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[Genshin Impact] Chapter 543: Genius Invokation TCG (2-in-1 Chapter)
🕑 Added 2025-08-09 10:41:36 +0000 UTCAkademiya – Palace of Wisdom
Layla’s black skirt swayed slightly with her steps, and through the hem, the faint glint of a metallic leg band on her left thigh reflected the light.
“What does the Rtawahist Darshan focus on?” Nolan walked side by side with Layla, asking curiously.
“The Rtawahist mainly studies the stars and the cosmos. Specifically, disciplines like astronomy and astrology fall under our research.”
Layla, her outfit adorned with star-themed patterns, answered without hesitation.
Seeing Nolan deep in thought, the ever-weary Layla assumed he wasn’t too familiar with the Akademiya and continued explaining:
“There are six Darshans in the Akademiya, each belonging to a different school and specializing in unique fields.
“The Amurta Darshan focuses on biology, ecology, and medicine.
“The Haravatat Darshan studies language and writing, including linguistics and runes.
“Spantamad, located in the Spantamad Institute, is responsible for architecture and mechanical devices.
“Vahumana studies history and sociology, while Kshahrewar focuses on alchemy, elemental science, and ley line theory.
“Finally, there’s our Rtawahist Darshan at the Ritobanti Institute, dedicated to unraveling the mysteries of the stars... sigh.”
As she reached the end, Layla let out another heavy sigh, reminded once again of her mounting academic burden.
Nolan, naturally familiar with the Akademiya’s structure, smiled and said:
“Hearing you study the stars reminds me of a friend of mine—she also studies astrology, and her skill in it is quite remarkable. Maybe one day I could introduce you.”
“Um… anyone you know must be really important, Mr. Nolan. I’m just a normal scholar. I… I don’t think I’d want to bother someone like that.”
Though Layla held great respect for senior scholars in her field, her poor social skills made her uneasy about meeting them.
“It’s fine, she’s very kind. You don’t have to feel pressured. And even if you don’t meet her in person, she writes an astrology column in The Steambird. You can always read that if you’re interested.”
Nolan could tell Layla struggled with confidence, so he didn’t push too hard—he didn’t want to trigger any anxiety, especially when she was already mentally and physically exhausted.
Layla, who had just been relaxing her shoulders and chest wrapped in a white dress, suddenly looked at him in surprise.
“You mean… Astrologist Mona Megistus?”
Whoa, she pronounced Mona’s full name that fluently?
It made sense, though—Layla studied the stars. Knowing Mona wasn’t surprising. What did surprise him was how effortlessly she spoke Mona’s full name aloud.
Looks like Mona really was famous.
“Yep, that very same great astrologer Mona. So, would you like to meet her?” Nolan smiled.
“U-um, I imagine Teacher Mona must be very busy… so… maybe not.”
Layla’s eyes lit up at first, but she soon looked down and shook her head gently.
[Layla Has Developed Good Feelings Towards You, Obtained 320 Affection Points. Current Affection Level: Lv.5 (320/500)]
Clearly, it wasn’t that she didn’t want to meet Mona—just that her timid nature and lack of confidence were holding her back.
But then, Nolan noticed something on her back—beneath her white dress, clipped near her lower back, was a Cryo Vision.
A Vision bearer. Someone chosen by the gods, able to wield elemental power—and still lacking confidence?
Now that was being way too reserved.
Nolan was certain that Layla was curious about Mona. She just didn’t want to be a bother due to her quiet personality.
Her admiration for Mona felt more like respectful interest toward a senior in the same field—not the kind of deep idolization Noelle had for Jean, for example.
Even so, meeting such a renowned astrologer would surely make Layla happy. If he brought Mona over to say hi, her affection would likely increase further.
But how could he make it so Layla didn’t feel like she was troubling anyone?
He thought for a moment—maybe a "coincidental encounter" would work?
After all, Mona occasionally visited the Akademiya. If she dropped by, he could simply let Layla know to come by and introduce her casually.
That shouldn’t be a problem.
