"Huh?" Suddenly, he clicked on the Hilichurl with his mouse, and its information popped up on the screen.
> Hilichurl, LV1, HP 20. <
Zephyr felt a surge of joy. It was just a Level 1 Hilichurl—nothing to be afraid of.
"Wait a minute, something's not right. If I remember correctly, Hilichurls usually act in groups. I've never seen one wandering around alone like this."
"Could it be… a trap?"
Paimon retorted, "A trap? Are you kidding me? Hilichurls aren't that smart! Don't be so overly cautious!"
"No, better to stay cautious. What if Hilichurls in this world have mutated? What if this one is special? What if there's a trap lying in wait? What if this Hilichurl turns out to be the Demon King?"
"What are you even saying?!" Paimon exclaimed, utterly baffled. This player was ridiculously strong but excessively paranoid!
Zephyr pondered for a moment and decided it was best to leave the Hilichurl alone. No harm in playing it safe.
But the Hilichurl apparently didn't share his sentiments. Maybe Paimon's loud complaints had caught its attention, and the creature quickly noticed their presence.
"Hia!" it cried and charged at them.
"Damn it!" Zephyr panicked slightly. At this point, scolding Paimon was pointless, so he had no choice but to fight back.
Left-click on the mouse!
Crack! The Hilichurl let out a faint "Gah!" before collapsing, dead.
"…"
"…"
"Wait, was that Hilichurl… this weak all along?"
Paimon replied, "It's a Hilichurl! How strong do you think it could be?"
"Hilichurls also have powerful types like the Mitachurl with Geo Shields, okay? Better safe than sorry."
"Coward."
"You dare call me a coward? Who was the first one to hide earlier?"
"Uh…"
Suddenly, a glowing orb appeared mid-air and floated into Lumine's body.
"It's an Elemental Orb!" Zephyr said, startled.
In the original game mechanics, defeating monsters or lowering their HP to a certain point would cause Elemental Orbs or Particles to drop, which could recharge a character's ultimate ability.
He hadn't expected this otherworldly version to retain that feature.
> EXP +1 <
> Mora +1 <
"Seriously? Just one experience point for defeating a Hilichurl? How long will it take to level up at this rate?"
As they were talking, another Hilichurl appeared in the distance.
"Hide, quickly!" They all scrambled for cover.
But it wasn't just one Hilichurl—it was a group.
The group consisted of five or six Hilichurls, seemingly searching for the one they'd just defeated. After a while, unable to find it, the Hilichurls scratched their heads in confusion.
Zephyr quickly clicked to check their information.
"They're all Level 1… Thank goodness."
Most of the Hilichurls were indeed Level 1, but their leader stood out. It was a full Level 10.
Not only was it higher-level, but it looked different too. It carried a torch in its hand.
"Oh no, could it be one of those fire-element wielding ones?"
"There are so many of them!" Paimon quickly covered her mouth, determined not to get noticed this time.
Zephyr was also on edge. Logically speaking, with his four-star weapon and a full set of artifacts, he had no reason to fear a few low-level monsters.
But the problem was—he wasn't willing to take that risk.
What if he couldn't win? That would mean game over for him.
He had originally planned to wait for the Hilichurls to leave, but they seemed convinced that their missing companion was nearby and refused to go. Instead, they kept wandering back and forth in the forest.
Soon, one of the Hilichurls wandered dangerously close to his hiding spot.
"Hia!" The Hilichurl spotted Zephyr and let out a cry, alerting its companions.
"There's no choice now!" Being discovered left him with no option but to fight.
With a single click, a simple, ordinary attack instantly wiped out the unfortunate Hilichurl.
However, Zephyr didn't have time to celebrate because the torch-wielding Hilichurl had already launched a Torch Strike!
"Run, Hilichurl Berserker! Never give up!"
The Torch Strike ignited the air as the Hilichurl charged at him. Zephyr quickly dodged, but this wasn't the brainless Monster or AI from the game—the Hilichurl adjusted its trajectory to follow him.
Caught off guard, Zephyr was struck by the attack. Immediately, he was stunned, juggled in midair, and sent flying!
"Are you kidding me?! Since when are Hilichurls this strong?!" he thought, feeling a wave of panic.
Frantically, he checked his HP.
"Only lost about ten HP? Phew! You scared me for a second!" Zephyr let out a sigh of relief, wiping the cold sweat off his forehead.
"And to think I was so cautious earlier. Turns out, you're all trash."
Paimon chimed in, "That's what I've been saying—they're just Hilichurls!"
"Fine, no more pretending. I'll come clean—I'm from Genshin Impact! Prepare to meet your end!" With decisiveness, Zephyr swiftly eliminated the remaining Hilichurls.
