Chapter 24

"Bakura?!" Yugi and his friends were surprised to see the boy emerge from the forest.

"Who is he?" Now that she knew it wasn't a wild animal, Hoshino was no longer as scared.

"He's a classmate from our school," Anzu explained to Hoshino, who was still in her arms.

"I heard familiar voices, so I slowly made my way over." Bakura smiled. "It really is you guys; I'm glad I wasn't mistaken."

Yugi noticed that Bakura wasn't wearing a Duelist Glove. "Bakura, did you sneak in here too?"

"Uh, yes…" Bakura looked away, as if hiding something.

"So you're here to cheer Yugi on!" The ever-oblivious Jounouchi slung an arm around Bakura's shoulder.

"The more friends supporting us, the better!" Honda was also delighted.

"So, Bakura, do you have any food?" Hoshino, not knowing Bakura well but always straightforward, asked the most important question.

Everyone suddenly went quiet, their eyes fixated on Bakura.

"Well, food, um…" Nervously, Bakura reached into his backpack, feeling like he might be eaten if he didn't produce any food.

"Ah, here it is!" After some rummaging, Bakura pulled out several packets of instant curry.

"My goodness!" Hoshino's eyes widened. She had expected maybe some chocolate bars at best, but Bakura had brought out curry packets. The smaller the expectation, the greater the surprise.

"Is this guy an angel?" Hoshino thought, wiping the drool from her mouth as she looked at Bakura, who was scratching his head shyly from all the praise.

"But we only have instant curry. We don't have a pot or fire to cook it," Anzu pointed out, pouring cold water on Hoshino's excitement.

"Right, fire is a pressing issue. It's getting darker, and if we don't make a fire, we won't be able to see anything." Honda looked at the setting sun with concern.

They were back to the original problem: without fire, spending the night in the forest would be too dangerous.

"Um…"

"I remember how Yuta made a fire! Let me try!" Jounouchi, recalling Yuta fire-making technique from that morning, found two dry sticks and started rubbing them together vigorously.

After a while, the friction caused the sticks to emit white smoke.

"We've got it! Quick, add dry grass!" Jounouchi called excitedly to Honda.

"On it!" Honda quickly covered the smoking sticks with dry grass.

But there was no flame, only smoke that slowly dissipated without igniting the grass.

"It's no use. Starting a fire in the wild is too difficult for amateurs like us." Exhausted, Jounouchi collapsed to the ground.

"Are we really going to spend the night in this dark forest?" The sun had fully set, leaving the world in darkness.

"Um…" Bakura timidly interrupted their discussion.

"I have a lighter and a pot too."

.....

"Fire brings warmth, life, and hope to humanity. It lights up the darkness, drives away the cold, and…cooks our food!"

"What are you mumbling about, Hoshino?" Anzu asked, watching Hoshino mutter to herself by the fire.

Staring at the flickering flames, Hoshino reflected on the day's events. It felt like a dream. If she fell asleep and woke up in her familiar room, she wouldn't be surprised.

"No, no, I decided to be a winner in this world. How can I get depressed after just one day?" Hoshino slapped her face lightly.

Regaining her spirit, Hoshino smiled at Anzu. "Anzu, when will the curry be ready? I'm so hungry."

Anzu chuckled, seeing Hoshino perk up a bit. "You glutton, the pot hasn't even started boiling yet. It'll be a while."

"Ah, I see. Good food always takes time." Stretching, Hoshino lay down on the grass.

Lying down, she took out her deck and started flipping through it.

<System alert: you have two unread messages.>

"Hmm? I haven't checked the system alerts because of everything that's been happening."

"Open unread messages."

<Unread 15 45 Message ①: Duelist assessment complete. Duelist: Industrial Illusions Impersonator, Level B. Due to using Seto Kaiba's deck, duel rewards increased: + Saint Quartz. Remaining Quartz: 60.>

"I have enough for two ten-pulls! This is amazing!" Hoshino looked at her remaining quartz with excitement, grinning widely.

Anzu glanced at Hoshino, who was lying on the ground grinning, and hurried her curry stirring.

<Unread 5 Message ②:Only hours remaining for the limited-time banner [Saint Quartz Summon (Limited Banner) Fuyuki Select Heroic Spirit Recommended Summon].>

"The banner is ending so soon? Each banner only lasts about a day." Hoshino thought as she read the system message.

"Open the card shop."

<Since you have an SSR exclusive summon ticket, redirecting to banner.>

"SSR exclusive banner?" Hoshino opened the interface curiously. She had never heard of an SSR exclusive banner in all her years playing FGO.

"Whoa!" She exclaimed at the dazzling display. "This, this…"

"This banner is full of SSRs, from Artoria to Ozymandias, including all the limited SSRs!" Hoshino laughed more maniacally while lying on the ground.

"And the best part is, this banner only has SSRs! This isn't a banner, it's paradise!"

With a trembling hand, Hoshino pressed the summon button.

<Do you want to use one SSR exclusive summon ticket?>

"Yes!"

Rainbow light burst forth! Hoshino knew an SSR was coming.

"My first SSR, who will it be? I'm so excited, my heart is racing." Clutching her chest, Hoshino tried to keep calm.

"I don't have any SSRs, so I can't lose with whoever comes! Come on!"

The rainbow light faded, revealing Hoshino's first SSR in this world.

"Yay~ I've arrived! Shinsengumi's First Unit Captain, Okita Souji! Master. My physical condition is as good as ever… cough (blood spurt)!?"