Gleam - Chapter 141 (Patreon)

Chance let his Essence course through him, filling his body with energy. He swayed from foot to foot, urumi at his side as he waited for Joe to make a move – but the move never came. A small, confused frown flickered across his face.

“Did we start?”

“Yup,” Joe said. “I was just waiting for you to do something.”

“You haven’t actually told me what the exam is yet. I’m not sure what it is that I’m supposed to be doing. I mean, I know we’re fighting, but what are the rules? How do I win?”

“Good questions.” Joe nodded thoughtfully, then held a finger up. He drew in a deep breath before calling out. “Mina! Are you watching your old man?”

“You’re right in front of me,” Joe’s daughter said, scrunching her nose in annoyance. “You don’t have to yell so loud. What are you doing?”

“I’m giving these nice kids a Rank-up exam,” Joe said with a huge smile. “Isn’t that cool?”

Mina glanced at Chance, then looked back to her father. “I don’t know. You’re kind of just standing there. Aren’t you in a match right now or something?”

“Well, I wanted to make sure you were watching. It would be a shame to miss something interesting,” Joe said. “You are watching, right?”

Chance couldn’t help himself from laughing. It would have been easy to take offense at Joe’s complete disregard of him, but he could tell the large man was really just so invested in his daughter’s opinion that it was hard to hold it against him.

“Yeah, dad. I’m watching. You probably shouldn’t make that guy wait too long, though.”

“I suppose I shouldn’t,” Joe agreed. He turned back to Chance, then rolled his shoulders and raised a hand, keeping his palm facing the ground. “I changed my mind. Let’s just do the whole exam in one part. I’ll be testing your fighting ability as a whole. The match goes until you are rendered unconscious or leave the circle.”

“You didn’t mention how I win.”

“Impress me.” Joe grinned, then glanced over his shoulder. “Or my daughter. That would work too. But don’t impress her too much. She’s–”

“Dad, please!” Mina buried her face in her hands. “Can’t you just do your job?”

“Right, right.” Joe gave Chance a wide grin. “Children, you know? Gotta make sure they’ve got something to be proud of.”

I’m not sure proud is the word I’d use to describe Mina right now. How is impressing someone measurable, though? Do I just have to look cool, or – ah, forget it. I’m just going to fight.

Chance stepped forward, illuminating the air around Joe with golden karmic threads as he opened his third eye. As soon as his foot shifted, Joe burst into motion. He shifted his weight and the dirt erupted from the ground, racing up his legs and encasing his entire body in a thick, jagged layer of rock armor.

Arching his back, Chance ducked beneath the blow and then spun to the side, avoiding Joe’s leg as the larger man tried to sweep him off his feet. Chance’s grin continued to expand as he swayed and dipped past Joe’s attacks.

It was clear that Joe wasn’t trying to actually hit him yet, but was rather testing exactly how extensive Chance’s reflexes were. As fun as that was, the Essence coursing in Chance wasn’t willing to settle for a mere test.

He bounded forward, flicking his urumi and severing a thin line of Karma connected to Joe. Energy raced through Chance’s body, empowering him. Joe accelerated as well, but Chance had the jump on him.

Laughing out loud, Chance pirouetted out of another grab, then leapt straight into the air. He cleared Joe, who spun to face him, but Chance was already moving by the time he hit the ground.

His urumi spun in a gale around him, screeching as it struck Joe’s armor. A bassy laugh echoed from the large Shikari’s mouth as he jumped back, not letting Chance get any closer.

“You’ve got some experience in real fights, kid?”

“Some,” Chance agreed. The ground bucked behind him as a wave of rock rose up to crash down on top of him. He lost his footing and fell into a tumble, rolling to safety and springing to his feet as he ran his hand along his urumi, imbuing it with Essence.

He struck out at Joe again, and this time the segmented blades bit into his armor instead of ringing straight off. Unfortunately, they didn’t bite anywhere deep enough to do real damage. Joe’s hand shot out, grabbing the extended urumi.

“Got you,” Joe said with a huge grin. He gave the whip-sword a sharp tug, yanking Chance toward him along with it. Joe reached out with one hand to grab Chance mid-air. Golden mist trailed behind him like a cloak, whipping furiously at his shoulders.

The end of the urumi snapped around, smacking Joe upside the head. He blinked in surprise, only losing his grip and concentration for an instant. That instant was enough. Chance twisted his body, thrusting his feet into Joe’s open palm and using it like a springboard.

He flipped back, yanking the urumi free of Joe’s grip and landing right at the edge of the training field. Chance’s arms windmilled and he pitched himself forward, dropping into another roll before popping back to his feet.

“Whoa,” Mina breathed, her eyes going as wide as saucers. Joe glanced at her, then back to Chance.

“You’re quite the showboat, aren’t you?” Joe asked, cracking his knuckles and lowering his stance. “I like it. I used to do some fancy stuff in my younger days as well. Come at me again, young man. I’ve clearly been underestimating you.”

