The moment stretched between them like a taut wire before snapping into explosive action. Ronnie moved first, his blade singing as it cleared its sheath in one fluid motion. Flames immediately wreathed the steel, turning it into a blazing weapon of destruction. His military training showed in every movement - precise, efficient, deadly.
But Ryker was already moving. His bloodbound abilities surged to life, and he could feel every drop of blood in his body responding to his will. Time seemed to slow as his enhanced reflexes kicked in, allowing him to track Ronnie's blazing sword as it carved through the air toward his neck.
Ryker twisted away from the strike, the flaming blade passing so close to his throat that he could feel his skin warming from the heat. In the same motion, he lashed out with his fist, aiming for Ronnie's exposed ribs.
The guard's combat experience showed as he pivoted smoothly, taking the blow on his armored forearm instead of his vulnerable torso. The impact still sent vibrations up Ryker's arm - this wasn't like hitting Jake or the street thugs. Ronnie's body was conditioned, hardened by years of proper training.
"Not bad for a brat," Ronnie grunted, spinning his sword in a tight arc that forced Ryker to leap backward. "But you're still just playing with powers you don't understand."
To prove his point, Ronnie raised his free hand and unleashed a concentrated burst of flame. The fire roared through the space where Ryker had been standing, hot enough to char the wooden fence posts nearby. Jake scrambled away from the checkpoint, his earlier panic proving well-founded.
Ryker felt the heat wash over him as he continued his backward momentum, but something interesting happened. As the flames approached, he instinctively reached out with his bloodbound senses, and to his surprise, he could feel Ronnie's blood pulsing with enhanced circulation from his activated bloodline. The Flameborn's heart was beating faster, pumping superheated blood through his system to fuel his fire abilities.
'Interesting,' Ryker thought, a cold smile playing on his lips. 'Even fire needs blood to burn.'
Ronnie pressed his advantage, closing the distance with surprising speed for someone in full guard armor. His sword work was textbook perfect - a diagonal slash followed immediately by a horizontal cut, then a thrust aimed at Ryker's chest. Each strike trailed fire, creating a deadly pattern of blazing steel.
But Ryker was learning to read the rhythm. His bloodbound enhancement wasn't just about controlling blood - it heightened his awareness of every living thing around him. He could sense Ronnie's heartbeat, track the flow of blood to his muscles, even predict which direction the guard would strike based on how his blood pooled in preparation.
The third strike, the thrust, never connected. Instead of dodging away, Ryker stepped inside Ronnie's guard, grabbing the man's wrist with both hands. The moment skin touched skin, Ryker's true power revealed itself.
Ronnie's eyes widened in shock and pain as he felt his own blood turn against him. Not completely - Ryker wasn't strong enough yet to fully control another person's blood - but enough to disrupt the circulation in Ronnie's sword arm. The guard's grip weakened just long enough for Ryker to twist the blade away and drive his knee into the man's armored stomach.
The blow didn't penetrate the armor, but the force was enough to send Ronnie stumbling backward. More importantly, the brief contact had given Ryker crucial information about his opponent's bloodline level. Ronnie was indeed at the red core stage, but his core was more developed - probably mid-red core compared to Ryker's early red core development.
"You little monster!" Ronnie snarled, his professional composure cracking for the first time. The feeling of his own blood being manipulated was deeply disturbing, like having someone reach inside his body and squeeze his heart. "What kind of sick bloodline is that?"
Ryker didn't answer. He was too busy processing the new sensations flooding his enhanced senses. Every drop of Ronnie's blood called out to him now that he'd made contact. He could feel the man's pulse, track his breathing, even sense when adrenaline spiked through his system.
Ronnie recovered quickly, his training overriding his shock. If the kid could manipulate blood through touch, then he'd make sure there was no more touching. The guard raised both hands and unleashed a torrent of flame that was far more intense than his earlier attacks.
The fire roared toward Ryker in a concentrated stream, hot enough to melt metal. There was no dodging something that wide and that fast. Instead, Ryker did something unexpected - he ran directly at the flames.
At the last second, he dropped into a sliding tackle, passing beneath the worst of the fire. His clothes singed and his skin reddened from the heat, but his enhanced blood circulation helped his body cope with the temperature shock. More importantly, the slide brought him right to Ronnie's feet.
