My sincere gratitude to book friend luunfu for the "Crimson Tide" reward, making you the seventh Master of this book.

To encounter the legendary Lady Favored Consort in a place like this completely astonished Lin Luo; he almost thought he was hallucinating. Being rescued by a girl after sacrificing himself to destroy an enemy was just too melodramatic, yet even if he doubted his own eyes, he couldn't doubt the Contract Book's ability to 'capture' a girl.

The moment he called out Fate's name, and she instinctively responded, the Contract Book once again emitted that familiar yet long-unheard cold electronic voice.

"Ding! System detects a Heart of the World host. Identity verification complete. Current target, Fate Testarossa, is the host of the Seventeenth Numbered Twilight Heart!"

Name: Fate Testarossa Physical Strength: D Spiritual Strength: [Blank] Heart of the World: Twilight Heart (Number Seventeen, Suppressed Form) Heart of the World Level: Sealed Overall Strength Level: Spirit Rank Peak ...Looking at the data on the Contract Book, Lin Luo was certain: he had truly arrived in the dimension of Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha. While it still felt somewhat unbelievable, thinking it over, there wasn't much to be surprised about; it was most likely due to the Jewel Seeds. After all, the Jewel Seeds originated from this very dimension, and it wasn't impossible for them to be drawn back to their original world amidst dimensional turbulence. Since he was holding a Jewel Seed at the time, it was only logical that he would be pulled along with it.

Fate's strength still somewhat surprised Lin Luo; reaching the peak of the Spirit Rank... Although in this world's context, the destructive power of Magisters was immense, their actual physical bodies were those of ordinary people, leading to extremely unbalanced power development. Moreover, without their magical devices, a Magister's strength would drop by several tiers, let alone the fact that Fate was only a nine-year-old girl... it was truly exaggerated.

It seemed that overwhelming skill with sheer, absolute force—breaking through rules with brute strength—might not be impossible. Just like Kasumi Yuuka and Marisa, the Magisters of this world might be pursuing that very path.

However, Yuuka and Marisa possessed both offense and defense, maintaining high balance. In contrast, if the Magisters of this world lacked the aid of their magical devices, they would be utterly miserable, relying heavily on external power. At least in Lin Luo's estimation, even with his current strength, dealing with the Magisters of this world would still be effortless... provided he could heal his injuries, as he currently had trouble even getting out of bed.

Fate didn't seem surprised that Lin Luo knew her name. She gently closed the door and walked over, her expression unchanged, calm as she stated, "You are too severely wounded; it is not suitable for you to leave your bed yet."

Although Fate's tone was composed and her expression rather cool, giving off a sense of keeping everyone at arm's length, Lin Luo could still sense the hidden gentleness within her... Perhaps he genuinely felt it in that moment, or perhaps it was due to his prior knowledge of the "true Fate." Regardless, Lin Luo didn't dwell on it and smiled, nodding.

"Thank you. My name is Lin Luo, and what is yours?"

"..." Fate gave him a strange look, her face clearly conveying the expression, 'Didn't you just say it?' However, this look lasted less than a second before shifting back to that air of seeming indifference towards everything, as she replied, "Fate. My name is Fate Testarossa."

"Is this your room? Why am I here?" Lin Luo asked, feigning utter bewilderment, though he had likely already guessed some of the reasons.

Fate didn't answer immediately. Instead, she walked to the window and lightly drew back the curtain. Through the glass, Lin Luo saw the world outside—a bizarre space slowly flowing like venom, filled with lightning, making one's blood run cold just by looking at it. He couldn't help but frown, "What is that?"

"That is the Dimensional Sea," Fate said, pointing to the space outside before turning back to him. "Three days ago, I saw you appear there by chance, and then I pulled you out."

"The Dimensional Sea?" Lin Luo paused slightly; this was a new term.

"The Dimensional Sea isn't a true ocean; it's merely a conceptual term. It is the intersection point of high-dimensional and low-dimensional spaces, and its unique existence makes it appear as a sea," Fate explained.

"I see, you certainly know a lot," Lin Luo chuckled. With her explanation, he understood: the so-called Dimensional Sea was essentially multiple layers of space, similar to the technique used by the Evil King on the Nameless Planet, only one was artificially created while the other was naturally formed. There was a subtle difference between them, which was why he hadn't recognized it at first glance.

Since they were within the Dimensional Sea and Fate was here, Lin Luo was now quite certain of their location. If his memory served him correctly, this must be the residence of Fate's mother, Alicia—the Garden of Time.

"It's nothing," Fate replied indifferently to Lin Luo's praise.

"Right, thank you for saving me, Fate," Lin Luo thanked her again. He knew that if Fate hadn't fished him out when he was adrift in the Dimensional Sea, he likely would have met a terrible end.

Fate shook her head and remained silent.

"..." Although he knew Fate didn't like to talk, her extreme reticence still surprised Lin Luo somewhat. Moreover, he couldn't shake the feeling that Fate avoided looking directly at him, as if she had done something she felt guilty about... Hmm?

Suddenly, Lin Luo thought of something.

