Gleam [Karma Cultivator Isekai]
Chapter 53: Little birdie

A cultivator carried Yeo back up to their room, resting him in his chair. After assuring Chance and Bella that the boy would be safe and instructing them not to bother him until he woke up, he slipped away.

Several more fights came and went, but even though it was getting closer to the end of the tournament, they all felt flat compared to what had gone down between Yeo and Jake. Chance’s contemplation of his fighting style had come to a complete halt for the first time in the tournament at the revelation that Yeo and Jake were related, not to mention what they’d learned about his father.

Bella’s expression had been unreadable ever since Jake had revealed his relationship to Yeo. She just sat, her hands pressed against the armrests of her chair, and watched the fights go by.

If the cultivator hadn’t told them not to wake Yeo, Chance would have already shook his teammate awake to bombard him with questions. Instead, he took control of his emotions and sighed.

If Yeo didn’t want to talk about it, then he didn’t have to. And Bella clearly didn’t want to address it either, so all he could do for the time being was leave the subject to lie until Yeo woke up.

Nearly thirty minutes passed before their window slid open again and Analise’s voice echoed through the colosseum.

“Ninety-four, fifty-two. You’re up!”

Bella practically leapt from her chair as she darted to head down to the arena floor. She hopped off the golden pathway near the bottom, shaking her arms off to get the blood flowing. Her opponent was a lanky boy carrying a wicked looking polearm, its smooth bronze surface covered with flowing engravings.

He raised the weapon in slight acknowledgement, then lowered into a fighting stance. Bella did the same. Above them Analise was still going off on a tangent about some shop that had sponsored the tournament, but she soon came to a conclusion and started the fight.

Ice wound around Bella, covering her body in a thin, translucent layer of protection. It seeped into the ground, expanding in a small ring around her. Her opponent waited, watching her evenly until the ice had finished its expansion.

“Are your preparations done?” he asked.

“Yes, but that doesn’t seem like the kind of thing you should be waiting for in a fight,” Bella said, an icy axe materializing in her hands.

“A fight is not worth my time if it is not fought when you are at your best,” the boy replied. He lowered his spear. Then he vanished.

A clean ringing note rang out through the arena as the polearm scraped across Bella’s armor. The lanky boy had appeared behind her and attacked with such speed that Chance hadn’t even seen him move.

He squinted, watching the fight closer as it started in earnest. The boy kept at a distance from Bella, sending glancing blows toward her whenever an opening arose. In a way, it resembled Yeo’s fight with Jake.

Bella was far slower than he was, but the boy’s attacks did little to scratch her defenses. She’d still yet to land a single attack on him, and he didn’t look to be getting tired. Still, as far as Chance could tell, the boy didn’t have anything special in the way of defense.

One slip up was all that Bella needed to take the lead and the match. Despite that, though, Chance couldn’t shake the feeling that she was the one at the disadvantage. It went against everything he could see, but that didn’t change his gut feeling.

He watched closer as the boy twirled, spinning his polearm overhead and bringing it down on Bella’s shoulder as he slipped past a blow. It rang out against the ice, once more failing to do any damage.

Chance paused. The note the weapon made almost sounded melodic. He listened closer, tuning out the rest of the arena as best as he could. That didn’t help enough, so he closed his eyes as well to focus on listening.

The constant strikes the boy was hitting Bella with weren’t just random. They sounded beautiful, but moreso together than alone. He was playing music. Chance’s eyes snapped back open, but he was able to keep the tune in his head now that he was aware of it.

The harmonious strikes seemed to set a beat, and Bella’s opponent was dancing to it. He flowed from one movement to the next effortlessly, often moving so quickly that Chance lost track of him. It wasn’t that he was playing with her – this was just how he fought.

Chance focused on his movements when they were slow enough for him to pick up, trying to see what he was doing. But, to his surprise, they didn’t seem to be anything special. They were just steps like any other. It didn’t look like he was using any techniques either. That only left a single explanation that he was aware of.

He’s merged his fighting style with his Essence, just like how Lucy wanted to.

“You are an apt warrior,” the boy said, leaning back to avoid Bella’s axe as it whistled over his head. “Would you tell me your name?”

“Bella.” A spike of ice shot out from the ground, but the boy was already gone. His polearm rang off her arm and ice reached out to grab it, but he’d moved once more.

“This is fun, Bella. I am Wren.”

Bella dropped her axe as Wren’s polearm shot for her chest. She let it strike, then grabbed it with both hands. Ice crept over the handle, reaching for Wren’s hands. He grinned and, abruptly, the ice shattered. He bounced back as Bella’s armor reformed, surprise washing over her face.

“So are you,” Bella said. “I’ve never fought someone that fights like this.”

“Ah. I have fought many that fight similar to you, though,” Wren said. “Though none quite the same. Nobody is.”

He bounded forward and brought the polearm down on Bella’s shoulder, much like he had several times before. This time, however, a deep, chiming note rang out. Cracks spiderwebbed through her armor and it shattered, raining down around her.

Wren thrust the polearm toward Bella’s chest. It struck home – and slammed to a halt, unable to penetrate her skin. Bella whacked the weapon out of the way and slipped forward, shooting her leg between Wren’s in a remarkably similar move to what Chance had used on her, then threw him to the ground.

