At the Alchemy Terrace Plaza, "Third-Round Knockout."
After leaving the Northland Bank, Zhongli led Nolan and the others to a tavern called "Third-Round Knockout."
They casually found a seat outside and called over the waiter to order some snacks and tea.
"The rice wine dumplings and tea here are quite good. Please, make yourselves at home."
Not long after, the waiter quickly brought out their food. As Zhongli was a regular here, he took the initiative to introduce some of the famous snacks.
"Hehe, we've been in Liyue long enough to hear about this place. It's said that if you eat three bowls of 'rice wine dumplings,' you'll get so tipsy that you won't be able to leave."
Paimon, sitting on her chair, couldn't reach the table properly, so she floated lower, her eyes eagerly fixed on the variety of snacks in front of her, including the rice wine dumplings.
"Paimon probably isn't of age yet, right? It's not recommended for kids to drink alcohol," Nolan said with a smile.
"Hmph! What do you know? 'Rice wine dumplings' are just dumplings! Can they even be called wine?" Paimon put her hands on her hips, annoyed at the bad guy trying to stop her from enjoying the food.
"Uh... that actually makes sense," Nolan was stumped by her reasoning. If she wanted to try a bit of alcohol, so be it. It would be amusing if she got drunk halfway through eating and passed out.
"The dumplings are made with rice wine, but eating a small amount won't be a problem." Zhongli took a sip of tea and then looked across at Lumine. "Traveler, if there's anything you'd like to know, feel free to ask now."
He preferred savoring tea like one savors life, rather than focusing on the food.
Finally, Lumine exhaled silently, as if she had been waiting for this moment. She spoke:
"My brother and I came from beyond this world. When we tried to leave Teyvat, a unknown goddess with white hair and red cubes blocked our way. She captured my brother. Do you know who she is or how to find her?"
Zhongli pondered for a moment, took another sip of tea, and said, "I didn't expect that you had encountered her."
As a god, he could easily sense that Lumine wasn't native to Teyvat, just like Nolan who was by her side.
"Oh, Zhongli, you really know that unknown god? Hurry and tell us more!" Paimon's cheeks were already a bit flushed after just one rice wine dumpling.
Lumine also waited intently for Zhongli's further explanation.
"If what you've said is correct, the one you encountered is likely the 'Sustainer of Heavenly Principles.'"
Zhongli nodded as he answered.
The Sustainer of Heavenly Principles.
Lumine rested her chin on her hand, deep in thought. She had indeed heard the goddess call herself that during their encounter.
"The 'Sustainer of Heavenly Principles' rarely shows herself. If you want to find her, you might try what you did before—attempting to leave Teyvat. But that's extremely dangerous. I wouldn't recommend doing so without enough power."
Zhongli glanced at the sky and shared what he knew.
"I see. Then, Zhongli, what do you know about the Abyss Order?" Lumine nodded in understanding and then asked further.
She had previously heard from Kaeya that her brother might be connected to the Abyss Order and had been referred to as the "Prince." So, she wanted to ask Zhongli about the Abyss Order as well.
"The Abyss Order…" Zhongli paused for a while. "Their actions seem to have some purpose, but I don't know much about them either."
"Alright," Lumine said, feeling a bit disappointed.
It seemed that, just like with Venti, she didn't gain much useful information from Zhongli either.
She continued asking him more questions about the gods, hoping to uncover clues related to her brother and to prepare for the journey ahead.
…
Mondstadt.
Nolan and his companions strolled down the bustling streets.
By the time they left "Third-Round Knockout," it was already dusk.
Since the "Rite of Parting" had been postponed, and there was nothing urgent to attend to, Nolan and the others decided to return to Mondstadt for the time being.
After all, they had just participated in a battle with a god. Although their contribution was small, they were still mentally and physically exhausted.
Going home for some rest seemed like a good idea. Plus, with the evening still young, they could show Shenhe, who was visiting Mondstadt, some of the sights.
As Nolan listened to Lumine and Paimon introducing various aspects of Mondstadt to Shenhe, notifications began to pop up on his character panel:
[Today, You And Your Companions Arrived At Liyue Harbor, The City Bound By A Contract With The Gods.]
[You Intended To Visit The Geo Archon During The Rite Of Descension But Found Yourselves Caught In A Self-Orchestrated "Fake Death" Plot By The Geo Archon.]
