Raiden Ei and the Shogun—two beings of equivalent power—could spar for hundreds of years without conclusion. But Nolan only possessed about 60% of Ei's strength, a significant difference.
So naturally, he couldn't fight her for long. Barely an hour into the duel, he was easily defeated.
And that was even after activating Noelle's affection-based skill, "Wholehearted Guardian Shield." Ei's attacks were simply too powerful.
A single glancing blow could drain most of his shield. After taking a few direct hits, his defenses shattered, and he was knocked to the ground.
Nolan put away his weapon and panted lightly, a weary look on his face. It was clear that this challenge had ended in failure—so much for his idea of training with Ei...
"Not bad. Your strength exceeded my expectations," Raiden Ei said as she dismissed the Plane of Euthymia, and the two returned to the dimly lit meditation room.
"Oh? So does that mean I've earned your approval?"
Nolan quickly sat up, asking with a hint of hope.
"Keep dreaming." Ei crossed her arms beneath her partially exposed chest, sleeves of deep purple fluttering slightly, and said with a faint smile:
"When you can fight me without falling behind, then we can talk about it."
Fight her without falling behind? Nolan gave her a helpless look.
If he wanted to reach a level where he could fight Ei evenly, it wouldn't happen overnight.
But it was precisely because his leveling had slowed down that he'd come up with the idea of cultivating together with her.
If he had already reached her level, he wouldn't even need to ask anymore. But now that he couldn't beat her, there was no way to force the issue—he'd have to find another angle.
After thinking for a moment, he smiled and said:
"All right. That said, I don't actually know if my training method even works on someone who's a soul-being like you. Why not let me test it?
"If it doesn't work, I'll give up and ask the Shogun instead. She always seems really unwilling when she loses to you.
"If I tell her that cultivating together can rapidly boost strength, maybe she'll agree. And you wouldn't want the Shogun to surpass you, right?"
Ei let out a speechless sigh.
"You think I'm an idiot? You're trying to bait me with something that obvious? The Shogun is a total blockhead—if you think you can convince her, go ahead.
"The stronger she gets, the better she can protect Inazuma."
"My testing method only involves holding hands," Nolan explained.
That was a lie. The skill description clearly stated that it only activated during close physical intimacy. He was just using it as an excuse to hold Ei's hand.
After all, every beginning is difficult. If he could just get some initial physical contact like hand-holding, then gradually increase it from there, Ei would slowly get used to touching him.
Once her psychological barriers came down, the rest would be much easier!
"Oh? If that's all it takes, then let's give it a try," Ei replied after a brief moment of thought. Although she found it suspicious that he hadn't led with this explanation, she still extended her right hand.
They had held hands for long stretches before when studying time energy together, after all.
So the provocation worked after all... Seems like Ei really doesn't want to lose to the Shogun either, Nolan thought with a silent chuckle.
He gently took her hand. To keep up the act, he began channeling some of his "Harmonic Energy" into her.
Of course, the amount was minimal.
Given the gap in power between them, even if he transferred all of his harmonic energy to her, it probably wouldn't have much effect anyway.
While Nolan was silently enjoying the rare chance to feel the softness of her hand again, Ei suddenly noticed a strange energy flowing into her from him.
She then noticed that her soul had indeed strengthened ever so slightly—though still much weaker compared to what she could achieve through meditation alone.
However, this slight improvement made her start to believe that Nolan might truly have a way to enhance her power... Could it be that engaging in those more intimate acts with him would really accelerate her growth?
As Raiden Ei pondered, she realized that the energy entering her body had established some kind of spiritual connection between their souls once it was fully absorbed.
"This is...?" she asked, looking at Nolan with a hint of confusion.
"Uh... that's actually just an effect of my ability. When your soul is under attack, this connection lets me help shield you a bit using my power," he explained awkwardly.
Currently, Nolan's exclusive specialization—"Beloved by Maidens"—was a fusion of his previous specialization, "Harmony." And that Harmony specialization had included a progression system, granting new traits at every milestone.
At level 20, the first breakthrough granted Fatigue Dissolution, then level 40 gave Wound Recovery, and further milestones at 50, 60, 70, 80, and 90 each granted additional traits.
These included traits like Absorb for Growth, Negative Balance, Extended Lifespan, Erosion Repair, and Energy Transfer.
Now at level 100, the Beloved by Maidens specialization inherited all of Harmony's effects and gained a new trait—
"Soul Infusion."
This trait activated whenever Nolan transmitted his harmonic energy into a girl's body.
It would "dye" the girl's soul with traces of his spiritual aura. As more energy accumulated over time, this soul imprint would act as a protective shield.
When facing soul or mental attacks, those traces would be consumed first to absorb the damage—functioning as a defensive mechanism.
The girls currently living in the Wonderland had already accumulated plenty of this soul aura. If they ever encountered soul-based attacks while adventuring, they could block them with ease.
Since these traces were from Nolan himself, even god-tier soul assaults could be resisted.
And before the protection was completely depleted, they would still have plenty of time to escape using teleportation—essentially giving them an extra layer of security.
Nolan was very pleased with this trait. After all, in his mind, the girls' safety was even more important than his own.
If they ever got seriously hurt, he would be absolutely heartbroken.
Still, even though the soul aura was incredibly useful, showing it off in front of someone as powerful as Raiden Ei was a bit like waving a paper shield before a tank.
Any soul attack strong enough to injure Ei would render his protection almost meaningless—like trying to block a blade with a speck of dust.
So naturally, he felt a bit embarrassed at that moment.
"I appreciate the gesture," Ei said with a faint smile on her fair face. "Let's do this—next time, if you can last half a day against me in a duel, I'll agree to train with you."
Wanting to protect her even though he wasn't as strong—he really was an idiot.
[Raiden Shogun (Raiden Ei) Has Developed Good Feelings Towards You, Obtained 360 Affection Points. Current Affection Level: Lv.10 (MAX)]
(End of Chapter)
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