to look into this."

There was no sense in talking to Lisa when she got that focused, which Melissa reflected was a bit like her brother. She just smiled and nodded. "Okay, I understand. Just let me know if you need any more help, okay?"

Lisa nodded and then ended the call, presumably to go investigate her theory. Melissa stared at the residue in the petri dish, puzzled by how it could have contained such shocking results. But it was way beyond her pay grade and she had a lot of other stuff to do, so she set it aside and grabbed her notebook again.

She needed to get through as many of the formulas as possible. Once she finally met her brother, she wasn't going to want to work.

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Chapter 32: Family in Vietnam

Though Rick failed to earn any more seals, it didn't bother him at all. His card held five seals, which was unusually high for a new Showdown contestant. In most events he performed closer to the top of the group now, which was enough to keep H happy. Even that wasn't too important to him: every month was a victory, taking him a little closer to all his goals.

As the month in Vietnam, and the meeting with Melissa, drew closer, he knew that he would be training less. But not only would that be worth it to spend time with family, it actually coincided well with a plateau in his growth. He still took Formula T regularly, but it grew more and more difficult to layer lucrim onto the Triune Golden Spheres. H suggested that he needed something more dramatic to break through and that all he could do for the time being was proceed slowly.

When at last the helicopter headed down toward their destination, Rick found himself pacing back and forth across the main chamber. They were headed to the hotel as planned and he'd gotten texts from Melissa confirming that she had arrived first. Also confirmations that she had developed a crippling heroin addiction and sold her kidneys.

Yet he still found himself struggling against formless anxiety. Maybe it was just the amount of time it had been since he'd seen his sister in person, or maybe it was the abrupt shift away from his focus on the Showdown. It was easy to fall into a cycle of training and fighting, and that cycle was now disrupted.

"Stop that." H emerged from the cockpit, glaring at Rick's feet as if his shoes had personally insulted him. "Have you been keeping something from me?"

"It's exactly what I said. I'm just anxious to meet my sister."

"I don't care about that. Showdown candidates have family visit them all the time. What I don't like is taking us in to a smaller location just so you can meet this uncle."

"He's busy with work. This is the best way to make it convenient." Rick smiled at his mentor, anticipation briefly overcoming both annoyance and anxiety. "Thanks for this, H. Trust me, I'll keep up my training and I'll be there to meet you for every event."

"You'd better. And don't neglect your exact schedule." H shoved a case of Formula T at him, which Rick took carefully. Not long after, they landed at their destination. It was a small airfield cleared from the jungle, not a helipad, but the town nearby catered to many international travelers with large amounts of lucrim.

Rick checked into his hotel, confirmed the training schedule, and dropped off his things. Meaningless details. Since he was running exactly on time, he headed down to find Melissa.

They'd agreed to meet in a plaza that, on the internet, looked like a safe public place. In reality there were a lot more street carts and random people. Given how many of them were foreigners there for work or pleasure, it wasn't easy to find Melissa either, but eventually he spotted familiar waves of brown hair.

She was just sitting on a bench, toying with her phone and occasionally looking around, yet Rick felt a huge flood of relief. He'd been planning to sneak up on her or play some sort of trick, but all such thoughts vanished as soon as he got close. Somehow she still hadn't noticed, so he just shuffled up beside her, taking a moment to swallow before he could speak.

"Hey." It wasn't eloquent, but it was enough.

"Brother!" Melissa beamed as soon as she saw him, abandoning her phone to leap up and hug him. He squeezed back tightly before they parted to grin at one another. "God, it's so good to see you again. I mean, I've seen you a lot, but you know what I mean. Have you found Uncle Frank yet?"

"I literally just flew in. I sent him a message about meeting up at a town further north, but haven't gotten a response back yet. So let's just catch up."

"I have so much to tell you about Europe! Did you know that mimes aren't actually trapped in boxes?" Melissa grabbed her things, which included his arm. She stayed latched to him as they wandered back toward the hotel, talking about everything that had passed since they'd last spoken.

It turned out that Melissa kept fairly close tabs on him, which made him regret that he couldn't do the same for her. But the Showdown was a public event, whereas YLAA activities were decidedly not. He reconsidered his thought as he realized how much she enjoyed telling him about everything, and how much he enjoyed hearing it.

