21 ch21 (the Traveler and Paimon finally arrive)

" Will you hand me your old friend's Spirit?" Venti asked.

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

In an instant, a beautiful radiance surged. In Hans view, The person before him was now unmistakably Stanley, dressed as an adventure with scars over his face.

This best friend of his, the legendary adventurer who died in the Mere Jivari while trying to save him. Stanley gave him a soft smile and nodded. Although no words were exchanged, in that moment, everything was understood.

Then accompanied by a gentle breeze, Stanley spirit gradually dissipated, becoming a part of Mondstadt's winds. Hans subconsciously tried to grab ahold of Stanley once again, but was unable to grasp at anything. However, he did not feel disappointed, but instead felt great sense of relief. He wants as Stanley's spirit ascended into the sky.

"I… I can't believe it…"

"Thank you all! And thank you, Lord Barbatos…"

"I'm sorry, it's gonna take me sometimes to calm back down… But I think that… I'm going to be okay…"

Hands placed his hand on his chest, speaking calmly. It was obvious that he had now finally let go of his burden. His recovery from here on out was only a matter of time.

"Ah, wonderful! Stanley reconnected with his true self, and Jack can finally go his own way."

" this calls for a celebration! And by celebration. I do of course mean libation!"

Now, Venti had returned to his usual demeanour. The divine aura from before, and is current lively, witty demeanour, made it hard to tell which one was the real Venti. Or perhaps, both of these demeanours were what made Venti, Venti.

" And by libation, you mean you're not leaving this tavern until you're too drunk to walk, right" Paimon Jibbed in.

"Haha, no, The wine here is too expensive. Jack still owes me some wine though — he promised me a rare vintage an exchange for helping him out, Remember?"

" I'll head off the fetch the wine. See you shortly, let's meet at the [usual place]!"

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

Throat. This segment of the story no one had said a word or made a sound, all earnestly, watching Stanley's tale.

None of them expected such a twist at the end.

Venti also reveal his gentle side as the Anemo Archon when dealing with his people.

It had to be admitted that in this story segment, Lord Barbatos, had acted in a way that was deeply, moving and beyond mortal words.

Even Lisa was deeply moved.

Say less of the group of young people that were watching behind her.

The three players had come in together, we're already in tears, and Ellin was also starting to shed tears of her own.

"Sob sob sob, Lord Barbatos, I always believed, you existed."

" Mr. Stanley… Lord Barbatos… sob…"

" Lord Venti is really so gentle…"

These players were now crying uncontrollably.

The surrounding players all got drawn to their unusual behaviour.

"Hey hey, What's going on?"

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

" it's not about the boss, it's about the Lord Barbatos, sob…"

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

" it's not about wishes…"

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

At the same time, the other players learned the reason why these individuals removed to tears.

"A character quest? Ah, I can't believe I'm just finding out about this now!"

" by the way, Is this mission really that emotionally Intense? My emotions are quite fragile, so now I'm a bit afraid to start it."

" Venti's character quest… afraid that after completing it, so I will not be able to resist wishing for Venti with all my Primogems!"

"Mr. McCall, must be up to no good! He even created character quests for the character to make us spend more."

" Good Lord! There are character quests for acting grandmaster Jean, Master Diluc and even spark knight Klee!"

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

===

In the game area, The players were almost in a frenzy.

The last time there were such a fervent discussion was when they first discovered the wishing system.

This time the character quest had once again driven the game's story narrative to climax.

" is this quest almost over?" Lisa sighed softly.

As Venti's character quest, it was indeed crafted with great care.

However, the quest was not finished yet, and Venti had arranged to meet with the traveler at the [usual place].

And so without hesitation, Lisa teleported to Windrise.

However, after going around the enormous tree three times she couldn't find Venti anywhere. Lisa put her hand to her head, Realising that she had made a hasty assumption.

Tapping on the map, she saw the quest marker at the statue of the Anemo Archon.

Returning there to the place where the Traveler first met Venti. From a distance she could see Venti sitting alone on the statues, outstretched palms, gazing into the distance. After a bit of effort, she climbed up to the top of the statue.

Venti turned his head around and greeted the Traveler, " you made it… finally."

" just tell us where you mean next time, Okay!? we looked everywhere!" Paimon complained. "So. Did you at least manage to find your wine?"

"Yep! Well, Sort of… Jack made out to be a rare, collectors edition vintage… when actually, it's just a half bottle of regular cider."

"Ah, this takes me back"

Following Vente gazs, they looked it over Mondstadt, and in the distance they could even see Starsnatch cliff.

" the first time I saw this view, I hadn't even taken on this form yet."

"What?" The Traveler asked in confusion.

" it was about 2600 years ago, before the world had come under the rule of The Seven."

"At that time, old Mondstadt was ruled by a tyrant, He sealed off the cities perimeter with a ferocious hurricane. Even the birds couldn't get in or out."

