After quite some time had passed, Faruzan's lecture finally seemed to come to an end. Once the students had finished asking about what they didn't understand and she reminded them to review properly, she left the classroom and prepared to depart.
Still invisible, Nolan followed behind her. When they reached a deserted area, he stepped in front of Faruzan and slowly revealed himself.
"Eh? Why are you here?"
Faruzan, dressed in a teal-green short dress, looked rather surprised at Nolan's sudden appearance.
"Nothing special. I just saw at Nahida's place that quite a few people had applied to explore a newly discovered secret realm, and it seemed you had applied as well," Nolan explained.
"But because it's relatively dangerous, the application hasn't been approved for now. Since I happened to learn about it and I've been free lately, I came over to see if you'd like me to accompany you."
"Really?" Faruzan looked at him in surprise.
She hadn't expected Nolan to come specifically to help her. But thinking about it, given his identity as an adventurer, exploring ruins and secret realms did seem quite natural.
"Of course. Do I look like I'd come all this way just to joke around?" Nolan said, spreading his hands.
"Perfect timing—my afternoon schedule is free. Then let's set off now."
After receiving confirmation, Faruzan looked delighted, and a bit of fondness rose in her heart toward Nolan.
[Faruzan Has Developed Good Feelings Towards You, Obtained 620 Affection Points. Current Affection Level: Lv.6 (540/600)]
She had always been extremely interested in the drive system of the "Semi-Intransient Matrix of Overseer Network," a system that practically didn't need to worry about running out of energy.
Recently, many Primal Constructs had been spotted emerging from the area around the newly discovered secret realm.
Faruzan suspected that a "Semi-Intransient Matrix of Overseer Network" might exist there, and she wanted to go investigate.
Unfortunately, the area was filled with numerous and dangerous Primal Constructs, making it impossible for her to go alone for the time being.
She had originally planned to hire an adventurer team to escort her during the upcoming weekend break, but now that Nolan had agreed to help, there was no need to go through all that trouble.
With his strength, there would be no danger at all. A round trip within half a day would be more than enough—there wasn't even a need to prepare anything.
Seeing the affection notification pop up on the character panel, Nolan said happily, "Sounds good. But it's almost noon now—let's grab lunch first before heading over."
In truth, he wanted to look for Dehya and see if she had time to come along as well, and take the opportunity to raise her affection.
"That works. I'll treat you to a restaurant in Sumeru City," Faruzan nodded lightly.
It was already ten in the morning after class, so there was no need to rush.
"No problem. Let's go then. On the way, you can also tell me more about semiotics—I've been rather interested in it lately," Nolan said.
After listening to several of Faruzan's lectures, the "seedling" formed from the seed in the Wisdom Tree Diagram had grown a bit larger.
So he couldn't afford to waste even walking time—watering it with more knowledge and letting it grow as quickly as possible was the proper course.
"Interested in semiotics?" Faruzan glanced at Nolan in surprise. "Alright then, I'll give you a proper explanation."
She didn't know what had suddenly inspired Nolan to want to learn semiotics, but as a teacher, she naturally wouldn't refuse a student eager to improve.
Thus, the two of them walked along the streets while chatting about semiotic knowledge.
At the same time, Nolan split his focus and extended his spiritual perception to envelop the entire city of Sumeru, checking whether Dehya was in town.
She was likely still under the Homayani family's employment, serving as Dunyarzad's bodyguard. If nothing unexpected had happened, she should indeed be in Sumeru City.
With his powerful spiritual perception, Nolan quickly locked onto Dehya's location.
She happened to be on the street ahead. With her hands raised behind her head, she followed beside Dunyarzad as they strolled through the streets, looking slightly bored.
Judging by the routes both sides were taking, the two paths would most likely miss each other.
That meant Nolan wouldn't be able to "accidentally" run into Dehya.
He glanced at Faruzan beside him, thought for a moment, then said, "You've been talking for quite a while—thanks for that. Let's head to the neighboring street and grab some drinks."
The street they were on now was mostly lined with restaurants, while the adjacent one was more of a leisure district, with many Genius Invokation TCG-themed shops and other stores.
Buying drinks would indeed be more convenient over there.
"That's true. After talking for so long, my throat's getting dry," Faruzan nodded.
