Genshin Impact: I Can Obtain Adventure EXP

by redx43

An ordinary young man, Nolan Walker, traveled across the continent of Teyvat. He was penniless and thought it would be difficult to survive until he beat up a slime: 【Defeated a Powerful Enemy, Obtained 32 Adventure Experience】 What? Defeat Enemies to Obtain Adventure EXP, which can keep improving your level and skills! From then on, Nolan understood that even as an ordinary person

2. EP 2

Chapter 26: Chapter 26: Eula's Wonderful Affection

Amber is indeed Eula's best friend. Nolan only needed to show approval of Eula and he gained a significant increase in her affection.

He probably benefited from having the Speciatily [Maiden Savior], which allowed him to interact with Amber in a way that resonated more with Eula's heart, naturally earning more of Amber's affection.

Her Affection Level has reached Lv.3.

According to Nolan's understanding,

Lv.1 is roughly the process of getting to know someone, Lv.2 can be considered an ordinary friend, and Lv.3 is a familiar friend.

If he could reach Lv.4, they could be considered good friends. Of course, this is nowhere near the level of relationship Amber has with Eula. Using the storyline as a reference, Eula is probably close to max affection in Amber's heart.

And vice versa, Amber's position in Eula's heart is also not low.

That said, Nolan hasn't known Amber for long either, so the progress is quite fast. Good, good, as long as there was enough time, Amber's "Little Bunny" would be favored by him sooner or later.

"Oh right, Amber and Miss Eula, please have a seat."

Nolan barely managed to find two wooden chairs with backrests from the simple house, neatly placing them on the same side. Just as he was about to pour water to entertain them, he realized the water had already cooled after being boiled this morning.

He certainly couldn't ask them to drink cold water.

"Uh, sorry about that."

Nolan looked at the water kettle and smiled awkwardly. Starting a fire and boiling water now would be quite troublesome, and it would take a long time to wait.

This was a major discourtesy to his guests.

Amber sat down on the wooden chair with a backrest. Her snow-white legs were revealed between her belted shorts and tall white boots, while her fiery Pyro Vision hung from a satchel bag on her left side.

She raised both hands to chest level and waved them, indicating she didn't mind.

"It's alright. Let's talk business first. Didn't I tell you yesterday that my good friend's family has good quality, inexpensive houses for rent?"

"You see, since we were free today, I brought Eula over. You can discuss what kind of house you want with her!"

Eula sat next to Amber, her right leg crossed over her left. Her gleaming, skintight blue-purple metal shoes lifted slightly off the ground, drawing attention.

The slick, tight knee-high leather boots outlined the elegant curves of her legs beautifully. Like Amber, the skin of her thighs was soft and snowy white, but a bit fuller.

"I see. So Miss Eula is the good friend Amber mentioned?"

Nolan looked at her with some curiosity in his eyes, although he already knew who she was. But he couldn't show that.

To conceal his abnormality, Nolan had long perfected the art of hiding his thoughts.

"Yes, that's right." Eula switched the positioning of her crossed legs and said indifferently with her arms crossed, "It's rare for someone to want to rent a house from my Laurence family, so I'm a bit curious."

[ Eula Has Developed A Good Impression Of You, Obatined 30 Affection Points, Current Affection Level Lv.1 (30/100)]

Seeing the affection points prompt appear suddenly, he roughly knew that Eula's first impression of him wasn't bad, and since he was Amber's friend, some affection naturally occurred.

Not bad, a very good start.

Upon hearing Eula's words, Nolan pretended to be puzzled and asked, "Huh, why do you say that?"

Nolan felt he had a chance to compete for Best Actor, so he concealed his thoughts flawlessly to avoid revealing anything abnormal.

Eula's fair face revealed a hint of surprise. There's someone in Mondstadt who doesn't know about her family's "reputation"?

She gazed intently at Nolan - ordinary features, black hair, a typical Liyue face. I see, she hadn't thought carefully earlier. Since he wasn't a native of Mondstadt, it was normal he didn't understand what she meant.

"Never mind if you don't know." Eula had no intention of telling Nola about the "sins" her family committed a millennium ago, so she emphasized again, "But I will have my grudge for making us wait outside your door for so long!"

Although Eula spoke one way, in her heart she was still a little interested in Nolan, who didn't have prejudice against her, and especially about him as Amber's friend.

[Eula Has Developed A Good Impression of You, Obtained 75 Affection Points, Current Affection Level Lv.2 (5/200)]

Eh! Nolan looked at the Affection Points prompt on the character panel, and didn't know whether to feel happy or unhappy for a moment. This Eula was really too fickle.

Could it be that every time she said to her friends "I'll remember this grudge!" or "Just you wait for my revenge!" it was actually an expression of increased favorability?

It really was... Haha, pretty cute.

"No, it's just that in the past, Eula's Clan did make some serious mistakes, but what happened a thousand years ago had absolutely nothing to do with Euls. It's just that the people of Mondstadt can't quite let it go."

Amber's eyes were downcast, her hands placed on her knees pressed together, as she softly spoke up for her friend.

"Uh, since it was so long ago it can be called history, how could I be swayed by it? After all, who can say for sure whether one of their ancestors from a thousand years ago was a member of some Treasure Hoarders, right?"

Nolan cleverly defused the awkward atmosphere with his words.

Amber leaned forward and nodded, indicating some agreement. Eula leaned back in her chair, lightly swinging her crossed left leg, tapping the floor with her heel.

Nolan thought about continuing the conversation back to business:

"So Miss Eula, I did tell Amber that I wanted to find a slightly better house, uh, my needs aren't high, just a little cheaper and a little more spacious than here."

Hearing this, Eula frowned slightly. She rested one hand on her thigh and stroked her smooth chin with the other, putting on a thoughtful look.

"Is there any difficulty with that?"

Nolan was a bit stunned, Could even these simple conditions not be met?

"Ahem." Amber lightly cleared her throat to get Nolan's attention, then explained in a low voice, "Although the Lawrence Clan is declined, after all, it was once nobles... No matter how declined, it will not have the kind of unseemly house that would be beneath their dignity."

"..."

Sorry Eula, I was too narrow-minded, to actually make such an awkward request of you. Nolan was embarrassed by his own lack of experience.

Would he even be able to afford the worst house the Lawrence clan had?

There shouldn't be such an embarrassing situation, after all, Amber knew his circumstances. Mora wasn't abundant in Mondstadt, and since she had brought Eula here, there basically shouldn't be a problem.

"Alright, I've got it." After long contemplation, the corners of Eula's mouth turned up in a smile.

She stood up from the chair and said, "I remember we Lawrences have a vacant house on Val Berry Street. Let's go take a look now."

"Great, Eula is so reliable!" Amber excitedly clapped her hands, then also stood up and said to Nolan, "Do you have anything you need to bring? We can help carry it over so you don't have to make multiple trips."

Nolan didn't expect things to go so smoothly. Having a friend like Amber really was great. He finally took a sip of cold water and nodded.

(The of Chapter)

To be continued...

Support me on - Advanced Chapters There!

/RedX43

Chapter 27: Chapter 27: Independent Courtyard

In fact, Nolan didn't have anything worth moving in this place. Even the tea kettle for boiling water and bedding were provided by the Knight of Favonius's relief point.

He couldn't take them with him, and Nolan didn't want to take them either. He couldn't bear to lose this face.

Other than his hunting bow and quiver, a few changes of clothes and towels, a couple of books he borrowed from the library, and most importantly the Mora, there was nothing else.

So he didn't need the ladies to help with moving.

However, carrying a lot of Mora was inconvenient too. He would need to find time to deposit it in the bank so he wouldn't have to worry about it being stolen at home.

Val Berry Street was located in the west district of Mondstadt, near the city walls. It was named after the local Mondstadt specialty "Valberry", which seemed quite suitable.

It would take quite a while to get there from the Knights of Favonius's relief shelter.

Eula and Amber walked ahead of them, the crisp and melodious sounds of their over-the-knee high-heeled boots stepping on the stone-paved ground. Although different in color, their equally smooth hair swayed slightly with their body movements.

As if being gently caressed by the soft breeze.

On the streets, the passersby coming and going in groups of three or two would more or less cast curious looks at their strange trio, especially with Eula present.

Due to the identity of the Knights of Favonius, their unfriendly emotions emanated from their bodies even if they were not reflected on their faces.

Was Eula really so unwelcome in Mondstadt?

Of course not.

There were still many open-minded people in Mondstadt. They remembered the dark old aristocratic era but would not blame the descendants from millennia later.

Just like the Knights of Favonius who governed and guarded Mondstadt.

Since the rulers of the entire Mondstadt didn't care, the number of people in Mondstadt City who could treat the Lawrence family with normal attitudes would increase in the future.

Unable to change, and no need to change. Go with the flow.

"The sky is getting dark. Do you want to stop by the grocery store on the way to buy some necessities? You'll need things like a kettle and cleaning tools, right?"

Amber, who was walking side by side with Eula in front of her, suddenly stopped and turned back to look at Nolan with her hands pressed on her soft waist and inquired.

"Well, these are indeed necessities." Nolan didn't have any free space in his hands, he said with a light smile, "It seems like I still need to trouble you guys."

"It's no big deal!"

Soon, none of them had free hands. Basically, all the necessities for cooking, cleaning, bedding etc were complete.

The cost was that the 100,000 Mora just earned from the commission was now seventy to eighty percent gone.

"Miss Eula, is this the vacant house you were talking about!?"

When Nolan arrived at Val Berry Street and saw the so-called vacant house Eula mentioned, he suddenly had the urge to turn back.

In front of him was a house with a fence, and looking inside through the stately iron gate, there was a grassy front yard that looked like it hadn't been treated for quite a while.

Then there was an exquisite two-story building in the middle, with about two meters wide passageways on both sides separating it from the enclosing walls. It looked like there was a backyard too.

The overall impression Nolan got was that it was a simply decorated villa. Although not big, it looked quite high-end. Could he afford to rent this?

He felt like all the Mora on him combined still wouldn't be enough for one month's rent.

"What's wrong? Any issues?"

Eula's face carried a faint tranquility. She brushed the icy blue hair beside her ear, slightly staggered her soft curved legs, and walked to the iron gate, preparing to open it.

"Don't you think this kind of house is a bit too luxurious for me?"

Nolan said helplessly. He could only tell the truth. If he knew that the Lawrence family was renting out such a high-end house, he wouldn't have come. Maybe renting it for a day would be enough for him to live for a month.

"Originally this place was built to rent out to foreign merchants coming to Mondstadt for trade, but unfortunately most merchants didn't want to live here after learning of the Lawrence family's reputation in Mondstadt, worrying it would affect their business here."

Eula picked up the iron lock hanging on the iron gate. She was brought to Nolan's place by Amber right after completing her mission, so she didn't bring the key here at all.

Of course, this was not a problem for her.

"So, rather than leaving it vacant, renting it out cheaply to you is fine." Eula held the iron lock, and traces of cold air surged into the keyhole.

The sound of ice blocks congealing in the keyhole could be heard.

Eventually, a key made entirely of condensed ice elements was pinched between Eula's fingers. She gently twisted it, and as the mechanism turned, the iron lock opened easily.

Nolan's eyelid twitched as he watched. This was way too convenient. Having this skill meant you'd never have to worry about forgetting your keys when going out.

"How about 100,000 Mora per month?"

Eula pushed open the iron gate and stepped into the front courtyard of the house. The wildly grown grass that hadn't been maintained for a long time just reached the height of her ankles.

"Umm, It looks like it's going to take some time to clean up here." Amber's fair face looked slightly emotional. The ground was obscured from view due to the wild grass in the front courtyard.

Meanwhile, Nolan was considering the rent.

100,000 Mora per month, he had to admit it was very cheap. With the price of a drink at the Cat's Tail being 500 Mora, it was a great deal. He could afford it.

It was like he had earned it back today by taking on a more dangerous commission to clean up monsters.

Even without taking such risky commissions, helping others find things or running errands delivering letters, he could probably make 100,000 Mora in a week.

So even with the Lawrence family's bad reputation, it wouldn't be rented out at such a low price.

This must be a decision Eula made because of Amber. And after the brief time together, Eula had also developed some affection towards him.

Having reached level two with the more touchy-feely effect of the Character Speciality [Maiden Savior], the two of them were considered ordinary friends.

Therefore, under these many circumstances, Eula was willing to rent this house, which could be called an independent courtyard, to him at such a cheap price.

"Miss Eula, 100,000 Mora is truly within what I can afford. I'd like to rent this place."

Although it seemed a bit shameless, Nolan still decided to rent it.

Nolan was not pretentious. He quite liked it here. Refusing would be wasting Eula and Amber's kindness since they came specifically to help him.

Although they might not care about these small concerns, but Nolan cared. He couldn't help it, he was just someone sensitive at heart who didn't want others to be bothered because of him.

"That's Great, as long as you're satisfied I'm relieved."

A smile emerged on Eula's snow-white face. She hugged her upper abdomen, slightly pushing up her chest to reveal the plump, round, and soft curves.

The black semi-translucent silk material was gently covered by a light blue tie with intricate golden patterns.

"Uh-huh... Next, let's clean up properly!"

Amber lifted her foot back energetically, looking full of enthusiasm.

(A/N: Our transmigrator protagonist was finally going to have his own place to live after traveling through Teuvat for so long, yay!)

(End of Chapter)

To be continued...

Support me on - Advanced Chapters There!

/RedX43

Chapter 28: Chapter 28: Preparing Dinner

As a rental courtyard that had been vacant for a long time, it really takes a lot of time to completely clean up.

That's where Amber and Eula, who were already friends, came in. Due to the excessive lushness of the weeds in the yard, the first thing that needed to be dealt with was them.

If it was left for Nolan alone, he would rather tread a path out slowly over days and months. As the saying goes: Originally there were no roads on the ground, but if you walk more, there will be a road.

In two to three months, he could surely trample all the weeds in the yard flat.

Now with Amber here, there was no need for such trouble. With her Pyro Vision, she directly guided the Pyro Element to burn the weeds cleanly patch by patch.

With Eula here, there was also no need to worry about accidental fires.

"Phew~ It's finally done. Klee would definitely be very happy if she was here."

Amber wiped the not-very-noticeable sweat on her forehead with the back of her brown gloved hand. It was probably just a habitual action after completing work.

Miss Amber, you seem to have mentioned something dangerous. Nolan silently ridiculed in his heart after hearing her words.

The excessively lush weeds in the entire courtyard were precisely burned away by the Pyro Element, leaving only some ashes covering the muddy ground. This required no further processing. A rain would take care of it.

A little later, Eula used the same method to open the front door of the small two-story building and said she would bring the key over tomorrow for him.

It was a bit troublesome that the doors here would be unlocked tonight.

Fortunately, Nolan did not have anything too precious. He didn't need to worry about thieves sneaking in.

Since the doors and windows of the two-story building were kept closed during the vacant period, there weren't many places that needed cleaning. It took a little over an hour to finish everything.

The necessary living items were also properly arranged. In the meantime, Nolan also became familiar with the layout of this house.

When the courtyard was first built, renting it out was already considered. The main customers were wealthy foreign merchants coming to Mondstadt for trade, providing them with an acceptable temporary residence.

The construction of the wall was to prevent the rich merchants living inside from being disturbed.

Despite the simple and neat exterior, the two-story interior was equipped with almost all kinds of functional rooms. Entering the front door was the lobby, with light blue soft sofas arranged on the right side for receiving guests.

On the left was a rectangular wooden dining table for meals, with four or five chairs with backrests.

Whether those wealthy merchants needed it or not, a kitchen was built right after the lobby, fully equipped with a stove, chimney, etc. Past the kitchen was a bathroom and toilet in a combined design.

Upstairs on the second floor were two single bedrooms and a study room, as well as a sunny large balcony for growing some flowers and plants.

Of course, Nolan had no such interest.

The more Nolan looked, the more he felt that he was taking a huge advantage. When he had more spare Mora in the future, he would find an excuse to compensate Eula, even if she probably didn't care. He just couldn't get past it in his heart.

After finishing up, the sky had completely turned dark. The moon was invisible, but surprisingly there were many little stars, like a splendid silvery galaxy.

Nolan still hadn't eaten dinner. He knew Amber and Eula hadn't either, so he wanted to personally cook to properly express his gratitude.

Amber was resting lying sideways at the right end of the light blue soft sofa, her knees-high booted legs naturally outstretched, toes lightly touching Eula's ankles.

Eula sat at the other end, hands draped, leaning back against the soft sofa.

"Feels more tiring than patrolling all day."

Amber placed her hands on her lower abdomen, rising and falling slightly with her breath. Although there were no growling sounds, after being busy working for so long she was probably a bit hungry too.

Nolan took this opportunity and said with a smile:

"Amber and Miss Eula, how about staying for dinner? I'd like to make a feast of Liyue cuisine to properly treat and thank you both."

"Liyue cuisine? Hmm, now that you mention it, I'm feeling a bit hungry too. What about you, Eula?"

Amber didn't refuse. After all, she really helped Nolan for a long time today, so treating her to dinner was proper.

"I'm hungry too." An interested look appeared on Eula's fair face. "I heard Liyue has thousands of years of culinary culture. How's your cooking skill? If it's not up to par, I'll hold a grudge!"

"Don't worry, I'm quite seasoned in this area."

Nolan smiled and replied.

Before coming to Teyvat, he usually cooked for himself. He wouldn't say his cooking was that great, but he was quite proficient. He could make most dishes with basic difficulty.

"I'll go buy some ingredients first. Please wait a moment."

Nolan went out towards the Mondstadt Department Store near Val Berry Street. These stores catering to customer convenience were usually easily found on both sides of the streets.

As for why he didn't go to the meat and vegetable market, it was mainly because they closed for the night.

Shopping with a goal does not take much time. Nolan came out of the Mondstadt Department Store Val Berry Street branch carrying two large bags.

Mondstadt Department Store cooperated with the hunters of Springvale. Some of the fresh prey from hunting will come directly to the shelves of Mondstadt Department Store.

Previously when Nolan followed Draff in hunting he had seen many times the employees of Mondstadt Department Store pulling the carts to deliver the goods.

He was quite lucky today. The freshly delivered wild boar from this afternoon hadn't been sold out yet. Nolan quickly bought the last two big pork ribs, along with crabs and black bass from Cider Lake, potatoes, chili peppers, etc.

He also bought all the necessary seasonings. Worried that Amber and Eula were starving, he almost ran on foot.

Returning home, the round trip took just over twenty minutes, less than half an hour.

"Did you buy anything good?" Amber came over and curiously asked, taking one of the bags from Nolan.

"Just common stuff."

As Nolan walked towards the kitchen, he said:

"Amber, Eula, please come help out a bit. There are quite a few dishes so it'll take some time to prepare."

"No problem. A dinner made together will probably taste even better."

Amber had a sunny smile on her face, her lips slightly parted with her white teeth showing slightly.

"Then let's get to it, no time to waste." Eula stood up from the light blue sofa and raised her arms to stretch her waist.

With three people working together, preparing the ingredients was easy and done quickly. Since there was no firewood under the stove, they could only ask Amber for help.

As long as the Pyro element was carefully controlled and continuously guided, it could achieve an effect equivalent to firewood. This was something only Vision Holders could do. Really enviable.

Speaking of which, was there a chance for him to also master elemental power without a Vision?

Thinking of this, he remembered there were recipes for two kinds of elemental potions in his possessions. Although external, it would still be quite troublesome to find materials to make them.

Even so, it would allow Nolan to have more means against monsters, and grind Adventure EXP better.

He had to study it carefully tonight.

(End of Chapter)

To be continued...

Support me on - Advanced Chapters There!

