Gleam Karma Cultivator Isekai

Chance quickly discovered that, no matter how hypothetically well he understood the moves, it was nothing on Lucy. His body simply couldn’t move as fast as hers, and that meant he spent the majority of his time either flying through the air or on the ground.

Lucy didn’t let up, even when he was thrown down. The sun continued to simmer overhead. The sparring turned to a blur, but if Lucy was doing anything new, Chance never discovered it. It just felt like she was fighting as she always had.

She continued to press him, not even giving enough time for him to ask questions. Frustration built within Chance, his inability to improve gnawing at him more and more. He could see Lucy doing the very moves she’d taught him, and he knew exactly what she was about to do – but he just wasn’t fast or strong enough to do anything about it.

He crushed the anger, refusing to let it take hold or affect him. Instead, he put every fiber of his being into trying to find a way to overcome Lucy. As always, he had no idea how long they had been fighting when an idea sprung to his mind – or rather, his hand.

The urumi leapt forth for the first time since he’d arrived in the field, and he found himself swinging it before he even realized what his hands were doing. Lucy responded instantly, stumbling out of the way and catching him on the chin with a flailing palm.

Chance rolled back, staggering to his feet and continuing the strike. The blade whistled past Lucy’s nose, nearly catching her. It bought him just enough time to step in. He faked a stumble, redirecting his motion into a spinning kick.

It caught nothing but air, but he continued the spin, translating the motion into his urumi. Lucy leaned backward, dropping into an arch as his weapon passed over her. She then vaulted up, striking him in the chin with her foot.

Chance rolled with the blow and flicked his urumi as he fell. Lucy let out a curse, but by the time he was standing again, the attack had passed. His weapon retracted, a tiny splotch of blood on one of the links.

It faded away and he looked at Lucy in surprise.

“I hit you?”

“So you did,” Lucy said, rolling her shoulders.

“Does that mean I figured it out?”

Lucy pursed her lips. “I’m afraid not. You still don’t have any Essence in your moves, but you’ve got a great conceptual understanding of this fighting style. You’ve even managed to incorporate your weapon, but it’s still empty. How do you feel when fighting?”

“Feel?” Chance asked, lowering his blade slightly. “I’m not sure. Like I’m fighting. I’m not certain I feel any way in particular. We’re just training.”

“I see. I’m afraid I have nothing more to teach you, then. The style I developed does not fit you.”

“What? Why? I feel like I’m learning a lot.”

“You are,” Lucy said. “But I am no longer able to guide you. You’ve learned all the parts of my style that I can teach. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like you’re a match. You have to discover what is missing and fill it in on your own.”

“To make myself embody my Essence when I’m fighting?”

“Precisely. You will know when you have achieved it because fighting will become like cultivation. No matter what you are actually fighting against, your mind should be at peace. Once you have achieved that, then you have discovered your true fighting style. Only then will you begin to be able to begin along the road to a master.”

Chance bit back a laugh. “That’s only the beginning?”

“Of course,” Lucy replied. “After all, physical combat is just one part of the whole. There’s also your aura, techniques, and cultivation abilities. A true master can weave them all together perfectly.”

“I understand,” Chance said. He bowed to Lucy. “Thank you. I’m not sure how long you’ve been training me, but I’ve learned a lot.”

Lucy just laughed. “It’s just my purpose. You have a truly impressive amount of willpower, though. I don’t have much reference, but I didn’t think you would have lasted as long as you did.”

“Why?”

“Permanent or not, constant injuries take a great toll on your mind. Lucy has to be at least a little annoyed, as she probably didn’t think you would have leeched this much power from her.”

“Wait, she’s still powering this?” Chance asked.

“As long as someone is in here, she has to give it Essence. Only when you leave will the passage of time resume. Don’t fret, boy. You did well. Even though we’ve spoken little, our fists and feet have said all they need to. You’ll develop your style, and I don’t think it’ll be a long time waiting.”

“Thank you. You were a fantastic teacher.”

Lucy snorted. “Get out of here. We’re done.”

Before the last word had even left her mouth, the field started to fall away. The last thing Chance saw was the warm sun, its rays washing across the golden wheat like a lover’s caress. Then it was gone, and the world was darkness.

The dark stone alleys of Gleam emerged, putting themselves together at the edges of Chance’s vision like dozens of tiny puzzle pieces. A wave of dizziness washed over him and, when it passed, the world was whole once more.

