ã€ŠSeize the Skyã€‹


 Prologue

    I nervously grabbed the ring box in my pocket as the rest of the audience clapped. I looked away from the actors taking their bows on stage and glanced over at my soon to be fiance. Her straight black hair fell down over her shoulders and lay on her yellow sweater. I smiled as I looked at her. She was a touch on the plump side but she had the kind of curves that would make the coldest night seem mild. Which was fortunate, because Chicago at this time of year was always cold.

    She looked up at the stage with a wide smile and my heart skipped a beat at the pure joy in it. Allison wasn¡¯t a beauty but her smile could light up any room and she was one of the few honestly kind people I had ever met. For a cynic like me her presence was a balm to the soul. She looked over at me and her light blue eye met mine. Her smile grew a shade brighter and she leaned over to lay her head on my shoulder as the people around us started to get up out of their seats.

    ¡°Thank you for bringing me tonight. I know a musical isn¡¯t exactly your idea of a fun but I¡¯m Glad you let me pry you away from your computer.¡± She said happily as she looked up at me.

    ¡°Well¡­.. It wasn¡¯t that bad.¡± I said with a shrug. She raised a black eyebrow at my obvious lie. It really had been bad. Tonight was the last showing and it was pretty obviously the actors were ready to be done.

    ¡°Ok¡­. It was that bad but you¡¯ve been wanting to come see it forever.¡± I said as a wrapped an arm around her and pulled her closer.

    ¡°It really was that bad wasn¡¯t it.¡± She said with a laugh. ¡°Thank you anyway.¡± She smiled her heartbreaking smile at me again and I gripped the ring box tighter in my other hand.

    Definitely tonight¡­..

    When most of the seats had cleared we got our coats and headed toward the door. As we got to the lobby I could see it was pouring outside. There were quite a few women by the entrance waiting for their men-folk to bring their cars around.

    ¡°Well, time to go do my male duty I suppose. Wait here babe. I¡¯ll go get the car.¡± I said as I slipped on my heavy winter coat and flipped the hood up.  December was always miserable in the mid-west and Chicago was worse than most. Luckily it was a few degrees too warm to snow but it was a cold miserable rain and getting my car was going to be a pain in the ass.

    Still it could do little to put a damper on my mood. Allison had enjoyed herself quite a bit and although the weather was miserable it was the perfect night to stay in. We could head back to my place. A couple of candles and a bottle of wine. I¡¯d pop the question. She¡¯d say yes and then we could get to my favorite part of the evening.

    I whistled happily as I stepped out into the rain. I¡¯d parked my Toyota a couple of blocks from the theater. It wasn¡¯t the greatest part of town but it also hadn¡¯t cost me fifteen bucks. Web-design wasn¡¯t exactly the most lucrative of careers and even on my best day I was a long way from the real pros. As such my eight year old corolla was about as much as I could afford. At twenty-five I was still knee deep in student loans and I¡¯d had to sell my drum-set afford the ring.

    Even so, there was still a spring in my step as I made it to my grey corolla. I fumbled out my keys and had just hit the unlock button when something cold and hard pressed it to the back of my head.

    ¡°Your wallet and the keys. Don¡¯t be stupid.¡± A voice said from behind me.

    I froze. Chicago wasn¡¯t exactly paradise but even as a lifer I¡¯d never had a gun pulled on me. My heart was beating about a hundred miles an hour and my voice came out in a stutter as I spoke up

    ¡°Al--Alright, it¡¯s cool man.¡± I said as I slowly raised my hands held out the keys. The cold knot against my head was removed as a hand briefly touched mine and snatched the keys.

    ¡°Now, hands in the roof and don¡¯t fuckin¡¯ twitch.¡± The voice said angry. It was obviously a male but the voice was thready and agitated. Even in my flustered state I could tell the guy was just as scared as I was.

    I obediently put my hands on the roof and then a hand started to grasp at me clumsily. It took a few seconds for him to get my wallet out, but unfortunately as he finally pulled it out his hand brushed against my coat pocket, the one with the ring in it.

    ¡°What the fuck is that!? You packin?¡± He said from behind me. The barrel of the gun returned to my head, but this time I could feel the tremble of the man¡¯s hand through it.

    Seriously?. It¡¯s a box¡­.

    My fear was momentarily replaced with incredulity. How the hell could anyone mistake a jewelry box for a gun. Then again I didn¡¯t want to tell him it was a jewelry box. The ring wasn¡¯t super-nice but I hadn¡¯t really cheaped out either. Besides, I¡¯d had to sell my drum-set for it.

    ¡°It¡¯s just some mints man.¡± I lied. ¡°I¡¯m not armed.¡±.

    ¡°You think I¡¯m fuckin¡¯ stupid. Those ain''t no mints.¡± He said angrily. Well, I did think he was stupid but this didn¡¯t seem the right moment to point it out to him.

    ¡°Keep your fucking hands on the car.¡± He said as he roughly grabbed for my coat pocket. I sighed inwardly. Looked like I wasn¡¯t proposing tonight after all. All things considered I¡¯d be happy just to get out of here without any bullet holes. I wasn¡¯t prepared to give up without trying though.

    ¡°Common man, it¡¯s a ring. I was gonna propose tonight. Don¡¯t take it.¡± I said pleadingly.

    ¡°Oh yeah, Tough fuckin¡¯ break.¡± He said as he kept digging for the ring. The pockets in this coat were a pain in the ass at the best of times and from his angle getting the ring out was going to be hard. He dug for another few seconds before swearing angrily. Then the gun at my head pulled away as he stepped back. .

    ¡°Turn the fuck around and get out the ring. You try anything stupid you''re going home dead.¡± He said, now even angrier. I lifted my hands to the side and turned giving me my first look at my attacker.

    His body was covered with a ratty trench-coat and it was obvious he¡¯d seen better days. He was too thin and his dark eyes were wild as he pointed the gun at me. It was an old revolver, maybe a a .38 or .44. I honestly didn¡¯t know shit about guns but I figured it would be good enough to put holes in me

    The gun shook in his hand and it was pretty obvious the guy wasn¡¯t right. He¡¯d probably run dry of his drug of choice and was out to secure funding for his next high. Either way I wasn¡¯t in the mood to argue the point with him.

    I slowly reached into my pocket and took out the ring box. I was just getting ready to hold it out to him when the situation got even more complicated.

    ¡°Justin¡­. What¡¯s¡± A familiar voice said before I heard a loud feminine gasp. The gunmen spun wildly and soon had his revolver trained on Allison.

    Shit¡­.

    ¡°You his girl? Get the fuck against the car and I swear to god if you scream your dead.¡± He said as he waved his gun around.

    Allison stood frozen obviously terrified and my less cowardly half got angry.

    ¡°Look man, Just take the ring and let her go. She¡¯s doesn¡¯t need to be part of this.¡± I said soothingly. Addicts in withdrawal were touchy at the best of times. I didn¡¯t want Allison anywhere near this.

    ¡°She¡¯ll be part of it If I want her to be. Now, hand me your purse and get against the car bitch.¡± He said as he steadied his gun on Allison again. She finally seemed to gather her wits a bit because he took off her purse and handed it over before moving over next to me.

    She must have seen the ring box I was holding because her eyes met mine with a wide questioning look as he moved next to me. I just shrugged. There wasn¡¯t much I could say now the cat was obviously out of the bag. Her eyes started to tear over although I wasn¡¯t sure if it was from happiness, fear, or some weird combination of both.

    ¡°Alright man. Here¡¯s the ring, take the car and just go.¡± I said as I held the ring out to him again. He still had his gun pointing at Allison as he reached forward to take the ring out of my hand. Just as our fingertips touched there was a loud clap of thunder.

    The lighting must have been right on top of us, because the thunder was so loud I thought the whole damn world was ending. Time seemed to slow to almost nothing as everything happened at once.

    I¡¯m not sure how, but in that moment I knew. I KNEW he was going to shoot. I was already moving as I watched his eyes widen in fright. Maybe it was adrenaline or my years of platform gaming but my body moved like quick-silver in that one split second. I dove to the right putting my body between the gunman and Allison just as the gun went off.

    *Bang*

    White fire seemed to sear my chest as I hit the ground. I landed on my side hard and the impact sent a fresh wave of agony through me as I tried to see my wound.  I looked down at my chest and could see fresh blood coming from the wound. Right in the chest, just left of center. A perfect shot.

    That figures¡­..

    The whole situation just seemed so damn funny. The night when I finally, FINALLY manage to work up the courage to propose. Then I get held up because I¡¯m too cheap to spring for parking. Then the theft drags out because I have the ring. Then the bolt of lighting and the gunshot. A dozen coincidences and I¡¯m dead.

    I tried to laugh but it turned into a wet cough as blood flowed up and into my mouth. I heard Allison scream but in this weather no-one would hear her anyway. Besides, he¡¯d shot me in the heart. I¡¯d be dead even if I was already in the ER.

    Allison¡¯s face came into view above mine for a split second before my vision went dark. Even her sobs were drowned out by the roaring in my ears and the pouring rain.

    ************************************************************

    *Gasp*

    My lungs felt like they were on fire as I inhaled for the first time in what felt like hours.  I immediately started to cough loudly and nearly gagged from the force of it. I was so cold. Pins and needles rushed over all my nerves and I shook and shivered as I curled into a ball attempting to warm myself. A woman''s excited gasp came from nearby then it turned to sobs I opened my eyes hoping to see Allison.

    However the woman wasn¡¯t Allison. She was dark-skinned with vaguely Asian features. Her dark hair was a tangled mess and a fat tear ran down her plump face. She looked at me with such a look of relieved happiness and love that I was baffled. I¡¯d no sooner had the though when the woman grabbed me and pulled me against her massive bosom.

    If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

    I didn¡¯t know this woman from Adam but apparently she knew me. I looked around in a daze over her shoulder trying to figure out who she was and what was going on. My gaze swept the area but that made the situation even more confusing. I was laying on a bed of straw in a primitive hut. The floor was dirt as well as the walls. A fire crackled in the middle of the room making the entire place too warm but my body was like a sheet of ice and the extra heat felt good. A man stood to one side of my bed. He had the same dark-skinned asian features as the woman and his gaze was also filled with a level of love and trust that made me feel distinctly uncomfortable.

    What the hell?......

    I tried to pry the woman away from me but she had me in a death-grip. My arms also didn¡¯t seem to work properly. I couldn¡¯t even manage to sit up, I was so weak. I flailed helpless for a few moments before giving up.

    The stress of the situation rapidly ate away my meager strength and I felt so tired I just wanted to sleep. I let the woman continued to hug me and drifted into blackness as she continued to cry.

    ******************************************************************************

    I awoke to darkness and silence. The fire had burnt down low and it cast only faint illumination letting me see the outlines of the small hut I was in. The woman from before was sitting next to my bad and had fallen asleep with her head near me. I still had no idea what was going on. Everything was so surreal. I lifted a hand awkwardly and patted at my chest. The motion was clumsy and difficult. It was like my body was all wrong somehow.

    I awkwardly peeled back the ratty blanket I was under and looked down at myself for the first time. I was naked, which was interesting and baffling. My skin was much darker than I remembered, nearly the same shade as the woman beside me. The wound on my chest was nowhere to be found but my eyes widened in shock as I continued to look at myself. My belly, which had a good deal of paunch before, was completely changed. I was now skinny to the point of emaciation. The changes were equal in the rest of my body. My arms, which had been at least average sized were now small and weak. I frowned. Laying down, my perspective wasn¡¯t good but I felt too small.

    I scooted off the bed and stood. My knees wobbled and I had to lean on the wall to support myself. It was only as I stood up that I realized the true extent of the problem. The ceiling of the hut was short, but even so it was obvious I was way too short. Before I¡¯d been over six feet but now I was less than four. Combined with my puny arms and tiny appearance It could only mean one thing. I was a child.

    I moved slowly around the bed as I pondered the situation. My memories were crystal clear. I¡¯d been robbed at gunpoint and had been shot. I¡¯d obviously died but now here I was in a house full of strangers as a child.

    Is this heaven?

    It seemed unlikely. If so it was a crappy sort of heaven. Being transplanted into a weak and sickly child who was likely eight or nine didn¡¯t sound very much like a reward. Then again I hadn¡¯t led a terribly upstanding life. Depending on how many karmic points were deducted for internet porn this could be any place between purgatory and the ninth circle of hell.

    I let out a resigned chuckle. The sound of it was loud in the small hut¡¯s stillness and the woman, my mother, I guessed. Slowly awoke and glanced at me standing next to my bad. A radiant smile appeared on her face. Before she spoke something completely unintelligible at me.

    It sounded Asianish¡­. Maybe. I¡¯d never been very good at foreign languages. My two years of spanish in high-school hadn¡¯t netted me much and spanish was way easier than whatever it was this woman was speaking.

    I just looked at her uncomprehending and shook my head. She repeated the words again but it didn¡¯t do any good. I shook my head again and said in English.

    ¡°I can¡¯t understand you, I¡¯m sorry.¡± She tilted her head in puzzlement. Obviously, unable to understand me either before her joyful expression collapsed and tear started to run down her face again. I just spread my hands apologetically. I could sympathize with the woman. Obviously her son had some kind of accident and she¡¯d been over joyed when I¡¯d woken up. However, instead of getting back a recovered son, she¡¯d gotten me instead. Which was a poor trade in anyone''s book.

    She probably thinks her son is brain damaged¡­..

    I mused as looked into my new mothers crying face. I made a few helpless gestures then started to explore the house on shaky legs. I wasn¡¯t sure how long this body had been unconscious but it had to have been a while. Staying in bed wouldn¡¯t help me build back up my strength and even for a child¡¯s body this one was ridiculously weak. I¡¯d only been standing a few minutes and I was already exhausted and hungry. My stomach rumbled loudly to emphasize the point and my mothers head snapped up. Her tears stopped falling and a small grin tugged at her mouth before she stood up and started bustling about the small hut.

    Soon a rough copper pot was placed over the fire and a delicious smell started to permeate the small room. The smell woke the man from earlier who was sleeping on another cot. He stood up and examined me as I continued to walk around the small room. When he saw me walking under my own power relief spread over his lined face.

    I put him around thirty-five. He was well built with lean working-man muscle and his skin was sun weathered. His temples were touched with grey and he had a thick beard that gave him a bit of a wild look. He spoke to me with a smile but I didn¡¯t understand any of it.

    My mother turned as she heard him speak and they exchanged words rapidly, the tones and pronunciations completely alien. I just watch baffled as they spoke. It went on for a while before my new father turned back to me.

    He watched  me more cautiously now, as if he wasn¡¯t quite sure what the think. The woman must have let him know I couldn¡¯t understand. Then he spoke a few more words these slow and exaggerated. It didn¡¯t help. I shook my head helplessly. This was getting pretty frustrating for me. My mind was in chaos from the implications of what had happened. I had two people in front of me that would be able to explain where and who I was but we had no way to communicate.

    The man looked at me sadly for a moment before he pointed to his chest. ¡°Jical¡± he said. The accent and pronunciation strange. The word was over-pronounced and guttural sounding with heavy emphasis between the syllables and on the K sounds. Like Ji-Kal. I looked at him for a moment before I tried to mimic him.

    ¡°Jical?¡± I said questioningly. He shook his head and repeated the name for me. I tried a few more times before I could pronounce it to his satisfaction. Then he nodded and pointed to me.

    ¡°Chok¡± He said with a nod. This too took me more than a few attempts but finally I got the tones down properly. He then pointed to my mother who was still cooking. ¡°Cali¡± he said, the name pronounced ¡°Ka-Li¡± This one only took me a couple of tries. I was getting used to the pronunciations.

    Jical nodded satisfied then opened the door to the small hut. A freezing wind blew in that sent the flames dancing in the hearth. He stepped outside for a moment before returning. Then after exchanging another few words with his wife he started to dress. His outfit was a combination of animal furs and rough leather. He reminded me of the East Russian native tribes I¡¯d seen on a discovery documentary.  Infact that was a pretty good parallel for everything I¡¯d seen so far. The hut as well as the objects in it were all extremely primitive. Almost stone-age primitive, aside from the copper pot and a metal frame over the fire there wasn¡¯t any worked metal anywhere in the house. Everything was clay,dirt, and hide.

    When Jical finished dressing he grabbed a large flint axe from the corner of the house and strapped it to his back. Then, after giving his wife a kiss, he pushed open the heavy furs that acted as the hutts door and stepped out into the chilly pre-dawn air.

    I slumped back down to the bed my weak legs exhausted. I just sat and stared blankly as I tried to figure out what had happened. A few minutes later Cali came over and handed me a wooden bowl. It was thin meat broth but as hungry as I was it tasted divine. I quickly polished off the broth and with my belly full and my body once again exhausted I was quickly back asleep.

    *************************************************************************************

    I woke a few hours later and the sunlight streaming in from outside let me know it was finally daytime. I pushed myself up out of the covers and found some child-sized clothes near-by that must be mine. I quickly dressed and looked around. The hut was empty, so my parents must be outside. Shrugging, I walked over to the tent flap and pushed it open, hoping to find some clue about where or when I was.

    A fantastical view greeted me as I looked at my new world. A bright-blue sun burnt down from overhead illuminating everything in a clear-white light that added majesty to the most spectacular view I¡¯d ever seen.  Our hut was on the side of a huge mountain that shot skyward until it pierced the clouds. There was a scattering of other huts around us and as my view swept up the mountain the houses became nicer and more modern looking until  my eyes came to a large mansion that looked like something out of feudal Japan. There was a wide courtyard near the mansion and I could see the small shapes of people standing in neat ranks as they practiced martial arts. Stunned I turned to looked down the mountain and took in an involuntary gasp of air.

    From this height I could see for miles. The mountain side descended down until it met a crystal blue river with chucks of ice floating in it. After the river a massive forest extended for miles in every direction broken only by rivers and other mountains. The trees were pines and hearty leafed varieties and they sparked with dew in the chill morning air. I tilted my head for a moment then took another gasp of air. It was hard to tell from this perspective but some of those trees must be three or four hundred feet tall to look so big from this distance.

    I just stared. The majesty and alien beauty of the landscape was completely stunning, but it made one fact completely clear. I wasn¡¯t on earth any longer.

 Chapter 1: A Failed Hunt

    The following days went by quickly. Initially I was still weak from whatever ordeal had injured this body. I could only spend a few hours a day up and around, but as time passed I was able to regain some strength. So I¡¯d spend most of my time in the hut with Cali as she tried to teach me the language. Things weren¡¯t going too badly on that front.

    I¡¯d always heard that full immersion was the best way to learn a new language and that appeared to be true. A month here had done more for me than a semester of Spanish had back on earth. I was now able to understand quite a few words, if the person didn¡¯t speak too quickly. My own speech was broken and heavily accented but I could usually make myself understood.

    Over the last few weeks I¡¯d learned quite a bit from observation and the snatches of conversation I could puzzle out. Apparently this was Mountain-Sun village which was under the rule of the Mountain-Sun clan. The clan worked under the a feudal system. They owned the village and all the surrounding lands and the people would work the land for them in exchange for their protection and strength. Strength was king here. There was basically no law and everything was settled with Martial arts. As a consequence the population was stratified based on their abilities.

    My parents and therefore I was in the lowest caste. The people who had no talent for martial arts, or cultivation as they called it. We were basically slaves. If someone from a higher class told us to do something we had to do it or be beaten. Since the clan owned most of the food that left us in a very rough spot. My family were mostly farmers. Although, how anyone could farm anything in the rocky mountain soil up here I hadn¡¯t figured out. Being from the mid-west I knew what good soil looked like, and this was not it. I still hadn¡¯t figured out why the clan had set-up on the mountain instead of down in the valley where the soil was obviously much more fertile.

    The middle caste was made up of people who had average martial talent or who were good craftsmen. Blacksmiths, leather-workers, and most of the clan¡¯s soldiers and guards were in the middle caste. The upper caste was made up of the elite martial arts families. I still had no idea how one''s talents were measured but I was pretty sure it had something to do with the tattoo''s all the fighters had.

    Children weren''t required to work until they turned 12, and since I was only 11 I could pretty much do whatever I wanted for most of the day. Honestly, that fact this body was 11 had shocked me. I didn¡¯t look more than eight or nine, but children who looked small and sickly were extremely common in the lower caste since we never had much to eat.

    Technologically the clan was pretty bad off. Everything was done with carts and hand-tools. There was no gunpowder and no running water. Medicine, at least among the lower caste, was non existent and sanitation was terrible.

    So in a nutshell. Life sucked. I lived in a dirt hut. I had to go dig my own hole to take a crap outside in the freezing wind, and all the hot girls always got snatched by the men of the middle or upper class as concubines, so there weren¡¯t even any decent girls to look at. Granted, I wouldn¡¯t be chasing skirts for a few years yet but still.

    Currently I was staring down at my reflection in the river below the village. My family didn¡¯t have a mirror so I still didn¡¯t know what I looked like. I had tried to  try to sneak down to the river a few times to look but every time I did mom had caught me and yelled a lot. She didn¡¯t want me down here for some reason but today she¡¯d had to take a load of vegetables up the the main house so I¡¯d taken the opportunity to run off.

    It was odd to look at the reflection of my new body. I was a cute kid, high cheekbones a decent jaw. It was hard to tell how I¡¯d look as I grew but hopefully I wouldn¡¯t be too ugly. The most interesting feature was I¡¯d kept my own eyes. The light-blue orbs looked odd in my dark-skinned face but they made me happy. At least I had something from my old-life besides memories.

    I was tilting my head from side to side to inspect myself when a voice spoke up from behind me me.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± I turned curiously and saw a small girl standing a few feet away and looking at me curiously. A group of warriors walked in a double file line toward the boats tied along the river a quarter mile away. The girl must have been walking with them and wondered what I was up.

    She was a cute kid. Her face was dirt smudged but it was obvious she¡¯d be pretty enough when she grew. I put her around my age. She looked older but if she was with the warriors her father must be from the middle class, and she wouldn¡¯t be as stunted as I was. Her appearance was a bit odd though. She had the same dark-skin Asian looks as the majority of the clan but her hair was a fiery orange-red that clashed ridiculously with her dark brown eyes.

    On earth those genes would have never mixed that way, but I¡¯d noticed other strange coloration within the clan. There was a black-skinned man with blonde hair who was a smith in the village, and I¡¯d seen a girl of the upper-class whose hair was naturally leaf-green.

    I looked at the girl for a moment then replied in my broken speech. ¡°I look¡±. It was about the best I could do under the circumstances. I¡¯d only caught ¡®what¡¯, ¡®you¡¯ and ¡®doing¡¯ from her, but her meaning was fairly obvious. That was the worst part about not being able to speak properly. It was so much more difficult to be a smart ass.

    ¡°What are you looking at?¡± She said with an exaggerated eye roll. Seems even in this life I can infuriate women. It was good to know the talent carried over.

    ¡°Me¡± I said simply. Mostly it was because me was easy to say but it served the dual purpose of being intentionally obtuse.

    She scowled heavily at me. ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± She asked as she sat down beside me and looked into the water. I only caught what¡¯ and ¡®name¡¯ but answered dutifully. .

    ¡°Chok¡± I said simply. Then added ¡°You?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m Shimak. You shouldn¡¯t be down here. It¡¯s dangerous near the forest. The beasts down here could kill you with a look.¡± She explained. I caught almost none of it. Besides her name, but I did perk up at ¡®danger¡¯.

    I looked around cautiously wondering what the problem could be. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

    ¡°Not now dummy, The warriors are here. Beasts don¡¯t come across the river often but they have before. If one sees you they might decide to take a swim.¡± She explained is a sage tone. I caught very little, but ¡®beast¡¯ I understood. I¡¯d learned this world had some crazy powerful wild animals but I¡¯d never seen one. I¡¯d heard the clan sent people down to hunt but this was the first time I¡¯d ever seen it. Meat was a rarity in the clan and in the lower class we only ever got scraps.

    The girl sat down next to me before speaking again. ¡°Dad won''t let me go. He says I¡¯m too little and I don¡¯t have my first beast yet.¡± I had no idea what she said but I could sense her tone and I nodded in sympathy. ¡°If they do well today he said he might even be able to get me a beast core. I was supposed to get it last year but the Fire-Cloud family took it for Drikal¡¯s cultivation instead. The kids a half-wit but the Fire-Cloud family hasn¡¯t produced a Spirit-rank warrior in years and they keep dumping money on Dirkal hoping he¡¯ll turn their fortune.¡±

    Her second statement I caught even less of than her first so I went into active listening mode, hoping she wouldn¡¯t ask me a question directly. The warriors down steam had finished loading the boats with supplies and men and soon they put ores to water as they guided their boats across the river.

    The river was massive. Easily a  half-mile wide and it took the warriors a quarter hour to cross. Shimak chatted happily beside me apparently unknowing or uncaring that I wasn¡¯t really listening. We watched as the warriors landed on the other side and started to unpack their gear and supplies. They wore little armor, but had a variety of weapons. Everything from a simple sword to one of the crazy omega shaped Asian pole-arms. They looked rather formidable with their serious expressions and tattoos.

    Speaking of tattoos¡­.

    I turned to Shimak and ran my eyes over her looking for tattoo¡¯s. She noticed my look and blushed before she hit me. The blow wasn¡¯t that strong but I was a weakling and it knocked me off balance, making me fall over.

    ¡°Who the hell do you think you are? You think some Low-caste trash like you can look at my body?¡± She shouted angrily.

    I frowned as I sat up. I didn¡¯t understand her words but I got the message. I wasn¡¯t looking at her in a sexual way. Christ, the girl was under 12 and I was 11. I wouldn¡¯t have any real libido for years yet and I sure as hell wouldn¡¯t stoop that low.

    I shrugged and held up my hands in surrender. She huffed but didn¡¯t move away. She didn¡¯t seem to have any tattoo¡¯s I could see. Most of the middle class, and all of the warriors,  had them on their arms and chest, but I still couldn¡¯t figure out what the significance was.The ones I¡¯d seen were always animals, and the bigger and more intricate ones were usually on the higher-classed warriors.

    I was trying to puzzle it out when there was a loud roar from across the river. The sound was so loud the surface of the river rippled. The men across the river started to shout and I snapped my gaze in that direction. There was a wide clearing between the river and the trees and as I watched in horror as massive beast slunk out of the forest toward the warriors.

    It was huge. Even from this distance I could tell it was at least eight feet at the shoulder. It was shaped like a wolf but on a massive scale. Bright blue fur covered its body, but the tufts of fur that would usually be around a wolf''s neck were replaced with a mass of snakes instead. They weaved around it¡¯s head crazily and their beady eyes were all locked on the warriors who were now looking at the monster in horror.

    ¡°Centurion rank beast¡­¡­..¡± The girl said in a whisper, obviously terrified. I could agree with the sentiment completly.

    What in the holy hell is that thing?......

    The warrior¡¯s apparently agreed as well because they dropped the gear they were unloading and immediately all dove for the boats. The beast charged forward and started to massacre the men. Blood flew in every direction while they frantically tried to push the boats off the bank before a strong looking man with red hair turned back toward the beast. Even from here I could see his jaw set as he drew the axe from his back. Light flashed and suddenly two beasts appeared next to the man. One was a large bear with long metallic claws. The other was some sort of big cat but it¡¯s tail was made from pure flame.

    I watched utterly amazed. The man¡¯s beasts were impressive but obviously much smaller and weaker than the wolf. The man charged forward with his beasts in tow and attacked the wolf as it continued to decimate the other men.

    ¡°NO DAD!¡± The girl screamed from beside me. The beast was distracted and the man¡¯s axe glowed with red light as it bit into the wolf''s flank. His beasts circled the monster snapping at it and trying to distract the thing for their master but the fight was a hopeless one. The wolf turned and smashed a massive paw down on the cat pulverizing it. The attack seemed to stagger the warrior and he fell to his knees as he coughed up blood.

    ¡°NOOOOO!¡± The girl screamed again and stood up like she was going to rush into the river. I stood quickly and tried to grab her. She fought like a demon, but I cheated. I stepped onto the back of her knee driving her down then slapped an arm over her eyes. The girl scratched and bit at me but I held firm as the Wolf howled again. It whirled on the bear and the snakes around it¡¯s  head seemed to glow for a moment. The bear turned grey and turned to stone as it was inundated with green power. .

    The wolf turned slowly towards the downed warrior, the motion almost lazy. The man was now on the ground curled into a ball. The wolf made a single sharp movement and bit the man completely in half. It howled in triumph but the man¡¯s sacrifice hadn¡¯t been in vain. The survivors had made it into the boat and were paddling towards us like hell was chasing them. The wolf watched them go before it sniffed disdainfully and walked back into the woods.

    The girl sobbing in my arms finally gave up her struggles and collapsed. I just sat beside her, lending her what comfort I could until the warriors came and took her away.

    **************************************************************

    The entire village was in an uproar for days after the failed hunt. I, on the other hand was grounded. Mom had been furious when she found out I was down by the river during the wolf attack. Honestly, I was pretty damn embarrassed. I hadn¡¯t been grounded in ten years at least. I sat sullenly in the small hut for a week while mom and dad went to work everyday.

    Weeks went by and the frenzy around the failed hunt died down. My speech improved more every day and soon I was able to understand pretty much everything being said around me. My mother was ecstatic with my progress and although I could tell she was upset I couldn¡¯t remember my childhood at all. She at least had a healthy son now. I spent my days tagging along with my mother or father as they worked. There wasn¡¯t much else to do and now that my speech had improved I could pepper them with questions I¡¯d wanted to ask and couldn¡¯t.

    ¡°What¡¯s a Centurion-class beast?¡± I asked as I helped my father hoe a field. The weather was warming up and he¡¯d have to plant soon. In a few months I¡¯d turn twelve and be forced to start working as well. I figured I should use the opportunity to practice my drudgery. The only real benefit was that the hard work was getting me into better shape.

    ¡°Ahhhh, remembering the wolf are you?¡± Dad said as he wiped sweat from his brow. ¡°As a wild beast absorbs the world''s essence it becomes more powerful and more violent. When it becomes powerful enough it grows a monster-core and becomes a Soldier-rank monster. The ranks go Soldier, Elite, Centurion, and Warlord. There are ones above that, but I can¡¯t remember them. Not that it matters too much. Anything above Warlord could crush this small village in an instant. Even the clan elders couldn¡¯t stand up to it.¡± He said as he finished a row and started on the next.

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    ¡°Don¡¯t human¡¯s use the world essence for Martial arts though?¡± I asked confused. The world essence was kinda like magic. It had taken me a while to piece it out, since it wasn¡¯t something that was easy to explain, but it seemed to be some mystical power than covered the world. Everyone said that the marital artists absorbed it to strengthen themselves but for someone who grew up on earth the concept was pretty wild. Then again we didn¡¯t have 10 foot tall snake-wolves that could turn people to stone either.

    ¡°That¡¯s where summoned beasts come in. Legends say that long ago man could absorb the world¡¯s essence directly and use it to strengthen their bodies Qi. However, a powerful cultivator rose to unimaginable power and tried to topple the gods. To punish man for his hubris the gods corrupted the world essence and made human¡¯s unable to cultivate. The beasts continued to absorb the corrupted power and it warped their bodies and their minds. It made them powerful, but also twisted and violent.They attacked the humans and without power the human died by the millions.¡±

    ¡°When Banon, the God of Life, saw this tragedy he decided to give man a second chance. He gave humans the ability to cleanse the world essence and bind their souls to beasts. The beast can absorb the world¡¯s essence for the human and the human can cleanse it nurturing both bodies with clean essence. Only this way can man cultivate the arts and grow in power. Banon hoped this would lead man to value co-operation and peace¡­.¡± Dad explained. His expression grew bitter at the end of his explanation.

    ¡°How do you bind a beast?¡± I asked completely interested in the story. It was fascinating to learn the legends and history of another world. That and the information he gave me explained a lot about what I¡¯d seen. This world was an extremely dangerous place. No wonder the clan was hiding on a barren mountain instead of down the fetal valley.

    Dad let out a bitter laugh. ¡°That¡¯s the question every low caste child wants to know and that¡¯s why Banon¡¯s plan failed. In order to bind a beast one must have sufficient Qi. However, the only way to get enough Qi for that is to absorb a monster-core. However, even soldier ranked beasts are immensely powerful compared to man. Without cultivated strength killing one is impossible.¡±

    ¡°So the only people that can kill a monster are the people with bound beasts, and the only way to bind a beast is to kill a monster.¡± I nodded understanding.¡°So those with power keep it, and those without it get stepped on.¡± I said with a chuckle. Seems like this world and my old one aren''t much different after all.

    ¡°Exactly¡± Dad said sadly. ¡°People in the middle-caste are usually allowed to buy monster-cores for their children but the lower caste can never afford it.¡± Dad said sadly as he looked at me. I could tell he regretted he¡¯d never be able to give me a better life. That was every parent''s dream. I could still remember the look on my real mom¡¯s face when she was trying to help me pay for college. It was the same one my new father was wearing now.

    ¡°It¡¯s alright dad, I understand.¡± I said. As a gave him a pat on the back and started to hoe the field again.

    What I understood was I needed to get my grubby mitts on a monster-core. Other-wise I was going to spend my resurrected life hoeing fields and spreading monster-dung.

    ¡°I know that look son. I had the same one when I was your age. Dozens of the low-caste die every year in the forest looking for monster-cores. Sure someone happens upon a wounded or dying beast every decade or so, but most of the time they die. You¡¯ve already seen the kind of things that live in the forest. And even if you don¡¯t run across a high ranked beast, even a Soldier Ranked monster is more than even a skilled fighter can handle if he doesn¡¯t have enhanced strength from cultivation. A regular sword wouldn¡¯t even pierce their skin. ¡° He said in warning.

    I just nodded. What dad didn¡¯t know what that I was from a different world. Where I was from you could make a bomb that could blow-up a tank with ten bucks worth of chemicals. I was pretty sure I could come up with something that would kill a Soldier Ranked monster. Even without explosives it shouldn''t be too bad. I hadn¡¯t seen any warriors with a cross-bow yet. If I could get a some money I could have a smith make me one. I¡¯d have to design it for him probably or I could just get the metal and try to make it myself. Then again, maybe this world had some crazy materials for making weapons. Maybe a normal bow with a strong enough draw would work.

    Thoughts and ideas swirled through my mind as my brain started to churn up a plan.

    ********************************************************************************************************

    I spent the next few weeks with dad asking more questions and discarding ideas. Each plan I came up with was exceedingly dangerous and would most likely result in my demise. I still wasn¡¯t sure about how strong a Soldier rank beast really was and without specific information it was hard to plan effective trap.

    I was wondering aimlessly around the village while I continued to create and discard plans when I saw Shimak nearby. She was carrying a basket with some food in it and didn¡¯t seem to be aware of her surroundings. Her head was down and she looked so listless that I went over to her. I¡¯d lost my parents too after all.They hadn¡¯t died but I still could see them anymore,  I could sympathize with the girl a little.

    I walked next to her and gave her a slight bump with my shoulder. Her balance waved for a moment and she looked over at me with lifeless brown eyes.

    ¡°Oh¡­. It¡¯s you.¡± She said without a hint of emotion. I frowned slightly unsure how to proceed. My conversational skills with women were practically non-existent and my skills with children were even lower than that. I honestly had no idea how to handle this situation. So instead of saying something idiotic like ¡®what¡¯s the matter? I just kept my mouth shut and walked beside her.

    We continued like that for most of an hour before I realized she was walking us in circles. Apparently, she just didn¡¯t want to go home. After another few minutes I couldn¡¯t take the silence anymore.

    ¡°Common.¡± I said as I took the lead. She didn¡¯t look at me but she did follow. So I lead her to my favorite spot. It was down the mountain a mile or so from the village. There was a raised rock formation that jutted up from the rest of the stone and I¡¯d moved some of the smaller rocks around so they formed a bit of a seat. From the improvised chair you could see down the mountain and it offered a perfect view of the river and forest below. I lead her over the the chair and plopped down. There was just enough room for two of us to squeeze onto it.

    We sat their for a long time as the sun rose slowly towards its zenith. Then without warning the girl beside me started to sob loudly. She made long loud wails that echoed off the hard stone around us and filled the entire area with sounds of despair. She cried herself to exhaustion before she finally spoke in a croak.

    ¡°It¡¯s not fair. There taking mom away.¡± She said with a choked sob.

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± I asked puzzled. I was trying to figure out if I¡¯d misheard her but she quickly explained.

    ¡°Mom isn¡¯t from the Village. Dad found her wounded and alone when he was out on a hunt. He rescued her and brought her back the village. Dad married her and they had me but know that he¡¯s gone,  we¡¯ve got nothing. Mom can¡¯t cultivate at all and I never got my monster-core.¡± She told her story with tears running down her young face.

    ¡°One of the young masters from the Upper-caste wants mom as a mistress. Since she¡¯s an outsider she doesn¡¯t have any status at all and can¡¯t refuse, but the lord doesn¡¯t want a bastard daughter in his family so he¡¯s going to kick me out. Then I¡¯ll be alone and mom¡­¡­.¡± She broke down crying again, and I patted her back awkwardly as I tried to process everything she¡¯d said to me.

    That was a pretty screwed up situation even for this place. The strong really could do whatever the hell they wanted and no-one would say anything to them. The upper-class were a bunch of spoiled assholes. The problem was all of them had been cultivating since a young age and they could crush anyone who tried to stand up to them.

    I wanted to help the girl but I had nothing to offer. I was a low caste child. I had no money, no status, and no strength. I frowned and set my jaw. My determination to get a monster core was stronger than ever and the girl might be just the ticket I needed.

    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go¡± I said as I stood up. The girl followed without saying anything but she looked a little better now. Apparently she¡¯d needed to tell someone. I couldn¡¯t do much for her but sometimes you just need to talk to someone who gives a crap.

    We walked back up the mountain and though the low caste section before the middle area. I got a few frowns since I obviously didn¡¯t belong but continued as if I was oblivious to the glares. I¡¯d grown familiar with the village during my daily rambles and headed toward the eastern part of the village. The ring of hammers and smell of sawdust lead me until we came to the woodworking shop. Bows weren¡¯t a terribly popular weapon for most martial artists but I¡¯d seen the old man making one before.

    I walked up to the shop and stood outside like I was a customer. Shops in the village almost never got customers directly. Everything was property of the clan after all. Only occasionally would someone for the village try to barter.

    It only took a few minutes for the woodworker to notice me and as soon as he did his eyes went cold. He was a tall skinny man but still looked imposing. He he didn¡¯t have any tattoo''s I could see, so likely couldn¡¯t cultivate, but he was still fully groan while I was a shrimp. He had his black-hair clubbed back in a warrior''s knot and if he wasn¡¯t covered in sawdust he would have looked like some angry samurai lord.

    ¡°This isn¡¯t some playground kid, get the hell out of here.¡± He said dismissively as he turned back to his work.

    ¡°Respected elder, I¡¯ve come to request a boon.¡± This people here seemed to place a great deal of emphasis on rank, so I spoke in formal tones while being as respectful as a could. The man snorted disdainfully.

    ¡°And why should I give something to a low-caste brat like you. Leave now¡­.¡± He said angrily as he looked up from his work.

    ¡°The boon is not for me, it¡¯s for my friend.¡± I said as I drug over Shimak to stand next to me. ¡°Her father was killed during the last hunt and she wishes for a weapon to have her revenge.¡± The request was obviously ridiculous but I hoped he¡¯d think of it as youthful ignorance..  Hopefully the man might feel bad enough for the girl he¡¯d let me work off the price of the weapon over time.

    The man looked over to the girl with a scowl but as he saw her his expression softened. ¡°That hair¡­. Are you hefeng¡¯s daughter?¡± The man asked no longer cold and haughty..

    ¡°I was¡­.¡± The girl said as another tear slid down her cheek. I felt like such a dick using the girl''s grief for my gain, but good lord. She couldn¡¯t have nailed her part better if she practiced for a year.

    The man looked at her and his stony face cracked into a look of sympathy. My brother Banok, was on that hunt. Your father¡¯s sacrifice saved his life. ¡°Name your boon and you shall have it girl.¡±

    I was dumbstruck. This was way better than I¡¯d planned. I figured I¡¯d have to slave away for a year for the man to pay off the debt but instead he was going to give it to me. ¡°Respected elder, She requires a bow, one strong enough to slay a Soldier Ranked beast. Only then will she be able to gain the power she needs for vengeance.¡± I said solemnly.

    The man looked at me incredulously. ¡°There¡¯s now way she could use a bow with that much draw even the weakest Soldier ranked beast would need at least a hundred fifty pound bow, You¡¯d need one over 200 to be safe. Even if there we ten of you, you wouldn¡¯t be able to pull it.¡± I winced inwardly. That was a lot. I was hoping 150 would be towards the top-end not the bottom.

    I walked over toward the older man and whispered conspiratorially. ¡°I know her request is unreasonable but she needs a goal. If you give her a bow she can¡¯t pull she¡¯ll work hard to improve her strength every day. Even if she never succeeds it will still do her good.¡±

    The man looked thoughtful for a moment then nodded resolved. ¡°If the daughter of my brothers savior wished for a bow that would slay a god then I Granok would build it. You shall have your bow girl.¡±

    I raised an eyebrow at the outburst but couldn¡¯t conceal my happiness. I grabbed Shimak and tugged her away from the shop before the man changed his mind.

    ¡°What was the point of all that?¡± Shimak asked as we made our escape. ¡°I never said anything about wanting vengeance. Against a centurion ranked beast even the clan head would be outmatched.¡±

    ¡°Look,¡± I said stopping in the gap between two huts. ¡°If you and your mom separate your going to end up in the low caste. Without cultivation your life will be awful beyond imagining. You¡¯ll spend every day doing back-breaking work and things will only be worse for you at night.¡± The girl wasn¡¯t a beauty but compared to most of the low caste women she was gem. The world would not be kind to her when she grew a few years older.

    ¡°You and I both need the same thing. Power, and to get power we need to kill a beast. Can you kill a beast?¡± The girl scowled at my question but answered.

    ¡°Dad taught me to use an axe and I¡¯m pretty good, but it would be useless against a beast.¡± She said not understanding. ¡°Neither of us can pull that bow, both of us together can¡¯t pull it, even an adult couldn¡¯t pull it. What exactly do you plan to do?¡±

    I smiled at the girl as she finished her rant. ¡°Obviously, we cheat.¡±

 Chapter 2: Thunder-Boar

    I continued to lead Shimak  around the village as the day wore on. We made two more stops. One to visit the crotchety old rope maker and another for the blacksmith. The rope maker was surprisingly generous and said we could have all the rope we wanted. The blacksmith was kind of a jerk. He was interested in my crude pulley design but he still ordered Skimak and I to haul fuel for his forge for a month in payment for the block and tackle I wanted.

    ¡°Why did I promise to haul coke for a month again?¡± Shimak grumbled as we struggled to push the hand-cart we were using up the mountain. It was the first really hot day of the year and we were both miserable.

    ¡°For a monster-core.¡± I said for at least the dozenth time today.  She didn¡¯t understand the plan and had been bugging me relentlessly for the last two weeks.

    ¡°I still don¡¯t get it¡­¡± She said exasperated. I¡¯d been trying to explain mechanical advantage to her for a while, but I lacked both the vocabulary and the patience. Today we were finally planning to sneak off to the forest to start setting things up. I figured we had about a 30% chance to be eaten.

    I grunted as I heaved the cart over a small rock. ¡°I told you¡­.. I¡¯ll be easier to show you.¡± I said between pants. I was wiping the sweat off my brow when Shimak groaned.

