"Smart, clever, adorable, incomparably beautiful and charming Shiroha-chan~ I've come to see you again..." The moment she entered the system space, Chu Lian went straight to where Shiroha was, standing in front of her with hands clasped together, her eyes curved into crescent moons with a bright smile.
"Say what you need to say properly. The way you're acting is putting a lot of pressure on me." After a moment of silence, a line of text floated up, leaving Chu Lian a little embarrassed. Still, she shamelessly pressed on, "Isn't it just because I missed you?"
"..." A string of ellipses appeared, clearly expressing doubt. "Missed me?"
"Of course. If I didn't miss you, why would I take time out of my busy schedule to come chat with you, right?" At this point, Chu Lian had completely thrown away her dignity just to get through this hurdle.
"I think if you didn't need something from me, you wouldn't be saying that." Shiroha wasn't foolish. She knew Chu Lian wouldn't come without a reason, so she immediately exposed her intent.
Caught red-handed, Chu Lian let out an awkward chuckle. After a light cough, she said, "Well... I do have something urgent."
"Go on."
"Um, do you know any particularly powerful ice-type abilities?" With no other options left, Chu Lian could only turn to the system.
"Ice-type? There are many powerful ones in games. Among all forms of magic, ice excels most at control. Compared to dark curses or light blessings, its battlefield effectiveness is even better. However, aside from a few exceptions, ice-type abilities generally deal less damage than other types. They're only somewhat stronger than support-oriented elements like water, wood, and earth."
"I know that. The problem is, I once checked Ya's attributes. Her innate talent is 'Frozen Time and Space,' and it's already in an awakened state. But I've never seen her use even the slightest bit of it. That's what's strange." Chu Lian had a good memory. She still remembered the attributes she had secretly checked that day during her Railgun cosplay. Cai Ya's 'Frozen Time and Space' had left an especially deep impression on her.
"Well-known ice users include Aokiji from One Piece, Esdeath from Akame ga Kill, Gray from Fairy Tail, the Lich King of Azeroth, and Lissandra, the Frost Witch of Valoran, among others." Shiroha didn't list them all, but the examples she gave were all highly suitable options.
"But all of those require special conditions, right? Aokiji needs to eat a Logia-type Devil Fruit. Lissandra requires an ice bloodline. The others are the same—they all rely on unique experiences, items, or bloodlines."
Chu Lian didn't want those. She could vaguely sense that Cai Ya's bloodline ability was at least second-tier. The examples Shiroha gave only reached around fourth-tier at best. Replacing hers with those would be no different from stifling her growth potential.
More importantly, she didn't have enough points to exchange for any of those—each one was above SS-rank. Showing them to her was practically just teasing her.
"That's true. Cai Ya's bloodline is definitely not low-tier. Using those would only suppress her growth. But aside from them, most powerful ice abilities either have bloodline restrictions or require unique experiences to obtain. That makes things difficult. Unless it's a system that doesn't rely on bloodline—something based purely on talent—like certain magic systems. That would suit her."
Shiroha's words made Chu Lian pause, then she recalled some well-known systems—like DND magic or the destructive ice magic from the Heroes of Might and Magic series. These would fit. However, unlike the instant results from direct exchanges, these required long-term growth. Whether Cai Ya would accept that was another question.
"For a proud girl, that is precisely the most suitable path." Shiroha spoke plainly, immediately making everything clear to Chu Lian.
Cai Ya was a very proud girl. Even if Chu Lian handed her a complete power set, she might not accept it—instead, she might feel misunderstood.
For someone like her, helping her awaken her own bloodline ability and then giving her a path to grow from scratch was likely the best choice.
"I understand. There's no need to exchange anything. I just need to guide out her own ability and then teach her those magical theories so she can learn and grow on her own, right?" Once she grasped the idea, Chu Lian's intelligence showed.
"Then you can leave." Seeing that she had figured it out, Shiroha dismissed her, not wanting to be disturbed further.
However, Chu Lian didn't comply immediately. She stood there silently, staring at the screen for a long while before speaking again, "Ayase went out for something. I know she'll come back, but during this time... I'll have to rely on you."
She had already noticed something off about Shiroha. Previously, her messages always included playful tone particles like 'ne,' 'ya,' or 'na.' Now, her replies were overly formal. This abnormal change made it clear—something was bothering her.
Even though Shiroha didn't have an independent personality, Chu Lian still cared about it.
