Ch 21 (lumine and Paimon arrived in Mondstadt)

"I... I've always believed in your existence!"

"May I entrust my friend's soul to you?"

Everything around them became extremely dreamlike at this moment. As if they were in a dream. Hans hesitated for a moment but eventually placed his hand in the palm extended by Venti.

In an instant, radiance intertwined. In Hans' view, the person before him was unmistakably Stanley, dressed as an adventurer with scars all over his body.

That friend of his, the legendary adventurer who died in the Jueyun Karst while trying to save him. Stanley gave him a slight smile and nodded. Although he didn't say anything, everything was understood without words.

Then, accompanied by a gentle breeze, Stanley's soul gradually dissipated, blown into the sky. Hans subconsciously tried to grab hold of Stanley's figure, but he couldn't grasp anything. However, he didn't feel disappointed, but rather showed a sense of relief. He watched as Stanley's soul ascended into the sky.

"It's... really incredible..."

"Thank you... thank you, Lord Barbatos."

"I'm sorry, I still need some time to adjust my mood."

"But I think I'll be fine."

Hans placed his hand on his chest, speaking calmly. It was clear that he had finally let go of his burdens. His recovery from here on was only a matter of time.

"Yeah, that's great! Stanley has found his true self, and Jack has become self-reliant."

"So many good things have happened, it's worth celebrating with a drink!"

Now, Venti had returned to his usual self. The divine aura from before and his current lively and witty demeanor made it hard to tell which one was the real Venti.

Or perhaps, both of these states were the essence of Venti.

"But the drinks here are too expensive. Jack owes me a bottle of wine. I'll go find him for it, and let's meet up at the 'usual place' later!"

After saying that, Venti quickly left. The scene had reached this point, and Lisa, in front of the screen, took a deep breath.

Throughout this segment of the story, none of them had said a word, all earnestly watching this tale of Stanley.

They didn't expect such a twist at the end of the story.

Venti also revealed her gentlest side as the Anemo Archon when dealing with her people.

It had to be admitted that in this story segment, Barbatos, the Windborne Bard, had acted in a way that was deeply moving, beyond words.

Even Lisa was slightly moved.

Not to mention the group of young people watching behind her.

The three players who had come together were already in tears, and Eileen was even shedding tears.

"Sob sob sob, Lord Barbatos, I've always believed in your existence!"

"Mr. Stanley... Lord Barbatos, sob..."

"Lord Venti is really too gentle..."

Several people were crying uncontrollably.

The surrounding players were all drawn to their unusual behavior.

"Hey hey, what's going on?"

"Don't cry, don't cry, it's not worth crying even if we can't beat the boss!"

"It's not a boss; it's Lord Barbatos, sob..."

"Young man, it's alright. Even if you got unlucky with your wishes, Jean and Diluc are strong characters."

"It's not about wishes..."

Surrounding them, quite a few people had gathered. With the players' comforting words, the emotions of the few individuals gradually calmed down.

At the same time, they learned the reason why these few people were moved to tears.

"A legendary mission? Ah, I can't believe I'm just finding out now!"

"By the way, is this mission really that intense? My emotions are quite fragile, and I'm a bit afraid to start it."

"Venti's legendary mission... I'm afraid that after completing it, I won't be able to resist wishing for Venti with all my Primogems!"

"Takumi, the boss, is up to no good! He's even created legendary quests for characters to make us spend more."

"My goodness! There are legendary missions for Captain Jean, Lord Diluc, and even Klee, the Spark Knight?"

"I have a feeling that Takumi has more in store. The release of the limited character Venti is just the beginning; there will be more new characters coming!"

....

In the game hall, players were almost frenzied.

The last time they had such fervent discussions was when they discovered the Wishing system.

This time, the legendary missions had once again driven the game's storyline to a climax.

"Is this mission almost over?" Lisa sighed softly.

As Venti's legendary mission, it was indeed crafted with great care.

However, the mission hadn't ended yet, and Venti had arranged to meet the Traveler at the 'usual place.'

Without hesitation, Lisa teleported to Windrise.

However, she went around the enormous tree but couldn't find Venti anywhere. Lisa lightly tapped her forehead, realizing that she had made a hasty assumption.

Returning to the statue plaza, the place where she first met Venti. From a distance, she could see Venti sitting alone on the palm of the statue's outstretched hand, gazing into the distance. After some effort, she climbed to the top of the statue.

Venti turned around and greeted her, "Finally, you're here."

"It was really hard to find! Next time, don't play such cryptic games!" Paimon complained.

"Heh... I really miss this." Following Venti's gaze,

Beneath their feet was Mondstadt, And in the distance, they could even see Starsnatch Cliff.

"The first time I looked at this view, I wasn't in this form."

"Not in this form?" The Traveler asked in confusion.

