"----"
A sense of distance began to form between Fang Li and Misaka Mikoto.
As though nothing had happened, Misaka Mikoto continued eating her hamburger and drinking her cola with an unconcerned expression, but she no longer looked at Fang Li.
Fang Li did not speak again either. He merely watched Misaka Mikoto.
Knowing the full story, Fang Li understood.
The reason Misaka Mikoto was distancing herself from him was not for anyone else's sake, but Fang Li's.
She did not want Fang Li to be placed in danger.
In Academy City, the highest-ranked Espers were undoubtedly the Lv.5 Espers.
There were only seven such Espers in all of Academy City.
Yet in theory, there was actually another rank above Lv.5.
That was Lv.6.
Espers of that rank were known as Absolute Ability Users.
If Lv.5 Espers were defined as beings capable of matching an army, then Lv.6 Absolute Ability Users were invincible.
Their description was summed up in a single sentence.
----"Those who, with mortal bodies, reach the realm of God"----
In other words, they became Gods.
At present, no Esper had ever reached that realm.
And precisely because no one had reached it, Espers pursuing that rank had become the desire of nearly every research expert in Academy City.
Unfortunately, calculations showed that among the mere seven Espers, only the Number One, ranked two places above Misaka Mikoto and indisputably the strongest in Academy City, possessed the potential to reach Lv.6.
However, if the Number One wished to evolve into an Absolute Ability User, more than two hundred and fifty years of development would be required.
Of course, that was not the only method.
According to calculations, the Number One could use actual combat to accelerate the growth of his ability.
As long as specific battlefields were prepared