Nodens

"Before tomorrow morning, we need to reach Endemic Plague Village... that's a level 40 monster grinding area. Let me check the strategy guide."

"The main monsters are level 42 Rat-ified Ghouls. Each one gives 500 experience points. Upon death, they burst and split into 3 to 12 Ghoul Rats, each worth 25 experience points. When they die, they spread plague poison mist."

"The poison mist isn't very friendly to melee fighters. It's more suitable for high-level mages who have learned AoE spells. However, we have the Saintess with us this time. I'm not planning on sleeping anyway; I'm ready to grind for 72 hours straight and aim to get 5 million experience points to level up to 30 in one go."

The Amulet Owl opened the quest system and introduced it to the viewers in the live stream.

He had already reached level ten and successfully transferred to the Novice Divine Scholar class, becoming a distinguished Transcendence.

In the first playthrough (players now refer to Despair Expedition as the first playthrough), players had to wait until level 30 to advance to a Divine Arts class by going to Iron Wall City in their memories.

His profession was Scroll Divine Arts User. The characteristic was that he could learn many Divine Arts, but before casting them, he had to memorize the Divine Arts, prepare materials, and mobilize scrolls, and so on.

However, the Amulet Owl's current Novice Divine Scholar was not present in the first playthrough; it was a legitimate Divine Arts class.

The main deity he believed in was the Creator God. The skills he could learn included three branches: "Healing," "Punishment," and "Amplification."

Although the richness of his skills was somewhat lacking, the stats were truly beautiful.

And they were instant casts!

Meanwhile, outside the warehouse.

Li Yuan walked up to the unavoidable girl and asked coldly:

"Why are you here?"

"I... I was worried you might be in danger traveling alone on the subway, so I came to check with Lord Kachu." Red Falcon's voice grew softer and softer. She hugged the unmoving teddy bear tightly, using Lord Kachu to shield herself from Senior Li Yuan's terrifying gaze.

"And now?" Li Yuan sighed. "Are you satisfied?"

Red Falcon nodded subconsciously, then quickly shook her head.

She secretly glanced again at the scene behind the roller shutter door. Inside stood a dazed Beast-Ear Race girl, a strange guy talking to himself, and on the floor in the corner lay an Elf and a Human.

It felt... so suspicious that it was beyond questioning...

Just as she was about to muster the courage to ask Senior Li Yuan if she was here to raid a criminal den, a strange man suddenly walked up behind her.

Li Li came up beside the two short figures. He first glanced at Li Yuan, who had leveled up, and then stared at the little girl holding the teddy bear for a long time.

"Are you friend or foe?" he asked.

"I... I..." Red Falcon, who was still just a middle schooler, blushed crimson.

Having grown up in a girls' school famous for its specialized training of "young ladies," she had had almost no contact with other men besides the balding principal and her rarely seen father.

"Not talking?"

Li Li sneered and blocked the girl's path with his body.

Facing someone who only hid behind women, Li Li thought to himself, What a coincidence, me too.

Only after Aer walked up beside him did Li Li step forward, grab the teddy bear from the girl's hand, and snatch it away.

He probed the doll with his consciousness and learned the other party's basic information.

[Name: Nodens]

[Race: Elder God]

[Class: Mascot]

[Level: 205]

[Rank: True God]

[Traits: Lingering Breath, Lord of Dreams]

[Stats: Strength 1, Agility 5, Stamina 2, Intelligence 1125500, Perception 2, Charisma 1]

Nodens, an Elder God from the Cthulhu Mythos, was a God from a mod.

How did this guy get involved with a Magical Girl?

Li Li wondered, bringing the teddy bear closer to his face and examining it curiously.

"Wugaga!"

The teddy bear suddenly came to life and struggled violently. "Let me go! You rude fellow!"

Nodens had intended to continue pretending to be a doll. After all, it was stuffed full of cotton, and even if it were taken apart, nothing would be revealed.

But the moment it was touched by that man, Nodens was horrified to discover that its divine spark, which it had hidden until now, was completely exposed before that man.

The Gods in this world who stood on humanity's side were basically all insane.

As for the few who had hidden away early, they were insignificant shrimp, and their status could not be this high.

Therefore, this guy must be an Evil God!

Nodens wanted to tell Little Red to run, but it knew it was all in vain.

It intended to self-destruct but found that everything it possessed was completely suppressed by the hand pressed upon its head.

"You want me to let you go? Fine."

Li Li tightened his grip on the small bear, deforming its head.

"But you have to answer my question first."

Li Li didn't dare loosen his grip until he knew the other party's background.

Although within the God Banning Barrier, gods were just fragile fakes that shattered at a touch.

But the other party was a high-ranking Elder God, and only when they were in physical contact could he guarantee his own safety.

"I don't even know who you are!" The small bear toy frantically thrashed its limbs, its short, cotton-stuffed legs kicking at Li Li's wrist, as if that could inflict any real damage.

"You really want to know who I am?" Li Li's expression turned grim, and he stated frankly, "Then you won't be able to leave."

Li Li still remembered the content of the "Cthulhu Mythos" mod.

It had merely added a few Cthulhu gods that could be worshipped, a few races like Deep Ones, and new victory conditions. The mechanics were relatively restrained.

Their characteristic was that they wouldn't directly intervene, only bestow some mental buffs upon any civilization that became aware of their existence, pursuing a "cultural victory."

This "Great Abyssal Lord" Nodens was one of the few benevolent gods in this DLC.

Judging by its status bar, this fellow shouldn't have been corrupted, but it had lost almost all of its own characteristics. Its attributes, except for intelligence, had all become what a small bear toy should be.

Li Li guessed that it had probably hidden in this small bear toy before its main body was destroyed, allowing it to linger on until now.

"No, no, this old man doesn't want to know anymore!" The small bear toy immediately changed its tune.

"I am the Creator God of this world." Li Li didn't give the other party a chance to refuse and introduced himself, "Although I have never manifested, you should know my name."

The small bear toy's restless little legs immediately stopped moving.

"Are you Lilith?" it asked in astonishment.

"It's Li Li, not Lilith," Li Li's face darkened.

"I don't believe it! I don't believe it! Lilith is the Creator God!"

The small bear toy started to fuss again.

It unzipped its back and took out a mobile phone, unlocked the screen, and showed it to the onlookers:

"This is the true Creator God. Only a great (emphasis) existence like Lilith, who encompasses all things, could create our world. She is my old—"

Li Li immediately covered the small bear toy's mouth. Amidst its muffled "Mmmph" sounds, he said with a smile, "Very well, you now have one chance to tell me what exactly happened to this world, otherwise, I don't mind tasting an Elder God."

But it was already too late.

Among the onlookers, besides the transformed [Red Falcon] and Aer, who was suppressing her with one hand, there were a few other players who had been around the warehouse earlier.

They had already seen the content on the small bear toy's phone.

It was a mobile game character, dressed very scantily, with certain parts larger than its head, clearly indicating it was hardcore and not meant to appeal to otaku.

Lilith.