"Smack!"
The Water Abyss Mage never expected to be suddenly hit by flames.
But it was too late to teleport away. The last bit of water in its elemental shield was instantly evaporated.
As the elemental shield shattered and under the backlash of magic, it fell into a daze. The surging tsunami slowly subsided until it disappeared.
[Defeated A Powerful Enemy, Obtained 3,722 Adventure EXP.]
"Cough."
Dispelling the wind elements,
Jean, weakly coughed as she touched her snow-white chest. It seemed that using wind elements at such high intensity had some impact on her, after all, she is still recovering from illness affects.
"Master Jean, are you alright?" Nolan showed a concerned expression."We were supposed to be resting, but here we are, dealing with the Abyss Order's base."
He teased.
He teased lightly.
"Of course, I'm fine. Eliminating a threat to Mondstadt is enough to lift my spirits."
Jean smiled on her fair face, devoid of the faint confusion caused by her recent illness.
"Well, that's good to hear." Nolan sighed in relief. "Since that's settled, let's check this Secret Realm for any other Abyss Order's monsters and head back early."
"Yeah, thanks to you today, Honorary Knight. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to clear this base so easily."
Jean nodded slightly, her soft, rosy lips slightly parted.
[Jean Has Developed Good Feelings Towards You, Obtained 210 Affection Points. Current Affection Level: Lv. 6 (300/600)]
Next, Nolan and Jean explored every accessible corner of this secret realm. After confirming there were no other Abyss Order creatures, they left the secret realm.
During this period, Nolan also collected the materials dropped by the monsters that were killed before, combined with what he had obtained earlier in the adventure, it should fetch a good sum of Mora.
After coming out of the secret realm,
the two found that the illusion blocking the mountain crack had disappeared, and the secreat realm's teleportation gate was fully exposed.
"How should we handle this?" Nolan asked with some confusion.
A Secret Realm this large couldn't just be left unattended, even if there weren't any treasures inside.
"...Hmm, I'll arrange for the Knights of Favonius to take over later. The space inside the secret realm is quite large, and we'll need to discuss how best to utilize it."
Jean crossed her arms, the soft fabric wrapping around her chest gently resting on her arms. She thought for a moment before speaking.
Generally, after exploring a secret realm, it's not entirely useless. It could be transformed into a hidden laboratory, weapon storage, or granary.
In any case,
with such an excellent geographical location and easy security, it couldn't just be left alone for the monsters to reclaim.
A gentle breeze rustled through the forest, and the golden rays of the setting sun bathed the two in a soft glow.
Back at Mondstadt, at the Knights of Favonius Headquarters,
Nolan and Jean pushed open the door to the Acting Grand Master's office and walked in. Lisa, who was handling paperwork for Jean, raised her head slightly to look at them.
"Oh, you're back so soon. How was your vacation?"
Under the wide brim of her pointed witch's hat, Lisa's fair face smiled, though there was a hint of fatigue in her expression.
I wonder if it's because she took over Jean's duties and hasn't stopped since then.
"Well, it's alright," Jean nodded.
"Actually, we ran into a bit of trouble," Nolan briefly recounted the encounter with the Abyss Mage.
"Oh dear, that's really something."
Lisa sighed, resting her forehead in exasperation. She hadn't expected Jean to encounter such unexpected events during what was supposed to be a relaxing break.
"It's okay. Doing something for Mondstadt instead of just resting helps me stay focused," Jean said with a smile, sunlight streaming onto her snow-white chest through the window.
"Oh, you," Lisa sighed again.
She suddenly seemed tired and slumped over her desk, causing her back to arch slightly.
Maybe it was just a small, common discomfort for girls.
Even trying to rest by lying down wasn't very comfortable.
"Alright, Lisa, there's no need for you to worry. I'm not that fragile. Come on, let's all go to the cafeteria for dinner," Jean said with a smile.
"Okay."
