Chapter 2

The Awakened, Lee Shin (2)

Lee Shin knew what the transparent window floating before his eyes was called.

A status window.

Something exclusive to Hunters.

I awakened.

He didn’t make a fuss or get excited.

He simply accepted it for what it was.

As far as Lee Shin knew, awakening occurred randomly among a portion of humanity. So there was nothing particularly strange about Lee Shin suddenly awakening out of nowhere.

Even the fact that he had been lying in bed moments ago only to suddenly find himself dropped into this wasteland made sense if it was the result of his awakening.

He had heard of awakened individuals with abilities like this.

Otherworld Explorers.

They were pioneers who crossed dimensions into other worlds, bringing back valuable information or obtaining precious items.

It was an extremely unique ability, but Lee Shin’s reaction remained as dry as ever.

He merely accepted the fact that he had come to another world.

“Joy, joy to the world, the Savior has co—cough! Cough, cough!”

The one making a fuss was actually the girl.

The tiny girl, Eve, who had been dancing and singing with her arms spread wide, suddenly began coughing painfully.

The status window had said earlier that she needed water.

Watching a small child suffer wasn’t particularly pleasant, so Lee Shin intended to do as he had been instructed.

But how?

「TIP: Through the skill [World Intervention], you can bring objects from reality into this world.」

Ding.

After reading the newly appeared status window, Lee Shin opened his own status window and examined it.

Sure enough, there were entries for things like his trait and skills.

But every single one of them seemed extraordinary.

His class was God.

His trait was Creator.

Even the names of his skills sounded absurdly grand in scale....

Of course, Lee Shin merely skimmed through them with the thought, So I have things like these.

“Cough! Cough, cough...”

How was he supposed to use a skill?

He wanted to give her water as quickly as possible.

Was he supposed to say the skill’s name out loud?

As Lee Shin pondered the question, another status window appeared.

「Would you like to bestow the [Half-Finished 2-Liter Bottle of Water] from your room?」

「An object imbued with your greatness may save this tiny world—or destroy the balance of this tiny world. Do you truly wish to bestow it?」

Lee Shin nodded without hesitation.

A flash of light immediately erupted, and a plastic bottle of water fell from the sky with a thud.

“Cough... Hah... Hah... A-A miracle.”

Eve’s eyes lit up, and her entire body trembled for a moment.

Eve was obviously tiny, but astonishingly, she was even shorter than the two-liter water bottle.

At a glance, she was only about half the height of the bottle.

Rather than a human, she was closer to the size of a mouse.

“Nnngh...”

Eve struggled to open the bottle, then began gulping down the water that poured from it.

After only a few mouthfuls, her sunken cheeks began filling out, and flesh started returning to her emaciated body.

Apparently, she only looked human.

“Kyaaa!”

The tiny Eve stretched with a radiant smile.

Her beaming expression was utterly adorable.

“God! Oh, God! Thank you for sending rain upon this parched land! Thanks to the rain bestowed upon me by God, this Eve has survived!”

Eve’s eyes sparkled as she spoke energetically.

Soon, a star-shaped pattern appeared within the tiny girl’s pupils.

And then—

「You have bestowed grace upon Eve, your first believer.」

「A connection has been established between you.」

「Eve has become an official believer.」

「Eve’s status has been revised.」

「First Believer of the Nameless God」

「Name: Eve」

「Class: Cleric」

「Believer Rank: Low」

「Soul Rank: Normal」

「Overall Assessment: Excited.」

Eve had officially become his believer.

Lee Shin wasn’t sure what exactly had changed, but seeing her grinning so happily left him quietly pleased.

Eve once again struggled with the bottle, carefully trying to screw the cap back on.

Lee Shin was about to tell her that she didn’t need to be so careful with it.

『Little one, that is a trivial thing to me. There is no need to treat it as a supreme treasure.』

But his words came out in a completely different manner than he had intended.

Even though he had spoken as though whispering, his voice boomed like thunder, reverberating across the entire wasteland.

“Hic!”

Startled, Eve hiccupped and looked up at Lee Shin with an expression that seemed to ask whether she had done something wrong.

He hadn’t meant to scare her.

I guess since I’m a god here, even the way I speak and sound changes?

How fascinating.

Perhaps Eve wasn’t even seeing Lee Shin’s real face.

Maybe what she saw was some majestic, awe-inspiring visage instead.

『I did not mean to rebuke you, so be at ease.』

Of course, Lee Shin didn’t particularly care what he looked or sounded like.

He had never been the type to concern himself with such things in the first place.

“Phew....”

Eve sighed in relief, revealing her rabbit-like front teeth before hopping happily in place.

Watching her, Lee Shin thought,

I’ve been bored lately since Bom entered the Academy. This worked out nicely.

It would have been even better if he had awakened some impressive ability that allowed him to enter the Academy and enjoy life there alongside Choi Bom, but he liked this in its own way.

She probably wasn’t much use for fighting monsters, but she was certainly small and cute.

It almost felt as though he had gotten a new pet.

Lee Shin had always loved animals.

Unlike people, who were difficult to deal with and would start avoiding him after a single mistake, animals always approached him with pure intentions.

And once they became attached to him, they never betrayed him.

For some reason, Lee Shin felt drawn to this tiny girl, who possessed the same kind of innocence as the animals he loved.

If this was what his awakening was going to be like, he welcomed it.

“God! Oh, God! May I ask you for one favor?”

Eve clasped her hands tightly together as she spoke.

“Please, just as you showed mercy to me, show mercy to the poor dwarves of this world as well! Sob!”

