"A chat group, obviously!" Hatsune Miku answered matter-of-factly.
"Does Master not like this format? If you don't, I can integrate a livestreaming system, or perhaps we should just implement a Shop system using a points currency?"
As long as it solved the bedtime scheduling problem, Miku could whip up any system imaginable.
"No, I have no issue with the chat group format," Su Mo said, shaking his head. He then clarified, "But according to what you just said, this group is meant to manage my sleeping arrangements, so I'll be the only male member?"
He was starting to realize something.
"Of course! That's how it stands for now!" Miku nodded, adding an afterthought, "Well, assuming Master continues to prefer girls, that is."
"That last part was unnecessary," Su Mo replied, slightly deadpan. After reflecting for a few seconds, he spoke again. "Miku, I have a question for you."
"Please, Master, ask away!"
"If I had never encountered a 'Mystic Opportunity,' based on your simulations, what would I have done?" Su Mo asked.
"That's easy!"
Pure logical deduction was no challenge for Hatsune Miku. Although Su Mo's "Comprehension" was so high that even she couldn't perfectly predict his ultimate achievements, she could simulate about seventy to eighty percent of his path if she let her imagination run wild.
"Given your personality, Master, if you couldn't find a path through the Mystic, you would have definitely doubled down on the scientific route. For someone like you, the 'Essence of the World' isn't some unsolvable riddle. Within two years, you would have seen through every secret in this entire universe!"
In Miku's heart, Su Mo's innate talent was even more exaggerated than he let on.
Even Su Mo himself felt she was overselling him a bit.
Admittedly, he had grown to a multiversal level in less than a year, but what helped his growth most wasn't time—it was the variety of different worlds and their unique laws. Without such a rich tapestry of world rules to act as shortcuts, and with only a single world as his stage, even Su Mo didn't believe he could have maintained such a breakneck pace of evolution.
If his stage had been limited solely to this "slice-of-life" world, the speed at which he grew stronger would have been drastically bottlenecked.
Without the right catalyst, it might have taken him twenty years, not two, to see through the secrets of this universe. Resource scarcity was the ultimate trap.
However, broadly speaking, Su Mo agreed with Miku's predicted trajectory.
"Seeing through every secret of the universe... let's just call that the 'Three-Digit Omniscient Realm.' What comes after that?"
"After that, wouldn't Master start researching methods to travel between worlds?" Miku pondered, recalling Su Mo's previous explanation of world classifications. She added, "According to your theory, this world doesn't meet the basic criteria for immortality, but other worlds might. As long as you could find a way to cross over, you would eventually find the catalyst for your next evolution, right?"
A Fourth-Class world didn't even allow for a shred of true hope to remain, but Miku believed that with Su Mo's talent, he could at least achieve the "Best Ending" possible within the constraints of the world's laws. Even if this universe held no hope, he could at least build a device to go looking for it elsewhere.
"At that point, although luck would be a factor, with your power, Master, you would surely obtain the result you desired."
Achieving the miracle of crossing worlds didn't mean success; it was merely the starting line.
In the vast multiverse, the overwhelming majority of worlds were Fourth-Class. The first three classes were the extreme minority. If Su Mo could only cross worlds randomly without a way to filter them, he would inevitably trudge through countless Fourth-Class worlds.
In those worlds, even if the "Mystic" existed, it would be like a candle in the wind just like science—flickering on the verge of annihilation. He would have to go through a massive screening process to find a world possessing a "Perpetual Motion Machine." Only in such a world could Su Mo achieve true immortality.
"In other words, I would have spent a vast amount of unnecessary time wandering through ordinary Fourth-Class worlds before I could potentially reach my goal."
A thoughtful look crossed Su Mo's eyes.
Time constraints ceased to be a major issue once one reached a Third-Class world. Therefore, whether it was a First, Second, or Third-Class Perpetual Motion Machine, any of them would have guaranteed Su Mo's path to absolute strength. Once he was on that path and free from the shackles of a natural lifespan, there was very little in the multiverse that could constrain him.
To Su Mo, the specific type of Mystic Opportunity he encountered didn't actually matter. Whether it was a Chat Group, a System, a "Main God" Space, or something else—it was all the same. As long as it provided the right environment, Su Mo would naturally rise to the top.
"Exactly!" Miku nodded vigorously. "While your talent would make it easy to create a device to identify world types, resource limitations mean that even with a filter, you wouldn't necessarily find the universe you wanted quickly."
The multiverse wasn't a neatly organized library. It wasn't like you were guaranteed to hit one "useful" world for every ten thousand you searched. Most of the time, you couldn't even detect another universe, let alone filter them.
"Of course, for Master, these are just small problems that are easily solved! They wouldn't affect your ultimate level of achievement at all!" the AI, filled with infinite worship for her master, declared with absolute certainty. "No matter the difficulties, no matter how much time it took, nothing could obstruct Master's will!"
Even if Su Mo didn't want to use other methods to extend his life, basic cryo-stasis or hibernation tech wouldn't be hard for him. Even the longest screening process has an end. Su Mo would eventually find what he was looking for. Miku had supreme confidence in this.
Though he found her praise a bit much, Su Mo didn't deny her logic.
"...So, if I could encounter the catalyst I needed ahead of time, I could grow to the level I want in less time, with less cost, and using a more stable method?"
"Naturally... Wait, you're right!" Miku nodded first, then realized the implication of Su Mo's words.
If Su Mo truly saw through the truths of the universe and achieved the miracle of world-crossing, he would inevitably master techniques for interfering with time and space. Following the scientific path, Su Mo would be stuck for a long time searching for non-Fourth-Class resources. But if he used space-time manipulation to shorten that process—
"Master could totally obtain the coordinates of his target from the 'future' the moment he achieved the miracle of world-crossing! No, wait... the world-crossing technology itself could be packaged as pure information and sent back to the past through time travel! Which means the starting point could be moved up even further!"
"Before Master even fully grasped the universe's truths... no, the moment Master resolved to begin researching the scientific path, it would be enough! Or maybe... maybe even earlier!"
Miku's voice became increasingly excited.
With Su Mo's heaven-defying comprehension, as long as "hope" existed in the future, he could definitely pull that hope forward into his past. And because his understanding was so profound, that hope could even arrive before he had decided to take the scientific route. After all, even if he hadn't made up his mind yet, once he came into contact with the relevant information, he would reach a decision almost instantly.
Following this logic, Su Mo's future was a "Once Attained, Eternally Attained" state. As long as there existed even a single possibility of him reaching the peak, he would definitely reach the peak.
"If that's the case, the specific amount of time the process is moved up by doesn't matter. One year or two years makes no difference. The focus, instead, is the catalyst itself."
Su Mo pondered for a moment, his gaze gradually locking onto the Dimensional Chat Group—specifically, the veteran members who had joined before him.
Rin Tohsaka, Kanae Kocho, Madoka Kaname, Erica Blandelli.
"In other words, as long as I possessed basic mystic knowledge and the ability to mine resources from the chosen worlds, that would be enough—which perfectly matches the timeframe I was in when I joined."
"???"
Meow meow meow?
Hearing Su Mo's words, Miku blinked, her circuits momentarily crossing.
Sure, they were discussing another "possibility" and looking into Master's theoretical future...
But why did Master's tone sound like he was describing something that had actually happened?