Genshin Impact: I Can Obtain Adventure EXP

Hearing Nolan’s questioning, the stunned Eremites finally reacted, baring their teeth in fury:

"Do you even know what you’re doing?!"

"Haah~" Nolan sighed. From the look on their faces, it was clear they wouldn’t talk so easily.

He had no choice but to knock them unconscious with spiritual force, then inscribe them with Command Seals.

While waiting for them to wake again, he turned to the caravan members.

"If you have other business, go on ahead. We’ll keep an eye on them."

"Understood. Many thanks, Sage, and you as well, Miss Nilou."

The caravan leader nodded. A figure of Nolan’s stature, possessing such uncanny abilities—of course he would have ways to make the Eremites talk.

That eerie power of freezing them in place was already beyond comprehension.

Not lingering further, the caravan gathered their guards and beasts, continuing on toward the lake.

"Mr. Adventurer... what should we do with them?" Nilou asked, glancing at the unconscious mercenaries.

"Once I finish questioning them, I’ll ask the caravan to deliver them to Caravan Ribat. The soldiers there will try them under Sumeru law."

Naturally, Nolan wouldn’t let such criminals go free.

If their crimes went beyond this one failed robbery, they could be facing decades of hard labor at minimum.

And if they had endangered lives? Then execution was unavoidable.

With the Command Seals, they would confess their own crimes openly. No tedious investigations would be needed—Nolan would simply order them to speak.

The breeze in the oasis woods was cooler and gentler than the desert’s hot, dry winds.

Soon, the caravan returned from refilling their waters, just as the Eremites slowly regained consciousness.

This time, bound by the Seals, they couldn’t withhold their answers no matter how stubborn.

Once Nolan finished his questioning, he handed them over to the caravan to escort away.

"Was... what they said really true?" Nilou asked, her pale face showing surprise.

"It should be," Nolan nodded. "And since we know of it, we can’t just ignore it. Before they cause more harm—we’ll root them out completely."

Earlier, the Eremites had admitted they belonged to The Remnants of the Scarlet King, the desert’s largest mercenary organization.

Their recent surge of large-scale robberies? Orders from their leader.

They didn’t know the exact reason, but the captain had been seen consorting with an outsider in a black mask. The two seemed to be studying something together.

To fund this, the organization—and its subordinate groups—had escalated their looting.

Anyone they encountered in the desert, rich or poor, was taken. The poor were ransomed back to their families; the wealthy were stripped first, then ransomed besides.

All for money, without restraint.

Hearing this, Nolan understood.

That black-masked man could only be The Doctor. Even after his defeat in Sumeru City, he clearly hadn’t given up.

Still coveting the Dendro Archon’s Gnosis, was he?

His alliance with the Scarlet King’s remnants could mean only one thing: research into ways of opposing Nahida—and him.

Since Nolan had uncovered this, there was no chance he’d let them succeed.

Before, his strength hadn’t been enough to keep them. Now? Even together, The Doctor and Scaramouche weren’t a threat.

Capturing them might draw the Tsaritsa’s attention—but with his power and resources, even confronting the strongest Archons wasn’t cause for fear.

Not to mention, Ei was within his Wonderland Space. He could summon the Shogun anytime. With two Archon-level beings at his side, even the Tsaritsa wouldn’t act rashly.

Still, though he wasn’t afraid of her, best not to provoke her directly.

So his plan was to subdue The Doctor and Scaramouche, inscribe them with Command Seals—just as he had with La Signora.

On the surface, they would remain Fatui. In truth, they would already be his.

That way, he could avoid the Tsaritsa’s suspicion while reclaiming the Electro Gnosis for use in the Akasha system.

This would also delay her progress in collecting the Gnoses.

After all, her true aim was to wield them against Celestia. That didn’t trouble Nolan—in fact, his curiosity made him want to see what "Celestia" really was.

But who could say what disaster she might trigger in challenging it? Perhaps calamities that could engulf all of Teyvat.

Until his own power was great enough to handle such a crisis, he preferred she not act so soon.

So, if possible, he would drag out her plans—stall her collection of the Gnoses until he reached that level himself.

When the day came that his strength rivaled Celestia itself, then she could do as she pleased.

Even if her meddling brought terror upon all Teyvat, he would be prepared to face it calmly.

Before, lacking strength, he had yielded and let her take the Gnoses unhindered.

Now, Nolan intended to quietly trip her up from the shadows.

According to Ei’s assessment, he was unmatched beneath level 110, and at full strength could defeat enemies around level 115.

Against stronger foes he could still hold his ground, even draw against some.

Facing Archons at level 120 and above, like Ei herself, he was nearly their equal. Victory eluded him, but he could withdraw unharmed.

With power so close to the highest gods, the distance to Celestia’s Sustainer was shrinking.

And if the Sustainer wasn’t far... then surpassing even Celestia was within reach.

That was why delaying the Tsaritsa mattered. By the time he matured to Celestia’s level, no crisis could threaten him again.

Nolan thought for a moment, then turned to Nilou.

"Uh... Nilou, maybe you should head back first. I can go deal with the Remnants of the Scarlet King on my own. If a battle breaks out, you might get caught up in it."

"But..."

