...
"Ah, ow ow ow... why are there so many people using [Level Upper]... ugh." As soon as she returned to the 177th Branch, Shirai Kuroko, dragging her injured body, couldn't help but start complaining.
Growling in frustration, Kuroko accidentally tugged at one of her wounds and let out a pained yelp. "When I find the developer of [Level Upper], I'm definitely going to beat them to a pulp! Ugh~"
"Mm-hmm-hmm... if you ask me, this wouldn't have happened if I'd gone with you, right?" Selene said dryly, her fingers lightly brushing over Kuroko's wounds.
"Ah~ thank goodness Selene-senpai's here, that feels so much better... huh?" Under Selene's healing, Shirai Kuroko's pain quickly subsided, making her let out a small sound of relief.
As she relaxed, Kuroko quickly caught Selene's teasing tone and shook her head sharply, pointing out the consequences if Selene had gone along. "No way, senpai! If you went, someone would've died for sure..."
"You say that like it's a bad thing..." Selene gave her a light karate chop to the head, feeling a little embarrassed at being called out for her violent tendencies. She quickly changed the subject. "...So judging by all those injuries, I'm guessing [Level Upper] has spread pretty widely, huh?"
"Ugh... yeah, there's no helping it now. [Level Upper] has already spread, and the number of users just keeps increasing. It's such a headache!" Kuroko rubbed her forehead helplessly. Her workload had skyrocketed lately.
"In short, there are three things we can do. One—stop the spread of [Level Upper]. Two—wake up the unconscious users. And three—find the developer and arrest them!"
Clap clap.
Hearing Kuroko's determined words, Uiharu Kazari couldn't help but clap from the side. "Ohh, go for it!"
"You again, Uiharu?! Don't just sit there drinking tea—go find some leads already!!!" The moment Kuroko saw Uiharu relaxing with tea in hand, she nearly exploded with rage.
"Alright, alright. Kuroko, your wounds are all treated—you're free to run around again. And are you sure you don't want my help~?" Selene asked teasingly, her tone dripping with playful charm.
"Absolutely not! Senpai, just give it up already..." Kuroko refused flatly. She was a member of Judgment, not a demolition crew! Gesturing to Uiharu, she signaled her to hand over her clothes.
"Oh, but wouldn't it be nicer if Misaka-senpai were the one bandaging you up? Too bad Selene-senpai didn't give her the chance~" Uiharu teased as she handed over Kuroko's change of clothes.
"Hohoho, wrong guess there. I must always appear perfect in front of Onee-sama! I won't let her see me like this."
"Eh? I don't think it matters that much though... it's not like anyone—" Uiharu said absentmindedly, completely unaware she was stepping into danger.
"Hah?" Before Uiharu could finish, Selene froze mid-motion, staring blankly at her. Did this sweet-looking girl just say that out loud?
"She would care, wouldn't she? Right, Selene-senpai?" Uiharu blinked innocently, still oblivious. "Eh? Why are you looking at me like that? Uh—ahhh!"
"You little brat!" Kuroko shouted, grabbing Uiharu by the collar and shaking her furiously. "You dare talk like that about my Onee-sama?!"
Just then, as Uiharu's eyes began to roll back from dizziness—
"Morning. Need a hand with anything?" came Misaka Mikoto's voice from outside.
"Crap!" Kuroko panicked instantly. The last thing she wanted was for her beloved Onee-sama to see her in this "undignified" state. Acting on reflex, just as Misaka pushed the door open, Kuroko teleported Uiharu out of her grip.
Thunk! A sharp thud followed—the unfortunate Uiharu collided headfirst with the entering Misaka Mikoto. The crisp sound alone was enough to make Selene wince sympathetically. Ouch... that's definitely a solid hit.
As for why she hadn't helped with teleportation—well, Selene's spatial abilities were notoriously "selective."
"G-Good morning, Onee-sama, uh..." After hastily putting on her clothes and regaining her usual grace, Kuroko re-entered the room.
...
"Honestly, Kuroko, what are you even doing... ugh." Rubbing her forehead, Misaka Mikoto looked at Kuroko helplessly. "Anyway... about that [Level Upper], any progress?"
"According to Kiyama," Kuroko replied, her tone turning serious as they got to the main topic, "it seems to be a system that transmits a large number of electrical signals to the brain in a short time, called..."
"Testament," Selene said without thinking.
"Right, how did you know, senpai?" Kuroko looked at Selene curiously, though she quickly figured it out. "Ah, right—you do have your own private research lab, so that makes sense."
"Mm. The 'Testament' is an apparatus that requires the cooperation of all five senses—sight, hearing, taste, smell, and touch," Selene explained with a nod.
"But is [Level Upper] really just an audio file? Could there be something we missed?" Uiharu Kazari asked. It was hard to believe that [Level Upper] could be nothing more than a song—but facts were facts.
"Unfortunately, [Level Upper] really is just a plain old audio file..." Misaka Mikoto frowned. "But how could it raise ability levels using only auditory input?"
"So that means... we're stuck again, huh?"
"Sigh." Selene couldn't help but let out a small sigh. "Did you girls not pay attention in class? It's synesthesia."
"With synesthetic effects, it's possible for simple music to stimulate all five senses at once," Selene said, tilting her head in thought. "Like that time you ate shaved ice—remember? You only felt it in your mouth, but somehow your whole body reacted?"
Thanks to Selene's reminder, Misaka and Kuroko suddenly understood and exclaimed in unison, "Synesthesia!"
"What's that?" Uiharu blinked, clearly out of her depth. She might've been a computer genius, but other subjects weren't her strong suit.
"It's when one kind of sensory stimulus triggers multiple senses at once. In other words, it's possible to stimulate other senses through a specific sensory input," Selene explained patiently.
"I see... so that means sound could trigger all five senses, creating an effect similar to the Testament," Uiharu said, eyes lighting up as she began to grasp the concept. "Wait—let me contact Kiyama-sensei right now!"
After calling Kiyama Harumi, Uiharu became even more excited. When she heard that Kiyama was applying for access to the 'Tree Diagram', she immediately said she wanted to go watch the process in person.
"Heh, guess your brain isn't all brawn after all, you violent maniac," Misaka said teasingly, patting Selene's shoulder with a grin.
"Uh... I'll take that as a compliment," Selene muttered, rolling her eyes and swatting away Misaka's hand in mild annoyance. "Seriously, when did it become normal for everyone to underestimate my intelligence..."
"Haha, well, isn't that because you always—hm? What was it again—'solve things with physics'? Your own words, remember?" Misaka smirked mischievously.
Selene could only facepalm helplessly. Great. Guess I really need to do something about this image... this 'violent maniac' label's getting hard to shake. It was seriously damaging her elegant and refined persona (ironically, of course).
Suddenly—ding ding ding~