Chapter 116 - 115 - Experimentation(Part 1)

Today was Tuesday, the 20th of September. We had the week off from classes this week, because of the tournament. And I was currently in the X-Warrior Zone, on the way to Director Silva's office to help with the experimentations on whether there's a level beyond Manifestation Overdrive and countering an Anomaly's abilities. 

I'd messaged Katie, and we'd agreed to go there separately, so as to avoid fueling any annoying rumors. The amount of attention that Kilella and I got while outside yesterday was unbearable, I ended up freezing time a whole bunch of times, just to avoid getting swarmed by crowds. 

I'm just glad my life is at a somewhat stable position now, because if this had happened a few months ago, I'd have been totally screwed...remember how my main source of income used to be my winnings from casino slot machines? 

Yeah, I doubt I'd be able to do that in this situation. Guess I should be more careful in public from now on...no more visits to the red light district, for one thing...well, not that that should be a problem, since I haven't been there in about two or three months anyway...can't take credit for that myself though, it's all thanks to Ruby, and Suri too, every now and then. 

Huh, now that I think about it, the last few months of my life really haven't been all that bad. I've had way more human interaction than I've ever had before, and while plenty of those have been negative, there have been a lot of positive ones too, definitely a lot more than I was used to. 

Anyway, looks like I'm here, the entrance to the building where Director Silva's office was in came into sight. One thing about the X-Warrior Zone is that regular citizens aren't allowed here without special permission or a valid reason, so most of the time, it was only students, X-Warriors, those involved in the management of Missions and such that were in this part of the Sanctuary. 

And because of that, I didn't get bothered by passers-by as much as I do in the North Quadrant...I've used Pause to freeze time a bunch of times to get away from people asking for selfies and stuff. 

Katie and Sakura have also apparently been getting some attention, but from what they've told me, it's not nearly as bad as what I'm experiencing. Fortunately, here in the X-Warrior Zone, while I do get a bunch of stares and whispers, I rarely get directly approached. Which I get, I mean, it'd probably be a huge blow to an X-Warrior's pride to fanboy over a Level Q student. 

I then reached and entered the building, before walking up to the receptionist and informing him that I was here to see the director. He nodded, before checking his computer to make sure of the appointment and then letting me go up to the office. 

As I got to her office, I knocked on the door, entering as she called out for me to come in. Looks like Katie's already here, she was sitting across from Director Silva's desk, looking up as I walked in. 

"Hey, sorry if I'm late," I greeted them, as I sat down on the chair next to the one Katie was seated on. 

"No, you're both early, actually," Replied Director Silva, though it looked like she was trying to hide a sense of impatience...speaking of which, she was super enthusiastic when she first found out that Katie could control her Manifestation Overdrive too. 

"I just arrived a few minutes before you did," Said Katie. 

"I see. So, did you really figure out how to counter an Anomaly's abilities?" I inquired curiously, getting right to the matter at hand. 

"Well...I think so."

"Then let's cut right to the chase," Remarked Director Silva, "Tell us what you've figured out, Katie."

"During the last round of my semi-final match, I was caught in my opponent's illusion...and in my frustration, my focus accidentally wavered and I lost control of my XFE flow, which leaked out in a sharp, shockwave-like burst, which didn't have any physical effect, but the moment after it happened, the illusion was gone," She explained as she recalled the fight, "I didn't figure out how I nullified his illusion right away, not until yesterday morning when I carefully went through the entire fight in my head."

"Huh, interesting...I wonder if there's a distance limit or particular timing to that," I mulled over with intrigue. 

"Why wonder? Let's test it out, shall we?" Suggested Director Silva eagerly, gesturing to the teleportation platform in her office. 

She's really into all this, huh? Though I'd be lying if I said I wasn't fascinated myself...yeah, why not, let's do this... 

... 

A few minutes later, we were in the spot where the worst of the criminals were held, where I'd first proved my shooting skills to the director by taking out a bunch of those scum. All the cells were currently empty, I'm guessing their previous occupants had all been executed. 

"So, uh, what exactly are we doing here?" I inquired. 

"Activate one of your Anomaly powers on Katie, and let's see if she can counter it," Replied Director Silva, "Oh, and in case timing is important, recite your activation chants out loud, okay?" 

"Uh...no, I'd rather not." 

