Creak...
Ripples suddenly appeared in the void. Roy sensed the Gate of Cognition pulsing repeatedly.
Seated beneath the dome, upon the throne, Roy quietly split off a thread of his mind. It left the unconscious domain and arrived at his Sea of Cognition.
The azure Sea of Cognition was calm and still. A row of gates had stood there since time immemorial.
Among them were the Demon Slayer Gate and the Naruto Gate, already fully open to him.
There was the Dark Continent Gate, completely shut and requiring the re:Game of the Dead as the key before it could be opened.
There was a gate so blurry its appearance could not be seen, only that it was locked.
And then there was one more gate...
Its lock had opened, revealing a crack. From within, infinite light faintly spilled out, as though calling to Roy from somewhere between presence and absence...
[Notice: Due to the host's enhanced constitution, aura quantity, and understanding of Nen ability nature, the Gate of Cognition has added the new "Shallow Intervention" function...]
[Note: "Shallow Intervention" differs from "Deep Intervention." Deep Intervention requires generating a new role in the gate world and actively entering the original plot. "Shallow Intervention," because the host's cognition of a single world is incomplete and cannot generate a role to deeply participate in the plot, can only reproduce a scene or element that left a deep impression in the host's memory.]
In short...
Because I forgot most of the plot, it can only extract the part I remember most clearly?
Roy fell into thought.
Out of curiosity, he rolled up his pant legs, stepped into the Sea of Cognition, and walked along the sea's surface. Passing the Demon Slayer Gate, the Naruto Gate, the Bleach Gate, and the Dark Continent Gate, he arrived before the gate that had opened a crack.
The gate radiating infinite light also had a nameplate hanging from it.
On the nameplate was a cute cartoon blue cat.
A round head, a red nose, a red collar around its neck, and a small golden bell hanging from the collar. Seeing Roy approach, it smiled and waved at him, revealing its round white belly. There, a small pocket appeared—
and the sight of it fell directly into Roy's eyes, making his pupils shrink.
He recognized it immediately.
Doraemon!
Roy stood before "Doraemon."
The blue cat waved, as if calling out:
"Nobita's Nii-san!"
Then, as Roy's emotions stirred, the panel prompt slowly sounded in his ears.
[Detected: the host has forgotten most of the plot of Doraemon and cannot perform "Deep Intervention," thus cannot enter the Doraemon world in the role of Nobita's older brother. Therefore, only "Shallow Intervention" is available.]
[Notice: "Shallow Intervention" activated. Searching the host's most deeply remembered "anchor point" for anchoring...]
[10... 9... 8... 7... 6... 5... 4... 3... 2... 1... 0... "Anchoring" successful!]
[Anchor Point — Number D7E1293. Note name: "Robot-Use Four-Dimensional Space Internal Secret Gadget Storage Pocket." Officially anchored...]
Buzz...
Ripples spread through the void.
As the panel prompt fell, an unseen pocket slowly emerged from Roy's chest.
The boy sensed it and lowered his eyes. The moment his gaze entered the pocket, instinctively, it felt as if he had fallen into a world packed with dazzling tools and gadgets. For a moment, he was almost dizzy from seeing too much.
That little thing shaped like a dragonfly... should be the Take-copter.
That pink single-panel door, which connects two places through a spatial warping device and allows instant movement up to 245 light-years... judging by the description, that should be the Anywhere Door.
The thing that looks a lot like a flashlight, but actually resembles a shaver... that seems to be the Enlarging Light.
That old phone booth standing in the corner, if I remember correctly, should be the What-If Phone Booth.
Then there were the Time Cloth, Devil's Passport, Lightning Blade, Air Cannon, Obedience Cap, Time Machine...
One gadget after another, some he could name, some he couldn't, filled Roy's eyes.
The boy watched quietly, and without realizing it, his breathing grew heavier.
Three years.
Ever since opening his aura nodes and awakening the Gate of Cognition, Roy believed he had worked diligently and carefully, developing and studying his Nen ability step by step, never daring to slack off.
And finally, today, he touched another side of Nen ability beyond numerical values like aura quantity and constitution—
rules.
Establish rules.
Follow rules.
Apply rules.
