6

– Jean –

Just when she thought she could rest after the problem with the giant dragon threatening her kingdom was solved, another equally terrifying threat appeared out of thin air, because of course she couldn't catch a damned break.

True, Jean was wary of Crimson before but hadn't expected the show of overwhelming strength in his match against Eula. Not even five seconds into the fight, she immediately realized that he was merely toying with her, smirking the entire time as he danced around her as if she was a complete amateur. As if that wasn't enough, a single hit brought her down.

Eula was one of their most powerful.

The implication that this potential psychopath who appeared out of nowhere was powerful enough to bring her to her knees in one strike made Jean's brain work in overdrive. All the more, that dark knowing grin he gave her after the duel made her heart drop to her stomach.

It felt like he knew full well what they were doing since the moment he arrived at the city, and was confident enough to tell them that. Just who was he? Crimson being a traveler from beyond the stars like Lumine seemed to be the case, if his strange unfamiliarity with the world was anything to go by, but where did he come from? What did he want? What was his end goal?

What Jean was sure of, however, was that he could absolutely be a threat far worse than the Stormterror ever was. If he defeated Eula so easily like that, then who could possibly hope to stop him? Perhaps they should've gone after the Harbinger that stole Venti's gnosis. Jean really needed Barbatos to be by their side right now, instead of getting drunk at the tavern.

"I suppose I'm not the only one who thinks we should do something about this, yes?" Kaeya said. "Lumine vouching for him is one thing, effortlessly beating Eula is something else entirely."

"And what do you suggest?" Lisa asked, flipping over the pages of her book. "It's a relatively unknown threat. We don't have enough knowledge to act at the moment."

"That's the problem, isn't it?" Kaeya sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Eula tried to do something about it and got humiliated instead. Maybe it's just me, but it feels like he's playing us."

"It's not just you," Jean added, glancing at him. "How is Eula taking this?"

"Very badly." He answered. "She's not in the mood to talk, but from what Amber told me, she isn't convinced with the loss and will try to challenge him again."

"She wants to what?" Jean frowned deeply. "Tell her to remain on standby. We do not want to escalate this situation any further."

"I really doubt that's gonna happen, Grandmaster." He scratched his cheek with a grimace. "She looked like she wanted to take my head off when I went to see her. I don't think she's in the mood to listen to anyone at the moment."

"Poor girl." Lisa frowned sympathetically. "To get humiliated in front of a crowd filled with her coworkers and subordinates must be painful. She tried so hard to build up a positive reputation for herself considering the clan she's from, only for it to all crumble…"

Jeans leaned back on her chair, rubbing the bridge of her nose tiredly. She seriously cannot catch a fucking break, can she? Eula isn't stupid, but by the gods, her pride can be a huge pain to deal with.

"Keep an eye out on her, and make sure she doesn't go overboard," Jean ordered. "In the meantime, we'll keep observing. We don't know how he'll react if provoked, and after that duel, I'm not inclined to learn."

"So do nothing?" Kaeya raised a brow.

"There's nothing we can do," Jean responded. "He's a total wildcard. He isn't hostile, yet seems to know what we're trying to do, and he's strong enough to do that to Eula. What if we push him to go on a rampage? Even if we're able to stop him eventually, he'd have caused so much damage already. Many will die, civilians and knights alike."

This seemed to have convinced her colleague as he backed down and nodded after a moment. Lisa also looked satisfied with her decision, giving her a smile of approval.

"We will not risk his ire until we're absolutely sure there won't be any consequences." She continued. "This threat is far beyond anything we've faced before. Stay alert."

She really hoped she was making the right decision. She'd been leading the knights for a very long while now, but sometimes, she wasn't very sure if she was good at it. She wished Varka was here to tell her what to do instead.

No use complaining about that now, though. She had a city to protect.

– Crimson –

Perhaps I went a little too hard on that poor girl, which will more than likely have its own consequences – the knights feeling a lot more on edge for example – but honestly, I had the urge to show off. She seemed so confident that she'd win, so why would I not humiliate her? She was also a little rude before and I'm a spiteful man.

Overall, she's a decent fighter. Not the best, but not terrible either. She is, however, very inexperienced. Against human opponents anyway. The fact that she lost her cool immediately before even the fight began was enough to prove that.

She hadn't put it in her mind that I was wasting time 'choosing' my weapon to make her feel heated. She noticed that I was doing it intentionally, yes, but she never realized why. It's surprising– this was one of the oldest tricks in the book. You're more likely to make mistakes if you're not calm.

