"Mister."
'Huh?'
"Mister, please wake up, you can't sleep here, it's too dangerous."
'What is she talking about? Why can't I…'
John peered through his half lidded eyes to see a girl in some sort of cosplay kneeling beside him. His body felt heavy and slow and his muscles ached like he ran a marathon for some odd reason.
John felt a weird prickling sensation as he propped himself up on one arm. He figured he had passed out drunk in the middle of the street somewhere, but it's still strange no matter which angle he looked at it.
'That's weird… It's like…'
He trailed off as he patted the ground, expecting the hard asphalt road but instead grabbing a fistful of grass and dirt.
His eyes widened, this time fully awake as he realised he was surrounded by a whole group of people who were dressed like they were going to a medieval fantasy cosplay convention except none of their clothing were any bit clean or new.
"You look out of it."
An older looking gentleman said with his brows furrowed with a tinge look of concern.
"Where am I?" John asked, patting himself off, clutching the side of his head, he started to feel a massive migraine coming.
"You're in the whispering woods… Mondstadt… You sure you're alright? You don't look like a local, where are you from?"
"Mondstadt? What are you talking about? Mondstadt is… not real…" He trailed off as everyone around him was dressed like the adventurer's guild NPCs.
Wait, no no no. This can't be happening can it?
'Am I really in Genshin Impact?'
"Are you alright kid?"
"Yeah… I just don't feel very well…" John mumbled, trying to appear weak and feeble just in case they weren't people with good intentions.
"Anyways, Let's get you back to Mondstadt, your family must be worried."
John nodded. Anything was better than staying out here in the wilderness and once in the city, he could just say that he doesn't remember anything to avoid being questioned.
The sound of leaves crunching was all he heard as they walked through the whispering woods which was caked with an earthy smell. John racked his brain in an attempt to bring out those system UI screens he had seen in webtoons. If he had been isekaid into another world, surely he would have some sort of guide to get ahead right? Right?
Try as he might, nothing came of it.
Great just his rotten luck. He was now stranded in the land of Teyvat without one bit of help. Not even a vision to start with. Hell, he might even be worse than the NPCs since he was born in the city and had no experience with labor… well he can't really call them NPCs since at this point they were just regular folks.
After a while, they finally made it to a clearing with the city he had been to so many times in game standing in the distance. The bridge that spans over the moat, the cobbled walls that towered into the blue expanse. Everything about Mondstadt was bigger and grandeur in person.
Wait… Since he was in Genshin Impact… Does that mean he would come across the traveler? Would he get to meet Jean a-and Lisa? Would Amber show him around the city like she did with the traveler? Maybe he could even learn alchemy from sucrose or timaeus or even Albedo himself! Even if he had no system or guide. At least he could get somewhere with the knowledge he had of the game.
Yes, things were turning around for him. Back on Earth he was just a nobody but here, he could become someone important. Someone people looked up to. This time around he isn't going to be treated like trash! He would make sure of it!
Motivated and excited, John pumped his fist into the air. Declaring himself victorious before the battle even began.
***
"I'm sorry but Acting Grandmaster Jean is a very busy woman and I have never heard of this blonde person you're talking about. Please leave… strange yet respectable traveler." The guard stated plainly.
What? What is this? It wasn't supposed to go this way.
"P-Please… I just need to see Jean one time…"
"Jean? Who are you to refer to Acting Grandmaster Jean in such a manner?!"
"Please… What about Amber or Kaeya o-or Lisa?" John pleaded.
This wasn't happening. It wasn't supposed to be this way. Why are they treating him like this?
"No! They are too busy to entertain some hooligan and even if they had the time, there is no way they'd meet someone like you, now leave!" The guard bellowed.
***
John found himself leaning on the terrace right outside of the knights of favonius headquarters with his head in his hands. Despite the guard's initial annoyance, he didn't press John to leave, though to him, John was nothing but a nutjob.
Now what? No mora to his name, no powers to get stupidly strong. No nothing to help him. John began to really understand the severity of his situation. He was homeless in every sense of the word.
'Wait…'
'There's still the adventurer's guild. Surely they would take him in.'
Embolden with new resolve. John began to walk down the stairs to the first layer of mondstadt. The smell of flowers enveloped his nose as he walked. The strange thing was… There was almost no one out in the open.
According to what he knew about the game and what the guard told him. This must be before the traveler came and stopped Dvalin. That means the temple of the four winds, Falcon, Wolf, Lion, and Dragon had yet to be cleared. At least the three out of the four wind temples. The traveler never did clear the temple of the dragon until Act 3 if he recalled correctly.
But even with this information, there was no way he could take on the temples. Even a slime could take him out let alone a hillichurl.
A shiver ran up his spine at the thought of a mitachurl charging at him.
There before him, in the small enclosement, stood the woman he knew as Katheryne. She stared at nothing in particular, her eyes barely had any signs of life and her mannerisms were robotic in every sense of the word. Talking to her wasn't a big deal when you had the option to skip her dialogues but he didn't have that anymore.
John steeled himself and walked up to Katheryne, trying to suppress the unease he felt at the eerie atmosphere surrounding her.
"Ad Astra Abyssosque!" She chimed in a forced jovial tone. "Welcome to the Adventurer's Guild, how may I assist you?"
John swallowed an ocean's worth of saliva before blurting out.
"I want to become an adventurer!" A little too loud causing the onlookers to stare at him judgingly.
"Oh, if that's so, please fill out this forum." She added, handing him a piece of parchment without batting an eyelid.
John leaned over to begin filling out the forum, still not sure why things are going smoothly for him.
"So…" He began. "Anyone can become an Adventurer?"
"Yes, anyone can become an Adventurer if he or she so chooses. And, we don't charge membership fees so it's all rewards with no drawbacks." She stated plainly.
John handed her the forum, cautiously sliding the parchment over the counter as if she was going to bite him at any given moment.
She took the parchment and gave a forced smile.
"Congragulations, Johnathan Medios Doe. You are officially an Adventurer!"
She paused before sliding a book to him.
"This is the Adventurer's Handbook. It's proof that you're an Adventurer. It contains all the information on enemies, domains, commissions, and rewards available to you."
"So… what do I do now?" He asked, taking the book from her.
"What commissions are you going to assign me?"
"Combat Commissions are not available to you seeing as you have no party… and no offense John but you don't look like someone gifted in battle but that's okay. Adventurers are not limited by combat alone. There are some gathering commissions if you'd like. It doesn't pay as well as combat commissions but you look like you're going to need every bit of mora you can scrounge up."
'Jeez, how am I supposed to take that as anything other than offense?'
"Alright, I'll take the commission."
"Perfect, your commissioner is Miss Flora, you are to gather 15 lamp grass and 10 whirlwind Asters."
"That's it?"
"Yes, that's it. Although I'd advise you to leave as soon as possible as you don't have much time before the sun goes down and I don't think you want to find out what lurks in the night or encounter an untimely death."
'Jeez, you really don't hold back do you, Katheryne.' Is what he would like to say aloud if he wasn't terrified of her deadpan face.
"I guess I better get going."