— — — — — —
Little Garden — the base of the community "No Name."
Ryo Yagami followed behind a young girl wearing a maid outfit, with long bunny ears on her head and a gentle, innocent look on her face.
Her name was Black Rabbit. She was Ryo's senior — in fact, the only senior left.
As a newbie who'd just joined the "No Name" community, Ryo stayed silent, quietly trailing after her.
Just like something out of a cliché novel.
And yeah, as expected, Ryo was the cliché—yet another transmigrator. He hadn't been born in Little Garden; he was thrown into it.
Luckily, in his previous life, he had watched 'Problem Children Are Coming From Another World, Aren't They?'
Granted, most of what he knew came from fanfics rather than the actual show, but he had a decent idea of what kind of world this was.
And honestly? He kinda wished he didn't.
He was thrown into this god-and-demon-infested world five months ago, quite literally falling from the sky — and the landing was rough. Nearly died on impact.
Straight-up dropped into a coffin.
It was a high-ranking member of the Arcadia community who found him back then. Out of basic decency, they patched him up and gave him a place to stay.
That's how Ryo ended up recuperating at Arcadia's headquarters as an outsider.
But that peace didn't last.
Not long after, Arcadia — once a powerhouse community dominating the lower levels of Little Garden — completely collapsed overnight. Gods, demons, monsters… it all came crashing down.
Caught in the crossfire, Ryo nearly died a second time.
And even though he barely clung to life, it took another two months of struggling before the remaining remnants of the community sold off part of its remaining assets and bought medicine to save him.
Five months since he arrived, and he'd already danced on death's edge twice.
If that doesn't tell you how dangerous Little Garden is, nothing will.
That brush with death woke Ryo up. He stopped coasting and started thinking about how to survive.
And so, he chose to join the only place left that would take him: the battered remains of Arcadia — now known as "No Name."
The reason was simple.
In Little Garden, everyone belongs to a community. It's like a built-in part of life here. And Ryo? No powers, no backing, no community. A total outlier.
In a world where even the weakest community wouldn't touch a nobody like him, he had only one connection — Black Rabbit.
She was the only one willing to take him in. And No Name was the only place that'd accept him without question.
So yeah, it was a choice born of necessity. But also… a bit of gratitude. She did save his life.
Ryo knew enough about the original anime to realize: No Name was the protagonist's team.
Sure, it'd take two more years for the actual main characters to show up and make it big, but even now? This was a golden opportunity waiting to happen.
So what if he had to cling to their coattails a little? Pride doesn't mean much when you're dead.
In a brutal world like this, Ryo wasn't about to throw away his only shot.
Luckily, Black Rabbit seemed to care so much about him — she had even brought him here tonight to unlock a relic left behind by the old community. Something that could grant Ryo real power.
A Gift — one of the divine abilities bestowed by Little Garden itself.
— — —
In front of a large door in the basement
Black Rabbit lit an oil lamp and stepped inside.
Rows of bookshelves filled the room, most buried under thick layers of dust — though some had clearly been cleaned recently.
Ryo recognized the work. Those tidy shelves? All Black Rabbit's effort from countless nights spent working overtime.
They moved deeper in, arriving at a circular space in the middle of the underground library. The floor here was etched with magical runes.
Stopping at the center, Black Rabbit turned to him with a cheerful smile.
"You know, Ryo, you're the only outsider we've had in the last ten years."
Ryo nodded. He knew most communities rarely recruited from outside. Unless you were ridiculously strong or closely connected with a senior member, you just didn't get in.
He was neither of those. Only Arcadia's ruins and Black Rabbit's kindness brought him this far.
"Anyway…" she continued. "According to our community's rules, new members get a welcome gift. You can choose one usable Gift from the treasure vault Lady Canaria left behind."
She stepped into the center of the magic circle and spun around to face him, smiling brightly.
"You have no idea, Ryo! Lady Canaria— our former strategist — was the smartest person in all of Little Garden! Her Gifts were top-tier relics!"
But Ryo wasn't buying it.
Come on. The community was in shambles. Most members were dead or missing. What relics could possibly be left?
If there was anything of value, Ryo figured Black Rabbit had already sold it off just to keep things running.
What was left were probably Gifts with ridiculous conditions — the kind even Arcadia didn't bother using back when they were strong.
Still, beggars can't be choosers.
So he put on his best excited face. "You mean… a relic from the legendary Lady Canaria? One strong enough to beat gods and demons? You're saying I can really use something like that?"
"Of course!" Black Rabbit grinned. "You're one of us now!"
Her whole face lit up like they were best friends just because he complimented Canaria.
Ryo played along, showing just the right amount of awe.
Then, with a smile, Black Rabbit reached into her… well, rather ample chest area… and pulled out a white card.
It floated up and with a soft pop, transformed into a dark, diamond-shaped crystal.
Hummmmm~
The moment it appeared, the air vibrated. Ryo could swear he heard faint crackling flames around them.
He stared at the crystal, eyes wide.
Black Rabbit looked at him, full of hope, and said:
"This is what Lady Canaria left behind: a [Divinity]!"
Ryo sucked in a sharp breath. "A Divinity?! Seriously?!"
Divinity: a gift that strengthens other gifts to the highest rank. Those with divinity would be considered god-like — enhancing the body, the soul, the very being of the holder.
In Little Garden, these things were so rare and powerful that wars could break out over them. Some wars were strong enough to destroy entire planets.
Even Black Rabbit looked a little nervous now, biting her lip as she met his gaze.
" Ryo… do you want to accept this Gift?"
There's no way our community had a Divinity left.
That was Ryo's real thought, hidden under his excited expression.
Most likely, Black Rabbit had sold off whatever was left of Arcadia's relics to trade for this single item.
And the only person Ryo could imagine doing that kind of lopsided trade... was her.
The astral being of sun and white night — Shiroyasha.
She was Canaria's best friend. After Arcadia fell, she was the only divine being who even tried to help.
So odds were, Black Rabbit had gone to Shiroyasha with nothing but leftover junk and begged for this Divinity — just to give it to him.
In a way, Ryo now owed two huge favors:
One to Shiroyasha, for selling a Divinity at bargain price.
And one to Black Rabbit, for doing it all on his behalf.
There was no point getting sentimental now.
"Of course," Ryo said, and reached out to touch the crystal.
In the soft glow of the basement, the Divinity flared to life.
It merged with his soul, syncing with the Gift given to him by Little Garden when he first arrived.
In that moment, Ryo's body was fully restored. Power surged through him. He'd been reborn — his limits pushed to the peak of human capability.
Then, out of nowhere, a chime echoed in his mind.
A screen flickered in front of his eyes:
[New question from user "Kanae-Is-So-Cute"]
〚"How do you deal with a kid who doesn't even know how to eat properly?"〛
Ryo blinked.
Wait. Isn't this… a Q&A forum from my old life?
His instincts kicked in, and he typed without thinking:
〚"I'm in Little Garden. Just became a god. Gonna answer anonymously since the question involves people I may know…"〛
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