The Power of Knowledge

Unlike what Kanzaki, who had become wary, thought, his probing of Ichinose went completely unnoticed.

However, due to the failure of the previous two probes, Kanzaki didn't dare to rashly test any other classmates until the students of Class B had gradually arrived.

As Class B's homeroom teacher, Hoshinomiya Chie, entered the classroom, the previously noisy class immediately fell silent.

Teacher Hoshinomiya, with a gentle smile, began to introduce the school to the students.

"Welcome, everyone, to the Advanced Education Academy," Teacher Hoshinomiya's voice was gentle, and she spoke words that shattered Itozawa's worldview, "The fact that you were chosen to come here means you are all potential espers. However, the more advanced the esper ability, the harder it is to detect, so the school needs to guide and nurture you."

She continued to explain, "The division of classes is also based on a comprehensive consideration of the degree of uncontrollability and the strength of the esper abilities. From A to D, it's actually arranged from strongest to weakest." She paused, allowing this information to slowly sink in among the students.

"The school will issue ten thousand energy stones to each student every month. These energy stones will be used to pay for your daily expenses such as food and accommodation," Teacher Hoshinomiya continued, her gaze sweeping over every student, ensuring everyone was listening, "Next, I have a special rule to tell you."

Her tone shifted, with a hint of ease, "If you really miss worldly things, don't worry." She smiled and said, "You can exchange one energy stone for ten thousand cash, but the school strongly discourages this, as energy stones are mostly valuable in name but not in market. Unless you particularly like it, it's not recommended to waste them."

A low murmur of discussion arose in the classroom, the students finding it difficult to accept what the school had just announced.

Itozawa sat in his seat, listening to Teacher Hoshinomiya's introduction, in a state of bewilderment.

Although he often joked that this was a classroom where might made right, you couldn't actually make might make right!

What parallel universe had he stumbled into?

A good intellectual battle had turned into a physical one, so was his training still useful?

Moreover, what was the use of his esper ability, which seemed to only defend against mental attacks?

He had just gotten ready to fight someone, only for the opponent to spew fire from their mouth?

The scene was too beautiful for him to imagine.

Meanwhile, the other students also showed varying degrees of confusion.

Their situation was different from Itozawa's, not only because of the shock to their worldview but also because the knowledge of esper abilities itself carried a heavy weight.

For those with insufficient mental strength, accepting too much information at once was almost unbearable mentally. This was also why they chose to recruit in such a peculiar way instead of publicizing it widely.

Some people began to feel a bit dazed.

Teacher Hoshinomiya noticed this and released her mental energy to awaken them.

Her mental energy was unique and powerful, possessing both Ichinose's affinity and Kanzaki's aggressiveness.

She could easily guide others' emotions, bringing them back from confusion.

Teacher Hoshinomiya's gaze swept across the classroom, her mental energy like a warm spring breeze, gently caressing the hearts of every student.

Under the influence of this power, most students gradually regained their clarity.

Some of them began to understand their own esper abilities, some of which had awakened long ago but were dormant, while others awakened on the spot under the power of knowledge.

After their initial excitement, their eyes refocused, and they began to pay attention to Teacher Hoshinomiya's words again.

However, when this mental energy touched Itozawa, an unexpected event occurred that even Itozawa himself had not anticipated.

His brain, just as it had done when dealing with Kanzaki's mental attack, automatically began to analyze this external force.

Under his analysis, the mental energy was quickly understood, and then, like Kanzaki's mental energy, it transformed into a dazzlingly bright pink chess piece on the board.

Then, he discovered, without any instruction, that he had absolute power over this mental energy.

Whether it was to sever, assimilate, or even counter-invade, it was all effortless.

Therefore, when Teacher Hoshinomiya was about to influence him with her mental energy, she felt her mental energy become like a kite with a broken string, naturally losing contact with her consciousness.

This was, of course, because Itozawa chose to sever it.

The risk of assimilation was too high, and he had no idea about the level of his own abilities. If his current ability couldn't assimilate it, he estimated he would be assimilated by Teacher Hoshinomiya's mental energy.

The same applied to counter-invasion. He didn't dare to deal with stray mental energy, so how could he risk provoking Teacher Hoshinomiya?

After severing the mental energy, the color of the chess piece gradually dimmed. However, correspondingly, Itozawa felt a sense of clarity, his mental energy even growing slightly stronger, and his thoughts quickly recovered from the chaos, becoming clear and organized again.

He looked around and noticed that, except for Kanzaki, all the other students were gradually recovering under the influence of Teacher Hoshinomiya's mental energy, while he was the only one who had woken up almost immediately.

It was then that Itozawa realized that his ability might be even more potent than he had imagined.

And, Kanzaki was even stronger than he had imagined, ultimately becoming a clown because he habitually played the pig to eat the tiger, turning himself into a pig.

But now the world had changed, and it seemed he had become more assertive.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have made the move to directly probe others at the very beginning.

What Itozawa didn't know was that Kanzaki, whom he was so wary of, was already somewhat depressed by the performances of Itozawa and Ichinose.

The reason he was unaffected was not because his abilities were strong, but because he had already encountered this knowledge long ago.

Although he had performed well at the time, he had at least been stunned for five minutes.

This guy Itozawa, from the moment he heard this knowledge, was stunned for less than half a minute. Doesn't that mean his mental energy is much stronger than mine?

As for Ichinose, although her resistance to esper knowledge was even weaker than his.

But...

She assimilated Teacher Hoshinomiya's mental energy along with it?!

Teacher Hoshinomiya's mental energy seemed to be of the charm type, the most infectious type of mental energy. She was assimilated in reverse?!

What kind of monster skill is Ichinose's? Did she really not notice my probing? Hasn't she already counter-attacked me?

Unlike the panicked Kanzaki, Teacher Hoshimiya was currently feeling surprised, even delighted.

Her mental power could elicit different degrees of reaction from other students, but with Itozawa, it was like a stone sinking into the ocean, without a ripple.

And with Ichinose, it was visibly assimilated. After assimilating her mental power, Ichinose's aura was even strengthened quite a bit.

"It seems Ichinose's ability should be mind-type, but mind-type abilities are usually purely supportive, requiring someone with a mind-wall type to protect them. This direct assimilation of mental power for self-protection like Ichinose's is the first time I've seen it."

"Itozawa's ability should be mind-wall type. He can even sever mental power of the charm type. It seems his ability is quite strong."

"What a shame. Originally, he and Ichinose would have been a perfect match, but now Ichinose doesn't need his cooperation at all. His role becomes awkward."

Then she glanced at the withdrawn Kanzaki. "Young Master Kanzaki should be spirit-type, with strong offensive capabilities, but his defense and perception are too weak. Itozawa would actually be a good match for him."

Just now, when Kanzaki was withdrawn, she was worried he might have an accident and probed him slightly with her mental power. As a result, the withdrawn Kanzaki didn't notice it at all.