The Dimensional Chat Group - Ryuga, who had read countless web novels in his previous life, was naturally not unfamiliar with this.
A chat group that could connect myriad worlds was exactly the opportunity he had been dreaming of.
Even if the so-called chat group wasn't like other cheats that could provide one-click power-ups like a nanny, for Ryuga, just being able to access extraordinary power was already enough.
"No matter what power, as long as I can access it, I can interfere with it. As long as I can interfere, I can master it."
Ryuga's expression remained calm.
With his comprehension, if not for the world rules truly not allowing the extraordinary to appear, he would have already pioneered his own path.
As long as there was an opportunity to become stronger, without any help from others, he had enough confidence to reach the pinnacle, even surpass it!
Now, this opportunity had come!
Under his gaze, messages in the chat group flashed by rapidly one by one.
[Madoka: "Ryuga? From the name, it should be a big brother, right? Why isn't big brother speaking?"]
[Kanae: "Is it because this is the first time encountering this kind of thing? I was also startled at first, thinking I had been hit by some blood demon art!"]
[Tohsaka Rin: "I initially thought it was some special magic too. Fortunately, this young lady wasn't scared back then."]
[Madoka: "Eh? She wasn't?"]
[Erica: "Yeah, wasn't she?"]
[Erica: "Fox smile.JPG"]
[Erica: "Daddy, Mommy, save me... which young lady said that back then?"]
[Tohsaka Rin: "Shut up, you talkative fox! Don't say anymore!"]
[Tohsaka Rin: "Flip table.JPG!"]
[Erica: "?"]
[Erica: "I'll give you one more chance to reorganize your words. What did you just call me?"]
"Damn it, this girl is bullying me again!"
In the Type-Moon world, Fuyuki City, Tohsaka residence.
The black-haired young girl who looked only six or seven years old with twin tails clenched her fists angrily, very much wanting to punch the face of Erica who often teased her.
"I'm calling you a fox! So what, come bite me!"
After angrily waving her fist, what she actually said was—
[Tohsaka Rin: "I was calling you Erica-onee-sama! Kind and beautiful Erica-onee-sama, what just happened?"]
[Tohsaka Rin: "Acting cute.JPG"]
There was no choice - circumstances were stronger than people.
Moreover, she still had requests for Erica, so no matter how frustrated she felt inside, she had to swallow her pride on the surface.
[Erica: "Hmm, that's more like it!"]
[Erica: "I just love seeing you wanting to talk back but having to submit."]
Erica was naturally satisfied, while Tohsaka Rin was too angry to speak.
"This detestable fox, her personality is really too awful!"
After growling in dissatisfaction, Tohsaka Rin suddenly remembered about the newcomer.
"Wait, if the newcomer is also a big shot, wouldn't I not need to ask Erica for help, but could ask the newcomer instead?"
Thinking of this, she perked up and immediately began checking the newcomer's group member information.
The publicly available information for chat group members was generally very limited. Besides the name, the first thing visible was the world level they were in.
Only by clicking in could you see the group member's corresponding power level.
Besides that information...
Tohsaka Rin, holding onto hope, quickly finished reading the information, then shook her head in disappointment.
[Tohsaka Rin: "Just an ordinary person from an ordinary world? What a pity!"]
It seemed there was no way to escape Erica's clutches for now.
Thinking this, Tohsaka Rin, who had joined the group not long ago, realized she had accidentally sent out her inner thoughts.
Although this was the truth, saying this to a stranger was rather rude.
So she hurriedly began explaining.
[Tohsaka Rin: "Sorry! I didn't mean to look down on ordinary people, I'm just disappointed I can't cling to a big thigh."]
[Tohsaka Rin: "Actually, according to the group rules, except for Erica, we're all the same as ordinary people, all unranked."]
[Tohsaka Rin: "So please don't mind my wording."]
Ordinary mages might have prejudices against ordinary people, but Tohsaka Rin didn't have such bad habits.
Fortunately, her interpersonal relationships were actually quite good, and seeing her momentary slip of tongue, others helped explain.
[Madoka: "Mm, Rin-onee-sama has no ill intentions, and I'm also an ordinary person, so I hope big brother doesn't mind."]
[Erica: "Indeed, according to the group's ranking system, even on my side, the vast majority of people are unranked ordinary people, no need to take offense."]
Seeing everyone's comments, Ryuga's expression remained calm.
With his mentality, he naturally wouldn't mind such slight issues with tone. Rather than that, he was more interested in another point.
[Ryuga: "No problem, just stating facts. I won't mind."]
[Ryuga: "Rather than that, what does 'ranked' mean?"]
Could it be a power classification?
