Book I: Anemo

Chapter 4: The City of Wind

Over the past day and a half of traveling with Bennett and Yun Jin, I had learned two things. For the first, slimes were apparently not sapient—to my great relief. And second, Bennett may very well have been cursed. That, or this world's god of misfortune had taken a shine to Bennett.

I'd never seen someone get into as many accidents as he did. From being hit on the head by a falling tree branch to accidentally awakening a swarm of slimes. Speaking of which…

"Zach! On your left!"

At Bennett's shout, I turned instantly. A small Dendro slime had popped up beside me. I gripped the stick I was using as a makeshift weapon. I'd found it yesterday and used [Alchymia] to shape it into the shape of a blade—along with a spare currently within my Storage. It wasn't very strong, but it was better than nothing.

With the slime in mid-air, it was the perfect target. And it didn't even realize its mistake. I slammed my makeshift sword into its squishy body. The slime flew back and hit the cliff face on my left, its body collapsing into a lifeless gelatinous mass.

I breathed out in relief, propping my stick onto my shoulder. First time using this thing, and it works better than I expected. Sure, it was just on slimes, but it still worked. Checking on the others, I found them finishing up as well.

Yun Jin took a stance as a slime launched itself at her. A wall of energy formed around her for an instant, then she countered. A single strike. With a lone elegant slash of her spear, she slashed through the elemental lifeform.

Bennett, meanwhile, was dealing with the largest of the slimes. He jumped to the side, avoiding being crushed beneath the leaping slime. Then, in the narrow opening provided, he surged forward. With a final, fire-infused blow, Bennett swung his sword. The heated blade cleaved through the enemy like a warm knife through butter.

Bennett sheathed his sword and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Sorry about this, you guys."

I shook my head. Despite this probably being the result of his bad luck, it wasn't like he could control it. Besides, I doubted any of us would have noticed that the plant he stepped on was actually part of a slime.

"Hey, don't be too hard on yourself." I patted him on the shoulder, then gestured to my wooden blade. "Besides, this gave me a good chance to test out how well my impromptu weapon works."

Bennett smiled, the guilt in his eyes fading away. While he was typically very positive in his reactions to his misfortune, it seemed like he tended to blame himself a little too much whenever other people were affected by it. I wanted to try to alleviate that a little bit.

Yun Jin returned her ji-like polearm to its holster on her back, and she walked over to join us.

"Zachary is right." She brushed off her dress and looked toward Bennett with a kind smile. "None of us were injured, and what if some other traveler had stumbled onto these slimes later? Someone without a Vision or a weapon. While this may have delayed us a little bit, it very well could have saved someone else's life."

Bennett rubbed at his nose, obviously glad to hear such a response. And I didn't blame him. I doubted that he was adventuring alone because he wanted to. I could only imagine what most other people thought about him when experiencing his bad luck. If it were me, I'd find this kind of response heartening as well.

With the battle out of the way, Bennett took the lead once again. Misfortune notwithstanding, he was actually an excellent guide. He knew the best places to stop for breaks and was willing to entertain even my probably ridiculous-sounding questions. He might not have known the answers to most of them, but I gave credit for trying. Especially with my question about slime sentience.

"Say, Bennett," I asked, "you said we were getting close to Mondstadt, right?"

"Yep. We're almost to Springvale. You'll be able to see the city from there. If we don't have any more interruptions, we should get there in less than an hour."

I grinned. I was excited to finally get to some civilization. I wanted to see how advanced Teyvat was when compared to Earth. Was it the equivalent of the dark ages? The renaissance? Or perhaps it was already this world's version of the industrial revolution. But more than anything, I wanted a change of clothes and a shower. Mainly the latter.

A few minutes later, the valley we'd been walking through opened back up into a forest. The trees lined the road, branches rustling lightly. The path in front of us split in two, and Bennett led us down the path that continued on to the east. While I wasn't sure exactly how long it was, it didn't feel like it took too much time to finally reach the village Bennett had mentioned.

Cradled between the surrounding forest and a rocky bluff, Springvale was a quaint little town. A windmill towered over the village, the blades spinning slowly in the gentle breeze. The wind carried the faint sound of voices from the village, but my attention was drawn instead to the opposite direction.

A large lake spread out into the distance. Rising high atop an island in the middle was a city. Even from this distance, I could tell it was huge. A large wall encircled the city, with some taller buildings peeking above it. Mondstadt, the capital of the nation of Mond's, and our destination. It was indeed a magnificent place, at least if appearances were any indication.

