Theory [3]

I didn't know quite where to start the conversation, to be honest. I wasn't horribly shy or anything, I just didn't know where to start. I guess… the CES Theory would be a good start.

"So, you're a fan of the Common Energy Source Theory, right?" I asked, starting in a place where I knew a fair bit about. I put the book on the table, sliding it forward. "I've learned about it in school, and it was mentioned in this book."

Suki nodded; her eyes were nearly sparkling. She bounced in her spot. "Yes, it's truly fascinating! As you must know, a lot of Quirks require excess energy to be activated, but it doesn't seem to be restricted to the energy of an individual. Emitters are especially normal for this, but Mutants and Transformers are also great examples."

I nodded, continuing her thoughts, "Yeah, Quirks have even totally changed people's phenotypes, right? It can change a normal human's skin into something like titanium with seemingly no cost at all. And of course, that's where the Common Energy Source Theory comes in."

Suki let out a satisfied sigh, "Yes, yes!"

Several other library-goers looked over at her, and her face became red. She looked down, coughing softly. "Sorry."

Turning her attention back to me, she continued. "Yeah. The Common Energy Source Theory provides an amazing answer to those questions. It's the idea that all Quirks draw energy from a common source. Some call this chi, or chakra, or shinsoo, but whatever it is, it's common. Something that flows all around us like oxygen and carbon dioxide."

She pulled herself back down, meeting my eyes steadily. "Like, your Quirk are those purple balls on your head, right?"

I nodded, popping one off. "Yep, been here since I was born. They were just smaller back then."

Suki nodded, "A common example used for explaining the CES — that's just Common Energy Source shortened, since I don't want to say the entire thing every time, haha — Theory is that this energy is like electricity, and those who use Quirks are like electronics or machines. We take the energy in and output it to form our Quirks.

"Sometimes it's a passive process," she gestured to my Pop-Off ball. "Or sometimes it's active, like many Pro-Heroes' Quirks. Either way, it's a process that happens because most Quirks need energy for their activations."

I nodded, trying to keep the information in mind. I can't lie, as she was getting excited and bouncing around, and well… her bouncing wasn't just limited to her excitement. I was just a tiny bit distracted by her chest, just a little bit.

But I tried to pull myself together. I came here for a gentleman's book; I might as well try my best to not be caught looking. It's a step in the right direction, I think.

"And… it's an intriguing theory because it answers the question of energy, right?" I tried to throw some words together to sound smart. Apparently, it worked. Or, well, it got Suki talking more, at least.

"Correct. Er… oh, I guess I didn't get your name, sorry. I'm Suki Kagaku, to be official," she extended her hand, smiling. Her teeth were very straight and very white.

I shook her hand, "Minoru Mineta, nice to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you too, Mineta. So, as I was saying, you're right. The issue of energy for Quirks comes up quite often in Faustian Inc. because we try to help Quirk users with natural consequences for their Quirks. Like, some fire-Quirks may cause a higher natural body temperature, or a weakness to the cold. Where Quirks get their energy affects how Quirks develop, according to the CES Theory." Suki smiled.

I nodded. This felt exactly like class, but I had to remind myself that I wasn't in class. Except, wait, no, this feels a lot like class. Unfortunately, it also feels like I crammed the material literally minutes before an exam. Ugh, whatever.

"So, it seems like you understand it well enough. What are you having issues with then?" I asked, trying to figure out what the dilemma her Quest mentioned was.

Suki laughed awkwardly, looking out to the sea of shelves and books the library held. She seemed to soak in the sight before responding.

"Do you remember the surge of Instant Villains that appeared a few years ago?"

I nodded.

They were honestly pretty hard to forget. They really caused a stir at the time.

Normal, average people could be drugged and turned into powerful, rampaging villains. It only ever occurred to normal everyday thugs or civilians, but it was enough to make a storm at the time.

Of course, since then, things have died down dramatically, but it was still something that was a topic of conversation. The exact whereabouts of the Villain Factory's — that's what most people referred to them as — leaders are still unknown. Civilians and the public don't know much about the situation, which obviously includes me.

But yeah, I remembered regardless.

