"Well, it seems that's settled." Lisa once again curled her index finger, flicking Nolan's forehead lightly, this time without using the tingling lightning element. She pursed her lips, smiling, "Hmph~ Considering you helped fend off the Wind Dragon, I'll forgive you this time."
"Ehaha, I'm sorry, Miss Lisa."
Nolan touched his forehead, pulling out a swordsmanship manual from his tattered backpack.
The deep blue, pointed witch's hat slightly drooped as Lisa took the "Rhine One-Handed Sword Technique" and sighed as she stroked the scuff marks on the top:
"Really, next time don't go exploring in the wilderness with books."
"Okay, Lisa, stop dilly-dallying. Dealing with the wind disaster is more urgent!" Jean, the Acting Grand Master, frowned and urged. She was quite helpless with her good friend.
"Alright, alright, Grand Master Jean, we're going now."
Lisa decided to leave the book in the Acting Grand Master's office, planning to return later with Nolan to find a way to repair it.
Suddenly, Nolan remembered that the Knights probably weren't aware that the Abyss Order was behind the Wind Dragon incident.
Having overheard the Abyss Mages in a cave yesterday, he realized he could share this information sooner rather than waiting for Kaeya to return from the Temple of the Wolf in the north.
This would allow the Knights to prepare earlier.
After carefully considering his words, Nolan shared the intelligence he gathered from the Abyss Mages' conversation with Grand Master Jean and Lisa.
"The Abyss Order." Jean, holding her forehead as if pained, sat back down at her desk, "We had our suspicions, but thank you for the heads-up and for taking care of three enemies ahead of time."
[Jean's Had Developed Good Feelings Towards You, Obtained 120 Affection Points, Current Affection Level Lv.3 (150/300)]
"It should have been obvious. If not for them, why would so many Hilichurls establish camps near Mondstadt."
There was no obvious surprise on Lisa's face either, then she looked at Jean with some concern:
"After this is dealt with, you really should take a good rest. Even the formidable Grand Master Jean has her limits."
Listening to Lisa's words, Nolan somewhat remembered.
Jean, the Acting Grand Master, seemed to have fallen ill not long after the Wind Dragon incident, primarily due to overwork and not allowing her body to rest, leading to weakness or something.
He had the intention to remind her, but it wasn't as if he could directly tell her he knew she would fall ill in the future and to please take care of herself.
Normal concerns like those from Lisa and Amber had been expressed countless times to no avail, let alone from Nolan.
Forget it, it wasn't a big problem anyway.
Falling ill might be a good thing, allowing her to realize that the work completed in a frenzy before falling sick would just pile up again during her illness.
It would be better to rest regularly, avoiding the torment of illness.
Nolan and Lisa did not linger too long in the Knights' headquarters and began making their way to the Temple Ruins of the Lion of the South Wind.
Once again venturing into the wilderness.
At this moment, Nolan started to realize that having been in Teyvat for quite some time, he was beginning to influence certain events slightly.
For instance, in the game's storyline, Lumine defeating the Wind Dragon was due to the hidden Anemo Archon Venti's blessing, allowing her to fight in the air. In reality, it was his attack that lured the Wind Dragon down.
This allowed Lumine to attack it without taking flight, thus Venti did not make an appearance, probably seeing that they could handle the Stormterror without his help.
Nolan pondered thoughtfully.
From the ordinary person who had to worry about food and shelter at the beginning of the transmigration, he had now grown into a not-so-ordinary person.
Although it was still far from being a truly powerful person, it was enough to make him feel quite accomplished.
The Temple Ruins of the Lion of the South Wind was located on the slopes of Windrise Mountain.
Leaving the city gates, crossing Mondstadt's grand bridge, following the main road right for a stretch, then turning left and running for the better part of a day would bring one to its doorstep.
It was about as far away as the location where the previous gathering team had been robbed by the Hilichurls.
Although using the Wind Gliders, it was slightly easier to catch the road.
But since it was already dusk when they set out, when they arrived at the temple they could already see the night sky full of stars.
Thanks to the twinkling stars, the nights on the continent of Teyvat didn't seem all that dark.
The grass-covered ground and the trees on the surrounding hills were bathed in a silvery glow.
"Miss Lisa, is this the place?" Looking at the temple door in front of him, which had not been visited for a long time and was covered with cobwebs, Nolan thought about it and said with some doubt.
In the game, it was the entrance to a secret realm or you could say a Domain, while in reality, it was the remains of an abandoned temple that had once been intact, but was now somewhat dilapidated.
