Lone Cultivator In Another World

"Now!" the teacher clapped, "Let's play a game!"

The 9th grade cheered, still full of energy after a thought-provoking class. Every subject at EIS came in two options, advanced and basic. This was the advanced history track, so there were 15 students in the room. The rest attended the basic track.

"Which of the treaties we discussed this week was your favorite?"

"Magna Carta!"

"Oh really? Raise your hands if you agree with Sofia! And… Magna Carta it is. Sofia, what's so great about it?"

The Bulgarian girl straightened her back and said, "That even though both sides signed it, neither upheld the terms."

"I see," Carter gave her a lopsided grin. He put his hands behind his back and strolled across the room. "The year is 1215. King John of England must answer to the barons' complaints. The war with France is draining their coffers, and the taxes are heavy. Tired, the barons present king John with a doc.u.ment called Magna Carta which would ensure their rights. Now," Carter stopped, "who wants to be king?"

A few students raised their hands, but the teacher stopped them.

"With great power comes great responsibility. I need five barons whose grades will be counted twice, a king whose grade will be counted three times, and nine advisors who will get a single grade."

Some hands promptly disappeared. Receiving a bad grade for this assignment meant effectively getting two or even three bad grades. On the other hand, confident students kept their hands up because a good grade could double.

"Jerry! King. Michael, Alex, Anna, Sofia, Eugene – barons. Others are advisors to the king. The Magna Carta is long, so let's take just five of its main points. Your task is to debate with your opponents to get better terms. Only logical arguments will be accepted."

Ten minutes later, Michael and Anna got their perfect grades after destroying the king's feeble attempts at diplomacy. Michael's tongue was always sharp, and Anna began to shine after her timidity tapered off. Be it her apprenticeship at the lab or friendship with a certain cultivator, there was a new crack in her shell every day.

It was Alex's turn to dispute an important point of the treaty when Michael's neck went cold. Intuition?

He looked around the room for potential dangers, but everything was fine. His classmates had no premonition that something was going to happen. They looked at Alex and prepared for his opening remarks.

Alex himself didn't feel good. Michael saw large beads of sweat gather on his forehead as the young man held onto his c.h.e.s.t.

The cultivator's neck went stiff.

"Get down!"

The next moment, a blinding flash appeared around Alex's body, and the young man fell with a shout. The lamps on the ceiling exploded, launching shards of glass at the teenagers.

"Kids, close your eyes! Don't open them!" yelled Carter. "And please, try not to move. We've been blinded, it will fade in a minute. If you are already all right, see if your friends need help. Is anyone hurt?"

A few students m.o.a.n.e.d, rubbing their eyes or clutching their heads. Michael blinked, Pain Tolerance allowing him to recover sooner. He looked to Anna and was delighted that she had hidden under a desk before the lights exploded. The girl was massaging her temples calmly.

Sofia had a scratch on her shoulder, nothing serious. Most of his classmates were more scared than hurt, so Michael checked up on Alex. He was unconscious, and Michael could see sparks floating around his body, invisible to others' eyes. It had to be some sort of Qi burst, liberating Alex's powers.

"OK, I am fine now," declared Jimmy Carter. "How is everyone? I suggest we all visit the school doctor, and I'll go curse at our technicians and custodians later. I'll show them the light!"

Someone snickered at the weak joke. Two girls complained about damaged clothes, but nobody had been seriously wounded.

Carter got on one knee next to Michael and helped him turn Alex's body over.

"I'll carry him to the infirmary," the teacher hauled the youth into his arms in a show of surprising strength.

"Thank you, Mr. Carter," chimed in Sofia before she noticed a jagged scar on Michael's palm, "God, when did that happen?"

"Tis but a flesh wound," he joked. "Monty Python, anyone?"

"Every wound is a flesh wound. Kids, you ready? You can leave your stuff here, let's go to the doctor's office."

In fifteen minutes, the infirmary was full of people. Alex was lying on a bed, brought here by Carter.

"It might be the new virus that's everywhere these days. The lamps were just a coincidence, I assure you." The doctor persuaded the crowd to disperse, stealing glances at Michael. Ever since the boy's mysterious recovery, the doctor had been tempted to question him but held back. He used to treat soldiers, and they rarely welcomed questions about their injuries.

"Thank you for the support, guys!" announced Carter. "Alex will be just fine. Go back to get your things, our class is over."

The crowd of students, some of whom got their cuts and scratches treated, left in groups of two or three. Sofia joined Anna and Michael.

"No way, a puppy?" the Bulgarian girl's eyes were the size of saucers, "Did you leave it at home?"

"I handed Richard to the aunties and uncles at the lab. I'm only afraid they will spoil him."

"We could ask the principal for permission," suggested Michael.

"The principal? Are you friends with him or something? He's so strict!"

Anna took her best friend's side, "You might not know, but Michael helped me move to another apartment. The way he talks about it, they might be on a first-name basis."

They had a nice chat and later separated when it was time for the next class. There, Michael met Dimitri who attended the basic history track. Alex was the programmer's old rival, so Michael wasn't surprised when Dimitri asked him about it.

"Yes, he's in the infirmary. Nobody knows what happened. A flash, glass shattered, Alex fell. Are you going to see him after this class?"

"Yeah." He had a contemplative, serious look.

"I'll come with. You mind?"

"Nah, let's go together."

In an hour, the two of them visited Dimitri's rival. They stood next to the bed, both deep in thought. Michael knew the two weren't enemies and even seemed more like friends. He was worried about Dimitri's emotional state which was why he accompanied him.

"It's hard to believe anything can drop this asshole."

"Huh?"

"I'm not celebrating. I really… can't believe something happened to him. You don't know this because you transferred this year, but in grades 7 and 8 we had a total feud. He thought he was better than me at programming. Idiot."

Of course, Michael knew. In his past life, the reason he never got close to Alex was because he became friends with Dimitri. Those guys were like winter and summer, the polar opposites. But to keep up appearances, Michael had to ask, "Who won in the end?"

Back then, Dimitri won. He became a tech mogul, the leading inventor and programmer in the world. Like with Anna and biology, a single word from Dimitri's mouth could move billions of dollars and shape the future of technology.

Alex, on the other hand, suffered a tragic fate. Something Michael could easily prevent this time around.

"I did. I won," answered Dimitri. "With you here, I'm earning millions and honing my skills. Alex doesn't have that."

"What would you say if I invited him to work for me?"

The Greek youth gave his employer a side glare.

"Just to make it a fair competition."

"Pfft. See if I care. He'll quit after I humiliate him with my results." He turned around and stormed out of the room.

Michael saw him off with a smile. He knew how heartbroken his friend was when Alex died in another world. Their rivalry wasn't bitter but good-natured. Both of them defined the other, and with Alex gone, a piece of Dimitri also died. The programmer never recovered from his loss, which might've been why he spared no effort in helping Michael with his problems. Even though none of it worked, and Leon forced Michael to kill himself in the end.

But this time, Alex's fate was about to change after a simple question.