Chapter 11: Serum and Void

Rick watched the remaining days counting down to the trial. As many different tasks as occupied his time, they seemed to pass before him as he focused on that goal. Whether or not he could take the Lucrim Authority job - whether or not he wanted to take the risk - would have a huge impact on every other choice in his life.

He decided that he'd focus on the upcoming trial first, which meant setting aside using lucrim to get rid of the aura leech or increase Graham's Stake. After spending so much on the bike, he had only saved 5500 lucrim total, but what remained he saved to choose how to invest later.

At least the bike itself worked admirably. His instincts for riding came back, actually aided by the fact that he needed to constantly circulate aura while riding. Even at a leisurely pace he went about as fast as running, and when he really exerted himself he could go faster than cars, though that quickly left him exhausted. Most importantly, it provided a good aura workout and saved a bit of money. It was too early for the bike to pay for itself or for the work to show a major improvement, but he thought it had been a good decision.

Otherwise, he was frustrated by how little he could do with just a week. Maybe if he had access to some kind of secret legendary training, but as far as he knew, lucrim simply didn't work that way. He put more effort into earning more, but only increased the strength of his Lucores a bit. At best, it was a foundation for future work.

The one area he did make good progress was the aura technique the Vice President had shown. He'd talked to some more people and made a visit to the library - though Heather hadn't been there to help - and had improved it further. His result wasn't perfect, but it seemed to produce exactly the same strange aura effect as in the demonstration. Hopefully that would be good enough.

Sometime later he'd need to spend more time in the library, particularly the lucrim section. Part of him wanted to branch out with a new core, and at minimum he could do some research for Melissa. Her Steel Lucore was nearly perfect and she had gotten the rating of her combat core increased, so she was in a position where she could use a unique core especially for her.

Then again, she was still in a position where she didn't know exactly what she needed because she hadn't decided what she'd do in life. For a few flickering moments he envied her, but usually he was a mix of proud and satisfied. Due to his work, she was in a position where her hard work could earn her what she deserved.

Her first week at the House of the Cosmic Fist had gone by without any problems, despite his worries and Jimmy's skepticism. She didn't have real combat instincts yet, but he'd taught her enough about defending herself that she was able to adapt to fighting other people. Though she'd taken a few bruises that looked worse than they were on her pale skin, her lucrima soul was definitely growing. So there was nothing that he needed to do to help her.

Meanwhile, he pushed down his own problems with relentless training. Not trying for more raw lucrim, more sharpening his skills. None of his core rankings had increased for some time, no doubt because he'd grabbed all the low hanging fruit and wasn't encountering real threats anymore.

Taking the job might change that. He wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not.

His growth was aided by the various elixirs and reagents Lisa sent for him to try. Just a bit of him had been afraid that it would be painful experiments like his time in the Underground, but she was starting with modest efforts. Most seemed to be mixes of serum, low grade philosopher's elixir, and smaller ingredients that were supposed to slightly boost growth. He wasn't sure if they had much effect, but he dutifully recorded the things she asked him to.

One of her experiments he liked immensely: it was some kind of blend of serum that left his aura feeling surprisingly sharp. Usually serum tasted of tin cans and reminded him of days when he was dirt poor and could barely afford serum to recover. But she added some kind of mint flavor - he wasn't sure if that was an ingredient or just for the sake of taste - that improved it.

Honestly, he doubted that his work as a guinea pig was really worth the value of what she was giving him. But he'd been giving her training sessions for free and not taking massages in return, plus he knew she'd be insulted if he tried to pay for them. Besides, given his present challenges, he wasn't going to ignore the money it saved him.

Rick realized belatedly that he should talk to her more instead of just giving reports on the mixtures she sent him. He should tell her how good the serum formulation was, she'd probably like that. But since he was getting more and more focused on the upcoming trials, he decided to just make a note on his phone about it to remind himself later.

Thinking about talking to her made him consider who else he should contact for help. The situation wasn't urgent, true, but he wanted to take it seriously and not ignore his allies. He'd already talked to Uncle Frank, who seemed to be so busy that he barely answered messages anymore. Melissa and Lisa had already done plenty to help him, so who else?

Lying back on the couch, he considered his options. His boss would never help and Henry wasn't talking to people. Most likely the Advanced Lucrim had rebounded hard on him, making his situation worse - assuming that his demonic bonds hadn't taken over.

An option Rick hadn't considered for a while was Tom - the huge fighter in the Underground seemed like a good sort, even offering to heal his injuries after the Slayer match. In another life, Rick thought they might have been friends, but they just hadn't crossed paths enough. He shouldn't forget about Tom in the future, though.

For a moment he thought about Granny Whitney and just shivered.

There was one other person he knew from his time in the Underground: Emily. He thought about her more than he'd expected. Since they were no longer on the same team in the multi-tier tournament, they had no reason to contact each other, yet they had exchanged messages a few times.

