Thwoomp
An arrow loosened and hit its target dead in the eye.
Leaves rustled as Alexander came up and picked up the dead rabbit, examining how accurately the arrow hit the weak point with minimal effort.
He had been practising and going on hunts for the past 4 months, making it half a year since coming to this world.
But he wasn't complaining, going on game hunts was really fun and the stunning nature that surrounded the mountain he called home, sometimes even made him lose himself in the scenery.
After all this time he had gradually blurred the mental line of the reality being a game, he no longer focused on 'characters' or possible plotlines.
Every day he saw and talked to genuine, real people, whose fates were ever-changing, who worked hard and who had their own troubles and sorrows.
Thwoomp
Another arrow found its target.
Rinse and repeat, Alexander had been hunting and cooking all these months. Nowadays Saiguu was visiting and bothering him less and less.
'Probably losing interest'
He thought self-deprecatively, but the truth could very well be far more different.
Now his partner in mischief during free time was the pink fox named Yae, who had too much free time on her paws.
They were supposed to be hunting for Ioroi today, the bake-danuki plaguing Mt. Yougou, alas the Kitsune Hag had found out her favourite disciple was skimping on homework and heavily disciplined her.
Now Yae was imprisoned in her room, covered in scrolls and most probably - crying a river.
Thwoomp
Alexander filled the last space on his carrier with the slain rabbit. Swinging it over his shoulder, he started walking back towards the foot of the mountain.
The only thing he found a pain each day was going up and down the bloody stairway to 'heaven', a waste of time he thought.
After a while he finally made it back home and carried the game straight into the kitchen. By now, the others were starting to wake up and head towards their respective duties.
Along the way, Alexander greeted every face he saw, now that he had been here a while, he was acquainted with most, if not all, shrine personnel, as well as returning visitors, who frequently made pilgrimages.
The people greeted back with warm smiles. Ever since the young man became the head chef, the quality of food had risen spectacularly, making everybody happy. Not a single soul wasn't aware who the credit belonged to.
Even if the Guuji tried to take it all, she brought him here after all.
The sounds of methodical knife work and clattering utensils
By now Alexander was finishing up with the prep work, the other cooks heating and oiling the pans or sorting the gathered ingredients.
Everybody was looking forward to what this new day would bring.
.
.
.
"I must be paying you a pretty gold coin, if you can afford this tobacco."
Saiguu spoke as soon as she approached the young man leisurely smoking a pipe while lying on the edge of the mountain, basking in the sunlight and the gorgeous view below.
"You are not, Yae and I stole this from your bottom drawer a few months back."
Alexander answered bluntly, not taking his eyes off the view.
"You! I knew I had much more left than that!"
Smack, smack, smack
She was already hitting his head repeatedly, but Alexander had long lost the feelings of being hit, although his unfazed demeanor made the kitsune even more furious and ferocious.
"Pay me better next time."
He continued his blunt streak, earning extra 'points' for continuously ignoring her assault.
"Hrmph, as if I would pay a thief."
She snorted and folded her arms condescendingly.
"Says the woman who keeps on stealing my lunch."
Alexander continued unfazed.
"That's your job as my personal chef!"
There it was, the shamelessness.
"Then let me stop cooking for everybody else, I wouldn't mind cooking for you and Yae only. Would have much more time to spend on practice."
A comfortable silence settled in between them.
"But what about all those cute shrine maidens running after your love?"
Aaand it was quickly broken.
"They chase the food, not the man."
Alexander stated in sagely wisdom.
"The quickest way to a woman's heart is through her stomach."
Saiguu didn't back down.
"And the quickest way to a man's heart is through silence. Looks like we're all out of luck."
The kitsune threw him a pouty expression.
"You seem to like talking to my precious student and she can keep going on for hours."
"What can I say? Yae has a pleasant and comforting voice."
"Pffft, yeah right, all men are shallow and you know what I mean."
