Chapter 17 – The Power of Control

Cobra’s assault brought him to Draco’s crutch point, his back. It seemed as if the fighter had Draco in his grasp, but that couldn’t be more false. With a sneer, Draco turned his torso to the left, canceling his roundhouse kick suddenly and at the same time.

Strangely enough, the path that his body took was exactly in the trajectory of Cobra’s offense, which to those in the crowd seemed like a foolish choice.

However, Uno suddenly barreled forth with full speed, a desperate expression on his face. Rina, Boyd and Kiran also charged forward with worried expressions, baffling everyone looking on.

Clearly the young lad had placed himself in the way of the attack. Why were they acting as if he had a gun to the head of Cobra?

In fact, Cobra himself had a pale expression and his eyes were filled with endless fear. The simple reason was that in the futuristic world that Draco lived in, martial arts and combat had evolved greatly due to the presence of genetic and biological enhancers like the NuSmoothies as well as other available treatments.

In fact, even in the world of old, martial artists with exceptional skill could perform feats that would leave the average man baffled and wonder if the lessons he took in school about physics and biology were truly accurate, much less in this age were the human limiter had been broken due to science and technology.

Eventually, a certain development occurred in the Chinese field of martial arts called ‘Control’. Control was similar to the idea of domains in the past, that a person with enough skill and awareness could create a sort of sphere of control in which everything inside was under their purview.

However, Control was more complex. Control did not include just your surroundings, but your very body. Domains sought to create a Void of Perfection but Control aimed toward both a Void of Perfection and a Body of Godliness.

Imagine a person in real life being able to control two muscles with conflicting uses at the same time. Like a person being able to step towards the left with their right leg at the same time as they step forth to the right with their left leg.

In other words, one can control different parts of their bodies at the same time. Just like the old school perception of robots but with inhuman flexibility.

Draco had only shown the Body of Godliness by moving his torso to the left while his leg retracted at the same time, but this was enough to alert these expert fighters that their enemy had grasped the concept of Control. Compared to Void of Perfection, Body of Godliness was much harder to obtain and those who possessed it could almost always use the Void of Perfection as well.

It was no wonder he could blow away two burly men with such a body. He could easily switch the location of the applicable force in his body at will and even multiply it, similar to how computer GPUs and CPUs can overclock.

They realized that they all needed to swarm him, otherwise he would be able to take them down one by one with ease, as seen with how Cobra had fallen into his trap.

Although Draco was strong in real life, he wasn’t as overpowered as he was in Boundless. Against the desperate charge of the four fighters, he had to retract his assault and defend himself.

Rina focused on sharp kicks, showing her flawless acrobatic form as well as her distracting, practically non-existent thong. Boyd made powerful punches that actually created sharp wind just from its movement.

Kiran made sharp palm attacks that used all the force of his body. His posture was that of a mature fighter, with one hand folded behind his back as he thrust out rapidly.

Uno made wide sweeping hits, seemingly aiming for either a clip, clothesline or a grapple. Cobra made finger thrusts that were always aimed at debilitating spots, especially crucial acupoints of the body. One hit would be enough to paralyze a foe.

Draco had to deal with these frenzied attacks and in his current body, this took up all his attention. He had to put in his all just to avoid their attacks and block those he could afford to block while managing stamina expenditure. Counter-attacking was off the table for him currently unless he used his Void of Perfection.

But… using that would drain him even faster, mentally and physically. Just using the Body of Godliness alone felt like a puppy trying to drag a tree branch across a mile. He was tiring quickly and knew he needed to end it fast.

But for some reason, his body started to tingle. This was the pleasure of exertion that most body builders strived for. There’s always a sense of exhilaration mixed in with fatigue when exerting the body during training, especially to those who hardly train.

Since the body of Draco in this past life could never afford a gym membership, his scrawniness amounted to a lack of muscle and very low stamina. Luckily, he had been doing the occasional odd jobs as well as a few sit-ups and pushups a day in order to maintain some semblance of fitness, so Draco commended his past self for that.

