Although Windrise's terrain was fairly flat and the trees sparse, making it feel more like a vast grassland, no direct paths led to the Great Tree. Few people ever came here—except perhaps the nuns who cleaned the Statue of the Anemo Archon.
Victor Wang opened his eyes. The night had passed uneventfully.
Calculating the remaining distance in his mind, he resumed his journey toward the witches' tea party island.
His current body was stronger and walked faster than before. At an estimated 6 kilometers per hour, and from personal experience, the world of Teyvat was roughly 100 times larger than its game version.
He recalled that one particular commission placed the distance from Mondstadt to Dadaupa Gorge at 800 meters. In real terms, that meant about 80 kilometers.
Absurd.
If his estimate was correct, he'd reach his destination in another half day.
By the time the sun reached its peak, he was nearly there.
He noticed that as he approached Dadaupa Gorge, Hilichurl camps became more frequent. Right now, he stood near a large outpost—more like a base.
This one had a crude Hilichurl hut, the kind with gaps large enough for a person to fall through and wind whistling through the uneven walls. Still, by Hilichurl standards, it was a respectable structure.
Over twenty Hilichurls gathered here, and an Anemo Samachurl stood polishing a staff taller than himself with a strip of fur.
It was lunchtime, and a few pairs of Hilichurls had headed out to gather food. Curious about their way of life, Victor Wang trailed one such pair—each wielding a hefty club. The two glanced at him but said nothing.
Leaving the camp, they first gathered some Sweet Flowers and pinecones beneath trees. Then they came across two Mist Flowers surrounded by three Cryo Slimes.
Victor Wang dared not get too close, but the two Hilichurls were unfazed. They strolled over and picked the Mist Flowers without incident—the slimes didn't even react.
...Could it be that Hilichurls and slimes are on the same side? That can't be right. This isn't a game.
After collecting the Mist Flowers, their arms were full and they turned back. As they passed Victor Wang, he felt a distinct chill, though bearable.
Both Mist Flowers were encased in ice blocks that didn't melt, even under the sun.
Upon return, the Hilichurls delivered the Mist Flowers to the shaman, then distributed some of the food to others. The rest went into barrels within the camp.
Then they set out again. This time, they brought back Sunsettias and raspberries, dividing them the same way.
Victor Wang recalled the in-game crates scattered across the wild—breaking them yielded all sorts of ingredients. Now he realized those had been Hilichurl food stores.
I never really wanted your food… but I couldn't resist breaking those crates. Sorry, really.
He apologized silently to the Hilichurls. Being robbed of food was pretty upsetting, now that he was one of them.
One of them offered Victor Wang a Sunsettia. He waved it off—he'd rather forage for himself. It didn't feel right to eat for free when he'd just arrived.
On their third outing, he walked alongside the two club-wielding Hilichurls.
Along the way, they picked a plant Victor Wang didn't immediately recognize. On closer inspection, it was wheat—different from Earth's variety, with no awns and plumper grains.
Teyvat really does have wheat, Victor Wang thought. If there's milk, there must be cows, right? Just not shown in-game.
Clearly, this wheat was wild—not cultivated—so there wasn't much of it. Victor Wang plucked a head, noticed it was still green, and chewed on it.
Like mint, it had that raw Earth taste. Probably better roasted.
Up ahead, they found a Sweet Flower. Victor Wang and the Hilichurls approached to pick it. One of them tugged at it but couldn't pull it free.
"Yika? (Bad thing?)"
"Yika! (Bad thing!)"
They glanced at each other and turned to leave.
Bad thing? Victor Wang didn't understand. He reached down and gave it a yank.
A massive, flaming-red flower burst from the ground, a wave of scorching heat knocking Victor Wang flat on his back.
"Biat! ZidoYika! (Eliminate bad thing!)"
The two Hilichurls immediately entered combat stance.
Victor Wang was stunned. He knew what this was, of course. But after two days in Teyvat without seeing a single Whopperflower, he had completely forgotten about them.
The Blazing Whopperflower closed its petals, then launched a fireball from its center toward Victor Wang and the Hilichurls.
One Hilichurl raised a shield and blocked it. He waved his shield-hand, trying to extinguish the flames.
The second fireball came—this one aimed at the other Hilichurl, who had no shield. He dodged sideways, but the fireball curved midair and struck him from behind.
It exploded on impact, flames engulfing his back, hair, and hide apron. But the Hilichurl barely flinched, charging forward with his club.
The two struck the Whopperflower's head in unison. If HP bars were visible, it probably lost a sliver—but to the naked eye, it looked completely unfazed.
Victor Wang stared at the blank face on the flower's "head"—just two round, eye-like marks. Whether those were actually eyes was unclear.
No one knows if it even has eyes. My heart rate's probably at 250 right now.
This had been his mistake. His deadly mistake.
Now, he could only pray that three regular Hilichurls could somehow take it down. But by his gaming knowledge—that was highly unlikely.
He could try to run. But this was his fault. He wasn't a hero, but he wasn't a coward either. If he ran now, he'd feel guilty for the rest of his life.
I used to laugh at characters in anime for being weak. And now I'm exactly the same.
Victor Wang smiled bitterly, his entire body shaking.
The shield less Hilichurl collapsed—burns leaving him immobile.
The other Hilichurl tried in vain to hold out. Though he'd extinguished his shield once, it caught fire again, and this time, he couldn't put it out in time.
The Whopperflower burrowed underground, reappearing behind him and spraying his back with flames.
Even if Victor Wang tried to flee now, he wouldn't get far. Its burrowing speed far exceeded his running.
He shouted, psyching himself up, and punched the Whopperflower in the back of its "head." It felt like he was giving it a massage. The flower spun in place and faced him with its blank "eyes," launching a homing fireball.
Victor Wang leapt wildly, dodging as best he could. After three seconds, the fireball fizzled out.
The first Hilichurl lay dead. The shield-bearer, engulfed in flames, continued attacking. The Whopperflower began closing its petals entirely, wrapping itself in a cocoon. A visible fire shield formed around it.
Damn… it's absorbing fire and about to go berserk.
The remaining Hilichurl kept beating on it with a club.
From game experience, Victor Wang knew that if they could break the shield, the Whopperflower would enter a weakened state—and they could escape.
But without an elemental counter, breaking that shield before it went berserk was almost impossible.
Still, they had no other choice.
Gritting his teeth, Victor Wang picked up the still-burning club from the fallen Hilichurl. Ignoring the searing heat, he joined the assault.
Naturally, it didn't break the shield.
The Whopperflower opened its petals again and launched a barrage of fireballs. They weren't homing this time, but they were too fast and widespread to dodge.
Victor Wang and the last Hilichurl were consumed in flames.
The shield-bearer collapsed. Only Victor Wang remained—burning, screaming, hammering at the Blazing Whopperflower.
If his skin weren't already dark, the burns would have been visibly grotesque. Third-degree burns, unavoidable. Even if he ran, he wouldn't survive.
The Whopperflower burrowed again, emerged a few meters away, and fired another homing fireball.
Victor Wang charged at it. His charred skin peeled away with every motion—blood, pus, and soot mixing together, then instantly scorched dry again.
Finally, his body gave out. He collapsed, face-down in the dirt.
The Whopperflower stopped attacking, hovering just out of reach, its blank face staring silently down at him.
"It hurts! It hurts! It hurts! It hurts! It hurts! It hurts! It hurts! It hurts! It hurts! It hurts! It hurts! It hurts! It hurts! It hurts! It hurts!"
His nerves failed, and the pain began to fade. Then, nothing at all.
"So… this is how it ends…"
That was Victor Wang's final thought.