Amidst the panicked crowd, another wave of uproar erupted as a bullet shot from an unknown origin, piercing the obese man with a fresh wound. Blood splattered, staining the cheeks of several pedestrians nearby.
After this shot landed, the faint signs of life that had remained in the obese man vanished completely. The air grew thick with the pungent scent of blood.
Standing some distance away, Natsume Sonoko could only make out the vague outline of the scene. Yet, as the crimson dust settled, a faint metallic tang finally reached her nose.
On the bustling, crowded streets, the hunter toyed with their prey.
The masses served as the perfect camouflage, not only trapping the prey but also concealing the hunter entirely.
'What a joke? Since when did human life become so cheap?'
Her mind buzzed, thoughts struggling to form as she fought to recover from the shock.
"There's a sniper nearby! Everyone, evacuate!" The familiar voice of Teacher Yomikawa Aiho rang out as she arrived in her Anti-Skill uniform, accompanied by an armored vehicle and a fully equipped squad.
"Tsuzuri, secure the area immediately! Begin evacuating students and civilians!"
"Please stay back! It's dangerous here!" The nervous yet gentle voice of Teacher Tsuzuri echoed as she carefully guided students away from the scene.
Caught in the crowd, Natsume Sonoko found herself pushed forward, the gruesome image still burned into her mind.
But the fear didn't linger long. She had long been mentally prepared for such things.
When it came to mental fortitude, Natsume Sonoko considered herself first-rate. She could carry sixty frozen mice without batting an eye, after all.
Instead, the scene instilled in her a different kind of pressure. Having grown accustomed to peaceful days, she had almost forgotten what Academy City truly was.
'If I become a Level 5, I'd definitely be much safer.'
The thought solidified in her mind, erasing any complacency she had felt after reaching Level 4. A strange sense of urgency took its place.
The gap between a Level 4 and a Level 5 was like a chasm. According to some private speculation, the difference in calculation power and formula development was at least tenfold.
Though Natsume Sonoko believed herself slightly stronger than the average Level 4, a gap of five or six times still remained. If she could develop more practical formulas, perhaps that gap might narrow slightly.
The real problem was the sluggish growth of her calculation power. While it had actually accelerated compared to before, the increase felt negligible against her total capacity.
She had seen many students whose abilities stalled completely after reaching a certain level, their formula development becoming increasingly ineffective. Even back in elementary school, she witnessed classmates stuck at Level 0, utterly unable to advance.
While she hadn't faced such stagnation yet, the slowing pace of her growth hinted that her ability might soon hit its ceiling.
Returning to her dorm, Natsume Sonoko steadied her nerves, pushing aside the disturbing thoughts. The shooting had shaken her, but life went on. She would face it with a smile.
No sooner had she stepped inside than the Dorm Supervisor, lying in wait by the entrance, called out to her.
"Good evening, Dorm Supervisor. It's not curfew yet, is it?"
Her face, initially blank, instantly contorted into an awkward, desperately earnest smile at the sight of the Supervisor.
"Don't worry, Natsume Sonoko. Curfew is in two hours," the Supervisor stated, standing imposingly in her tailored suit. She adjusted her glasses with one hand.
"I'm here about a notice from the school board. Students are strictly prohibited from using an item called the 'Level Upper.' I'm informing each of you personally."
"Understood. I would never use such a thing," Natsume Sonoko declared immediately, raising one hand as if taking a vow.
'So the Level Upper incident is starting to unfold. But even with that, reaching Level 5 is impossible.' The thought crossed her mind as she walked down the hallway.
The Level Upper supposedly utilized brainwaves, borrowing computational power from nearby brains. But there was no way sheer numbers could brute-force the creation of a Level 5 esper.
"Shirai-san, what are you doing here?" Just upstairs, Natsume Sonoko found a flustered, feverish-looking Shirai knocking frantically on the door of room 208.
"You idiot! Wait outside until it wears off! How dare you put that in my water!?" Misaka-senpai's furious shout came from inside.
Natsume Sonoko couldn't help but feel curious. Class had just ended, and Misaka-senpai and the others had gone to clean the pool.
It wasn't hard to guess. The likelihood of Shirai not secretly using 'computer parts' was probably lower than the chance of Misaka-senpai spontaneously ascending to Level 6.
But it seemed Shirai couldn't use her ability right now, stuck waiting outside.
According to Shirai herself, she had to escape three-dimensional thinking, locate her coordinates in eleven-dimensional space, and calculate her movement vector before she could teleport.
Her formula was so complex that she couldn't use her power without intense concentration.
'Looks like Shirai-san's plan failed again. But this time, it's got nothing to do with me.' Natsume Sonoko thought to herself.
Entering her own room, she turned on the light and, unusually, didn't collapse onto the sofa. Instead, she sat at her desk, a serious expression on her face as she plunged into deep thought.
'Come on, Natsume Sonoko, you can do this. Today, you're doing a proper formula derivation. No forums, no games right after getting back.' She gave herself a silent pep talk.
She didn't need scratch paper for her derivations; the entire process happened in her mind.
Today's events seemed to have sparked something in her—a familiar, intermittent burst of ambition swelling in her chest.
After all, she was the one who had developed her air temperature control formula in just a month back in elementary school, even if refining it had taken much longer.
Her laptop booted up beside her, ready for accessing publicly available data.
'That's not right... this calculation seems redundant. Changing it here feels much better.' She bit her lip, brow furrowed in intense concentration.
No calculator or computer could help with this. It all relied on the processing power of her own brain.
'Oh, this has potential. Knew I had it in me.' She scratched her head, giving herself a silent pat on the back.
Her mind teemed with ideas. Combined with diligent study, she constantly revised errors in her formulas, optimizing the calculation processes.
Her current focus was air temperature control, which, to some extent, could be considered an atmospheric control ability.
Pulling out a notebook from her desk, she reviewed the ability applications she had been pondering:
[Nitrogen Armor: Compress nitrogen to form armor on the body surface. Unfinished.]
[Magic Mirror Ice Crystals: Use groundwater to condense numerous ice mirror structures. In development.]
[Wind Armor: Use air pressure to repel nearby enemies. Not yet feasible.]
[Accelerated Ice Javelin: Use wind to accelerate ice projectiles. Half-complete.]
[Head Heater: Use ability to overheat an enemy's head, causing shock. Highly feasible. Completed.]
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T/N: Bros actually creating formulas in elementary school
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T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.