After a brief discussion, we decided not to stop here for lunch. Since we were so close, we figured it'd be better to just hurry and get our journey over with. Instead, we'd get lunch at Mondstadt and enjoy something other than berries and fruit. While the sunsettias we ate for dinner last night and breakfast this morning were good, I was ready for some more variety. It had only been a couple of days, but I would kill for a pizza or something like that.

As we continued down the path, I couldn't help but stare at the water-locked city. In terms of position, there were fewer better places to build. Any attempts at invasion would probably fail unless a siege was put into place. And even then, it would be difficult. Fish could be caught from the lake for food, and there was no danger of running out of water. Then there were the economic benefits. If the lake had an outlet to the sea, trade would also be much easier.

Had Mondstadt been intentionally built here because of these advantages, or was it just a coincidence that the location was so beneficial? My interest in learning more about the city grew.

It took us around an hour—probably a little less—to reach the city gates. Mondstadt was even more impressive up close. The tall wall seemed almost pointless with the natural moat that surrounded the city. Still, I could appreciate the sentiment. After all, it was simply human nature to just want to build stuff. Destroying things, too, of course. But that did require something to be constructed first.

We crossed the bridge that connected the city to the mainland, and a pair of guards approached us. Bennett raised his hand and waved. He introduced the two as Swan and Lawrence.

The two were clad in white-and-gold armor and carried what looked like simple longswords. While Lawrence made some small talk with Bennett, Swan looked at Yun Jin and me with a discerning gaze.

"Good afternoon, and welcome to Mondstadt, strange yet distinguished guests," he said to the two of us rather rigidly, then took out some sort of book and began flipping through it. He muttered under his breath, but I couldn't discern what he was saying. Lawrence sighed, raising a palm to his head.

"Anyway," he picked up, "Bennett, you're fine to go, but we need to see travel papers for your two companions."

The metaphorical sound of screeching brakes echoed in my head. This was precisely the kind of thing I'd been afraid of. My two new friends apparently realized my predicament as well, shooting me worried glances.

Yun Jin showed her passport while I explained how I didn't have any documents since I came from essentially the middle of nowhere. They didn't budge an inch.

"Come on, guys," Bennett tried to argue. "I trust him. Isn't that enough to let him in?"

Swan put his book back into a pouch at his waist, shaking his head. "Sorry, Bennett. Normally, we'd say yes, but we're under strict orders. Thanks to Stormterror, we're not supposed to let anyone without documentation in unless they're with a high-ranking knight."

Bennett slumped forward, and I filed away that "Stormterror" term to ask about later. I started to tell the other two to go on ahead without me. Even if I had to wait a while, I could camp outside the city and wait for someone of high enough rank to let me in.

"Oh, what's going on here?" A voice called out from the gates.

A young man with dark skin and teal blue hair came toward us. His right eye was covered by an eyepatch. A sheathed sword hung at his waist, and I also noticed a Vision attached to his belt. A cape flowed behind him, the area where it was attached to his shirt covered in what looked like some kind of fur.

"Captain Kaeya!" Swan performed what I could only call a textbook-perfect salute, and he was joined by Lawrence doing the same. The two explained the situation to the newly-introduced Kaeya.

Kaeya hummed in interest, placing a hand on his chin. He stared at me intently, and I could tell he was studying me. I tried my best to look and act natural, but I had no idea how well I did.

A few moments passed, and he smiled. "If Bennett vouches for him, it should be fine to let him through. And I'll make sure to take care of him and keep him out of trouble."

I don't know who was happier at this news, me or Yun Jin and Bennett. As Swan and Lawrence returned to their post and we headed into the city, I glanced over at Kaeya.

"Thanks for that," I said. "I owe you one."

"I'll keep that in mind." A mischievous grin crossed his face, though his smile and words seemed more like a jest. "By the way, Bennett, Sucrose is waiting for your delivery in her lab."

"Oh, right. I'll catch up with you guys soon. Can you take them to Good Hunter?"

Kaeya nodded in affirmation, and Bennett broke off in a run. He disappeared around a street corner moments later. Then, Kaeya began leading Yun Jin and me further into the city. Like a kid in a candy store, I couldn't stop myself from looking at everything.

The city's architecture gave me German vibes, just like the name. Interestingly, the entire city seemed to be tiered. I could see two other levels farther into the city from the main street we were walking down. The furthest one was incredibly high, appearing almost like a tower. Was this due to the island's terrain?

We passed several shops and buildings, including a clothing store. I made sure to memorize the location of that one. This area definitely seemed like some sort of market district. Perhaps that was what the tiering was for, to section out different districts.

Kaeya brought us to a central plaza, a fountain resting in the middle. Off to the side was a building with several tables outside.

