After buying a map from a maid at Dawn Winery, Arkz quickly headed toward Mondstadt City.
Although Arkz was very familiar with the Mondstadt map as an allogene player, the real-world Mondstadt was not as simple as the game.
Without a map, he really would have gotten lost.
Mondstadt City, as a large city, had a massive flow of people entering and exiting every day.
After inquiring with the kind maid from Dawn Winery, Arkz learned that Mondstadt did not have a curfew, so he didn't need to worry about not being able to enter the city because it was too late.
Upon entering Mondstadt City, unfamiliar Travelers like Arkz, whose attire didn't resemble that of a local Mondstadt resident, were subjects of intense focus and strict inspection by the Knights of Favonius.
Although the initial entry into Mondstadt City involved a rigorous inspection, Arkz didn't blame these Knights; after all, they were just upholding their duties.
It was precisely the serious and responsible behavior of these Knights of Favonius that changed Arkz's stereotypical impression of the organization.
So, there are responsible Knights of Favonius!
But thinking about it carefully, if all the Knights of Favonius were truly slacking off and irresponsible, Mondstadt would have descended into chaos long ago.
Even if Acting Grand Master Jean was diligent and responsible, and no matter how capable she was, she couldn't manage everything alone.
The Mondstadt in the game looked small, but the real Mondstadt was a large city with hundreds of thousands of people. The Knights of Favonius, who managed so many people, naturally wouldn't be few in number.
With such a large base, it was normal for one or two Knights to be slackers.
Fortunately, the identity and background arranged by the system were completely clear, with all necessary documentation, able to withstand inspection.
Knight of Favonius: "A guest from afar, welcome to Mondstadt. I wish you a pleasant experience here."
Arkz: "Thank you."
After taking back his identification documents from the Knight, Arkz finally entered Mondstadt City.
Unfortunately, the sky was already late, and many shops had closed. Only the taverns were brightly lit and bustling.
Fortunately, as a city with a highly developed tourism industry, Mondstadt was not short of inns; otherwise, Arkz might have ended up sleeping on the streets.
Arkz found an inn on the streets of Mondstadt to rest and enjoyed a good night's sleep.
The next morning, Arkz woke up in the inn.
The morning sunlight streamed through the window onto his face, and a gentle breeze awakened him.
Arkz opened his eyes vaguely, sat up, and looked around, taking a while to fully regain consciousness.
He then collapsed back onto the bed as if his bones had been removed, sighing like a salted fish: "Waking up naturally after sleeping, that's truly satisfying!"
Studies in Sumeru were very busy, especially as an outstanding student of the Sumeru Akademiya, Arkz was watched by many people.
The pressure of maintaining an idol image and the longing to play with his phone again often made Arkz wake up very early to check information.
Arkz: "Have you ever seen the 4 AM sun in the Sumeru Akademiya? I have!"
Tossing and turning on the bed like a salted fish, basking in the warmth of the sun, Arkz finally left the comfortable, warm bed, driven by the pangs of hunger.
Following the scent of food in the air, Arkz enjoyed a Mondstadt-style breakfast at a famous restaurant in Mondstadt—The Good Hunter.
sweet flower Stewed Chicken, Mondstadt Grilled Fish, and a Stacked High (Extra-large Hamburger).
The portions were generous, and the taste was quite good. Although the price was a bit steep, Arkz ate to his heart's content.
Mondstadt's food tended to be light, leaning towards sweet flavors. Although Arkz loved spicy food, he could accept these sweet dishes.
At least it was much better than the devilish snacks from Sumeru streets that tasted like spices fried in spices.
Of course, Sumeru also had many delicious foods.
Holding the procedural certificate given by the system, Arkz headed to the Knights of Favonius Headquarters.
As a famous landmark in Mondstadt, the architecture of the Knights Headquarters was visible just by looking up, which saved Arkz the trouble of asking for directions.
Due to the strong official support from Mondstadt for pioneering efforts, Arkz moved unimpeded through the Knights' offices with the organization's full cooperation, quickly obtaining all the necessary paperwork.
The entire process was so smooth that it felt a bit strange, so smooth that Arkz felt somewhat dazed.
If Arkz were the protagonist, he would surely encounter a villain who looked down on him jumping out to provoke him, allowing Arkz to slap their face and show off.
At the very least, a popular character would appear to stage a wonderful encounter.
But unfortunately, none of that happened.
By the time Arkz walked out of the Knights Headquarters holding the farm certificate and the map, he hadn't encountered a single familiar character.
Forget Acting Grand Master Jean, Lisa, Eula, Amber, or Noelle—the beautiful Knights—he didn't even see Kaeya.
Did his allogene identity not warrant attention? Shouldn't Kaeya suddenly jump out from the shadows and say to him, "Are you our guest? Or a new storm?"
As expected, even the characters from the game had their own lives.
Not to mention, this was a real world.
