Poor Cultivation (The Slayer of Heaven Book 1): A LitRPG Wuxia Series

by Alan Bard

  Victoria stroked her chin thoughtfully and snapped her fingers.

  “You can hit me for training purposes, but with no malicious intent.”

  We took a step toward each other simultaneously. She swung, aiming for my stomach but I dodged and threw her away with the Pistol Hook. Somersaulting backward, she dodged. Then she attacked again. I barely had time to block, but I didn’t cease raining blows on her. My main defense was a good block, hers was flexibility and speed. I tried to use more of my unique abilities, but that didn’t go so well.

  “Stop!” She raised her hand and jerked it back, as though she was holding me on an invisible leash. “Your acrobatics are lame. Use your imagination! Stop relying on boxing maneuvers. You ain’t Rocky.”

  I wasn’t a fan of that particular film, but she had a point; I could’ve been more like the Karate Kid. Or someone like William Zabka—that was more to my taste.

  I glanced at her. Her cheeks and lips seemed rosier. Her nostrils were flaring.

  “You know, your fighting skills suck. You lack strength. Well, not that that’s surprising… You are just a girl, after all…”

  I grinned seeing her clench her teeth and her eyes turn red.

  Furious, she rushed at me.

  I rolled and pretended that she had me cornered; I even received a few punches in order to get her to move closer me. And then it was my turn. I activated Pistol Fire, my unique series of feints and blows, but didn’t use it to its full capacity, not wishing to cripple her or hurt her too much. I moved slightly to the left. My hand reached for her to get her in a headlock. However, she wriggled out of my grasp and leaped aside before I could get a hold of her.

  I adopted a classic boxing stance. Victoria, relying on her kung-fu style of fighting, produced a series of direct punches.

  I took a step to the right and hit her above the left foot with a quick and precise punch. I followed that hit with a couple of more aimed at her body. I thought how it would be nice to see her beaten up for a change. The next moment, the fight was over. My low kick knocked her down.

  Attention! You have created a unique skill!

  The sequence of moves is listed in the database (Canon, Level 1) under the system name [Shining Bullet].

  I noticed that the names of all my abilities were related to firearms. It was ironic, as I had never been a big fan of them.

  Having read the message, I realized just how exhausted I was. The creation of a new skill had consumed a lot of energy. So much so that I found myself struggling for air. I really doubted that I could repeat that again anytime soon.

  Victoria rolled away, jumped up, and raised her hand.

  “Enough.”

  Lost in thought about the process of creating and naming these skills, I didn’t hear her. I remembered my lance, its offensive description, and wondered about what kind of a person had written all those algorithms.

  I shifted my attention to a new message.

  Transformation Progress: +0,05%

  Will: +0,05%

  “Your skill… That was a dirty trick. I liked that. The way your brain works during a fight—like a chess player, you plan far ahead. You’ve got me figured out, newbie.” She playfully hit me in the chest. “Of course, it was still weak. But who knows what you could achieve with some practice.”

  I was about to tell her how her abilities were useless against anyone with high enough will, but I restrained myself.

  “Who would win in a fight between a mage and a fighter? Are melee fighters defenseless, or what?” I asked.

  “Basically, yeah. You stand no chance without a bunch of artifacts.” She nodded, and sat down with a grunt.

  “So, it means that a newcomer without special skills but with a few good artifacts isn’t that useless. Good to know.”

  “Well… The thing is that we don’t have much to equip you with. No lightsabers or wands. We’ll lose against any serious cohort if they ever find this place.”

  “Where can we find a powerful artifact? What do you know about that?”

  Victoria laughed loudly. For a moment, she was just a girl, and then she was the scornful leader yet again.

  “They just appear out of nowhere. Most of them you can find just about anywhere. But the most valuable ones appear only in certain places and at certain times. Naturally—” She broke into a strange, malevolent laugh, leaving me at a loss for words. “Those who are stronger than us are already waiting for those artifacts to appear. The only thing that matters is who’s stronger today. So, a portal-mage and a bunch of scrolls are the minimum requirement for a chance to get your hands on something powerful. And even then, you can be trapped and killed in an instant. Only a dumbass will count on luck…” She sighed heavily and turned away.

