Genshin Impacti: This Priest is Cringe, But She's Also Unbeatable — Chapter 29

Chapter 29: The World Within the Domain and a Skyrocketing Rank

“Please wait.”

Celeste’s voice cut through the cavern’s low hum, causing the great stone figure of Elder Shi Xu to grind to a halt.

She finally voiced the question that had been swirling in her mind ever since they had arrived.

“Elder Shi Xu, may I be so bold as to ask a question?”

“Have you… always lived here?”

“What exactly is this place to you?”

The Earth Spirit’s movements ceased completely. The glowing eyes embedded deep within its rocky face seemed to dim for a moment, as if it were sinking into a memory more ancient than the planet’s crust.

It slowly shook its head, its voice a low rumble that seemed to emanate from the very bedrock, carrying the immense weight and desolation of time.

“We were born from the depths of the earth. From the day we awoke, we have been here.”

“Time?” The Elder’s tone was laced with a deep, geological bewilderment. “Time is the weathering of stone, the breath of the earth’s veins. We do not count the rising and falling of the sun and moon.”

“If one full tidal cycle of the earth’s veins is an epoch… perhaps we have seen hundreds. Or perhaps, far longer.”

It extended its rough, stone-like fingers, gesturing to the surrounding walls and the smooth, polished floor beneath their feet.

“This is the Hall of foundation.”

“It is where we are born, where we work, and where we stand guard.”

It paused, and for a moment, its stony visage displayed a confusion as pure and simple as a child’s.

“As for this ‘Domain’ you speak of… what is that? Is it what you call the noisy forest outside?”

“This is here. This is all of the world we have ever known.”

All of… the world?

Celeste and Selene exchanged a wide-eyed, silent glance. In each other’s pupils, they saw the reflection of their own deep shock.

These Earth Spirits considered this so-called Domain to be their entire world.

They weren’t NPCs running on pre-written scripts.

They were indigenous inhabitants.

The realization struck Celeste’s mind like a bolt of lightning. This wasn’t some simple game instance, a dungeon designed for them to farm points and level up before logging out. This was a genuine, existing fragment of another world, complete with its own history, its own civilization.

And they, the contestants, were nothing less than otherworldly invaders in the eyes of these natives.

“Thank you for your answer, Elder Shi Xu,” Celeste said, forcing down the turbulent waves in her heart and offering a sincere bow.

“The exchange of knowledge is equal,” the Earth Spirit rumbled, nodding its massive head slowly. “Forging requires smelting and hammering. You may wait, or you may move freely here. So long as you do not disturb the earth’s veins or damage the stone walls.”

Move freely?

An idea sparked in Celeste’s mind as she recalled their other objective.

“Elder Shi Xu, you mentioned before that the ‘moonlight moss’is in the deeper’Crystal Cluster Cave’?”

“Yes.” The Elder pointed a thick stone finger toward a main passage. “Follow this path inward and pass through the Echo Corridor. That is the home of crystals. The moonlight moss favors its cold and dampness. Occasionally, good ores crystallize there as well.”

The sisters’ gazes locked, an unspoken agreement passing between them in an instant. Rather than waiting around, it was better to seize the initiative.

Complete the mission, earn points, and explore this very real world while they were at it.

“Elder Shi Xu, we would like to go take a look,” Celeste said. “Might we borrow two pickaxes? Our own tools… might damage those delicate crystals.”

The Earth Spirit nodded and let out a dull, guttural syllable to another of its kind dozing nearby. The smaller spirit rose in response and soon returned, carrying two heavy pickaxes.

The shafts were crafted from dense, polished obsidian, smooth to the touch. The heads were forged from some unknown, dark alloy that glinted with a cold light. They were clearly sized for beings larger than humans, but for the two sisters, whose strength attributes both exceeded sixty, the weight felt perfectly balanced in their hands.

After offering their thanks, they headed down the stone passage into the depths. The corridor was immaculately clean, with no branching paths or hidden traps.

Soon, they entered the Echo Corridor. The effect was immediate and unsettling. Every footstep, every breath, even the soft thumping of their own hearts, was amplified and thrown back at them from the walls, creating a disorienting cacophony of their own presence.

After passing through the unnerving corridor, the space before them suddenly opened up into a stunning cavern.

It was a treasure vault of the subterranean world.

