Chapter 2: Genshin Impact Role-Playing System
"It is me, Traveler! Did you miss Paimon?"
'Yeah, Paimon, I missed you a lot.' Natsume felt a sudden, unexpected warmth spread through her chest. In a completely foreign world, hearing that familiar, high-pitched voice acting as her guide brought a deep sense of relief.
"Paimon is also very happy to see Traveler!" The voice echoed in her mind, buoyant and bright. "Now, let me introduce the system to Traveler. You can call out 'Menu' in your mind to open the interface. It is just like a game menu."
Natsume focused her thoughts. 'Menu.'
A soft chime rang out, followed by the materialization of a light blue, translucent screen floating in the air before her. The interface glowed with a faint, ethereal light, invisible to anyone else in the room. In the top left corner sat her avatar. She focused her consciousness on the icon, pulling up her detailed profile.
Her name now read Natsume Natsuki. Her age was listed as twenty, shrinking by several years compared to the life she had left behind. Beside the text was a full-body projection. She stared at the image of a young woman with short, golden-blonde hair, an exotic white and gold dress, and a pair of striking amber eyes. It was Lumine from Genshin Impact. Seeing her own reflection mirrored in that familiar design sent a strange ripple of displacement through her mind, though she quickly pushed the surreal feeling aside.
She dismissed the profile window with a mental command. Below the main header sat a row of familiar tabs: Inventory, Characters, Quests, and the Shop. However, her gaze naturally drifted toward one specific, highly alluring section.
Gacha.
She could not stop herself from asking. 'Paimon, what is this Gacha all about?'"As Traveler can see, Traveler needs to complete quests to earn rewards like Mora and Primogems," Paimon explained, her tone taking on a helpful, instructional cadence. "Quests are issued irregularly. The Mora and Primogems obtained can be used to buy weapons, food, and upgrade materials in the shop. Among them, Primogems can also be used in the Gacha system to pull for characters. The specific rules are identical to the Gacha systems Traveler is already familiar with."'Quests? Is there a penalty for failing?' Natsume had never lived a life dictated by system missions before. A knot of anxiety formed in her stomach at the thought of messing up her very first task and facing some kind of lethal punishment.
"Do not worry, Traveler, there are no penalties for failure!" Paimon reassured her quickly. "Quests related to the protagonist offer the most rewards. While there is no punishment for failing these, missing out will definitely affect your ultimate goal of balancing the Red and Black factions of this world. Traveler should still try her best to complete them."
Natsume let out a slow breath, the tension leaving her shoulders. Paimon was her best companion. It made sense that the little guide would not subject her to cruel punishments over a failed objective.
"And do not worry, Traveler. Although Paimon cannot appear physically by Traveler's side just yet, Paimon will definitely help Traveler and will always be by Traveler's side."
'Always...?'
Hearing those words, Natsume paused. She had spent her previous life entirely alone, handling the daily grind, solving her own problems, and returning to an empty apartment. This was the first time anyone, even a system AI, had promised to stay with her forever. Even if the future was uncertain, she committed the warmth of this moment to memory.
A faint smile touched her lips. 'Of course Paimon has to stay by my side forever. After all, Paimon is my emergency food.'
"Traveler!"
Paimon's voice spiked in volume, ringing loudly against the inside of Natsume's skull. Natsume could perfectly picture the little floating guide stomping her boots in the air and shaking her fists in absolute outrage.
The brief exchange grounded her. Everything had happened so rapidly since her transmigration that she had felt like she was floating through a hazy dream. Now, the reality of her situation settled in, and she shifted her focus back to the mechanics of her survival.
'By the way, Paimon, what is the deal with the characters I pull? Do I need to control them, or can they act on their own?'
Hearing a serious question, Paimon immediately dropped her indignation over the emergency food joke. "Traveler needs to control them personally. Traveler will split a portion of your consciousness into the character. Your consciousness will be influenced by the character's innate memories and experiences, making you act naturally in line with their established personality. Because of this perfect synchronization, no one in this world will be able to tell it is the same person pulling the strings."
Paimon paused for a moment before adding a crucial detail. ", characters can be temporarily stored in the system space. However, once a character is summoned into the outside world, they will enter a comatose sleep mode if they are not actively controlled by Traveler's consciousness. Traveler should be very careful about where and when you leave them."
'Consciousness control? Is it hard?' Natsume frowned slightly. She had been an ordinary office worker just hours ago. The concept of splitting her mind into multiple bodies sounded incredibly daunting, leaving her feeling a distinct lack of confidence.
