RedX43

[Game] Chapter 500: The Buzz Around the New Office Building

Even after moving in, Ichin still felt a little strange getting used to the new place.

His personal office was on the sixth floor, which also housed the company’s administrative, business, and marketing departments—taking up nearly half the floor. The server room was also located there.

Instead of heading to his own office right away, Ichin first stopped by the second floor to take a look around.

There, in the lounge area, he spotted Yagami Kō leading her art team in a small departmental meeting.

Ichin didn’t disturb them—just glanced from a distance before heading upstairs.

Now that the building was larger, each team could find its own quiet spot for meetings without bothering anyone else. It felt good to finally have that kind of space.

When he reached the third floor, Ichin found Hazuki, who was overseeing the GARO project.

They had divided responsibilities—Ichin handled Tales of Berseria, while Hazuki managed GARO.

Her project had already officially started. The script was something Ichin had finished earlier and handed over. Now the team was deep in pre-production: character design, supporting NPCs, monsters, and maps—all distributed among the art staff.

As for the combat system, since GARO was a tokusatsu-based game, Ichin didn’t plan to make it overly complex. Instead, he wanted to model it after Tales of Arise—a combination-based combat system where skills are triggered through input chains.

It wasn’t an overly complicated system; the challenge lay in designing the moves themselves. Fortunately, the team had the perfect person for that—Shinoda Hajime, a hardcore tokusatsu fan. Designing flashy, thematic combos was right up her alley.

Approaching Hazuki, Ichin asked, “How’s the progress?”

“Very smooth,” she replied cheerfully, gesturing toward Hajime, who was enthusiastically striking tokusatsu poses nearby. “Look at her—she’s completely fired up. Once our motion-capture equipment arrives in a few days, we’ll be able to further refine our models and animations.”

Ichin nodded with satisfaction. “Yeah. With that, our games can finally stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the big studios. No—surpass them, and fast.”

“Quite the ambition,” Hazuki teased lightly, though she didn’t disagree.

After all, not just Ichin—everyone in the company brimmed with confidence for the future.

Leaving GARO in Hazuki’s capable hands, Ichin moved up to the fourth floor. That’s where the Tales of Berseria team was stationed—the largest development group in the company.

The Fall Guys team had their space on the third floor, and the Dark Souls DLC team was also on the fourth, making it convenient for Ichin to monitor progress between the two major projects.

In Berseria, the art team was led by Yagami Kō. This time, she wasn’t working with Toyama Rin—Rin was assigned to GARO.

Alongside Kō were Aoba and Hifumi, while Eriri and Mochizuki Momiji were over on the GARO project.

These top-tier artists not only carried the visual core of the projects but were also mentoring the newer members, steadily raising the entire team’s overall skill level.

Since Kō was in a meeting, Ichin stopped by the animation department instead.

With Kō handling character design, Ichin himself was overseeing the battle system, story, and part of the world map for Berseria.

After discussing a few improvements to the combat system with the programming team, Kō and her group returned from their meeting. Ichin then called everyone into the conference room for a short team meeting.

After all, this time, Berseria’s development had outside help—Capcom’s staff would be joining them in a few days to collaborate on the combat system.

Developers from the Devil May Cry team. Now that was exciting.

---

By five in the afternoon, classes had ended, and Utaha and Yukino arrived at the company together.

The two held hands as they took the elevator up to the fourth floor, where Ichin had said he’d be.

“It’s really lively here,” Utaha murmured as she glanced around the busy floor. “I get the feeling Ichin will be spending a lot of nights at the office in the coming months.”

Looking toward Ichin, who was in the middle of a discussion with the animation team, Yukino nodded slightly. “That’s expected. It’s just who he is.”

Utaha smiled softly. “True. But at least now the company has its own cafeteria. Even if he stays late, he can still eat dinner on time.”

Seeing that Utaha wasn’t planning to go over to him, Yukino tilted her head. “You’re not going to say hi?”

“No,” Utaha said with a small shake of her head. “Let’s not disturb him. Let’s go check out the Fall Guys team downstairs. I wonder what kind of new skins they’re making now.”

At that, Yukino’s eyes brightened with interest, and the two headed down together.

Meanwhile, Ichin, in the middle of work, caught a glimpse of their retreating figures from the corner of his eye.

He immediately understood why Utaha hadn’t come over and smiled quietly to himself before turning back to his work.

---

Two days after the move, the initial novelty of the new environment began to fade, and everyone gradually settled into their routines—focusing fully on the new projects.

That night, after returning home, Ichin spent some time editing the footage he had recorded during the move. Once finished, he uploaded it to Bilibili.

Video title: We Moved!

At first, some followers thought it was Ichin himself—the boss—moving houses and just posting a casual vlog.

But when they clicked in, they were shocked to find it was actually the company that had moved—

and not just to any office, but to an entire new building!

“Damn, that’s what they call ‘rich beyond reason’!”

“I’ve bought every YC game—so, if we round up, doesn’t that mean I kinda own a piece of that building?”

“Same here. I’m a spiritual shareholder now.”

“A company cafeteria with proper chefs? That’s insane—this food looks amazing.”

“Hey, I work in Tokyo—can I sneak in for lunch?”

Within just one hour, the video broke 100,000 views, and the number kept climbing.

News of YC Studio’s new Tokyo headquarters spread rapidly throughout the gaming industry.

Game media outlets picked up the story and shared the video further, sending the buzz soaring over the next few days.

And at the end of the vlog, Ichin had slipped in a few extra details:

The company’s new project was already underway, and they’d be attending E3 in late June to reveal their next game.

One move after another—new building, new games, new ambitions.

The message was loud and clear: YC Studio was entering a new era.

And for players everywhere, the only thing left was anticipation.

---

[HP] Chapter 199: Letting the Forbidden Forest Keeper Take Him There

Slytherins were far better at keeping secrets than Gryffindors ever could be.

As Louis walked through the castle, no one sensed any danger from his presence. Even the Slytherins looked at him with a calm admiration mixed with faint fanaticism.

Meanwhile, Harry had the unfortunate luck of being naturally assumed to be the Heir of Slytherin. Though nothing was proven yet, the rumor was strong enough that people whispered behind his back and avoided him in the corridors.

Harry was quite troubled by it all. He’d even tried to ask Louis for help—but really, suspect number two asking suspect number one for advice was rather absurd.

Louis, however, had no intention of getting involved. The basilisk had already been swallowed by Hastur; there was no way for it to crawl out and hurt anyone again.

And even if it did, that would mean Hastur himself had let it out—so there would be no chance for it to cause any more trouble.

It was the weekend, and with nothing else to do, Louis decided to scout around the Forbidden Forest.

And what was he “scouting” for?

Well, definitely not to do anything bad. Heh.

Since he was going that way anyway, he figured he might as well visit Hagrid—he hadn’t seen the man much this term.

Even from afar, Louis could see Hagrid holding a crossbow, looking tense and alert.

“Hagrid, what are you up to?” Louis called out from a distance.

Hagrid nearly jumped out of his skin, then waved awkwardly. “I’m catchin’—well, truth be told, I dunno what I’m catchin’.”

“You don’t know what you’re catching?” Louis walked closer. “What happened?”

“My—my chickens,” Hagrid groaned. “They’ve been killed! Blasted thing—I don’t even know who did it. A student? Or maybe some creature from the forest?”

He smacked his chest in frustration.

“Anyone strange hanging around your hut lately?” Louis asked.

“No, just Hogwarts students.” Hagrid shook his head.

Louis couldn’t help but chuckle. “Hagrid, anyone who comes here without a clear purpose is suspicious. Being a Hogwarts student doesn’t make them innocent.”

“Hogwarts students, suspicious? Nah, can’t be.” Hagrid shook his head again, though he added, “Well… lately, other than those twin boys trying to sneak into the forest, only their sister’s been around. But she’s just a little girl—no way she’d do somethin’ like that.”

“Maybe,” Louis said lightly, not trying to convince him otherwise. “By the way, Hagrid… have you ever heard of the Chamber of Secrets?”

At that, Hagrid froze. The crossbow slipped from his hands, and the string snapped forward, ready to fire.

Quick as lightning, Louis stomped down, snapping the flying bolt in half before it could hit anything.

“Careful, Hagrid. You don’t want to hurt anyone by accident, do you?” Louis warned calmly. “Next time, be more careful when you’re holding a weapon.”

“Right—sorry,” Hagrid said hastily. “I just got a bit worked up when you mentioned the Chamber…”

“Why’d that excite you so much?” Louis smiled faintly. “Let me guess—this isn’t the first time it’s been opened, is it? You were at the school the last time it happened, weren’t you?”

“How—how’d you know that?” Hagrid blurted before he could stop himself.

“Just a guess,” Louis said mildly. “But now I’m sure of it.”

Seeing Hagrid’s troubled expression, Louis continued, “Relax. It’s hardly a secret anymore.”

Hagrid sighed. “Come inside, have a cup of tea. I’ll tell you what happened back then.”

Once inside Hagrid’s hut, the big boarhound Fang came bounding over the moment he caught Louis’s scent, tail wagging like a fan. Anyone watching might’ve thought Louis was the dog’s true master.

Hagrid was long used to Fang’s behavior and didn’t comment. He quickly brewed some tea and placed a plate of what looked more like bricks than biscuits on the table.

“Where to start… ah, yes. With Myrtle’s death.”

Hagrid took a breath and slowly began recounting the events from fifty years ago.

He told Louis how he’d been accused of being the Heir of Slytherin, had his wand broken, and was expelled. If Dumbledore hadn’t argued for him, he’d likely have been sent to Azkaban.

“With all due respect,” Louis said, shaking his head, “a Gryffindor student accused of being Slytherin’s heir? That’s ridiculous. But I suppose it’s no stranger than how people are thinking now.”

“Why? Who’s being accused this time?” Hagrid asked curiously.

“Most people think Harry’s the Heir of Slytherin,” Louis said with a smile. “And most of Slytherin House thinks I am.”

“That…” Hagrid trailed off, at a loss for words. In truth, if anyone fit the role, it probably was Louis.

“By the way, Hagrid,” Louis said with deliberate casualness, “how did they come to think you were the culprit?”

“They thought the creature I raised—Aragog—was the monster in the Chamber.” Hagrid sighed. “But that’s nonsense. Aragog would never do that.”

“Aragog?” Louis asked, feigning ignorance, though he already knew the name belonged to a giant Acromantula. Still, he had to ask to avoid suspicion. Prophecies couldn’t serve as an information source—they never revealed something as specific as the name of a spider.

“He’s—he’s an Acromantula I raised,” Hagrid said, then instantly clamped a hand over his mouth.

Louis didn’t care. “An Acromantula, huh? They kill with venom. Did anyone ever find bite marks or venom traces on the victim?”

“I dunno.” Hagrid looked even more miserable. “They didn’t even check properly before sayin’ I was guilty.”

“Figures,” Louis muttered under his breath. “The Ministry was rotten fifty years ago, and it still is.”

“What was that, Louis?” Hagrid didn’t catch the mumble.

“Nothing important,” Louis said quickly. “By the way, Hagrid—you said you raised that Acromantula? Mind taking me to see it?”

“But the Forbidden Forest is dangerous,” Hagrid protested. “There’re trolls and werewolves—”

He stopped mid-sentence, suddenly remembering how Louis had punched a troll to death last year with three blows.

“These dangers don’t mean much to me,” Louis said calmly. “Besides, you’ll be with me. With you around, no creature in the forest will dare attack us.”

“Well, that’s true enough.” Hagrid nodded, finally agreeing.

“All right then. But stay alert—the forest has creatures that don’t like human wizards.” He grabbed his gear and locked Fang in his cage.

“You’re not bringing Fang?” Louis asked.

“He’s too much of a coward,” Hagrid said as he fastened his crossbow. “Best leave him here.”

Louis smiled. “Fair enough.”

“Let’s go, then,” Hagrid said. “We’re off.”

---

[Game] Chapter 499: Plans for the Second Half of the Year

Over the weekend, everyone was busy and full of energy, preparing and setting up the new office—testing the equipment, arranging their new workstations.

Now that the company finally had a building of its own, every employee’s workspace was larger and more personal than before. They could freely decorate it however they liked.

During those two days of setup, the newly hired kitchen team also officially started work—and immediately treated everyone to a weekend feast.

Two big lunches in two days.

Even though the food was cooked in large batches and everyone lined up to choose what they wanted, the taste and quality still left everyone fully satisfied.

Ichin paid the chef team quite a generous salary, but it was absolutely worth it. With this setup, their company’s meals would surely make every other studio in the industry jealous.

Once the office area was completely arranged and the network systems fully tested, everyone took a day off to rest. Then, at last, it was time to officially start work in the new building.

At eight-thirty in the morning, Yagami Kō and her three teammates finished breakfast, left the apartment, and drove to the office together.

Recently, Narumi and Momiji had also started thinking about buying cars. They had both gotten their licenses two months ago.

Sitting in the back seat, Narumi couldn’t hold back her excitement. “Our first day working in our own company building! I’m so hyped!”

Next to her, Momiji—who had already eaten breakfast—was still nibbling on a rice ball.

“Mm-hmm. New building, and there’s a cafeteria now too. So good.”

...The cafeteria part was clearly her real focus.

From the passenger seat, Toyama Rin laughed, turning around to look at them. “Sure, it’s worth celebrating. But remember, it’s also the first day back from vacation—and we’re starting new projects today. Don’t slack off!”

“No problem!” the two chorused in unison.

When they arrived, they parked in the company’s underground parking lot—spacious enough to fit all the employees’ cars easily.

Walking up to the main entrance and seeing the logo on the building, everyone couldn’t help smiling.

By the time they reached the third-floor office area, plenty of people had already arrived, chatting excitedly at their desks.

It might have been a workday, but nobody looked tired or gloomy.

Everyone was buzzing with anticipation—new building, new projects—it was impossible not to feel energized.

Unfortunately, Ichin had class that morning, so he couldn’t hold the kickoff meeting himself. That duty fell to Hazuki instead.

---

Midday, University of Tokyo.

After finishing his last morning class, Ichin gathered Utaha and Yukino, and the three went to the campus cafeteria for lunch.

Once they sat down with their meals, Utaha looked over and asked, “Ichin, how are things at the company?”

“No issues,” Ichin replied with a nod. “Hazuki handled everything perfectly. The meeting’s done, and everyone’s already back in work mode. The Dark Souls DLC team, Tales of Berseria team, and GARO team have all entered full development. The Fall Guys team is continuing with post-launch updates. I’ll drop by this afternoon, film a few clips, edit them together, and have a vlog ready by tomorrow.”

The company had now grown large enough that Ichin could finally start being more open and public about it.

For the past few years, despite releasing multiple successful titles, their studio had remained surprisingly low-profile—barely participating in industry expos. They had only attended the TGA once, the Cologne Gamescom once, and the Tokyo Game Show once.

Meanwhile, other major studios showed up every year—sometimes even when they had nothing new to release. Announcing just a DLC was reason enough to appear.

But Ichin understood why. For the past two years, even though the company had accumulated funds, his focus remained purely on development. Marketing only took a small portion of the budget, used mainly before launch.

Only Persona and Dark Souls had received large-scale promotions—both online and offline.

Even Titanfall, which now had a stable player count of over 200,000 and had sold more than four million copies, had only been lightly promoted online.

Now, though, Ichin was determined to change that—to let his company truly shine in the gaming world.

Taking a bite of curry rice, he continued, “From now on, besides development, our next major goal is recruitment. We need to expand the teams—more developers, business staff, and marketing people. And after that, we’ll start attending all the major game expos every year.”

The Tokyo Game Show, Gamescom in Cologne, E3 in Los Angeles—all must-attend events.

And of course, the year-end TGAs.

With Dark Souls already released and Apex set to launch later this year, Ichin was going there with one clear goal—winning an award.

As for ChinaJoy, the domestic expo—Ichin wasn’t sure if it was worth it anymore.

The event had lost much of its charm in recent years and often turned into a source of online mockery rather than genuine promotion.

Yukino thought for a moment, then asked, “The nearest major expo would be E3 in June, right?”

“Exactly,” Ichin said, nodding. “Our participation at E3 is already confirmed. Hazuki announced it in this morning’s meeting. We’ll be revealing Apex Legends—planned for July or August release—and also the Dark Souls DLC.”

Both DLCsThe Painted World and The Ringed City—had already been greenlit for production.

The first would definitely launch within the year; the second, hopefully before year’s end if the schedule allowed.

Even so, their release lineup for the year was already solid.

Utaha and Yukino exchanged a quick glance, then looked back at Ichin. “You’ll be attending E3 in person, right?”

“Of course,” Ichin replied with a grin. Then, catching Utaha’s expression, he chuckled. “Alright, alright, we’ll go together. What about you, Yukino? Want to come too?”

Yukino smiled softly. “Mm. I’d like that. It’s such a major event—I’d love to see it for myself.”

There were still two months left—not too long, not too short.

The development teams would have to give it their all to meet the deadlines.

After lunch, Ichin attended one more class in the afternoon, then left campus early to head straight for the company.

---

[Genshin Impact] Chapter 640: Five-Level Advancement (2-in-1 Chapter)

The power of Abundance was indeed formidable. Even when the beast’s mountain-sized body had been cleaved cleanly in half, its flesh—like moving earth and stone—still writhed, attempting to rejoin itself.

But unfortunately, that power of Abundance wasn’t yet strong enough to grant true regeneration.

After struggling for only a brief moment, the creature’s movements ceased completely as the destruction of its brain marked its final death.

> 【Defeated A Powerful Enemy. Obtained 162,531 Adventure EXP.】

Seeing the prompt appear on his character panel, Nolan couldn’t help but smile in delight.

One corrupted Demonic-Yin beast was worth over a hundred and sixty thousand Adventure EXP!

And there were dozens of them around this base alone—

Clearing them all out could net him several million Adventure EXP easily!

The remaining Louyue giants did not retreat even after witnessing the death of their kin.

Having lost all instinctual fear of death, they continued their blind charge forward—huge, golden, tree-fused bodies rumbling like moving mountains.

As Nolan watched, a thought flashed through his mind—he recalled something he’d read on the “Interstellar Peace Network” about the principles behind the Demonic-Yin State.

It was said to result from centuries of accumulated negative emotions. When a soul could no longer bear the weight, it collapsed—falling into the Demonic-Yin Form.

It was remarkably similar to the “Erosion” found in Teyvat—an affliction caused by the endless passage of time, when old beings, burdened by centuries of emotion, eventually slipped into madness.

Just like erosion, this too was a negative state.

And coincidentally, one of Nolan’s affection-based skills, “Divine Maiden’s Purity,” which he had gained at full affinity with Shenhe, possessed the ability to purify any negative state.

In theory, it should be able to purify even this Demonic-Yin Form.

Curious, Nolan raised his palm, soft white light blooming between his fingers as he prepared to test it on the nearest corrupted Louyue beast.

But after a brief hesitation, he frowned and lowered his hand.

The Xianzhou Alliance was a powerful force on par with the Interstellar Peace Corporation, backed by none other than the Hunt Aeon itself.

Unlike the Peace Company’s patron, the Preservation Aeon Creperum, the Hunt Aeon was known to personally intervene in wars.

In other words, the Xianzhou Alliance might actually possess greater combat power.

And yet, despite that overwhelming might, even they were helpless against the Demonic-Yin phenomenon.

If Nolan were to suddenly display the ability to purify it…

There was no doubt that countless eyes across the galaxy would immediately turn toward him.

After all, the problem of the Demonic-Yin State wasn’t unique to the Xianzhou Alliance—many of the Abundance’s own followers, blessed by the same Aeon, also suffered from it.

And beyond them, who could say how many other civilizations across the vast universe had once received the Abundance’s blessings?

From what Nolan had read online, the Aeons were the embodiment of philosophical concepts—each one ascending through the realization of a fundamental principle, thereby creating a corresponding Path within the universe.

Anyone whose nature aligned closely with that Path could step onto it and draw power from it.

For instance, scholars had observed that those who truly walked the Path of Abundance—as opposed to mere “followers” who only received its blessings—shared similar traits:

selflessness, altruism, compassion, and an unwavering will to nurture life.

They were, in essence, saints.

If you met a true traveler of the Path of Abundance in the cosmos, you could rest assured—they bore no malice.

Likewise, the Pharmacist of Abundance likely shared these same benevolent traits.

According to historical records, every civilization that had ever petitioned for the Pharmacist’s blessings had been granted them—never once refused.

And those blessings truly did bestow longevity, vitality, and self-healing bodies.

It was only after countless years that side effects like the Demonic-Yin condition began to manifest.

Perhaps it wasn’t even the Pharmacist’s intent—it was just that the method of granting immortality had gradually twisted over time.

Still, for such a “great benefactor” to wander the stars, bestowing blessings wherever he went… who knew how many civilizations bore his mark now?

If those civilizations ever learned that Nolan possessed the power to purify the Demonic-Yin State—or anything similar—the number of people coveting him would be beyond imagination.

To avoid that kind of trouble, he decided that if he was ever going to test it, it should be somewhere private, away from prying eyes.

Right now, the Xianzhou Alliance, the Abundance faction, and even hired starfarers were all monitoring this situation closely.

It was best not to draw unnecessary attention.

So, Nolan resumed commanding his Sword Gods, each one unleashing arcs of golden sword aura toward the charging Louyue beasts.

Each stroke shimmered with thunderous sword intent—his “ultimate moves” used as casual swings, as was typical for someone of his level.

The beasts, barely past level 100, had no power to resist.

On his character panel, notification after notification flooded the screen:

> +167,821 EXP

> +162,253 EXP

> +168,436 EXP

Across the entire Baihuang Star, every corrupted Louyue beast that had fallen into the Demonic-Yin State was eradicated by Nolan’s hands.

There were quite a number of them.

Only a small fraction of the species had succumbed to corruption—around seven hundred or so in total.

With several dozen Sword Gods assisting, the entire extermination took less than half an hour.

Most of the Louyue were born over level 100, and even the smallest among them were around level 95—truly an extraordinary race.

A pity they lacked intelligence.

Otherwise, the Xianzhou Alliance wouldn’t have been able to turn their world into a mere “resource planet” so easily.

And now, just this accidental outbreak of madness had caused the garrison tremendous suffering.

Still, their high level had one upside: a lot of EXP.

All 705 corrupted Louyue beasts were between levels 95 and 108, averaging 162,225 Adventure EXP each.

In total, that came to over 114 million Adventure EXP.

Combined with the 6 million he already had, Nolan’s panel now displayed a number that made his pulse quicken—

> 【Adventure EXP: 120,496,351】

Over one hundred and twenty million!

Nolan couldn’t stop the grin spreading across his face as he stared at the number.

With this much EXP, he could easily level up four or five times in a row!

Nolan recalled most of his Sword Gods from Baihuang Star and looked up.

In the distance, the Xianzhou Alliance’s warships, now freed from the rampaging Louyue beasts, were preparing to launch from the surface to provide orbital support.

He himself executed a warp jump, reappearing outside the planet’s atmosphere—where he immediately noticed the Abundance followers’ bio-warships being completely suppressed, offering no sign of resistance.

Or rather… it wasn’t that they couldn’t fight back—it was that, for some unknown reason, they weren’t.

They were merely covering one another and slowly retreating from Baihuang Star.

Remaining cloaked in invisibility, Nolan decided to take a closer look. He wanted to see for himself what was happening inside their fleet.

He began to phase through space, teleporting closer little by little. As he moved, he opened his character panel once again.

All those Adventure EXP sitting idle were just meaningless numbers—unless he spent them to strengthen himself.

Without a moment’s hesitation, Nolan poured nearly all of his accumulated points into leveling up:

> Experience -113,436,378

> Lv.111 (1,563,622 / 21,000,000) → Lv.116 (0 / 26,000,000)

In an instant, a colossal surge of strengthening energy flooded through him, saturating every cell in his body—

just like soaking in warm water while gentle hands softly kneaded every inch of him.

The sensation felt slow, but in reality, the entire process lasted less than a second.

By the time he’d teleported only a short distance, the enhancement was already complete.

A five-level leap in one go—an incredible boost unlike anything he’d ever experienced before.

Comparing his spiritual strength and energy capacity to before, both had multiplied more than fiftyfold—and not just in quantity, but in quality as well.

His sword techniques radiated even greater power now. Against his former self, he could probably defeat himself with a single swing.

Based on his understanding of his own limits, his previous self had already been capable of suppressing even someone like Ei—the Electro Archon herself.

Now, he suspected even the mysterious Sustainer of Heavenly Principles might think twice before facing him.

Unfortunately, he had never actually encountered that being, nor did he know her level or strength.

For now, he wasn’t strong enough to provoke the “Heavenly Principles.” That could wait—after he became even stronger.

Come to think of it, if he were to face that giant bug from before—the level 130 monster—Nolan felt he could probably defeat it head-on now, without relying on a star destroyer.

In other words, despite only being level 116, his actual combat power likely already rivaled that of a level 130 entity.

Unless the opponent also possessed numerous affinity-based buffs and world-class abilities like he did…

they wouldn’t stand a chance. In fact, most would be crushed easily.

He glanced at his character panel once more:

---

Name: Nolan Walker

Level: 116 (0 / 26,000,000)

Race: Human

Titles: Honorary Knight, Distinguished Citizen of Liyue, Legendary Adventurer, Honorary General of Watatsumi Island, Sumeru Sage

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)

Adventure EXP: 7,059,973

---

Only around seven million left.

To level up again, he’d need nearly twenty million more.

He sighed. “If only there were more of those corrupted Louyue beasts…”

He’d scanned at least two thousand of them across Baihuang Star.

Seven hundred or so had fallen into the Demonic-Yin State and had already been purified.

That meant over thirteen hundred remained untouched.

If he could “knock out” all of them too… that would easily net another hundred million or more Adventure EXP!

Of course, the uncorrupted Louyue weren’t monsters—they were docile, resource-producing creatures, and property of the Xianzhou Alliance.

Slaughtering them for no reason would not only be immoral, it would likely enrage the Alliance as well.

Still… leaving over a hundred million Adventure EXP lying there untouched—it hurt.

So, when he recalled his Sword Gods earlier, he’d secretly left one behind, hidden deep underground on Baihuang Star.

Once the area calmed down in a few days, he planned to disguise himself, teleport back under cover of night, and when the Louyue were asleep—quietly knock out a few dozen each evening.

A few nights of that, and before anyone noticed, he could “gently” put all the remaining Louyue to sleep.

That would be another hundred million or two in EXP, easy!

Nolan felt quite proud of his plan.

“Well… maybe I’ll make them a bit dizzy, but they should thank me for helping them sleep better, right?”

Just as that thought amused him, he finally teleported close to what was clearly the Abundance fleet’s command vessel—it was noticeably larger than the others nearby.

Wrapped in the invisibility field of his Void Starsea, he didn’t have to worry about being detected.

He phased through space once more—

—and in the next second, he was inside the bio-warship.

From the outside, the vessel looked like a creature of flesh and sinew, but inside, the corridors were clearly metallic.

It seemed this “bio-warship” was actually a hybrid—a fusion of organic and mechanical engineering.

As he walked through the hallway, he spotted several golden-furred, ape-like beings.

They had humanoid forms but were distinctly bestial.

No doubt—they were the Abundance followers.

The “Abundance People” weren’t a single race, but a collection of fanatics from countless civilizations—those who worshiped the Pharmacist of Abundance with absolute devotion, intolerant of any criticism of their god.

Seeing simian Abundance followers wasn’t surprising in the least.

Nolan didn’t intend to alert them; these were mere underlings. Since he’d infiltrated the ship,

his target was naturally the leader.

This bio-warship was around four to five hundred meters long—small compared to the multi-kilometer star destroyers, but still a respectable size.

Thanks to that, he expanded the field of Void Starsea, silently enveloping the entire vessel.

This ensured that when he used his spiritual sense, he wouldn’t risk alerting anyone with heightened perception.

Within this field, even skill use would remain perfectly undetectable.

Through the feedback of Void Starsea, he quickly located the command bridge—

and judging from the readings, the Abundance leader was definitely there.

Nolan phased again, silently appearing inside the control room—

where he saw a tall, golden-furred ape-like figure standing before the main screen.

What caught his eye most, though, was the eerie emerald flame burning within the creature’s eyes.

Was that… the source of its power?

Nolan narrowed his gaze and activated the Golden Eyes of Judgment.

(End of Chapter)

[HP] Chapter 198: I’m the Heir of Slytherin?!

“NORBERT!!!”

With a thunderous roar and an earth-shaking explosion, the sea of flowers beneath Louis’s feet caved in like a crater. In the very next instant, his body blurred into an afterimage and shot straight toward the fire dragon who had just finished… relieving itself.

The freshly relieved Norbert first looked delighted to see his master—but that expression lasted less than half a second before confusion took its place.

Because Louis’s boot slammed squarely into his chest. A surge of overwhelming force sent the poor dragon flying skyward in a blazing arc.

“ROAAARRR—!”

Panicked, Norbert didn’t even have time to explain himself. His massive body tore free of gravity’s hold, streaking toward the heavens like a comet, the rush of wind forcing strange, bubbling noises from his wide-open mouth.

The wind was howling… the tears were flying…

Louis landed gently back on the ground, face dark with fury as he stared at the World Tree sapling now growing right in the middle of a pile of dragon dung.

Could this tree even be salvaged anymore? Maybe he should just dig it up and start over.

Wait—was it… growing again? It looked a little taller than before. And the golden fertilizer? Already absorbed?

Beside him, Hastur tilted its head back, watching the fiery “meteor” that Norbert had become climb higher and higher—until its neck could no longer bend any further and it toppled backward with a thud.

Apparently, that big idiot was still airborne. Hastur gave the glowing speck in the sky a look of pure pity, then scampered to Louis’s side, meowing urgently.

Quick! Hurry up and use the syringe! I want to get stronger too!

“Huh? Hastur, how did you even get in here?” Louis looked down at his feet, puzzled. The cat pawed its head, pretending innocence.

“Meow?” Hastur blinked, then reached out a paw to tap the faintly glowing green injector in Louis’s hand.

“Oh, that? That’s not for you. You can’t use it—it’s for Norbert,” Louis explained.

For that big idiot?!

At that, Hastur’s fur puffed up in outrage, and with a furious hiss, it dashed toward the direction of the meteor in the sky.

No one could stop it today. It was going to eat that stupid dragon!

Yes—jealousy truly was a terrifying thing.

In the end, Louis still managed to calm Hastur down.

Not because he was particularly good at coaxing cats, but because he took out a certain book—“Primordial Divine Art.”

A perfect-grade technique issued by the system itself, just like Hastur, and to Louis’s astonishment, the cat could actually read it effortlessly!

That made things easier. Louis told Hastur that this cultivation method was incredibly powerful—that mastering it would make it stronger than any of Fafnir’s enhancements.

Hastur didn’t believe him at first… but after glancing through the manual, something seemed to click. It got completely hooked—and then, unbelievably, it really started studying!

Louis didn’t understand. Louis was utterly dumbfounded.

Still, at least it worked—he had successfully bluffed his way through.

---

The next day was Halloween. But truth be told, the real excitement had already passed—the big celebration was always the night before. When the actual day came, there wasn’t anything particularly special left to see.

That morning, they had a History of Magic class. Professor Binns had assigned an essay on “The Medieval Wizarding Council.”

There was no word-count requirement—only one oddly specific rule: it had to be written on a standard roll of parchment eight feet long.

Louis stared at the assignment, nearly laughing aloud.

This… this is what passes for homework?

For a humanities essay on magical history? Please. He could write something that long with his eyes closed and still make it sound profound.

Louis brought back the same determination he’d once had while writing his graduation thesis.

Eight feet of parchment? He could do eighty if they wanted.

After all, this kind of essay only needed to be copied straight from books—no original thought required. At worst, he’d tack on a few reflections at the end for style.

Louis had already finished his paper the very day it was assigned. Most students, however, didn’t share that mindset. They preferred to spend their free time playing around, only to cram their essays together right before class—

—relying on the “one quill, one miracle” method of homework completion.

Harry and Ron were perfect examples. As Louis stepped into the library, he saw them racing through the doors, clutching their rolls of parchment, scrambling for seats.

Why do they do this to themselves? he thought, shaking his head. Wouldn’t it be easier to just finish early?

He went to Madam Pince’s desk, registered the book he was carrying to prove it was his own, and then walked inside.

It didn’t take long to spot the two people who stood out among the crowd—Hermione and Cassandra.

Right now, those two girls were the most talked-about figures in Hogwarts, their popularity almost eclipsing Louis himself, the so-called descendant of Merlin.

Rumors flew wildly around them:

“The Valkyrie Who Raged for Her Beloved,”

“The Forbidden Tale of the Slytherin Girl and the Ravenclaw Girl.”

Some of the stories were so ridiculous that even Louis, who’d lived an entire previous life, found them unbelievable.

Apparently, gossip was a universal pastime—whether one was a wizard or a Muggle.

“Good afternoon, ladies,” Louis greeted with an easy smile as he walked up. “I’ve come to bring you some warmth.”

“Warmth?” Hermione looked up from her parchment, raising an eyebrow. “Do you know what I want most right now?”

“Do you think I could guess?” Louis asked with a teasing grin.

“Hmph, I doubt it.” Hermione turned to Cassandra. “What do you think?”

“Unless he’s a worm living in your stomach—or you told him yourself—there’s no way he could guess,” Cassandra replied bluntly, her tone laced with her usual venom.

Louis’s mouth twitched slightly, but he calmly placed a book down in front of Hermione. “I think this is what you want.”

Hermione’s eyes widened. Hogwarts: A History? How did you know I wanted to read this?”

Across the table, Cassandra looked up, a flicker of surprise crossing her face.

“Maybe because I am the worm in her stomach,” Louis joked lightly as he took a seat opposite them. “I figured you’d be interested in the Chamber of Secrets.”

“Who isn’t? Everyone’s curious about it,” Hermione said, pursing her lips. “The library’s copies have all been checked out already.” She eagerly flipped open the book.