The girl’s face showed hesitation. Nilou knew she couldn’t be of much help, but the thought of letting Nolan go alone to the bandits’ base still made her uneasy.

"How about we go together, then? I can protect you."

Seeing her worry, Nolan smiled.

At worst, during a fight he could simply keep her inside his unseen barrier, then summon the Sword God of Lumine and the phantoms of Ei and the Shogun to fight in his place.

Especially the latter—their phantoms were even stronger than himself. Handling just The Doctor and Scaramouche would be more than enough.

And if by chance things went beyond expectation, he could always send Nilou into his Wonderland for safety.

"Won’t that get in your way?" she asked softly, sunlight catching on her delicate features.

"No." Nolan shook his head with a small laugh. "Heh, remember—you’re still my employer. Even if I’m doing this for the greater good, leaving my employer behind would be a failure of duty."

"...That’s true." Nilou’s pale cheeks blossomed with a sweet smile. "Then let’s go together."

[Nilou Has Developed Good Feelings Towards You, Obtained 360 Affection Points. Current Affection Level: Lv.9 (780/900).]

Perhaps feeling how much he valued her, she warmed toward him a little more.

"Good. This time, I’ll let you experience what spatial travel feels like."

Nolan spread his arms toward her.

"Eh? What’s this...?" Nilou blinked, puzzled.

"Taking someone along during spatial travel is risky. If you don’t hold on tightly, it’s easy to get lost between spaces.

"So the safest way... is to cling close to me. That way, there’s no danger of anything going wrong."

He explained calmly.

In truth, that wasn’t entirely accurate. As long as he set both of them as the teleportation target, space itself would cover them like a sphere and keep them safe—no contact required.

But he deliberately made it sound otherwise, just for the excuse of having Nilou hold him.

Looking at his serious face, Nilou sensed nothing amiss. She stepped forward, looping her arms around his waist.

Feeling the softness of her body press against him, Nolan also wrapped his arms around her.

"Alright then. We’ll begin the teleport now."

"Mhm." Nilou pressed her cheek lightly to his chest. Her face glowed crimson without her realizing it, and her arms tightened instinctively.

The gentle wind of the oasis carried on as the two figures vanished silently beneath the sun.

---

Desert, Tomb of the Scarlet King.

When Nolan and Nilou appeared again, it was high in the air above a colossal pyramid-like structure.

"Ahh!"

Finding no ground beneath her feet, Nilou instinctively clung to him even tighter. Her silk-clad legs shifted, wrapping faintly around his.

The posture was... a little indecent.

"Mr. Adventurer, why are we in the air? Did the teleport go wrong?"

She asked nervously. If not for realizing she wasn’t falling, she might have already opened her Wind Glider.

"No mistake. I just wanted to take a look at the tomb from above."

Of course, what I really wanted was for you to hold me like this, he thought with a mischievous grin.

Supporting her gently by the hips, he kept his expression even as he said, "Go on—look down behind you. Isn’t the Tomb of the Scarlet King magnificent?"

Indeed, the Eremites had said their group, Remnants of the Scarlet King, was working with The Doctor here.

All the stolen goods and mora were being brought back to this very tomb.

"T-that can be seen from the ground too... let’s go down first."

Nilou’s face was flushed scarlet. Hugging a man in such a posture, hips supported by his hands—her heart raced too much to admire the tomb.

"...Alright then."

Nolan cast his unseen barrier over them both, then slowly descended.

It was only a few hundred meters, a matter of seconds—but with a girl in his arms, he stretched it to seven or eight minutes before touching down.

As the ground drew near, Nilou felt relief. She was just about to step down when she noticed he was still holding her by the hips, not letting go.

By now she understood perfectly—it was deliberate.

Face burning, she whispered,

"Mr. Adventurer... we’re already on the ground. I can stand on my own—you don’t need to hold me anymore."

"...Alright."

Reluctantly, Nolan released her, letting her slide gracefully to her feet.

Nilou quickly straightened her rumpled dress, then turned her gaze toward the tomb, too flustered to speak.

She had never visited before, but she had seen pictures in books. Even so, to see such grandeur in person—and to know it had been occupied by bandits—was unsettling.

"Come. No one can see us now. Let’s go inside and see what’s happening."

He took her soft hand and started toward the tomb.

"Uh..." Nilou, her hand clasped in his, felt a flicker of unease. She was just about to pull away when Nolan said:

"We’re under a concealment barrier right now. Others can’t see us—but it’s not very big. If we wander out of it by accident, we’ll be exposed.

"So it’s safer if we hold hands."

An excuse to justify his grip.

"...Alright then." Nilou nodded faintly. She couldn’t see the barrier herself, but with an explanation, she told herself the hand-holding was necessary, not strange.

In truth, she already faintly suspected he was being a little cheeky. Hmph. Who would’ve thought Mr. Adventurer could be so sly...

[Nilou Has Developed Good Feelings Towards You, Obtained 320 Affection Points. Current Affection Level: Lv.10 (MAX).]

"Oh?"

Nolan blinked in surprise as the panel popped up. Unaware his little schemes had already been seen through, he hadn’t expected Nilou’s feelings to tip over into full marks.

With the final points filled, her affection had reached the maximum!

A pleasant wave of satisfaction welled in him.

(End of Chapter)

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