First Harvest

Stepping on the manor grounds reminded him of his first seeding and harvest. These grounds belonged to one of the few who had survived years without being harvested. Whenever he thought they stagnated they pursued a new branch of study. Still Jack hadn't received a dividend from them in months. A wistful expression passed over his youthful face. He remembered a time before. Natsu, his first seed planted and his first harvest.

Flashback

Food was always an issue for Jack. The world was empty of spiritual energies. Not a scrap existed to cultivate and that was a big problem. He could eat solid food, but it gave him no sustenance and it didn't satisfy his hunger long. In infancy, he was shit out of luck. Jack's body grew using his inborn reserves atrophying his cultivation base. By the time he started interacting with others, he was on his way to an early grave.

If something wasn't done soon, he'd die. Jack was starving and not in his right mind. He'd like to say he was running an experiment but really, in his delirium he felt bad for Natsu. The kid was picked on more than anyone else. So, he gave Natsu a little spiritual energy just enough to build the kid up. That's when he discovered something. When the kid trained the spiritual energy grew. Natsu's desire for power strengthened that spiritual energy. Like a seed planted it sprouted through Natsu.

They say the first one is always special, or you never forget your first. Jack couldn't agree more. Natsu was his first and set the precedent for the others. He learned a lot from Natsu and made plenty of mistakes. Most people were compliant by nature. Even after gaining power Natsu trained his body for a long time before making his move.

In a hallway filled with chatting kids Natsu tackled his bully and wailed on him. Bones cracked under Natsu's punches leaving his bully with several broken bones and a permanently disfigured face.

More interestingly was how the seed reacted to the victory. It sprouted and spread throughout Natsu's body. He showed signs of cultivation potential. If Jack put in the work, he could teach Natsu. If Natsu refined the shard of black inside of him he'd reach break into the higher levels of the refinery realm. Jack would never teach him, there was only so much spiritual energy to go around.

Almost on instinct Natsu began collecting others. Whether they were boys or girls he added him to his group and crafted a little gang. As Natsu grew his group, his strength increased, and the tiny roots spread from the seed into others. It wasn't like Jack's spiritual sea or true cultivation. Natsu's way was too organic and belonged to the world. Soon the roots of that seed stretched through the Natsu's followers and a flower bloomed.

Vast amounts of black radiated off Natsu with every new member, growth in strength, and victory. Jack loved it and his hunger pains eased. His own cultivation stabilized. Everything was going well and plans to find another bullied kid were in motion. Soon, he'd have more spiritual energy than he knew what to do with. His food problems were finally behind him and he could move on to more important matters.

Then the expansion stopped. It left him floundering like a fish tossed back into the water only to discover the hook still in his mouth. Sure, he had recovered but so what!

Some ghouls ate a few of Natsu's little gang members and he was ready to give up. Natsu decided to quit. The gains were gone and that was unacceptable. Jack needed Natsu and he didn't have anyone else. He'd been a bit lazy finding a replacement.

"I'm done Jack, my friends are dying I've gone too far." Natsu looked crazy. His cultivation had taken a major hit and the roots that once stretched far and wide had been pruned. A small lazy fruit hung filled with Natsu's spiritual power. It was so close.

"I remember a boy who stood up even when the odds were against him. He's still in there. Why don't you find the ghoul and make him pay or better yet become an investigator and make them all pay." The fruit was nice, but I missed the energy from the breakthroughs.

"You don't get it, you can't. It isn't me I'm worried about. They were my friends Jack. I should have been there to protect them, but I proved that I can't." I rolled my eyes. He let a few minors roam around at night because he had a little cultivation. Natsu wouldn't last long against an actual ghoul. Sure, he'd developed raw strength, but he had little defense. His skin was just as soft as any preteen. Natsu hadn't even developed a barrier.

"Have you reached your limit?" Jack asked. This wasn't the limit of cultivation Natsu could develop barriers, enhance the hardness of his skin, or create monsters to hunt down the ghouls.

"I'm thankful for you gift but I've reached the end. Even if I pushed myself, I can't be there to protect them." Natsu said.

"There are other avenues of progression. Protecting them isn't impossible." Jack said.

"No, I'm done Jack." Natsu said.