Adrenaline poured into his body, numbing the pain and exhaustion, replacing it with excitement, focus and power. He felt like he could fight for hours, but he knew it was just the lie of the hormones. Every second he spent in this state would damage his muscles and body, till he could barely walk afterwards.

The simple question was, should he activate the Void of Perfection and eliminate them? He estimated that he had only 10 seconds to use the ability without harming his body’s foundation and hospitalizing himself.

Naturally, he needed to be able to walk out of here if he wanted to live. Winning the fight and fainting afterwards would be the realization of the Bookie’s dream. Draco would never wake from that slumber again.

Ah what the hell! What am I hesitating for? Risks have to be taken for rewards to be acquired!

Probably due to his sharp desire to live as well as succeed in this life and put away the hatred from his past, Draco had constantly been pushing forward with a ‘caution first’ mentality, which was valid most times, but could be detrimental when a forward push was needed.

Like right now.

Ha! Draco shouted out while an intangible field of blackness enveloped the stage, to which no one could see but those caught inside it could feel. The crowd who were at the edge of their seats from the almost unbelievable fight, saw the expression of the five fighters change drastically, before a sequence of events that would shock them for eternity occurred.

Draco eyes became almost icy as he charged toward Uno, whose arms were spread apart to grapple an opponent. Before Uno could even cry for his mother, Draco used a simple finger tap to the area just above the left side of his hip.

Before anyone could exclaim, Uno’s eyes suddenly whitened as he passed out and fell to the floor. The crowd gasped in shock and fear and the four remaining fighters felt their hearts go cold.

Draco didn’t give them time to regroup. As if he were wind walking or casting the ‘Shunpo’ skill, he suddenly appeared beside Boyd and tapped his left temple the same way he did for Uno.

Boyd also fell unconscious immediately.

This was one of the best aspects of possessing the Void of Perfection. Everything within it was under one’s control, so one could seem to be teleporting about the place but it was a simple illusion that did it.

Draco simply bent the rays of light within the sphere to make it seem like he was in one spot before appearing at another. This obviously took a sharp mental toll, as it was a special utilization of brain energy to manipulate light. The theory was similar to psychics, but less mystical and more scientific.

Draco disappeared and re-appeared near a shocked Cobra, whose composure shattered when he saw Draco appear before him. In his eyes, Draco had morphed from a young lad to a prehistoric beast that sought to devour him.

Before he could escape, he felt a light tap on his chest, near his left lung. Instantly, blackness took over him as he fainted without being able to process one thought further.

Draco’s next target was Kiran, but unlike the three before, this fellow was ready for him. Kiran punched out to his right before diving towards his left. Draco had to admit, Kiran had always been his most skilled and mystical subordinate. In fact, Draco never knew why Kiran served him in the past. He always had the nagging feeling that this fellow was hiding something great and that he had even more potential than Draco himself.

Draco stopped Kiran’s evade by capturing his fist and pulling him in. Just when Draco was about to one-shot him, Kiran’s bright blue eyes became golden for a split second and Draco felt a pressure like he never had before in both his lives.

Kiran broke out of Draco’s iron grip and leapt off the stage, his eyes returning back to normal so quickly that no one caught it.

“I quit.”

His voice was the same monotonic and an unfeeling tone as he folded his arms and watched the match as if he were a spectator.

Draco shook off his surprise, realizing that he was still on the clock. He turned to Rina to finish her off, but found that the woman was already off the stage and wearing an aggrieved expression.

“I… I also quit…”

What a joke! After taking down three of them in less than a few seconds, why would she place herself in harm’s way? Especially since Kiran, who was usually the most mysterious of them, had been defeated.

Maybe there are those who court death but Rina only courted life! Well that and rich men.

Draco breathed out as he deactivated his Void of Perfection and Body of Godliness. As the adrenaline wound down, he could feel pain and weakness start to assault his body. Luckily, he had only utilized it for six seconds out of the estimated ten, so he still had enough gas in case of an emergency.

