Power Overwhelming

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“Wait, you’re saying that I can be born as a magical beast as well? Like…a Hellhound or something? And I’ll forever be affected by that time, exhibiting behaviors from that life? Does that mean I’ll feel the need to pee on trees or something to mark my territory?” Mayumi asked incredulously.

Karna couldn’t’ help but laugh at the girl’s imagination. "Yes and no. Yes, you will be reincarnated as a beast, though how often is mostly up to luck. When you reach a certain point like the older reincarnators, only certain kinds of bodies are capable of holding your soul. I personally call them vessels, but that’s just me conceptualizing things. You likely won’t be born as a minor beast for the same reason even in your first lives, but it has happened. Depends on the strength of your soul. And yes, the life will affect you, but the effects will be a bit more subtle than that.”

She had to consider for a moment how to explain the effect. "If your first life was as a human, in your next few lives you tend to view things from the lens of a human, even if you're not one anymore. Eventually that view will lessen, but it will never go away entirely. The same thing if you live a very long life or multiple lives as a certain type of beast. I've spent many lives as a phoenix and it affects things ranging from my mentality to the way I move. I actively try to act against some of those tendencies, but I can't avoid all of them. For example, while it would be better for me to keep my skills hidden while I’m young, I also have the urge to show off, prove my superiority over others, and I get a feeling of rightness when others admire me. That’s not a characteristic I had originally, and something I sometimes struggle to keep under control. It’s also something that comes from a mix of my bloodlines, especially the phoenix one. That’s another thing. If you live enough lives as a certain type of creature or reach the pinnacle of that existence, a little bit of that creature will always be inside of you. A shadow bloodline if you will, that you can later on activate, even if the parents of your current vessel have none of that blood inside them. That blood will also influence you, physically and mentally. Usually it’s not obvious, but sometimes it is. Those that have avian bloodlines are usually prideful, while dragons tend to be greedy and lustful. It’s not just negative traits of course.”

“I’m not sure if I like the thought of that. The idea of something invisible like that affecting me.” Mayumi admitted.

“Ah, but everyone is affected by their experiences and their genetics and cultural norms. You have certain habits and views because of your experiences, the way you’re biologically disposed, and because that’s how your people have raised their own for generations. For us reincarnators it’s just a bit more complex as such things tend to compound over several lifetimes.” Karna pointed out.

“I guess I can see how that would work, though that doesn't make me like it any better. You said these bloodlines and traits carry over between lives. What else carries over? I mean, can we bring items along? Power? You mentioned something about our souls growing stronger and even some soul techniques…” Mayumi tried to figure out the positives of the whole reincarnation thing. Aside from essentially having an opportunity to do things again of course. That was something that shouldn’t be underestimated.

“The most important thing that carries over is knowledge. I recommend you spend a few lifetimes learning various skills when you get the appropriate opportunity. Rules tend to be a little different in some universes, but the general principles still apply. If you learn to cook in one universe, you’ll quickly learn to do the same in another, for example, even if the boiling point of water is a little different and ingredients change. As for items, not really. I mean, it’s theoretically possible to have your soul bound to an item so strongly that it travels with you, but that’s very rare and something that only happens during extremely long lives and a lot of luck. I have one such item myself, but I can’t even call it out before becoming an immortal myself. The bloodlines you mentioned, but I should emphasize that as you live more lives, your soul grows stronger, and the more potential you tend to have in new lives. As for soul techniques…that’s a little complicated.” Karna grimaced under her veil. This was a subject often argued between reincarnators.

“To make things simple, there are some techniques that we can all learn, which I can teach you as well if we have enough time. How to hide from others of our kind for example. Some people actually use various techniques to cultivate their soul, but that's generally not a good idea for a reincarnator to rely on. You would think we'd make perfect soul cultivators with our powerful souls, but it's actually the opposite. Someone like me would need to use centuries just to reach the second rank as a soul cultivator, just because of how strong my soul is inherently. So while it's useful to be aware of those kinds of cultivators and have some measures against them, I wouldn’t waste too much time learning their techniques, because they basically don’t work for us for more than a few lifetimes. There are also certain downsides to those techniques. You can’t actually do too many detrimental things to someone’s soul, and even harming one can accrue quite a bit of negative karma.” With her little speech over, Karna leaned back in her wicker chair. She knew certain other reincarnators disagreed with her strongly, but that wasn’t new. They disagreed on many things.

