‘Yiruki…’

Obsession and joy close to madness.

Shirone felt chills.

Everyone had forgotten about sleeping for several days. They were all immersed in their work.

When calculated, their average time spent asleep daily seemed to be only about an hour and 40 minutes.

Even on days Shirone would study real hard, the amount of workload did not compare.

Strangely, however, he did not feel as tired as before. It was as if his pain had been numbed.

‘Normally, they forget work and act all lazy, but when they actually decide to set their mind on something, they get really hung up on it almost to the point that it’s scary.’

“Nade, are you tired right now?”

“Nope, not at all. Actually, am I? I don’t know. I’m still up, so I guess not.”

“Me too. Yiruki is working too, so let’s make a script first. We have to decide what to write on the poster as well. It will take time to make and design these tiny things.”

“Oh, should we? Then let’s put up the poster first tomorrow.”

“Would that be okay though? We are not even at the stage of predicting the workload yet.”

“We’ll have to take the risk. It’s better to announce things as soon as possible. I don’t want to make it obvious that we’re trying to hurry things up. Since we’re fighting a psychological war, shouldn’t we take this into account?”

“You’re right. Then I’ll make whatever we have to write on the poster, you think about the design.”

The two laid paper on the table and started making their poster.

It was late at night, but their minds were still clear.

* * *

The next day.

Towards the end of lunch time, a poster for a presentation of the Supernatural Psychic Science Research Group was posted on the notice board.

Most of the students were puzzled.

Even the name of the research group was unfamiliar to them because the group had not engaged in official activities.

In particular, the poster was so absurd it made them laugh.

In the poster was a picture of the magic academy that was altered so that it looked dark and gloomy. It looked like a circus poster.

Supernatural Psychic Science Research Group’s Surprise Presentation!

Shocking revelation! Those who wish to know of the secrets of the soul, gather at the 7th Lecture Hall.

“Psychic Science? What is that? Are they talking about stuff like ghosts?”

“I guess they really have nothing to do. Who the heck are these stupid kids in this research group?”

A girl pointed to the bottom of the poster.

“Hey guys, look at this.”

The students who confirmed the list of members of the Supernatural Psychic Science Research Group were shocked to the core.

“It’s our upperclassman, Shirone! How did this happen?! Is there someone with the same name in the academy?!”

“As if. It’s really our upperclassman Shirone. There’s also our other upperclassmen Yiruki and Nade.”

“But that’s it? Just three? Are they doing this for the performance evaluation? Even so, this is too much.”

While one half of the students were still in a doubt, the other half simply found it funny.

“When is the presentation? Should we give it a go?”

“Because it’s Senior Shirone, I’m curious.. Are they really going to reveal the secrets of the soul?”

“Kekeke! We’ll know when we get there. Anyway, it sounds fun.”

Either way, the students didn’t take it seriously. To them, it was like going to a theatrical performance rather than an academic performance.

On the other hand, those working in the dark, similar to the Supernatural Psychic Science Research Group, viewed the situation seriously.

They gathered away from the public eyes and whispered.

- How did this happen? A presentation from the ‘Supernatural Psychic Science Research Group?’

- According to our spy, it seems that Ms. Siena and they were at odds with each other. They must be going toe-to-toe with each other, but can they really do anything? They’re not the previous Super Psychic Group that we knew of. The glory days are over.

- We can’t be certain. Yiruki is a savant and Nade’s skills shouldn’t be taken lightly, either. Shirone, the new member, was also the reason Black Magician disbanded. I don’t think it’s gonna end this easily.

- Kekeke, Black Magician. They were just low-class kids. Anyway, let’s wait and see. If the Supernatural Psychic Science Research Group disappears, there will be an all-out war in regards to the second owner of Estas.- It won’t be easy. The Female Body Research Group has been eyeing it for a long time. The economic research group ‘Golden Wheel’ is also preparing to open the black market. Must be a good opportunity to make a killing.

- Hmph, our Doll Collection Research Group isn’t so bad, either. I swear on my lovely Poco. Estas’ ‘upper level’ is ours.

The upper level of Estas.

Their eyes gleamed as they recalled the secret place that was only talked about in legends.

Those who knew the Supernatural Psychic Science Research Group and those who did not know of it all had different stories, but everyone expected the presentation to be an absolute success.

As for the party that was actually preparing for the presentation, they had no time to pay attention to miscellaneous things.

Only one thought kept bothering them.

Why was there only 24 hours in a day?

If each day was about 200 hours long, or at least 48 hours long, they could achieve better results.

Of course, they weren’t stupid enough to waste time on such delusions, so they split the load so they could work as effectively as possible.

Nade, who succeeded in developing the prototype of the hologram device, held a demonstration in front of Shirone and Yiruki.

It was a hemispherical lens made of glass. Output terminals extended in all directions and were connected to an auxiliary device.

While Yiruki was busy setting up the program, Shirone fiddled with the crystal marble on the optical fiber.

Nade spoke.

“Everything’s set. Shirone, let’s start.”

“Will it be okay? I haven’t perfected my Photon Output yet.”

“It’s the same for us. We need to test it first so that we can find out what we need to improve.”

“Okay.”

