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[Genshin Impact] Chapter 377: Otherworld - the Abyss (2-in-1 Chapter)
🕑 Added 2024-12-19 06:30:01 +0000 UTCThe "erosive" force capable of corroding the world's boundaries rendered even Nolan’s proud "elemental immunity" useless.
After all, his immunity only worked against elements.
As for the "Battery Body" ability, it might be able to absorb this kind of energy, but it had an upper limit. It wasn’t guaranteed to endure the highly concentrated erosive force within the spatial rift for long.
Nolan’s physical defense wasn’t weak either, but it was still far from comparable to the "boundary of the world."
Therefore, it was obvious—he couldn’t take such a risk!
Nolan always prioritized the safety of himself and those around him unless there was no other choice.
Albedo shook his head lightly and reassured him:
"Of course, I wouldn’t ask you to go in yourself. That force is so terrifying that even rocks a hundred times harder than steel—created using alchemy—can only last a second or two."
"Uh… is it really that extreme? Then how am I supposed to help?"
Nolan asked again.
"I previously killed a Rift monster and, before its body disappeared, used alchemy to process its remains into a pelt and fitted it onto a Hilichurl. The Hilichurl then entered the spatial rift," Albedo explained.
"However, since I couldn’t observe what happened afterward, I don’t know if the experiment was successful. This time, I want to try it using one of your avatars."
Albedo looked at Nolan as he spoke.
Avatars typically shared sensory perception with their original body, and since Nolan’s avatar was quite powerful, there was no need to worry about it being torn apart by the creatures on the other side. This made it an ideal candidate for the experiment.
"A pelt? You can even do something like that?" Nolan said in astonishment.
Problems always seemed to have solutions—truly befitting of a scholar. Albedo’s quick thinking was impressive.
"This idea is pretty clever; I think it’s worth trying," Nolan said, nodding.
The "Lumine's Sword God" was just a spiritual avatar. Even if it were destroyed, it would only cause minor mental backlash, and he could summon it again after some rest.
"Alright, then. Thank you, Honorary Knight. I’ll prepare a Rift monster pelt for you right away."
Eager to test whether the experiment would work as he anticipated, Albedo swiftly killed two Rift shadow bears sealed within the area and processed their remains into pelts using alchemy.
The pelts looked just like the original shadow bears—only slightly larger—but inside, they were hollowed out enough to fit the "Sword God."
"It’s ready," Albedo said.
He even thoughtfully added zippers to the pelts. When unzipped, the interior was lined with soft fur, making it look like an ordinary pelt rather than something crafted from a corpse.
Nolan summoned his "Lumine's Sword God" avatar and had it don the shadow bear pelt.
It felt a bit heavy but was otherwise manageable.
"Albedo, you can lift the seal now," Nolan said as he controlled the "Lumine's Sword God" to move forward.
Albedo nodded in acknowledgment. He carefully loosened a gap in the seal, making sure the remaining shadow bears wouldn’t escape while allowing the "Lumine's Sword God" to enter.
The shadow bears inside eyed the newcomer curiously. Although it was noticeably larger than them, it carried the scent of one of their own. While something seemed off, they couldn’t quite figure out what.
Taking advantage of their hesitation, Nolan controlled the "Lumine's Sword God" to move smoothly past them and approach the golden spatial rift.
Without any further delay, the avatar stepped into the rift.
Inside the spatial rift, everything was pitch black. There was no solid ground beneath, and the only way to move was by relying on spiritual energy to float. Other than the visible entrance behind him, all directions—up, down, left, and right—were enveloped in darkness and emptiness.
It was disorienting, leaving one completely unsure of which way to go.
"Thanks to the pelt, the erosive force inside hasn’t affected my avatar. However, I have no idea which direction to take from here," Nolan said helplessly, spreading his hands.
The interior of the spatial rift felt like being adrift in the depths of outer space. With no clear sense of direction, wandering aimlessly would likely lead to getting hopelessly lost.
"Still, it seems the first phase of the experiment was a success!"
Albedo, for the moment, wasn’t overly concerned about what lay inside. His attention was focused on the fact that the pelt had indeed resisted the erosive force, proving his hypothesis correct.
"That does seem to be the case. Also, it’s probably because the spatial rift isn’t technically part of Teyvat anymore, so the pelt crafted from the Rift creature’s body hasn’t shown any signs of disappearing," Nolan added with a slight smile, folding his arms.
It was certainly worth celebrating that the experiment had made progress. The critical issue of the erosive force had been resolved. The next challenge was figuring out how to navigate the rift and find the path to the Abyss.