"About 2,600 years ago, before the mortal world was governed by the Seven."

"Back then, 'Old Mondstadt' was surrounded by the hurricane unleashed by the tyrant, the Anemo Archon, Decarabian."

"'Old Mondstadt'?" Paimon thought for a moment. "Ah, I remember now, it's what's now known as the Stormterror's Lair, right? You mentioned it before!"

"Yes, the Anemo Archon who once ruled that tall tower was the 'Windborne Bard,' Decarabian."

"And at that time, I was just a wisp of the wind, lacking the status of a god and not yet taking on human form."

"I was just a tiny elemental spirit in the wind, a 'gust of wind that brought small twists of fate and whispers of hope.'"

"Just an elemental spirit? Not in human form? Huh? Venti, weren't you different before?" Paimon asked in amazement.

"Ah, the way I am now, actually resembles that fake Mr. Stanley, borrowed from a '[friend],' you know."

Immediately, the screen went black. A scene similar to the first time I heard Venti play a song appeared. Like illustrations in a picture book, constantly changing with Venti's narration.

"The story I want to tell begins in the '[Old Mondstadt].'"

"In that land ruled by a tyrant, I met a young man..."

"...The young man invited me: '[Come with me—crush the tyrant, tear down the wind walls.]'"

"The young man raised the banner of rebellion, and I also threw myself into the battle for '[freedom]...'"

"In the smoke of battle, we witnessed the demise of the tyrant, and in the ashes, we witnessed the collapse of the high tower."

In the current scene, the war seemed to have already ended. The wind walls around the high tower had been torn apart, revealing the sky and clouds outside.

But in the lower right corner, the young man who led the rebellion lay in the arms of his comrades, pierced by arrows.

venti, who was playing the song, was also shattered and lay aside. Victory in war had been achieved, but it came at a painful cost.

"And so, the beginning of '[New Mondstadt]—"

"From now on, no one will ascend to the throne."

The picture of the song ended.

Paimon widened her eyes and asked, "So, what happened to that friend you mentioned later?"

Clearly, Paimon did not sense the deeper meaning in Venti's tone.

The young man's fate was already easy to imagine. Just like Stanley...

"Paimon, do you want to hear the rest of the story?" Venti asked in a low voice.

"Of course, of course! Don't leave me hanging, tell me!" Paimon urged eagerly.

At this moment, she exhibited almost zero emotional intelligence.

"Paimon, go pick two apples," the Traveler instructed.

"Why do you want to eat apples now?"

Paimon crossed her arms in protest. But there was no choice; under the Traveler's crazed gaze, she reluctantly complied. After Paimon left, Venti let out a sigh of relief.

"Hah... sometimes I feel like you're a bit too clever."

"But, among friends, maybe it's better to have a mutual understanding."

...

"Fine wine, gentle breeze... moments like these always make me can't help but think of..."

"Think of that song I heard from him."

"I'll listen carefully," the Traveler said.

"Soar, soar.

Like a flying bird.

Witness this world for me...

Soar high above on my behalf."

[Chapter of the Songstress, Act 1, If You're Trapped in a Windless Land, Mission Complete.]

...

Under the warm sunlight, Venti strolled casually through Takumi's domain.

He carried a hint of alcohol on him, evidently already a bit tipsy.

With Dvalin's matters resolved, this new era of Mondstadt seemed like a promising one.

"This kind of mood is suitable for performing a song in the square!"

He realized he hadn't performed poetry in the role of a bard for a long time and was becoming impatient.

Venti entered Mondstadt, skillfully making his way to the Statue Plaza.

It was lunchtime, and the square was bustling with people. He should be able to achieve a good effect.

However, before he even started playing, a nun noticed him.

"Ah... Barbatos... No, Lord Venti, you're back!?"

The nun seemed nervous, trying her best to maintain composure.

Venti's smile stiffened.

Before Venti could react, other passersby noticed the situation as well.

"It's Venti!"

"Lord Barbatos, are you going to perform a song about Dvalin?"

"Keep it up, Lord Venti!"

"Lord Venti, I'm your follower!"

Venti: "???"

What's going on? Has my true identity become common knowledge? That day, he did see the scene where Dvalin addressed him by his divine name at the gaming hall.

But Venti didn't expect that in less than two days, it seemed like the whole city knew about it! And every single one of them appeared so familiar with him! At that moment, four young people passed by, each with tear-stained faces, as if they had just cried not long ago.

"Eileen, are you feeling better?"

"Yeah, my emotions have calmed down, but thinking that Venti is also borrowing a friend's appearance to witness this world in his place, it's still a bit overwhelming..."

"Sigh... We never thought that after Mr. Stanley's storyline, there would be Venti's self-narration on the statue. Wuuu, it cut me deep!"

"Calm down, deep breaths. Weren't we crying so embarrassingly at the gaming hall just now?"

