In Lin Wuming’s eyes, the world transformed from a unified concept into something pieced together from countless fragments.
And Lin Wuming himself, by chance, was able to freely manipulate the “components”—that is, Superpowers—that made up the world…
If he could truly reach that level, it would probably transcend the realm of mortals and achieve the state of a “Magic God,” wouldn’t it?
But compared to such a “beautiful” ending, Lin Wuming saw another possibility.
—This world is merely a dream; when the world breaks, he will awaken from his dream.
After all, at its core, Lin Wuming is an esper who does not belong to this world.
Perhaps understanding everything he experienced in this world as a dream is, in fact, the most reasonable explanation.
All the events and people he met in Academy City over the past three years were all a dream…
This thought inexplicably occupied Lin Wuming’s mind, which is why he showed a grave expression at that moment.
That’s why Shokuhou Misaki felt that Lin Wuming was actually seeking comfort this time.
Despite some unsatisfactory aspects, overall, Lin Wuming was quite pleased with his “journey as an esper.”
He certainly didn’t want to “wake up” and leave this world just yet.
So Lin Wuming specifically called his closest and most familiar friends tonight, wanting to gain some certainty from them—certainty that this world is real.
“Damn it, what kind of inexplicable trouble is this…?” Shokuhou Misaki felt a headache over this; even she couldn’t understand how Lin Wuming jumped from gaining strength to “waking up and leaving.”
—Could it be that the first step to becoming a Level 6 esper is for one’s way of thinking to become extraordinary?
Of course, Shokuhou Misaki prided herself on being the person who understood Lin Wuming best, so she certainly wouldn’t give up.
So she took out her remote control: “Sorry, Senior Wuming, today I’ll make an exception…”
—Actively and seriously using Mental Out on Lin Wuming.
Lin Wuming didn’t refuse, and even the other girls present didn’t have any particular reaction. After all, in their eyes, Shokuhou Misaki could activate her ability anytime, anywhere, even without using the remote control.
Except for Misaka Mikoto, when others were with Shokuhou Misaki, it was already tacitly assumed that their inner thoughts would be read.
Shokuhou Misaki didn’t care about their thoughts—after all, they weren’t wrong.
However, using the remote control also meant that she was serious and going all out.
Understanding him better than Lin Wuming himself—this wasn’t Shokuhou Misaki’s boast, but a statement of fact.
She wanted to dig into Lin Wuming’s memories and information to unearth the root of the problem, the source that Lin Wuming himself hadn’t even realized…
—“Monster, what exactly are you?!”
“Ah, found it.” Shokuhou Misaki clicked her tongue lightly; she found the root cause of Lin Wuming’s psychological problem.
It was just this one sentence, or rather, one word.
“Monster”—this word highly summarized people’s—mainly enemies’—evaluation of Lin Wuming.
It wasn’t a specific enemy who evaluated Lin Wuming this way, but almost everyone—anyone who had fought Lin Wuming—would make a similar judgment.
During the Misawa Cram School Incident not long ago, the Alchemist Aureolus said something similar.
In today’s “STUDY Incident,” although Lin Wuming didn’t directly attack them, Youfu Chunshu and others, before being sent to the ambulance, still muttered “You monster” with resentment…
—Perhaps it was that bastard Youfu Chunshu’s words that became the last straw that broke the camel’s back.
It finally broke Lin Wuming’s defenses—he clearly hadn’t hit them, and even kindly helped them call an ambulance; yet they were still so afraid of him, treating him as a “monster”…
Coupled with the “essence of the world” he had glimpsed in previous battles, under this double impact, Lin Wuming ultimately developed a strong psychological shadow.
“Senior Wuming, don’t worry, I won’t let you leave.” Shokuhou Misaki held Lin Wuming’s hand and said with a smile.
Seemingly noticing Misaka Mikoto’s raised eyebrow on the other side, Shokuhou Misaki added, “Alright, none of us will leave. We are right here, existing with undeniable reality… This is not a dream, you know.”
After Shokuhou Misaki’s prompting, Lin Wuming himself finally knew what he was truly afraid of.
Lin Wuming is an esper; before he came here, this world was just an anime called “a certain magical index.”
For him, this world, whether good or bad, seemed somewhat “unreal” to a certain extent… like a dream.
A dream will have an end, but because the “sense of reality” of this world was too strong, Lin Wuming almost forgot the fact that he was an esper.
And today, a series of coincidences formed by missteps and mishaps triggered this subconscious worry within him…
Of course, to others, Lin Wuming’s worries seemed very unreasonable.
What does “being afraid of this world suddenly breaking” mean?
Will becoming a Level 6 esper truly grant the power to destroy the world?
—And what the heck is “worrying about waking up from a dream”? Does Senior Wuming think his current achievements are all just a dream?
However, out of respect for Lin Wuming, the girls present didn’t directly voice their complaints but instead cooperated with Shokuhou Misaki’s words to comfort Lin Wuming.
After pouring out his thoughts, Lin Wuming also felt much lighter.
He, of course, knew that the girls around him were secretly complaining, but it didn't matter.
It’s normal for a mere mortal to worry about grand propositions like “world destruction” and be considered to be worrying needlessly.
This was also thanks to Lin Wuming being a Level 5 Esper, possessing sufficiently strong power as a foundation. Otherwise, such worries wouldn’t even be called “worrying needlessly” but would directly be considered the thoughts of a madman, wouldn’t they?
Only Misaka Mikoto still looked solemn: “World destruction… or whatever, perhaps Senior Wuming isn’t overthinking it if he truly becomes a Level 6 Esper.”
Misaka Mikoto is the third-ranked Esper and theoretically one of the closest humans to Level 6.
So her judgment was very convincing.
The other girls in the room immediately exchanged glances, falling silent for a moment.
Due to differences in the nature of their abilities, although Shokuhou Misaki is also a Level 5 Esper, her esper ability, Mental Out, even if it were to advance to Level 6, would likely have little to do with “destroying the world.”
—“Destroying humanity” is more likely, though.
So, among everyone present, only Misaka Mikoto could understand Lin Wuming on this level.
Of course, Misaka Mikoto’s understanding was limited to the “world destruction” aspect; as for worries like “waking up from a dream and leaving,” she was completely baffled.
“Alright, Senior Wuming! Cheer up quickly!” Shokuhou Misaki patted Lin Wuming’s arm, “You’re a senior, a ‘hero,’ don’t let a small psychological shadow defeat you!”
Although she said that, Shokuhou Misaki’s heart was cheering wildly.
Looking at it selfishly, Senior Wuming’s psychological problem this time was actually not a bad thing at all!
—At least, Senior Wuming became aware of Our existence.
—When subconsciously seeking comfort, Senior Wuming’s first thought was to find Us!
—Senior Wuming is afraid of “waking up from the dream,” and fundamentally, he is afraid of being separated from Us!
Being able to confirm this filled Shokuhou Misaki with joy.