But what happened is behind us now. I'll deal with the knights and their growing concern later, even though it's pretty funny to keep them anxious at all times. Maybe I should strive to give them a scare here and there. Seemed to work very well when I took Klee out on that little picnic.

The bitchy look on their acting grandmaster's face was pretty cute, but her terrified face after the duel was hilarious. I liked that one a lot more.

But now that I'm done with that duel, I'm allowed to do a few more commissions. I took a few around that giant snowy mountain in the distance, because my main goal is to see if I can get to that 'Regisvine' thing before whoever took the quest can. I don't mind giving them credit for clearing it, because I'm only going there for the levels.

I doubt I'd be able to get there in time, though. The sun has already set. It's dark outside, and that quest was taken very early in the morning. But that's alright, I can just clear out the entire area if killing that big monster isn't possible. That oughta give a few levels. Plus, I like colder environments. Perks of being the son of a stupidly powerful Cryomancer I suppose.

Not that I'm immune to the cold or ice for that matter anymore. Even though I was even as a baby, but ah well.

I jump from peak to peak, scanning the snowy hills and ravines for any Hilichurl camp or the like. I've already wiped out around three or four, but they weren't a challenge at all, unfortunately. I'll admit, I've been itching for a good fight since that duel. I have not felt that way in very long. I hope I get a good battle before I grow too strong for anything here. That'd be lame.

After a few minutes of searching, I finally spot something that could be interesting. It was another Hilichurl camp, a big one, with one fairly intriguing detail. There were many of them, perhaps thirty or so, a couple of the bigger Mitachurls, the mages who I believe are called Samachurls, and one gigantic variant I've never seen before.

I put a hand on my chin with a hum, looking down at them from a nearby hill. The big one looks formidable and I can also sense some magic within it. Perhaps this is the challenge I'm looking for. I'm doubtful, but hopefully, I'm wrong there.

Regardless, I won't say no to more levels. I'm close to level 40, and I'm hoping reaching that will net me a new perk.

I leap down at them, directly in front of the giant beast that flinched at my landing. The monster growls, communicating with its subordinates as it points at me. I'm guessing it's saying something along the lines of 'get him' if the approaching monsters mean anything.

But if level 1 was enough to easily clear a camp of them on my first day here, then what do you think level 30 can do? They don't stand a chance of course, as I kill them in the span of ten seconds, using the clubs and axes dropped by the bigger monsters as projectiles to end their mages and marksmen. The poor beast couldn't quite comprehend what it saw very quickly.

"Now it's just me and you," I say to the huge monster, knowing it can't understand what I'm saying. "Care to make the first move?"

Growling before a roar, the monster casts some sort of a protective spell as thin cryo energy coats its body, making me raise a brow in interest. To think it'd be smart enough to realize the danger it's in and start with a defensive spell–

The monster immediately throws a punch, to which my body responds by getting out of the way with minimal wasted movement, merely leaning to the side. It continues its pointless onslaught, wildly swinging its arms around trying to land a single hit, but I'm nimble enough to ensure that doesn't happen.

After a moment, it realizes that this is getting it nowhere, so instead, it smashes both of its hands on the ground, causing ice spikes to protrude with the purpose of stabbing me. I grin as I let the ice hit me, and it shatters on impact.

"Clever." I praise. "...For a mindless beast anyway."

I've seen enough, though. I don't think this is the challenge I'm looking for, so I think I'll end this now. Maybe the Regisvine thing will prove different. I hope.

The giant Hilichurl-like beast kneels on the ground in front of me before charging forward like a bull. I simply cock my arm back as scales rapidly grow around it and throw a punch directly at its masked face. The force of my counterattack is strong enough to turn it into a smear across the snow, its body not able to withstand the punch.

I stare at my fist with a slightly disappointed frown.

"Riveting," I say sarcastically, spotting the treasure chest near the main campfire. "Let's see…"

I kick it open, and aside from gold, gems, and all kinds of jewelry, I find a decent-looking red shortsword. Okay-ish craftsmanship, maybe it won't break after a few swings like everything I've used here.

As I grab the sword, I hear the sounds of fighting in the distance. I close my eyes to focus on my other senses, hearing something familiar. What are the odds, unless Lumine was the one that took the commission? That would make sense.

Perhaps I'll make good a impression on whoever is currently with her if I help them out.

– Lumine –

Having fought multiple of these now, Lumine thought this was going to be like any other time. Regisvines weren't particularly powerful monsters if you knew how they should be fought. They weren't that bright, and didn't always protect their cores very well. You don't even need the elemental advantage to beat them.

The fact that a fellow adventurer was alongside her assured Lumine that this would be easy money for them. True, they were going to split it, but that was no problem. The money she got from the earlier commission with Eula and Crimson was more than enough for her journey to Liyue. She just wanted to tie up a few loose ends here in Mondstadt before doing that.

