Nolan looked at the character panel as several new options popped up:
[Phase Spirit: Allows you to freely shift between phases, appearing in any dimension of the universe.]
A power that lets him teleport everywhere—honestly, it seemed even more convenient than Interstellar Travel. But he already had plenty of teleportation abilities. For him, this specialization didn't seem all that valuable.
Still, being able to slip through different spatial dimensions at will definitely wasn't a simple ability. At the very least, it meant he wouldn't need a spacecraft anymore when roaming across the universe.
If the later options turned out to be worse, this one wouldn't be a bad pick.
Nolan shifted his attention to the second racial specialty.
[Drifter of the Imaginary Sea: Grants the ability to freely enter and exit the Sea of Quanta, survive within it, and faintly sense the locations of nearby "World Bubbles" through intuition.]
Hm? Sea of Quanta… World Bubbles?!
Nolan's brows rose slightly as he read that description.
Before transmigrating to Teyvat, he had played other games from this company back on Earth. He vaguely remembered mentions of something called the "Sea of Quanta."
But since he didn't play long, he hadn't really studied the lore or setting. His understanding of the concepts was extremely surface-level.
He only remembered that the "Sea of Quanta" was the final resting place of all worlds. When a world decayed, it would fall from the "Imaginary Tree" into the Sea of Quanta, becoming an incomplete "World Bubble."
Once the bubble collapsed, it returned to nothingness.
Back when he first learned the Imaginary Tree existed in this universe, Nolan had suspected the Sea of Quanta must also exist.
But since he couldn't find any mention of it on the Interastral Peace Network, he couldn't be certain.
After all, research on the Imaginary Tree in the Galactic civilizations was still purely theoretical. No one had ever actually observed it.
In other words, despite the galaxy's highly advanced technology, their understanding of the universe's true nature remained shallow.
Since no information was available, Nolan hadn't thought much of it.
But now? It seemed the Sea of Quanta did exist. And if he gained the ability to explore World Bubbles inside it, the potential gains would be enormous.
Nolan felt this specialization was actually quite good.
After all, if he found some World Bubble filled with monsters… wouldn't that basically be an infinite farm for Adventure EXP?
He couldn't help feeling a little excited.
But he still hadn't looked at the third racial specialty—so no need to rush.
[Antiparticle Body: Your physical form is composed of antiparticles. All attacks gain annihilation effects and ignore all forms of defense.]
Nolan blinked.
Every attack ignores defense?
Isn't that basically true damage?!
He thought it over carefully. This specialization was undeniably powerful… but he already had plenty of offensive abilities. The second option seemed more beneficial overall.
After weighing the choices, Nolan selected Drifter of the Imaginary Sea.
The moment he confirmed, he felt his body subtly shift—like he could slip into another space at any time, and could faintly sense what existed within that space.
He focused—and saw a familiar scene.
Endless projections, ever-shifting coordinates… wasn't this the Projection Space?
Nolan was startled.
So that "Projection Space" he entered via invisibility… was actually the Sea of Quanta?!
And the strange bubble he anchored onto days ago—that was a World Bubble?!
Thankfully, this specialization still let him sense World Bubbles. Otherwise, two of his abilities really would overlap.
Upon surpassing level 120, Nolan's "Beloved by Maidens" specialty also changed slightly.
He gained a new trait—True Love Puzzle, merging with the earlier "Harmonic Resonance." Just like before, every major breakthrough granted a new effect.
At level 110, he had obtained Projection Summoning, allowing girls enhanced by Harmonized Energy to summon Nolan's astral projection for protection.
That "projection's" strength depended entirely on their affection—each affection level granting 10% of Nolan's power. Full affection meant a full-strength projection.
But there was a time limit: each summon could only last up to half an hour.
Last time's trait benefited the girls more.
This time's True Love Puzzle enhanced Nolan himself.
He examined the details.
For every girl with max affection, a puzzle piece shaped in her likeness would manifest within his spiritual domain.
Each puzzle piece enhanced one of his attributes—what it enhanced and by how much depended on what that girl excelled at.
For example, Guizhong, who had just reached max affection, was exceptional in dust-based authority. Her puzzle piece strengthened Nolan's power in that domain.
The exact boost scaled with her level.
Since she was now level 106, Nolan gained +106% Dust Authority power.
He didn't possess Dust Authority himself.
But he did have the related affection skill "Return to Stardust."
Meaning—this skill's power would now receive an additional +106% boost.
For a girl like Lisa, who excelled in elemental arts, her puzzle piece increased his all-elemental damage.
For Mona, the great astrologer, her piece enhanced Nolan's astrological divination accuracy.
He simply couldn't use it yet, since he hadn't learned astrology himself.
Aside from each piece providing its own enhancement, gathering enough pieces allowed him to assemble the full True Love Puzzle.
A completed True Love Puzzle could guard the soul, allow borrowing of the girls' powers, and unleash its true combined ability.
But it required at least 30 puzzle fragments—and Nolan currently had only 28 girls at max affection.
He needed two more before he could complete it.
Nolan didn't find this difficult at all. He felt that with just a bit of effort—spending some time with the girls whose affection was already near max, coaxing them into a good mood—he could easily reach full affection with a couple more.