Lisa stood up, smoothing her skirt, her emerald green eyes looking at Nolan as she said:
"Hmm~ Little adventurer, it must have been tough keeping Jean company all day. Starting tomorrow, if you have time in the morning, come to the library to find me. I promised to teach you about Elemental Burst, remember~"
[Lisa Has Developed Good Feelings Towards You, Obtained 190 Affection Points. Current Affection Level: Lv. 5 (470/500)]
"Of course, Miss Lisa. I'm looking forward to it," Nolan replied with a happy expression.
Night fell, and the stars appeared as expected.
Back at Eula's rented courtyard on Val Berry Street, Nolan returned when he could already hear the chirping of insects in the yard.
Two fireflies emitting faint light flew before his eyes.
After dinner at the Knights of Favonius cafeteria, Miss Lisa took out her pocket watch to check the time and found it was still early. She then pulled him aside to explain the development of Elemental Battle Techniques and Elemental Bursts.
This saved him the time he would have spent learning about them tomorrow.
Both of these could actually be figured out as his control over elemental power increased. Lisa's guidance only accelerated the process.
Overall, Nolan had benefited greatly and was somewhat looking forward to the upcoming lessons.
Just as Nolan was about to use his key to open the door,
"Snap!"
The brown wooden door was pulled open from the inside, revealing a girl with silky golden hair behind it—it was Little Amy.
She slightly raised her fair chin and said haughtily, "Hmph, why is my stupid attendant coming back so late?"
"I was at the Knights of Favonius asking Miss Lisa some questions, so I came back a bit late. It seems that Her Highness has also successfully completed her mission today. But aren't you going home?"
Nolan asked with a hint of confusion. Fischl hadn't been home for two or three days now. Weren't her parents worried?
"They are both adventurers and often travel to faraway places. Even if I go home, I would be by myself. So, this Princess thought it better to come and keep you company, stupid attendant," Fischl said, crossing her black-sleeved hands over her stomach with a look that said, "Be grateful."
"I see," Nolan nodded understandingly, then chuckled lightly and took two steps closer to Fischl, so close that they could feel each other's breath.
Fischl looked slightly pleased, a faint blush appearing on her fair face. She glanced silently to the side, not backing away but seeming to wait for something.
Naturally, Nolan understood. He reached out and wrapped his arms around Fischl's back, pulling her close. He touched her nose with his, then kissed her lips, which shimmered like water.
Fischl slowly closed her eyes and responded actively.
For some reason, when she was investigating the monster nest near Starsnatch Cliff today, she suddenly felt a bit lonely without the stupid attendant by her side. Even though she usually had Oz with her, being alone wasn't a problem for her.
Could this be how it feels after becoming lovers? She couldn't quite understand it. Of course, she didn't need to. After all, he was right here, and if she wanted to see him, she could just come over.
Nolan was somewhat surprised by Fischl's newfound initiative.
He closed the wooden door behind him with his foot, then slid his right hand down her spine, cupping her bottom through her purple-black dress, and lifted her up.
Fischl's legs, encased in sheer black tights, opened slightly to support her weight, her soft calves crossing and wrapping around him. The warmth of her body seeped through the thin fabric to Nolan's waist.
After a while, Nolan carried Fischl into the living room and gently laid her on the light blue sofa.
Their bodies sank into the soft cushions, like falling into a pile of cotton.
***
As the morning mist dispersed, sunlight pierced through the clouds.
The next morning, after breakfast, Nolan checked the time and went to the library to learn about Elemental Burst from Miss Lisa.
Fischl also went out to the Adventurers' Guild to complete today's investigation tasks.
For the next half month, their daily routine was almost the same: spending intimate moments together at night and working during the day.
During this time, besides spending the hours of 8 to 9 in the morning learning Elemental Battle Skill and Elemental Burst development skills with Lisa, Nolan took on commissions from the Adventurers' Guild.
