'It's been a while since I properly trained my elemental control.'
Disregarding the past few days, ever since I fell into a comfortable rhythm of day-to-day adventuring, I've been too focused on getting as much Mora as possible that I've neglected practice.
Sure there were the occasional flight practice, but other than the continuous levitation to increase my air time, there was little else that I've tried.
'I'm stagnating. That's not good.'
Even my combat arsenal is not much different than the Wanderer's kit. This world is not a game, therefore I should have the freedom to create my own moves, should I choose to do so.
'I should find some time after this entire Mondstadt debacle is over.'
Though who knows how long that will actually take? I might have to start improvising more during combat, and even that shouldn't be done carelessly. Wouldn't want to kill myself for trying to come up with something new.
'The inevitable combat in the domain should provide a great testing environment. Should anything go wrong, Lisa would be there to cover for me.'
Mulling over my decision, I open the door towards Good Hunter and find three familiar faces sitting together on the same table as before I left for the headquarters.
"Yuu! How was the meeting with Jean?" Amber asked, alerting the other two on the table of my presence.
"It went well. We've managed to reach an agreement," I replied, taking a seat next to Lumine while briefly explaining the meeting I just had with Jean to the others.
"I see. I guess you'll be in my care for today, Lumine!" balling up her hands to a fist, she put on a determined face. "I'll be getting ready now, you three should go on ahead!" with a skid of her chair, she hastily makes her way outside, not forgetting to wave her hand goodbye.
Grabbing my water flask and taking a few sips, I stood up before turning towards Lumine, "Now that that's out of the way, we should get you registered to the Adventurer's Guild."
"Sure thing."
After making a wind barrier around us, we make our way down the stone steps towards the guild.
Wearing her unchanging uniform, Katheryne greets me as I approach her, "Good morning Mr. Yuu. Will you be taking any commissions?"
"Not today, Katheryne. Please help my friend here register as an adventurer."
"Of course, Mr. Yuu. I'm sure the branch master would be delighted to have yet another capable adventurer in Mondstadt."
While Katheryne is preparing the necessary documents, Lumine, with a confused expression on her face, turns towards me, "How would she know whether or not I'm capable?"
"The adventurer's guild has their own intelligence department. And any information about you," I pointed towards the busy Katheryne, "will be sent to her. Mostly information through word of mouth though, so you don't have to worry about being actively spied on or anything."
"Paimon still thinks it's kind of scary though," floating close to Lumine's head, Paimon gave her two cents.
"Well, it's kinda necessary. At least in this city, since there are not many adventurers, the branch master, Cyrus, is getting pretty desperate, and in turn, the intelligence department is a lot more active when it comes to gathering info for potential newcomers."
After taking a sip out of my flask, I moved closer to the two of them, "Besides," I continued my explanation in a whisper, "since Cyrus has been going on a recruitment spree, the usual test for aspiring adventurers was pretty much gone, that's why I've been trying to get you to register as soon as possible."
"Why, is it hard?"
"Well… let's just say that with him being the branch master of the adventurers guild and a senior adventurer, Cyrus' standard is a bit too high. Even with the whole Stormterror thing going on, he wouldn't change his mind. Don't tell anyone I said that though."
At that moment, Katheryne placed the registration document on the table."Here you go, Ms. Lumine, all you have to do is fill this in and you're good to go."
'Now that I think about it, can she even read the Teyvat script?'
Judging by the pleading look she's sending towards me, that's probably a no. "Don't look at me, I can't read them either."
Surprisingly, or maybe not so surprisingly, the one that came to her rescue is none other than the usually unreliable Paimon.
After helping her with her documents, Lumine was given her adventurer's identification and after what looks like Katheryne's sales pitch, judging by how she keeps pointing towards the adjacent shop, she makes her way back to me.
"You know, I would appreciate a little bit of help there," she said, clearly miffed. Her pouting face will always be a sight to see.
"How am I supposed to know you can't read or write?"
Not having a comeback to my statement, Lumine let out a sigh.
"Well Paimon, I guess I'll be needing your help on this one."