So she wasn't sure how she was having so much trouble with this right now. Unlike its kin, this Regisvine, colored dark red and much bigger than usual with enhanced cryo powers, was far more aggressive and tougher than the ones she had dealt with before. It was deep within Dragonspine, directly under the skeletal corpse of the dragon, which might explain its unusual aggression.

Lumine gritted her teeth as she blocked a wild swing of one of its vines, landing on the ground as Fischl riddled the plant monster with arrows fused with her bird's Electro shots. However, the monster's attention was drawn to the traveler as it unleashed a beam of frigid cryo energy that split nearby boulders in half.

She gasped, barely evading the attack by pushing herself away with a gust of wind from her hand. Lumine noticed the window of opportunity as it finished the attack and charged forward, thrusting her blade inside the core in its roots, only to be smacked away by a vine.

It hurt of course, but it didn't do much damage to her as she flipped backward, letting Fischl and Oz took aim at the corolla of the mutated ice flower. The younger girl shot three consecutive arrows as her bird infused every one of them with Electro energy. The Regisvine swing one of its fronds at them in response, blocking the projectiles.

Lumine quickly grabbed Fischl before using her Anemo power to jump out of the way, barely evading an attack that devastated the area they were in as they hid under a stone ledge. She clicked her tongue in annoyance, trying to come up with a plan. Nothing they did managed to make any progress– even if they damaged the core, it didn't get paralyzed as most other Regisvine do.

As if that's not enough of a disadvantage, Fischl and Oz's Electro powers didn't do well against Cryo. None of them expected the Regisvine to be this powerful. Having a Pyro Vision user would be very helpful right now.

Maybe if they combined their powers at the right moment, they could do severe damage, perhaps enough to stun it for a finishing blow. Either that or a distraction. Regardless, it'd hopefully give them an opportunity to kill it.

"Fischl, go all out with your next shot," Lumine said. "I think this is our best chance."

"Hmph, to dare giveth orders to her majesty, Sovereign of Immernachtreich? One shall commend thee for such bravery, but such is expected of a fellow traveler of the stars–"

"She's waiting for your mark." Her raven interrupted her as he noticed the increasingly incredulous stare of Lumine.

"I was getting to that, Oz!"

"Great, now–"

Lumine spotted the giant vine falling on their heads, and quickly pushed Fischl and herself with a burst of Anemo. The three returned to the battle, Lumine attracting the giant flower's attention as she annoyed it by unleashing multiple gusts of wind.

Lumine circled around it, waiting for Fischl to finish charging her shot as she did the same, intense Anemo energy enveloping her blade. Once in front of the younger girl, she swung her sword, releasing a powerful twister toward the Regisvine.

Fischl took that as the sign to let go of the string. Oz soared alongside the arrow and into the twister, fusing their elements together to create a raging electric tornado directly in front of the beast. It tried its best to protect itself from the powerful combined attack, not noticing

Lumine flying toward it.

With a thrust of her sword, Lumine successfully stabbed the corolla as the tornado dispersed. She gritted her teeth as she dug her blade in more and more, only for it to suddenly freeze over, cracking and shattering right in front of her, making her golden eyes widen.

"Look out!" Fischl warned.

Unfortunately, Lumine wasn't quick enough to evade the incoming vine as she was sent flying, her right side burning in cold agony. She braced for the inevitable impact of the cave's stone walls, but instead, she felt somebody catch her.

With a wince, Lumine opened her eyes to see red ones staring back at her.

"That was a nasty hit there," Crimson said, Paimon over his shoulder looking very concerned. "Are you alright?"

"I-I'm fine." She answered. "What are you doing here?"

"I was near the area doing my own commissions, heard some fighting, and thought I'd investigate." He responded with a shrug. "Spotted Paimon looking all worried and about outside. She filled me in on what's happening."

"Ah…" Lumine blinked, blushing as she realized that his hand was on her butt. "You can let me down now."

"Of course." He obliged, looking at the beast trying but failing to hit Fischl. "So this is the 'Regisvine' monster?"

"Yes, but this one is unusually strong." She replied. "I think the last hit damaged it enough, though."

"Then let me do the rest." He winked at her before walking forward.

"But–"

"You can't do much without a sword I assume?" He said, making her shut up. "I, on the other hand, have experience using my hands in these kinds of situations."

Lumine didn't like it, but he had a point. She could help with her Anemo powers, but she'd likely get in the way if she didn't have a weapon. Perhaps it wouldn't hurt to learn how to fight unarmed at some point.

