10 Ch 10

In Lisa's team, only Amber was left alive. Fortunately, the battle had come to an end, and they had finally obtained the "Skyward Sonnet." After experiencing this storyline, Lisa felt that many players' progress might get stuck at this secret realm.

Back at the tavern, the Traveler let the purified dragon tears fall onto Jean, successfully repairing the "Skyward Sonnet" and making her "radiantly youthful." However, according to Venti, although they had succeeded in the repair, it would still take some time to reach the "overflowing" state. Therefore, more tears of crystalline tears needed to be collected.

First, they had to defeat the wandering relic guards at the Thousand Winds Temple. Then, in the ruins of Tevinter dvalin, they had to defeat the monsters and Abyss Mages throughout the secret realm. Finally, they had to clear out the Hillchurl tribe in Dadaupa Gorge to open the chests containing dragon tears. Undoubtedly, this was a long and challenging battle.

For Lisa, however, it was a source of enjoyment. Because during this process, she obtained a five-star artifact, the "Four Winds' Codex"! Her constellation also reached the first level. It seemed like something was supporting her, guiding her on the path to become the strongest main character in the game. Even though she was initially a four-star character, Lisa had come to this conclusion through studying her various statistics and mechanics. Four-star artifact character—Lisa, indeed!

...

"Milk, raspberry, sugar, mint..."

Eula looked at the list and felt a bit puzzled. Her boss didn't run a restaurant, so why did he need so many strange ingredients? Well, since her boss had many mysteries, it was better not to speculate too much; she would just follow the instructions.

With a large bag of ingredients in hand, Eula headed back towards the mobile game hall. However, while passing through the Cathedral Square, she saw a young bard singing under the statue. It seemed to be related to the Wind God. However, in the young bard's song, Barbatos, the Wind God, did not appear as solemn and benevolent as described in the historical records. Instead, the portrayal was more carefree, filled with human traits.

The people in the square seemed to be enjoying this unique Wind God hymn. However, most of the onlookers were middle-aged or children, with few young people in sight.

After the song ended, there was scattered applause from the audience. Many Mora coins were thrown into the hat in front of the young bard.

"I feel like I've seen this bard somewhere before," Eula thought as she tried to get closer. At the same time, the bard noticed her.

"Ah, finally, a young lady! I was starting to think that Mondstadt's aging problem had become extremely severe, with not even one young person around."

The young bard opened with a teasing tone. Eula, hearing his voice and seeing his face clearly, immediately recognized him.

"You, you're Venti!?"

Venti showed a puzzled expression and asked, "How do you know my name? I've only recently arrived in Mondstadt."

"I not only know your name, but I also know that you can converse with the Wind Dragon and have a significant connection with the Wind God," Eula replied with an astonished look.

Venti didn't mind Eula's curious gaze and asked with a somewhat pleading expression,

"Um, big sister, could you help me buy two drinks? They said I'm some kind of underage and can't have alcoholic beverages. Last time I came to Mondstadt, there were no such rules."

"Shouldn't you be obtaining the Skyward Sonnet and saving Dvalin?"

Upon hearing this, Venti's puzzled expression froze for a moment. Then he became serious.

"Who are you, and how do you know these things?"

Eula didn't answer Venti's questions but continued, "Are you curious why you can't see any young people? That's because all the young people are playing mobile games in our mobile game hall. And you're an important character in it too."

After finishing her words, Eula ignored the dazed Venti and prepared to return to her shop with a bag of groceries. Venti, on the other hand, had a bewildered expression. Wasn't what her boss just did a form of foresight?

Venti, still puzzled, decided to follow Eula and see what this mobile game hall was and why she claimed he was in it.

Before long, Venti followed Eula until she entered a shop. Standing on the eaves, Venti noticed that this street had a large flow of people, with young people occasionally entering the shops. Were all of Mondstadt's young people gathering here? What could possibly be so attractive to them?

Venti also saw two Knights of Favonius patrolling back and forth on this street, apparently to maintain order and security here. This indicated that even the official Knights of Favonius valued this place.

After observing for a while, Venti seized the opportunity to stop a young person who had just walked out of the mobile game hall.

"Hey, mister, what exactly is that mobile game hall you just went into?"

"Which village are you from? Just released from there, huh? You don't even know what a mobile game hall is?" The man looked surprised. "This is the hottest game in all of Mondstadt right now. Unfortunately, I have to work every day, so I can only experience it for an hour."

A game? Could it have caused such a sensation? Venti couldn't help but feel curious.

"Seeing your poor appearance, you can't possibly afford it. The minimum price is ten thousand Mora. Kid, I advise you to go home and study." The young man patted Venti on the shoulder and left humming a tune.

Venti scratched his head, feeling a bit agitated by what the young man said. But he was indeed broke. After some thought, Venti decided to go inside and take a look. Even if he couldn't play, he could at least watch, right?

