Chapter Summaries

Roland met Misaki Shokuhou, demonstrated that he could turn a twig into a diamond, and resisted her attempts to erase his memories. After teasing her into exchanging contact details, he realized she had given him a lead on surpassing the five-hundred-thousand-horsepower limit and began considering the role of AIM Diffusion Fields and Mercury.

• Roland turned a twig into a diamond and gave it to Misaki Shokuhou as repayment for their meal.
• Misaki Shokuhou tried repeatedly to erase Roland’s memories, but Mental Out had no effect on him.
• Misaki Shokuhou hurt herself kicking Roland, apologized, and asked for his contact details.
• Roland added Misaki Shokuhou’s contact information to his phone and considered how AIM Diffusion Fields could affect magnetic fields.
• Roland looked toward Mercury as he pondered how to break past the five-hundred-thousand-horsepower limit.

Roland figured out that a unified AIM diffusion field could let him use Magnetic Field Rotation to overcome its power limit, and he decided to build an organization through Academy City's science framework. Misaki Shokuhou checked Roland’s records at the Talent Workshop, then left carrying the diamond he had made for her, only for ominous engines to surround her.

• Roland concluded that he could disrupt and rebuild the phases by combining Magnetic Field Rotation with a sufficiently vast, unified AIM diffusion field, so he would need to build an organization.
• Roland recognized that Aleister’s invitations to research institutions offered a way to place Magnetic Field Rotation within the science side’s Archetype, and he decided to accept that framework.
• Misaki Shokuhou returned to the Talent Workshop and used its high-clearance records to confirm that Roland had only just arrived in Academy City.
• Misaki Shokuhou left the Talent Workshop with the diamond Roland had made, admitted she wanted to keep it, and heard ominous engines roaring around her.

Misaki Shokuhou was pursued through deserted alleys by attackers wearing powered suits designed to counter Mental Out. Surrounded and about to be struck down, she prayed for help, and Roland appeared to save her.

• Misaki Shokuhou fled through the alleys after realizing that a coordinated group had specifically targeted her.
• An attacker in a wheeled powered suit resisted her Mental Out, but Misaki threw her remote at him and caused him to crash and explode.
• More than thirty attackers surrounded Misaki, and their leader revealed they had brought equipment called Usurper's Spear to kill Number Five.
• As an attacker charged, Misaki thought of Roland and silently wished that someone would save her.
• Roland appeared, stopped the attack, and told Misaki that he had come to save her.

Roland arrived in time to rescue Misaki Shokuhou from Deadlock, whose members wanted to kill her over fears that her Mental Out ability had secretly caused their misfortunes. He rejected their accusations and defended Misaki, then effortlessly destroyed three attackers, leaving the rest of Deadlock facing him.

• Roland appeared in the alley and lifted Misaki Shokuhou out of danger as Deadlock regrouped to attack them.
• Deadlock's leader explained that the group sought revenge on Espers and suspected Misaki's Mental Out had unconsciously manipulated their guilt and misfortunes.
• Misaki doubted whether Roland could trust his reasons for saving her, but Roland affirmed that he could and said he wanted to protect her because she suited his tastes.
• Roland mocked Deadlock's beliefs and declared that even if its members were Level 4s, they were no threat to him.
• Three Deadlock attackers charged Roland, who made them swell and burst into tiny cubes without harming Misaki.

Roland defeated Deadlock while protecting Misaki Shokuhou, revealing abilities that terrified the attackers. After Misaki warned him to leave before Anti-Skill arrived, Roland instead called on Aleister to handle the aftermath.

• Roland mocked Deadlock after dismantling several members, and their leader drew a gun while Roland held Misaki Shokuhou.
• Misaki Shokuhou tried to shield Roland from the gunfire, but his protective field stopped the bullets in midair.
• Roland revealed that his protective field could withstand immense force and compelled Deadlock’s members to charge him despite their fear.
• Roland used Endless World-Destroying Blade to shatter the charging Deadlock members into fragments without visibly wounding them.
• Misaki Shokuhou urged Roland to leave before Anti-Skill arrived, but he looked up and called on Aleister to clean up the mess.

Misaki Shokuhou reflected on Roland’s rescue and decided never to use Mental Out on him before learning that his plans would put her in danger regardless of her wishes. Roland asked her to serve as the public representative of his faction, and she agreed to become his accomplice.

