Shadowless and Silent

After getting everyone's agreement, Li Qiuzhi put the Primogem in his trouser pocket, then chose to absorb it where no one could see.

[Bathed in the radiance of dreams and hope. Gained 3,000 experience points.]

Oh, so it finally wasn't "defeating a powerful enemy"? But where did these dreams and hope come from? Why hadn't he felt any of them?

Of course, the Primogem truly deserved the "universal" capabilities Oz had mentioned. It could even be converted into experience points, and quite a few at that. He had discovered another way to gain experience points besides fighting monsters.

Unfortunately, Primogems were too expensive. Not only were they rare, but even if someone sold them, he couldn't afford them.

Looking at his suddenly plentiful experience points, he raised his already level-eight Hunter's Archery to its maximum level.

Experience points -1,700

Hunter's Archery Lv.10 (Shadowless and Silent).

The now-familiar influx of knowledge and experience began. At this point, both Li Qiuzhi's mastery of its techniques and his body's instincts had reached the highest level of understanding of Hunter's Archery.

At the same time, it had developed an extraordinary trait called Shadowless and Silent.

Just as the name suggested, when Li Qiuzhi used Hunter's Archery, the skill's inherent properties allowed him to surpass the limitations of the weapon and arrows themselves.

His arrows could fly so fast that they left neither a shadow nor a sound, as though he had used some secret art.

Hunter's Archery was meant for hunting, which emphasized stealth, speed, and accuracy, so this extraordinary trait appearing at its maximum level was hardly unexpected.

Li Qiuzhi was rather eager to see how it performed in actual combat.

Besides the extraordinary trait Shadowless and Silent, max-level Hunter's Archery could also be fused with other max-level archery skills. Since he didn't have any yet, however, that could wait.

That was everything inside the Exquisite Chest. It was already a very good haul, especially with a Primogem among the rewards.

Of the two Artifacts, the one-star pocket watch was a Sands of Eon, while the two-star crown-like piece was a Circlet of Logos.

After briefly trying them on, he found that both enhanced vitality. They made his body feel just a tiny bit stronger-better than nothing.

Bennett and Fischl had been members of the Adventurers' Guild for quite some time and already had their own Artifacts, so they had no use for these two low-rarity pieces.

They therefore let Li Qiuzhi equip them for now. Even a small benefit was still a benefit.

"Next, let's look around here and see whether we can find a mechanism to open the iron door."

Bennett spoke as he watched the Exquisite Chest disappear on its own after they had collected the treasure.

"Right. We'll each take a side."

Li Qiuzhi nodded lightly. By the faint light shining through the hole overhead, the three of them and the raven began exploring the large room.

Scattered chunks of stone that had fallen from the dome above lay in the middle.

Li Qiuzhi explored the left side, approaching the brick wall. It felt unremarkable to the touch, and he couldn't see anything resembling a switch or lever on it.

Bennett headed toward the iron door. He was so far away that only a vague silhouette could be seen in the dim surroundings.

Oz, who followed beside Fischl, gave off a faint glow, illuminating her right side quite clearly.

Beneath her black-and-purple skirt, the black tights covering her right leg allowed a hint of her snow-white skin to show through.

Before long, Li Qiuzhi discovered a recess high up in the wall. He stepped back twice and clearly saw what stood inside:

A Torch Mechanism that needed to be lit with Pyro.

Li Qiuzhi's eyes brightened. From his gaming experience, the appearance of one Torch Mechanism usually meant there were others nearby.

If he was right, they were probably the key to opening the iron door.

Suddenly, Bennett's delighted voice came from ahead to the right. "Great news, everyone! I found a Torch Mechanism!"

"Oh? As it happens, this Prinzessin der Verurteilung has discovered one as well!"

Fischl's voice followed soon after.

It seemed all three of them had found Torch Mechanisms, which made things easy. They only needed to light them and see what happened to find out whether they could open the iron door.

"But it's so high up! I can't reach it!"

Bennett was the only one present with a Pyro Vision, but hitting the torch would take some effort.

Li Qiuzhi thought for a moment, then asked Bennett, "Can you gather Pyro on my arrow for a little while?"

"Huh, you want to light it that way?" Bennett sounded puzzled at first, then continued, "With my current strength, I can do it, but it'll only last a second or two, and it'll get blown away very easily."

"I see. That's fine. Let's give it a try."

After a little consideration, Li Qiuzhi felt that his now-maxed Hunter's Archery could easily keep the Pyro attached to the arrow from being disturbed.

"All right." Since Li Qiuzhi insisted, Bennett had no objections.

They first went to the Torch Mechanism Bennett had discovered. It was likewise in a recess high up on the wall, with the torch inside.

The wall was too sheer for an ordinary person to climb, so they would have to use a ranged attack.

Li Qiuzhi took out an Armor-Piercing Arrow and nocked it on his bowstring. Bennett guided Pyro onto its tip, making it glow crimson.

The instant after Bennett withdrew his hand, the Armor-Piercing Arrow struck the Torch Mechanism without a sound. The Pyro coiling around its tip seemed unchanged.

It hadn't been dispersed by air resistance, and the Pyro immediately lit the Torch Mechanism.

The dim space around them became brightly illuminated, bringing everything into clear view.

"Th-that's amazing archery!"

Bennett's eyes widened in surprise. Despite standing right beside him, he hadn't been able to make out anything.

"My retainer, to think you were concealing your true strength!"

Fischl had previously thought Li Qiuzhi's archery was a little worse than hers.

"Not at all. Perhaps your archery is just a little worse than mine, so you couldn't see its intricacies when we dealt with those Ruin Guards."

Li Qiuzhi spoke jokingly.

"...Hmm, mein Fräulein, Sir Li Qiuzhi has a point." Oz the Night Raven nodded in agreement.

"Hmph!"

Fischl folded her arms and haughtily turned her fair face away, presenting her profile to Li Qiuzhi. A delicate, snow-white ear nestled among her golden hair.

She conceded the point with a distinctly reluctant look.

"Haha, Your Highness, even if my archery is decent, its power probably still can't match yours. After all, you are the Prinzessin der Verurteilung, wielder of the Thunder of the Immernachtreich!"

Li Qiuzhi smiled and spoke using Fischl's customary phrasing.

"Ahem... Naturally!" Fischl's soft lips curved slightly as she answered as though it went without saying.

[Fischl feels affection for you. Gained 120 friendship points. Current friendship level: Lv.3 (15/300)]

Perhaps Li Qiuzhi's words had pleased her greatly, for Her Highness graciously bestowed a little more friendship upon him.

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Thanks to book friend "Lion Fourteen" for the 100-coin tip!