Ralf made a few stops around Ganurg. With it being the nearest, Ralf paid a visit to Joel’s stall to pick up his apples. Visiting the place brought a smile to his face. The middle-aged man’s business was booming.
Since three days ago, Ralf would show up to meet nothing but empty shelves. Had Joel not purposely saved him some for his trip, Ralf would be out of luck.
Joel’s success was a product of Ralf’s intervention - or rather his reputation. While at the Adventurer Association branch, he casually remarked to Jeff that Joel’s apples increased one’s luck. This remark started the trend currently at work.
Adventurers and non- Adventurers alike began visiting Joel’s stall. Of course, pretty much no one believed that the apples had the properties Ralf claimed they did, instead, it was similar to the Hana situation. People were starved for more information and looking to make connections to those in Ralf’s circle. This led to a noticeable uptick in attention and popularity for the likes of Genise, Joan, and Joel; all three of whom benefited greatly from it, especially Joel.
Ralf was delighted to see it and even went a step further. During his adventuring, he’d hand apples out and advertise their miraculous properties with his Silver tongue.
After collecting his apples, Ralf dropped a silver coin at the Fountain of Luck then headed to Golden Jug. Here, he picked up a few bottles of alcohol, a gourd, matches, and a lighter. Thanking Joan, he headed out.
Ten minutes later…
“Grraaawwrr!”
The trees shook in fright at the orc’s roar.
[[Oh, it’s gone Berserk,]] Rei commented nonchalantly as he watched the changes overcoming the monster.
The orc’s green skin was rapidly reddening as though a fire had been lit inside it. Observing the creature, one would find that it wasn’t just a metaphor. Sizzling sounds and literal steam was let off by the monster as its anger and frustration boiled over.
[[Looks like it,]] Ralf said absentmindedly as he Flickered away.
The monster’s punch arrived a moment later, splitting the thick tree into two chunks. Failing to connect, the orc roared then rushed to Ralf’s new position. A flurry of frenzied punches followed causing more and more of the forest to be levelled by the monster’s attacks.
[[For how painful it looks, it doesn’t change much,]] Rei said in assessment.
[[Yeah, since the Zenki Era’s arrival, going Berserk has just been pure masochism - oh, looks like he’s out of steam.]]
As Ralf said, the orc tuckered out.
The Berserk state was a self-destructive technique, not one that a monster could sustain for too long. The orc’s body began shrinking and its green hue returned.
[[Twenty-three seconds, about average. Test complete, end it already. We have stuff to do.]]
[[On it,]] Ralf nodded before taking a sword drawing stance. With both arms on his left side, he held the gourd with his left hand, treating it as a sheath, and held the lighter with his right hand, which he had positioned where a handle would be.
A moment later, a Psi handle appeared and at the same time, his Psi popped off the cap and entered the gourd before putting the swirling alcohol under its strict custody.
“Gaaww!”
Freed from its temporary exhaustion, the monster rushed in with renewed vigour.
Dragon Sword: Third Form.
Blue and red, like water and fire; so too was Ralf’s form and execution. In a most dazzling display, he dipped under the orc’s swipe, then unleashed an arc of his own. His right hand pulled away first. As it did, the alcohol was made to rush from the gourd to the rapidly forming Psi blade. With the slashing motion, the Psi katana completed itself, its hollow inside holding the alcohol and lighter.
Then, just as the sword was about to make contact, the lighter’s flame ignited via telekinetic assistance. Touching the alcohol at the base, it rushed upward where most of the alcohol was gathered. When the sword collided with its target, a burst of flames was made to wash over the monster’s face and chest area.
And…nothing.
Not even a second later, the infuriated monster retaliated, sending a punch. The attack parted the smoke and hurried towards its target. But Ralf’s afterimage would be the only victim. The real Ralf Flickered to the monster’s backside, conjured a Psi sword and performed a regular slash, killing the monster in one motion.
