Gleam - Chapter 10 (Patreon)

Pete chuckled. “Well, we all have to start somewhere. Yeo, you seem fairly confident in your skills. We’ll talk about that later. For now, though, how about you just help me get Chance up to speed?”

“That was the plan,” Yeo said. “So, where are we starting?”

“Why don’t we take a look at that mist of yours, Chance?” Pete asked. “Try to form a shield. The most important thing when you’re new is to be able to defend yourself.”

Chance nodded.

Thank you.

Heat burned in his chest as the magic came to bear, forming into a glimmering wall before him. Pete examined it, cocking his head to the side.

“How curious. Are you imagining that the shield is solid?”

“Yeah,” Chance replied. “But the only form I can seem to get my mag – ah, Essence to take is this mist.”

“That’s fine. Not every cultivation path is going to lend itself toward making physical things,” Pete said with an encouraging smile. “And you might also just not be far enough along its path to solidify something yet. Do you know what your Essence is?”

“Not a clue. I think it’s got to do with luck, though.”

Yeo poked Chance’s shield. Some of the wispy energy gathered around his hand and he waved it off. Then he picked up a rock.

“Hey, what are you–”

Yeo threw the stone at him. It flew Chance’s shoulder and bounced off the roof, coming back in a beautiful arc to land straight on top of Yeo’s head. The boy cursed, staggering back while Chance burst into laughter.

“That’s what you get! You could have at least warned me. I told you it was some sort of luck.”

Pete’s eyebrows raised. “That was quite the turnaround. I was expecting a tiny nudge, not a complete reversal of an attack. Chance, how are you feeling?”

“Fine. Why?”

“Not tired at all?”

“No. Should I be? We only just woke up.”

“Using Essence tires you out,” Yeo said. “The more you use it or the stronger it is, the faster you’ll run out of energy. That’s why I was saying you’re going to start eating a lot. You’re pretty new, so you’ve probably only got a few spells in you before you konk out.”

“Well, I do feel this burning in my chest whenever I use magic,” Chance said.

“That’s the Essence refining your body,” Pete explained. “Whenever you draw on Essence, it strengthens your body and burns away the impurities in it bit by bit. The less impurities you have, the more you’ll be able to channel your Essence and the stronger of a cultivator you’ll become.”

“Not just that,” Yeo added. “Impurities basically stick to each other. Like attracts like, you know? So the more impure you are, the harder it is to get rid of it.”

“What happens if you do get rid of all of it?” Chance asked.

“That’s incredibly difficult,” Pete said, leaning on his staff and smiling like he was talking to an optimistic child. “Most people never do. We pick too much impurity up in our life. Hypothetically, if you get rid of all of it, your aptitude for channeling Essence goes up by an enormous amount. You’ll grow stronger at an incredibly increased rate, you’ll be resistant to gaining impurities again, and your magic will be more responsive to what you want it to do.”

“Don’t worry too much about it.” Yeo punched chance in the arm. “I’ve heard some really unlucky people have choked to death as their bodies were spewing out their impurities. It isn’t all good.”

Chance paused. “Wait, what?”

“When someone manages to purge all of their impurities, it usually comes in a large rush of foul-smelling bile,” Pete said. “It can go on for quite some time, depending on how impure their body was. Don’t concern yourself over it. I don’t mean to discourage you, but since you’re from Earth, your body is likely completely riddled with impurity. You’ve never channeled Essence, so it’ll take you a long time and much more work just to catch up with many of your peers.”

Ah. That’s what you did for me, Bob. Thank you. Never would have thought a stale Cheeto was what purged the impurities from my body.

“Don’t look so down,” Yeo said. “We’ll get you in fighting shape in no time, don’t worry. I don’t care what you’ve got to go against.”

“Yeah,” Chance said with a grin. “Don’t worry. I’m not about to give up.”

“Nor should you. To be honest, you seem to have incredible control over your Essence already. Far more than I would have expected any Apprentice Shikari to have.”

“Thanks,” Chance said. He decided it probably wasn’t a great idea to say the reason why he had said control. Not yet. “You put stress on the word apprentice. Do you mean that in the way that you’re my teacher?”

Pete chuckled. “I am your teacher, but no. It’s a rank. Has Yeo told you about them yet?”

“Just that we’re basically unranked.”

“That’s the Apprentice rank,” Pete explained. “There are ten ranks in addition to Apprentice. Foundling, Squire, Knight, Baron, Earl, Duke, King, Lord, Saint, and God. And, for all intents and purposes, if you reach the final rank, you really are a god. It’s incredibly rare, and I’ve never seen one at that rank myself, but there have been occasions where I know they’ve passed through Gleam.”

“That seems hard to believe, but I guess I’ll have to take your word for it. It’s not like anything else here makes all that much sense.” Chance laughed. “Are there any actual differences in the ranks, though? Like, how do you know which one someone is?”

“It depends on the amount of essence you can channel and your fighting prowess. There are pre-established methods to using your Essence in an optimal way called techniques. Many Shikari use them to fight, and your ability to use techniques can also influence your rank. You can also make your own techniques, but I wouldn’t even worry about that until you’re at least Baron ranked. Anything earlier and you’ll just be wasting your time.”

“When you say techniques… you mean like special moves?” Chance asked, trying to hold back a laugh. “Ones where you yell the name out when you use it?”

Yeo grinned. “You got it. My dad is a huge technique user, and it rubbed off on me. I didn’t pick up the habit of calling them out loud, but they’re really quite useful. Don’t laugh too hard, Chance.”

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to insult,” Chance said.

“None taken,” Yeo said with a shrug. “Once you get good enough to spar against me, I’ll show you some of them. Otherwise, you’ll just have to wait to see me use them against a monster.”

