Chapter 167: Chapter 159 : Grey Wolf Academy (Part 2)

“Are you sure about taking me as a friend?” Lane spoke up after a few seconds of silence. “You don’t know me or what I’ve do-”

Ralf shook his head, cutting the former assassin off. “The die has been cast, the deal has been sealed, there’s no turning back now Lane, you’ve entered the friendzone, a place impossible to escape from.”

“Ah…I see.”

Ralf smiled at the reply. Despite using such troubling words, he could sense a tinge of joy from the other. It was faint just like everything else the other exuded, but he held onto the belief that it was the other’s true emotions leaking through the cracks of his doll-like exterior.

Ralf’s free hand moved to his coat and retrieved a candy, a practised action at this point.

“To commemorate our newfound friendship, a candy. Here...”

Lane released his clasp and received the chocolate ball with both hands, as though it were something precious. Ralf found the other’s actions adorable. He let the candy fall into the other’s hands before retrieving a lollipop for himself.

While unwrapping the candy, he observed Lane staring at his gift in wonder. Ralf smiled at the sight before following up. “That there isn’t just any candy, Lane,” he said, causing the former assassin’s forehead to wrinkle slightly. Ralf continued all the same. “In recent times, my gifted candies have been responsible for many levels ups…so, prepare yourself, once you take a bite, you might just become a Rank 5 or 6 or something.”

Lane nodded but didn’t put any weight on Ralf’s words. Having pegged his new and only friend as an eccentric, he knew best not to bite at every word or claim, lest he wish to deal with a conundrum-induced headache.

“Thanks.”

Saying this, Lane returned to his seat and moved to verify the candy’s supposedly magical properties. Ralf did the same. Both would end up disappointed with their findings.

Ralf sighed, a level-up seemed an infinity away. “Looks like the heavens want to keep me humble a while longer.”

“Me too, it seems,” Lane said, licking his lips and cleaning away the last traces of chocolate from them.

Ralf’s face showed agreement before suddenly becoming serious. “If that’s the case, then there’s only one thing to do…rebel.”

“Against the heavens?” Lane asked nonchalantly, having become accustomed to the other’s pace.

“Indeed. You’ll join the cause right, friend?”

Lane’s eyes flickered briefly at the term’s mention. “...Yes, of course. How will we accomplish it though?”

Ralf nodded, as though the other had brought up a particularly good point. “That’s the question, isn’t it…hmm, I’m unsure of the exact process as of right now…but I do know we need to train a lot. So, let’s begin.”

“Here? Now?”

“Yeah, we should be able to squeeze in one session.”

Lane’s brows raised at the notion. While he was skilled enough in close-quarter combat to do battle in this confined space without damaging the carriage, he didn’t think the Hunter Academy would appreciate them going at it in the train - no, he knew they wouldn’t.

His lips moved to oppose Ralf’s suggestion but quickly shut upon capturing what Ralf summoned next.

Lane squinted; he couldn’t readily identify the handheld object. And then a moment later, he was further thrown off-kilter as a row of Psi tiles appeared in the air. The squares were the size of coasters and were arranged in a 5 x 5 arrangement.

After summoning ‘Controller 1’, which took the form of a PlayStation controller, Ralf pointed it towards the opposite bench and pressed the ‘start’ button on the Psi Controller, which then summoned the vertically-hovering tiles a metre away.

On each tile, Psi writing could be seen. These words were the names of the individual Psi games the duo possessed. Ralf moved through the grid of items. As he did, the tiles he passed over jumped an inch forward before returning back into place.

Lane watched this all in silence, his eyes reading the titles and trying to connect them to anything he had come across before. Of course, he failed. Lost, he sought answers.

“This is?”

“Games, more specifically Psi games,” Ralf answered as he reached his desired destination. “This will be way more fun than playing with those orbs, promise.”

Ralf summoned ‘Controller 2’ and handed it over to Lane. The confused youth took it and inspected the contraption with curious eyes.

“I’ll walk you through it. We’ll be playing a fighting game first. Of course, we won’t be fighting, miniature Psi avatars will.” Ralf directed his attention forward before clicking the ‘Psi Fighters’ tile.

