Gleam Karma Cultivator Isekai

Chapter 48: Bob and weave

Chapter 48: Bob and weave

Chance and Bella stood across from each other in one of the many sectioned off arenas in the Shikari training ground. Yeo and Pete both stood just outside the drawn lines, watching them with keen eyes.

Whenever youre ready, Bella said, lowering into a fighting stance. Ice sprawled over her arms and wound into the ground, covering the dirt in a silvery sheen.

Memories sprung to Chances mind as soon as he took a step forward, and he easily sank into a swaying, loose limbed resting pose. He could feel Yeo and Petes confused gazes burning into him as he took an unsteady step toward Bella.

Uh Chance? Bella asked, blinking. Are you okay?

He didnt respond the fight was on, and it was taking more concentration than hed expected to make his body move the way his mind wanted it to. Even though he conceptually knew the moves, there was still a little delay in getting himself to do them.

Chance staggered forward. He tripped over his own feet, catching himself at the last moment and driving a palm into Bellas shoulder in an attempt to stabilize himself. She stumbled back, her eyes going wide as Chance slipped on the ice.

His urumi whipped out, whistling past her nose as she barely managed to duck out of the way. Chances drunken stumble took him toward her again and understanding set in on her face. She darted forward, throwing a punch at his stomach.

Chance took a small step to the side and slipped on the ice again. His foot came up as he fell, catching Bella in the chin. Her head snapped back and Chance transferred his momentum into a roll. He came back up to his feet, snapping his urumi upward like a striking snake.

Bella blocked the attack with an icy fist. Tendrils of chill wrapped down the urumi and it gave off a loud scraping noise as her magic sunk into some of the links, restricting their motion. With a loud crack, the urumi retracted itself, snapping back into Chances hands.

Surprise washed over Bellas face again, but Chance didnt give her any time to speak. He lurched forward once more, throwing his entire body in her direction with his arms outstretched.

Bella stepped into him, aiming a strike toward his gut. Once more, Chance managed to fumble his way past the strike, this time interlocking one of his legs between hers. They both crashed to the ground, with Bella taking the majority of the force from the fall.

As soon as they hit, Chance was moving again, already stumbling away. Bella threw herself forward, grabbing one of his legs before he could get away. Freezing energy wrapped up his body and his Gate lit up with a furious burning sensation.

Bella yanked him back toward her as she started to rise. Instead of resisting, Chance let her pull him, twisting to bring his knee up in the process. It connected with Bellas face, but she didnt budge. It was like hed struck a brick wall.

Unwilling to give up the advantage, Chance slashed at her shoulder with his urumi. Ice bloomed from her back, forming a dome around Bella and knocking the blade away. It melted as quickly as it had arrived and she darted at him.

Her crisp, intentional movements were a stark contrast to Chances drunken style. The two of them traded blows for several minutes. Not a single one of Chances attacks managed to damage Bella again, but she was equally unable to land anything more than glancing blows on him.

Unfortunately, the biggest drawback of the way hed learned his fighting style reared its head Chance was exhausted. Hed never realized quite how difficult it was to toss his body around like a ragdoll, and it took a lot more muscle than he had.

His movements started to slow down, and Bellas attacks landed more and more. Before five minutes had passed, she managed to catch him in a tackle. She wrapped her arms around his neck before he could wiggle free.

You win, Chance said, panting.

Bella released him and flopped back onto the ground. She let out a slow whistle as Yeo and Pete started to clap. That was incredible. Ive never seen someone fight like that.

Thanks. You beat me, though.

Only because I used the technique Ive been practicing, Bella replied. And if you hadnt run out of energy at the end, I think you probably would have had me. I couldnt have held that up for much longer. If wed been using any cultivation honestly, I think you might have won. For someone whos been practicing for just a few months, your rate of growth is incredible.

Ill get you next time, then, Chance said, pushing himself upright and grinning. The chill of the ice on the ground surrounding them was now incredibly convenient, as it was doing a great job at cooling him down from the fight.

And its probably best not to go around severing any of Yeo or Bellas karma, now that I think about it. Ill save that for people Im actually fighting.

Bella is right, Pete said. Ive never seen someone fight like that, Chance, but it was truly quite impressive. I dont think that style would work well for my old bones, but I saw a few moves that looked very promising. Ill have to look into seeing if I can incorporate them in a way that fits my style.

I cant use this stuff at all, but I get dibs on fighting you next, Yeo declared. I can tell your style is way too different from mine to work, but that looks really fun to fight against.

Im looking forward to seeing how you perform in the tournament, Pete said. Id imagine that the unique nature of your style will give you a significant advantage in the early rounds.

I suppose well see, Chance said. He sat up, brushing himself off. One thing was certain he needed to find time to fit physical training into his regime.

Ill bet the apothecary has something that should help with soreness and muscle recovery. That should let me accelerate my progress pretty significantly.

