In a way, this gem resembled Elysia. She could wield nearly limitless Honkai energy, but her output efficiency was limited. Similarly, the Scholar could extract nearly limitless energy from this gem. Whether the gem's energy was truly infinite remained uncertain, but after years of use, she had observed no discernible depletion.
However, like Elysia, the gem's sole limitation was its output efficiency.
The Scholar turned to the young girl beside her and said, "Elysia, you should return now. I need to stay here longer."
Finalizing the details of their collaboration, studying Little Glutton's technology, and gathering intelligence on various Dimensional Rifts would all require considerable time.
Elysia couldn't help but ask, "Exactly how long is 'a while'?"
The Scholar paused before answering, "I don't know. It could be a month or two, a year or two, or perhaps even longer."
"You're going to stay in this desolate place for that long?"
"It's fine. I'm used to being alone."
"What about your White Tower?"
"Well, about that..." The Scholar furrowed her brow in thought, realizing she hadn't seriously considered the matter of her White Tower until now. After a moment, she turned to Elysia and said, "I can give you my phone. I'll leave instructions for you to manage it on my behalf. Until I return, you'll have full authority over my White Tower."
"No, no, no!" Elysia shook her head vigorously. Baldy Burke handled almost all the management of her own White Tower; she knew next to nothing about it. How could she possibly take on another one at this point?
But then, the Scholar clasped her hands together, her clear eyes gazing quietly at Elysia.
She seemed to be trying her best to appear sincerely pleading, but it was no exaggeration to say that this might be the first time she'd ever asked anyone for a favor. She clearly didn't know what expression to make. In the end, she tilted her head slightly, blinked, and said, "Please, you're the only one I can trust, Elysia."
Whether she was truly sincere or not, the Scholar looked utterly adorable in that moment!
Can you imagine someone who's usually cold and expressionless trying their best to act cute for you?
And when they say, "You're the only person I can trust," how could Elysia possibly refuse? She reached out, walked over to the Scholar, and playfully pinched her cheeks. "Ugh, why do I have such a soft heart? It's impossible to say no to a cute girl's request. Fine, I get it~"
"Still, you must get lonely here all by yourself, right?" Elysia turned to Little Glutton and asked, "Can you provide us with a device that allows stable communication even across different worlds?"
In their world, such technology was still in its infancy, but Little Glutton's world had delved deeper into the study of Dimensional Rifts. Theoretically, they should have such a device.
And indeed, they did. Moments later, two rectangular devices the size of fingers materialized before the Scholar and Elysia.
Taking her communicator, Elysia immediately declared, "I'll call you every day! I hope you won't find me annoying~"
The Scholar paused, then nodded. "Alright," she said.
Only then did Elysia turn and step slowly into the portal.
Watching Elysia's retreating figure, the Scholar couldn't quite grasp her own emotions. Finally, she let out a soft sigh and turned to Little Glutton. "Let's begin," she said.
In truth, the Scholar had another reason for lending her gemstone. She knew perfectly well that with her current technology and the gemstone's energy output efficiency, it might never be returned in her lifetime. The moment the deal was struck, she had effectively lost the gemstone forever. Even if it were eventually returned, it wouldn't be given back to her.
But the Scholar wasn't thinking solely of the present. Imagining the worst-case scenario—if her world were also destroyed by a Dimensional Rift—she wondered if Little Glutton's technology, combined with the gemstone's eventual return, might give her world a chance at reconstruction.
She was sacrificing the 'loss' of today for a potential 'solution' to a future crisis for generations to come.
The perspective shifts back to Elysia. After passing through the portal, she emerged from the same Dimensional Rift she and Scholar had entered earlier.
The area remained sealed off, devoid of pedestrians. However, as Elysia appeared, the Dimensional Rift in the sky vanished, signaling that the incident had been resolved.
"Sigh..." Elysia sighed softly. Before learning of her previous world's destruction, she had desperately hoped the Trial Arena's real world was her former home. But now, her feelings had completely reversed—she prayed this Trial Arena World wasn't her previous life.
Lost in thought, Elysia began walking toward the White Tower.
It's worth noting that time flowed at the same rate in both the Trial Arena World and the main world. This meant Elysia's seven-day survival mission had caused her to narrowly miss the Eldritch Concord's Blood Moon Awakening Ritual, which was scheduled to take place five days later.
Even though Elysia was trapped within the Dimensional Rift, several other versions of her remained outside.
-
Two days earlier, after learning about the situation, Firefly couldn't help but ponder.
Should I send SAM in to make a grand entrance? He could descend from the sky and wipe out all those cultists.
But she quickly realized there was an easier solution. Firefly possessed Mad Lion's contact information—a one-way communication channel he had unilaterally provided. This meant she could reach Mad Lion, but he couldn't contact her.
Since this was White Eagle's territory, Firefly decided to let their operatives handle it. She immediately called Mad Lion, ordering the wayward White Eagle Eight to get back to work.
SAM's distinctly metallic voice echoed through the phone. "On November 10th, head to Florida. Some cultists are planning to cause trouble there."
"Alright, bro! Let's get going!" Mad Lion agreed instantly. To say he was impulsive would be an understatement. He didn't doubt the call or the information for a second, and within ten minutes of receiving it, he had already booked a flight and was on his way.
The downside was that after obtaining "SAM's" contact information, Mad Lion bombarded Firefly with calls that very day.
"Hey bro, you been busy lately? Haven't seen you jetting around dealing with Dimensional Rifts."
"Hey bro, you got some free time? I just finished some intense training and leveled up big time. Wanna spar again?"
"Hey bro, I got a few bottles of ultra-rare vintage wine here. Wanna grab a drink after we spar?"
Firefly: "..."
If only I'd gone alone.