"What is this? Some kind of new photosensitive material?" Nunotaba Shinobu picked up the unusual card and examined the incomprehensible pattern on its surface, her expression indifferent.
"This is an esper ability. Level 4 Telekinesis. I'm already a Level 5, so it's useless to me. You're a Level 0, right? This gives you the ability to protect yourself," Arata said with a faint smile, one eye slightly narrowed.
"I didn't expect you to make such a pointless joke. Are you trying to make me pay an 'IQ tax'?" Nunotaba Shinobu replied flatly.
"Just try squeezing it. Something interesting will happen," Arata said casually, tapping his fingers lightly against the table.
Nunotaba Shinobu shook her head, but still followed his suggestion and applied a bit of force.
In an instant, the card shattered into particles of silver stardust.
A beam of light shot directly into her eyes.
A sharp pain surged through her head.
"Ah…!" Nunotaba Shinobu immediately held her head, staring at Arata in shock. "You… did you use your ability on me?"
Then, an indescribable sensation spread through her mind.
Information flooded in.
A powerful telekinetic force suddenly erupted from her body. The cups, laptop, and scattered documents on the table lifted into the air, orbiting around her in an unstable spiral.
"What… is this?" Nunotaba Shinobu widened her eyes as the knowledge of telekinesis rapidly organized itself in her mind.
"Telekinesis…?"
She looked at Arata, her heartbeat quickening. This was impossible. The card had turned into light and fused into her. What kind of phenomenon was that? Molecular reconstruction? Direct implantation of a Personal Reality?
She had once undergone ability development.
But she had only ever been a Level 0.
"How did you do this? What's the principle behind it?" Nunotaba Shinobu asked quickly, her eyes filled with excitement. For a scientist, the unknown was irresistibly addictive.
"That's my secret," Arata said, resting his chin on his hand as he smiled at her. "Once you accept something from me, you won't be able to separate yourself from me for the rest of your life. You'll be working for me permanently."
Her excitement cooled instantly.
Nunotaba Shinobu took a breath and regained her composure.
"A secret, huh… You're giving me this kind of power. Are you trying to train me into something? I'll make it clear, I won't participate in combat or killing."
"Relax. I'm not asking you to fight. I just want you to have the ability to protect yourself," Arata said lightly. "I don't just want myself to be strong. I want the people around me to be strong as well. Strong enough to stand with me and eventually take control of Academy City."
A faint smile appeared on his face, his eyes half-lidded, carrying an inexplicable sense of confidence.
Whether it was science or esper abilities, everything had to reach a level capable of dominating Academy City.
On the surface, they were harmless students.
Behind the scenes, they were quietly expanding their influence.
He currently possessed five Level 4 ability cards and twenty-one Level 3 cards. They were meaningless to him, but extremely valuable for building up his own faction. In addition, he had accumulated a large number of technology-based cards.
"I got on your ship a long time ago. I just hope you can guarantee my personal safety," Nunotaba Shinobu said calmly.
With slightly awkward control, she guided the floating objects back onto the table. Then she tapped on her keyboard and handed the laptop over.
"Some of the technologies you provided have already entered the experimental phase. However, one sample is still under analysis. Its structure is extremely difficult to interpret."
She pressed her temple lightly.
"That bamboo dragonfly… its appearance is simple, but its internal structure operates at the nanoscale. It's incredibly complex. Reproducing it with Academy City's current technology will be very difficult."
"Take your time with the bamboo dragonfly," Arata said confidently. "Once it's completed, it will revolutionize transportation. Conventional vehicles will become obsolete."
"That's true. A system combining mechanical engineering with esper principles would completely overturn existing transportation models," Nunotaba Shinobu nodded.
After confirming the progress of the new ability development system, Nunotaba Shinobu proposed publicly recruiting participants from certain schools.
"So the first real challenge to the Board of Directors is about to begin… a bit earlier than expected," Arata muttered as he walked out of the underground facility, hands in his pockets.
The head of ability development and medical research was Heaven Canceller.
Once this project was launched, it would inevitably attract attention.
And once that happened, the balance of power would shift.
"Hmm? That's strange… what is this?"
Arata opened the system's virtual map and saw something unusual.
Thirty-two cards were moving toward his location.
And among them, a three-star card was only about one hundred meters away.
This was the first time something like this had happened.
"Are they targeting me?"
He narrowed his eyes, stepped to the edge of the rooftop, and looked down. His telekinetic field expanded outward.
Everything within range was mapped directly into his mind.
This was Telekinetic Imaging, a basic application of telekinesis that converted spatial data into mental perception through diffused AIM fields.
"They're all girls... wait."
His expression shifted.
"This fluctuation… it's not AIM."
It was something entirely different.
Magic.
"They're all magicians…? What is this? This many magicians entering Academy City…"
His gaze locked onto the parking area below.
The three-star signal.
A girl with long red hair tied into a thick braid.
The moment he saw her, recognition surfaced.
"The Roman Orthodox Church…"
He glanced at the cross-shaped spiritual item in her hand, faintly glowing and pointing directly toward him.
"So that's how it is."
Arata's eyes narrowed slightly.
"My identity as a saint has already been exposed…"
"And now the entire world is searching for me."
...
Re@d adv@nce ch@pters on p@t
guilt_free_daoist
Jo!n d!sc0rd I!nk in synops!s.
GIVE ME YOU POWER STONES.