"Ugh... what a headache." Luo Yifang sat on the sofa at home, listlessly drinking cola.
"Who told you to step in? You could have just left," Paqi said, utterly speechless at Luo Yifang. "And with your current strength, you could have crushed that car into a ball of scrap metal somewhere they couldn't see."
"Well, I was in a bad mood. Besides, I still can't control that ability very well. If I slipped up, I might destroy the whole street." Luo Yifang tossed the empty can into the air. Under the pressure of some inexplicable force, it instantly compressed into a tiny ball.
"That ability of yours really is absurdly useful." Paqi had to admit it. By now, Luo Yifang's development of it had far surpassed Accelerator's level. After all, the original Accelerator had found it difficult to control his ability with such precision. For that NO.1, destruction was far simpler and more direct than control and manipulation. But Luo Yifang had taken the word "manipulation" a step further. The ability itself was already incredibly powerful, and now Luo Yifang had set his sights on the microscopic world. It could be said that anywhere was his home ground.
"It was expensive, after all. You get what you pay for." Luo Yifang had checked [Myriad Worlds Mall] before. The price of "Vector Manipulation" was exorbitant—of course, that referred to LV.5 and above. Still, the truly absurdly powerful one was Luo Yifang himself, because under normal circumstances, even LV.5 Vector Manipulation should not have been this outrageously strong.
"Fine, but what good does that do... Aren't you still living like a salted fish these past few days?" Paqi sighed. "You really ought to apologize to all those system-protagonists and infinite-flow protagonists. Everyone else starts out so weak they're scared of getting stepped on, while you were born with a max-level cheat and somehow have it worse than they do."
"Huh? Why would I imitate them? Can't I just do what I want?" Luo Yifang shrugged indifferently. He was no hero, much less some great man willing to sacrifice everything for others. He had lived so miserably in his previous life; was he not allowed to enjoy himself now? Struggling on the edge of death every day felt absolutely awful. He had no desire to go back to living with a blade at his throat. His only principle in life was doing whatever he wanted.
As for building a harem, Luo Yifang had never even considered it. With how he looked, would any girl actually like him? He would gladly be a shut-in, though becoming a fat shut-in was impossible. His other ability allowed him to convert energy perfectly for his own use, so getting fat was something he never had to worry about. Luo Yifang no longer considered that ability mere physical enhancement. Perhaps "Energy Absorption" would be a better name for it?
During his last experiment, Luo Yifang had discovered that no matter what touched his body, its kinetic energy, thermal energy, and various other forms of energy would be absorbed. The type of energy absorbed was determined by Luo Yifang himself. If he wished, he could even deprive an electron of the energy maintaining its orbit around a particle, causing it to collapse inward. It had to be said that this ability was utterly broken. As for the absorbed energy, besides strengthening Luo Yifang's body, it could also sustain his vital functions. In other words, Luo Yifang could now survive indefinitely in the vacuum of space without relying on anything external. Furthermore, as his body continued to strengthen, once it reached its limit, the energy would continuously renew his body directly. Lifespan seemed to have become meaningless to Luo Yifang. As long as he had enough energy, even injuries could not affect him.
And Vector Manipulation could provide Luo Yifang with energy without any regard for common sense. Luo Yifang was now a true perpetual-motion machine, the kind with infinite mana and infinite health. In this world, probably no one aside from Magic Gods could do anything to him. As for possibly entering New Testament in a few months or whatever, Luo Yifang was not worried in the slightest. At the rate his abilities were progressing, he would probably have reached LV.6 by then. So you're a Magic God and want to fight me head-on? Come on, let's see what you've got. It was not impossible for such a situation to happen.
"But how are you going to deal with Misaka Mikoto now?" Paqi immediately shattered Luo Yifang's beautiful dream. That was right, yesterday's intervention had brought him enormous trouble—Misaka Mikoto had set her sights on him.
"Oh, whatever. Let her do as she pleases. It's not like I can think of any good solution..." Luo Yifang had a headache. As long as he stayed out of her sight, she would not necessarily come looking for him. But Misaka Mikoto's stubborn personality was not so easily discouraged. For the current Misaka Mikoto, Kamijou Touma's strange ability that [could make all abilities vanish] was actually less appealing than Luo Yifang's genuine LV.5 esper level.
Tokiwadai did have another LV.5—Mental Out, Shokuhou Misaki. Unfortunately, because her ability was countered by Misaka Mikoto, Misaka Mikoto had no desire to challenge her at all. Aside from their figures and personalities making them natural enemies, there was nothing about her that stirred Misaka Mikoto's fighting spirit. But Luo Yifang was different. He had blocked Misaka Mikoto's Railgun head-on, making her feel the thrill of battle. Of course, it could not really be called a battle at all. It was simply her competitive nature acting up.
But where would Luo Yifang find the time for that now? There were still an unknown number of Misaka Sisters waiting for him to save. And there was also a necromancer secretly watching from within Academy City. He had a feeling that if he did not find that guy and stop him from wandering around with his disgusting baby, it would seriously ruin his appetite.
"Fortunately, very little information about LV.5 espers has been revealed. Even the first two only have their ability names, without even photos. Otherwise, if Misaka Mikoto found out I was NO.1, she would definitely come after me!" Luo Yifang flopped back onto the sofa and said helplessly, "Though it actually wouldn't be too bad if Railgun came after me."
"You're the textbook definition of getting an advantage and still complaining," Paqi spat at Luo Yifang. She had truly never seen anyone so shameless. "Do you know that if word got out that you were looking down on Railgun, a whole bunch of shut-ins would come chop you up in minutes?"
"Hehe, I have Vector Manipulation, so I'm not scared!" Luo Yifang started acting up again. For some reason, if he did not fool around a little every day now, he would feel unhappy. Maybe it was a side effect of not getting to do much of it in his previous life?
"Heh." Those two words conveyed all the countless thoughts in Paqi's heart.
"Alright." Luo Yifang suddenly sat up from the sofa, a hint of excitement appearing between his brows. "Good thing I absorbed a little energy when that magic circle erupted. I've finally finished analyzing it. It's time to settle the score with that guy!"
Before you continue