~ Beep Beep
Ralph's cell phone started to ring, waking him up.
After disabling the cell phone alarm, Ralph got up and stretched a little, and then saw Touka sleeping on the floor on a sheet next to his bed.
Ralph decided to ignore the fact and simply went to the bathroom to brush his teeth.
After that, he looked for his uniform, but, as before, he didn't find it.
Ralph sighed slightly and decided to go with long pants and a plain shirt, and shoes with plain shoes.
After being ready, Ralph looked at himself in the bathroom mirror for a moment and considered something.
Without realizing it, a few minutes had passed, and the cell phone alarm went on again, as if it were expecting something like that.
Ralph deactivated the alarm and went to the table to write something on paper.
[I'm going to spend some time outside, don't cause trouble for the neighbors and don't damage the apartment.] Ralph wrote it down on a piece of paper.
Ralph then remembered that the girl probably had no money to eat and sighed.
He left some money on the table, enough for Touka to eat for a few days.
Ralph then went into the apartment's small yard and watered the plant, which was growing slowly.
After looking at the sky, which was dark and cloudy, for a moment, Ralph blew out a breath and jumped into the air, starting to float.
But he didn't fly to HQ, he got off on a busy street and called a taxi
On the way to HQ, Ralph looked at the details of the mission carefully, and couldn't help but be impressed by how imminent the war is ... Korea will soon be engulfed in flames.
After undergoing an inspection of the building, Ralph got into the elevator and descended several hundred meters under the floor, which is where the real HQ is.
Ralph thought for a moment and had an idea, he used an illusion to appear to be in uniform.
After arriving in the squadron's command room, however, Lieutenant Torn seemed to have seen directly through his illusion and said:
"Again without the uniform, huh? You're asking to be sent to the rainbow room."
"Wait, Lieutenant, I have an important mission ordered by the superiors." Ralph spoke quickly.
"It doesn't matter, when you return, if you return, you will pass the rainbow room without a doubt." Lieutenant Torn said as he wrote something down on paper.
Ralph sighed and then walked over to Sergeant Mina, who was sleeping with her head on the table, it seemed like she was really tired.
"Cough Cough." Ralph coughed a few times, waking Mina up.
Mina lifted her head and looked at Ralph with cloudy eyes.
"... I thought you wouldn't come, the general ordered me to stay here until you were dispatched for the mission. Otherwise, I would already be sleeping comfortably in my bed." Mina spoke with a little resentment.
Ralph smiled bitterly and said:
"Thanks for the hard work."
"Huh. Come with me." Mina got up and started walking out of the room.
After following Mina for a few minutes, Ralph arrived in front of a large circle on the floor, with several shiny things scattered around the place.
"You probably don't know, but this is a space teleportation portal, made by the great elder ..." Mina started to explain.
-Wait ... Teleportation?
Ralph was shocked
"You will be teleported to a military base on the coast, there you will board a remotely controlled plane that will take you to the designated location, where you will make the jump." Mina explained.
"... remotely controlled, huh." Ralph murmured.
"We have no choice, it is impossible to enter enemy airspace in this way and not expect to be destroyed." Mina spoke as she yawned.
After that, Ralph was in the middle of the circle, which was about ten meters in diameter.
"Good luck, soldier." Mina spoke with a smile and waved to some men who were in charge of controlling the teleportation.
Suddenly, Ralph began to notice a distortion in space, so that everything around him was identifiable.
After a few seconds, Ralph appeared in another circle, but in an unknown location.
"Follow me, Private Imamoto." A man in the rank of captain and military uniform spoke to Ralph.
After following the captain for a few seconds, and analyzing the surroundings, Ralph realized that he was really on the coast, with the salty sea breeze being easily recognizable to him.
After a few minutes, Ralph arrived on an airstrip. There were several sheds nearby, with several military planes.
But there was a plane waiting for Ralph, it was a plane with two jet engines and black. It looked like a private civilian plane.
"There are already some of our men infiltrating the North Korean army, but they cannot act so freely. Most Aura Masters spies are also busy with extremely important missions. Thousands of South Korean lives depend on you, you need to find out where they will atack and pass on the information before the war starts." The captain spoke to Ralph in a serious tone, and put his hand on his head in greeting.
"Good luck, Private Imamoto."
Ralph took a deep breath and also greeted the captain.
After Ralph entered, the plane started to move.
The plane inside was simple and had no cockpit. Ralph sat next to the door of the plane that will open for him to jump.