"Hit its core." She told him. "You can do a lot of damage that way."

As Fischl kept the monster busy, Crimson gave Lumine a thumbs-up before he entered the fray, getting in front of the girl to block a vine coming her way. To their complete shock, he stopped the attack with his bare hands, grabbing its icy tendrils before ripping out the entire thing with a pull.

Lumine couldn't even keep up with his speed as he rushed forward, getting right in front of its core and repeatedly smashing his fist into it. The monster couldn't even retaliate as every hit caused a shockwave that shook it.

Eventually, his hand got stuck into the core, and three tendrils all aimed at him. Lumine was about to shout at him to get away from that, but it was too late as four beams of pure cryo energy engulfed her friend.

She cursed herself for letting somebody get hurt this way and ran forward to hopefully save him before it was too late, but then the beams dissipated. She stopped in her tracks as she saw the black scales covering his upper body. She'd never seen anything like it before. Did he wear armor underneath his clothes?

But right before her eyes, the scales on his chest and stomach retracted back into his skin as he pulled the core out of the beast, throwing it on the ground before jumping off. He looked at the dead Regisvine with satisfaction, dusting off his hands before looking at them.

"W-what just happened?" Paimon asked, equally shocked as her partner.

A lot. A lot happened, and Lumine wasn't sure if she'd fully processed it yet.

She had so many questions.

"H-how?" Fischl muttered.

Yes, that was one of them.

"Either you damaged it so much before I got involved–" He said, pointing at the core. "Or it's a lot weaker than you made it out to be."

Fischl flinched and backed away as he approached her, face turning red suddenly. Crimson blinked as she pointed at him accusingly.

"Y-you uncouth brute! How dare thee present thyself in front of her majesty in such state?!" She said, nearly mortified, before turning around. "Garb thyself this instant or begone from mine own sights!"

Lumine and Paimon approached the group to see what the problem was, not fully understanding what Fischl meant since Crimson still wore his jacket.

"She says–"

"Well, that thing destroyed my shirt." Crimson, completely understanding her gibberish, cut the bird off before turning to look at it. "And did the bird just talk?"

"Yeah, Oz is Fischl's familiar," Paimon answered for him.

"It's a pleasure meeting you, sire." The raven bowed.

"That's nice. My familiar is a cat," Crimson said, turning to look at Lumine and Paimon. "He only talks whenever he feels like it, though. Mischievous little rascal. I miss him."

Lumine barely comprehended what he said as her eyes were glued to his abs, now getting why Fischl felt the way she did. As he said before, his shirt was completely destroyed, and with his jacket being touched, she never noticed it until he turned to the side, giving her a full frontal view of the god-like body he had.

Her face was as red as his namesake and she was getting dizzy from how much blood was rushing to her head. It wasn't until Paimon smacked her in the cheek that she got a hold of herself.

"Oi, stop drooling!" Her floating companion reprimanded, making her flinch. "Sheesh, can't believe I'm the one that's gotta tell you to stop doing that. I know you're hungry, but we gotta find the camp first."

"I don't think it's the hunger that's got her drooling, Paimon," Crimson said, looking unbearably smug.

"Huh? What do you–"

"No, it's hunger! Definitely hunger!" Lumine wiped her mouth and turned around quickly. "Anybody hungry? I am."

"See? She's starving." Paimon insisted, patting Lumine's head. "Poor thing. We'll get you something to eat soon."

To Lumine's dismay, Crimson laughed knowingly as everyone followed her lead. He was already incredibly and dangerously handsome, why did she drop her guard when it was clear that he'd have the body to back it up?

This is embarrassing.

– Crimson –

I knew it. I get to choose a new perk every 20 levels, but no sign of anything magical yet. It's all related to my biology rather than my magic ability. Perhaps if I had taken the magic perk tree, the perks I'd get would become different?

If that's the case, then I should be getting back my ability to fly rather soon. I can fly either with magic or wings, so whatever path I took wouldn't matter much in that regard. That is good to know, but now what should I choose between these?

Choose a perk

[Dragon Roar]

Regain the ability to unleash a powerful roar that disorientates nearby enemies and intimidate them.

[Dragon Fangs]

Regain your powerful steel-like fangs, capable of ripping apart nearly anything with little to no effort.

Strangely, both perks pale in comparison to what I had to pick last time. I feel scales and claws are far better options than roaring or biting, but if I had to pick between the latter two, then I suppose fangs might come in handy. I don't like raising my voice very much.

Plus, I can do more than fight with the fangs. Maybe there's some tough food around that requires the extra oomph, or I might play up my dragon side a bit more and 'mark' my girls with a love bite. Some dragons do that apparently.

