Jimmy

  “Stand down, Milord!! It’s too dangerous!” A brick wall exploded by my face, the bodies of men mangled on the road, and a greystone had gone manic. What a shit day.

  Across the street, leather-armoured fighters launched arrows around the tunnel, stopping our approach. Giant men of the shaved killed any who made it past the stockade. A rabbit stuck in our burrow, we hid as blasts from mages made the city wall shudder. The Alarians made temporary walls as I called my troops to retreat back to a safer area. However, Lord Loran continued his bloody barrage. Each kill added blood to his armoury with swords of all kinds and chiselled out of blood ice. Terror rained on the enemy, poking holes into everything for several yards. A Shaved. Tattooed till he was almost as black as my elf friend, split the street with his fall. Crowned with large antlers, the heavy-armoured fiend roared, his mana inflamed and blue light cast on the city blocks.

  “Frozen knight!! It's been ten years since you made a mess of our land!” An axe smashing into the cobbled road sent a wave of earth to the bloody greystone.

  “Those antlers, how nostalgic!” An absurdly large sword of red ice stopped the earth with a slice. “Have you lot come down to lose again!?”

  Striking the street like a drum, stalagmites shot upward from the road below, aiming wherever Commander Loran stood. Despite his injuries, the aged warrior skates on ice, evading death by inches. A hefty man pushed past me. Voice loud and posture low, a thrust from his sword shot an unbelievably bright blast into the Shaved's face. A shield of mana blocked Bradshaw's attack.

  “Bloody mages…” the marquess swore quietly.

  Mana shone on a roof, and a mage's hand aimed at Bradshaw's back. My feet skidded on stone; I ran to hit away the beams of light. My spear bent the light to the ground, and then another to a brave soldier. Circles burned in my chest, my eyes warmed with mana, and the wind cracked from my guarding spear. A large boom dropped me to my backside, and the mage that gave me trouble held their falling organs in anguish before dropping off the roof dead. Marquess Bradshaw's blade detonated the air, cutting through four bandits behind me.

  “Thank you, officer.” The marquess offered me a hand, which I took from the war hero gratefully. An old greystone grunted, taking both our attention. Lying in the rubble of the store, the Frozen Knights' ice sword lay broken, melting back to blood. Gasping for air, Commander Loran sat motionless, not able to look his enemy in the eye.

  “Is this it? Is this how the mighty Loran falls? Pityful!”

  Without a second thought, I flipped my spear and made it a javelin, aiming for the conceited Seventh-circle Shaved. However, a marquess's hand stopped me.

  “No need.”

  Cloak waving like a hero, white mist smoked off his body in almost holy calm fog. His walk was slow, yet his stride displayed power and swiftness beyond human understanding. With torn, battle-worn clothes, he strutted like the most distinguished man in Freidland. Every eye followed him. Every sound went silent for him.

  “Yo, uncle. Looking…a bit rough.”

  Tarion

  I picked my uncle up from the dirt, finding more injuries and said, “He will be okay.” Loran lifted his heavy head with eyes full of a thousand questions. “What..?” said a confounded Loran.

  “Thank Vanessa in person-”

  “No, son. I am staying.”

  “Uncle…”

  “Don’t ignore me, Southerners!!”

  I felt the wind move by the axe's sharp edge. To my shoulder, the Shaved aimed and missed with a small adjustment. My cloak disappeared in my inventory as I spun to my left for an elbow blow to the Shaved’s diaphragm. Flem spat from a large mouth as I held his axe to stop him from flying away. Qi repulsed from my feet as I jumped backward into the enemy's chest. Hearing his ribs crack, my right foot tripped the tall man, and with my hand on his axe, I flipped over, crushing his head in the rubble.

  A second. That's how long it took to take down a seventh circle.

