10 It's been so long, since the last...
'Let's see what this is all about.'
I still need to talk to him about my main reason for going here. I don't wanna waste too much time doing something like 'repaying' him for whatever reason, so let's get this over with.
Mentally screaming
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[Ding!]
PSI Skill |Rank: D --> S|
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-----------(Saiki Household)-------------
"I'm home!"
Kuniharu took his shoes off near the entrance, carrying shopping bags that are filled to the brim. On his face was a dazzlingly annoying smile, a unique feature of his.
"You're finally here, but you came too late..."
An answer came back from further within the house, a reply that made Kuniharu frown. Hurrying into the living room, he saw Kurumi sitting on the couch, watching TV with Warp within her embrace.
Seeing the absence of two individuals, Kuniharu couldn't help but ask.
"Where did Kusuo and Ms. Snow go?"
"I don't know, they disappeared together earlier. Saiki told me to watch over Warp in the meantime, and Warp doesn't seem to mind."
Kurumi's answer made Kuniharu deflate.
"We were supposed to eat together... I even bought a lot of coffee jelly for the two of them."
The reason why Kuniharu left was to find food to spoil Ms. Snow with after seeing how much she liked it. Saiki also gave some money for his own coffee jelly since he couldn't buy them himself because of him having to watch over Ms. Snow. Right now, however, they were somewhere else.
The amount of effort into finding good coffee jelly went down the drain, not even counting the part where Kuniharu had to drag them all the way back home. Even with a vehicle, ten bags full of coffee jelly is still something an average person would struggle to move.
Nothing could be done, so he sat down beside Kurumi and grumbled at the injustice.
"Ah, my poor back. Kusuo should have just gone and bought it instead of me. He wouldn't have taken too long since he knows what brand to buy and teleport back."
"Stupid Kusuo, I'm just a normal guy you know?"
Kuniharu reached out and started patting Warp's little head, bringing a small smile to his face.
"At least I have you with me Warp. You won't leave me like them, right?"
This attempt at cheering himself up was futile as, after patting Warp's head three times, Warp hurriedly scurried away into another room, leaving a dejected man.
"Dear, I'm sure they'll be back soon; Saiki knows you bought a lot of desserts. He likes them too much to stay out for too long."
"...You're right. They'll have to come home eventually."
Kuniharu nodded, before sighing.
"Still, where did they go?"
The couple dwelled on the issue, munching on some coffee jelly while doing so.
"I hope they are getting along nicely..."
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{Do you understand now?}
"Yeah..."
I kinda get why he's been in a mood. Who knew my entrance would have been so explosive?
"I'm sorry."
It's the least a man can do. My inability to properly use my power could have resulted in a lot of bad things happening. For an OP person like me, a single mistake can lead to disastrous results... for others.
...I don't like this recent discovery. Going into another world should not have this kind of effect. I'm really lucky to have been stopped by Saiki. If it was a more 'normal' world with 'normal' characters... well, Saiki already showed me.
'I need to get stronger. Not being able to properly use my powers kinda sucks.'
'Now I know how Saiki feels without his limiter on. Good thing I have my System to deal with all those kinds of tiresome stuff.'
Saiki's expression softened.
{I'll accept your apology, but it doesn't mean that we're even.}
Ugh. Can't we start over? You know, reintroduce ourselves and get along, eat without any kind of conflict, and also letting me see more of your powers so that I can learn them?
My PSI skill leveled up with the 'telepathic movie' thing Saiki just did, which is kinda weird. It's weird because PSI leveled up instead of obtaining the psychic powers that I saw being used. This means that PSI is not just one power but a mixture of them, all put into one skill.
But, compared to my PSI Resistance skill, PSI is ranked lower. It may be because I've never used the skill before or never properly got used to wielding it. Proficiency is low, which is why the rank is also low, something along those lines.
Or maybe, I haven't seen all of his powers. And from the anime, I know I haven't... yet. Do I need all of them? Nope. Some of them are even useless like the power to swap hairstyles with another person. I'll probably just get the main ones.
