I Became A Hilichurl

Victor Wang carefully took out a pouch containing five hundred thousand Mora. It was the first time he'd held such a large sum of money—only to hand it over moments later.

Paimon floated up beside him, expressionless, and extended her hand.

"Mora, oh Mora, how will I live without you?"

Gritting his teeth, Victor Wang placed the pouch in Paimon's tiny hand.

Feeling the weight of it, Paimon instantly beamed with joy, rubbing the pouch affectionately against her cheek.

Lumine handed over the Tail of Boreas to Victor Wang. Though not as dramatic as Paimon, she was visibly pleased.

"How about we treat you to dinner tonight? Come with us, Victor," Lumine invited warmly.

"As much as I'd love to eat with you guys, let's save it for another time. I need to deliver the Tail of Boreas to my friend," Victor Wang replied, finding an excuse to slip away—he didn't want to reveal either his true identity or his true face.

...

"Tales from the Box" had earned Victor Wang over two million Mora. Buying the Tail of Boreas had cost him five hundred thousand, and the remaining funds were more than enough to purchase dandelions.

After paying thirty thousand Mora to Charles, Victor Wang arranged for Dawn Winery to transport one thousand dandelions directly to the large tree in Windrise, saving himself the trouble.

The dandelions were packed in a large burlap sack. Victor Wang opened it to check—each stalk had a clean cut and looked freshly picked, with no roots included.

Should be fine, right? Venti didn't specifically say to keep the roots.

"I've received the goods. Thanks for your trouble."

After sending off the delivery man, Victor Wang looked around—no one else was there.

"Venti, Venti, Venti. Venti, Venti, Venti. Veeeen–tiii—"

"Alright, alright! I'm here, stop chanting already!"

Voice before appearance.

A breeze brushed past him, and when Victor Wang turned around, Venti was already standing behind him.

So, this is that damned divine mystery, huh? Never lets me see how he arrives. Victor Wang grumbled internally.

"I've got the thousand dandelions and the Tail of Boreas." He pulled out the item from his pocket.

"Good."

Venti gave them a quick glance, then strummed his lyre. A wind barrier rose up around the Windrise tree, centered precisely at its base.

Victor Wang looked up—the barrier stretched so high, it seemed to fall from the sky.

"Are you ready?"

"I'm ready!"

Venti took out his treasured materials from Dvalin, lifted them into the air with a gust, then plucked his lyre again to summon another breeze that lifted the Tail of Boreas from Victor Wang's hand.

All the materials were shredded by the wind, transforming into pure, high-concentration Anemo energy.

Venti split the resulting elemental energy into many smaller strands—he would use these to attract and stabilize Victor Wang's scattered elemental particles.

"Let's begin!"

Visible wisps of Anemo energy began spiraling around Victor Wang, forming a large cyan cocoon that lifted his body off the ground.

Venti began forcibly extracting Victor Wang's elemental micro-particles.

Victor Wang could feel something being stripped away from his body—memories becoming hazy. But he soon had no time to think.

"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

It was a pain like being sliced by a thousand blades. Countless small black specks of light floated from his body and swirled into the cocoon, rotating with the wind. The cocoon gradually turned from cyan to dark green, then nearly black.

These black specks were unstable, chaotic Anemo elements tightly bound to Victor Wang's mind and body. Only someone with exceptional elemental control could even recognize them—let alone extract them.

Venti summoned another gust that carried in the thousand dandelions, drawing out a vital strand of Anemo energy from each seed and sending it into the cocoon. These energies sustained Victor Wang's body through the elemental extraction.

If Victor Wang died, all of it would be for nothing.

Now came the most delicate step—Venti needed to carefully reprocess the extracted elemental particles and purify them back into proper Anemo energy. This was the most time-consuming part—and something only an Archon could perform.

...

The Windrise tree was completely enclosed by the barrier. Outside it was dead silent. Inside—Victor Wang's screams echoed again and again.

Three hours later, the dark green cocoon had returned to a cyan hue. Venti had completed the extraction and purification. Now, only reinfusion remained.