Then manifest the final result.
Just like these dazzling gadgets before him—
establish a function, display the function, and finally manifest it.
Roy walked through the world of gadgets and casually picked up a piece of clothing, draping it over himself.
His whole body disappeared from head to toe.
It was the Invisibility Cloak.
Then he continued walking and saw a pair of glasses. He picked them up and put them on. As his gaze projected outward, without entering Demon Slayer, he could see the Kamado family. Without entering Hokage, he could see Fugaku's family.
This was the Heavenly Eye Glasses, which let the wearer see other planets.
Unfortunately...
The Four-Dimensional Pocket was real, and the gadgets weren't fake either.
But to take them one by one out of the pocket, out of the cognition world, and into reality...
Roy restrained the surging emotions in his heart and calmed down as the prompt sounded again.
[Notice: Anchor Point — "Robot-Use Four-Dimensional Space Internal Secret Gadget Storage Pocket" anchoring complete...]
[Because the host's memory is incomplete and imagination is obstructed, the gadget manifestation process requires "real-world materials" as a guide, supplemented by the host's understanding of Nen ability, before each gadget can be further materialized...]
[Furthermore, the "manifestation effect" depends on the host's current values.]
In other words...
Gadget = real-world tool + corresponding Nen ability nature that meets the conditions + matching aura quantity / numerical value.
As Roy pondered this information, he once again felt the restraint of the law of equivalent exchange.
Risk and reward.
Effort and return.
They could be "equal," but they could also be "unequal."
The hidden leverage within them depended on a person's talent, category, and ultimate ceiling.
Take Tonpa, who had taken the Hunter Exam his whole life and still never crossed into the realm of Nen users.
Then compare him to Prince Tserriednich Hui Guo Rou of the Kakin Empire, who only needed to hear that Nen existed before spontaneously opening his aura nodes and stepping into the world of Nen users.
The differences between people were far greater than ten-times leverage, hundred-times leverage, or thousand-times leverage.
Roy strolled among the gadgets as though walking through a treasure vault of human imagination.
When the prompt slowly faded, his expression stayed calm. There was not the slightest discouragement in him.
Having it was better than not having it.
The process of obtaining it would simply be a little more winding.
Creak.
The door closed, and the crack sealed shut. The infinite light vanished.
When the missing memories could not keep up with the door-opening rhythm, Roy's consciousness trembled.
When he pulled his gaze away from the small pocket on his chest, the cartoon gate representing Doraemon had already closed.
Only the cartoon blue cat on the wooden nameplate remained, smiling and waving at him.
"Ganbatte, Nobita's Nii-san—"
The round blue cat waved its white-gloved hand and gradually sank into the wooden plaque.
At that moment, a smile appeared on Roy's lips. He raised a hand and waved back.
"All right!"
He watched as the cat lost its spirit and became an ordinary blue cat painted on the wooden sign.
The collar remained.
The golden bell remained.
Only the small pocket on its chest had been imprinted onto Roy's own chest.
Roy lowered his hand and stood before the closed Doraemon Gate.
This was the first time since awakening the Gate of Cognition that a gate had opened and then refused to open further to him.
He stood there for a very, very long time, until a breeze rose and stirred ripples across the azure Sea of Cognition.
The boy's beautiful silver hair fell behind him, the tips and middle glowing with glass-gold light.
After a long silence, he bent forward and bowed deeply to the Doraemon Gate before him.
"Thank you for gifting me the pocket. If one day I have the chance to return to the past..."
"Please believe me."
"I will definitely catch up on Doraemon without missing a single episode."
The blue cat that had sunk into the wooden sign suddenly brightened its round eyes, then quickly dimmed again.
A moment later, Roy straightened, took a deep breath, and looked one final time at the adorable blue cat above the gate. Then he turned and left, instantly transforming into hazy mist. With the Four-Dimensional Pocket, he entered the unconscious domain and returned to his body.
Buzz...
His consciousness became one again.
In the divine temple, beneath the dome, upon the throne, Roy's body trembled almost imperceptibly.
Then he looked down at the snake and dog standing on the cloud platforms, his gaze much softer than before.
"Taiyi."
"My Lord."
"Serve tea."
