At dawn, before the sky had fully brightened, Kael felt movement beside him.
He stretched out a long arm and pulled Amber—who was just about to get up—back into his embrace.
His voice was still husky from sleep. "Mm? After last night, why not sleep a little longer?"
Amber instantly thought of everything that had happened between them yesterday, and her whole body flushed pink with embarrassment.
She pushed lightly at his chest with her smooth, bare arm.
"I… I accepted a mission. Today I need to patrol the Whispering Woods. I've got to head out early."
Kael sat up as well. "Then I'll go with you."
"No—no need!!!"
Amber averted her gaze quickly, her face burning even hotter at the sight of his bare torso. "This is my job. I can handle it myself. You should focus on getting your shop ready."
With that, she hurried through her preparations.
Just before leaving, Amber's cheeks blazed red as she leaned in and kissed Kael on the cheek. "I'm off."
Once she was gone, Kael climbed out of bed and stepped into the hall.
The moment he opened the door, he saw Xiangling hugging Guoba, her round eyes sparkling mischievously as she looked at him.
"Is she your girlfriend?"
Kael already knew from the simulation how nosy this little girl could be. He walked over and pinched her soft, chubby cheeks.
"Didn't I tell you? Grown-up matters aren't for kids."
"Hmph… I'm not a kid, you know, big bro, you—"
Xiangling froze.
That word—"big brother"—had slipped from her lips so naturally, like she'd been calling him that all her life.
As if the man standing before her really was her brother.
"You came to Mondstadt looking for ingredients, right? I was just about to go hunting. Want to come along?"
Fresh from washing up, Kael invited her.
"O-Oh! Sure, just give me a sec!"
Xiangling got ready at lightning speed, then bounced back with her usual energy. "Let's go, let's go!"
They headed out to the outskirts of Mondstadt.
Kael pulled up his map and searched for the nearest herd of Wild Boar, then led Xiangling straight there.
Her eyes sparkled with curiosity.
"How'd you know there'd be Wild Boar here? Yesterday I searched all over Mondstadt and didn't find a single one. Is there some trick?"
Of course, it was thanks to the System. But he couldn't tell her that. So he put on a mysterious face. "That's a secret."
Xiangling pouted. "Tch, stingy."
He still hadn't tested the Anemo Vision he'd received from the simulation. This would be a good chance to try its power.
The Anemo abilities available were Gale Blade, Sandstorm Scatter, and Storm Cyclone.
Kael checked the descriptions, then targeted a group of Wild Boar lazily grazing in the grass.
He cast Storm Cyclone.
A whirlwind roared up from the ground, sweeping the unsuspecting boars high into the air.
They came crashing back down, collapsing unconscious as soon as they hit the earth.
Kael walked over, drew the dagger he'd earned from the System, and finished them off cleanly.
It was a small herd—about eighteen Wild Boar.
Three hundred and sixty Attribute Points gained.
He summoned the Serenitea Pot and stored all the carcasses inside.
Xiangling's eyes widened with amazement.
"What is that? You can fit so many Wild Boar inside… Is it some kind of Adeptus artifact?"
Coming from Liyue, she was familiar with tales of the Adepti and their artifacts. The design of the Serenitea Pot made her instantly assume it was one of them.
"That's right."
Considering its origin in the game world, she wasn't wrong.
"Wow!"
Xiangling ran her little hands across the pot's smooth surface, eyes full of envy.
With the System's map, Kael no longer needed to wander all over Mondstadt searching for beasts.
After finishing off the herd, he checked the time. Still early.
He turned to Xiangling. "What ingredients are you looking for? I'll help you."
"Really? Then I won't hold back!"
After seeing how easily he tracked the Wild Boar, she figured he must be just as good at finding other ingredients.
Beaming, she pulled out her notebook and began reading off a list.
"Wolfhook, Valberry, Cecilia, Philanemo Mushroom…"
She rattled off a long string of Mondstadt specialties, then looked up at him with shining eyes. "Shall we?"
"Alright."
Kael checked the map. The closest marker was for Philanemo Mushrooms.
He placed a marker, and a golden trail only he could see appeared on the ground.
"Let's go."
He led Xiangling along the glowing path.
Halfway there, the trail cut straight past a massive Hilichurl camp.
They'd gotten too close. A guard Hilichurl spotted them and let out a shrill yell.
"Ya!!!"
At once, more than a dozen Hilichurls leapt to their feet, snatching up their weapons and charging toward them.
"Big brother! There are so many Hilichurls!"
Xiangling's face showed panic. She whipped out her polearm and took a defensive stance.
But Kael—who had completed plenty of Adventurers' Guild commissions—was long since used to scenes like this.
He'd faced far bigger mobs of Hilichurls.
A dozen of them was hardly worth worrying about.
He was about to unleash his Vision, preparing to wipe them out with an Elemental Skill—
When a calm, steady voice rang out from behind him.
"Get to safety."
A greatsword wrapped in frost shot past at incredible speed, burying itself straight through the skull of the nearest Hilichurl.
The creature collapsed instantly, dead on the spot.
From behind Kael strode a woman with short blue hair, clad in a tight-fitting shirt, her figure striking and powerful.
She wrenched the greatsword free from the Hilichurl's head and charged headlong into the camp.
With ease, she cut down Hilichurl after Hilichurl.
Kael's eyes widened as he stared at her back.
That was… Eula.
He hadn't expected to run into her this quickly!