"Huh…!" Amber was shocked.
Earlier, when she was trying out the elemental skill, someone had mentioned that Razors elemental skill was similar to Lisa's, she didn't expect there to be a real connection between the two, Amber wanted to ask Lisa for more information about this wolf boy, but when she saw Lisa deep and thought she dismissed the idea, It was common knowledge among the night, not to disturb Lisa when she was serious or in deep thought.
…
" it looks like the tavern has had a lot less customers lately, Is it because of the dragon influence?" in The Angels' Share Tavern, Diluc came to the bar, prepared himself a glass of grape juice and asked Charles the bartender.
" master Diluc, do you not yet know? There is a gaming Café at the end of the street and all the young people in Mondstadt have been flocking to it." Charles replied.
Diluc Was taken slightly back, He had just come from the dawn winery and had been investing the activities of the abyss order within Mondstadt, so he was currently unaware of the changes in the city.
"A gaming cafe, what's a special about it?"
" well I can't quite explain it, really need to experience it for yourself. It is rather mysterious and even the knights of Favonius I've been keeping an eye on it." Charles said
Diluc nodded " I understand. Thank you for the information Charles."
Charles advised " sir, I'd recommend you go a bit later it's gonna be crowded right now and you might not be able to find an empty seat."
Diluc Who is in the middle of putting on his gloves, paused for a moment, 'was it truly that popular?'.
…
It wasn't until around 1 am the players in the gaming cafe began to leave one by one, before departing many of them, eagerly discussed various aspects of the game with their fellow gamers and made plans to meet up again after work tomorrow.
After seeing a last customer, Eula sat behind the bar and let it along sigh at first, she thought this job was going to be easy, but she had been working from noon till now a full 13 hour shift.
Before sitting on one of the barstools, you'll pour yourself a glass of tropical juice, since she had it when she was drunk, she could not forget the test, especially when it was served with ice without it's It outshined any other fruit drink she ever had.
This was also a kind of solace during work. Taylor had promised her that she could freely enjoy drinks from this "automatic beverage maker" as he called it. An employee privilege, he said.
After tidying up her attire a bit, Eula decided she would wear a more professional outfit for tomorrow, Since she had decided she would take on this job, She was determined to do it to the highest of standards.
When she was serving drinks to all the customers, they would subconsciously say " thank you" to her, which made Eula feel a type of respect that she had never experienced before, even while she was a member of the Knights of Favonius she had to deal with many harsh weather conditions, and fierce monsters every day, but no one ever thanked her for it.
But on her first day of working here, she had been receiving so much gratitude. It made Eula feel very happy amidst all the exhaustion.
She felt even more grateful to Taylor for giving her this job.
At that moment, Taylor walked out of the rim, holding big tablet under his arm. " Sir, what's this? new phone?"
Taylor smiled and replied, " in a way." he then fixed it onto the wall near the entrance.
On the screen was the activation Interface for members accounts.
"In the future, let the players log into there accounts here and will tell you how much time to play they have left, You just need to handle the payments and the game duration will be directly reflected in their account info."
Hearing Taylor's explanation of this new function Eula couldn't help but express her amazement, this would eliminate the need to manually calculate the remaining playtime of every player making her job much easier.
"Sir, are you an inventor?"
" in a way, I suppose."
"…"
Although they haven't spent much time together, Eula had gained a somewhat understanding of Taylor, despite being mysterious in many ways, he had an easy-going personality and was generous to those who worked with him.
"So how was are profits today?"
"Please come take a look."
Under the counter, there was a drawer filled with glistening Mora.
"All the Mora adds up to just over 1 million."
When Eula first started collecting Mora she was constantly amazed by how much was being made, but is more and more players came in, She started to get numb to it She realised it would take her a long time to accumulate this much mora on her own, but Taylor had earned this much in just one day, Eula felt nothing but admiration for Taylor.
