by Sarah Lin
Behind him, he saw one of the lanterns rise into the air, though two of the others had been crushed beyond repair. Rick thought of going to help them, but they could obviously handle themselves. And truthfully, they didn't really have his best interests at heart. Rick continued limping forward to reach the bus stop.
He managed to drop down onto the bench and just sat there for a while. Eventually he caught his breath and gained the presence of mind to stare around the landscape. He saw that the lanterns were only partially repaired, someone returning for another vehicle. If the sect followed him, he'd talk to them, but for the time being he'd just sit.
The bus actually arrived first, moving to park next to the stop. The driver kept the engine running but stepped out to take a smoke break. Rick flinched at the sight of the cigarette, but a moment later he saw a much more welcome sight.
"Brother!" Melissa nearly tumbled down the bus steps before rushing to embrace him. "You're alive! ...though just barely."
"Yeah. Uh, be gentle, my defensive core is shot." Still, he was glad for the pain of her embrace and patted her on the back.
Behind her, Lisa emerged from the bus as well, relief and concern mixing in her eyes. "I did everything as soon as I got your text, Rick. They accepted your resignation just like you said. So unless something went wrong here... are we done?"
"Plenty went wrong, but... yeah, we might be." Rick let his head roll back and stared skyward.
"So what now? You're unemployed again, but I suppose that's fine?"
"No. This time it's not." Rick pried Melissa a little further from his neck and sat forward. "I need to reestablish contact with Katenka and then work on our demonic bonds. I doubt it will be much of a business, but it should make a difference. Beyond that... maybe I should open a gym. I have the credentials for it now, and I might be able to do better than the House of the Cosmic Fist did for me."
"That's... a remarkably reasonable goal." Lisa smiled more broadly than he'd expected. "Maybe we can work together. My clients probably wouldn't have a use for your bonds, but gyms always sell serum and supplements."
"Yeah, that would be a good idea. We should talk about it sometime." Rick hesitated, but from beside him, Melissa elbowed him in the ribs. It hurt, but it also reminded him that he needed to take a step forward instead of waiting for things to come to him. "And... would you like to get coffee sometime? I don't mean to talk business or as training or anything. I mean a date."
"Well, I honestly thought you'd never ask." Lisa gave him a smile that was partially happiness and partially relief. "I think we need to talk about where we're going and what we want out of life... but I'm looking forward to the conversation."
Rick sighed in relief, since that could easily have made their victory awkward. Melissa pressed a thumbs up into his side. For a while they just sat there as he struggled to explain everything that had happened.
Before he could finish, the bus driver finished his smoke break, flicked his cigarette to the ground, and called for them to get back on or get left behind. Lisa went to snuff out the cigarette while Melissa helped him get up. He still ached all over, but less than before. Once he got some serum or elixir into his system, he'd feel much better. Fortunately, he knew a good person for that.
As they started to walk forward, one of the lanterns floated overhead. It had been repaired rather quickly, and now Qing Shan leaned down from the side, regarding him somberly. "You've seen the enemy now, Rick. Actually removing some of his pieces was more than we ever expected of you. There's no need to ride in this filthy vehicle... bring your allies and join us. You're free to join our sect and we'll do everything in our power to strike back against him."
For a long moment Rick looked upward at the floating lantern with its powerful immortals, then he looked toward the bus with Melissa and Lisa. He said "No thanks" and then went to take the bus home one last time.
Epilogue: Street Cultivation
Luke walked down the street, but he wasn't going anywhere. As he reached one pothole, he turned around and went back the other way, doing his best not to look to the side of the street. The Advanced Lucrim station glimmered there, promising easy wealth in moments.
It would work, he knew that, but he'd seen what it did to others. His parents, first of all. Every bit of money they earned went directly to paying off their past debts, which had spawned from even older debts. Once people started rolling down that hill, as far as he could tell, there was no way to get back up.
At 15 years old, what was he supposed to do? He was winning some money in school competitions, but his parents usually took all of it. And since they put food on the table for his younger brothers, could he really complain? But he knew that his carefully constructed offensive Lucore wouldn't be enough as he got older. He'd just fall further and further behind, in both school and the tournaments, and then he'd end up just like his parents.
Taking a deep breath, Luke turned and stared directly at the Advanced Lucrim station. The large poster advertised that payments were no longer limited to people who were 18 or older. In fact, as he was still developing, his future lucrim would be even more valuable. Left unsaid was the fact that it would most likely stunt his growth permanently.
But what other choice did he have? The school counselors tried to talk to him, but they couldn't understand his life. What use was financial planning when you had nothing to plan with? Everything was a little tighter every month and he knew that it would reach a breaking point soon.
His parents tried to hide the fact, but he'd heard them arguing, and they were likely to get evicted from their apartment. All the work he'd put into earning his way into a great school would mean nothing if they had to move, and his parents couldn't afford to send him anywhere without a scholarship. These days he was paying for school lunches out of his own pocket, and even if he skipped some days, they just kept getting more expensive...
