Sorcerer. Saten Ruiko

All she saw was darkness, and her groggy mind had yet to recover.

"Where am I?"

Saten Ruiko muttered to herself.

"Are powerless people defective products?!"

"Why hasn't my ability improved in the slightest, no matter how hard I try?!"

"I can't accept this?!"

"So many people had expectations for me."

"Did I lose?"

Countless voices rang continuously by her ears, one after another, both male and female.

They carried all manner of emotions—resentment, disappointment, anger, and more.

"No matter what, I can't suppress this longing?!"

"Is that... my voice?" A familiar voice echoed through the space as Saten Ruiko asked in confusion.

She did not understand what was happening, nor why she was here.

After a long while, her vacant eyes gradually regained focus.

"I see. So this is what they call reaping what you sow." Saten Ruiko recalled everything. This was the side effect of using Level Upper.

When she thought about how she might never wake up again, never see her friends and family again—how her parents and little brother would cry because of her—

The deep guilt stabbed at Saten Ruiko's heart, and terror and unease filled her mind.

Without her noticing, faint pale-blue energy began to seep from Saten Ruiko's body. The negative emotions within the Level Upper network gradually gathered around her, then, after Rod's modification, were converted into cursed energy.

Outside, Rod had successfully used the technique, Idle Transfiguration, to alter Saten Ruiko's brain into the structure of a sorcerer's brain. As for her innate technique, Saten Ruiko would need to guide its emergence herself.

With her previous experience of awakening an ability, she should be able to successfully create an innate technique of her own. Rod intended to use her esper ability to imprint an innate technique, turning Saten Ruiko into a jujutsu sorcerer. (Fanon setting)

"All right, let me see your resolve, Ruiko." Rod removed his hand from her forehead, allowing Saten Ruiko to lie fully back on the sofa.

"What resolve?" Shirai Kuroko narrowed her eyes and asked in confusion.

"Just wait and see." Rod did not answer. Instead, he flashed a toothy grin, leaving everyone with question marks over their heads.

Within her mental space, as Saten Ruiko immersed herself alone in sorrow, a warm light suddenly appeared in her palm. Like the brilliant sun at dawn, it illuminated the dark space.

Tears fell onto the amulet in her palm.

"Th-this is... the amulet Mom gave me."

The scene changed. Saten Ruiko stood to one side, watching a scene from the past.

Under the setting sun, her mother crouched down to meet her eyes, took out an amulet, and held it out to her.

"Here, this is an amulet," her mother said gently.

"Eh... that's so superstitious." Her childhood self responded with a hint of disdain.

"If anything happens, come home right away, okay? Your life is more important than anything." Her mother did not blame her at all, merely smiling at her.

She knew it. Compared to esper powers or anything else, her mother cared more about her.

"Is Big Sis going to become an esper? That's so cool," her little brother said admiringly.

"It's okay. If it's Ruiko, she'll definitely be fine," her father reassured her.

"Saten-san, I believe you'll definitely awaken an esper ability," Uiharu Kazari said with trust.

"Count me in. Don't get the wrong idea..." Frenda declared tsunderely.

And finally—

"Prepare yourself!" Rod had instructed her.

Every single one of those memories warmed her heart. The emptiness within her was gradually filled. Even as a powerless person, she was not without anything. Therefore, she absolutely was not some defective product?!

"I've been prepared for a long time already?!"

Casting aside her confusion and abandoning her fear, Saten Ruiko tightly gripped the amulet in her hand and strode forward. The dark space was gradually torn apart by tiny bursts of wind pressure, and breezes continuously gathered through the cracks.

They gradually grew stronger. Gale-force winds howled as they swirled around Saten Ruiko.

That familiar feeling had returned, but this power was even stronger than before.

Just as Saten Ruiko shattered the dark space, the windows in the real world were abruptly blown open. Wind from every direction converged within the room, scattering the documents everywhere.

More importantly, though Rod had not wanted to, he still caught a glimpse beneath the three girls' skirts.

Misaka Mikoto's safety shorts—good grief, seriously, one of the greatest failed inventions in human history?!

Uiharu Kazari's strawberry polka-dot panties suited her childlike innocence.

Shirai Kuroko's black translucent lace was faintly visible—smooth, gleaming, and exceptionally daring.

"Ah!" They all reacted at once, reaching down to cover their skirts.

Uiharu Kazari's face turned so red it seemed about to drip blood. Though she had somewhat grown used to Saten Ruiko's attacks, being seen by Rod, a man, was more than she could handle.

"You saw it?" Misaka Mikoto asked Rod, her face flushed red.

Rod, however, wore a look of disdain as he snarked, "That outfit of yours... did I see it, or did I not?"

"Old man!? You idiot!?" Misaka Mikoto flew into a rage. Wasn't that basically admitting he had seen exactly what she was wearing?

"That pervy wind... don't tell me you did that!" Shirai Kuroko's pretty face reddened slightly as well. What she was wearing wasn't something she could casually let others see.

"Yours is an 85," Rod said, scoring her on his own.

"You're actually giving scores!?" Shirai Kuroko teleported behind Rod and wrapped an arm around his neck, furious.

Rod did not feel it in the slightest. Ignoring Shirai Kuroko's antics behind him, he continued, "A-cups? Pass."

"I'll f**king XXXXXXXX you!" Shirai Kuroko exploded, an exceptionally elegant string of words bursting from her mouth.

Just as Shirai Kuroko was losing her temper, Rod's phone rang. He answered, and an anxious girl's voice came through.

"This is super bad, old man! Frenda passed out, and she told me to call you over to help!"

"Got it. I'll head over in a bit. Get her settled first."

Having expected this already, Rod calmly gave his instructions.

He hung up.

"Don't worry. Ruiko has successfully awakened her ability. That wind just now was a sign of her ability awakening. She'll wake up naturally after a while," Rod explained.

"Really!? That's great, then." Uiharu Kazari, who had still been embarrassed moments ago, let out a huge sigh of relief and went limp.