"There's no denying your apprentice is well endowed when in human form, but your understanding of men is what's shallow."
"Enlighten me."
"It's the soul, the soul that we seek."
"Pffft, you seem to be on a funny streak today, so tell me, what's the pathway to the soul of a woman? Through her bosom or bottom?"
"How vulgar, it's through the eyes of course."
"Keep talking and I'll start to believe you."
"I don't need your charity."
"You little shit, grown too comfortable, huh?"
Saiguu finally lost her composure, locked his head in a vise and started rubbing her knuckles against his scalp.
"Ow, ow, ow, you brute. No wonder males tend to avoid you, it's all about the temper."
Even though Alexander made it seem like he was in pain, he truly could barely feel the impact of her frustration. So he kept on digging his grave.
"Keep talking and I'll share all your embarrassing moments with Yae."
"What are you, my mom?"
"You wish I was!"
"No thanks, if I wanted a family, it would need to be complete, but with you around, I will never get a father."
"A-LE-XAN-DEEEEER."
'Oops.'
He finally went ahead and overdid it.
Changing her form from a head lock into a vice grip, Saiguu went ahead and promptly suplexed Alexander into the ground.
By this point, Yae had also walked up in interest.
But all she could now see was half a body sticking out of the earth, comically twitching.
Even if she didn't know the topic of the conversation, she was absolutely sure what happened that led up to this point.
This had been happening for the last two months, every day after all.
"YOU!"
Turning around after dusting off her hands, Saiguu spotted the second smooth criminal.
Yae's fur stood on end and without thinking even for a second, she bolted.
"COME BACK YOU FOOL!"
Such lively scenes had become the norm for the denizens of the Grand Narukami Shrine, so most didn't even bat an eye anymore.
In fact, even today's pilgrims seemed to smile after hearing Saiguu's shouting from behind the main building, already familiar with the probable cause.
"And so, momma demon hunted the second demon child, beating her into a pulp…"
A certain bake-danuki was hidden in plain sight, mumbling something under his breath while jotting down heresy into a journal named 'Blackmail'.
Unfortunately, such a wonderful day was soon interrupted by the first set of bad news Alexander heard since coming to this world.
"Lady Guuji, Lady Guuji!"
A terrified shrine maiden was sprinting towards her, a pale shogunate envoy in tow.
"Calm down, calm down, speak clearly."
Saiguu still wore an unpleasant expression, but was now calming the newly arrived duo down.
"The sacred sakura wards surrounding Narukami Island have been shattered!!!"
"What?! Where?!"
Now it was her turn to turn ashen.
"From the side of Ritou settlement!"
Both Yae and Alexander were now standing behind Saiguu, listening carefully.
"What of the maidens there?"
"Lost contact…"
"Abyss?"
"No signs of the Void Realm…"
"Huh?"
Although she was relieved to hear it wasn't the Abyss, she couldn't understand what could possibly break the wards she oversaw being set up.
"Forget the reason Saiguu, we need to go there."
Alexander interrupted her thoughts.
"We? Yae and I - sure, you? You are but a hunter and a cook, stay here, where you can be safe, fool."
Saiguu immediately forbade him.
"Don't think of trying anything funny either."
Yae, now in her human form, waved a finger in front of his face with a stern expression.
"Asase, gather a small force, we are moving out.
Alexander was getting to speak up and argue, when the women promptly turned around and left. Not only them though.
Every maiden and even the shogunate envoy were now hustling and bustling, getting ready to leave and support the Ritou settlement.
The young man, however, stood still in place, lost about what he should do…
'Well I can catch up to them once they start descending the mountain, actually forget catching up, I can just outright tail them and they will never notice.'
He quickly found a solution. There was no way he would miss this chance at a first battle. He had no idea what scenario this was or if it had ever been mentioned in the game.
His memories were slowly getting more and more hazy on the little details, but he did keep track of the most important story-turning events.
