The Group Members with Greatly Increased Strength 2/2

"Did you guys watch the news last night? Apparently, someone was able to emit flames from their body."

"I saw it! That wasn't the only one—there were a few other cases too. Some people emitted lightning, and others suddenly became super strong. The footage was crazy!"

"Really? Do you think they're superhumans?"

"No way, right? No one actually believes in superpowers, do they?"

"Shut up!"

"Shut up!"

"Shut up! Stop being so snarky, or I'll beat you up."

"Cough, cough. Just kidding, just kidding. But seriously, I think this is just a publicity stunt by some attention-seekers. Otherwise, how do you explain why nothing like this has ever been reported before?"

"You have a point…"

"Whatever, it's none of our business. Let's just focus on studying."

"..."

Conversations like this were everywhere at Toyosaki Academy that day. While most people expressed doubt, a few were convinced that the people in the news were superhumans and that a mysterious world did indeed exist.

"Eriri, does this mean…?" Megumi Kato asked thoughtfully after hearing the discussions in the classroom.

"Yeah, it looks like the first wave of superhumans has awakened after the spiritual revival. I suspect more will start awakening soon, popping up like mushrooms after rain," Eriri replied after scanning the planet. She discovered that superhumans had already started appearing in various parts of the world, with over a hundred people having awakened their powers.

The strength of these superhumans was at the early stages of Second Level, just barely tapping into their superhuman abilities.

Even with just this small amount of power, they could easily crush even the strongest human fighters. At first, someone might be able to sneak up and take them down while they were unprepared, but once these superhumans fully adapted to their newfound abilities, their bodies would continuously grow stronger, eventually matching their superhuman strength.

Although their physical enhancements wouldn't compare to those who had awakened body-strengthening abilities, they would still be more than capable of taking down the top fighters in the human world.

As their powers increased, firearms would become ineffective, with only nuclear weapons posing a real threat to fully developed superhumans. However, once a superhuman reached Third Level, even nuclear weapons would lose their deterrent effect, just like ordinary firearms.

In short, the era of the strong was about to begin.

"It looks like the world is about to get a lot more interesting," Arifureta said with a smile, looking forward to the coming changes.

After all, it was she who had suggested the introduction of spiritual energy to this world, so she was naturally invested in its development.

"Yeah, there will probably be some chaos at first, but once new rules are established, things will settle down," Eriri nodded, predicting the future trajectory of the world.

"Are you planning to step in and establish those rules, Eriri?"

"Nah, it's no fun. Unless it's absolutely necessary, I don't intend to interfere with this world's future development. No matter how bad things get, the end result won't be that bad. For now, we can just sit back and enjoy the show."

Eriri wasn't worried about the world being destroyed. If things got too out of hand, she could always use time reversal on a global scale to reset everything.

But unless things became truly chaotic, she had no intention of meddling with this world's development.

Aside from them, three others also knew the truth behind the news reports—Kiyo Ishimaki, Azusa Satomi, and Utaha Kasumigaoka.

When they saw the news the day before, they realized something was off. Remembering what Eriri had told them earlier, they knew the awakening of superhumans had begun, and the world was starting to change.

They were all nervous, yet hopeful, wishing that they too could awaken powers on their own. If not, they'd have to swallow their pride and ask Eriri for help.

...

Since the first chat group mission, more than a day had passed. Everyone in the chat group had earned a significant number of points from the mission, and by now, most of them had likely used up all their points. As a result, the overall strength of the chat group members had doubled, with only a few particularly strong members seeing little improvement.

The stronger a person was, the more points were needed for further enhancement. For example, Lala, who was at the planetary level, needed hundreds of thousands of points to move up just a small stage. With her strength at Sixth Level, Eighth Stage, a few thousand points barely made any improvement.

Now, even the weakest member had reached Second Level, transcending ordinary humanity. The weakest among them was Ruri Gokou. With the points she earned from the mission and the red packet from Eriri, she had accumulated nearly 8,000 points, allowing her to step into Second Level, First Stage, just entering the realm of superhumans.

As for Asuna, the lucky red packet winner, she had leaped up an entire level, reaching Second Level, Fourth Stage, and was on the verge of breaking through again, making her a rising expert.

Chika Fujiwara, with Eriri's "sponsorship" of 10,000 points, had also jumped an entire level, reaching Second Level, Fifth Stage, only slightly behind Asuna in strength.