Arkz concluded that even with a system, he truly wasn't the protagonist.
When the Traveler arrives, he must cling tightly to the Traveler's leg; that would surely provide a great sense of security and bring in Mora galore.
Thinking of the wonderful future and a leisurely farming life, Arkz was ecstatic.
Following the farm's location marked on the map, Arkz tracked his way to Springvale.
Yes, the farm the system gifted Arkz was located right next to Springvale.
As an outsider, Arkz felt he should pay a visit to the local fixer. Moreover, since Draff was the father of the adorable Diona, visiting him might offer a chance to meet little Diona.
Unfortunately, after asking the villagers, Arkz learned that Draff had gone out hunting with his squad and wouldn't return for two days.
Diona was also working at the Cats Tail Tavern and wasn't home.
Since he couldn't find Draff or meet Diona, Arkz could only temporarily halt his visiting plan.
His emotions had been a bit agitated just now, but now that he calmed down, Arkz remembered that one should bring a gift when visiting friends.
Did he have any suitable gifts for Mr. Draff and Ms. Diona?
Hmm, what about the fish he caught?
With the help of the villagers and the guidance of the map, Arkz finally successfully located his farm.
The farm was located in the northeast corner of Springvale, about two kilometers away from the nearest dwelling in Springvale, looking almost like a wilderness area.
The farm was surrounded by a fence, but because of years of neglect, these wooden fences had begun to rot and were tattered.
If he wanted to repair them later, he would probably have to replace them all.
Arkz couldn't help but sigh: "Another major project!"
He didn't rush to enter the farm but instead walked around the perimeter first, scouting the surrounding environment.
Not far from the farm was the Whispering Woods.
These fences were likely intended to keep out wild boars and Hilichurls.
The reason for using wood was naturally because the forest was nearby, making timber easy and cheap to acquire.
The entire farm was surrounded by forest.
A small path connected the farm and Springvale, but it was just a simple gravel path, and because no one had passed through for a long time, it was almost entirely covered by weeds.
To the east side of the farm, a dozen meters away, was a main road leading toward the Whispering Woods.
Patrolling Knights, Adventurers from the Adventurers Guild, or passing merchants would all use this road.
After passing by Arkz's farm, this main road crookedly connected with the main road from Springvale to Mondstadt City.
Due to the constant trampling by people and the compaction from cargo carts, this road looked quite level.
Arkz couldn't help but marvel at his luck; this would make transporting farm produce to Mondstadt for sale very convenient once the crops matured.
Looking at the forest surrounding his farm, Arkz thought that he could cut down these trees in the future to obtain timber for construction while also expanding his farm area.
So much timber, and the quality was quite high; it should sell for quite a bit of Mora, right?
Most importantly, there was no prohibition against logging in Teyvat.
Nourished by Elemental Power, the plants in the wilderness grew extremely fast.
Furthermore, the higher the concentration of Elemental Power, the more easily high-quality crops would grow.
This was also the reason why Teyvat's wilderness was full of wild fruits—the land was simply too fertile.
However, Elemental Power concentration being too high wasn't entirely a good thing.
Too high a concentration would not only attract monsters to gather but also cause these plants to mutate and evolve into dangerous monsters.
Arkz's farm area was quite large, and it was a plain terrain with very fertile soil.
Unfortunately, because it had been abandoned for too long, the farm was overgrown with weeds and tall trees, and there were rocks that had appeared from who knows where.
To plant crops, he still needed to find a way to clear out the weeds, trees, and scattered stones inside the farm.
In addition, he needed to find a way to repair the farm's fence, otherwise, if wild boars rushed in and ruined the crops he had painstakingly grown, even turning the boars into skewers wouldn't be enough to vent his anger.
However, the first thing Arkz needed to do was to sign in at the farm to activate the complete system.
Arkz: "System, sign in."
[Ding! Sign-in location: Arkz's Farm.]
[Strongest Farming System activation successful.]
[Respected Host, welcome to the Farm Cultivation System. Please enjoy exploring this beautiful world and savoring a leisurely farming life.]
Uh (⊙ o ⊙)...
Arkz stared at the rudimentary system interface and fell silent.
Arkz: "..."
Arkz: "System, your interface is completely copied from Stardew Valley, isn't it!"
[Name: Arkz]
[Farm Name: Springvale Farm]
[Favorite Thing: Fine Wine]
[Mora: 535,200]
Arkz carefully examined the system and found that the interface was very simple.
All five skill bars were displayed as Level 0.
The social tab had not been unlocked yet, showing only blank silhouette icons.
As for the system's crafting tab, only some simple blueprints were unlocked, such as Wooden Fence, Wooden Door, Stone Sign, and Campfire.
Among so many blueprints, Arkz found the most useful one might be—the Wooden Chest.
As the most basic storage tool in the game, it only required 50 units of wood to craft a Wooden Chest with 36 storage slots through the system.