Philosopher Tests

Kanon woke up the next morning with a huge yawn. There was a knock at the door and she went over to answer it while rubbing away the sleep from her eyes. She opened the door and was met with two cute young girls. She let out a loud delighted squeal, jolting Chiharu awake.

“W-What’s going on?!” Chiharu exclaimed in surprise.

A few minutes later, Chiharu finished washing up and introduced Kanon to the two girls. “This is my sister, Atago Chizuru, and her friend, Hamada Yūki.” While the introductions were taking place, Kanon looked at the two cute girls with the sparkling eyes of someone witnessing the most precious creatures they had ever seen in their entire life. Chiharu couldn’t help but feel a little disturbed by her expression.

“I’m Atago Chizuru! I’m 11 years old and a 5th Grader! It’s very nice to meet you!” greeted Chizuru cheerfully. Her voice and actions were full of the youthful energy one would expect from a child her age. She had the same yellow-orange hair as her brother, tied into a cute side-ponytail, and glistening amethyst eyes. She looked just like a what-if version of Chiharu if he was a young elementary school girl!

“H-H-Hamada Yūki. I’m also 11 years old and a 5th Grader. N-Nice to meet you,” timidly greeted Yūki while shuffling their feet. Yūki had sparkling blue eyes behind a pair of thin silver-framed glasses and a head of fluffy blue-silver hair.

“Hi-Hi! I’m Kaga no Kanon! It’s a pleasure to be in the presence of two cute young flowers such as yourselves!” greeted Kanon with a goofy smile.

“Are you living here, Big Sister (Onēchan) Kaga?” asked Chizuru.

“B-Big Sister!” squealed Kanon happily with her hands over her mouth. “Heh heh, that has a nice ring to it,” she added quietly to herself with a goofy smile. “Hey, Sir Atago, can I hug her? Can I kyun-kyun her? Say, can I? Can I? Can I?” begged Kanon like a hyper child.

“I-I-If it’s okay with her,” Chiharu told her.

Kanon looked at Chizuru with large, pleading eyes like a dog waiting for its master to accept its love. Chizuru held out her arms with an accepting smile. Kanon wrapped her arms around Chizuru and rubbed her head affectionately against the latter’s.

“Chizuru, what are you doing here?” Chiharu asked his sister.

“Today’s the Philosopher Tests!” replied Chizuru. “I just wanted to come up here to wish Big Brother (Onīchan) good-luck!”

Chiharu smiled and patted his sister on the head. “Thank you, little sister. Anyway, you both do well on your tests, too.”

“Big Brother, I’m going to try to rank up!” Chizuru told her big brother enthusiastically. “I want to reach Gamma-rank!”

“That’s a good motivation to have,” praised Chiharu.

“Do you think I can reach Alpha-rank like Big Sister Saki?” asked Chizuru.

“If you keep on working at it, then I see why not?” Chiharu told her kindly.

Chizuru and Yūki said their farewells and left for school. Once they were gone, Chiharu began to prepare himself to do so, too.

“Sir Atago, what are these Philosopher Tests I keep hearing about?” asked Kanon.

“Every year, every Institution Center in the world hold Philosopher Tests. All schools are required to participate in them. The tests are exams that measure your capabilities as a Philosopher. It is split into two sections: the Fitness Exam and the Ability Exam. The Fitness Exam is a bunch of general physical exams that test your overall fitness and health. The Ability Exam is a simulation based test that measures your ability, including its growth and potential. If your ability shows great potential for growth beyond your current rank, you can take a further test called a Rank-Up Test.”

“What happens then?” asked Kanon, intrigued by the explanation.

“If you succeed, you get placed into the next rank above your current one. Your new rank will also be officially recognized,” answered Chiharu.

“This sounds like something that we have in my world, too, called Philosopher Trials,” said Kanon. “But in my world, anyone can participate.”

“If a non-student wants to take a Rank-Up Test, they can do so at officially sanctioned hospitals and testing facilities,” Chiharu told her.

“Wow, that sounds very complicated,” said Kanon with a face.

“Really?”

