Chapter 9: Ch 9
"Let's go get something to eat; it's not busy now."
"No worries, boss, I'm not hungry," Eula replied obediently.
"But I am." Takumi handed ten thousand Mora to Eula. "Go to the Hunter's Hut and get two Fisherman's Toasts, two Secret Sauce Grilled Tiger Fish... You can figure out the rest with the remaining money."
"Alright, boss, I understand."
With Diluc's example of spending, other players couldn't resist the temptation and rushed to recharge varying amounts into the mobile game.
In the hall, occasional shouts of excitement could be heard. Some people got their desired characters and were so thrilled they danced around. Others pulled five-star weapons, immediately leveled them up, and went out to test their damage on monsters.
Some didn't get a gold pull but got new four-star characters in their ten-pulls, eagerly testing their abilities and damage.
For a moment, the atmosphere in the game hall was extremely lively.
Takumi sat behind the bar, watching the scene calmly. In front of him, the system interface displayed that the accumulated recharge amount had reached fifteen million Mora.
Takumi could withdraw it as Mora coins or use it directly to purchase other items or participate in more lotteries. He had already gained the power of the Thunder Sojourner and was currently adapting and improving. So, he didn't need to participate in more lotteries for now.
Takumi intended to use the money to purchase new content for the game, including the new character Venti and new storylines, ushering Genshin Impact into version 1.0. Currently, the character progressing the fastest in the storyline was Lisa, who was about to enter the second act of the prologue.
The content for the current version stopped there. However, the resources Takumi purchased for the new version couldn't be directly added to the existing game. They needed to undergo a full round of testing in the "beta test server." There wouldn't be any significant bugs to worry about, primarily just fine-tuning details and making some changes to the story.
Takumi wanted it to align with the mainstream perspective of this world, so the testing process was necessary.
...
"Purchase the resources for the new version for one million Mora. Do you wish to continue?" the system prompted.
"Continue."
Though it was freshly acquired ten million Mora, Takumi didn't mind spending it. It was a lucrative investment, and when the game became widespread, he wouldn't be surprised even if he spent over a hundred million Mora.
Moreover, his goal wasn't just Mondstadt. When the story progressed to Liyue, he would also open his shop there, capitalizing on the data resources he acquired.
With the data resources in hand, Takumi took out his exclusive phone and began testing.
In the hall, no one knew that Takumi was already experiencing the contents of the brand-new version.
...
Meanwhile, on a cliff far away from Mondstadt.
The Abyss Mage bowed respectfully to the figure before him.
"Your Highness, there have been unexpected obstacles in converting Dvalin the dragon into a war weapon."
"Who...?" The man turned his head indifferently. Perhaps due to some unspeakable experiences, his gaze appeared incredibly profound despite his youthful appearance, with a sharpness beyond his years.
"It's those guys from the Knights of Favonius," the Abyss Mage replied. "For some reason, they seemed to have advance knowledge of our layout in the Four Winds' Temples and successfully destroyed those nodes."
"Furthermore, the Anemo Archon, Barbatos, returned during this period, attempting to awaken Dvalin the Dragon's self-will."
"Barbatos?" The man shrugged. "Unless he's willing to take up the mantle for this dragon again, he can't achieve anything now."
"As for the people from Mondstadt, they probably just stumbled upon it accidentally and shouldn't have any impact on our plans."
The Abyss Mage nodded and then disappeared on the spot. The man continued to stand on this cliff.
Closing his eyes, scenes seemed to flash back as if they had happened just yesterday. In the heavens, pristine gods declared the end of their journey. The two siblings were each sealed by the gods, falling into a deep slumber filled with nightmares. As the older brother, he awakened in the "darkness" and witnessed more of the "truth" of this world.
"Lumine, you should be embarking on this journey soon..."
...
North of Mondstadt. South of Liyue. The border between the two nations was typically an uninhabited wilderness, with towering mountains and beasts and monsters roaming freely.
Ordinary people would find themselves deeply lost, with no idea of how long it would take to find their way out. Though the environment was treacherous, it wasn't impossible for the young girl to survive. She had endured conditions ten times harsher than this, and even though she had lost all her power now, she still possessed the underlying strength that couldn't be bullied by ordinary monsters and beasts.
