MTLNOVEL Chapter 5: Myself
Morning sunlight illuminated the white walls of Chiba Academy. The pathways teemed with students heading to class, their chatter filling the air.
Some discussed the helicopters that flew overhead last night; others talked about recently released games; some seemingly admired the morning flowers, actually showing off their new phones.
And, of course, there were girls secretly eyeing a passing white-haired heartthrob.
"Kevin-kun, these are cookies I baked myself."
"You haven't had breakfast yet! Here's some extra milk I bought for you."
Before the young man could refuse, the girl offering the gifts vanished, leaving Kevin standing there, stunned.
"Popularity is truly something. At least you can save money on snacks," Ryan remarked dryly, passing by. He added teasingly, "Lucky you chose Mei; otherwise, you'd be branded a scumbag."
Kevin snapped out of his daze, holding up his bag. "Mei trusts me completely. Ah, what a waste. I wonder what these girls are thinking."
"Don't be modest. Here, let me help you out." Ryan took a baozi and popped it into his mouth, smacking his lips. "Come on, big shot."
"Don't call me that! And Ryan, you're not far off. Join a club, be more sunny and cheerful, and you'll definitely be popular."
"Stop. You make me sound like a gloomy shut-in."
"Not really, but… how should I put it…" Kevin quickened his pace, struggling to find the perfect description.
He'd known Ryan for two years, yet still couldn't fully define his friend. Mysterious? Rational? Polite?
All applied, yet none fully captured the essence. Reaching the second-floor classroom building, Kevin, who'd been silent until now, looked up.
"Yeah, it's nonchalant, like he maintains a distance from everything, as if we're all about to die tomorrow."
Thud.
Ryan stopped, a slight twitch at the corner of his mouth. It was an amusingly accurate observation, almost amoeba-like in its intuition.
"Come on, human nature is complex. You can't simplify it like that."
"Nonsense, I'm quite straightforward and simple." Kevin grinned, a bright, sunny smile.
You're too simple.
Ryan thought, lowering his eyes. This boy, who'd waited up for his girlfriend's delayed flight and scaled the building late at night, couldn't possibly be connected to a world-saving fanatic.
Sometimes, he was grateful he'd arrived at the story's beginning and not the end. By the end, most of the thirteen Flame-Chasers had become obsessed fanatics.
The trade-off, of course, was the lack of "thighs to cling to" and the inability to use those memories to manipulate others.
"What are you looking at? Got a problem with my gender? Go ask Su." Kevin scratched his face.
"Nothing. You're indeed simple. Not only simple, but also naively enthusiastic. You had a great opportunity, yet you climbed back up to your dorm to take a cold shower. You know I spent the whole night clutching my behind…"
Before he could finish, Ryan quickly ducked. A carton of milk flew over his head, hitting a streetlight with a dull thud. Without looking back, he grabbed his books and fled.
This wasn't the first time he'd teased Kevin. Despite Kevin's feigned anger, he'd act like nothing happened back in the dorm.
Ryan continued running until the bell rang for the first class, with a disgruntled Kevin trailing behind. As a physical education student, Kevin obviously wouldn't be attending a high-energy physics lecture.
Whew… What a monster of a physical education student. He ran across the entire campus without even breaking a sweat.
Ryan turned, watching Kevin's retreating back. Several things were becoming clear.
"He deliberately provoked me earlier. After the confrontation, he could easily handle a Knight-Class Honkai Beast. Are Far East high school students all monsters?"
Shrugging, such anomalies didn't even give Path any clues. He was ten, even ninety percent sure that Kevin wasn't ordinary.
Ryan adjusted his glasses and headed towards a pointed white building, surrounded by a high wall. The sign read: 'Physics Department Laboratory.'
As one of the few private universities in the world, Chiba's laboratory was responsible for several government projects. The equipment was cutting-edge, the only place in the Far East with a 'particle collider.'
After passing security, Ryan changed into a white lab coat, his rimless glasses enhancing his scholarly look.
Between the main gate and the laboratory lay a small garden; several cherry trees were in full bloom. A gentle breeze scattered pink petals. A girl sat in a corner of the garden.
The girl was slowly reading a book. Her long blue ponytail swayed gently in the breeze. Her delicate face was focused as she read, simultaneously writing something on a notepad.
'I can't understand how she and Kevin became a couple. One's a sage, the other an amoeba.'
Looking at Mei, who resembled a literary young woman, Ryan couldn't help but curse. He had his learning ability and Path enhancement; Mei's talent was simply monstrous. Words like 'scholar,' 'genius,' and 'brilliant' were insults.
At nineteen, she'd completed all coursework in physics, biology, and more, earning three PhDs and leading her own research project, obtaining full lab access. It made the older researchers envious—they hadn't achieved so much in their lifetimes.
