'No need to be so polite. Blame this damned lake—it's way too deep.' Shao Yun glanced at the nearby Statue of The Seven. 'I won't bother you—go check it out. Didn't you say you felt something strange from this statue?'
Not wanting to interfere with the storyline, Shao Yun deliberately moved to a corner, a bit farther away from the statue.
He quietly watched as Lumine obtained the power of Anemo.
He quietly watched as Lumine practiced manipulating the wind.
"Wow, Traveler, you're amazing! You got your powers so easily. For people in this world, being able to use elemental powers is not something simple."
"Maybe... it's because you're not from this world," Lumine murmured, eyes lowered in thought.
Paimon caught sight of Shao Yun idling nearby and waved. "Oh right, Shao Yun..."
"What's up?"
"Don't you want to give it a try? Maybe you can use Anemo too," Paimon said, pointing toward the statue.
Shao Yun waved his hand dismissively. "Nah, I practically touched every inch of that statue earlier and got zero reaction. Looks like I've got no fate with elemental powers. This is enough for me."
He patted the revolver at his waist.
"It's alright! The Traveler and I will protect you!" Paimon puffed out her chest with utmost confidence.
"Hahaha, then I'll count on you." Shao Yun shrugged. Seemed like, in their eyes, without elemental power, he was no different from a regular NPC.
They were about to leave the small island on Starfell Lake. Lumine glanced at the water, a hint of hesitation flashing across her face—just enough for Shao Yun to notice.
"Need me to carry you across the lake?" Shao Yun offered, extending a hand.
"Emmm... sorry to trouble you." Lumine awkwardly reached out.
"No problem." He picked her up and waded across.
…
Originally, Lumine and Paimon had suggested making a fire to dry Shao Yun's clothes, but Shao Yun found it troublesome. He figured the wind would dry them soon enough—no need to go through all that.
After crossing Starfell Lake, they needed to pass through Whispering Woods to reach Mondstadt.
The forest was huge—far larger than in the game. This was a real forest, not a small patch of trees. Sometimes there were paths, sometimes not. One moment they had to climb rocks, the next they had to push through bushes.
Lumine and Paimon led the way while Shao Yun followed behind, feeling more than a little useless.
"Maybe... I should take the lead."
Shao Yun patted Lumine on the shoulder and the two swapped positions. He also helped pluck a leaf stuck on her head.
"This..." Lumine started to say something.
"Come on, I may not have elemental powers, but I'm not crippled. Besides, trailblazing is all about stamina—that's my domain." Shao Yun gave a confident thumbs-up.
"Emmm, how about this," Lumine compromised, "we take turns leading the way, so no one gets too tired."
"Good idea."
And so, they alternated leading the way—which did save them quite a bit of energy.
…
When it was Lumine's turn up front, Shao Yun could already make out the outline of Mondstadt nestled by Cider Lake through the gaps in the trees.
'Looks like we're getting close to Mondstadt,' Shao Yun thought to himself.
If he remembered correctly, the next event should be Barbatos purifying Dvalin.
Speak of the devil—just then, a dragon's roar echoed through the sky. A massive dragon flew overhead, kicking up a powerful gust of wind.
"Ahhh! I'm gonna get blown away!" Paimon was swept off her feet by the gust. Thankfully, Shao Yun was quick to react and caught her arm in time, preventing a dramatic midair spin.
"You alright, Paimon?" Lumine rushed over instantly to check for injuries.
"I'm fine. Just... my head's a little dizzy from the wind." Paimon patted her pudgy cheeks.
"Good..." Lumine, relieved, turned her gaze toward the direction the dragon had flown.
Shao Yun couldn't believe it—he'd just thought about the Barbatos-Dvalin scene and it really happened.
The three of them crept forward, pushing aside the bushes and hiding behind a large tree. They peeked out—and witnessed a breathtaking scene.
A green-clad bard—Barbatos, a.k.a. Venti—was speaking with Dvalin.
"Don't be afraid. It's alright, I'm back now."
Venti's voice was gentle as he reached out his hands to touch Dvalin. The dragon, calmed, slowly brought its head closer. Everything seemed to be going well.
"Mamma mia..."
Shao Yun stared, wide-eyed. Seeing this moment up close was incredible—the sheer size of Dvalin compared to the tiny Venti made him itch to sketch the scene in his notebook.
