Garion rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly before nodding. "Yeah... I really am newly awakened."

He glanced around the gigantic Cosmic Terminal again as countless alien races moved through the endless crowds around him.

"But honestly, I’m still surprised a place like this even exists."

The silver-skinned man laughed softly and crossed his arms. "Yeah. I know that feeling."

The horned man beside him nodded in agreement. "At first, most of us thought our worlds were already massive."

The white-haired woman leaned lightly against a nearby metallic pillar. "Then we reached space and saw places like this."

She gestured toward the endless Cosmic Terminal surrounding them.

"And suddenly we realized we were just frogs at the bottom of a well."

Garion laughed immediately. "Hahaha... yeah, I get that."

Honestly, he really did.

Back in the lower world, the Grand Factions had already seemed unimaginably powerful.

Yet here?

Even random travelers wandering through the terminal probably knew more about the universe than entire civilizations from his old world.

The horned man suddenly tilted his head slightly. "By the way..."

His eyes narrowed with curiosity. "Where are you from?"

Garion froze for half a second. "...Uh."

Honestly, he had no idea how to answer that safely.

He couldn’t exactly say:

"Oh yeah, I’m from a lower world that got attacked by a god before a mysterious cosmic system teleported me somewhere across the universe."

That sounded like the fastest possible way to attract trouble.

Before he could think any further, Atlas immediately spoke from his shoulder.

[Say you got caught in a space storm. Tell them you lost your original route.]

Garion gave a slight mental nod before answering. "I actually don’t know anymore."

The group blinked.

Garion continued casually. "I got caught in a space storm while traveling and ended up drifting near this region."

The moment he mentioned a "space storm," the entire group’s expressions changed instantly.

"...What?"

The silver-skinned man looked genuinely shocked now. "You survived a space storm?"

The horned man stared at Garion from head to toe again like he was completely reevaluating him.

Even the white-haired woman straightened slightly.

Garion blinked. "...Is that really that weird?"

The group exchanged silent looks. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

Then the horned man laughed in disbelief. "Weird? Dude, that’s insane."

Garion scratched his cheek awkwardly. "I mean... I was using some kind of spaceship back then."

At least that part wasn’t completely false.

Atlas had technically teleported everyone through cosmic space somehow. "And I’ve got a pretty tough body too."

The silver-skinned man still looked stunned. "Even then, surviving a space storm isn’t normal."

The white-haired woman narrowed her eyes slightly. "Especially for someone who just awakened."

Garion immediately laughed it off. "Hahaha... guess I just got lucky."

Atlas frowned as he watched the situation unfold.

[You sound suspicious as hell right now.]

Garion replied mentally without hesitation.

Shut up.

Even so, the group still looked more impressed than suspicious.

The horned man rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "So what happened after that?"

Garion shrugged. "I barely survived."

He casually pointed at himself. "I ended up spending around five years recovering before finally waking up near this place."

Several of them immediately nodded in understanding.

"I see... that explains it. No wonder your energy feels kind of strange."

Garion’s eyes narrowed slightly at that. "My energy?"

The white-haired woman nodded. "You feel strong, but unstable at the same time."

Garion immediately understood.

His recently stabilized God Physique probably still felt unusual compared to normal cultivators.

The horned man suddenly smiled. "Well, either way, you’re lucky as hell to have made it here alive."

Garion grinned lightly. "Trust me, I know."

Then he glanced around the Cosmic Terminal again while gigantic cosmic ships drifted across the distant void.

"So... what do newly awakened people usually do after reaching a place like this?"

The group instantly burst into laughter.

The silver-skinned man pointed at him. "See? That’s a total newbie question."

Garion snorted. "Well, I am a newbie."

The white-haired woman smiled faintly. "Usually the first thing people do is register themselves."

Garion blinked. "Register?"

The horned man nodded. "For identity records, civilization access, cultivation rankings, travel permits, and basic cosmic citizenship."

Garion stared blankly for a second. "...Cosmic citizenship?"

The silver-skinned man laughed loudly. "You seriously came from the backwoods of the universe, huh?"

Garion immediately pointed at himself proudly. "Extremely rural."

That answer somehow made the entire group laugh even harder.

Even Atlas sounded amused from Garion’s shoulder.

[You adapted surprisingly fast.]

Garion smirked mentally.

When in doubt, just act shameless.

And honestly? Just like he thought, it was working pretty damn well so far.

---

Garion scratched his cheek for a moment before looking back at the group. "So... where exactly am I supposed to register?"

The horned man immediately pointed into the distance. "See that giant tower over there?"

Garion followed his gaze.

Far away, near the center of the Cosmic Terminal, stood an enormous silver structure covered in glowing blue patterns.

Massive streams of light constantly traveled up and down the tower while thousands of people entered and exited through countless different gates.

Garion blinked slowly. "...That thing?"

The silver-skinned man laughed. "Yep."

Garion stared at it for another second. "That’s not a building."

He pointed at the structure with a blank expression. "That’s an entire city pretending to be a building."

The whole group burst out laughing.

The white-haired woman smiled faintly. "You’ll eventually get used to stuff like this."

Garion snorted softly. "Yeah, somehow I doubt the hell out of that."

The horned man crossed his arms. "The registration halls are inside that tower."

Garion nodded slowly. "I see..."

Then he frowned slightly. "Wait."

He looked back at them. "What exactly do they even register?"

The silver-skinned man answered casually. "Basic identity, race, cultivation realm, and threat evaluation."

Garion blinked immediately. "...Threat evaluation?"

The horned man shrugged. "This place is filled with cultivators strong enough to wipe out planets."

He casually gestured around them. "So naturally, the Cosmic Alliance wants to know who might suddenly become a problem."

Garion looked around again.

Honestly... in a place like this, that explanation somehow sounded completely reasonable.

The white-haired woman added, "And don’t worry too much about it."

Garion looked at her curiously.

She pointed at him and the others. "Most newly awakened people are considered harmless anyway."

Atlas instantly laughed.

[That part is definitely not true for you.]

Garion replied in his head immediately.

Please shut up.