Everyone in the group was stunned by what Takumi had just said.
Come to think of it, he had a point.
What if those mysterious figures were already inside Takumi's world?
After all, the world Takumi was currently in was a fully functional universe.
With so many planets, who knew which one they might be hiding on?
Naturally, the chat erupted into discussion over the matter.
Takumi: [Let's leave it at that for now. Once I get stronger weapons, I'll install more.] [Tch, what a pain. If only I had the power to destroy an entire universe, I wouldn't be the least bit worried.]
In the end, Takumi just wasn't strong enough yet.
He couldn't wield universe-destroying power.
He shook his head. The only solution was to help the people of his world grow.
Once they could step beyond the Milky Way, that's when his strength would truly begin to evolve.
Or rather, even just leaving the galaxy would be a major milestone.
For now, Takumi's reserves were sufficient. The rest depended on how the people below developed.
Some things couldn't be rushed. It was better to focus on civilization-building first!
Next, he needed to bring in another batch of researchers.
Just as he was thinking this—
['The Industry's Hardest Worker' has joined the group chat.]
Takumi: [Welcome, newcomer!!]
Sagiri: [Welcome, newcomer!!]
Chika Fujiwara: [Welcome, newcomer.]
Zhongli: [Welcome!]
Bronya: [Welcome!]
...
Everyone chimed in to welcome the new member.
A newcomer? They were at fifteen members now, weren't they?
Many quickly checked to see if any new functions had unlocked.
Unfortunately, it seemed there were no new features this time. A bit disappointing.
['The Industry's Hardest Worker' has changed their name to 'Yuuki Asuna'.]
When this message appeared, Takumi's eyes immediately lit up.
Takumi: [It's Bonzuna?!]
Sagiri: [Wife!!!]
Chika Fujiwara: [Ehh? I just finished watching Sword Art Online yesterday!!!]
With the name change, everyone was stunned.
It really was Bonzuna.
Especially Sagiri—she even called her "wife."
Clearly, she must have drawn Asuna more than a few times.
Yuuki Asuna: [!!!!] [I am NOT some sort of Bonzuna!!] [Wait, this is real?] [This doesn't feel like some embedded game system at all.] [If it weren't for the knowledge that just popped into my head, I'd think I was losing my mind.]
Asuna was both shocked and delighted.
The group chat had appeared just as she was lost in darkness.
She'd gotten trapped in a game just yesterday.
When she was at her lowest, most helpless moment—this chat had appeared like a ray of light.
Takumi: [Your brain is perfectly fine—dry, even!]
Takumi couldn't help but chuckle.
Asuna, however, was exasperated.
What kind of group was this? They all sounded like absurd meme lords.
Chika Fujiwara: [@Yuuki Asuna, are you stuck in the game right now?]
Yuuki Asuna: [@Chika Fujiwara, how did you know??]
Asuna was stunned.
How did she know? She hadn't said anything yet.
Kaguya Houraisan: [Full-dive technology?!] [@Takumi, hurry up—I want to play too!!]
Bronya: [@Takumi, me too!!]
These two game enthusiasts were overjoyed.
Full-dive VR was finally here!
Hurry up, Takumi! Go grab the tech from her world already!
Chika Fujiwara: [Because I watched your Bonz—I mean, I just finished the anime from your world.] [I'll upload it for you to watch!]
Chika promptly uploaded the episodes she'd just watched.
Since joining the group, she had been binge-watching anime.
After all, the new members were often characters from anime worlds. Watching ahead was never a bad idea.
Asuna blinked at the uploaded file.
She opened it quickly and began watching.
Anime?
That meant… this was her future?
Asuna was desperate to find out what happened to her.
And so, she began her own anime binge.
Takumi: [Full-dive tech really is amazing.] [Kayaba Akihiko isn't bad. I should bring him over too.] [Also, I think I can recreate the real Aincrad!]
At that moment, Takumi's eyes gleamed.
Full-dive gaming? Cute.
Takumi could literally build the actual Aincrad in real life.
He could recreate the monsters from the game.
He could even add in-game mechanics like monster respawns.
Don't forget—he had a divine skill:
Monster Creation!!
With that, Takumi could endlessly generate monsters.
Once killed, they'd vanish.
With a few tweaks, he could even make them drop loot.
In other words—a perfect grinding dungeon.
Thinking of this, Takumi's eyes sparkled.
This was getting interesting.
Plus, Asuna's world had top-tier technology.
They had already built full-dive systems.
That meant there were plenty of researchers there.
Takumi decided—he would go fetch some.
He glanced at the chat.
Naturally, a few people had already started complaining.
Kaguya Houraisan: [Even if you build it, so what?? We don't have the points to visit your world!]
Bronya: [Exactly. So hurry up and bring back the full-dive tech. I'll buy it with points!]
[I don't care about a real Aincrad—I just want full-dive!!]
They both understood.
Even if Takumi created a real Aincrad, they wouldn't be able to play.
Better to get the technology and make the game themselves.
Just imagine—full-dive Genshin. Full-dive Honkai.
It sounded amazing.
Takumi: [Bronya, fine. But you, @Kaguya Houraisan—what would you do with it?] [Do you even have an ISP? You're just going to use it for single-player games?]
What was she even going to do with the tech?
Did she think the kappa from Gensokyo could run online servers?
Good luck with that.
Kaguya Houraisan: [I am playing single-player games!]
She pouted.
That's all she played anyway.
All the games Takumi uploaded were single-player.
Didn't he realize that himself?