Daelan stared blankly at "himself" standing center stage at the Opéra Epiclese, momentarily lost in a daze.
The Daelan on the screen wore a calm expression, holding a platinum scepter, and lightly tapped it on the ground.
"I hope that lady has… tied a rope to your 'arrows.'"
With that line, the version preview PV came to an end.
Daelan watched as the screen gradually dimmed, unsure of what to say.
Even after living on this continent for nearly four hundred years, seeing those all-too-familiar visuals left him somewhat stunned.
He'd never imagined he'd see that familiar art style again, nor had he thought he'd encounter this world's so-called "Creator God."
"Phew…"
Daelan leaned back in his chair, exhausted. His slightly blue-tinged eyes stared at the screen, which showed no sign of shrinking, leaving him a bit dazed.
He sat there quietly, unmoving even as the screen lit up again, like… a salted fish that had lost its dreams.
Daelan remained in a stupor for a while before slowly coming back to his senses.
"So… I'm now a full-fledged game character?"
His mind replayed the words he'd spoken in the PV, making it hard to distinguish truth from fiction.
He hadn't just been spacing out—he'd been placing himself in that scene, reflecting on his four hundred years of experience to determine if he would actually say something like that.
The answer was yes. He would.
At this realization, a chill ran down Daelan's spine.
From over four hundred years ago to now, he'd been carrying out what he believed he should do, of that he was one hundred percent certain.
But after seeing that scene, he suddenly felt as if he wasn't as "real" as he'd thought.
"Could it be that I'm just a fictional character? But then what about my memories of the real world?"
Daelan's mind felt overwhelmed, but he had no other evidence to prove this was reasonable.
"Wait… evidence?!"
That self-doubting thought suddenly sparked an idea.
Wasn't his self-doubt caused by the sudden appearance of the panel and the screen that had just shown up? Why should he seek answers from himself instead of tackling the problem from its source?
This rather unorthodox reverse thinking instantly pulled him out of the vortex of self-doubt and denial.
Daelan snapped his head up, looking at the screen, which had somehow turned into something like a comment section, and the panel floating by his hand.
[Current Popularity Points: 1000]
[Popularity Points are closely tied to your performance in the storyline. If handled well, you can achieve twice the results with half the effort.]
[Uses for Popularity Points include, but are not limited to: enhancing your strength, altering your storyline trajectory, obtaining information, etc.]
[Additional Note: The Popularity Points you spend are from your cumulative total. Your personal popularity index will not decrease due to spending.]
Looking at the panel by his hand, Daelan let out a sigh of relief.
"It's not as bad as I thought… at least I can still control my own storyline."
"But… I only appeared in the PV for a moment, so why is my popularity so high?"
Curious, Daelan glanced at the comment section-like screen in front of him.
As expected, it was filled with remarks about him.
But when he looked closer… he nearly slid off his chair in shock.
"Could it be that Fontaine's Hydro Archon comes in three parts: the Chief Justice, the Advisor, and the Hydro Archon herself?"
"I love Neuvillette, his shoulders are so broad, but this advisor with a Liyue-like name somehow hits my XP even more."
"Let me clarify: I'm not gay. Second, I'm not gay. Lastly… fine, I'm gay! Everyone, look at me! I'm announcing something! I'm Daelan's dog!"
"Let's see… 'The Serious Advisor and His Archon: The Untold Stories'… that title's juicy enough, right?"
"Update now! I can't sleep!"
"The advisor… looks like a tough character. Does he have a strong connection to the main storyline?"
…
Daelan spent just over a minute reading through the various comments about him, some serious, some downright bizarre.
Throughout the process, his brows never relaxed, to the point that by the end… he felt the muscles under his eyebrows aching.
"Now I get how the characters felt when I was going crazy over them back then…"
Daelan shook his head silently, then tried to close the comment page and focused on the panel by his hand.
To be honest, what he wanted to know now was… how to shape his own storyline.
Almost as soon as the thought crossed his mind, a new panel appeared before him.
["Vision Holder": 500 Popularity Points]
["Main Storyline Alteration": 500–??? Popularity Points]
["Personal Legend Quest Creation": 10,000 Popularity Points]
["Side Story Participation Adjustment": 2,000 Popularity Points]
Looking at the clearly priced panel, Daelan nodded lightly and began to strategize.
"With only a thousand Popularity Points, I can only do two things: get myself a Vision or arrange a segment of the main storyline."
Indeed, Daelan himself didn't know why he'd lived so long. He had no innate elemental power or elemental authority.
So, right now… what he needed most wasn't a chance to show off in the storyline but a Vision.
"After all, any prominent character in the storyline… has at least a Vision."
With that thought, Daelan selected the "Vision Holder" option.
As the Popularity Points on the panel by his right hand rapidly decreased, a dazzling purple light suddenly bloomed on his desk.
The purple glow lasted for about half a minute before a purple "Vision" appeared before Daelan.
"Electro, huh?" Daelan muttered softly, shaking his head lightly before turning his gaze back to the screen.
The "Vision Holder" option gradually faded and disappeared, leaving its space empty.
"Hm? No automatic refill?"