And so,
Half a month later, today.
Nolan calculated that Wagner would have nearly finished forging his own weapon by now, so he returned to the blacksmith's shop once again.
"Hey, Mr. Wagner, is my 'Moonlight Greatsword' ready?" he asked the burly man who was guiding Schultz in forging a single-handed sword.
Wagner lifted his head slightly, looking at the young adventurer before him, and then smiled, "Ah, it's you, kid. I'll fetch your 'Moonlight Greatsword' right away."
Seeing it was a valued customer, the burly man welcomed him with a smile and turned to retrieve the sword from the back.
"His expression changed so quickly."
Schultz paused his actions, lowered his head, and muttered under his breath.
Earlier, Wagner had scolded him harshly for hammering too hard and slightly bending the blade. Schultz couldn't help but grumble internally—after all, it was him who secured this big order. ah, asshole master.
Although Nolan couldn't hear Schultz's complaints, he could tell from his expression that he wasn't happy. Nolan smiled and asked, "What's wrong? Did your master not reward you for getting him such a big project?"
"Ugh, don't mention it."
Schultz sighed and said,
"to encourage me, Master Wagner decided to spend a day after completing your forging work teaching me how to create a perfect sword embryo.
"And I've already been hammering this sword embryo back and forth since morning and haven't earned Master's recognition!"
"Humph, that's because the quality of the sword embryo you forged is far from enough!"
Wagner, holding a large and long wooden box, slammed it down in front of Nolan with a "Bang", and continued:
"Kid, this is the 'Moonlight Greatsword' I crafted with all my heart. Open it and take a look."
Seeing Wagner's apparent satisfaction with his work, Nolan's anticipation grew slightly.
He placed both hands on the long wooden box and slowly lifted the lid.
There wasn't any glittering gold inside, just the afternoon sun that flooded into the box and lit up the space within.
A sword as dim as moonlight, appearing quite heavy, lay before Nolan, with a silver-white hilt inset with a deep blue crescent moon.
Although the appearance didn't completely match Nolan's aesthetic preferences, it was still acceptable.
What mattered most was its performance.
Nolan grasped the hilt of the "Moonlight Greatsword" and lifted it. It felt very heavy, probably weighing over a hundred kilograms.
"So, Mr. Wagner, can you explain the extraordinary features of this sword?"
Nolan swung the greatsword a few times with his swordsmanship, confirming that he could wield it perfectly, and then asked Wagner.
"Alright, let me tell you about it."
Wagner nodded:
"The 'Moonlight Greatsword' is quite powerful in terms of attack power. You should have heard from Schultz. Now let me tell you about its effect.
"Its weapon effect is called 'Heavy Strike.' When you attack with it, practically every swing can deliver additional power boost.
"Hmph, for those small Hilichurls, a mere touch would be enough to take them down.
"Even against a Hilichurl with a rock shield, it only takes two swings to break their shield. How about that? Pretty good, right?"
Hearing Wagner's words, Nolan's eyes lit up. If it truly had such an effect, it would indeed be impressive.
"Mm-hmm, very good."
He nodded in satisfaction, then he took out 200,0000 Mora from the Delusion and handed them to Wagner:
"This is the agreed-upon craftsmanship fee. Please count it."
"Haha, no problem. Come again next time. If there are any quality issues with this 'Moonlight Greatsword,' feel free to come back and find me!"
Wagner took the Mora, laughing heartily.
Leaving the blacksmith's shop, he returned to the streets of Val Berry Street.
The "Moonlight Greatsword," weighing over a hundred kilograms, couldn't fit into the Pyro Delusion, so Nolan had to carry it on his back.
Having mastered Elemental Burst and Elemental Skill, and with this four-star greatsword in hand, Nolan felt a profound transformation in his strength.
Even the Rock Shieldwall Mitachurl he encountered last time seemed like an opponent he could now face alone.
Half a month had passed, and although Nolan hadn't fought many monsters, he had gained considerable Adventure EXP from his adventures with Jean in the Secret Realm. His Adventure EXP points on his character panel had exceeded 20,000.
It was time to further level up his abilities.
