Chapter 110: Chapter 109 : Stepping Into The Light

*Step*

Ralf moved down the stairs. After a prolonged silence, Rei’s voice sounded in his head.

[[What’s mine is yours, what’s yours is mine, what’s our is Silver’s and what’s Silver’s is ours. These are your words, right. So, who gets credited for x, y or z doesn’t matte-]]

[[It does,]] Ralf cut in, his tone sharp and powerful.

[[…]]

Rei’s silent response was coloured in displeasure but Ralf didn’t back down.

[[It wouldn’t matter normally, but when you go so far out of your way to avoid credit…it does. I’m not saying to jump into the spotlight but don’t bury yourself in the darkness. If not for yourself or me... do it for mom.]]

[[…]]

Ralf took in the questioning silence, and after a second to gather his thoughts, explained.

[[You haven’t seen it, but whenever she catches my name in random conversations, her lights up, then quickly dims. The reason for the latter is because of you. Knowing that her other equally amazing son is completely unknown and not getting any recognition bothers her. She hasn’t said anything about it because she’s being considerate, but if given the chance, she’d be shouting your name from the rooftops. You’re a source of great pride in her. To hear your name buzzing around the streets, as my name currently is, would paint a great smile on her face...as it would mine.]]

Ralf stopped in place and then summoned a Psi Mirror before using his hands to stretch his face into a smile.

[[A smile just like this,]] he said upon completion.

From his couch in the Mental Space, Rei’s lips couldn’t help but curl up at the reflected image.

[[…what a horrible smile. Stepping into the spotlight and receiving that… that’s more a punishment than a reward.]]

Staring at the twisted face in the reflection, Ralf couldn’t deny his other self’s words. [[Yeah, hopefully, mom can do better.]]

[[She definitely can… I’ll have to confirm it though.]]

Hearing the words, Ralf beamed. Overwhelmed with joy and wanting to share it, he did just that. Using the Mental Link’s highway, he sent his freshly formed emotions Rei’s way.

The result was a fuzzy silence, one that would continue to smother them till they arrived back home.

***

The next day…

Ralf headed out after doing his daily physical workout. Popping by Samuel’s manor for a bit, he then took to the streets with his Psi Bike.

The streets were molten. The sun hung at the highest point in the sky, but this heat wasn’t natural. Rather, it was due to the latest news that hit the streets, Ralf’s Challenger Series arrangement. Hot off the press, the newspapers detailing his upcoming matches brought forth a great blaze.

A never before vigour rocked the city.

Bookmakers licked their lips, fighters gathered and began preparing, people discussed and a mad rush for tickets ensued. Being a special event, the ticket prices were several times the normal rate, still, the price tag couldn’t deter anyone. Tickets were flying off the shelves.

Enduring the laser beams fired his way, Ralf made his way out of the city. Taking flight, he headed to Ganurg.

Several minutes later, his figure passed through the Adventurer Association branch’s wooden archway and was greeted by a pleasant surprise.

“Tada!”

Opening with this and a brilliant smile, Genise fished out a metallic band and waved it about.

Ralf’s eyes lit up as he caught sight of the simple lettering engraved on the band. “Approved already, nice.”

“Yep, it’s official. A Named Adventurer, congratulations Ralf, you deserve it.”

Seeing her outstretched hand, Ralf closed the distance and received his hair ruffling.

“Thanks, Genise.”

Genise smiled. Letting up her ruffling a few seconds later, she shook her head and said “No. Thank you, Ralf. Since meeting you, it’s been nothing but fun times.”

“Fun times,” repeating, Ralf’s lips curled up to form a mischievous smile. “Genise, the fun times have barely begun.”

The aged receptionist nodded with a smile. “I don’t doubt that.” She placed the Adventurer tag down and cast her gaze to the newspaper before saying, “Your Challenger Series is projected to be the most exciting thing to happen in the Arrin Dukedom.”

“As it should be. It’s going to be crazy. I’ll make sure of that.”

“Mm, about that, the tickets, umm the-”

Ralf cut her off with a shake of the head. “I’ve already sorted it out. Your ticket has already been arranged. Same goes for Jeff, Greg, and the others, I wouldn’t forget about you guys.”

Genise’s face bloomed into a warm smile. “Thanks, Ralf,” she said before giving another ruffling. Finishing up a few seconds later, she pulled back, took a calming breath and reactivated her receptionist aura.

“So, Ralf, what will it be for today?”

“Hmm, a mission.”

“I see, coming right up.”

Presented with the mission list, Ralf didn’t put much thought into his choice, and a minute later, he was out.

He didn’t head straight to the Monster Zone but instead zigzagged around Ganurg, visiting the usual spots.

Leaving his good luck spots for last, he tossed a silver coin in the fountain before heading to the marketplace. And again, he was met with a pleasant surprise.

“Oh, mister Joel, you’re back.”

“That I am, it’s been a long time Ralf,” Joel said, face completely lit up in joy. “Just got back to town, your name’s buzzing even more than before. Heard you’re fighting in the Combat Arena, and even doing a Challenger Series, you’re amazing, kid.”

‘That I am. Did you watch my debut match footage?”

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“Nope, didn’t get the chance to see it yet.”

“I see, then you’re in for a treat.”

“Oh,” the fruit seller’s eyes lit up in expectation.