"Yes."
Taiyi bowed his head. Following Roy's order, he extended one finger and pointed at Vanessa and old Koller.
Wood Release emerged.
A tea table, several cups, and a teapot slowly appeared before the two of them. The teapot poured water and brewed tea on its own in one smooth motion.
This kind of effortless, willful manifestation was clearly not something an ordinary Conjurer could accomplish.
Vanessa thought of one of her old customers. He was a lizard, and also a Conjurer. Every time he used Conjuration to "perform living transformations" and make her younger sister laugh, it looked far less effortless than what the Divine Envoy had just shown.
Vanessa and old Koller exchanged a glance and quickly gave thanks.
Roy gave a faint hum, his face hidden in the mist and impossible to make out clearly.
Taiyi understood his meaning. Standing below him, he looked calmly at the two and said, "The Lord says all beings are equal. What you do and what you are, the Lord hears and sees. Of course, if you have requests, as long as they are reasonable, the Lord may also send down rain and blessings."
The whirlpools beside the dream corridor did not lie.
A follower's call would not be false either.
Roy had already received Vanessa and old Koller's prayers and thanks.
The boy leaned lazily on the throne, propping one leg, and flicked his fingers.
Two Mindworms wriggled along the causal lines and silently entered the two's heart-fields, revealing the paintings of their lives.
One painting showed the Nation of Hot Springs. The country had hot springs and specialized in purification, driving away backlash from Nature inside customers who came from every corner of the Dark Continent.
The other painting showed a frost-covered land, a territory where beastfolk, magical beasts, and rare creatures lived together.
Unfortunately, old Koller was clearly a "country dog" who had never seen much of the wider world. His entire life had revolved around a remote village and a town with an Adventurers' Guild.
His greatest achievement in life was hunting a D-rank Ironclad Monkey.
Even that had only happened recently, after he learned Water Breathing, healed his hidden injuries, and returned to his peak condition, allowing him to complete the hunt alone.
Through the feedback from the Mindworms, Roy saw the two lives silently.
Then he synchronized that information to Taiyi.
A moment later, under Vanessa and old Koller's shocked gazes, Taiyi cast them a casual look.
"You wish to offer the qin melody to the Sirens. My Lord will not interfere."
"You wish to pass Water Breathing to your close friend, Max the Sick Worm, and guide him to worship my Lord. My Lord permits it."
"My Lord..."
Taiyi spoke aloud the thoughts hidden in Vanessa's and old Koller's hearts. Then he placed his right hand over his chest and bowed respectfully to Roy.
"Praise the Sun."
Vanessa and old Koller froze for a long while, staring blankly at Taiyi. Then they carefully looked up at the throne beneath the dome.
A gaze slowly descended through the mist, like a sword, piercing the two of them through.
Vanessa and old Koller shivered uncontrollably. Cold sweat ran down the backs of their necks. They hurriedly followed Taiyi's example, placing their right hands over their chests and bowing devoutly to Roy.
"Praise the Sun!"
"Glory to my all-knowing Lord!"
All-knowing and all-powerful—only that is a god...
That's right. My Lord is indeed... an ancient lord newly awakened...
[Notice: Your follower Vanessa reveres your omniscience and omnipotence, providing you with 10 points of Power of Faith...]
[Notice: Your follower old Koller reveres your omniscience and omnipotence, providing you with 10 points of Power of Faith...]
After that devout bow, twenty points of Power of Faith slowly entered the panel.
Vanessa straightened along with Taiyi and said reverently, "My Lord, Vanessa Siren thanks you for your generosity. Please send down your command. So long as it is something I can do, I will complete it even if I must die."
This snake-woman is so crafty... Why didn't I think of that?
Seeing Vanessa suddenly take the initiative and offer herself before him, stepping into the role of follower faster than he did, old Koller hurriedly followed suit and asked Roy for instructions too.
In their eyes, gods loved the world, and the world loved gods. That was perfectly natural.
But even though Roy already had plans in mind and wanted the two of them to help gather information on the Church of Truth and the burial place of Great-Grandfather's forces, he decided not to rush.
He would wait a little longer.
Wait until they became stronger.
And wait until he himself became stronger too.