The week leading up to the Knights of Favonius Admission Test was thick with a unique tension. It was a nervous, electric energy that hummed through the training yards and echoed in the halls of the headquarters. For the dozens of trainees our age, this was the culmination of years of sweat, study, and sacrifice. Dreams would either take flight on the winds of success or be dashed against the unyielding stone of failure.
For me, the tension was amplified by the small, grey weight on my belt.
The Masterless Vision was a constant, physical reminder of my strange reality. During breaks in training, I would retreat to a quiet corner and hold it in my palm. It was cool to the touch, its surface perfectly smooth but its core utterly inert. I tried to push my Mana Burst into it, feeding it a thread of golden energy, but it was like pouring water onto a rock. The power had no effect, the gem remaining a stubborn, passionless grey. It was a lock waiting for a key I didn't know I possessed.
My friends dealt with the mounting pressure in their own ways.
Jean became even more diligent, if that were possible. She'd gather us in the library after our physical training was done, her brow furrowed as she drilled us on the labyrinthine Knightly codes of conduct, historical precedents, and Mondstadt law.
"Article 47, subsection C, of the Favonius Field Manual states that when encountering a magically hostile entity of unknown origin, the primary objective is containment, not elimination, pending identification," she'd recite, her eyes scanning our faces to ensure we were paying attention.
"And if said 'magically hostile entity' is trying to turn you into a fine red mist?" Eula would counter, leaning back in her chair with a bored expression that didn't quite hide her own attentiveness. "I propose a more... proactive approach. My vengeance is not known for its patience."
"A dead knight can't contain anything, Eula," Jean would reply, her tone patient. "Caution is a knight's most valuable armor."
While they bickered, I would listen, absorbing the information effortlessly while my Tactics skill ran silent scenarios in the back of my mind. I played the role of the calm mediator, offering mnemonic devices to help Eula remember legal articles and gently reminding Jean that battlefield flexibility was just as important as textbook knowledge. We were a well-oiled machine of preparation, our individual strengths shoring up each other's anxieties.
The evening before the test, my father found me polishing my blunted steel practice sword in the small courtyard behind our house. He didn't say anything for a long time, simply leaning against the stone archway, watching me work the whetstone in smooth, even strokes.
"You're calm," Gunther finally observed. He wasn't the most talkative man, but his words always carried weight.
"No point in being nervous," I replied, wiping the blade clean. "Either we're prepared, or we're not. Worrying won't change the outcome."
He grunted, a sound of approval. "Your mother and I... we are already proud of you, Arthur. No matter what happens tomorrow. Remember why you fight. A sword without purpose is just a sharpened piece of metal."
His eyes flicked down to my belt, to the grey Vision I no longer bothered to hide from him. He never asked about it, and I never explained. He simply accepted it as another part of the mystery that was his son. I knew what he was really saying. He was telling me to hold onto the purpose I'd found.
The day of the test arrived, bright and clear. A perfect Mondstadt day. The main hall of the headquarters was packed. Grand Master Varka sat on a raised dais, observing everything with a relaxed but missing-nothing gaze. The tests themselves were administered by a panel of senior knights, including a young Captain who had recently been making a name for himself. Kaeya Alberich. His single, star-pupiled eye seemed to take in the entire room at once, a charming, almost lazy smile on his lips.
The written exam was first. I sat between Jean and Eula. To my left, Jean's quill flew across the parchment, a blur of confident motion. To my right, Eula sighed dramatically every few minutes but nonetheless answered the questions with a surprisingly deep knowledge of Mondstadt's military history. I finished in half the allotted time, my 21st-century mind finding the questions on logistics and history almost trivial. I spent the rest of the time discreetly observing Kaeya, whose gaze lingered on our trio more than once.
Next came the sparring assessments. We were called one by one into the training yard to face a senior knight. Jean's match was a masterclass in defense, her opponent unable to land a single clean hit before the timer ran out, earning her top marks for resilience. Eula's was a whirlwind of aggression. She overwhelmed her opponent with her dazzling, unpredictable 'Dance of Frost', forcing a yield in under a minute. The crowd of onlookers murmured in awe, a sound that made Eula lift her chin in defiant pride.
When my turn came, my opponent was a large, muscular knight with a tower shield. Brute force wasn't the answer. My Tactics skill analyzed his stance in a microsecond. Over-reliance on shield. Left foot is his pivot point. Weak to a low, sweeping attack if his guard is drawn high.
I didn't waste a single motion. I lunged forward, feinting a high slash. As expected, the massive shield rose to block an attack that never came. In that same fluid motion, I dropped low, channeling a barely-perceptible Mana Burst into my legs, and swept his pivot foot out from under him. He hit the ground with a surprised thump. I placed the tip of my blade on his gorget. "Yield."
The whole thing took less than ten seconds. It wasn't flashy. It wasn't explosive. It was just... efficient. From the dais, I saw Kaeya lean forward slightly, his lazy smile tightening with genuine interest.
The final phase of the test was the field exercise. We were sorted into squads of three and given a simple mission: escort a supply cart to a small watchtower deep in the Whispering Woods. It was a test of teamwork, navigation, and practical application of our skills. To no one's surprise, Jean, Eula, and I were placed in the same squad.
The journey started peacefully. The woods were quiet, the path clear. Jean took the lead, navigating with a map and compass. Eula took the rear, her sharp eyes scanning our back trail. I walked beside the cart, my Instinct skill on low alert, sensing nothing more than squirrels and boar in the undergrowth.