“If it’s the Chamber you’re curious about, that one won’t help much,” Louis commented casually—then suddenly frowned. He felt eyes on him.

Turning his head, he caught a few Slytherin students hastily lowering theirs, avoiding his gaze.

“See that?” Cassandra said quietly.

“I did,” Louis replied, glancing back at her. “But that’s… a bit ridiculous, isn’t it?”

“What are you two talking about?” Hermione looked up warily, glancing between them.

Cassandra explained calmly, “A lot of people in Slytherin think Louis is the one who opened the Chamber. That he’s the Heir of Slytherin.”

“What? That’s impossible!” Hermione protested immediately. “Louis would never do something like that.”

“Strong talent, immense power, and a reputation for putting Slytherins in their place…” Cassandra said dryly. “If I were on the other side, I might believe it too. Fortunately, the rumor hasn’t spread beyond Slytherin for now—and because of a rather peculiar idea, they don’t plan to.”

“A peculiar idea?” Hermione frowned, quickly catching on. “You mean… they want Louis to be the Heir—so he’ll wipe out the Muggle-borns before anyone suspects him?”

“Exactly.” Cassandra’s lips curved into a disdainful smile. “Pure-blood families do have a tendency to worship that kind of leader.”

Even with that sneer on her face, she was still breathtakingly beautiful.

---

[Game] Chapter 498: Moving into the New Office Building

Originally, the move was scheduled for Friday.

However, some of the newly purchased equipment—like the projectors—arrived late and weren’t installed until Friday noon. That made it difficult to coordinate staff, so the moving date was pushed to Saturday instead.

At worst, they’d just use both Saturday and Sunday for the move, and give everyone Monday off afterward.

At six o’clock Saturday morning, Ichin was already awake.

He made breakfast for Utaha, who was still sleeping, and for Haruno and Yukino next door. Then he met up with Yagami Kō and the other three early risers downstairs, and together they headed to the office.

By the time they arrived, quite a few employees were already there. Everyone had been looking forward to this moving day during their vacation, so they came especially early, packing up their belongings and sealing them into boxes.

“Alright,” Ichin said to Kō and the others, “let’s start sorting our things. The moving trucks will arrive at eight-thirty. If we move fast enough, we might even have time to rest a bit before that.”

After saying so, Ichin stepped into his office.

He had already disconnected and packed up his computer and cables the previous evening after class.

Now all that was left were the miscellaneous items scattered around.

Fifteen minutes later, Ichin taped up the last box, labeled it with his name, and stretched his shoulders and neck. Then he pulled out his camera from his bag and switched it on.

“Okay, let’s record a quick opening scene first. Today’s not just about moving—I’ve got to capture it all on video as a memory.”

By 8:15, everyone had arrived and most of the packing was complete.

That was also when Utaha, Haruno, and Yukino showed up.

Stepping into Ichin’s office, Haruno looked around and quipped, “If someone walked in right now, they’d probably think this company’s shutting down.”

Indeed, with everyone packing boxes, the place did look like it was going out of business.

Ichin laughed. “Pretty much. And since people are already showing up for work in the building, I’m sure someone will ask about it when we start hauling boxes downstairs. Anyway, there’s still ten minutes before the trucks and movers arrive—let’s sit for a bit. Or, if you want, I was thinking of going out to film some final shots.”

“I’m in! I’m in!” Haruno immediately pressed up beside him. “I dressed up for this, you know!”

Since spring had arrived, the weather was warm, and Haruno’s outfit today was light and breezy—short sleeves and a skirt, radiating pure youthful energy.

As for Utaha and Yukino, their styles were as consistent as ever—elegant, understated, and perfectly fitting for them.

But Ichin couldn’t help noticing a small difference among the three of them.

Utaha preferred wearing pantyhose.

Yukino favored over-the-knee socks.

And Haruno—well, she liked going bare-legged.

Utaha had considered trying other styles before, but nothing suited her better than pantyhose, so she stuck with it.

Ichin had seen Yukino wear pantyhose too, but only black ones—never white.

Though curious, that wasn’t exactly something he could just ask about.

And as for Haruno, she rarely wore stockings at all. Unless she was in jeans, she usually went bare when wearing skirts—clearly confident about her legs.

Rubbing his chin thoughtfully, Ichin looked at Haruno before turning on the camera. “Haruno, you’ve never thought about wearing stockings to match your outfits?”

He could talk about just about anything with Haruno without worrying about her getting shy like Yukino.

Hearing that, Haruno chuckled and lifted her right leg slightly with a teasing smile.

“What’s this? Does little Ichin want to see his big sister in stockings? Go on—tell me, black or white? I can make it happen!”

“No, no, I was just making a suggestion,” Ichin replied calmly, shaking his head. “I just realized I’ve never really seen you wear any.”

Utaha chimed in with a small smile. “Now that you mention it, it’s true—I’ve never seen Haruno-san wear stockings either.”

“Hmm~~ about that,” Haruno folded her arms and explained with a grin, “I just don’t like how they feel. Especially pantyhose or over-the-knee ones—they’re uncomfortable. I like how I am right now best.”

“I see.”

Ichin nodded in understanding and looked at the three of them. “Alright then, I’m starting the recording now!”

He turned on the camera, recalled the short intro he had prepared earlier, and began filming.

Around the company, everyone was ready, waiting for the trucks to arrive.

Driving everything over themselves wasn’t practical—there was simply too much stuff, and they couldn’t park close enough anyway. Better to let the professionals handle it.

As Ichin recorded, more and more employees eagerly joined in, waving at the camera and laughing.

Those without cars had already headed to the new building ahead of time. The access cards had been distributed to everyone that morning.

After making one last round through the old office, the moving trucks arrived. The movers started carrying down the sealed boxes and loading them up.

One truck wasn’t enough, of course. Ichin had arranged for two, along with a team of movers, so they could get everything done in a single day. That would leave the rest of today and tomorrow for setting up and testing all the new equipment.

Once the loading was finished and the trucks departed, Ichin got into his own car and drove toward the new building.

Sitting beside him, Utaha asked, “So, Ichin, will you be recording more when we get there?”

“Not today,” he replied with a smile. “We’ll film again once everything’s set up.”

Driving steadily, he added, “From time to time I’ve recorded some videos of the office with my phone. Aoba and Rin have filmed bits too. We can save them all—kind of like a timeline of our company’s growth.”

Starting from nothing and reaching this point—it was a history worth remembering.

As long as nothing went wrong, everyone would keep working here for years to come. Having those memories to look back on someday would surely feel wonderful.

The morning passed quickly amid the moving and unloading, and by the afternoon the new office floor was overflowing with boxes.

Everyone was busy searching for their own belongings amid the piles—it was chaotic, noisy, and full of energy.

---

[Genshin Impact] Chapter 639: Heliobus (2-in-1 Chapter)

“This… Lady Heliobus, don’t you think that’s enough? If we delay any longer, the Xianzhou Luofu fleet will be here.”

On the Path of Abundance, the golden-furred chieftain of the Blazing Fire Molten Apes — Jin Jiuyuan — stared at the blazing mass of energy before him, feeling that he’d run into the worst kind of bad luck.

Just a few days ago, he’d been leading nine warships out to plunder a trade route.

Before they’d even reached their target, a strange Heliobus had suddenly appeared out of nowhere — and ordered him to attack Baihuang Star.

Baihuang Star was a resource world belonging to the Xianzhou Alliance. The Alliance revered the Abundance, which stood as a sworn enemy to their own path — so of course, the Abundance’s followers saw the Alliance as their enemies too.

Attacking Baihuang Star wasn’t the problem — at least, not if both sides were equally matched.

But with only nine leftover bio-warships patched together from his tribe’s scraps, he could barely raid a few merchant ships. Attacking a fortified resource world was nothing short of suicide.

So, Jin Jiuyuan had originally planned to teach this ball of sentient fire a lesson — to show that being an energy lifeform didn’t mean it was untouchable.

After all, as the Molten Ape of Blazing Fire, he wielded the power of magma — even flames themselves could be devoured by his blaze!

Of course, that depended on him being able to touch the opponent in the first place. And though he hated to admit it, Heliobus-type energy beings were naturally gifted in manipulating energy and spirit.

Unfortunately, he lacked any real resistance to such abilities. Just meeting her gaze had sent him spiraling into a spiritual illusion — helplessly trapped.

Fortunately, this Lady Heliobus didn’t seem intent on killing him. After proving she could crush him at will, she released him unharmed.

Having barely escaped with his life, Jin Jiuyuan naturally dared not resist her orders again. Whatever she wanted done, he would obey — even if it meant marching into death.

When she commanded him to attack Baihuang Star, he’d already resigned himself to the idea of dying there.

After all, how could nine warships possibly conquer a resource planet?

Even if the Xianzhou Alliance didn’t value Baihuang Star highly, it was impossible that it had no defensive forces at all.

Yet, against all odds, with Lady Heliobus’s help, they succeeded in deploying the Demonic Yin Toxin onto the planet’s surface.

This toxin could transform living beings into Demonic Yin Bodies within seventy-two hours, provided the infection wasn’t cleansed in time. It even contained traces of the Abundance’s power — which made it all the more virulent against flesh-and-blood lifeforms.

Originally, this toxin was developed to fight the Xianzhou Alliance, but once a cure was discovered, it lost its purpose and was instead used to bully primitive planetary civilizations still bound to their home worlds.

After all, if the toxin took seventy-two hours to manifest, and the cure was hundreds of light-years away — what good was a cure that couldn’t arrive in time?

But this time was different. With Heliobus’s power, her forces managed to infiltrate Baihuang Star’s surface and spread the toxin across the massive beasts known as Louyue.

When the seventy-two hours passed, hordes of Louyue beasts fell into corruption — transforming into Abundance abominations — and began rampaging through the Xianzhou base on the surface.

While the Alliance scrambled to suppress the chaos below, Jin Jiuyuan’s fleet launched an attack on the orbital spaceport above.

But as expected, the Xianzhou’s defenses were formidable. Their ships’ energy reserves were almost entirely depleted, yet they still couldn’t breach the spaceport’s protective barrier.

Fortunately, with Baihuang Star in turmoil, the port’s supply lines had been severed. Choosing not to exhaust their power entirely, the defenders switched to a defensive strategy — buying time until reinforcements arrived.

Given this situation, Jin Jiuyuan felt that if Lady Heliobus herself acted, they could still seize the spaceport.

But for some reason, she made no move. She didn’t even order a retreat.

He could only continue the pointless standoff, occasionally firing half-hearted shots to maintain the illusion of battle.

Now, three days had passed. If they didn’t withdraw soon, the Xianzhou reinforcements would arrive.

Unable to bear it anymore, Jin Jiuyuan finally spoke up.

“We’re waiting for their reinforcements.”

A calm, commanding woman’s voice echoed from the pale blue-green flames that floated in the air.

She didn’t even look at him — her gaze remained fixed on the ship’s radar display.

“This…”

Jin Jiuyuan’s crimson eyes flickered, but all he could do was sigh helplessly.

At that very moment, several new red blips appeared on the radar screen — enemy reinforcements had arrived!

The display projected their images: several small warships of different colors, some bearing unique insignia.

Seeing this, Jin Jiuyuan relaxed slightly.

The Xianzhou’s vessels were typically crafted of wood — these were not.

Which meant they were likely star wanderers or interstellar rangers who had taken the support contract — mercenaries, not the Alliance’s own fleet.

As long as they weren’t from the Xianzhou, there was nothing to fear.

“Intercept them,” said the voice within the shapeless flames, tinged with a faint disappointment.

She had been waiting for the Xianzhou reinforcements — specifically, the Xianzhou Luofu fleet. Her next plan required infiltrating one of their ships.

That was the whole reason she’d attacked Baihuang Star in the first place. She’d long confirmed that the Xianzhou Luofu was the closest Alliance vessel in range — and it was bound to send its fleet as reinforcements.

That would be her chance to slip inside unnoticed.

“Yes, Lady Heliobus,” Jin Jiuyuan replied helplessly, still bound by her overwhelming might.

Under his command, the Abundance fleet reformed its formation: three ships remained behind to pin down the spaceport, while the other six repositioned themselves across multiple axes — above, below, and around the target zone.

After all, in the vacuum of space, combat was three-dimensional; failing to defend every vector was an invitation for stealth attacks.

The new arrivals quickly hailed the Xianzhou garrison, confirmed the situation, and immediately opened fire with standard beam weaponry.

A pale-green energy shield shimmered into existence, blocking the incoming barrage.

However, Jin Jiuyuan quickly noticed that their ships’ energy reserves were depleting far faster than before. If they simply sat there defending, the moment the energy ran dry, they’d be reduced to drifting cosmic dust.

Just as he was about to order a counterattack, his crimson eyes suddenly flared with emerald flame — and his body froze.

He couldn’t even lift a finger.

“I’m sorry,” said the disembodied voice again, calm yet absolute. “Your ships’ remaining energy is too little. To last until the Xianzhou fleet arrives, you only need to defend.”

Why must we wait for the Xianzhou?! What are you planning?! Jin Jiuyuan screamed silently within his own mind.

In the cold, silent expanse of space, a massive commercial star skiff bearing the insignia of the Xianzhou Luofu emerged from warp.

Inside its command room, Nolan stood behind the foxian woman Tingyun, his eyes gliding past her shoulder to the holographic display ahead.

Nine peculiar bio-warships were arrayed in a spherical formation — battered, struggling under enemy fire, and only managing to defend without striking back.

“They must be Abundance warships,” Nolan mused. “But it looks like they’re the ones being pushed back.”

Nolan looked slightly puzzled.

“News just came from the garrison on Baihuang. They report that the surface has fallen into chaos. Those Abundance followers might be deliberately stalling—waiting until the surface base is completely destroyed and unable to provide orbital support before launching a full assault.”

Tingyun’s tone was low and serious.

“I see,” Nolan nodded, “I thought all those followers of the Abundance were the reckless, brainless kind. Didn’t expect some of them to have that much patience.”

He sounded genuinely surprised.

What he’d seen on the interstellar network painted them as impulsive zealots—fanatics who would charge at any enemy of the Abundance like rabid beasts.

Still, every group had its exceptions. Even among the fanatics, there could be a few who were more rational.

“Next, we’ll circle around to the spaceport and hand over the military supplies we purchased. That should give the garrison enough resources to launch a counterattack.”

Tingyun’s white hands clenched lightly as she spoke.

Their star skiff was a commercial-class vessel—not particularly strong in combat, though its warp calibration and jump precision were first-rate.

They could easily execute a short-range jump directly beside the spaceport, bypassing the Abundance fleet entirely.

“In that case,” Nolan said, “I’ll take a look at the planet’s surface first.”

Even a short-range jump required preparation time. Rather than wait idly, he decided to teleport ahead on his own.

The Luofu was still over a million kilometers from Baihuang Star; with his current power, teleporting there would take less than thirty seconds.

“Then I’ll leave it to you, Mr. Nolan. Please defeat all the invaders down there!”

Tingyun already knew from company records that Nolan was rated as an A-rank combatant—an existence practically unstoppable on a planetary surface.

Her confidence in him was absolute.

【Tingyun Has Developed Good Feelings Towards You, Obtained 330 Affection Points. Current Affection Level: Lv.4 (50/400)】

Seeing the pop-up on his character panel, Nolan chuckled and nodded.

“No problem. To prevent a sneak attack, I’ll leave behind an avatar here. That’ll also make it easier for me to teleport back.”

As he spoke, he summoned an “Lumine's Sword God” clone to remain in the command room, while his true self vanished within a golden glow, protected by a fully-powered Wholehearted Guardian Shield.

Roughly half a minute later, Nolan appeared within Baihuang Star’s atmosphere.

Immediately, he noticed that the planet’s gravity was slightly stronger than that of Earth or Teyvat—or even the simulated gravity aboard the Herta Space Station.

Probably just because this world was larger in size. It didn’t bother him much.

Suspended high above the clouds, he simultaneously summoned dozens of Lumine' Sword Gods, each teleporting in different directions across the planet.

At the same time, his spiritual perception expanded outward, sweeping over the entire globe.

With so many avatars acting as extensions of his senses, locating any abnormal disturbances was child’s play.

And when those disturbances took the shape of creatures the size of mountains—

Nolan teleported again.

When he reappeared, he was inside one of the Xianzhou garrisons’ surface bases.

There, more than thirty mountain-sized beasts had encircled the entire installation.

Their gigantic bodies were covered in golden, leaf-like scales—almost beautiful, in a way.

Most of the base’s structures and landed ships had already been smashed to rubble. No wonder they hadn’t been able to send aid into orbit.

Examining the towering beasts, Nolan activated two of his appraisal skills:

> 【Level: 102】

> 【Demonic-Yin Louyue Beasts】 — Native to Baihuang Star. Colossal lifeforms the size of mountains that feed on rock and soil. Their defense is comparable to warship hulls. Currently afflicted by the Demonic Yin Toxin, in a corrupted Demonic Yin Form. Now classified as Abundance Aberrations.

“Haah…” Nolan drew a sharp breath.

Every single one of them was over level 100—that was Archon-tier!

Then again, considering their immense, armor-like bodies, it wasn’t impossible.

Perhaps they lacked true divine authority like an Archon, but their sheer physical durability was on the same level.

Still, a bit over level 100 was nothing to him—about the same as fighting ordinary humans.

With that thought, he summoned a kilometer-tall Sword God, a golden greatsword materializing in its hands.

Its blade tip pointed down; the cutting aura was so sharp it carved fine cracks into the ground below.

Across the planet, the other Sword Gods, upon detecting corrupted Louyue Beasts, also grew in size—matching their mountainous foes—ready for battle.

The golden-leafed monstrosities turned toward the radiant figure standing before them.

Having lost all reason, they let out thunderous roars that split the clouds above.

Their scarlet, rage-filled eyes locked onto the enormous Sword God as they began to charge—

Dozens of mountains moving at once.

“Charge” was perhaps generous—their speed was sluggish at best. Given their massive bulk, the fact that gravity didn’t crush them outright already proved their bodies’ unbelievable toughness.

If they had speed to match, that would be downright terrifying.

Even so, watching those mountainous forms advance was enough to make one’s chest tighten with pressure.

Nolan turned invisible, controlling dozens of Sword Gods to engage the beasts.

In truth, he barely needed to do anything. The difference in power was absolute. The beasts were too slow to evade his attacks at all.

A single casual swing of the Sword God’s blade released a wave of sword aura that cleaved open enormous gashes running the length of their bodies.

Yet, to his surprise, the flesh inside resembled stone and earth more than organic tissue—and not a drop of blood flowed out.

Definitely unlike any normal living creature.

Perhaps due to the Abundance’s influence, the wounds were regenerating before his eyes—rapidly knitting back together.

The Sword God’s brows furrowed. It raised its greatsword, golden energy crackling like wild lightning.

“"Musou no Hitotachi"”

Without hesitation, Nolan unleashed his ultimate technique through the Sword God.

A single blinding arc of sword aura split the air, tearing space itself—

And the Louyue Beast before him, mountain-sized and roaring, was cleaved cleanly in half from crown to base.

(End of Chapter)

T/N: Please correct me if I'm wrong regarding Hokai Star Rail, I did not remember the story/characters right now. I just played a little when it was released.

[Game] Chapter 497: Moving Day Vlog Scheduled

The kitchen on the second floor cafeteria was now fully equipped—everything from cooking stations to dessert-making tools was in place. The space was huge, more than enough for both cooking and baking.

The dining area, too, followed the standard company cafeteria layout—long tables with chairs neatly arranged in rows, giving each person plenty of room.

From the third floor upward were the office areas, kept simple and minimalist without any flashy decorations. Still, once everyone moved in and started decorating their own desks, the atmosphere would naturally change.

After all, everyone in game development had their own quirks and hobbies.

Take Shinoda Hajime, for example—she loved collecting tokusatsu merchandise and replica weapons from anime and games. Almost every desk had at least a few figurines on display.

At Ichin’s request, Haruno had also installed several large transparent display cases throughout the building. They would later be filled with the company’s game discs, cartridges, and all kinds of related merchandise—a full showcase of their creations and achievements.

Inside the building, the smell of fresh paint had already faded, but to be safe, they decided to let it air out a few more days before moving in that weekend.

Stepping outside, Ichin turned to look up at the soon-to-be headquarters of their company and mused aloud, “What do you think—should I film a video of the move? You know, record the whole process?”

“That sounds great,” Haruno said immediately. “You can even make it a vlog—record the moving process, the unpacking, all of it. I’ll come over that day too! I’ll put on some makeup and make sure I look good on camera!”

Ichin sighed internally. He knew this would happen. Ever since that one livestream they’d done together, Haruno had clearly gotten a taste for being on camera—chatting nonstop, commenting on gameplay, teasing other streamers’ bad plays... she really enjoyed the spotlight.

“Alright then,” he said with a small grin. “When we head out for the move, I’ll let you know.”

Not that he even needed to—after all, she lived next door. As long as Haruno didn’t sleep in, she’d definitely notice when he left.

Hearing Ichin’s agreement, Haruno cheered and turned to Yukino. “Yukino, you’re coming too next week, right?”

Yukino nodded. “Sure, I’ll come help with the cleaning too.”

As for Utaha—there was no need to ask; of course she’d come.

After checking the new building, the group didn’t head home right away but instead stopped by a nearby supermarket to buy ingredients for dinner. They had already decided to have a big barbecue that night at home with Yagami Kō and the others—eight people in total.

Once they grabbed a shopping cart, Ichin went straight for the meat section.

Selecting some quality beef steaks, he asked Yukino beside him, “Classes start again in a few days. How’s your prep going?”

Yukino nodded. “I’m all set. I’ve already gone through the schedule for sophomore year—the course load looks lighter than I expected, about the same as last year. But, big brother, you and Utaha-senpai are entering your third year. You’ll both be busy with work. Will that be okay?”

Ichin smiled. “Don’t worry about that. I’ve already got a solid foundation in computer science. Just paying a bit of attention in class is enough. I’m not aiming for scholarships anymore—I already got one once. Now I just need to stay near the top of the class. Same for Utaha. We’ve got it under control.”

By third year, Ichin knew his focus would gradually shift from collage to the company. Once he finished the core courses, he could start preparing for his graduation thesis in the latter half of the year.

And by senior year, when the classes were few and far between, he could wrap up his thesis early and spend more time developing games.

Utaha was in a similar position. In fact, as a literature major, she’d already started studying third-year material ahead of time. She’d read most of the classics the professors had mentioned and even written analytical essays on them.

Utaha smiled and said, “Exactly. Compared to us, Yukino, your law major is way tougher. You’d better keep it up! When you graduate and get your license, we’ll leave all the company’s legal work to you.”

“I—me too!” Haruno chimed in, carrying two packs of ribs. “Right! All of the company’s legal affairs will be in your hands, Yukino. Mom even said the same thing!”

Faced with the trio’s encouragement, Yukino’s lips curved into a small smile. “I’ll do my best.”

Being trusted and relied upon by everyone filled her with quiet joy.

Meanwhile, the other four who had gone to pick out vegetables returned, their cart piled high with produce.

“Hey everyone, are you done with the meat?”

“Almost.”

Ichin tossed the selected steaks into the cart, grabbed a few boxes of chicken wings and some beef tongue as well.

And of course, they couldn’t forget the crowd favorite—pork belly.

“Hmm, but the pork belly here doesn’t look great. The fat ratio’s off. Let’s buy it somewhere else,” Ichin said.

Toyama Rin leaned over for a look and nodded. “Yeah, not ideal. The butcher shop near our apartment complex always has great pork belly. Want me to call and check?”

“I’ve got their number. I’ll call.”

Ichin set down the poor-quality pack, pulled out his phone, and called the butcher he knew well.

Since it was a neighborhood shop they often bought from—especially for family barbecues—the owner and Ichin were already on friendly terms.

A quick call later, he confirmed that the shop still had two good slabs of pork belly in stock. Ichin asked the owner to hold them for him until they dropped by.

“Alright, that’s all the meat settled. Do we want seafood too?”

“Yes!” Yagami Kō was the first to raise her hand. “Squid! And saury!”

“I want saury too now that you mention it,” said Narumi, raising her hand as well.

“Alright, let’s check out the seafood section.”

After browsing for a while, they bought fresh squid, saury, and even some king crab legs. Tonight’s barbecue feast was looking perfect.

As for drinks, they still had plenty at home, so no need to buy more.

After the Sunday night barbecue, everyone officially entered their vacation period. Still, just in case Dark Souls developed any unexpected bugs, the programming team stayed on standby, ready to jump back to work if needed.

Fortunately, everything went smoothly over the next few days—just a few minor online connectivity issues, which the team quickly fixed with a small patch.

And as everyone enjoyed their brief break, Ichin and the others returned to school. Ichin and Utaha began their third year, while Yukino and Eriri entered their second.

After a few days of classes, the weekend finally arrived—

The company was moving into its brand-new office building!

---

[HP] Chapter 197: The Cat That Ate the Basilisk

Louis used a decoy spell to disguise himself returning to the dormitory, while he personally brought Hastur to the Room of Requirement.

Once inside, Louis set the orange cat down from his shoulder. Hastur looked listless, weakened somehow, though there wasn’t a visible wound anywhere.

After a moment’s thought, Louis activated the Rat Talisman’s vitality charm and injected some life force into Hastur’s body, much like reawakening a stone statue. Immediately, the cat perked up again, its eyes regaining their usual gleam.

“So it really was the basilisk, huh?” Louis murmured, understanding dawning on him.

A basilisk’s indirect gaze petrified its victims, while direct eye contact killed them outright—clearly something related to vitality and life energy. In that case, infusing vitality had been the perfect antidote.

After ensuring Hastur was fine, Louis summoned Chuan.

“Chuan, report what you saw.”

At his command, Chuan emerged from the floor—her voluptuous body taking shape as liquid shimmered and shifted, the transparent water outlining her curves before solidifying into the form of a violet-skinned beauty.

Louis couldn’t help thinking she took a little longer to materialize this time.

“Master,” Chuan began respectfully, “I saw that red-haired girl—the one you told me to watch closely—summon the basilisk in the abandoned bathroom. But just as she came out, she ran into Mrs. Norris, who’d been waiting there to play with Hastur.”

“Wait, Filch’s cat was waiting for Hastur?” Louis blinked.

“Yes, they often play together,” Chuan nodded matter-of-factly.

Louis gave Hastur a strange look. Well, aren’t you something, huh? You’ve got taste, I’ll give you that.

“And then?” he asked.

“Then the basilisk petrified Mrs. Norris through the reflection in the puddle. The girl was about to hang the cat up when Hastur saw her.” Chuan hesitated, glancing at the cat with a rather dazed expression.

“Hastur was furious,” she continued. “He lunged at the basilisk, and during the fight accidentally made eye contact. He nearly died on the spot—but somehow, he turned it around and… ate the basilisk instead.”

Louis fell silent, staring at the orange cat now calmly licking its paw.

“Ate it?” he repeated, just to make sure he’d heard correctly.

“Yes. Whole. Swallowed it in one go. The girl just stood there frozen, completely terrified. She didn’t even think to run until the very end—and if she hadn’t, Hastur might’ve swallowed her next.”

Chuan’s tone still carried a trace of disbelief. She had always thought herself one of Louis’s most capable summons, yet now it seemed she wasn’t even a match for a lazy orange cat whose only hobbies were eating and napping.

“Ate it…” Louis muttered, his face twitching as he grabbed Hastur by the chubby flaps of fur on either side of its face. “Spit it out! Spit the damn thing out right now!”

The basilisk wasn’t just a monster—it was a mission-critical target tied to his quest reward. If Hastur had eaten it and accidentally killed it, that would be a disaster.

Thankfully, Hastur’s stomach wasn’t immediately lethal to what it swallowed—otherwise, Louis’s challenge quest would already have failed.

The task specifically required Louis not to directly kill the basilisk; it had to be done indirectly.

“Direct” meant any deliberate action by him or his summons or pets that resulted in the basilisk’s death. Even poisoning counted—if he tossed poison straight into its mouth, that was direct. Only tricking it into eating the poison on its own would qualify as “indirect.”

The system truly went out of its way to steer Louis down the path of subtle scheming and manipulation.

But fine—he was good at that. He had plenty of underhanded methods ready.

The problem was, he still needed a target to use them on! Like a magic show without an audience—how could you perform if your cat went and swallowed the audience whole?

Hastur, annoyed by being grabbed, kicked him with its hind leg.

“Meow!”

Breaking free of Louis’s grasp, the cat jumped onto the table and looked down at him with a haughty, imperious glare.

“Hastur,” Louis said through clenched teeth, “be reasonable. Spit out the basilisk, and we can talk about this calmly.”

“Meow?” Hastur tilted his head and looked at Louis, thinking hard.

After a moment of contemplation, the orange cat finally seemed to have figured something out. It let out a sharp “Meow!” and pointed a paw at itself.

Louis couldn’t understand cat speech—but he could transform.

He turned around and shifted into a striped tabby cat, leaping in front of Hastur.

“Meow! (Alright, tell me—what do you want?)”

“Meow-woo! (Fafnir’s dried mouse snacks!)”

“Meow! (Why would you want Fafnir’s snacks? I’ll buy you new ones—and some fish treats too.)”

“Meow-woo! (No! I want Fafnir’s! )”

“Meow. (Pick something else.)”

“Meow-woo-woo! (Then I want the giant squid from the Black Lake!)”

“Meow! (Absolutely not! That old squid’s basically a Hogwarts landmark now!)”

…

Half an hour of fierce haggling later, Louis and Hastur finally reached a deal.

Hastur would release the basilisk at a location Louis specified, and in exchange, Louis would “upgrade” it with a full enhancement set.

That was, of course, Hastur’s true goal all along.

All that talk about dried mice and giant squids had just been a smokescreen for negotiation. The real issue was envy—its little buddy, Fafnir, had gone through multiple upgrades, and after the last one had even turned into an electric bird. Meanwhile, Hastur was still the same old orange cat.

Naturally, he felt a bit jealous.

“Alright, alright. I’ll make sure you get your turn soon,” Louis said helplessly, transforming back into human form and rubbing the cat’s head. He hadn’t expected his energy-devouring pet to get jealous.

Hastur purred contentedly and rubbed its head against Louis’s palm.

But then Louis frowned.

Fafnir was a bird, so its enhancement path was simple enough. But what kind of upgrade could he give Hastur?

After all, it was a Devourer Beast—it only looked like a cat.

Should he enhance it like a feline? Or like… an octopus?

Were those tentacles in its mouth even octopus tentacles?

He couldn’t exactly go and give it some eldritch “Outer God” type of enhancement, right?

Turn it into the “King in Yellow”? That’d be a bit much…

Hmm—wait. Speaking of enhancements…

Louis rummaged through his storage space and took out three injector guns filled with glowing green liquid.

The moment Hastur saw them, it perked up, meowing excitedly. Those were the very same syringes Fafnir had been injected with before every enhancement!

Was it finally its turn? Was its glorious day of evolution finally here?!

But instead of injecting Hastur, Louis opened a portal to his Reality Marble and stepped inside with the syringes.

Alarmed, Hastur dashed in after him.

Man and cat landed in a field of flowers—and were immediately greeted by a bizarre scene.

A gigantic fire dragon was crouched nervously beside the World Tree sapling, tail raised high, straining with intense concentration.

ThenPLOP!

A steaming, molten pile of dragon dung dropped squarely onto the tender green sapling, splattering down onto the roots with a sticky bounce.

Several other less-fresh piles were scattered around the tree’s base.

“NORBERT!”

That day, for the very first time, Hastur witnessed Louis truly lose his temper—and saw the mighty fire dragon get kicked so hard it shot straight into the sky and didn’t come down for a very long time.

---

[Genshin Impact] Chapter 638: The Xianzhou Luofu (2-in-1 Chapter)

Morning, in the Wonderland Space.

Lumine and Paimon had already gone to Fontaine to meet up with Navia, planning to question the merchant guilds that sold clockwork guards. Meanwhile, Nolan had returned once more to the Herta Space Station.

It was already afternoon here, and the Xianzhou Alliance’s trade fleet had long since arrived.

This particular fleet happened to have been near Baihuang Star and had come to the nearby Herta Space Station to restock supplies before heading off to support the garrison there.

Since Nolan had accepted the same commission to assist Baihuang Star, they probably wouldn’t mind giving him a ride along the way.

He stepped out of his quarters and made his way toward the reception hall.

On the way, he pulled out his phone and noticed a notification—his power rating had been finalized.

His rank: A-Class.

According to the Interastral Peace Corporation’s evaluation system, an A-Class individual possessed enough destructive capability to eradicate all surface civilizations on a planet within a short time through various means.

Above that were the Starbreaker-Class, comparable to an actual battleship capable of annihilating a planet in a single strike, and the Emanator-Class, capable of destroying entire star systems.

The definition of “Emanator” was rather vague. Some beings who had received partial authority from an Aeon’s Path were called Emanators, but the amount of power granted varied widely.

Some Emanators couldn’t even destroy a single planet, while others were nearly equal to Aeons themselves.

Thus, in the IPC’s framework, “Emanator-Class” referred not to the title itself, but to the level of power capable of star-system annihilation.

Below A-Class were:

- B-Class – Capable of destroying nations.

- C-Class – Could devastate an entire city.

- D-Class – Roughly equal to the combat power of a 100-man army.

- E/F-Class – Standard trained soldiers or exceptional fighters who could take on ten opponents at once.

Judging from this scale, Nolan truly ranked among the rare elites of the cosmos.

Only the Starbreaker-Class, Emanator-Class, and the Aeons themselves stood above him.

The giant Stringer insect he’d fought before—at level 130—was likely in the same tier as him, perhaps slightly stronger.

As for Screwllum at level 160, the battle records circulating across the Interastral Peace Network suggested he far surpassed Starbreaker-Class.

However, there was no confirmation that Screwllum was an Emanator of the Aeon of Erudition.

On the other hand, rumors claimed that Lady Herta, the Space Station’s master, was one of Erudition’s Emanators.

Whether these claims were true or not, Nolan couldn’t say—he knew better than to trust everything online.

