by Aaron Oster
Roy nodded, taking up a fighting stance once more. Aika didn’t even wait, rushing in for another attack. She feinted high, then swept low, taking his legs out from under him. The air exploded from his lungs as he hit the ground, but he managed to roll and avoid her follow-up. He tried to push himself to his feet, but Aika was too quick, knocking his hand aside and taking his back.
Just a few seconds later, Roy felt an iron grip wrap his throat from behind, and no matter how he tried to fight it, her grip would not be loosened. Finally, when he started to grow faint from lack of air, he was forced to give up, ceding the fight once more.
“Are you okay?” Aika asked, immediately letting him go and allowing him to catch his breath.
Roy nodded, rubbing at his throat and fighting back the feelings of embarrassment that were trying to push themselves to the forefront of his mind. He’d taken on so many powerful fighters in the Inu Arena and won, so why was he having such a hard time now? If anyone should be having a hard time, it was Aika, not him.
“Let’s go again,” Roy said, lifting his arms.
This fight was even shorter than the last, with Roy ending up doubled over, clutching at his stomach.
“You’ve been holding back,” he said, looking up at Aika through teary eyes.
“What, did you expect that I’d go full-out against you before you could handle it?” Aika asked, though she looked apologetic.
“That last move you used on me, how did you do it? I couldn’t even see it coming,” Roy said, slowly straightening to his full height and wincing at the pain.
He could feel his Qi flow to the spot of the injury, trying to soothe the pain, but it would be several hours before it vanished completely.
“I placed all my weight on my left foot,” Aika said, demonstrating. “Then, right before you hit me, I pivoted out of the way. In the same motion, I brought my knee up, using your momentum for most of the power. Had you come in slower, the strike wouldn’t have been nearly as crippling.”
Though Roy’s pride smarted, he’d spent most of his life getting tossed around. Despite learning a few new things over the past year and increasing his power, he still had a lot to learn.
“Can you teach me?” he asked. “I know it’s supposed to be Hermit’s job, but…”
“Nothing would make me happier,” Aika said, grabbing his hands and giving him a beaming smile.
She looked beautiful in that moment. The pale, white moonlight reflected off her skin and made her seem to glow. Her smile was warm and genuine, and her hands holding his felt right. Roy felt his cheeks grow warm and quickly looked away from her as his heart skipped a beat.
“Come on,” Aika said, grabbing his forearm and dragging him to the center of their camp. “Let’s start with improving your footwork. After that, we can work on getting you out of holds.”
Roy followed, glad that the darkness hid his red cheeks. He couldn’t afford to ruin one of his only friendships, so no matter how he felt, he could not allow his changing feelings for Aika to interfere. This was a risk he could not take.
They were friends, nothing more, and Roy would have to make sure to remember that going forward.
11
Roy sat with his legs folded up beneath him, his hands pressed together and eyes closed as he cycled his Essence through the flower-shaped pattern around his Core, purifying it before looping it back in.
His and Aika’s sparring session had ended about an hour earlier. After taking such a beating and then having her correct many of his mistakes, he needed a way to wind down and relax before going to sleep. Plus, he’d been neglecting his cultivation ever since the Arena, where Power just seemed to come to him.
He breathed in and out, slowly and evenly, pulling the Essence through the same loop over a dozen times before it could be purified no further, shining a brilliant gold as it entered his Core for the final time.
It was strange. Back in the Arena, he’d discovered a way to cycle and refine Essence within seconds, weaving Qi almost as quickly. Now, though, while he could still do the exact same thing, he found that it only went so far and that he could further refine and purify it if he continued working.
He could use the Essence or Qi just fine, but it was like eating quickly and trying to pack in as much food as he could, versus taking his time and enjoying the meal. In the end, he finished feeling much better and less bloated.
Yes, bloated, he decided.
That was the best way he could describe it. Now, when he had the time, he took things slower, cycling and refining further than he could have by simply sucking in vast quantities of Essence like a fish out of water.
He could see it all in his mind’s eye, the floating, golden Core, pure and shining, with a denser, deeper, and more powerful sphere sitting at the center. This was his Qi, the form of energy that was superior to Essence in every way imaginable. Denser, like water, the Qi stood out from the more gaseous Essence.
Roy tugged on the purified Essence again, then pulled it back into the flower-shaped channels he’d carved around his Core. It moved quickly at first, rushing through the channels, but as he applied pressure, subtly shifting the direction of the flow, it began to grow more solid and slower. Before long, the Power Essence shone with the brilliance of Qi, deeper and richer than before.
After passing it through several more loops, Roy streamed it back into his Core, where it joined the denser sphere of power floating at its center.
He breathed out, feeling his body relax once more. He could feel something, not just within, but in the world around him as well. This was a presence that felt both familiar and foreign at once. It was wild yet tame. He had to find out what it was, but Roy instinctively knew that the feeling would flee if he broke his trance now.
Reaching for the smaller knot of Qi, Roy began cycling it through his channels. The feeling was far more electric than the Essence. Due to its greater density, it moved slower but empowered him much more than Essence ever could. The Qi began running through its loop as he guided it in a different pattern.
