These Adventure EXP are still not enough to level up the characters for the time being. As for skills, Nolan thought it would be good to use them to upgrade the "Favonius Swordsmanship: Fundamentals" This way, he could quickly reach the maximum level and then fuse it with the "Favonius Swordsmanship: Royal"
Adventure EXP -1499
Favonius Swordsmanship: Fundamentals Lv.1 (1/100)
Favonius Swordsmanship: Fundamentals Lv.6 (0/600)
Knowledge about swordsmanship surfaced in Nolan's mind, appearing more basic and concise compared to the "Favonius Swordsmanship: Royal" style.
The deeper he practiced this swordsmanship, the more stable Nolan's foundation became. Regardless of which swordsmanship he used, he would become more proficient.
Nolan casually swung his sword a few times in the room, and the airflow caused the candlelight to extinguish.
The next morning, Nolan first went to the Adventurers' Guild to collect the reward for clearing the Petrified Ancient Tree in the secret realm—a sum of 500,000 Mora.
This was already a substantial amount. Even though he had put in considerable effort during the monster clearing process and his contributions were among the highest, there were simply too many people involved - dozens or even hundreds of adventurers participating together.
After distributing a small share to each person, and dividing up the treasures dropped by the Petrified Ancient Tree, this 500,000 Mora for Nolan also included the materials dropped by the monsters he defeated.
Most adventurers whose contributions were lower only received 20,000 to 30,000 Mora in total.
In addition to the 500,000 Mora, Nolan also had priority to purchase the treasures dropped by the Petrified Ancient Tree.
Unfortunately, the Petrified Tree in this secret realm didn't yield any legendary five-star artifacts, which had been rumored. Otherwise, he would have been interested.
There were a few four-star artifacts, but with 500,000 Mora, he could only exchange for one. It wasn't enough to buy more lower-tier artifacts for fusion and enhancing. Carrying around a single base 4-star artifact wouldn't be very useful either.
So it was better to save the money to buy Primogems instead.
Sadly, Primogems were far too rare. The Adventurer's Guild didn't have any in stock.
As Nolan was contemplating this and about to leave the Adventurer's Guild, Miss Katherine called him over and issued an additional 200,000 Mora reward for being the initial discoverer of the secret realm.
This surprised Nolan a bit, as it had been quite some time ago and he had almost forgotten about it himself.
Noelle and Vile each received 200,000 Mora as well. Katherine would distribute it when she encountered them, so Nolan didn't need to go out of his way to deliver it.
With this, Nolan's savings amounted to 780,000 Mora, which could be considered somewhat affluent. Hehe!
He chuckled silently with excitement.
After completing his business at the Adventurer's Guild, Nolan still needed to personally return the two borrowed books to the library today. Otherwise, he might really get shocked by Lisa.
He had brought the two books with him when he went out, so there was no need to make a troublesome return trip.
After some time walking, Nolan arrived at the Knights of Favonius headquarters. He greeted the knight on duty and entered the main hall.
But as soon as he pushed open the wooden door to the library, he saw Lisa lying with her head on her arms, her body turned slightly to avoid pressing against her chest, gently cushioned on the smooth surface of the desk.
The snow-white fabric at the hem of her dress wrapped around her chest, slightly soft under the influence of gravity as she lightly rested on the open pages of some unknown book.
"Hey there, little adventurer, you're here quite early,"
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Seeing someone enter, Lisa straightened her body, stretching lazily. With a somewhat languid expression, she yawned as she spoke.
"I promised Miss Lisa yesterday that I would return the books, of course, I wouldn't break that promise."
Nolan put down his adventurer's backpack and gently took out the two borrowed books, placing them on the reception desk for Lisa to confirm, while asking:
"Um, Miss Lisa, about the Fatui and Verdant Winds Adventure Team matter yesterday, how did it turn out?"
He wasn't being nosy by asking this, as he had lent a hand after all. It was only natural for him to be concerned about the aftermath.
He didn't know if Kaeya had successfully found their secret base and rescued those deceived new adventurers.
"Well~ Talking about this is actually quite amusing," Lisa said as she reached for the book borrowing registration form on the right side of the reception desk and filled in the record of returning the books.
Then, with the tip of her pink tongue, she imperceptibly moistened her soft lips before continuing:
"According to Kaeya's report, he led a squad of Knights of Favonius to raid the Fatui's secret base. Not unexpectedly, they faced desperate resistance from the enemy.
"Besides the leaders of the Fatui and Verdant Wings Adventurers' Team, this enemy also included a few new adventurers like little Fenny. They even wore Delusions, causing quite a bit of trouble for Kaeya and the others~"
Lisa finished speaking and couldn't help but let out a light laugh.
"Oh? Is Miss Lisa saying that Sir Kaeya's group was attacked by the very people they were trying to rescue, who had sided with the enemy?" Nolan was understandably stunned upon hearing this.
"Yes, the temptation of the elemental power controlled by Delusions was too great for ordinary people, especially those little kids who are too young to know right from wrong!"
Lisa crossed her legs, clad in black lace-trimmed thigh-high stockings, her gaze carrying some contemplation and sentiment as she spoke.
"So what was the final outcome?"
Nolan could understand this as well. When unaware of the cost, who could resist the allure of power?
"The outcome? Of course they were all locked up in prison to reflect properly!" Lisa swayed her right foot in its black high heel slightly. A purple anklet with a dangling teardrop-shaped gem brushed lightly against the back of her foot encased in the black thigh-high stocking.
"Whew, it seems Sir Kaeya's operation went quite smoothly then," Nolan smiled.
Since they had captured everyone, the conclusion was perfect. As for people like little Fenny who had been misled, they likely wouldn't face severe punishment.
After proper reflection for a period, they would probably be released to reunite with their families like Fenny's grandmother.
As for the two Verdant Wings' Team leaders, it most likely wouldn't be that simple. Colluding with foreign agents was a serious crime after all. They probably wouldn't be able to get out for 10 or 20 years at the very least.
On the other hand, the Fatui agents, with Snezhnaya as their backer, might still have a chance to be redeemed through some kind of beneficial exchange.
The most miserable were those caught in the middle acting as spies, pleasing neither side.
Perhaps this was what they meant by being blinded by greed.
"Alright, little adventurer, your borrowed books have been registered for return. You can go ahead and put them back on the original shelves."
Lisa pushed the two books in front of Nolan, smiling at him with her fair face.
"..."
Nolan looked at her helplessly. This was clearly something the Chief Librarian herself should do. But the words were already out of his mouth, so he could only agree:
"Okay, Miss Lisa really knows how to boss people around."
(End of Chapter)