“Again!” Wim shouted as I hit the ground. I rolled to my feet, groaning and clutching my ribs where Jing’s foot had caught me. I’d seen the kick coming, but I hadn’t been able to shift my block fast enough to intercept it. Now, I’d have another fun bruise to match the twenty or so I’d already gotten from today’s sparring session.

Two weeks had passed since I’d been roused from my morning meditation to find Sara standing before me, smiling happily.

“I’ve finished, John,” she’d told me excitedly.

“Finished?” I’d thought back at her.

“Yes. I’ve finished my analysis of this world. Doing that has given me a lot of insight into what you’re doing, how you’re doing it wrong, and how we can make it better. Plus, I can finally analyze the people and beasts you see based on their qi absorption and projection levels. It won’t be perfectly accurate, but I can give you an idea of how strong someone or something is!”

“That does sound useful,” I’d admitted.

“I think it will be. Oh, and I’ve worked out a few possible professions you can shoot for and how to qualify for them.”

“Okay. Show me what you’ve got.”

The black box that had appeared next was more detailed than any I’d seen before.

Doorworld: Kuan Yang

Magic Rating: 36

Tech Rating: 24

Bio Rating: 50

Analyses:

Magic – Magic in this world is expressed in two ways: qi and alchemy. Qi can be channeled internally to empower stats or externally to fuel spells called ‘techniques’. Spells will never be stronger than ‘standard’ class, no matter the source.

tech – Technology in this world is limited to biologically or mechanically powered simple machines. Metal alloys more complex than bronze or brass will decay swiftly, and attempts to power machines with wind, steam, or water will destroy the machine. Only simple combustion occurs.

Biology – Life in this world is diverse but dangerous. All living things naturally channel qi and can express it through higher-than-normal stats or special abilities. predators are more numerous on this world than most, and the longer a beast lives, the more powerful and aware it becomes as it absorbs and refines qi.

Suggested professions:

Celestial Fist

Rare

A warrior that focuses on combining celestial qi and unarmed attacks to great effect. Lacks the various techniques of other practitioners but has stronger qi and higher stats in return.

Celestial Guardian

Extraordinary

A hybrid profession that combines fighting skill with celestial qi-powered techniques and abilities. Not as strong with techniques or stats as specialist practitioners but more flexible overall.

Celestial Shaman

Rare

A profession that focuses less on martial combat and more on using techniques and abilities powered by celestial qi. Lacks pure fighting strength of other professions but gains more and more powerful techniques.

I’d read through the screen carefully. “Are those all the professions I can get?”

“Not remotely. However, those professions are tied to celestial qi, and being able to use that is rare on this world, so I thought you might want to capitalize on that. I also left off various crafting or scholarly professions, since I didn’t think you’d want those.”

“Maybe not right away, but eventually, I might. I have a job to do, and I can’t do it from this farm. Having a profession that doesn’t involve fighting will let me blend in once I figure out where I have to go from here.”

“That’s a good point. I might suggest alchemy, if you can convince Wader-in-the-Morning-Water to teach you. It’s an unusual profession, so it shouldn’t be too hard to level.”

“That reminds me. You never explained what the difference between a common and a rare profession is.”

“Oh, that’s right, we got interrupted by those birds. Well, obviously, a rare profession is more rarely taken than a common one.”

I’d rolled my eyes at that point. “Seriously? It isn’t, say, more powerful?”

She’d laughed. “Yes, generally, someone with a rarer profession will be stronger than someone with a more common one. However, it’s easier to advance in a common profession, as well. Someone could rise to the heights of a common profession while another person was in the middle ranks of a rare one. Even so, the person with the rare profession is probably more dangerous and powerful, overall.”

“Is that what my level is? How advanced I am in my profession?”

“Yes, although I have to remind you, most people don’t think of themselves as having levels. A lifelong career soldier might think of themselves by rank, or by years of service; they won’t say, ‘I’m a level 18 Soldier’.”

“So, the levels are just something you’re doing for me?”

“Exactly. That’s why I couldn’t offer you certain professions until I’d come to understand this world. They’re my estimation of how advanced you are in a profession, compared to someone who’s an expert at it.”

“Why is it harder to advance in a rare profession, though? Alchemy, for example; it should be easy enough to advance by making stuff, right?”

