Did Ellin pass the Knights of Favonius assessment? According to the original plot, probably not.
In the original story, after the Stormterror had been rampaging across the wilds of Mondstadt for several months, the Traveler finally appeared in Mondstadt. Arkz hadn't received any news about the Stormterror up to this point.
If Ellin truly passed the assessment a month later, then the Ellin from the original plot wouldn't have needed to ask the Traveler for pointers on fancy ways to beat wooden stakes, striving so hard to join the Knights of Favonius.
Looking at Ellin, who was clearly sad but still forcing a smile, Arkz felt a mix of emotions.
So, even the famous future Knight Ellin had her own troubles? At this moment, Arkz truly realized that the people around him were individuals with their own lives, their own joys, sorrows, and emotions, not just NPCs programmed by an algorithm.
In the story, Ellin, whom players called the 'Future Knight,' finally achieved her dream and joined the Knights of Favonius, which seemed wonderful. However, Arkz wanted to shorten this timeline.
If only for the sake of this cheerful girl, his first friend in Mondstadt, so that the sadness would disappear from her face.
Thinking of this, Arkz patted Ellin's shoulder and said loudly:
"Cheer up, Ellin, don't be a crybaby like a little girl."
Ellin looked at Arkz, confused: "Am I not a little girl?"
However, after Arkz's interruption, Ellin forgot her recent worries, and a smile reappeared on her face.
Arkz looked at Ellin seriously and said: "Ellin! Do you believe me?"
"Come to my farm, I will give you special training, and I guarantee you will pass the assessment for the Knights of Favonius!"
"Really?"
For some reason, looking into Arkz's sincere eyes, Ellin decided to trust him this once.
After making the promise, Ellin decided to go home to persuade her parents. The two planned to meet near the Adventurers Guild the next day.
After parting ways with Ellin, Arkz planned to venture deeper into the wilds of Mondstadt, hoping to find some treasure chests and earn some extra money.
After arriving at Star-Picking Cliff, Arkz walked toward the direction of Windrise. As Arkz went deeper, the number of people around him decreased until there were no traces of human activity nearby.
The depths of Mondstadt's wilds were the territory of monsters.
Traces of monster activity were everywhere, including high-threat monsters like Anemo Hypostases, Mitachurls, and Abyss Mages. However, they seemed to sense that Arkz was not easy to provoke, so they cautiously kept their distance as long as Arkz did not attack first.
Arkz was happy about this; being surrounded by so many monsters, it would truly be troublesome if they all swarmed him.
But this place was indeed a real world, and one couldn't judge everything solely by game data.
A Water Slime, which was harmless in the game and seemed like anyone could bully it, was actually seen by Arkz accidentally overpowering a Fire Abyss Mage. A single powerful water cannon blast shattered the Fire Abyss Mage's shield.
If a Water Abyss Mage hadn't arrived in time, that unlucky Fire Abyss Mage would have truly died at the hands of the Water Slime.
In the real Teyvat world, mechanisms like elemental immunity simply didn't exist; otherwise, Slimes would have already conquered Teyvat. But the strength of this Water Slime was genuinely formidable.
So, the Water Abyss Mage had no intention of avenging its colleague; it simply snatched up the Fire Abyss Mage and blinked away.
Arkz also witnessed many scenes rarely seen in the game: a five-meter-tall Boar King being chased and fleeing in disarray by Mitachurls and its minions; a Wooden Club Hilichurl leading Mitachurls; and the mysterious Hilichurl King that even made Arkz feel threatened...
Although that mysterious Hilichurl King had not shown itself, Arkz felt the aura of the Anemo Element emanating from it.
In the game, Geo-armored Hilichurl Kings, Cryo-armored Hilichurl Kings, and Electro Hilichurl Kings appeared. Hilichurl Kings of other elements had not yet appeared. He didn't know what the attack patterns of the Hilichurl Kings of other elements, especially this Anemo Hilichurl King, were like.
However, since even Arkz felt a trace of threat, perhaps only Diluc, Jean, and Eula in Mondstadt currently could contend with this Anemo Hilichurl King. It was hard to judge Kaeya since he hadn't used his full strength.
And those who could firmly suppress this Hilichurl King might only be Albedo and Lisa when she used her full power.
But Mondstadt had been a nation for a thousand years; who knew if there were some old monsters hidden in the shadows? One couldn't rely entirely on information from the game.
However, since his good brother Venti didn't pay attention to this Hilichurl King, it meant this Hilichurl King wouldn't pose a threat to Mondstadt.
It's better to avoid trouble than to invite it. Arkz wasn't a battle maniac like Tartaglia. Although he was somewhat curious about the Anemo Hilichurl King, he wouldn't go out of his way to provoke such a powerful opponent.
Arkz continued walking toward Windrise. Along the way, he found quite a few treasure chests, from which he obtained a three-star Traveler's Sword and several three-star and two-star artifacts.
Although Arkz didn't lack weapons and artifacts, the weapons in his inventory could only be used by him. These weapons and artifacts had no restrictions and were perfect to give to Ellin to boost her strength.
After opening several treasure chests consecutively, Arkz collected quite a number of Primogems, totaling seventy or eighty pieces. Unfortunately, he was no longer the Traveler but a farmer now, so these Primogems were useless to him.
However, Arkz still planned to keep the Primogems, intending to use them later to hire the blonde Traveler to help him with farm work.
No one knew where the treasure chests in the wilds came from. Some speculated they were products condensed from Ley Lines, while others guessed they were rewards given by the gods to the brave. But regardless, throughout thousands of years, no matter how people searched, treasure chests would always appear in unexpected places, waiting for the fated person to arrive.
In fact, the treasure chests with low danger levels or those appearing in areas frequently frequented by humans had long been taken. Arkz was able to find so many rewards because he relied on his powerful strength to venture deep into dangerous, high-threat areas.
For some unknown reason, the monsters in the wilds had absolutely no interest in the treasures inside the chests but would instinctively guard them. Thus, usually, if a treasure chest appeared in a monster's territory, one had to fight the monsters first to obtain it.
As Arkz walked, the area near Windrise was a region frequently traversed by humans. Almost all the treasure chests here had been claimed, so Arkz sped up his pace and stopped searching meticulously for hidden chests.
Speaking of which, when he was the Traveler, he could accurately sense nearby treasure chests, but now he could only rely on his naked eye. Could it be that the Traveler truly possessed the peculiar talent of a treasure chest hunter?
Arkz guessed it might be because the items inside the treasure chests were no longer things he needed.
How pathetic. Looking at the Primogems, he felt indifferent—it was like having a highly anticipated game right in front of him, yet suffering from erectile dysfunction.