Natsuyu extended the back of his hand into the center of the circle.
Except for Yukino Yukinoshita, the other three girls barely hesitated.
With silent, solemn expressions, they stacked their small hands on top of his.
Kiana spoke first, clenching her free fist:
“Hell yeah!
We’re definitely escaping this place!
That Smelly Old Man is still waiting for me!”
Emma Sakuraba looked at Natsuyu with gentle, trusting eyes:
“Natsuyu-kun, I’ll work hard too.”
Kikyo Kushida thought for a moment, realizing a bright, cheerful smile wasn’t appropriate right now.
So she lowered her eyes slightly, putting on a deeply concerned expression to show her sympathy for Natsuyu:
“I’ll follow your arrangements, Natsuyu-kun.”
Yukino stared at Natsuyu for a long moment, took a deep breath, and said:
“Your father was admirable.
To protect you, he was willing to compromise his principles and sacrifice his life.
I believe that you, raised by such a man, must also possess an honorable character.”
“I’m joining this team.”
Yukino finally placed her delicate, beautiful palm on the very top of the stack.
Natsuyu looked at the four girls he had successfully united, apologizing silently in his heart.
‘Even though what I said wasn’t a lie…’
‘Natsuyu is definitely not the type of person who casually shares his tragic past just to fish for sympathy.’
‘My goal in doing this was slightly calculating: exploiting their rich empathy and guilt, combined with the intimacy gained from sharing a personal secret, to completely bind them into a team under my lead.’
‘Of course, even if my tactics were a bit manipulative, the result is for everyone’s survival.’
‘This was 100% the right move.’
‘In less than ten minutes since meeting, I’ve united four top-tier heroines by my side.’
‘This is the true power of a transmigrated university student!’
‘Social maneuvering, man-eating plants, cute heroines…’
Natsuyu grinned widely as he pulled his hand out from beneath Kiana’s palm first.
‘Only this white-haired ditz is so shameless, not caring at all about physical contact with a guy.’
‘Gentle girls like Sakuraba only dared to touch hands after seeing Kiana do it first.’
‘Wait…
Kushida was super bold too.
She literally held my hand earlier without a second thought.’
‘I swear that Cold Noodle Faction chick belongs at the exact same table as this white-haired airhead.’
Natsuyu spoke:
“Great.
From now on, we’re a team—and friends.”
“Now, let’s talk about my ability.”
The four girls realized it only now.
Oh right!
Natsuyu hasn’t explained his ability yet!
Because the previous topic was so heavy and they immediately transitioned into team-building, Natsuyu had completely led them by the nose, making them almost forget that Natsuyu’s ability introduction was the core point. Find the original chapter at NovelPing.
Natsuyu asked thoughtfully:
“Have any of you played Minecraft before?”
Without hiding everything, Natsuyu selectively revealed his ability details to them.
Right now, surviving in an unknown alien wilderness required unity—it was not the time to hide basic utilities.
Besides, Minecraft was so globally famous that the moment Natsuyu pulled out a [Crafting Table] or a [Wooden Pickaxe], the girls would recognize it anyway, so hiding the theme was useless.
If he hid it and they found out later, it would risk breaking their hard-earned trust.
Revealing it now actually deepened their trust in him.
Hiding the leveling system and his knowledge of their game lore was enough.
As long as he displayed enough competence to comfortably act as the group leader, that was what mattered.
“Playing the fool to catch the tiger” was great, but pretending to be a complete useless idiot when you were strong was just brainless.
While praising his own IQ, Natsuyu was suddenly stunned by their responses.
Yukino shook her head slightly:
“I have never played MC.
I have heard of it, but I prefer reading literature in my spare time rather than playing video games.”
Emma said quietly:
“I’ve never played this game either…”
Kiana blinks her big blue eyes:
“What’s that?
This Young Lady has never even heard of it!”
“Hah?!”
Natsuyu dropped his jaw, unable to believe his ears.
‘Is there really any teenager alive who has NEVER played Minecraft?!’
‘Did you guys even have a childhood at all?!’
‘No wonder you guys are all so miserable!
People who haven’t played Minecraft are destined for a tragic life!’
(Points finger internally)
Natsuyu was completely rendered speechless.
Finding one person who had never played MC was rare, but he managed to group up with THREE at once!
What sin had he committed to deserve this?!
Fortunately, Kushida smiled sweetly:
“Natsuyu-kun, I’ve played it with my friends before!
It’s a super popular game internationally!”
Natsuyu nodded in immense relief, giving Kushida an approving look.
Finally, a normal human being!
(Well, maybe not entirely normal, but still).
Natsuyu sighed internally and began his explanation:
“My ability is directly tied to MC logic.
As long as certain conditions are met, I can manifest mechanics from the game—even if those mechanics violate the fundamental laws of physics in the real world.”
“For example?
Could you elaborate on this ability in detail?”
Before Natsuyu could answer, Kushida raised her hand excitedly:
“For example, crafting weapons and armor out of Iron or even Diamonds!
Right, Natsuyu-kun?”
Kushida looked at him expectantly.
Natsuyu:
“Exactly.
But I haven’t unlocked those tier recipes yet.
Once I construct a Wooden [Crafting Table], I’ll be able to craft basic survival tools.”
Kiana scratched her cheek, suddenly looking enlightened:
“Ohhh!
Now I get it!”
(In reality, she didn’t understand at all—she just thought it sounded super complicated and cool).
Emma said:
“Natsuyu-kun’s ability can grow!
We should create the right conditions for him and help him develop his crafting!”
Emma didn’t fully grasp MC logic either, but she said this instinctively because she wanted Natsuyu to receive special care in return for protecting her earlier.
Yukino crossed her arms, looking at Natsuyu:
“I don’t think he lacks combat utility at all.”
“His ability is extraordinarily valuable.
I agree with Sakuraba-san.”
“From what I know, MC is a survival and base-building game.
In an uninhabited wilderness, having a partner who commands survival and crafting logic is infinitely more important than just having a pure brawler.
Natsuyu-kun’s value far exceeds an ordinary fighter.”
‘Yukino, so you DO know how to speak nicely when you want to~’
Natsuyu was praised so thoroughly by the girls that he almost burst out laughing.
Kushida smiled brightly:
“More than that!
Natsuyu-kun’s ability is basically the strongest one among us!
Ultimate logistics support!
As long as we help Natsuyu-kun find Diamonds, we won’t have to fear any monsters at all!”
Yukino asked calmly:
“How do you propose we find diamonds in an unexplored wilderness?”
Kushida:
“Ah…
then Iron is fine too!”
Yukino:
“Do you possess the geological knowledge to locate iron ore deposits?”
Kushida:
“…Stone works too.”