He wound around Bella like a snake, slithering free of her grip and slipping out of the ice that threatened to cover him. He skipped back a step and inclined his head as Bella rose, irritation clear in her features.

“Clever move,” Wren said. “Same style as that swordwhip user. You know him?”

“Yeah. I stole the move,” Bella admitted, a note of respect in her voice. “How are you so slippery? Is it your Essence?”

“Not in the way you think,” Wren replied. “But your Essence is not so plain either, is it? My Essence is that of the Endless Dance.”

“I’ve never heard of it,” Bella said. “But I’ll be looking into it once this is done. Since you’re being so frank, I’ll do the same. I cultivate the Essence of Preservation.”

“Did anyone ever tell you that ice doesn’t really preserve things? Salt might have been better,” Wren said, giving her a wry smile.

Bella snorted. “Yeah. I know. Let’s end this. I’ve got one trick left. If it doesn’t get you, I’m smart enough to know that I’ve been beaten. You’re holding back, and I still haven’t landed a single meaningful blow on you.”

“Very well. I welcome it,” Wren said, spinning his polearm once more. “Come.”

She did.

Wisps of white energy curled around Bella, gathering around her body and trailing along the ground. Wherever her energy touched, claws of frost traced across the ground and turned it white.

The energy spread rapidly, reaching Wren far before she did. His eyes widened in surprise as it coiled up his feet, covering his legs in frost and locking him in place. Then a smile crossed his face, and he leveled his spear to meet her charge.

It slammed into Bella’s chest, but she didn’t stop. With a loud crack, her fist caught the boy across the chin and snapped his head back. Wren leaned back, his legs still frozen in place, then slowly lifted himself back to a standing position.

Chance drew a sharp breath. The noise hadn’t been from Bella’s punch. It had been from her chest. Wren’s spear was lodged firmly below her right breast, its point buried deep. He’d broken through her defenses.

“Legs or not, my dance cannot be stopped,” Wren said. “You were a worthy opponent. If you synchronized better with your Essence, you would have defeated me.”

“I didn’t though, did I?” Bella asked with a laugh, allowing the ice to pull back. “I surrender.”

Wren pulled the spear from her chest with a gentle flick of his hand as cultivators jumped down, offering both of them a healing pill. They started to return to their rooms, but one of the men put a hand on Wren’s shoulder to stop him. While they spoke, Bella stepped back through the window.

“That was still really impressive,” Chance said optimistically. “He fights…”

“Beautifully,” Bella finished, smiling at him as she sat down. “Don’t worry. I’m not disappointed. Really, if I don’t count the cheat that Vex gave me, I’ve got no more cultivating than you do. I’m proud to have gotten this far.”

“You should be,” Chance said. He threw a glance down at Wren, who still stood in the arena. “I’d love to fight him. I think he’s got what I’m missing.”

“Ninety-three, please head down to the stage! You will be fighting fifty-two,” Analise called.

Chance blinked. Bella let out a snort of laughter.

“Looks like you got lucky.”

“Always,” Chance replied, a tingle of excitement running through his body as he hopped over the edge of the window and descended the glowing bridge.

“Ah. Just the person I was speaking of a few moments ago,” Wren said as Chance stepped to the arena floor across from him. “I was hoping we would both make it far enough to run into each other. I am lucky. I am curious as to what your Essence is. You’ve gotten so far using just physical techniques.”

Chance chuckled. “Not on purpose. I’ve been trying to figure out my fighting style, and I think you’ve given me the inspiration I needed. If anything, I should thank you.”

“You are training at a tournament?” Wren’s eyebrows rose. “I am negligent in my studies, but to hear that I have helped another pleases me. You have perfected your style, then?”

“Nothing even close to that,” Chance said quickly. Above them, Analise started rambling again. “I just have an idea of what might work. I hope our fight is enjoyable for both of us.”

“Likewise,” Wren said. “Shall we begin?”

Chance glanced up at Analise. “She hasn’t started the match.”

“Do we need permission?” Wren asked, flashing a gleaming grin at Chance. “Look. She’s not even listening to us talking, but the arena hears.”

It was a pointless move, saving a few moments and possibly annoying the tournament organizers. Analise was currently in the middle of yet another advertisement, and they probably wouldn’t have looked very positively on interruptions.

“Let’s do it,” Chance said, drawing his urumi. “Ready?”

“A warrior is always prepared.”

They dashed at each other, and the arena cheered, cutting off Analise’s speech. She sputtered for a few moments, trying to get control back over them before giving up and just narrating the fight.

Wren’s fighting style was nothing like what he had used against Bella. He shifted his polearm to match Chance’s twirling urumi strikes with swift flicks, moving quickly to avoid getting entangled by the blade.

He didn’t use anywhere near the amount of speed that he had against Bella, and he didn’t even attempt to attack. The boy just matched every move, knocking it away and forcing Chance to keep moving to maintain distance.

Wren wasn’t even attacking him. He simply danced through the flurry of unpredictable blows and movements, grinning the entire time. Chance quickly realized why. Wren was trying to help him train.

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