Lv.136 (28,541,231 — 50,000+/46,000,000)
With fifty thousand points of cultivation progress per second, ten seconds meant five hundred thousand, one hundred seconds meant five million. In less than ten minutes, Nolan would advance to level 137.
Then, in under seventeen more minutes, he would reach level 138. Reaching level 140 in total would only take about an hour.
This speed was simply outrageous!
But when he thought of the "Galaxy" universe—of those blessed by Aeons who instantly became at least level 150 Emanators, and of Aeons themselves who ascended in a short time—
by comparison, Nolan's growth rate seemed almost ordinary.
In the "Sea Of Quanta," after taking one last look at the world bubbles floating within it, Nolan temporarily withdrew.
Since the "Simulated Universe" was under maintenance, there was no need for him to go to the Herta Space Station.
Back in the Wonderland Space, Nolan quietly slipped into Skirk's room. Hugging her as they lay down on the bed together, five minutes passed in the blink of an eye.
Looking at her fair face as she slept peacefully, Nolan lay on his side and gently parted Skirk's snow-white legs after she had taken off her purple thigh-high stockings.
Rubbing and tugging as he pulled aside the black lace panties clinging to her body, the two pressed together once more.
Carefully caressing her soft hips, and doing his best not to wake Skirk, he kissed and licked at her cheek and neck.
Just like that, an hour passed.
Nolan opened his character panel and saw that his level had indeed risen to 140:
Lv.140 (12,256,582 — 50,000+/50,000,000)
Moreover, there was no sign of the per-second cultivation progress slowing down. Based on past experience, with a world bubble containing a total of 1.5 billion intelligent life forms,
at least until around thirty percent of the population cultivated the "Accursed Moon Power," the per-second progress wouldn't noticeably decline.
Previously, one to two hundred million people had already begun cultivating the "Accursed Moon Power."
In other words, only when at least five hundred million people were cultivating it would the per-second progress begin to slow slightly.
By then, his level should reach at least 145—and that would only take a single night's sleep. He'd wake up tomorrow and it would already be done!
Nolan couldn't help but feel excited and full of anticipation. But since the time hadn't quite arrived yet, he turned his attention to the prompt displayed on the character panel:
[Your level has increased to Lv.140. Evolution has reached a new stage. You may obtain one "Racial Specialty." Please choose.]
Reaching level 140 meant it was time to choose a racial Specialty again:
[Star Devourer: Grow by devouring planetary energy. Energy is converted into mass, allowing your body size to grow accordingly, with no upper limit.]
[Light of the Transparent World: The light of the soul illuminates all phenomena. Any information about anything within the current world can be known by you.]
[Heroic Spirit Affinity: The soul transcends time and space, naturally favored by spiritual entities. Using related items, you may summon the true forms of heroic spirits from any world's past or future.]
Nolan pondered carefully for a moment.
He immediately ruled out the first option. Leaving aside the fact that he already possessed energy-devouring abilities, he simply didn't like the idea of growing infinitely large.
After all, what would be the point of becoming that big? He wouldn't even be able to cuddle with girls anymore.
The second option was quite good—if he wished, he could know detailed information about anything within the world he was in.
It was even stronger than combining Fischl's, Yae Miko's, and Layla's affection skills. However, functionally, it overlapped somewhat with those abilities.
Those affection skills were already sufficient, so Nolan felt that the third option, "Heroic Spirit Affinity," suited him best.
With this, if he ever encountered situations like those involving Havria, Raiden Makoto, or Kitsune Saiguu again, he could directly summon their souls from the past using items related to them.
There would be no need to find fragments of their souls and slowly restore them within the Wonderland Space.
Having chosen his Specialty, and given the late hour, Nolan didn't attempt to test "Heroic Spirit Affinity." Instead, he held Skirk's soft body and gradually fell asleep.
When he woke up the next day, Nolan felt that both his body and soul had grown significantly. Checking the character panel, he found that his level had increased once again:
Lv.146 (1,452,563 — 10,000+/56,000,000)
From level 140, he had advanced another six levels in one go. With over ten thousand points of cultivation progress per second still coming in, reaching the next level would take less than two hours.
At this rate, reaching level 150 would take less than seven hours!
