"Nine…teen…!" I grit my teeth as I pushed myself off the floor. "Twenty…!"
The next moment, I lost strength in my arms, and I collapsed face-first onto the floor of my room. I didn't care though. My entire body was covered in sweat, and my breaths were haggard as I fought the tightness in my chest. I groaned as I gave my Status a quick look.
[Venti - Wanderer
Body: 4
Speed: 4
Mind: 3
Elemental: 0]
I sighed in relief as I saw my Body. Finally, it rose by another one point. Raising it to 3 took only one day, but getting to 4 took me almost an entire week of routine morning exercises. It implied that each increase was exponentially harder than the last, and I could only shiver in terror as I pondered over how much work I needed to put in for the future.
But I needed to. If I was to get my Elemental beyond a pitiful 0, I needed to get my Body high enough to use my second 5★.
[Wind Breathing: Divine 5★
Your being thrums with the strength of winds. Wild and free, bursting with the energy of freedom. The skies responds to your call, and your winds shall carve through even the tallest mountains
When activated: Increases all Attributes by 800%, Increases Speed and Elemental by an additional 500%, Infuses every attack with Anemo, Allows the User to integrate other Elements into their winds at will.
-WARNING! Using this Talent below 20 Body will cause great harm to the User-]
Using this Talent was the only way I could use to increase my Elemental. At least a way to do so without asking Morax or Guizhong. Not that I could—I haven't seen them both in a while, and they seemed busy last I caught sight of them.
It was certainly a struggle though.
I breathed out harshly as I stood up. My limbs felt like tofu, but I'd recover. That, and I still have to join my assigned hunting group in an hour—I couldn't just lay around on my floor as I waited to recover. I gave my arms one last stretch as I dressed myself, grabbing my hunting bow as I left my room.
Unfortunately, I'd found that I couldn't shove everything into my Inventory. They had to be things my System 'recognized', so to say. Unlike when I held my [Hamayumi] or the [Sacrificial Sword], no description pop-up appeared when I was first given my hunting bow at the initiation.
Still, I guess it'd be kinda hard to explain why I could do that. I wasn't a god, or even an adepti. Just a local refugee with a Genshin System.
Yeah.
But when I arrived at where my group should've gathered, I was surprised to find no one but our instructor. His eyes practically bulged when he saw me approach, before it turned to something I could only describe as absolute joy. "To think someone actually came! All blessings I heap to you!"
I tilted my head, slightly confused. "What do you mean, Jiǎngshī?"
He ran a hand through his greying hair. "It's the Annual Martial Tournament, Venti." He explained, gesturing for me to sit on the stump next to his. I did as he suggested. "Every year, Morax holds a festival to determine outstanding fighters, allowing our militia to scout for anyone who could join their ranks." He sighed tiredly. "It is why so few of our sons join us as hunters."
I nodded. No wonder I've been seeing so many martial artists walking the streets as of late. Unfortunately, though I had the [Sacrificial Sword] in my Inventory, I didn't actually know how to use a sword. "I probably wouldn't have joined if I'd known." I chuckled. "I can do little else but use my bow to hunt, Jiǎngshī."
He shook his head in exasperation. "You could do so much more than that, Venti." He smiled at me. "Still, I am thankful you choose to aid us instead." He grimaced. "Hunting has become harder as of late."
I frowned. "You've told us about that." I said, remembering his aggrieved words he spoke of when I asked if I could join the hunting squad. "What do you mean?"
He stared at me for a moment, and then realized something. "Ah, I forgot you were a refugee from beyond." He ran a hand across his face. "The war of the gods has begun to encroach on our borders. Many animals have fled." He closed his eyes. "Soon, I fear we will need to hunt monsters instead."
I pursed my lips. "That will be an issue." Not exactly for me per se—my Genshin System allowed me to even the odds. But the same couldn't be said for the other recruits in our squad. I could tell my instructor was worried they'd drop out like flies the moment their targets switched course.
We sat in silence for some time, before my instructor stood up. "Our site to the north has dried up." He told me, and he frowned as he looked at me. "I will head to the west. You are free to leave if you desire, Venti."
My eyes went wide. Heading to the west meant diving straight for the Qingyun Peaks. Both a nesting ground for monsters, and the adepti that keep those monsters at bay. There'd no doubt be boars for them to hunt, but the threat of monsters kept many away from even attempting it.
"I can follow you!"
He opened his mouth to say something, and then smiled. "Your aid will be great, Venti."
Not much was said as we left. The guards looked confused when we left through the western gates, but they soon gave us pitying gazes as we left. They too understood what needed to be done, but there was little they could do.
Soon we were out in the wilderness, and before long, Qingyue Peaks became visible. It was almost impossible to imagine how someone would reach the very tops, let alone live there. But it's common knowledge that Morax often gathers with his allies up there every new year that passes.
