AN: I think this went quite well. Hopefully you'll share my sentiments.
'Ya Yeet' Regular speech
'Ya Yeet' Inner monologue
'Ya Yeet' Mysterious voice
"Ya Yeet"Multiple voices
- London Park - Location
[Evening] Time
Chapter 4 - Rise and Shine
'Rise and shine, piss-ant!' Today was going to be hell.
"Ugghhh." Ling groaned. "Can I have… like… an hour?" He pleaded, snuggling into his bed. "It's sti-"
'I SAID WAKE UP NOW!'
With a startled yell, he rolled out of his bed, falling onto the floor whilst entangled in his sheets. "The hell?"
'HAHAHAHAHAAA! Fuckin' priceless.' Ling could imagine his smug smile, wiping away a tear.
'Ling? Are you okayyyyy?' His mother called out groggily.
"I-" He placed a hand over his mouth. He waited in dead silence for a few minutes, until he was sure his mother had fallen back to sleep. He then slowly got up, making as little sound as possible. 'Okay… how long today?'
'I'd say… about half a kilometre is a good warm up run. It's only day three.' Ling groaned internally as he shuffled downstairs. By the time he had changed into his running gear and gotten out, it was 5:30 A.M. He normally woke up at 6. 'From Number 89 to… that post over there. The broken one.' Ling prepared himself, bent down in a typical starting position.
'Okay… gradually build up speed, then go all out in the last hundred.' He told himself.
'On your marks… get set… Hold up, wait a minute, I think I for-GO!' Ling looked dumbfounded for a half second, before sprinting off. That fake-out definitely threw him off-target. Regardless, he powered on. By the end of it, he was knackered. He breathed heavily, hunched over in exhaustion. '79.99. Eh, okay.'
'That's all you had to say?!' 'Rrraaaggh!' He exclaimed in frustration. He sauntered off back to his house.
'Oi, oi! Who said you could stop? Three more, then you get to go back inside, drop, and give me twenty!' Today was truly going to be hell.
- At School -
Ling tried really hard to pay attention in school. Even more so now. But still, there were so many interesting things you could miss when you're really focused. Like Michael almost snapping his glasses. Or Terry using a marker to fill in his moustache. Or Yang stroking her hair for the fifteenth time today. Or the sky outside shimmering from the heat. 'Ling!' His eyes snapped back to the teacher, as he tried to focus. Half of the things the teacher said just bounced off his brain, still. Perhaps it was the strenuous exercise shutting his bodily functions off… Or maybe-'Ling! Focus, dammit!'
At break, instead of playing in the sandpit like usual, Ling was reading books at least two years above his age range. Believe it or not, a creepy adult man swearing at you constantly didn't help when reading books full of proper vocabulary. 'This is stupid. Why am I doing his again?' He asked. It's not like The Majestic Matsby or The Winter Glow or Larry Trotter said anything about Alchemy.
'Well, if you're serious about learning Alchemy and Alkahestry, you need to start training seriously. No point in trying to learn if you can't keep up with the subject matter.' The voice answered.
'And how would this help with that?' He questioned.
'I'm trying to broaden your mind. Introduce new vocabulary, so you don't get as confused.' The voice answered.
'Can't you do that yourself?' He questioned again.
'Fuck no. Too lazy.' He stated.
"Fuckin…" He mumbled under his breath.
"Hey, Ling." Ruby interjected.
"Ah! Don't sneak up on me like that."
"Why're you reading nerd books? Also, you shouldn't swear. My dad says it's not good to swear."
"Well, a creepy mysterious voice is trying to teach me magic, and, don't tell anyone you heard that."
"You're weird!" She giggled. "I'm gonna go back to making the sandcastle. When's The Emperor gonna come back from his Diplomatic Vacation of Enlightenment and Sp... spirtalism?" She inquired.
"Spi-ri-tu-al-i-sm. Well, I'd estimate… very soon. Keep an eye out for bandits!" He playfully nudged her arm.
"I will!" She waved, before running off.
"Now. Page… 103. Ugghhh…" He went back to reading, the words still bouncing off his brain. He had books on Geology, Chemistry, and Biology he had to complete as well. Today was hell. Scratch that, the next month would be hell.
- A Month Later -
"Well, Mrs Yao, I don't know what you've been doing at home, but Ling is really excelling! He's gone from being near the bottom of the class in terms of test results, to constantly being in the top five. His speech is very articulate and clear, he's very quick when figuring things out, and he hasn't stopped talking yet, but he's more focused than ever. And PE, which he normally does well in, regularly has him in the top three, just behind Craig Spruce and Yang Xiao-Long. He should be proud of himself!" Ling's teacher went over his progress since the start of the term.
