Chapter 19: Karma Chameleon
While Trevor cooked, Billy looked through his cultivation manual. He could understand what Dilchak was saying. The techniques were part of the whole but what he had missed before was the mana control, meditation and body cleansing exercises that he needed to master first. It would be impossible to understand the whole without understanding each part.
However, sometimes true understanding could only be gained through practice. Instinctively the body cleansing movement technique and the meditation method seemed more familiar to him. The mana control exercises were very different to what he had tried before. And all of these flowed together when developing the techniques.
Something about the defiance technique reminded him of the way he had fought earlier. It would be more precise to say that they made him realize how badly he had fought earlier. These techniques showed where he needed to be – each movement needed to be linked to the flow of mana within his body. Defiance
He started his breathing exercises and centered himself. As he meditated, he reviewed each memory of his attacks, not just his movements but his thoughts and emotions.
He could feel his understanding deepen. As his understanding grew, he made a conscious effort to reach out to the mana around him – not just trying to sense it but to also feel for the mana elements that defined his cultivation style. He sensed currents of air mana but fire mana eluded him. It must be quite thin in this area. Here earth and water would be stronger.
He stood up and told Trevor he would be gone for a while. He crossed the river and headed towards the rat fiend cave. The cave was in a wide clearing and he felt it would be easier there to sense both air and fire mana.
He knelt on the ground with the sun shining on his face. Once he was centered, he soon felt the flows of mana. Here, as he had thought air, earth and light were more prominent but there was also the distinctive feel of fire mana. To his surprise void mana was everywhere – it was thin and wispy and pervaded the whole area. Unlike air and fire, it felt alien and somehow hungry.
Billy was not sure how he was able to differentiate the mana types but it just felt right. Maybe the system was helping him.
Gradually was able to isolate small streams of air and fire but he could not isolate the void mana. It resisted his control. He was not sure what to do next so he let go and opened his eyes.
He remembered from teaching students that sometimes you had to take a different route if what you were doing did not work.
To his surprise, he was awarded with notifications.
He was clearly heading in the right direction. The manual described the process he was trying to achieve as braiding mana. He needed to link together the three different types of mana and then somehow imbue his body with it.
Instead of going back to the meditation he removed his clothes and worked through the body cleansing exercises in the manual. According to the instructions he would need to work through the exercises daily until his body achieved the state called earth purity. This was the basic level of purity needed for efficient mana flow through his meridians.
Even one cycle of the exercises fatigued him. Even before the end of the cycle his legs grew shaky and it was all he could do to complete the cycle. His stamina was barely above zero.
Black beads of sweat had formed on his skin. There was no percentage bar to show him how far he had come. He would just need to repeat the exercises every day until his body reached the desired stage.
He staggered over to the river to cleanse his body before donning his robe and returning to the others.
***
After they had eaten Billy demonstrated his body cleansing technique to the others again. They talked about their different cultivation manuals and foundation. Billy thought that one of the reasons his body cleansing was easier was that he basically had a new body with less impurities. The others had to clean out so many more years of impurity.
It was also likely that the more mana they took in the more impurities would build up. From what he could discern these impurities not only created a weaker body foundation but also hindered the processing of mana within their bodies. Billy thought back to what he had done earlier. Clearly it was more effective to only take in the right mana for their cultivation. Although at their level of experience that would be difficult to do.
They others focused on their cultivation for a while Billy tended to other things around the camp site. There were many chores that needed to be done including collecting fire wood and disposing of the food waste so that they did not attract predators.
Su Li and Yuki were the quickest to reach a breakthrough with their cultivation. Before long they both had managed a successful body cleanse as well as assigning two of their stat points. Trevor was only able to achieve a partial body cleanse but at least he had managed to assign one of his stat points. Billy theorized that as Trevor was older it would take more time for him to cleanse the impurities.
If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.
The girls went to clean away the toxins from their bodies leaving Billy alone with Trevor. He realized that they had not spend much time talking and he knew little about him.
“Hey don’t get frustrated, Trevor,” Billy said. “It’ll come.”
Trevor shook his head. “I am always slow. That is why I failed at medical school. I worked so hard to get there but couldn’t keep up with the workload in the second year.”
“Lorna failed too. Medical school is difficult. It is an achievement to even get in.”
Trevor laughed. “Lorna failed on purpose. She never wanted to be a doctor but her family kept pushing. So, she failed out. Her parents haven’t spoken to her since.”
“We all have our strengths,” Billy said. “Perhaps this is a new opportunity – a way for you to become who you want to be.”
“I am not much of a fighter, Billy. I am so terrified most of the time. I am pretty useless.”
Billy grinned. “No one here is useless. I think you will find you have more worth than you know. The first few times Lorna saved my ass.” He paused for a few moments and added some wood to the fire. “Do you think she will return?”
“She’ll be back. She gets like this. She could have been a doctor or an athlete or whatever she wanted but when people started to expect things from her, she got scared and ran. This time I don’t think she’ll be able to run away so easily.”
“Well, at least she is easier to understand than Su Li.”
This time it was Trevor’s turn to grin. “Su Li is not that difficult for a teenager. She is just learning about herself. Plus, you are like her hero, uncle and teacher all rolled into one.”