"As for that, it’s not too difficult," Albedo said with a smile. "Let your avatar wait near the spatial rift for now. These shadow bears don’t have much to eat on this side and will eventually return to the Abyss one by one. When they do, you can follow them to find the way."
After observing the Rift shadow bears for so long, Albedo had a fairly good understanding of their behavior.
Nolan nodded. No wonder Albedo didn’t think this task was difficult—turns out such a straightforward solution could be used. He would rely on the shadow bears to act as unwitting guides.
Nolan thought that, if he had taken the time to consider it, he might have come up with this simple and practical method himself.
After the "Lumine's Sword God" patiently waited near the spatial rift for a while, just as Albedo predicted, two shadow bears emerged from the rift.
The shadow bears were startled upon seeing the "Lumine's Sword God" standing guard, but after sensing its familiar aura, they paid it no further attention.
Nolan quickly controlled the "Lumine's Sword God" to follow behind them.
As they moved forward, he left faint, golden specks of energy every meter along the way—tiny traces of his sword intent. These served as markers to ensure that no matter if he needed to return later or revisit this place in the future, he wouldn’t risk getting lost.
After about half an hour, the golden markers formed a winding, uneven path. Eventually, Nolan, following the two shadow bears, came upon another spatial rift.
This must be the entrance to the Abyss.
Nolan controlled the "Lumine's Sword God" to remain cautious, trailing the two shadow bears at a steady and inconspicuous pace.
In the pitch-black void, where the passage of time was imperceptible, Nolan checked his pocket watch. After a few more minutes had passed, the "Lumine's Sword God" finally arrived in front of the spatial rift.
The two shadow bears entered without hesitation, as if returning home. The "Sword God" followed suit.
The sky on the other side was a crimson gray, resembling a post-apocalyptic world at dusk.
As the "Sword God," clad in the shadow bear pelt, stepped out of the rift, it was met with a barren wasteland of rocky deserts. The wind stirred up waves of red sand with even the slightest breeze.
What caught its attention the most, however, was the group of shadow bears in the area.
Surprisingly, the group wasn’t as large as expected, consisting of only five or six hundred shadow bears. However, their strength was notable—similar to those found in Dragonspine, with levels ranging between 50 and 60 on average.
There were also some at levels 70 or 80.
And then there was one whose strength was in a league of its own, excluded from the statistical average.
This shadow bear stood at least as tall as a two-story building. Its jet-black body was adorned with golden markings, and the sharp lines of its hardened head gave it an imposing appearance.
At the moment, it was leaning lazily against a mountainside, smacking its lips in satisfaction as if it had just eaten something delightful. It wore an expression of sheer contentment.
If Nolan wasn’t mistaken, this enormous bear was likely the king of the shadow bear species in the Abyss.
Using his Golden Eye of Judgement, Nolan was able to discern its level—a staggering 93. Comparable to subordinates of Archons or beings of similar power.
After surveying the shadow bear territory, Nolan didn’t find anything particularly noteworthy.
He relayed the situation to Albedo.
As for launching an immediate attack on the bears to farm Adventure EXP, that was temporarily out of the question.
Before they set off, Albedo had specifically instructed him not to cause a commotion that could alarm the creatures. If the monsters were scared off, they might stop guarding the spatial rift, making it impossible to cross over in the future.
"A desolate world," Albedo murmured, resting his chin in his hand as he fell into thought.
Their understanding of this other world was still far too limited. The scenery Nolan described in the shadow bear territory wasn’t enough to form a comprehensive picture of the situation on the other side.
Still, the first step of the "Abyss Counter-Invasion Plan"—successfully infiltrating the Abyss—had been accomplished.
Using the pelt, Nolan’s avatar had crossed over safely without any accidents. However, Albedo wanted to repeat the experiment a few more times to ensure that the success wasn’t just a one-time fluke.
Though Albedo was 80% confident there wouldn’t be any issues, his scholarly rigor demanded thorough verification.
"Since I’ve successfully crossed over, what’s the next step in your plan?" Nolan asked.
"Our goal is to eliminate the monsters in the Abyss so they can no longer invade Teyvat. Once we confirm that the pelts work for others as well, we can proceed with the operation," Albedo replied.
"For now, Honorary Knight, you can explore the surrounding area. Gather information about the terrain, the distribution of monsters, and the level of danger," he added after some thought.
This aligned perfectly with Nolan’s own thoughts. Since he was already here, he couldn’t just return without accomplishing anything.
While he couldn’t cause a big disturbance in the shadow bear territory, other areas farther away shouldn’t be an issue.
