Chapter 110: The Truth Behind Level Upper – A Chance to Copy a Skill!
Through Mikoto's explanation, Shirakawa gained a rough understanding of the current storyline in A Certain Scientific Railgun.
The main plot was underway.
They were in the midst of the Level Upper arc. Shirakawa was well aware of the situation. The true culprit was Harumi Kiyama, the one researching the AIM network project.
Her intentions weren't evil.
She wanted to save the children used in unethical experiments. That was the only way she could help them. But what left the deepest impression on Shirakawa...
...was Kiyama's tendency to randomly strip off her clothes.
His main goal for entering the Index/Railgun world was to make use of his class's technical abilities to copy some skills—but for that to happen, the target had to actually use their powers.
The fastest method would be to spar with Mikoto.
However...
He now had a better option. Shirakawa turned to Shirai Kuroko and asked in a relaxed tone, "Can you explain things in more detail?"
"..."
Tokiwaidai Middle School was a prestigious girls' school.
Aside from a few rule-breaking students, Kuroko didn't have any male friends in real life. Looking at the gentle and handsome boy in front of her...
Her eyes flickered slightly.
Since he was onee-sama's friend, he was probably her own friend too. Besides, Mikoto had already said Shirakawa might be able to help with the Level Upper incident.
Maybe he really could help.
With that thought in mind...
Kuroko nodded and glanced briefly around the street—they didn't even bring a computer, clearly not the right place for serious discussion.
"Let's go to the branch office."
"This whole thing is complicated. Shirakawa-senpai, you're an esper, right? A lot of ability users have recently fallen into comas."
"It's because of Level Upper."
While clinging to Mikoto's arm, she touched Shirakawa's skin lightly and activated her teleportation ability. In the next moment, their figures vanished.
They reappeared at Judgment's Branch Office 177.
[Detected space-type skill [Teleportation] is available for learning. Learn now?]
"..."
With his vision shifting into the Judgment office, Shirakawa didn't show much reaction.
A prompt from his system panel indicated a skill was ready to be copied. Without drawing attention, he copied it silently—space-type teleportation that allowed him to bring along people and objects. Incredibly useful.
The situation was urgent.
Kuroko didn't bother offering drinks, even though the water dispenser was nearby. She immediately played the Level Upper audio clip.
It was a plain, unremarkable piece of music.
But her expression turned very serious. "This is the audio..."
"It's causing espers to fall into comas. Doctors haven't figured out why yet. The original recording has already been sent to Professor Kiyama."
"..."
"We don't have any other solid leads. I was planning to go to the hospital to check on Saten. The doctors might have more info by now."
Kuroko quickly briefed them, partly to keep Mikoto in the loop. She then closed the laptop and turned toward the unfamiliar upperclassman.
She'd found nothing under his name—meaning he wasn't a registered esper in Academy City. As for what powers he had...
She had no idea.
But since onee-sama said Shirakawa could help, she didn't press. She simply asked, "Are you coming with us?"
"Sure."
Shirakawa knew the entire storyline—he could even tell them outright that Harumi Kiyama was behind everything.
However...
He didn't. Besides hiding the truth about his abilities as a transmigrator and the system panel, his identity had to remain secret.
To copy powers...
Spending more time around these characters was key. He was also intrigued by Level Upper. It was a network that linked espers' brains together.
Creating a true multi-ability user.
If the network's computing speed was high enough, could it potentially reach omniscience?
Following Kuroko and Mikoto to the hospital, just as they were about to visit the unconscious girl in bed, they were stopped by a doctor who looked suspiciously like Guata.
He had made progress analyzing the patients' brainwaves.
All the comatose espers had identical frequency patterns in one segment of their brainwaves. Once the doctor shared the details...
They had a solid lead.
Thanks to Konori Mii's analysis, they pieced the clues together and narrowed down the mastermind of the Level Upper incident.
It was Harumi Kiyama.
"I suspect these victims' brainwaves are being forcibly connected through audio into a massive brain network."
"Even if the individual computing power isn't high, the scale makes up for it."
"So... their abilities improve inside the network because all participants' brains are calculating together."
Wearing a gray jacket over a white shirt, Konori pushed up her glasses. The green armband on her sleeve identified her as a Judgment officer.
Paired with a gray plaid skirt, she looked very youthful. She explained the situation to Shirai and Misaka in a calm and composed tone.
Only at the end...
Did her eyes shift to Shirakawa.
As a friend of a Level 5 esper, she was inclined to trust him. What truly puzzled her was just how unfamiliar this boy looked.
"We'll need to go find Harumi Kiyama now."
Kuroko had just finished saying this when the feeling of being close to the truth vanished—her expression turned grim.
They'd overlooked something.
Another Judgment officer, Uiharu Kazari, was still at Professor Kiyama's lab gathering intel. The audio file had already been sent there—which meant...
She could be in danger!
"Uiharu might be taken hostage."
"..."
Without caring about others' reactions, Shirai opened her laptop and began scanning the city's surveillance systems.
Finally...
She locked onto a fast-moving vehicle.
"I'll go find Harumi Kiyama and rescue Uiharu."
"..."
But just as she was about to leave, Mikoto grabbed her wrist with a firm expression. "Leave this to me."
"..."
Mikoto didn't elaborate. Shirakawa still wore a calm expression, but his tone became more serious. "I'll help too."
After all, this was his chance to copy Railgun's ability!