Even four-digit communities had failed to overcome this Gift Game.
And yet—
A newcomer who had only just arrived in Little Garden had cleared it.
When the allotted time finally ran out, a sharp cry pierced the sky. The celestial beast Uma let out a final shriek before dissolving into the horizon.
At the same time, the blazing sun that had nearly reached the earth vanished.
The suffocating heat disappeared with it.
From above, a sheet of parchment drifted down slowly through the air—official proof that this Gift Game had ended in Ren Kuroda's victory.
The instant the sun faded, the encroaching darkness receded like the tide.
Ren, however, was completely spent.
Earlier, the embodiment of "All the World's Evil" had entered his body. Though he had suppressed it, maintaining his Innate Boundary now required drawing directly from his own strength.
If the sun had lingered even one minute longer—
He would have collapsed from total exhaustion.
But somehow—
He had endured.
And even managed to cling to consciousness.
The moment the sun vanished, Black Rabbit and the others rushed over, faces pale with worry.
From a distance, the scene had been shocking enough.
But up close?
Seeing the scorched wasteland… the cracked, dried, and melted earth…
They finally understood.
The situation had been far more dangerous than they had imagined.
And when they saw Ren lying face-down on the ground in his current state—
The girls gasped, instinctively covering their mouths and eyes.
When he had faced the sun directly, even his skin had been burned away in an instant.
His clothes, naturally, hadn't survived either.
Which left Ren in an extremely awkward position—sprawled flat on his stomach.
He didn't dare roll over.
Because if he did, certain… anatomical details might traumatize the young ladies present.
Unlike the blushing, flustered girls, however—
White Yaksha, the white-haired loli who had seen far grander spectacles, examined Ren's body with open curiosity.
It wasn't that she was a pervert.
She was female.
And liked females.
The reason she stared so intently was simple—
She was studying him.
Because the charred flesh that had been burned black by solar heat was regenerating before her eyes.
New skin continuously replaced the dead, cracked layers.
Even the worst carbonized wounds were knitting together rapidly, fresh tissue forming at astonishing speed.
Fortunately, Ren wasn't left exposed for long.
White Yaksha clapped her hands lightly.
A new set of clothing materialized on his body.
Although her sense of fashion was… questionable at best, it was infinitely preferable to remaining completely naked.
With the Gift Game concluded—
It was time for rewards.
White Yaksha's "Simple" difficulty had been cleared by Kasukabe Yō.
Her "Hard" difficulty had been conquered by Ren Kuroda.
And now came the prize distribution.
Black Rabbit was visibly more excited than any of them.
Knowing White Yaksha's personality, she doubted the rewards would be stingy.
More than that—
Ren and the others had only just joined No Name, and already they had cleared one of White Yaksha's Gift Games.
White Yaksha was the Floor Master of the East District—and the strongest among the four lower-level Floor Masters.
If Ren could conquer her high-difficulty Gift Game…
Didn't that mean six-digit and seven-digit Gift Games would pose no challenge at all?
"First," White Yaksha announced, snapping her folding fan shut and tapping it lightly against her palm, "the reward for clearing the Gift Game 'Griffin's Bridle.'"
A shimmer of light appeared in the air.
In front of Ren, Izayoi, Yō, and Asuka—
Cards materialized, glowing faintly.
"Gift Cards? As expected of Lady White Yaksha—so generous!" Black Rabbit exclaimed.
She pulled out a similar card from her own chest and eagerly began explaining.
"A Gift Card is used to display and store the Gifts one possesses. Since these are high-grade items, they contain internal storage space. In Little Garden, all things can become Gifts—so this card essentially functions as a portable dimensional storage."
Given No Name's dire financial situation, Black Rabbit had originally intended to bring Ren and the others to Thousand Eyes to have their Gifts appraised.
But now, that extra step could be skipped.
Gift Cards also possessed appraisal functionality—
And the results were determined by the omniscient and omnipotent god Laplace.
There were virtually no errors.
A Gift Card purchased at Thousand Eyes cost one Thousand Eyes gold coin.
And that was no small amount.
As the largest commercial alliance in Little Garden, Thousand Eyes held immense influence not only in the lower levels, but in the upper tiers as well.
Their twin-goddess gold coin was effectively hard currency throughout Little Garden.
A single coin was enough to cover No Name's monthly expenses.
Hearing Black Rabbit's enthusiastic explanation, the group examined their cards with renewed interest.
However—
When they saw the names displayed on them—
Confusion replaced excitement.
Because the Gift Cards only displayed the name of the Gift.
Not its actual abilities.
On Yō's card appeared the name:
"Life Catalog."
On Asuka's card:
"Authority of Radiance."
Asuka frowned.
"Laplace could've picked a better name, honestly."
At that, Izayoi snorted.
"Well then, what does mine make me? Some kind of rare species?"
Everyone turned toward him.
Izayoi casually held up his Gift Card.
Displayed upon it were the words:
"Unknown."
"…I was honestly looking forward to this after hearing Black Rabbit hype it up so much," Izayoi sighed. "Looks like not only high tech, but even magic can't be trusted sometimes."
"That's impossible!" Black Rabbit protested immediately. "Laplace is omniscient and omnipotent! There shouldn't be any mistakes! I've never encountered this situation before… Could it be that your Gift has never been recorded in Little Garden?"
Both she and White Yaksha wore expressions of disbelief.
The idea that Laplace could fail was almost inconceivable.
Ren, now sitting up while adjusting his freshly conjured clothes, glanced at Izayoi's card thoughtfully.
"It's probably not that Laplace failed," he said calmly.
"It's more likely that the appraisal itself was nullified when it tried to evaluate Izayoi."
He looked over at him.
"If I remember correctly…"
"You have the ability to shatter Gifts, don't you?"