Then again, I guess he's a god. It's not much of a surprise.
Hours later, we came to the foot of one of the mountains. The forest surrounding the Peaks was lush and massive, covering most of the ground with shade. There were many places for potential prey they could hunt to hide. There were just as many places monsters could be stalking them from.
"Stay behind me." My instructor whispered, his knuckles white as he held onto his bow. I nodded, falling in step behind him as I kept an eye on our backs. Silence fell between us both, broken only by the intermittent rustling of the leaves above.
Then-
My instructor saw something at the corner of his eye, and with precision built over decades, his arrow flew forward and struck a boar right in its side. It squealed as it left the tree it'd been hiding behind, and it glared as it charged towards them.
He was still in the midst of notching another arrow, so I moved instead. I leapt to the left, and taking a deep breath, I took my aim and let the arrow fly. A sharp twack rang out as my arrow struck the boar right between its eyes. Squealing weakly, it stumbled over its own legs before it crashed into the dirt.
"Good work." He whispered, and I smiled back. We hung the boar up on the trees with some rope, both to let the blood drain and to keep it away from any potential predators. And once we were down, off we went.
Two hours went by, and we hunted four more boars. None of them posed us any trouble, though the darkness caused by the forest shade allowed one of the boars to get far too close for comfort. Since there were only both of us, we decided to return after that. The instructor carried four of the boars, while I only carried one. It was a little embarrassing, but my instructor was a former general in the militia—his muscles weren't just for show.
Strangely, as we began our trek back to Guili Assembly, I couldn't help but feel like someone was watching us. It made me turn back to Qingyue Peaks a few times, but I decided to ignore it as we walked away. It was probably just an adepti watching over us or something.
When we finally returned home and gave our haul to the local butcher, my instructor had an odd request. "Come with me." He said, his voice solemn. "I have something I must show you." I nodded, and silently followed as he brought me to a…graveyard. Before a grave; the name carved in the stone was lost to time.
Oh.
"The gods continue to wage war." He began softly. "We are nothing compared to them. Morax and Guizhong shield us now, but conflict continues to fester. A poison that spreads across the land." He turned to me, and he smiled tiredly. "No one knows how long we have left in this world."
I took a breath. "Jiǎngshī…"
He huffed, and he pulled out a small medal from his pockets. "Here." He dropped it onto my hand. "From now on, you are officially a Hunter." He smiled. "My task is done."
"B-But it's only been a week!" I stuttered. Some of the other apprentices I hunted with had been with my instructor for months! There was no way I was qualified to actually start hunting! I wouldn't even be able to carry my haul back if I went out!
"And you have surpassed many others during then." He said instead. "If only others are as dedicated as you are." He scoffed. "Instead they laze and drag their feet. Fools, they are."
I still felt somewhat skeptical as I held the medal, but I swallowed the rest of my words and bowed. "Thank you, Jiǎngshī!"
He rolled his eyes. "Alright, alright. Off you go, Venti. Let this old man spend his time in peace." I smiled wryly at his words, and giving him a wave, I made my way back to my room.
…
Later, as I sat on my bed, I took a breath as I looked into my Inventory.
As of now, I had 4 pieces of 'artifacts' I could equip. 3 I'd gotten from the Gacha, and the medal I'd gotten from my instructor counted as the 4th. If I could somehow get another one, I'd have the max number of artifacts I could equip at the same time. Still, I was somewhat surprised the medal even counted as an artifact. And even more so when I saw its description.
[Guili Official Hunter Medallion 1★
A medal of bronze, denoting your official stance as one of Guili's Hunters.
Increases Arrow damage by 5%. Increases Speed growth by 10%. Increases growth of any Archery Talents by 10%.
-1/5 Guili Official Artifact Equipped-]
"I wonder what'd happen if I got all five…" I wondered to myself. No, in the first place, how would I even get the other 4 pieces? Did I have to become an official in every single profession or something? Was that even allowed?
That aside, now that I was officially a Hunter I was able to enter and leave Guili Assembly without supervision. It wasn't that important, and I still had to take care of Yinxing until her mother returned home, but the option was still nice. Maybe I'd even go out and find some of those mysterious treasure chests that keep appearing all across the lands.
Maybe they'd even have some Primogems I could take! Damn MiHoYo for giving so little every time!
I shook my head, confused by what MiHoYo was. That name cropped up again—was it some evil organization or something?
That aside, I might as well visit Jinxing now. I was still an hour early than what my contract specifies, but it wasn't like I had much to do around Guili Assembly right now. Especially with the Martial tournament still happening. The one restaurant I like was closed down today because of it.
So, leaving behind my hunting bow and quiver, I locked the door behind me as I left.