    ¡°What is it?¡± I asked curiously as she put her head down and tried to look inconspicuous.

    ¡°It¡¯s Kalar.¡± She said the name like I curse and I looked up to see a group of youths heading down the mountain towards us. They were of various sizes and sexes but the boy in the center was a head taller than the others and very muscular for a youth. He was wearing a sleeveless shirt in the heat degree weather and it showed off the small tattoo on his right arm. He had a baby face that looked rather comical with his large build and short dark brown hair.

    They youth caught sight of us and headed our direction. I winced inwardly. I hadn¡¯t had much interaction with any of the village children besides Shimak  but i¡¯d been to grade school. I knew what a bully looked like.

    The youth swaggered over to us with his cronies in tow. There were quite a few girls in the group. Surprisingly there was very little sexism between cultivators. The village had nearly as many female warriors as males and from the interactions I¡¯d seen they were treated identically. That wasn¡¯t true for the normal village women but once you bound a beast it seemed to put everyone one on equal social station.

    ¡°Hey, it¡¯s carrot-head and her little pet.¡± The youth taunted loudly. The jibe set off the obligatory guffawing from his gang and the large boy grinned at his own wit.

    ¡°Wow¡­ I¡¯ve never heard that one before.¡± Shimak replied with an eye roll.

    The large boys face grew red after his insult failed to have its intended effect. ¡°You better be more polite. I¡¯m Body ranked warrior now.¡± The boy said as he took a menacing step forward. I wasn¡¯t sure how high Body rank was, but if the size of his tattoo was any indication it shouldn¡¯t be that high.

    Shimak snorted loudly. ¡°You bound a shale-hound. That barely even counts, and you''re still at the Muscle stage. I could still take you and I never got my monster-core.¡± The girl replied confidently.

    The boys already red face purpled and he took a long lunge forward and threw a wild-right hook. Shimak reacted instantly, obviously suspecting the attack. She took her own lunge forward and swayed slightly as she dodged the larger boys punch before slamming her extended leg¡¯s heel down onto the boy¡¯s foot. He started to double over but the motion was interrupted as Shimak moved inside his guard. She twisted slightly with a fluid motion and threw a palm strike up into the boys descending head. The blow caught him on the tip of the chin and the sound his teeth made as they slammed back together made everyone watching the fight wince.

    The boy yelled out in pain and fell over as his hands covered his mouth. I could see blood between his fingers but Shimak acted as if the fight had never happened and started pushing our cart again. The stunned kids from Kalar¡¯s group moved aside and let her pass without challenge.

    I just gaped at her like a landed fish. The casual brutality of her counter attack had me feeling leery of the girl.

    ¡°Did you have to hit him so hard?¡± I asked shocked.

    ¡°Yes, she replied as she rubbed her right hand and wrist as if they pained her.¡± Although Kalar¡¯s is weak for a cultivator he is still a cultivator and his shale-hound is a rock-type beast. Rock-type cultivators are extremely difficult to hurt. I hit him as hard as I could but I would have gotten the worse end of the deal if he hadn''t had his mouth open like an idiot. His martial arts are terrible but if he keeps cultivating I won''t be his match for much longer.¡± She explained. I could hear the resignation in her voice.

    ¡°What do Body rank and Muscle stage mean?¡± I asked. The terms were unfamiliar and Shimak seemed to know a great deal about it.

    ¡°Cultivators are divided into ranks. Body is the lowest, Then Spirit and Sage. I¡¯m not sure after that, it¡¯s either King or Prophet I think¡­... I can never keep them straight. Anyway¡­. Within the Body rank they are three sub-ranks. Muscle, Blood, and Bone. A Muscle stage cultivator is only about twice as strong as a non-cultivator. That difference can still be made up with form and skill. Blood stage is twice as strong as Muscle and Bone is twice as Strong as Blood.¡± I nodded in understanding. At least the ranks seemed to be fairly logical.

    ¡°How long will it take him to reach Blood stage¡± I asked fearfully. I wasn¡¯t upset anymore that she¡¯d beat him up. He had started it ,but soon he¡¯d be more  powerful and that would be very bad.

    ¡°Depends on a lot of things. Every person¡¯s cultivation is different and there are a lot of factors that go into it. Their talent in cultivation, the quality of their beasts, which cultivation path they choose, if they consume monster-cores or not, and about a dozen other things.¡± She took a breath before continuing.

    ¡°In Kalar¡¯s case probably not very quickly. One, cultivation is boring and requires a great deal of focus and concentration and Kalar doesn¡¯t seem the type to adapt very well to it. Two his shale-hound is one of the more common and least powerful beasts. Most shale-hounds only have a single cultivation path and it¡¯s usually a bad one. Why anyone would take a Shale-hound as one of their soul-beasts is completely beyond me. Unless he found same rare and special shale hound I¡¯d guess at least another year to Blood stage and probably another five years to Bone. After that things get much more difficult. Nearly a third of all cultivators never make it to  Spirit rank and in a weak clan like this that number is closer to two-thirds.¡±

    I just nodded as I tried to process all the information. The whole thing seemed needlessly complex to me but at least it was somewhat logical. I followed Shimak back to the village to dump off our load of coal-coke to the Blacksmith. The villages stores were on the very edge of the village and pushing a cart that far had left us both tired and sore.

    ¡°Are you sure we have time to start setting up today? It¡¯s almost noon already.¡± Shimak asked as she looked up at the sun.

    ¡°Mom told me not to worry about coming back for dinner tonight. Mom and dad have been making googly eyes at each other all week, so I doubt they¡¯ll miss me as long as I come back before it''s too late.¡±  I said with a snort. Skimak looked at me puzzled but I wasn¡¯t going to explain it to her.

    After dropping off the coal-coke we left the village. We took the long way around to avoid Kalar and his gang and made it down the the river just before mid-afternoon. Then we started the long process of loading all the equipment we¡¯d stashed down here into the boats.

    ¡°Are you sure this is ok?¡± I asked as we dumped our rope, pulleys, nails, tools, and finally the bow into the boat.

    ¡°Yeah, I talked to dad¡¯s old sergeant about it. He tried to talk me out of it of course but he said it would be fine as long as we brought it back.¡± Shimak said as she pushed us out into the swift current.

    The boat wobbled for a moment before the current sucked us up and started to push us rapidly down-stream. I put an oar in the water and started to row us toward the other bank. With my meager strength we ended up nearly a mile downstream before we made it across.

    As we stepped onto the far bank all my senses went into high alert. It was like an entirely new world. Even the air felt different on this side of the river.  I looked up into the ridiculously tall trees as I stepped into the speckled sunlight beneath the high canopy. The place was eerily silent.

    The normal calls of birds and animals I¡¯d have heard in a normal forest back on Earth were gone. Instead there was only the rustle of the wind as it blew through the trees. We walked for a about a quarter mile in silence with our ears strained for the slightest noise.

    ¡°What are we looking for¡± Shimak whispered as we continued forward. I had us weaving a circuitous path through the trees as I inspected each one.

    ¡°We need a tree. One with a low branch we can climb to, but it has to be a strong branch that will hold a lot of weight.¡± I said in a normal voice. I figured the beasts would smell us long before they heard us so I saw little point in staying silent. Besides we were going to be making quite a bit of noise one we got started anyway.

    ¡°How about that one?¡± Shimak asked pointing to a large tree with blue-green leaves. Most of it¡¯s branches were over a hundred feet up, but it had one thick branch that protruded out about twenty feet above our heads.

    ¡°Gonna be hard to climb.¡± I said as I grabbed a small flint hatchet I¡¯d found in our hut and started to hack at the tree.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± She asked incredulous as I hit the tree over and over with my small hatchet.

    ¡°Trying to make hand and footholds. How else are we going to climb up?¡± I asked as I continued my work.

    Shimak sighed and grabbed a long rope then looped it around the trees wide trunk. The trunk was easily eight or nine feet in diameter. Then once she¡¯d circumnavigated the tree she grabbed both ends of the rope and flicked her wrists. The rope rose with the motion and she pulled it tight once it had raised up a good five feet. Then she stepped onto the trunk and started to walk up the tree using the ropes tension to hold her up. When she climbed as far as she could she leapt upwards and flicked the rope again, as the tension went out of it. The rope moved farther up again and she pulled it tight again.  In a few minutes of repeated action she was standing on top of the branch and looking at me with a smug expression.

    Christ¡­ The girl was like a miniature ninja. If she ever did mange to start cultivating she¡¯d be a bad-ass.

    ¡°Impressive¡­¡± I said giving her a thumbs up. ¡°Now tie off the rope and climb down.¡± I said as I drug the rest of the equipment closer. Then we started to build.

    I¡¯d been planning this for weeks so I hadn¡¯t skipped out on the design phase. The problem was the tools I had to work with were extremely primitive not to mention I wasn¡¯t exactly a craftsmen. I¡¯d have killed for a circular saw or some screws.

    What I was planning was pretty simple. Basically I was just going to make a wooden frame to stabilize the bow. Then I¡¯d hook up the block and tackle to the bow string so we could pull it. It wouldn¡¯t be pretty but all we really needed was for it to be stable enough to consistently hit a single spot. Then we lure a beast over release the rope, and pray.

    The work was taking much longer than I¡¯d imagined and it was nearing dusk when I decided we better head back to the village. I did NOT want to  be in the forest after dark. We left everything where it was, and made it back to the village just as night fell. As I suspected mom wasn¡¯t mad at all about me being late and happily fixed me a late dinner.

    I had just started to eat when there when Shimak called out to me from outside our hut. Mom inviter her in and I could tell instantly that something had happened. Her face was red from crying and she had a large red-mark over her right eye that was starting to bruise.

    ¡°What happened?¡¯ I said as she sat down on our dirt floor.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t tell you but the man my mom is with now is Kalar¡¯s uncle. Kalar told his uncle we attacked him today and he finally threw me out.¡± She said as she cried.

    I looked over to mom and her expression fell. I could tell she wanted to take the girl in but we barely had enough food for the three of us. She wouldn¡¯t be able to feed another mouth.

    Shimak saw her expression and quickly said. ¡°I can pay. When mom found out what happened she made Frinar gave me money for food. The girl reached into her pocket and pulled out two big handfuls of ration tokens.

    Ration tokens were the tribes primary currency for the middle and lower castes. Each one could be traded for grain, salt, and a small portion of beast meat. It was usually enough to feed a small family for a week, and the girl had nearly a hundred. To one of the upper class it was pocket change but it would feed our entire family for more than a year.  It was probably more wealth than mom had ever seen.

    ¡°Bless you girl¡­¡­¡± Mom said with tears in her eyes. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I know your friends with Chok and I should have said yes right away.¡± Mom and Shimak hugged while as they both cried. I on the other hand I just felt relived. Shimak was my only real friend since I¡¯d come here, and I was glad she could stay with us.

    ********************************************************************************

    The next week proceeded uneventfully. Shimak and I would spend our morning slaving for the smith then run down to the forest to continue building our beast slaying contraption. However today we were finally finished and it was time for the first test.

    ¡°Hows does this thing work again.¡± Shimak asked as she looked up at our creation. It was pretty sad looking. It was basically just a triangle of wooden braces with the bow in the middle. It was lopsided and ricket and looked like it would snap apart the first time we used it.

    ¡°Were pulling the bow thirty jot.¡± A jot was the measurement the tribe used. It was about a tenth of a foot. ¡°However we¡¯re pulling the rope a hundred-twenty jot. That means the pull for us will only be a quarter of the actual weight. It should be a quarter anyway. ¡° The pulleys the smith had made we pretty bad. I wasn¡¯t expecting them to be as good as they were back on earth but these were a whole new level of bad. We¡¯d be lucky if we could pull the bow at all.

    ¡°I don¡¯t get it.¡± She said as she moved in behind me to grab the rope.

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter, just pull.¡± I said as we both pitted our strength against the rope. Shimak was quite a bit stronger than me sadly but the bow creaked and moaned as we pulled. The bow was a work of art. It was made from polished dark wood had been made for Shiamak''s small frame. However the bowyer had been true to his word and the draw was ridiculously hard.

    ¡°Heave!¡± I cried as I tugged with all my feeble might. Inexorably the bow drew back and when it was pulled as far as we could manage I tied off the rope. Both Shimak and I were panting heavily when we finished but we managed it.

    ¡°Alright, Go stick the arrow on the string and we¡¯ll fire this baby.¡± I said as I leaned back against the tree to catch my breath. I¡¯d no sooner relaxed when Shimak shouted from above me.

    ¡°Look out!¡± She cried as a ball of teeth and claws fell on top of me. The thing screeched and began to scratch the ever-living shit out of me. I screamed liked a girl and tried to fling what ever it was off me. We struggled for a few moments before I managed to dislodge it.  It landed on the ground a few feet away from me and hissed angrily. Unfortunately for it, it was standing perfectly on the ¡®X¡¯ I had drawn to indicate where the bow was aimed. With a grin I kicked the rope and knocked it loose from where it was tied. The bow went off.

    The arrow¡¯s flight was too fast to even see but It blew completely through the small creature and pinned it to the ground. Iit kicked feebly for a few seconds before stilling.

    Shimak had already jumped down and stared at the now dead animal with wide eyes.

    ¡°Told you it would work.¡± I said with a grin as I walked over to look at our prize. It looked sorta like a squirrel, but it¡¯s claws were much longer and they had done a number on my face. My head and upper arms were covered in shallow scratches and bled freely. None of them were serious but they hurt like hell.

    You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

    ¡°You idiot! That was a timber-rat.¡± I frowned confused by her tone..

    ¡°Timber-rats make great soul-beats if we could have captured it we would have made a fortune. We could have easily traded it for monster-cores for both of us.¡± She said as she looked at me horrified.

    I inspected the small animal again. It didn¡¯t look very special. It really did look like a normal squirrel.¡±What¡¯s so good about it?¡±

    ¡°Firstly it¡¯s has the wood element, which lets people cultivate improved healing, and they are extremely nimble. As they evolve they have some very powerful evolutions They are practically the perfect starter beast.¡± She said exasperated.

    ¡°I¡¯m guessing it¡¯s not soldier rank?. I asked hopefully.

    Skimak snorted. ¡±Yeah right, if a Soldier ranked beast fell on your head it would no longer be attached to your shoulders.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s dinner now¡± I said with a shrug. It was hard to miss something I¡¯d never had in the first place. Besides if it was that easy to catch they wouldn¡¯t be worth so much.

    ¡°We could sell it¡­. Fresh meat is worth quite a bit.¡± She said with a question.

    ¡°Screw that, We¡¯re eating it..¡± I said firmly. I hadn¡¯t had real meat since I came here. The family always ended up with dried stuff or scraps that mom had to turn into broth. My mouth was nearly watering at the thought of some fresh grilled meat. Even if it was a rat.

    It took nearly five minutes for me to pry the arrow out of the ground. The bow was ridiculously powerful and the arrow had buried itself to the fletching.

    ¡°I¡¯ll climb up and unstring the bow. You can get the boat ready.¡± I said as we got ready to leave.

    ¡° I¡±ll do it. You climb like a dragon-turtle. Watching you is painful.¡± She teased as climbed the rope like a monkey.

    ¡°Well, fine then.¡± I said as I headed towards the boats with dinner in hand.

    ************************************************************************************

    When mom saw my face she was furious. She yelled at me for at least an hour then yelled at Shimak for not stopping me from going into the woods. She did cook the timber-rat though which tasted much better than I imagined.

    Apparently beast meat contains trace amounts of world essence, which makes it very nutritional and since the meat was fresh it had more in it then the stuff we got normally. I understood now why the upper caste always hogged all the fresh meat. To punish me for going into the forest mom used some of dads hard liquor to disinfect the scratches. The stuff was practically diesel fuel and it felt like I¡¯d set my face on fire when she wiped it onto my wounds.

    Shimak and I spent the next week planning for the last stage of our mission. We continued to haul coke for the smith and did our best to stay away from Kalar and company. The village held a martial arts tournament once a season and the next one was in a few days. Shimak and I were going to use it as an excuse to sneak away for the whole day so we had time to find a beast.

    The tournament was a major event in the village. As isolated as the village was the seasonal tournament was always popular. The booze and bets were already flowing freely as Shimak and I met up around mid-morning..

    They had set up a sparring ring in the main house''s courtyard. And the entire village was surrounding it as they prepared for the first fighters to come out. Skimak and I ignored the entire affair and headed down the mountain to the boats before we crossed the river into the forest.

    The forest was as silent as ever as we made our way to the tree. Shimak re-strung the bow and with our combined efforts we managed to pull it and tie off the rope. It was a shame we couldn¡¯t come up with a trigger, but I wasn¡¯t mechanically savvy enough to rig one I had faith in. So tieing off the rope was the best we could manage.

    ¡°You sure you want to do this?¡± Shimak asked as we finished setting everything up. The plan was a simple one. We find a Soilder ranked beast. Then get its attention and run like hell. One of us lures it over the ¡®X¡¯ and the other lets loose the rope. It was simplicity itself but honestly our chances weren¡¯t very good.

    In fact I¡¯d say we had only about a 10% chance of success and about a 20% chance of survival..  The bow was powerful enough to hurt a Solder-ranked beast but we had to do enough damage to it in one shot that it wouldn¡¯t kill both Shimak and I. Bows are good but it usually requires quite a hits to bring down something large.

    Unless we hit something vital we were probably dead, but I¡¯d already died one. honestly , it wasn¡¯t as bad as everyone let on. I sure as hell wasn¡¯t spending my life as a peasant and life would be even more unpleasant for Shimak. The girl was a great fighter but without cultivation her talent was useless and she was pretty enough to attract the wrong sort of attention once she grew up.

    ¡°I¡¯m sure.¡± I said firmly.¡± Are you sure you wanna do this? We will probably both die.¡± I asked as I met her brown eyes with my blue ones.

    ¡°A warrior can fear for her comrades and her family but she must never fear death.¡± Shimak replied seriously.

    ¡°Alright, you''re faster than me. So you should release the rope since you¡¯ll get back first and will have more time to get into position.¡± I said as we set off into the trees.

    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t I lure it, since I have a better chance of not dieing?¡± She asked.

    ¡°Normally yes, but since you wouldn¡¯t let me stay behind at the tree we¡¯ll have to do it this way. You''re going to have to flee ahead of me and get into position while I lure the beast over the right spot.¡± She grunted disapprovingly but fell into step beside me.

    We actually encountered quite a few small beasts but only one of them attacked. The small beasts weren¡¯t as violent as the larger ones and would normally avoid conflict against something that was larger than them. Shimak killed the one that did attack with a small knife she¡¯d brought with her.

    We could only cover a small area of the forest and mostly wandered around in circles. If we attracted a beast too far from the tree it would catch us before we could run. So the area we could work with was limited. We wasted the entire morning with no luck. It wasn¡¯t until mid-afternoon that our persistence paid off.

    We¡¯d decided to head out slightly further and I had gotten tangled in a berry bush. They berries weren¡¯t ripe but the thorns were still working, and I¡¯d gotten pretty scratched while Shimak had laughed at me. I was still picking thorns out of my clothing when Shimak went very still. I was oblivious to her change in attitude and was still swearing under my breath when she hit me and motioned for me to stay silent.

    In a copse of pines up ahead there was a large boar with extremely bristling looking hair. It¡¯s fur was dark red with black patterns on the side that resembled fat lightning bolts. Shimak leaned over to me and whispered softly.

    ¡°Walk away slowly. We need to get out of here.¡± She said quickly and I looked at her puzzled before I whispered back.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t this exactly what we wanted?¡± I asked incredulous. The boar was massive and obviously a ranked beast.

    ¡°Look at the size of that thing. It has to be close to Elite rank there¡¯s no way we can kill it.¡± She whispered furiously. ¡°We need to go before it sees us.¡±

    ¡°Too late.¡± I said in a normal voice and she looked back to the boar and froze. It was staring at both of us with what I swear was incredulity. The emotion was so human it made me freeze for a moment. Even the boar seemed to think we were idiots.

    ¡°Blood and Bile!¡± Shimak swore savagely.

    She immediately turned and sprinted towards the tree and I followed without a second glance at the boar. It let out a squeal so loud it hurt my ears and then the sound of it¡¯s thundering hooves echoed through the previously silent forest. .

    Shimak had a dozen steps on me and was getting further ahead. So that part of the plan was going well. On the other hand it sounded like the boar was closing rapidly but I wasn¡¯t going to slow down to look. Instead I gritted my teeth and poured on all the speed I could muster.

    Shimak reached the tree first and headed for the rope before spinning to look at where I was. At the same time I was on a dead-sprint for the ¡®X¡¯ I was still a good twenty yards away but the look on Shimak¡¯s face told me I wasn¡¯t going to make it in time. I mentally counted to five as I approached then leapt into the air when I was still a few meters short. I knew that the boars hooves would smash me to paste if I landed under it. I just hoped I wouldn¡¯t break too many bones when I landed.

    The boar hit me like a train. There was a loud snap and my whole body seized up as I spun wildly through the air. I heard a loud squeal as I cartwheeled crazily through the air, but I had bigger problems. The hit had knocked me up a good ten feet up and when I hit the ground the lights went out.

    **************************************************************

    I awoke to darkness and my first thought was that I¡¯d died again. However soon Shimak¡¯s face popped into view and I tried to set-up.

    ¡°Just sit still you''re really hurt.¡± She said as she knelt beside me. We were still by the tree but darkness had fallen. I must have been out for hours.

    ¡°What happened¡± I asked numbly as my body protested even speech.

    ¡°You were too slow and the boar got you.¡± She said worriedly. ¡°Your leg is broken and you¡¯ve got burns all over. The thunder-boar hit you with it¡¯s lighting I¡¯m surprised you''re even alive.¡±  That would explain why my leg and back hurt so badly at least. And seriously what kind of boar gets to throw lighting?

    ¡°Did we get it?¡± I asked hopefully.

    She made a vague gesture with her hands. ¡°Sort of.... I got distracted when it hit you and was too slow with the release. Instead of hitting it in the head I got it in the spine. It¡¯s crippled but alive.

    ¡°That¡¯s something. At least. I¡¯d hate to be maimed for a miss.¡± I said sarcastically. ¡°We should finish it off, it¡¯s blood will attract more beats here. We need to leave soon.¡±

    ¡°Ya think? I was waiting till you woke up. I figured I¡¯d leave it like that for a while anyway. It¡¯ll be weaker now. ¡± She said as she stood up. She pulled the small knife she had on her belt and walked towards the boar.

    ¡°You sure that¡¯s a good idea?¡± I asked as she approached it.

    ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°Using a metal weapon against a beast that can use lightning seems like a bad idea.¡± I said reasonably.

    She frowned for a moment then picked up a rock. She walked out of my vision but soon I could hear more squeals and dull thumping noises. I swear she must have hit the thing a hundred times before it finally went quiet. Then there was a few ugly squelching noises and then Shimak appeared covered in blood and holding a yellow crystal the size of a golf-ball.

    ¡°Is that it¡¯s core?¡± I asked with interest.

    ¡°Yep¡± She tried to hand it to me but I pushed it away.

    ¡°You take it. You¡¯re way better at martial arts. You can cultivate up and then we can kill another one for me.¡±  I said, but she shook her head.

    ¡°This was your idea and you got hurt. If you absorb the core it¡¯ll help heal your wounds. You don¡¯t want that leg to set badley or you¡¯ll be crippled.¡± She said.

    ¡°Can we share it?¡± I asked. I knew you had to eat the core but I didn¡¯t know how the process worked after that.

    She looked at me startled for a moment before she blushed deeply.

    ¡°I¡¯m missing something obvious aren''t I?¡± I asked suspicious.

    She bit her lip as she looked at me for a moment then nodded. ¡°Actually that might be for the best. That thunder-boar was really strong. The arrow only penetrated it a inch or so. If It hadn¡¯t hit a gap in it¡¯s spine it definitely would have just bounced off. This core probably has too much essence for someone who has never cultivated. It could damage your meridians if you tried to absorb all of it.¡± I just looked at her and she swallowed nervously before her jaw set and she swallowed the crystal.

    She sat down immediately and made a few hand seals before she closed her eyes. She sat like that for almost ten minutes before she suddenly stood up and walked over next to me. Then without warning she pinched my nose closed and pressed her mouth over mine.

    I inhaled reflexively, completely flabbergasted by her action. She breathed out into my mouth at the same moment and my whole body seized up as the recycled air hit my lungs. It was like inhaling a ball of lighting. I could feel the energy inside me. It was wild and powerful and seemed to be trying to burst out of me.

    Shimak shouted as I twitched spasmodically. ¡°Focus¡­.. Make the hand seals. You need to start cleansing the energy before it does any permanent damage. She met my gaze and slowly made the hand-seals in front of me. I tried to focus my mind and copied the motions. I must have succeeded because the energy inside my seemed to flow into a ball in the middle of my chest.

    ¡°Now can you feel the energy?¡± She asked as she stood over my prone form.

    ¡°Yes¡± I said baffled. This had to be one of the most crazy things that had ever happened to me. I mean I always knew on an intellectual level that this world wasn¡¯t anything like Earth, but the feeling of this alien power inside me was so far removed from anything I¡¯d experienced.

    ¡°Good, now move the power through your meridians until it¡¯s purified. Then move it into your Lower Dantain.¡± She said while I was still trying to figure out what the hell was going on.

    ¡°Move it though what and then to where?¡± I asked stupidly. Honestly, not going overall this before hand was a massive oversight on my part.

    Shimak looked at me as if I was an idiot. ¡°Don¡¯t you know anything about martial arts?¡± She asked stunned.

    ¡°Not even a little.¡± I said honestly. I¡¯d lived in America my whole life. I knew completely jack-all about Asian medicine and Qi. ¡°Give me the 10 second version. This energy is starting to get painful again.¡±

    She shook her head and looked at me as if I¡¯d just asked her to pull the moon down from the sky. ¡°Okay, The energy is probably in your chest right now, right? Thats your Middle Dantain. Now you should be able to feel a bunch of small paths that branch off from that area. Those are your meridians. They lead all over your body. You need to push the power through those channels until it¡¯s purified then move it to your Lower Dantian. That¡¯s just behind your navel.¡± She explained quickly.

    I didn¡¯t waste any time and did as she said. I closed my eyes and started to pull off tiny bits of power from the ball and push them into my meridians. I continued until the ball of power was completely spread around my body. Then started to slowly circulate it. The longer I did it the less wild the power felt and soon it started to give off a soothing feeling that energized my whole body.

    I kept at it and fell into a sort of half-sleeping state as I kept circulating the energy. When I could no longer feel any wildness at all I pushed all of the energy into my lower dantian like Shimak had said. It formed into a sort of cloud that slowly revolved there and I finally opened my eyes.

    The night was starting to brighten to the east and Shimak was sitting next to me with her legs folded and her hands still making the seal. I tried to set-up again and this time succeeded. I tried not to disturb Shimak as I looked around. The area was exactly the same as it had been but my vision had become much sharper. There was only a hint of light but I could still see decently in the dark now. It was very odd but not unpleasant. I stretched a little and a bolt of pain shot through my leg. However, the pain from my burns was significantly diminished from when I¡¯d started.

    Shimak¡¯s eye¡¯s popped open a few minutes later and she looked at me and smiled. It was full of pure joy and my heart fluttered just a bit at the sheer happiness in it. That girl was going to be a handful when she grew up.

 Chapter 3: Worst Beast Ever

    We left the gear where it was but with my broken leg we didn¡¯t make it back to our hut until almost mid-morning. Cali was outside the hut looking frantic and when she saw us she rushed over and hugged me hard enough to hurt.

    ¡°Where have you been all-night? What¡¯s¡­... Your hurt? You went back into the forest didn¡¯t you? You lied to me yesterday! You didn¡¯t go watch the tournament at all did you?¡± She shouted. Her relief instantly replaced with righteous anger.

    ¡°We did.¡± I said honestly. It seemed pointless to lie about it after all.

    ¡°And your leg¡­.. I knew you¡¯d get hurt, you won''t be able to walked for weeks and you''ll be twelve soon. What will the clan do when they find out you can¡¯t work.¡± She said worriedly as she looked at my injured leg.

    ¡°I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll have quite a few interesting things to say.¡± I said with a grin. ¡°We actually did it mom!¡±

    Her face turned a few odd colors and she looked at Shimak and I with horror. ¡°You ¡­. What?¡±

    I cocked my head sideways in puzzlement. Then laughed when I figured it out why he looked like that. ¡°We didn¡¯t do IT. We killed a beast. We can bind a soul-beast now.¡± I said with a chuckle. ¡°Shimak and I can become warriors and move up to the middle caste.¡± I said with genuine relief. It had taken nearly a month to accomplish but two children had managed to kill a Soldier rank beast.

    Mom¡¯s look of horror changed into one of incredulity. ¡°But¡­. How? You''re just kids. Most of the villages adult warriors couldn¡¯t fight a Soldier ranked beast. You two can¡¯t even cultivate.¡±

    ¡°Mostly luck but also physics.¡± I said as I pushed past her and into the hut. Walking up the mountain on one leg was causing it to cramp and I really needed to sit down.

    Shimak and mom trailed me inside and I slumped onto my bed. Then carefully arranged my leg so it was stable and wouldn¡¯t move too much. Mom and Skimak followed me in and mom started cooking breakfast while she peppered us with more questions.

    ¡°What¡¯s  physics?¡± Mom asked. I¡¯d used the English word since the language they spoke here didn¡¯t have anything similar.

    Shimak rolled her eyes. ¡° Don¡¯t ask. He¡¯s been trying to explain it to me for a month and I still don¡¯t get it.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll have to tell your father when he gets back. He¡¯ll be so happy.¡± Mom said as she handed Shimak and I some fresh bread as she continued to cook.

    However, when dad finally did get home he wasn¡¯t ecstatic at all. In fact he looked more haggard and worried than usual.

    ¡°You really killed a thunder-boar and absorbed it¡¯s core?¡± He asked after Shimak and I told our story. I could tell from his tone he was taking this very seriously.

    ¡°Yes¡­.?¡± I said carefully.

    He sighed deeply. ¡°I knew you were showing too much interest with all those questions you were asking, but I didn¡¯t think you¡¯d actually try it.  And I¡¯d never have guessed in my wildest dreams that you would succeed.¡± He ran a hand through his hair and sighed. ¡°You kids can¡¯t tell anyone about this. Not the other kids, not Shimak¡¯s mother noone¡­... If someone from the upper caste finds out you killed a peak-Soldier ranked beast and didn¡¯t give them the core they¡¯ll be hell to pay. You¡¯ll be lucky to escape with your lives.¡± He said looking from Skimak to me in turn.

    ¡°Won¡¯t they be happy to have more warrior¡¯s? They lost so many on the last hunt.¡± Shimak said confused. It was clear she didn¡¯t understand but I was beginning to. I hadn¡¯t thought the problem all the way through in my haste to get a core, but hearing dad speak the picture was starting to come together.

    ¡°They don¡¯t want random low caste becoming warriors.¡± I said now understanding. ¡°Their entire caste system is supposedly based off of martial arts talent. If the rest of the low caste find out anyone can cultivate it¡¯ll will undermine the entire caste system. Not to mention they probably wanted the core for one of their own children, or even themselves if that core was as powerful as you said it was. With you it won''t be so bad, since your dad was a warrior and pretty strong but I¡¯m a farmer''s son. They would try to undermine me at every opportunity and might even try and kill me if it turns out I¡¯m any good at it. ¡°

    Dad looked at me oddly for a moment, obviously confused about how a child would understand. However, I¡¯d already been through one life and one thing remained constant across worlds. Those with power always care more about keeping it than they do about anything else.

    Shimak looked stubborn. ¡°I won''t tell anyone but I¡¯m still going to find a beast and it¡¯ll be a way better one than Kalar¡¯s shale-hound.¡±

    *************************************************************************

    Shimak had splinted my leg with a few sticks in the forest, and after dad had traded a ration token for a decent crutch I could use, I was mobile again. Shimak and I had to buy off the smith with a couple more tokens to get out of coal-hauling duty but with my bum leg I couldn¡¯t work anyway.

    My burns healed surprisingly fast and in two weeks I didn¡¯t even have scars. My leg took much longer and it was nearly another month before It could support any weight. As badly as I¡¯d broken it the speed of healing was pretty miraculous but Shimak told me it was because of the Essence I¡¯d absorbed.

    ¡°So how do you bind a beast anyway?¡± I asked when I could finally stand on my own again. My twelfth birthday had come and went and Shimak and I were finally going to head back to the forest to get our gear. Mom and dad had to pay a token for every week I didn¡¯t work but they had plenty now and weren''t worried.

    ¡°There are a few ways but usually it¡¯s done by tempting the beast with your purified essence then aligning your energies with it¡¯s soul. Once you¡¯ve matched wavelengths you can pull the beast into your body. That¡¯s the least forceful and allows the user the best initial connection with the beast.¡±

    ¡°What do?¡± I started but she cut me off.

    ¡°The stronger your connection with the beast the more able you are to absorb essence from it and the more benefits you¡¯ll receive from cultivation. That¡¯s why essence alignment is usually the best way, but you can also forcefully bind a beast if you''re strong enough. That would let you bind a more powerful beast directly instead of having to start with a baby and evolve it like most people do. However, that makes you start out with a very bad connection to the beast and it takes time and effort to strengthen it. ¡°

    ¡°So if you were strong enough you could just walk up to that thunder-boar beat it up and enslave it?¡± I asked stunned.

    ¡°Pretty much, although it would take someone really strong to dominate a beast like that. It¡¯s about ten times easier to kill it than it would be to bind it.  At least a low Sage rank. The last method is both the simplest and least useful. It¡¯s done by simply pressing a drop of your blood onto one of the beasts Qi points. When that happens you start a battle of wills with the creature. If you win it¡¯s bound to you and you get a good connection. If you lose then it the beast will forcefully steal all of you stored world essence.¡±

    ¡°So it¡¯s an insane do or die method.¡± I asked.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think you die, but I¡¯ve never met anyone who¡¯s tried it so maybe?. Maybe it would turn you into it¡¯s beast. Who knows?¡± She said with a shrug.

    ¡°Alright, last question¡± I said as we walked down the mountain towards the boats. A crisp wind was blowing up the mountain from the river and it felt great in the spring sunshine. ¡°What¡¯s a cultivation path.¡± I had a pretty good handle on the basics of cultivation now but I¡¯d heard Shimak use the phrase a few times and still didn¡¯t know what it meant.

    Shimak sighed but answered dutifully. ¡°When you''re bound to a beast and absorbing the world¡¯s essence the way in which that energy passes from the beast into you is know as a cultivation path. They are very important because the way the energy passes through you determines the benefits you receive from the energy. Absorbing any essence improves the body and spirit. Even though we don¡¯t have any beasts we are already slightly stronger and faster than we were before. However, once you bind a beast it will influence the way your body absorbs the essence.

    That¡¯s why cultivators with stone beasts are much harder to injure. Because most stone-type beasts cultivation paths are focused on improving a person''s defense. It hardens their skin and bones. That¡¯s also why the quality of the beast is so important. A cultivation path also determines the amount out essence that can be absorbed. So a cultivator that binds a better beast can absorb essence more quickly than one with a poor quality beast. There are a lot of different attributes that can be improved, strength, speed, agility, regeneration, even the ability to transform one''s Qi into an element, but all of that is dependent upon a beast''s cultivation path. It¡¯s sorta hard to explain without your own beast but once you bind one it will make a lot more sense.¡± That was a lot to chew on and it kept me silent for our trek down into the woods.

    The bow and tools were where we had left them but the boar¡¯s body was gone. The weather hadn¡¯t been kind to our equipment after a month exposed to the elements. Although, the bow was still in surprisingly good condition. It must have been made out of some special type of wood.

    We drug the rope, pulleys, and bow back to the boat and left them their while Shimak and I headed out to hunt for a starting beast. Before we had always ignored the small beasts that didn¡¯t attack us, but this time Shimak carefully inspected each one looking for the perfect specimen.

    While we walked Shimak continued to explain different beast attributes to me. Fire beasts had the best attack, Lightning beasts had the beast speed, Earth and stone had the best defense, flying types were all-rounders but would be able to act as a flying mount when they grew so were very popular. Plant and wood type beats were usually weaker than other elements but granted their cultivators the ability to heal themselves and others which made them very useful.

    We didn¡¯t find any that passed Shimak¡¯s inspection the first day and the second day we stumbled across a larger beast and had to run for it. We went back every day after that but Shimak was exceedingly picky and after a week neither of us had found a suitable beast. In order to stave off boredom Shimak finally decided to start teaching me martial arts. As a complete novice I knew completely nothing so she started at the basics.

    ¡°Not like that.¡± She said as she walked up to me and pushed my back foot more to the right. ¡°You have to maintain a stable center of balance. Footwork is the basis of everything. If you have a shoddy base you¡¯ll have to shift your weight before you can attack. It will slow you down while making you easier to knock off balance. Try it again.¡± I sighed and dutifully moved my back foot before I did a simple front kick.

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    ¡°Better, but you''re still leaning too far left. Again¡± I reset my stance and kicked again. As my kick came out Shimak slapped my leg on the right side pushing me left. I was already leaning slightly that direction and the small motion made me fall over. ¡°See, balance¡­..¡± She said ruthlessly as I stood up again.

    ¡°When do I get to learn a weapon.¡± I asked as I took my stance again. I was looking forward to learning how to use a sword. Then I¡¯d be like a bad-ass anime character.

    ¡°You can¡¯t even do a simple kick and you want to start with a weapon?¡± She asked incredulously. ¡°You¡¯d cut off your hands and I refuse to have to go to your mother and explain it to her when she asks what happened.¡±

    I sighed heavily as I took my stance and started my kicks again. ¡°Can¡¯t we at least go look for beasts again. This is so boring.¡± I whined petulantly.

    ¡°Your such a baby, but fine we can go back to the forest AFTER a hundred more kicks.¡± I groaned loudly and kept kicking, focusing on keeping my balance even.

    It was mid-afternoon when we finally crossed the river. We only had a few hours until we¡¯d have to leave but both of us were getting a little antsy. Once we got a beast we would be real cultivators, but until then we were stuck in limbo.

    ¡°Ugh, not another one.¡± Shimak sighed as we both looked at the animal cowering in a hollowed out tree-trunk. It looked like a rabbit back on earth but it had a long spiraling horn sticking out out of it¡¯s forehead. It was the third horned-hare we¡¯d found over the last week and Shimak was not taking it well.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you just bind it. You said they usually have a decent cultivation paths and are great for speed.  That would be perfect for you.¡± I said reasonably.

    ¡°No¡± She said firmly. ¡°Tali has a horned-hare bound and I refuse to have the same beast as her. She¡¯s always sucking up Kalar because of his family. She probably hopes to marry him when she''s older.¡±

    ¡°Well, at least you''re not bitter.¡± I said sarcastically, making Shimak give me the evil-eye.  We were both getting ready to turn away from the hare when there was a rustle in the bushes next to us. We both froze praying we weren¡¯t about to become lunch. We had been going into the forest every day and we both knew that eventually our luck was going to run out. Our need for bound beasts had been pulling us back every day even though we both knew how dangerous it was.

    We both turned slowly and I let out a sigh of relief when I saw the creature. It looked like a fawn with a dark-grey coat. It¡¯s four legs were thin as sticks and it¡¯s knees were large and knobby. It wobbled precariously as it tried to walk. It was one of the most adorable things I¡¯d ever seen. A video of this thing would have been worth at least a million views on You-Tube.

    Shimak hadn¡¯t relaxed as I had and continued to stare at the creature with wide eyes. When she finally spoke it was in such a low whisper I could barely hear her from two steps away. ¡°Ash-fawn¡­¡­.¡±

    I turned and looked at her stupidly but she didn¡¯t seem to acknowledge my presence at all. Her entire being seemed to be focused on the creature and she suddenly sat down and started making some complicated hand-seals. Realizing what was happening I watched enraptured.

    A few seconds went by then the fawn froze as if it had heard some faint noise before it turned it¡¯s head and stared at Shimak. The creature wobbled over towards us each step slow and careful. It¡¯s head turned from side to side as if it was looking for danger but it seemed drawn to Shimak as if it knew better but couldn¡¯t resist. As it approached, Shimak lifted a hand outwards and spread her palm.

    The small fawn obediently placed it¡¯s forehead onto her hand and they stood like that for most of an hour as I watched. Then the fawn shuddered and a white glow started to shine from Shimak¡¯s palm. It slowly grew brighter and brighter until there was a loud pop and the fawn seemed to turn into a small white cloud. Then black lines started to appear in the cloud and as they revolved a picture of a styled fawn surrounded with odd glyphs and tribal markings.

    The image shrank until it was a inches across before it flew towards Shimak and landed on the inside of her right forearm. Once there, it seemed to ripple a few times before there was another flash of light and everything went still again. When I could see again there was perfect tattoo on the girl''s arm. Only then did she open her eyes with a triumphant expression.

    ¡°Just wait till Kalar find out I bound an Ash-fawn he¡¯ll throw up blood for a week.¡± She said with a vindictive grin.

    ¡°Did it work?¡± I asked.  I assumed it had but honestly everything that happened had been so crazy I wasn¡¯t sure what was going on. It¡¯s hard to watch an animal turn into a tattoo and keep a reasonable state of mind.

    ¡°Yes¡­ ¡° She said as she sprang to her feet before giving me a hug. ¡°Thank you. It was you who said we could do this. I never believed you before but now even though dad''s gone I got my own beast and it¡¯s a great one.¡±  I just patted the girl¡¯s back awkwardly not sure what to say. Honestly, she¡¯d done most of the work, without her knowledge and quick-reflexes none of this would have worked at all.

    ¡°Let¡¯s head back it¡¯s almost dark.¡± She said as she released me. I just trotted after her in silence as we crossed the river and walked home.

    *****************************************************************

    Shimak said she needed to stabilize her connection with her new beast and spent the next week in the hutt. That left me alone for most of the day for the first time in quite a while. I¡¯d been spending most of my time with Shimak so it was nice to get out on my own for a while.  To celebrate I headed down to the river and just lazed around all day. It had rained last night and today there wasn¡¯t a cloud in the sky. The bright blue sun shined down from above and bathed the mountain in it¡¯s clean white-light. I just laid back against the rock and listened to the water gurgle. It was a shame there weren''t many fish in the river. It would have been the perfect day to throw in a line.

    I was half dozing in the mid-day sun when the sound of the river changed. There was a odd bubbling sound and I sat up and craned my neck to see into the water. The water was crystal clear and it was pretty shallow near the edges. On the bottom of the river a few feet from me was a black lump. It was vaguely tube shaped and about two feet long and nine inches wide. Its was porous looking and reminded me a little of a sea cucumber.  Honestly, it looked like a big black turd. As I watched a bubble came up from it and made the odd sound again. The thing didn¡¯t seem to notice me and just sat there. Shrugging I laid back down and took a nap.

    When I awoke it was afternoon and I stood and stretched, deciding to practice my foot-work some more. After a few dozen kicks there was another bubbling sound and I walked over to look at the¡­ whatever it was again. It was still laying in the same spot apparently oblivious to the world. So I did what any self respecting twelve year old boy does when he find something strange. I threw a rock at it.

    The ground was littered with small rocks and after finding a decently weighty one I gave it a soft toss. The rock hit the water with a small splash and then fell through the water. However the current pushed the rock too far down-stream and I missed. Frowning I picked up another rock and played the current. The rock landed on the middle of the thing but it didn¡¯t so much as twitch. I scowled then found the biggest rock I could life and flung it at the thing.