It was impressive that he wasn't showing much excitement on his face upon seeing so much mora, A small smile still appeared on Taylor's lips the situation was entirely within his expectations, charging hourly use for the phones, and in the future computers terminals was only the first step, this way of making money still had its limits, and once all the customers bought a membership there would be a period of stagnation, After all, the real source of income would be the In-game "recharge", he was certain that the players would discovered this feature soon and the alert of spending money and game was not something anyone could resist forever.
"Well then sir, see you tomorrow."
"Eula just call me Taylor when you're off work."
"Ok Taylor." Eula said with a enchanting smile on her lips.
Although Taylor offered her free meals and accommodation Eula was more accustomed to returning to her own room, Taylor nodded and watched Eula leave, before leaving Eula had already cleaned all the tables and chairs, so the hygiene and cleanliness was not of concern, It seemed like the people of Mondstadt we're not accustomed to staying up late into the night, Taylor was considering whether it was necessary to operate his place 24/7 or if he could take some time off at night, however, there were some more important matters of hand right now.
Taylor's gaze fell to the drawer, filled with Mora, he intends to use this 1 million more for an epic level lottery.
…
(Whoosh*)
[congratulations you have obtained… "gem of conquest" with out any drawbacks]
[do you wish to extract immediately]
Looking out the illusionary purple gem in front of him Taylor couldn't help but let out a sigh, an epic level lottery was indeed worth 1 million mora, even allowed him to draw a character item from the Honkai impact universe just like in the Genshin Impact universe.
The gem gave the ability in simplest terms, the control of electromagnetism, which also gave him absolute control over thunder and lightning, from a certain perspective, it was similar to the power of the electro Archon, however it's upper limit was many times higher than that of the Archon.
Taylor gave confirmation after all what he wanted, was the power to be able to walk in this world unimpeded, and this reward was exactly what you had hoped for.
"Confirm."
In an instance, the illusionary purple gem turned real.
This is the conquest gem, It's symbolises the power of the Herrscher of thunder, Taylor didn't hesitate to directly grabbed it.
…
The night sky was suddenly filled with lightning all around Mondstadt, It has been a clear sky during the day and was even still clear mere moments ago, but now all of a sudden there was thunder and lightning all round making the people marvel at the Weathers unpredictability, in a rugged mountainous area, a giant dragon had crouched below a cliff, seeking shelter from the sudden thunderstorm, such harsh weather was rare in Mondstadt and the dragon was not afraid of natural thunderstorms, however, within this thunderstorm there seemed to be a very powerful pressure that forced it to seek refugee here, I know was this invisible pressure that also suppress the corrosive power within the dragon, allowing it a brief moment of clarity and relief, you could even see the bit of clarity in the dragons clouded eyes.
It was at this moment, the greenlight appeared before the dragon and Venti's figure emerged from within the greenlight.
"ROAR…" the dragon had instinctively sent something very familiar but then a cryo attack struck where Venti was standing. The dragon seem to be startled in this moment, Immediately started flapping its wings, causing a fierce wind to sweep throughout the mountainside.
In such a situation Venti didn't have a chance to communicate with Dvalin. He looked towards the mountain top where he saw an abyss mage swinging it's staff, while chanting an ancient incantation, he had no choice, but to temporarily withdraw, fortunately he had already managed to track Dvalin's whereabouts so continuing to follow may provide him an opportunity.
…
" The weather has been a bit strange…" Diluc Looked up to the night sky they just a moment ago it was so densely clouded with thunderclouds giving the impression that a lightning storm was imminent, but now just as quickly as they came, the clouds dispersed, showing the clear starry sky above, he worried that could be an omen.
Diluc shook his head right now he had other things to do, however just as he was turning the corner about to reach the gaming café he almost collided with a man coming in the opposite direction.
" I wondered if he else was coming here, turns out it was you brother" the man spoke and amused tone.
"Kaeya weren't you supposed to be out on a mission outside the city? Don't tell me you have come to this gaming café too."
The person in front of them was the seemingly oh so innocent Kaeya.
" You are quite well informed brother… compared to the monsters outside the city, I'm much more interested in mysterious store."
"It seems that this is one of the very rare times we feel the same way."
After a brief exchange with each other, the two silently made their way inside the store without mentioning why they had arrived at the store so late at night.
