Chapter 252: Negative Balance

After leveling up, Nolan felt a surge of energy coursing through his body. It was a strange sensation that came and went quickly.

He carefully assessed the changes in his body and realized that his strength, speed, physical resilience, and even vitality and mental strength had all improved significantly.

It was hard to gauge strength and speed without proper tests, but he guessed lifting several tons with one hand wouldn't be an issue now.

The clearest way to measure his growth was through his mental power, especially when compared to when he was level 50.

For example, at level 50, his mental threads combined with the level-5 "Focus Technique" allowed him to summon them within a 50-meter radius and lift objects weighing up to 50 kilograms.

Now, at level 60, Nolan could summon his mental threads within a 500-meter radius and lift objects weighing up to 300 kilograms.

These tendrils were powerful enough to defeat most ordinary weaker monsters in a single blow. Finally, this ability, with its well-rounded performance, could be put to real use—perfect for wiping out weaker enemies.

As Nolan marveled at the changes brought on by leveling up, a prompt appeared on his character panel, offering him a choice of "Racial Specialties":

[Your Level Has Increased to Lv.60, And Your Evolution Has Reached A New Stage. You May Select A "Racial Specialty." Please Choose!]

As usual, there were three options:

[Millennial Body: Your Evolution Becomes More Refined, Massively Boosting Vitality, With A Tenfold Increase In Lifespan.]

[Anti-Conductive Skin: Physical Damage That Does Not Exceed Your Limit Will Be Reflected Back To The Attacker.]

[Super Regeneration: As Long As You Are Not Suffering From A Severed Limb Or Worse, All Injuries Will Heal Within Seconds, Including Mental Injuries.]

One option would give him extra lifespan, another would reflect physical damage, and the third offered an incredible healing ability.

When Nolan saw the first option, he immediately felt inclined to choose it. After all, who wouldn't want to live longer, especially with a tenfold increase in lifespan?

Thanks to his level-up, which enhanced all aspects of his body, the character panel indicated that, assuming no injury or illness, he could live for 300 years at his current level.

By choosing the "Millennial Body" specialty, his lifespan would instantly increase to 3,000 years.

As he leveled up further, his lifespan would also multiply by ten!

Additionally, this option would greatly enhance his vitality, which would naturally accelerate his body's healing capabilities, making the third option—super regeneration—seem somewhat redundant.

Of course, the advantage of super regeneration was its ability to heal mental injuries, which was undeniably valuable.

But since Nolan was always cautious in battle, protecting himself with shields and retreating if necessary, his natural mental recovery was usually sufficient.

The second option was also appealing. With it, anyone weaker than Nolan would find it nearly impossible to harm him physically.

Unfortunately, it only applied to physical damage. In Teyvat, where elemental forces were the primary form of extraordinary power, the utility of this option seemed limited.

After careful consideration, Nolan chose the "Millennial Body."

Instantly, an immense surge of vitality coursed through his cells, filling him with energy and making it almost impossible to feel any sense of decay or aging.

After choosing his racial specialty, Nolan noticed that his "Harmony" racial specialty had gained a new feature upon reaching level 60. The specialty's "Universal Energy" now had a fourth property, in addition to its existing effects of relieving fatigue, healing injuries, and absorbing strength, which corresponded to breakthroughs at levels 20, 40, and 50.

The new feature, unlocked at level 60, was called Negative Balance.

Its primary effect was that any negative effects suffered by Nolan or the girls he had close bonds with, such as Lumine and Fischl, would be distributed among them.

For example, if Nolan were struck by a wild boar, the pain would be divided into three parts. One part would remain with him, while the other two would be transferred to Lumine and Fischl. The same would apply to any negative effects they experienced.

In a way, this trait created a "share the glory, share the loss" dynamic.

For instance, if someone accidentally cut their finger while chopping vegetables, the injury, after being divided into three, would hardly be noticeable. There would be no bleeding, only a faint sensation.

Currently, only Lumine and Fischl were confirmed to share this bond with him. As more girls joined, the damage would be spread even thinner—into quarters, fifths, or sixths. If they ever encountered a potentially lethal blow, it could be reduced to the point where no one might even feel it.

The only concern was that if an enemy far stronger than them dealt a fatal blow, the distributed damage might still be too much for anyone to handle, making this a true "share the loss" situation.

However, Nolan believed this scenario was rare enough not to worry too much.

Additionally, the others could choose whether or not to accept the shared damage, making it an optional feature rather than a forced one.

After understanding his body's changes, Nolan continued waiting in the forest for about an hour. Finally, he noticed the green-eyed crows beginning to move.

He quickly woke up Hu Tao.

"Huh? What's happening? Did something happen?" Hu Tao yawned, still groggy from sleep.

"Hurry, follow them. The crows are heading back," Nolan said, pulling her along without giving her time to fully wake up.

The green-eyed crows moved effortlessly through the dark and eerie surroundings, blending in so well that Nolan's sharp eyesight was the only thing keeping them from losing track.

"Hey, don't run so fast! I almost tripped," Hu Tao stumbled slightly as they rushed over uneven ground.

Soon, the two, still cloaked in invisibility, followed the crows to an area where the trees grew even denser. Rows of crows perched on the branches, their green eyes glowing ominously in the darkness.

"This looks like a spatial rift. Did they come from the other side?" Hu Tao asked, rubbing her sore hand after pulling it free from Nolan's grip.

"Yeah," Nolan confirmed as they stood in front of a spatial rift, completely unnoticed by the crows.

Previously, he hadn't been able to approach a similar rift near Wolvendom because he lacked the stealth abilities he had now. But this confirmed that the crows were from the Beasts' Realm.

The creatures from that realm had always tried to breach into their world. This rift was smaller than the one near Wolvendom, only as wide as a door crack. No wonder only the weaker green-eyed crows had made it through.

Nolan suddenly felt that with his newfound strength, he might be able to deal with this problem on his own.

(End of Chapter)

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