Treasure chests

"As long as you do the opposite of Bennett, every adventure will go smoothly."

Those weren't Li Qiuzhi's words, but a pearl of wisdom distilled by Miss Ellin's father, Mr. Herman, a formerly renowned adventurer.

Thinking it over, Li Qiuzhi felt the man had a point. It seemed worth a try.

"...Ahem, Bennett, as an experienced adventurer, which direction do you think gives us the best chance of finding treasure?"

Li Qiuzhi asked in a seemingly casual tone.

"Huh, me?" Bennett's eyes widened slightly. Then he rubbed his chin, gave it some serious thought, and said, "Well, in my experience, the more dangerous a place is, the more likely it is to have treasure!"

Looking at the passage sloping slightly downward on the left, he said excitedly:

"That's right, this way! My burning enthusiasm can already sense a great treasure!"

"Oh, so you possess such an ability, my retainer?"

Fischl blinked her right eye, the one not covered by her eyepatch.

As she turned, her short black boot kicked aside a pebble by her foot. The lace top of the over-the-knee black stocking on her left leg was attached to a leather garter strap that extended beneath her skirt, leaving her snow-white thigh exposed below the hem.

"It's not much of an ability, just an adventurer's intuition." Bennett rubbed the back of his head as he answered.

"I see." Li Qiuzhi nodded thoughtfully, then said, "Since even a seasoned adventurer like you senses danger down that path, Bennett, I think it's a little too soon for a novice like me. How about we find somewhere easier to try first?"

Oz the Night Raven gave it a little thought and added:

"Yes, for a hastily assembled team consisting of milady and the two of you, with little coordination as yet, venturing somewhere dangerous would indeed be rather rash."

"In that case, how about going straight ahead? This stone path is so wide, it doesn't look dangerous."

Bennett seemed to agree with them and pointed in another direction.

Good. Following his instincts, Bennett had now identified the most dangerous direction and the least dangerous one.

Given Bennett's propensity for misfortune, both were probably routes that would demand plenty of effort for little reward. The remaining path on the right might actually yield more.

"Still, with a seasoned adventurer like Bennett and Her Highness the Prinzessin der Verurteilung here, there's no need for us to be quite so cautious."

Li Qiuzhi offered his suggestion.

"...Hmm, as expected of my retainer. Your words hold considerable wisdom." With her eyes closed, Fischl nodded slightly, making her golden hair sway, then commanded, "Oz, my familiar! Go forth and blaze a trail through mystery for your Prinzessin der Verurteilung!"

Fischl pointed a fair finger toward the spacious path on the right.

"As you wish, milady." Oz accepted her command and flew off swiftly, like a bolt of lightning in the night.

With Oz scouting ahead, Li Qiuzhi and the others followed behind. The Domain was vast and complex; otherwise, they could simply have let Oz scout the whole place.

If they did that now, however, all the good things would have been taken by other adventurers by the time he finished.

Fischl had previously conducted some preliminary scouting as an investigator for the Adventurers' Guild, but not in this area. The areas she had scouted had contained only a few Ruin Guards.

The three walked on in silence.

As they continued through the Domain, the paved stone path gave way to dirt, with sharp rocks jutting out of it and deep, rounded pits sinking into it.

Their soles kicked up little clouds of dust as they walked.

Before long, Fischl relayed a message from Oz: he had discovered an Exquisite Chest in a large pit up ahead, but it was sealed with runes, making it somewhat troublesome to open.

Upon hearing the news, the three hurried over. Bennett was so excited that he tripped over a protruding rock and fell.

Naturally, it was nothing serious. For someone with Bennett's tough, resilient body, taking a tumble was an everyday occurrence.

When they reached the large pit, Li Qiuzhi understood what made opening the chest troublesome. The Exquisite Chest sat atop the Runic Stone Platform Mechanism, with dormant Ruin Guards positioned to its east, south, west, and north.

To obtain the Exquisite Chest, they simply needed to defeat the guards and light up the runes on the platform.

Treasure chests came in four tiers-Common, Exquisite, Precious, and Luxurious-as well as the special Remarkable Chests. Like the Teleport Waypoints scattered across the continent, no one knew where these chests came from.

It was even possible to wake up one morning and find that a treasure chest had mysteriously appeared on your balcony.

Generally, though, once collected, they never appeared again.

From Li Qiuzhi's former perspective as a player, treasure chests were merely a game mechanic. In a real world, however, they had their own origins, just like the Teleport Waypoints.

It was simply that no one knew those origins yet.

Some believed they were connected to ancient times, while others thought they were manifestations of some god's power. There were all sorts of theories, but no universally accepted truth.

It was precisely because treasure chests existed that the adventuring profession had flourished across Teyvat.

Unfortunately, Li Qiuzhi remembered only a few particularly memorable chest locations from his days exploring the open world, and all of those chests had already been taken. Reality wasn't a game, after all. A chest wouldn't stay where it was just because Li Qiuzhi hadn't collected it.

For instance, the easily discovered chests on the roof of the Knights of Favonius headquarters, atop the Favonius Cathedral's tower, or from running laps around the Anemo Archon Statue Plaza had long since been claimed.

That left Li Qiuzhi's memories of them of little use.

In this case, the runes sealing the Exquisite Chest appeared to be linked to the Ruin Guards. Defeating them would break the runic seal on the chest.

Compared with some of the more elaborate and difficult puzzles, this was much simpler.

"Fantastic! It really is a treasure chest!" Bennett shouted in delight.

Fischl's eyes brightened a little as well, but she maintained the reserve and dignity befitting Her Highness the Prinzessin der Verurteilung and did not behave too immodestly.

"Oh dear, but how are we to deal with these Ruin Guards? It doesn't seem easy."

At that moment, Oz the Night Raven flew back and spoke.

Li Qiuzhi began to think it over as well. To be honest, anyone adventuring with Bennett had to be prepared for any sort of mishap before they could claim a treasure chest.

So while there appeared to be only four Ruin Guards, there was also the invisible, intangible "bad luck" hanging over Bennett.

That was fairly easy to address: they just needed to keep him from getting too close to the battlefield. That would reduce the likelihood of accidents, and this was precisely where his role as an archer could come into play.

"Bennett, can you use your elemental burst?" Li Qiuzhi asked Bennett beside him.

When they had first met, Li Qiuzhi had wanted to confirm whether Bennett's elemental burst had the same effects as it did in the game, so he had found an opportunity to ask him about it.

After all, the buff from Fantastic Voyage was incredibly powerful.

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