NOVEL NEXT Chapter 10: Chapter 10
At the cliffside entrance of Daduapa Gorge, Hiroshi surveyed the surroundings, ensuring everything was secure before activating the teleportation feature.
**Luo Xiaobai's World**
Xiaobai glanced at Infinite, who was chatting with friends inside the cave, and tapped his arm gently. "Infinite, I need to head out for a while. I'll be back soon."
Infinite sipped his tea, gave Xiaobai a quick look, and nodded silently. "Go quickly and be careful."
Jiu Lao, watching Xiaobai leave the cave, nudged Infinite with his elbow and teased, "What's this? A new disciple candidate? You haven't taken a student in nearly a hundred years."
Infinite shot Jiu Lao a glance, took another sip of tea, and gave a slight smile. "He's not my disciple yet."
"Oh?" Jiu Lao stroked his chin thoughtfully. "It's rare to find someone whose attributes match so well. You better take advantage of it," he said, noticing Infinite's slight smirk. "Looks like my concern was unnecessary. Just remember to call me when you take on a disciple. But where is he headed, anyway? Aren't you worried?"
Infinite put down his teacup, sensing Xiaobai's presence growing distant. "Since Xiaobai decided to handle this himself, I will let him. Besides, Xiaobai is quite strong."
Jiu Lao recalled what he had observed of Xiaobai's abilities and nodded. "Indeed, your little candidate is surprisingly powerful for someone so young. Makes me feel old."
Infinite sighed gently, staring in the direction Xiaobai had gone, then drained his cup of Ruoshui tea in one gulp. 'Xiaobai, if you find yourself in danger, use it. I'll come for you.'
Outside the cave, Xiaobai swiftly moved through the treetops. After distancing himself from the cave, he paused and bowed slightly in Infinite's direction, accepting the mission. A flash of white light, and Xiaobai vanished from where he stood.
**Simultaneous Event**
**Oreimo World**
Kuroneko, wearing her gothic lolita dress with tiny black wings, locked herself in her room. She stared at the mission button, conflicted. After a moment, she glanced towards her sister's room and then pressed accept.
As she disappeared, her voice echoed in the room, "Heh, as the Fallen Angel Dark Black Cat, how could I miss this glamorous stage?"
**KonoSuba World**
Kazuma, trudging along the road back to town, carrying Megumin while Aqua lagged behind, suddenly stopped. "Hey, Aqua, carry Megumin. I need to go take care of something."
Covered in dirt, Aqua reluctantly hoisted Megumin onto her back and shouted after Kazuma as he headed towards some bushes, "Kazuma, hurry up! We'll be waiting right here."
Kazuma, moving as if he was desperate, paused to wave his hand dismissively, then disappeared into the bushes.
**Teyvat**
Once again, Teyvat welcomed visitors from another world.
Three beams of light appeared behind Hiroshi: Kuroneko, Kazuma Satou, and Luo Xiaobai emerged simultaneously.
Seeing their surprised expressions, Hiroshi extended his right hand with a smile, "Welcome to Mondstadt, Teyvat!"
*Clap!*
Kazuma clapped Hiroshi's outstretched hand, rolling his eyes. "You haven't been here for long either."
He walked up to Hiroshi and crouched at the cliffside, watching the numerous monsters patrolling below. "That's quite a lot of them. Got any plans? Also, got anything to eat? I'm starving. I didn't even get to eat earlier thanks to Megumin's failed explosion spell."
Hiroshi, looking at the shameless Kazuma, pulled out some Mondstadt potato cakes and apples from the spirit realm space and tossed them to him. "You're really something else."
Kazuma caught the food, grinning as he stuffed it into his mouth. "Come on, we're like brothers now, right? I've already eaten your food plenty of times; you shouldn't mind one more. Besides, you can't expect me to fight on an empty stomach, can you?"
"Heh, typical shameless Kazuma," Kuroneko muttered as she approached the cliff's edge, her eyes narrowing at the sight of the vast number of monsters below, a mixture of fear and determination in her gaze.
Xiaobai also stepped up beside them, silently watching the scene below.
"Alright, everyone, we all have attribute panels. Let's each take a look and figure out how we can handle this mission." Hiroshi signaled for everyone to gather around, and they all displayed their attribute panels (visible only to group members).
