The Fourth Secret: A Fantasy LitRPG Adventure (Divine Apostasy Book 4) by A. Kay (best short books to read .TXT) 📕

sound to mask his attack. A small thud to Ruwen’s right almost caused him to move left, but his training stopped him. There had been a slight secondary sound, like a bounce, and Ruwen guessed Sift had thrown a small stone. Which meant he’d wanted Ruwen to move left into a trap.

From the defensive stance, Ruwen sank lower, placing his left fingers on the ground. With a quick twist, he brought his right leg around in a sweep to his left, hoping to catch Sift in the middle of his attack.

Ruwen didn’t connect with anything, but he felt the air disturbance as Sift shifted his attack into a flip over Ruwen’s leg sweep. Knowing better than to stay in one spot, Ruwen used the momentum of his sweep and flipped backward and away.

The snap of a kick echoed off the temple wall as Sift attacked the spot Ruwen had just left. Ruwen didn’t let his success distract him. Later he would smile and congratulate himself, but now, his entire focus needed to be on this fight. In his last year with Rami, they’d sometimes practiced with blindfolds. He hated it, as blind-fighting was one of his weaknesses. Relying on his sight was a crutch he eventually needed to overcome.

Despite that, Ruwen closed his eyes to boost his other senses. Sift was probably barefoot, and Ruwen weighed the risk of removing his Feather Boots of Grasping, as it would make feeling the vibrations of Sift’s movements easier. But it would take too long and make too much noise. The boots reduced the pressure of Ruwen’s steps by twenty percent, which made him harder to detect, and provided some benefit.

Taking a slow deep breath, Ruwen tried to smell Sift. To Ruwen’s surprise, he did. Not Sift exactly, but Lylan. When Ruwen had returned with Blapy, Hamma and Lylan had been comparing perfumes and soaps they each had in their Dimensional Bags. Far more than he’d thought any one person needed. Sift had been sitting by the women the entire time, and now faintly smelled of strawberries and lemon.

The scent didn’t help a lot, as it tended to diffuse over an area, but it gave Ruwen an idea of Sift’s general location, and Ruwen attempted another leg sweep. He struck Sift’s leg, but the contact only lasted a moment, as Sift used the momentum of the kick to power a backflip away.

Ruwen followed the sound of the flip and felt the impact of Sift’s landing as a small vibration. Instead of striking at the area with a punch, Ruwen used a side kick, a less aggressive move that allowed him to keep his distance from Sift.

The kick struck what felt like Sift’s lower ribs, but the blow lacked any power as Sift was already moving away. Sift gripped Ruwen’s leg and twisted his body, pulling Ruwen off balance. Ruwen used his planted foot to jump into the air. Rotating his body, he aimed a kick at Sift’s head.

Sift, still holding Ruwen’s leg from the first kick, crouched lower as he pulled downward. In midair, Ruwen had nothing to use as leverage and was helpless to change his trajectory. Sift released Ruwen’s leg and stepped to the side, causing Ruwen to land awkwardly.

Ruwen regained his balance and then felt Sift’s fingertips against his temple. The soft-touch might just as easily been a strike, which would have knocked Ruwen unconscious.

The sun had crept close enough to the horizon that the sky had turned grey, providing enough light to see Sift’s faint form. Ruwen bowed.

“You had the advantage,” Sift said in his serious Sisen voice. “Where did you surrender it?”

Ruwen thought through the short fight. “I should have used a punch instead of a kick after the second sweep.”

“Perhaps,” Sift said. “Your kick took too long and gave me time to reset. Why that choice?”

Ruwen told the truth. “I don’t trust my skills while blind, so I used a less aggressive attack to maintain a safe distance.”

After a moment, Sift replied, “A good reason. We’ve never fought in the dark before. Bamboo teaches caution and patience when confronted with an unknown opponent. What drove you from Bamboo’s path?”

Ruwen thought through the choices he’d made. His jumping kick had been far too aggressive and allowed Sift to win the fight immediately. He should have stayed with his Bamboo approach. “When I held the advantage after the sweep, the Viper should have led. After you reset, I should have followed the Bamboo. In both cases, fear caused me to choose the wrong path.”

Distant sunlight colored the sky and filtered down to them. Sift only wore the loose pants they used to spar in. He was barefoot and shirtless, and the snake tattoo seemed even more alive in the dim light.

Sift nodded. “Most Clans have a single set of Steps. This simplifies their path but also reveals their destination. Our Clan has two choices, two Steps, two paths. It makes us hard to predict, but having to choose can also lead to disaster.”

Ruwen bowed in understanding. He had worked hard on his decisiveness, trying to overcome his tendency to overthink. But not thinking at all made him susceptible to his fear or any other emotion. He needed to find a balance until he consistently made the right choices automatically.

Sift smiled. “How did you find me so quickly?”

“You stink.”

Sift smelled his armpit.

Ruwen laughed. “Lylan’s perfume.”

Sift scowled. “Curse that woman and her oils. Every time she’s somewhere safe, she gets them out. She’s obsessed with them.”

“Well, she can’t use them normally. A Shade you can smell won't live long.”

“That’s true,” Sift said. “And explains the spell she casts whenever she’s finished.”

“Why aren’t you sleeping?” Ruwen asked.

Sift looked worried. “Since I made my Core, I haven’t been very tired or hungry. Is that what happened to you?”

Ruwen nodded.

Sift shook his head. “Great. After all that work to get the pastries.”

Ruwen shook his head at Sift’s priorities. Sift had become one of Blapy’s Favorites, a designation that came with many benefits, but the