Gleam Karma Cultivator Isekai

“That last attack was faster than your other ones,” Pete observed, straightening back up. “But it was a fair bit weaker too.”

“Yeah. I miscalculated a bit,” Chance said, shaking his wrist off with a disappointed frown. He couldn’t help but notice that the lines of Karma he’d utilized were still connected to Pete, just slightly dimmer than they had been before. Was he not using all of their power? Or perhaps there was just too much to use at once?

“You put up a good fight,” Pete said approvingly. He clapped Chance on the shoulder as his weapon shifted back to a staff. “Truly, lad. You’re improving at an incredible speed. I’ve never seen someone from Earth grow like you do.”

“Thanks.” Chance knelt and picked his urumi up. It morphed back into a bracelet, slipping around his wrist before he could even start to wonder how to make it transform.

“Interesting weapon you got there,” Pete said. “I would have thought you’d go for a magic weapon that enhanced your abilities, not made itself more portable. I can see the benefit, though. Mine is quite similar. Couldn’t have been cheap, though. Magical weapons run quite a bit of coin. Where’d you get it?”

“It kind of just happened,” Chance said with a shrug. “I got lucky and got a gift from someone.”

“Lucky, huh?”

Chance chuckled. They returned to the house, ignoring the curious gazes of the few spectators that had gathered during their session. At least nobody had said anything this time. Yeo and Bella were both in the kitchen when they returned.

“Did Chance win?” Yeo asked through a sandwich.

“Of course not,” Pete grumbled. “What kind of mentor would I be if I lost to a Squire ranked student that hasn’t even been cultivating for two months yet? He put up a great fight, though.”

“Got time for another?” Yeo asked, shoving the rest of the sandwich into his mouth and swallowing without chewing. He brushed his hands off and grinned. “I’m raring for a fight.”

“Just work it off on a monster,” Bella said. “We’re all out of our rooms now, so we might as well get to a job, not to mention that you’ve sparred with Pete constantly these past few days.”

“I do like money,” Yeo said, tapping his chin with a finger. “Right. What are we doing? Stomping Soothounds again?”

Both Chance and Bella grimaced.

“Yeah, it’s not really all that fun,” Yeo said, answering for them. “But they did pay really well.”

“If we could just get acknowledged as Squires by the Shikari, we’d be able to take jobs that made so much more money than this,” Bella said, taking a scroll from the countertop and waving it. “The Soothounds did seem like good money, but something was also clearly going on over there. I’m not sure it’s a good idea for us to get involved anymore.”

“I agree,” Chance said, nodding quickly. The less Bella and Yeo were near the Old City, the better. He trusted it a little more than he had before, but not nearly enough to risk their lives. There was no way to know for sure that it was telling the truth. “Did we get any new jobs maybe? Something that pays a bit better?”

“Not as a Foundling,” Bella said.

“Kids, I feel like there’s a very obvious path to getting some better jobs,” Pete drawled from his chair. “I wish I could figure out what it was, though. Truly confounding.”

“We could just try ranking up again?” Chance offered. “There’s no actual special test or the like this time, right? We can just go talk to Gibson and get a proctor assigned.”

“Not Gibson,” Bella said, tossing the scroll back onto the counter. “He hates getting bothered with small things, and this counts as small. We can head to the training grounds where we took our previous test and there should probably be someone there that can oversee the test. If not, we could check the Shikari base.”

“Works for me,” Yeo said, rolling his neck and grinning. “Let’s go, then. If it’s anything like the last exam, it’ll be done real quick and we can go make some money after.”

Pete bid them farewell as the three headed out of the house and headed to the training grounds. The ringing of metal and flash of Essence clashing filled the air as they stepped through the iron gate and headed toward the center, passing dozens of sparring Shikari.

Passing by several people sitting on the benches, Chance paused. He glanced over his shoulder. The grey hair of one of the men had caught his eye, and the bow resting against his side confirmed the man’s identity. He sat beside a heavyset man wearing cloth robes.

“That’s the guy that we ran into at Hound’s,” Chance said after they’d passed him.

“Oh, it is,” Yeo said, glancing back to confirm. “You think he’s a proctor?”

“He doesn’t look all that much older than us, though,” Chance said. He recalled Pete’s words about the correlation between age and power, then cleared his throat. “Guess that doesn’t mean much, though. Do proctors also hunt monsters?”

“All the Shikari do. Proctoring is just an extra bit,” Bella said. “If you know him, we might as well ask.”

“I’m not so sure I’d go as far as to say we know him,” Chance hedged, but it was too late. Bella and Yeo were already walking toward the man. He glanced up at them, his hair covering a large portion of his face, as they arrived.

“You don’t happen to be a proctor, do you?” Bella asked.

