Chapter 21: The Glazed Fruit

"Rea, you're awake?" Upon returning to Mondstadt, Lumine was pleasantly surprised to see Astrea standing in the streets. Of course, it was Paimon who spoke first. "Big sister!" Astrea's eyes lit up when she saw Lumine and Paimon. "Thank you so much for earlier, big sister. I just heard from Acting Grand Master Jean that you were the one who helped Mondstadt resolve the Stormterror crisis. That's amazing!" "It was nothing, but you're pretty amazing too, Rea. You're such an impressive knight." "R-Really?" Astrea blushed, her cheeks tinged with both embarrassment and joy. "I'll keep working hard. I want to become a knight worthy of Lady Furina and The Supreme Bishop's expectations." "By the way, Rea, what are you doing here? What kind of shop is this?" Lumine glanced at the store Astrea was standing in front of. It seemed Astrea had been talking to the shopkeeper. The shopkeeper, a woman in her twenties, smiled and chimed in, "You must be the Honorary Knight, right? Thank you so much for dealing with Stormterror. This shop specializes in goods from Fontaine. We have all sorts of imported specialties from there." "Fontaine? That's where Rea is from, right?" "Yes, big sister," Astrea nodded eagerly. "I wanted to buy some Glazed Fruit. I ran out of the ones I brought when I left Fontaine." "Glazed Fruit?" "Glazed Fruit is an alchemical product developed by the Fontaine Research Institute. It has quite the history," Paimon interjected, striking a pose as if she were a tour guide. "Three hundred years ago, The Supreme Bishop of Fontaine tied three alchemical products to a new currency, separate from Mora, sparking an economic war between Fontaine and Liyue. One of those three products was the Glazed Fruit." Lumine tilted her head slightly, curious. The shopkeeper continued, "Back then, Glazed Fruit could only be purchased with Fontaine's new currency, the Gold Note. Merchants flocking to Fontaine had to exchange their Mora for Gold Notes at the Southern Bank of Fontaine to use as trade currency. It was through these three alchemical products, including Glazed Fruit, that The Supreme Bishop gradually made the Gold Note a mainstream currency, surpassing Mora in popularity across nations." "From an initial 1:1 exchange rate, it eventually reached 1 Gold Note for 900 Mora. In just twenty years, Mora depreciated nine hundred times. What once cost 100 Mora now cost 9,000 Mora, while the same item could be bought for just 10 Gold Notes—a real nine hundred times difference." "In such a situation, those in the six nations outside Fontaine who didn't exchange their Mora for Gold Notes in time, or who hoped Mora would regain its value..." The shopkeeper shrugged. "Thankfully, Lady Furina of Fontaine was kind-hearted. She ordered the Southern Bank to provide interest-free loans to the poor and even arranged for them to work in Fontaine to repay their debts. Otherwise, who knows how many people would have taken their own lives." "But that situation didn't last too long," Paimon added, crossing her arms. "After The Supreme Bishop negotiated with the Geo Archon of Liyue, the Gold Notes were gradually phased out over the following decades, and Mora regained its value." "Sounds impressive... So, what does the Glazed Fruit actually do?" "It strengthens the body and extends one's lifespan." "...Sounds like a health supplement commercial." "But the effects are real, big sister," Astrea chimed in, holding up a glass container filled with a glazed, liquid-like substance. "Glazed Fruit has no side effects. The first time you drink it, the effects are the strongest. After that, the effects diminish but remain permanent. It continuously enhances physical fitness and slows down aging. It's become a necessity for almost everyone over the past few centuries. Of course, to get the best results, you should only drink one bottle per week." "So, how much is it?" "6,000 Mora per bottle, Honorary Knight," the shopkeeper said with a smile. "But for you, I'll sell it for 5,000 Mora—that's my wholesale price." "That sounds about right, big sister. Even in Fontaine, Glazed Fruit sells for 3,000 Mora per bottle," Astrea explained. "The production cost is only 2,000 Mora, but under The Supreme Bishop's orders, the Fontaine Research Institute only sells Glazed Fruit to Fontaine-based shops. Foreign merchants have to buy it from those shops." 「Buy a bottle.」 「Maybe next time.」 "Of course, buy a bottle! Why wait when you can get such a cheat item?" Axue frantically clicked on the first option. She had just checked the effects of the Glazed Fruit: the first use permanently increased the Traveler's base HP by 100, base ATK by 10, and base DEF by 10. After that, it could be used once per week, each time increasing base HP by 10, base ATK by 1, and base DEF by 1, with the effects diminishing over time. "No wonder the Traveler feels so weak compared to five-star characters like Venti and Klee. Turns out they can grow stronger over time!" It had been over a month since Genshin Impact's release. After Venti, the second limited-time character, Klee, had made her debut. And like a super bomb, Klee exploded in popularity worldwide. On one hand, Klee was just too adorable. On the other, Venti's banner and Astrea, the shy knight with explosive popularity, had drained all the free Primogems players could earn in-game—some even spent hundreds of thousands to max out Astrea's constellations and refine her weapon in the standard banner. But that's beside the point. With all the free Primogems spent, Klee's banner arrived. And boom, this ridiculously cute little girl caused a global spending frenzy. According to statistics, most players gave up on pulling for Astrea in the standard banner, opting to save up for the 300 Intertwined Fates needed to exchange for her or hoping to get her as an off-banner pull in limited banners. As a result, not many spent directly on the standard banner—but those who did were the big spenders. The luckier ones spent around a hundred thousand to max out Astrea, while the unluckiest spent close to two million. So, while fewer people spent on the standard banner, its revenue was still massive, even surpassing Venti's limited banner at the time—since most players used free Primogems, launch rewards, and Welkin Moon/Battle Pass resources to pull for Venti. But because of this, when Klee's banner arrived... if you wanted her, you had to spend. Thanks to the massive spending base, Klee's banner propelled Genshin Impact to the top of global charts, not only avoiding the expected decline but surpassing previous records. Of course, that's all in the past now. What's important is that Version 1.1 has finally arrived. The Liyue region is open, and the first chapter of the Archon Quest has officially begun. Now, Axue, following the quest guide, found Astrea. In terms of the story, after speaking with Venti, the Traveler decided to head to Liyue immediately to try and catch the Rite of Descension. But before that, they had to return to Mondstadt to check on Astrea. And to their delight, upon returning, they found Astrea awake. Then came the events described above. After buying the Glazed Fruit, Axue, controlling Lumine, told Astrea about their plans to leave Mondstadt for Liyue. Astrea's eyes sparkled with excitement. "Big sister, you're going to Liyue too?" "Too? Are you going as well, Rea?" "Yes. I came to Mondstadt because I heard about Stormterror and wanted to see if I could help. Even though I didn't do much, I'm glad the crisis was resolved. Now that it's over, there's no reason for me to stay here." Astrea smiled brightly. "So I was planning to go to Liyue to see the Rite of Descension. If you're going too, why don't we go together? I also want to learn from you, big sister, on how to become a better knight. Is that okay?" "Of course! I'd be happy to travel with you, Rea." And so, the first act of the Archon Quest, "Of the Land Amidst Monoliths," officially began.