Kael sprinted wildly across Mondstadt.
With the buffs from the System talents and his Vision, his physical capabilities had long since surpassed any ordinary human.
And with the Stamina points he'd added the night before—
He was now sprinting non-stop, dashing with full speed all the way to Dragonspine, not even breaking a sweat.
Before noon, he had already arrived at the snowy mountain.
He glanced behind him—
No sign of Amber.
So she didn't manage to catch up after all?
Even better. Now he could explore freely, with nothing holding him back.
Kael lifted his foot, about to step into Dragonspine—
"W-Wait for me!"
Amber was gliding down from above, controlling her wind glider as she descended from the sky.
She landed right in front of Kael, but her legs gave out from exhaustion—she nearly collapsed to the ground.
Kael quickly reached out and caught her.
Amber was panting hard, sweat streaming down her forehead.
"G... Got you!"
Her lips were pale from exhaustion, but she still flashed him a bright smile.
"Good... thing... I'm the gliding champion of Mondstadt, or else... you'd have totally ditched me!"
Kael's eyes filled with complicated emotion.
He had intentionally tried to shake Amber off.
But he hadn't expected this girl to push herself so hard just to catch up to him.
Just looking at the state she was in, he could already imagine how grueling that chase had been.
This was the first time in Kael's life that a girl had gone to such lengths for him, so selflessly.
He sighed and helped Amber sit down by the roadside.
"Alright, don't talk. Catch your breath first. We'll enter the mountain together once you've rested."
Seeing Kael finally give in, Amber beamed with a silly grin.
"Hehe~"
The base of Dragonspine was already chillingly cold. Kael picked up some wood and lit a campfire nearby.
Once everything was set up, he noticed Amber sitting there, eyes fixed on him, unwilling to look away for even a second.
"Alright, stop staring. Move your limbs a bit."
What he meant was for her to get some light exercise to reduce lactic acid buildup and prevent her arms and legs from going numb.
But... why did it sound so much like a playboy line?
Seeing the constant droplets of sweat falling from Amber, Kael fished a handkerchief out of his pocket and passed it over.
"Here, wipe yourself off."
Damn it, that sounded even worse!
Amber, innocent as ever, took the handkerchief with a pure look on her face. Guilt gnawed at Kael's chest, and he quickly added:
"I mean—wipe your sweat, that's what I meant."
"Oh." Amber obediently pressed the cloth to her face and wiped away the sweat.
The two sat by the fire for a good while. Once Kael figured enough time had passed, he asked,
"Feeling better now?"
Amber gave a bright, energetic smile.
"Yup! Ready to go anytime!"
With that, Kael led Amber into Dragonspine.
The real-life version of Dragonspine was far more punishing than in the game.
The moment Kael stepped into the mountain, he felt a bone-chilling cold hit him straight on.
No wonder in the game you kept losing HP the longer you stayed in the snow.
Even with his enhanced body, he could feel the frost seeping into his bones.
Amber's teeth were chattering.
"Kael, where are we headed?"
Kael remembered that the frozen boars should be somewhere near the entrance.
"Let's search around near the entrance first. See if we can spot any. If it gets too cold for you, let me know—we'll stop and make a fire."
Reality wasn't like the game—if Amber froze to death out here, she'd really be gone for good.
Hearing Kael's concern, Amber giggled and raised her soft, pale hand.
"Then let's hold hands! If you hold mine, I won't feel cold at all."