[Liyue Was Thrown Into Chaos, And Undercurrents Surged As You Defeated Formidable Enemies And Gathered The Necessary Items For The Rite Of Parting.]
[Due To Various Schemes, You Engaged In A Fierce Battle With A Fatui Harbinger In The Golden House.]
[At The Very End, The Ancient "Vortex God" Who Had Been Sealed For Millennia Was Unleashed. Fortunately, With The Help Of Your Companions, You Defeated This God.]
[This Was An Unimaginable Feat For You. The History You Created Will Be Remembered, And A New Character Specialty Is Forming—]
[You Have Gained A New Specialty: Blue Vortex.]
Nolan reviewed these messages and felt that the time had come to consolidate his specialties. Having participated in such a monumental event, like the defeat of the Vortex God, he wondered what the effects of this new specialty might be.
He mentally "clicked" on the newly acquired specialty's details:
[Blue Vortex: Derived From A Fragment Of The Vortex God's Power, This Ability Grants Control Over Water Elemental Forces And Allows Limited Use Of The "Vortex" Power.]
Divine Power!
Nolan's eyes widened slightly as he read the words, and an unstoppable surge of surprise welled up within him.
He never expected to gain access to a power that only gods could wield!
Even though it was just a fragment and not a complete ability, it was still divine power—a power that only god-level entities could control!
Anyone with enough strength could potentially use this fragment of divine power as a stepping stone to ascend the path to becoming a god. Needless to say, having divine power in advance would smooth his journey significantly.
Thinking this, Nolan grew eager to test his new ability.
First, he tried controlling the water element.
This came easily. Perhaps because of the divine power, it was much simpler than when he first practiced controlling the wind element.
Back then, he had to practice with Lumine to gradually master wind manipulation, but now, it felt instinctive.
He could freely control the water element.
Watching the water element switch between gaseous and liquid states in his palm and take on various shapes, Nolan mused to himself.
Next, he tried using the "Vortex" power.
This, too, was simple. In essence, the Vortex power of Osial, the Vortex God, was just an advanced form of water elemental control.
It allowed for deeper manipulation of water elements—like creating massive whirlpools with strong gravitational pull at sea or controlling underwater currents.
For now, Nolan could only form small whirlpools with the water element. While a regular Vision holder could do something similar, the difference was in the strength—his whirlpools were significantly more powerful.
However, since Nolan lacked godly power, and the fragment of divine power was incomplete, his abilities were nowhere near Osial's, not by a long shot.
Still, for now, it was more than enough for Nolan.
After testing his new specialty, Nolan noticed that they still had some distance to go before reaching home.
He decided to use up his nearly 200,000 Adventure EXP in the meantime.
These Adventure EXP would be enough to elevate him to one of the top combatants in Teyvat!
The first priority was, of course, leveling up. He was currently level 65, so he decided to raise his level to 70 and see what new specialty he might unlock.
[Adventure EXP used: 33,500]
[Lv. 65 (0/6,500) → Lv. 70 (0/7,000)]
A familiar, powerful warmth surged through his body, enhancing every cell and his mental strength.
The process was swift.
Once the enhancement was complete, his character panel popped up with three racial specialties for him to choose from:
[Intuition: Your Sensory Abilities Are Greatly Enhanced, Allowing You To Perceive Events Several Seconds In Advance. Currently, The Perception Window Is Two Seconds And Will Increase As Your Strength Grows.]
[Limitless Stomach: Your Stomach Evolves, Allowing You To Consume And Absorb The Advantageous Genes Of Still-Living Creatures. These Genes Will Express Themselves In Your Body Without Rejection.]
[Battery Body: Your Body Evolves, Greatly Increasing Resistance To All Forms Of Damage. You Can Also Absorb Kinetic, Solar, Electric, And Biological Energy, Storing It In Your Cells To Replace Energy Consumption Or Even Transfer It To Others As A "Charge."]
Nolan carefully examined the three racial specialties and found them all quite impressive.
But the first specialty he dismissed was the "Limitless Stomach."
There was no denying its strength. If he had the chance to eat something like dragon meat, he might even inherit dragon blood.
However, the problem was that it involved explicit gene expression. What if he accidentally consumed something strange, like swallowing a mosquito by mistake, and his body somehow absorbed its genes successfully?
