"?"
Lilith blinked, a little confused.
Seeing William's name appear under the likes, he coughed twice, awkwardly covering his embarrassment.
"Um, my lord… as I just said, this game is indeed very difficult…"
Lilith didn't reply immediately. A faint smile tugged at her lips, a subtle, secret sense of satisfaction creeping in. She leaned back slightly, closing her eyes for a moment, and allowed her consciousness to immerse into the game.
Seconds later, she opened her eyes, now alight with curiosity. In mere moments, she, as a goddess, had experienced the entire game. Of course, she had deliberately suppressed her divine power to the level of a normal mortal; otherwise, even a wisp of her power would have obliterated the game entirely.
Yet even after curbing her strength, she had to admit—it was genuinely enjoyable.
The difficulty was extraordinarily high for ordinary people, and even the God of Courage himself had felt pressure facing Gundyr. The background music, vast and echoing with ancient majesty, paired with the towering giant rising from the seal, had stirred something primal within her. Even when confronting Gundyr's second stage—the human-like Guda—she had to fight him three times before finally defeating him. She stopped voluntarily when his health had only a single drop remaining.
After all, the game was designed for mortals, and even with divine suppression, it was still, technically, cheating.
Yet Lilith didn't care. What fascinated her most was that in the final battle, her understanding of the "Hero's" authority had increased. Even if only slightly, every incremental gain mattered.
Deities did not have a monopoly over their own authority. Lilith, though called the "Goddess of Heroes," controlled only 72% of the authority of heroes; the remaining 28% was shared among other gods of the same attribute. Her exploration authority was a mere 15%.
If another god demonstrated a better grasp of the way of heroes than she did, that authority would gradually shift, and a new "God of Heroes" could be born. The old gods, once surpassed, either became followers or faded into nothingness. Ancient deities often waged divine wars precisely to secure their positions.
Even Lilith, usually carefree, became thoughtful at this realization.
It seemed a visit to the Lord of Pleasure's divine kingdom might be necessary…
But first, there was a smaller matter to attend to.
"Don't move." A bag of oranges appeared in Lilith's hands, which she handed to William. "I picked these while exploring. I tried one—it was delicious. You can take them and share with the temple."
"Thank you, my lord." William carefully took the bag. Despite Lilith's playful demeanor, he could tell she genuinely remembered her believers and provided for them.
The delicate fragrance of the oranges intrigued him. "My lord, where did you find these?"
Lilith rested her chin on her hand, thinking. "Oh! Right. The temple of the God of Fruits. I went looking for him, but he wasn't there. On a table, I saw a box of these oranges. I figured he probably didn't want them anymore, so I took them."
Proudly, she placed her hands on her hips. "I was concerned you might not digest them well, so I ate two first. After confirming they were fine, I gave the rest to you."
William blinked, amazed. "And… he didn't want them?"
"What a waste! Luckily, I found them! Hey—why aren't you saying anything?"
She poked him, and William's face turned red and white in turns. Lilith gasped, "Oh my god!" and cast a quick, enhanced healing spell, fearing he might collapse.
William trembled slightly under the divine energy before letting out a long, weary sigh. He gazed at his goddess, his expression as if he had aged twenty years.
"Now I finally understand why the priest from the God of Fruits came by last month looking so frustrated…"
Lilith laughed lightly. "Haha, they like visiting other temples just like me! I'm heading back to the Lord of Pleasure's temple. Work hard—I believe in you. When you die, I'll set you up with a villa in the divine kingdom! A big one, with a garden, right on the golden edge of my core area!"
With that, she disappeared into a shimmering light, leaving William alone, helpless and flustered.
Lilith then activated her divine power, stepping into spacetime. This was the function of her "exploration" authority—allowing her to traverse time and space with precise control. Though similar abilities existed for speed-type powers like lightning or thunder, Lilith's mastery was more refined.
She entered a space tunnel, awash with countless colored wisps. These were the unique divine signatures of deities, each used to locate their respective divine kingdoms.
But even this was only surface-level. The God of Explorers, holding the deepest authority over exploration, needed only a fragment of a clue to reach any destination, past or future.
Yet five hundred years ago, even the God of Explorers mysteriously vanished during a time travel mission. If the Pantheon hadn't detected his presence and failed to appoint a new one, everyone might have assumed he was dead.
Even the supreme god lacked complete control over time and space.