The Girl's Unsteady Killing Intent

"... Won't the monsters burned by fire leave behind corpses?" The Dragon Girl looked thoughtfully at the debris and remains left in the camp after the battle. "Surtr once taught me that illusionists usually don't construct illusions that are too far removed from reality. Because once logic is contradicted, the possibility of breaking free increases significantly."

"It's not a hallucination..." She gently bit her finger, the pain was obvious and progressively intensified with each change in pressure—this was a technique Surtr had taught her. Using things only she knew as markers to anchor her at her current level of perception.

"It's definitely not a hallucination." A voice suddenly came from her, and her pupils contracted sharply, only to find that the voice was coming from the identification tag in her pocket—the temporary operator credentials that the Rhodes Island Doctor had given her a few hours earlier. And she had always kept this little thing on her!

"Don't be nervous. You should know that I don't need such roundabout methods to kill, enslave your body, or your mind—this is just a recording. And its activation means that my Originium Arts have indeed been transcribed and retranslated by the rules of the dream world."

Light emanated from the nameplate, projecting onto the Dragon Girl and forming a projection of the Maiden Doctor —those pale green eyes lightly sweeping over her. Even knowing it was an illusion, the Dragon Girl couldn't help but feel a tremor in her heart.

"You... are spying on me?"

"It's just insurance." Persephone in the projection said calmly. "I've placed insurance on every individual in Chernobog who might enter a dream. For you, as long as three conditions are met simultaneously— Surtr is not within a certain distance of you, you have significantly depleted your stamina, and your physiological parameters are unstable—this insurance will be activated. Even if the conditions are not met, it can at least generate a force field defense that will prevent you from being killed by falling rocks at the right time."

"What do you want to do..."

"Observe, record, experiment. At the same time, make sure that the weak civilian staff are not killed at the door, to the point that some idiot feels guilty and blames herself for it—after all, she never thinks things through. Without me filling in the gaps for her, she will inevitably suffer too much pain if she wants to fight her GE."

"I... don't quite understand." The white-haired Dragon Girl couldn't comprehend the meaning of these words, which she could understand individually, when mixed together.

"It's alright, I'll tell you the information you need to know next." The Maiden Doctor looked around. Although it was just a projection, just a recording, it seemed to show some kind of strange vitality and life. Her gaze finally settled on the Dragon Girl's body in front of her.

"I will let you know everything about this world, about your situation."

"Let's get along well for the time to come, Miss Talulah."

"Let's get along well, guest from out of town." The astrologer patted his rather ample chest, revealing a relieved smile that said, 'Finally found you.' "I am the astrologer Astrologis Mona Megistus —I'll allow you to call me Mona —fate has led me here to meet you, so let us embark on a new adventure together in this world."

Miss Surtr looked at the guy in front of her with a puzzled expression.

She admitted that she had indeed spent money on Mona back in the day as a gambler, and that she had indeed raised her affection level to a high level. But even so, this kind of thing, which could practically be called giving herself away, shouldn't have happened—are you kidding me? The girl actively came to her? And most importantly—how did she know that she would arrive in the Dream World at this time?

"Uh..." Surtr asked uncertainly, "This young lady..."

"It's the great astrologer, Miss Mona!"

"... Alright, Miss Mona. Although I think there might be some misunderstanding, why did you come here to find me?"

"Because you will assist me!" She saw the astrologer before her cross his arms and look up. "I am going to Mondstadt to duel a powerful master of a lineage. And my astrology tells me that a traveler from another world will arrive at this winery in the next few days. And she will be my capable assistant."

Behind the girl, two strands of hair swung proudly.

"I could tell at a glance that you're not from this world. Even though you're wearing local clothes, and you look almost exactly like the locals, and even... and..." Her voice suddenly stopped.

The next moment, ignoring the astonishment of the passersby, she directly summoned the astrological chart made of water and began to spin it—her eyes widened suddenly, looking at Surtr, then at the chart, then back at Surtr. Then, with a 'thud,' her face suddenly flushed red.

"No, no, no... This isn't right! I just saw that you were clearly from Otherworlder... Why did the astrological answer change again? Is it because my skills are lacking... But I am clearly the greatest astrologer..."

Miss Surtr's facial nerves had already begun to twitch.

Okay, now I understand. The girl was actually waiting for the original protagonist of the Genshin Impact universe—though we don't know if she's male or female, let's assume she is—Luminous, the traveler from another world. This was originally part of her personal storyline, and Luminous did indeed come to Dawn Winery during the Stormterror incident, seeking someone's help.

This was a misunderstanding. The physical form provided by the dream world cannot be easily discerned—although it's unclear what Mona's initial impression was. But overall, it was ultimately a mistake.

So Miss Surtr reached out and patted the guy on the shoulder in comfort—she would never steal the protagonist's opportunities, unless that protagonist was her adversary or she herself was the protagonist. And since this was just a simple misunderstanding, let it end with the misunderstanding being cleared up.

—And I remember Mona's solo quest was supposed to start in Liyue. Why did the trigger point shift to Mondstadt? Hmm... natural adjustment, or perhaps the effect of random numbers?