"That's another thing I'm curious about. What's karma and how does it affect us? I've heard of the term, but most differ on the details." Mayumi launched into another topic. She had the perfect opportunity to learn and she planned to use it. For some odd reason, the person in front of her seemed amused by the question.

“They’re often both right and wrong. It’s part of how souls are judged at the River of Souls, but that’s not the only thing it’s good for. Karma could in many ways be linked with luck or destiny. Don’t confuse good karma with good luck and bad karma with bad luck though. It’s not that simple. Those with a lot of Karma tend to attract different kinds of things. If you have a lot of Karma, you tend to run into different kinds of opportunities a lot more. These can be fortuitous encounters, old legacies, certain kinds of people, and that sort of thing. If you think of any kind of main character in a fictitious story that seems to have a lot of things go their way, that's likely because they've accrued a lot of karma. Now here's the thing. Bad karma doesn't necessarily attract bad things, although it can do that and often does. It attracts opportunities and people that are drawn by the sort of people that have a lot of bad karma. Often that means enemies and other people with similar karma, but it can also mean potential allies and dark artifacts that you can utilize. It also means opportunities to grow stronger if you’re not too particular about hurting others. That sort of thing.” Unsurprisingly, she was an expert on the subject of karma. She could hold lectures spanning literal centuries on the subject.

Mayumi was quiet for a while as she considered the implications. “So how do I know what kinds of acts bring good karma and what kind of things bring bad? People seem to differ on that as well.” She finally asked.

“That’s because gaining and losing karma is in large part an act of self-actualization. It’s actually a lot more complicated, but I’ll try to put it in as simple terms as possible. If you did something good that helped others, and you know that you helped people, you gain good karma. If you did something that leads to the suffering of others, and you know it’s bad, then you accrue bad karma. Now, this part is important. It doesn't matter if you can justify something to yourself. What matters is what you know to be true deep inside. Large acts or acts of true selflessness or selfishness gather a significant amount of karma, while small day to day things can give tiny insignificant amounts. You won't really notice the effects of karma anyway unless you're wildly tilting on one side or the other. Even then it can be unclear, as your karma isn't the only thing affecting you. Things like luck and fate are real things as well, and not everything is about you." That was a mistake people often made. They believed that if something happened to them, it was due to their own bad karma or luck. Maybe it was just that the other side was better, or things went the way they did because of someone else.

"This seems rather complicated." Mayumi gave a deep sigh. She didn't need anything like this weighing on her shoulders on top of everything else.

“Well, there are good sides and bad sides to learning everything early. Anyway, if you want to learn more, you know where to find me.” Karna promised and patted the girl on the shoulder, before going back towards her own quarters.

Before she managed to leave the little chamber they had talked in, Mayumi asked one more question. “How do you deal with it? Multiple lives, karma, bloodlines, all of it.”

“Like with most things, you just get used to it. On the other hand, some people will always find it to be too much. Those people either give up or go insane. But most of us endure long enough to learn to cope. Then we can go insane for a whole host of other reasons.” Karna joked lightly.

------

"So I've had an interesting morning," Tsumi stated bluntly as she sat next to Karna on the last day of the tournament. The unofficial finals would take part a little later, and the best performers would be rewarded. Sieg had already secured himself a reward of sorts, which had kept him busy for the last few days.

“Oh? And why is that?” Karna asked the expected question. It was clear that the Alpyran woman had brought up the subject for a reason.

“I was approached by three of the institutes participating. The Frostpeak Institute, the Luminous Sect, and the Tempest Gorge. Want to guess what all the three meetings had in common?” Tsumi’s voice was hard to decipher. Karna could sense exasperation and amusement, combined with resignation and teasing.

“Seeing as you’re talking to me about it, I’m guessing my name came up.” Karna made the obvious leap in logic.