If things went wrong, he might actually grow a mosquito-like proboscis for sucking blood.
And that was just one example—if he consumed more strange things, his body could grow all sorts of new organs, transforming him into something out of a bizarre Cthulhu-esque nightmare.
No matter how powerful that specialty was, Nolan couldn't accept it.
It had to be said that racial specialties were truly unique, often related to the evolution of one's body, representing a specific direction of physical advancement.
But sometimes, the specialties offered were just too strange.
The remaining two, "Intuition" and "Battery Body," were both excellent.
One could foresee the future, even if just by a few seconds—but foreseeing the future, even for a few seconds, was still incredibly powerful!
If it weren't for "Battery Body," Nolan would have definitely chosen it.
The main reason was that "Battery Body" was simply too strong.
The increased resistance to all forms of damage would allow him to reduce the harm he took, and with the help of his "Negative Balance," the actual damage he'd suffer would be even less.
But the most important part was that he could absorb various forms of energy to "recharge" himself.
He would essentially become a walking battery, able to use stored energy wherever needed. It was practically an additional energy bar.
If he ran out of stamina, he could use it to replenish himself.
If his mental energy was low, it could top that up too.
If his elemental power was exhausted, it could refill that as well.
Even the "universal energy" in his body could be replenished this way, meaning that with a little moderation, he could quickly help Lumine and Fischl increase their strength.
And the best part?
He could recover energy just by basking in the sun—or even by getting hit, since he could absorb kinetic energy!
Without a doubt, this racial specialty was incredibly practical, and choosing it was a no-brainer.
Nolan no longer hesitated. As he made his choice, his body smoothly evolved into a "Battery Body," gaining all of the aforementioned traits.
At the same time, having broken through to level 70, Nolan's "Harmony" specialty gained an additional feature: Increased Lifespan.
Entities nourished by the "Universal Energy" would have their cells' lifespan extended, preventing them from aging.
Nolan was quite pleased to see this added feature in his "Harmony" specialty.
After all, many of the girls he knew, like Fischl, were ordinary humans. Without a way to extend their lifespan, they would eventually age and die, unable to stay with him for a long time.
Now, this problem was solved quite nicely.
Glancing at his character panel, he saw that he still had over 164,000 Adventure EXP left. Without further thought, he continued to raise his level.
[Lv. 70 (0/7,000) → Lv. 80 (0/80,000)]
The feeling of growing stronger was very tangible, and Nolan felt a deep sense of security in his heart.
After spending so long traversing the continent of Teyvat, he had finally become one of the most powerful combatants in this world.
As long as he didn't provoke any particularly dangerous individuals, he could walk around this world without worry.
He couldn't deny that he was feeling a bit overconfident.
It took him several deep breaths to calm down, and by then, Lumine had turned her head to look at him with a puzzled expression.
She couldn't help but wonder if this idiot had damaged his brain.
Nolan chuckled and moved closer to put his arm around Lumine's waist, only to be slapped away.
"We're in public, idiot!"
Lumine blushed slightly, feeling embarrassed and clearly not used to showing such affection in front of others.
"Heh, sorry."
Nolan didn't mind and instead stepped back a bit to hold her hand.
Shenhe, on the other hand, looked at the two with a puzzled expression, not quite understanding why Nolan had tried to wrap his arm around Lumine.
Was he tired from walking and needed help to steady himself?
"If you're tired, you can hold onto me," Shenhe said innocently, moving closer to Nolan's left side and indicating that he could hold onto her waist.
After all, Nolan was one of her few friends, and helping him out wasn't a big deal.
"…."
Nolan, Lumine, and Paimon all fell into an awkward silence.
Could it be that Cloud Retainer never taught Shenhe about these kinds of things between men and women? No wonder Cloud Retainer once mentioned that Shenhe was a bit lacking in common sense.
"Is something wrong?" Shenhe asked, confused by the sudden quietness.
"Uh, well…"
As Nolan hesitated, unsure whether to reach out, his left hand instinctively moved toward her waist.
But just as he was about to make contact, a force pulled him backward from his right side.
Lumine shot him a sharp glare and then grabbed Shenhe, speeding up her pace to move away from Nolan.
She decided it was time to properly educate Shenhe on certain things, lest she be deceived by bad guys like Nolan in the future!
---
(End of Chapter)
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