/RedX43

Chapter 29: Chapter 29: Elemental Potions

The night was hazy, the pendant lamp on the living room ceiling emitted a bright yellow light, filling the room.

At the dining table.

Boiled Back Bass, Secret Pork Ribs Steamed, Golden Shrimp Balls... Well, even though the shredded potatoes were cut a little too big, Nolan still managed to make it work.

Feeling a bit proud inside, I can still do it after all!

Eula and Amber sat opposite each other at the rectangular table, with Nolan at their side.

"Looks good."

Eula nodded slightly, giving a passing grade to the dishes on the table.

"Mm!" Amber sent a crispy shrimp ball into her mouth with her chopsticks, cheeks bulging as she said, "Sho ghood."

Mondstadt and Liyue used different utensils for meals. They generally used knives and forks.

Eula didn't force herself to use the chopsticks she wasn't proficient with. She simply speared a crispy shrimp ball with a fork and didn't eat them one by one like Amber. Her soft lips opened slightly and took a dainty bite, fully demonstrating her graceful nobility.

They ate unknowingly, and soon the food on the table was finished by the three. Eula lightly dabbed the corners of her mouth with a napkin, while Amber leaned back against the wooden chair, satisfied.

Nolan had a faint smile on his face. As expected, the affection prompts jumped out in the character status panel, first Amber's:

[ Amber Has Developed Good Feelings Towards You, Obtained 90 Affection Points. Current Affection Level Lv.3 (260/300) ]

Almost level 4, very good. Then came Eula's:

[ Eula Has Developed Good Feelings Towards You, Obtained 60 Affection Points. Current Affection Level Lv.2 (65/200) ]

It looks like they're both quite satisfied, if you guys are happy, I'm even happier. Nolan thought secretly.

After dinner and a short rest, Eula and Amber bid farewell to Nolan. Before they left, Nolan promptly handed this month's 100,000 Mora rent to Eula.

It counted as formally renting this courtyard now. The two didn't sign any rental contracts or agreements. Perhaps Eula was already quite trusting of him.

In the late night, there were only two books borrowed from the library on the bookshelf against the wall of the study room. Candle flames quietly burned under the glass lampshade.

Thanks to Miss Eula, he had the chance to get his own study. Nolan thought happily at the bottom of his heart.

After all, being in this kind of room dedicated to reading and studying, it was as if there was some kind of mysterious power, and it was relatively easy to enter a state of concentration and study.

At this moment, two recipes for elemental potions were placed on the desk.

To adventure more easily in the wilderness and grind Adventure EXP, grasping powerful elemental attack means was very necessary. The Treasure Hoarders indirectly grasped such mighty elemental power through potions.

Although these two recipes were somewhat unstable, and brewing them was a bit dangerous.

The main ingredient for this Pyro Potion recipe of the Treasure Hoarders was the stamens of Flaming Flowers. Then Magic Crystal chunks and Luminescent Spine were added in a 3:2 ratio.

The Flaming Flower stamens contained abundant Pyro Elements. They needed to be simmered into liquid form first, then Magic Crystal powder was added to stimulate them into an active state.

This process could easily go wrong with a little carelessness.

Too much would make it explode, and too little would result in finding out after the finished product that the Pyro elements in the potion weren't active at all, completely unusable and wasted.

These materials weren't cheap. Any losses were in Mora.

The Luminescent Spine added at the end was an additive for "preserving" the potion after successful brewing. After all, the active Pyro Elements in a successful potion would dissipate even without use.

Luminescent Spine was needed to delay the dissipation.

Only when all steps were completed without any accidents could it be considered successful brewing of an elemental potion, stored in a small container for use as a grenade.

The method for brewing an Electro Potion was largely the same.

The main ingredient was just changed from Flaming Flower stamens to Electro Crystals, while Magic Crystal chunks and Luminescent Spine were still necessities. Finally, one more thing was needed, which was Lizard Tail.

According to the recipe, the role of Lizard Tail was to ensure no damage to the special properties during the Electro Crystal melting into liquid step.

After reading the detailed recipe, Nolan could not help but frown in annoyance.

The main issue was that the brewing process was too unstable. Without someone who had brewed dozens or hundreds of times watching over, Nolan didn't dare mess around on his own.

He couldn't go find the Treasure Hoarders, could he? This thought oddly flashed through Nolan's mind.

Elemental Potions weren't actually that rare. From his knowledge, the Knights of Favonius would carry some bottles when executing dangerous missions too.

And the one ensuring the potion supply of the Knights of Favonius was Miss Lisa, the librarian of the Knights of Favonius Library.

Nolan remembered that she had a talent in the game called "General Pharmaceutics". Her skill in this area could be called Potion Master.

If he brought these elemental potion recipes to ask Lisa for advice, he might get some methods to increase stability. But he couldn't just show up empty-handed.

The elemental potion recipes themselves were definitely not something she could look at. After all, To Lisa, these were probably just shoddy beginner works.

Alright then.

Nolan went from one worry into another.

However, for such crude elemental potions, he didn't need to find someone of Lisa's master level. The alchemists Timaeus and Sucrose at the crafting bench could probably solve it.

After all, brewing elemental potions was also part of alchemy. Nolan knew Sucrose often needed some strange animal bones for experiments. Asking her for help wouldn't be difficult, just bringing some monster bones would do.

As for Timaeus... hm, forget it. Since he could ask a cute girl, why involve some random guy?

Monster bones weren't hard to obtain. He could collect some when adventuring. No rush for now.

Having thought of a solution, Nolan breathed a slight sigh of relief. He temporarily put the potion recipes back on the bookshelf, then took out 'Favonius Swordsmanship - Fundamentals' and started reading.

He was already familiar with 'Favonius Archery - Fundamentals' so there was no need to read it further. Just raising it with Adventure EXP later would do.

Favonius Swordsmanship also had detailed illustrations and explanations, marking key points of every move.

There were signature Favonius starting poses, chopping strikes, sweeping strikes, stabbing strikes, finishing strikes, and so on.

The overall content was simple and easy to understand. He believed it wouldn't take much practice to grasp the basics.

In the long night, sleepless, Nolan concentrated on studying this "secret manual" of Favonius Swordsmanship.

Early morning, Nolan got up early and practiced Favonius Swordsmanship in the front courtyard with the scimitar obtained from the Treasure Hoarders.

Since it was also a one-handed weapon like single-handed swords, there might be some difference in combat, but practice was no issue. He also corrected his moves according to the book's contents while practicing.

Although not as good as having a teacher's guidance, it was enough to learn the basics.

(End of Chapter)

To be continued...

Support me on - Advanced Chapters There!

/RedX43

Chapter 30: Chapter 30: Practicing the Sword

7 AM, practicing the sword.

8 AM, practicing the sword.

8:30 AM, mastered the fundamentals of Favonius Swordsmanship!

After three hours of practice, checking against the illustrations and instructions in the book to correct his mistakes little by little, he finally succeeded in proficiently and fully performing this set of Favonius Swordsmanship.

The corresponding skill also appeared in his character status panel:

Name: Nolan Walker

Level: Lv.10 (0/1000)

Race: Human

Title: None

Innate Talent: Entangling Affection

Skills: Hunter's Archery Lv.3 (0/300), Favonius Archery - Fundamentals Lv.2 (0/200), Martial Arts Lv.2 (0/200), Favonius Swordsmanship - Fundamentals Lv.1 (1/100)

Specialties: [Descender], [Maiden Savior]

Adventure EXP: 284

This meant he didn't need to keep practicing the sword. After all, self-practice was nowhere as fast as directly using Adventure EXP.

The improvement from half a day of practical training with Draff in the wilderness was about equal to just a few Adventure EXP, still not as good as beating up a Black Bass.

It's just that there are too low Adventure EXP now, and leveling is still an endless abyss.

Fortunately, his skills were enough for now, with both ranged and close combat. He could focus on raising them first. Maxing them out along with his superhuman physique beyond normal people might not be bad for contending against Vision Holders.

"Favonius Swordsmanship?"

At this time, a slightly curious voice rang out. Pushing open the iron gate and walking into the courtyard was the elegant Miss Eula in black over-knee boots.

Apparently, She was attracted by Nolan practicing swordsmanship just now.

After all, such proper swordsmanship yet practiced with a scimitar, she could not approve, nor pretend she didn't see it.

"Good morning, Miss Eula." She said yesterday she'd come to deliver the key, so Nolan wasn't surprised by Eula's appearance.

"Here, the keys."

Eula walked to Nolan and reached out her right hand holding two keys, loosening her glove-clad fingers and pinching the keychain a bit. Cling cling, the metallic keys collided and made crisp sounds.

"Thanks for making a trip again, Miss Eula."

Nolan stretched out his hand and placed it under the keys, waiting for Eula to let go and drop the keys into his palm.

But unexpectedly, Eula slapped down with one hand. Along with the keys landing in his hand, he also felt some pain.

"Hmph. You're using Favonius Swordsmanship, aren't you? And so casually?"

Eula habitually crossed her arms, her attractive icy blue eyebrows raised slightly as her gaze rested on the scimitar Nolan used to practice swordsmanship, seemingly displeased.

Although she didn't approve of the many outdated practices of nobles,

she did quite like some parts, one is having a serious attitude whether towards people or things. The Code of Knights had similar views in this regard.

So seeing Nolan use a scimitar to practice Favonius Swordsmanship, it was unsurprising that she disapproved.

If it was some random commoner on the street, Eula wouldn't care what they were up to. But she had quite a good impression of Nolan. He didn't have the distaste most people held towards her.

After getting to know each other yesterday, and him renting her family's house, they could reluctantly be considered friends. Friends needed to have strict standards.

Nolan put away the keys and rubbed his hand. He didn't expect to be admonished by Eula for not using a sword to practice swordsmanship.

He did have a mentality to save resources when possible. After all, with his bit of Mora, he couldn't afford a decent single-handed sword.

He said with a somewhat embarrassed expression but without missing a beat:

"Miss Eula, I originally learned archery. I confiscated this war spoil from the Treasure Hoarders a few days ago, and thought to borrow 'Favonius Swordsmanship - Fundamentals' from the library to try out if I have talent in swordsmanship."

"If it feels okay, I'll of course prepare a good single-handed sword."

To maintain face, his words were half true and half false. He would definitely learn swordsmanship regardless of talent. Anyway, he would be able to smash it with Adventure EXP once he got started.

As for the scimitar, of course, he would also change it, just that he'd need more money on hand. With his current 200,000+ Mora, he couldn't afford a good sword.

It would be too wasteful to buy an inferior product that could only be practiced and damaged after two battles.

"I see."

After hearing Nolan's explanation, Eula said while resting her hand on her fair chin, her tone much softer.

First testing if he had the ability to learn these skills before deciding whether to specialize, this was understandable to her.

Eula curled an icy blue strand around her finger and slightly lifted her cheeks, thinking for a moment before saying:

"Since you want to learn Favonius Swordsmanship, come by the Knights in the afternoon. I can instruct you a bit."

Hearing Eula's words, Nolan felt somewhat surprised.

He didn't expect Eula to take the initiative to teach him Favonius Swordsmanship. Did reaching affection level 2 mean being willing to help with some small matters?

Thinking about it, this was probably the reason.

"Of course, If Miss Eula is willing to instruct me that's great, but wouldn't it be very troublesome? Would it interfere with your work in the afternoon?"

Although Nolan had already grasped the [Favonius Swordsmanship - Fundamentals], he naturally wouldn't refuse the opportunity to spend time with Eula. Affection came from these daily interactions.

Of course, Nolan's reply was more reserved, not too direct. He considered her work situation from Eula's position as a Knight of Favonius.

"Don't worry. Our scout troop has temporarily returned to Mondstadt City these couple days to resupply and rest. And I as the captain don't need to personally handle small matters like supplies."

Eula lowered her finger fiddling with her hair strands. Her moist, tender lips faintly curled into a smile.

"Mn, then I'm deeply grateful to you Miss Eula." Nolan happily nodded and said.

He knew Eula held the position of scout troop captain in the Knights of Favonius, often needing to lead her troop patrolling outside, clearing dangerous monsters and members of the Abyss Order.

Times of returning to Mondstadt were few and far between. It seemed he happened to catch them during the scout troop's resupply period back in Mondstadt.

"Very well. 1 PM, don't be late, or else this grudge will grow. I'll take revenge on the spot!"

Seeing Nolan readily agree, a satisfied look appeared on Eula's face, while also not forgetting to threaten in her unique way.

"Uh-huh, please don't worry Miss Eula."

Nolan nodded rapidly like a woodpecker. Although curious about what Eula's revenge would be like, he didn't want to make trouble for himself.

"Just call me Eula."

Eula casually said before leaving.

[ Eula Has Developed A Favorable Impression Of You, Obtained 45 Affection Points. Current Affection Level Lv.2 (105/200) ]

Watching Uvalla's charming back, the single-shoulder cape on her right side swayed slightly with the small movements of her crisscrossed legs. Ignoring the distraction, her revealed snow-white delicate skin could be glimpsed on her back.

The backless black leather catsuit equally accentuated the abundant curves of her hips.

Nolan thought about the swordsmanship practice appointment with Eula in the afternoon.

It was about time too. He promised the fishing shop owner Sanborn that he would come take on his commission, and couldn't go back on his word either.

(End of Chapter)

To be continued...

T/N: I just want to ask you guys if the 'Secret Relam' sounds fine, or should I use 'Domain' instead? Let me know so I can change it.

Chapter 31: Chapter 31: Complicated

After moving to Val Berry Street, it was slightly farther past Sanborn's fishing tackle store.

Right after Eula left, Nolan tied the scimitar at his waist and went out. Since his hunting bow and arrows were basically scrapped, and he didn't take a commission to clear monsters in the wilderness, he didn't need to bring them for now.

Today, the weather was less than ideal.

Nolan raised his head looking at the sky while walking between the streets and alleys. Hazy, neither clouds nor sun.

To save time Nolan jogged, overtaking a slowly moving carriage loaded with goods, attracting the curious gaze of the hat-wearing driver.

Nolan smiled back politely, then sped up a little.

After about ten-plus minutes, his body had just warmed up when the fishing shop came into view. The white-haired Sanborn was cleaning the storefront with a broom.

He didn't seem to have noticed Nolan arrive.

"Hi, Mr. Sanborn," Nolan called out in a calm tone from behind him.

Hearing the voice, Sanborn turned around with his broom. His eyes brightened as he said, "Oh, you're here, young adventurer from Liyue."

"Yes, I did say yesterday evening I'd accept your commission, heh heh."

Nolan laughed and replied.

"Oh..." Mentioning yesterday's matters made Sanborn sigh again. He leaned the broom against the wall by the door. "Please, come in. I'll explain in detail."

The two entered the counter inside the shop. Sanborn walked inside and told Nolan to wait a moment.

Sanborn took out a stack of paper documents from a drawer under the counter. He opened the silver metal clip and took out the top two pages.

He handed them to Nolan saying, "Take a look first."

Nolan reached out confusedly to accept them, not quite understanding what was going on. He stood and carefully looked over the written words.

Fruit Paste Bait: 30, 50,000 Mora;

Than Brand Basic Fishing Net: 5, 45,000 Mora;

Than Brand Bamboo Fishing Rod: 10 sets, 30,000 Mora;

Besides the above, there were also things like fish baskets, rain hats, raincoats, etc. It was a receipt for 550,000 Mora worth of goods.

There didn't seem to be anything strange about this at a glance.

Nolan looked at the second receipt. The goods were similarly common, but the prices were nearly 20% higher. For example, 30 Fruit Paste Bait went from 50,000 to 60,000 Mora.

The total even increased from 550,000 to 700,000 Mora.

And the two documents show that the date of these two shipments was just under two weeks ago.

The fishing industry in Mondstadt region, especially Mondstadt City, was far from prosperous compared to Liyue and Inazuma, after all, Cider Lake was limited.

So generally speaking, prices of related fishing goods should be relatively stable, and shouldn't rise so much in such a short time.

"Could it be someone profiting from this?" Nolan asked in surprise.

"I think... so." There was some silence in Sanborn's words. Then he moved the rest of the pile of receipts in front of him, pointing to the top one and saying, "This was the original price."

Nolan couldn't help but take a look at what he heard. Similar quantities, similar goods, yet the total expenditure was only around 400,000 Mora.

"Could it be that old friend of Mr. Sanborn's?"

Nolan recalled the one Sanborn sighed about yesterday evening.

As Sanborn put away the bills, he recounted:

"Back then, not long after I retired, my son suggested I open a fishing shop since I had nothing to do. I happily agreed."

"But my son was too busy, so I handled all the preparations myself. I didn't mind, rather I quite enjoyed the feeling of being busy again."

"My good friend Lucas was someone I got to know while looking for suppliers. He is one of the sales managers at Than Fishing Tools Factory. Our friendship was built over more than 10 years."

It was indeed quite a good old friend, after all, they had all known each other for more than a decade. Nolan thought silently in his mind.

"The first time the prices rose, I asked him what was going on. He said the factory's raw materials were robbed by monsters during transportation, so the price increase was temporary due to material shortage."

Sanborn continued to narrate:

"At that time, even though his words were flickering, I didn't care and believed him after all he was my old friend."

"The second time I felt it was odd. There's no way they would get robbed by monsters two times in a row right? With experience shouldn't they know to hire some capable adventurers as guards?

"Suspicious, I went and asked the employees at Than Factory. They said there was no notice of a price increase recently. That's when I knew the issue was with my old friend Lucas."

After listening, Nolan nodded and simply guessed:

"So Mr. Sanborn wants me to find evidence of this Lucas' wrongdoings?"

Sanborn patted his snowy white head and softly said:

"No, of course not. With so many years of friendship, I know Lucas very well. He is definitely not such a despicable man. He must have encountered an insurmountable hurdle in life."

"I don't want to directly interrogate him and make my old friend lose face. Young adventurer, what you need to do is help me investigate what exactly happened to him recently. If possible, please help him. I will give you satisfactory payment."

Nolan was somewhat surprised. He originally thought it was a simple script of finding evidence to catch the culprit, but it seemed rather complicated.

A cool breeze blew in, Nolan's hair tresses on his forehead moved lightly. Since the mood was brought to this point, he naturally had no reason to refuse.

"I see, Mr. Sanborn leave this matter to me. I'll try to investigate clearly for you."

Nolan revealed a smile and patted his chest promising.

"Mn, then I'll have to trouble you. I really don't want anything to happen to Lucas. He lives at 86 Dandelion Street. If you can't find him, try looking at Than Fishing Tools Factory."

Sanborn told him the situation, clearly much more relaxed with the wrinkles between his brows gone.

When he left Sanborn's fishing tackle store, Nolan glanced at the store's clock, 9:15 in the morning.

He didn't directly go to 86 Dandelion Street. After all, Lucas was probably at work right now as a sales manager at Than Fishing Tools Factory.

...Another twenty minutes or so of walking.

The only transportation that could be considered in Mondstadt City was carriages. There were also Wind Gliders, but a pilot license was needed to use them in public areas.

Obtaining a pilot's license was not easy, and generally, only adventurers had a strong need for it.

Nolan felt that he needed to get a pilot's license as soon as possible, or else it would be too troublesome to travel. Although Wind Gliders could only glide, needing to ascend high buildings beforehand,

their usefulness could not be denied.

Having been an adventurer for just a few days, Nolan already felt the pain of being unable to use waypoints.

(End of Chapter)

To be continued...

Support me on - Advanced Chapters There!

/RedX43

CREATORS' THOUGHTS

iRedX43

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Chapter 32: Chapter 32: The Blacksmith's Shop

You can ask Amber about the specifics of getting a pilot's license; In the original storyline, she was the one who arranged the exam for the Traveler.

Moreover, you can't just buy the Wind Glider and get started, you need to practice before you can pass the test.

