"Finally boy, I thought you weren't coming." Hajime spoke.
Ralph said nothing and sat down while facing the old man.
"Old man, what do you really want?" Ralph asked with a sharp look.
Hajime looked surprised and said:
"I want you to be my disciple."
"Why?" Ralph asked.
"I find you interesting." Hajime smiled and answered.
Upon hearing this, Ralph frowned and said:
"Sorry, old man, but I have no interest in being your disciple."
"You say that because you don't know who I am!" Hajime spoke loudly arrogantly.
Ralph looked at the old man for a moment and smiled.
"I don't care who you are, but what I would gain if I became your disciple." Ralph spoke slowly.
Hajime looked coldly at Ralph and said:
"Are you doubting my ability?"
Ralph was silent, but with a curious expression.
"Listen well, you milk-smelling kid, I'm the co-founder of M.E.T.A, the Aura Masters' favorite school in Tokyo!" Hajime spoke in a low voice but with a proud expression
Ralph looked in shock at Hajime and asked:
"What is M.E.T.A school?"
"..." Hajime was taken aback and thought he heard wrong until he saw Ralph's confused expression.
"Fuck! Aren't you an Aura master?" Hajime's eyes widened and asked.
Ralph twisted the corners of his mouth and said:
"I started practicing not too long ago, and there is a lot that I don't know."
Hajime looked at Ralph in disbelief and said:
"Boy, that doesn't make sense. You are already 15 years old and have a very obvious Aura. How could you have just started? The golden inspectors should have instructed you even if you are an orphan."
"Golden inspectors?" Ralph cocked his head to the side.
Hajime contorted the corners of his mouth and explained:
"They are responsible for maintaining order and harmony between Aura masters and ordinary people here in Tokyo."
Ralph made an expression as if he understood.
"Boy ... Did you really just start practicing recently?"
"I have no reason to lie." Ralph answered simply.
The old man took a deep breath and put his hand on Ralph's shoulder.
"This is perfect, that way I can guarantee that you really have the gift that I am looking for. Accept my proposal and I guarantee that everything you need for your practice I will provide for you!" Hajime spoke seriously.
Upon hearing this, however, Ralph was alert.
There is nothing as good in real life as chance encounters in legends ... Everything has a price.
"What do you want from me?" Ralph asked with narrowed eyes.
Hajime was surprised to see that Ralph didn't get carried away so easily and said with a smile:
"I just want someone to succeed an art from my family, passed down from generation to generation."
Ralph looked suspiciously at the old man and asked:
"What kind of art?"
Hajime sighed and with a proud look replied:
"It is the type that makes you return to your origins, the type that makes you evolve mentally in a wonderful way. It is the type that many would kill themselves to achieve."
Ralph was annoyed to hear the old man's reply and said with a forced smile:
"This is the same as not having responded."
Hajime clicked his tongue and said with a rigid expression:
"I just told the truth! My family's art is unsurpassed in this land, and has been brought up since the first Aura Master, Jin, appeared!"
Ralph listened and was slightly surprised to learn that the first Aura Master was called Jin.
"And what is the price I need to pay to practice this art?" Ralph asked as he got up to leave. He didn't want to waste any more time with the old man.
Hajime looked at Ralph strangely and asked:
"What is the only price you have to pay for thinking?"
Ralph thought for a moment and replied:
"Time."
"What do you think an Art that boils down to thinking needs from the practitioner?"
Ralph felt something strange when he heard the old man's question but answered casually:
"Time..."
Hajime stood up with a triumphant expression and said:
"Exactly! The art of thinking only requires your time!"
Ralph made an expression as if he understood and was ready to say goodbye when he suddenly froze.
"Old man ... What's the name of the art?"
Hajime looked strangely at Ralph and said:
"Are you deaf? It's name is 'Art of thinking'."
"..." Ralph's pupils shrank to the size of a speck of dust.
-That's just a coincidence, right?
Ralph thought nervously.
***
In a mountain range that seemed to divide the sky and the earth in an imposing way, and with a veil of clouds covering all the mountains, two people were fighting furiously at the highest peak.
But it's not a common fight, it's a fight between Aura Masters ...
The two people were two men, one with traditional clothes and a katana in hand, and the other with only black clothes and using fists to fight.
Each blow contained enormous power, which shook the entire mountain. They looked like two monsters colliding.
The man in the katana had blood running from his mouth, his clothes torn and his eyes cold.
"Damn you, Aoki Sai, what do you want? I've been in seclusion all this time and I never offended you again." The man in the katana screamed furiously as he looked at the man in black robes, who had blue eyes and black hair.
Aoki Sai looked at him coldly and, after wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth, said:
"I don't care if you offended me or not, I just want your sword. Give it to me or die, Orochi."
"You are really just a filthy thief, like all other foreigners." The man with the katana, called Orochi, screamed and prepared to attack.
Great power came out of the katana, a light covered the entire blade and spread to the heavens, like a gigantic sword of light.
Aoki Sai spat blood on the floor and said:
"Do you really think I like to steal? I just have no choice, I need your sword."
"Do you want my sword? Then receive it!" Orochi screamed and swung the huge sword towards Aoki.
Sword cut through the clouds and lit up the whole mountain, it seemed to be the sword of the final judgment.
Aoki took a deep breath and clenched a fist.
Blue light began to emanate from the fist, and everything around it seemed to start to disintegrate, even Aoki's clothes.
Aoki looked at the sword and punched it.
When the sword and hilt met, the entire mountain began to crumble, and a low sound spread throughout the mountain range.