Anyone who surfed the galactic net knew that half of it was nonsense.

Still, when it came to power, for the members of the Genius Society, the blessing of an Aeon was almost irrelevant.

After learning that both Screwllum and Herta were part of that organization, Nolan had done some digging into its members.

He discovered that the 29th seat of the Genius Society—Sissikal—was originally a spider with a natural lifespan of only twenty-nine days.

And yet, within that short time, Sissikal accelerated the evolution of the entire spider civilization by thousands of years—elevating it from primitive instinct to an interstellar civilization, even creating technologies like Meta-Domain Space and Phase Transition.

It wasn’t hard to imagine: true genius transcended species, environment, and even era itself.

For such beings, destruction was far easier than creation.

If they ever wished to, destroying an entire star system would probably be effortless.

Thus, whether or not the members of the Genius Society received Aeonic power, their intellect alone allowed them to wield combat strength equal to any Emanator.

Of course, that assumed they actually cared about combat—many didn’t.

Without interest in warfare, they naturally fell short of true Emanators, who embodied raw destructive might.

After all, even to design a star-system-level weapon required time and effort; one couldn’t conjure such things from thin air.

As Nolan mused over these thoughts, the reception hall came into view.

Sure enough, it was busier than usual, filled with unfamiliar faces not wearing IPC staff uniforms.

Their clothing style resembled that of Liyue in Teyvat.

Many of them had fox ears and tails—members of the Foxian race, one of the three major races of the Xianzhou Alliance.

The Alliance was composed of the Xianzhou Ren (the original humans blessed with immortality by the Aeon of Abundance), the Foxians, and the Vidyadhara.

According to what he’d read online, the Foxians were expert merchants, while the Vidyadhara specialized in alchemy and medicine.

So it wasn’t surprising that this trade fleet visiting the Herta Space Station included a large number of Foxians.

As Nolan approached, he saw several Foxians negotiating with IPC staff about supply purchases.

Looking further inside, he spotted Asta chatting with a black-haired Foxian girl wearing a short dress—likely the leader of the trade fleet.

He walked over, and both women looked up as he approached. Nolan smiled politely.

“Pardon my interruption, Miss Asta… and this lady as well.”

“Oh? And who might this gentleman be?”

The Foxian girl, her two fox ears twitching adorably, pressed a pale finger to her lips, curiosity gleaming in her eyes.

Before Nolan could answer, Asta spoke first with a smile:

“This is Nolan, the Space Station’s Security Consultant I mentioned earlier, Miss Tingyun.

He’s exceptionally capable and has accepted the commission for Baihuang Star.

“When your fleet departs later, please take him along—consider it additional support from our station.”

Threats like the Denizens of Abundance and the Antimatter Legion were universal disasters; even if one didn’t seek them out, they might come knocking sooner or later.

So it was only natural to help others facing similar crises.

Some of the supplies prepared by the Space Station were even being sent freely to aid the Xianzhou Alliance—interstellar cooperation at its finest.

And should the Space Station ever fall into peril, the Alliance would surely return the favor.

“My, so this is the famous Security Consultant Miss Asta mentioned!”

The black-haired Foxian girl—her face naturally alluring, her smile all the more charming—looked playfully at Asta.

“But, Miss Asta, if your security consultant comes with us, who will keep your station safe?”

Asta shook her head gently.

“That’s nothing to worry about. Mr. Nolan has his own means of returning whenever he wishes. Please, Miss Tingyun, take him with you to Baihuang Star.”

Nolan nodded in agreement.

“That’s right, Miss Tingyun. If your fleet’s transport doesn’t have enough room, you can just bring along my avatar instead.”

As he spoke, he extended his hand—and summoned a luminous figure beside him:

the Sword God of Lumine.

Tingyun, quick-witted as ever, immediately understood that Nolan’s little display was meant to show his strength — a polite way of saying he wouldn’t be dead weight on their journey.

After all, the Xianzhou Luofu Trade Fleet wasn’t a passenger service. They were a commercial caravan traveling between civilizations to establish trade relations, not a transport line.

Still, if someone strong enough to be useful asked to tag along, she certainly wouldn’t refuse.

“Mr. Nolan, it brings me great joy that you’ve agreed to take the time to assist the Xianzhou Alliance,” Tingyun said, her fox-like eyes curving in a bright smile. “Letting you ride with us is, of course, our honor — and the least we can do.”

【Tingyun Has Developed Good Feelings Towards You, Obtained 320 Affection Point. Current Affection Level: Lv.3 (20/300).】

Seeing the familiar system prompt, Nolan knew that her kind words weren’t empty flattery — she truly meant them.

He smiled in return.

“Then, Miss Tingyun, when does your trade fleet plan to depart? I should get ready in advance.”

Of course, he didn’t actually need to prepare anything. Everything he owned was stored within his Wonderland Space, easily accessible with a thought. Still, it was only polite to say so.

“We’ll depart at five this evening,” Tingyun said lightly. “Please make sure to be on time, Mr. Nolan.”

“Naturally,” Nolan replied.

Having finished his business, he didn’t stay to interrupt Tingyun and Asta any further — they clearly still had things to discuss.

It was around 3:30 PM on the Herta Space Station. Since five o’clock wasn’t far off, Nolan decided to head straight to the auxiliary docking platform where external ships were berthed.

That was where visiting interstellar vessels usually docked, and the Xianzhou fleet would be no exception.

Taking an elevator down, he soon arrived at the platform area. From afar, he could already see a massive ship — resembling an enormous wooden vessel — resting quietly at port.

“...A spaceship made of wood?” Nolan couldn’t help marveling once again at how limited his knowledge of the cosmos still was.

Robotic loaders were busily hauling cargo aboard the ship, while both Foxians and space station staff bustled about checking manifests.

Among them, he spotted Arlan from the Security Department — and little Peppy trotting alongside him. Nolan walked over to greet them and helped maintain order as they oversaw the loading.

By the time the clock neared five, Miss Tingyun finally returned. Judging from her pace, it was time to depart.

Nolan had been eagerly anticipating this.

If all went well, this journey could mean another massive surge of Adventure EXP — maybe even another level-up streak!

Thinking of that, he opened his status screen for a glance:

---

Name: Nolan Walker

Level: 111 (1,563,622 / 21,000,000 EXP)

Race: Human

Titles: Honorary Knight, Distinguished Citizen of Liyue, Legendary Adventurer, Honorary General of Watatsumi Island, Sumeru Sage

Innate Talent: Entangling Affection

Skills:

- Lumine’s Musou · World Lv.10 ( Void Starsea Manifestation, Boundless)

- 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)

Adventure EXP: 6,127,726

---

The one and a half million points of cultivation progress had come from recent training sessions with the girls, while roughly five million EXP came from the Primogems collected by Jean, Ningguang, Nahida, and Yae Miko over the past few days.

On top of that were rewards from Arlecchino’s previous commission and the Dragonblood Gemstones produced within his pocket space.

Even without a perfect EXP farm, his progress was still quite good — he’d be leveling up again soon enough.

With Miss Tingyun’s permission, Nolan smoothly boarded the Xianzhou Luofu trade ship.

To his surprise, the interior was made of the same “wood” as the exterior — the whole structure looked organic, almost alive.

Wood, as a starship hull? Hard to imagine, yet it clearly worked.

It wasn’t ordinary wood, that much was certain — perhaps it had been infused with some kind of extraordinary power.

Curiosity piqued, Nolan used Yae Miko’s Affection Skill to inspect the ship’s data:

【Flagship – “Xianzhou Luofu”: A massive commercial vessel grown using Flagship Cultivation Technology. Superior performance; capable of a single continuous jump of up to 10 light-years, requiring only five hours of warp time. A subsequent jump requires just one hour of recharge. Equipped with advanced energy defenses and offensive systems.】

Nolan blinked in astonishment as the information registered.

“A spaceship that’s… grown?”

So the Xianzhou Alliance had literally put their stat points into farming! Even their spacecraft were plants!

While he was still marveling at this, the ship began to move.

The process was completely silent — smoother and quieter than any mechanical vessel he’d ever seen.

Without so much as a rumble, the Xianzhou Luofu detached from the Herta Space Station and drifted out into open space.

In the very next instant, the stars stretched into lines, and the ship slipped seamlessly into a pitch-black wormhole corridor — the transition utterly fluid.

Just then, Tingyun approached, her snowy legs visible beneath her flowing skirt, white open-toe boots tapping softly against the floor.

“Mr. Nolan,” she said with a bright smile, “we should arrive at Baihuang Star around your station’s early morning hours. You can rest in your cabin until then.”

Saying so, she gestured gracefully for him to follow — apparently intending to show him to his quarters herself.

“Thank you, Miss Tingyun.” Nolan smiled and nodded, walking beside her through the long wooden corridor.

Her fox tail swayed lightly as she walked ahead, its fur so smooth and glossy it looked freshly brushed.

---

Herta Space Station, 22 Light-Years Away — Baihuang Star.

In orbit above Baihuang Star, near a Xianzhou Alliance defense outpost, several large combat-class Flagships faced off against what looked like living battleships — enormous beasts shaped into weapons.

These were the biological warships of the Denizens of Abundance.

Their numbers weren’t great — only seven or eight — but the Xianzhou garrison stationed at Baihuang was small as well.

Inside one such organic warship, within the command chamber, sat a red-eyed, golden-furred Denizen of Abundance, staring intently at a hovering sphere of faint blue soul-flame before him.

(End of Chapter)

---

(Author’s Note)

As for whether all members of the Genius Society are actually Emanators — honestly, even I’m not sure.

That’s why I didn’t write it explicitly in this chapter — better to avoid getting contradicted later.

What do you think?

Share your theories in the comments — if it makes sense, I might just reference it later!

[HP] Chapter 196: Detective Louis

The tobacco in the pipe ignited on its own, without flame.

Under the astonished gazes of the headmaster and professors, Louis bit down on the pipe, his expression thoughtful and distant.

Harry and Ron were dumbfounded.

“Mr. Wilson, what exactly are you doing?” Professor McGonagall, ever the one to worry, was the first to break the silence.

“Oh, pardon me, Professor. This is just a little tool that helps with inspiration. I happen to have a few ideas I’d like to confirm with everyone.”

Louis exhaled a puff of white smoke, his eyes gleaming with intellect.

“With all due respect, Headmaster Dumbledore,” he began, “among everyone here, you’re probably the most senior. Could you tell us—what exactly is this ‘Chamber of Secrets’?”

“The Chamber…” Dumbledore’s eyes glimmered with meaning. “It refers to Salazar Slytherin’s Chamber. He believed that Muggle-born children were unworthy of studying magic. After quarreling with the other founders, he left the school. But before he did, he left behind a chamber—one that contained a monster.”

“He said that his true heir would one day open the Chamber and release the creature to purge the school of all unworthy students.”

“That sounds like a joke,” Ron blurted out—then immediately regretted it as every professor in the room turned to stare at him. He quickly ducked his head, sneaking a glance at Louis, unable to understand how the boy could remain so calm, puffing his pipe under the scrutiny of all the teachers.

“Yes, a joke indeed,” Louis picked up Ron’s words smoothly. “If not for the existence of Muggle-borns, the wizarding world would’ve gone extinct long ago.”

“But that’s not what matters right now.” His tone shifted before any of the pure-blood professors (namely Snape) could retort. “What matters is motive—reason.”

“If the monster’s supposed goal is to attack Muggle-born wizards, then why begin with a cat?” Louis pointed out.

“To set an example?” Professor McGonagall was already drawn into his reasoning.

“If it were meant as a warning, then surely the target would’ve been someone more significant than a cat. No offense, but besides Mr. Filch, who else truly cares for that creature? If the one petrified had been a Muggle-born wizard—say, me—the ‘warning effect’ would’ve been much greater, wouldn’t it?”

“And another thing: why petrification? Petrification can be reversed. Why not kill outright?”

Louis continued, absently holding back an indignant Hastur in his arms.

“Then what are you suggesting, Mr. Wilson?” Dumbledore asked.

“My suggestion is simple.” Louis put away his pipe. “The culprit was forced to attack Filch’s cat. We all know Mrs. Norris is clever—she helps Filch catch students wandering at night. So the culprit must’ve been caught by her, panicked, and struck. But the attack failed—only petrifying her instead of killing.”

“And at the scene, there was a mysterious puddle of water…”

“That was from the old girls’ bathroom pipes,” Filch interrupted hotly. “That ghost—Moaning Myrtle—she does that all the time.”

“Not tonight,” Louis corrected, wagging a finger. “Myrtle was invited to Sir Nicholas’s five-hundredth Deathday Party tonight. She wouldn’t have had time to flood the place.”

At the mention of Myrtle, a thoughtful look appeared on Dumbledore’s face.

“Ah, I see the Headmaster noticed it too,” Louis said with a faint smile. “The reason that bathroom was abandoned is precisely because Myrtle died there. So… could her death be connected to Mrs. Norris’s petrification?”

“The same place. Similar incident. In the supposedly safest school in the world… isn’t that highly suspicious?”

“Excellent deduction, Mr. Wilson.” Dumbledore applauded lightly. “A brilliant piece of reasoning. For that, I believe Slytherin deserves fifty points.”

At that, Snape—hidden in the shadows—couldn’t help but smile broadly.

Harry and Ron, on the other hand, looked at Louis with open admiration—and no small amount of envy. Compared to his composed, eloquent performance, their earlier panic seemed downright embarrassing.

“These are merely my personal observations. I hope they’re of help,” Louis said, bowing politely.

“Yes, yes, exactly what I was thinking!” Lockhart suddenly jumped in to steal the spotlight, utterly oblivious to how unnecessary he was.

“Alright, this matter is concluded for now. We have things to investigate,” Dumbledore said seriously. “Argus, send your cat to Madam Pomfrey. Professor Sprout has been cultivating Mandrakes—once they mature, we can brew a restorative potion.”

“Oh, I could brew ten vials with my eyes closed! Nobody knows potions better than I!” Lockhart chirped obnoxiously, earning a sharp glare from Snape.

“I believe I’m the Potions Master of this school,” Snape said coldly, his glance clearly meaning you amateur.

Lockhart flushed—his pride wounded—and his look toward Snape turned venomous.

“Wait, Headmaster, their suspicions haven’t been cleared yet!” Filch suddenly interjected. He clearly wasn’t ready to let the trio go—or perhaps, he’d never intended to.

After all, everyone knew Filch was a Squib.

“No, Mr. Filch, quite the opposite.” Louis smiled mildly. “It’s because the three of us were together and witnessed the first crime scene that we can be ruled out entirely.”

“There can only be one Heir. If three appeared at once, the so-called ‘Heir of Slytherin’ would be rather cheapened, wouldn’t it?”

“Indeed,” Dumbledore nodded gravely. “This matter has nothing to do with Mr. Wilson and his friends. They simply appeared at the wrong place at the wrong time.”

“But why were they even there? After the Deathday Party, they should’ve gone to the Hall or back to their dormitories—why the third floor?” Filch pressed on.

“That’s because I heard my cat cry out,” Louis replied smoothly, patting Hastur. “He must have sensed Mrs. Norris was in danger and ran to help her. You probably noticed the rope around Mrs. Norris—Hastur was the one who bit through it.”

“Yes… that makes perfect sense,” Dumbledore nodded, concluding the meeting.

---

“Louis, thank you.”

After leaving the Defense Against the Dark Arts office, Harry and Ron turned to him gratefully.

“Thanks to your deduction, we weren’t suspected.”

“Suspected?” Louis chuckled. “As long as Headmaster Dumbledore doesn’t doubt you, you’ll be fine—with or without me. And Dumbledore,” he added, eyes glinting, “would never suspect you, Harry.”

“Never? Why?” Harry asked curiously.

Louis didn’t answer. He simply stroked Hastur’s head and said, “Sorry, I should get going. My cat’s probably frightened.”

“Frightened?”

Harry and Ron exchanged a glance, then looked down at the yawning Hastur. Frightened was the last word they’d use to describe him.

But before they could say anything, Louis was already walking away, leaving no chance for further questions.

---

[Game] Chapter 496: Touring the New Company Building

For the next two nights, Ichin went live as promised, streaming his Dark Souls playthrough from the very beginning.

Starting as a “Deprived,” armed with nothing but a wooden club, Ichin dove right in.

Of course, as the game’s producer, he knew every hidden ambush and trap location by heart—there was no way he’d suffer as badly as the average player.

His purpose in streaming wasn’t to show off anyway, but to teach players the fundamentals—basic mechanics, practical combat strategies, and weapon performance tips.

He had packed Dark Souls full of content. Even after three full days since release, no one had yet discovered which build was the “strongest,” and new playstyles were constantly emerging.

Ichin, having started as the “Deprived,” decided to go for a dual club build—two small clubs at first, which he planned to later upgrade into dual great clubs in mid-to-late game for maximum chaos.

During his weekend streams, he didn’t play aggressively. His approach was calm and deliberate—advancing step by step while explaining mechanics and strategies. He later uploaded the stream recordings so players could use them as references.

Many viewers, after learning from his explanations, realized that Dark Souls wasn’t actually as impossibly hard as its reputation suggested—it was all about mindset and pacing.

Charging ahead recklessly only drew multiple enemies at once, and if even two of them had shields, you were doomed.

After three days of live teaching, Ichin stopped streaming the later content, leaving the rest of the game for players to explore and experience on their own.

After Sunday’s victory banquet, he stayed overnight at the hotel, then returned home the next morning. After a shower and a change of clothes, he walked next door.

Haruno and Yukino had both attended the banquet the previous night. Yukino hadn’t drunk, but Haruno had indulged quite a bit—so much that she still hadn’t completely sobered up even now.

Ichin played with Yukino’s cats in the living room for a while until Haruno finally emerged from the bathroom, wearing pajamas and towel-dried hair.

“Ugh, my head still hurts,” Haruno groaned, pressing her temples. “I really shouldn’t have drunk that much last night…”

Ichin smiled. “Haruno, Utaha’s brewing you some hangover tea in the kitchen. Come sit down and rest for a bit.”

“Mm, thanks.” Haruno nodded, sitting down on the couch and immediately leaning her head against Yukino’s shoulder.

Yukino instinctively wanted to move away, but seeing her sister in that pitiful state, she hesitated—then quietly let her stay.

Resting comfortably on her sister’s shoulder, Haruno murmured, “So, Ichin—we’re going to check out the new company building this afternoon, right?”

“Yeah,” Ichin nodded. “Didn’t you say the renovation was finished a few days ago? Now that Dark Souls has launched smoothly, it’s the perfect time to visit. I’ve barely been there since construction began—I’ve only seen the photos you sent. Honestly, I’m really looking forward to it.”

Haruno chuckled proudly. “Hehe, don’t worry—you won’t be disappointed. All the office furniture has already been arranged. As for the technical stuff like the projection system and server room equipment, I left those for your team—you know I’m not that technical.”

“No problem,” Ichin said. “That’s easy enough for us to handle.”

Just then, Utaha came out of the kitchen carrying a tray—she handed Haruno a cup of hangover tea and gave all three of them coffee as well.

After sitting down, Utaha said, “Haruno, you’re out of groceries here. So for lunch, you and Yukino can eat at my parents’ place. I already talked to them.”

Haruno smiled weakly while sipping her tea. “Ah, thank you, Utaha! But since I overdid it with the drinks last night… could you tell your mom to make it a bit lighter today?”

“Already did,” Utaha replied with a smile.

It was already past ten. After a short rest, they’d be ready to head out.

Cradling her senior cat, Mochi, Yukino asked, “So, after visiting the new building this afternoon, when do we officially move in? Since this whole week is a holiday—maybe the last two days?”

Ichin nodded. “Yeah, let’s let everyone rest first. Then on Friday and Saturday, we’ll organize the move—bring over all the equipment, set up the power and network systems, test everything, and take Sunday off. By Monday, we’ll start working in the new office.”

Utaha asked curiously, “And the cafeteria chefs? Didn’t you say you were hiring some really good ones?”

“Already handled,” Ichin grinned. “There are plenty of skilled chefs working here in Japan. Through Haruno’s contacts—and Aunt Sayuri’s connections too—we’ve found several promising candidates. We’ll meet with them over the next few days, and if they’re good, we’ll sign contracts right away.”

As a self-proclaimed foodie, Ichin would never allow the company cafeteria to be subpar—especially since he often stayed late at the office himself.

If the chefs cooked well, everyone would eat happily, and a satisfied team worked better.

Haruno added with a laugh, “While I was helping Ichin find chefs, I also swapped out the ones at my own company cafeteria—got a few new, higher-level ones. I was getting sick of takeout. Having our own cafeteria food that actually tastes good is so much better. Though, to be fair, my company has more people, so our kitchen staff is a lot larger too.”

At the end of the day, her “culinary improvements” were clearly for her own enjoyment—but her employees certainly benefited from them as well.

After lunch at Utaha’s parents’ house, the group drove over to the new company building. Joining them were Yagami Kou, Toyama Rin, Narumi, and Momiji—all of whom lived in the same apartment complex.

After parking in the underground garage, they stood before the building’s facade.

Mochizuki tilted her head back, looking up. “It’s only six stories, but standing here, it feels huge!”

Narumi nodded repeatedly, her eyes shining. “So this is where we’ll be working from now on… It’s amazing!”

“Come on,” Haruno waved, smiling. “Let’s go inside.”

The entry security system had already been installed, and employee access cards would be distributed once the official move-in started later that week.

As they entered, everyone began exploring the first floor.

Besides the spacious front lobby, there was also a comfortable visitor lounge and a company fitness area.

The second floor was dedicated to the cafeteria and recreation zone, which would include gaming stations and a large projection screen for movie nights and events.

Above that were the office floors, with plenty of room to spare even after moving the entire current staff over.

Their next mission after the move was clear—

Recruit more people!

---

[Genshin Impact] Chapter 637: The Suspect (2-in-1 Chapter)

The planet Baihuang Star — an uninhabited world, yet teeming with colossal beasts as large as mountains. These creatures fed on rock and soil, and their… excretions — or rather, secretions — formed dense black mineral deposits.

These minerals, when alloyed with other materials through simple processing, could already meet the standards for the hulls of interstellar vessels. Their performance was excellent too, making them a prized material among ship manufacturers across the cosmos.

The first to discover this planet had been the Xianzhou Alliance. The Alliance was composed of six massive, planet-sized flagships. Some of them were destroyed long ago in wars against the Denizens of Abundance, but others had survived and continued to exist to this day.

Baihuang Star was discovered over fifty years ago by one of those six flagships — the Xianzhou Yaoqing.

The minerals found here were a valuable resource for the Alliance, both for self-use and for trade. Thus, the Yaoqing had established a base on this planet, with personnel stationed there to mine and refine the ore.

However, only a few days ago, the planet had come under heavy siege by the Denizens of Abundance. The assault was large in scale, forcing the stationed garrison to focus all efforts on defending the planet.

The Yaoqing itself wasn’t nearby, and the closest flagship — the Xianzhou Luofu — was more than two hundred light-years away.

Even for a planet-class vessel, a jump of that distance would take at least a week. As such, the garrison on Baihuang Star had no choice but to send out an emergency request for reinforcements.

After learning about the situation, Nolan noticed that many others had already accepted the mission and were leaving comments under the commission listing:

> [Youming-9A] : “Saw the alert on the ‘Patrol Rangers’ mutual aid forum. Don’t worry, brothers of the Yaoqing — I’m nearby on Carwash Star, heading your way right now!”

> [Aiko-208] : “Caught you, big bro 9A! I’m on my way too. (sparkly-eyes.jpg)”

> [Invincible Boteo] : “Hahaha, my revolver’s been itching for action!”

These comments were all posted just seconds ago, and scrolling further revealed many more — all from people heading there to assist.

Nolan tapped the mission entry and prepared to accept it. The commission offered a base reward of one million credits just for showing up and helping.

If one made a significant contribution, there would be even greater rewards. Of course, Nolan’s real goal wasn’t the credits — he wanted to see if there was a chance to earn some Adventure EXP.

【Front camera activation required for identity verification. Do you allow this?】

When the prompt appeared, Nolan paused for a moment, then quickly understood the reason.

This was a dangerous mission type. Without sufficient strength, not only would one be unable to help, but they might even become a liability.

And for someone with an unverified identity to join — it would be hard to tell if they were an ally or an infiltrator.

After a brief thought, Nolan clicked “Allow.”

【Locating terminal… verifying identity… Unable to detect valid ID information. Please upload relevant credentials.】

Seeing the message on the screen, Nolan wasn’t surprised.

After all, his personal information existed only within the Herta Space Station’s internal network — the Interastral Peace Network had no record of him.

Naturally, that meant the system couldn’t identify him.

He wasn’t in a rush, though. When in doubt, he could always ask the Interastral Peace Encyclopedia.

So he searched how to register for Xianzhou Alliance commissions — and soon, a detailed answer popped up.

First, anyone wanting to take on commissions — regardless of which organization — had to register a dedicated account on the Interastral Peace Network and complete real-name authentication.

Guest accounts like the one Nolan currently used couldn’t be used for that.

After verifying one’s identity, the next step was to fill in a personal résumé — previous affiliations, notable achievements, combat records, and so on.

And these credentials had to be backed up with official documentation — not just words. It all sounded a bit troublesome.

Nolan pondered for a moment. Actually, he did have some achievements worth mentioning.

For instance, he served as a Security Consultant for the Herta Space Station — a fairly impressive credential in itself.

And there was the time he single-handedly cleared an entire planet’s insect swarm. That incident had likely been recorded by the White Star-class Battleship commanded by Screwllum.

If he asked Asta to help him retrieve that footage and upload it as part of his profile, it would make for a solid record.

The Interastral Peace Network evaluated such information to determine an individual’s power rating.

Then, when accepting missions, the system would automatically filter out anyone whose rating was insufficient for that task.

Only those strong enough would be approved to join.

It was no wonder the Xianzhou Alliance’s mission offered a base reward of one million credits — anyone qualified to take it clearly wasn’t weak.

Just showing up was worth that price.

For individuals, the process was strict — but for organizations, it was much simpler.

As long as the organization’s identity was verified, there was no need to vet every individual member.

For example, if the Herta Space Station itself took on a mission, no one would need to check Nolan’s identity — he could simply accompany them.

But Nolan knew that the Space Station’s defensive forces weren’t particularly strong. They could protect themselves, sure, but deploying troops to aid others might be a stretch.

So, he opened his phone’s camera, photographed his Herta Space Station Security Consultant ID, and uploaded it to his profile.

When the system reviewed his credentials, it would directly verify them with the Space Station — meaning fake IDs wouldn’t pass.

Afterward, he messaged Asta to ask if there was any recorded footage of him clearing the insect swarm.

> Asta: “I’ll check for you.”

Before long, Asta replied again, saying she’d reach out to confirm — probably through internal channels.

That would take some time, so Nolan lay back on his bed, idly browsing the Interastral Peace Network.

He scrolled through galactic news and recent events — reports of new diplomatic relations between civilizations under IPC mediation, Antimatter Legion raids on various worlds, and sightings of a rising evil organization called the Stellaron Hunters wreaking havoc across multiple systems.

Time slipped by unnoticed as he browsed. Roughly half an hour later, a new message notification popped up from Asta.

It was the very same video of Nolan exterminating the planetary insect swarm some time ago.

He replied to Asta with a “Thanks” and a bowing emoji, then uploaded the video to his personal profile as part of his credentials.

After that, he submitted his application for verification.

Since the system had to cross-check the authenticity of all the provided information, it displayed a notice saying the review would take one to two business days.

Asta had mentioned that the Xianzhou trade fleet would arrive the day after tomorrow—so, the timing worked out perfectly.

Two days passed quickly.

Nolan didn’t idle around in the meantime.

Using his free time, he logged onto the Interastral Peace Network to study various scientific databases—especially foundational theories—and scanned the data into his “Akasha Terminal.”

Then he uploaded those files into the Wonderland Space’s “Akasha System,” letting everyone there study the materials together.

Of course, he didn’t make them publicly available on the Akasha Interconnected Network.

Dumping that much new knowledge all at once would’ve caused quite a shock among Teyvat’s scholars.

So instead, he let researchers like Nahida, Greater Lord Rukkhadevata, Cloud Retainer, Lisa, and Mona study the data first.

Once they determined which topics were safe to publish, those would be released to the public gradually—allowing scholars time to adapt before new material appeared.

During these two days of “cultivation practice” with Lumine, Nolan also learned that something had happened back in Fontaine.

On the day of Lyney and Lynette’s magic performance, during their final act—the “human substitution trick”—an unexpected accident occurred.

The suspended water tank used for their escape act suddenly fell, smashing into the magician’s prop box below. Inside that box was a volunteer selected from the audience—a young woman named Halsey.

Seeing the disaster unfold, Chief Justice Neuvillette immediately halted the performance and ordered the guards to secure the area.

But upon opening the magician’s box, they found only the lifeless body of a stage assistant named Cowell—Halsey herself had vanished without a trace.

The case’s peculiarities mirrored the unresolved Serial Disappearance of Young Women that had remained unsolved for twenty years.

Right there at the scene, the ever-impulsive Focalors wanted to accuse Lyney and his troupe of being the true culprits.

After all, the missing woman had disappeared inside a box prepared by Lyney’s team—suspicion naturally fell on them.

However, Lumine and Paimon firmly believed the siblings were innocent.

That serial disappearance case began twenty years ago—before either of them had even been born.

It was impossible for them to be the murderers.

They quickly contacted Focalors through a “waymark” communication and explained why the Serial Disappearance Case likely had nothing to do with Lyney and Lynette.

Focalors, realizing the inconsistency, refrained from pressing charges for the moment.

Even so, Cowell’s death and Halsey’s disappearance both occurred within Lyney’s magic box.

That fact alone was undeniable, and the audience’s growing suspicion meant that public opinion had already turned against them.

No matter what, they would have to prove their innocence.

As the God of Justice, Focalors ultimately still had to act as the one bringing the formal accusation.

Thus, Lumine and Paimon stepped in as the siblings’ advocates to help prove them innocent.

Chief Justice Neuvillette scheduled the trial for the next day, giving Lumine’s group a single day to find conclusive evidence.

Since the case likely connected to the old Serial Disappearance incident, Navia—who had also been present at the performance—offered her help.

Her own father’s death had ties to that very case, and she was determined to uncover the truth behind it.

So the three joined forces to investigate.

They first asked Lyney and Lynette to explain in detail how the trick worked, then inspected the scene themselves.

There, they discovered traces of Primordial Sea Water—a liquid capable of dissolving Fontaine’s citizens.

Eventually, Lumine, Navia, and her two attendants found the missing woman, Halsey.

Her true identity was that of a Mondstadt thief.

After the accident, fearing exposure of her criminal past, she went into hiding rather than having truly disappeared.

As for Cowell—he had apparently tried to attack her inside the box and poured some water over her, though his motives were unclear.

Realizing she was in danger and unwilling to be arrested, Halsey fought back, overpowering Cowell and trapping him inside the box.

None of them could have predicted that the water tank above would fall and crush him to death.

Once Lumine’s group pieced everything together, they presented their findings during the trial the following day.

Their conclusion: Cowell himself had been the true culprit.

He had attempted to kill Halsey using Primordial Sea Water—but as a Mondstadt native and a nimble thief, she turned the tables on him instead.

This suggested that Cowell was very likely one of the perpetrators behind the Serial Disappearance Case, using the deadly properties of Primordial Sea Water to dissolve his victims.

Lumine’s deductions, along with the physical evidence they presented, convinced both the audience and Chief Justice Neuvillette.

After being submitted to the Oratrice Mécanique d’Analyse Cardinale for final arbitration, the verdict was clearnot guilty.

Thus, Lyney and Lynette’s innocence was restored.

However, Cowell’s accomplice, a man named Vaughn, attempted to falsify testimony but was exposed.

Before he could reveal the name of the true mastermind, he was dissolved into water on the spot.

That proved the incident was far from over.

Cowell’s failed actions had merely caused the long-buried Serial Disappearance Case to resurface unexpectedly.

Now Lumine and Paimon, together with Navia, had resumed their investigation.

It was clear the culprit’s method involved the use of Primordial Sea Water.

And Lumine and Paimon knew well that those dissolved by it weren’t truly gone—

Their consciousness lingered, transformed into pure water spirits.

They realized that the Water Sprite they’d once encountered in the Fountain of Lucine—the one endlessly murmuring the name “Vasche”—was very likely one such victim.

Lumine shared this theory with Navia, planning to investigate further along the trail of the Primordial Sea Water.

But that very night, they were ambushed by a large number of clockwork guards.

Fortunately, Lumine’s strength made short work of them all.

The meaning was clear — the mastermind didn’t want them digging any deeper.

Naturally, Lumine’s group refused to back down.

They began tracing the origins of the numerous clockwork guards instead, reasoning that only someone wealthy and powerful enough to purchase so many could be behind the attacks.

Coincidentally, Lumine, Nolan, and Paimon had attended a recent opera trial that revolved around a commercial dispute between two clockwork-guard manufacturers.

Both men were merchants dealing in security automatons — and tomorrow, they planned to question them to see who might have recently purchased guards in such massive quantities.

Whoever that was… would likely be their prime suspect.

(End of Chapter)

[Game] Chapter 495: Sales and Feedback

After checking everyone’s game progress, Ichin returned to his office and turned on his computer to see how Dark Souls was doing after its first night on sale.

First up was Steam: the game’s concurrent player count had already surpassed 500,000, and that wasn’t even the peak. Within the first five hours of release, the peak number of concurrent players had reached 600,000.

Then came the sales figures—initially, the total pre-orders across all platforms had hit two million, but now, just on Steam and Epic alone, PC sales had already reached two million copies.

As for the Nintendo Switch version…

That number honestly surprised Ichin.

Browsing a few gaming forums, he found that quite a few players had purchased the Switch version of Dark Souls and were already sharing their impressions online.

At 1080p resolution in docked mode and 720p in handheld mode, the visuals barely showed any downgrades, and both modes held a stable 30 FPS. Players praised how smooth the gameplay felt.

> “Now that’s optimization—GF, take notes.”

