Today was the third day of Isaac and Johan's practice. The tournament began the day after tomorrow, so they both took it very seriously. They woke up early and met outside Johan's house. Then they walked to the secluded alleyway together.
Practice began as usual with several spars, almost all of which Isaac won. As they were approaching lunchtime, Isaac came up with a different idea.
"Can you just fire some icicles at me? I want to practice blocking them."
"Okay. Then I'll lend you the Ice Fragment Anima afterwards and you can fire some at me so I can practice dodging projectiles."
'Classic Johan. Only agrees to help you if you do something for him in return. Well... it's not like I'm any different.'
Isaac stood just a few steps away from Johan and beckoned for the man to begin. However, Johan was hesitant,
"Are you sure you don't want to go further away? The tournament's in 2 days, so you shouldn't risk injuring yourself just for some practice."
"If I get hit from here, that just means I never would've succeeded in the tournament anyway."
"Whatever you say."
Johan shrugged and raised his left arm, while Isaac readied his sword.
*Vwoom*
An icicle pierced through the air towards Isaac. Johan expected him to disintegrate it with his new Anima, but no arcs of purple appeared. Instead, Isaac swung his sword like a baseball bat cleanly hit the icicle.
It was sent flying back in the direction it came.
Johan was completely unprepared. He could stare wide-eyed as his own projectile struck his defenceless chest, knocking him backwards.
He stumbled half a step back and brought one hand to clutch at his chest. As he did so, the icicle fell to the snow-coated ground with a soft *thwump*.
Fortunately the icicle's sharp end hadn't hit him, so Johan didn't feel any kind of cut on his chest. However, he did wince in pain as he slightly twisted his upper body. He immediately realised this was not a bruise or a cut – the blunt force of the icicle had fractured one or more ribs.
He shouted angrily at Isaac,
"What the fuck were you doing?!"
However, his voice came out as quiet and unintimidating. Speaking loudly would cause his chest to heave and bring about a flash of pain, so Johan was forced to speak with this kind of small voice.
Isaac held himself back from laughing and replied in a somewhat earnest manner,
"I said I was going to block them. What did you expect me to do?!"
"I thought you were going to use your new Anima! And blocking a projectile doesn't involve hitting it that hard!"
"Why wouldn't it?! If I can do this in a real fight and return attacks to sender, it'll be much more effective than passively deflecting them. That's why I wanted to practice it! Besides, you said you wanted to practice avoiding projectiles."
"Not like this!"
Johan paused for a moment since speaking in such an animated manner was still painful. Isaac took this opportunity to interrupt him,
"There's no use in arguing now; what's done is done. First of all, are you sure you're alright?"
"No. My chest hurts like hell."
"Do you need to see a medic?"
"Only if you're paying for it. It was your dumbass mistake after all."
"Like I said, there's no point in arguing. Besides, I'm flat broke. I spent all my money on cultivation resources, so I can't pay for your medic anyway."
"Great. I used everything I had too, so what do I do now? I might be fine in the early rounds, but there's no way I'll make it deep into the tournament with an injury like this."
"How about taking a loan? You'll succeed in the tournament so long as you're healthy, then you can pay the loan back with your prize money."
Johan pondered it a bit and was about to ask if Isaac could get a loan and pay for him to get healed. Then he thought a bit more and realised there was precisely a 0% chance of that happening, even if Isaac did feel guilty about injuring him.
After much umming and ahing, Johan came to a conclusion,
"Alright. I have to show my absolute best in this tournament if I want to become the family successor. I'll take a loan."
Isaac offered to help Johan walk to the loan shark's office, but Johan declined. His exact words were, "You injured my chest, not my legs. I don't need your help."
Johan left on his own, while Isaac stayed in the alleyway to do some solo practice. There was something specific he wanted to work on, so he got to it.
*************************
Isaac trained that entire day and came back the next day.
Today he did very light training since the tournament was just around the corner, but there were still some things he could polish up or work on without fatiguing his body much. He did what he could, then finished his session and left.
He went straight to the library – his favourite place in the sect. It was the best spot to go to relax, chill out, and get his mind right for the tournament.
In fact, he didn't pick up a book immediately. He sat down in one of the chairs dotted around the ground floor and just soaked in the atmosphere. He watched others reading their books or searching through the shelves to find the right novel for them. He smelled the scent of books, both old and new. He listened to the near-silence which was only interrupted when somebody nearby turned a page.
He felt at peace. This was the world of literature, not the world of combat or cultivation. He could relax here.
Isaac sat in the chair for a while. He watched the world go by and just relaxed. It was only with an indeterminable amount of time later that he rose, with his icy eyes looking sharper than ever. His resolve shone brightly in those two frosty orbs.
It was good to relax. Moments like this were nice, but they also confirmed what Isaac already knew about himself. He didn't want to live in peace. He didn't want to watch the world go by while he remained still. What he desired was the chaotic life of a cultivator. A life where every second was filled with excitement, each decision was risky, and every risk would end in reward... or catastrophic failure.
Isaac had only just got his first taste of cultivation and he loved it even more than he thought he would. It wasn't just the thrill of everything which got him. It was the fact that, instead of reading a storybook, he could go out and live that story instead. Rather, he could go out and live something better than that story – that was his goal, at least.
The competitive side of him also loved the abundance of opportunity in cultivation. Most cultivators would claim only the talented really had opportunities, but Isaac vehemently disagreed. Most 2nd class talents were in middle stage right now, while he was in upper stage. He doubted even the 1st class talent had reached Rank 2 yet!
He'd been placed on a starting line far behind these people, but he'd already caught or overtaken most of them – and that was all because he had an opportunity. Just having the opportunity to cultivate gave him the opportunity to be great. Every problem he came across had to have a solution, and if it didn't, he would just create one. Nothing would stand between him and his goal.
After all, Isaac wouldn't be satisfied with surpassing his classmates. No... he wanted to surpass everyone. Everyone alive today, and everyone who had ever lived. He wanted to create the greatest story ever to exist.