"The meat from the Great Snowboar King is so much better than that wild boar from earlier!"
Everyone enjoyed a hearty meal.
"But there's still so much left. Even if we ate every day, we wouldn't finish it in a month, right?"
"We can have Draff and the others take the boars when they come to transport them. That way we can make some extra Mora too."
"These boars are frozen solid, which makes it easier for the hunters to move them. Besides, the Great Snowboar King won't spoil while it's like this."
At the foot of the mountain, Eula parted ways, heading off to rejoin the reconnaissance squad.
The remaining trio returned with good news for Draff.
"By the Archon! Just that one Great Snowboar King—if we hype it right, it could sell for tens of millions of Mora!"
"Tens of millions?!"
"But if we're the ones handling it, we'll have to deduct transportation and marketing costs…"
"That's understandable," Lumine nodded.
"I'm not too concerned about Mora. I just hope you can successfully breed this wild boar species again, and bring that flavor back to the world."
(Boar:Xiangling… thank you… because of you…)
Seeing everyone in agreement, Draff continued, "Still, our town can't come up with that much cash all at once… how about we sign a contract? Once we sell the Great Snowboar King, we'll transfer the Mora to your accounts?"
After some discussion, the contract was signed, and Xiangling prepared to return to Liyue Harbor.
"See you! Be sure to drop by my restaurant if you're ever in Liyue!"
With Xiangling off, only Victor Wang and Lumine remained. They began the journey back to Mondstadt.
As the sun set, the sky turned a brilliant red, clouds dyed like they'd been dipped in watermelon juice.
"Phew~ I'm so tired. We ate something amazing and made a ton of Mora, but today's been exhausting." Paimon flew in fancy spirals, zipping ahead of Victor Wang and Lumine.
Victor Wang teased, "Didn't you just eat? You even flew the whole way instead of walking—can you really call that exhausting?"
"It really is tiring! Flying takes energy too! But now that we know Xiangling, once we get to Liyue, we can get her to treat us to more delicious food!"
"You two… are already planning to go to Liyue?"
Lumine's travels to find her brother weren't a secret. She'd even asked Victor Wang to keep an eye out for any clues while he learned her Wind Vortex Sword technique.
"Sixteen days. That's how long until the Rite of Descension in Liyue. I plan to leave seven days in advance—it'll take about two days to travel, which leaves time to get familiar with the city," Lumine replied.
"I see. I'll be heading to Liyue soon myself—for medical reasons." Victor Wang nodded, revealing his own plans.
"Speaking of which, there's a pair of siblings at the fountain plaza. The sister, Anna, had some strange illness. Her brother, Anthony, got a prescription from Bubu Pharmacy in Liyue. The ingredients were a bit unusual, but it did cure her."
"More than cured!" Paimon rolled her eyes. "Now she's bursting with energy—climbing the Statue of the Archon, scaling the Cathedral walls… A few days ago, she even became an adventurer and drags Lumine around on commissions daily."
"Just proves how good Bubu Pharmacy's medicine is. Since you're going to Liyue, you should check it out. I actually planned to ask around about your condition for you."
Victor Wang blinked, warmth rising in his chest. "Haha, thank you for your kindness, Lumine-sensei! Oh, right—Diluc is hosting a banquet at Dawn Winery the day after tomorrow. Are you going?"
"Looks like he invited you too. It's the Mondstadt Wine Industry Conference. Supposedly it'll influence the entire city's wine market. All the big names will be there. They won't serve me wine, but there's plenty of apple cider—and food!"
"Not so much invited. I only found out about it by bumping into Diluc that day."
As they chatted, a feline blur zipped past on its way home.
Both sides were moving at full speed. The encounter lasted barely a second, but thanks to her excellent dynamic vision, Diona clearly saw the three of them—well, two and a half.
Victor?! Ugh! Disappears for a day and already picked up another girl. She was about to brake and greet them but changed her mind.
No need to even bother.
With a huff, she picked up speed.
"Was that a cat that just ran by?" Paimon twisted in midair, flying backward to track the vanishing blur.
"Cat ears, cat tail—definitely a little kitty," Lumine confirmed confidently.
"That's Diona, bartender of the Cat's Tail. I guess you haven't been there yet? It's right next to the Good Hunter—Mondstadt's only tavern that can rival Angel's Share."
Lumine had a curious concern: "She's so young, and they made her a bartender? Doesn't that count as child labor?"
"I'm not sure. But Diona's talent for mixing drinks is amazing. No matter what ingredients she uses, her drinks turn out great. She's half the reason people go to Cat's Tail. Even if you don't drink, she can make incredible non-alcoholic drinks."
"The other half is the many cute cats there."