  However, to me, the shortcomings of cultivation are glaring. After training at the body stage, you transform everything from bones, skin and meridians into an apt vessel for qi cultivation and usage. Most warriors in a sect would fall into this stage, as breaking into ‘Mind’ and above requires years of training, resources and talent. Qi can be created, and you can protect yourself with your will. Although you do not have control of the qi/mana outside the body, with creative meditation and rigorous training, resonance is possible, but clearly very limited compared to the pseudo-magic I used on a regular basis. On the strength of the wind, I could have flown from camp to Maize, but I could barely summon a quarter of the element and had to rely on qinggong. All the mana techniques I learnt are essentially useless until I break into the Mind Stage. I felt like I had jumped back two steps.

  “There's something different about you…?” Said Uncle as he found a pile of bricks to sit on. “Your hue…”

  I pointed to my chest, “Gone. Trying a few new things.”

  “I see. Haha, I remember a younger you boasting that you would be the first 9 circles in our family!”

  Like a jewel shifted from sand, a memory of a young Tarion holding a picture book of mages for my mother entered my mind. I wanted to be taken by the mysterious seekers, gain power and knowledge to find anything that could fix my mother. My mother’s cough made my will stronger.

  I squeezed my fist tight. Qi flared, and the earth quaked. “9th circle?” I said. “I will be more.”

  Voice imbued by QI echoes across the city. “MARCH ON, MEN! VICTORY IS ON THE HORIZON.”

  The allocation box appeared under my fingers.

  No… I don’t need to tap anymore. I must feel. This is my power. Mine alone.

  105 senses.

  Time slowed. Lifesight showed me my enemies running in their thousands. Blue light flashed in my hand, and I held the Obelisk key high.

  "COME GET ME, YOU FUCKERS."

  Kurt

  “WHAT THE FUCK IS TH- MMMMHMMMM!!!” closed the loud mouth quickly, but even I was feeling unsettled.. What was this innocent-looking ghost on Charles's palm? Dare I say it looked cute? Unknowingly, my index finger went to shake the ghost's hand. Chirping with joy, it danced around, sprinkling light from its little wings.

  “A faerie? I thought there were but myths…” I asked, feeling a smile on my face.

  Yes, that is what the men of the cities call them. But we forest dwellers call them sprites or spirits of nature. They are everywhere and nowhere, existing between worlds and dimensions. Just as priests connect to a higher realm, borrowing a sliver of the holy energy. Summoners learn to tap into the in-between, bringing forth the avatars of nature.

  I knelt closer to the faerie, giving it a small salute. And it gave its own salute back in a fiendish, adorable way.

  June ripped my hand from her mouth. “Awww.” Squealed at cheery June. “But I thought you lot were exterminated!”

  Charles' face fell into sadness; a cold expression looked foreign on him. “Ghouls' existence in this war means we haven’t.” Charles’s sprite hugged his face. “We have been hunted for generations; we can adapt. But these new summoners…” Charles exhaled. “To make it brief, those cursed beasts behind the wall and this little fella are the same.”

  “What?! Because of the curse?” June asked. And Charles nodded.

  Summoners of a certain ilk can… twist a faerie's mind and body. And they can also do the same to souls. They can artificially curse.”

  “So… Mouve. The spiders. The ghouls?”

  “All of it. It's them,” Charles replied. “There is a reason the church butchered my kind. Summoner or Black Shaman, it's all the same to stop a situation like this.”

  “No.” A seeker dropped before us, breathing hard under his black mask. The southern lander braids fell from his hood as he squatted low. “They hunted summoners because they didn’t want any competition. Or that’s what my father always told me.” The mage sheathed their short sword engraved with large runes.

  So if summoners create ghouls. To control them… Memories of puppets hanging from hooks chilled my nerves. “Vel… his golem magic. He had to be involved.”

  Charles grunted in agreement. “It's what Tarion recently supposed.”

  “The duke. What…else does he know?” I asked cautiously.