• Misaki Shokuhou realized Roland’s connection to Aleister had made the cleanup of the alley unusually swift, then resolved never to use Mental Out on Roland.
• Roland set Misaki Shokuhou down and explained that he had come to Academy City at Aleister’s invitation to change the world, making her a target because he had saved her.
• Roland asked Misaki Shokuhou to represent his planned faction, but she doubted she could attract supporters because her classmates feared her ability.
• Roland argued that Misaki Shokuhou could use Mental Out to show her reliability and inspire others, then praised her beauty until she blushed.
• Misaki Shokuhou accepted Roland’s offer and agreed to work with him as his accomplice.

Aleister and Aiwass assessed Roland’s new power and considered how he might become the source of a new Esper ability, while Roland and Misaki Shokuhou discussed forming a faction. The chapter ended with Misaki inviting Roland to the Talent Workshop as a possible next step.

• Aleister reviewed reports of Roland’s battle and decided to remove Mental Out from his plans while gathering more information about Roland’s power.
• Aleister and Aiwass reasoned that Roland could establish a faction and become the source of power for an Another World Esper Ability.
• Misaki Shokuhou struggled to keep walking after escaping her pursuers, so Roland restored her stamina and teased her about her exhaustion.
• Roland told Misaki that he had secured the essential qualification for building a faction: his power, which could let him take over an existing group.
• Misaki asked Roland whether he wanted to go to the Talent Workshop.

Misaki Shokuhou showed Roland the Talent Workshop and revealed how it had tried to exploit her Mental Out ability. They confronted the mastermind, Shundō Shunzō, who had seized control of the External Brain, but Roland’s immense mental power overwhelmed it instead.

• Misaki Shokuhou explained the Talent Workshop’s origins and offered it to Roland, who accepted.
• Roland tracked the signal from the helmet countering Misaki Shokuhou’s ability to the Talent Workshop and brought her inside to confront the intruder.
• Misaki Shokuhou found Shundō Shunzō in the central laboratory, where he claimed ownership of the Talent Workshop and revealed he controlled the External Brain.
• Shundō Shunzō explained that he had planted a backdoor in the External Brain and used data from the Usurper’s Spear to take control of Mental Out.
• Shundō Shunzō unleashed the External Brain’s mind-reading power against Roland, but the External Brain overheated as Roland revealed his mind exceeded its capacity.

Roland defeated Shundō Shunzō and helped Misaki Shokuhou obtain a rudimentary form of Magnetic Field Power. He then took her to a laboratory aquarium, where they found an unhappy-looking killer whale connected to Shundō’s unusual continued existence.

• Shundō Shunzō repeatedly used the External Brain against Roland, but Roland resisted its Mental Out and tore away half of Shundō’s body with a finger gesture.
• Roland offered to help Misaki Shokuhou gain Magnetic Field Power, explaining that he would use her Mental Out and the External Brain to work backward toward it.
• Roland connected Misaki Shokuhou to the External Brain and amplified her ability until she gained Electric Current Push, a basic level of Magnetic Field Power.
• Roland noticed that Shundō Shunzō remained alive in some sense despite being physically dead, then carried Misaki Shokuhou down to the abandoned laboratory-animal floor.
• Misaki Shokuhou saw an unhappy-looking killer whale swimming in a large aquarium.

Roland exposed Shundō Shunzō’s consciousness hiding in an orca and rejected his offer to cooperate, revealing that he had saved Misaki Shokuhou because she matched his tastes. Shundō attacked with his Steel Molars, but Roland emerged unharmed and prepared to strike back with the Whale-Killing Overlord Fist.

• Roland revealed that Shundō Shunzō had transferred his consciousness into an orca, and Shundō admitted he had chosen it for its potential to use magnetic field rotation.
• Shundō proposed working with Roland, arguing that his scientific knowledge and fifty thousand horsepower made him more valuable than Misaki Shokuhou.
• Roland rejected the offer, saying he had rescued Misaki because she was beautiful and suited his tastes.
• Shundō launched his Steel Molars at Roland using magnetic field rotation, but Roland remained unharmed.
• Roland criticized Shundō’s reliance on weapons and adopted a punching stance, invoking five hundred thousand horsepower for his Whale-Killing Overlord Fist.

