After the hospital terrorist attack incident, Yomikawa Aiho only found out after questioning that four Level 5s were having a picnic here. Thinking about it carefully, she understood why the Board of Directors let the thugs escape; those three thugs really didn't check the calendar before heading out, choosing this exact day to strike.
Tama Central Park was temporarily placed under control, so the group had no choice but to head back to their respective homes.
However, as far as the process went, several of them felt it was quite fun, while Accelerator abstained from expressing his feelings.
Generally speaking, Academy City was quite stable. Minor matters were handled by Judgment Members, major incidents by the Security Forces, and extraordinary events by Level 5s, so one didn't need to worry about personal safety all day long.
In the nearly two weeks following the picnic, everyone returned to their normal lives. Luke and Krul lived in their own world as a couple, only visiting Accelerator once every few days.
On the day of July 16th.
"Mou ii ze mou ii ze gyaku ni koufun shite kita naa
It's enough, it's enough, I'm actually getting excited instead..." (Song title: "God-ish")
The phone ringtone rang out. Luke poked his head out from under the covers, picked up his phone in a daze, and seeing an unknown number, immediately hung up to go back to sleep.
But a moment later, the ringtone rang again. Luke, who had a case of morning grumpiness, threw it straight onto the floor. Krul, who was already awake and watching anime in the living room, heard Luke's phone ringing incessantly. Frowning slightly, she walked over, picked up the phone, thought for a moment, and answered it.
"Hello? Mr. Shangguan, today is the day for Academy City's periodic testing. You mentioned before that you would participate. We can provide specialized testing. I wonder what you and Miss Krul's thoughts are..."
Hearing this, Krul hung up the phone, tapped the screen a few times casually, and threw it back to Luke.
Luke was hit by the phone and asked casually, "Who was it?"
"A scammer."
"Oh."
Half an hour later.
Wearing his pajamas, Luke looked at the Man in a Suit before him with sleepy eyes.
The Man in a Suit introduced his purpose for coming.
"I called you just now, but you blacklisted me, so I had to come all the way here."
Luke was confused. Who blacklisted you? He looked at Krul, who had an expression of total indifference.
The Man in a Suit was clearly a bit ill at ease.
Luke checked the time; it was eleven in the morning.
"Isn't there still half a day left?"
The Man in a Suit hurried to explain.
"You and Miss Krul are Level 5 espers; there are quite a lot of things to test."
Luke asked offhandedly, "Which of the other Level 5s have already been tested?"
The Man in a Suit thought for a moment and replied, "Currently, none of the top seven have been tested yet."
Luke frowned.
"If they aren't in a hurry, why the hell should I be? Are you looking down on me, Pang Hu... bah, the Number Two!"
The Man in a Suit was now sweating profusely, too scared to move, and could only shake his head repeatedly.
"No, it's because your abilities haven't been recorded yet. Their tests are conducted with their abilities already known; they are all specialized tests."
Luke smacked his lips, knowing that if he kept making excuses, Aleister might invite him for tea, and he didn't want to see that guy yet.
"Got it. Just tell me the address and we'll head over ourselves. Have the testing equipment for Accelerator ready as well."
Hearing this, the Man in a Suit felt as if he had been granted a grand amnesty. He quickly stood up and bowed.
"The location is the Silver Gray Research Institute in Academy City District 7. Other Level 5s will also come here for more comprehensive testing after their general school check-ups."
"Silver Gray?!"
"What is it? Has Mr. Shangguan heard of this place?"
"It's nothing. I have an old friend by that name; it's probably just a coincidence."
The Man in a Suit didn't ask further and left quickly.
Luke patted Krul's shoulder.
"Time to change, Heroine."
Krul stretched and went back to her room to change.
The first thing the two did was go harass Accelerator.
"This great me isn't going. Those guys aren't lacking my ability data."
Accelerator refused without hesitation; he couldn't be bothered to make the trip.
Luke bluffed, "If you test today, won't there be fewer tests later?"
Krul watched as Luke spent ages wheedling and pestering Accelerator just to bring him along, unable to understand for a moment why he insisted on dragging this guy with them.
After the three hit the streets, Luke opened the navigation to head to the research institute.
"Hmm? It's actually quite close to Tokiwadai."
