Street Cultivation, page 23
"Are you sure there's nothing I can do to change your mind?" Lilith floated around in front of him, bedroom eyes practically glowing. "We could give you a great starter bond, better than we gave your friend. I gave your profile a look on the way in, and your score is... not bad at all."
"My ether score is exactly 201," Rick said. "That's two points above pathetic."
"Oh, but we have a proprietary algorithm for soul evaluation. It takes into account more than your current ether score, including your trajectory and other conditions. You have a few factors knocking your current score way down, but other factors are rather promising. Enough that you have a decent trust score for the future."
Hearing that stream of words come out of her mouth took Rick aback, though he quickly realized that he was being closed-minded. Just because Lilith dressed like a prostitute and practically moaned some words didn't mean she was incompetent. Given that she apparently had a major role in a business like this, she was likely very competent.
Still, her act rubbed him the wrong way and he gave her a skeptical glance. "I'm still not sure I believe your name is really Lilith. Unless that's just become a common demon name now."
"It's a title, actually." The demoness gave him a mischievous wink. "I'm not going to use my real name at work, but let's just say it's less elegant."
"Huh. Was Lilith a real demon at all?"
"That's just one of your stories, I'm afraid. We know we don't have the best reputation, so we do our best to make people... comfortable."
"I'm not sure taking such a hard approach is the best way to be accepted by, you know, the female half of the population."
To his surprise, Lilith - or not Lilith - gave a low laugh that didn't sound like it was trying too hard to be sexy. "It's part of the job, hon. But if you want to talk brass tacks, you are underestimating two things. One, the number of bisexual women in the world. Two, the variety of demons we have on staff. Trust me, we have incubi for those who are into that, and fluffy demons for families. Really, we try to make everyone comfortable with us."
Rick found himself relaxing a bit, though he folded his arms and examined her cautiously. "Your goal is still to absorb power in our world via bonds, though. And I hope you won't pretend that people don't lose their souls. Hard to build a reputation from that."
"Sure, but those are all in the terms of the contract." Lilith rolled her eyes. "Is it really our fault if some people make terrible decisions and go too far? Our job is to provide a service, and believe me, we like responsible people who draw on the bond reasonably for many years more than those who burn themselves out."
Somehow, he found himself nodding along. What she said made sense, and some of the better bonds he'd found in the booklet didn't sound so bad. Maybe there were hidden traps in the fine print, but she had a point that demons had no reason to try to take over.
She was actually pretty cute now that she wasn't draping herself over him... and Rick immediately realized what was happening.
Since the start of their conversation, Lilith had changed. He had been too distracted to notice, but her tone had become more business-like and her vocabulary had improved. The way she rolled her eyes from before was nothing like she'd acted with Henry. Even her outfit had changed, the ribbons closing around her for a look that was definitely sexual, but a restrained sexuality instead of flaunting herself.
Damn, she was good. Rick wondered just how much more she would change if they kept talking for a long time. No doubt she'd change into the kind of smart girl he liked, slowly convincing him to take on a bond. Well, he wasn't falling for that.
"This isn't happening, is it?" Lilith must have seen the change in his expression, because she smirked and seemed to relax. That only made him wonder if this was yet another ploy. "Don't worry, I'm not going to waste my energy on a lost cause. Your friend just won't get his referral."
"Referral?" Rick stiffened, wondering if it was a distraction for only a moment before he became concerned.
"It's in that booklet, if you read far enough. If you convince a friend to sign up with us, you can gain a bonus to your maximum bond limit. 250 lucrim at signing, up to 1000 depending on how heavily they use the bond."
"I see." Rick had to take a mental step back to think about that. That explained why Henry had been so insistent about making him come along. The referral system struck him as an abhorrent method, but honestly the demons had probably learned it from human businesses.
