The monster raced toward me, and I instinctively set myself, my hand reaching behind my waistband to the gun I always kept there. “Shit,” I swore as I remembered that I didn’t have a gun in this world. I slipped the brass knuckles onto my fist, then turned and ran up the hill behind me. I didn’t think I could outrun this thing, but maybe it wouldn’t want to get too close to the old man’s farm, or maybe it wouldn’t be able to cross the wooden latticework.

I reached the top and glanced back just in time. The monster was lunging for me, its long arms outstretched and its jaws gaping wide. I swore and dropped to the ground, rolling to the side as fast as I could, narrowly escaping its rush. I scrambled to my feet, missing my gun dearly as the tiger-monkey whirled around to face me. It rushed toward me, and while I tried to dodge, the thing was too fast, its arms too wide. It slammed into me, and we both rolled down the hill. When we crashed to a stop, the thing was on top of me, roaring directly into my face.

I managed to grab its wrists to stop it from clawing me and wedged my knee between us so it couldn’t bite my face off. I strained to twist its wrists or to push it off me, but it was like trying to push a tree out of the way. Its claws inched slowly toward me despite my best efforts, and its face drew ever closer to mine. I could smell its breath beating against me, feel the unbearable weight of the thing pressed on top of me, and panic filled me.

I was going to die. I’d faced that particular possibility dozens of times over the years, but this felt like a certainty. I had no leverage, the monster was way too strong for me, and I had no weapon to really hurt it. I could feel my death approaching, and my mind scrambled to find a way out. I twisted and turned, shoved and pulled the monster, trying to dislodge or deflect it so I could get to my feet, but it refused to budge. Desperately, I heaved with every last ounce of strength I had, bucking my hips and twisting my shoulders. Every ounce of power in me went into the move, but I knew it would be useless. The thing was too powerful…and I was simply too weak.

I felt something inside of me give with a snap that I sensed more than heard, and suddenly power flowed up my muscles. The creature roared as I flung it off me, hurling it to the side without seeming effort. It slammed into the hillside and tumbled upward, managing to regain its balance, then spun and charged at me.

It felt like I had all the time in the world as the creature lumbered toward me. I rolled to my feet and set myself for its charge. Its long arms lashed toward me, but I ducked beneath one and came up at the thing’s side. I slammed my right fist into the monster’s ribs, and it howled as the spiked knuckles punched into its flesh. I felt the bones crackle beneath my blow and saw a mist of blood erupt from its mouth almost in slow motion.

I pulled my fist back and grabbed its closer arm with my left hand, pulling it past me. I kicked out at it with my right foot, and it screamed as my heel caught the side of its knee, collapsing the joint with a sickening pop. It fell to the ground, and I dropped down and took its back. My left hand snaked under its muzzle across to its shoulder, and I felt its windpipe in the crook of my elbow as I wrapped my legs around its waist. I regretted that instantly as it raked its claws along my thighs, and I hissed in pain as I felt blood trickling down my legs. I slammed my right fist into the back of its head, feeling bone crunch beneath the brass knuckles there, and the creature roared in pain. I crashed my fist down again, and I felt blood splatter across my face from the force of the blow. I drove the spikes into its skull a third time and felt the back of its head collapse beneath the blow, my fist plunging into the thing’s brain. The monster jerked and spasmed as I pulled my bloody, gore-covered fist out of its skull and rolled away from it.

My legs nearly collapsed beneath me as I staggered to my feet, and I looked down to see long, bloody furrows carved into each one, three in the left and two in the right. Blood welled freely from both, and I quickly took off my shirt and pants, binding them around my wounds to stem the bleeding as best I could.

I dropped to my knees as sudden weakness swept over me, and I felt my stomach lurch and spasm as the adrenaline of combat wore off. The monster lay before me, its limbs occasionally twitching as its dying brain tried to send signals to it. The sight of its pulped head didn’t bother me in the slightest. It wasn’t the first time I’d seen a skull destroyed like that, after all; a large-caliber bullet exiting the back of the head created a similar mess, and I’d long ago become inured to blood and gore. Still, my stomach heaved and convulsed uncontrollably. Finally, it clenched shut, and a flood of thick, black fluid poured from my mouth. It looked almost like I was vomiting old motor oil or molten tar; the viscous fluid was filled with rancid chunks of something.

My eyes streamed tears – at least, so I thought until I saw the twin streams of black liquid pouring from my face. I vomited again, and more of the foul stuff erupted from my mouth, coating my tongue with the bitter taste of bile. The stuff reeked, as well, smelling like rotten meat and worse, which just made me vomit up more of it.

