Chapter: 63. The Balance of Power (4k)
At the moment just before the “elemental fusion” from the heavens is about to be unleashed.
On an island not far from the base of the Star Conference.
The sea breeze flows through the dense thicket, bringing waves of damp coolness, yet Professor Amakusa cannot help but sweat beads the size of beans on his forehead.
Professor Amakusa’s expression is mixed with astonishment and confusion, his gaze fixed on the unfamiliar man not far away.
The latter’s black short hair sways slightly in the wind, as if the night is flowing around him.
If he didn’t mishear, the Alice who fell behind him referred to him as “Hoshigami Renkatsu.”
Hoshigami Renkatsu.
A name completely unfamiliar to him yet one he is immensely concerned about.
He has never heard of a psychokinetic user named “Hoshigami Renkatsu.”
But he has heard of the surname “Hoshigami”—
Linked to the reincarnation of the “Elemental Master” and the protagonist of “the previous era,” sharing the same surname.
Of course, the surname “Hoshigami” might not be rare in Japan, and that alone could mean nothing.
However, the sight before him—deep black hair as dark as the night, combined with the faint aura emanating from the contours of his features, evokes a sense of déjà vu…
All of this indeed makes Professor Amakusa involuntarily associate this man with the already deceased “protagonist.”
Even though he has never met that girl in person, he has seen a few pictures of her in thick reports.
His intuition tells Professor Amakusa that this man in front of him has a significant connection to the deceased “protagonist.”
However, he is not the only one feeling puzzled about this man’s origins.
The three X-class psychokinetic users present also wear grave expressions, warily confronting the black-haired man.
Their gazes are sharp as blades, and the magic power within them subtly stirs, as if prepared to respond to sudden combat at any moment.
Evidently, this man’s recent dodge of an attack left a considerable impression on them.
Especially since all three were unable to see clearly what his movements were.
But in contrast to the tension and vigilance emanating from the three, the man named “Hoshigami Renkatsu” appears entirely detached from the situation.
Renkatsu has not shown any emotional fluctuation throughout; his coldly expressionless face resembles a meticulously carved mask—if one were to describe it, it would be the most stereotypical “expressionless.”
He seems to completely disregard the three X-class psychokinetic users before him, not even adopting the most basic defensive posture.
Instead, he slowly turns his head, his calm gaze landing on the fallen Alice.
“I remember you are friends with Nagi?” Renkatsu actually recognized Alice at first glance.
This phrase sounds more like a greeting than a question.
The two had crossed paths a few times in Kawanokun.
At that time, Nagi was still a first-year middle school student; during the summer vacation, the warm-hearted and cheerful Nagi would often invite friends to her home, one of whom was this golden-haired, blue-eyed foreign girl before him.
After all, such golden hair and a childlike petite frame are not something one frequently encounters in Japan.
“…Yes…”
Alice responded weakly, her voice almost as faint as a flickering candle in the wind.
But in the next moment, she suddenly furrowed her brows, as if sensing something unusual, and muttered softly:
“…Why do I feel like someone is speaking ill of me from behind…?”
Clearly, it is a critical moment of confrontation, and life is at stake, yet she instinctively made a sarcastic remark.
It seems that near this man, Hoshigami Renkatsu, there emanates an inexplicable sense of “security.”
Logically speaking, she should be urging this seemingly ordinary-looking man to flee for his life immediately.
But upon reflection—if he were truly an ordinary person, how could he appear here under such circumstances?
Moreover, no ordinary person could escape from the hands of X-class psychokinetic users on their own.
Because of this, Alice would rather believe that his appearance is not a coincidence.
Silently, she prayed in her heart—hoping that this man’s arrival would bring even a glimmer of opportunity to reverse the desperate situation ahead.
In this tense moment, Alice and Renkatsu appear as old friends reunited, conversing leisurely, leaving Professor Amakusa utterly bewildered for a moment.