Should we head back, then? Bella asked. She stood and held a hand out, pulling Chance to his feet.

Sure, Yeo replied. You left some of your sandwich. Dibs.

Bella narrowed her eyes. No. Thats mine. Get your own.

I already did. Ate it too. Thats why I want yours.

Have you figured out that new technique youve been working on?

Yeo glowered at her. No. Not yet. But Im almost there.

Then you wont be able to stop me from wiping the floor with you, like I did the last few times we sparred. You better figure it out before the tournament.

Oh, I will, Yeo promised, crossing his arms. And when I do, you better be ready for it. Ill be claiming any unsupervised sandwiches that youre foolish enough to leave in my vicinity, whether you like it or not.

Ive got one made for you as well, Pete said, putting a hand on Chances shoulder. Its safe from Yeo. Hes nowhere near being able to handle me, so you dont have to worry about it going missing.

Yet, Yeo added. Just you wait.

They all laughed and left the training area, heading back to the Whiteheart house.

***

Golden strands of karmic debt extended before Yamish like the strings of an enormous harp. His long fingers played along them, sending faint tremors through their lines. He idly stared into the starry night sky above, enjoying the gentle breeze as it caressed his skin.

The air around him was so thick with Essence that it would have forced its way into the body of any normal Cultivator, popping it like an overripe berry. For Yamish, it didnt even tickle anymore.

Towering trees creaked around him, desperately trying to uproot themselves and move away from him. The threads of karmic energy hed attached to them prevented that, of course. It was difficult to find a world that he could tolerate for long, and its natural beauty was one of the greatest things about it.

It had taken Yamish nearly a thousand years to set everything up just how he liked it. Under no circumstance would he allow even a single leaf of it to change without his permission even if much of the world had gained sentience from the enormous amount of Essence surrounding him.

And there, in the beautiful, crisp clearing, standing behind him, was an imperfection. Yamishs fingers stilled, and he lowered his hand, turning slowly toward it.

A tiny pocket of churning golden energy enveloped a woman leaning against one of his trees. It had bent all the way down and rested nearly parallel to the ground to try to escape her, but Yamishs own bindings had kept it from moving any further.

Nice place youve got going here, the woman said, raising a wooden tankard in greeting. Havent seen something like it in a while. Real pristine.

She took a long swig from it, then smacked her lips and let out a contented sigh. Her aura, while small, was intense. Golden energy enveloped her body in a thin layer, but it was so reinforced that Yamish that even he would have had some difficulty breaking through it.

More importantly, a faint thread of Karma connected him to the woman. His eyes narrowed. She was a Karma cultivator, but he had very good record of everyone he interacted with and she was not one of them.

We have karma, Yamish said. Why?

Oh, do we? the woman asked, cocking her head to the side. Thats weird. I didnt even notice. I was just kind of wandering around in this corner of the universe. I didnt stumble into something important, did I? Silly me.

Yamish cocked his head to the side. You did not stumble into anything. You are led by karma.

Bah. Youre one of the types that has no sense of humor, arent you? Boring. Dont you feel a bit melodramatic, playing with peoples lives like a musical instrument?

If a job must be done, why not make it an art?

Well, since youve been so kind as to bring it up, what kind of job are you doing? the woman asked, taking another swing from her tankard. The liquid within it burned with an aura that was nearly as powerful as she was, marking it as a magical artifact of some sort.

Herding souls, Yamish replied. Why have you come here? Not even a fool would have attempted the journey, and an enemy would have died. You hold no ill will toward me, but do not assume that means I assume the same of you.

Im just poking around a bit. A new karma cultivator popped up in one of the worlds. Barely felt his arrival, actually. He isnt too far from here. You notice him?

No, Yamish replied. I do not have time to seek out every new cultivator that arrives.

Interesting, the woman said. See, I thought he was weak. But, when I met him, hed already established fairly powerful karmic threads with some strong beings including you. And, get this: I poked around a bit, and I realized his arrival had been suppressed.

Yamishs expression didnt change. He reached up to the thread connecting him to the woman and pinched it. The golden energy withered and snapped with a twang. I have no karmic connection with a new arrival. I have no connections with anyone not for long. It is possible one of my clones found interest in him, but it has not met back up with me, so I know nothing of this.

Sure, sure. Just wanted to check to make sure you remembered that its against our accords to block off new arrivals from potential teachers. Thats some really big interfering.

I am not beholden to your rules, Yamish said flatly. I do not see why my clone would have any interest in the arrival of a child. I seek enlightenment, not a mortal.

Just wanted to check, the woman said with a shrug. She turned, gathering energy to leave.

What world was the boy on? Yamish asked.

The woman glanced back at him. Figure it out yourself, chucklehead.

With a pop, she vanished. A flicker of curiosity danced through Yamish. What exactly had his clone stumbled into? Perhaps it was time to rendezvous. But, first, he had a far more important task to deal with. The boy could wait.