I’m Doomed! I Got Trapped in a Dream! [4]

At that moment, Amber — who had just abruptly materialized out of thin air — still looked a bit out of place.

Her textures had loaded, but the lighting hadn’t caught up yet. The red of her outfit was a flat, solid red. The whites were pure, detail-less white. Her exposed skin was a single unshaded tone of flesh — like someone had slapped different images onto a blank canvas without blending them. Her entire appearance clashed with the environment around her.

But it didn’t last long. Within less than a second, the lighting effects finished rendering. Gradations of shadow and light fell naturally across her form, and at last, she looked like a proper person.

By the time she emerged from the brush and stepped into Paimon’s line of sight, she had become fully integrated — no longer a jarring texture paste-up, but a living, breathing girl.

But because Chen Mo had sprinted ahead earlier, he saw her load in with his own eyes. He watched as the now-complete Amber dashed toward him from a distance.

She sprinted to the edge of a large rock, then leapt — the agile silhouette of a young girl cutting a perfect arc through the air.

Chen Mo instinctively looked up to follow her motion, his gaze lifted by the grace of her movement.

Her not-yet-fully-developed curves, that lively midair form of an Outrider Knight, framed against Mondstadt’s pure blue sky and vibrant greenery — for a moment, it made a truly picturesque sight. A fleeting moment of beauty etched itself into Chen Mo’s mind.

Amber’s lovely form grew larger and larger in his vision until—

“Ow!”

She collided with him.

And that’s the thing — actually being in the world is nothing like watching it on a screen.

In the game, maybe you’d appreciate Amber’s design during the cutscene. But no way would you ever get tackled midair and end up face-planting into the dirt with her.

But Chen Mo did.

Now he was curled up on the ground groaning in pain, having just been flattened by a flying Amber.

“Ah—oww… What the hell… You just loaded in, how can you already be that heavy…”

“May the Anemo Archon bless you, stranger.”

Just like in the original game scene, Amber’s voice was sweet and bright — except this time, she was talking to thin air.

Just like Paimon, the NPC Amber didn’t react at all to events outside the scripted scene.

Even after tripping over Chen Mo and crashing down herself, she simply stood up while reciting her lines, completely ignoring the dirt and grass clinging to her clothes. She didn’t even bother to brush herself off.

Honestly, if you hoisted her over your shoulder and carried her off right now, she’d probably still throw her arm out dramatically and declare, “I’m Amber, Outrider for the Knights of Favonius!”

And if her arm happened to smack you in the face while flailing? Well, tough luck.

“You’re not a citizen of Mondstadt, are you? Then state your identity.”

NPC Amber posed the scripted question, still facing nothing in particular.

“Relax, we’re not suspicious people!”

Paimon, floating nearby, waved both hands anxiously, trying to explain.

“Suspicious people always say that.”

...

While the two NPCs went on with their performance, Chen Mo remained sprawled on the ground, unmoved.

In fact, he’d even shifted positions, propping his head up with one hand like some reclining Buddha, watching the scene unfold from this very un-heroic angle with great interest.

He was completely thrown off by the live loading and air-conversation mechanics. There was no way he could immerse himself in the role of the Traveler anymore. He was just a bystander now, watching the cutscene unfold like theater.

“I wonder what NPCs are actually made of…”

Chen Mo raised his head, looking up at Amber’s back. She stood right in front of him, facing away.

“Aren’t game models supposed to be hollow? Just a skin wrapped over nothing? I mean, I saw her load in — she was literally just a texture…”

“But then how did she slam into me like a sack of bricks?”

As he mused, he reached out and slapped the back of her calf with his left hand.

Slap. Slap.

His palm bounced back with a very real, very solid sensation — even the texture of her leather boots felt genuine.

“Whoa, solid?”

Now curious, Chen Mo stopped slapping and started gently feeling around her calf, his hand gliding along the surface as he tested the tangible weight and shape of this very realistic girl’s leg.

“…Huh. That’s weird. I swear she was just a skin…”

He paused for a moment, then tightened his grip slightly, giving her leg a light squeeze.

Then he sat up. Gave her thigh a squeeze too.

Then — for science — tried a different spot.

“Ohhh! I get it now.”

After a few more test pokes, Chen Mo suddenly smacked her calf again with enthusiasm, a light of realization in his eyes.

“I’m a model too! I’m just a skin! That’s why she was able to knock me over!”

“Uh… so, by your logic, everyone in this world is just a texture wrapped over a skeleton…?”

“Mhm. Just a guess,” Chen Mo nodded, continuing to poke Amber’s thigh. “Not sure yet. I’ll need to do more testing.”

He hadn’t even thought about who was asking the question — it just felt like an NPC line, so he answered without much thought, just to pass the time.

“Hm… that’s actually quite a clever theory. Genius, even. Bold and a bit unorthodox, sure, but surprisingly plausible.”

“Right? I thought so too. Eh?… Wait a second—”

Chen Mo froze.
Something didn’t feel right.

“Hold up. You’re talking to me?!”

He whipped his head around, and sure enough — someone was standing there.

A petite girl he hadn’t seen before.

She had delicate elf-like ears and silky white hair with faint green ombré at the ends. She wore a white, petal-shaped dress lined with golden patterns, and her feet were wrapped in soft, fitted white stockings.

Her face carried a gentle, warm smile. And when she noticed Chen Mo looking her way, those bright green four-leaf-clover pupils blinked at him playfully.

Adorably.

“Y-you—you… Nahida?! What are you doing here?!”

Of course Chen Mo recognized her.
It was Nahida.
But this was Mondstadt’s main storyline!

“Huh? You even know my name?”

Nahida tilted her head, slightly surprised at his over-the-top reaction.

She’d been confined in the Sanctuary of Surasthana for 500 years. Even people living in Sumeru only knew of the Lesser Lord Kusanali by title. Almost no one had ever seen her true form.

And yet this young man had not only recognized her on sight, but had called out her human name — “Nahida,” the name she herself had chosen — rather than her divine title “Buer,” or even “Lesser Lord Kusanali".

And the way he said it, so naturally, like they were already acquainted… That was even stranger.

Who exactly is this person? Where did he come from? What kind of connection does he have to Sumeru… and to me?

Nahida focused, beginning to search her mind for anything she might know about him.

---

T/N: WHAT DID HE TOUCH?? AND IN FRONT OF NAHIDA

This is a fan translation of 完蛋！我被锁在梦里了 by 六轩岛润人芙宁娜. All rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!