Dotore from Genshin Impact is my teacher

(Fun fact: Devil Scales is based on ALS, a real-life form of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.)

People gathered around, cheering and applauding simple, childish games like ring toss and slingshots. Cole couldn't understand it at first. No matter how well you played these little games, how much food could you actually hunt outside the city?

But the girl accompanying him threw herself into it with great enthusiasm, cheering and jumping for joy at every victory, distributing her prizes to the children. Cole didn't understand. If it wasn't for the rewards, why participate in these activities? Was there really some fun in them?

She sneaked to a corner, picked up a slingshot and tried her hand at it—and as a result, one out of more than ten shots hit the edge of the target.

"I won!" Cole turned around excitedly. "Hey! Look!"

Only then did she realize that she had been so engrossed in it for a long time, and the girl in red was long gone. In the days that followed, Cole became even more absorbed in her practice, gradually becoming familiar with the sounds of drawing the string and throwing the dart. She practiced for a long time until she rarely missed a shot out of more than ten.

Every time Cole drew her bow, she would recall the excitement of hitting her target for the first time that night. And the warmth of the girl's hand as she pulled her along towards the crowd, as comforting as the sun.

(In an attempt to save Cole, Cole's mother entrusted him to missionaries of the Fools who claimed to be able to cure the Demon Scale Disease, resulting in Cole suffering inhumane treatment. After entrusting Cole to the Fools, she repeatedly went to look for him, but was eventually killed by the impatient Fools.)

(I think the reason I don't use a knife is because I've been through too much hardship and my heart is as hard as stone.)

(However, Cole's situation was truly tragic, given his birth in Dortole! He even took advantage of the naive Chen Xi to achieve his goals.)

……

……

Sumeru City, the main city of Sumeru, is located in a large rainforest in the eastern part of Sumeru. It is a city built around a huge sacred tree and has a multi-layered structure.

The wellspring of all wisdom on earth.

Beneath the sacred tree, with its lush foliage, the sages of the Citadel have spread throughout all knowledge. Welcome to Mount Sumeru, traveler seeking answers.

Sumeru City is built upon a massive "sacred tree" and has a multi-layered structure, nestled in the rainforest and surrounded by ancient trees and waterways. The lowest level is the Grand Bazaar, home to the Adventurers' Guild, the Zuber Theater, the Puspa Café, and more; the middle section is the Papal House; and the top level is the Pure Palace, the palace of the grass goddess Naxida/Buyer.

Chen Xi was unfamiliar with Sumeru, so he relied on the "scholar" to find the Pure Good Palace where the Little Grass God was imprisoned. Azar was waiting for the two of them at the door, looking anxious.

Azhar is a great sage of the Sumeru Canon, the current highest-ranking official of the Canon, one of the instigators of the "God-Making Project," and belongs to the Minglun faction.

His voice was old and weak, as if he were about to die: "You have finally returned. Quickly, our god will soon be created."

Chen Xi rolled her eyes at Hazard, that blasphemous old man, with a hint of annoyance.

Hazard was already anxious, and Chen Xi's behavior only made him angrier: "What do you mean?"

Chen Xi, unfazed, put his arm around the "scholar's" arm, indicating their close relationship: "I despise your behavior! You even imprisoned such a cute little grass god, what a disgrace! Watch out, a red-clad female ghost might come to claim your life in the middle of the night! You dog sage!"

As a great sage, who has ever insulted Hazard like this? Pointing at Chen Xi, he said, "Is this how your country treats its partners?"

Chen Xi switched to confrontational mode: "Watch your words and attitude. It's you who need the help of the Fools, not the other way around. If you need someone, you should have the proper attitude. What are you being so arrogant about?"

The "scholar" also chimed in, deliberately trying to embarrass Azar: "If this is the attitude of the Great Sage, then I think we don't need to waste our precious time cooperating with you. There are still many unfinished experiments in Winterfall Kingdom, let's go back first."

"Okay!" Chen Xi took his arm and turned to walk back.

Hazard didn't want the "god-making project" to end like this, so he called out to the two: "Wait, I was wrong just now. I hope your country will not sever cooperation. We can discuss things."

In fact, the "scholars" did not want to end the "deification project," but simply wanted to see the high and mighty Sage of the Church humbly beg them for help. Now their goal has been achieved.

In a good mood, he pulled Chen Xi into his arms and kissed her on the cheek in front of the stubborn old man, Hazard.

Hazar was furious, his face flushed red, but he was helpless. Neither of them were scholars from the Council of the Fathers; they were executors of the Fools, and he couldn't afford to offend them. He could only watch helplessly as he was fed a mouthful of dog food (a Chinese slang term for being shown affection in public).

"Scholar": "Didn't you want to see him?"

"Where is he?" Chen Xi asked, her eyes wide with anticipation for his answer. If he had a tail attached to his back, it would wag incessantly.

"Scholar": "I'll take you there, but once we get there you can't touch anything. You have to listen to me."

"Okay! I'll do whatever you say!" Chen Xi was extremely excited, her whole body was in high spirits.

……

A secret workshop hidden in a forest cave, its entrance exposed by a violent impact. The seed of "Transcendence" once sprouted within, almost bursting forth from the ground…

The Pure Glass Workshop is located outside Sumeru City, very close by.

The "scholar" was a local, so he walked half the distance to find the Jingli Glass Workshop.

Pushing open the heavy door, we entered the Jingli Glass Workshop, which has many floors and a structure similar to a mechanical forging workshop.

On the way to the laboratory, they could see many soldiers of the Fools guarding the area. As the two passed by, they would nod to them as a sign of respect for the executor.

Most of the guards who can approach the laboratory are from the upper ranks; lower-ranking guards are not qualified to set foot here because of their lower rank—only those of sergeant rank or above are allowed. These upper-ranking guards are also elites with higher combat capabilities, and most of them are lieutenant officers.

The Jingli Glass Workshop has many mechanisms, but they are not particularly complex. With the "scholar" as a professional, they can easily solve them.

Most of what comes into view are experimental equipment, followed by mechanical parts, and finally the "God of the Main Machine," which occupies the largest area and consumes the most resources.

————Not part of the main text————

Hahaha! It's holiday time! Everyone, laugh!

They handed out a huge stack of test papers, over 100 in total, hahaha! I'll remember my teachers for the rest of my life!

They give out a dozen or so test papers for each subject, about 100 for nine subjects, that's pretty good. It's only been a week, but it feels like summer vacation. I don't know what the point of this vacation is; it's basically just changing where we do our homework.

When school starts, I'll choose my major: all humanities. At least I can understand humanities subjects. As for science subjects, I can only understand chemistry to a certain extent; physics and biology are completely beyond my grasp. This stupid school doesn't offer a hybrid humanities/science program, so I have no choice but to choose all humanities.