Ralph was in a dilemma, not about how he got the stat points, which was obvious to him, but about how he should apply the points.
First he thought about applying the points in the intelligence stat as before, but he changed his mind.
His illusion ability uses three stats as a base.
Intelligence allows greater control of the ability, Will Power allows greater focus and Latent energy is basically the fuel of the ability.
He has already applied 4 points on intelligence, and won one on Will Power.
Ralph reflected on the biggest obstacle at the moment and came to a conclusion.
"Focus."
He already has good control of his ability, and his brain processes everything faster than normal.
But he feels overwhelmed when it comes to efficiency / focus on skill.
As they say, there is a difference between being smart and a fast thinker.
Increasing the stat of intelligence increases the speed of thoughts, but does not solve the problem of focus.
The faster the thoughts, the easier to lose control ... Ralph had this experience.
After thinking for a moment, he applied 2 points on intelligence, 2 points on Will Power and 2 points on Latent energy.
He was already used to the increase in intelligence, and the world just seemed to slow down a little in Ralph's eyes.
The increased Will Power improved his focus and helped him to maintain control over his thoughts.
But as for Latent Energy ...
He felt as if something had caught fire within himself. And when using the [Inner Vision] ability, he realized that he could control latent energy more easily and more powerfully, it's as if his energy had grown.
A flash of light passed through Ralph's eyes, and he instantly activated the illusion ability.
First he isolated the area where he was so that no one could see or feel anything. Then he lit a flame in his hand.
Ralph's eyes lit up when he saw the difference.
"Warmer, more efficient ..."
He felt an enormous ability to create the flame, almost as if it were instinctive, and he also realized that the heat that the flame emanates ... is much greater than before! It is practically the same as a real flame.
"JackPot!" Ralph smiled and closed his eyes.
He felt that he would need to meditate a little to get used to the new speed of his thoughts, but thanks to the increased Will Power, he didn't feel too disoriented.
After taking a deep breath for a few minutes, Ralph opened his eyes and stood up, returning to the classroom shortly after taking the tray of food into the cafeteria.
Ralph spent the rest of the classes reading the book from before, and also getting used to the changes.
Finally, it seemed that the heavens rewarded him for his efforts. Even his reading is faster than before, and he remembers what he read most easily.
Aoi sometimes looked in his direction, but he could only see Ralph paying attention in class, which was an illusion.
"Tsk ... You think you can fool me." Aoi murmured.
When classes ended, all students went to their respective clubs for extracurricular activities as usual.
Upon arriving at the Gray Gate room, Ralph noticed that Josef was looking at him a little differently.
"Good afternoon, Josef-San." Ralph greeted his colleague and sat down.
"Err ... Ralph-kun, what did you experience these days?" Josef came over and asked in a low voice.
Ralph was surprised by the question and looked confusedly at Joseph.
"I mean ... There is something different about you, although I am not sure what, besides your wound in the arm." Josef explained.
Ralph understood then, the young man must have used his transcendent sense.
Before Ralph could answer, Mirai Touka came to their side and said in surprise:
"Ralph-Kun, your Latent energy has grown a lot! How is that possible?"
Ralph then looked at Touka in surprise.
-It seems that she is stronger than Joseph, she can feel it ...
Ralph thought about his heart.
"What? His energy grew? It looks like you had a fortuitous encounter, Ralph-kun" Josef spoke with a smile and patted Ralph's shoulder lightly.
Ralph smiled weakly and then started writing in a notebook.
As always, they spend their time studying metaphysical subjects, which becomes increasingly difficult, and, in addition, they also need to create articles for old Hajime's assessments, which would take place once a month.
Ralph never imagined that there could be a club so easy to mix, all he had to do was read and write.
"Cough Cough ..." Someone coughed next to Ralph, who was writing.
Ralph didn't have to look to know it was Aoi.
"I want to talk to you when your study time is over, okay?" Aoi asked.
Ralph nodded, but without turning.
When the club's study period ended, everyone left except Ralph and Aoi.
"What do you want to talk about?" Ralph asked with an indifferent expression.
"I'm so sorry." Aoi suddenly apologized.
Ralph frowned slightly and was silent.
"I really didn't know anyone was going to do anything to you ... Just because you got involved with me and my dad." Aoi continued to speak.