About an hour in, as we rounded a bend, we found the 'surprise' the instructors had planned. A barricade of logs blocked the path, and from behind it popped three figures in the tell-tale garb of Treasure Hoarders. I recognized one of them as a junior knight named Royce.
"Alright, kids, hand over the goods and no one gets hurt!" Royce declared, his voice a theatrical growl.
Jean immediately took a defensive stance in front of the cart. "We are Knights of Favonius trainees on official business! Stand down!"
Eula just scoffed. "Pathetic. This display is an insult to actual Treasure Hoarders. My vengeance will be swift."
It was all going according to plan. A simple, controlled test. But then my Instinct screamed. It wasn't a gentle nudge; it was a blaring alarm bell of pure dread, coming not from the path ahead, but from the trees to our right.
"It's a trap!" I yelled, but not the one the knights had set. "Ambush! To the right!"
Before the 'Treasure Hoarders' could even react to my warning, the real threat emerged. A torrent of foul-smelling green creatures burst from the foliage—a dozen hilichurls, two hulking Mitachurls, and worse, two Samachurls, one Hydro and one Anemo, chanting in their guttural language.
The mock-test had turned into a very real crisis. The three instructor knights dropped their act, drawing their real blades. "Protect the trainees!" Royce yelled, charging the nearest Mitachurl.
Our trio formed a protective triangle around the cart. "Eula, watch the flanks! Jean, coordinate with the instructors! I'll handle the crowd control!" I barked out orders, my mind racing. The greatest threat was the Samachurl synergy.
A Hydro Samachurl began to chant, and a misty rain fell over the hilichurls, glowing with a soft blue light that healed their minor wounds. At the same time, the Anemo Samachurl raised its staff, and three small vortexes of wind erupted on the battlefield, pulling at us, trying to disrupt our footing.
Jean's blade was a silver blur, deflecting blows and protecting the other, less-experienced trainees who had been observing the test from a distance and were now caught in the crossfire. Eula was a vision of icy fury. Her family's techniques had an innate affinity for Cryo, and her slashes left trails of frost in the air, slowing the hilichurls she struck.
But we were being pushed back. The healing rain made it impossible to thin the horde, and the wind vortexes made movement treacherous. I saw one of the other trainees stumble and get caught in a Hydro bubble, floating helplessly into the air.
The Anemo Samachurl cackled and began to summon a much larger vortex directly beneath the trapped student.
There was no time. No one could reach him.
My mind went strangely blank. All the training, all the strategies, all the thoughts about my System faded away. All I saw was a fellow student in danger. All I felt was the burning, absolute conviction that I would not let him get hurt. My purpose, my ambition to protect this present, this life, these people, surged through me not as a thought, but as a physical force.
I reached for my power, for Mana Burst, but this time I didn't push it into my limbs. I pushed it outwards, into the world, into the very air around me, a silent, desperate plea for the wind to answer my will. I didn't want to destroy. I wanted to save.
The grey, lifeless orb at my hip exploded with light.
It wasn't a blinding flash, but a brilliant, gentle blossoming of cyan, as bright and clear as the Mondstadt sky. A torrent of Anemo energy flooded my senses, not foreign or violent, but as natural as breathing. The world looked different, painted in currents of wind only I could see.
I raised my hand towards the trapped student. I didn't need to think. I knew what to do. A controlled, powerful updraft erupted from the ground beneath me, lifting me effortlessly into the air. The wind obeyed my command, a seamless extension of my will. I flew past the trapped student, and with a flick of my wrist, a blade of pure Anemo energy shot out, shattering the Hydro bubble without harming him. Another gust of wind cushioned his fall, depositing him safely on the ground.
The Anemo Samachurl shrieked in fury as its spell was usurped, turning its attention to me. It sent a trio of wind blades slicing through the air. Before, I would have had to dodge or block. Now... now the wind was mine.
With a simple thought, I created a small, swirling barrier of air in front of me. The enemy's wind blades dissipated harmlessly against it.
Landing softly, I turned my attention to the battlefield. I could see it all now—the healing mist of the Hydro Samachurl, the currents of the Anemo Samachurl. With a sweeping gesture, I sent a powerful gust of wind ripping through the clearing. It didn't cut or slash; it was a pure force that blasted the healing mist away from the hilichurls and sent the Anemo Samachurl tumbling, breaking its concentration.
The tide had turned. With the support magic gone, Jean's leadership and Eula's icy assault tore through the now-disorganized hilichurl ranks.
Just as we began to press our advantage, the true cavalry arrived. Grand Master Varka himself, with Kaeya and a squad of elite knights, burst into the clearing. The fight was over in seconds.
Silence fell, broken only by the groans of the injured and the rustling of the wind. The other trainees, the instructors, Jean, Eula—everyone was staring at me. At the glowing, vibrant Anemo Vision on my belt, pulsing with a gentle light, its cyan gem now alive with the power of the wind.
I looked down at my own hands. Faint green wisps of Anemo energy still danced around my fingertips. It felt... right. It felt like a part of me that had been missing was finally home.
From the edge of the clearing, I saw Kaeya watching me. His charming smile was gone, replaced by an expression of sharp, calculating curiosity. I was no longer just the efficient prodigy. I was a new Vision holder, an unknown quantity, a piece on the board that had just made a very unexpected move. And I knew, with absolute certainty, that my life in Mondstadt was about to get much more complicated.