{I need you to answer my questions.}
"If I do that, then can you stop bothering me about who owes what to who? I'm not gonna do another natural disaster event, not like I chose to drop from the sky anyway."
{No. Are there more of your kind coming?}
Fine. If you won't listen, then I won't as well.
"Woah, look at that big rock in the distance."
That's a lie.
There is no big rock in the distance. This is just a way to annoy him and if it works then I'll gladly spout more BS like this.
That doesn't mean there is no big rock around here somewhere. I simply haven't found it.
So it wasn't entirely a lie. A 'half-lie' kind of lie.
'There it is.'
Looking to the side, there stood a boulder larger than a bus in the far distance. Apart from its oval-ish shape and rough-looking appearance, it was just a normal boulder. It was really far though, but my sense of sight made seeing things easy.
Faking excitement, I loudly shouted, "What a big... what was the word again? Oval! What a big, oval rock!"
Saiki also looked in the same direction as I am, but maybe because I have better eyes than him that he couldn't really see the rock I'm talking about.
Hey, don't glare at me like that. I'm not tricking you. The rock does exist.
{Don't ignore me.}
"How interesting... but isn't it too far to fully appreciate how big and oval it is?"
Well, since you can't see it, then I'll help you out. Just repaying a favor or two of mine since I'm that kind of guy.
My palm rose up and pointed towards the boulder. When viewed with normal, human eyes, the difference in distance between us made my incomparably smaller hand look gigantic against the 'pebble' in the distance.
Moments later, a peculiar sensation arose from my hand, as if it were holding something. A quick glance showed that there really is nothing there, only empty air.
Unwilling to let go of this feeling, more power unconsciously erupted from within, traveling onto the distance.
Right before my eyes, the big, oval rock exploded under otherworldly pressure, crushing it into pieces.
"Oops, not what I wanted to do."
{Hey, I said don't ignore me.}
Ignoring Saiki, I silently used Protogenoi-K and reversed time for that rock. The little chunks on the ground started to shoot up, merging with other pieces to form another oval boulder that was as good as new. It's the same boulder, and because its time was reversed then technically I never destroyed it.
'It looks like I can still use Protogenoi-K for small things, but Universe-Hopping is still too hard. I'm gonna need to test its limits later. For now, I'll play with my new one.'
Once more the same peculiar feeling arose from my hand, only this time much, much stronger.
The boulder started to slowly rise from the ground, displaying its full size that was buried within the ground. The boulder upgraded from being bus-sized to being a London-Double-Decker-Bus-sized, or at least what I think the size of it is.
While it rose, the channelling of my psychic power seemed to get easier, IS getting easier with every second that passes. Further than that, the boulder's weight seemed to lessen as if it were getting lighter.
'Nice, I totally did it on my first try.'
{Stop ignoring me.}
With my newfound power, it started to move towards my outstretched hand. The word 'slow' would have been an understatement.
From a snail's pace to 20x a snail's pace, to 1,000x a snail's pace. The speed at which the boulder moved began to increase at a dramatic rate, becoming faster and faster.
Maybe going a little too fast.
{Answer my questions-}
Saiki's head quickly swiveled to the side, looking directly at the fast-approaching boulder. With his gaze locked into the incoming projectile, the hold I had over it was suddenly pushed out, completely overtaken by something more powerful.
As if colliding with an immovable wall, the boulder stopped dead in its tracks. No deceleration occurred, the undoubtedly heavy boulder simply came to a complete stop. It stayed still in the air without my interference, towering over my figure.
"...Ta-da?"
How careless of me. I almost hit myself with that. Good thing Saiki saves the day again, or else my clothes may have gotten dirty.
{I should have expected this, but it is the only explanation for so many things. Another psychic with multiple powers, just like me.} Saiki said with a clearly unimpressed tone.
"Yeah, sure."
His eyes briefly glanced over the floating piece of rubble, before coming back to meet mine.