“Are you going to take this Rank-Up Test?” Kanon asked Chiharu.

“No way. After all, I….” As he said this, he remembered something Sara had said before. The thought made him frown. “The Rank-Up Test is not for me,” he concluded confidently. He finished his preparations and headed to the door. “By the way, what are you going to do today?” he asked Kanon, turning his head back to her.

“Kotatsu and I are going to do some investigating,” she told him with a serious smile. “Remember the news from yesterday?” Chiharu thought back to the news they saw on the restaurant’s TV. “It’s likely that someone from our world crossed over,” Kanon told him.

“I see,” uttered Chiharu understandingly. “Well, be careful out there.” With a farewell, he left the dorm.

A few seconds later, there was a knock at the door. Kanon jumped to her feet and opened it. Kotatsu greeted Kanon with a bow. “All preparations are ready!” he told her.

“Alright then, let’s begin,” said Kanon with a smile. “But first…what’s up with that?” she asked the Sorcerer. She was referring to his shirt: a white T-Shirt with a cartoon anthropomorphized giant tofu that had a speech bubble attached to it. In the speech bubble was the following quote: “To bean or not to bean!”

Kotatsu didn’t know what his mistress was talking about and answered back with a tilt of his head.

Since today was the day of the Philosopher Tests, all classes were postponed. All students of all grades gathered at their respective academy’s courtyard. After the headmasters made their speeches, the students were dismissed to begin their tests.

“Haru!” called Sara, running up to Chiharu.

“Ah, Saki, you high schoolers are having your tests in the gymnasium first, right?” said Chiharu in greeting.

“My name is not Saki,” responded Sara with a scowl. She loosened her expression and said, “We’re doing our measurements there. After that, we’re doing our endurance tests on the track.”

“We’re having our measurements taken after you guys. But then we’ll be staying in the gym for our strength tests afterwards,” Chiharu told her.

“A-Anyway, Haru, about the Ability Exam,” began Sara, her eyes glancing to the right.

“Anego!” came Yoshi, interrupting Sara. She glomped onto Sara from behind with a huge smile on her face.

“Yoshi,” exclaimed Sara in surprise.

“Ah, who is this gentleman?” asked Yoshi, acknowledging Chiharu’s presence.

“This is Haru,” introduced Sara.

“Hello, Haru-san, I am Yamato Tsuyoshi. You can call me Yoshi,” greeted Yoshi politely.

“Ah! I remember now!” exclaimed Chiharu. When she appeared, Chiharu was sure that he had seen her somewhere before. And now, he remembered. “You’re that girl from VICE!”

“Oh, and you’re the gentleman who was with the strangely-dressed girl!” remembered Yoshi.

“Strangely-dressed girl?” Sara inquired with a raised eyebrow at Chiharu.

“You know, she’s talking about Kanon!” he quickly explained.

“Ah, is this the gentleman you were talking about before? The one who has captured your heart?” Yoshi asked Sara with a nudge of her elbow.

“Hah?! Of course not! He’s just a guy I knew since childhood, that’s all!” quickly denied Sara.

“Just a guy? You could’ve at least said childhood friend,” commented Chiharu with a hurt smile.

“Sheesh, Anego, you’re such a tsundere,” teased Yoshi. “Well, but that’s what I love about you!”

“Yoshi!” yelled Sara, raising her hand.

“Oh, I have to get back now!” said Yoshi. She dashed ahead with the speed of a peregrine falcon.

“She’s very quick,” commented Chiharu with amazement.

“She’s the star of the track and field team after all,” Sara told him.

“Is it because of her ability?” asked Chiharu.

“That’s part of it,” replied Sara. Without a word, she also began to walk off to join back with her fellow high schoolers.

“Good luck!” Chiharu called out to her. She simply replied back with a raised hand.

“Hola, mis amigos! The prince of this party has arrived!” announced a very familiar annoying voice. Chiharu turned to see the owner of that voice, Gabriel Sanchez, walking through the crowd with his trademark smile.

