"Blessings I have… quite a few. Let me list some."
Koji started thinking. Lumine and Paimon exchanged looks. So many that he actually had to think before answering? They braced themselves. This was going to be shocking.
"Blessing of the Lake: lets me walk on water.
Blessing of Anemo: perfect control of Anemo.
Blessing of Evasion: long-range attacks cannot hit me.
Blessing of Ward: nullifies curses and all kinds of debuffs.
…"
"Stop. Enough."
Lumine cut him off, sweat beading on her forehead. "You're basically blessed incarnate."
This was ridiculous. With so many absurd blessings he was outright cheating. If she had those, she'd already have made that white-haired god kneel and sing in defeat. Even farming beans would be trivial.
Paimon was stunned, staring at Koji like he was a monster. Could she just cling to this thigh forever?
"Koji… in other worlds I read some transmigration novels. You don't have a system, do you?" Lumine asked suspiciously.
Who touches a Statue of The Seven and suddenly gets that many powers? If he did, why didn't she? She had read those fanfics too.
Koji was surprised Lumine even knew the term, but it made sense. They'd been to so many worlds. Of course she wasn't some clueless blonde idiot.
"No system. I think this is the Blessing of Yanhuang's Will." Koji smiled. No beeps, no prompts, nothing system-like had ever appeared.
"Yanhuang…? I think I've been there, maybe one of the early worlds. Don't remember well." Lumine thought for a moment, then shook her head. Too many worlds. Brief stops blurred together.
"By the way," she teased, "in those fanfics, lots of transmigrators build massive harems. You're not planning that too, are you?"
Koji played along, nodding with an evil grin.
"Keheheh… that's right, Lumine. You'll be the empress of my harem."
"Pfft! Hahaha! Fine then. But I'm the head of it."
"What are you two talking about?" Paimon interrupted, feeling excluded.
"Nothing," Lumine waved her off. Then to Koji: "With all those blessings, you can probably walk across Teyvat like it's nothing, huh?"
"Not sure. Never tested…" Koji suddenly looked up.
A massive dragon, body like a sea slug's but winged, roared overhead. Its gale tore at the clouds.
"Dragon?" Lumine gasped. She had never seen Dvalin but had sensed dragons before.
"I asked adventurers. That's the Stormterror Dragon, the cause of Mondstadt's calamity," Koji explained. He knew it was Dvalin, Barbatos's companion, though few in Mond knew.
"Should we follow?" Paimon asked.
Lumine thought carefully. "With my strength sealed, facing a dragon could be fatal."
Prudence. She wasn't the kind to rush recklessly.
Koji countered: "I have the Blessing of Concealment. I can hide aura and sound completely. We won't be noticed."
He was curious to see Venti's face if Lumine didn't show up as expected. The god surely knew she was near. The plot didn't have to run exactly the same way.
"Wow. You really are overstocked on blessings," Lumine muttered, but agreed.
They followed Stormterror into Whispering Forest.
"…Don't be afraid. Trust me, I'm back."
Up close they saw a man in green speak to the dragon. His baroque-styled clothes, cape, and flowered hat brim looked oddly out of place.
"That man can talk to a dragon?" Lumine whispered. Clearly suspicious. Perhaps the mastermind of Mond's disaster.
(Venti: Huh? Me? The mastermind?)
Venti sensed no trace of Lumine nearby. Hadn't the wind said she would come? Where was she?
Confused, he soothed Dvalin as best he could, then urged the dragon to leave before the Knights noticed. A battle now would be disastrous.
Dvalin roared, beat his wings, and vanished into the distance.
Venti sighed. He could feel the poison and sorrow in his companion but couldn't cleanse it. Only a world-beyond traveler might save him. With a glance at the red crystal, he dissolved into the wind and left for a drink.
After he vanished, Koji and the others stepped from behind the tree.
"That guy was weird," Paimon muttered.
"Lumine, look." Koji pointed.
A crimson crystal floated nearby, glowing with ominous light. The grass beneath it was already dead.
"It feels bad." Lumine frowned.
"Be careful. Dangerous."
Koji touched it. Nothing. The Abyssal taint in Dvalin's blood was nullified by his Blessing of Ward. Even eating it wouldn't harm him.
(End of Chapter)
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