The Jewel Seeds possessed immeasurable power, and different methods of use yielded different results: minor effects, like turning a kitten into a dinosaur, a tree into a dryad, or a dog into a ferocious monster; major effects, like generating dimensional shocks, causing dimensional rifts, and destroying dimensional space. But regardless of the outcome, one thing never changed... the existence of the Jewel Seed itself.

In other words, even if a terrifying event like a dimensional shock occurred, the Jewel Seed would not shatter.

Although he had caused dimensional turbulence on the Nameless Planet, he had been holding the Jewel Seed the entire time. Since his body hadn't been shredded by the turbulence, and because the Jewel Seed had brought him to this world, the Jewel Seed must still be with him. But now... the Jewel Seed was not in his hand.

The only explanation Lin Luo could conceive was that Fate had taken the Jewel Seed. Perhaps the reason she saved him, aside from her innate kindness, was significantly due to the Jewel Seed. Thus, she avoided his gaze out of guilt.

Of course, in Lin Luo's view, this wasn't a major issue. The Jewel Seed hadn't been of much use to him anyway; bringing him to this world was already its best function. Even if it were lost, beyond a slight regret, it wouldn't cause him heartache. Having Fate take it meant she would suffer less scolding or beating from Alicia, making it a win-win situation.

"By the way, I still don't remember why I was in the Dimensional Sea," Lin Luo thought aloud, deliberately feigning a blank expression as if speaking to himself.

"You don't remember what happened?" Fate inquired.

Lin Luo shook his head, saying with distress, "Perhaps I sustained some brain injury; I can't recall many things."

It was a painstakingly constructed ruse. To alleviate Fate's guilt and awkwardness, he had added a touch of amnesia, a plot hole-ridden excuse—if one truly suffered from amnesia, they wouldn't specify brain damage.

"I see..." However, Fate's mental state was clearly unstable at the moment, and she failed to notice the flaws in Lin Luo's words, looking at him with a hint of sympathy.

The two continued chatting briefly. Since Lin Luo was still recuperating, Fate didn't want to disturb him and soon left the room. The moment the door clicked shut, Fate leaned against the wall outside, lowering her head. A flicker of remorse crossed her eyes, and she whispered in a voice only she could hear, "I'm sorry."

Lin Luo's guess wasn't entirely accurate, but it was close. The reason she saved him wasn't solely due to her inherent kindness; the more critical factor was the Jewel Seed. Three days ago, when Lin Luo appeared in the Dimensional Sea, Fate noticed him instantly because he was holding a Jewel Seed in his hand.

For certain reasons, she needed to acquire the Jewel Seed and initiated a sealing process. However, a minor error occurred during the procedure, causing the already unconscious Lin Luo to be corroded by the power of the Dimensional Sea. Although she managed to rescue him in time, Lin Luo’s injuries were fatal—so horrific that anyone would have deemed survival impossible... While most of the damage was pre-existing, Fate stubbornly believed she was the cause.

She was not a healing-type Magister, and her mother would never help a stranger. Yet, she absolutely could not bring herself to abandon Lin Luo, even as he lay dying, because this was the consequence of her actions.

So, Fate carried Lin Luo back to her room and meticulously bandaged his wounds, even though she knew it might be useless. She was only surprised to discover that the man who was practically dead had somehow persisted, and his injuries were slowly healing. To be honest, when she entered the room earlier and saw Lin Luo awake, she was genuinely shocked and overjoyed, nearly crying out loud.

But while happy, she was also flooded with guilt. She wanted to apologize to Lin Luo, but the words never left her lips because she had taken his Jewel Seed.

Lin Luo's sudden appearance in the Dimensional Sea couldn't be accidental, and his terrifying recovery ability suggested he was no ordinary person. Furthermore, that Jewel Seed had clearly been activated. Based on these phenomena, Lin Luo was likely also someone pursuing Jewel Seeds, perhaps even entering the Dimensional Sea for that purpose.

And yet, she had shamelessly stolen his Jewel Seed while he was unconscious, filling her heart with a crushing sense of self-reproach. She didn't want to do this, but she couldn't avoid it. Only by collecting enough Jewel Seeds could she obtain happiness, but in doing so, she had ruined someone else's happiness...

"I'm sorry. Please forgive my selfishness; I will certainly compensate you in the future," Fate murmured toward the door after turning around. The remorse then vanished from her face, replaced by a look of firm resolution, and she walked off in a certain direction.

: Physical Strength refers to inherent bodily resilience, where the lowest tier is E (covering ordinary adults and those below average). Above that is D, specifically designating those who have undergone some training, like special forces. Although Fate is a powerful Magister, her innate physique is not exceptionally strong; achieving D status requires specialized Magister training. Regarding her strength level, as mentioned earlier, Terra Rank refers to the realm (primarily signifying life-form and manifested aura), power, and state of mind. Clearly, even if Fate's power reached a certain point, she still lacked much in other areas, thus... those who believe the 'Big Three' are Heaven Rank will be disappointed; they aren't even Terra Rank. Being able to bombard the Earth doesn't automatically make one Terra Rank; if you catch them off guard and slit their throat, the Big Three would still die. Balance—that is the foundation of my setting.