"It's not like this is my first time doing something dangerous, but still ... War, huh?" Ralph murmured.
In his previous world there were wars, but there were no conflicts on a global scale as he is about to witness.
The world stinks of gunpowder, that's what Ralph has understood in the last few days.
Furthermore, if even the golden inspectors are having a hard time getting information about North Korean movements, it means that the mission will be really difficult.
Ralph closed his eyes and started practicing, trying to occupy his mind. Meanwhile, he broke up part of the concentration to make the plane invisible to the radars.
He circled the latent energy in the same way as before, meticulously and observed Aura's behavior, making adjustments from time to time.
Ralph realized that with each complete circulation of Latent energy through blood vessels and organs, it becomes easier to repeat the process, and he also felt changes in the Aura.
Each time a circulation is completed, the Aura tends to circulate alone through blood vessels, along the same path as latent energy.
-Latent energy is Aura's fuel ... Perhaps the relationship between the two is not so simple.
Ralph pondered internally.
After completing dozens of complete circulations, Ralph felt an even greater change compared to before. Even without Ralph's intention, the latent energy traveled through blood vessels and organs throughout the body without Ralph's conscious control, as if this were the real way of it.
Ralph also felt a change in Aura. As if he didn't want to separate himself from the latent energy, his Aura started to go exactly the same way as the latent energy.
Ralph took a deep breath and opened his eyes. Slowly, a green Aura emanated from Ralph. But there was a difference, Aura seemed calmer and more concise, as well as more concentrated.
Ralph no longer had to deliberately channel latent energy and Aura through blood vessels and organs. This became the standard path.
Ralph's transcendent sense increased and reached a radius of fifty meters directly, a great expansion! In addition, Ralph felt a wonderful connection between the environment and himself.
After thinking for a moment, Ralph held out a hand, and with Aura alone, he created a vacuum over the hand.
With only the transcendent sense and the Aura, he managed to influence nature! This is an important milestone for Ralph, it means that he learned the skill called 'Mastery', which is essential for virtually all advanced skills.
-I feel that my control over Aura has increased exponentially, I should be able to learn other unique abilities of the Duality of Origin Art.
Ralph thought and stood up.
A red light started flashing beside the plane door, it was time for Ralph to jump.
-Actually, I feel that my own illusion ability has benefited from this, since the latent energy is more efficient.
Ralph thought for a moment before opening the plane's door.
A strong wind began to blow across the plane, and made Ralph's long hair float violently.
Ralph didn't hesitate much and put on the parachute, which was on the space ring. But it's not like Ralph planned to use this, he just dressed it up as a guarantee.
The sky was still dark, but the moon illuminated the distant ground, Ralph could see roads and some scattered trees, moreover ...
Ralph looked at the horizon, and with the improved vision he has, he saw a long line on the horizon, it must be the demilitarized zone.
Ralph then closed his eyes and ... jumped off the plane.
Ralph started to fall with his eyes closed, he could feel the resistance of the air in front of him, causing his skin to stretch. But at the same time, Ralph felt free.
-If I want to get away from it, isn't this a good opportunity? But ... I don't consider escape to be a sensible option. I still want to go back to my world. I know that maybe that is impossible, but if I came to this world, maybe there is a way to go back.
After a few minutes, Ralph felt a shock wave, he didn't need to look to know that it was caused by the downing of the plane by the North Korean defense.
Ralph did not worry much, he has been maintaining an illusion that completely masks his existence for most radars.
The radar waves passed by Ralph as if he did not exist, this is possible thanks to the nature of these electromagnetic waves which is somewhat similar to light, which behaves as a wave and also as a particle.
His illusion ability is related to the five human senses ... But that does not mean that he is limited to these senses. Ralph learned this with the 'Space Illusion' skill.
He can interfere in the world around him in almost any way, it all depends on him, on his ability to use the skill.
Ralph opened his eyes and saw that the ground was already a few hundred meters from him.
He then concentrated and held his hands out.
Instead of creating wind, Ralph manipulated the space around himself.
Ralph's speed suddenly plummeted, but he felt no pressure from the slowdown. That's because it wasn't him, but the space around him that was distorted.
Slowly, Ralph landed on the ground and then stopped spatial manipulation, causing large cracks to appear on the ground below his feet, but Ralph was unhurt, because his movement was perfect, the force provided by his climbing speed was transferred to the perfectly, avoiding injury to the legs.
Of course, the fact that Ralph has a superhuman physique also helped.
Ralph blew out a breath and wiped the sweat from his forehead.