Initially, he had planned to save his Adventure EXP to learn a basic sword technique and then upgrade it to the maximum level, integrating it into his "Royal Single-Handed Sword Technique" to see if it could evolve into a secret-arts technique.
Unexpectedly, he had directly learned a Secret Art-level skill, "Wind Pressure Sword," from Jean.
With this change, he could now use his Adventure EXP differently.
Firstly, Elemental Burst and Elemental Skill were just learned, so their shield quantity, attack power, and healing capability were relatively low.
The most important thing was that their duration was only ten seconds, the same amount of time it took to master "Anemo Manipulation" to attach to an element.
This wasn't a game, and ten seconds was indeed too short; its limited utility would be demonstrated.
Of course, this meant that its Teyvat was real.
So, no "cooldown time" was needed, and If he wanted to forcibly maintain these abilities beyond ten seconds, it was possible but would exponentially increase the strain on his physical and mental energy.
For now, ten seconds was the optimal duration for Nolan to use his Elemental skill and burst without excessive consumption.
To extend this optimal duration, leveling up these abilities was crucial.
Given his physical resilience and the racial specialty [Abundant Life], he could easily recover and quickly reuse these abilities without much delay.
Having made his decision, he began investing Adventure EXP into his Elemental Skill and Burst.
Adventure EXP -19998
Elemental Skill: Dandelion Shield Lv.1 (1/1000) > Elemental Skill: Dandelion Shield Lv.5 (0/5000).
Elemental Burst: Windwheel Aster Barrier Lv.1 (1/1000) > Elemental Burst: Windwheel Aster Barrier Lv.5 (0/5000).
After upgrading both skills to level five, their duration extended to fifteen minutes.
This level of ability is already sufficient for his current stage of use.
With just over 1,800 Adventure EXP left, Nolan decided to invest 1,000 EXP into the "Wind Pressure Sword" he learned from Master Jean.
Adventure EXP - 999
Wind Pressure Sword · Secret Art Technique Lv.1 (1/1000) → Wind Pressure Sword · Secret Art Technique Lv.2 (0/2000)
Upon reaching level two, its range of attraction increased to two meters, and its strength also improved, allowing it to pull small-sized monsters.
At level one, it could only pull very light objects, like books, which wasn't very useful.
After upgrading these three skills, Nolan's Adventure EXP were almost depleted.
His character panel showed significant changes:
Name: Nolan Walker
Level: Lv.40 (0/4000)
Race: Human
Title: Honorary Knight
Innate Talent: Entangling Affection
Skills: Divine Gen Archery - Arcane Level Technique Lv.1 (1/5000), Elemental Skill - Dandelion Shield Lv.5 (0/5000), Elemental Burst - Windmill Aster Barrier Lv.5 (0/5000)…
Anemo Manipulation Lv.3 (1/3000), Wind Pressure Sword - Secret Art Technique Lv.2 (0/2000), Concealment Form - Secret Art Technique Lv.1 (0/1000), Arrow of World's Descent - Secret Art Technique Lv.1 (1/1000)...
Royal One-Handed Sword Technique Lv.10 (Flickering Candlelight, Boundary of Windstill, Charge), Martial Arts Lv.2 (0/200).
Specialties: [Descender][Maiden Savior][Monster Slayer][Abundant Life][Gospel of the Sky][North Wind][Spiritual Threads]
Adventure EXP: 880
Although still at level forty, he now felt confident enough to face level sixty monsters without necessarily losing!
Around three in the afternoon, Nolan returned home.
With his significantly enhanced abilities, he decided not to take on any commissions for now. He needed time to adapt, especially to his new four-star greatsword.
He needed to practice using it properly. Transitioning from the lightweight Dull Blade to a heavy weapon over a hundred kilograms without practice could lead to mistakes at crucial moments.
Unfortunately, Fischl had gone out to work in the morning, so he couldn't share his excitement about his increased strength with her.
After two hours of practice, Nolan felt his swordsmanship was sufficiently smooth with the "Moonlight Greatsword."
He adapted from using a single-handed sword to a double-handed one since the first swordsmanship he learned, Favonius Swordsmanship, could be used with either one or two hands.
Even after integrating it into a new sword technique, this characteristic remained.
