Arianna was still fighting off the dizziness from the gate. Her vision swam, colours too bright and sounds too sharp, but the overwhelming sense of danger that had been inherent to the dungeon wasn't there. People were around them. She could feel them. But no threat.

So, she let herself breathe.

The nausea began to ebb, and as her awareness settled, a cascade of blue and green system screens rose before her eyes.

[Congratulations! You have cleared the dungeon by killing the designated boss monster. Timer for dungeon break is reset.] [Congratulations! You have completed all three objectives. Reward gained: Unique Feature → Poison Resistance (Basic).]

A small smile tugged at her lips. That was a good reward. Not glamorous, maybe, but practical. Useful. But still, she would never do the Healing Vine objective again. No matter what the reward was, it wasn't worth it. Though she'd have to examine the Healing Vine some more. That healing pulse it had going was very interesting.

More notifications followed, popping up in succession.

[Congratulations! Mentor has levelled up.] [Mentor has levelled up.] [Mentor has levelled up.]

She raised a brow in surprise and smiled to herself. So, her idea for online classes had worked after all. Good.

Another screen popped up:

[Congratulations! You have gained a level.]

Level 19. That's right. Her Mentor profession was now level 16 which meant a new level for her class, too. Almost there. She clenched her fists slightly in quiet excitement. Just one more.

Then came the one screen she didn't want to see.

[Recorded in the Hall of Fame.]

Arianna rolled her eyes hard enough she could feel her skull creak. "Ugh," she muttered under her breath.

The Hall of Fame again. She hated that place. Or more specifically, what it meant. She'd caught glimpses of herself in trending videos, sometimes fighting, sometimes healing, sometimes giving orders—always framed in a way that made her seem grander than she was. A hero. A leader.

A lie. She remembered very well how she'd panicked when those monsters had cornered her. There hadn't been a warrior, just a scared little girl. And she hated it. She needed to become stronger. So strong that she wouldn't need protection anymore but could protect instead.

There was another reason she hated the Hall of Fame. The system recorded everything, and they had no say in it. No permission granted, no consent. It just decided what was "epic" or "inspiring" and slapped your name on it. She refused to watch this new one. Whatever had been recorded in that dungeon didn't feel like a victory worth immortalizing. It wasn't like they'd changed the fate of the world. There was no world announcement, no great shift. Just trauma, survival, and poison.

The green screens came next. Notifications for Sapphire.

[+ 200 CP (for clearing an F-rank Dungeon).]

The moment the system awarded her the CP, she felt it again—her inner scale shifting, slightly heavier on the virtuous side now.

Then came:

[+ 2000 FP (many mortals are thankful for your guidance).]

How had that happened? Was it the website? She'd have to check how it was doing.

A small message told her that her followers had grown. 117 followers. More than double what she'd had before. It was... thrilling and terrifying. These people believed in her. Or rather, in Sapphire. She hoped she could help them with the website. But still, she felt guilty for the lie, for the deception. She was just an ordinary woman. Sure, she had a bit more knowledge of the future than others, but her qualities weren't special.

[+ 500 CP (for deceiving a large number of people).]

Her inner scale shifted again, and the evil side grew heavier.

All this shifting was making her sick. And she felt like the system was messing with her. Sure, it usually only detected some indirect virtuous and evil deeds when she thought about them in this context, but it still felt like it was messing with her.

Then came a more pleasant screen:

[Your fame level has risen. You are now Well-Known – You have a following among a small community.]

[New Patron chat Features Unlocked: Private Messaging (active) Enabled, Posting in Chats and Forums Enabled.]

That was interesting. The one time she had visited the chat she had only been able to read and watch. There hadn't been any way to communicate with the deities actively. Only because Timeless Waterfall had sent her an invitation had she been able to talk with them.

As if her thoughts had summoned them, Arianna got a PM:

Timeless Waterfall: "Your avatars have done well in the dungeon. I will invite you soon for another pleasant chat."

Arianna smiled despite herself. Even though she couldn't trust them completely, Timeless Waterfall had been nice to her, even giving her some valuable information. She mentally typed a quick thank-you back and promised to be available soon.

Finally done with all the messages, Arianna looked at her status screen and smiled. She'd become stronger again.

Patron status screen

Name:

Sapphire

Race:

Deity

Title:

[Fallen Patron]

Alignment:

Chaotic

Special Chaotic Trait:

inner scale of virtuous and evil deeds à leans towards evil

Warning: As a Chaotic Deity, you must balance your actions carefully. Both intent and consequence will affect your CP. Should you become too virtuous or too evil, your CP will be reset.