"It's a pity Pathstriders aren't mutually attracted; otherwise, I'd suspect she's an Erudition simulacrum."
Ryan entered the garden, stopping gently before the girl. Perhaps his shadow fell on her book; Mei paused in her writing, a page filled with formulas.
"You angered Kevin again?"
"That kid ratted me out again. I only teased him a little. What, are you here to seek revenge for him?"
Mei put down her pen, looking up. There was no anger, only amusement. "Quite the opposite, I'm glad you two haven't drifted apart."
The statement was cryptic, yet somehow conveyed a wealth of understanding.
Ryan didn't question it, smiling. "No choice. I don't have many friends, and I can't tolerate many things."
"A self-preservation mechanism?"
"If I can't change the outcome no matter how hard I try, at least I won't regret it. At least it allows me to maintain myself during the expansion process."
Mei didn't seem particularly interested in understanding, patting the empty space beside her. "The main points of the conference discussion are in your inbox. Did you see it?"
"Yeah, I woke up at 5 AM to read it. I didn't even have time for breakfast, it was about 100,000 words." Ryan sat on the bench, glancing sideways. He could see the dark circles under the girl's eyes.
Scaling the building late at night, calculating equations—this unusual couple was truly something.
Fortunately, he wasn't surprised after two years of knowing them. He opened his notebook to a page filled with dense equations that would make ordinary people dizzy, resembling some kind of Genjutsu.
Ryan remained calm, asking as he looked. "I heard Dr. Mobius was looking for you?"
"Yes, Dr. Mobius has been away for a while. Her attendance at the conference was unexpected. She's genuinely interested in my paper from that day, but…" Mei glanced up, speaking calmly. "She seems to be working for some organization and is somewhat constrained."
Ryan twitched. He hadn't met Mobius, but he knew the mad scientist was very interested in him, having tried to lure him to the Research Institute years ago. He had to admit that Mobius was a brilliant mind, not inferior to Mei's.
Honkai energy, or perhaps Imaginary Internal Energy, was no longer a secret in the world. Fire Moth was actively developing it, and there were ordinary people like him who could use it. But researchers wanted to go beyond application, seeking its origins.
"Your paper on the origin of Imaginary Space and Imaginary Internal Energy has likely caught her attention. What did Dr. Mobius think?"
"She showed me some unpublished papers. While the hypotheses differ, they provide supporting evidence that my research direction is correct, like this leaf." Mei picked up a fallen leaf, her finger pressing on the stem.
"If we consider this leaf as the world, Imaginary Space energy shouldn't enter the real world; otherwise, reality couldn't exist. But for some reason, this energy did enter. If a congregation effect occurs, reaching a certain concentration, it will influence the real world's organisms, climate, and even physical laws."
Yes, Imaginary Internal Energy, reaching a certain concentration, causes Honkai Impact.
Ryan silently agreed. Mei had never witnessed Honkai; deducing this solely from calculations was terrifying. He listened intently.
"Furthermore, under her guidance, I revised the origin section of Imaginary Internal Energy, proposing a different hypothesis." Mei placed the leaf on the white paper, drawing a circle around it. "Energy can't spontaneously generate. Something must exist in the space outside the 'world,' like a low-temperature heat source and a high-temperature heat source. Their interaction would produce energy."
Tree and Sea opposing each other.
Ryan lowered his eyes, gently raising his hand. "All hypotheses have computational backing. You truly are a genius."
"Cut the flattery." Mei rolled her eyes, brushing the leaf away. "You contributed too, at least 30% of the calculations. Besides, why didn't you attend the conference?"
"Mu Continent is too far. And you know I don't care about that."
"Then what do you want to do?"
Just as a story deserves a main plot, so too do people need goals.
"To stand in the present and look toward the distant future. I can tolerate the unknown, but I can't easily forgive the unknowable. Whether it's knowledge or power, I want to—" Ryan smiled, gently clenching his fist.
"Touch, understand, explore, then surpass. Ultimately, become a Trailblazer."
A Pathstrider needs to become powerful enough to understand the ideal, but also to be influenced by it. Ryan's path of expansion wasn't merely about simple slaughter.
Slaughtering Honkai Beasts and personally experiencing Honkai energy was crucial, as was researching the theory with Mei. Knowing what it is is important, but knowing why it is is equally important.
"Very profound, almost philosophical," the girl mused, quickly regaining her composure. She stood up, casually mentioning, "But don't do anything dangerous. The dead can't become Trailblazers."
"Haha, survival and expansion are interdependent, not conflicting." Ryan wasn't surprised, lightly adjusting his glasses.
"Don't worry, I'm just a harmless researcher."