Level fifty, what an achievement!
Reaching this point, he was already one of the stronger beings in Teyvat. As long as he avoided the few truly dangerous entities, there was little that could pose a threat to him.
But his goals were more ambitious than just that.
He had finally found such a beautiful and adorable girl like Fischl to be his partner, and Lumine's affection was also nearing its peak.
So, he needed to have the strength to stand in front of them and face any challenges that came their way.
For example, Lumine's journey was destined to be filled with formidable foes, and Nolan couldn't let her face them alone.
With this in mind, he looked at the three available racial specialties that had appeared on his character panel:
1. Born Different: Your body undergoes significant changes, with physical abilities, vitality, and all resistances increasing proportionally to your physique. Your body size can continue to grow as your power increases.
2. Harmony: A universal energy forms within you, which can be transferred to the opposite sex through fluid exchange. Each breakthrough provides an additional effect, currently including fatigue relief, wound healing, and absorption for strengthening.
3. Unstable Cells: Your body gains slime-like elasticity and can freely change appearance.
The first racial specialty looked incredibly powerful.
If he chose it, his physique would change. For instance, if his size doubled, his strength, mental power, vitality, and defenses would also double. If his size tripled, so would all other attributes.
However, Nolan was quite satisfied with his current appearance and didn't want to become some strange figure, so he ruled out this option.
The third racial specialty was even weirder. Choosing it would definitely make people suspect he was some kind of monster; it leaned heavily towards a "Cthulhu-esque" aesthetic.
So, that was also off the table.
As for the second racial specialty, Nolan knew it was a must the moment he saw it. After carefully reading the description, he was even more convinced.
The ability to absorb energy to grow stronger and heal wounds wasn't particularly necessary for him. He could use Adventure EXP to become stronger and had Elemental Burst to heal.
But the ability to distribute this universal energy to others through fluid exchange was crucial.
With this, Nolan could help the girls he was close to improve their strength faster.
As they grew stronger, the special abilities he gained from their maxed-out affection levels would naturally become more powerful.
For example, the "Eye of Judgment" he gained from Fischl. The strength of this ability was based on the combined levels of both him and Fischl.
Currently, he was at level fifty, and when he last saw her, she seemed to be at level thirty-eight. Combined, that made eighty-eight.
With the Eye of Judgment, he could ignore illusions and false realities created by enemies of level eighty-eight and below. He could also see through the strengths and weaknesses of enemies up to level eighty-eight.
If Nolan chose this specialty, he could infuse Fischl with universal energy during their intimate moments, helping her grow stronger. This would, in turn, enhance his Eye of Judgment.
Similarly, the abilities he would gain from other girls' maxed-out affection levels would likely follow the same pattern.
So, this racial specialty was one he couldn't miss.
It might not appear again next time.
Moreover, it had excellent growth potential, much like the first option. With each breakthrough, the racial specialty "Harmony" would gain new effects.
At the twentieth-level breakthrough, it could only relieve fatigue, which was rather mundane.
At the fortieth-level breakthrough, it could heal various types of wounds, showcasing the "universal" nature of this energy.
Now, at the fiftieth-level breakthrough, it also had a characteristic similar to the "spiritual energy" commonly found in cultivation novels, allowing for absorption to grow stronger.
He was a bit curious about the exact effects of this universal energy. He was even tempted to go find Fischl right away for a test.
But then again, he could also find an opportunity to share a passionate kiss with Lumine.
After all, during this process, they would inevitably come into contact with each other's saliva in their mouths, fulfilling the conditions for transferring the universal energy.
With this in mind, Nolan decisively chose the "Harmony" racial specialty.
A warm surge, both from leveling up and the new racial specialty, flowed through his body. It felt like being in a cozy bed with Fischl, making every cell in his body tingle.
The process of body enhancement was completed quickly.
Nolan clenched his fist, feeling a newfound strength. He sensed that he could probably overpower enemies of the same level with sheer physical combat.
As Nolan was lost in these strange thoughts, Xingqiu and Chongyun had already set up the cooking pot. Lumine and Paimon had also prepared the ingredients.
Nolan placed firewood under the pot and ignited it using the fire element from his Delusion.
Before long, the water in the pot began to boil.
"Hehe, today Paimon will show you what Paimon can do!" Paimon announced, pouring pre-cut slices of beef, kept fresh and safe in Vision, into the pot.
She also added various mushrooms and other ingredients, then began stirring them with a long spoon.
"Is this what you call 'showing off'? You're just stirring with a spoon," Nolan teased her bluntly.
"Hey, that's how you guys usually cook too!" Paimon puffed up her cheeks in protest.
"Haha," Nolan laughed, not wanting to provoke her further.
Soon, the food in the pot was cooked, thanks to Paimon's efforts. They took out bowls and chopsticks from their Visions/Delusion/Inventory and began eating. Their main course was rice balls they had bought in advance from Wanmin Restaurant.
After a simple lunch, they took a brief rest and then continued their journey uphill, intending to use the advantage of Wind Gliders to travel through the high altitudes.
As they reached a slope and were about to climb, a voice suddenly called out from ahead:
"Friends, help! Please, help us!"
They looked in the direction of the voice and saw a group of young adventurers dressed in green, being chased by two Pyro Whopperflowers.
"Oh no! Someone's being chased by monsters! Let's go help them!" Paimon exclaimed, worried.
"This is bad; they're about to be caught!" Xingqiu noticed one of the Whopperflowers disappear into the ground and reappear in front of the adventurers.
"What should we do?!"
The three young adventurers came to a sudden stop, trying to retreat, but the other Whopperflower blocked their way from behind.
As they stood there, unsure of what to do, Xingqiu had already drawn his sword.