    It hit the thing directly and then the black tube finally moved. It was fast as lightning as it lunged up out of the water at me. One end of it¡¯s tubular body opened revealing a circular maw filled with jagged teeth. It didn¡¯t seem to have ears or eyes but it landed on the rocky bank with a squelching sound then turned towards me.I fell backwards away from it scraping my hands and arms on the hard rock as tried to back away from it. It twitched a few times as if orienting itself then it¡¯s body compressed and it jumped directly for my throat.  I screamed like a girl and flailed my arms at it trying to defend myself. The situation would have been comical if it hadn¡¯t changed my life forever. Because as I slapped at the thing my bloody left palm landed directly on it¡¯s head.

    A white light exploded from my palm and I screamed as my brain was suddenly in agony. It felt like my mind was being crushed by some monstrous weight and I fell to me knees as the weight pressed me down. I struggled against it instinctively.

    As I pressed back against it the weight increased and I moaned piteously as the pressure tried to snuff out my mind. I could taste blood in my mouth as I bit my tongue and that small physical pain helped me focus. I gathered my will and pressed it back against the force as hard as I could. The pressure seemed to retreat for a moment and I sucked is a gasp of air before it fell onto me again. This time the pressure had the weight of a mountain and my vision started to darken as my consciousness was forced into a smaller and smaller ball.

    I screamed in rage and fear and threw everything I had left against the force. It resisted for one agonizing moment before the pressure seemed to shatter and my mind returned to normal. I was laying on the stone near the bank of the river. Blood ran from my nose and mouth as I sat up and looked around.

    What the hell¡­.

    The sun was setting and it cast the world in violet light as I tried to figure out what the hell had happened. The black creature was gone and the river was gurgling merrily as always. Then a horrible thought stuck me and I looked down at myself. Sure enough on the outside of my left bicep was a stylised picture of a small black turd. It had to be the smallest beast tattoo I¡¯d never seen. In contrast to the size of the beast though, the glyphs and tribal markings around the tattoo were large and amazingly detailed and intricate. They were both savage and oddly beautiful and my mind seemed to float away as I stared at them.

    I shook myself back to consciousness and groaned loudly. Shimak was never going to let me live this down and I walked back to the hut with my head drooping.

 Chapter 4: Stable Boy

    ¡°So what is it?¡± I asked as I showed Shimak my tattoo. It looked as odd here as it had down at the river, it¡¯s glyphs and markings intricate and beautiful, while the beast it depicted was small and ugly. She inspected it thoroughly  her expression serious as if in deep thought.

    ¡°Poop?¡± She said as she made a ¡®who knows¡¯ gesture with her hands.

    ¡°Common¡­. ¡° I said ¡°So far you¡¯ve known everything, Why are you drying up on me know?¡±

    ¡°Dad knew how excited I was about becoming a warrior so he borrowed some of the clan¡¯s scrolls on beasts and cultivation to let me read them. But the Mountain-Sun clan is just one small clan in a backwater Kingdom. The Xi Shan continent is nearly 200,000 leagues across and contains hundreds of Kingdoms and hundreds of thousands of clans. The beasts they have records of are only those generally found in this area. Besides, why are you trying to blame me for this. I¡¯m gone for a few days and you bind your soul to a poop monster.¡± She said angrily.

    I was taken aback by her words. I figured there would be other clans, but honestly this world was nonsensically large. A league in my world was about three miles, so this continent would be nearly twenty times the size of the earth and that was one continent.  Honestly, a planet that large shouldn¡¯t even be habitable. It¡¯s gravity would be too massive and the heat and pressure at it¡¯s core would be so huge it would have turned into a star. Then again this entire place didn¡¯t make any sense. Maybe the gravitational constant was lower in whatever dimension I¡¯d ended up in. Maybe the world the world was flat. Honestly, what the hell did I know?

    ¡°Well it¡¯s not my fault you were up here doing whatever it was you were doing.¡± I said defensively. My sheer bewilderment had upset me and my mental battle with whatever god forsaken beast I¡¯d bound hadn¡¯t helped my mood.

    ¡°I told you, once you bind a beast you have to stabilize the connection before you can cultivate!¡± She yelled.

    ¡°Mine connection feels fine.¡± I shot back,  my own anger rising.

    ¡°That¡¯s because you used a blood pact like an idiot!¡± She said exasperated.

    ¡°It was an accident. It doesn¡¯t matter now anyway.¡± I said my anger quickly abating. Hell, was a yelling at a  little girl, how sad was that.  ¡°What¡¯s done is done.  Now how do I do this?¡± I asked as I calmed down and set on the floor of our small hut.

    ¡°First summon your beast. You should be able to feel it in your dantain.¡±She instructed as I closed my eyes and turned my focus inwards. Sure enough the¡­. whatever it was was happily swimming around the cloud of energy in my dantain. ¡°Now you should be able to feel a link between it¡¯s mind and yours. Focus on that and start rotating the energy and in your dantian.¡±

    I did as she ordered. The connection between us was an odd feeling. It was like having another consciousness inside of myself. I gave the link a prod and start rotating the cloud of energy. The miniature beast started to grow rapidly until it suddenly vanished. There was a wet squelching sound next to me and Shimak let out a startled cry.

    The black-whatsit lay on the dirt floor of our hut motionless. Shimak looked at with a grimace. ¡°That thing''s so ugly and disgusting.¡± She said as she turned her nose up at my new companion.

    ¡°Hey, lay off. What did Rupert ever do to you?¡± I asked as I gave it¡¯s odd tubular body an affectionate pat. It¡¯s skin was textured like rubber and my hand came away covered in slime. I waited till Shimak looked away before wiping it off on the ground.

    ¡°Alright, now what?¡± I asked excited. Although my beast didn¡¯t look like much I still had high hopes for it. After all the markings on my arm were some of the most intricate and complex I¡¯d ever seen. So, I was secretly hoping my beast would be some rarity that would grant me incredible powers.

    ¡°Now, Make this hand seal and calm your mind. She said as she demonstrated. The seal was a simple triangle shape and as I held my fingers in position the mental link to my beast started to vibrate like a tuning fork. Then a tiny trickle of power started to enter my body.  It was nothing like absorbing the monster core. That power had been condensed, wild, and powerful. This was more gentle, but putrid, almost rotten. It was obvious that world essence in its unrefined form was not something good for you.

    ¡°Now¡­. can you feel the flow of power between you and the beast?¡± I replied in the affirmative and she continued. ¡° Trace the connection back to your beast and you¡¯ll find the origin of the beasts cultivation path. Most beasts of this power level only have a single one so you shouldn¡¯t have to worry about it.¡±

    I did as instructed and as I traced back the connection the power was obviously coming from the spot I¡¯d touched when I bound the beast. However there was another spot farther back in the middle of it¡¯s body that was also producing power. My beast had two points. Looks like it was special.

    ¡°It has two, one on it¡¯s head and another in the middle of it¡¯s body.¡± I said smugly. I didn¡¯t open my eyes but I¡¯m sure Shimak¡¯s look would have been priceless.

    ¡°Hmmmm¡­.. Alright then. Now, this is the tricky part. First select one of the paths then push your consciousness down link and through that path into the beasts body. Once you do that you should see the power moving through its body as it pulls in the essence. What you need to do is copy that path and move the energy you receive around your body in the same way while it purifies. It takes most people quite a while to get right, but once that¡¯s done the hardest part is over. Your body will absorb half of the purified essence as it traverses your body, then you simply send the rest back to your beast so it can absorb what¡¯s left. Some people try to take a larger portion of the essence for themselves but that¡¯s a bad idea in the long run. ¡±

    ¡°Sounds simple enough.¡± I said as I attempted to do what she¡¯d said. I ignored Shimak¡¯s disbelieving snort and pushed my mind down through the link and into the spot on the beast''s head. In my mind I could see a complex path of connected dots that represented the beasts meridians. They lead all over its body in odd twisting patterns that seemed to lack any semblance of rhyme or reason.

    ¡°Blood and Bile.¡± I swore as I came to appreciate the complexity of the problem. The worst part was its physiology was so fundamentally different than mine. At least if I had a beast with legs and a neck I could make some educated guesses about how it¡¯s meridians would compare to mine, but Rupert¡¯s entire body was a tube. It was like trying to solve a jigsaw puzzle when every piece was the exact same shade of white.

    ¡°Well, let me know when you finish that part. It will probably take a while.It took me a couple of hours with my fawn.¡± I could hear the suppressed laughter in a her voice. She knew it was going to be way more difficult for me.

    I had to stop after a couple of hours because Rupert''s body had started to dry out in the hut. IThe next morning I moved down to the river so I could put him underwater while I continued to struggle. I was also supposed to be cultivating in secret, so I couldn¡¯t just sit by the boats and relax. I had to hide myself down by a bunch of boulders that would obscure me from the village. The only good thing about it was the the world¡¯s essence seemed quite a bit denser near the river than it was up in my hut, so I could absorb energy faster down here.

    I got about half-way done by the end of the second day, and things started to go more smoothly the third. My focus was turned inward as I pondered the last choice.

    ¡°Alright, one-hundred forty-five points down. One to go¡­.¡± I muttered as I compared my options. I had three choices and picked the middle one. A sharp bolt of pain shot through my left lung and I winced as I quickly withdrew the energy.

    Not that one then¡­¡­.

    Shrugging I picked the next choice and as the energy passed through it met back up with the first point and the cycle completed. As it did a feeling of profound comfort passed through my body and I sighed in relief.

    In my mind¡¯s eye an image of my body appeared. It looked similar to the image I¡¯d seen inside of my beasts body but the points and lines shined much more dimly and were in shades of violet and orange as opposed to the uniform white they were in Rupert¡¯s body. I didn¡¯t understand what it meant so I ignored the imagine and continued to circle the energy though my meridians. When it was purified I pushed what my body hadn''t absorbed back though the link to Rupert. As I did a bubble came up from where he was laying underwater and a faint feeling of contentment seemed to pass between our mental link. Apparently. he was happy.

    I continued to absorb and refine essence for another hour before I left to find Shimak. I¡¯d finally completed my task and wanted to find out what the next step was.  I headed back up the mountain and finally found her in the middle of the village. It appeared she¡¯d stumbled into some trouble though as she was surrounded by a Kalar and his gang. I rushed over to her hoping to help, although I wasn¡¯t sure what I could do, I¡¯d been successfully cultivating for all of an hour. .

    ¡°I hear you''re living with that low caste boy now. Didn¡¯t think you¡¯d fall so far ,carrot-head. Kalar said with a sneer. He stood across from her his warrior''s tunic spotless. He¡¯d torn the sleeves off to show off his tattoo but with the size of his arms it didn¡¯t look as silly as it should have.

    Shimak didn¡¯t take the bait. ¡°Look Kalar I¡¯ve got things to do today. Take your little gang of misfits and go home.¡±

    Kalar grinned maliciously. ¡°You¡¯ve been mocking me ever since we played together as little kids, and when your father was around I had to swallow it, but your a nobody now Red. I could beat you to death right here and nobody besides that whore you have for a mother would even care.¡±.

    Oh no¡­.. This will not end well

    I groaned inwardly as I turned to see Shimak¡¯s reaction. Usually when she was angry her face would turn tomato red but now she seemed eerily calm. I took that as a very bad sign. The expression of cold fury on her small face was not a look a twelve year old girl should wear.

    ¡°What did you just call my mom?¡± She asked.  Her voice was gentle and relaxed as if she was asking about what we were having for lunch today.

    ¡°A whore, but at least she has the good sense to aim high. You''re spending all your time with that dirt-farmer.¡± The boy blustered on, apparently oblivious to the danger.

    The words were no sooner out of his mouth when Shimak moved. If I hadn¡¯t been looking right at her I might have missed it. One moment she was standing next to me as calm as could be. The next she had crossed the two steps between her and Kalar and had kicked him right in the balls.

    He made an undignified sound and attempted to curl himself around his abused man-parts. Shimak however, wasn¡¯t finished and had spun around him while he doubled over. She leapt into the air and clutched her fists together. As she descended she she swung her clenched fists down directly at the back of his head. There was a rustle of wind from behind me and suddenly there was a tall lanky boy standing directly beside Shimak and Kalar. He deftly caught Shimak¡¯s strike before it landed, but for all the expression on his face he might have just picked an apple.

    So Fast¡­..

    Was the only thought I could put together as I gaped at him like a landed fish. Shimak had moved quickly but I¡¯d barely even seen a blur as the boy had run into the circle. He stood there with Shimak¡¯s fist still in his hand as he looked at her with a vaguely amused expression. He was wearing a white Chinese style robe with green embroidery that matched perfectly with his long leaf-green hair. He was older than us by a few years but was likely only 15 or 16.

    Shimak scowled at him, but the others all bowed reverently to the youth. He was definitely one of the upper caste. I¡¯d known they were supposed to be elite but the boys speed was superhuman. He looked around at Kalar¡¯s gang for a moment before he spoke with a bored tone.

    ¡°You should take your battle elsewhere. However much it amuses me to watch a beastless mite abuse Hallon¡¯s nephew, you would be wise to stop now. Beating Kalar unconscious in front of this many witness would probably make his uncle kill you just to save face.¡±

    I looked around and only then noticed how crowded the street was. It seemed half the village was watching the fight. Shimak snorted derisively then turned on a small heel and walked back toward the poorer part of the village. I crossed my wrists and made a formal bow to the youth before trailing after her.

    ¡°Making friends as usual I see. ¡° I said as we made it back to the hut.

    Shimak gave me the evil-eye before she sighed. ¡°Kalar¡¯s family is going to make trouble for us now. Probably for your family too. ¡° She kicked one of the wooden supports angrily.

    ¡°Yeah probably.¡± I agreed. To the upper caste families image was everything, and although Kalar¡¯s father was middle-caste he was a branch family of an elite upper caste family and had their backing. ¡°But the look on his face when you kicked him in the balls was completely worth it.¡± I said smiling.

    She just shook her head is resignation. ¡°He¡¯s lucky Ruiek stepped in. Otherwise I¡¯d have had him.¡±

    ¡°It sounds like YOU were lucky he stepped in. Otherwise you''d be killed. What family is he from anyway?¡± I asked curious. I knew he had to be from one off the big families. I just didn¡¯t know which one.

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    ¡°He¡¯s actually from the main Mountain-Sun family. You can tell by the hair.. Apparently one of their ancestors was a genius with plant type beats and it turned his hair green. Since then it¡¯s been past down to all the descendants.¡± She answered. ¡°He has a sister our age as well. He uses a lightning type and his sister uses a plant type. They are both top fighters in the younger generation and one will likely be the next clan head. ¡°

    I nodded. The boys speed was ridiculous. I couldn¡¯t imagine how anyone could fight against that. It wasn¡¯t surprising he was considered a top fighter.  Then I suddenly remembered why I¡¯d come to find her in the first place.

    ¡°Oh, I finished mapping out my cultivation path. What do i do next.¡± I asked excited.

    She looked at me for a moment then blinked as if switching mental gears. ¡°Nothing really, That¡¯s pretty much it. Once you have the path mapped out you can find out what your cultivation talents will be, but the work is already done.¡±

    ¡°You said there was another step.¡± I said confused.

    ¡°Well it¡¯s not really a step, but it lets you find out how good your beast is.¡± She said with a shrug. I rolled my eyes.

    ¡°Alright then. Mine has a lot of orange, a little red, and some violet lights that seem to go all over, but it¡¯s kinda hard to see they are all pretty dim.¡± I said as I waited for her verdict.

    She frowned slightly. ¡°Well, yellow usually indicates the senses. Red if for a physical talent, and Violent is an elemental affinity. In your case probably water since your beast is aquatic. Where are the other light located?¡±

    I closed my eyes and brought up the image of my body again. ¡°The orange are pretty much all over, but the red seem to be mostly around my joints.¡± I said as I inspected the mental image of myself.

    I opened my eyes and she looked thoughtful. ¡°Well, orange would be something between senses and physical talents, probably coordination and acute muscle control, not very flashy, but definitely useful. The red around your joints is probably flexibility.  Your beast is kinda serpent like, flexibility is a pretty common attribute among snake types beasts.

    I sighed. ¡°So I have flexibility, coordination, and the water element.¡± I said dolefully. ¡°And I¡¯m guessing the brightness of the dots represents how quickly I can absorb essance?¡± I was really hoping I was wrong but I figured the world would add insult to injury.

    ¡°Yeah,¡± She looked apologetic but agreed. ¡°Although that¡¯s really not too bad of a cultivation path in terms of attributes. Flexibility and coordination cultivators are very tough opponents and if you can master the water element it will improve those. It¡¯s not an uncommon path at all. Although, usually the people who choose it are female.¡± She said with a giggle.

    I groaned loudly, my dreams of crushing stones with my bare hands and running for miles in seconds were dashed. Shimak must have read my thoughts because she added. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Regardless of your specialization all of your attributes will improve. It¡¯s just the ones that are cultivated specifically will improve faster. Besides you still have a second path to look at, it might be better than the first one and you can use it instead.¡±

    My eyes widened and I quickly summoned Rupert and dove through our connection and into area in the center of his body. Then stopped confused. The first cultivation path had been a nightmare of twisting lines and scattered dots. In Contrast the second path was ridiculously simple. It was thirteen dots which lead in a circle around the beasts lower body. My time spent on the first path had let me draw some parallels between it¡¯s body and mine and it was obvious the circle was around it¡¯s lower dantian.

    I quickly started to cultivate and pulled world essence though my own body and around the thirteen Qi points around my own dantain. As I did a new image flashed appeared in my mind this one with the circular path around my dantain illuminated in an extremely faint silver light.

    ¡°The second one is even dimmer than the first but all the points are silver.¡± I said confused.

    ¡°Silver?.....¡± Shimak seemed more confused then I was. ¡°Where are the points?¡± She asked with a frown.¡±

    ¡°There are only thirteen and they form a circle around my dantian.¡± I answered.

    Her frown deepened. ¡°I have no idea. Your beast is just weird, but if the path is even dimmer than the first one I wouldn¡¯t waste time using it. Your progress is going to be slow enough with the other one.¡±

    I sighed before starting to circulate energy according to the first path. If this was my fate I may as well embrace it. I might be a mediocre cultivator but at least I¡¯d be a cultivator. Eventually I¡¯d be able to leave this village and see the rest of the world, I just needed enough power to survive.

    I was happily cultivating a an hour later when I heard shouting from outside the hut. Shimak and I quickly un-summoned our beasts and ran out to investigate. Dad was in the middle of the street confronted by four of the clan¡¯s guards. One was standing directily across from dad and they seemed to be arguing.

    ¡°You''re not sending my son to that death-trap. He¡¯s only twelve.¡± Dad said angrily his face red from from fury.

    ¡°His presence was requested by the stable-master specifically.¡± The guard across from dad said in a bored voice. ¡°Look, I understand your anger but your boy was offended a powerful family. Your lucky he¡¯s getting off this easy.¡± The guard seemed to sympathise with dad but orders were orders.

    ¡°EASY!?¡± Dad shouted angrily. ¡°Most people who work the pins loose a finger a month. Old Turran is down to one leg and three toes.¡± Dad shouted. ¡°How much do they want this time? Ten tokens a week? Twenty?¡±

    The guard grimaced. ¡°No money this time. It came down from Hallon directly. He said and I quote ¡®If that little rat is well enough to get into fights then he¡¯s well enough to work. If he¡¯s not at at the stables by an hour after sunrise tomorrow then I¡¯ll kill him myself.¡¯¡±

    Dad¡¯s face purpled but before he could start yelling again I spoke up. ¡°It¡¯s alright dad. Shimak and I are the ones that made the mess, it¡¯s only right for us to clean it up.¡± I said seriously I knew the pins were a hell-hole but dad getting into a fight with one of the guards wouldn¡¯t help anyone.

    ¡°Speaking of the girl, she supposed to go to the main house tomorrow.¡± The guard added. ¡°They are putting her with the laundry women.¡± I frowned. The laundry was hard work and the soap they used was very bad for the skin, causing it to dry and crack. For a young girl it was an exceedingly hard job, but then again Shimak was a cultivator now. In a few months the work would be laughable for her and her skin would heal almost instantly.

    I¡¯d definitely gotten the worst end of the bargain. As bad as the low caste part of the village was there was still one place even fewer people wanted to go. The clan stables, or the ¡®pins¡¯ as they were usually called, were the single most horrible place in the village. The clan kept wild beasts there and raised them as livestock or for warriors to bind. The problem with the arrangement was an obvious one. The animals of this world were pretty much all blood-thirsty killing machines and trying to feed and care for them was something akin to madness.

    The general idea was that young animals that were caught in the wilds or born from already captured animals would be brought in and caged. There they would be offered to cultivators to bind or simply raised until they grew too wild to keep anymore. Then the clan would kill them for meat. It was inhuman, brutal, and slightly insane, and work there was usually relegated as punishment for various misdeeds and offences throughout the village. Accidents were almost a daily occurrence and loss of fingers or other larger body parts was inevitable. In short, it was a very effective method of maiming or killing a person without getting one¡¯s own hands dirty.

    ***************************************************************************************************

    Mom roused Shimak and I from an uneasy sleep just as the sun was rising. After a short silent breakfast and a quick goodbye I left the hut and headed to the west end of town and toward my new place of employment.  The sun was just creeping over the top of the mountain and heavy fog covered the village as I walked around the narrow huts. Most people were still alseep and the village had a quiet serenity to it. It was a far cry for the twenty-four sever chaos of Chicago and a sudden pang of homesickness hit me. I wondered if Allison was ok, or my parents, or my sister.

    This world was so magical and so brutal. I missed the easy mediocrity of my old life. I missed video games and Ty food at 3am. I missed Bears games. I missed sex. I laughed at the absurdity of it all as I looked up at the blue colored sun. Everything here was so surreal. I was caught up in thoughts at home and I didn¡¯t hear myself being called until the third time.

    ¡°Hey You!¡± Shouted a burly middle-aged man. He had silver-streaked brown hair and had the build and scowl that would curdle milk. He looked intimidating and his missing left arm made him seem more frightening instead of crippled. ¡°Damn boy can¡¯t you hear?¡± He shouted again and I finally turned his direction. The ¡®pins¡¯ were a series of large barns surrounded by fenced off paddocks. The man was standing near the barn and I waved to him and trotted over.

    ¡°You the new meat?¡± He asked as he inspected my scrawny body. ¡°Empress¡¯s tits boy, you''re a damn baby. Your ma aint gonna have to stop by to nurse you later is she?¡± He asked with a guffaw.

    I wasn¡¯t sure why, but I took an instant liking to the man. I¡¯ve always found the most foul-mouthed people to be the most honest.

    ¡°Na¡± I said with a shrug. ¡°My mom¡¯s breakfast I usually hit your wife up for lunch.¡± The main stared at me blankly for a second then burst out in a booming laugh that echoed off the far mountains and seemed to fill the entire village.

    When he finally stopped laughing he clapped me on the back hard enough to rattle my teeth. ¡°You got balls boy I¡¯ll give ya that.¡± He said still chuckling. ¡°So what did you do to land here? Pick some lordlings pocket? Or get caught barking up the tree of some upper caste lass?¡±  He asked as he lead me towards one of the barns.

    ¡°Wasn¡¯t me actually. I was with my friend and she got into a fight. She ended up kicking Hallon¡¯s favorite nephew in the balls in front of about a hundred witnesses.¡± I said with a grin.

    He let out his loud booming laugh again. ¡°Blood and Bile boy, You keep friends like that around you won''t need enemies. The feisty girls are always the best though. You should keep that one around.¡±

    He lead me though the main door of the barn and the overpowering smell of urine and animal crap hit me like a hammer. I nearly gagged from the stench but managed grit my teeth and endure. Wooden cages lined both walls of the barn and each cage held a feral looking beast. I recognized quite a few from my romps in the wilderness but there were lots of others I¡¯d never seen.

    ¡°The beasts are separated by age, Species and type. The youngest are meekest are in the left barn, The oldest and meanest are in the right. I was supposed to send you to the old barn but I¡¯ll be damned if I let one of those upper caste assholes give me orders in my own damn domain. You¡¯ll be working the middle barn at least until I think you can handle the other one.¡± He explained as we walked through the main aisle.

    I could see other workers putting out food or moving the beasts around. He explained my job, how to clean the cages, how to feed them without getting eaten. It was nerve-wracking and tiring work and even under Judan¡¯s supervision I had quite a few close calls. He let me go around mid-afternoon and I quickly ran down to the river to get in as much cultivation as I could before dark.

    Interestingly enough my exhausted body seemed to soak in world essence like a sponge and the feeling of the purified essence entering over-worked muscles and tendons was incredably relaxing.So much so I ended up falling asleep and was two hours late for dinner.

    When I asked Shimak about it she just snorted. ¡°Well of course it¡¯s better when you''re tired. Sure, you can cultivate by just sitting around all the time but it¡¯s way better if you actually train, then use cultivation to recharge. It¡¯s gonna be hard to find enough time for a while, but we should start training again soon. It will be especially important for you, since your cultivation path is so bad.¡±

    I looked at her like she was a mad-woman. ¡°You want me to work all day, then come home Cultivate for a few hours, then do Martial Arts training?¡± I asked incredulous.

    She looked thoughtful for a moment. ¡°Well, actually it would probably be better if we did training first thing in the morning when you''re fresh.¡± She said reasonably. ¡°As you cultivate you¡¯ll need less and less sleep so let¡¯s give it a month then start training before work. You still haven¡¯t even got your basic kick down yet.¡±

    I looked at the girl as if she was some devil from the pit. Honestly, it was the first time I¡¯d wanted to cry since I¡¯d arrived here.

 Chapter 5: Lord and Lady Hunan

    Shimak bounced lightly on the balls of her feet then launched a kick at at my temple. I twisted my body, my neck bending just enough to dodge the kick before I lashed out with a counter kick aimed at the knee-cap of her still planted leg. The kick was a good one, the muscles in my leg flexing with perfect timing to pour all the power I could muster into my foot as it flew towards Shimak¡¯s knee. Unfortunately, it was just too slow.

    Shimak ducked, sinking her body low enough to block my kick with a forearm before exploding upwards. Her right hand shot towards my throat with a knife-hand strike and I raised my left-arm to block while twisting my body to absorb the impact. However, the strike was a feint and while my body was still twisting to the right to block her right hand, her left landed a short brutal uppercut directly in my liver. I doubled over gagging and she raised her right leg high and brought a heel kick thundering down towards the back of my head. Lucky, instead of finishing the strike and knocking me unconscious she aborted the movement and laid her dainty foot on top of my head.

    ¡°Better, but you still lose. Your watching my hands instead of my hips. They can faint with their arms but their core will always tell you where they are really going. And your dodges are still to slow. A coordination and flexibility cultivator should be slippery as a wet fish. You should have been able to dodge that strike even if you fell for the feint. ¡°

    I groaned as I attempted to keep my breakfast from ending up on the street. After I¡¯d been assigned to the pins my life had fallen into a pattern. I woke up, I went to work, down to the river to cultivate then back to the hut to bed. As promised Shimak had added morning training sessions to the mix and although my improvement was significant It wasn¡¯t enough to make Shimak happy.

    ¡°Seriously though, are you really cultivating every night? Even if your cultivation path is as bad as you say you should still be at a higher level than you are. ¡°

    ¡°I really am cultivating every night.¡± I said as I sucked down lungfuls of cool morning air. What I didn¡¯t tell her was that I spent three nights a week cultivating my second cultivation path. Maybe it was childish fancy but I was still holding out hope that it was actually giving me some incredibly powerful benefit and I just hadn¡¯t seen it yet.  Still, the reality of the situation was that I wasn¡¯t advancing as quickly as I could be but I was hoping for some future benefits that would out-weight the time I¡¯d put it to cultivating a path with seemingly no upside.

    Even over the two month period I¡¯d been seriously cultivating my body had changed. I¡¯d put on some lean muscle and was now a normal looking boy instead of an emaciated one.  The cloud of energy in my dantain had thickened and I was stronger and faster, but especially more nimble. My job at the pins was initially dangerous but now I could dodge most of the beasts easily. It had made the place a good deal less dangerous and now I actually had to make work for myself just to wear myself down for my nightly cultivation.

    I staggered up from the ground and then looked at Shimak. She wasn¡¯t even breathing hard after an hour of sparring. The girls beast was just too unfair.Her fawn cultivated endurance and it let her work for hours without tiring. I sighed then stood and headed to work while rubbing my soon to form bruise. The boss was expecting me early this morning since we were going to have guests for once.

    Our primary role was raising animals for meat but we had higher quality beasts set aside in-case one of the village warriors was looking for a beast to bind. Shimak had told me catching a beast in the wild was better but the upper caste families didn¡¯t want to risk their precious little princes and princesses in the forest so they brought them to us.

    This early in the morning it was dark and Judan¡¯s ugly mug appearing out of the darkness nearly made me faint. I jumped nearly a foot causing him to break out into one of his loud barking laughs.

    ¡°Awwww, c''mon boy I aint that ugly. You need some steel in your spine. Here eat this it¡¯ll help.¡± He said as he handed me a grey strip of dried meat while leading me into a barn. I looked down at the meat with a sceptical eye then shrugged and took a bite, or tried to. The meat was so hard I nearly chipped a tooth.

    ¡°What the hell this?!¡± I shouted as the chunk that had broken off sat in my mouth like a stone.

    ¡°Shale-hound meat. Good for the bones.¡± He said as he gave me a tooth rattling back-slap. ¡°Eat up, it¡¯ll put hair on your chest.

    I looked down at the meat in horror. Shale-hound¡¯s were rock beasts and their meat, although theoretically edible, was pretty much as hard as stone . I¡¯d heard it was good for you, but it wasn¡¯t anything anyone sane would actually wish to consume.

    ¡°Alright midget, we¡¯ve got a bunch a uppers and their little hellions commin¡¯ in. I want you to put on your innocent look and lead them around while they pick something out. ¡° He said as leaned against a gate.

    I looked at him blankly ¡°What innocent look?¡± I asked baffled.

    He snorted. ¡°The one you always use when Aithen catches you looking at her ass when she¡¯s bending over. You know, the one that looks like you''re just an innocent little boy, pure as the driven snow and all that.¡± Aithen was one of the few women who worked the pins. She was as hard and haggard as the men and had a face that would curdle milk,  but even years from this body¡¯s sexual maturity, her backside in the leather pants she usually wore to work was a site even I could appreciate.

    I looked at Judan as if I had no idea what he was talking about. ¡°Exactly! That one.¡± He said as he pointed to my face. I scowled and he let out his loud rolling laugh. ¡°Yeah, you might have the others convinced but I know damn well you''re a conniving little bastard. You should keep an eye on Aithen too. She¡¯s not as dense as she looks and if she figures out you really are ogling her she¡¯s liable to kick your skinny ass. That or take you home with her.¡±

    I shuddered violently making Judan laugh again. ¡°Yeah, imagine wakin¡¯ up to that. Now get to work. You''re in the North barn today so go and tidy up the prime cages. I¡¯ll come get you when the big wigs get here.¡±

    I shuffled off and started my morning rounds. I carried buckets of feed over and dumped them into cages. Then shoveled out manure while dodging the occasional nip. We fed oats for the animals that would actually eat them and and whatever scraps we had for the more carnivorous creatures. Surprisingly, most of the creatures weren¡¯t pure carnivores, which I supposed made some sense. It was impossible to have an ecosystem made up entirely of predators but all of the beasts would eat people, most just subsisted off other things.

    It was mid morning when Judan tracked me down. Behind him were three people. The first was a middle aged man with dark blue hair. He carried himself with a noble arrogance. As if he expected the entire world to bow at his feet. His wife was a short-haired blonde nearly as tall as the man who looked in her late twenties, but looks meant little among the higher leveled cultivators. The more powerful the cultivator the longer they remained in their prime. A Mid-Spirit ranked cultivator would look thiry well into her sixth decade and a Sage could live for centuries.

    The woman didn¡¯t share the same haughty look as her husband. The clothes she was wearing showed plenty of skin and I could see at least three massive tattoos. One started on her right cheek and ran down her neck to her right shoulder. It gave her a savage sort of beauty, and she had the bearing to match. She didn¡¯t seem to care if the world bent to her will or not. She would just crush it into whatever shape she wanted.

    Their general disregard for others was something I knew Judan hated. Normally that sort of casual dismissal would have sent him into one of his swearing fits, but he was on his best behavior today so I bowed deeply with my hands cupped as they approached, taking my cue from him.

    ¡°Respected elders, stable master¡± I said, formally bowing to each in turn. Judan looked over to me and nodded, then spoke.

    ¡°Chock, this is Lord Hunan and his first wife. They are here to pick a beast for their daughter. You¡¯ll accompany us.¡± Judan said in a tone of voice I never thought I¡¯d hear out of his mouth. He almost sounded polite.

    ¡°Yes stable master.¡± I said as I fell into step behind them. The girl who was with the adults looked at me curiously but I didn¡¯t speak as we headed over to the prime cages. She had the dark blue hair of her father and a mature air that was at odds with her childish appearance. This area had the youngest and gentlest animals in it, those least corrupted and most useful for binding.

    ¡°So what type of beast are you looking for? We¡¯ve got quite a few lighting types, some flying types, a fire type, and even a plant type. ¡° Judan asked as we walked by the cages.

    ¡°Maybe a plant type...¡± Lord Hunan said. ¡°Healers are welcome in any family, and that will give her some extra leverage when it¡¯s time to choose a husband.¡± He said as he looked down at his daughter.

    ¡°You''re not making my daughter into some kind of shrinking violet. She needs a fire beast. Power is the only way a woman can make a life for herself.¡± The noble woman argued, her face twisted into a scowl that would flay skin.

    ¡°He¡¯sha you said you wouldn¡¯t make a scene. We¡¯ve been over this.¡± Lord Hunan said with forced patience.

    ¡°No, you said I wouldn''t make a scene. And I¡¯ll be be damned before I let you crush any hope our daughter has of a real life.¡± I looked over at Judan and saw him nearly dying with the effort to keep himself from laughing. It was pretty common knowledge in the village that Lord Hunan¡¯s first wife was the one that ran the show. Although, Lord hunan was technically the leader of the faction it was his wife that had the fighting prowess required of the martial nobility.

    She¡¯d conned her father, the current Patriarch of the Yokin family, to send an armed escort into the woods for her so she could find her own beast when she was nine years old. She¡¯d managed to find an extremely powerful fire-type lion cub  and had bound it. Combined with her love of martial arts and the resources her family had given her she¡¯d been extremely successful in her cultivation and was probably the third or fourth most powerful fighter in the entire clan.

    On the other hand Lord Hunan had been the only son of the last Lord Hunan, a powerful cultivator and well respected leader. Unlike his father the son had been only an average talent, but bound to inherit. So the marriage had been arranged granting He¡¯sha the privilege that came with being the first wife of one of the founding families while the Hunas family had gained a fighter with enough power to uphold the family''s influence.

    This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

    The result was that Lord Hunan was mostly a figurehead and a political leader, since his wife was the only reason his family maintained their place among the other noble families. She had little love for her husband and rumor said she often took other lovers.

    I just kept my head down and tried to look inconspicuous. Getting in the middle of a husband/wife fight was never a good idea but with the noble families it could easily be fatal. I looked over to the girl with them and had a pang of sympathy when I saw her expression. It was the look of a child who was far too used to her parents fighting. She looked like she just wanted to sink into the floor and disappear.

    I caught her eyes and nodded my head towards back down the aisle. She nodded understanding and the two of us snuck away while her parents argument gained volume. After we made it out of earshot I looked over to her and finally spoke up.

    ¡°So what kind of beast do YOU want?¡± I asked her. ¡°I¡¯m sure your parents mean well but you''re the one who¡¯s going to be stuck with it so it should be your choice.¡±

    She looked at me surprised for a moment then she spoke up in a small voice. ¡°I don¡¯t know. Mom and dad have been trying to convince me their choice is best for weeks now. Dad wants me to get a plant beast and mom wants me to choose fire.¡±

    ¡°And what do you think about it?¡± I asked again. Her dark blue hair and ice blue eyes were an odd combination, but I figured she¡¯d be fairly attractive once she grew up. Then again pretty much all female cultivators were attractive. The Earth¡¯s essence fixed most imperfections and made everyone who cultivated seriously into a more perfect version of themselves. I shook off the thoughts and turned back to the girl as she bit her lip.

    ¡°It never really mattered much to me. I always figured it most more important to find a beast you matched well with. It doesn¡¯t seem right to try and just buy one like it¡¯s a new dress.¡± She said finally. ¡°Types and cultivation paths are important but your binding another soul to yours. That¡¯s about as serious a thing as you can get.¡±

    That seemed an entirely reasonable argument are not one that a normal nine year old would have come up with. I looked over at her with newfound respect. She didn¡¯t really seem like the healing type or the straightforward kind of fighter like Shimak that would make a good host for a fire-type.  She was more thoughtful, more intellectual. Then it hit me.I did know of  a beast that fit her.

    ¡°I think I¡¯ve got one you might like. Come this way.¡± I said as I walked down the aisle. We left the area where the most healthy looking and tame beasts were before we left the North barn all together and headed into the middle barn. We then left behind the normal cages and proceeded to the area with the most sickly and sad looking beasts. The smell here was even more awful than normal and the smell of sickness and death hung in the air.

    ¡°I think you want this guy.¡± I said pointing to a mass of mottled grey feathers. The big eyes and sharp beak of an owl looked out from a disgusting next. The girl wrinkled her nose in disgust and looked at me like I was an idiot.

    ¡°Now I know what you''re thinking but this guy is special. See, we feed the sick beasts more so that they recover but I talked to the other workers and this guy has been in the sick pins for over a year. He¡¯s never gotten any better but he hasn¡¯t died. Then one day I catch him plucking out his own feathers and running dirt into his own skin so he looks more miserable.¡± The girl looked at me puzzled, not understanding.

    ¡°He¡¯s faking.¡± I said with a grin. ¡° He¡¯s purposely making himself look sick to get more food and he¡¯s done it well enough to convince all the caretakers for better than a year. I know owl type beasts are smart, but that''s on a whole new level. He¡¯s a little older than most so it¡¯ll prolly be more difficult to bind him, but I think he¡¯ll be well worth the price of admission if you can manage it.¡± I explained.

    She looked over at the pitiful creature again with new eyes. Then grinned. ¡°Alright, if nothing else it¡¯ll make mom and dad furious.¡± She said with glee.¡±Not to mention one he grows and evolves I can use him to fly away.¡± She sat down and started the binding process while I kept an eye out for incoming parents. I¡¯d have to distract them until she was done otherwise they¡¯d probably make her stop.

    The process went surprisingly fast. I¡¯d expected the owl to be more than a little recalcitrant but as soon as the girl offered started moving her essence the owl creature threw off it¡¯s acting and hopped towards the girls out stretched hand. It didn¡¯t take thirty seconds before the owl burst into mist and the odd markings started to appear inside the cloud drawing the stylized picture that would become the girls tatoo. A picture of an owl formed the lines and shading giving it an air of nobility that was a far cry from the miserable looking wretch that the bird had been minutes before. When the owl was done forming, symbols and tribal markings started to fill in around it forming a complex series of markings that was much larger and more complex than I¡¯d seen on any starter beast save my own.

    ¡°Nessa! What are you¡­?¡± A voice started but it was too late. The image shrank then disappeared below the dress the girl was wearing somewhere near her left hip. Then the footsteps rushed over and the shouting started.

    ¡°Nessa what have you done?! Sneaking off like that and you went and bound yourself to one of the wretches.¡± Nessa¡¯s mom shouted incredulously, but her binding had apparently put some steel in the girl''s spine because she didn¡¯t flinch under her mother''s wrath.

    ¡°I asked the stable boy if he knew of any special animals and he brought me here.¡± The girl lied smoothly.

    Thank god she was standing up for me. Things might still go badly for me running off with her but at least now I had the excuse of listing to a noble¡¯s orders. There was no one that could fault me for that.

    ¡°What did you bind! What the hell were you thinking Nessa! Your first beast is the most important decision of your life!¡± Lady Hunan yelled angrily.

    ¡°Yes mother your right. It¡¯s MY most important decision. Not yours and not dads and I wanted this one.¡± The girl shot bank her own cheeks flushing with anger. This sounded like a girl fighting with her mom over her date to prom. I did my best to blend into the background until the sparks cooled.

    ¡°And what gods-forsaken creature did you decide on the, young lady.¡± Her mother asked with her arms crossed over her rather impressive chest.

    ¡°It¡¯s a flying type. A lunar-owl I think.¡± The girl said crossing her own arms in a gesture that mirrored her mother''s. ¡°But I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a normal one.¡±

    Her mother''s jaw opened in shock and her face redded even further. ¡°Blood and Bile! What would possesed you to bind a flying beast.¡± Her mother raged.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­..¡± The girl said honestly as she shrugged. ¡°When I started to use my essence on him he sort of called to me. The tattoo is very intricate. I think he¡¯s special. ¡° The girl persisted. ¡°You should at least see it first before you decide if you should be mad or not.¡±

    ¡°Well then let''s see it.¡± Her mom said impatiently, as she waved her hand in a ¡®get on with it¡¯ gesture.

    ¡°He¡¯sha! You can¡¯t expect our daughter to disrobe in front of these peasants! She¡¯s a daughter of the martial nobility. These grubby dirt farmers sully her with their mere presence!.¡± Lord Hunan shouted, enraged.

    ¡°Oh yes, because we wouldn¡¯t want her chastity spoiled.¡± Lady Hunan said sarcastically. ¡°Then you couldn¡¯t sell said chastity for political favor when she gets to marrying age.¡±

    Lord Hunan sputtered indignantly but didn¡¯t dare oppose his wife directly. After all she was the real power behind the family, not to mention she could kick his ass. I tried to hold in my laughter.

    It seemed this world had it¡¯s crazy feminists too. Granted, she had a point about how the daughters of the upper caste were used to curry favor and make alliances but it seemed a little extreme to make her nine year old daughter take off her clothes in a dirty barn in front of people.

    Nessa looked at me with a red face and I turned my back to give the girl privacy. Clothes rustled a moment later and silence hung in the air as Nessa¡¯s parents inspected the damage.

    ¡°Hmmmmm, That is interesting.¡± Her mother said in a softer and more thoughtful voice.  ¡°Definitely a mutation of some kind. It could have been worse I suppose. Although, I still think you should have chosen a fire beast. We¡¯ll just have to find you one when you''re ready for your second beast.¡± Lady Hunan said from behind me.  Her 180o turn around let me know the beast had to have been something exceptional. There was more rustling of clothes and I turned around again.

    ¡°Stablemaster! You¡¯ve done well. You should have told me you had something like this on hand from the beginning.¡± She flicked a hand and two large tokens flew out toward me and Judan. I caught mine and looked down. It was a large ration token, worth 10 normal ones, or two and a half months of normal wages. Then the Lady simply spun on a heel and left without a word to anyone, her husband and daughter trailing in her wake. They weren¡¯t two steps out the door before Judan whirled on me.

    ¡°Blood and bile boy! What the hell were ya thinking sneaking off and bringing the girl to see that wretched bird. You coulda got the lot of us killed!¡± He shouted. I shrugged. Judan was always shouting so his bouts of temper had long lost and effect on me.

    ¡°I told you he was faking and they would have been here all day if we waited on those two to end their lovers spat. Besides it ended well and we even got paid.¡± I said responsibly. My nonchalance seemed to enrage Judan even further.

