The Grand Master Wasn't Away on an Expedition? And These Damn Gacha Prices!
"Yes, Grand Master Varka," Amber said, nodding as though it were obvious.
That wasn't right. According to the timeline, shouldn't that work-slacking Grand Master Varka have taken Mondstadt's elite forces (and all the horses) on an expedition ages ago? How was he still in the City of Mondstadt?
Standing nearby, Kaeya narrowed his one eye slightly, and a hint of deeper meaning entered his half-smiling expression.
He walked over to Wei Zhenzu and gave him a perfectly natural pat on the shoulder. "Hehe, since you have such a peculiar ability, Mr. Liangzi, why not come by the Knights' headquarters instead of wandering aimlessly in the wilderness? Mondstadt has always welcomed talented guests."
Wei Zhenzu knew exactly what was going on.
That old fox Kaeya was making an invitation on the surface, but he actually thought a guy who could eat unknown monsters raw, in the literal sense, was too dangerous. The safest thing to do was to keep such an unpredictable element under watch.
"All right, then. Sorry for the trouble," Wei Zhenzu agreed without letting anything show on his face.
Just as everyone was getting ready to return to the city, the bus system chimed in Wei Zhenzu's mind:
[Defeated a first-tier Peccatulum Irae. Obtained Lunacy × 25.]
Wei Zhenzu brought up the dark blue gacha interface in his mind.
[Lunacy required for a single extraction (pull): 130.]
"Are you fucking..." Wei Zhenzu nearly coughed up a mouthful of blood.
"I've transmigrated to another world. Couldn't you make it cheaper? Don't tell me I can still pull duplicate Identities and get shards for them. How long am I supposed to save up?"
Still deeply resentful of the gacha prices, Wei Zhenzu followed the group back to the City of Mondstadt.
At the Knights of Favonius headquarters, the doors to the highest-grade meeting room were pushed open.
The lineup in the room made Wei Zhenzu take a second look.
There was Acting Grand Master Jean, with her dazzling golden hair and serious expression.
Seated at the head of the table was Grand Master Varka, an immensely burly man with stubble on his chin, whose hearty manner carried an air of authority.
Besides them, the "Spindrift Knight" Eula stood nearby with her arms crossed and a proud expression, along with the astrologist Mona, who was there for some unknown reason.
After a brief round of introductions, Wei Zhenzu was given a guest seat for the time being as "Liangzi, the traveler from afar who had been a great help to the Knights."
The Grand Master really wasn't away on an expedition!
At that moment, Mona was the first to break the silence in the meeting room.
She adjusted her hat, her voice grave. "As I previously reported to the Knights, the stars on my hydromancy chart show that an extremely unusual energy fluctuation has appeared in the direction of Stormterror's Lair. That energy is chaotic and frenzied. It does not belong to Teyvat's ley line corona at all."
Eula spoke up immediately afterward. "The intelligence sent back by my reconnaissance company confirms it. Moreover, we found numerous traces of Abyss Order activity around the outskirts of Stormterror's Lair. Those creatures who skulk in the shadows are gathering deeper inside the ruins. They must be plotting something sinister."
That meant something major must have happened inside Stormterror's Lair.
Wei Zhenzu thought for a moment, then raised his hand and interjected, "Um... may I ask what Durin's current condition is?"
The meeting room fell silent for a moment as soon as he finished speaking.
Varka laughed heartily a few times and rubbed the stubble on his chin as he corrected him.
"Oh? You know about Durin too? But I think you may have gotten them mixed up, brother Liangzi. Durin was the venomous dragon that went to its eternal rest on Dragonspine hundreds of years ago. It's long since become history. If you mean the dragon currently holed up in Stormterror's Lair, its name is Dvalin, the one now known as Stormterror. He's still the greatest threat to the City of Mondstadt. A real headache."
Wei Zhenzu was startled and leaned back awkwardly in a tactical retreat.
So I remembered it wrong. No wonder I was wondering how Stormterror had turned into a little boy. I never got through that part of the story in the first place. (Ahem, I only realized after checking the wiki.)
Stormterror was still a threat.
In other words, the Stormterror crisis had yet to be resolved.
Wei Zhenzu's mind raced. That means there's no sign of the little blonde Traveler, and Paimon hasn't shown up either.
Without the fated twin to purify Dvalin's tears, who's going to resolve this crisis?
Could it be... that I, a chef who got slammed into this world by a dump truck, am the protagonist of this world?
Wait, if neither of the Traveler siblings is in Teyvat, then who's the "Your Highness" leading the Abyss Order right now?!
