3 Divide And Conquer

Before this begins, I'd like to thank you all for the support of this book. Also, I wanted to say that I may alter a few things around as well as make a few things up for story convenience. Nothing too serious though that would break the whole story though. Anyway, hope you enjoy!

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"Talking"

'Thinking'

[System]

"You are guys are okay!"

Amber was heard shouting in relief as Valorant, Lumine and Paimon all were flying down from the sky back towards the elevated platform, though it was rather difficult since the winds that Stormterror had caused were still quite powerful despite its absence. Amber quickly ran over to them after they had finally landed.

"That was incredible, you guys managed to chase off Stormterror!" Amber praised as she stared at them with a big smile on her face. They could see that she had obviously been worried after they had been up in the sky with the dragon. "The fact that you could even stand on Stormterror like that was amazing, Valorant. You have incredible skills!"

"I couldn't agree more."

The group's attention was soon caught by the sound of an unfamiliar voice as they all turned their heads towards the source of said voice. When they did, they saw a young man probably in his early or mid-twenties walking on over while clapping is hands. He was decently tall with a lean build along with dark skin.

He had a pair of sharp periwinkle eyes as well as navy blue hair that also had some lighter streaks of blue, his hair being rather long and being held into a long ponytail reaching all the way to his waist. He also had on an eyepatch that went over his right eye, along with clothes that consisted of a white fur coat over a white jacket.

He had on a navy shirt as well as a slim pair of navy pants to go with it. Not only that, he was also donning a pair of fingerless gloves that had spiked wristbands, golden earrings, as well as having on a pair of high boots. Just by looking at him, Valorant could see that he was obviously trained. The way he carried himself, while appearing calm, was on guard as well, much like himself.

"You've both got the power to stand up to the dragon, huh? I wonder... are you both newcoming storms, or are you our allies?" The young man voiced as he stopped in front of them. Valorant just kept looking at him with a neutral look as Lumine appeared a bit nervous as she shifted a little closer to Valorant unconsciously. The young man then looked at Valorant and nodded with approval. "Especially you... that strange ability I saw when you were trapped in the dragon's claw."

"K-Kaeya, you're here! Hurry, we all need to-!"

"Hold on a second, Amber. I believe you're forgetting to introduce us."

"O-Oh, right!" Amber blinked in surprise before gesturing towards both Valorant, Paimon and Lumine. Who were all just listening silently. "These three here are all travellers who have come from afar! The blonde is Lumine, the one flying is Paimon, and the male there is Valorant."

'So, is that truly all we know about these three? That they've come from a place far away?' The one known as Kaeya wondered to himself as he looked at the mentioned trio. "It's a pleasure to meet the three of you. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Kaeya, I am the Cavalry Captain of the Knights of Favonius."

"Nice to meet you too." Valorant was the one that said this as the other two just nodded their heads at the captain. Valorant made sure to keep up his guard as while this dude may be apart of the Knights of Favonius or whatever, he knows never to put down his guard, even around allies.

"Kaeya." Amber voiced as said person turned to look at her. "These three have only just arrived here in Mondstadt, I was the one that helped them find their way here. I had met Lumine and Paimon a few minutes before having run into Valorant. Lumine is trying to find her brother, whom she had been separated from. Lumine and Paimon also want to find the Anemo God."

"I understand... welcome to Mondstadt then, travellers. Though you have chosen a rather undesirable time to arrive with the attack and all." Kaeya nodded his head as he had stated this. He then gained a sympathetic look as he looked at Lumine. "It must be terrible to have been separated. I personally know the feeling of anguish upon being separated from family. Though, I am uncertain as to why you are in search of the Anemo God."

'Anemo God?' Valorant wondered as he glanced down at Lumine. He had never heard of this Anemo God before. He had heard of many other gods such as Egyptian Gods, Greek Gods, etc. Though, this was a different world altogether, so it wouldn't be a surprise to know they have their own gods here. 'I wonder who they are anyway...'

"Well, everyone has their secrets. I am in no position to force the information out of you. I won't press on..." Kaeya chuckled as he said this. "Anyway, first and foremost, on the behalf of the Knights of Favonius, I'd like to extend our greatest thanks to the three of you for your assistance with Stormterror just now. So, how about Mondstadt's delicacy, Sticky Honey Roast?"

Paimon then flew right in front of them as she waved her arms around. "Oh~, Oh~! I want some!"