“Why, yes! How did you guess?” Tsumi faked surprise.

“I’m just that good.” Karna decided to play along.

“Yes, well, it seems you might have done a bit too well, which plays into our plans perfectly by the way. And I got the distinct impression that their interest wasn’t just due to your performance. In any case, the Academy has had amicable relations with all three institutes before, we wouldn’t be here otherwise, but I’ve never been approached quite like this. The Luminous Sect made the offer that was the easiest to understand. You apparently turned them down, but they're somewhat obsessed with your affinity with Qhaysh. They realize that prying you away from the Academy would be difficult, so they're trying to forge a connection instead. They want to send one of their elders to the Academy as a guest elder, which would make them roughly equal to a guest lecturer in the Academy. We have several such lecturers but usually we seek them out personally and those lecturers teach multiple people. The Luminous Sect wants to send one of their elders to train you personally. That's more than just a bit unusual. Normally that would be handled as having them become the master of their chosen student, but you're a bit young for that, and I'm not sure that would be the best of ideas either. So that decision is on hold for now.” Tsumi explained the dilemma. Having a teacher for just one student would be rather blatant favoritism, but it wasn’t like the master-disciple system didn’t exist.

"I'm going to have to accept a master at some point, but I'm not going to do it blindly," Karna stated decisively.

“I suspected as much and explained that to them. The negotiations are ongoing. Anyway, the Frostpeak also wants to send a guest elder, though they would be more of an emissary than anything else. Apparently, they also want to bring a student along. A certain Blessed Child. Any idea what that’s about?” This time Tsumi’s tone had less teasing and more genuine curiosity.

"Ah. I didn't expect her to actually go that far." Karna tapped her cheek a bit. She'd given a lot of hints to the young reincarnator girl, but it was only natural that Mayumi would want to learn more. She had a lot of sympathy for the girl. She couldn't remember much from her own second life, but she did remember being filled with anger due to the unjust way her original life had ended. That had not been a good life. Neither had been the next few that had followed. If she could help ease someone's way and help them avoid the mistakes she had made, then she would. She’d done it before, and she had made several friendships that had spanned over lifetimes. She’d also created some future enemies that way, but that was always a risk. This girl seemed harmless though, and it wasn’t a big burden to provide a bit of advice. “That one you can accept if you feel it would be beneficial, I believe.”

“Good. Even if they have ulterior motives, the fact that that they made the suggestion at all is a great opportunity to deepen the bonds between our two institutes, so I was planning on accepting anyway.” Tsumi nodded, clearly pleased by Karna’s words. “The third one is the weirdest. The Tempest Gorge has asked for, and I quote, ‘a parlay’ between you and one of theirs. Since they’re currently hiding the one you called Stormcaller, I doubt we need to think too hard to know what this is about. The question is, will you accept?”

“I might as well. At least that will get me close enough to him to find out what I need to know. I’m also curious about what he has to say.” Karna decided. Stormcaller had managed to hide himself so far, and time was running out. They couldn’t exactly break into the Tempest Gorge’s quarters, so their options were limited. She was curious why he would want to talk now after successfully hiding for so long.

------

Karna approached the private room set aside for this ‘parlay’ with Tsumi. With the finals being fought right at this moment, Tsumi’s absence was a little odd so they wouldn’t be able to stay for long. The one Karna had identified as ‘Stormcaller’ was waiting on the other side of the room with one of the elders of Tempest Gorge. She noted that the elder was apparently his master that she’d seen him whispering to right after he had discovered her True Name.

“My disciple has requested this meeting to be private between the two of them.” The older man said as soon as Tsumi and Karna entered.

Tsumi looked at Karna in question. “You can go back to the tournament. I believe I’m quite safe here.” Karna replied to the unspoken question, and the Stormcaller gave a small shiver at her words.

Tsumi looked over the young man and his master before acquiescing with a nod. "We'll let the youngsters resolve things on their own then. Return to the event once you're done, Karna. You wouldn’t want to miss the celebration. I think they’re going to reward you as well.”

Stormcaller waited until the two adults had gone far enough away before he got on the floor on his knees and hands in full prostration. "I'm sorry! Forgive me, master!" The young man shouted out with a sincere and desperate voice.