"Welcome to Good Hunter," Kaeya said with a dramatic flourish, "serving the best food this side of Dragonspine."

I had no clue what or where "Dragonspine" was, so I put it on the ever-growing list of things I needed to research.

We chose to sit outside, grabbing one of the open tables. Since we were waiting for Bennett, we held off on ordering for now. Yun Jin and I instead took the time to formally introduce ourselves to Kaeya. I noticed his eyebrow raise slightly upon hearing Yun Jin's name, but he said nothing. I then explained my story, and he seemed oddly focused on me when listening to it. I wasn't sure why, but part of me was worried that he had seen through my lie.

Thankfully, that seemed to just be my nerves. Kaeya didn't linger on the subject of my past, and he instead moved on to other matters. Namely, explaining how I was going to get travel documents.

"After lunch, I'll take you to the Adventurer's Guild. Since you don't have cash, joining the guild will be your best bet." He placed an elbow on the table, resting his chin atop his hand. "If you become a member, you'll be able to take commissions and quests to earn some Mora. Plus, they'll set you up with a passport."

"And it's free?" I questioned, sighing in relief when Kaeya nodded. "Thank goodness."

Looks like my schedule will be filled with hours of running errands and fetch-quests. I needed to make sure to get money for an inn, daily food, clothes, a better weapon than a stick, and much more. Depending on how expensive it would be, I would also like to eventually get a horse or some other form of personal transportation.

A few minutes later, Bennett finally reunited with us. He took the last seat, and Kaeya waved a young woman over.

"Welcome to Good Hunter," she greeted us with a smile while giving each of us a menu. "My name is Sara, and I will be serving you today. What may I get you for drinks?"

Bennett and I ordered water, Yun Jin got tea, and Kaeya decided that this was the best time for happy hour and asked for wine. As Sara left, I looked at Kaeya. Was he supposed to be drinking while on duty?

Deciding to ignore that for now, I grabbed my menu and opened it. I looked across it for a few moments. Then, I folded it close and placed it down in front of me.

I couldn't read anything.

I dropped my head into my hands. It had completely slipped my mind, but of course a fantasy world would have a completely different language. I'd gotten complacent when I heard all the names that sounded like they were from familiar languages. Though in that case, how the heck was I able to understand everyone else? Was it just the written language that was different?

#Answer. A bonus effect of [Sophia] allows for the interpretation of sound waves that have "communicative intent" in them. This allows for a natural understanding of the spoken languages of Teyvat, including the common tongue. Likewise, it automatically translates your own intent into the necessary language as well.#

Okay, that explains why I can understand everyone else. But why does the translation only work for spoken language? Can "intent" not be picked up from writing?

#Answer. The reason why writing cannot be translated is that it is an indirect method of communication. With speech, the "intent" of the words is conveyed directly from the speaker to the listener. With writing, however, the medium blocks that direct connection.#

I see. So it was like electrical wires. If the two ends are connected directly, you get a current of electricity. But if you were to place a non-conductive material between the ends, the circuit was interrupted. It made sense, though it would definitely be a bit annoying. Hopefully, it wouldn't be too hard to learn the written language with Sophia's help.

"Is something wrong?" Yun Jin Asked, a concerned look on her face.

"Oh, um, yeah," I scratched my nose, a bit embarrassed. "I can't actually read this."

The others looked surprised. Kaeya laughed, though I could tell it was in good nature.

"Geez, just how backwater was your home?"

Yun Jin moved her chair so that she was sitting right next to me. "Don't worry, I'll help. Let's see, these are appetizers. This first one is a chicken and mushroom skewer, and the next—"

She continued reading off each menu item, and I tried to pay attention to what she was saying. However, with her being so close to me, I was feeling a bit self-conscious. On the opposite side of the table, Kaeya grinned cheekily, and I shot a glare at him.

With Yun Jin's help, I soon figured out what I wanted to eat just in time. Sara returned with our drinks right as I made my decision. Yun Jin moved her seat back to its original spot, and we ordered our food.

As Sara walked away, I turned to Yun Jin. "Thanks for the help. You're a lifesaver."

She smiled. "It was nothing."

After a little bit, the food was brought out. I nearly cried at the smell alone. A real meal, at last!

I dug into my food, a dish called flaming red bolognese. It was odd that it was named after the sauce rather than the pasta it was used on. Though the name was even stranger. Was there someplace called Bologna in Teyvat to give the dish this name?

Those kinds of questions could wait for later, though. Right now, I was too hungry to care about anything other than filling my stomach.

With how starving I was, it didn't take me long to finish. I washed down the lingering taste with water and sighed in satisfaction. There truly was nothing as amazing as a delicious warm meal. Especially after a couple of days of travel. I leaned back in my seat, gazing around the plaza.