At that moment, Eve’s memories flashed before Lee Shin’s eyes like a video.

「Eve’s world was not originally a barren wasteland devoid of even a single blade of grass.

It was once a rich and fertile land, a peaceful world where many dwarves lived together in harmony.

But everything changed after the Rift opened.

The dwarves fiercely resisted the otherworldly invaders and monsters that crossed through the Rift, but in the end, they were defeated.

The invaders turned [A Small but Deadly World] into a colony and enslaved the skilled dwarves, forcing them to work for them.

Eve was one of those workshop slaves.

She had originally been a priestess who served the god of this world, but when the Rift opened and signs of destruction began to appear, the dwarves’ god clicked his tongue, abandoned his world, and fled.

The last priestess left behind in the abandoned world cried out endlessly for a god. She escaped from the workshop, climbed the highest mountain, and sought a new god.

A god who would never abandon the dwarves no matter what cruel trials befell them, no matter what happened.

The most merciful and kindest god in all dimensions....」

It was a pitiful story.

After watching the events that had led to the destruction of Eve’s world, Lee Shin rested a hand on his chin and thought.

Would our world end up like that too if we failed to stop the Rifts?

If so, Lee Shin would be quite sad.

Earth held many precious memories for him, as well as many people he cherished, and he wanted to continue living that life in the future.

Lee Shin pondered silently.

How was he supposed to help Eve?

Would it be enough to drive out all the invaders and rescue her people from the workshops?

「TIP: It is too soon!」

Beep!

The status window sounded a warning.

「TIP: The otherworldly invaders who destroyed Earth No. 444, [A Small but Deadly World], are far too powerful.」

「TIP: You possess potential greater than the universe itself, but you currently lack the power to confront those wicked beings.」

Lee Shin stared blankly at the status window.

Then what was he supposed to do from here?

「TIP: Raise your Divinity.」

「TIP: The more Divine Power a God possesses, the greater their influence becomes, allowing them to ascend into an even greater God.」

Divine Power?

「TIP: Each Low-Rank Believer generates 1 Divine Power per week.」

「TIP: Gather many believers and accumulate abundant Divine Power!」

「TIP: e(n·0-)9」

It probably meant he needed to take in more people like Eve.

Lee Shin had no reason to refuse.

The more cute ones there are, the better, right?

Having lots of puppies or kittens around was practically heaven.

He had only met Eve so far, but if everyone in this world treated him the way Eve did, it would be quite enjoyable.

She was small and cute, he could communicate with her, and she didn’t dislike him.

If anything, she had approached him first and seemed eager to become close to him.

Having never had a friend besides Choi Bom throughout his life, Lee Shin somehow felt as though he had discovered a place where he could make new friends.

It was exactly how he had felt as a child, just before entering school for the first time.

Deep down, Lee Shin hoped things would be different this time.

『I require more believers, my Eve.』

“I shall guide you! God! Oh, God!”

Eve clenched her tiny fists determinedly.

She’s cute. Like a little mouse.

Lee Shin was excited at the thought of setting off on an adventure together.

It felt like going on his first field trip as a child.

But his excitement quickly deflated.

「You have exhausted all of your Intervention Power.」

「Returning to your original world.」

「Depleted Intervention Power will recover in 12 hours.」

「TIP: To return to your world, wait until your Intervention Power has fully recharged, then use [World Observation].」

It was already time to leave.

“God! Oh, God!”

Eve’s desperate cries echoed around him.

Lee Shin returned to his original world.

No time had passed in reality, so it was still three in the morning, but any trace of drowsiness was long gone.

That was more fun than a dream.

He already wanted to go back.

It reminded him of a documentary he had once watched, where someone had loudly proclaimed, There are people in there!

「To remain in your world longer and visit it more frequently, you must possess more Intervention Power.」

「TIP: There are three ways to increase your Intervention Power.」

「1. Possess more worlds.」

「2. Exert greater influence over the worlds you possess.」

「3. Enter Rifts in reality and directly battle otherworldly invaders to strengthen your soul.」

The status window seemed capable of reading even his thoughts, frequently answering his questions before he voiced them.

After reading the three methods, Lee Shin muttered,

“Number three is impossible.”

The ability Lee Shin had awakened wasn’t suited for combat.

He only had one believer—Eve—and she was a girl smaller than a two-liter water bottle.

He couldn’t exactly summon her and have her fight terrifying monsters.

“Number one is....”

「TIP: Currently impossible.」

That left only number two.

Exerting greater influence....

He wasn’t sure exactly what that meant, but he figured he would naturally discover the answer while adventuring with his little friend, Eve.

For the first time in a long while, Lee Shin felt genuinely excited.

Hoping the next twelve hours would pass quickly, he closed his eyes.

But his heart was pounding too hard for him to fall asleep.

Eventually, Lee Shin got back up and personally packed a lunch.

After all, no field trip was complete without a packed lunch.

He prepared this and that, and in the end, Lee Shin spent the entire twelve hours without getting even a wink of sleep.

The instant his Intervention Power finished recharging, he used [World Observation].

「First World」

「Transporting to Earth No. 444, [A Small but Deadly World].」

He felt himself float into the air.

A moment later, Lee Shin saw Eve.

She was crouched down, sobbing like a child as she repeated the same words over and over.

“God... Oh, God....”

After a moment, Eve seemed to sense his arrival.

Her head snapped up, revealing eyes swollen from crying.

Then, as though she hadn’t been bawling just moments earlier, Eve shouted energetically through her tear-streaked face.

“God! Oh, God! You’ve returned!”