First, he drew out the dandelion-infused energy from Victor Wang's body. Then, one by one, he guided the now-purified elemental particles back into Victor Wang.

Victor Wang, who had been drifting in and out of consciousness from the pain, finally saw light again. He could feel his body becoming whole once more. The missing parts returned, forgotten memories flickered back, the pain faded—and at last, he landed gently on the ground as the wind barrier dissolved.

"Whew~ It's done."

Venti collapsed onto the grass, exhausted. Neither spoke for a long time.

Victor Wang raised his hand and looked at his arm. No visible changes.

"Does the full transformation require cleansing all seven elements?"

The moment he spoke, he noticed—his voice had changed. Gone was the sharp, raspy Hilichurl tone. It was his voice again.

"So, the change has begun." Victor Wang relished the sound he hadn't heard in so long.

"To fully become human again, you'll need to cleanse all seven elemental forces. But even now, with one element cleansed, you're closer to being human. And with each cleanse, you'll gain control over that element."

Victor Wang sat up with a jolt. "Seriously?!"

"Try to sense your body. Sense the air. Everything around you."

Unsure how to "sense," Victor Wang calmed his mind and imagined the elemental vision from the game. To his surprise—he could sense it. Both he and Venti were now "colorless," free of elemental influence.

Then he tried to gather Anemo energy in his hand. A faint cyan swirl appeared. When he released it, it dispersed back into the air.

"Normally, a sheet of paper can only hold one color. Too many, and it collapses. But for some reason, your body… accepted all the colors from the start. As each element is cleansed, that part of the blackness will be restored to its proper hue. When you're fully restored, in theory, you'll be able to command all seven elements."

"I never even dreamed of this!"

Victor Wang pinched his arm, trying to wake from what felt like a dream—but the pain assured him it was real. He could now control elemental energy. And not just one—but seven.

"Don't get too excited yet. There are still six Archons left."

"True, hahahahaha." Victor Wang couldn't contain his joy, grinning ear to ear. "But hey—I can use Anemo now!"

"Being able to use it doesn't mean you'll use it well. How much power you can harness depends on your talent."

"Why not teach me a few tricks?"

Learning Anemo from the Anemo Archon himself? What could go wrong?

"Spare me." Venti shook his head, refusing.

Having experienced it firsthand, Victor Wang now knew—this path to adulthood wasn't for just any Hilichurl. It was time-consuming, painful, and required the cooperation of all seven Archons.

Victor Wang voiced the question in his heart. "Why did you help me?"

Because you're the only variable I've seen in a long, long time. But Venti didn't say that aloud.

"Once, I made a vow: to witness every story of mankind. But now I'm tired of it. Past, present, future—there's no story I don't already know."

Venti lifted his fake Vision, peering at Victor Wang through the glass. "Remember when I said I'd ask one thing of you?"

"Of course."

"Go. Climb Celestia."

"Huh? Can't you go?"

"It only matters if you do."

"I didn't expect that kind of request from you."

"Ehe, what do you think gods would want?"

"Freedom and wine. That's what the Anemo Archon wants."

"You're right."

"Haha!" Victor Wang stood and gazed at the sky. "Just wait. One day—I will reach Celestia!"

"When you set forth, the wind will guide you, the sun and moon will bear witness. Even if no one understands, the story will bloom in your heart." Venti strummed a spontaneous tune.

"Farewell."

"Farewell."

Victor Wang had barely taken a few steps before scratching his head. "Oh, right—do you know when the Rite of Descension in Liyue starts?"

The mood broke. Venti sighed dramatically.

"It's still a while off. Even people in Mondstadt know that. Why ask me?"

"Ahaha." Looks like he could stay in Mondstadt a bit longer.

This time, Victor Wang truly left.

Venti lay alone beneath the great tree once more, peering into the sky through his glass sphere. Celestia was nowhere to be seen.

"Those who sing songs of rebellion have already set forth. Will you look forward to their ending?"

"Ah, so tired. Time to go to the tavern and recharge."

And with that, Venti vanished too.