As the relevant people were getting ready for a quick departure, Alexander made way to his quarters in show of compliance to Saiguu and Yae, as well as to secretly prepare for departure himself.
Once inside his room he sat down and quickly opened his system panel, checking his status, abilities and available perk points.
Combat Branches
Light Armour: Level 17
Medium Armour: Level 0
Heavy Armour: Level 0
Sword: Level 0
Mace: Level 0
Axe: Level 0
Hammer: Level 5
Dagger: Level 47
Spear: Level 0
Shield: Level 0
Bow: Level 39
Crossbow: Level 0
Javelin: Level 0
Sneak Combat: Level 31
Mounted Combat: Level 0
Skill Branches
Cooking: Level 59
Comfort: Level 14
Speech: Level 68
Blacksmith: Level 0
Engineer: Level 0
Scientist: Level 10
Artist: Level 4
Alchemist: Level 3
Businessman: Level 17
Ruler: Level 29
Farmer: Level 0
Peasant: Level 61
Cleric: Level 34
Warrior: Level 43
Wonder Branches
Protagonist: Level 22
Magecraft - Destruction: Level 19
Magecraft - Conjuration: Level 0
Magecraft - Restoration: Level 25
Magecraft - Alteration: Level 0
Magecraft - Illusion: Level 0
Travel: Level 10
Soul: Level 0
Body: Level 35
Sensory: Level 32
[Available perk points: 2]
Although the past four months have been greatly active, it was mostly practice and work, but there had been no notable encounters besides the Shogun and her twin since then.
This made progress in the Protagonist perk slow and kept his perk points scarce. Thankfully, progress could still be felt and noticed, especially his growth with the bow.
'Twenty-one levels from gaining Adept proficiency in Bow…'
[
Adept: Eagle Eye (2 Points): When you draw the bowstring, your focus becomes absolute. Time seems to slow, allowing you to account for wind, distance, and movement. You can thread the needle through a helmet's visor at a hundred paces or sever a hanging rope from a staggering distance.
]
This boon would make him the best archer in all of Teyvat, just with this he can make a legend out of himself.
He remembered the blind giant from Dark Souls who sniped a dragon with pin-point accuracy and chuckled, perhaps whatever caused today's misfortune for Inazuma could turn out to be his own fortune and help him reach personal goals.
After familiarising with his personal state and highlighting the areas he would need to focus on improving during today's undoubtable battle, he moved towards the window, to monitor the departure of the advance party.
.
.
.
Skulking in the woods, Alexander followed the Shrine Maidens from a distance, this was the first time he had gone so far from the Narukami Shrine's territory.
Along the way, the party encountered a regiment of Shogunate troops, most definitely dispatched to counter whatever trouble occurred to the west of Narukami Island.
Together, this force made their way with determination and cautiousness.
BOOM
When they neared the only grounded path to the Ritou settlement they could finally hear the reason why the wards were broken.
Distant shouts and screams
[Quest acquired: defend the Ritou settlement]
[Quest reward: 1 perk point]
While Alexander remained a distance away, due to the tree line ending and the open area they needed to cross to reach the settlement, the group picked up the pace and moved faster towards the screams of the helpless and shouts of plunder.
As soon as they were out of the view, Alexander finally sprinted across the same path, his movements bordering on supernatural due to his proficiency in the Body perk branch.
As he neared the settlement, fire and smoke could be now seen, but instead of rushing in and joining the others, he instead chose to scale the nearby hill that would grant great view of the settlement and the beach where raiders likely set foot.
BOOM
The sounds of multiple deafening cannons could be heard striking down the area.
Sweat rolling down his brows, Alexander made way to the highest possible point. When he finally did, a clear view of the battlefield opened up before him.
Three battleships were raining hell on the settlement and Shogunate regiment positions, while the Shrine Maidens stayed behind under wards and provided support and shelter to the injured and the innocent.
