"I see. So that's why the two of you are here."
After listening to what basically is the prologue of Genshin Impact, minus the encounter with the Sustainer, the four of us continued heading towards Mondstadt.
"Yes. I was hoping that I could meet the Anemo God and ask for help in finding him."
"Then your timing is pretty great if that's the case."
Lumine visibly perked up after hearing my words, even Amber was listening closely.
"Really?"
"Yep. Mondstadt has been under attack by a dragon for a while now. And recently, its attack has gotten a lot more devastating, and sooner or later Mondstadt might be destroyed if the dragon is not quickly dealt with.
"At that point, I'm pretty sure Barbatos will show up and protect his city. Oh, I'm not saying the Knights of Favonius are not doing a good job at protecting the city or anything. No offense Amber."
Thankfully, Amber simply shrugged it off.
"Don't worry, I know what you mean. But how'd you come to that conclusion?"
"Didn't Barbatos help the Lionfang Knight topple the old aristocracy? It's in Mondstadt's history, you know? Were you not taught about this?"
As if realizing something, Amber shyly rubbed the back of her head.
"Ehehe… I might have fallen asleep when Lisa was teaching me…"
'Why am I not surprised? This energetic girl would much prefer running around in the wild than sitting down listening to a lecture.'
Shaking my head at the outrider's answer, I heard Lumine speak to me.
"Didn't you say you were from Inazuma? How do you know so much about Mondstadt?"
"I learned a lot of things in Sumeru. It's not called the City of Scholars for no reason, after all."
"Sumeru? From Inazuma, to Sumeru, and now you're in Mondstadt? You must've traveled a lot huh?"
She said with a hint of a smile on her face. It must've reminded her of the good old days, when all she had to worry about is which world to visit next.
"Well, I didn't exactly plan to go to Sumeru, not after the storm barrier basically annihilated my boat. When I woke up, I just ended up there, washed up to its shore from the sea."
Hearing my answer, the three of them looked surprised.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! What are you talking about? You never told me about this!"
"I did though?"
"No! You said you ended up on a shore in Sumeru somewhere!"
"Yes, I did, by being washed up by the waves."
"You made it sound like you arrived just fine with your boat!"
"You arrived at that conclusion, that's hardly my fault."
While the two of us were bantering, Paimon interrupted us.
"What do you mean by 'storm barrier'?"
"Oh don't even get me started on that."
'Seriously, do I have to explain this every time someone asks? Ugh, what a pain.'
"In order to enforce the Sakoku Decree, the Electro Archon Raiden Shogun erected a storm barrier surrounding Inazuma. Basically, because of whatever it is she's trying to accomplish, the people currently in Inazuma are not allowed to leave the country."
"But you're here."
"Cases like mine are very rare. Which reminds me… Lumine."
I stopped levitating and started walking since we're close to the city.
"You probably won't listen to this, but I'll say it anyway. Right now, Inazuma is a ticking time bomb, and an outlander like you might end up being the trigger. So please, for your own safety, do NOT go to Inazuma."
Seemingly taken aback by my seriousness, Lumine stopped walking and started thinking about it. Judging by the determination in her eyes, I already knew what she's going to do.
"Thanks for the warning, Yuu. But, if it means finding my brother, then I'm going to Inazuma whether it's dangerous or not."
"I see."
'Damn, I was hoping I don't have to subject myself to constant seasickness. Guess there's no running away from that. Days or maybe even weeks of suffering atop the Alcor… ugh.'
After entering the city proper, Amber, as if she's forgotten something, turned towards Lumine.
"Before we go to the Knights of Favonius headquarters, I have a present for you, Lumine, as thanks for helping me clear that hilichurl camp."
"You don't have to…."
"What about Paimon? Does Paimon get a present too?"
"Hmm, the present is useless for you Paimon, but don't worry! I'll treat you to a Sticky Honey Roast next time."
"Ooooh…. Sticky Honey Roast. That sounds delicious, ehehehe."
'You'd find even slimes delicious with how gluttonous you are.'
"Here you go, Lumine! This is a wind glider. Outriders use them to ride the wind, and the people of Mondstadt love using them too!"
The wind glider looks exactly the same as the default wind glider every player uses. The dark colored wings heavily contrast her white clothing.
'The wing glider you get from Mondstadt's reputation quest would look so much better on her.'
"Now, why don't you test them out? Let's go to the plaza in front of the cathedral. That should be high enough to get you started. Yuu, would you like to glide with us?"
"Miss outrider, do you want to get me arrested?"
"What?"
"You do realize I don't have a gliding license right? Not that I need a wind glider to fly in the first place, but I'm pretty sure what you're trying to get us to do is illegal."
"Don't worry about it! I'm just giving assistance to a traveler that wants to learn how to use her new wind glider. I am simply following the rules within the Knights of Favonius' Handbook."
"And did she ask for this so-called assistance?"
My eyes turn towards Lumine, who looks very confused at this situation.
"Did I?"
"Of course you did, Lumine! Now, then, to the plaza we go!"
Shaking my head at the outrider's antics, I made no move to follow them.
'I'm pretty sure they'll land somewhere near this fountain anyway. In the meantime, I'll just get something light to eat from Good Hunter.'
"Sara! One Teyvat Fried Eggs and some sausages please!"
"Coming right up, Mr. Yuu."
Taking a seat at one of their tables, I waited for the three of them to come back.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Not long after finishing my food, I saw the three of them approaching from the skies. Amber looked like she's having the time of her life, Lumine, despite being her first time using a wind glider, is pretty much a natural with the way she's using it, and Paimon, well, she can already fly, so there's not much of a surprise there. Though it is my first time seeing her flying at a high altitude.
