The Fourth Peak island master moved rapidly, her hooked polearm sweeping at John as they rapidly traversed between platforms. John thought he was getting a bit ahead, as she had to position herself solidly on a platform to make an attack. His continuous dodging was easier on him than such attacks were on her.
Then Venera missed her leap. An opportunity like that wouldn’t happen often, and John flicked a throwing dagger with his left hand, adding more ethereal flames to the few strikes he’d managed previously. He expected her to arrest her fall and reach the platform regardless, but her momentum would be lessened. He was half right, his dagger striking him even as she continued her attack without course correction at all.
Her weapon, coated in earth element, just barely reached the platform John was standing on. Yet the weight of earth upon it sent the whole thing crashing down- including John, as it pulled him along with its artificial attraction. The counterforce of her attack sent Venera into the sky, to land on another platform.
The attack felt almost like it pulled the arena to crash upward into the platform he was on. The crystal felt like it was activated in a different way, and John wasn’t able to disentangle himself before it struck the ground.
It seemed that the platform touching the ground was not a disqualification, as Venera still stood ready. John took special note that she would not miss her jumps, and did not need to fly to correct herself.
Still, he wasn’t actually damaged by the attack, just put in an awkward position. Now he had to fly upward towards his choice of platform- or directly charge someone with solid footing.
He kind of wanted to see if he could make the platform fly. Would it take earth, air, or both? However, learning to activate the crystals in the middle of combat might not be the best use of his time.
John sprang upward, letting the local area augment his air element flight. Venera rapidly bounded towards his chosen platform from where she had been in the center. John doubted he could stand up to her when she had solid footing and he did not, so he changed his trajectory for a position between the platforms. Her weapon wouldn’t be able to reach him, so perhaps he could fly above her. It would still be difficult to get footing on a platform with her guarding them, but he had to do something.
He felt it as she began to swing. Her weapon carried not just the force of an attack, but a field of gravity around it, extending towards him. It struck him like a massive hammer of earth element, clinging to him and pushing him down.
John wondered if this was a practical method of combat. For the Sky Islands, maybe it was. The restriction about hitting the ground in the arena was not an arbitrary limitation, despite how little danger there actually was. Even so, he thought it would be difficult to kill an opponent by dropping them out of the sky. But maybe that was his perspective as someone from the ground below who had to fly up. Ayhan and Lir would have a harder time arresting their fall to the world below, and it would be embarrassing either way.
It took more than a couple moments to rid himself of the earth element, but while he was immersed within it he studied the flow. There was actually a portion of air element mixed in as well, providing pressure that forced him downward.
He cut the flow of spiritual energy in half with his sword, forcing it off of him at the last moment. He negated his momentum a few meters above the arena floor. An attack like that… would be much more effective if his enemy followed him down. Venera had to know that. Which meant if she’d wanted to, he could have technically lost already. But this was a test. She was making certain he wouldn’t go out in one of the easy ways, rather than focusing on winning at all costs.
No doubt she had methods to cause more direct damage to him, even if he tried to dodge between platforms. John needed a moment to think, but he didn’t want to assume she had no ranged attacks. If he just floated where he was, he could maintain his position for a long time… but he would be close to being knocked down.
Time to test something he’d wondered ever since he saw Lir hovering behind one of the platforms, using it as cover. He charged upwards, towards a platform next to hers. He knew she would reach it before him, but he wanted to cause her at least that much extra consternation. He gathered his various elements, at the last moment using a portion of his air and earth to swerve to the side. Not up at an angle towards another platform, but instead directly at the underside of the same platform she stood upon.
He nearly bashed his head on it as it pulled him upward. He flipped over, placing his feet on it. He felt light, as the platform pulling up on him was somewhat less than the regular force of gravity pulling down. He was effectively flying, but it was nearly effortless.
“Excellent! I hadn’t expected one of the continentals to try that,” Venera commented from up above. “But it seems like you have forgotten something.”
He hadn’t, actually. Even as she amped up her elements to slam the platform downward, he was already acting. If she’d come around the side his water would have become a fog, but instead it became a cloud. Fire had been climbing stealthily around the platform. Air and earth were half keeping him in place, and half joining the other elements. Darkness kept his intentions concealed, and also took advantage of the technique where he had first seen ‘gravity’ at play.
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He doubted that most techniques that purported to affect gravity actually did so. Maybe the crystals that held up the Sky Islands- and the platform above him- but very few other things. Gravity Blade certainly wasn’t gravity, it just made his energy more ‘sticky’. But that was perfect for when John’s concoction of elements reached Venera, the cloud wrapping around her.