"I heard about the danger you went through, and that if it weren't for Thomas-senpai ... you would probably be dead by now."
Ralph sighed slightly and said:
"Yes ... But what? This is my problem."
Aoi was stunned and couldn't understand what Ralph meant. It was obvious that this had something to do with her and her father.
"Do you really think I got involved with you ... unaware of the risks? From the moment I found out about Aura I knew that my life would be anything but peaceful."
"Still-" Aoi was about to speak but was interrupted by Ralph.
"Everything that happened between us ... It was a negotiation, no one is wrong, I just had no luck and I also had no information."
Aoi looked blankly at Ralph, not knowing what to say and with his mouth half open.
"You don't have to blame yourself, that's all I have to say ... But I also don't know what our relationship will be like from now on. Maybe I'll stay involved with you, maybe not." Ralph spoke with a slight smile and left the room, leaving Aoi alone.
"..." Aoi watched Ralph leave, and, for some reason, felt like she was misunderstanding something.
-That's it ... That look.
Aoi remembered Ralph's look when he heard her apologize.
After leaving school, Ralph went to the Doce Lux restaurant.
"Welcome." Jane answered him with a smile as usual.
"Hello, Jane-san" Ralph greeted Jane back and sat in the same place as usual.
"What are you going to want today? Maybe a strawberry pie?" Jane asked.
"Yes, it looks like you understand my tastes. Haha." Ralph replied and nodded.
"Heheh, and a cappuccino too, right?" Jane wrote it down on a piece of paper and left.
Ralph suddenly felt like he could relax a little.
The previous days were turbulent. He almost lost his own life.
However ... He was also rewarded, he should now be able to achieve the touch factor.
"Here it is, I hope you like the pie, I made it." Jane suddenly came to the side of the table and put the pie and cappuccino in front of Ralph.
"Do you also prepare pies for this restaurant !?" Ralph asked in surprise.
"Yes, but only as a hobby." Jane smiled and nodded.
Ralph tasted a piece of the pie and smiled.
"It's delicious."
"Really? Haha. If you need anything, just call me, I have to serve the other customers." Jane spoke and left.
Ralph ate slowly and delicately tasted the pie. After that he drank the cappuccino elegantly.
"Err. Ralph-kun, can I sit with you?"
Ralph looked to the side and then saw Mirai Touka talking to him.
Ralph smiled slightly and said:
"Feel free."
Touka then sat down and seemed hesitant to speak.
"If something bothers you, why not try?" Ralph tapped his fork lightly as he said.
Touka understood what he meant and said:
"I had eaten this pie before you arrived, I was at the restaurant."
Ralph frowned slightly and crossed his arms.
"Were you waiting for me?" He asked slowly.
"Yes ... There is something I would like to ask." Touka nodded slightly.
After a short silence, Touka seemed to gather the courage to speak:
"I would like you to do something with me."
Ralph blinked a few times, not understanding.
"I mean ... I know you don't know much about these things yet. But there are some special arts and abilities that can be practiced by Aura Masters only with the help of another Aura Master." Touka explained.
Ralph tapped his fingers on the table a few times and asked:
"But why me? I haven't even opened my transcendent sense yet. There's not much I can do yet."
Touka coughed and said while looking away.
"Remember when I asked you out before? Well, it was all for that purpose ... It turns out that you have an ideal attribute for this art that I practice."
Ralph blew out a breath as he watched Touka's facial expressions.
"I just want to know two things, what I lose and what I get out of it." Ralph smiled slightly.
Touka opened her mouth but didn't say anything, instead she took a book out of her bag and handed it to Ralph.
"You may not know it, but there are some combat skills that use Aura that are very special ... And also powerful if practiced correctly. This art that I practice is called 'Duality of origin.' This book is the art manual, I hope you agree with my request after reading the book. To practice this art, two Aura Masters with appropriate attributes are needed. " Touka explained.
Ralph took the manual and then asked:
"You talked about this before ... But what do you mean by 'attributes'?"
"Attributes ... It is something difficult to explain. But it is basically your affinity with the Aura of the world. For example ..." Touka spoke and held out his hand.
Ralph then opened his eyes wide. He just saw something extremely bizarre. It was as if the space had been doubled, everything around Touka's hand had been distorted, light, table, her own hand.
