Street Cultivation 3: Chapters 39-40 (Patreon)

Before the chapters, what do you think of this WIP for the third cover? I tried to contact the artist early and he just... went to town putting this one together. Like the others in this series, the cover doesn't represent a specific moment, it embodies the spirit of the book, in this case Rick and Melissa pressed hard.

Anyway, this set of chapters includes yet more worldbuilding stuff I've been waiting to include, moving the setting yet again. Plus, it's time for an older character to make an appearance...

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Chapter 39: Besting Evolution

After more than half a year in the Showdown, Rick had adjusted to the cycle of spending each month in a different location. It didn't coincide with the beginning of the calendar month, and occasionally there were differences of a day or two, but he knew what to expect. The rhythm of preparation, participation, and recovery had gotten deep into him.

So when H announced that they were leaving Germany over a week early, Rick was surprised. He was even more surprised when they entered the helicopter only to find a woman waiting for them. His first instinct was that it was an ambush, but H strolled past her with barely a nod.

"Rick, this is Abril. She'll be getting you physically ready for the competition."

"I work in Brazil, so I'll be hitching a ride along with you." Abril gave him a polite smile. The helicopter lifted into the air next, briefly deafening before the noise canceling field took effect. While they lifted off, Rick tried to look at her without making it obvious what he was doing.

He thought Abril was about his age at first, but realized that she was probably several years older, just exceptionally healthy. Her brown skin positively glowed in a way that he wasn't sure was quite natural, though it wasn't aura. She wore her dark hair in an ear-length bob, which combined with the loose pants and shirt to give a casual look.

When the sound of the helicopter cut out, she gave him another smile. "So, Rick, I understand that you're interested in body modification."

"I am?" Rick glanced toward the cockpit, but H had yet to emerge. Abril paused for a moment, then shook her head.

"Just like him, not to explain anything. I suppose I might as well, while we travel." She spread her hands, bracelets he hadn't noticed before jangling. "I am a body enhancement expert, specializing in combat modifications. Yes, the same field is a step toward immortality, but that goes much further. I assume that Horatio merely wants you to better prepare you for Showdown combat."

"So, what, you're going to implant ether into me?" Rick had a sense that was a thing, just far too expensive for him, but to his surprise Abril shook her head.

"We'll use ether, but implantation isn't really my specialty. Also far more expensive, and requiring complex Lucores. No, what I generally do is actually change your DNA to improve you as a fighter."

Rick frowned, immediately suspicious. He had relatives who had wasted money on bullshit like that. "I don't know if I want to mess with my DNA. I figure that evolution does a pretty good job making people and I don't think I know better than it."

"A common misunderstanding." Abril tapped the side of her face with one carefully manicured finger, then spoke smoothly, as if she'd had this conversation many times before. "Tell me, what does evolution actually select for?"

"Uh, like a scientific answer? I don't know... making animals stronger, or faster, or generally better suited to their environment."

"Not quite. Evolution favors species that are better able to spread their genes, full stop. If making an animal stronger helps with that, then you might see it happen, but evolution doesn't care about strength. It also doesn't care how long you live beyond reproduction age, or if it does, it might want you to stop living after breeding. Evolution doesn't care about any of the things we do as individuals."

That was a new way to think about it. Rick sat back and tried to think it through, wondering just how unqualified he was to deal with this. She could claim a lot of things and he wouldn't know if she was telling the truth. What she said seemed to make logical sense, however.

"Sorry if this is throwing too much at you," Abril said. "Do you have any questions?"

"Oh, I have a lot. But I guess I'm mostly wondering what is actually going to be done to me."

"Making you less pathetic." The cockpit door slammed open as H entered the main chamber. "Don't expect me to pay for fixing your back problems or curing any congenital diseases. But improving your body enough to fight a little better is possible. We're doing blood and skin."

"Blood and skin?" Rick frowned at his mentor. "I assumed it would be changing something about how my body uses lucrim."

Abril shook her head. "Only a small part of that process is biological. It can be improved, but that's an extremely expensive process for minor gains. On the other hand, we can improve your skin to better conduct aura, which would make your Lucores work a little more efficiently. Blood doesn't carry lucrim, but we can still significantly improve its functioning."

