Genshin Impact: Villain Life Simulator

Lucas, half understanding, asked, "So you're saying... you can forge this sword?"

"Yes," Raiden Mai nodded. "Once I scan a weapon, I can analyze its materials and forging process."

This made Lucas recall that Raiden Mai's creator, Raiden Ei, was a renowned master blacksmith. It wasn't surprising that her automaton would inherit her knowledge and craftsmanship.

"In that case, you can spend your free time forging weapons," Lucas said with a nod. "When I find other rare items in the future, I'll bring them for you to examine too."

On the continent of Teyvat, where monsters roamed and adventurers abounded, the weapons industry was highly profitable.

However, the methods of forging quality weapons were often monopolized by major blacksmith shops, and acquiring raw materials from mines—like Liyue's famous "The Chasm"—required extensive financial resources and proper documentation. For most people, entering this lucrative industry was next to impossible.

But for Lucas, neither of these obstacles posed a problem. In terms of blacksmithing, Raiden Mai inherited the expertise of Raiden Ei. As for raw material extraction, all of the mines and quarries within the Serenitea Pot realm were his private property.

At that moment, Lucas had no idea that his offhand comment would eventually have a massive impact on Teyvat's blacksmithing industry.

...

After assigning tasks, Lucas exited the Serenitea Pot. 

Naturally, they couldn't stay in the Hilichurl camp, so they resumed their journey toward Mondstadt, driving the caravan onward.

As for the people who had been kidnapped, Lucas simply instructed his subordinates to untie them and let them go, ensuring they didn't reveal any information.

Fischl, of course, tagged along with Lucas's group. In her eyes, Lucas had already become the "prophesied Immortal King of the Undead." 

While this situation gave Lucas a headache, the other members of the caravan had no complaints. The strange young girl actually brought some amusement to the group. Plus, with Oz scouting ahead, their safety was significantly increased.

Not that safety was much of an issue anymore—with Lucas's current power, ordinary monsters or bandits posed little threat, unless they encountered a berserk Dvalin, the Stormterror Dragon.

Night fell quickly, and the caravan set up camp. After organizing the watch shifts, everyone settled down to rest.

Lucas, not one to assert his authority as the leader, took the first watch.

As he stared up at the sky full of stars and the bright crescent moon, the familiar voice of the system rang out.

[Master, you're slacking again. How about a run on the simulator?]

"Ugh, annoying!"

[I've only said two words, and you're already annoyed. I just want you to properly enjoy the simulator. All I ever see is you lazing around.]

"Alright, alright!" Lucas sat up. "I'm bored anyway, let's do it."

[Command received. Life Simulator is now starting.]

[Please choose three talents from the following options. At the end of the simulation, one will be randomly retained as a permanent talent.]

- Born into Power (Blue): You will be born into a very influential family.

- Prone to Weight Gain (White): You will gain weight even from drinking water.

- First Glass of Red Wine (Purple): After drinking the "first glass of red wine" from the opposite sex, you will gain extraordinary power. Having this talent will significantly increase certain desires. 

- Eternal Bloodline (Blue): After death, you will reincarnate as an infant from your own bloodline, retaining your memories. (This talent can only be activated once.)

- Foreign Scholar (Green): Your skin will become darker, but you will gain three opposite-sex companions while studying abroad.

- Very Brave (Green): You will be braver than most people in all situations.

- Keen Senses (Green): You have extraordinary hearing and sight, slightly increasing your critical hit and dodge rates.

- Pearl the Pony (Green): You will own a pony named "Pearl." She cannot be ridden but is excellent at writing essays.

- Ranged Mastery (Blue): You are naturally skilled with all ranged weapons.

- Bartender (Green): You are exceptionally skilled at mixing drinks with shady stuff.

"Another bunch of weird talents..."

However, Eternal Bloodline caught Lucas's attention. Its effect seemed somewhat similar to Try Again, as both involved a form of resurrection, though in different ways—one being a direct revival, and the other a rebirth.

Also, Born into Power sounded intriguing. Although it only altered his family background, the fact that it was rated as a blue talent suggested that the family wouldn't just be well-off—they'd be truly powerful.

"Let's go with that," Lucas thought. "I'll play the role of a rich young master this time, like Yujiro."

