“This is the Second Step — the byproduct of ESP.”
Adam grabbed the stick of ice from midair in front of Saki, Takumi, and Jun. Then, like Takumi and his teddy bear hologram, Adam started to shape the ice into various forms, squatting down to let the three students see his hands closer.
In his hand, the ice perpetually melted and froze whenever he wanted to shape it, making it look odd as if the block of ice had plastic properties, while in truth Adam manipulated heat to such a masterful degree that it appeared that he had some kind of cryokinesis.
One he finished, the stick of ice from before had transformed into an ice sculpture in the shape of jaguar.
“Whoa!” Saki exclaimed.
“The term byproduct suggests an unintentional result though, which isn’t true since we consciously wish for the result to take place. Calling it a byproduct is a contradiction to the Pragmatic Truth. The better term is concomitant.”
That was when Amrita chided in from the side, her eyes still glued to her tablet. Saki and Jun looked even more confused hearing her remark, Takumi could swear he saw three large question marks above their heads.
With a stiffened smile, Adam continued.
“You’re right. —The point is, the Second Step largely refers to the act of using your psychic power to achieve a feat originally impossible for your psychic power.”
“Okay…?”
Saki and Jun still looked not quite there. This time, Takumi opened his mouth.
“Imagine psychic power as a hammer. You can bash the skull of your enemy with your hammer, or you can forge a sword with that hammer and use the sword to stab your enemy. The hammer is the First Step, the sword is the Second Step.”
“Aah, I see.”
“So it’s like leveling up to unlock new equipment, is it?”
They seemed to understand Takumi’s explanation easily. But why is the example so graphic? Adam wondered as he smiled bitterly, feeling the generational gap.
With Saki and Jun having rudimentary understanding of the Second Step, Adam continued.
“As you can see, with Second Step, a pyrokinesis user like myself can look like I have a cryokinesis, similarly, someone with light-based power can make darkness by reducing the light. So when Kurogane-kun showed both his light and darkness power, we thought he was a prodigy who had reached the Second Step on his first time using psychic powers.”
Saki and Jun turned to Takumi. Takumi shook his head sideways.
“I can’t. The Second Step is tricky. It’s like trying to ride a bike backwards, it’s a whole different set of skills altogether.”
“Good analogy. He’s right, not everyone can ride a bike on their first try, much less if they have to ride it backwards. However, since it’s impossible to have two different powers at the same time, we concluded that Kurogane-kun’s power is not manipulating light or conversely manipulating darkness, but rather manipulating the concept of lighting itself, which categorizes him as a much rarer kind of ESP user.”
Feeling that this might go longer than expected, Adam decided to sit on the floor as well. He fished out a small notebook from his back pocket, wrote the number 1 on it, tore the page and slid it on the floor for Saki and the other two to see.
“Bear in mind that this is just rudimentary categorization to classify psychic powers easier.”
At that, the three nodded.
“The most common kind of psychic power is the fundamental powers. They are simple and easy to train, easy to grow. For example, telekinesis, pyrokinesis, clairvoyance, teleportation, shapeshifting, etc. Basically, they are what you think a psychic power is.”
Adam then wrote the number 2 on the next page, tore it, and slid it on the floor next to the first page.
“The next is conceptual powers, with only 10% of all espers having it. As the name suggests, conceptual powers manipulate things on a conceptual level. Temperature, lighting, life, time, space, gravity, etc. They don’t exactly fit into the first category, and the breadth of their capabilities are much wider and flexible in comparison. Which is why Kurogane-kun, who falls into this category, has a lot of potential to grow.”
Saki and Jun turned to Takumi, and Takumi could only scratch the back of his head in embarrassment. Adam then showed a paper with number 3 on it.
“And lastly, the transcendental powers, it is the rarest of the rare psychic power. Their powers are so strong and absurd, we still don’t know how they even work. So far, out of five hundred thousand espers that Omega knows, we’ve only found 3 people that fall within this category, and one of them is a Japanese high school student, much like you are.”