*Thud*
The decapitated head dropped like a bowling ball, sinking the dirt a good inch below it.
In the aftermath, Ralf couldn’t feel any satisfaction.
[[This stuff is a no-go. We need a better fuel source, we couldn’t even stun it for a second.]]
[[Yeah, something far more flammable. We should probably just get gasoline. Greg mentioned that there are cars in Popleigh, so there must be gas we can buy. And if not, we’ll just have synthesis our own fuel, somehow,]] Rei said, already scouring the Mental Space library for books on the matter.
Ralf nodded. [[Yeah,]] he turned around and collected the orc’s monster crystal. [[At least it looked cool though, mom will definitely like it,]] he said, looking on the bright side. Weak as it was, it would no doubt put a smile on his mother’s face. He smiled. [[Oh, speaking of that, you totally missed it earli- huh, a yellow flare, that’s...]] Ralf abandoned his casual thoughts and raced towards the flare’s location.
Adventurers, given their line of work, would sometimes find themselves in sticky situations and in need of help. The flare system was put in place to alert others when such help was required, with the yellow flare signalising an incredibly dire situation.
Flares were mostly a beginner Adventurer thing though. It wasn’t supposed to be like this, but most Adventurers dropped it after a while as their confidence in their abilities reached a certain level. This was why, despite adventuring for quite a bit now, this was Ralf’s first time seeing a flare in action.
Bang! Bang! Bang!…
Approaching, gunfire and the roars of monsters reached his ears. Two Flickers later, Ralf passed through the sea of trees and finally got a clear look at the situation.
Up ahead, to his left, a pair of wounded humans. The one closer to Ralf gripped his attention. It was an older female, appearing to be around forty years old. Slouched against a tree, her face was scrunched up in pain.
Her right arm was barely holding its shape, bent beyond its usual capacity, skin and muscles desperately hanging on. Still, while her arm was lame, she wasn’t. She fought through the pain, bearing a ferocious look while doing so.
With a shaky left hand, she aimed the machine gun and riddled the approaching monsters. The same moxie could be seen on the much younger man beside her. Like her, he bore the pain from his wounds and squeezed his pistol’s trigger with a desperate frenzy.
The two’s efforts were valiant, but the monsters’ numbers were too much. The last bullet left their barrels with still a dozen orcs up and raring to go.
“Gaaarr!”
A roar came from an orc in the middle of the pack and following it, the monsters all ground their heels, then collectively charged towards their meals.
The sight of incoming monsters cast a shadow on the two’s hearts. Despair coloured the pair’s faces at their dire fates, but even more so, knowing that the other would suffer it as well.
Then…
Bang! Bang! Bang!…
A new set of gunshots woke them from their dreary thoughts. Snapping their heads towards the source, their eyes brightened at the sight of the newcomer.
Even more starry-eyed were the monsters who sensed Ralf’s fast approaching soul. The charging monsters stopped and instantly switched targets. Compared to Ralf, the two on the ground weren’t even worth a glance. Their frenzied roars sounded as they rushed toward him.
*Slash* *Slash* *Slash*….
Summoning his Psi swords, Ralf took out the group in a matter of seconds. Dealing the last slash, he immediately Flickered to the pair’s side.
His waist bag popped open and out came several potions; Ralf floated these to the pair’s front, who immediately grabbed hold of them. Seconds after downing them, their scrunched-up expressions eased up till relaxed looks adorned their faces.
“Thank…you,” Fiona said lethargically.
“Think nothing of it,” Ralf said, showing a kind smile. His eyes moved to her troubled arm and stomach injury. “You’re in dire straits. Can I operate on you?”
“Please, but first, my son-”
“No,” Eric protested. “Please help my mom first-”
“It’s fine. I can do both at the same time.” His Psi split into two halves and he and Rei began operating. By now, they had gotten plenty of experience and moved through the procedure like experienced professionals.
