All the credits to Hoyoverse.
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Chapter 2: Midnight Mission
Snap!
Suddenly, Felix's eyes flew open.
Quickly, he scanned the area with caution. His eyes darted from one corner to another, searching for any sign of movement.
Fortunately, the fire still crackled faintly in the middle of the camp, keeping away any kinds of dangers.
"Let's check the map." Felix pulled out the system's map for final clarification.
Seeing nothing wrong there either, Felix finnally sighed in relief.
He stretched, letting out a long yawn as soreness prickled across his back and limbs.
"No matter how many nights I spend outside, the wild still feels alien. I just can't get used to it". The stiffness in his neck made him wince slightly.
"What time is it now?" he wondered aloud.
A simple thought command was all it took to bring up the time display.
[11:45 PM.]
Besides the map, the system provided with a built-in clock, mission log, inventory, and other handy tools. These features made Felix's daily life much more convenient.
The glowing numbers hovered in the corner of his vision.
"Good grief... it was just a small nap," he muttered and turned to look around.
The forest remained covered in darkness. The stars had vanished behind drifting clouds, leaving only the moonlight as the source of light.
It was almost midnight. A time when most creatures slept and the world grew silent.
Perfect time to execute his plan.
"They should all be asleep by now... right?," Felix murmured under his breath.
Instead of speaking further, he willed the system menu to open with a thought. The familiar quest flickered into view before his eyes.
Side Quest: Troubles in Springvale [Currently Active]
— Reports indicate an increase in group of hilichurls activity north of Springvale. Investigate the source. (0/1)
— If necessary, reduce their numbers. (0/30)
Felix rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"Although the quest says to investigate the cause first, if I don't deal with these guys now, sneaking around later will be a pain. So, I better face them first. And if the system's right, which usually is the case, then I'm looking at fighting up to thirty of them."
His brow furrowed at the number.
Even after grinding hard for the last two months and finally reaching level 35, that was no small challenge. He can take out a simple hilichurl easily but charging in head-on would be asking for trouble.
Not to mention, he doesn't have a vision. So, under normal conditions, he can't rely much on elemental power either.
He grimaced, imagining the struggle this task might turn into. Those creatures might be dumb, but thirty of them were no joke. He wasn't built like an action hero who could fight hordes alone in the moonlight.
So, he decided on a plan based on the most basic logic of the game that hilichurls sleep. Even monsters needed rest after all.
And while they snored away peacefully in their camps, he could sneak in and deal some serious damage without needing to go toe-to-toe with all of them.
Of course, that still wouldn't be enough to wipe out a whole group, even if they were unaware of the attack.
That was why Felix had prepared a secret weapon. And Felix, thanks to his knowledge from playing the game, that he knew where to find it.
He pulled a small cloth bag closer and carefully peeked inside. A faint scent of gunpowder mixed with sweetness wafted up to his nose.
It was packed with homemade bombs—small, round, and colorfully painted.
"I really hope she doesn't find out I stole her treasure trove," Felix muttered. One of the bombs inside still had a tiny bunny sticker smiling back at him.
Yes, that's right. This was the secret weapon he had prepared. Klee's personal stash of bombs.
But for Klee, they weren't only bombs. They were precious treasures she had carefully buried along one of the grassy slopes in Whispering Woods.
While Klee was being detained again for blowing up fish near Mondstadt City's gates, Felix had quietly grabbed a shovel. The following evening, he made his way to the exact spot where she had buried them.
A little digging, and the treasure was his. Simple as that.
As for the consequences of Klee finding out that it was Felix who stole her treasures?
He didn't want to think about that. It was already too late for him to have second thoughts now.
His mind was fully focused on completing the mission ahead.
Felix stood up and slung the bag over his shoulder. Then he crouched beside Timmie. The boy was still fast asleep, snoring softly.
"Wakey wakey, chosen one, time to go." Felix whispered, giving his shoulder a gentle shake.
Timmie groaned in protest and curled up tighter like a sleeping hedgehog.
"Mmmrrf... ten more minutes..." he mumbled, voice muffled against his knees.
"Come on, hero of pigeons. The fate of Springvale rests on your sleepy shoulders," Felix teased softly as he gave another shake, this time, a little strong.
"Why does fate always rest on my shoulders?" Still eyes shut, Timmie grumbled. "Can't it rest on my back for once? My shoulders are tired."
Felix pinched his cheek with a finger. His voice wasn't so teasing this time. "You want me to launch a firecracker next to your head?"
"Ouch, ouch! Stop! Stop! I am waking up! Stop pinching me!" Finally, Timmie woke up, grabbing his red swollen cheeks.
Then, he noticed that, it was still night outside and Felix had packed everything, "Are we returning now?"
"Yeah, about that... wanna do something thrilling?" Felix gave a stupid smile that Timmie didn't like at all.
***
"I want you to consider a peaceful resolution," Timmie, hearing where they were heading, tried changing Felix's mind. "Maybe try talking to them. Ask them how they feel. Why are they attacking the innocent animals and tell them to stop doing that."
