The Brotherhood!

And just like that, six months had once passed in a flash.

It was already winter since the first snowflakes of the season just dropped a couple of days ago.

Everyone in Mondstadt was currently wearing heavy clothing to keep themselves warm from the cold winds.

However, deep in the wilderness of Brightcrown Mountains, a lone figure can be seen sitting cross-legged in the middle of an open area on a stone.

The said figure's appearance, however, did not complement the weather as the figure only wore a cloaked hood with but a single scarf on their neck.

Whirr—*

Suddenly, out of nowhere, a dagger was sent flying toward the man.

The man merely glared at the dagger before swiftly evading it.

Woosh—*

Rustle*

It was quite evident that there were multiple individuals hiding in the wilderness near him, but the man was left unfazed.

"Quick! Do it now!" A childish voice was heard in one of the bushes.

Foosh—*

All of a sudden, multiple arrows shot out of multiple directions and aimed at the man with a hood.

The man smirked before swiftly moving and dodging the arrows, even grabbing some and throwing them to other arrows to block them.

His speed was quite unnatural and if one were to it witness it themselves, one wouldn't believe that a person can do it.

The man then lifted his head to the branches of the trees and smiled. "Is that i—"

However, he was cut short by another attack which was neatly hidden.

Up from above, a bird can be seen diving rather swiftly toward the man's head with a poison needle attached to its leg.

Whirr—*

But before it could reach the man, a much larger bird appeared and tackled it.

"Your control over your partner is getting better." The man nodded with approval.

Rustle*

From the bushes comes out a child. "Just you wait, I'm gonna have an army of eagles and pigeons to defeat you one day."

He had brown hair and was also wearing a hooded cloak. And on his hands were three poison needles.

"You still have a lot of room to improve, I believe you'll catch up soon, Timmie." The man said as he crossed his arms.

"What about me, Mentor?" Not far away comes out another person.

Instead of the usual white cloak that the two wore, her hooded cloak was mostly dyed red. "Shouldn't I be praised for improving my archery?"

"Of course, congratulations are well-deserved." The man, obviously Albert, nodded. "Since your techniques have improved, I shall naturally reward both of you for your achievements."

"Yes! Hehe, with this, I would be able to surpass Ellin..." Timmie smirked.

Behind him, Amber sighed. "You really like competing with our fellow members, Timmie."

"Hey, I have my reasons," Timmie said with annoyance. He then turned to Albert. "Mentor, I want to learn more!"

Albert smiled with a nod. "Sure, we'll start later at night when the environment is perfect."

"Yes, thank you, Mentor!" The small child name Timmie said.

"By the way, Mentor," Amber spoke up. "Ellin and Otto haven't been showing up in some training recently, where have they gone to?"

"Oh, that?" Albert said as Senu landed on his arm. "I just assigned a minor mission for them."

In an outpost in stormbearer mountains, a woman with a hood was quietly listening to a conversation as she hid herself.

"I have given each of them tasks..." Albert spoke.

In Old Mondstadt's ruins, a man with orange hair wearing a white hood picked something out from the rubble.

He grinned. "Each task suits their capability and their expertise..."

Inside the alchemy department of the Knights of Favonius, a man slowly put on his hood as he stuffed a few bottles in his bag. From the way he picked the items, it seems that he was well-versed in Alchemy.

"Some of which might be impossible..." He pointed out.

Deep inside Mondstadt's sewer system, a man with a large build quietly inspected the drain pipes as he slowly put down his white hood.

"Some of which might even be downright disheartening..." He scoffed.

In Dragonspine, a man with a big belly wearing a white hood was seen resisting the climate's harsh winds. But no matter the odds, he kept marching forward as he held a crimson crystal in his hands.

"But I believe that they shall accomplish it." He crossed his arms as he let Senu fly.

Inside the Knights of Favoius headquarters, a man with another white hood silently listened in the Grand Master's office without being noticed.

"Because I taught them so." He slowly nodded his head.

On the reconnaissance team under Captain Eula, a man slowly lowered his white hood before exiting his camping tent in the wilderness.

"And I don't fail in teaching." He emphasized.

Finally, In the wilderness, a young boy with white hair sneakily avoided many bad encounters caused by his bad luck along his path as he steadily kept his white hood on.

Albert has been quite busy in the last six months. He was actively seeking and recruiting members, indoctrinating them into the brotherhood.

It was not easy. He had to convince all of them either through honest talk, manipulation, or teaching them a lesson.

But in the end, he was able to gain all of their trust while maintaining his 'Experienced Master searching for disciples' persona.

'I've come so far,' He thought with a satisfied smile. 'With this, even if I go to other nations, the Brotherhood I've left behind should protect Mondstadt in the shadows...'

Honestly, when he first awakened as Albert in this world and obtained his template, he never once had the idea of actually protecting Mondstadt.

But with his recent interactions with Jean— a loyal knight of Mondstadt— some of his views changed and he made a small parting gift for her:

A group of vigilantes that protect Mondstadt in the shadows.

"Oh, right!" Suddenly, Timmie remembered something, interrupting Albert's contemplation. "Mentor, I finished the task you gave me."

"Really? How's the situation?" Albert asked with interest. It was a task he had specifically given to someone like Timmie.

Timmie nodded before relaying the information. "The Knights have are becoming more active lately."

"The Grand Master, Varka, personally lead a campaign to the north to destroy the nearby Abyss Mage's strongholds."

"While the Knight's Master Jean started purging corrupt individuals within the Knights of Favonius' ranks, although, it's highly likely that she'll also target other corrupt businessmen sooner or later." Timmie had given his report.

It has been 4 months since Timmie had been recruited by Albert, and during this, he was mainly trained by Albert to use stealth and reconnaissance, and never taught him any real combat training.

Albert listened carefully to Timmie and was glad that his training was not wasted.

"I see, so it's starting..." He muttered to himself. Suddenly, Albert's face became stern. "Timmie, Amber, I have a new task for you."

"Yes, mentor?" Both of them said at the same time.

Albert opened his mouth and waited for a bit while. The two were rather nervous because of their mentor's sudden serious expression.

Whatever he is about to say, it was something of an important matter.

After a bit of hesitation, Albert spoke. "In about two months... Ludi Harpastum should occur, yes?"

"Well, after Liyue's yearly Lantern Rite then..." Amber spoke up. "Yes, mentor."

"Good." Albert nodded. He then looked at them with a relaxed smile. "I want all of you to relax this month. After that, enjoy the festival."

"... Really?" Both of them asked, confused.

"Of course. You all need to have a break too, you know?" Albert simply nodded, although, there is indeed another reason.

With a heavy heart, he can only tell them this. Had it not for his acting, he wouldn't even be able to convince them.

Albert slightly moved his eye and glared at his system notification calmly.

[Template progress: 96%]

[System Quest: Brotherhood— completed.]

[The template card has been placed in the host's inventory.]

[New system features unlocked.]

[New System quests unlocked.]

Looking at the notification, Albert could only shake his head slightly. 'It's almost time.'

He then silently opened his inventory and checked his template card. When he did it, he was in a momentary state of shock. 'This...'

'I get to choose between two templates?' He thought as the silhouette of two people appeared on the template card.

One had a blindfold that has centipede markings on them while the other had a swirling mask with one eyehole present.

* * *

A/N: More chapters coming soon... I think I'm gonna start the new year with a depressing chapter and the start of the Liyue Arc

P.S: If you had joined the discord, you would have known who the two characters are. I demanded democracy there, and democracy I received.