Volume 7: Court of Fontaine Starts !
Fontaine was a nation of water.
Its geographical environment was rather unique within the continent of Teyvat. If one were to view the continent as a flat plane, then the entire Fontaine landmass would appear as a raised plateau, protruding dozens if not hundreds of meters above the rest.
It was as though the peak of a colossal mountain had been leveled flat, its altitude towering over the neighboring nations.
From the edges of Fontaine, vast quantities of water poured down ceaselessly, forming an encircling, colossal waterfall.
These waters flowed outward in all directions, linking together the continent's river systems. Nearly all of Teyvat's waterways originated in Fontaine, only to eventually return there in the end.
Thus Fontaine was revered as the Nation of Water, and Lumidouce Harbor had been built along the cliffs marking Fontaine's borders.
It was divided into two tiers.
The lower tier lay beneath the cliffs of Fontaine's rim. Covering a wide expanse, it bustled with activity as countless merchant vessels docked there to unload their cargo.
Ascending via the great lift from the lower tier led one to the upper tier.
The upper tier sat atop the cliffs, smaller in area, yet also hosting many vessels—these ships came not to unload, but to take on goods.
It seemed that the lifts of Lumidouce Harbor were unable to raise entire ships, making it necessary for merchants above to load goods onto awaiting vessels.
Standing on the solid stone ground after disembarking, Nolan and his companions marveled not only at the sheer number of ships nearby, but also at the unbelievable sight of the waterfall that encircled the entire island.
"So this is Lumidouce Harbor?"
Lumine sighed in wonder. Even having wandered across the stars and witnessed countless marvels, geography like Fontaine's was truly rare.
"Mhm!"
Nolan nodded in agreement.
Back when he first crossed into this world, the Fontaine map had not even been unlocked, so this was his first time laying eyes upon the nation. He had never imagined it would look like this.
Every other land of Teyvat appeared relatively normal, only Fontaine was so peculiar. There must be some special reason behind this, Nolan mused.
It didn't feel like a naturally formed landscape.
"Let's head toward the lift. Looks like we still need to register." Paimon pointed ahead.
Entering another country usually required proper registration.
In time, once Nolan became familiar here and obtained some form of long-term residency, whether he registered or not would hardly matter.
But for now, it was best to follow the rules.
Otherwise, with the fame he and Lumine carried, if they were spotted in Fontaine without entry records, it would be obvious they had entered illegally.
Even setting aside the inconvenience, such rumors would harm their reputation.
And that, in turn, would hinder the collection of "Spirituality."
Recently, Nolan had accumulated enough "Spirituality" to bestow hundreds of new attributes, though he had yet to expend them.
In the Wonderland, the girls—including Kitsune Saiguu, who had only just awakened from the Phantom Bell—already had attributes well-suited for them.
Having just awakened, Kitsune Saiguu was still in the state of a weakened spirit body, so naturally her Spirit Attributes were focused on accelerating recovery.
At the same time, the Great Lord Rukkhadevata's spirit body had stabilized as well. Together with Nahida, she had slightly revised their earlier plans, and the two had successfully implemented the "Akasha" system within the Wonderland.
The method was simple: by leveraging the Waymark's link, Nahida continuously transmitted everything she perceived of the Akasha System directly to Rukkhadevata.
Then Rukkhadevata only needed to use her authority over dreams to project it as a virtual dream-interface.
This approach consumed far less than having her bear part of the Akasha System herself, while also allowing everyone in the Wonderland to experience the full "Akasha Network" without needing personal terminals.
It was a new solution devised after days of discussion between Nahida and Rukkhadevata—and to Nolan, it carried a strangely familiar sense of déjà vu.
He soon realized why.
Isn't this exactly the principle of cloud gaming?
Nahida's "Akasha" system handled all the computation, while Rukkhadevata simply projected it into the Wonderland.
Before long, Paimon was flying ahead, with Nolan and Lumine following behind, and the three of them arrived at the lift.
Several staff in blue soldier-style uniforms were stationed there, along with a few pale-golden mechanical sentries.
Clearly, they were meant to prevent anyone from forcing their way through.
"Hello, we'd like to enter Fontaine," Paimon said to one of the blue-uniformed staff.
"No problem, please show me your documents."
The uniformed staffer nodded.
It seemed this checkpoint mainly verified travel documents—only after a proper inspection could one proceed.
Naturally, Nolan and the others had their papers. Back when they became honorary knights of the Knights of Favonius, Acting Grand Master Jean had arranged Mondstadt's travel documents for them.
Their documents carried a special note of their status as Honorary Knights.
"Very well, no issues. Honorary Knights of Mondstadt, Fontaine welcomes you. After taking the lift up, please head over to the harbor office for registration."
The staffer gestured for them to enter a lift shaped like a round house. The doors shut automatically, and the mechanism began to ascend.
A gentle upward force pressed against their feet—they could feel how fast the lift was rising.
After just over a minute, the lift stopped, and the doors opened.
At the doorway stood another blue-uniformed official, hat on his head, who addressed them:
"Welcome to Fontaine. Please follow me to complete registration."
"Alright," Nolan nodded.
He and Lumine stepped out and followed him to the nearby harbor office.
Inside, the staff member was a young woman with orange-red hair. Her hands folded before her waist, she looked at them and said,
"Welcome. I'm Yalard, the harbor officer here. For new arrivals, please fill out this form and show your travel documents again."
"Of course, thank you, Miss Yalard."
They handed over their documents. On the counter lay a thick stack of forms—clearly the ones meant for new entries.
Each of them took one and began to fill it out.
The questions were simple—basic identity information, where they came from, their occupation, and so on.
In no time they were finished, and with official papers granting them legal stay in Fontaine, they left the harbor office.
Stepping out through its doors, they found themselves at the upper docks. From here, if one wanted to reach Fontaine Court or other parts of the nation, the usual way was by ship.
"Wow, there are so many people here!"
The dock's center was a broad waterway, and on both sides throngs of people waited for boats.
Since Lumidouce Harbor was close to Liyue's Chenyu Vale, most of the crowd were Liyue natives rather than Fontainians.
Some were ordinary travelers; others were merchants here for business.
"Huh? Look over to the left—why are so many people gathered around?" Paimon shaded her eyes with her hand and peered, puzzlement in her voice.
(End of Chapter)