A Special 'Gift'

"Your luck is absolutely abysmal!" Jiu Ming said as he fished Kamijo Touma's savings card out of a sewer drain and tossed it to him. Was this good luck or bad luck?

The card hadn't been washed away after falling in...

"How did you find it in there..." Kamijo Touma stared blankly at the savings card, finding it hard to believe. He'd found it so easily? (It had taken him hours and he'd run through over a dozen streets.)

Happiness came too quickly. Bad luck, pinch yourself. It hurt, so he wasn't dreaming because it was too late.

"Just a hunch. I took another look and spotted something."

A hunch? Are you kidding me? And what kind of hunch would compel you to look into a sewer drain? No, how did you even retrieve the card from the crack leading to the sewer... Regardless, Kamijo-sama figured this was the only time in his life he'd ever get a lost item back.

He'd have to find a diary to record this immediately!

"Thank you so much!! My name is Kamijo Touma, I'll treat you to a meal!!"

"What does your name have to do with me treating you to a meal?" Jiu Ming shook his head, watching the excited, stammering boy. "There's no need to get this worked up, even with your anxious state. I'm Jiu Ming. I don't need a meal. Goodbye." He waved and turned to leave, wondering if Misaka 1 had gone to sleep yet.

Under the streetlight, Kamijo Touma clearly confirmed one thing: the kind stranger who helped him find his savings card truly had no shadow!

He stared as Jiu Ming slowly walked past the streetlight, his gaze constantly shifting between Jiu Ming and the ground. Only when Jiu Ming had slowly walked away did he force a rather strained, strange smile at the empty air beside him. "Hmm, it seems Mr. Kamijo has unluckily encountered a ghost?"

He felt the savings card in his hand. "Perhaps it's the greatest fortune amidst misfortune?"

Huh!?

Kamijo Touma, who had been planning to head back, suddenly looked at his right hand with unease. Had he just touched something intangible? It had caused the 'special' ability of his hand to activate for a moment.

It must have been an illusion.

"What is this?" Feeling a disturbance within his 'Card Collection Book', Jiu Ming snapped his fingers and summoned the hidden book. He flipped open a page to find a sealed card that had appeared out of nowhere. It was a skill card...

Name: Imagine Breaker Type: Skill Attribute: Nullification Uses: 1 Notes: Be careful! Don't use it on yourself! Description: A peculiar ability that makes all supernatural powers disappear... Convertible Origin Power: 300

Huh? Jiu Ming looked back. Although he could no longer see the unlucky figure, this sudden appearance was definitely related to him. Was this karma for being a good person?

Imagine Breaker, was this the power contained within his right hand?

If it were true, then his caution back then was indeed correct. If such an overbearing statement was written on the description, and he was caught red-handed, would he be annihilated or simply lose his powers and become an ordinary soul body?

Neither outcome was good for him.

The precautions were variable, changing based on each person's conditions. In Jiu Ming's hands, it was a hint; in others' hands, it might simply be a "none" or, more commonly, a warning that your abilities were insufficient, and unauthorized use would surely lead to the crematorium!

This was a sealed card, not some legendary magic scroll. Using it required consuming one's own power. If you didn't have special energy, it was fine; just use your stamina. If your stamina was insufficient, that wasn't a problem!

According to the Mysterious Shop's formula, burning the soul could release immense energy. Using one's life to power it was definitely possible...

"Panel-kun, it's time for you to show some presence."

When the person involved feels sincere gratitude towards you, there's a chance to trigger the current situation. You can consider it a unique form of gift.

Sincere gratitude, huh? Come on, it was just losing a savings card. At worst, he could just get a replacement. Why go through all this?

Jiu Ming, of course, didn't know that in Kamijo Touma's life, losing and then finding an item again was probably a once-in-a-lifetime event... nor did he know about his tumultuous life experiences.

Alright! He had one more item in his inventory. He put back the Imagine Breaker card, which had a single use. Jiu Ming nodded. If this one chance was used against Accelerator, his turtle shell would probably become ineffective.

As long as it became ineffective, not much else was needed. Jiu Ming could make him hospitalized for over a month with just one punch...

"Welcome back," Misaka greeted with a displeased tone.

"...Uh, it's almost midnight. Go to bed quickly. Tomorrow... if nothing unexpected happens, you'll be able to meet the person you want to see." Jiu Ming patted Misaka 1's head, shaking his head as he spoke.

"Will you be leaving then?" Misaka asked further.

"Ah, I'll be leaving once the commission is complete. Regardless, as my first guest in the truest sense, I'll remember you." He'd have new diary entries to write when he got home. "Go to sleep quickly."

The next day.

