Boom—splash… boom—splash…
The man on the beach was roused by the rhythmic crash of the waves. Groggily, he turned onto his left side, reaching his right hand over his head in search of his phone beside the pillow.
He didn't find a phone, but instead touched something soft and squishy.
He gave it a squeeze. Oddly satisfying.
Boom—splash…
Amid the intermittent roar of the waves, the damp, salty sea breeze worked its way into Victor Wang's nose.
It felt like it took all his strength just to lift his eyelids—only to be stabbed by blinding sunlight.
"A strange ceiling? No, wait… it's open sky?"
Finally adapting to the brightness, Victor Wang took another look at his surroundings.
He was on a beach. In front of him stretched an endless ocean, behind him rose a cliff that ran along the coastline all the way to the edge of his vision.
Why am I… here?
He tried to remember how he had ended up in this place, but his mind was foggy. Forcing himself to recall, it felt like his skull had cracked like a shattered crystal orb—an excruciating, soul-splitting pain gripped him, making him clutch his head and curl into a ball, writhing on the sand.
Why does it hurt so much? What happened?
"Ah!!!"
Two orange crabs in the distance were startled by his anguished scream and scurried into the sand to hide.
Eventually, Victor Wang managed to recall a fragment from his memory that made no sense in light of his current situation.
Wasn't I working overtime?
The pain gradually faded, and his memory became clearer.
Damn it, there's always something after work!
Still, working overtime is nothing new. A piece of cake. How could I pass out just like that with my constitution?
That's when he noticed something odd about his head. Rubbing it with both hands, it didn't feel like hair—more like animal fur.
A foreboding sense of dread settled in his chest. He jumped to his feet and began inspecting his body.
All he had on was a beast-hide apron tied around his waist. His exposed skin had changed color—arms, legs, chest, all blackened. And his feet… were clearly no longer human. Only three thick toes, each tipped with a sharp claw—like the talons of some dinosaur or bird.
He hurried over to the shallows, where the rippling water reflected his form.
His face was obscured by a mask—white, with brown patterns painted on it, and two horn-like protrusions at the top that looked like bone.
Two long black donkey-like ears poked out from the top of his head—not the sides.
Aside from the mask and ears, his entire head was covered in light brown fur.
In Victor Wang's understanding, only one kind of creature looked like this.
And usually, once a bad feeling struck—it turned out to be true.
"I… turned into a Hilichurl?"
Hilichurls were a common enemy in the game Victor Wang often played—neither strong nor dangerous, and honestly, kind of ugly.
Still not quite willing to accept it, he tugged at the fur on his head.
"Hss—" Real pain. No prank.
He looked more closely at the sky—so pure and sapphire-clear, like a gem covering the heavens. Impossible to find a sky like that in any modern city.
The air… it did smell like a normal sea breeze. But just outside the canyon leading off the beach, a pillar-shaped waypoint hovered in the air.
This was Teyvat.
So, I transmigrated… No, this body isn't mine—this must be reincarnation.
None of that mattered anymore.
As a modern-day youth, Victor Wang had read his fair share of web novels. Transmigration was as common as sand on a beach. Just something to pass the time between work and study. Who would've thought it'd actually happen to him?
He took a deep breath. "Did I… drop dead at work?!"
In this bizarre situation, the one consolation he had was that he left behind his parents and two younger siblings.
His parents had followed the three-child policy. Victor Wang was the middle child—older brother Gavin Wang, younger sister Silvia Wang. Their names clearly came from the same fortune teller, each chosen to round out the five elements.
Resigned to his fate as a Hilichurl, Victor Wang began trying to get used to his new body.
He jumped—and soared a meter into the air. Then he tried to lift a nearby boulder.
"Heeyah!"—not even a budge…
He switched to a smaller rock, which he barely managed to lift, and then hurled it into the sea.
"Yeet!"
A bit of frustration boiled in his chest. But no rush. He was sure that thing would show up eventually.
