[Mission Available!]
["War-Dummy Mutant" is in danger! Although he managed to save his daughter's life during the mission, he failed to survive the injuries he sustained from all the battles he went through.
This is task from the Deadman's Rebellion Chat Group to help comrades who is facing death.
You will be sent after you're ready or when the 2-hour timer ends.]
"It hasn't even been 24 hours since I returned, and something like this already happened."
I could only sigh, thankful that I decided to exploit the system to develop my strength to a level that should be enough to defeat the enemy in this mission—if the person behind the account "War-Dummy Mutant" is who I think it is.
["Frozen Flower": Is this the mission the group was talking about? Are we supposed to travel there on foot or horseback?]
The first one to send a message was "Frozen Flower." The username was common enough that it was difficult to guess who was behind it. But that wouldn't be a problem for long since everyone would be gathering at War-Dummy Mutant's location.
["Ordinary Person": If my theory is correct, we'll be sent directly to the person's location. So we don't need to worry. All you need to bring are your battle gear and supplies.]
I got up from the bed to pack the items I would likely need into the inventory. If the person was who I thought, I'd need magic that could maintain a stable body temperature there.
The mission required participation from all group members, so like it or not, we would all meet in person.
["Ramen Topping Wannabe": Can I bring someone else?]
Finally, he sent a message. I wasn't too sure who he was either, but if I narrowed it down, it could be Konohamaru, Naruto's student, or a fake Naruto with a big build and red hair.
["Ordinary Person": I'm not sure, maybe you can if you hold your friend's hand?]
["Ramen Topping Wannabe": Thanks!]
["Ordinary Person": For those who have never fought or had such experience, just bring tools that would be useful for survival in the wild. You can also always ask if you don't know what to do.]
I closed the chat and confirmed my readiness to the system simply by thinking, without pressing anything.
There was still a beginner weapon selection pack in the storage, but I didn't plan to use it now since I could make weapons with magic.
Now, all I had to do was wait for the others to confirm their readiness. While waiting, I decided to cook some instant noodles.
I had tried Japanese instant noodles before, but among all the ones I had eaten—in this life and the last—there was one from abroad that was delicious and perfectly suited my taste.
Speaking of which, I forgot to mention something in the group.
["Ordinary Person": Do you guys know that there's something called Item Storage in this?]
["Ramen Topping Wannabe": Is that the thing on the left side?]
["Ordinary Person": Yes, you can use it by thinking about making the item disappear. You'll also be given a prompt, so you can try it out.]
["Frozen Flower": My stuff disappeared.]
["Ordinary Person": Did an image of your stuff appear in the storage?]
["Frozen Flower": Yes.]
["Ordinary Person": That means you successfully did it.]
["Ramen Topping Wannabe": So the size adjusts based on the number of people in the group, huh?]
["Ordinary Person": Yes. The more members the group has, the larger the storage.]
["Nerdy Raijin": Then how do we add new members?]
["Ordinary Person": Maybe only the admin can. After all, we were all invited here by them.]
The system itself didn't say anything about how to add members or whether the members could increase. It only stated that we, the members, were to help each other stay alive.
["Frozen Flower": But, Ordinary Person, I saw another item in my storage even though I never put anything other than my bag.]
["Nerdy Raijin": Me too, there's a "Beginner Pack."]
["Ordinary Person": That's a free tool given by the system to all members. Its contents should match your skills. I'm not sure what aspect the system uses to determine that, but it should suit you.]
["Frozen Flower": I got a manual titled "Cultivation and Development of the Sword Path."]
["Ordinary Person": Then congratulations on your new learning material.]
["Frozen Flower": Thank you!]
A few minutes passed, and the noodles were ready. I immediately mixed all the seasonings and started eating them along with potato chips.
The different spice tolerance from my previous life made the noodles taste spicier than I remembered, but that's what makes them addicting. The perfect blend of seasoning with just enough heat to keep you eating.
MSG for life.
After more than two years spent with a bitter mouth, my tongue could finally savor a worldly flavor that made me feel like I was floating into the sky.
I finished eating within a few minutes—not as long as I thought, but not too fast either. I quickly cleaned up everything and trained my magic control again while waiting.
And with that, two hours passed, and light enveloped my body, transporting me from my home to a new world.
A world of white, filled with snow, with many trees around and a path leading to an unknown place. The moment I arrived, a cold wind blew and made my body shiver.
I snapped my fingers, and magic wrapped around me, pushing away the cold air and keeping my body temperature stable.
"S-so cold …."
A girl's voice made me turn and glance her way. A young woman with glasses and black hair tied in a ponytail. Our eyes met. My blue eyes met her indigo ones. She rubbed her arms, visibly shivering from the cold.
I looked around—two others were there, also confused by the situation. I snapped my fingers again, and magic enveloped the three of them, stabilizing their temperature.
The black-haired girl who had been trembling looked visibly relieved when I cast the spell on her. Her eyes, gazing at me, were full of confusion at how suddenly everything was under control.
"Attention." I clapped my hands, and all of them turned to me.
"I am Ordinary Person. You can call me Kiriya," I said casually. "As you can see, we're in a strange place. That means we've been brought to War-Dummy Mutant's world. So our task now is to find War-Dummy Mutant to learn more about the situation."
Someone raised their hand. "Umm … so, what exactly is our mission?"
It was the girl with glasses standing in front of me.
"Our goal is to help War-Dummy Mutant find his daughter. For now, we'll look for War-Dummy Mutant's whereabouts before deciding what to do next."
The girl nodded. "I understand."
"All right, how about we introduce ourselves first?"
"Then I'll go first." The woman wearing a black uniform and a butterfly-patterned haori raised her hand.
I nodded, and the others didn't seem to mind. "Go ahead," I replied.
"My name is Kochou Kanae, I'm the one using the name Frozen Flower. You can just call me Kanae."
"Nice to meet you, Kanae," I said.
I turned—followed by Kanae—to the other girl, the one with glasses. Her indigo eyes looked at the three of us from behind her lenses.
"I'm Mei. My username is Nerdy Raijin."
Short and straight to the point.
I nodded. "Nice to meet you, Mei."
She only replied with a brief "Yeah."
Judging from how she was still in uniform, I was sure she was either still in school, just on her way there, or had come back before being suddenly summoned.
I looked at her shoes—black outdoor shoes, not the white indoor kind. She didn't bring a bag or anything else except a pen in her hand, which meant she was in class. Most likely, since this was another world, the norms were different. Maybe wearing indoor shoes wasn't common in her world.
But that was just a conclusion I came to myself.
"All right, that leaves the last one," I said, turning to the orange-haired kid.
He looked at us calmly, then closed his eyes and grinned widely, pointing at himself. "My name's Yahiko! Nice to meet you all. I'm Ramen Topping Wannabe! Though I'm not sure why I was named that. And, it seems we can't bring anyone else with us."
—Looks like I understand why your username is like that. But of course, I couldn't possibly say it out loud.
"You've tested it, it seems."
Yahiko nods to my words.
Now, we can't know if his friends are okay or not. Hope's, nothing happens.