Amber was the one who had achieved the incredible achievement of winning three consecutive championships in the gliding competition, so it wouldn't be wrong to ask her about the skills of using the Wind Glider.

Time always passes quickly when lost in thought, and unknowingly he finally arrives at the Than Fishing Tools factory.

Located in the more prosperous west district of Mondstadt, the Than Fishing Tools factory is not that large despite the name. Firstly, fishing tackle production is not a hot industry in Mondstadt so demand is not high.

Secondly, Than Fishing Tools is not the only fishing tackle factory in Mondstadt. With mutual competition, each occupies a portion of Mondstadt's fishing tackle market, making it difficult to develop and grow.

Nolan looked at the Than Fishing Tools Factory in front of him, occasionally there were some carriages carrying goods in and out.

He tried to go in but was stopped by a middle-aged male who looked like a security guard. He had short brown hair, a gaunt face, and a sharp gaze.

"Can I help you? Young adventurer."

Gaspar had been a guard for years and could identify the young man's adventurer status at a glance. He had to ask what brought him here as part of his duties.

"Hello, sir. I'm looking for Supervisor Lucas, may I ask if he's in?"

Nolan didn't have anything to hide, after all, this wasn't some covert operation after all. It was essentially just the fishing tackle store owner Sanborn simply didn't want to directly confront his old friend Lucas and lose face.

Nolan had no such reservations, just find the person and ask directly.

"Supervisor Lucas? Hmm...he's not at the factory, seems to be out discussing a project. You can wait here for him." Recalling that Lucas had left about half an hour ago, Gaspar in his light-colored security uniform answered the young adventurer.

"Ah, what bad luck!"

Nolan looked a little disappointed, the security guard had no need to lie to him, it seemed he really wasn't in.

"Yes, he left about half an hour ago. Lately Supervisor Lucas is frequently out, and he looks rather haggard. Seems to be busily working on getting more orders for the factory. I hope he can rest more." Gaspar looked at the young adventurer and explained further, arms crossed, lest he disbelieve.

Haggard? Looks like he really is facing some difficulties. Hearing the guard's words, Nolan silently guessed.

It's probably not a simple problem, since he's fooling on an old friend he's known for more than a decade.

Standing stupidly outside the factory waiting also wasn't a solution, who knew when Lucas would be back. Getting odd looks from passersby for loitering was rather silly too.

After thinking it over, Nolan decided to just "ambush" Lucas's home tonight. He'd have to come home for dinner and sleep right?

Nolan, who was unable to advance the progress of the commission for the time being, decided to go to the blacksmith's store at the city gate area to look for Wagner to build some arrows, otherwise he'd run out. He could also ask about single-handed sword prices while there.

Nolan walked along the street near the city wall, and after a long while, finally arrived at Wagner's Blacksmith Store.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The sound of hammering iron carried from afar.

There were only two people in the blacksmith's shop, one was the owner Wagner, and the other was the blacksmith apprentice Schutz, who did the handyman work, which improved Wagner's work efficiency.

"Good morning, Mr. Wagner." Nolan walked over and greeted politely.

The blacksmith owner Wagner had a very sturdy figure, with distinct muscle lines on his arms, and every swing of the hammer gave a very steady feeling, with strength and flexibility.

The apprentice Schutz was adding firewood to the melting furnace.

"Oh, it's you, young hunter." Wagner looked up at Nolan when he heard this, then continued to ask without stopping his forging work, "Do you need arrows?"

He had some impression of this young man from Liyue. He seemed to be the hunting apprentice of Draff. He had come to the shop several times to purchase arrows.

What was his name, Melon? Helon? - Uggh, Liyue people's names were really tongue twisters.

"Yes, Mr. Wagner. But now I need some more powerful arrows. Do you have any good recommendations?"

Nolan nodded and asked.

"More powerful? Isn't an iron-headed hunting arrow good enough?" Wagner was a little surprised to hear this. He looked at Nolan again and said, "Oh? Have you become an adventurer now?"

Nolan smiled and said:

"Mr. Wagner is right. Ordinary arrows are somewhat lacking in power against monsters, except slimes. They are still fine."

"In that case, Schutz, come and serve the customer. See what he needs!"

Wagner continued to pound the red-hot iron in his hand with an iron hammer. He was too busy to get away, so he instructed Schutz.

"Okay, Mr. Wagner."

Schutz's hair looked orange under the firelight, but it was actually dark brown. He got up from the furnace and came over to Nolan to introduce:

"In addition to ordinary iron-tipped arrows, we also have armor-piercing steel arrows and fire-quenched arrows that Master Wagner forged carefully!"

"Armor piercing arrows?!" Nolan said in surprise, "Can they even penetrate the armor of the Knights of Favonius?"

"Cough." Schutz lightly coughed and said, "The armor of the Knights of Favonius is a bit difficult, but piercing ordinary thick iron plates is definitely not a problem!"

"Even so, it's still very good. What about the fire-quenched arrows?"

Nolan was more curious about the fire-quenched arrows compared to the armor-piercing arrows whose name he immediately understood.

Hearing Nolan finally ask about this, Schutz couldn't hide the corner of his mouth slightly upturned and said proudly:

"This is Master Wagner's latest masterpiece. Through special methods, it can imbue arrows with the fire element. Even ordinary people holding it can shoot arrows with flames. The arrow itself is equivalent to a two-star weapon!"

From Schutz's every move, it could be seen that he was really proud.

"Schutz, don't exaggerate!"

Wagner stopped his movements and listened to Schutz's praises. He was a little embarrassed himself. He simply explained:

"In the wild, some hilichurl mobs will repeatedly quench their axes in fire slimes to obtain elemental attacks. The fire-quenched arrows use the same principle.

I was just lucky to find some minerals containing fire elements and successfully incorporate them into the arrows. It's nothing much."

Nolan's eyes lit up slightly. Attacks with elemental powers were generally much more powerful than ordinary arrows, which was just what he needed.

He asked somewhat eagerly:

"So how much do these fire-quenched arrows cost?"

(End of Chapter)

To be continued...

Support me on - Advanced Chapters There!

/RedX43

Chapter 33: Chapter 33: Ellin at the Training Ground

"The Pyro Elemental Ore that is the most important for fire-quenched arrows is quite hard to find, so they cost 2,000 Mora each," the blacksmith apprentice Schutz answered.

Ordinary iron-tipped arrows cost 300 Mora each. The price for the fire-quenched arrows with the pyro element effect was still reasonable.

"What about the armor-piercing arrows?" Nolan continued to ask.

"600 Mora."

"I need 20 fire-quenched arrows and 50 armor-piercing arrows." Nolan decided after thinking about it.

Just 70 arrows in total cost 70,000 Mora. Fortunately, arrows were not single-use items. With some luck, shot arrows could be retrieved and reused.

"Okay, I'll go prepare them for you."

Schutz nodded. Bulky items like arrows were usually forged in large batches by Master Wagner and stocked in the storeroom.

Watching Schutz leave, Nolan turned to Wagner and asked:

"Mr. Wagner, since I've bought the arrows, do you have any good bows to recommend? As you know, my wooden hunting bow is a bit outdated."

Seeing the young adventurer was still willing to buy a bow, Wagner nodded and said:

"Well the hunting bow Draff used all of the time is just a common one-star weapon, it's fine for hunting, but you do need a more powerful and strong bow since you chose to be an adventurer!"

He continued,

"I have two-star bows here: the 'Seasoned Hunter's Bow' whose advantage is sturdiness and reliability. It's as if it will cooperate with you seamlessly!

There's also the 'Adventurer's Hunting Bow'. Its advantage is greater power, at least three times that of your wooden bow. What do you think? Like them?"

These were Wagner's proud works, and he certainly hoped to get the customer's approval.

"Three times?!"

Nolan was a bit surprised. If the Adventurer's Hunting Bow really had three times the power of the wooden bow, with his archery skills, could he break the core of the Ruin Guards with one arrow?

In comparison, the Seasoned Hunting Bow paled a bit.

"How much it cost?" Nolan asked the most important question.

Wagner raised his palm and gestured the number. "80,000 Mora, lowest price, no bargaining!"

You know I haven't even said I want to bargain yet? Nolan was a little helpless.

But 80,000 Mora was still within his budget. He could buy it. Right, he still had to go to the Knights of Favonius to learn swordsmanship from Eula in the afternoon. He couldn't bring a curved knife, so he had to buy a dull blade sword too.

As a one-star weapon, the dull-blade sword was not expensive, only 10,000 Mora.

So in total, 70,000 Mora for the arrows, 80,000 Mora for the Adventure's Hunting Bow, and 10,000 Mora for the dull blade sword. His original 200,000+ Mora was now depleted.

He had thought earlier that having too much Mora was inconvenient and he should deposit it in a bank. Now looking back, it seemed a bit funny. Mora just flew away when spending it.

After waiting for a while, Nolan took all the purchased items and left the blacksmith's shop.

He first returned to the small courtyard on Val Berry Street, put away the things in his hands, and then took the newly purchased Adventurer's Hunting Bow to practice and get used to it.

Even with ordinary iron-tipped arrows, it was much fiercer than the wooden hunting bow, as expected of a two-star weapon. Shot into the mud ground of the yard, the arrows sank two-thirds deep.

It was hard to imagine how strong the legendary five-star weapons were.

As a former monthly card holder and gaming addict, even in games, he had never pulled many golden five-star weapons. Now that he was really in Teyvat, obtaining such legendary items was not just about having money.

Seeing it was close to noon, Nolan went out to buy some ingredients and cooked a simple noodle dish for lunch. The portion was quite large, otherwise he wouldn't be full.

At 1 pm, Nolan arrived at the training ground behind the Knights' Headquarters with the newly purchased dull-blade sword.

As expected, Eula was already waiting there. What surprised Nolan was that besides Eula, there was also an orange-haired girl present.

She had the same hair color as Vile, and if he was right, she should be Ellin, who often practiced her swordsmanship here, and greatly admired the Acting Grand Master of the Knights of Favonius - Jean.

At this moment, Eula seemed to be instructing Ellin in the movement of swinging the sword, and she also noticed Nolan's figure.

"Not bad, you're not late."

Eula crossed her arms, a satisfied smile on her fair face.

"It's only natural." Nolan strode over, took out the dull blade sword, and asked, "So Eula, shall we start practicing now?"

"Wait a minute." Eula shook her head, her icy blue hair swaying slightly. She said to Ellin, "Ellin, your Favonius swordsmanship is very proficient now. You can go practice your combat skills against the wooden posts."

"Okay, Captain Eula."

Ellin nodded and curiously glanced at Nolan before going to a side to spar with the wooden posts.

She had come to the training ground, as usual, today to practice swordsmanship, not expecting to encounter the renowned captain Eula of the "Reconnaissance Company".

It was said that she was a rival to the Headmaster. Although she still thought that the Headmaster was more powerful, if she could learn swordsmanship from Eula, who was only slightly weaker than the headmaster, she might be able to get closer to the headmaster in terms of strength.

That's why she had asked Eula for guidance.

Looking at Ellin, Nolan couldn't help but think that he occasionally received daily commissions from her in the game.

Perhaps soon she would rack her brains on how to instantly destroy five wooden posts, and learn countless amazing sword skills from the Traveler. She would eventually exclaim, "So that's how it's done?"

"Her name is Ellin. She plans to participate in next year's knight selection trials and has been practicing hard recently."

Eula said as she looked at Ellin.

"Is the knight selection very difficult?" Nolan nodded and asked curiously.

"With her current strength, she should have no issues," Eula raised her right hand and flicked the hair beside her ear, then continued, "Before I start teaching you Favonius swordsmanship, go through it completely first and let me see how much you've grasped."

After speaking, Eula lowered her hand and crossed her arms over her bosom again, lifting up the full curve of her clothes.

Nolan made an acknowledging "hmm" sound upon hearing this. He then stood in the center of the training ground and performed the introductory [Favonius Swordsmanship - Fundamentals] with the dull-blade sword.

Since he had not invested any Adventure EXP, the level was still low and it looked very clumsy, just barely passable.

After all, he had promised Eula to come to the training ground precisely to gain favor through interacting with her. What if Eula thought he was already qualified and refused to teach him more after he reached a high level?

"I can see you've put in some effort and managed to practice the basics from the book."

After Nolan finished performing it once, Eula spoke in an appreciative tone.

Her knee-high boots that wrapped around her legs took two steps forward. The half of the inner leg ring that was used to prevent the boots from falling off sunk slightly into her soft snow-white thighs.

(End of Chapter)

To be continued...

Support me on - Advanced Chapters There!

/RedX43

Chapter 34: Chapter 34: Eula's Dance

As Eula came in front of the young adventurer, Nolan's level gaze was met with her fair face and soft, moist lips. It seemed that Eula was just a little bit taller than him.

Of course, Nolan was very sure that this was due to the slightly higher heels Eula was wearing.

"As you know from reading that book, Favonius Swordsmanship can be performed seamlessly whether using a single-handed or double-handed sword, so while it is convenient, it also seems rather basic. When one reaches mastery, everyone will incorporate their own understanding to create the Favonius Swordsmanship most suitable for themselves."

There was a faint smile on Eula's face, her lips parted slightly, simply introducing a particular feature of the Favonius Swordsmanship.

Nolan knew that the Favonius Swordsmanship was rather fundamental, but adding his own understanding seemed too early for him, after all, he had just started learning it not long ago.

Eula tugged at her sleeves which had slid up slightly from her crossed arms, covering her fair wrists. She continued,

"I have combined the Favonius Swordsmanship Fundamentals with the dance steps of the 'Dance of the Shimmering Wave' to create my own unique 'Favonius Swordsmanship'.

"So, do you want to learn it?"

She finished speaking with a confident smile on her face.

Although many of the Lawrence family's traditions could be considered remnants of the past, at least the dance called the "Dance of the Shimmering Wave" was pure and noble, bringing peace to one's state of mind. It had given her much solace.

The Favonius Swordsmanship created by combining it could be considered one of her rare treasures, not something she was willing to teach just anyone.

Just because you're Amber's friend, and you're one of my "enemies" that I feel comfortable with," Eula thought to herself.

[Eula Has Developed Good Feelings Towards You, Obtained 45 Affection Points. Current Affection Level Lv.2 (150/200)]

Looking at the sudden affection prompt, Nolan had no idea what admirable qualities Eula thought he possessed.

But it was good news anyway.

With higher affection, it seemed a bit easier to raise it further. After all, it was only natural that it would be easier compared to a total stranger, since there was now some understanding and friendship built.

As for Eula wanting to teach him her own unique Favonius swordsmanship, Nolan naturally wanted to learn it, he nodded with an excited expression on his face and said:

"Of course, I do. This is the swordsmanship of the famous 'Breaking Wave'!"

(T/N: I don't know if it's really the 'Breaking Wave' or not, I did search but did not find anything relevant. If you guys know let me know!)

The basics of 'Favonius Swordsmanship' were fully detailed in books. He just needed to follow them meticulously.

Seeing Nolan had grasped the basics and had decent talent, Eula didn't have much to instruct either. More practice would naturally lead to proficiency.

"Hmph." Eula lifted her snow-white chin slightly and spoke in a firmer tone, "Since you've agreed, don't give up halfway. Otherwise, I'll let you experience the 'Breaking Wave's' swordsmanship personally!"

"Uh-huh, I'll definitely stick to it."

Nolan's expression was serious, after all, learning the sword was not something that could be done overnight. That meant he and Eula would have plenty of chances to get along with each other, which also represented many chances to gain affection.

"Very well."

Eula hugged her arms, the dark blue necktie pressed against her upper abdomen, following the gently curved outline, slightly revealing an undulating semi-circular rise and fall.

"To learn my Favonius Swordsmanship, you must first pass the dance test. Next, I will teach you the 'Dance of the Shimmering Wave'."

The single-shoulder cape at her back fluttered in the gentle breeze. Eula was very satisfied with Nolan's response.

"Dance of the Shimmering Wave?!"

Although Nolan had prepared himself after hearing Eula's introduction earlier, dance was still quite unfamiliar territory for him.

It seemed he had only learned some basic ballroom dancing back in college elective courses, and had long forgotten it now. Fortunately, Nolan knew from that experience that his body flexibility was decent, and he could manage fairly difficult dance moves.

Moreover, after many strengthening enhancements(Aka Leveling Up), learning the "Dance of the Shimmering Wave" should not be too difficult.

"...Well, I suppose the full Dance might be somewhat demanding for a boy. After all, it is more suited to girls with graceful figures."

Holding her breasts, Eula lifted her right hand slightly, her fingers resting against her snow-white chin as she pondered for a moment:

"You can just learn the dance steps I incorporated into the swordsmanship."

"Ok, no problem."

Nolan nodded gently. He did feel when watching Eula's character demonstration that her Dance was very beautiful and elegant, but only if the person who danced was Eula.

Also, the moves were indeed more suited for girls. If he danced it might be a bit "eye-searing".

If possible, just learning the steps incorporated into the swordsmanship would be best.

"Watch my movements." Eula began her formal instruction, her right leg wrapped in black knee-high leather boots stood slightly forward on tiptoe, and her left leg, which fell behind, did the same.

Her whole body's center of gravity was on the tips of her feet.

Her boots fit snugly along her legs. From the pointed toes, up the calves to the knees and thighs, every section of her legs had wonderfully proportioned soft lines.

"This dance step combined with Favonius Swordsmanship can nimbly utilize the body's full power, gaining a greater advantage in combat."

Eula said as she completed the dance steps.

Nolan watched attentively and closely. Before long Eula finished a complete set of dance steps, looking at Nolan and asking:

"How is it? Did you memorize it?"

"Basically, I've memorized it."

If Nolan hadn't gone through level enhancement he probably would only remember Eula's snow-white legs and elegant, graceful beauty. But now he had memorized everything, it wasn't difficult.

"Oh?"

A trace of surprise appeared on Eula's face. Looks like Nolan's memory was pretty good.

Since he had memorized it, she didn't need to demonstrate again. Eula lightly nodded, brushing aside strands of hair beside her ear, "Then go ahead and practice it once, see if there are any mistakes or omissions."

Nolan didn't realize he had missed a chance to continue watching Eula dance. Hearing her instructions, he imitated Eula's earlier motions and repeated them once.

"Hmm..." Eula raised an ice-blue eyebrow before summarizing for Nolan, "It's very good, that you forcibly memorized the steps, but haven't grasped integrating your body's power, which is most crucial. Of course, no one can understand it immediately. Next, I will correct your motions one by one."

The issues she pointed out were also within his expectations. He really had just forcibly memorized and mimicked the motions, without true effect.

Under Eula's guidance, Nolan continued performing the dance steps, with Eula personally correcting him with hands-on adjustments.

Through the force feedback from Eula's hands making contact and exerting force on his body, Nolan could judge that in terms of power, she seemed much stronger than himself.

His current Level 10 self still had a huge gap compared to Mondstadt's top combat strength. Although likely much stronger than an average Favonius Knight, without testing he didn't know by how much.

Maybe I could ask Eula to help me test it?

(End of Chapter)

To be continued...

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Chapter 35: Chapter 35: Strength

[Comprehended "Favonius Swordsmanship - Royal"]

Today the sky is gray and gloomy, it is probably around dusk now.

After Eula's patient guidance, Nolan barely managed to learn the ritual dances and has also initially learned to combine and apply Favonius Swordsmanship, successfully getting a start on Eula's unique sword technique.

"It seems you've grasped it well." Eula nodded slightly.

Nolan wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, "Phew~ Eula you sure teach well."

"Hmph, cut down on the flattering words."

Eula's fair face lifted up slightly, speaking in a rather dissatisfied, prideful tone.

