Noah smiled warmly as he patted the head of the utterly terrified Shokuhou Misaki.
"You only feel safe once you've read what's in other people's minds and confirmed there's no danger to yourself. That's the common affliction of psychic espers who've witnessed too much darkness and duplicity."
"But mere Level 5 psychic ability is far from enough to peer into my thoughts."
At this point, Shokuhou Misaki already possessed Level 5-level strength. However, because her ability's scope was so broad, she couldn't fully control it. To maintain order within her powers, she had to hypnotize herself—this was the true reason she relied on her remote control. It wasn't to manipulate others, but to stabilize herself.
Coming back to her senses, she was drenched in cold sweat, her starry eyes trembling in fear as she stared at the impossibly handsome Director before her. Her lips quivered, and her small body trembled uncontrollably.
She didn't yet have the explosive figure she would develop in the future—still flat-chested—but her beauty and bearing already stood out. Anyone could see that in a few years, she would grow into a stunning young woman.
"D-Director… are you also an esper? A… Level 5?" she stammered.
She had never met another Level 5 in person. But she didn't believe that Academy City's Level 5s represented the pinnacle. The city's true power had always lain in its science. The existence of someone stronger than a Level 5 wouldn't surprise her.
That overwhelming pressure she felt—it had to be a superpower, something far beyond comprehension.
In truth, it wasn't an esper ability at all. What she felt was the divine pressure produced by her own irreverence toward a Super-Primeval God. Had Noah not deliberately suppressed it, when Aleister once attacked him, he could have killed the man instantly without lifting a finger.
Noah smiled. "Level 5? If that's what you want to believe, then sure. You can even think of me as a Level 6, if you like."
"Alright, girls—look over here."
The others, already bewildered by the earlier exchange, turned just in time to see the Director extend his hand. A dazzling spark of light appeared at his fingertip, and a wave of heat washed across the room.
Within a single second, the spark grew to the size of a ping-pong ball—like a miniature sun.
"Now then, let's begin the main topic."
"The thing at my fingertip—you've all studied this before. A tiny sun, or what's scientifically known as fusion plasma."
"It may be small, but it's one hundred percent mass-to-energy conversion. This alone could annihilate all of Academy City."
"During the Second World War, the United States dropped a bomb on Hiroshima. It used just three kilograms of material—with only three percent energy conversion—and it still erased an entire city."
Having regained her composure, Shokuhou Misaki stood frozen in shock. The Director could perform nuclear fusion with his bare hands—he really was a Level 5!
Just as that thought crossed her mind, Noah casually opened a rift in space with his hand.
Then he generated electromagnetic waves, created lightning, controlled gravity, disassembled matter, recombined molecules, bent photons, and gathered light—all in a seamless series of displays.
Each and every one of them was a Level 5 ability on its own.
Shokuhou's mind echoed with his earlier words: You can think of me as Level 6. Her mouth fell open in disbelief.
Heavens! One person wielding so many Level 5-tier powers—was this the legendary Multi-Skill Esper? Could he truly be the mythical Level 6 that had never appeared?
While Shokuhou was lost in shock, the other girls were already staring at Noah with shining eyes of pure admiration.
As espers, they naturally revered those stronger than themselves—especially those so overwhelmingly powerful that no thought of rivalry could even arise.
No matter the world, females instinctively admired strength. It was a primal instinct embedded deep within civilization itself.
Kouzaku Mitori gasped in awe. "Wow! The Director isn't just a researcher—he's an incredibly powerful esper too!"
Mitsuari Ayu's eyes sparkled with worship. "There's no way the current list of Level 5s doesn't include him! He must be so strong that Academy City's higher-ups had to hide his existence!"
As a psychic esper who constantly sought security, she immediately constructed a self-justifying explanation in her mind.
Noah nodded with a faint smile. "Mitsuari is right. It's precisely because I'm too powerful that when I barged into Aleister's residence, he was so terrified he had no choice but to compromise—afraid I might just snap him in half."
"Now, remember this, girls. Teacher Noah will share a truth with you today."
The group of adoring girls clenched their fists before their faces, eyes shining in anticipation. Even Shokuhou Misaki stared up at him with starry eyes.
