"Frankly, I'd rather reach the multiverse on my own," he said, trying to walk around the holographic panel.
However, the latter didn't give up on trying to recruit Kirito into its plans.
[ Wait a minute! ]
[ I can share the "Crisis" energy with you, but you must keep our agreement secret from the other members of the Dimensional Chat Group. ]
Kirito stopped for a moment after hearing the System's sudden proposal.
Even though he didn't fully grasp the importance of the "Crisis" energy, the System's insistence regarding it seemed suspicious to him.
"Oh? Interesting… Tell me, why am I so important? You could always find another elf, like Frieren for example," he asked, glancing over his shoulder at the holographic panel.
Why is Kirito mentioning Frieren? She's literally the only person, besides him and Serie, who could potentially be a Fate Breaker.
Knowing at least a little about the System's personality, Kirito considered the reason for its lack of contact with Serie to be obvious.
On the other hand, Frieren is curious enough about the possibility of unknown magical existences that she would have a hard time refusing an offer to travel across the multiverse.
Thus, the Chat Group isn't short on candidates.
The black eyes of the elf were sending a simple message to the AI at that precise moment:
'What do you really want from me?'
The holographic panel displaying the System's intentions remained silent for a moment.
A few seconds passed before a new message appeared.
[ You are not the strongest compared to the other members of the group. However, you are the one who has altered the timeline the most. ]
'Alter the timeline?'
At first, he was puzzled by the System's words, before remembering that it was seeking Crisis energy.
The latter is produced by alterations in a world's causality, after a person defies fate.
That's why a transmigrator is the best choice for a System.
They are individuals from another reality, who unconsciously produce alterations in the timeline simply by existing.
If protagonists are fate's favored pawns for upsetting a world's order, then transmigrators are the secret weapon.
[ If you join me, I'm certain I'll obtain a large amount of energy, and sharing it won't affect me much. ]
After reading those words, Kirito remained silent for a moment.
He had no way of knowing if the System was lying, since the use of the magical archive had been interrupted by it.
However, the young elf still had over fifty years of experience; he could sense that the AI wasn't entirely lying.
It was hiding some things, of course, but Kirito wouldn't lose anything by accepting the immediate offer.
"*Sigh*… Fine, I'll go along with you. But create an administrator position in the Chat Group and give it to me," he said, clicking the Yes option on the proposal to join the group.
[ … Alright. You'll be the administrator. ]
Immediately after the System's words, several notifications appeared one after another before the young elf's black eyes.
[ Ding! Congratulations, the pseudo-scientist has joined the discussion group! ]
[ Ding! It has been detected that the pseudo-scientist is highly compatible with the System. ]
[ The administrator position is granted to the pseudo-scientist . ]
[ the pseudo-scientist enters the discussion group. ]
The blue light emitted by the hologram hadn't stopped flashing after Kirito's agreement with the System.
Faced with this interface flooded with notifications, the elf's face displayed a thin smile.
[ Not a Sons of Horus, but a proud Luna Wolf: Damn it, I'm in the middle of a fight and this thing is blinding me right in the middle of a firefight! ]
[ Daughter of the Cosmic Abomination: There are always extreme events on Loken's side. ]
(Image)
[ Useless Valkyrie: I hope he's okay… ]
[ Just Peter Parker without powers: Indeed, that guy has a miserable life. I hope the new one will be normal, haha ]
[ Extreme Heaven Demon: Judging by his name, he probably comes from a technological world. ]
[ Boobs Make Me Stronger: Why are you lurking in the chat without saying anything? Are you a woman? If so, what's your cup size? ]
[ the pseudo-scientist(administrator): … We'll all have a proper meeting later. ]
Kirito didn't continue the conversation and immediately used his administrator authority to lock the discussion option.
Normally, a group member could freely use the options without restricting others.
However, the administrator had the power to freeze the interactions of the other chat members.
The only one able to override this authority was the System itself, but Kirito knew it wouldn't intervene for the time being.
'I'll meet everyone later and establish a clear hierarchy,' he thought to himself, while glancing at Serie's mana.
It was fluctuating peacefully on the surface, much like a person sleeping after a satisfying meal.
Yet Kirito detected a slight erratic aspect in it.
His adoptive mother was clearly losing patience if he made her wait too long.
…
"Hou… hum~"
A soft snoring sound was heard after Kirito pushed open the huge door separating the laboratory from the bar.
He had just activated the magical and technological defenses he had learned during his time with Serie, as well as thanks to Vegapunk's memories.
Upon his return, he was greeted by a familiar sound.
Unconsciously, the young elf turned his head in a specific direction and sketched a tender smile upon seeing the small golden figure gently shifting left and right on the sofa.
