Magical Index: Become a Girl and Come to Academy City

On a hot afternoon, on the playground of a school.

Yomikawa Aiho, who is both a security guard and a teacher, blew the whistle. Tianchuan Gong and other students had no idea how long they had been running on the playground. Their legs gradually lost strength, and every breath they took had a taste of rust.

Huang Quanchuan didn't set a specific running time or number of laps, but simply ran until he could no longer move. Theoretically, this method could help one break through one's limits and improve their abilities.

Tianchuan Gong, who ran until his legs were numb, couldn't help but complain: "I'm so tired. If I had known it would be like this, I wouldn't have come."

Saten Ruiko, who was standing by, consoled her, "Senior Amakawa, you can't think like that. If you don't work hard, how can you possibly improve your ability level?"

She was silent for a moment, her face becoming more serious, and she slowly spoke: "Saten-san, is leveling up really that important to you?"

"Of course." The girl's face was full of anticipation. "I used my own ability a month ago, and it felt really good, even though it was obtained through external forces."

The thing she was talking about was the Fantasy Hand, but she couldn't mention it because of some things.

Saten Ruiko said firmly: "So I want to have that ability again, but this time I want to rely on my own efforts, so that I can no longer be considered a person without talent. In my brother's eyes, I will also be a very cool sister with super powers."

"Saten-kun is already very handsome."

"Hey, me?" Her expression was slightly stunned.

"That's right." Tianchuan Gong continued, "Didn't you notice? Most of the people have fallen, and only you and a few others are still running. If your brother saw you so strong, he would think you are very handsome."

"Senior Amakawa, okay, let's work hard together." Riri Saten looked at the other party with a firm look in her eyes.

"No." At this moment, Tianchuan Palace refused, causing the originally inspiring atmosphere to take a sharp turn for the worse.

Saten Ruiko was stunned at first, then asked in confusion: "Tianchuan-senpai... why?"

"I just happen to have something else to do, so I have to finish today's classes first." Then he smiled and encouraged, "But I believe that people like you are really worthy of it." Then Tianchuan Palace left the playground.

Riri Saten was lost in thought, then continued running on the playground, while Amakawa-kun walked towards the hospital.

The reason she ended the course early wasn't because she prioritized Kamijou Touma's concerns over her own improvement, but because such efforts were actually useless.

Amakawa Palace didn't want to dampen Saten Ruiko's hope and enthusiasm. It is always good for a person to be full of longing for the future.

But unfortunately, Academy City has something called "Quality Assessment", which means that the upper limit of a person's ability development is fixed.

Among the seven LV7 espers, the third one, nicknamed "A Certain Scientific Railgun," had more than 5 clones of Misaka Mikoto created through genetic cloning due to the needs of the "LV6 Absolute Esper Plan," and they were called "sisters."

However, these 2 Misaka sisters, who are exactly the same in brain structure, genes, appearance and personality, have different levels of abilities. The average ability level is only LV2, which is not comparable to the original Misaka Mikoto's LV5. Even such similar clones have differences, not to mention other people with huge differences.

The development of abilities in Academy City mainly relies on drugs and electrical stimulation of the brain, as well as some specific courses. Then, based on the results of the "attainment assessment", one reaches the level they should reach.

It’s not that this kind of effort is useless, but it’s just a matter of pushing your potential, which has already been developed to over 90%, up a little bit. This is the futility of hard work.

"But that's nothing," Tianchuangong thought to himself. "Even if the 'Quality Assessment' puts them at Level 0, it's nothing. You know, in Academy City, resource allocation is practically perfect."

Compared to before crossing over, resources are now more available here. People don't have to worry about food, clothing, housing, or transportation, and they don't feel hardship. People like Saten Ruiko, even those with level 0 abilities, have a good standard of living. They can wear whatever clothes they want, eat whatever food they want, and almost anything they want, as long as it's not a luxury item.

"So, even if it's like this, it doesn't matter. What does it matter whether I'm a esper or not? I'm already living a good life anyway."

When Tianchuan Gong thought of this, he had already arrived at the hospital.

"Nurse, is there a patient named Kamijou Touma?"

The nurse shook her head and said, "No, he's not on the current registration list."

"Well, he might not be here right now, but can you tell me which ward he usually stays in?"

But the answer was still negative.

"It's the guy with the spiky hair who comes here every two days."

The nurse was startled: "Oh, so you are talking about that patient? He usually lives in that ward."

Sure enough, he is a very familiar presence in this hospital.

After checking that there was no one in the ward dedicated to Kamijou Touma, she waited on the bench outside.

"I don't know if I can wait until today." The girl said to herself.

After the excessive exercise in the afternoon, her body was already tired. She didn't know when she fell asleep leaning against the wall.

At night, the cold moonlight shone through the window onto Tianchuan Gong's face. Her eyelashes fluttered like cicada wings. After a moment, the girl gradually woke up, her eyes slightly opened, and her blue pupils reflected the shape of the moon.

Outside the window, the night view of Academy City's buildings is like a sophisticated instrument, with blue light shining between the gaps between the gears, full of a sense of technology.

I couldn't help but sigh. It was hard to imagine that with such abundant light sources on the ground, there was still a clear starry sky, unaffected by light pollution. Perhaps it was the result of technology developed by those with the ability to polarize. Sometimes technology can really bring a little romance.

"first aid!!!"

The peaceful scene was broken by an urgent cry for help and the sound of a mobile bed's wheels rolling on the floor.

Following the sound, I saw two identical brown-haired girls running into the hall, one of them wearing military night-vision goggles. Lying on a gurney was a young man, his clothes soaked in dark red blood. Only the shoulders and collar revealed that they were originally white.

Seeing this scene, she stood there in shock. Originally, Tianchuan Palace only knew the extent of his injuries from novels and animations, but when she saw this scene face to face, she was still shocked by the exaggerated tragedy.

He had no purpose other than to save others and had caused himself such serious injuries. At this moment, he was passing by on the mobile bed in front of him and entered the operating room.

She stood there in a daze, calmed herself down, and then raised her head.

"This is the person I like and admire. Even though he saved so many people, he didn't get anything in return."

Tianchuan Gong's eyes became firm.

"So, tonight, let me comfort you."