Deep inside the video store's reception room, time had quietly slipped into late night.
A few warm wall lamps cast soft, amber light across Hoshimi Miyabi's composed profile. Rin had just finished a long explanation—fragments of the future, the shape of the hidden scheme, the crises that might be waiting ahead.
"I see."
Miyabi pinched her chin lightly, knuckles whitening a fraction—an unmistakable sign that she was processing everything with full concentration. Her voice stayed level as she delivered her conclusion:
"So their plan is to harvest my combat data through VR training, then use that to influence Wuwei and force it into a rampage. It's… a finely constructed design."
"Don't worry!"
Rin straightened her back, puffed out her chest, and patted herself with confidence, grin bright.
"Fairy has infinite power now! In the network, she's an absolute sovereign. If they dare reach in again—hmph—she'll make sure they never make it back out!"
Miyabi gave a small nod, accepting Fairy's capability, then added in her usual calm tone:
"Actually, their plan has already failed at the root. After fusing with the fragment of my future 'soul,' I can completely suppress Wuwei. Even if external interference happens again, it won't be able to stir up anything."
Rin nodded vigorously, about to continue—then her eyes flicked to her phone screen and she blurted out:
"Ah—! It's this late already?!"
She looked up at Miyabi, tone instantly switching back to everyday casual.
"Miyabi, it's getting really late. Are you going back to sleep, or… do you want to stay the night here? The painting-world is huge; adding one more person is nothing. If there aren't enough rooms, Fairy can build a few new houses in no time."
Miyabi barely hesitated. She shook her head lightly, black hair catching a faint sheen under the lamps.
"A regular schedule matters, but in extraordinary circumstances, staying up late once won't affect me."
Then she paused, gaze sharpening as it fixed on Rin—serious, intent.
"More importantly, I want to know the method you mentioned: using the trace of Creator authority inside you to accelerate my growth. I'm interested. If possible, I'd like to try now."
Her tone remained steady, but there was a subtle urgency beneath it—barely visible, yet undeniable.
Rin opened her mouth to argue, but the conviction in Miyabi's eyes made her swallow the words. She sighed, resigned.
"Okay…"
She shut her eyes, scrunched her face, and tried to force her brain into productivity.
A few seconds later, she cracked one eye, then both, looking defeated. Her gaze drifted toward Eisen, who had been quietly watching from the side.
"Group leader… what task am I even supposed to give her?"
Eisen leaned against the wall, thinking for a beat.
"Going by how the 'Hollow Net Commission' description works, the reward seems tied closely to task difficulty or some special quality. You don't need to overcomplicate it. Keep it simple—have her cut something and see what happens."
"Got it!"
Rin's eyes lit up. She turned to Miyabi and tried to puff herself up into something resembling Creator-like authority, forcing her face into a stern little mask.
"Alright, Miyabi! Listen carefully! Your task is: enter HIA's VR training arena immediately and clear the Special Physical Test Module at the fastest possible speed!"
As soon as she said it, Zhe frowned, cautious.
"HIA… right now? Using Miyabi's identity? It's the middle of the night. Isn't that… risky?"
The concern was practical. Miyabi was a public figure—showing up at HIA late at night could become a headache instantly if anyone saw her.
Rin smacked her forehead.
"Oh—right! She's a public figure…"
Her face drooped. Did this mean they had to wait until tomorrow?
At that moment, Rin's phone lit up on its own. Fairy's familiar electronic voice flowed out cleanly:
"Master, no need to worry. I can intercept the VR simulation test data stream from HIA's core database and construct a fully identical remote-link channel for Ms. Hoshimi Miyabi. She does not need to appear on-site."
"Really?!"
Rin practically bounced in place, snatching up her phone, eyes sparkling.
"That's amazing! Infinite-energy Fairy really can do anything!"
Miyabi's execution speed was even faster than Rin's enthusiasm.
"Begin."
The moment the word left her mouth, Miyabi's gaze unfocused—her consciousness had already sunk into the virtual environment Fairy assembled.
The familiar training arena unfolded before her.
Fairy's voice echoed inside that space:
"Remote connection established. Special Physical Test Module loaded. Test will begin. Countdown: 3… 2… 1…"
On the virtual sparring floor, Miyabi lowered her center of gravity slightly, right hand resting on the hilt. Her entire body became a drawn bow—tension refined into something almost absolute. Even the air felt thicker, tighter around her.
Boom.
The instant the countdown hit zero, several human "thugs" materialized and lunged forward with a roar—
But their forms completed less than a thousandth of a second before—
CRACK! SHATTER—!
A sharp sound like a mirror exploding under impact ripped through the space.
The entire virtual environment instantly filled with spiderweb fractures—then collapsed outright.
Data fragments sprayed and evaporated like fireworks gone wrong.
And in the real-world reception room, something went wrong at the same time.