When they got back to the hotel, Melissa insisted they walk a little longer. He was happy to do so, but it made him realize just how hot it was. It hadn't reached him much when he'd just come out of the air-conditioned hotel, but now it was seeping into his body and oozing from his pores. When they got back, he let Melissa set up her things on the second bed while he ducked into the bathroom to clean up and change.

Rick returned in a short-sleeved shirt and saw Melissa staring at him. He expected a joke of some kind, then all at once realized that her eyes were on his demonic tattoo.

"When did you get that?" she asked, much quieter than before.

"In Siberia - not everything that happened there was public. But don't worry, it's not like the demonic bonds we've always worried about. Actually... well, I imagine you don't want to talk about finance right now, but I'm starting to think we might have been misled about those."

"Oh, that isn't going to shock me." Melissa sat down on her bed and swung her legs idly. "A lot of people in the YLAA pay for everything via a demonic bond. Like they didn't even think about it, or couldn't imagine that bonds could be bad. I figured maybe that only applied to the types of bonds you get if you were mega rich, but I guess it makes sense."

Having worried about a potential conflict, Rick smiled in relief. "It really depends on the quality. And picking the right demon, of course."

"The right demon, huh?" Melissa wiggled her eyebrows at him. "Is that what they call it these days? Do you have a sexy succubus living in your right arm, dearest brother?"

"So this is your sister?" Katenka swirled into being beside her. "I understand that she's just joking, but tell her that assumption is offensive."

"Uh..." Rick looked back and forth between the two of them, attention suddenly split. "Is there any way I can manifest you so we can just talk?"

"It would be an unnecessary expense, really."

"Are you talking to the demon now?" Melissa poked her head up into his line of sight. "Oh, dang, I didn't think there would actually be an intelligent demon around. Or, wait, is this a bit? Are you just messing with me?"

Rick focused back on his sister. "She's actually here, but she's not a succubus. It's some sort of demonic fusion they do in Siberia. Anyway, she didn't like your joke."

"Oh no!" Melissa abruptly bowed down against the bed, though not quite facing Katenka. "Please don't eat me for my impertinence, oh devourer of souls!"

Katenka chuckled. "I think I will get along with your sister."

"Hmm? What's that?" Rick pretended to cock his head in her direction, then looked back to Melissa. "She says you're a big doodoo head."

"Oh dearie me!" Melissa drew back with a fake gasp. "You don't think she's into coprophilia, do you?"

That drew a curious glance from Katenka - apparently she didn't know everything about the human realm after all. "It's when you're aroused by..." Rick cut off his explanation. "You know what, you can figure it out on your own. Am I going to have to keep repeating everything you say?"

"You haven't repeated much of anything," Katenka pointed out, but she began to fade away. "Tell your sister that it was nice to meet her, but that I'll leave the two of you alone for now."

Once Katenka left, Rick was able to relax. Not because the demon bothered him - he actually thought that she would get along with Melissa - but because participating in two separated conversations at once had been chaotic. Melissa had a ton of questions to ask him about what had happened, so they both lounged on their beds and just caught up.

They didn't hear from Uncle Frank that night, but the next morning Rick got a text. Not only was their uncle ready for them, he was coming to meet them. The two wolfed down the hotel's breakfast, grabbed a few simple things, and then headed out.

It took them longer than he expected, since they were meeting their uncle half way. Though Rick considered manifesting his bike, some of the streets had horrible potholes and the lanes weren't very well respected. For that matter, displaying something that expensive might mark him as a target. In the end it didn't matter at all, as taking the rickety buses together with Melissa was fun in a different way.

Though they kept chatting as they headed north of the city, their conversation faded when they finally saw their uncle. They'd seen him many times via video, but Rick still paused to finally see him in the flesh. He was a bit heavier than he had been before, but the durable pants, brightly colored shirt, and broad hat were much the same. When he saw them, he spread his arms wide in the middle of the street.

"Rick! Melissa!"

"Uncle Frank!" Melissa ran to embrace him and he squeezed her tight. Rick followed at a more measured pace, though he didn't really care that people were watching them. When Melissa pulled away, their uncle turned to Rick and clasped his hand firmly. His grip was strong, but it was a warm strength that didn't try to break his hand.

"You're looking strong, Rick. I worried that the Showdown might be bad for you, but you seem to have done well for yourself."

"I'm managing so far." Rick smiled back at their uncle, but found himself considering. Uncle Frank's generation rate was only 85,000 lucrim... he immediately hesitated at the word "only".