  “He knew about me from the beginning, so don’t worry. And captured summoner caught working with a wolfburn told him the rest. Unfortunately, the bastard went missing. Mm? Wait…a moment, please.” Charles looked slightly above to the left, whispering with the air, and joy overflowed from his tired face. “A sprite got word that Joshua will be okay!”

  June and the spirit rushed to hug Charles. “Thank the gods, Land Above, thank youuu!”

  “That's not all!” Charles spoke, struggling in June's hold. “Tarion is on his way!”

  The seeker shared a knowing smirk.

  “Wait?” He, or rather she, asked me with a raspy voice.

  “Mm.” If I could fight by his side again, I would wait forever.

  June rubbed the back of the still-healing Charles. “Sorry, mister. You told us your secret for no reason. Wait – why is your arm up?”

  “Because…!” Charles strained, sweating on his wrappings. “I am saving Kurt’s life!”

  I spun on my knees, water wrapped around my dagger. A beast snarled with its open, black jaws spread for a bite.

  “Kill it! I can’t hold it back for long!”

  Tarion

  I turned back at the trail of bodies, barking orders. “Ceta! Rooftops! Bradshaw, perimeter! Shopen's guard knights, keep your metal arses marching!”

  “YES, YOUR GRACE!!”

  Hairs on my back felt the wind in a mana-bladed spear. I vanished before the bandit's eyes, flash-stepping close and destroying a jaw with my greatsword’s pommel. From collarbone to waist, my blade then sliced the fourth circle like melted butter. Parried weapons were as light as toothpicks. A single pulse of qi dislocated the limbs of many and broke the swords of dozens.

  The Shaved gave a bit more of a challenge, surrounding me with heavy weapons. Using teamwork only gained from years of battle. My eyes warmed, and every strike was seen. I parried, swooping my long blade for an upward cut. My blade flew low, intercepting a sneaky strike from behind. Another Shaved's spear lunged at my chest and grazed me as I tilted back. I riposte, stabbing the knee and the sword arm of the sneaky opponent. Pulling the spearman to me, I cut him quickly in the throat, and my greatsword soared again, slicing into the sneaky Shaved’s neck.

  I rested my greatsword on my shoulder and sighed.

  The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  “Come on… There has to be somebody better.”

  ********

  Three heads spun above my blade. Thrusting deep into a Shaved’s body, the crazed man smiled as he held my blade.

  “Idiot.”

  The greatsword dissipated into blue light. Pulling on the fur clothing, a knee exploded a bald head.

  This feels right.

  Leaning away from a sword, a kick to the tibia broke it backward, and bone pierced the hamstring. A backhand from golden knuckle spun a howling head 1080 degrees. Fingers coated in qi caught a mana blade mid-flight. Dragging it to the left, a bandit was left open, and the second circle head bursts in chunks of bone and brain matter from a simple punch to the side of the head. I sucked in air, and a palm strike shoved the dead away.

  Lifesight watched above. Low-circle mages wait when they should flee. They believe I will tire. But sorry, mages, my fury will burn for a long time.

  The air before me hazed like morning fog.

  Shit.

  15 intelligence, 30 senses

  A qi stomp broke the rune spell.

  Third spell…

  Zooming out of view with Qinggong, I grabbed the head of an annoying fly through a wall.

  “PLEASE I-”

  I crushed a skull that smelt putrid.

  “NIKO!!” A female rogue mage rushed out from the roof, hurtling spells. Diverting and parrying with little difficulty, seven fireballs hit the building around me. I held the corpse up. “Looking for someone.” A young man of light Alarian skin tone flopped in my hands. “Here. Catch!” The dead was thrown up, and the third circle mage's heart beat for the last time in my bloody hand. Her naive eyes look at me for mercy. I pulled out a left arm, wet with her blood, and let her heart drop as her friend fell on her.

  “You reek,” I said, expelling the dirt with qi. “You all do!” I yelled and shouted to the rooftops. Impatient, I leapt onto a three-storey building roof in a single bound, landing lightly on the tiles.