“To a certain point, but to really grow as an alchemist, you have to learn new recipes, experiment to rare materials, and try things that are beyond your grasp. Gaining those recipes and materials is hard; experimenting is dangerous; mastering more advanced formulae takes lots more time and practice than, say, getting better at shooting a bow.

“As a celestial fist, for example, you can’t just advance by fighting. You have to fight things that are stronger than you, use your qi in new ways, and get better at drawing, refining, and cycling it. It’s not as easy as being a pugilist, where you get better by punching things and not dying.”

“That makes sense.” I’d looked over the choices. “I like celestial guardian, personally.”

“I should warn you, while that’s a rarer class than celestial fist or shaman, it’s a jack-of-all-trades, master-of-none situation. You won’t be as good a fighter as you could be, or use as powerful techniques as you might.”

“Sara, I’m hoping not to be in this world long enough to reach those highest levels of power,” I’d reminded her. “That profession will give me the most options, and until we know what’s going on in this world that I have to fix, options are a good thing, right? The less I limit myself, the more likely that I’ll be able to deal with whatever I have to when the time comes.”

“Very true. Well, to become a celestial guardian, you’ll need to bring two mental and two physical stats to at least thirteen, be an adept at unarmed combat, and learn three techniques using celestial qi.”

I’d stared at her for a bit. “That…seems like a lot, Sara.”

“Well, it is an extraordinary profession. There’s a reason that so few people follow it. However, I can help you with the techniques.”

“You can?”

She’d nodded. “I can extrapolate ways to project your qi using the techniques I’ve seen Jing and Wader-in-the-Morning-Waters employ. I’ve already taken note of seven separate techniques, and I should be able to work out four of them over the next few days.”

“And for the rest? My stats and skills?”

“There’s only one way to improve those, John. Train. Train as hard as you can, whenever you can.”

I’d taken her advice and thrown myself into my training. The old man got me into a routine: I started each morning with meditation, practicing absorbing and cycling qi, then spent the day in physical exercise of some sort. The afternoon, I either practiced my martial arts or sparred with Jing, then at night I refined whatever qi had gotten into my dantian during the day.

The routine sucked, but I couldn’t complain about the results. The physical training Wim made me do improved my Prowess and Vigor, the martial arts training helped my Celerity and Skill, and my meditation boosted my Reason and Intuition. I worked to train my Perception on my own; I’d long ago developed games and techniques designed to sharpen my powers of observation and memory for details. Sure, playing ‘How Many Hats’ – where I walked into a room, glanced around, then tried to remember who was wearing a hat and what kind they wore – that didn’t work anymore, but ‘How Many Rocks’ certainly did, as did, ‘Where are the Clouds’ and ‘What Trees did I See’.

Of all my training, my sparring sessions with Jing were the worst. She’d grown up practicing daily, and she knew how to use her qi to power abilities and techniques. Technically, I did, too, since Sara had taught me the requisite four techniques using celestial qi.

Technique: Moonlight on the Water

Defensive Technique

Create a soft shield of celestial qi that distorts your appearance and causes attacks to deflect from you. Techniques that pierce or ignore shielding are half as effective against this technique.

Cost: 15 qi per second

Technique: Sun’s Scorching Ray

Offensive technique

Create a beam of celestial qi that attacks any creature within ten paces. Shielding and armor are half as effective at defending against this technique.

Cost: 10 qi

Technique: Flesh of the Stars

Healing Technique

Suffuse your flesh with celestial qi to rapidly accelerate healing. Also works against poisons and diseases. Can be used to heal another through touch, although this healing is temporary.

Cost: 10 qi per second

Technique: Lightness of Being

Movement Technique

Infuse your body with qi to enhance your speed and agility. Also improves balance and coordination.

Cost: 3 qi per second

The problem was, I couldn’t use any of those techniques against Jing. I wasn’t supposed to know any of them, for one thing, and I didn’t want to explain where I’d gotten them. That was the same reason old Wim didn’t know that I had a fairly advanced cultivation spiral, that a solid quarter of the qi in my dantian was perfectly pure and refined, or that Sara had me cycling purified ki through my meridians at night to strengthen my body. I assumed those were things that he was going to teach me at some point, but it was easier and faster to let Sara do it.

