Although Ralph did not realize this, the fact that he killed someone for the first time and still maintains his composure is a remarkable fact. He was more concerned with why he killed than the act itself.
Not everyone would be able to keep their sanity intact after such an event.
Ralph left the residence while maintaining invisibility, the brightness of the Sun reached his eyes, which were dark.
"Stepping back, mission was a success." The captain spoke on the secret frequency.
Half-1 met with the other part of the team and used other vehicles, which were in the parking lot in advance, and drove away.
They would need to follow safe routes without attracting attention. The building's cameras were hacked and everything was erased.
They switched vehicles again in a place without any surveillance.
They would need to get rid of everything they used on the mission, burning everything.
After finishing, and already dressed in ordinary clothes, everyone went to the aeronautics base.
The same officer from earlier received them.
"The mission was a complete success, I received the report. Now it's better to get some rest ..." The officer then looked at Ralph and said:
"You are excused for now, there is a plane waiting to take you to São Paulo, hurry up."
Ralph, with no expression on his face, nodded and walked towards where his things were, which had been brought with him before.
Even the things that were confiscated, cell phone and watch, were there. The military was really giving him a break.
Ralph looked at his cell phone for a moment and laughed coldly. He threw the phone in the trash shortly after. It was certain that the military was spying on him, and that they had already done a thorough research in his life.
Ralph knows that he only has himself to blame, but he doesn't. From the beginning, he did what he wanted. These are just consequences ... obstacles, and they can be overcome.
Even so, Ralph can hardly contain his anger at the thought that even his home may have been sabotaged in many ways.
Ralph took a deep breath and started to go to the aircraft hangar.
There was a twin engine airplane waiting for him.
"Good morning, Ralph. How do you feel?" The pilot, who was an old man with a big beard, asked with a pitying look. He heard about Ralph's mission from an old friend who was a Major.
Ralph looked at the pilot and said with a smile:
"You don't have to pretend to care ..."
The pilot frowned and looked at Ralph strangely.
"I'm not pretending, I really found all this tragic. A boy like you shouldn't be assigned to a mission this early ..." The pilot spoke with a bitter smile as he stroked his own beard.
"... Thank you for your concern. What's your name." Ralph laughed lightly and asked a question.
"Call me Bearded Wing, my self-proclaimed nickname." The pilot laughed.
Ralph smiled and got on the plane, he was the only passenger.
After a few minutes, the pilot maneuvered the plane and took off.
"Dear passengers, the estimate is that the trip will last 3 hours, you can sleep a little if you are feeling tired, this old man here does not fail in service!" The pilot spoke from inside the cockpit in a cheerful tone.
Ralph smiled slightly at the old man, but he did not sleep. He looked around strangely and noticed that there was no flight attendant, not that he really cared.
Now that he had time, he checked the changes he had previously felt.
"My Status."
Everything was as it was, except two things.
The first was his skill level, it was now level three. Ralph had noticed the real change before. He was finally able to synchronize the three factors of the skill.
Thermal sensation (temperature), sounds and image. He managed to synchronize the three completely.
Ralph didn't look happy despite the fact that:
----
[Stats points available: 1]
----
"..." Ralph couldn't help shaking at the thought of a possibility.
He hadn't killed beasts in the recent past other than the alligator, but he had already consumed that point he had earned before.
But now, he had won another point. The only thing that popped into Ralph's mind was him killing the target from before.
Ralph swallowed his own saliva and realized he was shaking. He can't smile this time. Maybe because he had felt something ... satisfaction?
Ralph took a deep breath and tried to meditate.
"... ridiculous." Ralph murmured bitterly.
Why was he feeling guilty and satisfied at the same time? Who determined that he was wrong? No one. He was the only one to decide whether or not to accept all of this.
Ralph was in a trance, he was genuinely confused, although he didn't recognize it.
He suddenly shook his head and blew out a breath, there was no point in thinking about it that way.
He held out his hand and decided to test his hypothesis.
Slowly Ralph started to notice the difference and smiled. He had really gained the ability to create the illusion of smell.
-I'm not better at that than that bat?