Gabriel Sanchez, a transfer student from Spain who transferred in during middle school, was Mitsukage Academy’s prince. It wasn’t just a title that he had awarded himself, despite his bloated ego that was the foundation of his entire personality, but awarded to him by the academy’s students ever since his arrival. He was a handsome lightly-tanned young man with soft chestnut hair like the fluffy down off a duck’s back, and a pair of handsomely piercing citrine eyes that were the bane of schoolgirl hearts everywhere. Armed with a killer smile that showed off his perfectly spaced white teeth and a well-toned body on par with Adonis, it was clear why he was the academy’s prince.

And though he was very popular, Gabriel Sanchez seemed to have his attention focused on Chiharu. Chiharu didn’t know why! Every time they meet each other or some kind of major school event was taking place, Gabriel would always manage to find Chiharu and challenge him like a rival would. And today was no exception.

“Chiharu, how nice to see you show for today’s spectacular event!” said Gabriel upon exiting the crowd. He had finally found the prey he was looking for and was locked on.

“Hello, Gabriel,” grumbled Chiharu in greeting.

“Today, we shall have a challenge between the both of us!” announced Gabriel. “We shall compete to see who can attain the highest numbers in the Ability Exam!” As he said all of this, he moved his body in a sequence of poses like a dramatic actor in a theater production.

“I don’t really care—,” Chiharu began to object.

“Vamonos! The tests are beginning!” interjected Gabriel. He then quickly turned around and walked on while laughing haughtily to himself.

“I see Gabriel is still targeting you like usual,” said Masaki, appearing next to Chiharu.

“Another headache I could live without,” said Chiharu with an exasperated sigh.

“You really have it tough, don’t you, Chiharu,” pitied Masaki with a laugh.

Kanon and Kotatsu were out investigating the sight of the battle that was on the news. “I can feel the residual miasma that haven’t dispersed yet,” said Kotatsu.

“It looks like the enemies were all Occultists for the most part,” concluded Kanon from Kotatsu’s statement. “Say, Kotatsu, can you do something that will help us locate who they were after?”

Kotatsu thought for a moment. He brought out a talisman and held it out in front of him. “Earth Tiger Mind!” he casted. The paper crumbled to dust and fell to the ground. A small circle of energy suddenly appeared right where the paper crumbled. The circle then started to move. Kotatsu and Kanon followed the magic circle as it led them to who they were looking for.

They came to an unfamiliar part of the city and stopped right in front of a family restaurant. An all-too-familiar figure turned into the corner and immediately stopped right in front of the surprised Kanon and Kotatsu. “K-Kagura!” exclaimed Kanon.

“Big Sister Kanon!” gasped Kagura in pleasant surprise. Without any hesitation, the little girl rushed into Kanon’s arms and cried her little heart out. “Kagura *sniffle* Kagura was very sad *sniffle* when she heard that Big Sister *sniffle* Kanon was gone!” cried Kagura.

“Well, I’m here now,” reassured Kanon. “Was it scary?”

“Kagura *sniffle* was scared! Scary people *sniffle* chased after me! And this new world *sniffle* scares me!”

“There, there,” cooed Kanon comfortingly.

“Those damned United Church bastards,” cursed Kotatsu angrily.

The trio went inside and Kanon treated Kagura to breakfast. As she ate, the young Mystic told Kanon about her current living condition with a hero.

“Hero?” asked Kanon.

“Yup!” replied Kagura with a huge smile. Her usual childlike cheerfulness had returned after letting everything out. “His name is Sigfried! Like the hero!” she told Kanon. “He’s a very nice guy, just not very honest with himself! He’s sometimes mean, but Kagura knows that it’s because he cares for me!”

“Sounds like a good guy,” said Kanon with a smile. Kagura agreed with a beaming nod.

“Now, would you kindly explain yourself?” Euclid asked the cloaked figure with a polite smile. He had been called on by the police to aid in their investigation. This was actually a normal thing for him given his unique technique at getting information from suspects.

The cloaked figure said nothing. Euclid respected his right to remain silent, but it was getting them nowhere. With a sigh, he said, “Looks like you’re not going to spill anything. Well, I have a way to deal with people like you.” He snapped his fingers.

