Although their talk had somehow devolved into a flirting session when Damien was trying to appear Ruyue, they still had to touch on the serious subjects.
With Damien's gift somewhat alleviating the suffocating feeling in her chest, Ruyue also became more focused on pressing issues.
Just as Damien had thought earlier, she had also realized the problem. If they stayed in this White Dragon Grotto for too long, her training would stagnate.
"Sigh, I really can't think of a solution. Maybe there's a dragon here that specializes in elements similar to yours?" Damien suddenly spoke up.
But Ruyue only shook her head. "Even if there was, it's not certain that they'd be willing to help me. If they want us to pay them some sort of price for help, we don't actually have anything to give them."
They didn't know what kind of currency or valuables actually held worth within this mountain range. Even if there were some similarities, there were bound to be plenty of cultural differences that would impede them at moments like this.
Luckily, the customs of this place weren't too different from the outside world. In the way, they didn't run the risk of accidentally offending anyone due to their ignorance.
"Then, what can we do?" Damien asked.
He felt wrong. There was no way he'd be able to properly enjoy and use this training environment if he knew that Ruyue was being hindered by it.
It'd definitely form a knot in his heart that would also affect his own training.
Ruyue sunk into thought. Although the White Dragon Grotto itself wasn't any help to her, this Endless Snow Mountain wasn't all that bad.
She had felt it previously and the feeling became even more pronounced when they moved up the mountain, the amount of yin-natured mana here was actually relatively abundant.
Perhaps it wasn't the perfect environment for her, but since when was there something like perfection? Even the Xue Clan, who had been giving birth to those with yin affinities for centuries, didn't have a training environment that they could truly call perfect.
But there was something about Ruyue that made this obstacle nothing more than a minuscule problem.
It was her level of affinity.
When one came into contact with mana for the first time, their affinities would bloom within them. And the system would then record that affinity under the [Affinities] section.
However, this wasn't a resolute measurement, but merely a record. This meant that there was no specification besides the actual nature of the affinity.
Basically, affinities weren't as simple as you have it or you don't. There were levels to even them.
For example, before Damien's status became a field of question marks, he had both a spatial affinity and a lightning affinity. But his progress in space was much faster than his progress in lightning.
The reason was simple. His affinity for space was leagues above his affinity for lightning. In Damien's case, it was because his spatial affinity was inborn and his lightning affinity was acquired later, but the example still stood.
It was possible for affinities to have varying levels of strength.
The Xue Clan was known for its production of yin affinity masters, but a case like Ruyue was exceedingly rare. Perhaps, she was the first ever to have such a grand degree of affinity.
If one thought about it, there was no way for an average yin affinity to have the level of diversity and functionality that Ruyue had. If that was the case, then the affinity would be something that only one in a billion people ever awakened, if not rarer.
But even in the Central Continent alone there was a whole clan that constantly pumped out yin affinity cultivators.
In most cases, a yin affinity would only encompass its base properties. It'd be an affinity largely similar to ice, but with an enhanced ability for defense and deflection.
But when Ruyue awakened, it was different. Her affinity went beyond such base concepts and embodied yin itself. The force that split along with yang and birthed all creation.
When Damien achieved his first class, he got a message from the system. First came Nihility, then Creation and Destruction, Space and Time, Life and Death, and finally the 5 elements and all else.
The concepts of Yin and Yang, if their user was able to bring out their full potential like Ruyue, were forces on par with that of Creation and Destruction.
Perhaps it was for this reason that Ruyue was so special. Her level of affinity was unique perhaps even on a universal scale.
The reason this was important was that although the White Dragon Grotto was unsuitable for her, and even the Endless Snow Mountain wasn't entirely so; Ruyue was still able to achieve results here.
Her massive talent and affinity meant that even in such an environment, as long as she was surrounded by elements and mana that were even slightly yin natured, she'd be able to reap benefits, no matter how small they may be.
Thinking this far, Ruyue paused her train of thought to look at Damien. As it turned out, he was also submerged in his thoughts.
Every once in a while, his eyebrows would furrow and his forehead would wrinkle before he shook his head vehemently. Every once in a while, he would sneak a glance at Ruyue and fall deeper in thought.
This behavior was honesty a little cute, and it brought warmth to her heart when she realized how much it troubled Damien that he was "taking advantage of her."
But seeing how troubled he looked was enough for her. Ruyue never felt that she was taken advantage of, she only felt a bit of grievance as a woman when he ignored her. Now that that grievance had vanished, she didn't have any qualms.
Seeing that he cared for her enough to even consider abandoning his ideal training environment was enough. After all, there were many people who would let their selfishness and greed take over at this point since a jump in power was all but guaranteed for him.
With that, Ruyue came to a decision. And honestly, it wasn't that hard to make.
"Damien," she called out, "don't worry about me and go train in the arenas. I'll be fine here either way."
Her words pulled Damien out of his thoughts. "Eh? This won't do at all. I can't take advantage of you this way and reap all the benefits myself. If you can't think of anything, don't worry. Just give me a bit of time and I'll work something out."
Ruyue smiled lightly. "It's not that. Actually, while you were thinking just now I felt a sort of calling in my body. I'm not sure what it is, but I think the aura in this place will actually help me comprehend something."
"Huh?" Damien exclaimed in surprise.
Wasn't that perfect? Even if she didn't know what that feeling was, he didn't doubt her. After all, he had had moments in the past where he felt something similar, and it was always positive when he ended up comprehending the feeling.
A wave of relief rushed over him. With Ruyue saying this, all his doubts and guilt were alleviated. If she was able to gain something good, he could also go train without worry.
"Hahaha! Good! If it's like this, then we can truly become great during our stay here!"
Ruyue smiled at his words. Just as she thought, he would now be able to focus on his own training without worry.
Turning her head to the side, she noticed a faint blush on her cheeks. Luckily, Damien was too absorbed in his excitement to notice.
'It's just a small lie. It won't hurt anyone.' Ruyue smiled inwardly at the thought.
