The new method for mental energy training was proving effective. The principle involved increasing the elemental energy consumption for each mental thread after mastering the technique of mental splitting. Essentially, it was like upgrading from single-threading to multithreading—achieving both mental fragmentation training and energy depletion simultaneously.
As a result, Victor Wang felt slightly dizzy.
Walking down the empty street, he followed his memory toward Diona's home.
["Hey! Aren't you afraid something dangerous might happen, always wandering outside like this?"]
The sudden voice tightened his nerves.
"With my real identity, even Ruin Guards won't attack me unprovoked. As long as I don't mess with elemental creatures, there aren't many other threats left, right?"
Before entering Mondstadt, Victor Wang had twice encountered Ruin Guards in the wild. One of them even chased him down—those long legs were no joke. Just when he thought he was done for, the guard simply lowered its hand to the ground... as if inviting him to step on.
To avoid being pursued, Victor had no choice but to ride on the Ruin Guard as it patrolled the area.
["Hmph! With my ten thousand years of rolling and crawling experience, Teyvat's got more bad people than you can imagine."]
"Treasure Hoarders or Fatui? I still kept some mental energy in reserve just in case." Victor folded his arms behind his head and hummed a tune from his homeland.
["..."]
"So, you weren't asleep after all?"
["Hehe! A sword spirit needing sleep? Ridiculous."]
"Then why didn't you answer me earlier?"
["Hmph! If I answered whenever you called, wouldn't that hurt my pride?"]
"You? Pride? Hahaha!" Victor burst into laughter.
["Hmph! I told you, even the Seven Archons have to call me senior!"]
"You serious?" Victor tilted his face up to the silver moonlight, asking lazily.
["Ahhh! The oldest of the Seven, the Geo Archon, hasn't even lived ten thousand years—by age, they're all my juniors!"]
"You sure know a lot. But no one goes around calling mountains or oceans senior, do they?"
["They should! All life should show respect to the earth beneath their feet!"]
Victor shook his head helplessly. In ancient times, someone played the zither for a cow; now, Victor was trying to reason with a rock.
"If you've been around so long, ever heard of Starsnatch Cliff or the Golden Apple Archipelago? Those peaks were blasted or sheared off by the Anemo Archon's might. Compared to them, how can you expect the Seven to call you senior?"
["Hmph! Now I'm angry!"] Little Wen grumbled and went silent.
The street quieted again.
"I once crossed mountains and seas, and braved crowds of people... All I once had now fades like smoke..." With no one around, Victor dared to sing aloud.
Whether he took half an hour to run back to Mondstadt or spent the night in the forest, either was fine.
But this was a perfect chance to grow closer to Diona. Spending a night at her home—that was something even the law enforcers hadn't managed! If he could snag breakfast the next morning too, her favorability would skyrocket.
Sure enough, one of the rooms at Diona's house still had its lights on—an outbuilding separate from the main house, its door tightly shut.
Victor knocked gently. No response came from the outbuilding, but a window of the main house slid open.
Draff stuck his head out, squinted at Victor, and whispered with a wink, "It's unlocked—just push."
Then he disappeared back into bed.
Victor gave it a firm push, and the door creaked open.
The outbuilding was rectangular, divided by a wall into two sections. The outer room stored various miscellaneous items; the inner room had a single bed, a desk, and a bookshelf.
The light he saw from outside came from a slowly burning candle on the desk.
"Could this have been Timmy's old room?"
The bookshelf held only a few books, but the lower shelves were filled with toys—possibly Diona's.
"Timmy, oh Timmy…"
Victor collapsed onto the bed, brushing off further thoughts.
When he opened his eyes again, it was a peaceful morning. He sat cross-legged on the bed, continuing his mental energy training. Just as he completed his daily mental split exercise, a knock sounded at the door.
"Wake up! Breakfast is ready!"
Victor glanced at his pocket watch—8:20 AM.
Through the window, he could see a square table had been set in the courtyard, and Draff was placing dish after dish onto it.
