Genshin Impact : I became a Traveler?

Another World, Earth

Inside a Workspace

'This time, I'm going to play the Final CBT of the game that's about to be released—none other than Genshin Impact!'

'Alright then, let's try out this Final CBT now!' said a streamer to their viewers.

The streamer then entered a special game ID, which was used to access the exclusive CBT server provided by Hoyoverse.

After entering the game, the character used was automatically Lumine, which applied to all CBT participants.

At that moment, Lumine's position was next to a Teleport Waypoint in Starfell Valley.

'It looks like we're here again.' Said the streamer.

The reason they said this was that, in several previous CBT they had participated in, the starting point was always this place.

'The testing duration for this CBT is longer… Well, that makes sense since this is the final one.' said the streamer while checking the testing time, which showed nearly three hours.

The streamer then started moving the character toward the quest destination, which was none other than Starfell Lake. As they entered the forest, one of the viewers pointed out that something seemed off about it.

'Something's wrong?'

They then moved the camera to get a broader view.

'You're right. This forest wasn't this big before. But now, its size has increased at least three times or more.'

'And look, the pond beneath the waterfall, which used to be small, is now much larger.'

The streamer moved character closer to the waterfall. As the character approached, she got splashed with water and entered the Wet status.

'Did Hoyoverse add details like that?'

'It's just like when we're near a real waterfall—we'd get splashed too.'

'Not only that, look at the current created by the falling water. It looks strong.'

'Hmm?'

'You want me to try swimming?'

'What a coincidence, I was thinking of doing that too.'

The streamer then made character jump into the pond beneath the waterfall. And the jumping position she took was right where the swift current was, which meant right where the water was falling from above.

As soon as she hit the water, the character was immediately carried away by the current, drifting far from the starting position toward the center of the pond.

Then, the streamer tried to make character swim back to her original position, only to feel a strong resistance as she struggled against the current.

Eventually, the character ran out of stamina and drowned.

They did all of this on purpose, wanting to see just how much detail Hoyoverse had put into the game's development—and it had far exceeded their expectations.

'That's exactly like real life.' they said

After the character respawned, they continued following the quest, which directed them to Starfell Lake. However, to their surprise, the distance to the location had increased.

Previously, it would only take around thirty seconds of running from the Teleport Waypoint to the quest destination.

But now, even after five minutes had passed—running, stopping to recover stamina, then running again—they still hadn't arrived.

During this time, the streamer also answered some questions from their viewers.

'It looks like this is your first time watching a CBT stream of this game. For those of us invited to try the CBT, we only need to download the client and have a fast internet connection to play it smoothly.'

'Compared to the previous CBTs, the world of Teyvat in this version seems to have expanded several times over. I can't even imagine how big the game size will be when it officially releases.'

'Ah, look, we've arrived. From that cliff, we should be able to see Mondstadt.'

Then, a cutscene played—Lumine, accompanied by Paimon, gazed into the distance at Mondstadt, which was still shrouded in mist.

This scenery looks truly stunning. Not only are the characters in the game amazed, but the streamer and the viewers are also in awe of this view.

'Hoyoverse seems to be going all out on this game.'

'This scenery is completely different from the previous CBT. Do you see that lake with the red glow?'

'That lake used to be so small that it should have been called a pond rather than a lake. But now, it has grown significantly and truly fits its name.'

'And look at the lake in the distance along with the city on an island within it. That is Mondstadt, and its size seems to have grown several times larger, including the lake itself.'

'I'm sure it's not just Mondstadt that will be expanded, but all the regions in the game.'

'Which means we still have six more regions that haven't been revealed yet. Now, just imagine how large Genshin Impact's size will be in the end.'

After saying that, the streamer began moving the character towards the Statue of The Seven.

After obtaining the Anemo element, the mission was complete, and all CBT testers were free to do whatever they wanted.

For these players, if they were asked to compare it with the previous CBT version, their answer would be that it couldn't be compared at all.

Because this CBT version is simply perfect, and they can't list everything because there are so many improvements, and they haven't even found a single bug.

In the end, the testing period was coming to a close, and out of all the CBT testers, not a single one finished the test early.

'I still feel like I haven't played enough. And now, I have to wait two months before I can play it again.'

'Damn it, Hoyoverse, can't you speed up the official release schedule?'

'Minimum specs and game size?'

'That hasn't been officially announced yet. Once it's revealed, I'll buy a new PC just to play this game.'

'Because I'm sure that for an area that vast and graphics that good, the game will take up a considerable amount of space. And to play it smoothly, a high enough spec will definitely be required.'

'After this, I'll take a break. I'll continue streaming tonight, so see you then.'

But then, just as the testing time reached zero, a cutscene appeared.

'Um, let's watch this first.'

