After Elysia finished choosing her name,
The animation continued to play.
No pauses, utterly smooth.
Since Elysia chose Lumine, the Sustainer of Heavenly Principles immediately sealed Aether away first.
Seeing this, Lumine grew frantic.
"Aether!"
She tried her best, but still couldn't do anything to the Sustainer of Heavenly Principles.
"Wait… don't go! Give me back my brother—"
Before she could finish, red cubes wrapped around her as well, plunging her into slumber.
"And so, a strange god took my brother away."
"I too was sealed by the gods, stripped of my original powers."
"Though we once traveled countless worlds together, we are trapped here…"
At this point, many players instantly recalled the worldbuilding of Honkai Impact 3rd.
Lumine's words about traversing countless worlds—
Could that be referring to the Imaginary Tree, or perhaps those worlds scattered in the Sea of Quanta?
But there was no time to dwell on it. The game finished loading, and the view returned to the beach from the very beginning.
"How many years ago was that? I don't know…"
"After waking, I always wandered alone… until two months ago, when I met you."
The perspective shifted to Paimon.
"Mhm… I would've drowned back then if not for you."
As she said this, the screen showed the scene of Lumine fishing Paimon out of the water with a rod.
"So, I'll do my best to be a good guide~"
When the tiny, floating creature with her hands on her hips and an adorable expression appeared,
Elysia instantly cried out in surprise:
"Waaah~ what a cute pet! Eden, don't you think so too?"
Eden chuckled softly and nodded:
"Mhm, this golden-haired girl is cute as well."
At this moment, the game finally switched to free-play mode.
Following the guide, Elysia unlocked her first teleport waypoint.
Running, climbing…
The blue skies, lush forests, relaxing music—
Elysia almost felt as if she were truly in Teyvat.
When she climbed the hill with Paimon and saw the Statue of The Seven, with Mondstadt far off in the distance…
"Waaah~~ what a beautiful world! The art style is gorgeous!"
The chat was also filled with astonished comments.
It was just like the first time they experienced Honkai Impact 3rd—
that moment when the 3D-anime art style pierced right into their hearts.
Utterly breathtaking!
Although Genshin Impact and Honkai Impact 3rd share the same visual style,
the freedom and immersion of Genshin's gameplay instantly drew people in.
After all, this world had never seen such an open-world exploration game before!
And with such a vibrant anime aesthetic…
Who wouldn't want to dive into a two-dimensional world and embark on a grand adventure?
Elysia was completely captivated.
But she didn't forget Eden at her side.
"Eden, you try it~"
Eden accepted her offer without hesitation.
Taking the mouse and keyboard, she followed Paimon's guidance to the first Statue of The Seven.
There, a short animation played.
When Lumine touched the statue, she gained the power of Anemo.
The world map automatically unfolded, revealing Mondstadt's area.
"Eh? Is this some sort of protagonist-only cheat?"
Elysia giggled:
"As the beautiful heroine, of course she needs something special~"
"An isekai adventure…" Eden too was being drawn deeper into the game.
She tested Lumine's elemental skill and burst.
"Go with the wind~"
Lumine swung her sword, summoning a green whirlwind that swept toward three Pyro slimes.
When it hit, the word Swirl popped up.
The tornado turned fiery red, setting the surrounding grass ablaze.
"Such an interesting mechanic…"
Eden eagerly had Lumine swing a few more times before moving on as instructed.
From there, Eden and Elysia took turns playing.
Even a common open-air chest made Elysia squeal with joy.
Beating a few hilichurls to unlock a guarded chest filled her with a sense of accomplishment.
The sound of a chest opening—
to players, it was as sweet as hearing a red-packet notification.
"Maybe it'll drop some rare equipment~"
"A lucky girl surely won't have bad gacha luck~"
While reveling in her delight, Elysia guided Lumine into a shaded forest path.
The story cutscene began.
Stormterror, the dragon Dvalin, landed ahead.
A green-clad figure seemed to be soothing it.
But Lumine's sudden appearance startled the dragon.
With a gust of wind, it took off, and the green figure vanished as well.
The cutscene ended.
"Waaah~ such strong wind!" Paimon's soft, cute voice chimed in:
"Good thing I grabbed your hair!"
