Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, more than half a year had passed. A new year began, and in the previous year, both the quantity and quality of espers in Academy City had surged dramatically, thanks in part to Samuel's AIM Diffusion Field-assisted training device, which had prematurely birthed several Level 5s.
Among them, Samuel secured the program of the current fourth-ranked Level 5, Misaka Mikoto, known as "Railgun" with her Electromaster ability.
For the second-ranked Level 5, "Accelerator" with his Vector Manipulation, Samuel obtained only partial program data due to the protective measures of Accelerator's backing institute. He also lost some data on his "AIM Diffusion Field Ability Assistance Training Device" in the process.
It was expected—his device was designed for mass program collection and made publicly available, so it was only natural that others would tamper with it and steal data.
The third-ranked Level 5, Kakine Teitoku, known as "Dark Matter" with his ability of the same name, was another story. Both he and Accelerator had clashed, each gaining minor advantages and losing less critical data.
Samuel was more intrigued by Dark Matter than Vector Manipulation.
It was said that Kakine's Dark Matter produced substances nonexistent in this world—not merely undiscovered or theoretically possible, but truly nonexistent, defying established physical laws. Light and electromagnetic waves touching Dark Matter twisted into impossible vectors, operating by their own rules.
Samuel was deeply curious—it was the ability he coveted most.
The fifth, sixth, and seventh-ranked Level 5s, who reached their rank without his device, took a few months longer but still joined the elite by year's end.
On the foundational data front, Samuel acquired nearly 100,000 additional program datasets, solidifying his base. All that remained was the proverbial "altar" to ascend.
He even proposed a trade with the institute backed by the Kihara family, supporting Accelerator, offering his device's data for full access to Accelerator's Vector Manipulation program.
The same offer was extended to the third-ranked institute, tied to the Dark Side, with similar terms.
Dark Side organizations nominally answered to the Board of Directors but, in practice, obeyed only the Chairman. Samuel had no authority over them.
As for the remaining two Level 5s, Samuel was already preparing—one would come to him, and the other, a Dark Side operative, he could trap.
Now, for those closer to Samuel:
Dolly's recovery was progressing remarkably. Soon, she'd be as healthy as a normal person, which had her constantly clamoring to see Mitsumi and Misaki.
Finding Shokuhou Misaki was easy. Samuel had subtly leaked to the Talent Workshop—now a "shadow theater"—that a certain near-dead clone had survived about a year ago. She'd come knocking soon.
Keikaku Mitsumi was trickier. After landing in prison, she was bailed out by the Kihara family, and Samuel hadn't located her yet.
Hayasaka Ai and Shinomiya Kaguya both advanced to Level 4 and enrolled at Shuushiin Academy within the Garden of Learning, joining Judgment as deputy chief and records officer, respectively.
To clarify, Samuel's "AIM Diffusion Field Ability Assistance Training Device" differed from the method used on Hayasaka. The device merely aided training to help espers reach their natural limits faster.
Hayasaka's procedure, however, raised her limit entirely.
It was the difference between disciplined practice and a master's direct empowerment.
Samuel's computational capacity was now fifteen times that of a typical Level 5. When fully unleashed, it could cover the entire Japanese archipelago and surrounding seas—about half the planet—and it grew daily, expanding roughly the diameter of a school district each day.
As for Academy City's greatest core, Kamijou Touma, the "Imagine Breaker," Samuel avoided direct contact, instead tracking his location via his phone and other electronics.
Approaching him now would yield nothing and risk drawing the ire of the upside-down Chairman.
Crime rates in Academy City had plummeted under Samuel and Judgment's efforts, attracting many espers to join. The ability assessments during recruitment alone provided Samuel with intriguing programs.
For instance, a rare "spatial" ability program.
Though only Level 3, it was fascinating.
Scientifically, it involved "escaping three-dimensional thinking, identifying one's coordinates in eleven dimensions, and calculating a movement vector."
In essence, when activating the ability, the user's consciousness seemed to detach, using themselves as a reference point to calculate a target location, then moving their body through computation.
This was Shirai Kuroko, with her Level 3 Teleportation ability.
Samuel observed that she could only teleport within her line of sight.
Theoretically, this was for precise coordinate targeting.
In practice, teleportation could be unrestricted, but it risked materializing inside objects.
The process involved entering a "space" through a subatomic tunnel and exiting at the target "space."
Normally, the human body was denser than air, so it was fine. But emerging inside a wall would cause the body to be crushed by the dual pressures of the wall and space.
Thus, Shirai used her vision to set coordinates.
Of course, that applied to the future Shirai. Currently, her ability couldn't even teleport herself.
Samuel didn't need coordinates. Though his body was still human, his program was more stable. He could generate an AIM Diffusion Field to pinpoint locations, avoiding getting stuck in walls.
When Shirai reached Level 5, her computational capacity would likely eliminate that risk entirely.
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