Chapter 168: Chapter 160 : First Contact

“Lane, those Psi games, they’re friends-only, so don’t mention them to others, okay,” Ralf said, nearing the doorway. Reminded of their destructive might, the Transmigrator decided to limit the area of effect for the betterment of the world.

Lane simply nodded.

“Good, now to meet our classmates, and maybe even make some more friends, what do you think?”

Ralf directed this question to both Lane and his other self, even repeating the last bit through the Mental Link.

Ray, who had been mostly silent, shrugged. [[Who knows, the future is uncertain.]]

[[What about Lane? Care to introduce yourself?]]

[[Maybe in time, maybe not,]] was Ray’s response, no real interest or desire to be felt from his voice.

Ralf didn’t linger on the topic. Forcing the issue would do no good. Relationships were best developed naturally or supernaturally, nothing in-between. He shifted his attention back to the outside world where Lane’s voice was ringing out.

“...I don’t know. I’m still uncertain about what exactly friendship entails.”

“Don’t worry my friend, the wonders and marvels of friendship, before long, you’ll understand them all well enough,” Ralf assured.

“You speak from experience?” Lane asked after a moment’s pause.

“Yep, I do,” Ralf said, a small smile crept on his face as several faces popped up in his mind. “Though, not as much as I’d like. It’s one of the reasons I decided to come here.”

“Hm, so you’re planning to befriend everyone?”

“Of course not,” Ralf shook his head.“While my love is infinite, my attention isn’t. It can only be split so many ways…also my friendship isn’t something just anyone can withstand. I told you, those around me will burn, so unless you’re tough enough, you’ll be reduced to ashes.”

“And I’m tough enough?”

Ralf closed the gap between them and patted Lane’s shoulder, much to the other’s surprise. “Yep, more than tough enough…actually, you’re a bit more than that. Are you made of steel or something?”

“Black Rock, actually,” Lane corrected. “That’s the name of my inheritance potion.”

“Very fitting,” Ralf nodded, then giving the other another two pats, returned his hand to his side. “About numbers though, since I’m a handful myself, a handful of people will do. Lane, you can consider yourself the first victim of my pyromaniac endeavours.”

“...I see.”

Ralf smiled as he caught the sliver of delight leaking from the young man. Indulging in the sight for a second more, he then cast his attention ahead, to the cacophony of voices sounding off.

The smile on his face turned mischievous as his next words left his lips. “Let’s make haste, my next victims await.”

The pair picked up the pace following the words and five seconds later, they passed through the entranceway.

Eyes instantly fell upon the pair. With Lane being a known face, people’s attention quickly shifted to Ralf, the unknown. The mismatched outfit was eyecatching…but so were many others in the room. It could only hold the group’s attention for a few seconds. After not recognising him as being someone important, most lost interest, though a few souls’ attention continued to linger on the pair.

Entering, Ralf’s senses swept the crowd as well. The auditorium was large enough to hold three hundred people, and right now, it was about a third full. The hundred or so students were scattered unevenly, with various cliques already present. Ralf’s eyes moved over them as he drifted along. Nobles, commoners, merchants, Adventurers…it was a diverse bunch.

‘In more way than one,’ Ralf thought as his eyes were beset by the rainbow of humanity before him.

The Hunter Academies were bastions of mankind. Diversity wasn’t limited to the architecture; all shades and colours of humanity from Inis’ east to west were on display, both natural and unnatural.

Inheritance potions showed their influence as an array of different flashy colours reflected off Ralf’s vision. One colour, in particular, caught his eyes. All by herself, a violet-haired violet-eyed female sat, book in hand. A poised expression covered her beautiful face as her eyes drifted across the page.

‘So, that’s the Lightning Princess, huh. Oh?’ Ralf’s eyes flickered. [[Hey, did you see that…she just looked our way. Think it’s love at first sight, think she fell for my handsome face? I wouldn’t be surprised.]]

[[I doubt it,]] Ray splashed water on his other self. [[More likely, it’s her inheritance potion, Thunder Monarch. It makes one very sensitive to electromagnetic energy, so you probably stand out like a sun amongst candles to her. Instead of love, her feelings toward you are probably closer to hate.]]

[[Hmph, no way. She would have put up a barrier if I really was that botherso- ah oh…]] Ralf’s words trailed off as said barrier materialised around the royal.

[[Told you.]]

Ralf’s shoulders dropped at his other self’s words.[[Fire and lightning…looks like it’s not meant to be.]]

[[You wanted it to be?]]

[[Not until five seconds ago but it hurts all the same. Oh well.]] Moving on from his heartbreak, Ralf’s eyes drifted to several others. Violet held the most attention, but she was hardly the only beauty around.

