Chapter 2: Traversal Simulator

2. Do you often have dreams?

Answer Here (If you want)!

(Word Count ↑ 1500)

After a lengthy discussion in which I persuaded them that I would not reveal their secret about the abilities they possess, they agreed to let me go. Following that, they had a monthly demonstration to test their abilities, which I made sure to witness by bagging them until they nearly chose to murder me.

I witnessed an epic battle between Chifuyu's "World Create" and Hatoko's "Over Element," during which they destroyed mountains in the sub-dimension that Chifuyu created using her superpower, with everything broken or torn apart with swords and magma. As the battle was reaching its climax, Tomoya used her "Closed Clock" superpower to end it even though she didn't have to because this wasn't a serious fight but rather a spar to test their powers.

After that, I asked Jurai to demonstrate his superpower which he accepted gladly and then took a posture before manifesting a dark flame that appeared hot and menacing. That was his superpower, "Dark and Dark," which essentially does nothing other than look cool and slightly warm. However, that was before his power evolved into "Dark and Dark of the End," a power that is comparable to Amaterasu in the Naruto world. Since in the anime, he would have displayed it to her after their confrontation, Mirei nearly caught him when she barged into the club without warning.

Mirei Kudō, the student council president, is a beautiful fair-skinned adolescent girl with straight shoulder-length dark blue hair that is usually tied up in a bun at the back with her fringe being quite big and hanging on the right side, two light blue clips on the right side of her frame, and dark blue eyes interpreted in without first announcing herself.

"What brings the student council president to the literature club room?" Sayumi inquired cautiously, "Is something wrong?"

"I am here to inspect the literature club today." Answered Mirei while looking around as if she was looking for something.

"Inspect?"

"Club president Takanashi, we have warned you several times and we're getting overwhelmed with complaints of screams coming from the literature club room." In that sentence, all of the eyes of the club members went to Jurai as he was the only one with chūnibyō problems.

Jurai became nervous and concerned because they would be in trouble as a result of his chūnibyō activities, so he did what he does best: he posed like the chūnibyō he is and said that it was Mirei who was acting suspiciously.

Although the other girls wanted to stop him since he already causes enough trouble for them, Mirei responded by asking how Jurai knew even though she made precautions to conceal herself when spying on them. Everyone was taken aback by this, except for me, because even Jurai didn't anticipate that his assumption would be true, despite that he pretended to have anticipated it after composing himself.

Then she asked for a fight which they complied by letting Jurai go first since he wanted to show his superpower as he couldn't do it before to everyone else even though nothing changed about his superpower. Though the moment he did, he got his powers stolen from him by Mirei who has the "Grateful Robber", a superpower that allows her to steal someone else's superpower and use it as well.

However, she can only do it when the particular individual with special powers activates it within her sight. She can also return the owner's superpower if she wills it and she can combine multiple people's abilities as well.

"Nooooo, for six months now, "Dark and Dark" has been there to help me through bad times and made good times even better. Every day, I wake up and say, 'Good morning there, Dark and Dark,' and 'every night, I say nighty night Dark and Dark, sweet dreams little buddy, I will see you in the morning, my love,'" Jurai said with tears running down his face.

"Give it back, Kudō, give it back, it's the only superpower I have." He stated this while sobbing on the floor. Then Kudō adds that his superpower is lukewarm, to which everyone in the club agrees because they haven't seen the awakened form of it, which caused Jurai to cough blood and later his soul to leave his body due to numerous insults adding salt to the injury.

He had a superpower, unlike me, who lacked any supernatural prowess, and I couldn't help but be jealous of him since having a cool superpower is every man's dream.

Kudō responds by asking to begin the next fight, to which Tomoya responds that they would not use their abilities since she has deduced that her powers are confined to just taking someone else's ability if she sees it first. Sayumi then binds Kud with her Judo and karate skills, as she is a black belt.

Kudō leaves the event after informing us of the occurrences that caused her to believe we are dangerous individuals with tremendous superpowers since she still had club work to do as the student council president. As a result of my understanding and trust, I grew closer to Kudō after her defeat against Sayumi since I understood her personality and motivation more than the other club members.

As I was discussing the message supplied to Kudō by an anonymous person with other club members at the end of this chaotic day, I felt a sharp stare on my back. That was probably Hajime Kiry, a tall young guy with short, white spiky hair. He has purple eyes, but he wears red contact lenses in his right eye and wears tiny, round black sunglasses. He has two ear piercings and is wearing a necklace. He's also dressed in dark brown slacks and dark boots.