Jack leaned against a nearby wall. Standing here living came at a cost. A few breakthroughs from another didn't do it for him. Dividends kept him fed and recovered some of his reserves, but he was born with a cultivation base in the core realm. He had a natural control over his aura that Natsu could never dream of. It made breakthroughs difficult. Jack tried! He flew faster, trained under the intense pressures of the ocean depths, and lifted plenty of weights. It wasn't enough. Sure, he had a few gains but those only raised his cultivation base slightly. Their meaning was less than this technique. Farming seemed to be his greatest path to cultivation on this spiritually empty world.

Jack picked up a photo of Natsu and himself. Natsu wore an orange gi with a super saiyan wig while Jack had worn blue spandex, white gloves and boots, and his own super saiyan wig. Really, he'd given Natsu every opportunity. They were friends but since starting this gang they'd grown further apart.

The fruit shined with glimmering black qi. It was time to harvest and he knew it. Jack had been addicted to Natsu's growth and had stayed out of it for the most part. Enemy gangs had fallen and been subsumed by Natsu. He didn't think Natsu would ever stop, he thought that the ride would just go up and up all the way to the prime minister's chair. Then what would he do it then. When Natsu couldn't go any further, would he harvest him then?

Jack dropped the picture letting the frame shatter on the floor. He extended his hand forward. Natsu's efforts to dodge were valiant. The qi blade extended in the blink of an eye and pierced Natsu's dantan. Through the qi blade the fruit flowed and quickly dissolved into Jack's spiritual sea. He could feel the roots wither within Natsu even as he turned his back on him.

"Why?" Natsu asked.

Jack kicked in the window with a flex of his aura. "The karma I sowed must be reaped. I gave you the power to rise above what you were. But your growth has ended." Jack said.

He walked over to a bookshelf and tossed it down on top of Natsu. Then, he set fire to the room and flew out the window. With the fruit dissolving in his spiritual sea, he regained much of his strength.

Flashback End

The gates leading into the mansion opened not that they could keep him out. Despite Ebenezer's age, he was a shrewd man and knew not to cross the farmer. The old man has made many advances and paid many dividends. Consuming him wasn't worth it. That was probably why the door opened for him at all. Jack figured if Ebenezer thought it was harvesting time the wards would be up.

Ebenezer preferred a defensive approach to cultivation and enjoyed pitting his rivals against each other. He was a far cry to the ghoul chow Jack found in a back alley.

Thus far, Jack planted his seeds in angry young men and sent them on the path to gain power. Ebenezer was an experiment. One that had born fruit in another way. A few children within the mansion contained seeds placed there by Ebeneezer and a woman Jack thought dead. The plot thickened. Even as he approached the mansion the children were moved to an underground bunker. Wards were set up designed to block Jack's senses. Unfortunately, Ebenezer underestimated the connection between a farmer and his field.

The doors to the mansion opened and an Alfred knock off greeted me. The man's pencil mustache wasn't bad. He took up a defensive position blocking them for a moment. It was just a last-minute stall to keep them away from the children downstairs. Not that Jack minded. He had no interest in an unripe harvest. Eating seeds just after they were planted was for the Venezuelans. Still Rize looked like she was about to dig right in. The butler looked at her with fear clear in his eyes. It didn't take a genius to put the pieces together about what she was.

"You are as crude as ever Mr. Kuro." Rize raised an eyebrow at him but he didn't give her anything. Black made sense and using the local term also made sense. He wasn't here to collect only to threaten this time around anyway.

"Are they ready yet, or should I demand you give my date hospitality?" Jack said. The butler took a step back and glanced at the ghoul at my side. She grinned and waved at the clearly terrified man.

Rize gripped my arm. "Let's hurry this up I'm starving." Her eyes changed into their Kakugan form and the butler nearly shat himself. Sweat beaded down the man's face and his hands shook. The butler's legs were locked up in a few minutes he'd pass out.

"We'll find you a snack in a minute, I doubt you want the old man I'm sure he's past his prime. But the butler looks fresh." I said. Fortunately, Jack wasn't here to kill anyone. It was an option, and he wasn't taking it off the table, but it wasn't the one he preferred. Dividends were better in the long run. The fact that Ebenezer was responsible for over half of Jack's dividends made him hesitant to kill the man. A few months weren't an issue. He had others and didn't feel desperate. This was just a wake-up call.

"I refuse to let that thing into the mansion. She must stay outside." The Butler said.