  Mm… Finally, they are taking this seriously.

  Sixth and seventh circles. Mages and warriors await me above the city streets. Their skin greyed, and their ears elongated.

  I sighed, shaking my head in disappointment. “Such a waste of talent.”

  “Waste of talent?!” A curse mage dropped down, breaking tiles and shouted at the back. “We were wasted in the towers! Slaves for the kings and priests below to make their little trinkets and armour! We are finally free!”

  An Alarian accent whispered in my ears. “I will take the mages.” Rydel zipped past, silver spear sparkling in the starlight. I smirked, guarding a heavy blade of black mana with golden skin. A left hand bounced the sword away with qi, and golden knuckles jabbed eight times on pressure points. And an axe broke off my qi-imbued leg. Smiling, I grabbed a surprised sixth circle by the jaw, smashing his head on the roof. As the warrior smashed through stories, mana slices of fire carved the air in my direction.

  Wow…

  I stood still, taking the crescent mana head-on.

  “HeheHAHAHA!” My laughter chilled the night air. Ripping off my torn doublet and shirt, red marks healed quickly on my pale, muscular skin.

  I feel like… unstoppable, superhuman!

  I looked up behind the band, cursed warriors. Slowly but surely, I was making my way to the Wolfburn Castle. But trying this new power was too addictive.

  Super… Mmm…

  50 senses. 55 intelligence.

  An idea.

  I softly exhaled. Calm entered my mind as enemies saw an opportunity to strike. A tiny film of qi overlayed on my whole body resonated with a quiet hum in the air.

  Qinggong, throughout my body. I am air!

  An enemy's sword cut a blade of hair as I spun away. Trying to find the ground, my feet floated above the warring factions below. This lightness I felt was different from the breeze that carried me before. Like a lone balloon, floating among the clouds, my body was untethered. Gravity chained me no more.

  I see… As long as it's my body, I can do anything. This is the true potential of cultivation. My universe inside that I can control.

  QI pulsed from my body. Awareness expanded, and I could see the entirety of my body as if from the heavens. I saw every cell working individually to make the whole, dying, healing and replicating to keep me alive. Meridians flushed with qi glowed like Christmas lights, sending qi to a powerful heart that beat with joy. Is this what Yuran saw every day?

  What else can I do?

  “Stand back!” A low-voiced Shaved blasted through a roof to land amongst his comrades. “I will deal with him. His torso was only covered by fur; his antlers were broken in half. Greyskin healed his traumatic injuries from earlier. The Shaved pushed away warriors with mana of black mist. “Head back…”

  Splitting off at his word, his flaring axe came for me faster than his huge body should have allowed. With a flash step to the left, the axe missed, smashing into the building, collapsing it. Debris fired at me, and my jabs turned the spikes of bricks into dust. From the dust cloud, an axe cut horizontally for my stomach. Flight spun me over it. My greatsword flashed into my hands, and a downward slash parried the axe low. Charged with momentum and flight, I thrust at sonic speeds, and my sword found blood in the shoulder. Frantic hands clasped my blade, and I disappeared it, launching a terrifying right hook into the unsuspecting Shaved’s body.

  Vomit and blood trailed droplets as he flew across the city, and my fists followed him. One, two, three, four. My knuckles pommelled the shaved face flat like a front door. Qi rushed to my right fist; golden light illuminated in the dark above the city streets, and my opponent was finally pulled down by gravity.

  I resonated once again, feeling the paranormal field that permeated everything. It pulled. I condensed and condensed, adding more qi to the furnace. A golden right hand illuminated my chin. With the left down low, my body coiled like a spring.

  “Mm.”

  I became a meteor of white light. My right straight ruptured the atmosphere and pierced through the air with lightning speed. Every glass window within a mile shattered from the swell of air. The vacuum closed in, and thunder reverberated across the city like ten sonic booms.

