The week passed quickly. During the morning and afternoon, Ralph spent time at school and during the night he practiced in the apartment.
The club's activity is very dry this week. They had to create an unprecedented metaphysical vision, and they could only rely on the available books.
At the end of the week, they would have to present this vision to the school principal, and depending on his opinion, the club could continue to exist or not.
To tell the truth, Ralph found the books quite interesting. They addressed subjects that were rarely discussed by society, in addition to having important clues for the practice with Aura.
Of course, they are all filtering the content, since some of it is not suitable for ordinary people.
Ralph finds metaphysics something very familiar to him. He was a physics student in his original world, and he is also kind of a disciple of the art of thinking, a way of understanding deep subjects involving not only his own mind, but also the world around him.
Whenever Ralph feels disturbed, which is not uncommon, he meditates while remembering Master Jin's teachings, the art of thinking ...
Honestly, he feels much more mentally stable than before, perhaps because of this art.
You decide what you are, you decide what is happening around you ... This is an essence of the art that makes it a heresy in the view of all religions.
Of course, this is just a point of view. For a madman, it makes no difference what happens around him, since his mind interprets it in a definite way and that is the only thing that matters to him.
So Ralph recently decided to call this the "art of madness". It is a much more appropriate name, according to him.
Ralph and Aoi's friendship blossomed over the course of the week, and they began to understand each other more comprehensively.
Ralph also got along well with the rest of the members, with all of them treating Ralph comfortably.
Something worth noting is that Mirai Touka seemed to have a certain interest in Ralph, as she continually invited him on a date.
Ralph was a little surprised, but at the same time vigilant.
They barely knew each other and it is really strange that she asked him for a date so insistently.
She appeared to be a nice and beautiful girl on the outside, but Ralph never let his guard down when around her.
Seeing that Ralph didn't seem interested, Touka gave up after a few days, but remained close to Ralph.
Day after day, they were perfecting their work.
By the end of the week, they were finally done.
While looking at the eight papers in front of him, the school principal spoke:
"So you guys split this up into eight parts, huh."
Aoi, who was in the room with the rest of the club members, nodded and explained:
"Yes, we decided to focus on the problem of transcendence and the sensitive world ... Each of us detailed one of the eight factors involving transcendence, and we also tried to merge those factors with the sensitive worldview."
The director nodded slightly and said:
"Honestly, I don't understand much about meta-physics, and I only gave you that chance because of your father, Aoi."
Aoi smiled bitterly and was silent.
"But, to be fair to the other clubs, I invited a friend of mine, who specializes in that area ... He is also a special person, if you know what I mean." The director spoke and looked at the office door.
Someone opened the door and entered the room, he was an old man with gray hair and medium height.
"It is a pleasure to meet you, my name is Suzano Hajime." The old man greeted everyone and looked at the director with a smile.
"Thank you for coming here, Hajime-San." The director stood and greeted Hajime.
"Haha, I owe you a favor after all ..." The old man spoke with a smile.
The director nodded and said:
"As I already explained, I want you to analyze the work of these young people, and give your sincere opinion if it is worth continuing with the existence of this club."
The old man nodded slightly and went to the table, he then took the papers one by one and said:
"Since today is Saturday, how about we leave the result for Monday? I need to analyze this carefully after all."
The director thought for a moment and agreed.
Old Hajime then looked at the club members one by one and said:
"I hope you don't disappoint expectations ..."
The old man then said goodbye and left the room.
"Well, since old Hajime said that, let's leave the result for Monday, you can go rest." The director sat down and dismissed everyone.
The members looked at each other and smiled bitterly.
"Well ... I think we better go home." Ralph was the first to speak and started walking.
"Wait! Ralph-kun!" One of the boys at the club spoke.
Ralph looked at him confused.
They had exchanged ideas during the week and Ralph knows that his name is Josef Russen, a young Italian who came to Japan with the country when he was young.