"Don't worry Lumine, Paimon will make sure that you'll be capable of reading and writing in no time!"
Raising my hand, I ask Paimon "Can I join you guys? I've been learning by myself for two weeks and I feel like I haven't made any progress."
"Hmm… Paimon feels like it will be difficult, white mask. Paimon will probably have her hands full with Lumine."
Seeing that hint of mischief in her small eyes, I knew exactly what she wants
"I see. I was thinking of treating the three of us for some food to eat together whenever we finished learning, but I guess it's a no go huh?"
"Hehe, why don't you say that from the start, white mask? Now Paimon is feeling very motivated!" she said as her entire body vibrates with excitement.
And so the three of us relaxed under the small awning of the shop, waiting for the rest of the participants of this operation to come.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
After a fair bit of waiting, we saw Kaeya, Lisa, and Amber making their way towards the city gate.
Gently nudging Lumine's shoulder, I nod my head towards their direction.
Checking the contents of my bag once again, I made my way towards the three of them with Lumine and Paimon following next to me.
Seeing the three of us approaching, the cavalry captain greets us with the same thin smile plastered on his face.
"It's nice to see the three of you all ready to go. This matter is urgent so let's do some short briefing along the way."
Seeing that none of us objected, Kaeya continued.
"Amber told me that Yuu already shared the basic rundown with you, Lumine, so I will not be repeating that. There is, however, a slight change of plan." After taking a brief pause to make sure we understand, he continued, "Lumine, after you and Amber finished dealing with Temple of the Falcon, please make your way to the Temple of the Wolf posthaste."
"The temple you'll be going to? Do you need assistance?"
Rubbing the base of his chin, Kaeya replied, "I would like to say no, but given the importance of this matter, you can never be too careful. Besides, it's Jean's order, so who am I to question her?"
Hearing the cavalry captain's explanation, Lumine nods in understanding. "I see." Looking towards Amber's direction and receiving a nod in return, she continued, "In that case, we will make sure to try and finish as fast as possible."
"Good. However, make sure to be thorough. Though it's good if you're quick about it, it will be pointless if Stormterror's power source is not dealt with properly."
Passing the bridge into a crossroad, Kaeya, Amber, Lumine, and Paimon went straight, while Lisa and I turned right towards Temple of the Lion.
The walk towards the domain was quiet. Well, Lisa is walking, while I decide to float the rest of the way. None of us tried to start any kind of conversation, with me not capable of doing small talks, while Lisa is… well who knows what's going on in that big brain of hers.
Maybe she's too busy thinking about what we might face, maybe deep down she's worried about the city she left behind. Or maybe she just can't wait to go back to that library of hers so she could continue to laze around.
'Yeah, that last one seems like something she'd sorely miss right about now. Touching grass is probably the bane of her existence.'
While the journey was quite long, it was relatively uneventful. Unlike the dark skies within Mondstadt, the outside is nothing but clear skies all around.
With nothing to do, I spent the rest of the way admiring the scenery. While it has been a while since I was in this world, I never really spend that much time properly admiring the scenery around me.
The sprawling field surrounding the giant oak tree of Windrise to my left, walking in between two cliffs towards the temple, and finally, when the two of us finally reached our destination, the sight of the beautiful white sand of Falcon Coast below us is nothing short of breathtaking.
'I wonder how beautiful the other places are? The stone forest of Liyue, the paradisiacal Watatsumi Island of Inazuma, or even the divine tree in which the city of Sumeru is built upon?'
Losing myself at the thought of it all, I felt a nudge on my shoulder breaking me from my reverie.
"Come now, Mr. Yuu, you can enjoy the sights in your own time. For now, we have a mission to do."
Nodding my head in understanding, I face myself towards the entrance of the temple.
If memory serves, there shouldn't be much of a danger within the temple itself, which is strange, considering this entire thing was basically a plot of the Abyss Order. I should probably expect some mages at the very least.
'Who knows, if my luck is bad enough, maybe a lector will show up.'
Surely, my luck wouldn't be that bad right?