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“Can it be saved,” Eric asked nervously as he watched Ralf work on his mother’s right arm.
“It can, no problem. I’ve reattached three people’s limbs this last week alone and this looks to be the easiest case. The cleanness of the cut helps a lot, you’re quite lucky. Had the orc punched or used its claws instead of a sword, it’d be beyond my ability.”
Eric’s dim eyes brightened at the news. “Thank you, thank you so much.”
“Again, no need. Now,” Ralf squinted and seriousness overcame him, “explain to me the situation here. This is well outside the beginner zone, what are you two doing here? Secondly, if you couldn’t handle pain, why didn’t you two bring painless potions along?”
The pair’s heads sank at the stern words leaving Ralf’s mouth.
“It’s my fault,” Eric said, his voice low and head lower. “I wanted to show off how strong I’ve gotten and said we should push beyond the beginner zone. I came here several times before so I didn’t think it would be a problem but,” pausing for several seconds, a bitter expression overcame the young man’s face, “we got unlucky and ran into a bunch of monsters. And while dealing with them, our potions got destroyed.” Eric pointed southward. “A hundred metres that way, they now exist as shards and puddles.”
A shadow was cast on Ralf’s face as he heard the other’s words. “You…knowingly placed your mom in danger,” he spoke slowly, his face continuing to darken. He shot Eric a derisive glare and said, “You’re a disgrace of a son. You should be ashamed.”
Ralf was angry, and Rei was too.
Rationally, they knew that Fiona, the more experienced and even stronger out of the two, was more at fault for the outcome, but as sons themselves, they couldn’t emotionally stomach the other’s decision and worse, Eric’s inability to keep his mother from pain and suffering. When they imagined Hana in the same situation, the duo’s hearts quickly filled with anger.
Ralf’s gaze and words hit Eric hard. Tears formed in his eyes. He snapped his body towards his mother and unloaded an emotional apology. “Sorry mom, I’m so sorry. I never should have brought you here. Sorry, sowry…I’m so…”
Eric’s voice choked up until only unintelligible sounds left his lips. Still, as unintelligible as they were, his feelings were communicated clearly.
“I don’t blame you, we’re both at fault,” she said as she used her left hand to pat her son’s head. “We’ll do better next time, okay.”
“Yesh,” Eric responded softly.
Fiona’s own emotions stirred seeing her son like this, but she kept it together. She turned to Ralf and thanked him, “Again, thank you for coming to our aid when you did. A minute later, and we’d be goners. My son and I are eternally grateful. We’ll pay back this debt. May we know your name, young man?”
“Ralf Fawkes.”
While Fiona showed no reaction to the name, Eric did. His eyes lit up, and then as he ran his gaze over Ralf’s figure, it brightened even further.
“Ralf Fawkes…you’re him, the one from the rumours, the one who defeated Morris Belcher. You’re that Ralf Fawkes, right?.”
“I am.”
The affirmation caused Eric’s face to freeze up in shock.
Ralf ignored the youth and focused on his mother. “Here, have another,” he said as he handed her a potion.
She took it and downed it like the others. Emptying it, she thanked him again. Her eyes drifted to his bag, where she noted the assortment of potions Ralf possessed.“You have so many potions, are you a medic?”
“I’m not, it’s just good to have a lot. Not just for yourself, but just in case others need it...like now for instance,” Ralf said, tapping his bag.
“I see, we’ll learn from your example, Ralf,” she said with admiration, taking it to heart.
Ralf nodded in approval before focusing on her right arm. “This will take a few minutes to complete. The Adventurer Road is around two kilometres from here. We’ll move towards it, hopefully, we’ll run into a team of Surveyors, they’ll be able to heal you better than I ca- oh,” Ralf’s Psi Sense went off as several Psi signatures were picked up in the distance; he glanced back, “we have company.”