Suddenly, the cloaked figure found himself falling from the sky. Below him was the unmistakable opening of a volcano. The cloaked figure let out a terrible scream. And just before he found himself diving straight into the molten lava below, he suddenly found himself back in the interrogation room. That terrible experience just took twenty years off his life!

“Ready to talk now?” Euclid asked him with the same polite smile.

“What kind of magic did you use?” demanded the figure.

“Magic? It wasn’t anything like that at all,” Euclid told him honestly. “My ability revolves around understanding the coordinates of the world around me. As long as I know where they are, I can transpose anyone and anything there and back. You see, I see the entire world as one big coordinate space in multiple dimensions.”

‘That wasn’t magic? Impossible! That was surely Diamond-rank spatial magic!’ exclaimed the figure in disbelief.

“Now, would you mind explaining who you are and your goal? Or would you like to experience falling into the Mariana Trench next?” Euclid politely threatened.

The cloaked figure hesitated before revealing everything. Euclid was astounded by the suspect’s explanation. Other world? Magic? United Church? And there was no reason to suggest that the suspected was lying about any of this given how serious he was in his explanation. Once he was done, Euclid sat back in his chair.

A minute passed and Euclid slowly rose up from his chair. “Well, you guys heard him,” he spoke aloud to the authorities on the other side of the room. “Thank you for your explanation. It was greatly appreciated,” Euclid told the suspect before leaving the room.

“Good work,” welcomed an officer once Euclid exited the room.

“Well, I have to get going. The Philosopher Tests are today,” Euclid told the officer. “You guys are lucky that my class's tests are in the afternoon.”

“Thanks for all that you do for us,” said Inspector Gōda, the person in charge of the investigation.

“And thank you for your service,” responded back Euclid kindly with a respectful bow.

“Good luck on your Philosopher Tests,” Inspector Gōda told him with a tip of his hat.

“I appreciate it.”

“By the way, a word of advice.”

“What is it?” asked Euclid with a tilt of his head.

Inspector Gōda subtly looked over his surroundings before continuing. “Have you heard of Genesis?” he asked in a low voice.

“You mean that bioscience pharmaceutical company?”

“That’s the one,” confirmed the inspector. “They’re participating in this year’s Philosopher Tests as its data examiners.”

“Sounds like normal business to me,” said Euclid honestly.

“Well, there’s been some shady rumors about them going around,” Inspector Gōda told him. “The most alarming one I’ve heard is that they’re participating in this year’s Philosopher Tests to secretly collect data on Philosophers for an unsanctioned personal project of some kind.”

“What kind of data?” asked Euclid.

“Genetic data,” answered the inspector. “With that kind of information, they could be developing biological weapons of some kind.”

“But those are all rumors though, aren’t they?” pointed out Euclid.

“They are,” agreed Inspector Gōda. “But do you know how many times rumors have led to the discovery of hidden crimes that wouldn’t have otherwise been known? I can’t say that I firmly believe in them since a majority of them have no factual basis, but I still take them into consideration with a grain of salt. Especially those concerning big entities like Genesis.”

“I’ll be careful,” Euclid reassured the inspector. “Well then, I really have to go now.”

“Hey, Anego, what were your results in the Fitness Exam?” excitedly asked Yoshi. Sara immediately hid her results paper behind her back. The suspicious action only made Yoshi even more curious. “Ah, it’s Haru-san!” gestured Yoshi. Sara quickly looked in that direction. “An opening!” whooped Yoshi, quickly reaching behind Sara and successfully retrieving her results paper.

“Yoshi!” protested Sara.

“Ooh, now these results are interesting! Mm-hm, mm-hm, mm-hm, mm-hm…. 79B/63W/83H. Anego, haven’t your breasts grew a lot compared to last year’s measurement? When I took your measurement’s just last week to prepare for today, your bust was only 76cm! Don’t tell me, they’ve grown this much in just a week?!”

“Stop saying my results out loud! It’s embarrassing!” snapped Sara with scarlet cheeks.