Aleister woke to the massive earthquake caused by Roland’s punch and decided to support Roland’s development of magnetic field power rather than interfere. After Roland destroyed the External Brain, he revealed a tiny device called the Dream Creator, which he intended as the next step in making the new power usable.

• Aleister woke when his temple’s alarm sounded and learned that Roland’s punch had caused a vast earthquake and an enormous hole above the Second School District.
• Aleister accepted the disaster as an opportunity and ordered his allies to keep supplying Roland with Espers so he could study magnetic field power.
• Misaki Shokuhou recalled Roland’s punch and learned that Shundō Shunzō’s modified brain had helped establish a way to convert AIM fields into magnetic field power.
• Misaki Shokuhou agreed that Roland could destroy the External Brain, citing its maintenance demands and the risk of it being controlled by others.
• Roland dissolved the External Brain and its surrounding equipment, then revealed a small, circuit-covered device he called the Dream Creator.

Roland explained that the Dream Creator used falna to develop ability users and spread magnetic field power, while secretly binding its users to him and claiming their growth as a reserve of power. He and Misaki Shokuhou waited for Academy City's Dark Side to make a move, and Kinuhata Saiai arrived at the Talent Workshop.

• Misaki Shokuhou tested the Dream Creator and learned that it stimulated latent potential through falna without significantly shortening her lifespan.
• Roland revealed that Dream Creator users would enter a Familia Contract, unknowingly transferring their growth and power to him.
• Misaki Shokuhou offered researchers from the Talent Workshop as research subjects, and Roland said Shundō Shunzō's allies could provide more material.
• Roland and Misaki Shokuhou waited at the Talent Workshop for Shundō Shunzō's faction to respond, but no one appeared before midnight.
• Kinuhata Saiai arrived at the laboratory, and Roland recognized her as a member of a Dark Side Organization.

Roland watched ITEM infiltrate the Talent Workshop and recover its central laboratory equipment while Misaki Shokuhou slept beside him. Mugino Shizuri suspected the easy mission was a probe aimed at the Board Chairman and the secret called Dragon.

• Roland recognized Saiai Kinuhata's intrusion as an ITEM operation and suspected Aleister had arranged for the squad to take the job.
• Misaki Shokuhou fell asleep beside Roland, who shifted her onto his lap and let her rest there.
• Saiai smashed through the Talent Workshop's walls, knocked out researchers, and carried away the central laboratory's data equipment.
• Saiai met up with Frenda, Takitsubo, and Mugino, and the four ITEM members loaded the equipment onto a trolley.
• Mugino complained that the mission had offered no resistance and considered whether the Board of Directors was using it to probe the Board Chairman and Dragon.

Mugino Shizuri realized ITEM’s mission had been manipulated, and Rikō Takitsubō traced the Mental Out ability signature back to the building. Roland told Misaki Shokuhou what had happened, and as they prepared to face ITEM, Mugino’s emerald beams struck through the wall.

• Mugino ordered ITEM to retreat, but Rikō sensed chaotic AIM Diffusion Fields inside the building and stopped to investigate.
• Mugino suspected the mission had gone suspiciously smoothly and used Takitsubō’s Ability Tracing to search for Mental Out.
• Takitsubō identified Mental Out’s AIM Diffusion Field inside the building, while Roland realized ITEM’s suspicions had fallen on the sleeping Misaki Shokuhou.
• Misaki woke after Roland teased her and listened as he explained that ITEM had come for the External Brain’s data.
• Misaki decided to face Mugino, confident that Roland would protect her, but Mugino’s emerald beams burst through the wall before they could leave.

Misaki Shokuhou fought Mugino Shizuri, whose Meltdowner attacks overwhelmed her despite Mental Out and electric current push. Mugino’s barrage appeared to hit Roland, but he emerged unharmed and seized her face, declaring the fight over.

• Roland pulled Misaki Shokuhou aside as Mugino Shizuri’s first Meltdowner beam shattered the wall, and Misaki redirected Mugino’s next shot with Mental Out.
• Mugino confronted Misaki over her role in the operation and attacked her with Meltdowner, but Misaki disrupted the first beam by interfering with Mugino’s concentration.
• Mugino fired repeated beams, forcing Misaki to dodge as she struggled to find a counterattack.
• Mugino used a diamond-shaped device to spread hundreds of beams across the room, apparently catching Roland in the attack.
• Misaki brushed off the dust and remained calm, while Roland emerged from the smoke unharmed and seized Mugino Shizuri’s face.