My other concern was that I’d tested them out of sight of the farm during my training, and they were pretty damn effective. In fact, they were too effective for me to risk using them during practice combat. I didn’t know how good Jing was with her qi, but I didn’t think she could deflect a flash of sunlight that burned whatever I aimed it at. I didn’t really want to hurt her.

Unfortunately, she didn’t seem to have the same consideration for me, and since she was both faster and stronger than I was, still, I ended up beaten and bruised during our sparring sessions. I wasn’t getting knocked out with a single hit the way I used to, but I wasn’t coming close to winning. Technically, Jing’s technique had what I’d call a serious flaw. It was large-circle, based on kicking techniques. That made it powerful, but it also made it slow compared to a punching or grappling technique. It was also most effective at a distance, so anyone who could get in close to her would take away a ton of her attack potential.

The problem was, to do that, someone would have to be fairly close to her in speed. I wasn’t. I wasn’t as far as I once was, but I wasn’t close enough. As I readied myself, I activated Sara’s new scan feature, then compared what I saw to my own stats.

Jing

Level 5 Storm Cultivator (Uncommon)

Estimated Physical Stats:

Prowess: 14 Vigor: 12 Celerity: 16 Skill: 15

John Gilliam

Active Professions:

Inquisitor (Hidden)

Current XP: 0 Current Level: 1

Pugilist

Current XP: 765 Current Level: 3

Mental Stats

Reason: 13 Intuition: 13 Perception: 15 Charm: 4

Physical Stats

Prowess: 13 Vigor: 13 Celerity: 13 Skill: 12

Special Stats

Qi Pool: 92/104 (+1.3/s x2) Qi Type: Celestial

Cultivation Rank: Wood

Skills:

Unarmed Combat (Adept 1) Weapon Focus (Unarmed, Initiate 3)

Qi Absorption (Initiate 4) Qi Cycling (Initiate 5)

Abilities:

Sense Imbalance, Omnilingual, Deep Strike

techniques:

Flesh of the Stars, Lightness of Being, Moonlight on the Water, Sun’s Scorching Ray

I knew that compared to how I was on Earth, I had become ridiculously strong and fast. I wasn’t really twice as powerful as I’d been, despite my stats doubling, but I was at just about the peak of what I would have considered human ability a month or so ago. I could run with two hundred pounds of rocks for hours without too much difficulty; I could sprint across the farm as fast as any Olympian ever had; I could run across the top of the lattice covering the paddy without so much as a wobble. Even with all that, though, I couldn’t hold a candle to Jing.

The fact was, though, that she was cheating to some extent. Or more to the point, her father was cheating. He’d taught Jing how to use her qi to empower her body in combat. I wasn’t supposed to know how to do that, yet, and in truth, I wasn’t sure that I did. I’d been practicing a bit, but practicing against a tree that wasn’t moving, dodging, and trying to hit me back wasn’t the same as doing it against an actual person.

The upshot of that was that I couldn’t quite match Jing in combat. Despite that, I had to suppress a smile as I stood back from her. Today’s training session had finally pushed me over the edge into the adept ranks of Unarmed Combat, and that meant I was finally going to be able to choose my new profession. At least one positive thing would come from my beating today.

I held up my hand, as if catching my breath, and concentrated on my available professions. Once they appeared, I selected celestial guardian and added it to my growing list.

Profession Chosen: Celestial Guardian

Level: 1

Benefits: Combat skills improve 50% faster, techniques are learned 50% faster, Bonus technique: Guardian of the Heavens

Stat Bonuses: Reason, Intuition, Perception, prowess, celerity, skill +1 per level

Technique: Guardian of the Heavens

Offensive/Defensive technique

Surround yourself with a field of celestial qi that reduces incoming damage and damages anyone who attacks you in melee for 10 seconds. Armor piercing or shielding techniques are half as effective against this technique

Cost: 40 qi

The stat boosts were great, but they weren’t going to help me against Jing. The technique seemed amazing, but I couldn’t use it, so it wasn’t much help, either. I set my feet and raised my open hands, ready to take another beating.

“You know, John, you could probably get away with using your qi in combat, so long as you didn’t employ any techniques,” Sara told me silently.

“I would, but I’m not sure how I’d explain how I worked it out, Sara. I’m sure Wim would be curious, and I don’t have any great answers that aren’t outright lies.”