The atmosphere in the meeting room was somewhat tense.
Because of Wei Zhenzu's impressive combat performance in the wilderness and his special skill of "turning unknown monsters into supplements," Kaeya took the initiative to suggest to Varka and Jean that Wei Zhenzu stay with the Knights of Favonius for the time being to assist with the investigation.
"Mr. Liangzi has plenty of experience dealing with this new type of monster. He may be the key to breaking the deadlock," Kaeya said with a smile.
Wei Zhenzu sighed. All he really wanted was to find a comfortable place in the City of Mondstadt to laze around, and look for Wi-Fi that could connect to the outside internet while he was at it.
But in the current situation, the Traveler was absent, the Abyss Order was stirring up trouble, and there was most likely a troublemaking "Golden Bough" stuck in Stormterror's Lair. After all, he had transmigrated here as Dante.
Since he had a cheat, it seemed he had no choice but to get to work and shoulder this responsibility.
"All right." Wei Zhenzu rubbed his temples. "Since you all think so highly of me, I'll just... I'll be a temporary worker for the Knights."
He grumbled silently to himself, It's decided. Once again, I'll become the glorious Honorary Knight (wage slave)!
The moment he agreed, a blood-red envelope icon suddenly popped up in his mind from the Teyvat Abnormality Bus System, which had been quiet until then.
An icy mechanical voice followed:
[To Wei Zhenzu: Proceed to Stormterror's Lair and successfully retrieve the Golden Bough.]
Wei Zhenzu's eye twitched wildly. "Come on, system. Just issue the quest. Why do you have to format it like an instruction?!"
"That 'To so-and-so' format gives me the creeps, okay?! If I fail, is a Proxy going to pop out of The City and chop my head off?"
Grand Master Varka slapped the table in a hearty gesture and announced that everyone should return and prepare their supplies immediately. The next morning, Kaeya would lead a team, with Wei Zhenzu accompanying them as a special consultant, to conduct a preliminary investigation of the outskirts of Stormterror's Lair.
After walking out through the Knights of Favonius' heavy oak doors, Wei Zhenzu felt the City of Mondstadt's fresh breeze brush his face. He walked down the stone steps, and his gaze happened to pass over the red-tiled roofs and white walls to the towering statue in the city square.
Wait!
Wei Zhenzu stopped abruptly and slapped his thigh.
He had actually forgotten the most important beginner's freebie in the world of Genshin Impact!
In this world, an outlander "traveler" only had to touch a Statue of the Seven to get its corresponding Elemental Power for free, with no conditions attached.
If he could successfully resonate with Anemo, then even if he didn't spend that damned 130 Lunacy on the gacha, he would have another trump card to keep himself alive in this perilous Teyvat.
Even if he didn't use elemental reactions to fight monsters, surely he could use Anemo to travel and escape.
With that thought, Wei Zhenzu immediately quickened his pace and jogged all the way to the square.
The towering statue of Barbatos stood quietly in the center of the pool, its stone wings casting shadows in the sunlight.
Wei Zhenzu glanced around, then, while the diners eating grilled meat nearby and the patrolling knights weren't looking, stepped straight onto the stone platform at the edge of the pool.
He took a deep breath and solemnly pressed his right hand against the statue's cold stone pedestal.
He closed his eyes and held his breath.
Wei Zhenzu even imagined the comforting sensation of Anemo surging through his body.
One second, two seconds, three seconds passed.
Wei Zhenzu's palm remained pressed against the cold stone. There was no resonance of Elemental Power around him, no teal light, and not even the slightest trace of the grilled meat aroma drifting over from the Good Hunter was blown away by the wind.
"No reaction at all? Is it because I'm essentially a chef who snuck into this world, so I can't even connect to Teyvat's local server?" Wei Zhenzu's mouth turned down in disappointment, and he awkwardly prepared to withdraw his hand.
The moment his palm left the statue's pedestal, an extremely abrupt muffled sound came from inside the statue.
"Pop."
It sounded like a tightly wedged cork being pulled out of a wine bottle.
Immediately afterward, a dazzling white halo burst into existence in midair half a meter in front of Wei Zhenzu.
Wei Zhenzu jumped in fright and instinctively leaned back in a tactical retreat.
The halo quickly faded.
There was no Anemo, and no manifestation of a god.
Instead, there was a little figure dressed in white clothes with gold trim and a starry cloak on her back. She was floating in midair, rubbing her sleepy eyes vigorously with her little fists.