"Do not worry, it sounds hard but is actually very simple to operate! There happens to be a newcomer reward waiting for you. Traveler can open it and take a look. It usually gives ten pulls, so you can summon a character and try the synchronization process out first."
Prompted by the guide, Natsume finally noticed a small, pulsing red dot hovering over the information bar, indicating an unread message. She selected it with her mind. The newcomer reward package burst open on the screen in a shower of digital sparks.
She scanned the contents, feeling a brief pang of disappointment. It only provided exactly ten pulls. She had secretly hoped for a massive starting bonus. The rest of the package contained a stack of Experience Books and Mystic Enhancement Ore for upgrading characters and weapons, along with a meager sum of 3,000 Mora.
Still, she reasoned, it was not terrible. Having some starting capital was vastly superior to starting with empty pockets.
Since she had the ten pulls ready, Natsume prepared to test her luck. At the very least, she was guaranteed a character. Having another body to use would provide her with some much-needed assistance, even if she was technically just helping herself.
However, before initiating the Gacha sequence, Natsume had one crucial ritual to perform. She glanced around her immediate surroundings, failing to spot any signage.
"Paimon, do you know where the nearest restroom is?"
"Restroom? I know. Go down this road and turn..." Paimon trailed off, her voice tinged with confusion. "Traveler, do you need to use the restroom right now?"
'No, I just want to wash my hands.' Natsume stood up from her seat. For her very first Gacha pull in a new world, she needed absolute good luck. She was going to scrub her hands clean to wash away any bad fortune and prevent a disastrously unlucky draw.
"Wash your hands? But Traveler's hands are not dirty at all!" Paimon remained entirely baffled by the logic. Traveler was just about to use the system, so why the sudden urge for hygiene? She had only been in this world for a short time and had barely touched anything.
Ignoring the confused guide, Natsume handled the corridor and found the restroom. She turned on the faucet, letting the cool water rush over her skin as she thoroughly scrubbed her hands.
Satisfied with her ritual, she turned off the tap and grabbed a paper towel. She kept her head down, carefully wiping the moisture from her fingers as she stepped out of the restroom entrance. Distracted by her task, she failed to notice the small figure rushing toward her until a soft impact bumped against her leg.
"Ah—" a tiny voice squeaked.
Natsume immediately stopped and looked down. A young girl, perhaps seven or eight years old, wearing a bright red top and sporting a bob of shoulder-length brown hair, had collided with her knee.
"Little girl, are you okay? Did it hurt?" Natsume quickly knelt, bringing herself down to the child's eye level to check for any injuries. Fortunately, the collision had been incredibly light. The girl seemed perfectly fine.
"Big sister, I am okay. I was not looking where I was going either, so it is partly my fault." The little girl looked up, a faint blush dusting her cheeks as she stared at the older girl in front of her. The child's eyes widened slightly in awe. This big sister was so beautiful, and her golden hair seemed to catch the ambient light, glowing just like pure sunlight.
"Ayumi, what is wrong?"
Just then, two young male voices echoed from the corridor outside the restroom area.
Ayumi? Natsume's mind clicked instantly. Ayumi Yoshida. She felt a sudden wave of realization wash over her. It was quite a coincidence to cross paths with a core member of the protagonist's group this early in her journey.
If this was Ayumi, then the two boys waiting outside had to be Mitsuhiko Tsuburaya and Genta Kojima—the remaining members of the Detective Boys.
The little girl's next words entirely confirmed Natsume's deduction.
"Genta, Mitsuhiko, I am fine!" Ayumi shouted toward the corridor, clearly eager to keep her friends from worrying. She turned her attention back to Natsume, offering a polite smile. "Sister, I am fine. If you have things to do, you can go ahead. I need to use the restroom too. Goodbye, sister."
After delivering her polite farewell, the little girl waved her hand and hurried past Natsume into the restroom.
Seeing that the child was indeed unharmed, Natsume stood up and walked toward the exit with peace of mind. As she stepped out into the main corridor, she cast a deliberate, observant glance at the two boys waiting by the wall.
The physical contrast between them was stark. One was heavily built with a round head, already muttering complaints about being hungry and wanting food. The other was thin, standing with a slightly more composed, analytical posture. At a mere glance, they were perfect, living replicas of the images she had seen on her screen in her past life.
Natsume did not linger to watch them. She withdrew her gaze and headed straight back to her seat. It was time to initiate her first pull and finally test out the consciousness control Paimon had promised.
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