“Then in return, I’ll tell you mines!” shamelessly offered Yoshi with a smile. “74B/60W/83H—Gah!” Sara brought down a hammer smack on Yoshi’s head. She then snatched back her results.

“Geez, if you want to read my results, then read the ones from the actual tests,” said Sara.

“But that’s not exciting at all,” pouted Yoshi. “But I actually got a good look on your other results. It’s kind of a no-brainer to see you score so high on your Fitness Exam, though. Your strength at 78/100 and speed at 880/1000 are all within expected range. Though, your endurance at 69/80 is a little disappointing.”

“Oh? And what were your scores?” asked Sara with a raised eyebrow.

“My strength score was 83/100, my speed score was 865/1000, and my endurance was 72/80. *Sigh* If I was able to use my abilities, I would be able to surpass those numbers quite easily.”

“You know that we can’t,” said Sara seriously. “But those numbers alone are still pretty great. At least considering that the average for a normal human is 65/100, 720/1000, and 50/80.”

The scores for the Fitness Exam are calculated using special formulas that accurately quantifies an individual’s physical capabilities. The tests are divided into Strength, Speed, and Endurance, each consisting of many physical activities to gather data necessary for these accurate quantifications. The denominators represent the possible maximum limit that humans can hit within each of the categories. The limits are derived from special units unique to each category. The numerators are the sum of the scores gained from all of the individual tests within a category. Putting those together represents the individual’s physical level in each category.

Additionally, participants are required to take a special lab-made tablet that nullifies their abilities. This process is accomplished by utilizing synthetic chemical compounds that neutralize specific parts of the brain that are responsible for these abilities, leaving only the parts that are necessary for normal human functions to function. The effects are only temporary and only last for two hours, enough time for one to complete their Fitness Exam.

“Well, now that we’re all done with the Fitness Exam, it’s time we go to our Ability Exam,” said Yoshi.

“Let’s get it over with,” agreed Sara. She was more tense than usual since she really wanted to quickly get it done so that she can watch Chiharu’s test. “You better remember our promise,” she muttered under her breath.

“What was that, Anego?” came Yoshi.

“I said, let’s get it over with,” Sara quickly told her with knitted eyebrows.

Chiharu’s Fitness Exam went more-or-less how he had expected. “70/100, 700/1000, and 46/80,” he read aloud to himself with an expectant nod of his head.

“Considering how P.E. was always your worst subject, those results aren’t all that surprising,” said Masaki.

“What’s yours?” Chiharu asked his friend.

“81/100, 825/1000, and 71/80.”

“Those are way higher than mines!” whined Chiharu.

“You know how the limits are based on those of an average normal human with no abilities? I wonder how it’ll be if we were instead allowed to do them with our abilities,” wondered Masaki.

“But that’s what the Ability Exam is for,” pointed out Chiharu.

“But those are tweaked to suit the abilities of the individual. That’s the only way they can get accurate data on each of our capabilities, considering how no two people share the exact same power.”

“Well, the Fitness Exam was made with the goal of testing our natural human parameters in mind,” said Chiharu with a sigh.

“Hey, since we’re already done with our Fitness Exam, do you want to go see the high schooler's Ability Exam before we take ours?” suggested Masaki.

They both left the gym and walked to the stadium where a giant crowd were already forming. They managed to squeeze into the front row. Right now, it was Yoshi’s turn.

“Yamato Tsuyoshi, 15 years old. Type: Meta. Ability: Protein Synthesis. Rank: Beta,” announced the head examiner. “Proceed with Simulation 84 Sigma.”

Another examiner pressed a button and the entire stadium stage transformed. Using a combination of virtual reality and hard-light technology, the stage now became a jungle with tall grasses and dense vegetation. But what was more surprising than the setting was the presence of  beasts, both carnivores and herbivores, surrounding Yoshi on all sides. There were lions, cheetahs, vultures, a rhino, a hippo, an anaconda, and a wild boar! Any normal girl would be screaming and running away from this disgusting scene at light speed! But Yoshi remained still. In fact, she wore a very big smile filled with confidence and readiness.

“Begin test!” announced the head examiner.