The three walked toward their destination according to the navigation. Along the way, they could occasionally hear students discussing the ability tests.
"I actually became a Level 2! Maybe I can even get stronger in the future!"
"Stop dreaming. Normally our abilities are fixed. You should be satisfied with the dumb luck that got you to Level 2!"
"Hmph! You're just jealous!"
"Sigh, as expected, am I still a Level 0? Such misfortune!"
Suddenly hearing this declaration of misfortune, Luke snapped his gaze toward the source of the sound. He saw a sea-urchin-haired boy and two others with yellow and blue hair disappearing around a corner, unable to see the sea-urchin-head's face.
That's definitely the Cult Leader!
According to the current timeline, the current Cult Leader—Kamijou Touma—was still just an unfortunate boy who hadn't met the "Index Librorum Prohibitorum," Index. But it wouldn't be many more days; once summer vacation started in a few days, they would meet.
Therefore, Luke didn't go to familiarize himself with Kamijou Touma right now.
Before long, the three arrived at their destination. It was a research institute that looked very much like a research institute.
"No creativity."
Bzzzt-bzzzt!
Just as they walked inside, Luke and Krul heard the sound of electrical discharge. It seemed Misaka Mikoto had already arrived.
"You three, you will be tested separately. Please follow us."
Accelerator grumbled about how troublesome it was and followed a researcher away. The researcher looked somewhat familiar, but he didn't think much of it.
Krul then spoke up.
"The two of us can just be tested together, no need to separate."
"This... alright, I'll go arrange it."
Luke leaned in close to Krul and asked with a smile, "What's this? Can't bear to be away from me for even a moment?"
Krul gave a cold laugh.
"I just don't know how strong your ability is. After all, I haven't seen that anime yet."
Luke shrugged.
A moment later, the researcher had the venue arranged.
Just as they entered the specialized testing room, a girl with long golden hair and starry eyes happened to walk in and saw their backs.
"Unfamiliar faces. Luke and Krul Tepes? But why did they go into the same room?"
"Miss Shokuhou, this way please."
This person was precisely the "Queen of Tokiwadai" from Tokiwadai Middle School—Shokuhou Misaki.
Seeing the researcher approach, Shokuhou Misaki curled her lips. She pulled out a very ordinary-looking remote control from her designer handbag and pointed it at the researcher.
Seeing this stance, the researcher panicked slightly.
"Miss Shokuhou... Queen."
As Shokuhou Misaki pressed a button on the remote, the researcher's eyes became vacant.
"Who were those two just now?"
"They are Luke and Krul Tepes. They came today for ability testing and brought Accelerator with them."
Shokuhou Misaki had only asked the simplest question, yet the researcher blurted out other information along with it.
A look of surprise appeared on Shokuhou Misaki's beautiful face.
Even Accelerator came? He usually never shows up. These two newcomers who pushed her down to seventh place have quite a lot of influence!
Shokuhou Misaki pressed the remote again, and the researcher's eyes regained their clarity.
"Miss Shokuhou, this way please."
All the researchers present just now forgot about the hypnosis, as if Shokuhou Misaki had only just entered.
This was Shokuhou Misaki's ability, Mental Out!
...Luke and Krul walked into the room and saw two machines that looked like hibernation pods.
At this moment, many researchers were busy in the room. Seeing the two enter, someone immediately shouted.
"We can begin!"
"Please lie inside, you two."
Luke and Krul lay inside with curious thoughts. When Luke saw Krul's machine, which was clearly a size smaller than his, his lips couldn't help but curl upward.
Once they both lay down, the pod doors closed.
"Begin detection of the aim diffusion field!"
At this moment, inside the Windowless Building, the screen in the Board of Directors' meeting room showed the testing site of Luke and Krul. They were directly connected to the on-site researchers' headsets to issue commands.
As the minutes ticked by, both people inside the pods began to feel a bit sleepy. How much longer would this take?
After another ten minutes or so, the pod doors opened.
A researcher approached with a tablet computer.
"Please describe your specific abilities, the more detailed the better. We will ask some questions, so please answer seriously."
Krul went first.
"Mine is very simple: blood manipulation."
The researcher frowned; that was too vague. Subsequently, the researcher asked several questions, all of which Krul answered one by one.