His stomach rumbled and Luke realized that he had to look at the math and make a final decision. He pulled out his phone and saw the familiar numbers:
[Name: Luke Larkin
Ether Tier: 19th
Ether Score: 143 (preliminary score)
Lucrim Generation: 11,250
Current Lucrim: 117]
[Luke Larkin's Lucrima Portfolio
Foundation: 5000 (Lv I)
Offensive Lucore: 4750 (Lv III)
Speed Lucore: 1500 (Lv II)
Total Lucrim: 11,250]
Only 117 lucrim? He'd thought that he had more, and for a moment desperately scrabbled in his pockets for something he'd forgotten. All he found were a few crumpled dollar bills, which he was saving for a vending machine when he got truly hungry.
There really wasn't a choice. Without the Advanced Lucrim loan, his family would be evicted and he'd lose his place in a good school. He knew that his chances of repaying the loan promptly weren't great, but without that money, he had no chance at all. It certainly wasn't like anyone was going to help him.
"Hey, it's Luke!" A sneering voice broke into his thoughts and stole away the last of his hope. Luke flinched as he turned to see Duncan Randolf and three of his cronies approaching him.
Duncan and all his friends were Birthrighters, the Lucores their parents gave them worth ten times as much as Luke's net worth. Almost everyone at school had one, aside from a few students who got in on merit. Unfortunately, Duncan and many others didn't seem to think that Luke belonged there.
"What are you doing around here, Luke?" Duncan swaggered closer, swinging a lead pipe with each step. The group must be slumming, looking for trouble with people the government didn't care about. "Going to sell your body for a bit of cash? That's not something an academy student should be doing."
"Just leave me alone." Luke wanted to shout back, but he knew that any one of the group could injure him effortlessly, and he couldn't afford an injury.
"What are you going to use the money for, booze? Drinking is what your family is known for, isn't it? Well, we can't have you
becoming a public nuisance." The others chuckled at the contorted logic. "I guess you need some preemptive punishment."
Luke tried to run, but Duncan appeared in front of him without warning, just the wind from the technique knocking Luke to the street. The Birthrighter sneered and lifted his pipe. All Luke could do was try to shield his face.
"That's not really a fair fight."
The clear voice immediately drew everyone's attention. Luke looked up to see an older man walking along the street. The guy had to be 30 or more, but he was surprisingly muscular. His clothes were cheap, more like Luke's than the Birthrighters, yet there was something about him... where his eyes should have had pupils, there were only depthless wells of darkness. It was impossible to estimate his lucrim generation rate, it was just raw power.
"This has nothing to do with you," Duncan said angrily, not really looking. He waved to one of his flunkies. "Show the old man on his way, will you?"
The other Birthrighter leapt forward and gave the stranger a kick to the chest to knock him away. Yet the stranger simply walked forward, ignoring the blow as it bounced off him. Enraged, the Birthrighter struck out with his full power, a Birthright Core of over 100,000 lucrim... and it had just as little effect.
"You're right about keeping the streets free of public nuisances," the stranger said as he walked forward. "Why don't you all move along?"
Of course the Birthrighters didn't retreat, and as they shifted into position, Luke feared that the stranger would suffer for trying to help him. Massive bursts of aura and brilliant flames raged toward him... until they simply disappeared, vanishing into the darkness of those eyes. All of Duncan's flunkies attacked the stranger, but when he showed no sign of even noticing their blows, they began to retreat, looking to their leader.
Duncan himself had taken a step back, alarmed. The stranger ignored him and instead bent down on one knee, looking at Luke. His gaze was nearly suffocating, but his voice was gentle. "Sorry about the trouble. What's your name?"
"Luke," he managed to choke out. Just what did this lucrim master want with him? He'd have thought it was some cruel trick, except for the fact that the Birthrighters all looked alarmed. Did the man plan to exploit him in some other way?
"Well, Luke, I'm-" His sentence was interrupted as Duncan let out a cry of rage and swung the lead pipe at the man's head.
Yet the man simply turned to look at it, pointedly watching the weapon and letting it strike him right between the eyes. Once again, he didn't flinch, but this time, he reached up and grasped the pipe. Duncan panicked and tried to pull it away, but the stranger's arm might as well have been made of iron too.
"Careful, son. You might hurt yourself."
The stranger's voice was no louder than before, but the Birthrighters finally broke. They desperately tumbled over one another as they tried to escape. Luke felt a moment of glee to see them humbled, but then he realized that he was alone on the street with the terrifying stranger. He still didn't have the strength to get up, especially now that those dark eyes were turning back to him.
"Anyway, my name's Rick. Would you like some help?"
"Help?" Luke spat out the word more angrily than he intended. "What can you do to help me? You're... some sort of lucrim monster, and I have nothing. My school... my parents... you don't know a thing about what help I even need!"
"You might be surprised." Rick lowered a hand to help him up. "Let's talk."
