Chapter 188: Chapter 171.1 : Falling…

Eyes shut, Violet focused up and mapped out her surroundings with her extrasensory sense.

Humans, just like other animals, produced a weak electromagnetic field. Her inheritance, Thunder Monarch, which made her very sensitive to electromagnetic energy, allowed her to sense these emissions clearly, for hundreds of metres even. So while she wasn’t the most physically gifted among the bunch, her detection abilities were the best.

There was no sneaking up on her, only the opposite; her four downed victims could attest to that fact. Violet didn’t just rely on her special ability though. Her enhanced physical prowess and military training played their parts as well.

‘It’s been three minutes already and he still hasn’t moved away…what’s he waiting for? Or doing?’ Violet’s forehead crinkled up at the questioning. The student counter was currently at ‘65’. ‘Is he waiting for the thirty-minute mark to arrive?’

The ‘he’ in question was, as you guessed it, Ralf. Of everyone, he was the easiest to sense due to his White Asura body’s especially strong electromagnetic energy emissions. If everyone else was a candle in Violet’s mind’s eye, he was an inferno. She had sensed his presence three minutes ago, and since then, he had remained stationary.

As she continued to wonder, Violet’s curiosity eventually got the better of her. More than victory, she was interested in learning more about her mysterious classmate.

With such intentions, she made her way over. Two hundred metres later, she exited the sea of trees and stepped into a large opening that took the form of a circular mound-like patch of grass. The terrain sloped upwards towards the centre, where an elephant-sized boulder stood. Near said boulder, was the person she was looking for.

Seeing him and what he was doing, the scraping sounds she heard previously were finally understood.

‘A dragon…the one from the movie,’ Violet stared at the image carved - being carved - into the rock with fascination swirling in her eyes.

Ralf continued as though not sensing her. Using the sharp rock in his right hand, he etched the final touches on the rock face. Finishing up, he blew the boulder, cleaning it of the pebbles and dust, before taking a step back and examining the simple but elegant anime-style dragon carving.

“Not bad…but it could be better,” Ralf assessed after cupping his chin. He picked up his nearby paintball gun, which caused the frozen Violet to raise her own, expecting a fight.

However, instead of turning to her, Ralf continued with his artwork. He emptied all his bullets, then one by one punctured them with the sharp rock and used the red liquid inside as paint. He filled the thick outlines slowly and steadily, colouring more and more of the dragon image.

Violet lowered her gun and watched the spectacle in awe. His artistic skill was noteworthy, but what really blew her mind was his decision to do something as strange as this in the first place. Staring at him, she was once again reminded of his enigma-like identity.

“Ah?”

Violet's thoughts were interrupted at the sudden utterance. ‘Hmm…oh, he’s run out before he could finish,” she concluded as she took a few steps to the side.

“Oh, Violet, excellent,” Ralf said as if just noticing the lightning Mimic. “Toss me a few bullets, I need to complete my artwork.”

The princess momentarily blanked, unsure of what to do in this situation.

Should she? Should she not?

In the end, her artistic soul tipped the scales. Against her better judgement, she removed her extra ammo magazine from her waist and threw it over.

Ralf caught it with a grateful look. “Thanks, princess.” He turned back and finished up his dragon, painting in the rest of the flames. He ended up using all the paintballs but he managed to complete the image. “And…done, mmm, not bad not bad” Nodding at his work, he stepped aside and turned to the princess. “What do you think, Violet, like it?”

“Yeah, very much.”

Ralf’s eyes flashed at the compliment. He then tossed the empty ammo magazine aside and leapt onto the boulder, where he made himself comfortable. “So, Violet… what brings you here? I figured you’d stay as far away from me as possible…so what gives?”

“I was just curious about what you were doing here, that’s all,” the princess answered honestly. “Though, I could never imagine you - or anyone - drawing in this situation; you’re quite strange Ralf.”

Ralf smiled as though complimented before saying, “Well, to non-Pathers I may come off that way, but in the Silver Path, I’m just an average joe.”

“The Silver Path,” Violet repeated, her eyes brightening at the mysterious faction’s mention.

“Interested?”

Violet nodded.