The cutscene began with a man and a woman—twin siblings with blonde hair—attempting to leave Teyvat.

'Wait, there's a male character?'

'I thought all this time only the female character would be the protagonist.'

As they reached the gateway to another world and were about to leave, cracks suddenly appeared in space, and from those cracks emerged a woman with white hair, floating in the air.

[Your journey ends here, Outlanders!] said the white-haired woman.

[Who are you?] asked the blonde-haired woman.

[I am the Sustainer of Heavenly Principles. The arrogance of humanity will end here.]

In the white-haired woman's hand, a small red cube appeared. In the next moment, the red cube expanded beneath the twins feet, growing immensely large.

The younger sister immediately leaped away, while the older brother remained in place—not because he didn't react, but because he had done so intentionally.

The older brother stomped his foot on the ground, and light surged forth, shattering the red cube.

'Wow, he seems really strong!'

The younger sister then returned to her brother's side, though she avoided his gaze as he looked at her.

[Arrogant?]

[Shouldn't that be my line?]

[What business do you have stopping us from leaving this planet? Besides, we are not from this planet.]

[So we are free to go wherever we want, and that has nothing to do with you.]

'What the man said is true. This woman, who looks like Kiana, is a bit arrogant.'

[Hmph!]

The white-haired woman did not continue speaking and instead began attacking them again with the red cubes, but this time, the cubes transformed into chains.

[This is ridiculous!]

The younger sister shouted as fairy-like wings appeared on her back. From their disconnected structure, it was clear that the six wings were a product of advanced technology.

She then began flying, while her older brother also took to the air. Like the white-haired woman, he did not need wings to fly.

The red cubes launched toward them. The younger sister dodged swiftly, while the older brother counterattacked with a sword that had appeared in his hand at some point.

The younger sister spun through the air, continuously evading, while the older brother advanced toward the white-haired woman to strike her.

Boooom!

As an explosion occurred, the red cubes that had been chasing the younger sister suddenly vanished. She now hovered idly in the air.

[Is it over?]

Then, as the smoke from the explosion cleared, the white-haired woman was revealed to have blocked the older brother's powerful attack with a barrier she had created with one hand.

She glanced from the corner of her eye at the younger sister, who had stopped moving in the air. Then, with her other hand, she created a small cube, similar to the first one, and sent it toward the younger sister.

[Oh no, Lumine!]

But this time, since she was too far away, the younger sister—whose name was Lumine—reacted a bit too slowly and was quickly captured by the cube.

Just before she was completely trapped, the older brother heard his sister's weak and frightened voice.

[Aether Nii-san, Help me!]

[Damn it, let go of my sister!]

Aether then released his sword, and an intense light radiating immense heat began to form in his hands.

He struck the barrier with a powerful punch, instantly shattering it into pieces. The white-haired woman was forced to retreat slightly, but Aether, now in a state of rage, immediately pursued her.

Seeing Aether relentlessly chasing her, the woman showed no emotion and began forming red cubes again, this time in the shape of chains.

Then, in a classic one-on-one battle sequence, they closed the distance and began attacking each other with full force.

Boooom!

The screen then went black.

'Ooh, f***k!'

That was the only thing uttered by everyone watching the cutscene.

'What the hell is this? The brother is insanely OP!'

'Why did Hoyoverse suddenly introduce the brother?'

'What does this mean?'

The screen then turned white again, displaying character introductions and playable modes, accompanied by cheerful music.

[Lumine]

[The younger sister of Aether, she has always been protected by her incredibly strong brother. Because of this, she never felt motivated to become stronger, knowing her brother would always protect her.]

[After being sealed away and separated from her brother, she finally gained the resolve to grow stronger so that she would no longer be a burden to him in battle.]

[Playable Mode: Easy]

[Aether]

[The older brother of Lumine, he is highly protective of his younger sister. He is incredibly strong, and since their interstellar journey began, no one has ever been able to defeat him.]

[Until they arrived in Teyvat, where his sister was sealed away by an unknown woman. He, too, was ultimately sealed, despite putting up a fierce fight.]

[Playable Mode: Hard]

'We can play in two different modes?'

'Why does the brother get Hard Mode?'

'Is it because he's too strong?'

'What exactly is Hard Mode?'

Many people were questioning why Aether received Hard Mode and what it actually meant, but in the end, they received no answers.

After a few minutes of character introductions, the screen changed again. This time, it displayed the system requirements for playing Genshin Impact.

Seeing the minimum and recommended specs, the audience was shocked.

The requirements were surprisingly low, considering all the graphical and technical excellence showcased during the CBT. Because of this, speculation arose about whether the official release would truly match what was seen in the CBT.

In the end, everyone agreed that the truth would only be revealed when Genshin Impact was officially released globally in 60 days.