“Gladly,” Chance said. He sprinted forward again, flicking his wrist to send his urumi biting out before him. Joe raised a foot and drove it into the ground. A shockwave ripped out from him and Chance bounded into the air to avoid it.

Joe let the urumi scrape harmlessly across his armor and clapped his hands together. Stones shot up from the ground, rising into the air around him like a halo. His grin grew louder and he brought a hand down.

As one, the stones all shot toward Chance. There must have been at least fifty of them, and each was the size of a brick. There wasn’t enough room to dodge them, and the were moving to quickly to block all of them with his current strength.

That left one option. Chance opened his Center.

Essence manifested itself with a roar behind him, a golden hand erupting from his back with brilliant light. Even as it took shape, Chance kept moving. He turned himself sideways, whipping his urumi down to knock some of the stones out of the way.

Throwing himself forward, Chance pressed his hands together and jumped as if he were diving into a pool from a tall board. His golden arm curled over his head, knocking several stones to the side and forming the smallest hole in the barrage.

Chance flew through it and hit the ground running. His Essence hand drove into Joe’s chest with a loud crash, cracking stone and sending Joe skidding back a foot. Chance leapt into the air as he felt the ground beneath him liquify.

Joe reached up as Chance fell, stones writhing along his arms and extending toward him like snakes. The blades of the urumi carved through the reaching rock tendrils, cutting them apart before they could reach their destination.

Chance hit the ground behind Joe – and sank. His eyes widened and he tried to free himself, but he was practically sucked straight into the ground and found himself buried up to his chest in an instant.

Not to be outdone, Chance gathered all the energy still swirling around him and sent it forward in a wave. It pushed through Joe’s armor, pooling at his feet. He sent a bemused look down at it.

“The fight’s over, kid,” Joe said. He raised a foot to walk toward Chance and lost his footing as the ground shifted beneath him. Joe’s eyes widened a moment before he slipped, falling onto his backside with an undignified grunt.

“Moral victory,” Chance said.

Joe sat up, rubbing his butt with a chagrined smile on his face. “Well, that’s embarrassing. Can’t say I’ve gotten caught like that before. You’ve certainly got a unique style of fighting.”

“I can’t say anyone I’ve fought has turned the entire ground to mud before either,” Chance said, trying not to sound too disappointed at his loss. It had been a bit much to expect to be able to defeat a Shikari at Joe’s level, but it would have been nice to get a bit closer.

“Yeah, well, I haven’t had to do something like that in a while either,” Joe said, lowering his voice to a mutter. “Catching you would have been impossible if I played fair. If any of the other Shikari my rank had seen that fight, I don’t think I’d have ever lived it down.”

“Does that mean he passed?” Bella asked.

“He better!” Mina added. “That was awesome! I want to do that. What kind of Essence do you have?”

“Don’t ask people their Essence,” Joe said idly. He held a hand out and the dirt holding Chance down pulled back, freeing him. Chance took Joe’s hand and let the larger man pull him back above ground.

“I’d like to know if I passed as well.”

Joe snorted. “If you didn’t pass, then half the Knight Ranked Shikari would have to turn their ranks back in as well. You pass with flying colors. That was the hardest fight I’ve ever had against someone your age.”

Yeo and Bella both let out a cheer, and Chance grinned. It wasn’t like he didn’t know he was already a Knight in power – he’d unlocked his Center, after all. It just felt good to get validated every once and a while.

“That was really cool,” Mina said as Chance walked back to join the others. “How’d you learn to fight like that?”

“I had some really good teachers,” Chance replied. “You know, your dad has helped me out before.”

“Really?” Mina looked from Chance to Joe, who beamed at him. If Chance hadn’t been on Joe’s good side already, he definitely was now.

“I’ll tell you the story after I finish the exams for these two fine Shikari,” Joe said. “Who’s next? I’ll choose for you if you can’t decide.”

“Want to go?” Yeo asked.

“You’re actually offering?” Bella raised an eyebrow. “Should I wonder if someone replaced you?”

“Nah. Saving the best for last. Besides, it gives me the most room to show both of you up.” Yeo grinned at Bella. “So you better do well, or you’ll look so pathetic that Joe will retract your pass after you beat him.”

“Never mind,” Bella said, rolling her eyes. “You’re definitely Yeo. And don’t get too cocky. That’s a good way to get your ass beat.”

She started toward the field, then paused and glanced at Mina. “Uh… sorry. Forgot you were here.”

“It’s fine! Dad curses all the time,” Mina said with a cheerful smile. “He says mom will beat his ass if she ever catches him, though.”

Joe hurriedly cleared his throat and tapped the ground with his foot. “Let’s get the next fight on, shall we? Busy day and all.”

Bella pressed her palms together as she stepped into the ring. As she pulled them apart, the air between them shimmered. A beautiful sword formed in the wake of her hands, floating in place until she took it by the hilt.

“Okay,” Bella said, lowering into a fighting stance and hefting the sword before her. “I’m ready.”