Perhaps that made more sense; after all, Mondstadt's citizens, wishing to visit a temple, surely didn't have to teleport into a secret realm first.
Lisa, her legs sheathed in black lace-rimmed thigh-high stockings, took a step forward, the purple Vision on her instep twinkling. As she parted her soft lips, she said, "Hmm~ That's right, little adventurer. Let's go in. This place hasn't been tended to in a long time. Who knows, it may have become a den of monsters by now!"
That would be just perfect for gaining Adventure EXP. With Lisa there, there was no need to worry about encountering any monsters they couldn't defeat.
Thinking like this,
Nolan nodded, ran to Lisa's front and pushed open the stone door of the abandoned temple, and a puff of smoke floated out.
The two held their breath, waving away the dust in front of them, and stepped back a bit. After a while, they proceeded inside.
Behind the door lay a spacious path paved with blue stone slabs, flanked by thick railings, beside which naturally were the grass-covered hills on the slopes of Windrise Mountain.
The crisp sound of Lisa's black high heels clacking against the stone path echoed through the air.
Ahead was a brick staircase leading upwards. Upon climbing it, they arrived at a platform with a firepit at each corner, all unlit, with only a path on the left side.
Looking through, one could see an upward gust of wind.
In a world composed of seven elements, such natural phenomena were not unusual, and in the land of Teyvat, there were mechanisms capable of generating wind fields.
Whether it was one or the other, its existence was certainly in accordance with natural laws.
It was just that, with his limited knowledge, Nolan could not yet understand the principle behind wind currents blowing upward from the ground.
Approaching the wind field, Nolan scanned the surroundings. There was nothing unusual at the moment, but surprisingly, he found two square wooden boxes blocking a regular treasure chest on the right side.
"It seems we're in luck. There is still a treasure chest left after being abandoned for so long."
Lisa moistened her slightly dry lips with the pink tip of her tongue, a consequence of the wind.
"Maybe it hasn't been there for long," Nolan suggested as he pushed aside the square wooden box that was in the way and took out the normal treasure chest.
Upon opening it, they found about ten thousand Mora, two one-star Artifacts, and two pieces of Fine Enhancement Ore.
"Eh? Is this the Seal of the Wind(Anemo Sigil)?"
Lisa crouched down, tucking the hem of her skirt between her knees wrapped in over-the-knee black lace-trimmed stockings. The soft press of her calf against her thigh, even through the stockings, did little to conceal the soft, full sensation of flesh.
She picked up a green seal from the bottom of the treasure chest, adorned with the marking of the wind element.
"Seal of Wind? Miss Lisa, is this useful?" Nolan asked curiously.
In the game, the Seal of Wind or other Elemental Seals were things that randomly appeared in the area ruled by the corresponding Archon, and could be used in the souvenir shop as tokens, the exact use was not stated for the time being.
"Hmm, it's said that finding one means your adventures have been acknowledged by the Thousand Winds of Mondstadt," Lisa, her fair face breaking into a smile, explained. "I've heard that Marjorie, the owner of 'With Wind Comes Glory,' has been collecting these."
She stood up, legs together, handing the Wind Seal to Nolan: "Keep it, little adventurer. Collect enough, and you can exchange them for something nice at her place~"
"Um, thanks." Nolan nodded.
"Let's go, I've felt the magic connection left here by the Wind Dragon, cutting it off should complete our mission."
Following Lisa to the front of the wind field, Nolan equipped his Wind Glider and took a light leap; the air currents then enveloped them both, starting their ascent. During this process, a minor mishap occurred.
Since the airflow of the wind field was rising vertically,
Lisa's robe hem and front were lifted, revealing her black lace-trimmed shorts and a glimpse of her soft, snowy abdomen. Her pointed witch hat nearly blew away as well.
Nolan, quick to react, grabbed its wide brim in time.
Soon after, the two exited the wind field at an entrance above, retracting their Wind Gliders to stand on the stone floor.
"Ah~ That rising wind field really put me in a bit of an awkward spot!" Lisa, her cheeks tinting with a shade of red, complained while smoothing her disheveled chestnut hair with her hands.
"Miss Lisa, why don't you use that spatial transfer magic?" Nolan returned the hat to her and asked with some confusion.
Lisa put on her deep blue pointed hat, nodding her head in thanks as she explained: "It's all because of that Storm Dragon causing havoc in Mondstadt. It's affected even this place.
"The flow of elemental energy and the circulation of ley lines around here are all tangled up, just like a yarn ball clawed by a cat. Messy.
