Preparing a room was something Nolan had long since mastered. It did not take him much time to finish.
When he returned to the living room, he saw that Stelle had already blended in with Fischl and Lumine. The three of them were fully immersed in the game, completely focused.
Originally, he had planned to bring Stelle to her room, check if anything was lacking, grant her the Waymark and a few other Affection Skills, and raise her affection a bit more along the way.
Since she was enjoying herself so much, he decided to wait.
It was evening in Teyvat. Everyone had just finished work and returned home. With Noelle, Xiangling, and several other girls handling dinner, there was no need for Nolan to help.
With nothing pressing to do, he decided to head back to the Sea of Quanta to continue searching for world bubbles.
After all, he could not slack off when it came to increasing his strength.
Ever since reaching Level 160, nearly a full day had passed. His level had already risen again:
Lv162 (256,542,521 – 20,000+ / 720,000,000)
His cultivation progress per second had dropped slightly, so it was the perfect time to fuse more world bubbles to boost it.
Soon, Nolan arrived at the Sea of Quanta, appearing beside the Assembled Continent world bubble. Its appearance remained unchanged as usual.
However, the quality of its World Membrane had increased to thirty times that of an ordinary one, thanks to the fusion of thirty world bubbles.
Under normal circumstances, without spatial abilities, even fairly strong individuals would no longer be able to enter directly.
If an Emanator level existence arrived, they could forcibly tear their way inside.
Nolan entered the world bubble to check on things. He found that the various civilizations had begun interacting with one another, and for now, there were no major issues.
He then exited and hurried to search for more world bubbles in the Sea of Quanta.
The thirty first world bubble was found in under ten minutes. Quite fortunate. Unfortunately, it contained no life.
After fusing it as well, he set off again.
This time, it took twenty minutes to find the thirty second world bubble. After entering and observing it for a while, he discovered it was a modern city inhabited by tens of millions of humans. It appeared peaceful enough.
Once he fused it into the Assembled Continent, his cultivation gain per second returned to thirty thousand.
Before searching for the next one, Nolan took out his pocket watch and checked the time. It was already seven o'clock, so he returned to the Wonderland.
In the main hall, Stelle was still playing games. This time she was battling Paimon, while Fischl and Lumine were helping carry finished dishes from the kitchen to several dining tables.
Soon, dinner began, and Nolan took the opportunity to introduce Stelle to everyone.
Naturally, everyone welcomed her warmly. Faced with so many greetings, Stelle shyly scratched the back of her head, though it was clear she was happy.
Still, she found it a little strange that aside from Nolan, everyone here seemed to be girls.
After dinner, Nolan brought Stelle to the room he had prepared for her. He then granted her the Waymark and several other Affection Skills all at once.
As expected, Stelle's affection increased again:
[Stelle Has Developed Good Feelings Toward You, Obtained 880 Affection Points. Current Affection Level: Lv.6 (200/600)]
Looking at the notification on his character panel, Nolan felt secretly delighted.
Now, Stelle was not going anywhere.
Afterward, he told her to rest well. Starting tomorrow, he planned to take her around Teyvat and the Herta Space Station to broaden her horizons.
Over the next two days, Nolan accompanied Stelle as she familiarized herself with Teyvat and the Herta Space Station.
Herta happened to return as well. After hearing about Stelle's situation, she became quite interested and wanted to study her. After all, someone who had fused with a Stellaron yet showed no abnormalities was rather rare.
Of course, Nolan knew that Stelle, who had fused with a Stellaron, would not have any issues. On the contrary, there were significant benefits, such as the possibility of walking multiple Paths at once.
Moreover, with his Affection Skill "Divine Maiden's Purity," which granted immunity to negative states, there was even less chance of accidents or a Stellaron losing control.
So he found an excuse to refuse Herta's request. If Stelle spent her time assisting with research, that would reduce the time she spent with him. And without time together, how could he raise her affection?
In truth, Herta did not mind too much. She had possessed the Stellaron for quite some time already and had researched it thoroughly. As for what would happen after it fused into Stelle's body, she could simply observe her occasionally and find out.
Later, Herta also told Nolan that the Simulated Universe had finished its maintenance upgrade. She invited him to test it when he had time and extended the invitation to Stelle as well.
She could sense that Stelle's strength was also impressive. The more testers she had, the more data she could gather.
When Stelle heard that the Simulated Universe was something similar to a game, she grew interested and agreed under the pull of curiosity.
Thus, in addition to searching for world bubbles in the Sea of Quanta, Nolan gained another routine task: testing the Simulated Universe together with Stelle.
Several more days passed like this. The number of world bubbles he had fused reached thirty six. Through the Simulated Universe, he had also accumulated a considerable amount of Adventure EXP.
Checking his character panel, he saw that his level up progress was nearly at Level 170. If he invested the Adventure EXP he had gathered over the past few days, it should be enough:
Lv169 (325,165,588 – 20,000+ / 790,000,000)
There was no need to hesitate. Since he had once again reached the stage where he could select a racial specialization, Nolan immediately used his Adventure EXP to fill in the remaining gap:
Adventure EXP -464,834,412
Lv169 (325,165,588 – 20,000+ / 790,000,000) → Lv170 (0 – 20,000+ / 8,000,000,000)
A vast surge of energy erupted within him, driving both his body and soul into rapid transformation.
Just like before, the process ended quickly. Then several prompts appeared on his character panel:
[Your Level Has Increased To Lv.170. Your Evolution Has Reached A New Stage. You May Obtain One "Racial Speciality." Please Choose.]
Nolan shifted his gaze toward the options. The first one read:
[Philosophical Embryo: Based on your own characteristics, nurture a "Path." When the Path is successfully born, you will ascend to the rank of "Aeon."]
The very first option was astonishingly heavyweight. It directly offered a guaranteed ticket to becoming an Aeon.
The only drawback was that nurturing the Path might require some time.
However, Nolan felt that a Path imposed too many restrictions on an Aeon. Most current Aeons were bound to act in accordance with the concept of their respective Paths.
With Arlecchino's Affection Skill and the ability to farm Adventure EXP through his character panel, he would sooner or later reach a level comparable to an Aeon.
He might even surpass them.
There was no need to shackle himself with a Path, so he dismissed that option for now.
(End of Chapter)
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