Hack
Slice
Stab
Evade
Alexander was training his sword skills, moving through a cluster of Geo slimes. Determined and full of focus, he tried different forms, trying to utilise the knowledge gained from his Dagger perk along with the sword, but the progress was slow and clumsy.
A melodious yawn cut through the tension in the air, Yae Miko lay sprawled out on the sun-warmed grass, her tail swaying in a lazy, hypnotic rhythm. Her expression was one of profound, theatrical boredom.
"I fail to see the point," she drawled, not even opening her eyes. "An archer of your skill training your sword that is."
"I really want to learn the sword," he grunted, sidestepping a sluggish lunge and responding with an overhead chop.
"Seriously? That's it?" she cracked one violet eye open.
"Yeah?" he answered with some doubt, because of the tone she spoke with.
"That's such a waste of time…" she couldn't help but comment.
Alexander glanced at the system panel he had opened.
"Not for me," he said, a note of satisfaction in his voice.
A few more minutes passed as each of them busied themselves with their thoughts.
"Hey, why are we even here?" she finally sat up and hugged her tail.
"The… Geovishap population is robust here," Alexander offered lamely, wiping sweat from his brow. "Good for materials."
Yae's gaze narrowed into a sly, knowing slit. "We have enough Mora to buy out a small market. We are not here to work."
The silence that fell between them was not heavy, but it wasn't exactly comfortable either.
He was a former head chef with a small fortune; she was the next in line to all of Narukami.
"I am so fed up with camping, Alex," Yae groaned, flopping back onto the rock with a dramatic flair. "I want a roof. A real bed. A bath that doesn't involve a freezing creek!"
"Don't I warm the water with my pyro element? You just want to complain about something…" he couldn't help but comment.
Yae remained silent, opting to stick out her tongue instead.
"You lazy bum," he chuckled, "I thought you wanted to see the Jueyun Karst? The homes of the mighty Adepti?"
"I don't care anymore!" she declared, flinging an arm over her eyes.
And so, yet another day, Yae decided to play the role of a spoiled princess. But while she was goofing around, Alex was taking a look around, trying to make sense of where they currently were.
His distraction and the false sense of security was, however, a mistake. The earth behind him softened. A vibrant Pyro Whopperflower unfurled, its blossom glowing with malevolent intent.
It never got its strike.
Zap
A bolt of violet lightning, precise and brutal, seared the air and struck the creature center-mass. It shrieked, stumbling back, stunned.
The crack of thunder snapped Alexander back to reality. Instinct, honed by months of practice, took over. He spun on his heel, the training wooden sword forgotten as his own sharpened dagger found his hand in a flash of remarkable speed.
Slash
The blade bit deep, and the Whopperflower dissolved into embers and a fading cry.
"You fool," Yae's voice was sharp, laced with displeasure. She stood now, dusting her hands with an air of nonchalance.
"A child could have sensed that ambush. Are you trying to get yourself killed?" she continued chiding.
"Yeah, that was actually pretty dangerous, thankfully it was just a Whopperflower…" he scratched the back of his head with an embarrassed smile.
After all, the true reason for his lapse of judgement was because he caught the sight of her cutely biting down on her tail.
Smack
Yae, who was already beside him, suddenly smacked the back of his head.
"Ow, why?"
"I smelt a distinct wave of idiotic thoughts emanating from you," she sniffed, "and don't you forget, it was my electro that saved you, not the weakness of the foe." She preened, a familiar sight.
"Yeah, yeah. Thank you," he said, offhandedly, "fine, let's head back. No more mountain climbing."
The relief on her face was palpable, but it vanished, replaced by a brilliant, mischievous smile. "On second thought, my nap has recharged me! The summit of Mt. Aocang awaits!"
Alexander could only slap his own forehead in utter resignation. "We don't even know which one is Mt. Aocang!"
"It's that one," she declared, pointing with unwavering confidence at a distant, cloud-wreathed peak. "It has the right… aura."
"Sure, whatever, let's go with that," he shook his head, giving in to her antics.
The climb was strenuous but well within their capabilities. Yae's youkai heritage granted her strength and stamina both, while Alexander's Body-perk-enhanced physique turned grueling ascents into manageable exercise.
They fell into a rhythm, dispatching stray slimes and geovishap hatchlings with practiced ease as the sun climbed higher along with them.