‘Interesting reaction.’ Karna thought to herself. She wasn’t sure what he was apologizing for though, and it might be better to let him reveal that. “And which of your transgressions are you apologizing for?” Karna asked with an imperious tone. She had not missed the fact that he had called her ‘master’.

“For misusing the teaching you imparted on me without your permission, for disrespecting my seniors, and for hiding all this time in fear of your just punishment. I know I should’ve come to apologize earlier, but I was afraid.” The young man listed off, not moving from his position on the ground, even to look up.

That little spiel hinted at certain things. It seemed this Stormcaller had been a student of hers at some point. "I see. I noted that you rather impolitely peeked at my Name." A little hypocritical since she had done the same, but it was quite common that the same rules didn't apply to those much more powerful than yourself. "What Name did you see?"

“Master?” This time he did take a careful look up for a moment, before returning his eyes to the ground. “The Name of course.”

Karna gave a suffering sigh, which was only mostly faked. “It might be hard to understand, but some of us tend to gather more Names than we know what to do with. Even those that others would consider to be obviously the most important. Which one?”

“Karma, master.” The young man admitted, chastised.

This time Karna's sigh was not faked. Of course, the Head Judge would leave that one. I should’ve been obvious just from the fact that he had called her that when they met. It was one of the less annoying ones. It was one of those names that would be feared by those that knew the significance and had met her before, but it was significantly less unpleasant than many of the others. It was also one that many reincarnators knew about but didn't exactly hate, unlike some of the others. Karma was a Name that reincarnators whispered about in rumors and legends, but most of her enemies had not been made under that Name. Which was probably why the Head Judge had left it unmasked.

“I see. Stormcaller is it? You did not have that Name while I taught you.” She said, probing for more information. She had taught so many people that without a True Name, it would be impossible to recognize someone from behavior alone. Besides, she hadn’t had students for several lifetimes and people changed.

“Master, that Name was acquired in my previous life. My mastery of air and lightning magic reached sufficient levels to be recognized with a Name. You knew me by a normal name, which at the time was Velen.” The young man explained.

Karna had to genuinely struggle to keep her face impassive. ‘Really?! Out of all of my old students, I had to run into this one?!’ She silently screamed in her mind. This apprenticeship had happened quite a long time ago. But this student was notable in one specific regard. He had once won a bet with her and used that opportunity in a way that she had not expected. She had not refused mostly because by that time their time as a master and a disciple had been mostly over anyway and sometimes it felt nice to do something forbidden. ‘Really fates?! You threw the one disciple I shagged at me? Seriously?!’ Her internal screaming continued.

There was a reason why reincarnators sometimes got involved with each other. Familial bonds and ties of friendship were not the only connections that became difficult to form after enough lifetimes. The same applied to romantic bonds. It was common for even the short-lived humans that older people had a much different perspective on romance than the younger people. The same held true and even to a much larger degree to very old reincarnators. Some of the oldest reincarnators Karna had seen had given up on romance almost entirely, except with other reincarnators that could relate. Once again, she had managed to retain some of her original youthful feeling towards romance, but even she had noticed that it took more to fall in love and to truly feel the sort of connections she had felt in her earlier lives.

Interestingly, not all connections and emotions were affected in the same way. It was somewhat ironic that feelings like excitement in battle, thirst for knowledge, and plain old lust were mostly unaffected and sometimes even heightened by the lack of other connections. Karna had always suspected that was because those feelings had a strong biological and instinctive component. For instance, sexual desires and the need to procreate were hard-wired into most living beings, and the excitement one felt in battle helped you to survive. As a result, due to being the easiest methods to feel something real, some reincarnators turned all their attention to these more base emotions and turned either into debauched lust-filled people, battle-crazed maniacs, or secluded hermits seeking freedom from all such worldly desires. On the other hand, as a safer option, many reincarnators sought the company of others of their kind, although those bonds rarely lasted too long. Certainly, this one had not lasted more than that one night, as the young man kneeling at his feet had found out rather quickly. There was a good reason he was afraid of her now, as things got a little stormy. They had not parted on bad terms as a whole, but it did make things a little weird.