"A control distance of roughly a hundred meters, the effect doesn't weaken with distance. I haven't tried the maximum amount I can control. Other liquids don't work..."
The researcher recorded everything and circled some data that would need specific calculation later. Then it was Luke's turn.
"Mine is being able to devour energy I come into contact with, and my body gains enhancement."
Similarly, the researcher began to ask questions.
"Yes, only what I touch. The eye mutation is because the activation uses the eyes as the devouring port. The physical enhancement is temporary, but there's a small permanent enhancement after it ends—all-around enhancement. Electrical signals can be devoured..."
The researcher looked amazed, feeling that these two's abilities didn't seem like products of the Science Side, but more like things from the Magic Side.
Next came the specific tests, with the researcher recording item by item.
"Limit control radius 12.7 meters, mass 290 kilograms, limit controlled force equivalent to 2.7 tons..."
The researcher couldn't help but be shocked by this data. It meant that for people within a 12.7-meter radius of Krul, if each person had a hundred grams of blood controlled by Krul to pierce their heart, she could kill nearly three thousand people at once. Even having a mechanical heart would be useless; metal is helpless against a spike carrying 2.7 tons of force.
Luke also tested his physical strength. When the researcher got the results, he even suspected Luke was an alien. His physical strength even when his ability wasn't activated could deform alloys, and his speed was hard for the naked eye to catch.
These were two monsters!
"We're leaving now that the test is over."
Luke said with a smile.
The researcher nodded woodenly, not knowing what to say.
The Board of Directors was equally silent at this time.
"One is a natural-born killer, and the other is equally non-human!"
Two such terrorists had to be treated with the same level of caution as Accelerator!
At this point, a member of the Board of Directors suddenly thought of something and asked the researcher.
"Are the analysis results for their aim diffusion field out yet?"
Hearing the question from his headset, the researcher looked at his colleague, who nodded.
"They're out. I'll send them to everyone."
Soon, the Board of Directors received the report and also gave a copy to the Tree Diagram Designer. At a glance, the field strengths were indeed what Level 5s should have, but both significantly exceeded the Level 5 baseline.
"This Luke's field strength is even slightly higher than the first-ranked's, closer to Level 6..."
The meeting room fell into silence. It was quite a while before someone broke it.
"How about switching that plan to him?"
Someone immediately countered.
"No, that plan was tailor-made by the Tree Diagram Designer for the first-ranked. Customizing it again for the second-ranked would waste our previous investment!"
"Didn't the first-ranked also come today? Has there been no news from the person sent to contact him?"
What they were discussing now was precisely the "Level 6 Shift Project." According to the Tree Diagram Designer's calculations, Accelerator needed to defeat 128 Misaka Mikotos to ascend to Level 6 and become an Level 6.
However, there weren't that many Misaka Mikotos, so they cloned her. According to calculations, defeating twenty thousand clones of Misaka Mikoto could serve as a substitute.
But according to the original timeline, during the 1,032nd experiment, Misaka Mikoto would bring in the cheat-code Kamijou Touma, whose Imagine Breaker would directly teach Accelerator a lesson, and the experiment would be promptly halted.
Originally, the Board of Directors was prepared to send someone to contact Accelerator in another week, but they didn't expect such a perfect contact opportunity and setting today.
After waiting for a while, a call came through to the Board of Directors.
"The first-ranked said he can hear more about it, but whether he participates depends on his mood at the time."
The Board members frowned; they didn't like imprecise answers, but they were powerless.
"Tell him we will find a time to contact him."
"Understood!"
The call ended, and the Tree Diagram Designer's deduction results also came out.
Omni Vision Evaluation: Strong growth potential, but long growth period. With enough energy, can reach Level 6 in a short time, but the required energy is massive... Principles unknown.
Blood Weaving Evaluation: High floor, extremely high danger level to society, difficult to counter... Principles unknown.
The middle section contained the ability directions deduced from the aim diffusion field, which were no different from what Luke and Krul had said. It neither detected Luke's other abilities nor that Krul was a Vampire.
The Board of Directors couldn't help but look grim. The strongest computer couldn't deduce the principles? This situation had previously only occurred with a single Level 0.
You will get 30 chapter ahead for this fanfiction.
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