Skirk snapped her eyes open, her cheeks exploding in red.
Like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, she bolted upright from the ground to argue!
However, she forgot that Amber was sitting on the large rock right next to her, very close.
Her sudden rising motion was both sharp and fast—
Amber was laughing so hard he was doubled over, completely caught off guard!
Bang!
Their foreheads collided solidly!
“Ouch!” “Ugh!”
Two cries of pain rang out simultaneously.
Skirk clutched her throbbing forehead, her eyes welling with tears.
Amber also clutched his forehead, his laughter stopping abruptly.
His Amber eyes also shimmered with moisture.
To make matters worse, because of the inertia of her rising, their faces were now extremely close!
So close that they could count each other’s slightly trembling eyelashes, and see their own reflections in pupils slightly dilated from pain and shock.
The scent of sunlight and green grass on Amber, mixed with a faint smell of sweat and the slight heat of the Pyro element, wafted over her.
Skirk carried a hint of the sea breeze’s saltiness and the unique cold, deep sensation of Abyssal Power.
Time seemed to freeze at this moment.
The previous laughter and embarrassment were both Frozen by this sudden, close-range contact.
The air became thick and ambiguous, leaving only their somewhat frantic heartbeats and…
the dull pain in their foreheads.
The two sat there face-to-face in a daze for a short while, until they felt the warm breath of the other brushing against their skin.
Skirk’s face upgraded from beet-red to a “steam-jetting” state at a visible rate, her brain completely stalling.
Amber’s Wheat-colored cheeks also sported two distinct red clouds, his eyes darting around, not knowing what to say for a moment.
In this extremely awkward moment where both were Frozen in place, not knowing what to do—
“Click…
hum…”
A familiar, though far less massive than the Ruin Guard’s, sound of mechanical turning came from a nearby corner of the ruins!
Accompanied by a slight hum, an originally unremarkable stone floor slab slowly sank and moved aside, revealing a…
chest emitting a soft golden glow below!
A Precious Chest!
This sudden “divine assist” instantly broke the Frozen, awkward air between them!
“Ah!
A chest!”
Amber seemed to have found a savior, immediately pointing toward the chest, his voice carrying a hint of undetectable panic and surprise.
“Oh, it’s a chest!
Ahaha…”
Skirk also chimed in immediately, her voice equally filled with a desperate sense of relief.
The two turned their heads away almost simultaneously, their movements synchronized to a comical degree, neither daring to look at the other again.
Amber quickly jumped down from the rock, and Skirk also scrambled to her feet in a fluster.
With flushed faces, one after the other, they walked briskly toward the chest emitting that alluring light, as if that awkward forehead collision and close-range eye contact had never happened.
Arriving at the chest, Amber took a deep breath, calmed his still-erratic heartbeat, and reached out to open the lid.
The golden light faded, revealing the contents of the chest:
A pile of glittering Mora, estimated to be tens of thousands, enough for an ordinary person to live comfortably for half a year.
Dozens of Anemo Sigils emitting a soft cyan glow.
A few pieces of decent-looking weapons and artifacts (Adventurer’s Golden Goblet, Traveling Doctor’s Silver Lotus, and the like).
And some scattered forging ores.
“Wow!
A good haul!”
Amber’s eyes lit up.
His Outrider instincts made him happy about the loot, which also diluted the previous awkwardness.
“It seems the true reward for the mechanism that woke that Ruin Guard is right here!”
However, just as Skirk looked at these “ordinary” spoils and was about to say “it’s okay,” the system’s notification sound rang in her mind like heavenly music:
[Ding!
‘Secret Gift of the Thousand Winds Temple’ detected!]
[Special Reward: ‘Abyssal Echo · Part 1’ unlocked (1/3)!]
[Hint: Collect all three ‘Abyssal Echoes’ to receive a’Super Reward’!]
Super Reward!
One-third unlocked!
Skirk’s eyes instantly lit up!
Even brighter than when seeing the chest itself!
She couldn’t control her expression at all.
Looking at those Mora and Anemo Sigils in the chest, she felt as if she were seeing peerless treasures.
Her mouth split into an extremely brilliant, even somewhat silly smile!
Ninety-nine percent, a rare find!
“Hehe…
hehehe…”
She couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
Amber had just finished gathering the Mora and Anemo Sigils when he looked up and saw Skirk grinning foolishly at the “ordinary” loot, leaving him somewhat between laughter and tears.
Even if she’s cured, she still drools!
“Hey, Skirk?”
Amber waved a hand in front of her eyes,
“Wake up!
It’s just some Mora and materials.
Although it’s not a small amount, there’s no need to be this happy, right?
You look like…”
Looking at Skirk’s guileless, pure silly smile from being happy over the harvest, the last trace of suspicion Amber had from the battle vanished into thin air.
What a pure smile!
He sighed helplessly, but his eyes held an even more certain sense of doting and amusement.
“She really is just an inexperienced child on her first adventure!
Getting this happy over a little loot.
That battle earlier…
was probably just a burst of potential or good luck, right?”
Amber shook his head, completely stripping the “cold-blooded expert” image from Skirk and replacing it with the label of “adorable newbie who needs looking after.”
“Alright, alright, stop grinning foolishly,”
Amber patted Skirk on the shoulder, his tone like he was coaxing a child,
“Everything’s packed up, and the sun is high.
We should head back to Mondstadt!
Acting Grand Master Jean is still waiting!”
He naturally took the still-giggling Skirk’s wrist and led her toward Mondstadt.
Skirk was led along, still savoring the joy of the “one-third Super Reward,” completely failing to notice the “caring for a newbie” look in Amber’s eyes.
[Host, your silly smile successfully consolidated the ‘harmless newbie’ persona.
Amber’s friendship +1 (probably).
Please keep it up!
(๑•̀ㅂ•́)و✧]
Skirk: Snow Leopard, shut up!