I Became A Hilichurl

At lunchtime, Victor Wang was at Good Hunter, getting ready to enjoy a plate of honey-glazed carrot steak.

"What a coincidence, we meet again." Amber, Lumine, and Paimon had also arrived at Good Hunter.

After they sat down, Victor Wang deliberately changed seats to face away from them. Otherwise, they might see his face while he was eating.

Then, with his back to the trio, he asked, "By the way, Lumine, how did the gliding exam go yesterday?"

"...Ahaha." Amber scratched her head awkwardly.

Paimon let out a sigh. "It was full of surprises. First, she failed the second trial twice and nearly flunked. Then, during the third trial, she got stopped by the city guards—they mistook Lumine for some kind of thieving 'Raptor'!"

Lumine continued, "So we ended up chasing the real Raptor. It led us to some ruins... But in the end, I got the gliding license. I heard you passed every stage on your first try. That's impressive."

"I just know a little about flying." Victor Wang smiled, only to realize he was facing away and no one could see it anyway.

He had ordered earlier, so his food had already arrived. He lowered his head and started eating.

The three behind him continued chatting.

"I'm investigating something. Lately, the wolf packs in Wolvendom have grown bolder—they actually attacked a nearby caravan."

"Wolvendom's wolf packs? Speaking of which—Lumine, remember when we met that wolf boy in Wolvendom? He said he had a friend in the Knights, someone red and really hot. That wouldn't be you, right, Amber?"

"What are you talking about? I don't get it." Amber shrugged.

"If not Amber, then it's probably Klee, right?" Lumine and Paimon exchanged glances and continued, "No wonder he said when this friend makes a move, the mountain will burn."

Paimon sounded worried. "Even if Amber doesn't know him, if we're going to investigate the wolf packs in Wolvendom, we'll probably run into him. He helped us out last time—should we go with Amber to take a look?"

Lumine turned to Amber. "Would that be okay, Amber?"

"If the Honorary Knight is willing to help, of course it's okay!" Amber happily agreed.

"Have you heard the legend of Wolvendom?" Victor Wang, still facing away, chimed in at just the right moment.

"What legend?"

"The Great Wolf of the North, who once had the power to contest for the title of Anemo Archon, but chose to give it up. At the end of its life, it merged its power with the land of Wolvendom, watching over it from within. Because of that, a trial appeared in Wolvendom—only those with a Vision can unlock the Great Wolf's Trial.

"If you pass the trial, you may receive the Tail of Boreas, the Ring of Boreas, and the Spirit Locket of Boreas. These items are said to carry part of the Great Wolf's power—very rare materials."

The part about needing a Vision to unlock the trial was something Victor made up—but Lumine could definitely open it.

Paimon's eyes sparkled. "Rare materials? What can you do with them?"

"I think you can probably sell them for money. I have a friend who's willing to pay three hundred thousand Mora for just one Tail of Boreas."

"Three hundred thousand Mora… Lumine earns about forty thousand Mora a day just doing commissions," Paimon calculated, resting her left hand on her right, right hand under her chin, swaying thoughtfully.

Forty thousand a day... That's fourteen million a year. Victor Wang realized writing books didn't pay nearly as well...

"Ahem, I misspoke. My friend said he's willing to pay three to five hundred thousand Mora for one Tail of Boreas. Originally, he was going to post a commission to find an adventurer to help him out, but looks like you're headed to Wolvendom anyway."

Victor Wang had been in Teyvat a while and hadn't seen any Primogems. All commissions here paid in Mora.

"If you find the Great Wolf's Trial, I hope you can bring back a Tail of Boreas for my friend."

"Lumine, let's try to find this trial too! With five hundred thousand Mora, we could eat deluxe meals for days!" Paimon beamed.

Lumine asked Victor Wang, "What about the Ring of Boreas and the Spirit Locket of Boreas? No one wants those?"

Tsk tsk, there it is. Lumine's true nature revealed.

"My friend doesn't need those."

"That's a loss of a million Mora…" Lumine sighed. "Alright, let's look for it once we get to Wolvendom."

