Kapitel 242: Superpower Levels
"Huh? Thinking about what?" snapped back to reality, Haguro Kosaka blinked in confusion as she asked.
"Really, Haguro-chan wasn't listening to us at all!" Kuki Mei pouted, sounding slightly annoyed. "We were discussing what kind of person Eriri-san might be."
"Oh, that's it, huh? Well, I'm not really sure either," Haguro replied. "But I think Eriri-san must be a very gentle person. Otherwise, Reina-chan and Sakura-chan wouldn't like her so much." She wore a look of certainty as she said this, a bit of admiration in her expression.
Recently, Sakura had also transferred into Reina's class, so Haguro and her friends had naturally grown close to her as well.
"Yes, that's what I think, too," Misaki Shio nodded in agreement.
The chance to finally meet the renowned young lady of the Sawamura family had their hearts racing with both excitement and nervous anticipation.
The person in the driver's seat was a brawny middle-aged man, employed by the Kuki conglomerate as Mei's bodyguard and chauffeur.
He'd heard everything the girls had said, and having served the Kuki family for so long, he knew from the young master and young lady's constant debates just how captivated they both were by Eriri. It had nothing to do with her family's power; rather, he could tell they genuinely liked her. This made him all the more curious to meet the young lady who'd captivated not just one but both of his young employers so deeply. But today, fate would not grant him that chance. As far as Eriri's residence was concerned, it might as well be a fortress. No man would be allowed anywhere near its boundaries.
At that moment, Misaki Shio's gentle voice chimed in again.
"Oh, that's right, Mei-chan, Haguro-chan, how are your powers progressing? I'm nearly at LV.2 now."
As she spoke, she held up her little hand, and a small orb of water appeared at her fingertip, rotating in the air.
"Hehe, my flame powers aren't bad either!" Mei boasted, a confident smile spreading across her face as a tiny flame sparked to life at her right index finger. The little flame danced brightly, mirroring her lively personality.
Haguro gave them both a quick glance and, without a word, instantly snuffed out both the water orb and the flame.
"Um... My psychokinesis has already reached LV.2!" she said with a hint of pride.
"Wow, Haguro-chan, that's amazing! I tested myself yesterday, and I still have a little way to go before reaching LV.2," Mei exclaimed in admiration, hugging Haguro.
Not long ago, all three of them had awakened their superpowers on the very same day. Their powers were rare, especially compared to the vast majority of physical enhancement abilities, which accounted for ninety percent of superpowers.
Their driver was among those with physical enhancements, his strength now hundreds of times greater than before—enough to topple buildings with ease. But his skill was still nothing compared to elemental powers like these.
Especially when it came to Haguro's unique psychokinesis, which was even more remarkable. Among superpowers, this one was truly one in a million.
Naturally, their chauffeur now felt a surge of envy for these three little girls. Physical abilities certainly offered an advantage in close combat, but once elemental powers started advancing, they could easily overwhelm physical types.
Unless someone with physical abilities managed to reach the pinnacle—LV.10—where their speed could break the limits of normal perception, they'd always fall short compared to elemental and specialized superpowers in battle.
But how many individuals in this world could really reach LV.10?
Recently, superpowered individuals had sprung up worldwide like mushrooms after rain, and government agencies were finding it impossible to manage all of them. Fortunately, they had secured the early batches of superpowered individuals, who had generally reached LV.3 or even LV.4, maintaining a clear advantage over the more recent wave.
As a result, governments still managed to prevent social unrest.
Across the globe, however, one message was clear to all nations: under no circumstances should anyone provoke the Sawamura Conglomerate.
The conglomerate had already revealed ten LV.10 superpowered individuals, with untold numbers hidden behind the scenes. Such power could devastate any nation; every leader worldwide had come to regard the Sawamura family with a mix of awe and trepidation.
Now, the Sawamura family's status clearly placed them above all nations.
The families knew for certain that these Sawamura supers had indeed reached LV.10 after one of them demonstrated a mighty fire ability, incinerating an entire deserted island spanning hundreds of thousands of square kilometers. This sight had left the world's leaders speechless.
Nine others with the same overwhelming aura had also made their presence known, confirming Sawamura's absolute strength.
The superpower ranking system itself had been introduced by the Sawamura Conglomerate, and each city now had a large testing center where individuals could assess their strength and tie it to their identity.
This, of course, was all Eriri's doing; those ten country-level superhumans were her creations, each one designed specifically for the Sawamura Conglomerate.
All ten were women—some loli, some mature, each one either beautiful or cute, and every single one entirely loyal to Eriri and Sayuri.
"I'm nowhere near as amazing as Reina-chan and Sakura-chan, though," Haguro said with slight embarrassment.
"No way! We're not even in the same league. They're from the Sawamura family; it only makes sense they'd be so powerful," Mei responded matter-of-factly.
To the world's top players, the Sawamura name had become synonymous with strength.