Ralf placed a silver on the counter before taking an apple. “I’ll be off. Visit Greg, I’ve already arranged your ticket for the Challenger Series. Don’t miss it, okay.”

“Won’t miss it for the world.”

“Good good,” Ralf turned, “till next time then.”

Parting with these words, Ralf boarded his Psi Bike and travelled westward.

Leaving Ganurg’s perimeter, he took flight and after travelling far deeper than his Adventurer rank would permit, he dropped down into an open patch.

With no one around, he began field-testing his techniques. Due to unexpected and expected events, the duo had quite the backlog of techniques that needed to be tested in the outside world.

Now, Ralf moved to clear it.

Swoosh!

Zigzagging about, Ralf left the pair of ogres red with fury as they repeatedly failed to land a hit.

Not giving up - or rather, unable to, the monsters continued their crazed pursuit as they chased after their irresistible soul food. Flickering, Ralf darted nimbly through the maze of trees as he evaded their attacks. The chasing monsters weren’t as elegant; charging madly, they toppled everything in their way, taking the most direct route to their target.

This game of cat and mouse didn’t last long though. Finding the object of his desire, Ralf sped towards it. Leaving the ogres in the dust, he arrived at the large boulder.

His Psi then constructed what could be thought of as an enlarged ice cream scoop. But instead of ice cream, it was stone that this contraption scooped up. And so it did. In one smooth motion, the scoop’s ultra sharpened Psi tore out a roughly spherical piece of stone from the boulder.

Projectile acquired, the contraption transformed into a sling, with the pouch holding the stone and five Psi strings attached, all connecting to an individual finger on his right hand.

“Grrrr!”

The question of who to target disappeared from Ralf’s mind at the volunteering roar. Doing a final mental calculation, he then activated the technique.

Giant Killer!

Flashing blue, all five Psi strings worked in tandem and a monstrous force rushed from Ralf’s fingertips to the pouch, launching the stone no different than a cannonball.

Splat!

Landing with the force of one too, it tore through the ogre’s barrier and subsequently blew off the top half of its head.

‘Oh, that was pretty powerful,’ Ralf thought, pleasantly surprised at the destructive capability of his technique. Not lingering on this feeling a moment longer, his attention moved to the remaining ogre. ‘Now, for the other one.’

Swoosh!

Shifting to another boulder to avoid the ogre’s charge, Ralf’s Psi bit into the rock and acquired another stone projectile. Not for Giant Killer though.

He unholstered his large gourd and aimed it at the approaching monster, bottom end first. As he did, a simple Psi cannon formed around it, with the gourd making up the rearmost end. While the construct was being completed, Ralf slotted in the spherical stone, pressing it against the gourd’s bottom. The entire sequence was seamless, taking but a second to complete.

Then…

Dragon Cannon!

The gunpowder-filled gourd ignited, propelling the makeshift cannonball to incredible speeds.

Flying true, the ogre’s defence shattered upon impact and mimicking the first, its head was cleanly obliterated.

Spalt!

‘Whoa, this is just as powerful,’ Ralf thought as he watched the headless body careen downwards. His feelings of delight were short-lived though; the sight of his equally devastated gourd put a damper on things.

‘Too bad, it consumes a gourd. We can’t use this too often. Or rather,’ he looked to the monster corpses and squinted, ‘with this level of destructive power, I’ll only be allowed to use this once in the Combat Arena before it too gets banned. I’ll have to choose wisely when to use it.’

Ralf was confident in his abilities and very confident that he would be able to complete his Challenger Series. Still, confident as he was, he knew better than to underestimate his opponents, especially his upcoming opponents.

From his earlier conversation with Samuel, Ralf heard that most of his opponents were already actively prepping for their match, with some having started yesterday already. Hearing how seriously his opponents were taking their upcoming clash brought a smile to Ralf’s face.

He was delighted by it. Winning was fun on its own, but winning while overcoming a challenge was better. From everything Samuel told him, Ralf was certain that, at the very least, he would break a sweat during this ordeal.

To make sure it was kept to this level of discomfort, Ralf continued to train, to experiment, to up his firepower, for he was certain that it would come in handy.

‘True Psi Blades done, Giant Killer done, Dragon Cannon done, now all we have to test is Salamander’s Touch.’

Salamander’s Touch was a technique that utilised gun powder to fire off small explosions in conjunction with the duo’s punches or kicks. The gunpowder would come from the bullet cartridges on their person.

During battle, they would have their Psi surgically slice open these cartridges and retrieve the gunpowder. From there, they would have the gunpowder move to either their fists or feet, where it would be used to deliver a powerful fiery strike or as Ralf put it, ‘it adds a bit of punch to our kicks and a bit of kick to our punches.’

‘But before that…’

Ralf retrieved the ogres’ monster crystals with his Psi, then zoomed off to find monsters to test his technique on. Two minutes later, Ralf, at the cost of all his bullets, verified the technique’s success.

Having completed his mission and finished up his experiments, Ralf didn’t immediately head back but instead spent the next thirty minutes sweeping the beginner area for any mischief.

The reception he got while doing this was very different compared to when he first did it.

Where others previously wanted him gone, they now couldn’t bear to see him leave. Nearly everyone he ran into wanted a piece of him, no different than the monsters that inhabited the forest.

Finding nothing untoward, Ralf called it a day and made his way back to Ganurg, satisfied.

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