Wonderland, Library.
After successfully launching the games, Nolan wanted to extend the "Akasha" system's coverage into the Wonderland itself, so he came back to discuss it with the Greater Lord Rukkhadevata.
Once looking just like Nahida, she had grown a bit over this period of recovery—appearing more like a teenage girl now.
But it would still take quite a while before she regained her adult form.
After hearing his intent, the Greater Lord thought for a moment, folded her arms, and said:
"Backing up a sub-instance of the 'Akasha' system and extending it into this Space isn't difficult—even now, I could just barely manage it.
"But the price would be slowing my recovery by two to three times… of course, the only reason I'm able to recover at all is thanks to you.
Sigh~ If you insist on making me run the 'Akasha' system just for playing games, then I'll have no choice but to comply."
She lowered her arms and sighed in a defeated tone, as if she were being bullied.
Uh… Nolan's eyelid twitched. What was this heavy wave of guilt washing over him? Why did it sound like he was some great villain here?
But, well… she did have a point.
His main reason was to give everyone more entertainment options—it wasn't exactly urgent.
If doing so would affect her recovery, then it really wasn't appropriate.
Even if he managed to get her a trait that enhanced soul recovery, there would still be an impact, and there was no guarantee he'd even get a suitable one.
Thinking it over, it was probably better to wait until she was almost fully recovered.
Still… putting on this "oh, I'm so bullied" act was a bit much, wasn't it?
Nolan suspected she knew he was gentle and protective toward everyone, and that she was deliberately playing the victim to stir his guilt!
Who would've thought this gentle girl could be just a bit black-bellied?
Well, since the guilt was already there, it would be a waste not to bully her for real. Covering his hands with spiritual power, he grabbed her cheeks and tugged.
"All right, all right—let's wait until you're mostly recovered, then."
He rubbed her face roughly to show his dissatisfaction.
"Mmph—you're bullying me!" The Greater Lord, caught off guard, couldn't break free and could only shout in frustration.
She grabbed his wrists, trying to pry his hands off.
"Hmph! How rude to bully a lady!"
Also in the library, Guizhong saw the Greater Lord being bullied and immediately spoke up for her. Manifesting her hands, she flew over and pulled on Nolan's cheeks from the other side.
Taking advantage of the moment, the Greater Lord stopped trying to pry his hands away and instead grabbed the soft flesh at his waist.
Attacked from above and below, Nolan was exasperated.
"Two against one—isn't that a little unfair?"
"Who'd talk fairness with a bad guy who bullies girls?" Guizhong stuck out her tongue with a mischievous grin.
Feeling the simultaneous pinches on his cheeks and waist, Nolan admitted to himself he was at a disadvantage. Two girls standing united against him—no chance, no chance at all.
He sighed.
"Fine, I admit I was wrong."
To show sincerity, he let go of the Greater Lord's cheeks.
"Hmph, that's better!" Guizhong gave his face one last squeeze before letting go, folding her arms over her flat chest and lifting her chin in smug victory.
The Greater Lord also gave him one last playful stomp on the foot with her bare, fair-skinned toes, then stuck out her tongue as if nothing had happened.
Nolan's mouth twitched.
Was the Wonderland getting too comfortable? When these two first arrived, they'd been quite reserved—now their true natures were showing.
The Greater Lord was a little black-bellied; Guizhong was a bit childish.
Forget it—no point worrying about them. Headache…
Since the Greater Lord still wasn't in shape to help, he'd have to think of another way.
Seeing him retreat in defeat, the two girls clapped hands and cheered "Yay!"—and even gained a bit of favor for his honest apology:
[Greater Lord Rukkhadevata Has Developed Good Feelings Toward You, Obtained 320 Affection Points. Current Affection Level: Lv.7 (120/700)]
[Guizhong Has Developed Good Feelings Toward You, Obtained 320 Affection Points. Current Affection Level: Lv.6 (120/600)]
Nolan blinked at the pop-up. So they were a little two-faced—calling him a bad guy with their mouths, but clearly enjoying this kind of close interaction.
He chuckled to himself.
Heading downstairs, he sat on the sofa in the lounge, mulling over ways to extend the "Akasha" system into the Wonderland.
If the Greater Lord's issue was her slow recovery, maybe he could work from the Wonderland's special properties instead.
The Wonderland's "soul-nurturing" trait could strengthen the soul's essence—if he could apply a Spiritual Attribute trait to enhance that property, it might speed her recovery enough that she wouldn't need a year or two before she could run the system.
That was certainly worth a try. He had plenty of spiritual energy saved up to spend.
Focusing on the Wonderland's soul-nurturing property, he locked onto it with his spiritual power and burned double the spirit energy to target an "effect-enhancement" type trait.
He felt the spirit energy disperse into the Wonderland, and then a message came back:
[Spiritual Core Attribute – Greatsword Technique: This attribute only appears in ability properties. Skills with sword energy are doubled in size and power.]
"…"
Nolan stared, speechless.
The "soul-nurturing" property didn't have any sword energy—it wasn't some kind of sword formation. Even if it doubled a hundred times, it would do nothing.
Ignoring that attribute, he burned double spirit energy again to specify the type, hoping this time it would be something related to the soul.
Maybe it was because Nolan's luck had indeed improved after receiving Yae Miko's blessing—his second Spiritual Core Attribute turned out to be related to the soul:
[Spiritual Core Attribute – Soul Enhancement: This attribute only appears in ability properties. For ability properties that empower the soul, in addition to their original effect, they gain a further boost, greatly increasing soul strength for the duration.]
Nolan took in the information.