    ¡°Just get the hell outta here before you do anything else crazy.¡± He said as he waved me towards the door. ¡°And here.¡± He said as he tossed me the token he¡¯d been given. ¡°It was your idea. You¡¯ve done good work. Even if you are and idiot.¡± I pocket the money and gave him a jaunty salute as I headed out the door. I was off work early and had nearly six-months pay in my pocket. I could spend the day cultivating and maybe buy myself some cultivation aides with my extra windfall. Today was a good day.

    ___________________________________________________________________________________

    An: First update in a while!

    Been busy on my other project but I''m in the groove on this one for the time being so will prolly have another chapter up in the next couple of days before I switch back.

 Chapter 6: The Silver Path

    ¡°Any Ideas?¡± I asked as I casually tossed the two large ration tokens into the air before catching them again. Shimak looked thoughtful as her fawn lay next to her with it¡¯s head in her lap. The beast had lost it¡¯s newborn awkwardness and had grown quite a bit since she¡¯d bonded it. In contrast my own beast had hardly grown at all. It was extremely unfair.  Shimak casually ran a hand over it¡¯s dark-grey coat as she looked at me.

    ¡°Well that¡¯s a lot of money for the lower caste, but for warriors that¡¯s only around a month''s pay.¡± She said as we sat on a couple of rocks down near the river. It had been a week since I¡¯d earned the money but today was the first day both Skimak and I had been free in a while and I was using the opportunity to grill her for information on speeding up my cultivation.  ¡°A beast core goes for at least 500 tokens, probably more with how few they¡¯ve brought in lately. So you¡¯d need way more than you have now.¡± She continued while I scowled.

    ¡°That¡¯s literally years of pay. Assuming I never buy anything¡± I said incredulously.

    ¡°Yeah, well that¡¯s life as a lower-caste.¡± She said with a shrug. That was easy for her to say. Her father had been one of the higher-ranked guards. She¡¯d been fairly wealthy compared to anyone outside the upper-caste before her dad died.

    ¡°So if we wanted one. We¡¯d have to hunt it ourselves.¡± I said with a sigh.

    ¡°Would probably be a bad idea anyway. You''re just getting started and your energy hasn¡¯t had time to really balance out yet. Adding in a big blob of unpurified energy would probably throw your dantian out of whack and you¡¯d waste weeks trying to fix it.¡± Shimak explained in her ¡®impatient teacher¡¯ voice.

    ¡°Alright, no beast cores then. Anything else that could help?¡±I asked as I picked up a small rock and skipped it across the top of the river. It was an awkward throw from a sitting position but I got 4 hops before it dropped below the water.

    ¡°An herbal supplement would probably be best.¡± She said as she launched her own rock. Her¡¯s skipped five times and I shot her a dirty look as she grinned at me. ¡°The most direct way to speed up cultivation is just to ingest something that contains essence. Like a beast core, but It¡¯s hard on your body unless you can find something with a pure source, or have a foundation solid enough to withstand the upheaval it will cause. However, the best way is to find something that will increase your rate of natural absorption. That¡¯s where medical pills and elixirs come in.¡± She explained giving her fawn a pat.

    ¡°Pills are basically refined monster cores that use various ingredients in order to gentle the cores power making it easier to absorb. Not sure how they make them but they are REALLY expensive and not that great anyway. Since the energy enters you directly it doesn¡¯t get absorbed in the same way. It usually just ends up directly in your daintain without being absorbed into the rest of your body. Which means the amount of Essence you have increases but you don¡¯t get the full benefit of it. Doing something like that once in awhile is fine, and highly useful for making breakthroughs, but if you do it too much you¡¯ll end up with an inflated rank. Where your rank ends up ahead of your body. You¡¯ll have the raw essence of a high-ranked cultivator without the skill or prowess to match. You can even hurt yourself if you force too much essence through a body isn¡¯t strong enough to handle it. Elixirs on the other hand use plants to adjust the body''s internal functions. They are used for all sorts of things but the most useful in your case would be something to let you absorb essence faster. You still have to do the work yourself, it¡¯s just gives you a bit of a boost. Much gentler on the body and will give you a much more stable foundation. You might be able to get one of the cheap ones for thirty or forty tokens.¡± She said as she picked up another stone.

    ¡°What about a middle of the road quality one?¡± I asked curiously as I threw another rock. This time I concentrated on the movement of my arm muscles as I threw and the rock skipped twice then buzzed along the top of the water for a good twenty feet before finally falling in.

    ¡°Oh that¡¯s cheating.¡± Shimak said as she threw her own stone. I just grinned at her.

    ¡°I¡¯ve got to take my advantages where I can get them. Against your strength and endurance cultivation I get beat up every time we spar, but I can can throw rocks with the best of them.¡± I teased as I picked up another rock.

    Her red eyebrows furrowed as she scowled at me. ¡°It¡¯s your fault for being too slow.¡± She said as she grabbed her own rock.  ¡° And a decent elixir for a Body-Ranked cultivator¡­. Say one-fifty? That¡¯s the reason the upper-caste children are so much stronger. Their families can afford all the good stuff the rest of us can only dream of, but still it¡¯s not like you just wanna drink them all the time. Even though they are more natural then all the other options you can unbalance your cultivation if you use them all the time. Hard work and hard training is still the best way. ¡±

    So it¡¯s all about money here too¡­¡­

    I thought as I rubbed my chin. That was the worst part about being young again. I had lost my chin-beard so I had nothing to scratch.

    ¡°So I just need a way to make some money.¡± I said as I considered options. The simplest would just be to head into the woods and kill something. Even a small beast carcass would be worth dozens of tokens and a live one that could be raised or bound would be worth hundreds. But two kids selling off beast meat would gain us all sorts of unwanted attention.

    I could try starting a business or something, I had faith in being able to game a iron-aged economy well enough to make some decent money but I didn¡¯t really have any practical skills and all trade had to go through the clan.

    A way to use money to make money¡­.. Where It never has to touch the clan¡­¡­¡­

    Then I grinned. ¡°Hey Shimak¡­¡­ Where do the warriors drink at?¡±

    ****************************************************************************

    I walked through the tavern¡¯s large wooden door and took in the ambiance. Hard looking men and women laughed over their drinks while scantily garbed barmaids flittered about the room, putting food and drink onto tables while they dodged groping hands. Music with a vaguely eastern feel filled the the place with a lively atmosphere. A large hearth sat in the middle of the room providing heat for the large space with the tables scattered haphazardly around it.

    I scanned the room quickly for the proper prey. I needed some men who were enjoying themselves enough to try something new, but not enough to get violent. Then I saw them. Two men and a woman in warrior gear sitting at a small round table, laughing a joking while they tossed bone dice out of a tin cup.I walked calmly up to the table and slid into the empty chair as if I belonged there.

    As the chair scraped the three of them looked at me with a mix of incredulity and amusement. It was to woman who spoke first.

    ¡°And what the hell are you doing here kid? Your daddy send you out to buy him a bottle of Hanho¡± She asked with amused eyes. She wasn¡¯t much of a looker but her eyes sparkled with a light that made me think she wasn¡¯t a bad sort.

    I shook my head. ¡°Na, came to find some action.¡± I said as I drew my ration tokens out and sat them on the table. ¡°What are ya guys playing?¡±

    They looked even more incredulous and a dark-haired man with a ridiculously bushy beard spoke up. ¡°What are you drivin¡¯ at.You mean you wanna throw dice with us? Roshk ain''t a kids game boy. Go back to your mom.¡± He didn¡¯t sound angry exactly, just exasperated.

    ¡°You mean my money¡¯s no good here?¡± I asked mock angry.

    ¡°If he wants to play let the kid play. I¡¯ll take his money.¡± Said the third man at the table. He was a lanky man with dark-blond hair and a scar over one cheek. I looked over to him and smiled making him laugh.

    ¡°I¡¯m not taking a kids money. Blood and bile, he can¡¯t be more than twelve.¡± The bushy-bearded man said.

    ¡°He wants to play, let him play.¡± Argued scarface. ¡° I need the money,¡±

    ¡°If you didn¡¯t spend so much on whores you wouldn¡¯t need to gamble so much.¡± The woman said with a barked laugh.

    ¡°Hey, Those ladies rely on my patronage. It wouldn¡¯t be right to cut them off.¡± The blonde-man said with a grin.

    ¡°Fine, whatever.¡± The woman said and just like that I was in the game. It took me a while to learn the rules but the game was pretty simple and against my semi-inebriated opponents I was able to hold my own. I was even up a few tokens but that hadn¡¯t been why I¡¯d come. I just needed an opportunity to put my plan into motion.

    The table shouted as I won another decent pot and I yawned theatrically and started to get up.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be like that kid! You can¡¯t run out after a big win.¡± The bearded man said with a slight slur.

    ¡°It¡¯s past my bedtime. I gotta work tomorrow and Judan will have my ass if I¡¯m late.¡± I said as I scooped up my winnings.

    ¡°That old rat is still alive.¡± The scarred man said with a snort. ¡°Tell him I¡¯ll kick his ass if he gives you trouble now sit down and have a drink.¡± I¡¯d made a pretty good impression on the three of them and had made myself some friends, but I still had work to do.

    ¡°Fine, but I¡¯m tired of Roshk. If we''re gonna gamble we need a real game.¡± I said as I slid back into my chair. The three looked at me with interest and I smiled. Now I had them.

    I hadn¡¯t been able to get proper cards made so I¡¯d settled for wooden tiles with the suits and numbers cut into them. The order had cost me five full tokens but I was pretty happy with the result. It was crude, and they were hell to shuffle, but they worked well enough. Besides, there was one thing in the world I refused to be without.

    ¡°You guys ever played poker?¡± I asked as I dumped the tiles out on the table.

    ************************************************************************************

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe you made a hundred tokens in a month.¡± Skimak said disgustedly as we walked through the market. The sun was setting and a cool breeze blew down the mountain cooling the air as night started to fall.¡°You¡¯ve got everyone in the village playing that game you made up.¡±

    My plan had gone a bit better than I¡¯d imagined initially. Within a week of introducing this world to the glory that was Texas Hold¡¯em there were at least three games going on every night in the tavern. The old woodworker that made my Skimak¡¯s bow had even given me a cut of his profits since so many people were ordering tiles made. The town was fertile ground for someone who¡¯d been playing the game since I was in junior high in my last life.

    I wasn¡¯t amazing or anything but I was definitely the best player in the village so far. I was sure that would change eventually but even then I should be able to make decent money. My main concern was that I couldn¡¯t win too much too quickly. It wasn¡¯t good to pull too much water from your only well and I liked the people I played against most of the time. That meant I had to lose nearly as much as I won to keep things interesting for everyone else. I could only milk a few tokens a night without ruffling feathers or making anyone destitute.

    Last night however, one of the upper-caste had come into the tavern looking for some female company and had wanted to play. So I¡¯d fleeced him for over fifty tokens. He hadn¡¯t even been upset and laughed it off as he bought two girls and left the table. On the other hand, fifty tokens nearly doubled my own money.

    Which is how I¡¯d afforded the small bottle in my pocket. The dark green liquid it contained looked like some sort of kale filled concoction some health nut back on earth would have drank but to me it was going to be a final test. I¡¯d payed an even hundred tokens for the elixir and spent two more to bribe Jadan for a day off. The old potion maker Shimak had bought it from said it would last twenty four hours and I was pulling out all the stops.

    The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

    My plan was a simple one. The area around the forest was densely packed with world''s essence and the deeper in the forest you went the stronger it became. The river-bank on the village side was where I did most of my cultivation. The essence there was at least half again as good as it was up the mountain where the village was. However, I wanted every advantage I could get my mitts on. So I was going to cross the river and cultivate on the other bank instead.

    The essence was even more dense on that side and should give me an extra boost. That would give me the most possible advantage while still letting Rupert stay in the water where he wouldn¡¯t dry out. Then I¡¯d drink the potion and spend an entire day and night cultivating my second path. If I didn¡¯t notice anything useful happening after that, I¡¯d stop cultivating my second path all together and focus on the first one from now on. Shimak thought I was an idiot to waste something so expensive on a long-shot but I was convinced I¡¯d figure out the puzzle. I just hoped I¡¯d like the answer I came up with.

    I woke before sunrise and Skimak and I did our normal training before I headed down the mountain. The run started to rise as I traveled turning the sky pastel shades of greens, and blues. The blue sun of this world created the oddest looking sun-rises and produced colors in the sky that were both alien and fascinating. I ran the entire way. I wanted to squeeze out every extra ounce of usefulness I could and I wanted to completely exhaust myself before I started my training.

    I crossed the river in one of the small boats, listening to the oars splash against the water and the faint creak of the wooden hull. It was a moment of peace and profundity and my mind stilled as my arms worked to pull my little craft across the wide river. I moored my little boat on the other bank then sat down at the edge of the water and summoned my beast. He immediately slid himself into the water swimming agilely for a few seconds before settling himself on the bottom as usual. Then with a deep breath I pulled out the glass vial and downed the continents in a single gulp.

    The taste was bitter, like brustle sprouts, but the texture was the worst part. The liquid held chunks of suspended plant matter and I nearly gagged as I choked it down. Then I sat silently in the dawn light, unsure of what to expect.

    The effect was much more subtle than I¡¯d imagined. I was expected some boiling heat or coldness, waves of energy hammering my insides but the reality was nothing like that. My perception of the world just shifted slightly. It was if my body was some transceiver and someone had adjusted my frequency dial slightly. Had it happened slowly, I would have probably not noticed but the suddenness of the change tipped me off because my perception suddenly sharpened.

    I could feel the world''s essence more strongly now. It was so thick down here I¡¯m was surprised I couldn¡¯t see it with my eyes, but the most interesting change was that the bond of spirit, or will, or whatever it was I shared with my beast had sharpened as well.

    I¡¯d felt emotion from him before on at least one other occasion but now I could make out details. What emotion he had anyway. His general mood was one was colossal unconcern. Not the sort of feigned nonchalance you see on dangerous predators. Instead his concern was genuine as though he honestly didn¡¯t care what was happening in the world around him. He was content to just sit on the bottom of the river and do nothing.

    It would have been comical if it hadn¡¯t been so depressing, but today sitting on the bottom of the river was exactly what I wanted him to do anyway. So at least we were on the same page. I made the necessary hand seal and started to pull in power.

    I wasn¡¯t sure if it was the location, the elixir, or the combination for the two,  but the power, which normally came in a tiny trickle, today came in a small stream. To someone with high-talent and a good beast this was probably merely ¡®average¡¯ but to me it was at least three or four times better than usual.

    Essence poured into me and I frantically circled it around my daintain in accords with my second cultivation path. The extra volume of essence made the process surprisingly difficult. My normal absorption was so slow it had never been an issue but today I needed a great deal of focus to keep the energy refining fast enough that my meridians wouldn¡¯t become over-loaded. It was hard, but not impossible and once I got the hang of it I slipped into a meditative state as the hours slowly ticked by.

    I was only distantly aware of the temperature climbing as noon approached, and cooling again as the sun set hours later. Night fell but I continued to cultivate, the world¡¯s essence coursing through my body. Then the flow of energy started to wane as the elixir wore off near dawn, until it settled back to it¡¯s previous level.

    I turned my focus inward trying to inspect my body for any changes.  My normal routine let me cultivate for about four hours a day, but I¡¯d just cultivated for almost twenty four straight hours at much improved pace. I must have absorbed nearly a month''s worth of essence in a single night. If I was going to find out what my second cultivation path actually did it would be now, when the difference between my current state and where I was yesterday would be most pronounced.

    When you cultivate your body absorbs essence in accordance with your cultivation path. The energy you move through your body is absorbed first by whatever parts of yourself the cultivation path focuses on. So Skimak¡¯s strength and endurance path granted by her ash-fawn means her muscles get the first and largest chunk of that power. The rest of that power then goes into the dantain, however as it settles a small fraction of that power is absorbed by every part of the body.

    This essence ¡®runoff¡¯ gives every cultivator their base-line power boost. It¡¯s the reason why even someone who cultivates a pure defense path will still be stronger, faster, and more agile than a normal human. My problem was, while cultivating my second path with the silver glow, that ¡®runoff¡¯ was the only essance my body ever got, and to make things worse I was absorbing essence so slowly to begin with that I was pretty much useless compared to every other cultivator. It had been nearly three months since I¡¯d bound my beast and while Skimak would be making her breakthrough into the Blood class in a few months. It would take me at least another year to reach the same level and I¡¯d only fall farther and farther behind.

    Which is why I¡¯d come up with this plan. If I couldn¡¯t figure out what part of my body the second path was improving then I¡¯d give up and only cultivate my first path. It would doom me to the bottom of the cultivation barrel, but even a below average cultivator had it way better than a common peasant of the lower-caste.

    I searched my body and mind in desperation hoping for something, anything that would give me a glimmer of hope¡­.. but I  found nothing. I must had searched for most of an hour, checking everything I could possibly think to check but I still came up empty. Unless the silver path was granting me some weird ability I couldn¡¯t think of it really did appear to be useless. Which didn¡¯t make any sense. I could feel how much energy I was pulling it. It wasn¡¯t much but It was definitely enough to measure. When I cultivated, the area around my daintain where I moved the energy was absorbing it. I could feel it. All that energy had to be changing something. Nothing could absorb that much energy and remain unchanged. It was going somewhere and doing something, but for the life of me I couldn¡¯t figure out what.

    Sighing in resignation I pushed my focus down through my bond with Rupert and called up the image of the first cultivation path. Tomorrow I¡¯d have to start back on this one. At least then I¡¯d be more nimble. It wasn¡¯t much but it was something. The points and lines formed before me as my mental map of the cultivation path appeared and I sighed again as I looked at how dull and dim it was. With a path this bad I¡¯d never be¡­¡­.

    I blinked, sharpening my mental focus. Yes, there was my first cultivation path, with all the lines in all the places I remembered but I would swear the lines weren¡¯t as dull as they used to be. Granted, they were still dim but when I¡¯d last looked the glow had been so dim I could barely make it out. Now I could see it clearly enough, it was just sad looking. It was like my cultivation path had improved, only by the smallest amount, but still. That was impossible wasn¡¯t it?

    Then again that amount of things I didn¡¯t know about cultivation was an endless ocean compared to the small cup of things I did know. Shimak had told me cultivation paths were fixed until a beast evolved, but she was a 12 year old girl who¡¯d gotten all her cultivation knowledge from her father and out of a single book. She might have a bucket of water to my cup, but it was still a long way from the ocean.

    I took a mental step back and reviewed what I actually knew. Each cultivation path deposits essence in the body as power moves through it. The location of that path dictates what part of the body gains improvement. My first path was mostly around my joints and ligaments, making them more flexible and more resilient. Those paths were based on the characteristics of my bound beast. Which is why Shimak¡¯s fire type fawn gave her increased endurance. After all deer run alot.

    My animal on the other hand just layed around. Sure he was flexible and a good swimmer when he felt like moving but that was only secondary. Most of the time he just sat around and did¡­. What?

    I reached into the shallow water and scooped him off the bottom. He¡¯d grown noticeably over night from all the pure essence I¡¯d fed him but I could still lift him without strain. I sat him on the bank next to me and really looked at him. This time without the disappointment I usually had but as an impartial observer. What the hell exactly was he. All beasts I¡¯d seen here were odd hybrids, but I had no idea what Rupert could possibly be based on.

    I looked closely with new eyes. He was oblong, not really serpent like, but he had a clear body structure. His head was facing me, and although he had no eyes or ears, or really anything else the shape of his skull was visible and he had an obvious mouth.

    I touched his skin. It had the same sort of rubbery feel I was used to, sort of like a cat-fish but almost porus. Like he gained his nutrients not from eating but from absorbing microscopic organisms in the water. Like some of those sea invertebrates I used to see on discovery. However, in this world that took on a whole new meaning, because not only did it give him a means of absorbing food from the water but it probably also made it easier for him to absorb essence¡­¡­ Pieces started to come together and my mouth drew into a slow smile.

    A creature who specialises in absorption, a mysterious silver cultivation path that seemly does nothing, but does it around the dantain where energy is absorbed, and a cultivation path that seemed to inexplicably improve. Two plus two plus two makes six.

    Of course it wouldn¡¯t seem like anything was happening. Once I¡¯d memorised the energy channels for the first path I didn¡¯t look at it very often and the brightening would have been so slow I wouldn¡¯t have noticed even if I checked it all the time. My mind started to race with possibilities.

    A cultivation path that improves cultivation paths. That was like the ultimate cheat. Yes it was slow, and even if I only cultivated the second path it would probably take years to catch someone who had a good path to start with but what about after that? The more I cultivated the faster I¡¯d be able to cultivate. The start would be brutal but what about five years from now¡­. This body would only be sixteen and I¡¯d have been doing nothing but improving my cultivation speed for years. I¡¯d be absorbing a ridiculous about of energy by then.

    It was like an old PC game I used it have that let you make your own magic spells. It was a cool system but extremely broken because it let you create spells that increased your basic attributes permanently. So you could cast a spell that made you permanently better at casting spells. Which in turn let you cast more powerful spells that increased the stat even further. Sure it took a while to get going but eventually you¡¯d max out your magic stat. Then you could just make spells for all the other stats and poof. You had a character who had 999 to every stat, who could kill any enemy with one attack, and run across the entire game would in seconds.

    I grinned evilly as the first rays of dawn touched my face. It would take a while, but I¡¯d get there. And woe to the world when I did.

    <hr />

    AN: Alright! Second chapter as promised.

    Thanks to all my readers and especially to those that have left reviews. You''ve rallied my rating from the depths!

    Enjoy,

    -- Dutchman

 Chapter 7: The Consequences of A Bad Idea

    The mild heat of the mountain in mid-summer gave way to a wet chilly fall while I spent my days cultivating with determination bordering on obsession. I¡¯d never been a hard worker in my last life. Web design had been something I could make money at with little commitment and overhead. I¡¯d started doing it in college to make money on the side but after majoring in communications, like an idiot,  my job options after graduation had been limited. So I¡¯d just kept doing what I¡¯d always done. I wasn¡¯t particularly talented but I could suck-up well enough to get clients and it payed the rent if only barely.

    However, finally discovering what my silver-colored cultivation path actually did had lit a fire in me. It had managed to do what years of teachers, angry parents, and a constant lack of money never had. It had motivated me.

    Shimak thought I was being an idiot and we¡¯d had more than one argument over my refusal to stop ¡®wasting my time¡¯ but she didn¡¯t understand, or didn¡¯t want to understand. She seemed to think my cultivation of my second path was some attempt to cop out of proper training, but it wasn¡¯t. I was training harder than I ever had, but Shimak and I had stopped sparring in the mornings.

    I¡¯d never been her match, even on my best day, and she¡¯d made her first breakthrough into the Blood Class of Body Rank around the beginning of fall. I was happy for her. It was an awesome achievement and from my understanding that was above average speed even for the elite families. Her success had caused other issues though.

    Her breakthrough had shot her shot her physical abilities way ahead of mine and the gap between us had widened to comical levels. Our morning training had became all but useless as Shimak could now totally crush me with only the smallest effort. Shimak seemed more than willing to switch to a purely educational role but I¡¯d asked her to stop. It wasn¡¯t fair to suck up her own training time while I was still learning the basics . Besides, spending time for something that wasn¡¯t doing me any good was pointless when that extra hour a day would give me 25% more time to cultivate.

    That decision had resulted in the first real fight of our friendship. I hadn¡¯t understood why she¡¯d been so upset which had only added fuel to the flames. Regardless of her reasons, after our row we¡¯d both been a bit cautious around the other and we weren''t as close as we had been. Which was a loss for both of us. Since we were each other¡¯s only real friends.

    The rains of fall had eventually turned into winter, coating the village, the mountain, and the forest in a thick white blanket of snow. The weather, combined with Shimak¡¯s reticence, had made the last three months into hell. I spent all my time working the pins, cultivating near the freezing river, and solo-training every second I could spare. It had been the hardest, most brutal, and most lonely time I¡¯d ever spent in either life and I still had my angsty teenage years to look forward to.

    Yet here I was in blowing snow and freezing wind setting on the bank of the river cultivating. The shallows had frozen over and I¡¯d had to break the ice just to get Rupert in the water. For his part he seemed as indifferent to the freezing water as he was to anything else. However, he¡¯d changed some over the long months. He was nearly a foot longer now and his emotions came to me more clearly. He¡¯d occasionally even go for a swim instead of just sitting around. I was interested to see how he¡¯d behave when he grew more.

    Still, all my hard work was bearing fruit. It was slow, agonizing really, but both my cultivation paths had improved remarkably over the past six months. I wouldn¡¯t be considered a top talent or even an average talent, but I felt secure In my promotion from ¡®useless trash¡¯ to ¡®cannon fodder¡¯.

    I was frustrated with my slow progress. All the hours of back-breaking exercise followed by even more hours of boredom was taking it¡¯s mental toll. Adding to that frustration was that I knew that I could save myself weeks of work if I just had more money. I¡¯d tasted the forbidden fruit and seen the results of what a proper training session could do. Which made my daily slog up and down the mountain though the snow an ever more bitter pill to swallow. My poker competition had improved markedly and although I still didn¡¯t have too much trouble winning some money, I hadn¡¯t gotten another pay-out big enough to buy another elixir. I could only keep struggling, watching as my cultivation improved at a snail''s pace.

    What I needed was someway to intensify my training. I exercised and ran, which helped but only marginally. I needed someway to really push myself. To come up with some crazy way to train that would nearly kill me but not quite. I¡¯d been tinkering with the idea of heading into the forest to fight something but I¡¯d been able to reason myself out of it. The only beasts I had a chance to kill were ones below soldier rank. Then again, having a steady supply of meat would help my development and if I could manage to sell some of it without the clan finding out¡­¡­..

    I sighed. It was the same old argument. The choice was a simple one. I could risk death to gain strength or wait and gain strength anyway but slower. The upsides were high but the downside was death and death was a bit too permanent for my taste. After all what was the point of all my training if I got killed by another thunder-boar on my first hunt.

    I opened my eyes and looked out at the river. The shallows had frozen over but the middle channel was mostly clear. As wide as the river was I didn¡¯t think it would ever freeze over completely but I could only imagine how cold the water would be. I¡¯d probably freeze to death in about a minute as the water sucked all the heat out of every inch of my body. I¡¯d probably have to use my essence just to stay alive for a few minutes¡­¡­.

    I looked at the water again. This time with a flicker of an idea coagulating in the back of my mind. Way back there where all the really bad ideas come from. The ones that start with things like¡­.¡±I¡¯m sure just one more wont hurt¡­¡­.¡± or ¡°I¡¯m sure she won''t be too mad if I¡­..¡±

    Skimak had always told me that using the essence in my body would be the best way to build it up, but I didn¡¯t really have anything to use it on. I wasn¡¯t at a level where I could use it for attacks and hurting myself for the sole purpose of building my cultivation had been a bit too masochistic for my taste. But if I was too say¡­. leap into a freezing cold river, it would force me to use essence to keep myself alive and I was bound to a water beast. It shouldn¡¯t be too dangerous. Besides, it would probably be fun. It would be like all those fat guys jumping into Lake Michigan in the middle of January.

    I stood up and looked around me suspiciously, as if I was a child about to do something his parents would disapprove of, which I suppose I was. It was a ridiculous action. The village was  miles up the mountain and only the insane or the dedicated would be out in this weather.

    Then without giving myself time to come to my senses I shucked off my clothes and jumped into the river. Wild elation pumped through my veins and I hung suspended into the air for one moment of sheer mad glee then I plunged into the water and immediately regretted my decision.

    The freezing water clawed at me like a million tiny beasts and I nearly gasped in shock. Which would have caused me to drown. The water rushed over my body robbing it of heat and life as the current tugged me down stream. I sent a command to Rupert through our bond and thankfully he obeyed me for once, dislodging himself and swimming over to me. I clung to him while he anchored me in place then sent my focus inward and tried to keep myself from going into shock.

    I hadn¡¯t had much practice actually using my essence. All the lessons Shimak had given me had been basic martial arts or general information on cultivation. I knew how one went about using essence but I¡¯d never actually done it myself. The theory was simple.

    The world¡¯s essence was basically a cure all. It could heal wounds, strengthen muscle and bone, improve a human¡¯s senses and keep a body in prime health for hundreds of years. A sufficiently skilled cultivator could push the essence out of their body, using it to attack and defend directly, control the elements, or even fly but I was a long way from those levels. What I wanted to do was much simpler. I just wanted to not freeze to death. So I pushed my thoughts down into my daintain where the cloud of essence I¡¯d been accumulating for the last eight months was stored then started pushing it around my body.

    Essence wasn¡¯t like fuel. You didn¡¯t burn it until it was consumed. Instead your body would sort of borrow it for awhile to do whatever crazy super-human maneuver you were doing, Like running up a wall, or trying to shatter a boulder with a karate-chop, or trying to keep yourself from going hypothermic. Then your body would release the power and it would slowly re-accumulate back in your dantain. You didn¡¯t lose anything for spending it, infact by pushing your body beyond it¡¯s limits you sped up your cultivation. Which is why I was doing this in the first place.

    As the world¡¯s essence started to move around my body I started to stabilize. It wasn¡¯t that I felt less cold, because I didn¡¯t, but I could tell my body wasn¡¯t shutting itself down anymore. The cold was still attacking my muscles and organs but the essence was keeping my circulation going and stabilizing my body temperature. It was awful but sort of exhilarating at the same time. I could feel my muscles and tissues going into collective apoplexy but for the moment I was safe. As long as I didn¡¯t burn through all my essence I should be alright.

    I sat like that in the water while my body shivered and my essence slowly depleted. I was happy with how things were going and I didn¡¯t want to push myself too far. So I figured I¡¯d stay here for for another minute or so then have Rupert push me back to shore.  I could use essance in place of breathing to stay under longer but doing that would use a lot of juice and I didn¡¯t want to take any more risks. I¡¯d no sooner had the though when a strong sense of danger came through my bond to Rupert.

    That was odd. I¡¯d never known him to be particularly concerned with anything. I turned my head and started to look around. The water here was crystal clear and I could see for hundreds of meters both upriver and down. Which is why I noticed the black shape swimming towards us.

    My eyes went wide as saucers and I started to panic as the sleek shadow closed the distance with what was a patently unfair amount of speed. My panic disrupted my concentration and my essence faltered causing the cold to start seeping into my muscles and bones.

    I watched in fascinated horror as the charging shadow resolved into distinct shape and color. The fish had a long lean body, not serpentine, but more like a barracuda or a gar. Long and lethal, like a knife slicing through the freezing water. It¡¯s had an elongated snout with a large underbite and it¡¯s body was covered in dark green scales. The scales weren¡¯t  small and smooth like normal fish scales would be. They were large and didn¡¯t overlap properly making the fish''s body have a rough jagged look that added to is fierce visage.

    The fish flashed closer and I started trying to swim towards the bank. This was bad luck on the most epic scale I could imagine. Sure jumping in the water had been dangerous, but It had been a danger I felt fully prepared I could deal with. However, never in my most paranoid calculations had I foreseen a fish showing up and attacking me. It¡¯s not that there weren¡¯t any fish in the river, but aside from very small ones, water beasts big enough to endanger people were very rarely seen.

    The fish darted forward like an arrow, it¡¯s long mouth opening to reveal a maw filled with long needle-like teeth. It came in swiftly snapping at me while I was still trying to swim towards the bank. I wasn¡¯t too far away, but with the cold my limbs weren¡¯t cooperating very well. I managed to interpose an arm to protect my vitals and the things needle teeth bit deep. It ripped out a large chunk of my forearm, clouding the once clear water with scarlet blood.

    The pain actually damped my panic. Letting me clear my mind and take stock of the situation. I started circling my essence again driving out the cold and sharpening my perception. Rupert had taken the opportunity granted by the fish attacking me and used it to strike at the beast''s flanks. His attack kicked off a mad duel of circling bodies and gnashing teeth between the two water creatures and more blood clouded the water blocking my vision.

    I didn¡¯t think Rupert had a real chance of victory. He was nimble and vicious but the fish was significantly larger and probably had a higher cultivation. So instead of heading towards the bank like a sane person I headed back into the fight. If Rupert died or ended up severely injured my cultivation would basically end until I bound a new beast, not to mention the spiritual backlash I would suffer would be enormous and dangerous. We shared a deeper bound that that. He was part of me now, literally, our souls had melded together. I couldn¡¯t just feed him to the proverbial wolves to cover my own escape. I swam back towards the dueling creatures, not sure of what help I could possibly be but knowing I had to do something. Even If I was just a distraction, that could make the difference in the right circumstances.

    I¡¯d no sooner approached to within striking range when the crazy fish monster struck at me with it¡¯s gnashing jaws. This time I was ready though and my reflexes, honed by dodging crazed beasts in the pins, showed their colors and let me evade. I twisted my torso away from his bite causing the fish to slip between my body and my arm. Although his teeth missed me the scales of his body were rough and hard and my skin proved little barrier as my flesh tore away like someone had run a cheese grater over it.

    I winced in pain but kept my head as the creature darted out of my reach again before twisting around to strike again. My fight or flight response had done a 180o and I no longer wanted to escape. I wanted to kill this thing more than I¡¯d ever wanted to kill something in my life. So I spread my arms wide as it charged in and waited for my chance.

    The fish opened its maw again and tried to take a bite out of my thigh but this time I used all the coordination in my body and as I slithered out of it¡¯s path I struck out finally attempting some offence of my own. I used both of my open hands to control it¡¯s head and slapped one hand down on the top of it¡¯s mouth while the other came up from the bottom. My plan succeeded and I forced the creature''s mouth closed as I pulled it into my body and hugged it under one armpit. This left its tail sticking out behind it and Rupter struck like a snake opening his own ghastly maw and biting a good six inches of the beast completely off. The wound sent it into a frenzy and it¡¯s scales ripped huge chunks out of my skin off but without it¡¯s mouth it couldn¡¯t do any mortal damage to me. I swung to the side pointing the creature toward the shallows. Now that I had it¡¯s head it could only swim in the direction I wanted it to and as it flailed frantically it¡¯s motion pushed both of us toward bank.

    I crashed through the thin ice as my knees hit bottom and I finally got the leverage I needed. I heaved with all my might. Strength wasn¡¯t my specialty but for a 12 year old I was no slouch. Here in the shallows it¡¯s movements were limited while mine were only growing stronger. I muscled the fish up into shallower and shallower water until with a heave I managed to roll it¡¯s frantically struggling body up onto the river bank.

    It started flopping around frantically but I rose from the river like some vengeful water god and kicked it farther and farther up on land. Then I grabbed the nearest rock and started bashing it over the head. It was strong and it took a lot of punishment but finally it stopped moving. I collapsed into the snow while I gasped for breath. That was when my essence finally ran out and the cold, my exhaustion and all the blood loss hit me like a hammer.  I crashed down into the void of unconsciousness.

    *************************************************************************

    Someone shook my shoulder and my eyes blinked opened to see a frowning face framed by wild orange hair hovering above me. I blinked a few times then panicked slightly as I realised I wasn¡¯t out on the snow covered bank anymore. Instead I was laying next to a roaring fire in our hut. My body was a limp noodle and I hurt absolutely everywhere.

    ¡°What¡­ happened?¡± I managed to get out as chills wracked my body. I was wrapped tightly in a blanket but I noticed I was still naked.  Shimak looked at me incredulously and her face darkened in a way I knew prefaced a blow-up.

    ¡°I find you freezing to death naked  next on the river bank next to a dead beast with half your skin ripped off and blood everywhere and you have the guts to ask ME WHAT HAPPENED?!¡± She screamed so loudly i¡¯m sure the neighbors could hear.

    ¡°Went for a swim¡­. Ran into some trouble.¡± I said vaguely as I huddled up beneath the blanket. Her face purpled with indignation and I winced as she started yelling again.

    ¡°YOU WENT FOR A SWIM! IN THE MIDDLE OF WINTER!¡± She yelled before she took a deep shuddering breath. Then she continued in a calmer voice. ¡°What in all beneath the sky could you have possibly been thinking?!¡±

    ¡°Seemed like a good way to train using my essence. I haven''t had much practice and I figured the cold would be a good test.¡± I said defensively. Honestly, everything has been going fine until that¡­ whatever it was showed up.

    She looked at me as if I was an idiot then, much to my surprise, she slumped down beside me. ¡°You¡¯ve never had any practice and you thought your first try should be in a freezing river. Only you would think that was a good idea.¡±

    ¡°Did you carry all the way the back up here?¡± I asked curiously. I was sure she had¡­ I couldn¡¯t think of anyone else who could have done it.  Shimak looked down and blushed charmingly and I thought, not for the first time, that things were going to get complicated between us in the next few years. Assuming she didn¡¯t strangle me first.

    ¡°Did you grab the fish?¡± I asked with a raised eyebrow. Now that I was alive I needed to worry about the important things¡­. Like money. That fish had to be worth at least 80 tokens. Skimak rolled her eyes skyward.

    If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

    ¡°You do realise that you almost died.¡± Shimak said disgustedly. ¡°Rupert covered you in some sort of slime that kept you from freezing to death or bleeding out, but you were still blue when I found you.

    ¡°Well thank you for saving me¡­. But did you get my fish?¡± I asked again. I sat up with a wince and summoned rupert. My body was completely wrung out which meant I needed to start cultivating before I recovered.

    Rupert appeared next to and I saw he was in as bad of a state as I was. He had a couple of vicious bite wounds along with some less serious scrapes, he seemed rather listless but I could feel satisfaction coming through our bond. Lazy he may be, but he was a vicious little creature when push came to shove.

    ¡°Yes I got your fish. After I realized you weren¡¯t going to die I went down and got it. It¡¯s buried out back in the snow.¡± She said with a head shake. ¡°Ingrate.¡± She said sullenly.

    I met her dark eyes and said in a more serious voice. ¡°Thank you Shimak, you saved my life. ¡± She blushed even more furiously and I smiled. ¡°I promise to buy you something nice when I sell the fish.¡± I said with a grin.

    I was hesitant to sell a land-beast because you had to go on the other-side of the river in order to get one and that would raise a bunch of questions I didn¡¯t want to answer. However, with the fish I could claim it had attacked me while I was down by the water. Which, although suspicious, was much less odd than someone going over into the forest. Which no-one ever had any reason to do except to look for herbs or beats.  This way I could say I¡¯d just been attacked and managed to defend myself. The clan would probably try to rip me off on the price but they shouldn''t be too suspicious about how I¡¯d killed it.

    I made the hand seal for cultivation and started to pull in essance while Shimak stirred the fire. My body drank like a man who¡¯d spent a two weeks in a desert. Shimak had always told me that cultivating after hard exercise was training was a necessity but the best time to cultivate was after a hard struggle where your life had been on the line. Today definitely qualified and the results didn¡¯t disappoint.

    I could feel the essence soaking into my cells like a soothing balm easing the pain of my injuries and warming my body from within. It was like dipping myself into a hot tub and I nearly groaned from how good it felt. My cells gorged themselves for nearly an hour, absorbing weeks worth of essence as the energy flowed from my bond to Rupert at it¡¯s normal sluggish speed. Finally my body gave up the ghost and I slumped over where I was setting. I was asleep before I realized what was happening.

    ***************************************************************

    I trailed along after Shimak as she pushed my father''s wheelbarrow up the mountain through six inches of snow. I¡¯d tried to do the gentlemanly thing initially, but between my bum arm and the fact that pushing a wheelbarrow uphill through snow isn¡¯t easy in prime condition, Shimak had simply pushed me out of the way and taken over.

    My wounds were healing surprisingly well considering it had only been a day since my little mishap. My skin already had that itchy healing sensation where It had been scraped off from the beast''s scales. My arm wouldn¡¯t be right for a week or so. The fish hadn¡¯t hit any tendons but He¡¯d taken a big chunk out of the muscle. It was a remarkable rate of recovery.  Earth¡¯s essence really was cheating.

    I¡¯d woken up early and dug the fish out of the snow-bank where Shimak had stored it. Then we¡¯d liberated dad¡¯s wheelbarrow and put the fish on the bottom and packed a good amount of snow over-top of it. I was confident we could sell the beast without issue but letting the entire village see while we paraded my kill though the streets wouldn¡¯t do.

    The clan quartermaster was up on the middle-caste section of the city near the village warehouse. It was where all the villagers had to go to exchange their tokens for food or to bring in whatever products they produced. It was run by a grizzled old warrior named Grenk. His daughter had been married by one of the upper-caste and she¡¯d gotten him the job when he was too told to fight anymore. He was an mean old bastard and he took a great deal of pleasure from screwing over the rest of the village for his masters.

    There was a decent line this morning and people were chatting as the line crawled slowly forward. Soon Shimak and I were in front of the Grenk¡¯s desk and he looked down at us with a heavy sigh.

    ¡°Name and business¡± He said automatically, as if he¡¯d said it a hundred times already today and planned to say it a hundred more.

    ¡°Chok son of Jical.¡± I said formally. ¡°And we¡¯re here for fresh meat.¡± I said cheerfully. There quartermaster looked at me disgustedly.

    ¡°Brat, there¡¯s people waiting. There is no fresh meat, there hasn¡¯t been for weeks and even if there was there¡¯s no way you could afford it. The hunters have been struggling for months, and the prices have gone through the roof. Even cured meat is going for twenty tokens a jin.¡± (about half a KG or a touch over a pound.¡±

    ¡°Now tell me what you really want or leave.¡± He said snidely.

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s excellent news. Because I¡¯m not here to buy I¡¯m here to sell.¡± I waved to Shimak and she dutifully pulled the fish out of the snow-filled wheelbarrow. It looked a bit worse for wear with it¡¯s tail missing and it¡¯s smashed head but it was definitely fresh, it was even still bleeding a little.

    ¡°One fish, not sure what type, killed yesterday and packed in snow all night.¡± I said theatrically as I waved toward the fish in question. ¡°It¡¯s core hasn¡¯t formed yet, but it does have a seed which is intact.¡± A beast seed is an underdeveloped beast core. They didn¡¯t usually have much essence but they did have some. And while it would be worth much less than a fully formed core it should still get me another 50 tokens.

    There were a few murmurs behind me and people started to crowd around. Fresh meat was an incredable luxury and villagers would pay exorbitant amounts of money to give their children even smell amounts. After all what parent didn¡¯t what their child to grow up big and strong.

    Grenk¡¯s face flashed through a bunch of different emotions as he stared slack-jawed. Then his face took an a calculating air. I sighed inwardly. I¡¯d known that this was going to be a battle but I was hoping it wouldn¡¯t start this early.

    ¡°You call that a beast? Look at it. Half of it¡¯s missing, and it¡¯s been stuck in snow all night. There¡¯s no way I can give you fresh prices for that.¡± He said loudly his face taking on the cast of someone who¡¯s patience was being tried to the limit. ¡°The clan thanks for for your service but I can''t offer you more than 20 tokens for it. ¡°

    ¡°Twenty tokens¡­.¡± I said incredulously. It was worth at least 5 times that¡­ At least. The fish weighed over 20 jin and at least half that was good meat, but even the organs and other bits that people back on old earth would have thrown out were valuable here.

    ¡°Last time I checked a monster seed didn¡¯t go bad, and even if you want to rip me off on the meat the seed is worth at least 50 by itself.¡± I said with my arms crossed.

    ¡°This isn¡¯t a negotiation. All beasts meat and beast cores have to be sold to the clan. Now take your twenty tokens and be happy with that.¡± He said, his own face now reddening with anger.

