Saving Ver

With a brief clatter of armor, the figure beside him accelerated from a standstill to a blur. Her metal boots stamped heel-shaped dents into the earth as she swept through the wind, sending blades of grass fluttering behind her.

Li Qiuzhi pressed down his wind-tousled hair, marveling inwardly at Noelle's powerful physique.

He wasted no time either, swiftly taking the Wooden Hunting Bow off his back, nocking an iron-tipped arrow, and following close behind her.

Noelle charged straight to the girl surrounded by Slimes and planted herself in front of her. She raised her Claymore in both hands and took a fighting stance. A translucent shield instantly appeared, blocking a Hydro projectile fired by a Large Hydro Slime.

Li Qiuzhi quickly counted the Hydro Slimes and assessed the situation.

One Large Hydro Slime and five Small Hydro Slimes. That matched the commission's description exactly. The abundant Hydro in the small lake here must have drawn them over.

When the Adventurers' Guild investigator discovered them, no one had been attacked yet. Besides, Slimes generally would not become alert unless someone approached them, so this commission had not been particularly urgent.

So had that girl provoked them herself? Li Qiuzhi put the question aside for now. Saving her came first.

He drew the bowstring with ease, sending an Ironhead Arrow stealthily toward a Small Hydro Slime. With a soft squelch, it pierced the Slime's body, splashing Hydro everywhere. The Slime visibly sagged, as though exhausted, but it had not been defeated yet.

It turned its soft, bouncy body warily. Unable to spot Li Qiuzhi in the distance, it channeled its anger into a headbutt against the only target it could see: Noelle.

Thump! It struck the Breastplate protecting Noelle and bounced back, taking considerable damage. Li Qiuzhi hit it with another arrow. Pop. Hydro burst outward.

A lump of Slime Condensate formed and dropped to the ground.

[Defeated a powerful enemy. Gained 35 Experience Points.]

The pleasant sound rang out in his mind. The corners of Li Qiuzhi's mouth lifted slightly, and his spirits rose.

With Noelle shielding the girl behind her and holding off the furious Large Hydro Slime, Li Qiuzhi defeated the smaller Hydro Slimes one by one from a distance.

Excluding his misses, each Small Hydro Slime took only two or three arrows to defeat. He also deliberately practiced the methods from Favonius Archery: Basics, successfully grasping the fundamentals and making it appear on his Character Panel.

He kept firing arrows. They could be recovered after use, so they were not wasted until they were completely broken.

Experience Points +33

Experience Points +37

Experience Points +31

Experience Points +38

The five Small Hydro Slimes earned Li Qiuzhi 174 Experience Points. Added to the 512 he already had, that was enough for another level increase.

He immediately invested 600 Experience Points in his level. The familiar warmth surged through his body, nourishing and evolving every cell. Li Qiuzhi grew considerably stronger once more.

The remaining 86 Experience Points were not enough to raise his character level, but they were just enough to upgrade Hunter's Archery to Lv.3.

After allocating the points, Li Qiuzhi's Character Panel looked completely different:

Name: Li Qiuzhi

Level: Lv.7 (0/700)

Race: Human

Title: None

Innate talent: Intertwined Affection

Skills: Hunter's Archery Lv.3 (0/300), Favonius Archery: Basics Lv.1 (2/100)

Specialty: [Descender]

Experience Points: 9

If this fan-made game Character Panel still worked the way Li Qiuzhi understood it, his character level of Lv.7 already put him on par with ordinary monsters.

Ordinary monsters generally ranged from Lv.1 to Lv.20, with higher-level ones becoming increasingly rare. With his weapon and skills, Li Qiuzhi could already be considered strong among ordinary monsters.

Li Qiuzhi remembered that Lv.20 was a milestone. Upon reaching it, he could gain a racial specialty, signifying that, as a human, he had reached the limit an ordinary person could naturally grow to.

Reaching Lv.20 soon would require plenty more Experience Points. Li Qiuzhi turned his gaze back to the last Large Hydro Slime.

Now that Li Qiuzhi had defeated the other Small Hydro Slimes, Noelle no longer needed to divide her attention to protect the young woman behind her.

Her magnificent Claymore appeared to be a Favonius Greatsword. Dense amber Geo coated its blade, taking the shape of a sword and making the edge look far larger and longer.

Before the Large Hydro Slime could leap up to attack, she brought her sword down on it. The Slime was struck like a balloon, but this large one was truly resilient. It merely retreated a short distance.

Looks like this Slime has high health, defense, and elemental resistance. It's one tough creature.

But since it could not break through Noelle's Breastplate, the outcome was obvious. Li Qiuzhi joined the fight, shooting arrow after arrow into its body until his final shot defeated it.

A much larger burst of Hydro than the Small Hydro Slimes had released erupted outward. Standing close by, Noelle instinctively raised a hand to block it, but water still covered her maid-style armor, and parts of her rose-colored skirt were soaked through. Fortunately, it did not affect her much.

Luckily, a lump of higher-quality slime pulp formed where the Slime had burst. Besides being sold to alchemists as an alchemical material, it could also be used to make potions, or even put to innovative use in cooking.

At the same time, defeating the monster also earned Li Qiuzhi Experience Points.

[Defeated a powerful enemy. Gained 119 Experience Points.]

It was his largest haul yet, providing a little more than one-seventh of the points needed for his next level.

"Noelle, are you all right?" Li Qiuzhi asked with concern.

"...Ah, don't worry. My clothes are just a little wet. Let's check on her first."

Noelle's Breastplate had broken at the very last moment, and she had not had time to gather her elemental power again, which was why the Hydro had splashed onto her.

The young woman they had rescued had light-orange hair tied in a ponytail, with a few loose ends hanging beside her cheeks. Her top was separate from her sleeves, and her slightly puffed shorts tapered at the hems like bloomers.

She's young and confident, Li Qiuzhi silently assessed.

Noelle helped the young woman up from the ground. Her knees were slightly red, probably scraped when a Slime knocked her down, but it was nothing serious.

"Thank you both so much! Otherwise, I might never have made it back to Mondstadt!"

The young woman patted her chest, still shaken.

[Ver has developed affection for you. Gained 252 Friendship. Current friendship level: Lv.2 (152/200)]

"What matters is that you're all right. We came to clear out these Slimes for an Adventurers' Guild commission. We didn't expect anyone to be in danger."

Looking a little bashful, Noelle touched the silver-gray strands hanging beside her eye with her metal-gloved hand.

"Yes, that's right," Li Qiuzhi agreed.

He was deeply surprised. He had not expected rescuing someone to earn him so much affection, immediately surpassing that of the girls who already felt positively toward him.

That practically made them friends already. It had taken quite some time for Amber's friendship level with him to reach Lv.2.

Li Qiuzhi could not help wondering, If the rescue had been a little more dramatic, with me playing the hero saving a damsel in distress, would Ver have fallen in love with me at first sight and instantly maxed out her friendship level?

Haha, that's wishful thinking. But haven't I seen the name Ver somewhere before?

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