A few elite families still held onto the belief that they could challenge Sawamura, seeing them as the ultimate rival to surpass.
But others, like Mei's own Kuki family, had long given up such ambitions.
With superpowered individuals popping up in the school one after another, Reina and Sakura no longer bothered hiding their abilities. And with Eriri's assistance, Sakura's powers had undergone some notable changes.
Sakura's original ability, an imaginary-number attribute, was similar to a dimensional pocket, where objects placed within existed beyond time and space—functioning much like the exclusive storage feature in the chat group.
With Eriri's help, however, Sakura's imaginary-number power had evolved into a complete space attribute.
"Not only does her original virtual space exist, but now she also has teleportation and spatial attacks."
"Yeah, Sakura-chan's spatial powers are insane," Misaki Shio remarked with awe.
They had experienced Sakura's space abilities firsthand when she had transported them directly from Kuki Mei's home to Kosaka Haguro's, opening their eyes to a whole new realm. Though they had just become the most basic level of supernaturals, none of them could yet see Reina's true fox form.
Originally, the illusion spell Eriri cast on Reina meant anyone below level two couldn't see her fox ears or nine tails. Later on, Eriri increased the restriction level, so only those above level four or those allowed by Reina herself could see her true form. Of course, this rule applied to Shea as well.
The simplest solution would have been to teach them how to control and hide their ears and tails, but Eriri didn't plan on this. She wanted to preserve Reina and Shia's identity as beast-eared girls; even if they could learn to hide their features, she wasn't about to let them lose that identity.
Before Kuki Mei and Kosaka Haguro could respond, Misaki Shio continued, "I wonder what level Reina-chan and Sakura-chan are at now. They're probably at least Level 5 supernaturals, right?"
"Mm-hmm, I think so too," Kuki Mei and Kosaka Haguro nodded in agreement, fully endorsing Shio's guess.
Since their abilities far exceeded the supernatural limits of the Saekano world, Reina and Sakura weren't sure if they should reveal their full power to Kosaka and the others. They wanted to avoid lying to their friends, so neither had mentioned their actual level yet. Unlike Eriri, they were a little conservative; she would have shown her true power without hesitation.
...
Ten minutes later, the car carrying the three girls arrived at the front gate of Eriri's estate, only to be stopped by the massive iron gates. As they opened, Aoi Kujo, who had been waiting for them, stepped up to the car.
"Miss Kosaka, Miss Kuki, Miss Mizaki, you may get out here. I'll be escorting you to the main grounds," Aoi said calmly.
Before the three could respond, the middle-aged man serving as driver and bodyguard spoke up.
"Pardon me, Miss Maid, but wouldn't it be easier if I just drove them in?"
While protocol shouldn't have permitted him to weigh in here, he was eager to catch a glimpse of the mysterious Eriri-sama, so he ventured the suggestion. And he wasn't a mere driver in the conventional sense; he was one of the earliest awakened supernaturals, kept hidden from government recruitment by the Kuki family.
As a soon-to-be Level 4 supernatural, he held a prestigious role in the family and was deeply loyal. Even with his powers, he never thought of leaving, so the family head had appointed him as Kuki Mei's personal guard, granting him a certain influence around her.
"No need. Here, no male is permitted entry," Aoi stated curtly before turning her attention back to the girls.
The middle-aged man forced a laugh, embarrassed but unable to say more, and did not suggest bringing the girls any further. He might have been among the strongest supernaturals outside the estate, but he knew he was a mere ant in the eyes of the Sawamura family, and he didn't dare to provoke them.
Luckily, he had enough sense to hold back. Otherwise, he'd be in for serious trouble today—possibly unable to leave in one piece. Aoi wouldn't hesitate to deal with any provocateurs.
"Wow, a rule like that? Did Eriri-sama make it herself?" asked Kuki Mei, full of curiosity and unaffected by the man's predicament.
"Yes, all the rules here were established by our lady herself." Aoi gave a slight smile in response.
Since she often picked up Reina and Sakura, Aoi was familiar with the three girls, and they were no strangers to her.
"Amazing!"
Watching their reactions, Aoi only smiled again and turned to lead the way further into the estate. The three girls quickly followed, eyes full of curiosity as they took in their surroundings.
Once they crossed the main gates, the exquisitely wrought iron barriers closed behind them, blocking the middle-aged man's view of the estate.
With the gates shut, Kosaka Haguro realized the landscape before them had changed dramatically.
Where once was an ordinary estate now lay an avenue of cherry blossoms in full bloom. A path hundreds of meters long stretched out before them, lined with cherry trees arched over to form a canopy, shading them without blocking the light. The marble-paved avenue was scattered with cherry blossoms, petals drifting lightly on the breeze.
Such a beautiful sight, impossible to find even during peak bloom, was right here within the estate. Yet it was May, long past the usual flowering season.
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Wöchentlicher Energiestatus
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