[Eula Has Developed Good Feelings Towards You, Obtained 75 Affection Points, Current Affection Level Lv.3 (25/300)]

Sorry, your heart has already betrayed your expression. Nolan looked at Eula with some amusement.

With Eula's current affection, the two of them were considered to be familiar friends, one step closer to max level.

"That's all for today, starting tomorrow our 'Spindrift Knight' unit will end our rest period and continue moving forward. Wait until my next rest period and I'll come test your progress, don't let my sword technique go to waste!"

Eula crossed her arms and propped them under her chest, slightly relieving some fatigue from standing too long. Her fair face faced Nolan, her words full of sternness.

It was as if she would hold a grudge against him again if he really did neglect the swordsmanship.

It's not like I can neglect it even if I wanted to. Nolan thought to himself, but he said:

"Don't worry, I'll make time to practice every day."

Speaking of which, if I could temporarily join Eula's Spindrift Knight, wouldn't I be able to increase my Adventure EXP by fighting monsters while interacting with Eula at the same time?

Nolan pondered the feasibility of this idea.

In the end, he realized it probably wouldn't work. After all, the Favonius Knights naturally have their own rules and regulations, it's not just a matter of wanting to tag along. So making this kind of request would also put Eula in a difficult position.

It wasn't very realistic, and could also negatively impact Eula's favorability towards him, since the two don't exactly have an unbreakable relationship right now.

"Alright, then I'll leave first."

Eula revealed a smile. Her legs clad in knee-high black leather boots separated and took a step to the right, just about to turn around, when Nolan's voice rang out.

"Wait Eula, there's one more thing I want to ask you for help with." Nolan called out to Eula.

"Hmm? What is it?"

Eula looked at him with her beautiful eyes.

"It's just that I feel like I should have grown stronger recently, but I don't know what level I'm at. So I wanted to ask Eula to help test me."

Nolan voiced his thoughts.

"Oh~ Should I take this as you challenging me?" Interest sparked in Eula's mirror-like eyes, and the Cryo Elemental Vision on her right shoulder glimmered slightly.

"Uh, don't get the wrong idea, I really just want to see where I stand."

Nolan said helplessly. As it neared evening, the cooling weather blew the 'Anemo Archon's Breath' with a slight chill. He didn't expect Uvra to joke with him like this too.

"Fine, bring it on!"

The blue metallic heels stepped on the rocky ground, the skin-tight black boots clearly highlighted the soft contours of the ankles. Eula stretched out her palm and gestured.

Looking at Eula's light blue gloved palm, Nolan did not hesitate and threw out a punch with all his might.

Bang!

A muffled sound rang out, his fist was grabbed, and through the skin of his hand, he felt a warmth and tenderness that could not be hidden even through the gloves.

Eula received Nolan's full-force punch, the sudden gust of wind stirred her icy blue hair into a mess, yet her right arm did not move an inch. The force dispersed throughout her body, pushing her back slightly.

Her voluptuous legs seemed frozen in place without the slightest tremble, but the blue metal heels still carved two shallow tracks into the ground.

Nice stability!

Nolan could not help but marvel internally. He realized that it was as if he was hitting Eula's whole body, not just her palm.

"Not bad strength." Eula released the fist her five fingers had wrapped around, nodding like a teacher praising a student, "Roughly equivalent to a normal Hilichurl Berserker's full-force flaming club swing."

"Hilichurl Berserkers are very different from ordinary Hilichurls. They are the one-in-a-hundred warriors of the Hilichurl tribes. Without elemental potions or weapons, just pure strength, it would take two or three regular Favonius Knights to subdue one."

After hearing Eula's explanation, Nolan finally had a clearer understanding of his own strength. With just his physique he could match a Hilichurl Berserker, with a weapon he could probably easily defeat it.

It seems to be a decent level, but having his full-force punch so effortlessly caught by Eula was still quite disheartening.

"Eula, so how much of your strength would my punch compare to?" Nolan asked curiously.

"If you were ten times stronger, you could arm wrestle me."

Eula crossed her arms under her chest again, speaking generously with some pride.

"..." Nolan was speechless.

After helping Nolan test his own strength, Eula left the training grounds. She had to resume her Caption duties starting tomorrow, so she still needed to brief her team members about the mission ahead of time.

After Eula left, the only ones left in the training grounds were Nolan and Ellin, who was diligently practicing her swordsmanship on a wooden post nearby.

Nolan still remembered that he had a commission from the fishing tackle store owner Sanborn that he had yet to do. After practicing swordsmanship for so long, he was tired and hungry, he needed to go find some food to fill his stomach.

Then take a quick rest and he should be ready to take action. By then Lucas should be back home too.

"Miss Ellin, you've been practicing for a long time, why not take a break? You need work-life balance." As he was leaving, Nolan greeted Ellin in passing.

Hearing someone call her, Ellin stopped her sword-swinging motions and used the back of her hand to wipe away some sweat. Looking over, she saw it was the Liyue young man whom Captain Eula had instructed in swordsmanship for an afternoon.

Of course, Ellin would not be envious. After all, Captain Eula also gave her pointers in swordsmanship occasionally, like today.

"You look like you were just practicing swordsmanship too. Could it be you're also participating in next year's knight selection trials?"

Ellin came over, wooden practice sword in hand, and asked curiously.

Nolan shook his head at his words:

"You can tell from my looks that I'm from Liyue. How could I participate in the knight trials?"

"It's just that when I was practicing swordsmanship at home, I happened to run into Miss Eula. Since I was so awful, she really couldn't stand watching, so she wanted to instruct me a bit. That's why I came here this afternoon."

"So that's why!" Ellin's eyes widened slightly, her expression surprised as she exclaimed, "Captain Eula really lives up to being an admirable Favonius Knight, she's so commendable!"

"Uh... she's pretty good, actually we're friends," Nolan said.

Ellin seemed to think of something at this moment, her eyes brightening as she said:

"That's right, I've been practicing swordsmanship for so long but never had a real match. How about we spar a bit?"

(End of Chapter)

To be continued...

Chapter 36: Chapter 36: Unexpected Information

Faced with Ellin's offer to spar, Nolan readily accepted, competing only in swordsmanship without any physical clashes.

In this case, he as a beginner in swordsmanship was certainly no match for Ellin.

After all, she had practiced swordsmanship for much longer than Nolan.

After being decisively defeated by Ellin's exquisite swordsmanship, Nolan felt his own skills had grown a little, becoming much smoother to use.

Opening his character panel and looking at it, sure enough, as expected [Favonius Swordsmanship - Fundamental] and [Favonius Swordsmanship - Royal] had gained some progress.

Better than nothing.

"Hehe, your swordsmanship still needs more practice!" Ellin was extremely happy to have defeated someone other than a wooden post with her swordsmanship for the first time.

"Don't get too cocky, this kind of thing will only happen once." Nolan smiled indifferently.

"Hmph hmph, we'll see about that."

There was nothing else to do, and since Ellin didn't want her parents to worry, she couldn't stay out too late. Seeing the excitement and elation on her face, could she be planning to go home and brag about defeating an opponent with her swordsmanship?

Nolan silently shook his head, too lazy to care.

Strolling leisurely on the road home, he descended the stairs leading back to the city district. The sky seemed to have darkened somewhat, not the dimness that comes as night approaches, but more like it was going to rain.

After some steps, the road ahead had scarce pedestrians. Glancing to the right was one of Mondstadt's several gigantic windmills.

The windmills were indeed majestic and spectacular. Using the immense force generated by the rotating blades driven by the wind, they could accomplish many things, like milling grains, oil pressing, and more.

"Finally found you!"

A voice came from the side. Looking along the neatly trimmed roadside bushes, it was Vile, still dressed in a modest trumpet-sleeved blouse that exposed her legs in dark shorts.

The pristine bandages around her knees were off, and the scraped skin underneath had disappeared without a trace.

"Vile, what are you doing here?"

Nolan asked puzzledly. And from her words, it seemed she had come looking for him. Could it be the monster materials he had her sell were already sold out?

Vile, her hair in a single ponytail, walked over and handed Nolan a small pouch, speaking slightly smugly:

"Here, this is your cut - sixty thousand Mora!"

"I sold the Slime Condensate and Secretions to some people from the Fishing Association, they urgently needed them to produce worm-like bait. The price they offered wasn't bad so I took the deal."

"It's much higher than the Adventurer's Guild and other shops specializing in monster materials."

"I also sold off the Chaos Devices to a Sumeru Scholar researching machine constructs. The price was about fifteen percent above market too. Pretty good right?"

Holding the small pouch, he weighed the feel of the Mora inside. This sum of Mora happened to make up for his injured wallet.

"As expected of Mondstadt's Information Broker, very impressive!" Nolan nodded in praise.

After all, being able to swiftly find out what the Fishing Association and visiting Sumeru scholars urgently needed could barely qualify for her self-proclaimed title of "Mondstadt Know-It-All".

[Vile Has Developed Good Feelings Towards You, Obtained 45 Affection Points, Current Affection Level Lv.3 (47/300)]

"Erm... cough, I still have to go find Noelle next, so I won't chat with you now."

Veil put away her smug demeanor, she still had to go give Noelle her cut, and didn't want to idle chat with Nolan for now.

Affection increased, as expected human nature desires recognition and praise from others.

"Alright then."

Watching Vile's retreating back as she waved goodbye, Nolan suddenly thought of something - couldn't he ask her about Old Man Sanborn's friend Lucas? This was her line of work after all.

"Hey, Vile! I have a business proposition!" Nolan called out to her from behind.

"Business?"

Vile stopped in her tracks bewilderedly and looked back. It took her a second to realize Nolan wanted to buy information.

"Go ahead, what do you want to know?" Vile placed her hands on her hip bones, continuing to speak with a giggling smile, "Since you're a friend who's helped me out before, I'll give you a twenty percent discount and prioritize investigating the intel you need, how's that?"

"...Then you might as well not give any discount."

Nolan was rendered speechless. Of course, he wouldn't care about this stuff anyway. He briefly explained:

"I want to know the recent whereabouts of Than Fishing Tackle Factory's sales manager - Lucas."

"Than Fishing Tackle Factory? Hmm, no problem, I can have all the recent intel on him for you by tomorrow." Vile nodded, indicating it was no issue. Just a regular person, so not difficult at all, an overnight job.

"Tomorrow?"

To be honest, the efficiency was okay, but Nolan wanted to finish this commission tonight instead of dragging it out.

Also, Vile would definitely need a good amount of Mora to especially investigate this. He was a little worried the reward Old Man gave him wouldn't even cover the cost.

Might as well just directly have Vile do the commission instead. So Nolan thought for a bit and said:

"No need to investigate, just any information you happen to know now will do."

Upon hearing Nolan's words, Vile raised a finger to her cheek, pondering for a bit before saying:

"To be honest, Mondstadt is so big, and Lucas isn't some famous figure either. Without investigating, there's not much I can find out. Though I do know Than Fishing Tackle Factory recently took out a huge loan from the Northland Bank, presumably for researching new fishing gear."

"I obtained this intel after a competitor asked me to investigate them."

The Northland Bank, could this matter be related to the Fatui as well? After all, Northland Bank was a banking institution the Tsaritsa established in foreign regions, controlled by the Fatui.

Looking at it this way, there seemed to be complex dealings going on behind the scenes. Nolan did not want to get involved with those dangerous Fatui fellows.

"So how about it, is this information useful?"

Seeing Nolan deep in thought, Vile felt it was probably somewhat helpful.

Nolan nodded. Information related to the Fatui was certainly valuable:

"It's quite useful indeed. How much would you charge?"

"Hmm... never mind, I've already sold this information once, I don't intend to take advantage of you. Consider it a gift then, but don't tell others, or it'd damage my reputation as 'Mondstadt Know-It-All'!"

Vile pondered for a bit before deciding to give Nolan the intel for free and warning him to be discreet about it.

"Haha, don't worry, no problem, thanks for the information!"

A smile appeared on Nolan's face as he patted his chest and said with assurance.

After obtaining Nolan's assurance, Vile left with peace of mind. Nolan glanced at the sky, luckily no rain yet. He first returned to the rental house on Val Berry Street at Lawrence's place.

Without time to heat water, he simply washed with cold water and then went out to fill his stomach. Returning with his Adventurer's Hunting Bow and dull blade on his back, he headed to Lucas's house under the night's cover.

If not for obtaining intel on the Fatui, he wouldn't have been so cautious. Even if the two matters end up unrelated in the end, and he was just overthinking, it was still better to play it safe.

(End of Chapter)

To be continued...

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Chapter 37: Chapter 37: Debt Agent

Mondstadt City, Dandelion Street.

A lantern hanging on a pillar emitted a dim yellow light, dispelling the nearby night's darkness. Nolan hid himself using the cover of alley buildings.

Just earlier, when he wanted to directly visit Lucas's house at 86 Dandelion Street, he saw a middle-aged man, slightly younger than Old Man Sanborn, walk out full of worry.

It was no surprise that he was Lucas. Where could he be going so late at night?

Sensing something amiss, Nolan tailed him from afar.

Although Nolan wasn't very adept at tailing, under the cover of night and the relatively complex layout of nearby residences, as long as he controlled himself to not make any sound, following a regular person would not get him discovered.

Without going too far, Nolan now saw Lucas enter a dead-end alley.

Could he be going to meet someone?

The light from the street lamps didn't reach too deep inside. Nolan could only slowly and silently approach, then climb onto the roof from the other side of the building, still without making any noise.

This was thanks to his control over his physical strength.

Lying prone on the tiled roof, Nolan was a little nervous, afraid of accidentally dislodging the tiles and getting discovered by Lucas down below.

Luckily no such thing occurred.

Nolan carefully poked his head out to peek at the alley. The scene before him made him slightly shocked.

In the deepest part of the alley where street lights couldn't reach, surrounded by a layer of gloom, even with his amazing vision from his sturdy physique, he could only vaguely make out Lucas standing before a hooded, mask-wearing figure.

That getup was all too familiar - it was a Fatui Debt Agent!

Their duties seemed to encompass more than just helping the Fatui collect debts, including assassination, intelligence gathering, and such.

Also, they wielded ritual blades infused with Pyro, and were highly proficient in a certain short-term invisibility assassination technique, making them very dangerous Fatui agents.

How did Lucas get involved with them?

Nolan did not brazenly stare down below. After all, these specially trained agents might notice if someone was observing them.

Luckily he could still hear their conversation from the roof.

"Mr. Christie, please grant me some more time, I will definitely gather the money to repay you all."

Lucas spoke in an ugly tone, lowering his head deferentially to the masked, hooded man before him.

In response to Lucas's plea, Christie spread his hands helplessly:

"By not going to your home directly, I'm already giving you a lot of face. You wouldn't want your wife and kids to know about the massive debt you've accrued behind their backs right? I already said, if you can get us the new trapping nets Than Factory is developing, we'll help you pay off the loan you took from Northland Bank."

Lucas ground his teeth resentfully in the alley's shadows:

"Impossible! That's Than's hope to rise in Mondstadt and even internationally. As long as we succeed in mass production..."

"You have no choice!" He was forcibly interrupted.

The debt agent Christie, wearing a hooded cloak and mask, spoke through the black mask over his face:

"Your loan contract with Northland Bank clearly states a fixed term for repayment. Getting you an extension of three months is already our limit."

"If you still can't pay it back, Northland Bank will have the right to send the Knights of Favonius to transfer ownership of your house and your Than Factory shares into the bank's name. For any remaining shortfall, you'll face imprisonment."

"By that time, you'll be left with nothing, disgraced and ruined!"

Lucas was left pale-faced by his words, because what he said was right, but how could he possibly gather so much Mora in a short period of time.

"It's all because you were too greedy, taking out personal loans to invest in your company's projects for dividend payouts. Although it was a good idea, and development of the new fishing gear went smoothly, looks like you won't live to see it hit the market."

The debt agent Christie mocked and ridiculed from beneath his mask.

"You bastard, you're just trying to steal our achievements!" Lucas shouted furiously.

"Hey hey, keep it down. If you attract patrolling Knights of Favonius over, I'll sell you out directly."

Christie spoke playfully.

"..Phew."

Lucas was silent for a while, his tone much calmer as he said:

"You're only in it for the money in the end. I can provide the trapping nets, but dividend rights must remain with me, or I definitely won't hand it over no matter what."

"Even if you lose your reputation and your wife, you'll be locked up for a few years in prison?" Christie thought, where's your confidence in making demands like this coming from?

"Yes!"

"..." Christie tapped his ear, wondering if he had misheard. After a period of silence, he said, "Fine, I agree to your terms."

To realize the Tsaritsa's plans, the Fatui indeed required massive sums of funds, which was why they went through such efforts using all means to make money.

This time, through Than Fishing Tackle Factory's loan from Northland Bank, they caught wind that Than Factory had developed some unique fishing nets, able to actively lure fish.

Northland Bank's leadership judged this fishing gear had high potential, but as a legitimate foreign bank, they couldn't openly make shady moves. So it fell to them, the debt agents, to step in.

Christie just didn't expect this old fool to suddenly become so stubborn.

But what does agreeing with you matter? When the time comes you'll be dead, go find your Lord Barbatos in the afterlife for dividends!

A sinister smile emerged from beneath Christie's black mask.

"Really?" Lucas's expression was somewhat surprised that this devil had actually agreed.

"Of course." Christie walked up two steps and patted his shoulder, finally glancing at him sideways, "But you need to hurry up, we don't want to wait any longer... humph."

Christie paid Lucas no more heed, and walked out of the alley without looking back.

Just then, a flash of light assaulted from the left. Christie's eyes narrowed, his right hand swiftly grabbing the attacker's wrist. In his hand was a sharp dagger, emanating a biting chill in the lightless night.

"Naive!"

Christie twisted his hand to disarm the dagger, flinging the sneak attacker Lucas behind him into the wall.

"Sitting in the sales manager position, how many years has it been since you trained your body? Even a Slime is stronger than you, too slow." Christie's words were icy cold, "Some things are best left unsaid and not overreaching yourself!"

He took out a ritual blade with a strange design from behind. Christie continued:

"You should understand, although important, that you are not indispensable!"

"Cough... cough..."

The heavy impact on his back caused Lucas to cough incessantly, his covering hand stained by the blood he coughed out.

Looking at the alloy edge on the approaching ritual blade, Lucas seemed to reflect back images of his wife and children, his old swindled friend, and his difficult earlier half of life.

In the end, it was all just a pipe dream.

From the start, his plan was that if negotiations fell through, they would go down together. He didn't expect himself to be so pathetic.

On the roof above the alley, Nolan watched as things inexplicably escalated to the current situation. He felt this had become a huge mess, he couldn't let him take a life.

(End of Chapter)

To be continued...

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Chapter 38: Chapter 38: The Battle

Beneath the hood, the black debt agent mask concealed Christie's calm expression. The ritual blade in his hand emanated a frigid edge.

He didn't actually intend to kill the fool before him. After all, things had been arranged for so long, killing him now and starting over would be too wasteful.

A proper scare was very necessary.

Christie raised the ritual blade in his hand. Its design was more suited for backstabs, but now he wanted this old fool to get a good look at the blade's sharpness, lest he get any more funny ideas!

When truly facing life and death, Lucas's eyes still flashed with a hint of regret. Were his previous actions a bit rash?

"Wai-"

Before his words fell, he saw the razor-sharp blade slash down towards him from above, and Lucas froze in terror for that instant.

Beneath his mask, the corners of Christie's mouth raised. Lucal's fear delighted him.

At that moment.

A spinning steel arrow silently intruded into his vision. Before Christie could react, he only felt the ritual blade flung from his hand by tremendous force.

After spinning twice in midair, the alloy blade plunged into the nearby wall. Half the arrow shaft was embedded in the stone ground.