Rabid raiders battled and plundered simultaneously; among them, he could see other types of people—peasants and deserters.
Nocking his first arrow, Alexander steadied his aim. Although he was still too green to try and snipe the pirates aboard the ships, operating the cannons, he had no problem cutting down the number of the attackers on land.
Thwoomp
An arrow embedded itself in a leading raider's eye. It had arrived without a sound, and nobody noticed its direction.
Thud
His lifeless body fell, that and the point of impact were the only things that made noise.
That's why most continued to fight in a frenzy, even the allied forces paid no attention.
Thwoomp
Another arrow vibrated as it pierced through an armourless raider's heart.
For the next few minutes, such ghost arrows continued raining down on the unsuspecting attackers, but the quickly thinning enemy lines, marked by obvious signs of death, soon became apparent.
"Kill that archer!"
"I can't see him!"
"Run, run, run!"
The remaining raiders were set ablaze in a panic. While the army used the opportunity to pull back their injured and strike down the chaotic remnants, only a few people were left alive and taken prisoner.
"Pull down the sails, bring up the anchors, we move to support Captain Ako's forces, this is enough of a distraction."
A pirate commanded after monitoring the situation through his telescope and the island's bombardment stopped.
Soon the ground forces saw the ships sailing away, leaving behind wreckage in their wake.
[Quest completed, +1 perk point]
As most finally relaxed and sighed with relief, the battle endured.
[Quest acquired: Thwart Ako Domeki's Revolt]
[Quest reward: 3 perk points]
Alexander was stunned.
'That wasn't the end? Wait, where is the revolt even happening? In the Capital?'
That's when he remembered a fleet of seven ships going in the direction of the main city, while tailing the forces sent to the Ritou settlement.
'Were they not a part of the Shogunate's fleet?'
Counting the three ships from here, that would make a fleet of ten battleships, a considerable amount of artillery support, but Inazuma had Ei, just one of her strikes would temporarily split the water, down to the bottom of the sea and let nature bury that advantage.
'But the three perk points are crucial for future progress, besides there is a reason the system assigned this quest, right?'
As Alexander contemplated, his gaze naturally settled on the figures of Saiguu and Yae.
In order to hurry back and repel the forces of the revolt, he would need to bring them at least, maybe not the army.
But bringing them meant showing his face.
It was one thing to joke and mess around with Saiguu at home, when she wasn't serious… But she explicitly told him to stay put and she meant every word.
Undoubtedly, she will bury him alive for ignoring the command…
'My future self has to thank me for my diligence…'
Accepting his fate, he made way towards the temporary camp, where the allied forces were busy treating injured, looking for survivors, piling up the dead and putting out fires.
As soon as he could be seen to the naked eye, terrifying women's intuition made two sets of angry gazes settle upon him.
'Yep, I'm dead.'
Alexander looked up to the sky and closed his eyes.
.
.
.
"So you are saying there is a revolt going?"
"How do you think a bunch of criminals destroyed your wards?"
"Good point."
Alexander deadpanned at Saiguu's nonchalance.
"Master, you probably forgot, but Makoto told you she and Ei will be in Watatsumi today…"
Yae whispered to the Guuji. Instantly, her nonchalance was broken and eyes widened, but she quickly recovered from the blunder.
"Kids, today is a good day to visit the capital."
Yae and Alexander exchanged a knowing glance, Saiguu was in deep trouble with Lady Makoto.
"Yeah, thanks for remembering your promise to take me there once I grew up, mom"
The young man decided to humor her, earning a chuckle from Yae.
"You are adopted."
The fox was in no mood to take a beating from the brats, Makoto and Ei would be handing her that on a silver platter in a little while.
"Let's go, no time to waste, keep up you unruly brat."
She cast her serious gaze at Alex, putting the banter to stop.
"Don't get tired, old woman."
But he couldn't help but put in his last two words.