Miya woke up at the crack of dawn, feeling a deep sense of unease. A voice inside her whispered that someone had set their sights on the joint efforts of her and Raphiel. Yet, at the same time, she had a feeling that things would turn out well.
Miya glanced at Raphiel, who was sleeping peacefully. Suddenly, Raphiel opened his eyes and said, "Please come to the Void immediately; I need your help." Acting on his words, Miya entered the Void.
Inside, there were three chairs and a table. Raphiel and Miya looked at the boy sitting across from them. The boy bore an uncanny resemblance to Raphiel. Miya turned to Raphiel and asked, "When did we have a child?"
Hearing her words, both the boy and Raphiel reacted almost identically, the only difference being that Raphiel seemed slightly more shocked. The boy smiled at Miya and said, "I heard you're skilled in trade, Miss Miya. I hope you can help us find a middle ground."
"What kind of offer have you brought here?"
The boy replied, "First, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Let, and I live on another continent. I've come to propose a suitable agreement."
Miya's eyes lit up with interest, eager to hear Let's proposal. Let continued, "Raphiel and I are connected. I suggest we use this bond as a channel to trade various items. This will enable Void players and users of my Adventurer Card to engage in commerce. It will be mutually beneficial for both sides."
Miya found no reason to reject an agreement that would benefit both parties. Her instincts also urged her to trust the boy before her. With both sides in agreement, the decision was made.
Let mentioned that he had responsibilities to attend to on the other side and would return in a few days before departing.
After he left, Miya realized she had forgotten to ask why he and Raphiel shared a bond. Deep down, she knew the reason but didn't want to believe it.
---
The unconscious body of Let, lying in a forest, opened its eyes. He pulled a black Adventurer Card out of his Dimensional Pocket and tapped the area where the photo was displayed with his finger.
/-----Let (Demigod)
Exp: 3
Strength: 42
Speed: 36
Intelligence: 9
Dexterity: 12
• Abilities:
[Hibernate], [Race Mimicry]
[Inventory] [Community] [Market] [Avatar]
-----/
Let had designed the Adventurer Card to align with this continent's power system, which is why his three core abilities weren't visible here. Adventurers' strength could be evaluated using various tools, and the same applied to demigods.
When adventurers leveled up, they could gain abilities, typically based on copying one of the abilities of the demigod who blessed them. Demigods, on the other hand, gained abilities when their actions were approved by the world's will.
To gain an ability from the world's will, one first needed to possess the relevant object or concept. Once it became an ability, its potential grew dramatically.
For example, the crypto-sleep Let had previously developed transformed into the ability [Hibernate]. This ability had some additional features but also imposed various restrictions. Since owning it didn't hinder normal crypto-sleep, it wasn't a limitation. Let wanted to incorporate some features of this ability into regular crypto-sleep, but it was highly dangerous.
He was already a day's travel from the capital. Along the way, he had spent each day in simulation, trying to enhance his Adventurer Card. Occasionally, he worked on abilities like Hibernate.
Let used today's simulation to determine whether he would face any problems in the capital. He didn't want any issues in this regard.
[Day 1: You see the long line at the entrance to the capital. As a demigod, you bypass the line and enter the city directly; the guards do not stop you. You then suppress your divine power, thinking it will draw less attention, and stay at an inn called Starlight.]
[Day 2: Another demigod mistakes you for a soulless monster but quickly realizes the truth. You tell this demigod about your self-developed Adventurer Card, and their eyes light up with interest.]
[Day 3: The fame of the Adventurer Card spreads throughout the capital, and no adventurer remains unaware of you.]
[Day 4: Another demigod, believing the Adventurer Card to be a world-granted ability, attacks you for it. At the time, you were unaware that it was possible to steal another demigod's soul and their abilities. Despite hiding your soul in the Dimensional Pocket, the other demigod, being space-time-oriented, managed to overcome this barrier with some effort. You were killed without resistance, but in the moment of death, you understood where you went wrong.]
[Please choose your reward:]
1- A spark of inspiration gained while dying
2- A small amount of divine energy
"This time, I choose option 1."
Let realized what he had overlooked. The Dimensional Pocket was too stable. To a space-time-oriented demigod, it felt like home. Solving this problem was simple; all he needed to do was introduce a bit of chaos—preferably akin to quantum physics, where all Dimensional Pocket spaces existed everywhere simultaneously.
Let sensed that a quantum physics-based security measure would be daunting even for a god. Perfecting it would likely be even more challenging than the avatar feature, which had taken him nearly 15,000 days to develop.
Since this was a long-term project, it wouldn't alter his current plans. For now, he wouldn't rush to publicize the Adventurer Card, as it was too early. He didn't want to leave any clues that could lead to his real-world demise.
Let saw the long line at the capital's entrance. Although he didn't have to wait, he chose to join the line anyway. Those who noticed him couldn't understand why he made this choice but didn't disturb him.
Everyone believed Let was an immature demigod, with his appearance as a 10-year-old boy reinforcing this view. They didn't realize he could alter his appearance at will and was deliberately fostering the illusion that his ignorance stemmed from his age.
Let was far from weak; he simply acted recklessly in simulations because he wasn't afraid of dying there. With his current powers, surviving for a long time in the real world was far from impossible.
Let dreamed of founding a clan and blessing his own adventurers. However, his abilities had incredible potential. If the existence of such abilities became known, the events in the simulation could occur in reality for a different reason.
Let planned to acquire a few weaker abilities that he could grant to beginners, such as a water dragon or fireball skill purely for show. These abilities would originate from the Void.
The power system of Let's continent wasn't as functional as Raphiel's, but Let planned to compensate for this weakness with the Adventurer Card. How much power adventurers could attain would depend entirely on their intelligence.