Sumeru, the Akademiya.
On the second floor of the Sanctuary of Surasthana, Nahida had opened the projection of the "Akasha Internet Network" and was reviewing recent developments.
At that moment, Nolan suddenly appeared beside her. Nahida wasn't surprised in the slightest and instead asked with some curiosity,
"You came over so early—are you looking for me about something?"
From her understanding of Nolan, at this time he would either be at home cuddling with the girls, or running around outside looking for more girls to cuddle.
"Governing a nation is hard work, after all. I just came by to check on you and see if there's anything I can help share the burden with," Nolan said with a smile.
He was thinking that if Nahida happened to have something she needed help with, and if it was appropriate, he could use that as a reason to ask Faruzan and Dehya to assist as well.
That way, while helping Nahida, he could also raise her affection toward him.
If there wasn't anything, then he'd have to find another angle himself to approach them. Come to think of it, he wasn't even sure whether they were free right now.
"Nope."
Nahida placed her small index finger against her lower lip, thought for a moment, then spread her hands.
In terms of governance, she had Sumeru running in perfect order. As for dealing with unexpected situations, as a god she possessed more than enough strength.
Moreover, Nolan regularly transferred energy to her to boost her power. Her level was already approaching one hundred and ten.
With Nahida's current strength, even facing The Doctor head-on, she could win with ease.
Thinking it over, Nahida really didn't seem to need his help with anything.
"Oh, right—you seem to have been a bit lax lately. You haven't been sending back much knowledge," Nahida suddenly said.
Nolan knew she was referring to the knowledge obtained from the "Interstellar Peace Network." Recently, he had indeed been staying in Teyvat and hadn't gone over there much.
"The scientific knowledge in interstellar society is practically endless. I can't possibly carry it all back by myself," he said.
"…Ah, I've got it. I'll buy some automatic knowledge-downloading software, then get a bunch of hard drives. Once they're full, I'll bring them back and upload everything little by little."
He had come up with a pretty good solution.
"That'll be a lot of work for you," Nahida said. She had already studied the knowledge Nolan had brought back before, so she understood the meanings of those specialized terms.
"Next comes the real business," Nolan said with a smile as he looked at Nahida. "I have two abilities to give you. They'll let you protect yourself better."
He then explained Shenhe's and Keqing's affection skills to her.
Nahida was a little surprised by these new abilities Nolan was giving her, but she happily accepted them. After all, the ability "Interstellar Travel" had also been given to her by him.
If there was one, there could naturally be a second. There was no need for her to be polite with Nolan. At the same time, she developed a bit more affection for him:
[Nahida Has Developed Good Feelings Towards You, Obtained 660 Affection Points. Current Affection Level: Lv.10 (MAX)]
Seeing the notification pop up on the character panel, Nolan felt a surge of joy. Nahida's affection had reached max level—meaning he would gain another affection skill!
[Through sincere feelings and unremitting effort, your fate—once unrelated—has now become deeply intertwined with hers. From this moment on, the maiden's constellation star shall shine together with yours. You have obtained the ability: Wisdom Tree Diagram.]
Sure enough, right after the affection notification, the prompt for obtaining a new affection skill appeared.
At the same time, Nahida slightly raised her head to look at Nolan.
"You gave me another ability again?"
Clearly, she had also sensed the presence of the new affection skill.
"Mm, that's right."
Nolan explained how affection skills were obtained, as well as how they would in turn feed back information about him to her.
"No wonder you're always around girls," Nahida nodded lightly. "So that means I also harbor romantic feelings toward you."
"No wonder when I don't see you for a long time, my mood feels like a pile of blocks collapsing—everything gets a bit messy."
"I see. Then it seems I haven't been attentive enough," Nolan said. "How about you move into the Wonderland Space like everyone else? That way we can see each other often."
As he spoke, he reached out and gently patted Nahida's head, rubbing her pure white hair.
Although Nahida looked small, she was already five hundred years old. Dating or anything like that was naturally not an issue.
"Okay," Nahida said, pressing a finger to her lower lip as she thought it over.
After all, where she lived didn't affect her work. Moving to the Wonderland Space would make things livelier, and she could also conveniently discuss cooperation matters with Ei, Acting Grand Master Jean, Ningguang, and the others at any time.