The process of refining woven Qi was a difficult one, because this was where Roy would start hitting a wall. It was strange, feeling that barrier that he just couldn’t seem to break no matter how hard he tried.
When his Belt shifted color, it didn’t really make him feel much different, nor did his Core expand along with it. It remained the same, whether Blue or Purple. All it did was allow him to access more of his power at once, which, admittedly, did make a big difference when fighting was involved.
But now, when he was working to advance the normal way, the walls he’d found before didn’t seem to want to move.
Normally, a Core was flexible, stretching and expanding as more and more power was packed in. Once a breaking point was reached, the Core would expand permanently, which was how one would move up to their next Dan. Once the immovable barrier was reached, it would signify that the Martial Artist was ready for a test.
Except there was no Purple Torii gate. In fact, there had been no Blue one either. The Spirit of Power had assured him that it was acceptable and fighting a Scion had been enough. But failing to complete a test just didn’t sit right with him.
All of these thoughts and more flowed through his mind, at the same speed as the golden Power Qi. He didn’t allow them to bother him, nor did he let them break him from his trance. The Qi continued being refined, glowing brighter and brighter while taking on a deeper shade of gold as he worked.
As the Qi flowed back into his Core, Roy felt something else enter along with it. A small stream of crimson leeched into the sphere of gold, vanishing almost instantaneously. He was almost surprised enough for it to break his concentration, but Roy forced his mind back on task, keeping himself calm and pulling more Qi from his Core to refine.
This time, however, he watched the process more carefully. The Qi looped through his channels, the glow steadily increasing. Then, as it reached the peak of what he could handle, a small stream of red flowed
in from the outside, joining the Qi and returning to his Core.
It was so subtle that had he not been watching for it, he’d have missed it entirely. More than that, Roy was fairly confident that his capacity had just increased. Not by much, only a fraction of his already monstrous Core, but it was growing, despite his thoughts to the contrary.
Just to be sure, Roy continued cycling for another quarter-hour, watching more of the mysterious red energy enter his Core and burn away. The expansion was slow, but Roy could now see a way forward. Despite knowing this, it only worried him further. He could feel that the red light entering his Core and the feeling of hunger and rage he got from the center of the Waterwood were one and the same.
What’s going on?
He reached out to Geon with his thoughts, telling the Core everything he’d seen.
“Are you noticing any adverse effects on your mind or mine?” Roy asked.
“Not that I can tell,” Geon replied. “You do seem to be getting stronger, which can only be a good thing. Before you know it, we’ll be strong enough to destroy the Sovereign of Cloying Darkness, and then my revenge will be complete!”
“Focus, Geon,” Roy said to the bloodthirsty Dungeon Core. “I’m worried that some outside influence is trying to take over my body and mind, and I don’t like that at all.”
“Why would you?” Geon replied. “No one wants their minds taken over, and with your squishy…It’ll be fine,” he said before he could voice the insult. “Remember, we’re of two minds, so if anything starts affecting either of us, the other will know. Now, you say that the red energy dissipates almost right away, correct?”
“Yes,” Roy said. “And it doesn’t feel any different than my own Qi. If it was, it shouldn’t be able to get into my Core.”
“Try it again. Let’s see if I can feel anything when I’m looking for it,” Geon said.
Roy gave him a mental nod, then concentrated on relaxing once more, resuming his cycling trance. He began looping his Qi through his channels and felt Geon watching now. At the moment when the Qi was purest and heading back to his Core, Roy felt it happen again.
“Ooo, now that’s interesting,” Geon said as Roy watched the red energy burn away.
“Do you know what it is?” Roy asked.
“I’m pretty sure it’s corrupted Power Qi,” Geon replied.
“What?”
“Exactly what I said,” Geon said.
Roy fought back the annoyance that threatened his serenity and phrased the question differently.
“Can you elaborate on what corrupted Power Qi is?”
“Sure,” Geon said. “When humans begin acting too much like Beasts, killing indiscriminately, their Cores start to become corrupted. Now, this doesn’t actually affect their strength, but it does affect personality. Basically, your Core starts to take on a red-colored tint, growing darker and darker the more you kill. It’s essentially a stain on your Core that sticks around for ages. It’s almost impossible to get rid of once it happens.”
“And how does this affect personality?” Roy asked, becoming worried.
“Generally, the more you kill, the more corrupted your Core becomes. The more corrupted the Core, the more you want to kill. Your bloodlust keeps rising, and you’re almost never satiated with the number of people or things you kill, perpetuating a never-ending cycle of death.”
“Exactly how much killing does one have to do to have their Cores stained in that way?” Roy asked.
“It’s not just the killing that does it, though that does play a large factor in the corruption,” Geon said. “It’s the user’s intent. I’d say that if you went on a killing spree and wiped out, say a thousand people with no remorse, then your Core would start to take on some corruption.”
“So general killing during a fight won’t corrupt my Core?” Roy asked.
“No,” Geon replied. “Well, unless you decide to start killing people who surrender on a regular basis. As I said, it’s not an exact calculation, and there really isn’t any way of knowing when the threshold of corruption is met, but from what I’ve gotten about your personality, you’re doing just fine.”
