A Moment of Indecision for the Girl

But...

The Flame-haired maiden lowered her eyes, and distant memories surfaced—long, long ago, when she was still an ordinary person, not Sarkaz. Back then, compared to Alina now, she was perhaps like Alina compared to Persephone —in the realm of talent, she didn't even have the right to be compared.

—Am I being too demanding of her?

—Or have I been too indifferent to her?

—Ah...I really am. To be liked and admired, my first reaction is to distance myself instead of secretly rejoicing like a normal girl. My thinking is far too dull.

—I wonder if anyone will say behind my back that I have a stone head...maybe I should pay more attention to her.

—Tsk...getting more and more arrogant, huh. As for things like getting noticed, let Talulah handle that.

Her thoughts raced, and these boring and uninteresting ideas were quickly dismissed. The vast world before her eyes then came into view—she stretched. Then she shifted her attention to other matters.

She plans to do some tasks.

Yes, we can stay in this town; the winery's influence extends to the surrounding area. We can still do some quests.

Running errands, buying materials, searching for lost cats and dogs—this is what she excels at, and she quite enjoys doing it. But before that, she first needs to find an NPC who issues quests—and she quickly finds one.

A guy who looked very poor, but whose attire was quite eye-catching, wearing a Witch Hat, looking around as if he was waiting for someone.

It looked like an astrologer—or rather, a scantily clad gypsy witch. But Miss Surtr's gaze shifted slightly downwards and she spotted the azure bead hanging from the back of the creature's neck in a puddle on the ground.

That is the eye of God, the authority to control the water element.

These elements point to a pay-to-win character in the Genshin Impact universe: a female character skilled in divination and passionate about experimentation, but unwilling to use this ability to make money, resulting in her being quite poor.

"The astrologer, Mona?" Miss Surtr said instinctively.

She said the other person's name—which drew their instinctive gaze.

She watched as the warlock's eyes shifted from confusion to bewilderment, then to astonishment. And then—a scream escaped his lips.

"Found you!"

Chapter Ninety-Two: A Girl's Momentary Struggle

Another region on the continent of Teyvat.

The white-haired girl with dragon horns suddenly opened her eyes, and what came into view was an unfamiliar sky.

Where is this?

What place is this?

What happened?

He raised his hand, and the sword was right beside him. With a thought, flames from the Originium bloomed around him.

Wrong.

There's a problem somewhere.

Why... was there no consumption when using Originium Arts this time?

"Am I dreaming? Or am I under some kind of Originium Arts that involves bewitching—is it her? The woman named Persephone?"

The Dragon Girl recalled the unique 'job entrance test' she had recently experienced, and the figure that had silently appeared behind her like a phantom after the test ended... Persephone, the Doctor from Rhodes Island. Her conversation with that woman lasted only five minutes, but to her, it felt like fifty years.

She had never seen such a terrifying person. All her secrets, all the little thoughts hidden deep in her heart, were laid bare in those pale green eyes. And every word she uttered, every action she took, even every thought in her mind, was entirely under his control.

If the Black Serpent possessed even half of her abilities, she probably wouldn't have been able to escape the Duke's mansion at all... No, she would have become her loyal successor, subordinate, and even believer within three months of being brought back to Ursus. Even if she said the sun was actually square, she would firmly believe that the world's eyes were mistaken.

So...

—It couldn't be her; she wouldn't need to resort to such pointless tricks.

So...

I stood up and looked around. Before me stretched a pristine beach and islands dotting the ocean. A distant, hazy horizon stretched beyond the sea. The islands were lush and verdant, covered with verdant forests and rugged, towering rock formations.

There was a smell of fire in the air... not from my own fire, but from burning wood, mixed with the aroma of roasting meat.

—There are intelligent beings.

The Dragon Girl raised her sword, breathing softly. Draco's flames, now less toxic due to the elimination of side effects, were more powerful than before. And whether this place was a dream or an illusion, to gain more information, she needed to effectively interact with her surroundings.

—Surtr taught me that if you're unsure of your opponent's strength, then before making contact, use Originium Arts to comprehensively strengthen your body. Because all martial arts, all tactics, are essentially about concentrating power to achieve 'overpowering the weak' in a specific area. Therefore, as long as you are strong in every aspect, you don't need to fear any technique.

Breathing. Draco's flames flowed through his limbs and bones.

His body became stronger, and his five senses became more acute. In a daze, he could sense a dozen or so humanoid creatures of different sizes gathering at the other end of the woodland.

So, let's carefully infiltrate the past.

Push aside the leaves, step over the grass, against the surging wind. Avoid small, noisy objects.

And so, the Dragon Girl saw them.

She saw a group of masked creatures with horns on their heads, black and yellow hands and feet covered in thick hair. They seemed less like humans and more like some kind of barbarian or mutated strange creatures—they danced and gesticulated around the fire. Their bizarre movements cast long shadows in the firelight, and a nameless unease immediately settled in the Dragon Girl's heart.

—This is the enemy.

—This is a monster.

For no reason, but this realization clearly surfaced in the Dragon Girl's mind—she tried hard to suppress and control her breathing and movements, but her heart involuntarily beat slightly faster.

This is a flaw.

"...!" The monster wearing an ominous mask and wielding a black staff suddenly turned around, pointing the tip of the staff at the Dragon Girl's hiding place, and emitted a piercing and unpleasant shriek.

And then the surprise attack came—

The sword flashed, severing the wooden shield. Thorns sprouted from the earth, but the surging flames breached the barrier, scorching the spellcasters hiding behind it.

A massive, muscular figure charged forward, wielding a giant axe that cleaved trees and rocks in one fell swoop. But her enhanced senses propelled the Dragon Girl's body to evade the attack. With a swift backhand strike, she pierced the heart of the axe-wielding thug with Draco's flames.

A pillar of fire in the shape of a human was lit.

But the remaining humanoid monsters did not flee—they roared with frenzied and piercing screams from beneath their masks. Their bodies swelled and became powerful—fearless, they sought to continue their attack while the Dragon Girl was recovering. However, compared to the spellcaster and the burly one, the remaining individuals could only be classified as cannon fodder.

Small fry are small fry; no matter how hard they try, they can hardly create miracles.

About two minutes later, the last monster was reduced to ashes by the Dragon Girl's sword, leaving only broken arrows and a mask.