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. ^-^