"What are you talking about? Klee doesn't understand!"
"Hmm? Nothing, Klee. The person you met a few days ago wasn't the Honorary Knight in front of us, but someone else."
"Eh? But they look so alike... Aren't you Sister Ying?"
"Mhm... Although my name is also Lumine, I'm not the Sister Ying you met a few days ago."
"Eh? Is that so..."
Jean: "Klee, do you know where that Sister Ying lives?"
Klee shook her little head and said, "Sister Ying said she's a wanderer."
Lumine: "Hmm... Then when did Klee and her agree to meet again?"
"Sister Ying said she's busy with something lately and will come to Mondstadt to play with Klee when she's done."
"Mhm, I understand. Thank you, Klee~"
"Hee hee~ You're welcome~ Acting Grand Master Jean, will you take Klee out to play? (๑•̀w•́๑)"
"Eh? Klee, I have some things to handle right now and can't play with you."
"Ah~ Okay then (*￣з￣)"
"Then how about I take Klee out to play?"
"Honorary Knight sister will play with me? Is that okay?"
"Of course it is (^～^)"
"Yay~ Thank you, Honorary Knight sister~"
"Lumine... thank you for being willing to play with Klee."
"It's nothing, Acting Grand Master Jean. Please go handle your business quickly. Besides, Klee is so cute, no one would refuse her~"
Klee: "Hee hee hee~"
Jean: "Mhm... we'll leave her identity to the Knights to investigate. Lumine, you should rest well for these few days."
"Okay, thank you, Acting Grand Master Jean."
"Mhm mhm, Honorary Knight sister, let's go then~"
"Ah?! Klee, slow down! Σ(っ°Д°)っ"
Time passed by a few days...
"Oh my goodness... Why is the Domain of the Wind so far from Wolvendom? (╥﹏╥)"
"Host, think on the bright side. The further away it is, the more experience you'll get from the treasure chests you find along the way~"
"But the Hilichurl camps I've encountered on the way are increasingly filled with Mitachurls! Although my combat power has improved significantly, and I might have a chance if I fight one alone, there are also many smaller Hilichurls and Slime Launchers harassing me..."
"So, Host, you need to keep working hard to get stronger~"
"Sigh~ I'll take it slow. But I'm running out of meat I've scavenged, and it's troublesome to find a Hilichurl camp with a fire every day to roast meat... I really wish I had Pyro elemental power... (￣⊿￣)"
"Host, just thinking about it is enough. They haven't appeared in the game yet, so how can they give it to you?"
"Mmm..."
Another period of time passed...
"Finally, I'm nearby~ If I remember correctly, this is a mandatory path in the storyline. But arriving this early, I shouldn't encounter their main force, right? Still, just in case, I'll use the binoculars to check..."
"Mmm... There's a lone Mitachurl at the entrance. The area behind it is out of sight due to a corner, but judging by the number of campfires in the sky, there should be at least three checkpoints."
"What does the Host plan to do?"
"Heh heh~ Of course, I'll charge straight through! I'll test my combat power on that lone Mitachurl first! Oh, by the way, how many Primogems do I have now, System?"
"Shrine + waypoints + treasure chests + what was left from before, a total of 620 Primogems, dear."
"Nearly four pulls... Use them all, give me something good!"
"Alrighty then... Congratulations, Host, you've obtained the Prototype Rancour x3."
"Erm... Is this a scam?! Seriously, no purple drops within ten pulls!"
"Host, don't be discouraged~"
"Sigh... Speaking of which, can these four Prototype Rancours be refined?"
"The Host is correct."
"Do I need a crafting bench?"
"The system can help you with that. You only need a crafting bench when upgrading with ores."
"Phew~ That's good... Then please refine all four of these for me."
"Received~"
As if on cue, three Prototype Rancours from the inventory flew out of space and hovered in the air, gradually transforming into specks of light that flowed into the Prototype Rancour in Lumine's hand...
"Wow~ That's so cool! Holding this sword, I feel like my spirit and energy have completely changed! (✪⥎✪）"
"Hmph, that's why you should always look on the bright side. It's quite rare to get three identical swords consecutively."
"Mhm mhm mhm! Alright, let's attack! Now I feel completely confident! (*˘︶˘*)"
As soon as she finished speaking, Lumine charged forward. Upon making contact, she swung her sword at the Mitachurl, who was still lying on the ground.
The Mitachurl immediately cried out in pain, quickly picked up its axe, and swung it down at Lumine.
However, the wind-up for this axe swing was a bit too long. Lumine easily dodged to the side and swung her sword again, followed by a Wind Blade to reduce its poise.
"As expected, it's quite tough. If this set of attacks hit a Hilichurl, they would have turned to ashes already, but this guy acts like nothing happened."
Seeing that its continuous axe swings missed Lumine, the Mitachurl dug into the ground and pulled out a Pyro Slime, attaching Pyro to its axe before throwing the Slime at Lumine.
"Whoa, how did you pull a Pyro Slime out of the ground from nowhere?!"
Lumine quickly ran to the side to dodge the explosion. However, the Mitachurl took the opportunity to close in and swung its axe diagonally at her.
Lumine dared not block it head-on and quickly bent over, performing a backflip to narrowly dodge the attack. But before she could counter, the Mitachurl swung down vertically again.
Lumine retreated two steps again, narrowly dodging the blow. Just as she was about to counter, three flames suddenly erupted from beneath her feet. Before Lumine could react, she was launched into the air.
Seeing this, the Mitachurl immediately leaped up and swung its axe down at Lumine.
In mid-air, Lumine realized she couldn't adjust her body much and had to block the attack with her Prototype Rancour, preparing to take the blow head-on.
With a loud "clang!", a tremendous force surged through Lumine's arm.
As soon as she made contact, Lumine realized she couldn't block the attack and quickly swung her sword with all her might. Just before hitting the ground, she managed to make the Mitachurl's axe hit the ground at the very last moment. However, the immense shockwave still sent Lumine flying back.
"Whoa! I still underestimated you..."
Lumine quickly got up, adjusted her stance, and attacked again, skillfully dodging and counter-attacking during the Mitachurl's long attack wind-ups.
Sensing that the situation was not going well, the Mitachurl tried to counter with a "great windmill" attack, but its poise was already depleted, allowing Lumine to easily interrupt it with a Wind Blade.
"Farewell!" Lumine leaped into the air using the Mitachurl's body and delivered the final blow with a Rising Dragon strike.
"Phew~ It was a bit easier than I expected. Fortunately, this guy was clumsy and didn't use his skills right away, letting me chip away at his poise like this."
"The Host is getting stronger and stronger. Although still far behind those who tear robots apart with their bare hands~"
"Uh... Acting Grand Master Jean is the Acting Grand Master of Mondstadt, after all. It's normal for her combat power to be stronger than mine."
"Mhm... That makes sense."
"Isn't that obvious? Anyway, let's keep going~"
Lumine aggressively advanced, breaking through several minor checkpoints (small Hilichurl squads~) and two major checkpoints (large Hilichurl squads~), finally reaching the last location.