{It also doesn't look like you have much control over your powers.}
"Uh-huh."
Saiki paused for a bit, thinking of something.
His musing went on for a while, making the place weirdly silent. It seemed serious, whatever it was he was thinking about, so I stayed in place just waiting, resisting the urge to try to fling another boulder my way.
Have I mentioned that the first boulder is still with us, still floating while the guy making it float is lost in thought? Kind of impressive to be honest.
Saiki finally spoke.
{Good grief. I'll teach you some exercises that you can do to increase that control of yours. Once it reaches the most minimal level, enough so that you don't bother me... Well, we'll see if you can get your powers under control first.}
"Wait, really? Thank you fellow psychic." How nice of him. How unlike him.
{Before that, I need to know how strong you are. If you aren't strong enough then my 'training regime' isn't for you.}
Saiki started walking away, creating distance between us. Followed by a whooshing sound, a palm-sized rock on the ground flew into his hand.
Once he became far enough, he slowly assumed a throwing stance, pretty much letting me know what he was about to do.
Still, for some reason, as faint as it was, an indescribable pressure weighed on me as he got into position. My body involuntarily shivered even with the hot temperature, and every breath felt just a little shorter.
A faint smirk seemed to appear within his blank face, managing to make the small tremors grow. What an odd sensation, but one that a person cannot overlook.
A bad feeling, my first after many years, not since someone recommended Boku no Pico to me. That bastard, I'll come for you one day.
'System, loosen both my limiters. Rank A.' A precautionary action, something that might be unnecessary, but you never know.
The familiar feeling of limitless power surged, but before I could relish in it, he spoke.
{Catch.}
Fast as lightning, the rock disappeared from view.
*BOOM*
A loud bomb exploded right behind me.
Quickly looking back, the boulder that should have been floating behind me was nowhere to be found, now replaced by a wall of dust. Smaller remnants of it continued to fall from the sky, clattering loudly.
...That is some firepower.
{Hey, why didn't you catch it? Do aliens not know what 'catching' or 'throwing' is? I'm out if that's the case. I'd rather go home.}
Saiki asked with discernible confusion.
'Did you think anyone can just catch a rock thrown by you?!?! Other psychics would piss themselves.'
Good thing I have TheRefuge protecting me... it is going to block whatever Saiki throws at me, right System?
[Affirmative]
Phew.
"Ehem, I wasn't ready."
{Alright then. Get ready this time.}
Damn right I will. His earlier throw is a good reminder of how strong Saiki really is, even without the use of his powers. With them though, Saiki can do anything.
That kind of power is something that I want and the reason why I'm here.
'System, loosen my limiters again. Do Rank SSS this time. Wait, do Rank SS.'
I still remember the clap from that dream of mine. I didn't even clap my hardest, nor did I clap with my limiters entirely gone, but a lot of stuff ended up getting destroyed. This place looks as desolate as it can get, no need to ruin it more.
Assuming that I can't harm anyone in this place, this secret spot of Saiki's, then it should be fine to use this much strength right? This is an opportunity to know how strong I am without too many worries, and to also get used to it. Being able to have my stats come in full strength like my Endurance is honestly more preferable than going "System do this, System do that."
Another slow execution of a throwing stance. Saiki took more time to get ready this time, perhaps to let me ready myself. At least he isn't smirking. That's a good sign, I think.
{Eat this!}
Oi!
The rock pierced the very air, creating a boom that followed along with the earthen missile. It was faster still, overtaking the speed of sound by leaps and bounds.
Speeds beyond what any creature, man or animal, could reach. The power behind it is something that only Mother Nature could topple.
But.
I was ready. More than ready.
*BOOM*
Another sound similar to the explosion of a loud bomb. Different from before the sound came from in front of me, more specifically, from within my hand.
Catching a rock with Rank SS Strength and Agility was more excessive than I thought.
The rock that first simply whizzed past me now moved so slowly.
"I did it!"
Now teach me your ways! Show me more powers so that I can complete my skill! My OPness shall transcend this world and many more!
