Lone Cultivator In Another World

The Chaos comet, they called it.

Some talk show coined the name, and it spread like wildfire to every news program and every pair of lips in the world.

Six months have passed since the day this object from a distant corner of cosmos brought unimaginable horrors to Earth's inhabitants. Many lives were lost, to never recover.

If one said that the whole planet could black out, nobody would believe him, until that day half a year back. October 5th was now titled as Comet Memorial day, to mourn those who passed.

On that day, every single person in the world lost consciousness, and electricity malfunctioned for a little longer even. Due to the actions of the nations' leaders, much of the repercussions was mitigated. However, millions still died.

Drivers behind the wheel, and the ones they hit. Blue-collar workers who couldn't afford to skip a day, especially if they operated dangerous instruments like chainsaws or heavy machinery. Divers who were underwater. And all those combined couldn't compare to the unlucky people who hit their heads, broke bones or cut themselves while falling down. Their apartments' safety turned into a trap as they bled out, unable to call for help.

Unlike after those famous disasters or terrorism acts, there was nobody to blame. It wasn't the Muslims, or the Jews, or anyone else, but a force of nature. Something that saw humans as ants, insignificant and small. Even in despair, relatives of the deceased couldn't find solace in pointing fingers.

Still, the survivors moved on. Now, six months later, the irrational fears eased their clutches on people. Life returned to normal, with subway trains overcrowded, traffic jams, eating fast food and trying to find goods with lower prices.

The nightmare was over. For a while.

…

In a medium-sized town in Switzerland, in a residential building close to a rather unusual school, a girl was giving herself a once-over in the mirror.

She had fair skin and c.h.e.s.tnut brown hair in a ponytail. She stood at 5 feet 3 inches, a tad short of average, and her physique was also thin. Overall, the girl was a first-rate beauty, capable of turning heads of other 15-year-olds.

"You guys sure grew a lot this year," Anna squeezed her b.r.e.a.s.ts, pursing her lips critically. During the EIS exams, she barely needed a bra, but now she had a solid B-cup.

Back then, Anna would never check herself in the mirror, either. However, now she had someone to impress and no one to give her an honest opinion.

Her mother Natalia used to do Anna's hair and provide her with tips on makeup. But she was still in a coma, and now it was the daughter who took care of both their hairdos. Anna had hoped to see her mother awake sooner than this, but the only wizard she knew of couldn't help.

Her friend Mikhail Severniy, or Michael North as he called himself, was her knight in shining armor. Not only did he arrange a meeting with teacher Zhao, he also helped her find her voice. Anna had more confidence than ever before and could openly speak with any of her classmates and teachers without blushing. She also assisted her teacher's team of researchers in developing a tumor-targeting drug that had the potential to shake the world.

Michael was in possession of mystical powers – she knew it from that one time he healed her mother's lungs. But waking her up must've been more difficult, because after their every visit to see her in the hospital, her friend looked gloomy and helpless.

It was him that Anna wanted to look good for. Not that she tried to ensnare Michael, or anything! She didn't begin to dress differently from before or flirt. She just noticed her own appearance.

While she was pretty, so were other girls. However, Michael ignored their every attempt to enter a relationship. He sent out mixed signals sometimes, which he might not be aware of himself, but in the end, he kept girls at a distance.

So even if Anna was more decisive, confessing her feelings wouldn't go the way she wished, she was sure of it.

She left the apartment after exchanging a playful wink with her reflection and knocked on the door on the same floor. Half a minute later, a boy peeked out suspiciously.

"Who are you?"

"Hi! Ready?"

Michael's face twitched, "Who are you? Password!"

"Are you seriously going to force me to do this every weekend?"

The boy grinned in silence.

"Fine! You're terrible!" Anna reached inside her schoolbag and fished out two large apples.

"Ah, Anna, you should've said it was you!" Michael stepped out and closed the door to his apartment.

He was slim, with about four inches on her. Hard to believe that he had beaten up her stepfather back then, a retired military man, with this body. Must have been his magical power.

In the four months since that incident, Anna had never brought up the fact that she knew about Michael's abilities. She was afraid he'd try to distance himself or cover it up by making her doubt what she saw. This way, the girl kept faith that one day he would heal her mother.

"One a day keeps the pimples away!" the wizard snatched one of the apples and bit into it with gusto. Michael had come up with this rule a week ago. He would only talk to her during the day if they shared fruit for breakfast. It wasn't her fault she was keen on fast food!

"Please, Mr. Jailer, lighten my sentence!" she begged.

"Nope. Come on, eat the other one. Peach?"

"Put it away. I'm not hungry."

Anna chewed on the apple, imagining it was fried chicken, but the fruit was so juicy, it ruined the fantasy.

The two walked to school together every morning. Michael's parents were rarely home after he had showered them with money and sent them away. For some reason, they returned only once in two months or so and left again soon. The Severniy couple wore happy smiles all the time, being in great health and wanting for nothing.

During classes, Anna shared a desk with her friend whenever she could, which wasn't as often as she'd hoped. Michael kept up with a full advanced schedule, setting a record among EIS students not only in the workload but also in grades. When they were in different study groups, Anna usually sat with Sofia, Dimitri, Carina or someone else. For the first time in her life, she had many friends.

After classes, she joined her teacher and his team of scientists in the laboratory.

"Ah, girl, you're here! Hurry up! Trial D-15, write it all down!" Teacher Zhao had trouble with constructing long sentences in English, so he preferred short commands. Some heard it as barking, but Anna imagined Zhao treating everyone like dogs instead, keeping his commands short so they can learn them.

Two hours later, the girl gave her teacher the full report on yet another failed trial. There had been dozens, so it wasn't exactly bad news.

"Good, good," he nodded, looking through the notes, "Better now. Gone a long way, Anna. But far from my daughter, ha! Go record D-16."

Teacher Zhao often mentioned his daughter, and Anna always lacked when compared to her. However, when she tried to investigate more, the old man's expression would turn pensive, and he'd make up excuses to run away.

She would surpass his daughter one day! Except, Anna didn't even know her age.

Later in the day, Anna went to the dorms where she shared a room with Sofia. There'd been another, older girl at the beginning of the year, but she moved out at some point.

Was it the principal's way of taking care of her, letting her live with a good friend? Anna might never know. She spent time with the bubbly Bulgarian girl during the week and with Michael on the weekends, always surrounded by people she loved. If only her mom woke up, she'd be the happiest girl in the world.

Except, she didn't know that her "wizard" friend Michael hit a terrible bottleneck. Not mentioning healing Natalia Novikova, in the last four months he hadn't even broken through to the 2-stage of cultivation.

But he did save up enough to cure his disease.

.