Having gone through simulations before, Ji An was already familiar with the process and started the system.
As usual, the system announced the rules of River of Time mode, followed by a prompt.
[Activating fixed template attribute points and talent skills.]
Attributes:
Both Intelligence and Physique exceeded the norm by a considerable margin.
But Ji An had witnessed the craftsman and the pangolin's extraordinary attributes before, so this didn't surprise him.
As for Appearance, it was actually one point higher than the pangolin's. Back then, that pangolin had been considered the handsome one on its hill.
It seemed the protagonist of this simulation was a genuinely deserving handsome man.
Almost as handsome as me, Ji An thought.
Next, he looked at the talent skills:
[Naturally Depressed] Happiness -3
[Swordsmanship Genius] Possesses extraordinary talent in swordsmanship. Increased probability of creating original sword techniques.
[Abhors Evil] You show no mercy toward evil that destroys what you protect.
[Pragmatist] If the goal can be achieved, the means used to achieve it are of little concern to you. (This talent may waver when Happiness falls below 1.)
[Grieving Army] When Happiness is below 0, all other attributes +1.
The number of talents exceeded the standard by two, but aside from Swordsmanship Genius, none of them were especially powerful on their own.
Naturally Depressed and Grieving Army could potentially work together in combination, though that seemed to conflict with Pragmatist.
Even from the talent skills alone, one could sketch the rough shape of the kind of person this protagonist was.
More would only come through the simulation itself.
"Start the simulation."
Ji An selected Start New Life.
The system ran:
[0 years old: You are born. A boy.]
[1 year old: You grow up in a small town. Your parents are tenant farmers. The family is not wealthy, but food and clothing are never in short supply.]
[2 years old: Unlike other children, whose emotions shift constantly, you have seemingly never smiled since birth. What you do most often is sit on the haystack by the front door and stare at the sky with a vague, heavy look on your face.]
[3 years old: Your father notices that you always seem lost in thought and decides this is not a good sign.
He says to your mother: "Children should act like children. Let me go talk some sense into him."
Father is a cheerful man. His high spirits have a way of rubbing off on others.
"Everyone around here calls me Happy John, you know!"]
[4 years old: The attempt to cheer you up fails. Father becomes melancholy too.
Now there are two people sitting on the haystack, staring at the sky.]
[5 years old: Mother calls you both in for dinner. Father sighs and mutters strange things under his breath about being sorry for being human.
This angers her. She raises her hand and gives each of you a firm slap.
Afterward, the two of you behave normally for a few days.]
[6 years old: Aside from the recurring melancholy, your abilities in all other areas outstrip your peers. Your parents decide to simply let you be.]
[7 years old: You happen to witness a swordsmanship drill conducted by the Knights of Favonius and develop a strong interest in the sword.
Although you were born to tenant farmers and are not entitled to formal training as the children of knight families are, you pick up a dried branch from the ground and imitate the knights' movements.
You find a kind of joy in it.
Only when you are practicing the sword does the shadow lift from your face.]
[8 years old: After sword practice, you are sitting on the haystack in a daze when a boy your age, dressed in fine clothes, comes over and greets you.
You recognize him. He is the young master of the nearby knight's household.
He says his name is Arundolyn. He saw you practicing swordsmanship and thought it looked interesting. He wants to be friends.
Arundolyn's smile is the kind that makes people want to smile back. He is someone who draws others to him naturally. Unfortunately, it has no effect on you.
You give him a melancholy look and offer a quietly-worded refusal: "Some people die at eight but aren't buried until eighty."
Arundolyn beats you up.
You become friends.]
[9 years old: Arundolyn's arrival changes your life.
The child of tenant farmers and the young master of a knight family, two people separated by a vast gap in circumstance, become best friends.
You talk about dreams of becoming heroes.
You play together. You practice swordsmanship together.
Gripping replicas of the Knight of Boreas's greatsword, you charge against imagined enemies, the old aristocracy of Mondstadt in your minds.]
...
[11 years old: You and Arundolyn venture deep into Wolvendom under cover of night.
The adventure of young warriors.