Karna showed none of her thoughts on the outside though. “I see. Well then. Why have you sought out this parlay? Surely it wasn’t just to apologize, as you could’ve escaped. And you aren’t my disciple anymore either.”

“I know master. I also know that something odd is going on in this universe and you tried to seek me out. I know better than to get on your bad side. I came to the conclusion that if someone knew what was going on, it would be you, and that you were probably seeking me out for some purpose. I also know that if you really wanted to find me later, there’s very little I could do to hide. I thought it better to simply surrender myself to your mercy and get this over with. If you’re going to come after me anyway, I’d rather just get this life over with before I waste more time, and just get to the next one.” The young man explained his reasoning.

Karna considered his words and now knew that the decision suited what she remembered of his character. He had always been careful, but not the type to put up a futile struggle against the inevitable. Some would consider that cowardly or giving up too easily, but he simply considered it efficient. If you would just be born again, why fear death and waste time? “You mentioned your talent in air and lightning magic, as feeble as that boast may be. Have you channeled power directly from the elemental planes?”

The young man looked up in surprise again. “Not yet.” He said finally. “I remember your teaching about doing that harming the elemental planes and incurring the wrath of the spirits. I…have the ability, but I wouldn’t use it unless absolutely necessary.”

Karna believed him. He was not the type to take such risks unless something he cared more about than his life was threatened, and even then there were few things that he would really care enough about. He wasn’t the type to form bonds easily, and hadn’t been even in his first reincarnation. That was one of the reasons he had approached her so boldly in the first place. That and the fact that she had been less than discerning in some of her lifetimes, that particular life being one of them. She was far from immune to the vices that some of her bloodlines brought her after all. Still, even if she wasn’t too picky about her partners in general, that had been a low point even for her.

"Good. Don't. Not even as a last resort. Otherwise, I'm going to have to deal with you. And I mean a bit more permanently than just sending you to your next life." Karna threatened. Threatening reincarnators was always difficult, as they always had an easy out unless you had some proper leverage. And the boy was aware of just a bit of what she could do to make things difficult aside from simply erasing him completely. That was something he wasn't aware of, luckily.

“In that case, I may have something for you. One of the people that Ascended from our plane about a century ago was from our sect. The way my master talks about them makes me think they did draw on the elemental planes. Since they’ve been gone for a century and my master doesn’t like speaking about them, I’m not all that clear on the details. I can get you more information though.” The Stormcaller promised.

“Good. You do that and I’ll forgive your transgressions.” Karna promised magnanimously.

As she was about to leave, the young man spoke again. “Master, there’s no chance that...” His expression made it clear what he was thinking. He couldn’t help but ask, as it had been one of the highlights of his lives so far.

“No. Divines no.” Karna shot that idea down firmly. "First of all, I'm way too young no matter what my mental age is, and secondly, heck no. Get me that information so I won’t smack you just for suggesting it.”

------

"You're a bit late," Tsumi commented as Karna sat down next to her. "Your award was already handed out, but I collected it in your stead." She tossed Karna a bag with several books. A single glance showed them all to be spellbooks of rather high level.

"Interesting," Karna commented.

“I think the interesting part is coming up next. A student from the Academy won the whole thing, and I’ve got a sense they’re about to make a move on you judging by the fact that the whole thing was delayed until you returned.” Tsumi pointed towards the arena at the center where the elven man known as Menranel was just about to state his wish. The real winners of the tournament were granted a limited wish by the institutes. Since the tournament was relatively minor in the grand scheme of things, the participants knew to keep their wishes within reasonable bounds as well, as the reward would not be granted if the wish was too extravagant.

“As the winner of this tournament, what is it that you desire?” The headmaster of the Frospeak Institute ceremonially asked.

“I wish to issue a challenge.” Menranel declared with a clear and loud voice. “Normally this kind of challenge would be considered shameless, but the target of my challenge has slighted me and my associates. They need to be taught a lesson in humility. And what better way to do that than to give that lesson in public?”