After spending some time checking all the changes brought by his level-up, he glanced at his character panel:
---
Name: Nolan Walker
Level: Lv124 (0 / 34,000,000)
Race: Human
Titles: Honorary Knight, Distinguished Citizen of Liyue, Legendary Adventurer, Honorary General of Watatsumi Island, Sumeru Sage, Prince of Fontaine
Innate Talent: Entangling Affection
Skills:
- Lumine's Musou · World Lv.10 ( Void Starsea Manifestation)
- Flowing Sky Shot: Arcane Level Lv.10 (Frostglow Arrow)
Specialties:
- Beloved by Maidens (Exclusive)
- Unmoving Gospel of the World Tree (Exclusive)
- Threads of the Northern Wind (Exclusive)
- Spiritual Core (Exclusive)
- Imaginary Energy
- Drifter of the Imaginary Sea
Adventure EXP: 775,104
---
He needed more than thirty-four million Adventure EXP to reach the next level… but he only had around seven hundred thousand left.
Time to find a new place to grind EXP again.
Maybe the Sea of Quanta would be a great option. Now that he could sense the location of World Bubbles, he should eventually find some filled with monsters.
This was, honestly, the biggest reason he had chosen that specialization.
---
A small star-skiff descended slowly at the pier. Nolan and Tingyun stepped out and saw another street filled with antique elegance—but what surprised him was the sheer number of pedestrians.
And strangely, there were no vehicles of any kind moving on the streets. Curious, he asked Tingyun beside him.
"Exalting Sanctum's primary function is residential. To make life more comfortable for the people, all ground-based passenger or cargo transport is forbidden in this district.
"If you want to travel anywhere, you can only walk. To go far, you take a star-skiff at the pier."
Tingyun leaned lightly against Nolan's arm as she explained.
"I see. That does make this place feel quite nice."
As they walked and chatted, they even spotted two girls live-streaming themselves performing the old stunt of breaking a stone on the chest. Quite a crowd had gathered.
That really was unexpected. Even in the interstellar era, traditional performances like this still existed.
But then again, even modern people on Earth enjoyed traditional street acts. As long as people and their tastes didn't fundamentally change, what was once popular would always find its audience.
"I often see those two girls performing when I walk around. It's rather interesting." Tingyun smiled as she watched.
Because of the crowd, they didn't squeeze in closer. Nolan nodded lightly.
"Exalting Sanctum really is lively and full of energy."
He quite liked the atmosphere—comfortable, warm, perfect for living.
"Let's go. The place where this little girl lives is just ahead."
Still holding his arm, Tingyun led him onward. After a few minutes, Nolan's phone chimed—it was a message from the Sky-Faring Commission, transferring him the ten-million-credit reward for the escort mission.
Nolan's face instantly lit up.
As expected of Lady Yukong—so efficient!
It was only mid-afternoon according to Xianzhou time. That meant Yukong had barely started her shift and had already ordered someone to process his payment. Exceptionally fast.
And very generous too—ten million credits just for escorting the merchant caravan back safely. His wallet was rich again!
"Benefactor, this little courtyard is my residence. Please, come inside."
While Nolan was smiling at the transfer notification, Tingyun stopped before a small courtyard surrounded by wooden fencing. Inside stood a two-and-a-half-story building.
Red-tiled roof, whitewashed walls with simple patterns—matching the traditional architectural style around it.
"This is the housing allocated to me by the Sky-Faring Commission. When I'm off duty, I usually stay here."
She entered the password on an old bronze-style keypad—clearly designed with an ancient aesthetic. The wooden door opened automatically.
Inside, despite her being away for months, the place was still neat and tidy.
After all, the Xianzhou had no spiders or mice.
"I've been out for two months. A bit of dust has accumulated. Benefactor, please wait a moment, I'll tidy up."
Even with the windows sealed, some dust still managed to sneak in.
"No worries—let me help."
Nolan lifted his hand and summoned streams of water to coil around his fingers.
"Mm, then I'll trouble Benefactor." Tingyun smiled softly, not rejecting his help.
The house wasn't large. With Nolan's wind and water elements working together, the entire place was spotless within minutes.
They sat on the sofa to rest. Seeing that it was still early, Nolan thought for a moment and said:
"Tingyun, wait a bit—I want to head back first, to deliver the materials I collected."
Now that the materials were secured, it was time for Ei to begin forging the armor.
"Back? Back to Benefactor's own home? May this little girl go as well? I'm quite curious about Benefactor's lovers too~"
Tingyun's eyes curved into a smile.
The scents of many girls lingered on him—fresh and noticeable—so she wasn't surprised he could return at will.
"Of course."
There was no reason to hide anything anymore. And bringing Tingyun over might even be the perfect chance to invite her to stay.
After all, his residence on the Xianzhou was merely a superficial foothold. He didn't actually live here—otherwise, how would he train with the girls every night?
"Hehe, I'm looking forward to meeting the other sisters."
Tingyun leaned against his shoulder like a soft little kitten.
[Tingyun Has Developed Good Feelings Towards You, Obtained 420 Affection Points. Current Affection Level: Lv.9 (200/900).]
So fast—already nearly maxed?
Nolan looked at the notification, mildly astonished.
Maybe with all the specializations and titles boosting him, his charm toward girls had reached a frightening level.
He suspected that as long as the target was female, even a wooden puppet with no emotions would start liking him.
At this rate… if he pushed this path far enough, could he develop a new Aeon aligned with Charm, Romance, or something similar?
Nolan laughed at his own absurd thought.
Just a fantasy—he had no real interest in becoming an Aeon. Being bound by a Path was far too restrictive. Levelling with Adventure EXP suited him far better.
With a casual wave, a "door" to his Wonderland Space appeared before them. Nolan held Tingyun's soft hand and stepped through.
As easily as stepping from one room into another, the two walked into the vast hall of the Fairyland Wonderland.
(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! 🙌