Lumine stretched and said, "Paimon, I'm hungry. Let's go prepare breakfast."
"Mhm, sounds good… Wait! No! Paimon already said Paimon wouldn't talk to you for the rest of the day!"
"But I'm not the player."
"Oh, it's the Traveler speaking… Well, it doesn't matter! You're the player's avatar. I can't even tell when it's you talking or when it's the player!"
"…A Sweet Madame."
"Forget everything I just said!"
"…Drumstick."
"Ugh, fine! But Paimon want a whole Sweet Madame!"
"Can you even finish that? Be grateful you're getting a drumstick."
But the cruel reality soon crushed their hopes.
"No wild chickens… no wild boars… nothing…" Lumine swallowed hard. I really miss the glowing dishes Little Chef used to make for me…
Zephyr: !
"Wait, hold up. You've been to Little Chef's world before?"
"You know Little Chef too? What a coincidence! Speaking of which, his cooking is amazing—it even glows."
Paimon's eyes sparkled with curiosity. "Glowing food? That sounds incredible! Paimon want to see it for herself!"
Suddenly, Lumine locked eyes with Paimon, staring at her intensely.
"…W-Why are you looking at Paimon like that?"
"Glowing… food…"
Paimon… also glows.
Only now did it click—Paimon's body had always been shimmering with tiny, twinkling star-like lights. She looked… strangely magical.
A shiver ran down Paimon's spine. "A-Anyway! Paimon just remembered! Didn't we catch a few squirrels yesterday? We can just eat those for breakfast!"
Zephyr raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Funny. Yesterday, when I caught those squirrels, you were complaining. But now that we're eating them, you've changed your tune."
"Cough, cough."
In the end, they didn't really have a choice. They couldn't just eat fruit in the morning—doing that would only make them hungrier.
And so, the poor little squirrels became their breakfast.
To lighten the mood, Zephyr turned on his music, putting his playlist on loop.
"From now on, you're officially a girl with her own background music."
Lumine stood proudly, hands on her hips.
As they continued walking, Zephyr started having second thoughts. "Wait… if I keep playing background music like this, won't it just attract all the wild beasts nearby? No, I should turn it off."
Paimon quickly protested, "Don't turn it off! Just walking in silence is so boring. Paimon want to listen to music!"
"You're dreaming."
Lumine thought for a moment and said, "Actually, keeping the BGM on could lure monsters to us… which means we can use it to grind for experience."
Paimon's eyes lit up. "Oh yeah! We can farm monsters! Traveler, you're a genius!"
Zephyr hesitated. "I mean… that's not a bad idea, but there's a problem—I have no idea what the average monster level is around here. If we attract something too strong, we're screwed."
Lumine considered his words and nodded. "That's true. Let's turn it off for now. We can use it again when we're in a city or when I'm strong enough to handle it."
"Mhm."
Paimon was stunned. "Hey, hey! Since when do you two just make decisions without me? What about my opinion?"
"Your opinion? Does it matter?"
"Objection! Objection! Even emergency food has rights!"
"Oh? So you're admitting you're emergency food now?"
—
Suddenly, Zephyr gasped, "Watch out! We've got monsters!"
Lumine and Paimon immediately tensed up, scanning their surroundings.
A few moments passed.
"…Where?"
Zephyr… actually wasn't sure where the monster was. But he had heard the signature BGM of a Dendro Slime, which meant it had to be nearby.
"I don't know exactly, but it's around here somewhere. Thankfully, Dendro Slimes don't attack unless provoked. Let's just keep walking."
"Oh, that makes sense. Alright, let's go."
Sure enough, after walking another few dozen meters, the BGM gradually faded.
"That reminds me," Zephyr said. "We also need to be careful of traps in the wild."
"Traps? Monsters can set traps?"
"Of course. For example, Whopperflowers disguise themselves as Sweet Flowers and bury themselves underground. They don't do anything—until you try to pick the flower. Then they attack."
"What!? That's a thing?!"
"Yup. And that's not even the worst of it. There are also some weird plants—or at least, I think they're plants. If you stay far away, they won't do anything, but if you get too close… boom. At your current level, one explosion and you're done."
Aahhh!"
"T-This is terrifying! Monsters are terrifying! Traveler, maybe we should just stay in Mondstadt forever and never go outside again!"
"No way. I have to rescue my sister. I have to become stronger!"
"Paimon, if you're scared, you don't have to come."
"W-Who said Paimon was scared?! We're partners! Paimon is your best guide! Paimon is not leaving you behind!"
"…Paimon." Lumine was touched.
Zephyr cleared his throat. "Hate to interrupt your little moment, but… uh, do you guys see those slimes up ahead?"
Not far from them, several green Anemo Slimes were happily bouncing around under the morning sun, looking as carefree as could be.
> Anemo Slime, LV1 <
Lumine frowned. "So weak. It's even weaker than that bear pack we ran into last night."
Paimon quickly chimed in, "Hey! The strong have their way of surviving, and the weak have their way of surviving. Don't look down on the weak!"
"…Sorry."
"Why are you apologizing?!"
Lumine drew her sword. "More slimes… Slimes exist in every world. Your reproduction rate is way too high!"
Zephyr calmly responded, "Relax. Even though Anemo Slimes are low level, don't forget—they're Anemo Slimes. Your wind element attacks are useless against them."
Lumine blinked. "What do you mean?"
"In Teyvat, every slime has a specific elemental attribute. That attribute makes them immune to attacks of the same element.
For example, these Anemo Slimes are completely immune to all wind-element damage. Likewise, Pyro Slimes are immune to fire, and Hydro Slimes are immune to water."
"They're immune? As in, completely immune?"
"Yep. 100% immunity."
Lumine was stunned. "No way! I've seen some powerful slimes before, but I've never seen one that's completely immune to an element!"
"Well, that's just one of the unique things about Teyvat."
"…Fine." Lumine sighed, stepping forward with a serious expression. "I misjudged you guys. You're not the weakest. You're opponents worthy of my respect."
One small Anemo Slime bounced toward her cheerfully.
Wind Blade.
Immune, immune, immune.
"Yep, definitely immune to wind." Lumine muttered. "Guess I'll just have to use basic attacks."
"Traveler, you got this! Go, go!"
"Lumine, aim for its weak spot. If you pierce its body with a sword, Anemo Slimes will deflate like a popped balloon—instant K.O."
"…Wait, that's a thing?"
"Traveler, you got this! Go, go!"
Hah!" With a precise thrust, her sword pierced through the Anemo Slime's body.
The Anemo Slime instantly deflated, flying off like a leaking balloon before vanishing completely.
> EXP +1 <
> Mora +1 <
> Slime Condensate +1 <
...