That evening, Rola and Noelle lay side-by-side on the same bed, chatting about their experiences and insights from today's assessment.
As they talked, Noelle drifted off to sleep first.
Rola closed her eyes as well, feeling the cool breeze brush against her skin. Every pore seemed to open up, and her consciousness sank into slumber.
Half-asleep, Rola murmured, "Anemo... Anemo Archon..."
-
The next day, Rola and Noelle woke up at the crack of dawn.
Early rising had become a habit, especially over the past month. Stormterror's frequent visits to Mondstadt had kept the Knight Order busy with countless tasks.
Though not yet full-fledged Knights of Favonius, Rola and Noelle felt duty-bound to contribute to Mondstadt's defense!
Rola donned her red and white training uniform, laced up her tall boots, and tied her hair into a high ponytail. She retrieved her spear from her Vision, replaced the worn tip with the brand-new one she'd obtained from Wagner yesterday, and secured it in place.
"Alright, I'm off, brother! I packed my breakfast!"
"Be careful!"
"Got it! See ya!"
Rola held two Mora Meat skewers, eating one herself and handing the other to Noelle.
Mora Meat was a Liyue delicacy. Her Liyue persona could make it, so naturally her Mondstadt persona could too.
The Mora Meat Rola was currently eating was the very recipe she had taught the maids, who had then prepared it themselves.
Rola and Noelle left Dawn Winery together.
"Noelle, you should head back to Mondstadt first. I'm going to help clear out some monsters outside the city."
"Huh? You're not coming back to Mondstadt with me?"
Rola shook her head. "I want to explore a bit and gain some experience."
"Absolutely not! It's too dangerous. Captain Kaeya told me to keep an eye on you!"
Captain Kaeya? So that's what he was talking to Noelle about yesterday.
"Aww, come on, sis! Just let me go! You know I'm strong enough to handle myself. Please~?" Rola tugged on Noelle's arm, pleading playfully.
Noelle hesitated for a moment, then firmly declared, "No, absolutely not. Unless... I come with you."
"Great! Let's go together then!"
Rola wanted to venture out because she suspected the main plot was about to begin.
Over the past seventeen years, Rola's memories of Genshin Impact had grown hazy. After all, it had been seventeen years since she'd last engaged with the game; forgetting some details was only natural.
When she first met Venti, Rola assumed the story had already begun and that she had somehow missed the starting point. Yet she never saw the traveler in Mondstadt.
This time, she had a feeling the main plot was about to start—either today or tomorrow.
Venti had mentioned to her that he had something crucial to do either today or tomorrow and asked her not to look for him.
Ah, the open-world experience! Players always view their first encountered characters through rose-tinted glasses.
-
Due to the Stormterror incident, monsters had gathered around Mondstadt in greater numbers, and Hilichurl watchtowers had sprung up in areas where they shouldn't normally exist.
Rola drew her spear and, together with Noelle, cleared out all the Hilichurls.
Rola had obtained her Pyro Vision three years ago. During that time, she had trained tirelessly, relying on her innate talent (or, let's be honest, her cheating). While she still couldn't match her brother's strength, she was undeniably stronger than Noelle.
The exquisitely crafted, fiery red spear blazed with flames, each strike and flourish exuding martial grandeur.
It was a pity Noelle wielded the Geo Element, which couldn't react with Rola's Pyro Element. Had they been compatible, their monster-clearing efficiency would have been even faster!
"Rola, which direction should we go?"
Noelle sheathed her Favonius Claymore into her Vision, panting heavily.
"We're heading to the Whispering Woods."
Whispering Woods?
They were supposed to be clearing monsters around Mondstadt City. Why venture so deep into the Whispering Woods?
"The Knights of Favonius have already cleared most of the monsters around here. Let's check out the Whispering Woods."
Noelle nodded. They had indeed seen a patrol of Knights of Favonius earlier.
The Mondstadt of reality was far larger than the one in the game. The Whispering Woods teemed with lush foliage, and in the morning light, dappled sunlight cast intricate patterns of shadows on the forest floor.
An unnerving silence hung in the air, making their hearts pound.
