SCIAW: Chapter 222/223

Chapter 222: Demigod

"I'm back!"

With a cheerful smile, Chika pulled her suitcase behind her as she returned home.

The house was unusually lively.

Not only were her father, mother, older sister, and younger sister present, but also her grandfather, grandmother, uncle, and aunt. Nearly all the key members of the family were gathered.

"Chika's home."

Her grandfather greeted her with a broad smile in response to her bright expression.

"How was it? How did you feel about this trip?"

"It was great!"

Chika smiled and made a "yeah" gesture.

"I saw a lot of amazing things on this trip. But there were some accidents. When Kaguya was testing Hayasaka's resistance to pressure in another dimension, something went wrong. The dimension collapsed, and the iceberg created by Kaguya's Ice-Ice Fruit attack in that space ended up crashing into the island."

"It was really dangerous. It looked like two-thirds of the island ended up buried under that iceberg."

Just listening to their granddaughter's description, both grandfathers could already picture how intense the experience had been.

Another dimension collapsing, an iceberg crashing into the island… the two elderly men were left dumbfounded.

They glanced at each other, seeing surprise and doubt reflected in each other's eyes.

Are we… outdated?

The moment that thought crossed their minds, Chika quickly shook her head to deny it.

"No, Grandpa and Grandpa, you're not behind the times."

"It's just that Kaguya and the others were working really hard during training, and they're pushing their limits right now. So, loud and dramatic stuff like this is normal. It's just that since you haven't been exposed to this kind of thing, it makes sense that you're not used to it yet."

Hearing their granddaughter say this, the two elders' shock began to settle down.

They were both aware of the mysterious, but they hadn't experienced the level of destruction the true mysterious world could cause.

After all, the mysteries they had encountered in the past weren't nearly this dangerous or influential.

While the elders calmed down, Fujiwara Maho, seated in the main seat, looked at Chika with slight suspicion.

Considering the kind of world Chika had been exposed to lately, Maho didn't hold back and asked directly:

"Chika, weren't you a little too quick to respond?"

"Eh???"

Chika blinked in confusion at her mother, then quickly realized what she'd done. Her mother's questioning gaze made it clear.

"Ah… because I also stepped into the mysterious during this trip."

"…"

The entire Fujiwara family stared at her in stunned silence.

None of them had expected Chika to enter the mysterious world so soon.

Her younger sister, Moeha, was the first to react.

"Really? Sis entered that fast? What kind of ability did you get?"

It wasn't just Moeha. Everyone in the Fujiwara family was curious. Chika was the first in their household to enter the mysterious. How could they not be interested in her abilities?

"The power I got is probably the lowest-tier one. It didn't show immediate effects like Kaguya's. Right now, my physical abilities haven't changed. I've only gained enhancements in mental capacity and observation."

"As for how those enhancements work... well, I can already tell what Moeha is thinking right now."

"Even though her expression hasn't changed at all, her fingers twitched, her breathing got a little erratic, and her pupils contracted unnaturally."

"And now she's wondering how I figured out what she was thinking."

After explaining, Chika folded her arms and chuckled. Her tone had unconsciously become a little proud.

"Moeha's thoughts are completely visible to me. I can see through her actions and micro-expressions and deduce her true intentions through observation."

Upon hearing that, Moeha widened her eyes and pointed at her sister in protest.

"This is mind reading! That's cheating, Sis!"

"It's not mind reading! I'm just a Spectator from the first sequence. Mind reading is at Sequence 8. I'm just interpreting behavior and language to infer purpose. That's not actual mind reading."

Hearing her sister's shameless rebuttal, Moeha's cheeks puffed up in frustration.

At that moment, she realized—pranking her sister in the future was no longer possible.

Her sister's ability completely countered any sort of trickery. She couldn't even play mind games anymore. She would just end up getting outmaneuvered and humiliated by her sister's newfound skills.

Watching Moeha's flustered face, Chika proudly crossed her arms and held her head high, clearly basking in her victory.

Moeha grew even more irritated seeing her sister's smug look.

"But even so, isn't Kaguya still stronger?"

Her comment hit Chika square in the pride.

Her triumphant expression froze on the spot. She glanced at Moeha, then pulled out her phone and made a call.

The call connected quickly. Chika turned on the speaker, and a male voice came through the other end.

"You already have something to talk to me about after getting home, Fujiwara?"

"Sorry to bother you, Amamiya. I just got home."

"You called me as soon as you got back? What is it?"

"Well… my sister Moeha said my ability isn't as good as Kaguya's. Could you help me refute that?"

"…You're putting this out in public?"

"Yep."

"I just reminded you, you're a Spectator, not an Actor. Spectators aren't supposed to interfere with events directly. If you're not careful, the Spectator's potion won't digest properly."

After the reminder, Ren paused for a moment, then sighed with a trace of helplessness in his voice.

"To satisfy both your and your sister's curiosity… yes, Kaguya's abilities are indeed exceptional. If she continues to push her powers to the limit, she'll definitely reach the peak I expected—demigod level."

The moment the word "God" came out, the entire Fujiwara family froze.

To them, that concept was completely beyond reach, and it shattered their previous understanding of power.