"Uh..." Lucas scratched his head. "Eternal Bloodline, Born into Power, and what's this First Glass of Red Wine...?"

Just as he was about to ask for clarification, the system abruptly responded.

[Talent selection complete. Generating character profile.]

"Wait, hold on!" Lucas interrupted. "I didn't mean to select that! I just wanted to ask what 'First Glass of Red Wine' means!"

[Isn't it obvious? It refers to a girl's first 'experience' of love.]

"So... you mean... first night? Why didn't you just say that?"

[If we said it outright, it could trigger censorship by certain unmentionable forces. Haven't you heard how Sensual Encounter got censored and became Mischievous Shiba Inu?] 

"So even the system has to deal with content reviews now, huh?" Lucas chuckled. "But I didn't mean to choose that talent!"

[Oh well, just be more careful next time. The character profile has already been generated, and it cannot be changed.]

"Damn system! You totally tricked me into choosing that!" Lucas muttered angrily.

[Tehee!]

"Tehee, my foot!"

[The life simulation is about to begin.]

[Age 0: You are about to be born into one of Mondstadt's three most influential families. Rolling the dice to determine your mother...]

- 1-2: Gunnhildr Family

- 3-4: Ragnvindr Family

- 5-6: Lawrence Family

"Rolling the dice to pick a mom? What the hell?"

Suddenly, a finely crafted six-sided dice appeared in front of Lucas, seemingly made of some sort of bone.

"Didn't we usually get to choose this ourselves?" Lucas asked, confused. "Why are we using dice now?"

[First, it adds an element of unpredictability to the simulation. Second, don't you think it's absurd for an unborn baby to choose which family they're born into?]

"I think rolling a dice to pick a mom is even more absurd!"

Despite his frustration, Lucas knew he couldn't change the system's rules, so he rolled the dice after shaking it in his hand.

The Gunnhildr family was a noble house, the Ragnvindr family was incredibly wealthy, and the Lawrence family... well, they were like a bunch of outcasts.

"Just please, anything but the Lawrence family! I'm begging you, dice gods!"

According to the famous Murphy's Law, if something can go wrong, no matter how unlikely, it will go wrong.

Lucas didn't believe in it before.

But now, looking at the dice with the number "6" face-up in front of him, he couldn't help but curse under his breath.

Although the Lawrence family was indeed one of Mondstadt's three great families, and a thousand years ago, it had even surpassed the other two families in wealth and wielded enormous power over Mondstadt's life and death, that was ancient history. 

A millennium ago, under the leadership of the warrior woman Vennessa of Natlan, the Lawrence family's rule was overthrown.

Though they weren't completely destroyed, their former influence was entirely gone, and their descendants became known as the "Bloodline of Sinners," shunned by all.

In other words, this so-called Born into Power talent didn't bring any benefits to Lucas. Instead, he was born into infamy.

[Age 0: You are born into Mondstadt's prestigious Lawrence family. Your father, Ingobert Lawrence, is the head of the family. As the second son of the family head, your birth garnered little attention. There was no celebration or blessings—because you are an illegitimate child.]

[Your mother is a simple and kind maid, responsible for feeding the horses and cleaning the stables. Your birth was merely the result of one of Ingobert's drunken whims.]

[To the Lawrence family, still powerful in Mondstadt, this was no more than a trivial matter. Ironically, your father, Ingobert, can easily distinguish between his thirteen prized horses but doesn't even know your mother's name.]

[Nonetheless, the "noble" seed took root in "lowly" soil. Driven by maternal instinct, your mother was determined to give birth to you. However, due to her frail health and lack of nutrition, you were born prematurely at seven months. As a premature baby, you didn't even have the strength to cry.]

[Your birth was quickly brought to the attention of the family head, Ingobert. He actually came to see you—your frail body resembling a hairless pup, your nearly transparent skin revealing your internal organs.]

[Perhaps out of idle curiosity, or because he didn't believe you would survive, Ingobert unusually permitted your existence. You became the only baby in the Lawrence family not to receive a family blessing.]

Something's off...

Lucas was puzzled. According to common knowledge, the Lawrence family had long fallen from power. How could they still be described as "influential"?

Could this be another case of the simulator's timeline diverging from reality?