If needed, Nolan could wield the greatsword single-handedly without any issues.
A mere hundred kilograms wasn't particularly heavy for him now.
Just then, he heard the sound of the iron gate of the small courtyard being pushed open. Nolan turned his head in surprise. Could it be that Fischl had returned so quickly today?
The first to barge in was a small, fluffy creature that could fly!
"Nolan, the Traveler and I are back! Did you miss us?" exclaimed Paimon, wearing a metal crown on her head.
Followed by a girl with short blonde hair wearing a dress—Lumine.
"Lumine, Paimon, it's you two!" Nolan said, slightly surprised. "It's only been half a month. Did you already reach Liyue Harbor and find a 'Teleport Waypoint'?"
"Hey, is that the first thing you ask when we just got back?
"Do you know how tough it was for us, camping out in the wild for over ten days? Quickly, prepare a feast! I can't wait to eat a good meal!"
Paimon said, hands on her hips, hovering in mid-air.
"Yes, Paimon is right. These days we've been sleeping poorly and eating poorly. During our journey, we not only encountered monsters but also treasure hoarders who tried to rob us and even the Fatui with their unknown schemes.
"Basically, we had to fight off these guys almost every day, which really wore me out."
Lumine walked in, her legs clad in over-the-knee white high-heeled boots, sighing as she spoke.
"Uh-haha, you really had a tough time."
Nolan sympathized with their experiences. His adventures in the wild were much the same.
He walked into the living room with Lumine and Paimon, then leaned his greatsword against the wall and poured two cups of tea to welcome them.
"Leave the dinner preparations to me. You two can rest here for a while!"
Nolan felt he should make them a nice meal, especially since they probably only had dry food on the road.
A day or two of that is fine, but ten days is tough.
If they were lucky enough to catch wild boars or other edible animals, they could make some barbecue, adding a bit of salt for flavor.
However, judging by Lumine and Paimon's appearance, they had been rushing and not focusing much on their meals.
"Okay, hurry and buy the ingredients. Paimon tell you about our adventures during dinner."
Paimon smiled and nodded, then she and Lumine collapsed onto the light blue sofa in the living room, seemingly exhausted.
Nolan went to the market to buy meat and vegetables, returning within about half an hour.
When he pushed open the wooden door and entered the living room again, he saw Lumine had taken off her boots, displaying her over-the-knee white stockings, and was lying on the sofa with Paimon in her arms, both asleep.
Her eyes were closed, and her lips parted slightly as she exhaled softly.
Nolan chuckled quietly.
As he prepared dinner, he tried to minimize noise to avoid waking them.
About an hour later, with the meal nearly ready, he brought the dishes to the dining table.
The aroma of the food made sleeping Paimon instinctively sniff the air.
It even caused her to drool, a droplet finally falling on Lumine's fair arm.
It was clear she was dreaming of delicious food.
Just as Nolan was about to wake them up, there was a sound of the door opening outside the house, and a figure with golden hair appeared.
"You stupid attendant, this Princess is back! You've already prepared dinner so quickly?"
Fischl asked, walking in with her arms crossed and wearing black short boots, looking somewhat puzzled.
"Oh? Perfect timing, we're about to eat.
"Lumine and Paimon have returned, so I made something special."
Nolan smiled at Fischl, explaining.
Seeing Lumine and Paimon on the sofa, Fischl nodded and said, "I see, didn't they go to Liyue? How did they get back so quickly?"
Though she had never been to Liyue, she knew the distance from Mondstadt was not short.
Their conversation gradually woke Lumine and Paimon.
They rubbed their eyes, yawned, and stretched.
Lumine's stretching revealed her fair underarms.
At the same time, her dress accentuated her rounded, full figure, slightly widening the gap between the soft, elastic skin of her chest, making it even more appealing.
Suddenly.
Lumine felt something odd on her left arm and noticed some moisture on her fair skin.
She quickly realized what it was and looked at Paimon with a disdainful glance:
"You little rascal, did you mistake my arm for food in your dream?"
"Haha... probably not..."
Paimon slowly flew up, avoiding eye contact awkwardly, wiping the drool from the corner of her mouth with her small hand, and uncertainly defended herself.
(End of Chapter)
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