The next morning, the children of No Na woke from their sleep buzzing with excitent.
They had stayed up past midnight, working in secret, and had finally managed to raise the water level in their pool—surpassing even Ren Kuroda's.
When they went to bed, they could barely contain themselves. They were already imagining the stunned looks on everyone's faces when the results were revealed.
What they didn't know was that neither Ren nor Black Rabbit had been fooled for even a second. In fact, Lily and the others hadn't managed to hide their little sche from anyone.
And yet, when the Gift Ga ended and the Little Garden central authority announced their victory, everyone still played along—putting on exaggerated expressions of shock and disbelief.
The children's faces lit up with overwhelming satisfaction.
For the first ti, they had won sothing with their own hands.
And so, Ren Kuroda officially joined No Na as a full mber.
As his first gift after joining, Ren decided to solve a long-standing problem that had plagued the community for years—their water shortage.
Quite a few of Wiz's side-effect-laden magical tools were still stored in Ren's system space. Originally, he had planned to use one of those artifacts to store massive quantities of water and transport it back to No Na.
No one expected what happened next.
Ren's large-scale water extraction apparently angered a gigantic white serpent that dwelled near the source.
The creature proclaid itself a "Water God" and, without further explanation, imdiately initiated a Gift Ga against him.
When Ren first heard it call itself a god, he was cautious.
But once they actually began fighting, he realized that while the serpent's tone was dripping with divine arrogance, its strength… was another story.
If ranked by Little Garden's standards, the serpent barely qualified as a top-tier Six-Digit existence.
And it dared call itself a god?
There was no suspense to the outco.
After a brutal and thoroughly one-sided beating, the white serpent lay dazed and disoriented, and Ren erged victorious. As a reward for clearing the Gift Ga, he obtained a "Water Tree Sapling."
Once planted, the Water Tree would produce an endless supply of fresh water.
It was exactly what No Na desperately needed.
As for the white serpent, sprawled helplessly near the waterfall, it watched Ren's departing figure with terror gleaming in its reptilian eyes.
When had soone this outrageous appeared in the Outer Gate?
And more importantly—
Who in the world was this "Bai Suzhen" Ren kept shouting about while beating it senseless?
When Ren brought the Water Tree back to No Na, Black Rabbit and Jin were ecstatic.
Upon hearing that he had defeated the so-called Water God at the world's edge, they were equally stunned.
Because, technically speaking, the white serpent had indeed been a god.
Just… not the impressive kind.
As previously explained, in Little Garden, power itself was known as a "Gift." And any Gift could be traded—or even seized.
A divine spark—a godhead—was also a type of Gift.
If an individual obtained a godhead, they could ascend to godhood and gain enhanced strength.
The white serpent's godhead had been granted by the Eastern District's Floor Master—
Shiroyasha.
But a being like the serpent, who possessed only a godhead without any corresponding mythology or historical foundation, was strictly speaking a pseudo-god.
It lacked the legends, worship, and narrative weight that defined true deities.
Its power—and its presence—couldn't compare to authentic gods.
Still, the fact that Ren had just arrived in Little Garden and already defeated the Water God at the world's edge, bringing back the Water Tree Sapling as spoils of victory, was more than enough reason for celebration.
Fresh water was a vital resource.
Beyond daily survival, it could irrigate crops—or even be sold to generate inco for No Na.
"Damn it!" Izayoi clicked his tongue. "You went off and found soone that interesting without saying a word?"
He shot Ren an exaggerated glare.
"We joined the community first, and yet you're the one making the big contribution?"
"That's right," Asuka chid in, folding her arms. "You're technically the junior here, but sohow you're outperforming your so-called seniors."
Yō nodded with quiet indignation.
"Black Rabbit, aren't there any other Gift Gas around the Outer Gate? Letting Ren hog all the spotlight is just unfair."
The three problem children stared at Ren—currently surrounded by cheering kids thanks to the Water Tree Sapling—and voiced their collective dissatisfaction.
They loudly protested his "solo run," insisting that it was incredibly sly to have so much fun without inviting them along.
Black Rabbit gave an awkward smile.
"There haven't been any festivals or major events recently, so large-scale Gift Gas are unlikely…"
She clapped her hands gently.
"However, before participating in another Gift Ga, I'd like to take you all sowhere today—especially Ren."