"Mm." Victor answered, got out of bed, and opened the door—coming face-to-face with Diona, who had to tilt her head up to speak to him.
"Grandpa Finch didn't have any issues, right?"
"He was pretty drunk, but nothing serious."
"That's good. Come try my dad's pan-fried golden perch—it's the best fish in the world to me!"
Draff beamed. "We're not competing with anyone. If you enjoy it, that's all that matters."
After happily scoring a free breakfast, Diona headed off to work in Mondstadt, and Victor planned to return as well.
"Victor, are you in a hurry to get back?"
"Not really."
"Then stay a bit longer, let's have a chat." Draff stopped Victor, then turned to Diona and reminded, "Take it easy!"
"Yeah, yeah—I know! You say that every day!"
Once Diona darted out of sight, Draff returned with two bottles of wine.
"My daughter Diona is one of the best bartenders in Mondstadt, yet she keeps going on and on about how she hates alcohol. We all thought she was joking or just being childish."
Draff poured himself a full glass and asked Victor, "You're of drinking age, right?"
"Yeah."
"Then this one's for you."
Before Victor could decline, Draff continued, "That kid never tells me anything... Maybe all kids are like that. If you hadn't come, I wouldn't have known how much she really hates alcohol… and that it's all because of me."
He raised his glass to clink with Victor's, but paused, noticing Victor's bottle was still sealed. He lowered his glass and downed half of it in one gulp, then added:
"I already promised Diona last night that I'd quit. But alcohol... it's like life's sorrows. You can't just make them disappear on a whim.
"I once quit drinking with a close friend. When the cravings hit, we chugged apple cider non-stop. We managed to get through it. But later... sigh... what I'm drinking now isn't wine anymore."
Draff finished the rest of his drink in one gulp and poured himself another.
Victor quietly poured himself a glass as well.
Draff chuckled. "Can't be in Mondstadt without a bit of wine. But don't worry, this stuff is weak—you won't get drunk."
Victor couldn't really tell. All the wine tasted the same to him. Still, watching this father drink in silence, he sensibly joined him.
He took a sip—it was far more biting than the dandelion wine from last time.
"Where was I?" Draff scratched his head. "Right—quitting alcohol a second time is way harder than the first. I can't guarantee I'll manage it... But like you said, drinking in moderation is good for health. I'll try to avoid getting drunk. I just hope Diona doesn't come down too hard on me."
"All that said, it boils down to this: thank you."
He clinked glasses with Victor and downed another full cup like it was water.
"You're too kind."
This whole thing kind of started because of me, Victor thought, so I'd better stay involved.
As they drank, a young hunter rushed up the steps to Draff's house and into the courtyard.
"Chief! Something's wrong!"
"What's got you so rattled? Someone killed the carrier pigeons again?"
"Pfft—"
Rest in peace, hunter of pigeons... Victor choked and nearly spat his wine.
"This time it's not the birds—it's wild boars! Two people were seen hunting them in the forbidden zone. One of them even had a Vision!" The young hunter glanced curiously at Victor and reported to Draff.
"Calm down. Were they male or female? Anyone recognize them? How many boars?"
"Both female... and they were followed by this tiny floating thing. But they only killed one boar."
That floating thing must be Paimon... Another nickname incoming. And the two women must be Lumine and Xiangling.
Victor listened silently.
"Hmm... doesn't sound like dangerous criminals. Just talk to them and explain the boar sanctuary rules clearly," Draff decided.
"But... but they have a Vision..." The young hunter faltered.
"So what? They still have to follow the rules, right? We've got Vision holders in town too. And beyond that, there's the Knights of Favonius. If push comes to shove, I'm not old yet! Look at that tiny backbone of yours!"
Draff sighed in exasperation. "Forget it, let Alan go. He's got guts. You, hunters are supposed to sleep beside their weapons—learn something!"
The young hunter, hearing that Alan would take over, looked visibly relieved and scurried off with enthusiastic agreement.