Just as he had, others had seen the flare and dove in. However, unlike him, this group’s intentions were anything but magnanimous. As they exited the sea of trees and Ralf’s eyes landed on them, he understood this fact.
“Collect it up,” Dryon ordered before focusing on the trio ahead. While his fellow gangsters retrieved the monster crystals, he moved to the front and addressed Ralf’s group.
“Drop your valuables and do it quickly.”
Ralf’s eyes narrowed. With his speculation confirmed, his manner and aura underwent a drastic shift.
“You want to rob us? Who are you guys exactly?”
Ralf’s question seemed to offend a few people as their faces twisted up.
Dryon held up his hand, instantly pacifying the group. “Kid, we’re the Wild Dogs, a group you don’t want to mess with. Now, hand over all your stuff or become monster food.”
Ralf’s eyes flickered at the gangster’s words.
[[Wild Dogs, they’re one of the so-called Adventurer Guilds Greg mentioned right.]]
[[Yeah. So this is them. No doubt, they’re gangsters,]] Rei said with dense derision in his voice. He stared at them as though they were trash, trash that needed to be incinerated.
[[Eliminate them?]]
[[…no,]] Rei answered after a fierce tug of war. [[It’s slight, but it’s better not to take the risk. Also, should this go south, we’ll drag these two into our problems. Let’s handle this smoothly, then deal with these Wild Dogs when we’re alone.]]
Ralf agreed.
The duo had done a lot of training where they had to protect one or multiple burdens while fighting others. They were very confident in their ability to defeat all the gangsters without causing any physical harm to the mother and son pair. However, being very confident wasn’t a hundred percent certain, and when dealing with real lives, they would rather not take the risk.
‘They’ve been through a lot today, let’s get them home safely,’ Ralf thought as he took in the pair’s tensed-up faces.
While having this thought, Dryon and his fellow gangsters swept over the trio with their Psi Scans, noting everything of value on their person.
“Five seconds. You have five seconds to comply or die,” Dryon said flatly; no emotion could be found in his voice. The lines he spoke were lines he had spoken dozens of times already; so familiar was he with them that most of his sleep talking episodes became recitations of them.
“Five four,” as he counted down, Psi auras began flaring up around him, readying themselves for battle, “three tw-”
“Wait, we’ll comply. Here,” Ralf floated over his bag, money pouch, two knives, empty machine gun, fully-loaded pistol and even his gourd to Dryon’s feet.
The gangster showed a satisfied expression at the items. “Good, now the other two.”
Fiona and Eric both looked to Ralf, who signalled with his eyes to follow the gangster’s words. Receiving it, the two floated their valuables over.
Dryon showed a rotten smile as he took in the pile before him. “We got a good haul, and you guys got to keep your lives. A win-win if you ask me. Next time, do it quicker ok-”
“Ah!”
Dryon’s face soured as the exclamation sounded. He hated being interrupted, and his group knew that. He turned towards the perpetrator with a mean mug. “John, what is it?”
“Dryon, this kid…he’s Ralf Fawkes.”
At the mention of the name, Dryon and the other gangsters had their eyes flicker with surprise, then collectively snapped their gazes towards Ralf. When they got a better look at him, they found that John was indeed on the money.
“You’re Ralf Fawkes?” Dryon asked as his posture subtly shifted.
“I am.”
The confirmation made the group collectively tense up. But when remembering the other’s meek compliance, the stories running through their heads lost their oomph.
“Ha, you’re Ralf Fawkes, I guess you can’t trust rumours, really,” Dryon said in a mocking tone. His eyes narrowed threateningly. “You’ve been on the Wild Dogs’ radar for a while now. We’ll pay you a visit very shortly. We have a lot to discuss…until then, sit tight little fox.” Ending his words with a cold smile, Dryon turned around and gave a signal to his group.
Very quickly, the items were picked up and the group dashed into the forest at branch-ruffling speed until they disappeared from the trio’s view, completely.