F-Rank Frank: Chapter 11 (Patreon)

Chapter 11

Breakthrough.

A breakthrough apparently happened while Frank was asleep. He didn’t know how such a feat was possible, but he figured it was mostly due to the way his body was nearly constantly cycling Qi throughout his body. Not just any Qi, but the green Qi that his body seemed to crave the most.

That was why he felt somewhat empty, but was happy to find that he had been hooked up to monitors and tubes that were used to forcefully push fluids into his body.

Honestly, he didn’t realize how bad things had gotten, until he awoke to find that his skin no longer felt so tight against his skin.

Beep, beep, beep.

There were chimes that sounded off, denoting a slight change in his heart rate. At least that is what Frank thought the beeps meant as he felt his body tense up in fear at first, as he awoke to find out what had happened.

He awoke to find himself tied down to a bed, with a number of electrodes and tubes connected to his body.

Hearing the beeps, a female came in to the room, then saw that Frank was awake, although he was already pulling at his cuffs. A quick tug showed that the metal cuffs were relatively weak and that he could break free of them if he wanted to, but decided to wait for now. Breaking out of a hospital was never a good sign, and often urchins like him would be chained down to ensure some form of taxation was sent to his family.

Mentally he kicked himself at the unexpected burden to his parents, but his thoughts were cut short as a female doctor came into the room.

“Oh, you have finally awoken.” The female doctor said, her eyes glowed dark blue for a second showing that some form of power was being used.

Frank tried to talk, and found that while his throat was still sore, he found that he apparently had enough moisture now to talk properly. Still, his mouth was dry from just waking up, as such he managed a quick nod.

“Good. Have you had any education before?” The doctor asked, speaking slowly the way one might to a particularly slow child.

“Yes,” Frank managed.

“Good do you know where you are?”

“A hospital?” Frank replied, a bit confused by the question.

“Haha, yes, well that is true. You are St. Mercy 17 Hospital.”

Hearing that Frank realized the numbering at the end denoted the district. At least that was the common notation as the numbering for all primary facilities was always numbered to match the district you were in. As this was the 17th, it meant that he was one, now wait two districts away? Though one of those districts was the abandoned 19th district. His district number 22 was the one he would need to go back to, eventually, though that seemed almost impossible at this point. Well, unless he went back down, fought his way through the swarm of rodents and then tried to climb back up to the 22nd district.

While Frank had been lost in his own thoughts, the doctor just twitched to herself, before continuing.

“Well it is a good thing that you came out when you did. As today is the awakening exam. Given your bone density and the fact that you don’t come up on any of our scans shows that you have not undergone your awakening ceremony.” The doctor began.

Hearing this, Frank was confused, and almost wanted to protest, but decided against it. Could he re-awaken? There had been myths of people doing just that, re-awakening, but they were all just that, myths. The idea that he might actually be able to re-awaken with a higher ranking that F-Rank might be just what he needed. At the very least, he could once again feel the energy coursing through his body and try to figure out if there are more pathways that help manifest Qi externally.

By now he was certain that he had a good enough understanding of Qi, that he should be able to see if there was something that he had missed, something that kept him with an F-Rank ability. Before the energy had only gone through his body, but could he get it to project out further? Was there a way to change fate?

Seeing the moment for what it was, Frank couldn’t help but feel that this was fate subtly guiding him to change his destiny. Before he passed out, he thought that he might have gone back in time, but as it turns out this was so much better, as he might be able to double awaken.

“Not much of a talker are you?” The doctor asked, still fidgeting, but finding it easier to continue asking Frank questions.

“I guess?” Frank replied.

The doctor nodded at that, and marked something down on her pad.

“How long have you been living underground?”

At that Frank just cocked his head to the side and then asked, “what day is today?”

That seemed to be the answer the doctor was expecting as she marked it down on her notepad. “Well, today is the district’s Awakening day, the same as it has been for every year. Do you know what day that is?”

At that Frank paused, not realizing that Awakening days would be held on different days for different districts. In a way he supposed it made sense, as this likely meant the guards that were assigned to set up and remove the awakening equipment could do so going from district to district, and then take all those that passed up to the surface in one quick operation.

Thinking about it, Frank was honestly surprised at how simplistic the idea was, but probably cost effective in the long run. At least that is what Frank assumed. He also guessed that they had likely gone from the twenty-second district to this one, which was what seventeen? Now assuming that they didn’t stop at district 19, that meant that it was anywhere from one to four days that he was trapped in the under-realms that apparently showed an even deeper progress of civilization’s expansion into the depths of the earth.

“Yeah, I kind of figured, with the wear and tear of your clothes, and the scars on your body it was clear that you had likely been down there a long time. Honestly, I’m somewhat surprised that you are as coherent as you are. We have some of you that come out and are all but feral beasts.” The doctor said, noting that apparently being an unclaimed urchin from the under-realms wasn’t that odd of a situation.

No, it was odd, but apparently not unaccounted for.