"Cats… oh, I remember! That's the tavern Miss Margaret owns. Last time we helped her find 'Prince,' it was such a hassle. That's also when we found out Venti is allergic to cats."
Hearing Paimon mention that, Lumine's memory clicked. "I've decided. Tomorrow, I have to visit Cat's Tail—and see the cats!"
...
Once Mondstadt came into view, Victor Wang said his farewells to Lumine and turned off toward Whispering Woods to train his mental focus.
Counting silently, he realized he had been in Teyvat, in Mondstadt, for eighty days now.
"My days in Mondstadt are numbered. The Rite of Descension is in sixteen days. Lumine plans to leave seven days early, so I'll leave two days after her."
"But even rushing, allowing time for meals and sleep, it'll take me two days to reach Liyue. And if I ever want to return to Mondstadt, that's four days round trip… After this, who knows when I'll be back. Maybe not until the very end."
That's the downside of not being able to teleport between anchor points. Victor Wang sighed, pondering what unfinished business he still had in Mondstadt.
"Amber, Kaeya, Lisa, Klee, Sucrose, Albedo, Bennett, Fischl, Barbara, Diona, Noelle, Eula, Venti… I've pretty much reconnected with all of them."
"Rosaria, Jean, Diluc—maybe not close friends, but we've met again. Mona and Mika aren't back in the city yet. The only one I haven't really met is Razor."
"Razor… hmm… oh well, maybe someday."
"And then there's the Abyss."
The Spiral Abyss—a critical place.
In the game, it's described like this: Rumor has it that people who've ascended to Celestia have also witnessed the same helix-shaped divine ladder that can be seen within Visions. Venturing out into the universe and down into the abyss are the same in that both are braving the dark unknown.
Liyue has the Adepti, Azhdaha, Osial the Overlord of the Vortex, fallen gods and suppressed deities. Inazuma has the time-reversing Sacred Sakura, the ancient ruins of Enkanomiya with their forgotten histories, and Orobashi the Profane Serpent. Sumeru has the Dendro Dragon Apep, and the Red Lord and the Goddess of Flowers who once ruled alongside the Dendro Archon. Though fallen, their people still live on, and their ruins remain eternal.
Mondstadt, by comparison, seems plain. Other than Dvalin, all that's left are ruins: the God of Storms Decarabian's ruins—really just ruins. A suspected Time Archon's ruins—even more broken. The Great Wolf King's soul. Durin's corpse—which might still come back.
Yet the Spiral Abyss is located in Mondstadt.
It can't just be that the developers wanted players to reach it early, right?
No way. Absolutely not.
"But in this world, the Abyss doesn't even give Primogems. It's just danger. Should I go check it out?"
"Without teleportation, if I go, I'll have to swim back... Forget Musk Reef, I'll head to Cape Oath instead and check that portal."
["Hmph! Why do you keep talking to yourself? I don't get it."]
"Ahem, don't worry about it."
Victor Wang felt a bit awkward—he'd forgotten he wasn't alone. Still, Xiaowen usually stayed quiet during his training, only getting chatty in downtime.
It was too late to make the trip now.
The next morning, he calculated the time and set off early.
Yesterday's dazzling sunset hadn't dispersed. In fact, the clouds were even thicker—a rare overcast day.
The straight-line distance was 139 kilometers, but following the path came to about 180. After nearly five hours, Victor Wang reached the summit of Cape Oath at midday.
There, he found a ruined structure surrounded by Electro Slimes. He activated the wind current from the ruins, but even flying high, he couldn't find the portal that led directly to Musk Reef.
Standing at the easternmost edge of Cape Oath, he gazed out—but Musk Reef wasn't visible.
"Heh. Maybe this world just doesn't have the Abyss. In a place as vast as Teyvat, Musk Reef might not even matter."
Technically, Musk Reef was cut from Starsnatch Cliff by Venti. So, it should exist. Victor Wang knew it wasn't visible due to map expansion. Unless he swam dozens of kilometers to confirm it, he'd reserve judgment on whether the Abyss was real.
"Whatever. It's been eighty days since I last ran the Abyss. Honestly, life's been nicer without it."
He deployed his wind glider from Cape Oath's air current, shortening his return trip, and from above spotted several new knights training in Dadaupa Gorge—ones he hadn't seen on his way in.
A few recruits recognized Victor Wang and waved at him.
He scanned the area carefully but didn't see any of his familiar Vision-wielding friends or the chief instructor.
After more than three hours, he reached the eastern edge of Springvale.
"A whole day… completely wasted…"
With some time before sunset, Victor Wang decided not to rush back. Instead, he found a flat clearing in the woods nearby and resumed training his swordsmanship and combat skills.