CP:

8680

Patron Shop:

discount available

Patron's Avatar:

Cassis Walker, Arianna Sloane

Pseudo-Awakener Physique:

Redirect to Pseudo Status Page

FP:

2590

Fame:

Well-Known

Followers:

117

Fame Shop:

open

Patron chat:

open

Pseudo status page:

MS (Mana Saturation):

63%

Race:

Human?

Rank:

F

Features:

Awareness (Intermediate), Stamina Capacity (Advanced), Mana Manipulation (Expert)

Unique:

Pain Resistance (Basic), Poison Resistance (Basic)

Level:

19

Class:

Warpriest of the Flow

Profession:

Mentor Level 16

Skills:

Bludgeon (Advanced), Baiting (Beginner), Willpower (Advanced), Dodge (Beginner), Parry (Intermediate), Deflect (Intermediate), Body Reinforcement (Intermediate), Force Absorption (Intermediate), Shield (Basic)

Ability:

Elemental Affinity:

Water

Unique:

Shared Channelling (Cassis)

Inventory:

20 m

3

Spells:

Heal (Expert), Water Barrier (Beginner), Holy Water (Basic), Water Shield (Beginner), Warcry (Basic), Neutralize Poison (Advanced)

Titles:

[One From Another World], [Chaotic Priestess of Sapphire], [Superior Survivor], [Monster Bane I], [Protector of the Weak], [Healer of Chaos], [Giant Slayer], [Helping Hand], [Untiring]

Patron:

Sapphire

Hall of Fame:

open

After finally finishing with all her system messages, Arianna looked around, blinking against the sunlight. Her senses were clearer now, and she took in her surroundings properly for the first time since they stepped through the gate. Her teammates were there, as were the soldiers stationed to guard the dungeon site, but beyond the barricades, something else caught her attention.

People. A lot of them. And… were they filming? She squinted. Yes, definitely cameras. Reporters?

The realization made her freeze for a moment, the last of her post-gate dizziness forgotten. One of the soldiers—Lieutenant something, the one from before—seemed to notice that she and Cassis were finally alert and came over, posture straight and tone brisk.

"Everything alright?" he asked.

They both nodded, Arianna offering a polite, slightly distracted smile. "Yeah, just... system messages."

The lieutenant gave a knowing look. "That figures."

Cassis stepped forward. "How long were we in there?"

"A little over a day," the lieutenant replied.

Arianna exchanged a look with Cassis. Time dilation between dungeon and their world could be tricky, but mostly time seemed to go faster in the dungeons than in their world.

Shouting from behind the barricade pulled her attention again. Reporters, waving microphones, jostled for space. Arianna's stomach twisted. She hadn't expected this.

The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

"Why are they here?" she asked, baffled.

The lieutenant looked mildly amused. "The website. Your social media accounts. You've gone viral. People figured out which gate you had entered and staked it out. They've been here since this morning."

Arianna blinked. "But the site only went up after we entered..."

"Exactly," he said. "Didn't take long."

That still didn't explain the madness. Yes, the site gave information that most people didn't have, but it had only just launched. And by now there should at least be some other avatars around. How had it been it in the other timeline? She hadn't been with Cassis right at the start, only meeting him a few months later. Were people that desperate? Or maybe just curious about who these crazy people from the Hall of Fame and the government ceremony were? She had thought that most people wouldn't pay attention yet and try to forget it ever happened. Either way, it was overwhelming.

She looked to Cassis. "Maybe we should just pose for a few pictures, say a few words, then go home?"

He nodded. "Let's get it over with."

The lieutenant gave them both a curt nod. "Good luck. And thanks for clearing the gate." Then he mumbled something about deaths under his breath. Arianna didn't quite catch it, but he turned back to his post beneath a nearby canvas tent, already busy again, before she could ask.

She looked at Cassis who shrugged his shoulders but then took pity on her. "He was expecting some casualties in our party since the army teams that have gone to clear gates have had heavy casualties." Arianna nodded. That made sense.

Next the two of them gathered the others and quickly updated them. The rest of the team had been chattering excitedly about their gains. Everyone had received the poison resistance feature. The party's reward for clearing all three objectives. Arianna felt a twinge of pride for them all.

The lower-level members also got a full level-up just for surviving the dungeon. That was common; the system often rewarded lower-level party members with survival bonuses if they survived. But they also had to contribute enough to be recognized by the system. Otherwise, people would have paid good money in the other timeline to get power levelled by strong adventurers.