This wasn't how it used to be at all!
Rola and Noelle advanced cautiously, constantly scanning their surroundings for any signs of danger.
Roar~!
Suddenly, a deafening roar startled both of them.
As the roar faded, something massive seemed to erupt from the Whispering Woods and soar away.
Noelle tensed, but Rola's eyes lit up.
Dvalin!
There was no mistaking it—it had to be him!
Rola immediately sprinted toward the direction of the roar, Noelle hot on her heels.
-
Parallel World: Earth
8:00 AM. Genshin Impact, an open-world exploration game, skipped its internal beta testing and went straight into public beta!
Countless fans who had been eagerly anticipating Genshin Impact erupted in jubilation. Early risers immediately launched the game and clicked to download.
New comments flooded the game's official website:
"Wait, wasn't the release supposed to be tomorrow?! Holy crap, it's the public release already! The game company screwed me over! Damn, I can't focus on class for another second!"
"Ha ha, good thing I didn't sleep in today! Who could have predicted the game company would suddenly release it early?!"
"Teyvat, my Teyvat, I'm coming!"
"..."
Chen Xiyao was a full-time gaming streamer who went by the name "Guojia" online. Her fans affectionately called her "Little Fruit."
Blessed with a sweet appearance and a highly emotional nature, her gaming streams proved quite popular, earning her a sizable following.
Genshin Impact had exploded in popularity online two months prior, largely due to the game company's breathtaking open-world visuals. The modeling for the terrain, architecture, and characters far surpassed any other game of its time! (Author's Note: Let's give Genshin Impact a boost here—imagine its modeling is vastly superior to its current state.)
Like countless other netizens, Chen Xiyao fell in love with the game the moment she saw its promotional videos. The in-game scenery was irresistibly alluring, the characters exquisitely detailed, and, most importantly, it was free to play!
As Genshin Impact's online buzz intensified, streamers like Chen Xiyao had been eagerly awaiting the game company to open beta testing channels. To their surprise, the closed beta never arrived—instead, the public release came directly!
"Family, the download's almost finished! This damn internet is so slow! I wonder if I can snag an early UID!"
Gulping down pure milk, Chen Xiyao opened her live stream.
As soon as her stream went live, a flood of fans poured in.
[Host, you're still moving? My connection's completely frozen. How many people are downloading this? Is the whole dorm downloading it? This school Wi-Fi is absolute garbage!]
[Urgent! Urgent! Urgent! I need to see Teyvat! I need to see Barbara!]
[I love Amber, but I'm at work. I don't know if I can secretly watch without the Boss noticing...]
[...]
Chen Xiyao chatted with her viewers while waiting for the game to load.
After about five minutes, it finally finished. She immediately created an account and logged in.
The game opened on a sandy beach, with a tiny crab scuttling across the screen, its shell marked with two stars.
A narrator's voice echoed: "So, you drifted here from beyond the world?"
Two golden shooting stars streaked across the skies of Liyue and Mondstadt.
"But when you try to leave this place, to reach the next world, an unfamiliar God stands in your way."
As the Sustainer of Heavenly Principles appeared, Chen Xiyao hummed with excitement.
Chen Xiyao frantically clicked on the Sustainer with her mouse, but nothing happened.
After hesitating for a while, she finally selected Lumine from the Twins.
The animation continued: the Sustainer took away Aether, and Lumine was engulfed by those cube-like blocks.
When the animation ended, they were back on the beach. After a brief conversation with Paimon, Chen Xiyao entered combat mode.
"Family, look at this! It's gorgeous! I never thought they could actually make a game with such high-quality graphics. I thought it was just marketing hype at first!"
Controlling Lumine, Chen Xiyao wandered around aimlessly, leaving the adorable Paimon trailing behind. She stared blankly at the computer screen, occasionally touching the laptop to check if it was overheating.
[Wow, the graphics really are this good! Oh no, my phone won't be able to handle this, will it?]
[Don't worry, I'm playing on my phone too. The graphics are great, it runs smoothly, and it doesn't overheat much.]
[Paimon is so cute!]
[Streamer, stop gawking and advance the plot! I want to see what happens next!]