Intensity

"This has got to be some kind of joke..."

Though he had obtained a few Constellations and a new ally in the form of a Sumerian woman with white hair and red eyes named Cyno, Paul's third significant summoning spree was turning out to be more of a Klee upgrade event than anything else.

Over the course of 63 10-Pulls, Paul had 'missed' 39 times, obtained 17 4-Star Weapons, and 14 Character Constellations. Among these, there were some pretty interesting pulls, such as acquiring Lisa's sixth Constellation, Eula's second, and firsts for Shenhe, Mona, Yae, and Yoimiya. However, as exciting as these pulls were, they were overshadowed by the Intersection of Fate's almost blatant favoritism of Klee...

After feeding gold coins into the platform for the 63rd time, at least in this particular session, Paul once again welcomed the almost titillating sight of a beautiful golden meteor. His heart raced and his scalp tingled, but when the meteor invariably impacted the platform, the smile on his face became noticeably cramped as an increasingly familiar loli popped out.

"Yaaay~! Another one for Klee~!"

While he was happy that Klee had obtained another Constellation, it was the fact she was now on her fifth that left Paul at a loss for words. As far as he knew, the odds of obtaining a specific 5-Star Character were equal across the board, the only exception being the Archons. Yet, as if the IOF couldn't bear to see her sad, Paul had obtained two more copies of Klee's personal weapon and her fifth Constellation while the vast majority of his 5-Star allies were still in their fragmented base states.

Suppressing his mild incredulity, Paul adopted a smile that was equally sincere and awkward as he said, "Congratulations, Klee. If things keep going at this rate, you'll be the first 5-Star to awaken max Constellations. How are you feeling?"

Cupping her cheeks, Klee appeared even more bubbly than usual as she happily replied, "Klee feels amazing...it's like my whole body is filled with warmth and ready to explode~!"

Though he knew Klee's words were hyperbole, the corner of Paul's smile briefly twitched as he said, "Well...try not to..."

"Ehehehehe~"

Shaking his head, Paul returned his attention to the summoning circle and continued his spree. The eighty pulls that followed rewarded him with a fifth Constellation for Yun Jin, the final upgrade for his Black Sword, and a 4-Star Bow known as Predator.

While he was more than a little happy to have his favorite weapon finally uncapped to the max, Paul shelved his excitement for later. He had a Pity roll to knock out, so he quickly fed an additional hundred gold coins into the summoning circle before placing his palms down, adopting a serious expression, and shouting, "Confirm...!"

Though the sheen of the golden meteor caused his heart to pound, Paul was far more 'sober' than usual. This particular Pity roll was his 72nd for the evening, yet he had only obtained a single new ally. While that wasn't even remotely a bad thing, spending thousands of gold with very little to 'show' for it was a little unnerving.

As the golden meteor struck the platform, Paul had mixed feelings about seeing ethereal versions of Beidou and Kokomi pop out. He was happy for both of them, but the notion he wasn't going to obtain anything new was beginning to solidify within his mind. He still had abundant gold to spend, but he was starting to feel a considerable 'gacha fatigue.'

Unwilling to give up just yet, Paul began his ninth round of summoning in earnest. His first 10-Pull was a miss, but his second rewarded him with a Constellation for Tama(Thoma), her second one. What came after was yet another purple meteor, but rather than a Constellation, what popped out was a petite, roughly 156cm tall woman with pale, silvery-purple hair, soft green eyes, and a maid outfit reminiscent of a knight's attire.

Unable to control himself, Paul practically bounced to his feet, shouting, "Hell yeah!" while pumping his fist. He immediately recognized the young woman as Noelle, who, despite only being a 4-Star Character, had eluded him for years.

Though she was a little befuddled by Paul's behavior, Noelle maintained a calm and professional smile, waiting for him to calm down before offering a courteous bow and stating, "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Master Paul. My name is Noelle, Noelle Gainsbury."

Blinking in surprise, Paul asked, "You have a family name...?"

Nodding her head in affirmation, Noelle replied, "My family is one of the many that helped to found the Knights of Favonius. It is my dream to one day join their ranks. To that end, if there is anything you require of me, you need only ask."

Feeling a lot better now that Noelle had joined their ranks, Paul managed a sincere smile as he said, "That's great to hear. Welcome to the world of Mushoku Tensei, Noelle. Glad to have you with us."

While returning a smile of her own, Noelle took a moment to look around, her eyes immediately locking onto Klee. She was hoping to see Jean and Albedo alongside her, but the radiant smile on the young girl's face made it clear she hadn't been mistreated.

Noticing the deviation in Noelle's gaze, Paul looked over his shoulder to find Klee staring back at him with her upgraded Dodoco Tales in hand. His attention brought an even more radiant smile to her face, so Paul returned one of his own before turning back to Noelle and asking, "Mind helping us look after Klee? I'm assuming Alice asked you something similar."

Though her eyes briefly widened, Noelle made no attempt to conceal the truth, admitting, "Indeed. Ever since Klee was summoned, Lady Alice has been beside herself with concern. She asked those of us that remained to please take care of her if we were summoned in advance."

As he would also be worried if his children abruptly disappeared and fell into the hands of someone he wasn't knowledgeable of, Paul didn't take offense to Alice's apparent mistrust. He was a little curious to know why Cyno hadn't mentioned something similar but decided not to inquire as it might inadvertently offend the white-haired, incredibly taciturn girl from Sumeru.