> “Forget taking notes, GF should just learn how to make proper textures first.”

> “Lying in bed playing this on my Switch is pure bliss!”

> “Only downside—no achievement system. But that’s a small price to pay.”

Reading through all the positive feedback about the game’s performance, Ichin finally relaxed with a smile.

With such a huge Switch player base, unless optimization was truly impossible, he would never give up on supporting it.

And not just the current model—earlier this year, Ichin had received word from Nintendo that development kits for the upgraded Switch model were about to be distributed. Soon, they’d be able to develop with higher frame rates and better graphics for the new system.

Of course, the new console’s actual release date would only be announced at Nintendo’s end-of-year showcase, and Ichin wasn’t about to leak anything. In fact, the only person in his company who knew was Hazuki.

Utaha leaned against Ichin’s chair, glancing at the screen full of data.

“Looks like it’s officially a mega-hit, Ichin. You should make a proper announcement to everyone.”

Ichin nodded with a smile. “Yeah. At this rate, we’ll easily break ten million copies sold before the end of the year. Definitely worth celebrating. There’s not enough time today, so let’s book a hotel banquet hall for Sunday night and hold a celebration party.”

He picked up his desk phone and called the administration department, instructing them to handle the arrangements.

Once the hotel booking was confirmed, Ichin and Utaha left the office together.

Clapping his hands, Ichin addressed the art team:

“Alright, everyone—pause your games for a moment. Rin, Kou, go gather everyone. I’ve got an announcement to make.”

Judging from Ichin’s grin, the others already had a pretty good idea of what was coming.

A few minutes later, Yagami Kou and Toyama Rin brought everyone together.

Once the team was assembled, Ichin began, smiling broadly.

“Alright everyone, good news! After just one night, Dark Souls has sold 4.7 million copies, and we’ll break five million any moment now! I know it’s early to say this, but I’m confident we’ll hit ten million before the year ends!”

“Wooo!!”

“Second game to reach ten million sales!”

“We did it!”

After the cheers and laughter finally died down, Ichin continued,

“There’s not enough time today, but I’ve already reserved the banquet hall. Sunday night, we’ll hold a proper celebration. Don’t forget—details will be posted in the company chat. And after the party, everyone gets a full week off. Once we’re back, we’ll start preparing to move into our new headquarters building. By then, the renovation smell should have mostly aired out.”

At that, everyone’s excitement erupted again—almost forgetting that the new building was nearly finished by late March.

“Our own building! That’s awesome!”

“I’m calling my parents right now!”

“I’m telling my wife—she’ll be thrilled!”

The last remark earned immediate death stares from several single male coworkers.

Regardless, today was definitely a day worth celebrating.

After the announcement, Ichin told everyone to take the rest of the day off, then returned to his office to continue browsing Dark Souls discussion threads and livestreams.

Even though an entire night had passed, many hardcore streamers—those true “grind kings”—were still live, having streamed straight through from launch until now.

He opened one of the streams that had been running since midnight. The streamer had made impressive progress—already reaching the Farron Keep.

Unfortunately, Farron Keep was not a pleasant place. Its map design and enemy placement had been one of Ichin’s most painstaking works.

As soon as the stream loaded, Ichin saw a bleary-eyed streamer with dark circles sprinting desperately through the swamp, two Elder Ghru wielding wooden roots chasing after him.

The roots struck the ground, releasing waves of crimson magic orbs that homed in on the fleeing player.

“AAAHHHHH!!!”

After a furious scream, the screen turned black.

> “God, this map is disgusting! You can’t even roll properly—and there’s poison everywhere!”

The viewers in the chat were having the time of their lives, flooding the screen with laughing emotes and teasing comments.

Despite the suffering and complaints, after respawning, the streamer bravely dove right back into Farron Keep.

> “No way I’m quitting now. I need to pick up my souls—and those glowing items over there too. I’ll never sleep if I don’t!”

Ichin glanced at the streamer’s setup—still wearing the starting knight armor, same old shield, but his right-hand weapon had been swapped for a Dark Sword.

Lucky guy—he’d managed to farm one off a Darkwraith.

In Ichin’s version of Dark Souls, the Dark Sword hadn’t been nerfed to oblivion like in Dark Souls III. Its stats were excellent, and even after infusions, it remained a powerful weapon.

Rather than weakening strong weapons, Ichin preferred to make all weapons viable—each unique, each with its own charm and potential.

After watching a few more minutes, he sent the streamer a small gift and then hopped to another stream, continuing his late-night patrol.

Watching everyone suffer… was so entertaining.

---

[Genshin Impact] Chapter 636: The Stellaron Contamination Zone (2-in-1 Chapter)

Herta Space Station, Main Control Section — Recreation Area.

Following the navigation guidance, Nolan arrived at an employee cafeteria. Once the destination prompt appeared on his terminal, he put away his phone and stepped inside.

Glancing around, his eyes soon landed on a familiar figure by the window — Asta, quietly enjoying her afternoon tea. Opposite her, the white dog, Peppy, stood on the chair, staring eagerly at the plate of pastries.

“All right, all right, this is the last one!” Asta said helplessly, dividing the final tricolor mochi and handing half to Peppy.

“Woof!” Peppy wagged his tail happily as he devoured the treat.

“Good afternoon, Asta,” Nolan greeted her with a smile as he approached.

“Oh, it’s you, Nolan.” Asta tucked a strand of pink hair behind her ear and asked curiously, “Are you here for tea, or are you here for me?”

“The latter. I actually have something I’d like to ask you about.”

Nolan briefly explained that he was looking for a place filled with monsters where he could train and improve his strength.

Asta stared at him with an amused, knowing look.

“You do realize you’re technically an employee of the Space Station now, right? And you’re saying this kind of thing about sneaking off to slack in front of your supervisor — does that sound appropriate to you?”

“Ahem, I can leave behind an avatar. Using it, I can teleport back anytime — it won’t affect my work.”

Feeling slightly embarrassed, Nolan turned his gaze aside, then demonstrated on the spot by summoning his Sword God of Lumine — showcasing a teleportation technique that used the Void Star Sea as a relay medium.

“Oh… so, judging from how you once went to Lady Herta to ask about a planetary crisis back on your world, this means you can also teleport back there through this method, right?”

If his avatar could manage something like that, Asta knew Nolan wouldn’t be reckless enough to explore beyond the stars without some kind of backup plan.

“I wasn’t trying to hide it from you — we just weren’t that familiar back then.”

By revealing this ability, Nolan was essentially opening up to her. After all, her affection toward him had already reached level five and was close to level six — there was little reason to worry about her harboring ill intentions.

“Fine, I’ll accept that explanation.” Asta nodded in understanding and motioned for him to sit.

“There are indeed plenty of places across the cosmos filled with monsters — regions that threaten interstellar civilization.”

“Oh? I’d like to hear more about that.”

Nolan lifted Peppy from the chair and sat opposite Asta.

“Have you heard of Stellarons?”

Asta waved a server over and ordered more pastries.

“I heard a little about them from Lady Herta earlier,” Nolan replied. “Apparently, they’re pollutants that disrupt communication between civilizations?”

“That’s right,” Asta said, her soft cherry-colored lips parting as she continued,

“It’s said that Stellarons were cast across the universe by the Aeon of Destruction — Nanook. They sever the bonds between worlds and annihilate the civilizations they land on. People call them the Cancer of All Worlds.”

“Each Stellaron contains immense power. The way it destroys civilizations varies from world to world, but it often does so by amplifying natural disasters or crises unique to that planet — slowly erasing intelligent life.

“At the same time, they twist and contaminate surrounding space, blocking interstellar routes. The Antimatter Legion often invades new worlds through rifts caused by these space distortions.

“If you’re looking for real combat experience, heading to a Stellaron Contamination Zone would be ideal. You can enter the rifts there — you’ll find plenty of Antimatter Legion troops to fight.”

The Antimatter Legion — Nanook’s followers — existed for one purpose: to bring total destruction to the universe.

There was no need to show them mercy; only one side could survive.

Nolan had read about Nanook on the Interastral Peace Network. He understood well what it meant to face those who served the Aeon of Destruction.

“That sounds like a good idea,” Nolan said. “But how am I supposed to get to a Stellaron Contamination Zone? If the space there is distorted and the routes cut off, how do I even reach it?”

Asta’s pale cheeks curved into a gentle smile.

“To travel through Stellaron-contaminated regions and reopen interstellar routes, aside from a few special methods held by the IPC, there’s really only one group capable of that — the Nameless, followers of the Path of Trailblaze.

“Their Astral Express carries the power of the Aeon Aavili. Back when Aavili still lived, not even the Stellaron’s corruption — nor the unknown galaxies wrapped in Imaginary energy — could halt their journey.

“It was Aavili and the Nameless who first linked the countless civilizations of the galaxy.”

Resting her cheek on one hand, Asta sighed softly.

“Unfortunately, after the fall of Trailblaze, only one Astral Express remains. It can travel only along the tracks Aavili once forged.

“To blaze a new path among the stars is now impossible — unless a new Trailblaze Emanator were to appear.

“But the birth of an Emanator requires direct blessing from an Aeon. Without the favor of a Star God, no matter how far one walks their Path, it’s nearly impossible to reach that level.

“And since Aavili has perished, no new Trailblaze Emanator can ever arise.”

Nolan petted Peppy’s head and nodded thoughtfully.

“So Aavili’s fall really was a great loss for the galaxy… So what you mean is — if I want to visit a Stellaron Contamination Zone, I can take the Nameless’ Astral Express, right?”

“Exactly,” Asta said, nodding. “Lady Herta has a mutual-aid agreement with the Express’s navigator, Miss Himeko.

“In exchange for providing the train with various resources and support, Lady Herta receives new and rare discoveries found along their Trailblazing journey.

“In about two months, the Astral Express will return to the Herta Space Station for resupply. When that happens, I can ask them to give you a lift.”

Asta smiled as she said this, her tone both calm and certain.

The members of the Astral Express crew were all good people — they rarely turned down such a small request.

As for why Asta didn’t suggest that Nolan use the Interastral Peace Corporation’s transport routes to reach the Stellaron Contamination Zone…

Well, the main reason was simple: the IPC charged exorbitant fees, and Nolan obviously didn’t have that many credits to spare.

“Two months, huh…”

Nolan scratched Peppy’s chin thoughtfully. That felt like a long wait — long enough that he could probably make it there himself using spatial traversal!

Speaking of which, perhaps it was time he made proper use of his infinite Imaginary Energy.

At the cosmic scale, distances were measured in light-years. Even if Nolan poured every drop of his own Harmonizing Energy into teleportation, mimicking a warship’s jump drive, he’d only be able to warp about a few hundred thousand kilometers at most — hardly worth the effort compared to using Void Star Sea’s short-range spatial shifts a few times.

Those spatial hops were limited to about ten thousand kilometers per jump due to the need for precise mental positioning, but if used consecutively, the total range could easily exceed hundreds of thousands of kilometers — with almost negligible energy cost.

Still, teleporting a full light-year that way was impossible — not something achievable in a month or two.

And besides, he didn’t even know how far the nearest Stellaron Contamination Zone was from the Herta Space Station.

But if he used Imaginary Energy for a jump, that was a completely different story.

It was infinite — meaning he could, in theory, warp anywhere, as long as he spent some time opening a wormhole.

Since Imaginary Energy could distort reality itself, bending space would be far easier than with any other form of energy.

If he experimented a bit, perhaps he could warp directly to the destination — no need to wait for two whole months!

That thought excited him, and he started seriously considering testing it out right away.

As for the potential space pressure he might face during a long-distance warp, he already had a clever solution in mind — using Keqing’s Affection Skill on his clothing.

That particular affection skill allowed him to transfer any incoming damage onto his outfit. Even if the clothes reached their durability limit and were destroyed, the attack itself wouldn’t harm Nolan.

So, theoretically, he could sacrifice a set of clothes in exchange for one ultra-long-distance warp.

Asta, sitting across from him, had no idea what kind of dangerous ideas were running through Nolan’s mind. She placed the fresh plate of pastries brought by the waiter between them and continued speaking:

“If you think two months is too long, you don’t have to go looking for the Antimatter Legion in a Stellaron Zone. There are also some planets that were once invaded by the Xianzhou Alliance’s enemies — the Denizens of Abundance.

“Even though the wars there have long since ended, those planets often still harbor remnants known as ‘Abundance Aberrations.’ They’re dangerous monsters too — hunting them down would be just as good for your training.

“Coincidentally, this Saturday — the day after tomorrow — a Xianzhou trade fleet will be passing by the Herta Space Station. They loathe the Denizens of Abundance, their aberrations, and even the Aeon of Abundance itself.

“They frequently post bounty commissions to eliminate these aberrations. You can register on the Xianzhou Alliance’s external commission site, pick one of those tasks, and coordinate with the fleet directly.

“I’m sure they’d be more than happy to take you along.”

Nolan was somewhat familiar with the Xianzhou Alliance — mainly from his research on the various Aeons. He knew they followed the Path of Hunt and were one of the most powerful factions in the galaxy.

Once upon a time, they’d received the blessing of the Aeon of Abundance, granting them immortality.

But that so-called immortality came with a cost.

After living for countless years, many Xianzhou citizens would eventually succumb to the weight of their accumulated emotions — falling into a state known as Mara, where they lost their sanity and attacked everyone around them.

That was certainly not the kind of eternal life they had wanted.

However, while the Xianzhou detested it, other Denizens of Abundance craved that same blessing.

Coveting the Aeon’s gift, they repeatedly invaded the Xianzhou Alliance, starting countless wars — until the hatred between them became eternal.

Even now, the Xianzhou viewed all Denizens of Abundance as enemies, so it was perfectly normal for them to post public commissions for exterminating them.

Nolan picked up one of the pastries from the plate and took a bite, nodding slightly.

“Alright, I’ll look into it.”

After finishing the snacks, he placed Peppy back down and took his leave.

But rather than researching commissions immediately, he was far more eager to test whether his Imaginary Energy–based warp technique could actually work.

Back in his quarters, Nolan connected to the Imaginary Space and drew out a small stream of Imaginary Energy, beginning to experiment with twisting space the way a warship would during a jump.

Sure enough — it worked just as he expected, smooth and effortless.

With its inherent reality-warping properties, just a tiny amount of Imaginary Energy caused the surrounding space to ripple like disturbed water.

Increasing the output slightly, he could easily pry space open.

Then, sitting in his chair, Nolan leaned forward — and vanished.

When he reappeared, he was already standing outside his room.

That tiny bit of energy had been enough to teleport him about five or six meters away.

By that measure, less than one-tenth of his Harmonizing Energy’s equivalent in Imaginary Energy could warp him hundreds of thousands of kilometers.

One light-year, though… was about, what, nine trillion kilometers?

Since the maximum output of his Imaginary Energy matched that of his own Harmonizing Energy, he estimated that if he poured out his full power for one second, he could warp roughly a few hundred thousand kilometers.

If he released the same amount of Imaginary Energy instead, he might manage over a million kilometers in a single burst.

That meant, to cross one light-year — roughly nine trillion kilometers — he’d have to sustain full-power output for over nine million seconds… more than a hundred days of nonstop channeling.

Even if he could do it without exhaustion, the sheer time cost made it pointless.

By the time he finished charging up, the Astral Express would have long since arrived.

So, until his strength grew even greater, it was better to stick with conventional starships.

Sighing in mild disappointment, Nolan lay back on his bed and pulled out his phone, searching for the official website of the Xianzhou Alliance.

The Interastral Peace Network’s search engine was as accurate as ever — within moments, the results appeared.

There were plenty of sections on the site, but it didn’t take long for him to find the public commission board.

Sure enough, there were countless listings — the Xianzhou Alliance, being one of the galaxy’s top powers, operated across numerous systems, and thus had plenty of missions.

Thankfully, the page had a filtering system. Nolan set the filters to “Combat Missions” and sorted by “Nearest.”

Because his Interastral Peace Network login was registered from the Herta Space Station, the system automatically calculated the relative distance to each commission.

Soon, a list of combat-related commissions appeared, sorted from nearest to farthest.

At the top was one located twenty-two light-years away — a Xianzhou outpost under attack by Denizens of Abundance, requesting aid from nearby patrollers or other allied factions.

(End of Chapter)

[Game] Chapter 494: Everyone’s Chosen Playstyle

The true difficulty of Dark Souls was finally made clear to everyone after its release.

After spending two hours browsing through various livestreams, Ichin looked into the camera and said,

“Alright, it’s getting late. That’ll be it for tonight’s stream. For the next three days, I’ll be streaming again at 8 p.m. China time to play Dark Souls myself. I’ll show everyone the proper way to play this game. If you’re free, come watch. And if you’re stuck somewhere, feel free to ask—I’ll help you out.”

With that, Ichin quickly ended the stream.

Checking the time, it was already past 2 a.m.

“Haruno, Yukino—it’s late. You two should head back and get some rest. Yukino’s fine since school hasn’t started yet, but Haruno, you’ve got work in the morning.”

“Yeah, it’s definitely not early anymore.”

Haruno yawned and stood up along with Yukino. “Then we’ll head back. Night~”

“Goodnight, Onii-san. Goodnight, Utaha-senpai.”

Once the sisters had gone home, Ichin and Utaha washed up and went straight to bed.

The next morning, after breakfast, they arrived at the company around 10 a.m.

Even though the game had already launched, Ichin didn’t immediately give everyone time off. They needed to make sure no unexpected bugs appeared after release.

But while no major issues were surfacing, everyone in the company had already turned on their PCs, picked up controllers, and were enthusiastically playing Dark Souls.

After all the stress of preparing for launch, they could finally enjoy the game properly.

Ichin had barely stepped into the office when he heard Aoba’s sharp scream from across the room.

“AAAAAH! I died again!!”

Walking over, he saw the black-and-white death screen and, just before it, the Frostbite hound—Vordt of the Boreal Valley—charging along the ground.

Sitting next to Aoba, Eriri had one headphone on and chuckled. “Hehe, Aoba, how are you still stuck on the ice dog? You were in the dev test back then too!”

“I couldn’t beat him even then!” Aoba pouted. “I got through Gundyr easily, but this guy? I just can’t handle him. Ah—Ichin-kun, Utaha—you’re here! Ichin-kun, help me! I can’t win, I’ve died five times already!”

Ichin smiled. “Don’t worry, just focus on dodging. Stop relying on your shield so much. You don’t have enough stamina yet to both block and attack efficiently. Don’t get greedy with your swings—watch the boss’s tells.”

“Easier said than done…” Aoba groaned, respawning at the bonfire and running the route again.

She had picked the Knight class. Its stats and starting gear made it a solid choice for beginners. She had already swapped her straight sword for the Deep Battle Axe she’d looted from a mimic chest.

The axe’s stats were great, but it was a bit slower than a straight sword—Ichin personally preferred the latter.

Still, Aoba stuck to her choice. She’d said she picked Knight mainly for the armor and shield anyway—she didn’t like straight swords. For her first playthrough, she wanted something different; she thought the straight sword was too plain.

Of course, “different” also meant “harder.”

After dying twice more and finally beating Vordt on the third try, Aoba moved on to the Undead Settlement. Ichin then went to check how the others were doing.

Yagami Kou wasn’t using a straight sword either—she’d gone back and stolen the katana from the Sword Master NPC.

Aoba had skipped that fight entirely, but Yagami had spent time mastering it. Her progress was a bit slower, still exploring the High Wall of Lothric.

Seeing Ichin approach, Yagami grinned. “Once I get another katana, I’m going dual-blade!”

“But Kou, didn’t you say you were going to go with dual greatswords?”

“That’s before you made greatswords swing so slow! I had to change plans. Dual katanas are cool too!”

In Dark Souls, equipping two of the same weapon type in both hands changed the entire moveset—a system Ichin had personally designed.

For example, dual daggers or rapiers were weak when single-wielded, but using them together completely transformed the attack patterns. With their speed and bleed potential, they were deadly in skilled hands.

Of course, this came with trade-offs—no shield meant no defense. A single mistimed dodge could mean instant death.

While players could still equip a shield on the left hand and swap between it and a second weapon, the controls became much more complex.

Ichin figured that even after discovering the thrill of dual-wielding, most beginners would still stick to shields.

A 100% physical-block shield was hard to resist.

After checking in on the art team, Ichin headed to the programming department.

There, two of the company’s top players—Sakura Nene and Gokou Ruri—had both picked the “Deprived” starting class.

With only a broken wooden shield, a club, and some ragged clothes, they began as the weakest of all classes—but that also meant the most efficient stat growth later, since none of their points were wasted.

For example, if someone wanted to go pure Strength, they could ignore Intelligence and Faith entirely, investing only in Strength and Vigor. Maybe a touch of FP for skill usage, but that’s it.

“Hey, Nene, Ruri—what kind of builds are you going for?” Ichin asked.

Nene, now deep into the Undead Settlement, grinned while wearing scavenged rags and wielding a claymore and a medium shield. “Hehe, I’m going full Ultra Greatsword! The feeling of that one heavy swing from testing—it’s just too good!”

Ruri, having just defeated a Fat Hollow, replied, “I’ll probably experiment with different builds. I want to try greatswords and greataxes first, then maybe spears later… and eventually a pure mage or faith knight.”

During testing, those Faith miracles had looked incredibly flashy—Ruri still remembered how dazzling they were.

The rest of the programmers all had their own quirky build ideas too. Since they had access to the game’s data, they already knew which late-game builds scaled best and how different weapon infusions performed.

“So, Ichin-kun,” Nene asked with a smile, “what about you?”

Ichin thought for a moment, then said, “Me? I’ll stick with a straight sword at first. During my stream, I should show everyone the basic way to play. Can’t go too advanced right away.”

After all, he wanted players to discover the more creative builds for themselves—not just copy what the developers used.

---

[Genshin Impact] Chapter 635: Galactic Specially Protected Creature (2-in-1 Chapter)

Over the next few days, while Nolan continued his cultivation with the girls, he also kept a close eye on the progress of the Akasha Interconnected Network.

After gaining Focalors’s approval, he connected her, Furina, and Nahida through the Waymark, letting them coordinate remotely. Once they’d agreed on the plan, he began expanding the Akasha system’s coverage toward Fontaine.

The specific method involved using Harmonic Energy Transmission. In practice, this meant Nolan simply held Furina’s hand and infused her with Harmonized Energy, strengthening her body.

That granted her all sorts of Harmonic properties—most importantly, the ability to transmit energy.

With that, Furina could use the alabaster statue given by Focalors to draw upon the Lawful Hybrid Energy born from the faith in justice, and then transmit that energy directly to Nahida.

Nahida, in turn, would funnel that energy into the Akasha system.

After some thought, Nahida determined this was the most efficient, cost-effective, and time-saving method.

Once activated, the energy transmission would proceed automatically, requiring no maintenance—a convenient, hands-off solution.

Of course, the available supply of Lawful Hybrid Energy came only from the surplus that Focalors had accumulated over centuries—everything she hadn’t needed for the divine plan of striking down the Throne.

So the quantity was still quite limited. It couldn’t power an entire nation like a Gnosis could, and the balance of expenditure versus collection had to be maintained.

For now, the Akasha system extended only from Sumeru as far as Lumidouce Harbor. Fully covering Fontaine would require Focalors to gather far more faith in justice.

Through Interstellar Travel, Nahida projected an interface of the Akasha Terminal directly into Furina’s mind, allowing her to temporarily access the Akasha Interconnected Network.

With that, Furina could record and even livestream courtroom trials from the Opera Epiclese, uploading them to the network so that citizens in Sumeru and Liyue—both already connected—could watch.

Next, Nahida opened a power “interface” for Focalors, linking her Authority of Justice to the network.

This meant that Focalors could now collect faith in justice through the Akasha Interconnected Network itself.

Even though the people of Sumeru and Liyue were not her direct followers, their sense of justice awakened through watching trials would still generate usable faith.

And of course, the total faith gathered from two whole nations far exceeded what could ever come from the Opera Epiclese alone. The theatre could seat only so many—the Akasha Network, by contrast, had no such limit.

Before long, the Lawful Hybrid Energy converted from all that faith would be enough to expand the Akasha system’s coverage across all of Fontaine.

Once the Sweet Flower Merchant Association began selling Akasha Terminals in Fontaine, letting Fontainians log on as well, the faith generated from all three nations together would dramatically accelerate the network’s spread—first toward Mondstadt, and eventually beyond.

After Mondstadt came online, the expansion could continue toward the other nations.

Nolan wasn’t yet familiar with the Archons of Natlan or Snezhnaya, so his plan was to link Inazuma next and then move forward gradually.

But in the end, the Akasha Interconnected Network would surely encompass all of Teyvat—perhaps even someday extend beyond the world itself.

That, of course, would take quite some time.

With the Akasha system’s energy problem finally resolved, Nolan decided it was time to visit the Herta Space Station to ask Herta to introduce him to Ruan Mei of the Genius Society.

After all, the problem of Fontainian physiology remained unsolved, and he had promised Focalors he would help—he couldn’t simply ignore it.

---

“Whether your world has a concept of day or night, let me greet you all the same—good morning, good afternoon, and good evening!

“I’m your dear friend, Gimi, and welcome to today’s episode of Stellar Frontiers!

“Each week, we introduce a remarkable figure from somewhere in the cosmos. Today’s guest is none other than the Fire Demon Emperor from the destroyed planet Topyfet—one of the greatest evils in the universe, a member of the Oblivion Gang, the Lord of the Eternal Flame Manor, the Grand Duke of Hellfire—Affrith!

“Ooooh, such an evil being! Even mentioning his misdeeds might get me noticed, but for your safety, dear viewers, I’ll take that risk today. If you ever see him—run for your lives!

“Yes, Gimi is risking being hunted down by the Grand Duke of Hellfire himself! But I’ll tell you all about his wicked deeds so that no one else loses their fortune—or their lives.

“Of course, if some brave hero out there learns from today’s show and brings this monster to justice, even better!”

---

Walking through the main corridor of the Herta Space Station’s command section, Nolan glanced up at a large holo-billboard streaming the Interstellar Peace Corporation’s broadcast.

The host was—a white bird?! Truly, the universe was full of wonders.

The “guest” introduced on the show was a strange figure indeed: a fire demon in formal wear, monocle gleaming, his bull-like skull engulfed in living flames.

“Hmm?” Nolan stopped mid-step. This “Grand Duke of Hellfire”… seemed oddly familiar.

With his sharpened memory, strengthened by power, he quickly recalled: during his infiltration of that projection space, he had seen this very being’s projection there.

So those projections must depict things that truly exist—perhaps fragments of history from other worlds…

Or maybe even scenes unfolding in real time—or glimpses of the future.

It wouldn’t be hard to test. If he ever met this Grand Duke of Hellfire in person, he could simply ask when he had last visited a world of flame.

If it matched the day Nolan entered that projection space, it would mean those projections reflected current events in other worlds.

If it was a time long past, then they were historical snapshots.

And if the event hadn’t yet happened—then the projections must be fragments of the future.

Either way, the discovery was significant for exploring the nature of the projection realm.

Still, judging from the snow owl host’s description, the Grand Duke of Hellfire clearly wasn’t a benevolent figure—best to wait until he was stronger before seeking him out.

Too bad the broadcast didn’t display the man’s power level.

Nolan shook his head, leaving the screen behind, and made his way to Herta’s office.

This time, he walked right up to the door himself. The station’s security system recognized him immediately and unlocked the entrance without hesitation.

He’d visited Lady Herta once before, and since she’d taken quite a liking to him—enough to consider him a respectable acquaintance—she had personally added his access clearance to the system.

Now, he could come see her anytime.

As Nolan stepped into Herta’s office, he once again saw the familiar girl-shaped Herta puppet—busily tinkering with her project, the so-called Simulated Universe.

From the internal network of the Herta Space Station, Nolan had already learned that there were countless Herta puppets distributed throughout the station.

And her office, in particular, was almost always occupied by one. So whenever someone came to see her, it was rare to find the place empty.

“Oh, it’s you. What is it this time?”

Herta heard the door open and turned her head slightly. Seeing it was Nolan, she gave him a glance, then turned back to continue her work.

“Miss Herta,” Nolan began, “regarding the issue with the planetary ‘Primordial Sea’ we discussed last time—I’ve been thinking, and it seems I really do need to consult a specialist in the field of life sciences. Could you help me get in touch with Miss Ruan Mei?”

Herta looked up. “Sure, no problem. I can send her a message about your situation. Considering it’s me asking, she probably won’t mind helping you come up with a solution.”

She said this with a smug little smile.

“Ahem, rather than just a solution,” Nolan added, “it would be even better if she could personally help me fix the problem.”

He coughed lightly, then opened a spatial rift beside him, revealing the enormous All-Devouring Narwhal within.

“Miss Herta,” he asked, “do you think offering this as payment would be enough to get Miss Ruan Mei to step in herself?”

“The All-Devouring Narwhal?” Herta blinked in genuine surprise. “That’s on the Interstellar Peace Corporation’s Galactic Special Protection Species List! It’s classified as a top-tier rare protected creature. Where in the cosmos did you get one of these?”

“Uh… top-tier rare protected species? I didn’t think it was that valuable,” Nolan said, a bit taken aback.

“Valuable? That’s putting it lightly.” Herta gave a sarcastic snort. “If the company ever found out you had one, they’d probably worship it like their ancestor.”

She folded her arms and went on:

“Since the start of the Amber Era, around 2147, mysterious phenomena known as Stellaron outbreaks have caused widespread pollution across the universe, cutting off communication between civilizations.

“The company couldn’t trade with other worlds anymore, and without profit, their upper management started panicking. So they teamed up with those brainy types from the Genius Society to look for ways to bypass Stellaron contamination.

“One of the simplest methods they discovered was to use a All-Devouring Narwhal.

“These creatures can detect planetary energy signatures with astonishing precision. No matter how severe the pollution, they can swim through space directly toward habitable planets.

“And if they encounter a Stellaron, they can literally eat it—completely erasing the contamination in that region.

“Sure, they digest slowly, but that just makes them the perfect natural enemy of Stellarons. Now, do you see why the company treasures them so much?”

“I see…” Nolan murmured, surprised. Who would’ve thought that a creature capable of causing a national catastrophe in Teyvat could be so valuable out in the cosmos?

Herta continued, “Ever since the company listed the All-Devouring Narwhal as a ‘Special Rare Protected Species,’ every known specimen has been placed under strict protection.

“And Ruan Mei doesn’t have any collaboration agreement with the company, so even with her talent, it’s nearly impossible for an outsider to get permission to study one.

“But if you’re offering it as payment? There’s no doubt—Ruan Mei will absolutely agree to help you.”

Herta rested her hands on her hips, smiling. “Of course, if you wanted to maximize its value, the best move would be to sell it to the company.

“The issue you’re dealing with isn’t unsolvable—the Genius Society’s other scholars could probably handle it, even if barely.

“You’d get your problem solved and receive a payout worth over ten billion credits. That’s far more profitable than Ruan Mei’s help—she certainly doesn’t have that kind of money to pay you.”

Apparently, the bounty for discovering a All-Devouring Narwhal or providing its location was five hundred million credits. But if one were captured and delivered to the company directly, the reward was a full ten billion—enough to buy a capable interstellar ship.

Nolan shook his head without much hesitation. “If I’m going to find help, I’ll go to the best. You just said the others could barely manage it—meaning there’s still a chance of failure. I can’t afford to gamble on that.”

He remembered what Herta had told him before: if a civilization’s location was exposed to the company before it had enough power to protect itself, the planet could easily be exploited to ruin.

That alone made the decision easy—Ruan Mei was the safer choice.

At least she was someone Herta trusted, someone who wouldn’t covet Teyvat’s resources.

Still, Nolan thought, he shouldn’t bring any outsiders there until he’d raised her affection level a bit—maybe to around level four or five, like Herta’s.

That should be enough to safely invite her to Teyvat and help solve the Fontainians’ physiological problem.

Offering the All-Devouring Narwhal as payment would also show good faith, likely increasing her goodwill as well.

[Herta Has Developed Good feelings Towards you, Obtained 300 Affection Points. Current Affection Level: Lv.4 (380/400)]

“Well, looks like you actually took my warnings to heart,” Herta said approvingly, nodding.

She then pulled a phone out of her pocket, stepped into the Void Star Sea, and took several photos of the All-Devouring Narwhal before sending them to Ruan Mei.

Along with the photos, she briefly explained what kind of help Nolan was requesting.

Moments later, a message popped up on her screen—just one word: “Okay.”

It was accompanied by a cute sticker of a cartoon Ruan Mei eating plum blossom cake.

“She says she’s willing to help,” Herta said, slipping her phone back into her pocket. “But she’s not at the space station right now. You’ll have to wait a bit until she returns.”

“That’s fine, it’s not too urgent,” Nolan nodded. “Once she’s back, just send me a message.”

With that, he took his leave and exited Herta’s office.

Next on his agenda was to find Asta. Since the prophecy crisis was already being handled, it was time to ask her about the best places to farm Adventure EXP.

Ideally, somewhere with another giant creature like that Gaint True Stringer!

With that faint hope in mind, Nolan headed toward the observation sector of the command module—only to find no sign of Asta.

Asking a nearby technician, he learned that she’d gone out for afternoon tea.

When he inquired about where exactly, the technician—recognizing Nolan’s status—assumed it was official business related to the station’s safety and readily shared the location, even sending him a text with a map pin.

Following the navigation route, Nolan set off in that direction, anticipation stirring in his chest.

(End of Chapter)

[HP] Chapter 192-195

### Chapter 192: A Five-Hundred-Year Death Anniversary? Ghosts Sure Know How to Party

Louis had no concerns about the combat power of his golem. He was already planning to set it up at home once he went back for Christmas.

After dealing with the golem, Louis picked up a fist-sized egg.

> [Curious Pet Egg: Can hatch into a pet that matches its owner’s personality. The pet can understand complex commands, possesses its own independent thoughts and emotions.]

This was what you’d call a “classic high-tier trash item.”

Completely useless, just taking up inventory space—five slots, no less.

Still, it would make a decent gift. He’d just wrap it up and give it to someone later.