....

"Venti, you really came."

At the entrance of the mobile game hall, Takumi greeted the person who had just walked in. Eula had told Takumi about her encounter with Venti in the square, so Takumi guessed that Venti would come over out of curiosity.

Venti's emerald eyes looked at the man in front of him.

Faintly, Venti sensed a powerful electric force emanating from the person in front of him. However, he didn't see the "Eye of God" on him. Could this be the one related to Inazuma? But that one is a goddess. In Venti's impression, "she" couldn't possibly turn out like this and open a mobile game hall in Mondstadt. In any case, this young boss made Venti feel a bit uneasy. After smiling at Takumi, Venti curiously entered the hall.

The seats were mostly occupied by young people, and many of them had others standing behind them, all very excited and happy. They were pointing at glowing boxes and talking in terms that Venti couldn't understand, like "Adventure Rank" and "Elemental Burst."

"Oh, isn't this Venti!"

Some players had already completed the quest for the Skyward Sonnet and, upon seeing Venti looking around, instantly recognized him.

"Haha, it really is, just like in the game."

"The boss has put in a lot of effort, even bringing someone to play as Venti."

Since most people in the game had already met Venti as a character, they had a preconceived notion. Now, the person appearing before them gave them the feeling of playing a character in a game.

Seeing so many people greeting him, Venti felt that his smile was getting a bit stiff. What's going on? I just arrived in Mondstadt this morning, how come everyone acts like they know me so well? And from what they're saying, am I not the real Venti? Just a performer? Oh no, have I become a stand-in?

Venti's arrival didn't cause much of a stir. Although he had some remarkable moments in the story, like talking to the Wind Dragon and knowing the history of the Wind Dragon, overall, he was just an extraordinary bard. He didn't have the same popularity as Jean or Diluc.

Venti finally stood behind a mature woman with brown hair to see how she played this mobile game. What he didn't know was that the mature and charming woman had already noticed Venti's gaze, and there was a meaningful curve on the corner of her mouth.

...

Lisa had long confirmed that everything in this mobile game corresponded to reality. Now, Venti had truly appeared in Mondstadt, and he had come to this mobile game hall. Everything seemed destined.

In the game, Lisa had already cleared the Black Sun Tribe in Dadupa Gorge, opened the victorious treasure chest, and obtained the last drop of dragon's tear. The quest prompt directed her to go to Dawn Winery next. The next step was to purify the teardrop completely and then drip it onto the Skyward Sonnet to restore its wind power.

Teleport to the seven-day statue north of Dawn Winery and head south towards the statue. Below the cliff, amidst the Dvalin foliage, a luxurious winery came into view. Venti's mouth slightly hung open.

After this brief understanding, he had a rough idea of why this mobile game was so popular and appealing. Inside, it was a simplified version of Mondstadt! You could control different characters and freely explore this world, and each character had unique abilities (skills).

For example, the big sister I'm watching seems to be controlling her own character. With a powerful electric elemental power, she can easily defeat those hilichurls. However, what happened at Dawn Winery nearly made Venti's eyes pop out. "What is this, how can I be in this game myself!?"

"What's there to be surprised about? Is your identity really that special?" Lisa asked indifferently.

"I am..."

Venti hesitated, gently touching his forehead.

"Never mind, your name is Lisa, right? Lisa big sister, can you tell me what kind of character I am in this game?"

"For now, it seems like you're just a bard who doesn't do any real work."

Venti: "..."

"Is there anything more special about it?"

Lisa gave Venti a sidelong glance and said, "Keep watching, you'll find out. I just completed a mission and unlocked a new storyline."

"Alright..."

Venti took a deep breath.

He thought to himself that today was truly unbelievable. He wanted to see what kind of role he played in this game.

...

At the entrance of Dawn Winery, Diluc, Jean, and Venti seemed to have been waiting for a long time.

"Yo-ho!"

Paimon clapped her small hands.

"[Dvalin Protection Association], assemble again!"

Dvalin Protection Association? What's going on? Venti hadn't even started looking for heroes who could help him, but in this game, it seemed like a main character group had already formed to carry out the mission of saving Dvalin. The scenes that followed made Venti suspect if the images in this mobile game were from the future. How could all his upcoming actions be completed in this mobile game?

....

"So, please take out the collected crystals."

"The color of the crystals seems even more turbid. What kind of torment is Dvalin enduring..."

"Anyway, let's purify these crystals first. Traveler from a foreign land, we're counting on you."

In the game, Venti spoke and three dark-red tear-shaped crystals filled with impurities appeared in front of him. Seeing this, Venti couldn't help but tighten his grip slightly. He did have a drop of Dvalin tear, also filled with impure dark-red color, but he hadn't encountered this traveler in the game who had the ability to purify the tainted dragon's tear. Moreover, this traveler looked remarkably similar to one of the twins from Venti's memories. However, if it was really one of those twins, the amount of information in this mobile game would be too overwhelming and difficult to fathom. Venti instinctively felt that this was unlikely.