For so many years, his uncle had been far stronger, wealthier, and more successful than the rest of their family. That was still unquestionably true, and Rick could tell that his uncle's Lucores were formidable. Yet in terms of raw power, he wasn't a monster like so many of the people he'd encountered with generation rates in six digits.

"I'm so glad this finally worked out." Uncle Frank gestured for them to follow him and began heading down a smaller side street. "I'd wanted you to visit for years, but I've been traveling too much, and some areas are too risky. But the timing couldn't be better."

"You don't have too much work?" Melissa asked. Their uncle shook his head.

"Not that, exactly, more that I've been in Vietnam long enough to know a little about it. If we'd met up somewhere I just arrived, I'd be as much a tourist as you and we'd... all go around being tourists, I suppose. But this way, I can actually improve your visit."

"Yup, that's the real reason we visited you, Uncle Frank. We just wanted a free tour guide."

Uncle Frank chuckled. "Well, I can only tell you very narrow things about history, but if you want some good food, you've come to the right place. Is it too early for lunch? I skipped breakfast."

He led them to a noodle place, and just as promised, it was good. Despite the fact that they'd spoken many times, they found themselves catching up anyway. Just being together in person brought up so many details lost in their brief conversations. There was relatively little new, and everything Melissa shared was repetitive, but Rick found that he didn't care.

Despite the hideously moist heat, Rick kept a long-sleeved shirt on the entire time, as he didn't want to have a conversation with his uncle about the demonic bond. Maybe it would have been nothing. Uncle Frank certainly wouldn't have raged like so many in their family often did. But he would have noticed, and it would have shifted the conversation. At the moment, he preferred their comfortable family ties.

They spent the rest of the day without any set agenda, but their uncle had more than a few things he wanted to show them. He only pointed out a local museum he said was worth visiting, instead using their time together to go see a series of waterfalls. Though not usually Rick's thing, he could admit they were beautiful, and Melissa seemed entranced.

For the most part Rick simply relaxed, but he couldn't help but go through his exercises during one of their trips on a bus. He noticed that Melissa was doing something as well, her inner void seething in a way that was new. It was unclear if Uncle Frank was training as well, but there were a couple occasions when he had to step aside to take a call. Apparently even now he couldn't get entirely off work.

As the sun set, they visited a hole in the wall restaurant for dinner and ate slowly. At the end of the meal, Uncle Frank ordered some sort of local alcohol and seemed surprised when Rick ordered some as well. Melissa played at doing the same, and likely could have given local laws, but instead got some locally squeezed fruit juice. By the end of the night, they both followed her lead.

"You two need to get back, don't you?" Uncle Frank eventually sat back and laced his fingers over his stomach. "It's a couple hours at least, and sometimes the power goes out. Best to be in a hotel with a generator when that happens."

"We can't stay wherever you sleep?" Melissa asked. Their uncle only shook his head.

"It's just a little tent alongside other tents. Plus, there are a few shady types."

Rick hadn't been thinking about the length of the trip back, but now considered the darkness skeptically. "How cautious do we need to be on the way back?"

"Not very." To his surprise, Uncle Frank waved the issue aside. "The towns and cities are actually safer in this part of the country, so someone with your strength doesn't need to be worried. If you want to avoid getting into any fights, take a taxi. I can tell you the names of reputable ones when you go."

Melissa sat forward, watching him carefully. "Did you imply that it's more dangerous out in the wild? Does that mean we won't get to see your work?"

"Don't worry, it's not so bad as all that. No, I actually had a few secure locations to show you. I may not be able to narrate the history of every location, but they'll probably be different from anything else you've seen before."

"So we can see you tomorrow?"

"I don't know about tomorrow, but the day after, maybe. Let's set a date."

They scheduled the next time they'd meet, then finally headed back to their hotel. Though the day had been relaxed compared to many lately, it felt richer and fuller than most of them in a way that Rick didn't expect. In the taxi Melissa slumped against him and actually drifted to sleep.

He would have picked her up and carried her to bed... except he realized how incredibly suspicious that would look. So he poked his sister awake and kept her that way long enough for them to get back. She kicked off her shoes and fell straight onto her bed, while he cleaned up a bit and went through final exercises before retiring as well.

His sister began snoring, but he only fell asleep more easily.

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I introduced Uncle Frank all the way back in the early chapters of SC1, but he's only showing up in person now. The plan has always been to do this little arc, it just didn't make sense either plot-wise or progression-wise before now. Anyway, new chapters next weekend, as usual!