“I see. This is why they didn’t make too many overt moves against me before. They wanted to make sure everyone knew about it. They’re rather confident in their victory though.” Karna commented calmly.

“Well, he is the crowned student of his year in the most prestigious institute on the Higher Planes. He has a reason to be a little smug. He’s also quite skilled for his age and rank and just won the tournament. It’s a shame you didn’t get to see his last fight.” Tsumi explained.

The headmaster of the hosting institute seemed intrigued by the development. “I see. And who do you wish to challenge?”

"I wish to challenge Karna from the Academy," Menranel stated confidently.

That got everyone’s attention. They had assumed that Menranel would challenge someone from another institute, which is why he had used this opportunity to do so. But instead, he wanted to humiliate a rising star in front of all the other institutes. The Headmaster looked towards Tsumi. “We cannot compel her to accept of course. That’s up to your Headmistress and the person in question.”

Before Tsumi could intervene, Karna got up from her seat. “I will naturally accept. I can’t say I agree with the reasoning of my senior student or the excessive pride of his little social club, but if he insists, then I shall oblige and show him the error of his ways.”

“Will you be okay?” Tsumi asked in a whisper.

“Don’t worry. I wanted to make an example anyway. He simply provided me with the perfect opportunity and stage.” Karna reassured her. As Menranel was a fresh rank five mage, normally someone like Karna would have zero chance of victory. Yet she wasn’t worried, and she wasn’t alone. Stormcaller had returned to the audience as well, and it was clear on his face how little he thought of Menranel’s chances.

“I’m allowed to use all my abilities, correct?” Karna confirmed as she stepped on the arena. Out of Menranel’s sight, she tapped at the insignia on her uniform that showed that she also had a spirit. While her opponent couldn’t see the gesture, the teacher judging the fight did. Gem had already been summoned and had turned invisible upon appearing.

“Of course.” The referee nodded in understanding. He also turned towards Menranel. “Usually the one who was challenged would decide the conditions for the fight, but as this is your reward, you’re allowed to pose terms.”

"No holds barred until one side is unable to continue," Menranel stated. The fact that he had left out the option of surrender showed that he clearly planned to teach Karna a lesson in pain.

“Will this be agreeable?” The referee asked Karna, who nodded in turn. “Fine, the terms are set. Let me remind you however that we will not tolerate killing blows or intentional maiming. On my mark. Fight!”

Karna materialized another blade made of hard-light, while leisurely waiting for Menranel to make a move. She was usually the type to end fights as quickly as possible, but she was here to make an example. That meant showing just how pointless this attempt was despite the difference in rank. Menranel knew he wasn’t Karna’s equal in melee as he was a pure wizard type, so he started off by casting spells that increased his speed and strength just in case. Those were relatively simple buffing spells, so it didn’t take more than a few seconds.

“Let’s see how long your Qhaysh barriers can stand against my magical assault!” The elven senior student declared.

With his preparations done, Menranel started his attack. Spell after spell was quickly lobbed in Karna’s direction. Most of the spells were actually relatively high level, fourth and fifth circle. Despite this, Menranel showed why he had won the tournament. His execution was clean and flawless, as well as very fast. He was also able to cast multiple spells at the same time, which made the barrage of magic impressive for his rank, and were a good display of the skills that had carried him thus far The barrage of spells was simply too much for most people. It was also why it was so baffling that all those spells fizzled before they even got close to Karna.

“What’s going on?” Siegfried had to ask Tsumi, as his experience with mages was inadequate to explain what was going on.

“Karna is unweaving all the magic Menranel is using.” Tsumi leaned forward, impressed with what she was seeing. “Menranel’s spells are very streamlined, which makes them so fast to cast, but that leaves them vulnerable as well, as most of the guff that would protect the spell against this kind of thing is removed.”

Directly blocking spells was the most common way to defend against them. A simple barrier was usually enough to stop most spells, unless they were specifically designed to go through such barriers. It was also very costly when it came to mana as it usually cost more to block a spell than cast one, but it was fast and simple. It was also possible to counter spells by using your own spells to intercept them on the way. Opposing elements were a particularly efficient method, but that method required precision and careful control of the power you spent. If you missed even one attack, or didn’t use enough power to block the incoming spell, you got hit. That often led to wasted power, and the person who was casting faster usually won by simply overwhelming the opponent.