If he weren’t witnessing Alice in her current near-lifeless and battered state, he might genuinely think he wasn’t on a battlefield where life hangs in the balance but rather accidentally encountering a long-lost friend on a trip.
Next, they might start discussing things like “Should we go eat nearby?” or “How have you been these past few years?”
As this absurdly awkward atmosphere continues to spread, fortunately, someone timely breaks the silence.
However, this voice did not come from anyone present.
Instead, it resonated from the speaker of a phone in Hoshigami Renkatsu’s hand.
“Renkatsu, the investigation results are out; the ‘system’ has indeed gone online… Wait, are you using speakerphone right now?”
On the other end of the phone, a girl’s clear and calm voice came through, mixed with a hint of uncontainable confusion.
The voice on the other end was that of Ayu Tenkan from the Heavenly Academy.
In response to her question.
Renkatsu replied with his usual calmness, without any emotional fluctuation: “I found the target from the list. They may be related to this incident, so I activated the speaker so they can receive the information in real time without needing further explanations.”
His words were succinct and powerful, as if used to conveying the maximum amount of information with the least language.
Calm, swift, and without a trace of hesitation, his entire logic of action seems tailor-made for the word “efficiency,” to an unsettling degree.
“…Huh?” Ayu on the phone seemed to be trying hard to comprehend his reasoning, but before she could criticize, Renkatsu quickly posed a new question:
“If the other party has indeed activated that ‘system,’ then why is it still allowing us to communicate normally?”
“So far—” Ayu quickly adjusted her thought process, speeding up her explanation: “According to the analysis from our ‘computer,’ a lot of the computing power of that system seems to be deployed for other uses right now, temporarily unable to monitor communications and signals.”
After saying that, she immediately redirected the topic back to the current situation:
“Renkatsu, do you need support? If possible, we should consider rescuing the targets on the list… although it would be best if we can do so without jeopardizing our lives.”
On the side, Professor Amakusa almost internally shouted: Send reinforcements!
Though he had no clear idea which organization this man named “Hoshigami Renkatsu” belongs to, just the fact that he can comprehend the existence of the “system” and even analyze its operational load indicates that the intelligence capabilities of the forces behind him are extraordinary.
If a few more ace-level psychokinetic users could come, perhaps it might be possible to break free from these three X-class psychokinetic users—
However, before Professor Amakusa could finish this thought internally.
“There are three enemies,” Renkatsu replied calmly and briefly.
“I see, then I’m relieved.” The Ayu on the other end of the line immediately responded in a similar tone.
Professor Amakusa was left stunned, as if his brain had briefly crashed for a second.
…Wait, what do you mean by “then I’m relieved”? Shouldn’t assessing and comparing the combat abilities of both sides start with clarifying the level of the opposing strength?
What significance is it to simply know their “number”? Even without considering the enemy’s specific strength, one against three certainly does not sound like a situation where one could easily exclaim, “I’m relieved.”
This nonchalant dialogue left not only Professor Amakusa dumbfounded.
Even the three X-class psychokinetic users confronting each other couldn’t help but frown, showing a look of “Are you serious?”
But soon, they realized—this man before them was not bluffing.
That calm and collected demeanor was not a facade of false composure.
He… truly believes he can defeat all three of them alone.
No, that’s not right—
Not “can.”
But—
“Can only” defeat all three of them by himself.
The X-class psychokinetic users, combining the on-site information and intuition, arrived at this absurd conclusion.
Just then.
They locked eyes with Renkatsu.
A cold light suddenly ignited in the depths of his eyes, a deep blue radiance illuminating the surrounding forest.
This was the glow of magic power as Renkatsu drew upon the magic within him.
The crimson and azure glimmer converged and overlapped in his eyes.
In the center of Renkatsu’s deep pupils, countless thin crimson lines quietly intertwined, spreading like spider silk, as if fine cracks were expanding from his gaze into the world.
At that moment—
An invisible “balance” silently had its weight adjusted.
The side that should have heavily dropped due to number and strength belonged to the three X-class psychokinetic users—
But, inexplicably, slowly, it began to rise.