With a crystal ball in each hand, Shirone gave everything he had.

Electricity was being generated inside the hemispherical lens, and a translucent human figure made its appearance.

* * *

* * *

Although the figure was not completely human-looking due to the limits of the technology and electricity, Nade thought this inaccurate depiction was actually better. This was because students’ imagination of ghosts would be something like this.

“So this is a hologram.”

The ghost was a soldier in ancient armor. Its face was dirty, and its bones could be seen in places the armor did not cover.

“First of all, the frame looks okay. Yiruki, it’s your turn.”

Yiruki activated the controller.

There were only eight buttons, but since combination was possible, various patterns could be expressed. Each time a button was pressed, the soldier’s hologram performed various actions.

Yiruki watched the soldier walk about the room with a satisfied expression.

“First, there is no problem with the program. We can continue like this. All that’s left is Shirone. Are you really going to be okay? On the day of the presentation, the number of devices will increase dramatically.”

Shirone, who tried it himself, was also worried.

Power generation was covered with Nade’s electricity, but the problem was transmitting information. Operating even a single hologram device tired Shirone out.

“I’ll do my best. Still, my retention time is increasing, so there is still hope. Now, Nade will be mass producing, right? And are you done, Yiruki?”

“No, I also have a lot of things to improve on. If I take psychological changes into consideration, it would take a year to analyze. Still… Considering our simpler goal, I should be able to make it on time.”

Nade nodded his head.

“Okay, great. Sadly, we have no time for rehearsals. So with the time we have left, let’s continue focusing on our respective duties.”

In order to reinforce his mind, Shirone thought of many possible solutions. But eventually, Shirone came to a definitive conclusion.

“Push my mind to the limit.”

Physical training focused on damaging pre-existing muscle fibers in order to make them stronger. If someone were to take only a few hours of rest like Shirone, their body would break within a month.

However, the mind differed from the body. It had the elasticity to withstand high stress.

For Shirone, whose mental strength was extremely strong already, there was no greater way than this.

‘I can do it.’

Pushing his mind to the brink of destruction. It was the only solution to reach their impossible goal.

‘More! I have to beat my mind more!’

The size of the light source reflected on the wall was gradually getting bigger.* * *

The day before the presentation.

The storeroom where Shirone was training was bathed in blinding light from photon output.

Shirone had his eyes tightly closed. Blood was dripping from Shirone’s lips.

He tried to hold out, but his body swayed left and right. His two legs wobbled, struggling to hold up the weight.

If he kept on going like this, he could go crazy.

“EUK… AARGHHHH”

Shirone poured out the tiny amount of mental energy he had left.

The next moment, the flash disappeared.

“HEUK! HEUK!”

Shirone was gasping for air, but he still had to check his record. Shirone crawled on his knees to press the button on the watch.

minutes and 32 seconds.

“Haaah…”

He successfully maintained Photon Output for more than 10 minutes.

His Spirit Zone had rapidly grown in strength, and the power behind his specialty magic also exceeded the level of Class 5.

The iron door opened, and Nade, who Shirone had not seen for days, came in.

Considering he had to walk around the academy in an invisibility cloak, his complexion was much worse than before.

“It’s midnight, Shirone. Let’s do a rehearsal.”

Nade knew how high Shirone set his goal, so he purposely did not ask for results.

Then Shirone, who was breathing hard, threw the watch at him.

Nade’s eyes widened after seeing the recorded time.

“You… Did you really make it?”

Shirone held a thumbs up and gave a tired smile.

“Goal achieved. Let’s give them a show to remember.”

* * *

th Lecture Hall, Alpheas Magic Academy.

The presentation was at 5 PM, but many students were already gathered in front of the lecture hall.

As rumors spread and more continued to be produced, the presentation caught many people’s attention.

Sharelle admired the line.

“Wow, there are a lot of people. It’s also my first time hearing of the Supernatural Psychic Science Research Group, but as expected, celebrities are different.”

Sharelle was promoted to the Advanced class after the Speed gun, so she didn’t have the chance to hear about the research group.

Amy found it unexpected, too.

It was amazing that a research group with only three members from Class 5 could attract so many people.

“They did create a lot of ruckus. Anyways, it seems like their performance is a success.”

“I didn’t think Shirone and Yiruki would become friends. They were at each other's throat, yet now they can’t even live without each other.”

While the two stood in line, students from the Intermediate classes murmured amongst themselves.

Students from the Advanced classes had come to visit.magic

Just looking at the Class 3 badge on their collar alone was awe-inspiring.

“Wow, it’s Senior Amy. Even the Advanced class is going to attend this lame presentation?”

“You idiot, she is Senior Shirone’s girlfriend. And Senior Sharelle always hangs with Senior Amy. They’ve been like that even since their time in the Intermediate Classes.”

“Well yeah, but… What about the seniors over there?”

The Students’ eyes gathered toward the place someone pointed to.

Amy and Sharelle also looked back and was surprised.

“Oh my? Amy, look there. Kaden is here.”

Kaden from Class 2 had his hands inside his pocket.

Around him were a number of talented people from Class 2 who were well known. amongst them were Richard of Alchemy, Electric Monster Lycon, Hershey of Sonar, and so on.