Chapter 133: Chapter 132 : Real or Fake?

“For a fake, you feel pretty real.”

“Uh, Chlo, Ri’m not a frake,” Ralf denied as he had his cheeks tugged at by the bodyguard.

Chloe didn’t seem to buy it. Her narrow eyes swirled with suspicion. She fiddled with his cheeks for a few seconds before pulling away. She wanted to continue her examination but after catching her grandfather’s throat-clearing, and knowing what would come next, she quickly let go.

Back on her couch, she continued to eye Ralf’s sheepish expression, looking for any deceit.

“You’re not a fake?” she questioned again.

Ralf rubbed his reddened cheeks with a wronged look on his face. “Of course not. I’m real. Why are you even so surprised by us using vibration techniques? How many other impossibilities have we shown till now?”

Reminded of this fact, the suspicion in Chloe and the others' eyes faded. It was true, the young man/men had defied common sense several times already; they seemed to have a vendetta against it.

Seeing the expressions shift in his surroundings, Ralf was relieved, and also glad.

‘If those closest to us think this way, then strangers will definitely arrive at this conclusion.’

To conclude that the duo was a fake, was exactly what they had intended.

The notion that Ralf/Ray/Silver was a fake wasn’t a new one. It was among the earliest rumours about the duo. Over time, this notion faded into the back of people’s minds. Still, it never left completely.

The duo’s combat prowess just didn’t match up to most people’s understanding of telepathic inheritance. No doubt, a Mental Master could impart knowledge of battle techniques into a person’s head. But all this did was lay out a complete road for one to travel on to become a master.

In the end, the person would still have to walk up/down this road, and this took a considerable amount of time. The masses, as prodigious and gifted as they believed the duo was, didn’t readily believe that the timeline made sense. It was too short in their minds.

As such, the idea that the duo was a fake, a disguise worn by some extremely powerful person, never died.

Now, with Ray’s words and his use of a technique that he shouldn’t be able to, this notion shot out of the background into the forefront of everyone’s minds. At present, most were of the mind that he was indeed something else entirely.

The most prevalent idea was that the real person playing the Ray/Ralf/Silver character was an Ascendant.

This was exactly what the duo wanted.

Ascendants were fearsome existences that even strong nations didn’t dare to easily offend. They were walking one-person armies; just the sight of their golden aura was enough to compel most to their knees out of fear.

The identity was very convenient for the duo. Importantly, the only ones who could for certain know they weren’t fakes, would be Ascendants or Mental Masters, and both were incredibly rare. In Inis, there were no more than twenty of the former and a hundred of the latter.

The best part about this was that even if they were identified as not-fakes by either of these groups, these groups, if wise, wouldn’t dare take action against them, for, unlike the ignorant masses, they would have no explanation for the duo being able to use vibration techniques.

The natural conclusion would be to assume that it was because of the Silver Path, and as long they bought into its basic claims, they would keep their distance as well.

Before the match, the duo had thought up all these possibilities. And with Sigurd providing temporary protection, they decided to go for it. At present, they couldn’t ascertain the overall result, but from the way the conversation had moved, the duo was optimistic.

“Now that you say that, I guess it’s believable. Okay, I’ll accept it.”

“Thanks, Chloe. Honestly, I wish I was a fake…well power-level wise. I wonder when I’m going to rank up, mmm maybe that biscuit will be the trigger, I’ll test it out.”

Smiles appeared on the group’s faces as they watched Ralf begin his usual gluttonous streak.

Hot topic discussed, the Psi games were brought out and the group chatted about whatever.

“This is one of the other methods you were referring to, right?”

Ralf nodded with a full mouth.

Following Chloe’s question, Vincent asked his own. “Could you always use this technique or did you just learn it?”

“Nope, I learned it a while back, before even the Red Star massacre, though that version was way weaker than this one,” he said, reminded of the version he used against Charlie.

“Haa, unbelievable. I knew you were holding back, but to think it was to this extent - wait, Ralf, you aren’t holding back some other more impressive technique, are you?”

