"To give you an example—if I punch you without using a weapon, the damage would be 100 points."
"Stop! You're not allowed to use _Paimon_ in your examples!"
"Alright then, new example—if I punch _Itadori Yuji_ without a weapon, the damage is 100 points. But if I land a Black Flash, that 100 points gets raised to the 2.5th power… which turns into 100,000 points of damage."
Paimon froze. "O-One hundred thousand points?!"
"Yup, it's _that_ ridiculous. Now, if my normal punch does 1,000 points of damage, and I land a Black Flash, how much is 1,000 to the 2.5th power? About 31 million points."
"3-31 million damage?!"
Paimon nearly fainted. "With that kind of power, couldn't you kill a god with a single punch?!"
"Wouldn't know about that. But I _can_ say taking out a regular Special Grade Curse in one shot would be no problem."
Of course, that's just in theory—realistically, the numbers wouldn't be _that_ absurd. Still, Black Flash was undeniably an outrageously powerful technique.
"Oh right, Traveler," Paimon said, "your main quest here is complete, right? So what are we doing next? Heading back to Teyvat, or staying here a bit longer?"
Zephyr replied, "We're definitely going back."
"When are we going?!"
Paimon was practically jumping with excitement, her eyes sparkling.
"Why are you so impatient?"
"Hehe, because Paimon miss the food in Mondstadt!"
"You only ever think about food…"
"Hehe~"
"What about you, Lumine? What do you think?"
Lumine said, "I don't dislike this world… but I prefer Teyvat."
"Is that so? Then let's leave tomorrow."
"Tomorrow?"
"Well, we've known everyone here for a while now—it's only polite to say our goodbyes before we go.
And besides, in the Genshin world, those Ley Line Blossoms are so far apart. All of today's stamina would go to waste if we leave now. So before we go, might as well spend that stamina first."
Paimon raised her hand in protest. "I _knew_ that was your real reason!"
…
That night, Zephyr completed his daily quests. The next day, unusually, he managed to finish the daytime ones as well.
When he returned, he found everyone completely drained, slumped over their desks like they were on the verge of death.
"What happened to you guys?"
"So tired… I'm dying here…"
Itadori Yuji stuck out his tongue and groaned, "This is totally unfair. Why is my training way tougher than Fushiguro's?"
But the one who had it the worst wasn't even him—it was Junpei.
Because it was his first day and he was super polite, Maki took a real liking to him… and so she _doubled_ his training load.
Yes, you heard that right—_because_ she liked him, the training was doubled.
Poor Junpei. Just a normal student not long ago—he didn't know any sorcery, nor did he have a unique body like Yuji. After one day of intense training, he was completely wiped out.
Maki crossed her legs and said smugly, "Young people these days, your physical endurance is pathetic. Hey, newbie, starting tomorrow—double the training again."
Junpei didn't respond.
Because he had literally passed out from exhaustion.
Panda protested, "Maki, don't you think this is a bit too much? Junpei-kun was just an ordinary person before. Shouldn't we let him adapt first and start with some basics?"
"Katsuobushi," Inumaki added helpfully.
Maki shook her head. "No time. If it were the old days, sure, that'd be fine. But don't forget—the Exchange Event is coming up. If we want this kid to reach at least a _non-liability_ level within a month, the training _has_ to be strict."
Panda sighed and looked at Junpei with pity.
"Well… in that case, I've got nothing to say. Poor kid. Amen."
Paimon chimed in, "He's not dead, you know!!"
Gojo Satoru popped in cheerfully. "Alright, alright~ Since everyone's here, how about we throw a party tonight to celebrate Junpei officially joining the school!"
They had planned to do it yesterday, but Junpei and the others had spent the whole day washing dishes, and then got dragged into training at night—there was no time at all. So the celebration was pushed to today.
As soon as the word "party" came up, everyone lit up.
"A party? Is there food?!"
(Like you even need to ask who said that.)
"Nice! I worked hard today, so I'm gonna eat my fill tonight!"
"Where's the booze?! I want drinks!"
Panda said, "Hold up, Gojo-sensei. Aren't you forgetting something? Junpei-kun hasn't passed the principal's evaluation yet."
"Ah—wait, I _did_ forget that!"
Junpei blinked. "Huh? I have to pass a test by the principal?"
"Of course," Gojo said. "Everyone here—Itadori included, everyone except Lumine—had to pass the principal's test before they were officially admitted. That's just how it works."
"W-Wait, seriously…?" Junpei started to panic.
Gojo clapped him on the back. "Don't worry, Junpei! I believe in you. You'll pass no problem! Just think of tonight as a _preemptive celebration!_"
Fushiguro said, "Hey, isn't this a little too casual?!"
Panda shrugged. "You know how he is. That's just the kind of person he is."
"Katsuobushi," Inumaki added.
Itadori Yuji took a swig of alcohol and his face immediately flushed bright red. "Hey, Gojo White-hair! Didn't you say you were going on a business trip? You said you _had no choice_ but to leave me with Panda-senpai and the others. So what are you doing back here?"
"W-White-hair Gojo!? Yuji-kun, looks like I've been too nice to you—so nice you forgot your place as a student!"
Fushiguro Megumi let his guard down for just a second, and Nobara Kugisaki took the chance to force a drink down his throat. He immediately got tipsy too.
"Shut up! Say one more word and—wanna see if we beat you up?!"
Panda chuckled. "Ohh? Are we throwing down? Go, Fushiguro! Go, Itadori! Teach that shameless guy a lesson!"
"Yeah, go go!!"
"Beat him up!!"
Gojo looked absolutely shook. "Eh!? Is _no one_ on my side?! Not even one!?"
Paimon floated up and said, "Um… Gojo-sensei, Paimon _wanted_ to be on your side, but Paimon is scared Traveler might punch Paimon too. So… sorry."
Gojo looked to the sky, wailing dramatically with tears in his eyes. He had been undefeated for decades, and yet his biggest loss was… social relationships. What a tragedy, what a humiliation!
As everyone laughed, shouted, and fooled around, Zephyr watched quietly.
Suddenly, he couldn't bring himself to speak.
"Is this… really just a game?"
To him, everything happening here was supposed to be just a game—just images on a screen.
And yet, it all felt so real.
Everyone's voices, everyone's faces, the things they said… It made him question whether this was really just a game, or an actual world.
"Or maybe… this isn't a game at all. Maybe this is a real other world, disguised as a game by some company—pretending it's fiction when it's not."
Zephyr didn't know the answer.
But he looked at Lumine and said, "Lumine, no matter what this place is—game or not—I swear I'll protect you. I'll help you get your sister back. Trust me."
Lumine smiled gently. "I believe you."
Zephyr clenched his fists.
Right here, right now—whether or not this was a game didn't matter anymore.
//END
❇❇❇
Support me on Patreon - Read Up to 25+ Advanced Chapters There!
patreon.com/RedX43
❇❇❇