“What the hell is happening to me?” I thought desperately as my intestines rumbled and I realized that the liquid was about to come out a different way. My stomach clenched again, and I was treated to the utter indignity of…

Well, I won’t go into that. Why the hell would I spend time telling you about my bowel movements? That would be absurd. Instead, I’ll just say that it was disgusting and leave it at that.

The foul fluid poured from my body for almost a full minute before it finally stopped. I was coated with it, my mouth tasted like ass, and the muscles in my stomach and abdomen were weak and fluttery, but inside, I felt strangely clean and light. Something impure inside me had just come out, and I felt a lot better for its loss. As I panted on my hands and knees, recovering, I noticed a black dot flashing in the edge of my vision. I concentrated on it, and a familiar black box swelled out of it to fill my vision.

Partial Adaptation!

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

Adaptation Level: 75%

Bonus: +1 to Mental Stats, +1 to Physical Stats

World-Specific Statistics Unlocked!

New Statistics: Cultivation Type, Cultivation Rank, Qi Pool

Current Cultivation Type: Celestial Qi

Current Cultivation Rank: Wood

Bonus: +1 to all stats, +1 to Prowess and Celerity

You have gained the skills Qi Cycling and Qi Absorption!

Skill: Qi Cycling (Neophyte 1)

Use Qi to purify and strengthen your body

Type: Celestial Qi

Benefits: Heal 10% faster, +1% per rank; All training

speeds are improved by 100%, +10% per rank

Skill: Qi Absorption (Neophyte 1)

Gather Qi to increase your Qi Pool

Type: Celestial Ki

Benefits: Absorb Qi 10% faster, +1% per rank;

Absorb qi at double the normal speed beneath

a heavenly body of some kind.

“What the hell is all that, Sara?” I asked, staring at the notification.

“I’m not completely certain,” she said, appearing before me. “I’m translating what the world is telling me about you. Once I’ve fully adapted to this world, I can give you more information. In the meantime, I suggest you ask her.” The ethereal woman pointed back behind me, and I whirled to see Jing standing on the hillside, staring down at me.

“I – I saw the Clawed, Striped Flesh Ripper attack you while you worked,” she said, her eyes wide and her face astonished. “I rushed over to protect you. You…what did you do, strange one?”

“You tell me, Jing,” I laughed, shaking my head. “I don’t have a clue what’s happening to me.”

“I – why are you undressed?” she asked, taking a step toward me. “Your clothes are around your legs. Why is that?”

“Oh, ah, sorry about that,” I grimaced, remembering too late that I’d taken off my pants – and that apparently underwear wasn’t a thing in this world. “That thing cut me, and I was trying to stem the bleeding.” I glanced down at myself, seeing that the nasty stuff I’d expelled from me had soaked my clothing. “Although I should probably clean them off. I don’t want to get an infection, and this black stuff doesn’t seem very clean.”

“It – it is not,” she stammered. “I do not know this word, ‘infection’, but you do not want to get corruption fever. Can you stand?”

I tried to rise to my feet, but pain lanced through my legs, and I collapsed back to my knees. “Nope,” I shook my head. “At least, not easily.”

“Remain still. I will cleanse you.” She grabbed the bucket and moved toward the well with the same flowing grace as always. However, this time I noticed that her movements didn’t seem ridiculously fast to me. She still moved swiftly, faster than I thought I could, but I could see each motion as she made it. She pumped the bucket of water, then came back and poured it over me. The ooze coating my body relinquished its hold only reluctantly, though, and it took several buckets worth of the icy cold liquid to rinse me completely clean.

She put down the bucket and knelt before me, reaching toward my thighs. Instinctively, I pushed her hand away and covered my crotch, but she set her hands on her hips and looked at me disapprovingly.

“I must inspect your wounds to see if you require further treatment,” she said. “They will not heal wrapped in ragged cloth.”

“The cloth is holding them shut so they don’t bleed,” I protested. “Plus, you really shouldn’t be…” She ignored my protests and reached for the tied clothing again. I grabbed her hand and tried to push it away, but moving her was like moving the Flesh Ripper had been, and whatever strength I’d found had fled me after the battle. She easily batted my hands aside and deftly undid the knots, revealing the jagged wounds in my legs.