Thinking this, Ryuga quickly received answers from the enthusiastic members.
Rank referred to the Dimensional Chat Group's internal power classification rules.
Ranked, meaning just entering Rank 1, required at least the power to single-handedly defeat an army; Rank 2 was city-breaking; Rank 3 nation-destroying; Rank 4 continent-sinking; Rank 5 planet-busting; Rank 6 star system; Rank 7 individual...
For the current group members, this was an overly rough classification.
Because, except for Erica, all others hadn't entered the chat group's evaluation qualifications, all being ungraded Rank 0.
Having Rank 1 evaluation, Erica naturally held the highest position in the group as the strongest.
Actually, she and Tohsaka Rin had a good relationship, but because she liked teasing the other party, they were somewhat like frenemies.
After introducing the power level classification, the gentle Kanae continued introducing the other two most important functions of the chat group.
One was group check-in, the other was the group store.
Both functions involved an important factor - group points.
[Kanae: "Besides the initial points everyone receives based on their power, daily check-ins can also earn small amounts of points, and earned points can be used to purchase goods."]
[Kanae: "The group store contains goods put up for sale by group members, and you can also earn corresponding points by selling goods."]
[Kanae: "Unfortunately, product prices are automatically determined by the chat group, otherwise I would have provided breathing techniques to everyone at low prices."]
[Kanae: "However, group store goods aren't expensive either. Even ordinary people can eventually afford them through check-ins."]
[Kanae: "Keep going, I believe everyone will eventually escape ordinary person status and become ranked powerhouses!"]
Her gentle nature meant she was both encouraging Ryuga and the others.
Except for Madoka, several of them had crises that required power increases to handle.
[Ryuga: "Thank you!"]
After hearing the introduction, Ryuga immediately found the group store following Kanae's guidance.
In the store list, the extraordinary opportunity he sought was lying there quietly.
Thunder Breathing, Water Breathing, Flame Breathing, Flower Breathing...
Butterfly Kanae seemed to have brought over all the breathing techniques from her world that she knew.
As unranked goods, these items weren't expensive, with individual breathing techniques costing only 100 points.
"Breathing techniques are based on physical foundation and have limited upper limits. While still worth trying for my current self, what I need most now is power that truly contains transcendence, not just techniques that can enhance strength..."
As an ordinary person, what he needed most now was a seed to step toward the extraordinary.
So his gaze quickly passed over those flashy magical skills, looking toward the most fundamental skill.
[Mana Extraction·Basic Version], 100 points.
As a basic skill from the Campione world, this product wasn't particularly expensive.
But for Ryuga in an ordinary world, this was an opportunity worth everything to exchange for.
After checking his initial point balance and seeing exactly 100 points, without any hesitation, Ryuga chose to purchase the item.
The next second, all methods related to meditation and mana extraction flooded into his mind, causing his body to unconsciously begin operating.
At this moment, Ryuga bit his tongue tip hard, keeping his mind extremely clear as he observed his body's sensations and changes from an observer's perspective.
Soon, he was surprised to discover that the theory of this mana extraction technique was completely identical to certain mystical knowledge from a Christian secret society he had carefully studied over the years!
"Not pure monism, but knowledge implicitly containing dualistic opposition. This must be a meditation method based on Neo-Kabbalism. It has high similarity to certain records in the Rosicrucian magical society - this should be a Templar training method!"
"Right, Erica's Copper Black Cross is exactly a descendant of the Knights Templar!"
"This means that while my world can't actually extract mana, the mystical knowledge has no problems, and those theories are all true?!"
After shocking discovery of this fact, Ryuga quickly analyzed the principles of [Mana Extraction·Basic Version] through the theories he had studied for years.
At the same time, his accumulated rich knowledge and superhigh comprehension played their roles together.
"As far as I know, due to historical issues, when accused of heresy by Philip IV, the Knights Templar deliberately abandoned knowledge from Judaism for self-purification, so the theory has some gaps... If this part were supplemented, could this mana extraction method be optimized?"
Thinking this, Ryuga closed his eyes and began attempting without hesitation.
As he tried, the originally slow mana flow in Ryuga's body suddenly became much smoother.
"It actually works! However, the loss in converting life force to mana is still significant. If following the Golden Dawn method and combining with astrology to adjust the details..."
Having tasted success, Ryuga couldn't stop, immediately continuing to test, adjust, and iterate according to his accumulated theories, optimizing this extremely basic mana extraction technique again and again.
As time passed, the aura around him became increasingly mysterious and peaceful.
Even if Erica herself appeared here, she probably couldn't tell that what Ryuga was practicing was the mana extraction method she had provided.
To be continued...