"It not only interferes with the use of precise magic but also affects my mood and skin~"
[Lisa Has Developed Good Feelings Towards You, Obtained 120 Affection Points, Current Affection Level Lv.4 (20/400)]
Seeing the affection points gained for helping Lisa with her hat, Nolan nodded in understanding, feeling that his knowledge was expanding just by being around Lisa.
Continuing forward, they found a Thunder Elemental Monument in the room's center. Lisa's fingertips sparked with electricity, launching a bolt that struck and illuminated it.
A purple glow rose from the monument.
A circle of eight Fire Slimes suddenly appeared in the surroundings to encircle Nolan and Lisa. Among them there were also two large ones, so it was no surprise that they should have triggered the mechanism here.
"Oh my, such a lot of monsters. You must protect me well, little adventurer~"
Lisa said with a smile, seemingly unconcerned about the monsters.
Nolan's dark eyes gradually took on a golden hue, resembling the color of Fischl's long hair. He scanned the slimes, noting their levels weren't high.
The two strongest large fire slimes were only level ten, while the smaller ones were around five or six.
He glanced at Lisa inadvertently and noticed she was marked with a question mark, just like the Storm Dragon. This suggested her strength was beyond the observable level of his Golden Eyes of Judgment.
Adventure EXP +406
Without needing Lisa to make a move, Nolan pinpointed the weaknesses of the slimes, large and small, defeating them with a single stroke of his sword, totaling a mere four hundred plus experience points.
"Alright, let's move on, Miss Lisa."
As Nolan stylishly sheathed his Dull Blade, turning around, he nearly bumped into the snowy cheeks beneath the hat.
Lisa positioned her hands lightly behind her, leaning forward suddenly to bring her face close to his, her gaze locked onto his eyes. The warm breath from her fair nose brushed clearly against his face.
The scene seemed to pause for a moment, lingering in stillness.
She then moved her face away, hugging her chest, and spoke with a tone tinged with surprise:
"Legend has it that every person on the continent of Teyvat has their own Seat of Destiny or you can called it Their Archon Seat, whose consists of six destiny stars. Lighting up each star grants one related powers and blessings.
"And it's not easy to light them up. Oh, and generally speaking you can only light up one Destiny Star every time you make a breakthrough.
"I then sensed a similar aura of the Destiny Star in your eyes, could it be that this is the ability you gained after lighting it up? But you don't have a Vision! Did you achieve this breakthrough with supreme martial skills? It's quite intriguing~"
Basically, These so-called Destiny or Fate Stars are related to their *Constellations*. Just like in the game, Constellations are Upgrades to Character and Every Character has a total of 6 Constellation Levels, This Destiny Stars Work similarly or it's maybe the same?
Nolan knew that there was such a thing as a Destiny Star, but he didn't expect the reality that it was lit up because of a breakthrough, even though he was already level twenty-six over the strength of his first breakthrough.
However, he hadn't actually collected materials for any breakthrough, and it was difficult to explain about gaining affection levels.
He could only touch his head with a look of I don't know and say:
"This ability just came out of nowhere when I was in danger during an adventure yesterday. I don't really understand how it happened myself."
"Oh? You don't know? That's possible, after all, aside from scholars who have delved into this subject, ordinary people are unaware of these hidden secrets."
Lisa's black-gloved fingers rested against her chin as she thought about it and smiled.
"Has Miss Lisa lit up the Destiny Star as well? How many have been lit up?" Nolan asked with some curiosity.
"Uh-huh~ Want to know? Well, Let me think... Umm, Exactly five!"
Lighting up five Destiny Stars means making five breakthroughs, about seventy levels up, no wonder he couldn't see it!
Nolan was quite astonished; he knew from the game's storyline that Lisa was powerful, but he hadn't expected her to actually reach this level!
And what about the Stormterror Dvalin, who could only be subdued with the help of the Anemo Archon?
It was unimaginable.
The two of them continued their journey in the Lion of the South Wind Temple while breaking through the various Monsters while heading towards the magic connection point that the Wind Dragon left behind to gain power.
Soon after.
They quickly arrived at the target spot and saw an amber stone that looked like it was entangled in a hurricane.
"Alright, just destroy it and we can go back to rest."
Lisa, holding her snowy arms beneath her chest, slightly lifting the gentle curve, her green eyes shimmering with a hint of joy, as she said.
(End of Chapter)
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This chapter combines two major sections. The setting in this story, like the game, places level 90 as the limit for humans and ordinary creatures, with levels above 90 belonging to the realms of Immortals and Archons. Top-tier Archons like those governing this world/nations are at least level 100 and above. This setting should be reasonable, right?
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