After that Lilith left him alone. Rick looked over the booklet a little longer even though he had no intention of taking any kind of bond, then wandered a bit. Fortunately, Henry had been telling the truth about the process not taking long, so soon enough he returned from the back rooms.
"Double bonds!" He pulled up his sleeve to show the opposite bicep from before, this one with a stylized toad demon tattooed on it. "Shame I couldn't get you on my arm, Lilith."
"Oh, you naughty boy!" Lilith flirted with him shamelessly for a while and Rick tuned them out entirely, just lingering near the door. Henry made one more attempt to convince him to get a bond, but Rick rebuffed it coldly. Eventually they headed out, Lilith giving Henry a seductive wave and - he thought - casting an amused glance toward Rick.
Once they were out, Henry scowled down at the payment. "They always act like you're going to get a succubus, but the demon this time was this awful frog thing."
Rick sighed. "But it was worth a decent amount, right?"
"Since it's a second bond and I'm stretched thin, this one is only worth 4000. But it's better than nothing."
Quite a bit more than nothing. Rick checked his friend's new numbers out of habit:
[Name: Hendog69 (pseudonym)
Ether Tier: 15th
Ether Score: 211
Lucrim Generation: 34,250
- Demonic Bond: 12,000
- Demonic Bond: 4000
Current Lucrim: (private data)]
Not only had his generation rate shot up another 4000 lucrim, nearly half his strength was built on demonic bonds. It was enough for Rick to feel a bit jealous, but not enough for him to consider getting one, even for a second.
Admittedly, the demons had seemed more human than he expected. But Rick knew a scam when he saw one, and everything about Lilith had set him on edge.
Unfortunately, he was going to be facing opponents who didn't care about that, and the temporary power they received would be considerable. These were probably nothing compared to the demonic bonds that someone like Mike would receive. Rick stared downward, trying to come up with a way to bridge that gap and finding nothing.
Chapter 31: Silver Linings
Without Underground matches to fill his schedule, Rick wasn't entirely sure what to do with himself. It hadn't been that long ago that he hadn't had fights at all... what had he done before then? He had a few hobbies, mostly ones that didn't cost anything, but he couldn't fill his entire schedule with just those.
There were clear limits on how long he could train effectively. It might sound dramatic to meditate for years, but studies showed that the efficacy of each hour of meditation was less than half of the previous hour. Likewise, his body wore out and needed time for recovery after physical training. If he'd had an infinite budget, maybe he could have accelerated those processes, but for now he needed to work with them.
Rick ended up going back to the library a few times, asking Heather for more books. Though he had enough techniques he needed to progress that adding more would split his efforts, that didn't mean he couldn't improve his knowledge base. He spent a while reading about the complex interrelations between lucrim, ether, and aura, which he'd thought he understood but actually only had a vague sense for.
For a while he also got further into the Graham's Stake core. It was remarkable how it grew without him needing to do anything, providing him with a steady, if small, supply of energy. Apparently Perpetual Souls used similar techniques to provide their endless energy, though that status was absurdly far off.
Though he was tempted to invest more in the core, since he enjoyed the internal supply of lucrim, he thought that his core combat abilities were more important for now. Besides, the books revealed that there were many other techniques aside from Graham's Stake, some with extremely complex results or huge risks that could make or break someone's entire lucrima.
All of that would have to be figured out later. For now, he focused on the few things he could control.
No training was going to transform him overnight, but he slowly realized that he did have useful options. Maybe not directly related to power, but he could remove certain inefficiencies in his life, he could improve his overall situation. The only challenge was finding them.
That day at work he had a chance, if he dared. Rick struggled to stay focused during the dull hours of normal clients until Lisa showed up. She smiled brightly when she saw him. "Hey, Rick. Ready for our sparring today?"
"Absolutely."
They went through their usual routines, pressing one another hard. Though she was still unquestionably stronger than him with 54,000 lucrim, the gap in their combat ability had declined. He still lacked the overall grace and edge of her high total, but his offensive and defensive cores had vastly increased in strength. Not to mention that he had been throwing himself against powerful and experienced fighters over and over again, which had significantly sharpened his skills.