However, after a brief moment everything returned to normal.
"My attribute is affinity with the space principle. Something rare among the Aura Masters." Touka explained with a smile when she saw Ralph's reaction, she found his reaction a little incredible.
"And ... How can I know my attribute?" Ralph asked in shock.
"Well ... You usually need to develop your transcendent sense at a certain level beforehand, which can take time. But I have the ability to feel your attribute for a reason." Touka spoke and then pointed at Ralph's forehead.
"I clearly feel the space principle coming from you, it's obvious to me that this is your attribute, even if you don't feel it." Touka spoke slowly.
Ralph put his hand on his forehead, confused.
"Do you mean that other Aura Masters can feel my attribute?" Ralph asked.
"Usually not. Unless there is a resonance of attributes, as in our case. Or if the Aura Master is very powerful." Touka shook his head.
Ralph blew out a breath and put his hand on his chin.
"Now I'm interested, a type of combat art that uses Aura is just what I need at the moment. But I'm going to review the manual before I give you an answer. Okay?" Ralph spoke slowly and looked straight into Touka's eyes.
Touka smiled bitterly and nodded.
"Well, it's normal for you to want to know more about the art, and I guarantee you won't be disappointed."
After saying goodbye to Touka, Ralph paid the bill and went home, there was a smile on his face.
Upon arriving at the apartment, Ralph took a shower and watered the small seedling on the balcony, and then sat on the bed with the manual he received from Touka.
-Duality of origin ...
Ralph started reading the manual in high spirits.
This art is based on the concept of universal duality. That there is a duo for everything, like action and reaction.
A long time ago, a powerful Aura Master surnamed Zhou had an opportunity to study the mysteries of the earth beyond what was normally possible, and came to understand part of the essence of the planet's Aura.
With this knowledge gained, this Aura Master managed to advance triumphantly in Deep Sky. Everywhere he was unbeatable, as if all techniques and skills were useless against him.
The power of this master is such that part of Asia has been under his direct control for almost fifty years!
Before he died, he wrote the manual and passed it on to his descendants, in the hope that his family would remain strong.
Unfortunately, when he died, many forces coveted this art and went to his family in order to get the manual left.
Fortunately, the head of the Zhou family at the time was wise, and managed to get the powers to a situation where it would not be worthwhile to go to war with the family.
He made the manual public! He simply transmitted the art to all of Deep Sky at the time.
Everyone was shocked, and thought that the head of the family had gone mad.
But in a way it kept the Zhou family safe. Since it was a powerful and influential family, no one felt it wise to go to war unnecessarily, since the manual had become public.
"Decisive." Ralph murmured, he found Chief Zhou's attitude incredibly decisive.
Origin duality is based on pairs, opposed or not.
The opposite of space is emptiness, but its counterpart is time.
The opposite of time is emptiness, but its counterpart is space.
In a way, emptiness is the opposite of these two different forms, but at the same time it is what creates their difference.
If there is no emptiness, then there will be no distinction for space and time.
There is no possible origin for emptiness, because it is timeless and there is also no way to measure it.
At the same time, because of the void, there is an inseparable relationship between time and space. They are a pair, but they are also one thing.
If there is space, there is something. If there is something, there is time. Time does not stop for anything that exists. Time can be distorted, but not canceled out by something.
To practice this art, it is necessary for a pair of people with the same attribute to assist each other.
The attribute does not have to be space and time, although it is recommended. The reason for this is to take away the opposites, the differences where they do not exist.
Thus, Ralph and Touka, who have the same attribute of space, can achieve a state of resonance between the Auras and the world around them, and perhaps achieve the degree of illumination that the creator of the art possessed.
If initial success is achieved, the Aura Master can imbue this resonance with anything, be it other skills or blows.
A basic blow explained in the manual is [Sky Cut].
If a person were to achieve a certain level of control, he could cut directly through space and hit the opponent. Of course, this is relative due to time, so it is not such an invincible skill.
While reading, Ralph forgot the time to pass.
The manual simply had new knowledge for Ralph in many ways.
When midnight came, Ralph finally stopped reading, even though he hadn't finished reading the book.
He ate something and went to sleep, a little exhausted.