Everything was going splendidly until a certain ledge. As Alexander was hauling himself up, Yae below him, he got caught in a vulnerable state for a split second,
Roar
When an angry Geovishap erupted from its camouflage, a living avalanche of scales and rage. Its thick, stone-hard tail whipped around with terrifying speed, a blur of menace aimed directly at his exposed head.
There was no time to dodge, no time to parry or to drop back down to safety. Only time to register the impending impact.
Thud
The sound was sickeningly solid. A concussive blast of pain erupted in his skull, his vision exploding into white stars before instantly snuffing out into perfect, silent blackness.
His grip didn't just fail, he was sent flying.
Within that same split second, Yae lunged, not with magic, but with raw, desperate speed. Her hand closed around the collar of his gambeson just as his dead weight began to plummet. She caught him, but the momentum was irresistible, yanking her over the edge with him.
Thud x2
They landed in a tangled heap on a lower grassy outcrop, the air driven from their lungs in twin gasps. The world swam back into focus for Alexander as a throbbing, nauseating agony centered in his forehead.
"Phew," Yae breathed out, the sound shaky and thin. She tried to swipe a hand across her brow and noticed the tremor in her limbs.
Her casual mask had finally slipped, leaving behind raw emotion. One moment of misfortune, one single, unlucky strike, and the mortal boy beside her had almost been erased.
"Aurgh…" he groaned, the world tilting nauseatingly. "My head…"
"You idiot," Yae whispered, her voice thick with an emotion she couldn't name. She didn't look at him, instead staring up at the vast, uncaring blue of the Liyue sky, her hand coming to rest lightly on his chest, feeling the steady, living beat of his heart beneath her palm. "You have a skull of pure stone. I'm sure of it now."
"Lucky me…" he managed, the words a wry, painful puff of air, giving no attention to the palm resting on his chest.
And for a long moment, they just lay there in the grass, side-by-side, the near-disaster hanging between them.
"To be honest I am surprised your head isn't a scrambled egg, Alex." Yae finally felt like she got her bearings back, so she pulled back the mask that had slipped after the incident.
"Me too…" he answered weakly.
He almost wanted to laugh, just like that he had almost died, his journey could have ended then and there.
As they continued to lie on the grass, Alexander opened up his system panel,
[
Combat Branches
Light Armour: Level 37
Medium Armour: Level 0
Heavy Armour: Level 0
Sword: Level 14
Mace: Level 0
Axe: Level 0
Hammer: Level 5
Dagger: Level 50
Spear: Level 0
Shield: Level 0
Bow: Level 63
Crossbow: Level 0
Javelin: Level 0
Sneak Combat: Level 40
Mounted Combat: Level 0
Skill Branches
Cooking: Level 67
Comfort: Level 30
Speech: Level 77
Blacksmith: Level 0
Engineer: Level 0
Scientist: Level 10
Artist: Level 4
Alchemist: Level 3
Businessman: Level 24
Ruler: Level 36
Farmer: Level 0
Peasant: Level 65
Cleric: Level 34
Warrior: Level 62
Wonder Branches
Protagonist: Level 55
Magecraft - Destruction: Level 39
Magecraft - Conjuration: Level 0
Magecraft - Restoration: Level 35
Magecraft - Alteration: Level 0
Magecraft - Illusion: Level 0
Travel: Level 10
Soul: Level 0
Body: Level 59
Sensory: Level 39
Perk Points Remaining: 2
]
He took a look at the perk he has been eyeing for a while now,
[
Protagonist
Expert: Plot Armour (3 Points) - Once per week, you automatically survive a killing blow. You are left on the brink of death, but alive.
]
Unfortunately, he was 5 levels too short in unlocking the ability to purchase this perk, besides he only had 2 perk points from all the travelling and hunting after spending a month in Liyue. He still had to buy the Adept perk from the same branch,
[
Protagonist
Adept: Unlocked Potential (2 Points) - Once per world, you can refund all perk points and reassign them, allowing you to adapt your build to new challenges.
]
Even more unfortunately, it felt like a waste to buy it, but just because it was needed to get to the overpowered Plot Armour…
Sigh
The boy exhaled a tired sigh, earning Yae's attention, who was also lost in her head for a couple of minutes now.