Ayase had left, and there was no telling when she'd return. Shiroha was her only support within the system. She didn't want anything to happen to her as well.
"Mm, it's fine. This is my duty." The same formal tone—completely different from her previous playful and mischievous demeanor. Chu Lian sighed inwardly, knowing there was nothing she could do right now.
Since Shiroha wasn't willing to say anything, she would come back another time. She believed Shiroha would eventually tell her.
"I'll head out first. We'll talk again if something comes up." Chu Lian didn't linger any longer. After saying this, she left.
After a long while, the empty system space remained completely silent, as if no one was there at all.
"Eh..."
"So? What did you find?" Seeing Chu Lian slowly open her eyes, Cai Ya leaned in with anticipation.
"Mm, I've thought of something suitable for you, Ya'er." Chu Lian didn't mention abilities like Esdeath's. Instead, she explained a systematic path—one that could be learned, comprehended, and developed independently. At the end, she added, "Magic, while often appearing in Western myths and stories, actually originated in legends where only demons and devils could use it. That's why it was called magic in the first place."
"That kind of magic is what originally defined Western magic. Everything that came later was an evolution of it. Nowadays, magic is simply the ability to utilize the natural energies present in the world. As long as you can do that, calling it magic is perfectly fine."
"In Huaxia, cultivation arts and immortal techniques, in Japan, ninjutsu, in America, espers—even abilities like mine—all draw on natural energy. They may go by different names, but in essence, they are the same."
"It's just that different systems focus on different aspects, which is why there are so many classifications. There's no point getting hung up on that. As long as it makes you stronger, it's a good thing."
Chu Lian's explanation was very clear. Cai Ya understood immediately, but she still couldn't help complaining, "You didn't need to say that much. You could've just said that all abilities are different ways of using natural energy—I would've understood."
Her words nearly made Chu Lian choke, who had been trying to act like some kind of master. She looked at Cai Ya with a wronged expression and muttered, "Do you know how hard it is for me to make myself sound more impressive and mysterious? Making up all that stuff isn't easy, you know."
"As long as you know you were making it up." Cai Ya waved her hand dismissively, then looked at her with expectation. "So once my ability is guided out, it'll be ice-type energy—something focused on control, right?"
"Not just control. There's also destruction. At its peak, it can even reach the level of freezing time and space. Take Eve, for example—her Apocalypse Virus and Void abilities, at their limit, can temporarily freeze everything she selects within a certain range. That's the unique aspect of her power."
As Chu Lian said this, she felt a bit puzzled. In the anime Guilty Crown she had seen, Eve—or rather the origin of the Apocalypse Virus—never displayed such an ability. Yet here, it seemed possible.
Standing nearby and listening, Inori Yuzuriha seemed to understand her confusion. She gently held one of Chu Lian's hands and said, "Actually, the Apocalypse Virus has already mutated. It still retains its ability to infect others, but it's now more of a crystallization-type energy. In other words, after losing the concept of a 'host,' its original virus-like nature has begun to fade, replaced by crystallization. You could call it a variant of ice—crystal-type energy."
"Crystal-type? Well, looks like things have changed without me even realizing it." Chu Lian shook her head with a wry smile. Not knowing something like this left her unsure of what to say.
"I see. So that's why Inori's abilities are somewhat similar to freezing time and space?" Cai Ya suddenly understood. If that were the case, then once she reached their level, she might be able to achieve the same.
"Freezing time and space and Eve's ability are actually different. Freezing time and space locks everything except the user—even time and space themselves. Eve's ability, on the other hand, only restrains selected objects and doesn't affect time or space. Besides, crystal-type abilities aren't focused on control, so they're not really comparable."
Now that she understood Eve's ability more clearly, Chu Lian was able to organize her thoughts and explain it to Cai Ya.
"That means my ability still has a lot of potential to be explored." Thinking about her own power, Cai Ya couldn't help but feel excited. For her, the worst possibility had always been having a weak or useless talent. Now, she could finally relax.
"Of course. If you develop your ability properly, it could plunge others into nightmares—even influence a battlefield of a hundred thousand people." Seeing her smile, Chu Lian felt relieved and silently resolved to help her grow.
Just as they were talking, the front door opened. Two girls stepped inside, their figures carrying a sense of dejection. Seeing them, Chu Lian and the others couldn't help but feel concerned—what had happened?