The place she led the four of them to was the massive comrcial alliance community—
Thousand Eyes.
Though Thousand Eyes was a Four-Digit community, it maintained a branch in the Outer Gate. And that branch was exactly where they were headed.
The reason for the visit was simple.
Black Rabbit wanted to have their Gifts officially appraised.
Having just arrived in Little Garden, Izayoi, Asuka, Yō—and even Ren—only had a partial understanding of their own powers.
If they wanted precise evaluations, Thousand Eyes was the most authoritative place to go.
As the strongest community in the Eastern District, its assessnts were both accurate and respected.
And thanks to Black Rabbit's work connections, they even had a decent relationship with Thousand Eyes.
There might even be a discount.
When the group was led inside by a staff mber, Ren couldn't help but feel impressed.
The difference in status was obvious.
The interior décor was luxurious, and even this Outer Gate branch contained an extrely expensive teleportation array capable of transferring people to other districts in a short ti.
But just as Ren stepped further into the shop—
A streak of white shot toward them at blinding speed.
Before he could fully react, he saw Black Rabbit suddenly stagger—
And in her arms appeared a white-haired kimono-clad girl.
The girl looked no older than seven or eight.
She wore a black kimono, her shoulder-length white hair framing a cherubic face.
But the expression on that face…
Was anything but innocent.
"It's been a while, Black Rabbit," she purred, pressing herself shalessly against her. "You've developed quite nicely. Shall I conduct a thorough physical examination?"
Despite looking like a little girl, her tone and expression were that of a seasoned lecher.
Her small hands were engaged in movents that made Ren… cough.
That made him deeply indignant.
"W-Why is Lady Shiroyasha here in the Outer Gate…?"
Black Rabbit's face was bright red from the assault, but as a Moon Rabbit raised on the principle of self-sacrifice, refusing didn't even occur to her.
It wasn't until a Thousand Eyes employee coughed pointedly—reminding their leader that outsiders were present and that the dignity of an upper-tier community should be maintained—that the white-haired girl reluctantly withdrew.
She gracefully stepped down, sohow producing a folding fan from nowhere and covering half her face.
"I am Shiroyasha, an executive of Thousand Eyes and the Floor Master of the Eastern District."
Her golden eyes glead with amusent as she studied Ren and the others.
"To think No Na has gained new mbers after so long… and such interesting ones at that."
As she examined them, they examined her in return.
Especially Izayoi, who leaned closer to Ren and asked in a low voice:
"When that white-haired brat appeared just now… did you sense her presence?"
Ren paused before giving a reluctant nod.
"I sensed sothing for an instant," he admitted quietly. "But by the ti I reacted, she was already in Black Rabbit's arms."
In other words—
He had detected her, but not her movent.
If she had harbored malicious intent, they might not have even had the chance to react before being eliminated.
Ren felt a chill.
After effortlessly defeating the white serpent, he had begun to think that the so-called gods of Little Garden weren't all that impressive.
He had grown complacent.
And now, barely any ti had passed before a terrifyingly powerful loli had appeared to educate him.
Shiroyasha—the Eastern District's Floor Master.
Often referred to as the strongest current Floor Master.
Her na was one they heard frequently from Black Rabbit.
She had warned them repeatedly not to provoke Lady Shiroyasha.
But none of them expected "strong" to an this strong.
If she was rely an executive of a Four-Digit community…
Then what kind of monsters were Three-Digit—or even Two-Digit—communities hiding?
"No Na has finally gained new blood," Shiroyasha said with a playful smile. "And such lively little ones at that."
She suddenly turned to face them fully.
"How about we play a Gift Ga? If you can win against , I promise I won't be stingy with the rewards."
Black Rabbit stiffened instantly.
She wanted to object—
But it was already too late.
The four problem children had accepted before she could open her mouth.
Their opponent was Shiroyasha.
One of Little Garden's most infamous problem children.
And in Black Rabbit's eyes, Izayoi and the others were problem children too.
What would happen when problem children collided?
There was no telling.
If possible, Black Rabbit would have avoided this entirely.
But unfortunately, the four troubleso newcors were already grinning in anticipation.
Their opponent was the Star Spirit of the Sun and White Night—
A being of the highest order, even in a world where gods and Buddhas walked the streets.
And they had just agreed to challenge her.
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