Without warning, countless blades of razor intent erupted around Miyabi—knife-edged pressure forcibly dragging Ether into solidity. They screamed through the air, on the verge of shredding everything in the room into strips.
"—!"
Rin went sheet-white, heart nearly stopping.
In that split second, a long-fingered hand waved lazily through the air.
Eisen.
The room-ending blade-pressures vanished as if they had never existed.
Miyabi snapped her eyes open, pupils still carrying a residue of sharpness and urgency that hadn't fully withdrawn. When she saw Eisen had neutralized the danger, her body loosened and she exhaled softly.
Rin finally recovered enough to slap her own chest, then stomped once in frustration.
"With the group leader sitting right here, what was I even scared of?!"
She turned on her phone, half-panicked and half-annoyed.
"Fairy! Explain! What the heck was that?!"
Fairy's voice remained steady, but her cadence was just a touch faster.
"Master, analysis indicates: Ms. Hoshimi Miyabi's attack intensity in the virtual environment exceeded that simulation's theoretical load limit by an extreme margin. Ms. Hoshimi Miyabi used a single slash to directly split the entire virtual environment."
"Split… split it?!"
Rin and Zhe both sucked in a sharp breath, eyes snapping to Miyabi in shared disbelief.
"Miyabi?!" Rin's voice cracked. "Were you always this strong?! When you did HIA tests before, were you… holding back the whole time?!"
Miyabi nodded calmly, then shook her head lightly.
"In the past, I did not use my full strength. A test is still only a test."
Then her eyes turned distant, as if looking through something others couldn't see.
"But after receiving the fragment of my future self, my cognition underwent a kind of transformation. I can faintly glimpse a bit of what you call 'the real.'"
She paused, weighing the sensation.
"Right now, I may still be unable to do what my future self did—slash the 'real' in the layer of reality itself. But inside a virtual world…"
Her voice stayed even, but each word felt heavy.
"I did catch… a kind of abnormal seam. Since you demanded the fastest speed, I followed that feeling and swung with no restraint. That was the result."
Rin's shock melted into a flash of ecstatic joy—
Miyabi had grown stronger that fast after fusing with her future fragment!
But the joy lasted only a heartbeat before a new problem crawled onto Rin's face.
She looked miserably at her phone.
"Fairy, then what do we do now? HIA's test modules can't take it at all. If we crank up the virtual world's durability—can it handle Miyabi's attacks?"
Fairy's answer crushed the fantasy with cold precision.
"Master, even with infinite energy as a foundation, enhancing virtual-world durability still has both theoretical and technical ceilings. Based on Ms. Hoshimi Miyabi's destruction model, even at maximum reinforcement, it is exceptionally unlikely to withstand multiple full-power slashes. Success probability: approaches zero."
Rin slumped.
"Looks like the HIA test path is completely blocked. We'll have to go try Zero Hollow tomorrow…"
She was already sketching a new plan when Eisen finally spoke again.
"Enough. Stop running in circles."
He sounded mildly bored.
"This is a small matter. No need to go that far. With me giving a hand, it's solved."
He tilted his chin toward Fairy.
"Fairy, rebuild the connection. This time, I'll reinforce the spatial architecture. The test will remain stable."
"Understood, Lord Eisen."
A few seconds later, Miyabi stood once again inside a refreshed virtual arena.
The space itself carried a new, indescribably solid texture—Eisen's reinforcement made manifest.
"Special Physical Test Module restarted. Countdown: 3… 2… 1…"
The moment the timer hit zero, the same thug projections surged forward—
Miyabi's eyes flashed cold.
She drew, cut, and sheathed in a single breath.
A blade-line—more condensed than lightning and colder than night—crossed the space.
A chain of muffled tearing sounds struck almost simultaneously.
All the newly formed thug projections froze mid-motion—
Then split cleanly down the center, each becoming two halves before dissolving into data light.
The virtual environment didn't tremble.
It stood like bedrock.
"Test complete," Fairy announced.
Miyabi opened her eyes and immediately looked down at her hands, fingers flexing as if testing the shape of power in her body.
"Don't bother," Eisen cut in.
"You didn't become stronger. Your power did not increase, and your realm did not break through."
Rin's face fell.
"Huh? So… it failed?"
"Not entirely," Eisen said, eyes sliding over Miyabi like he could see her internal structure.
"Perhaps because she has long been pulling on a fragment of the Progenitor's authority inside Wuwei. Her will did successfully connect to the trace of Creator authority hidden in you, Rin. The commission itself was established."
He paused.
"The problem is—Ms. Hoshimi Miyabi did not truly complete the commission."
He looked at her.
"She wasn't fast enough."
Miyabi nodded slowly.
"I understand."
Fairy's voice inserted itself again.
"Master, Lord Eisen. Per data record, Ms. Hoshimi Miyabi's second successful completion time was: 0.046 seconds. This is the maximal speed limit under current physical rules and Ms. Hoshimi Miyabi's present state. Under the current commission framework, the probability of surpassing this limit approaches zero."