As I saw the injuries, I gasped in surprise. The slashes should have been bleeding freely without the pressure holding them shut, but instead, they looked as if they’d scabbed closed in the few minutes I’d held them shut with my clothing. They were still red and swollen, painful to the touch, but they weren’t leaking blood. “What the hell?” I asked in disbelief. It looked like they’d been healing for days, not a few minutes. “What’s going on, here?”

Jing nodded and reached to a pouch at her side. “These wounds are deep,” she said, pulling a folded square of paper out of the pouch. “They will require treatment, or they may scar. This is common with injuries from the Clawed, Striped Flesh Ripper.” She unfolded the square to reveal a pile of glittering, sparkly powder the general consistency of fine sand. She pinched a bit of the powder in her fingers and sprinkled it on my wounds. I hissed in pain as the powder bubbled up where it touched injured skin, bringing a sharp pain with it. A moment later, though, the pain faded, and I realized that the wounds looked less angry and inflamed.

“What was that?” I asked as she folded the paper back up.

“Medicine,” she said simply. “My father made it for just such an occasion. Clawed, Striped Flesh Rippers are far too common in this area. It neutralizes the poison their claws inflict so that your wounds will heal naturally.”

“Poison?” I repeated, startled.

“Yes,” she nodded. “Clawed, Striped Flesh Rippers are weak beasts, so when they are hunting, they merely claw their prey several times and then retreat. The poison keeps the spirit from healing the wounds properly, draining the prey’s qi and weakening them until they are easy for the pack of creatures to overcome.” She looked around. “You are fortunate that this one was alone. It is likely that it was a lesser male, exiled from its pack and desperate for a kill.”

“Yeah, lucky me,” I muttered, trying to stand once more. My legs still protested, but the pain was a manageable thing now, something I could file away in the back of my mind to ignore. I was a bit wobbly, but it wasn’t too bad. I looked around at the foul waste slowly soaking into the hillside. “What the hell just happened to me, Jing?” I asked quietly.

“You forcibly opened a meridian,” she said after a moment. “From the look of things, you opened more than one. Such things are usually done gradually, over many months and years to allow the corruption within you to seep out slowly. Doing so as you have done…” She shook her head. “I have but heard of it in tales, strange one.”

“Did I do something wrong?” I asked mildly. It didn’t matter; I’d been seconds away from dying, and I would rather have screwed up somehow than been eaten by that tiger-monkey. Still, if I’d made a mistake, maybe I could fix it.

“No, not wrong, exactly. It is simply…different.” She seemed to shake herself and rose to her feet. “Now you will need to clear your remaining meridians, although doing so will be far easier. Then, you will need to learn a technique to gather qi and store it, as well as a method of cycling it.”

I opened my mouth to tell her that I’d already gotten the skills Qi Absorption and Qi Cycling, but before I could, Sara’s voice echoed in my mind. “Careful, John. If you tell her that, you’ll have to explain how you know it.”

“What do you mean?” I asked curiously. “I can tell her about the notifications…”

“And if you do, you might as well tell her you’re an Inquisitor, since they’re the only ones who get notifications like this.” Sensing my confusion, she explained. “The notifications are a part of your SARA, not an integral part of the Doorverse. That’s one of an Inquisitor’s greatest advantages: you can quantize yourself, see how you’re improving, and – once we’re fully adapted to this world – even scan other people so you can compare yourself to them.”

“That…is good to know.” I turned back to face Jing, who was looking at me curiously. “So, how do I go about doing all that?” I asked at last, regathering my thoughts.

She shook her head. “I cannot tell you that,” she said simply. I frowned, and maybe she saw it because she continued quickly. “I do not keep things from you, strange one. I cannot help you because I do not have the learning and wisdom to do so. I have barely learned how to cycle my qi within myself. I have no secrets to share with you.”

“Why can’t you just teach me how you do it, then?”

“Because my technique may not work for you. Your body might require a different form of qi, or you may have different meridians opened to cycle it. Only a true master can teach you a method to cycle your qi without damaging yourself or shattering your dantian.”

“What is that, anyway? I’ve heard your father talk about it, but no one’s ever explained it to me.”

She laughed. “That is because until your meridians were opened, attempting to reach your dantian would have filled it with corruption, poisoning your future cultivation,” she explained. She hesitated. “Now that you have a meridian open, though, it should be safe enough for you to know, but it is not my place to tell you. We should speak to my father immediately.”

“Well, let’s go see him, then,” I sighed, turning back toward the farm.

“Indeed.” She hesitated. “Perhaps it would be wise for you to dress first, however.”