  Standing above the dead, shaved warrior in a crater metres deep, I checked my raw and stinging fist.

  I can go faster.

  “WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT!” said Jimmy, holding my limping uncle while itching his ear. I noticed a crowd of soldiers watching me from the edge of the hole. Qi hummed, and I flew out of the hole, leaving many of the soldiers stunned as I landed on the street like a fairy.

  “Mmm… just experimenting. ”

  “Stop gawking like lovestruck fools. All troops! To the castle we march! I will clear the way!”

  Chest beat in unison. “YES, YOUR GRACE!!”

  Jimmy

  He left, leaving me and the frozen knight in the dust. A phantom of pure speed, the duke soared in the air as if he were born to fly. Even falcons would be envious of his elegance in the skies as he turned on a dime, evading spells like a fly escaped slow hands. defeating hordes of bandits with single strikes.

  “I raised him well, didn’t I…” I glanced to my left, a greystone smiled, leaning on my shoulder.

  I thought for a moment. “Probably. But sometimes he can be dick.”

  “HUH? Was I asking, idiot?”

  “I thought you were, old fart! Oh, do you want people to think you’re forgetting stuff already!”

  After some time

  Tarion

  The sky became a royal purple during our short wait. I sat down, drinking water with fresh clothes nearby. Laughter bounced around the room from very similar men.

  “Then those dirty fucks saw the Commander's blood sword and pissed their breeches! Haha!”

  “They are young.” Uncle Loran said to me as I put on another shirt. “The Shaved spoke of me as if he hadn’t fought in the war, meaning they are inexperienced upstarts.”

  “My generation.” Interject. I guess they wanted to make a name for themselves and found someone like Jianling to give them the courage.”

  “Jianling? Who?” Lord Masse asked. Roughened by the war, I feel pride in his changed demeanour. I will thank him for removing the disturbance from Shopen’s regiment.

  I laughed. “A whole lot of bullshit we will worry about another time.”

  “They should have joined the army young, like I did. The northern war would’ve whipped them into shape.”

  “You were in the northern war, a youngin like you?!” Loran leaned closer to my lieutenant, full of curiosity. “What for!?”

  “Food mostly.” Jimmy bit down on some energy-dense chocolate I gave him and the rest of the troops.

  “What's your name, boy…?” Uncle said in the most respectful way this drunk could.

  “James Tasher. Friends call me Jimmy.”

  And I said, “A lot of people call you Jimmy.”

  “I got a lot of friends. Calm down.”

  “Jimmy…” Loran scratched his beard in thought. “Want to become my squire?”

  Masse's and Jimmy’s jaws drop. And Jim was the first to speak. “Thank you for the gracious offer, but I fear… I am too old!”

  “No,” Uncle shook his head. “It’s just the right time.”

  “Hey, Uncle. He is taken.” I gripped my lieutenant's shoulder. “I have been raising him too long to be snatched by wrinkly hands.”

  Darting eyes went from me to my uncle. “Wow… I can’t choose… and a scary-arse old man or an arrogant boy genius.”

  I pointed at Jimmy. “As your duke, I order you to choose me.”

  “Such abuse of power! I didn't raise you like that!!”

  “Yes, you did!” Chuckling, I came out of a makeshift building our stone-skippers fashioned, facing the renowned white city steps of the Wolfburn castle. I have to admit, the architecture of my new home was splendid. As white as the cliffs of Dover, several towers connected by arching walkways adorn the city like a diamond. I began to understand how the Wolfburn’s ego grew so much.

  A cold cup of brew hit my arm. “Ale?” Rydel offered.

  “When we win,” I said, sipping on water of dilute holy water. Rydel joined me as I watched the castle.

