Rola tried to sit up, but Barbara gently pressed her back down.
"Rola, don't move just yet. Let me examine you again."
Barbara's cool little hands brushed lightly against Rola's skin, the soothing coolness of the Hydro Element making Rola close her eyes in comfort.
"Brother, I promised Barbara I'd help out here today, so I won't be going back tonight," Rola said.
Seeing that Rola was indeed unharmed, Diluc nodded to her and produced several portions of Mora Meat from seemingly nowhere.
"Adelinde asked me to bring these over. You haven't been home in days—if you're feeling up to it, you should go back and check on things."
"Mm-hmm!" Rola replied.
-
That night, after Barbara had fallen asleep, Rola finally received the long-awaited message from the System.
Wide awake, she immediately tapped to open it.
The System informed her that she now possessed the ability to break through dimensional barriers, allowing her to observe Genshin Impact from the perspective of an ordinary person in another world.
She could search for videos and watch them on the largest anime video platform, view live streams, access all official game information, and even play the game directly.
Without hesitation, Rola first navigated to the game's official website to check if her information was listed.
To her surprise, while some information about her existed, crucial details like her character art and in-game implementation were missing, and even her unique Story Quest was absent.
This baffled Rola. Logically, as one of the first Mondstadt citizens the Traveler encounters and a prominent character in the main storyline for so long, she should have been added to the gacha pool.
Even Noelle, who had accompanied her, had been included in the pool—and as a guaranteed drop in the beginner's first ten-pull!
With her eyes closed, feigning sleep, Rola's mind raced frantically.
Suddenly, her eyes snapped open.
Could it be that I'm not being added to the gacha pool because this temporary vessel will disappear eventually? Rola thought.
After all, Genshin Impact had no precedent for adding characters who had died in the story to the gacha pool.
The more Rola pondered this, the more convinced she became. This must be it!
A bitter feeling welled up inside her. Without being a gacha character, her popularity would inevitably suffer, which would also impact her ability to collect Emotional Feedback.
Just then, the System informed her that collecting a certain amount of Emotional Feedback would unlock the ability to customize her own character, including her quests, gacha status, skills, and more.
Rola checked her current Emotion Points. The progress bar showed she still needed to gather about one-third more to unlock the second tier of customization.
This was the first time she'd seen her accumulated Emotional Feedback so clearly. However, she had no real sense of scale and no idea how long it would take to collect the remaining third.
In any case, collecting as much as possible can't hurt!
I should interact more with the Traveler, she mused. Maybe I can trigger my own Story Quest or Hangout Event.
With this thought in mind, Rola continued browsing player evaluations of her character.
As she read, a graceful smile curved her lips.
Ignoring the players who called her "wife" or "daughter," the overall impression of her character was overwhelmingly positive!
In fact, she seemed to be one of the most beloved characters among the player base, with many clamoring to pull for her full constellations the moment she was released.
Rola even discovered a streamer named Guojia (aka Little Fruit) who seemed to adore her. Since Guojia appeared to be a major streamer, Rola immediately followed the channel.
That night, Rola's mind raced with thoughts, leaving her barely able to sleep. When she woke up, she sported massive dark circles under her eyes, startling Barbara.
"I messed up," she muttered. "I forgot my main consciousness doesn't need sleep, but Rola's persona does..."
After greeting Barbara, Rola strolled down Mondstadt's main street.
"It's been ages since I went home. I'll head back today and visit Noelle tomorrow."
-
Dadaupa Gorge.
After clearing out a Hilichurl Camp, Lumine discovered a golden treasure chest inside. She opened it, hugging the pile of loot to her chest, her smile radiant.
"Lumine, to celebrate our haul today, how about we treat ourselves to a feast at Good Hunter later? My treat!"
Lumine wiped the dust from her face and nodded vigorously.
"Paimon, exactly how much Mora did Rola give you?"
Paimon clasped her hands behind her back. "Well, you know how we were planning to travel? Rola found out and gave me a letter to deliver to someone in Liyue. She said the Mora was payment for the quest!"
"So, how much Mora did Rola actually give you?"
"Hehe." Paimon held up a single finger.
"Ten thousand?!"
Paimon shook her head.
"One hundred thousand?!"
"It was actually a hundred million..."
Lumine's eyes widened abruptly. "How much?!"
In the moment Lumine was stunned, Paimon had already flown quite a distance ahead.
Noticing Lumine wasn't following, Paimon waved her small hand. "Lumine, hurry up! I'm getting hungry!"
Lumine scurried after her in small steps.
Sensing something was off with Lumine's expression, Paimon asked, "Lumine, what's wrong?"
"Rola?"
Paimon followed Lumine's gaze and saw Rola lying beneath an apple tree, two half-eaten apples beside her.
The sun was glaringly bright, but Rola lay perfectly shaded beneath the tree's canopy.
A book covered Rola's face. As Paimon and Lumine approached slowly, they heard her steady breathing.
"Rola?!" Paimon exclaimed in surprise.
What was Rola doing sleeping here? It was far too dangerous; monsters could approach at any moment. If they attacked while she was asleep...
Lumine, thinking the same thing, sat down and gently nudged the sleeping Rola.
"Mmm~" Rola removed the book covering her face, rubbed her eyes, and let out a drowsy, kitten-like mewl.
"Lumine... and Paimon? What are you two doing here?"
Paimon put her hands on her hips. "We should be asking you that! How could you be sleeping here? It's too dangerous!"
Rola playfully patted her head. "I remember going to deliver wine to Lord Barbatos, and then we started talking about you... Oh, right! I told him I wanted to find you, and he brought me here. We rested for a bit, and I got sleepy, so I dozed off..."
"So it was that unreliable bard all along!" Lumine muttered.
More concerned with another matter, she turned to Rola and asked:
"Rola, you said you were looking for us?"
As if realizing her intentions for the first time, Rola immediately stood up. "That's right! I've been unable to pass the Knights of Favonius' selection trials. I must be lacking in some area. I consulted Jean and my brother, and they both said my experience was insufficient..."
"Noelle and I are in similar situations, but she studies diligently in the Mondstadt Library, while I gave up after just two days..."
Rola's face flushed slightly as she admitted this, seemingly ashamed of her inability to persevere in her studies at the Library.
"I sought guidance from Lord Barbatos, who recommended you two. I figured, if you could become Honorary Knights of the Knights of Favonius so quickly, and even defeat a dragon to save Mondstadt, there must be so much I can learn from you!"
"Lord Barbatos mentioned you'll be leaving for Liyue in a few days. I'd like to use this time to learn as much as possible from you!"
Lumine and Paimon exchanged a knowing glance, subconsciously puffing out their chests a little.
See? We're just that awesome! their expressions seemed to say.
"Hehe, Rola gave Lumine and me such a precious gift earlier! We were wondering how we could repay you. It's perfect that there's something we can help you with now, right, Lumine?"
Lumine nodded in agreement. "Paimon's right, Rola. Let's go on an adventure together during this time! Paimon and I were just planning to head to Dragonspine!"
Rola nodded enthusiastically, overjoyed.
Not only had Lumine and Paimon agreed, but her other persona in Liyue, Mu Qingge, had just discovered a brand-new, exclusive Hangout Event for Rola within the game!
Fresh off the presses!
However, since it was a Hangout Event, it meant that even if she eventually became a playable character in the gacha, she'd likely be a four-star rarity.
But that's okay! Many four-star characters are still hard to get, like the Standard Banner Exclusives—they never appear as rate-ups, only in the Standard Banner. Doesn't that make you mad?!
Let's crank up the hype even more!You'll be begging for me!