Yoshi prepared herself with a few stretches. Prior to the test, she had already taken her supplement. The lions charged first. The leader of the trio got ahead of the other two and leapt up with its teeth bared. It came down on Yoshi, who defended herself with her arms, now strengthened to the point where her skin was tougher than rock. She retracted one of her hands and increased her muscle proteins before unleashing a titanic punch that knocked the lion onto its pals, incapacitating the trio. The defeated lions disappeared in a flash of light.

The vultures came next, followed by the hippos and the wild boars. But Yoshi was quick with her ability, intuitively knowing which proteins she needed and quickly synthesizing them to put to good use. Of course, besides just empowering her own physical toughness and strength, she also used them creatively to show just how versatile her ability was. She upped the synthesis of PIEZO1 and focused them all in her tendons. With one leap, she met the vultures in mid-air and took them all down with one punch each before falling back down. She landed atop the hippo and clutched her legs around its body, focusing actin and myosin into her legs to make them harder than steel. With a twist of her legs, she forced the hippo to flip over. She landed back on the ground and grabbed the wild boar by the tusks. Focusing the synthesis of the enzyme creatine-kinase in her arms, she lifted the boar with the explosive energy of dynamite, and tossed it over the side. The vultures, hippo, and wild boar were defeated and disappeared.

The cheetahs began to chase after her. Yoshi decided to give them a challenge and increased the presence of myosin, actin, and specifically α-ACTN-3 in her legs. She took off and surpassed the cheetahs like a character from a comic-book! Using the grass as cover, she managed to get behind them and brought them down with a straightforward dash-punch. The cheetahs were defeated and disappeared. The anaconda, hidden by the grass, had sneakily slithered up to Yoshi before quickly wrapping itself tightly around Yoshi’s body. “You’re not the only one with a flexible body,” she told the hologram creature with a slight struggle. She synthesized elastin for her skin, collagen for her bones, and titin for her muscles. Like a contortionist, she expertly escaped from the serpent’s grip. And with a quick strike, she defeated the snake and made it disappear.

Now, all that was left was the rhino. The beast pawed the ground to prepare for a head-on charge. Yoshi smiled confidently and stood her ground. The rhino charged forward with its horn poised to pierce Yoshi. With one outstretched hand, augmented with keratin to create an armor-like tough exterior on her palm, she stopped the beast in its track. Then, she increased the levels of actin and myosin in her arm and brought the beast down with a tug of its horn. The rhino was defeated and disappeared.

“Test complete,” announced the head examiner. The stadium changed back to its original form.

Yoshi walked back to join her class. “Ah-ah, that was exhausting,” she said with a smile to Sara while stretching her arms above her head. “Last year, it was an obstacle course with traps. The year before that was a 200 meter deep-water pool with marine predators,” she recounted. “I feel sorry for the animals even though they were just holograms to begin with.”

“Good job,” congratulated Sara.

“Oh, it was nothing. Besides, it’s now your turn, Anego! I can’t wait to see how you do!”

Sara walked into the stadium. “Uzuki Sara, 15 years old. Type: Psion. Ability: Bond Reactor. Rank: Alpha,” announced the head examiner. There was a pause. “Proceed with Simulation 238 Double Alpha.” At this command, the other examiners turned to the head examiner in surprise. With an exchange of uneasy glances, the examiners followed their order.

Once more, the stadium transformed. Sara now found herself standing straight in the center of a circle of large supercharged weapons aimed directly at her—railguns. She wasn’t the least bit afraid of her current situation; in fact, she stood with her arms crossed over her chest while sporting the most confident expression anyone had ever seen on someone taking the Ability Exam. With a raise of her right hand, the head examiner nodded over to one of his colleagues. A button was pushed and clear barriers made of reinforced glass rose up along the stadium bleachers and the examiners’ area.

“Begin test,” announced the head examiner.

The twenty-something railguns powered up; it didn’t take even three minutes for them to reach full capacity! The railguns fired at Sara. With a flick of her hand, she sent out a bunch of high-energy electrons out of their shells and made them collide with air molecules. The result: a massive explosion of gamma-rays that dispelled the blasts and melted the machines as if they were plastic guns. The force from the gamma blast was so great that its impact could be felt throughout the stadium! Even protected by the barrier, everyone in the stadium still felt the atmosphere shake and the ground tremor!