  Now that a temporary base of operations had been built, Rydel updated me on the state of the war. The thousands we lost to the ghouls, the fall of the ghouls and the entrance into the tunnel. The ambush of rogue mages and warriors. A lot had happened. Young officers salute me as they walk to their other duties with eyes beaming with pride. Despite the dust, dirt, muck and blood on the uniform, bottoms are clasped from neck to waist. Camp is kept orderly, and organisation is strict and efficient. Yet I saw not one unmotivated face amongst the many young men. They still believe in the mission and are making sure we complete it no matter the sacrifices. The stone skippers are headstrong, still ready to fight by our side. Moral was good. I couldn't have imagined this when I crashed into the barracks with the cursed bear. That was also the day I first met a man whose talent could soar above mine if only he had guidance.

  Rydel told me the talented man was stuck in the basement with Charles, June and a seeker. How he knew this, I had no clue. From here, I could tell multiple spells were erected to stop regular communication and teleportation from outside the castle. The way to send word would be for Charles-

  Damnit… Charles… I rubbed the sides of my head. You didn’t need to…

  “Please, keep it a secret,” I pleaded with the elf.

  “Of course, customer privacy-”

  “For your sake.”

  “It’s that bad right still…? I thought the church gave up on all that nonsense.” Rydel sought answers in my demeanour.

  “No. They just found fewer targets. You sell to the church; you don’t know?”

  “You know me. I keep my head out – what’s wrong, Your Grace?”

  I covered my nose as a scent so repugnant wafted far and wide. The air shook with vigour, and my hackles stood up as a warning.

  “Boy…” Uncle Loran limped to the doorway. He senses it too.

  “Rydel, it’s time to end this war once and for all. ”

  ****

  Several thousand soldiers followed my flowing cloak-like banner as an orange glow crested the sky, tracing my steps up the stairs to the castle. A person of outrageous power waited at the top with the horde of cursed men.

  “Zhi’s disciple.” Walking down in a long-sleeve black Zhiju, tainted qi deteriorated the stairs. Nevertheless, her qi didn't seem as unstable as the rest of her army. The curse didn’t ‘contaminate’ her; instead, she used it as one would wear clothes or use a hammer. A tool for the situation.

  Sharp, liuen eyes stare intensely with a wicked smile underneath. “You don’t know how long I have been waiting for this moment,” the built woman said in a heavy Liuen accent. “The first time, I was so proud of my strength… Pureness. HA!” On closer inspection, below her dark horse tail hair, marks of intense healing scarred the Liuen cultivator's grey face. “But my lord forgave me! He brought me back from the lower realm to his world, into reality.”

  I stopped on the stairs. “And what world does he want?” My qi settled on my skin

  “A just world! For the strong and able! A return to a golden age of magic and war! Wouldn’t such a world be fantastic? A place to use our powers like gods! To conquer as you like!”

  My right fist to chin and left lowered, I lifted myself with a flight. Qi compounded, squeezing the field around me like spring.

  “Sounds no different from now,” I remarked, gesturing to the banners below.

  “Oh, oh! Zhi chose a very scary man.”

  “Unfortunately, her choices were low because her other students were so untalented. Isn't that right, Jing?”

  Her red eyes narrowed.

  “Zhi told me about some nobody ‘Xiao’ got her head smashed in. However, when we checked for the corpse, it disappeared with the rest of our prisoners. Can I ask? Do you get headaches?”

  A bullet punch intercepted a fast palm strike; stone rippled away like a wave. The Mind stage cultivator’s sleeve tore apart, showing her thick forearms.

  “I WILL KILL YOU!!!”

  Vibration… Intriguing.

  My arm hummed, bouncing her shaking hand away.

  “MEN OF OSBERG. MAKE YOUR LAST STAND.” My fist flew in the liuen’s face, ricocheting the bitch up the stairway “FIGHT FOR YOUR HONOUR. FOR YOUR FAMILIES. FIGHT FOR THE FUTURE.”

  I put a golden fist to the sky.

  “CHARGE!!!”