Genshin Impact:The one who likes to observe

Theo stirred awake, blinking groggily as he stretched his sore limbs. Every muscle in his body ached from yesterday's fight, but at least—

He was still alive.

"Ugh… just a few more minutes—"

His words trailed off as he felt something soft and squishy on his lap.

"…Huh?"

Rubbing his eyes, he slowly looked down—

And immediately froze.

A small white slime was curled up on his lap, sleeping peacefully.

Theo blinked.

"Wait a damn second."

He lightly poked the creature.

It jiggled slightly but didn't wake up.

Theo frowned. "Since when did Genshin have a white slime?"

As far as he remembered, there was no such thing in the game.

Anemo Slimes were light blue.

Geo Slimes were yellow.

Cryo Slimes were icy white, but they had blue patterns.

But this slime?

It was pure white.

Theo tilted his head.

"Weird… but kinda cute."

Curious, he carefully patted the slime.

It was soft, warm, and surprisingly comfortable.

For some reason, seeing it calmed him down.

A small chuckle escaped his lips.

"Well, if you don't have an owner, I'll take you in."

The white slime let out a small, sleepy chirp, nuzzling against his hand.

Theo smirked.

"Heh. Looks like I got myself a little companion."

But then, a thought struck him.

"Wait… yesterday, there were no other creatures around here except for those Hilichurls."

His gaze fell back to the slime.

"But aren't you a creature too?"

He asked the slime, half-expecting it to react.

Instead—

Silence.

The slime was still sleeping.

Theo let out a long sigh.

"Guess I'll wait for you to wake up then."

Minutes passed.

Theo stared at the tiny creature, watching its little body rise and fall with each breath.

Then—

His stomach growled.

"Ugh… I'm pretty hungry now. I should find some food around here."

At that moment—

The slime's eyes fluttered open.

It blinked slowly before looking up at Theo with a calm, nonchalant expression.

Theo stared.

The slime stared back.

Neither moved.

A few seconds passed.

Then—

Theo furrowed his brows, tilting his head.

"…You're not even surprised or panicking?"

The slime blinked.

Still no reaction.

Theo's lips curled into a grin.

"Woah. You're totally my style. I like you."

Curious, he leaned forward.

"Hey, do you have a name?"

A second later, he felt stupid.

"Ugh. What kind of dumb question is that? Of course, a slime wouldn't have a—"

Before he could finish his thought, the slime jumped off his lap and landed on the ground.

Theo watched as it bounced toward a nearby stick.

Then, using the stick, the slime carefully wrote a word in the dirt.

Eternal.

Theo's eyes widened.

"Whoa. You can write?!"

He blinked at the name before rubbing his chin.

"Eternal, huh? That's a bit long… How about I call you 'Et' instead? Short and easy, right?"

The slime jumped excitedly, as if nodding.

Theo chuckled.

"Alright then. Et it is."

He extended a hand.

"Nice to meet you, Et. I'm Theo Guan."

The slime tapped its stick against his hand in a makeshift handshake.

Theo smirked.

"Heh. Guess I've got myself a little partner now."

Theo stretched his arms, feeling the soreness in his muscles.

"Alright, buddy. We're officially friends now. How about we find some food and water? I feel exhausted."

At that moment—

Et's stomach rumbled.

Theo raised an eyebrow. "Huh. So even slimes get hungry?"

The tiny slime suddenly jumped onto Theo's shoulder, perching itself comfortably.

Theo sighed.

"What a lazy buddy you are. You don't even want to walk, huh?"

He paused.

"Wait… walk? You don't even have legs."

He let out a tired laugh. "I really need to see a doctor."

"Alright, let's go, Et."

After an hour of walking, Theo wiped the sweat from his forehead.

"Hey, Et… how come we haven't seen a single animal? We've only run into Hilichurls so far."

Et made a small hmph sound, seemingly agreeing with him.

Theo sighed.

"Seriously. Not even a squirrel? A boar? Nothing?"

They continued walking until—

Theo suddenly stopped.

A cliff blocked their path.

Theo stared at the drop below.

"Uh… Et? What do we do about this?"

The slime blinked at him.

Theo sighed again. "Figures."

Then, he suddenly recognized the area.

His eyes lit up.

"Wait a second. Isn't this… Taishan Mansion Domain?"

His gaze drifted toward the water below.

The entrance to the domain was still submerged, meaning no one had solved the puzzle yet.

Then, something clicked in his mind.

"Wait. Water?"

He suddenly grinned.

"Et. Close your eyes. This might be a bit uncomfortable for you."

The slime tilted its head in confusion.

Theo wrapped his arms around Et, hugging him close.

Et gave him a questioning look.

Then, Theo took several steps back—

Before suddenly sprinting forward.

"WOOHOO! LET'S GO SWIMMING, ET!"

The slime's eyes widened in horror.

PLUNK!

Both of them splashed into the water below.

SPLASH!

Cold water surrounded Theo as he plunged into the lake, bubbles escaping from his mouth.

His body floated weightlessly, the water muffling all sounds.

"Huh… kinda peaceful down here."

Then, a thought crossed his mind.

"Maybe there's fish or crabs?"

If he could find something edible, he wouldn't have to starve.

He scanned the lakebed, searching through the clear blue depths.

But after a few moments—

Nothing.

No fish. No crabs. Not even seaweed.

Theo sighed, exhaling a trail of bubbles.

"Ugh… of course, there's nothing."

Just as he was about to give up—

Something white and fluffy drifted in front of him.

Theo blinked.

A… sheep?

"What the hell?!"

The woolly creature floated lazily, bobbing up and down as if it didn't have a care in the world.

Theo stared.

The sheep stared back.

Neither moved.

Then—

Theo shook his head violently. "Wait, wait, wait. A sheep? In the water? Am I hallucinating?!"

He rubbed his eyes.

When he looked again—

The sheep was gone.

Theo blinked in confusion.

"Did I… just imagine that?"

Deciding not to question reality any further, he sighed.

"Whatever. Where's Et?"

He looked up—

And froze.

Et was floating above the water's surface, staring down at him with a deadpan expression.

Theo gulped.

"…Uh-oh.

Even without a mouth, Et's judgmental stare was loud and clear.

"Yup. He's mad at me."

Theo sighed, rubbing the back of his head.

"Okay, okay. I'll apologize later."

Then—

Something large moved in front of him.

Theo's eyes widened.

A big fish swam past, its silver scales shimmering in the sunlight filtering through the water.

His stomach grumbled.

Theo grinned.

"Oh-ho. My breakfast."

He slowly swam forward, keeping his movements gentle and controlled.

The fish glided through the water, unaware of the hungry human approaching it.

Theo reached out.

"Just a little closer…"

Blub. Blub.

His lungs burned.

Theo's expression twitched.

"Shit. I don't have enough air!"

Reluctantly, he kicked off the lakebed, propelling himself toward the surface.

As he neared the top, he took one last look at the fish.

"You got lucky this time, buddy. But I'll be back for you."

Then, with one final push—

Theo broke through the water's surface, gasping for air.

"BLERGH—!"

His wet hair stuck to his face, water dripping down his chin.

As he wiped his eyes—

He was met with Et's unimpressed stare.

Theo coughed awkwardly.

"...Still mad, huh?"

Et let out a low "Hmph," then turned away.

Theo sighed.

"Yeah, yeah, I deserve that."

He floated on his back, catching his breath as the lake's gentle waves rocked him.

His stomach growled again.

He glanced back down.

The fish was still there, swimming idly below him.

Theo's eyes gleamed.

"Alright, round two."

With renewed determination, he took a deep breath—

And dove back down.

(To Be Continued•••)