NOVEL NEXT 67. Revelation and Control Interest.
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Inside the treehouse that had been rented out, Kaito and the other chat group members gathered inside for a meeting. Even though the treehouse looks small from the outside, thanks to the logic in this game-- the inside of this tree house is actually quite spacious, with a size of 15 x 15 meters which is enough to accommodate 20 people without feeling cramped. They all gathered in the largest room, where a large table of long tree trunks acted as a dining table-- and everyone sitting surround it.
"Uhmm... First off, long time no see everyone. I'm glad everyone is fine and I hope it would be the same in the future." Kaito greets everyone to open the meeting.,but almost everyone stares at him with a deadpan look. After all, they have been waiting for him for a while-- and most members that currently attending are a bit impatient.
"Kaito, stop blabbering. We already waiting here for an hour." (Uta)
"For once, I agree with Uta-san." (Erina)
"We don't need such a fancy opening, Kaito." (Mikoto)
"Just get into the main topic, Owner. I have something to do on this floor." (Crocodile)
...
"Alright, everyone already knows the purpose of this meeting. First, we need to talk about the future of this world, and second, I am going to invite everyone into the guild that I established earlier."
Hearing Kaito's serious statement, everyone nodded and then begin to pay attention to him seriously. However, before Kaito was able to explain, Crocodile who got a lot of questions in his mind suddenly raised his hand and asked, "Before that Owner, can you tell us first... What the fuck is happening on that first raid?"
Kaito turn at him and solemnly replied, "What happened on the first-floor boss was not something anyone in here could predict. You should already know in detail what is happening there, considering you ran an information-gathering group"
"No, I already know about that."Crocodile nodded and then rephrase his question, "I want to know, is why it's different from the memory?"
"The reason for that... It was the chat group system doing it." Kaito answered, which absolutely shocked everyone including his own girl, since he never talks about this before.
...
"System...?"
"Why would the system do that?"
"The system changed this world...?"
"How did you know this, Kaito?"
"Are you sure about this information, Owner?"
...
Looking at everyone who is confused at this reveal, Kaito quickly explained, "Remember the first group task in Sekirei world? In a world where there are 108 women killing each other with supernatural power. It's only marked as Easy difficulty by the system and only needs to 3 people to do the task"
"Then, why this world... who should be much less dangerous than Sekirei World marked as Hard difficulty by the system and need all of the chat group members to do the task?"
"That's true..." Itachi nodded while frowning at the same time. Everyone else quickly understands what Kaito wants to imply as everyone here is quite smart on their own. Especially Aika who is the smartest person here.
"Why are you so sure about this, Owner? Perhaps this is just a coincidence?"
"No. I am sure that's the case. After all, the system refused to answer when I ask about this matter, saying 'The access of Information is denied'. You can try on your own if you don't believe me."
Kaito also wants to say that it's not the first time the system does something shady for a system that is supposed to be his golden finger, but obviously, he can't say to everyone.
He really wants to figure out what's is the identity of the system and wonder who is behind it though, but now Kaito doesn't know where to start. Kaito has a feeling that he needs a very high privilege level as the owner to obtain such information and he can only think about it later in the future.
After that, every member tried to ask the system in their head the same question and they also got the same answer as what Kaito just said. Shock, disbelief, and astonishment could be seen on their face after this revelation, which is the same kind of face Kaito make when realizing this information.
...
"Unbelievable... You are right, Kaito." (Mikoto)
"This will change everything about my personal plan." (Crocodile)
...
"Then, the system is lying to us?" Uta asked with a confused tone.
"No. It's actually worse." Aika shook her head and explain with a serious tone, "Because technically, it didn't lie to us. We are just the ones who expect the world are the same and nothing different from the memories."
"Worse?"
"It means we can't trust this chat group system, Uta-san." Aika then turn around and asked Kaito, "Are you sure you are not behind these all changes, Kaito-san? Considering your position as the leader of this chat group."
Kaito quickly denied her accusation by saying, "I am just an Owner, but the system is not created by me. I was just chosen by the system to be a leader of this group."
"This task is going to be troublesome." (Crocodile)
"Does it want to help us, or pit us? That's the real question." (Aika)
"I am more inclined to believe the former since Kaito change our world for the better... but in this world..." (Miya)
...
Knowing there would be no end to talk about this, Kaito quickly change the subject, "Let's back to the main topic since there is no use to think about it"
"What do you think about this world's general situation?"
"It's not good." Erina quickly give her opinion and continue said, "While I am happy there are a lot more people getting into cooking and increasing the quality of life of general players, I am aware it won't help us in clearing this situation."
"This is a good situation but also a bad situation at the same time" (Aika)
"How?" (Mikoto)
"I agree. With this situation, there is much less competition in order to finish our main task to defeat as many bosses as possible but at the same time, defeating all the floor bosses on our own is a dangerous idea." (Crocodile)
"Especially if something like on the first-floor boss happened again..." (Itachi)
"We need to make the situation back to normal." (Uta)
"But how? Even after we defeated the 2nd-floor boss as soon as possible, it's barely affecting the situation." (Mikoto)
"We need to do something that influences people in this world, like those politicians in real life." (Aika)
"Good answer, Aika-san. That's the purpose of this meeting." Kaito stated and then he asked, "Crocodile, you are the one with the most experience in leading public opinions here. Do you have any suggestions?"
"It's easy. We just need to have a large influence, enough power, and authority to control people's interest in this world."
"Politic..."
"But I think I already tried that..."
"No owner. While your reputation as the 'strongest player' is helping, it simply wasn't enough to control anything. Yes, you finish the 2nd floor in under a week proving you are really worthy of your title, but what? Most players believe it doesn't really change anything. After all, you are there when the first boss raid happens and the result is a catastrophe."
Crocodile then explained his idea to mobilize all the abilities of the chat group members to the maximum. For example, he ordered Erina and Arato to use their cooking skills to open the best restaurant in the world... thus would also make them famous. If they are successful, Erina and Arato could use their influence for the chat group cause, as well as earn additional income for other chat group members' plans.
He also suggested other members do similar things. Like, Uta could become an Idol in this world, Group 3 could become a sort of police army in this world, and Crocodile also said he would also do similar things in the 'underworld' to set up their influence.
Only the Kaito group doesn't need to do anything and keep their way as it is. In Crocodile's opinion, Kaito's title as the strongest player in the world holds significant influence by itself. After all, their optional task included creating one of the best guilds in the entire game-- would be neat if led by the strongest player in the world.
...
"Thank you for your idea, Crocodile-san. I am sorry that I am not that good at this topic." Kaito sincerely thanked him, which Crocodile replied lightly, "I don't mind owner. At least you know how to lead and use your members. That's what a qualified leader would do."
"Alright! I will do my best to sing to save this world!" (Uta)
"Aika-san, we need to expand our force furthermore!" (Mikoto)
"I understand. Let's talk in detail with everyone later." (Aika)
"Arato, let's raise our cooking skills to the limit and whether we could reproduce what we could achieve in our world." (Erina)
"Yes, Erina-sama!" (Arato)
...
After that, Kaito invited all chat group members into his guild to complete the second optional task. Many members complained that the guild name was too cringy, but because the guild name couldn't be changed, in the end, they had no other choice but to obey Kaito.
Thus, the meeting was over and then all the members started working hard based on the Crocodile plan, which surely won't be achievable in just one night. Looking at all the excited members here, Kaito has confidence the plan would work... and in fact, he is right... Although it takes years to achieve.
...
And just like that, 2 years already passed--- and everyone already achieved their set of goals.
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