"Sure, if you're willing to keep her company." Jack said. He didn't know it was possible for a man to pale even further. Jack would have to talk about Ebenezer about hiring braver staff.

A radio later from deeper in the facility gave them their answer. Moments later they both walked through the expensive manor. Works of art covered the walls along with expensive vases. A mummy from Egypt lay in its coffin covered in paper talismans. The coffin was etched full of black aura infused runes. With little effort the mummy could be awoken and turned into a potent guardian. Egyptian weapons from the mummy's age were covered in similar symbols and covered the walls.

"Ebenezer loves his defenses; I'm surprised he hasn't made this place mobile yet. Not that it would help him." Jack said.

"Am I going to eat him or is this just a game?" Rize asked. Her voice was spoken too lightly for a normal human to hear.

Jack shook his head a smile plastered on his face. "This is spectacle to give him a kick in the right direction. If it doesn't work, then we'll be back for real. His wife isn't to be harvested." Jack said matching her tone.

Claudia a young woman with a head of yellow locks and an elfin face had become something of a traditional vampire through her cultivation. Her blood could enthrall others, feeding strengthened her, and she was adorable. To top it off she had birthed seven kids in seven years each with seeds within them. My dividends would surely grow.

We entered a sitting room with a roaring fire and walls stacked with books. Most of the tomes had been handwritten by Ebenezer in these seven years he's had power. Each was a journey of discovery of various branches of the black. Ebenezer was the experimenter type. He's paid many dividends and deserved a reprieve from harvesting. Ten black fruit and a large tree with great spanning roots made up his spiritual existence.

A smile crept over Jack's face. Killing him might be difficult. He wasn't like the others.

Claudia sat down with a wine glass filled to the brim with blood. Rize stared at the two then looked back at me. "If they offer me a plate of human steak, I'm going to demand to rest of it."

"How rude, why would we offer anything? You're just a message and it has been received." Claudia said and pointed at me. "If I decided to kill you do you think he'll defend you. I'm feeding him with my every action while you are just a worthless sack of meat to him." Claudia said.

Jack frowned at the outburst put some pressure on their cultivation bases. Ebenezer glared at him before glancing at Claudia. "I apologize for my lack of advancement. But I haven't stopped searching for a way forward." Ebenezer said.

Jack sighed and checked his watch. The hour was growing late. "This is just a warning. The karma I sowed will be reaped. In the end that will be your fate, it could happen tomorrow or a thousand years from now, but it will happen. Only by surpassing this world can you change your fate." I said. Ebenezer's eyes widened at that. A look of determination appeared in his gaze.

"Thank you for the inspiration." Jack nodded and turned to Claudia.

"You managed to spread my gift to others through your blood. I'd advise you to be careful who you turn. Destroying the CCG would be a pain." Jack said. Claudia smiled in self-satisfaction. Jack raised his hand and a black qi sword extended stopping at Claudia's throat.

The blonde gasped at the blade millimeters from her throat. Ebenezer tried to move but was held down by shadowy chains. The mansion's wards blasted down on him before Jack waved his left hand. Black hands blasted down snatched and twisting the wards. Symbols shattered and their effects became tangled before errors appeared in Ebenezer's warding systems. Jack stood up and withdrew his blade.

He raised his hand and slapped Claudia across the face. Jack stared down at the woman who glared back in defiance. "Food shouldn't act so arrogantly. You may not be ready for the slaughter, but exceptions can be made." Jack said.

"You're worse than a ghoul." She spat. You don't have to slaughter us, but you do it when we are no longer useful." Claudia said.

Jack shook his head and grabbed Rize's hand. "You'll stay seated there a few days for your cheek." Jack said. The binding shadows grew stronger locking them into place. On the inside Jack felt shaken. It had taken him more time than it should have to corrupt the runes. Ebenezer was getting strong.

Jack stared back at the mansion as the wards hid it from view. Rize cut the butler into easily managed chunks and had eaten half his corpse already. Her munching sounds were annoyingly loud.

"I've got to take you to Anteiku they'll go crazy. How do you like coffee?" Rize asked. Only the Butler's feet were left after gorging on the corpse. She'd made short work of it.

Jack hummed to himself. It was time to invest a little more power and collect. Once he reached core in full against, he could use a world jump spell. "Sure," he said noncommittedly." Rize grabbed the feet, wrapped the butler's suit around them, and chunked them through the wards before they closed.