At that point, he would be able to choose another Specialty. The thought made Nolan feel excited once again.
But that was still a few hours away. For now, it was time to get up.
Nolan looked at Skirk lying on top of him.
Perhaps because she had been cultivating closely with him throughout the day and deep into the night, her body was exhausted, and she was still sleeping soundly.
After holding Skirk for a while longer, the two separated from their tightly entwined cultivation posture. She groggily woke up, shooting him an embarrassed and annoyed glare.
Nolan smiled, kissed her soft lips once, then got out of bed without further disturbing her rest.
It was around seven in the morning. Yesterday, Kirara had contacted him via the waymark, saying that she had finished delivering Fontaine's mail and was temporarily free.
Kirara planned to spend some time sightseeing in Fontaine, and she was ready to make good on her promise to treat him—yes, to invite him out for morning tea in Fontaine.
When a girl extends an invitation, how could he possibly refuse?
After morning tea, he could return for lunch. In the afternoon, Arlecchino was planning to come over with Lynette to talk with Furina about obtaining the Gnosis ahead of time.
Nolan intended to use this opportunity to help them familiarize themselves with the Wonderland Space and invite them to stay as well.
After roughly organizing his schedule for the day, Nolan washed up and set out.
Court of Fontaine, near the Debord Hotel.
When Nolan teleported to Kirara's side, he discovered that Chiori was also there, dressed in an orange mid-sleeve kimono.
Snow-white elbows were exposed at her sleeves, while her black-gloved arms crossed over a red obi, lightly lifting her chest.
Her soft legs, tightly wrapped in black pantyhose, stepped in flat shoes with soft tapping sounds as she looked at Nolan in surprise.
Even though it was a question, her tone remained as calm as ever:
"Why did you suddenly appear?"
"Naturally, I couldn't let the ladies wait too long, so I used every means possible to rush over immediately," Nolan said, feeling quite witty.
"Smooth-talker."
Chiori replied expressionlessly, shifting her gaze away from him to look ahead.
"Hehe, Chiori doesn't joke around," Kirara said with a giggle.
"Ah, I see."
Nolan nodded, organized his words, and explained more seriously:
"I actually sensed Kirara, activated spatial traversal, and then appeared by her side."
"I didn't ask you to explain that. Forget it."
Chiori frowned slightly. She had only found Nolan's sudden appearance a bit strange.
After all, when Kirara insisted on dragging her out this morning, she hadn't mentioned that Nolan would be coming too.
Having breakfast with a man she had only met once felt a little awkward.
Even though this man didn't give off an unpleasant impression.
"Nolan helped me out a lot, so I invited him along and treated him," Kirara said as she looked at Chiori.
After all, they had known each other for a long time as friends, so Kirara more or less understood what Chiori was thinking.
"I don't mind. Don't overthink it," Chiori nodded.
While chatting casually, the group arrived at the front of the Debord Hotel. Under the guidance of the staff at the front desk, they found a table and sat down.
"I want this, this, and this~"
Kirara looked over the menu and quickly ordered the dishes she liked, then pushed the menu to the middle between Nolan and Chiori.
"Chiori, what about you? What do you like to eat?"
"As long as it's not sheep offal haggis, anything's fine."
Chiori pushed the menu toward Nolan.
Nolan glanced through it casually, found everything looked quite good, and ordered a few Fontaine-style morning dishes he hadn't tried before.
After placing the order, Kirara took the menu again, planning to order a few dishes that looked nice for Chiori as well.
As a result, the atmosphere between Nolan and Chiori became a little quiet.
Nolan couldn't stand awkward silence, so he casually brought up a topic.
"By the way, Miss Chiori, as a well-known fashion designer, do you have any goals for the future?"
"Why are you asking that?"
Chiori brushed aside a strand of hair by her cheek, lifted her teacup for a small sip, then set it down, her gaze resting on the calm surface of the tea.
"You should know about the recently rising 'Akasha Interconnected Network,' right? Online communities with no limits have drastically shortened the distance between people.
"As long as you place an ad in a prominent spot, everyone can know about it very quickly.
"I happen to have a good relationship with Lesser Lord Kusanali. If you need it, I can ask her to help you advertise a bit on the 'Akasha Network.'