Lane ceased his fiddling as he focused on the new sight. In a blue flash, the tiles dematerialised and were replaced by four new slabs, each with its own engraving. The former assassin squinted at the happening; Ralf’s Psi speed surprised him. The transition appeared instantaneous even to his enhanced senses.

After adjusting the mental image of his new friend, he focused on the words on each slab. Going from top to bottom, the first had the words ‘Psi FIghters’ stylishly engraved on it, while the other three slabs had ‘Player vs Player’, ‘Player vs NPC’ and ‘Settings’ on them in that order.

Ralf didn’t allow the other to study the slabs for too long and choose the ‘Player vs Player’ option. The slabs disappeared and two identical 5 x 5 grids appeared before the pair, both positioned diagonally in the air. There were no words this time, just darkened silhouettes painted on each tile.

Ralf toggled and the first item, a female fighter, appeared as a hologram above her tile. Moving across the tiles, this phenomenon repeated itself to form a perfect pattern. Stopping at a burly man with a baseball cap, Ralf clicked a button, locking in his fighter. Done, he turned to Lane who was watching him with silent intrigue.

Ralf smiled, relishing in the other’s subtle reactions.

“What’s with the wait, choose your fighter,” urging, Ralf illustrated which buttons to use with his controller, but this was unnecessary. Lane moved across the roster, examining the fighter models with fascination swirling in his gaze. Only after setting his eyes on all twenty-five fighters did he finally make his choice, a knife-wielding assassin.

With both choices locked in, the scenery changed again. The life bars, the fighters’ names, the magic bars, the music box, the grid-like tiled platform, and of course, the two chosen fighters were conjured.

((Three two one…fight!))

Lane jolted at the voice’s materialisation. “This…”

“Aha, surprised?”

“Yes, very,” Lane admitted.

It wasn’t impossible to create voices, he could do it too, but not in the way Ralf was doing. He looked at the strange box which had managed to replicate human voice and tried to figure out the underlying mechanism.

Ralf read his thoughts and kindly explained, “False Speaker, that’s what it’s called. To my knowledge, it’s totally unique. It can produce all sorts of sounds, from sound bits to voices to full songs through prearranged vibrations. I’ll explain more in-depth later, for now…let’s play.”

“Okay,” Lane said, his eyes still rippling with curiosity.

Ralf nodded and explained the game’s purpose and mechanics. He moved his fighter and pressed buttons to illustrate what they did. His character’s projectile attack caused Lane’s fighter to flinch back. At the same time, a *bam* sound rang out and the HP bar decreased slightly.

“...Oh, if the sound bothers you, you can turn it off in the settings, even in the middle of a match.” Saying this, he clicked the ‘Start’ button on the controller and several Psi slabs popped up. “Doing this also stops the match. You can click it whenever. Oh, also, if you want, you can check the character’s move list. It’s pretty extensive.”

Ralf clicked on the ‘Move List’ option and scrolled through the eighty-item-long list. Exiting shortly afterwards, he went to ‘Settings’ and showed Lane the ‘Sound Off/On’ option. He illustrated its effectiveness by switching it off and then repeating the attack.

“Should I have the sound off or o-”

“On,” Lane said decisively. While his expression remained blank, the energy in his voice betrayed his excitement.

Ralf smiled and did just that.

“Okay, that’s it for the explanation. Let’s begin.” Ralf clicked the ‘Rematch’ option and the two took it from the top.

((Three two one…fight!))

Following the voice, both fighters began moving. Ralf didn’t rush in and instead zigzagged in place while doing jumps and squats.

Lane did the same, trying to see what did what.

‘This is strange, very strange,’ the former assassin couldn’t help but think as he fiddled with the controller. ‘The figure is responding perfectly to these buttons…it’s almost like he’s not manipulating them in real-time, but as though it’s an automatic process.’

You are reading story The Silver Path at novel35.com

With this thought in mind, he began button-mashing at high speed. His prodigious mind had already memorised a dozen patterns. He wanted to see if there would be a mismatch between the buttons pushed and the expected action. Several seconds later, he ceased his actions, now with his brows creased up.

‘Even doing it quickly and sporadically… he still managed to keep up perfectly…his Psi manipulation is like nothing I’ve ever seen. Special circumstances hmm…I see, he may have been telling the truth about that. His skills are unordinary,’ Lane concluded, his mental assessment of Ralf updating again.

