A new mission has been issued!
Souta was thrilled—tasks from the system were rare. In all this ti, he had only ever received one, and that was a solo mission.
But this ti... it was a team mission!
And the reward? 10,000 points—ten tis the previous mission!
"So even a group mber's personal wish can trigger a quest?"
Souta stared at the screen, lost in thought.
From Shinobu's case, he had already learned that if a friend was in life-threatening danger, the system would trigger a rescue-type mission—whether solo or team-based depended on the situation.
That was one category of missions, aning he would likely encounter more in the future.
But now, this wish-fulfillnt mission...
Was this a one-ti occurrence, or did it belong to a repeatable category as well?
If it was the latter, then there was potential to trigger many more missions going forward.
Tokisaki Kurumi: "Oh my? A mission has appeared?"
Shinobu Oshino: "Souta! I want in on this! I'm very interested in the system's lottery function—I need points to roll! Also, I still owe you a Perfected Immortality Evolution Card... I need to earn points to pay you back."
Both Kurumi and Shinobu imdiately responded to the mission prompt.
Shinobu even paused her ani binge to pay attention.
Souta's eye twitched—this situation felt exactly like when soone drops a red envelope in a group chat, and suddenly all the lurkers pop out to grab it.
"Wait... Shinobu actually cares about paying back?"
Souta was a little surprised.
For soone as prideful as Shinobu, she probably couldn't stand the thought of owing him sothing.
To her, favors weren't things to be taken for granted—she believed in repaying those who helped her.
Honestly? Souta respected that.
Back in the real world, there were too many entitled people who took advantage of kindness.
Shinobu's integrity was a breath of fresh air.
Tokisaki Kurumi: "If the vampire girl is joining, then I'll join too. The lottery function is rather tempting~."
Tokisaki Kurumi: "By the way, Souta, you should've used the lottery draw from your newbie gift pack by now, right? What did you get?"
Kurumi's question made Souta pause for a mont before replying:
Souta: "I pulled two superpowers—fire and ice generation, plus basic ti manipulation."
This explanation would cover him in the future—if he used ti abilities in front of Kurumi, she wouldn't find it suspicious.
Of course, Souta trusted both Kurumi and Shinobu completely.
He wouldn't mind telling them the truth...
But he also didn't want to deal with misunderstandings later on.
So for now...
He would keep the fact that he could gain powers from friendship levels a secret.
Once the ti was right, he could reveal it.
Tokisaki Kurumi: "Wait a second—aren't those three abilities?"
Souta: "Fire and ice are actually one ability called Half-Cold Half-Hot. I can't separate them."
Shinobu Oshino: "Enough about abilities! Souta, I want in on the mission! Don't forget about !"
Souta: "Relax, guys. There are only four of us in the group, and the mission allows up to five people—we all fit just fine."
As soon as he sent the ssage, another thought occurred to him.
"Wait... can Altair join this mission herself?"
He imdiately asked the system:
Souta: "System, can Altair participate in the mission?"
[Yes.]
"She can!?"
For a mont, Souta felt... weird.
Helping herself was the whole point of the mission, yet she could join as a participant too?
Altair: "A mission? Can soone explain what this is?"
Tokisaki Kurumi: "I'll handle it—I'll post another announcent, and I'll also explain the shop system."
Souta raised an eyebrow.
Kurumi sure seed enthusiastic about helping newcors.
Was this so senpai ntality kicking in?
Japanese people had strong seniority traditions, so maybe she felt like a ntor guiding new recruits.
Or...
Was she establishing her authority as the main girl?
About five minutes later, a new announcent appeared in the group.
It explained the shop system, the mission system, and how points could be used.
Altair, who had been drowning in frustration and self-doubt, suddenly felt reinvigorated.
It wasn't the points that excited her.
It was the fact that Souta and the others actually had a real chance to bring Setsuna back.
Reviving soone in reality was unbelievable—even to her.
Especially since Setsuna had been dead for months.
Her body had already been cremated and buried.
Could she really be revived?
Altair wanted to believe...
But...
"Is this truly possible?"