Ryker's hand shot out, grabbing Ronnie's ankle through his boot. Even through leather and cloth, the contact was enough. This time, Ryker didn't hold back.
Ronnie screamed as the blood in his leg suddenly felt like molten metal. Not because Ryker had heated it - the bloodbound couldn't do that - but because he was forcing it to circulate in unnatural patterns, creating pressure and pain that the guard's nervous system interpreted as agony.
The Flameborn warrior tried to pull away, but his leg wouldn't respond properly. The disrupted blood flow had temporarily paralyzed the limb. In desperation, he swung his sword down toward Ryker's exposed head.
But Ryker had anticipated this. Still gripping Ronnie's ankle, he used his other hand to catch the descending wrist, stopping the blade mere inches from his skull. Now with contact on two points, his control over the guard's blood flow increased dramatically.
"Impossible," Ronnie gasped, his sword arm beginning to shake uncontrollably. "No red core should be able to... affect another person's blood this much..."
Ryker looked up at him with cold, calculating eyes. "You're right. A normal red core couldn't do this." He tightened his grip, and Ronnie's sword clattered to the ground as his fingers went numb. "But I'm not normal."
The truth was, Ryker's bloodbound abilities had been enhanced by his knowledge from the novel and his systematic approach to development. While Ronnie had raw power advantage, Ryker had precision and understanding. He knew exactly which pressure points would disrupt circulation most effectively, which blood vessels controlled which muscle groups.
Ronnie tried one last desperate attack, gathering flames around his free hand and attempting to burn Ryker directly. But the moment he tried to channel his bloodline power, Ryker squeezed down on the blood flow to his heart.
The guard's flame sputtered and died as his body went into shock. His face turned pale, then flushed red, then pale again as his circulation fought against Ryker's control. It wasn't enough to kill him - Ryker couldn't maintain that level of control for long - but it was enough to end the fight.
Ronnie collapsed to his knees, gasping for breath as Ryker finally released his grip. The guard's body shook with aftershocks, his nervous system trying to readjust to normal blood flow patterns.
"You... what are you?" Ronnie wheezed, looking up at Ryker with a mixture of fear and bewilderment. This wasn't how fights were supposed to go. Raw power was supposed to win against technique. Higher core development was supposed to triumph over clever tactics.
Ryker stood slowly, brushing dirt off his singed clothes. His own body was suffering from the exertion - controlling another person's blood was incredibly taxing, and he could feel his red core pulsing with exhaustion. But he'd proven his point.
"I'm someone who understands that power isn't just about how much energy you have," Ryker said quietly. "It's about how you use what you have."
He turned to Jake, who was watching from behind a tree with wide, terrified eyes. "The checkpoint is clear now, right?"
Jake nodded frantically, unable to form words.
Ryker picked up the thousand credits he'd placed on the table and pocketed them again. Then, as an afterthought, he reached down and helped Ronnie to his feet. The guard was still shaky, but he could stand.
"You're skilled," Ryker told him honestly. "If you hadn't underestimated me, this fight would have gone very differently. Your sword work is excellent, and your flame control is impressive for a mid-red core."
Ronnie stared at him in confusion. "You're... not going to kill me? Or humiliate me like you did Jake?"
"Why would I? You fought with honor, even if you were being an ass about the whole thing." Ryker shrugged. "Besides, I might have use for someone with your skills later."
The cryptic comment hung in the air as Ryker walked past the checkpoint and into the Wryn Forest, leaving behind two very confused guards and a reputation that was growing more fearsome by the day.
Behind him, Ronnie slowly picked up his sword, his hand still trembling slightly. For the first time in years, he'd encountered someone who had completely outclassed him not through raw power, but through pure skill and understanding. The experience was humbling and terrifying in equal measure.
"Jake," he said quietly, never taking his eyes off Ryker's retreating figure.
"Y-yes?"
"Next time that kid wants to pass through... we let him. No questions, no fees, no problems. Understand?"
Jake nodded vigorously. "Understood, sir. Completely understood."
As Ryker disappeared into the forest depths, both guards were left with the disturbing realization that they had just encountered something far more dangerous than they'd ever imagined - a warrior who fought with his mind as much as his bloodline, and who treated violence as just another tool to be used with surgical precision.
***
[Note Ryker isn't strong enough to control the blood flow of someone else in their body]