Setting aside his concerns, Paul supplied a curt nod before suggesting, "Please join Klee and the others. I'm currently in the middle of a spree to try and obtain 'Lady Alice,' so it will be dangerous for you to remain on the platform."

Pleasantly surprised by the revelation, Noelle's practiced smile gained a hint of sincerity as she lowered her head and replied, "As you will." in an audibly chipper tone. First impressions were very important, so she was relieved to see how straightforward and kind Paul appeared to be. There was a chance he was putting on airs, but that didn't make a lot of sense, considering he could order them to do whatever he wanted.

With Noelle joining the others, Paul returned to his summoning spree with renewed vigor. His subsequent two pulls were misses, but the three that followed rewarded him with a third Constellation for Ningguang, a fourth for Xiangling, and the first for Cyno. Then, as if Noelle's summoning had liberated him from his dry streak, his 5-Star Pity pull was yet another new summon, a bespectacled, incredibly buxom beauty with stylish green hair and yellow eyes.

Resisting the urge to stare at the woman's exposed navel, Paul adopted a welcoming smile as he questioned, "If I'm not mistaken, you're Dr. Baizhu, correct? If so, welcome to the world of Mushoku Tensei."

Nodding her head in affirmation, Baizhu replied in a soft yet husky tone, "Your assumption is correct. My name is Baizhu Lengshi, Chief Physician and former proprietor of Bubu Pharmacy. If there is anything that ails you, I will do my best to be of service."

Noticing an incongruency between Baizhu and virtually everyone else he had summoned, Paul remarked, "You're not wearing a maid outfit...?" in a marginally confused tone.

"Hmmm...?"

Looking down at her body, Baizhu somewhat playfully inquired, "Does my attire not suit your tastes?"

Deciding it was probably for the best if he didn't harp over the matter, Paul shook his head and said, "You look great." before gesturing toward the peanut gallery and adding, "Why don't you join the others. Ningguang will help you get up to speed. I'm currently in the middle of a summoning spree."

Shifting her gaze to Ningguang, Baizhu narrowed her snake-like eyes and mused, "Ah, if it isn't the Lady Tianquan. How has my Qiqi been...?"

Adopting a business-like smile, Ningguang replied, "Why don't you come over here, and I'll tell you all about her?"

Nodding her head, Baizhu stepped off the summoning platform and joined Ningguang. In her wake, Paul, Ganyu, and Xinyan took a few moments to clear away some of the weapons clutter before returning to their positions and continuing with the summoning spree.

With three new allies at his side, one of which was regarded as the best Physician in their world, it was fair to say Paul was in high spirits. His next set of summons didn't reward him with anything new, but obtaining 4-Star Weapons and Constellations for Shinobu and Lynette weren't exactly 'bad' things. Rather, as the only source for Vision-based weaponry in the world of Mushoku Tensei, he was going to need an abundance of extra weapons to gift out and sell to Vision-bearers in the future.

Moving on to his next set of pulls, Paul was somewhat disappointed to obtain nothing but 4-Star Weapons during his first eight pulls, but that changed rather swiftly when he performed what would ultimately be his final pull for the night.

Though the meteor possessed the same golden luminance as every other 5-Star Character Paul had received, he quickly realized something was off when Ei abruptly appeared at his side. She didn't speak, but her presence was enough to suggest that the person contained within the meteor was either very powerful or dangerous.

Making it pretty obvious who Paul had summoned, the temperature atop the summoning platform began to increase as the Visions adorning Klee's and Xinyan's outfits began to glow. The temperature became even more intense when the meteor impacted the platform and practically exploded, but Paul forced himself to continue staring forward as a vermillion-haired woman with fiery eyes, and an incredible figure emerged with a confident yet fierce expression on her face.

Ignoring the presence of Ei, the vermillion-haired woman, none other than the Pyro Archon, Murata, adopted a wolfish grin as she stared at Paul and inquired, "So, you're the lucky bastard that gets to call himself my Master, eh? Your face and body ain't bad, but how are your aptitudes as a warrior? Don't tell me you make a habit of hiding behind this brat...?"

As one of the 'original' Seven, preceding Ei's rule by nearly 4000 years, the only other Archon Murata respected was Zhongli. As far as she was concerned, Ei was just a weak-willed brat who couldn't accept the loss of her sister. She might not be able to compete with her in terms of speed, but in an actual war, she was confident she would come out ahead more often than not.

Interjecting before a fight could break out, Paul adopted a serious and resolute expression as he replied, "I'll do whatever I must to ensure the survival of my world and the restoration of Teyvat. Ei has been keeping me safe until I am strong enough to stand independently. You're free to look down on me, but I won't tolerate you picking fights or insulting those who work tirelessly to achieve our shared objective..."

"Hoooo...?"

Crossing her arms, a somewhat predator smile developed across Murata's face as she stared at Paul with her thin, dragon-like pupils. She was also willing to do whatever it took to restore her world, so if Paul hadn't been up to the challenge, she would have searched for a few good men to help her sire some children. Seeing Paul stand his ground despite his dried skin beginning to crack and splinter gave Murata the impression she might not have to...

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(A/N: This is the end of Volume 2. If you've enjoyed the story thus far, feel free to let me know in the comments section. However, as I want to focus on finishing EPIC, this is the last chapter of MI unless the story somehow ends up in the top 3 on webnovel. My priority will always be writing stories that the community wants to read, so if enough people want me to focus on MI, that's exactly what I'll do.)