Next came the last miscellaneous item—Golden Fertilizer.

The name alone made Louis instantly recall the bizarre meme videos from his previous life. Golden Fertilizer… the ancestor of meme culture itself.

> [Golden Fertilizer: A universal fertilizer that promotes the growth of any plant.]

“Fertilizer, huh? Guess I can use it for the World Tree.”

Louis immediately thought of his own World Tree. Opening his Reality Marble, he leaned halfway inside, reappearing above the young tree.

“Grow big and strong, alright?” he said cheerfully, pouring a whole sack of Golden Fertilizer beside the sapling before closing the gate and walking away.

He didn’t notice that his World Tree had already grown another section taller—nor that his Black Jade Healing Paste had mysteriously disappeared.

After Louis left, a transparent figure quietly appeared once again.

“What kind of wondrous thing is this?” The translucent ghost picked up one of the golden-glowing clumps of fertilizer, surprise flashing in his eyes. “Such pure life energy… it’s perfect for growing plants!”

“But using it like this is such a waste.”

He whistled. From afar, Norbert—who had been playing around—fluttered over.

“Here, eat it all.” The ghost stuffed all the fertilizer into Norbert’s mouth. “And from now on, make sure you do your business right here, understood?”

Norbert chewed the fertilizer with an innocent look, nodding blankly.

“Good boy.” The ghost smiled and faded away again.

---

Meanwhile, Louis was sorting through the rest of his loot.

“Let’s see… Dragonheart Elixir—instantly cures all negative states and restores you to peak condition. Soul-Nurturing Pill—repairs damage to the soul. Laugh-and-Drop-Dead—poison…”

He neatly categorized each potion, pondering whether poison technically counted as an “attack method.”

“Probably not. Maybe I can try poisoning the basilisk with it.”

As he muttered, Louis pulled out a Perfect-Grade Biological Gene Fragment—for birds, apparently, though he wasn’t sure what kind of “perfect bird” it belonged to. It definitely wasn’t a phoenix; that would be Legendary-Grade.

“Guess I’ll hand it to Fafnir. Maybe next time he and Hastur fight, I won’t have to step in to keep the peace.”

The Physical Enhancement Permit and Magic Enhancement Permit were useless to Louis. Thanks to his talismanic constitution, only Legendary-Grade enhancements could affect him.

Still, he could use them to empower someone else. For now, he stored them in the system for safekeeping—they were intangible, after all. He could just tell the system when he wanted to use them.

Next came three special items:

- Spring of Drowned Maiden

- Tara’s Magical Codex

- Flame Staff

Just from the name, Spring of Drowned Maiden, Louis had lost all interest. He was already strong enough; he didn’t need it.

“If it were something like the Eight-Nine Arcane Art, I’d at least take a peek. But that thing might even outclass a Legendary-grade item.”

Chuckling, he tossed the item into his storage space. Maybe he’d remember it later—or just wrap it up as a Christmas gift for his parents.

Tara’s Magical Codex, on the other hand, was a different story—also known as the Grand Tome of Black Magic, it contained a vast collection of Dark Qi Magic. Louis needed this badly. It would significantly enhance his mastery over Dark Qi and finally make him a legitimate Dark Qi sorcerer rather than a self-taught one.

As for the Flame Staff, it was a two-meter-tall staff embedded with a fiery red gem that amplified fire spells like Incendio or Confringo. Not particularly useful for Louis, so he just stored it away.

By the time he finished organizing all the loot from his draw, dawn was already breaking.

Louis put Pettigrew back, letting him sneak off to Gryffindor on his own—no worries, the Crystal of Death kept him under control. Then Louis returned to his dorm and collapsed into bed, drifting off to the sound of his roommates’ light snores.

---

The next morning was a weekend. As soon as Louis got up, he ran into an unexpected visitor—

or rather, an unexpected ghost.

The Bloody Baron.

Under the astonished gazes of the other Slytherins, the ghost—his spectral body still stained with the blood of Helena Ravenclaw—spoke politely to Louis.

“Sir Nicholas asked me to deliver a message,” said the Bloody Baron. “He wants to know if you’d attend his Five-Hundred-Year Death Anniversary Banquet on Halloween.”

“A five-hundred-year death anniversary? And a banquet?” Louis blinked in surprise. “You ghosts really know how to have fun, huh?”

“Well, we don’t have much else to do,” the Baron replied. “You’ve got to find some joy in five centuries of death. Sir Nicholas especially wanted you there—he said he wanted to thank you in person for helping him join the Headless Hunt.”

At that, the Baron’s expression turned oddly complicated. He truly couldn’t fathom how Louis had managed to detach Nick’s head.

After all, ghosts’ appearances were supposed to be permanently fixed at the moment of their death. Sure, Nearly Headless Nick liked to treat his head like a hat, sometimes lifting it to show people—but that tiny flap of skin still kept it attached, a barrier no magic could ever truly sever.

And yet, Louis had done it. He had actually finished the job—turning Nearly Headless Nick into Headless Nick.

“It was just a little help, nothing much,” Louis replied with a calm smile. “Do you need any help yourself?”

“No, thank you. I quite like keeping my head securely attached to my neck,” the Bloody Baron said dryly.

“Well, that’s a shame then. Oh, and please tell Nick I’ll be there on time for the banquet.”

“Consider it done.”

The Bloody Baron nodded and drifted away, leaving the Slytherin dorm once more.

---

### Chapter 193: The Proper Way to Use a Boggart

As Halloween approached, Hogwarts once again began its annual wave of festive decorations.

Taking advantage of the weekend, Louis met up with the Weasley twins in the Room of Requirement to show each other what they’d been working on.

“What’s wrong with your owl?” Fred asked curiously, holding a squirming burlap sack while staring at the creature perched on Louis’s shoulder.

Fafnir looked as if he’d been struck by lightning—his feathers stood on end, his whole body twitching uncontrollably. His sharp claws dug into Louis’s shoulder, occasionally tearing small holes into his robes. The twins’ faces twisted in sympathetic pain.

It looked agonizing… yet Louis didn’t have a single scratch on him.

“Oh, him? Ate something he shouldn’t have,” Louis replied casually, smoothing down Fafnir’s feathers. “Didn’t want him causing trouble in the dorms, so I brought him along.”

He still had no idea what that Perfect-grade bird gene fragment really was. Ever since injecting it into Fafnir, the poor bird had been in this state—and Louis didn’t know how long it would last.

“I see… well, never mind that then,” Fred said, shaking the sack in his hand. “We found the Boggart.”

“It was in Filch’s office cabinet,” George added. “Peeves told us about it. We thought he was messing with us, but turns out he was actually right.”

“You’ve seen it already? What did it turn into?” Louis asked, intrigued.

“It turned into us,” the twins said in perfect unison.

“To be precise, it turned into Fred in front of me,” George explained.

“And into George in front of me,” Fred followed up.

The twins shrugged. “We have no idea what that’s supposed to mean.”

Well, they were probably the only two people who could instantly recognize each other anyway.

“Whatever. Maybe it means you two don’t have any real weaknesses,” Louis said offhandedly. “Go on, let it out. I want to take a look.”

George nodded, untying the rope around the sack. As the knot loosened, a swirling mass of shadow and mist burst out before them, spinning and distorting like a miniature whirlwind.

“Oh, looks like it’s set its eyes on you,” George said with a grin.

“What do you think it’ll turn into?” Fred asked, eyes gleaming with curiosity.

“I’m curious myself,” Louis said calmly, steadying his thoughts as he drew his wand, ready for anything.

If it turned into something too private or dangerous to show others, he’d immediately end it with a spell.

A Boggart’s transformation was easy to disrupt—either by someone else’s emotion of fear or by a simple charm like Riddikulus.

The latter could even force it into whatever shape the caster desired. In the original, people usually defeated Boggarts by making them look ridiculous.

But Louis had no such intention. He wanted to see just how far a Boggart could go.

The swirling form finally stabilized—and the Boggart turned into Louis himself.

“It turned into Louis too?” George was astonished. “Why’s that?”

“Guess that means Louis doesn’t fear anything either?” Fred suggested.

“No,” Louis said quietly, staring at his double. He had a pretty good idea what was coming next.

“Louis,” the Boggart said in his exact voice, its lips curving into a faint smirk, “the truth is… I’m actually a Muggle.”

“So that’s it,” George said, eyes wide. “Louis is afraid of being a Muggle!”

Fred snapped his fingers in sudden realization. “Makes perfect sense now!”

Louis said nothing, continuing to stare at the Boggart version of himself.

“Louis,” the doppelgänger spoke again, “the truth is, I actually took the Philos—”

Riddikulus!” Louis cast the charm immediately.

Of course, Louis’s fear wasn’t about being a Muggle. Whether it was being a Muggle, taking the Philosopher’s Stone, or anything that might have followed—everything revolved around a single core: the fear of secrets being exposed.

That was what truly terrified him—the possibility of his secrets being revealed.

“This is way more useful than some tapeworm,” Louis muttered, then flicked his wand—turning the Boggart into a 36D fox-eared beauty in white stockings.

“Ahh-woo!”

The Boggart didn’t seem to notice anything wrong with its new form. It bared its fangs and posed menacingly—but apart from being irresistibly cute, it had no real effect.

George and Fred, on the other hand, had never seen such a sight. Their faces instantly turned bright red.

“W-What… what is that?” George stammered.

“The proper way to play with a Boggart… well, okay, just a little joke.”

Louis waved his wand again, turning the Boggart into a balloon, which he caught and squeezed in his hand.

The twins exchanged a look, both feeling oddly disappointed.

“Don’t get any weird ideas,” Louis said dryly. “Come on, let’s get to work.”

He dragged over a cauldron and tossed the balloon-shaped Boggart inside.

And thus began the experiment…

After countless hours of persistence and trial, the three of them finally succeeded—just before Halloween arrived, the very first true Transfiguration Biscuit was born!

The so-called “Transfiguration Biscuit” was originally just a cookie infused with a special potion. But after numerous improvements, it now tasted surprisingly good—and could completely transform a person into any animal!

Fred volunteered as the first test subject. He transformed into a palm-sized golden canary and managed to stay that way for nearly five minutes.

Five minutes later, a puff of white smoke appeared, and Fred—still mid-flight—suddenly turned back, plummeting toward the floor. Louis caught him midair with a Levitation Charm.

“We did it!” Fred shouted excitedly, completely unfazed by his near fall.

“Yeah, we really did,” Louis nodded, acknowledging the twins’ hard work and success.

The Transfiguration Biscuit had evolved from the twins’ earlier Canary Biscuit, but now it had completely transcended the old limitations—and the awful taste.

A single biscuit could let the eater transform into any animal they wished for five minutes—a temporary version of the Animagus Transformation Spell, but without restrictions. Any form imaginable was possible.

This success, of course, owed much to Peter Pettigrew’s dedicated self-experimentation. Studying himself as the test subject—Louis had to admit, that kind of commitment deserved praise.

However, even though the Transfiguration Biscuit was now perfected, Louis reminded the twins they couldn’t relax just yet.

“The special effect of the biscuit comes from this particular transformation potion,” Louis warned. “You must not leak the recipe—understand?”

“Relax,” George and Fred said, winking. “We’ve already handled secrecy measures. Just a drop of Locking Solution, and the potion’s ingredients become impossible to reverse-engineer.”

“I’m not talking about the potion,” Louis said with a sigh. “I mean your mouths. Don’t go blabbing about it. If anyone asks, say these biscuits are alchemical products, directly synthesized—no additional ingredients involved. That’s the lie you’ll stick to.”

“That’s a great excuse!” The twins grinned. “They could go mad trying and still never figure out the actual recipe.”

“Oh, right—Louis,” George added suddenly, “how about a magic performance at the Halloween feast? Fred and I can be your assistants!”

“Not a bad idea,” Louis said with a smile, then shook his head regretfully. “But I’ll have to pass. I already promised Nick I’d attend his five-hundred-year death anniversary banquet.”

---

### Chapter 194: The Underworld Banquet

Sir Nicholas’s death anniversary banquet was held in a spot perfectly suited for the mood—the castle’s underground chamber, not far from the Slytherin common room.

Louis timed his departure precisely, and it wasn’t long before he ran into two familiar faces—Harry and Ron, both looking constipated with regret.

“Good evening, Harry. Ron,” Louis greeted as he walked up. “You two heading to Nick’s deathday banquet as well?”

“Louis? Evening,” Harry replied with a weak smile. “Yeah, we are… though honestly, I’m starting to regret it.”

“Yeah,” Ron sighed. “Heard Headmaster Dumbledore invited a skeleton dance troupe for tonight. Guess we’re missing that.”

“A skeleton dance? Watching bones can’t be half as interesting as watching ghosts,” Louis said, snapping his pocket watch shut. “Come on, I don’t know what ghostly etiquette looks like, but being late is never polite.”

The three arrived at a long corridor. Before they even stepped in, both Harry and Ron shivered.

The pitch-black passage was lit by flickering blue candles, their ghostly light making the air even colder and more sinister. Just one glance sent goosebumps crawling down their arms.

Thankfully, Louis’s calm presence steadied them. He looked so utterly unfazed, as though nothing about this place was unusual, that Harry and Ron forced themselves to be brave and followed.

At the end of the corridor stood Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington—formerly Nearly Headless Nick, now properly headless. He was stationed at the door to greet his guests, wearing an expression that couldn’t decide whether it was mournful or cheerful—something complex in between.

“Good evening, my friends. I’m delighted you could come,” Nick said, tipping his feathered hat in a bow. “Please, go right in.”

As the doors opened, a shrill screech—like ten fingernails dragging across a blackboard—pierced the air. Even the first note felt like it could rip one’s soul straight out of their body.

Harry and Ron immediately clamped their hands over their ears, grimacing in pain. Louis, however, remained perfectly calm.

“Louis, don’t you think that’s unbearably loud?” Harry yelled, but seeing no response, he tapped Louis on the arm.

Louis turned, and Harry repeated himself.

“That’s because I ruptured my eardrums,” Louis said flatly.

Before entering, he had faintly heard the “music” leaking from the hall and had a bad feeling. So he had simply burst his own eardrums—and even suppressed his regeneration to keep them from healing too soon.

Simple and brutal.

“Your… your eardrums??” Harry and Ron gawked at him, glancing at Louis’s ears—sure enough, there was a trace of blood.

“But… how can you hear us, then?” Ron asked in disbelief.

“Lip reading,” Louis replied, already striding into the hall to look around.

The ghostly banquet hall resembled a typical feast in layout—though certainly not in atmosphere. This wasn’t like a Hogwarts student dinner, which was all about eating. This was something else entirely—eerily ceremonial.

In the center, the dance floor was packed with both familiar and unfamiliar ghosts, spinning wildly to the screeching, hellish music, their movements exaggerated like a frenzy of demons.

Louis even spotted a few ghosts juggling their own detached body parts. He couldn’t help but wonder just how they’d died—some clearly in pieces.

He also saw Peeves and Moaning Myrtle; even they’d been invited. It seemed this whole affair was more of an excuse for ghosts to have fun than a solemn remembrance.

It was… suitably underworld-like.

Around the hall, tables were lined with all manner of dishes—varied and extravagant, though with one fatal flaw: none were edible.

Indeed, the spread was filled with raw, decaying food emitting an overwhelming stench. Anyone foolish enough to take a bite would probably need Louis’s healing magic afterward—he’d even offer it for free as a “heroic reward.”

At the center of the tables stood a tombstone-shaped cake, surrounded by all the other offerings like stars around the moon. Carved across it was Sir Nicholas’s date of death.

“1492… so it really has been five hundred years,” Louis murmured, pinching his nose shut and holding his breath.

The stench was absolutely inhuman—enough to knock a man out.

Ghosts, having lost most of their senses, seemed to crave stronger stimuli; only the most piercing sounds and foulest odors could thrill them. That explained the awful music and the nauseating food.

The party would likely last until dawn—after all, ghosts didn’t need sleep. But Harry and Ron did.

Before long, both had grown restless and decided to leave.

“That’s a shame,” Nick said regretfully. “Won’t you stay for the cake-cutting?”

“Uh, well, Nick, we…” Harry hesitated, wanting to say he was starving for real food, but afraid of hurting Nick’s feelings.

“No, Nick,” Louis interjected. “We need to go eat something actually edible. If we tried eating any of this, I’d have to take them straight to Madam Pomfrey afterward.”

He continued bluntly, “Next time you host one of these events and invite the living, you might want to prepare something digestible—for us, I mean.”

“Oh dear, I completely forgot,” Nick said apologetically. “This feast only happens once every fifty years—I didn’t even think of that. My apologies.”

“It’s fine. Just remember for next time,” Louis said, reading Nick’s lips easily. “Goodbye.”

“Goodbye,” Nick said, waving after them as they departed.

Once they escaped the eerie hall, Harry and Ron both sighed in relief.

“Merlin, I think my nose just came back to life,” Ron said, inhaling deeply. “I’m starving—if we hurry, we might still catch pudding in the Great Hall!”

Harry’s stomach growled too, but he turned to Louis instead. “Louis, do you need to see Madam Pomfrey about your ears?”

“No need—they’re already healed,” Louis said, tapping his ear. “Just needed a simple bit of healing magic.”

“Lucky you,” Ron muttered bitterly. “If only I could do that with my wand.”

Since breaking his wand, Ron’s classwork had been disastrous, earning him several detentions.

“That’s not possible,” Louis replied. “If you want it fixed, ask Dumbledore—or go to Ollivander’s in Diagon Alley.”

The three chatted as they climbed the stairs, heading for dessert in the Great Hall.

But just then, a sharp, piercing meow echoed from the corridor above.

“What was that?” Harry and Ron exclaimed.

Louis frowned. He recognized that sound instantly.

That was Hastur’s cryhis own cat’s. And it was coming from the third floor.

What the hell?

Was the basilisk skipping Filch’s cat this time—and going after his instead?!

---

### Chapter 195: Ah Yes, Yes, Only I Could Pull That Off

The moment Louis heard Hastur’s cry, he bolted.

The burst of speed left a string of afterimages trailing behind him.

Before Harry and Ron could even react, a violent gust swept past them—and when they turned their heads, Louis was already gone.

“Where did Louis go?” Ron blurted, completely lost.

Harry, quicker on the uptake, grabbed him by the arm. “Up ahead—come on, hurry!”

By the time they finally caught up, gasping for breath, they found Louis standing there with a strange expression, staring down at the scene before him.

On the floor were two cats—an orange one and a Maine Coon that looked painfully familiar.

That Maine Coon was unmistakably Mrs. Norris, Filch’s beloved pet.

Only, Mrs. Norris didn’t look good at all. She was hanging upside down by her tail, tied to a rope—

and from the looks of it, Hastur had bitten through the rope to set her free.

Mrs. Norris was completely petrified, which didn’t surprise Louis in the least.

What puzzled him was why Hastur was even here.

And perhaps it was just his imagination, but Hastur looked a little… drained.

Weak. Almost wounded—but Louis couldn’t see any visible injuries.

“Look! The wall—there’s writing!” Ron shouted, pointing upward in shock.

Harry looked up—

and saw the blood-red letters smeared across the stone.

> The Chamber of Secrets has been opened.

> Enemies of the Heir, beware.

“The Chamber of Secrets? The Heir? What’s that supposed to mean?”

Harry and Ron exchanged bewildered glances.

Louis didn’t even bother to look.

He already knew what was written there.

Instead, he lowered his gaze to the puddle on the floor, and sure enough, a girl’s reflection drifted across the water’s surface.

In a horror movie, it would’ve been a textbook death omen.

But to Louis, it only meant one thingperfect, a live commentary feed.

Just as Ron gasped in alarm, coincidence struck again.

The Great Hall feast had just ended, and the well-fed students began pouring out into the corridors.

When they reached the moving staircase, they spotted the commotion and immediately crowded around.

“The Chamber… The Heir?” drawled a pale-faced Draco Malfoy, who clearly knew something.

He glanced at the writing on the wall—and then his eyes fell on Louis crouching near the cats.

Merlin’s beard… could the Heir of Slytherin be… him?!

The thought hit him like a thunderclap, repeating endlessly in his head.

Malfoy swallowed hard, wisely deciding to keep his mouth shut.

Bloody hell—if he’s the Heir, then forget about “purging Muggle-borns.”

His girlfriend is a Muggle-born!

“Make way—what’s going on here?” came Filch’s voice from the back of the crowd.

Moments later, the caretaker shoved his way through—

and froze.

There lay Mrs. Norris, stiff as stone.

As the saying goes: a soft cat is safe, a hard cat’s done for.

And Mrs. Norris… was very, very hard.

Filch clearly realized the same thing.

He let out a wailing cry and lunged toward her, collapsing beside his petrified companion like a beast mourning its cub.

“My cat! My cat!” he howled in agony.

Hastur gave an irritated meow and kicked Louis’s leg.

Louis kicked him right back. “Quiet.”

“It was you! You killed my cat!” Filch’s eyes were bloodshot with rage.

Harry and Ron instinctively backed behind Louis, while Louis merely gave Filch a single look—

—and that alone was enough to make the enraged caretaker shiver and stumble back, fear seizing him by the throat.

The Herald of Fear was as terrifying as ever.

“Argus.”

At that moment, Dumbledore appeared on the scene, accompanied by several professors.

“Calm yourself, Argus,” the Headmaster said gently.

“Headmaster!” Filch’s face was twisted with grief and indignation. “They killed my cat! And this one—this one threatened me!”

“We didn’t kill Filch’s cat, and Louis didn’t threaten him either! We didn’t do anything!” Harry protested loudly.

Dumbledore raised a hand, instantly quieting the room. “Bring the cat. We’ll discuss this somewhere more private.”

Filch scooped up his stiff feline, and with the professors surrounding them, they all left the corridor.

That was when Lockhart spoke up.

“Why don’t we all go to my office?” he suggested brightly. “I daresay the office of an intelligent man will help us solve this mystery more efficiently. And it’s just next door!”

“Thank you, Gilderoy,” Dumbledore said politely with a nod. “Mr. Wilson, Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley—come along as well.”

“Come here, Hastur.” Louis patted his shoulder, beckoning his cat over.

Hastur obediently leapt up—though not without first planting a paw squarely across Louis’s face.

A small procession formed as they made their way through the gathered crowd. Louis lifted his gaze and quickly spotted Ginny Weasley.

Her eyes were vacant, her face pale as chalk, as if she’d just seen a ghost.

Her brothers hovered around her, assuming she was simply frightened, taking turns trying to comfort her.

But Louis noticed something odd—her unfocused eyes weren’t looking at the wall or the writing.

They kept drifting toward him.

Or rather… toward Hastur.

Louis nodded to himself, thoughtful.

When they arrived at the Defense Against the Dark Arts office, Louis almost laughed aloud.

The room, once meant for serious study, now looked like Lockhart’s personal exhibition hall—filled wall to wall with framed photos of his own smiling face.

How the man managed to work surrounded by himself was a mystery for the ages.

Dumbledore placed Mrs. Norris’s petrified body on the desk and began to examine her carefully.

Professor McGonagall stood at his side, her lips pressed thin.

Snape, meanwhile, kept sneaking glances at Louis and the others—probably calculating how to deduct as many Gryffindor points as possible without directly implicating Louis.

Yes, Professor Snape remained the same sly operator as ever.

Lockhart, naturally, couldn’t resist inserting himself into the discussion.

“I suspect a Transfiguration Torture Curse!” he declared. “If I had been here, a single counter-spell would have restored her instantly! Such a shame!”

Filch blinked, dumbstruck by the flood of nonsense, while everyone else stared at Lockhart with open disdain.

Everyone except his portraits, that is—they all nodded and clapped in perfect synchronization.

“It was him! He did it! Harry Potter!” Filch suddenly shouted. “It must be him! And that writing on the wall—he knew! He knows what I am—he knows I’m a Squib!”

Harry swallowed hard, utterly confused.

He knew Filch was a Squib, sure—but what, that meant he’d decided to… petrify his cat?

It was absurd even by Hogwarts standards.

“Argus,” Dumbledore said calmly, “this type of magic is far beyond what a second-year student could perform.”

As he spoke, the Headmaster’s eyes lingered—just briefly—on Louis.

Ah, yes, yes. Look at me all you want—go ahead, we all know what you’re implying. I’m the only one here who could actually do it, right?

Louis rolled his eyes silently and, with a small sigh, pulled out a long-unused prop:

Sherlock Holmes’s pipe.

---

T/N: Please like the post or leave a comment so that I know how many people are reading this story.

[Game] Chapter 493: Screams Echoing Through the Livestreams

Watching the streamer die several times in a row to the Crystal Lizard, clutching his head in frustration and nearly breaking down, Ichin couldn’t help but chuckle and shake his head. He sent another gift to the poor guy before closing the stream.

After exiting the page, Ichin turned to the audience in his own stream and said,

“For this monster, you actually don’t need to fight it. You can always come back later once you’re stronger. Of course, the Crystal Lizard does serve as an early lesson for players—teaching them how to deal with elite enemies. Charging in recklessly like that won’t work. Alright, let’s move on to the next one.”

While Ichin browsed for another streamer, Haruno leaned over and asked,

“Hey, Ichin, you think anyone will make it further today?”

“There should be some,” Ichin replied, opening another stream—a Monster Hunter player this time. “A lot of people just aren’t used to the controls at first. But those who play a lot of action games usually adapt pretty fast. See this one? He’s already taken down the Crystal Lizard.”

In Dark Souls, the invincibility frames during a roll are much more forgiving than in Monster Hunter, so the streamer deftly rolled past the Crystal Lizard’s spinning attack, slashed twice with his straight sword, and finally finished it off.

Letting out a long sigh of relief, the streamer looked at the reward that popped up on screen.

“Dragon Scale Shard?”

He opened his inventory to check the description and realized it was an upgrade material.

“An upgrade item, huh? Too bad I can’t use it yet. Yeah, figures—that monster was just there to mess with players. Whatever, let’s keep going.”

He took only two steps forward before noticing a new gift alert.

“Thanks to YC Games for the fancy compliment gift—wait, the YC Games?!”

When he confirmed it really was Ichin himself, the streamer got visibly excited.

Ichin sent a comment on the chat:

> “Good luck. If you beat Gundyr within three tries, I’ll gift you a Captain badge.”

After sending the message, Ichin turned to Haruno.

“Haruno, you think he can do it in three tries?”

Haruno shook her head. “Hmm, it’ll be tough. I mean, even in our company, we’ve got a lot of skilled players—but when they tried for the first time, even Nene and Ruri didn’t beat Gundyr within three tries.”

Ichin chuckled. “Still, maybe he’ll surprise us.” He looked over at Utaha and Yukino. “What do you two think?”

Utaha didn’t answer right away. She pulled out her phone, searched for the streamer, and said,

“He’s a Monster Hunter player. Not very famous, but he’s got quite a few speedrun videos. His skills seem solid. I think three tries is doable.”

Yukino nodded. “Since Utaha-senpai thinks so, then I’ll also bet on him passing within three tries.”

“Hey! Yukino, how could you? Shouldn’t you support your own sister at least once?” Haruno huffed.

Yukino ignored her and said calmly, “He’s entering the boss arena now. We’ll see soon enough.”

With that, everyone’s attention returned to the gameplay. Meanwhile, in the streamer’s chat, many viewers who’d just heard Yukino’s voice for the first time immediately sensed the contrast between the two sisters.

> “The older sister sounds so cheerful and outgoing, but the younger one feels more cool and composed!”

> “I like the calm type better!”

> “Wait, you guys notice how tall those three girls are? Way taller than the average Japanese girls!”

> “Yeah, sitting next to the boss, they all look around 170 cm or so, right?”

Although everyone knew Ichin by name, after several years of fame and success, most viewers had gotten used to calling him simply “the Boss.”

On-screen, as the streamer was sent flying by Gundyr’s sweeping attack, Ichin glanced at the comments and laughed.

“Everyone’s asking about your heights—mind sharing?”

Utaha was the first to answer with a relaxed smile.

“Sure. I haven’t measured recently, but during last year’s health check, I was about one seventy-two.”

Haruno raised her hand cheerfully. “I’m also one seventy-two!”

Yukino glanced sideways at the two of them before finally saying, “One seventy.”

> Damn, she’s taller than me! I’m only one seventy!

> I just looked it up—apparently the average height for Japanese girls has gone up a bit, but it’s still only around 156 cm!

> So jealous… jealous of the boss, of course.

Ichin looked around the chat and chuckled. “You all think these three are tall, huh? Well, among the girls I know, Japanese heights really vary a lot. Some are tall, and some—let’s just say they’re legally classified as lolis.”

Haruno laughed. “You mean Aoba and Nene?”

“Yeah, those two.” Ichin nodded, glancing back at the screen. The streamer was still fighting hard, but his Estus flasks were empty, and his HP bar was hanging by a thread.

“If you’ve watched our old streams before,” Ichin continued, “you should’ve seen them already.”

> “I remember! Gotta dig through the old stream archives.”

> “Anyone got a link?”

> “Damn, I’m even more jealous now!”

While everyone in the chat was chatting away, the screen suddenly faded to black.

> “Ah, so close!”

> *YOU DIED!*

Watching the streamer’s frustrated face, Ichin laughed. “That was his first attempt, but the next two should go fine—he’s already reached phase two.”

And indeed, Ichin was right. On his second try, the streamer successfully defeated Iudex Gundyr, pushed open the doors of the boss arena, and advanced into the next area—the Firelink Shrine.

True to his word, Ichin gifted the streamer a Captain badge.

Inside the Firelink Shrine, the Fire Keeper—who had appeared in the trailers—finally made her formal debut.

Draped in a gray robe, her figure tall and graceful, with long white hair and silver crown obscuring her eyes, she stood quietly before the player.

> “I’m calling it now—this is my wife of the year!”

> “Wait, that voice… Saori Hayami?!”

> “Wow, they really went all out! Even the old lady’s voice sounds familiar.”

> “I checked the Japanese voice actor list—all of them are big names!”

Seeing everyone start to discuss the voice cast, Ichin explained with a smile,

“For Dark Souls, we’ve prepared both English and Japanese voice tracks. As for a Chinese dub, I didn’t include one—since it’s a Western fantasy setting, it didn’t quite fit. We actually tried at first, but it just didn’t sound right, so we dropped it. The English voices turned out great though, and you can freely switch between English and Japanese on any platform—PC or console, both dubs are included in every version.”

After finishing his explanation, Ichin exited the stream and started browsing for another channel.

Following his lead, the viewers in his own stream hopped from one broadcast to the next, watching a wide range of reactions and chaos unfold.

In just two hours, they’d witnessed every kind of human emotion imaginable.

The first boss, Iudex Gundyr, was actually considered relatively easy—anyone who had watched Ichin’s earlier gameplay videos could figure out his attack patterns.

But beyond the Firelink Shrine lay no “safe zone.” There awaited the first true elite enemy players would encounter—the Katana Guy.

Clad in simple clothing, wielding only a katana, this lone warrior had already traumatized countless players.

That night on Bilibili, the air was filled with endless screams.

---

[Genshin Impact] Chapter 634: Development (2-in-1 Chapter)

In the Void Star Sea,

Countless stars shimmered in every direction—above, below, front, and back—brighter even than a normal night sky.

Golden windwheel asters bloomed across the ground where the All-Devouring Narwhal lay, faint specks of golden light drifting toward its wounds.

The next moment, as if parched earth had met a spring rain, flesh began to regenerate; the deep gashes visibly knit together and grew slightly.

That should do it. The rest could heal naturally.

When Nolan finished the treatment, Furina—her little blue hat perched slightly askew, eyes still red from tears—walked toward him, wiping the corner of her eye with a fingertip, her tone a bit shy.

“Um… thank you, for bringing me news about Focalors.”

[Furina Has Developed Good Feelings Towards You, Obtained 380 Affection Points. Current Affection Level: Lv.6 (200/600)]

It had been five hundred years since Focalors had told her she must ascend as the Hydro Archon to prepare for the prophesied crisis. From that day onward, Furina had never received any news of her.

Nor had Focalors ever come to see her again.

And since revealing her deception—pretending to be the Hydro Archon—could ruin Focalors’s plan, Furina had never dared to speak of it to anyone.

For centuries, she bore the secret alone.

If it were something trivial, perhaps she would have forgotten it over time, but this concerned the survival of all Fontaine.

So she carried the truth about Focalors and her own false identity deep in her heart.

That kind of loneliness was excruciating.

Even if Focalors could meet her just once in a while, it would at least remind her she wasn’t alone.

But Focalors, for the sake of absolute secrecy, chose instead to trust her completely—leaving Furina to shoulder an endless solitude that might last forever.

And yet, she never faltered. For centuries, she endured, her willpower unimaginable.

Perhaps what sustained her all this time was her sense of duty to the people of Fontaine.

Furina knew that if she slipped up even once, Focalors’s entire plan would be exposed to Celestia. Then everything they had done—all their suffering—would be in vain.

Fontaine would lose its one and only chance to hide from the “Heavenly Principles.” If Celestia discovered their attempt to erase Fontaine’s “sins” this way...

Who knew what punishment might follow?

So when Furina heard from Nolan that Focalors was still alive and striving, that she wasn’t playing her part as the Hydro Archon for nothing—she couldn’t help but cry.

“There’s no need to thank me,” Nolan said with a shake of his head. “Actually, I do have a way for you two to stay in contact—without anyone finding out.”

He understood her situation well. If loneliness was her burden, then he could at least give her a means to reach Focalors whenever she needed.

Whenever the pain of solitude grew too heavy, she could confide in Focalors directly.

And surely, Focalors wouldn’t refuse something so harmless to her plan.

Furina’s damp eyes widened slightly. “What way?”

“This is how I stay connected with Lumine and the others at any time.”

Nolan summoned a golden orb of light, shimmering like a miniature galaxy, and began to explain the ability called Interstellar Travel—a power that combined telepathy and teleportation.

“As long as both you and Focalors possess this ability, you’ll be able to communicate with each other in your minds in real time.”

“Really?!”

Furina clenched her pale little fists, eyes sparkling with excitement. Her pure white hair and skirt hem swayed lightly with her movements.

