Wanted Notice

[Temporary Setting: Ability Model: Vector Manipulation (Out of Control)]

[A vector is a physical quantity with direction.

At the physical level, "direction" was now decided by your word alone.

"I will twist vectors, alter reality... and steer the direction of the age back onto the right track!"

—Reality Hacker, the "Omnipotent" Atina.]

[After loading this setting, you will gain the Ability Model: Vector Manipulation, allowing you to control the direction of all vectors you touch, including momentum, light, electromagnetic fields, and more. Its effects are limited to the range of your Personal Reality.]

Vector... Manipulation?

An ability that let me control every change in direction at the physical level?

No wonder everything started floating the instant it activated...

Had I directly reversed the direction of gravity the moment I activated the ability?

—I couldn't keep this up. I couldn't let these things stay suspended any longer.

Otherwise, once the ability stalled, they would definitely smash to pieces.

These test tubes and beakers were brand-new! I'd only used them once, and I could still return them tomorrow without a reason. I couldn't let them break...

With that thought in mind, Ron rubbed his temples, suppressing the wave-like dizziness flooding his brain. He tried to use the ability that had already spread throughout the room to gently lower everything that was floating—

But nothing went as smoothly as he had imagined.

He tried to reverse gravity again, but using the ability felt like pushing through the deep sea, full of resistance. It lacked even a fraction of the smoothness of using Telekinesis.

It wasn't just the sluggishness and resistance in activating the ability... Ron even found it difficult to control the effects it produced!

He poured every ounce of strength into reversing gravity according to his will, but he failed to catch anything...

"Crash!"

In an instant, the gravity that had been erased returned—and it was noticeably stronger—

The newly bought test tubes and beakers slammed into the floor as if they had been hurled down with force. The sharp sounds of shattering rang out without end.

At that moment, the dizziness surged even more violently, and Ron felt a distinct stabbing pain inside his head.

He touched his forehead and found that it was already getting hot...

He knew exactly why.

His processing power had overloaded.

In Ideal City, there were always people whose processing power could not support the Ability Models they had developed. When they used their abilities, their processing power overloaded and damaged their brains.

Because of that, they lost all possibility of developing their Personal Reality and forgot their Ability Models—

Some even had their brains burned out directly, leaving them paralyzed or dead!

He had never expected that even Lv.2 processing power would be unable to support this Ability Model. He simply couldn't control it...

Ron leaned back against the sofa and shut his eyes tightly, trying to calm himself and stop processing this Ability Model.

After calming down for a long while, the sharp pain in Ron's head gradually faded, leaving only a faint lingering ache.

When he touched his forehead again, his temperature had returned to normal.

Only then did Ron open his eyes and look at the Dimensional Update Manual—

A scarlet notification had long since appeared behind the setting [Vector Manipulation (Out of Control)]:

[Warning! Your Personal Reality is unable to bear this setting. Therefore, this setting will collapse after a certain period of time. The collapse time depends on the strength of your Personal Reality.]

[Warning! Because your processing power is unable to support the operation of this Ability Model, "Ability Model: Vector Manipulation" is currently out of control.

You can only barely control this ability to a certain extent and cannot use the full capabilities of this model.]

The setting would collapse?

Only then did Ron notice that while he had been calming down, the complex Ability Model in his mind had gradually blurred until he could no longer remember it.

The ability I just awakened was already gone?

His heart tightened, but he quickly found an explanation in the manual.

Behind [Temporary Setting: Vector Manipulation (Out of Control)], there was now a label reading "Collapsed"—

[This temporary setting has collapsed. When you lose control of your Ability Model, you will activate this setting once again.]

As expected, there was no way an ability like this could come so easily...

Ron was a little disappointed, but as he looked at the notifications in the manual, he realized something was off.

It was true that [Vector Manipulation], as a temporary setting, would collapse, but according to the manual, this was actually closely related to the strength of his Personal Reality...

In other words, if Ron's Personal Reality became strong enough to bear [Vector Manipulation],

Then would the collapse time of Vector Manipulation extend indefinitely, effectively allowing Ron to fully master it?

At that point, could his worthless [Telekinesis] truly transform into [Vector Manipulation]?

At that thought, Ron's gaze immediately grew fervent.

He let out a breath, and his delight overwhelmed the faint stabbing pain in his head. He could not stop the corners of his mouth from rising.

This really was... an unexpected gain.

Ron found it hard to imagine that simply smacking his forehead and trying out a combination of settings could give him an ability like this—

The Ability Model [Vector Manipulation] had already displayed power beyond imagination!