“T-Test complete,” announced the head examiner after regaining his composure.

Sara walked back to join her classmates. “Anego, you were amazing!” gushed Yoshi, throwing her arms around Sara. “That was a new move, wasn’t it?” Yoshi asked with sparkles in her eyes.

Up in the bleachers, Chiharu and Masaki both had their eyes wide with surprise. “That’s something you can only see from an Alpha-Level Philosopher,” said Masaki with an impressed whistle.

“What the hell was that?” asked Chiharu, dumbfounded by what he just saw. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen her do that before!”

“Dark Lightning,” Masaki told him. “Also known as terrestrial gamma-ray flash. It’s a natural atmospheric occurrence that releases gamma-rays. If I remember correctly, it’s naturally caused by high-energy electrons interacting with air molecules.”

“Dark Lightning,” echoed Chiharu in a soft, amazed voice.

“We learned a little about it in our high school Advanced Chemistry course,” pointed out Masaki. “That must be why the barriers were put up—to protect us from the gamma-rays.”

“It’s kind of embarrassing when someone you’ve known for a long time and who’s younger than you suddenly surpasses you in the blink of an eye,” sighed Chiharu with a sheepish smile. “Saki never ceases to amaze me.”

“You’re lucky that you can count one of the Nine Alphas as a friend, much less a childhood friend,” said Masaki.

The Nine Alphas—the only Alpha-rank Philosophers in the entire world. Alpha is a rank that is unreachable by a majority of the world’s Philosophers. For comparison, a good chunk of Philosophers are Delta-rank, the basic rank that all Philosophers start at. But the majority of Philosophers in the world are split between Gamma-rank and Beta-rank ; Beta being the highest attainable rank a Philosopher can reach. Alpha, on the other hand, is only reserved for the chosen few: those with the potential to go beyond human capabilities. But why is there only nine? No one knows the answer to that question, however there had only ever been nine Alphas at any given time throughout history. Only when a spot within the nine is open can someone else attempt to fill it.

Currently, all nine spots are filled. The Nine Alphas are: 9. Asuka Asuka (Logician – Information Conductor); 8. Hanada Miyoko (Meta – Neuro Command); 7. Spider (Meta – Toxin Reactor); 6. Tyler Kwan (Meta – Evolution Control); 5. Euclid Tsukishiro (Logician – Matrix Grid); 4. Uzuki Sara (Psion – Bond Reactor); 3. Maria Gerard (Psion – Gravity Meister); 2. Ichiban Kōhei (Logician – Supercomputer); 1. Kaiser (Psion – Particle Accelerator).

‘I guess I’ve been taking her for granted, but she is one of the Nine Alphas,’ acknowledged Chiharu.

There was an hour before it was Chiharu’s class's turn to take their Ability Exam. Chiharu took this chance to sit down at a bench near a vending machine next to the high school section’s courtyard. He bought a can of soda and was enjoying it with a peaceful smile on his face.

“Ah, Big Brother!” called out Chizuru. She ran up to him like a puppy running into the arms of its owner.

“Ah, Chizuru,” Chiharu greeted his sister with a smile. “You’ve already finished your Ability Test, right?”

“I’m still a Delta-rank, though,” she chuckled with a sheepish smile.

“So you did try for a Rank-Up after all,” concluded Chiharu, patting his sister on the head.

“But listen to this! Yūki ranked up!” revealed Chizuru with proudly sparkling eyes and a matching smile.

“You sound so proud even though it wasn’t yourself,” said Chiharu with a laugh.

“After Yūki did their Ability Test, the examiners called them back and offered them the chance to Rank-Up! Something about their potential! Yūki was scared at first, but I convinced them to do it!” explained Chizuru.

“You really love Yūki, don’t you.”

“I do!” From the corner of Chizuru’s eye, she spotted Sara walking in their direction. “Ah, it’s Big Sister Saki!” called out Chizuru.