"Hehehe~." Kaeya chuckled in amusement as he heard this. "Your fight to defend our city against Stormterror just now was in no way at all witnessed by a small number of citizens. Many people have seen your acts today in driving off the dragon. Because of this, the Acting Grand Master has grown interested in you. Thus, has wanted attendance with you three by inviting you to our headquarters."

"Acting Grand Master, you mean this Jean person that Amber told about?" Lumine asked curiously as Kaeya nodded his head. Kaeya then turned around and began walking as he then stated. "We should get going now. She wants to meet you as soon as possible, her concerns regarding Stormterror are quite high at the moment."

"Right, let's get going!"

Amber had shouted as Lumine and Valorant nodded at one another as the four of them followed on after Kaeya. As they walked, Kaeya tilted his head back to stare at Valorant as he then spoke. "I couldn't see much, but your acrobatic ability, as well as strength, was impressive. Though... I'm confused. I heard something along the lines of 'Jeanne D'arc' while I was on the ground. I may be mistaken, but very much sounds like a name. How come you said that?"

"It's just something about my powers."

"I see... I won't pry any further then. Hehe~..." Kaeya chuckled as they continued walking. The others also gave him curious looks upon having been asked the question. He honestly didn't really feel like there was any harm in telling them about his powers, but he would hold off on doing so until there is a good reason for him to tell them.

He wouldn't talk about the System though, that would be ridiculous.

'System, what as that Gift Box reward I got from the quest all about? It sounds pretty self-explanatory, but I want a confirmation if you would.'

[Of course. The Gift Boxes that you obtain from quests can be opened at any point in time and will provide you with items based entirely on the rarity of the Gift Box. The higher the grade of the box, the greater the chance for higher quality items from opening them. Items can range from consumables to weapons as well as armour]

'Hm, I see. Then can you open the Gift Box now?'

[Certainly]

[Gift Box: Rare]

- 14,000 Mora

- Magic Siphoner

- Circuit Augmentator: Mid-Tier

'What is Mora?'

[Mora is this world's currency]

'Oh, I see. Then what about these other two items?'

[This will take a bit of explaining] Valorant didn't really mind. Might as well hear the explanation as they're all making their way over to the Knights of Favonius headquarters. [The Magic Siphoner allows the user to draw in mana from the surrounding environment at four times the natural rate that others are naturally capable of. This was an incredibly rare item to obtain from a Rare-grade Gift Box]

'Okay, I guess I'm pretty lucky then.' Valorant nodded to himself. 'Mana is obviously used for magic, but I don't think that I'm at all been using magic, have I?'

[That is correct. Whenever user had utilised the powers of the class cards, you have been using your life energy as a source of power to fuel its use. The approximated loss of lifetime is around two weeks with the use of the class cards so far]

'Wait, I've lost two weeks of my life!' Valorant managed to hold back his outward surprise, but he was shocked on the inside. He knew that it felt immensely exhausting whenever he would change back and also change when using the class card, but he didn't expect this! 'System, if you were to estimate. What is the average rate of lifetime I would lose after continuous use, you said that I would use less energy after the initial use...'

[User would lose around forty minutes of life after around five minutes of being transformed at minimum]

'What the hell...' Valorant paled as he heard this. If he were to do the math, that would mean that he would lose around eight hours of his life when using the class cards for an hour at minimum. That was not including the fact that other class cards might use more energy compared to others... 'Is there something I can do about this...?'

[Fortunately, the other reward that you have received is the solution to your issue]

'What do you mean?'

[The Circuit Augmentator, much like the Siphoner, was incredibly lucky to have been drawn from such a rather low-grade Gift Box. Especially one of the mid-tier standard. This allows the user to increase the number of magic conduits, or circuits, within the user's body. In other words, it allows the user to increase the magic capacity within their soul]

Valorant blinked at this. Magic Circuits was a term used in fate and is a concept that allowed Magus to refine and take in magic from the environment and change it into Prana so that they would be able to cast spells.

'Okay...? How does this help? I don't have any magic circuits to augment...'

[That is where the magic comes in, no pun intended. If the user does not have the initial ability to utilise magic then this augmentation will grant the user with their own set of magic circuits upon use. The circuits can then be increased with the use of more Circuit Augmentators]

'Wait, would that mean...'

