Cultivation Fever

Helga lifted her hand and caressed my cheek.

"Don"t be so scared sweetie. I"m not here to hurt you."

Her voice was gentle and almost musical. She gave me an intoxicating smile, then looked up at father coming out of his study.

"Carlo honey, what was so urgent that you needed me to come right away?"

"It"s been nearly eight years since I sent you that letter, Helga."

Father sounded tired and somewhat disappointed.

"Exactly dear!" she disappeared again, reappearing at father"s side. "My, my haven"t you gotten handsome!"

Helga made a move to stroke father"s cheek, and father stepped back.

"Enough of the bulls.h.i.t. You read the letter, you know what this is about."

"Yes, yes… you"re no fun anymore."

With a snap of her fingers, I found myself lying on father"s desk, sick to my stomach. Father and Crow were by my side.

"b.l.o.o.d.y hag, you really need to stop doing that," Crow snarled.

Helga ignored him, and with a flick of her hand my shirt disappeared. She moved her hand toward my chest, and smoky black after images followed it.

Her hand disappeared into my chest, and I yelled out in fright. But all that I felt was a chill where her hand should have been.

"What are you doing?!" father yelled.

"Calm down dear, I"m only doing what you asked."

She rummaged around in my chest for a bit, and I felt cold seep into my soul.

"Hmm, I see."

Helga withdrew her hand and turned to father.

"Was that necessary?" father asked.

"No, not really!" Helga laughed.

"Helga…" Crow growled.

"Calm down! Calm down. This cutie has a Soul Becoming World const.i.tution, it"s quite rare."

Panic shot through my body. How did she know those words?

"How do you..." I started, but her finger appeared on my lips.

"I"d like to have a little chat with him, if you don"t mind."

"Anything you want to say to Oscar, say it to me too!" father exclaimed. He sounded defiant, but his voice had nowhere near its usual pressure.

"Oh well!" Helga whimsically chimed.

She snapped her fingers, and the study was gone. Sickness surged, my stomach cramped, and I vomited on the snow at my feet. Wait… snow?

I looked around, and all I could see were clouds. But they were underneath us.

Before I could take in the surroundings, Helga patted me on the back.

"There, there, get it all out."

I vomited all over the snow again.

"Who the f.u.c.k are you?" I spat out.

"Manners, sweetie. Now tell, me what are you doing in that child"s body?"

Dread filled my heart. She knew. I watched as a deep black seeped into her golden eyes. They were so dark now, that they seemed to suck in the surrounding light.

"Well?"

That single question, spoken in her whimsical tone, terrified me beyond belief. I was going to die here.

Helga"s musical laughter broke the silence.

"I"m just toying with you."

I felt confused, but the fear remained.

"Oh dear, did I break you sweetie? There"s really no need to be afraid, I"m a close friend of darling Sirius."

A guiding light dragged me from my pit of terror. She knew Sirius?

"Yes, I do! You know," she poked my forehead playfully, "you wouldn"t be here without me!"

The darkness faded from her eyes. I felt calmer now, but I was still very wary.

"What do you want?" My voice wavered as I spoke.

"Honestly, you"re really not as tough as I expected," she tutted to herself, "I might lose that bet after all."

"What bet?"

"No need to worry yourself about that sweetie."

That only worried me more.

"I"m here to give you a little help."

She reached out, then plucked a sheet of paper from thin air. A puff of black smoke slowly dispersed around it.

"This is a little explanation of your… unique aspects. And a friendly reminder from me not to expose yourself!"

"After all," she let out a little laugh, "we wouldn"t want you to be captured and dissected too soon!"

This woman deeply disturbed me. She said every word in the same chiming tone, and it was impossible to read her emotions.

"A little lost for words, are we? Don"t worry, you can thank me later." She turned away, then back to me, "Oh, and try not to die before you reach thirty!" she leaned in, "I"m rooting for you!"

With a wink and a snap of her fingers, we were back in the study. I managed not to vomit this time but felt very uneasy.

"What did you do to him?!" father shouted.

"Oh, don"t worry your cute little face." She placed the sheet of paper on the desk. "Here, a little gift!"

Crow picked it up and scanned it for a second. He was startled at the sight of something.

"This… It"s the emperor"s seal… How did you…"

"Tta my dears!"

With a snap of her fingers, she was gone.

"That d.a.m.n hag…" Crow growled.