“Wow…” Saki exclaimed. “So there are actually a lot of types of powers out there. I didn’t know that.”
Saki thought she had known everything to know about Omega. After all, she had been watching Omega closely ever since its inception.
“This is information from the insider side of things after all. Omega is an entertainment business, what isn’t relevant doesn’t show up on the screen. —Any question so far?”
At that, Jun raised his hand. Adam gestured to him, urging him to speak up.
“Hajime-sensei…right? Before you said that Takumi is an emitter. What is it?”
“Good question. Emitters are people whose power works outside the body like your telekinesis and my pyrokinesis. Its counterpart is enhancers, people whose power works inside the body like Kobayashi-kun’s eidetic and Chaudhary-san’s psychometry.”
“Heeh.”
“Any more questions?”
Jun raised his hand again.
“I’m not really sure I understand the First Step and Second Step thing, but if it is like leveling up your character in a game, then is there a Third Step?”
“Well—”
“Theoretically, there are at least 13 Steps in total for EXP zones to work the way they do, each Step 10 times more complex than the last.”
Adam looked troubled as to how to answer Jun’s second question, when Amrita, who had been silent this whole time, chided in from the side.
“While it is considered pseudoscience by us real physicists, we are borrowing String Theory’s method to try to solve the mystery of EXP zones. After all, don’t you think it’s weird that there are zones where you can just use magic while you’re inside? Everything about EXP zones is illogical, unreasonable, and unscientific. We don’t even know where to start to investigate this weird phenomenon. It goes against everything that we’ve known. That’s why we tried to prove the unscientific phenomenon with the unscientific theories, and the String Theory just happens to give us the most consistent result.”
Amrita started her rambling again, seemingly wanting to vent her frustration.
“There is one, absolute rule to make things simple though. The rule of Subjective Truth — believe your senses, ESP is short for extrasensory perception after all. Everything that you see is real, at least within the EXP zone where anything can happen.”
“—and there you have it. I hope that answers your question.”
Adam closed Amrita’s explanation with a smile he directed towards Jun. Jun seemed like he still hadn’t quite understood, but he decided that he had asked enough, so he nodded.
“Okay then, that concludes the crash course of psychic powers. It’s about time we start the training.”
If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
Adam clapped his hand and got on his feet, followed by Takumi who stood up as well. Saki and Jun who looked at them finally remembered that they came to see Takumi’s training.
♤♠♤♠♤
The training went for 3 hours with some breaks in between. First on the training menu was for Takumi to create as many different hologram objects as possible as fast as possible. Adam banned the use of hands to form the object like what Takumi did with the teddy bear, as he said it would make a weird habit.
The objects Takumi created started with stationeries such as pencils, pens, erasers, and he continued with various textbooks from schools, and then kitchen utensils, and finally things from his own home such as a clock and a bookshelf. The more things he created, the less detailed the hologram object became, and Takumi looked genuinely strained at the end of it.
After a break, the next on the menu was basic CQC training. Seeing Takumi being taught about how to throw a punch like a boxer and such, Saki and Jun were reminded that Takumi was a normal high school student trying to fight against seasoned fighters.
At the end of the session, Adam gave Takumi and the other two the list of things Takumi should do in his private time. Most of it was about building stamina. Saki and Jun were entrusted to watch over his training, so that Takumi didn’t cut some slack or, conversely, overdo with his training and hurt himself.
After another break, the last was, oddly enough, dancing. Takumi was tasked to follow a certain, specific set of movements whilst using his power simultaneously. Takumi didn’t show any difficulties in this one. He followed the instructions without fail while the lifesize mannequin that he created was in constant motion, doing random stuff such as push-ups and squats.
According to Adam, Takumi had a knack for multitasking, which was vital for an Omega Fighter who had to move their body around while using their power at the same time.
And thus, the training session for the day ended.
“Good work, Takumi-kun,” Saki handed Takumi a hand towel. After saying his thanks, Takumi used the towel to wipe the sweat on his face, his eyes were visible for a moment. “You were great back then.”
“Yeah. You move around so much, it’s hard to think that it’s the same Takumi who’s always so silent and sleepy in class.”
