The next morning, I woke to the sound of a shrieking alarm. I rolled over and swatted at the clock, groaning as I did. I’d never had such a vivid dream before; everything had felt completely real. I stretched and rolled to my feet, opening my eyes and jumping in surprise as I saw Skye standing before me. No, I quickly realized, not Skye…

“I’m sorry, but it wasn’t a dream, John,” Sara said apologetically. “I just thought you’d rather wake up to an alarm than a bucket of water.”

I grunted and plopped back down on the thin mat I’d been sleeping on. I didn’t feel as sore this morning; in fact, I didn’t feel sore at all. After yesterday, I should have been basically incapacitated. I supposed whatever was in that restoration pill had really worked.

“How are we doing on figuring out this world, Sara?” I asked silently.

“Here, take a look.”

Doorworld: Kuan Yang

Magic Rating: 30-40

Tech Rating: 20-30

Bio Rating: 50-60

Estimated time for full analysis: 2:04:37

“Looks like you narrowed down the ratings a bit. What do those ranges mean?”

“Well, fifty is an average score for any rating,” she replied. “Assuming those numbers meet exactly in the middle – it’s not likely, but they’ll probably be close – this world will have low-to-moderate magic, low tech, and moderate to high biodiversity.”

I frowned at her words. “I’m sorry, but that isn’t telling me much, Sara. I have no real basis for comparison.”

“Well, a thirty-five magic rating means magic exists in this world, and most people can use it, but it’s not all that powerful. People could do small things with it, but only an exceptional few could use it in any significant way.

“A twenty-five tech rating is about equivalent to the late Bronze to early Iron Age, using Earth standards. Steel won’t exist, and neither will most types of metallurgy. There’s no such thing as steam power, electrical power, or even water or wind-powered machines for the most part. Everything will be manually powered, and complex machines might not function correctly.

“And a fifty-five bio rating means the world has a lot of diversity. There’ll be more types of animals than you’re used to seeing, they’ll be larger, and there will probably be at least three to four sapient races on this world, minimum.”

I considered what she was telling me and decided it tracked with what I’d seen so far. There was definitely magic in this world, and it seemed to be something that everyone could use, but I’d only seen it used to make a person faster and stronger – or that one time when Jing healed me. That probably meant that most people couldn’t do much beyond improving themselves with the world’s magic, and even then, there’d probably be a hard limit how far they could advance that way. I hadn’t seen any technology more advanced than the well pump, which was probably just a piston and a lever, although this lab smacked of science and chemistry.

“It’s probably an alchemy lab,” Sara corrected. “That’s different from chemistry.”

“How? I know people tried to use it to turn metal into gold on Earth, but that was mostly through chemistry, and it never worked.”

“Alchemy is like distilling magic into solid form,” Sara explained. “That pill you took last night was probably alchemical. It contained a sort of spell that healed your body while you slept. I’d guess that someone in the family uses this lab to make more things like that.”

Well, that sounded like a useful skill. I kind of wanted to learn it, to be honest. If I ever made it back to Earth with magic healing pills, I could do things like cure cancer or heart disease with a single pill. And since I was the only person on Earth who could make them…

“Sorry, John, but I doubt that would work,” Sara interrupted. “From what you said, it sounds like Earth is a very low magic world. If that’s the case, alchemy won’t work there. Any pills you bring back will be powerless.”

Well, there went my dreams of finding a new career curing cancer. I shook my head; it didn’t matter. I had to survive here if I ever wanted to get back there, and survival here meant learning more about this world, including whatever passed for magic on it. It also meant learning whatever Jing’s father had to teach.

The problem was, I had no idea what I was even supposed to be learning. I’d never really had trouble picking up new things before. That was something of a requirement for my former line of work, in fact. The easiest way to execute someone was to learn about them, and the simplest way to do that was to get close to them in a way that no one would suspect. I spoke several languages fluently and could get by in a few others. I knew a dozen different trades, from electrician to plumber to server, and I could speak intelligently on subjects as diverse as archaeology, zoology, and chemistry. My knowledge was oddly specific, though, because I’d only ever learned enough to play the role I needed to get to my mark.