“Lane,” Ralf started.”A little heads up.”

“Heads up?”

Ralf nodded. “To be around me is to be constantly burning…in surprise, confusion, curiosity, joy, excitement, affection…always something, always. Resolve yourself, this will be your life from now.”

“...I see, will do then,” Lane replied after a few seconds, a trace of anticipation leaking from the young man’s voice.

Following a short silence, Ralf gestured to the fighters and the two resumed their match.

Lane put the ‘how’ and ‘why’ of the matter behind him and enjoyed the new experience for what it was, fun.

***

The pair’s gaming didn’t last long. Three matches later and the train had reached its destination. The sliding doors opened up at the platform and the few souls aboard the train began making their exit.

Ralf got up. “Let’s get a move on, buddy.”

Lane didn’t move, first looking at his Psi Controller then Ralf, his eyes telling a story the Transmigrator knew well.

[[Another victim of your whims. He’ll never be the same again.]]

Ralf smiled wryly as Ray’s words echoed through his head. [[I’ll take responsibility.]]

Saying so, he refocused on the youth. “Don’t worry, you’ll have plenty of time to play later,” Ralf said, dismissing his Psi.

The sight of Lane’s last-second clutch at the disappearing particles provoked a worrying smile on Ralf’s face. The thought ‘what have I done’ couldn’t help but pass through his head.

He turned around and headed for the entranceway. Lane trailed after him like a shadow, silent with his thoughts still lingering on the game. Ralf put his new friend’s descent into degeneracy into the back of his mind and surveyed his surroundings.

The train didn’t stop at a station or anything fancy. The mechanical snake was sandwiched by two long white stone platforms, a metre off the ground and surrounded by a sea of neatly trimmed green grass. While this wasn’t much to look at, everything else was.

‘Not bad,’ Ralf complimented as his senses took in the Hunter Academy’s marvellous visage.

Images of an Ivy League university campus came to mind as Ralf looked for a comparison. It was fitting to an extent, but instead of one overall design or type of architecture dominating the landscape, many different styles could be seen decorating the place, embodying the best of Inis from its far east to its far west, and from modern-day to antiquity.

Such a combination was very risky from a visual standpoint, too many cooks spoilt the broth after all. However, the Hunter Academy’s architects and artisans had managed to pull off this perfect balancing act. The structures and styles flowed from one to the next in a seamless manner, making for an extravagant but neat overall appearance.

Ralf took in the display with shining eyes. The stadiums, the statues, the coliseums, the temples, the pagodas, the obelisks, the tall towers; the grandness of it all stirred something in him, excitement.

The Grey Wolf Academy was a shared masterpiece, made through the efforts, passion and genius of some of the most talented engineers, artists and artisans Inis had ever seen. Ralf had heard this description before coming here and now, as he took in Academy himself, he couldn’t disagree with it.

Amidst everything, the five-hundred-metre tall mountain stood out. The top was flattened, giving the lush-coated mountain an overall trapeze shape. A single giant Grey Wolf statue was positioned atop it, mouth wide open as it bore its fangs to the heavens with a vicious glint in its eyes.

Moving down, one would find train tracks wrapping around the mountain like a coiled snake. Various structures adorned the mountain along the path of said train tracks, with several large temples being especially eye-catching.

There, people in various uniforms could be seen training already. Focusing on a group wearing blue Gis, Ralf watched as they collectively performed a kata. He observed them for a few seconds before shifting his attention to a giant waterfall, whose water flowed into a lake at the base of the mountain, surrounded by some forestry.

Taking in these sights, Ralf wrote mental note after mental note. He was eager to explore them all, though, he would have to do so later. His first class was at hand after all.

Another thing that caught his attention - or rather, the thing that had been gripping his attention since leaving Lisford - was the many Psi signatures present.

‘We’re swimming with big fish now,’ Ralf thought as he took a breath, his heartbeat quickening a tad.

Rank 7s, Rank 8s and Rank 9s; Psi signatures betraying their existences hit Ralf’s senses in mass.