“Yup. It’s like seeing a new side of you.”
Saki agreed with Jun’s words. Indeed, if the Saki from last week was told that Takumi was such a hard worker, she wouldn’t have believed it due to how inert Takumi was in the classroom.
“Ah, no…this is nowhere near enough.”
Takumi, however, denied it with a bitter look. In Saki’s eyes, Takumi seemed to have a clear objective in mind, and was frustrated that he hadn’t reached that bar.
Just when Saki was about to ask him what was in his mind, Adam the coach chimed in.
“Speaking of which, Kurogane-kun, your manager is your mother, right? Has she found you a good slot?”
“A slot? What is that?”
Jun repeated Adam’s word, not understanding the lingo. It was Saki who answered him.
“Omega Battles can only take place in EXP zones after all, you need to reserve the place ahead of time. Other than that, you need to have an opponent too. However, a lot of content creators want to reserve EXP zones outside of doing Omega Battles, for example doing a game show with psychic power, so actually reserving EXP zones is pretty hard, from what I heard.”
“Heeh.”
Jun nodded in understanding when he heard Saki’s explanation. Takumi also seemed like this was the first time he heard it. Saki continued.
“Besides that, the most popular form of Omega Battle content is livestream battle, but it’s not like you can do it anytime you want. For example, no one is going to watch your stream if it’s live on a weekday morning or noon, since everyone is working or in the school. A good time slot would be at night, even better if it's the weekend.”
“Ah, I see.”
“So that’s why it’s called a slot,” Jun sounded convinced. Adam asked Takumi once again.
“So? Do you have a fight scheduled for you, Kurogane-kun?”
Adam was probably concerned because he was Takumi’s coach. Perhaps he wanted to make sure that his disciple was ready before he fought in an actual battle.
“Uhh…yes, I do. I think it’s Sunday night next week.”
Takumi seemed to rack his brain for a moment before he opened his mouth. When she heard Takumi’s answer, Saki let out an exclamation
“Sunday night?! That’s a premium slot! Battle streams on Sunday nights are covered by Bobu-chan, a popular VTuber, you see! And because of the time zone difference, people from outside of Japan also watch it, so the viewer count is always above a thousand!”
“That’s awesome.”
“It is! I can’t believe you get such a good slot!”
“If I recall correctly, someone backed down from a battle, and my mom called right when they needed an opponent. It was just luck.”
“Even so, it’s awesome that you get a premium slot! Your career as an Omega Fighter is guaranteed!”
“I’m not sure about that,” Adam chided when Saki and the others were chatting. In contrast to their high tension, Adam had a grim look on his face. “I heard a bad rumor going around, and I hope it’s false, but… Kurogane-kun, do you know who you will be facing?”
Adam’s question was like pouring cold water on the three’s excitement. Takumi tilted his head, trying to rack his brain again, before he answered.
“I think he’s a streamer from America who’s on a trip visiting Japan, his name is…Daniel Mitchell.”
“So it’s true,” Adam let out a heavy sigh. Saki, who’s standing next to Takumi, opened her eyes wide in shock. “Do you think you can back down too? I’m saying this for your own good.”
Even Saki went silent the moment Daniel’s name was mentioned. It was as if the cheerful atmosphere from before had completely turned on its head.
Jun spoke up, trying to lighten the atmosphere.
“Is-is he that strong, this Daniel guy? I mean, it’s entertainment right? Winning and losing doesn’t matter.”
“He’s the worst.”
Saki spat out those words bitterly, her face looked as if she was seeing the most repulsive of trash. This was a face that the usually cheerful Saki had never made before, surprising both Takumi and Jun.
“Daniel Mitchell, he calls himself Kurosaki Zero the Grim Reaper. He was banned from Twitch for violating the policy on cruelty, and ever since then he moved platform to Kick.”
“…cruelty?”
Saki nodded heavily at Jun’s question.
“Daniel only agrees to fight new Fighters who are weaker than him and have nobody to support them. Under the pretext of Omega Battle, he tortures them on stream, not letting them say give up. A lot of new Omega Fighters retired early because of him.”
