Chapter 49 - The Calm Before the Storm - II

Chapter 49 - 49 - The Calm Before the Storm - III was observing my inner world while meditating to recover my energy. It was a practice I had adopted ever since Elian advised me to always retreat to this place during these moments. It remained the same: a cloudy sky with an endless storm of lightning. A scene similar to the phenomenon of ash-laden storm clouds. 'Volcanic ash forms a dense and turbulent cloud that can extend for kilometers in the atmosphere. Within this cloud, the charged particles rearrange, with positive and negative charges accumulating in different regions. When the electric potential difference between these regions becomes large enough, a discharge occurs—a lightning strike,' one of my private tutors on Earth had explained to me. 'That's why lightning storms are common during volcanic eruptions.' I floated above a black abyss. There was no ground in this world. Two suns, which I recognized as my internal cores, painted the scene in red and blue. But there was something I started to notice as I drifted through this place. S~eaʀᴄh the Novelƒire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. 'Gravity increases if I move up or down. Walking forward does nothing.' As I ascended, trying to approach the storm clouds, gravity grew exponentially, pushing me downward. And as I descended, it acted in the opposite way, pushing me upward. As if my only rightful place was that neutral zone where I always appeared. 'Intriguing. What should I do about this?' It was a thought for which I had no answer. A cultivator's inner world was uniquely theirs, reflecting everything they were. "The suns are my cores. My three affinities are present here. The abyss represents the spatial affinity. When I move, I encounter gravitational affinity, and in the clouds, electricity. But beyond that, I don't know what to make of this place." A gentle touch on my body pulled me out of my inner world, signaling that my rest time was over. About fifty meters away, Dalia stood motionless and calm, holding her staff. A beautiful green stone shimmered at its tip. It was a stunning Nexus that starkly contrasted with her red eyes and lips, a unique and striking dichotomy, a feast for my eyes, weary from punches and kicks. "Whenever the young master is ready," she said in her delicate voice. "She should fight without the Nexus too. Isn't this a bit unfair?" I bargained. Elian stuck his tongue out at me, ignoring my plea. He was reading a thick purple book, floating before him, emitting a flickering glow. "You may begin. Dalia, don't go easy on him!" Elian ordered. Dalia was ranked an entire tier above me. I was an Initial Awakened, while she was a Champion on the verge of breaking into the upper tier, which would happen in just a few months. The difference was overwhelming. Before I could crack a joke, her staff glowed an intense blue, and a stream of water began floating symmetrically around her in a perfect sphere. The battle had already begun. I activated my gravitational field around my body, and lightning started radiating from my skin. "BOOOOM!" Countless water arrows were launched at me. I quickly dodged to the left, looking for an opening to advance toward her. With swift steps, my prana exploded, accelerating my body forward. From my hands, spears of lightning flew toward the water arrows. "Damn it!" I murmured. The only effect my spears had was evaporating the water, creating a thin mist all around. 'Pure water doesn't conduct electricity, so this won't work,' I thought. My plan to electrocute Dalia from a distance was completely useless. I closed in by a few meters when a flexible arm of water lashed toward me. I crouched, dodging it, but just as it passed over my head, spikes formed and shot downward. I rolled on the ground, some of them grazing my leg, leaving shallow cuts that bled lightly. 'Time to change strategy!' I abandoned my approach, extending my hands. I removed the gravitational field around me and applied it to the area where Dalia stood. For the first time, she moved. When her weight quadrupled in a single second, Dalia burst forth with prana, coating her legs in water and gliding away from me. "You're not getting away!" I advanced slowly toward her while my other hand pulled at her body. Now, the affinities were reversed. Lightning had shifted to passive mode, consuming mana, while gravity was in active mode. Dalia's body was being dragged toward me, but she encased herself in a sphere of water, increasing her total mass more than tenfold, making it impossible for me to pull her entirely. 'If you won't come, then I will!' My feet left the ground as I pulled myself toward her at the highest speed I could manage. My arm was wrapped in a massive bolt of lightning, and I prepared to punch through her water sphere. But before I could reach her, a giant wall of water formed between us. My body slammed against the firm liquid barrier, and all the speed I had built up instantly vanished. "Shit!" I cursed as a massive wave crashed over me from above the wall, sending me flying backward. Moments later, countless water arrows rained down on me. "AGH..." I unleashed my prana, sending lightning in all directions. Steam rose as the water evaporated, and I freed myself from the wave. 'Reversal,' I switched affinities again. With the large wave striking me, part of the sphere covering Dalia had disappeared. I seized the opportunity for a long-range attack. From my hand, I fired a brilliant blue lightning spear, cutting through the training area in the blink of an eye, striking Dalia squarely in the chest and sending her flying. Panting, I took a fraction of a second to stabilize myself and quickly moved toward her. A single lightning strike was far from enough to defeat her—especially considering her second affinity. Dalia spun through the air, skidding across the ground before quickly standing up. Blood trickled from her mouth, and her arms were visibly burned. But in an instant, a green energy began healing all her wounds. "No way!" I dashed at full speed, aiming to land a decisive blow. But the only thing that greeted me was the reformed water sphere. "BOOOOOOOOMMMM!" The impact of the explosion and the vaporization of the water sent me flying backward, as well as Dalia. I had suffered minor burns on my arms due to the steam. But Dalia stood perfectly fine. All traces of injury had vanished, even the blood on her face was gone. "Fuck!!!" I had no time to complain. She resumed her assault, her attacks carrying even more force. Water began leaking from the sphere, flooding the entire training area. 'I can't let her flood the perimeter. If that happens, my mobility will take a huge hit.' I jumped, pulling myself forward with gravity. But I didn't get far. Her barrage of arrows, spears, and highly pressurized water threads weren't powerful, but they were a constant nuisance. And then, it happened. I couldn't reach her in time. Every time I got close, she slid away like a snail, and soon, the entire training area was knee-deep in water. My speed had been cut to less than half. The battlefield was now entirely in her favor. "Damn it! This is cruel," I grumbled. But she wasn't listening. Water serpents rose from the flooded floor, coiling around my body. I crackled with electricity, evaporating them as they touched my legs and torso. I crouched, preparing to leap, but before I could, a massive wave crashed over me. I erupted with prana, converting as much as I could into lightning. It worked for a moment, but soon, I was overpowered by the sheer volume of water. My body was submerged. Dalia skillfully trapped me in a spinning sphere, rotating me at dizzying speeds. My oxygen was running out. Before I could break free, I felt a sensation of free fall—but I couldn't understand why. Then, everything went black, and I passed out. ** "Yeah, she trapped you in a water sphere, floated you to the ceiling, and slammed you into the ground like a sack of crap!" Elian explained to the incredulous Glenn, who was now being healed by Dalia after waking up with several broken bones. "One to zero!" I said to Dalia, who responded with a bright smile. "You chose a good strategy. You tried to end the fight quickly, which is exactly what you should do against mages with long-duration combat affinities." "You lost when the entire arena flooded," Dalia said. "Until that moment, our fight was balanced. But once the entire terrain was under my control, it was practically impossible for you to win." "Phew..." I sighed, realizing exactly what had happened. "Alright, let's go again!" I said with conviction. ** First day's score: 14 to 4 for Dalia. I was utterly crushed.