While walking, Nolan said,
“If you feel like arranging a meeting would be too much trouble, how about I just let you know the next time she visits the Akademiya? She often comes to the Palace of Wisdom to look up references. You could just swing by and take a look—no pressure.”
“Really?” Layla looked at him, pleasantly surprised.
Going up and greeting Mona herself might make her nervous—but seeing her from afar? That was totally fine.
“Of course,” Nolan nodded. “Let me think… she usually comes by on Saturdays—so, three days from now. You could just sit near the entrance with a book and keep an eye out. You’ll probably see her.”
Mona usually did visit the Palace of Wisdom on weekends, when there were fewer people around.
But it wasn’t a fixed schedule. If she heard new materials had arrived, she’d come by right away.
Still, given his close relationship with her, asking Mona to show up in a few days wouldn’t be hard at all.
“Three days... Got it. Thank you, Mr. Nolan!”
Layla decided she had to work extra hard over the next two days to finish her thesis progress, then rest up the day after—so she could stake out the Palace of Wisdom and maybe catch a glimpse of Mona.
[Layla Has Developed Good Feelings Towards You, Obtained 300 Affection Points. Current Affection Level: Lv.6 (120/600)]
Another affection notification popped up.
Nolan smiled. This progress was fast—and once again, his “Beloved by Maidens” speciality was proving useful.
The two of them passed through the maze of shelves and arrived at the research section related to the stars and cosmos.
“This shelf is pretty tall. What kind of books are you looking for? I’ll help you grab them.”
Nolan looked up at the towering shelf built into the wall—it looked like an entire wall made of books, at least seven or eight meters high.
The Palace of Wisdom was definitely built on a grand scale. If the books you needed happened to be at the top, climbing those ladders would be dangerous for the average person.
Clearly, uploading all this content to the Akasha Network for easy digital access was important.
He made a mental note to remind Nahida later to prioritize this.
“Hmm, I’m mainly looking for books on ‘Theoretical Astrology’ as references. They should be up there, on the upper left.”
Layla didn’t hesitate to ask for help from Nolan—unlike how she’d act with strangers.
She had a much higher level of comfort and trust with him now. Had it been anyone else, she’d probably insist on doing it herself and politely decline the offer.
“‘Theoretical Astrology,’ got it.”
Nolan didn’t bother with the ladder. He simply used his spiritual sense to scan the upper left section she pointed to and found quite a few books on the topic.
After thinking for a moment, he picked out the ones with the most recent publication dates.
Layla, as a scholar specializing in the study of the stars, had surely already read the foundational works by the great masters—those didn’t require special trips to retrieve for reference.
What would benefit her more now would be reading the most recently published materials.
“How about these?” Without making any visible gesture, several books floated down automatically and neatly arranged themselves in front of Layla.
“Hmm… I don’t need this one. These others will do.”
Layla examined them briefly, then picked out the book titled Star Chart Drafting: How to Draw Structured Frameworks in the Simplest Way.
This thesis had nothing to do with star charts, so there was no need to calculate astral trajectories.
“Alright.” Nolan sent that book floating back to its original place on the shelf.
Layla stacked the selected books together and held them in her arms. She looked up at Nolan and said,
“Mr. Nolan, you still have survey work to do, right? I need to finish the last part of my thesis too, so I won’t keep bothering you.”
“Okay. Good luck.”
Since Nolan still needed to collect more suggestions from around the city, he prepared to leave as well.
But looking at Layla’s pale, slightly weary face, he hesitated for a moment, then reached out his hand.
“Give me your hand for a moment.”
“Eh?”
Layla blinked in confusion. Hadn’t they already shaken hands earlier? Still, without overthinking it, she held out her right hand.
Smiling, Nolan took her hand and gently transferred a bit of Harmonic Energy into her.
As his level increased, the Harmonic Energy he could channel gained additional properties. One of them was fatigue relief—perfect for someone like Layla who was physically and mentally worn out.
He deliberately withheld other effects like power enhancement, emotional balancing, and energy transfer.
