Chapter 412: The Broken Technique (2-in-1 Chapter)

Noon.

Under the combined efforts of Albedo and Lumine, the Shadow Bear Territory in the Beast Realm was nearly complete.

The first priority was the spatial rift. Using Geo elemental energy, they constructed massive, thick walls to enclose the remaining Shadow Bears.

Just like the snowy mountain on the other side, these creatures could be used to maintain the stability of the spatial rift.

In addition, a sturdy perimeter wall now surrounded the entire Shadow Bear Territory, with shaded watchtowers placed at regular intervals.

The design was clearly inspired by Mondstadt's city walls.

However, the Beast Realm's scorching sunlight made uncovered watchtowers impractical. Additionally, the new walls were only about one-third the thickness of Mondstadt's, as constructing something on that scale—even with Lumine borrowing energy from Nolan—would have been impossible to complete smoothly.

Despite being thinner, the walls were still strong enough to block most non-flying monsters.

Inside the walls, a few temporary residential buildings had also been erected. Given the time constraints, achieving this much in half a day was already impressive.

Any additional improvements could be made later, once more people arrived.

Most importantly, Albedo's laboratory was now set up. In the Beast Realm, he could conduct unrestricted research on its monsters without worrying about their corpses suddenly being rejected by Teyvat's natural order.

With this, research and exploration of the Beast Realm had officially entered a stable phase.

Afterward, Jean and Eula teleported back to the Knights of Favonius headquarters to arrange for reinforcements and discuss the matter of exploring the otherworld with the Adventurers' Guild.

Lumine and Paimon returned to the Wonderland for a short rest, while Nolan left his "Sword God of Lumine" avatar to oversee the Shadow Bear Territory before following Jean and Eula back.

---

Mondstadt – Knights of Favonius Headquarters

Inside the Acting Grand Master's office, Lisa, wearing her signature pointed purple witch's hat, sat with one leg crossed over the other, helping Jean review documents.

Suddenly, three figures appeared beside her.

"My, back already? And here I was, hoping to enjoy sitting in Jean's chair a little longer~" Lisa chuckled playfully.

"If you want to sit, go ahead and keep sitting," Jean replied helplessly, casting a glance at her friend before shifting her gaze to the short-haired, ice-blue-haired girl beside her.

"Eula, your reconnaissance squad should stay in Mondstadt and rest for now. Wait a few days until Kaeya returns from the Beast Realm before taking on new missions."

The Grand Master's expedition had no clear return date, and with the current shortage of manpower, the Knights of Favonius were already stretched thin.

Even with help from the Adventurers' Guild, exploring the otherworld required a significant number of personnel.

It seemed that this year's knight recruitment drive would have to bring in more new recruits—though Jean worried about the strain on their already tight budget.

For a moment, she found herself in the same predicament as Mona, stressing over Mora.

"Fine by me. We've already cleared out the monsters threatening the villages and towns near Mondstadt, so there won't be any attacks for now," Eula said, crossing her arms over her abdomen, partially covered by her semi-transparent black tights.

"By the way, Honorary Knight, regarding the energy-storing Delusions you asked Lisa to research—once there are results, I'd like you and Lisa to authorize the Knights of Favonius to manufacture and distribute them. You'll, of course, receive patent royalties in return."

Since Jean also resided in the Wonderland, she was well aware of Lisa's research.

Lisa was working on modifying Delusions—normally notorious for their dangerous side effects—into energy-storing versions, allowing users to harness elemental power without sacrificing their lifespan.

Once depleted, these Delusions could simply be recharged.

Jean knew Lisa had already crafted a Pyro Delusion for Nolan in the past, but its exorbitant production cost and the rarity of required elemental materials made mass production unfeasible.

Moreover, its power wasn't particularly remarkable—hardly worth the investment of time and resources.

Lisa's current research aimed to develop energy-storing Delusions from raw materials, rather than modifying existing ones. The goal was to make them cost-effective and suitable for mass production.

If successful, the market for such Delusions would be enormous—after all, wielders of Visions were a rare minority in Teyvat.

Many ordinary people wished they could harness elemental power, even if only at a modest level.

If civilians could equip themselves with these devices, even non-combatants might be able to defend themselves against monster attacks.

The demand for such a technology was undeniable.