It was oddly quiet for the middle of the day. Very few people were moving about, and most of those seemed to be shopkeepers or guards. Those who were out wore expressions of nervousness or worry. Did this have something to do with that "Stormterror" thing Swan mentioned? It just seemed odd.

Soon after myself, the others finished their own food as well. Kaeya rose from the table and went to go pay. The rest of us were finishing up our drinks when I noticed two people heading toward us. They seemed distracted in their conversation.

"—and said there's some sort of Hypostasis that's formed at…." The one on the right paused, his eyes meeting Bennett's. "Ah, crap. It's Bennett. Come on, let's go somewhere else."

The two turned around and walked in the complete opposite direction. As I watched them go, I folded my arms in front of me and frowned.

"Well, that was rude."

Seriously, what was with that? If you're going to do something like that, at least try to be discrete about it.

"Indeed." Yun Jin's eyes narrowed; it was the first time I'd seen her angry. "Do you know who they were, Bennett?"

Bennett smiled nervously, looking at the ground rather than me or Yun Jin. "Yeah. They're two of the other members of my adventuring team."

The incredulous look I gave him was matched by Yun Jin. Those two were on a team with Bennett? They seemed to want nothing to do with him! More than that, Bennett had a team? From all the stories he'd told us, I thought he'd been a solo adventurer. Though, in my opinion, it was probably better that he was on his instead of working with those two.

"They're taking a break for now. My bad luck was just too much for them to deal with," Bennett continued, still smiling. "I don't blame them or anything. After all, I know my misfortune makes a lot of trouble for others."

I sighed in annoyance and gently flicked Bennett on his forehead. A quiet yelp left his mouth, and he held his hands in front of the spot. I gave him a stern look, one that I'd used many times on Maisie whenever she did or said something ridiculous.

"Didn't I tell you earlier to stop blaming yourself for everything? My Gran used to always say that the only truly terrible luck was that which you let keep you from moving forward. Besides, sometimes bad luck turns out to be good luck in disguise. If it wasn't for me making a wrong turn, I would never have met the two of you. What matters isn't what happens. It's how you respond to it. So regardless of how unlucky you are, I'm glad to have met you, Bennett."

"You mean that?"

"Of course. We're friends, aren't we?"

Bennett's eyes widened, and he spun around to look at Yun Jin. She simply nodded in agreement. A smile spread across his face.

"Thanks, and you're right! Maybe my luck is finally turning around."

As Kaeya came back over, a sound pierced the air. A roar that made the air itself vibrate, to say nothing of what it felt like inside my body. The sky overhead turned dark, and a strong wind ripped through the city. A nearby sign went flying, and I barely managed to duck out of the way. Then, moments later, a titanic creature tore through the air above us.

A dragon.

Bennett's shoulders slumped, and he looked down at the ground. "Dammit."

The flying lizard was large enough to easily swallow some smaller buildings whole. Azure scales lined its body, and six wings beat violently. The wind became stronger and more intense. As the dragon flew higher, I noticed a vortex of wind beginning to form at the far end of the plaza. A twister was forming.

Even with how loud the wind was, I could still hear the panicked screams and cries of those unfortunate enough to be outside.

"Lumine!" I heard someone cry out, and I turned to see a red-clan brunette reach out to a blonde girl who was being pulled into the air. She was dragged into the burgeoning tornado and was launched into the air.

Steeling my resolve, I faced the others. "Bennett, Yun Jin, be careful but work on ensuring that people are safe!"

The two nodded. Bennett ran off first, a determined look on his face. Yun Jin gave me a worried look.

"Be careful," she said before taking off after Bennett.

I looked at the twister. Thankfully for the city, it wasn't really moving. A stationary tornado. That was definitely not natural.

"Kaeya, I've got a stupid idea."

And boy, was it a big one. Compared to my many terrible ideas, this easily ranked number one. But I couldn't think of anything else right now.

"I figured. Hold on." Kaeya placed a hand on my back; moments later, I was enclosed in a barrier of energy. A light chill suffused my body, and I also found that I could no longer feel the wind as strong.

Kaeya let out a strained breath. "Heh. Still not too good at this. But this should protect you for a little bit."

With barely a glance backward, I thanked Kaeya and then rushed forward. Right toward the twister.

Foolishness, thy name is Zachary.

As I got close, I could feel myself losing traction on the ground. Doing my best to not get thrown away, I leaped into the tornado and was launched skyward.

The sound of the howling wind was intense. I realized that the wind would probably have ripped me apart if it wasn't for the shield Kaeya had created for me. Moments later, the roaring of the twister quieted, and I found myself in the sky.