[Indeed. With the unlock of Magic Circuits within the user's body, the use of the class cards would then take mana from the environment as its fuel source instead of the user's own life force. This is an incredible step as your magical reserves can naturally replenish over time, and with that siphoner, it can replenish much faster than usual]

'Okay, then please just use that augmentator now because if I have to use the class card again before I use this augmentator then I'm going to go into cardiac arrest!'

[Understood]

Valorant widened his eyes for a second as his face had slightly scrunched up, his body had twitched heavily for a second before he quickly regained his bearings and forced himself to calm down. Though, he was feeling anything but calm on the inside. When the System had just spoken and agreed to his request, he felt incredible pain rush through his body.

'Valorant...?' Lumine seemed to have noticed his quick action since she was walking right next to him. She had noticed his sudden twitch and glanced at him in confusion. She blinked in surprise before looking at him again as if looking for something. 'What was that? I could have sworn that I saw some strange lines on him...'

'S-System, what was that...'

[Apologies for not warning in advance. Magic Circuits are pretty much an organ system, so by suddenly having them placed into you, pain is an expected side effect] The System explained as Valorant could only listen as he inwardly sighed. He hadn't expected the pain at all. He was lucky to quickly react as the others would have questioned him.

'So... this is the feeling of magic, huh?' Valorant thought to himself as he could feel some kind of strange sensation running mainly across the right side of his chest as well as the right side of his face. 'System, about that Magic Siphoner. Would the application of that be as painful as what I had just went through with the circuits?'

[It will not]

'Good. Then apply it no.' Valorant thought in relief. He would have put up with the pain if he could regenerate his supply quicker, but he would have done it later since he didn't want to risk the others noticing him twitch if the pain became unbearable. It wasn't long before he felt as if his chest had suddenly begun warming up before returning to normal.

[Application complete]

'W-Woah... okay, this feels weird...' Valorant could feel the sudden rush of mana that was suddenly rushing into his body from the surrounding environment. They were all headed mainly towards his right arm and right side of his face, which were most likely where his magic circuits were. Though, he could also feel them rushing into the centre of his chest as well.

It didn't take too long before the mana stopped coming in, he honestly felt refreshed as it felt as if he had just drunken some kind of insane energy drink that would let him run for hours on end. It was a strange feeling, but not one that would really bother him that much at all.

'It was painful. But, at least I don't need to worry about losing any more of my lifetime when using the class cards...' Valorant sighed as he thought this. His duration when using the class cards was pretty much limitless before, only stopping when he would die from exerting all of his life force. However, now it was most likely limited until he would run out of mana. Which he would much prefer than losing his days in the living world. 'Speaking of mana. Do the residents of this world have magic circuits?'

[The answer to that is no. Magic is not an energy that is harnessed here by the residents or by the deities that reside within the world] The System explained as he listened curiously. [The residents here in Teyvat use Elemental Energy instead of the energy of the world, also known as Mana as you know. People of Teyvat get their powers through their gods]

'I see. So, people don't use magic here...' Valorant nodded mentally in understanding. 'Is this energy similar to magic or not?'

[It works in a very similar fashion. It can also be replenished when the individual absorbs elemental particles around them]

'Okay, I understand.'

Soon enough, the group had all arrived at the headquarters belonging to the Knights of Favonius, which was a rather grand building with a pristine and large hallway acting as the room you would see upon entering. The building itself made of stone bricks and had been guarded by two knights, both of them having saluted to Kaeya as they had entered.

Kaeya then led them through one of the many doors that were present within the hallway, and that door led to the room in which all of them were currently present. The room itself composed of mainly wooden furniture, of decent quality as well, though Valorant had of course seen much better since the era he came from originally seemed to be far more advanced.

The room was composed of a number of bookshelves, making it almost to be mistaken as a library due to the vast quantity of them that were stacked, with some having been dropped to the floor. Though, the room was most likely an office space since there was a large wooden desk at the back of the room, though Valorant did find it strange they had a dining table from the looks of it as well.

Upon having entered, they were first greeted by the view of the two young women that were talking with them now. Well, Kaeya was the only one really speaking as he was explaining everything that had transpired not too long ago. Both women appearing in their early or mid-twenties from what Valorant could tell.

The first person was a young woman who wore attire akin to that of a fancy witch, her primary colour being purple. She had decently long light brown hair as well as a pair of emerald green eyes. This person was named Lisa, and from what they had been told, Lisa was apparently the resident Librarian here in Mondstadt.