"Damn you and your descendants!" A desperate cry rang out, followed by the disappearance of the sword of light.
After the dust settled, Aoki went towards Orochi's shattered body.
His arm was bleeding, and his face was pale.
"Damn you, Orochi." Aoki cursed and took the katana that was beside the body.
-The divine sword of the sacred mountains, is it really necessary?
Aoki asked himself bitterly and shook his head.
"Since I have reached this point, I cannot go back, I will go to the end!"
Aoki Sai looked at the sky and sighed.
"Without more killing or sadness, this is the world that I fight for in the end. I will not hesitate to become the greatest demon to achieve my goal." Aoki sighed and started to float.
He looked over the horizon and shot like an arrow. Within his blue eyes, there was great determination.
***
After arriving home, Ralph sighed deeply and thought about meeting old Hajime.
In the end, he finally managed to convince the old man that he would not be his disciple no matter what. After all, he cannot completely trust the old man.
But what bothers Ralph is the fact of the names 'Jin' and 'Art of Thinking'.
He thought of several possibilities, but he doesn't have enough evidence for anything.
He also doesn't have enough power to get the information he wants, he can only get stronger, step by step.
After taking a shower and eating, he started practicing.
He started following the instructions in the manual and trying to control and circulate Aura itself.
To his surprise, he found that he could do this with ease and that it was similar to internal energy control.
After spending a few hours doing this, he felt confident and started to advance to the most important step of that level.
He began to circulate his Aura in the brain and cerebellum in an orderly manner.
This is a complicated process, and Ralph needs to slowly merge his senses with his Aura.
The brain is the vessel of the soul, and the cerebellum is an organ that controls muscle coordination following the orders of the brain.
The cerebellum is the key to the use of Aura in movement, and the brain is responsible for ensuring total control over the senses and the Aura.
Sight, touch, smell, taste and hearing. The five senses must come into harmony with the Aura.
When he achieves success at this stage, Ralph will be able to control these five senses at will with Aura.
Generally, it takes years to achieve complete success in this task, due to the great complexity.
This frustrated Ralph a little, but he remained determined.
In the days that followed, Ralph basically spent time going to school and practicing.
He also discovered something strange, he didn't gain [Skills] like energy control or Aura control.
After considering for a moment, he came to the conclusion that it means he had this ability before, he just didn't know it.
It also explained the fact that he was able to control the internal energy and the Aura. This is probably an innate ability of people.
But if you cannot feel or see the Aura or internal energy, how can you know that?
For a person who does not have the ability to feel the Aura, it makes no difference whether he can control the Aura itself or not.
He also found that he can feel his internal energy converging when he uses the ability to illusion.
The interesting thing is that the energy circulates in a strange way in his brain when he uses the skill.
When he makes an illusion of just one image, the energy circulates in one way, but if he makes an illusion of a sound, it circulates in another way.
After exploring and thinking about it for a while, he came to a bold conclusion and wanted to try something.
After decorating the way the energy circulates, he started to circulate the Aura in an equal way.
At first it was difficult, since the path is difficult, but after several attempts, he succeeded and smiled strangely.
"I am a damn genius." Ralph murmured while sitting on his bed.
He imitated the circulation of energy when he made an illusion of an image, and with Aura, the result was impressive.
Even with his eyes closed, he can see, or rather, see inside his own body.
[The 'Aura Fusion' ability has been acquired.]
[Aura Fusion, lv0.
You can merge Aura with your senses in a comprehensive way.]
"Hahahhahah" Ralph started to laugh when he saw the window appear.
Having proved that his hypothesis was right, he started to imitate the circulation of energy when he creates the illusion of a sound.
It was late at night, but Ralph was too excited to stop.
After several hours, when the sun finally came over the horizon, Ralph laughed again.
[Aura Fusion, lv1 ...]
The skill level has increased, and he has now managed to merge his hearing with Aura.
Now only three senses...
The current factors in Ralph's ability are four: image, sound, temperature and smell.
He still hasn't achieved perfect control over the scent, but it wouldn't be long before that.
As for the temperature ... Ralph speculated something but wasn't sure.
Ralph got up with black bags under his eyes and started getting ready to go to school.
The school was busy as usual, students smiled and talked among themselves, completely different from the first day of school.
Aura entered the classroom, only to see that the bully from before was sitting in his chair.
-Do you want to make trouble?
Ralph pondered and approached.
The boy saw Ralph approach and looked at him coldly.
Ralph punched his palm and said:
"It looks like you haven't learned your lesson."
The boy snorted and said:
"Don't be arrogant, you only made me pass out the last time because you attacked by surprise."
Ralph nodded and activated his illusion, he did not want to waste time and just hit the boy with a clear hit making him pass out.
-These troublemakers never learn.
Ralph sighed and placed the boy in an empty chair.
After a while, Aoi entered the room and sat down.
For some reason, Ralph thought Aoi was acting weird.
-Whatever.
Ralph thought and started practicing with the skill of illusion.
At the moment he wanted to master the smell factor.
-If my hypothesis is correct, this skill is about creating illusions that deceive the five senses. So, I must master five factors ... But what about temperature?
Ralph started to think about this problem.
Touch is a sense that involves the whole skin, and it is through this sense that human beings feel things like contact or temperature.
-There is a missing factor for touch, the feeling of contact.
Ralph came to a conclusion.
He also needs to unlock the taste factor.
-If I achieve perfection in this skill, wouldn't I be basically creating things out of nothing?
Ralph thought with a smile and shook his head.
He knows that this is ridiculous, he would only be creating illusions that would have no difference with reality for normal people... But illusions will always be illusions.