The two of them walked to the neighboring street, bought some drinks at a shop, and continued forward along that road.
A few minutes later, Nolan spotted Dehya and Dunyarzad ahead.
"What's wrong? Did you run into someone you know?" Faruzan noticed Nolan focusing his gaze in one direction and asked curiously.
"Yeah. I'll go say hello in a moment," Nolan said with a smile.
Soon, he crossed paths with Dehya and Dunyarzad. He waved to them and greeted,
"Dunyarzad, Dehya—long time no see."
"Oh, it's you, Mr. Adventurer," Dunyarzad said happily. Running into Nolan unexpectedly made her very glad—if not for him, her illness would never have been cured.
"It really has been a while," Dehya added with a nod, then looked at Faruzan and asked curiously,
"And this is…?"
"Hello, I'm Faruzan, a mentor at the Akademiya," Faruzan greeted them as well.
"Dunyarzad, how's your recovery going?" Nolan asked as he looked at her.
"Very well. Even doing a bit of running isn't a problem anymore," Dunyarzad replied with a smile.
Eleazar had troubled her for many years since childhood. Being fortunate enough to recover to a normal state already made her extremely satisfied.
"I see," Nolan said, stroking his chin as he fell into thought.
It had been over half a year since the World Tree issue was resolved. This recovery speed wasn't exactly fast.
After all, there were many people in Teyvat proficient in healing, and Dunyarzad certainly wasn't lacking in Mora—she wouldn't be unable to afford their services.
However, after being tormented by illness for so many years, even if it was suddenly cured, it was impossible for there to be no aftereffects at all.
A slow recovery was normal. Even Collei, as a Vision holder, needed quite some time to fully recover.
As a friend, Nolan felt that he should help Dunyarzad out a bit.
Moreover, by helping Dunyarzad, he could also gain Dehya's affection as her best friend—something beneficial to everyone.
Nolan continued,
"How about I help heal you a bit? The healing abilities I've mastered should be a little better than most people's."
With "Divine Maiden's Purity" to purify, and then the golden Windwheel Aster barrier to heal and restore, basically any illness could be cured.
"Really?"
Hearing Nolan's words, Dunyarzad's face lit up with joy.
She understood just how powerful Nolan was—if he made a move, he would definitely resolve her problem.
"Of course. We're heading to a restaurant to eat anyway—let's all go together. Using abilities out here would be a bit conspicuous. To avoid being surrounded and watched, it's better to do it inside a private room," Nolan added.
"Alright—then let's go to the nearby restaurant. Please let me treat everyone," Dunyarzad said with a smile.
"Faruzan, what do you think?" Nolan looked to the Akademiya mentor beside him. She had said earlier that she would treat, and now Dunyarzad was insisting as well, so he decided to ask her opinion first.
"I don't really care either way," Faruzan said with her arms crossed.
"Haha, then let's go. Seeing Miss's frail body like that is pretty heartbreaking—if she can recover in one go, that's a good thing," Dehya said happily too.
The group then headed to a nearby restaurant. Before long, they were seated in a private room. After they ordered and the waiter left, Nolan looked at Dunyarzad.
"I can help you right now."
"Mm. Do I need to prepare anything?" Dunyarzad was nervous and excited at the same time.
"No need to do anything—just sit still."
A faint white glow appeared in Nolan's hand as he used it on Dunyarzad, "purifying" her.
In that instant, Dunyarzad felt as if a gentle breeze swept through her body. The weakness and lack of strength she'd been feeling were completely brushed away in one stroke!
"That should remove any negative aftereffects. Next, we'll mend the damaged parts of your body," Nolan said.
As he spoke, golden Windwheel Asters spread across the floor.
Everyone felt a warmth rising from within. Not only were injuries soothed—even faint bodily fatigue was thoroughly erased.
"How do you feel?" Nolan asked with a smile.
"Better than I've ever felt—like I've become ten times stronger!"
Dunyarzad sprang to her feet, clenched her fists, and said excitedly.
After that, she even bounced twice—hardly ladylike at all.
"That's wonderful, Miss!" Dehya was overjoyed as she watched Dunyarzad. She had never seen her make any intense movements before.