He… broke into Aleister's residence? Forced that mysterious Chairman to yield?!
So that's what happened! No wonder a new Director suddenly appeared at the Talent Workshop, taking complete control over the researchers.
Her own power hadn't worked on him because he was also a master of psychological control—one far stronger than herself.
Shokuhou's heart thumped wildly, her cheeks flushed red with excitement. She knew better than anyone the power of psychological mastery.
If she could combine her psychological control with any one of the offensive Level 5 abilities, she could easily imagine herself controlling the entire Board of Directors.
But this Director possessed countless Level 5 powers.
He must have hidden his strength using psychological control, deceiving everyone in the research community until he became strong enough to strike back—storming into Aleister's domain and seizing absolute authority.
"Classmates, with great power, one can do as they please—but it also requires a heart strong enough to match that power."
"From now on," Noah said with a calm authority, "I'll be your teacher. You will follow my guidance in everything. Understood?"
"Yes, Director!" the girls shouted in unison.
Satisfied, Noah nodded. "Good. Then let's begin the first stage of the Level 5 Cultivation Plan."
"I will train each of you to become Level 5s."
At that, the girls' faces lit up with pure excitement, their cheeks flushed red.
Noah slid a finger across his laptop touchpad twice. Beside him, one of the glass pods hissed open.
"Shokuhou Misaki has already reached Level 5," he said, "but her control remains insufficient. We'll first fine-tune her ability and raise her upper limit. Psychological Mastery is not merely about manipulating the mind—if extended from the micro level to the macro, it can affect matter itself. That is what we call material interference."
Hearing that, Shokuhou grew visibly excited. Of course she understood the true nature of her ability—reading and manipulating minds, memories, and consciousness were just side effects of adjusting water content within the brain, changing hormone ratios, and altering neural impulses.
If she could extend her control to physical matter, wouldn't that make it equivalent to telekinesis? Whether on the microscopic or macroscopic scale, she could influence anything.
That kind of power… could only be called omnipotence. The strongest esper ability of all!
"Now then," Noah said casually, "Shokuhou Misaki, take off your lab coat and step into the cultivation pod."
Shokuhou froze, staring at him in disbelief, her expression blank.
"W-what?"
"Take… take it off…?" Shokuhou Misaki's face turned bright red as she stammered, pointing at Noah. "W-What are you saying?! You want me to take off my lab coat?! That means I'd have nothing on underneath!"
"Even if we're entering the pod, there's no need to take everything off! Besides, there's never been such a precedent in previous experiments!"
"And even in the rare cases where this kind of rule exists, it's always female researchers who handle the operation!"
The other girls, equally stunned, turned beet-red and fidgeted awkwardly.
Kouzaku Mitori nodded frantically. "Yeah, exactly! It's always been female researchers in those cases!"
Even pretending to be an obedient girl, there were still lines she wouldn't cross.
Mitsuari Ayu fidgeted shyly, her voice barely a whisper. "If… if this is what it takes to become a Level 5… then maybe… it's not impossible…"
"Eh?" Hokaze Junko gasped, covering her mouth as she stared at Mitsuari in disbelief.
Yumiya Rakko nodded resolutely. "What's the problem? It's just entering a pod. If it means becoming a Level 5, I'll undergo any experiment."
"If you're all hesitant, I'll go first."
Noah's expression didn't change in the slightest. "Very well. Mitsuari Ayu and Yumiya Rakko, you may go first. The rest of you can decide after you've seen the results."
"But I'll say this up front—this project can only be conducted by me, the one who commands infinite phenomena. No other researcher has the capability."
"Miss this chance, and there won't be another."
He wouldn't force anyone—but this opportunity, granted by a Super-Primeval God, would never come again.
"As for removing the lab coat—it simply affects the probability of power enhancement."
Of course, that was a complete lie. It was merely his own mischievous indulgence.
After all, what was wrong with a little playful humor from a being recognized by countless worlds across the superdimension as the Super-Primeval God?
Plop—
Yumiya Rakko and Mitsuari Ayu stepped into the cultivation pods.