Wind elemental power radiated from Venti's hands as he began the process of purifying Dvalin's curse.
While they were mesmerized, something happened—Lumine's Anemo energy flared up unexpectedly, perhaps destabilized or triggered by the scene. It overflowed suddenly.
This little hiccup caused Venti's purification to fail.
Dvalin let out a furious roar. Venti instinctively raised his arms to shield himself from the gust.
Then came a claw swipe—aimed directly at Venti. Luckily, he leapt back and dodged the attack.
Venti immediately sensed someone behind him.
He turned around in an instant, brows furrowed, eyes sternly fixed on the three peeking heads behind the tree.
"Who's there!"
Now was not a great time for introductions. Lumine and Paimon ducked back in fright. Shao Yun was about to retreat as well—he knew the plot, after all. If they stayed hidden, Dvalin would fly away soon enough.
[New Quest: Repel Dvalin.]
[Reward: Power-enhancing trinket.]
The sudden quest caught Shao Yun completely off guard.
What the hell, system?! You're throwing in a quest like this? It totally messes with the plot!
But the reward was tempting. Shao Yun stepped forward, raising his hands.
"Sorry! We didn't mean to interfere!" He raised both hands in a pacifying gesture toward Venti.
"Please don't attack! We're not bad guys—we were just passing through!" His tone had a touch of panic.
He could see Venti's twin braids beginning to glow. Shao Yun was sure he was moments away from being obliterated. He really didn't want to die right after arriving here.
In the end, Venti didn't attack. He glanced at Dvalin, then at the figures in the distance.
Realizing the plan had failed, Venti sighed and vanished in a swirl of wind.
Now, all of Dvalin's attention shifted to Shao Yun.
"Easy there... nice and easy!"
Shao Yun locked eyes with Dvalin, desperately hoping the dragon would calm down.
In-game, Dvalin didn't seem that big—but now, up close, the beast was massive. Its mouth alone could swallow a dozen of him.
Dvalin lifted off. Just as Shao Yun thought it was going to fly away like in the story, elemental energy began gathering in its mouth—clearly preparing an attack.
What the—? This isn't how it was supposed to go!
[New Quest: Repel Dvalin!]
The system reminded him again. And just like that, Shao Yun realized—this damn system really wanted him to fight the dragon. Why? In the original story, hiding worked just fine!
Now with Lumine and Paimon still hiding, Dvalin focused all its aggression on him.
"Oh, Lord above!"
Shao Yun's mind raced. He needed a way out—maybe run?
["Activate Deadeye. Please draw your weapon for synchronization."] the system suddenly prompted.
Now you tell me?! Deadeye... wait, doesn't that highlight enemy weak points?
Shao Yun's hand moved to his holster. As he activated Deadeye, the world around him slowed dramatically—everything went into slow motion. At the same time, Dvalin's weak point became visible: a purple spike on its back formed from cursed dragon blood and abyssal energy.
He drew his revolver, locking eyes on the spike. In his perception, almost instantly, six red crosshairs marked the target.
A rapid six-shot burst—each bullet striking the curse mark dead on.
It worked. The spell was interrupted.
Dvalin roared in pain and beat its wings furiously, soaring away into the distance.
"That scared me half to death—I really thought we were about to be dragon food!" Paimon clung to Lumine, peeking fearfully at the retreating dragon.
Shao Yun holstered his gun and walked over to the two of them.
"You guys alright?"
Lumine checked herself, then checked Paimon, and shook her head.
"We're both fine."
That was a relief. Shao Yun relaxed a bit. Then again, they were behind a tree the whole time—probably couldn't have gotten hurt anyway.
"But you, Shao Yun—don't act so recklessly next time. That was too dangerous." Lumine began checking him over for injuries.
"Somebody had to explain the situation..." Shao Yun scratched his neck. If the system hadn't suddenly handed out the quest, he'd have been hiding too.
Lumine's gaze dropped to his waist. Reflected in the sunlight, something sparkled and swung slightly.
Shielding her eyes, she pointed at it.
"Shao Yun, what's that shiny thing hanging from your belt?"
Now that she mentioned it, Shao Yun looked down.
"Let me see... holster, satchel... nothing missing. Wait, what's this gem? When did this show up?"
A red gemstone dangled from his waist. Its design looked very familiar.
Paimon's sharp eyes spotted it immediately. She pointed at the gem, exclaiming in surprise:
"Vision!"