A faint blush rose on Mona's fair, delicate face. She shifted her waist, turning slightly to the side to sit more comfortably, then pressed the ball of her foot firmly into Nolan's abdomen—a little "punishment" for disturbing her work.
The golden heel of her shoe left a small dent in his clothes.
Nolan's fingers trailed up along the back of the golden high heel until they reached her ankle, which he gently cupped, stroking up and down over the black stockings.
Perhaps tickled, Mona rubbed the insides of her feet together, her ankles brushing.
"Idiot, stop touching everywhere!"
She kept her eyes on the star-track calculator in front of her, teeth gritted as she scolded.
"All right, then I'll just change spots."
He chuckled, letting his right hand slide up along the back of her ankle until his palm rested against the snugly stocking-clad curve of her calf. The warm, springy softness came through his touch.
His left hand, meanwhile, slid lower, fingers brushing side-by-side over the top of her foot, still wrapped in the silky tights.
"Fool, that's even more ticklish!"
Mona's face turned crimson. She glanced down at him, then pressed her left foot hard against his stomach, trying to tense her muscles to ease the tingling sensation.
"Well, then there's no helping it—you'll just have to bear with it, or I'll take your stockings off." As he spoke, Nolan leaned in and kissed her knee.
"Hmph!"
Mona sat sideways with her legs together, letting out a displeased snort before turning back to her astrology work. Annoying guy, always bothering me when I'm working…
Seeing she wasn't stopping him, Nolan didn't hold back. One hand lifted her ankle while the other slowly unfastened her shoe.
Soon, both golden heels were set aside, and Mona's black-stockinged feet rested lightly against his stomach.
"My stockings are getting dirty!" Mona frowned at him after a while—she had told him not to move around so much.
"Done with work yet? If you're done, take your clothes off."
Nolan was a little amused at her vexed expression. Standing, he reached for the clasp of her shawl.
"Hey, I'm almost finished with my calculations!" Mona protested, catching his hand.
"If you're that close, just leave it for tomorrow. I'll help you improve your strength first—you'll calculate even faster tomorrow!"
Shaking his head, he undid her shawl and pulled her into his arms. As he kissed her lips, his hands slid around her back, practiced fingers seeking the zipper of her bodysuit.
"Mmph…!"
Mona braced her stockinged feet against the crossbar of her chair, pressing her palms to his shoulders to push him away, but to no avail.
Resigned, she relaxed, feeling the zipper tugged down and the fabric slip from her shoulders. She knew she wouldn't be getting any more work done tonight. Accepting the inevitable, she opened her mouth and kissed him back.
Nolan lifted her slightly by the hips, urging her to stand—there was no removing her purple skintight bodysuit while she sat.
"Mmph…" Mona panted softly as their lips parted, her pale stomach and torso bared where the suit had fallen.
She leaned into him, resting her cheek on his shoulder, the tip of her tongue teasing along his collarbone.
Nolan savored the warm, smooth feel of her skin, then pushed the bodysuit down to her thighs, revealing her soft, black-stockinged hips.
He rubbed her for a moment before patting her leg, signaling her to lift it so he could take the garment off.
"It's too high—pull it down a bit," Mona murmured, flushed, lifting her leg slightly and realizing the suit had ridden up.
He nodded, ready to lower it further, but then paused, smiling.
"Forget it, no need to fuss. Just lean over the desk."
"No! What if you ruin my calculation notes?" She shook her head, then stepped behind the chair, bending over the backrest. Looking over her shoulder, cheeks burning, she said:
"Like this. Hurry up!"
"Heh, that works too."
Nolan wrapped his arms around her from behind, pressing his chest to her smooth, bare back. He didn't even bother removing the black stockings covering her hips.
They were already dirty—one more tear wouldn't matter. A new pair would be a waste; better to have the handy Noelle mend them. Maybe even add a zipper for "convenience" later.
---
The next morning, Mona—who hadn't slept all night—had reached level 90, while Nolan's progress had jumped by nearly ninety thousand:
[Level: Lv101 (510,312 / 11,000,000)]
It wasn't just Mona—through his efforts, every girl in the Wonderland who had been below level 90 was now at that mark, some even having successfully broken through.
They were now at the pinnacle of human ability.
They could begin trying to comprehend their own Authorities, and once fully mastered, they would reach level 100—true godhood.
Of course, that was no easy feat.
After all, they had been strengthened to this point entirely through Nolan's "harmonizing energy." When his power grew even greater, he could slowly raise them to level 100, bodies and souls on par with deities.
But that alone would only grant them godlike physiques and spirits—without mastering their own Authority to transform them into divine vessels capable of holding godforce, they would still be mortals, long-lived but not eternal.
If not for this thing called "erosion," gods could essentially live forever—their Authorities tied to their existence, their lifespans effectively limitless.
Of course, that assumed they didn't provoke a god stronger than themselves—get killed, and even a god could fall.
Nolan had learned all this during idle chats with the divine residents of the Wonderland.
With everyone's strength now at level 90 and edging close to 100, he figured it was worth asking in advance what it took to become a god like them.
After all, aside from the legend of Vennessa ascending to Celestia to become a deity, there were no known cases of a human becoming an Archon in Teyvat.
And if anyone really did want to become one, he'd have to be ready to help.