"Yeah, I remember. Does that have to do with your problem?" I asked, Observing her again and noticing a shift in her status. "Or… are you trying to figure out where they came from or something?"

Suki smiled, "Well, my current issue is something that has to do with the other two Quirk Theories presented in that book. First, is the Mind-Over-Matter Theory."

I pursed my lips, trying to remember the Theory. It was intriguing, I can't lie, but I didn't see any immediate ways to remember it, so it was only a vague apparition in my head.

"It's the theory that states…. The outcome of a Quirk is more dependent on the user's mind rather than their body, right? The mind limits Quirks similarly to how it stops us from biting through our fingers or something?" I couldn't keep my inexperience out of my voice, but I tried my best to at least seem professional.

The scientist giggled before nodding. "Yes, essentially. The body does impose limitations on a Quirks, but overall, this theory works on the hypothesis that Quirks have functioned in different ways because of the emotional and mental states of the users."

"Like Mt. Lady's transformations being faster when she's excited," I noted. "Or, well, Pop-Off being more effective when I'm more motivated."

Suki nodded, her smile "Generally, it's been observed that Quirks work differently, positively or negatively, depending on the user's mental state."

I nodded, glancing over to see two check marks on my Quest screen. So far, so good.

"And the third is the Quirk Growth Theory, right? It, uh, takes the first two theories and throws them together for a theory that states Quirks grow through two conditions. Condition one…." I was quiet for a few seconds.

The conditions… ugh. The author talked about them a lot, but they didn't really stick with me. But, using some basic context clues….

"Condition one," I repeated, "is about funneling energy through the Common Energy Source. More energy funneled means a Quirk will be stronger.

"Condition two is about the mind telling the body that it needs more of the Common Energy Source. When the two conditions come together, with the body drawing more of the Common Energy Source, a Quirk grows."

Suki nodded, bouncing in her spot. She smiled wide, her eyes glittered with excitement. "Oh my God, you really do understand it! It's so amazing to see someone so young interested in something like this!"

"Shh!" Several library-goers hushed the scientist, causing her to suddenly clamp her mouth shut. She went red, laughing to herself softly. She held her hands over her face.

After a few seconds, everyone returned to their reading or browsing, and Suki just shuffled in place, clearly feeling somewhat embarrassed. I wish I had something useful to say in the moment, but… her shuffling was distracting me.

However, just like before, I was pulled back down, and I was able to actually form thoughts again. Which was, admittedly, nice.

I laughed, scratching the side of my face. "It's nothing, really. There's more to the theory, isn't there?"

Suki looked up from her hands, meeting my eyes. Her eye contact was so strong I looked away first.

"There's a bit more to it. It's just the idea that through the right conditions or situations, the mind can ask for — just as an example, we'll use numbers — 10 portions of the CES every day, because a person's mind and body is getting stronger. Or the mind can ask for 1000 portions of the CES in five minutes because a person really wants to help a friend. The amount of the Common Energy Source drawn would depend on the severity of a situation."

I nodded, understanding that well.

"So, now we've spoken about the three Quirk Theories presented in this book," I noted. I opened my mouth to continue, but Suki started speaking.

"Yes, these theories are held in a fairly high regard in some scientific circles. Now that we're both on the same page regarding those, we can go back to Instant Villains. Now, do you know why they happened?" Suki asked, leaning forward. I saw some movement on her chest, but I didn't even look. Doesn't that make me super gentlemanly?

Well, I guess it would if I didn't mention it at all. Ugh, baby steps.

I shook my head, trying to remember. "Well, there were these bees, and they injected civilians with some drug, right? Then they all Hulked out."

Suki blinked for a moment, trying to understand what I meant. I assumed it was because of the second part. I repeated, "They went crazy and got all strong."

Suki oohed softly and nodded. "Yes, they 'Hulked out.' Now, could you tell me exactly what that drug did to power up those regular people?"

I reeled back, almost shocked by the ridiculousness of her question. She apparently took my surprise as a sign to continue. "Yeah, it would be hard, right? We don't have anything to really work from. Except…."

My eyes widened. "Except we do…! The theories!"