"If that happens, Miss Chiori, in just a few days your name would probably be known throughout all of Teyvat, and your business would definitely boom."
Since he had the chance to spend time with a girl, Nolan naturally wanted to see if he could gain her favor.
As for Chiori, this was the only idea he could think of for the moment.
After all, she was a fashion designer who ran her own shop—surely she wouldn't refuse becoming more famous.
A look of surprise appeared on Chiori's fair face. She glanced at Nolan and parted her soft lips to ask:
"As far as I know, every advertising slot on the 'Akasha Network' is extremely expensive. Even a place like the Debord Hotel can only afford to advertise in some obscure corner of Fontaine's tourism section.
"Do you really think my little shop can afford that kind of advertising?"
People often said her designs were ahead of their time. When the "Akasha Network" began to rise, her sharp perspective and forward-thinking mindset allowed her to realize that it could quickly build the brand name of "Chiori."
However, every piece of clothing from Chioriya Boutique was personally designed and made by her. In terms of quality, Chiori could guarantee they were absolutely top-tier.
But she was only one person, and there was a limit to how fast she could cut and sew. Even if she sold her clothes as high-end luxury items, it would still be difficult to afford advertising on the "Akasha Network."
Moreover, although her clothes weren't cheap, their prices were still within a reasonable range.
"I'm friends with Kirara, and Kirara is friends with you, so that makes me your friend too. It's just an advertisement—how could I possibly make you pay for it?"
Nolan said with a shake of his head and a light laugh.
Chiori didn't deny the idea that she was Nolan's friend. After thinking for a moment, she shook her head and said:
"I'm not a businessperson. Relying on someone else's help—even if it spreads the name 'Chiori' across the entire world—would be meaningless."
She didn't dislike advertising. As long as it wasn't exaggerated or gimmicky, and more people could come to know the works she designed, she would be happy.
But the premise was that it had to be achieved through her own efforts, not through someone else's goodwill—even if that person was a friend.
Still, Chiori appreciated Nolan's kindness, and couldn't help developing a bit of goodwill toward him:
[Chiori Has Developed Good Feelings Toward You. Obtained 740 Affection Points. Current Affection Level: Lv.5 (460/500)]
"Uh… alright then."
In just a short time together, Nolan felt that Chiori was a very independent kind of woman—someone who would rely on herself rather than others whenever possible, and likely quite stubborn too.
He had only brought it up as a tentative suggestion.
Since Chiori had clearly expressed that she didn't need it, respecting her was the best choice.
That said, Nolan's desire to help Chiori was sincere. If direct help wouldn't work, then he could simply change his approach.
After giving it some thought, with his ever-growing strength and increasingly agile mind, Nolan quickly came up with an idea that Chiori would surely agree to.
He continued:
"What if the 'Akasha Network' hosted a world-scale fashion design competition, inviting top designers from all over the world to participate, competing through their works?
"If a ranking were decided in the end, wouldn't those at the top naturally gain great fame?"
Using fair competition and letting strength speak for itself—spreading Chiori's name in this way—Nolan felt she wouldn't reject the idea.
And he also believed that with Chiori's abilities, she would rank among the best even across all of Teyvat.
After all, she was a Vision holder.
Even though elemental power didn't really help with fashion design,
having a Vision likely meant that Chiori's desires, will, and convictions belonged to that tiny group of people at the very top of this world.
With such strong conviction, she clearly wouldn't be lacking in any field.
"…"
Chiori wanted to ask why he was being so nice to her. Even between friends, was it really necessary to go this far?
It felt a bit like the couples she occasionally saw in her shop—where the man would always go out of his way, racking his brain to please the woman.
Thinking this, Chiori looked at Nolan as if she'd suddenly realized something.
As a legendary adventurer with countless remarkable achievements, Chiori had naturally heard of Nolan before.
After Kirara brought him over the other day and they met by chance, Chiori had even looked him up on the "Akasha Network."
There were rumors online that Nolan had ambiguous relationships with many women.
Among them were the Acting Grand Master of the Knights of Favonius, the Tianquan and Yuheng of the Liyue Qixing, and even the Shogun herself.
Now that he was putting so much effort into helping her, could it be that he was acting on attraction and had designs on her?
Chiori thought cautiously.
(End of Chapter)
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