Although it only lasted a few seconds, space manipulation consumes insane amounts of energy.
Still keeping invisibility Ralph walked in a westward direction, to the North Korean military base closest to the landing point.
-I need to infiltrate, that means I must disguise myself as a North Korean soldier ... But it will depend on whether or not there are Aura Masters at the military base, and what their capacity is. After my advance, I manage to restrict my Aura several times better than before, and an ordinary Aura Master will not be able to detect me.
Ralph considered.
-But if the superiors ordered me to infiltrate this specific base ... There must be a reason.
After an hour of careful walking, Ralph arrived in the vicinity of the military base, which is heavily guarded.
-I understand now, if I use my tranced sense carelessly, I will alert the enemy. If I don't use it, I won't know anything about the enemy's strength ... That way, I can only disguise myself as an ordinary soldier.
Ralph understood by analyzing the situation a little and looking at the military base.
- Anyway, I need to be quick. I don't know their language, and others can be on the alert when they see what is wrong with a simple soldier.
Ralph thought and went in one direction.
A few hundred meters away, two soldiers were on a routine patrol in the area.
They spoke an language that Ralph doesn't understand, and he analyzed the two for a while before acting.
Without one realizing it, the other was simply killed, and Ralph took his place, changing his appearance and hiding the soldier's body in a corner.
Ralph thought for a moment and had an idea.
The other soldier looked at his companion and noticed that he fell to the floor unconscious.
The soldier screamed in alarm and went to his companion to check on his situation.
Seeing that his companion was not waking up, the soldier put him on his back and started carrying him to the military base.
The soldier told the doctor in charge of the base that his companion suddenly passed out, and the doctor studied Ralph for a while before shaking his head and ordering him to be placed on a bed for observation.
Ralph, who was awake from the start, got out of bed when he realized they were all gone. He then started to move.
If there was a powerful Aura Master at the base, he would have noticed Ralph's Aura by now, but so far Ralph hasn't been discovered.
When Ralph found the place that appeared to be where the officers are, it was already becoming clear. It was an improvised construction.
After entering the building, Ralph saw several officers arguing and others busy with documents on the phones.
Ralph looked for a senior officer, but found none inside the building.
Ralph doesn't want to waste any time, he needs to kidnap a senior officer directly if he wants the information. Mainly for two reasons: A senior officer must be able to speak at least English or Japanese, and also because Ralph cannot understand what is written on the officers' papers.
But before Ralph could continue to search, an alarm went off across the base.
The officers seemed encouraged by the alarm and hurried.
The movement of soldiers and tanks also increased, and several planes can be seen crossing the sky.
-Don't tell me it's already started?
Ralph thought with a sweat on his back.
Fortunately, Ralph found a senior officer, he was giving orders to several lower officers, and he had a strained expression.
Ralph ground his teeth and acted quickly and without hesitation.
He killed the inferior officers who were listening and disagreed with the superior officer. Then he started running towards the nearby forest with the officer being carried by him.
-I still have to think of a way to get the truth out of this man's mouth, how will I do that?
Ralph thought as he ran and maintained invisibility.
Fortunately for Ralph, no one stopped him on the way and he arrived in the forest quickly.
"Think Ralph, think, how are you going to make this man talk?" Ralph murmured with his hand on his head and red eyes.
He has no time to lose, and Ralph knows that the officer will not open his mouth easily.
Nor will he be able to apply the same interrogation strategy as before, such as the one he used against a man to find the location of the weapons depot.
"Cough Cough ..." The officer woke up and started coughing and looking around in alarm.
Ralph took a deep breath and clapped his hands on his cheeks.
"Serum of truth." Ralph murmured and put his hand on the man's arm.
- This is going to be difficult.
Ralph thought and concentrated.
The "truth serum" is nothing more than a name given to a drug that is used to get information from someone, there is no exact substance with that name.
-Sodium thiopental... I'm glad I paid attention in chemistry classes.
Ralph thought as he concentrated.
The officer felt someone touching his own arm, but saw no one since Ralph was invisible to him, which scared him and made him want to run.
Ralph held the officer 's arm tightly while injecting the substance directly into his blood.
After a few seconds, the officer started to feel a little strange, and he couldn't think clearly about things.
Ralph then appeared on his freight, with a different appearance and a uniform like the officer, and spoke in English:
"Brother, the attack is about to start, we need to appreciate ourselves."
"... Is that it? Attack? Really ... I have to go." The officer spoke with a hand on his head, but he did not realize that he was speaking in English.