Lucy was gone, and he stood alone in the alley that she’d left him in. Chance blinked, rubbing his eyes. A heavy fuzz filled his mind. Drawing in a slow breath, he felt a crisp breeze for the first time in what seemed like forever.

His memories of the training with Lucy weren’t fuzzy, but they were compressed. It was as if they’d all happened years ago, but they rose up to the surface like an old skill. Even though it had been years since Chance had last had the opportunity, it felt as natural as riding a bike.

Chance slipped into one of the forms, letting himself stagger through the alley like a drunkard. The strain of the movements hit him almost immediately, and he quickly realized just how different the wheat field was from the real world.

Without the ability to grow tired in it, he’d never realized just how much work the movements took. Even though he knew what to do conceptually, he could tell it would take practice to be able to properly execute the movements with the level of control he’d gained in the mindscape.

Chance muttered another thank you to Lucy, just in case she was still somewhere in the area and could hear him, then made his way back to the Whiteheart house.

Seeing Gleam again felt strange. Logically, he could tell that no time had passed. The new memories bouncing around in his head made everything feel just slightly out of place. Before he knew it, Chance was standing at the doors to the Whiteheart house again.

To his surprise, all three of the others were already downstairs, sitting on the couches. Pete and Bella both had half-eaten sandwiches, and the front of Yeo’s shirt was covered with crumbs.

“Training going well, Chance?” Yeo asked. “Pete swung around to give us a break from practicing, but you were already gone when he checked your room.”

“Yeah. I’m feeling good about it,” Chance replied. He wondered how he was supposed to explain his encounter with Lucy for a moment, but quickly realized that it had absolutely nothing to do with the Old City or Yamish, which meant he was free to say what he wanted. “I had something of a fortuitous encounter.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Bella asked.

“I met a Karma cultivator, and they trained me,” Chance replied.

To his surprise, none of them looked particularly surprised.

“I kinda figured you had someone teaching you,” Yeo said, laughing at the expression on Chance’s face. “I mean, come on. You were constantly leaving and growing at a crazy rate. That doesn’t happen unless you’re a complete genius or you’ve got someone helping out. What rank are they?”

“I’m not sure,” Chance admitted. He didn’t know how to rank either the Old City or Lucy. “But whatever they are, I just got a pretty big boost.”

“A Technique?” Yeo asked eagerly.

“No. Just physical combat training,” Chance replied.

“Really? That’s odd,” Bella said. “It takes a really long time to learn a fighting style, and your build looks about the same.”

“That’s not true,” Pete said. “He’s put on some muscle, and Chance is carrying himself differently than how he used to. I’m not sure how I managed to miss that before. Were you hiding it on purpose? Or have my eyes really started to fail me?”

“No, you’re fine. I learned all of it today,” Chance replied. He quickly realized how that sounded and cleared his throat. “My teacher sent me somewhere where time didn’t flow and I kind of trained my mind, not my body.”

They stared at him mutely.

“What?” Bella asked, breaking the silence after several seconds. “You’re serious?”

“Yeah. I didn’t gain any physical training from it, but the theory is all up here.” He tapped his head.

“I hate you,” Yeo declared. “The worst part is I know you well enough to know you wouldn’t lie about this, which means you actually managed to get lucky enough to stumble into something this rare. Does the universe just love you or something?”

“Luck is kind of my thing,” Chance said with a sheepish grin. “But it’s not all sunshine. I owe the lady that taught me a favor if I survive long enough to pay it back, and I don’t think it’ll come cheap.”

Pete’s eyes narrowed. “A dangerous bargain, but one I would have taken as well. Not one I would have ever been offered, though. Yeo is right. Your luck is something else, Chance.”

“Forget that,” Bella said, setting her sandwich aside and jumping to her feet. “Can you show me? I want to see. If they taught you some secret combat style, maybe I can learn something if we spar.”

“Sure. I need to get my body into shape to actually use this properly, so that sounds like a good idea to me.”

“Only if I get to go next,” Yeo said. “Are you going to fight at the Shikari training grounds or on the front lawn?”

“Let’s use the training grounds,” Chance said. “We’ve earned the right. Might as well use ‘em until we have the money to spare getting an upgrade for the Whiteheart house.”

“I’ll join you,” Pete said, his eyes sparkling. “Something from a cultivator powerful enough to pause time anywhere is sure to be enlightening. Perhaps I’ll be able to push through my bottleneck with what I pick up.”