Fischl and Li Qiuzhi's words of comfort might have sounded a little stiff, but they worked quite well. Bennett had always been exceptionally resilient, both in spirit and in body.
His low spirits soon faded, and after hearing everyone's reassurances, he was once again a boy brimming with enthusiasm for adventure.
"By the way, where are we?"
Bennett looked up at their surroundings, a little puzzled.
With the faint light coming through the opening above, they could just make out a large, enclosed chamber built from stone bricks.
There was only one passage leading who knew where, and an iron gate currently barred it.
"Miss, would you like me to go out and find help?"
Oz the Night Raven asked Fischl.
Their situation was not particularly dire. After all, Oz could fly. He only needed to fly out through the hole they had fallen through and bring people from the Adventurers' Guild to rescue them.
"How could this Prinzessin der Verurteilung retreat before so trifling an obstacle!" Fischl shook her head, her golden hair swaying lightly, and continued, "New treasures surely await beyond that iron gate!"
"True. We're exploring a Domain anyway. Since we ended up here by chance, leaving just like that would be a shame."
Li Qiuzhi gave a couple of small nods as well.
"In my experience, there's usually some mechanism nearby that opens the iron gate in situations like this. Though it might be on the other side."
The battle-hardened Bennett offered his assessment.
"There's no rush. Let's open the chest first. This is the first treasure chest I've found as an adventurer."
Li Qiuzhi did not feel they were in any danger, and carrying such a large chest around would be inconvenient, so he suggested opening it first.
"Hmph... Very well, you may open it." Fischl wore an expression that said the Prinzessin der Verurteilung had granted her permission.
Li Qiuzhi nodded and set the Exquisite Chest down on a level patch of ground. The three of them and the raven gathered around it, their eyes holding a hint of anticipation.
Li Qiuzhi steadied the side of the chest with one hand and placed the other on its lid.
Fortunately, it was not the kind that required a key. With a click, the lid lifted easily.
The first thing that met their eyes was a layer of Mora covering the bottom of the chest, round and glittering gold. For a moment, the gleam genuinely dazzled Li Qiuzhi, but a closer look revealed that most of the coins had a denomination of one.
In other words, though the chest looked packed with Mora, the total might not even match the ten thousand-Mora coins in his cloth coin pouch.
Still, Li Qiuzhi was not disappointed. Mora was the least valuable thing in a treasure chest.
He plunged both hands into the pile of golden Mora and slowly felt around. Soon, his fingers touched a hard object that felt different from the coins.
Li Qiuzhi grasped it and pulled it out. At first glance, it was a well-preserved metal pocket watch with a long history, but a closer look revealed a faint white glow emanating from it.
"A one-star Artifact." Bennett rested both hands on his knees beneath his shorts and leaned forward slightly. With a somewhat disappointed expression, he continued, "One-star Artifacts don't give much of a boost, especially in their initial, unenhanced state."
Li Qiuzhi wholeheartedly agreed. The best use for a one-star Artifact was as fodder to enhance higher-star Artifacts. It was not worth enhancing in its own right.
The main reason was that even at its enhancement limit, the bonuses it provided were not very high.
In Teyvat, one-star and two-star Artifacts were generally only used as temporary equipment by novice adventurers. Three-star Artifacts were the actual standard, though they were not common either.
Four-star Artifacts were even rarer. If someone obtained one that suited them, they could practically use it for the rest of their life.
As for the legendary five-star Artifacts, those could not be found in treasure chests. Only by venturing deep into dangerous ruins and Domains was there the slightest chance of finding one.
"An Exquisite Chest should contain more than this. Let's put away the Mora and take another look."
Oz flapped his wings as usual.
So many low-denomination coins took up too much space, so they could only have Fischl store them in her Vision first. They then learned the exact amount in the chest: just over nine thousand seven hundred, not even ten thousand Mora.
Sure enough, for adventurers, the Mora in a treasure chest was actually its least valuable offering. Even that one-star Artifact had a market price of around twenty to thirty thousand.
It was more expensive than a Dull Blade of the same star rating. The main reason was that it could only be found while adventuring. Though not particularly rare, it could not be crafted like a weapon, so the higher price was understandable.
Once the Mora had been put away, the chest looked rather empty.
Two objects other than Mora remained inside. One was an Artifact shaped like a circlet, emitting a faint green glow. It was a two-star Artifact.
Beside it lay a translucent stone shaped like a four-pointed star, with a gradient from pink to azure.
A Primogem!
"Oh my, how fortunate. This beautiful stone is called a Primogem. They occasionally appear in treasure chests and are a rather rare form of currency.
"They're also a universal medium. Whether for alchemy, enhancing weapons or Artifacts, and so on, they can replace missing materials, provided you have enough of them. They're quite valuable."
Oz was a little surprised, and he explained what he knew about the uses of Primogems.
"Quite valuable? Sir Oz, what's their market price?"
Li Qiuzhi had not expected Primogems to have so many uses in Teyvat. After all, the only relevant description in the original game was, "A primordial crystalline gem that's beyond the mundane world. Shines with the condensed hopes and dreams of universes that once were."
Judging by that, Primogems were not native to Teyvat, but came from the vast universe beyond the world.
"At least a hundred thousand Mora each, and even then, you can't find anyone selling!" Bennett excitedly jumped in.
Given Bennett's terrible luck, he could count on his fingers the number of times he had found a Primogem in a chest. No wonder he was so happy.
"That's correct." Oz the Night Raven nodded.
"I see." Li Qiuzhi felt relieved at that, then asked, "In that case, could I buy it? Primogems are quite useful to me."
Li Qiuzhi wanted it because the moment he had touched the Primogem, a notification had appeared on his Character Panel:
[A large quantity of experience points detected. Absorb?]
He did not know how much "a large quantity" meant, but he would only find out by trying. That was why he wanted this Primogem.
"I don't mind. Just one isn't much use anyway."
Bennett rubbed his nose, which had a cloth bandage stuck to it, and said with a smile.
He was telling the truth. For adventurers, the only use for Primogems was to sell them.
Although Primogems were "universal" and worth quite a lot, using them as substitutes was far too wasteful. If an alchemy experiment was missing a single Windwheel Aster, one Primogem would not be enough to replace it.
It would take at least twenty or so, yet the Mora from selling them could buy a whole pile of Windwheel Asters.
Thus, to ordinary people, Primogems were both useful and useless. Under normal circumstances, they might go their entire lives without ever needing one.
Primogems were only used as a last resort when someone lacked a rare material and simply could not find it. That was also where their value was greatest.
"Hmph, since you have requested it, my attendant, you may have it."
Fischl rested her right hand over the opening at her chest, covered by black mesh beneath the middle of her short dress, and closed her eyes as she spoke magnanimously.
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