"But do you know where the main attack on Seoul will come from?" Ralph asked calmly.
"... But of course. Who are you again?" The officer asked with a confused expression.
"I am your brother, we are children of the same country! We can trust each other." Ralph spoke with a smile as he patted the officer lightly on the shoulder.
The officer looked a little confused but nodded.
"Brother, we need to hurry up, tell me where the main force of our homeland will start from. I will take us there by car." Ralph spoke and made a military truck appear next to him.
The officer looked at the truck a little confused and said:
"How are you? I think I can say that the attack will take place in just 5 hours ... It will be from the west coast, where the artillery is positioned. About 30 kilometers away from the demilitarized zone, you must know how to take us there, right?"
Ralph then said as he got into the truck:
"OK let's go."
The officer then got into the truck in the back seat.
"Brother, why don't I remember you?" The senior officer suddenly asked.
"You have alzheimer's, did you forget that?" Ralph spoke with a slight smile.
"I don't really remember ...! Do I really have this disease?" The officer asked, startled.
"Don't worry, I'm here to help you." Ralph spoke and continued:
"So I need you to speak once more about where the main attack will start."
"... I thought I already said?" The officer wondered.
"Brother? Have you forgotten the place yet?" Ralph asked.
"No, I remember. It was ... It was ... on the east coast, on a secret base with the prepared nuclear artillery and 50 kilometers away from the demilitarized zone." The officer replied.
"..." Ralph was silent for a moment.
"Brother, is something wrong?" The officer asked.
"Do you remember what the great leader said?" Ralph suddenly asked.
"??" The officer was confused.
"About the main attack, you need to remember!" Ralph exclaimed.
"... The attack must take place in four hours ... The main ground force must position itself in the west, on the west coast ... More than 25 kilometers away from the demilitarized zone ... The artillery ... must fire nuclear projectiles as a way to destabilize the southern military force. The main ground force must act quickly from the west ... "It seems that hearing about the" Great Leader "spurred the officer on, and he spoke with a strange expression and hands on his head .
"Do you believe that?" Ralph asked as he clenched his fists.
"I believe?" The officer seemed to be in pain and started to moan, suddenly he started to convulse ... and passed out.
Ralph sighed and dispelled the illusions.
"I can only count on that information ..." Ralph murmured and removed the communication equipment from the space ring.
"There is no signal ... the North Koreans must be blocking external signals." Ralph murmured and looked towards the demilitarized zone.
-If I go there at full speed, I must get there in time.
Ralph thought and started to float.
-Wind will not be enough, I will have to stretch the space.
Ralph thought and gritted his teeth as he concentrated.
His green Aura suddenly emanated from his entire body.
After taking a deep breath, Ralph did what he was thinking.
He used the same principle as spatial folding, expanding the space behind him while contracting the space in front.
Ralph suddenly shot at extreme speed towards the demilitarized zone.
30 seconds, 60 seconds ... after just a minute Ralph fell to the floor, exhausted.
-Damn, I underestimated the energy consumption, I only managed to go halfway.
Ralph thought and started running.
Even though he was exhausted, Ralph withdrew the strength to keep going, he cannot waste time.
After about half an hour, he arrived in the demilitarized zone, completely exhausted, but still persisting. His vitality kept him active.
After checking the equipment, Ralph realized there was a signal, but it was very weak.
Ralph ground his teeth and ran south.
After running for about ten minutes, Ralph couldn't take any more and fell to the ground.
Despite his great vitality, he has been running at top speed in difficult terrain for a long time, this after having practically used up all his energy with the manipulation of space.
Fortunately, the signal was now enough for him to send a message.
"HQ, this is the soldier... Ralph. I completed the mission and got the information, but caution is needed, she is only fifty-five percent reliable ... The likely location is as follows ..." Ralph spoke as breathed heavily.
After explaining the whole situation to the senior officer and telling the location, Ralph sent the audio via equipment.
-Now I have to hope that they receive the information, since I cannot receive any messages with him.
Ralph thought.
The reason for that? Avoid identifying Ralph's origin if Ralph is killed. Ralph left for the mission without even a single means of identification. If he dies, no one will know who he is easily.
The equipment started to beep and flash in blue light, it was a sign that the message had been sent successfully ...
Ralph blew out a breath and wiped the sweat off his head.
-Now ... How am I going to get out of this trouble? In my current state, it will take me a long time to get to a safe place, and I probably won't escape the North Korean attack.
Ralph thought as he looked north.