Difference in Skill

Important Author Note: You're supposed to question the characters actions, supposed to find it weird, annoying, everything that will happen. The way the character act in here is NOT normal and shouldn't be. So I guess read it with that in mind? This is done intentionally and not for quirkiness. I can understand if it's still frustrating though. Hope you guys enjoy the chapter anyway.

There was another note at the bottom that used to say this, but longer. I can say that a little bit of insight into the character is in chapter 11, as well as slowly discovering more anyway. But not everything is revealed, for obvious reasons.

P. S. It should read as it was originally intended now that it is updated, but I'll leave the note anyway.

Now, onto the chapter.

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Karni was distracted by the pressure she put on him. She dashed towards him. He activated Golden Insight. He was thrown for a loop. 

She had multiple predictions? How was this possible? She somehow knew the trick that Yi Lan got him with? But it was their first time facing each other!

He almost forgot to dodge due to the shock. He was frustrated further. First Wu Siduo's behaviour, next this. The Soul Skill was supposed to help him, not confuse him! But he didn't have a choice. He had to make the most of the ability. Yi Lan did say something about it, but he couldn't remember it right now.

"Does your ability make you less capable?" Her words hit like hammers. Again. Who was this woman?

He did feel that with Golden Insight activated, he saw less shadows than the base form. The predictions didn't come from the ability itself. It was a passive effect of the Martial Soul. He had to figure it out, otherwise, he would have no hope of ever returning home. Unfortunately, against Wu Siduo, this Soul Skill was more of a hindrance.

She made a simple swipe with her claws at the very last second to keep him guessing. She had yet to activate her first Soul Ring. Karni managed to dodge the claws, if barely.

It was sharp. Her base form claws were sharp. Her very essence felt like that of a cat, observing its prey. How much did she train to achieve this? Was it possible to achieve this at this age? It was not just her body that changed, her spirit did. Everyone has a story about being scratched by a cat out of nowhere. He had to figure something out and fast.

Why was it that she already knew how to deal with his Soul Skill? How did she know to fight this way? He was confused. Extremely confused. Nothing made sense. But he didn't have the time to get caught up in these questions. He had to focus on the fight.

The third swipe arrived and by now he was better at reacting. Interestingly, as he decided to react faster, most of the predictions disappeared and only one remained. A single golden shape. Going directly at him.

He didn't know why this happened, but that wasn't important. He now knew how to proceed.

His movements were a lot lighter than before. And finally he realised how this came to be.

She was basing her actions off of his. The future was also something that couldn't be perfectly predicted. The predictions depended on him after all. If something depended on him, and he was the one seeing the future. Of course it wouldn't work perfectly. He had to limit them. That's what Yi Lan said. He had to be the one to act.

With another charge, it was time to test his theory. He couldn't wait. He had to have initiative in the fight. That's what control is.

As he expected. Multiple shadows became a single one and he could see it as clear as the sky. A simple dodge around her, executed with ease. Contrary to his previous worries, he now had a look of relief. The ability wasn't a burden after all, it was fair, with its own rules it had to follow. 

Her words caught him off guard though. "This is the second time you missed the chance to make me fall. I won't give you any more!" In the midst of his temporary excitement, he forgot that he should hit back. Yi Lan told him to use his Bo Staff before as well.

He straightened his Bo Staff. She was right. One has to juggle multiple things mid-fight. He charged. His confidence quickly disappeared though. Her first ring lit up! She hadn't even used her first ability, yet she was already pushing him around.

He tried to focus his attention on her, but was left agast. All he saw was a black shadow, he couldn't follow with his eyes. The speed was unnatural. In an attempt to stay focused, he instead lost sight of her.

"This is my first Soul Ring's ability." He heard from behind him and immediately swung. And missed.

"It's called Hell Rush." This time her voice came from his left. He saw a golden hand pound his face.

He instinctively ducked. Her claws missed. He tried to hit her again. And missed again.

While he technically had a weapon, that being his Staff of Predictions, it wasn't meant to attack, it was meant to control! Unfortunately though, he did not have a true control ability yet. Which meant it was up to his own abilities to control the situation. It's unfortunate then that Wu Siduo appeared much more experienced in that aspect.

"It doubles my speed." He heard a whisper next to his ear, and was softly pushed to the ground, before he even had a chance to react.

The squatting pose he was in when he ducked, wasn't exactly one of balance. And thus, the spar came to an end with a simple push.

The spar could be said to have ended as soon as he got surprised by her Soul Ring activating. Getting distracted and losing sight of her was a death sentence. 

All in all it came down to the difference in experience. His sixth sense could not get him to suddenly become good at fighting, nor could future sight. In fact, even without Siduo activating her Soul Ring, she was toying with him from start to finish.

