Chapter 3: Welcome, Newcomer!
'There's no use in thinking about that weird old man's motivations. Before making any assumptions, I should probably check this chat group out first."
Reopening the panel, he was once again met with the words [Galactic Chat Group] at the top of the screen. Under it, was a typical chat box, with various members chatting. And finally, at the bottom, he could enter his own messages. Mentally focusing on the chat box, he found that he was able to enter words into the chat box telepathically. After reviewing his message, he decided to send it.
[Lil Li: Hello, seniors. It seems I've recently been added to this 'Galactic Chat Group' without my knowledge. Would anyone be willing to shed light on its purpose?]
[Saint War Crime: Oh, perfect! A newcomer. It's been a while since we had one of those. Before I answer your question, did you by any chance meet an old man anytime recently? An old, shaggy, ugly, unkempt, filthy, annoying, old man?]
[Lil Li: I do seem to recall someone somewhat similar to that description, Saint... War Crime?]
[Saint War Crime: Ahahahah, disregard that name. It's randomly assigned. It definitely doesn't mean anything, I assure you! Just call me Senior War.]
[Lil Li: Alright, Senior War. What did that old man have to do with anything?]
This time, however, another person popped up.
[Sovereign Blood Spear: That 'old man' is the person that dragged all of us into this thing. Everyone here met the old man at least once before this thing popped up in our vision. We've theorized that he's a hidden powerhouse who wants to gather people from around the universe to communicate, for some reason. Also, the names are NOT randomly assigned. They were all assigned by that old man. Saint War Crime has that title due to his cultivation level, and the fact that he's currently rotting in a high-security prison for numerous crimes against humanity.]
[Saint War Crime: ALLEGED crimes against humanity! I didn't do shit. Those Union fuckers were just scared of my power and slapped me with false accusations. Why don't we talk about your name, 'Sovereign Blood Spear'?]
[Sovereign Blood Spear: What is there to talk about? Obviously, it's a testament to my skill with the spear.]
[Saint War Crime: Hah! You're fooling no one. Even in prison, I've heard about the Sovereign who was so stupid he stabbed himself with a spear and almost died from bleeding out.]
[Sovereign Blood Spear: My hand slipped.]
[Saint War Crime: How does your hand slipping result in almost bleeding out? Dumbass.]
Another member jumped in, fanning the flames.
[Lil Cova: Sigh. The old men are fighting, once again. Can't you do something productive for once?]
[Saint War Crime: Shut up, kid. A child who's too weak to even get a nickname or a prefix shouldn't be talking. Why don't you go to your father and ask what happened the last time you scaly bitches tried fighting ME. Hell, if I was out of prison, I could probably wipe all you overgrown lizards off the map.]
[Lil Cova: Well, you're not. And now you're just another old bastard rotting in prison, waiting for someone to save you like a damsel in distress.]
Sovereign Blood Spear jumped in, attacking both of them, causing the conversation to degrade into a series of insults at each other's age, species, cultivation level, etc. Jiwon simply stared blankly, his question having been forgotten in the crossfire.
'...Are these guys really reliable?' He shook his head. 'Personalities aside, the members of this group seem to be rather powerful. I know that those who reach the fourth stage of cultivation, Inner Domain, are granted the title Paragon. I haven't heard of a Saint or Sovereign yet, but they're probably at a level of power way out of my reach. After all, even the strongest human so far is rumored to be a peak-level Paragon. Of course, that's somewhat because we're a complete write-off of a species, but even at a galactic level, a Paragon is considered a decent fighting force.'
Eventually, the ongoing feud within the chat group died down. With that fiasco finally ending, another user ID popped up.
[Sovereign Third Leg: Now that you guys are done bickering like children, I think we should answer the newcomer's question. To start, there doesn't seem to be much of a purpose for this chat group. Members have no missions or requirements to stay in the group. However, there are two interesting functions we've discovered.]
[Sovereign Third Leg: First of all, by thinking of memory and willing it to send, you're able to directly transfer memories in the form of a video. Sadly, the knowledge or thoughts associated with the memory can't be transferred, just the events in the memory.]