"Raincutter!"
Without hesitation, Xingqiu unleashed his Elemental Burst, sending the Rain Swords formed from Hydro elements flying towards the two monsters.
As a practitioner of exorcism and demon-slaying arts, Chongyun quickly reacted as well.
He conjured a large sword imbued with Cryo energy and sent it flying, working with Xingqiu to temporarily freeze the two Whopperflowers.
However, there was a small problem.
Neither Xingqiu nor Chongyun had reached level forty, while the two Whopperflowers were at level forty-five, and they were Pyro Whopperflowers capable of using fire elements.
So it wasn't long before they broke free from the freeze reaction caused by the combination of Hydro and Cryo elements.
Fortunately, the young adventurers weren't complete novices. Surprised to find that there were two Vision wielders among their unexpected rescuers, they quickly took advantage of the frozen state of the monsters and ran towards the group.
Seeing the injured Whopperflowers still attempting to pursue, Nolan quickly readied his bow and waited for an opportunity.
As one of the Pyro Whopperflowers emerged from the ground, Nolan released his arrow.
Using the power of "Arrow of World's Descent," the wind-element-infused arrow disappeared into the space in front of him.
In the next moment, it reappeared right in front of the Pyro Whopperflower.
The arrow's tip created a gust of wind, sending the creature flying several meters and knocking it down. The Whopperflower struggled briefly before falling completely still.
At the same time, a notification appeared on Nolan's character panel, indicating he had gained experience points.
[Defeated A Powerful Enemy, Obtained 1,902 Adventure EXP.]
"Wow, that was amazing!" The three young adventurers were stunned by the swift and decisive attacks from Nolan, Xingqiu, and Chongyun. Although they seemed about the same age, their strength was on a completely different level.
If they managed to return safely, they vowed to continue training hard to become even stronger than Vision wielders.
Unaware of their thoughts, Nolan saw the other Pyro Whopperflower emerge and swiftly shot an arrow at its head, hitting its weak spot and defeating it.
[Defeated A Powerful Enemy, Obtained 1,910 Adventure EXP.]
With the two Pyro Whopperflowers successfully defeated, Xingqiu and Chongyun both sighed in relief.
These monsters seemed to be much stronger than they were. If not for Nolan's presence, they might have been able to defeat them, but it would have taken much longer and possibly put the adventurers at risk.
Lumine glanced at Nolan, noticing that with him around, she didn't seem to have any chance to act. Not that she minded, as she wasn't particularly fond of fighting.
"Are you all okay? How did you end up provoking such powerful monsters?" Chongyun asked the three young adventurers with concern and curiosity.
Nolan and Lumine also looked on curiously.
"Whew, we're okay," one of the young adventurers, clearly exhausted, sat down on the ground. The one who seemed to be the leader took a deep breath and began to explain their situation:
"We're from the Aurora Adventuring Team, and I'm the team leader.
"Yesterday, we took a commission from the Adventurers' Guild to gather some Flaming Flowers. It took us a whole day, but we finally found a cave with a high concentration of fire elements this morning.
"The entrance was covered with Flaming Flowers, and we got a bit carried away. We checked the area briefly and didn't see any monsters, so we started collecting.
"But what we didn't expect was that two of those Flaming Flowers were actually disguised Pyro Whopperflowers!
"They suddenly emerged, scaring us. Luckily, I reacted quickly and pulled my two teammates away; otherwise, we would've been burnt to a crisp."
The young man and his two companions looked shaken, clearly relieved to have escaped.
"I see. These monsters can be quite cunning," Chongyun nodded and commented.
"Hehe, looks like you'll need to be more careful on your next adventure," Xingqiu said with a smile.
"Yes, we'll definitely sign up for the Adventurers' Guild's survival training when we get back. We need to learn more about monster behavior before taking on more commissions," the young man in green and his companions nodded firmly.
"By the way, to thank you for saving us, we'll tell you the location of that cave we found.
"Even just standing at the entrance, we could feel waves of heat coming out. There might be some valuable fire-element treasures inside.
"However, since there were two powerful Whopperflowers at the entrance, the inside must be even more dangerous, so please be careful if you decide to explore it," the leader of the Aurora Adventuring Team added after thinking for a moment.
"Treasures!" Before Nolan and the others could react, Paimon's eyes sparkled with excitement.
"Is that so? Then please tell us the location of that cave. We're definitely interested in any potential fire-element treasures," Nolan said, a bit surprised but intrigued.
Treasures were always worth pursuing, and the danger was just a bonus, providing the opportunity to earn some Adventure EXP—assuming they could handle it.
"Sure, the cave is in a fissure in the mountain ahead. You should be able to see it after about a half-hour walk," the team leader responded.
"Thanks," Nolan smiled and nodded.
After sharing their discovery, the members of the Aurora Adventuring Team bid farewell and left, relieved to walk away without being chased by monsters for once.
"What do you think? It's on our way, so should we check it out?" Nolan asked Xingqiu and Chongyun.
As for Lumine and Paimon, he didn't need to ask—they were adventurers and would definitely be interested in treasure hunting, especially since it wouldn't take much time.
"Of course, there's no reason to leave treasures behind," Xingqiu replied with a smile.
Chongyun nodded slightly, indifferent about the treasure but eager to exorcise any evil spirits.
"Alright, let's go!" Paimon said eagerly.
The group continued upward, and once they reached a higher point, they deployed their Wind Gliders and flew toward the location described by the Aurora Adventuring Team.
Using flight, they quickly spotted the mountain fissure mentioned, with a cave entrance on one side. Outside, two Flaming Flowers grew, matching the team's description.
(End of Chapter)
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