Ralph wondered.
The current objective was clear, to master this new factor and synchronize it with the other three. That way he would achieve almost perfect invisibility, being able to walk anywhere without being noticed by animals, beasts or people.
But he didn't start practicing right away, he was tired after so many events, and he thought it best to rest.
Although he couldn't sleep, just not thinking was enough for Ralph.
There was a window next to the chair he was sitting on, and you could see the big picture outside.
Time passed and Ralph fell asleep slowly without realizing it.
"Cough Cough, buckle up, kid, there's strong turbulence ahead." The old pilot spoke in a solemn tone.
Suddenly, the plane started to shake suddenly, waking Ralph.
"..." Ralph was startled and realized the situation. Luckily he had his belt tightly fastened, or else he would have been injured.
The plane was shaking extremely, Ralph suspected that the pilot still had control over the aircraft.
"My God ..." The pilot said suddenly, startling Ralph.
Ralph then looked out the window and was startled by what he saw.
A huge bird, it was several times bigger than a commercial airplane. He had the appearance of a crow, but the bright red eyes and flames below his beak made Ralph extremely vulnerable.
This is unlike any type of beast Ralph has ever seen, this is a complete monster. Perhaps only a nuclear bomb can kill something like that.
Ralph swallowed his own spit and tried to stay calm. If the big crow wanted to attack him, it would have already done so.
"I'm going to start walking away." The old pilot spoke in a terrified tone of voice.
The twin engine began to move away from the beast gradually, without sudden movements.
When the crow turned just a black dot on the horizon, Ralph finally blew out a sigh of relief.
"We will need to make an emergency landing, the turbulence has damaged some of the aircraft's systems ... But don't worry, it is nothing catastrophic." The pilot spoke in a solemn tone.
Ralph frowned and unconsciously held on to the chair.
If the landing was an emergency, then something serious must have happened.
"Fortunately, there's an airstrip close enough, don't worry." The pilot comforted Ralph and the plane started to descend.
The landing was scary but not dangerous. In the end the problem was that the gas tank suffered a crack and the engines started to fail. Fortunately, there was this plane runway nearby.
Ralph got off the plane and looked around.
It looked like an abandoned runway, how did the pilot know about it?
"Damn ... We're not going anywhere without first fixing that tank." The pilot spoke with his greasy hands.
Ralph twisted the corners of his mouth and asked:
"Where are we?"
"On an old track a few kilometers away from São Paulo ... What a bad luck, we were almost there!"
Ralph sighed, at least they weren't that far away. He just needed to find a way to get there alone.
Ralph picked up his own things and started walking.
"Hey Hey! Where are you going?" The pilot shouted.
"Sorry, but I'm not going to stay in this end of the world. If you want, I will ask for help when I get to an urban center."
"No need, I already activated the emergency signal of the aircraft, soon the help will arrive... Don't you want to wait?"
Ralph shook his head and waved a hand as he left.
There was a highway nearby, Ralph decided to test his luck and ask for a ride. Luckily, one of the public transport buses was passing.
"Where are you going?" The driver asked.
"To São Paulo."
"Haha, we are already in São Paulo." The pilot laughed.
Ralph smiled weakly and explained better where he wanted to be.
"Got it ... The ticket will cost 40 reais." The driver spoke.
Ralph frowned and took out his wallet.
"... I only have 37 reais." Ralph spoke with a bitter smile.
"... Okay, sit on any bench." The driver accepted and let Ralph get on the empty bus.
"I just finished a trip, so don't be surprised that the bus is empty ... This ticket I sold you is just a bonus for myself." The driver laughed.
Ralph understood, the bus must be private to some company. That is, the driver had no right to stop and offer the ticket to Ralph.
"We have to earn a living somehow, don't you think?" The driver asked while driving.
Ralph nodded slightly and was silent.
The image of the crow did not come out of Ralph's head, he could only think of that beast. How did something so big reach such a high altitude?
Ralph was sure that no conventional weapon would work against that monster, but perhaps thermobaric bombs could do some damage.
Time passed quickly, and the driver's voice brought Ralph out of his thoughts.
