Elem knocked himself on the side of his head. How could he be so stupid? The Kappa had been within his grasp but he had allowed it to flee.

“Where did you go?” he called. “Please come back. Honorable Kappa. I didn't mean to scare you.”

The water remained quiet.

Elem decided to swim to the center of the pond. His potential connection still had to be somewhere close. If he positioned himself in the middle of the water, he could confront the Kappa whenever it decided to emerge again.

He reminded himself that he had to be patient. Time worked differently while in a meditative trance. There was no reason to rush. He could spend days in this world and he would only be gone for a few hours.

Just as he had calmed himself, a slimy grip closed around his right ankle. Elem let out a panicked yelp. Reality hit him like a smack in his face. He’d been tricked. He had willingly given up his land advantage and walked right into the Kappa’s terrority. He was a bloody fool.

With a jerk, the Kappa pulled Elem deep into the water. He crashed and kicked, trying to push the creature away from him. But the water was muddy, severely obstructing his vision and the creature was fully in its element.

The Kappa’s sharp nails dug into Elem’s skin. Bubbles escaped from his mouth as he tried to scream. He had never thought that the inconspicuous pond could run this deep. To kill him, all the creature had to do was keep him under water until he suffocated. After all, if someone died in the spiritual realm his body in the physical world would perish as well.

Elem tried to stay calm. If he panicked his death would be certain but if he found a clever way to get away from the Kappa’s grasp he could still escape that terrible fate. He closed his eyes, trying to come up with a viable strategy.

A purple haze hung over his vision, quietly pulsing in a wave-like pattern. Of course, Elem realized. Essence manifested itself differently in this world. That was his chance- his only way out.

He opened his eyes again and tried to stir his Essence towards his hand. The hand began to glow a deep purple. Years of practicing boring cultivation forms were finally paying off.

Elem grabbed the Kappa’s webbed hand that had been pulling him down and brought himself closer to the creature. The air was leaving his lungs rapidly, he would only get one good shot.

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His hand shot through the water like a harpoon and the Essence-loaded palm strike smacked into the Kappa’s head, lighting up the water with a purple flash.

Elem raced to the surface as quickly as he could and breached the water with a gasp. He looked around. So far, nothing appeared to be following him. It appeared he had incapacitated the Kappa for now.

He quickly reached the shore. Too exhausted to walk far, he dropped to his back. His lips curled into a heaving smile. Sure, he still didn’t have a Summon yet, but at least he still had his life.

His peace only lasted a few minutes. Elem had only just caught his breath when he noticed something crawl out of the water. The Kappa looked crazed. Its body was covered in ooze and kelp. Its glare looked possessed, its eyes burning with hate.

Elem shifted into a martial arts stance. If he wanted to survive this encounter, he would have to fight the Kappa using his own Essence.

“Bring it on!” he yelled.

The Kappa stood hunched, its long tongue slithering in and out of its beak. The creature hissed before rushing at Elem, lunging at him with its webbed claws.

Elem tried to stay light on his feet. He pivoted to the side, avoiding the first few strikes, and then dived to escape another.

He threw an Essence infused punch at the Kappa’s body but this time his strike seemed to have little impact. His fist bumped off its scaly skin. The creature didn’t waste any time with an attack of its own and snapped at Elem’s face with its beak. He could only barely avoid the attack.

Elem stumbled away from the Kappa. His attack had done little to no damage and he was trying to figure out what on earth would work. So far, his first strike had yielded the most success. Another head strike, maybe that could work.

The Kappa hissed again. It opened its beak and from it shot a beam of water. Elem was too slow to react, the beam’s pressure threw him off his feet and smashed him hard against a nearby tree.

By the time Elem got back to his feet, the Kappa already hunched over him. It took Elem’s neck and pressed him up against the tree. The creature’s eyes glistened with joy; in this position Elem could no longer avoid its bite attack.

For a second, Elem considered breaking his trance. That would return him to the physical realm unharmed but would also send him home without a Summon. He decided that simply wasn’t an option but he had to think quickly if he wanted to survive the encounter.

His eyes fell on the Kappa’s head, on the water encased in the top of its head. According to legend, that was the Kappa’s weakness. If the water fell from its head it would severely damage the creature and, in some cases, even kill it.

It was his only shot. Elem pressed his Essence into his left forearm and slammed it into the Kappa’s chin. The creature’s head snapped back, splashing the water from its skull.

The Kappa fell down like a puppet with its string cut off and Elem immediately stumbled atop the slimy creature. He pressed his hands on the Kappa’s chest and took a deep breath as he focused on fusing their Essences together.

Elem was in complete disbelief. He was exhausted and had almost lost his life, but that didn’t matter. He had finally achieved his life’s biggest dream. He had connected to his very first Summon.