Takumi's statement immediately sparked questions from the others.
Spirit of Time: "You know us? What do you mean?"
Shadow's Radiance: "Just what it sounds like. First off, Railgun—your name is Misaka Mikoto, right?"
Railgun: "How do you know that?!"
Without pause, Takumi sent another message: "Spirit of Time—Tokisaki Kurumi?"
Spirit of Time: "Well, well... it seems Mr. Shadow has some rather mysterious abilities."
In the Date A Live world, Kurumi's heart was clearly stirred after Takumi revealed her real name. And judging from Mikoto's reaction, he had guessed correctly again.
"Zafkiel!"
Kurumi summoned her Angel and scanned her surroundings for any hidden observer.
Even after shifting through shadows and switching with her clones, the chat group remained unchanged.
"As for how I know this..."
In the group, Takumi explained he had read the light novels and watched the anime featuring the two girls.
Hearing that they were characters from fiction, both Mikoto and Kurumi froze, then burst out in disbelief.
Railgun: "Are you joking?!"
Spirit of Time: "Mr. Takumi, that's not a very funny joke."
Kurumi found it hard to accept. She couldn't believe her world was fiction, and if Takumi was right, it meant her fate was predetermined.
Amnesiac Xiao Bai: "That sounds... amazing."
Iron-Head Kid: "Um... what do you mean, we're characters in someone else's story?"
Unlike the others, Iron-Head couldn't grasp Takumi's explanation. He hadn't read much or been exposed to fiction, so he was lost.
Spirit of Time: "This is hard to believe. Can you prove what you're saying, Mr. Shadow?"
Just knowing two names wasn't enough to convince them.
"In that case..."
Takumi turned his attention to Xiao Bai and Iron-Head. "Iron-Head, what's your name? Maybe I've heard of you. And Xiao Bai, can you describe your world?"
Kurumi and Mikoto guessed Takumi needed more clues to identify their stories.
Shadow's Radiance: "Of course, I haven't seen *every* series out there, so it's totally possible I don't recognize some of you."
After all, not all chat group members had to come from stories Takumi knew. He didn't plan to fake omniscience—one mistake could ruin the illusion.
Besides, this wasn't a novel where logic didn't matter.
"Actually, you don't need to stress so much. Living in a fictional world is just a theory. To you, your world is real."
Takumi preferred the theory that fictional worlds were real and that authors merely received fragments of their existence from other dimensions.
Hearing that helped calm the group. After all, no one liked thinking their reality was fake.
Iron-Head Kid: "Mr. Shadow, my name is Kamado Tanjiro. Do you know me?"
Shadow's Radiance: "Ah, I see. Yes, I've watched your story."
Amnesiac Xiao Bai: "I'm sorry, I don't know how to describe my world."
The silver-haired boy sat amid rubble, gazing at a broken ceiling. He didn't recognize his surroundings and had no reference points, so he used the chat group's upload feature to send photos.
Railgun: "Looks like a school's equipment storage room."
Spirit of Time: "I see a lot of sports gear."
Amnesiac Xiao Bai: "Ano... what's a storage room?"
Railgun: "You don't know that? From your surroundings, I'd say it's a modern setting."
Amnesiac Xiao Bai: "Sorry, I can't remember anything."
Railgun: "Ah... sorry."
Amnesiac Xiao Bai: "It's okay! No worries, haha!"
Spirit of Time: "Mr. Xiao Bai, your optimism is admirable."
Railgun: "Yeah, it really is."
While the others chatted, Takumi carefully examined the photos Xiao Bai had sent.
'Looks familiar...'
A vague sense of recognition stirred in him.
Opening the group's main interface, Takumi saw four primary features: Live Broadcast, Shop, Travel, Daily Check-In, and a Lottery.
The photo feature used earlier was part of Live Broadcast, which also included recording, projections, and real-time streaming.
"Pretty standard for a chat group system," Takumi mused. "Maybe we'll be able to livestream for points later."