In a real fight, the winner would probably be determined by psychology, not strength. But this wasn't a real fight, just sparring. The point was to push each other to the edge, to exercise both body and lucrima to the limit. Now that he was strong enough that she didn't have to hold back so much, it was actually more fun.
When they finished sparring, they were both sweating and gasping for breath, so they just dropped down onto the mats. Lisa grinned over at him, flush from the exertion, and he had to resist the urge to grin back. If he did, Jimmy would roll his eyes and make cracks about not getting involved with their clients.
Actually, Rick had in mind something that Jimmy would hate much more. He wasn't sure how to bring it up, but Lisa made things easier by starting the conversation. "How is Melissa doing?"
"She's still well - not only is her condition stable, she's strengthening the shell." The void also seemed to be growing in strength, but since it hadn't had a negative impact so far, he tried not to worry about it.
"That's a relief to hear. She's a great kid, so I wish her all the best."
"On that note..." Rick lowered his voice, speaking just loudly enough for Lisa to hear. "She does still have problems with holding her lucrim too tensely. She could probably use your help again."
"Oh, I'd be happy to!" Lisa lowered her voice automatically to match him, but judging from her expression she didn't get why.
"I've been thinking about that. I'd prefer to be able to compensate you for your work - don't object, I'd feel more comfortable that way." Rick took a deep breath and, after a glance toward Jimmy, just went for it. "It occurs to me that you also want something from me, but maybe we could arrange to... do things directly, without anyone in the middle."
Now she got it, her eyes flickering to where Jimmy read unknowingly. "You're suggesting trading sparring for massages?"
"Those two probably aren't equivalent, but we could figure out some sort of exchange rate, right? I never see you use any of the other equipment here anymore, so you'd save money on your gym subscription."
"It'd also be easier if we could meet anywhere, anytime." Lisa was nodding slowly and he let himself feel a bit of relief: it seemed like she was open to the idea. "Maybe we should discuss the exact details somewhere else, but... yeah, I think this could be better. Thanks for the idea, Rick."
With her smiling at him, he decided to keep going. "I hope this doesn't make it creepy, but... you do have massage techniques that can restore lucrima damage, right? I've been trying to make plans, and some of the best ways to develop might be pretty rough on me..."
"You thought that was going to come off as creepy?" To his relief, Lisa gave him an odd smile. "For one, it's my job. For another, I spend a lot of time going into homes that are armored little fortresses with guards. By comparison, visiting you and your sister is downright homey."
"Good. Then... you'd probably better go for now, but you have my number, so we can figure things out when we have time."
"Sounds good. I look forward to it, Rick."
With that, Lisa left the gym for the day. Rick was afraid that Jimmy might figure out what he was doing somehow, but the next week Lisa canceled her subscription while he wasn't in, and the day after that Jimmy didn't say anything about it. Though Rick had expected that losing money would get through to him, perhaps Jimmy really didn't care about that, either.
In any case, once they got the details figured out, that was a straightforward improvement to his life. He and Melissa got access to an excellent massage therapist in return for doing what he'd been doing anyway. Since Lisa really did benefit from their sparring, he didn't even feel like it was cheating, just a fair exchange.
Unfortunately, he hadn't come up with too many other improvements that were such obvious win-wins. Life tended to be a zero sum game in a lot of ways, and he lacked the resources that made it easier. Without the additional money from matches in the Underground, he didn't have much extra to work with, so he couldn't buy philosopher's elixir or even serum to recharge himself.
Just when he was starting to think things were going too well, he got a strange letter in the mail: a note from Melissa's principal. Apparently Melissa had been involved in some kind of fight, though it was unclear about the exact nature of it.