  “I take it you’ve already given up.”

  She suddenly hit me in the jaw, knocking me off my feet.

  “Watch your mouth, newbie!”

  Black dots filled my vision—the degree of Deformation increased by 0.03%. I jumped up and bared my teeth. I had to control myself not to do something stupid.

  “I think we all need to get together and think about what to do next,” I said hoarsely, and rubbed my chin.

  “Soldiers should follow orders. Not debate them,” she retorted and walked away toward the gate.

  Having lost my temper, I grabbed a stone—pale with rage, I wanted to throw it at her head.

  But I suddenly felt a pain so sharp that it made me gasp for air, arch my back and spasm. My arm cramped as if I hit a table corner with my elbow. The stone fell out of my hand. Dang! The Cultivator was pulsing with heat, but it couldn’t help me. Not now.

  Degree of Deformation: +0.01%

  My theory about the abyss took an unexpected turn. Any pain helped it grow. With that in mind, I restrained myself—it was better not to try attacking her again.

  I followed Victoria, comforting myself that one day I’d get rid of her leash. I set my sights on becoming powerful enough to get around the oath, or be lucky enough to find an artifact with mental protection. Perhaps I’d find another way around it, who knew?

  Led by anger, I suddenly saw the threads crawling like serpents up to my second heart. As they were few in number, I felt that I could destroy them. Something snapped in me and I threw them into the trunk.

  You have accumulated 3 units of Deformation.

  For some reason, I felt like this was the start of something… something very interesting. Percentage was replaced by some sort of units. Could it be that there were different types of this thing? If there were, could they be used to my advantage?

  “Well, newbie, let’s give it another go,” Victoria said impassively. Once she opened the gate, two Mutants with clubs entered the courtyard—one was old and muscular, dressed in rags, and the other was a weak, naked man, covered in sores and scabs.

  [Evolving Mutant]

  A defective ex-unit.

  Unknown stage of evolution.

  [Weakened Mutant]

  A defective ex-unit.

  Victoria clapped her hands, and the two snarled at her. Clicking their tongues, they glared at me malevolently. I froze for a second. These creatures were savage beasts; they were all brawn and no brain.

  “Get him, boys.”

  They charged from both sides. I dodged the bigger one and got hit by a rock thrown by the other one. Strangely enough, I was calmed by a message that said that I had received little damage. It even gave me a feeling of superiority. The hulk swung. Dipping and sidestepping, I ducked under his right arm and kicked him in the right ankle. Unfortunately, he parried the blow in time. I had met my match, so I had to give it my all.

  Fighting was often about tactical retreats. The Mutants tried to stay out of each other’s way, so I decided to get in theirs.

  I tried to keep a distance, to gauge their strength, but it was just… exhausting. I soon realized that the time had come to end the fight. I used my anger to feel the energy running along the Contour. Much to my surprise, I ev
en felt the energy that was stirring inside the trunk.

  I swerved abruptly and rushed toward the two. The shorter Mutant lunged at me. I did a side roll and hit him with my heel from the side, making him reel and fall. The Cultivator vibrated. Surprisingly, the trunk responded to it; the abyss rushed out along with anger.

  You have used 2 units of Deformation.

  The abyss energy grants increase in stats for 10 seconds.

  I sidestepped and delivered a blow that threw back the skinny Mutant, his crippled body shrouded in a brown cloud.

  I froze, staring at the big guy whose face seemed half eaten away by some unknown malady. He stared back, in no hurry to attack, swinging his club. There wasn’t a shred of humanity left in his eyes, just cruelty of a wild beast.

  I activated Pistol Fire and delivered the final blow to his chest, combining the energy of the Core with mine. I heard bones breaking. The Mutant fell.

  I felt… wild. Like an untamed horse.

  You have dealt a critical blow to the [Evolving Mutant].

  Damage dealt: 54%

  [Evolving Mutant’s] current HP: 32%

  “Finish him! He’s going to die soon anyway. And finish the other one, too, so that he doesn’t suffer,” Victoria ordered.

