Academy City's Fourth Thermal Research Institute.
The researcher greeting Natsume Sonoko was named Asuka Hirosue, who'd already lived in Academy City for seven or eight years.
Three years ago, appointed by the city's board of directors, she took over this very institute. Her initial task was to collaborate with other thermal research facilities in analyzing Pyrokinesis abilities.
Pyrokinesis users were far more powerful than others in similar categories—even an ordinary Level 3 could unleash flames exceeding 500 degrees Celsius.
The most powerful Pyrokinesis user in Academy City could easily reach the melting point of steel.
Yet, despite their formidable strength and the support of numerous research institutes, no Level 5 had emerged from their ranks. So, the focus shifted to studying other ability types in the same category.
Some institutes turned to cryokinetic abilities, some to thermal retention, while others investigated heat-transfer capabilities.
The ability of this "Kaito Ito-kun"—heat transfer—was now the Fourth Institute's main direction, somewhat similar to Natsume Sonoko's own power.
He could effortlessly move heat from one place to another, showing immense potential in every aspect.
But the problem was obvious: the loss during transfer was just too severe.
In one of the institute's rooms, Natsume Sonoko stared in surprise at a stack of documents detailing three years of research processes, results, and hypotheses about abilities like Kaito's and her own.
Though Personal Reality developed through drugs and other means was essentially created from nothing, it remained deeply tied to actual reality.
Generally, energy refers to the sum of mechanical energy and internal energy, while temperature reflects the activity level of molecules within an object.
Heating, according to these hypotheses, was thought to work by controlling that molecular activity—converting molecular kinetic energy into observable thermal energy.
Cooling, on the other hand, meant turning manifested thermal energy back into kinetic energy between molecules. Without deliberate control, that kinetic energy would partially dissipate through random molecular collisions.
'If these guesses are true, no wonder the range of temperatures I can control has been so hard to increase, still hovering around a hundred degrees Celsius in either direction.'
'The energy available between air molecules is limited to begin with, and with added loss, it's extremely difficult to improve further after a certain point.'
Natsume Sonoko shook her head helplessly. Still, it wasn't a big deal—she'd long suspected there was a limit to how far her temperature control could grow.
But what came next surprised her even more. If molecular-level development hit a bottleneck, then shift research to the atomic level—something already part of Academy City's tech tree.
'Atomic-level research… Is that really meaningful? It wouldn't be the kind of thing where just the initial formula takes years to figure out, would it?'
Sonoko's eyes showed disbelief. This wasn't like studying substances made of atoms, such as hydrogen; this was studying the atom itself.
Sure, in the real world, they could create high-tech facilities like nuclear power plants—but applying that on a human scale seemed wildly unrealistic.
A human-shaped nuclear reactor? If it ever got to that point, temperature control would be better called nuclear energy control.
But even Level 5 might not manage it, let alone Level 6—who knows if that's even possible.
Still, if it were achievable, temperatures of tens of thousands of degrees or even near absolute zero might not be out of reach.
Reading through all this material turned out to be incredibly beneficial.
Forget about developing derivative lateral abilities for a moment—the practical applications of thermal-kinetic conversion, derived from the hypothesis about kinetic and thermal energy interconversion, completely captured her attention.
This had already moved from speculation into real-world experimentation, and some results had been achieved.
Going from knowing how to use an ability to understanding its principles—even if it's still hypothetical—made a huge difference.
And such hypotheses could be reversely verified through practical application.
Natsume Sonoko had once jotted down ideas about developing thermal-kinetic conversion in an unnamed notebook, thinking how amazing it'd be if she could pull it off. She never expected to stumble upon similar research here today.
The study was still in its early stages. Reading the materials word for word, Sonoko now wore a dazed, almost silly grin, like the clueless young master of a wealthy family.
That grin didn't last long before a large hand patted her twice on the shoulder.
"Kaito, your experimental results today weren't exactly poor, but something feels off. The actual effect of the formula was at least a third weaker. Could there be an issue with that lateral formula?"
Researcher Asuka Hirosue looked at Natsume Sonoko with a grave expression. From what she recalled, the board was growing impatient with their progress. If they couldn't deliver satisfactory results soon, staff and budget cuts were likely next year.
"N-No, the airflow barrier formula works quite well. I'm just feeling a bit under the weather," Sonoko hurriedly explained, wearing an apologetic look.
Only after the researcher walked away did Sonoko let out a quiet sigh of relief, wiping nonexistent sweat from her forehead.
The truth was, it wasn't her health—the formula simply wasn't developed for her, so compatibility was an issue.
Even though her ability was somewhat similar to that Kaito guy's, the fact that she could adapt his formula for her own use in such a short time was pretty impressive in itself.
A sudden wave of helplessness washed over her.
While she'd been researching formulas alone, there were people in Academy City with whole institutes—and far more resources—at their disposal. Of course, the cost wasn't small either—being treated like lab rats under constant scrutiny.
'I wonder if I can copy some of the data. Two weeks really isn't enough,' Sonoko thought.
Especially the knowledge on practical thermal-kinetic conversion—that was the most crucial part. Everything else paled in comparison.
'From what I've seen, they've only managed kinetic-to-thermal conversion so far. Thermal-to-kinetic hasn't made any progress, but even this is plenty useful for me,' she mused silently.
And in kinetic-to-thermal conversion, they'd only tested it on copper and iron, but that alone could basically defend against bullets and cold weapons.
"Ms. Hirosue, I've recently grown very interested in thermal-kinetic conversion. I think we should prioritize research in that area," Sonoko said earnestly to the female researcher.
"No. The institute has its own plans. You just need to cooperate."
Hearing that stern reply, Sonoko felt a pang of pity for this student named Kaito. He might seem like the center of the research, but surprisingly, he held no real say at all.
Maybe that was just the difference between being Level 5 and not.
Sonoko stayed at the institute until very late, only snapping back to awareness when researchers started leaving one after another.
The gains today were unprecedented, saving her enormous amounts of time she would've spent collecting, organizing, and studying materials.
Her mind was chaotic, but in a good way—stuffed full of new insights, leaving her feeling almost lightheaded.
'I really have to thank Shokuhou-senpai properly. I owe her a huge favor now.'
Standing up, Sonoko stuffed a pile of her own notes into her backpack, planning to continue reading back at the dorm.
Speaking of the dorm… Sonoko suddenly jolted awake. Peering out the window at the dark, overcast sky, she felt as if she'd been drenched in cold water.
She'd almost forgotten—lights-out was approaching, and a certain dorm supervisor was probably already waiting by the entrance, ready to catch stragglers.
"It's so late, should we take a taxi home?" A few researchers chatted casually nearby, sparking a twinge of envy in Sonoko for the freedom adults had.
"A taxi? Cabs in Academy City are ridiculously expensive. I'd rather walk."
Rushing out of the institute, Sonoko definitely didn't have spare cash for a taxi.
When she reached a street corner, she reached out, pressed forward, and pulled sharply. A cleaning robot shuddered to a struggling halt right at her feet.
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
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