Silence fell when Saki finished speaking. From her face and tone, it was obvious that she was furious.
“B-but, that means you just need to win, right? Hajime-sensei said that Takumi is promising, I’m sure he can defeat a guy like that!”
“Winning against him actually makes it worse.”
Being mentioned by Jun, Adam opened his mouth, earning a confused “eh?” from Jun. Hearing that, Saki nodded.
“Yeah. Him and his viewers think they’re on a Holy Crusade to keep Omega Battle pure. They see him as their Holy Knight or something. So when someone defeats him, in return…his viewers will doxx his opponent.”
“Doxx? What is that?”
“Doxxing is the act of uncovering someone’s private information, like your real name or home address, on the internet without consent. With that information, they can send death threats to you and your family, or even directly cause you harm.”
“WHAT THE HELL?!”
Jun practically screamed when he heard Saki’s explanation.
“How is that even allowed?! Why didn’t Omega kick someone as scummy as that?!”
“If you think Omega corporation is your friend, then you thought wrong. Omega only provides EXP zones, after all. All they care about is content. They don’t concern themselves with petty drama.”
Jun protested, and the one who answered his question was Amrita, the most unconcerned person in the room.
“So you’re saying that if Takumi loses he’ll be tortured live in front of thousands of people, and if Takumi wins then Daniel’s maniac fans will come to his house to harass him?! What is this, pick your poison?! This is the worst opponent for Takumi’s first battle!”
Jun’s anger was justified. However, knowing that he was angry for his sake, there was a hint of happiness in Takumi’s messy mind, reflected with a small smile on his lips.
That was when Saki spoke up to him.
“Takumi-kun, do you think you can back out? I like Omega Battles and I want you to feel the same, but I don’t want you to taste a painful experience because of it.”
“…got it. I’ll tell my mom about it.”
Takumi, who had been silent this whole time, answered. For now, the matter was put to rest until there was further news, but something in the back of Saki’s mind told her that it wouldn’t be that simple.
And true to what she feared, later that night Takumi sent a message in the group chat, saying that he would receive a penalty and have to pay a hefty sum if he wanted to back out from the battle, money that his family couldn’t pay.
In the end, Takumi’s battle with Daniel Mitchell aka Kurosaki Zero was decided. It would take place on May 31st, 19:30 JST.
♤♠♤♠♤
On a certain private Discord server—
Aizen86 — Today at 9:39 PM
Nope, I can’t find anything else on Akagami Isshin
The idiot told us his real name, so it’s easy to look him up
but there’s a three-years blank on his record and I can’t find where he lives at all
LoveGrimmjow #Hallow — Today at 9:41 PM
Maybe he’s been living in the mountains since he’s a monkey lmao
Aizen86 — Today at 9:41 PM
Not unless you want me to access the cameras and follow him manually
replying to LoveGrimmjow #Hallow
Aizen86 — Today at 9:42 PM
This actually sounds more likely than you think
LoveGrimmjow #Hallow — Today at 9:43 PM
So he is actually a monkey lolololol
Otaku King — Today at 10:11 PM
@Zero We’re losing members fast because you lose to some stupid monkey
At this rate we won’t have enough income from Patreon to keep up with your stupid shit
Do something
@Zero
@Zero
@Zero
Zero — Today at 10:30 PM
I DIDN’T LOSE TO HIM
IT WAS A FLUKE
HE WAS LUCKY I HAVEN’T UNLEASHED MY TRUE POWER YET
@Aizen86 DO YOUR JOB AND GET US HIS ADDRESS ALREADY
@Aizen86 I PAID YOU MONEY
STUPID REDHAIRED MONKEY FUCK YOU’LL REGRET IT ONCE I UNLOCKED MY TRUE POWER
Otaku King — Today at 11:07 PM
Just do your part
You were lucky that it ended with a draw
Don’t show us another miserable sight, or else we’ll actually be in trouble
Otaku King — Today 11:15
Crush him thoroughly.