Pity

"I'm going to continue summoning until I obtain a 5-Star or reach pity. For now, why don't you join the others?"

Prompted by Paul's suggestion, Xinyan looked past him to who else had joined their merry little band. When she saw Xiangling, her face lit up, but nowhere near as much as when she spotted Zhongli.

"Xiangling! And is that Zhongli? You make a pretty find girl, don'tcha?"

While Xiangling returned a happy smile, answering, "It's good to see you, Xinyan." Zhongli just crossed her arms with an ostensibly smug expression on her face. She wasn't a particularly vain person, but she did agree with Xinyan's assessment; her feminine form was rather appealing.

With Xinyan walking over to join the others, Paul began slotting more gold into the tiny groove above the handprints. Then, once ten Acquaint Fates had manifested, he shouted, "Confirm!" in a voice that drew the attention of all four girls.

Similar to when Xinyan had been summoned, the meteors quickly gained a purple hue to them. This brought an even wider smile to Paul's face, as, thus far, none of his 'rolls' had been duds. He knew this wouldn't always be the case, so he was happy his fortunes were holding up.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone present, the purple meteor split into ten smaller comets before slamming into the center of the platform. Paul's smile was essentially pulling his face when he noticed two purple comets, but the indisputably most excited person present was Xiangling.

"Yaoyao~!"

Without waiting for the petite, chestnut-haired girl standing in the middle of the platform to get her bearings, Xiangling ran over, literally picking her up and spinning her around as she happily exclaimed, "I can't believe you were the one who got summoned! And look, we're nearly the same size~!"

Though she was a little disoriented due to Xiangling's actions, the dainty girl with oversized bells in her hair quickly returned a smile, replying, "It's good to see you, Xiangling." in a markedly calmer tone.

Releasing Yaoyao from her stranglehold, Xiangling gave her good friend and junior disciple a once-over before grabbing her hand, turning to Paul, and saying, "This is Yaoyao. We both apprenticed under the same Master before she went on to become the Attendant of Lady Ganyu. If you don't mind, can I be the one to introduce her to this world?"

Before Paul could answer, it was Yaoyao who exhaled a sigh and said, "Xiangling, while I appreciate your concerns, I am no longer the young girl you used to drag around by the hand. I was the Chief Attendant of Liyue's Emissary. If I could take care of an Adeptus like Lady Ganyu, Master Paul should not be a problem."

Pulling her hand free from Xiangling's, Yaoyao performed a formal curtsy, head lowered in the direction of Paul as she calmly stated, "Yaoyao greets her Master."

Gesturing for Yaoyao to rise, Paul's expression revealed a hint of concern as he said, "Your courtesy is both acknowledged and greatly appreciated. However, I am in agreement with Xiangling on this matter. While I will not forbid you from performing your duties as a Maid, I think it would be best if the two of you spent time together..."

Adopting a pouty expression, Yaoyao explained, "Xiangling is only twenty months older than I am. And back when we were apprenticing under the same Master, it was always me trying to keep her out of trouble..."

Shaking his head, Paul said, "I don't doubt that in the slightest. It's just; I would feel considerably less concerned if you stuck together. Not for you, but both of you."

Exhaling a sigh, Yaoyoa answered, "Very well..." before looking towards the almost bereaved-looking Xiangling and asking, "What's wrong?" in an audibly concerned tone. In response, Xiangling just shook her head and said, "It's nothing important. I was just a little hurt that you didn't want to spend time with me."

"..."

Resisting the urge to exhale yet another sigh, Yaoyao grabbed Xiangling's hand and said, "You know that wasn't my intention, Xiangling. I just don't like being treated as a child."

Though she nodded her head in understanding, Xiangling effectively shot herself in the foot by saying, "But you are a child."

"..."

Willfully ignoring Xiangling's remark, Yaoyao directed a polite nod towards Paul before pulling her 'senior' off to the side. She got the impression that she and Xiangling were in the way, and she didn't want her new Master to think she was incapable of reading the room.

After following the duo with his eyes, Paul returned his gaze to the front. Yaoyao wasn't the only prize he had obtained. A glossy black sword with a red line running down its center could be seen emanating a pale purple light among the seventeen other weapons present. Its guard resembled a dragon's face or some kind of helmet, complete with red eyes that glowed with malicious, bloody light.

Picking up the surprisingly light sword, Paul gave it a few practice swings before remarking, "This is a good blade..."

Supplementing Paul's statement, Zhongli explained, "The Black Sword, a cursed weapon that thirsts for blood and leads even the purest of hearts astray. While it is known to increase the power of attacks and regenerate its user with the blood of his enemies, it is a perilous weapon in the hands of mortals..."

Raising his brows, Paul questioned, "Are you saying this sword can make people evil? That certainly wasn't a feature in the game..."

Refuting Paul's words, Zhongli said, "Good and evil are subjective. While The Black Blade invariably leads its wielder down a path of slaughter, it is the nature of all blades to cut down their enemies. So long as you wield it responsibly, you need not fear The Black Blade's corruption."

Nodding his head in implied understanding, Paul summoned his previous weapon before synching The Black Black with his Vision. As terrifying as the notion of a cursed sword was, a blade that dealt increased damage and healed its user was a tremendous advantage in a situation where his life was on the line.

Once the synchronization process had finished, Paul asked for the girls' help clearing out the other weapons before continuing his Gacha spree. He immediately regretted this when his next four 10-pulls were all misses but soon forgot about them when the fifth meteor turned a vibrant shade of purple.