Suki's head bobbed, "Yeah, the theories. And using them, I came to this conclusion: The drug that created Instant Villains lowered the user's mental capabilities by a large fraction, manipulating the brain and taking more from the Common Energy Source. This, in turn, dramatically powered up the victims of the drugs, turning them into Instant Villains."

I ran the theory through my head a few times. "And the downside is that it lowered mental capabilities, which… if you wanted to cause chaos and didn't care for the consequences, that's not much of a bad thing."

Suki nodded solemnly, "Yeah. That drug's name is confidential, so I can't mention it, but that's my theory."

I slowly nodded. I checked over the theory several more times before furrowing my eyebrows, "So then, what's your problem? That theory seems pretty solid to me."

Suki shook her head, "So, imagine that drug without the downsides. A drug that could turn normal people to the level of Pro-Heroes. Or, better yet, a Pro-Hero could become even stronger."

There was a moment before the pieces clicked. I spoke quietly. "I knew it sounded familiar. It's Trigger, isn't it? The drug that's banned from most countries."

Suki flinched, looking to the side. "Well, when you put it like that, yes, that could've been the drug that the civilians were injected with."

"And it's Trigger that you're… what, trying to recreate? Why?"

"I, er…." Suki looked at the time and suddenly jumped up, quickly gathering up her things. "Oh, I'm sorry for cutting our conversation short, Mineta. I know this looks really bad, but I'm actually late for a meeting. Um, here."

Suki quickly tore a piece of paper out from one of her notebooks, writing a number down on it and sliding it towards me. I looked at it, and it was definitely a number. Was it…?

"It's my personal number, so we can continue talking. This is a really bad place to end our talk, so I'm sorry. But I really have to go, Johann's probably waiting for me already," she turned away and began to walk away, and I managed to keep my head on my shoulders enough to call out to her.

"Wait, Kagaku," I called out. Last name, of course. I had to be respectful. "Are you sure this isn't… illegal?"

Suki stared at me for just a second, and I couldn't read her expression. When she spoke, her volume was low, like she clearly didn't want anyone to hear her.

"No, I'm not sure of that. But some things are worth breaking the law for. Have a good day, Mineta. We'll talk soon, hopefully," she smiled at me, before turning away and briskly walking out of the library.

And that time, I did watch her leave, and I can't say I hated it. Listen, just because I'm trying to be a gentleman doesn't mean it's gonna happen all at once.

There was a soft ding and I just kinda stared.

[Quest "Suki's Dilemma" completed!]

[You have leveled up.]

[You have leveled up.]

[You have leveled up.]

[You have leveled up.]

[You have leveled up.]

Five levels are definitely nice, even if that wasn't exactly how I expected that conversation to end. Suki Kagaku's trying to recreate Trigger, huh? I don't really know what to say about it.

I mean, Trigger isn't good. If it's in the wrong hands, it can hurt a lot of people. But… Suki didn't seem like the type who would want to hurt people with it, she seemed more interested in the positives of it.

Still, that doesn't change that it could hurt people. Hmmm, hmm. Well, I can't say much about it for now anyway. I don't want to assume that she's good just because she's hot, but I don't want to assume she's bad because she's not perfectly following the law. It's not like people just fit in those two categories anyways.

I stood up from my spot, dismissing the notifications and suddenly recalling why I actually came to the library in the first place.

"Oh, yeah, gentleman book, duh."

I got back to my prior objective, taking individual books off the shelves and Observing them before putting them back. It didn't take long to hit another book that created an interesting screen. Gladly, it wasn't connected to some vague Quest or anything.

[You have picked up the skill book "Manufacturing Pro-Hero Equipment." Would you like to learn this skill?]

I just stared for a second. I mean, it makes sense, I think. In some games, things like this were normal. But… really?

Still, I didn't really think about it and clicked yes. Now, I didn't expect purple energy to come flowing out of my hands and cover the book. And that was before the book just started to straight-up disappear!

I frantically tried to stop the process, but in a flash, the process finished and… whoa.

I just knew. I knew the contents of the book, front to back. And I knew how to replicate it.