X X X
Thank you for reading my book! This is the conclusion to the Street Cultivation trilogy that I originally promised. Though I haven't ruled out future stories in the same world or with the same characters, I can't make any promises at this time. If you have enjoyed this story arc, please consider leaving a review. ^-^
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Acknowledgments
Thank you to all my alpha and beta readers for their feedback.
Thanks to Cultivation Novels, Western Cultivation, and GameLit Society for the community.
Appendix: Rick's Final Portfolio
Note: This is Rick's portfolio after he recovers from the battle in Chapter 51, not during the epilogue.
[Name: Rick Hunter
Ether Tier: 11th
Ether Score: 543
Lucrim Generation: 109,575
Current Lucrim: 109,575]
[Rick Hunter's Lucrima Portfolio
Dark Blood Kettle Foundation: 29,800 (Lv VII)
Triune Golden Spheres: NaN
### Unsigned Lucore Data ###
Offensive Lucore: 16,700 (Lv X)
Defensive Lucore: 44,350 (Lv XIII)
Bunyan's Step: 18,725 (Lv X)
Demonic Fusion (Katenka): 37,000 (Stage I)
Graham's Stake: 49,850 (Lv IV)
Economic Bond (Bftgage & Ythsil): 2400 (Stage II)
Total Lucrim: 198,825]
Rick Hunter's Showdown Card (retired)
Lesser Jade Seal
Josiah Craw's Illustrious Seal
Jade Mountain Sect's Blessing
Great Seal of Siberia
Seal of Alger
First Nokan Seal
Appendix: Lucrim Mechanics
This is my direct description of the magic system in the world of Street Cultivation, since it bends or breaks some rules of the genre. Most of the information will be duplicated in the novel, but here I present it all in straightforward form for those who requested that.
Forms of Power
Lucrim is raw power, and in the modern world, that power is often used as money. When simply held in a person's body, it provides a slight enhancement to durability and it can be used to pay for goods or services anywhere in the world. Beyond that, lucrim alone is only a resource: it's the applications of lucrim that provide greater abilities.
Lucrim is a spiritual substance, neither energy nor mass, but it can be refined in all three forms:
1) Refined spiritual lucrim becomes Lucores, which can have more powerful effects than simply holding lucrim. It also allows for more power to be "stored" beyond what the user can normally contain. They have a constant beneficial effect, but their true potential is only seen when "liquid" lucrim is flowed through them. Almost all fighters possess a "Foundation" that inefficiently grants some permanent power, but more importantly allows for the development of stronger lucores.
2) Lucrim used to generate energy becomes aura. Aura is an energy field that can flow within the body or even in a visible halo beyond it. Depending on training, this process can be very efficient, but it does burn through current lucrim reserves to enhance strength and speed. Only Lucores can provide a benefit "for free".
3) Lucrim used to generate mass becomes ether. Unlike aura, the process to convert ether back into lucrim is very inefficient, so it is primarily used to create permanent objects. A common example is an ether-reinforced door, which would be strong enough to withstand even blows from lucrim users.
All living beings have at least some lucrim within them. Most people (but not all) know how to convert lucrim to aura - this isn't simply for
fighters, but students or businesspeople generate aura to increase their mental focus, or it can be used to commute by running/flying. The ability to convert lucrim to ether is less commonly developed, generally by professionals who build their career around it.
Lucrim is normally too ephemeral to be stolen, though certain rare techniques can drain currently held lucrim. Sufficiently large Lucores can be extracted via a complex surgical process, though the total strength is reduced. This is generally only done by parents who want to give or leave something to their children, but is occasionally seen in martial arts sects.
Generation Rate
Lucrim falls from the sky evenly all over the world. In ancient times, people would naturally gather this lucrim into themselves - this is also the reason martial artists would tend to train on mountaintops, because they can gather more lucrim when higher than the rest of the population that might draw it.
But in the modern world, nearly all of the falling lucrim is harvested by international organizations. It is then distributed by reserves as currency. The vast majority of ordinary people rarely ever gather/generate any lucrim of their own, they simply get their supply of lucrim from their job as income.
For this reason, "generation rate" is an outdated term. It does still mean the amount of lucrim that a person can carry at once, and as such is it used as a shorthand measure of power. The value is essential for developing Lucores and for those who fight. For average people, generation rate is just their budget of overall lucrim to spend on things.
Note that there are exceptions to the above. It's possible to create Lucores that generate new lucrim, and this is an essential method of building power for some. However, it requires a significant initial investment of lucrim that can't be spent or used to increase power, so many people don't take advantage of it. Institutions like banks and sects have staff dedicated to lucrim generation to increase their wealth by these methods.
The most common exception is Birthright Cores. Technically these are any cores passed down through a family, but many people leave no cores, or only cores small enough that they are just liquidated. The derogatory term "Birthrighter" refers to people who received a sizable core from their parents, one that immediately grants them either an ability or (more commonly) a steady flow from free lucrim.