“Of course I am,” Ralf rolled his shoulders as though it was an obvious truth. “This is entertainment after all. I wouldn’t reveal my strongest cards in this ring…that would be nonsensical,” he said without batting an eye “My strongest techniques will only show themselves in real life-and-death battles…so hopefully never.”

The response left the Duke’s group reeling for the next few seconds. Ralf used the time to stuff more delicacies into his endless maw. Five seconds later, the Duke’s group came to and released a collective sigh.

“To think I wasted even a second worrying about you two, I should have used that time more productively.”

Vincent nodded at his lover’s comment. “Me too, at least, I’ll know for the future. And speaking of that, Ralf,” the Duke’s voice lowered suddenly, as though cowering before the topic, “umm, about the enrollment, have you decided yet?”

“Yeah, I’m going.”

After responding, Ralf stole a glance at his mother to read her face. Traces of sadness was present, but even more abundant than this emotion was a sense of resolve. They shone brightly from her gaze, telling Ralf all he needed to know.

Relieved, he turned back to the Duke. With his gaze still on expression-reading mode, the disappointment on Vincent and the others’ expressions was magnified severalfold, resulting in a gut-punching pain. There was no thinking this type of pain away, the sensation landed squarely against his soul, hitting him hard. Just as with Hana, he knew how much he meant to these people and what effect his absence have.

Still, he had made his decision. He stomached the pain and moved to console the sad faces before him.

“What’s with the faces? It’s not like I’m going to be gone forever. You won’t have the Psi games, but Ray and I will still release anime regularly, so at least you’ll have that. Also, I plan to keep in regular contact with the Psionic Association’s telepathic network. It’ll be like I never left, promise,” he nudged at Hana’s shoulder as he ended his words.

These words applied to the others but were mainly meant for his mother’s ears. Understanding this, affection flooded her heart and not a second later, Ralf found himself wrapped up in her tight embrace.

The sight was familiar, and one that never failed to bring a smile to the faces of the group. Frowns quickly turned upside down and the previous depressing atmosphere saw itself out.

Much later, the topic of enrollment came up again. Chloe asked the question on everyone’s mind.

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“When are you leaving?”

“January second. I’m cutting it close, the classes start on the tenth.”

“The tenth?” Chloe repeated with a head tilt. “Then, why are leaving so soon? Are you not heading back with Sigurd?”

“Nope. He says he’s going to stay in Popleigh for a month more or so. I’ve already talked to him about it. I’ll be travelling normally, so it’ll take a week to reach the Hunter Academy.”

“Hmm, I see.”

Following the question’s answer, the group descended into the usual topics of discussion. Knowing that Ralf was leaving soon, everyone vied for his attention and asked him questions they had been saving up for special occasions.

The night proceeded most joyously.

***

Following the reveal of Oscillation Wave, one might think that all tension for future matches would be killed.

But this wasn’t the case, at least, it wasn’t the case for the next two matches in the Challenger Series. The existence of vibration techniques was barely an advantage against their Match 6 opponent and was totally irrelevant against their Match 7 opponent.

The best battles were those where both sides had a reasonable path to victory. The duo understood this and specifically chose their opponents with this in mind.

‘Dan Fengle, the Electro Blade,’ Ralf thought as he sized up his opponent.

A dashing blonde-haired young man stood in the distance. In each hand, an identical ‘sword hilt’ was held.

They were called electroexpellers, but to Ralf, they might as well be called lightsabers. They were nearly identical appearance-wise, with the only difference being the large blue gem attached to the end. They were also a product of advanced technology that required ‘magic’ to use effectively.

When the button on the side of the device was pushed, incredibly strong currents of electrical energy would eject from the blue gem. The released energy was wild and if one wasn’t careful, one could accidentally kill themselves operating the device.

The best way to use this device was to encase it in a Psi construct. Telekinetics had a natural advantage in this area. By using mirror-like surfaces for the interior and electricity absorbing Psi in tandem, one could hold and gather electricity into various kinds of Psi constructs.

