CH 3 - ATLA 2 - Chi With Guru Pathik

(Word Count: 2,446)

As I traveled I tried many things to try and gain as many skills as I could to level them up. Because for now, they're the only source of Exp. I tried running for a distance, and then full on sprinting short bursts, I jumped around, I even tried cartwheeling and handstanding. It was so nice being able to move around without freaking dying.

I managed to gain skills for both Running and Sprinting, and Jumping and Leaping. It was a passive versus active type deal. And an Acrobatics skill. I also tried to sneak around a bit in the trees and though there was nothing for me to hide from, I got 3 skills from that exercise. Sneak, Muted Steps, and Hide. All three skills were boosted from the Street Rat Class and Muted Steps was a passive effect once I got it, so it maxed out pretty soon. 

Each night I camped, I tried practicing my sword swings like I've seen in anime, even copying moves I've seen in movies. I felt kind of cringe doing it, but it seemed to be working. It did raise the sword skill a bit. Though it really slowed down once it reached level 20. Maybe I need actual experience? With the Axe and Hammer skills, I was actually using them to chop wood and hammer metal. Not to mention I had experienced people correcting me if I messed up.

I also tried practicing meditation, sitting in a lotus position and using the meditation techniques I was taught in a mindful practices course. I knew I was going to have to meditate with Pathik, and I didn't want to appear totally incompetent in meditating so I made sure to practice every day. During these times, I tried to sense my Chi, but I wasn't having any luck.

I ended up traveling for just over 2 weeks. Throughout this time, I had intended to use my blacksmithing skills to make money, but due to the war not every blacksmith could afford to hire me. I would take on odd jobs around the towns I came across. Blacksmithing and Cooking ended up being the go to's and I leveled those skills quickly. I was able to make a bunch of money thanks to those two skills, and I purchased for myself a small hand axe and hammer, just because those skills were high-level already, and a bow and a full quiver. I was lucky enough to not run into any bandits yet, but I wanted to be as protected as possible. As a result, I ended up looking like a roaming mercenary.

With all of the skill levels, I gained enough Exp to level up again, so I put 8 points into Str, 1 in End, and 1 in Dex, and saved the 4 skill points.

STATUS SCREEN

NAME: Callan Stone

TIER: 0

GLOBAL LEVEL: 4 978/1,054 Exp

CLASS: Street Rat 4/10 978/1,054 Exp

STATS:

Str: 9 => 17

End: 11 => 14

Dex: 8 => 11

Int: 7

Wis: 6

Cha: 7 => 9

SKILLS:

Skill Points: 10

[Deception LVL 35 => 100/100]

[Forestry LVL 21 => 82/100]

[Axe Handling LVL 25 => 85/100]

[Wood Chopping LVL 25 => 80/100]

[Persuasion LVL 37 => 100/100]

[Hammer Handling LVL 12 => 70/100]

[Blacksmithing LVL 10 => 70/100]

[Sword Handling LVL 8 => 20/100]

[Knife Handling LVL 11 => 20/100]

[Sewing LVL 16 => 20/100]

[Cooking LVL 19 => 90/100]

[Leatherworking LVL 11 => 17/100]

[Running LVL 32/100] *New*

[Sprinting LVL 22/100] *New*

[Jumping LVL 16/100] *New*

[Leap LVL 12/100] *New*

[Acrobatics LVL 26/100] *New*

[Sneak LVL 16/100] *New*

[Muted Steps LVL 100/100] *New*

[Hide LVL 12/100] *New*

[Meditation LVL 23/100] *New*

[Archery LVL 10/100] *New*

[Carpentry LVL 10/100] *New*

[Sailing LVL 15/100] *New*

WP: 0

[Running LVL 1/100]

Reduces stamina cost of running by 0.5%/LVL

Increases your running speed by 0.5%/LVL

[Sprinting LVL 1/100]

While sprinting, Increases stamina cost by up to 1%/LVL to Increase your speed up to 3%/LVL.

[Jumping LVL 1/100]

Reduces stamina cost of jumping by 0.2%/LVL

Increases jump height/distance by 0.5%/LVL

[Leap LVL 1/100]

Can increase stamina cost of leaping by up to 1%/LVL to increase your leap's height/distance by up to 3%/LVL.

[Acrobatics LVL 1/100]

Increases balance and flexibility by 2%/LVL

[Sneak LVL 1/100]

Reduces chances of being seen while sneaking by 0.5%/LVL

[Muted Steps LVL 1/100]

Reduces chances of your steps being heard by 0.9%/LVL

[Hide LVL 1/100]

Reduces chances of being seen while hiding by 0.9%/LVL

[Meditation LVL 1/100]

Recenters your Mind, Body, and Spirit.