He had registered many deadly armaments during his train ride and even now, his keen senses perceived them clearly. Cannons, turrets, grendo weapons, laser weapons, missiles; one had to look for these fixtures, but not to the point of straining one’s eyes. Make no mistake, while the Hunter Academy was a place of learning, it doubled as an impenetrable fortress.

Though, these mechanisms and weapons paled before the experts present. Powerhouses and elite powerhouses were abundant. All three Hunter Academies were known to be power sinks, with only a handful of places being able to match them.

Standing at the edge of the platform, Ralf grew giddy as he was prickled by the plethora of powerful auras.

[[Hey, get moving. We’re cutting it close,]] Ray reminded.

[[Oh, yes.]]

Replying this way, Ralf turned to his new friend and asked. “Lane, know where to go?”

His question broke the young man out of his daze. “There, that colourful triangular building. That’s Prime, the hotel students live in. They’ll already have a room waiting for you. Let’s go.”

After coming to, the former assassin moved with purpose. Leaping off the platform, he summoned a Psi bike. Ralf whistled at the design, his blank-faced friend had good taste. “Let’s go,” Lane repeated with a slight impatience in his voice.

Knowing the cause, Ralf smiled wryly before picking up the pace. He summoned his Psi Bike and the pair headed to the hotel. It was as Lane described, a triangular building.

Though, instead of a perfect triangular prism, the corners were shaved off. The building stood amidst a sea of grass, flowers and pebble walkways; a hundred metres away from any other building. It was sleek in design and exuded a modern sensibility.

Also, as its name suggested, the three faces making up the hotel’s shape were coloured in one of the prime colours. First-year students resided in the red section, second-year students in the yellow section and third-year students in the blue section.

After crossing the two-hundred-metre distance, Ralf and Lane entered. The process was smooth. True to Lane’s words, everything had been prearranged. Ralf was shown to his room, a small but elegant hotel room, equipped with the basics, well besides a kitchen. To eat, one had to buy something from the commercial zone or go downstairs to the food hall on the first floor.

Ralf dropped his bags off in his room and headed out with Lane. The pair summoned their Psi contraptions and rode to their next destination. While doing so, Lane gave Ralf a basic rundown.

“The Hunter Academy is divided into several zones. The residential zone, which we’re in right now, the education zone, the entertainment zone, the industrial zone, the commercial zone, the administration zone and the training zone. Each of these zones is divided into districts and given numbers. Altogether, there are forty-two districts. They vary in size but more importantly, rules.”

“Hmm?”

Lane, coasting on his bike, looked toward the distant skies. Ralf followed his gaze to capture a giant Psi bird soaring high into the heavens, powered and manned by a group of Telekinetics.

“That district is part of the training zone, the largest of the zones. People can fly over the district without issue, but not here, and most others,” Lane tapped his bike. “Unless you have permission, things like flying or extravagant displays of Psi aren’t allowed. You’ll get fined credits and depending on the act, you might get a strike. Three strikes and you’re out.”

“I see,” Ralf said with a nod. He was curious about the matter of credits but another matter took priority. “Do you know where students can assess the worldwide telepathic network?”

“The Communication Centre building is in the commercial zone, so on the other side of the mountain.” Lane gestured to a signboard on his right. Ralf’s eyes followed along and landed on the multicoloured map detailing the different zones and districts as Lane’s voice sounded beside him. “There are maps all over the place, so it’s easy to get around. You’ll also get one too, it’ll be in your student guidebook along with all the rules.”

Lane slowed his bike down to a snail’s crawl, then dismissed his Psi and used his limbs to walk. Ralf took in his action and guessed, “Not allowed to use Psi here?”

“It’s more frowned upon than forbidden,” Lane said, walking towards a massive building. “Anyway, let’s go.”

Ralf mimicked Lane and followed along. With Lane as a guide, the Transmigrator was saved the task of navigating the building’s many corridors. A minute later, the pair’s footsteps echoed down a long corridor.

Up ahead lay an auditorium entrance; from beyond it, a plethora of voices could be heard echoing out. Hearing them, the pair needed no complex mental calculations to deduce who these voices belonged to.

A meeting between them and their fellow students was soon at hand.

You can find story with these keywords: The Silver Path, Read The Silver Path, The Silver Path novel, The Silver Path book, The Silver Path story, The Silver Path full, The Silver Path Latest Chapter