Isshin moved first.
Thunder qi spread through his body as he used flash step, closing the distance instantly. His hand reached out, aiming to grab and redirect.
Rune had already seen it coming.
He pulled his arm back and formed qi arrows, firing them one after another toward Isshin.
But neither of them were focused on Karin.
Before either could react, thin black strings shot out from her hands.
They wrapped around both of their wrists.
Isshin felt it immediately.
His qi broke apart.
"What…?!"
Before he could react, the strings pulled tight.
Both him and Rune were slammed into the ground.
Isshin hit hard but rolled up quickly, forcing himself back onto his feet. Rune pushed himself up too, brushing dust off his shoulder.
"…Alright. Didn't expect that," Rune muttered.
They looked at each other for a second.
No words.
They moved at the same time.
Both of them attacked again, aiming for Karin, but she was already moving. She avoided their kicks easily, stepping out of range.
Isshin's mind was racing.
Her ability… it cuts off my qi.
Karin's ability was able to disrupt other people's qi, as in it ruins their focus and the connection, kind of like breaking a signal.
If she could do that whenever she wanted, his thunder techniques wouldn't work at all.
Then he remembered something.
The system.
He checked his stats quickly.
Isshin Ryugen
Level: 68
Health: 27
Strength: 26 → 39
Stamina: 44
Mana/Qi: 23
Intelligence: 22
Points Available: 17 → 4
Cultivation Level: Golden Core Realm 2nd Stage
Titles: None
He used his points on Strength
A surge of power ran through his body.
He gripped his sword, thunder qi flowing into it, and disappeared again.
Rune reacted instantly, raising his hand and launching another set of qi arrows.
This time, Isshin was ready.
He used Thunder Palm and pushed the attack away.
Karin moved again.
Strings shot out toward him.
Isshin cut through them mid-air.
Now the fight changed.
Rune stayed back, attacking from a distance, sending out projectiles constantly. Isshin closed in, while Karin handled both of them.
She wasn't just relying on her strings.
She was fast And precise.
Then she drew her sword.
It was completely black.
The air around it felt heavier the moment it appeared.
Isshin focused.
That weapon isn't ordinary.
Karin swung.
Isshin barely dodged, the blade passing close to his face.
He moved to counter—
Strings blocked him again.
He saw it coming this time.
So he moved first.
But Karin didn't follow through.
She stopped the strings halfway.
And switched.
Her sword came straight at his chest.
Too fast.
He couldn't fully dodge.
Then—
Khalid appeared between them.
No one saw him move.
He blocked both attacks with his bare hands.
Isshin's sword.
Karin's blade.
Stopped completely.
The three of them froze.
Khalid looked at Karin.
Just a small glance.
Karin's expression changed immediately. She let go of her sword and stepped back, her breathing uneven.
"I'm… sorry," she said, looking at Isshin. "I went too far. I forgot this was practice."
Isshin looked at her.
He wasn't angry.
Just… more cautious now.
Her ability wasn't something to take lightly.
He gave a small nod.
Khalid released their weapons and stepped back.
"That's enough," he said. "Go clean up. Then come to my place. You'll be staying there from now on."
None of them argued.
Later that night, Isshin lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling.
His body was tired, but his mind wouldn't slow down.
…I'm not as strong as I thought.
Karin had shown him that clearly.
If she wanted to, she could've ended it.
The next day, Isshin, Rune, and Karin walked to class together.
Once they got settled, the topic shifted to commissions. The teacher explained that students could take on tasks from the academy to gain experience and earn rewards.
It sounded useful.
But they also knew they weren't ready for anything serious yet. If their skills weren't good enough, they wouldn't be trusted with important missions anyway.
After class, they went straight to training.
Khalid watched them for a bit before speaking.
He looked at Rune first.
"You rely too much on distance. Work on your close combat."
Rune nodded. "Yeah, makes sense."
Then Khalid turned to Karin.
"You're efficient, but you need to be faster."
Karin gave a short nod. "Alright."
Finally, Khalid looked at Isshin.
"You're skilled, but you depend too much on the same moves. If someone adapts, you'll struggle. Mix things up."
Isshin nodded. "Got it."
They split off to train.
Isshin trained with Raijin as usual.
Raijin introduced a new technique.
"Storm of Light," he said. "It uses a lot of qi, but it can deal with stronger opponents if you use it properly."
Isshin focused on understanding it.
The technique required him to connect with the environment and guide lightning through that connection. He sat down and started practicing, trying to control the flow step by step.
At the same time, Raijin showed him another method.
Shaping thunder qi into a spear.
That required more control and accuracy than power.
Isshin kept repeating both, adjusting little by little each time.
After that, he continued with hand-to-hand training and meditation.
Rune trained differently.
He created a small golem and fought it directly, limiting himself to close combat.
Karin focused on speed.
She pushed herself through the forest, using qi in her legs, moving between trees while reacting to everything around her.
Each of them trained in their own way.
After some time, Khalid called them back.
"We will be taking a mission together."
They went to the commission area.
Different tasks were posted there.
Khalid looked through them and chose one.
There had been reports of unusual monster activity in the western forest.
Goblins, wolves, and some monkey-like creatures were working together.
That wasn't normal
Khalid took the mission.
They prepared and headed out.
As they went deeper into the forest, things started to feel off.
The area was too quiet.
No wind, no movement.
At first, no one said anything.
But after a while, it became clear something wasn't right.
They had been walking for a long time.
And nothing was changing.
Isshin stopped.
"…We're going in circles," he said.
He reached out to Raijin.
"Is this some kind of illusion....?"
Raijin replied, calm as usual.
"You figured it out. You've been in it for a while."
Isshin frowned. "You could've said something."
"Not my job," Raijin said.
Before Isshin could say anything else, Khalid spoke.
"So, when is he going to move?"
Rune looked confused. "Who?"
Khalid glanced around. "The one who set this up. We've been inside an illusion."
The three of them went quiet.
"…You knew?" Isshin asked.
Khalid nodded. "Yeah."
"And you didn't say anything?"
Khalid gave a small shrug. "Didn't need to."
Isshin exhaled.
Before anything else could be said, the surroundings started to shift.
The air distorted.
The sky cracked.
Then everything broke apart.
They were back in the real forest.