The wind blew by with grains of dust in it. Mona opened her mouth, then chose to refuse.
"If fate allows it, the boss will certainly invite you over. It wouldn't be right for me to take you there."
Mona looked a little embarrassed.
Being able to serve as Ken's acting shop manager was already, in her view, an incredible stroke of luck.
She didn't want to trouble Ken any further.
Still, to avoid any misunderstanding on Fischl's part, Mona told her about the invitation rules.
"So that's how it is… Lady Megistus, this Prinzessin has long seen through the tangles of destiny. My bond with Mr. Ken will be like dust upon the wind—it will arrive in Mondstadt sooner or later."
Fischl didn't feel the least bit regretful. She placed her right hand over her chest, her face brimming with confidence.
The Prinzessin der Verurteilung believed there was nothing in this world she could not accomplish.
Including obtaining an invitation from Ken, Klee's father.
Oz translated: "My lady means… she believes she will receive an invitation sooner or later. But Miss Mona should be careful—there's a wind calamity outside the city today."
"Wind calamity?" Mona was surprised. "Why would there be a wind calamity outside Mondstadt?"
A chill ran through her.
Thankfully, when she fainted in the wilds, Ken invited her to Blue Star.
If she had run into a wind calamity then, the consequences would have been disastrous.
For a great astrologer to vanish into poverty would be a disgrace in the annals of witches.
"Just as you wish. Prepare yourself to bear the burden of this Prinzessin's great wisdom," Fischl declared, proud and self-assured.
Oz: "My lady means… she will investigate the matter and get you results as soon as possible."
Mona: "…"
After concluding her arduous conversation with Fischl, Mona looked out the window.
The sky was still a bright azure, but the air seemed to carry a hint of dust and sand.
Mondstadt…
Was in trouble.
"Eh… if there's a wind calamity and merchants get affected, our shop opening would sell like crazy. I should bring this up to the boss tomorrow."
An idea popped into Mona's head.
…
The Magic City.
It was eight in the evening by the time Ken finished work and got home.
To his surprise, the team's progress on the game was much faster than he'd expected. He'd thought that even with an asset pack, it would still take two months at least.
But he hadn't expected this pack of wolves to work around the clock, tearing into it night and day. At this pace, they'd finish both the Mondstadt and Liyue Harbor arcs within a month at most.
They could go straight into early closed beta, then open beta, and be online very soon.
The speed was beyond Ken's expectations.
On second thought, though, the system's asset pack was complete. As long as the team was willing to work overtime, this speed did make sense.
As for the voice acting…
It was impossible to have every character voiced by their in-world counterpart. Ken planned to use invited partners for the main Knights of Favonius roles and hire voice actors for the rest.
When the game officially launched, he could bring the Mondstadt squad to the press conference.
As for the Liyue characters…
Given the timeline, even if he managed to send invitations, he wouldn't have time to build bonds.
No need to rush that. Since the game's progress could be accelerated, all the better.
"System, open the info panel," Ken said.
[Host: Ken.]
[Contracted partners: Klee (father–daughter bond), Barbara (affection bond), Mona (contract bond)]
[Abilities: Klee C6, Lisa C6.]
[Life skills: Top-tier cooking, medical knowledge.]
[Remaining draws: 15.]
Because Ken hadn't drawn today, the draw count now appeared on the screen.
"Let's just start drawing…"
He'd originally wanted to wait and draw with Klee.
But at this rate, Stormterror's appearance was only a matter of time. If Mondstadt was hit by wind calamities, Klee wouldn't be able to come to Blue Star.
So he might as well draw now.
He could earn plenty of chances every day, after all.
[Ding—]
[Congratulations, host has obtained Jumpy Dumpty crafting materials ×10!]
[Congratulations, host has obtained special materials ×10!]
[Congratulations, host has obtained 50,000,000 Dollars!]
[Congratulations, host has obtained 1 luxury villa in the Magic City!]
[…]
Listening to the rewards, Ken was satisfied.
He hadn't drawn any abilities, but he did get some special materials and money—and a villa.
That solved any immediate funding concerns for Genshin's development.
What intrigued Ken most, though, were the Jumpy Dumpty materials and those special materials.
[Jumpy Dumpty materials: Essential items for researching Jumpy Dumpty bombs. If you want greater explosive power, you might try infusing elemental energy.]
[Special materials: Essential for crafting special bombs. Greatly boosts explosive power… Expensive and potent—don't be greedy with the dose each time.]
Ever since acquiring Klee's skillset, Ken had wanted to research bombs.
But elemental bombs required special materials that Blue Star didn't have, so he'd shelved the idea.
He hadn't expected to draw both kinds of materials today.
"Maybe I can give it a try."
Ken took the materials to his study and began researching bombs with single-minded focus.
This explosive art was enough to make one addicted.
And while Ken was studying bombs, things were anything but peaceful in Mondstadt.
…
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