Seated a few rows above her, similarly isolated was a black-haired black-eyed Xinian female. Her long silky hair, fair skin, cherry lips and curvy form donning a white and black sleeveless modern qipao-like outfit were things of admiration and envy.

Even more envious was the Psi she was emitting. Ice figures were made to skate across the desk on her command. Her attention was squarely focused on the task. She ignored everyone else and even erected a sound-absorbing barrier around her to block out her classmates’ voices.

Observing her, Ralf’s brows couldn’t help but furrow up. While her looks and rare powers were indeed things to envy, the expression on her face was not. It was haggard and pale. Her eyes had dark rings around them as well as a shade of pink.

It was a sight out of place. While the degree varied, everyone radiated a sense of excitement and anticipation at their current situation - everyone except for her, that is. Ralf’s heart clenched up and somewhere in his mind, her existence, still lacking a name, was penned into his list of targets to burn.

With that decided, he planned out his next steps. He moved to the relatively empty right side where she was and took a seat nearby. Lane, who trailed behind, uncaring for who was who, seated himself beside Ralf. Violet and Yuki noted the pair’s arrival but besides a glance, did nothing else to welcome them.

Ralf took it in stride. Having known Ray, he knew how to deal with those with thick walls.

His eyes moved to the rest of the class. On the far left, a blonde-haired grey-eyed young man was the centre of attention. From his attire and bearing, Ralf imagined him to be high nobility.

Most importantly, he was a Telepath. Instead of talking normally, he was using his telepathic links to communicate with those around him. From their gazes and subconscious lip flaps, Ralf noted their conversation to be about the various beauties present.

Following along, his eyes moved to a dark-skinned golden-eyed female. The Westerner was dressed lightly, leaving little to the imagination. She wore what could pass as a two-piece swimsuit with a sarong, all a mixture of white, bronze and gold in colour.

Observing her, another dark-skinned female naturally came to mind. In more ways than one, the two were alike. While the student wasn’t as sturdy or tall as the Combat Arena fighter, her curves were no less wicked than Atenisha’s, though, unlike the Combat Arena fighter, the student’s revealing outfit wasn’t for the purposes of seduction but to showcase her pride, which took the form of various tribal tattoos which adorned her arms, neck and stomach.

Similarly abundant on her figure was the presence of golden jewellery; earrings, bangles, armbands, necklaces and a circlet bearing a ruby decorated her form. So plentiful was their presence that even as she sat in place, a constant jingle rang from her. The sound seemed to get to some as sound-absorbing barriers were erected.

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Ralf didn’t mind the sound, though he could see himself getting sick of it over time. His gaze studied her tattoos. The design was simple but elegant. As he was doing this, a surging Psi signature broke him out of it. His gaze shifted a few metres to land on the psionic who had unleashed said aura spike and met with a young man’s fierce glare.

Ralf noted his presence; the female and the muscular youth seemed to be a pair of sorts. Though, from their interactions, instead of equals, they seemed to be in a subordinate/superordinate relationship. He had been mean-mugging everyone who dared to look her way, with Ralf being the latest victim.

Where others faltered before the Westerner and his Pinnacle Tier Rank 5 aura, Ralf returned a nonchalant look, amused by the other. His mind conjured up mischievous ideas but in the end, he spared the young man and shifted his gaze to the other students.

The next student his sights landed on was a young male Ralf had already mentally dubbed, the Noblest Noble. The brown-haired blue-eyed youth was from the Reeves noble household, something that had been repeated several times since Ralf entered. He didn’t recognize the name but from the other’s extensive boasting, he felt it was important.

From what he knew, Violet Astor a few metres to his right was the ‘top dog’ as far as nobility went. Though, if one went on appearances alone, Noblest Noble took the cake. He donned an elegant navy blue, white and gold outfit sporting the Reeves insignia with the same frequency as the Western beauty’s jewellery and tattoos.

Not only that, he had a sword, a fancy ornamental sword. The sword was currently brandished and pointed to the sky as the young man recounted a tale of adventure, of slaying a Named monster with his party.

Ralf squinted as he heard the tale. ‘A Named monster, I could probably kill one through my draining tactic, but a Rank 5…big doubt. He must have been carried hard.’

Ralf turned away but kept a sliver of his attention on the conversation to record the details. His senses moved from student to student. There was much to see, though some were more interesting than others. As he was doing this, something moved in his periphery.

Two new faces entered the room.

‘Hm, big cheeses?’ Ralf guessed as he took in the collective reaction. Unlike his and Lane’s entrance, the students' attention didn’t dissipate after a glance, and even the grey-eyed youth regarded the pair seriously. Ralf examined the two as well.

Ralf focused on the male of the pair first. He was a stylishly dressed blonde-haired blue-eyed youth. Ralf slapped the label ‘Cassanova’ on the handsome young man. It wasn’t just his looks that warranted the title. As soon as he entered, no less than a dozen students had their eyes sparkle in infatuation.