[Manufacturing (Active) Lv. 1 | EXP: 0.0%]

The natural skill to create one thing out of another. With the required materials, different goods can be created. Complicated creations have higher chances of failure. Current Blueprints: 1.

This is… weird. I mean, I just knew. There wasn't any time needed to learn the skill or anything, I just clicked the button and then I knew.

Which was awesome, actually. And besides, this was just a single book in a vast library. They probably won't notice just one little thing being gone. So maybe I should go look for some more?

I mean, skills do seem valuable. While Fling wasn't anything crazy right now, I could imagine it being much stronger at level 30. And Pop-Off was already pretty great, I just needed to get its level up more.

I scrolled through the library, picking up books, Observing them, and putting them down. The ones that offered new skills were casually stored in my Inventory without a second thought. The chance of someone walking around the corner was too high for me to just absorb them all right now.

[Due to the special actions of casual theft, you have received a new skill!]

[Continuous casual theft has created the skill "Steal" to increase the odds of getting away with crime!]

And I even received a new skill about stealing. Which… didn't make me feel wholesome, but I was having too good of a time for it to even make me feel bad.

As I was scrolling, Observing, and Stealing, my mind drifted back to my conversation with Suki. Specifically, the theories we talked about. The Common Energy Source Theory, to be even more specific.

It was something I hadn't really noticed until now, after the shock of the conversation's ending faded.

My Quirk, the Gamer, noticed everyone's HP and MP. The former was fairly obvious, but the latter wasn't nearly as obvious. Except… well, if it was the Common Energy Source it may be obvious after all.

I don't know how my Quirk dictates that, but it is a… common energy that everyone seems to share, at least, in how my Quirk sees the world. I'd be hard pressed to call that anything like a confirmation, but it is something notable.

And on that, I couldn't manipulate my mana directly. Which — if we used the example Suki mentioned — makes sense. I was the machine that mana flowed through, and my skills are what dictates what the mana came out as.

Like, Pop-Off or Fling. They both generally came from the same source but had vastly different effects.

So, I wondered if there were any skills specifically about energy manipulation. First, I looked through the C's for Chi or Chakra and I didn't find much, which wasn't horribly surprising. Next were the E's, and before I could even get to energy, I found it.

[You have picked up the skill book "Emitter Quirks: Energy Emission of Natural Forces." Would you like to learn this skill?]

Excitement spurred me and I clicked yes.

[You cannot learn this skill. It requires INT: 55.]

Huh. That's… annoying. Not entirely unexpected, but annoying, nonetheless.

I clicked my tongue and stored the skill book in my Inventory. Even with the points I'd earned from leveling up, I didn't have enough to raise my Intelligence to 55. Even if I'd put my points into Intelligence originally, it'd only be 45 Intelligence, rather than 55.

At least I knew the skill existed. It's not that hard for me to just wait until I gain a few more levels.

Besides, now that I know about my Girl Finder Quest, getting more experience should be easier in comparison to the rate I've been getting it so far!

For a moment, I considered calling it a day. I'd been at the library for about two hours, and while I wasn't… hungry, per se, I knew I should've grabbed something to eat. However, that desire was comparatively strong to the knowledge and skills I could've gained in the library.

I combed through the library for a few hours, but a ton of the books weren't skill books. It made sense. Even the book I'd read for Suki's Quest wasn't a skill book. And that was because it was just a collection of different theories, nothing truly concrete. Or at least, nothing concrete in how my power understood things.

Manufacturing actually came from the detailed process of how several different support agencies created equipment for Pro-Heroes. It was specific and provided my Quirk enough information to create a skill.

A lot of the books I'd found weren't that specific. And so, they didn't give me new skills. It was a loss, but nothing so crazy I'd be devastated about it. If I checked out some of the other stores around the city, I may find some more skill books, but that'll have to wait.

With a few skill books in my Inventory, I left the library with a shockingly light heart.

[Steal has leveled up.]

Yep, I should definitely feel worse about this. Well, I'll try to become a good citizen to cancel out all the thieveries.

Or maybe I'm more on the path to becoming a villain. Well, I certainly hope these small events don't change the course of my life too much.