First Interaction

"So uhh... What is it?" The floating Pixie known as Paimon asked.

"I don't know." The traveler beside her, Aether, shook his head.

They were currently looking at the item that suddenly appeared in the traveler's hands.

"Why don't you try eating it, Paimon?" Aether jokingly said.

"Hey! Even Paimon knows this thing isn't edible!" She retorted.

Suddenly, the phone opened and they were introduced to the home screen.

And as if out of instinct, Aether instantly knew how to use the phone.

* * *

"Mr. Zhongli! We have Springvale Boar on the menu today! Would you like to try them instead of the salt and pepper tofu?" At Wanmin Restaurant, a vibrant young lady spoke.

On her hands were two plates full of food.

Sitting right in front of her was a man that carried elegance in his movement and a bit of nostalgia.

"We'll have both," Zhongli said.

The consultant of Wangsheng Funeral Parlor. Very knowledgeable in many fields and is definitely not the God of Contracts in disguise as a human.

"Do they... Only have chopsticks?" Sitting beside him was a person that seems to be struggling with chopsticks.

It was the recent visitor of Liyue, Childe. A diplomat, if you will.

But despite his looks, he is known as the 11th of the Fatui Harbingers, Tartaglia also known as Childe. His name is highly feared on the battlefield.

Looking at Childe's antics, Zhongli smiled in amusement as he subtly looked at the phone that appeared in his hands that he is hiding under the table.

* * *

"Milady, would you like more orange juice with that?" The housekeeper of the Kamisato Clan, Thoma, asked.

"Yes, please." Sitting down in front of him was Kamisato Ayaka, loved by the people of Inazuma and is called Shirasagi Himegimi.

"Alright, hold on for a minute." Thoma nodded before leaving.

Seeing him leave, Ayaka dropped her head down and looked under the table.

"What is this?" She curiously asked herself as she looked at the mysterious item that appeared in her hands.

'Should I tell Thoma?' She thought. However, she soon shook her head. 'No, this item is still of unknown origins. Letting other people interact with it might be dangerous.'

This was her personality. Something that even her brother and Thoma couldn't help but shake their heads at. She would always try to say something but stop midway or sometimes, not even talk at all.

Brr—

Suddenly, the phone vibrated and she subconsciously tried to defend herself, fearing that something might happen. She held up her hand and was ready to use her Cryo vision.

However, in contrast to her expectations, nothing happened.

She then looked at the phone and saw that someone or something sent a message.

* * *

"Alright, that should be all of it." A trainee forest watcher named Collei said. "Well then, Haypasia, I hope you do well in your training!"

In front of her was a woman who was silently meditating. She did not reply and merely nodded her head.

Collei saw this and understood that students meditating at Avidya Forest are not allowed to communicate or else they'll fail their training.

With a satisfied smile, she left the cave Haypasia was staying at.

"That settles it." She muttered. "With this, I can finally go with Master Tighnari again!"

Lately, the symptoms of her illness— Eleazar— have been appearing frequently. As such, her master, Tighnari, decided to limit her work to not overexert herself.

"Oh right, I need to check this task out of my list!" She remembered.

She then moved her arm and went for her pocket expecting to touch her notepad.

However, contrary to her expectations, what she picked up was not her notepad but instead a black rectangular item.

"Huh?" She looked at the item she picked up with confusion. "I don't remember having this...?"

In confusion, she decided to use her Akasha Terminal.

In Sumeru, an Akasha Terminal is an item you can obtain from the Akademiya. It's an item that lets the people of Sumeru ask the Akasha System any questions. Of course, given that they have enough credentials.

Using her Akasha, she searched for any information regarding the phone and...

Nothing.

There were no results.

'Huh? How can that be?' Collei thought. 'Do I not have enough credentials? Or is it something that hasn't been registered in the Akasha?'

Her eyes then widened. 'Wait! What if... It's a top-secret item that even the Akasha doesn't know?'

Thinking of this, her confusion and wariness turned to excitement. 'I... I probably shouldn't look into it but...'

Brr—

It then vibrated.

'Huh?' Collei thought as she saw the phone open by itself, revealing the app and automatically opening it.

* * *

Asakura looked at the channel without saying anything. 'Should I talk?'

He was quite skeptical about telling them that he owns this server. After all, it is created after he received his phone.