“I am not,” the man said. He glanced from Yeo to Chance, then a small grin played across his face. “Ah. The kids that tried to steal my hunt.”

“What?” Bella glanced at Yeo, her eyes going narrow. “What did you do?”

“Nothing,” Yeo defended. “We just happened to get pulled into his Ward after dinner one time.”

“All in the past, I’m sure,” the man said, waving a hand dismissively. “At least, I hope you’re smart enough to leave it there. I see you’ve become Squires now. Not bad.”

“Thanks,” Chance said. “But we’re Squires in all but name, I’m afraid. That’s why we’re looking for a proctor. Would you happen know where we can find one? We’re hoping to get approved so we can get some jobs that pay a little better.”

“The lazy bastard sitting next to me is a proctor, but he was desperately hoping that I wouldn’t point that out so he wouldn’t have to work.” He slapped the heavy man beside him on the shoulder, earning himself a half-lidded, irate sigh.

“I hate you, Jorgin,” the large main said, bracing his hands against his knees as he rose to his feet with a grunt. A loud grinding noise emanated from his joints as he moved to ponderously approach one of the empty training areas. He glanced over his shoulder at them. “Get over here. If you want to get tested, at least make it fast.”

“Good luck,” Jorgin said, not moving from his seat as they ran to the field.

“I’m Derren,” the large Shikari said, covering a yawn with a meaty hand. “What house are you in?”

“Whiteheart,” Yeo supplied.

“Noted. This exam will be another team based one. I trust you remember how the first worked?”

They all nodded.

“Good,” Derren said. “Same rules apply. You may attack me however you like. The battle ends once all three of you have been either rendered unconscious or thrown out of bounds. If you are able to push me out of the arena, it will count as a win for you, but it is not necessary to pass.”

“What is?” Bella asked.

“You’ll find out once the test is done,” Derren replied. He yawned again, then ran a hand through his thinning hair and scrunched his nose. “Right then. Come on. I’ve got a nap to get to.”

Chance’s urumi leapt to his hand and Yeo drew his kusarigama from his side, immediately duplicating it so he had one spinning weapon in each hand. Ice crept over Bella’s arms, traveling up to her shoulders and solidifying in jagged spikes.

“What are you waiting for?” Derren asked.

“I kind of thought you’d say start or something,” Yeo said. “Can we start?”

Derren sighed. “Start.”

A sickle whipped through the air. Derren didn’t even flinch as it struck him on the head, rebounding with a resounding clang. Yeo yanked the weapon back, his eyes wide. It hadn’t even scratched Derren.

Chance flicked his wrist to the side and the urumi shot out, scraping across Derren’s side. Just like Yeo, the attack didn’t even damage the man’s body – in fact, it didn’t even cut through his clothes.

“Oh, that is just not fair,” Yeo complained. “He’s using aura. Could you at least look a little excited? You look bored out of your mind.”

“No,” Derren replied flatly. “I am bored.”

Bella darted at him. Once again, Derren didn’t budge. She struck him in the chest and ice crept along his body, trying to find purchase on the Shikari’s clothes. It failed, evaporating without leaving a single trace on him.

Narrowing her eyes, Bella extended her hands. The air chilled between them, an icy axe slowly taking form in her grip. Its edge rippled with faint white and blue Essence. Bella brought the blade down on Derren’s shoulder hard.

She pulled the axe back, cold mist rising up from her white-knuckled hands. The strike had left a tiny nick in his clothes.

“Okay, that’s pretty lame,” Bella muttered. “Your aura is incredible.”

Yeo spun his kusarigama and sent them flying out, binding one of Derren’s legs tightly. He pulled back, his muscles straining as he desperately tried to move the man or knock him off balance. Derren didn’t budge.

“One more try,” Yeo growled, yanking the weapons back. They traced glimmering arcs through the air as he started to pour Essence into the sickles. Yeo spun, releasing his grip on one of the weapons and catching it in his other hand. “Metal Dragon Art: Executioner!”

The metal chains merged together, growing thicker and heavier. At the same time, the two sickles melded into a single, larger blade. With a cry, Yeo brought the enlarged weapon down on Derren as hard as he could.

It struck him on the neck and rebounded with a loud clang, splitting back off into two weapons. A thin cut along Derren’s neck was all that Yeo’s efforts were rewarded with.

“I hate to say it, but I don’t think any of my attacks are going to get through this Essence,” Yeo growled. “Chance? I don’t suppose you’ve learned any techniques?”

“Not yet,” Chance admitted, opening his third eye and scanning Derren. He was covered with strings of Karma, most of them corresponding to monsters that Chance had never seen. If this had been a real fight, he never would have had time to look at all of them. But, since Derren wasn’t even moving, he flicked through the scenes within the golden threads in search of the perfect target. “Give me a second.”