“Chizuru-tan!” squealed Sara, quickly changing her expression to sport an uncharacteristic smile like that of a girl seeing a fluffy animal for the very first time. She ran up to embrace the cute Chizuru with wide-open arms.

“Ah, Sa—,” began Chiharu; he was quickly stopped with a punch to the face from Sara. When her hand retracted, he noticed that she still wore the wide smile the entire time. ‘She just did that on purpose, didn’t she,’ realized Chiharu with a painful smile.

Sara, now with Chizuru in her embrace, felt her energy recharged. “Oh, Chizuru-tan, how have you been?” she cooed like a doting parent.

“I’m doing fine, Big Sister Saki!” replied Chizuru with a giggle.

“Geez, I thought I told you call me Big Sister Sara,” gently scolded Sara with a pout. “But since it’s Chizuru-tan, I guess it’s fine.”

“Hey, that’s not the same way you treat me!” objected Chiharu.

“Did you finish all of your tests?” Chizuru asked Sara, ignoring her big brother’s complaint.

“Yup,” Sara told her with a nod.

“I bet you got very high scores, Big Sister Saki!”

“Ah, Big Sister!” repeated Sara happily with her hands over her mouth.

‘I feel like I’ve seen this scene before,’ commented Chiharu with a frown.

“Chizuru-tan, be a good girl and become a great Philosopher. Don’t be an underachiever like your brother,” Sara told Chizuru, completely ignoring Chiharu’s presence.

“I know you see me right here, but I guess I can’t exactly argue with you on that one,” relented Chiharu.

“Ah, I have to get back to my class now. It was good seeing you, Big Sister Saki! And good luck on your Ability Test, Big Brother!”

“Oh, Chizuru, you really care for your big brother, don’t you?” cried Chiharu thankfully.

“Siscon pervert,” grumbled Sara under her breath to the side.

Chizuru waved to them one last time before dashing back to join her class. Chiharu and Sara were now alone together. Sara nonchalantly walked up to the vending machine and bought a drink. “Kinda childish, don’t you think?” commented Chiharu, referring to the can of juice in her hand.

Sara flashed him a glare. “I can drink what I want, can’t I?” she snapped.

“Right, I apologize,” he quickly replied. “Anyway, Saki, I didn’t know that you could do that.”

“Do what?” she asked him.

“Well, I was watching you take your Ability Test,” he told her.

“Y-Y-You what?!” exclaimed Sara, her face flushed in a deep shade of red. “W-W-Why did you watch me?! What are you, a pervert?!”

“Whoa, what’s with this sudden attack?!” protested a bewildered Chiharu innocently.

“H-Hmph, I guess I might’ve overreacted a bit. Sorry,” she told him with her arms crossed over her chest. She tried hard to remain nonchalant in her attitude.

“But you were really quick with your test,” remembered Chiharu in awe. “Still, I didn’t know you were even capable of that! You’re incredible!”

“W-Well, I did practice for it,” muttered Sara with a bashful pout. She couldn’t help but feel excited by his praise. She let her confidence take over and flushed out all of the embarrassment from before. “I’ve been trying to work out more powerful moves to prepare for any situation. If I want to stay at the top of my game, I can’t slack off. This is proof of my hard work! Even though I’m one of only nine Alphas in the world, I don’t take it for granted!”

“That’s amazing!” praised Chiharu.

“Of course!” agreed Sara with an arrogant smile. “Anyway, isn’t it time for your Ability Test soon?” she asked him.

“Yeah, you’re—.” The sudden appearance of a mysterious black hole immediately caught Chiharu’s attention. With a horrified expression on his face, Chiharu found himself being sucked into the black hole.

“Haru!” called out Sara, reaching out her hand.

“Saki!” called back Chiharu, reaching out his hand. Chiharu struggled to fight against the impressive vacuum force of the black hole. Finally, after a few moments of struggling, their hands touched. Chiharu grabbed tightly onto Sara’s hand. And, without meaning to, he pulled Sara through the black hole with him. After those two were swallowed up, the black hole closed and disappeared.