Countless brilliant crystal clusters grew from the walls and ceiling, their complex surfaces catching and refracting an inner light. Hues of amethyst, sapphire, and emerald flowed and interwove, illuminating the entire grotto like an inverted galaxy.

In the shaded, damp hollows at the base of the rock walls, patches of soft, carpet-like moss grew quietly. Under the shifting crystal light, it shimmered with a gentle, pearlescent luster.

Moonlight moss.

The collection process was surprisingly peaceful. There were no monsters to fight, only a few timid, crystal-shelled insects that scurried into rock crevices with a soft skitter the moment they approached.

The two gathered a sufficient amount of the moss, watching with satisfaction as the point total on their wristbands began to climb steadily.

“Sister, look over there!” Selene whispered, pointing toward the base of a massive crystal formation on the far side of the cave.

Woven into the rock at the crystal’s root were several twisted, silver-gray veins. Under the flowing, ethereal light of the cavern, they looked like rivulets of liquid moonlight, slowly trickling through the stone.

Celeste strode forward, the scanning beam from her wristband sweeping over the metallic streaks.

[Mithril Vein (Rare)]

[Description: A rare metal vein with a natural affinity for spatial and magical energies. One of the core materials for forging top-tier equipment.]

[Points: 500 points/kg.]

Celeste’s heart hammered against her ribs.

Mithril.

This was a resource marked in blood-red, “Strategic-Level” font in the examination handbook.

“I’ll do it!” Selene declared excitedly. She hefted the huge pickaxe, took aim at the densest part of the vein, and swung with all her might.

“CLANG—!”

A harsh, screeching sound of metal on stone echoed through the cave, accompanied by a shower of bright sparks. When the dust settled, however, only a shallow white scratch marred the rock face.

“It’s that hard?” Selene shook her arm, which was buzzing from the violent impact, her face a mask of disbelief.

“Let me.” Celeste took the pickaxe. She took a deep breath, channeling her strength not into a wild swing, but into a focused strike. She didn’t rely on brute force; instead, she carefully observed the texture of the ore, her gamer’s eye spotting a faint, natural seam in the rock’s structure.

There.

She swung the pickaxe, putting her entire body into the motion.

“THUNK!”

This time, the sound was much duller, a deep, satisfying thud as the pickaxe head bit deep into the stone.

Crack…

With a sharp splitting sound, a chunk of raw ore the size of a washbasin, laced with thick, silver-gray veins, broke free and rolled to the ground.

Celeste immediately scanned it. The wristband display lit up: [Mithril Raw Ore, Weight 3.2 kg. Estimated Pure Mithril Yield: 0.8 kg. Points: 1600!]

One swing. 1600 points.

The sisters’ breathing grew heavy with excitement. Professional tools combined with superhuman strength was a match made in heaven.

They fell into a rhythm. Celeste, with her keen eye, was responsible for mining, while Selene handled transport and kept watch. Their efficiency skyrocketed.

By the time they returned to the Hall of foundation, their arms laden with nearly thirty kilograms of Mithril ore, the Earth Spirits’ forging was well underway. The rhythmic hammering echoed through the cavern like the very pulse of the earth.

After returning the pickaxes, the two found a quiet corner to sit and tally their earnings. The moonlight moss mission was complete, and the Mithril was an unexpected, massive bonus.

Selene pulled up the team point panel. When she saw the number displayed—17,455—she clapped a hand over her mouth, her eyes going wide.

She grabbed her sister’s arm, her voice a fierce, ecstatic whisper.

“Sister! The leaderboard! We’re in the top twenty!”

Celeste leaned over. There, next to their team name, “Qingyuexi,” was a crystal-clear number: 16.

Just the two of them.

From an unknown duo, they had quietly stormed into the top twenty of the entire county-level examination.

A genuine, brilliant smile finally bloomed on Celeste’s face, a rare sight that chased away her usual lazy indifference. The process had been a chaotic mess of accidents and social death, but the results were better than she could have ever imagined.

“It seems the ‘Battle Nun’and’Paladin’ combo has even more terrifying potential than we thought,” Celeste murmured, her gaze drifting toward the workshop where the forge fires flickered and danced.

Once they received their custom-forged equipment, their combat strength would leap to another level entirely.

This trip to the Domain was looking more and more promising.

‘Of course,’she thought,’that’s assuming…’A silent, desperate prayer went up from the depths of her soul.’Please, whatever chaotic god is listening, don’t let me trigger that goddamn “Overtones” again.’