With that Frank just nodded, not wanting to give out the fact that he was from a different district. Especially not with the chance of getting a re-awakening out of this process.

“Do you promise to behave if we remove your restraints?” The doctor asked.

Suddenly the reason why Frank was bound to the bed made a lot more sense. This wasn’t because he was an escaped fugitive, or had somehow broken protocol by exploring the under-realms, or any of the other reasons he had concocted in his mind. This was apparently a standard process for dealing with feral children who need to be tested for their awakening prowess.

“I promise.” Frank said, then tugged gently on the cuff, though he could almost swear that it squeaked in protest from his simple movement.

“Okay,” the doctor said, before pressing a button on her pad.

With that, two armed guards came into the room.

“This is the newest feral?” The male guard with a clear B-Rank tab on his chest asked.

“Yes.” The doctor replied.

“Is he mentally competent enough to withstand the awakening?” The B-Rank guard asked.

“Yes, he has shown no signs of hostility, and meets all the pre-requisites of being at the right age to awaken.” The doctor stated, as she held up a metal key.

With that the guard nodded and took the key before coming over to Frank. Once there the guard took Frank in. “What did they feed you to get all those muscles kid?”

The question was apparently rhetorical, as the guard immediately went about unlocking the restraints that held him to the bed. Within seconds all four restraints had been removed and there was a moment of pause as everyone waited for something to happen. The guards looked at Frank, who just stared back at the B-Rank guard that had unlocked his restraints.

Finally, after a long second, the B-Rank guard nodded in acceptance of something. “Good, you are not a fight risk.” The B-Rank guard said locking eyes with Frank. Then turning to the other guard he spoke, “Holsy, you are assigned to him. Get his showered, cleaned up, and get him part of the awakening meal at the very least.”

“Yes sir.” The second guard, one with a C-Rank on his chest responded.

Then like that, Holsy, or the C-Ranked guard lowered the metal bars from the bed and helped Frank down from the table.

“Come with me, we have a lot to do today,” Holsy said.

Frank could only nod, not wanting to give away too much about what he was currently thinking at the moment. Everything was going so well, so smoothly that he felt if he spoke, he might shatter the illusion of everything that was happening around him. In his mind, he knew that nothing would change this time, that there was no way for him to awaken an S-Rank talent. Then just when he had that thought, he realized that if he had both an S-Rank talent and his F-Rank Energy Sight talents active, he would be unstoppable. That idea more than anything made it so Frank wanted to take this opportunity and push it as far as possible.

He felt that the opportunity that he had been given was as fragile as glass, and that merely speaking might be enough to shatter that glass of an opportunity. In his mind he wondered if he would ever see his family again. Then a separate part of him realized that if he managed to awaken an S-Rank talent, then the powers that be would clearly want to take his parents with him, from any district. That if he succeeded that much, then those in authority would gladly go back to take his family.

“Come with me kid.” Holsy said, after a moment of Frank just standing on his own too feet and looking towards Holsy expectantly. Then before even giving Frank a second, to do more than nod, Holsy was gone, taking off like a shot.

Frank quickly tried to catch up, though he found even with the C-Ranker’s larger gate, keeping up with the guard was relatively easy. Holsy looking back saw that Frank was easily able to keep up with him, so he began going just that much faster, speeding up every few steps until it was clear that Frank would be able to keep out. It looked like Holsy wanted to push him further, but stopped as soon as they hit the public bath houses.

Surprisingly, they were in the same exact area for district 17 as they were for his district 22, though things were off.

It took him going to the new clothing store where he was given a form fitting set of dress shoes, pants, shirt, and a new blazer that he realized what was off about everything. In his mind, the gridwork of houses was rotated, almost ninety degrees. Not much of a change, but noticeable enough that Frank was able to pick it up. So there were at least minor differences in the formation of the districts, this was good to know. As it meant that if Frank wanted to get away, he could likely use many of the same exact paths as he was used to, but would have to adjust most of his plans to account for the slight deviation in layout. Why he would need to know escape routes wasn’t know. Actually, that was a lie. He was about to defraud the government, but they didn’t need to know that, at least not yet. And unless he had an A-Rank or Higher such thoughts of warning about his attempt to defraud the government would not be necessary.

“Do you know what size you are?” Holsy asked once they reached the part for his actual measurements.

“Slim and medium.” Frank replied.

“That might have been what you were before you went down in those tunnels. But you must have eaten well down there, as you are at least a medium long, if not a large long.” Holsy replied.

Pausing, Frank looked down at his body, to see that to his surprise, he had gained muscles. Something that had been nearly impossible months ago was now readily apparent. Yes, fighting could increase muscles, along with the constant strain his body had been under for the past few days, but this level of growth.

Then Frank realized that this too might be why his biometrics are so off, first he now had callouses on his hands and feet, and not only that but his hands had increased in size somehow. Mentally, he knew that these things were possible with cultivating, that proper cultivating could negate years of neglect, so long as you cultivated correctly. That was partly why the Awakening ceremony was done to those who were young.