    ¡°Only partially correct.¡± I said with in my most condescending voice. ¡°All beast cores are technically property of the clan so you¡¯ve got me there. However, the beasts body isn¡¯t. So although I can¡¯t sell it to anyone besides the clan. I can not sell it to anyone.¡± I turned back to Shimak and held out my hand. I¡¯d had to ask around to find out the exact rules but I¡¯d wanted to make sure I knew all my rights before I came to bargain.

    ¡°Lemme borrow your knife.¡± I said and Shimak placed the blade obediently into my palm. With a few clumsy cuts I managed to extract the beast seed and slapped it down on the counter. Then picked up the fish laid it back in the wheelbarrow and  turned away.

    I¡¯d only made it a few steps with Grenk called after me in an even angrier voice. ¡°And what the hell are you gonna do with all that meat. You think the clan will let you off after this?¡±

    I turned back to him and shrugged nonchalantly. ¡°I already work the pins. Unless they hang me they can¡¯t really put me any lower. The real question is what is the clan gonna do to you when they find out you let a low caste family have an entire beast to themselves because you were too greedy to give a twelve year-old kid a decent price.¡±  I turned my back on him and started to walk away again.

    ¡°Lets go Shimak. Looks like we¡¯re having fish tonight.¡± I said loud enough to carry.

    ¡°A hundred!¡± Grenk shouted from behind me. I turned slowly trying to surpress my smile.

    ¡°One twenty...¡± I countered shamelessly. Even at 150 I was still getting screwed but I needed the money way more than the fish and both Grenk and I knew it.

    ¡°One-ten and I won''t tell the clan who brought it in.¡± The old man lied smoothly. I knew he would tell. Hell, that would be the first question they asked him. It didn¡¯t really matter though the die had been cast.

    ¡°Sold. I said hosting the fish up on a shoulder before flopping it down on his desk.¡± It made a satisfying thump as I did and the old man dug under his desk for a while before handing me eleven large tokens. I touched my forehead as if it was a cap brim then nodded and walked away.

    ¡°You do realize he¡¯s going to make trouble for you.¡± Shiak said as we headed back to the hut.

    ¡°Of course he is. What¡¯s the point of being in power if you can even oppress a twelve year-old boy.¡± I muttered darkly. ¡°The only real question is how will he do it, and what am I going to do about it.¡±

    Shimak gave me a sharp elbow. ¡°You mean what are we going to do about it?¡± She said with a scowl.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t know you were talking to me again.¡± I said with a grin. It felt good to banter again. Seemed almost dieing is a good way to earn sympathy.

    ¡°We¡¯re not. As long as you insist on your idiotic training, but just because I¡¯m not talking to you doesn¡¯t mean I won¡¯t help.¡± She said sourly. I thought about pointing out that she was talking to me right now but thought better of it.

    We chatted more as we headed back to the hut. I pushed the wheelbarrow back down the mountain. The familiar banter was a relief. I¡¯d missed her and hadn¡¯t realized how much.

    It was still mid-morning when we made it back and the bright sunshine glinting off the snow had me squinting as we arrived.

    My boss at the pins had given me a few days off because of my bad wing and I intended to take full advantage of the extra cultivation time but I¡¯d promised Shimak a gift. Not to mention I hadn¡¯t gotten her anything for her birthday which was a couple months ago. She was 13 now.  What did you buy for a crazy adolescent ninja girl anyway¡­?

    Probably something sharp¡­¡­

    ******************************************************************

    I was headed towards the blacksmith debating on the relative merits between a short-blade and a long one. I thought a long blade strapped across her tiny back would be hilarious and awesome, but a short one would be more useful for her. Then again she could use a long blade from deer-back like a cavalry saber when her beast grew. The thought made me chuckle.

    I was in the middle-caste part of town with most of the shops. The streets were narrower here than they were in the lower and upper caste areas. So the large figure that stepped out in front of me was easily able to block my path.

    He was taller than I remembered and his baby face had leaned out a bit in the last six months. Kalar was fourteen now was starting to hit his growth spurt, not that he needed to grow more. He already towered above my small frame and his bulk was intimidating. I looked around for a path to avoid him but my hopes sank as more people stepped from the allies around me. They hemmed me in, surrounding me and leaving me without an espace.

    ¡°I heard you killed a beast.¡± Kalar said in his normal thuggish tones. He wore a malicious smile and he took a casual step forward, shortening the distance between us. ¡°Heard they paid you a hundred tokens for it. Quite the windfall for a little low-cate trash like you.¡±

    Ahhhh¡­.. A shakedown then¡­..

    That bastard Grenk had outdone himself. He¡¯d kept his word and hadn¡¯t told the clan. Instead he¡¯d probably told Kalar¡¯s father so the bastard could have his son beat me up and take all my money. Fortunately, I didn¡¯t have it on me. The low-caste didn¡¯t have anything like rights and the only reason no-one stole everything we owned was usually because we didn¡¯t have anything they wanted. Carrying around a hundred plus tokens would be foolishness bordering on madness. So I¡¯d buried the money down by the river, which had been hard work in the frozen ground.

    ¡°That¡¯s true, but I got lucky. The fish jumped out of the water to attack me and landed on the bank. Couldn¡¯t do much after that.¡± I said casually as I watched the thugs close in around me. Things were not going to go well here. Secret cultivator I may be but I wasn¡¯t much of one. Sure I was better than a normal person, especially a normal human my own age, but it was only fractionally better. Only Kalar and one of the girls in the mob had a visible tattoo, but six on one that would hardly matter.  Even if none of them were cultivators they¡¯d likely still win with my abilities.

    ¡° A low caste like you shouldn¡¯t need all those tokens. Why don¡¯t you hand them over to us?. We¡¯ll take good care of them for you.¡± He said as he cracked his knuckles to add dramatic effect.

    ¡°Sorry, don¡¯t have them on me. The village is dangerous for us low-caste, and common thugs could just walk up and rob me and no-one could do anything about it.  Can never be too careful ya know.¡± I said lazily.

    ¡°Is¡­ that¡­. So.¡± Kalar said, drawing out the words as he took another step forward. He was well within striking range now and I shifted my balance ready to move at a moment''s notice.

    ¡°I suppose I¡¯ll just have to find out for myself them.¡± He said as he swung a large fist at me. It came in like a meaty freight-train, it¡¯s power more than enough to cause serious internal injuries. His physical abilities were head and shoulders above mine in almost every aspect, but defense cultivators weren¡¯t known for their speed and I was was an coordination and flexibility cultivator.

    My body twisted like a snake, dipping so that the punch whistled by my left ear. I stepped back and away, knowing that getting into grapple range would spell my doom.  I countered with my own punch sending a left jab into his jaw. Which was a very silly thing to do against a defense cultivator. Against a normal person that kind of weak strike would distract and rattle them. Against Kalar I should have known better. My fist connected clean but I may as well have punched a steel girder. The force of the blow rebounded back into my fist doing nothing to him. Luckily, I hadn¡¯t hit him harder or I would have broken my damn hand.

    Kalar snorted as I stepped back out of range. ¡°I see that little red-haired slut has been teaching you something, but I¡¯ve been cultivating for months since then. You couldn¡¯t hurt me even If I let you hit me.¡±

    He was right. My fists were useless against him. Even with a weapon I likely couldn¡¯t do much unless I hit him in the eye or something. Even if our cultivation bases were similar our talents made me a very poor matchup. Neither of us would be able to hurt the other until I was too tired to dodge. Then he¡¯d have me and that was in a one on one.

    ¡°Get him.¡± Kalar said with a sneer and the fight began. The people closed from all sides and I did surprisingly well for a few moments. I dodged a wild grapple from behind smashing my foot down on a his arch while at the same time twisting to dodge a kick from the left. I slapped down on the kicking leg borrowing the momentum to spin me back to the right where I struck out with a knife-hand aimed for the gangly boy at that side.. The blow struck home in his neck, sending him reeling backwards and opening gap in the encirclement. I dashed that direction trying to seize upon the faint hope of freedom but It wasn¡¯t meant to be.

    A hand caught the back of my tunic and yanked me backwards into the mob. Then the fists came down like rain and an curled myself into a ball as I took my beating. I wasn¡¯t sure how long it lasted but I was barely conscious when they finally had enough. My essence hadn¡¯t fully recovered from my last fight and I could only use a small portion of it to blunt the worst damage. I was only vaguely aware of someone searching me but I hadn¡¯t lied to them. I really didn¡¯t have the money on me.  My minor victory earned me a last vicious kick before they left in the street to die.

 Chapter 8: A Step On The Path

    I groaned as I regained consciousness.

    Pain¡­.

    That one thought was all my mind could manage. My body was in agony. Breathing sent spikes of blazing fire to shooting through my chest, while dull throbbing aches seemed to radiate from my limbs and back.  On the bright side I supposed the pain meant I was was alive but at the moment that seemed a poor consolation.

    I blinked open my eyes and inspected the ceiling of my hut. I was really getting tired of ending up here. I started circulating what essance my body had left to repair my injuries but my reserves were basically empty. It took less than five minutes to run out and the injures it healed were a few grains of sand on the beach of my misery.

    I was alone in the hut and had no desire to try and move. With little else to do and needing more essence to recuperate I summoned Rupert and started to cultivate.

    My body drank deeply of the world¡¯s essence as my injured cells absorbed the energy in a desperate attempt to repair themselves.  The internal injures I had suffered had damaged my meridians but that only seemed to amplify the effects of my cultivation path. There was almost no way to train or stress your meridians in a controlled environment, but getting beaten half to death had done the trick. It was a gambit with a razor''s edge. The amount of damage your meridians could take without being injured permanently was small, but I seemed to have landed in the sweet spot.

    I cultivated until Rupert started to dry out then took stock of myself. I had at least three broken ribs, a broken wrist on my previously good arm, a few bruised organs, a spleen that had nearly ruptured, numerous bruises and strained tendons, and two broken teeth. All in all, I¡¯d had the hell kicked out of me.

    Once again I was thankful for my cultivation. Injures like these would take months to heal back on Earth and even when they healed I¡¯d never be back to 100%. Here however, not only would I make a full recovery but my body would be stronger for the experience. It was an extremely masochistic way of training but it was effective.

    Near sunset Shimak stormed into the hut like a whirlwind. She must have had to work other wise I had no doubt she would have been here when I woke. Her small body was nearly vibrating with rage when she saw me and I spoke up before she did anything crazy.

    ¡°You''re making a habit of dragging my broken body around.¡± I said with a wan smile. Her face contorted in rage as she took in my injures and my grin widened.

    ¡°If you hadn¡¯t been so hurt I would have already murdered that bastard.¡± She said through gritted teeth.¡± We all thought you were going to die. Your mom cried over you all night.¡±

    I did my best to pacify her. With Shimak¡¯s cultivation and martial arts skill she really could murder them all and the worst part was I was pretty sure she¡¯d do it. I couldn''t hurt Kalar but Shimak would break him like a cheap vase.

    ¡°You can¡¯t murder him.¡± I said seriously. ¡°Not that you physically couldn¡¯t, but his uncle would have both of us, plus mom and dad killed if you did. We¡¯ll have to tread carefully.¡± I said meeting her brown eyes. I was just as furious at Kalar and his lackeys but unless you had the biggest hammer you couldn¡¯t just smash everything that made you angry. The weak had to use subtlety. We¡¯d have to bide our time and hide our power until we could turn the tables.

    ¡°So you just want to let him get away with it?¡± She asked incredulously, her anger still boiling. Her face had turned tomato red clashing magnificently with her orange-red hair. She looked like a toddler with her cheeks puffed out and her red face. It was a shame she could snap me in half.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t say that. I¡¯m not one to forgive a bully, but his status is a lion to our earthworm. It makes everything too difficult. Sure you could stomp him like a dog but I can¡¯t let you fight all my battles.¡± I said with a shrug. A man did have his pride after all.

    Shimak snorted loudly. ¡°I could twist that fat bastard like a pretzel.¡± Her comment made me laugh out loud as it summoned the mental image of her tiny from breaking the much larger boy.  The laughter sent waves of agony through my ribs and moaned in pain.

    ¡°I know you could but this is something I¡¯m going to have to deal with. Otherwise even you putting your boot on his neck will just make more problems for me.¡± Even if we just defended ourselves against Kalar it would cause problems. He was strong enough now that it would be obvious to everyone that Shimak could cultivate if she beat him. Hiding our talent had bought us time to develop but the truth was bound to come out sooner or later. When it did, it would be impossible to tell what the fallout would be.

    The nobles would probably prefer to just dissapear us. After all, we were low caste and noone would care. What we needed was a spectacle. To leave a deep enough footprint the uppers couldn¡¯t just sweep us away. Either way I needed to get stronger.

    ¡°Shimak, go down to the river and dig up my money. I need a big barrel.¡± I said with purpose.

    She looked at me angrily. ¡°Would you stop giving me orders. I¡¯m not your slave and I could kick your skinny butt.¡±

    I looked up at her from my place on the bed and put on pitiful expression. Then I made a show of trying to push myself up. It really did hurt like hell and It didn¡¯t take much acting to convince her I was unable to rise.

    Her face softened for a moment in sympathy before hardening again. ¡°God¡¯s above, Fine! ¡± She shouted as she stormed out of the hut.

    *********************************************************************************************

    It took me nearly a week to get out of bed and a month and a half to heal completely. My teeth were the last to grow back. I¡¯d pulled the broken ones myself but the snows were melting off the mountain by the time they started to grow back in.

    The much maligned barrel Shimak had purchased for me had of course been for Rupert. He dried out too quickly in the dry winter air but with a barrel I could melt snow for him over the fire and stick him inside the barrel to keep him moist. I had Shimak sit the barrel just outside the hut on the other side of the wall from my bed. It was close enough to exchange energy with him and let me cultivate nearly 24/7 while I healed. As long as I didn¡¯t let the water freeze it worked well.

    Winter in a bronze-age village is exceptionally boring. The sheer fantastic wonder of the place had kept me occupied for months. A world where martial artists ruled for centuries, controlling the elements with the power of their Qi. Where humanity was besieged by maddened beasts and peerless experts could flip seas and crush mountains.

    This world was the stuff of legend and myth and loads of people on old earth would love to live in such a world, but after months of winter stuck in a hut with nothing to do but cultivate I had to admit I was missing TV, football, and online gaming.

    Even when I was healed I had to stay out of site. Such a beating would kill or maim most people and I had to keep up the pretense. I stayed in the hut all winter until the trees started to bud in spring. The results of this nearly constant cultivation combined with the abuse my body had taken had catapulted my cultivation forward. My meridians, bones, muscles, tendons, and organs soaked in essence as they rebuilt themselves. Pushing my body farther and farther from the scrawny starving wretch I¡¯d been we¡¯d I¡¯d first woke up here.

    I was still far behind my peers but I¡¯d condensed half a year''s cultivation into the two months I was indoors. I was gaining ground but it wasn¡¯t enough. I needed to be faster. What had started as childhood bullying had escalated and now my life and the lives of my entire family were endangered because of petty cruelty and tribe politics.

    My frustration simmered. It wasn¡¯t that I hated Kalar. There was no use hating a spoiled child. He was just making everything so damn difficult. The weight of it pressed down on me during those long months. It seemed every time I overcame a hurdle another popped up in it¡¯s place. First I¡¯d needed a beast core, so I¡¯d gotten myself one. Then I¡¯d needed money, so I¡¯d taken it. Now I needed¡­.. something, Power, time, resources, room to breath, something¡­.

    It was on one such spring morning when Jical finally had enough of my moping about.

    ¡°Get Up..¡± He said suddenly, as I sat cultivating in the hut. My relationship with my parents had gotten awkward. I didn¡¯t really love them and they both knew it. I acted like an adult, made more money than they did, and was a cultivator. Our parent-child relationship was nothing approaching normal. They were both really nice people and cared about me a great deal but that sense of true family just wasn¡¯t there.

    ¡°You¡¯ve been in here too long. You''re starting to stink. You need some sunshine and fresh-air.¡± He turned towards the door and walked out before I could argue. Shrugging, I dismissed Rupert and walked out after him. I took my crutch from the corner and hunched my back as I stepped out into the spring air making sure to walk with a convincing limp.

    We walked out to the fields in silence. Both of us enjoying the sun-shine after spending the long winter indoors. There was something profound about a spring morning. The bite of the morning chill, the smell of the world as it slowly came back to life after it¡¯s seasonal slumber. It was invigorating, and it really had been what I¡¯d needed.

    He lead me outside of the village to the fields and I was forced to sit and watch as he dug in the rocky soil of the mountain. The top-soil here was nearly non-existent and I couldn¡¯t imagine it was very fertile. It was nothing compared to the soil from my own lost Illinois. I had been down-state a time or two and everywhere south of Chicago had cornfields as far as the eyes could see in every direction. Farming here would be like carrying boulders up a mountain. Not impossible, but definitely a horrible grueling task.

    ¡°So what are you planting.¡± I asked, curious. I couldn¡¯t say farming had ever been of particular interest to me, but I did wonder how Jical made his money. He received two ration tokens a month, which was basically enough money to feed the family for two weeks. Mom, got one token a month for her work. That was why I¡¯d been starving when I¡¯d first resurrected. They just didn¡¯t make enough to feed me. Sad, but not really uncommon for the lower casts. Now we had plenty of money, but the extra wealth had done us more harm than good.

    ¡°Therris grain this year.¡± He said as he continued to dig. Therris was a something of a cross between wheat and corn from back on Earth. Apparently, it grew about four feet high and looked like a really fat cat-tail reed, with a top like a corn-cob. It was a basic staple and most of it was ground into flour, while some was fermented for beer.

    ¡°And how much will you make when you harvest.¡± I asked to keep up the conversation.

    ¡°The quota for Therris is two-thousand jin. If I make it I get four tokens a month. Anything over that I can sell on my own, and anything less gets my pay reduced to two tokens a month.¡± He explained as he continued to work. ¡°People see farmers as the lowest class. Yet we are closest to nature and the world. It was farmers who made civilization possible. Before man learned to grow plants from the earth we could never have true homes. We wandered from place to place, never able to settle down.¡±

    He reached into the sack on his back and tossed me a small seed. I caught it and looked down at it confused, but Jical had worked up a head of steam now. ¡°Look at it. Small, dirty, and ugly. Just like us in the low caste.¡±

    It really was a rather sad looking thing. About the size of a kernel of corn. It was small, covered in dirt, and heavily mis-shapen. Even as therris seeds went it was a poor specimen.

    ¡°But that seed is the basis of this village. Without food, how could there even be a village? How could the masters set in their mansions and lord it over the rest of us. It¡¯s that seed and those who tend it who are the true masters.¡±

    I really looked at the seed. Jical was right in a way. Agriculture was the root of civilization, but even more than that it was the root of life. A small ugly item it may be but it was marvelously designed. Protection from the elements and nourishment for the seedling all right where it was needed and in one neat package.

    It was not just a seed it was a symbol. Not just of civilization but of humanity itself. It was like a tiny little cultivator, absorbing the essence of the sun and the earth as it reached upward for the sky. It was life, but more than that it was potential. Each seed was a chance. A chance to grow, to live, to make it¡¯s mark upon the world. It was like me in a way. My cultivation wasn¡¯t one of power, or speed, it was one of potential. A tiny seed, a gateway, a single chance.

    Thoughts swirled in my mind as I pondered upon the seed. I was so focused I didn¡¯t even notice what was happening around me or within me. Rupert, who normally swam lazily in my dantain, had begun to stir. He swam frantically as my dantain became a vacuum. Sucking away the energy from inside me and reaching for more, but it couldn¡¯t get more. It was a vaccum hose with someone¡¯s hand over the end. The pressure building but with no way to release. Rupert became even more frantic bashing against the walls of my dantain until he finally broke free of my body and appeared in the world completely on his own.

    If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

    The effect was immediate and overwhelming. The seal was broken.  Our connection sprang to life and world¡¯s essence flooded into me in a massive wave. If our normal absorption was sucking air through a coffee stirrer than this was taking a single deep breath of the sweetest air.

    The shock of all the essence hitting my system at once knocked me from whatever state of mind I¡¯d slipped into and the effect ended instantly. Even so the sheer volume of corrupt power within me was staggering. It was like swallowing the power of that boar¡¯s beast core but even worse. The power beat against my meridians pressing them to the breaking point and sending waves of agony through my body.

    I had no idea what was going on and wasn¡¯t in anyway prepared. The power seethed inside me begging to return to the world, but even in my near delirium my instincts knew what to do. Hell, I¡¯d spent most of the last two months doing nothing but cultivating. It was practically second nature now.

    I unraveled the giant ball of power. Peeling off a single thread and feeding it slowly through my meridians while following my cultivation path. I knew I couldn¡¯t digest all of it right now. I had no idea what had happened but I¡¯d felt the ripple it had caused in the world¡¯s essence. The area around me was now completely devoid of essence for a good fifty feet in every direction. Most of the cultivators in the village would have sensed it, and I really needed to not be here when they came to investigate.

    Still, I had to relieve some of the pressure before fleeing. Blowing up my meridians would be an extremely silly way to end my cultivation career. I purified for a few seconds until I thought I could make it back to the hut then unsummoned Rupert and ran into the village. Once I hit the first couple of houses. I pulled out my crutch and slowed to a limping walk, acting as natural as possible. It was about thirty seconds later that a group of warriors ran past heading towards the fields.

    By the time I made it back to to the hut the massive ball of energy was taking its toil. My whole body was sweating with fever chills and my stomach roiled with nausea. I started to cultivate immediately, frantically trying to purify the power inside me before the corrupt power started to twist me. Shimak had warned me what could happen if I held on to unpurified power too long.

    It was one of the reasons consuming beast cores was so dangerous. Most normal people could handle a soldier core assuming they started to purify it soon after it was ingested, but an elite core was simply too much power for a non-cultivator to deal with. It would take them days to purify it all and the whole time they¡¯d have corrupt power sloshing around in their bodies.

    The block of power I¡¯d absorbed just now was about half of a soldier core, but It had taken me most of an hour to walk back from the fields at my fake-crippled pace. Even as I rotated the energy it seemed reluctant to break apart. It was like I¡¯d eaten a week old hot-pocket. It just sat in my body like a brick unwilling to digest.

    It took hours to even purify half the energy. Then things got even more complicated. As purified power rushed into my daintain the cloud of energy inside expanded pressing against the walls. However, the walls didn¡¯t expand and soon the sensation of pressure building became uncomfortable.

    Crap¡­..

    I knew what that meant. Shimak had explained what attempting to break-though felt-like and this was definitely it. Under normal circumstances I¡¯d have come up against my first bottleneck gradually and Shimak could have helped me through it. Now, I¡¯d painted myself into a corner. I HAD to purify the essence inside of me before it made me ill, and to do that I had to create more space for the energy to go.

    Shimak had given me a few basic instructions but now that I was here things seemed a lot more critical. I tried to calm myself and let the pressure build like she¡¯d instructed. The trick was proper timing. You had to have enough pressure to weaken the walls, while not too much that the pressure over-loaded. If that happened your daintain would crack, and power would rush through your meridians randomly. That would cause all sorts of havak and a bunch of the essence would be lost. You¡¯d lose months of work and could damage your meridians. However, if you break through too soon you¡¯d have a weaker foundation.

    I forced myself to calm down, even as the pressure with in me became painful. I held on for another minute. Then reached within myself and grabbed hold of the energy in my dantain. I formed the energy Into a hammer before smashing it against the barrier. The wall held and the essence rebelled at the collision, sending my body into chaos. My organs trembled and I coughed up a mouthful of blood even as I forced my essence into another hammer.

    I smashed the wall a second time and it finally broke. Essence poured into my body and soaked into my muscles sending bolts of comforting warmth through me. At the same time my Dantain expanded outwards and re-sealed itself, now much larger and more durable than before. I took a relieved breath thinking the worst was over but then noticed the warmth in my muscles had started to build. The heat quickly became uncomfortable, becoming a burning fire. My muscles swelled until my skin split. Black ooze bled out from the hundreds of tears in my flesh and I screamed in agony. Luckily, it did not last long. The pain in my muscles subsided as the foul smelling ichor was expelled. Then the skin knit back together as I fell to the floor. I had to push myself back to a sitting position but I couldn¡¯t stop yet. It took another two hours for me to finish purifying all the leftover essence before I finally collapsed into an exhausted sleep.

    ********************************************************

    ¡°What is that smell?¡±

    Someone asked from far away.

    ¡°Gods Chok?... What happened?¡±

    Groaning, I sat up. I was expecting pain but instead I found only comfort. I felt great, better than great. I felt amazing, smelled terrible, but felt incredible.  Shimak was standing in the door of the hut looking at me like I was some diseased dog.

    ¡°What happened?¡± She repeated looking equal parts disgusted and confused.

    ¡°I have no idea actually.¡± I said honestly. What had happened? Where had all that essence come from? It was like I¡¯d turned into a giant essence vacuum for two or three seconds. Even when I¡¯d drank that elixir, it was nowhere near as powerful as what had happened in the fields.

    ¡°Jical was comparing the low caste to a therris seed. He threw me a seed and started talking about how it was the base of civilization. Then I started looking at it¡­.. And I don¡¯t know. ¡°

    I told her the story about the therris seed, the big wave of power, my escape, and finally my breakthrough. Her eyes became more and more incredulous as I talked until finally she burst out laughing.

    ¡°I can¡¯t leave you alone for two minutes. To think you were the one. I felt the essence ripple and knew what happened but I can¡¯t believe you it was you. You actually took a Step.¡±

    ¡°I took a what? I was sitting still the whole time.¡± I said completely lost.

    Shiamak gave me her eyeroll. ¡°No, You found a Path and took a Step. With a capital ¡®S¡¯¡±

    ¡°And what exactly is a Step.¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t your parents ever tell you stories as a kid? Like some hermit is out picking berries and sees a Saw-tooth Crane catch a fish. Then in a moment of insight he develops some peerless sword technique.¡± She asked looking at me.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think our parents told us the same sorts of stories.¡± I said with a frown.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know how to explain it. It¡¯s like. Say your looking at a leaf on a tree, and a gust of wind hits it. All the leaves around that leaf fold one way, but for some reason this particular leaf seems to move against the wind. Then you have some interesting thought about why and come to some conclusion about something. POOF! You¡¯ve taken a Step and gained some insight about yourself, or the world, or martial arts, or anything really. ¡° She tried to explain. Her explanation didn¡¯t really make sense but I was starting to get the picture.

    ¡°Alright then what¡¯s a Path?¡±

    Shimak snorted. ¡°That is a question for people smarter than me. On some level it¡¯s exactly what it is, a path. A way of getting from one place to another, but it¡¯s MUCH more than that and really is impossible to explain. The Path that can be explained is not the true Path.¡±

    ¡°So there is more than one of these Paths?¡± I asked still trying to wrap my brain around it.

    ¡°There are as many Paths as stars in the heavens and at the same time there is only one Path.¡± She quoted as she made grasping motions with her hands obviously struggling. ¡°Like I said, I really can¡¯t explain it. That¡¯s how it works.¡±

    ¡°So basically, because I was thinking about that seed I came to some sort of truth about the world and therefore could absorb a bunch of essence really fast?¡± I said, more confused now.

    ¡°Basically, although truth isn¡¯t exactly the right word for it. A truth is true for everyone. A Step is much more personal. If I said I¡¯m short, that¡¯s true for most people, but to an Ant I¡¯m a giant, and it¡¯s not true at all. Steps and Paths are about how you personally see the world. Someone could walk out to that field right now and think the exact same thoughts you did for a thousand years and get nothing, or they could pick up the same seed and come to some entirely different but no less profound conclusion.¡±

    ¡°Do these steps happen often?¡± I asked after a few seconds of pondering her words.

    She shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s not exactly common, but not really uncommon either. It¡¯s sorta like a left-handed cultivator. It¡¯s not exactly special, but it is kinda rare. Usually someone has one in the village once every couple of years. It¡¯s actually a shame. Normally when someone takes a Step the warriors will go investigate and the person who made the discovery will get gifts from the village. You on the other hand had to run away.¡±

    I sat frowning while I thought and as I did finally looked at myself. Reeking black sludge covered my entire body. More than that though, I noticed my muscles had returned to their previous size. I had a vague impression of them swelling crazily during my breakthrough. Speaking of which¡­. I glanced into my daintain and was shocked by the size of it. Rupert was swimming happily inside as usual as if nothing remarkable had happened at all today.

    I summoned him and then used our link to glance at my cultivation paths. They were definitely quite a bit brighter now. Even taking into account all that energy I¡¯d ingested. Something about my Step must have affected my meridians because now Rupert¡¯s cultivation paths were well lit. Not good, but about even with a slightly below average beast. It was like the difference between Heaven and Earth compared to yesterday. I looked over to Rupert and only then noticed how big he was. He must have grown another six or eight inches at least, and that was in only a few hours.

    ¡°What is this black crap all over me.¡± I asked finally.

    ¡°You broke through.¡± She said with a shrug. ¡°Why do you think they call it Muscle Rank? When you break through the energy you use to break through the blockage rushes into and purifies your muscles. That sludge is all the crap that you¡¯ve managed to accumulate in your muscles since you were born. When you break through Blood Rank to Bone rank, your blood and organs will purify.¡± She wrinkled her nose. ¡° Dad always said body rank breakthrough are really disgusting. You need a bath.¡±

    Sighing I stood up and headed outside to the water barrel. It had been a productive day, and I¡¯d finally taken my first step on my road to greatness.

    <hr />

    AN: W000t First chapter in like three months and an important one at that. MC gets his first break-through.

    Hopefully, it wont be another 3 months before the next chapter. :P

    Second Note: I use the word Path in the story although technically I should probably use Dao or Tao. Discovering fundamental truths about your self and the world and discovering the Dao is a central idea to Xianxia. Still the story is in English which is supposed to, from a story standpoint, be in another language entirely. So translating it to English and then to Chinese didn''t make a ton a sense. still I just wanted to clarify my choice for all you Xianxia purists out there.

 Chapter 9: Playing The Hero

    The six great families of Sun-Mountain Village sat around the council table within the Grand-Elders great mansion. The Grand-Elder himself sat in the highest seat, his leaf-green hair bound in a warrior''s braid down his back. Beside him were Lord and Lady Hunan, Hallon and his first wife,  Patriarch Yokin, Lady Xin of the Xin family, and Lord Ja¡¯van.

    It was clear by the expressions of those assembled the meeting was not going well. Sun-Mountain Village was dying, and everyone assembled knew it. The beasts of the woods grew more wild every year. The farmers produced less grain and the hunters caught less meat. The food shortage had driven the low-castes into having fewer children and things were only getting worse.

    ¡°I think a great hunt is in order¡± the Grand-Elder finally announced. ¡°Our cultivation resources have reached a critical shortage, and the meat situation is even worse. We need to drive the more powerful beasts away from the river, so out hunters can move freely again.¡±

    ¡°I think that action may be precipitous. Our biggest issue is currently our lack of Warriors. Was it not an attack by a Centurion-Class Medusa-Wolf that lead us to such straits. Even you would have problems against such a beast Grand-Elder. A serious injury to one of our leaders would merely increase our weakness and cause panic among the villagers.¡± Hallan said in his smooth baritone. He was a handsome broad-shouldered man who appeared to be in his mid-twenties. He faintly resembled his nephew Kalar but his build was learner. His political skills were unmatched among the upper families but his strength was only middling.

    ¡°Of course you¡¯d say that.¡± Lady Hunan said with a snort. ¡°Gods know you wouldn¡¯t want to do something that would drag you away for your women and get some dirt under your nails.¡± She mocked him openly.  ¡°I like it. We need more soldiers and more soldiers requires more cores, besides fighting a Medusa-wolf sounds fun. I never get out of the mansion anymore. ¡°

    ¡°Yes, well. That¡¯s an acceptable attitude for those of us who live only for battle. However, as the leaders of the village it¡¯s our job to take the long view and weigh the risks. I still don¡¯t think this is the solution to our problems. There are too many unknown factors.¡± Hallan countered.

    Lady Hunan coughed twice loudly but everyone in the room could hear her muffled ¡°Coward¡±.

    Patriarch Yokin sighed loudly, obviously used to his daughter''s antics. ¡°Let''s table this for now. We¡¯ve been here for hours already. Was the cultivator who took that Step ever found.¡± He asked changing the subject.

    ¡°No, which is troubling. A Step should be a great celebration for the village. I can¡¯t imagine why anyone would turn down his rewards. Still, that only shows how deeply our cultivators mistrust the Great Families. When was it our own people started hiding from us.¡± The Grand-Elder said somberly.

    ¡°Although, the reasons for such an action are numerous they all boil down to a single decision. Who ever it was does not wish to be discovered. That bodes ill. One of our families could be training cultivators in secret, or another clan may be trying to infiltrate. This is all the more reason we should not be risking ourselves. ¡° Hallan explained, pressing his previous point.

    ¡°What sense would that make? What sect in their right mind would infiltrate us? The Grand-Elder just said our cultivation resources are dangerously low. We don¡¯t have anything anyone would wish to take. Our land is infertile, our village is comically small, and we lack any potent training grounds or treasures. It would be like a nobleman robbing a beggar.¡± Lady Hanan said derisively.

    ¡°You mock me at every turn He¡¯sha. Your father and husband may put up with your insolence but I will not. Your day will come.¡± Hallan snarled.

    ¡°If you wish to kill me then summon your beast and let¡¯s have it out. You won''t be the first man who¡¯s thought to impose his will on me. Give me a single excuse and I¡¯ll burn you to cinders like the little leech you are.¡± The tattoo on her neck glowed red and the temperature in the room soared as she released her fiery Qi.

    ¡°ENOUGH!¡± The Grand-Elder¡¯s words were like thunder in the small space. ¡°Out! All of you! If you want to kill each other go do it in the street. I¡¯ve had enough of your bickering.¡±

    Everyone fled before the elder¡¯s fury and soon the room was quiet and empty once more.

    **********************************************************************************

    ¡°Please!¡± I knelt on the ground before Shimak with my forehead pressed to the dirt.

    ¡°You¡¯re the one that wanted to stop in the first place. Now you suddenly want to learn again?¡± She asked incredulous. It was the morning after my break-through and I¡¯d followed Shimak to her morning training to plead my case.

    ¡°Girls always get to change their minds why can¡¯t I?¡± I said reasonably. ¡°Besides I¡¯m a Blood Rank cultivator now but I still don¡¯t have any idea what I¡¯m doing. I¡¯m like a toddler running around with a sword.¡±

    ¡°With your strength it¡¯s more like a toddler running around with a fork. You¡¯ve got to be the most pitiful Blood Rank I¡¯ve seen.¡± Shimak countered, stonewalling me.

    ¡°Please¡­¡­ Your the only one who can help me. I can¡¯t just walk up the Warrior barracks and ask politely. Although, I guess maybe some of my poker buddies might do it, but still. I¡¯d rather it was you.¡±

    Then silence stretched for a few moments before she spoke. ¡°Gods¡­ Fine. Just get up already you''re embarrassing me.¡± She said as she caved.

    ¡°I finally looked up at her and saw her expression. She looked both exasperated and pleased, with a faint blush on her cheeks. .. I sighed inwardly. Two lives into this mess, and I still had no idea what went on in girl¡¯s heads.

    ¡°Now get up and get into first position. Let¡¯s see how much your break-through has helped.¡±

    I obeyed, standing and moving until we stood a few feet apart. It was then I noticed how short she looked. I mean Shimak has always been short, but we¡¯d been of a height since I was such a runt for a guy. Now though, I was clearly a inch or two taller than her.

    ¡°Did I grow?¡± I asked confused.

    ¡®Probably. You were a runt before you started cultivating and looked two or three years younger than your actual age. Cultivator children always mature more quickly, so your essence is trying to make up for your stunted growth. Your breakthrough probably stretched you a bit.  It¡¯s not uncommon for a young cultivator to look two or three years older than their real age. It¡¯s probably part of the reason you''re so weak physically. Most of the essence your body has been absorbing has been un-stunting your growth instead of actually making you stronger, combine that with how poor your cultivation path was and it explains a lot.¡±

    That did make sense. As children went, I really had been in a bad way.I was sick and half-starved when I¡¯d woken up here. It really would take a lot of work to undo twelve years of malnourishment. I turned back to Shimak and really LOOKED at her. It surprised me. Although she didn¡¯t look three years older than her thirteen, instead she looked like a baby-faced fourteen or fifteen year old, and worse yet she¡¯d started to develop a few womanly features over the last year that fathers would not be happy to see on their thirteen year old daughter.

    I guess I hadn¡¯t really noticed.  We spent time together almost every day and I the changes had been gradual enough not to catch my eye. Not that I wanted to notice. That was a bridge I really did not plan on crossing.

    I shook off the thought and readied my stance. Shimak, as usual, wasted no time. It took her one feint and one punch to send me flying backwards to the floor where I lay in a heap.

    ¡°Are you SERIOUS!!!!¡± She shouted. ¡°You¡¯ve broken through and your STILL like this. Would you STOP cultivating with that ridiculous path you use. Your a Blood Ranked cultivator and you can¡¯t be more than 50% stronger than a normal person. You should be twice that strong at least.¡±

    I groaned and rolled over, forcing myself to breath past the pain. ¡°But it¡¯s just started to get good.  When I took that Step it helped out alot. My cultivation paths are two or three times better than they were starting out. In another six months, I¡¯ll be dead even with an average path. By the time I turn fourteen I¡¯ll have the best potential of anyone in the clan.¡± I got out between pants.

    Shimak looked slightly surprised by that but she didn¡¯t relent. ¡°And all of that will be useless if Kalar¡¯s catches you alone and kills you. You need to be more powerful NOW not in two or three years. ¡°

    ¡°You think i don¡¯t know that?!¡± I shouted back, angry now. ¡°But what the hell can I do? At least by improving my cultivation I can by-pass him eventually. If I improve my body instead of my cultivation I¡¯ll still only be average. ¡±

    ¡°You only need to be average to beat that idiot. He¡¯s a thug and a bully with no real talent.¡±

    ¡°Yes, and so he attacks and I beat him up¡­. Then what?¡±

    She shrugged. ¡°You can only control what you can control. You get so caught-up in your plans and grand-schemes you lose track of what¡¯s important. At the end of the day you''re going to have to fight him. Unless of course you just let me kill him and throw his body in the river.¡± Her hopeful expression made me shudder.

    ¡°No, It¡¯s my fight for now.¡± I said shaking my head.  ¡°Unless he attacks you directly of course, but I don¡¯t think he would. He¡¯s to much of a coward for that. You¡¯ve proven to him too many times he can¡¯t beat you. Logically he should think he can beat you but he¡¯s not very bright.¡±

    I got up and retook my stance. Shimak sighed. ¡°I honestly not sure what I can teach you. I learned axe techniques mostly which are not suitable at all for you. I¡¯ve went over most of the basics with you before and you''re not terrible, It¡¯s really just your physical ability that¡¯s lacking. Although, to be good you''re going to need to find some suitable martial art and adapt it. ¡±

    ¡°So basically I¡¯m screwed.¡± I said resigned.

    ¡°That would about sum it up.¡±

    ¡°How much would a Martial Art cost in tokens. I asked, expecting the worst.

    Shimak snorted. ¡°If¡­ you could find someone to sell one, and that¡¯s a BIG if. A thousand at least.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s just fight. We can deal with the rest later.¡± I said finally. I was going to need to come up with another of my schemes if this was ever going to work.

    *************************************************************

    It had been a few days since I¡¯d started training with Shimak again. I was once again, getting beaten black and blue every morning. Although now, at least,  my bruises recovered faster. Judan had sent word from the pins that I had to report to work tomorrow. It was still months before a normal person would be healed, but the fact they wanted me to come in early wasn¡¯t surprising. They were probably hoping I¡¯d be too slow and one of the beasts would finish me off for them.

    I¡¯d decided to use my last day of freedom to limp around the village on my crutch. It was nice being out among people again. The streets were lively but not over-full and I greeted the other pedestrians while soaking in the sunshine.

    I wandered up into the crafting district looking at the goods for sale and mentally tallying my money. Then I remembered I owed Shimak a gift. I¡¯d gotten beaten up before buying her anything. So, I turned off a side-street and limped over to the black-smith¡¯s. He was a jerk but he did solid work.

    The deafening sound of a hammer on anvil let me know I¡¯d arrived . I walked into the stall and took a seat on one of the rough-wooden stools. It was about a quarter hour later when he finally saw me and the Blonde blacksmith came out to greet me. His took on a clouded expression when he saw who it was.

    ¡°What¡¯s with that reaction?¡± I teased, mock offended.

    ¡°Lemme guess you want me to create some crazy machine for you again.¡± He grunted bitterly .

    I snorted if he only knew the machines I could show him; Internal combustion engines, electromagnetism, hydraulics¡­. His head would probably pop right off.

    ¡°Nope, something more mundane this time. I want to commision a weapon.¡± I said pulling tokens from my pockets. I knew he wouldn¡¯t start without proof I could pay. He walked over to me and inspected the tokens then grunted.

    ¡°Well, what do you want?¡±

    ¡°A two-handed axe I think. Although you''re going to have to size it down quite a bit. And I want a fairly high-quality one¡­. Maybe for a mid-level Body-Cultivator. ¡° I offered.

    He raised an eyebrow. ¡°You ain''t got that kinda money.¡±

    I shrugged. ¡°That depends on how much ¡®that kinda money¡¯ is. We talking like a hundred tokens or like five hundred?¡±  I pressed.

    The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

    He wagled his hand. ¡°Somewhere between those two most likely. It¡¯ll take a lot less Spirit-Steel than a sword but finding a good wood for the haft will be tricky and expensive.¡±

    ¡°What kind of wood do you need?¡± I asked curiously. There were so many random types of essence infused woods, plants, and minerals, it was impossible to keep them all straight. It also made the whole process of weapon crafting more interesting though. .

    He scratched his beard looking thoughtful for a moment. ¡°There¡¯s a half-dozen or so that would probably work well enough, but our choices are rather limited. There¡¯s been few warriors heading into the woods lately, so we haven''t gotten much in the way of good materials.¡±

    That was an interesting tid-bit of news. I¡¯d have to ask Shimak about it, any time there was money to be made I was all ears. ¡°Fine then. I guess I¡¯ll raise some more funds and return..¡±

    This smith just grunted and waved me out the door. I left, limping along with my thoughts on how to make some more money and not paying too much attention to my surroundings. I¡¯d taken a back alley to cut across the middle-caste section of town when I saw a group of men surrounding a young girl in the street. Seeing a group of men accosting a woman in broad daylight wasn¡¯t exactly a rare occurrence in the village,  however, you didn¡¯t often see it with a girl this young.  She couldn¡¯t be more than ten. I frowned trying to think of some way to help her. Then I saw her purple hair and realised who it was and how much of a catastrophe this was going to be. What the hell was the girl even doing in this part of town? And where were her bodyguards? I would think a daughter of the Great Families would at least have a spirit ranked guard.

    I ran out into the group of men discarding my crutch. ¡°Are you guys all idiots?! Don¡¯t you know who this girl is?¡± I shouted incredulously. ¡° And Nessa what are you even doing in this part of town?¡± I questioned, turning to the girl.

    The men were a sorry looking lot. They looked like a bunch of starving wolves, rangy and mean, and more than one carried a weapon. They didn¡¯t look like cultivators but that didn¡¯t mean one of them wasn¡¯t. Still there were eight of them. That was more than enough.