"Alright, that works," Nolan agreed.
"Let’s head back for now. I need to make additional preparations for the next phase of the experiment," Albedo concluded.
Nolan had no objections. He followed Albedo back to the Dragonspine camp while simultaneously controlling the “Lumine's Sword God” to leave the shadow bear territory in the Abyss.
The “Lumine's Sword God,” disguised in a shadow bear pelt, wandered freely within the territory without drawing much attention.
In the shadow bear territory, some bears were lying down resting, while others were eating.
Nolan was quite familiar with what they were eating—Rifthounds. It seemed that the various species of Abyss creatures were hostile toward each other.
Apart from the hounds, Nolan also noticed some red, cactus-like plants. The shadow bears ate them like fruits, and the plants contained a milky liquid inside.
Once the “Lumine's Sword God” exited the shadow bear territory, Nolan saw a few scattered shadow bears patrolling or returning after finding food.
He controlled the “Lumine's Sword God” to follow one particular shadow bear that seemed to be returning from a hunt. This one appeared to be one of the bears that had crossed into the Dragonspine region earlier.
When he had put some distance between himself and the main territory—far enough that the other shadow bears wouldn’t notice—Nolan commanded the “Lumine's Sword God” to strike.
With a single slap, the “Lumine's Sword God” killed the shadow bear instantly, gaining just under 2,000 Adventure EXP. Then, it soared into the sky to observe the surroundings from above.
The view was nothing but red sands and dust. The area was filled with cliffs and hills, but the barren landscape offered little diversity, and Nolan found no anomalies or other groups of monsters.
To the left, he could faintly make out a small black dot in the distance—it was the shadow bear territory he had just left.
After some thought, Nolan decided to fly in circles around the shadow bear territory, gradually expanding outward to explore and see if he could encounter other Abyss creatures along the way.
Half an hour passed.
Nolan had roughly surveyed an area of about 30 kilometers around the shadow bear territory from the air.
In the end, he found only this one monster territory in the vicinity.
So, the Abyss wasn’t entirely overrun with monsters after all. Nolan had originally assumed the Abyss would be teeming with Rift hounds, ravens, and snakes.
Just as he was beginning to feel a bit disappointed, he suddenly spotted a group of Rifthounds ahead. They were teaming up to attack a shadow bear.
[Level: 56]
[Level: 58]
[Level: 53]
These were the levels of the hounds. The shadow bear they were attacking was level 62.
“Well, even small rewards add up,” Nolan thought as he commanded the “Lumine's Sword God,” now holding a golden longsword, to send out a slash of sword energy.
The sword energy instantly crossed over a hundred meters and sliced all the monsters cleanly in half. Without a doubt, they were all dead.
[Defeated 4 Enemies. Obtained 9,082 Adventure EXP.]
The notification on his character panel popped up without delay. Over 9,000 Adventure EXP was a decent haul.
Nolan glanced at the Adventure EXP counter on his character panel:
[Adventure EXP: 88,476]
He was just a few hundred points short of reaching level 90.
“Well, that settles it. I’ll end today’s exploration here. I’ll head back to the shadow bear territory, quietly take out one more bear, and that should be enough to level up!”
A sly grin crept onto Nolan’s face.
Back at the Dragonspine camp, Nolan couldn’t help but chuckle. Albedo, who was busy training the fake Albedo, and Durin, who was eating a snowboar outside, both gave him puzzled looks.
“What’s this guy daydreaming about? Did he think of something funny?”
The fake Albedo shot him an angry glare. If it weren’t for this guy, he wouldn’t have been caught by Albedo. Just a few more days of practice, and he would’ve mastered Albedo’s alchemy. Then, he could’ve completely replaced him!
Nolan ignored their looks.
Meanwhile, in the Abyss, the “Lumine's Sword God” flew in a straight line back toward the shadow bear territory.
Carefully scouting for a lone shadow bear, he soon found one.
The “Lumine's Sword God” hid behind a nearby mountainside, avoiding detection by the other bears. From dozens of meters away, it silently launched a single sword strike through the thick rock wall at the lone bear.
The strike crossed over a hundred meters without making a sound and appeared directly at the shadow bear’s neck, instantly severing its head.
The bear continued to run forward for a few more seconds after the strike, seemingly unaware of what had happened. Then, it suddenly felt the world spinning, its vision blurring, and its consciousness faded into eternal darkness.
The massive bear collapsed with a heavy thud.
At that moment, Nolan’s character panel displayed another notification:
[Defeated An Enemy, Obtained 2,123 Adventure EXP.]
---
(End of Chapter)