"We arrived boy, I hope you enjoyed the trip, you are welcome if you need to." The driver spoke while smiling slightly.
Ralph returned the smile and got off the bus.
What Ralph saw first was the familiar concrete and steel forest. The polluted air made Ralph miss the royal forest.
Since he had no cell phone, and he also had no money, Ralph decided to go to a nearby cafeteria first to borrow a phone, while also eating something.
Upon hearing Ralph's request, the cafeteria attendant hesitated for a moment and spoke to the manager.
"Can I know your name?" The manager asked Ralph with a watchful eye.
"... Ralph."
"Can you tell me the number you want to call? I can put you on speaker." The manager offered.
Ralph twitched the corners of his mouth but understood. The manager was afraid that he was a thief.
"Sigh ... No problem, the number is ..." Ralph spoke the phone number and waited.
"Hello?" Ingrid's voice came out of the phone.
"Mom, it's me Ralph."
"Hmm? Son? But you ..." Ingrid was going to ask a question but was interrupted by Ralph.
"Mom, you can pick me up here at the cafeteria ..." Ralph wasted no time and explained.
"... Alright, I'm going to ask your father. Don't leave!" Ingrid then hung up the call.
Ralph blew out a breath and looked at the manager.
"Sorry ... but one of our employees was mugged last week, and we started to be more cautious. I hope you understand." The manager realized that Ralph was a good-natured guy and apologized.
Ralph didn't want to fight over it and sat down.
"What will you want?" An attendant asked.
Ralph made some requests, he would finally eat fast food! His mouth was full of saliva.
After a few minutes, two hamburgers, French fries and soda were served.
Ralph didn't hesitate and started eating.
Finally, Ralph started to relax a little after so much tense time. The training, the mission, the crow. All of this was making Ralph's nerves go numb.
After eating until he was satisfied, Ralph went back to thinking about something important. The stats point that was available.
Ralph didn't hesitate much and put his intelligence back on. There is no mystery, the stat was compatible with his skill.
The greater Ralph's brainpower, the better the results when using the illusion ability.
While waiting, Ralph decided to simply borrow a newspaper from the manager. He wanted to know the news from the outside world after so long.
"Sorry, but I don't have a newspaper with me." The manager spoke with a bitter smile.
"I see ..." Ralph sighed. It looks like he would have to wait. If he had a cell phone, he wouldn't have to do that.
"Ralph!" Tom went into the cafeteria and spoke.
Ralph looked at his father and hugged him afterwards.
"How are you? How was all the training?" Tom asked worriedly.
Ralph smiled slightly and said:
"It was okay, Dad. How are you?"
"We're fine, despite all the things that are going on ... Yeah, I don't think you know." Tom started to laugh.
"Come on, let's go home ... But what about your cell phone?" Tom looked at Ralph doubtfully.
"... I accidentally broke it." Ralph made up some excuse.
Tom didn't ask anymore and was leaving the cafeteria when Ralph suddenly said:
"Cough ... Dad. Can you pay the bill for the cafeteria? I'm broke."
Tom looked at Ralph in surprise but said nothing and paid the bill.
"Thanks for the help." Ralph thanked the manager.
"It was nothing ... Feel free to come here whenever you want." The manager smiled.
Ralph then got in the car with Tom, it was the same car he had dragged with his teacher before.
"You are lucky, I asked General José to help with that judicial problem ... And you won't have to answer for that anymore." Tom noticed Ralph's worried expression and spoke.
Ralph was surprised and frowned. The old bastard had helped him, huh.
"How is your work?" Ralph suddenly asked. He knew that Tom had to change jobs because of him.
Tom hesitated for a moment and smiled slightly without answering. After that, he started the car and started driving.
"... Don't you want to talk about it?" Ralph asked.
"... The job isn't bad, it's just ..." Tom was hesitant and didn't explain.
Ralph did not inquire deeply, as long as the job was good he at least did not feel so guilty.
"Your mom is preparing a Yakisoba, just the way you like it." Tom spoke suddenly.
Ralph smiled slightly, this was his favorite dish.
After a few minutes, they both arrived home.