Governing her behavior wasn't his job, but legally he was responsible. Rick puzzled over that note while he trained the rest of the day until Melissa got back home. He waved the note in her direction when she entered and she let out a groan.
"Oh, god, they really sent you a note? If it was anybody else, I'd be so embarrassed."
"I'm not really sure what even happened." Rick held the note in front of his face and let his eyes run over it, as if it would say something new. "I guess if you don't want to talk about it, that's fine. Did they deserve it?"
"Haha, not really. But I want to talk about it." Melissa threw her backpack on the floor and plopped down onto the couch. "Okay, so... there's this girl called Jenn who is kind of a bitch. Not like over-the-top bitch, but I've never really liked her. When we were in L.E., we ended up on opposite sides of this lucrim dodgeball match. You know what that is?"
"Everybody who has ever been in school knows about lucrim dodgeball. It's the easiest way for the teachers to do nothing for a whole period."
"That's true," Melissa said, "but I don't mind, because it's fun. Anyway, Jenn really went after me this time for some reason - actually, the reason was that I snapped back at her for making fun of my clothes, but whatever. The important thing is that she decided to cheat. Her lucrima got fully developed early, so she likes to use it on people. But this time...
"Well, it didn't go well for her." Melissa hesitated in her story, glancing at him. "She used lucrim to throw a ball really hard, so I used mine back to stop it. She figured it out and got pissed, and... that's when... basically, Jenn tried to knock me over with her aura, but instead I kind of... burned it. She ended up falling down and losing a chunk of lucrim."
Rick had been listening quietly, obviously supportive of his sister, but as he understood at the end his eyes widened. "You mean that you used your ether void to destroy some of her lucrim."
Melissa winced. "Yeah, I guess so. I mean, I didn't intend to, it just happened naturally. Do... uh, do you think I could end up doing that accidentally to people? Would that make me a threat?"
"It's not very likely. Most likely it only worked because Jenn is untrained and the best attack she can manage is just flooding aura. That's not much different than when I flow some lucrim to you." What he left unsaid was that such a flow shouldn't have been able to hurt Jenn. He wanted to say something more, but had no proof at all for his instinctive reaction.
"Do you think I'm gonna get in trouble, Rick?"
"No, you're probably fine." He passed the principal's note over to her. "They didn't say anything about further disciplinary action, and in any case they already know about your condition. If Jenn tried to press charges or anything like that, she'd have to deal with the fact that she attacked someone who's 'disabled'."
"Dyurr, that's me! I'm differently abled!" After crossing her eyes and sticking out her tongue, Melissa returned to looking serious. "But what does it actually mean? The idea that I have a little flame inside me instead of just a soul-sucking void... well, it might seem dumb, but it feels a lot more pleasant. I never thought that it could hurt anybody..."
Rick considered the matter for some time, his theoretical knowledge insufficient to make a judgment. Eventually he decided that it might be better to simply perform an experiment. "Let's try to recreate what happened and see how it goes."
They gave it a few attempts, but as he'd suspected, they all failed because Rick's strength was refined for combat. Yet when he felt his sister's aura, he did feel as though something was wrong. Though it might come off as merely her condition to anyone else, he knew that it was more.
The ether void that had once threatened her life was growing. More than that, it was developing in a new direction. He had no idea what that meant, if it would be fatal or possibly even beneficial, so he just told Melissa what he knew. She listened somberly, then spent a while thinking.
"Rick... I'm not an expert on this at all, but I can tell you how it feels: this feels right. I don't think I'm going to get myself killed this way and I feel healthier than I have in years. But if there's a real risk to you or anybody else..."
"No, I don't think that's likely. Come on, let's try something else."
This time he tried harder to lower his defenses, let her aura slide into him. It didn't work, because she lacked the experience. Frowning, Rick tried a different tactic. He extended lucrim to her, as he had once done in order to alleviate her condition, but instead of raw lucrim, he tried to connect a channel directly to his Lucores.