  “Jelena can try and heal him—”

  “What good are you if you can’t kill your enemy?” she hissed. “No one here will hesitate to kill you.”

  “Wait—”

  Suddenly, I felt like my head exploded. Disobeying a direct order made my body twist in agony.

  “Kill or be killed, newbie, that’s the only way.”

  I got my life at one end of the scale and these mindless puppets at the other. They were humans once, but they got extremely unlucky. I gave it a thought and then broke the smaller Mutant’s neck.

  You have dealt a critical blow to the [Weakened Mutant].

  Status: Deceased

  Transformation Progress: +0,05%

  Will: +0,1%

  Intelligence: +0,45%

  It seemed that I had made the right choice.

  I took a step toward the other guy—holding out his hand, he crawled away from me, foam bubbling on his lips. He looked too human…

  The drone flew down to get a better look at what was happening.

  But no matter how hard I tried to convince myself that I was not a murderer―a bad person, maybe, but not a murderer―I couldn’t.

  Victoria watched me with her hands clenched into fists and her eyes open a little bit too wide. Her lips were slightly parted, as if she were about to speak. She didn’t like what was happening either. I wondered what the point of this whole exercise was then.

  The man who passed the sentence should swing the sword, but I didn’t even have a sword—it would’ve been so much easier to just shoot him. I had no idea what was the most humane, painless way of killing an animal… Suddenly, Battle Mode lit up the Mutant’s neck.

  Wringing the thick neck was difficult—I was going to have to choke him. The Mutant wheezed; I could feel him struggling. His fight lasted for but a moment. I fixed Victoria with a gaze full of coldness and hatred.

  “Did you enjoy that, huh?”

  I felt sorry for the Mutants, but I had to get away from the island no matter the cost. From this moment on, I knew that I was ready to kill Archie—the barrier in my mind that would’ve prevented me from killing a human had fallen.

  “So, about the massacre. The show must go on, hm?”

  In an instant, confusion was gone from her face.

  “It wasn’t for fun. You see, it needs―”

  “What’s the next step? Will you make us kill each other?”

  “Why would I do that? I need you in this war.” She grinned and turned her head. “What are you staring at, guys?”

  The blood seeping into my eyes made it hard to see anything. I hadn’t noticed them arrive.

  “Joseph!” she shouted.

  “Yes?” his hoarse, sleepy voice came from the hut.

  “Come here, God damn you!”

  He came, sleepy and morose, dreadlocks messier than ever and eyes barely open.

  “Start the training. He’s finally ready,” she said, pacing the small area near the bowl. “Try to teach them the basics. We don’t need them doing anything stupid and dying tomorrow. One hour of training, followed by a fifteen-minute break. Thirty minutes for sparring. An hour of aerobics, then half an hour for lunch.”

  “What about her?” Joe pointed to Jelena.

  “She also needs to know the basics, but take it easy on her. She’s more about bandages, stitches, herbs and potions. We have a big fight ahead of us. Our future depends on this.”

  Joseph nodded. Victoria left. Jelena came up to me, touched my head, and winced slightly.

  “The cut is very deep. It needs to be treated.”

  “So, rookies, your most important day of training has begun. You have fifteen minutes to wash up and eat. Once you’re done, come here and remove the bodies. Your time starts now!” he said in a flat voice, reluctantly. I could tell he didn’t want to spend the whole day hanging out with us.

  Eli and Rio went to eat, while Jelena stayed with me.

  “Joe, do we have any antiseptic? There’s a chance the wound is gonna get infected.”

  “Just let it be. Fighters have rapid cellular regeneration. It’ll be gone by the day after tomorrow. It’s hard to die on this damn island, at least without someone’s help. This regeneration thing allows us to train hard. So, forget about the cut. The only real problem we have here are broken bones. That’s why we need healers. But even so, you can do without them. I broke my arm, my leg, and my ribs.”

  “That’s wrong! We need to at least clean his wound. But the water in the bowl is filthy.”

