Chapter 721 - 274: Eternal Augustus_3

"Not bad, but it feels like something's still missing."

The Magic Technique aimed at Molu never paused, yet Emerald suddenly spoke as if chatting idly: "Since you came to the Jade Book Gallery in search of the Source of Beasts, you should have been prepared to face me. If you only defend passively, there's no way you'll achieve your goal."

"Or rather, if you're counting on a war of attrition until I run out of Magic Power, I'd advise you to switch strategies. If we just keep playing like this, then even by the time all your other fronts have reached a conclusion, my Magic Power still won't have hit bottom."

Emerald thought aloud: "So that means… your goal isn't to break through me, but to stall for time?"

Molu silently endured Emerald's offensive, but her gaze flickered.

"You haven't tried to put a 'price' on 'me'."

Emerald fixed her eyes on her: "You clearly used your ability to give yourself all sorts of buffs—total Magic Power, Magic Power Output, even Magic Power consumption. But if you want to defeat me, or break through me, it would obviously be better to start from my side."

"If I were you, I'd use your ability to price the enemy's Magic Power strength, the enemy's physical condition, even directly alter their true form, their abilities. So why have you never used it on me? It can't be that you never thought of applying it that way, can it?"

"The only reason must be 'unstable returns', right?"

"If your objective is just to delay, then even if you've 'borrowed' this much Magic Power, you have to use every bit in the right place. To price 'me' would require too much Magic Power as collateral, and the returns might not be stable. So you minimize risk—ignore me and just manage yourself… that's probably what you're thinking?"

Having spoken this far, as if confirming Molu's current strength, Emerald's Forbidden Technique offensive finally paused for a brief moment.

After listening, Molu shook her head: "I won't fall for such a simple provocation. Call it conservative if you want, I still have reasons I cannot lose."

"Indeed." Emerald acknowledged that as well. "Looks like I'll have to add a bit more pressure."

However, the "bit more pressure" she spoke of didn't seem limited to simply increasing the intensity of her attacks. Instead, after sweeping her gaze around at the surrounding scenery, she smiled lightly and said:

"You said earlier that as the 'Market Maker' you have a responsibility to explain the rules to me, didn't you?"

Molu's breathing stalled slightly, but she still maintained a composed, unruffled demeanor: "That is correct."

"In other words, if my next questions touch on the foundations of how your ability operates, then for your ability to continue, you must answer me."

Emerald nodded: "Then, first question."

Though she phrased it as a question, her tone sounded more like a sentence being passed: "It's true you can modify the pricing of your own 'ability'. But when you modify your total Magic Power to borrow this Magic Power—what is the collateral? How does the market determine that you have the capacity to repay?"

"Naturally, I possess that capacity."

Molu answered at once, in a tone that brooked no denial: "My future self can restore through meditating on Spiritual Thought, even bring growth to my Magic Power. As long as the time frame is stretched out, there will come a day when the borrowed Magic Power is fully repaid."

She understood that Emerald was now trying to probe for her weakness. She could choose to refuse to answer—but the cost of refusing would be far more terrifying than simply responding.

Because the market requires confidence.

Within this Miracle Realm, all her actions—and all the consequences of those actions—would influence 'confidence'.

Admitting under her opponent's questioning that she can hardly repay the price, or falling into disadvantage in their clash, would both lower her credit in the Miracle Realm, affecting the confidence within it. ℴ

And without credit and confidence, her ability would be nothing but a castle in the air, losing all effect.

So Molu had to answer, and had to answer strongly and decisively.

She could not fall into a disadvantage, could not be stumped by the opponent—in other words, as long as she did not enter into visible disadvantage in this surface-level confrontation, she could maintain, or even further reinforce, her ability and achieve a reversal.

Only she hadn't expected Emerald's next sentence to immediately shove her into an extremely unfavorable situation.

"I see. I understand now. Then, second question:"

Emerald raised her head slightly, and those grass-green, round eyes that had looked entirely harmless now glimmered faintly:

——"If you die here in what comes next, will there still be a 'future' that can repay everything?"