“So, disciple,” Nadia started. “What would you have done differently in the fight?”

Both Nadia and James were back in the Blue Mountain Sect resting on the floating gazebo. The lake gleamed underneath, reflecting images of the false sky above. James glanced up at one of the clouds, his face in concentration.

“I should have taken stock of the area before the fight,” James said. “I could have seen the nest of cords earlier if I had.”

Nadia nodded. “Agreed, disciple. However, remember that taking your eyes off an opponent can be disastrous.”

“How am I supposed to check my surroundings then?” James asked.

“You must learn to take in your surroundings at all times,” Nadia said. “For example. If we were going to spar right at this moment, what could you use around you?”

James looked away, only for Nadia’s hand to impede his vision. “Without looking again.”

“Not much,” James admitted. “I can’t use the water since you can control it, and none of the plants would work either.”

“Could you not hang from the side of the railing here?” Nadia asked. “Use your mobility to get out of sight?”

“Wouldn’t you just destroy the gazebo then?” James asked.

“No matter how stable this structure seems, disciple. It is still in the air,” Nadia explained. “I believe most cultivators would find it hard to destroy their own footing for the small chance to strike.”

“Not everyone would think like you, though,” James said. “How am I supposed to predict another person’s thoughts?”

“It is easier once you achieve the metastate,” Nadia said. “The state would give you more insight into small movements. A flick of the eyes or perhaps a twitch of the hand could reveal someone’s intention. Of course, that is for those who have trained extensively in the state. For early practitioners the state only helps what you already know.”

“So I can’t practice this?” James asked. “I have to be in fights if I want to learn how to predict?”

“Sparring works as well,” Nadia said. “But you must make sure you spar with more than one or two others. Or else you might find your predictions too focused.”

“Got it. So I need to find others to spar with,” James said.

“Yes, and I would have had you sparring earlier if not for others blocking my way,” Nadia said.

James frowned. “Master, why can’t you use your family’s influence? Or actually, why are you with the sect when they treat you like this?”

“It is complicated, disciple,” Nadia said.

“I mean, you have an entire floor to yourself,” James said. “How come you can’t tell others to listen to you?”

“My position is… delicate,” Nadia said. “I act as a hunter for the sect, but also for the emperor. The Blue Mountain Sect will give me missions to hunt the more dangerous beasts or demonic cultivators, an important task in the sect. You would usually be correct in thinking that my position would give me more power. However, I am also a hunter for the emperor, tasked with retrieving those who are too dangerous for society. Suffice it to say, sects are a jealous lot. Since my allegiance is, according to them, split, I cannot be fully involved in the sect. They believe that I would steal their secrets for the emperor. But they cannot afford to remove me from my position in the sect due to the influence my family brings.”

James looked perplexed. “So just leave the sect and join another?”

“Loyalty is important to us, James,” Nadia said. “When credits are easy to come by, another currency rises to the top. If I left Blue Mountain Sect without a good reason no other sect would take me.”

James didn’t think that was true, but decided to drop the topic. “So, back to the fight. Before, when I was running from the gang members, something strange happened.”

Nadia smiled. “I thank you for your change in topic, though you must learn how to be more tactful about it.”

“I’m plenty tactful,” James said. “I could’ve continued the conversation you know.”

Nadia chuckled. “I’m sure. Now, tell me about this strangeness you encountered.”

James explained the feeling he had when he had to swing himself off the pole. How the world came into focus and how things he’d never thought about came into his head. “It was like everything went right all at once,” James said.

“Congratulations disciple,” Nadia said. “I believe we’ve found the solution to your problem.”

“I don’t follow,” James said.

“Ancients called the technique the ‘zone,’” Nadia said. “A mental state of energized focus. It is a way to reach a merging of unconscious and conscious. Exactly what you need to reach the metastate.”

“What so I just start running across the city?” James asked.

“No, disciple,” Nadia said. “Your focus came when you had to complete a hard task. I shall try to replicate that. I shall craft an obstacle course that requires you to enter this zone.”

“Sounds like fun, actually,” James said.

——

“Master, why does your obstacle course look like a skateball rink?” James asked.