He has black hair and eyes, with pale skin.
"What is it? Josef-san." Ralph asked.
"That's it ... Me and the others decided to go out with the guys from the swim club, it will be at the 'Del Leste' pub, today at eight o'clock at night." Josef explained his plans and the others.
Ralph understood and smiled.
"Thanks for the invitation, I will definitely stop by the place overnight." Ralph said and said goodbye.
In fact, he would really just stop by, not planning to waste time drinking with others.
He would only go so as not to damage his relationship with others.
On the way home, he decided to go to the abandoned building and get more money.
Fortunately, no one had discovered the location and the suitcases probably had no trackers. As a precaution, however, he entered the invisible spot.
He took as much money as he could and also took the gun, he decided to spend the weekend armed just in case, because of the attention he got when he entered Aoi's club.
He has no knowledge of his enemies, but the enemies know about him. That's what Ralph thought.
Thomas may suddenly appear and want to question Ralph for his choice not to enter the occult history society, for example.
He was almost certain that the 'Gray Gate' relations would not be friendly with the occult history society, as they were possible rivals.
After leaving the abandoned building, Ralph looked around and dispelled the illusion.
He would buy the necessary equipment to set up his security system.
The equipment is expensive, and it cost half the money he had brought.
The network filter and external firewall would help him in a time of crisis, and he would only need to use the disconnect function if unidentified data enters the system.
That way, even if someone very capable tries, they won't be able to break into Ralph's system.
The cell phone was his only concern, but that could not be resolved in a short time.
But what he has already planned should be enough to keep the authorities in the dark for a while.
Unless he ends up provoking the high echelon of some power, he would remain invisible on the internet
He hired VPN services after finishing setting up his laptop and cell phone and spent the rest of the day creating the fake domain and configuring it to mirror sites he decided to access.
He did not use any information that could be useful to identify him, and he created two temporary emails in a lan house, one for each VPN service.
Ralph was pleased when the night came and he looked at his desk, with his laptop and equipment organized and his cell phone on a stand.
"Hahahahaha" Ralph started to laugh, it is as if he had gone back to the time he was with BD in the favelas of São Paulo.
He learned this by getting involved with some criminals and collected useful information.
Over time, BD realized Ralph's talent and invested in it.
"Even if this is not on a military level, it is enough to keep me safe."
The VPNs he hired have a good reputation, but he didn't completely trust them and managed to give false information to both.
The only clue that the authorities would have after much effort was possibly the neighbor, but that would prove nothing against Ralph, who would easily eliminate any kind of evidence.
For security, he programmed the laptop so that it always erases any information about its use.
Now he just needed to be careful with his cell phone, which he should always carry with him.
He modified the configuration of the cell phone very deeply, so that it is impossible for anyone to track it over mobile networks.
In the future, he plans to set up a personal VPN somewhere in Tokyo, further increasing the level of security.
At the moment he doesn't have enough money and status for that, but in the future he will.
After feeling satisfied with his work, Ralph thought it was really interesting to drink to celebrate and went to get ready to go out.
He decided to wear casual clothes, as it was not formal, and left the house wearing a simple white shirt with black shorts and slippers.
The pub is a little far and he has to take the subway to get there in time.
When he finally arrived in the Shogun district, it was almost eight, and he walked for a while until he found the pub.
'Del Leste' was the name of the pub. It was a large, cozy establishment in a residential area.
Ralph entered the pub and saw some members of Gray Gate drinking with other guys.
"Hey, Ralph-Kun." Josef waved to Ralph.
When Ralph arrived at the place where they were, Josef introduced Ralph to the others.
Everyone was already a little drunk, but they talked amiably with Ralph.
"Hey bartender, get me a shot of the best whiskey!" Ralph shouted at the bartender.
He didn't plan on staying there long, but he was happy with his job at the apartment, and decided to have a drink.
Result ... He got too drunk and forgot the time passing.