“She is definitely handling it better than I would expect. I just wish she would stop teasing me.”
“Think about it, Billy. She must be pretty confused. She is walking for the first time. She is in this alien world. I think the teasing is just her way of handling it – letting off steam. You have your psycho-suicidal rage and she has her teasing.”
“And what do you have?”
“I have my cooking. And if I can get some equipment from Dilchak I might be able to make some potions. Now my skill is at level 4, when I analyse some of these plants I now get information like ‘is usable for healing’ or ‘can be used to strengthen mana’. I think with some experimenting I could make them into potions.”
“That would be cool.”
“Yep! Now get me some more wood. I need to stoke the fire before we head out. And don’t go peeking at the girls. Pervert!”
Billy stood. He was glad to see Trevor showing some sense of humor. “Don’t forget you are up front today. We need to level you and Suki up so you are tanking for her.”
Trevor groaned. “Don’t remind me.”
***
Billy actually felt relaxed as they moved through the outskirts of the swamp. They had decided to test themselves against the snizards and chameleons.
With the focus on Trevor and Yuki Billy was the rear-guard with Su Li ready to lend a helping hand to one side. He did not know how effective Yuki’s staff would be against the more heavily armoured creatures but he felt they would be safe enough. Yuki was quick enough to dodge blows and Trevor had his shield. The biggest danger was getting caught unawares but extra mobs.
The first creature they came across – a level 2 chameleon – was more of a test of endurance. It became a slugfest with Trevor bashing at its snout with his mace and Yuki striking at its legs. Fortunately, their stamina proved sufficient to finish off the creature.
As Billy had anticipated there were only minor injuries to Trevor’s legs and the group were soon ready to continue their hunt. A level 2 creature like this only provided 10XP a piece for Trevor and Yuki. If they wanted to level quicker, they needed to find the higher-level creatures – which meant increasing the risk factor.
They pushed deeper into the territory of the lizards, the numbers and level of creatures growing the further they moved into the deep grasses.
Billy started to feel uneasy. Even with the sun high in the sky, the grass was getting more lush and it was growing more difficult to spot the camouflaged creatures. He knew there was a risk of being overwhelmed by numbers if they were not careful.
They spotted two large beasts with fiery red crests ahead. Billy analysed them.
[Corrupted fire chameleon level 4]
Both were level 4 and were tall enough at the shoulder to reach his chest. The group looked at Billy who nodded. It would be a tough battle for them but he felt they were strong enough now.
This time he signaled to Trevor and stepped alongside him. He motioned to him to go to the left one and hold it at bay while the other three took care of the one on the right.
Billy started running towards his target signaling to the girls to take the flanks. The creature noticed him just as he was closing in and reacted slowly to his attack. His first strike was with the flat of the hammer - he knew from experience that their skin was hard to pierce so he struck at its head hoping to stun its brains. The strike vibrated up his arm but seemed to have little effect on the creature.
Damn, he thought it was tough bugger.
Before the creature could do more than snort Yuki and Su Li launched their attacks. Yuki’s staff struck at the knee of its foreleg causing it do hiss in pain. Su Li’s attack was even more effective as her thrown dagger sank into the chameleon’s eye.
Half-blinded and still surprised by the attack the chameleon lunged at Billy which he easily side-stepped. He back-stepped slowly pulling it away from the other chameleon which was now frenzily batting at Trevor’s shield. Every time the creature swung at Trevor he hit it with the mace. Not trying to do much damage but merely holding its attention.
Now that their targeted chameleon was disadvantaged, Yuki really went to town. Her blows hit harder and faster until with a loud snap the creature’s leg gave way.
Billy left the creature to the two girls to finish off and went to help Trevor who was starting to struggle. Obviously, it took a lot of stamina to hold off the powerful creatures and Trevor was stumbling away from every attack. Billy took a page from Su Li’s book and swung with the bear of his war-hammer at the creature’s eye. The creature moved its head in time so that the blow only struck the orbital ridge.
Still, it was a more significant blow and blood oozed from the gash temporarily hindering the creature’s eyesight. He definitely had the chameleon’s attention. Billy danced away from another lunging attack. He may not have a lot of agility but the creature was slow and predictable. Or so he thought. A fire ball flew from the creature’s mouth and would have hit him in the chest if Trevor had not put his shield in the way.
“Gotta watch for those!”
Billy grunted. He had become complacent again. He danced to the side of the beast making sure he was not in direct line of fire and rained blows on the chameleon’s skull. The creature turned as it tried to follow its movements but its size was a hindrance in such a battle.
Billy knew he could finish the battle quickly but he wanted Suki or Trevor to land the final blow to maximize their XP contribution.
Soon enough the girls joined him and eventually it was Trevor who landed the killing blow - now he had regained some stamina. His mace split open the chameleon’s head putting an end to the battle.
Billy had taken only 20XP from the battle but he knew that Suki and Trevor would get twice as much pushing them closer to the next level.
They all sank to the floor. Amazingly none of them were injured but they were all low on stamina. Trevor in particular was gasping for breath. A quiet rustling close by made Billy lift his head.
“Shit!” he said as he saw a wave in the long grass headed towards them.