The next person was none other than Jean herself, the supposed Acting Grand Master of the Knights of Favonius. She had blonde hair that was tied into a ponytail, she wore a white, blue, black, and red strapless shirt along with a long blue tailcoat attached to it. She even had on a pair of blue gauntlets over each of her hands.

"So, the three of you are helping us out? Oh~, you all are just adorable."Lisa cooed as Valorant gave her a weird look as Lumine stepped back and behind Valorant, Paimon also flying behind Valorant with a disturbed look as Lisa giggled at the act. "You have come at a regrettable time though. With how Stormterror has caused such a major ruckus, its resurgence has caused quite the chaos. Simply put, Mondstadt's elemental sphere and ley lines are now aking to a yarn ball in the paws of a kitten."

Lisa then gave a sigh as she continued.

"For people like myself, being a mage and all, it couldn't get much worse. My skin is only one elemental particle away from a full-blown breakout..." Valorant rose an eyebrow at this as he heard the way she referred to herself. Mage? If what System had told him was true, then magic was something that no-one here could use, aside from him.

[This world has a number of individuals who specialise in using a Catalyst, which is a type of weapon here in Teyvat. It is due to their rather magical nature from what the people have seen, those who use a Catalyst are usually referred to as mages]

'Ahh~, so a false mage then...'

"If it weren't for such an interference, the Knights of Favonius would have had a number of better ways of assisting you instead of just placing up wanted posters." Jean voiced as she looked at Lumine. Obviously referring to her situation with being separated from her brother. "I would like to ask you to simply repose here at Mondstadt while we seek out your brother."

"H-He's my brother, I should really help out as well..." Lumine had stuttered slightly. She honestly felt wrong to just leave the search in the hands of everyone else, it was her brother after all. She had already been looking for him for a good while now, so just giving up and letting others do the work all of a sudden left a bitter taste in her mouth.

"Paimon will help too!"

"I shall help out as well then."

"Good. Having all of your help will be beneficial." Kaeya nodded with approval as he then added. "If that's the case, then we'll also need to form some sort of a plan."

"Agreed. And with Stormterror directly attacking Mondstadt, this may be an opportunity for us to cut this problem directly from its source." Jean commented as everyone looked at her. "Lisa had managed to pinpoint the sources in which Stormterror's powers are originating from."

"They're located within the four abandoned Four Wind's Temples." Lisa jumped in as she continued the explanation. "The ability that Stormterror holds to be capable of whipping up these kinds of storms can be attributed to it drawing forth power directly from these temples."

"Our objective will be to deal with three of these four temples. I do believe that everyone understands exactly why we are only dealing with three."

"Uh... Paimon doesn't." Paimon blinked as she said this. Both Lumine and Valorant just shrugged their shoulders. If they only needed to deal with three of said temples then that was for the better, the less the amount of work it takes, the quicker they can stop the raging storms that were still currently happening outside of these walls.

"Alright, time is really against us with this one. This storm is incredibly rampant. So, there is no point at all in maintaining a defensive position any longer." Jean stated seriously. She then took on a thinking position before saying. "We'll need to take the initiative and act before this situation can escalate any further."

"So basically, to cut off Stormterror's powers we'll need to seige and strike these temples." Valorant voiced as he nodded his head in understanding. He then held his chin in thought as he narrowed his eyes. "If that's the case, then I suggest that we should go with the strategy of divide and conquer. We'll each go to separate temples and take them out simultaneously."

"That is a good idea. Then I shall make way to the Temple of the Wolf, and Lisa shall head on off to the Temple of the Lion." Kaeya nodded in approval to Valorant's suggestion as he had added this. "I will need to make a few preparations before heading off. You three go with Amber and assist her at the Temple of the Falcon. She knows where to go."

"Leave it to me!" Amber nodded with a smile as she saluted to him.

"I will also be making a few preparations as well. Good luck." Lisa nodded at them as both her and Kaeya walked out of the room. Amber then turned to look at her new companions as she then said. "Let's get going, the faster we get this done the better. The temple isn't too far away from Mondstadt, we should be able to get there in a few minutes."

"Alright, let's get going!" Paimon cheered as the other two nodded their heads with determined looks on their faces. They then quickly began sprinting out the door as Jean watched them run out with concern placed all over her face as she gave a small sigh.

"Good luck, all of you."

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