The game then presented two dialogue options:
[Good thing my hair didn't fall out]
[Good thing the dragon didn't notice us]
Eden thought for a moment and chose the second.
After the short dialogue, Lumine obtained a glowing red crystal.
Eden continued onward.
At last, Genshin's first iconic moment arrived.
Emerging from the woods, the Outrider of the Knights of Favonius—Amber—appeared.
"May the Anemo Archon protect you, stranger."
"I am Amber, Outrider of the Knights of Favonius."
"You're not from Mondstadt, are you? Then please, state your identity!"
Another choice appeared:
[Hello, I am the Golden Fairy]
Without hesitation, Eden clicked it.
Amber tilted her head, thoughtful.
"Doesn't sound like you're from here… Then…"
Her gaze shifted to the floating Paimon.
"This… mascot? What's her deal?"
Two options popped up again:
[She's a friend]
[She's emergency food]
Even Eden froze for a moment.
"Hahaha…" Elysia let out a bell-like laugh.
"Eden, pick the bottom one! I want to see~"
Eden hesitated, then gave in to her curiosity and chose [Emergency food].
Immediately, Paimon stomped her tiny feet in the air:
"Totally wrong! Even worse than the mascot!!"
Even Eden covered her mouth, giggling.
After more dialogue, Amber joined the party.
And Eden guided Lumine through the gates of Mondstadt.
It was different from watching the trailers.
Playing it herself, Eden was thoroughly enchanted.
Only now did she realize:
Since the game started, after all that traveling, not once had a loading screen appeared.
Open chests, seamless visuals…
"Free exploration, huh…"
Eden couldn't wait to roam Teyvat searching for chests.
But still—
"Let's finish the main story first. There might be tutorials left undone."
So Eden and Elysia continued with the quests.
To veterans, Genshin's quests might feel tedious.
But to these two newbies, even the mundane dialogue felt fresh and fascinating.
They soon met Kaeya, Lisa, and Acting Grand Master Jean.
And eventually, they unlocked the Wish system.
"Waaah~ I can pull for characters now!"
Elysia eagerly clicked the prayer system in the corner.
But instead of the summoning screen she expected, a few video options popped up.
Mo Li had deliberately added demo videos of the five standard banner characters.
At the center was Keqing.
Naturally, Elysia clicked hers first.
The short clip began.
Symbols of the seven elements of Teyvat appeared,
with Electro shining purple at the center.
The Electro sigil dropped down, forming a Vision.
Next moment, the fast-paced track Stellar Restoration kicked in.
Keqing's illustration appeared: twin purple ponytails, catlike eyes.
[Yuheng of the Liyue Qixing—Keqing]
[Element: Electro]
Her crisp voice followed:
"I am Keqing, Yuheng of the Liyue Qixing."
"Come, time is short."
"Lose too much time, and the work will never be finished."
Her in-game model appeared.
But what caught players' eyes wasn't just Keqing's cuteness.
It was a glimpse of Liyue's architecture, steeped in Dragon Country's ancient aesthetics.
The shot was brief before cutting away again.
"The time for change has come. A thousand years of order is about to be rewritten."
"At this historic moment, will you witness it with me?"
As the music hit its peak, purple lightning danced—
and the screen froze on Keqing, sword poised in a dazzling stance.
She looked absolutely radiant.
The clip then showed her normal attacks, her skill:
"Go, swift as shadow!"
And her burst:
"Starward Sword!"
Keqing vanished into lightning, dashing through the battlefield in countless afterimages.
Honestly, this ultimate looked even flashier than some in Honkai Impact 3rd.
"With determination, day by day, progress will surely come!"
The chat exploded.
[Finally, a glimpse of Liyue's scenery~~]
[Amazing! I can't wait to go there myself!!]
[Hey, focus! This is Keqing's PV, don't forget!]
[Weird though, they didn't show the Sword God's essence.]
[Yeah, where's the purple sword aura?]
[But this ult looks cooler than in Honkai.]
[Eden, Elysia, hurry and find the road to Liyue! Please!!]
...…
But Elysia ignored the barrage for now.
Instead, she opened the other PVs: Diluc, Jean, Mona, and Qiqi.
Only after watching them all did she laugh sweetly:
"No need to rush~ I'll do my pulls first. We can look for the road to Liyue a bit later, okay~?"
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