"Someone owes me a kiss!" She smirked and helped Karni up.

Karni was frustrated. No one enjoyed feeling so utterly helpless. Even less so when facing such a person. "Hey. You were supposed to kiss me, not me you." He was stalling.

She acted as if hurt, though her eyes betrayed her the amount of enjoyment she was getting from this. "What? Are you going to make a lady kiss you instead?"

"Lady my ass, I am NOT kissing you…" As if it wasn't enough that he got defeated so one-sidedly… He stopped his train of thought… By a six year old… How was he supposed to get back home when shit like this happens?

She could feel the genuine change in his mood. No longer frustrated at her, but at himself. "Well then, I guess I can kiss you. But… another spar might help me change my mind?"

"What, so you can make fun of me again? You're just gonna beat me up one-sidedly now? What the fuck do I get from this!?" At the end of the sentence he even shouted. Why was he so emotional? He's been oddly emotional since he came here. Did it really get to him that much? He never fought before. She did. It shouldn't be THAT frustrating. Twin Martial Souls also didn't give one the ability to just be amazing all of a sudden.

She genuinely changed her tone. It was… soft and understanding. "That's not what I meant. Only fighting can make you better at fighting right?" He looked at her, still annoyed. But he was shaken for a second. Her eyes were… completely sincere. Was she being… considerate? Really? After all of that?

He turned to the ground. Thinking about it all. She was odd. And he was not completely stable right now. He lacked experience and she had it. Since he cannot get rid of her… Would it be worth using this chance? She might be a devil, but a devil that could teach him.

No amount of logic explained why she was this good. There was something wrong about this. About her. Something unnatural to both her words and her skill. It would be worth a try. Her tone also seemed surprisingly welcoming. He decided. "Would you be willing to teach me how to fight?" He started the sentence with confidence, but got quieter towards the end. It still felt embarrassing to ask a six year old that. But he refused to consider her a normal six year old. For his own sanity.

"No." 

Karni was taken aback. 'I swear. She was trying to be supportive for a second there wasn't she? What is wrong with this woman?!' The frustration got to him again. This creature. Looking her in the eyes, he was even more confused. How can her eyes be sincere with those words?

And just as they were sincere, they turned playful again. "If you give me some sort of reason to teach you, I would gladly help!" Of course. He was bamboozled by her consideration for a second. She was not the kind sister type.

"You bitc- I mean… Anything but a damn kiss. Please." He glared at her, but he was also pleading.

"That's okay. You can pat my head instead." Her eyes were odd. Not playful.

But hopeful? Karni was confused. This made NO sense. How does this kind of person even function?! Her mood is all over the place! She was playful just a second ago!

He cleared his throat, considering it. "Um… I think I can do that?" He answered with a half-question. It was weird no matter how he looked at it. But it was better than… a fucking kiss. At least this exchange didn't make him question his very sanity. If he told this to someone, he'd probably be sent to an asylum.

"Great! In exchange for sparring with me you will pat me after the spar!" Her face was the brightest it had been today. Again. The mood swings. Why was she so happy about this? 

'But could she at least stop saying it out loud?' This was the kind of unrealistic thing that would happen in anime, not in real life… No. Not even anime would do this. And this was real life. Which begged the question. Why exactly was she like this? A tinge of curiosity found itself in Karni's mind.

The skillful and serious person he saw during the sparring session disappeared. It was hard to believe this was the same person. It was akin to an actual cat. One second you cuddle with them, another, your hand is bleeding. Then it tries to apologise by cuddling, only to scratch you again!

"Now then." She said with a smile as wide as the ocean. "Let's spar again shall we?"

Karni was still on the ground. He stood up and focused. Wu Siduo focused as well, her playfulness gone again. Though that smile did remain on her face. It was a weird sensation. A smiling focused person.

She did not hold back this time. She activated Hell Rush immediately, dashing towards him. Similarly, Karni didn't lose sight of her this time around. He stayed focused and closely followed her with his eyes. He was consciously trying to "sense" her as well.

She still had multiple shadows. He reached towards her and tried to swing his Bo Staff. He had the longer range, she only had her claws. He had to use everything. In fact, he was thinking of what else he could use. His previous outburst felt foolish. She was the perfect sparring partner. One he could learn from through pain, but most effective.

She dodged with ease. He even saw the prediction dodge with ease, which was a… weird feeling. The more his decisions affected the future, the less future he was able to see, but it also became more fixed. The dodge of her shadow and her true body were immensely close in terms of passage of time, despite his ability being active.

He had no time to readjust his position. Despite the prediction, the flow of her movement was a surprise. Yet what surprised him more was how he changed the predictions. Could he… choose from the many options? She swiftly closed the distance to him and counter-attacked. No time to think about that now.

