Qingque lowered her head, pouring her heart and soul into unleashing her inspiration, fully immersed in her creative endeavor. It was obvious—she had already lost all interest in the Curio itself.
Aventurine, however, was different.
For him, who had repeatedly hit walls here, his goal had always been crystal clear: powerful Curios.
Although he had gained some insight today and found a bit of inner balance, that didn't mean his interest had waned. On the contrary, it only made him even more fascinated by the Curios obtained by others.
He said nothing, but the burning gaze he fixed on Sylvester laid his thoughts bare.
What surprised him was that Sylvester was smiling right back at him.
With a faint smile, Sylvester said, "Mr. Aventurine, the Curio Bailu obtained isn't unfamiliar to you. In fact, you already witnessed the tip of its iceberg yesterday."
Aventurine's eyes flickered in shock, then realization struck him and he blurted out, "Word Magic!"
That had to be it!
Everything lined up perfectly—everything matched the background of [Word Magic (Show me the money)]!
The unique and formidable power of dragons from an unknown world, reforged and enhanced through universal adaptation—the Word Magic!
Recalling how Sylvester had mentioned [Word Magic: Candle Dragon] and [Word Magic: Wrath of Indra], if they truly could be amplified to the point of annihilating entire star systems with a single strike…
Aventurine looked at Bailu with solemn gravity.
Even if it were just a single killing technique, far inferior to a complete cultivation system, power on that level alone was enough to eclipse all other shortcomings.
Without question, this tiny Vidyadhara would soon become a true power holder on the Luofu. The legend of the "Healing Dragon Lady who saves the world" had already become a thing of the past!
And even more terrifying—
If what she obtained was the enhanced version of Time Zero that Sylvester had mentioned…
Aventurine's brow twitched violently. He swallowed hard and forcibly pushed the thought aside.
No—impossible. There were over a hundred Word Magic. It couldn't just happen to be that one.
Professor Ratio had said it before: numbers were far more reliable than humans. He needed to trust the professor's conclusions.
Still, the unease in his heart compelled him to ask, "Shopkeeper Sylvester… what Miss Bailu obtained—wasn't [Time Zero], was it?"
The moment Sylvester heard the question, he knew exactly what Aventurine feared. He smiled calmly and replied, "Of course not."
"Hah—"
The stone in Aventurine's chest finally fell away, and his entire body relaxed.
As long as it wasn't that, everything was fine.
Then, in the very next instant, Sylvester's voice struck his mind like thunder.
With a light chuckle, Sylvester said slowly, "What Miss Bailu obtained wasn't a single sequence of Word Magic. She inherited the origin bloodline of the Dragon Progenitor, the Black Dragon Emperor: Nidhogg, inheriting all of its authority and power—and after universal adaptation, it has been further sublimated."
"…What?!"
Aventurine shot upright, staring in disbelief at Bailu, who still wore an innocent, clear-eyed expression that screamed Who am I? Where am I? What am I doing?
This—this was far more terrifying than he had imagined!
Word Magic were, at their core, single abilities—devastating, yes, but with weaknesses. But now?
She lacked nothing.
Over a hundred distinct Word Magic from different sequences. The ability to freely create special Word Magic like [Word Magic (Show me the money)]. A dragon's inherently overwhelming physical body—shared by all dragonkind across the universe.
And if [Time Zero] truly could be enhanced to that degree…
My Amber Lord…
Overwhelming personal strength, the ability to interfere with and seize wealth and other abstract concepts at will, manipulation of time—perhaps even distortion of space itself.
What kind of dragon was this supposed to be?!
Even the Vidyadhara's ancestral Aeon, the Permanence, probably couldn't pull that off!
This gold-tier Curio had already reached such an absurd level?!
Looking at Bailu, who was still completely clueless, Aventurine felt his scalp go numb again and again.
"Hey, hey, hey! What are you two even talking about?! Origin bloodline? What is it for exactly?! Not everyone can understand what you're saying, you know!"
Bailu protested loudly, then turned toward the resting area.
"Don't you think so, Miss Qingque?"
Qingque didn't even lift her head. While scribbling furiously, she replied, "Mm-hmm, yep yep, you're absolutely right."
Bailu rolled her eyes. Great. This one was completely useless.
Sylvester chuckled softly. "You're right, Miss Bailu. That was my oversight."
He then explained everything from the day before, along with the matters concerning the Black King and Word Magic.
As she listened, waves of pure joy surged through the little dragon girl's heart.
"Woooow~~"
Bailu's mouth hung open in awe.
She stared at her own soft, pale hands, disbelief filling her eyes.
"I'm… really that strong now?"
At that level, what was this talk about slapping Hoolay into a wall so hard he couldn't be scraped out?
She could slap Phantylia into a wall and still not scrape her out!
Bailu puffed up proudly, hands planted on her hips.
Her mind raced with visions of a wonderful future.
Haha! From now on, if I want to play hide-and-seek, I'll play hide-and-seek!
If I want to play eagle catches chicks, I'll play eagle catches chicks!
Let's see who dares tell me no!
Seeing her utterly childlike expression, Sylvester knew exactly what kind of plans she was cooking up.
But wasn't that precisely a child's privilege?
Shaking his head with a smile, he said, "Of course you're that strong."
Then he turned and added, "Wouldn't you agree, Mr. Aventurine?"
Faced with Bailu, Aventurine had no words. He raised a trembling finger toward Sylvester and said,
"Shopkeeper Sylvester—next time, please say everything in one go!"
Sylvester smiled sheepishly, utterly unashamed.
"I was just worried you wouldn't be able to handle it all at once. Thought I'd give you some buffer time!"
"Oh, then I really should thank you," Aventurine ground out through clenched teeth.
Buffer time?
This wasn't buffering—this was digging a pit, covering it with grass so you wouldn't notice it when you fell in, then pointing at it and shouting, 'Come on! It's totally safe here!'
This was deliberate! Utterly shameless!
But at this point, Bailu was already someone he couldn't afford to offend—so could he really afford to offend the man who released this Curio?
"…Mm."
Forcing his resentment down, Aventurine looked at Sylvester with a pleading expression and asked,
"Shopkeeper Sylvester, please—just give it to me straight. Exactly how powerful is the origin bloodline Miss Bailu obtained?"
===BREAK===
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