Chapter 2: Familiar Faces
Let's see what we've got here…
The moment Kenji joined the chat group, the existing members immediately popped up, their messages flooding the screen.
[Miss Pink Elf♪]: "Ooh, a new member! It's been so long since anyone new joined. Welcome, welcome, a very warm welcome to you!"
[Miss Pink Elf♪]: "My name is Elysia, a beautiful maiden as lovely as my name suggests. In the common tongue of the Old World, Elysia means 'paradise' or 'Elysium.'"
[Miss Pink Elf♪]: Elysia's Selfie.jpg
[Miss Pink Elf♪]: "You have to post a picture too, newbie! ♪"
The attached photo showed a flawlessly beautiful young woman with long pink hair and a curvaceous figure that was perfectly proportioned.
The Pink Piggy, Herrscher of Queers…
Kenji instantly recognized her. It was Elysia, the Herrscher of Human: Ego, the Flawless Human from Honkai Impact 3rd. At first, you think she's a classic "pink-haired character who is secretly evil," but after playing through the Elysian Realm, you realize she's pure-hearted through and through.
Ah, Ely. Amen.
[Lady Justice]: "Hold on, that nickname is a bit much, isn't it? Star Forger? Are you some kind of big shot?"
[Ghost of the Uchiha]: "Forging stars? I wonder how that compares to the Rinnegan's Chibaku Tensei."
Kenji mulled it over. Lady Justice must be the Hydro Archon from Genshin Impact. He wasn't sure if it was the goofy Focalors or the divine Furina, but either way, the title "God of Justice" fit.
As for the Ghost of the Uchiha... Rinnegan, Chibaku Tensei—that one was a dead giveaway.
It seemed like every crossover chat group fanfiction had the same staple members.
This was Madara Uchiha. Hashirama Senju's "best friend" and Mito Uzumaki's lifelong rival for his affections. The man who ultimately got his heart figuratively (and literally) ripped out by Black Zetsu. The fact that he knew about the Rinnegan's abilities meant this Madara had already awakened it. Kenji wondered if he was still barely clinging to life in a cave somewhere or if he was already in the Pure Land.
Including him, there were only four people in the chat group. It wasn't too noisy. That made sense. Madara only ever really talked when his bestie Hashirama was involved. As for the two girls, no matter how much they liked to chat, they couldn't be online 24/7. Judging by Elysia's comment, it had been a long time since the last person joined.
[Star Forger]: "Hello, everyone. My name is Kenji. I can't actually forge any stars... yet."
[Miss Pink Elf♪]: "The chat group probably assigned that nickname based on its judgment of your potential. If you can't do it now, it must be something you'll be able to do in the future."
Kenji agreed. It seemed like his future self was going to be a total badass.
[Miss Pink Elf♪]: "So, we have someone who can use ninjutsu and someone who can wield elemental powers. Kenji, what kind of world are you in?"
[Star Forger]: "I'm in a world where everything, and I mean everything, is gourmet food..."
[Lady Justice]: "For real?! A world like that actually exists? (°△°|||)"
[Ghost of the Uchiha]: "Unheard of."
[Miss Pink Elf♪]: "That sounds like a fascinating world! You can eat anything you want! (๑¯◡¯๑)"
Kenji couldn't agree more. Aside from being incredibly dangerous, this world was a paradise. Even the rocks could be made of chocolate. And with the "Food Immersion" ability that people here had, you didn't have to worry about getting diabetes or fatty liver disease from overeating.
A new notification popped up from the group chat system.
[Daily Sign-In Function Unlocked: Sign in for a random number of points (1-100). Exceptionally lucky members may receive items or abilities.]
[Shop Function Unlocked: Spend points to purchase goods.]
…
[Miss Pink Elf♪]: "The chat group has features like this?"
[Star Forger]: "I think my arrival must have met the member requirement, which is why these functions unlocked."
[Miss Pink Elf♪]: "Let me try it first! Ooh, 66 points. No item, though."
[Lady Justice]: "Only 30 points?! My luck is the worst! (╯°□°）╯"
[Ghost of the Uchiha]: "56 points. Average."
If Lady Justice is Focalors, Kenji thought, then her bad luck makes sense. Five hundred years of playing a role to deceive the heavens... a lucky person would never have to endure that kind of suffering, only to be put on trial by her own people in the end. Then again, if Bennett from her world were to sign in, he'd probably get a single-digit number.
[Miss Pink Elf♪]: "What about you, Kenji? Did you sign in? Let's see how many points you got."
[Star Forger]: "Here I go."
Kenji was curious himself. What would his luck be like?
Sign in—activate!
[Ding! Congratulations to Star Forger for receiving one Potential Awakening Potion from the daily sign-in.]
A system-wide announcement appeared for everyone to see.
[Lady Justice]: "No fair! Why does Kenji get an item on his first try?! (╥﹏╥)"
Focalors was so envious her eyes were turning red, practically overflowing with Hydro energy.
[Miss Pink Elf♪]: "Wow! You got an item on your first try! Your luck is amazing, Kenji."
[Ghost of the Uchiha]: "Potential Awakening... Does it fully unlock a person's latent abilities?"
[Star Forger]: "I can't believe I was actually lucky for once."
Even Kenji was in disbelief. He would have been happy with 60 or 70 points, but he hit the jackpot instead. This was a complete reversal from his gacha game luck back home, where he'd always have to hit max pity to get the character he wanted.
Did crossing over to another world completely change my luck?
A Potential Awakening Potion—the name was self-explanatory. Drinking it would unlock his hidden potential. Kenji remembered Master Jiro telling him that he likely had Gourmet Cells, but they hadn't been activated yet. This potion from the chat group was probably the key.
He carefully stored the potion and opened the newly unlocked Shop. An dazzling array of goods filled the screen.
[Icha Icha Paradise: 50 points (Heh heh heh, you know what this is.)]
[Uchiha Bloodline: 1000 points (Can be purchased and integrated, but awakening the Sharingan depends on the individual.)]
[One-Tomoe Sharingan: 2000 points (Requires prior purchase of Uchiha Bloodline, otherwise it cannot be deactivated.)]
...
[CEO Wei's Instant Noodles: 5 points (Instant noodles featuring a picture of the bald CEO.)]
[Little Pink Dress: 7 points (Discarded by a certain Doctor.)]
...
["The Catch" Polearm: 100 points (Tested by the Raiden Shogun herself for durability and strength.)]
[The Raiden Shogun's Special: 2000 points (The Raiden Shogun's signature... 'dish'.)]
...
Kenji browsed through some of the items. The selection was bizarre and eclectic, containing things he never could have imagined. He was particularly curious about Icha Icha Paradise. He told himself it was purely for the academic purpose of critiquing the great literary works of Jiraiya, and definitely not for any other reason. After all, even Kakashi couldn't put the books down.
[Miss Pink Elf♪]: "My, my, that little pink dress looks awfully familiar. Isn't that the one I gave to Mobius?"
Elysia feigned a little bit of heartbreak. To think, she had given Mobius her favorite little dress, only for Mobius to secretly throw it away.
Kenji's mouth twitched. If Mobius had actually kept it, she wouldn't be the "Snake" everyone knew and loved.