"Oh, don't worry, we won't reveal a thing about your powers. Right, Katie?" Responded the director. 

"Sure, I don't have any reason to do so," Katie replied with a shrug.

I let out a reluctant sigh and relented with a defeated wave of my hand. 

"Fine, whatever. Alright, Katie, I'm going to freeze time now, try to counter it," I informed her, before slowly exhaling and chanting, "Here goes, <Activate Anomaly, Tier Two: Pause>."

As I chanted, Katie's shoulders and expression stiffened a bit...and she was unaffected. The director was definitely frozen...but Katie wasn't. 

"I...I did it, it really-...," She began in surprise, before suddenly freezing in place. 

Huh? What just happened? Wait, I think I get it...my time freeze affects the entire world and everyone in it, so long as another Anomaly isn't nearby. She resisted getting frozen in time initially, but she probably has to keep bursting out waves of XFE to remain unaffected. 

Meanwhile, let's take Yugi's illusions...from what I saw in the tournament, only the person he actively targets is affected, so when they resist it, they dispel it entirely. But Pause doesn't just target one person, it affects on a much larger scale, so simply avoiding getting caught up in it initially isn't enough, you have to keep resisting after that. 

Oh, I guess I should unfreeze them... 

"<Activate Anomaly, Tier Two: Play>." 

"...-worked," Finished Katie, before realizing that she'd been frozen. 

"Huh? Oh, wow, time really was frozen, I feel like I just blinked a second ago, when you recited your activation chant, Kilzachs," Remarked Director Silva. 

"Well, yeah..."

"What happened? I definitely resisted it...right?" Asked Katie in confusion. 

"Yeah, you did but...," I began, before explaining my theory on why it affected her after she initially resisted it and then concluding, "...so, basically, if it's something like Yugi Suzuki's illusions, you could either dispel it right away, or even after you get caught up in it. But if it's like my time freezing ability, then not only do you have to resist it before it can affect you, but then keep doing that XFE shockwave thing to prevent it from affecting you afterwards."

"Then let's test it out, see if she really can stay unaffected by your time freeze. Also, um...is there any way I could watch without getting frozen in time?" Requested the director sheepishly. 

"Fine, I guess...just hold onto me when I recite the activation chant, and don't let go till I resume the flow of time," I replied, and as she walked over to me and placed her hand on my shoulder, I pulled out an old receipt in my pocket and crumpled it up, "Okay, I'm going to toss this into the air when I start the activation chant, just so that we have a clear indicator that time is definitely frozen, since you'll both be unaffected this time, assuming my theory is right."

As soon as Katie signaled that she was ready, I tossed the paper ball up and recited the activation chant...and sure enough, it worked. I was right. Katie resisted getting initially affected by the time freeze, and this time, she was staying that way. But... 

"I'm doing it...but I won't be able to maintain this and fight at the same time," Remarked Katie with a frown, "I have to destabilize my XFE flow to do this...but in order to form my manifestation, I have to keep the energy flow stable. If I stop to stabilize my XFE, I'll get frozen in time. But if I focus on keeping myself from getting frozen, I'll be defenseless."

"Yeah, that makes sense...but it should work against most other Anomalies, so don't worry about it," I replied objectively. 

"What about Sakura? She copies and forms manifestations from Prodigies, it's not like other Anomaly powers...," Wondered Katie. 

"Huh...you know, it might be possible that this XFE shockwave thing-...okay, we need a shorter name for that technique. How about Nullification Wave? Yeah, that works. Anyway, what I was about to say was that the Nullification Wave could work on manifestations too. Though if it doesn't, then either way, Sakura could end up being something of a contradiction to how this technique works," I surmised with a frown. 

"Sakura, huh? Hm...alright then, I'll go get her," Declared the director, heading back towards the teleportation platform, "I'll be back in no time, you two keep experimenting with this technique!" 

Before either of us could say anything, she'd already teleported away. 

"Is she always like this? Both times I've met her, she's been very...enthusiastic," Remarked Katie, as the director teleported away. 

"No, usually she's all curt and professional...but I guess she gets this way with new discoveries, huh?" I replied with a shrug.

"Well, I just hope she doesn't take too long. I don't like waiting."

I can relate to that. I then sat down with a quiet sigh and leaned against the wall, stifling a lazy yawn...I mean, if there's nothing to do till she gets back, might as well relax for a bit, right? 

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