It was quite obvious that he was the administrator.

Asakura doesn't want to expose the fact that he created this group chat. How was he gonna explain that? It would just bring unnecessary trouble and questioning.

It was far better to stay anonymous.

Suddenly, someone sent a message. And it was not Asakura.

[Blonde Traveler: Excuse me, umm... What is this?]

His profile picture only showed his blonde hair and nothing else. Of course, Asakura instantly recognized him. 'Aether.'

Seeing this opportunity, Asakura decided to type something.

[Hidden Mob: I'm just as confused as you are.]

Asakura's profile only showed a Naku Weed. He doesn't know why it's there but he won't question it.

[Hidden Mob: By the way... Weren't there other people here? Why are they not talking?]

[Blonde Traveler: I think it's because you have to input a message. I think they still don't know how to do that...]

[Blonde Traveler: That begs the question, how did you know how to type a message, @Hidden Mob?]

Seeing this, Asakura decided to lie.

[Hidden Mob: It's not that hard. I just tapped the message box below and saw a bunch of letters. It didn't take a while for me to learn.]

[Hidden Mob: How about you?]

[Blonde Traveler: Oh umm... Exactly like you, I guess? I just instantly knew how to do it.]

[Hidden Mob: Eh~ You must be a genius then.]

[Blonde Traveler: Not really...]

[Hidden Mob: C'mon, don't be shy! Show off your natural talents!]

While Asakura was busy talking with Aether, he suddenly remembered the gift he received from the system.

"Oh right..." He muttered before stretching his hand out. Soon, blue light began to condense on his hand, and a card with a drawing of a tide wave appeared.

"So... How should I use it? Do I just do..." He said before suddenly tightening his grip on the card. "This?"

Thump—

However, he soon came to regret doing that. As in the second later, the card disappeared and the system's notification gave the results.

[Template card now binding...]

"A—Aghh...!" Asakura gasped for air as he struggled and dropped to the ground. His eyes widened and visible pain can be seen in them.

'It hurts!' He internally shouted. 'It hurts like hell!'

Massive amounts of information were entering his mind. It was information about the Water Breathing technique, its sword styles, and its principles.

In less than ten seconds, those information has completely overridden Asakura's movements.

From the way how Asakura previously breathed would now turn to controlled breathing to maximize efficiency and stamina using the Total Concentration Breathing technique.

'It's... too much...' Those were the oast thoughts of Asakura before passing out.

* * *

After a few minutes, the sound of the birds' wings flapping was heard.

Asakura, who was laying down on the ground, slowly opened his eyelids.

What met him was a sun up in the sky and some drifting clouds.

'...' It took him less than a second to catch up with what happened. 'How long was I out?'

Thinking of this, he decided to get up. And just as he did, he noticed something.

He was breathing weirdly. It felt natural but different at the same time.

'It feels super weird...' He thought before cracking his knuckles. 'Not long ago, it felt like hundreds of needles were poking my head at the same time...'

'Now, my head feels refreshed.' He sighed. 'No, more than that, it feels like I just had a good sleep.'

Brr–

Suddenly, his phone vibrated and Asakura's attention instantly went to it.

[Template has been successfully bonded.]

Name: [Oshiro Asakura]

Title(s): [None]

Template: [Giyu Tomioka]

Vision: [None]

Delusion: [None]

STR: E+

DEF: E-

AGI: D

STA: C++

INT: C+

Skills:

[Name: Archery]

[Description: The ability to use a bow]

[Proficiency: 39%]

[Name: Swordsmanship]

[Description: The ability to use a blade]

[Proficiency: 68%(+10)]

[Name: Spearmanship]

[Description: The ability to use a Spear or Polearm]

[Proficiency: 56%]

[Name: Total Concentration Breathing]

[Description: an advanced breathing technique where a user inhales the maximum amount of oxygen within a specific breath pattern to raise their physical and mental prowess to their utmost limits.]

[Proficiency: 10%]

[Name: Water Breathing Style]

[Name: A set of eleven sword techniques that follow the Water Breathing Technique with the eleventh one being an exclusive style to Giyu.]

[Proficiency: 10% (Can only use one technique)]

Current equipment:

[Shogunate Sword(Normal)]

[Shogunate Soldier Uniform]

'At least my stats increased...' Asakura thought with a wry smile. 'The pain was worth it... I guess?'