"Yay!" Paimon and Victor Wang cheered in unison—though Victor Wang only shouted in his head.

Victor Wang added, "My friend also said the Great Wolf of the North has high resistance to Cryo and Anemo. But if you use Pyro, and apply Swirl effectively, even Anemo can do damage."

"Then we'll count on Amber for help. Let's split the reward fairly."

Amber quickly declined. "No no, you're helping me with the wolf investigation. I'll help you with the trial in return. Plus, I want to see what a legendary Archon looks like!"

"My friend also said it's best to bring more people—just in case the trial fails."

Paimon waved her tiny hand. "If it's a trial, and we can't beat it, we'll just retreat!"

"Yes, if you can't beat it, retreat. Safety first." The Great Wolf is the only boss in the game you can freely flee from since it's not in a domain.

That's why Victor Wang dared to let Lumine and the others challenge it. Plus, with Razor around, the wolf wouldn't go all out.

Lumine and Amber's food finally arrived.

Victor Wang, who had been eating just fine, lost his appetite at the mention of the Tail of Boreas. He finished off the steak, poked at the carrots a bit, and left.

...

Lumine and Amber followed the trail of the wolf attacks to Wolvendom and encountered Razor. His wolf companion had been misunderstood by people from Springvale, and in the chaos, the slumbering Great Wolf of the North was awakened.

The Great Wolf's strength forced Razor and Lumine to struggle to hold on—but fortunately, it showed no intent to harm them.

After being defeated by the wolf, Lumine was granted the right to undertake the trial.

Paimon looked dejected. "You're so strong, there's no way we'll pass the trial. Our five hundred thousand Mora is flying away…"

Though he didn't understand what Mora had to do with the trial, the Great Wolf still responded, "Since this is a trial, I shall not make it impossible for you to succeed."

"Then why don't we give it a try?" Lumine looked to Amber and Razor.

"I think... we can."

Amber smiled. "We agreed to this before we came. I'm not going back on my word!"

"Then we'll split the reward with Razor."

"I... don't want... reward."

"Waaah, you're all too nice!" Paimon was so touched she nearly cried.

With the three working together, they successfully completed the trial.

"Challengers, here is your reward."

The Tail of Boreas, Ring of Boreas, and Spirit Locket of Boreas fell before Lumine.

"Would it be possible to exchange the other two for more tails?" Lumine pointed at the Ring of Boreas and Spirit Locket of Boreas.

"?"

...

At dinner, Victor Wang again ran into Lumine and Amber at Good Hunter.

"You've already gotten the Tail of Boreas? That's great! My friend already sent me the money—he entrusted me with the purchase."

"Your friend only needs one tail?" Paimon hovered in the air and raised her index finger with a wiggle.

"What do you mean?"

"The Great Wolf gave us three Tails of Boreas. If your friend wants them, he can have all three."

"Cough cough… One is enough for him."

"Really? That's a shame—we even asked the Great Wolf to specially exchange the rewards for all tails."

"…"

It actually agreed to that? Victor Wang felt his perception of reality crumble.

Lumine pulled out a pale-blue Tail of Boreas from thin air. Despite its intense elemental power, it didn't emit any visible energy.

"How… how did you do that?" Victor Wang mimicked the motion of pulling something from nowhere.

"Amber was surprised the first time she saw it too. I thought everyone could do this."

Amber made her bow vanish, then reappear. "Those with a Vision can store one weapon inside it—but only one. I've never seen anything like what you're doing."

Victor Wang asked Lumine, "Can you teach me?"

"Sorry, I don't know how. It's like having an invisible backpack—I can just put things in or take them out." Lumine pressed her hand to her forehead. "I don't remember how I learned it. It feels like a natural instinct."

"I see."

Lumine had been able to store things like that from the start. But when did she learn it? Was it something she picked up in the part of her memory she lost? Or did she already have it before arriving in Teyvat?

Victor Wang couldn't figure it out. His mental CPU was nearing overclock just trying to process it—but since overclocking is bad for CPU health, he decided not to push it.

The most important thing now is getting that Tail of Boreas.