Lv.2 processing power could not support it. Ron even suspected that Lv.3 processing power would only barely reach the threshold needed to make the Ability Model function...

After all, he had just been unable to control even the tiniest fraction of this ability's output.

He had merely tried to affect the floating objects in the room and change the direction of the gravity acting on them, yet his processing power had overloaded and nearly fried his brain.

Clearly, his processing power model was already comparable to those so-called "Raw Stones" who were born knowing... perhaps even stronger!

But that was not the most important part.

The most important thing was that [Vector Manipulation] was rare enough!

In Ideal City, superpowers had existed for who knew how long. Society had long since entered an era where everyone could transcend the ordinary.

Things like Ability Models had also been roughly categorized long ago. Many abilities, like [Telekinesis], had no research value, no room for growth, and were everywhere.

But there were always geniuses who stood out among Superpowered with weed-like abilities such as [Telekinesis].

They were exceptionally gifted, unconsciously constructing complex Ability Models from birth. They were called "Raw Stones."

From the moment they first began to understand the world, they possessed Ability Models comparable to those only Lv.3 or Lv.4 ability users could control.

Their abilities were incredibly rare, and their research value and potential for growth were beyond imagination. They could practically affect all of Ideal City.

...Even among those "Raw Stones," Ron's [Vector Manipulation] was one of the rarest kinds!

Unfortunately, he could only control this ability temporarily right now, and there was even a high chance that it would overload his processing power.

He could not be considered a true [Vector Manipulation] ability user at all.

As he thought, Ron suddenly realized that the faint stabbing pain in his head had disappeared.

Had he fully recovered after resting for only ten-odd minutes?

"Could it be..."

Ron pondered for a moment, then a smile appeared on his lips.

Clearly, while the price of this ability was not small, it was still bearable.

So why shouldn't he consider using this power again at the right moment?

—For example, during the College Entrance Exam.

The ability-rating issue Ron had worried about before was no longer a problem in the face of [Vector Manipulation].

After all, [Vector Manipulation] and [Telekinesis] were not even remotely the same thing.

A [Vector Manipulation] ability user... his value was almost impossible to imagine!

Because among the eleven Lv.5s standing at the peak of Ideal City, there was one with an ability similar to [Vector Manipulation]—

[Gravity Control].

No one knew his real name. Only the name of his ability had been passed down since the founding of Ideal City.

As a uniquely gifted Raw Stone, he developed his own ability and, through his research into it, developed the technology known as "Anti-Gravity Engineering"...

And "Anti-Gravity Engineering" was the most important foundation that allowed Ideal City to conquer nature, cover half the planet, and become Cosmic City!

That Lv.5 Superpowered had gone into seclusion afterward, remaining unknown for over a century.

It was said that he possessed inexhaustible wealth through the patent fees from "Anti-Gravity Engineering."

Perhaps the unremarkable old landlord in District A's commercial street, wearing shorts and slippers, carrying a huge ring of keys, and brushing past you, was that very man.

Others said that he was actually the CEO of Sumeru Real Estate, and that with his ability and technology, he had allowed the company to seize half of Ideal City's real estate industry...

All kinds of legends surrounded him. No one knew what he looked like in reality, but everyone shared one understanding—

He possessed an extraordinarily powerful and rare superpower.

Through that ability, he had influenced the creation of all Ideal City. He could be called the "Father of Ideal City."

And Ron's [Vector Manipulation]...

Clearly, it was an ability of the same type as his!

Even if Ron could not reach such heights, even if he spent his entire life unable to touch the threshold of Lv.5...

Ron could still activate this setting during the College Entrance Exam and disguise himself as a genuine [Vector Manipulation] ability user.

As a Superpowered with an ability similar to an Lv.5's, as long as he could keep the ability running through the College Entrance Exam, he would definitely earn a high score in the ability assessment!

Even at minimum, he could get an A rating... and an S rating was not impossible.

When that time came, the Three Great Academies, which Ron had previously been unable to reach no matter what he did, would truly open their doors to him...

He could use that opportunity to defer his student loan repayments, temporarily escape the grasp of the megacorporations, and use the resources of the Three Great Academies to improve his abilities scientifically,

And ultimately change his life through that!

But while all of this sounded simple,

There was one rather serious difficulty.

That was... how exactly was he supposed to sustain this ability through the ability assessment during the College Entrance Exam?

As things stood, Ron's processing power and Personal Reality strength were nowhere near enough to support [Vector Manipulation].

He had only tried it briefly, yet he had not even lasted half a minute before his processing power overloaded...

When the time came, he would have to undergo at least ten minutes of output testing during the ability assessment. There was no way Ron could pass.