"Armor-piercing arrow!" Christie's pupils constricted as he looked up at the roof where the arrow had come from, "Who's there?!"

On the roof stood a figure with a bow and arrow, features indistinguishable in the dim night.

"Undercover knight. You can't escape, surrender now."

This was naturally Nolan. He still had to save the guy after coming all this way.

And as a normal youth with proper morals, within his capability, he could not sit idly by in the face of such oppression of the weak.

"Undercover knight?"

Christie pulled his ritual blade from the wall, momentarily unclear on the relation between this "undercover knight" and the Knights of Favonius. What angered him was the notch carved into his blade's edge.

"Humph. Trickery and deceit!" Christie snorted coldly.

When it came to dealing with archers, none were better than them, the debt agents trained in covert assassination arts.

As long as he could get close, it would be no different from facing an unarmed weakling.

With these thoughts, Christie directly entered stealth mode. Even more untraceable in the night's darkness. His stealth duration was limited, so gripping his ritual blade, he rapidly approached the roof like a darting bird using the alley walls.

Seeing the debt collector vanish without a trace, Nolan also understood he had entered stealth. This should also be considered an extraordinary power, unlike Visions.

Although Teyvat was mainly centered around Elemental powers for the extraordinary, there were still other forces that existed, like Albedo's alchemy, Mona's astrology, and such.

Even martial arts, if cultivated to the pinnacle, would gain extraordinary and remarkable powers. After all, his senior martial sister Beidou from Liyue slew the sea monster "Haishan" with her own martial skills before obtaining a Vision.

A legend passed down among Liyue folk, so this "Haishan" surely was no common Slime or Hillichurl.

Therefore, Nolan was still very interested in the debt agent's rather potent "Stealth" technique. He was also lacking powerful skills like these.

There were many methods to counter the debt agent's "Stealth".

The first was to spread Elemental Energy around to tag the debt agent, then use Elemental Sight to see traces of that element on him.

But even among those who could wield elements, only a small number knew this technique.

Naturally, Nolan didn't. The debt collector's "Stealth" was only visual, footsteps and wind on his body were no different from normal.

As someone proficient in the "Hunter's Archery" to a certain extent, sensing by sound was his expertise.

He nocked a steel arrow, loosed it in a shot. The armor-piercing arrow grazed past the air and pierced the wall below in an instant. Based on the sound of his clothes tearing, it seems he dodged it.

"!?"

Christie looked at the armor-piercing arrow passing under his armpit, beads of cold sweat emerging on his forehead. A little closer and his arm would've been pierced through.

He kept calm. This "undercover knight's" archery was formidable. He couldn't be careless before getting close.

Without stopping, his toes tapped the wall lightly. In the last stretch of less than two seconds, the stealthed debt agent Christie reached the roof. The youth who called himself an "undercover knight" was right before him.

But the noise of his landing on the tiles was far too loud. Nolan loosed another steel arrow at him.

"BAM!"

With a crisp ringing sound, Christie reacted in time, the mask over his face shattered after being grazed by the armor-piercing arrow.

His stealth duration was almost up. No time to circle behind, the ritual blade slashed forth just as he left "Stealth".

Before Nolan could ready a second arrow, the silent, frigid edge flew straight at him as the debt collector's form appeared.

"Die!"

A frosty smile pulled at the corners of Christie's mouth beneath the black mask. Blame yourself for poking your nose where it doesn't belong.

"Hmph."

In Nolan's eyes, the debt agent's attack wasn't that fast, like the Slimes he encountered when he first crossed over.

It seems this debt agent wasn't that capable among their organization either.

Nolan moved first, raising his left hand holding the Adventurer's Hunting Bow. He grabbed Christie's wrist in time to stop the blade, leaving just a hair's width between the edge and his hair.

"How is this possible?!" Christie's voice from behind the mask was somewhat hoarse, but the shock in it couldn't be concealed at all. "You're an Archer, why is your..."

"Why is your strength so great?"

Nolan smiled and finished the sentence for him. His left hand twisted forcefully. The debt agent let out a painful cry.

"Arghhh!"

The pain in Christie's right hand prevented him from grasping his ritual blade. It clattered onto the tiles as he knelt, unable to stand steadily.

Damn it, he felt like he had been led into a trap! Christie's heartbeat raced, a trace of fear flashed through his mind.

Not only was this guy a skilled archer, but his physique was also considerable. Just like that Inspector of his. What to do, beg for mercy? But doing something so humiliating to Her Majesty, how could he...

"Thud!"

Before he could think clearly, there was a burst of pain at the back of his head then he blacked out.

[Defeated Powerful Enemy, Obtained 435 Adventure EXP]

"Don't yell so loudly. What if you attract the patrolling Knights of Favonius over? I haven't even asked you about your stealth techniques yet. Can't hand you over just like this."

Seeing the Adventure EXP gain prompt, Nolan smiled and threw the debt agent's words to Lucas back at him.

Gaze at the figure sprawled on the roof, he picked him up and jumped back down into the dark alley. There was still someone here after all.

(End of Chapter)

To be continued...

T/N: I know it's 'Sacrificial Knife', but just to make a difference I used 'Ritual Blade'. Think of this like you used the Knife in Valorant(Forsaken Skin).

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Chapter 39: Chapter 39: Captured

Nolan carried the unconscious debt agent to Lucas and frowned at the blood by his mouth:

"Mr. Lucas, you're unharmed, right? How are you feeling?"

"Cough cough... I'm fine, thank you so much for saving me." Lucas coughed lightly twice. From his complexion he seemed to be in no major danger, injuries not severe.

"Are you a Knight of Favonius?"

Lucas leaned against the wall to slowly stand up. Clearly from Nolan's self-proclaimed title, he thought he was a patrolling knight who discovered an anomaly here and came to save him by chance.

"No!" Nolan did not put down the person he was holding and directly admitted, "Your friend Old Man Sanborn commissioned me to investigate you. He found out you falsely reported goods prices to deceive him."

"I see... so it was like that."

An adventurer huh. Upon hearing this, Lucaa fell silent for a bit before sighing:

"I'm sorry to Sanborn. Didn't expect that I'd be saved tonight because of his commission too. The world is truly unpredictable."

"I really had no other choice, with Northland Bank urging me. That's why I got those crooked ideas..." As Lucas spoke, he only felt his face flush red, unable to lift his head either.

After all, deceiving a friend would truly bring deep shame no matter where.

"Forget it, you can explain these things to Sanborn."

"Also, I heard what you two said earlier. Old Man Sanborn even told me that if you really had difficulties, to help you out. But since the debt is owed to Northland Bank, please excuse me for being unable to do anything."

Nolan was helpless. Things were indeed like so. He took the commission for Mora. Who could've expected the commission's ultimate goal was to help Lucas repay loans? That would be a paradox.

Unless Sanborn was willing to pay this sum, but how was that possible? The loan amount for research and investment couldn't have been small. Sanborn was just a fishing tackle shop owner after all.

"No, you've already helped tremendously. Indeed the new fishing gear was only just researched successfully. Mass production would still require huge capital investment. I can only be left with nothing and go to jail."

Although still unwilling, Lucas could not change this fact.

Without the organization and Northland Bank behind Christie reconciling this, he would soon be sued by Northland Bank, and unsurprisingly sentenced to repaying debts with his assets, and still serve jail time.

"Alright, before you go to jail, you should still come with me to explain things clearly to Mr. Sanborn first. That way my commission can be considered complete."

Although Nolan saved him, he did not sympathize with Lucas. After all, deceiving a friend, Sanborn must have really trusted him.

"Um... I'm already going to jail, can I not go?" Lucas really had no face to show up.

Nolan placed his hand on the hilt of his sheathed dull blade at his waist, speaking in a threatening tone:

"What do you think?"

"I- I- I'll go, I'll go!"

Leaning against the wall, Lucas felt his legs go soft as he stammered while speaking.

Bringing Lucas to Sanborn's tackle shop,Nolan truly had no interest in watching the awkward scene between two old men.

He asked Sanborn for a length of coarse hemp rope, then found a secluded spot to tie up the debt agent like a zongzi rice dumpling, before slapping him awake.

Christie felt his head still muddled and groggy as he tried opening his eyes. A voice came from beside his ear.

"What's your name?"

"Christie."

Christie subconsciously stated his own name, then felt something off and immediately jolted awake.

He remembered he should have been in combat. Oh right, he got knocked out.

Christie strained to open his eyes, and sure enough, it was the bastard who knocked him out. Ah, sorry Your Majesty for shaming you.

He also discovered he was tightly bound in some corner outside a building. Could this guy want to interrogate Fatui's secrets out of me?

But I'm just a lowly nobody, how would I know anything?

"What do you want?" Christie regarded Nolan warily.

Nolan squatted down to meet his gaze and tried to show his friendliness, saying:

"Please relax, Mr. Christie. To be honest, kind folks like me are very against things like murder and silencing.

"Without the mask, you look quite young still. There's ample time ahead, as long as I don't speak and you don't speak, no one will know about tonight's events. You can just say Lucas refused to cooperate when you return, right?"

Without that condescending gaze from above, Christie's body loosened a bit. Hearing Nolan's words, he swallowed.

He seemed to have a point, so he asked:

"What is it you want?"

Seeing his scheme had succeeded, the corners of Nolan's mouth curled into a smile as he said:

"You see, no matter what I say, you'll probably have misgivings. How about this - when I'm in need, you provide me some assistance? We'd be friends then, so you needn't worry I'd sell you out. What do you think?"

"I apologize, but I will only ever be loyal to Her Majesty, Tsaritsa!"

Christie's expression was placid. He didn't expect this bastard to actually try and sway his loyalty to Her Majesty. Truly sinister intentions.

Luckily, he was professionally trained.

"I'm not asking you to betray your Tsaritsa. Just consider us friends. When I need it, provide me some intel from within your Fatui ranks. I guarantee it will never make you do anything against the Tsaritsa's will. How's that?"

Nolan smiled. These Fatui were quite loyal to the Tsaritsa of Snezhnaya after all. Since it didn't work, he chose to compromise.

Sure enough, with Nolan's compromise, Christie also became uncertain. He was still young and wanted to serve the Tsaritsa.

As long as he wasn't made to do anything harmful to Her Majesty, just reluctantly agreeing verbally wouldn't be an issue.

Christie's internal struggle also showed on his face. This corner outside the building was very quiet. The inside was probably a warehouse with no one around.

Soon enough, Christie with light blond hair beneath his hood inhaled deeply and calmly said:

"Fine, I agree to your request."

He currently had no way to defy Nolan. Not agreeing was useless since even with his ritual blade, it wouldn't work.

"Very good, I'll untie you now."

Nolan smiled quite happily and began untying the hemp ropes around Christie. While doing so, he asked casually:

"Christie, how do you achieve that Stealth of yours?"

This was Nolan's true aim. Whether or not Christie the Fatui debt agent agreed to help him didn't matter. He just wanted this Stealth skill.

Asking directly would likely elicit rejection. But proposing a more difficult request first that was agreed to, then this one should be fine as well.

If he didn't agree, Nolan could compromise again and ask just for this skill.

By then, if Christie still didn't get it, that would just be rude. What surprised Nolan was how simply he had agreed.

Heh, looks like although the sunshine is obscured today, Nolan's luck isn't bad~

(End of Chapter)

To be continued...

CREATORS' THOUGHTS

iRedX43

Advanced Chapters On My P treon!

Chapter 40: Chapter 40: Stealth Assassination Techniques

This guy really knows no tact, barely agreeing before eyeing their Fatui special agent assassination techniques.

Christie was speechless. He tugged at the brim of his black hood, trying to conceal his enviously youthful and handsome face revealed when his mask broke.

The assassination techniques learned by the debt agents could be considered secret outside, but there wasn't anything precious within the Fatui.

Since this asshole agreed to let him go, there's no harm in giving him the "Stealth Assassination Technique".

Let's see you keep caring once I escape and return! We'll never meet again!

Nolan didn't know his thoughts, and it didn't matter if he did. It was just giving him a reason to willingly hand over the skill.

Humans were just contradictory creatures like so.

If Nolan used coercive force to threaten Christie, if he felt he couldn't back down for dignity's sake, and his self-esteem was greatly damaged, he might just say he'd rather die.

Could Nolan still kill him then?

Encountering a debt collector he could currently beat wasn't easy. After all, the stronger ones could attach Pyro to their ritual blades, while he only had the alloy Hunting Ritual Blade.

Hunter's Sacrificial Blade was just 2-star. There was still the 3-star Agent's Sacrificial Blade and the 4-star Inspector's Sacrificial Blade above it.

If the quality was too low, attaching elements could easily lower the weapon's hardness, making it fragile. That would be too costly in combat.

Fighting with it when suddenly your weapon shatters, that scene could be imagined.

He wondered if Christie knew how to attach Pyro to blades, or if higher tier ritual blades were truly elemental weapons like Diluc's Elemental Burst Dawn that fused Pyro crystal ores.

"Since you want 'Stealth', I can write it down for you."

Christie just wanted to quickly fulfill this guy's demands for now, then leave swiftly.

"That works."

Currently lacking writing materials here, Nolan brought him to the still open Mondstadt General Goods store to buy paper and goose feather pen.

Nolan wasn't worried about him faking it. After all, there was no "succumbing to demonic flames" saying in Teyvat. As long as he could get started, it meant the skill info was correct.

Along the way, Nolan also inquired about debt agents being able to attack using Pyro attached to their blades.

Christie seemed somewhat surprised. He didn't expect Nolan to know of this. Though that was an elemental weapon only master agents who cultivated "Stealth" to perfection had a chance of obtaining it.

Hearing it was just a weapon effect, Nolan felt a little disappointed. Though he supposed mastery over Elemental powers wouldn't be so commonplace.

Otherwise, the Fatui wouldn't have needed to specially research the side-effect-ridden Delusions to mimic Visions.

After obtaining this manual on "Stealth", Nolan asked Christie for a method to contact him, and then allowed him to leave.

With the main objective accomplished, Nolan returned to Sanborn's tackle shop.

By now, Lucas had already left, with only the dispirited Sandborne sitting behind the counter.

"What's the matter, Mr. Sanborn?" Nolan asked with concern. Though from his expression, he could probably guess things didn't go as he had hoped.

"Lucas was indeed wrong, but I cannot help him."

Beneath the candlelight in the corner, Sanborn stroked his whitened hair and shook his head.

What pained him wasn't the money lost from Lucas's deception, but more the act of betrayal itself. He also lamented the possible imprisonment his old friend might face.

"Let it be. Young adventurer, your commission can be considered complete. This is your payment."

Sanborn did not continue speaking deeply about this with Nolan. Instead, he directly handed over a bag of Mora, perhaps needing some quiet time alone.

This matter was unrelated to Nolan now. Today's gains were decent too. He nodded twice and bid farewell.

On the way back to Val Berry Street, he passed by "Good Hunter" restaurant for a late-night snack. After all, he had been busy for a while and was tired and hungry.

Sanborn's payment was 50,000 Mora. Quite generous just for investigating some matters about Lucas.

On the obscure night, the pent-up drizzle finally began to fall. With no choice, Nolan had to run back home.

Returning home, Nolan impatiently began studying the debt agent's "Stealth Assassination Technique".

This was the first near "extraordinary" skill he had obtained. Perhaps archery or swordsmanship at higher levels would also exhibit "extraordinary" aspects.

But his Adventure EXP was still too low, unable to instantly maximize level and reach "extraordinary" standards.

He should go to Katheryne tomorrow to see if there were commissions for clearing monsters, and also didn't know how the investigation into the Thousand Winds Temple ruins by the Adventurers' Guild was going. The reward hadn't been given yet.

Nolan finally finished reading through "Stealth Assassination Technique". It was a martial skill researched specifically for the debt agents' peculiar ritual blade weapons.

The 2-star Hunter's Sacrificial Blade Christie used likely couldn't be used anymore after being chipped by his armor-piercing arrow. It was probably left on that rooftop during the fight.

But he could still practice without a ritual blade. A short sword or dagger worked too, just less suitable and weaker.

Also, the "Stealth" and "Assassination" parts of the "Stealth Assassination Technique" could actually be separated. Only "Assassination" had weapon requirements.

"Stealth" was more like an independent mystic technique. It could be learned on its own without special needs. Though the two complemented each other to exert their full potential.

Looking at the study's clock, it was nine at night, not yet time to sleep. Nolan began practicing the "Stealth Assassination Technique", involving both "Stealth" and "Assassination".

After all, he could directly upgrade by investing EXP after getting started, no need to worry at all.

He had just gained some Adventure EXP from defeating Christie too, perfect for testing how far he could take it.

Time slowly passed as Nolan treated practicing "Stealth Assassination" as kind of entertainment. With this self-suggestion, he practiced rather attentively.

Until one in the morning, he finally heard the delightful sound.

[Comprehended "Stealth Assassination Technique"]

Phew, Nolan stopped his body movements and opened his character panel with some anticipation:

Name: Nolan Walker

Level: Lv.10 (0/1000)

Race: Human

Title: None

Innate Talent: Entangling Affection

Skills: Hunter's Archery Lv.3 (0/300), Favonius Archery - Fundamentals Lv.2 (0/200), Martial Arts Lv.2 (0/200), Favonius Swordsmanship - Fundamentals Lv.1 (1/100), Favonius Swordsmanship - Royal Lv.1 (2/100), Stealth Assassination Technique Lv.1 (1/100)

Specialties: [Descender][Maiden Savior]

Adventure EXP: 719

As expected, it appeared in his skills. Just getting started so no effects are visible yet. Nolan invested all his Adventure EXP into it.

(End of Chapter)

To be continued...

Chapter 41: Chapter 41: Bennett

[Adventure EXP - 599, Stealth Assassination Techniques Lv.4 (0/400).]

120 EXP remaining. Giving it some thought, he didn't invest all the 700+ EXP. After all, that wouldn't hit Level 5 anyway, better to save some.

The instant he finished investing EXP, all sorts of experience and techniques related to "Stealth Assassination Techniques" appeared in his mind.

As if he had truly accumulated this level bit by bit through daily practice.

At Level 4 "Stealth Assassination Techniques", aside from letting him adeptly utilize assassination techniques, he could also enter "Stealth" for ten continuous minutes. It would automatically dispel when attacking.

This duration was already very good.

When he had just started at Level 1, he only had a stealth time of about ten seconds. Considering the earlier fight with Christie, Nolan guessed he was also just a beginner, not even Level 2. Otherwise, the duration wouldn't have been so short.

Level 2 could maintain stealth for one minute, Level 3 was five minutes, and Level 4 was ten minutes. He wasn't clear on Level 5 yet since he hadn't reached that point.

The increase was likely significant.

Ten minutes of Stealth was already enough for him to accomplish many things. At least dealing with monsters would be much easier now.

Obtaining a new skill put Nolan in great spirits. He kept testing it out until two in the morning when he really couldn't stay up any longer and went to bed.

The night had passed, and it was early morning now.

Due to sleeping late, Nolan also woke up a bit later. By the time he arrived at the Adventurers' Guild, it was almost noon.

"Ad astra abyssosque! Welcome to the Adventurers' Guild."

Hands folded before her, bearing the manners befitting her dress, Katherine greeted Nolan with a smile.

"Good morning, Katherine." Nolan likewise smiled in response.

"It's not early anymore though. Are you here to ask about the ruins?" Katherine shook her head slightly as she spoke.

After last night's drizzle, brilliant sunshine shone on the reception counter. The slightly obstructed rays from the eaves allowed Katherine to stand in the shade without getting toasted.

Nolan nodded and said:

"Mainly to take today's commissions. If there's any news about the ruins, I'd also like to know."