Emily had actually given him her number. It might have been awkward and made him wonder if she meant anything by it, but she'd given it offhand with that glaring look in her eyes, so he doubted it. No, they'd just made enough of a connection during the tournament that she wanted to stay in contact. She was a valuable ally, but she'd be angry if he tried to take advantage, so he resolved to only rely on her friendship in a truly dangerous situation.

With only a few days left, Rick decided to finally take the elixir Damian had given him. He got medical supplies just in case there was some hidden trap or unexpected reaction, then did his meditation and exercises. Finally he took out the box, stared at the vial for too long, and downed it in one gulp.

Lightning in his veins.

Next he was aware, he was kneeling on the couch and his legs ached. Why was he kneeling? Had he been running? New power was rushing through his body and he desperately did the proper exercises to draw it into himself. Just as he'd read online, it was uniquely suited to his Bunyan's Step core - he was shocked at just how rapidly the Lucore grew.

Though he wanted to test his new edge, his head was buzzing too much and he had to sit down. Such a large improvement... if he had as many of those as he wanted, how quickly could he reach a six digit generation rate? Receiving Birthright Cores was one way the wealthy gained power, but clearly there were other ways to bottle power.

Then again, that elixir had been no toy. Someone like Mike would probably have gotten a huge temporary boost but failed to incorporate it into his lucrima soul. An untrained person could have been injured or even killed by a rush of power like that. Aura addicts overdosed on that sort of thing all the time.

He also knew there would be diminishing returns. Birthright Cores and a few other methods followed the laws of raw numbers: you could just keep pouring on lucrim and increasing power. But the older methods like elixirs didn't operate that way, instead functioning more like the boost from having fought a new opponent. If he had a second identical elixir, the effect would be much less.

Still, he wouldn't say no to a six pack of them.

For a while Rick just lay there, recovering from the buzzing. Yet eventually he did and he had to accept that Damian had actually given him a valuable item. Maybe not valuable to the other man, if his demonstrations of wealth weren't just for show. It was more than adequate thanks for their mock fight, so Rick had to wonder if the other young man was up to something.

An instant later he realized that was a stupid thought: of course Damian was up to something. The question was what, and if Rick should even get involved.

For the next few days Rick worked off the buzzing feeling and got completely used to the new edge in speed. Eventually it was the night before the trials and he sat at home, wishing that Melissa wasn't at work so he'd have someone to distract him. He'd received a message with a location far outside the center of Branton, so he couldn't think about anything but the trails.

There was no more time to prepare. Rick pulled out his phone and checked his progress.

[Name: Rick Hunter

Ether Tier: 15th

Ether Score: 298

Lucrim Generation: 44,925

Effective Rate: 42,952

Current Lucrim: 1709]

[Rick Hunter's Lucrima Portfolio

Foundation: 3575 (Lv IV)

Offensive Lucore: 7750 (Lv IV)

Defensive Lucore: 16,950 (Lv VII)

Bunyan's Step: 8050 (Lv IV)

Graham's Stake: 8600 (Lv II)

Aura Leech: -1973 (Stage I)

Gross Lucrim: 44,925

Net Lucrim: 42,952]

Definitely an improvement, but hardly earth-shattering progress. He'd have to hope that the actual job with the Central States Lucrim Authority didn't require anything beyond his capabilities. If it proved too much of a risk, he might have to refuse the job.

When Melissa got home from her shift, she gave a loud yawn, but didn't head straight to bed. Instead she lingered in the kitchen area, watching him. "Is tomorrow the day you do the trial with the Lucrim Authority?"

"Yeah." He didn't want to be curt, but he was doing his best not to think about it.

"It's bright and early, right? Since I don't have to work, I think I'm going to sleep in and see how much I can recover. So for now, would you like some... moral support?"

Rick sat up and looked over at her, surprised even though he shouldn't have been. "You mean your ether void." Not a question.

"Yeah." Melissa looked away, as if a bit shy. "I've seen how tense you are, and I want to help, but I know I can't go along. So do you want a bit of void flame? You know, in case you need to punch someone like you did Mike."

"I guess I probably should." Not just for her sake, either - Rick might need every edge he could get. He started to get up, but Melissa came first.

It wasn't as difficult as the first time, both of them easily falling into the old patterns they had tested. He was surprised that Melissa's flame seemed more intense than before and was reminded just how dangerous it was. Fortunately, he easily trapped it in a shell of his own lucrim and kept it safe inside his soul. If the need came, he could release it to devastating effect.

"There you go, Rick." Melissa smiled at him, then leaned in and kissed his forehead. "You'll kill it tomorrow, I'm sure of it."

"Thanks, Melissa." He smiled back as she went to bed, but then sat alone.

Hopefully her phrasing hadn't been prophetic. He told himself that it was just like another job interview. He told himself more than once.