Chapter 77: Petrified Ancient Tree

The Darknight Hero, Diluc, rested his gloved right hand, against his chin and pondered for a moment before calmly saying, "I'll go confirm it."

With that said, he walked over, casually swung the Favonius Greatsword to dissipate it into particles, and stored it back in his Vision. Leaving only a cool back profile for Nolan as he departed.

Diluc's words actually put Nolan more at ease.

The attitude he conveyed suggested that even if he did go to confirm, it would likely just involve a simple inquiry, without delving into investigating his background using underground intelligence networks.

After all, a young adventurer who happened to be proficient in stealth wasn't worth much effort.

Not to mention, he was friends with the scout of the Knights of Favonius, Amber.

Back at home, Nolan prepared his elemental potions and arrows in his adventurer's backpack. He arranged the arrows in such a way that their fins could protrude from one side of the backpack for easy access.

Unfortunately, the backpack had its limitations. Unlike arrows, potions couldn't be accessed as conveniently.

During combat, he still needed to put down the backpack to use them, which was a bit troublesome.

But there was no other way. He couldn't just strap them to his waist; if one accidentally broke, he would be hit by flames and lightning first.

By keeping them in the backpack with appropriate cushioning measures, as long as he didn't intentionally smash them on the ground, there was no need to worry about this issue.

Two more days passed, and Nolan was waiting at the gate of Mondstadt.

He had arrived early at the Adventurers' Guild and was chatting casually with Katheryne, who had no one else to attend to.

With an elegant yet graceful smile, Katheryne recounted various amusing and interesting stories about adventurers. Nolan found it all rather eye-opening, their adventures were so colorful.

[Katheryne Has Developed Good Feelings Towards You, Obtained 120 Affection Points. Current Affection Level: Lv.2 (120/200)]

After chatting with Katheryne for a while, the affection increased slightly.

Just then, Her Royal Highness Fischl and her familiar Oz appeared, followed shortly by Bennett.

"Hmph, my attendants, greet this princess promptly upon her arrival."

Fischl's hands, wrapped in black silk gloves, rested on the waist of her skirt as she slightly raised her fair chin and closed her eyes, revealing a proud smile.

Oz, flapping his nocturnal wings, relayed,

"The Miss says she missed you dearly."

"Oz, hold thy tongue!" Fischl flushed slightly, glaring at her familiar.

Ah... judging by Little Amy's blushing face, what Oz said was probably true. It seems that there aren't many people who can get along with Fischl.

Mainly because, As princess of the Immernachtreich, even with most of her power stripped upon descending to Teyvat, ordinary people still couldn't become her subjects.

Only those who treat her with sincerity are eligible to be considered her friends, at least not someone who, after hearing her self-introduction, shows a strange expression but remains speechless.

"Oh, by the way, how have you been these past two days?"

Bennett rubbed his ash-blond hair at the back of his head, his face beaming with joy and curiosity. Before the two could respond, he continued,

"I sold unused materials to the Guild for Mora, then got my dads some new clothes.

"I also threw them a little birthday party. They pretended not to care but I'd never seen them laugh so happily before, hehe!

"The rest of the Mora I saved for their retirement."

Judging by his enthusiasm to share, Bennett seemed to have had a very meaningful few days.

"Oh my, Sir Bennett truly possesses admirable qualities!"

Oz the Raven praised generously.

"As expected of a warrior of the Immernachtreich!" Fischl nodded in approval of his actions, then proudly declared, "Within just three short days and nights, this princess has explored many unknown worlds!

In the near future, each one of them will be incorporated into the territory of the Evernight Kingdom!"

"I heard that the Knights of Favonius' library recently acquired a batch of martial arts novels from Liyue. Miss immediately rushed over to borrow them and has been spending all her time on them these days."

Oz, flapping his wings, relayed once again.

"I see, truly worthy of Her Highness." Nolan smiled and said, "With your efforts, the days when the Evernight Kingdom reigns supreme in the world are surely not far off!"

[Fischl Has Developed Good Feelings Towards You, Obtained 180 Affection Points. Current Affection Level: Lv.5 (235/500)]

"Expanding our territory is merely the inevitable process of achieving our ultimate goal!" Fischl's soft lips curved into a slight smile.

"The ultimate goal?" Nolan was a bit puzzled.

"Hmph, that is to shoot down the 'World Beast' (Gesamtkunstwerk) that devours dreams!"

Fischl crossed her arms, pushing up her chest slightly in the black fishnet top to emphasize its soft, rolling curves.

Katheryne, at the adventurer reception desk, watched the three of them deep in conversation about conquering the world and couldn't help but smile helplessly.

In the end, Nolan also shared that he had collected materials the previous day to prepare some elemental potions, and for the past two days, he had been busy taking on commissions to clear out monsters.

They were all simple tasks involving slimes and ordinary hilichurls wandering near trade routes.

The rewards were average, giving just over 800 Adventure EXP, not even 1,000. After all, they weren't formidable monsters. For substantial gains, the Secret Realm was still better.

After briefly sharing their experiences, the three bid farewell to Katheryne and once again left the city gates to enter the Thousand Winds Temple.

There weren't many people in the camp, and it seemed that the exploration of the Secret Realm had reached its later stages. Adventurers were actively exploring inside, and it was said that someone had discovered traces of a Petrified Ancient Tree in this Secret Realm.

This further ignited the enthusiasm of adventurers. Even some severely injured adventurers who were lying down were eager to get up and explore the Secret Realm again upon hearing the news.

Fortunately, the Adventurers' Guild medical staff held them back, otherwise, they might not have made it out intact.

Nolan and the others were quite surprised to learn of this news.

A Petrified Ancient Tree was connected to the ley lines just like the Blossoms of Revelation, and it was an even higher-order existence. Finding it meant being able to activate it with Original Resin and obtain treasures originating from the ley lines.

If they were lucky, they might even encounter legendary five-star artifacts!

Most adventurers had only heard of such things and had never seen them. If they were to truly obtain a five-star artifact, even if they retired on the spot, they probably wouldn't need to worry about Mora for the rest of their lives.

Without much hesitation, Nolan and Bennett, under the guidance of the princess, once again entered the Secret Realm to participate in this battle for the Petrified Ancient Tree!

(End of Chapter)

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