Chapter 105: Chapter 104 : Title

Next day…

‘Fawkes descendant trounces the competition…they really used the headline,’ Ralf thought as his eyes fell on today’s newspaper. ‘I should have put more thought into it, it’s kind of plain. Oh well.’

He put down the newspaper after a quick scan and with his telekinesis, clothed himself in his now-iconic outfit. After dedicating thirty seconds to posing in front of the mirror, Ralf headed out. Moving through the house, he ran into Hana.

“Stay safe out there,” she said while offering a parting hug.

These words were ones repeated many times in the past, but unlike those times, not a trace of apprehension could be found in her voice. After witnessing her son’s combat process yesterday, the belief that he could handle anything the world threw at him, took firm root in her heart.

Ralf smiled as he realised the change. Then, after procrastinating the release of the embrace, as usual, he made his exit. Out and about, he walked over to Samuel’s manor.

Welcomed warmly, he quickly found Samuel - or rather, was found by the other. The Ganurgians had already left, leaving only him. Ralf didn’t leave at the fact. He had come over specifically for Samuel. Over a game of chess, Ralf aired out his inquiries.

The moustache-donning middle-aged man was only too willing to help his younger companion out and answered everything to the best of his ability. It was far from one-sided though - unlike the chess game. After having his questions answered, Ralf tossed a few gold - silver nuggets into Samuel’s lap, leaving the Senior Advisor’s eyes sparkling.

The Senior Advisor naturally tried fishing for more, but the only thing Ralf bit at, were the cookies. Samuel knew when to quit and switched topics to the state of the R & R brand. To say things were on the up and up was no lie, just an understatement. The various toys Ralf had recreated, especially the Rubik’s Cube, were flying off the shelves at a rate where even production lines were having a hard time keeping up. The stellar progress report brought a smile to Ralf’s face.

Lastly, the topic of last night’s match swung around. Ralf was once again doused with words of praise. Samuel, who was also a tier 3 Enviso member had been re-watching the match over and over since the service opened for the day.

It wasn’t all just fawning words though, Samuel informed him of a few important matters. The most important one was that his Bullet Festival technique and all variants of that move were now banned. Hearing it didn’t produce much reaction in Ralf.

He knew there was a strong possibility of that technique being forbidden. Bullet Festival techniques circumvented the limits placed around firearms, and when executed properly were basically one-shot kill moves. Ralf didn’t care for the ban, rather, it was more beneficial to him than harmful.

While news of the ban didn’t surprise, something else did.

“I retired someone?” Ralf asked in surprise.

“Effectively, yes. You know, your last opponent, Garret, he ended up levelling up, and not just one rank, but two. He’s a Rank 6 now. Everyone was shocked. It’s rare for someone past thirty to level up, much less jump multiple levels. And it’s not just him.”

“Another person levelled up?”

“Yes. Eren, the one who wore that red bandanna, also levelled up after the match, though by only one rank. Amazing right? People certainly think so. There are already rumours circulating that the lollipop you gave has magical properties. I’m sure all of the candy shops have been emptied out of those lollipops by now.”

Ralf smiled a bitter smile.

“Garrett and Eren, they’ve already stated their intentions to do a rematch. Ralf, what do you say to that? Interested?”

“Eren, he’ll get his rematch soon enough…but Garrett, he’ll have to wait until I level up. If we battle today, I’ll win, but in a week, after he’s fully adjusted to his increased powers, my chances drop from slim to none. The gap between Rank 3 and Rank 6 is just too big. I can’t win in a straight-up fight.”

“Oh,” Samuel’s eyes narrowed as he latched onto the nuance present in Ralf’s words. “I see, that makes sense.”

The two spoke for a bit more before Ralf said his goodbyes. All in all, he spent twenty minutes at Samuel’s place. He would spend longer normally, but he was on a deadline. Moving with haste, he summoned his Psi Bike and left the district.

“...It was amazing, I’m telling you. I could feel the heat from his flames even from my chair, you have to check it out later.”

“...when he swung his flaming sword, I was entranced. And those eyes of his…it was brief, but seeing them glow red from the light of the flames was aaahhh, that was the best.”

“...first Aidan now him, the current Fawkes generation is too dazzling.”

“His Challenger Series, ah, I can’t wait for it. The only problem is the tickets, I’m sure people are already lining up now in wait…”

News of what happened at the Combat Arena last night had hit Popleigh’s streets and hit it hard. In the match’s aftermath, the tens of thousands present during yesterday’s affair were no different than those engulfed in flames, flames of excitement.

Burning as they were, they rushed to relay their experiences to any who would hear them out. In doing so, they set others alight in the process. This created a chain reaction, and not even a day later, the whole city was abuzz with Ralf’s latest story.

Moving to the city’s outer limits, Ralf’s ears picked up no less than a dozen different conversations centred around him.

