Ren Isana once again traveled to the entrance of the Type-Moon world using [Spatial Magic]. Upon reaching his destination, he quickly stepped inside. After passing a series of facial recognition scans, he entered the interior and saw many of his classmates.
He also saw Arcueid. A flicker of surprise flashed in Ren Isana's eyes when he spotted her. *Asuna actually managed to abduct her as well? Well, good job!*
"Ren Isana!" Hearing the sound of footsteps, everyone looked over. Seeing that Ren Isana had arrived, they all let out a sigh of relief. Asuna immediately ran forward.
"Let's go. We can talk after we get back!" Ren Isana glanced at Asuna, then turned and began walking toward the exit. Seeing this, Asuna hurriedly followed, and the group left the anti-magic device together.
By the time they were leaving, Ren Isana could already sense that a battle had broken out over there. Their side's World Will was truly protective of its own, actually striking first.
* *
"What's the situation now? Did something happen?" Asuna, walking beside Ren Isana, couldn't help but ask. Everyone's sudden retreat had been far too hasty.
Some people were originally sleeping, only to be suddenly jolted awake by Ren Isana's voice. They hadn't even had time to understand what was going on before they all activated their [Spatial Mark] to return.
"The World Will over there made a move on Kojou Akatsuki's soul. He was almost possessed. Consequently, our World Will was enraged and decided to go to war with them. She's already charged over. If you stayed there, you might have been taken hostage," Ren Isana explained the entire situation.
Hearing this, everyone was stunned and felt a chill. What kind of joke was this? The other side's World Will had made a move on them? If that were the case, none of them would have had any power to fight back, right?
"Is Kojou Akatsuki okay?" Motoki Yaze, walking behind them, hurriedly stepped forward to ask. He was still very concerned about his best friend.
Ren Isana nodded and continued explaining, "He's fine. It was discovered in time. Once we're back, you all should get a checkup to see if there's anything wrong with your souls."
With that confirmation, everyone let out a collective sigh of relief. As long as he was okay. They were truly afraid that their class might suddenly lose a member. Now that they knew he was fine, everyone could relax.
The group followed him out of the massive building. Once outside, Ren Isana activated his magic and began leading them back to Nexus Island. Instead of heading back to the school, they went to the hospital where Kojou Akatsuki was staying.
Not long after Ren Isana and the others teleported back, Natsuki arrived as well. She glanced at the numerous students and then looked at the "abducted" Arcueid.
"It's good that you're back. Ren Isana, you perform a soul check on them. Then, have the staff here perform a comprehensive physical checkup." Natsuki began issuing arrangements.
Everyone nodded; no one had any objections. After hearing about Kojou Akatsuki's experience, who would dare be careless? A checkup was absolutely necessary.
Led by Natsuki, they arrived at a conference room where Ren Isana began the examinations. Starting with Asuna, Ren Isana used the [Third Magic] to conduct a screening.
Everyone watched Ren Isana's operations with curiosity. Their Class Rep was already able to touch upon the realm of souls. His gains from going to another world this time must have been quite significant, as he didn't have such an ability before.
"You're fine. Next!" Ren Isana quickly finished Asuna's check. He casually left behind a sliver of the [Third Magic]'s power before letting her leave and moving on to the next person.
Asuna felt the power Ren Isana had left behind. She blinked, glancing at Ren Isana without saying anything before heading out for the other tests. She felt that after that power settled on her, her Magic Power was beginning to increase bit by bit.
The [Third Magic・Materialization of the Soul] could naturally be used on others as well as oneself. What Ren Isana left for Asuna was merely a small amount of materializing power to allow her Magic Power to grow steadily.
However, there was a downside. If this thing was implanted into someone's soul, and that person ever wanted to do something against Ren Isana, that power would become a bomb. Thus, Ren Isana wouldn't use it on just anyone.
Asuna was his girlfriend, so using it on her was naturally no problem. Others, however, might not necessarily trust him. After all, doing this was equivalent to handing over control of one's life to Ren Isana.
He figured many people would be unwilling. Ren Isana didn't bother to explain; if Asuna asked later, he would tell her. If she wasn't okay with it, Ren Isana would just take it back.
He began checking everyone one by one. Through the process, Ren Isana also learned some "little secrets," such as information regarding how "developed" everyone was. After all, the soul was a wondrous thing that recorded all the secrets of one's body.
"Everyone's fine!" After finishing the checks for everyone, Ren Isana spoke and nodded. It seemed that aside from that unlucky guy Kojou Akatsuki, no one else had been sabotaged.