I opted to ignore it since now that I am a member of the literature club, I am certain that he would not hurt me, and I didn't want him to know that I could sense him due to the exponential senses that I developed, which aren't much in the face of a super-powered user.

Through that death gaze I felt, it reminded me of the cliche practically all protagonists use: "Weakness is a sin in the world of strong." This expression meant that in the face of strength, nothing the weak do would matter and that when one is faced with death, one will act in whatever, regardless of how foolish it may be. I have now fully understood the protagonists' way of thinking.

The day concluded in this manner, and I came home, but my parents did not appear to have returned due to their date night being today. I was so exhausted after today's activities that I lay down on the bed, expecting to get some rest before tomorrow's turmoil, assuming there is one. However, just as I was about to close my eyes, I heard a ding sound similar to a morning bell from the past.

[Ding]

[Syncing is complete and the traversal simulator has been loaded...] Said a mechanical voice, which was a sign for my agonizing cries to be produced as a result of the agony of merging my soul or, I presume, with something that looked like a blue orb.

The abrupt prompt that appeared in my mind after the horrible pain I had been through startled me. Was my cheat, or the golden finger as the Chinese term it, finally here after witnessing me go through such severe training and seeing that I needed it so badly that it came before me?

In any event, I'm delighted it arrived now rather than later, when I may have died as a result of my current situation in this world.

[The traversal simulator provides an AI that will explain the system's functions and act as a companion to the host throughout his journeys between worlds or in daily life if the host so chooses.]

Huh, so the system already has an AI to help me in understanding the function and assisting me with anything I want. That is nice of the system to support its user rather than throwing its host under the bus by assigning its missions in life-and-death scenarios.

{Hello host, I shall be the AI who will aid you on your voyages between worlds or in daily life if the host so wishes.] A blue orb with a skull for a face in front of me spoke in a mechanical yet welcoming tone.

"Yeah, I wouldn't mind a companion that could help in my daily life", I replied to the AI, which I presume is a separate entity from the traversal simulator system since it has a more friendly tone and the way the system addressed the AI was like it was summoning someone to be my guide rather than itself.

{I appreciate you accepting me as a companion rather than a guide, and yes, I am a separate entity from the system since it created me so that I could accompany you. Now I'll explain how the traversal simulator works.}

A translucent screen flashed in front of me after the system AI concluded its statements. There were basic instructions on how the system works, which I expect the AI will explain in greater detail the functions of it.

I suppressed my excitement and attempted to calm myself down before glancing at the transparent screen in front of him since I had always desired my cheat and now that I had one, my path to supernatural power is clear.

{Traversal Simulator:

1. The host has a personal sub-dimension where time flows faster than it does in the outside world, and this is the only place in which the host can use the traversal simulator system's travel function. Since the host's soul/spirit will be extracted from the host's current body and relocated to a system-created body in another world, the host's current body will be vulnerable to damage and hunger. You don't have to be concerned about the system-created body's identification because the system ensures that the identity is documented in any public history and that there will always be a few people in that world who can validate your identity.

2. The host can use the system's simulator function to learn about the future, but that future will alter due to the host's activities and the fact that the simulator isn't there in that future, and no amount of time spent in the simulator will have an impact on the host's soul/spirit. If the simulation is long, the host will only receive general information; if the simulation is short, the host will receive more detailed information.

3. After the host dies in the simulation or if the simulation is stopped by the host then the host will receive corresponding rewards. The rewards are depending on the evaluation the host receives at the end of the simulation, and the simulator will also have a cooldown period that lasts at least a month or more depending on the time spent in the simulation. However, if the host dies in the real world to which the host was transported, the host's soul will be reconstructed if the soul is destroyed and then sent back to the host's home world.

4. If the host obtains an F-level evaluation from the system's traversal component, the host must retry until a B-level evaluation is received, following which the host will be unable to use the system's traverse function in the main world for one month. If the host receives a C-level evaluation, it must retry until it receives a B-level evaluation without any waiting time. After the host receives a B-level evaluation, you can choose whether to leave the current world and enter the next without any disadvantages or rewards. If the host receives an A-level rating, the host will be able to choose five people from that world to bring to the host's world. If the host has an S-level evaluation, the host can keep the world and govern time and space or anything within that world.

5. As time passes, the host will discover more functions.}