"You're awake?"
"Any discomfort?"
The moment Lin Feng opened his eyes, Tinalari's concerned voice greeted him.
"Just... my mouth is incredibly bitter!"
Only when he saw the bowl in Tinalari's hand did he realize the taste coating his tongue—like the time he was a kid and chewed through a pill's sugar coating out of curiosity.
"That was a restorative broth I fed you while you slept. Mostly for stamina recovery."
"Passing out for a full day just from touching a Statue... you need to work on your nutrition."
Tinalari eyed Lin Feng's slightly thin frame with worry.
"Anyway, never mind that. Check yourself—did a glass orb suddenly appear on you?"
He pulled the Vision from his waist. "Something looking like this."
Clearly, Tinalari assumed the phenomenon meant divine acknowledgement. The scale had been shocking, but given the control Lin Feng displayed, a Dendro Vision seemed the only logical outcome.
"No. Nothing."
Lin Feng didn't even hope. His experience felt less like a god's gaze and more like he'd broken into a god's house with a sack.
Lucky it was Sumeru. Anywhere else, the deity might have spawned on his face the moment he opened his eyes.
"Strange. Your physique has improved drastically, and your elemental attraction has spiked. Those are classic signs of gaining a Vision."
Tinalari was visibly puzzled.
"How do you feel now?" he asked.
"If you're up to it, come outside. Let's see if you can manipulate Dendro properly."
"Never felt better. Let's go."
"Though I've never actually moved energy before. Might be clumsy."
Lin Feng was eager to try.
"Here will do."
Tinalari stopped before two training targets in a clearing.
"My archery practice spot. Try using vines to bind those two targets together."
He stepped back, giving Lin Feng space.
"Okay. I'll try."
Lin Feng inhaled deep, recalling the sensation. Green motes became visible in the air again. He pushed his will toward them.
"Entangle!"
He let out a short shout.
CRUNCH.
Lin Feng stared at the targets, which had been crushed into splinters by thick, thorny briars. Confusion filled him.
That was "bind"? Something felt off.
"Hoh. Impressive. Power output far exceeds expectation. You really are special, Lin Feng."
Tinalari eyed the thigh-thick "vines," reassessing the boy's threat level.
"Activation is slow, but intensity is extreme. That raw damage output beats some Dendro elite monsters I've fought."
He scribbled notes in his field journal.
"Let's continue." Tinalari looked at him with anticipation.
...
"Stop!"
"That's enough for today."
Seeing Lin Feng flag, Tinalari called it.
He looked around.
The flat training ground was now a moonscape of plant-mine craters. Massive spiked vines choked the earth. Nearby flora, drunk on leaked Dendro, had shot up a full meter.
"Done? I'm... dying here."
After half a day of bombardment, Lin Feng knew where he stood.
Honestly? Strong!
Level was low, but raw firepower eclipsed even level-51 Tinalari.
Lack of a weapon like a bow limited his style, though.
Just three moves: "Entangle" (crushing vines), "Earth Spike" (ground stabbing), and "Blast" (compress Dendro, throw, boom).
The absurd damage likely came from Level 7 Elemental Affinity. In game terms, that was probably a massive percentage bonus to Elemental DMG—hundreds, maybe.
"You have a gift for manipulation."
Tinalari closed his journal and walked over.
"No Vision, yet your control beats most people I know." He was genuinely shocked.
"Many Dendro Vision holders can't even form solid vines; they just infuse weapons. To do this fresh out of the gate... only one friend comes to mind who rivals your combat instinct."
He didn't hold back the praise.
"Flaws are obvious, though. Low accuracy. Zero combat experience. Limited variety."
"But we'll fix those in time. With your firepower, I can finally relax a bit. Ears were drooping from clearing monsters daily."
A true smile broke through.
"You mean I'm joining monster clearing duty?"
Lin Feng caught the implication.
"Naturally. Your goal is the Seven Nations, right? Can't travel without fighting."
"Planned to teach you archery, but with this... we'll need to add curriculum."
Tinalari tossed his pen, catching it.
"Let's head back. I have reports to clear after dinner. You rest tonight."
"There's a hilichurl camp nearby that needs clearing. Tomorrow, I'll take you for live combat experience. Sleep early."
He left after dropping the schedule, clearly swamped by the backlog caused by their testing.
"Hilichurls, huh... wonder what they look like in person?"
Back in his hut, munching a meat wrap, Lin Feng mused on the game's most famous fodder.
As a Mondstadt daily speedrunner, he had thousands of masks in his inventory. But a real, breathing hilichurl? Never seen one.
Expectation for his first real fight bubbled in his chest. Washed and fed, he climbed into bed.
A strange drowsiness pulled him under, and he drifted into dream.