"If these changes are possible, why don't humans already have them?"

"Because they're expensive in a biological sense. Think about growing horns: larger ones might be useful in some ways, but they also require more nutrition. Evolution doesn't select for the biggest horns, only the most balanced. But since we've developed DNA-modifying Lucores, we can optimize for the things we care about."

H sat down beside them and folded his arms. "Enough theory. You need to choose where you're going with this. Better blood will help anything, and improved skin is suited to your defensive style. But if you intend to compete in the senior Showdown, you need to decide on a highly specialized form."

Though Rick had found himself trusting Abril, this activated his suspicions again. "What do you mean by specialized?"

"Exactly what the word means. Take the aura javelin throwers: you think they just throw aura like that naturally? No, they've modified everything about themselves to improve that technique. Generally the real elites at some point liquefy their entire lucrim portfolios and rebuild them to synergize perfectly with their new bodies. For you, that will mean dedicating everything to power the Triune Golden Spheres."

"That feels like it's going too far. Why not just change things so I'm in peak physical condition?"

To his surprise, H sneered. "That's utter nonsense. Think about the best athletes: does the same person win the Olympics in both running and weight-lifting? Of course not. Generally they can't even compete in both sprinting and distance running. Someone who tries to have everything will be beaten in each event, because they'll always be inferior to someone who optimized for one result."

Rick couldn't deny the logic, though his mind certainly tried. "I thought I was competing as more of a generalist. I don't like the idea of completely giving up Lucores that don't support a single goal."

It looked like H was about to lecture him, but Abril spoke up first. "Is there really any need to argue over this? You wouldn't be making such decisions now, and certainly not with me. Let's start with a few modifications that will be helpful no matter what, okay?"

"Fine." H crossed his arms tighter, muscles flexing. "But when the time comes, Rick, I don't want to hear any childish talk. I'm already doubting your commitment to this. Don't think that we'll give you everything in exchange for your second best."

There was nothing he could say to that, so Rick only nodded. The rest of the helicopter ride was in stony silence, H glaring at the air as if he could personally choke out any attempt at conversation. Rick went through his usual exercises and Abril pulled out a book, which she read contentedly. If she was this accustomed to H, Rick wanted to learn how much she knew about him.

When they arrived, as usual, there was no time to explore. Rick caught a glimpse of beaches and forests, but they sped onward to a city, as usual. It went slowly, but he was surprised how grimy the skies were. He'd heard about the pollution problems, but seeing it for himself was something else.

"The schedule is already closer than I'd like," H announced as they exited the helicopter. "We need him to participate in the Nokan Showdown, which gives us two months at most. In actuality less. So I expect you to get started right away."

"Fortunately, my facilities are in the same building." Abril smiled at them both, though Rick was starting to notice that she never showed her teeth when she smiled. She hooked a finger over her shoulder at him. "Come along this way. Don't worry, I'm happier to answer questions than your grumpy mentor here. I'd like you to feel completely comfortable with the process before we begin."

She took him to a laboratory that looked downright futuristic to him: glistening metal instruments, pristine white surfaces, several devices that looked like MRI machines, except they had huge amounts of lucrim cycling through them. Now that he thought about it, he thought he remembered something about Brazil being a world leader in body modification, though he didn't think most of it was focused on combat.

Though there were many others in the outer rooms, both patients and specialists, Abril led him past all of them. Several of them came to greet her like they were colleagues, but she gestured back to him and they nodded. Eventually she took him to a clean office, where she sat down on the opposite side of a desk and gestured invitingly.

"Please, sit. Horatio wanted you to begin the first process as quickly as possible, but I want you to be comfortable first. Do you have any more questions?"

"How well do you know H?"

Abril blinked in surprise, but took the question in stride. "Certainly not very well on a personal level. I take it that you don't entirely trust him? Honestly, I've never seen him have a good relationship with any other human being, so that's not surprising."

"But you've worked with him before. Just how many trainees has he brought to you?"