Yet, this was beyond his wildest dreams.

Even the guards that had all seemed to stare down imposingly on Frank a few days ago now only did so slightly. Realizing the slight difference in perspective, it was clear that not only had he grown stronger, but he had also grow taller.

Fitting took slightly longer than usual for Frank, but fortunately the clothing store had longer clothes to try on as not many kids in the slums grew to be as tall as Frank currently was.

With that exchange, Frank gave back the remainder of his former school pants, which were little more than tatters on his body. With that, he was taken to the chow hall and given one last meal.

“Eat up. This might be the last meal you get for a while.” Holsy said.

With that Frank nodded, and then stacking food as high as he could on his tray began eating at a ravenous pace.

“Whoa there, make sure you don’t choke.” Holsy said, Frank for his part just nodded, while trying to eat as much of the food available as possible. Last time he had been so nervous that he only had one plate and then stopped. This time, he took the meal for what it was, an unexpected perk. A bonus that might never come around again.

While he had every intention of getting an S-Rank trait or higher, he knew that he couldn’t expect to pass automatically just because he wanted it to be so.

Also, he learned from his first time around that whether he was nice or not, inconspicuous, or not, didn’t matter. Even getting Holsy or the other guards to like him didn’t matter. The only thing that mattered was the fact that Frank now had a second chance to get his life together. And this time he would not fail.

“You that hungry?” Holsy asked.

Finally, Frank nodded and began to speak while his stomach began to gargle at the sudden influx of food. “Starving.”

Hearing that Holsy nodded, then seemed to fully take in Frank’s appearance. “Look kid, you’ve got time. Eat as much as you need. I realize you might have had to go a long time between meals down there.”

At that Frank just nodded. It had been a long time. Mentally he had plans on cooking rat and poisonous snake meat, but never had a chance to do so. Instead, he had to fill himself on cultivated energy and sheer willpower, now that he had a chance to finally eat, Frank decided to relish the moment for what it was.

Looking at the food, it was clear that it came from somewhere different, as this food all had green energy infused into it.

Pausing for a moment, he stared at the food, as if trying to understand if all food had this energy or if they had done something to this meal in particular.

“Do you feel that? That is the energy that comes in all military issued rations. If you awaken a B-Rank or above Trait you can expect to eat like this daily.” The guard said.

At that Frank paused, before staring at the apparent ‘C’ on the guard’s uniform before going back to his meal.

“Hah, caught that did you? Yeah, normally as a C-Rank you don’t get access to these meals either, at least not until you prove yourself.” With that Holsy, held up his sleeve that showed seven vertical yellow stripes down the side, denoting that Holsy was in the seventh layer of body refinement.

At that Frank just nodded, not wanting to do more than eat and enjoy this meal while he could. Realizing that the meal was also infused with ambient energy, Frank was more determined than ever to eat as much of it as possible.

Finally after his fourth plate, Frank felt stuffed. Not full, but in that realm beyond full when you can’t possibly eat anymore.

“You’re done?” Holsy asked.

Nodding.

Frank just nodded, not even thinking about keeping up the façade of being silent. Instead, he just didn’t think he could talk due to how completely full he was.

Of course, this level of full satisfaction quickly started wearing away as his body began to break down the food and his cultivation quickly grabbed the ambient strands of energy and began cycling the needed components through his body.

“All right come on. Now it is time to hurry up and wait.” Holsy said, as he led Frank to the packed gymnasium where the military had once again divided the stream of students into two different lines that moved and snaked off, much like his earlier awakening had gone.

Standing there in line, Frank felt a sense of calm wash over him, as he realized he was so close. Looking forward, he could see the colors of energy flowing through the stones, and into each person. As he watched, he saw what he considered patterns forming.

All the F-Rank students had green energy coursing through them. All D-Ranks had light blue energy. The one or two C-Ranks that he was looked like they had dark blue energy that they absorbed. Then pausing, Frank wondered what color B-Rank or even A or S ranks would use.

Seeing the different energies, Frank saw it, the way forward. He was looking at it, his earlier awakening would be able to easily determine which energy types to go with. He could go for another green, that is if he wanted to increase his core, but that was not important now. Right now, Frank was almost certain that if he could find a different energy source, and likely a different corresponding set of meridians, he could forever change his status. No longer F-Rank, he could do this, the more he thought about what was happening, he was certain that he could easily determine a way new way out of the crap hand for life he had been dealt. With this he could and would take advantage of the situation he had been given.

For a moment he felt extreme hope swelling up inside him. Hope that felt near to bursting, before he heard it. The faintest tone of complaints. The sound of a spoiled brat complaining.

“How much longer do we have to wait for these trash particles to pass by and accept their fates?” An annoying voice asked. Just hearing that voice, Frank knew immediately who it was, without even having to glance in the owner’s direction, but yet seemingly drawn by fate, Frank turned his head to look and see his arch-nemesis standing there with an honorary B-Rank emblem on his school uniform.

For there in the flesh was none other than Luther.