"Oh, you should ask Lisa about that. I just provided her with a batch of Delusions—she's the one actually conducting the research," Nolan replied nonchalantly.

He had no objections to letting the Knights of Favonius handle the production and distribution of energy-storing Delusions.

After all, once the research was complete, investors would be needed to manufacture them—better to work with allies than strangers.

Since Lisa was a member of the Knights of Favonius, it was naturally inappropriate to hand over the production of energy-storing Delusions to the Sweet Flower Merchant Association.

Without a doubt, the Knights of Favonius were the best choice. Even if Jean hadn't mentioned it, once Lisa made progress in her research, Nolan would have brought up the matter with her himself.

However, the final decision would still depend on Lisa—after all, this was her achievement.

"Oh?" Lisa looked at Jean in mild surprise. "You're bringing this up so soon… Don't tell me the Knights are having financial troubles?"

"Not exactly. I just want to recruit more newcomers this year."

Jean was straightforward, sharing her thoughts openly.

"Alright then. Once my research is complete, I'll leave the production and distribution to the Knights of Favonius. But of course, I expect a fair share of royalties per unit sold~"

Lisa's fair face curved into a sly smile.

While Jean was her friend—and they even shared the same lover—business was business. Personal matters could be handled casually, but when it came to an official collaboration with the Knights, everything needed to be clearly documented.

This wasn't just about protecting themselves but also about maintaining the integrity of the Knights of Favonius.

After all, they would be using the Knights' funds to mass-produce these Delusions. If things weren't settled in writing, any unexpected issues might lead to suspicions of abuse of power, favoritism, or even corruption.

"Of course. But the final decision still needs to be discussed and approved by the rest of the Knights."

Jean nodded, then asked, "So… Lisa, how long do you estimate before your research bears results?"

"Within three months. But… if you grant me a paid vacation, I could probably finish it in a month."

Lisa was extremely confident.

The main reason was the "Focus" effect derived from the Wonderland, a phenomenon triggered by Nolan's vast collection of rare treasures.

Although it could only be used for one hour per person per day, the state of absolute mental clarity, where complex problems unraveled effortlessly as if guided by divine insight, was far more efficient than hours of traditional research.

Moreover, just a few days ago, Nolan had obtained an incredible Soul Attribute for her:

[Elemental Scholar: This trait only appears on sentient beings. The bearer can comprehend elemental energy more easily and gains twice the proficiency in elemental control.]

With these bizarre abilities at her disposal, how could she not be confident?

Jean sighed, "I can't give you a whole month off, but I can grant you one extra day off per week."

"Oh dear, well… one day is better than none."

Lisa accepted the compromise with a smirk.

After a brief discussion about the Delusion research, the group headed to the cafeteria for lunch. Afterward, Jean and Lisa returned to work at the Knights of Favonius, while Nolan walked through the streets of Mondstadt with Eula.

Since Eula would be staying in the city until Kaeya returned, she was essentially on break.

Which meant… it was finally time for her to fulfill her forfeit from their duel—becoming his maid for a few days!

---

"Hmph. What exactly are you thinking about, you silent schemer?"

Eula folded her arms over her abdomen, lifting her soft and ample chest slightly. Dressed in knee-high black leather boots that accentuated her toned, curvaceous legs, she strolled alongside Nolan, frowning as she glanced at him.

"Oh, nothing much. I was just thinking… since you're on break, isn't it about time you fulfilled your promise to be my maid for a few days?"

Nolan said it openly, without the slightest hesitation.

"You really can't wait to have me and Amber as your maids, huh?" Eula huffed, placing her hands on her hips in mild irritation. "Amber's break isn't until next week. Once she's free, we'll come find you together!"

As the eldest daughter of the Lawrence family, Eula never went back on her word.

She hadn't been deliberately postponing it—it was just that she and Amber hadn't had a break at the same time yet.

"Well, honestly, making you two my maids is just a bonus. What I really want is to exchange insights on swordsmanship and archery with you."

Nolan pretended to sound serious.

"Tch. A maid's duty is to obey their master's orders. When the time comes, just treat us like real maids. No need to hold back just because we're friends."

Eula crossed her arms again, smirking. "As for swordplay? We can do that anytime. But during our time as maids, just let us focus on actual maid duties—cooking, cleaning, washing dishes, whatever.