"I believe that after experiencing this mission, we've grown. We won't shed tears easily for anything anymore."

"Because we're destined to become the greatest adventurers!"

Suddenly, Eileen noticed something unusual at the plaza's statue.

"Wait a minute, that figure..."

"Could it be..."

"Venti...!?"

One minute later...

Among the onlookers surrounding Venti, four more young people joined. They seemed even more excited than the rest.

Each of them clung to Venti's thighs, crying and shouting:

"Lord Barbatos, I've always believed in your existence!!"

The nun was astonished. She had seen fanatical believers before, but nothing like this.

As for Venti in the center, he was utterly baffled.

He didn't even know how to react to this situation.

...

In the following days, as various character storyline quests were completed by numerous players, Mondstadt experienced an unprecedented wave of excitement.

In Diluc's storyline quest, his identity as the Darknight Hero was fully revealed. The nickname "The Just One" began to circulate widely among players. This directly resulted in Master Diluc not visiting the gaming hall for several days, nor appearing at the "Angel's Share" tavern. However, outside Mondstadt, there were many monster corpses found. Upon inspection, they had been defeated by powerful Pyro elemental attacks.

In contrast, Jean's storyline quest was relatively friendly to her personally. In Act 1 of the Chapter of the Young Lion, titled "A Day Off for the Acting Grand Master," because the residents of Mondstadt entrusted various tasks to Jean, she eventually collapsed at her desk from overwork.

The Traveler took her to the Church of Favonius for emergency treatment and helped with her tasks, mainly involving things like finding cats that had climbed onto rooftops and collecting ingredients.

After receiving emergency treatment from Barbara, Jean, despite her illness, forced herself to go to the Windrise Oak Tree. The Traveler, worried, followed her and discovered a Deep Abyss Mage attempting to take advantage of Acting Grand Master's weakened state. Together with two others, they pursued the mage into a ruin and finally defeated him.

When they returned to Mondstadt, the gatekeeper Swann informed Jean of an event at the "Angel's Share" tavern, where the Knights of Favonius had organized a "Captain Must Visit" party for her.

The overall plot was relatively simple, but it made players realize just how much they relied on Captain Jean.

They had always thought Captain Jean could do anything, to the point where they overlooked the fact that Jean was just an ordinary person.

After completing this quest, Jean's office received many gifts, including flowers and letters of recognition and gratitude, with a 0.3 chance of being mixed with many letters of approval and thanks for Jean.

At the same time, Jean noticed that many of the minor tasks in the city had decreased significantly recently, making her workload much lighter. She was puzzled for a long time.

Later, she learned the reason from Lisa's mouth.

Klee's storyline quest also caused quite a stir. Many players said, "You must pull for your daughter!"

Klee, unaware of this, suddenly gained a large group of "mothers."

On Friday, Venti's limited-time banner had arrived. The new limited-time banner featured "Runaway Sun, Klee!"

Takumi also made an announcement: "Every version will have two half banners, one above and one below."

After the duration of Klee's banner ended, a brand-new version 1.1 was ushered in.

The gaming hall immediately burst into excitement! There were discussions and evaluations of Klee's strength, as well as discussions about the new version. For the players, today was like a festival.

At this moment, outside Mondstadt, a foreign girl and her mysterious flying pet had also arrived at the Seven Days Statue near Starfell Lake.

"I didn't expect that you could gain elemental power just by touching the statue!"

"In this world, obtaining power is definitely not as easy as you."

"Well then! Let's head to Mondstadt ahead. Maybe we'll find clues about the gods there!"

....

"It feels calm and peaceful all the way here."

For Lumine, today was a day worth celebrating because with Paimon guiding her, she had finally entered Mondstadt's territory and was getting closer to Mondstadt City.

There were seven nations on the continent of Teyvat, and it seemed like the City of Freedom, Mondstadt, would be her first stop on her journey.

"Because Mondstadt is a free city, it's full of poetry, fine wine, and delicious food!"

Paimon happily twirled in the air. Just thinking about not having to sleep outdoors and being able to enjoy delicious food made her mouth water.

After passing through vast fields of dandelions outside the city, they finally arrived at the entrance.

"Who goes there!?"

The gatekeeper noticed them from afar.

Paimon was about to step forward to explain, but when the guard saw their appearance, he showed a surprised expression.

"It's the Traveler and Paimon! Well, please come in quickly!"

Both Paimon and Lumine were taken aback.

What's going on?

Why do the guards of Mondstadt City know our names, and why do they seem so familiar?

"Um, guard, do you seem to know us?"

"Hehe, I'm afraid there's no one in the entire city who doesn't know you now. Even those who don't play the game know the name 'Traveler.'"

Lumine and Paimon were both astonished.

"What happened in Mondstadt City until 1.1? It feels strange."