The First Cultivator

Azura carefully made her way down the street. To any passerby, she seemed to be taking a slow stroll. Like she was afraid of slipping on ice despite the summer heat, Azura ignored the looks and kept practicing as she made her way home. Overall, the trip out had been very productive. A mage owed her a favor, and she learned more about her powers. Ki functioned as an extra limb that could go anywhere about five arm lengths from her core. Perhaps as she increased the amount of ki, the range would also increase? That seemed likely.

When Azura got home, she found lunch awaiting her, laid out in a beautiful spread. Her mother, however, was absent. No doubt she was out on an errand of some kind. It didn't matter. What did was the food! She eyed the magnificent spread before her, a small tendril of drool leaking from her mouth.

Azura quickly armed herself and prepared to battle this vast foe when she paused. Her ki could reach anywhere around her, so… Why not eat and train simultaneously?

Outside observers would have been confused at the resulting spectacle. A girl was sitting still as food seemed to float of its own volition toward her mouth. Only about half made it to its destination. The rest exploded en route. It was as if a great force had accidentally crushed it during transit. Azura had to admit it was fun. Luckily, there was plenty more.

Twenty minutes later, the last morsel floated into her mouth, directed there with her ki. The resulting mess was… a bit much. Food was everywhere, even on the ceiling. When did that happen? She began looking for a stool when another idea occurred to her. The technique she was working on today basically stuck her to the ground… Would that work on the walls? The ceiling? She grinned. She had to clean up after all…

***

Coralline had a busy day. She decided to make lunch for Toren as he probably hadn't eaten properly since his brother's death. She didn't know where Azura had run off to, but she made so much food that even she couldn't eat it all… probably. On the way home, she gathered up Hamal and Gerald, both of whom were conveniently at the blacksmith's. After she picked up Toren, they returned home. Hopefully, Azura was still out. If the girl had started eating already, she might have to make a few more…

Her thoughts abruptly stopped after she opened the front door. A food explosion was the best way to describe what she found. Yet even more odd, and what froze her in place, along with the others, was Azura. The girl had a broom and was cleaning. That was fine. To be expected even. What wasn't expected was that she was standing on the ceiling… upside down. Her long blue hair was in a bun, and a lovely shirt was tucked into her trousers. The upside-down girl and the upright woman regarded each other for a long moment.

"Oops. Teehee." Azura said, dropping the broom, which clattered to the floor.

"Get down here," Coralline said as she stared at her daughter.

"No," Azura said as she lay on the ceiling, pouting. "You're going to yell at me."

"You're nearly an adult Azura. I'm not going to yell at you," Coralline sighed.

Azura raised one eyebrow.

"I'm going to strangle you," Coralline clarified, her hands mimicking the action.

"Oh, okay then," Azura said casually and got to her feet. Then, she proceeded to walk toward the wall. There, she made an odd 90-degree turn and began to descend vertically. She could have just released her ki, but she hoped this would be more impressive and distract her mother.

"How are you doing that!?" Toren asked, his mouth wide. Hamal and Gerald gave stunned nods of agreement.

She didn't answer. Instead, as she walked down the wall, she used her ki to pull a washcloth from its resting place to her hand. To the others, it appeared to fly right to her. Their shocked expressions made it all worth it. However, perhaps they were overloaded or just came to expect weird things from her as they recovered quicker than anticipated. Too quickly for her to escape trouble.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

"What is all this about?!" Coralline said, pointing at the destroyed food.

"Training," Azura said in a fake cheerful tone.

Contrary to her words, the way her ears were laid back and her limp tail gave away her true feelings.

Coralline sighed. "Really?"

"Yes," Azura said, her tone apologetic. "I was practicing moving food with my ki. It was harder than I thought. I got carried away."

"Ki?" Gerald asked.

"That's what I'm calling my power now. It's not mana anymore."

"Fine, whatever, just clean it up," Coralline said, then turned to Toren. "Sorry, I guess lunch will be delayed."

"No problem, we can help clean up…" Toren began.

"No!" Coralline snapped and looked at her daughter. "The troublemaker can do it herself. You boys can watch." Then she frowned in thought, which changed to a grin.

"Oh, daughter of mine," came the singing voice.

Azura was instantly on edge. "Yes…"

"This ki lets you move things without touching them?"

"Yes…"

"Well then, how about this…"

***

Toren was having a blast as he threw various food pieces at Azura, who had to stop them with her ki.

It was messy.

It was childish.

It was perfect.

The look on Azura's face when a half-eaten egg pelted her on the forehead was one he would never forget. For every projectile Azura managed to stop, three more found their mark. Hamal was the best, as he timed his throws perfectly to take advantage of the other's distractions. He even used his sling on a bread roll to nail her in the butt.

"Damn it Hamal! You're doing that on purpose!"

"Training!" He shouted gleefully, his rat tail twitching.

"Mom!" Azura cried.

"Training!" Coralline shouted gleefully.

The cup of water Hamal launched next got through Azura's defenses, leaving her shirt clinging to her form. Toren had trouble thinking afterward, although he ensured the barrage was constant.

Azura paused her haphazard defense. Victory was theirs! Which was confirmed as a pudding splashed against Azura. A second later, the fun ended when a faint shimmer appeared around Azura. All the projectiles spun away when they hit that shimmer, which formed a perfect dome around her. It was like the air was spinning around her.

Azura gave the group a triumphant grin… until she looked down at herself.

"You bastards!"

The three of them backed up in unison and weakly protested. "Training…"

***

Azura felt better. Revenge was indeed best-served cold. As in cold gravy in her friend's hair and/or fur. Once she figured out how to make a ki barrier by spinning her ki in a sphere around herself, none of the food could touch her. It seemed she really could do a lot with ki. As if to prove her point, the four messy friends ate a late lunch as Azura floated several feet off the ground in a cross-leg sitting position. She was projecting her ki from her legs and butt, holding herself off the floor as if they were extra appendages. The others had to stand as her mother didn't want them messing up her chairs.

"Azura, I've seen mages do plenty of magic before," Hamal stated, looking at her. "You aren't chanting the spell."

Azura lifted her chin and adopted a haughty expression. The salad dressing in her hair ruined it.

"The difficulty in dealing with the uneducated," Azura sniffed like an offended royal. "I told you I'm not a mage. I'm a cultivator."

"The thing you made up?" Gerald asked.

"Well… yes… but it's completely different from a mage," Azura said defensively.

"Looks the same to me," Toren shrugged. "The only thing I notice is that you don't say the spell."

Azura looked aghast. "How about what I'm doing now?" Her floating body did a spin before stopping in their direction once more.

"Levitation," Gerald said simply. "A few mages use them to lift heavy loads."

Azura looked annoyed. "Well, it's not."

"Looks the same," her mother said.

"How about when I was on the ceiling?"

To that, they had no response.

"Fine, how did you do that? I would almost say some gravity reversal spell, but I've never heard of that. That sounds rather terrifying. Imagine falling upwards," her mother said, shuddering.

Azura, finally satisfied, answered. "Think of my ki as an extra limb that can move through solid matter. I was projecting my ki downward through my paws and into the ceiling above. I was gripping a large portion of the ceiling to hold myself there. I've been practicing it all day."

The others were silent. For the first time, they wondered if Azura was indeed something different than a mage.

"If you say so," her mother said. "Okay, boys, head on home and clean up. As for you, young lady, clean up this mess and bathe."

"Mom! You encouraged it!"

"I'll help you," she said fondly.

"We can help. Least we can do for the fine feast," Hamal said, and the others nodded.

"And the entertainment," Toren added sheepishly.

Azura hit him on the head.