She had awakened not too long ago but felt like she had missed out on a lot of things. Her brother wasn't by her side either, so she had to wander this wilderness alone, familiarizing herself with this strange world.
In the past few days, she had been eating roasted lean meat, but today she wanted to try something different. Lumine arrived at the riverside with a homemade fishing rod to catch some fish.
In no time, the fishing rod dipped as if she had caught a big fish. Lumine lifted the rod but was surprised.
What was this soft, white thing?
"Phew, that was close! I almost drowned! Thank goodness you saved me!" The little white creature wiped the water off its face while expressing relief.
Lumine touched her chin, feeling somewhat puzzled. She picked up the little white creature and examined it closely, as if appraising a precious treasure.
"Can you eat this thing...?"
...
"Boss, I've bought all the meals you ordered!" Eula placed a bag full of delicacies on the table, still emanating heat and fragrance.
"Good, you've worked hard," Eula said with a faint smile.
In recent days, Eula had been working diligently, and she felt genuinely happy when Takumi praised her. She didn't even know what had come over her; she was starting to find satisfaction in her work.
"Hey, boss, are you playing a mobile game too?"
"Yeah, help me operate it for a while, I'm going to eat something."
Eula took Takumi's phone and, with slightly awkward movements, began to operate it. However, she quickly noticed something unusual.
"Boss, it seems like I've never seen this character named Venti before?"
"It's a character I plan to release in the new version."
"New version?" Eula was shocked. "Boss, are you saying there will be continuous updates to this mobile game in the future?"
"Of course, Mondstadt is just the beginning. There will be Liyue, Inazuma, and Sumeru..."
Takumi's grand vision left Eula in awe.
"By the way, don't let anyone see the contents of the test server."
Takumi whispered this reminder to Eula.
Eula nodded solemnly. She took a sip of orange juice and focused on the mobile game. However, an unusual emotion was surging within her.
The boss actually asked me to do this kind of thing. Logically speaking, this content that hasn't been publicly released should be confidential, and only highly trusted individuals would be entrusted with such tasks, right?
.....
On a small hill outside Mondstadt, Venti stood here gazing at the nearby city.
"Ah... it's just as I remember."
The windmills turned slowly, and the outline of the cathedral stood tall at the highest point.
These past few days, he had tried to contact his friend, Dvalin, but the Abyss Order was keeping a close watch on him. Since his divine power had been continuously dwindling since his awakening, it wouldn't be wise to directly confront them at the moment. So, Venti thought about the heroes of this era.
Inside Mondstadt, there must be brave warriors with hearts full of passion who could help awaken him, defeat the Abyss Mages, and cleanse Takumi's curse.
Five hundred years, for a god, wasn't a particularly long time. However, for mortals, it was the passage of generations. To understand the current era's situation, the most convenient and quickest way was to use his identity as a bard.
Venti had done this several times before. The last time, Mondstadt was still shrouded in the decay of the old nobility, and a warrior named Vanessa emerged, opening up a new future in that era.
This time, who would become the protagonist in his songs?
"Mondstadt, get ready for the world's greatest bard to arrive!"
....
"Don't even think about escaping!"
On the mobile screen, Venti condensed a powerful wind-element arrow on his bow. The moment it was released, a massive Eye of the Storm formed around the selected monsters, pulling all nearby Hilichurls and Slimes helplessly into it.
Because there were torches and fire elements in the vicinity, the Eye of the Storm also took on the attributes of fire elements.
A few seconds later, there were only monster drops left in the area.
"So powerful!" Eula knew that her understanding of the game was probably not as deep as Lisa's, but even from her intuitive experience of using it, she could tell that this Venti, a Vision bearer of the Wind element, was definitely an incredibly strong five-star character!
After Lisa's explanations, more and more players began to pay attention to the characters' statistics, so there were roughly three categories of players: those focused on the story, those focused on strength, and those focused on aesthetics.
Story-focused players did everything to advance the plot; they knew that everything in this mobile game was closely related to the real-world Mondstadt. Of course, to efficiently advance the main storyline, they would also strengthen their characters to a certain extent. Lisa was a shining example of this group.