"Of course. I was also looking for a chance to update you all." The breeze brushed strands of Katherine's black hair by her eyes. She blinked and continued:

"Yesterday, the guild's outstanding investigators found the ruins you spoke of and did some initial scouting, obtaining plenty of useful intel."

"Oh, please elaborate." Nolan's gaze revealed curiosity, wanting to find out more.

Katherine's delicate chin nudged as she plainly relayed without keeping him in suspense:

"Those ruins are very dangerous, but also valuable."

"According to the investigator's report, there are many ancient defense systems inside those ruins. Not just the Ruin Guards, but also Ruin Hunters, Ruin Graders, and so on."

"And in order to excavate the treasures and secrets within, Guildmaster Cyrus has decided to organize an expedition crew for initial exploration starting tomorrow."

"Your reward along with Noelle and Miss Vile will be dispensed after exploration concludes."

Hearing Katherine's account, since there were so many Ruin-type machines, those ruins were likely related to Khaenri'ah. But Nolan wasn't a Traveler, so he had little interest in that history.

He only felt that with so many monsters, wouldn't he be able to gain massive amounts of Adventure EXP? He still remembered those five Ruin Guards in Thousand Winds Temple gave him the most EXP ever.

Getting the reward after initial exploration made sense too. After all, each ruin's value differed. At a minimum, the initial harvest had to be obtained before rewarding the discoverers.

Otherwise, it might send the signal that "even ruins without value can get huge rewards" to other adventurers.

That would be unreasonable.

Giving too little would be the same reasoning.

"I see." Nolan nodded in understanding, then asked, "Katherine, can I also participate in tomorrow's ruin exploration? How does one sign up?"

"Since this ruin exploration is rather dangerous, to reduce accident risks you'll need to join an expedition crew, or find at least two teammates."

Katherine still had her hands folded before her as she smiled and spoke.

The Adventurers' Guild was quite responsible towards its member adventurers. Adventurer wasn't blindly going alone into danger. That privilege was only for very capable, renowned adventurers.

The expedition crew system was set up so everyone could support each other, and not end up dying alone in some unknown place.

Even with Nolan's current ability, he didn't dare claim he could explore these ruins solo.

Better play it safe and find two teammates.

"Also, to participate in tomorrow's secret ruin exploration, you'll need to find teammates and sign up today."

Katherine raised a finger to draw attention as she supplemented.

"Today? No problem!" Nolan nodded twice at her words.

He pondered briefly. This wasn't difficult at all. He could look for Noelle again, she surely wouldn't decline.

She had always aspired to be a Knight of Favonius. This adventuring experience could allow Noelle to grow.

According to Jean, Noelle was rejected from knighthood not because she lacked strength. She was stronger than many official knights.

Jean's exact words were "There is still weakness in her heart. Perhaps this stage is not yet suitable for exposing her to the outside world's dangers."

Well, that's probably it.

As for the other teammate... Nolan stroked his chin as he mentally went through his limited friends.

Vile wouldn't work. Being bullied by some Hydro Slimes was far too weak. Amber had reconnaissance duties for the Knights so wasn't suitable.

Eula should have already departed with her team today.

It seemed everyone was busy with their own matters, except Noelle who might have time. No wait, even Noelle may not necessarily have time.

He still remembers in Noelle's original story, due to over-enthusiastic helpfulness she often neglected her own safety and frequently ended up in danger.

Jean could only "invent" some safe duties for her, to avoid exposing her to risks.

So there was no guarantee Noelle would happen to be free when Nolan looked for her. Also, if Jean found out he wanted to bring Noelle into such a dangerous secret ruin exploration, he didn't know if she would detain him on the spot.

Thinking of that possibility, Nolan got a little scared. He couldn't look for her at the Knights' headquarters.

Jean's office was just left of the hall. She had a gentle personality so that was fine, but the more dangerous Miss Lisa resided in the right wing's library. Seemed troublesome.

Might as well wait for Noelle to get off work and see. But to prevent not catching Noelle outside the HQ, he still needed some backup options.

Just as Nolan was racking his brains, a cheerful youthful voice came from behind.

"Miss Katherine, I'm here to sign up for tomorrow's ruin exploration!"

Nolan turned to look. Blond hair pressed down by his goggles, resolute and determined eyes, and a bright grin - it was Bennett.

(End of Chapter)

To be continued...

Chapter 42: Chapter 42: Searching

What kind of person was Bennett?

Those familiar with him would probably say he was a hapless youth plagued by "misfortune".

His bad luck exceeded common sense. Bizarre accidents like rock slides would mysteriously occur during adventures. Treasure right before his eyes but ending up empty-handed due to all kinds of mishaps.

Always covered in wounds, like a boy abandoned by the world.

But his passion for adventure burned fiercely like fire. All misfortunes became stepping stones for him to become a great adventurer.

When Nolan learned of Bennett's story in the original work, Nolan was deeply shocked and impressed by this young man.

What kind of passion and willpower allowed one to stand up again and again after repeated falls and still smile?

Sigh, Nolan deeply exhaled.

"Bennett, going alone is too dangerous."

Katherine lightly shook her head, declining Bennett's request.

"Oh..." Bennett rubbed the back of his head, then pressed his palms together pleadingly, "Please, Miss Katherine. I already asked my Benny's Adventure Team members earlier, but they said they had an upset stomach recently and can't make it over."

"But as the captain, adventure must press on even alone, right? I have to set a good example for them. Please, Miss Katherine!"

Bennett earnestly pleaded again.

Nolan at the side felt like retorting - your team members have already defected. it's just that Miss Katherine is just too kind to point it out directly.

Now Katherine also showed a troubled expression.

Nolan wondered if there was a chance to temporarily team up with Bennett.

Although Bennett was unlucky, even dragging those around him into it, there were no records of his teammates getting seriously injured. Nolan was surely much stronger than the average adventurer. He was confident he could handle Bennett's misfortune.

Moreover, Nolan looked at the Pyro Elemental Vision hanging on Bennett's portable waist pouch.

As known, Visions embodied their wielders' "ambitions".

And everyone's ambitions differed. So even identical Vision types resulted in different abilities realized depending on the individual.

Take Pyro Visions for example.

The basics of course were guiding and manipulating Pyro. Combined with the wielder's traits and strengths, their unique Elemental Skills took form.

For Amber who also used Pyro, her Elemental Skill was fusing Pyro with Bunny to create a monster-distracting bomb - Explosive Puppet.

Bennett's Elemental Skill - Passion Overload - was a bit more peculiar.

He could fuse his adventuring passion with Pyro onto his sword. Effects varied based on the passion imbued.

Average passion simply cloaked his strikes with Pyro. More passion could blast small enemies away. Too much passion strengthened the attack but also blew himself back.

Very interesting.

Using Elemental Skills built up Elemental Energy. Absorbing enough allowed the triggering of more powerful Elemental Bursts.

Amber's was firing continuous arrow rain with Pyro arrows - Fiery Rain.

But Bennett's Elemental Burst also reflected his understanding - gently releasing Pyro as the morale-boosting Fantastic Voyage field.

It could heal and empower those in the field. Gamers knew his usefulness well.

So Nolan pondered, wouldn't "Fantastic Voyage" combined with his Adventurer's Hunting Bow be way too overpowered against monsters? Just snipe them from the range!

Especially Ruin Guards with obvious weaknesses. The advantage would be tremendous.

He was also lacking teammates and genuinely hoped to team up with Bennett out of admiration for his tenacity.

So amidst their hesitation, he approached and said:

"Um, Katherine, and Mr. Bennett. I also happen to lack teammates, so how about... the two of us team up?"

"Really?!"

Bennett who was somewhat dejected instantly revived full of spirit at the nearby stranger adventurer's words.

His emerald eyes shone like stars.

Usually due to his terrible luck, after his members took leave he basically adventured alone. Now someone actually volunteered to explore the ruins together with him. Needless to say, he was elated.

"Of course." Nolan gave an affirmative reply.

"It's possible, but you'll need at least three people."

Katherine was also secretly relieved to see Bennett find a teammate.

"Great!" Hearing Nolan's confirmation, Bennett was excited, then dampened by Katherine's follow-up. "We still need one more teammate huh..."

Although the senior guild members were very accommodating, when it came to adventuring together, it was truly another story.

For the supremely unlucky him, finding another teammate really was a bit difficult.

"Don't worry, leave the last teammate to me." Nolan said with a smile.

Although he said this, there was no guarantee he could find someone. Might as well go to the Knights first to look for Noelle.

With this thought, Nolan asked Bennett:

"I have a friend at the Knights HQ. Shall we head over to ask now?"

"I see. Then I'll try my luck at the tavern to see if any adventurers are willing to team up. Can't let you do all the work."

Bennett rubbed the bandaged scrape on his nose and replied.

"Sounds good."

After a simple introduction, Nolan and Bennett temporarily left the Adventurers' Guild, agreeing to meet back there at 4 pm whether they found a teammate or not.

Once again at the Knights of Favonius HQ, it would be too weird to squat outside after all.

Using borrowing books as a pretext, Nolan entered to see if Noelle was around.

The great hall was still spacious as usual. Knight Wyratt stood guard outside the library.

Nolan walked over and asked:

"Excuse me Mr. Wyratt, may I ask you something?"

"Oh, it's you again. Here to find Miss Amber?" The armor-clad Wyratt still remembered this Liyue youth. "She's already departed for recon duties and won't be back until the afternoon."

"Um, not here for Miss Amber this time. I wanted to ask if Miss Noelle is in?"

Although friends with them, Nolan still used more formal addresses before others.

"Miss Noelle? Let me think..." Wyratt's metal gauntlets stroked his chin. Soon he said:

"Ah right, I remember now. Early this morning, Little Klee wanted to sneak out adventuring again, but got caught red-handed by Master Jean. To prevent Klee from sneaking off again, she had Noelle keep an eye on her."

(End of Chapter)

Chapter 43: Chapter 43: Princess Who Brings the End

The Knights' Hall's sides were lined with windowless rooms, no sunlight streamed in. Learning Noelle was watching Klee and unavailable, Nolan could only leave for now.

He continued to wander around the HQ for a few more rounds, and also passed by Anemo Archon Statue Plaza, but didn't find Noelle.

In a city as big as Mondstadt, finding someone wasn't easy. Seemed he could only think of another way.

After pondering, he could only go check on Bennett's situation first.

The landscape shrubs along the street were neatly trimmed, quite relaxing to behold. Nolan spent some time arriving at Mondstadt's most famous tavern, "Angel's Share".

He wondered if he might encounter the famed night hero - Master Diluc.

In Mondstadt, people loved wine.

Most of Mondstadt's wine industry was tied to Dawn Winery. Even "Angel's Share's" biggest rival, "The Cat's Tail" tavern, collaborated with Master Diluc.

After a tiring day, adventurers always came to the tavern for a drink.

So it made sense for Bennett to look for teammates at the tavern.

As it was daytime, there weren't many drinkers outside "Angel's Share". Pushing the door open, Nolan saw only a sparse few inside. No Diluc either.

At this time, how could Bennett find willing teammates?

With this doubt, Nolan declined Charles the bartender's new wine recommendation, and looked around for Bennett.

"Really? You're really willing to team up with me?"

A familiar voice came from the side. Following it, Nolan spotted Bennett at one of the tables inside.

A girl with a night raven at her side sat opposite him with arms crossed - Fischl.

"Why would this princess deceive her own attendant?!" Fischl's head tilted arrogantly to the side.

The dark wings fluttered lightly as Oz said:

"Miss, he hasn't agreed to become your attendant yet."

"Oz, shush!"

Fischl glared at the spectral night raven with her right eye that wasn't covered by the black eyepatch.

"Hehe, it's fine as long as you're willing to team up with me."

Bennett rubbed the back of his head, an honest grin on his face.

Oh? Nolan didn't expect Bennett to meet Her Highness, let alone that they seemed to have come to an agreement based on their chat.

Quite surprising.

Nolan walked over to them.

Oz's senses were sharp. Realizing Nolan approached them, he said:

"Sir Bennett, is this the other teammate you mentioned?"

"Huh? Why are you over here Nolan? Did your friend agree?" Hearing this, Bennett turned and showed slight confusion in his emerald eyes.

"Seems she's busy, didn't find her."

Nolan shook his head in response.

"I see. No worries, I found a teammate on my end. We can go sign up with Miss Katherine now."

Bennett spoke excitedly.

"I am Fischl, Prinzessin der Verurteilung! Strange one, do you also wish to become my attendant?"

Fischl's fair face looked to Nolan. Her left eye is covered by the eye patch, some golden hair also obscures the black accessory.

Before Nolan could reply, the raven Oz fluently relayed:

"The princess says it's nice to meet you."

Nolan nodded. Knowing Fischl's personality, her way of speaking wasn't strange at all. He played along with a couple of lines:

"I heed your call, Your Highness!"

"Oh? Impressive."

A slight surprise flashed in Oz's dark eyes. Not many could follow the princess's lines.

"Hmph. I suppose you understand. This princess accepts your loyalty!"

Fischl's gaze brightened somewhat, her words nearly slipping into a kindred spirit tone before hastily correcting herself.

Not bad at all, this one.

[ Fischl Has Developed a Favorable Impression Of You, Obtained 150 Affection Points. Current Affection Level Lv.2 (50/200) ]

Did she actually develop so much affection directly towards him? Nolan secretly marveled in his heart.

Though this was also unsurprising to him. Most would find Fischl's speech a bit strange.

Even with the raven Oz, she would still feel a little lonely at times. When someone willing to be on the same wavelength appeared, feeling happy was unavoidable.

"Um, haha, thank you for willing to team up Miss Fischl, and you too Mr. Raven. I'm Nolan Walker from Liyue, a novice adventurer currently."

Nolan introduced himself to the newly met friends.

He didn't completely adopt Fischl's speech patterns. After all, they just met. Displaying such a deep understanding of her would seem suspicious from the perceptive of Oz.

Following for a line or two could still pass off as playing along with the joke.

But overdoing it might make Oz suspect ulterior motives.

"Hmph."

Fischl gave a somewhat disappointed harrumph, responding with a princely aloofness.

"Greetings, I am Oz the raven, the princess's familiar. Nice to meet you, adventurer, from afar."

The wing-flapping Oz spoke earnestly.

"With this, we meet the minimum three-person requirement. Let's hurry to Miss Katherine for registration!"

Bennett stood excitedly. He was someone passionate towards adventure.

"Very well."

Fischl pushed her chair back and stood up. Raising her left hand to adjust her eyepatch and flicking her right hand into a cool pose, she declared:

"The time has come!

"The forgotten realm emerges once more, and causality crossing time's torrent seeks us again.

"The ruler of the 'Ashen Darkness', the Princess Who Brings the End, shall lead her champions to stamp out the smoldering embers of evil!"

Unsure what to make of it, Bennett scratched his hair puzzledly. Oz calmly paraphrased:

"The princess says she'll surely lead everyone to the ruin's treasures."

The three plus one raven successfully registered with Katherine. She also said Fischl was one of the investigators sent to scout the secret ruins.

This made Bennett feel somewhat idolizing. Nolan thought it unsurprising.

Among the Adventurers' Guild investigators, Fischl was outstanding, mainly because she could access Oz's vision. Whatever Oz saw, she saw.

It felt like sitting at home while sending Oz out to survey the world.

Next, Katherine briefed them on what to take note of.

Firstly, the exploration was scheduled for 6 am tomorrow. They would gather at the city gates to depart under Guildmaster Cyrus's lead.

Upon reaching Thousand Winds Temple, a supply camp would be set up temporarily.

Exploring secret ruins wasn't quick work. Thoroughly excavating a large secret ruin could take up to half a month. Sufficient provisions must be ensured, along with the most crucial medical teams.

Adventurers came for treasure and couldn't leave empty-handed, much less lose their lives.

(End of Chapter)

Auxiliary Chapter Updated!

Chapter 44: Chapter 44: Exploration of the Secret Realm of Ruins

The sky was still dim as a new day arrived.

On the yard's enclosing wall, the morning breeze carried dandelion seeds drifting atop it, spinning lightly on their own.

Nolan glanced at the clock, half past five in the morning.

He had his Adventurer's Hunting Bow and a quiver full of arrows on his back. At his waist was still the dull blade.

After confirming nothing was missed, Nolan stepped out towards the city gates. Around six, he arrived to see Fischl and Oz appear together.

Bennett also came over, yawning and rubbing his drowsy eyes.

"Behold, your indolent mien!" Fischl inspected her nails, one hand in an asymmetrical black silk glove. She spoke haughtily, "As those who attend my side, how can you be so remiss of my dignity amidst the inky journey!"

"The princess says she has waited for you quite a while." Oz the princess's familiar relayed.

"Haha."

Bennett rubbed the back of his head, baring his pearly whites in a grin: "Got too excited last night and chatted some more with my dads."

"Your Highness, please pardon us." Nolan also said with a smile, "Speaking of, aren't there a bit too many people?"

Nolan cast his gaze around them.

Fully-geared adventurers continuously headed out the city gates. He had only seen such a sight at the Mondstadt Marketplace.

"Some larger expedition crews. They're rich in adventure experience, indispensable main forces for ruin digging."

Bennett shared what he knew.

Nolan nodded at his words. Come to think of it, he did seem to encounter expedition crews recruiting before.

With so many novice adventurers, going alone without experience was still somewhat inappropriate. They would usually have seniors bring them along.

Joining those, or gathering some buddies to form a crew were good choices.

Bennett was the latter probably.

Unfortunately, his terrible luck as captain caused accepted commissions to fail bizarrely. His members had no choice but to take leave, for various reasons.

Actually, they had long defected already.

Still, Kindhearted Katherine didn't tell him. Otherwise, the Benny's Adventure Team of just one captain would have long been deregistered.

While Nolan's thoughts wandered, Fischl placed both hands on her waist, facing the city gates, and declared:

"I hear it, the forgotten realm's fate calls to me! Sing, my servants!"

Oz's dark wings fluttered. "The princess says it's time we set off."

"Well, Fischl already said so. Let's be on our way then." Nolan said softly.

Outside the gates were rows of carriages. Aside from those the Adventurers' Guild used for transporting supplies, some large expedition crews also had their own.

Unlike small teams like them, the crews could relax and ride to their destination.

Fischl stood before them the entire time, maintaining a leader's dignity.

After waiting a while, Guildmaster Cyrus gave everyone some pointers on exploring secret ruins, then led the expedition forth.

The reminders were mundane. Like treating each other amiably in the secret ruins, mutual assistance, reporting any conflicts to the guild for mediation, and such.

Next, led by the guild's carriages, the grand procession thundered off like a dragon.

Nolan's team of three plus one raven followed inconspicuously amidst the crowd. After some time, they arrived at Thousand Winds Temple and began setting up the temporary supply camp.

Since this camp served all adventurers, Nolan and the others also needed to help out.

With so many people, the temporary camp was quickly built, and wall lamps were also installed in the dark passage of the ruins for everyone's convenience.

Next, the secret ruin exploration officially began.

Thousand Winds Temple, Secret Realm of Ruins.

Nolan felt a little dizzy as he just stepped through the secret realm portal. He shook his head and quickly recovered.

Standing in front of him was Fischl, who had come over first. The split swallowtail black-faced purple skirt hid the asymmetric black semi-transparent stockings slightly from the back.

On her feet were a pair of gorgeous black low-heeled short boots.

As his eyes swept over the princess, Nolan noticed that the secret realm seemed to be the same architectural style as the ruins outside.

The sky was a high stone slab dome, making it feel as if they had come to some kind of underground structure.

"Ouch, ouch ouch!"

Bennett's voice came from behind.

Nolan turned his head to look at Bennett, who had just come out of the portal. Seeing him rubbing his head and asking in confusion:

"What's wrong?"