[Sovereign Third Leg: Second, there is the ability to send items through the chat group. However, it takes a certain amount of galactic energy which increases based on the size of the item, complexity, and amount of galactic energy contained within. Essentially, people with higher cultivations can send better things. This function allows us group members to trade without having to meet in person. Any questions?]
[Lil Li: No, that's all I needed to know. Thank you very much, Senior.]
'I see. It's quite a powerful tool, now that I think of it. If I utilize it right, it could definitely lead me to reach the senior's levels of power. Or even further beyond. Now I see what that old man meant by an opportunity. I'll have to thank him next time I see him,' Jiwon mused inwardly. Of course, during his musing, the group chat hadn't stopped talking.
[Paragon Green Hat: Pfft. 'Senior', he says. Definitely the perfect way to describe you, isn't it, 'Senior' Third Leg?']
[Sovereign Third Leg: Hmmmm? Were you trying to say that I was old, 'Green Hat'?]
[Paragon Green Hat: That's exactly what I was trying to say, 'Third Leg'.]
[Sovereign Third Leg: *smile* I see. On a completely unrelated note, did you ever mention currently being in the Scorpus Star System?]
[Paragon Green Hat: Uh... no?]
[Sovereign Third Leg: Hmm, that's odd.]
[Paragon Green Hat: Don't tell me- you!]
There was an empty silence, before it was broken around thirty seconds later.
[Sovereign Third Leg has sent a memory attachment]
Curiously, Jiwon opened it up. The 'video' opened from the perspective of a person on top of a tree. As it was in first-person perspective, the person wasn't visible, but what they were looking at definitely was. Directly in the line of sight of the cameraman was a young man sitting on a bench. He had human features, though his wings, extremely pale skin tone, and green head of hair ruled that possibility out.
The man on the bench was seemingly staring into space, before he began to murmur audibly to himself. "Scorpus Star System? And that reaction! Could it be... no. How would that old bastard have gotten my location? I'm just being paranoid." Despite this, the man looked around frantically. Seeing no one around him, he took a deep breath, calming down.
Following this, the recorder jumped off their vantage point on a tree, somehow landing silently behind the man on the bench. Finally, the recorder began to speak. Surprisingly, a melodic female voice came out. "Oh~? Old bastard, huh? Is that what you really think?"
The man jumped up off the bench, startled. Eyes wide, and voice trembling, he shakily pointed at the person 'recording'.
"S-s-sovereign Third Leg!" The man laughed nervously. "No, no, no. Of course not. I was just joking. It was a joke, I tell you." Seemingly seeing something frightening in the face of the person recording, the man paled. Resigning himself to his fate, he sighed defeatedly, "Beat me up all you want but please at least avoid my face. I'm kind of a celebrity, you know. I need my face, or my fans are going to abandon me."
The person recording walked closer. "Oho. I think your face should be the least of your worries right now," the person said. Then, the memory ended.
[Lil Cova: Rest in peace, Paragon Green Hat.]
[Sovereign Blood Spear: Rest in peace, Paragon Green Hat.]
[Saint War Crime: Rest in peace, Paragon Green Hat.]
[Sage Eight Eyes: Rest in peace, Paragon Green Hat.]
[Paragon Deadbeat Drunk: Rest in piss, Paragon Green Hat.]
[Lil Li: ...He's not actually dead, is he? Right?]
[Sovereign Third Leg: No promises.]
There was a pause for a few seconds before the silence was broken once again.
[Paragon Green Hat: At this point, I kind of wish I was. Also, Deadbeat Drunk, don't think I didn't see that. I can't take revenge on Sovereign Third Leg because of the power difference, but you? You're free game.]
[Paragon Deadbeat Drunk: Come and try me, dumbass. The Cosmic Union only has room for one battle genius, and it sure as hell isn't you.]
[Paragon Green Hat: We'll see about that... when I get out of the hospital.]
Jiwon stared blankly at the chat. Inwardly, he mused, 'They're all extremely powerful, that's for sure. But why do I feel like everyone in the group has something wrong with them mentally? Hold on... if I'm also in this group, does that means there's also something wrong with me? No, it couldn't be.'
Next to him, Magnus, still asleep, subconsciously muttered, "Delusional bastard."
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