"Hmph!" Tonghua shot Chen Li a resentful, pouting look.
"Alright, don't be angry. It's not like you can use two of them anyway, so sharing one is perfect," Chen Li said, standing before the Miracle Anvil as he tossed an anchor with a [Anchor] Entry into the Miracle Fire.
Chen Li had been all set for a nap, lulled to sleep by Robin's lullabies, but then Tonghua had shown up.
She claimed to have found two items related to anchoring and wanted Chen Li to see which was more suitable for her.
Chen Li figured that as long as it had an [Anchor] Entry, it made no difference, so he unceremoniously "borrowed" one of them.
"Then couldn't you have forged a self-anchor for me first?"
Tonghua didn't actually mind Chen Li taking one of her items.
Or rather, she was already used to it.
In this world teeming with monsters and demons, forgers were a highly respected sub-profession. While the alchemical items they created couldn't compare to Relics, they were at least better than ordinary weapons.
An exceptional forger could even create a pseudo-Relic.
The professional custom for forgers in this world was this: you don't get a say in what I turn your weapon into, but you must provide at least double the materials to cover the "wastage fee."
Furthermore, the forgers of this world had another nasty habit: they liked to leave backdoors in the weapons they forged, like a nigh-imperceptible weak point.
Dare to use a weapon forged by a rival forger? You're this (thumb's up)!
If you dare to use a weapon I forged to attack me and I don't kill you with it, then I'm this (thumb's down)!
"Because what you brought me doesn't have a 'self' Entry at all. It has an 'arrogant and conceited' Entry," Chen Li said after glancing at the old crown sitting nearby.
Just because "self-centered" had the word "self" in it didn't mean it would work.
There's no wife in a Wife Cake, you know.
"Fine..."
"Actually, you could just get an Entry related to the mind. A mental anchor and a self-anchor aren't that different. If the forging fails, we can just start over. It won't consume much Miracle Power," Chen Li said as he tossed Star Jades into the Miracle Fire.
As the [Time] Entry floated out, Chen Li snatched it along with the [Anchor] Entry, refining them in an instant.
Half a minute later, a Soul Steel bracelet was forged.
Curio: [Time Anchor]
This simple Curio cost Chen Li 15 crystals to forge, 10 of which were spent on the [Anchor] Entry.
The Curio's effect was singular: no matter what timeline the user was currently in, activating the bracelet would immediately return them to the point in time where the anchor was set.
It was equivalent to ensuring that no matter how long you spent messing around in time, you would always return to the moment just before you vanished.
This Curio could effectively prevent his father, the Archaeologist, from getting lost in time. It even saved him the trouble of having to match time spent in the past with time passed in the present, a common issue for other Archaeologists.
The effect was simple, but it was enough.
At the same time, in the notes, the Miracle Sprite was teaching Chen Li new words in the source language.
This time, they were: [Through], [Internet Cable], [Blockade], [All], [Game], and [Account].
The source language held power, so the Miracle Sprite could only teach him a few words at a time in the notes.
"Once I give this Time Anchor to my dad and get that pain-inflicting needle back from him, I can head to the Akame ga Kill! world to swindle some people," Chen Li said, tossing the bracelet in his hand.
He was very interested in the Imperial Arms (Teigu) of that world.
Besides their unique effects, Imperial Arms that had been passed down for a thousand years were bound to have many additional Entries on them.
"Ah, that world. I've heard of it," Tonghua chimed in from the side.
After learning that Chen Li could travel between worlds, Tonghua had started frantically catching up on popular anime, both new and old. Among them was this dark and grim world.
One main character dies per episode. Could you even handle that?
Later, while scrolling through videos, Tonghua came across a clip from that anime and saw someone in the comments asking for its name.
She immediately spotted a particularly wicked comment: "This anime is super healing. It's called CLANNAD."
As the god of Fairy Tales, Tonghua couldn't stand for such behavior. So she quickly pointed the person in the right direction: "Don't listen to the guy above. This anime is called Higurashi: When They Cry."
"Speaking of which, if you had the chance, would you support the Empire or the Revolutionary Army?" Tonghua asked casually.
"Are you seriously asking me if I'd rather eat chocolate-flavored shit or shit-flavored chocolate?" Chen Li asked, a look of disgust on his face.
In the world of Akame ga Kill!, neither side was any good. The Empire was corrupt, and the Revolutionary Army was colluding with foreign tribes.
Chen Li really couldn't choose.
And he was just one person, with little interest in controlling that world, nor the ability to do so.
He couldn't change that world at a fundamental level.
Maybe I should just wipe them both out.
"Wait a minute..." A thought suddenly struck Chen Li.
What if—and this was just a hypothetical—
What if Chen Li brought the Flame-Chasers to the world of Akame ga Kill!?
