This was a ruined settlement—a village now home only to an aging shaman and a handful of frail, child-like Hilichurls.
Once, Hilichurl brutes had lived here; now they were gone, likely dragged off by some ice-dwelling monster.
Gu Baizhou's mind churned, his brow knit tight.
"Mosi gusha… (sad…)"
Several Hilichurls stirred awake, sitting in gloom, softly keening.
A chance…If he solved this, taught them farming and fish-rearing, he could leave with authority established.
"We're heading out," Gu Baizhou decided.He grabbed a nearby crossbow and a few solid arrows, leading a small band of Hilichurls and the old shaman outside.
Night was deep and damp, the courtyard shining as if water pooled in the air itself.
It was real water.Mud squelched beneath their feet, Hilichurl prints sunken deep.Gu crouched, touching the soil—cool and wet.
"Hydro-element creature," he thought.But the shaman had spoken of an ice monster.Here the traces were water.
"The attack site is this close, yet no one heard a thing…"He scanned the dark, growing wary."No blood. Likely the creature seized its prey instantly."
Moisture still glistened on the ground; the trail was clear enough to follow.But a Hydro monster's power might exceed his own.
Should he give chase?
He looked back.The Hilichurls waited, torches in hand.
"Let's go. Keep the torches steady—light my arrows if I call for it."
Decision made, he led them down the mountain, following the damp trail.
He nocked an arrow, eyes sharp, system prompts flickering in his mind:
+1 Eagle Eye EXP+1 Steady Wrist EXP+1 Basic Archery EXP
Level Up – Comprehensive Archery Lv2: 0/10
They reached the river at the mountain's base—not the one where they had fished before, but a different current gushing from fissures under the rock.A narrow wooden bridge clung to the cliffside, winding away.
Chaos greeted them.Shattered blue limbs littered the ground, mixed with icy shards.
Gu lifted a broken tentacle with an arrow. A strong sea-brine stench hit him.
+1 Advanced Smell EXP
"Slashed apart by something heavy and sharp… a great axe or sword," he muttered, stacking green-tinged flesh—eye, teeth, organs."Octopus-like. Not just one. From the sea? High tide?"
Among the remains, ice crystals glimmered.An exorcist with a Cryo Vision?It was his first sign of another human.
"You find anything?" he asked the Hilichurls.They only shook their heads, eyes damp.
The shaman drooped in disappointment.
Gu was about to offer empty comfort when something in the river caught his eye—a small wooden plaque drifting on the surface.
He waded in, retrieving the peach-wood charm.
+1 Materials EXPMaterials Lv3: 4/5
A talisman for warding evil.The missing Hilichurl was likely slain by that exorcist's blade.
Thonk, thonk…Pebbles clinked underwater.
+1 Advanced Hearing EXP
Gu's pupils tightened.He bolted.
Whoosh!The river roared, current surging.A teal tentacle shot from the water toward his ankle, lined with suction cups that would cling and crush.
In a blink, the creature was upon him.
Slash!He stabbed downward with an arrow—only spray and ripples.
"It blends with the water…"
A chill ran through him.
Boom!Suddenly a stone pillar surged from the riverbed, lifting him clear.
"Dada! (Great!)" the shaman shouted.
Gu leapt to the bank, spun, and fired.The arrow pierced soft flesh; the monster crashed back into the river, thrashing forward with eight pounding tentacles.
Spray erupted.One slick limb clawed onto shore, a hooked tip biting into the earth.Its body glowed with misty blue light, a bulging head crowned by a cold sapphire eye.
+1 Biology EXP
Sensing the opening, Gu drew and fired again—the arrow punched through its neural center.
Pale-blue blood spattered.Its gaze went blank, though its limbs twitched on.
"A mutated octopus?"He stepped close and twisted the arrow deep to be sure.
Dead.
"Let's search more," he told the shaman, grateful."No body here. If our missing friend lives, it wouldn't have followed the river—maybe fled into the hills."
"Dada!" the shaman agreed, and they retraced their path.
Halfway up, a dark figure ran toward them—the red-furred Hilichurl, dripping wet, clutching bright red fruit.
Alive after all?
The other Hilichurls cheered.
"Food! Tasty!"
The red-fur Hilichurl offered the fruit.Gu sniffed—pungent heat filled his nose.Chili peppers.
He couldn't refuse.He bit in.
"—Hiss—"Fire spread from tongue to throat, heat flooding his body.
"Spicy… but not bad," he admitted, face tightening.
It only heard the praise and chirped happily.
Back in the village, the Hilichurls skipped sleep, dancing in rhythmic circles.The old shaman stood at the center, chanting in a weary voice:
"I can hunt no more…I am no longer strong…My destined end draws near…Bitter, sorrowful…"
When the song ended, it offered Gu a small stone bottle.He turned it in his hands—coarse, pitted as if eroded.Inside, fine sand hissed softly when shaken.
A message flared in his mind:
Sand-Bearing Stone Bottle – Sands of TimeThe Hilichurls will now see you as a friend.It will protect you from the ravages of stone and sand.
Description:An ancient vessel that has accompanied the old shaman from youth to dusk.Its body decays, its life wanes, but its story will never end.
"A… Genshin artifact?"Gu's thoughts turned wry."Could my entire skill interface be an artifact too?"