Increases recovery rates by 1%/LVL.

[Archery LVL 1/100]

Increases accuracy by 0.8%/LVL

Increases damage dealt by 5%/LVL

[Carpentry LVL 1/100]

Increases the quality of items you make by 5%/LVL

[Sailing LVL 1/100]

Gives an intuitive sense of directions while sailing. Gives a 1%/LVL bonus to all sailing/sea related skills.

Because the Air Temples are on their own chain of islands, I had to purchase a small rundown and broken boat, and fix it up myself using my axe and hammer. I didn't know how long I would be with the Guru, but I didn't want to be left stranded without a boat to come back on. So that was all I could do. I could probably sell the boat back for a profit anyway.

The journey was over though. I had finally made it to the Eastern Air Temple. It was beautiful. Atop 3 neighboring peaks were beautiful white buildings and towers, with long arching bridges connecting everything. 

It felt like it had been ages since he had first come to this world. Now that I am here though, I'm feeling rather nervous. I knew that I would have to face my fears, shame, and griefs. This is going to be emotionally exhausting.

I began the long ascent up the mountain to reach the temple.

Even with the boosted endurance, by the time I reached all the way to the temple, my legs were shaky. There were a lot of stairs. I looked around and the place was totally empty. I mean, I was expecting it but the vibe is completely different in person. Still, Pathik must be meditating around here somewhere.

Time to explore!

I wander through the courtyards, admiring the architecture and the murals. The place was completely unkempt, but it was still beautiful. There was even a fierce depiction of a sky bison, making it similar to a Hindu God or something. So cool. The sky bison were bound to be somewhere in the world. In Avatar Korra's time, the sky bison were back. Appa definitely couldn't reproduce through mitosis after all. I wonder if I could find one? It would make traveling the world a lot easier.

I make it to the backside of the temple, where it connects to a patch of woods, and I see the Guru meditating on a large rock. I catch him peeking at me briefly and he resumes meditating, so I approach to a reasonable distance and sit down, shrugging off my large pack.

Is this that waiting game elders do to test the prospective student's patience? Well, he knows I'm here, so I'll just wait. I begin meditating myself.

I still haven't had any luck in finding my Chi, so I begin searching for it now. As usual, I begin by focusing on my belly which is the sea of chi according to Iroh.

I don't know how long I spent focusing on my belly before I finally heard some movement from Pathik.

I peek open my eyes. He had jumped down from the rock, and was now observing me, amused with twinkling eyes and a grin.

"Usually when I receive a visitor they've come with questions seeking guidance. I've never had one join me in meditating before!" He laughs merrily. "So, how can I help our visitor from another world?"

I gaped at him in shock. "How…"

He chuckled, stroking his long bushy beard. "When one is connected to the pure cosmic energy of the universe, one gets a sense for these sorts of things. Your Chi has a foreign feel to it."

I breathed a sigh of relief. So I do have Chi after all. I was getting worried from all this time I failed to find it. 

"Well sir, my name is Callan Stone, and I am at the beginning of a very long journey. My home world is going through an apocalyptic change and so the gods and spirits selected a portion of the people to be sent out to travel through other worlds to gather strength. The hope is that we become strong enough within 5 years that we'll be able to save the world when we return. I have come to center myself to prepare for the journey ahead." I bowed deeply. "Guru Pathik, please, can you teach me to unlock my Chi and help me in clearing my chakras?"

Pathik hummed thoughtfully, stroking his beard. "That… certainly wasn't what I was expecting. Teaching you about Chi is easy, but to open one's chakras is no simple task. Are you sure?"

I nodded.

"Very well, I will teach you. But first, drink up!" He pulled out two wooden bowls from seemingly out of nowhere and handed me one. I grimaced, I had forgotten about this. Onion-banana juice. Bracing myself, I started downing the whole thing. These flavors really should not have been mixed.

~ CatAR ~

"Chi is the life energy that runs through every living thing. It connects us to each other, to nature, and to the universe. To be able to bend your Chi, you must first be able to sense it. Chi is something that has always been with you, so you will not feel it by looking for something different or new, as I suspect you've been doing. Chi is the energy of life! And just as life is always in motion, so too is its energy. Chi is always moving within your body, so you must keep the rest of your body still to sense it. Let us meditate."

We sat down in the courtyard, and began meditating.

~ CatAR ~

It took me 2 days of dedicated meditation to finally sense my Chi. I first sensed it at my fingertips instead of in my center. It was a tiny flow of vibration.