In each case, I’d set a specific goal and learned just enough to achieve that goal. Did I need to play the part of an elevator repairman in order to rig the mark’s private elevator with a carbon monoxide canister that would kill him on the way to the penthouse suite, then dissipate quickly once the doors opened? I learned all about elevator control panels but had no idea how to access or repair their shafts or motors. Did I want to become a bartender to poison a drink? I learned how to mix the most commonly ordered drinks and didn’t bother to memorize more exotic ones or how to make them perfectly each time. Good enough was good enough.

It occurred to me that, really, that was all I needed to do in that new world, too. I didn’t have to master the complexities of the world. I needed to learn just enough to do my job and nothing more. I’d probably need to figure out how to perform the superhuman feats that Jing and her father could, but I didn’t need to understand all the theories behind it, or the history of the world, or whatever. I just needed to know how to make it work. Anything else was a waste of my time; once this job was complete, and I left this world, none of that extra stuff would matter. All that was important was getting the job done.

Jing fetched me and brought me back to her father, and this time, I managed to avoid falling into the marshy field. I settled myself down once more and did the breathing exercises he’d taught me, but this time, I actually tuned him out as best as I could. He was talking about the Heavenly Path, but he wasn’t giving me any useful information about it. As he droned on about things like the first practitioners and the true strength of the spirit, I breathed and tried to remember everything anyone had said about this Path and how it worked.

Jing had talked about meridians, as had her father and sister, so I knew those were important. Apparently, mine were clogged, meaning normally something flowed through them. The younger sister and her father had also mentioned something called a dantian. The old man told me mine was empty, and the girl had said it was supposed to be full. Putting those together, I assumed that somehow, energy was supposed to flow through my meridians into my dantian, whatever that was. The old man had also talked about the world’s corruption and instructed me to imagine it flowing out of me with every breath. If my meridians were clogged, it made sense that this corruption would be the thing clogging them.

So, in essence, I needed to open these meridian things by getting rid of the corruption in my body; once I did, energy would flow into my dantian, and I would be able to use it to do the amazing things Jing and her father could. That seemed straightforward enough. I still didn’t know where my meridians or dantian were in my body, but that gave me a solid direction. I had to locate the things so I could clean them out.

I took a deep breath, and this time, I imagined my body filled a network of channels, spiderwebbing through me from the tips of my toes to the top of my head. I had no idea if that image was remotely correct, but it was a starting point, and until I knew better, one image seemed as good as another. I pictured the tiny channels being filled with a thick, oily sludge like tar, something that would flow under pressure but would move only stubbornly. As I breathed in, I envisioned the air bubbling through the heavy sludge, loosening it and building pressure behind it. When I breathed out, I could almost see the sludge flowing reluctantly toward my lungs, turning to vapor, and drifting out of me.

Fortunately, I had a fairly well-developed imagination. Again, that was a necessity of my former career. With each new job, I had to create an entire persona and become that person as fully as possible. That included making up enough of a back story to be able to participate in brief conversations; no one talked exclusively about their work, after all. I hadn’t done that in this new world, either, but that could wait. For the moment, no one seemed interested in talking to me about anything except this Heavenly Path thing, anyway, so there was no point in making up fake life experiences until I needed them.

The point was, I was used to throwing myself into a totally fictitious image and seeing it as real. After all, you’re only lying if you don’t believe in what you’re saying. The more completely I could imagine the person I was pretending to be, the harder it was for anyone to notice any discrepancies, and the more likely I would be to pass any sort of test required of me. I’d faced more than my fair share of polygraph machines over the years, and I’d beaten most of them.

I focused on my imaginary construct, breathing in and out, until a black screen flashed into my vision.

Partial Adaptation!

You have begun to adapt to the Doorworld of Kuan Yang!

Adaptation Level: 25%

Bonus: +1 to Physical Stats

Instantly, I felt new energy pulse through my body as I regained a bit of my former strength and speed. It was an odd feeling, like I had spiders crawling along my nerves, and my muscles and bones throbbed uncomfortably for several seconds. My muscles thickened visibly, and I could sense the improved dexterity and agility in my body as my jangling nerves quieted down. I suppressed a grin of triumph; apparently, I was on the right path, or at least wasn’t on the absolute wrong one.