"Alright, then I can rest easy. Once their physical exams are finished, we're done. Though there shouldn't be any issues," Natsuki finally let out a sigh of relief.
If something had happened to these kids, she really wouldn't have known how to handle it. They were her students, after all, and the world over there had been far too insidious this time.
Thinking of this, Natsuki had already made up her mind. This matter had to be reported. It seemed that the other side wasn't very interested in peaceful coexistence. Once the World Will finished things over there, they would see how things stood on their end!
With these thoughts in mind, Natsuki looked at Ren Isana and said, "In a bit, take the others to see that boy. His surgery should be over soon. Afterward, take everyone back. Go do whatever you need to do—you're on vacation!"
After saying that to Ren Isana, Natsuki left. She still had matters to attend to and didn't have time to idle here and chat with them.
Watching Natsuki depart, Ren Isana didn't say much. Given that such an event had occurred, she likely needed to handle the fallout properly. Ren Isana's gaze turned toward Arcueid, who was still there.
"Hello, Miss Arcueid!" Ren Isana greeted her. She was currently looking at Ren Isana with a curious gaze, naturally interested in Asuna's boyfriend.
"Hello, hello." Arcueid blinked and immediately returned the greeting with an innocent, dazed expression. Seeing her like this, Ren Isana truly felt an impulse to trick her.
*With such a dazed girl, tricking her into writing tally marks on her legs would probably be easy, wouldn't it?* This thought flashed by, and Ren Isana immediately began communicating with her. "Miss Arcueid, I wonder if your abilities have changed at all since coming to this world?"
He hadn't forgotten about [Marble Phantasm]. If this ability truly worked in any world, it would be absolutely fantastic.
Ren Isana remembered that this ability required a connection to the world before things could be materialized. Could Arcueid still connect to the world after leaving Type-Moon? Could she still influence reality through her ability?
"Eh? How did you know my abilities changed?" Arcueid looked at Ren Isana with some surprise. After coming to this world, her abilities had indeed changed, having been forcefully restricted.
Hearing Arcueid say this, Ren Isana immediately asked with curiosity, "Tell me about it? I heard you possess a power called [Marble Phantasm]. I wonder if it has changed?"
Ren Isana began talking with Arcueid, trying to understand the changes in her power and attempting to learn it. Hearing Ren Isana ask, Arcueid didn't hide anything and began describing the changes in her strength.
"Right now, I can only manipulate various elements in nature. Creating elements out of thin air consumes a massive amount of energy, unlike before when it cost nothing at all. Besides that, I can't forcefully interfere with reality anymore. To interfere with reality, I need the world's support," Arcueid chirped as she explained the changes in her ability.
In other words, Arcueid's [Marble Phantasm] could now only perform [Elemental Manipulation]. When it came to affecting reality, the power to create something from nothing had been completely banned. If she were back in the Type-Moon world, she could easily create an entire city from nothing if she wanted.
But now? Don't even think about it. It was simply impossible, even at full power. [Marble Phantasm] had essentially turned into [Elemental Manipulation]. That was the gist of it, because her application to connect to this world had been harshly rejected.
*We're not close, stay away. You're just a stinky outsider—what right do you have to use this kind of power to interfere with our reality?* That was the basic sentiment.
After listening to Arcueid, a light suddenly sparkled in Ren Isana's eyes. Arcueid, being an outsider, couldn't use it, but that didn't mean he couldn't. After all, the World Will of this world was still keeping an eye on him.
At this thought, Ren Isana immediately spoke up, "Miss Arcueid, could you show me your power? Just manipulate some elements for me to see, alright?"
He looked at Arcueid with a smile, thinking that he only needed one glance. It was very simple—one look and he could learn it. Ren Isana's words made Arcueid blink. She didn't think much of it and directly agreed.
Arcueid raised her hand and condensed several elemental spheres according to her thoughts. Various natural elements appeared in her palm and began to rotate continuously. These elements changed and shifted according to Arcueid's will.
At this time, Ren Isana also slowly understood what this [Marble Phantasm] was. Having reached a conclusion, Ren Isana spoke up, "Alright, that's enough. I've already learned it."
"?" Ren Isana's words immediately left Arcueid completely dumbfounded. What did he mean, he had already learned it? Arcueid was utterly bewildered. He wasn't joking with her, was he?
"No need to be surprised. This is the power of my [Jianjigu]—I can easily learn various techniques. Your [Marble Phantasm] is a technique too, isn't it? Therefore, I have learned it!"