Strength-focused players were interested in character statistics and were passionate about discussing and researching which character was the strongest. Currently, it was widely acknowledged that the five-star character Diluc was the strongest main DPS in the game. The saying "Pyro Claymore user OP!" had even started circulating among these players. Some people were trying to develop four-star characters, but since they had only recently started playing the game and resources were scarce, progress in this area was slow, and the value of some four-star characters had not been given much attention.
Aesthetic-focused players only cared about their personal preferences. For example, many people had a strong admiration for Jean, not hesitating to spend everything to get her. If she had to classify herself into one of these categories, Eula felt that she belonged to the strength-focused group. Whether in the real world or in the game, one had to become strong to face any other difficulties and challenges. After trying Venti's skills, Eula realized that this character, who could group monsters together, would undoubtedly become a must-have character for strength-focused players once released. However, for aesthetic and story-focused players, he might be more of an optional choice. Because so far, it seemed that this bard named Venti couldn't be found in the real world.
With these thoughts in mind, Eula opened the character panel. Under Venti's character introduction, there was a sentence that caught her attention: "A wandering bard as free as the wind, residing in the City of Freedom."
She then opened Venti's Elemental Skill interface. The Elemental Skill was named "Skyward Sonnet" and had both a tap and hold function, which Eula had already tried.
"In an era when humans and gods still journeyed together on this land, countless songs filled the skies in all directions, and this was a tune long lost to time."
It seemed that this bard had quite the background, as it mentioned a "tune long lost to time," which most people wouldn't know about.
The name of the Elemental Burst was quite impressive too, called "Wind's Ode."
"Unleash a thousand winds to create a giant storm eye that sucks in objects and opponents, dealing massive AoE Anemo damage."
"There are many hymns praising the Wind God, and this one describes his power and the power of the wind."
All this information seemed to highlight the extraordinary nature of this bard. Combined with his knowledge of the Windborne Dragon in the main storyline, Eula became even more certain of her thoughts.
At this moment, Takumi had finished dealing with all the food and returned to the bar counter.
Due to the advancement of his life level, the amount of food he needed to consume also increased. This situation would gradually diminish as he gained control over the power of the thunder.
"How's it going with the new character?"
"He has a strong ability to aggro enemies, greatly improving combat efficiency."
Eula pulled her hair back slightly from her ear and asked, "Boss, what's the identity of this character? It seems like his skill descriptions indicate a deep understanding of the Wind God?"
Takumi smiled faintly, turned to look at the hall, and then said to Eula, "Go and purchase a batch of ingredients for me according to this list, and when you come back, I'll tell you."
...
After the explanation about the "Seat of Power," Lisa had been hailed as the number one expert in the gaming community. Many people had questions about the game and wanted to consult Lisa, but seeing her sitting there playing the game so seriously, they didn't dare to disturb her for now. They could only hope that Lisa would provide more insights when she took a break.
For Lisa herself, she didn't mind sharing her understanding of the game. After all, she had a great interest in this mobile game as well. But right now, she had a "mission" to accomplish. She needed to accelerate the progression of the storyline.
Earlier, she had received confirmation from Kaeya. All the events in this game corresponded to real-world situations. After the "Falcon of the West" temple was cleared, the Knights of Favonius had taken advantage of the momentum to clear the other two temples as well. The Windborne Dragon had significantly reduced its activity outside the city, as it had lost its source of power.
All of this was because she had experienced the corresponding storyline in the game in advance, allowing Jean to make informed decisions. Now, in reality, the problem of the Windborne Dragon had been alleviated, and in the game, they were beginning the rescue plan for the Windborne Dragon.
The wandering bard Venti, whom Lisa suspected was the envoy of the Wind God, seemed to confirm this suspicion in the storyline. First, Venti came up with a plan and traveled to the Mondstadt Cathedral with the Traveler to obtain the "Skyward Sonnet." However, Sister Rosaria was very resolute.
"Although that dragon is very fierce, as long as the acting Grand Master is determined, there's no reason we can't subdue it."
"Even if it is the Wind God himself who descends, he won't easily forgive that foolish beast that has turned away from the eastern winds."
Venti: "..."
