Click!
The laboratory door opened. The topmost floor of the facility didn't look like a lab at all—it resembled a cozy kindergarten classroom, decorated with colorful drawings and filled with childish toys.
"Uuuh…"
A young girl with short, tea-colored hair—resembling Misaka Mikoto by nearly ninety percent, though a year or two younger—sat in the toy-filled room, clutching a teddy bear as she whimpered softly.
When she heard someone enter, she instinctively turned her head. It was a reflexive motion—one born from habit rather than curiosity.
Her brown eyes were full of innocence, yet behind that innocence lay quiet melancholy—a subtle sense of doubt toward the very act of living.
Humans needed emotion and empathy. They needed to be understood and accepted.
Without anyone who could understand her—without a single peer who could resonate with her—she had gradually begun to lose the will to live.
That state could only be described as loneliness.
Since the day Dolly had been created, no one besides researchers had ever interacted with her on an emotional level.
In the original timeline, she would go through countless experiments until her mental state eventually broke down.
Only then did the researchers decide to bring her a companion—to maintain her psychological stability.
That companion had been Kouzaku Mitori… followed later by Shokuhou Misaki.
But right now, Dolly had not yet been forced into any experiments. Her body was still intact and healthy.
However, being a clone, even at her best she could only live until around twenty years old.
When Dolly saw the unfamiliar man walk in, her face brightened immediately. She ran over cheerfully.
"I'm Dolly! Are you the new teacher? Do you want to play with Dolly?"
She lifted her teddy bear high above her head, smiling innocently.
For some reason, this new teacher felt completely different from the others—comforting, gentle. She instinctively wanted to talk to him, to be near him.
Noah smiled softly and patted her head. "Of course. I'll be your teacher from now on—your only teacher."
He raised his hand slightly, and several round candies appeared in his palm.
"This is a gift for our first meeting."
Dolly's eyes lit up instantly as she grabbed them with both hands. "Wow! Candy! Thank you, teacher!"
To the researchers, Dolly was merely an experimental subject. Her meals were prepared according to laboratory standards—never treats, never sweets.
So, every time she received candy, her heart overflowed with joy.
Of course, these weren't ordinary candies. Just a few pieces were enough to restore her body to a condition even healthier than Misaka Mikoto's.
"Uuuh~ So sweet! So tasty!" Dolly said with a bright smile as she popped a candy into her mouth.
"From now on," Noah said gently, crouching to her level and rubbing her cheek affectionately, "you'll get to eat many more delicious things. Starting today, you'll be studying together with some new friends. It might be a little tough, though."
He always felt the most affection for children like her—pure souls without the slightest trace of corruption.
The more one learned and experienced, the more one's soul was colored by countless shades of emotion.
And the purer, more radiant those colors were—the stronger one's convictions, the greater one's potential to become a hero.
"Friends?" Dolly tilted her head and grasped Noah's hand, her eyes shining with anticipation. "Are they kids like me? Can I play with them?"
In her picture books, she had seen drawings of children playing hide-and-seek, laughing together. She wanted that too.
"Of course you can," Noah said with a fond smile, pinching her small nose gently.
Overjoyed, Dolly leapt into his arms. "Yay! I love teacher the most!" she giggled, nuzzling against him like a small, affectionate animal.
"They'll definitely love you too," Noah said softly.
Although the girls—Shokuhou Misaki and the others—each had distinct personalities, they were all kind at heart. A pure, guileless child like Dolly would surely be well protected among them.
As for the Misaka Sister Project, it would of course continue.
With Fontaine's level of technology, perfectly replicating the Misaka Sisters was a simple matter.
However, considering his personal preferences, Noah decided to preserve the Sisters' signature personalities—their emotionless expressions, dry sarcasm, and quiet wit.
Of course, the bodies and personalities of the Misaka Sisters would be fully complete this time.
In the following days, the research institute itself had no particular plans.
But across Academy City, chaos erupted.
The Talent Workshop had successfully overcome the element of randomness in producing Level 5 espers—it had developed the scientific technology to create Level 5s artificially.
