The reaction taking place looks exactly like what happened when I used my Red Hydra's Buff on its Soul Energy in my match against a Ghoul last night.
The crimson energy melted away the orange aura in an instant, letting my blade slice through the ghoul and defeat it without a problem.
Although it is happening at a much slower rate, I can see the Ghoul's soul energy disintegrating the Qi in my sword.
My concentration breaks, and I immediately air-step backward and up in the air to avoid the rest of the motion in the Ghoul's swing.
The remaining Qi, that wasn't sucked away, trickles back into my core.
I can sense less energy within me. It really overpowered me completely using a single attack...
I burst into a huge ball of flames to block out the wandering eyes of the audience as I reassess my opponent.
Using all my new buffs, I have the upper hand on it speed, power, and agility. On top of that, my Red Hydra's Buff can annihilate it in seconds just like Maria did a few rounds ago.
However, I need to figure out why my Qi attack was negated so easily.
"Is our power gap really that wide?"
I hit the ground again and start to zigzag over to the Ghoul as it runs at me, covered in an orange aura swinging its silver sword.
My breathing slows down as I channel more Qi into my blade and allow my swordsmanship skill to form the perfect attack. Meanwhile, all my buffs are enhancing my speed, power, and precision to dodge the monster's incoming blade and land a slash right into its torso.
A wide-open gash appears across its side, erupting into a huge ball of flames, but the look of dissatisfaction on my face as I skid to a halt on the other side of the ring tells the full story...
The moment my Qi-infused sword sinks into its orange aura, the same reaction takes place.
My mana-based attack hits its flesh, causing a fiery explosive result, but every drop of Qi in my blade melts away as it is engulfed by the monster's soul energy aura.
Just like our match before, the Ghoul quickly heals its torn-up flesh without a moment to waste and comes running at me again like nothing happened.
The sensation of my energy being ripped away twice now repeats over and over in my head.
I activate all my buffs and dodge its incoming strike, not countering, just thinking to myself while air-stepping to the far side of the ring.
Its buff must be really powerful... or maybe my Qi is just that weak...?
I took out a nearly level 600 Wyvern just minutes ago, so the latter can't be it. My Qi isn't weak.
Just like the Power from the Red Hydra is shared with me, it must be getting a lot of shared energy from a higher being; The Lich King.
Maybe there's a way to overpower it without activating my buff. Just like mana control, maybe Qi just needs to be used in much denser points with less surface area, or possibly just more volume of Qi overall.
"I won't know unless I try."
The Ghoul comes running at me for another attack, and I decide to take it on this time to test my new theories out.
First, after outmaneuvering the monster again, I try to push the wave of hot energy into a more finite point in my blade as I slice through the Ghoul's white flesh.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
I focus on the feeling I used every time I would move up a skill level in training with Monk, especially when using Qi for fine movements in footwork. Using denser amounts in smaller surface areas gives a much more powerful effect.
The majority of the Qi in my attack here is positioned all to the tip of my blade.
As it makes contact with the Orange Veil of energy, the small dense tip of Qi pushes it inward for a fraction of a second. Instead of sinking in, the aura of the Ghoul is pushed to the side, just like the weaker mana-imbued energy all around us.
However, it fails to make it to the Ghoul's skin as the surrounding pressure of soul energy evaporates the incoming Qi before I can successfully land the attack.
Another explosion of fire follows as a gash is made in the monster's side and healed moments later.
I'm partly discouraged that that attack didn't do any damage, but also very excited to see there are limits to its power. My own Qi can scratch the surface. Knowing this, it's time to open up the flood gates.
I smirk, eyeing down my opponents again as we both run at each other.
After taking the Qi pill from Monk, my stores of energy seem to be filled to the brim. Used conservatively, this could last hours of intense fighting. Even against an opponent like the Blue Wyvern, if there were many of them in a ring, I could easily go a few hours using only the Qi stores I have left in me.
When Qi is thrown with a punch, or swung in a sword, most of the energy trickles back into my core after using the attack. Only trace amounts leave my skin or blade on contact.
However, this Ghoul is different. Every time I touch its aura, the entirety of my attack is taken away, and my core is being drained at a rapid rate. Just from the last 3 attacks, already 1/10 of my stores are completely depleted.
It's an odd sensation, but one I need to embrace to continue this fight.
If dense attacks work, maybe I just need to use a bit more Qi to increase the volume too.
In our next exchange, I allow over three times as much Qi to flow through my blade, oversaturating it to the point where energy stays in my wrist and arm still while throwing the attack. This nears my limit.
The movement feels much heavier, and not as natural, but using my swordsmanship perk, I still manage to keep it on target and maintain a peaceful state of mind while making contact with its aura.
The same thing happens as it did on my previous attack, only just a bit more. The edge of my blade pushes the orange soul energy away for a fraction of a second before it's fully engulfed and dissipated and the fiery blast concludes our exchange.
We turn to each other and try again.
Each time I swing my sword, I try to add just a little more Qi into the attack and compress it into the tip of the blade as much as I can.
We clash half a dozen more times before I take a breather to stop.
The crowd is roaring loudly, as to them it looks like an intense battle with fireballs and sword clashes is taking place.
To me, it's been a fruitful string of experiments that have led me to one conclusion; I'm too weak.
My MP stores are at 20% and my Qi is just below 40%.
I could absorb mana from the arena dome and continue, but from the fact that my last 2 attacks have been identical, and both of them hardly pushed through 25% of the monster's Orange Aura at most makes me believe no matter how hard I try, that Soul Energy is too strong.
I need many hours of practice, and a new style or technique to make any actual progress.
I take a deep breath in and out as the Ghoul screeches and runs at me, sensing the fact that my guard is down.
In this moment, I activate my Red Hydra's Rage Buff and run forward covered in a veil of Crimson Energy, slicing the Ghoul into pieces without a hint of resistance.
Before my buff is even activated for a full second, I turn it off and the ringing sound of notifications fills my ears and cheers from the crowd overpower the loud voice announcing me as the winner.
[Congratulations! 1.55x bet won on Fighter: The Flame Emperor]
[Your 30 Platinum Base Bet has been returned to your account.]
[16.5 Platinum Credits have been added to your account.]
[Stage 7 Fight Victory: Reward: 1.6450 Platinum Credits]
[1.6450 Platinum Credits have been added to your account.]
[Total Account balance: 65.8701 Platinum]
[Level Up]
[Level Up]
[Level Up]
[Level Up]
[Level Up]
[Level Up]
[Level Up]
[Level Up]
[117/1000 Mutant Ghouls Defeated]
I'm hit with a wave of exhaustion post buff, but manage to stand my ground and wave to the crowd as the rest of the flames clear.
This was a good eye-opener for me to see I have quite a ways to go. I need to train with Monk much more to get my attack power magnitudes higher before I'll get a chance to take a Ghoul down with my Qi alone.
The announcer asks if I'd like to move onto the 8th stage, but I show two thumbs down. The crowd is more than happy enough to end on an epic battle like that.
I was so concentrated in my own world trying to figure out how to use my new power, that I didn't realize I just put on one of the most entertaining high-stakes performances of the night.
The cheers of the crowd and yelling announcer fade from my senses as I'm teleported back into the underground training room.
My mind switches from wondering how I'll be able to raise my Qi capacity with Monk to wondering how fast I can get to Elen's Moon bar to finally speak with Maria.