"What shall we do next?" Columbina's voice pulled her back to reality.
Coppelia retracted her gaze: "The Moonlight Stones are all collected. Do you want to stay here for a few more days, or go directly to the next place?"
"The underwater area here is very beautiful." Columbina looked towards the sparkling lake surface in the distance. "I want to look at it a bit more."
"Then I will accompany you," Coppelia said. "In case we encounter anything again, we can look out for each other."
"If we encounter danger," Columbina turned her head, "I will protect you."
Coppelia opened her mouth, wanting to say "No need, let me protect you," but the words stuck in her throat and could not be spoken.
In the past, Columbina's abilities were limited to making objects float and fly, lacking direct means of attack or defense; she indeed needed protection then. But now it was different. Columbina could directly call upon Lunar Force to confront enemies, and her energy utilization rate was likely even higher than Coppelia's own elemental reactions. Moreover, most of the energy Coppelia used to drive those elemental reactions had to be drawn from Columbina... It seemed she was truly becoming a bit unable to help.
Columbina looked at her furrowed brows and silent demeanor, asking, "Don't you believe I can do it?"
Coppelia snapped back to attention, a smile returning to her face: "Of course I believe!"
"It's okay," Columbina said to herself, "If you don't believe me, I'll prove it to you!"
Just as Coppelia wanted to say "No need," a layer of solidified moonlight, fluid as water, began to flow around Columbina's body again; she clearly intended to demonstrate immediately.
Her gaze swept the surroundings, looking for a suitable "experiment" target.
They were currently located at the edge of a forest. Beneath their feet was a stretching green meadow connecting to a golden sandy beach in the distance. In the shallow waters of the large lake beside the beach, traces of swimming fish could be seen breaking the surface, water birds flew low, and a few Blubberbeasts lay leisurely on the shore. Of course, there were also the large crabs waving their pincers, walking sideways everywhere.
Columbina's gaze swept over this tranquil scene, and the moonlight around her body gradually subsided.
"Let's... change to another place," she said softly.
She took Coppelia and flew up again. Coppelia did not press for a reason, simply letting herself be led.
The two flew over woodlands and hills, finally landing in a desolate valley. Here, rugged rocks stood in strange shapes, the ground was a hard gray-white rock layer, barren of grass, with no trace of animals—only massive exposed boulders and a silence broken only by the wind.
"Watch closely!" Columbina said to her companion.
"I will watch carefully," Coppelia replied.
Columbina glanced at her, confirming that the other's gaze was indeed fixed on her, before flying to the side.
She faced a sloping rock face, focusing her mind. Water-like moonlight emerged by her side once more, and from the stream of light, dozens of diamond-shaped water bullets with sharp edges quickly separated, hovering silently.
She raised her hand and pointed forward. The water bullets shot out. Although their texture looked no different from ordinary lake water, the moment they touched the rock face, they easily penetrated an inch into the stone before exploding silently from within.
Pfft, pfft, pfft...
The surface of the rock face cracked open centering on the impact points. Large patches of rock shell fell off, as if a layer of skin had been forcibly peeled away. The scattered rock debris did not fly everywhere but instead traced gentle arcs in the air, flying back to Columbina's side. She re-infused them with power, turning them into new "missiles" that shot toward the rock face again.
In just a few seconds, a distinct crater had been chiseled out of that wall of solid bedrock.
Columbina flew back to Coppelia's side, pointing at her result: "Did you see?"
Indeed more efficient than my method of elemental reactions. This evaluation flashed through Coppelia's mind. However, if combined with teleportation abilities, the effect would likely be even more astonishing. Spatial abilities have always been overpowered.
She showed a smile of approval and clapped gently: "Yes, I saw it. Very amazing."
She then changed the subject: "However, it can be even more amazing."
"How do I do that?" Curiosity appeared in Columbina's eyes.
"Is that teleportation ability of yours tiring to use?"
"Not tiring," Columbina answered crisply. "It's just changing a location. It can't even break stones, so it seems... not that amazing."
"A spatial authority like teleportation," Coppelia shook her head, "was never meant for smashing rocks."
"Then how should it be used?"
"Let me think..." Coppelia's gaze swept over the valley, finally landing on a sparse patch of woods at the bottom of the slope.
She pointed there: "Now, try teleporting me into those woods. Then, teleport me back to this spot."
"Okay." Columbina nodded, approaching Coppelia, the moonlight on her body beginning to brighten.
"Wait," Coppelia raised a hand to stop her. "Send me over alone. You don't move."
Columbina paused, retracting the moonlight: "If I don't touch you, how can I send you over?"
"If physical contact is required to teleport, the value of this ability is indeed discounted," Coppelia explained. "But if you can manage to send anything anywhere without moving yourself... that is on a completely different level."
She paused, looking for a more concrete example. "For instance, when that large Vishap ran away, we wouldn't have needed to chase it down at all. We could have directly teleported the Moonlight Stones in its belly to our side... Being even bolder, perhaps we didn't need to enter that underground space at all and could have finished everything from the surface..."
Columbina opened her mouth, a look of sudden realization on her face. "I seem to... understand how strong it is." Her voice carried an excitement akin to discovering a new world. "Can you wait for me a moment? I want to try it myself first..."
"Sure, no rush." Coppelia nodded.
Columbina immediately flew back to the crater she had just chiseled out, levitating the scattered gravel on the ground, and began to focus on researching this new application of her power.
Coppelia found a flat stone nearby and sat down.
She remained silent for a moment, then took out Amos's Bow from her "Inventory" once again. The bow flowed with a familiar purple halo, fitting perfectly in her hand as always.
She held the bow like that, her gaze resting on the light, unmoving for a long time, though her thoughts seemed to have drifted elsewhere.
Columbina is stronger than me now. If we encounter an opponent even stronger than her in the future, and we have no choice but to fight, who can we ask for help?
She drew the bowstring and fired an arrow at a rock on the slope. The rock shattered, leaving a bowl-sized gap, but that was all.
This bow, when it was in Amos's hands—listening to Gunnhildr—could even pierce the body of a God. Its power is definitely not weak, but how do I upgrade it...?
____
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