Now to move it at will.

"Chi is a spiritual energy that is applied through your body. It moves with you. So to learn to move your Chi, you must move yourself as well." Pathik then walked me through a flowing kata. It was like a dance. Wait a second, this is definitely Tai Chi! I think. With this kata, I could feel the Chi flowing through my body. From my stomach out to my arms, down to my legs, back to the stomach. It was a tiny flow, but it was there. I didn't really know how much Chi I had compared to others, but I could guess that it wasn't much at all. 

Another 4 days of that, I was able to move my Chi consciously inside my body. But I was still unable to push the Chi outside my body. Is that what I need bending for? To use Chi outside the body? No wait, isn't Energybending just really advanced Chi manipulation? That means I should be able to do this. There was also that scrying thing that Aang and Korra could do, but that wasn't really bending, but following their spiritual connection to others.

From the wiki pages I've read of Avatar, it said that Chi is the root of all bending and that bending is just using Chi to manipulate the environment, but that is simply not true. Or at least, that's not all of it. If it were, then anybody can be a bender and bend all the elements, not just one. Instead, it must be something the lion turtle's did that allowed one's Chi to be connected to the element.

Now that I was actively cycling and using my chi, I could really feel the difference. I felt like it was making my body feel stronger, protecting my body, and I felt younger. I checked my reflection and I looked to be 20 instead of 26. It seems that actively using one's life energy has its benefits. It was a bit concerning though and I worried if I was just burning through years of my lifespan. But Pathik laughed at my question and explained that Chi was the energy that was produced by living, and wasn't connected to your life span. I sighed in relief. Chi wasn't the actual Lifeforce that I've read in other comics, manga, fanfics. Using Lifeforce would directly shorten your life as you used it up. Instead, Chi would refill itself once it was used.

At the end of the sixth day, I was feeling great, so I checked my System.

STATUS SCREEN

NAME: Callan Stone

TIER: 1

GLOBAL LEVEL: 5 1,134/1,841 Exp

CLASS: Street Rat 5/10 1,134/1,841 Exp

STATS:

Str: 17 => 20

End: 14 => 16

Dex: 11 => 13

Int: 7

Wis: 6

Cha: 9 => 10

Free Stats: 20

SKILLS:

Skill Points: 10

[Deception LVL 100/100]

[Forestry LVL 82/100]

[Axe Handling LVL 85/100]

[Wood Chopping LVL 80/100]

[Persuasion LVL 100/100]

[Hammer Handling LVL 70/100]

[Blacksmithing LVL 70/100]

[Sword Handling LVL 20/100]

[Knife Handling LVL 20/100]

[Sewing LVL 20/100]

[Cooking LVL 90/100]

[Leatherworking LVL 17/100]

[Running LVL 32/100]

[Sprinting LVL 22/100]

[Jumping LVL 16/100]

[Leap LVL 12/100]

[Acrobatics LVL 26 => 30/100]

[Sneak LVL 16 => 19/100]

[Muted Steps LVL 100/100]

[Hide LVL 12 => 14/100]

[Meditation LVL 23 => 100/100]

[Archery LVL 10/100]

[Carpentry LVL 10/100]

[Sailing LVL 15/100]

[Baguazhang LVL 35/100] *New*

[Chi Manipulation LVL 30/100] *New*

WP: 350

[Baguazhang LVL 1/100]

The Eight Trigram Palm, an internal martial art focused on spiritual, mental and Chi refinement. This style serves as the basis of the Airbending forms.

Increases mobility, flexibility, and balance by 1%/LVL.

Increases damage dealt by 1%/LVL.

Increases control of Chi by 0.1%/LVL

[Chi Manipulation LVL 1/100]

Increases control of Chi by 0.5%/LVL.

I tiered up! Now that I can control my Chi, I'm counted as a Tier 1 being. And now I gained 20 free points to spend, and 350 WP! It seems like I completed some quests. I won't have access to the Store until I go back to the Library, so I'll just leave those be. The free points though, I'll distribute 4 to End, 7 to Dex, 4 to Wis, and 3 to Int. To make things a little neater. Then I had 2 points remaining, I put them in Wisdom, which would help with the spiritual nature of Chi. So now my Stats are:

STATS:

Str: 20

End: 16 => 20

Dex: 13 => 20

Int: 7 => 10

Wis: 6 => 12

Cha: 10

I was now twice as strong and fast as a peak normal human. I wasn't too sure how I compared to the humans of this world, as many of them were tier 1 as well.