The rock splashed into the sea with a mighty splash, a wave of water rising up and smacking him mockingly in the face.
Compared to jumping ability, untrained strength was always harder to judge.
Victor Wang wasn't sure how strong he used to be, nor how heavy the rock was—but he could tell this body was much stronger than his previous one.
Maybe Hilichurls were naturally stronger? Or perhaps people in this world were all like that?
Wiping the water from his mask, curiosity overtook him. What does a Hilichurl look like under the mask?
He returned to the shallows and took it off. The face reflected back at him made him jump—he dropped the mask into the water, shattering the illusion of his shattered dignity.
"No wonder Hilichurls all wear masks…"
No longer interested in gauging his strength, he fished the mask out and wrung it dry. Then he turned toward the canyon and walked to the waypoint.
The thing stood taller than two men, floating above a base that emitted a soft, bluish glow, supporting it in mid-air.
So, waypoints really existed in this world. Clearly, they weren't just fast travel tools for the game's protagonist.
Reaching out with his right hand, he solemnly touched the waypoint.
Nothing happened.
Expressionless, he pulled his hand back and continued walking into the canyon.
If the waypoint didn't work, then he'd find a Statue of The Seven.
At first, Victor Wang wasn't entirely sure where he was. But after half an hour of trudging along a patchy dirt path flecked with grass, a stone slope appeared ahead.
He compared it with the image in his mind.
Wasn't this the low slope from the game's tutorial, where you first learn to climb? And the beach he'd just left—it all pointed to this place being—
He scoured the mental map in his head. But this region had no name.
North of Starfell Cliff, east of Starfell Lake.
The place where dreams begin.
Naming the region sparked something in him—his memory seemed to shift. From that moment on, he could recall anything he had ever seen in the game, just by concentrating. Even last week's lunch, last month's lunch, last year's lunch on this exact date—all popped into his mind like notes in a journal, waiting to be read.
"???" You turn me into a Hilichurl and give me this lame ability? No thanks…
Climbing up the slope, he spotted a waterfall in the distance. The water wasn't fast or slow, and the closer he got, the louder the 'shhhhhh' became.
But Victor Wang wasn't focused on that. At the base of the waterfall, he saw a grove of Sunsettias. The emptiness in his stomach spurred his steps.
He picked one, washed it in the stream, and—though feeling weird—bit into it.
Aside from his belly being less empty, nothing else happened.
He ended up eating five Sunsettias.
He exhaled sharply, kicked the pile of discarded pits, and turned away.
Everyone knew the actual Genshin map was at least 60 times larger in real-world scale.
Victor Wang felt it was more than that. Judging direction by the sun and cross-referencing his mental minimap, he was sure he was going the right way. But by the time the sun was dipping toward the west, he had only just reached the shores of Starfell Lake.
He estimated it had taken three to four hours.
Unlike the tiny pond from the game, this lake truly deserved the title "lake."
Starfell Lake was vast but shallow, its waters crystal-clear. Shoals of black bass drifted within, like ghosts floating through air.
Victor Wang stepped into the lake and swam toward the island in the center.
Once ashore, he shook his head vigorously to fling off the water, then bowed his head in reverence and whispered silently to himself—Barbatos, Anemo Archon, Venti.
If I am the chosen one, please… give me a sign!
He slapped a hand onto the Statue of The Seven.
Nothing.
"Barbatos!"
Slap.
"Venti!"
Slap.
"Oh, Anemo Archon!"
Slap.
"Barba-toast!!!"
Slap.
A faint breeze brushed past, stealing away his hopes of gaining elemental powers from the statue.
He had read fanfics where people reincarnated as Hilichurls. Others where people crossed into Teyvat but didn't get a system.
But reincarnated as a Hilichurl without a system?
That was new.
No wonder they all got axed early… just like my fate.
No. It would appear. It would definitely appear…