{No you didn't. Look more closely.}
Instead of a palm-sized pebble, what flowed out from my hands was rocky sand. The pieces were so small that, when a breeze blew past, they scattered like smoke. Indeed, Rank SS stats were too excessive.
{Catch it this time without crushing it.}
This may take some time.
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It did not, fortunately.
Thanks to my 'talent', it took less than ten minutes for my control to be deemed 'satisfactory', though I think I'd like to believe I have better control than Saiki himself.
The training consisted of activities that made me actively control my strength. At first catching a pebble traveling at high speeds while standing still, to catching a pebble while moving. Catching then became throwing. Throwing a pebble at different speeds, followed by throwing at different targets with high precision.
After that came a mix of both.
Throwing a pebble only to chase after and ultimately catch it, throwing 10 pebbles only to chase after and catch them, throwing a boulder only to chase after and catch it, throwing a bigger... you know what? a lot of the same stuff, all involving pebbles and boulders. They were the only things around.
Either way, my strength and agility stats are going to stay on Rank SS from now on. I'll be able to quickly react to anything that Warp throws at me.
"Does your planet have really advanced technology?"
Kuniharu asked before swiping another coffee jelly.
*Chomp* "Nope, it's not that far off from what you guys already have now." I replied after eating another spoonful of coffee jelly myself.
"How coincidental is that!" *Chomp* "-who would've known that those alien movies were actually wrong on so many levels! I mean, aliens look more human than I first thought."
"Maybe it's you humans that look like us instead."
We've both gone back to the Saiki Residence. After finishing the "Strength Control" segment of my training, we were about to start on the PSI control part of it when Saiki remembered that Kuniharu went off to buy coffee jelly.
Priorities amirite?
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I am playing along with the 'alien' background that the family had thought up. Such a setting is far more believable than my act of crossing universes, in my opinion anyway.
It is quite convenient that they assumed that I was an alien, while still treating me like a normal person. I mean, if it instead happened to the normal me, the me that is yet to be hit by Truck-Sama, then I might've pissed myself right on the spot while spouting profanities.
That would be the correct reaction to seeing a 'meteor' destroying my surroundings.
Hmm... even with knowledge of what I could have caused, they still treat me nicely. They've yet to tattle on the government or display the slightest bit of caution, apart from Saiki of course.
When you think about it, Kurumi and Kuniharu did keep Saiki's psychic powers secret but not for the reason you might think.
Normal people would hide the fact to protect themselves from attention, or individuals/groups with malicious intent. Normal people would also be wary of their psychic child as they have uncontrollable powers that endanger themselves and everyone around them.
That didn't happen when Saiki came along, mainly because of their first child Kusuke. It's all because of that weirdo. Kusuke single-handedly skewed his parents' perception of 'normalcy' that Saiki became just another baby with his quirks.
There is another reason... and it's because they are just that wholesome. They love their kids too much that they don't treat them any differently.
"So, tell us where you guys have been!" Kurumi spoke out, unable to hide her curiosity any longer.
"Yeah! Where did you take her and why didn't you help me bring back all the coffee jelly first instead! This back pain hurts so much that you'll have to teleport me to work for at least a month- No, a whole year!"
{Restoration}
Saiki's eyes flashed for a moment.
"...my back still hurts from my work yesterday, carrying manga-"
{Not my problem.}
Restoration: the ability to pretty much reverse the time of anything by 24 hours.
It's nice to learn that even though I've got better time powers as it can serve as some form of backup. I'll practice that later as well after eating.
I should probably bring some snacks to nibble on while training as some form of multitasking. Definitely not because I developed an addiction to food.
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The dining room became lively, filled with the sounds of clattering dishes and endless chattering coming from four individuals. While two of the four continued to act all lovey-dovey with each other, the other two were busy eating.
One ate in moderate amounts, the appreciation in their face obvious. As for the remaining individual... can what they are doing even be called eating?
