Chapter 77: The Deceitful Flower

"Uhh..."

"You don't have any other food?"

"Nope. This flatbread is already considered pretty good for wilderness rations—because it stores well over time."

Zephyr shook his head. That's just too pitiful. He reached into his inventory and pulled out a Sweet Madame—then tore off a drumstick and handed it to Paimon.

Chloris froze, her eyes widening. "Sister, w-where did you get that Sweet Madame!?"

"From my backpack," Lumine replied casually.

"Backpack? Where?"

"You can't see it. Only I have access to it."

"Amazing! You really are someone from another world. This is unbelievable!"

Chloris stared intently at the drumstick in Paimon's hand.

Paimon huffed, "Why are you looking at Paimon like that? No matter how you stare, Paimon is not sharing!"

Chloris gulped.

"..."

"Fine, Paimon will give you one bite. Just one, okay?" Paimon held it out.

Chloris wiped her mouth—then chomped right onto Paimon's little paw.

"Ow! What the heck!?"

"Sorry, sorry! I was so hungry I started seeing things. I thought your hand was food!"

"You did that on purpose! That was totally on purpose!!"

Zephyr sighed, "Alright, quit it already. Here, take a drumstick."

He handed her another.

"So tasty! So, so tasty!"

She practically inhaled it, then stared longingly at the rest of the chicken in Zephyr's hands.

"...Fine, whatever."

He gave in and tore the whole Sweet Madame apart, sharing it among the group.

Paimon cried, "Ahh! Paimon's Sweet Madame! Hey, don't steal it—it's all Paimon's!"

Three minutes later...

Chloris lay sprawled on the ground, arms stretched out like a dead leaf, the whole scene turning grayscale. "I lost... I actually lost..."

Paimon puffed up with pride. "Hmph! When it comes to eating, Paimon has never lost to anyone!"

Seeing this, Zephyr said, "Alright, I'll take out another one." 

And thus, the next round of food battle began.

Suddenly, Lumine frowned. "Wait—something's wrong. I sense danger!"

Zephyr expanded his view and ducked behind a tree, scanning the surroundings.

He spotted several hilichurls sauntering over casually, munching on blue fruits like they didn't have a care in the world.

>Hilichurl LV7 <

>Hilichurl LV9 <

Zephyr let out a breath of relief. Alright, not a big deal—just a few under-level-10 hilichurls. Easy pickings.

Makes sense, too—he'd seen even level-1 hilichurls around here before. Mondstadt's wild monsters weren't that threatening overall.

But then he saw the one at the back—and his brows furrowed.

>Hilichurl Berserker LV15 <

"A level 15 berserker... that's a bit of a problem."

He wasn't afraid of them, but with a level 1 Chloris hanging around, it'd be bad if she got hurt.

Jumping down from the tree, he said, "A group of hilichurls is coming. Go find a place to hide."

Chloris tilted her head. "Hilichurls? Those weaklings? Not even worth worrying about."

"Where's this confidence coming from? Can you beat one?"

"Nope."

"Then where is the confidence coming from!?"

After some hurried urging, the little loli finally—reluctantly—hid herself.

By then, the hilichurls had arrived.

"Paimon, you should hide t—" He looked around. Wait, where was Paimon?

"You got this, Traveler!" Paimon had already hidden herself alongside Chloris.

The Traveler raised a middle finger—ready to fight.

Sure enough, the moment he stepped over a small hill, the leading hilichurl spotted him and immediately launched `Hit and Run`, charging forward.

This particular skill wasn't just strong—it came with multiple chained stuns.

Take one hit, and you're eating the whole combo.

But Zephyr wasn't the same as before. He was now level 20—way above these guys!

A swift dodge and Zephyr avoided the hilichurl's attack, spinning around to slash its back.

With a sharp "Gaaah!", the hilichurl nearly dropped dead on the spot, its health bar plummeting.

Another strike—and this time, the hilichurl collapsed instantly.

But the death of their comrade only enraged the rest. The remaining hilichurls charged at him… only to get blasted aside by a massive figure barreling through.

Paimon gasped, "It's a Hilichurl Berserker!"

Chloris tilted her head, puzzled. "Hilichurl Berserker? Is it strong?"

"Uh… it depends on the level. Paimon is not sure how high this one is, but since the Traveler isn't running away, it probably means the Berserker can't beat him… Wait—why Paimon is explaining all this to you!?"

Zephyr dodged another charge from the Berserker and followed up with a flurry of basic attacks to its back.

The charge left the Berserker momentarily stunned—an opening!

But it wasn't long before it recovered and turned around, raising its massive wooden shield.

Zephyr struck at it again, but the shield barely lost any durability.

He frowned. "Ugh, this is annoying. Without a Pyro character, this guy is such a pain."

The wooden shield was highly resistant to most normal attacks—only Pyro could really break it down fast.

Refusing to back off, Zephyr kept hammering away at the Berserker.

Just then, someone walked by in the distance.

Looking closer—it was that Mondstadt knight from earlier.

Paimon shouted, "Hey! Mondstadt knight! We need your help!"

But the knight ignored them completely. A couple of hilichurls tried to attack him—he casually cut them down in a few swings, then walked away like they didn't exist.

Zephyr couldn't help but roast him: "That's way too accurate!"

It was exactly like in the game—lots of NPC knights in the wild, but the moment you're in danger? Totally useless!

Meanwhile, the hilichurls that had been thrown aside got back up—and spotted Paimon and Chloris hiding behind the trees.

"Ah! Not good!"

Paimon panicked. "Can you climb a tree?"

"I—I can't…"

Chloris's legs were shaking. "Don't panic. This is nothing! Watch how I take care of them!"

"Girl, you're the most panicked one here."

"Waaah—Wooper, save me!"

Zephyr turned around, confused.

Suddenly, the ground shook—something massive burst forth, unleashing a wave of fire.

"GAAAH!"

The hilichurls immediately turned into flaming meatballs, shrieking and rolling around—until they stopped moving entirely.

"Well done, Wooper!"

Paimon stared in shock. "Isn't that a Whopperflower!? That's a monster!"

Chloris nodded proudly. "Yep, that's my pet Whopperflower. I tamed it."

"WHAT? You made a Whopperflower your pet? H-How did you even do that!?"

"Secret~! Hmph! Now you see why I said those hilichurls were nothing to worry about."

Chloris folded her arms, face full of pride.

Zephyr muttered, "Next time you brag like that, try doing it without your knees shaking."

"I wasn't shaking!!"

> Whopperflower — LV10

With that one Whopperflower, it was practically a one-sided massacre. In no time, all the hilichurls were wiped out.

"Incredible… I didn't think a Whopperflower could be this powerful."

"What do you mean 'even a Whopperflower'? Whopperflowers are strong to begin with! It's an elite monster, you know!"

"So what? Zephyr's basically a Hilichurl Boss!"

Zephyr snapped his head around. "I heard that!"

And he flipped her off.

But at that exact moment—the Hilichurl Berserker came charging back!

"Uh-oh! Sister Lumine's in danger—Wooper, help her!"

The Whopperflower instantly dove underground with a whoosh, reappearing right next to Lumine. It unleashed another stream of fire.

The Berserker raised its massive wooden shield to block—but fire was its worst enemy. The shield quickly caught flame, its durability dropping at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"Wooper! Use your Ultimate Flame Jet!"

Zephyr deadpanned, "Why don't you just call it a Kamehameha while you're at it?"

//END

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