Chapter 44: Montage

Chapter 44: Montage

The alley if it could even still be called that was in tatters. Between the three of them and the Ramdent, their surroundings had been torn to bits. Vines laid in ragged heaps on the ground and scores covered the stones within the Warded dome.

Yeos weapons were in hundreds of pieces, and patches of ice had whitened the walls and turned foliage grey. He, Chance, and Bella were all covered in cuts and small wounds. Before them, the corpse of the Ramdent laid still.

It had come back to life a total of five times, each time returning angrier and more battered. But, finally, it laid unmoving. Chance retraced his urumi and leaned against a wall, catching his breath.

You think its actually dead? Yeo asked. Pieces of metal rattled across the ground, congregating around him as his kusarigama reformed.

I think we got it this time, Chance said, pushing away from the wall and pulling an orb from his pouch. He still didnt actually know if they had an official name, but he was so used to just thinking of them as orbs that he doubted hed change anytime soon.

He approached the dead monsters body carefully, flicking the orb onto it once he was close enough. It struck the Ramdent on the head, swallowing the entire thing with a blue flash. He knelt, pocketing the orb as he straightened back up.

Bella released the ward and the blue dorm fell. Around them, the alley reformed. Chance was pushed several feet to the side abruptly, and a wall appeared where hed been standing. He caught his balance, then let out a slow breath.

I am really glad I didnt reappear inside that wall.

That would a pretty glaring design flaw, Yeo agreed, brushing himself off. But damn, we beat that things ass. Are we cool or what?

I didnt play that as well as I should have. Bella pressed her lips together. I got caught off guard. I wasnt expecting that thing to come back, so it managed to get some control over the Ward.

Its fine. It worked out in the end. Chance waved his hand dismissively. And that was clearly a pretty strong monster. You managed to keep most of the Ward the way it should be. Thats probably better than I could have done. Whats the Ward based off? Cultivation?

Aura, Bella replied.

Then you definitely did better than Yeo or I could have.

Hey! You might be completely right, but I have a very fragile ego, Yeo said, jabbing his chest with a thumb. I only accept compliments, and I tore that thing up.

He really had. Once the field had opened up, Yeo had been a menace. With the Ramdents weak aura and the room to really get his kusarigama swinging, Yeo had been responsible for three of the five monsters deaths.

Aside from the Ward mistake, I think we all did pretty well. And we didnt even damage the city, so we should get all five hundred coins.

Im going to spend all of it on cultivation aid pills. The less I have to cultivate, the better.

Bella rolled her eyes. Just dont use too many and stack up on impurities, or youll end up looking like someone from Earth.

She paused, then glanced at Chance. Sorry. I didnt mean

Its fine, Chance said with a chuckle. His stomach twisted slightly at his continued deception of his team, but the only thing he wanted less than somehow getting them in trouble with Yamish was getting Bob in trouble somehow. Hed find a way to tell them. Eventually. Shall we go turn this in?

***

Wow, youre already Squires? Janet asked, clapping her hands in delight. She sat on Burgets counter, kicking her legs lazily.

Please get off my window, Burget said with a heavy sigh. Youre blocking my view of the Shikari.

Janet slowly turned to look at him. Are you calling me fat? Im sure you can see past me. Theres so much room.

There was not. Chance decided that it would be best that he not point that out.

Yes, Burget said. I am. Now move.

Bella just shook her head. Luckily, the rest of their trip back to the Whiteheart house went entirely unmolested. When they got back, the three returned to their rooms to cultivate.

Chance wasted no time in bringing the vision of the enormous golden being to his mind, welcoming the increasingly familiar feeling of tightness and heat that wove around his chest as he contemplated Karma.

Three weeks passed in a similar manner. They did a job every few days, spending the rest of their time either in combat training or in cultivation. At night, Chance often slipped away to the Old City, working his way through the growing ranks of monsters that it threw at him.

His skill and luck with the urumi reached the point where his sparring sessions with Yeo were no longer one sided, and he even started to win some of them. Chance also finished reading the dictionary and managed to get a decent grasp of Centurions written language.

