Early the next morning, Cael headed out to take commissions.
During this period, he had officially registered as an adventurer, though the commissions he accepted were all on the safer side.
Hilichurls? Slimes?
With a Dull Blade in hand, he couldn't beat a single one of them.
As for those so-called achievements, he couldn't even check them properly. Up until now, he had only completed one—
Becoming an adventurer.
And the boost it gave to the Dull Blade was… negligible at best.
As a result, Cael's commissions mostly consisted of things like finding lost cats or gathering materials.
...
He arrived at the Adventurers' Guild to take on today's tasks.
From afar, Katheryne spotted Cael approaching.
When he reached the counter, she smiled and spoke in her usual gentle tone:
"Ad astra abyssosque. Welcome to the Adventurers' Guild, Mr. Cael. Are you here to accept commissions today?"
Cael smiled and nodded.
"That's right. I'll be counting on you, Miss Katheryne."
Katheryne stood there motionless, as if doing nothing at all. A few seconds later, she spoke again:
"Alright. Today's commissions are as follows."
As expected of a puppet, Cael thought.
Reading commissions straight from her head… could this be Sumeru-made?
"First, locating Miss Fangzhi's black-striped dog."
(Why is it her again?)
"Second, collecting five Glaze Lilies for Miss Zeng Ting."
(Are people really this lazy?)
"Third, collecting ten Violetgrass for Baizhu of Bubu Pharmacy."
(Where's Qiqi? Are they short-handed?)
Katheryne calmly listed out the commissions.
Cael nodded and set off.
As a side note, his Adventurer Rank was currently 10—a complete beginner—and he still didn't have a Vision.
So naturally, the commissions were all fairly simple.
"Ha—another plain and ordinary day begins!" Cael stretched and started his work.
...
...
"Thank you so much. This is your payment."
Miss Zeng Ting smiled as she handed over the Mora.
"You're welcome. I'll be heading off now."
After completing the second commission, Cael prepared to take on the last one.
Gathering Violetgrass meant leaving Liyue Harbor.
Unlike the Traveler, Cael didn't have teleportation abilities. While Teyvat did have Teleport Waypoints, no matter what he tried, they simply didn't respond to him.
So in the end, he rented a carriage and set out.
...
...
Relying on his advance knowledge, Cael headed toward Lisha, one of the closer areas.
"Sigh… in the end, I'm back to the days of farming Violetgrass after losing the 50/50 to Qiqi."
He stared at the clusters of Violetgrass growing along the low mountain slopes and couldn't help but sigh.
Embarrassingly enough, Qiqi had been his first C6 five-star character.
No time to waste—time to start picking!
What Cael didn't know, however—
Was that a battle was about to break out not far from where he stood.
...
...
"So it really is connected to the Fatui."
Standing opposite a group of Fatui, a squad of Millelith blocked their path.
At the forefront stood a slender young woman.
Her sleeveless dress hugged her petite frame, wing-like hems fluttering behind her. Dark-gold asymmetrical patterns traced across her tights, which wrapped tightly around her toned thighs.
Her braided hair, shaped like cat ears, added a touch of charm to her otherwise sharp presence.
She was Keqing—
The Yuheng of the Liyue Qixing. The Star of Reform.
She was currently investigating reports of the Fatui plundering villages within Liyue's borders.
She'd suspected from the beginning that the Fatui's recent assistance at The Chasm wasn't purely goodwill.
Now, it seemed she was right.
The Fatui Anemoboxer hadn't expected the Liyue Qixing to track them down so quickly.
Even with Delusions, escaping from Keqing was far from easy.
"What do we do?" the Electrohammer whispered.
"This situation looks bad."
They'd only been searching the village for a runaway traitor. They hadn't intended to pillage it.
But the villagers' guilty behavior—driving them away—had made them suspect someone was hiding the traitor.
After searching in vain, the villagers fled… and then reported them.
But this was something they couldn't explain.
That traitor was important.
If the Liyue Qixing uncovered the truth, the Fatui Harbinger "The Doctor" would slice them into pieces.
The Anemoboxer was caught in a dilemma.
Keqing, however, had no patience to wait.
She signaled the Millelith behind her to prepare for arrest.
And then—
A sudden noise shattered the standoff.
Clatter!
A basket hit the ground, scattering Violetgrass everywhere.
Every pair of eyes turned toward the source.
"Ah… the strap broke."
A young man stood nearby, staring at the mess.
He looked up—
And froze when he saw Keqing, the Fatui, and the Millelith.
Not understanding the situation at all, he stiffly raised a hand.
"…Hi? Looks lively here…"
Everyone: "..."
The Anemoboxer exchanged a glance with the Electrohammer.
Keqing reacted instantly—and her expression changed.
"That person over there! Run—NOW!!"
Lightning flashed as she activated her Vision, rushing forward in a streak of purple light.
But it was too late.
The Electrohammer's massive weapon stopped right above the young man's head.
"Stop right there!!" he shouted at Keqing.
In that instant, time itself seemed to freeze.
Keqing was still five meters away.
She knew—if she took even one more step forward, the innocent young man would die.
"…Damn it."
Keqing glared viciously at the Electrohammer, her grip tightening around Lion's Roar.
"You despicable cowards!" Rage burned across her face.
But this was exactly what the Fatui wanted.
"Let us go," the Electrohammer said coldly,
"or I can't guarantee this guy won't be smashed flat."
Keqing was furious—but helpless.
She slowly stepped back.
At that moment, some of the Millelith recognized the young man.
"Hey… isn't that Cael? The one who almost got buried half a month ago?"
"It really is him. What terrible luck—just survived death, and now this?"
"Those Fatui bastards deserve to rot!"
The Millelith cursed furiously, furious at the Fatui's despicable tactics.
Keqing, seeing Cael frozen in place, assumed he was terrified.
She spoke gently as she retreated, trying to calm him:
"Don't be afraid. We'll save you. Stay where you are—don't move!"
But Cael wasn't frozen by fear.
He was talking to his system.
"So… I'm being used as a hostage now?"
[That is correct.]
"Can I beat them?"
[You cannot.]
"…Why? Don't I have Fifty–Fifty?"
[Exactly. Fifty–fifty. You can't beat them. They can't beat you either.]
To read advanced Chapters, head over to p@treon:
patreon.com/ShikamaruNara