"Four? No, five." Abril's faint smile grew even fainter. "You seem cynical, so I hope I'm not surprising you when I say that the Showdown tends to be hard on its participants. Your mentor in particular seems to push everyone to a breaking point. I'm not sure, but I don't think he cares about maximizing each person's performance. He wants to find someone who can keep up with his training program... and he doesn't care how many he ruins in the process."

It was more or less what he expected, but hearing it stated so plainly was still sobering. "And these procedures... are they going to have any nasty side effects?"

"Oh no, not these. Please set your mind at ease. Tell me, how old do you think I am?"

"Uh... I'm pretty sure that question is a trap."

For the first time he saw Abril laugh, though only briefly. "How wise of you. As it happens, I am 34 years old, but I know I look younger. I've had extensive skin modifications here in our own clinic. Of course, mine were focused on overall health more than defense, but yours will also be quite stable."

"Implying that some aren't?"

"There are certain options that, shall we say, optimize for factors other than health or stability." All trace of amusement vanished from her face and her dark eyes regarded him seriously. "I'll be honest with you: optimizing for combat efficiency means optimizing against overall lifespan. The top celebrity fighters think it's worth it, to earn millions of lucrim per year, but they do pay a price."

"But what about immortals?" Rick asked. After everything else he'd been told, this didn't exactly shock him, but it still ran against his usual thinking.

"In terms of raw efficiency, they're beneath peak athletes. But that doesn't really matter when you have billions of lucrim." Abril shrugged and then settled back into her chair. "That's quite a ways above you. This is just two relatively simple procedures, nothing to get concerned about. Any other questions?"

Rick felt like too many facts had been jammed into his mind already, so he focused on something more important. "Do you know what happened to H's other trainees? Did they just break and get thrown aside?"

For a minute she didn't answer, for the first time turning away from him and staring over the pictures on her wall. Eventually she glanced back at him. "I don't keep track of all my clients, of course. But I told you, he's particularly rough on them. His trainees seem to end up in conflicts with Alger for some reason, and many of them end up maimed or worse."

"Alger? I knew the two of them disliked each other, but do they have some sort of vendetta?"

"Oh, they're actually enemies? You probably know more about that than I do, because I don't really keep up with Showdown politics. There is, you'll forgive me, too much machismo for my taste. Now, if you're ready, can we get started?"

"I guess so." Rick had his doubts, but he was locked onto this path. "Can you tell me exactly what will be involved with this procedure? You aren't going to be grafting new skin onto me, are you?"

"Of course not! Here, I'll show you some diagrams." Abril turned on her computer, then glanced to him as it booted up. "Generally speaking, fast solutions are poor solutions. A body can't be reforged in a day! What we're going to do is use a DNA-modifying Lucore so that your body starts creating better skin cells. Nothing will happen to the old ones, but your body replaces all your surface skin cells in two to three weeks."

Realizing that he wasn't going to step into a chamber and pop out with strangely colored skin was actually a slight relief. Abril pulled up some pictures on her computer and turned her monitor around to show him, but he could only really grasp the general concepts of the procedure. The fact that they had ready-made explanatory images was even more of a relief.

"But we won't actually begin with your skin. The blood process will take longer, so we start with that. Then, as soon as you're in good shape again, we move on to the second procedure. Here, let me pull up the explanations for those..."

"How long will the blood process take? I... well, I guess I figured you were just replacing mine."

"Oh no. What we're doing is replacing your bone marrow, and it will then create superior blood cells forever. Don't worry, they'll be your blood type and your body will accept them just the same. It will actually take four months to feel a difference in stamina. Now, for combat you mainly need red blood cells, but we'll throw in the white ones for free." Abril gave him a wink. "Those will take a year or so, but eventually you should start feeling a little healthier."

"And you have this one too?"

"Practically everybody has that procedure who can help it. A lot of people who are born into rich families have all that work done as soon as physically possible, generally just before puberty. There's more to Birthrighters than just Birthright Cores, you see."

Maybe it was intended to set him at ease, but Rick found himself more comfortable to hear her casually denigrate Birthrighters that way. Abril was probably wealthy due to her job, and he thought her generation rate was around 150,000 lucrim. Yet she was very clearly not like the arrogant Birthrighters he'd known, or the many obsessives he'd met in the Showdown.

