Faced with this sudden invitation, Rosen blinked in surprise—then quickly snapped out of it.
"A chat group?"
As a well-informed transmigrator from the Heavenly Dynasty, he was intimately familiar with common tropes from his homeland's web novels.
Chat groups in novels were practically a cliché—so overused they were practically threadbare.
Yet, encountering one in person still gave him an odd sense of nostalgic familiarity.
Finally—a golden finger he actually recognized!
And it seemed completely separate from his "Tree of Life."
Two unrelated cheat abilities?
After sixteen years of silence… was this the start of his moment in the spotlight?
He wasn't sure yet which system was superior—the chat group or the Tree of Life—but a new idea immediately struck him:
Could he use the Multiversal Chat Group to form Life Pacts with members from other worlds?
That was definitely worth testing.
If possible, it would open up entirely new avenues for growth.
As he stared at the prompt, another thought crossed his mind: What happens if I click "No"?
As if reading his thoughts, the panel updated instantly:
[Identity registered. Nickname auto-generated.]
[Welcome, new member "Shepherd," to the Multiversal Chat Group! Here, you'll find kindred spirits, companions, and perhaps even love. Come say hello to everyone~~~]
Rosen's brain froze.
"What… what just happened?"
He hadn't even clicked "Yes"!
Was this some kind of forced subscription? Digital kidnapping?
Though mildly annoyed by the chat group's high-handedness, he wasn't truly bothered—in fact, he was intrigued.
The interface resembled a standard messaging app: a clean chat window, with sidebar icons for group files, video calls, voice chats, and even a sticker pack.
"Wow… they've really kept up with the times," he muttered, impressed despite himself.
Meanwhile, inside the chat group—
The notification of a new member stirred the previously quiet channel.
[Blizzard of Hell: A new member at this hour? Welcome~]
[Lazy Angel: Ah! We found a newbie! His protein content is six times that of beef! Let's sneak up from behind… grab him… squeeze! devil.jpg]
[Lazy Angel: Evil grin.jpg]
[Tojo: Welcome.]
[Wicked Woman: Welcome, newbie! If anything confuses you, feel free to ask us anytime.]
[Old Mage: When in doubt, learn from your seniors—you'll save yourself a lot of trouble.]
Seeing the nicknames, Rosen realized there were only five existing members besides himself.
So this group was brand new?
He recognized some of the personas behind the aliases:
"Blizzard of Hell" was clearly the B-rank hero and leader of the Blizzard Group from One Punch Man—Fubuki, aka "Hellish Blizzard."
"Tojo" was almost certainly Saeko Busujima from Highschool of the Dead—a familiar face in countless fanfics.
But the other three—"Lazy Angel," "Wicked Woman," and "Old Mage"—left him momentarily stumped.
Too many anime characters fit those descriptions.
Still, he didn't dwell on it. Even if he guessed their identities correctly, it wouldn't change much—getting to know them naturally over time mattered more.
[Lazy Angel: Why's the newbie so quiet?]
[Tojo: Probably scared off by your weird joke. People unfamiliar with the meme might take it the wrong way.]
[Lazy Angel: Huh? I thought it was funny! Whatever, I'll just explain the joke later.]
[Blizzard of Hell: By the way, the newbie's nickname is interesting—'Shepherd'… does it mean what it sounds like?]
[Old Mage: A herder of sheep? Sheep are soft to pet… and once slaughtered, their wool makes warm sweaters, and their meat makes excellent soup for cold days.]
[Old Mage: Hey newbie, can you buy a few sheep? Preferably already butchered—wool for clothes, meat for soup or jerky. Fresh meat spoils fast, so we'd need to eat it quickly.]
[Blizzard of Hell: You just casually said something terrifying with a straight face…]
[Old Mage: Did I?]