The third and the least used method was to attack the construct of mana holding the spell together. This method used very little mana, but it was rarely used for a reason. You had to know exactly where to attack the incoming spell to 'unweave' it, or you'd take too long and get hit. Even if you were familiar with a spell, every mage added their own little twists to the spells, which changed how to unweave them. So the skill required to unweave spells in battle was staggering, and impossible if the enemy used a spell you were unfamiliar with. Even experienced magisters were leery about using this method because the burden of knowledge was simply too large.

It soon became clear that Menranel’s attacks were not working. To everyone's surprise, he suddenly summoned a blade made of fire and closed the distance between the two. Everyone had assumed he wouldn't want to fight an Aura user in close combat, but it soon became apparent that he was quite skilled with the blade as well. Magic was not as efficient when it came to helping the user in physical combat, but the difference in ranks between the two made up for that. Or that was the idea anyway.

“Very bold of you elf.” Karna complimented with a snide tone. “However, you’re underestimating a proper Aura user a bit too much.”

For the first time since being re-born, Karna truly activated her Aura in combat. She was surrounded by an eerie glow of the same color as her blueish-white hair, and suddenly her strength increased exponentially. She might have been a third-ranked Aura user, but she was using the absolute best Aura cultivation method and had Awakened two of the very best bloodlines fully, even if those bloodlines needed time to grow into full effectiveness. Her power with Aura could not be compared to those of similar rank. With a simple shove, Menranel was pushed back and his blade of fire was shattered.

“Fine. Have it your way. I didn’t want to go this far, but I’d lose my position if I didn’t show you your place.” Menranel growled, now truly angry. Suddenly everyone in the room sensed some sort of weird and ominous power that they could not see.

Karna however just laughed. “Really? A soul attack? That was the absolute stupidest thing you could’ve done.”

The referee hissed in alarm and disgust and was about to interfere, and he wasn’t the only one. Tsumi was already preparing to jump into the arena as well. Soul attacks were abhorred for many reasons, and most certainly shouldn’t be used in a friendly competition like this. Karna waved them back though. “Let me tell you a little secret.” She said as she grabbed a hold of the attack with her own soul.

“There are several reasons why soul attacks are a silly idea in general. First of all, it’s a bit hard to judge if you actually have a stronger soul than your target, as that doesn’t depend on your rank or even age. And attacking someone with a stronger soul, as you've just done, is a bad idea even if you've trained to use the attack. Secondly, soul attacks bring really bad karma, which actually explains why I sensed such bad karma from you earlier. You’ve used this technique before and will need to be punished accordingly. Thirdly, when you use a soul attack, you leave yourself open for a counter. I'll be kind enough to not use that opportunity with you, because I don’t need to and because you’re still from the same Academy. Fourth and finally, soul attacks leave you wide open, as it’s really hard to focus on anything else while you’ve committed yourself to such a reckless attack. And you seem to have forgotten that I can summon a spirit. Gem, if you would please.” Karna listed up, lifting a finger up with each point while Menranel seemed to be frozen in place, with sweat dripping down his pained face.

Suddenly a large form appeared behind Menranel and a golden two-handed blade was pushed through his stomach. The blade was quickly pulled out and Menranel slumped on the arena floor, bleeding all over the place. Then the large being stepped to stand protectively next to Karna. Gem had appeared looking like a large angelic warrior with a bright golden-colored armor and a large golden-colored claymore. She looked quite impressive as she stood at least three meters tall, towering over her master with enormous golden wings spread around Karna for added protection. Gem looked like a righteous Archangel ready to strike down anyone approaching an innocent maiden, and the worst part was that no one could sense how powerful she was.

“You really decided to go all out with the theatrics this time, didn’t you?” Karna whispered Gem.

“I just thought I might as well make my first real appearance impressive, that’s all.” Gem retorted, clearly enjoying the attention. The spirit had never been all that interested in subtlety. Skilled yes, but not interested.