When they told Katheryne about discovering a domain at the Temple of the Thousand Winds, her expression showed a hint of surprise. She seemed rather taken aback and said she would report it to Cyrus, the branch master of the Mondstadt Adventurers' Guild:
"Mr. Cyrus will immediately arrange for investigators to explore the domain. If the information is confirmed, the Adventurers' Guild will reward you generously."
"Great, I'm looking forward to it!" Li Qiuzhi replied excitedly.
[Katheryne has developed affection for you. Gained 70 friendship points. Current friendship level: Lv.2 (0/200)]
Since Li Qiuzhi had chosen to inform the Adventurers' Guild of something as significant as discovering a domain, Katheryne couldn't help growing fonder of him.
That made Li Qiuzhi even happier.
With their business finished, they left the Adventurers' Guild. Ver was the first to say goodbye, explaining that she needed to contact buyers to sell the materials dropped by the monsters.
Perhaps the scrape on her knee still hurt a little, as she walked with a slight awkwardness.
"Goodbye, Miss Ver."
Noelle waved politely, a serene smile appearing on her face.
Then she turned to Li Qiuzhi and said:
"Mr. Adventurer, I'll head back to the Knights now, too. If you need any more help, please come find me again!"
"Of course. Thank you, Noelle." Li Qiuzhi nodded with a smile. "When you're free, I'll make a special visit to thank you properly."
This gave him a reason to see Noelle again later. After all, even the closest friends would gradually drift apart if they made no effort to maintain their relationship.
"Huh..."
Noelle shook her head and hurriedly said, "You don't have to go to all that trouble... um, it's getting late, so I'll head back now."
"Goodbye."
After bidding Noelle farewell, Li Qiuzhi walked alone through the streets of Mondstadt City.
After fighting Slimes, Treasure Hoarders, and Ruin Guards out in the wild, his clothes were already filthy, and he had sweated quite a bit. He decided to go back and take a bath, then have dinner at the Good Hunter.
All that exertion had left him pretty hungry.
Judging by the final outcome, his first commission had gone fairly smoothly, but it had also exposed many of Li Qiuzhi's shortcomings.
First of all, the bow placed rather severe limitations on him.
The main issue was that using arrows was inconvenient. He could only carry so many, and running out would be troublesome. After all, he couldn't exactly tell his enemies to wait while he picked up the arrows that were still usable before continuing the fight.
Moreover, the Wooden Hunting Bow Mr. Draff had given him had limited power, and he couldn't infuse his arrows with Elemental Power like a Vision bearer.
The bow's material imposed its own limits. No matter how good Li Qiuzhi's archery became, it was fine for hunting beasts but somewhat lacking against monsters. Against particularly powerful ones, he might not even pierce their skin.
So he still needed to get started on "Favonius Swordsmanship: Fundamentals" as soon as possible. Improving his archery skill could wait for now; this would also address the weakness of having only his fists to rely on in close combat.
As these thoughts swirled through Li Qiuzhi's mind, the normally quiet Character Panel popped up on its own, and lines of text appeared.
[Today, unremarkable as you are, you experienced a thrilling and commendable adventure, leaving an insignificant mark on the history of another world.] [You shamelessly invited Noelle, the adorable maid of the Knights of Favonius whom you had never met before, to join your adventuring party, beginning your first adventure.] [On a sunny afternoon.] [You worked with the adorable maid Noelle to defeat numerous Hydro Slimes, rescuing Ver, a young information broker who was surrounded and under attack.] [Having obtained information about Artifacts, you succumbed to greed and clashed with the notorious Treasure Hoarders. However, thanks to the all-capable maid and your own insignificant smidgen of cleverness, you successfully resolved the crisis and reaped considerable rewards.] [You and the information broker used despicable, shameless methods to defeat a powerful Ruin Guard that should have been an insurmountable obstacle. Fortunately, you and the adorable, all-capable maid worked in harmony to defeat the last Ruin Guard head-on, restoring a little of your dignity.] [You discovered a "domain" within unknown ruins.] [You returned safely to Mondstadt City, successfully turned in your commission, and selflessly and generously shared the important information about the "domain" with the Adventurers' Guild. You have gained a modest reputation in Mondstadt City.] [You performed rather well during this adventure. The history you experienced and created will be commemorated as a character specialty-] [Please wait.]
With surprise on his face, Li Qiuzhi felt his mind begin automatically recalling the day's events. One ordinary scene after another surfaced: meeting Noelle, defeating the Slimes, rescuing Ver.
Once all those memories and everything else had played out, they began drawing together, condensing into a power that settled upon him.
[You have gained a new character specialty: Maiden Rescuer]
Whoa-is this what an unexpected surprise feels like?
Looking at his newly acquired specialty, Li Qiuzhi was incredibly excited.
Specialties were rather difficult to obtain. For one thing, there were few ways to acquire them. Reaching level 20, for example, guaranteed a specialty known as a "racial specialty."
Usually, this would be a trait that humans like Li Qiuzhi generally did not possess, representing a breakthrough beyond his race's limits-something like an extended lifespan or rapid self-healing.
There were also skill-related specialties. For example, someone with an exceptional talent for practicing swordsmanship might possess a skill specialty such as "Swordsmanship Proficiency" or "Swordsmanship Genius."
Finally, there were character specialties. Acquiring these depended on the deeds Li Qiuzhi himself had experienced.
The more legendary, incredible, and memorable an event was, the greater the chance of obtaining a specialty from it.
The [Descender] specialty he had arrived with was a character specialty. It presumably came from the memorable experience of "an outsider from beyond the world arriving in Teyvat in his own body."
Looking at it that way, Li Qiuzhi's adventure today seemed far too insignificant by comparison. It shouldn't have met the standard for forming a character specialty.
But since one had appeared, that probably meant there truly was something worth remembering about this experience.
After rereading the descriptions several times, Li Qiuzhi finally identified the two most likely passages: [leaving an insignificant mark on the history of another world] and [You have gained a modest reputation in Mondstadt City].
A stranger leaving even a small trace of himself in the history of an unfamiliar world was indeed worth commemorating.
It seemed this probably counted as something like a "beginner's bonus." Acquiring character specialties likely wouldn't be this easy in the future; perhaps he would need to accomplish deeds with a greater impact on the world.
One thing he could be sure of was that giving the "Sustainer of Heavenly Principles" the middle finger to provoke her would, barring anything unexpected, very likely earn him a character specialty.
Well... provided she understood what Li Qiuzhi meant, and he survived afterward.
Li Qiuzhi reined in his thoughts, which had involuntarily wandered toward courting death, then eagerly prepared to check the precise effects of his new specialty.
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