He more or less understood—it meant that within the area of effect of the Wonderland's "Soul Nurturing" property, people would, on top of the original benefit, gain a large boost to soul strength for as long as the effect lasted.
And since the Wonderland was a constant environment, this effect was essentially permanent. Looked pretty good.
The question was whether the boost was strong enough—if it could allow the Greater Lord Rukkhadevata to maintain her original recovery speed even while running the "Akasha" system, then it would be useful.
Otherwise, if it only worked inside the Wonderland, it wouldn't mean much for everyone else.
Thinking that, he headed back to the library to see whether the Greater Lord had changed after the enhancement.
The Greater Lord, chatting happily with Guizhong in the library, suddenly felt her soul body grow noticeably denser.
She didn't need to guess—this had Nolan written all over it. His portable space often sprouted new functions, and she was already used to it.
Sure enough, she soon saw him walking in.
"How is it? Do you feel any change in your souls?" Nolan asked with a smile.
"There's a change, yes," the Greater Lord said, "but this kind of strengthening is like putting armor on a human body—it's harder, stronger, but inside it's still the same.
"For ordinary people, that's fine. But for us, who are in a constant state of recovery, even if the armor lets us block stronger attacks, the force that passes through still affects us."
She shook her head.
"I see… looks like this attribute isn't right. I'll try again," Nolan said. He'd had his own soul enhanced before, and what she said was accurate.
The boost was there, but it wasn't his own strength. If you were injured to begin with, such a boost wouldn't make you recover faster.
So he didn't leave, deciding to keep rerolling attributes—he had plenty of spiritual energy stored, and he'd keep going until he found one that fit.
The library was also a good place to observe the Greater Lord and Guizhong's reactions to each attempt.
They, in turn, watched him curiously—if he could pull a attribute that really sped up their recovery, it would be wonderful.
But to their mild surprise, after more than a dozen rolls, he'd gotten all sorts of enhancements to "Soul Nurturing"… just not the right one.
"All right, maybe we should stop before you waste all your spiritual energy," Guizhong sighed, spreading her hands.
"One last try. I have a feeling this one's it."
It wasn't that his luck was bad—many of the traits he'd gotten were excellent, just not what was needed right now.
Once again, he burned double spiritual energy. When it dispersed into the Wonderland, the message came back:
[Spiritual Core Attribute – Effect Enhancement: This attribute only appears in ability properties. The original effect of the ability property is greatly increased.]
"Hm?"
Nolan blinked at the information in his mind. So simple and straightforward—just a flat power-up to the existing effect?
"Hey, I feel like my soul essence is strengthening several times faster!"
The green-haired Guizhong looked surprised at how much faster her recovery had gotten.
"Yes, this is the one! With this attribute, even if I ran the 'Akasha' system over the entire Wonderland Space right now, I could still keep my original recovery speed," the Greater Lord said, her fair face showing a hint of joy.
"Oh, really?" Nolan could also feel his own soul strengthening several times faster. The efficiency boost was obvious.
He thought for a moment.
"Mm, even if you say you could run the 'Akasha' system now, let's keep this pace for a few more months before trying. That'll be better for you."
Knowing that running the system would still drain her strength, he didn't want to take the risk, even with "Soul Nurturing" enhanced.
At least wait until her soul body was more stable.
"Oh? Fine, you're more considerate than I thought," the Greater Lord replied. She and Guizhong weren't surprised—after only a few days in the Wonderland, they'd already figured out what sort of person Nolan was.
Aside from his great strength, he was basically just a flirtatious human.
His eagerness to save her, Guizhong, Havria , Raiden Makoto, and now even the still-slumbering Kitsune Saiguu from the bell artifact—well, that was really just because he coveted their bodies. His talk about wanting divine knowledge or needing their help was just an excuse.
He'd never once actually asked them for anything—zero initiative.
Not that this was a bad thing. She'd found that he always went all out to help the girls around him—just as he was now.
For the women here, that made him a perfectly acceptable lover.
[Greater Lord Rukkhadevata Has Developed Good Feelings Toward You, Obtained 380 Affection Points. Current Affection Level: Lv.7 (500/700)]
[Guizhong Has Developed Good Feelings Toward You, Obtained 380 Affection Points. Current Affection Level: Lv.6 (500/600)]
Seeing the pop-ups, Nolan was pleased and chuckled.
"Haha, but of course."
Normally, deities like the Greater Lord and Guizhong wouldn't care about human romance.
But with enough favor, if he expressed interest in becoming lovers, they probably wouldn't refuse—much like Ei.
Over time, feelings would naturally develop. They weren't unfeeling stones, after all.
For now, the Akasha-in-the-Wonderland problem was solved—it would just be delayed for a few months, and he wasn't in a rush.
With nothing else urgent, he called Havria, Raiden Makoto, and Raiden Ei to the library.
He wanted to learn some new skills from them—especially ones related to stealth.
His Arcane Level skill, Abysswalker, could "hide" in deep space, but that space was still inside Teyvat.
He'd long wondered if upgrading it to Divine Level might let him leap to an "outer" space, bypass the "False Sky" and the Sustainer, and reach the universe beyond.
If so, he could avoid ever crossing that dangerous entity—live safely, without making such an enemy.
After all, if a problem came along that he couldn't handle, it would be bad—unless he grew strong enough to deal with anything.
He wasn't there yet.
Teyvat's monsters weren't strong enough to give the EXP he needed—training with the girls was still faster.
Which made going off-planet, exploring the sea of stars for new Adventure EXP sources, all the more important.
(End of Chapter)
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