A new mission has been issued!
Souta was thrilled—tasks from the system were rare. In all this time, he had only ever received one, and that was a solo mission.
But this time... it was a team mission!
And the reward? 10,000 points—ten times the previous mission!
"So even a group member'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, meaning he would likely encounter more in the future.
But now, this wish-fulfillment mission...
Was this a one-time 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 immediately responded to the mission prompt.
Shinobu even paused her anime binge to pay attention.
Souta's eye twitched—this situation felt exactly like when someone drops a red envelope in a group chat, and suddenly all the lurkers pop out to grab it.
"Wait... Shinobu actually cares about paying me back?"
Souta was a little surprised.
For someone as prideful as Shinobu, she probably couldn't stand the thought of owing him something.
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 moment before replying:
Souta: "I pulled two superpowers—fire and ice generation, plus basic time manipulation."
This explanation would cover him in the future—if he used time 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.
He would keep the fact that he could gain powers from friendship levels a secret.
Once the time 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 me!"
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 message, another thought occurred to him.
"Wait... can Altair join this mission herself?"
He immediately asked the system:
Souta: "System, can Altair participate in the mission?"
For a moment, Souta felt... weird.
Helping herself was the whole point of the mission, yet she could join as a participant too?
Altair: "A mission? Can someone explain what this is?"
Tokisaki Kurumi: "I'll handle it—I'll post another announcement, and I'll also explain the shop system."
Souta raised an eyebrow.
Kurumi sure seemed enthusiastic about helping newcomers.
Was this some senpai mentality kicking in?
Japanese people had strong seniority traditions, so maybe she felt like a mentor guiding new recruits.
Was she establishing her authority as the main girl?
About five minutes later, a new announcement 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 someone 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...
"Is this truly possible?"
Altair: "I understand the mission details. But tell me—do any of you have the power to resurrect someone?"
Shinobu Oshino: "Resurrection? I don't have that ability."
Tokisaki Kurumi: "I have the ability to travel through time. 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 time-traveling range?"
Tokisaki Kurumi: "Three months? That's completely manageable."
At this point, Souta frowned.
"Hold on, Kurumi's time travel could save her, but... Altair, what exactly brought you into the so-called 'real world' in the first place?"
He vaguely remembered that Altair appeared on the same day Setsuna took her own life.
Was that just a coincidence?
Not only that, but in Re:CREATORS, Altair somehow knew that Setsuna's final thoughts were:
"Wouldn't it be better if everything just disappeared?"
This became 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?
Setsuna's death must have triggered some kind of reaction within Altair, even while she was still trapped inside her fictional world.
That reaction not only informed 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 came 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: "If that's the case, then we can't use time travel to save Setsuna. Changing the timeline 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 timeline, 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 time reversal on her ashes. That way, we might be able to bring her back."
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 time on her ashes, but even after expending a huge amount of time energy, nothing happened."
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 immediately enters reincarnation upon death. In worlds without reincarnation, the soul simply vanishes.
Time reversal can restore the body, but it can't bring the soul back.
Unless we reverse time 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, remember how we solved your time energy problem last time?"
Tokisaki Kurumi: "You mean... finding outside help from another world?"
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 moment, Altair spoke up.
Altair: "Thank you for your kindness, Souta. But... are you really okay with spending your points on me? Aren't they an important resource?"
Altair: "Do you want anything in return? If it's something 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 investment. Spending 500 points to gamble for a much bigger payout is a small price to pay."