    The men looked at me surprised as I walked into their circle. They apparently weren¡¯t expecting anyone to speak up for the girl, which proved how screwed up this village really was. Then one finally spoke. ¡°Of course we know who it is¡­ We¡¯ve been waiting for the little Hunan Princess to sneak off on one of her little adventures for a month.Turns out there¡¯s good money to be made killing princesses.¡±

    I looked at the men incredulously. ¡°You want to assassinate her? Are you INSANE!? Once her mom finds out she¡¯s dead you''re all doomed. Blood and Bile, this whole village is probably doomed. She¡¯ll burn the entire city to the ground just to make sure she gets you.¡±

    The man snorted. ¡°Show¡¯s what you know boy. Look around¡­¡­ This place is already doomed, and she¡¯s my ticket out of this shithole. Now move or die. I really don¡¯t care which.¡± He growled as he drew a long knife and walked forward. He had a point. I¡¯d only been in the village for a year but even I¡¯d taken notice of its decline. The low-caste looked more starved and ragged by the day while the warriors continued to take losses on their hunts. At this rate there wouldn¡¯t be a village in another five years.

    I turned to Nessa and saw her face harden before there was a puff of mist and silver-feathered owl burst into existence next to her. It looked much different now than it had locked up in the pins.  It¡¯s silver coat reflected the sunlight and it had a look of haughty nobility as it landed lightly on the girl''s shoulder. Then Nessa set her feet and took some weird fighting stance with two fingers and her thumb extended on each hand like they were some kind of talons. I caught her eye and shook my head.

    ¡°None of that. Just run. I¡¯ll try and distract them.¡± She hadn¡¯t had her beast for more than a few months. Even with the resources of her family she was probably still in the muscle stage, and a muscle stage ten year old was not a match for eight men.

    ¡°Awww, look he wants to die trying to be a hero. Isn¡¯t that noble. She¡¯s a little outta yer league boy, best to save the heroism for girls you have a shot with.¡± One of the thugs chuckled as the ring started to collapse.

    I laughed. ¡°True, but I already died to save one girl. It¡¯ll probably be a lot easier the second time.¡± I quipped as I raised my hands and stepped into first position. I turned my head back to Nessa. ¡°Now RUN.¡± I shouted as one of the men lunged with his knife.

    I had to admit, the guy knew how to use a knife. He kept his center of balance and made the strike without over-extending himself. Against most people it probably would have gotten their liver, and even IF they made it though the fight they¡¯d have died a few days later. I however, was no longer most people. I was stronger than them. I was faster than them, but our agility wasn¡¯t even on the same level anymore. I was a coordination cultivator after all and I¡¯d been sparring with Shimak. These guys were like children to her.

    I twisted my body as the strike came for me, letting the knife slide between my arm and my body. I wrapped his wrist with my hand and dug my thumbnail viciously into the meat of his wrist right where all the nerves are. His hand went numb and the knife tumbled to the street. I turned with the motion giving my opponent my back, as I controlled his arm. Then drove my free elbow right into his nose.

    The sound of his nose breaking seemed to freeze everyone for a moment. Then all hell broke loose. My position gave me a perfect view of Nessa as she pointed to one of men of the men and shouted something. Her owl flew from her shoulder straight into his face with it¡¯s talons extended. The man screamed as Nessa dashed past him and ran into alley behind him.

    The two men closest to her broke off to pursue but I was already in motion. Aside from my one doomed fight against Kalar¡¯s lackeys, I hadn¡¯t gotten a chance to practice against multiple attackers but Shimak had made one point clear. When outnumbered, attack.  I sprinted in pursuit, leaving the other fighters behind me as I tried to help Nessa escape. With my speed it took only a few steps to close, and both men were just entering the alley when I got there. I waited until I was right behind the first man. Then I used my front leg to trip him and while taking his right arm into a hold. We both overbalanced, sending us into a fall but I controlled the grapple. I spun us in the air, sending our combined weights crashing down onto his hyper-extended shoulder. If the crunch it made on impact hadn¡¯t clued me into the damage I¡¯d done then he¡¯s scream of agony definitely did.

    Still in motion, I released the man and used the last of the falls momentum to propel myself away from him. I slapped the ground and used the motion to roll and reorient myself. I came up in a crouch  just in time to punch the second man right in the back of the knee as he was in a dead-run. It sent him sprawling and I leapt onto him like some demented cat, pounding his face into the street a few times before rolling off him and coming back to me feet facing the rest of the attackers. The entire struggle hadn¡¯t lasted more than four seconds.

    Smiling, I dusted off my pants and stepped back into my fighting stance. Gods ,it felt so damn good to fight someone. I was sick to death of hiding and cowering.

    The six men still on their feet formed a half-circle around the mouth of alley. They looked much more cautious now, but anger blazed in their eyes.

    ¡°I suggest you start running now. Nessa will make it back in a couple of minutes and she¡¯s seen all of your faces.  I¡¯d say you¡¯ve got about fifteen minutes to leave the village before Lady Hunan rips all of your heads off and sticks them on pikes in her yard. That¡¯s of course after she finishes torturing you to find out who sent you after her daughter.¡± I said in my most reasonable tone.

    The men looked shaken but the leader spoke up over their worried voices. ¡°If that¡¯s the case then it doesn¡¯t matter if we run. I believe Lady Hunan is an Earth-Sage and we couldn¡¯t outrun her anyway. You however, we can deal with. Kill¡­..¡±

    I didn¡¯t wait for him to finish. Instead I followed Shimak¡¯s advice and attacked in the most brutal way I could. I dove into the middle of the group on a long lunge, driving a knife hand strike into the throat of one man before twisting like a serpent and sending a fist into the already broken nose of the first man I¡¯d injured. Then everyone attacked at once and I was in a tornado of punches, kicks, and flashing knives. I burned my essence pushing my speed and agility to super-human levels. I was like a whirlwind striking out in every direction even as I avoided, blocked, and disrupted their counter attacks. I was untouchable, I was King. I was¡­.. flattened  as a fist like a mountain caught me in the jaw and sent me sprawling. I slid across the ground and into a wall a good six feet away.

    I coughed twice and spit up a glob of blood along with a broken tooth. Then I groaned and rolled over. I raised my head, trying to grasp the situation through my spinning vision. The street was littered with injured bodies, while other men leaned against buildings as they panted for breath and nursed injured limbs. I¡¯d done quite a number on their little group. I calmed my rioting energy and burned more of my Qi to clear my head and start repairing my wounds.

    ¡°Bastard¡± I wheezed as I pushed myself back to me feet. ¡°That tooth just grew back.¡±

    Grunting, I came back to an unsteady stance. The leader of the thugs stood in the alley looking unruffled and beside him was a beetle the size of a large dog. It looked like a massive hercules beetle, with it¡¯s huge pincers and green speckled shell.

    Great¡­¡­

    ¡°How is it a little low caste trash like you got his hands on a beast core?¡± He said curiously as he look a step towards me. His step wasn¡¯t hurried or aggressive. He acted like he was out talking a leisurely stroll.

    ¡°The obvious way. I went into the woods and killed a beast.¡± I replied. If he wanted to chat I was more than willing. He was the one on a timer here. Rule one of being a hero. If the villain want¡¯s to monologue, let them.

    He snorted ¡°Like I¡¯d believe that.. What are you eleven?¡±

    ¡°Twelve actually, but I don¡¯t really care if you believe me or not, we¡¯re not exactly trying to build trust here.¡± I quipped, showing him my bloody grin.

    ¡°You are right.¡± Without warning he dashed forwards throwing another punch at my injured jaw. Ready for the strike, I dodged nimbly, bowing my back matrix style as the fist whistled over me. I went with the motion and leap into the air. Bringing my body horizontal to the ground while I  twisted like top and sent a kung-fu kick into the side of his head. It must have looked impressive as hell but for all the good it did I might as well have sissy slapped him. He grunted slightly as the kick landed, then grabbed my shirt and hauled me upwards before driving a fist into my gut. Bones broke and I vomited blood even as he held me dangling in the air.

    ¡°Coordination eh? It always did seem the most useless talent.¡± He said with a dark chuckle.

    I tried to breath but he must of collapsed a lung or something because I could only inhale the tiniest amount of air no matter how hard I tried. Desperate, I cupped my hands and boxed his ears as hard as I could before bringing me knee up into his jaw. He dropped me as he stumbled backwards and I hit the ground in a heap. Then I tried to crawl away from him like some half-squashed bug.

    He recovered quickly and grinned down at me. ¡°You''re dead now boy.¡±

    ¡°Nope.¡± I whispered with what little breath I had. ¡°Pretty sure you are.¡±

    He¡¯sha Hunan sat atop a massive black lion a few feet behind the man. The beast was at least five feet at the shoulder and it¡¯s mane was made of pure flame. It, however, was less intimidating than it¡¯s rider. Lady Hanan looked down upon the scene like a goddess of war. Her aura blazed like a sun and the force of her fury seemed to shake the very air.

    Then she moved. One instant she was sitting atop her lion and the next she was behind the man with her arm thrust completely through his chest. She clutched his still beating heart in her hand and I watched in fascinated horror as her Qi pooled into her palm and his heart burned to ashes. He slid to the ground in front of me. The look of surprise still on his face.

    Then I gave up trying to stay conscious and fell into blissful darkness.

    <hr />

    AN: Two updates in a week. The world is probably ending.  Anyway, fun chapter this time. Some plot gets revealed. MC gets into his first real fight, shenanigans happen. MC ends up getting the hell beat outta him again.

 Chapter 10: Martial Library

    The dream was glorious. I was laying a bed of clouds, listening to faint harp music as a light breeze played over me. The beautiful face of a giggling angel looked down at me, her golden hair cascading down over her shoulders and onto her long dress of purest white. She smiled sweetly as she placed a juicy grape against my lips.

    The fruit burst as my teeth broke it¡¯s skin and the sweet juice ran into into my mouth and all over my lips. The angel¡¯s expression took on an air of mischievousness and she licked her lips and her head bent towards mine. I smiled a wolf¡¯s smile and reached for her as her body moved closer. Then something hit my cloud and it vanished into a puff of mist. Then I was falling, but I dropped only a few short feet before I hit the ground and my eyes flew open.

    ¡°What was that mom? He¡¯s injured.¡± A small voice said from somewhere near me.

    ¡°Judging by that look on his face, not nearly injured enough. The last person I saw smile like that was your grandpa when he was watching the laundry girls. ¡±  A more mature female voice added.

    I opened my eyes to see an ornate room tilted at an oblique angle. Confused, I tried to turn and noticed too late my position. I apparently had been in a bed but my upper-body had slid-off, or been pushed off,  and hit the floor,  while my feet and legs were still tangled in the sheets. Trying to move over-balanced me and I flipped completely and landed hard on the floor, face down.

    Sighing, I just laid there, taking note of the polished dark wood a quarter inch below my face. It was quality stuff, although I didn¡¯t recognize it¡¯s type. Maybe an oak of some sort? I was just starting to wonder how they managed to sand the stuff so smooth with primitive tools when someone grabbed the back of the pants I was wearing, lifted me bodily into the air, and tossed me unceremoniously back onto the bed.

    I bounced once, then finally rolled over and sat up. The room was gorgeous, all woods and earth tones. Impressive tapestries hung from the walls and an honest to god glass door offered an incredible view of a thriving garden. I hadn¡¯t slept in a real bed for more than a year and wanted nothing more than to nod back off for a day or two. Instead, my eyes turned further and met the glowering face of He¡¯sha Hunan, her arms crossed over her impressive chest.

    ¡°Good Morning.¡± I said cheerfully as I looked up at her. It was a rather pleasant face to wake up to. She wasn¡¯t really beatiful but instead had a striking sort of sensuality. I gave her my best boyish grin.

    ¡°Well, talk.¡± She said without ceremony, her gaze as flat as an anvil.

    I looked at her confused. ¡°About the fight? Or¡­..¡¯¡± I started but she cut me off.

    ¡°About anything¡­.. Last night my daughter comes running to me in a panic saying someone tried to kill her and makes me run into the village. There I find a scrawny boy squaring off with a cultivator after he apparently beat seven men. That by itself would need an explanation from you but once I get you back here.  My daughter begs me to send for a healer to fix you, and when the healer takes off your shirt,  low and behold, I find a boy who works in the pins with the most intricate beast tattoo I¡¯ve ever seen.¡° She growled, literally growled, and the vibrations of it shook the very air and rattled my teeth.

    ¡°Ahhhhh, that. Well, that¡¯s a bit of a story.¡± I said. The temperature in the room started to rise so I hurriedly continued. ¡°Not that I¡¯m not willing to tell you but it really was mostly an accident.¡±  So I talked. I told her about my plan to kill a beast, leaving out Shimak¡¯s involvement. Then the story of how I bound Rupert, and finally of how I stumbled onto Nessa and the ensuing fight. I finished with my ignominious defeat and finally watching as He¡¯sha finished off the lead assassin.

    ¡°Hmmmph.¡± She grunted as she looked down at me. Her gaze was measuring and I made sure to infuse my look with as much sincerity as I could. I hadn¡¯t really done anything wrong and I did NOT want to offend this woman.

    ¡°I told you he was nice.¡± Nessa said, finally speaking up. ¡°You''re always mean every time I talk about him, but he gave me Quillen and saved my life.¡±

    He¡¯sha finally looked away from me with a snort. ¡°You and that damn bird. You¡¯ve caused me no amount of headaches boy, and you¡¯ll no doubt cause me a great deal more , but I¡¯m in your debt. And He¡¯sha Hannan pays her debts.¡± Said said seriously. ¡°Still, you''re going to run into a world of trouble once word gets out you can cultivate.¡±

    ¡°Yeah well, that¡¯s why I¡¯ve been hiding that I can for months.¡± I said as I climbed out of bed and stood up. I was feeling surprisingly good, amazingly good really. I twisted my torso a bit then tried out my arms and legs experimentally.  ¡°Wow, healers do good work.¡± I said amazed.

    ¡°Yes, yes, Ge¡¯ta is quite the accomplished healer.¡± He¡¯sha said bitterly. I opened my mouth to ask who Ge¡¯ta was but decided not to. One did not try to pry answers out of one of the martial nobility.

    ¡°Now come along boy.¡± She said as she turned towards the door. I started to follow before she turned back to me. ¡°And put on a shirt.¡±

    I followed her through the house, taking in all the decorations and expensive furniture with a greedy eye. After a year of nothing but hard wood to set on I¡¯d have killed someone for a comfortable chair. She lead us out the back of the house and we ended up in a large courtyard that sat behind several of the large mansions. A large pagoda sat in the middle of an ornamental lake, while paths of cobblestones wound between flowerbeds and planters containing fruit trees. It must have taken a monumental to maintain it all up here.

    He¡¯sha finally stopped walking and gestured Nessa and I up next to her. Then she grabbed us both and RAN. It was honestly one of the oddest experiences of my life. I¡¯m not sure if she used her Qi to stop the wind or stabilize my body somehow but one moment we were standing outside of her house then the world blurred and two heartbeats later we were standing outside of a old stone building I¡¯d never seen before.

    The building was small and rather dilapidated looking, out of place among the grand mansions and pristine gardens of the upper-caste. I looked up to He¡¯sha with a question on my lips but she spoke before I got to voice it.

    ¡°The Sun-Mountain Martial Library.¡± She said with a gesture at the structure. ¡°My husband said we should just give you a thousand ration tokens and send you on your way, but I have a diffrent gift in mind.¡±

    Under normal circumstances I would have loved a crack at the library. This was exactly the sort of chance I¡¯d been hoping for. A chance to choose a real Martial Art, to read about the world and cultivation and finally get a source is insight outside of Shimak. I loved the girl to death, but she was thirteen and, although talented, had learned everything she knew from her father. There was one small problem however.

    ¡°Uhhhh¡­ I can¡¯t actually read.¡± I said embarrassed. It was something I intended to rectify at some point, but then again I¡¯d been here for a year and hadn¡¯t even seen a book.  He¡¯sha stared at me oddly for a few moments then barked out a laugh. She had good laugh, loud and unrestrained. She¡¯d be quite the woman if she wasn¡¯t so damn terrifying.

    ¡°You really have no idea about anything do you?¡± She asked with the patient exasperation that only a mother can truly feel. Then her face changed to a more thoughtful expression. ¡°Although, how did you manage to figure out how to cultivate? I can buy that you bound your beast on accident, but that still doesn¡¯t explain how you knew how to purify essence or complete your cultivation path.¡±

    Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

    I started to sweat under her gaze but she picked up on my expression easily and smiled. ¡°It¡¯s ok. You don¡¯t have to tell me who your mysterious master is. You saved my daughter''s life, that¡¯s good enough.¡±

    He¡¯sha pulled an amulet on a long chain from under her shirt as we walked towards the closed door. She waved it at door and a flash of light appeared before the heavy stone door slid upwards and we went inside.

    I was expecting the smell of dust and paper, but instead the place just smelled old. There entire place consisted of three double sided shelves with room to walk between. Each shelf was filled with cubby-holes and each cubby contained a piece of green jade. Honestly, it was pretty underwhelming. It seemed run-down and shabby like most of the town.

    I stood there unsure where to begin. Then finally asked. ¡°Is there any sort of organization here or do I just start picking up random stones?¡±

    ¡°The first shelf contains Martial Styles. That¡¯s what you¡¯ll want to start with. The middle shelf are Martial Arts and the last shelf are Beast Arts. ¡°

    ¡°What¡¯s the difference between an Art and a Style?¡± I asked, confused.

    ¡°A Style is a series of basic stances, attacks, counters, and philosophies. It¡¯s a general sort of outline for how a cultivator fights. An Art is a single attack, or combination of attacks.¡± She explained patiently. Then added before I could ask another question. ¡°And before you ask, to read one you¡¯ll need a drop of blood. Normally you¡¯d just use a bit of Qi, but since you can¡¯t manifest Qi yet you¡¯ll need to push essence into your finger then extract a bit of blood from it.¡±

    Shrugging I picked up the first piece of jade and did as she instructed. I pushed essence out of my dantain and into my thumb then bit the edge until it bled. I smeared the blood onto the jade, there was a flash of light, and suddenly I just knew. It was bizarre. One second nothing, then poof, knowledge.

    Raging Bull Style

    A powerful unarmed style focused around charging attacks and powerful kicks.

    Recommended Cultivation Type: Strength

    Elemental Affinity: Neutral

    The knowledge seemed to fan out in my brain with diagrams of stances, explanations about proper form, and various bits of knowledge. It wasn¡¯t like reading a book at all. The information didn¡¯t scroll through my mind and wasn¡¯t in any order, it was just there. True as life. I could feel the information in my mind like a ball of energy. I could tap into it but it never actually soaked into my mind.

    ¡°If you want to try a different one, just force the knowledge out. Always remember to force the knowledge out after a couple of days. It can cause problems if you keep one in there too long.¡±

    ¡°Noted.¡± I said dryly. This was just too weird. Still, it was a chance I wasn¡¯t likely to get again, so I might as well make the most of it. Knowing that ¡®Raging Bull Style¡¯ wasn¡¯t going to be of much benefit to me I pressed the little ball of knowledge out of my head. Then the knowledge, which I¡¯d been sifting through a moment before, simply vanished like smoke. I could remember parts of it, but didn¡¯t have in instant certain recall I¡¯d had before. It was like a book I¡¯d skimmed through in a book-shop.

    Shrugging, I started sorting through various styles, trying and discarding each in turn. Tiger Fang Style, Golden Ape Style, Seven-Sword Style, and the list went on. Time stretched but as much as I searched I couldn¡¯t find any that really suited me. Most of the styles were for weapons, which I didn¡¯t have, or were based around speed or strength.

    He-sha was getting impatient as I discarded yet another piece of jade. ¡°Would you just pick one already. You acting like a maiden deciding on her first lover.¡±

    ¡°What about this one?¡± Nessa asked holding a piece of jade in her small hands. ¡°It¡¯s the one dad wanted me to practice when I was starting out.¡±

    He-sha glanced at it and snorted. ¡°That¡¯s just because the motions are elegant looking. He was more worried about making you look good than teaching you to fight. Lots of young girls practice it and they are all useless twits.¡± She grumbled.

    I took the jade from Nessa and examined it. Then touched a drop of my blood to it.

    Gentle Wave Style

    An unarmed style focused on flexibility, defense, and turning your opponents power against them.

    Recommended Cultivation Type: Flexibility

    Elemental Affinity: Water/Plant

    It appeared to be suitable on the surface but my face took on a look of horror as I looked at the diagrams. Most of the movements looked like a cross between interpretive dance and ballet. Still, it did seem to be a solid, if ridiculous looking, fighting style. It even had some advanced sections that dealt with Qi manipulation and a contained some compatible Martial Arts. It was really a good starting style. My frown deepened with my indecision.  Was I really going throw aside a good Martial Style because it looked ridiculous? Then again, did I really want to decimate my enemies prancing about like a girl?

    I pulled a ration token from my pocket and flicked it into the air. It spun end-over-end then landed in my palm showing the face of the Grand-Elder.

    Sighing, I looked up to He¡¯sha. ¡°I¡¯ll take this one.¡± I said resigned.  It looked like my male pride was going to need to take one for the team.

    **********************************************

    ¡°AHAHAHHAHAHHHAHHHHAA!¡± Shimak rolled on the ground, her face nearly purple as tears streamed down her cheeks. She gasped for air, wheezing under the strain of her mirth. Her breath sounded like a donkey''s bray as she tried to suck in air, only to lose it a moment later to more laughter.

    ¡°I cant¡­. I can¡¯t¡­. I¡­. AAHHHAHAHHA. No¡­¡­ I¡¯m ok.¡± She gasped as she stood up, then took an exaggerated pose that made mock of Gentle Wave Style¡¯s first position. She stood up on tip-toe and twirled around fluttering her fingers before she collapsed to the ground in another fit of laughter.

    He¡¯sha had let me take away the Gentle Wave Style jade with an amused expression. Then she provided me with a pair of cultivation elixirs and told me to come to her if something serious happened to me again. I¡¯d left and headed back home only to run into Shimak whom put me in a head-lock until I¡¯d told her the entire story. She¡¯d wheedled me until I let her examine the Martial Style I¡¯d chosen, which had lead to the current situation.

    ¡°Are you done?¡± I asked, smiling despite myself. I had to admit, it was pretty damn funny. Still, she didn¡¯t have to rub it in. Shimak merely shook her head in denial as she curled into a ball and her shoulders continued to shake in silent laughter.

    ¡°It¡¯s so hard to find good friends.¡± I said, exasperated. ¡°Now stop laughing and get up or I¡¯m not giving you this elixir.¡± I threatened, as I stuck out a hand to help her to her feet.

    <hr />

    AN: A bit of a short light-hearted chapter here as the MC gains his first Martial Style.

 Chapter 11: OlScratch

    My days were soon more busy than ever. After spending months in the hut with nothing to do but cultivate and be bored, I now had the opposite problem. I¡¯d had to go back to work the day after I was injured, but Lady Hunan had sent someone and gotten me the day off. The day after though, I¡¯d had to re-enter the workforce. Between work in the pins, sparring with Shimak, and working on my forms for Gentle Wave Style, I was now back to cutting my sleep. To add even more work to my schedule, Nessa had decided to teach me to read. So now I had to head up to upper-caste district after work three nights a week. Learning to read from a ten-year old was a bit degrading but she was sharp for her age and I did need to learn, especially if I planned to ever leave the village.

    I hadn¡¯t made it much past the basic alphabet in the week I¡¯d been learning, but I was making progress. I was actually surprised there was an alphabet. With as many Asian influences as the village seemed to have I thought I¡¯d have to learn a bunch of Hanzi, which would have been a nightmare. Instead, their alphabet had around thirty characters that looked like an odd cross between Chinese and Norse runes.

    I was busy but happy. My secret was out and the world hadn¡¯t ended. In fact I¡¯d gotten quite a bit of help. I had a real Martial Style to practice, another cultivation elixir, and a powerful cultivator owed me a favor. Still, all good things must come to an end. My only recourse was to train.

    I stood upon a boulder balanced on one foot in the predawn darkness.  The river below the village had flooded as the snows up river melted and the rains came. The water had risen until my favorite cultivating rock had become little more than a single point sticking out above the raging currents. My eyes were closed and my mind focused as my limbs moved with excruciating slowness.  It was easy to do a movement fast, but keeping correct posture and balance while doing them slowly was a much more difficult operation. I switched from third position to fourth as the tenets of Gentle Wave Form ran through my mind.

    Motion: The most sluggish river and placid pond are ever moving. Water can be dammed and redirected but it can never be stopped.

    Patience: It is not the one who strikes first who wins a battle but the one who strikes last. The smallest stream will wear away a mountain given time.

    Efficiency: A strong man can crush a falling boulder with a single strike but a wise man will merely step aside. A master does not defeat an enemy by using more force he defeats them by using less.

    I continued my practice until the first light of dawn hit my face. Then I sighed and stretched my aching legs.The worst part of practice was that I had to run all the way back up to the village to get to work on time. I whistled loudly and Rupert appeared on the water''s surface next to my rock. I stepped on his back as he swam the twenty feet or so back to shore where I hopped off then reached down to give him a pat in thanks before running up the mountain.

    Judan was waiting for me when I made it to the pins. It seemed a bad omen. Honestly, I can only think of a handful of times in either life that my boss ever came to see me and had good news.

    ¡°Bad news Chok. Looks like some idiot got caught robbing the storehouse and they sent him down here for a month of ¡®rehabilitation¡¯. Bastard is as arrogant as anyone I¡¯ve ever seen. Thinks because he runs with a tough crowd he¡¯s King of the world. If there¡¯s any justice in the world the little shit will lose a hand.¡± Judan complained as we headed towards the main barn.

    ¡°Aithen is out sick today, so I¡¯m gonna have to put you in the South barn.¡± My eyes widened. The South barn was where the put the oldest beasts who were almost ready for slaughter. They were the biggest, meanest, and most vicious. ¡°Yeah, I don¡¯t really wanna do it, but you''re pretty much it today. Give all of em but Ol¡¯Scratch a 90-10 mixture. They shoulda killed that bastard a year ago, but the high-ups wanna see if they can get him to grow a core before they slaughter him. Madness if you ask me. If they ain''t careful he¡¯s gonna evolve and rip the whole damn place apart.¡±

    Raising beats was always a dangerous proposition. They older you let them get the more meat they give and the high-quality the meat, core, and other parts get. The problem is they also get meaner, stronger, and more intelligent. The common technique is to feed them food that¡¯s been saturated with ground-up pre-formed beast cores.

    Beast don¡¯t keep very well in captivity and in their first evolutions are prone to sickness and death. So you cut out their unmatured beast cores, grind them up, and mix the powder into the rest¡¯s food. Not exactly humane but it does speed their growth considerably.

    ¡°Alright, i¡¯ll do my best to keep all my limbs intact.¡± I said as I turned and headed towards the South barn. I didn¡¯t get more than a few steps before a familiar figure appeared in front of me. He was a tall gangly youth with brown hair and brown eyes. He had a year or two on me but he¡¯s build was worse than mine post-breakthrough. His impassive face split into a grin as he saw me. The last time I¡¯d seen him he¡¯d been kicking me along with a half-dozen other youths as I lay on the ground insensate.

    ¡°Well, if it isn¡¯t the dirt farmer.Long time now see. How¡¯s your ribs?.¡± He mocked.

    ¡°Ask your mom, she got a pretty good look at them last night.¡± I shot back. Looks like my years browsing the dregs of the internet hadn¡¯t completely left me.

    ¡°Ya¡¯vin get back to the North barn. Chok you got work to do. You two can beat each other up when you leave.¡± Judan said as he limped off.

    Ya¡¯vin shot me a nasty look before he turned and walked away. I turned away as well and headed off to start work. The morning proceeded in it¡¯s usual fashion. I spent the first half of the day cleaning crap out of cages while dodging the occasion swipe or nip. Against the younger beasts I wasn¡¯t in real danger with my improved reflexes but the ones in the south barn were fast and I had to be on my toes. Still, I managed to avoid all but a single shallow scratch as I finished up and got out the food to start feeding them.

    I¡¯d done about half the cages when my stomach growled. Seeing no real reason to push myself  I stopped and sat down my buckets before pulling out the half-loaf of bread mom had given me for lunch. I was just about to take a bite when Ya¡¯van showed up.

    ¡°Hey dirt boy, what¡¯ca got for lunch? Anything good?¡± He asked as he sauntered my way. I sighed heavily, the vicious look in his eye said he was in the mood to start something. I could definitely take him, but if Judan caught me fighting in here he¡¯d be pissed.

    ¡°You know, you really shouldn¡¯t be in here.¡± I said as he approached. ¡° If Javan finds you he¡¯s gonna flip.

    ¡°Why, you gonna tattle on my little boy?¡±  He said with a sneer.

    ¡°Whatever, but if you lose a leg I¡¯m gonna wait to go get help until you bled out.¡± I said as I took a bite of my bread. Ya¡¯van didn¡¯t take the hint and approached until he stood over me.

    ¡°Nice lunch, that all your family could afford? I thought you guys had money now that Shimak¡¯s mom was whoreing for Lord Hallan?¡±  He pressed, trying his best to get a rise out of me.

    ¡°It¡¯s a good thing she didn¡¯t hear you say that.¡± I said as I continued to chew.

    ¡°You think I¡¯m scared of that little red-haired bitch?¡±

    ¡°I honestly don¡¯t care either way, but I will tell you that you probably should be.¡± I said calmly. I was pretty proud of how seriously I¡¯d been working and cultivating. In my old life I¡¯d been a bit of a slacker. Compared to me though, Shimak¡¯s effort bordered on madness. She worked herself ragged, pushing herself to exhaustion every single day. Some weeks she only slept a few hours, leaning on her endurance cultivation to keep her on her feet. She¡¯d decided to get her mother back, through blood and fire if necessary.

    Frustrated with my my lack of reaction he finally stooped to violence. He took a single step forward and kicked one of the food buckets splattering me with half-rancid meat and vegetable matter.

    I swore and looked up at him. ¡°That¡¯s real cute.¡± I said as I stood up and tossed my now-ruined lunch away. ¡°Your lucky I¡¯m in a good mood today because otherwise I¡¯d break your thick head.¡±

    I turned to go retrieve the bucket. It had rolled up against one of the cages and the beast had its tongue stuck through the bars of it¡¯s cage as it frantically devoured what food was left in the bucket.

    I was three steps away from the bucket before I realized which cage it was. Then looked back to where the bucket of normal food was setting, and finally back to Ol¡¯Scatch who was eating half a bucket of beast-core infused food.

    Ol¡¯Scratch as we called him was a Night-Badger. A rare breed of beast that had the darkness element. He¡¯d been caught young enough to try and bond but no one had ever been able to bind him. At least two warriors had tried to blood bond him since he¡¯d grown too old for a normal bond and both had ended up dead when their minds broke. Now he was nearly a decade old and was fifty jin of rage and killing teeth.

    ¡°You stupid, ignorant, spoiled, dickbag¡± I swore, as I lunged forward and kicked the bucket away from the cage and out of the badgers reach. I ran over and righted it before rounding on Ya¡¯van in a fury. I¡¯d been patient. I¡¯d tried to be the adult but some people needed a more practical lesson in manners.

    ¡°Ya know, YOUR the one who screwed up and got caught. You coulda just kept your head down, and did your time, and gotten outta here, and left me the hell alone. BUT NOOOOOO. Mr. big-bad boss man who likes beating up little kids with his mates has to prove how much of a man he is by being a FUCKING ASSHOLE.¡± I lunged forward, grabbed his hand and bent it backwards until he started to scream.

    ¡°Does that feel good.¡± I asked calmly as he continued to yell. ¡°You should feel what it¡¯s like to have it done to your ribs, and your back, and your legs. While your laying on the ground too weak to do anything and the whole time the people who are doing it are LAUGHING.¡±

    I was lost enough in my rage not to notice the increased volume of snarls and growls coming from Ol¡¯Scratch. However, I did notice when I felt the first ripple in the world¡¯s essence. I froze, releasing Ya¡¯van and turning towards the cage where Ol¡¯scartch was shuddering with obvious pain. The second ripple was stronger and the growls dropped in pitch as the cage rattled ominously.

    Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

    Oh shit¡­¡­

    I looked down at myself and took note of my clothes now covered in beast-core infused food. I started to strip immediately, tossing my shirt to the ground and started on my pants as the largest and final ripple came. There was a small detonation of displaced air and I turned back to the cage as the growls stopped, one leg of my pants still wrapped around my ankle.

    A thick black mist oozed between the bars of the cage and out into the walk-way. It pooled into a larger and larger cloud before the cloud formed into a massive pitch-black badger. It was nearly twice as large as it had been and must weigh damn-near two-hundred jin now. .

    Double-shit¡­..

    I kicked my pants away, turned, and ran as fast as I could, fleeing as the newly evolved Shadow-Badger ripped Ya¡¯van apart. I did my best to shut out the screams and ripping noises but the profound silence a few seconds later was much more difficult to shrug off.

    I took the chance to glance over my shoulder and saw the badger dismantling my discarded clothes as it sucked the infused food off of them. I used the opportunity to lengthen my lead but my respite didn¡¯t last long. There was a roar of rage from behind me followed by the sound of something large in pursuit.

    It¡¯s eating had bought me a decent lead and I made it to the end of the barn and burst out into the sun-shine where I turned and ran into the city. I had no idea what my plan was, but I had to find some of the guards or at least some sort of powerful cultivator who could deal with a Shadow-Badger. My skills were improving but not up to the task. Shimak could probably give it a run for it¡¯s money if she put her life on the line, but I didn¡¯t even know which house she worked in, and leading a rampaging Soldier-ranked beast to someone wasn¡¯t something a friend did.

    Instead I dashed towards the nearest building hoping to find some help, or at least escape. I wasn¡¯t about to die because Ya¡¯van was an idiot, and the Upper-Caste were too arrogant to care if a bunch of low-caste pin workers died because a beast had evolved on them. He¡¯sha could take care of the thing in an instant but the pins were on the opposite side of the village from the upper-caste families and I really didn¡¯t want the thing chasing me across the entire city. It could kill dozens of people.

    I ran for all I was worth but the beast was faster than me on open ground and quickly narrowed the gap between us. I glanced over my shoulder and nearly peed myself when I saw the thing was within twenty feet of me. Gritting my teeth I poured on more speed as I made it to the street. Then I jumped, kicking off a rain barrel to propel myself upwards, then running three steps along the wall of the first house before launching myself in the opposite direction with a twisting flip. I landed on the roof of the neighboring house still in stride.

    I took another look back to see Ol¡¯Scratch attempt a similar maneuver but It¡¯s heavier  body sent the rain-barrel crashing over, spilling water into the street and drawing an enraged roar from the badger. Then a tendril of shadow extended from the beast snapping at me like a whip even as the beast recovered and resumed its pursuit. I was too slow to dodge and the whip struck, rending my flesh and knocking me off balance. I rolled with the blow, coming back to me feet in time to leap the gap between the roof I was on and the next house.

    The badger had given up trying to jump to the roof and instead was following below me, using the open street to close the gap once more. I jumped to the next roof and then changed direction as I headed farther into town towards the warrior barracks. I lost track of the Badger on my next jump and I was just starting to relax when the roof I was on shuddered and started to tilt to one side. I quickly jumped again only to see Ol¡¯Scratch smashed his way through the wall of the house I¡¯d just vacated.

    I started to burn essence, desperate for more speed and my legs responded sending me jetting across rooftops like a fleeing hare. Then things got messy. My next jump brought me to one of the villages main streets and it was full of people, chatting, working,  and walking as if it was a normal day.

    I yelled a warning as I bounded from rooftop to rooftop. ¡°RUN!, Beast in the Village, Call the Guards, Call someone!¡±

    Apparently, a bleeding boy sprinting across rooftops in his underwear doesn¡¯t make a very convincing witness. Instead of running everyone just gaped up at me in surprise and incredulity. It wasn¡¯t until the Shadow-Badger smashed his way through another house and out into the street that everyone started screaming.

    The villagers scattered like a group of frightened doves, darting in all directions as they sought safety. I kept running. It was only a couple of blocks to the fighters barracks and as much noise as we were making someone should be coming. I was about to jump across to the next block when I saw one of the villagers hadn¡¯t fled and was instead standing in the street looking at me with a bewildered expression. It was Cali. She was holding a bundle of cloth and looking entirely confused.

    Damnnit¡­.Where the hell are the guards?

    I leap off the roof and ran towards her shouting the whole time. ¡°Run dammit!¡±  I grabbed her and trying to tug her away. She seemed to have frozen in terror, ;ooking past my shoulder in growing horror. I whirled to face the creature I knew would be waiting there.

    Now that I¡¯d come down to ground level and stopped running the beast slowed. Instead of it¡¯s head-long charge it now prowled forwards like a cat stalking a mouse. I wasn¡¯t sure what¡¯d I¡¯d done to infuriate the thing so much but It hadn¡¯t stopped chasing me since it got out. It could have been half-way down the mountain by now. I was hoping shucking my clothes would get me off the hook but it apparently hadn¡¯t worked.

    I glanced back at the terrified Cali and hardened my resolve. Looked like women really were going to be the death of me. I seemed to be developing a hero complex. I slipped into Gentle Wave Styles first stance. Using one leg to hold me weight while the other was extended forward, the tip of my toe resting on the ground. My arms were in a similar state with one close to my body and the other forward defensively. It really did look ridiculous. Although, it would be quite fetching to see a girl doing it. It would give you a great look at her legs.

    I started to move towards the creature as I began to rotate my essence in preparation for our clash. I¡¯d only get one shot at this. Meeting force with force would be suicide but Gentle Wave Styles entire purpose was not meeting force with force.  Still, my odds weren¡¯t very good. I¡¯d only learned the Style a week ago and hadn¡¯t had nearly enough time to practice, and here I was prepared to try one of the Style¡¯s advanced Arts.

    The beast finally charged closing the forty feet or so between us in a flash. Darkness emanated from it¡¯s body as it lunged forward in a killing leap. I matched it¡¯s action, surging forward at my top speed but instead of going high, I went low. Trying to slide under it¡¯s claws and avoid it¡¯s strike as I prepared to unleash my own.

    It¡¯s claws raked at me, cutting deeply into my left shoulder and arm. It was a serious wound but not life threatening and it gave my right arm a perfect shot at it¡¯s underbelly as my essence surged and I released my strike aimed right at its heart.

    Gentle Wave Style First Art: Bewitching Palm

    It wasn¡¯t a terribly complex technique, in fact it was very basic. The purpose was to simply press your essence through your palm and into your enemy. I couldn¡¯t yet manifest my Qi into the air, but with skin to skin contact I could push a bit of essence through. It wasn¡¯t a killing move, but forcefully injecting your essence into someone else''s body would throw their meridians into chaos. It made for a highly disrupting of not terribly dangerous attack. However, if you were to hit someone in the heart with it and throw their heart-beat out of rhythm. Then it was dangerous, probably not fatal but they would definitely have to stop fighting until they forced your essence out and stabilized their heart.

    My aim was true and my palm hit the beast right over it¡¯s heat. It cry of rage cut-off into a choking wheeze and I rolled under it and away, my left arm dangling uselessly at my side. I ran over to Cali prepared to flee again when the cry of a hawk broke over me and I looked up into the Sky. A guardsman flew-over clutched in the talons of a large bird. When he saw the disabled Shadow-Badger his hawk released him and he dropped from the sky. He used the fall as an attack stabbing down with his spear as he landed. The strike pinned the beast to the ground where it twitched a few times before it died.

    I sighed, leaning on Cali as I tried to catch my breath. An anti-climatic end for what had been a life and death moment a few seconds earlier. That strike had taken a lot out of me and after the chase I was exhausted. I was just starting to finally calm down when the Warrior ran over to me and started shouting.

    ¡°You, Boy! Did you see what happened here?¡±He asked pointing to the now dead beast with his still bloody spear.

    ¡°Yep, Night-Badger evolved in the pins and broke out.¡± I said. This hadn¡¯t been my screw up. I was just happy to be alive.

    He scowled. ¡°You saw it evolve? You work in the pins?¡±

    ¡°Sure do. I was eating lunch, and it started evolving, so I ran for it.¡±  I said with a shrug. What did he expect me to do about it. That thing was a damn monster.

    ¡°And you didn¡¯t think to warn anyone there was a beast so close to evolving?¡± He snapped.

    ¡°Judan has been warning everyone for months. Apparently the powers that be wanted it to evolve a core before they killed it. I¡¯d say they got their wish.¡± I said sarcastically.  This whole thing was just one more example of how little the upper-caste actually cared. They were so needlessly cruel.

    ¡°Come with me.¡± He said as he turned and headed toward the warrior barracks.

    ¡°Can I put on some clothes first?¡± I asked looking down at my half-naked self. The blood and the wound had covered up most of my tattoo apparently the guard hadn¡¯t noticed. I wanted to avoid that conversation if at all possible.

    The guard looked at me, then really looked at me and a puzzled expression came over his face. However, instead of asking why I was half naked he just grunted before saying. ¡°Fine, but I want you back in the barracks within an hour.

 Chapter 12: Scapegoat

    The warrior barracks was much nicer than I¡¯d imaged. It wasn¡¯t a barracks so much as a sub-division. The warriors made up most of the middle caste and they all had wealth enough for some luxury. Most of the middle caste area of the village was shops and craftsmen but the warriors and their families lived in houses surrounding the main warrior building. Their homes were all identical from the outside but it was obvious their quality was much higher than than most of the village. They couldn¡¯t match the opulence of the upper caste but they were comfortable and well-appointed.

    I hadn¡¯t ever been to the warrior barracks. It wasn¡¯t against the rules but it was frowned upon. All the warrior¡¯s families knew each other and unless you had business they¡¯d always pick you out as an outsider. I didn¡¯t have any real idea where I was  supposed to go, so I just headed towards the central building hoping that when I got there someone would be able to point me in the right direction.

    Two guards stopped me at the door, both of them frowning at my ragged appearance and bandaged arm. I¡¯d been able to change and wrap my wound but I still looked like hell.

    ¡°Stop, what business do you have with the warriors.¡± A scarred dark-haired guard asked.

    ¡°Well, One of the warriors told me to report here after the incident with the shadow-badger. He never gave me his name but he had a hawk beast and used a spear.¡± I said.

    ¡°Why would Chi¡¯ra want to talk to you?¡± The guard asked skeptically.

    ¡°I assume because he wanted to ask me what happened but honestly, I¡¯m low caste. If a warrior tells me to come to the barracks, I come to the barracks. Asking why is a good way to get cuffed.¡±

    The warriors faced scrunched up for a moment before he shrugged. ¡°Suppose I can¡¯t argue with that. Go ahead.¡± He said stepping aside and opening the door. I didn¡¯t waste time and walked inside.

    The central room was massive and hard looking grey-haired matron sat behind a desk to greet and terrify the visitors. The whole thing reminded me of a police station back on old earth. The woman didn¡¯t bother speaking and instead just pointed down a hallway and grunted. Shrugging, I continued to walk until a guard waved me into a side-room.

    The side room was small and square and had a single table along with some stools to sit on. I frowned, if this was the village''s police station than I was obviously in an interrogation room. That seemed a very bad omen to me.  I¡¯d no sooner had the thought when two people walked in through the door. One was the warrior who¡¯d killed the badger, Chi¡¯ra apparently,  and the other was a gruff looking older man with gray at his temples and a face like a old worn-out boxer. They both wore the standard beast furs the warriors favored.