For one moment, an unopened pack of coffee jelly rested on the dining table. In the next, all of its contents simply vanished, the plastic packaging now having disappeared into the trash can in the corner. Looking closely, similarly-empty coffee jelly casings could be seen just underneath. Victims of the unnatural phenomenon, and their numbers continue to grow.
While these events continued to transpire, an individual from the lovey-dovey duo noticed something different about the aforementioned individual.
"Ms. Snow, did you also take the time to style your hair while you and Kuu-chan were away?"
The person in question, Ms. Snow, stopped whatever sorcery she was doing to the coffee jellies.
'Style my hair? But we were out training...'
She became confused at the abrupt questioning, until it hit her.
'Wait, training? The training that involved throwing a bunch of rocks around above supersonic speeds and catching them again? Don't tell me my hair was ruined while I was training!'
'Surely TheRefuge would've protected even my hair right? but what if it didn't... then surely my Rank XIII Endurance made my hair sturdier right? but what if it was only my body...'
*Pat* *Pat* *Pat*
A barrage of frantic head pats, or hair pats, sought out any form of hair damage, big or small. Feeling nothing out of place, she then sought visual confirmation.
Ms. Snow went cross-eyed. This allowed for the activation of one of her newfound powers: Clairvoyance. Courtesy of the other individual eating coffee jelly, who unlike her, was not gobbling up the food and instead enjoyed it slowly.
Her vision underwent a change, shifting from her normal sight to a more confusing perspective.
Instead of seeing through her eyes, Ms. Snow became capable of seeing without them. This meant that what she could see was not limited by the physical limitations of the human body, not anymore.
Front, back, up, down, left, right, near, far, dark, bright: Such terms were nowhere to be found. All that existed was what 'can' and 'cannot' be seen.
And she saw many, many things.
Within that strange state of observational omniscience, she quickly regained control and focused on seeing just one thing, her probably ruined hair. Wanting to do something and actually doing it, however, are two different things.
What came to view was her face. The combination of her crossed eyes and struggling was funny to say the least, almost managing to ruin her concentration. It wasn't a face she was familiar with either, having only gained this new body of hers a few days prior, so it was similar to viewing a picture of a random person doing a derpy expression.
Apart from her facial expression was her hair. Still as dazzlingly white and still as lustrous. There was not a trace of wear and tear, not even a single strand in disarray.
'So why?' Ms. Snow thought.
Glancing down, it was then that she saw it.
Her cascading pure-white hair curiously became tainted with a different color. Past midway, her hair had completely turned into a darker shade of pink.
'...what is the cause of this?' She thought out loud, and something from deep within her answered.
[It is the effect of the host's body adapting to the latest skill, PSI]
A mechanical and monotone voice resounded within her mind.
[Such changes will continue to occur as the host's proficiency with the skill increases or the skill's rank increases, in turn boosting the skill's effects]
'So it's similar to what happened in that huge forest?' Ms. Snow remembered the excruciating pain that suddenly came upon her after stating her wishes.
[Affirmative]
'But I didn't feel anything this time around?'
[That is because the body adaptation was minimal]
[In comparison to the Protogenoi-K skill that is categorized to be Rank: XX, the PSI skill is only categorized to be Rank: S]
[The PSI skill was also originally possessed by the human known as 'Saiki Kusuo', hence the body adaptation to increase the skill's effects does not change much of the host's already existing body as it was already 'humanoid']
Ms. Snow thought to herself for a bit.
'Basically... since PSI came from Saiki who is a human, then my body won't adapt much since I'm also human and because the skill rank is low. I mean, all that changed was my hair color that now matches his.'
[Negative]
The response from the System caught Ms. Snow unprepared.
'What did I get wrong exactly?' She asked, feeling a bit annoyed.
Do not forget that she has a massive boost in her overall comprehension, so she thought that she understood the System's words.
The System then said something that Ms. Snow did not expect.
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[The host is no longer human]
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[A/N: I'm late, aren't I? Ugh. I need a break.]