"Aah, gliding is really the best! What about you, Lumine? Have you gotten the hang of it?"
"Yes. It's pretty easy to use. Thanks for giving me this, Amber."
"Don't worry about it. I hope it helps you on your journey."
Getting up from my seat, I walked towards the trio.
"Are the three of you finished?"
"Yep! Now that that's out of the way, let's go to the Knights of Favonius Headquarters. Before I start putting up that missing person poster, I'll have to ask Jean for permission."
"Jean?"
Paimon asks, as she gently floats next to Lumine.
"Yep. She's the Acting Grand Master of the Knights of Favonius."
"'Acting'? What happened to the real Grand Master?"
"Grand Master Varka went on an expedition some time ago and brought the majority of the knights with him, so Jean will be assuming his position until his return."
"Oooh! This Jean must be very impressive if she can replace the grand master, huh?"
In the midst of their conversation, the skies suddenly went dark, and the wind surrounding Mondstadt started to pick up.
Roar!
Towards the horizon, an azure six-winged dragon with two horns reminiscent of a goat on its head, and a long tail covered in bird-like feathers was flying closer towards the city.
Dvalin has come once again to remind Mondstadt why he earned the moniker Stormterror.
"Come on, get inside and take shelter!"
While the four of us were trying to get away, Dvalin unleashed the most devastating attack he has to date. Under its manipulation, several tornadoes were formed all around Mondstadt, with one being particularly close to where we are.
Unfortunately for Lumine and Paimon, they were swept away,
"Lumine! Paimon!"
'Okay, so far everything is according to the script. Now I just have to–'
Suddenly, I felt myself being lifted off the ground without my consent
"Yuu!"
'Well, shit. Things have officially gone off script. Sometimes I forget that this is no longer a game. I'll have to fix that.'
I hurriedly surrounded myself with a ball of anemo in order to protect myself.
'Oh god, I'm getting sick with all this spinning.'
Thankfully, I was soon ejected from the tornado towards the skies. As if going through a barrier, the skies up here are as clear as can be. Exiting the ball of anemo, I took stock of my surroundings and started flying. Just a bit farther to my right I can see both Lumine, with Paimon clutching her back for dear life.
"Lumine! Paimon!"
"Yuu! Over here!"
Flying my way over, I carefully floated next to them.
"Huh, you really can fly."
"Didn't I already say I can? Speaking of which, how are you flying?"
/I'm preventing her fall with the power of a thousand winds./
"Who's there?!"
"Barbatos, most likely."
/That's correct, traveler. For now, please concentrate. Feel the winds, and harness their energy. This should stop Dvalin for now./
'It would've been better if the femboy speaking to us was more female than boy.'
Suddenly, I feel the surrounding anemo energy begin to congregate towards us. Compared to the energy I felt surrounding the tree in Windrise, the ones around us are a lot more abundant. Controlling them is much easier, and I can feel that their power is a lot more potent.
Focusing her mind, Lumine extended her hand towards Dvalin and began shooting numerous anemo bullets at it. I, on the other hand, imagined condensing as much of the congregating anemo energy as possible into a single powerful wind blade and releasing it after.
'No idea whether that's more effective or not. Where's the health bar when you need one?'
The battle continued for a while, with both me and Lumine trying our best to follow Dvalin's flight path and shoot it down, while Paimon is–
"Can't this thing go down already?!"
"Maybe it would if you give us some help!"
"Help?! What is Paimon supposed to do?! That thing is huge!"
"Be a bait or something! At least we'll know where he'll be flying to next!"
"Bait?! Did you just tell Paimon to be a bait?! Lumine! This white mask is bullying Paimon!"
"Not now Paimon!"
Finally, after what seemed like forever, Dvalin let out a final roar and flew away from the city.
"It's finally over."
"Phew! That was dangerous. Nice work you two!"
"Tch, this flying midget."
I cursed under my breath. The audacity of this so-called best guide.
"What was that?! Midget?! Lumine! Get a little closer to white mask so Paimon can beat him up!"
"How about we make sure we're actually on the ground first? You can fight him to your heart's content later."
Lumine, who was exasperated by our antics, slowly made her way back down with Paimon still clutching the back of her clothes, with me following not far behind them.
The three of us slowly made our way back to the plaza where Barbatos' statue stood.
'Alright, that wasn't so bad–'
"You listen here, mister! Paimon is not a midget! Paimon's just…vertically challenged. Yeah, Paimon's just vertically challenged!"
'Wow, she knows what vertically challenged means.'
"Hmph! How dare you mock Paimon! Paimon will make sure that you'll be shorter than her in no time!"
She said, as she stomped her little foot at my hat.
"Can't you do something about this guide of yours, Lumine?"
"What? Don't look at me, you started this."
'I see that smirk you're so desperately holding back you little shit.'
"Yuu! Lumine! Paimon! Are you guys okay?!"
After spotting us in front of the statue, Amber practically sprints towards us, frantically checking our conditions.
"Did you get hurt?!"
"No Amber, we're fine. Right, Lumine?"
"Yeah. Don't worry Amber, we're okay."
Only after she confirmed my words did she let out a sigh of relief.
"Impressive, the two of you managed to go against the dragon and even drove it away."
Approaching us is a tall man with a tanned complexion. He wears a white-collard outfit that exposes his chest, adorned with a cape and a fur collar. His shoulder-length navy blue hair went all the way to his shoulder, somewhat covering the eyepatch on his left eye. He wears dark tight-fitted trousers with a cryo vision hanging on the left side of his belt.
"I wonder, are the two of you allies, or are you a new storm?"
Slowly clapping his hand with a thin smile on his face is none other than the Cavalry Captain of the Knights of Favonius, Kaeya.
'Oh how I want to wipe that irritating smile off his face.'