“Not that either of you will be fighting a monster anytime too soon,” Pete said sternly. He thumped his staff against the ground. “I don’t know how things were done outside Gleam, Yeo, but there are rules in this city, and they’re here for your safety. Until you’ve taken the Ranking Exam, no hunting.”

“I figured as much,” Yeo said with a weary sigh. “How long until we can take it?”

“You’re welcome to take it whenever you want,” Pete replied. “Just keep in mind you have to take it as a team, and if you fail, you can’t try again for a month. Don’t get too jumpy, or you’ll cost yourself a lot of time.”

“Right,” Yeo said, turning to Chance. “We need to get you a weapon and start training, then. Maybe some really easy techniques as well.”

“I’ve never used anything like that before,” Chance warned. “I’m not sure how quickly I’m going to pick up using something like that.”

“Don’t worry. We’ve got a very talented Battlemaster,” Pete said. “He’ll take a look at you and figure out exactly what fits your personality and fighting style the best. It’s part of his Essence path.”

“What are we waiting for, then?” Yeo demanded. “Let’s go!”

***

“Nothing. You can’t use any of these.”

Chance, Pete, and Yeo sat on a bench inside a massive armory beside the training fields. Weapons of every sort covered the walls, ranging from crossbows to massive battleaxes. A large, scar covered man by the name of Jagg stood before them, his arms crossed and a frown plastered across his bearded face.

“What?” Yeo exclaimed. “That can’t be right. Anyone can use at least something. Maybe he doesn’t have the training yet, but–”

“None of the weapons I’ve got out.” Jagg shook his head. “I am confident. He lacks the spirit for them. That usually isn’t the case with Earth arrivals – most of them have a drive to use one of my weapons, but this boy has none.”

“Hey, that isn’t true,” Chance protested. “I want to fight!”

Jagg cocked an eyebrow. He grabbed a dagger from the wall and handed it to Chance, who took it and held it awkwardly in front of him. Pete and Yeo grimaced.

“Okay, that looks pretty bad,” Yeo admitted. “But he can learn.”

“Anyone can learn how to use a weapon. But I would not trust his – or your – life in the hands of a man who does not connect with his weapon.”

“So what does this mean? He can’t use a weapon?” Yeo asked.

“No. He cannot use the weapons I have here,” Jagg said. “You do not listen well. Fix it. I can feel an affinity, but it’s… strange. Wrong, almost. Also – boy, why do you have an aptitude for bricks?”

Chance cleared his throat. “Never mind that. I don’t want a brick to be my weapon of choice. Wait, how did you know that?”

“You used one as a weapon. I can feel it,” Jagg said, tapping Chance’s shoulder. “Your words lie, but your body and Essence does not. Now, come. Draw on your Essence and see if it pulls you toward anything.”

Heat welled up in Chance’s chest, enveloping the rest of his body as he brought the golden mist to his fingertips. He glanced at Jagg expectantly.

“Ask it to guide you,” Jagg said. “There’s no guarantee it’ll work, and I already have a weapon I think will fit you in mind, but if the Essence has already chosen, then it will make things easier for both of us.”

Chance examined the magic pooling in his palms. He’d yet to see it actually guide him anywhere, but perhaps a little luck wouldn’t be remiss. Pressing his lips together, he tried to picture it leading him toward something that he could use to protect himself and his teammates.

It also wouldn’t hurt if it was cool, but that really isn’t –

The smoke slipped between his fingers and pooled on the floor before slithering toward a door in the armory. Chance’s eyes widened and Jagg chuckled.

“That’s a strong connection. How long have you been cultivating? I haven’t seen such responsive Essence in a while.”

“Uh… a few days.”

Jagg stared at him. “Right. Earth. Is your path a very combat focused one? Perhaps I completely misread you.”

I’m pretty sure this is all because I’m all pure or whatever, but I’m not about to go blurting that out.

“It’s got something to do with luck. Maybe this counts?” Chance hedged.

“Perhaps,” Jagg answered with a grunt. He followed the trail of Essence and pushed the door open, walking inside the room it led to.  The three of them waited in silence as the large battlemaster’s grumbles echoed out of the room he’d entered, joined by the clang of shifting metal.

A few minutes later, he walked back out, a bundle of oiled leather in his hand. It was a little longer than the length of Chance’s forearm, and the hilt of a plain metal sword stuck out of the back.

“Your weapon is a sword? After all this?” Yeo asked with a laugh. “Why’d it make him dig through a bunch of stuff first?”

“This,” Jagg said, unwrapping the oiled bundle to reveal a sword that ended in a flat, sloping edge akin to a razor blade. “Is not a sword.”

Upon closer inspection, Chance realized that thin, almost invisible lines ran horizontally along the blade’s length.

“What is it?” Chance asked.

Jagg set the oilcloth aside and took the weapon by the hilt. “Follow me.”

The battlemaster led them out into a small training field behind the armory. It was a surrounded by a small fence that kept them hidden from prying eyes. He walked out into the center, then held a hand up.

“Don’t get any closer. This is not a weapon I have spent much time learning how to master. My skill with it is not sufficient to keep you safe should you mistakenly enter its range.”

He flicked his hand. With a series of crisp clinks, the sword whipped out. The segments of the blade came apart, connected together by two thin metal wires that ran through the weapon. Jagg spun the snakelike weapon and it whistled through the air around him, shimmering in and out in a terrifying and graceful dance.

The links of the blade twirled around Jagg once more before he snapped his wrist to the side and it retracted, snapping back together in less than a second. Chance gaped at Jagg.

“My Essence thinks I should use that? I’ll cut myself in half before I end up hitting someone else.”