You use slingshots to drive off wild boars and sticks to battle imaginary ghosts.
Following the glow of Seelies deep into the forest, you dig up treasures that have slept for a thousand years.
"Striding across the battlefield like a lion, just as she did a thousand years ago."
"Dedicating poems woven from swords to the boys and girls of the future."
You duel with makeshift greatswords and long branches, playing out the struggle between heroes and aristocrats.]
...
[14 years old: Returning from a swordsmanship lesson with your knight instructor, you encounter a gang of thugs stealing from someone on the street.
You draw your practice sword and charge. You knock them down.
The thugs plead with Arundolyn, begging the young knight to let them off.
Surrounded by the approving looks of onlookers and the fearful eyes of the thugs, Arundolyn, like the humble and principled knights of legend, sheathes his practice sword and makes the thugs swear never to offend again.
You don't agree with this approach. Born a commoner, you understand these kinds of people better than Arundolyn does. Mercy won't make them reflect. Only fear keeps them in line.
You say nothing to Arundolyn's face.
But after he leaves, you quietly follow the thugs and break their fingers.
They wail: "Why? Your friend forgave us!"
Standing in the pool of blood, you reply: "Tolerance toward evil is a betrayal of everything good."
"If I see you doing evil again, next time it will be your necks."]
[15 years old: Arundolyn finds out what you did.
He faces you and says, with the same gentleness as always: "It's alright. Just don't go that far next time."
But you can already feel it. Your ideals have begun to diverge.
This is the first real rift between you.]
...
[22 years old: You and Arundolyn both join the Knights of Favonius as officially sworn knights.]
...
[23 years old: The sky grants you a Vision, greatly increasing your strength.
Arundolyn takes leave specifically to celebrate with you over drinks.
At the table, you choose your words carefully, because you know that Arundolyn has not yet received a Vision.
For someone whose goal is to become Grand Master, this must be a significant blow.
But you find, to your surprise, that Arundolyn seems genuinely unbothered.
He catches your expression and responds with a calm smile:
"A Vision is not something I need. I trust my own strength and the work I've put in far more than I trust any external gift."]
...
[24 years old: Because of your temperament, you attract the attention of a former high-ranking member of the Knights, now living in exile. He contacts you privately.
He shows you the side of Mondstadt that no one discusses openly and says: "Someone has to do the things the Knights of Favonius cannot be seen to do, for the sake of protecting Mondstadt."
He invites you to join a nameless underground organization.
You tell him you need time to think.]
...
[26 years old: You and Arundolyn have become the two most brilliant figures in the Knights of Favonius.
Last year, Arundolyn was awarded the title Lion of Light.
Word within the Knights is that next year, you will be awarded the title of Wolf.
By the tradition of the Knights of Favonius, a knight awarded the title of Lion or Wolf is expected to one day lead the Knights as Grand Master and devote themselves to protecting Mondstadt.]
[27 years old: As expected, the Knights award you the title Boreas's Pup.
That same year, you achieve a breakthrough and create an original swordsmanship style.
When the technique is fully expressed, you can cut falling raindrops from the air one by one. The wind generated by the blade alone is enough to sever roses and extinguish torches.
You name this style, infused with your conviction and your will to protect, after the West Wind.]
[28 years old: Arundolyn becomes Grand Master of the Knights of Favonius. A man without a Vision who reached this height through talent and relentless effort alone. The entire Knights, and Mondstadt itself, are proud of him.
You become Arundolyn's deputy, supporting him in governing Mondstadt.
Together, you are like an open blade and a hidden dagger, guarding the people of Mondstadt, and guarding each other.]
[29 years old: The melancholy of your early childhood had once lifted, driven away by Arundolyn's presence.
Now it returns.
"Can light that walks in darkness, justice stained with blood, truly be called good?"
Certain events have shaken your convictions, and the heaviness has settled back into your heart.
Then you meet the maiden singing in the square.]
At this point, the system produced a prompt.
[The simulation has reached a turning point for this character. Do you wish to enter the immersive state and experience it directly?]
Ji An didn't hesitate: "Yes."
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