Chat group, become my wings!

The outcome might not have been perfect, but the mission was considered a success. The chat group acknowledged their efforts and validated the completion.

As a result, Kevin Cross and Izumi Uchiha each received reward points from the system five thousand in total.

Of course, since Izumi had handled most of the heavy lifting this time, she received four thousand points, while Kevin was awarded a symbolic one thousand.

However, Kevin didn't keep those points for himself. He immediately transferred all one thousand to Sakura Matou.

After all, she was just a four- or five-year-old girl, without any real means to protect herself. Kevin and Izumi would soon leave this world, and although Kevin could always travel back, there were still limitations and inconveniences in crossing dimensions. Giving Sakura those points would allow her to strengthen herself a little, giving her at least a basic ability to defend against threats.

Izumi had no objection to Kevin's decision.

She was already familiar with his tendency to distribute his points to others, and this time was no exception. Given Sakura's age and vulnerability, it made perfect sense to invest in her survival.

"Little Sakura," Kevin explained, crouching down to her eye level, "these one thousand points can be used to enhance your magical ability. But I suggest you first take a good look at the Matou family's magecraft before spending anything. Once you understand it, you can choose to strengthen that path. From what I know, the Matou family's magic is water-based, while your own attribute is Imaginary Numbers. They might not be compatible. But with points, you can still force-learn their magecraft."

He paused, then continued, "Alternatively, you could use the points to purchase a power seed from another world like chakra from Izumi's world, or internal energy from Yi Lin's world. Though, to be honest, internal energy isn't particularly powerful or at least, not something that grows fast. There's also the breathing techniques from Demon Slayer. It's up to you."

Each world had its own laws, its own systems. Power that was natural in one world didn't exist in another. If someone from one dimension wanted to wield power from another, they needed to purchase what was called a "seed" with points from the system. Even something as seemingly simple as the breathing techniques from Demon Slayer required this no matter how perfectly you imitated the practice, you couldn't unlock its power without the right seed.

The system's point economy reflected this. The first power seed cost one thousand points. The second seed jumped to ten thousand. The third? One hundred thousand. It was a strict exponential curve, but it made sense. Each additional seed brought with it the potential to break through yet another world's rules, and the foundation needed to wield them effectively became increasingly demanding.

Sakura stared at Kevin in confusion, clearly overwhelmed. At her age, having never even been introduced to the basics of magecraft, she had no idea what to choose. All she could do was look up at Kevin, eyes wide, silently pleading for guidance.

"…Start with a chakra seed," Kevin advised gently. "Train your chakra a bit, and learn some basic ninjutsu and genjutsu. Especially Transformation Technique and illusions. They'll help you stay hidden. As for magecraft, study the Matou family's style first. If it suits you, then pursue it. If not, we'll find another path. Ninjutsu might not be as miraculous as magecraft, but its destructive power is nothing to scoff at."

The truth was, Kevin himself didn't fully understand the intricacies of Fate's magic system especially Sakura's Imaginary Numbers attribute. Did it involve manipulating shadows? Time? Space? He wasn't sure. So he simply offered what advice he could, based on what he knew.

If Sakura could reach the level of a Chūnin, or better yet, a Jōnin, she'd already have the ability to protect herself. With most people having no knowledge of ninjutsu, even that alone would be enough to deter most threats.

"Okay," Sakura said with a soft nod, accepting Kevin's suggestion without the slightest hesitation. Moments later, she quietly redeemed a chakra seed from the system.

From that moment on, Sakura Matou could begin refining chakra and training in ninjutsu.

"When I have time, I'll bring you the Nara Clan's Shadow Manipulation Technique from the Hidden Leaf Village," Izumi added helpfully.

It was a natural fit. According to the vague lore Kevin had uploaded along with the two Fate anime series, there was a storyline in which Sakura, after being corrupted by the Grail and fusing her Imaginary Numbers attribute with the Matou family's absorbing water-based magic, transformed into a terrifying creature capable of obliterating even Gilgamesh. With that context, shadow manipulation seemed especially well-suited to her.

Sakura blinked, surprised, then gave Izumi a deep, grateful bow. Despite everything Izumi had done for her, her affection still leaned more toward Kevin. After all, he was handsome. And while she didn't fully understand everything yet, she did know that joining the chat group made her his wife. Loving your husband more? That made perfect sense to her.

Fortunately, no one else knew what she was thinking. If they did, Kevin would never be able to shake the label of "creepy lolicon."

With the mission now complete, Izumi and Kevin left the Fate world.

Watching them vanish, Sakura couldn't help feeling a surge of loneliness and fear. She was now alone in the vast, ancient, and faintly eerie Matou estate. A little girl, left to herself in such a place, would naturally feel afraid.

But when she opened the chat group and saw Kevin and Izumi chatting inside, that fear faded away.

Because of the group, even if Kevin was in another world, he could return anytime she needed him. The distance between them was not as great as it seemed.

For now, Sakura silently watched the chat, eyes glued to Kevin's messages. She didn't say anything, but her heart gradually calmed.

"@Sakura Matou," Kevin suddenly pinged her, "almost forgot don't forget to sign in daily. You can earn points that way."

"I will. I know," she replied sweetly.

—————————————————————————————————————————————————

Didn't expect you to stick around guess miracles do happen. If you're feeling generous, drop a review and chuck a power stone my way. Motivation doesn't grow on trees! Hungry for more?

The story's already racing ahead on Patreon!

[email protected]/_tey 

Change @ to a.