They were back on the training grounds, the area around them shifted to look like the banked track skateball players raced on. There were additions to the track, a series of poles, blocks, and other obstacles that were no doubt meant for James to traverse.

“The sport is just different enough that it should bring you into focus,” Nadia said. “And do not worry, you will not need to install the unique cyberware the skateball players wear. I have procured a set of antique skates that will work perfectly.”

Nadia gestured to the pair of roller blades that sat at her feet.

“Master, don’t get me wrong, I’m glad you set this up, but don’t you think a more traditional course would be better?” James asked.

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“Disciple, don’t you trust me?” Nadia asked.

“You know I do,” James answered.

“Then believe me when I say that this is the best option for the moment,” Nadia said.

James sighed. “Alright. Where do I start?”

Nadia picked the roller blades up and handed it to him. “Make sure these are on tight.”

James donned the skates, tightening the straps until his feet no longer shifted. He felt something inside the blades expand, a gel like substance from the feel of it.

“What is inside this?” James asked. “It feels gross.”

“A special gel to prevent blisters and other sores if the roller blades do not fit perfectly,” Nadia said. “Now, let’s begin.”

James stood, wobbling as he did. He settled quickly, his natural balance and his martial arts training keeping him upright.

Nadia nodded. “Good, we do not have to work on you standing. The next step is to learn crouching, leaning, and pivoting. Your training should also help with this.”

James followed Nadia’s instructions, going through various motions and balancing on one skate at a time. It wasn’t as hard as he thought, balancing on the blade was similar to walking on a pole. The only difference was that James moved if he shifted his weight a bit.

Once he got the hang of it, Nadia had him start skating.

“Push forward and out as you move, transferring your weight from leg to leg,” Nadia said.

The instructions weren’t hard, and James soon found himself enjoying the new sensation of gliding across the ground. “Man, I could’ve made so many deliveries if I had these back in the Tower.”

“It seems you’ve gotten the hang of it, disciple,” Nadia said. “I shall increase the difficulty.”

“Hold on, just let me enjoy this for a second,” James said.

His argument fell on deaf ears. Nadia already had her handheld out and was pressing the screen. James heard the room shift around him. The track thinned in some places, or curved, while the various obstacles started to move.

“You must complete the course without getting hit once, disciple,” Nadia’s disembodied voice said. She had once again vanished from the training area. “The track will restart if you are struck.”

“Easy enough,” James said.

He regretted the words immediately. A ball flew from an opening in the distance to strike him squarely in the chest. He lost his balance, falling to the ground in surprise.

The world reset around him, practically rewinding as everything returned to its initial position.

“You will have to focus, disciple,” Nadia said. “Just as you did while climbing. Try to remember how it happened.”

And that was the problem, because James didn’t quite remember how it had happened. All he knew was that he needed to do it.

James stood and started to dash. The first strike came again and James leaned out of the way. Unfortunately he leaned directly into an oncoming pole. The hit almost sent him tumbling, but James caught himself before he crashed to the ground.

The world reset.

James stood and dashed, dodging to the left this time. He tried to focus, to see what he had before. He knew he needed it, but the focus he’d felt before wasn’t coming.

He dodged the ball and quickly reacted to a low bump that appeared on the left. But picking his skate up put James off balance, and he was unable to dodge the second ball that came his way.

The world reset. It reset a lot, and quickly. No matter which direction James went he was struck. He punched the ground in frustration then stood.

James dashed and the world reset. Again and again James threw himself at the obstacle course. His vision narrowed, his thoughts of anything but the track slowly vanishing one by one.

As his thoughts left him, James started to act on instinct, which put him no further than before. The world reset as he once again fell to an incoming ball. Angry now, James kicked at the ground.

A hand placed itself on his shoulder. “You are not thinking, disciple,” Nadia said.

“I didn’t think it would be this hard!” James growled.

“Yes, but nothing worth doing is easy,” Nadia said. “Take a step back. How would approach this if you had to deliver a package. Remember, the goal is to get to the finish.”

James shook his head, doing his best to clear his mind. “I know I have to get to the finish, master.”

“Do you?” Nadia asked. “Because it seems to me you were focused only on the obstacles.”