So he decided to go through with it. They took a blood sample, which was immediately given to a lab assistant, and Abril guided him down to one of the lower rooms. There was a large machine with a lot more needles than he was comfortable with, but he'd already come this far.

"Now, we are going to need you to take off some clothes so we can do the procedure smoothly." Abril winked at him again, but the expression seemed like an act to him, something she did because patients reacted positively to it. "Don't worry, you aren't going to scandalize me."

Rick stripped off his shirt and pants, trying not to be self-conscious. Abril barely even looked at him, suddenly all business. She directed him to lie down on the operating table beside the needle machine, then put a hand on his shoulder.

"I should warn you, this next part of the process is extremely painful. Some fighters like to do it without any painkiller, but most regret it. Either way, this process is going to require every iota of stamina and willpower you possess."

"Uh... why do I need to be conscious for this?"

Abril laughed, and this time he thought it was a real reaction. "You're absolutely right. You fighter types tend to assume that everything needs to be a gruesome test of fortitude. I was joking: you're going to be unconscious for the entire thing. There will be some discomfort when you wake, but we've been doing this procedure for years and we'll do everything we can to minimize it. Now, try to relax and get comfortable."

Eventually, he did, despite everything. Rick accepted the needle in his arm and wondered when he would become...

-

Chapter 40: Body Reforging

Rick woke up slowly, first becoming aware of the quiet sounds of a hospital before he managed to open his eyes. He was lying in a soft bed with a sheet covering him, but it felt like he was wearing little underneath. The instant he tried to move, he felt deep aches all over his body, though he'd felt worse. The question was if anything had changed.

He managed to raise his right arm and wiggle his fingers. Other than the pain, he felt mostly normal. The sluggishness might simply have been him coming awake after the anesthesia, and there was certainly nothing abnormal that he could see. Did his blood look a little darker than normal? No, that was definitely just his imagination.

The clock on the opposite wall suggested that he had been unconscious for twelve hours. A moment later he realized that meant he'd missed two different doses of Formula T. If it was really addictive, he should be feeling withdrawal, yet he felt pretty good overall. Maybe Lisa had been wrong.

When he started to move his left arm, he felt it tug on something. Shaking himself awake, Rick realized that there was a needle in the back of his hand. The tube attached to it was golden... and he saw an IV drip filled with what could only be Formula T. He sighed and started trying to ease off the tape, eventually pulling out the needle. Compared to the deep aching, it didn't hurt at all.

Spotting his clothes neatly folded beside the bed, Rick decided that he might as well dress. It seemed as though they'd been cleaned as well, smelling faintly like a flower he couldn't identify. No sooner had he finished pulling on his shirt than Abril poked her head in the doorway.

"Hello! Glad to see you up and around already."

"Is this standard procedure?" Rick pointed to the Formula T drip, only then realizing that he was being too blunt.

"No, it was specific to you."

"Uh, sorry. Just got up and I'm feeling a bit off." He smiled back at her. "Did the operation go well?"

Her smile had gone back to that thin line, but he didn't think it was directed at him this time. "It did, but I wanted to speak to you about some-"

"Enough." H stormed into the room after her, looked Rick over, and grunted. "Even you couldn't spend more time in bed, huh? Come on, we have a lot of conditioning to do."

Abril gave him a helpless shrug and gestured for him to go. He sighed and followed H into the domestic wing of the building. He'd been distracted by thoughts of the operation when they arrived, but now marveled at just how massive the building was. And based on what he had seen, every floor and room of it catered to fighters in one way or another.

Though Rick expected his "conditioning" to involve getting the shit kicked out of him, H was actually rather gentle, if gruff. They began with his ordinary meditation, making sure that the serious operation hadn't damaged his lucrima soul. Rick had only heard a little about such complications, but it seemed that everything had gone well.

Over the next several days, he carefully tested himself. The deep aches in his body lasted much longer than he expected, even with regular supplements and additional healing. Based on what he read online, he was actually healing unusually quickly. He could feel the Dark Blood Kettle running along his bones and considered asking H about it, but in the end decided that it couldn't be doing any harm. It didn't seem to be attacking the new bone marrow, so presumably it was helping integrate everything.