A private link of thought meant there was no risk of Celestia discovering them—otherwise, all her memories would have been exposed long ago.

And with the added teleportation function, it would even grant her a kind of extraordinary power!

After all, though she bore the persona of a god, all true divinity rested with Focalors. Aside from a bit of swordplay, she didn’t even have a Vision.

For years, she’d had to bluff her way through situations where divine power was expected. Without clever excuses, her masquerade as the Hydro Archon would have been exposed ages ago.

But with teleportation, she could even perform miraculous feats before the citizens of Fontaine—convincing them even more deeply that she was their god!

The thought alone made her eyes brighten with excitement. “Please, give it to me quickly—I really need it!”

“Of course.”

Nolan nodded, handing the golden light to her and teaching her how to use it.

After successfully fusing with the Waymark, Furina tested it with him briefly before turning to him eagerly.

“Hurry back and give Focalors the same ability! Oh—and also Clorinde, if you can.”

“That way, she can rush to protect me anytime!”

She paused, then added hastily, as if to explain.

For centuries, Furina had never traveled—or even left her quarters—without the protection of the Champion Duelist.

Normally, people treated the Hydro Archon with great respect, but over the years there were always fools who sought to challenge divine authority.

If she ever found herself alone, she might slip up and reveal something she shouldn’t. And if anyone with ill intent caught her off guard, the consequences could be disastrous.

With this link, Clorinde could appear instantly at her side—an invaluable safeguard.

Given Clorinde’s already high regard for her, and considering the request came directly from the “Hydro Archon” herself, Nolan saw no reason to refuse.

He smiled. “I can do that. But you’d better explain it to Clorinde first—if I just hand her something out of nowhere, she might get suspicious.”

“Mm, I understand.” Furina patted her not-so-impressive chest with a little “thump,” promising confidently, “Leave it to me.”

[Furina Has Developed Good Feelings Towards You, Obtained 360 Affection Points. Current Affection Level: Lv.6 (560/600)]

Watching yet another affection notification appear before his eyes, Nolan smiled faintly.

“Alright then. Let me tell you about what I found in the Primordial Sea—and the origin of this whale.”

He spent a while recounting his discoveries to Furina.

When the explanation was over, he quietly departed the Void Star Sea, returning to the reception hall outside.

Furina immediately pulled Clorinde aside, saying there was something she needed to discuss, and began explaining the matter of Interstellar Travel.

Clorinde herself didn’t particularly care whether she had such an ability or not, but since Furina wanted it, she was happy enough to accept this new power.

Seeing her agree, Nolan summoned another golden Waymark and handed it to her.

Clorinde took it from him, followed his instructions to fuse it, and after briefly testing its effects, found it rather impressive—enough that her opinion of him rose a little.

[Clorinde Has Developed Good Feelings Towards You, Obtained 360 Affection Points. Current Affection Level: Lv.6 (280/600)]

Once that was settled, Furina immediately used her new marker to contact Nolan telepathically, urging him to hurry and visit Focalors.

Given that he had not only given away such precious “Waymarkers,” but also subdued the All-Devouring Narwhal—the very creature causing the rise of the Primordial Sea—Furina decided she should reward him generously.

Of course, the exact nature of that reward… she hadn’t yet thought of. She’d decide later and summon him when the time came.

Hearing there would be a reward, Nolan perked up at once, subtly hinting that he had a fondness for “shiny gemstones.”

Seeing that Furina seemed to understand his hint, he left with a satisfied smile.

Naturally, he teleported back to the Opera Epiclese, where Lumine and Paimon were waiting. By now, the props for the upcoming performance were almost ready.

Nolan told Lyney and Lynette that he had already discovered some leads regarding the Fortress of Meropide.

He would head back with them later to the House of the Hearth to report to “The Knave,” Arlecchino.

The twins were pleasantly surprised—neither expected him to find clues so quickly—and both felt a spark of admiration for him.

[Lynette Has Developed Good Feelings Towards You, Obtained 320 Affection Points. Current Affection Level: Lv.5 (300/500)]

(Only Lynette, being a girl, triggered the affection prompt on his status panel.)

Finding the right moment, Nolan once again entered the room of the Oratrice Mécanique d’Analyse Cardinale, where he met Focalors and explained Furina’s request.

For Focalors, entrusting such a heavy burden to Furina had always filled her with guilt.

Now that there was a way for Furina to reach out, to unburden her heart and share that pain, Focalors naturally didn’t refuse.

[Focalors Has Developed Good Feelings Towards You, Obtained 350 Affection Points. Current Affection Level: Lv.7 (50/700)]

After receiving her own Waymark, she too felt some goodwill toward him.

After all, in the eyes of others, something that could grant someone a powerful new ability was a precious gift beyond compare.

So her gratitude was only natural.

He had captured the All-Devouring Narwhal, delayed the arrival of the Fontaine prophecy crisis, and earned the goodwill of several remarkable women—Nolan couldn’t help but feel today had been quite fruitful indeed.

Perhaps it was because of his roll on the “Exquisite Dice of Fate.” He had rolled “Blessed by Fortune” today.

He rolled the dice every day—yesterday had been a five, today a six—granting him a full day under the effects of that blessed luck.

Meanwhile, Furina had apparently been paying close attention to when Focalors would finish merging with her own marker. The moment she did, Furina began speaking to her through it.

Hearing the trembling, tearful voice on the other end, even Focalors seemed momentarily overwhelmed.

Watching the two silently exchange heartfelt words through their connection, Nolan quietly excused himself.

Back in the Opera’s prop room, Lyney and his crew had finished preparing all the magical equipment for the performance a few days away.

Once everything was packed up, they brought Nolan, Lumine, and Paimon back to the House of the Hearth.

Their “father,” Arlecchino, hadn’t gone out today. She was instead teaching the children of the House of the Hearth some basic spycraft and covert techniques.

After all, their orphanage gathered children from all over Teyvat to train them into skilled agents who could one day serve the Fatui.

Seeing Nolan and the others return so soon, Arlecchino was visibly surprised.

Having already gone over his findings two or three times before, Nolan easily explained his discoveries again, adding a few more details for her—such as the nature of the Primordial Sea, and how Fontainians dissolved upon contact with its waters.

Arlecchino hadn’t known about such a secret of Fontaine, and was even more astonished to learn that Nolan had personally subdued the All-Devouring Narwhal responsible for the rising tides!

Although the prophecy crisis wasn’t yet resolved, knowing it had at least been delayed brought her some relief.

[Arlecchino Has Developed Good Feelings Towards You, Obtained 360 Affection Points. Current Affection Level: Lv.5 (20/500)]

While she now viewed Nolan with newfound respect, she also invited him to cooperate further in handling the prophecy crisis—and offered payment for his efforts.

Arlecchino looked over the group, then reached into her Vision’s pocket-space and took out a single glittering Primogem, turning it over in her fingers.

“I’m aware that you’ve posted commissions with the Adventurers’ Guilds across every nation to collect Primogems,” she said smoothly. “These will be your payment.”

With a flick of her wrist, that one Primogem became a pile!

“Wow, so many shiny ones!” Paimon cried, darting forward to scoop one in each hand.

“Haha, you really do know how to please me,” Nolan said with a grin.

A quick scan with his spiritual sense told him the exact number—three hundred Primogems.

That was roughly equivalent to thirty million Mora. A bit high for a single investigation commission, but given his status as a legendary adventurer, it wasn’t unreasonable.

More importantly, that amount translated to around nine hundred thousand Adventure EXP. Which—well—was about two or three days of cultivation progress. Not that much, actually.

Still, with help from the Adventurers’ Guild, Ningguang, Nahida, and Acting Grand Master Jean, he’d probably amassed another five to six million Adventure EXP total by now—roughly a quarter of what he needed. Not bad at all.

Without hesitation, Nolan accepted the Primogems and agreed to continue cooperating.

Watching Arlecchino casually pull out so many Primogems, he guessed the Fatui must have quite a vast reserve of them.

So he used his Waymark to contact another of the Eleven Fatui Harbingers—the “Lady”—asking her to quietly help gather more Primogems without drawing attention.

After all, since he hadn’t yet found any good places to farm EXP, they’d just have to work a bit harder for him.

By the time they left the House of the Hearth, night had already fallen.

Before returning to his Wonderland Space to rest, Nolan stopped by Sumeru to meet with Nahida.

He told her that he had successfully invited the Hydro Archon to join their efforts in developing the Akasha Interconnected Network, and that Furina now possessed a Waymark as well—meaning they could communicate at any time to coordinate plans.

Since Nahida was the true expert in such matters, Nolan left the technical details entirely in her hands.

And thus, a few days quietly passed.

(End of Chapter)

[Game] Chapter 491-492

Chapter 491: The Night of Release

March 24th, 8 p.m.

After dinner and washing the dishes, Ichin looked toward the two sisters, Haruno and Yukino, who were still sitting in the living room.

“Haruno-nee, Yukino, I’m going to start a livestream later tonight. Do you two want to join me?”

“Oh! A livestream?” Haruno’s eyes brightened with interest. “Is it the Dark Souls launch stream?”

“Yeah,” Ichin nodded. “But I’m not playing it myself tonight. I’ll be hopping around different streamers’ channels to see how everyone’s doing.”

“That sounds even more fun!” Haruno pumped her small fist excitedly. “What time are you starting?”

“Eleven-thirty. I’ll do a thirty-minute warm-up first, and by midnight—Shanghai time—Steam’s China region will unlock the game, same as the console release. That’s when we’ll watch.”

“Got it. I’m in!” Haruno agreed immediately, then turned to her younger sister. “Yukino, you coming too?”

Hugging Peppa in her arms, Yukino stroked its head and said softly, “Sure. I don’t have class tomorrow morning anyway, so staying up late once in a while is fine.”

She herself wouldn’t play Dark Souls, but she enjoyed watching others suffer through it. Back when the company was testing the game, she’d already watched Eriri and Aoba suffer endlessly. Watching streamers struggle this time would surely be a different kind of fun.

Seeing that not only Haruno but Yukino had also agreed, Ichin smiled. “Well then, I guess by the time we start streaming, no one in chat will actually be watching the game anymore.”

Utaha didn’t even need to be mentioned—she’d already appeared on Ichin’s streams before.

Although the audience didn’t know she was Kasumigaoka Utaha, they did know she was his girlfriend… and technically the boss’s wife.

Now with Haruno and Yukino—both beautiful and clearly sisters—joining in, Ichin could already imagine what the barrage of comments in chat would look like.

Though he didn’t say it outright, his words made Haruno quite pleased.

“Heh~ You must be over the moon, huh? Three gorgeous girls keeping you company on stream tonight!”

Ichin chuckled. “You’re absolutely right, it’s an honor. Haruno-nee, want some milk tea? I’ll make a pot as thanks for staying up late with me.”

“Sure! Add some taro balls!”

“No problem—still got some left from before.” He turned toward Utaha and Yukino. “You two? What do you want in yours?”

“Pudding for me,” Utaha replied immediately.

“Me too,” Yukino said after a moment of thought, “but less sugar, please.”

Living around Ichin, even Yukino had gradually picked up a bit of a sweet tooth, thanks to Haruno and Utaha’s bad influence.

Hearing Yukino’s request, Haruno laughed and wrapped an arm around her sister. “That won’t do! Staying up late burns energy—you need the sugar!”

Yukino gave her a side-eye. “No thanks. Half-sugar’s fine. The tea itself will keep me awake.”

And so, after Ichin brewed a big pot of milk tea and poured it into a thermos, no one drank right away. They took turns playing Ring Fit Adventure in the living room, then each went to take a bath before gathering again in Ichin’s room.

Since they’d be appearing on camera, none of the three girls wore pajamas—they’d all changed into casual clothes instead.

Bringing their chairs into the room, Ichin booted up his computer and asked with a grin, “So, how do you want to arrange the seating?”

Utaha spoke first. “I’ll sit on Ichin’s right. Haruno-nee and Yukino can sit on his left. After all, Ichin’s the main host here—we’re just the extras.”

“Sounds good to me!” Haruno turned to her sister. “So then, Yukino-chan, which one of us gets to sit next to little Ichin? Rock, paper, scissors?”

This time, Yukino didn’t yield. She tucked her right hand behind her back and nodded. “One round—winner takes the seat?”

“OK! One round it is~~ Rock, paper, scissors!”

Both threw their hands out at once—Haruno was paper, Yukino was scissors.

“Eh?! I lost?!”

Haruno looked down at her hand in dismay, then grudgingly gave up the seat beside Ichin’s left side.

After the three of them had taken their seats, a spark of mischief flashed through Haruno’s eyes. She dragged her chair behind Ichin and Yukino, positioning herself perfectly between the two from the back.

“Hehe! Now the camera will frame Ichin right in the center—and my face will still be nice and visible! Ichin, pour me some milk tea~!”

Ichin added taro balls to her cup, poured in the steaming milk tea, and handed it to her. Then he filled the remaining three cups as well.

“All right,” he said, glancing at the clock. “I’ll start setting things up—we’re almost at eleven.”

The stream had already been announced on Bilibili the previous day and again that afternoon, so after checking all the equipment, Ichin went live at 11:25.

The moment the broadcast started, the camera came on too. After giving everyone their headphones, Ichin placed the main mic in front of him—he wasn’t using the headset mic this time.

Within just two minutes, as the chat window popped up, a flood of viewers poured into the stream.

Holy hell, how long has it been since his last stream?

Doesn’t matter—THE boss’s wife showed up today!

Wait, there are two more girls now?

This guy’s harem just keeps expanding!

So jealous… do they have any openings at his company?

Ichin didn’t reply right away. Instead, he glanced over to the secondary monitor, scanning through the console section on the platform—sure enough, most streamers were planning to go live with Dark Souls soon.

After confirming that, he turned to the three girls and said a few words, then finally unmuted the mic.

“OK, sound check—can you hear me? Hey everyone, long time no see, this is Ichin. As announced earlier, tonight’s stream is all about the upcoming release of Dark Souls. Since we’re the official devs, we’ll be doing a quick patrol later to check how different streamers handle their first runs. None of the streamers got early access, so everyone’s starting fresh, on the same line.”

But despite his thorough explanation, Ichin quickly realized that the audience’s attention still wasn’t on the game—it was on the three women beside him.

He sighed helplessly. “I knew it. Unless I satisfy your curiosity first, no one’s going to focus on the gameplay.”

He gestured toward the girl leaning her head between his and Yukino’s shoulders. “So let me do a quick intro. The boss’s wife needs no introduction, so—this here is Haruno, and this one’s Yukino. They’re both company shareholders—actually, the only two shareholders I accepted as, well, dog shareholders. Besides that, they’re also my honorary sisters—both recognized as goddaughters by my mom.

“Yukino’s the younger one, a year below me and Utaha, studying law at Tokyo University. Haruno, the older sister, has already graduated and helps run her family’s company. She’s basically a top-tier rich lady. For anyone interested, I’ll drop her Twitter handle after the stream—make sure to give her a follow.”

Before he could finish his sentence, Haruno smacked him lightly on the head.

“Little Ichin, are you saying no one wants me otherwise?”

The moment she said that, Ichin, Utaha, and Yukino all quietly looked away without saying a word.

Meanwhile, the chat exploded in excitement.

---

Chapter 492: Dark Souls Unlocked

After skimming through the barrage of comments, Haruno suddenly switched from Japanese to fluent Chinese and said, “Don’t think I can’t read what you’re saying!”

The chat instantly filled with question marks.

Ichin chuckled. “What, you guys really think just because I’m in Japan now, the people around me can’t speak Chinese? Don’t forget—our company has a studio in Shanghai too. Titanfall was developed there. The two sides coordinate constantly for our projects, so communication’s vital. Naturally, I expect all mid- and upper-level staff to be multilingual. As for these two, they’re both top students—learning a new language is nothing for them.”

So that’s what being a genius is like, huh?

Unbelievable—do geniuses just attract other geniuses?

Not just a rich woman, but a scholar too?!

Rich lady, feed me please—hungry!

Resting her hand on Ichin’s shoulder, Haruno smiled and said, “Well, I don’t mind dating a foreign guy, but romance isn’t my focus right now. My priority’s work, so let’s not talk about that.”

Ichin followed up smoothly, “Exactly. Don’t waste your life chasing rich ladies. Even if you find one, most will send you flying with a ‘Rich Lady Happy Ball.’ Prioritize your safety instead.”

Laughter flooded the chat. Ichin continued, “By the way, I saw some people asking about job openings. Our Shanghai studio is always hiring. The pinned post on my profile has all the info—check it out if your specialty matches.”

He glanced at the clock. “All right, enough small talk. Before the timer hits zero, let’s go over Dark Souls a bit.”

“The base game’s fully developed now. If you preloaded it, you’ve probably noticed the day-one patch. So far in testing, there haven’t been any bugs that affect gameplay—just minor ones we’ll keep fixing later. As for system requirements, they’re not too demanding. At 1080p, most PCs can run it smoothly. You can check the Steam page for specifics.”

“As for future content, we’re planning around two DLC expansions. Story-wise, they won’t affect the main game—they’re more like side tales. Once development reaches a certain stage, we’ll release a Season Pass. If you love Dark Souls, consider picking it up later—it’ll be packed with content.”

After chatting a bit more, the clock neared midnight—the unlock time.

Checking the time again, Ichin looked at the stream chat.

“As for the next project—don’t worry, it’s already planned. Once our team returns from their post-launch break, we’ll start development. Aside from Dark Souls, we’ll have another new title later this year, but that one’s slated for the second half.”

Five minutes passed in a flash. On the Steam page shown on-stream, the countdown for Dark Souls finally hit zero.

Dark Souls — officially unlocked.

“Woohoo! It’s live!”

Ichin’s face lit up with joy as he saw the “Play” button appear. Even though he had already played the completed version at the company, seeing the public release go live was still an emotional moment.

Instead of launching his own copy, Ichin switched the stream view to Bilibili’s gaming section and started looking for streamers who were playing Dark Souls.

As he browsed, he explained, “We’ll hop through different streams one by one. At first, most of them will still be stuck in character creation, so no rush. Let’s see if we can find someone who manages to beat the first boss—Gundyr, the Abyss Watcher—within half an hour. If we spot one, I’ll gift them a Captain badge. And if we find more skilled players later, we’ll send them gifts too. I already topped up my account this afternoon.”

Indeed, earlier that day, Ichin had loaded plenty of money into his account—enough to gift a dozen streamers without issue. Of course, he’d still judge based on performance.

He picked a mid-sized streamer and entered their channel, where the player was just finishing the intro cinematic and starting character creation.

Ichin didn’t type in chat. Instead, he began commentating, “Character creation in Dark Souls is really detailed. Once you get the hang of it, you can actually recreate characters from other games or anime pretty accurately.”

He opened a prepared image folder and showed a few examples made by his team.

“See this? Kratos—looks pretty spot on, right? And this one’s Shanks, the Red-Haired pirate from One Piece. As long as the art style isn’t too extreme, you can get pretty close. Of course, you can also make ridiculous ones if you want—but I’ll let you discover those yourself.”

By the time he finished, the streamer had wrapped up their character creation—a quick job, clearly eager to start. They chose a female knight, changed the hairstyle and color, and selected the Knight class as their starting background.

“Ah, Knight class,” Ichin commented, smiling faintly. “Seems they watched some of my previous streams. That’s a great beginner choice—solid straight sword, a 100% physical defense shield that blocks most attacks, and decent armor stats.”

But as he said this, viewers noticed a mischievous grin creeping across his face.

Something about that smile didn’t feel right.

That’s a setup face if I’ve ever seen one.

There’s a trap incoming.

I’m warning that streamer right now.

Sure enough, moments later, the streamer—having just picked up their Estus Flask in the Cemetery of Ash—glanced at the chat and exclaimed, “Wait, the actual Ichin’s here?!”

He quickly checked his follow list and, sure enough, Ichin was watching.

Realizing he’d been spotted, Ichin sent a small gift and typed in chat:

Game just unlocked, I’m doing a quick patrol—go ahead and play.

The streamer laughed nervously and resumed playing.

The early enemies in the Cemetery of Ash were simple—each went down in one or two hits. Anyone with some action-game experience could handle them easily, as long as they watched their stamina bar.

After clearing a few foes, the streamer noticed a narrow side path to the right—and a faint glow in the distance.

“Oh! An item!”

Then, under Ichin’s amused gaze, the streamer ran straight toward the light.

Thus, the Hollow’s instinct to chase glowing loot was born.

Following the path, the streamer entered a wider, sealed-off area. Apart from the glowing item, a large, crystal-covered creature loomed there, coiled and waiting.

“Whoa, that wasn’t in the previous streams!”

So there really was something hidden!

“It’s standing up—it’s huge! Is that an elite monster?”

And under the collective gaze of thousands of viewers, within ten seconds—

The streamer met their first death in Dark Souls.

---

[Genshin Impact] Chapter 633: The Decision (2-in-1 Chapter)

Fontaine — The Opera Epiclese.

After leaving the Fortress of Meropide, Nolan and Clorinde returned to the Opera Epiclese.

Through the Waypoint, he learned that Lumine and Paimon were in the underground prop room, helping prepare equipment for a magic show.

Reuniting with them, Nolan and Clorinde greeted Lyney and Lynette before finding an excuse to slip away. In truth, they quietly made their way to the chamber of the Oratrice Mecanique d’Analyse Cardinale.

Inside, a woman identical in appearance to Furina — Focalors — was sitting in a chair, resting.

When Nolan appeared without warning, she frowned in irritation. “You— don’t you know how to knock before entering?”

“This way, no one outside sees you,” Nolan replied with a smile, walking toward her.

“You could’ve used a less startling method,” Focalors sighed, rubbing her temples. “Alright then, what is it? Don’t tell me you’ve already made progress on the prophecy crisis?”

Though she said it half-jokingly, inwardly she didn’t believe it.

After all, she had searched for centuries and found no alternative. If there truly had been another way, she would never have chosen her current plan. For him to find results in just a few days? Impossible.

Seeing her skeptical gaze, Nolan cleared his throat and said,

“People can’t all be judged the same, you know. My strength is just slightly above yours, so maybe my perspective’s a little broader. It’s not impossible that I found something you couldn’t.”

“…So you’re just better at fighting, what’s there to be smug about?” Focalors puffed out her pale cheeks, visibly annoyed.

“Come with me. Maybe when you see this, you’ll be a little more at ease.”

Nolan waved his hand to the side. A small patch of starry sky appeared in midair, within which a massive one-horned whale over a hundred meters long drifted in silence.

“This is…?” Focalors raised an eyebrow, puzzled.

“The All-Devouring Narwhal — likely the very source of the prophecy’s crisis. Come, take a look for yourself.”

He gestured invitingly and stepped into the Void Starsea space.

Focalors hesitated only a moment before following him in.

The transition was smooth — like stepping through a door into another room. There was no vertigo, no distortion; her bare white feet touched the shimmering starlit floor without a sound.

Before her lay the enormous one-horned whale, as if it had stranded itself in a cosmic sea while at play. Its head bore several deep blade wounds, and despite its immense form, it looked rather pitiful.

“I found this in the Primordial Sea,” Nolan explained. “It can absorb the sea’s energy infinitely, growing without limit. If left alone, as its size increases, the sea level would rise accordingly — eventually flooding all of Fontaine.

“But don’t worry, I’ve already subdued it. See? Being good at fighting is useful sometimes.”

He chuckled softly at her.

“I see.” Focalors nodded, finally understanding. “The prophecy will come true — that’s the nature of fate. Even if you remove one direct cause of the rising seas, another will follow.

“But by delaying it, we buy precious time to prepare.”

Her tone softened as she exhaled, and for the first time, she looked visibly relieved.

[Focalors Has Developed Good Feelings Towards You, Obtained 480 Affection Points. Current Affection Level: Lv.5 (100/500)]

“When I learned that the Chief Justice, Neuvillette, was in truth the Hydro Dragon Sovereign, I understood what your true plan was,” Nolan said calmly.

“You—” Focalors’ eyes widened in shock. But sensing that this space was completely isolated from the outside world, untouchable by the gaze of Celestia or the Heavenly Principles, she gradually relaxed.

“So what if you’ve guessed it?” she said quietly. “Are you planning to stop me?”

“How could I?” Nolan shook his head. “To save Fontaine, you’ve endured a five-hundred-year journey of solitude and sacrifice. I can’t even imagine the resolve it took to make that choice — and to never waver once in all that time.

“If I tried to stop you, wouldn’t that be trampling over your will? I’m not that tactless.”

Focalors blinked, caught off guard by the sincerity in his words. Though what he said was true, hearing it voiced so plainly made her cheeks flush slightly. She turned her gaze aside and coughed lightly.

“Ahem… it’s not as noble as you make it sound. I’m no saint. In such circumstances, I simply made the decision most people would have made.”

[Focalors Has Developed Good Feelings Towards You, Obtained 320 Affection Points. Current Affection Level: Lv.5 (420/500)]

Even so, being understood by another after centuries of isolation filled her heart with quiet warmth.

Seeing another affection prompt appear, Nolan couldn’t help feeling pleased. He continued,

“In truth, I’ve already made contact with other civilizations beyond this world — and from what I’ve learned, there are possible ways to resolve Fontaine’s condition.

“The whale that caused the sea-level rise is already under my control, so the prophecy crisis won’t happen anytime soon. During that time, I’m confident I can find a real solution to Fontaine’s problem.

“So, I think you can stop for now — hold off on your plan a little longer.”

He wasn’t exaggerating. Herta had already agreed to introduce him to Ruan Mei — the Genius Society’s foremost expert in life sciences.

Even if that genius said she couldn’t help, it didn’t matter.

At Nolan’s current rate of growth, a year or two would be enough for his strength to surpass everything on Teyvat.

By then, if he could beat even the Heavenly Principles into submission, who would dare speak of “prophecy” or “sin” again?

And if luck favored him, perhaps he’d even find a few good places across the stars to grind for Adventure EXP.

In that case, not in a year or two — maybe just a few days — he could make Mona’s favorite boast come true: “The stars are within my grasp.”

At that point, he could even give the people of Fontaine an entirely new planet to live on.

Why would anyone still need to fear the Primordial Sea?

In short, as long as the prophecy crisis didn’t strike within the next year or two— it might as well already be solved.

Even if he were to be conservative, by the time Nolan still hadn’t fully resolved the prophecy crisis, he would at least be capable of extending the time before it arrived again.

If Focalors were to rush things and lose her life needlessly within a year or two, that would be far too great a waste.

“I don’t need you to remind me, you impudent man!” Focalors shot him an exasperated glare. “I’ve spent centuries gathering the energy required to sever the seat of divinity—it’s more than sufficient.

“The prophecy’s crisis hasn’t arrived yet, so of course I won’t act prematurely! If it somehow never comes to pass, I’d just look like a complete fool!”

Of course, there was another reason for her caution: she wanted to observe whether Neuvillette had developed any affection for humankind.

After all, as a Dragon Sovereign born of pure elemental water, it was only natural that he would lack any innate sense of kinship with humans.

If after hundreds of years among them he still hadn’t formed any genuine sentiment toward humanity, then she would never return the Sovereign Authority to him.

Otherwise, if she restored his power only for him to simply leave Fontaine behind, Focalors would go down in history as the most foolish Archon in Teyvat.

“That’s good,” Nolan said with a light grin before smoothly continuing, “Since you already have more than enough energy, why not divert the surplus to collaborate with me on developing the Akasha Interconnected Network?

“Through it, you could collect faith in ‘justice’ from all across Teyvat, not just from within the Opera Epiclese. That would be far more efficient.

“In fact, think about it — just this small theater has allowed you to gather enough power in a few centuries to strike down a divine throne, even while some of that energy maintains Fontaine’s systems.

“So imagine this: if you could collect faith from the entire continent, the converted energy might even be enough to cleave Celestia itself.

“With that kind of power, you could threaten the Heavenly Principles directly — force them to absolve Fontaine’s so-called sins.”

Having mingled with civilizations across the stars, Nolan’s perspective was naturally broader than most; he was used to thinking on a cosmic scale.

From that angle, the prophecy crisis suddenly didn’t seem like such an insurmountable problem.

“…Hmph! You and your outrageous ideas,” Focalors huffed.

Yet despite herself, a thought slipped into her mind — perhaps it wasn’t entirely impossible.

She quickly shook her head, trying to banish the notion.

Defying the Heavenly Principles outright would be far too dangerous; one mistake, and Fontaine could be wiped from the face of the earth. She couldn’t take that risk.

Still… Nolan’s point wasn’t without merit.

The energy to sever the divine seat was already sufficient — any more would merely speed the process a little, not change the outcome. So rather than hoarding it, why not put it toward something constructive?

Let him develop this so-called “Akasha Interconnected Network.” Consider it his reward for subduing the All-Devouring Narwhal — and if it benefited Fontaine, all the better.

With that thought, Focalors nodded.

“…Fine. I’ll agree to it.”

“Great! Thank you!” Nolan exclaimed, and before he could stop himself, he pulled Focalors into a sudden embrace.

A soft pressure brushed her shoulders — she froze for a heartbeat before shoving him away, her pale cheeks turning crimson.

“You—you did that on purpose!” she said in a mix of embarrassment and anger.

[Focalors Has Developed Good Feelings Towards You, Obtained 380 Affection Points. Current Affection Level: Lv.6 (300/600)]

“Heh, it was just instinct,” Nolan said with a light laugh, hands raised in mock surrender.

He didn’t say what he was really thinking — you didn’t exactly seem unhappy about it either — and instead steered the conversation forward.

“The specifics are simple. You just need to provide the energy. As for how it’ll be used, I’ll ask Sumeru’s Little Archon, Nahida, to coordinate the technical aspects with you.”

Focalors nodded, then hesitated and shook her head.

“It’s still not time for me to show myself. You should speak with Furina instead and have her cooperate with your plan.”

Raising her hand, she summoned a cluster of pure white light that condensed into a small jade figurine — a miniature likeness of herself only a few centimeters tall.

“This contains a fragment of my authority. Furina is another facet of my own personality, and her body is mine as well. With this, she can channel the surplus energy transformed by the Oratrice Mecanique.”

She paused, then added softly, “Of course, only the excess energy. That should suffice, right?”

“That works,” Nolan nodded.

He understood her reluctance to appear publicly — likely out of concern that Celestia would detect her presence and uncover her true plan. Having Furina act openly while she remained hidden in the shadows was indeed the safer approach.

That was fine by him — as long as he could access the energy, everything else could be handled. If problems arose, he could always ask Focalors for a little “after-sales support.”

“Then give this to Furina for me,” Focalors said, handing him the delicate white jade effigy.

Nolan accepted it carefully, planning to deliver it to Furina later when he escorted Clorinde back to the Palais Mermonia.

After that, he gave Focalors another quick tour of the slumbering All-Devouring Narwhal lying within the Void Starsea. When they were done, the two of them exited the space.

Back in the chamber of the Oratrice, their discussion complete, Nolan took his leave and went to rejoin Lumine and the others.

They were still busy preparing props for the upcoming performance at the Opera Epiclese.

Soon after, he teleported with Clorinde back to the vicinity of the Palais Mermonia, where they quickly found Furina once again.

The Hydro Archon’s face lit up at their return.

“Well? Did you find anything at the Fortress of Meropide?”

Clorinde reported everything in detail — their descent, the discovery of the whale, and the encounter beneath the sea.

“What?! A whale like that actually exists?!” Furina’s eyes went wide in disbelief.

“See for yourself.”

Nolan opened the Void Starsea once more, bringing Furina inside to witness the All-Devouring Narwhal with her own eyes. He explained how its defeat had delayed the prophecy crisis.

“Haha… not bad! You all actually did something impressive for once!”

Though she tried to sound composed, Furina’s voice trembled slightly with excitement. She hadn’t expected such swift progress.

[Furina Has Developed Good Feelings Towards You, Obtained 360 Affection Points. Current Affection Level: Lv.5 (320/500)]

Seeing the notification flash before him, Nolan used the opportunity to take out the white jade figurine Focalors had entrusted to him. He handed it to Furina and explained its origin.

When she learned it came from Focalors herself, Furina fell into rare silence. Slowly, her eyes began to redden.

Still, she fought back the tears and whispered softly,

“That sly woman… ever since she pushed me onto the stage, she’s been hiding behind the curtains, making me believe in her… and now the next time I hear from her, it’s another request for help… Ugh, she’s so sly!”

Watching her struggle between frustration and sorrow, Nolan quietly stepped aside, giving her space. He went over to the resting All-Devouring Narwhal, gently treating its injuries.

It had, after all, taken four direct sword strikes — it deserved a little care now that it was under his control.

As he worked, the faint sound of soft sobbing echoed through the starlit space — the weeping of a lonely girl who could finally let her heart show.

(End of Chapter)

[Game] Chapter 490: Media Reviews

Castle Crashers had indeed gained quite a bit of popularity—but that was mostly because, before the end of March, there were virtually no other major releases. The game had conveniently filled that gap.

However, since its content and overall playtime weren’t particularly long, the initial buzz naturally faded after about a week.

That was fully within Ichin’s expectations.

Once the game went on sale a few times later, sales would climb again anyway. He’d never expected Castle Crashers to sell millions—it was designed to be a smaller hit.

Time passed quickly, and with just one week left before Dark Souls’ release, various game media outlets began posting early reviews.

They were light on details, offering only vague impressions—but even so, players managed to glean plenty of useful information from them.

For example: the game wasn’t open-world, but rather built around a hub-style “box garden” map structure. Despite not being seamless, the regions were vast and multi-layered.

Enemy variety was rich, and the number of large-scale bosses was impressive—but it was the human-sized bosses that players couldn’t afford to underestimate. Some elite NPCs, friendly at first but later turning into powerful enemies, were particularly notorious.

As for combat, players had access to an abundance of weapon arts, spells, and miracles. The higher-level ones were beautifully designed but demanded strong attributes to wield effectively.

Regarding the story and worldbuilding, the reviews remained deliberately vague—media outlets noted they were still studying the lore and would discuss it more deeply in their final verdicts.