I looked down and suddenly remembered that I was standing on top of a hill, holding my clothes in my hands, naked as the day I was born…in front of a rather attractive woman. I sighed as I pulled on my ragged, torn pants and filthy, rancid-smelling shirt.

“This day just keeps getting better and better,” I muttered softly.

The old man, as it turned out, was in the building I’d been sleeping in. As we entered, Jing grabbed my arm and motioned me to silence. I took one look at the expression of terrible concentration on our teacher’s face and understood instantly. He was standing before the silvery cauldron, his hands held beneath it. I gasped as I saw that flames were rising from his hands, cradling the bottom of the cauldron and wrapped almost lovingly about it. The man moved his hands slowly and gently, rolling them in an intricate pattern beneath the cauldron, bringing his skin incredibly close to it in some places, drifting away from it in others, but never quite touching it.

I watched him for several minutes, standing in the doorway of the building and remaining as silent as possible. His focus never wavered, but mine certainly did. I could feel the sun’s warmth beating down on my shoulders and back. That wasn’t unusual, but the warmth had an odd intensity to it that I’d never noticed before. My tiredness slowly vanished, and I felt oddly energized just standing there, watching the man work. His movements were deft, sure, and swift; whatever he was doing was something he’d done many times before.

As I stood there, the watched feeling started to creep down the back of my neck, and I turned around quickly, expecting to see some sort of monster lumbering after me again. Instead, I saw Jing staring at me, her eyes wide and her face once again filled with the awed expression I’d seen on it earlier. I wanted to ask her if she was okay, but I didn’t want to interrupt the old man’s work. Fortunately, it seemed I didn’t have to.

“Take him outside, Jing,” the man ordered tersely. “His control is terrible, and I will not have him contaminating my work.”

“Yes, Shifu,” she bowed toward the man, then took my arm and hustled me out of the building into the sunlight. The gentle radiance fell across my face and arms, blanketing me in what felt like a welcoming embrace. It was an odd feeling; I wasn’t really big on sunbathing. It’s easy enough to fake a tan if needed, but it’s much harder to cover up a real one if you need to look pale for a cover ID. Plus, beaches and rooftops have really long sight lines, more than long enough for any sniper worth their salt. Trust me, I have firsthand experience with that. So, I’d never taken to the whole sun-worshipping thing.

But now, the sunlight just felt…good. It felt healthy and clean, like the light was washing through me and purifying whatever of that nasty stuff was still left inside my body. I felt an urge to tilt my head back and bask in the warmth, but Jing’s expression convinced me not to. She was still staring at me, her face wondering and her eyes wider than I’d yet seen them.

“What’s wrong?” I asked at last.

“You,” she said hesitantly, then seemed to gather her courage. “You are absorbing qi right now, are you not?”

“I’m what? I don’t think I am…” My voice fell silent as I remembered my notifications. I’d gained a skill called Qi Absorption, and it said something about absorbing qi twice as fast under a heavenly body. I’d thought it meant the moon and stars – but I supposed the sun must have counted.

“That looks to be the case, John,” Sara agreed with me. “Check out your status right now.” Without my even thinking about it, the black box appeared in my vision, displaying my current stats.

Status

Active Professions:

Inquisitor (Hidden)

Current XP: 0 Current Level: 1

Pugilist

Current XP: 60 Current Level: 1

Mental Stats

Reason: 8 Intuition: 7 Perception: 9 Charm: 4

Physical Stats

Prowess: 10 Vigor: 8 Celerity: 11 Skill: 9

Special Stats

Qi Pool: 14/61 (+0.8/s x2) Qi Type: Celestial Cultivation Rank: Wood

Skills:

Unarmed Combat (Neophyte 1) Weapon Focus (Unarmed, Neophyte 1)

Qi Absorption (Neophyte 1) Qi Cycling (Neophyte 1)

Abilities:

Sense Imbalance, Omnilingual, Deep Strike

“I…I don’t know,” I finally replied, remembering at the last second that I wasn’t supposed to be aware of my abilities with whatever this qi stuff was. “Am I?”

“You are,” the old man’s voice spoke from the doorway, and I turned as he moved with effortless grace to stand beside me. He placed a hand on my stomach, then the other on my head. His hand slid down to my crotch, and I almost protested, but the intense look on his face quieted me as his hand slid down my leg. I winced as he brushed my still-healing cuts, but he ignored my flinch and slid his hand down to my foot. Finally, he stepped back, shaking his head and crossing his arms as he glared at me.