Dan’s favourite, as his title would suggest, was swords. He’d make a hollow sword and have electricity gather in its interior. Through focused telekinesis, he could have the electric energy clump up and even artificially raise the temperature.

Dan had several electricity-based attacks in his arsenal. Though, those involving swords were most common.

With a slashing motion, he’d unleash an arc of electricity through the air. The attack range wasn’t great, even when fully charged, but with it being free lightning, its speed and unreadable trajectory were a lethal combination.

Dan duel wielded these electroexpellers and could expertly fire off a stream of flashy attacks. Swords were his go-to, but he was no one-trick pony. Sometimes, he would use a spear or a whip, or stuff electricity into a Psi projectile and fire it out. He was full of tricks.

The crowd were stoked to see his electricity-based attacks in action again; it had been a while, more than a year in fact.

This large gap wasn’t due to him not battling in the Combat Arena - no, he was a regular face in the ring. Nor was it because he despised or feared wielding these devices - no, he had no such qualms, in fact, he loved to. He loved the power and flashiness of the electroexpellers. Still, while he loved it, he was forced to accept that it was useless in the Combat Arena.

The starstone netherian made it useless. The electric energy ejected by the electroexpellers easily triggered the starstone’s voracious appetite. It was the electroexpeller’s hard counter. Whenever Dan showed up with them, his opponent would request a netherian stone from the Combat Arena or bring one themselves.

With it on their person, his electricity attacks amounted to nothing. The special material could swallow up even a lightning strike so all his attacks fizzled out before they could begin. Dan’s Electro Blade title fell to the wayside as more and more of his opponents refused to take the chance.

But Ralf was different.

When Ralf heard about him and his flashy skills during the Firm or Flimsy event, he was immediately intrigued by it. He looked up old videos to see what it looked like in action and wasn’t disappointed. He immediately added Dan’s name to the roster.

His electrical attacks were basically one-shot ‘kills’ and were most deadly in close and mid-range combat. He was the perfect opponent to follow after Match 5’s batch.

With his opponent’s flashiness accounted for, Ralf made sure to bring his own.

Dozens of gourds, filled to the brim lay in his surroundings, with two on his person, perched on either side of his waist. In a contest of flashiness, Ralf wasn’t going to be outdone. Numerous as they were, he planned to use every gourd till not even a drop remained.

[Thank you for the opportunity, Ralf, I won’t disappoint.]

Registering the voice, Ralf looked towards the young man and smiled. [I have no doubt about that.]

Saying this, Ralf brought the Zero mask up to his face. It was the same one Ray used on the Psi Clone. The thick black straps would wrap around his head and fix the mask in place.

Importantly, the mask had no openings to see through. Ralf would be fighting without the use of his eyes in this match. It wasn’t ideal but it couldn’t be helped. Dan’s electroexpeller attacks also served as light attacks. He had to avoid getting flashed. Bright lights wouldn’t hurt him like they would others, but just like others, he would be momentarily stunned and disorientated even if he couldn’t feel any physical pain.

To avoid this possibility, a mask was needed and thus, the Zero mask was summoned to his side.

[Let’s have a dazzling bout,] Ralf said.

Dan nodded, the gratitude on his face lingered a few seconds longer before giving way to his rising fighting spirit.

While he was Rank 25, this was without his electroexpellers. He believed that with them, no one could beat him. He rated the duo highly but didn’t put himself under them.

He knew he wasn’t in for an easy bout but he believed there was a favourable chance that he could claim victory. And this belief caused his gaze to beam with a dazzling light.

Ralf could sense this belief clearly as he observed the other. He approved. The best fights were against those who had confidence in themselves and their victory.

‘We’re in for a great match,’ the Combat Master thought as he put on his mask.

Following the prediction, a short silence, and then ten seconds later, the Psi curtain was pulled away to unveil the flashiest battle the Combat Arena had ever seen.

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