"But I still have work right now. Let's prepare for moving into the Wonderland Space this afternoon."
Nahida herself didn't really have anything that needed to be moved anyway.
"Alright then, I won't disturb you," Nolan nodded, then asked, "Oh right—do you know what Faruzan has been busy with lately?"
"Faruzan? You mean the mentor from the Haravatat Darshan?"
Nahida opened the projection interface of the "Akasha Internet Network," located Faruzan, and checked her recent activity.
"That mentor applied two days ago to enter a secret realm I recently discovered in the desert for research. But I wasn't at ease letting her go alone."
"If you're looking for her because you want her to become your lover as well… hmm, if you go together, then I'll approve her application."
After thinking it over, Nahida felt that with Nolan along, there shouldn't be any danger.
Under the coverage of the "Akasha" system, nothing within the region could truly hide—though she wouldn't go so far as to monitor every corner of Sumeru. That would be far too time-consuming.
However, developing automated functions to identify creatures, treasure chests, and domains posed no problem at all.
A few days ago, another newly emerged secret realm had been discovered in the desert. Nahida had announced it on the "Akasha Internet Network," allowing those interested to explore it.
Perhaps that Faruzan mentor from the Haravatat Darshan saw that there were many autonomous mechanisms near the secret realm and wanted to study them.
Nahida also knew that Faruzan's attainments in mechanical arts were quite impressive, so her interest was perfectly understandable.
But Nahida could sense that those mechanisms were rather powerful. If Faruzan went alone, there would be a certain level of danger.
That was why she had temporarily withheld approval of her application.
Nolan knew that whenever Nahida discovered treasures, ruins, secret realms, or dangerous creatures through the "Akasha" system, she would compile detailed information.
If such discoveries were made in Sumeru, they would be openly announced, but exploration required an application.
The main concern was that some adventurers might lack sufficient strength yet still challenge overly dangerous locations.
If discoveries were made in other nations, the information would be summarized and sent to the respective official organizations, letting those countries decide how to handle things themselves.
In this way, adventurers could avoid many dangers during their expeditions—another benefit of the Akasha system's coverage.
"Alright, then I'll go ask her," Nolan thought to himself that this was perfect. It saved him the trouble of coming up with an excuse.
"She's currently at the Haravatat Darshan," Nahida reminded him.
"Got it."
Nolan acknowledged her words, then left the Sanctuary of Surasthana and headed toward the Haravatat Darshan.
During the walk, Nolan also opened the affection skill he had just obtained from Nahida to take a look:
[Wisdom Tree Diagram: Any ability can be planted as a "seed." By using knowledge as nourishment, once the seed is fed to a certain extent, it will sprout and grow toward a "tree form." For every branch that grows, the ability gains one additional attribute bonus. The numerical bonus has an upper limit of the sum of the two individuals' levels. A single skill can grow up to three branches. After growth is completed, there is a chance to bear a "Fruit of Wisdom." Consuming a Fruit of Wisdom allows one to "summarize and integrate" abilities of the same type.]
So it enhanced existing abilities with additional effects—seemed pretty good. The effect was quite universal, and the growth conditions weren't complicated either.
As for using "knowledge" as nourishment, it was essentially just studying and learning new things. Of course, it wasn't limited to reading books—any activity that involved acquiring new knowledge counted.
As new knowledge was gained, the "seed" would gradually grow.
Compared to the extra attribute boosts, Nolan was actually more interested in the "Fruit of Wisdom."
Integrating abilities of the same type meant organizing multiple similar abilities according to certain rules and logic, merging them into a systematic, knowledge-like framework.
Once successfully summarized and integrated, overlapping effects would merge and strengthen, while different effects would link and complement each other. There was even a chance that special effects could emerge from this synergy.
For example, his various titles, skills, and proficiencies could each be integrated into systematic frameworks like a "Title System" or a "Skill System."
Any new abilities obtained afterward could be directly integrated as well, without the need to consume another Fruit of Wisdom.
And according to the feedback information, these "Fruits of Wisdom" could be used not only by himself, but also given to others.