    They sat down across from me and both seemed to be in a foul mood. I knew immediately that I was in trouble. A beast rampaging around the village would put the warriors in hot water with their superiors, and as the saying goes ¡®shit rolls downhill¡¯. So naturally they would be looking for a scapegoat and a low-caste boy working the pens would make a great scapegoat. .

    ¡°So boy, how was it again that the beast escaped the pins on your watch?¡±  The older man asked, his tone accusatory.

    ¡°Why do you mean how did I let it escape.¡± I said incredulously, putting an emphasis on the I,  ¡°It¡¯s a shadow-badger, the damn thing could go incorporeal, how exactly do you keep something like that caged? ¡°

    ¡°That particular badger is fairly famous. Even I knew they had it in there. It¡¯s been fine for years. You must have done something.¡± The older man continued unruffled.

    ¡°Well, the fact it¡¯s been in the pins for years is a start but the straw the broke the ox¡¯s back was that we got a new a new boy today. He came into the barn with the older beasts and kicked over a bucket of infused food. Ol¡¯Scratch started eating it and then evolved.¡± I explained not hiding anything.

    ¡°And you didn¡¯t think to warn anyone when it started to evolve? Dozens of villagers could have been killed.¡± He continued, his attitude still calm and still accusatory.

    ¡°Like you guys would care. What are a couple low-caste to you?¡± I said bitterly. The way to low-caste were treated really was terrible. ¡°What¡¯s even the point of this interview. If you guys want to use me as a scapegoat to cover your own asses then go ahead. It¡¯s not like I can stop you.¡±

    The older man scowled at me while the younger snorted. ¡°I told you he was mouthy.¡± Chi¡¯ra  said.

    ¡°If it¡¯s like that than just admit that you let him out and we can get this over-with.¡± he said reasonably, as if he wasn¡¯t trying to have me killed to cover his own ass.

    ¡°There''s no way I¡¯m admitting anything. I didn¡¯t do anything wrong. If you wanna kill me then go ahead but I do want you to give me a last request..¡± I said, my own anger calm now.

    ¡°Oh, and what¡¯s that.¡± The older man asked.

    ¡°Send someone up to the Upper-caste district and tell Lady Hannan that Chok is calling in his favor.¡± I replied, smiling.

    Their faces became ugly instantly. Sweeping away a low-caste rat was one thing but if said low-caste rat had a good relationship with one of the martial families that made it much harder to throw him under the bus.

    My smile grew teeth. ¡°As much as I¡¯d love to let you just kill me for no reason. I think I¡¯ll pass.

    The two looked at each other for a long moment as they decided my fate. Then the door of the room burst open and robust brown-haired man burst into the room his face furious. He carried an aura of power that even I could feel. He wasn¡¯t on the level of He¡¯sha but he had to be one of the higher powered cultivators in the warriors. He was at least in one of the higher Spirit Ranks.

    ¡°What the hell is he still doing in here. Why haven''t you put him in a dungeon yet. Do you know how much ass-chewing I¡¯ve had to put up with today. A gods damn Shadow-Banger running through the city. What the hell were those idiots thinking keeping it so long and now I¡¯m the one that¡¯s gotta clean up their mess.¡± He shouted belligerently.

    ¡°Sir I don¡¯t think¡­..¡± Chi¡¯ra started but he was cut off.

    ¡°Good, I don¡¯t want you thinking. He his ass into a cell. I¡¯ve already got the execution planned. You know how much of a pain in the ass it is to kill someone.¡± The boss ranted.

    ¡°No sir you don¡¯t understand¡­.¡± Chi¡¯ra tried again.

    ¡°JUST what don¡¯t I understand.¡± The room suddenly grew thick with Qi and the hair on my arms and neck raised as lightning literally flashed in the man¡¯s eyes. ¡°If you don¡¯t have him in a cell in two minutes than you can accompany him at his execution tomorrow.¡± He screamed.

    The older man grabbed me under an arm and both he and Chi¡¯ra bolted out the door with me in tow.  We ran down the hall and through another door leading down into what I presumed was the dungeons.

    ¡°Now what the hell do we do.¡± Chi¡¯ra asked as they got me in a cell. He looked over to the older man but he didn¡¯t add anything both of them looking ill.

    ¡°Well,  one of you should probably go tell He¡¯sha what¡¯s happened. Maybe not though, I¡¯m sure she won''t be too mad when you kill one of her daughters best friends. She¡¯s such a gentle and reasonable woman after all.¡± I said, adding my own input to the conversation.

    Both men blanched before Chi¡¯ra Spoke.

    ¡°I better go. This is such a damned mess already. At least this way boss will have to deal with that crazy woman and not us. I just hope he doesn¡¯t find out it was me that got her.¡±  He quickly turned and headed back upstairs while the older man headed up after him. I just sat calmly in my cell

    My cell wasn¡¯t actually too bad. I lived in a run-down hut so my standards weren¡¯t especially high for comfort.  My bed was a stone slab, but there weren¡¯t rats and the cell was clean. My incarceration didn¡¯t last long. It was about twenty minutes later when there was a colossal boom and the entire building shook.

    That was followed by a few panicked yells and a lion''s roar before everything went silent again. Then the door at the end of the hall opened and He¡¯sha walked in escorted by the Brown-haired officer I¡¯d seen earlier.

    ¡°Ya know Chok¡­. When I said to call on me if you get into trouble I didn¡¯t expect I¡¯d have to come bail you out of jail less than a week later.¡± She said said with an exasperated look as she approached my cell.

    ¡°To be fair, it wasn¡¯t my fault.¡± I said defensively.

    She snorted. ¡°Like I believe that. I can¡¯t leave you alone for two minutes without you spreading mayhem and destruction.¡±

    I raised an eyebrow. Talk about the pot calling the kettle black, in terms of mayhem and destruction  I was a rank amature compaired to her. He¡¯sha noted my raised eyebrow and grinned. ¡°I see your point but still, for a child you get yourself into a great many scrapes. This is the second time in two weeks you¡¯ve had someone try to kill you.¡±

    ¡°Third time actually,¡± I interrupted. ¡°If you count the badger.¡±

    She looked at me with her exasperated mother look, which made me smile. ¡°Well c''mon then, let¡¯s get you out of here.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry Lady Hannan but we can¡¯t do that.¡± The brown-haired officer said. He looked terrified but resolute. He¡¯sha face darkened ominously and the air in the room started to heat.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry my Lady but we really can¡¯t. He¡¯s already been sentenced to death. It¡¯s a law in the village. His sentence can be reduced but he can¡¯t walk away free.¡± The man spoke up again.

    He¡¯sha snorted derisively. ¡°Don¡¯t talk to me about law. This village is a cesspool. People get beaten, abused, and broken all the time and you lot never lift a finger. Sun-Mountain village has only one law. Those with the bigger fist are right. Do you want to fight me you little rat?¡± She threatened, releasing her Qi slightly.

    The man¡¯s skin started to turn red under the intense heat and he started to explain.¡± Please lady, this is an edict from the Grand-Elder. Anyone who¡¯s been sentenced cannot be set free. It¡¯s a rule he passed to prevent the great families from using their influence to get their children out of trouble.

    He¡¯sha laughed aloud at that. ¡°Oh yeah, so they go around beating up whomever they see and stealing women in broad daylight. That¡¯s what you call justice? Not only are you incompetent and corrupt you¡¯re also a damned coward. You think I don¡¯t know who rules over the warriors? You think I¡¯m scared of that pompous ass?. You want me to take this to the old-man than I will but you¡¯ve just made yourself an enemy.¡± She pointed a finger and poked it as his chest. The finger burnt through his shirt instantly and was soon followed by a sizzle and the smell of burning meat.

    This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

    He¡¯sha glared at the man in silence for a few moments before she turned and stomped back up the stairs leaving me in my cell.

    *****************************************************************

    ¡°OLD MAN!¡±

    The Grand-Elder of Sun-Mountain village sighed as the shutters of his mansion rattled. He was old friends with Lady Hannan¡¯s father and had met her the day she was born. She¡¯d been a tyrant and a devil from the moment she could walk causing Patriarch Yokin no end of headaches. He¡¯d spoiled the girl rotten but her love for battle had made her one of the top talents of her generation. The problem was she¡¯d never mellowed with age. Instead of becoming a proper lady,  she was brash, blunt, and honest to a fault. In a lot of ways she was still like a child throwing blocks around her toy room. Except now she could probably throw a 3,000 jin boulder a quarter mile.

    ¡°Ahhh, I see that harlot is here. I wonder what she¡¯s going to destroy this time.¡± Lord Hallon said from his seat across from the Grand-Elder. The Grand-Elder did his best to keep his temper.

    He¡¯sha was impetuous and crass but she had a warrior''s honor, not to mention she was basically his niece. Hallon on the other hand was scum. The problem was, he was useful scum. He¡¯d created quite the power-base for himself in the village and unless the Grand-Elder wanted to trample over the system he himself had created than he had to compromise.

    A few seconds later the door burst open and He¡¯sha entered. She opened her mouth to speak but paused as she saw Hallon. Her face darkened and and she sneered. The room was more spartan than her own home but the furniture was all of the highest quality. The Grand-Elder sat and a wooden high-backed chair while Lord Hallon lounged on a sofa.

    ¡°I thought I smelled something foul. When are you going to let me kill this waste uncle Rione¡± She said as he took a combative stance.A dull ache started to form behind grand-elder¡¯s eyes and the he reached up to rub his temple.

    ¡°He¡¯sha how many times do I have to tell you to knock. You¡¯ll be forty years old in a few months can¡¯t you at least ACT like an elder.¡± The Grand-Elder sighed.

    ¡°So, you want me to go around toadying up to vermin like Hallon and selling out my morals for political favor. No way in hell¡­.¡± She snorted. ¡°I never wanted to be an elder. I would have left this mountain a decade ago if it wouldn¡¯t have broken dad¡¯s heart.¡±

    ¡°Well, as touching as this is I think I¡¯ll take me leave.¡± Hallon said rising from his seat. ¡°We can take about this again tomorrow.¡±

    ¡°Wait¡± He¡¯sha said, stopping Hallon. ¡°Uncle, I want a boy released from the warriors dungeon. Hallon¡¯s idiot minions arrested him for no reason but they say they can¡¯t let him go now that he¡¯s been sentenced .¡±

    Hallon raised an eyebrow while the Grand-Elder frowned. ¡°That¡¯s against village law, I¡¯m not breaking the honor of my warriors for you.¡± Hallon said, snidely.

    ¡°What honor? This whole village is a den of thieves and whores and your ¡®warriors¡¯ are the worst offenders.¡± She countered before turning to her uncle. ¡°Please, uncle?¡±

    The Grand-Elder frowned. ¡°I really can¡¯t make an except for one boy. This is exactly the reason I made the law to begin with. To keep the great families from interfering with justice.¡± He said not budging.

    ¡°Someone needs to interfere, they are going to kill an innocent boy just to cover their own incompetence!¡± She shouted angry now. Originally she¡¯d thought it would be an easy task to convince her uncle. The grand-elder was a bit stubborn but he was a decent man. At least she¡¯d thought so.

    Hallon smiled maliciously. ¡°Well, his sentence can be reduced, just not eliminated. What about a trial? We can do that instead of an execution. It¡¯s been a few years since we had one and everyone''s been complaining about how few resources the village has. I¡¯ll do it as a personal favor.¡± He said, smiling at He¡¯sha.

    ¡°He¡¯s a boy! and you expect him to survive in the woods. I swear if you push me on this you¡¯ll  regret it.¡± She snarled.

    Hallon¡¯s face darkened with his own rising anger. ¡°I¡¯m already doing you a favor. I¡¯m in charge of the warrior¡¯s and I say it¡¯s a trial. I¡¯m already letting him off easy. You can¡¯t just crush every problem you face with your fist. You''re not nearly as invincible as you think you are.¡±

    ¡°Enough! He¡¯sha let it go, It¡¯s as good as your going to get.¡± The Grand-Elder snapped. He¡¯sha turned to the Grand-Elder like he¡¯d slapped her.

    ¡°Your siding with him? You''re really going to let a child die just to appease him?¡± He¡¯sha shook her head. Her expression wounded. She was silent for a few moments before nodding in understanding but her eyes had gone cold.

    ¡°....You know uncle, growing up I really respected you. You never wanted power like the other Lords. You were kind to the lower castes and tried to make a difference but your too soft. You keep giving them inches and they keep taking feet. The rest of the Lords are vultures picking clean the bones of this village and you''re just watching them do it.¡± She said as she turned and stalked away.

    The Grand-Elder sighed as she left. It wasn¡¯t as simple as she made it out to be. The problem was a large one. He needed the support of the other high families if he was going to turn the village around. Sacrificing one boy was unfortunate but how many more children would starve if he couldn¡¯t convince the other¡¯s to act. That was the burden a leader had to bear.

    **************************

    They came to get me at sunrise. I¡¯d spent the night working on my martial arts while worrying about what was going to happen to me. He¡¯sha hadn¡¯t returned and I didn¡¯t know what punishment they had in store for me.

    ¡°Come on boy¡± Chi¡¯ra said, as he opened my cell door and lead me up out of the dungeon. We walked through the building and out into the early morning sunlight. The brown-haired sergeant and He¡¯sha were already there waiting for me as we emerged from the building.  He¡¯sha expression was angry, which made my nervousness spike. They really weren''t going to kill me were they?

    ¡°Chok Son of Jical. You have been sentenced to death for gross misconduct leading to the destruction of several properties. However, due to the benevolence of Lord Hallon, your sentence has been reduced. Instead of execution you will instead face a trial. You have until noon today to prepare yourself. After that you will be banished from Sun-Mountain village. If you are able to gather sufficient resources and gift them to the village you will be allowed to return.¡± The sergeant announced. His voice loud and clear in the early-morning stillness.

    ¡°Your throwing me out?! I said incredulously. ¡°For something I didn¡¯t even do?¡± I was furious at first but the more I thought about it the less angry I became. I was always planning on leaving the village anyway. If they wanted me out then I would go. I just didn¡¯t know what I was going to say to Shimak.

    ¡°You''re already getting off easy they were going to cut your head off.¡± The sergeant snarled.

    ¡°I see... ¡° I said coldly. ¡°So instead of just killing me and being done with it you''re determined to squeeze out every drop. Giving me a way out in the hope I¡¯ll bring back something useful from the woods that you guys can steal from me.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve been stepped on, beaten, stolen from, and treated like dirt and now you expect me to come crawling back to the village like you¡¯ve done me some sort of favor? Hell with that. You can choke on your trial. I¡¯ll sit on the other side of the river and eat barbecued beast every damn night before handing a single token over to you to get back in. ¡° I snarled.

    ¡°Chok I¡¯m sorry. I tried to reason with the Grand-Elder but he wouldn¡¯t have it. His idiotic ideals are have already written you off as a sacrifice..¡± I could see the fury in her eyes but even she had to bend a knee for the Grand-Elder. ¡°but you must return. Nessa would be heart-broken if you left. She doesn¡¯t many friends and besides what about your family?¡± She said, her eyes serious.

    I frowned. She did have a point but still. ¡°So you think I should go risk my life to kill beasts and gather precious herbs then just hand them over so some bratty high-caste kid can breakthrough?¡± I asked with a raised eyebrow. ¡°You seem way too calm about this. I was expecting more fire and brimstone.

    ¡°I¡±m not angry just disappointed. I didn¡¯t think uncle would sell out but he has.¡± She shook her head. ¡°Well you better go pack some food. Life in the woods will not be easy for you and I¡¯m expecting you back soon. Don¡¯t cut off your nose to spite your face.¡± She turned to leave then turned back to me. ¡° Oh, almost forgot Nessa wanted you to take this. She said handing me a thick book wrapped in a leather protective cover.

    I opened the cover and tried to read the title. My reading skills were still a LONG way from decent. ¡°Com¡­¡­ In¡­. Common¡­.  Me--- dnin¡­ Mednin? He...rbs.. Common mednin Herbs?¡± I tried doubtfully.

    ¡°That¡¯s a Han rune not a Cho rune... It¡¯s Common Medical Herbs you idiot.¡± He¡¯sha snapped. ¡°The woods are full of valuable herbs. If you can find some it¡¯ll help with your trial a lot.¡± I looked at her and then down at the massive tome.

    ¡°How in the hell am I supposed to read this?¡± I said incredulously. I could barely stumble my way through children''s books. Now she wanted me to read an encyclopedia.

    ¡°Wasn¡¯t my idea. If you can¡¯t read it just look at the pictures.¡± She waved a hand and trotted off while I took the book and went home. I only had a few hours before I had to leave the village and I was going to spend most of it getting yelled at by Shimak.

    _____________________________________________________________________

    AN: Not a lot going on in this chapter. As my proofreader said it''s missing some meat on it''s bones. However, it''s mostly  a transitional chapter. So I didn''t want to put in a ton of useless detail to fill it up.

    Next chapter... Probably on Saturday. It''ll have a lot more going on.

    Edits Incoming for spelling and grammar

 Chapter 13: Into the Woods

    "WHAT DID YOU DO!?¡± Shimak yelled. I sighed as I accepted my scolding. Our hut was the same as ever but Shimak¡¯s anger seemed to heat the place to a temperature only seen in mid-summer.

    ¡°I told you already. I didn¡¯t DO anything. That idiot started a fight and then kicked over the bucket. Everything went to hell after that.¡± I said petulantly.

    ¡°Is it possible for you to get into any more trouble? First you made Kallar mad, then you got beaten up, and now they''re throwing you out of the village. ¡° She said as she shook her head, causing her fiery mane to whip around.

    ¡°What can I say? I¡¯m a man of many talents. And to be fair I¡¯m pretty sure my beef with Kalar was YOUR fault. I recall a particular fight where you nearly knocked him out in front of all of his friends. ¡± I said with a grin.

    ¡°He definitely deserved it, and what about the fish that was 100% your idea?¡± She shot back.  She sighed, reigning in her temper. ¡°I suppose we¡¯d better go dig up your money. We¡¯re going to need supplies to survive out there¡±

    ¡°Just like that and you''re coming with me?¡± I asked with a raised eye-brow.  ¡°I don¡¯t think I invited you.¡±

    She snorted derisively. ¡°Yeah, like you¡¯d survive a day out there. Besides it¡¯s not like I want to spend my time washing clothes while you''re out having an adventure.¡±

    ¡°Fine¡­.. I guess you can come if you really want to.¡± I conceded. Then smiled as Shimak scowled.

    We left the hut and dug up my tokens to trade for supplies. We didn¡¯t need to spend too many of them. You could get quite a bit of basic equipment with only a few tokens. Only cultivation items were truly expensive, as long as you didn¡¯t want anything too outlandish. In the end we spent about twenty tokens to get a pair of back-packs filled with everything from rope to flint and tinder. I picked up a small hunting knife. It wasn¡¯t anything grand, just normal iron, but it would give me a weapon. It wouldn¡¯t do much against a powerful beast, but if I could find a weak-spot I might be able to get a decent stab in. You never knew when you were going to need a knife.

    After we collected the supplies I said goodbye to my parents. Mom was upset of course, but dad just looked at me with a proud expression. He¡¯d always known the village wouldn¡¯t hold me for long. Although, I most likely wouldn¡¯t be gone too long since Shimak was with me. I was still planning on leaving the village once my cultivation had improved more.

    Then Shimak and I just left. We¡¯d been going across the river regularly for most of a year.  This was basically like our other trips into the woods, except this time we planned to stay longer. I really was looking forward to testing myself against some beasts and looking for cultivation aids. I¡¯d only just broken through and under normal circumstances it would be years to break-through again. I needed to be faster though. It was obvious that when I returned to the village I¡¯d only be in even more danger.

    It didn¡¯t take us long to head down the mountain and cross the river. Our little boat bobbed in the current as the two of us stood on the bank and looked into the woods. It was a little after noon and the sun filtered through the massive trees overhead, casting dappled sunlight onto the grass covered ground. A cool spring breeze blew down the river valley.

    ¡°So now what do we do?¡± I asked as we stood looking into the forest. Honestly I didn¡¯t know where to start. I suppose we needed somewhere to set up camp. Just hanging out in the forest would be a terrible idea. We¡¯d get eaten for sure. We could probably fight a single soldier rank beast with the two of us but if we drew more than one or if a more powerful beast came we¡¯d be finished.

    ¡°Shelter first. A cave or something would be best but if we find one we¡¯ll probably have to battle whatever beast is already living there.¡± She said as she scanned the treeline.

    ¡°Well we were going to have to fight at some point anyway. It¡¯ll be a good chance to work on our tactics. Besides I¡¯m hungry and I haven''t ever eaten a soldier ranked beast.¡± I said, rubbing my stomach.

    Shimak rolled her eyes and we set off into the trees keeping our eyes peeled for danger. Our journey was surprisingly pleasant and soon my wariness turned into boredom. I fetched the herb book out of my pack and started to flip through it. It really was a great book. I couldn¡¯t read most of the words but the bindings and illustrations were all top quality. In my old world it wouldn¡¯t have been too impressive but here this book was all hand written and drawn. It must be worth a fortune.

    I continued to scan through the book trying my best to read the descriptions of the various plants. I was just working my way through a page on a berry bush when Shimak slapped my shoulder.

    ¡°Would you get your nose out of that book. Some crazed bird is going to dive down on your head and peck out your eyes before you even know what happened.¡± She said angrily.

    ¡°Well, aren''t you a ray of sunshine. Besides, what about those?¡± I said pointing to a thorny bush full of bright yellow berries. I opened my book and read aloud.

    ¡°Fruit¡­ of¡­ The¡­. Ear¡­. Eath. Fruit of the Earth. Let¡¯s see¡­ Infuzzed¡­. No infused with¡­ Earth Element.  Good for¡­ chill¡­ Children and adolumin¡­ Adolessons¡­ Adolescents. Helps make ¡­. St¡­. Strong bones. Helps children and adolescents make strong bones.¡± I finished with a grin before walking over the the bush and popping a few berries into my mouth.

    They were sweet but full of seeds. Sorta like a black berry. Still, I hadn¡¯t had much in the way of fruit since I came into this world and these were quite a treat. I just wished grandma was still around to bake them into a cobbler for me.

    Shimak came over and tried a few. Soon both of us were shoveling berries into our mouths as fast as we could eat them. After a few minutes both of us were covered in yellow juice and stuffed to the gills. I casually picked through the thorny vines looking for the last few ripe berries.

    ¡°These are so good. I think I¡¯m going to keep a few of the seeds. Maybe I can grow them up on the mountain.¡± I said as I carefully moved aside some thorns and extracted another plump berry.

    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t work. Not enough world¡¯s essence up there. Not to mention how terrible the soil is. Why do you think they only grow a few grains up there.¡± She said. ¡°Didn¡¯t you ever wonder why the farmers are always growing normal grains instead of medical herbs or something more valuable?¡±

    ¡°I figured it was something like that.¡± I said. Still, I wondered why they put the village on the mountain to begin with. It seemed like such a waste. The land on the other side of the river was so much more fertile. Sure, the warriors would have had to fight off more monster attacks, but that would only lead to more beasts being killed. It would be more dangerous starting out, but eventually you¡¯d have more cultivators, more food, and healthier people. Maybe it was more complicated than I was making it out to be but It just seemed so backwards.

    I grabbed the last of the ripe berries and tossed them into my bag. I was hoping for some immediate reaction from the berries I¡¯d eaten, but nothing really happened. I supposed they were too low grade to be some miraculous medicine. It was a ¡°common¡± medical herb after all. It could probably be made into an elixir by an alchemist, but they likely weren¡¯t very potent in their raw form.

    Suddenly, a low growl came from the treeline. Shimak and I jumped to our feet in time to see three wolves stalk out of the nearby forest. The wolves were long and lean with spiked bristly hair covering their bodies, especially around their necks. Two were smaller, with shiny brown coats, while the largest beast had a dull gray coat. All three had an odd metallic luster to their fur, making it sparkle in the patchy sunlight.

    ¡°Soooo¡­ What sort of beasts are these?¡± I asked as Shimak and I took fighting positions. She took the right flank while I took the left. The wolves circled and Shimak and I turned with them until we stood back to back.

    ¡°Blade Wolves I think; Two Copper Blade Wolves, those should be slightly below soldier rank. The gray one should be an Iron Blade Wolf. They have the metal element and their fur is extremely sharp, especially around their heads. The skulls are also very hard. Try to aim for their hind quarters.¡± I nodded, preparing to defend myself, but Shimak decided to take the initiative.

    Ignoring her own advice completely, she dashed towards the nearest copper wolf and struck directly at its head. Her battle style was the exact opposite of mine. While I would rely on my agility to dance around my opponents, Shimak charged straight at them. Her small fist came down like the hammer of God.

    GONG!

    The impact sounded like she¡¯d struck a metal cauldron, but the force of the blow smashed the wolf to the ground. While it laid there, momentarily stunned, Shimak took the opportunity to square off with the iron wolf. In that instant the other copper wolf attacked and I had to concentrate on my own fight. The labrador-sized wolf lunged forward, jaws snapping viciously. I stepped forward at an angle, closing the distance to throw off the timing of its attack, while trying to work my way around its head toward its more vulnerable areas.

    My plan met with limited success. The wolf managed to turn itself much more quickly than I was anticipating. I was forced to leap sideways in a sort of ungainly pirouette to keep from having my leg mauled. Luckily, balance and agility are my specialties. I landed on my feet and managed to regain a solid stance before the wolf struck again.

    This time I tried to parry the bite instead of evade it. As the wolf¡¯s teeth flashed, I threw a palm-heel strike into its muzzle with my left hand. It was like hitting a chunk of iron, but it forced the beast''s head away and gave me the opening I was looking for. I swept around its side with a lunge and unleashed my only real attack.

    Bewitching Palm! The strike hit the wolf on its left foreleg, causing the limb to twitch spasmodically. The lamed leg gave out, throwing the wolf off balance and making it fall sideways. I wasted no time in capitalizing. I rounded it¡¯s body and shoved, pushing the creature over onto its back and exposing its belly. I whipped the hunting knife off my belt and struck like a cobra. Stabbing  three times into the soft fur of its belly, driving the knife deep into its vitals before it could regain its balance. I dashed back, retreating while the wolf stumbled back to its feet.

    Get in and get out. Deflect, evade, never settle, never stand your ground, those were the keys to gentle wave style. After a few experimental steps, the wolf managed to shake off the spasms in its leg but Its stance was shaky now and red blood dripped steadily from the wounds I¡¯d inflicted. Normally, I¡¯d wait for it to strike again and continue to wear it down, but Shimak was still fighting two on one and I didn¡¯t have time to draw this out.

    I attacked, rushing forward with knife in hand. I feinted right and slid left, using the wolf¡¯s slowed reactions to take its flank again. This time I didn¡¯t bother getting fancy. I just dove for its back leg, hacking at the limb. The wolf¡¯s bones were ridiculously hard, clearly a part of its talent with metal qi. Most of my strikes failed to do any damage, but eventually I managed to stab the knife into its knee joint. I twisted the knife sharply before wrenching it out, trying to cause as much damage as possible. The wolf whimpered piteously as I backed away again. Its remaining will to fight sapped, the wolf slumped down heavily. I left it on the ground bleeding and rushed over to Shimak. She  had apparently killed the copper wolf already and was not fighting with the last opponent.

    You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

    She was bleeding from a dozen small wounds but her eyes blazed with life and a small fighter¡¯s smile sat on her lips. Shimak and the iron wolf circled each other slowly. As the wolf passed, I did the honorable thing and sneak attacked from behind. I channeled my Qi into my hand as I flew forward, palm extended.

    Bewitching Palm! Unlike the copper wolves, the iron wolf was a true soldier ranked beast. Nearly four-feet at the shoulder, it was a monster but its size did not diminish its speed. The wolf¡¯s back leg lashed out at me as I attacked. Its steel-hard claws scored me even as my blow landed and I drove my Qi into it¡¯s hip.

    Blood flew as the beast¡¯s scratch landed, but my strike had done its work as well. The wolf¡¯s leg went limp and Shimak took advantage immediately, circling to her right and forcing the beast onto its bum leg. The wolf stumbled and Shimak dashed forward, her speed at its maximum, throwing another of her mighty punches into the beast¡¯s neck. Her strength was incredible. The wolf out massed her by four or five times, but her punch hammered into it like an avalanche, blasting the beast side-ways. As it fell, Shimak and I pounced, both of us raining blows onto the wolf while it struggled to rise.

    The wolf howled in fury, thrashing and snapping at us wildly. Its bones and flesh were infused with elemental iron and It was much harder to damage than the smaller wolves. I reacted fast enough to dodge it¡¯s berserk struggles, but Shimak wasn¡¯t as quick. The steel-bristle fur of wolf¡¯s head and neck tore into her flesh like a cheese-grater, leaving large shallow wounds. She cried out in pain, but it only heightened her fury and her next punch broke bones. What had started as a battle quickly turned into a brawl. Blood flew like rain as all of us gave up trying to dodge or defend, opting for all out attack. I threw bewitching palms until my essence was nearly spent, while Shimak just pummeled the wolf, hammering blow after blow onto its body.

    I don¡¯t know how long it continued, but as exhaustion began to set in and the fight slowed, I managed to find an opening. I struck out jamming my knife into one of its eyes and the wolf twitched once before finally going still.

    Shimak, battered and bleeding profusely, took two shaky steps backwards and collapsed. I limped over to inspect her and gasped at the mess. Although she had higher cultivation and was a more skilled fighter than I was, she¡¯d had to do most of the work. Consequently, her clothing was a torn, blood-soaked, mess and Large patches of her skin had been scraped off by the wolf¡¯s fur.

    None of her wounds seemed too deep. Losing skin wasn¡¯t much of a problem for a cultivator, but she¡¯d lost a lot of blood. I tore my own clothing into strips and did my best to bandage her.  I had no idea what I was doing, but I figured the more blood I could keep inside her the better off she would be. It wasn¡¯t like I was going to make it worse.

    I watched over her for a few minutes, and though she didn¡¯t stir, she did seem to be ok. If I was exhausted, she had to be completely drained. Sighing, I finally stood up and looked around. taking in the aftermath of the fight. The three wolves lay motionless, two of them in pools of blood, while the third had its neck twisted at an unnatural angle.  The area reeked of blood, sweat, and emptied bowels. I gagged and retched as the smell hit me. I¡¯d been in a few fights before, but this was my first time experiencing something like this. We¡¯d just beaten three creatures to death.

    It was something I was going to have to get used to. This world did not treat weakness kindly. I took a few short, fortifying breaths before taking out my knife again.

    ¡°And to the victor go the spoils.¡±

    I said as I knelt next the the first wolf and started to hack at it. I quickly learned that trying to field dress an animal is neither pleasant or simple. The fight had worn me out, my knife could hardly cut the wolf¡¯s tough flesh, and I had to saw viciously to get through its skin and tendons. The knife needed to be sharpened every five minutes and after nearly an hour of sweaty, back-breaking work, I hadn¡¯t accomplished a damn thing. Aside from throwing up again and making a horrible mess.

    ¡°This is just depressing to watch.¡± Shimak said from over my shoulder. Startled, I dropped the knife and it landed in my ¡°waste¡± pile.

    ¡°Goddamn it.¡± I said, breathing hard. I fished the gore-covered knife out of the slop before turning and holding it out to Shimak. ¡°If you think you can do better then have at it.¡±

    ¡°Nope, too injured.¡± She said, backing away and turning slightly green.

    ¡°Oh ho¡­.. It seems like you might be a girl after all. I was honestly starting to wonder a bit.¡± I said as I turned back to my work.

    ¡°If you''re trying to get the core out, you¡¯ll need to go in through the top of its mouth. Blade-wolf skulls are almost entirely metal and harder and more durable than their namesake ore. If you can manage to get their heads off, the skulls are very valuable to blacksmiths.

    I took her advice and tried to go through the roof of the wolf¡¯s mouth to get to the core. It didn¡¯t really make the work any faster, but I did manage to get the seeds out of the smaller wolves. Though they weren''t true beast cores, they were still valuable.

    All in all, it took about three hours. When I finally finished I was filthy, but I had the seeds from the copper wolves and the core from the iron wolf. As well as the three heads to sell and two haunches we were planning on eating.

    I washed off as much of the mess as I could with one of my waterskins before we packed up and left. Neither of us was in particularly good shape but we could both walk. It took us until sunset before we finally found a decent spot to rest.

    Eventually we stumbled onto a sheer hillside that was slightly recessed. It wasn¡¯t a prime spot but it did at least let us put our backs to a wall. There appeared to be a cave that might have gone down into the hill, but the entrance was overgrown with vines. The vines were too thick for us to penetrate, though that was probably for the best. Neither of us were in any condition for a fight if we needed to clear out a cave.

    I gathered sticks and started a fire while Shimak cultivated to restore her strength. She tried to help at first, but I shoo¡¯d her away. We needed her to be in fighting form if another beast showed up. She was the only one that was strong enough to really hurt them. Without a decent weapon, we had to rely on her brute strength.

    Soon the fire was crackling merrily and I was roasting wolf haunch on an improvised spit.

    ¡°So why didn¡¯t you bring your bow.¡± I asked Shimak, as I cut off a piece of the roasted wolf and handed it to her. She shoved the meat into her mouth, her eyes closing blissfully. She chewed slowly, savoring the meat, before finally opening her eyes to look at me.

    ¡°Do you know how to shoot a bow?¡± She asked as she reached for more meat.

    ¡°In theory.. but not well enough to fight with.¡± I said truthfully. I¡¯d messed around with archery a few times in P.E. back when I was in high-school but never seriously.

    ¡°I¡¯ve been practicing all my life to use hand-to-hand and axe techniques. I have no idea what I¡¯m doing with a bow. It would takes months of practice to be competent enough to use it in a battle against beasts. And you gave me about five hours notice before we started this trip.¡± She explained, as she cut off another chunk of meat and shoved it into her mouth.

    ¡°Alright, fine.¡± I said, reaching over the fire and grabbing my own peice. I put it into my mouth and froze. The world fell away as delicious, succulent flavor washed over my tongue. I hadn¡¯t eaten real meat in more than a year. This wasn¡¯t stew. It wasn¡¯t dried. It was honest to God, roasted over an open-flame meat. I¡¯m not sure how long I was in my revery, but shimak was looking at me oddly when I opened my eyes again.

    ¡°Are you alright? You didn¡¯t hit your head during the fight did you?¡± She asked, looking concerned.

    Oh I¡¯m good, but I feel like I need a cigarette¡­¡­.

    ¡°No, I¡¯m fine¡± I said, reaching over and grabbing more meat. It only took about a half hour for us to demolish the wolf haunch. Taking out the second one, I started to rub salt over it. I¡¯d originally bought the salt to use as seasoning, but I realized my mistake once we got out here. I had no way to keep the meat. It wasn¡¯t like earth where we had access to refrigerators and plastics. I didn¡¯t even have the right stuff for a nitrate cure. I¡¯d just have to use salt. It wasn¡¯t the most effective method, but hopefully the meat would keep a few days until we were strong enough to hunt for more.

    It didn¡¯t take me long to finish and soon Shimak and I were relaxing around the fire again. A soft breeze blew through our little hide-away as the sun set. The sounds of animals and insects conspired with the popping of the fire and our full bellies to lull us slowly towards sleep.

    ¡°So how long are we going to stay out here?¡± Shimak asked from her spot against the side of the hill. I looked over at her, the firelight dancing on her lovely face and sleepy eyes with flickers of shadow. The sight made me oddly melancholy. Shimak really was beautiful, smart, funny, and brave but she wasn¡¯t Allison. I¡¯d planned to spend the rest of my life with her but now she was a world away. Maybe Shimak and I would have ended up as a couple if we were a few years older when I¡¯d met her but she was my little sister now. Well, maybe a step-sister. I had to admit all of my feelings weren¡¯t entirely brotherly but it wasn¡¯t the same. I just wanted to take care of her, to banter with her. We¡¯d have to part eventually anyway. She¡¯d never leave her mother alone in the village and I would never stay.

    ¡°Planning to go back already? We haven¡¯t even been out here for twelve hours.¡±  I teased half-heartedly, my thoughts still troubled.

    ¡°Well, we¡¯ve already got three blade wolf skulls and a beast core. Honestly, we could probably go back now and pass your trial.¡± She said, twisting her shoulders to get more comfortable.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I say we just see how it goes for a little while. I feel like fighting beasts is a good way to practice my martial arts and speed up my cultivation. A long camping trip might be just what we need.¡± I said, summoning Rupert. ¡°You sleep, I¡¯ll cultivate and keep an eye out. You need your strength back or we¡¯re not going to be able to fight anything.¡±

    I closed my eyes and started to cultivate, listening to the sounds of the night woods and Shimak¡¯s light snores.

    _____________________________________________________________________

    AN: I took a mini-vacation from work. I''m hoping to get some writing done and have another chapter out by this weekend.

    Don''t forget to vote on the poll. I don''t want everyone just screaming out attack names every time they use them but I think they could use a little emphasis sometimes. I''ve seen it done a few ways and just want to see what the general consensus is.

 Chapter 14: Hot Water

    I cultivated most of the night. As usual, getting beaten up had turned my body into an essence sponge, and it flowed into my injured body like a balm. That was one thing I¡¯d noticed after my fight with the assassins. Being healed had cured my injuries in a single day, but it had also deprived me of the opportunity to cultivate while injured. I feel like I had really missed out on what could have been significant progress. Then again, as bad as my internal injuries had been, I might have died without the healing.

    The beast meat was also helping. I could feel the occasional rush of warm energy enter my body while the meat was being digested. It was no wonder the stuff was so expensive. It was strengthening my body and it tasted great, even with my poor cooking.

    The night had passed uneventfully as I kept watch. It was still a few hours to dawn and I was starting to nod off. I was exhausted after the fight, and having to stay up all night after the adrenaline had worn off was no mean feat, even aided by my cultivation. It was a good thing I couldn¡¯t see myself. I probably looked like some deranged zombie.

    I jolted back awake as my head once again started to drop towards my chest. I was about to stand up to ward off sleep when I heard a soft rustle from behind me. Turning towards the sound, I saw a thick green vine creeping along the ground towards me.

    I just stared at it in confusion for a few seconds, the gears of my sleep-deprived mind gummed up. Why would there be a vine creeping towards me? Following the vine with my eyes, I saw a number of other vines moving stealthily out from the entrance to the cave. It wasn¡¯t until I saw a vine starting to curl around Shimak that I realized what was going on.

    Whipping my knife off my belt, I drove the blade straight through the vine nearest me. The vine froze for half a heartbeat before an awful high-pitched scream screeched out of the cave. Then all hell broke loose. As Shimak struggled to her feet, still bleary-eyed from sleep, over a dozen vines flashed out from the cave towards us. I started hacking at the vines with my knife, but it was a pitiful weapon for this kind of situation. Although the vines weren¡¯t particularly tough, the blade¡¯s short length was better suited for stabbing than chopping.

    My struggles were for naught. I was quickly grabbed by multiple vines that started dragging me towards the cave. As I struggled against the pull of the vines I watched a giant red tulip flower press its way out of the foliage over the cave, the flower opening up like the maw of a giant squid. I panicked and squirmed wildly, still trying frantically to cut through the vines with my pitiful little dagger. The dagger not working, I rolled myself over and clawed at the ground, trying to slow myself. Passing near the still burning fire I finally had some inspiration. Reaching out with my free arm I grabbed one of the half burnt logs from the fire. The skin on my hand started to burn, but I barely noticed. Burns could be healed, being eaten was a bit more difficult to undo.

    Rolling with the log, I pressed the flaming end against the vines pulling me. There was no reaction at first, but as one of the vines started to smoke it quickly loosened and withdrew. It wasn¡¯t enough. At this rate it¡¯d take me five minutes to get all these vines off. I only had a few seconds. Frustrated, I threw the flaming log at the plant-monster¡¯s open mouth. My aim was good, the log deposited itself perfectly into the back of the creature¡¯s throat. It did not take it well.

    It screamed again, this time more of pain and outrage. The vines wrapped around Shimak released, rushing back to the creature and trying to fish the burning log out of it¡¯s mouth. With our best weapon freed we could finally start our offense.

    Shimak reached forward with her right hand and shouted in a clear voice. ¡°Go Sparks!¡± The tattoo on her arm flashed and a soot-colored fawn appeared before her. The fawn wasted no time, dashing forward as Shimak made a few hand seals. The world¡¯s essence seemed to shift subtly towards the charging fawn.

    [Beast Art: Blazing Trail]

    The fawn¡¯s hooves began to glow with red light, then they burst into flames! Its footfalls incinerating the grass behind it, essence-fueled flames left a fiery trail as it charged. The fawn reared up just as it reached the plant-monster¡¯s body, lashing out with it¡¯s burning hooves. The plant-monster was NOT a fan of fire. The monster seemed to forget everything but its newest foe, all of the vines retracting and lashing at the fawn.

    I retreated back to the fire and started to pitch more burning logs at the plant. I regretted not collecting the wolves¡¯ fat. I could have made a pretty mean incendiary with it, given a little time and a decent container. After throwing three more logs I ran in to join the fray. Shimak was already in, using brute strength to just rip the vines apart, while the fawn was content to smash the beast with it¡¯s flaming hooves. The fawn seemed to be egging the fire on. As the fight progressed the flames on its feet, and on the logs against the monster, grew in size and intensity.

    The plant beast wasn¡¯t as strong of an opponent as it had seemed initially. While its vines were tough, they were easily cut by the hooves of Shimak¡¯s fawn, and Shimak herself had no trouble simply ripping them apart. The flames seemed to have completely suppressed any powers it might have had. The monster¡¯s lack of mobility was easily its largest disadvantage though. Once on fire, it was unable to escape. Soon it¡¯s shrieks and struggles subsided.

    ¡°Alright Sparks, absorb.¡± The fawn walked forward and seemed to inhale and all the various flames burning on the plant¡¯s body died out. A smoking corpse, that smelled faintly of burnt broccoli, was all that remained when it finished. Sparks didn¡¯t seem to care about the smell though, walking forward it started to nose the corpse before opening it¡¯s mouth and digging in.

    ¡° I can¡¯t really use my beast on land because it can¡¯t move very well out of the water, but if you had a powerful move like that up your sleeve, why didn¡¯t you summon your fawn against the wolves?¡± I asked Shimak as I walked over to her.

    Raising one red eyebrow, she gave me the ¡®are you an idiot¡¯ look I was so familiar with. ¡°You want me to send a fawn to fight a pack of wolves?¡± I was silent for a long moment before I said anything.

    ¡°Yeah¡­ well, when you say it like that it just sounds stupid. And I wouldn¡¯t really count three as a pack.¡± I said defensively.

    Shimak laughed, the sound childlike and clear. I smiled begrudgingly. ¡°My ash fawn isn¡¯t very good in a direct confrontation. It¡¯s very good at running away and has a strong elemental affinity, but the problem is mostly that steel wolves aren''t bothered by fire very much. I would have been putting Sparks in danger for no good reason.¡±

    ¡°But a giant plant is a much better target for a fire-beast.¡± I said, understanding.

    ¡°Now you''re catching on. And here I thought you were just dumb muscle.¡± She looked thoughtful for a second then said. ¡°Actually I¡¯m the muscle AND the brains¡­ What is it you do exactly?¡±

    ¡°Ouch, Just twist the knife a little deeper why don¡¯t you?¡± I said with a grin.

