Chapter 7 Its Not All Roses And Dandelions Out There

The area was massive. Besides the large house standing in the middle of the property, there were also several enclosures with animals inside. Dogs were guarding sheep, ducks, and chickens against wild animals. Erik had always thought that it was useless to have dogs since, thanks to the thaids, there weren't wild animals on the continent, but Mister Fox insisted on having them.

Still, the mutated animals attacked the city there and then, making it essential for every farmer to have at least some self-defense means. Not that dogs could do anything, but they were good at alerting people of thaids presence.

Beside the house was also a large barn where Mister Fox and his wife stored their equipment and animals, along with several sheds containing various tools. In one corner stood an old building that served as both a garage and workshop. A few meters from this structure stood a small wooden cabin used only during summer months by Mr. Fox.

He walked towards the main house, hoping to find someone home.

"Hello?" Erik called out loudly. No answer came back. "It's me." Still no reply.

But when he got close enough to see through the window, all he could make out was darkness, as if nobody was around. With a sigh, he turned back and headed towards the shed. Inside lay some tools on shelves; next to them were boxes full of spare parts and other materials needed to repair machines and vehicles. There was also a workbench covered with saws and drills, but right now, it had been left unattended.

As Erik stepped into the shed, he heard something moving nearby. He turned to look and saw Mister Fox looking at him with an annoyed look.

"Ah, you finally arrived," Mister Fox said to the young man while holding up a torch in his hand.

He must have just come inside himself because his clothes still smelled like oil and grease. It didn't take long before Erik spotted what looked to be a mechanical arm attached to his body. Mister Fox lost his arm to a thaid during his military years.

Still, he was forced to serve for the entire ten years that the law required him, technology substituted whatever appendage you could lose, so there weren't excuses. That arm was indeed a piece of technology, and Erik often wondered how it worked. On top of Mister Fox's head sat two goggles fixed onto a helmet covering his face. When he spoke, the words seemed to echo slightly within the confines of the room.

"Yes, I'm here, Mister Fox," Erik said.

"Good, now put on the working attire and start using that power of yours; the plants aren't going to grow overnight unless you do your job." He ordered.

With those last words spoken, Mister Fox left without saying another word. Erik sighed again.

After leaving the house, Erik went straight toward the barn to change. It took him quite a bit of time to get everything prepared. First off, he changed into the uniform provided by the farm: trousers made of thick fabric and a shirt similar to a lab coat. The sleeves were rolled up twice and tied together with a leather string. Next, he removed the shoes he had worn earlier and placed them aside. After that, he grabbed a pair of rubber boots.

The young man then left the barn and went to the back of the property, where a huge field could be seen; it was here that he was going to work.

He had a section of ungrown plants to use his power on. After he was done and could leave the farm, he had to wait for Mister Fox to get all the fruits, plants, and vegetables so that the process could be repeated. Having Erik grow the crops in a matter of minutes was very remunerative because the old man could harvest the goods and sell them the same day the young man finished. Erik didn't get much by it, but he was, in a sense, lucky because other people refused to give him work; they all treated him with contempt because of his weak ass power.

The problem was that one's brain crystal power was strictly related to one's physical prowess because the greater the neural links and the ranks on the ferebitz scale were, the higher the strength of the individual, in purely physical terms, was.

This meant that there was no reason for people to employ him since there were other guys who could do a better job since they were stronger, and the young man was too young and had insufficient knowledge to work inside an office.

Erik approached the chunk of plants he still didn't use his power on. He leaned on the ground and reached out to touch the soil.

When he did, a sensation of electricity spread throughout his entire being, causing the hairs on the nape of his neck to stand up. He felt lightheaded and dizzy. Then suddenly, a strange feeling emerged, which was hard to describe. Still, he knew what it was, a sort of pressure as if his body was filled with energy and he was ready to explode.

Soon he couldn't hold it anymore and pushed it toward the ground, releasing the energy from his hands. A wave of heat hit him at once, and the air around him became hot and humid, the smell of freshly grown vegetation filling his nostrils. In seconds the plant had sprouted new leaves and started growing quickly.

