"Mm…"
Hayasaka Ai stirred from her unconsciousness, her eyes meeting an unfamiliar ceiling.
"Huh? You're awake, nee-san!"
A tiny, adorable figure appeared before her.
"I'll go get nii-san!"
Before Hayasaka could respond, Dolly scampered out of the medical room.
"Hm? I…"
Hayasaka sat up, staring at her hands.
Her mind felt remarkably clear—a sign of a significant boost in her computational capacity.
She activated her superpower as she had before, and a ring of wind formed in her hands.
"It can get bigger…"
The wind ring expanded, her golden hair fluttering with it.
Bigger.
The ring morphed into a spherical barrier of tangible gusts, centered around her.
The hurricane scraped against the walls, sparking and leaving scratches on the high-tech alloy.
After a brief moment, a throbbing pain shot through her brain, halting her ability program. The wind sphere dissipated instantly.
Fortunately, the medical room's equipment was stored in high-density alloy cabinets, or the damages could've reached seven figures in yen.
"Your computational capacity is only Level 2, but your program is Level 4. Wait until your capacity improves before using it again."
Samuel appeared at the doorway, glancing at the wall scratches and sensing the slightly elevated AIM Diffusion Field in the air. He knew she'd used her ability.
"Mm… thank you."
"No need to thank me. It's a fair trade—I got the data I wanted. But if you really want to show gratitude… how about coming to my place?"
The experiment had been tricky, mainly due to a lack of willing participants. Previously, Samuel had used criminals, but their feeble attempts to resist his overwhelming computational capacity always ended with them reduced to idiots by his instinctive counterattacks.
Hayasaka had done him a favor. With her data, Samuel calculated a safe, standardized AIM Diffusion Field-assisted training method for all espers.
More importantly, he now had data he could publicize.
With this, he could legitimately offer assisted development training to espers across Academy City, possibly even infiltrating Tokiwadai.
Tokiwadai's backers weren't part of the city's "darkness"; they prioritized their students and would likely allow Samuel's involvement.
Nagatenjouki, however, cared little for student welfare and would never let him near.
This was a good opportunity to explain why Samuel was so obsessed with data collection and its benefits.
First, the reason: to study espers' "Personal Reality" or "ability programs," hereafter called "programs."
One benefit was that these programs allowed Samuel's "Calculation" to simulate more abilities and optimize them.
But that was just a side benefit.
Calculations required a basis—without one, they were mere guesses or redundant.
By collecting programs, Samuel could use them as a foundation for secondary calculations, then use those results for tertiary calculations, and so on, in an infinite nesting process.
Don't underestimate this nesting. Calculations were infinite, each step yielding new variations derived from the initial "basis." More bases meant more possibilities.
Calculation was an endless process, each step a fresh one, never repeating.
Like true science, it was a process of discovery, not an endpoint. The endpoint was the knowledge gained.
Through this relentless nesting, Samuel's computational capacity was continually honed. The greater the volume, the more progress, potentially surpassing limits in a geometric growth akin to a "Civilization Ark," where calculations could evolve into boundless worlds.
At that point, Samuel might be indistinguishable from a true god.
Then, he could challenge the legendary pinnacle of religion and magic—the Magic God, who upended causality and warped the world.
Perhaps then, Samuel could claim the title of Scientific Magic God, ushering in an era where science supplanted magic, as humanity's history had always strived to do.
But that was still far off. For now, Samuel was just a Level 5, and such a goal was merely a dream.
Grand ambitions like that were for later. Like any entrepreneur, Samuel progressed from one small goal to another.
His current goal: collect the programs of over eighty percent of Academy City's espers, including at least five Level 5s.
Calculations suggested that with such a foundation, he could reach Level 6.
Of course, this was theoretical, untested. But wasn't science about proving or disproving theories?
As for progress, Academy City had roughly 300,000 espers. Most—around 260,000 to 270,000—were Level 1 or 2. Level 3s numbered 30,000 to 40,000, Level 4s a few thousand, and Level 5s currently two, with seven more in the future, eight including Samuel.
Samuel had collected nearly 100,000 low-tier programs, 10,000 Level 3s, about 1,000 Level 4s, and half a Level 5.
Sogiita Gunha's ability remained unknown, even to Samuel's vast calculations, and Gunha himself didn't understand it.
Samuel had only grasped part of it, still studying the rest.
He even suspected Gunha's program might be Level 6 or higher.
The revolution was far from complete—Samuel had much work to do.
But once his AIM Diffusion Field-assisted training rolled out citywide and the hospitals' nanoparticles were in place, he estimated he'd be very close to his goal.
***
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