Lone Cultivator In Another World

"Stepfather? You didn't tell me your mom remarried."

"No, he…"

"Oi!" yelled the man, "Quit chattin' and c'mere! We got a lotta talk about!"

Michael nudged his friend to come along, but she was rooted to the ground. He frowned, "What's wrong?"

"Y-you don't understand…"

"Fine! If you're not comin' to me, then I'm comin' to you." Anna's stepfather moved with large, heavy steps.

Michael took the initiative to make a good first impression and extended his hand, "Nice to meet you, sir!" he said in Russian. Then, there was the familiar stiffness in his neck.

"Outta my way!" the man swatted Michael away.

"No!" Anna shrieked, covering her eyes.

But the hit didn't connect with the teenager's body. Michael knew well what the stiffness meant. He had felt it before, when Donald's hooligans prepared an ambush for him. He ignored it when Carina needed help, and sometimes it nagged at him during that month in the hospital next to his father's bed.

[Danger Sense. Top mental technique. Precognition of potentially harmful events.]

Unlike those previous times, Michael didn't have to suppress the ability now. He ducked under the careless attack and stepped back.

"Sheesh, you're not the friendliest person in the world. Anna, can you tell me what's going on here?"

The girl opened her eyes and was surprised to see her friend standing between her and the man she wished had never entered their lives. Michael's mouth was curved into a smile, but his eyes were cold like she'd never seen before.

That's right! Wasn't he a wizard or something? Or could he only heal people?

"I'mma tell you what's goin' here," answered her stepfather instead. "The lil' bitch got money and forgot about me the next moment. Me, her lovin' daddy. And where's Natasha, huh? Her and I need to get reacquainted!"

"You, monster!" Anna broke into a shout, "You think I will give you a cent of that money after what you've done to us!? To mom!?"

"Shuddup! I did nothin' wrong! You women need to know your f.u.c.kin' place! You left me behind, went to Europe to live in a cushy apartment, go to a good school? Got the money and off you go! Now that's gonna change. I'm gonna get what's mine!"

"Keep talking like that, and you're going to get what's yours for sure," interjected Michael.

"Pfft, what? Who are you, her pimp? Is that how she earns a livin' now? Ah, I don't mind. Mother and daughter, a delicious pair of plump chickens! What's your price, girl?"

"Stop that!" tears streaked down Anna's face, her knuckles white, fingernails digging into her palms. Her face contorted in fury as she closed the distance between herself and her tormentor.

Michael stepped to the side, uncertain of what was going on. His parents' marriage had its ups and downs, but this was out of his expectations.

"I still remember when you were good to mom and me. A few years ago, you would come home after work and play table games with me or check my homework. And now, look at yourself!" Anna's words were dripping venom. "Yelling at us, raising your hand – is that the kind of man you've become?"

"You lil' s.l.u.t! Same as your bitch mother, what right do you got to judge me? I gave her what I could, but she wanted her hubby's d.i.c.k. News flash, he's dead!"

Anna stomped her foot in a display of sincere, uncontainable hatred. "So, when you didn't get as much affection as you'd hoped, you… you have no idea what you did to her!"

"Shuddup already!" The man raised his heavy hand to ruthlessly hit his stepdaughter. The girl, white as paper, stared him in the eye and refused to back down. Just as the slap almost reached the girl, however, another loud sound resonated through the empty street.

Smack!

The man stumbled back after being hit by Michael's slap, his own hand fell short of Anna's face by a few centimeters.

"I think I've heard enough."

"Boy?"

"Anna, tell me the truth! Is he the one who hit your mother over the head?!"

Michael once again stood between them, shielding his friend with his own body. In his eyes, a demonic ferocity danced on the remains of his restraint.

The girl's sobbing was answer enough.

"I despise people like you," Michael stated.

"You f.u.c.kin'…"

"People like you need to be destroyed."

He charged at the far larger man at top speed. His opponent was strong and tough, but slow. Michael had to use his enhanced speed and reflexes to their full advantage.

Again, he ducked under a clumsy right hook, caught it at the elbow, and pivoted. With all that momentum, he pushed on the man's other shoulder and upper c.h.e.s.t while tripping him up with a leg. Michael used conservative movements, standard to Tai Chi, but extended his limbs more to negate his opponent's height.

Anna's stepfather fell. It was already the beginning of December, and everyone wore warm coats which constricted their movements. For a man with a big build, it was a major disadvantage. Michael, on the other hand, moved like a cat.

The man roared, unhurt by the fall, and kicked at Michael's legs. The teenager sidestepped. His limited strength didn't allow him to continue the fight like this. Life Force of 52 was incredible, it enhanced his body beyond its old limits, gifted strength, agility and stamina through breaking the limits of the organism's reserves.