There is a doubt in my mind, but there is no need to answer it.

"I think you've got the wrong person, Miss Mona." — Even though I do come from another world.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Surtr. I hope your wishes come true." — Well then, farewell. The protagonist can handle the main quest. The support character needs to get back to his daily tasks.

She nodded and left, leaving Miss Mona standing there in a daze, questioning the meaning of life.

Before long, she found many jobs she liked on a notice board not far away.

Searching for a lost cat—she found a huge, fat orange cat on a big tree that was too heavy to jump down.

She collected carrots and wild boar meat—she handcrafted a small cart, collected a hundred high-quality carrots from the designated vegetable field, filling most of the cart, and then drove around in the surrounding woods, where fresh, tender chunks of pork filled the other part of the cart.

She swept up the haystacks near the winery—though it would have been easier to blow them away with hot air, she preferred to use a broom to deal with the bits and pieces. Once the haystacks were gathered together in her cart, she lit a fire and watched the wind carry the smoke and dust to an open area.

Making walking sticks for the elderly, gathering ripe grapes, repairing carriages, and caring for injured camels—these miscellaneous tasks all fall within her contracted scope of work.

She didn't care if some people couldn't pay. After all, she wasn't the kind of fantasy hero who would refuse low-level quests once she reached a higher level. She considered those who wouldn't pay as a pure act of charity. She'd do the job and leave. But if they paid readily, she might offer them a small favor as a bonus.

She acted swiftly, her efficiency incredibly high, having done similar things countless times before. In just half a day, everyone around Dawn Winery knew a capable Omnipotent Helper had arrived—unfortunately, despite carrying a greatsword, she wasn't blonde and didn't have a confidante named Tifa. She had long admired the Final Fantasy universe, but had never actually visited it.

Unfortunately, but that's irrelevant. At least not at this moment.

She also took some time to go back to the hotel, redeemed the one-handed sword from the hotel owner with the money she had earned from her part-time job, and also worked as a chef in the kitchen for an hour—causing the hotel's revenue to triple in that hour. Along the way, Alina also helped her out for a while.

So, as Twilight approached, Miss Surtr, having thoroughly enjoyed her role as a mere tool, returned once again to the notice board she had almost completely emptied. Then, she focused her gaze on the very last item on the form.

"Clear the slime community outside the settlement, as well as the Hilichurl camp. Bring back a slime clot and a complete Hilichurl mask as proof. The reward is... 30,000 Mora?" Miss Surtr looked at the last bounty on the bulletin board and pondered for a moment.

This amount was acceptable, roughly half of the rewards she had received for completing numerous previous commissions. After all, in Liyue, the source of currency, hiring a laborer to do some work would cost tens of thousands of Mora. However, delving into the economics of this world was clearly not something Miss Surtr should be doing—because she had indeed done so before, and the resulting financial turmoil had taken her several years to clean up the consequences in that Dream World.

Capital is a dangerous thing... I think I'd better not teach the people here how to do business. Besides, who knows, once the world-building materializes, this little flaw in Liyue's business world might be corrected.

She thought for a moment and then accepted the bounty notice on the bulletin board. Since it wasn't a story about showing off and getting slapped in the face, there were no mercenaries or other strange and harmful creatures looking down on her or trying to stop her—accepting the bounty went smoothly. After that, all she had to do was stretch her muscles after working for most of the day.

But before that, there's a small problem that needs to be solved.

Miss Surtr suddenly turned around in front of the notice board. And at the edge of her vision, a spray of water suddenly dispersed.

"Miss Mona." The Flame-haired maiden looked helplessly at the clump of water hiding behind the rock. "I think if we're going the same way, you don't need to deliberately avoid me... Just say what you need."

"You've been following me for most of the day."

Chapter Ninety-Three: The Young Girl's Fluttering Killing Intent

A mist rose from the ground, and the pointed tip of the Witch Hat peeked out from behind the stone. Accompanied by two soft coughs to ease the awkwardness, the astrologer from afar made his way out of hiding as naturally as possible.

"Ahem, um... What a beautiful day! Sunny and picturesque..."

Miss Surtr looked up at the sky; the sun was already nearing its zenith. A dim, yellowish twilight blanketed the sky, casting a shadow over the earth—the small animals in the woods fell silent, and the shadows of the trees stretched sharp and long. She then took a torch from her all-purpose backpack and lit it.

As the fire ignited, the last rays of sunlight on the ground line also fell—all things were shrouded in darkness, with only one or two Elemental Butterflies occasionally flitting among the trees, their glints shimmering with a chilling, eerie light. In a daze, it seemed as if the howls of ferocious beasts came from the depths of the forest, echoing repeatedly in the tremors of the atmosphere.

So she turned her head and looked at Miss Mona, who was stuttering because she had used the wrong line. She watched as her pretty cheeks gradually flushed red, before being hidden by the lowered brim of her Witch Hat.

"Well, that's it!" she saw the astrologer rambling incoherently and waving his hands haphazardly.