Chapter 7: Is there a place for me among the stars?
Aside from gathering the lake's water and washing the masks, I also collected some apples and sunsettias on my way back. Not having a portable spatial storage is really a chore. I'm so used to hoarding everything that I have to remind myself that I don't have anywhere to store them.
When I arrived back at the camp, I put the pot filled with water back on the campfire and put down the fruits I had gathered inside my tent. The next thing I did was to try and start a fire.
Emphasis on try.
Apparently, rubbing two rocks together is not enough to create a spark. That, or it requires a special type of rock, which I don't currently have. The next thing I tried was to spin a stick with my hands on top of a firewood that's cut in half. I remember seeing people do it on TV before, but there might be something else going on other than just 'rotating a stick on top of wood' because it didn't work for me either.
'Should've paid more attention to that nature survival show.'
Eventually, I came up with a stupid idea.
Back when I still played Minecraft, I remembered that you can 'cook' a wooden plank on a furnace to create charcoal. By using that video game logic, I came to the conclusion that as long as I can heat a stick enough to create charcoal, I can then dump the charcoal on top of a bunch of dried leaves to create an ember and eventually, a fire.
I went towards a fir tree and used a wind blade to cut off two branches and brought it back to the camp. Then, I cut off one of the branches to a smaller stick with one end cut into a 45 degree angle and smoothed out its surface, and created a flat surface on the other branch. To make things easier, I created a 'track' on the flat surface of the branch so that the stick won't slip.
Using the track I created, I started rubbing the stick back and forth to create heat through friction. Thankfully, after some time, smoke started to come out. Seeing this, I started rubbing the stick faster.
Eventually, a small clump of charcoal is created.
I carefully put it into the clump of dried leaves that I brought back alongside the branches, and gently press the leaves together in order to create an ember faster. After the ember had spread out a little more, I placed the leaves on the campfire and gently blew on it, hoping it would spread towards the firewood and start a proper fire.
And it did.
'Huzzah! Video game logic has prevailed once more.'
After stoking the fire a bit with a stick, I dematerialized my hat and leaned my back on the rock wall next to the tent, relaxing my body. Grabbing one of the apples next to me, I gingerly took a bite.
'Hmm, it tastes like apples. Who would've thought.'
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'It's amazing how clearly you can see the stars here. Crazy how much light pollution affects the night sky.'
After filling up my stomach with apples and sunsettias, I spent the rest of the day just laying down, listening to the crackling of the campfire, enjoying the quiet atmosphere that nature provides.
'Well, minus the howling wind coming from Mondstadt.'
Within that peaceful atmosphere, I began contemplating my situation.
'So here I am in Teyvat, as the Wanderer himself. Of all the people, it just had to be one of the more problematic ones.'
Truly, such an outlandish situation.
'An outlander's soul in a body that has yet to exist. Each vision bearer has their own constellation, through which Astrologers can see our destiny. I wonder, is this body's destiny my own? "The stars in the skies will always have a place for you", yet is that place mine to begin with?'
Is this how Ganyu felt about herself, I wonder?
Sigh. In the end, contemplating about things outside of my control is useless. And right now, I have more pressing matters to deal with.
'This damnable face of mine. I cannot afford to show it for the foreseeable future, but the mask I got should take care of that for now.'
Which reminds me, I haven't started working on the masks yet. I should probably get to that.
'Combat wise, I'm doing pretty good surprisingly. I noticed that when I perform a normal attack combo I slightly levitate off the ground, and that might be a good idea for a simple training.'
I don't exactly know the proper way to improve my elemental control, hell, I'm not even sure the way I use my vision is how it's supposed to be. But if I were to imagine my vision as an extra organ on my body, albeit a magical one, then I could probably improve it the more I use it.
'Let's start small. I should try moving around by levitating slightly off the ground as much as possible. Other than that, I could probably try to ascend and descend repeatedly while flying and try to maintain horizontal movement for as long as possible. Hopefully it'll be able to extend my flying duration.
'Speaking of combat… I killed them. For the first time in both of my lifes, I killed the closest thing to a human being there is. God, how I wished I didn't have to kill. Just from killing hilichurls and I'm already a mess. Even if hilichurls are formerly human, they don't really look like one. What'll happen if I ended up killing an actual human being? Will it be even worse?'
Even though it is a necessary experience to have, even though my brain is screaming at me that it's the most rational thing to do, I don't like it.
'Does it get easier? Do I want it to be?'
Unfortunately, there's no one around to help me find an answer.
'Let's just work on the mask.'
Getting up and leaning my body towards the wall, I picked up one of the masks and started to carefully cut them using anemo.
Accompanied by the crackling fire and the creaking weathervane, I silently work on the masks throughout the night. Tomorrow, Mondstadt awaits.
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City of Mondstadt.
The Crown of the North.
The City of Pastoral Song.
A city ruled by none other than the Anemo Archon, Barbatos.
'Well, "ruled" is a bit of a stretch, considering he prefers to let them do their own thing.'
After making sure I brought everything I needed, I donned my new mask, hung my spare around my shimenawa, and started my journey towards the City of Wine and Song while munching on my leftover sunsettias. The walk towards the city was uneventful, and eventually I reached the bridge connected towards Mondstadt.
'No Timmie in sight. Shame. Would've loved to meet the Pigeon Archon himself.'
I took a second to gather my courage, and began approaching the city gates.
'They shouldn't mind too much about the fact that I am wearing a mask. It might raise some eyebrows, but it won't be a problem. Being looked at like a weirdo is not a new experience for me.'
The guards noticed my approach and one of them moved towards me.
"Welcome to Mondstadt, strange yet respectable traveler. Please state your identity and purpose of visit. The Knights of Favonius are here to ensure your safety."
Name?
'Fucking shit! I knew I forgot something important!'
Think. What describes you the best right now?
'I'm the Wanderer, I'm a former god, I'm wearing a silly hat, and right now I need all the help I can get. I am from Inazuma, so I have to make sure the name is japanese.'
"Traveler?"
'Okay. Okay, I think I got one. A bit literal, but it sounds cool, so that's a plus.'
Trying my best to not sound panicked, I gave the knight my new name.
"Kamiyama Yuu, a humble Wanderer, here to stay in Mondstadt in preparation for my next travel."
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone