Hearing Aventurine and Sylvester talking, Bailu froze for a moment, and the glorious scene in her mind of punching an Emanator of Abundance and kicking the Annihilation Gang's Duke Inferno all vanished.
The radiant smile born of her fantasies also disappeared in an instant; curiosity and a hint of shame flickered in her eyes.
After hearing the effects of the Curio earlier, she got so caught up imagining the future that she completely forgot to ask about its actual strength.
Isn't this just like buying two lottery tickets on the roadside and immediately daydreaming about how to spend five hundred million Credits like some foolish adult?
Thankfully, this blond gentleman asked on her behalf. Otherwise, if she just ran back all muddle-headed, she wouldn't even get to enjoy the glory of being in the spotlight, and she'd just get mocked as an idiot instead.
Imagining that scene, Bailu curled her toes into the floor in embarrassment, even her dragon horns drooping a little.
She silently turned her little head away, crossed her arms, and rearranged her expression into a cold and wise look.
Her gaze toward Sylvester held both guilt and immense anticipation.
That so-called big brother of fire origin bloodline… whether she could become a true High Elder and scare those arrogant—Vidyadhara elders until they ran off terrified, all depended on him!
Bailu's changing expression was fully noticed by Aventurine, though he didn't particularly care. The ancient Xianzhou saying he'd heard went: June weather and a child's face—changes come without warning.
Compared to Bailu herself, he was more interested in the golden Curio.
Seeing that everyone except Qingque had focused on him, Sylvester tapped the table lightly with his index finger before saying with some regret, "Miss Bailu. I'm afraid I must disappoint you. The Nidhogg bloodline you obtained isn't nearly as strong as previously described. Especially this [Time Zero]—it has no ability to reverse space and time at all."
"Hoo~~"
Aventurine's tightly wound nerves relaxed halfway. As long as the ability didn't reach such monstrous extremes, Bailu's strength wouldn't exceed comprehension.
If this little dragon really could modify space-time at will, dealing with her would become a century-level problem.
Well, maybe not that difficult—most likely they'd just end up kneeling to her anyway, the only difference being the posture.
But since she didn't possess such terrifying power, the upper-level combat power of the Corporation could at least still exist on the same playing field. Things immediately became simpler.
A hint of relief appeared on Aventurine's face, followed by faint regret.
Reversing time, changing the past… hmph, who wouldn't want that?
Aventurine had his own thoughts, but Bailu couldn't hide hers. Hearing her ability might fall short of expectations made her panic instantly.
"Eh? T-Then it's not super weak, right?"
She ran to the counter, hopped onto a chair, gripped the edge with her little claws, and stared pitifully at Sylvester, her big watery eyes blinking anxiously.
She blurted out, "This Curio is a golden Curio, right? I've read up on it—golden Curios are super strong! Shopkeeper Sylvester, you—you wouldn't sell defective goods here, right?"
"That depends on interpretation." Sylvester stroked his chin, looking troubled. "Take this [Time Zero] for example. Compared to what was originally expected, it's nowhere near as impressive. Now it can only slow time down by about 500 times."
"Five-hundred times?!"
Bailu's pupils shrank sharply. She had been terrified earlier, worried she'd received something impressive in name only. But once she heard the number, shock hit her like a hammer.
Seeing her reaction, Sylvester spread his hands and sighed, "See? The gap is like heaven and earth, isn't it?"
Aventurine's eyelid twitched violently.
A five-hundred-fold time difference?! How is that weak?! That's absurdly powerful!
Who else in the entire cosmos could manage that? If this counts as weak, then every so-called powerhouse—including the Aeons THEMSELVES —would be nothing but ants!
This pretentious act was obviously deliberate!
Aventurine wanted to explode right then and there, but the power gap forced him to hold it back.
He finally understood Professor Ratio's suffering. The cause of their anger differed, but that feeling of burning fury with no outlet, forced down the throat… that, he felt all too clearly.
"Th-This…" Bailu's little mouth opened and closed, stuck between shock and awe.
Five hundred times… Forget High Elders or common Abundance creatures—
Even the Reignbow Arbiter's light arrows, slowed to that degree, she could probably dodge!
Ah, that's just a metaphor. Crossing time and space to take on the Reignbow Arbiter was not something she should ever consider.
But the power was undeniable!
If one second for others became ten minutes for her eyes to perceive, then what was even the point of fighting?
She didn't need techniques or strategy.
In danger, she could just stroll up, stab a vital point, then walk away—no fear of retaliation.
At that speed difference, if an enemy started drawing their blade the moment they saw her, by the time she beat them to a pulp, the unpleasant scraping sound of the blade leaving the sheath wouldn't even be finished!
…Wait? Wouldn't that be super annoying in battle? That awful screeching noise sounds terrifying…
Bailu hugged her shoulders and pondered seriously what kind of headphones she should wear in a fight to protect her ears.
If she said such nonsense out loud, even Qingque, lost in artistic inspiration, would probably stare speechlessly.
"Is there more?" Bailu's cheeks flushed with excitement. "Like a finishing move that turns the enemy to ashes in a single strike, with a super cool name?!"
Time Zero made fighting easy, but with her current power, she couldn't beat anyone except low-tier Disciples of Sanctus Medicus.
High-tier Abundance creatures regenerated too fast—even if she slapped them a thousand times and electrocuted them crispy, they might still survive.
Acupuncture and cupping therapy as a fighting style… it was absurd.
"Of course."
In response to her request, Sylvester flicked his fingers and chuckled softly. "In fact, there are many."
He dipped his fingertip in tea and drew a pentagram on the table.
"Black King Nidhogg, in that world, is the supreme being—of ultimate virtue and ultimate power. Five elements obey his claws as naturally as breath."
He pointed to four of the pentagram's corners. "Earth, water, fire, and wind—he commands these four elements. And the last, most important one…"
Sylvester tapped the top point and spoke to Bailu. "Is the element of spirit."
Bailu's eyes lit up as she stared at the diagram.
She could control five elements?
There were many elemental abilities across the star seas, but not so many that one couldn't count them on a pair of hands—paths might even number more. Those who mastered multiple elements were rarer still.
And this golden Curio gave her a whole handful at once? Plus… an element she had never even heard of before!
===BREAK===
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