Perhaps because he was already close to Mondstadt, the night passed peacefully. No Hilichurl attacks came, and dawn arrived without incident. Lynn soon woke as well.
To Jia Changjiang's astonishment, Lynn ran off for barely ten minutes and returned with an armful of wild ingredients. She washed them, processed them, and tossed everything into the pot with practiced ease.
Before he quite understood how it happened, Jia Changjiang had eaten breakfast—again.
After the meal, he bid Lynn farewell, hoisted his battle axe onto his shoulder, and continued toward Mondstadt.
Judging by the distance, he felt he wouldn't be entering the city much later.
Just as that thought crossed his mind—
The previously clear sky darkened.
Jia Changjiang looked up.
Thick clouds churned and layered over one another, forming a massive vortex high above. At its center spun a gigantic eye of wind—its position aligned directly over Mondstadt.
"What's going on—?!"
Before he could think further, a violent gale slammed into his back. Jia Changjiang tightened his grip on the axe, barely managing to keep his footing.
A colossal shadow swept over him.
He looked up, eyes wide with shock.
A massive cyan dragon with multiple wings soared overhead.
The crushing wind that had nearly knocked him flat came from those enormous wings.
"…The dragon crisis. Stormterror?"
Jia Changjiang was a Genshin player—but he'd never paid close attention to the story. He only remembered the general flow and a few iconic scenes.
Still—
He knew Stormterror.
The giant wind vortex in the sky was clearly its doing.
As the dragon plunged into the clouds, the wind eye instantly turned into a raging tornado, roaring toward Mondstadt below.
Its massive body.
Its agile, overwhelming presence.
Its raw power.
Strong.
Violent.
Dominant.
Exhilarating.
By the time Stormterror passed overhead and charged toward the city, Jia Changjiang finally snapped out of his daze—
Only to realize his hands were clenched tightly around the axe.
And strangely enough, amid the shock, he felt no fear. No panic.
Instead—
Excitement.
A bold, almost reckless thought surfaced in his mind.
Flip that dragon.
Knock it down.
Defeat it—defeat the colossal dragon capable of summoning calamities that felt like divine punishment!
Drag it down from the sky! Smash it into the ground with his weapon!
With that thought burning in his chest, Jia Changjiang quickened his pace.
At the same time, the mechanical system voice echoed in his mind.
[Strong intent detected. Generating task…]
[Task: Defeat Stormterror Dvalin.]
[Reward: To be calculated upon battle completion.]
"…A task?"
"Even missions are popping up now?"
Staring at the dragon rampaging in the sky, desire welled up inside him.
But—
He knew it too.
With his current strength, he couldn't flip that dragon yet.
Being unable to reach one's goal due to insufficient power was a deeply frustrating thing.
Which meant—
He needed to become stronger first.
Then… flip that dragon.
And after that?
Flip his way across all of Teyvat.
Right now, Jia Changjiang's head was filled with just two words:
Fight. Fight.
The feeling was exhilarating.
Facing a disaster of this scale didn't scare him—it thrilled him.
Whether it was the effect of transmigration or simply his nature, one thing was certain:
Watching such raw destruction made his blood boil.
"Stormterror! Just you wait!"
Jia Changjiang lifted his axe and roared toward the raging dragon above Mondstadt, not caring whether it could hear him or not.
"When I get stronger…"
"I'll come flip you over myself!!!"
"I mean it!!!!!!!!"
His voice was quickly swallowed by the howling winds.
As the storm descended upon Mondstadt, some unseen force softened its impact. Though plenty of objects were flung into the air, there were no casualties within the city.
Seeing its attack fail, Stormterror let out an unwilling roar toward the towering Statue of the Anemo Archon at Mondstadt's highest point, then beat its wings and flew off toward Stormterror's Lair.
In a quiet corner of Mondstadt, a light melody echoed through a narrow alley—eerily out of place after the calamity.
"…Dvalin."
The tune stopped, and a green-clad figure sighed softly.
The flowing wind brushed through the alley, making the figure pause.
"A traveler who said he'd flip Dvalin…"
"But there was no killing intent toward Dvalin at all."
"Just… a pure desire to defeat him?"
"…Interesting traveler."
The figure smiled faintly.
"Hello there, kid."
Crossing the bridge outside Mondstadt's gates, Jia Changjiang greeted a boy preparing to feed pigeons.
"Uh—h-hi…"
Timmie jumped in fright at the sight of the man carrying a massive axe. The pigeons scattered into the air.
"Sorry about your pigeons," Jia Changjiang said apologetically, glancing at the birds circling above.
"It's… it's fine. I was just feeding them anyway…"
Timmie looked at Jia Changjiang. The man was polite—but somehow felt terrifying in an indescribable way.
And the way he looked at the pigeons…
Chills ran down Timmie's spine. He hurriedly ran off, leaving Jia Changjiang slightly confused.
Shrugging, Jia Changjiang headed for Mondstadt's main gate.
There, he was stopped.
A knight of the Knights of Favonius addressed him solemnly:
"Mondstadt welcomes you, honored traveler. Please state your identity and purpose. The Knights of Favonius will ensure your safety."
Facing the knights, Jia Changjiang put away his earlier, dragon-flipping bravado and responded politely.
"Hello. I'm a traveler from afar, newly arrived in Mondstadt. May I ask if I should report to the Knights of Favonius headquarters to register my identity?"
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