" Welcome, dear customers"
The young shopkeeper welcomed them when they walked in the door inside, there were rows of clean and tidy tables and seats and at this late hour there was no other customers, Diluc's expression was slightly startled. He had casually glanced over to the shopkeeper earlier, and seemed to see lightning interwoven all around his body, but when he looked back again, everything appeared perfectly normal.
Perhaps it was due to the lightning that he was feeling a bit dazzled…
" let's recharge 100,000 mora each" Diluc said upon seeing the promotional sign.
Kaeya did the same both of them now having a balance of 150,000 mora on their accounts.
" From now, on the both of you are members of my gaming café."
Under Taylor's guidance, they activated their accounts, using the latest membership activation system, and then choose their seats to start playing.
Taylor had not expected them to arrive so late just after obtaining the power of the Herrscher of thunder he couldn't completely control the immense power, and it caused an anomaly in the sky is over Mondstadt, fortunately, Taylor managed to quickly contain it The feeling was somewhat like wearing a winter coat in the middle of summer quite sniffling, however, Taylor needed to come himself dying, he needs to be able to harness the power of the gem not to be controlled by it, after sometime, he had finally managed to control that unruly feeling, then stretched his body, the feeling of advancement in both his body, and soul and the elevation of his life level, indeed, brought a tremendous feeling of euphoria, before he had felt a little bit tired, but now he was so full of energy and all his senses were unbelievably sharp he had never felt so good before.
Taylor prepared one glass of wine and one glass of grape juice, and place them on Kaeya and Diluc tables respectively.
"Thanks sir," Kaeya said with a smile. " I heard of a character in this game that looks like me, tell me can I charge some appearance fees?"
Before Taylor could say anything Kaeya chuckled, "haha, just kidding, I'm honoured to be able to appear as a character in this [mobile game]."
===
The Long night stretched on but for the two in the gaming café it didn't feel long at all, both of them are very intelligent individuals and after going through some of the game tutorials, they became quickly familiar with the gameplay, unlike the ordinary players both Diluc and Kaeya quickly realise the enormous amount of hidden information within the game, and its references to reality while advancing the storyline.
Especially for Kaeya he had originally become interested in this place because of Jean and Lisa's remarks, and after experiencing it firsthand, he understood why they valued this mobile game so much.
The progress of the two in advancing the storyline was similar and they would sometimes exchange a few whispered words from time to time, when it came to clearing the four wind's temples Kaeya's eyes narrowed because, not long ago, he had personally cleared the temple of the Falcon and the way he cleared the temple in the game was a perfect match to how he did it in reality, it could be sent this mobile game was another "real world" with just a faster time flow, The only obvious difference was that in the real Teyvat these hilichurl's actions wouldn't be a sluggish and defeating them wasn't gonna be as easy as in game, however, the critical elements had all been faithfully reproduced.
After clearing the temple, they both acquired the character "Kaeya".
Diluc Open the character, attribute panel and looked at Kaeya's character.
"Oh my, are you interested in my appearance? To be honest, I think the creator did a really great job in perfectly reproducing my cavalry captain style."
" Especially that [Freeze!] line, heh, It sounds great, I might try next time when I'm using my elemental powers." Kaeya remarked
Diluc shook his head Slightly and opened Kaeya's talent interface.
" Interesting, here your normal attack is named [ceremonial bladework] which make it seem to be more of a ceremonial and performance based swordsmanship, it seems that the owner is hinting to your hidden background." Diluc explained
Kaeya paused for but a moment and then sighed. " You pay quite a low attention to the small details don't you?"
" This mobile game is than worth it" Diluc replied
Behind the front desk, Taylor with his heightened senses overheard their entire conversation, he smiled without concern, in the original game, there were many character-specific voice lines and stories, but Taylor removed all of them except the birthday lines, he preferred to keep all those little secrets to himself, as revealing them could cause mass confusion and panic, nevertheless, there was still a great many aspects of the game with exploring, and Taylor believed that Diluc and Kaeya could see that.