He wasn’t one to shy away from the spotlight. He soaked it up with a smile on his face and joy in his heart.

Swoosh!

Exiting Popleigh’s limits, Ralf took to the air and zoomed across the skies. Minutes later, he arrived at Ganurg. It wasn’t long after passing through the gate that his eyes were made to flicker as he caught sight of several Black Hawks patrolling about. Interested in their presence, he went up to them and inquired.

What he heard brought a look of approval to his face. It wasn’t just the trio present, dozens of Black Hawks had made the trip over and there was already a precinct being set up in the northern part of the town.

They explained that this expansion wasn’t limited to Ganurg and that all other settlements in the south would see an increased presence of Black Hawks. Ralf was happy to hear this.

Leaving the group to do their duties, Ralf zigzagged around town, visiting the usual places before making his way to the Adventurer Association branch.

“Yo, long time no see.”

From behind the counter, Genise smiled at the address as her glimmering eyes tracked Ralf’s approaching form.

“Long time no see Ralf,” she said with a playful smile. “So, what will it be? Looking to go on an adventure today?”

“Hmm, nope. Don’t have time for it, in a rush. I’ve come to resupply, the potion stash is a bit low.”

“Okay, will do. The usual?”

“Yeah.”

“Coming up.” Saying, Genise sent the request via the telepathic network. “So, what’s got you in such a rush?”

Her question sounded to the delight of the surrounding people whose attention was immediately grabbed by Ralf’s entrance.

“A lot of things, really. There’s the matter of relinquishing ownership of our houses in Lagner and here, as well as arranging for our items to be moved over to our new house in Popleigh. Then, I have to stop by the Combat Arena to make the Challenger Series arrangements and afterwards, I have to go to the cinema. I have to do this all in the next two hours. I’m on a tight schedule.”

“You really are. Oh, your things have arrived.”

From the back, a Psi tray came rolling forth, stopping itself right beside Ralf. Familiar with the procedure, Ralf grabbed the items with his telekinesis and slotted everything comfortably on his person. He moved to turn but stopped himself halfway through.

“Ralf?”

‘While I’m here, I might as well do it now…’

Having the thought, he turned back to the middle-aged receptionist and requested, “Before I go, Genise, I want to add a title to my profile.”

Title.

Eyes flickered at the sounding of the term. Genise was similarly affected, but after a moment, her expression relaxed.

Usually, this request would garner a frown, followed by her retrieving one of the many prepared lectures from her mental library before delivering it with a stern tone.

But with Ralf being the requester, all resistance to the decision went up in smoke, as though burned by his flames. Having seen his strength for herself, Genise was certain he was worthy of being a Named Adventurer. Rather, if he wasn’t, no one was in her opinion.

“Title, I see. You certainly deserve one. I haven’t checked but I can’t imagine another Rank 3 Telekinetic as powerful as you are. You might even be the strongest one in history.”

As she said, Genise fetched a paper and pen and placed them on the counter before Ralf and said, “Go ahead.”

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Ralf picked up the pen but didn’t rush into anything. Letting it spin around his hand, he stared at blank paper with a contemplative look while releasing a light murmur.

The room turned silent as everyone seemed to be hypnotised by the pen’s spinning motion.

The matter of titles was something Ralf had dedicated an unhealthy amount of time considering. He wanted something cool, but it couldn’t be too cool. He was still just a Rank 3 at the end of the day.

Something fire related?

Normally, this was a big no no. Titles relating to the sacred elements were to be avoided unless one met very specific conditions.

For example, unless one was from the Bloodline of Lightning, labelling yourself anything ‘Lightning’ was just a death sentence. Fire-related titles fell in a similar category but thanks to Ralf’s lineage, he could get away with it.

But, while he could, Ralf abstained…at least as he was now. His fire-related titles would have to wait for when he was much much much stronger.

‘Ralf the Undying Flame, Ralf the Silver Blaze…it sounds so good, but alas, it’s not yet time,’ he sighed at the fact.

His antics both amused and confused the onlookers as they imagined the thought process going through his head.

Ending his sigh, Ralf broke form and put pen to paper.

‘For now, we’ll have to don something simple, yet striking. So, we’ll go with…’

His hand moved and the black ink was made to flow across the white plane, gliding neatly to form two separate words. Done, he set aside the pen and rotated the page Genise’s way and said, “I’ll go with that.”

Genise’s eyes shifted to it at lightning speed. Upon reading the title, her brows instantly raised. “Oh, this is quite something. Combat Master. Ralf the Combat Master,” she said out loud, partly for herself but mostly for the surrounding crowd. “Sounds good, really rolls off the tongue. Though, while apt, it’s more ordinary than I expected. I thought you’d go for something more flashy or at least fire-related.”

Her sentiment was one shared by the crowd, as looks of agreement filled the faces of those in the surroundings.

