OBS Chapter 22: Untouchable
Chapter 22: Untouchable
Chapter 22: UntouchableA little more than a year had passed since Ren arrived in this world, and now, he was eleven years old.
One thing he could say was that time had somehow moved both fast and slow.
Fast in the way he had adjusted, grown, and trained, and slow in the way he had wrestled with the reality of his existence. Even with all the training he'd been doing, it was hard to forget the threats that were waiting for him in the future.
There was also the role he'd have to carve for himself in this world. He'd thought about what he'd be and he still didn't have any ideas.
But at least, he'd made progress in other matters.
In that time, he had thought deeply about his Bloodbinding path. All the lessons he'd learned had made him understand that it wasn't just about getting stronger, but about getting stronger in the right way. And he'd
Every time Ren thought he had an opening, Sir Robert was already countering.
After five minutes, Ren realized something. He's learning me.
It wasn't that Sir Robert's defenses were that strong. No. The man was just growing... sharper. He was figuring out Ren's teleportation patterns, predicting which coin he would use next.
Ren clenched his jaw. I need to change my approach.
Instead of attacking, he threw his last four coins at once, sending them bouncing in random directions, joining their still bouncing half.
He warped to one, then another, then another, moving unpredictably, forcing Sir Robert to adjust. But the Knight didn't seem fazed. He pivoted smoothly, keeping his stance solid, watching carefully.
Ren saw an opening—or at least, he thought he did.
He teleported behind Sir Robert and swung hard.
Sir Robert moved.
Ren barely registered the movement before he felt the impact. The wooden sword cracked against his ribs, knocking the breath from his lungs. He gasped, stumbling backward as his vision spun.
Before he could recover, Sir Robert's sword was at his throat.
It's over.
Ren exhaled sharply, lowering his weapon. "You predicted where I'd teleport."
Sir Robert withdrew his sword, nodding. "You made yourself predictable. Your movement is fast, but it follows a pattern. If I know where you'll go, speed doesn't matter."
Ren wiped sweat from his brow. "So what do I do?"
"You evolve. Stop thinking of your coins as just tools for teleportation. Use them to control the battlefield. You need to make your enemy react, not the other way around."
Ren nodded, absorbing his words. Just because he'd gotten it first, that doesn't mean teleportation was his main weapon. He needed to stop treating it like it was.
It needed to be more than that. He needed to use it against his opponent, not just for himself.
Sir Robert rested his sword on his shoulder. "You've built a strong foundation, but you have a long way to go, lad."
"You're at the peak of Rank 1, faster than your brothers did too if i do say so myself, but breaking into Rank 2 won't be easy. You'll need more than just tricks."
Ren nodded, gripping his sword tighter. "Then I'll work harder."
Sir Robert smiled faintly. "Good. Because your father wants to see you."
Ren stiffened. "Now?"
"Now."
Darius, who had been watching from the sidelines, stepped forward. "Come on, let's go before he decides to make us wait outside his office all day."
Ren exhaled, before stretching a hand towards his coins which were scattered on the ground. They bounced of their own violation, before settling into his hands.
He stared at them with a smile on his face. When he'd conceived the idea of teleportation beacons, it had taken him time to settle on coins. And after he'd found out how... unwieldy they were, it had taken him even more time to imbue elasticity into the iron.
But now, it was working.
"Let's go." His brother called out and he slipped the coins back into his pockets.
"Yeah." he smiled. "Let's go."