"I didn't think you had it in you, Ling." His brother, Fang, complimented offhandedly.
"I'm so proud of you!" His mother almost crushed him to death in her surprisingly strong bear hug. "You're almost like Bao and Bai! Keep this up and you might get a scholarship, just like them!"
"Mother, you're embarrassing me… and killing me… at the same time!" He looked around at all the looks they were receiving. "Fang! Help!"
"Wow… I didn't know that about space." His brother was completely oblivious, his headphones glued on tightly. His mother finally relented, turning to the teacher.
"Will that be all, Mr. Ivanov?"
"Yes, that will be all." The trio departed, walking past the Xiao-Long family. Yang looked over at Ling, snickering before dragging her bottom eyelid down. He stuck his tongue out in retaliation, before also smiling.
'See, kid? Your school life's improved, your family's proud, and you know a bit about how to bend nature to your will. Oh, and you've got a future wife to boot. Sounds like a sweet deal to me.' Ling's face turned red.
'Shut up! She's just a friend.'
'Okay, mister 'I let girls sleep on my shoulder and pretend we're just friends'. Don't forget, you smelled her as well!' His face grew redder by the minute.
'You just had to ruin it.'
- A Month Later -
Ling recited the table of elements off by heart, before looking back at the sheet. "Yes!" He yelled. He could finally go to sleep. The 1500 Metre jog had taken everything out of him, and all he wanted to do was rest until the next day.
'Hey, kid, don't forget about finishing the books.' Oh, yeah! He still had to finish off the biology book and The Winter Glow. Easy.
- Two Months Later -
'Ready for the 1500 Metre dash, kid?'
"Please, I was born ready."
'You weren't saying that last month.'
"Shut up!"
'GO!' Just like that, he was off. Greed felt a little bit of pride, seeing Ling jog with relative ease. He showed no signs of faltering until the 1000 mark, which was something to be proud of.
'Keep going, you might actually make a presentable time!'
- A Week Later -
'I think it's about time you started working your way up to transmutation, kid.'
'Am I really ready?'
'Sure, kid! You could probably do it in… two months! See, you've got that drive that a lot of other people don't. You get me?'
'Kinda?'
'Most other people wouldn't have gone to such lengths for something like this. I see you bettering yourself every day. Your Avarice is strong, kid.'
'Mhm.'
'No matter what way you put it, what you're doing is inherently selfish. It serves you alone. But being greedy ain't really all that bad. Wanting, no, demanding the finer things in life, while putting in the work to back it up? That's some positive greed right there. All this work, it came from you. Suck on that, dad.' He mumbled the last part.
'I see… Well, there's no time to waste! I gotta start right now! Thank's for the little pep talk, mysterious voice.'
'You can call me Greed. Greed the Avaricious.'
- Two Months Later -
Today was the day. The day he'd finally be able to perform his first transmutation. He'd planned everything out perfectly. It was the last week of the summer holiday. His baby brother was fast asleep, as were Bai and Bao, who had tired themselves out from their university studies.
'It's really happening, huh.' The voice spoke.
"Yeah. We've come a long way, haven't we?" Ling sighed.
'That's four months of watching you struggle I'll never get back.' He laughed out.
"Shut up." He responded playfully.
He recited the elements that made up wood, and clearly pictured what he wanted to make in his mind. It was a figurine of the Eleventh Emperor of Xing. A simplified version of what he saw in the history books. He carefully placed his hands onto the floor, and took a deep sigh.
He activated the circle.
A brilliant blue light shone, illuminating the circle. Blue electricity crackled in the air, engulfing the wooden slab. Ling closed his eyes, and everything went white.
He slowly opened his eyes, taking in the smell of smoke. He looked down at the transmutation circle, preparing for the worst. What he found, was an almost picture-perfect wooden recreation of the image he'd thought of.
"W-woah…" He said breathlessly. He took a moment to think, before falling back. "I… did it. I did it. I did it!" He couldn't have been happier. He jumped up and about the house, celebrating his achievement. He scooped up the figure, cradling it, enjoying the warmth it possessed. He immediately ran upstairs, to his room, to the shelf where he kept all of his most prized possessions. Just at the top, right next to the bracelet his father had given to him, he placed it. It fit perfectly.
After leaving no traces of the circle, he went to bed smiling, drifting off into a blissful sleep. He dreamt a very pleasant dream. The next morning, all he could remember was a fancy crown, lots of circles, and glowing gold hair. And oranges, too. Weird.
AN: I'm pretty proud of this chapter. I enjoyed writing in the little excerpts showing Ling's progression, and Greed opening up and talking about his views on the world and greed. Tell me what you thought about it!
Until we meet again!