Though he was initially stoked by the prospect of obtaining a new ally or weapon, Paul became visibly confused when a young girl with dark blue hair and amber eyes appeared wearing a dark-blue Maid outfit appeared. He could tell she was a Hydro(Water) user based on the patterns sewn into her apron and headdress, but he didn't recognize her as a character from Genshin.

Once again, it was Xiangling who broke the silence, asking, "Xingqiu...is that you?" in a tentative tone.

Thought the blue-haired girl nodded in response to Xiangling's question, her attention was focused on Paul as she asked, Are you, perchance, my new Master, Paul Notos Greyrat?"

Seeing Paul nod his head in affirmation, the boyish-looking girl performed a flawless curtsy as she said, "My name is Xingqiu. In my previous world, I was the Second Son of the Feiyun Commerce Guild's Guild Manager. In this world, I am your humble servant. If there is anything you need of me, please do not hesitate to ask."

Realizing that the diminutive girl before him was one of the genderbent characters he had been dreading to summon, Paul responded with a soft, "Right..." before asking, "How do you feel? Any...discomfort...?"

Tilting her head to the side, Xingqiu asked, "I'm afraid I don't understand the reason for Master Paul's concerns. Am I injured somewhere...?"

Giving her body a once-over, Xinqiu quickly realized what Paul was asking about when she noticed the drastic differences in her form. When she did, an uncannily bashful smile developed across her face as she said, "It will undoubtedly take some getting used to, but I had prepared myself for this outcome when I signed the contract. If there is one thing I might request, it's that you wait until I'm a bit older before-"

Before Xingqiu could finish her appeal, she was promptly dragged off to the side by Xiangling and Yaoyao. They didn't know exactly what she was going to request, but it didn't take a virtuoso to surmise it was something lewd.

Though she was more than a little confused by Xiangling's and Yaoyao's actions, Xingqiu didn't resist. She just assumed they were following Paul's orders and allowed herself to be dragged over to where the others were waiting. She attempted to greet Zhongli, Xinyan, and Jean there but was ultimately hindered when Xiangling dragged her further away to whisper something into her ear.

Exhaling a tired sigh, Paul briefly considered praying to the RNG gods that he didn't pull another genderbent character. Unfortunately, even thinking such thoughts drastically increased the odds of such an event happening, a fact Paul was promptly reminded of when the next 10-Pull shifted to a purple hue and impacted the platform.

"Oh? Is it time for the main character to make an appearance...?"

Seeing a petite figure with dark-blue hair, bronzed skin, hazy blue eyes, and an eye patch emerge from within the purple light, Pual's expression became solemn. Even if he was genderbent, Paul immediately recognized the mischievous-looking girl, muttering, "Kaeya..." in a deflated tone.

"Hmmm~?"

Hearing Paul mutter her name, Kaeya gave him a quick once over before looking down and giving her body the same. A curious glimmer promptly appeared in her singular, uncovered eye as she said, "One sec...I need to check something..." before turning around with her back facing Paul and the rest.

Before Paul could ask what Kaeya was up to, his expression became even gloomier when the chocolate girl hiked up the front of her dark-blue Maid outfit, stretched the band of her white hose, and remarked, "Farewell, my brother..." before adding a cheeky, "Helly, little kitty..."

Preventing Kaeya from examining her new form even further, Jean threw her wooden sword so that the pommel impacted the former's head. Kaeya was immediately knocked unconscious by the blow, faceplanting into the ground as Jean walked over with a furious blush on her face and said, "I'll take care of this idiot..." before hastily dragging the unconscious blunette away.

"..."

Deciding to entrust the matter to Jean, Paul returned his attention to the stone dais in a vain attempt to forget he had summoned one of the more troublesome characters in the game. Kaeya wasn't a bad person, but he, now she, was the type that got off on teasing and messing around with others. Paul couldn't even imagine the number of headaches her former self had caused Jean. Now, mere weeks after she was finally 'free' of her tormentor, Jean and Kaeya had been reunited. Paul legitimately felt sorry for them both...

Shaking such thoughts from his mind, Paul muttered, "Time to find out if Pity is a thing..."

Back in the original Genshin Impact, players that had failed to get a 5-Star within 90 Rolls were guaranteed to get one on their ninetieth roll. Before the start of his spree, the last person Paul summoned had been the 5-Star Jean. Since then, he had performed eight consecutive 10-Pulls, so if the Pity System did exist, he was guaranteed to get a 5-Star on the next one.

Rubbing his hands together, Paul silently whispered, "Come on, Albedo or Ganyu..." in a hopeful tone. He had already gotten Jean, so if he could get Ganyu, Paul would have all pulled both of his favorite female characters in short order. Hopefully, Yaoyao's appearance was a precursor to obtaining the loveably awkward Qilin girl...

Seeing the meteor shift from pale blue to a luminous shade of gold, Paul couldn't help leaping to his feet and shouting, "Come on...!" with a scary look in his eyes. He was like a gambler that had just placed his house on the line in one last bet. It was a very apt comparison considering that 90 pulls were equivalent to $9,000,000 back in his previous world.

Shielding his eyes to block the shockwave that occurred when the golden comet impacted the central platform, Paul was momentarily unable to see the form of the person that had appeared. Despite this, he instantly knew who it was as a soft yet cold voice asked, "Are you the one who will help me reclaim Eternity...?"