"Doctor, I'll be leaving her in your care from now on."

"Oh? Oh! You're leaving?" Netherworld Soul Chaser didn't immediately grasp Jiu Ming's meaning but then understood.

"Of course, I can't stay here for long!" Jiu Ming smiled and replied, the accumulated consumption increasing by a tiny bit.

"Given your identity here, it's better for you to leave soon. Don't worry, I'll take good care of that child. I also have a way to get the equipment to adjust her body and overcome the side effects of drug-induced growth."

"Thank you." Jiu Ming glanced at the evening sky and waved to Netherworld Soul Chaser. "Goodbye, Doctor."

"Wait, aren't you going to say goodbye to the child?"

"I'm just a passerby. There's no need." He smiled freely and left without looking back.

"Go here." As Jiu Ming was walking, someone passed by him and whispered, "Go here." He tilted his head slightly. Jiu Ming took the note that had appeared in his hand. He had been teased by that Star-eyed Girl again. Whether he accepted the address she gave him last night or not was his choice...

In one day, Shokuhou Misaki had already investigated quite a bit. Using her abilities, doing such things was incredibly simple. Jiu Ming didn't need to search Accelerator's home.

"How will you thank me?"

Jiu Ming, who was walking towards the location on the note while looking at a map, was suddenly covered from behind.

"Do we need to go this far between us?" He twitched his nose slightly. Without looking, the familiar scent told him who it was. "A ghost you've known for less than two days, and you're this close?"

"Tch, if you find someone pleasing to the eye, isn't it normal to go to a hotel after knowing them for an hour?"

"...Girls shouldn't talk about such things. Are you sure that's not called 'prostitution'?"

"How can you be so realistic? You sound like an old man." Shokuhou Misaki stood in front of Jiu Ming, sarcastically mocking him with ill will.

"Human nature, I'm still young. It's normal to be a bit silly and sentimental sometimes, isn't it? You seem bolder today?" Jiu Ming tilted his head. If they were alone yesterday, Shokuhou Misaki's words were still sharp, but those were soft thorns. Now... she had more confidence, she was tougher!

"Of course, this is my turf now."

As she spoke, the passersby around them suddenly froze as if time had stopped in a movie scene.

Even more bizarrely, the pedestrians turned their bodies and formed a circle around them, all their gazes fixed on Jiu Ming. It was as if they were starving zombies about to swarm him for a group beating...

Slap!

"Ouch, that hurt!"

"Stop messing around. A mage getting close is just asking for death." Jiu Ming described it as a mental explosion, like a critical hit in a game. Multiple critical hits, crushing any defense.

After Shokuhou Misaki cried out in pain from her forehead being flicked, the pedestrians acted as if nothing had happened, going their separate ways, completely unaware that they had almost participated in a brutal group beating... or rather, that the target of the group beating had just annihilated them.

"Anyway, thanks... Why are you following me?"

After walking a few steps, Jiu Ming turned around and looked helplessly at Shokuhou Misaki, who was following him. "Don't you know curiosity killed the cat?"

"I've done so much for you, you can't even protect me?" Shokuhou Misaki retorted without fear, acting as if she had a point!

"I don't have the energy, and I'm leaving."

Shokuhou Misaki's expression faltered slightly. "So soon?"

She had investigated thoroughly. There was no record of anyone like Jiu Ming in Academy City. This meant he wasn't from Academy City at all, and was more likely an Outsider from outside. The commissions he accepted... Hmm? A mercenary who was young and not yet a person?

"Yes, the commission is almost complete, so I naturally have to leave here... Hmm, is something wrong?"

Noticing Shokuhou Misaki's slightly odd expression, Jiu Ming asked in confusion.

"Uh, well... If it's just a commission, there's no need to rush, is there?"

"I'm an exception. What are you hiding?"

"The moment you left the Hospital, Misaka Mikoto departed from Tokiwadai..."

"...Holy crap! I've got you marked!"

After a moment of stunned silence, Jiu Ming's eyes widened. He seemed to have underestimated the psychology of girls, thinking she was just teasing him.

The commission was over, and he would definitely be ejected from this world.

While Shokuhou Misaki was taken aback, Jiu Ming sped away at an extreme pace. After a while, a feeling of annoyance arose within him. What was all that about!

It was just a commission to find someone and meet them...

Whether it was an illusion or not, when Jiu Ming arrived at the location on the note, he already felt the dryness on his body intensifying due to the consumption from his actions.

The location on the note was a high platform. This time, she hadn't tricked him. Standing on this high platform, Jiu Ming quickly spotted the target he was looking for... His original plan to take down Accelerator and dismantle the research institute had to be changed now.