Derren yawned again.

“This is the lamest fight I’ve ever been in,” Yeo muttered. “Bella, want to try to drag him out of the ring together? Ice the ground.”

“Good idea,” Bella said, pointing a palm at the matted grass by Derren’s feet. Frost formed over the ground, but a large circle around Derren’s feet remained completely unaffected. “Gods, I can’t get through his aura at all. This is ridiculous. He’s even shielding the ground!”

Chance finally spotted a thick thread that would suit his purposes perfectly. It was larger than most, and depicted a massive, hulking humanoid monster. It was covered in bulging muscles and carried a wicked war axe in a single hand, holding it like a child’s toy.

Grinning, he flicked his urumi. The blade carved through the thread of karmic debt, drawing ice cold power through its links and into his body. Chance stiffened as it spread through his veins.

“You missed,” Yeo observed.

Chance tried to run at Derren, but he underestimated just how powerful the monster whose power he had stolen had been. His enhanced legs threw him straight into Derren’s chest and he staggered back with a grunt.

A tiny flicker of surprise passed through Derren’s eyes. Chance shook himself off and took several steps back before lowering his body and charging into Derren, driving his shoulder into the man’s gut.

His teeth rattled from the force of the strike, but Derren grunted and took a single step back.

“Damn, have you been doing weight training?” Yeo asked.

Derren reared back and Chance’s eyes widened. So much for not fighting back. Chains whistled past Chance, wrapping around him and yanking him back. Derren’s fist whistled past his face, just barely missing.

“Thanks,” Chance said as Yeo freed him with a flick.

“Just do that again,” Yeo said, nodding to Derren.

Chance nodded. Bella extended her hands, narrowing her eyes. The ice on the ground grew thicker, slowly creeping closer to Derren’s feet. He glanced at her, and Chance took the opportunity to charge him again.

There was no point swinging his Urumi – the blade wasn’t suited for powerful blows, and he doubted it would do much to actually injure their proctor anyway. Instead, he threw himself into Derren once more.

The two staggered, but Chance more than Derren.

“How are you doing that?” Derren demanded, taking a step toward him. “No Squire has that much physical strength.”

Chance’s eyes flicked over the lines of Karma. Yeo’s kusarigama flashed again, this time binding around Derren’s head and blocking his sight for an instant. Chance dove forward, throwing himself into the Shikari’s legs.

He grunted in pain. It was like tackling a brick wall. Derren cursed above him, staggering. There was a crunch, and he threw the crumpled remains of Yeo’s sickles to the ground beside Chance.

As Derren knelt to grab him, Chance snagged a line of Karma with his finger. Essence lit around him as golden light poured out, forming into the jagged claw of some reptilian monster. It raked across Derren’s chest with a screech.

The monster’s claws only left a thin line in the cloth, but it distracted him for long enough for Bella to swing her axe into his head as hard as she could. The icy weapon shattered with a loud crash, but Derren tripped over Chance’s body. He pitched back, crashing to the ground with such force that Chance was tossed into the air.

Yeo caught him before he could fall on his head. The last of the power he had stolen faded away as Derren slowly rose back to his feet.

“That’s terrifying,” Yeo muttered, his eyes wide. “I want to do that!”

“Train more,” Derren growled. He raised a foot and drove it into the ground. Chance, along with his team, were catapulted several feet into the air. Derren thrust a palm into the air and the earth beneath them erupted. Three tendrils shot out, splitting to target them.

One caught Chance in the chest, blasting him from the air and slamming him to the ground outside the arena. Several cracks rang out as his bones broke and he cried out in pain. Dimly, he registered two thuds as Yeo and Bella smashed down near him.

Numbness raced up Chance’s back. He tried to move, but his legs wouldn’t budge. Gritting his teeth, he forced his arm to laboriously move down to his vial of healing pills. There were only a few left, but he didn’t hesitate in forcing one into his mouth. As soon as it hit his tongue, the damage started to repair itself.

He sat up with a groan. Bella was already seated, icy armor falling off her in sheets. She’d managed to encase herself in it before she hit the ground, and it didn’t look like she’d been injured.

To Chance’s surprise, Yeo was still in the arena. He’d managed to wrap one of his broken kusarigama chains around Derren’s arm and had pulled himself through the strike so that he was still technically in the test.

Yeo snapped his fingers and the particles of his broken weapons leapt into the air, shooting for Derren’s nose and mouth. They clattered against an invisible wall in the air. Derren raised an eyebrow. Clearing his throat, Yeo stepped over the line and took himself out of the exam before Derren could reach him.