The female of the pair wasn’t to be undone in this regard though. With shortish orangy-hazel-coloured hair and enchanting amber-coloured eyes, she moved with a stride that betrayed an immense self-confidence. She wore an airy white top that exposed much of her peachy skin to the world. A plain silver necklace hung from her neck and dropped down into her ample cleavage, and blue jeans hugged her curvy form while stylish brown leather boots adorned her feet. The combination’s result was a heart-seizing sight and one that momentarily stole even Violet’s thunder.

The grey-eyed youth collected himself to speak but before he could, the pair suddenly bolted towards Ralf - or rather his direction.

“Violet, it’s been so long, still remember me?” the female of the pair asked with a cheery smile upon getting close.

Violet’s eyes shifted from her book to the female. Initially, she showed confusion but as the pair released their respective Psi, everything became clear in her mind.

Ralf’s eyes flickered as he registered their auras. ‘Another Mimic…and an Onic Master.’

Meanwhile, Violet’s gaze filled with recognition. “Ah, you’re Charlotte…and Skye, right…it’s been a while.”

The male and female pair smiled at the words. The twins had only met Violet three times and it was when they were all very young. They hadn’t expected her to remember them so her remembrance came as a pleasant surprise.

“Sure has been, last time we met was at that ball,” Skye spoke up as he recalled the distant evening. “I still remember my poor heart getting crushed by your rejection, haa, it never recovered,” the air Mimic followed up with, grasping at his chest, agony seeming to stir in him at the old memory.

Violet’s face turned awkward. “Ah, sorry.”

“Don’t be,” Charlotte shook her head. “This foolish brother of mine thought the world revolved around him back then and needed to be dropped a peg. What a fool, he should have known better, clearly, the world revolves around me,” the Onic Master said with feigned haughtiness.

The words brought a smile to Violet’s face, which in turn brought a smile to the twins’ faces.

“Fools.”

The contemptuous utterance caused the smiles on the trio’s faces to falter. The twins and princess glanced over to the person who spoke.

Charlotte squinted as she captured Ralf in her amber sights. “You are?”

“The one whom the world truly revolves around, obviously.” Eyes shut, Ralf responded with a voice as though stating a fact.

The trio fell into silence at the response as they traded glances trying to pin a name to a face.

Ralf shook his head as he breathed in their ignorance.“To not even know my name…you three are beyond hopeless,” he said, his face showing an almost pitying look.

The group of students paying attention were stunned by the words. Similarly stunned was the trio. Though, a second later, irritation bloomed on their faces, well except for Skye, who showed a delighted smile. Unlike his father, he was no masochist, still, it wasn’t often that he’d seen anyone berate his sister, so the experience was joyous, cathartic even.

Skye approached Ralf’s front. “Forgive my ignorance, brother Axis. I didn’t recognize you.”

“Hmm, it seems I spoke too soon,“ Ralf said with a sage-like nod. “Brother, take a seat and let’s exchange wisdom.”

“Gladly, brother,” Skye returned with a smile before seating himself on Ralf’s right.

“Ignorant huh, I guess we are,” after reining in her glare, Charlotte said with a nod. “I didn’t know someone as foolish as you could exist, thank you for enlightening me.”

She approached Ralf’s front and cast her gaze down from up high before saying, “The name’s Charlotte…Evans.”

After saying this, the Onic Master looked for signs of disturbance across the young man’s face. However, not a ripple could be found on his arrogant face. She squinted before following up. “What’s your name?”

“Ralf.”

The utterance caused the trio to mentally blank. Charlotte was the recover and quickly followed up with, “You…have fire in your blood?”

Ralf’s lips curled up and then his eyelids slowly opened to reveal his oceanic orbs. “Mm, it seems you’re not as ignorant as you appear. Take a seat, sister, there’s still hope for you yet.”

The trio’s eyes lit up at the confirmation. They moved to speak their respective words but a loud clap interrupted them.

“Okay, everyone take your seats. We’re beginning.”

At the voice, the students shifted their attention to the front. An austere-looking brown-haired bearded middle-aged man had entered. With a powerful stride, Gerard Hunden moved to the lone podium at the front. On either side of him, two containers floated, being held up by his Rank 6 Telekinetic aura. After reaching his destination, he cast the students a steely look.

The chatter instantly settled down and many began straightening their postures. Charlotte stood out of place, but only for a second. After giving Ralf one last thoughtful look, she plopped down in the space between Violet and her brother. Still, her gaze all but bore through her brother to focus on Ralf.

Seeing everyone settled and silent, Gerard clapped again, this time out of approval.

“Not too bad for a first session. Okay, let’s begin.”

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