— — — — — —
The Next Day—
Dressed in a formal announcer's uniform, Kurousagi spoke with impeccable diction:
"The Gift Game has now officially concluded."
"Number of participants who cleared the trial: zero."
"Number of participants who withdrew from the trial: over 3.19 million."
"Number of participants who passed by defeating trial challengers: 110,000."
"All results have been verified by the Little Garden Central System. If there are any objections, please contact the referee within three days…"
Around the plaza, every open-air café and second-floor shop was packed.
They were members of various communities who had come to watch Ryo's debut battle.
At an outdoor café table sat Mata, one of the Twelve Guardian Devas. A glass of kumquat lemonade rested in front of her.
Across from her sat another of the Twelve Guardians, Uesugi Kenshin.
Leaning sideways against the back of her chair, Kenshin watched the giant screen in the square and said in surprise:
"Zero people cleared it? Looks like the lower layers of Little Garden just gained another ridiculously difficult game."
"Oh please. That's because you don't know the trick behind it."
Mata took a sip through her straw and grinned slyly.
"Do you know what the final challenge of Ryo's Gift Game actually was?"
"What rumor did you eavesdrop on this time?" Kenshin asked with a helpless look.
"Hey, gathering intelligence isn't eavesdropping. Besides, down here in the lower levels, plenty of people are happy to hand me information themselves."
Mata rolled her eyes, though the teasing didn't stop her from sharing the secret.
"The final stage of Ryo's Gift Game was about sacrifice."
"The player who collected all the Gifts of the Shinigami system had to sacrifice themselves. Cut off both arms and legs, hollow out their organs, remove their eyes and ears, and become the human pillar supporting that overlapping world."
"In the Shinigami system, they apparently call that state the Soul King."
"I see…"
Kenshin nodded in realization. It also explained why the completion rate was zero and why no one walked away with a free, complete Gift inheritance.
"So Ryo deliberately set it up knowing those gods would never do something like that. Just to disgust them?"
Kenshin gave a wry smile.
"In a five-digit level trial like this, the ones who can reach the final stage are usually four-digit gods. And the ones in the lower layers tend to be the hedonistic crowd."
"If they had the resolve to mutilate themselves like that, they wouldn't be clinging to the lower layers of Little Garden, living comfortably and throwing their weight around."
"Exactly. If it were the truly determined types, this trick wouldn't work. But the ones who joined this game were mostly here to watch Shiroyasha make a fool of herself."
Mata snorted and shook her head.
In the broad sense, the "gods" of Little Garden referred to all beings recognized as divine by the Central System.
But in reality, among the gods themselves, only the great figures in the upper layers were truly considered part of the divine ranks.
Those with the determination, intellect, and courage to challenge themselves had long since gone to there.
After all, even in the upper three-digit layer, not everyone there was a three-digit existence. Some four- and five-digit subordinate gods lived there too.
Five digits was the minimum level required to survive in the upper layers. Any lower and the dense energy environment alone would overwhelm them. Which was why the gods remaining in the lower layers were, aside from a small number of strong ones, mostly pleasure-seekers.
Ask them to sacrifice themselves?
They'd probably kill the person suggesting it first.
"A bunch of parasites," Kenshin muttered, shaking her head. As a combat-oriented deity, she had never had much patience for those freeloaders.
"Relax. They've already had a miserable time this round."
Mata's lips curled upward, barely holding back laughter.
"They came here expecting a show. Instead, they barely saw anything. Athena and Shiroyasha each appeared once, then vanished."
"And as for the Gift Game, Ryo took their entry fees for free and disgusted them on top of it. That kid's got guts. Aren't you worried the lower-level gods will isolate him?"
"Isolate him? They'll probably start flattering him instead."
Kenshin tilted her head slightly toward the next table. A quiet argument there had caught her attention.
"Did you hear? While we were in the overlapping world doing the Gift Game, that newcomer actually attacked Mount Olympus."
"You mean Mount Olympus? The one ruled by the Twelve Olympian Gods?"
"Is there a second Mount Olympus in Little Garden?"
"Wait… seriously? That rookie actually went there? Just because Lord Hermes provoked him earlier?"
"Went there? He even fought the King of Gods, Zeus."
"No way! I saw Yagami earlier this morning. He looked perfectly fine. If he fought Zeus, how could he still be alive?"
"You're behind on the news. They only exchanged a few moves, but Ryo Yagami used poison and a sneak attack. Somehow he managed to win a single move against Zeus."
"What?! He actually won?! Didn't he just debut today?"
"What's so impressive about that? It was a sneak attack, and he used poison. Winning like that isn't surprising."
The god who said this immediately noticed something was wrong.
Everyone was staring at him like he was an idiot.
Why were they so excited about someone who only beat Zeus with tricks?
A burly man who had been listening nearby rolled up his sleeves.
"Why don't you try sneak-attacking Zeus and show us how it's done? You think Zeus is someone like you can ambush?"
...
..
"See? Rumors spread fast," Kenshin said from her chair, crossing her legs.
"Well, when it's about someone stepping on Zeus's head to climb higher, that's bound to travel."
Mata shook her head and looked toward the giant screen in the distance.
"Compared to that, the real trouble is the people who want to step on Ryo to make a name for themselves."
Even if others believed Ryo had only beaten Zeus through trickery, the fact remained that he had defeated Zeus.
That title alone was enough.
Which meant that if someone defeated Ryo, they could claim they had indirectly beaten Zeus too, climbing the ladder using both of their reputations.
There weren't many fools thinking that way. But there weren't exactly few either.
"Those people?"
Kenshin frowned in clear displeasure, "They're just cowards. If—"
But before she could finish speaking—
The blazing midday sky suddenly flashed with brilliant golden light.
A colossal golden buddha, over a hundred meters tall, appeared in the air.
With one hand raised in a flower-holding gesture and a serene smile on its face, it looked down upon the city below.
"Friend Ryo… would you grant this monk an audience?"
The voice rumbled like thunder, exploding in the ears of everyone in the City.
Many people collapsed to the ground in pain, their faces twisted as cries erupted across the plaza.
Looking up at the massive golden buddha, Kenshin let out a quiet sigh.
"Just like Indra predicted."
"So they've finally arrived."
.
.
.