There are other people out there. Some, if possibly not all of them, propose a direct threat to Tanuki. What's worse, it seems like not every one of them started out at the same time and some people have already developed their own little worlds.
"My main focus was surviving the waves, but it seems like that's not enough. If I accidentally manage to stumble upon another human being, I can't allow them to find out I'm the owner of a Gaia Core. Perhaps they'll try killing me to take over my world or steal my trophies.…"
The Professor's words came to his mind. His revelation of Tanuki's godhood felt like a bad joke at first, but now he could finally feel the danger it exposed to his being.
If defeating gods bestows bonuses upon their bester, then who's to say there's no bonus for defeating Tanuki?
While he was thinking of this, he climbed up the hill to observe his surroundings. When he looked around, he couldn't see anything but the bright sky. There was nothing, not even a tiny black spot in the distance. It felt like the world around him was no more than just an empty blue.
Still, if he has learned anything in this world, it's that you shouldn't trust your eyes.
"The next time we meet the Professor, I'll ask him if he knows anything about other humans. But is that really a good idea? I'm still suspicious of him. There's no telling what his end goal might be."
Only time could tell what the Professor had in store for him. Until then, the best thing he could do is befriend one of the gods. And what better way for that than completing a few missions…
– – –
"Maduka, what do you think about orthogonal shapes?"
"Why?"
"Apparently there's a god for that."
"Hm… can Maduka eat dat?"
"I don't think so."
"Then it's stupid! Maduka wants food!"
"Jeez, you…" Tanuki scrolled further down the catalog. "Let's see, is there a God of Food?"
While searching for the right god, he noticed something strange. One of the gods was a dwarf octopus. It was so tiny compared to the other gods, that even its profile picture was mostly empty beside the small animal in the middle.
What surprised Tanuki even more was what kind of deity it was.
[ Pam, the Sentient Gingerbread ]
Tanuki would've scrolled past her, were it not for her unique race and title. It being a dwarf octopus was already strange enough, but her title just didn't make any sense.
"Sentient Gingerbread? Like the Christmas cookie? But it's just a small octopus!"
Tanuki couldn't help his disbelief. He had to get a better look at the god.
[ Pam, the Sentient Gingerbread ]
[ Type: Magic ]
[ Level: 0 ]
"A level zero god? Do the gods have their own ranking system?" Tanuki asked himself.
At that moment, something incredible happened. The octopus in the picture began to move.
"Ah? What just happened? Did somebody choose me? Was I finally chosen?! Oh jolly! What a wonderful event!"
Despite being an animal, and flapping her little legs around like a real octopus, she spoke with the voice of a sweet elderly woman. Her brown color and small dark spots made her appear like a baked cookie, but the sharp yellow in her eyes was clearly alive.
Tanuki was bewildered by the little thing. He leaned closer to get a better look at it, to which the octopus responded with a friendly greeting.
"Good day to you, young gentleman! May I ask your name?"
"Uh… It's Hachiro." Tanuki stumbled with his words. "Can you hear me?"
"Of course! Are you new to accepting missions from gods? Ah, should I lend you a hand? Or better, a tentacle? Hehe!"
Tanuki wasn't expecting the octopus to be so friendly towards him. He knew it was better to stay suspicious of the god, but he couldn't sense any kind of malice coming from this one.
She was just a cute little octopus, it seemed.
"I'd greatly appreciate your help." Tanuki responded.
At that moment, Pam swam closer to her name. It was as if she could see the Missions screen, as if only a thin piece of glass was separating her from touching the letters on Gaia Core's interface.
"Here you can see my name. I'm Pam, the Sentient Gingerbread! Nice to meet you, young Hachiro!"
"Nice to meet you too. May I ask what exactly makes you a gingerbread?"
He asked that with little hope of getting an answer. However, the octopus was way more open about her secrets than Tanuki was expecting.