After relaxing for two days, on the third day, everyone resumed training their fusion abilities.
Inside the training room, Yu Xian and Little Nora, fused together, sparred against a berserker wielding a greatsword.
In truth, this berserker formed from condensed energy was not very strong, but Yu Xian had specifically instructed Muse to increase its speed, requiring him and Little Nora to hold out under its assault for half an hour without being hit once.
Separating and merging repeatedly, the two moved swiftly across the arena. By shifting who took the lead in their fusion, they could continually swap positions.
For instance, when the berserker pursued Yu Xian, Yu Xian would separate Little Nora out.
By splitting off, Little Nora would appear behind the berserker. Then, with Little Nora as the primary host, Yu Xian would transform into light and merge into her body, causing the berserker's strike to hit nothing but air while giving Little Nora time to put distance between herself and the berserker.
It was the first time Xiao Sensen had seen such a combat style, and it was utterly flabbergasted.
In truth, over the preceding two days, had they not been wary of Xiao Sensen, Yu Xian and the others would have started training much sooner. It was precisely because of Xiao Sensen's presence that Yu Xian had deliberately taken two days to relax, using the opportunity to see if there was anything suspicious about it.
Now that Xiao Sensen had earned Yu Xian's preliminary trust, things that were not major secrets could be shown to it.
Besides, there were still plenty of fine details to hammer out between training and actual combat, so there was no harm in letting Xiao Sensen watch.
Half an hour passed in the blink of an eye. The berserker dispersed back into energy, and Yu Xian and Little Nora returned to sit by the others. Nora immediately handed them drinks.
"That berserker's speed is still too slow," Yu Xian said after taking a sip of fruit juice.
Little Nora agreed, "Big Brother is right! It's too slow. Even if it were a hundred times faster, Big Brother and I wouldn't have any problem!"
"A hundred times is a bit much," Yu Xian corrected.
Little Nora just loved exaggerating and making wild claims.
"Your way of fighting is so interesting! Unity, friendship, tacit synergy—it's simply wonderful! I've made up my mind: on my honor as Miraculous Item Crafter Number Ninety-Nine, I will definitely help you become renowned powerhouses!" Xiao Sensen said excitedly, its eyes shining as it looked at Yu Xian and the others.
Yu Xian had rescued it before, and although it had seen them separate from fusion back then, it hadn't thought much of it at the time. Only now, having watched Yu Xian and Little Nora practice, did it truly understand what their combat style looked like.
"You keep saying you're some kind of item crafter. What does that even do?" Yu Xian asked, looking at Xiao Sensen with mild exasperation.
Xiao Sensen said with an earnest expression, "Not just some item crafter—a Miraculous Item Crafter! This is the vocation bestowed upon us by the great Lord of the Forest, allowing us to craft miraculous items. Every miraculous item possesses incredible power. Long, long ago, countless people across the myriad worlds yearned to obtain one. They're tremendously precious!"
"'Us'? In other words, there are many Miraculous Item Crafters like you?" Nora asked.
Xiao Sensen nodded. "The great Lord of the Forest created ninety-nine Miraculous Item Crafters in total, sending us out to seek companions of love and justice."
"Ninety-nine Miraculous Item Crafters? Then there should be plenty of miraculous items out there. Why have we never heard of them?" Niman asked.
Xiao Sensen shook its head. "I don't know. As soon as I set out, I ran into a wicked woman. By the time I got out again... all my other companions were gone. Maybe they're still out there in some corner of the Tree Universe, working hard to carry out the great Lord of the Forest's orders."
"All right. Since you claim you can make miraculous items, why don't you craft one right now and show us?" Yu Xian said.
Xiao Sensen lowered its head and rubbed its hands together sheepishly. "Well... crafting miraculous items requires singularities. The singularities bestowed upon me by the great Lord of the Forest were completely swindled away by a wicked woman, so..."
"So you can't actually make miraculous items at all?" Niman followed up.
Xiao Sensen shook its head. "No, I can make miraculous items! But I need a little bit... a little bit of special power. For example, smiles."
"Smiles?" everyone present asked in unison.
Little Nora immediately forced a stiff smile and asked, "Xiao Sensen, does a smile like this work?"
"When I say smiles, I mean happiness! Over the past two days with you all, I've absorbed quite a bit of happiness, but I'm still very, very far from having enough to craft a miraculous item," Xiao Sensen explained.
Yu Xian sighed. Sure enough, he shouldn't have had any expectations for Xiao Sensen. The fellow was utterly useless.
"In other words, you're currently of no use whatsoever?" Niman asked with a beaming smile, looking at Xiao Sensen.
Xiao Sensen suddenly grew awkward. "I'm not completely useless! At least I know a great deal of lore. Even though this is the Lost Epoch, what if it comes in handy someday?"
"All right, let's leave it at that for now," Yu Xian concluded the conversation.
Next, the training resumed. Yu Xian continually fused with different companions to practice different skills—sharpening marksmanship with Nora, trying out flashy moves with Niman, and working on high-pitched duets with Little Huangquan.
While resting, Little Nora stared curiously at Xiao Sensen, her gaze giving the wooden puppet an uneasy prickle.
Over the past two days, Xiao Sensen had witnessed Little Nora's appetite with its own eyes. It scooted back slightly and said, "Little Nora, why are you staring at me like that? I'm not tasty at all!"
"Xiao Sensen, you were lying just now. You can actually make miraculous items, can't you!" Little Nora said in a low voice, her eyes burning into it.
Xiao Sensen's heart skipped a beat, and it nearly cried out in alarm.
Ever since it was used and swindled by that wicked woman, having its singularities almost drained dry, it had grown shrewd. Under no circumstances would it squander its remaining singularities.
Unless it encountered someone it could trust a hundred percent, no one could make it use those remaining singularities. If they wanted miraculous items, they would have to provide their own "smiles."
"I did not! Little Nora, don't talk nonsense," Xiao Sensen said, clenching its nonexistent teeth as it looked back at her.
Little Nora looked at Xiao Sensen with supreme confidence, thoroughly certain. "You are lying! You usually talk super fast, but when you lie, you slow down a bit. The others might not notice, but I can feel that your speech slowed down!"
In truth, it had slowed by only a tiny fraction—perhaps not even 0.0001 seconds—but Little Nora was naturally hyper-sensitive to all forms of speed, allowing her to detect Xiao Sensen's anomaly.
Xiao Sensen had never expected to be seen through on its very first lie, and for a moment, it was struck dumb.
"Xiao Sensen, you're not being a good friend at all! Aren't we friends?" Little Nora puffed out her cheeks, staring at Xiao Sensen with an aggrieved pout.
Left with no choice, Xiao Sensen whispered, "I'll give you a tiny bit of singularity... not a drop more."
It could use singularities to craft miraculous items, or it could give singularities to others.
However, no sooner had it spoken those words than it realized everyone had stopped what they were doing, fixing their eyes upon it in unison. Stared down by pair after pair of eyes, cold sweat broke out across its face—even though it was made of wood.
Uh-oh.
It had a sinking feeling that the tiny scrap of singularities it had left wouldn't be safe for long.
Chapter 282