I had no idea how long I kept up my breathing, but the sun was above the mountains when the old man finally roused me. “That was far less disappointing than yesterday’s efforts,” he told me as he rose smoothly to his feet, and I did the same much less awkwardly than I had the day before. “Today, it occurs to me that I would like a stone wall built around the well below us. You will carry stones from the next hill and build a wall around the well as thick as your foot is long and as high as your waist.”

“Yes, teacher,” I replied, bowing my head slightly as I did. If I was going to fit into this world, I needed to stop acting like John Gilliam, earthling, and start acting like I’d seen Jing and her sister behave. The old man’s eyes reflected his approval, and he vanished down the hill, leaving me to my efforts.

Building the wall was simply a matter of time and effort. The stones at the top of the next hill were about the size of large bricks but were more solid and dense, and I crushed my fingers with them more times than I could count as I labored. I did my best to keep the image of that network of filth-filled channels in my mind as I worked, though, and while focusing on that image didn’t make the work any easier, it certainly helped take my mind off my throbbing hands and aching muscles. At least, it took the worst edge off; my body was still aching and sore by the time I crossed the paddy for the same lunch as yesterday.

Once again, I was accosted by Jing’s sister, who seemed fascinated with me for some reason. “I’m sorry, little one,” I said as she plopped down beside me. “I’ve forgotten your name.”

“I am called Jia,” she said brightly. “I have not yet earned a true name, but one day I will. Have you?”

I opened my mouth, about to give her my actual name, when it occurred to me that this was the perfect chance to start building my persona for this world. “I am known as the Snake,” I told her with a smile.

She looked thoughtful. “I have never heard of that name,” she admitted. “What does it mean?”

“A snake is an animal – a beast,” I corrected, remembering that was what they called all animals and monsters on this world, “that is known for being swift and deadly. They’re often venomous, so a single bite from one can kill.”

She looked me up and down critically. “You do not seem to live up to your name, strange one,” she observed. “You are not fast, and I doubt you could hit even a student like Jing.”

“Well, where I came from, I was considered fast and deadly,” I shrugged. “Once I learn what your father’s trying to teach me, I hope I’ll become so once again.”

“If you say so,” she said dismissively. “Where do you come from?”

“A city, one that’s far from here. It’s filled with buildings taller than the eye can see, and there are so many people there, you can’t go anywhere without running into them.”

The girl shuddered. “That sounds awful,” she declared. “I can see why you ran away. Did you come here to learn?”

“That’s part of it, yes.” I looked at her, seeing a possible opportunity. “You know, Jing and your father both talk a lot about meridians and the dantian, but they’ve never said where they are. Do you know?”

“I know that there are lots of meridians scattered throughout your body,” she shrugged. “Father says they are like rivers of energy, linking your body to your dantian. He has not told me where they are yet, though, or how to access them. Jing has mentioned that there is a right order to it, but I do not know what that is.”

I mentally revised the image I had in my head. If the meridians were like rivers, then my spiderweb channels were clearly wrong. I shifted the image to one where flowing lines of oily gunk reached from my heart out into the rest of my body, connecting to my hands, feet, groin, and head. I didn’t know if the image was any better than the last one, since I didn’t know where my dantian was supposed to be, but it at least looked more like what Jia was describing.

Soon enough, her father sent me back to the hill to remove the wall around the well, replacing the stones where I’d gotten them. I’d expected that after yesterday, of course, so I simply agreed and went back across the paddy and set to work. Carrying the stones back up the hill was much harder than bringing them down had been, and while my hands weren’t as sore as they’d been after digging, my legs, arms, and back throbbed painfully once I was done. This time, I didn’t lay down – I didn’t want another repeat of the previous day’s agonizing spasms. Instead, I sat back in the lotus position and practiced my breathing again, picturing the lines of sludge flowing through my body and evaporating out my lungs. I kept at it until Jing came to fetch me, rejuvenating me once more so that I could make it across the wooden walkways without plummeting into the swamp below. I ate another meal of vegetable soup and thick bread, washing down one of the old man’s bitter, herbal pills before dropping off to sleep.

