Chapter 33: Chapter 33 : Vanished Confidence

[[That medical stuff was pretty rad. When the Consolidation Phase ends, we should take a course. Having medical skills is a must.]]

[[Yeah,]] Rei agreed.

Rei and Ralf had just left the medic ward. It was a brief stay, not lasting even five minutes. In that time, the two switched places.

After a Psi Scan…scan, and some other tests, the medic concluded that there was nothing wrong with Ralf’s body and sent him on his way with a complementary regeneration potion. Jeff took a little longer, on account of his injury and his flirtatious efforts, which seemed to be quite effective.

Now, the two were moving to the reception desk.

[[What did you think of the battle?]]

[[Pretty neat, liked the flips, really my style. Counted seven inaccuracies though. A flying triangle lock on either of his arms to a twist could have ended the fight much quicker.]]

[[Hmm, I guess so,]] Rei didn’t deny it. In the time that passed, he had rewatched the battle and noted several errors and missed opportunities. Removing the helmet, he had it return to its rightful place, then with a thought, had a ‘book’ float to his side.

[[I’m going to dive into the books. This world’s history is pretty interesting. Get some more history books at the library, oh and don’t forget about the monster encyclopedia.]]

[[Of course of course.]]

[[Then, see you.]]

With these words, the Mental Link snapped.

‘Leaving me with the library again, ah what a pain.’ Exiting his thoughts, Jeff’s string of unending praise hit his ears.

“...it was amazing stuff. I'm always in search of great stories to tell, and you've really thrown one on my lap here today. Ralf, your surname’s Fawkes right. You wouldn’t happen to be related to Kai Fawkes, would you?”

“I am. Um, Jeff, I need to use the bathroom.”

“Oh, it’s down that corridor, to the right.”

“Thanks, be right back.”

“I’ll go on ahead. Nice meeting you Ralf.”

“Likewise, Jeff,” Ralf returned with his usual friendliness.

***

Five minutes later…

‘Once our Telekinetic powers become usable, things will be very different.’ This profound thought crossed Ralf’s mind as he exited the bathroom stall.

With his mind on the topic, he continued to the front section. Two turns later and Genise came into view. He strolled up eagerly.

“Mission complete.”

His voice knocked Genise out of her daze. Turning to find Ralf, her eyes flickered. With a wry face, she said, “Yeah, I heard.”

“From Jeff, where’s he?” Ralf’s eyes roamed in search of the talkative young man.

At the mention of his name, Genise frowned. “After telling his story, he said he’s taking the day off and rushed out. That rascal. He’ll get an earful when I finally catch him.”

“Don’t go too hard on him.”

“I won’t… certainly not as hard as you’ve been on him. Bullying your fellow Adventurer is no good Ralf.”

“Aha, yeah.”

Genise smiled. “You really surprised me. Not just E-Rank, but even D-Rank and then even beating Jeff, you must be something special. I have high expectations for your future.”

“I won’t disappoint.”

“I’m sure you won’t. Anyway, Ralf, congratulations, you’re officially an Adventurer. Your data has been inputted and this is yours.”

Ralf eyed the metallic tag pushed before him. On it, his full name and rank were carved into it. It was simple, nothing fancy. Still, taking it in, Ralf’s emotions stirred.

The title of Adventurer was one he had long pursued. While acquiring it hadn’t been a challenge, accomplishment and delight filled his heart nonetheless.

“Thanks. Oh, here’s the registration fee.” Ralf moved to get it but was stopped by Genise’s next words.

“There’s no need. Jeff already paid it, he mentioned you helped him out or something.”

‘Must be talking about the pretty medic. Seems like a forced checkmate pattern to me.’

“He’s a swell guy.” Ralf pocketed the Adventurer tag. “I messed up the test room. Just let me know how much it is, I’ll pay for the damages. I don’t have the money now, but I’ll have it in a few hours.”

“A few hours, what’s happening in a few hours?” Genise titled her head.

The corners of Ralf’s mouth curled up at the question. He considered answering but decided against it.

"I'll swing by this place another time and tell you then."

