"Sumeru graduate students will never earn less than two hundred thousand a month.
If your salary ends up lower than that—come find little A-Luo. I'll make up the difference myself."
At the bustling docks of Port Ormos, a teenage boy stood up straight and declared this with absolute confidence to the Sumeru scholars gathered around him.
"Guys, you know I always speak honestly."
Ye Luo faced the scholars with a grand, exaggerated air.
Behind him hung a huge banner with bold characters:
[Luck won't change your pulls. Spending won't change your fate.
Ten years of hard study can't beat one day of proper consultation.]
Just then, a young girl pushed to the front of the crowd and raised her voice:
"Teacher, teacher! What if I want to study art?"
Ever since that hateful Grand Sage had been taken down by the Traveler and the gods, the old restrictions on civil arts had entirely disappeared.
Now Sumeru was even encouraging people to pursue the hobbies they truly loved, rather than binding themselves to the rigid doctrines of the old schools.
"That's wonderful news!"
Ye Luo slapped the table, eyes lighting up, and launched into a passionate speech.
"The Zubayr Theater Arts Academy is exactly the place for someone like you!"
"Zubayr Theater Arts Academy? Is that a new Darshan founded by the Akademiya? I've never heard of it…"
The girl blinked her big eyes, filled with doubt.
"The Zubayr Theater is a place dedicated to dance practice. You absolutely won't regret going."
Ye Luo dodged the question with perfect composure.
He wasn't lying—Port Ormos was the best place to learn dance.
After all, Nilou was there.
And after the Grand Sage fell, nearly all the famous dancers in Sumeru gathered there as well.
It was practically the holy land of Sumeru's performing arts now.
"Huh… that does make some sense."
"Yeah, and he's wearing the Akademiya scholar uniform. He probably wouldn't lie."
"The emblem looks like… the Rtawahist Darshan?"
Her question instantly opened the floodgates.
More scholars surged forward, surrounding Ye Luo and bombarding him with questions.
They were all students who hadn't yet earned the right to join the Akademiya, nor did they have the privilege of wearing a Darshan uniform.
To enter the Akademiya, one had to go through rounds of filtering by regional institutes first, then several layers of exams—
Even Ye Luo had been shocked when he first learned how complicated it all was.
"Isn't this just like the big institutions in my previous life…
Except the Akademiya is an absolute monopoly."
And unlike the game, where Sumeru scholars walked around everywhere, here you might not find one even among a thousand people.
Of course, Port Ormos was so crowded that plenty of Akademiya students passed through here.
"Um… senior, isn't this… not very appropriate?"
Layla tugged at Ye Luo's sleeve timidly.
This felt way too much like… pyramid selling.
And every time she looked at those scholars' eyes—
that bright, pure, inexplicably naive glow—
her conscience twisted painfully.
"Huh? What's inappropriate? I'm guiding them on the right path in life."
Ye Luo turned back, confused why she would say that.
He was clearly doing a good deed!
He was helping the Akademiya gain more creative-minded talent, instead of those old, void-staring, textbook-reciting robots.
"Can't you at least be more serious…"
Layla wanted to say it, but the words wouldn't leave her throat.
Even if she tried, her voice would be softer than a scratch on paper.
"Ahem! Does anyone else need consultation? If not, I'm closing shop!"
Ye Luo cleared his throat and shouted.
"Me! Me, teacher! I want to improve so badly!"
"Teacher, do you think I still have hope?!"
At that exact moment, Paimon and Lumine arrived at Port Ormos after finishing their errands—only to be greeted by this bizarre scene.
Both of them had question marks floating above their heads.
Sumeru scholars were always researching or on their way to research.
When would they ever gather like this?
"Should we go take a look?"
Paimon's eyes sparkled with curiosity.
She exchanged glances with Lumine, and the two rushed forward, afraid to miss some unexpected drama.
Before they even got close, they heard voices shouting strange things:
"Study hard for a hundred days—this year I'm getting into the Akademiya!"
"Some 985 schools aren't worse than vocational ones!"
"The Akademiya scholars are laughing. Coming from a normal institute, I really feel like crying!"
