NOVEL WEB Chapter 234: Unlucky Itto
If Arataki Itto could teleport to Natlan using the Statue of The Seven, wouldn't that save him a ton of Mora in travel costs?
"Traveler, Paimon, I'm coming too!"
No sooner said than done.
Once the idea hit, Arataki Itto dashed off to the hills outside Inazuma City.
He circled the Raiden Shogun's Statue of The Seven, unsure how to use it. He'd seen the Traveler teleport with it before—but he'd never actually done it himself.
"Uh, I want to go to Natlan. Send me there."
"..."
No response.
Okay, maybe that's not how it works.
He tried again.
"How about this? Fight me! If I win, you send me to Natlan!"
Still nothing.
Completely ignored. That Electro Archon sure was full of herself.
Next, Arataki Itto tried everything he could think of—kabuto battles at the statue's base, wrestling the statue, even offering it some Lavender Melons.
But no matter what he did, the statue didn't react at all.
Exhausted, he slumped against the base of the statue, bored out of his mind.
"If only big bro Kamisato were here. He might know how this thing works..."
Just as he was about to give up...
Suddenly.
A massive image made of Geo energy materialized in front of him.
He leaned in.
Wait—that's a map of Inazuma, right?
Then he saw the rest of the map—Liyue, Mondstadt... and several other nations and cities.
Bright markers of the Statues of The Seven were scattered all over the map.
But.
Arataki Itto only recognized Inazuma, Liyue, and Mondstadt.
As for where Natlan or Fontaine were? No clue.
"Hah! This is nothing. Shinobu once said Natlan's really far from Inazuma… So, the furthest Statue of The Seven must be Natlan!"
With confidence, he zoomed into the corner of the map—two statues sat far away from all the others.
Definitely Natlan.
Grinning from ear to ear, Arataki Itto burst out laughing.
"Ahahaha! Turns out I can use the Statues too! Traveler didn't even tell me! I wasted so much on travel before... Traveler! Paimon! I, Arataki Itto, am coming! Better build me a stage in advance!"
The next second, he selected the furthest Statue on the map.
Guided by its power, his body shimmered—and vanished.
Teleportation complete.
But...
Arataki Itto, being Arataki Itto, hadn't paid attention.
The statue he picked wasn't Natlan's Pyro Archon.
It was the Geo Archon's statue.
...
Itto felt himself drift into a strange, weightless space. He tried to open his eyes—but couldn't.
Was he not in Natlan yet?
Was the statue broken?
Suddenly—bam!
Like hitting a wall, he was yanked off course and intercepted by a Hollow Rift mid-teleport.
His body plummeted as if gravity suddenly kicked in.
Then—WHAM!
He slammed hard into the ground.
"Ow! Who ambushed the great Arataki Itto?!"
He opened his eyes to a dull gray sky—and immediately grinned.
Success!
He'd done it—teleported from Inazuma to Natlan using the Traveler's trick.
But before he could celebrate—
An iron rod came swinging at him.
Startled, Itto shouted,
"Who's there?! You wanna fight?!"
No time to dodge—he kicked the rod away mid-air, sprang up with a flip, and stood ready.
Now he could finally see his attacker.
A snarling, inhuman monster with a twisted face.
"A Hilichurl? Abyss creature?" he muttered.
Before he could decide, the monster recovered, gripped the iron rod, and charged at him with claws bared.
Annoyed now, Itto summoned his greatsword.
"Take this from the one and only Itto!"
One clean strike to the shoulder—and he split the thing in two.
"Wow, Natlan's wild. Monsters right outta the gate? Doesn't anyone manage this place?"
He used to grumble about Inazuma, but suddenly its public safety didn't seem so bad. At least Hilichurls didn't ambush you on the streets.
"Traveler! Paimon! I'm here to help with the monster cleanup!"
He shouted and stashed his sword, then looked around in confusion.
All the buildings nearby were in ruins—collapsed, shattered, like a deserted battlefield.
Even stranger—wasn't Natlan supposed to be full of tribal settlements? No cities?
What was with all these skyscrapers?
They didn't look tribal at all.
"Maybe... this is just how Natlan buildings look?"
He'd never been to Natlan, so he didn't question it much.
"Hello? Anyone there?"
"Traveler? Paimon? The Great Arataki Itto is here!"
He called out, but only echoes answered from the crumbling buildings. No voices. No signs of life.
Yup. Must be an abandoned village—maybe wiped out in a tribal war, or the people just moved on.
Time to search elsewhere for the Traveler and Paimon.
At least find someone alive to ask.
But before he could take a step—
Whoosh!
A giant iron door flew at him from afar.
He barely rolled aside in time.
"Again?! Who's throwing stuff at me?! What kind of manners does Natlan teach its monsters?! At least say hi before we start fighting!"
Furious, Itto unsheathed his greatsword and turned around.
Sure enough—another enemy was closing in.
It towered at least seven or eight meters tall. Horse from the waist down, and a grotesque human face above.
What was this thing?
No time to think—the creature charged.
Instinct kicked in. Itto swung his sword, clashing with the creature's arm—cleaving it clean off.
"Ha! Big body, but just bloated!"
But then—he blinked.
The severed arm was regrowing. Fast.
In seconds, it was back to normal.
"What the—?! Regeneration?!"
Meanwhile, the monster grabbed the same iron door from before, wielding it like a massive cleaver.
With a roar, it lunged straight at him.
But Itto didn't flinch.
Instead, he grinned wider.
"Now we're talkin'. A fight right at the start... This really is a combat nation!"
...