“Sure, I’m always up for interesting stories. Now, Ralf, I’d like to inform you of some basic things regarding this branch’s operations. Adventurer benefits, the communication system, the Pillar banking system, potion buying, and allocation…those kinds of things. Do you have time for it now, or would you rather do it later?”

“Now,” Ralf’s answer came immediately. Anything to cut down his library time was greatly welcomed.

Genise nodded, and transformed into a being of pure exposition, relaying the ins and outs in a concise and practised manner. Twenty minutes later, a much more knowledgeable Ralf said his goodbyes and left the building, not as an ordinary citizen, but as a D-Rank Adventurer.

***

“So, you say this kid has a chance?” Joan asked with a brow raised.

“Of course, this kid’s a genius. He could easily beat me” Greg responded confidently.

“Beat you? That’s not saying much. I could probably beat you.”

“Hmph, as if. You can keep doubting. I'll enjoy the twists your face does later, you and this ignorant lot behind me," Greg said as thumped towards them.

Hearing Greg's words, the group in question, composed of middle-aged men and women broke out into a collective chuckle.

Greg heard it and merely shook his head as if pitying their foolishness.

“What’s that about?” Joan inquired.

Before Greg could answer, Markus, a twirly moustached gentleman turned to her and spoke.

“We’re here because we heard our good buddy Greg is throwing money away, right guys ahaha…”

Markus' laughter set off the rest who joined in. Greg didn’t sour at it, and instead, let off a few laughs as well.

By the end, Joan came to understand what was happening. The people at the table weren’t just random nobodies, all were from the Flower Districts, where Ganurg’s most well-off residents, resided.

“So you bet on it, whether Ralf would beat Moriya or not?”

“Yeah.” Greg sipped his drink. “I’ve put my money on Ralf winning, and these fools went with Moriya."

Grins appeared at Greg’s ‘fools’ comment.

“Haha, in other words, Greg’s just handing out free money haha.”

Joan frowned. Markus’ words were on the mark. Turning to Greg, still nonchalantly sipping his liquor, she asked, “How much is on the line?”

“I said I would match whatever they could accumulate, so fifty-three gold.”

“Fifty-three!” Joan cried out in shock. “Are you an idiot? No, that’s not even a question, you really are an idiot.”

At Joan’s berating, the others pepped in.

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“Tell him, tell him!”

“Ha, lucky for us.”

“Thank Raiken for his idiocy.”

Greg calmly drank his drink through the barrage. And then, a new voice joined the fray.

“Whoa, what’s happening here?”

Rolling in on a Psi wheelchair, came Jeff.

With memories of his clash with Rei still circulating his mind, he wanted to offload the exciting tale to anyone who would listen. Golden Jug, his usual spot, naturally came to mind.

Entering, the words he prepared took a backseat as he became more interested in the current happening.

“Hmm, what’s with the wheelchair?”

“I’ll tell you later, what’s got you guys and gals so worked up?”

“Greg’s giving away free money.” Again, Markus was quickest to the punch.

“Free money?” Jeff's chair moved closer.

Greg drained the last of his liquor then kindly explained the nature of the bet.

Hearing it to the end, an explosion of sorts went off in Jeff’s head. “So this kid’s name is Ralf, correct,” he asked for clarification.

Greg nodded. “Yeah, that’s his name. Met him yesterday at the…”

Jeff tuned out Greg’s next words as he focused on his own thoughts. ‘The money, this must be what he meant by 1 pm. So he’s confident that he’ll win.’ Images of the earlier battle flashed past Jeff’s mind.

With all that he had seen, Jeff's opinion of 'Ralf Fawkes' was currently high in the sky. He believed that 'Ralf’s' confidence wasn’t baseless, and that belief drove his next actions.

“Hey, can I take part in the bet as well?”

“Jeff, we’re not playing with a few coins here.”

“Ten gold…on Ralf’s victory.”

At the declaration, stunned silence and a cheeky smirk followed.

***

“Oh, you’re here already. How are you feeling Ralf, ready to crush Moriya?” Greg asked as he saddled up to the fountain.

“Yeah, down to dust,” Ralf replied while doing an air punch.

“Haha, good good. That’s what I like to hear. Let's make haste then.”