The technique book Pete had gotten him still rested on his counter. Chance had long since read through and managed to memorize the written language of Centurion, and as soon as hed gotten a grasp on it, the first thing hed done was read through the manual.

However, what he found didnt interest him as much as he had hoped. The manual detailed a way to imbue a weapon with Karma, which would enhance its attacks significantly. Unfortunately, the ability was cited to take at least a year to just start using properly. The grasp over Essence that was required to properly imbue a weapon was so high that there were over a dozen prior steps that he had to through before even considering using the technique. On top of all that, it just felt wrong. When he tried testing it out, even with his limited understanding, the flow of Essence felt oily to him.

As such, Chance had temporarily set it aside. There were other ways he could grow stronger faster, and the technique could wait until he survived Yamish and the Old City. However, it did make him wonder just how Yeo and Bella had both gotten techniques for themselves.

But, to his immense delight and with the benefits of his vision, Chance could feel himself palpably growing stronger. He was less winded after every fight, and his urumi often mistakenly landed strikes that he was certain hed missed.

All three of them spent a large portion of the money they earned on supplies and pills, but Chance had one key advantage that the other two didnt. While Bella and Yeo only dared to take a single cultivation aid pill a day, Chance spent every single coin he earned on them.

With no impurities to worry about, he often used four or five pills a day, and the results were becoming apparent. The power gap between them and Chance quickly closed. Between the extra pills he took and his late-night training sessions with the Old City, his skills were growing at an incredible pace.

Unfortunately, Chance could see an end in sight to his current boost of growth. With every pill he took, he could feel their effectiveness decreasing. His body was building a resistance to them, which meant hed have to start buying more expensive ones if he wanted them to have any affect at all.

Hed taken to gathering the bodies of the monsters the Old City threw at him, storing them within orbs. He wasnt quite sure if he wanted to sell them yet, so hed had to spend some money on extra orbs, but they were fortunately rather cheap.

Of Yamish, there was still no sign. That, more than anything, wore heavily on Chances mind. The Old City didnt show itself again either, though it still interacted with him through symbols on the walls whenever he went.

Even though the tournament was just a week away, the only thing Chance could think about was getting strong enough to defeat Yamish.

Emerging from his room, Chance passed by Yeo and Bellas rooms both of them were still cultivating and headed downstairs. He headed out of the Whiteheart house and down Shikari Lane, seeking out the Old City.

He stepped into an alleyway, where the walls were already warping to provide him passage. They closed behind him, leaving Chance alone in the cracked, empty streets.

Chances bracelet expanded into an urumi and he flicked the sword instinctively, cutting down a Soothound as it leapt from the shadows. The monsters body thumped to the ground and he put it into an orb.

The orb joined his collection and he sighed, turning to the walls.

Do you know how long Ive got? Im not going to get strong enough to beat a Knight, much less someone of Yamishs power anytime soon.

A question mark carved itself into the wall. Chance rubbed the bridge of his nose.

Is there a reason you dont just write? Wouldnt that make communication a little easier?

There was no response. Chance shook his head and shrugged.

You do you, I guess. Its pretty unlikely Im going to be able to handle Yamish anytime soon, though. Our best bet might be playing along for as long as possible, because Im pretty sure that hes going to be back long before I get strong enough to annoy him, much less beat him.

The question mark turned to a circle. Evidently, the Old City wasnt feeling particularly conversational today. Beneath Chances feet, cracked stone rippled in a tiny wave, making him stumble deeper into the alleys.

Alright, alright. Im coming. What do you have for me to fight this time? Chance asked, heading into the darkness. Another Soothound leapt at him and his blade flashed, sending the monster crumpling to the ground. He collected it as well.

The Old City didnt respond to Chances question, but he hadnt particularly expected it to either. In its own way, it was trying to prepare him for what was coming. At least, he hoped it was. Training was training, though, and he needed everything he could get.The original appearance of this chapter can be found at Ñøv€lß1n.