However, he was only a teenager, with weak muscles and a still growing, hardening skeleton. A straight punch might hurt his opponent more but could also break his own hand.

Anna's stepfather stood up and charged at Michael. Now!

The cultivator slightly shifted from the man's line of attack. When the powerful hook appeared, he used one of the often-seen Tai Chi moves with an augmentation. The basic "catching a punch and pulling on the arm to make the opponent lose balance" was impossible here as the man was running at him at full speed.

Michael received the arm, guided it past his own body, then in one fluid motion he covered his own left fist with the right palm and planted the left elbow into the man's ribs.

At the same time, he gathered what glory points he could and sent them to his elbow with one simple command, "Destroy!"

The man's eyes bugged out as his face went blank. He broke into a cold sweat and hissed, staggering. Michael didn't stop, though. He hit the same place again, breaking the weak defense of the man's palms covering the wound.

"Aaargh!" the howl echoed in the empty street. No one walked this route at 8 in the morning on a Sunday, no one to save an abusive asshole from an abnormal boy's vengeance.

When Anna's stepfather could no longer stand or exert the slightest bit of strength, Michael took his hand, felt around the bones near the thumb and pressed, hard. With a snap, the wrist broke. Amidst the submissive whimpering, the cultivator went ahead and broke the other one. He pushed some glory points there, too, trying to mess up the cartilage between bones, leaving permanent damage.

In the end, Michael could do nothing with this side of himself. Because of prolonged suffering or maybe seeing how much Leon enjoyed inflicting pain, there was a darkness hidden deep within him. A predator on a tight leash who came out at the smell of blood.

Michael never knew how to stop. He persevered till the end, overcoming pain to cultivate, to save a life; but he also punched and kicked until his enemies would never threaten him again.

That was something Donald had put into words, "Make sure the challenger never dares to repeat his mistake." Except, he applied it at a spar, while Michael destroyed men who presented real threat.

"Please, please, don't…" the man was crying openly, his aggressive demeanor nowhere to be seen. His coat was torn at the side, where blood could be seen, and the edges of the tear were a little scorched. Anna's and her stepfather's eyes couldn't make out the burned fabric, though, it was so small.

"Don't come near her again, or I will kill you."

That sounded like a promise, not a threat.

"I, I only wanted some money! I'll f.u.c.kin' sue you both!"

A smile tugged on Michael's lips as he squatted to be closer to the man. "Please, do."

"Ah?"

"My name is Michael North. I'm the primary creator of the game that made Anna rich. She has what, about seven million so far?" he glanced at Anna with a smile. The girl was shaken at everything that had happened but nodded. "Seven. As for me, I don't mind throwing money around. Twenty mil will buy what, fifty lawyers for two-three years, easy? Let's dance."

He straightened up. The elbow was hurting, so he sent another batch of glory points into it, coupled with the Flawed Healing technique this time. There were so many, he still had over a half of what he began the day with.

Anna was looking at Michael with veneration. There were still tears she hadn't cried out, and now she had no need to. This incredible person was always near, watching over her, protecting her.

"Let's go?" he asked casually.

The one who will save her mother.

"Anna?"

The one she loved with all her heart.

"You all right?"

"I… I lo…"

"F.u.c.k you! See how I'll deal with you, lil' bitch!" a shout cut through the silence.

"Do you want me to break your legs?" Michael offered. He wasn't sure he could. During the fight with the thugs, he broke their elbows but refrained from going for the knees. Those bones were thicker and sturdier. This guy's skeleton was also about twice as thick as those 16-year-olds'.

But the threat worked.

Michael took Anna away from the wounded man. The girl lost her courage and calmed down a little. Now that the adrenaline rush washed away, she felt drowsy and tired. The intensity of her feelings also settled, and the overwhelming passion went out the window.

She regarded her friend with a smile. If that was how mother felt when she was with father, Anna understood why she couldn't bring herself to truly love another man later in life. She married for convenience, to provide better for Anna, and it was a mistake. One the girl had long forgiven, and her friend would soon erase. With each other and plenty of money, mother and daughter would make a new life for themselves.

When they approached the gates, Michael sent Anna in and said his goodbyes. The Chinese scientists ran in circles around her. If she was tired, they'd probably carry her like a crowd carries a rock star at his concert. He saw Anna off and addressed one of the security guards, "I have a request."

Those guards were all experienced military men and ex-special forces soldiers personally picked out by Graves. They didn't blink an eye.

"Yes?"

"A man attacked my friend and me on our way here from the apartments. I beat him up, so he should still be there. Please, collect him and do something about this. There needs to be some security between the school and the residential buildings."

"We'll check immediately." Three men jogged out, armed to the teeth.

When Michael passed the same spot on his way home, there wasn't even a drop of blood on the ground.

.