The moment this news was made public, every scientist in Academy City specializing in esper development went mad, flooding the Talent Workshop with calls and requests for collaboration.
Had it been any ordinary research facility, the General Board of Directors would have already divided up and absorbed the technology by force.
But the Talent Workshop's patron was Aleister himself. Even if the Board was itching with envy, they had no choice but to proceed through formal channels and negotiations.
The researchers of the Talent Workshop possessed technology centuries ahead of Academy City's own, and were now busily holding talks with major research institutions and the Board of Directors.
To prove the authenticity of their technology, the newly cultivated Level 5 espers were presented publicly.
Shokuhou Misaki, Kouzaku Mitori, and Hokaze Junko were all being interviewed by the media. Having never faced such exposure before, the girls fumbled nervously before the cameras, completely overwhelmed.
At the same time, the massive floating airship hovering above Academy City displayed breaking news across its giant screen—announcing the Talent Workshop's achievement and showcasing the six newly risen Level 5 espers.
That day, the number of Level 5s standing at the pinnacle of Academy City broke into double digits. Including the existing ones, there were now twelve Level 5 espers in total.
The announcement immediately stirred every power and faction within the city into a frenzy, prompting an even greater surge of espionage and infiltration attempts aimed at uncovering the Talent Workshop's secrets.
On an overhead bridge, Misaka Mikoto, bored out of her mind, held a free canned drink in hand as she gazed up at the screen displaying the news.
"Six new Level 5s all at once, huh? That's incredible. Does that mean Level 5s are going to become as common as Level 4s soon?" she muttered casually.
She figured that the abundance of high-level espers was mainly because she attended Tokiwadai Middle School—an elite academy that only admitted Level 3s and above.
On another street, a white-haired boy walked expressionlessly, glancing up briefly.
"Six? What's that got to do with me?" he grumbled before lowering his head and continuing on his way.
Meanwhile, in a high-end restaurant, a tall girl with long chestnut hair clicked her tongue irritably as she stared out the glass wall, slamming her hand on the table in frustration.
"Those idiots running Academy City must have garbage for brains! Why the hell am I ranked ninth again?! Are they looking down on me or what?!"
"Exactly! What's wrong with those idiots? How could they drop Mugino from fourth place to ninth? Are they saying five of those new Level 5s are stronger than her? What a joke!"
Frenda slammed the table in anger. "Let's go blow up whoever's responsible for that ranking! Who cares about lists—Mugino will always be the strongest!"
"Mm…" Takitsubo Rikou rubbed her eyes sleepily. "New Level 5s?"
"Yeah! Didn't the news say that some research institute developed a stable method to raise people to Level 5?" Frenda shouted, still smacking the table.
"Doesn't that mean there'll be tons of Level 5s soon?"
Takitsubo shook her head slowly. "It's not that simple. Even with the technology, they'd still need the resources. Without enough resources, no one's reaching Level 5."
"Academy City doesn't have enough to mass-produce Level 5s. At most… maybe fifteen or twenty tops."
They were part of the city's dark side—they knew better than to believe everyone could just become a Level 5.
Besides, esper potential was linked to the AIM diffusion field. Only a few could truly evolve into Level 5s. The limit was determined the moment one's power manifested.
To reach Level 5, you first had to qualify for it.
Mugino's expression softened slightly as she pushed a tablet across the table.
"Alright, enough about rankings. Dropped to ninth, big deal. Hmph. If I get the chance, I'll see for myself what kind of trash those girls ahead of me are."
She tapped the screen. "For now, we've got a new mission."
"There's some lab in the 17th District running human experiments. The higher-ups are fed up and want it wiped out."
Frenda leaned over curiously. "Oh? Let me see… Dark May Project? What's that supposed to be? And it's connected to the top-ranked Level 5 too? I don't get it."
Meanwhile, in a luxury suite atop one of Academy City's skyscrapers—
A young man with short, chestnut hair wearing a deep-violet suit glanced at the televised news, smirking dismissively.
"Hmph… six new Level 5s? How boring. Even among Level 5s, there's a hierarchy. Inferior Level 5s are still just cannon fodder."