He clicked the Shop tab—it was empty.
A prompt explained members had to sell their own items.
"So the shop's like a trading platform."
To sell, a member would list their item in exchange for points. Others could buy it for the same price. No commission was charged.
Points could be earned through check-ins or selling valuable goods.
Travel was self-explanatory. With a member's permission, you could visit their world. However, the host could forcibly send guests back if needed.
Shadow's Radiance: "Hey, has everyone checked in today?"
The reminder prompted everyone to check the system.
[ Group Member 'Shadow's Radiance' has checked in. Points earned: 100 ]
"100?!"
Railgun: "Is that a lot or a little?"
[ Group Member 'Railgun' checked in. Points earned: 5 ]
"Eh?!"
Railgun: "Only 5?! Why so low?!"
[ Spirit of Time: 22 points ] [ Iron-Head Kid: 25 points ] [ Amnesiac Xiao Bai: 40 points ]
Spirit of Time: "Pfft! Only 5? Haha!"
Railgun: "Hey, that's rude!"
"Ugh! This is so unfair!"
In Academy City, sparks crackled around Misaka Mikoto as she read Kurumi's mockery.
Zzzzzt!
"Ah! What happened?! My new phone!!"
The electricity around her fried all the nearby electronics, plunging the area into chaos. As robots rushed in, a panicked Mikoto fled.
"Looks like I got lucky."
Takumi was pleased with his 100-point reward.
Next, he opened the lottery.
Inside were countless items: from abilities to mundane goods—everything imaginable.
He found things like Spirit Crystals from Date A Live, Breathing Techniques from Demon Slayer, Magic and Esper abilities from Index, Magic Control and Ancient Relics from The Eminence in Shadow.
"So the pool includes all members' worlds."
Even better, items had quality ratings:
Gray, White, Green, Blue, Purple, Orange, Red, Gold, Rainbow—nine total tiers.
The higher the quality, the rarer and stronger the item.
"So it's a quality rating, not a power level?"
Takumi noticed his 'Magic Growth'—a common skill in Shadow's world—was rated orange.
"The Dresden Slate?"
Suddenly, he spotted something intriguing.
"And that sword—Damocles Sword."
"I see. So Xiao Bai... you're *that* Xiao Bai."
The Dresden Slate and Damocles Sword came from *K*. Xiao Bai was likely Adolf K. Weismann—the Silver King.
With that, Takumi had identified all four members.
He then reviewed his own abilities:
[ Primal Magic ] Quality: Light Orange Source: Shadow's Radiance's World Description: A chaotic, raw magical force with immense destructive and evolutionary power.
[ Myriad Evolution ] Quality: Deep Orange Source: Shadow's Radiance's World Description: Can interfere with matter. At its peak, allows atomic-level manipulation to create impossible miracles.
Same color quality was divided into Light, Medium, and Deep.
"Magic Control is rated higher than Magic Growth?"
This surprised Takumi. He had thought they were equal.
Looking at other abilities:
[ Water Breathing ] Quality: Light Green Source: Iron-Head Kid's World Description: Enhances body and reflexes through special breathing techniques.
[ Spirit Crystal - Comprehension ] Quality: Deep Purple Source: Spirit of Time's World Description: A crystal of world origin that controls time and disturbs space.
"Kurumi's Spirit power is Purple. Breathing is Green."
Takumi guessed:
- Gray: trivial items (food, tools)
- White: functional items (guns, tech)
- Green: beginner-level supernatural items
"Blue likely marks the start of true supernatural power—magic, ESP, etc."
Breathing enhanced the body but didn't generate magic.
"As for Purple and Orange..."
He compared items in those tiers:
- Damocles Sword: Light Purple
- Spirit Crystal: Medium Purple
- Origin Force: Light Orange, like his Primal Magic
In other words, Takumi's magic, if pushed to the limit, could rival characters like Mio Takamiya.
How Purple and Orange were truly distinguished was still unclear.