Even if he didn't bring the entire organization, taking the Thirteen Flame-Chasers for an adventure couldn't hurt.
Alternatively, he could simply use the Compulsory Transaction Gold Coin to buy the lives of the Revolutionary Army or the Empire's high command.
He would surely get a lot of Star Jades and crystals from that.
Chen Li was genuinely interested in cultivating the Flame-Chasers, which made strengthening them a problem he needed to solve.
Furthermore, if he interfered too much with the Flame-Chasers or the Previous Era, it could cause the types of Herrschers that appeared later to deviate from the original plot.
Chen Li wasn't worried about being unable to handle new Herrschers himself, but he was concerned that their sudden appearance could pose a greater threat to the Previous Era.
Theoretically, as long as he dealt with the Herrscher of Finality, most of these problems would be solved, but Chen Li felt a little unwilling to let it go that easily.
The Cocoon of Finality had plagued this world through countless cycles. How could he let it off the hook just like that? If he could, he'd make it work like an ox for 100,000 years!
"Hey, I have a plan," Chen Li said, a spark of inspiration flashing in his mind.
"Tonghua, do you still need that other anchor?" he asked, pointing to the second one she had brought.
"Yeah, of course I do! I still haven't forged my mental anchor Curio. What are you planning?"
"How about... you go find another one? Let me borrow this."
"Are you even listening to yourself?" Tonghua asked, hands on her hips.
I haven't even forged my own Curio, and you're already asking for both of my [Anchor] Entries?
"30 Star Jades."
"Deal," Tonghua agreed instantly.
Star Jades could essentially be used as a universal currency, as anyone who obtained them could unlock the Star Sea Treasure function from Chen Li and fish for some miraculous items.
However, Chen Li wasn't particularly fond of this function himself due to its extreme randomness.
It was even more absurd than Genshin Impact's standard banner.
The crucial part was that there was no pity system.
Friends, this is a high-stakes gamble!
If you lose, you lose everything!
But Chen Li could use Star Jades to trade for things he wanted from others, let them play the lottery, and then use more Star Jades to buy back any good things they happened to pull.
It was just like gambling. You might win, but the house never loses.
Pulling from the gacha himself?
He'd wait until a limited-time banner came out.
"Anchor... The Cocoon of Finality can spawn suitable Herrschers to counter a civilization based on its current state. That effect is certainly miraculous. But what if I anchor the sequence of Herrscher appearances in the next civilization, then travel back to the Previous Era to beat you up? What will you do then, Cocoon of Finality? Hehehehe!"
"Ew, your laugh is so disgusting," Tonghua said, shuffling away with a look of disdain.
"You can eat whatever you want, but you can't just say whatever you want. How could someone as handsome as me have a disgusting laugh?"
"So handsome people can't have disgusting laughs?"
"Then I ask you..."
---o---
"Next time, I'm definitely forging a Curio that can store energy," Chen Li said, lying in bed with the covers tucked in, waiting for Robin to sing him to sleep.
He said this because although he had just forged a Curio before bed, he felt he still had about 80% of his energy left.
A single night's sleep would typically replenish all of it.
Going to sleep now was equivalent to wasting 80% of his energy.
"Hmm, I feel like I've heard you say something like that before, Chen Li," Robin said, tilting her head. She was sitting by his bed in the form of a holographic projection.
Although Robin's half-day disappearance should have caused a considerable stir, given her status as a public figure, the manifestation of the Aeon of Erudition had clearly been a much bigger news story.
As a result, no paparazzi were paying any attention to her.
"It must be your imagination. The last time I said that, I was talking about forging a Curio that could slap someone through the internet."
"Why would you forge a Curio like that?"
"Sigh, Robin, have you never thought about reaching through the internet to slap your haters and the troll armies that slander you?"
As the question left his lips, Chen Li instinctively felt a layer of the Erudition Value buff stack on him.
Crap, now I'm even more awake. I really want to learn something.
I'll just have to wait for Robin to sing me to sleep.
Robin, I can't live without you.
"Well..." Robin hesitated, clearly having had such thoughts before.
"Hitting people is wrong," she finally managed to retort after a long pause.
"Think of it this way: if he's already attacking you, he's obviously not a good person. So when you hit him, it's not called 'hitting'; it's called 'delivering judgment'," Chen Li said.
"That... seems to make a little sense."
"Besides, if you don't take this Curio from me, I'll give it to your brother, and he'll be even harsher on those haters. So by using it, you're actually saving them," Chen Li continued, adding fuel to the fire.
"Then... it's a deal," Robin finally caved, unable to resist the temptation.
But she couldn't help it.
How could she, when Chen Li said it all with such sincerity?
Oh no, it's that feeling!
from any point in the timeline, preventing them from getting lost in time.