While the relatively lighter other side, representing Hoshigami Renkatsu, also synchronously began to lower.
Until both sides achieved—perfect equilibrium.
Reached an “absolute balance.”
Even the battle-hardened X-class psychokinetic users who have faced the most dangerous enemies could not see through what this man before them intended to do.
But their intuition was frantically signaling—he must be interrupted!
Thus, the signal for attack was released almost simultaneously.
However, just as they moved to launch their attacks—
An intense sense of disharmony crashed over them like a wave.
They suddenly realized clearly—they had “weakened.”
Whether it was their physical capabilities, magic power density and content, or even reaction speed, all felt diminished by an invisible force—
Meanwhile, Renkatsu also moved.
His movements were astonishingly quick, like a streak of light tearing through the air, far surpassing what he had just displayed.
Not only in speed.
Even the magic power stored within him—seemed to surge and explode like never before the moment that “balance” was achieved.
A blade of light, condensed with massive amounts of magic power, could rival the purple-black arrow launched by the previous X-class psychokinetic user… no, not just “rival,” but completely “surpass” that strike.
The intertwining glow of azure and crimson transformed into a blade, flashing by at a speed that no one could react to in time.
In the next second—
A bloodline appeared from one of the X-class psychokinetic user’s waist.
The surprise on that man’s face had not yet faded, and he quietly split in two, collapsing to the ground without a sound.
“If the goal is to gather intelligence—three persons are unnecessary. Even for verification, just two will suffice.”
Renkatsu’s tone remained utterly nonchalant, as if stating the most ordinary fact.
With the “instant death” of that X-class psychokinetic user.
The unseen “invisible balance” began to tilt slowly once again.
The weight on the X-class psychokinetic users’ side lightened due to the loss of one person, and the weights on both sides of the balance began to “readjust.”
But this imbalance only lasted an instant before returning to “absolute balance.”
This time, what left the remaining two X-class psychokinetic users even more astonished was another detail—
Renkatsu had just unleashed such a powerful magical attack; logically, it should have consumed a significant amount of magic power.
Yet they could clearly perceive—his magic power had returned to a full state.
In contrast, their own magic power had gradually diminished without them realizing.
Not because of using magic power—but because their magic power limits had been reduced.
Something had been once again “balanced.”
Not a one-time adjustment.
But a real-time dynamic balance.
Regardless of how the battlefield changes, regardless of who lives or dies, the “balance” continues to operate, recalibrating all battle resources between enemies and allies—
Reweighting, never unbalanced.
—The Balance of Power.
In the original work of “Star Draw 2,” the “Balance of Power” is one of the most representative abilities of the female protagonist, Hoshigami Nagi.
Its mechanism can be summarized in the game as—summing all values of both combatants and redistributing them equally to form an “absolute 50% balance.”
No matter how low Hoshigami Nagi’s level, even if she is just level 1 facing a thousand level 100 enemies, the “Balance of Power” will forcibly divide her overall values evenly with that thousand persons.
She would gain a 50% bonus of the total attributes of those thousand, while all enemies would be uniformly weakened to 50% of their original value.
This effect is dynamically adjusted in real time—whenever the battle situation changes, the balance immediately recalculates.
To give a simple example.
If Hoshigami Nagi, after obtaining the 50% value bonus from a thousand enemies, uses all her magic power (mp) to kill one enemy in an attack, then the “Balance of Power” will immediately recalculate—Hoshigami Nagi’s various values will again be summed with the remaining 999 enemies and averaged to form the “new” 50%, allowing both her health (hp) and magic power (mp) to be fully restored.
That is why, in the original game of “Star Draw 2,” the female protagonist Hoshigami Nagi is considered to have the completely opposite trait of being “invincible in 1v1” compared to the male protagonist, leaning more towards battles involving multiple opponents.
The “Balance of Power” allows Hoshigami Nagi to possess an unimaginable advantage in battles involving many adversaries.