Nadine practically beamed as she told them Violet had reached level 5. Arianna smiled. They had already known that because of Liam's profession requirements, but it was nice to have it confirmed. Violet hadn't chosen a class yet as Luke and Nadine hadn't gotten an approval request. They would talk with her about her possible paths. Though the children couldn't really level further unless there were some special circumstances like achieving some feat, they could train their new skills and spells. That would give them another advantage before they had to fight real monsters. And getting a class was the first step to get those skills and spells.

Though maybe they could now add the children to their party and level them that way? Another thing to try and she thought with a grin that Matteo would definitely be up for such an experiment. That boy had a lot of drive born from a dark place and pain. But he was trying to heal in his own way. And not being vulnerable or unable to protect anything was his first step in healing. Arianna could understand him wholeheartedly.

Finished with their discussion, her thoughts went back to her own resolve to become stronger. That meant more training and experimenting with mana. She had held off on her mana training too long. There had always been a good reason for not letting herself experiment more, too little time to do anything more than was already proven effective. But now she had to do better. She'd become stronger. Looking towards Cassis, she promised herself that she'd protect him one day.

Thinking back to how she had failed to do that – had failed to find and neutralize the aphrodisiac – she fought off a blush. He had been weird since then, more distant. Had he not wanted her? She didn't know. But she was also too scared to ask. Still, it had been her failure as a healer that had led to that situation. She'd take this as a lesson and work on herself more.

Soon they walked toward the crowd of reporters. It felt surreal, standing in front of cameras after what they'd just experienced. The reporters peppered them with questions, which Arianna and Cassis mostly dodged, offering only vague statements and promising that their site would soon have full information about the dungeon—available only to members.

That line made a few of the more business-minded journalists light up. Good. Let them spread that message.

Photos taken, public obligation fulfilled, they parted ways. The others headed toward their vehicles. Arianna and Cassis started towards the nearest subway entrance.

On the way there, they stopped at a public bathroom and changed into casual clothes from their inventories, and re-emerged as two regular young adults. Most people wouldn't recognize them which was a bonus as they had to use the subway to get home.

By the time they reached Cassis apartment, fatigue had settled deep into their bones. No more talking. No planning. No training.

Just a long shower and then some sleep. And this time, no poison would steal it from them.

Arianna woke up groggy and disoriented, blinking into the soft dusk light filtering through the window. The bed beside her was cold, Cassis had clearly been up for a while.

Stretching and rubbing the last traces of sleep from her eyes, she wandered into the living room. She found him sitting on the couch, the glow of the notebook screen painting his face in blue and gold hues. He looked up when he heard her and gave a small smile, motioning her over.

She curled up beside him on the couch, her legs tucked under her and leaned toward the screen. Their website was open.

It looked… clean. That was the best word for it. Simple. Functional. A white background, crisp black text, no ads, no flashing graphics. Just the truth, written clearly, factually, and without fluff. The contrast to the sensationalism of so many social media sites made it feel grounded. Honest.

"I like it," she said softly.

Cassis nodded. "Ben did a good job. He even added a backend tracker—look."

He clicked on a small icon in the corner. A graph expanded, and next to it, numbers ticked upward in real-time.

"Hundreds of millions of views," he said, still sounding a bit stunned. "Since yesterday afternoon?"

Arianna blinked. "But… how?"

"People must be more starved for reliable information than we thought. I should be able to remember this, but this time period is a blur to me. My family had just died and nothing felt real. That only changed after I got you as my patron." He rubbed at his face seeming annoyed with himself.

She put her hand on his arm. "That's ok. It's understandable. Just remember that it didn't happen this time. And we'll manage to do this together." He smiled at her, then suddenly leaned back more, like he wanted her to let go of him. She did, more confused than ever about their relationship. They'd have to talk about, soon. But what if he really didn't want her? What should she do then?

He leaned back and pulled out his phone, which pulled her out of her musings. "Now, for the real surprise."

He tapped through a few screens, then turned the phone so she could see. The banking app loaded, showing the balance of their account tied to the site.

Over one million. Real currency. In less than a day.

Her mouth fell open.

"Wait—what? How?"

Cassis shook his head, as bewildered as she was. "Only place the donation link exists is the website. So… it must be that. People actually gave us this."

He looked like he still didn't quite believe it himself.

Arianna stared at the number, feeling something crack open in her chest. A sense of warmth. Of belief.

People had given. They didn't have to. But they had. No trickery, no gimmicks. Just a quiet acknowledgement that what Arianna and Cassis were doing mattered. That their transparency, their risks, their willingness to share knowledge openly was worth supporting.

Tears stung at her eyes. She wiped at them quickly.

"Wow," she whispered.

Then—because her mind was already calculating—it hit her. "Wait. Taxes."