Arche had used just over 10,000 points to push her power up by three stages, reaching Second Level, Eighth Stage, which in the Overlord world was equivalent to being Level 80, surpassing even the legendary Thirteen Heroes.

Similarly, Kanae had advanced three stages, going from Second Level, Sixth Stage, to Second Level, Ninth Stage, reaching the same level as their previous mission target, "Upper Moon Zero." However, she was still slightly weaker than Muzan Kibutsuji. Perhaps when she reached Third Level, she'd be able to easily crush Muzan.

As for Elaina and Erica, they hadn't reached Third Level yet, but their strength had advanced significantly. Each had broken through one stage, with Elaina now at Second Level, Ninth Stage, catching up to Kanae, even though she had been ahead by two stages just a few days earlier.

Erica, on the other hand, was at Second Level, Eighth Stage, but once she achieved her goal of killing a god, she'd ascend to the ranks of the strongest members in the chat group.

Since Eriri had forcibly boosted Arifureta to Third Level, Seventh Stage a few days ago, her power was currently in a saturated state, meaning further enhancements with points wouldn't have any effect until her body had fully adapted.

As for Shinobu Oshino, she hadn't been interested in enhancing her power, so she had saved up her 3,000 points. Whether those points would be enough to boost her by a small stage was still uncertain.

Then there was Gabriel, who remained at Third Level, Eighth Stage, without any changes. She hadn't even bothered using her points to enhance her strength, leaving the question of when she'd finally surpass her sister up in the air.

The biggest winner over the past two days, however, was Sakura Matou, thanks to her close relationship with Eriri.

[Kashiwagi Eri: How's everyone feeling after your power-ups?]

[Chika Fujiwara: It's amazing! I'm already preparing to help Kaguya take over the Shinomiya family. I'll stream it for everyone to enjoy! Feeling confident.jpg]

[Arche Eeb Rile Furt: Thank you so much for the red packet, Eriri. Without it, I wouldn't have been able to level up so quickly.]

[Kashiwagi Eri: No need to thank me. I told you all before, we're sisters, and these were extra points from the mission. It's more fun to share!]

[Asuna: Speaking of which, Chika, how did you get so strong when you only grabbed 212 points? Even with the 2,000 points from the mission, it's not enough to explain how you're now stronger than me! I thought I was ahead, but it turns out I was wrong. Tears.jpg]

[Fallen Angel Black Cat: Well… those in the know, know! Wink.gif]

[Arifureta (Group Leader): Enough with the cryptic talk, Ruri. Explain properly!]

[Fallen Angel Black Cat: …]

[Asuna: ???]

[Ashen Witch: It's obvious, isn't it? Chika and Eriri had a "special deal." Didn't they mention it in the chat before?]

[Asuna: Oh… so it's that "deal" you mentioned before, huh? But it seems less like a "power deal" and more like a… "favors deal," right?]

[Chika Fujiwara: Ahem!]

[Kashiwagi Eri: Chika, your body is in great shape! Licking lips.jpg]

[Fallen Angel Black Cat: Case closed, case closed.]

[Fallen Angel Black Cat: Shocking! Two young girls secretly…]

[Chika Fujiwara: …]

[Flower Hashira: …]

[Asuna: How exciting!]

[Arifureta (Group Leader): So Chika has fallen too!]

[Chika Fujiwara: No, it's Eriri who's after my body!]

[Fallen Angel Black Cat: Wow… what exactly did you two do? So curious.jpg]

[Kashiwagi Eri: Nothing much, I just gave Chika a half-hour massage.]

[Fallen Angel Black Cat: Ah, I see. Got it!]

[Flower Hashira: So envious!]

[Red Devil: So Eriri likes this sort of thing, huh? Understood!]

[Chika Fujiwara: …]

[Lala: Haha, you guys are really lively today!]

[Archangel Gabriel: Lala, have you finished the game yet?]

[Lala: Not yet, but I'm almost done.]

[Archangel Gabriel: Then hurry up and get back to work. There's no time for chit-chat! I'm waiting to finish the game here so I can start playing over there!]

[Lala: No problem, I'll get right on it. You guys keep chatting! I'm logging off, bye.]

[Arche Eeb Rile Furt: …]

[Chika Fujiwara: …]

[Iron-Blooded Hot-Blooded Cold-Blooded Vampire: …]

[Asuna: Wow, Lala just brushed off the previous topic like it was nothing!]

[Ashen Witch: That's Lala for you—always carefree.]