  Joe, unlike Victoria, felt for us in his own weird way. After a little while, he brought a weird-looking flask and handed it to Jelena.

  “Here, but keep in mind that we should save water. There’s no spring nearby, only the bowl and a well. If there’s no rain for a while and we encounter a drought, we’re screwed.”

  “Joe, I need bandages… Anything to bind him up with. Also, a scalpel and a sterilization container,” she said, surprised by the confidence in her voice. “I’ve never been good at biology. I mean, I didn’t know a thing about medicine before this. Is it the same with you?”

  I shrugged, not wishing to share that my brain was much like Google right now.

  Rio arrived just in time to hear her question.

  “Yeah, I’ve also changed a lot. Once they installed this network, I received a lot of information, especially about weapons. The funny thing is, there’s an imbalance between that knowledge and my capabilities. My head seems to understand how and what to do, but my body can’t follow.”

  I had the same problem with fighting—my body moved on its own, but it still needed a lot of practice. My mind, on the other hand, was there to come up with different strategies.

  “Sup, dudes, I’m ready to go!” Eli said, approaching us.

  Joe rubbed his eyes and chin, and nodded thoughtfully.

  “All right, listen up. While Nick pretended to be sick, I tried my best to get you in shape. Now it’s time for some fighting. Rio, Jelena you’re both support units, so you’ll be training together.”

  Rio shook his head. “I knew some shit before. My skills have just been improved on. It wouldn’t be fair to her.” He pulled a pair of DIY nunchucks from his belt, and spun them so fast that I felt dizzy.

  “Okay, you’ll be paired with me. Nick with Dragon. Victoria or Ksandra will be teaching Jelena today. Once the heat dies down, we’ll go get some water. Ksandra?”

  The girl pulled a large earthenware jug from one of the huts. Holding it with her stump, she set it down, shot me a look, and winked.

  She turned to Jelena. “I don’t envy you,” she whispered with sympathy in her voice. “I don’t want to hurt you, but there’s no other way. I have to do this… Just… be prepared ‘cau
se different shit happens here every day.”

  Victoria strode into the courtyard with a stick in her hand. Either it was my imagination, or she seemed a bit depressed.

  “Take care of our healer,” she told Ksandra, and then turned to us. “What’s taking you boys so long? We should have started by now. Line up!”

  We looked at her, feeling that we were in trouble.

  “Well, how long do I have to wait? Move it!”

  Chapter 23

  GRINDING

  Eli, being his usual bold and witty self, had to crack a joke.

  “Hey, should we line up by height?”

  The next moment, he punched himself in the jaw.

  “Shut up!” Victoria hissed.

  I stood in the middle, behind Eli and Joe; Rio, Jelena, and Ksandra brought up the rear.

  Victoria stretched her hands in front of her and said, “Whoever gives up first receives five blows. Arms forward. Running in place, touch the knees to your hands as you lift them. Let’s start small.”

  I liked my new body and the fact that working out almost feel… good. Or so I thought at the beginning. After a minute or so, I was already out of breath, and a little stiff. But although it hurt, I kept running, counting each time my knees reached my hands. My muscles were screaming at me, but the avalanche of system messages kept me on my feet.

  Transformation Progress: +0,001%

  Will: +0,001%

  Transformation Progress: +0,001%

  Will: +0,001%

  The more I endured, the faster my stats grew. I was worn out, but the promise of progress made me persevere.

  My gaze was fixed on Victoria. It was clear that her body was accustomed to stressful situations. Her eyes never seemed to leave any of us. Rio was doing all right, as was Ksandra. Joe didn’t so much as break a sweat. But the ones who seemed to suffer the most were Jelena and Eli. They were both flustered and sweaty. Eli pushed on, huffing and puffing, but Jelena fell after a couple of minutes, unable to keep up. We kept running. There was no more satisfaction; now it was just torture. A new message flashed before my eyes, but I didn’t care anymore. Eli was soaked in sweat; panting, his knees no longer touching his hands. I probably looked like shit, too.

  Eli gasped for air, arched his back, grunted, and gave up.