" old Mondstadt? Oh, Paimon Remembers — Nowadays, it's known as Stromterror's Lair, Right? You mentioned it before!"

" that's right. The tyrant of the winds Who wants ruled from that tower was called Decarabian, God of storms."

" Back then, I was but a whisper among the thousand winds. Wasn't a God of anything — I didn't even have a human form… I was just just a tiny elemental being who lived in the wind, A gentle breeze bringing subtle changes for the better, or a tiny seeds of hope."

" A Tiny elemental being? Without a human form? Venti… do you mean you used to look different than you do now?" Paimon asked in awe.

' yep. My current form is not so different from the situation with the fake Stanley… I took the form of a friend."

Afterward, the screen immediately went black. And a scene similar to the first time Venti played a tale appeared like illustrations in a picture book constantly changing with Venti narration.

"In Old Mondstadt transpired the story to be told. Where are tyrant ruled, I met a boy not that old. The lyre he played and for a song he sought."

" But storm-walls blocked the blue sky — he was sincerely distraught. I do so wish to see the birds in flight. Said he his strong eyes filled with light."

"But his voice was lost in the howling wind's churn. For the whirlwind takes, and gives not in return."

"The true sky, and songs that Cageless sore… were they not wishes worth fighting for? So the boy turned, extending his hand: "let us cast down the tyrants and his walls from this land""

" The Young boy raised then the flag of revolt. I threw myself into freedom's tumult. Victorious were we who fought to be free. Gods fell, winds whipped, nations shook violently."

" in the smoke, a despot met his doom. And we watched us his great tower fell none too soon."

In the current image, the war seem to finally ended. The tower was collapsing torn apart, revealing the sky and clouds beyond.

But in the lower right hand corner, the young man who laid the rebellion lay in the arms of his comrade pierced by arrows.

Then tell you who was telling the story was so in the frame. Victory through war had been achieved, but a came at a painful cost.

"Mondstadt began a new, The story passed down. And since then, never another has worn its crown."

The pictures that appeared along side the story had ended.

Paimon's eyes had widened and she asked, " so then what? What happened to your friend?"

Clearly, Paimon did not realise the deeper meaning in Venti's tone and story.

The young man's fate was easy to envision. Just like the real Stanley…

" say, Paimon, do you wish to hear the next part of the story?" Venti asked in a Low tone.

" yes, Of course! The suspense is killing Paimon!" Paimon urged eagerly.

In this moment she exhibited close to 0 emotional intelligence.

"Paimon, go pick us a couple of apples." The Traveler requested.

"Now's The time you suddenly get craving for apples? Really?" Paimon put her hands on her hips in protest, but under the Travelers insistence she reluctantly complied. After Paimon left, Venti letter to sign relief.

"Ah… you know, You're so so smart and almost makes me uncomfortable sometimes…"

"But then, maybe it's right that true friends can tell what the other is thinking."

…

" a refreshing drink, a gentle breeze… moments like this always take me back…"

" back to a song that I first heard from him…"

"I'm listening." The Traveler said.

"Fly, fly away."

"Like a bird in the sky."

"See the world on my behalf..."

"To the heavens may you fly…"

[Carmen Dei Chapter: Act 1, Should You Be Trapped in a Windless Land, quest completed]. (TN: Carmen Dei means song of a God in Latin)

…

Under The afternoon sun, venti casually stroll through the Forest.

He carried a hint of alcohol around him, evidently showing as he was already tipsy.

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

" in this kind of mood it's quite suitable for performing a song in the statue square."

He realised that he had not performed a ballad in his role as a bard for a long time and he was starting to get impatient.

Venti entered Mondstadt, skilfully making his way to the statue Square.

It was lunchtime in the Square was bustling with people going to intro. He should be able to achieve a good performance here.

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

"Ah… Lord Barbatos… no Lord Venti, you're back!?"

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

Venti's smile stiffened.

Before Venti could react, other passersby started to notice Venti was there as well.

"It's Venti!"

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

" Keep up the good work, Lord Venti!"

"Lord Venti, i'll always be your faithful follower!"

Venti :???

'What's going on? My true identity become common knowledge already?' That day he did indeed see the scene were Dvalin Address him by his true name in the gaming area.

But he did not expect that in less than two days, it would appear that the whole city now knew his identity! And every single one of them also talk to him as though they were very familiar with him! At this moment for young people were passing by each with their faces tears stained, as if they had been bawling their eyes out not long ago.

"Ellin, are you feeling better now?"

"Yeah, my emotions have finally calmed down, but the fact that Venti has been borrowing his friends appearance to bear witness to this world in his place, it's still a little overwhelming…"

"Sigh… we never could've expected that after Mr Stanley's story, there would then be Vente self narration on the statue. Wuuu, that cut so damn deep!"