It's silly, but some find it arousing. I prefer the magical side of 'marking' personally.

After finding an apt place, inside a slightly warmer cave than the one we were in, we started a fire and made food. I could've easily taken everyone back to the city in minutes, but that's no fun. I haven't camped in very long.

They had a lot of questions as well, especially about my dragon scales. I answered everything as truthfully as I can, because why lie? That would net me no positives, and playing coy can be annoying. Now, I love being a total nuisance, but everything has its time and place.

Regardless, I've gone and shown what I was supposed to be 'hiding'. I'm fairly certain I'd be reprimanded for revealing my scales if this was some serious mission or the like, but honestly, why should I care? At the end of the day, I'm here to unwind and do something new for a change.

So what about some tiny secrets between friends, no? Lumine is also a world traveler, so what if I'm a dragon? I'm sure she's seen weirder than that. I also don't like keeping secrets when I don't have to. It can get tiring.

This Fischl girl seems very into my story, though, which I find very cute. She's one of those people, a 'chuuni' as my mother said once. Many would find their strange and needlessly complicated way of talking annoying, which I understand, but I've had many siblings that had this phase, so if anything, I find it incredibly endearing.

So to realize that I, a real dragon, was right here in front of her must've sparked something. Lumine seemed interested and impressed, but for different reasons of course. I see her ogling from time to time, even though she's already regained her composure.

She does still seem reserved, though. It will clearly take more effort than flashing some abs to get her into my bed.

There are things I've refrained from talking about, though. Like the fact that I'm part of an all-powerful conquering faction that laid waste to countless worlds, or that I was fully responsible for the destruction of some. That would definitely not earn me any points with them whatsoever.

I'm not taking the villain side this time around. Not like I enjoy it anyway. Like I said before, I prefer it when everyone gets along.

"Marvelous…" Fischl states, her visible eye sparkling in fascination. "To think thou would be part of–"

"You're a dragon," Lumine says after a moment.

"Don't interrupt me!"

"That explains a lot." Lumine continues.

"Does it?" I raise a brow in interest.

"Well, you're absurdly more powerful than anything I've seen here." She responds a little incredulously. "I don't think Dvalin would've posed any threat to you."

"Being called the superior dragon does make me feel good." I nod in self-satisfaction. "Hopefully this answers most of your questions?"

"I– yeah, I guess."

"Well, I have a question of my own," I say. "How are you able to use these wind powers without a Vision?"

"Ah, that?" She crosses her arms. "I honestly don't know. A few months after I got here, I touched a statue of the seven near the lake northeast of the main city, and suddenly I had these powers."

A blessing? But the gods of these lands bless mortals by giving them Visions, no? Or was it some outside force?

"Yeah, it was weird when it happened." Paimon added, putting a finger on her chin. "I don't know, maybe you absorbed some of the remaining power around that statue?"

"Tis but a mere sign." Fischl suddenly says with a smirk. "The three of us, titans of the cosmos, brought together by the threads of fate itself!"

"Do you think we can go there to see if I can do the same?" I ask.

"Stop ignoring me!"

"Sure. There's a nearby statue west of here, next to the winery." Lumine nods. "We can take a detour tomorrow morning. Are you alright with that, Fischl?"

"Yeah sure– I- I mean, very well. I, Fischl, Prinzessin der Verurteilung, shall accompany thee on thy journey." She clears her throat.

She speaks German to enhance her chuuni talk? That is beyond adorable.

"If that's the case, then you better go to sleep," I say, standing up and stretching my arms. "I'll take first watch. You two are tired from that fight, so rest."

"Are you sure?" Lumine frowns worriedly, blushing slightly. "You're not exactly well-dressed for this weather."

"I'm a frost dragon." I wink, technically telling the truth. "I can run around the entire region butt naked if I wanted to. I wouldn't feel a thing."

I've intentionally put that image in her head because seeing her go red as her imagination runs wild is hilarious and cute. Paimon actually snickers beside her, making me think that she probably is a child. Either that or she's bafflingly dense.

Likely both.

Lumine shakes her head and rests her head on a pile of soft cloth she brought with her to act as a pillow as Paimon lies beside her. Fischl squints her eye at me before doing the same, lying near the warm fire.

I'd go out to hunt some monsters for a few extra levels, but I don't feel like it. Think I'll just take a nap– I'd spot anything that gets near us even in my sleep anyway, so no worries there. If I took care of something supposedly so strong, then I don't think I'll face an actual challenge here. That's a little sad.

Perhaps I should ask Carmine for a sparring match when I see her again.

Whenever that is.