Just as Nero had already boarded Silver Branch's spacecraft, Stelle was still exploring inside the mine.
As a veteran player who had experienced the previous Simulated Universe, Stelle had plenty of experience. Because she chose a different playstyle from Nero, her efficiency in movement was slightly lacking.
Unlike Nero, who acted with a clear objective, Stelle avoided some potential enemies and prioritized searching the map as thoroughly as possible for things like treasure chests and jars.
By searching these, she could obtain blessings and cosmic fragments, both of which were very useful. This kind of map-clearing approach was what Stelle considered the most stable method after going through the previous test.
After finishing her search, Stelle followed the route in her memory of the map and found a gap. During this time, she had avoided almost all combat.
If she encountered a lone enemy that was easy to deal with, she would go over and carry out a bit of "assassination."
That counted as extra cosmic fragment income, and it didn't require much effort either, making it more favorable for exploration in the Simulated Universe.
After walking some distance in the mine, when she reached an intersection, Stelle saw a floating pillar.
That was the Audience Device. It could be considered a kind of marker that provided additional help.
Seeing this meant that the explorer was about to leave the current area and enter the next one.
Otherwise, there would be no need for Herta to deliberately place something so out of place with the surroundings here. The moment she saw it, Stelle realized its purpose.
It was probably the same type of thing as the light gates in the previous version of the Simulated Universe.
Thinking this, Stelle stepped forward, preparing to take a closer look at what this new thing was all about.
At that moment, Herta's voice suddenly rang out.
"Huh, wait... what is this?"
In the next instant, the scene in front of Stelle blurred, and an icon took over most of her field of vision.
It was a droplet-shaped sphere with an expression on its face. A fountain pen and a notebook floated in front of it, while virtual screens filled with various data hovered all around.
Most notably, there was a purple lily perched on top of its round head. The Herta puppet also had this decoration, so this was probably the virtual image Herta designed for herself.
Immediately after, accompanied by Herta's confused and slightly complaining voice, lines of text Stelle couldn't understand quickly appeared before her eyes.
But through the synesthetic beacon, those unfamiliar words were almost instantly converted into information she could understand.
"What the hell is this?" Herta said, suddenly pausing Stelle's Simulated Universe progress, while wrinkling her nose.
Though to Stelle, it just looked like the pixel representing the cartoon nose bounced twice.
Herta continued, "Stephen Lloyd assured me... it should be sacred, solemn when paying audience to an Aeon. How dare she make the 'Audience Device' like this?"
Listening to Herta's muttering, Stelle suddenly felt a bit helpless.
But in her view, the Audience Device indeed didn't look particularly solemn or dignified.
It looked more like a plastic shell wrapped around precision equipment, painted in bright white and purple with an exquisite finish… maybe Nous would like this kind of thing, but considering the massive and chaotic divine information in the Simulated Universe, it might be more in line with Herta's idea of "solemn" if people from the Pure Beauty faction or the Xianzhou designed it instead.
Of course, this didn't really matter to Stelle. She just felt a bit uncomfortable that the game had been interrupted right after starting to play…
"Silver Wolf auntie" would probably give her a like for that thought.
"It's actually kind of interesting…" Stelle said softly, voicing her opinion in front of this genius.
But Herta clearly had no intention of paying attention to her and continued muttering to herself, "Damn it, do I have to personally check everything? What is Ruan Mei doing?"
Herta looked extremely displeased. If she had been guiding Nero, she might have heard the kid cut in with, "Maybe she's researching how to clone the Swarm King's offspring in the space station."
As for now, after casually complaining a couple of times, Herta seemed ready to just drop the matter entirely. "What do these people take the Simulated Universe for? …Forget it, I don't care. You just play with it."
After saying that, Herta sighed, still muttering reluctantly, "According to the original design, the 'Dice of Audience' was supposed to be a container like a shrine offering, carrying the pasts, experiences, and the resulting overflowing energy of Pathstriders from various Paths.
That's how it was supposed to be.
"Whatever, what's done is done. I hope you get along well with the 'Audience Device.' If you don't, it doesn't matter. I'm definitely going to settle the score with that kid Stephen."
Herta's figure slid away, and with a flash of light before Stelle's eyes, everything returned to the Simulated Universe's progression.
A subtle smile appeared on the gray-haired girl's face, looking half dismissive, half amused. Herta's muttering unexpectedly made this usually aloof genius seem a bit cute.
Like that time she had blurted out, "She's really pretty."
But the game's appeal outweighed all that. Stelle quickly moved to activate the Audience Device. Immediately after, a dull gray die with cracks all over it, as if it had just been fished out of lava, floated out.
The huge crack running across the surface of the die made it hard for Stelle not to think of a certain Aeon she had once seen, with golden blood pouring from the cracked opening in their chest.
"How does that saying go again? 'God casts the dice, and fate is born from it.' Each face of the Dice of Audience produces a different effect."
Herta's voice reached her ears, and Stelle did feel as if she had received some subtle enhancement.
But she didn't know what the effect was. It seemed she would have to wait until she had used every face before recording them individually.
Stelle didn't linger any longer and walked out of the cave. She didn't arrive at the same snowy mountain as Nero, but instead came to a cliff. Below seemed to be an even larger mining pit.
Some Fragmentum creatures wandered underground. Stelle first observed the positions of treasure chests, jars, and similar items, then took out her lance and carefully made her way down along the cliff bit by bit.
Meanwhile, on Herta's side as she was observing Stelle, a message connection came in.
Screwllum's uniquely textured voice entered Herta's ears.
"Ms. Herta. Question: when connecting Mr. Nero to the Simulated Universe, did you assign him a special identity?"
"Similar to how Ms. Stelle's information is disguised as the Trailblaze Aeon... Akivili... during her exploration?"
"What? Special identity? I didn't. Do I look like I have that much free time? Besides, that kid is already calling Aha his brother, does he even need some special setup?"
"Wouldn't that just interfere with data reception instead?" Herta quickly replied. "Go ask Ruan Mei. Maybe she did something."
"No." Before Screwllum could establish communication with Ruan Mei, she had already joined the conversation herself.
"I did not modify Nero's identity within the Simulated Universe."