Chapter 035: Flight Test? No, Unlocking Mounts!

Shao Yun glanced at the Adventurer's Handbook briefly before stashing it in his backpack. Regardless of the name, becoming an adventurer had fulfilled Paimon's wish, and that was enough.

Paimon, seeing Shao Yun officially become an adventurer, was so excited she looked like a plump little bird that had just caught a delicious fish. She hopped around in the air, brimming with joy and excitement.

"Shao Yun, congratulations on becoming an official adventurer!"

Shao Yun tapped her head lightly, telling her to calm down. This wasn't something to get overly excited about. Given his strength and their recommendation, passing was a given.

"Let's not talk about that for now. What's the plan?" Shao Yun looked at Lumine, asking what they had discussed while he was away.

But Shao Yun changed the topic too quickly, and Lumine didn't catch on, giving him a puzzled look.

"What plan?"

Shao Yun pointed in the direction of the Angel's Share. With that gesture, Lumine immediately understood.

"Oh, while you were out chasing that Fatui agent, Venti told us to meet at the tavern in two days."

Hearing that they had to wait two more days, Shao Yun felt tormented. It was like needing to use the bathroom after class, but the teacher insisted on dragging out a boring math problem.

"Do we really have to wait two days?" Shao Yun asked, then suddenly thought of something. He pulled Lumine aside, away from Katheryne, and whispered, "This can't be overheard by outsiders."

Lumine, seeing Shao Yun's cautious, almost paranoid demeanor, couldn't help but find it amusing. His serious expression made it seem like he was handling some top-secret matter, but in reality, the topic wasn't that serious.

"Shao Yun, relax," Lumine said, chuckling softly. "It's not what you think. Acting Grand Master Jean can't be away for too long, and Master Diluc has his own winery to manage. We need two days to arrange things. In the meantime, we can go on some adventures."

Shao Yun seemed a bit embarrassed as he relaxed his tense nerves. "Oh, I see. I thought you were worried Katheryne might leak secrets."

But then he shifted the conversation, voicing his concerns. "But isn't adventuring just handling commissions and earning rewards? Is there really anywhere in Mondstadt left to explore?"

Lumine spread her hands slightly, her face showing a mix of helplessness and acceptance. She said softly, "We can't just keep waiting at Amber's place. We need to find something to do to make the time more meaningful."

"Alright, let's see what commissions are available."

Just as the three of them were focusing on picking suitable commissions, a lively and cheerful voice called out from a distance.

"Lumine, Paimon, and Shao Yun!" The voice was filled with surprise and relief.

The three of them looked up in the direction of the voice.

Amber ran over to them, breathing heavily.

"I finally found you!" Amber bent over, hands on her knees, panting as if she had just finished a race without resting.

"Amber, what's going on?" Lumine stepped forward to support Amber, worried she might collapse.

Shao Yun looked at Amber, his eyes filled with confusion. Amber looked tired, clearly having exerted herself. Shao Yun asked, "We've only been gone for a night. Amber, you didn't have to worry about us that much, did you?"

Amber caught her breath and explained, "Well, I was a little worried about you. But I came to find you for another reason."

Shao Yun waited for Amber to continue. She paused, seemingly organizing her thoughts, then pulled out an oversized Wind Glider from her pocket and handed it to Shao Yun.

"Here, Shao Yun, this Wind Glider is for you. See if it fits."

Shao Yun carefully took the Wind Glider and equipped it on his back. It was slightly small for him, but it would definitely work.

"Thanks, Amber. It's great."

Amber frowned, looking troubled. She stared intently at Shao Yun, her eyes filled with confusion and doubt.

"This is the largest Wind Glider in the warehouse. But it still doesn't seem to fit you properly," Amber muttered to herself.

Shao Yun shrugged, adjusting the Wind Glider on his back, and reassured her, "It's fine, Amber. To find a Wind Glider that truly fits me, you'd need something made by Daedalus or Icarus."

"Daedalus? Icarus? Who are they?" Amber asked, rubbing her chin, her voice tinged with curiosity.

Realizing he had slipped up, Shao Yun quickly changed the subject.

"Never mind. Anyway, Amber, you didn't come all this way just to deliver a Wind Glider, did you? There must be something else."

This reminded Amber of her other task.

"Actually, yes." She held up two fingers in front of the three of them. "To be precise, there are two things."

"The first is the flight license exam. You need a license to fly within Mondstadt."

As soon as she mentioned the exam, Amber's tone became serious.

"Neither of you has taken the flight exam, right?"

Hearing that they needed to take a Wind Glider exam, Lumine's face showed surprise.

"There's an exam too?" she murmured, a hint of nervousness in her voice.

"Don't worry, with your skills, you'll pass no problem," Amber said, giving a thumbs-up. She was confident in Lumine's abilities. For Lumine, this exam was just a formality.

