Lynette's affection skill seemed to have evolved from magic.
Among them, the first ability—mastering various kinds of magic—was clearly on a completely different level compared to the effects that followed.
The "Vanishing Water Tank" could transfer an object, or even an enemy's attack, elsewhere. Before the opponent realized what had happened, it could even be released at will.
There was no denying how powerful this was. Used properly, it could allow one to take no damage at all while returning the opponent's attack right back at them.
"Spatial Swap Magic" allowed one to swap positions with any object, making it extremely convenient whether for dodging attacks or moving around.
As for the final trick—transforming into cards and doves—it allowed cards and doves to be summoned anytime, anywhere. The cards could be used as weapons, while the doves could serve for scouting or luring enemies.
Each of these abilities was incredibly practical.
Having just obtained several affection skills, Lynette soon realized that she had gained yet another new one. Based on what Nolan had just explained, this was clearly because her affection toward him had reached a certain level as well.
At that thought, a faint blush appeared on her fair cheeks, almost imperceptible.
After getting a little familiar with her new affection skills, it wasn't long before Lyney and Freminet returned, carrying a box that was obviously quite heavy.
When they opened it, as expected, it was filled entirely with Primogems.
Arlecchino said there were roughly a thousand of them—everything accumulated from the time of the previous "Knave" up to the present-day House of the Hearth.
These Primogems were worth over one hundred million Mora, more than enough to demonstrate Arlecchino's sincerity.
Nolan was also very satisfied and put them away. Even if absorbing all of them would only give around three million Adventure EXP, it's still contribute.
He planned to store them in the warehouse for now and absorb them together later, once the Primogems Ningguang and the others were helping collect had arrived as well.
After that, Arlecchino stated that once the cooperation matters with Fontaine were arranged, she would come to Nolan's home within the next couple of days to discuss with Focalors about handing over the Gnosis in advance.
Nolan nodded calmly on the surface.
But inwardly, he was already thinking of excuses, preparing to have Arlecchino and Lynette stay in the Wonderland Space as well.
Since things were basically settled, Nolan didn't continue to disturb Arlecchino's work at the House of the Hearth. After leaving, he had originally planned to find Skirk to learn her Star Abyss Power, and perhaps take the opportunity to raise her affection a bit.
However, after obtaining Arlecchino's affection skill, he found himself too eager to test it out.
After all, this was an ability that could drastically increase his level up progress.
That said, whether at the Herta Space Station or over on the Xianzhou Luofu, it was impossible for him to use "The Accursed Moon Shall Rise."
First of all, the space station was too small, with too few people—there was simply no need.
As for Azure Star, there might be a chance to try it after seeking Herta's opinion. But on the Xianzhou Luofu, if he rashly summoned a Accursed Moon, he would probably be suspected of having some kind of ulterior motive.
Aside from these two places, Nolan didn't currently have the opportunity to visit other civilizations, so he couldn't conduct any experiments for the time being.
Once the Astral Express arrived at the space station, he could hitch a ride to other planetary civilizations.
Among them, there should be planets suitable for setting up the Accursed Moon.
Because the number of Accursed Moons was limited, Nolan currently believed that planets suitable for deployment should meet the following conditions:
First—a large population.
Without enough people, even if everyone on a planet chose to cultivate the Power of the Accursed Moon, deploying one there wouldn't bring Nolan much benefit.
Second—the planet should preferably lack existing transcendent powers.
If a planet already possessed its own transcendent systems, its inhabitants might not necessarily look favorably upon the Power of the Accursed Moon.
After all, this path of cultivation was newly born. It had no legacy whatsoever—people even had to develop something as basic as a cleansing technique on their own.
Aside from being easy to cultivate, it wasn't superior to other cultivation systems in any other respect.
So in a civilization where transcendent powers were already flourishing, others might not even give it a second glance, let alone rush toward it in droves.
Moreover, Nolan was also worried that in certain civilizations rich in transcendent power, if there happened to be an Emanator-level existence, summoning the "Accursed Moon" might draw their attention.
He really didn't want to invite trouble.
With these conditions met, Nolan felt that deploying the "Accursed Moon" should be feasible—and when that happened, it would mark a period of explosive growth in his level.
It was just that the Astral Express would still take a few more days to arrive at the space station, and even hitching a ride didn't guarantee that he would quickly encounter a suitable planet.
Yet having such a powerful ability and not using it left Nolan feeling restless.
So he thought of the world bubble he had previously located in the Sea of Quanta. If there were intelligent life inside that world bubble, then deploying the "Accursed Moon" there wouldn't be impossible.
After all, as long as there were people—so long as an intelligent civilization existed—it didn't have to be placed on a planetary civilization in the universe. A world bubble would work just as well.
And with his Drifter of the Imaginary Sea specialization, he could easily find world bubbles within the Sea of Quanta.
That was far more convenient and efficient than searching through the vast universe!
With that thought, Nolan decided to explore the Sea of Quanta—and the world bubble he had located earlier still hadn't been explored.
Activating the Drifter of the Imaginary Sea specialization, Nolan directly entered the Sea of Quanta, filled with countless projections.
Although its position had shifted, he still appeared right beside the world bubble he had previously located.
He had already anchored this world bubble using the Void StarSea. No matter how its position changed, he could always return to it with ease.
Using the Void Starsea to conceal himself, Nolan then entered the world bubble.
Like touching a soap bubble, causing only the faintest ripple, he slipped into the world bubble effortlessly.
The entire process was as smooth as a stream flowing into the sea.
It was as simple as stepping through a door—on the other side was a completely different scene.
Nolan appeared on the inner side of the world bubble's "membrane," seemingly high up in the sky.
From the outside, the world bubble didn't look very large, but once inside, he discovered that beneath his view lay a vast, boundless continent.
Nolan didn't rush to summon the "Accursed Moon." Instead, he decided to first understand the specific circumstances of this world bubble.
He released his mental power and began probing the world.
Before long, his perception had enveloped the entire world bubble. He learned that its size was roughly equivalent to a single nation in Teyvat.
It wasn't particularly large.
However, its population was considerable—around seventy to eighty million people. Ninety-nine percent were humans, while the remaining few possessed draconic bloodlines.
These dragon-blooded humans wielded draconic transcendent powers and used them to rule over and exploit the rest of humanity.
Ordinary humans had no transcendent abilities, and the technological level of this world was also quite low. As a result, they had no means to resist those with draconic bloodlines.
Humanity in this world lived in dire misery. All labor existed solely for the sake of that small minority, and even the basic right to life and health could not be guaranteed.
They were practically slaves.
(End of Chapter)
RedX43's Note:
➤ Want More? Get up to +25 Extra Chapters on Patreon!
➤ [email protected]/RedX43
➤ +400 Power Stones = +1 Extra Chapter Drop!
➤ Thanks for reading! 🙌