    ¡°Speaking of knives, get to chopping. If I¡¯ve gotta do the fighting and the thinking, you have to do the work.¡± Shimak said as she laid down again. Even in the pre-darkness I could see how pale her face was. Having to fight again so soon after exhausting herself hadn¡¯t been good for her, regardless of how chipper she sounded.

    ¡°Ahhhhh. I get it now. I¡¯m like the handsome servant the high-caste ladies keep around to carry their stuff. Should I take my shirt off and oil myself up or something?¡± I asked, laughing

    Shimak gave me her trademark snort before rolling over. She was asleep almost instantly. I, on the other hand, had to butcher a plant monster. While it wasn¡¯t nearly as difficult as the wolves, it was just as messy. The plant had an odd, greenish blood that I got all over myself. Shimak¡¯s fawn stayed out for a while, eating the plant, but when it finished it walked delicately over to Shimak and turned back into a tattoo. I dug out the beast core, then after arguing with myself for a while, took a bite out of one of its vines. It tasted almost exactly like asparagus; Which I hate. I figured it would work to keep us from starving though. We were going to need all we could get if we planned to stay out here.Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.

    The sun was just starting to fill our clearing with light as I finished with the plant beast. I was now completely burnt out. I¡¯d been up for more than an entire day, and I¡¯d slept poorly the night before that. Settling my back against a wall, I fell asleep instantly and didn¡¯t wake up until nearly nightfall the next day.

    I sat up and looked around blearily. Shimak had made another fire and was roasting some asparagus vines. When she saw me rising she grinned. ¡°Finally awake lazy bones?¡±

    ¡°Yep, what about you? You were looking pretty pale last night, or this morning I guess.¡± I said, wiping the sleep from my eyes.

    ¡°Much better. I woke up around noon and cultivated the rest of the day. I¡¯m still a little beat up, but I can fight again if we need it.¡± She said as she prodded a vine. ¡°Tastes pretty good actually. You want some? ¡± She asked, holding out a chunk of vine skewered on a stick.

    ¡°Sure why not.¡± I said with a shrug, accepting the stick and taking a bite. This was definitely roasted asparagus. ¡°I¡¯d kill for some butter and garlic to put on this.¡± I said as I chewed. I couldn¡¯t really complain though. I hadn¡¯t eaten this well forever.

    ¡°So what¡¯s on the agenda for today?¡± Shimak asked once I¡¯d finished my meal.

    ¡°Well, First I need to do something with these wolf-skulls. They are starting to stink something fierce.¡± I¡¯d cut the wolves heads off, but hadn¡¯t been able to clean them. The fur around the head was simply too hard. ¡°Then I think we should explore the cave. I doubt there¡¯s anything dangerous in there with that monster guarding the door, but we should check it out. If it¡¯s clear we can move our camp inside, it¡¯ll be easier to defend.¡±

    Shimak nodded her approval and I moved off to gather more firewood. Cutting the skin off hadn¡¯t worked, so my next plan was to try and burn it off.The skulls were metal and wouldn¡¯t melt unless I made the fire ridiculously hot. I figured a fairly good sized bonfire should do the trick.. If not I could ask Shimak to use Sparks to super-charge the fire for me. Wood wasn¡¯t in short supply around here, and with my extra speed I quickly had a pyre nearly five feet high. I stuck the wolf skulls on top of my pyre and set it ablaze. Hopefully it would burn the off the super-hard skin and all the squishy bits. Then I could clean off all the gunk and I¡¯d have the skulls.

    Shimak and I grabbed a couple of improvised torches and ventured into the cave. The entrance was actually very narrow, and despite our small size, Shimak and I had a hard time squeezing through. The long entrance tunnel opened into medium sized, domed chamber. A large crystal suspended from the ceiling illuminated the room with what appeared to be natural sunlight. The temperature inside was much hotter than outside and I caught the faint smell of sulfur in the air. Planters full of plants were set in neat little rows, filling the room with colors and scents. Flowers, herbs, vines, and even mushrooms were all shoved together and over-growing their beds.

    A path of decorated stone wove between the planters to the only other door in the room that lead deeper into the cavern. In the center of the room, just below the crystal, was a waist-high stone pillar. Curious, we moved forward to inspect it.

    The pillar was perfectly octangular, and made of blue-veined white marble about three feet high. In the center of pillar a pendent sat in a recessed hole. The pendant appeared to be made of pale green jade, and was about the size of a dessert plate. It had a beautifully carved flowering vine inscribed on it.

    ¡°This¡­. This is a treasure.¡± Shimak said, stunned.

    ¡°Yeah, the detail is incredible.¡± I agreed. ¡°I wonder how much He¡¯sha would pay for it. ¡° I mused, rubbing my chin. A small hand shot out and slapped the back of my head.

    ¡°Ou!¡±

    ¡°This is a real martial treasure, not some piece of fancy decoration.¡± Shimak snapped.

    Rubbing the back of my head, I said bitterly, ¡°You know, you can¡¯t just stick the word martial in front of everything to make it cool.¡±

    ¡°This is a MARTIAL art, it¡¯s been handed down for generations. This is a MARTIAL library, it is the treasure of our village. This is a MARTIAL turnip, it¡¯s at least four-thousand times better than a normal turnip. You all can kiss my martial ass.¡± I said in a mocking tone.

    Shimak waited patiently until I finished, looking at me with one orange-red eyebrow raised in question. ¡°Feel better?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a stupid name.¡± I said petulantly. ¡°Let me guess, that piece of jade has some crazy magical power that can make me fly or shoot lighting out of my butt.¡± Shimak¡¯s head tilted to the side slightly as her expression turned strange.

    ¡°What goes on in your head?¡± She asked seriously.

    ¡°All the interesting stuff obviously.¡± I sighed, leaning over and picking up the piece of jade. It was surprisingly heavy, and felt warm to the touch. ¡°How does it work?¡± I asked her.

    She shrugged. ¡°Could be anything.¡± She said. ¡°Maybe essence, or blood, or maybe it only works from within the pillar. It¡¯s not like I¡¯ve ever seen one before. It could be almost anything.¡±

    I pushed essence into my fingertip then bit it, letting a fat drop of blood fall onto the pendant. Just as I¡¯d done with the jade tablet my Martial Style had been inscribed on. The crimson drop fell onto the pendant and started to disappear, like it was being sucked inside. Soon no trace remained and the pendant was as pristine as ever. The world¡¯s essence seemed to fluctuate. It wasn¡¯t an overbearing shift like when Ol¡¯Scratch had evolved, it was subtle. A gentle, wave-like movement, rather than a sharp explosion.

    The plants around us started to rustle and my eyes moved to them as they wiggled and writhed. They seemed to all grow slightly, then the essence in the blood must have run out, because they stopped just as suddenly as they had started.

    ¡°Hmmmm, It grows plants¡­. That¡¯s¡­. Odd..¡± Then some facts congealed in my brain. ¡°That¡¯s probably why that plant monster was in the cave entrance. This thing must give off some sort of aura even when it¡¯s not actively being used.¡± I said looking at it with interest.

    Shimak, however, didn¡¯t seem impressed. ¡° Are you crazy? That thing could have sucked out your soul.¡± She said, looking at me with wide-eyed incredulity. She shook her head before saying ¡°Shame it¡¯s not something more useful.¡±

    I sighed inwardly. Shimak was smart, but too much of a combat freak. ¡°I don¡¯t know, could be useful. This place probably used to be some expert¡¯s hideout. This was their private herb garden. I bet some of these plants are worth a ton.¡± I said as I looked around. .

    ¡°You and money, strength is more important. Even if you''re the richest man in the world someone with a bigger fist can just come and take it from you.¡± Shimak shot back. Her eyes hardened as a serious expression settled on her young face. ¡°Only when you¡¯re strong can you defend those you care about.¡± Shimak had a chip on her shoulder that weighed a ton. She was obviously thinking about her mother.

    She was right to a degree, but not completely. She and I were from different worlds, and those worlds had given us very different perspectives. In her world, individual strength was what mattered. A powerful cultivator could shatter mountains and flip seas, but in my world, money could topple empires.

    I put the pendant back into the pillar and we moved on to explore more of the cave. An archway lead from the first room into another, and the next room had obviously been some sort of study. An old, rotted prayer mat sat in the middle of the room, likely for cultivation. The old, gnarled roots from a tree above the cave grew down from the ceiling and formed the shape of a chair. On the ground in front of another wall, between two groups of roots that had grown down, was the remnants of what I think used to be a hammock. The stone of the third wall had been depressed, forming shelves which were filled with old decayed tomes in neat rows.

    ¡°This really was some old cultivator¡¯s hideout.¡± Shimak said with awe. ¡°This was someone¡¯s study.¡±

    ¡°Makes sense. I mean, the mountain is safe and all, but someone strong would be better off living down here in the woods. The essence is much better down here for cultivation. Aren''t the main branch of the Mountain-Sun family plant cultivators. This was probably one of their ancestor¡¯s getaways, and he came down here when he wanted some time alone to cultivate. Or his wife was nagging him.¡±

    I wanted to check out the books, but we proceeded on through the study and into the final room. This room was smaller than the others and was completely empty. Aside from a steaming pool of water in the center of the room. The air was thick and humid, with the smell of sulfur thick in the air. I grinned like an idiot as I stared down at the pool,barely able to contain the my building excitement.

    ¡°HOT TUB!¡± I shouted, quickly stripping to my underwear and jumping in. There was a splash as I hit the pool and the heated water rushed up around me. Coming back to the surface, I laughed contentedly as I let my head lay on the edge of the pool and just floated.

    ¡°Are you an idiot?! What if there was some monster in there!¡± Shimak shouted. I shrugged, not put out in the least, letting the warmth of the water sooth my body and muscles. Fresh meat was one thing, but THIS was how the other-half lived. Now if I only had a couple of babes in bikinis and a cold beer my life would be complete.

    ¡°There¡¯s not going to be a monster. This is for relaxation, who would put a monster in here?¡± I said, closing my eyes and enjoying the warm water. The water bubbled faintly, almost like it was carbonated, and the sensation of the bubbles and heat was completely divine after all the battles and beatings I¡¯d taken. ¡°I¡¯m telling you, you''re missing out.¡± I said without opening my eyes.

    The pool had a ring of smooth stone a few feet under the surface that was obviously meant to be a seat. Moving slowly onto the bench, I was short enough that the water came to the top of my shoulders, I was able to sit up and relax. There was a splash, and I opened my eyes to see Shimak sitting across from me. Her orange-red hair floated on the surface of the water, and I was suddenly thankful the water was opaque - and that it came all the way to her chin. That was something I really didn¡¯t need to deal with. Puberty had been bad enough the first time around.

    I lazed about for a few minutes, then summoned Rupert. He didn¡¯t get to be out very often. Unless I had a large pool of water nearby, I could only let him out for a few minutes before he started to dry out, and the barrel of water in the house didn¡¯t provide him much space. I¡¯d felt a little guilty about it sometimes, so now I didn¡¯t hesitate to let him join us. Grey light swirled for a moment before Rupert plopped into the hot tub.

    ¡°Don¡¯t do that¡­.¡± Shimak said. ¡°He¡¯s a water beast. They are Yin, they like cold, dark water, not this.¡± She said as Rupert swam around the pool, swimming in circles and sending feelings of happiness through the bond.

    ¡°I¡±m not certain you''re right.¡± I said, as Rupter burst through the surface of the water, doing a flip, and then splashing back into the water. ¡°He seems pretty happy to me. He feels happier than he¡¯s ever been as far as I can tell.¡±

    Shimak frowned as she watched his antics. ¡°That¡­. Doesn¡¯t make sense.¡± She said as I shrugged.

    ¡°Well, we always knew he was different from most beasts. It¡¯s not terribly surprising that he doesn¡¯t follow conventional wisdom.¡± I said. I closed my eyes and started to cultivate, pulling the rich essence in through my link with Rupert. It was more dense here than any place I¡¯d found so far, which made me smile, I knew I¡¯d be spending a great deal of time here in the future.

    Shimak only let me relax for a few minutes before she roused me from the hot-spring and made me help her clean up main room. It didn¡¯t take us too long, and we¡¯d moved what meager belongings we had into the cave before the night was half-over. Skimak and I finally settled down to get some much needed rest. We were both running on fumes. She went back to sleep, and I sat on the rim of the hot spring to cultivate with Rupert on the bottom of the pool. I let my body relax and soak in the essence, feeling my sore muscles unknot and my wounds slowly knitting back together. We had food now, and shelter. Maybe things were looking up.

 Chapter 15: Blood

    My mind wandered as I sat sweating on the rim of the pool. Our cave was set into the side of a small hill, but it wasn¡¯t far underground and didn¡¯t provide much insulation. The weather was cooler here than it was back in Chicago, and even in late spring the cave had been chilly, making the heated air around the hot spring feel comfortable.  However, Shimak and I had lived here for nearly a month now and the summer heat had finally come, turning the inside of the cave hot and stuffy. Now, sitting in the hot-tub room was like cooking in a sauna.

    The problem was that the room was the best spot for cultivation that I¡¯d yet found. The essence here was thick and Rupert really enjoyed the pool. The world¡¯s essence here had a sort of ¡®flavor¡¯ that Rupert seemed to like and it made my absorption easier. So, I was forced to do all my cultivating in here to reap the maximum benefit, even if sweat was streaming from my body the entire time.

    The weeks Shimak and I had spent here were like a vacation. We did what we wanted and went where we wanted. We hunted the weakest beasts and foraged berries and roots for food. We spend our days sparring and cultivating and our evenings relaxing in the cave or out under the stars.

    The only real problems were the beasts of the forest. They were both the forest¡¯s most valuable resource, as well as its largest danger.  Shimak and I were still only Blood ranked fighters. We could only fight the unranked beasts or a single soldier rank beast if we managed to isolate it. Everything else we had to run from, and we did a lot of running away. Not too many powerful creatures roamed this close to the river, but there were some. Both of us had been injured multiple times, and at one point an elite rank hawk beast had trapped us in the cave for five straight days. Still, there was something liberating about living out here on our own.

    In the village we had to hide our cultivation and train in secret. We¡¯d had to attend to our jobs while dealing with petty politics and the whims of the more powerful cultivators. Here we were free. We only had to follow our own hearts and survive the dangers of the forest. It made for a much simpler life.

    Another drop of sweat rolled down my nose and plopped loudly onto the stone floor. I sighed and continued to circulate my energy.

    ¡°Dammit Chok, how many times do I have to tell you not to leave your crap laying around everywhere.¡± Shimak shouted from the other room. ¡°I swear, you''re like a damn pig beast. You just lay around all day wallowing in your own filth.¡±

    ¡°Sorry dear.¡± I said sarcastically as I stopped my cultivation and stood up. Shimak walked into the pool room and I stifled a laugh. Both of us had only had a single set of clothes when we¡¯d left the village and our weeks of surviving and hunting out here had been hard on them. She¡¯d been wearing the rags of her shirt tied around her chest when she¡¯d left but now it seemed they¡¯d finally torn all the way. Now she was only wearing her tattered shorts and what seemed to be a couple of large leaves bound over her chest with a vine.

    I apparently hadn¡¯t done as good a job hiding my amusement as I¡¯d imagined, because Shimak¡¯s eyes sparked with rage. ¡°Oh you think it¡¯s funny.¡± She said picking leaves out of her hair as she glared at me. My face hurt with the effort to restrain my smile, but finally I cracked and started to laugh .

    ¡°Yes¡­¡­ You look like some demented nymph. ¡° I said between laughs. Shimak¡¯s face turned red which made me laugh harder. ¡°I told you to find something to wear other than that rag but you kept putting it on.¡±

    Shimak raised one of her orange eyebrows. ¡°What you wanted me to wander around naked? You¡¯re such a pervert.¡±

    I rolled my eyes. ¡°Yes, because walking around wearing plants is much more dignified.¡± Things between Shimak and I had gotten oddly domestic while we¡¯d lived out here. I¡¯d never lived with a girl before. Allison had stayed over fairly regularly, but there was something different about actually living in the same space with someone every day, rather than just sleeping over occasionally.

    It wasn¡¯t like Shimak and I were involved but our relationship had definitely gotten a bit strange. Somehow we¡¯d managed to skip from ¡®best friends¡¯ directly to ¡®old married couple¡¯. We bickered about pretty much everything now, but it was always done with an odd sort of warmth.

    Shimak snorted and shot back at me. ¡°Yes, because my plants are so much better than your stupid wolf-skull belt you wear around.¡± She had a point, but I wasn¡¯t going to admit it. I¡¯d strung a piece of rope through the wolf-skulls we¡¯d gotten and wore it around like a belt. I thought it made me look like a barbarian bad-ass, but Shimak constantly made fun of me for it.

    ¡°Well, why don¡¯t you just go back to the village and buy some more clothes for us? We¡¯re too low on basic supplies and you can get your bow while you''re there. It¡¯s not like we don¡¯t have the money now. We we could afford a nice house in the middle-caste section of the city now if we wanted.¡± I said.

    ¡°I¡¯m not taking all those cores up there. We¡¯ve got what¡­. twelve of the semi-formed cores and three full soldier cores now? There¡¯s no way I want to carry that much wealth on me, and I¡¯d never be able to sell them all without someone blabbing to the upper caste.¡± She said moodily. ¡°Just give me those wolf skulls. I can sell them to the smith, those would be worth almost as much as a beast core but shouldn¡¯t raise nearly as much fuss.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not giving you my wolf skulls.¡± I said defensively. I was not giving her my sweet belt. It was mine damnit.

    ¡°How are they YOUR wolf skulls?! We killed them together, and I did most of the work.¡± She shouted.

    I looked up at her and my expression fell. My eyes widened and started to mist and my lip trembled. ¡°You want to take them away from me?¡± I asked piteously, giving Shimak my puppy-dog face as I stared into her eyes. Her scowl softened for a moment and she wavered, but I couldn¡¯t keep up the act and smiled, breaking the spell.

    Her scowl returned instantly and she shouted ¡°You¡¯re such an ass.¡± She glared at me for a moment before breaking into her own smile and shaking her head at me. ¡°You''re never going to find a wife.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t want one.¡± I said with my own grin. ¡°But seriously, we do need a bunch of stuff if we¡¯re planning on staying out here. Take the wolf skulls and the herbs I cleaned out of the garden. I tried to leave the really good ones but a lot of them weren¡¯t in that book Nessa gave me. I¡±m sure I didn¡¯t harvest them properly for alchemy, but they should still be worth something, its not like we have any real alchemists in the village anyway.¡±

    I¡¯d been working on cleaning up the garden room as a side project. The place had been monstrously overgrown when we¡¯d come so I¡¯d been trying to at least get it back under control by cleaning out all the overgrown herbs, and trying to organize the really important ones. I¡¯d killed a lot off trying to replant them, but at least it looked like a garden now instead of a jungle.

    ¡°Every time I leave you alone, you always end up getting into trouble.¡± Shimak said as she looked at me doubtfully.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be fine. I¡¯ll use that elixir I¡¯ve been saving. I can¡¯t get into much trouble sitting in the cave and cultivating. ¡° I countered. Cultivating all day during the summer stuck in this overheated cave really would suck, but the elixir would help out my cultivation quite a bit. I still had a long way to go before my next break-through.

    ¡°I know you don¡¯t want to leave me, but it¡¯s ok babe. I promise not to have any girls over while you''re gone.¡± Shimak glared at me for a moment, then stomped out of the room.

    ************************************************************************************

    I sighed as I stared into the bubbling surface of the tub. I was hot, sweaty, and bored out of my damn mind.  When I¡¯d started cultivation it had required my entire focus, a small mistake while I was moving energy would be both painful and dangerous. However, I¡¯d now been at it for most of a year now. My cultivation path was ridiculously simple and it took almost no concentration at all anymore to cultivate. Even with all the extra essence I was pulling in because of the elixir it was still not enough to require my full attention.

    Which was a problem, because now I was forced to stay next to the pool even though my mind was almost completely unoccupied. I was losing my mind from boredom and I still had twenty hours of this left.

    I glanced around the bare room looking for something to distract me. The pool room was completely empty and all the walls were bare stone. I sighed heavily, as I looked into the other room with longing. That was the problem with an elixir. Every second I slacked off was 10 or twenty seconds I¡¯d have to make up later. The knowledge was its own horrible torture. Especially when I really wanted to be anywhere else doing anything else. I re-focused my mind and tried to concentrate, my will power lasted about an hour. Then I was standing and pacing the room with my hands still making the essence gathering seal and my mind still moving the incoming essence around my body as it purified.

    I couldn¡¯t practice martial arts because I couldn¡¯t move my arms or move essence around my body. I couldn¡¯t move more than about ten feet away from Rupert in the pool, in essence I was trapped by my own laziness. I took another turn around the room, then spotted the bag I¡¯d brought from the village just outside the archway. My book on plants was in my bag, but In the month we¡¯d been out here I already had it mostly memorized. That did give me an idea though, My eyes locked onto the shelf in the other room with the old dilapidated books there.

    Shimak and I hadn¡¯t touched them for fear that they¡¯d disintegrate as soon as we picked them up, but thinking about it, a book you couldn¡¯t read didn¡¯t have any value regardless of what information it might have contained.  I wavered for a moment then stopped cultivating, walked over, and gently picked up the first book on the shelf. It broke in half, then sent disintegrating pages spilling all over the floor until it was little more than a cloud of dust. I sighed then tried the next book. The cover fell off, and the binding broke, but the pages stayed mostly intact. I quickly returned to the pool and started to cultivate, this time with the book spread out on the floor in front of me.

    History of the Xi Shan Continent

    Xi Shan is the largest and northernmost of the ¡®three sons¡¯ continents. The three continents sit near each other within the western sea, isolated from the rest of the world by the vast distances that separate them from the other landmasses. The three are within trading distance of one another, but they rarely interact in a peaceful manner¡­¡­.

    I read on with avid interest. Shimak knew very little about the world outside the village. Nessa had known slightly more but even she could only give me vague details about the world. As for everyone else I knew, they seemed not to care. I wasn¡¯t sure if it was because they just weren¡¯t curious, or if they knew they¡¯d never leave the mountain.

    The Xi Shan continent was ruled by three massive empires, the Jade Phoenix empire in the West, the Tian empire in the East and the free cities in the middle that acted as a buffer. The free cities were a republic that pretended they wasn¡¯t an empire, but from what the book said it mostly was. The Jade Phoenix and Tian Empires were each overseen by a corresponding Martial Sect while the free Cities had a triumvirate of Sects that had banded together to keep the other-two powers at bay.

    I wasn¡¯t sure if the political situation had changed in the time since this book was written, but with rulers whose lifespans were measured in centuries and millennia instead of decades things should change more slowly. The geography in the book was more immediately useful. The Great Forest was mentioned by name. It was located in the north-central part of the continent which meant that the Sun-Mountain clan technically owed fealty to the Republic of Free Cities. Although I doubted any tax collectors ever made it to the mountain.

    I was only about a quarter of the way through the book when the elixir wore off. My reading skills still weren¡¯t up to par, and I kept having to re-read sections because my focus was split between reading and cultivation. It was nearing noon the next day when I finally stood up again and un-summoned Rupert. My joints popped in a satisfying fashion and my whole body tingled with vitality. Shimak wouldn¡¯t be back for another day or two at least, and I wanted to see if I could hunt down something decent for dinner.

    *********************************************************************************

    ¡°He¡¯Sha be reasonable.¡± The patriarch said as he trailed after the imposing woman. His robes were made of white silk that contrasted greatly with the fighting leathers He¡¯sha was wearing. It mid mid-afternoon and the sun put highlights in her dark hair.  She kept walking, her head forward as she ignored the older man trailing after her.

    ¡°Stop acting like a child.¡± The older man said. His voice turned from a faintly pleading tone to one that contained frustration.

    ¡°I¡¯m 65 years old. Do NOT call me a child. Just because I refuse to bow to idiocy for the sake of convenience does not make me a child.¡± She snapped back, but still didn¡¯t turn to look at him.

    ¡°Be reasonable¡­¡± the patriarch of the Sun-Mountain Clan started and He¡¯sha¡¯s temper finally broke. She whirled on the older man and the force of her fury shook the nearby buildings as her voice boomed audibly across the village.

    ¡°REASONABLE! You being reasonable is why we are in this mess. You keep acting reasonable as this village is run into the ground. Hallon gathers power and allies. He asks for inches and takes feet while you stand aside and watch acting ¡®reasonable¡¯.¡± She finished with a sneer in her voice.

    Stolen novel; please report.

    The old man''s own anger rose and his own qi leaked out. The clash of the two massive auras sent swirls of dust flying into the sky. ¡°I am old but I¡¯m still the patriarch¡­¡± the old man growled but He¡¯sha cut him off again.

    ¡°Are you?! You¡¯ll use your authority to slap me down when I refuse to tow the line, but you let that animal run roughshod over you. You''re losing your temper with me because I refuse to stand aside as you prepare to throw that girl in prison. For what, a few plants!¡± She looked into the old man¡¯s eyes while her voice softened.

    ¡°What has happened to you uncle? You were always the kindest and most caring of all of us. I don¡¯t understand you anymore.¡± She said as she shook her head. ¡°You¡¯ve had a boy sent into the wilds to appease that monster. Now, when he¡¯s managed to survive and has sent that girl into the village to trade with us, you wish to stomp on them again?¡± She asked, disgusted.

    ¡°I¡¯m not trying to be unreasonable, but she refuses to tell us where she got them. If she¡¯d just be rea¡­.. practical we could come to an agreement. You don¡¯t need to do anything, just don¡¯t stand in the way.¡±

    He¡¯sha sighed and shook her head. ¡°Yes, then she¡¯ll have given us the only thing she has of value¡­¡­ I wonder how long it would take Hallon¡¯s men to cut her throat and toss her body in the river.¡± He¡¯sha shook her head.

    ¡°I¡¯ve stood aside for you once already. I owe that boy a debt I can never repay. He saved Nessa¡¯s life and I¡¯ve already sacrificed my honor when I let you banish him for a thing he did not do. I¡¯m not going to let you do the same thing to the girl.¡± She said stubbornly.

    ¡°And just what do you mean to do to stop us.¡± The old man asked with a bit of a growl in his voice.

    He¡¯sha met the old man¡¯s eyes, letting him see both her regret and her determination.

    ¡°Whatever it takes.¡±

    By the time she¡¯d made it down to where they were holding the girl she¡¯d worked herself into a temper. She slammed open the door to the small room where Hallon and the guard captain were sitting across from a red-haired girl in her early teens. The girl looked annoyed rather than upset or scared and she wore an expression of suppressed impatience. That brought a small hard smile to He¡¯sha¡¯s face. She could like this girl.

    He¡¯sha hadn¡¯t met the girl before but had heard about her from both the boy Chok and her daughter. She wasn¡¯t pretty exactly but was obviously in good shape and had eyes much too hard for her young age. The thought tugged at her memory and she took another look at the girl. She really was in good shape. Too good really for a girl living in the forest for the last month. Her skin glowed with a healthy vitality and well defined muscles showed under the dirt and ragged clothing. She also was wearing long-sleeves even in the summer heat. He-sha smirked. It seemed the boy wasn¡¯t the only one to have become a cultivator¡­ this was becoming interesting indeed.

    ¡°What are you doing here.¡± Hallon snapped as he looked up at the sound of the door.

    ¡°Just checking on the girl. She¡¯s a friend of my daughter.¡± He¡¯sha lied smoothly. She was really a friend of a friend, but that did leave He¡¯sha obligated to the girl, even if the girl didn¡¯t didn¡¯t know it.

    Hallon sighed in a put upon manner. ¡°This girl has information the village needs and refuses to co-operate.¡± The girl snorted derisively from her seat at the table.

    ¡°You mean I have information that you want. I bet the village will end up with whatever¡¯s left after you¡¯ve taken your cut.¡± She said bitterly.

    ¡°I assure you the retrieval of the items is for the good of the village. Our warriors are weaker and less numerous than ever. We need cultivation aides if we are going to beef up the village forces again.¡± He said calmly, before his smile sharpened into something malicious. ¡°What would your mother say if she knew you were sacrificing the good of the village for your own personal gain?¡±

    He¡¯sha raised an eyebrow. There were undercurrents here she didn¡¯t understand. The girl''s eyes had gone flat when Hallon had mentioned her mother. They were dangerous eyes, not angry but determined and as cold as mid-winter. It was a very disturbing expression on the young girl¡¯s face. The girl stared at Hallon but stayed silent, just watching him with her hard brown eyes.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think all this is really necessary. The village needs the supplies, the girl knows where to get them. Instead of trying to extort them from her why don¡¯t you just buy them.¡± He¡¯sha asked in a bland voice, cutting through the building tension in the room.

    ¡°BUY THEM! For what reason? We need those supplies and we¡¯re being blackmailed by a child.¡± Hallon sputtered, making He¡¯sha rolled her eyes.  ¡°I¡¯m not sure black-mail is what¡¯s happening here. The girl has little besides that knowledge with which to protect herself and she¡¯s smart enough to know it. This seems like an elder of the village is extorting a child. Just give her some tokens, take her items and send her back. I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll be back with more.¡± He¡¯sha said calmly. ¡°There¡¯s no need for you to bully the girl into doing something she was going to do anyway.

    ¡°Why are you even here?¡± Hallon snapped. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you be off training or bullying your husband.¡± He said snidely.

    ¡°I¡¯m just making sure that your not alienating a free-lance hunter who¡¯s brought us some solid cultivation materials. As you said earlier the village needs all the help it can get. It would be foolish to lose anything she may be able to bring in the future just to gain a temporary advantage. She is, as you said, a child. She¡¯ll likely be a profitable hunter for years to come.¡± He¡¯sha countered.

    Hallon¡¯s face reddened as he stared hard at He¡¯sha. She was of a height with him and their eyes seemed to be trying to bore holes through each other. They stood like that for nearly a minute until the door to the small room opened again. The patriarch walked in, still wearing his white robes and sat down on a stool next to the girl. He looked haggard but his aura of calm power seemed to dampen the anger between Hallon and He¡¯sha.

    The old main sighed heavily as he looked at the two aristocrats once more squaring off. ¡°Just let the girl go.¡± He said, waving an old wrinkled hand at her. He¡¯sha smiled viciously at the words while Hallon balked.

    ¡°Patriarch you cannot be serious. This is a matter that will affect the future of the village. You know well how much we need those resources. I can¡¯t believe you''re going to go along with this¡­. Woman.¡± He said with disbelief.

    The old man sighed as he ran a hand through his leaf-green hair. ¡°That¡¯s because you think I¡¯m siding with her over you¡­. I¡¯m not. She¡¯s being unreasonable but she also has a point. There¡¯s no reason to burn our bridges when we can get what we need another way and I¡¯m afraid He¡¯sha would kill you if you did as you wish. Then we¡¯d have to kill her, her father would try to avenge and in the ensing reprisals and counter-reprisals the entire village would likely be destroyed. THAT would be bad for everyone.¡±

    He¡¯sha gave them both a thin smile. ¡°Good, pay the girl then.¡± She said as she moved around the room the stand beside Shimak. There was a great deal of grumbling from Hallon but the patriarch handed her a  handful of 100-token chips then left. He¡¯sha kept smiling at Hallon as she lead shimak to the door then out of the room. Hallon just watched them go with an angry expression.

    ¡°What are we gonna do? They seem pretty protective of the girl.¡± one of the guards asked the still brooding Hallon.

    ¡°That parts easy.¡± Hallon said with a vicious grin. ¡°We just wait till she leaves, then we just send a couple of men to find them. We¡¯ll have to wait a few days. I¡¯m sure He¡¯sha will be watching but that shouldn¡¯t matter. They can¡¯t have gone too far into the forest and it won''t take too long to find them.¡±

    *******************************************************

    ¡°Sixty-two¡­.¡± I grunted as I pressed my body up off the floor yet again. I¡¯d found I actually could manage a few exercises while cultivating, and it actually was working out quite nicely. As long as I kept my hands in the proper seal, and didn¡¯t use any essence to boost my muscles I could do some basic workouts. The best part was that my muscles were being torn-down and rebuilt at the same time, and it was creating an interesting sort of loop. It was allowing me to increase the amount of essence my muscles were absorbing, if only slightly.

    That was my biggest disadvantage at the moment. Although I was happy with my cultivation progress I definitely had a huge weakness. I was still very weak for a cultivator of my level. Sure, against normal people I wouldn¡¯t have any problems but my body was only marginally better than a non-cultivator. My meridians were getting better every day, and after the last elixir my speed of absorption was better than ever but that was only helping my meridians and not the rest of me. I was basically outclassed by everyone in terms of power. I was considering taking a couple weeks to cultivate my other path, just to gain some more agility, but I kept putting it off.

    I was on push-ups ninety-seven when Shimak finally got back. She¡¯d been gone for three days and I was starting to get a little worried. She was wearing a massive pack and smaller bags and satchels were tied onto her. Her bow was also slung over her shoulder which relieved me. We now at least had a real weapon. Shimak¡¯s red-hair was plastered to her face with sweat and he eyes were a little wild.

    ¡°Get up, They followed me.¡± She said sharply as soon as she saw me. I wanted to ask ¡®who¡¯ but realized it was a rather stupid question. Those idiots from the village must be hounding us, I thought glumly. It wasn¡¯t enough they had kicked me out, now they were coming to attack me. I was pissed, but Shimak looked murderous.

    I didn¡¯t want to test her temper and instead stood up, picked up my small knife and headed towards the door with Shimak.

    ¡°What the plan?¡±  I asked as the two of us rushed toward the entrance. Shimak was strong for her level because of her rare beast but I was a weakling. I didn¡¯t think our chances in a straight-up fight would be very good. If the cultivators were bone rank we were probably dead. Maybe not dead, but we¡¯d lose the cave as well as the herbs and books it held.

    ¡°We fight them.¡± Shimak said coldly. I just blinked at her stupidly. We¡¯d been flying mostly under the radar but this was declaring war. This was a bell that could not be unrung. I knew that Shimak had sworn vengeance but I was still wavering. For all my time here I still wasn¡¯t used to this world, where lives were destroyed so casually and for such silly reasons. Shimak pulled the bow from her shoulders and took out an arrow as she took position opposite the tunnel into the cave.

    ¡°Wait, You wanna fight them fight here? Like this?¡± I asked incredulously. This was all happening way too fast. We were just going to try and kill two people we¡¯d never met right here, in what was basically our front room. I¡¯d fight a few demonic beasts, but at the end of the day they were beasts. Now I was actually going to try and kill a person? That was just too crazy. I was going to argue further but someone shouted from outside, their voice echoing and distorting as it made it¡¯s way down the narrow tunnel and into the room were Shimak and I stood.

    ¡°Is this where you two little shits have been hiding? Get your asses out here, or don¡¯t blame me for being rude.¡±

    I glanced over to Shimak but she stayed silent, hiding behind the doorway to the next room and pointing her bow towards the door. I rolled my eyes, this was insane. I frantically looked around the plant room, then dove behind a large planter.

    ¡°Go crawl in there and get them out.¡± Another voice said from outside. This one was rougher and contained bored arrogance.

    ¡°You crawl in there! The other voice replied. They sent us both on this mission, I¡¯m not your servant.¡± The other man shot back.

    ¡°Since I out rank you, you are my servant. Now get your lazy ass in there.¡± The first voice growled. There was some grumbling and swearing, before the sounds of someone large trying to struggle through the small entrance filtered it¡¯s way into where Shimak and I were waiting.

    Shimak¡¯s eyes were cold and calm as she walked to the center of the room directly across the tunnel opening. She raised her bow and nocked an arrow. I looked frantically around the room before pressing myself against the wall near the mouth of the tunnel. My hands shook and my heartbeat was erratic as I waited there to kill a man I¡¯d never met.

    The whole thing happened much faster than I¡¯d thought possible. There was a sound from the tunnel and a grunt. Then Shimak¡¯s bow twanged as she released her arrow. Her aim wasn¡¯t great but the man was only fifteen feet from her. It hit him in the right of his chest and he cried out as I pushed off the wall and rushed him.  He was a dark-haired man with a mangy looking beard and his eyes were wide in pain as he tried to breath around the arrow in his lung. I jumped on him, stabbing with my little knife, all form and training forgotten. He was at least a Blood ranked warrior and his skin was like boiled leather. I don¡¯t know if the arrow or my charge or everything happening at once took him off guard but he only managed to raise an arm before I put a half dozen holes in his chest. His cries of pain cut off as his lungs filled with blood.

    The man let out a coughing gag and blood spilled out of his mouth and onto his leather tunic. That fast, the whole thing was over. One warrior had been turned into a corpse. I looked into his lifeless eyes for a moment and a shudder of revulsion seemed to start at the base of mine spine and spread out through my whole body. Then I was shaking and stumbling over into to a corner to vomit.

    I¡¯d just killed a person. He hadn¡¯t been a good person but he had been human. I shuddered again as someone called in from outside the cave. ¡°Tork! What the hell is going on? What happened.¡± There was silence for a heartbeat then a swearing. ¡°I swear to god you lazy good for nothing moron. When I get in there I¡¯m gonna kick your ass.¡±

    I shuddered again as I tried to pull myself back together. Shimak was more practical and although she was pale-faced, she grabbed the corpse and hauled it away from the entrance. There was more movement and noise coming from the entrance and I trembled as I looked up at the crack. The next one was coming.

    Shimak quickly moved back to her spot and pulled her bow but this time things didn¡¯t go nearly as well. When he finally squeezed his wide shoulders into the room Shimak¡¯s bow twanged again. This time the arrow hit the man¡¯s shoulder instead of his chest and I finally saw his face as he turned to glare at Shimak and I. He had a flat nose and a bit of grey at his temples. He snarled and dashed at Shimak as he pulled the arrow from his shoulder.

    The man swung a first at the girl with a strength that would have pulverized a normal person. Shimak however,  wasn¡¯t such an easy target. With her enemy only expecting a couple of normal children he hadn¡¯t been prepared for a fight. Shimak dodged the fist then dashed forward and slammed her own fist into the man¡¯s gut.

    The man grunted in pain and surprise and I took the chance to attack. My dagger flashed as I aimed a thrust at the man¡¯s back. It wasn¡¯t noble but I didn¡¯t have Shimak¡¯s strength, or speed, or skill. I had to take openings when I got them.

    The soldier was surprised by Shimak¡¯s counter-attack but he was obviously an experienced warrior. He turned and threw an elbow at my temple making me abandon my sneak-attack. I turned and ducked my head, taking the blow on the back of my shoulder instead of the head. The power of the blow send me staggering towards the wall and I had to stick my hands up to keep my head from slamming into the stone.

    Shimak fought on while I took the chance to recover. After her surprise attack both she and the man had settled into their stances and neither seemed to have much advantage over the other. Shimak blocked a snap kick, then tagged the man with a short jab on his chin. The blow didn¡¯t accomplish much, but it did piss him off even more.

    I shook my head trying to clear it then thrust my arm forward and summoned rupert.Greg mist rose from my arm and formed into the black slimy creature that was my soul-beast. Rupert was basically useless in a fight, he could hardly even move on land, but he did have lots of sharp teeth. Rupert let out a sibilant hiss as he formed and sank his teeth into the back of the man''s calf.

    The man shouted and his staggered as rupert bit down. Shimak took the opportunity to round-house kick him in the temple. The blow hit smashed him into the floor and he roared in rage. Brown light started to shine under the man¡¯s tunic and a huge ball of gray mist shot out and formed in self into a black-bear that seemed to have chunks of earth for fur.

    The bear whirled on Shimak and she had to dive away from it¡¯s swiping claws. Although, Earth-type beasts had worse defense than Stone types they had better strength and were more well-rounded. Even though it was softer than stone it would still be nearly impossible to hurt.

    ¡°So.. you little shits are cultivators then. Fine!¡± The man snapped as he rolled back to his feet. I dashed at his back as he stood and channeled me essence into my palm as I struck out.

    [Gentle Wave Style First Art: Bewitching Palm]

    The man tried to dodge but he didn¡¯t have his feet under him yet. The palm landed on his shoulder and his left arm spasmed, causing him to fall back to the ground. The little knife in my left hand was next and I jabbed it in between his ribs. The knife slid in and out in an instant but I¡¯d missed the mark and hadn¡¯t hit him anywhere vital. The man grunted and back-handed me away, then reached down and yanked Rupert off his leg.

    Rupert¡¯s teeth were still clamped down and a large hunk of meat was torn off with him. Blood spurted from the wound and the guard let out a pained shout as I unsummoned Rupert before the man could smash him. It took alot of my essence but I knew I couldn¡¯t really fight this guy anyway. I was too weak to do anything but sneak attack him. Still, I¡¯d gotten him once and his leg was bleeding badly. If we could drag this out a bit longer he should start to weaken.

    Shimak was busy with the bear so I stepped into her place and did my best to trade blows with the man. He couldn¡¯t put much weight on his injured leg and it was the only thing that kept me alive. I now realized why warriors didn¡¯t all summon the beasts right off. It took a ton of essence to materialize them into the world. Rupert wasn¡¯t any stronger than I was and unless we were in the water there wasn¡¯t really much he could do outside of a basic bite attack. He could hardly even move on land.

    Shimak moved around us with the bear still chasing her and she kicked at the back of the man¡¯s knees. I used the opportunity to close and caught him low in the gut with my knife. It wasn¡¯t a crippling blow but more blood started to flow and I managed to get back out of range before the man could strike back at me.

    I gave ground, doing my best not to get hurt and to keep the man moving. It didn¡¯t go well for me

    and I caught two more punches in the ribs. They cracked audibly and I groaned in agony as I tried my best to keep moving. Movement was the key to Gentle Wave Style. Power didn¡¯t matter, reflexes didn¡¯t matter, it was all about anticipation and redirecting force. I focused on his movements and willed my aching body to react faster. A punch came at my face and I slapped at it my right hand. My small attack pushed his arm off course just a hair and the blow whizzed past my ear instead of landing on my eye.

    I didn¡¯t even try to counter, but I stood my ground. Slapping away blows and trying to buy time for Shimak do something and for the man to bleed more. I heard the bear roar again but I didn¡¯t have time to check on Shimak anymore. I had my hands full.

    After a few seconds of my stalling the guard wised up and threw a feint at me. I bit hard and caught a brutal left hook for my trouble. Sparkles flashed in my vision and the world dimmed for a moment. I paniked and ducked the next punch but caught a knee in the gut that sent me to the floor gagging.

    The man stood over me and raised his fist to put me down. Then I heard the twang of a bow and the man shouted as an arrow sprouted in his back. I charged, using the last of my stength of crawl in close. The man started to turn but threw an elbow down at me as I came in. I caught it on my shoulders and landed on my knees in front of him, just in time to jam my knife into the top of his thigh. I pulled hard, cutting a jagged tear across the inside of his leg and blood sprayed as I found the artery. Then something hit my face and the world went away.

    I didn¡¯t quite get knocked out but the world was fuzzy and wobby for a long time. My thoughts came in odd fits and starts and it wasn¡¯t until I remembered to start using my essence and pushing it towards my head that my thoughts started to clear.

    It was then I realized I¡¯d been moved into the back room, and Shimak was setting next to me looking pale.

    ¡°What happened!? Did we win?¡± I asked, panicked.

    ¡°I killed him. You¡¯re knife had him bleeding out already but I had to put another two arrows in him before he stopped fighting.¡± Shimak said coldly. I was relieved, then worried at her tone for a moment before I saw her hands shaking. I moved over next to her and wrapped her in my arms. I didn¡¯t say anything and she didn¡¯t either. We just sat in the cave as I held her and she started to cry.