"Calm down, deep breaths my friends. Weren't we crying in hysterics back in the gaming hall just now?"

" I believe that after experiencing this quest, we have grown emotionally. We won't share out here as easily for anything anymore."

" Because we are destined to become the greatest adventures!"

Suddenly, Ellon notice something unusual was happening at the statue Square.

" wait a minute, That figure…"

" could it be?…"

"Venti…"

Barely a minute later…

Among the owners surrounding Venti, four more young people joined. And they seemed even more excited than the rest.

The four of them clung to Venti's legs, crying hysterically and shouting:

"Lord Barbatos, I always believed you existed!!!"

The nun was absolutely astonished. She had seen fanatical believers before, But nothing to this extreme.

As for Venti who was the centre of this commotion, he was absolutely baffled.

He did not even know how to react in the situation.

…

In the following days, As various characters story quest were completed by numerous players, Mondstadt experience an unprecedented wave of excitement.

In Diluc's story quest, his identity as the dark Knight hero was revealed. The nickname "the dark Knight" we going to circulate widely among the players. This directly resulted in Master Diluc not being seen in the gaming café for several days, No appearing at the Angle's Share Tavern. However, outside Mondstadt city, were many monster corpses found. Upon further inspection, they have been destroyed with powerful Pyro elemental infused attacks.

In contrast, Jean's story was relatively helpful to her personally. In [Leo Minor Chapter; act 1, Masters day off] because the residents of Mondstadt requested various tasks of Jean, because of this, she eventually collapsed at her desk from overwork.

The travel, then brought her to the Favonius Cathedral to receive treatment from Barbara, The Traveler then decided to complete her tasks, which mainly involved finding cats that had climbed up onto rooftops, and collecting a late delivery.

After receiving the emergency treatment from Barbara, Jean had decided to go to Windrise, The Traveler, worried followed her after they talked for a short while and I'm attempted to take advantage of the acting grandmaster weakened state. Jean along with the Traveler pursue the abysm into a Domain and finally defeated it.

When they returned to Mondstadt, The gatekeeper swan informed them that Jean was needed at the Angel's share. Upon arriving it was revealed that the Knight of Favonius had to organised a party for her.

The overall plot was relatively simple, but it made all the players realise how much they had been relying on acting grandmaster Jean.

They always thought that acting grandmaster Jean could do anything, to the point where they had overlooked the fact that Jean was still just as mortal as they were.

After this story quest was completed, Jane's office had received many gifts, including flowers and letters of recognition and gratitude.

At the same time Jean had noticed that many of the minor tasks around the city had a significant decrease recently, making her work clothes much lighter. She was puzzled for quite a while.

Later she had learned the reason from Lisa.

Klee's story quest also caused a bit of a stir. Many of the players now said. " why would you not pull for your daughter!"

Klee, unaware of this, suddenly had a large group of people willing to be her "mothers".

On Friday, venti limited time banner had ended. And the new limited time banner featuring [Klee, The fleeing sunlight].

Taylor also made an announcement to everyone: " every version update will have two banners one in the first half and one in the second half."

After the duration of Klee's banner had ended, The new version 1.1 would be updated.

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

At this moment outside the city, an unknown blonde haired girl and her mysterious flying emergency food had also arrived at a statue of the seven in Starfell Lake.

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

" in this world, wielding the power of the elements is definitely not as easy for them as it is for you!"

" well then! I think our first destination should be Mondstadt. Let's go maybe we'll find clues about the unknown god there!"

===

" it been nothing but calm and peaceful walking all the way."

For Lumine, today was a day worth celebrating because with Paimon finally being a guide, should finally entered the city's territory I was getting closer to Mondstadt city.

From what Paimon had told her there were seven nations on the continent of Tayvat, and it appeared like Mondstadt the city of freedom was going to be the first stop on her journey.

" Because Mondstadt is the city of freedom, poetry travels in the wind and fine wine flows like the river and has so much delicious food!"

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

After passing through a forest and a field of dandelions outside the city, they finally arrived at the city entrance.

" Who goes there!?"

A gatekeeper had noticed them coming from afar.

Just as Paimon was about to step forward and explain, The guard saw their appearance properly and showed the look of surprise and astonishment.

" Well, I'll be damned, if it isn't the Traveler and Paimon! Well, please come on in!"

Both Paimon and Lumine we're taken aback.

'What on Tayvat is going on?'

'What, why do the guards of Mondstadt City know our names, and why do they seem so familiar with us?'

"Um, Mr. Guard, do you know us somehow?"

"Haha, i'm afraid there's no one in this entire city who doesn't know of the two of you. Even those who don't play the game know of the travelling duo Paimon and The Traveler."

Lumine and Paimon were both astonished.

"What has happened in Mondstadt City, this feels strange."