An esper's strength was dictated by their ability's nature—and his Dark Matter was not something those so-called Level 5s could compare to.
Even all six combined couldn't match the power of his Dark Matter.
And besides, Academy City's rankings weren't even based purely on strength—they were determined by research value.
"Hmph. I still don't understand how that generic Vector Manipulation ability ranks above my Dark Matter in 'research value.'"
"One day, I'll prove to those fools on the Board of Directors that my worth far exceeds his."
As the first Level 5 to establish a dark organization, he knew far more about the city's secrets than the others.
The Board of Directors? To Aleister, they were nothing but replaceable components.
Aleister had countless projects—and only those who became central to his plans could truly enter the core of Academy City.
"They say all those new Level 5s came from a single research facility," murmured a fashionable twelve-year-old girl polishing her nails nearby.
"If I joined as a test subject, would I get a shot at becoming a Level 5 too?"
A gloomy-looking high school boy beside her muttered, "Yeah… probably best not to get involved in something like that."
The sudden appearance of six new Level 5s nearly doubled the total count, becoming the hottest topic in Academy City for over a month.
Meanwhile, the new Level 5s were each assigned their official titles.
Shokuhou Misaki, with her evolved Mental Out, could now affect not only minds but also physical matter—essentially becoming an all-purpose telekinetic Level 5.
Hokaze Junko—Rampage Dress—had achieved perfect control over every cell in her body. She could strengthen herself at will, render her cells immortal, and manipulate bioelectricity and telekinesis alike.
Yumiya Rakko—Vibration Diffusion—possessed the power to manipulate shockwaves. Though relatively ordinary, her ability still placed her among the elite, albeit at the lower end of the Level 5 rankings.
Yumiya Iruka—Wave Conductor—could control every type of wave: electromagnetic, sound, light, and even gravitational. Her power perfectly countered Meltdowner, as the latter's principle relied on the wave-particle duality of radiation.
Kouzaku Mitori—Liquid Shadow—commanded all forms of metal, freely liquefying or solidifying it. At full strength, she could liquefy every metal structure within a kilometer radius, toppling hundreds of skyscrapers in seconds.
Mitsuari Ayu—Mental Stinger—could manipulate all information, whether biological or electronic. She could directly access human brainwaves or digital networks alike. In this modern era of electricity and data, she could easily become a goddess of the digital world.
Meanwhile, the Level 5 espers—now admired across Academy City, standing proudly at the pinnacle above two million ability users—were behaving as meekly as children in front of their Director, Noah.
"These are letters of admission from Tokiwadai, Nagatenjouki, Kirigaoka, and several dozen other schools. You may choose whichever you wish to attend."
Noah casually set a thick stack of school invitations on the table.
Kouzaku Mitori looked up eagerly. "Teacher, can't we just keep studying here at the institute?"
Hokaze Junko nodded quickly. "Yes, please." She gazed at Noah with hopeful, puppy-like eyes.
Over the past month, they had all grown used to seeing the Director every day—especially Hokaze Junko, who had already started planning how she would someday marry him.
Her family, delighted, had even encouraged her to confess her feelings sooner.
Noah frowned sternly. "School is where children belong. You'll go and experience the joy of student life properly. I won't allow any of you to have regrets in life."
They all knew the Director's words were final. One by one, their faces fell in disappointment.
Then, as if in silent agreement, they all turned their eyes toward Shokuhou Misaki.
Hokaze Junko whispered, "Wherever the Queen goes, I'll go too. I don't want to be separated from my friends."
Mitsuari Ayu added, "Same here."
Kouzaku Mitori sighed. "Since when did you all start calling her 'the Queen'?"
Without realizing it, all of them had already fallen under Shokuhou's quiet leadership.
Shokuhou Misaki had always taken good care of them, showing a mature and composed sense of responsibility. Over time, her natural charisma had won them over completely.
Arms crossed, she smiled faintly. Her figure had already begun to show signs of maturity—her chest slightly fuller than before. She had discovered that by adjusting her body's internal hormone ratios, she could even regulate her physical development.
"I already received Tokiwadai's invitation earlier," she said confidently. "Let's all go to Tokiwadai together."
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