“What happened, daughter?” he demanded, staring at Jing.

“Teacher, she didn’t do anything,” I spoke, but I fell silent as he held a single finger up, pointed toward my face.

“I was watching him at his task, as you instructed, Shifu,” Jing explained, her head bowed. “He was attacked by a Clawed, Striped Flesh Ripper. I ran to his aid, but he defeated the creature without my assistance.”

“A worthy foe for someone of your skill,” the old man nodded. “Continue.”

“By the time I arrived, he was in the process of expelling his corruption. There was a great deal of it, more than I have seen at one time before, but it showed me that he had cleared a meridian, or perhaps several. He was injured by the beast, so I used your Cleansing Powder to remove the taint…”

The old man waved her to silence and turned to me. “Do you know what you have done, strange one?” he demanded.

“Not really, teacher,” I admitted with a sigh. “Jing seems upset about it, but…”

“She is not upset, she is amazed, and likely somewhat jealous. She worked for years to reach the point you have in mere days.”

“I am not jealous, Shifu,” she protested.

“Do not lie to yourself, daughter,” he said gently. “Dishonesty with the self is a swift path to crippling your cultivation. Always be true to your thoughts and feelings.”

“Yes, Shifu,” she said meekly, her head still bowed.

He turned back to me. “You have opened not one but four extraordinary meridians,” he told me, and Jing gasped in shock at his words.

“Extraordinary meridians?” she repeated. “Shifu, how?”

“How is good,” I agreed. “I’m more interested in what you’re talking about, though, teacher.”

The man looked at me steadily for long moments, then seemed to sigh. “I should not be teaching you this for weeks, strange one. Yet, here we are, and as you have opened such potent channels, there is nothing to do but proceed as if that time had passed.”

He walked away from the building, and I hastened to follow after him. “Your meridians, as I overheard young Jia explain to you, are the pathways within your body that carry the energy of your spirit,” he said quietly, forcing me to listen carefully to catch his words. “What she did not explain, as she did not know this, is that there are not only different meridians, but there are differing types of them within your body.

“The seven common meridians link your head, heart, hands, feet, and genitals to your dantian,” he explained. “These meridians exist mainly to channel energy outward from your dantian into your flesh, purifying it and strengthening it, but they are ill-suited for bringing qi into your core.

“For this, you must unlock one of the five spiritual meridians. These carry power gathered from the five elements of the world: fire, metal, water, wind, and wood. Most practitioners clear one of these meridians, while some have opened two. Jing, for example, is powerful for her age because she has opened her water and wind meridians, which doubles the amount of qi she can gather and the number of sources from which she can draw it. True practitioners, those who are among the most powerful cultivators known, may have four or all five of these meridians opened.”

He stopped and stared into the distance. “However, there is another type of meridian, the extraordinary meridian. There are eight of these in the body, and they are linked to powers and energies from beyond this world. All other meridians are linked to them, and because of this, all true practitioners labor to open but a single extraordinary meridian, for doing so will clear all lesser meridians at the same time.”

He glanced at Jing. “This is why he expelled so much corruption, daughter. He cleared all twelve meridians at once. Should he choose, he could draw upon every type of earthly qi to fill his dantian.” He turned back to face me, his expression hard as he spoke. “But I will not allow you to do this,” he said flatly. “I sensed the power running through you, strange one. It is the power of the sun, the moon, the stars, the energy of the universe that bathes our poor world and gifts it with life.”

“Shifu,” Jing breathed. “Do you mean…?”

“Yes, daughter,” the old man suddenly grinned at me. “This one can channel celestial qi, and that marks him as one far above the mortal practitioners of our sad world.”

I stared at the man, a little nonplussed by what he was saying. “I don’t understand, teacher,” I admitted. “What’s so great about celestial qi?”

“It is a higher order of power, one that transcends the mortal realm. When you learn to master it, you will find that your abilities easily overpower those of lesser practitioners, while your defenses shed their attacks without difficulty. You will become more than they ever could, rise to heights of which they never dreamed…”

He looked at me and grinned a predatory grin. “And I will ensure that you reach those heights,” he promised. “You have proven yourself worthy to become my student, and I name you Xu Xing.”

“That means bright star, I think,” Sara said quietly. “It’s an older dialect.”

“Thank you for the name, teacher,” I bowed to him. “And for taking me as your student.”

“You will not soon thank me, Xu Xing,” he chuckled darkly. “What you underwent before was simply to test your spirit. Now, your true training begins.”