"She hasn"t aged one bit since I last saw her," father murmured to himself.

"Forget about it. I haven"t seen a single wrinkle in the two hundred years I"ve known her. What"s important is that she managed to obtain a royal pardon for your son."

Crow handed the sheet to father.

"With this, he should encounter no trouble."

He took off a ring and put it on my finger.

"You don"t have to…" father muttered, seemingly ashamed.

Crow turned to face father.

"You don"t have one, do you? He"ll need it."

Father paused, then looked down and bowed deeply.

"Thank you again."

"Don"t mention it."

The door pushed open, and mother stepped in.

"What"s with all the… Ah! Crow!"

Crow nodded slightly in mother"s direction.

"As always, it"s lovely to see you Stephanie." Crow"s whole demeanour changed when he spoke to mother.

"Oh no, please, thank you again for helping our boy."

"Please, it"s my pleasure. I"m sorry to say that I"m unable to stay for a chat. I must be off."

"Oh…" mother seemed a bit dejected.

With a sweep of his robes and a rattle of chains, Crow left the study. Mother looked forlorn. After a few seconds, she pushed open the door and called after him.

"Crow! Could Oscar…" she cleared her throat, "would it be possible for Oscar to study underneath you?"

"Stephanie!" father whispered to her angrily.

Crow turned around. He paused for a second, then smiled.

"I am perfectly sure that the Military School is the best place for your son. Good day."

Crow turned back around and walked off. Father seemed to want to say something but stopped himself. Mother sighed, then walked out of the study.

When she left, father took my hand and spoke to me.

"What Crow just gave you was a storage ring. Open your palm, and channel your qi into it."

I did what he said, and a golden portal formed in my open palm. Father took the royal pardon and dropped it into the portal.

"Try taking it out."

I reached into the portal but felt nothing.

"You need to think of the item you want."

When I pictured the sheet, I felt it in my hand, and pulled it out.

"Well done. Put it back and shut off your qi."

The portal disappeared, and father put his hands on my shoulders.

"Those two items are extremely valuable. If anyone in authority ever questions your cultivation, show them that. Oh, and…"

He reached into his desk and rummaged around, bringing out a box. He took out the jade card and handed it to me.

"Show them this."

When my fingers touched it, the golden circuit illuminated and blinked. I looked and read what it said on the card

Name : Oscar Schwarz

Date of Birth : 13/6/122

Race : Northern/Traveller

Gender : Male

Grade : High Warrior

I put it away in the storage ring and wondered about the "race". Father was northern, so mother was a traveller? Did that mean she was part of a nomadic tribe?

Also, it seemed strange that my cultural heritage would be listed as "race". Was there cultural discrimination in this country?

Father interrupted my thoughts by putting his hands on my shoulders.

"I know you"ve been through a lot today, but there"s one last thing we"ve got to do. Come with me."

He led me out to the patio, talking while we walked.

"Before you go to military school, you"ll take a test. They"ll place you in a cla.s.s based on your innate qi."

We reached the patio, and he turned around to face me.

"Of course, for you, it"s not innate. If you don"t want to be seen as a freak, you need to limit your qi."

Father took my hands.

"Channel all of your qi into me."

I took all of the qi that was in my body and sent it into father with an almighty push.

"I mean all your qi. The qi in your soul too."

I looked up at him with a slight panic. I didn"t want to lose all of my qi. It would take a while to get enough back to start expanding my soul again.

"Your qi will regenerate in time for the test. Don"t worry, I can take it."

Reluctantly, I opened the largest valve in my soul. Qi gushed out into my body in a second. I summoned all my will and forced it through my hands.

My qi channels felt like they would explode under the pressure, but I pushed through the pain, until I ran completely dry. I collapsed onto the ground in exhaustion and heard father"s booming laugh.

"Amazing. Amazing!"

He picked me off the ground with one arm, ruffling my hair with the other.

"Definitely don"t let them see that! A quarter of what you just sent into me, even a fifth will be enough…"

His voice faded and I pa.s.sed out in exhaustion.

I woke up in my bed, and my thoughts immediately went to my soul. I brought myself there and found that it had filled up about a tenth of the way. I felt just over 80 soldiers inside my soul.

Over the next week, my soul filled back up just as father had expected. It made me wonder how he knew so much about my soul. Was the Soul Becoming World Technique similar to one he knew?

For now, it didn"t matter. The day of the test was finally here.