Thinking of that, Dehya once again felt a bit more fondness toward Nolan:
[Dehya Has Developed Good Feelings Towards You, Obtained 630 Affection Points. Current Affection Level: Lv.7 (50/700)]
Seeing the affection notification pop up, Nolan had achieved both goals: helping Dunyarzad and gaining Dehya's affection.
After being happy for a while, Dunyarzad also calmed down a little—though the excitement in her eyes was impossible to hide.
"Oh right, Dehya. This afternoon, Faruzan and I are going to explore a desert secret realm. Want to come along? We can also pass through Aaru Village and visit Candace while we're at it," Nolan said, stating his real purpose.
Come to think of it, Candace also had some affection for him, but it was only a bit over level two. Mainly because they hadn't spent much time together, so he hadn't been able to raise it much.
This time, he could go see if Aaru Village needed any help. That would certainly let him gain a lot of Candace's affection.
"True—I haven't been back to the desert in a while," Dehya thought for a moment, then nodded, turning to Dunyarzad.
"Miss, since Nolan is heading to the desert anyway, I'll go along too. With his teleportation ability, I should be able to come back tonight."
"Mm, go ahead, Dehya," Dunyarzad nodded, indicating there was no problem. "I'm completely recovered now—you don't need to watch over me all the time anymore."
At this moment, Faruzan looked at Dunyarzad curiously.
"If you've had Eleazar since childhood, you must rarely have left Sumeru City. Now that you've fully recovered, why not go out and see the world with us?"
"Huh—can I?" Dunyarzad's eyes visibly brightened.
She truly had always wanted to see the world beyond Sumeru City, but her body had never allowed it before.
As for going to the desert, she had thought it would be impossible for her entire life. But now, the door to the colorful world had opened wide for her.
From now on, she could go anywhere she wanted!
"Of course," Nolan said with a smile and a nod.
Bringing one more person didn't matter at all—it was all done in an instant anyway.
"Mm, thank you!" Dunyarzad said gratefully.
After chatting for a while longer, the restaurant staff brought in the prepared food.
After lunch, everyone rested briefly. Once the bill was settled, they set out for the desert together—first teleporting to Aaru Village.
Dehya accompanied Dunyarzad as they walked around the village.
Meanwhile, Nolan went with Faruzan to the secret realm first. As for raising Dehya's and Candace's affection, it was fine to do that a little later.
Not long after, Nolan and Faruzan arrived at their destination.
This was in the northern part of the desert. There was nothing around but sand—no scenery at all—only large numbers of Primal Constructs roaming nearby.
From above, those scattered-looking Primal Constructs were actually arranged around the central area, forming a defensive line capable of repelling attacks from all directions.
They were clearly protecting something.
Looking closer toward the center, one could spot a small depression in the sand.
If an ordinary person saw it, they might worry about quicksand. Stepping in it would likely cause them to sink, so no one would come near to investigate carefully.
But the "Akasha" system was different. It recorded all kinds of things within its coverage. It was precisely because it detected Primal Constructs emerging there that the hidden secret realm was discovered.
After thinking it over, Nolan decided that he and Faruzan would enter while invisible. Before understanding what was inside, it was better not to alert them.
Since Faruzan had come for the "Semi-Intransient Matrix of Overseer Network," they should first confirm whether it was actually present.
If they startled it and it fled, the trip would be wasted.
The two of them, invisible, descended to the ground. No creature noticed them. After careful observation, no Primal Constructs approached.
"Alright—hold onto my hand tightly," Nolan said casually.
He took Faruzan's hand, and the two of them sank down. After a short while, they passed through the secret realm gate hidden beneath the quicksand.
When they regained their senses, they found themselves in a corridor whose floor and walls were built from stone blocks.
Torch mechanisms lined both sides of the walls—and they were already lit.
Secret realms could be all kinds of strange. Nolan couldn't be sure whether the torches had been lit from the beginning, or whether someone had come through later and ignited them.
Nolan and Faruzan continued forward along the corridor. Along the way, they occasionally saw Primal Constructs.
They ignored them for now, continuing to assess the secret realm's situation.
Nolan released his spiritual perception, slowly letting it spread to cover the entire secret realm.
And at that moment, he discovered that aside from Primal Constructs…
There were also many Abyss Mages.
(End of Chapter)
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