[Age 1: Against the odds, you managed to survive. Your vitality was astonishingly strong. Lacking milk, your mother fed you horse milk. Without proper clothing, you slept peacefully on a bed of straw.]

[Age 2: You started to become aware of your surroundings and asked your mother who your father was. Each time, she told you that your father was the most powerful man in Mondstadt. You didn't fully understand what that meant at your young age, but you still held some hope for your "father."]

[Age 3: You met your father for the first time—a tall, handsome, middle-aged man with a short beard. However, he only remembered that he had a bastard child in the stables by pure coincidence.]

[Ingobert had assumed you would have died by now, but to his surprise, you were not only alive but healthy. He didn't care much, though, as he already had a legitimate son two years older than you.]

[Unlike you, your half-brother, named "Parsifal," was the legitimate heir of the Lawrence family and destined to be the future head.]

[Still, you were Ingobert's blood, and he seemed to sense some potential in you. He decided you should receive formal education. However, your mother remained nameless, and you had no right to inherit the Lawrence surname.]

[He gave you a name, seemingly out of casual thought: "Eberhart." In Old Mondstadtian, a language only the Lawrence family still used, the name means "Child of Chance."]

"Eberhart?"

The name sparked a memory in Lucas.

For many Genshin Impact players, the name "Eberhart" might be obscure. It was the same for Lucas, as it only appeared in snippets of lore within quests and weapon descriptions.

But two things vaguely stood out in his mind.

First, Eberhart was a noble from Mondstadt a thousand years ago.

Second, Eberhart wasn't a member of the Lawrence family.

Of course, the simulator's narrative often diverged from reality, as Lucas's previous experiences had shown—there was always about a 30% chance of things being altered.

For instance, in the simulator, Shenhe had lived with her family, Lucas had inexplicably become the "Doctor," and Jean was severely injured during the battle against Stormterror—things that didn't align with actual events.

However, the simulator's changes weren't entirely baseless. From the information gathered so far, it seemed likely that the reason the Lawrence family retained their power in this scenario was because... the simulator was set a thousand years in the past.

Great. Last time, the timeline was thrown back five hundred years. Now, it's a full millennium.

[Age 4: You began receiving aristocratic education alongside other Lawrence children. As the most powerful family in Mondstadt, the Lawrence children could never be educated alongside the common rabble.]

[Your status as a bastard quickly became known. After all, while the other children practiced writing the Lawrence name in elegant script, you were excluded.]

[Your clothing was less luxurious, your stationery less refined, and they mockingly called you the "Stable Master's Son."]

[However, your half-brother Parsifal was always kind to you. Unlike the other noble children, he didn't look down on you with scorn.]

[You admired the other children—especially your brother. Back in your quarters, you asked your mother what you had to do to become a true noble like them.]

[With a gentle touch on your cheek, your mother comforted you: "Eberhart, you only need to do one thing—endure. No matter what happens, endure, and one day, you will get everything you desire."]

[Age 5: Your mother's words remained etched in your heart. You knew that the key to restoring your noble status lay in gaining your father's recognition.]

[So, you threw yourself into your studies and trained in martial arts with equal determination.]

[Age 6: Mondstadt's nobles considered spears to be the weapons of slaves. Only swords symbolized their noble status. The Lawrence family was no exception. The swordsmanship taught by your instructors was less of a combat skill and more of a ceremonial dance.]

[Compared to the other noble children, you had one great advantage—you were hardworking. For every move they practiced once, you practiced five or ten times. Even the instructors who looked down on you as a bastard began to appreciate your dedication.]

[Age 7: You were confident that your swordsmanship would finally earn your father's approval. But to your dismay, you discovered that your brother Parsifal was a natural-born genius. Despite never practicing as hard as you, his skill far surpassed yours.]

[Time and time again, you challenged your half-brother, only to be soundly defeated every time. You began to realize that in terms of swordsmanship, you would never surpass him.]

[Age 8: The Lawrence family was hosting a youth swordsmanship tournament. This was your perfect chance to prove yourself to your father. However, you were destined to be nothing more than Parsifal's shadow.]

[To Parsifal, winning this tournament was a trivial matter, but for you, it was your only chance to change your fate. Therefore, you decided to...]

[1: Enter the competition honorably.]

[2: Resort to trickery.]

In situations like this, trickery was clearly the only option.

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