"Don't know where it came from, a stone hit my head," Bennett said with a bit of a grumble.

"..."

Nolan moved his eyes upwards. With his excellent eyesight, he noticed that there were still fine gravel swaying in a crack in the high dome that had not yet fallen down.

If he wasn't wrong, it should be Bennett's "misfortune" physique should have started activating.

He quickly pulled Bennett away, lest he gets hit by the few pebbles that would fall afterwards.

The two of them came to Fischl's side, Nolan looked around and asked:

"Where's Oz?"

"He is scouting the enemy for us."

Princess Fischl had her left hand over her eye patch, seeming to be sharing the vision of the night raven Oz.

"Any discoveries?" Bennett asked next to her.

Fischl flung her left hand down coolly: "The fork in the road ahead is the choice of fate."

"Huh?" Bennett was confused.

"She probably means there's a fork in the road up ahead." Nolan thought about it and roughly guessed Fischl's meaning.

"Correct. As expected of my favorite attendant!"

Fischl looked at him approvingly.

[Fischl Likes You More, Obtained 45 Affection Points, Current Affection Level Lv.2 (95/200)]

Looking at the affection prompt, Nolan had to admit the power of the character specialty [Maiden Savior], which made it much easier for him to gain affection.

"Then let's go, and walk down whichever path has treasure!"

Nolan let Fischl walk in front, with him and Bennett following beside her.

The secret realm was huge, with every direction forward explorable. What Fischl called "ahead" was actually a bit to the left.

On their way there they met a Ruin Guard that had been knocked down, presumably by other adventurers, after all, the Chaos Device had been taken from it.

When they arrived at the "fork in the road of fate" Fischl mentioned, the night raven Oz was already waiting there.

"Miss, you two, which direction do you want me to explore first?" Flapping his night-colored blue wings, Oz asked.

Nolan looked at the different directions ahead, stroking his chin in thought.

Straight ahead was a road that went straight, the same as the one they came in on, not knowing what lay beyond. To the left was a slightly downward path, looking very gloomy.

To the right was also a wide road, with traces of the Ruin Guard's footsteps.

How to choose? Nolan inadvertently glanced at Bennett, seeming to recall something...

(End of Chapter)

T/N: Did you guys check those good stuff in Aux chap? Some of them got the so-called 'Shadow-Ban', So All The Main Stuff is in my . or should I upload them in Discord?

/hABccjWhUQ

CREATORS' THOUGHTS

iRedX43

Support me on - Advanced Chapters There!

/RedX43

Chapter 45: Chapter 45: Treasure Chest

"Do the opposite of what Bennett suggests, and every adventure will go smoothly beyond compare."

This saying didn't come from Nolan, but was summarized by Mr. Herman, the famous former adventurer and father of Miss Ellin.

Thinking about it carefully, what he said made a lot of sense. Nolan felt it was worth trying.

"Ahem, Bennett, as an experienced adventurer, where do you think has the highest probability of finding treasure?"

Nolan asked seemingly casually.

"Huh, me?" Bennett's eyes widened slightly. After stroking his chin and thinking hard, he said, "Hmm... in my experience, the more dangerous a place is, the higher the probability that treasure exists there!"

He looked at the left path leading slightly downward and said excitedly:

"That's right, this is it! My passion has already sensed the aura of a great treasure!"

"Oh, so you have such skills, my attendant?"

Fischl said, blinking her right eye not covered by the eyepatch.

The black short boots kicked away a small rock by her feet. The lace trim of her over-the-knee black stockings was connected to a leather garter strap extending into her skirt, revealing the snow-white skin of her legs below.

"It's not much of a skill, just an adventurer's intuition," Bennett replied, scratching the back of his head.

"I see." Nolan nodded thoughtfully, then said, "Since even an experienced adventurer like Bennett feels it's a dangerous path, I think it's too early for me as a novice adventurer. Why don't we try somewhere a little easier first?"

The night raven Oz also said after thinking for a bit:

"Yes, for the young miss and you two who just formed a team without much coordination, going somewhere dangerous is indeed reckless."

"I see, then how about we go straight ahead? This stone road looks big and doesn't seem dangerous."

Bennett also seemed to feel they were right, and pointed in another direction.

Very good. Now, based on his own senses, Bennett had pointed out the most dangerous and the safest directions.

So according to Bennett's "misfortune" physique, in all likelihood, those two directions would both be arduous with little reward. The remaining direction on the right was more likely to yield greater gains.

"Hmm, but with Bennett the veteran adventurer, and the princess here, we don't need to be so conservative."

Nolan suggested.

"Hmph, as expected of my attendant. What you say makes sense." Fischl closed her eyes, and nodded slightly, the golden strands of hair swaying as she commanded, "Oz, my servant! Go forth, blaze a trail of mystery for this princess!"

Fischl pointed at the wide road on the right with her fair fingers.

"As you wish, young miss." Oz took the order and flew away swiftly like a flash of night.

With Oz scouting ahead, Nolan and the others followed behind. The secret realm was complex and vast, otherwise, they could have just let Oz scout the whole thing.

If they did that now, by the time the scouting was done, all the good stuff would've been taken by other adventurers already.

Earlier, Fischl had done some preliminary scouting as an investigator for the Adventurers' Guild, but not in this area. The enemies she had scouted were only some Ruin Guards.

The three walked on silently.

As they went deeper along the path in the secret realm, the stone road surface gradually changed into a dirt road, with sharp jutting rocks and round sunken pits.

Walking on it kicked up some dust.

Soon, Fischl relayed a message from Oz, discovering an exquisite chest in a large pit ahead, but it was sealed by some curses, making it a bit tricky to open.

Hearing the news, the three hurried over. Bennett was so excited that he tripped over a protruding rock and fell down.

Of course, this was no big deal for Bennett's tough and resilient body. Falling down was too common an occurrence.

Arriving at the large pit, Nolan knew what the trouble with opening the chest was. The exquisite treasure chest was placed on a cursed platform, with dormant Ruin Guards in the four cardinal directions.

To get the exquisite treasure chest, they would have to defeat them and light up the curses on the platform.

Treasure Chests came in five tiers - Common, Exquisite, Precious, Luxurious, and Remarkable - as well as the special Trounce Domain chests. Like the Waypoints scattered across the continent, no one knew where these chests came from.

Sometimes you might even inexplicably find a chest on your balcony when you wake up.

But generally, they wouldn't appear again after being looted once.

From Nolan's perspective as a former player, chests were just a game mechanic. But in this real world, they had origins like the Waypoints, even if currently unknown.

It's just that no one knows about it now.

Some believed they were related to the ancient era, others thought some, Archon's powers created them. Various theories existed, but there was no real consensus.

It was because of the existence of chests that the adventuring profession thrived in Teyvat.

Unfortunately, Nolan only remembered the locations of some more notable chests from when he had explored the world, but they had all been looted already. After all, reality wasn't a game where chests would stay put if he didn't take them.

For example, Easy finds like on the Knights' roof, Cathedral tower top, or Anemo God Statue plaza had long been grabbed by others.

So his knowledge was useless now.

The current situation seemed to be that the seal curses on this exquisite chest were linked to the few Ruin Guards. Defeating them would dispel the seal.

Compared to some complicated puzzle-solving, this was much simpler.

"Awesome, it really is a chest!" Bennett shouted excitedly.

Fischl's gaze also brightened somewhat, though she maintained the dignity and poise befitting a princess, not acting too uncouth.

"Oh dear, but how do we deal with these ruin guards? It doesn't seem easy."

The night raven Oz flew back and said at this time.

Nolan also pondered a little. To be honest, going adventuring with Bennett meant being mentally prepared for anything to go wrong before getting the chest.

So while on the surface it was just four Ruin Guards, there was also Bennett's invisible "bad luck" at play.

This was easy to deal with, just keep him away from the battlefield so the chance of mishaps would decrease. And this was when his role as the team's archer came in.

"Bennett, can you use your Elemental Burst?" Nolan asked Bennett beside him.

Earlier after the first meeting, Nolan had asked Bennett to confirm whether his Elemental Burst had the same effects as in the game.

After all, the buff of "Fantastic Voyage" was too exaggerated.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter 46: Chapter 46: Fantastic Voyage

"No problem, I absorbed full elemental energy last time I came back from an adventure."

Bennett wiped his nose and smiled brightly, revealing his pearly white teeth.

People with Visions need to absorb Elemental Energy every time they use Elemental Burst. They can store it even if they don't use it, but they need to re-absorb it after every use.

"That's good then," Nolan said calmly.

Now there were two archers here, whether it was him or little Amy, it would be easy to deal with the obvious weaknesses of the Ruin Guards.

"Princess Fischl, Sir Oz, could you please attract the attention of the Ruin Guards later? I think I can take care of them quickly!"

Nolan did not suggest that he and Fischl use bows and arrows together to deal with the Ruin Guards.

Firstly, he hadn't seen Fischl take out her bow and arrow yet, so it would be a bit awkward to show that he knew.

Secondly, she could concentrate elemental power on the arrows, and arrows with elemental power attached could more easily destroy the core of the Ruin Guards. Fischl might make it so there was nothing for him and Bennett to do.

For Nolan, compared to treasure chests, he wanted the Adventure EXP from defeating strong enemies more.

"Hmph, fair enough." Fischl closed her eyes and arrogantly raised her head, her snowy white neck was as graceful as a swan, and she said in a soft tone as her moist lips opened and closed lightly, "As the Princess who severs sin, how can I casually make a move? Then I shall leave the enemies to you, my servants!"

"Thank you for your grace, Princess." Nolan played along with her.

"What do you need me to do?"

Bennett habitually put his hand behind his head.

"Bennett, just stay where you are and uh...release your elemental burst," Nolan said with a slight smile.

Bennett used a one-handed sword, so it was still best not to get too close to prevent accidents.

In fact, with Pyro-infused shots, he may not need Bennett's help, but Pyro shots required Mora, and Bennett's elemental burst was free and he could quickly absorb full elemental energy.

"No problem, leave it to me!"

Bennett clenched his fist as if to pump himself up and said.

The battle-hardened Bennett also knew that using bows and arrows was the best way to deal with Ruin Guards, combined with his elemental burst it would indeed easily take care of them.

The premise was that Nolan's archery was accurate enough.

"Oz!"

Seeing that everyone had discussed, Fischl called out to the night raven.

"Understood, Miss."

Oz responded tacitly. He flapped his wings of night and flew towards the Ruin Guards under the large pit.

The Ruin Guards were in standby mode, their cores would be as hard as their steel bodies, making it very difficult to directly attack the core while they were on standby unless their bodies were damaged.

As the night raven Oz approached the Ruin Guards, as expected, one by one the Ruin Guards were awakened.

The rusty steel bodies made mechanical noises as they stood up in the dim environment. Seeing this, Nolan took the Adventurer's Hunting Bow from his back as well as an Armor Piercing Arrow.

"Burn it up!"

Seeing this situation, Bennett shouted and did a backflip on the spot, landing with one foot on the ground and directly releasing his elemental burst.

A crimson domain Like Inspiration Field generated on the ground, enveloping all three of them. Nolan only felt a kind of fiery power empowering him.

Even the Steel Armor-Piercing Arrow gave off a faint red glow, unfortunately, it did not gain any Pyro Element.

It seems that the current Bennett has not grown to the extent in the game where his "Fantastic Voyage" can imbue elemental power to other people's weapons. But even if he could, it seems to have no effect on bows and arrows.

That is unique to melee weapons.

Of course, Nolan believed this was just because his strength or comprehension was insufficient. When he becomes stronger, his arrows would probably also be imbuable.

"Oh, such might, not bad, as expected of the right and left hands of this princess!"

Fischl also felt the empowerment from Bennett's elemental burst "Fantastic Voyage", and upgraded their assigned roles to her right and left hands from servants.

At this moment, the core of the first activated Ruin Guard lit up completely.

A circle of golden light dispelled the dimness of the environment. Judging by this momentum, it was much more impressive than the five units outside the Thousand Winds Temple.

"Boom!"

The faint red Armor-Piercing Arrow left the bowstring, turning into a shallow stream of light. Like a ray of light ignoring gravity and wind resistance, it shot straight toward the Ruin Guard.

Nolan, who had the 2nd Level's Fuvonius Archery's Fundamentals and the 3rd Level's Hunter's Archery, basically wouldn't miss against these slow and clumsy fellows.

And with the decent 2-star weapon, the Adventurer's Bow, plus the buff from "Fantastic Voyage", he only needed to hit the core once to paralyze the Ruin Guard.

The faint red arrow collided with the golden core.

With a sound like breaking glass, ~Crack~ Crack ~Crack~, golden electricity flashed across the Ruin Guard's body. This was due to the destroyed core causing a short circuit.

As one was paralyzed, another activated right after, and was promptly met with the faint red arrow.

With another buzzing of electricity, the Ruin Guard was shot down before it could fully stand up. Nolan was much more relaxed in dealing with them compared to last time.

At the same time, he also noticed that the intricate sealing spell on the exquisite treasure chest was already half lit up.

It seemed that the method to unlock the chest was indeed by defeating enemies.

Before Bennett's short elemental burst duration ended, he took down and paralyzed the two subsequent Ruin Guards that activated one by one.

[+642 Adventure EXP]

[+601 Adventure EXP]

[+655 Adventure EXP]

[+633 Adventure EXP]

Nolan suddenly gained a lot of adventure experience. Looking at the adventure EXP provided by each, they seemed much stronger than the ones outside the Thousand Winds Temple.

[Adventure EXP: 2651]

Plus the original 120 adventure EXP left, Nolan now had over two thousand adventure EXP reserved.

He could level up again.

In this secret realm, according to what the Adventurers' Guild had said after investigating, most of the dangers that existed were the Ruin Guards.

So with over two thousand adventure EXP, leveling up would only increase two levels. That wouldn't help much against the steel ruins guards. Instead, investing everything into archery could raise it to a high level in one go.

That way, even without Bennett's help, he might be able to take out common Ruin Guards with one arrow.

Thinking of this, Nolan hesitated no more. He continuously invested in the high-level "Hunter's Archery (0/300)":

[Lv.4 (0/400)]

[Lv.8 (0/800)]

Investing a total of 2500 adventure EXP barely brought it to Level 8, still 2 levels away from maxing out and reaching the "Master"(extraordinary) level.

Countless experiences regarding archery and "Hunter's Archery" appeared in his mind, as if having practiced it for many years to the point of becoming instinctive.

With his current Level 8 "Hunter's Archery", as expected he would be much stronger than Draff who had been immersed here for years. Calling him a master archer would not be unreasonable.

Using "Hunter's Archery" would make him more powerful, discreet, and stealthy.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter 47: Chapter 47: It Was Bound to Happen Eventually

"That's quite the archery skill, Sir Nolan."

After flying around in a circle, the night raven Oz had completed his task and said in slight surprise.

"No no, it was all thanks to Bennett's elemental burst boost." Nolan didn't take the credit, after all, without Bennett he wouldn't have been able to accomplish this.

"Not bad, just slightly below this Princess."

Fischl looked at Nolan, her words full of approval.

Slightly below? Before raising his level, Nolan's "Hunter's Archery" was at Level 3. If it was slightly below, could Amy's archery be at Level 4 or 5?

To be honest, even if Nolan's archery skill gained some kind of "extraordinary" characteristics at max level, it probably wouldn't be able to compare to Fischl's. After all, she had the Vision.

With the Vision, even if her archery skills were just beginner level, as long as she imbued elemental power, the might contained within could not simply be matched by techniques alone.

Unless he used Pyro-infused shots or some other specialty arrows.

This was the advantage of possessing the Vision. Unfortunately, according to the original story, "External living beings do not belong to Teyvat's people, and often can only watch from afar."

In other words, Nolan is the same as the traveler who doesn't know where he is.

No matter how "lofty" the "wish" or "intense" the "longing", with the gods' gaze fixed upon him twenty-four hours a day, living beings that don't belong to Teyvat could never obtain the Vision.

This was probably some kind of rule. Nolan thought helplessly.

Of course, the Traveler didn't need a Vision either, and he himself had the character status panel, so he wasn't envious.

"Hehe, I only helped out a bit." Bennett revealed a sincere smile, then continued, "Let's go, now that the seal on the chest is undone, let's go see what's inside."

With his "misfortune" constitution, he had never gotten a treasure chest so smoothly before.

"Mn, let's go."

Fischl turned around and leapt into the pit where the chest was, her whole body started descending, and her golden hair also blew upwards. Suddenly, with a sound like an umbrella opening, a pair of wind gliders appeared on her back.

Using air resistance, Fischl slowly glided towards the treasure chest location.

Then Bennett likewise jumped and opened his wind glider to glide down. Nolan watched on slightly enviously.

Compared to them, even if Nolan bought a wind glider, he couldn't put it into the Vision. He could only carry it on him, which was rather inconvenient since he already had a lot to bring around.

It seemed he would need to get a gadget to easily store items in the future. Something like the "Domain of the adepti" arts could probably do it.

Nolan shook his head. He was thinking too far ahead.

His gaze looked towards the bottom of the pit. It wasn't too high either. Relying on his excellent physique, Nolan directly jumped.

Under the effects of gravity, the dull air seemed to turn into a fierce updraft, blowing against his face. The next second, Nolan landed on the ground mixed with mud and debris, leaving a pair of shallow footprints.

After shaking the slight numbness in his feet, he walked with Fischl and Bennett to the front of the treasure chest.

The exquisite chest was the same as he remembered, edged with iron pieces, the inside was wooden, and there were some decorative patterns on the front.

"Let this Princess take a look at what nice things are inside."

A smile appeared on Fischl's fair face. Her right hand, wearing a semi-translucent black glove that revealed her fingers, pressed on the chest's lid.

Nolan stared at that snowy white hand, also feeling some anticipation. This was the first time he had come across a treasure chest.

With a sound like a rupturing stone transmitting from the chest... rupturing stone?!

Nolan looked at Fischl's still unmoving hand, when suddenly a crack split open from the chest's base, then swiftly expanded!

"Crap, the ground is collapsing!"

"Miss, be careful!"

"..." Nolan was speechless for a moment.

How could the ground collapse for no reason? The earlier fight didn't make much noise either. As expected of you Bennett, one can't let their guard down before truly obtaining the treasure!

The ground completely shattered. The three of them and the huge broken stone chunks from the ground's fissure fell down together.

Like a feather floating in the air, Nolan had no foothold to control his body. If this continues, it will be no surprise that they will directly smash into the unknown depth of the lower ground.

"Grab on to me!" At this critical moment, Bennett reached out to Nolan.

Having experienced similar sudden situations many times, Bennett reflexively activated his wind glider to stop himself in mid-air.

Nolan reacted swiftly and grabbed Bennett's hand, temporarily resolving the crisis. From the corner of his eye, he caught sight of the still unopened exquisite chest falling down beside him.

Nolan hugged it with his free right hand.

Then he swiftly looked for Fischl, finally spotting her slightly above and further away. Fischl had also deployed her wind glider, with Oz by her side. Looks like they were both fine.

Now they could only slowly descend like this.

Soon, the sound of rocks hitting the ground came from below, stirring up clouds of dust. The environment was also very dark, unable to see the surroundings clearly.

But judging by the direction of the sounds, it probably wasn't too high.

After a long while, the swirling dust settled. Nolan and the others landed on the ground of this layer. Beneath and around them were the shattered rocks that fell from above.

"Hmm hmm, so it's like this."

Fischl's right foot in an exquisite black short boot stepped on a huge boulder, her left foot was at a slightly lower position, in a stride stance.

She covered her eyes with her right hand, and spoke in a quirky tone:

"Destiny descends here. This is the stray path of the wandering years!"