Nolan himself didn't have that many abilities suitable for integration. Any surplus Fruits of Wisdom later on could be given to the girls to strengthen them.
The stronger they became, the stronger Nolan himself would be as well!
Thinking this through, he continued walking while considering which of his abilities he should plant first.
Skills could be enhanced by learning new ones and integrating them, so there was no rush there. If his proficiencies couldn't be upgraded later, he could try strengthening those instead.
But his most core ability was undoubtedly his innate talent, "Entangling Affection."
If he was going to enhance something, it should be that. With that thought, Nolan activated Nahida's affection skill and planted "Entangling Affection" as a seed.
From now on, every time he learned new knowledge, it would nourish the seed's growth. Nolan felt a hint of anticipation about what kind of extra attribute bonuses it would gain.
The effect of "Entangling Affection" was to unlock girls' affection toward him and grant affection skills once that affection reached max level.
So any extra attribute bonuses would likely be derived around "affection" or "affection skills."
Most likely, it would either increase affection gain or enhance the effects of affection skills—that was exactly what he was aiming for.
Nolan casually took a book from the library in the Wonderland Space. The title was Introduction to Basic Elements, authored by Lisa.
This book was a foundational textbook that Lisa had specially taken time to compile recently. The copy in Nolan's hands was her handwritten manuscript.
Ever since the "Elemental Storage Device" had been developed—allowing even ordinary people to use elemental power in a simple way—Acting Grand Master Jean had proposed establishing specialized training schools within the Knights of Favonius.
Only those who had studied basic elemental knowledge and proper usage at these training schools, and passed the examinations, would be legally allowed to use an "Elemental Storage Device."
Although the device only allowed the storage and release of elemental power, with limited output, and couldn't let people freely manipulate elements like a Vision could…
Elemental power was still elemental power. Much like firearms, it was an extraordinary force beyond ordinary human capabilities.
If used by people who didn't understand elemental power, accidents could easily happen. If abused by those with malicious intent, it could easily become dangerous.
However, elemental power was fundamentally different from weapons like firearms.
When used correctly, it could greatly improve productivity and offer better protection against monsters.
Therefore, outright restriction wasn't appropriate either.
What was needed was to train people with knowledge, discipline, and good character—hence the establishment of these training schools.
That said, this was only a temporary measure. In the future, this content would be incorporated into regular school education, since good education should start early.
Nolan opened the book, and Lisa's neat, elegant handwriting came into view, giving off a clean and refined impression.
This book was intended for beginners. Its main content carefully introduced the seven elements, the reactions between them, and simple applications of elemental power.
Naturally, Nolan already understood all of this, but he wanted to test whether knowledge he already knew would still count.
As he flipped through the pages, memorizing and comprehending them seriously, he felt the seed within the "Wisdom Tree Diagram" begin to stir.
By the time he finished reading the entire book, he discovered that the seed had already sprouted!
When he opened the book again and reread it, he found that it no longer had any effect. Clearly, the knowledge from the same book could only "nourish" the seed once.
Still, just this amount of knowledge was enough to make the seed sprout—this speed was quite fast. Nolan felt that it wouldn't take many days before the first branch grew.
Just as he was about to turn himself into a disciplined learner and switch to another book, he realized that the Haravatat Darshan was already right in front of him.
It seemed he would have to postpone his diligent studying for a bit.
Nolan extended his spiritual perception and easily located Faruzan. However, she was currently teaching a class, so it didn't seem appropriate to disturb her.
After some thought, he turned invisible and walked toward the classroom where Faruzan was teaching. This way, he could listen to her lecture, let the seed continue growing, and conveniently wait until her class ended.
A few minutes later, Nolan arrived near Faruzan's classroom. Thanks to his invisibility, he walked straight in and stood off to the side.
The Haravatat Darshan specialized in theoretical studies, focusing on linguistics, semiotics, and other disciplines related to language and writing.
What Faruzan was currently teaching was semiotics. Through Ganyu's affection skill, Nolan had gained access to a large amount of adeptal knowledge, which also included rune-related content.
So he was able to easily understand what Faruzan was teaching.
At the same time, Nolan noticed that the seed within the "Wisdom Tree Diagram" had begun to grow once more, slowly but steadily.
(End of Chapter)
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