At this time, the dumbfounded crowd remembered to breathe as they went into an unparalleled uproar! If the walls weren’t soundproof, the whole neighborhood would be drowning in cheers.

What kind of show was this? This was too much! They’d only get to see such beauty in movies or in upper class fighting societies with true Control masters.

Seeing a fight with such a young Control user was beyond what they expected and even paid for! If they were treated to fights like this every time, the Cartel’s arena’s fame would skyrocket!

If they could think up such a thing, then the piggy Bookie could too. At this time, he had a sleazy expression on his face as he walked up to Draco. Draco involuntarily took a step back from the intensity of his gaze.

In fact, the Bookie has stopped seeing Draco as a young boy. In his eyes, Draco had morphed into a walking money bag that would never empty.

“Brat, you fight well. How about this? I could waste both of our time trying to threaten you with the Cartel’s power, but we both know it means dogshit to you. Instead, please work with me in the arena and I’ll do my best to grant your wishes, be it for money, cars or girls. I’ll be frank with you and say that I don’t have too high a standing in the upper echelon at the moment, so I can’t do anything outrageous.”

His words were only heard by Rina and Kiran who both displayed incomparably shocked expressions. This wasn’t because of the weight of the offer made to Draco. Rather, it was the Bookie’s act of trying to recruit such a young Control master who had grasped both the Void of Perfection and Body of Godliness. It was the same as a toad l.u.s.ting over the flesh of a swan.

There were much bigger and powerful entities and individuals who would sacrifice their own daughters – or sons if Draco preferred them – just to recruit this young lad. That wasn’t even counting the promises they would make him.

To someone like Draco, whatever power would take him would make him above everyone else but below only one. That meant he would possess supreme power that was only below the head or old ancestor of the organization.

Yet this madman wanted to give him what? Money? He could earn more just giving out tuition that he would ever make fighting here. Cars? A master of Control didn’t need vehicles to move around in this world. Girls? Heck, if he willed it, Rina herself would strip n.a.k.e.d just to get on his good side.

Draco was success walking. It was hard to find a young Control master who wasn’t already betrothed from birth or tied to a certain force. Draco’s future was inestimable and anyone who jumped on the train would climb higher and higher until they could no longer see the ground.

“F.u.c.k off.”

How could Draco not know what this fatty was thinking? He kicked him away with a disgusted expression on his face. He would rather die than work with such a shit bag. Draco admitted and recognized that he was an amoral or even an evil bastard, but at least he had standards.

Draco then walked over to the three he knocked out and tapped the same areas he touched to knock them out. When they came to, they looked like they had entered into an incomparably comfortable sleep and didn’t want to part with it.

Angrily, Draco kicked three of his future generals to their feet with an expression of ‘how can you be so carefree at this time’. He then faced the five of them together, Rina with a hungry expression, Kiran being thoughtful, Boyd and Uno looking like they would rather sleep again and Cobra sweating bullets from fear.

“The five of you now work for me. You will become my right hand men and woman in a FIVR game called Boundless that just released yesterday. Buy the helmets as well as the master package and search for me at these co-ordinates in a maximum of 7 hours. I don’t want to come looking for you later, or else.”

Draco knew these generals of his even more than they knew themselves. They weren’t the closest of friends in his past life, after all his everything had been put into revenge. But he did have a closer relationship with these five than most others.

“Understood.”

Kiran spoke for all of them as they started to head away. Draco just stared at his back as he replayed the scene of his eyes turning from aqua blue to hazel in milliseconds, granting him power and pressure than Draco couldn’t even fathom.

He made a mental note to investigate more into Kiran’s mysterious abilities in this life.

Just as he was about to bully the Bookie into paying him his agreed price, Draco’s expression changed from haughtiness to fear as he heard a voice nearby.

“Oya, oya. What a cute little boy! Big sis here would love to eat you up, tee hee!”