…
"Look, you are on the screen" Kaeya pointed to the screen, where Diluc was currently beating up an abyss mage, Diluc's expression remaining indifferent, but a faint glint his eyes hinted that he was not as calm as he appeared.
Indeed, he had been investigating the abyss order recently, but this was something only he should know about. "Kaeya don't you find it strange in the storyline of this mobile game, everything aligns pretty close to reality, as if the person who designed it knows everything as if they're looking down on everything from a god's perspective".
Kaeya pondered for moments, not revealing as thoughts, and then said. " if you want to test him, I won't stop you."
Diluc's expression changed after appearing in the game, storyline himself he did have a strong urge to test The strength of this owner, however, Kaeya seem to know something.
After some contemplation Diluc asked. " Has someone already done so before?"
" You should know Lisa's abilities, right?" Kaeya lowered his voice and continued, " she tried once before, but couldn't discern anything."
Diluc's eyes revelled in sudden realisation, no result is also some kind of result, The owners power was probably beyond that of a mere "mortal".
"Could he be… is he the long-lost Anemo Archon, Barbatos…" Diluc speculated, if that were the case, everything would make sense, creating and developing a mobile game offered a perfect recreation of Mondstadt for its citizens, and Hidden layers of information within, it wasn't that difficult to understand after all, he was the God of Mondstadt i'm probably headed the deepest understanding of this land, the Anemo Archon might be trying to guide the current people on how to deal with the impending dragons disaster and save Mondstadt.
Diluc and Kaeya exchanged a confirming look, evidently, this was also Kaeya's conjecture, Diluc glanced over at Taylor behind the Front desk he was reclining on his chair, pretending to sleep.
With the speculation that they are just discussed, the faint curve of the corner of Taylor's mouth now seemed to process a profound significance. Diluc reached for the grape juice on the table and took a sip The taste was exceptionally sweet leaving a fruity aftertaste. It was no less superior than the fruit drinks he had produced in his vineyard. Perhaps only the anemo archon could produce such a amazing fruit drink over the long years of life.
…
…
The hope of resolving the dragon crisis lines within this game storyline, with this thought in mind Diluc and Kaeya focused their efforts on advancing the plot they cleared the other two temples, and the storm surrounding Mondstadt finally dissipated.
During this process, they gradually gain some understanding of the games combat mechanics. They learned how to gauge the strength of their tanks through the numerical interactions, Diluc even teased Kaeya saying that his attack on 20 to 30 points of damage, and was no worse than the gentle massage.
Kaeya didn't mind, and believe that his elemental skill and elemental burst were quite powerful in their own right until the two of them continued playing until dawn.
It was evidence that staying up late was nothing new for them and with their constitution as vision (holders/bearer?), an all nighter post no problem for them. Perhaps they felt great enjoyment in the game as they're interactions became more frequent, resembling the times when they used to play together as children. Diluc even displayed a rare smile.
As the morning sunrise, casting, it's warm light into the window Kaeya stretched his body, indicating that he needs to return to his duties at the Knights of Favonius, in the game, they may have cleared, the three temples spin reality only one temple has currently been cleared.
Diluc on the other hand had no intentions on leaving he was currently immersed in Kaeya's story quest, and after completing it, he could increase his adventure rank to 10 to continue the main storyline quests.
After Kaeya left The door to the building swung open, and three young individuals entered in quick succession.
"Yesterday The temple of the line was so difficult. I got team wiped several times!"
" Although I got Lisa feels like I can't do enough damage!"
" Today, we must clear the temple of the lion and rescue Mondstadt from the storms grasp!"
The three of them excitedly discussed in-game matters, however, when they saw a very familiar figure, already seated at one of the gaming stations in the hall, they were visibly surprised.
" It's master Diluc!"
"Master Diluc, you're here so early?"
" we never expected to meet the real Master Diluc here…"
It seemed that the threes enthusiastic chatter had bothered Diluc somewhat, his eyebrows lowered slightly, glancing at them and spoke. " are you here to play the mobile game as well? If so find a set, please keep it down."
The three medley knotted like chicks pecking their grain.