After Mugino Shizuri was defeated and hurled back to ITEM, Roland confronted Kinuhata Saiai, Takitsubo Rikou, and Flandre. Takitsubo’s attempt to target him left her incapacitated, and Roland demanded that the team surrender.

• Flandre complained as ITEM moved equipment through the laboratory, while Kinuhata warned her to stay away from Mugino’s battle with Mental Out.
• A person came crashing through the corridor, and Kinuhata caught the badly injured Mugino, who Takitsubo said was still conscious but unable to respond.
• Roland calmly appeared around the corner, and Takitsubo identified him as someone other than Mental Out with an unfamiliar AIM Diffusion Field.
• Takitsubo tried to focus her ability on Roland, but the contact overwhelmed her and left her collapsing to her knees.
• Roland introduced himself and told the three remaining ITEM members to surrender, claiming they were surrounded by him alone.

Roland overwhelmed ITEM, leaving Frenda as the only apparent fighter before Mugino Shizuri swallowed Takitsubō’s Body Crystal and unleashed Atomix. Mugino’s attack failed, and her body began to shatter as Roland’s warning that the fight was over came true.

• Rikō Takitsubō interfered with Roland’s simulated AIM Diffusion Field, and he decided her ability could be valuable to him.
• Kinuhata Saiai attacked Roland with portable anti-chariot missiles and her Nitrogen Armor, but he caught her charge and slammed her into the steel floor.
• Frenda realized she was the only ITEM member still able to fight, but Mugino Shizuri grabbed her and ordered her to help.
• Mugino made Frenda give her Rikō Takitsubō’s Body Crystal, then used it to unleash Atomix in every direction despite the risk to herself and her companions.
• Roland told Mugino that the fight was over, and her attack dissipated as her body cracked and began to come apart.

Roland let Mugino Shizuri recover from the strange fragmentation caused by his attack, then subdued her and used Pain Power to break her resistance. The pain also overwhelmed Frenda, who fled while Mugino and the others remained incapacitated.

• Mugino Shizuri began crumbling into fragments, and Roland explained that his earlier blow had drained the vitality from her cells while leaving her conscious.
• Mugino Shizuri tried to punch Roland but collapsed before reaching him, so Roland used Cell Reorganization to restore her body.
• Roland choked and taunted Mugino Shizuri, then used Pain Power to make her writhe and scream.
• Frenda approached Mugino Shizuri but was overwhelmed by the pain spreading through the area, while Kinuhata Saiai trembled and Rikō Takitsubō lost consciousness.
• Frenda fled in tears, crying that she did not want to see or hear Mugino Shizuri suffer anymore.

Flandre tried to kill Roland with a thermobaric bomb, but he emerged unharmed and explained that he would punish her rather than kill her. The chapter left Flandre paralyzed below the waist as Roland asked whether she believed in pure oxygen.

• Flandre retreated into a laboratory and detonated a thermobaric bomb, hoping its shock wave and oxygen-depleting effect would kill Roland.
• Roland emerged from the smoke unharmed, destroyed Flandre’s oxygen mask, and rejected her pleas to be spared.
• Roland told Flandre he would not inflict the same pain he had used on Mugino Shizuri, but offered to spare her if she endured a punishment.
• Flandre discovered that she had lost all sensation and movement below her waist as Roland asked whether she believed in pure oxygen.

Roland defeated ITEM, forced Frenda to pledge herself to him, and had Kinuhata Saiai and Rikō Takitsubō surrender. He decided to acquire ITEM through official recognition and asked Misaki Shokuhou for an undetectable secret room.

• Roland filled the sealed room with pure oxygen, and Frenda begged him to save her, agreeing even to betray ITEM and kill Mugino Shizuri if necessary.
• Roland healed Frenda and made her his dog, and she clung to him and barked on command when he returned.
• Rikō Takitsubō explained that Roland’s enormous AIM Diffusion Field blocked her perception, and she and Kinuhata Saiai surrendered to Misaki Shokuhou.
• Roland said he had already identified ITEM’s client and asked how he could acquire ITEM legitimately; Rikō Takitsubō and Kinuhata Saiai said he needed official recognition and Mugino Shizuri’s submission or replacement.
• Roland chose to seek official recognition and asked Misaki Shokuhou to provide a secret room no detector could find.