Academy City's oxygen circulation technology allowed one to breathe normally inside, even when submerged in the nutrient fluid.
The two girls curled up inside like twin mermaids, their faces flushed scarlet.
Hokaze Junko and Shokuhou Misaki both covered their faces with their hands—but still peeked curiously through their fingers.
What in the world! This was completely indecent! There had never been a case requiring such "preparation"! It had to be this devilish Director's personal perversion.
Shokuhou Misaki, almost instinctively, guessed Noah's true intent.
"Alright, let's begin," Noah said, his voice calm. "Don't worry—there won't be any pain. In fact, it'll feel quite pleasant."
He slid his fingers across the tablet.
Buzz—
The cultivation pods sealed shut. A gentle white light filled the interior.
Bit by bit, the superpower laws of Teyvat descended upon the pods, merging with the AIM diffusion field.
The two girls inside began to glow softly, intricate lines—like circuits—appearing across their skin.
They looked almost like humanoid machines under construction.
These Teyvat superpower laws operated purely within the realm of physical reality—they were the true essence of the scientific side.
Though Academy City's espers possessed supernatural powers, their origins were built upon magical templates, layered with physical laws. They were never purely scientific.
What Noah was doing now was refining their abilities—transcending that hybrid nature, evolving them into powers of the pure physical world, severing all ties with magic.
Even Academy City's "Artificial Heaven" contained traces of the arcane.
At its core, it was an aggregation of AIM diffusion fields—a Rule Domain.
Every phase was a Rule Domain, though their natures differed: some were built upon mythic frameworks, others created directly by Magic Gods as operating consoles for world manipulation.
Now, Noah intended to purge the AIM diffusion field of all magical elements, transforming it into a completely scientific phase.
Beep-beep-beep...
The laboratory's control panel came alive, emitting a flurry of mechanical tones as torrents of data filled the holographic screens.
A synthesized mechanical voice echoed through the room.
"Adjusting personal reality. Reconstructing growth parameters. Screening compatible adaptive superpowers."
"Level 3 psychic-type esper: Mitsuari Ayu. Re-determining personal reality… Assessment complete. Core: psychic-type ability. Added traits: thought-wave fluctuation, microwave electronic information transmission. Initially classified as potential Level 5 esper. Reclassified: 100% probability of advancing to Level 5."
"35% probability of advancing to Level 6 Absolute Esper."
"Beginning adjustment of personal reality."
"2%..."
"5%..."
"~..."
A Level 5 esper's performance in Teyvat would be roughly equivalent to lighting up the fifth to sixth Constellation.
Bear in mind: even Lower Gods can destroy a great nation in a single strike. Middle Gods can scour continents with one blow. Upper Gods can destroy planets. True Gods can annihilate stars.
At present, the strongest Level 5—Accelerator—at his peak could only slow the Earth's rotation by one minute, making a 24-hour day into 24 hours and one minute. At full power, his destructive capacity was roughly equivalent to leveling a single district of Academy City.
A Level 6 Absolute Esper, on the other hand, would correspond to a Lower-to-Upper God in Teyvat.
Shokuhou Misaki stared in astonishment at the two girls whose AIM diffusion fields had grown almost visible to the naked eye. "This is too fast! Are they developing directly to Level 5 in one go?!"
As a psychic esper, she could clearly sense the changes in Mitsuari Ayu—also a psychic. Right now, she could no longer affect Mitsuari with her powers at all. That alone proved Mitsuari had surpassed her.
...
Meanwhile, within the Artificial Heaven—the physical-rule phase.
The emergence of a pure-science Level 5 esper caused Mitsuari Ayu's AIM field to rapidly infect the surrounding AIM diffusion fields.
It was like a single drop of ink falling into a pot of water.
The nature of the Artificial Heaven began to change dramatically.
Aiwass was using the Artificial Heaven to gather the AIM diffusion fields and condense spirit into a spiritual body. As she sensed the transformation of the Artificial Heaven, her own form was materializing even faster.
"Amazing… The Artificial Heaven, whose main core was once a creation of the magic side, is shifting toward a purely scientific phase. And as a being of the physical world, this environment suits me perfectly—so perfectly I could even transfer my true body here!"
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