His future sight caught up with her again. He dodged with ease, similar to her. Learning from his mistakes last time, he attacked as he dodged, attempting to create distance. The distance between them was his best friend if he wanted to have a chance at winning.

However, wanting to distance himself and doing it were two very different things. As soon as he stepped away, she stepped closer, ready for another attack.

He dodged as she attacked. She never gave him the space to attack. This was the problem with a Bo Staff, not very good at close combat. In a matter of seconds, he was on his ass again. He knew what he should do, but he wasn't able to do it. Yet another thing adding to his already building frustration.

"You know, you really don't use that stick well." She suddenly said.

He looked up at her questioningly. "What do you mean by that? I couldn't even hit you back because you kept so close!" He was more and more frustrated, knowing she was correct. No. Perhaps that was exactly why he was frustrated.

"Then you simply shouldn't have let me come close. You should control the situation, remember? You're the Control System." She gave him a look that said he should know this already. Though Karni wondered. Could she just tell, or was that another odd thing she knew about his abilities?

An idea came to him. 'I should control. Attack is secondary.' Another thing he had to test out. "Can we have another go?"

She was about to say something about a certain deal, but kept her mouth shut this time. She had to give the guy a break. Her original reasons for doing them became sort of… obsolete. Based on his reactions. "Sure!"

The third duel began. Karni immediately showed the difference. Especially in regards to his mindset. While he tried to swing at her again, his main priority was now to keep her at bay. If she tried to adapt, he tried to adapt as well.

Making use of the Bo Staff's length. Making it so she can't even get close. Compared to the first two spars, this seemed to have worked. She was having a bit of trouble getting close and when she did, he left himself enough space to move out of her range.

She seemed oddly happy about it, so Karni decided to get some verbal revenge. "Can't do shit if you don't get close eh?" He gave her the same mischievous look that she gave him today a countless number of times.

"Haaa?" She returned a challenger's smile. She somehow started dodging all of the swings that were attempting to keep her at bay. His actions didn't fix her future. No. Her predictions even multiplied. How? How was she doing this?

He tried to make more distance between them, and, as if she was waiting for that exact moment, she pounced toward him. All he could see was a smile that he just gave her for the first time. His behind hit the ground for the third time now.

"You understand what you have to do, but you don't know how to do it yet. Don't get so cocky. I'm much more experienced than you!" She was looking at him from above, with a proud and confident look, but she softened and gave him a hand. Karni thought she was the cocky one. But he had to admit: she was simply better than him; no matter how frustrating it felt.

"I use my weapons and claws as a part of me. You use that Bo Staff as a simple tool. Don't forget it's a Martial Soul, it's a part of you. You should use it as an extension of yourself, no matter what form it takes." He genuinely listened to her. Despite being an ass, her advice was surprisingly useful. But she said something odd again. A person of this world wouldn't need to hear that. But Karni wasn't of this world, some concepts haven't truly clicked for him yet. Though he wasn't conscious of this oddity. He simply took it as advice.

Karni laughed bitterly on the inside. Of course he has heard of the concepts of making the weapon an extension of yourself. Oftentimes this was used as a sort of achievement or a lesson to give to a main character in Cultivation novels. But while he was familiar with the concept, actually understanding it and utilising it was something as foreign to him as this world.

She saw the helpless look on his face and coughed to get his attention. "In other words, you simply need to practise with it. A lot. Either with sparring or getting familiar with it by yourself. Eventually, it will click."

She's doing it again. Being considerate. And it worked. He composed himself. "Then can we continue with another spar?" His eyes were filled with expectation, with motivation. Yes. He had to learn. This kind of annoying person was the perfect person for him to improve against. 

Siduo sighed to herself. He had completely forgotten about his promise. She accepted another spar. Their sparring sessions were to be continued.

She continued to recommend certain moves, depending on situations. She showed him his mistakes, or reminded him that he could also attack with his legs or other parts of his body. The sparring sessions were incredibly fruitful for Karni. Her experience and wisdom felt, no, was far beyond her years. If anything, it felt like listening to a veteran.

A few of the times he felt like he started to win, but ultimately, he always ended up dirtying his bottom. The more he was improving in his situational awareness and skill, the more she got familiar with him. Occasionally, it felt like she could see the future just like him. She seemed a bit too familiar with his habits. Despite constant improvement, the frustration was winning over again.

It started getting dark and Karni won a total of zero times. Even though he improved, she was always two or even three steps ahead of him. Who exactly was the Control System Soul Master here? Why was she so skilled? It didn't feel fair. She was a six year old like him. Why did she read through him so easily? She was so obnoxious. Less so during the fights. He failed again! Just who was she? "Again!" He still shouted.