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Alex lay inside his tent and opened the group chat.
The chat history was still stuck on messages from a few days ago, which felt strange. Normally, if he didn't check the chat for even a short while, the unread count would shoot past ninety-nine. It was always buzzing with activity.
But over the last few days, the group had been dead silent.
"If none of you are going to talk, then I'll break the silence myself."Alex muttered and sent a message.
Alex: "@Shinobu, @Takatsuki Izumi, did you two watch the video? I hope you can understand each other a bit."
Alex: "When I first joined this group, my sister was a Campione and Lady Hestia was a goddess. They were natural enemies, yet they still managed to get along eventually."
He sent two consecutive messages, but the group stayed quiet.
After a long wait, just as he was about to close the interface in disappointment, Luo Hao finally sent a message.
Luo Hao: "Worthy brother, do you remember what we discussed the first time we spoke?"
Alex froze, then remembered.
Alex: "I remember. You asked if I was from Huaxia and I said yes."
Luo Hao: "Correct. Back then, we barely knew each other, yet you called me 'Cult Leader Luo'. I asked how you knew me, and you said you had read stories about me in your world. I didn't think much of it at the time, but after watching the two videos you uploaded, I want to ask you something. The stories you mentioned—are they the same type of thing as those two videos? Is my world… an anime? And am I merely a character in it?"
Alex's eyes widened as he read her words.
So this was why everyone had gone silent the past few days.
Those two videos he posted had made them realize something.
Before he could explain, more messages appeared.
Hestia: "Alex, I remember in the Type-Moon world you asked me to help you find Ryunosuke Uryu. I wondered why you knew about that serial killer, and not only that he was a murderer, but also that he was a Holy Grail–chosen Master. I asked you once and you said you'd tell me when you were strong enough. So is this the answer? That all of us and all our worlds are from anime you've watched?"
Shinobu: "I can forgive Takatsuki Izumi. She was born a ghoul, she didn't get to choose. But you need to tell me whether everything in that video is real."
Takatsuki Izumi: "Of course it's real. The early parts match my life exactly. And the things that haven't happened yet… given my personality, I can see myself doing them."
Reading their messages, Alex guessed they must have discussed everything privately already. No wonder their deductions were so precise.
He had to admit, none of these women were idiots.
Alex took a deep breath and made up his mind. It was time to be honest. He was strong enough now that even if he confessed, nothing bad would happen.
Hestia wouldn't kick him out of her familia just because he knew the plot, right?
Luo Hao wouldn't stop acknowledging him as her sworn brother either.
As long as those two had his back, what was there to worry about?
Alex: "You're right. I'm not originally from the Type-Moon world. I transmigrated there, and only after that was I invited into the group. In my world, your stories exist as light novels and anime. Because I've read and watched them, I know your plotlines. If any of you want to know your own story, I can upload your anime to the group."
Even though they had guessed the truth, seeing Alex confirm it still shocked them.
Luo Hao: "Send mine to me privately."
Alex: "Got it, sis."
Hestia: "Mine too. Send it privately."
Mikoto: "I'm shocked, but I want mine as well."
Shinobu: "This isn't fair. All of you watched mine and Takatsuki's anime, but we haven't watched yours."
Takatsuki Izumi: "Exactly. Upload them to the group. Everyone should watch together."
Hestia: "I don't mind. I'm just curious about my future."
Mikoto: "Same here."
Erza: "Then upload all of them. We're all group members sharing the same secret. No point in hiding."
Tsunade: "Agreed."
In the end, everyone except Luo Hao agreed to group sharing.
As for Luo Hao, no one dared pressure her.
Seeing this, Alex told them to wait and used Memory Projection magic to recreate all their anime.
He also reproduced the related light novels and manga.
He hadn't read many light novels though, and he only knew some later plot points through Bilibili videos, forums, and fanfiction. There was no point in recreating those.
Soon, he finished reproducing everything and uploaded it all to the group, sending Luo Hao's privately.
After uploading, he let out a long breath.
Hopefully they wouldn't flip out after learning their own stories.
…
After resting on the thirty-ninth floor for a night, Alex changed his plans. Instead of returning, he decided to take Merlin, Morgan, and Artoria deeper into the dungeon.
Everyone else would remain on the safe thirty-ninth floor.
Just in case, he left Roxy behind as well.
Roxy was a little upset she couldn't join them. Alex had to promise to make it up to her later.
Leaving most of their supplies behind, he brought only the essentials and descended to the fortieth floor with the three women.
At the same time, after a full night, everyone in the group had finished watching their own anime.
To their surprise, aside from Hestia and Miko Yotsuya, none of them were the main characters.
Shinobu: "@Takatsuki Izumi, your ending was awful. Your head was gone and they pinned your body to a cross."
Takatsuki Izumi: "@Shinobu, like you're any better. Your corpse got eaten by demons."
Miko: "Why are you two still arguing? Now that we know each other's plotlines, we should all work hard, help each other, and change our fates."
Mikoto: "I still can't believe it. I've lived this long and never realized magic existed in my world. And Magicians of God-level power too."
Miko: "I always thought Luo Cult Leader's world and Lady Hestia's world were the strongest, but your world might be the scariest."
Erza: "@Mikoto, what about those twenty thousand clone sisters of yours?"
Misaka Mikoto: "The Level 6 Shift plan hasn't started yet in my world. I'll get stronger before then and destroy the project myself."
Miko: "Be careful. That guy called Accelerator is terrifying. His vector control ability is practically unbeatable."
Mikoto: "I know. If I can't beat him, I can always call for backup."
Miko: "Exactly. We're not the anime versions of ourselves anymore. We have the group chat."
Busujima Saeko: "Your worlds are complicated. Mine just went straight to the apocalypse. Last time, Mikoto and Miko dragged me out of school and dumped all the zombies inside. The protagonist team is probably doomed now."
Miko: "Who cares about them? We're the protagonists now."
Mikoto: "Right. We have the group chat and we know the plot. We're the real leads."
Hestia: "All thanks to Alex. We owe him big."
Miko: "I've always thought Alex is the real protagonist and we're the heroines. This whole group is basically his harem team."
Mikoto: "Miko, what's going on in that tiny head of yours? Did the ghosts scare your brain loose?"
Miko: "No!"
Roxy: "Ugh… I'm so miserable. In the original story, I actually end up married to a fat shut-in."
Miko: "Hahaha, that fat shut-in is at least a fellow transmigrator."
Roxy: "I don't care. I hate transmigrators."
Miko: "@Alex, you're a transmigrator too. Were you a fat shut-in before crossing over?"
Hestia: "Alex crossed over in his real body. He was ordinary before, but definitely not a fat shut-in."
Miko: "He was average looking at first, but after being purified by the Flame of Heaven he got super handsome. And after training with Cult Leader Luo, his body looks amazing now."
Mikoto: "If I remember right, Miko, when Alex first joined the group, you said 'the pretty boy looks pretty good'."
Miko: "That was politeness. I couldn't exactly say he looked average. Or ugly."
Roxy: "@Erza, magic in your world is wild. It's basically melee combat."
Shinobu: "Yeah. That black dragon at the end and Zeref were insanely strong."
Erza: "They really were. But now that I know the future, I'm going to get even stronger. I'll help Natsu take them down."
Tsunade: "Same here. I didn't expect Uchiha Madara's plan to be that terrifying. I won't let Kaguya revive. And I definitely won't let Jiraiya die."
"..."
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