James frowned. “I need to focus on the obstacles to reach the finish line.”

“And by doing so, you forgot the goal,” Nadia said. “Now, take a step back and think of the whole. Remember, how would you approach this if you had to deliver a package?”

James took a breath, slowly letting it out to calm his nerves. He looked at the obstacle course again, really looked this time. He looked at the places that fired the balls, and at the long poles meant to throw him off balance. He looked at the creases where the bumps would appear and at where the track thinned.

He started to think, imaging himself moving across the track. A picture of himself appeared before him, skating across the track. James saw the first ball come, fired out of the closest trap. As the ball moved, the rest of the track moved as well. James started to see.

The track worked in conjunction with itself. When one part moved, others started up as well. Because James was so focused on the thing right in front of him, he had missed the other pieces activating.

He shook his head. It was really that simple, wasn’t it. He had forgotten to focus on the whole.

His imaginary self twisted around the ball, lifting a skate to avoid the bump that appeared and then used the momentum to spin in the air and avoid another ball. The image vanished after that, James unable to think of what would come next. He hadn’t gotten very far in his initial runs, had he?

“Okay, I’m ready to try again,” James said.

Nadia removed her hand from his shoulder and stepped away. “You will succeed, disciple.”

James nodded lowered into a crouch. He focused on the track, bringing his imaginary self to the forefront of his mind as he dashed into the course. He kept his thoughts open, doing his best to take in all the various moving parts.

There was a clunk of machinery and then a pop as the first ball launched. James followed his imaginary self, twisting like before. He brought his skate up over the bump that appeared in his peripheral vision, and then immediately used the momentum to spin as another pop sounded from ahead. He felt movement just underneath him as the ball shot past.

James landed on one skate, quickly looking around for anything that changed. A pole had activated, and James could see he would be on a collision course for it. His eye caught a bump on the ground where he would normally dodge to, and he heard another pop from the ball machine.

The imaginary James crouched low and used his flexibility to lean under the pole as well as the ball, but James saw the ball’s trajectory at the last second and changed tactics. The ball would bounce off the ground and strike him if he didn’t move.

The world started to fall away again, but this time instead of a tunnel, James could see the entire track. He could see where the ball would bounce, and bounce again. He saw exactly how far the pole extended and how he had to move his body.

James crouched, but instead of bending his body he launched himself upward in a flip as the pole swung his way. He knew, somehow, that he could barely clear the obstacle and land on his feet. That gave him more maneuverability, which he used to shift out of the way of the incoming ball. He leaned the opposite direction just as the ball passed, avoiding the second ball that fired in his shadow.

The world became a series of movements as James saw each obstacle before him. He flipped, kicked off wall banks, and performed a number of flexible movements to avoid everything that came his way. Even as he moved James was preparing for the next obstacle, shifting his weight or position ever so slightly for a bit more advantage.

Two poles came at James and he dove through them, landing on one skate to avoid the bump that appeared just as he landed. He used the leg in the air as a counterweight to lean to the right, avoiding the ball that shot toward him. He continued the movement, using his hands to cartwheel over another bump trying to trip him up. A push brought him over the next pole. He landed, bending backwards immediately to avoid the next ball.

The last ball, in fact, as James realized a second later he had crossed the finish line. Nadia was clapping, the sound distant to his ears.

“Well done,” she said. “I knew you would succeed.”

“That, was incredible,” James said, his voice bringing the rest of the world back. “How did I do that?”

“You focused on the goal,” Nadia said. “In truth, I had expected it to take more time. The last few obstacles were particularly tricky.”

“I knew exactly where my body had to be,” James said. He spoke quickly between breaths. “I mean, I always know where my body has to be, but here I knew where I had to be in the future as well. And the obstacles, I knew where they were as well. And how they moved.”

He looked over at Nadia. “It was like there were lines that showed me where things would be. All I had to do was move away from the lines.”

Nadia smiled. “You are making progress. More practice is required, but I have no doubt that you will succeed. There is only one last barrier. And perhaps the main reason I made your obstacle course a skateball one.”

“What’s that?” James asked.

“Entering the state when things are less mechanical,” Nadia said. “What do you think of joining an amateur skateball match?”