Altair: "I understand the mission details. But tell —do any of you have the power to resurrect soone?"
Shinobu Oshino: "Resurrection? I don't have that ability."
Tokisaki Kurumi: "I have the ability to travel through ti. Altair, the person you want to revive is Setsuna Shimazaki, correct? If she hasn't been dead for too long, I could try traveling back and changing the events leading to her death. That should allow us to save her."
Altair: "Really!? Setsuna passed away three months ago. Is that within your ti-traveling range?"
Tokisaki Kurumi: "Three months? That's completely manageable."
At this point, Souta frowned.
"Hold on, Kurumi's ti travel could save her, but... Altair, what exactly brought you into the so-called 'real world' in the first place?"
He vaguely rembered that Altair appeared on the sa day Setsuna took her own life.
Was that just a coincidence?
Not only that, but in Re:CREATORS, Altair sohow knew that Setsuna's final thoughts were:
"Wouldn't it be better if everything just disappeared?"
This beca the reason she wanted to erase reality.
But how did Altair know about that wish?
It's not like Setsuna turned into a ghost and whispered it in her ear after death, right?
Souta had a theory:
Setsuna's death must have triggered so kind of reaction within Altair, even while she was still trapped inside her fictional world.
That reaction not only inford her of Setsuna's last wish...
It also allowed her to break free from her world and enter reality.
If that were true, then changing the past to save Setsuna might erase Altair from existence.
Altair: "I do not fully understand how I ca into the real world myself. One day, I simply felt an overwhelming sense of despair. From within that despair, I learned of Setsuna's death and her final wish. After that, I discovered that I could use Holopsicon to create world conflicts and break through the barriers into this world."
Souta sighed.
"Just as I thought."
Souta: "If that's the case, then we can't use ti travel to save Setsuna. Changing the tiline would most likely erase you from existence, Altair."
Souta: "@Kurumi, this is just like your own situation. If you go back 30 years and change the past, you yourself would disappear."
Tokisaki Kurumi: "..."
Tokisaki Kurumi: "Then what should we do? If we can't change the tiline, none of us have resurrection abilities. How do we complete the mission?"
Souta: "It's simple. We dig up Setsuna's grave, and Kurumi, you try using ti reversal on her ashes. That way, we might be able to bring her back."
Altair: "..."
Tokisaki Kurumi: "That won't work. Souta, you might not know this, but when I returned to my world, the first thing I did was dig up my dead friend's grave. I tried reversing ti on her ashes, but even after expending a huge amount of ti energy, nothing happened."
Souta: "..."
Tokisaki Kurumi: "Afterward, I asked the system about it. The system explained that a living being consists of two parts—the body and the soul. Different worlds have different rules regarding life and death.
In worlds where reincarnation exists, the soul imdiately enters reincarnation upon death. In worlds without reincarnation, the soul simply vanishes.
Ti reversal can restore the body, but it can't bring the soul back.
Unless we reverse ti for the entire world, Setsuna's soul won't return."
"Great, so we'd only be reviving a corpse. What are we supposed to do—while it's warm?"
Souta: "So that's how it works... Looks like we really do need a proper resurrection ability. Guess we'll have to go with the old plan."
Tokisaki Kurumi: "Old plan?"
Souta: "Kurumi, rember how we solved your ti energy problem last ti?"
Tokisaki Kurumi: "You an... finding outside help from another world?"
Souta: "Exactly."
Tokisaki Kurumi: "We don't have a World Travel Card right now. Souta, are you planning to use your invitation letter?"
Souta: "No need. Did you forget? I just completed a solo mission, so I still have 500 points left. That's exactly enough to buy a World Travel Card."
At this mont, Altair spoke up.
Altair: "Thank you for your kindness, Souta. But... are you really okay with spending your points on ? Aren't they an important resource?"
Altair: "Do you want anything in return? If it's sothing I possess, I will give it to you."
Souta chuckled at her words.
He quickly typed his reply.
Souta: "No worries—this mission reward is 10,000 points. Think of it as an investnt. Spending 500 points to gamble for a much bigger payout is a small price to pay."
Reviews
All reviews (0)