**Name:** Hiroshi
**Level:** 9 [400/450] [Transcendent]
- **Strength:** 16
- **Constitution:** 21
- **Agility:** 18
- **Intelligence:** 30
- **Spiritual Power:** 600
- **Abilities:** Spirit Control - Metal Lv4, Spirit Control - Wind Lv5
- **Derived Abilities:** Transcendent Body Lv1,
Clear Mind MAX (Perception +1, Rationality +1, Spiritual Power Recovery +1)
- **Supernatural Power:** Divine Sense Lv1
- **Skills:** Sniping Lv3
**Name:** Kazuma Satou
**Level:** 12 [50/700] [Master]
- **Strength:** 21
- **Constitution:** 21
- **Agility:** 25
- **Intelligence:** 22
- **Magic Power:** 220
- **Abilities:** Basic Magic Lv4, Intermediate Magic Lv2, Bow Mastery Lv3, Sword Mastery Lv2, Spirit Control - Metal Lv3
- **Derived Abilities:** Tiger's Might Lv1 (Increased muscle strength, additional damage from physical attacks, slight increase to physical defense),
Transcendent Body Lv1, Surefooted Lv1 (Enhanced balance and reaction time)
- **Skills:** Sniping Lv4, Steal Lv6, Basic Magic Lv3, Jump Slash Lv1, Mason Lv5
- **Notes:** Kazuma's initial attributes were all 3 except Intelligence at 6. Gains +2 free attribute points per level.
**Name:** Kuroneko (Ruri Gokou)
**Level:** 3 [100/150] [Ordinary]
- **Strength:** 6
- **Constitution:** 6
- **Agility:** 6
- **Intelligence:** 12
- **Magic Power:** 120
- **Abilities:** Basic Magic
- **Skills:** Fireball, Earth Spike
- **Notes:** Kuroneko's initial attributes were all 3 except Intelligence at 5. Gains +2 free attribute points per level.
**Name:** Luo Xiaobai
**Level:** 7 [200/350] [Transcendent]
- **Strength:** 20
- **Constitution:** 20
- **Agility:** 24
- **Intelligence:** 20
- **Abilities:** Spirit Control - Metal Lv5, Spatial Domain Lv3, Spatial Teleportation Lv3
- **Derived Abilities:** Tiger's Might Lv1, Transcendent Body Lv1, Surefooted Lv1, Clear Mind Lv1
- **Supernatural Power:** Transformation Lv3
- **Skills:** Fishing Lv4
- **Notes:** Luo Xiaobai's initial attributes were all 8 except Intelligence at 4. Gains +4 free attribute points per level.
After everyone retracted their panels, they began discussing the battle strategy.
Kuroneko bit her lip as she watched them plan the various stages of the operation. When she saw the attribute panels, she realized how much she lagged behind. Although she'd had her doubts earlier, she didn't want to give up on this mission either. It took immense courage for a 15-year-old girl to make the decision to travel to an unfamiliar world—let alone one where she would have to face monsters. To a girl from a peaceful era, this was almost too cruel. But for her dreams, Kuroneko chose to embark on this journey.
"Don't worry. We'll protect you."
A gentle voice came from in front of her. Kuroneko looked up and saw Hiroshi standing beside her.
"You have your role here, too, and you're not holding us back," Hiroshi assured her. "We're all friends, and we've known each other for quite a while now. Don't worry about it."
"Exactly! Where's that fearless attitude of yours?" Kazuma added, giving Kuroneko a thumbs-up and grinning confidently. "Just leave it to Kazuma-sama!"
Xiaobai moved to Kuroneko's side, placing her hand in his own. He looked her in the eye with determination. "Sister Ruri, I'll protect you. So don't worry."
Looking at the group surrounding her, Kuroneko—who had grown accustomed to solitude—lowered her head to wipe her face, then lifted it high. "Who do you think I am?! I am the Fallen Angel Dark Black Cat from Chiba! The Demon King's army and these monsters are nothing but stepping stones beneath my feet!"
Seeing Kuroneko regain her spirit, the three exchanged smiles before turning their focus back to the monsters of the Demon King's army and hilichurls below.
"Alright, let's begin!"
"Oh!!!"
"Thank you, everyone."
"Hmm? Did you say something, Ruri?"
"Nothing. And who allowed you to call me by my true name?"
"Hahaha, don't mind it. Let's get started!"