I barely managed to avoid slamming into the dragon. The wind it created in its passing pushed me a bit higher. But I would deal with that guy later. First, I needed to figure out what had happened to that girl. I hadn't seen her on my way up. She still had to be up here.

I quickly found her, but my mouth nearly dropped when I saw her. She had wings! She was soaring behind the dragon, chasing it down. Small orbs of what looked like air shot from her hand toward the dragon.

Well, she was apparently doing just fine.

I tried to angle myself so that I'd start falling toward them. Strangely, it felt like the wind was helping me along, pushing me in that direction. Was the dragon creating some sort of air current, pulling me in like an aerial rip tide? As I approached, the girl shot me a bewildered look and ceased firing when I landed on the dragon's back.

Less a landing and more of a crash, really. The impact was too much for the shield created by Kaeya. It dispersed, melting away from around me. Because of that, I could now feel the true force of the wind up here. I held on tightly to avoid being dragged off.

Since the girl was in no danger of falling, I could focus on the dragon. I doubted I could defeat it, but I did have an idea that would hopefully drive it away. When up in the air, I had noticed a couple of strange points. If those weren't weak points, then I was a lemur. The closest one was in the direction of the head, so I began crawling in that direction.

I had to be careful as the dragon made sharp turns and steep climbs. I glanced behind me to check on the girl and noticed that she was shooting again. But not at the dragon this time. Instead, she was using those attacks to intercept large clusters of energy. The dragon was fighting back, and the girl looked like she was starting to get overwhelmed.

From my vantage, I could see more of those blasts being prepared. The girl was clearly getting exhausted. There was no way she would be able to block everything from the next wave.

Gritting my teeth, I held on tightly to the dragon's hide with one hand and held out the other in the girl's direction. The akashic energy began coalescing in my palm. There was no time to worry about keeping secrets now.

Sophia, help me calculate the path.

#…Analysis complete. Optimal trajectory detected and recorded. Speed increased, power reduced. Ready to fire at command.#

Then let's do this!

Akasha Projection: Bullet!

The cube's individual sections raced forward at the same time the dragon launched its salvo. The girl managed to block a few of them, but the rest broke past her guard. Luckily, my Bullets were faster. They intercepted the remaining attacks right in time.

The girl shot a look toward me, though I couldn't quite make out her expression from this distance. The dragon also seemed to have paused its attacks.

A cooldown. Just what was needed.

Smiling in satisfaction, I returned to my task. I made my way toward the potential weak spot I had seen on the dragon's back. A purple spike jutted out from the back of its neck, seeming out of place on the beast. It pulsed eerily, and even I could feel that something was off about it. Hopefully, if I hit this thing enough times, the dragon would get annoyed and fly off.

Being careful not to lose my grip, I materialized my spare wooden blade into my free hand. Then with all the force I could muster, I slammed it against the purple spike.

The blade shattered instantly, and I yelped in pain as the force recoiled into my hand and arm. I was going to feel that in the morning. The pain made me lose my grip, and I fell away from the dragon.

But it wasn't all in vain. My strike seemed to have done something to the dragon. It let out a terrible shriek that pierced my skull. It was almost like a scream. The dragon flapped its six wings and sped away toward the horizon.

It was retreating.

I sighed in relief. Then I realized I was freefalling through the air and began to panic. I'd forgotten to think of how I was going to land safely!

Ah, Hodegos. Sorry, but this idiot's about to come see you again.

My terror and imminent death were halted when a pair of hands wrapped under my arms. I craned my head to see the girl behind me, her golden eyes seeming to say, "Now we're even."

With me in her grasp, we slowly descended back down towards Mondstadt and solid ground. As we drew closer, I glanced to where the dragon had disappeared. A bit of lingering fear still ran through my body. The adrenaline had kept it at bay, but now I fully realized the nightmarish beast with which I'd just picked a fight. And yet…

Why did it feel like the dragon was in pain?

And thus we've reached the beginning of canon. This was a fun chapter to write, with Bennett getting quite a bit of spotlight. I didn't originally plan that, but it just came naturally once I started writing. As for the poll regarding the genderbending of Venti and Xiao, that currently stands at 1 vote for each in favor.

The next chapter may be a bit delayed, as I'll be super busy over the next week and half, so I don't know how much time I'll have for writing. And I still need to finish the new world quest in Sumeru along with Alhaitham's story quest.

Finally, because I forgot to do it the last two chapters, I want to thank everyone who's favorited, followed, and reviewed this story. It means a lot to me. I hope everyone has good pulls, and I'll see you all in the next chapter.