"Otherwise, that Gunnhildr girl might think I backed out because I couldn't accept defeat!"

She scoffed, making it clear that Nolan shouldn't hesitate—when the time came, a maid's role was a maid's role.

"...I don't think Jean would really care about that… but well, since you insist, we'll do it your way."

Nolan found Eula's words very much to his liking.

However, Eula's understanding of being a maid was still too superficial.

Cooking, washing dishes, and cleaning?

If she was going to be his maid, then at the very least, she should also be warming his bed!

"As long as you understand. Don't hesitate to give orders—just don't let that fool Jean think I'm an incompetent maid!"

Eula emphasized once again. Seeing Nolan pat his chest confidently in agreement, she finally nodded in satisfaction.

[Eula Has Developed Good Feelings Toward You. Obtained 260 Affection Points. Current Affection Level: Lv.7 (650/700)]

---

Inazuma City, Tenshukaku

After chatting with Eula for a while, Nolan returned to Tenshukaku in the afternoon to assist Raiden Ei in researching the power of Time.

Once that was done, he trained in swordsmanship alongside Lumine under the Shogun's guidance.

Several days passed like this, and both he and Lumine had nearly mastered the "Source Flow Swordsmanship - Chūden".

The Shogun deemed them ready to begin learning the "Okuden".

Unlike the previous levels, "Source-Flow Swordsmanship" was significantly more difficult.

It was an Arcane-Level technique, incorporating advanced applications of elemental energy—far beyond simple swordplay.

It took two full days for Nolan and Lumine just to reach the beginner stage.

Mastering an Arcane-Level technique wasn't something that could be done in a short time, even for someone with extensive swordsmanship experience.

To speed up his progress toward "Musou no Hitotachi", Nolan decided to invest Adventure EXP into the technique.

[Source-Flow Swordsmanship: Okuden Lv.1 (1/5000)]

For Arcane-Level skills, the base experience point cost was 5,000 per level. Each time a level increased, the cost for the next level also increased by another 5,000.

This followed the same pattern as other skill tiers:

- Basic-Level Skills started at 100 points (increasing by 100 per level).

- Secret-Level Skills started at 1,000 points.

By this calculation, maxing out an Arcane-Level skill required a total of 275,000 Adventure EXP—an insane amount.

This was why his "Sword God of Lumine" ability was such a cheat.

By fusing traits, it had directly upgraded to Arcane-Level while inheriting its previous proficiency, saving him countless Adventure EXP.

Back then, he wasn't nearly as strong as he was now—grinding 275,000 points would have taken forever.

Now?

It was effortless.

Just a simple hunt in the Beast Realm had already netted him over 300,000 points today.

Spending 275,000 might seem like a lot, but for him, it was nothing!

[-274,999 Adventure EXP]

[Source-Flow Swordsmanship: Okuden Lv.1 (1/5000) → Lv.10 (Boundless Secrets)]

In an instant, Nolan maxed out the skill.

Countless insights into combining swordsmanship with elemental power flooded his mind.

It was as if he had spent years refining his technique—his swordsmanship and elemental control had skyrocketed several times over, massively boosting his combat strength.

If he fought his previous self, he could now easily take on two or three of his past versions simultaneously.

But the biggest surprise?

The Ultimate Trait that emerged from mastering "Source-Flow Swordsmanship."

Since Source-Flow Swordsmanship was the foundation of many Inazuman sword styles, its Ultimate Mastery Trait—"Boundless Secrets"—reflected this principle perfectly.

Its effect?

It enhanced the power of all other sword techniques, providing an incredible boost to any swordsmanship he used.

Even the most basic slashes now carried Arcane-Level power.

Simply put—before, using a Basic-Level sword skill would result in Basic-Level damage.

Now?

Every Basic-Level sword skill automatically became a fusion of Arcane-Level + Basic-Level—stacking immense power onto even the simplest strikes.

And that wasn't all.

As a foundational sword style, the "Boundless Secrets" Trait also significantly reduced stamina consumption for sword techniques.

Even using Arcane Techniques felt as effortless as swinging a regular sword.

Ultimate moves at the cost of basic attacks.

Absolutely broken.

(End of Chapter)

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