“You might not have to. There’s actually a long tradition in this world of ‘geniuses’, people who are born with an instinctive knowledge of cultivation. If you can convince Wader-in-the-Morning-Waters that you’re one of those, then he’ll be willing to forgive a lot of rapid increases in strength and you possessing knowledge you shouldn’t.”

I considered her words carefully. I didn’t want to risk my anonymity, but I also didn’t want to keep taking beatings from Jing. I didn’t know if Wim was using me to give her practice, but I wasn’t mentally suited to be a punching bag. The idea of taking another kick to the ribs or head decided me. Taking a deep breath, I reached into the glowing core of energy floating in the middle of my body and drew it up through my lesser meridians, cycling it out into my arms, legs, chest, and head.

As the power flowed through me, my muscles gained new strength, and my eyes seemed to have a new depth of clarity. I stared at Jing, and I saw her shift her weight, bringing her balance to her back foot so that her front one could lash out at me. To be honest, I usually saw that happening – it was a basic thing to look for, after all – but I’d never been able to move fast enough to take advantage of it. This time, my qi-empowered body was ready for her.

I ducked under the woman’s attack, allowing her roundhouse kick to snap harmlessly over my head, then brought my forearms up to block as she dropped her foot and kicked directly at my face. I leaned sideways as she slid forward into a side kick and slipped backward as her hook kick whizzed past my nose.

Jing moved forward relentlessly, snapping front and back kicks at me, slashing at my face and chest with roundhouse kicks, and driving side kicks toward my chest and stomach. I blocked or dodged them all, my enhanced muscles finally able to keep up with her attacks. However, that left me entirely on the defensive. I couldn’t just avoid her attacks; I had to counterattack, to get inside her reach where my own style was more dominant.

Jing spun in an attempt to hurl a spinning back kick at me, which wasn’t a smart move. It forced her to take her eyes off me for a second, and even worse, it presented her back to me. As she twisted, I stepped in toward her, turning to the side so the kick she flung at me flashed harmlessly past my chest. My left arm snaked out and wrapped around her extended thigh, locking her leg against my side, while my right arm flashed out and wrapped over her far shoulder and down across her chest. I thrust my knee into her bracing leg, knocking her off-balance toward me, then twisted hard to my right.

The resultant vectors were inescapable. Jing was strong, but she lacked my mass, and with her bracing leg bent, she had no leverage to keep herself upright. She twisted to her right and slammed face-first into the ground, with me on her back. I jerked my right arm up under her chin and brought my left arm to lock it in place, then tucked my calves under her thighs to keep her from rising to her knees or rolling me onto my back. I squeezed gently with my right arm, not really choking her but making it clear that I could. Apparently, that was enough.

“Hold!” Wim shouted, and I relaxed my hold at once, scrambling off Jing’s back and rolling to my feet. The woman rose just as quickly, and I was somewhat gratified to see her puffy lip and reddened cheek from where her face had hit the ground. Her expression was something between startled and angry, and she glared at me as we stood facing each other.

When Wim stepped into the sparring arena, though, his expression was pleased. “Good!” he said approvingly, nodding at me. “You attacked her properly that time, using your spirit, not your muscles. Much better, Xu Xing.” I was a bit shocked; he’d just seen me fling his daughter on the ground, and he was happy? That seemed a bit harsh, and that harshness didn’t end there.

He turned to Jing. “Daughter, how did he defeat you?”

“He moved in too close for me to strike him, Shifu,” she replied, lowering her head to the old man.

“It is as I have told you, Jing. Your feet are a potent weapon, but you rely on them too much. You must learn to use your other weapons. It appears that Xu Xing will be able to aid you with this.”

“As you say, Shifu,” she bowed low.

He looked over at the two of us and seemed to come to a decision. “Xu Xing, you have learned a great deal, but there is only so much to be gained from practice combat.” He looked over at the woman with her head bowed. “Jing, tomorrow, you will take Xu Xing to the old quarry.”

“Are you certain, Shifu?” she asked a bit hesitantly. “The quarry…”

“I am certain, daughter. The vermin infesting it must be cleared out.” He looked back at me. “Rest this night, Xu Xing, for tomorrow, you will go on the hunt – and Jing will not be able to keep you safe this time.”

“It sounds like fun, teacher,” I said, keeping the sarcasm from my voice.

“Oh, it will be, Xu Xing. Of that, you may be utterly certain.”