...So there was only one option left.

Ron hesitated for a moment, then opened his personal brain-computer interface.

[10,000 Credit Points have been deposited into your Moen Bank account. Purpose of funds: student loan.]

The last ten thousand...

If I fail to get into one of the Three Great Academies, and keep taking out student loans until I hit the limit, what exactly will the megacorporations do with me?

Slice me up for research, use me for human experiments... or ship me off to a branch office in the Arctic Outer City to dig potatoes?

It didn't seem much different from getting caught by the Patrol Bureau...

"Take it, cram school. This is my last loan limit!"

Muttering under his breath, Ron opened a tutoring website with a pained expression and dumped in every last Credit Point of the student loan he had just received and had not even had time to warm in his hands.

Putting money into cram schools was the most classic investment for Ideal City residents accustomed to brutal competition.

Rich people could throw money at megacorporation laboratories and use the power of cash to raise their ability levels with ease.

Poor bastards could only go to Virtual Reality ability training centers and ask the coaches there how to train their superpowers.

Even if they trained until their heads came to a point, they could only barely raise their ability level by one rank...

The rich relied on technology; the poor relied on risking their lives.

It had always been that way.

Ron did a quick calculation. Ten thousand Credit Points would be enough for him to train bitterly at the training center for half a month.

Another half month would pass, and it would be time for the College Entrance Exam...

Half a month was enough!

Suffer now, fight for the future!

As a poor student, Ron's specialty was enduring hardship.

Especially when he could see clear returns ahead.

After all, [Vector Manipulation] had already made up for his weakness.

What he lacked had never been processing power. As a lopsided genius with Lv.2 processing power, once his weakness in ability was filled in, he would have the qualifications to soar into the sky.

Even a crippled, battle-damaged version of [Vector Manipulation] was a hundred times stronger than [Telekinesis].

And if, through bitter training at the training center, he could use his Lv.2 processing power to successfully expand his Personal Reality to Lv.2 as well...

Then it would no longer be a question of whether he wanted to attend one of the Three Great Academies.

—The admissions offices of the Three Great Academies would trample the threshold of his tiny apartment!

Not even An Hui received treatment like that.

This really was... something to look forward to.

A smile lingered on Ron's lips when a ringing sound suddenly came from beside his ear.

He picked up his phone, and the caller ID read...

"Huihui."

Ron could not help but pause slightly.

Speak of the devil.

Why was An Hui calling him at this time?

Ron answered the call. "What's up?"

"Did the old man sign the guaranteed-admission agreement they gave you?"

"How could I sign that... Do I have a death wish?"

Ron joked, "If I graduate from some vocational college and become a screw in a megacorporation machine, in a few years you'll have to look for me at the crematorium.

I still want to live a couple more years..."

"Why do you always say such unlucky things?"

An Hui sounded a little speechless before finally getting to the point:

"I knew you definitely wouldn't want to go to vocational college, but if you can't get into one of the Three Great Academies, they'll start collecting on your student loans... Have you figured out what you're going to do?"

Would you believe me if I said I was already preparing for guaranteed admission into one of the Three Great Academies?

Ron muttered to himself, but he still didn't say it aloud. Instead, he honestly replied:

"Not really."

"Knew you wouldn't have a solution." An Hui sounded as if she had expected it. "Come out for dinner tomorrow night, and I'll help you figure something out... Maybe you can study while paying back the megacorp loan at the same time."

Listening to An Hui seriously plan things out for him, Ron couldn't help feeling a warmth rise in his heart.

In this new world where he had no family or friends, An Hui was the only one who cared about his future.

He smiled in relief. "Sure... but I don't have any money, so you're treating."

"Did you think a poor bastard like you would be paying?" Even through the phone, Ron could hear the helplessness in An Hui's voice. "Eight tomorrow night. I'll send you the address... If you don't come, you're a puppy!"

As she spoke, she suddenly changed the subject, her tone turning serious.

"Oh, right. There's something you need to watch out for."

Her voice was extremely grave, and Ron immediately wiped the smile off his face.

"What is it?"

"I only noticed when I watched the news today. It seems a murderer showed up in your neighborhood... The wanted posters have even been put up at our school entrance.

They said the murderer was exceptionally vicious. He used superpowers to kill an old scavenger who happened to pass by, then ground his bones to dust... It was outrageously brutal!"

As she spoke, her tone became timid.

"Be careful when you go out tomorrow. Stay away from those little alleys and stick to the main roads..."

"A wanted..." Ron froze. "A wanted criminal?"

An old scavenger? Ground his bones to dust? Outrageously brutal?

Who was she talking about?!