Considering that Little Amy would usually return home at night, Nolan rarely accepted missions that required him to travel far and risk not returning by evening.
Sometimes he took local commissions in Mondstadt, such as finding items, temporary labor, temporary guarding, or assisting in experiments.
Due to not facing monsters and the lower danger, this resulted in him earning money at a slightly slower rate.
Similarly, without monster battles, his Adventure EXP acquisition was also slower.
Of course, Nolan didn't think he was becoming lazy; after all, being with Fischl was equally important.
Mm... About ten days passed like this.
He sold the monster materials he had collected earlier, as well as unused but valuable items like the crossbow he had obtained from the Treasure Hoarders.
He barely managed to earn 1.5 million Mora.
Adding this to Nolan's original savings of 1.25 million Mora, his total funds now amounted to 2.75 million Mora.
The cost for crafting a 4-star weapon at the blacksmith's shop was 2 million mora, so he had enough now.
Originally, he planned to visit Wagner to see if his "Moonlight Greatsword" had been forged and to pick it up if it was ready.
However, he was informed that it would still take a few more days.
Although Nolan was somewhat disappointed, he understood the difficulty in forging 4-star weapons; it was reasonable for it to take a bit longer.
Moreover, even with a forging blueprint, achieving this speed required the masterful skills of Wagner, who had delved deeply into the art of forging.
If there were no blueprint, starting from designing the blueprint itself and researching the properties of various materials would take even longer.
In conclusion, if no one helped, even Wagner would need over ten years of research to come up with a new forging blueprint for a 4-star weapon.
Wagner mentioned that every blacksmith's greatest dream was to create a completely original 4-star forging blueprint and pass it down.
If someone achieved great feats with a 4-star weapon forged from their blueprint, that blacksmith would become a legendary figure in the forging world.
This was a reputation similar to that of Legendary Adventurers, and achieving it made one the ideal role model for future generations.
As for the legendary 5-star weapons, those were not something humans could research. Even attempting to forge them according to blueprints would be incredibly unthinkable.
If news of this spread, it would cause a stir throughout the entire Tevyat Forging Community.
That day, Nolan listened to Wagner boast about many legendary stories among their blacksmiths. When he left, he was still a bit dazed and unsure whether they were true or not.
In the five days after leaving the blacksmith's shop, Nolan finally mastered Elemental Battle Skill and Elemental Burst under Lisa's guidance.
The Elemental Battle Skill he developed referenced the Abyss Mage's Elemental Shield, forming a continuously rotating wind elemental shield around himself when activated. It could deflect some less powerful attacks and had enough "shielding capacity" itself.
During the development of this elemental shield, Lisa, who had a deep understanding of elemental powers, was of great help to him.
Moreover, to achieve the desired effect, Lisa occasionally brought in Master Jean, who possesses the Anemo Vision, to assist with research.
Eventually, Nolan felt that the performance of this elemental skill had surpassed that of the same-level Abyss Mage's elemental shield!
Subsequently, under Jean's suggestion, Nolan's Elemental Burst was designed based on hers.
It created a wind elemental domain around himself, capable of dealing wind elemental damage to enemies while also healing injuries to allies.
This compensated for Nolan's lack of healing abilities.
To help Nolan grasp the healing properties of the wind element, Jean would activate her Elemental Burst every couple of days, allowing him to study it carefully.
He was very grateful for this.
After finally mastering both the Elemental Skill and Elemental Burst, it was naturally time to give them names.
In terms of naming, he thought it best to keep it simple.
So, he named his elemental skill "Dandelion Shield," and his Elemental Burst "Windwheel Aster Barrier."
Both names were related to wind-related plants.
Lisa and Jean found his naming choices to be quite tasteful.
Their own Elemental Burst names were "Rose Lightning" and "Dandelion Breeze", respectively.
Flower names were also incorporated.
Hehe, after all, they were girls; it was normal for them to like pretty flowers and plants.
(End of Chapter)
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