"…What are these weird sayings?"
Paimon held her head, completely lost.
"Paimon, what's written on the banner? Can you see?"
Lumine tiptoed, trying to look through the packed crowd.
No luck—her view was completely blocked.
"Um… the text is weird. 'Luck won't change your pulls… Spending won't change your fate'… What does that even mean?"
Paimon read the banner aloud.
The characters made sense individually, but together—nonsense.
"Just look at the last line."
Lumine muttered, half-remembering something familiar, though it was too annoying to explain.
Still, the strangeness caught her attention, and Lumine decided to stick around and gather information.
"Why are these scholars consulting him anyway? Can't they just study and get into the Akademiya normally?"
Paimon scratched her head.
"And he looks like he's from the Rtawahist Darshan. People from Mona's Darshan always talk in that cryptic way."
"Rtawahist…?"
Lumine frowned.
She'd never seen a consultation setup like this.
Rtawahist scholars studied the stars of Teyvat, not… whatever this was.
In fact, no Darshan scholar should have time for this nonsense.
They were always drowning in research.
So—what was this?
Lumine's gaze naturally sharpened as she quietly observed the crowd.
'They're… fired up. Almost like Paimon seeing a pile of Mora.'
A sudden thought struck her.
Don't tell me this is… a scam organization?!
She grabbed Paimon mid-air.
"Shh."
She was genuinely shocked—
Were scam groups now bold enough to operate right in front of the Akademiya's branches?
Maybe some remnants of the old sages were still hiding, trying to profit in chaotic Port Ormos…
"What's wrong?" whispered Paimon.
Lumine quietly told her the suspicion.
Paimon covered her mouth, horrified.
"Do we need to call the Matra first?!"
"It might be too late. Don't worry. I can deal with them."
Lumine squeezed forward with the crowd.
Paimon patted her chest:
"You've got me too, Lumine! I'll help in your hour of need!"
"You just—don't make things worse."
Before they could get close, a young Akademiya scholar burst out of the crowd and yelled at Ye Luo:
"Wait— I'm a real Akademiya graduate. But my salary isn't even close to two hundred thousand a month! Does that mean I can come get compensation from you?!"
Ye Luo froze mid-speech.
"…How long have I been running this stall? And you already graduated from the Akademiya?!"
Had Sumeru graduate degrees become this cheap?!
He squinted—
Ah. A scholar from the Haravatat Darshan.
Seriously, Faruzan!
Just because I refused to be your student, you don't have to destroy my business!
"I heard from Faruzan-senpai that the Rtawahist Darshan recently created a grant called the 'A-Luo Special Subsidy.'
Anyone with a monthly salary below two hundred thousand Mora can apply!"
The scholar coughed lightly and looked at Ye Luo with eyes that shone like he had just spotted a dancer in a tavern.
If he could get funding, his final experiment would succeed for sure!
Then he could finally prove to everyone that his research direction was correct!
"Subsi— Subsidy my foot! Listen up! This is your first lesson from Teacher A-Luo!"
Ye Luo sensed the danger.
Several real Akademiya scholars were already closing in.
He couldn't fight them, couldn't yell at them—
So he turned and ran.
He grabbed Layla's hand and bolted, shouting as he fled:
"Guys—I occasionally lie a little!!"
These scholars were insane!
Lack of research funding was like taking their lives.
Once funding dried up, there was nothing they wouldn't do!
"He's running! Paimon, let's catch him!"
Lumine summoned a sword and sprinted after him.
Ye Luo glanced back—and spotted that glowing blonde hair.
His eyes lit up. Finally—Traveler!
Wait, why did she look… hostile?
Why… Why was she holding an Iron Point sword?!
And—
WHY WAS SHE CHASING HIM?!
What about helping him, the NPC with the glowing blue exclamation mark?!
Panicking, Ye Luo ran faster.
[Ding— Contact with target detected: Traveler (Aether/Lumine).
Popularity System activated.]
This…
Was this his cheating ability?!
Ye Luo nearly burst into tears.
If he had known, he would've climbed mountains and crossed deserts just to find the Traveler in Mondstadt!
Advance Chapters available on Patreon
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