Chat group, become my wings!

"Sakura Matou has checked in and received 95 points!"

The moment Sakura's check-in results appeared, several group members darkened visibly, especially Brunhilde. Among all the officially joined members of the chat group, her daily check-in score was consistently at the bottom everyone else seemed to be raking in more points, except for Esdeath, who hadn't even formally joined yet.

Take Izumi, for example. Her daily check-ins often earned her at least 90 points. On a bad day, she'd still land around 70. After just one month, those check-ins alone had earned her the equivalent of two additional years' worth of internal energy.

Since the chat group's point system had launched just over a month ago, Izumi's total internal energy accumulation had increased by five years. That boost had elevated her strength significantly, placing her just beneath the top-tier masters like Mother Serene Grace.

Of course, Izumi's innate personality prevented her from fully unleashing that power. She was far too kindhearted, rarely willing to go all out against an opponent. Her combat experience was also limited, and her swordsmanship lacked refinement. Even so, her strength was respectable currently ranked around the mid-tier of the martial world. In fact, at the beginning of Swords of the Proud Peaks, even Laurence Proudpeak himself might not have been stronger than the Izumi of today.

And this was just the beginning. Over time, her point gain would only accelerate, and so would her power.

"Points can be used to grow stronger, right?" Esdeath suddenly asked in the chat group.

"That's right," Kevin Cross replied. "Points can be used to enhance your own power or to purchase seeds of power from other worlds. Sakura just bought a chakra seed, for instance, so she now has the potential to train in ninjutsu."

"I see. Then why can't I check in to get points?" Esdeath's interest was clearly piqued.

"Only official members of the chat group can check in," Kevin explained. "You haven't joined yet, so you don't have access to that function."

"Officially joining the chat group means… becoming one of your women, part of your harem, correct?" Esdeath clicked open the 'Join' option without hesitation.

"That's right. This chat group is my harem chat group. The reason it invites people from other worlds is to help me build a harem," Kevin said bluntly.

"You're refreshingly direct. In that case, aside from check-ins, is there any other way to earn points? Like accepting missions from the group? For example, that mission involving the little girl named Sakura Matou. If I'd accepted that one and completed it, I could have earned points too, right?"

"Yes, but again, accepting missions is restricted to official members only," Kevin replied.

"So basically, no matter what feature the chat group has, I can't use any of them unless I become one of your women?" Esdeath arched a brow, her tone becoming noticeably colder.

"Exactly. This is my harem chat group, after all," Kevin said calmly.

"If you want me to become one of your women, fine," Esdeath replied, her voice sharp and domineering. "All you have to do is defeat me in combat. If you win, I'll become your woman as a prize. But if you lose… then you'll be mine, and this chat group will belong to me."

"Your strength isn't bad, but I'm not convinced I'll lose," Kevin said with a grin. "And if you do become one of my women, I'll also gain access to your power, making me even stronger."

"I already said," Esdeath repeated, "you have to defeat me first."

"Fair enough. But in order for us to fight, you'll need to officially join. Either you come to my world, or I come to yours. That's how the system works."

"And what if I agree to join and then discover you're not even a match for me?" she asked, clearly unimpressed.

"I'll say it again. Unless you formally join, we won't be able to meet or fight at all. The chat group only allows inter-world travel between official members. Besides," Kevin added, "wasn't Tatsumi weaker than you? Yet you still chose to fall in love with him."

"Tatsumi?" Esdeath tilted her head slightly. "Oh, you mean that weakling."

"Yeah, the male lead of your world."

"Hmm, perhaps I'll want to fall in love later. I suppose I've reached the age where love might become appealing. Like beasts reaching maturity and seeking to mate and reproduce it's a natural phase of life."

Kevin raised a brow. "So… you're not interested in romance right now?"

"Not yet," she said plainly. "According to the Akame ga Kill! storyline you uploaded, the plot should be starting soon. I've already begun preparations to suppress the northern tribes. If things go smoothly, I could wipe them out within the month."

"Oh, so the main story hasn't kicked off yet. That makes sense. Still, when I first watched Akame ga Kill! I was honestly frustrated with how it ended."

"Because the main characters all died?" Esdeath asked casually.

"Well, that too. It was depressing watching nearly every member of the protagonist's team get killed off. But what really annoyed me was the final battle yours, specifically. The one against Akame. I mean, come on! Early in the series, Najenda said it would take over fifty thousand troops and at least ten Imperial Arms users, including Akame herself, to even stand a chance against you. But in the end, it's just Akame, alone, who beats you? Sure, she used her trump card, but still! Where was the epic battle I was expecting? The ten versus one showdown? The massive war? It felt like a complete narrative cop-out."

Kevin sounded genuinely disgruntled now.

To be honest, Esdeath had always been his favorite character from Akame ga Kill!, despite her late introduction. Her fair skin, stunning looks, and long legs were just part of it. Sure, her personality was overly domineering at first, but when she fell in love, it was like she transformed into a completely different person.

Compared to her, Akame's flat, emotionless exterior just didn't do much for him. He never really understood why so many fans preferred her.