She proposed a new path, crisp and computational.
"Recommendation: Master changes the commission objective. For example: eliminate a specific number of targets within a set time. I can compress target spawn range to the minimum to maximize elimination efficiency."
It sounded practical. Measurable.
Rin was about to agree—then her eyes sharpened with sudden, absolute resolve.
"No. Keep the original commission."
Miyabi, too, shook her head—slowly, decisively.
Fairy fell silent for a fraction of a second, as if performing a final confirmation.
"…Command confirmed. Virtual environment rebuilt. Commission: fastest speed to complete Special Physical Test Module. Countdown: 3… 2… 1…"
Miyabi stood at the familiar starting point for the third time.
This time, her posture was completely different.
She didn't lower her center of gravity.
She didn't adopt a ready-to-draw stance.
She simply stood there naturally. Her right hand rested loosely at her side. She looked—almost relaxed.
The countdown ended. The thug projections roared into existence.
Miyabi didn't move.
She waited calmly, watching the faces, the weapons, the momentum of their charge.
Only when the nearest one was close enough to brush her sleeve did her wrist flick.
A blade-flash—more restrained than before, yet sharper, more exact—passed through.
The nearest projection split and dissolved.
"Again," Miyabi said, voice flat.
Fairy reset the scene. New targets appeared.
Miyabi stood. Waited. Cut precisely at a threshold point. Then, without emotion:
"Again."
Again.
Again.
Each cycle, the waiting time shifted slightly.
Each draw angle and moment changed by a hair.
It was as if she were searching for a rhythm too subtle for ordinary senses.
Her presence grew lighter, thinner—yet closer to something fundamental.
When the scene reset again, Miyabi didn't even rest her hand on the hilt.
She closed her eyes.
Her entire body fell into complete stillness, breath and intent sinking until she seemed to merge with the space itself—
Like the deepest quiet before a storm.
"Command confirmed. Special Physical Test Module starting. Countdown: 3… 2… 1…"
Fairy's voice echoed.
Zero.
At the instant the countdown ended—
Hmmm…
No blade-light.
No roars.
No thugs.
The whole virtual arena fell into an eerie emptiness, as if time itself paused for a beat.
Then, in the center of the arena, huge golden letters appeared without warning:
TEST PASSED.
No process.
No combat.
Only the result.
Miyabi's long lashes trembled. She opened her eyes.
For a fleeting instant, something like a galaxy rotated in the depths of her gaze—then settled back into calm water.
Fairy's voice, for the first time, hesitated for a full two seconds.
When she spoke again, the usually even tone carried a tremor that could only be called shock.
"Ms. Hoshimi Miyabi… how did you do that?"
"My backend record shows your completion time was… -1."
"This is not a data overflow error. It is an accurate record confirmed by the system's core rules."
She was trying—desperately—to comprehend a result that violated physics, logic, and every boundary the simulation was built upon.
Miyabi stood quietly, as though she'd done something insignificant.
She lifted one hand and brushed her fingertips along the cool sheath, feeling a faint tremor fade into silence.
Then she raised her head toward the void beyond the ceiling and let the smallest smile touch her lips.
"Nothing special," she said calmly.
"I simply…"
Her voice remained level, as if stating an obvious fact.
"…slashed from the future—into the past."
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
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Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 150)
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TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter110)
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I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter225)
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Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 77
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 195
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 170
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass Volume2/5
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 225
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 65
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 76
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 66
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 65
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer 210
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 154
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player Volume4/30
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 115
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 67
Uma Musume: From Beginner 130
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 85
Uma Musume: I Want All 105
I Can Copy Unique Skills 100
Summoning an Evil God, but the 70
Supernatural Multiverse 90
My Harem Is Indescribable 85
Jujutsu Kaisen: Heroic Spirit 90
"I'm just a Valkyrie passing through." 68
Uma Musume: Today Is Another Romantic Battlefield 100
Still playing traditional Honk 69
The Most Filial Son Under Heav 75
What Should I Do After Switchi - Volume2/3
Reincarnated as a Demon, Skill 60
Hell-Difficulty Dungeon? 55
Transmigrated as Sukuna 71
Checking In in Demon Slayer 75
The Reincarnating Trainer of Tracen Academy 80
I Refuse to Become a Heroic 66
My Best Friend Into a Slime? 58
A Saiyan Stands Above Marvel 65
What Do You Mean by Using a Lab Mod to Be the Hero? 63
Tanya Starts from Re:Zero 59
Why did they assign me to Uma 55
MYGO Beauties 56
DanMachi: Emiya the Giant Hero 45
The Gacha Merchant Who Started 49
Honkai's Otherworld? Wait—Who Are You People?! 36
Emiya Shirou, Determined to Slay Every Curse and Evil Spirit 35
The Uma Musume Who Became 30
I'm Definitely Not the King of 35
After Maxing Out Every Class 35
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