This was only the beginning; Erik used his power more aggressively, and soon, the whole area was covered in green grasses and bushes. The crops increased, and vegetables started coming from the bare earth. Soon enough, he stopped when he noticed that his temperature had risen even further than usual, sweat trickling down his forehead. His breath came heavily through his mouth. He felt exhausted yet invigorated simultaneously, and the rush of adrenaline flowing through his veins stopped.

A second later, the power dissipated, and he collapsed to the floor.

***

"Are you alright?" asked Mister Fox. "You look really pale..."

Erik opened his eyes slowly and tried not to move.

"...and sweaty!" added the farmer.

The boy looked confused for a moment until he remembered what had happened just moments ago...he had released an enormous amount of energy. And now he was lying on the floor like a dead fish.

Mister Fox stood beside him, holding a glass of water. Erik drank it all and lay down on the grass.

"Yes, Mister Fox. I think i'm done with today's job..."

"Good."

Mister Fox wasn't totally bad toward Erik. He knew the young man had a hard life and tried to not exploit him too much due to his conscience.

Still, it wasn't like he didn't take advantage of him. The fact that he could earn a lot of money from his power while Erik only got the crumbs spoke volumes about the person.

Still, they treated him like a human being, at least, something that other people didn't. That's why he liked working here, despite the situation.RreAd latSt chapters at n(v)e/l/bin/.c/o/m Only

As he lay on the grass, countless thoughts flashed inside the young man's head. What would happen once he got rid of his brain crystal deformity? What would the future hold for him in general? The Biological supercomputer was an opportunity or a sentence?

Would he become some kind of freak show, a monster among humans? Or maybe he'd be a hero, a savior of humanity?!

No matter what he thought about the subject, his mind kept drifting into the past, remembering the first time his power got measured. He was four years old then.

His father took him to the laboratory, where a scientist named Doctor Zoltan performed several tests on him. In the end, he gave his son the results. His father read the numbers again and again until they finally sank in.

It was true, his powers were lower compared to those of others, and his son was only ranked F. It didn't mean anything to Erik at that time, obviously. Still, for his father, it was a sentence to live a miserable life.

Erik wondered if it was this that pushed Lucius to search for the cause of the sinister cold. If he was successful, Erik didn't know; what he knew, though, was that he brought home something interesting.

The Biological supercomputer had a brain and DNA editing power; its implications were unknown, but Erik fantasized about it. What if he could change his power? Make it better, stronger, faster, and whatever. The mere thought of this made him tremble in excitement.

He sat up and walked over to the crop field, looking at the beautiful sight of nature. After all, there weren't many places left on earth that hadn't been polluted by mankind.

Even so, nature was always trying to return to its former glory, and Erik admired her resilience. He watched the sun shining above him and closed his eyes.

"Hey, kid," said Mister Fox after a few minutes. "I need you to harvest the carrots before dark, okay?"

"Sure thing, Mister Fox."

After he finished harvesting the last carrot, Erik went to the shed to get changed and head back home. As he did, he heard voices behind him.

Two men entered the shed, one tall and skinny, the other short and fat. They wore leather jackets, and their faces were hidden under masks.

They didn't have weapons but probably had deadly BCPs (brain crystal powers). On their jacket, there was a pin sporting a cross. They were members of the Crystal Cross gang, a powerful criminal organization with several branches throughout Frant.

One of them pointed at the young man and yelled:

"Where is your employer?!"

Erik recognized them. "Mister Fox went to his house to change," Erik said, trembling. These men were not to trifle with.

The man stepped closer to Erik and raised his hand to grab the kid, who flinched away from his touch.

"Tell him to come to pay his due. Fast."

Erik then ran out of the barn and went to warn Mister Fox that members of the Crystal Cross gang came to extort his money as they did every month. The old man came out running and paid the money to them. Ten thousand new dollars, to be precise.

When the men went away, Mister Fox spoke. "Damn, Blackguards, shouldn't they stop this ** from happening?"

The man then paid Erik twenty new dollars, and the kid then left the place in a hurry.

Chapter end