From the Greater Lord Rukkhadevata, he'd learned that no matter the creature, there were only two ways to become an Archon—either comprehend a unique Authority through one's own talent, or inherit the Authority of another god.
For those Nolan had strengthened, at best their bodies and souls were now on par with a god's, but without comprehending an Authority and using it to refine their body and soul, they were still human in essence.
It was obvious that most of the girls in the Wonderland had been brought to level 90 purely through his "harmonizing energy."
Scholars like Lisa and Mona, who studied elemental power or astrology, might find it relatively easier to grasp an Authority.
But for fighters like Amber or Fischl—who had been in the 30s or 40s before being pushed up almost entirely through "harmonizing energy"—comprehending their own Authority would be far harder.
Fortunately, with the Wonderland and his life-extending energy, he didn't need to worry about anyone's lifespan.
So whether or not they ever became gods didn't really matter.
In fact, even if they did gain an Authority, they probably wouldn't use it to transform their bodies into divine vessels.
Because Nolan was still human, if they became Archons, they might end up reproductively incompatible with him. Unless, of course, someone like Raiden Ei could get pregnant just from being intimate with him… no, wait—Ei had a physical body, but was fundamentally a soul-form.
No matter how close they got, that probably wouldn't happen. Only if they saw Nolan father a child with Raiden Shogun or another Archon would they consider taking that risk.
After all, with his "harmonizing energy," they could reach power levels no less than a god without gambling away the ability to bear his children.
Still, he wasn't sure if the lack of results so far was because the power gap was too big… or because, as a human from Earth, his genetics were different from those of Teyvat humans.
Despite many intimate moments, he hadn't noticed any signs of pregnancy.
Not that he particularly cared—none of them had to worry about mortality, so whether or not his genes were passed on was unimportant.
For now, none of the girls seemed interested in having children. That could change one day, though.
So for them, keeping their human nature—and not risking the ability to have his children—was preferable to becoming a god.
---
Nolan had spent the entire night in the laboratory with Mona, both of them now a bit disheveled. Cradling the sleeping girl against him, he carried her downstairs to the hot spring baths to get cleaned up.
In the water, he gently washed her, and when she still didn't wake, he had her straddle him and shared a few affectionate moments until she finally stirred.
Mona bit him in mild protest, and half an hour later, they dried off and left the bath.
After eating the breakfast Noelle had prepared earlier, Mona returned to her room to rest, while Nolan headed back to Sumeru City with Lumine and Paimon.
Today, Dori had promised she could secure the license for Genius Invokation TCG, so he intended to see how that was going.
First, he met with Nahida at the House of Daena along with Lumine and Paimon to discuss the online game project.
He planned to have Nahida copy a digital version of Genius Invokation into the "Akasha Network" once he returned later.
The sooner it was ready, the sooner they could promote it and start making Mora—something Sumeru's development badly needed.
And truth be told, he was a little eager to try playing an online game again himself.
In addition to Genius Invokation, he also intended to upload Ningguang's Millennia of Liyue and some classics like poker and mahjong.
"Nahida, is there a way to make the Wonderland compatible with the Akasha Terminals?"
He'd asked her this before, and the answer had been no—the Wonderland was an independent world, and no matter how far the "Akasha" network spread, it couldn't reach inside.
Unless he kept a "door" open to the House of Daena at all times, letting the network's "signal" spill in.
The Space was entirely under his control—no one could sneak in unless he allowed it.
But keeping such a "door" open would constantly drain power, most of it spent resisting the natural rejection of Teyvat's world.
A day or two, even a month, was fine—his strength could handle it—but the rejection would slowly grow stronger.
A month was doable. Two months might get difficult. Any longer, and it wouldn't be worth it just to have Akasha access inside the Wonderland.
Still, he was reluctant to accept that the Wonderland Space couldn't use Akasha Terminals—it felt like not having a phone at home.
"…Well, it's not impossible," Nahida said after thinking for a moment. "My Authority is the same as the one used to create the Akasha system, and the same as the Greater Lord Rukkhadevata's.
"If I transfer some of the system's permissions to her, she could use her Authority to project the Akasha into your portable space."
"Oh? So there is a way."
Nolan's eyes lit up. It would basically make the Greater Lord an admin for the network she'd originally created—perfectly suited for the role.
But Nahida's troubled look told him it wasn't so simple.
"What's the catch?" he asked.
"If she wanted to be an admin here in Sumeru, I'd just have to grant her the permissions," Nahida explained. "But for the Wonderland, we'd need to create a backup instance of the system for her to host—that means running it on her own power.
"She's probably not recovered enough yet to handle it."
Even though only about twenty people in the Wonderland would ever use it—and maybe a few more in the future—the load would still be far lighter than covering all of Sumeru.
But even so, the currently weakened Greater Lord likely couldn't bear it.
She did have soul-recovery aids, both from her special traits and from the nurturing environment of the Wonderland, but it would still take five or six years to return to full strength.
Unless… he gave her a soul-recovery trait from the Attribute system with an even stronger effect. He'd built up enough spiritual energy for over 120 such grants already.
With some luck, he could get it.
Nolan nodded, understanding, then left the House of Daena for the city streets. Once the game matter was settled, he'd head back and roll for a good attribute for the Greater Lord Rukkhadevata.
(End of Chapter)
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