Ralf shrugged. “Those kinds of titles will come in time. One has to walk before they can run, and run before they can fly. Donning fake wings to skip steps will just result in an embarrassing disaster.”

“Hmm,” Genise nodded. “I see, good thinking. Okay, I’ll send your title request in. Usually, this takes months to approve, but with last night providing clear video evidence, approval will take a few days max.”

“Excellent. Then, I’ll wait patiently,” Ralf turned, “I’m off, Genise, see you around.”

“See you.”

Exchanging these words, Ralf made his exit, off to handle the other tasks he listed.

***

The Duke’s Manor…

*Step*

Pushing open the double doors, Chloe entered her lover’s office, having just taken a bathroom break. Moving to her couch, her eyes naturally glided to Vincent.

In his seat, eyes shut, his face rippled constantly, as though a lake experiencing a heavy downpour. But instead of sadness as the imagery usually implied, it was excitement that rained down.

Catching sight of this, Chloe couldn’t help but smile a wry smile. “How many times does this make it?”

“Lost count,” Vincent replied sharply as he quickly flung his attention back to the video being projected in his mind’s eye.

The video was, of course, Ralf’s match from last night. By now, he had watched it dozens of times. Even after running through all the footage from the match, and viewing it from every angle and perspective, the Duke couldn’t get enough.

Short as it was, the match was incredibly rich in detail, where every second could be put under a microscope, and each subsequent viewing revealed more and more things worth appreciating and admiring. In short, the rewatch value was on another level.

Chloe’s wry smile turned bitter at the reply. Still, she could understand. Since the match’s completion, the Duke, her and Walton had all been in a spellbound state, unable to break free from the curse Ralf had cast on them.

Plopping down on the couch, it was not long before the video was streaming through her head.

“When I watch this, I can’t imagine him not being a Dimitri vessel. It’s ridiculous.”

Chloe’s comment made lines appear on her lover’s forehead. But they were temporary existences as the Duke’s forehead ironed them out with his thoughts/ hopes. Placing the unwelcomed notions at the back of his mind, he quickly shifted focus.

“Ralf Fawkes is something else, no question. His Psi talent, Psi control, techniques, martial skill…everything’s top-notch. Garret and the others weren’t the best, but they weren’t paper tigers either. Still, he beat them easily, even after holding back an entire minute. No,” he shook his head, “even afterwards, I don’t think we ever got to see him going all out. He was still holding back,” Vincent’s face scrunched up with incredulity, “it’s ridiculous.”

Chloe nodded hard. “It is. Rank 3 and he’s already this devastating, Imagine if he was a Rank 4 or Rank 5, he could probably battle a hundred people at a time, well maybe not in that ring.”

The black-haired black-eyed bodyguard floated over a chips packet and opened it. She plucked a chip and continued, “Holding back, that was clear. The real question is, by how much?”

The question stroked Vincent’s imagination and curiosity. He focused on the image of Ralf in the video and tried to estimate a percentage. Taking in the aura of nonchalance and confidence Ralf exuded throughout the fight, Vincent’s estimate rose higher and higher. By the end, a bitter smile formed on his face.

“I reckon, by a lot.”

Chloe mirrored her lover’s expression. “I’m in the same camp, gramps too. He showed a lot of techniques, but I’m sure there are still many hidden in those mismatched sleeves of his. To draw them out, he’ll need to be challenged,” Chloe suddenly paused as the word triggered her memory. “Speaking of that, any word on the Challenger Series?”

Vincent’s face fell. “Not yet. I’ve been checking every twenty minutes and so far, nothing.”

“Check again, who knows.”

Prompted by his lover, Vincent focused inward and requested via the telepathic network.

[No sir, he’s not yet checked in. He’s just been spotted re-entering the city from the south though, so he might be on his way now.]

[Hmm, okay.]

Responding this way, the Duke fell into silence, complete silence. As he did, the video reached the end, and Ralf’s parting words sounded in his head.

My Challenger Series is coming real soon…look forward to it…

Hearing it, a surge of excitement and anticipation beset Vincent’s heart. Flooding in more and more, he found himself unable to bear it any longer. ‘I have to know now, right now.’

Before giving the orders, he turned to his lover. “Chloe, I’m meeting Ralf now.”

“Huh, so suddenly?!”

“Yeah. I can’t wait and I’ll get nothing done in this state. Any objections?”

“None.”

While Chloe was taken aback by Vincent’s timing, she was nevertheless very eager.

Since Samuel’s speech, she had already been burning to meet the enigmatic youth. She was fascinated by interesting things, and Ralf looked to be the most interesting thing around.

“Very well, into the fire, we go,” the Duke said with a cheeky smile.

With this intention, he relayed his orders through the telepathic network and his subordinates quickly moved to enact them.

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