“Ding, the group owner has uploaded a memory copy.”
“Ding, the group owner has uploaded a memory copy.”
Just an Ordinary Group Owner: “I’ve uploaded the memory copies from the zombie world and the Campione! world. Feel free to check them out if you’re interested.”
Just an Ordinary Group Owner: “I didn’t get to see everything from Uncle Nine’s world, so there might be some gaps here and there. As for Campione!, I only watched the anime, so I don’t know what happens after that either.”
What could she do? There was just too much content out there to consume. The Campione! anime simply hadn’t captured her interest enough to make her want to dig into the light novels after finishing it.
Just an Ordinary Group Owner: “@Railgun, hey, have you made any progress on that plan of yours?”
Railgun: “Don’t call me Railgun!”
Railgun: “As for the plan… come on, how fast do you think this can go?”
Railgun: “Frustrated.jpg”
She honestly couldn’t think of any way to beat Accelerator.
Sure, unfamiliar phenomena could throw off his calculations, or even make them completely impossible—but that didn’t mean he’d just stand there and let her hit him. And unlike Kamijou Touma, she didn’t have any way to directly counter his abilities.
There was also another thing—the most important thing, really. She just didn’t have enough points.
At best, she could afford a single Chakra Seed.
Lately, she’d been racking her brain trying to earn more points.
But the technology she could access in Academy City wasn’t worth much at all.
Child of Nature: “If you’re dealing with Accelerator, the talismans from Uncle Nine’s world might actually be useful.”
Child of Nature: “Attacks based on elements—no matter what energy system they’re built on—still follow a certain formula, kind of like magic. That would only throw off Accelerator’s calculations, but it wouldn’t make them completely ineffective.”
Child of Nature: “If I were you, I’d recommend buying things like sleep talismans, curse talismans, or control talismans.”
Child of Nature: “The talisman system from another world is mostly about supportive spells. I doubt he’d have any way to calculate or counteract those.”
Just an Ordinary Group Owner: “But wait—even after he falls asleep, wouldn’t Accelerator’s abilities still react passively?”
Child of Nature: “Then just don’t let him wake up.”
Child of Nature: “Keep him asleep forever. Until he starves to death.”
Child of Nature: “Shrug.jpg”
Just an Ordinary Group Owner: “Yikes.”
Lighthouse’s Richest Man: “Dude, that’s cold!”
Lighthouse’s Richest Man: “If Academy City’s strongest esper starved to death, that’d be huge news.”
Railgun: “Hold on, let me check how many points these talismans cost.”
Railgun: “A sleep talisman is a hundred points each?”
Railgun: “Gekota eyes sparkling.jpg”
Railgun: “Hehehehe…”
Railgun: “I think I can have a nice little chat with him now.”
Railgun: “Hey, Accelerator—you don’t want to starve to death, do you?”
Just an Ordinary Group Owner: “Why does that last line make me think of some… uh, not-so-innocent plot?”
Railgun: “Gekota tilts head.jpg”
Railgun: “@Child of Nature, is there anything in Academy City I could trade for points?”
Railgun: “Like, besides other people’s superpowers and the stuff in research institutes?”
Child of Nature: “…”
Child of Nature: “That’s… kind of a lot to exclude.”
Child of Nature: “Index is off the table for now too, especially since she’s still in Academy City…”
I feel like you’re making this really hard for me.
Railgun: “Gekota looks hopeful.jpg”
Child of Nature: “Well, if you don’t mind, you could try checking out some churches. Use the recycling feature on everything one by one. If you’re lucky, the church might have been set up by someone from the magic side—or maybe there just happens to be some magical knowledge inside.”
Child of Nature: “But honestly, the chances are pretty slim.”
For now, he couldn’t think of any other options.
The magical knowledge stored in Index’s head was incredibly valuable. If a human could learn and fully understand all of it, they’d be only one step away from becoming a Magic God.
Converted into points, that would be an absolutely terrifying number.
But the main storyline hadn’t even started yet—and even if they did run into her, getting access to that knowledge wouldn’t be easy.
Accelerator’s problem was relatively simple. A hundred points per sleep talisman wasn’t a lot.
Even if she had to borrow points from someone else, it wouldn’t be a big deal.
But Misaka Mikoto wasn’t just thinking about the Level 6 Shift Project anymore—she was also worried about the future crises to come.
Points were something she needed urgently.
Railgun: “Gekota claps.jpg”
Railgun: “Wait—you can actually do that?!”
Railgun: “I’m heading out right now!”
Railgun: “Hold on… wouldn’t that be stealing, though?”
Misaka Mikoto suddenly realized—this didn’t seem right, did it?
Child of Nature: “…”
Child of Nature: “The group’s recycling feature can copy the contents first before recycling them.”
Child of Nature: “It won’t damage the original in any way.”
Lighthouse’s Richest Man: “Don’t be so rigid, Railgun.”
Lighthouse’s Richest Man: “Besides, most churches let people browse their materials freely, right? It’s part of spreading the faith.”
Boil Daigo into Soup: “Yeah, you should learn from me on this one, Railgun.”
Railgun: “So… I’ll go now?”
Misaka Mikoto felt herself wavering. Church books were generally available for anyone to read. Even if she stumbled onto something genuinely from the magic side, it probably wasn’t a big deal—they were the ones who put it there, after all.
Plus, the group’s feature wouldn’t damage the originals.
—
Toaru Majutsu no Index World.
Misaka Mikoto had no idea that her hesitation and growing excitement were being clearly observed by someone else.
Inside a windowless building, a large glass cylinder sat at the center, surrounded by countless cables of all kinds.
Inside that container, an inverted figure gazed calmly at the screen showing Misaka Mikoto.
The monitors beside it displayed footage of her recent behavior—every time she had inexplicably shown different expressions: smiling, surprised, happy, or stunned. There were also clips of her occasionally muttering to herself.
Not only that, but the data included her fluctuating heart rates and even her conversations with Shirai Kuroko—conversations that mentioned the Level 6 Shift Project.
“Based on current data, there’s over a 90% chance that the third-ranked esper has obtained some kind of gift from an existence beyond our understanding.”
“What do you think?”
Though phrased as a question, Aleister’s voice remained perfectly calm.
“I have never witnessed a being greater than a Magic God.”
From the empty space around him, a voice slowly echoed—but Aleister didn’t pay it any mind.
He simply stared at the screen, watching Misaka Mikoto with a faint trace of anticipation in his eyes.
“An existence that even you and I cannot detect… Bai Xuan, Angel Yan, Whitebeard—unknown entities. It’s difficult to comprehend the methods by which they bestow their gifts.”
“And where exactly do these beings come from?”