After getting drunk until he was sick, Ralph decided to call a taxi to leave.
He said goodbye to the other drunks, who were either sleeping on the table or drinking more, and staggered out of the pub.
It was late, very late, and there was no movement on the street.
Ralph hesitated for a moment and, drunk, decided to go on the subway.
When he arrived at the station, it took him a while to realize that the subway line did not work at that time.
"Shit." Ralph said and kicked a nearby trash bag, but it made him trip and fall.
It was morning, people started to move around the area and Ralph caught the attention of some people, who even took a picture of him thrown on top of trash.
It was only after a police officer realized Ralph's situation that he went and woke him up.
Ralph woke up with a severe headache and looked to the side with narrowed eyes.
Remembering what had happened, he cursed in his heart.
He thanked the policeman for waking him up and entered the subway station.
He was stinking a lot and it drove people away, but he decided to ignore it.
When he finally arrived at his apartment, he took a headache medicine and went to take a shower.
After that, he ate some food and slept until noon, when he woke up to go to work.
After calling Ralph to receive the pieces, Mr. Akira seems to have increased his intimacy with him a little, trusting him more.
He even offered Ralph the opportunity to open his own workshop, with Mr. Akira investing in him.
Ralph declined the proposal and said it was too early for that.
Ralph knows that he's kind of a son to Mr. Akira, and he always treats him with respect.
Although he is not Imamoto, he inherited some obsessions after all.
He worked until nightfall and came home dirty and tired.
He took a shower and did something to eat and only then went to practice.
Every time he tried something different, but he could never feel Aura itself, it was as if she was hiding from him.
But there was something he had read in a book that caught his eye. A person's emotions slightly alter his electromagnetic signature.
At this point, he knows that the "electromagnetic signature" described in the book can be seen as a product of latent energy.
What he doesn't understand is that emotions affect latent energy.
If that is possible, then can emotions affect the Aura?
This is a hypothesis that Ralph was tempted to test, as latent energy is considered to be fuel for Aura.
He took a knife from the kitchen and took a deep breath, the easiest emotion to induce is fear.
He shivered a little at the thought of an idea and got bloodshot eyes.
He aimed the knife in his palm and cut without hesitation, hesitation would lead to failure.
He felt pain running through his body and blood began to drip onto the floor of the room.
Ralph breathed heavily, feeling sorry and ... afraid.
He closed his eyes and raised the knife again, he would cut again in the same place.
The pain was making him hesitant, and his hand stopped just above the hand.
He had red eyes and clenched teeth.
At the same time, he felt something different in his head, he had the [Inner Vision] activated all the time.
In a special part of the brain, he felt something different, he doesn't even know if he can call it just feeling ... It looked like he had seen something directly.
Ralph's hand moved by itself and cut directly into his hand, the pain making Ralph's mind even more hesitant.
But at the same time, the feeling of before appeared ...
Now he forgot everything around him and concentrated, he forgot the blood running, the pain ... and he only felt one thing, fear. Something that was familiar to Ralph, which he has often felt. But even fear fated over time.
The sensation was gone from that part of the brain, but at the same time it was imprinted in Ralph's mind.
This sensation has no shape, no temperature, but a color ... So it seems more that he saw than he felt.
It was a green color like Ralph's eyes.
[For reaching your limit and persisting, you have earned a +1 stat point in 'Will Power'.]
[Because you felt your Aura for the first time, you gained the 'Aura sensitivity' ability]
[Skill: Aura sensitivity, lv0
You can feel the Aura]
Ralph breathed heavily but with a smile when he saw the windows that had appeared.
He quickly bandaged his hand, which had a deep cut.
"Dammit, I must have really gone crazy, to cut myself like that." Ralph murmured to himself, but he was smiling.
This was actually the first time that Ralph inflicted direct damage to himself in such a big way, but it is not the first time that he has done something impulsive.
The time he infiltrated the secret base, he was also being very impulsive.