TN: And we're back! sorry for the week long hiatus, it was not intentional since I had to get my right leg in a cast after tripping 3 floors down a stairwell (like an idiot ://) and be unable to use my PC setup upstairs BUT I should be OK now.
Anyways, Thanks for Arcanic Madness, WeissAkumu and WolfWTF for becoming as Supporters!,
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"..."
Big Herta looked at the humanoid figure in front of her and was momentarily speechless.
An Emanator of Erudition was still quite important. Although the mechanical head didn't grant much power, the authority it opened up was substantial and made up a considerable portion of her strength.
Yet this man didn't even take the power of an Emanator seriously—this act of posturing was a bit too much!
However, when she recalled that Giant of Hope capable of instantly defeating Dominicus, it suddenly felt… acceptable for him to say such things.
That thing wasn't even Path-based power, yet its terrifying might truly made the strength of an Erudition Emanator—whose far inferior to Dominicus—seem negligible.
Damn it, he really showed off there!
Big Herta felt secretly unconvinced and firmly engraved those words into her heart.
One day, when she developed something on the same level, she would definitely show off right back in front of Sol.
She would say it too: Emanators are nothing special!
But for now, she needed to settle down, wait until she succeeded, and then compete again.
Big Herta straightened her expression, as if the failed "posturing" earlier had never happened. Her delicate face turned serious. "Mr. Mercer… no, may I just call you Sol? In exchange, you can call me Herta—or Big Herta."
She hadn't used honorifics in a long time. On the path she walked, she was always the one at the very front.
Even though she needed Sol's help now, she didn't want to keep calling him "Mr." It didn't suit her temperament.
"Of course, Herta."
Sol chose the more fitting name—after all, Big Herta wasn't actually big.
Big Herta visibly relaxed and spoke bluntly. "Sol, you should know just how much of a stir you caused in Penacony. The Giant of Hope defeating Dominicus in a single strike—your achievement is nothing short of a miracle!"
"That's exactly why I'm here. I'm extremely curious about that new kind of power and want to study it further."
"And in return, you may make your own demands. We each get what we need."
She desperately wanted to know what that power was and what it represented.
Paying an equivalent price was only natural. Just like her collaborations with Ruan Mei, Screwllum, and Stephen—everyone obtained what they wanted from the simulated universe.
For that, she was willing to pay a price most people couldn't even imagine.
With the resources and knowledge she commanded, she believed it would be more than enough to satisfy Sol's appetite.
"I like your straightforwardness!" Sol clapped his hands and responded just as directly. "I want to borrow the computing power of your simulated universe—computing power comparable to over half of a scepter system."
"..."
Big Herta frowned slightly.
This request was difficult. The simulated universe wasn't her private property—it was the result of multiple geniuses working together.
Although she was the project's lead, she couldn't simply ignore her friends' opinions.
"I want you to research with me how to break through interstellar Imaginary Energy and make all the stars in the universe resonate simultaneously."
"If that's too difficult, then start with a solution that ignores Imaginary Energy interference and accelerates stellar resonance."
Sol was doing this for the resonance upgrade of the [Emperor Armor] and the Power of Light.
To gather the material force of the entire universe and help him ascend to the throne of Hope and Existence.
"...?"
Big Herta's eyes widened as she stared at Sol as if she'd seen a ghost.
Breaking through the limits of Imaginary Energy, linking all star systems, and triggering resonance across all stars in the universe?!
Listening to that chain of words—are those even human words?!
At present, the first two only had faint signs of feasibility. Even the silver rails of Trailblaze merely punched channels through Imaginary Energy, not completely removing its restrictions.
As for linking star systems, there had been some progress—major factions all possessed methods to travel between star systems. But she was certain that this wasn't what Sol was after.
The most absurd part was the third one: inducing resonance across all stars.
A spiral galaxy contains anywhere from 100 billion to 400 billion stars. An elliptical galaxy has hundreds of millions to trillions. Irregular galaxies usually contain tens to hundreds of billions.
And the universe has at least 20 trillion galaxies. The number of stars is an astronomical figure!
Making all of them resonate together—was that even possible?!
Even if it were, what did this man intend to do by researching something like that?
Most life in the universe depends on stellar energy. A single misstep in resonating all stars could lead to a universal catastrophe, wiping out 99.999% of all life!
This guy… was he actually an Emanator of Destruction wearing the skin of Erudition?
Such a massive move would probably draw the intervention of every Aeon—this was practically suicide!
"I also want to…"
Sol continued speaking endlessly, still having many demands left.
For example, detailed intelligence on known Aeons—potential future enemies he needed to keep an eye on.
For example, Herta Space Station's research into spatial technology—he wanted to shore up his weak spatial abilities.
For example, designing a massive instrument to assist in linking all stars in the universe—Herta only needed to provide the blueprints.
"!!!"
Stelle looked at Sol with utter admiration. As expected of her master.
She thought asking Big Herta for so many Credits was already shameless enough. She hadn't expected Sol to be an even greater expert at this.
Opening his mouth and demanding things like this—it was as if he wanted to strip Herta clean. Why not just ask for Herta herself while he was at it?
"Stop, stop, stop!" Big Herta hurriedly pressed down Sol's hand and said sincerely, "How about you listen to my needs first before listing your demands?"
She wiped away nonexistent cold sweat from her forehead, her expression extremely earnest as she even placed herself in a lower position. "Let's do an equal exchange. You give as much as you can, and I'll give the same."
This man was too straightforward—so straightforward it terrified her.
She said he could make demands, and he really dared to open his mouth!
For the first time, the supremely confident Big Herta felt inferior, completely crushed by Sol's demands.
Strictly speaking, only the first request—borrowing the simulated universe's computing power—had any hope at all. The latter two were pure wish-making!
If that was the case, why not be even bolder?
Why not ask for her entire self, or even wish to become an Aeon?
She was the genius Big Herta—not an omnipotent god!
"Fine."
Sol smacked his lips reluctantly, shook his head, and glanced at Big Herta.
He still had plenty of demands he hadn't even mentioned. He'd hoped for eight wishes at once.
This Big Herta talked big, but when it came to paying up, she wasn't very generous.
Standing on the moral high ground, he pointed and criticized her.
Pointy-hat old sis, this really won't do!
"..."
Sensing the disappointed gaze, Big Herta felt equally depressed.
It was all her fault for bragging too much.
Make any wish you want—yep, Herta just can't do it all really.
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