(To be continued.)

Chapter 223: We Are Not Inferior to You Girls

The word "God" is not used lightly, but whenever it appears, it signifies something extraordinary.

And the word "demigod" says a lot. Literally, it means halfway to godhood.

The Fujiwara family listened quietly. This piece of information truly shocked them.

"Don't think that the powers Kaguya and the others obtained came easily. Rapid growth always comes at a cost. Every gift in this world has a price. If you enjoy fast success, you also have to accept the ceiling that comes with it."

"Demigod is the limit they've reached through that rapid growth. It doesn't mean they'll stay at the demigod level forever, but the energy and time required to go further after that are beyond imagination."

There's no such thing as effortless power. Quick success mainly refers to increasing the upper limit to speed up the growth rate.

Chika nodded slightly at Ren's explanation.

"Of course, under normal circumstances, even reaching demigod level is extremely difficult. Kaguya and the others qualify for that level only because their power system gives them a 20% chance. Without that, how could ordinary girls reach the realm of gods?"

Even if there's a hard limit, "demigod" is still a height most people could never even dream of.

From Ren's perspective, it's a restriction. But to others, "demigod" is already the peak.

Because without opportunity and luck, most people wouldn't even graze the edges of the mysterious world in a lifetime, let alone reach demigod.

Chika couldn't help but ask:

"What about us?"

"The path we're on is also called the Way of God."

The moment those words left his mouth, everyone in the Fujiwara family held their breath.

"There are 22 paths that can lead to godhood on the Sequence Road, each representing a true god. In other words, every path has the potential to reach godhood. But this road is extremely difficult and narrow."

"So, in comparison, our situation is similar to Kaguya's group. Their current power is greater than ours, but after reaching demigod, advancing further becomes several times, even dozens of times harder than it is for us."

"As for whether our powers are inferior to Kaguya and the others… all I can say is, each system has its strengths. Once we reach the middle sequence, our abilities start to bloom. From that point on, we are no weaker than anyone else."

"Sequence 9 Spectators and Sequence 8 Telepathists have limited means at first. But once you reach the middle sequence, like Sequence 7 Psychiatrist, you gain access to many more abilities."

"You can induce mass panic, stir up someone's inner frenzy, rearrange someone's mind, manipulate thoughts with psychological suggestion, calm agitation, and even read minds through rituals and mental bodies."

"So Fujiwara, let me ask you, do you really think these abilities are weaker than Kaguya's?"

Chika took a deep breath.

"No."

According to Ren, once you reach the middle sequence, the available methods multiply. Her current ability might seem more like support compared to Kaguya's direct combat power, but in reality, she might end up with more techniques than Kaguya.

Kaguya's powers are straightforward, while Chika's allow her to influence things from behind the scenes through psychological manipulation—something Kaguya can't do.

"So don't worry too much about your current lack of combat power. Focus on playing the Spectator role well. If you stick to the role-playing method I mentioned before, you could be promoted to Sequence 8 within one to two months."

"If you perform better in your role, your promotion might come even sooner."

After getting that explanation, Chika turned to her sister, who was still puffing her cheeks out.

"Well, I get it. Thanks for the help, Amamiya."

"It's fine. If your family is listening, make sure they understand—the Sequence Path is not easy to walk. I actually suspect your case might not be the standard. Mine might be the exception."

"Got it. Don't worry."

After hanging up the call, Chika looked at her sister with a little pride.

"So, how about it, Moeha? Did you hear that?"

"I may not have many abilities now, but that doesn't mean my future growth will be any worse than Kaguya's."

But once she'd said that, she looked a bit troubled.

"Do I really have to become a psychologist in the future? It feels kind of weird for a student like me to become one."

Hearing her daughter's concern, Maho couldn't help but feel the worry was premature.

"You're still at the lowest level, and already thinking that far ahead?"

"Chika, when you reach that point, your father and I can arrange for a government-level psychological consultation position. You'll have plenty of opportunities to become a psychologist. But for now, just focus on what's in front of you."

As a diplomat, and with her husband's status, arranging that sort of career for their daughter wouldn't be difficult.

If Chika truly needed it, the couple could easily make the necessary preparations to ensure she was ready to take on a psychologist role.

But that wasn't something to worry about now. Chika hadn't even reached that stage yet.

Spectators and Telepathists clearly didn't need to worry about playing the role of psychologist just yet.

After speaking to Chika, Fujiwara Maho also let out a breath. She, too, had been deeply shaken by the word "demigod."

"Demigod… I never imagined our daughter would even have a chance at something like that."

"Not just our daughter," she added, her gaze falling on Chika, "many other girls have the same opportunity."

And so, Maho narrowed her eyes.

"That boy is the key, isn't he."

She had immediately grasped the core of the situation.

The only reason her daughter had such an opportunity was clearly because of the boy who had just spoken to her.

She didn't know how, but the reasoning was clear enough now.

"Eh? Mom, what are you talking about?"

Chika tilted her head, confused by her mother's words.

Maho just shook her head and didn't elaborate. Obviously, some things weren't meant to be said aloud.

Even so, the information she had gathered from Chika today was already more than enough.

(To be continued.)