Even with the limited information, players could tell the reviewers were impressed. The only common complaint was the same as alwaysthe difficulty.

> “This game is brutal—I keep dying!”

Which, of course, delighted players.

> “Hahaha! Good! No difficulty options, right? That’s how it should be!”

> “Exactly! Games nowadays all have easy or story modes—boring as hell.”

> “One more week! I can’t wait any longer!”

---

At last, on the eve of release, the official media scores dropped:

- IGN: 9.5 / 10

> “A dark and grand world, overflowing with equipment and magic that encourage experimentation. Multiple endings, each leaving a distinct emotional mark.

> Minor downside: the early and mid-game difficulty can be intense. Every new area demands cautious exploration.”

- GameSpot: 10 / 10

> “An astonishingly rich world. The death-and-revival system makes every lost soul retrieval a heart-pounding experience.

> Boss encounters are overwhelming in scale and challenge—but conquering them brings an incomparable sense of triumph.”

Across the board, big and small media alike awarded Dark Souls 9+ scores, accompanied by long, thoughtful analyses.

While none spoiled the story, they praised its fragmented narrative structure and the epic sense of discovery that emerged when piecing together the lore.

Fragmented storytelling had always been a hallmark of “Souls-like” titles.

During development, Ichin hadn’t abandoned that approach—but he’d chosen to make the plot more approachable.

Certain NPCs had expanded dialogue, giving players a better grasp of the fading world after the First Flame and hints of the trials to come through their stories of the Lords and bosses.

Overall, Ichin had been far more considerate toward players this time, adding more weapons, spells, and miracles to support diverse builds—rather than forcing them into a single playstyle like he’d done himself back when he cleared Dark Souls III with just a straight sword.

---

Once all reviews went live, the community exploded with excitement.

Sure, modern gaming journalism had a reputation for “interesting” takes—but these same outlets had reviewed Persona and Titanfall fairly, without drama. So players generally trusted their judgment this time.

As a result, Dark Souls’ preorders surged again, surpassing two million copies across all platforms just a day before launch.

The Nintendo Switch version, initially not a major focus, suddenly got attention after media highlighted its stable 30 FPS performance and surprisingly consistent visuals.

After all, portability was the Switch’s biggest strength.

Even though the Steam Deck had emerged as competition, its short battery life still limited extended AAA play. The Switch, by comparison, could last noticeably longer.

Looking at the pre-order numbers on his monitor, Ichin stretched lazily, a satisfied grin on his face. He was already looking forward to watching streamers react on launch night.

“Tonight,” he thought, “a lot of streamers are going to break down on camera.”

The seasoned action gamers might manage, but those jumping on the hype train for views?

He chuckled to himself.

“Let’s see how many can’t even beat the very first boss—Gundyr, the Abyss Watcher.”

Rubbing his chin, Ichin turned toward Utaha, who was busy typing away at her script in the office.

“Utaha, I’m planning to stream tomorrow night—just to watch those streamers’ first impressions of Dark Souls. Want to join me?”

Utaha looked up and smiled. “Sure, sounds fun. It’ll be a nice way to unwind for a bit.”

She had already started drafting her script, and in just a few days she’d be meeting with the director and producers to discuss story structure.

Utaha was the kind of creator whose inspiration came in bursts—once she caught an idea, she wrote fast. And since this drama was right in her comfort zone—romance—it came together effortlessly.

She had already completed all the main character outlines and begun writing the detailed story.

For a 12-episode TV drama, it was much simpler than writing a novel.

Romance scripts didn’t need heavy worldbuilding—what mattered most were the relationships between the leads and a series of emotional developments to move the plot forward.

Whether it was a sweet love story, a triangle romance, or a tragic one, Utaha could handle any with ease.

It was now March, and according to her schedule, she planned to finish the script within two months, then spend another month refining it with the production team.

By July, filming would begin.

For the next three months, both Ichin and Utaha were going to be very, very busy.

---

[Genshin Impact] Chapter 632: The All-Devouring Narwhal (2-in-1 Chapter)

In the Center of The Primordial Sea.

Clorinde and Wriothesley stood frozen, gazing up in shock at the enormous one-horned whale above them — a creature that looked like the incarnation of the starry heavens itself. Their expressions grew solemn as they whispered:

“What… is that?”

“There’s no doubt — it’s a monstrous being that only resembles a whale,” Nolan said. “The only living creature in the Primordial Sea. Normally, the sea’s ascent should be an extremely slow process.

“But with this thing freely devouring and growing stronger within it, that process might accelerate.”

As he spoke, Nolan’s golden Eye of Judgment glimmered, also activating Yae Miko’s affection skill while he shared his observation with the two beside him.

> [Level: 120]

> [Juvenile All-Devouring Narwhal] — An extremely rare cosmic beast that roams between worlds, sailing the void as if it were an ocean. It grows endlessly by consuming planetary energy and is drawn to energy-rich worlds. This specimen has already fused with the planet’s Primordial Sea; until that bond is severed, even the planet’s destruction cannot destroy it.

The information made Nolan pause in disbelief. This creature’s background was terrifying — and a level of 120 meant its power rivaled that of a peak Archon.

Yet it was still a juvenile.

A being that powerful in its youth — it was absurd beyond words.

“Then… if we can defeat it, would that delay the prophecy’s crisis?” Clorinde asked, brows furrowed.

“What’s there to think about? I’ll beat the monster senseless right now!” Wriothesley said, clenching his fist as icy energy erupted around it.

“It’s not that simple,” Nolan replied. “This creature isn’t from our world…”

He quickly told them everything the Eye of Judgment and Prophet’s Gift of the Fox Shrine Guuji had revealed, then added,

“To defeat it, we’ll first have to sever its connection with the Primordial Sea.”

That revelation left both Clorinde and Wriothesley speechless — powerless even. Something so far beyond comprehension couldn’t be overcome with brute strength.

“No problem,” Nolan said with a calm smile. “Leave it to me.”

He held dominion over the Sovereign Authority, which granted absolute control over the planet’s primordial seas — it should be enough to cut the link between the whale and its energy source.

And if not, his own domain — the Void Starsea — might serve just as well.

Even in the worst case, he could simply drag the creature into the Void Starsea to prevent any battle from disturbing the real sea and causing the ocean to surge upward.

Indeed, the moment he saw its level, Nolan had already decided to defeat it while he still could.

Its current strength was manageable, but if left to grow by feeding on planetary energy, it would soon become unstoppable.

“You’re sure about this? I’ve heard of legendary adventurers — they’re strong, but this thing seems way beyond their league,” Wriothesley said with concern.

Clorinde said nothing, but her eyes clearly carried the same doubt.

“The ones who travel across the continent are legendary adventurers,” Nolan said with a faint smile. “But the ones who journey across worlds… are also called legendary adventurers. The difference between the two is vast. I happen to be the latter.”

As he finished speaking, he snapped his fingers.

Snap!

The Void Starsea that surrounded them suddenly expanded — without warning, it enveloped the immense All-Devouring Narwhal above, trapping it completely.

Sensitive to spatial fluctuations, the whale let out a low, resonant hum — “Wuuuuu——” — releasing invisible infrasonic waves that rippled through the dimension.

(T/N: I suddenly remembers Iso's Ultimate, if you know, you know~)

It was how these creatures sensed space: by feeling out weak points in reality, which they could then tear open to traverse dimensions.

But this time — that ability failed.

The whale realized the space it was in, though seemingly normal, was impossibly stable and perfectly uniform — not a single weak spot could be found.

To tear through such a space would require more than ten times its usual energy.

If it were still within the Primordial Sea, that wouldn’t matter — it could simply drink in more energy from the surrounding waters.

But now… it could feel that its link to the Primordial Sea had been forcibly severed.

Without that near-infinite energy source, breaking through this dimension would not only drain vastly more power — it would also take far longer.

And in that time, the being who had dragged it here could easily attack and interrupt the process.

Driven by primal instinct, the whale decided: it would kill the intruder first.

Its massive eyes rotated downward, spotting three tiny black specks far below.

Without hesitation, it opened its colossal maw. A surge of spatial energy collapsed and condensed inside — forming a miniature black hole.

The air itself was pulled inward with a deafening roar, light bending under the immense gravity.

It wasn’t a true black hole — if it were, space-time itself would distort, and the first thing consumed would be the whale’s own body.

Still, even this imitation was horrifying to behold.

“Clorinde, Wriothesley — get back!” Nolan warned, and before the creature could finish charging its attack, he raised his hand.

Drawing upon Yoimiya’s affection skill, which allowed him partial control over gravitational force, Nolan clenched his palm in the whale’s direction — as though grabbing hold of a meteor — and pressed downward.

In that instant, the whale’s massive body shuddered in midair. Then, like a slingshot loosed, it was hurled straight toward the ground!

BOOM!!!

The colossal body slammed into the surface, the impact shaking the very fabric of space itself.

Nolan could launch meteors several kilometers wide with gravitational force as if plucking a bowstring—so tossing a whale barely a hundred meters long was hardly a challenge at all.

“Alright, just be careful!”

Seeing Nolan so effortlessly slam the massive creature down, both Wriothesley and Clorinde felt a wave of relief.

It seemed Nolan truly had the strength to handle this whale, and their tense nerves finally eased a little. They took the chance to retreat to a safer distance.

The All-Devouring Narwhal, however, was a being on par with a peak Archon—its sheer physical power was overwhelming. Though it had just been smashed into the ground, the whale only shuddered briefly before rising again.

Even when Nolan tried to press it back down with gravity, the creature merely faltered for an instant—it was already prepared this time.

“Wuuuuu—!”

With a low, resonant cry, the whale learned from its earlier mistake. Instead of using another slow-charging pseudo–black hole attack, a sharp light flickered at the tip of its horn. A conical beam shot toward Nolan at blinding speed.

There was no sound when the beam struck Nolan’s Wholehearted Guardian Shield—no explosion, no impact—only the silent split of energy as the light cone was diverted to both sides.

Nolan could feel his internal energy draining rapidly. Clearly, this attack wasn’t as simple as it appeared.

“If an ordinary person took that hit, they’d have been vaporized in an instant,” he said lightly. “But unfortunately for you, your luck’s a bit off today.”

Smiling, Nolan gathered his golden sword aura behind him. In a flash, it solidified into a towering hundred-meter-tall manifestation—the Sword God of Lumine.

But he wasn’t done yet. Two violet silhouettes emerged beside him—phantoms of Ei and the Raiden Shogun, summoned through his Twin Shadows of Ei skill.

Though they couldn’t use his affection-based powers or talents, they perfectly inherited Ei and the Shogun’s combat techniques—and their attacks carried several times the original destructive power.

Now it was a four-on-one fight, and even the environment was against the whale. At this point, Nolan couldn’t imagine how the creature could possibly turn the tables.

Controlling the Sword God and the twin shadows, all three began charging Musou no Hitotachi together—while Nolan himself summoned several enormous translucent tentacles.

Because the surrounding space was so stable, the whale had no time to tear it open for escape. It was massive but slow, its movements ponderous.

And when those Frostfang Abyssal Tendrils suddenly appeared around it, the All-Devouring Narwhal had no chance to react—instantly ensnared!

One tentacle coiled around its tail, another bound its horn, and a third wrapped tightly around its body—completely restraining its movements.

At that moment, Nolan summoned his own Sword, preparing his own Musou no Hitotachi.

He struck first—four space-rending sword strikes cleaving down in unison!

Even if the whale had been free, its enormous bulk made evasion impossible.

The first blade slashed across its head, spraying glittering, star-like blood into the sea.

But true to its name, the All-Devouring Narwhal endured even a mortal wound—it let out a pained, thunderous roar, though it didn’t last long.

Before the sound had faded, the Sword God of Lumine and the twin phantoms of Ei and the Raiden Shogun followed through, their blades cutting down in concert.

BOOM!

Four Musou no Hitotachi strikes landed in succession. Were it not for its immense vitality and armor-like skull, its head would have been cleaved clean off.

Even so, after taking four consecutive hits, the whale finally lost consciousness and went limp.

[Defeated A Powerful Enemy! Obtained 1,021,452 Adventure EXP.]

A notification flashed across Nolan’s panel—confirming that the whale had fallen into unconsciousness, and rewarding him with over a million EXP.

It was the highest amount he had ever earned from a single opponent.

The creature’s massive body sagged in his grasp, heavy and lifeless. Were it not held aloft by his psychic tendrils, it would have plummeted to the ground.

He didn’t dare let it fall—he didn’t want to risk waking it.

As for the All-Devouring Narwhal, Nolan’s plan was simple: control it with a Command Seal instead of killing it. A living specimen was far more valuable than a corpse.

He also had another idea—perhaps he could use the creature as an exchange. The issue of Fontaine’s fragile human constitution might eventually need a solution outside of the Complete Sovereign Authority.

After all, using that method would result in Focalors’ death—an option he could never accept.

From what he knew, the only person who might have an alternative was Ruan Mei, the life sciences expert from the Genius Society.

He’d have to ask Herta to introduce them later.

And of course, if he wanted her help, he needed a proper offering in return.

This rare All-Devouring Narwhal might be just the thing to win her interest—its research value for a life scientist would be immeasurable.

After all, it was a being whose juvenile form already possessed power rivaling the mightiest Archons.

To prevent the whale from waking and forcing another battle, Nolan swiftly inscribed the Command Seal’s restrictions—absolute obedience, above all else.

Once the ritual was complete, he affixed it to the whale’s body.

By then, Clorinde and Wriothesley had returned. They looked at the subdued leviathan, then back at Nolan.

“So… it’s over already?” Clorinde asked.

“Yes,” Nolan nodded. “I’ve bound it under my control and sealed it here. It won’t return to the Primordial Sea to keep absorbing energy.”

“Heh, then the coming of the prophecy’s crisis should at least be delayed,” Wriothesley said, his tone finally relaxing.

After witnessing the battle firsthand, he now understood how terrifying that whale truly was.

Had it ever reached Fontaine, not even the Hydro Archon might have been able to stop it.

“From what I observed,” Nolan continued, “if that whale had been left to grow freely, it would have broken through the floodgate’s seal in two or three months.

“Now that it’s gone, we’ve probably bought ourselves a year or two at least.”

He had calculated that by measuring the sea-level rise through psychic observation—it was a reliable estimate.

“A year or two, huh… not much, but enough,” Wriothesley mused. “If we pour everything into building the airships, maybe we can finish several—enough to save plenty of lives.”

Clorinde turned toward Nolan and gave a slight nod.

“Regardless, it’s thanks to you that this beast was driven away. I’ll report to Lady Furina—she won’t hesitate to reward you properly.”

[Clorinde Has Developed Good Feelings Towards You, Obtained 380 Affection Points. Current Affection Level: Lv.5 (420/500)]

Her feelings toward him deepened further.

Nolan smiled. The psychic tendrils holding the whale trembled—the creature had awakened. But with a thought, he activated the Command Seal and ordered it to stay still.

Then, turning back to Clorinde and Wriothesley, he said,

“In any case, the matter here is settled. As long as the whale stays sealed, there’ll be no problem. I’ll continue working on ways to avert the prophecy’s crisis. For now, let’s return.”

“Agreed,” the two nodded lightly.

Nolan used teleportation to bring them back to the floodgate chamber and dispelled their protective shields.

With the Primordial Sea fully investigated, the next step was to report everything to his client—Arlecchino.

But before that, he needed to meet with Focalors once more.

(End of Chapter)

[Game] Chapter 489: Development Complete

There were many games to look forward to this year—but before Ichin could enjoy any of them, he had to finish developing his own.

After sitting at home for a while, Haruno and Yukino headed back.

Ichin was also feeling exhausted; after playing with the cat in the living room for a bit, he took a shower and went straight to bed.

Lying in the dark, he lazily scrolled through his tablet until Utaha, freshly showered, slipped into bed beside him.

She crawled into his arms and murmured, “Sleepy?”

“Not really, just tired.”

Turning off the video he’d been watching, Ichin held Utaha close, breathing in the faint scent of her shampoo from her hair. It made him feel instantly relaxed.

Utaha, resting against his chest with her eyes closed, said softly,

“The next two weeks are probably going to be tough for you—especially since you still have classes too.”

“The classes aren’t a big deal. I can’t skip them, but the workload’s light. I already know most of the material, so I just have to follow along in lectures. But enough about me—what about you? This is your first time officially working as a screenwriter. Are you sure you’re okay with it?”

Utaha raised her head and gave him a teasing look.

“Oh? Are you underestimating me, Ichin?”

“You do remember who I am, right?” she said with a small smirk. “I’ve already read plenty of books on screenwriting.”

Ichin glanced toward the bookshelf in their bedroom—sure enough, there were several volumes she had read, including professional guides on screenwriting.

Then, as soon as they started talking about scripts—while still lying in his arms—Utaha suddenly remembered something.

Wait… hadn’t she also agreed to write the script for Ichin’s Tales of Berseria project?!

Because the project’s planning hadn’t formally begun yet, and with Dark Souls nearing its final phase, the matter had been pushed aside for a while—so long that Utaha had nearly forgotten.

“Ah, Ichin… the Tales of Berseria script—”

Seeing her suddenly remember, Ichin smiled and brushed his hand over her cheek.

“It’s fine. Don’t worry about that. Focus on your drama script and make it the best you can. As for Berseria, I can handle the story myself. It’s not that complex of a script. Besides, Ruri Gokou has some experience writing novels—nothing published, but she’s got a knack for darker, heavier plots. I can ask her for input.”

Even though Ruri was now thriving as a programmer, Ichin often heard from Narumi and others that she still spent her free time sketching out worldbuilding ideas and character concepts for games or stories.

If he involved her, she’d definitely be a big help.

Utaha smiled slyly, climbed on top of Ichin, and said,

“Then I’ll do as you say. But… to make up for it, how about I serve you tonight, my dear producer?”

“With pleasure,” Ichin chuckled.

---

February 25th — Utaha’s deal for the TV drama screenwriting job was officially signed.

The show was to be a modern urban romance—Utaha’s specialty. So far, the project team only had a rough concept and no finalized title; the details still needed refining through further meetings.

She was about to get busy, but fortunately it coincided with spring break after exams, so she could pour her energy fully into it.

Two days later, on February 27th, Ichin posted a photo on social media.

In the picture, he held a CD labeled in marker with the words “Dark Souls – Master Build” in his left hand, and an NS game cartridge in his right. Behind him stood the entire development team.

> “Dark Souls development is complete—heading into the mastering stage. Get ready, everyone.”

After months of effort, the team successfully completed Dark Souls’ development before the end of February.

There might still be a few undiscovered bugs, but the game was now stable and fully playable from start to finish.

Over the next month before release, Ichin’s team would continue to find and fix remaining issues, compiling them into a Day-One Patch to ensure that players would have a smooth experience when the game launched.

Once Ichin’s photo went public, gaming communities across social media exploded with excitement.

> “Looks like it’s not getting delayed after all! Can’t wait for next month!”

> “Perfect timing—no big titles in March. I’ll clear my schedule for this.”

> “Wonder how much content is still unrevealed. There are over a hundred weapons—how am I supposed to choose for my first run?!”

> “In the PV, you could literally go naked and fight bosses—I’m totally trying that!”

Most players had only seen short clips of Ichin’s test footage. They didn’t yet realize what kind of difficulty awaited them—they still thought this was just a “normal” ARPG.

They’d start screaming soon enough.

Before players could get their hands on it, various game media outlets had already received early review copies.

Along with the builds, Ichin sent each outlet a brief official guide and notes of caution.

He knew not every reviewer was skilled enough to finish Dark Souls—and he didn’t want frustrated journalists giving it bad scores out of spite.

After all, some reviewers were infamously bad at games; they were the kind of people who’d write lines like, “This game is too hard to be fun.”

In his note, Ichin included a disclaimer:

> “Players who enjoy high-difficulty challenges may ignore this guide.”

The so-called “guide” merely offered basic survival advice: be cautious at map corners, check inconspicuous areas, and watch out for dark zones.

Even with those hints, Ichin was sure most reviewers would still fall into his traps.

After all, his malicious level design tricks easily outdid anything Miyazaki had ever pulled off.

---

After sending out the review builds, March 2nd arrived—while reviewers were still struggling through Dark Souls, the next project from Sakura Nene’s team, Castle Crashers, was officially released.

Ichin hadn’t invested much into marketing this title, but he’d enlisted several streamers to promote it.

The game was priced low—¥35 RMB on Steam China, with roughly similar prices in other regions and on console stores.

Cheap as it was, its fun, chaotic multiplayer gameplay and comical art style quickly spread through livestreams, attracting plenty of players.

Over the past few years, Ichin’s studio had earned a strong reputation for consistent quality. Even though each title differed wildly in genre, players knew they could buy without fear of disappointment.

Many picked it up just because of Ichin’s name—and weren’t disappointed.

Thus, in the three weeks leading up to Dark Souls’ launch, Castle Crashers unexpectedly built up solid sales and popularity of its own.

---

[Genshin Impact] Chapter 631: The Duke (2-in-1 Chapter)

Fontaine — The Opera Epiclese.

Clorinde gave a small nod and led Nolan toward the Fortress of Meropide. The place was located behind the Opera Epiclese, and to reach it they needed to take an elevator down.

The guards stationed at the entrance noticed Clorinde approaching. After asking a few simple questions, they let her through without further delay.

The two entered the elevator, the revolving door closing automatically behind them. The lift began its slow descent, and a faint sense of weightlessness rose through their bodies.

After several minutes, it came to a halt. The door opened, revealing a vast space illuminated by a soft amber light.

Many people were working busily nearby.

Naturally, in a prison, the ones doing all the work could only be the inmates. If Nolan guessed correctly, these busy workers were convicts engaged in labor reform.

Despite being underwater and thus without sunlight, the environment here actually looked rather pleasant.

“Keep going straight. That cylindrical building in the middle is the Duke’s office,” Clorinde explained as she walked. “Before we head to the place where the Primordial Sea is sealed, we’ll need to report to the warden of the Fortress of Meropide.”

“Managing all the criminals of Fontaine must be an exhausting job,” Nolan said, glancing around. Even within his line of sight, dozens of people were moving about.

“The Fortress of Meropide differs from other nations’ prisons,” Clorinde replied calmly. “It runs on a special ‘credit token’ system — a bit like Mora.

“All prisoners, whether they wish to eat or sleep, must use tokens. With enough of them, they can raise their living standards to nearly match life above the surface.

“So the inmates work diligently every day to earn these tokens. The goods they produce are sold by the Duke for Mora.

“Being able to exchange a currency that’s worthless aboveground for actual Mora… perhaps the Duke finds the whole thing quite entertaining.”

“Ha, to think that just providing food and lodging could get all of Fontaine’s criminals to work for you — maintaining order while earning a profit. I’m starting to envy that job,” Nolan said with a chuckle, finally understanding how the system worked.

The two reached the central office of the Fortress of Meropide. After learning they had come to see the “Duke,” the guards opened the heavy door for them.

Inside was a spiral staircase built along the wall. The warden’s office was located on the second floor.

As they ascended, they saw a black-haired man reclining with his legs propped on a desk, reading a newspaper. When he noticed them, he sighed softly.

“Clorinde, I could hear you from a mile away telling the Traveler how I’m running a business down here,” he said lazily. “Every Mora earned from the prisoners’ products goes right back into managing and maintaining this place, I’ll have you know.

“So? What brings you all the way to the depths of the sea?”

Apparently, this man’s perception was quite impressive — Clorinde and Nolan had spoken far from here, through layers of thick walls, yet he’d still heard them.

“Wriothesley, I was merely stating the truth,” Clorinde said evenly, arms crossed under her chest. “Lady Furina wishes for the Traveler to investigate the situation beneath the floodgate — without breaking the seal.”

“Oh? So our dear Hydro Archon has finally decided to take things seriously?” Wriothesley raised a brow, genuinely surprised.

He had only learned that the floodgate beneath the Fortress sealed away the Primordial Sea long after assuming his post here. Once he realized it, he understood the prophecy’s crisis likely stemmed from this very place.

Thus, he had long been preparing in secret — constructing a massive airship as a contingency plan.

Most of the prisoners’ labor and the Mora earned from it had gone toward building and researching that vessel.

Surely the Hydro Archon was aware that the Primordial Sea was sealed here, yet Furina had never once come to inspect or maintain the seal herself.

Whether it was confidence or neglect, he couldn’t tell — she simply didn’t seem to care. So it surprised him that she had finally sent someone now.

“Lady Furina is indeed deeply concerned about the prophecy’s crisis,” Clorinde said, glancing at him before continuing, “This gentleman is a powerful Traveler, capable of investigating the Primordial Sea safely. Please guide us there.”

Though Clorinde usually saw Furina as someone who merely attended performances and basked in applause, she also knew that divine power was beyond mortal understanding.

Perhaps, in unseen ways, Lady Furina truly was working to counter the coming calamity.

“Yes, yes,” Wriothesley replied perfunctorily, standing up and stretching. “In that case, let’s not waste time. A couple of days ago, during my routine inspection, I heard faint noises coming from the floodgate — scared the daylights out of me.

“I keep worrying that one night I’ll wake up drowning in seawater.”

The tall, broad-shouldered man glanced at Nolan. As the warden of Meropide, though he lived far beneath the waves, he knew everything that happened above — and of course, he recognized this renowned adventurer of Teyvat.

“Then please follow me, Traveler,” he said courteously.

“Of course, and thank you for your help, Mr. Wriothesley,” Nolan replied with a polite smile.

The three left the office together, took another elevator to a lower level, and soon arrived at the floodgate that sealed the Primordial Sea.

It was an enormous metallic gate lying flat against the ground — and beyond it, without a doubt, was the legendary sea itself.

At the center of the gate was a pressure gauge, its needle pointing within the green safety zone — meaning the current pressure was still within acceptable limits for the barrier.

If one looked closely, they would notice that the needle on the pressure gauge had already begun to drift toward the red danger zone — nearly touching it.

At first glance, it still seemed stable, but cracks were beginning to show. One small mishap, and the entire gate could burst like a collapsed dam.

“Heh… looks like things are getting troublesome,” Wriothesley said with a helpless smile. “It’s even closer to the red zone than when I last came to check.”

Clorinde’s calm expression darkened slightly. Nolan thought for a moment and said,

“Just in case… if something goes wrong during my investigation of the Primordial Sea — something that causes the gate’s pressure to spike — it could lead to serious damage. I’ll reinforce the seal with a formation first.”

As he spoke, eight golden banners appeared around him — the Fleeting Clouds Banner Formation. Four of them flew out and planted themselves at the four cardinal directions around the gate, forming the Quadrant Harmony Array.

This was a sealing formation Nolan had learned from Ganyu’s affinity skill — a massive array typically used to mitigate earthquakes.

Now, it would serve perfectly to reinforce the floodgate sealing the Primordial Sea.

After setting up the outer Quadrant Harmony Array, Nolan directed the remaining four banners to fall within the completed formation.

Offset at specific points, the inner set of banners formed a second Quadrant Harmony Array. The two arrays intertwined and merged, evolving into the Interlocking Harmony Array.

The sealing power surged — strong enough that even a massive earthquake would likely fail to shake it.

Sure enough, the moment the formation was completed, the needle on the pressure gauge dropped straight to zero. That meant there was no longer any pressure on the gate at all.

“Whoa, whoa—seriously? Zero pressure? Isn’t that a bit overkill?” Wriothesley exclaimed, staring at the gauge in disbelief.

Clorinde’s violet eyes flickered with astonishment. On the other side of that gate was the vast sea itself — and yet this ancient immortal formation had neutralized it completely.

【Clorinde Has Developed Good Feelings Towards You, Obtained 360 Affection Points. Current Affection Level: Lv.5 (40/500)】

“The formation reinforced the gate while also isolating it from direct contact with the Primordial Sea,” Nolan explained with a faint smile. “As long as the array remains intact, the gate won’t bear any pressure.”

“Well, that’s one less thing to worry about. Maybe now I can sleep without dreaming of drowning,” Wriothesley said with relief.

“If the Primordial Sea only had this one breach, I’d be confident it’d never escape again,” Nolan joked lightly.

Of course, a sea that vast couldn’t possibly have just one weak point. If it were truly that simple to seal, Focalors wouldn’t have treated the prophecy’s crisis with such gravity.

“So, how do you plan to conduct your investigation?” Clorinde asked, her expression as calm as ever.

“I’ll just teleport there directly,” Nolan replied, glancing at them both. “How about it? Would you like to come along? I can make sure the seawater won’t touch you.”

“Oh? In that case, count me in,” Wriothesley said, a little surprised but quickly intrigued. There was no way he’d turn down the chance to confront the legendary Primordial Sea.

“And you, Clorinde?” Nolan turned to the tall, composed woman beside him.

“No problem,” she replied without hesitation.

With Clorinde’s affection already at Level 5, she trusted him enough to follow his lead.

Nolan then activated Noelle’s max-level affinity skill — Wholehearted Guardian Shield.

Two translucent shields expanded, encasing Clorinde and Wriothesley completely, ensuring not a single drop of water could seep in. He summoned one for himself as well.

Once everything was ready, Nolan quietly opened the Void Starsea, enveloping the group in its shimmering energy. A moment later, all three vanished from sight.

When they reappeared, they had passed through the floodgate and arrived in the dark, silent depths below.

At first glance, it looked like any ordinary seabed. But on closer inspection, the waters of the Primordial Sea shimmered faintly pink — distinctly different from normal seawater.

“So this is the Primordial Water… fascinating,” Wriothesley murmured, pressing a hand to the inner surface of his shield as if he were touching the sea itself.

Clorinde, standing beside him within her own barrier, looked around curiously. This was likely a place no citizen of Fontaine had ever reached. Who knew what might exist here?

Despite its depth, the Primordial Sea was not completely dark — it glowed with a strange, dim light.

Above them was the metallic floodgate of Meropide, meaning that this ancient ocean lay beneath Fontaine’s own seafloor.

The water here felt slightly warmer than ordinary seawater, and there was no sign of life.

That was only natural — how could ordinary marine creatures enter such a place?

There was little oxygen and unusual temperature; nothing normal could survive here.

If anything did exist, it would certainly be unnatural.

“Let’s look around. We might find something,” Nolan said through telepathic transmission.

Even as he spoke, he expanded his spiritual sense outward. With his range, he could scan the entire Primordial Sea in no time.

“Let’s check the seabed,” Wriothesley suggested. “If anything strange is happening, the source is likely there.”

“Hmm, makes sense.” Nolan nodded. He guided their shields downward using his psychic power while extending his scan toward the depths.

One kilometer… two… three… The Primordial Sea was far deeper than expected. By the time his spiritual sense touched the seabed, it was nearly five to six kilometers deep — deeper than most oceans of Teyvat.

Truly fitting for the place said to have first nurtured life.

Descending normally would take half an hour, so Nolan simply used the Void Starsea again, teleporting them instantly to the bottom.

In a blink, they arrived near the seabed — barren, rocky, and devoid of any plants or coral.

“Nothing unusual nearby,” Clorinde observed. “The Primordial Sea is vast. Even if there’s something wrong, finding it won’t be easy.”

“Not necessarily. I’ve already found something,” Nolan replied, eyes sharpening. His spiritual scan had now encompassed the entire Primordial Sea — and while most of it stretched beneath the ocean floor, part of it extended beneath the land as well.

And there — two to three hundred kilometers to their left — he detected the sea’s only living being.

A massive one.

“Come on, I’ll take you to see it.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Nolan expanded the Void Starsea once more, cloaking the three of them in invisibility before teleporting again.

The next instant, they reappeared — no longer at the seabed, but near the center of the Primordial Sea.

Above them drifted an enormous whale, its body shimmering like a fragment of the cosmos, a single horn crowning its head. Every swing of its tail sent powerful waves rolling through the sea.

From time to time, it opened its vast maw and swallowed huge gulps of the pink water, churning the surrounding currents into violent turbulence.

The sight was both majestic and terrifying.

(End of Chapter)

[Game] Chapter 488: Utaha’s Screenwriting Job

Ichin picked up a steaming piece of fried chicken and popped it into his mouth. The crispy coating and the juicy leg meat made him narrow his eyes in pure satisfaction.

“Eating something after working overtime… that really hits the spot.”

After swallowing, he looked at Yukino and Utaha.

“You two eat some too. I can’t finish a whole box by myself. Oh right—what about Haruno-nee? She’s at home?”

Yukino speared a piece of chicken with her fork and took a bite before replying,

“Big Sis seemed really tired from work today. She originally wanted to come along, but I didn’t agree. I left her a portion of the fried chicken and told her to rest at home instead.”

“I see… yeah, Haruno-nee’s been really busy lately.”

Ichin nodded. He knew very well how packed Haruno’s schedule was these days—on top of her company projects, she was still making time to supervise the interior work on his new office building.

It was already mid-February, and the renovation was nearing completion. Since the new building could be considered partly their own family’s project, Haruno naturally took it seriously.

Ichin thought for a moment—maybe he should cook her a big dinner this weekend as thanks.

Alright, that settles it.

As he ate, Ichin asked Utaha about her screenwriting negotiations earlier that day.

He’d been busy all afternoon, so Utaha hadn’t called to disturb him, and only now did he have a moment to ask.

Utaha smiled and said,

“The meeting went pretty well. In a couple of days, I’ll meet again with the drama’s director and investors to discuss the writing schedule and what elements they want included.”

Ichin nodded. “Do you need me to come with you?”

“No need,” Utaha replied. “You focus on your work, Ichin. Sonoko and the editor-in-chief from the publishing house will be there, and Aunt Sayuri will come too. This offer came partly through her connections anyway, so with her around, I don’t have to worry about getting taken advantage of.”

Hearing that, Ichin finally relaxed.

The TV screenwriting job was a great opportunity, but he still didn’t want Utaha overworking herself. Some production teams and investors gave writers little to no time for creative work—then blamed them when the show turned out bad. Ichin absolutely didn’t want that happening to her.

Right now, Utaha was Fujikawa Fantastic Bunko’s golden author—one series finished, another still serializing, with both adaptations and merchandise earning the publisher tons of profit. There was no way they’d let anyone push her around. Not to mention, she also had Sayuri Sawamura backing her.