'Even if she's too belligerent for my taste, Serie is still just as cute,' he thought, watching his second maternal figure in this life.
"Master! Y-you… you're finally back!"
As he was observing Serie's small figure, Ilulu's voice drew his attention.
The dragon-woman was looking at him with teary eyes, as if she had been bullied by a fearsome mother-in-law.
"Yes, and I see you've done a good job, my little Ilulu. Especially since taking care of Serie must have been quite a task, right?" he said, unconsciously recalling his adoptive mother's sleepy behavior.
Like Frieren, Serie's perception of time differed profoundly from that of humans.
Where Kirito wanted to get up and continue his training, Serie felt that training four times a week was far too excessive for her taste.
She preferred to train Kirito by spacing out her lessons over months, or even years.
A real scandal for the former human, who had just spent a decade in this new world in contact with humans, without yet truly understanding the elven view of time.
It was while thinking back on all this that Kirito gave Ilulu a gentle smile and let a hint of apology slip into his voice.
"N-not at all, Master. Serie-sama is actually very kind in her own way. Even though things got a bit heated between us at first… b-but the Master's mother was patient with me. She even gave me a spell!"
Ilulu didn't have time to say more before a familiar warmth settled on her head.
Kirito was standing right in front of her, slowly stroking her hair, occasionally brushing her sensitive horns.
The dragon involuntarily narrowed her eyes in pleasure and proactively rubbed against his hand.
This gesture slightly surprised Kirito, who didn't take long to remove his hand from the succubus disguised as a dragon.
'Stay focused, Kirito. She's just a flying lizard without your experiments,' he told himself inwardly.
He mustn't give in to the temptation of the two mountains of flesh that the dragon was swaying right in front of his eyes.
The elf had to stay focused!
"Oh?" Ilulu let out a sound of dissatisfaction after feeling her master's hand move away from her head.
The dragon raised her eyes to Kirito, not hiding a touch of discontent in her gaze.
But the young elf now had another concern in mind, after digesting his subordinate's words.
'She gave her a spell?' he thought, glancing toward Serie.
The loli-elf was many things… but certainly not someone who gave anything away selflessly.
Serie only aspired to two things, at least according to Kirito's memories: magic and a student worthy of her.
Unfortunately, she had hit a wall in her magical evolution, and no student had managed to satisfy her.
Of course, that included Kirito himself.
Vegapunk's brain was an incredible asset, and his imagination had helped him tremendously on the magical path, but Kirito was limited by his natural talent.
He was exceptional by magical standards, but Kirito knew the reality: the young elf had neither the destructive power of the Demon King nor the raw magical power of his mother.
Beyond those factors, those two only grew ever stronger with time. That's why he had decided to stop learning under his mother and focus on his own experiments, in the manner of Vegapunk, innovating with magic on his own.
Some would say it was a stupid act of pride, but Kirito preferred to look his mother in the eye as an equal rather than be named by historians as just another student on a long list.
He simply had too much ambition.
"Not only have you not changed, but you even told Ilulu about our relationship," he said as he approached.
The dragons in Frieren's universe weren't as powerful as those in universes like Tensura or Fairy Tail.
However, they remained extremely dangerous magical creatures.
The only reason they weren't feared in this universe was their lack of intelligence,
a problem that Kirito had solved in Ilulu's case.
She possessed physical strength superior to Kirito's, but an inferior magical reserve.
An imbalance that could be corrected over time, since, by draconic standards, Ilulu was still very young.
"Ah… yes. Serie-sama seemed to have something to tell you…"
Having noticed Kirito's attitude, Ilulu spoke quickly, then suddenly raised her eyes to her master.
Her carefree expression had vanished, replaced by a serious one as she addressed him.
'Something for me? Ah… it's just the daily routine of my former tsundere teacher,' Kirito thought, chuckling inwardly.
He gently patted Ilulu's shoulder to indicate that the rest didn't concern her, then took a few steps toward Serie's sofa.
"Hou~~ hou~~"
The soft snoring added a touch of tranquility and cuteness to the golden-haired elf that Kirito was watching.
If he had been his old self, he probably would have grabbed Serie and hugged her like a doll.
However, he had changed enormously in fifty years.
A human would already be a grandfather if he had started a family at the end of his twenties.
That's why Ilulu had noticed the similarity between Serie's gaze and Kirito's.
She had seen only one thing in it: the weight of time.
"Are you going to keep pretending to sleep? I'm clearly within the range of your magical detection spell, mother…" he said, sitting down on the chair next to Serie.
There was silence, before the golden figure moved slightly, finally revealing a face that Kirito hadn't seen in decades.
"Not even a hello? I see you're still as impatient… *yawn*. How are you, my little Kirito~"