Chapter 217: Invitation... An Invitation
There was no flash of golden light, nor were there any deafening sound effects.
Instead, eight orbs of light, each varying in color and size, floated gracefully from the treasure chest. They drifted as if alive, hovering in mid-air and emitting a soft yet distinct aura.
Exactly eight orbs—one for each of the eight people present.
"Wow! There really is good stuff inside!" Paimon cheered, her little hands clasped together in delight.
March 7th's eyes darted between the floating treasures, her curiosity piqued. She noticed that the items encased within the luminous spheres seemed to be different.
At a glance, she could make out four ancient-looking cards, identical and shimmering with a strange, flowing light. There was also a blue, quivering orb that resembled a water droplet—a Memory Bubble. Another was a mass of pure white light, its specific form indistinct. A sinister-looking, dark red longsword pulsed with an aura of war. Finally, there was a seed the size of a fist, slowly rotating like a miniature star, though its interior was empty, lacking any of the Titan totem patterns they had seen before, making its origin impossible to determine.
"Looks like everyone gets a share!" March 7th chuckled, her hand instinctively reaching for the four identical cards first.
The moment her fingertip brushed against one of them, a stream of information flowed directly into her mind.
Her eyes shot wide open. The shock that washed over her face was even more deep than when she had witnessed the Trailblazer suppress Nikador.
She spun around, whipping the card up for everyone to see. Her voice, strained with excitement, climbed an entire octave, cracking slightly. "Do… do you guys know what this is?!"
Everyone was taken aback by her sudden, explosive reaction.
March 7th waved the card in her hand frantically, practically shouting, "It's an invitation! An invitation to the chat group!"
"What?!"
"An invitation?!"
"Are you serious?!"
The words hung in the air, and a wave of collective shock rippled through the group. Even Dan Heng, who rarely showed any strong emotion, and Zhongli, whose composure was as unshakeable as stone, had a flicker of undisguised surprise in their eyes.
They all understood just how precious the authority to invite others into the Cross-Dimensional Chat Group truly was.
Initially, only the three administrators had been granted a mere handful of slots, which had formed their current small, tight-knit group. They had all assumed that expanding their membership again would have to wait until the chat group itself completed its next upgrade—an event with no foreseeable date.
Yet, here they were. These long-sought-after invitations had suddenly materialized right before them, and there were four of them. They had appeared without any warning, without any fanfare, just waiting to be claimed.
"This is great!" March 7th bounced on the balls of her feet, her joy bubbling over. "Does this mean we can invite Himeko to join?!"
Even Paimon, Belle, and Wise, who didn't fully grasp what a "chat group" entailed, could tell from the others' intense reactions that this was an opportunity of unimaginable significance.
But the elation lasted only for a fleeting moment.
A very real and thorny problem immediately presented itself: how should these four invitations be distributed?
There were far more than four people present who would desperately want one.
March 7th looked down at the four cards in her hand, but they suddenly felt as heavy as a mountain. Her gaze flickered from Dan Heng's thoughtful expression to the expectant faces of Lumine and Paimon, and then to Belle and Wise… A headache began to bloom behind her eyes, and her first instinct was to pass the problem to someone else.
"Uh… this… well…" March 7th stammered, her gaze starting to drift. She finally locked onto Dan Heng, the most reliable member of her team, and shot him a desperate, pleading look. "Dan Heng… what do you think we should do…?"
Dan Heng received March 7th's silent cry for help and frowned slightly. He, of course, understood the value and weight of these invitations. He was also keenly aware of the relationships and contributions of everyone present.
This was by no means an easy decision. Even for someone as rational as him, the situation was incredibly tricky, and he fell into a brief, contemplative silence.
Just as the atmosphere began to grow subtle and awkward, Zhongli's steady voice cut through the tension. It was like a clear spring flowing over stones, easing the deadlock.
"By universal rationale, since eight rewards have been obtained, why not examine all of them before we proceed with distribution? Perhaps the other items possess their own unique value."
His words were a welcome reminder. In their shock over the invitations, they had completely forgotten to check the other four items.
March 7th immediately snapped back to the task at hand. She carefully clutched the invitations in her left hand and reached for the blue Memory Bubble with her right.
The moment her fingertip made contact, information once again flowed into her mind.
"Oh! This blue Memory Bubble is…" March 7th's eyes lit up as she processed the details. "…It's Nikador's combat experience! It contains some of the combat techniques and instincts that Strife Titan accumulated over thousands of years! Whoever uses it should directly gain a ton of practical fighting knowledge! That's not bad at all, actually!"
Next, she picked up the pure white mass of light. As she sensed its purpose, her expression turned a little strange.
"Uh… this… this is a Chimera. It says that once activated, it can summon an… uh… auxiliary Chimera? One that can help with daily chores?..."
March 7th's tone was laced with uncertainty. "That feels… not very useful, does it?"
Evidently, for a group of people dedicated to combat and adventure, the appeal of a "daily assistant" was rather limited.
With one in each hand, March 7th then picked up the last two items—the dark red longsword and the blank seed.
"Whoa! This sword is amazing!" she exclaimed as she perceived the information flowing from the weapon. "It says this is a treasured sword forged from the War Totem that appeared behind Nikador! It can greatly enhance the wielder's will to fight and their attack power. This is definitely a divine weapon!"
She then glanced at the blank seed in her other hand. "As for this… the information shows it's a Blank Kindling. It says… it can be used as energy to allow that Chimera to undergo a random evolution!"
"Oh, I see! It seems to be a set with that Chimera!" March 7th mused. "I just wonder what the evolved Chimera can do… Hopefully, it'll be something more powerful."
All in all, the eight items were extraordinary. Aside from the four immeasurably valuable Chat Group Invitations, there was practical combat experience, a Chimera set with unknown potential, and a powerful divine weapon.
But this only made the distribution even more difficult. The value of the invitations clearly eclipsed that of the other items, but there were only four to go around.
The atmosphere once again settled into a subtle deadlock. Everyone wanted an invitation, but no one felt comfortable being the first to ask.
As the stalemate stretched, March 7th finally stepped forward again. She scratched her head, looking at the four 'hot potatoes' in her hand, and offered a suggestion that sounded almost playful.
"Oh, this is impossible! How about… we just get straight to it? The three of us administrators will each take one, as per our authority. That was the agreement, right?"
"Then for the last one… how about we play rock-paper-scissors? Fair and square, all up to luck!"
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