Still, if Utaha took on the drama’s script, then Tales of Berseria’s script—

Ichin shook his head and kept that thought to himself. At worst, he’d just handle it himself. Utaha should focus on what she wanted to do.

Seeing him shake his head like that, Utaha gave Yukino a puzzled look.

Yukino also tilted her head slightly, signaling that she had no idea either.

After finishing their food, it was finally time to call it a day.

Ichin arranged for the girls who lived far away to share cabs home and expense it through the company. Then, he, Utaha, and Yukino headed home together by car.

When they arrived and went upstairs, Ichin discovered that when Yukino had said Haruno was “watching the house”… she meant his house.

Sitting comfortably on the sofa with a can of cola in hand, straw between her lips, Haruno took a sip and greeted them cheerfully,

“Welcome back!”

Ichin changed into his slippers and looked at her helplessly.

“Haruno-nee, if you’re tired, why didn’t you just rest early instead of hanging around here?”

Haruno laughed.

“I just ate the fried chicken—if I sleep this early, I’ll definitely gain weight. So I thought I’d wait for you all to come home first. So, Ichin, finished your work?”

“Yeah,” Ichin nodded, sitting beside her and scooping up Peppa the cat.

“We found a nasty bug this afternoon—high trigger rate, caused major performance drops. Tracking and fixing it took quite a while. A rare overtime day.”

Haruno leaned back, and Ichin added, “We’re in the final stage now—can’t afford to slack off.”

She was also eagerly looking forward to Dark Souls’ release. Out of the previous gamesPersona, Titanfall, Fall Guys—she’d liked Fall Guys the most for its competitive online fun. But grim, atmospheric titles like The Binding of Isaac and Dark Souls were far more her style—she even had a soft spot for slightly Lovecraftian aesthetics.

And like Yukino, Haruno was a natural-born genius. Her gaming skill was nothing to scoff at—any game she wanted to learn, she picked up quickly. She’d even played Battlefield and CS:GO with Umiko and Nene before, and performed impressively.

Seeing her eager expression, Ichin chuckled.

“Just wait, this one will definitely give you a real challenge. Also, the Shanghai studio’s already developing Apex. That game should be right up your alley too—it’s basically a battle royale.”

Stretching lazily, Haruno wrapped an arm around Yukino, who’d sat beside her.

“You guys really make great games, but I barely have time to play. Honestly, just Dark Souls alone will probably take me a month or two to finish.”

“Take your time,” Ichin said with a smile. “I don’t get much time to play games myself anymore.”

He pulled out his phone and skimmed through the latest gaming news.

“Like Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2—it came out last year, and I still haven’t finished it. I’ve just been playing it bit by bit. And the new Pokémon Scarlet and Violet? I probably won’t have much time for those either. I haven’t even looked at the newly designed Pokémon yet.”

Right now, Dark Souls was at a critical stage. After release, Ichin would still be involved in the DLC development, the Garo project, and Tales of Berseria. He’d likely have to handle Berseria’s script personally too. His schedule was packed.

Given that, it was no surprise he barely had time for gaming anymore.

Thinking about it made him sigh a little.

This year was going to be full of interesting releasesPokémon moving closer to open-world design after Arceus… Starfield from Bethesda finally coming out after years of hype…

And Elder Scrolls VI, supposedly launching by year’s end—it felt like every major title was piling in at once.

As for GTA VI, they said it was still in development… but who knew if it’d actually make it this year.

After going through the lineup in his mind, Ichin realized—if Dark Souls wanted to compete for TGA’s Game of the Year at the end of the year, it would face some serious competition.

---

[Genshin Impact] Chapter 630: To The Primordial Sea (2-in-1 Chapter)

Fontaine — Palais Mermonia.

After leaving the Wonderland Space, Nolan arrived at the palace and expressed to the guards his wish to meet Clorinde. Of course, his true goal was to meet Furina and Neuvillette.

But one couldn’t just walk in and demand an audience with them, so he used Clorinde as an excuse.

After all, back at the Opera House, Furina herself had said that Clorinde could bring him in to see her. Once he met Furina, he could then ask her to take him to Neuvillette.

That little request shouldn’t be a problem, he thought.

“Understood, please wait here a moment,” the palace guard said politely, seemingly recognizing him before heading inside to report.

While he waited, Lumine and Paimon teleported over from the Wonderland Space.

They told him that Lyney’s performance application at the Opera House had been approved—they could begin setting up the stage today, and Lumine and Paimon were planning to check it out.

Of course, it would still take a few more days for the official performance. They needed to queue for a proper slot and run publicity events first—that was standard procedure.

After saying goodbye, Lumine and Paimon headed toward the Opera House, and after a few dozen seconds of waiting, Nolan saw Clorinde emerge—heels clicking softly against the marble floor, her blue side-plumed hat angled neatly atop her head.

Her expression was as composed and austere as ever—cold, dignified, unreadable.

“Good morning, Miss Clorinde,” Nolan greeted with a smile.

Clorinde gave a polite nod in return and replied evenly, “You’ve come to see Lady Furina, haven’t you? Come with me.”

“Thank you,” Nolan said as he followed behind her.

The stoic woman’s deep-blue and black cloak draped elegantly over her back, layered and overlapping with subtle detail. Her dark, bluish-black hair was tied low into a ponytail, trailing smoothly along her back in harmony with the cloak’s motion.

Beneath the hem of her fitted black skirt, her long legs were sheathed in sleek black stockings, each held by symmetrical garters that faintly pressed into the soft curve of her thighs.

After a few minutes, they reached the familiar reception hall where Furina usually met her visitors.

She sat gracefully on a sofa, sipping tea. When she saw Nolan enter, she smiled with her usual theatrical flair and said,

“Traveler, what a delight to see you again! But I’m afraid the matter you mentioned last time… I can’t agree to it after all!”

After speaking, she took another sip of tea, her expression relaxed, both hands resting elegantly on her crossed, fair legs.

Nolan immediately understood the reason behind her words. With her current level—only Level 36—Furina had no real control over Fontaine’s power of justice, nor the authority required for any significant cooperation.

Still, he asked curiously,

“Why not? Isn’t this cooperation beneficial to Fontaine?”

“W-well, that may be so,” Furina replied, glancing aside and waving her hand dismissively, “but I believe the timing isn’t quite right yet. Perhaps we can revisit it later.”

She quickly changed the subject.

“Anyway, is there anything else? If not, I have official duties to attend to.”

If this conversation continued, she feared she might slip up—better to end it early.

Seriously? I just sat down… Nolan sighed inwardly. After a brief pause, he said slowly,

“There is something else. Furina, you’re aware of the ‘Hearth House,’ aren’t you? The orphanage run by the Fatui Harbinger known as ‘The Knave.’

“She contacted me a few days ago. She said Fontaine is facing a prophetic crisis and asked to work with me to investigate and see if we could resolve it.

“You know how it is—helping others is a noble virtue. And when it’s about saving an entire nation, how could I refuse? So, I agreed.

“I came today to ask—do you know anything about this prophecy crisis?”

At his words, Clorinde glanced at him in mild surprise.

Furina, who had looked confident moments ago, visibly faltered. Her hand trembled slightly as she raised her cup.

“T-that crisis… I’ve heard of it,” she stammered, eyes darting away. “But it’s just an old rumor—centuries old, really. I don’t know much about it myself.”

She took another sip of tea, lowering her gaze to stare at her reflection rippling across the surface of the cup.

Nolan kept his eyes on her.

“But if it’s just a rumor, how has it persisted for hundreds of years without fading?”

“You said it yourself,” Furina replied quickly, forcing a cough to steady herself. “It’s been centuries and nothing unusual has ever happened. So it really must be a rumor. There’s no need to worry yourself, Traveler—just relax and enjoy Fontaine’s culture and beauty.”

Nolan exhaled softly. So she really is keeping her promise to Focalors—she’s not leaking even a hint.

He had originally intended to bring up the prophecy as a pretext—to get her to help arrange an investigation in Meropide Fortress.

But since she was staying tight-lipped, he realized he’d have to reveal more to gain her trust. After a moment’s thought, he said,

“Actually, we’ve already uncovered some information about the prophecy. And from what we’ve found, it’s definitely not just a rumor. Would you like to hear it, Furina?”

“Oh? Go on then,” she said, leaning back on the sofa, pretending at nonchalance—but her eyes betrayed a flicker of tension.

Nolan began speaking slowly, carefully:

“In truth, the essence of the prophecy crisis lies in the unique nature of Fontaine’s people. They were created by the former Hydro Archon, Egeria, who used the power of the Primordial Sea to transform purewater spirits into humans.

“But that transformation was imperfect. As a result, what flows through the bodies of the people of Fontaine isn’t blood—but the water of the Primordial Sea itself.

“This means that if they ever come into contact with the waters of the Primordial Sea again, the power within them will resonate with it. Their bodies will dissolve back into the sea.

“So the ‘rising sea’ mentioned in the prophecy most likely refers to the Primordial Sea itself. When it floods Fontaine, the people will have nowhere to run.”

He finished speaking calmly and clearly.

Furina stared at him, eyes wide in shock. “You—you’ve only been in Fontaine for a few days! How can you possibly know all that?!”

Even Clorinde’s usual cold mask cracked, her eyes widening slightly.

Nolan smiled faintly.

“Well, given our track record in other nations, you should know—we’re professionals when it comes to saving countries. It wouldn’t do if we couldn’t even uncover something this basic, right?”

“...” Furina’s astonishment quickly turned into flustered irritation. “If you already know everything, why even bother asking me!”

“Because,” Nolan sighed dramatically, shaking his head, “I thought that since I’m trying to help with your nation’s crisis, you’d be excited—happy, even—and willing to work with me.

“But instead, you won’t even tell me the truth. Honestly, Furina… that’s just heartbreaking.”

He let out a long, exaggerated sigh, looking at her with feigned disappointment.

“…I just didn’t want you to get dragged into danger as well,” Furina mumbled, suddenly feeling a strange pang of guilt. Her cheeks flushed red as she turned away, fumbling for an excuse.

“Oh, I see. Then thank you, Lady Furina, for your concern,” Nolan replied with a warm smile.

“Hmph, as long as you understand,” she said proudly, crossing her arms beneath her chest and lifting her chin ever so slightly in satisfaction.

【Furina Has Developed Good Feelings Towards You, Obtained 320 Affection Points. Current Affection Level: Lv.4 (40/400)】

After Nolan flattered her a little more, Furina looked even more pleased with herself—so he seized the moment to bring up one of his true reasons for coming.

“So, I’d like to investigate the situation of the Primordial Sea. It’s sealed beneath the Fortress of Meropide, isn’t it?”

“Eh? How do you know that?!” Furina exclaimed in shock, and even Clorinde’s usually composed expression faltered slightly.

The fact that the Primordial Sea was sealed beneath Meropide was supposed to be one of Fontaine’s most tightly guarded secrets. With the Duke’s authority, such information should have been impossible to leak.

“Well… forget it. Since you already know, it doesn’t matter how,” Furina said, regaining her composure, though a flicker of suspicion lingered in her eyes.

She couldn’t believe she’d been hiding it for centuries, only to be found out by someone who had barely arrived in Fontaine. That would make all her efforts meaningless.

After a brief pause, she blinked and said cautiously,

“The Primordial Sea has been calm lately—no signs of activity. And with the seal in place, you wouldn’t be able to see much anyway. Is there really a need to check it yourself?”

“Of course,” Nolan replied. “I’m not just going to look at the seal—I plan to enter the Primordial Sea itself for investigation. Water doesn’t rise without a reason. If we can find the cause and deal with it, even if we can’t fully solve the problem, we can at least buy Fontaine some time to prepare.”

Furina thought for a moment, then nodded slowly. “Hmm… when you put it that way, you have a point.”

Over the years, she had often thought of investigating the Primordial Sea herself, but had always hesitated out of fear that something might go wrong.

And given the seal’s power—and the fact that Fontainians would dissolve upon contact with water—it truly was difficult to explore.

But if Nolan was willing to step in, perhaps there really was a chance to uncover something.

“You may go,” Furina said finally, “but only if the seal remains completely intact.”

Naturally, that was her greatest concern. If the seal were damaged, the flood could erupt immediately.

“Of course,” Nolan nodded. “Actually, I’m familiar with many of Liyue’s adeptus formation arts. I can reinforce the seal while I’m there.”

With his power, and the help of formations like the Cloud-Gathering Banner Array, his strengthened seal would likely surpass the original one entirely.

That might truly make the barrier more durable—perhaps even lasting for centuries longer.

“Really? That’s wonderful!” Furina exclaimed, her eyes lighting up. “Clorinde, accompany him to the Fortress of Meropide!”

She had heard stories of Liyue’s adepti and their powerful arts. If an adeptal formation could strengthen the seal, it might indeed prove useful. Even if the effect wasn’t huge, any reinforcement would help.

【Furina Has Developed Good Feelings Towards You, Obtained 320 Affection Points. Current Affection Level: Lv.4 (360/400)】

At that thought, Furina’s affection for Nolan rose again.

【Clorinde Has Developed Good Feelings Towards You, Obtained 360 Affection Points. Current Affection Level: Lv.4 (80/400)】

Even Clorinde seemed to gain some respect for him. She nodded quietly and said,

“Understood, Lady Furina.”

Then she turned to Nolan.

“Let’s go. The sooner we depart, the better.”

“Sure, but before that, I have one small question,” Nolan said, glancing at Furina.

“What is it this time?” she asked, tilting her head.

“I wanted to ask—does the Chief Justice have any connection to the Water Dragon King?”

If Furina could confirm it, there would be no need for him to ask Neuvillette directly.

“Hmm?”

Clorinde looked genuinely surprised. Neuvillette… the Water Dragon King? It wasn’t impossible.

After all, even she—Fontaine’s strongest duelist—couldn’t fully gauge his strength. Excluding the possibility of him being a god, there weren’t many options left. An elemental Dragon King was the most probable one.

And Fontaine’s old legend said it often rained because the Water Dragon King wept for humanity. If Neuvillette truly were that Dragon King—it would make perfect sense.

“Most likely,” Furina said after a moment, nodding. “What ordinary human could hold the position of Chief Justice for hundreds of years? But why are you asking?”

“Oh, nothing important,” Nolan replied casually. “Just confirming a theory. Let’s go, Miss Clorinde—time to head for Meropide.”

With Furina’s indirect confirmation, his earlier suspicions were all but proven true.

Focalors really had been trying to destroy her own Divine Throne—to release the fragments of the Sovereign Authority and return them to Neuvillette, the Hydro Sovereign.

Having spent centuries among the people of Fontaine, it was impossible that he felt nothing for them.

Once his authority was restored, the chance that he would agree to help transform the Fontainians into true humans was extremely high.

It was a brilliant plan—but it came at the cost of Focalors herself.

If possible, Nolan wanted to save her. Not only because she was a beautiful, kindhearted girl—but also because her Authority of Justice would be invaluable to the development of the “Akasha Interconnected Network,” solving its energy source problem and accelerating its growth.

As he pondered this, he and Clorinde exited the Palais Mermonia.

“The Fortress of Meropide lies beyond the Opera House,” Clorinde explained. “We’ll need to take the railship to get there.”

She gestured toward the transport dock, but Nolan shook his head.

“To save time,” he said with a faint smile, “I think we can take a faster route.”

The moment he finished speaking, the invisible expanse of the Void Star Sea unfolded, enveloping them both. Before Clorinde could even react, the scenery around them changed instantly.

“This is… the main entrance of the Opera House?”

Clorinde blinked, astonished. They had been teleported in an instant. “Was that… some kind of adeptal art from Liyue?”

Nolan smiled. “Not bad, right? Much faster than a railship. Now, if you’d be so kind, please lead the way to the Fortress of Meropide.”

(End of Chapter)

[Game] Chapter 487: A Rare Overtime Night

Hearing Hajime’s question, Yukino smiled and said,

“Utaha-senpai has been busy these past few days negotiating that screenwriting job. So she asked me to come to the company whenever I have free time—to help look after my brother a bit, make sure he doesn’t get so absorbed in work that he forgets the time.”

“Oh! So that’s how it is!”

Hajime suddenly understood. “Aoba mentioned something about that to me. No wonder Utaha hasn’t been coming by much lately. Hehe, does that mean in a while we might be seeing a drama on TV written by Utaha herself?”

“If the talks go well, yes. But even if it’s green-lit, it’ll still take quite a bit of time to produce. At least a year, I’d say.”

Hajime sighed a little. “A whole year, huh… I was hoping we’d get to see it this year, but that might be a stretch. Still, it’s fine! As long as she lands the job, with Utaha’s ability she’ll definitely pull it off! Alright, I’m off to report to Ichin about my work!”

After Hajime dashed off to the programming team to find Ichin, Yukino placed down the tray she was holding and went into Ichin’s office to quietly read her book.

Yagami Kou and Toyama Rin exchanged glances, then nodded and went back to work.

Looks like they really had been overthinking things. (T/N: And me too, stupid brain [-_-])

At four o’clock, Yukino stepped out of the office with her bag and walked over to the programming section to find Ichin.

“Big brother, I’m heading to the publishing house to pick up Utaha-senpai. Make sure you come back on time after work.”

“Ah, about that—”

Ichin looked up from his screen and said,

“You two go ahead and eat dinner without me. I’ve run into a bit of a tricky issue here, and fixing it will probably take a few more hours. I might not finish until after eight. So tonight our programming team will be staying a little later. I’ll ask HR to arrange bentos for dinner, so don’t worry—I’ll eat properly.”

“I see… alright then.”

Yukino nodded, didn’t press further, and left the programming room.

Once she was gone, Ichin turned to everyone and said,

“Alright everyone, I’ll need you to tough it out a little tonight. Let’s focus on fixing the issue we just located. There’s only one week left before we have to send the build for mastering.”

“No problem!”

“Just two extra hours of work, and we’re getting dinner too!”

“What are we eating tonight? I kind of want a burger—not really in the mood for rice!”

As the group started chatting about dinner choices, Ichin laughed and said,

“Okay, okay—make a list of what everyone wants, and Nene will send it to HR. But don’t go overboard—we can only order from three restaurants total, got it?”

“Got it!!”

Time slipped by. Around 5:30, dinner arrived. After everyone in the programming team finished eating, the other departments gradually clocked out, leaving Ichin’s team to keep working.

Even though it was overtime, they were getting paid extra, and it was a sudden issue—and with their boss staying to work alongside them, no one had any complaints.

In fact, this rare bit of overtime actually felt kind of fun.

While debugging his code, a nearly thirty-year-old programmer turned to Ichin and said,

“Boss, I’ve got a question for you.”

“What’s up? Work-related?”

“Nope—relationship advice.”

“Uh, you’re a married man asking a single guy for advice?”

“Hahaha, well, it’s just that you and the boss-lady get along so well, so I figured you might know a thing or two.”

Ichin chuckled and nodded. “Alright, ask away—but I can’t promise I’ll have a good answer.”

Their exchange immediately drew the attention of the others. A few of the girls—like Narumi and Ruri Gokou—were all single, and naturally, their curiosity about this kind of topic was endless.

The male programmer thought for a moment before speaking.

“It’s like this—March will be my wife’s and my third wedding anniversary. I’ve been thinking about how to celebrate it and what kind of gift I should get her. After all, we don’t have kids yet, and once we do in a couple of years, it’ll probably be harder to celebrate properly. So, boss, do you think I should find a nice restaurant and pick out a good gift? I’m not exactly good at that kind of thing.”

Hmm, a male programmer—understandable. Usually, when it comes to romance and atmosphere, guys tend to be a bit lacking.

Even Ichin himself had only improved in that department after spending time with Utaha.

After listening, Ichin paused his work to think for a moment before replying,

“For anniversaries, if your wife is someone who values those moments, then yes, it’s worth preparing something nice. It’s only once a year, after all.

As for restaurants, I actually don’t think that’s necessary—unless you book a private room, you’ll still be surrounded by other customers, which kind of ruins the mood.

My suggestion is to prepare a candlelight dinner at home. Do everything yourself—that way, the atmosphere will be more intimate, and she’ll really feel the effort you put in. When the day comes, tell me ahead of time and I’ll approve you some time off to prepare.

As for the gift, that’s the easy part. We’ve got plenty of women here with good taste—you can just ask everyone to help you pick something.”

At that moment, Nene raised her hand enthusiastically.

“That’s right! A candlelight dinner at home can feel just as romantic as any fancy restaurant! Trust us—we’ve been there!”

“Exactly! And we can help you pick out the gift too!”

“A wedding anniversary, huh? How romantic!”

“Now I kind of want to get married myself!”

“Then let’s go to a mixer!”

“Eh… maybe not. I heard from Hazuki that mixers are tough—you can hardly find anyone suitable!”

After finishing the relationship consultation, Ichin let everyone chat for a bit before returning to work.

Time flew by—it was now 7:40 p.m., almost eight.

The programming bugs they’d found were nearly fixed. Once the final checks and tests were done, they could call it a day.

Just then, the door to the programming department suddenly opened.

Everyone looked up to see Utaha and Yukino walking in, each carrying several large bags.

Seeing them, Ichin blinked in surprise. “What are you two doing here again?”

Utaha smiled.

“Yukino told me you guys were working overtime tonight, so after dinner we decided to make something to reward you all. Here—freshly made fried chicken. We’ll leave it here for you, so once you’re done, you can have a late-night snack.”

Her words made Ichin smile. He turned to the programmers and said,

“You all heard that, right? Get those bugs fixed quickly—or there won’t be any chicken for you!”

“Ohhh!!”

“Fried chicken!!”

The moment they heard there was food involved, everyone suddenly became full of energy. Within fifteen minutes, the remaining work was cleanly and efficiently finished.

After that, they brought out some drinks from the break room while Utaha and Yukino unpacked the thermal containers filled with crispy fried chicken.

As soon as the lids came off, the rich aroma of fried chicken filled the air.

“There’s dipping sauce here too, and some disposable forks. Everyone, dig in!”

“Awesome!!”

“I’m digging in!!”

---

[Genshin Impact] Chapter 629: The Divine Throne (2-in-1 Chapter)

Outside Herta’s office.

As thanks for Asta introducing him to Herta, Nolan handed her a four-star artifact. Asta accepted it with delight, smiling brightly as she said,

“Hehe, thank you~ I was already curious about these artifacts the moment you mentioned them.”

【Asta Has Developed Good Feelings Towards You, Obtained 320 Affection Points. Current Affection Level: Lv.5 (300/500)】

As another notification appeared, Nolan smiled and said,

“Then, Miss Asta, I’ll take my leave and get back to work.”

“Mhm, see you around—and just call me Asta,” she said, waving goodbye before heading back to her station.

Nolan walked along the main control corridor, checking his phone—it wasn’t even nine o’clock yet. That meant it was barely one in the morning back in Teyvat.

So he returned to his room and summoned the “Sword God of Lumine,” letting her continue disguising herself as him to handle his duties on the station.

Meanwhile, he planned to go back and rest.

Since he couldn’t split his consciousness while asleep to control the Sword God of Lumine, he simply let her stay in the room and laze around.

His current position was similar to that of Zhongli’s consultant role—he only had to step in for important matters, and most of the time he was free.

No one ever came to check up on him anyway.

Still, Nolan used the adeptus arts knowledge he’d obtained from Ganyu’s affection skill to inscribe a warning formation on Lumine’s avatar.

If anyone came to find him, the formation would alert him instantly, allowing him to transfer back immediately—a simple and convenient safeguard.

When Nolan returned to the Wonderland Space, he climbed back into bed, pulling the girls into his arms, feeling the warmth of their bodies as they rested together.

By morning, after a brief cultivation session with the half-awake girls, his progress had risen significantly once again:

【Level: Lv.111 (450,362 / 21,000,000)】

After getting up and sharing breakfast with the girls—who soon left for work—Nolan headed to the third-floor library.

There, the Greater Lord Rukkhadevata sat gracefully in a chair. Like Nahida, she had pure white hair and long pointed ears. With her dream authority, she projected an interface of the “Akasha Interconnected Network” before her, browsing through new research developments across the connected nations.

She had recently taken up scholarly research herself, focusing on theoretical studies.

Now, her soul form was half-corporeal; thanks to the space’s properties and her deep affection bond with Nolan, she had nearly recovered.

Nolan approached and sat beside her, gently wrapping an arm around her slender waist.

Unlike Ei’s soul form, the Greater Lord’s presence felt lighter—lacking the physical warmth or softness of a real body.

“What is it?” she asked calmly, her fair face turned slightly toward him but her eyes still fixed on the virtual display. “I’m still not recovered enough to train with you, you know.”

Because they spent so much time together, her affection for him had grown from Level 7 to Level 9—already very close to the maximum:

【Greater Lord Rukkhadevata’s Affection Level: Lv.9 (600/900)】

Just one more boost, and she would reach full affection, unlocking her special affection skill. Thanks to their close bond, their gestures toward each other had become naturally intimate. Unfortunately, it would still take some time before she could join him in cultivation again.

Resting his chin on her shoulder, Nolan looked at the same virtual interface and said softly,

“Do you know anything about the world’s authorities—or about Fontaine’s prophecy crisis?”

He then recounted everything he’d discussed with Herta, including her advice.

“The woman wasn’t wrong,” the Greater Lord replied thoughtfully. “In Teyvat, the Seven Elements form the foundation of the entire world. The purest, most fundamental elemental authorities are naturally born within the world itself.

“They are the world’s own powers—Teyvat’s divine prerogatives. Because Teyvat was created upon the Seven Elements, the world is especially fond of elemental life.

“These seven elemental authorities, born from the world’s core, are granted to the highest form of elemental life—the elemental Dragon Kings. Hence, these are also known as the Seven Sovereigns.”

She paused her browsing, her soft lips moving as she continued:

“The elemental Dragon Kings who possess the Sovereign Authorities are innately able to command all things in Teyvat related to their respective elements.

“Unlike us ordinary Archons, who—even when we hold elemental authority—must still train and grow to wield that power effectively.

“Even if a god were to reach a level of mastery nearly equal to a Dragon King’s, they would still be suppressed by the Sovereign Authority itself, because Teyvat’s elements are naturally attuned to those dragons.

“When we wield the elements, it costs us effort and energy. But for them, it might only take a tenth—or even less. In a highly concentrated elemental environment, they might not just consume nothing, but even grow stronger as they fight.”

Nolan blinked, astonished.

“So they’re basically the world’s favored children. Born with elemental authority—yeah, that’s something to envy.”

“Of course,” she replied gently, “being beloved by the elements also makes it far more difficult for the Dragon Kings to grasp other forms of authority—like those over dreams or wisdom.

“So far, there’s never been a recorded case of an elemental Dragon King mastering any authority beyond their own.”

The Greater Lord shook her head softly—she herself didn’t seem envious. For her, the best authority was the one most suited to oneself.

“The Divine Thrones that granted us—the Seven Archons—the right to rule the mortal realm were actually crafted by Heavenly Principles using fragments of the elemental Dragon Kings’ power.

“As a result, every Sovereign Authority in existence became incomplete.

“In theory, a complete Water Dragon Authority would grant absolute control over the water element—perfect mastery over everything in Teyvat tied to water, including the Primordial Sea itself.

“But the ‘Divine Throne’ only contains a fragment of that authority. It cannot manipulate the Primordial Sea at a molecular level—thus, the former Hydro Archon, Egeria, was unable to fully transform the purewater spirits into true humans.”

She turned her head toward Nolan, paused for a moment, and continued explaining:

“The current Hydro Archon, Focalors, is primarily the God of Justice. Her mastery over the water element is actually weaker than her authority over justice.

“Even with the amplification granted by the Sovereign Authority, she still can’t turn the people of Fontaine into true humans.

“So, the first method that Ms. Herta mentioned—the best one—is indeed impossible to achieve with the current conditions of Teyvat.”

Nolan frowned slightly, puzzled.

“The Divine Throne? I thought it was the Gnosis that granted you the Sovereign Authority?”

“Not exactly,” the Greater Lord replied. “The Gnosis does contain elemental power, but that power is not the same as that of the Sovereign Authority. Its origin remains unknown.

“The World Tree records nothing clear about it. In essence, a Gnosis functions more like a magnifier—allowing a god to better exert their own power.

“But the Divine Thrones, created from fragments of the Sovereign Authorities, are fused directly into a god’s soul. After all, only the soul can bear such power.”

As the embodiment of the World Tree, the Greater Lord was supposed to know everything in existence. Yet even her records showed parts of the Gnosis’ data had been erased.

“I see…” Nolan murmured, finally understanding. After thinking for a few seconds, he asked,

“Then do you think it’s possible to find the Water Sovereign, return the missing part of the Sovereign Authority to them, and have them use their complete authority to help transform the people of Fontaine into true humans?”

He recalled the time he had discussed the Water Dragon King with Kokomi in Enkanomiya—though he didn’t know whether a new Water Dragon King had been born yet.

If not, then his only option would be to gather everyone to research a massive formation that could isolate the Fontaine people from contact with the Primordial Sea’s water.

With his current power, he could deploy an array large enough to cover an entire nation. That would buy some time—after which he could ask Herta to introduce him to Ruan Mei, the life-science genius of the Genius Society.

For someone capable of reviving an entire planet, transforming the people of Fontaine into true humans would probably be a trivial task.

But the Greater Lord slowly shook her head.

“Even setting aside whether this generation’s Water Dragon King has been born… even if you did find one, those elemental Dragon Kings are fundamentally different from us Archons. They have no reason to save humankind.

“Worse still, many of them resent the gods—and, by extension, humans—for the fact that their Sovereign Authorities were taken and turned into Gnoses.

“Even if there happened to be a Water Dragon King who loved humanity as Egeria once did, you couldn’t just give them back their authority. Returning an Sovereign Authority isn’t as simple as passing around a Gnosis.”

“Oh?” Nolan asked, puzzled. “So there’s a special condition for returning it?”

“The Divine Throne is fused with the soul,” the Greater Lord explained softly. “Under normal circumstances, it functions as a part of us. We can use the Sovereign Authority it contains, but we cannot remove or transfer it.

“When a god dies, their Divine Throne may automatically pass to their successor. The only way to release the Sovereign Authority and return it to the Dragon King is to destroy the Divine Throne itself.

“But to destroy a Divine Throne requires a force so immense that even other top-tier gods would struggle to achieve it—and since the Throne is fused with the soul, destroying it also means the god will fall.”

Her tone grew heavy as she spoke those final words.

“Fall… huh?” Nolan murmured, frowning. “So that method won’t work after all. Hmm?”

Suddenly, his eyes widened as a thought struck him—the figure of Focalors, hidden within the Oratrice Mécanique d’Analyse Cardinale, came to mind.

As the successor of the former Hydro Archon, Focalors couldn’t possibly be unaware of how to resolve the condition afflicting the people of Fontaine.

And when he thought about it carefully—if her plan truly was to restore the complete Sovereign Authority by returning it to the Water Dragon King so they could save her people—then many mysteries began to make sense.

First, why she was hiding within the Oratrice. That machine’s purpose was to collect faith in justice and convert it into Righteous Energy.

If it were merely for powering the city, there’d be no reason for her to stay inside it for centuries.

After all, both she and Furina could collect faith simply by attending trials in person.

But if Focalors were secretly using that machine to gather enough energy to destroy her own Divine Throne, then the picture became clear.

The energy generated for the city’s operations was likely only a small portion of the Oratrice’s output—the rest, Focalors could have been storing within the core, amassing enough to one day shatter her Throne and release the full Water Authority back to the Dragon King.

No wonder she had remained hidden for centuries. To execute such a plan, she couldn’t risk “Heavenly Principles” discovering it—and she needed full concentration to accumulate energy. That must be why she pushed Furina into the spotlight.

Then there was the question of why the Chief Justice, Neuvillette, possessed such an extraordinarily high level of power.

After the Archon War, there were almost no surviving gods aside from the Seven. Those who weren’t dead were sealed—or had fled Teyvat entirely.

Yet here was someone nearly equal to a top-tier god… serving as Fontaine’s Chief Justice.

That alone was strange. But if Neuvillette were actually the Water Dragon King’s incarnation—just as Azhdaha had been in Liyue—then everything would make perfect sense.

The more Nolan thought about it, the more convinced he became.

It was only speculation, but his reasoning flowed naturally: to resolve Fontaine’s prophecy crisis, only a complete Sovereign Authority could do the job.

And verifying it wouldn’t be difficult. All he needed was to visit the Palais Mermonia and ask the Chief Justice directly—if he was the Water Dragon King, then everything would be confirmed.

As for asking Focalors herself… that was pointless. She had hidden herself for centuries; she’d never admit it.

If her plan was truly to destroy her Divine Throne, then when the time came—she would die with it.

That also explained why, when Nolan had previously asked her to cooperate in developing the “Akasha Interconnected Network” using her Authority of Justice, she had seemed tempted but ultimately refused.

If she intended to perish once her mission was complete, then of course she wouldn’t form long-term collaborations.

Nolan realized he needed to confirm this quickly.

If Focalors really intended to go through with such a plan, it would be a serious problem. No god capable of enduring centuries of isolation for her people’s sake would ever give up on that resolve.

There was no doubting a god’s determination to save her people—just as Raiden Ei, in her pursuit of “Eternity,” had driven herself into a dead end for the sake of her promise to Inazuma.

After pondering for a while, Nolan decided to act.

He asked the Greater Lord to notify Nahida, Raiden Makoto, Raiden Ei, Guizhong, Havria, Kitsune Saiguu, Cloud Retainer, and Yae Miko—all powerful allies—to begin researching a formation capable of isolating the Primordial Sea’s water.

The sooner such a defense was ready, the better; after all, no one knew when the prophesied crisis might strike.

As for himself, Nolan teleported directly to Fontaine, heading for the Palais Mermonia to confirm the Chief Justice’s identity.

After that, he would investigate the Primordial Sea itself—to observe its rising levels and detect any abnormalities.

After all, crises never happen without cause. If the root lay in the Primordial Sea, then something had to be wrong there.

(End of Chapter)