Cassis blinked at her. "What?"

She frowned, slipping into her familiar professional mindset. "We'll probably have to pay taxes on that money. Even if it's donations."

He stared at her, then laughed—full and surprised and incredulous. "Seriously? The first thing you say after seeing over a million in the account is taxes?"

She straightened, lifting her chin. "I'm an accountant, after all."

That made him laugh even harder, and eventually she joined in too.

The laughter was cathartic. A little absurd. A little too loud. But it was exactly what they both needed after everything that had happened.

When the laughter finally died down, she tipped her head back against the couch.

"I might talk to Marcus," she murmured. "See what the laws are here. I don't want to get in trouble later. And frankly I don't have time to immerse myself in all the tax laws of this world and this country."

"Good idea," Cassis said, still laughing under his breath. "Let's handle it right."

"On another note," Cassis said, his voice shifting into something a bit more serious though he tried to be casual.

Arianna kept her head tipped back against the couch but moved her head in Cassis' direction. "Yeah?"

"We have a house viewing tomorrow."

She stared at him blankly. "What house?"

"The one across from my parents' place. The kid who survived… he's selling it. When I called earlier, he was pretty adamant about getting rid of it quickly. So, I set up a viewing for tomorrow morning. And now that we've got this money, we can definitely afford it."

That pulled her out of her stupor. She blinked slowly, her brain taking a second to catch up. A house. With him.

A whole storm of thoughts raced through her mind, not least of all the strange push-and-pull Cassis had been doing after that night. One moment he was shutting her out emotionally, physically – like moving away from her touch. The next, he was talking like they were building a future together. She couldn't quite keep up with him.

She didn't say anything right away, and Cassis seemed to pick up on her hesitation. His brows furrowed slightly. "Do you have other plans tomorrow?"

"No," she said carefully. "It's just… sudden. I mean, I know we talked about this before, but I didn't think we'd be house-hunting this soon."

He tilted his head, his expression more curious than defensive. "Is that bad?"

She hesitated, then shook her head. "No. Not bad. Just… early." Then another thought came to her. "Can we just use the donation money to buy stuff for ourselves? It feels wrong to enrich ourselves with this."

He smiled, warm and a little self-deprecating. "It's not just for us. We need to build something real, something stable. A base of operations. You know how the waves work—when an area has powerful awakeners, it attracts stronger monsters. Waves get harder. If we stay here, people are going to start depending on us, and fast. They'll also be in more danger since we're so much stronger than the rest of our surroundings. We can't do everything alone. We need a capable community for the next wave. We need to build protections. And before the wave we need to combat the food shortages. So farming…. For that we need space and land. If it makes you feel better, we can publish our findings on how to protect a community and how to farm with mana on the website."

Arianna nodded slowly, understanding the logic even if her feelings were still lagging behind.

"You're probably close to level 20, right?" he continued. "I just hit it, and I didn't meet any evolution requirements, just like we thought. But we need to work on them soon, so we can found our guild. A house in the same neighbourhood as our other team members should help with that."

There was a strange tenderness in the way he said "our," but Arianna didn't let herself linger on it. Not right now. Still, she also noticed that suddenly he was ok with having team members. She smiled. He had been so stubborn in the past about not needing anyone. And now he was actively working with others. It was a good development.

"Okay," she said finally. "Let's go look at the house tomorrow."

Her voice came out steadier than she expected.

Trying to redirect her spiralling thoughts, she pulled out her phone and opened one of her social media apps. She figured maybe she'd distract herself by checking a few messages or updates.

But the moment the screen loaded, her stomach dropped.

Thousands—no, hundreds of thousands—of notifications. Comments. Shares. Likes. Views. The number on her main video had passed the website's traffic by a significant margin. And her inbox was flooded.

She quickly backed out, the flush rising to her cheeks.

She'd known the site was getting traction. She just hadn't expected that level of attention on herself. Many people wouldn't be able to use her teachings yet as they weren't level 5 and had no classes. So why would people watch them?

"Problem?" Cassis asked, glancing at her as she stared at her phone in silence.

"I…" She shook her head and quickly locked her screen. "I was just checking my social profile. Apparently, I'm viral now."

"Ah," he said, with a small wince. "Yeah, me too."

She shrugged, already regretting opening the app. "I'm going to ask Elena to handle it for me. The same for you? I can't deal with it right now."

Cassis nodded, while she put the phone away, curling back into the couch.

Tomorrow they'd go look at a house together. They'd start a future together. She didn't know what would come next, not really. But for the first time in a long while, she was starting to believe that whatever it was—she wouldn't be alone.

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