Chapter 496 : Lightspeed Leap
Chapter 496: Lightspeed Leap
Putting aside everything else for the moment, although Janna had only mastered the 【Fallen Stars】 for a few short months, with her twice-successful exchanges for the 【Earth Origin】, the 【Tidal Origin】 gifted by the Ocean Envoy—Anna-Russell, as well as the 【Purification Origin】 and 【Growth Origin】 she had personally condensed, all of these allowed 【Zoe Star】 to recover at an astonishing speed.
In fact, within the originally fragmented and unstable 【Law Consciousness Cluster】 inside 【Zoe Star】, four new forms of 【Law Consciousness】—【Earth】, 【Tides】, 【Purification】, and 【Growth】—had begun to take shape, forming a remarkably harmonious internal circulation system.
Because of this, Janna’s spirit body received feedback from the 【Source Power】 itself, allowing her soul to gradually adapt to the cosmic environment, drawing ever closer to becoming a true “celestial body.”
It was said that once the 【Fallen Stars】 officially evolved into a 【Plane】 and entered the 【Leap Zone】, it would obtain a fixed “stellar anchor point,” becoming part of the starfield and thereby earning recognition from the 【Cosmic Will】.
—This was the moment when, as the master of a 【Plane】, one’s spiritual body would undergo a tremendous metamorphosis, gaining the ability to traverse at speeds comparable to light.
Therefore, in theory, once one entered the 【Leap Zone】, the 【Plane Master】 could rely on their spiritual form to travel to “any” place within the universe.
However, in a universe with a diameter of hundreds of billions of light-years, even the speed of light was merely a minuscule unit of measurement.
Even if one’s spiritual body truly possessed the speed of light, merely crossing the starfield where the 【Material World】 resided would take an immense amount of time—let alone reaching “any” place in the cosmos.
Of course, once the 【Plane】 successfully advanced to a 【World】 and entered the 【Divine Realm】, that would be a completely different matter.
「How did you figure that out?」
Both Janna and Louisto-Tulan were puzzled by how Hela-Helheim had discerned, with just a single glance, that their spirit bodies possessed an energy resistance scale exceeding twenty points.
「Because my eyes were born able to see many things that others cannot.」
As she spoke, Hela-Helheim blinked her beautiful eyes, the dark violet in her pupils shimmering faintly.
「Where did you get your information from? Can it be trusted?」
Regarding the matter of a 【Black Hole】 appearing within the 【Lower Starfield】, Louisto-Tulan was already mostly convinced, yet he still didn’t fully trust Hela-Helheim herself.
「Of course it can. But if you don’t believe me, I can always find someone else.」
「Someone else? Who?」
「Marquell-Storm.」
At that name, Louisto-Tulan’s expression darkened visibly.
「Why would you go looking for that defeated fool?」
「So, does that mean you’re agreeing?」
Seeing how easily provoked Louisto-Tulan could be, Hela-Helheim simply took a slow sip of her coffee, her tone light as a feather.
「Fine. I’ll agree—but I want thirty percent of the profits.」
「Deal.」
Once Louisto-Tulan gave his consent, Hela-Helheim turned her gaze toward Janna.
「I have no objection.」
「Refreshing!」
Hearing Janna’s straightforward reply, Hela-Helheim’s smile became even more genuine.
「Don’t worry, Janna. Your share will be the same as Louisto’s—thirty percent. I won’t shortchange you.」
「I trust you.」
Faced with Hela-Helheim’s assurance, Janna merely smiled and nodded, saying no more.
After all, compared to whatever they might gain from the 【Black Hole】, what Janna valued far more was Hela-Helheim’s access to rare “information gap” resources.
Therefore, to ensure more opportunities for cooperation in the future, Janna naturally didn’t reject Hela-Helheim’s proposal—she would even fully cooperate.
「From what I know, this 【Black Hole】 in the 【Lower Starfield】 will fully form in about two days. So, to be safe, I suggest we set out tonight. Otherwise, with just the speed of 【Lightspeed Leap】, we won’t be able to reach the coordinates within forty-eight hours—」
Although this 【Black Hole】, formed only within the scale of the 【Fallen Stars】, was located in the 【Lower Starfield】, there was still a significant distance separating it from the 【Material World】.
Even if the three relied on a 【Spatial Array】 to conduct long-distance 【Lightspeed Leaps】, based on Hela-Helheim’s understanding of the distances involved, they would need to perform multiple consecutive 【Lightspeed Leaps】 just to arrive at the 【Black Hole】’s coordinates.
And each interval between spiritual 【Lightspeed Leaps】 could not be shorter than twelve hours. In other words, if the number of leaps exceeded four, the three of them wouldn’t be able to arrive before the moment of the 【Black Hole】’s collapse.
「This coordinate of the 【Black Hole】—are you sure no one else knows about it besides you?」
「I’m not sure.」
Hela-Helheim answered Louisto-Tulan’s question truthfully.
「So you mean, if we fail to enter the 【Black Hole】 before its collapse ends, someone else who knows the coordinates could beat us to it?」
「That’s possible.」
Hearing that, Louisto-Tulan frowned deeply.
If only the three of them knew the coordinates, arriving a little late wouldn’t matter much.
But if others knew as well, then this expedition’s risks would go far beyond the powerful magnetic energy fields surrounding the 【Black Hole】—they would also face the danger of clashing with other wizard apprentices.
「If time was that tight, why didn’t you tell us sooner?」
Once again confronted by Louisto-Tulan’s question, Hela-Helheim simply took another calm sip of coffee and replied evenly:
「Because the true coordinates of the 【Black Hole】 can only be confirmed at six o’clock this evening at the earliest.」
「So you’re saying, even now, you don’t know where it is?」
「Exactly.」
No sooner had Hela-Helheim spoken than an alchemical creature, resembling a large “spider,” carried over the black coffee Janna had ordered and set it on their table.
Seeing this, Hela-Helheim dismissed the surrounding 【Soundproof Barrier】, accepted the coffee, and placed it gently in front of Janna.
「Thank you.」
「You’re welcome.」
After that, Hela-Helheim waved the alchemical creature away and re-established a new 【Soundproof Barrier】.
「In that case, all we can do now is wait quietly—and hope that the coordinates of the 【Black Hole】 aren’t too far from us.」
Upon hearing Louisto-Tulan’s words, silence descended among the three. After a brief moment, Janna set down her cup and slowly lifted her head to look at the others.
「Perhaps… I have a way—」