“Good, in truth, I’m interested too…in you, that is,” Ralf said, his gaze falling on the slowly approaching princess.

“Me? Why?” Violet continued upward, wanting to close the distance, not to shoot but to hear him better.

“Many reasons…did Yuki not inform you of my dark plan?”

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Violet tilted her head at the wording, baffled.

Ralf shrugged. “I see, I’ll give you a rundown then. The truth is that I’m a Unique who can copy psionic powers. Thing is, I can only copy from those I’m close with…with friendship being the minimum requirement. I plan to conquer the world no different than Bellus did and am in my preparation phase where I gather all sorts of strong powers. As such, befriending Skye, Snowball and you…is a necessary step.”

“Okay?” Violet answered, the bafflement in her expression only thickening.

Ralf nodded. “No need to worry. We can take things slow, I’ll get the ball rolling. Let’s start with the basics. What’s your favourite food?”

“Food ah, umm probably salavora.”

“Mm, I’m unfamiliar,” Ralf lied. “We’ll have to try it out sometime. Next, what’s your favourite music?”

“Classical,” Violet answered, sounding more confident. She was quickly catching up to his pace. “Piano pieces are my favourite…though, I’ve also come to really love many of the soundtracks and new music I’ve heard in anime. The rock and heavy metal in the Dragon Prince trilogy are my favourites.”

“Oh, glad you liked it, I’m a big fan too.”

“What about you?” Violet took the initiative.

“Me? You want to know what kind of music is my favourite?” Ralf asked.

“Yeah, it’s only fair, right?”

Ralf nodded. “Indeed, relationships are a two-way street. Music music music, mmm, I’m not too sure which is my favourite, so I’ll just give you my top three. The first is rap, love it, the second is classic music and the third is…” Ralf let his voice trail off as a sudden smile overcame his expression. He slowly stood up. “...well, I’ll let you guess.”

Violet’s chest tightened at the ominous smile and words. Before she could question him, Ralf disappeared behind the boulder and then…

‘Ah?!’

The princess’ mind froze as she watched the boulder barrel her way. Ralf’s all-out push combined with the slope’s angle had allowed it to quickly gather speed. The distance between Violet and the rock was quickly eaten up.

At the boulder’s approach, Violet’s Mimic identity worked against her, as the first thought that passed through her mind was to blow it away with an EM force blast. Wasting a second considering and discarding this option, she moved to dodge. She veered left only to switch directions a half-second later. The boulder wasn’t perfectly spherical, and upon going over a patch, it suddenly shifted trajectories, forcing Violet to make the switch.

The princess avoided getting crushed but at a steep cost. The rapidness of the switch and the angle of the slope caused the Lightning Princess to lose her footing. After a small stumble, she completely lost her balance and fell backwards.

But then…

“Oh…?”

The pair weren’t Jack and Hill, but Sakon and Ukon. Instead of landing on her butt and sliding down the hill as she expected, Violet’s back had met with Ralf’s.

After pushing the boulder, he followed behind it, and then, just before the lightning Mimic fell, he slid down the slope and behind her, before offering her his ‘support’.

The two maintained their strange back-to-back posture in silence- or rather, without speaking.

‘That was…crazy,’ Violet thought in the aftermath as invisible lightning ravaged her body and soul.

The princess’ chest heaved up and down rapidly and her heart thumped loudly in her ears. Her cheeks were crimson, her breath uneven, and her purple eyes swirled with lights previously unknown to the Lightning Princess. The entire sequence, from barely surviving the boulder to watching as Ralf stylishly slid past her, and even now…exhilarated her to no end.

She took several seconds to mentally recover and several more seconds to remember the matter of the ongoing Event. She glanced at her paintball gun in her right hand, ready to retaliate, but upon finding a red stain on the edge of her skirt, she became lame. ‘Huh…I was shot, when? I didn’t even notice. Ralf, he’s really on another level. Charlotte…I don’t think anyone can beat him.”

“What’s your guess, princess?”

Violet smiled bitterly. She took a calming breath before parting her lips to answer the cheeky question.

“Rock…and Roll.”

Ralf just smiled.

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