The pain made him hesitate when physically exercising, but he slowly found that it actually didn't harm him. A few times a nurse helped him with physical therapy, which helped worked out the stiffness. He saw Abril occasionally, but they never had time to really talk.

Once he was feeling better, they began to spar again, but it was more like their old footwork training: H focused on his form and insulted him when he misstepped, but wasn't trying to beat the lessons into him. That more than anything helped Rick relax about the whole procedure. His mentor might be trying to control him, but H did ultimately want him to succeed as a fighter.

For a while, conditioning was his life, except for occasional studying and texts with Melissa. His sister had been quieter than usual, then out of nowhere sent him the potato drawing, now with the entire image contained within a duck's head. It was so nonsensical that it made him laugh, but he couldn't figure out how to follow up on it and just made sure he didn't ignore her.

Trying to contact Damian hadn't been successful, though he got one acknowledgment that his message had been received. It made sense that he wouldn't want to talk about anything strange over emails, even indirectly. Rick also spent some time working with Katenka, but they stuck to theory because she said he shouldn't push himself too hard.

Eventually he was sent back over to the medical wing for further tests, to confirm that he was producing the right kinds of blood cells. The test took much longer than usual, and for a while he worried that the operation hadn't taken somehow. But when Abril eventually walked into his room, she was smiling at the tablet in her hands.

"Only good news, Rick. There's some odd lucrim shadowing in your blood that slowed us down, but the marrow is doing its job. Every day for the next year or so you'll be just a little bit stronger."

"Lucrim shadowing?" Rick was usually familiar with lucrim terminology, even if he didn't know the details, but he'd never even heard of that one.

"Ah, that's medical jargon. Lucrim is... I don't want to say 'spiritual' but that's the tempting word." She paused, tapping a finger against the side of her face. "Some people also say 'metaphysical' but it's a physical reality. The point is this: usually your lucrima soul operates alongside your biological body. But with some techniques, or in some rare cases, the lucrim casts a 'shadow' that has a measurable impact on your biology, even when you're not using lucrim or generating aura."

"Is that... good?"

"It's great, in your case. We always scan portfolios for potential negative interactions, but positive reactions are much rarer. Presumably it's something about your Lucores or some technique you've trained, but you're adjusting to the new marrow faster than usual."

He guessed that had to be the Dark Blood Kettle and so simply nodded. "So the operation is a success. Do we do the skin part next?"

"You're not quite ready yet, and I actually wanted to talk to you about that." Abril pulled a chair over to sit opposite him and placed her tablet in her lap. "I understand that you're taking a high end combat elixir. Horatio wanted me to give you a specific type of artificial marrow that would have used it to work more efficiently, but I rejected it because it hadn't been approved for use in humans."

"H wanted my marrow to run on Formula T?"

"I wouldn't say that, but the results have yet to be thoroughly tested, so there could have been unintended side effects. There are many fighters who try untested procedures on themselves, but the elites usually won't, and we definitely won't perform any untested operations here. It would be hard to find a true professional who would."

Though the fact that H had tried such a thing left Rick cold, he was glad that Abril was looking out for him. "Thanks for letting me know."

"I suppose if you're not surprised, it's fine. But we need to talk about the next operation." Abril picked up her tablet and began bringing up several diagrams. "When it comes to your enhanced skin, you have several options. All of them have been tested safe, but that doesn't mean they're without drawbacks. Your mentor is pushing for this last one, but it's ultimately up to you."

"What are the differences?"

"There are some extreme options, like the X1 or X2 models. Those harden your skin substantially and permanently, but they also deaden your sense of touch and can encourage melanoma. I said those were out of the question for now, so just be aware that he'll push for it later."

Given their conversation, Rick wasn't surprised. He gestured to the lower set of diagrams. "So we're looking at this set? T1 through T3?"