“Sure.”

Following this exchange, the pair of Ralf and Greg headed for the Money Pouch. Entering, they moved with purpose and quickly arrived at the top floor.

“Mister Moriya, good day.”

At the address, Moriya’s gaze left the board and slowly shifted to Ralf. Capturing the youth in his aged sights, he couldn’t help but frown. The confidence radiating off Ralf’s youthful figure was palpable.

“Hmph, I see that confidence from yesterday hasn’t waned a bit.”

Ralf's eyes flickered at his words. A smile formed in his heart as he constructed his next string of words.

“Confidence?” He touched his lips as he repeated. After a moment’s ponderance, he shook his head. “No, my confidence has more than just waned, it has completely vanished.”

“Vanished?”

“Vanished?"

Both Greg and Moriya reacted strongly to these words.

Ralf nodded, before beginning an encirclement. “Yes. Confidence can be thought of as a range of high percentages. In a coin flip, with a fair coin, one can’t be confident in either heads or tails. Fifty percent doesn’t inspire confidence. What about sixty percent? No, still too low. I’d say, to be confident, you'd have to believe there's a, at least seventy percent chance of something happening.”

Ralf’s break out into explanation mode baffled Moriya and Greg. At the same time, it also intrigued them. Wanting to know where he would go with this, they kept silent and paid keen attention.

“Then, there’s varying levels of confidence. If seventy percent is confident, eighty percent would be very confident and ninety percent and above would be extremely confident. But, while the minimum value for what qualifies as 'confident' varies, the maximum value is set. Ninety-nine-point-nine recurring, that’s where confidence ends. Above that value, and what you have is no longer confidence.”

Coming to the end, the two old men’s eyes widened as they caught onto what Ralf was implying.

“You mean to say…”

Ralf, now back in his original spot, nodded at Greg’s start. Then, smiling, he patted his chest and said, “Yes, what resides in me isn’t confidence, but certainty.”

Silence!

A smirk crept onto Greg’s face, meanwhile, Moriya’s welcomed a frown.

[[You’re really know how to aggravate people,]] Rei commented from his couch.

Ralf had called him over after he entered the building.

[[Hmm, he doesn’t look too happy. Well, that’s what I want.]]

“Certainty huh, sounds more like arrogance to me,” Moriya said with a scowl.

Putting his conversation with Rei aside, Ralf replied, “Could be, the two appear identical on the surface. To illustrate my certainty, why don’t we spice things up a bit?”

“Spice things up, what do you mean?”

“Let's switch up the conditions and stakes of the match. How about this? The win condition is fives games, but only for me. For you, you just need to win a single game to win the match.”

“What, just once?!”

Greg and Moriya were shocked, but Ralf wasn’t done.

“Yes, only once. And, if you manage to achieve three draws, I’ll consider that a victory as well. You can also choose the time format for each game, following your usual time ranges of course. We won’t change colours though. I’ll play white in every game.”

Ralf paused, then shifted his eyes from the board to the piles of coins in the back. “With the change in conditions, the stakes naturally change as well.” He rubbed his hairless chin as though contemplating something, before saying, “Since I’m doubling down, let’s compensate by doubling up. If I win, you must double the reward and if I lose, I’ll owe you ten times the amount.”

Moriya’s face flinched.

“Are you serious?”

“Yeah. If you want, it can be something else. Twenty times the amount, a hundred times, a thousand, should I lose, you can request anything of me. I can even work here if you want. It doesn’t matter what you request, to me, it's all the same…fantasy.”

Letting his words linger in the air for a bit, Ralf refocused on the elderly gentlemen.

“What do you think of my proposal? Accept or reject, which do you choose?”

Moriya didn’t immediately reply, in fact, he couldn’t. The brain he was so proud of was having a hard time processing the youth before him. Only after a sip of his tea could the cogs once again begin turning. And then, a chuckle escaped his lips, before laughter poured out.

“Hahaha…I see. I’ve underestimated you, Ralf Fawkes. It's not ignorance or arrogance that plagues you, it's madness. Very well, I accept. Let's have at it.”

Ralf smirked internally. ‘All according to cake.’

Soon, the chess match began.

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