There was also the Branch that enhanced his senses, that is crucial to buy, especially after today…
He pushed himself up into a sitting position, wincing as the movement sent a fresh throb through his skull. "You were right. About the sword. Spreading myself too thin is a luxury I can't afford. Not when I'm already good at something else." He gestured vaguely to the bow slung over his shoulder. "I need to be better at what keeps me alive."
[
Sensory
Novice: Witcher Sense (1 Point) - Your natural senses are heightened to their absolute peak. You can hear a heartbeat across a silent room, see the faintest trail in near-total darkness, and smell specific individuals in a crowded street. This is the foundation of a superhuman tracker and scout.
]
[Are you sure you want to purchase this perk?]
'Yes.'
A silent acknowledgement, as much as he wanted to save up for the [Plot Armour], this perk was crucial in avoiding situations such as this.
[Perk Points Remaining: 1]
Instantly, he felt real change. It was the first time a perk has affected him so directly. The smell, the colour,
Thump, thump
Yae Miko's restless heartbeat, a stark contrast to her composed facade. Everything was so vivid, so… so impactful.
It was also the first time he noticed the discrepancy between Yae's mask and true feelings.
She was lying on her side, watching him, her hand propping up her head. Her expression was a mask of pure, teasing calm, her default resting face.
Thump. Thump
But the rhythm beating in his ears betrayed her. It was the same frantic tempo he'd felt in his own chest when the Geovishap's tail connected.
He looked her straight in the eyes, in their combined visions, it felt like the world slowed down. Yae no longer had her signature smirk, her gaze seemed lost and fearful.
Thump. Thump
Alexander felt his own heartbeat rising, along with his body temperature. Chasing after the feelings that were her own fluster.
The sounds of their surroundings faded and their eyes were no longer seeing through each others' souls, but watching their lips.
The moment stretched into what seemed an eternity, there was no longer any distance between them. There was only the silent, seismic shift in their dynamic.
Gulp
Yae was the first to shatter the stillness with a sharp, involuntary swallow. Clarity returned as a bucket of ice water. Realising how her thoughts spiraled out of control and down which path, she began to feel even greater fear than when she nearly lost the man she now knew, that she let inside her heart.
'Am… am I getting attached..?' She thought hesitantly.
The idea was almost heretical, she was a youkai, destined to live for thousands of years, he was a mortal human, a flickering candle destined to burn before two centuries pass.
She physically recoiled, no longer in fear, but sheer terror, her thoughts now completely plagued by vivid visions: herself, unchanged, kneeling in the rain before a simple headstone, her face a mess of tears as she clutched the earth that held the old, frail man Alexander would become.
The weight of a future without him, of an eternity haunted by his memory, crashed down upon her.
Shuffle
Alex grabbed her shoulders, his own confusion and concern a stark contrast to her internal cataclysm. "Yae?"
The woman in his grasp was coming undone. Her breath hitched in ragged sobs, tears rolling down her cheeks uncontrollably. She was looking at him, but her violet eyes were unfocused, seeing not the young man before her, but the ghost of a future loss so profound it was already breaking her.
"Yae! Yae!" He shook her, his voice tight with alarm, trying to break her out of the trance of her own despair.
'What the hell happened?'
His new senses were a curse, amplifying every detail of her breakdown. He could hear the frantic, ragged catch in her breath, smell the salt of her tears, feel the fine tremor running through her frame.
Her glazed eyes slowly focused on his, the terrifying vision receding, replaced by the immediate reality of his worried face. A fresh, quieter sob escaped her, and she squeezed her eyes shut, as if to block him out. Her hands pushing away the wrists of the hands that held her, as if being burnt.
She stood up abruptly, trying to leave, but Alexander grabbed her clothes, pulling her down into his embrace.
"Let go!" she shouted, her voice raw with an anger he had never heard from her. It wasn't the playful, teasing ire he was used to.
He didn't let go. The sheer, unnatural intensity of her emotion was a warning bell. He felt, with a certainty that went beyond thought, that if his grip loosened now, he would never see her again.
But the fox didn't quiet down, she thrashed in his arms. A sharp pain bloomed on his hand as her teeth sank into his skin. She shoved against his chest, her youkai strength making him grunt with the effort while holding on.