"Right. I'll schedule a therapy session for them after they stop throwing axes at my head," Felix replied dryly. The thought alone made him snort.
As they walked under the cover of trees, the leaves rustled gently in the breeze.
Somewhere in the distance, an owl gave a hollow hoot.
"Are you seriously going to hunt hilichurls?" Timmie finally blurted out his concerns, "If so, why did you even bring me along with you? Doesn't that put you in disadvantage?"
"Stop talking, you will know when we reach there." Felix hissed the boy and kept on moving.
Eventually, they reached a quiet clearing tucked between Springvale and Wolvendom. It was exactly where the local peoples spotted frequent hilichurl movements.
Felix crouched low behind a bush and poked Timmie's side to get his attention.
"There. Look."
A little distance away, scattered on the open ground, lay a good number of hilichurls sleeping. They snored in peace, sounding like some strange, primitive orchestra.
One hilichurl hugged its wooden club tightly against its chest, like a child holding a pillow.
Felix grinned, eyes shining as he stared at the clueless hilichurls sprawled across the field. They had no idea what was coming.
"It's about showtime," He set the bag down, opened it carefully, and pulled out one of Klee's famous Jumpy Dumpties.
Timmie's attention immediately drew towards them. "Wait... aren't those Klee's bombs?"
"No, of course not," Felix replied far too quickly. His voice didn't cracked even a little when lying.
Timmie rubbed his eyes and looked again. He saw it clearly.
"One of those has a duck-shaped fuse."
"Coincidence."
"That one says Boomie Junior' on it.
Felix sighed.
"Okay, so maybe I borrowed a few."
"She's going to destroy us." Timmie's voice was filled with dread. If these bombs are borrowed as said by Felix, then they must be borrowed by Felix without asking the owner.
"She won't find out if we don't get found out."
"You're insane."
"Thanks. Now move it."
Felix waved him aside.
Timmie glanced at him moving toward the hilichurls. "You're really gonna do it, huh?"
Felix nodded, already walking closer to the target. There was no hesitation in his movements.
Timmie sighed deeply. "I just want it on the record that I advised against this."
"Noted and ignored, counselor."
Felix took a deep breath.
Without Timmie noticing, Felix summoned a small firestick from his inventory. A quick flick, and the fuse lit with a sharp hiss.
He hurled the first Jumpy Dumpties bomb. It bounced twice across the ground with soft thuds.
Whomp!
Explosion!
Then it, exploded!
A thunderous sound echoed, sending a small shockwave rippling through the area.
The hilichurls, completely unprepared, were flung into the air like ragdolls. Their limbs flailed wildly before they crashed back to the earth.
When they landed, none of them moved an inch. They embraced the motherland forever, silent and still.
Felix didn't waste a second. He pulled out another bomb, and hurled it with perfect aim.
This one burst mid-air, doing little damage than before.
The hilichurls who remained awake and unharmed, looked at Felix's direction with angers.
"Ah, crap! I didn't want to fight this early!"
Felix summoned a dull blade from his inventory. Its edge gleamed faintly under the moonlight.
Without hesitation, he dashed forward and struck the hilichurl before it could make a move.
Similarliy, he took out the others two hilichurls who tried to attack his blind spots with his quick movements.
Luckily, there were only two of them.
Felix exhaled slowly, glancing at the fallen enemies.
"Okay, that's six down," His grip tightened on the blade. "Only twenty-four more to go."
Just then, more hilichurls dashed toward their direction.
The loud explosion from earlier had woken the nearby camps. Now, a larger group stormed into the clearing. There were at least ten of them.
They paused for a moment, seeing the two humans and their fallen comrades. Then they roared in anger, weapons raised high.
Without waiting, they charged straight at Felix. Their wooden clubs and bows were ready to strike the head of their target.
But Felix stayed calm. His expression didn't change.
He casually reached into the bag and pulled out a Jumpy Dumpties' Bomb. With a flick, he tossed it toward the incoming hilichurls.
The bomb landed perfectly and burst into a thick cloud of red gas. Within seconds, half of the charging hilichurls stumbled back.
Some dropped their weapons, hacking and choking. Others collapsed outright, their strength failing them.
Just like previous group, they were also helpless as Felix stormed through them swinging his sword.
"Hahaha! I feel like a five star character right now!"
It was complete chaos. But to Felix, it was controlled chaos.
Satisfied, a grin stretched across his face as he finished defeating the last of this batch of hilichurls.
"Alright... Operation Midnight Mischief is going well."
Coming out of his safeplace, Timmie stood beside Felix.
"You... you named this?"
Felix shrugged.
"I had time. So, I did it for fun. Why? You don't like it?"
Timmie sighed deeply, rubbing his face. He knew arguing was pointless.
Whatever he said wouldn't reach this madman's ear now. Felix was completely lost in his hunting frenzy.
Timmie couldn't help but only regret coming here.
Little did he know, he was going to regret it even more later on.