The next morning, rather than practice my breathing, I decided to do some of my old martial arts techniques, starting with Krav Maga. Unlike many older, more traditional forms, Krav Maga didn’t have specific drills like katas. Instead, I ran through several Retzev drills, movement techniques that just focused on constant attacks and defenses. I started slowly, learning how my new body worked and teaching my new muscles the various movements, then sped up gradually until I was going about two-thirds of my former full speed. That wasn’t bad, but from what I’d seen of this world, I’d need to be a lot better.

As I sat down with the old man to practice my breathing, Sara appeared, standing behind my instructor’s seated figure.

“I’ve learned a bit more about this world, John,” she told me, her voice perfectly clear to me but not seeming to disturb the old man’s words about the origin of the Heavenly Path and the first immortals, whatever those were. “Enough, at least, that I have a suggestion for you to help with your practice. Instead of what you’re doing, try to imagine lines like these.”

Instantly, colored lines lit up across her body, eight of them in total. One started at her crotch and wound up between her breasts to the center of her forehead; another traced a similar path starting between her thighs and running along her spine to the back of her head. A pair ran from her heels to her eyes, one along the back of her left shoulder, the other up the front of her right side. A fifth connected her navel to her mouth, while a sixth wrapped around her waist, joining her stomach and spine. The last two started in her knees, one winding up the back of her right side to her ear, the other spanning the front left side of her body and touching the top of her head.

“I’m fairly certain these are your meridians,” she told me. “At least, the probability of my being correct is around 76%, by my calculations. You might want to copy these for your practice, instead of what you’re doing.”

I examined her construct a bit critically. Jia had said that the meridians emptied into a person’s dantian, and these meridians didn’t really seem to connect to any one place – although each of them did pass through the single line that wrapped around her waist. I supposed that line might connect to something behind her navel or in front of her spine…in fact, it was possible that all of those lines actually went into her, connecting to each other and forming a single, continuous loop that joined in the middle. It took me ten minutes to copy what she’d done and add the extra connections I was imagining, and when I was done, the image I was holding felt – correct. I didn’t know why, but I could sense that this was a lot closer to what I was supposed to be doing.

I kept up my practice until the old man assigned me another pointless chore. This time, I had to carry buckets of water across the paddy to fill a basin inside the stone outbuilding I’d noticed before. That building turned out to be some kind of smithy or forge, although it looked pretty crude compared to the one I’d seen back on Earth when I’d had to infiltrate one of those Renaissance Fairs for a mission. The mark there had been a frequent visitor of the fair who liked to watch the various demonstrations and considered himself an expert in medieval combat. In reality, he was a serial rapist whose ties to organized crime protected him from retribution and ensured that he won every battle he fought. Those connections hadn’t helped him much against the tiny explosive charge I’d rigged into his steel armor and set off in the middle of one of those mock fights. That execution had been written off as an accident, a failure in the armor that drove steel fragments into his heart, but I was certain that his less savory compatriots suspected he’d been assassinated.

As I worked, a strange feeling crept over me, one that I recognized from Earth. My constant practice scanning my surroundings had given me a kind of intuition when I was being watched, even when I hadn’t noticed anyone paying attention to me. My brain just seemed to pick up tiny clues that my eyes saw but didn’t actively register, and I’d learned long ago to trust that feeling. It started as a tingling in the base of my neck that moved down into my shoulders and filled me with nervous energy. The longer I worked, the more acutely I felt that sensation, until my neck and shoulders practically throbbed with it. I scanned my surroundings as surreptitiously as I could as I pumped water, but I didn’t spot anything untoward.

As I trudged up the hill, carrying my bucket, the feeling in my shoulders suddenly pulsed, as if solidifying somehow, and I spun quickly, my eyes picking apart every detail they could. A scream echoed across the hilltops, and a figure emerged from the next hilltop, staring down at me. The creature looked like a cross between a gorilla and a tiger; it stood upright, with short legs and long, powerful-looking arms. Its fur was brightly striped, and its hands ended in long, vicious claws. It opened its feline muzzle and roared at me, showing a mouthful of white, sharp teeth before it dug its claws into the earth and plunged down the hill…

Directly toward me.