Next, the teardrop was successfully purified and dripped onto the Skyward Sonnet.

"Can the purifying power of the Skyward Sonnet be used to remove the curse from Dvalin?"

Venti stroked his chin. If the teardrop could be purified and Skyward Sonnet could be restored to its overflowing state, it might actually work. In just a short ten minutes, this mobile game had revealed a method to save Dvalin, making Venti take it more seriously.

After some dialogue, it was confirmed that they would summon Dvalin at "Star Snatch Cliff" using the Skyward Sonnet. "Can it really be done?" Venti saw that the Skyward Sonnet had been completely repaired. If it were him in reality, perhaps there would be a chance of success. In the game, it seemed that this pseudo-feasibility could be verified more quickly.

Without hesitation, Lisa directly teleported to the teleportation anchor at Star Snatch Cliff. She had already explored this place during their previous adventures. Arriving at the high point of Star Snatch Cliff, they entered the storyline.

"Oh, everyone's here now."

"This place has such beautiful scenery," Paimon exclaimed.

"It matches the theme of 'Reunion of Fate,' doesn't it?"

"No matter the outcome, at least we've seen a turning point," Jean said solemnly. "During this time, the entire city of Mondstadt has borne too much."

"In the end, it's the traveler and a singer who are solving the problem," Diluc quipped. "Well, the Knights of Favonius have done their bit."

"Alright, everyone, give us some space. The best bard in the mortal realm is about to play his Skyward Sonnet."

Venti stepped to the front of the cliff and lightly brushed the Skyward Sonnet.

A melodious song drifted in the wind, carried by the sea breeze and mountain winds.

"Buzz!"

A massive figure ascended from below the cliff, a cyan-colored dragon hovering over Star Snatch Cliff.

They had really summoned it!

Venti's pupils contracted slightly.

"It's you..." Dvalin voice sounded hoarse. "At this point, there's nothing left to discuss."

"Is that so? Did I make a mistake? Your expression seems like you're reminiscing about this melody."

Dvalin emitted a low growl, seemingly wavering and struggling against something that made it anxious and furious.

Just then, a blast of frost struck, knocking the Skyward Sonnet from Venti's hand.

"Don't be fooled by him, poor dragon."

An Abyss Mage appeared behind Dvalin.

"He has already abandoned you long ago. Look, now he wants to deceive you again."

The Abyss Mage's voice had a seductive tone, and under the influence of this voice, Dvalin started shifting in an unfavorable direction.

"Hate, anger, you have already become an enemy of Mondstadt, there's no turning back."

In the Abyss Mage's words, Dvalin spread its wings and claws. A tremendous rage was escalating within it.

"Barbatos..."

"Are these people here to hunt me down too!?"

"Roar!"

The dragon's roar was like a wild wind.

"That's not the case!"

However, the Abyss Mage no longer gave Venti much opportunity to explain. It arrived at the spot where the Abyssal Blood was concentrated on Dvalin back and sneered.

"This dragon should go serve its true master."

"You all can stay here and lament your powerlessness!"

"Hehehe..."

...

This segment of the storyline ended, leaving Lisa and Venti stunned in their tracks.

For a moment, Venti didn't know how to react. The hall was bustling with people engaged in intense conversations at various locations, but this only served to emphasize the frozen atmosphere here.

Venti: "???"

I just arrived in Mondstadt, and without doing anything, my identity has been exposed like this? Who made this mobile game anyway? Boss, do you have no ethics, casually exposing someone's secret like this? Fortunately, for now, only Lisa has completed this segment of the storyline. If you give other players a few more days, wait until the majority of players reach here. Then, Venti, the secret of the Wind God Barbatos, will no longer be a secret but a well-known fact!

....

Lisa gently pressed her thumb against her forehead and sighed softly. All her previous speculations turned out to be wrong. This Venti wasn't just a messenger of the Wind God; he was the genuine Wind God himself. Dvalin words confirmed this result, and Venti's own reaction behind her confirmed it too. This was the truth. But perhaps Venti hadn't expected that his identity would be exposed like this because of a mobile game.

"You... you don't really believe in the content of this game, do you?" Venti wanted to argue.

But Lisa shook her head. "From the beginning to now, nothing in this mobile game is fabricated; everything corresponds to reality. Do you think it would manipulate this matter?"

Venti fell silent. Looking around, fortunately, no one else had noticed the situation here. He lowered his voice and said to Lisa's side, "Okay, I admit it; I am Barbatos."

"What's the deal with this mobile game? Does it mean that Dvalin has truly decided to become an enemy of Mondstadt?" Lisa shook her head.

"My Lord of Wind, if even you can't figure out the situation, then I'm even more clueless."