"Calm down, you stupid fox!" he yelled back, his own composure cracking under the baffling onslaught. "What's up with you? Wasn't it me who nearly died? Why are you acting this way?!"
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Her only answer was a series of frantic, powerless blows against his chest. Each hit was less an attack and more a physical plea for him to release her, to let her flee from the terrifying future she had glimpsed.
Finally, after who knows how long, her body went limp in his arms, the tension replaced by a dead weight of fatigue.
Alexander said nothing. He simply adjusted his hold, one hand cradling her head, the other a steady hold around her back.
He could feel the frantic gallop of her heart begin to slow, syncing with the steady, reassuring rhythm of his own. Her breathing evened out, shifting from ragged hitches to long, slow, shuddering breaths.
He didn't know how long they sat there, the mountain wind cooling around them. Gradually, the breaths grew deeper and more regular. The last of the tension melted from her shoulders, and her head grew heavy against his chest.
Yae Miko, the cunning and ever-composed Vice-Guuji of the Grand Narukami Shrine, had finally cried herself to sleep in his arms. In the overwhelming silence of the Jueyun Karst, Alexander remained still, holding onto the sleeping fox.
A shadow fell over them, cool and vast.
"One is compelled to inquire," a voice declared, sharp, articulate, and dripping with haughtiness. "What is the meaning of this… display, in One's domain? A kitsune of Inazuma, and a mortal, both in a state of profound disarray. Explain."
Alexander looked up, squinting against the setting sun. A form he could recognise, Cloud Retainer, hovered just above, her head tilted with an expression of critical curiosity. Her gaze scanning the tear-streaks on Yae's face, the bite mark on Alexander's hand and their tangled, grass-stained forms.
Not yet free from the headache of getting nearly killed and the mad-induced acts of Yae, Alexander now felt like the arrival of the magnificent, sharp-eyed adeptus would be the final straw that broke his sanity.
The adeptus did not speak immediately. Her gaze, meticulous and silent, swept over the entire scene. The silence stretched, thick with unspoken judgment.
"One was drawn by a… commotion," she began, her voice crisp and articulate, each word chosen with care. "A dissonance in the karst's natural harmony."
Alexander winced, both from the throbbing in his skull and the accuracy of her comment. "Respected Adeptus, we encountered an accident…" he managed.
Cloud Retainer acknowledged, taking a single, graceful step closer. Her head tilted, "Your injury is consistent with the impact force of an adult Geovishap's tail. That you retain consciousness, let alone coherent speech, suggests a constitution that is either remarkably resilient or foolishly tenacious."
It was now that Alexander finally remembered that he hadn't even healed his own wound.
"But your companion's state does not point towards any injuries, am I wrong?" the adeptus continued her analysis.
Alexander remained silent, having no answer he could voice, as he had yet to understand why Yae would act the way she did.
Seeing his silence, Cloud Retainer let out a soft, almost imperceptible sigh, a sound like wind through high-altitude pines. "To remain here is illogical. You are exposed, injured, and one of you is incapacitated. The mountain does not forgive such vulnerability twice in a single day."
"We were… about to make our way down," Alexander said, though the prospect of carrying a sleeping Yae down the treacherous paths now felt like an impossible task.
"A dubious proposition," the adeptus stated flatly. "The descent is perilous even for the sure-footed. In your current state, it would be an invitation for further mishap. One has no desire to discover your broken forms at the base of the cliffs tomorrow." She paused,
"Therefore," Cloud Retainer declared, her tone final. "You will accompany One to my abode. It provides adequate shelter, security, and the requisite facilities for you to restore your faculties. The mortal may tend to his cranial injury, and the youkai may… recompose her spirit away from prying eyes."
Alexander looked down at Yae's peaceful, sleeping face, then met the adeptus's piercing gaze. A safe place to rest, to recover, to let Yae wake in a space of security rather than on a windswept ledge. It was an unquestionable decision.
"We are in your debt, Respected Adeptus," he said, the gratitude in his voice entirely genuine. "Your offer is… more than generous."
Cloud Retainer gave a short, approving nod and with that, she turned, her form beginning to dissipate into a shimmering mist, indicating the path he was to follow.
Carefully, Alexander adjusted his grip on the sleeping fox and stepped forward into the cloud-wreathed path that led to the sanctuary of one of the most memorable adeptus from the game.