Even though Layla’s affection level had reached Level 6, they hadn’t known each other for long, and doing too much too soon might come across as presumptuous.
To avoid causing overthinking, he only activated effects that relieved fatigue, healed minor strain, subtly prolonged lifespan, and lightly nourished the soul—none of which would be noticeable to someone of Layla’s current strength.
With her affection level already quite high, it wouldn’t be hard to max it out over time through further interaction.
And since the more discreet effects were unnoticeable, there was no harm in letting them passively work in the background.
This precise control over which effects to activate came from the fusion of his “Harmony” trait into his exclusive specialty, “Beloved by Maidens.”
It was remarkably convenient—and powerful.
As Layla felt a gentle warmth flow from his palm into hers, the soothing energy spread through her body like a soft breeze. Gradually, her mind cleared, and the exhaustion in her body faded. It felt as if she’d just awoken from the best nap of her life.
“What was that?”
Layla’s golden eyes lit up with surprise as she looked at Nolan.
“You looked a little out of it, so I used a fatigue-relieving magic. Don’t worry about it,” Nolan said, releasing her soft hand. “There. Now you should be able to finish your thesis more comfortably. I’ll go complete my task too.”
“Wow… such a convenient ability!” Layla’s expression overflowed with admiration—this was like the perfect spell!
[Layla Has Developed Good Feelings Towards You, Obtained 380 Affection Points. Current Affection Level: Lv.6 (500/600)]
After saying goodbye to Layla, Nolan left the Palace of Wisdom and stepped out onto the streets of Sumeru City.
He first stopped a passerby who didn’t look too busy and asked where Genius Invokation TCG was sold. He also took the chance to ask for feedback about the “Akasha Interconnected Network.”
As he walked toward the store that sold Genius Invokation TCG, he continued surveying passersby whenever he found someone with free time.
Many recognized him—Nolan, the legendary adventurer—and knowing that he was collecting suggestions for the Dandro Archon, they were happy to help.
Just as Nahida had mentioned, the people of Sumeru held a deep respect for their God of Wisdom.
They didn’t hesitate to offer suggestions for features they wanted.
But when asked about any negative experiences, most shook their heads and insisted there were none.
How could the creations of the great God of Wisdom have flaws?
Well… hard to argue with that logic.
Still, a few people, understanding that this was for Nahida’s benefit, did provide some genuine feedback based on their experiences.
By around 3:30 in the afternoon, Nolan had filled three full pages of notes. Finally, he arrived at a store specializing in Genius Invokation TCG.
To the left of the entrance was a cardboard cutout of an adventurer with a one-handed sword mid-swing. On the right stood a Hilichurl Rock Shieldwall Champion pounding its chest. Above the door, two crossed greatswords added flair.
It definitely looked like a themed shop.
“Oh my! If it isn’t the famous and legendary adventurer, Mr. Nolan—welcome!”
As soon as he approached, the shop’s owner—a petite girl with pink hair and a violet-blue hat—rushed out to greet him.
She wore diamond-shaped glasses perched on her nose and had a distinct "merchant’s aura" that made Nolan instinctively stop in his tracks.
Wait… wasn’t this Dori?
Nolan was a bit surprised.
The idea of getting scammed by a tiny girl didn’t sit well with him. No—he couldn’t lose his composure here. Falling into a swindler’s rhythm was always the first step toward being conned.
Right, Dori was absolutely a sly merchant in the game’s storylines. But he wasn’t here to buy anything anyway, so he wasn’t worried about being tricked.
With that in mind, Nolan straightened his sleeves, cleared his throat, and said:
“Uh… hello. Are you the owner of this store?”
“Indeed I am! Hehehe~ I’m Dori! I recently took over this underperforming store and turned it into a Genius Invokation TCG specialty shop. We sell cards, offer custom card boxes, card backs, and more!
“And that’s not all—we provide in-store tables for duels, charging only a modest service fee. For big names like yourself, everything in the shop is 10% off—just one little favor in return: maybe help spread the word?”
With a grin that could only be described as a swindler’s signature smile, Dori made her pitch.
(End of Chapter)
