The shops near the city gate were all in their in-game locations.
Victor Wang walked up to Flora's flower shop and gently touched a displayed Cecilia flower. A faint fragrance clung to his fingers—a scent that evoked snow and wind. Even without elemental energy, it carried a refreshing, wintry sensation.
Mother-in-law, why don't you just take me away already...
Seeing a stranger fondling the flowers, Flora quickly called out, "Hey! Those are display flowers. If you want to buy some, please come over here!"
"Time to go!" Victor made a swift exit.
He wandered through the city for half an hour and had yet to even cover a quarter of Mondstadt.
From his observations, the urban area had expanded roughly a hundredfold. The buildings themselves retained their original proportions, but the excess space was filled with new structures absent from the game.
It might take three to four hours to walk from the gate to the cathedral. If I ran, maybe a little over an hour... That's almost the length of my work commute back home.
But he also noticed carriages in the city—running on designated routes. The base fare was 300 Mora, capped at 500 for standard routes. For custom destinations, the fare started at 500 Mora, with the rest depending on distance.
No clue if that's considered cheap or expensive here.
Passing by Good Hunter, Victor asked about the famed Roasted Steak, which Sara always advertised in-game but never actually sold. The price: a thousand Mora.
"Sorry, I forgot my wallet. Next time, I promise."
After scoping out various prices, Victor gained a rough understanding of the local economy.
Even in ancient times, humanity couldn't escape barter systems. Once civilization advanced, currency naturally followed.
Teyvat's currency—Mora—was rooted in two things: Liyue being the first to mint coins, and the natural advantage possessed by its Geo Archon.
Mora was made of metal. Metal came from ore. And ore belonged to the domain of Geo. Others, both mortals and gods, had tried to create their own currency, but none could match Mora's low cost and practicality.
Spending Mora to buy things was only natural.
But Victor Wang lacked more than just Mora—he lacked something even more critical: identification.
Unlike the game, where the protagonist enters the city and immediately earns a hero's welcome for driving off Stormterror, Victor Wang was a Hilichurl who had only slipped into human society through disguise. Through careful observation, he discovered that Teyvat had an equivalent to ID cards.
These IDs were issued by each nation's governing bodies to newborns. Naturally, Victor had none.
Thankfully, this world also had another organization—the Adventurers' Guild. With branches in every nation and its headquarters in Snezhnaya, the guild's neutrality, essential services, and immense scale made it widely trusted by both the people and their governments.
As such, an adventurer's license was also widely recognized as valid identification.
Victor Wang set his sights on the Adventurers' Guild. Had he not become a Hilichurl, he would've gone there first thing.
"Ad astra abyssosque! Welcome to the Adventurers' Guild."
The speaker wore the guild's standard green-and-white uniform. But unlike other female adventurers, Katheryne's attire more closely resembled a maid's outfit.
Unable to interrupt her automated greeting, Victor itched with curiosity. "Hi, I'd like to ask—what are the requirements for becoming an adventurer?"
He studied her carefully, trying to spot the seams where her parts were joined. But he quickly laughed at himself. So, what if she's a robot? There's all kinds of wonders in this world. I'm a Hilichurl, after all.
"To become an adventurer, there are no fees and no mandatory duties. All you need to do is fill out a personal information form. Would you like to apply right now?"
"Yes."
Katheryne took a form and pen from beneath the counter and handed them to Victor Wang.
I'll go with 'Victor'—protagonists always have one-character names. Male, obviously. Age... hmm.
"Excuse me, is there an age restriction?"
Katheryne folded her hands at her waist and bowed slightly. "Apologies, I forgot to mention—applicants under the age of 14 are not eligible. But your age shouldn't be an issue, right?"
"Nope, I'm 18."
Familiarity with wind gliders? (Mastered, Proficient, Familiar)?—Definitely mastered.
Do you have a glider license?—No.
Wilderness cooking ability?—Mastered.
Resource gathering?—Mastered.
Environmental observation?—Mastered.
Survival time in the wild?—This feels like a work experience section. Gotta put down 18 years!
Do you have a Vision?—No.
Combat evaluation (Small Slime, Hilichurl, Ruin Guard, Cryo Regisvine, Stormterror)?—One Hilichurl.
"I'm done."
"Please wait a moment while I assess your starting rank based on this information."
Katheryne took the form and gave Victor a once-over.
"I'm sorry. Though your abilities qualify you as a Junior Adventurer, since you haven't been referred by another adventurer or observed directly by the guild, I can't verify the authenticity of your claims. Therefore, I must assign you the rank of Provisional Adventurer."
She continued, "Let me explain our ranking system. From lowest to highest, the ranks are: Provisional Adventurer, Junior Adventurer, Intermediate Adventurer, Senior Adventurer, and Legendary Adventurer.
"Above those is a special title: Grand Adventurer. It's granted to those who demonstrate exceptional skill or contribution and is treated the same as the Senior Adventurer rank."
Grand Adventurer is only equal to Senior? Then how strong must a Legendary Adventurer be?
After all, Alice was a Grand Adventurer. So were Leonard—the inventor of the wind glider—and Stanley of the Silent Sea.
"...I can't say I'm thrilled about this."
"I'm sorry. I hope you understand." Katheryne smiled with her usual practiced gentleness.
"So how do I level up?"
"There are two main ways. One: completing commissions. A Provisional Adventurer must complete ten to be promoted to Junior Adventurer—it's relatively easy.
"Two: under the observation of at least two adventurers who are two ranks higher, defeat an enemy rated above your current combat class. It's a dangerous route and not recommended unless you're confident.
"For you, that means finding two Intermediate Adventurers or above and defeating a Hilichurl in their presence to earn your promotion."
"Then I want to take on commissions right now—give me ten!"
"Sorry, but Provisional Adventurers can only take one commission per day. Each rank increases your daily limit by one. Even at Senior rank, you still can't take ten at once."
Noting she hadn't mentioned Legendary rank, Victor asked, "So how many commissions can a Legendary Adventurer take per day?"
"Legendary Adventurer is a rank personally established by Her Majesty the Tsaritsa and cannot be attained through normal means. No one has achieved it to date."
She hadn't said it outright, but Victor read between the lines: Don't bother dreaming of Legendary status—it's not for people like you. Still, it confirmed the guild's connection with Snezhnaya.
Katheryne added, "As for privileges, Legendary Adventurers currently share the same benefits as Senior Adventurers."
"Got it."
"The commission board is right over there. Feel free to browse, but please don't wander off—I still need to prepare your Adventurer's Certificate."
To the right of the guild was a notice board plastered with missions. Victor spotted some familiar titles: Risky Climbing, Urgent Assignment, Dangerous Cargo, Safe Transport Protocol...
The most eye-catching listing bore the seal of the Knights of Favonius. It stated that Stormterror had recently been sighted near Windrise and Wolvendom. Anyone who could provide intel would be rewarded based on the value of their information.
It also specified the mission was unlimited by number of participants or frequency and wouldn't count against daily commission limits.
Stormterror's about to appear... does that mean the protagonist will show up soon too?
Though the board was full, most of the missions were well beyond Victor's capabilities. Anything combat-related was out of the question.
"Hello, your Adventurer's Certificate is ready. There's also a handbook—please come collect them."
"The handbook contains most of the basic information. If there's anything you don't understand, feel free to ask."
"Thanks."
With his Adventurer's Certificate and a handbook in hand, Victor Wang resumed scanning the board for a commission he could realistically take.