"Uh, big sister~"
"No, it's not possible, little bard."
"Ugh... There's no way."
Venti sighed, showing a helpless expression, and then said seriously, "It seems I can't hide it any longer!"
"Oh faithful believers, rejoice! Before you stands none other than the Wind God Barbatos himself—"
Rosaria: "..."
Venti, wearing a triumphant expression, continued, "Aren't you shocked? Aren't you so shocked that you want to cry? Finally meeting the divine being you worship, how does it feel? Very moving, right?"
Rosaria's face turned completely cold.
"If there's nothing else, I'll go back to handling the church's documents."
"Eh...?"
Not to mention Rosaria, even Lisa felt that Venti was impersonating someone. The difference between him and the legendary Wind God's image was just too great, and he completely lacked the demeanor of a god who ruled Mondstadt.
Openly borrowing is not an option; they had to find an opportunity to "borrow" it discreetly. Under Venti's "planning" during the night, the Traveler would infiltrate the cathedral to steal the "Skyward Sonnet." This storyline was already quite audacious, but luckily, this mobile game hall had extraordinary significance now. Otherwise, anyone who designed a similar plot would immediately be hunted down by the Knights of Favonius.
After a series of evasive maneuvers, they finally reached the deepest part of the underground cellar. The "Skyward Sonnet" was right in front of them. But at this moment, an unexpected event occurred! A mysterious masked woman appeared out of nowhere and, in the last moment before the Traveler could get their hands on the "Skyward Sonnet," she took it and vanished instantly. The guards were also alerted, and the Traveler became the scapegoat.
While evading pursuit from the guards, they unknowingly arrived at the "Angels' Share" tavern. There weren't many people inside, but coincidentally, Diluc was in the tavern. After dealing with the Knights of Favonius, Diluc inquired about the situation from everyone.
Venti didn't hide anything and played out Dvalin story to Diluc, explaining their true intentions. After a conversation, Diluc decided to trust Venti and expressed his intention to use his information network to trace the whereabouts of the "Skyward Sonnet."
The next day, after the tavern closed, the person Diluc contacted turned out to be Acting Grand Master Jean! However, Jean appeared not in her capacity as the Acting Grand Master but as an individual, due to some diplomatic issues between nations that prevented her from openly involving herself in these matters. In any case, the current goal was to use the purifying power of the "Skyward Sonnet" to restore Dvalin to normal and finally resolve the "Dragon Disaster" that had long troubled Mondstadt.
Diluc had determined, based on his own intelligence, that the "Skyward Sonnet" was hidden in a certain stronghold. The next step was to go to this stronghold and retrieve the "Skyward Sonnet."
Throughout this experience, Lisa noticed some noteworthy aspects. According to the current progress, the goal of the Foolish People seemed to be acquiring Dvalin power for the Cryo Archon. However, Lisa felt it wasn't that simple. The in-game character, Venti, also seemed to share the same opinion.
"Just now, Jean said that the Foolish People's goal is to obtain Dvalin power for the Cryo Archon, but that might underestimate their determination."
"Their true goal might be to use the connection with the Wind to find the Wind God, Barbatos..."
Hearing this, Diluc asked with a puzzled tone, "The Wind God? The Wind God has been absent from Mondstadt for a thousand years. Why do you think their goal is to find the deity itself?"
"Heh~"
...
They arrived at the designated location for the quest. After the Four Winds' temples, a new secret realm had finally appeared. This was the Foolish People's stronghold, containing many traps and formidable enemies.
Inside this secret realm, in addition to the original four characters, there was a fifth playable trial character—Diluc. Compared to before, the difficulty of this secret realm had significantly increased. If the secret realm of the Four Winds' temples was designed to introduce players to combat basics, then this secret realm felt like a small test of one's skills.
Even Lisa, who had a deep understanding of the game, couldn't help but feel some pressure. Especially in the final stage, facing the Foolish People's Debt Collector, not only did it require precise positioning, but it also placed certain demands on the team's damage output. If they couldn't defeat him quickly, the Debt Collector would unleash a high-damage execution move.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Ulimate_random
Ulimate_random Your gift is the motivation for my creation. Give me more motivation!
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