After explaining the first matter, what was the second?

Shao Yun asked about the second task. At this, Amber sighed deeply, pouring out her frustrations.

"The Knights are chasing a habitual criminal called the 'Raptor'. He's too skilled. We set up a trap at the Cathedral using an antique as bait, but even with many knights, we couldn't catch him."

Paimon burst out laughing when she heard the name "Raptor."

"Haha, 'Raptor'? What a weird name!"

Unlike Paimon, who found it amusing, Amber was clearly frustrated by the name.

"He's a thief who loves using Wind Gliders. He's been causing trouble in Mondstadt, so the Knights started calling him the 'Raptor.'"

Hearing Amber say "causing trouble," Shao Yun wondered how this notorious thief had managed to evade capture so many times.

"Not even once?"

Facing Shao Yun's doubt, Amber's lips pressed into a thin line, trying to stay composed.

"To be honest, many knights aren't very skilled with Wind Gliders. And I've been busy with other missions, so..."

Ah, so the Raptor had the advantage with his Wind Glider skills, which was why he kept getting away.

Just as Shao Yun was feeling helpless about Amber's predicament, the system, as if unable to stand seeing people suffer, popped up with a notification.

[Quest Update: Capture the thief 'Raptor' alone.]

Are you kidding me? Do I look like some kind of miracle worker to you? Capture him alone? Do I even have that kind of ability?

[Quest Reward: Unlock Mount Function.]

You read me like a book!

---

With a hefty reward on the line, Shao Yun was ready to do anything—even risk getting arrested by burning down the Goth Grand Hotel. Now, he just needed a good excuse, and one was right in front of him.

"Amber, between the exam and catching this thief, you've got your hands full. How about you handle Lumine's exam, and I'll go after the Strange Bird?"

Shao Yun's "kind" offer to help Amber was seen by her as an attempt to avoid the exam, which she couldn't allow.

"You need to take the exam too!"

Shao Yun had anticipated this. He flexed his muscular physique.

"If I jump off Starsnatch Cliff with this Wind Glider, the best I can hope for is a closed-casket funeral. Do you really think I can take the flight exam? Let's not bother."

After hearing this reasoning, Amber thought it over and realized he had a point.

The flight exam required actual flying. If he couldn't even get off the ground, there was no point in taking the exam.

"Well, you have a point. I guess the Wind Glider is just a souvenir for you now."

"Hey, a souvenir is fine. I'm not obsessed with flying."

Shao Yun rubbed his shoulders, his expression nonchalant.

"But even if I can't fly, catching a flying thief sounds fun. I'd like to see what makes this guy so hard to catch."

Just as he was about to set off, Katheryne called out, holding a commission sheet.

"If you're going after the Raptor, there's a commission here for catching him."

Oh? What a coincidence!

Shao Yun took the commission sheet and looked it over. He was curious—since when did the Adventurers' Guild handle criminal arrests?

"Does the Adventurers' Guild handle this kind of task? I thought only the Knights dealt with criminals."

Katheryne thought for a moment and explained.

"The Knights sometimes post tasks with the Adventurers' Guild, usually small things like transporting goods. But catching criminals? That's never been delegated to us."

She pointed to the commission sheet in Shao Yun's hand.

"This is a private commission from a merchant whose antique was stolen by the Raptor."

Amber lowered her head in embarrassment upon hearing this. She hadn't realized how much trouble the Raptor had caused.

Shao Yun looked at the commission sheet. The reward was only 100,000 Mora. The client was pretty stingy...

But considering his main goal was to unlock the mount function, the money was secondary. However, there was one crucial question.

"I understand the situation, but I need to ask—does the Raptor have to be captured alive?"

In other words, could he kill the thief and bring back the body?

As soon as Shao Yun spoke, a chilling silence fell over the scene. The air grew tense with shock and unease.

Katheryne's brain almost short-circuited. How could someone say something so cold with a straight face?

She immediately looked to Amber for a decision.

"He has to be captured alive! We need to interrogate him to find out where he's hidden the stolen artifacts." Amber then reminded Shao Yun how to track him down.

"The stolen artifacts have elemental magic applied by the nuns. With your Vision, you should be able to see the elemental marks."

With the necessary information and the quest clue triggered, Shao Yun was ready to hunt the thief down.

He waved to the three of them and said calmly, "Alright, I'll bring him back alive."

Then, with a mischievous glint in his eye and a playful smirk, he added, "Or maybe a barely alive, half-dead version of him."

Amber's lips twitched uncontrollably. She didn't feel the slightest bit reassured by Shao Yun's words. In fact, she almost felt a pang of sympathy for the Strange Bird.

"He has to be alive! And make sure he can still talk!"

"Don't worry. With me around, even a statue would sing its secrets. I'll make sure he spills every bad thing he's ever done."