"The young miss says this is probably a hidden passage." Oz fluently interpreted.

Nolan observed their surroundings carefully. It really did seem like they were back inside a passage with the same architectural style as when they first entered. The environment was very dark, with only faint rays of light coming down from the opened-up hole above.

"I'm sorry, I think it's probably because of me affecting you all," Bennett said dejectedly with his hands hanging down.

He was now thinking of the various mishaps that occurred during his adventures, and this time was probably the same kind of situation.

"Oh?" Oz was slightly surprised. "Why do you say that, Sir Bennett?"

"It's like this..."

Bennett told them about his terrible luck, using examples from past adventures.

"My, what a persevering lad!" The night raven Oz exclaimed.

"Hmph, no need for self-blame!" Fischl stood slightly on her tiptoes, leaning against her left knee, striking another very cool-looking pose, and said, "As my servant, even your misfortune shall kneel before my magnificence!"

"As expected of the Princess!"

Nolan first made an admiring remark, then also said to Bennett:

"That's right. The more perilous the road towards the destination, the more the will that is honed will shine with its inherent radiance. What you've experienced is probably the tempering on your way to becoming a great adventurer."

"Being able to experience this together, I can probably boast about it in the future."

(End of Chapter)

CREATORS' THOUGHTS

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Support me on - Advanced Chapters There!

/RedX43

/hABccjWhUQ

Chapter 48: Chapter 48: The Gradient from Pink to Azure

Fischl and Nolan's words of comfort may have seemed a little stiff, but the effect was still quite good. Bennett was originally very tenacious in both will and body.

His low spirits went away quickly. After hearing everyone's words of comfort, he regained his enthusiasm for adventure.

"By the way, where is this place?"

Bennett looked up at his surroundings, seeming a little puzzled.

With the help of the faint light from the opening above, everyone could barely see that this was a large enclosed space made of stone bricks.

Only one road leading to unknown places was currently blocked by an iron gate.

"Miss, do you want me to go out and find someone?"

Oz the Night Raven asked Fischl.

Now their situation was not too difficult. After all, Oz could fly. As long as he flew out through the hole above to find adventurers from the Adventurers' Guild to come to rescue them, it would be fine.

"How can this Princess back down because of such simple obstacles!" Fischl shook her head, her golden hair flicking as she continued, "There must be a new treasure on the other side of the iron gate!"

"That's right, it's all about exploring the secret realm anyway, and since we came here by chance it would be too bad to just leave like this."

Nolan also nodded lightly twice.

"From my experience, there's usually some mechanism nearby that can open the iron gate. However, it could also be on the other side," Bennett, the seasoned adventurer, said.

"There's no hurry for that. Let's open the treasure chest first, as this is the first time I've gotten a treasure chest as an adventurer."

Nolan felt there was no danger either, and it would be inconvenient to carry such a large treasure chest, so he suggested opening it first to take a look.

"Hmm. You may be the one to open it." Fischl gave a look as if the princess had granted permission.

Nolan nodded and found a flat spot to put down the exquisite treasure chest, and the three people and one raven gathered around to watch, all with some expectation in their eyes.

Nolan placed one hand on the side of the chest and the other hand on the lid.

Fortunately, it didn't need a key. With a "click", the chest was easily opened.

What first came into view was a layer of Mora coins covering the bottom of the chest, round and shiny. For a moment, Nolan was really dazzled, but upon closer inspection, most of the Mora had a face value of just one.

That is to say, although the chest was filled with Mora, added together it may not have more value than the 10,000 Mora coins in his pouch.

But Nolan was not disappointed. Mora was the least valuable thing in a treasure chest.

He plunged both hands into the pile of golden Mora, slowly groping around. Soon his fingers touched something different from Mora.

Nolan grabbed it in his palm and took it out. At first glance, it looked like a vintage metal pocket watch that was well preserved despite its long history, but upon closer inspection, it gave off a faint wisp of white light.

"A one-star artifact." Bennett pressed his knees with both hands as he bent over slightly, continuing in a slightly disappointed tone, "The bonuses from a one-star artifact aren't significant, especially in its initial state without enhancement."

Nolan was quite in agreement with this. The best use of a one-star artifact was as fodder to enhance other higher-star artifacts. It was not worth enhancing itself.

Mainly because when enhanced to the limit, the bonus it provided was still not high.

In Teyvat, one and two-star artifacts were generally only carried by novice adventurers during their transition period. The mainstream ones were actually three-star artifacts, although not very common either.

Even rarer were four-star artifacts. Getting a suitable four-star artifact that one could use for life was basically hitting the jackpot.

As for the legendary five-star artifacts, it was impossible to find them in chests. Only by truly venturing deep into dangerous ruins and secret realms had one a sliver of a chance.

"A fancy chest like this shouldn't have just this one item. Let's put the Mora away first and keep looking."

Oz flapped his wings as usual.

With so many low-denomination Mora coins, they were taking up too much space. Fischl could only store them first in her Vision, then found out the total was only 9,700 plus, not even 10,000 Mora.

Indeed, for adventurers, the Mora in the treasure chest was considered the least valuable. The one-star artifact found just now had a market value of around twenty to thirty thousand.

It's more expensive than a dull blade of the same star rating, mainly because artifacts can only be obtained through adventuring. Although not super rare, they can't be crafted like weapons, so the higher price makes sense.

After putting away the Mora, the chest was left empty.

There were two other items besides Mora - one giving off a faint green glow, a crown-shaped two-star artifact.

Next to it was a translucent crystalline stone with a four-pointed star shape, shading from pink to azure.

A Primogem!

"Oh my, how fortunate. This pretty stone is called Primogem. It occasionally appears in chests and is a rather rare currency.

"It's also a versatile medium that can be used for alchemy, enhancing weapons and artifacts, etc. When materials are insufficient, it can substitute for many, but enough quantity is needed, so the value is high," Oz explained what he knew about the uses of Primogem.

"High value? Sir Oz, what is its market price?"

Nolan also didn't expect Primogems to have so many uses in Teyvat. After all, the only related description in the original work was "A primordial crystalline gem that's beyond the mundane world. Shines with the condensed hopes and dreams of universes that once were. "

So it seems Primogems did not originally exist in Teyvat, but came from the vast cosmos beyond the world.

"At least 100,000 Mora each, priceless!" Bennett excitedly chimed in.

With Bennett's luck, getting Primogems from chests was extraordinarily rare, no wonder he was so happy.

"That's right." Oz the raven nodded.

"I see." Nolan secretly thought not bad upon hearing this, then asked, "In that case, may I buy it? Primogem is quite useful to me."

The reason Nolan wanted it was because the moment he touched the Primogem, a prompt popped up on his character status panel:

[Discovered a large amount of Adventure EXP. Would you like to absorb them?]

He didn't know how much was considered "a large amount," but one had to try to find out. That's why he wanted the Primogem.

"I don't have any objections, just one is not that useful."

Bennett said with a smile, wiping his cloth-wrapped nose.

What he said was true. For adventurers, the only use for obtaining Primogem was to sell it.

Because although Primogem was "versatile", its value was also high. Converting it was too costly. In alchemy experiments, if a dandelion seed was missing, that one resin was not enough to substitute for it.

At least 20-30 would be needed, but the Mora from selling it could buy a pile of dandelion seeds.

So, for ordinary people, Primogem was both useful and useless. In ordinary situations, they might never use it in their lifetime.

Primogem was only used when one desperately needed rare materials and couldn't find them. That was when its value was truly high.

"Hmph, since it is my attendant's request, I shall grant it to you."

Fischl placed her right hand between her chest over the lacy strapless bodice, closing her eyes magnanimously.

(End Of Chapter)

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Chapter 49: Chapter 49: No Shadow, No Sound

After receiving everyone's agreement, Nolan put the original stone into his pants pocket, then chose to absorb it without being able to be seen.

[Illuminated In The Radiant Glow Of Dreams And Hope, Obtained 3000 Adventure EXP]

Oh, finally it's not "Defeated A Powerful Enemy" huh? But speaking of which, where did the dreams and hopes come from? He didn't feel any of that at all.

Of course, the Primogem lived up to Oz's claim of its "versatility"; it could even convert to Adventure EXP. And the amount wasn't insignificant. This could be considered a discovery of a new source of Adventure EXP, other than defeating monsters.

Too bad Primogems were expensive. Not to mention their rarity, even if someone was selling them, he couldn't afford to buy them.

Looking at the suddenly abundant experience points, he raised his level 8 "Hunter's Archery" to max level.

Adventure EXP: -1700

Hunter's Archery Lv.10 (Silent Shadows).

The familiar knowledge and experience-filling phase appeared. At this moment, Nolan, whether in mastering the techniques or the body's instinct, had reached the pinnacle of the "Hunter's Archery" skill.

Simultaneously, a remarkable characteristic, "Silent Shadows," emerged.

Just as the words mean, when Nolan used "Hunter's Archery", due to the skill's own properties he could break through the constraints of the weapon and arrows themselves.

Achieving shooting arrows so fast they have no shadow and make no sound, as if using some kind of secret technique.

Since "Hunter Archery" is designed for hunting, it emphasizes stealth, speed, and precision. Therefore, the appearance of such a remarkable trait after reaching the maximum level was not unexpected.

Nolan was looking forward to its performance in real combat.

Apart from Without Shadow or Sound, at max level, Hunter's Archery could also fuse with other maxed level archery skills, though there were none for now so that could wait.

That was all the contents of the exquisite chest. Such gains were already very good, especially with the addition of the Primogem.

The two artifacts were, a one-star pocket watch of the Sands of Eon type and a two-star crown of the Circlet of Logos type.

After briefly equipping them, he found the buffs granted were both to max HP, giving a feeling of the body strengthening just a tiny bit, better than nothing.

Bennett and Fischl had long since joined the Adventurers' Guild and already had their own artifacts, so didn't need these low-star ones.

So, Nolan was allowed to carry them for now. Whatever may help.

"Next, let's look around here to see if we can find a mechanism to open the iron gate."

Bennett spoke while looking at the fancy chest that had vanished after they took the loot.

"Mm, we'll each take a side."

Nolan nodded lightly. Using the faint light shining down from the hole above, the three people and one raven began exploring this large room.

In the middle were rubble and broken stones that had collapsed from the domed ceiling.

Nolan headed left, next to the brick walls. Feeling them revealed nothing special, and no switches or pull chains could be seen on the walls.

Bennett went near the iron gate, but due to the distance could only see a blurry shadow in the dim environment.

On the other hand, Fischl's companion Oz emitted a faint glow, lighting up Fischl's right side clearly.

The right leg, covered in black stockings, peeked through the slit of the black and purple interwoven skirt, revealing a slightly fair skin.

Soon after, Nolan discovered a recessed area at a higher spot on the wall. Stepping back two paces, he could see what was erected inside -

A torch mechanism that needed ignition with Pyro element.

Nolan's eyes lit up. Based on his gaming experience, if a torch mechanism appeared, there would usually be other linked torch mechanisms nearby.

If he was right, they were probably the key to opening the iron gate.

Suddenly, Bennett's excited voice came from the right front: "Great news everyone! I found a torch mechanism!"

"Oh? What a coincidence, this princess has also discovered one!"

Fischl's voice rang out right after.

It seems that all three of them found torch mechanisms, which makes things easy. They just need to light them up and see if it opens the iron gate.

"But it's so high up, I can't reach it!"

Among them, only Bennett had a Pyro Vision, but lighting it up would require some effort.

Nolan thought for a moment, then asked Bennett, "Can you temporarily gather Pyro on my arrow?"

"Ah, you want to light it up like that?" Bennett was puzzled at first, then continued, "With my current ability, I can do it, but only for one or two seconds, and it disperses easily from the wind."

"I see, that's fine, let's try and see if it works."

Nolan pondered for a little while and felt that with his current max level "Hunter's Archery", he could completely make the Pyroelement attached to the arrow unaffected.

"Alright then." Since Nolan insisted, Bennett had no objections.

They went to the torch mechanism Bennett found first. Like the previous one, it was high up on the wall with a recessed area containing the torch.

With the wall's vertical angle, ordinary people couldn't climb up and had to use ranged attacks.

Nolan nocked an armor-piercing arrow, and Bennett guided Pyro to gather at the arrowhead, making it glow red.

The moment Bennett released his hand, in the next instant the arrow soundlessly struck the torch mechanism. The swirling Pyro on the arrowhead seemed unchanged from before.

Unaffected by air resistance, it directly ignited the torch.

The previously dim surroundings all became bright and transparent, extremely clear.

"Wow, what amazing archery!"

Bennett's eyes widened in surprise. Despite being up close, he hadn't seen clearly at all.

"My attendant, I didn't expect you were hiding your strength!"

Previously Fischl thought Nolan's archery was just a bit inferior to hers.

"No no, perhaps Your Highness's archery is just a little lacking compared to mine, which is why you didn't notice the profundities when we fought the ruin guards."

Nolan jokingly said.

"Ahem, Miss, Sir Nolan speaks reasonably." Oz nodded in agreement.

"Hmph!"

Fischl folded her arms and haughtily turned her fair face away, glancing at Nolan from the side. Her snow-white delicate ear was nestled in her golden hair.

She acknowledged it in a very reluctant manner.

"Haha, Your Highness, even if my archery is decent, its might still can't compare to yours. After all, you are the Prinzessin who wields the purging thunder of the darkest night!"

Nolan smiled and spoke using terms Fischl was accustomed to.

"Uh-huh. That's for sure!" Fischl's soft lips curved up slightly as she responded matter-of-factly.

[Fischl Has Developed Good Feelings Towards You, Obtained 120 Affection Points. Current Affection Level Lv.3 (15/300)]

Perhaps she quite liked what Nolan said. Her Highness magnanimously raised his affection a bit.

(End Of Chapter)

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Chapter 50: Chapter 50: Appearance

Having confirmed the idea was feasible, Nolan used the same method to light up the remaining two torch mechanisms. But unexpectedly, it seemed that other than the environment becoming brighter due to the elemental light from the lit torches, there were no other changes.

"Weird, what's going on?"

Bennett felt a bit strange; all the torch mechanisms were lit up, and even if it wasn't related to the iron door, there should have been some other changes, right?

"Is it possible there are more than three torch mechanisms?"

Nolan stroked his chin in thought and said.

Based on his gaming experience, torch mechanisms were usually either three or four.

"This princess believes it to be so as well. There must be one last torch mechanism. Oz!"

Hearing Nolan's words, Fischl slightly lifted her fair chin and commanded her companion Oz.

"I understand, Miss."

Oz flapped his wings, unable to perform a nodding action. There was no expression on his bird-like face, but the tone carried a profound sense of respect.

Like the purging thunder of the darkest night, Oz's body flashed rapidly through the sizeable space.

Since two of the three discovered torch mechanisms were in different but relative positions, the yet-to-be-discovered torch mechanism should also be positioned relative to the remaining one.

Clearly, it should be above the wall behind them.

Unexpectedly, when Oz reached the edge of the wall, he did not find the last torch mechanism.

After some thought, Oz was not too surprised either. Anything could happen in a secret realm. Being unconventional for a time was understandable.

So he went to search elsewhere.

Watching Oz circling around the domed ceiling, Fischl couldn't help frowning lightly. "What's wrong, Oz? Still haven't found it?"

"Alas, Miss. I've searched the entire room up and down, but indeed did not found it yet."

Oz did not continue his fruitless efforts and flew back.

"Ah, If it's not on the walls then where could it be?" Bennett rubbed the short blond hair on the back of his head.

Fischl hugged her chest with both hands stacked over the soft area of her abdomen covered by the lacy black stockings. Her bright green right eye looked at the hole in the ceiling as she suddenly smiled.

"The answer, this princess already knows. The truth of fate must lie here!"

Fischl's fair index finger pointed at the huge pile of rubble formed from the collapsed dome.

Oh? Little Amy thinks the remaining torch mechanism was originally inverted on the ceiling? That's not an impossibility.

Nolan thought for a bit and said:

"Mm, if it's not found anywhere else then the probability is highest here."

The three people and one raven entered the rubble pile again to carefully search for the possibly existent torch mechanism. The rubble pile was dangerous. Accidentally stepping on a loose rock could lead to falling over.

Luckily for their group of three with abundant adventure experience, this shouldn't be much trouble.

"Ouch, ouch, ouch!"

Just as he thought this, Nolan heard Bennett's voice. Looking over, Bennett had indeed fallen on his bottom. He was rubbing the back of his head, probably having bumped into a rock on the ground.

For a moment, Nolan couldn't help but sigh unsurprised:

For Bennett, no matter how experienced, things that were bound to happen still would.

"You alright, Bennett?" Nolan nimbly hopped between the rocks over to pull him up and asked with concern.

"Indeed, it's an unreasonably unfortunate situation, Sir Bennett."

Fischl, with a black butterfly hairpin on her head, slightly tied up some of her golden hair on both sides. She and her retainer, Oz, noticed Bennett's situation.

"Haha, it's okay; I've gotten used to it." Bennett, rubbing the seemingly swollen back of his head, said.

Seeing his actions, Nolan smiled amusedly, guessing Bennett didn't really often get his head bumped by various things as he claimed, leading to his habit of rubbing it occasionally.

Thinking this, he subconsciously wanted to see what had hit Bennett.

In the gap between two larger fragments of the collapsed ceiling, a torch with a slightly reddish rounded top poked out.

"Bennett, it seems your misfortune has some value after all. Look, everyone!"

Nolan smiled, pointing towards the torch.

"Oh, that's really it." Oz flew over to take a look and said, "This is turning misfortune into a blessing, resilient young man."

"Really?"

Bennett turned around, rather excitedly looking at the existent torch mechanism.

"Very good. With all the crucial elements gathered to unravel this mystery, I leave the lighting of this final clue to you!"

The corners of Fischl's lips curved up slightly, outlining a smile.

"No problem."

Bennett summoned his single-handed sword weapon. It seemed to be a somewhat dark steel-material sword. Although Nolan hadn't seen it before, it looked much better than his dull blade.

Unsurprisingly, it should be a two or three-star weapon.

Dense Pyro element attached to the sword body. Bennett gently tapped forward and lit the final torch mechanism, brightening the surroundings somewhat more.

"Did the door open?"

Everyone cast their gazes toward the iron gate at the passage, but it still seemed motionless.

"What's going on? Weren't they all lit already?"

Nolan shifted his gaze back to the torch mechanism in the gap between the broken stones on the ground. Indeed, there was an elemental light source resembling a fiery dandelion between the torch's tips.

The illuminated ground surface suddenly bore a huge light-colored shadow.

Nolan's pupils sharply contracted as he yelled loudly, "Watch out above! Retreat quickly!"

The very instant the final torch mechanism was lit, a Ruin Hunter had appeared out of nowhere in midair above them. Its sharp steel right arm was already poised to attack.

Below it and closest was Fischl. Only now did she realize the situation, but it was too late to dodge the ruin hunter's speed.

Getting stabbed by the ruin hunter's lance-like steel right arm would not be as simple as losing HP like in a game.

The Ruin Hunter charged like a knight on a horse!

In this extremely critical moment,

Nolan tensed his legs and exerted force to spring forward, knocking Fischl backward as the ruin hunter rushed over, his head barely grazing past the ruin hunter's body.

Through his short hair and scalp, he felt that stiff, icy sensation of steel scraping steel, making every cell in his body numb.

"Ah!"

Falling backward onto the ground covered in broken stones, Fischl couldn't help but scream in pain.

For an instant, Nolan felt a warm soft squashed sensation against both cheeks. His nose was slightly blocked by smooth thin fabric, unable to breathe. He opened his mouth with difficulty to exhale.

Then hurriedly, he braced himself and pulled Fischl up to her feet, and retreating to one side near the wall.

(End Of Chapter)