At that instant, he flared the ethereal flames already on her. They’d been practically dormant, but then they exploded into power. Not to directly harm her, but to add to everything that was happening.
A swirling vortex of elements pulled her upward at the same time as she slammed her weapon down on the platform. The rebound pushed her up, and John enhanced that. Meanwhile, he stepped directly onto the crystal to counteract Venera’s efforts, deactivating its enhanced pull for the instant he needed to push away. He angled himself for the other platform she had dropped, uncertain he could stop the downward momentum with just his flight abilities. Meanwhile, she was going up.
Her air and earth struggled against five elements tied together, and she seemed quite uncertain where she should start. She focused first on protecting her body and next on stopping the assault, which meant she was too slow to stop herself before she hit the vertical boundary of the arena. It wasn’t solid, instead more of a net to catch anyone… just in case. John let his elements fizzle apart immediately as that happened, as he didn’t have any need to push her further.
He hit the platform with a thud, letting his body flop limply rather than trying to fight it. He’d had a cushion of protection, of course, but it was still going to bruise. He only paid special attention to his head, as concussions were no fun.
Venera floated down towards him. “Was that your plan the whole time? Or only once I started dropping you?”
John shrugged. “I noticed that people here seemed particularly fond of dropping others. So I thought I’d do the opposite.” Technically, he could have used the burst of energy from the ethereal flames as a direct attack as well. His plan had some versatility to it, depending on what he needed.
“Neither of us were really brought to our limits, but…” she smiled. “It is still your victory. It was refreshing to fight someone different. I’ll admit I could have never anticipated… that. You are certainly worthy to go to the Third Peak.”
“Thank you,” John inclined his head. “I do have one question. I am rather unfamiliar with the system here. Would it be unusual to engage in additional battles after receiving permission to ascend?”
“That would depend on the individuals in question. But it is done often enough. You wish to battle again?”
“Absolutely,” John said. “I haven’t had a proper battle with as many different Ascending Soul Phase cultivators as I would like. I think there’s much we could both learn.”
She nodded. “I will gladly accept. Though I should note delaying more than a few days will be taken as a lack of confidence in your further ascension.”
“Just a battle or two and some proper time to rest, then,” John said.
He was lacking confidence. Not in his ability to continue on legitimately, but rather in the system and what the Third Peak might try to do. He wanted every edge possible, and some time to think about his strategy. Plus he wanted to see how would do in a straightforward fight against Venera.
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Just like his ‘tour’ around his home region, he clocked up some wins, and some losses. Frankly, that was the best result. An opponent that could beat him was important for growth, but being able to come out on top when he performed well was also critical.
He’d been worried about the two rank difference, but his cycle of elements helped close that gap. With reach Phase, those of lesser talent were weeded out. Ascending Soul Phase cultivators wouldn’t be lacking, but a cycle of core elements was a massive advantage. John had only been able to imagine it when he first started out- the Consolidated Soul Phase had been a dream at that point, let alone actually reaching where he was now.
Over the last few days, John had been bruised in pretty much every way possible, as he was battered around by Venera. Standing directly against her was where most of his losses had come into play, but once he had managed to slip inside her guard. He’d used his left hand to prevent her from retreating with her weapon, his grip solid. His augmented reactions had come in clutch just to reach that point.
“Thank you for the opportunity,” John said. “If you are ever down on the continent, please come visit the Six Elements Crossroads. We would be happy to receive you.” He’d have to inform people of the possibility, of course, or they might react poorly given what happened last time. “I’m sure you will find the continent quite different from what you’ve previously heard.”
She nodded. “You’re producing Ascending Soul Phase cultivators, among other things. That’s… unexpected. What elemental zone is your sect placed in? It must be difficult to find one that fits your particular elemental affinities.”
“Astrein,” John said.
She frowned. “Astrein? Isn’t that the… neutral zone?” John had the feeling she’d thought of a less complementary word first. “Forgive me if I’ve made a mistake with my geography.”
“No, you are correct. Calling it a neutral element zone would be appropriate. But unlike what people believed, it’s not lacking in spiritual energy.” It wasn’t really a secret how the Six Elements Crossroads actually flourished there.
Venera looked over John, then eyed Viriato and his disciples. “An even balance of elements? That still seems… rather difficult to handle.”
John smiled. “I was fortunate to be in the right place at the right time.” He still occasionally cooked with his disciples, using his elemental expertise for practical noncombat purposes.
He looked up. The next step was the Third Peak. He’d considered how he would approach it, and now he simply had to go through with things. His plans would be flexible based on their reaction.