Three Wooden-Shield Hilichurls.
Amber definitely couldn't handle them alone.
Fortunately, she had two teammates.
"I'll use Baron Bunny to attract their attention. Then we strike from behind and finish them in one go!"
Amber said.
"Wait, Amber."
Jiang Chen stopped her before she threw Baron Bunny.
"Is there a problem?"
Amber asked quietly.
"No problem. I just want Lumine to try first."
Jiang Chen said.
He noticed that Lumine seemed very relaxed, as if she didn't consider the three hilichurls below to be a threat.
She probably assumed they were the same as the hilichurls near Mondstadt.
But because of the dragon's influence, the hilichurls in the temple were stronger.
Their levels already revealed that.
Of course, Lumine couldn't know this.
After all, Jiang Chen was the only one who could see monster levels directly.
"Me?"
Lumine had already been eager to fight.
The Favonius Sword appeared in her hand.
She ran forward and jumped off the platform.
Her sword came down with gravity behind it, striking toward one of the hilichurls.
"Yayaika!"
The hilichurls immediately became chaotic.
The target hurriedly raised its wooden shield above its head.
The sword slammed into the shield.
Lumine bounced backward from the impact and stepped back several paces.
She froze briefly.
The Favonius Sword was clearly sharper than her previous weapon.
With the added momentum of the jumping strike, it should have cut through the shield.
Even if it couldn't split the shield, the force should have at least numbed the hilichurl's arm.
"Are there different levels of strength among hilichurls?"
Lumine quickly figured it out herself.
She glanced up toward the platform.
It was obvious now.
Jiang Chen had stopped Amber's plan to let her experience this difference firsthand.
"The ley lines of Teyvat constantly influence the creatures on the surface."
Jiang Chen explained from above.
"Creatures that absorb more ley line energy become stronger."
"Besides ley lines, the dragon's power filling this temple can also be absorbed by them."
"And that makes them even stronger."
"Understood!"
Lumine nodded.
She held her sword before her chest and watched carefully as the three shield hilichurls surrounded her.
If there had only been one, she could handle it easily…
"I'm throwing Baron Bunny! Lumine, run when you get the chance!"
Amber shouted.
A red Baron Bunny doll dropped from above.
The hilichurls immediately surrounded it, hacking wildly.
They completely ignored the enemy now behind them.
"Palm Vortex!"
Lumine stretched out her hand.
Wind gathered before her, forming a spiraling force field.
The hilichurls' backs were shredded by slicing Anemo currents.
At the same time—
BOOM!
Baron Bunny exploded.
The mixture of Anemo and Pyro spread outward.
The hilichurls, along with their wooden shields and clubs, were burned into ashes.
However, some of the flames spread to Lumine, leaving slight scorch marks on her clothes.
Jiang Chen and Amber jumped down.
Lumine lowered her head beside Jiang Chen.
"I'll be more careful next time."
If she had been alone today, her overconfidence might have cost her dearly.
"Mm."
Jiang Chen gently rubbed her head, signaling her not to worry too much.
Then he turned to Amber.
"Try using Baron Bunny less often in the future."
"Why?"
Amber asked in confusion.
Baron Bunny was one of her most reliable tools.
During many scouting missions, it had distracted enemies and saved her life.
"Train your archery."
Jiang Chen said seriously.
"Before your archery improves, stop relying on Baron Bunny to distract enemies while you stand still and shoot randomly."
He continued:
"Practice charged shots."
"Even if you can't hit weak points every time, when shooting while moving, you should reach at least 50% accuracy."
"Ah?!"
Amber gasped.
"Charged shots… while moving?!"
As a Pyro user, charged shots meant firing arrows infused with flame.
That requirement was extremely difficult.
While charging a shot, if monsters rushed toward her, she would panic.
And when she panicked, her hands shook.
Now he was asking her to hit weak points too.
"If you're afraid, you can train while adventuring with me."
"I'll make sure nothing dangerous happens."
Jiang Chen said.
Although many people treated Amber as someone only good for burning thorns and solving puzzles, in the hands of a skilled shooter she could become an absolute damage dealer.
Amber's talent was clearly sniper specialization.
Attacking weak points meant guaranteed critical hits.
That meant she didn't even need critical-rate equipment—only critical damage.
Repeated weak-point attacks could also stun enemies temporarily.
But the key condition was hitting weak points consistently.
Jiang Chen had encountered Amber fighting in the wilderness before.
He had long noticed her weaknesses.
At that time, he hadn't planned to train anyone.
Now that Lumine had arrived, he could finally begin.
Naturally, he would be stricter with Amber.
"Jiang Chen suddenly got really strict…"
Paimon commented.
"It's for our own good!"
Amber replied.
Although the training sounded difficult, if Jiang Chen said it was possible, then she believed it.
She had complete faith in him, because he had always been one of her idols.
After all—
He was the person who had once driven away countless bandit gangs.
In fact, Jiang Chen being strict with her actually made her very happy.
Since entering the temple, her enthusiastic behavior had been her way of showing her abilities in front of him.
While the three of them were talking—
A mysterious energy rose from where the hilichurls had vanished.
It split and entered both Lumine and Amber's bodies.
"This is…"
Lumine clenched her fist.
She felt her strength increase slightly.
"This is what I meant by the dragon's power and the ley line energy."
Jiang Chen explained.
"When a creature dies, that energy returns to the environment."
"But since you defeated them, the energy will prioritize flowing into you first."