"That's right. All of them increase your ability to channel aura through your skin, which in practice will make you much tougher. T1 is the weakest, but it's self-sustaining. The T2 model allows you to channel your special elixir directly and produce an even stronger defense. I mean shrugging off lucrim bullets, that sort of thing. Now, T3 is even more durable, and it doesn't have any health disadvantages, but it requires a nearly constant stream of lucrim in specific forms."

"And if I run out?"

"Well... your skin wouldn't fall off, but it would start weakening and discoloring. Wouldn't be pleasant." Abril shook her head slowly. "I don't think I'd recommend that one, not unless you think you can keep Horatio happy forever. But between T1 and T2, that's up to you."

"T1." There wasn't really a question in his mind: this was another ploy to make him dependent on Formula T and the Showdown in general. If he had a choice, he'd take this one. "No question about it."

"Great!" Abril smiled her usual polite smile, but he thought he saw her relax a little. "I thought that would be better for you anyway. Now, today all we need to do is take a few skin samples and test your lucrima portfolio, but you'll be back in a week or so for another operation."

Rick spent that week preparing, both with increased supplements and more intense training. Though H wasn't brutal yet, he made it very obvious that he wanted Rick to be able to fight at peak condition soon. Apparently the skin procedure was much less invasive, as the effects would slowly appear over time, so it was just a matter of making sure his body was fully recovered by the time of the competition.

He finally got a reply from Damian, but it was infuriatingly vague, just saying that the two of them should meet in Brazil. Rick wasn't sure how to respond to that and just set it aside. If Damian was brushing him off, he wasn't worth the time, and if he intended to make something happen, that was well within his capabilities.

Other than his sister and a few emails with Uncle Frank about body modification, Rick didn't get any messages... until he suddenly started receiving appeals from his family. Uncle Alan and many of the others didn't come right out and say it, but they were begging him for money. So many sob stories about broken vehicles, health problems, and debts.

Rick deleted all of them as soon as he received them.

Presumably they must have seen him participating in the Showdown and were now trying to beg money off him. He'd seen it before, anyone in the family who got a little money instantly acquiring several leeches of the human variety. The only question was how they managed to get his contact information, but they could be resourceful when it came to certain very specific things.

Once Raggest showed up in the building, trying to recruit Rick for some harebrained scheme, but this time H ran him off. His period of recovery and preparation actually went very smoothly, and on the day of the operation itself nothing went wrong. He was unconscious for a while as they used the DNA therapy Lucore, then he woke without any symptoms.

Despite the fact that he knew nothing had changed yet, Rick still stared at the skin on his arms. They looked the same, and supposedly they would continue to look the same even once the process was done. But from that day, as dead skin cells flaked away, they would be slowly replaced by skin better designed to channel aura from his defensive cores.

Abril pronounced him healthy and free to go afterwards. He was no longer her patient, but instead of saying farewell she said that she'd see him around. Rick spent a while trying to figure out what she meant by that. It might have been a threat, or more flirtation, or possibly just the suggestion that he'd return for more operations.

Possibly. Though Rick disliked the idea of optimizing his body so much that he abandoned everything but a specific goal, the idea of optimizing for his life overall still appealed. It might be far beyond him at the moment, but maybe one day he and Melissa could achieve immortality, or at least long and healthy lives.

Since he didn't participate in any events in Brazil, Rick was beginning to think that he'd never get to see the country. H was watching him like a hawk, insisting that he stay focused, so there was no time to sneak out and do anything else. Once more, he regretted that his focus locked off so much else.

But before their time ended, Rick heard another helicopter arrive. They weren't so uncommon, as many warriors used the helipad, but this one was solid silver and looked more like a futuristic hovercraft than a helicopter. It got attention from some others and H wasn't around, so Rick decided to go find out who was inside it. At the very least, he could see something in the building other than the training chambers.

It took him a while to reach the roof, and when he did, he saw what he'd almost expected. Damian stood in his usual perfectly-tailored suit, but this time he had his arms around two women wearing bikinis. When Rick walked up, Damian immediately grinned.

"There you are! You just missed the bikini competition, but I have the winners here with me. Come on, let's have a night on the town!"

Rick smiled flatly and hoped that calling Damian hadn't been a mistake.