“If we’re doing just fine, then why are we attracting corrupted Qi?” Roy asked.
Geon was silent at that, not having an answer to the worrisome question.
“We’ll probably find our answers at the center of the Waterwood, where that new Dungeon is located,” the Core finally said. “That scary guy sent us here for a reason. Maybe this is part of it.”
Roy nodded, trying to shrug off the worry that had begun clouding his mind. His calm cycling trance was long gone by now, with the thoughts of corrupted Qi infecting and turning him into a bloodthirsty monster destroying his serenity.
“Is it possible to come back?” Roy asked. “To restore your Core to its previous state once it’s been corrupted?”
“I think so,” Geon said. “But we’re at the limit of my old knowledge with this, I’m afraid. I’m all caught up, thanks to you, so there are no more tidbits of wisdom hidden away. You should probably ask Hermit more about this when we go back to him.”
With that said, the Core went silent, leaving Roy to his troubled thoughts once more.
12
“Here, it’s easy. Just open your Spirit Sense and watch me,” Aika said, far more patient with him than should have been possible.
Then again, Roy thought, Aika always has been inhumanly optimistic and patient when it comes to certain things.
Like being this happy in the morning, he mentally grumbled as Aika went through the process again.
Roy watched, both with his eyes and spirit, as Aika’s Core seemed to shrink and the 1st Dan Blue-Belt around her waist changed, the colors flashing back several levels until she wore a Base Orange-Belt around her waist.
Before entering into the Felrin territory, the two of them had decided to reduce their cultivation so as not to stir up any suspicion and avoid any fights while they were here. Unlike in the Shah clan, the Felrin allowed people in several of their towns and cities, and Fireside was one of them.
However, the exercise was shaping up to be far more difficult than Roy had first imagined, and while Aika made it look easy, he was having an extremely hard time pulling it off.
“There,” Aika said, giving him a winning smile. “Do you get it now?”
Roy, in fact, did not. Still, he tried, scrunching up his face and trying to twist his Core as she had, then fold it in on itself. This was a lot different than simply suppressing his Core, as doing that would only take a minimal effort to stop any power from leaking out of his body. This, on the other hand, was trying to create the illusion of showing off a lower Belt by folding his power up.
Roy gritted his teeth, clenching his hands and feeling sweat bead on his brow as he tried to force his Core to do what he wanted.
A light giggle came from his left, and Roy turned to see Ferry grinning from ear to ear.
“You look silly,” she said, still laughing.
Roy felt a small tinge of embarrassment when Aika joined in a moment later.
“Aw, don’t be upset,” Aika said, trying to hide her smile and soothe him. “It’s okay not to get it on the first try. Here, let’s try doing it a different way.”
She moved closer, taking his hand in one of her own and threading a small amount of her own Light Qi into his body.
Roy jumped as he felt the Qi try to invade, only to have his own try and fight it off. Instead of resisting when his Qi lashed back at her, Aika allowed it to flow into her body.
“Close your eyes,” she said as Roy suddenly felt the world tilt around him.
“What’s happening?” he asked as his mind’s eye was overlayed with a matrix of bright white lines.
“I’m letting you look into my cultivation,” Aika said, her voice echoing strangely in his ears.
Roy wasn’t sure why, but this felt extremely intimate, almost akin to seeing her naked. His face began to burn, but Aika continued
talking.
“Now watch what I do.”
Roy watched the lines of Light Qi weave into a brilliant pattern, pulling tightly into the center of Aika’s Core. They constricted, even as several more threads pulled at the top and bottom, twisting to either side. Then, without warning, her Core collapsed in on itself and seemed to shrink. He could still sense the same amount of power, but as the white lines vanished, that sense of power went with it, giving Roy the impression that he was looking at an Orange-Belt instead of a Blue-Belt.
“There,” Aika said, her voice sounding oddly breathy. “Do you get it now?”
Roy’s eyes flickered open to find Aika’s face just inches from his own. Her cheeks were flushed, just as his were, meaning that she knew what she’d just done and had done so anyway.
“Um, yeah,” Roy said.
They were so close now, her beautiful almond-shaped eyes boring into his. His eyes flicked down to her lips for a moment. They were pink, full, and slightly parted. For several long seconds, Roy wondered if he should just lean in, close the short gap and kiss her, but the moment was ruined as Ferry came barging in, shoving the two of them apart.
“My turn!” she said excitedly, grabbing Roy’s face and leaning down so that they could stare at each other, just as he’d been doing with Aika.
“Ferry, what are you doing?” Roy asked, his voice sounding odd, due to his cheeks being smushed between Ferry’s hands.
“What Aika was doing,” Ferry replied with a smile.
“Why?”
Ferry hesitated for a moment, her large, expressive eyes looking confused. Then, she smiled again.
“Because I like it,” she said, nodding in satisfaction. “I like being close to Roy like this.”
Roy sighed as she leaned in closer and licked his cheek, nuzzling her face against his and purring deep in her chest.
“That’s new,” Roy said, directing his thoughts to Geon.
“Um…Yeah,” Geon said, sounding a little confused.
“Do you know what it is?” Roy asked.