He couldn't help but feel speechless. If he had known they were this weak, what was he so afraid of?
Of course, he also realized that their weakness was due to their low levels. If it were Level 80 Hilichurls instead, they could probably smash his head in.
So, when caution was necessary, it was still best to be cautious.
Now it was time to face the Level 10 elite Hilichurl. This one seemed to have some intelligence—it took advantage of Zephyr's momentary lapse and launched a sneak attack. Startled, Zephyr quickly countered, but his Windblade barely made a dent in its health.
"What the heck?! It's this strong?!"
Seeing this, Zephyr activated his Black Flash. The dark, crimson-red skill struck the Hilichurl leader, causing it to shriek as its HP plummeted visibly. The attack instantly wiped out the elite Hilichurl!
"That's insane!" Everyone was shocked. They hadn't expected Black Flash to be so powerful, instantly killing a Level 10 Hilichurl. Unfortunately, the skill had a damage cap, or it would've made him practically invincible.
With the Hilichurl leader defeated, only one regular Hilichurl remained.
"Wait, why haven't you finished off that last Hilichurl yet?" Paimon asked.
Zephyr replied, "No, I just thought of something. I'm not in a hurry to kill it—I'll use it for practice first."
This world was no longer just a game. The earlier torch-wielding Hilichurl had managed to adjust its direction and hit him.
To avoid similar situations in the future, he needed more practice.
And this lone Hilichurl was the perfect training dummy.
"Hia!" Despite being the last one standing, the Hilichurl showed no fear of death.
"Perfect timing!" Zephyr didn't attack. Instead, he dashed, dodged, and practiced his movement techniques.
After ten minutes of dodging and evading, Zephyr finally struck the Hilichurl down, a hint of reluctance on his face as he ended its life.
The loot dropped by the group of Hilichurls was as disappointing as ever. Altogether, they only yielded a handful of experience points and Mora, along with:
- Damaged Mask ×1.
And nothing else.
At least his ultimate skill's energy bar was fully charged, but Zephyr didn't dare to waste it. Better to save it for any emergencies.
"This isn't going to work. The experience gain is way too little."
He suddenly thought of something, opened his map, and searched around, but couldn't find what he was looking for.
"Paimon, do you know about the Experience Flowers or Mora Flowers?"
Paimon looked confused. "Experience Flowers? Mora Flowers?"
"Uh, more accurately, they're called Ley Line Blossoms."
"Oh! You mean Ley Line Blossoms! Yeah, I know about them."
Zephyr's excitement grew. "Where are they?"
"Don't get so worked up! Just because Paimon know what they are doesn't mean Paimon know where they are."
She continued, "Those Ley Line Blossoms appear randomly, and their locations change daily. Even Paimon doesn't know where they're going to spawn."
"…"
"Besides, even if you did know where a Ley Line Blossom was, you wouldn't be able to get there without a mount. And once you activate it, monsters will spawn to guard it. Do you really think you can handle them with your current strength?"
Lumine looked visibly disappointed.
Zephyr, however, felt Paimon had a point. He silently raised his middle finger at her.
"Hey!!!"
Suddenly, Zephyr noticed something strange in the nearby woods.
"Huh?" He walked over and found a red stone pillar.
"Is this…?" Was it one of those puzzle mechanisms?
Zephyr's eyes lit up. He didn't know the exact name for it, but he did know that if he used a fire element to interact with it, a treasure chest would appear!
"A treasure chest!" he exclaimed, full of anticipation. It would be the first treasure chest he'd found in this world!
But then, an awkward realization hit him.
He didn't have a fire-element character.
"…"
"…"
The three of them exchanged blank stares.
"Sigh, no choice but to give up on it," Zephyr said reluctantly, abandoning the stone pillar.
Not long after, the sky began to darken.
Paimon, who seemed surprisingly experienced with camping, said, "It's almost nightfall, Traveler. Let's gather some firewood. Firewood can keep us warm and ward off wild beasts."
Zephyr paused, thinking it over. If he remembered correctly, the original game didn't feature wild beasts in the wilderness. Aside from Hilichurls and Slimes, the only "wild animal" was the occasional boar.
But that was before. If he relied on outdated logic now, he wouldn't even know how he ended up dead.
Zephyr gathered some firewood and took out the mushrooms and apples he'd collected earlier.
Then, the same problem from before hit him again.
He didn't have a fire-element character.
Not even to light a campfire.
"Are you kidding me?!" Zephyr was completely speechless. During the day, he couldn't fly when he wanted to, couldn't solve puzzles when he needed to, and now, at night, he couldn't even light a fire!
"Amber, where are you? I miss you so much!"
...