Chapter 248

It was possible to recognize them, his father had said, though the real danger came when pride and a thirst for victory overpowered that instinct. His father had only one warning for him: "Never ignore it. If your instincts warn you, turn and run."

Halcan had promised himself he would heed his father's warning. The problem was that in his thirty years, he had never met anyone who triggered that instinct.

"He must have exaggerated. There's no one who can stand up to me," he would think to himself. Over time, his caution faded, and confidence soured into arrogance. Sometimes, he wondered if all those with "thicker blood" had simply died off.

"Could I really be the strongest in the world?"

The thought, once a joke, had turned into a serious possibility. Lately, he had even started hinting to clients that there was no one stronger than he.