The map expansion task turned out to be even duller than Gong Qu had imagined.
Most of the time, the two were simply traveling.
Three days passed. Aside from discovering a teleportation point in an abandoned village on the first day,
they hadn't come across any particularly notable or interesting locations since. As per protocol, they simply dropped a teleportation anchor every 50 kilometers.
At present, they were on a flat expanse of grassland roughly 220 kilometers from their forest cabin.
In the distance, reptilian creatures about two or three meters tall, vaguely resembling triceratops, wandered aimlessly.
"Are those... juvenile dragons from the Overworld?"
Gong Qu called out to Keqing and then opened his backpack to check his supplies—leather, thread, and iron ingots—all there.
Without wasting time, he pulled out the crafting table and quickly assembled three saddles using the required materials.
"What's the matter, Ah Qu? Are those dragons dangerous?"
Gong Qu smiled. "Ah Qing, how'd you like to try being a dragon tamer?"
Keqing's eyes lit up as she saw the saddles in his hands.
"You mean, those dragons can be tamed like Xiao Cheng?"
Xiao Cheng—her adopted orange tabby cat.
In just a few days, the once-feral feline had grown noticeably chubby, its wild spirit completely mellowed.
"More or less. These Overworld hatchlings are nothing compared to the massive dragons from the Ice and Fire Legends mod, but they'd still make pretty decent mounts."
"Just be careful when saddling them—they've got a bit of a temper."
Keqing took a saddle from him and, after Gong Qu shared a few beast-taming tips, eagerly made her way toward one of the young dragons.
Gong Qu followed closely behind, ready to heal her at a moment's notice.
After all, dragons weren't horses.
At worst, a horse might throw you off and run away. A dragon? It'll throw you off and bite you.
...
Keqing approached like a seasoned hunter, tension simmering beneath her calm demeanor. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Gong Qu charging up his elemental skill, and that put her at ease.
With her support standing by, her courage swelled.
She took aim—and tossed the saddle!
Like it was guided by a tracking spell, it landed squarely on the young dragon's back.
The hatchling blinked, confused. Just as it began to process what had happened, it suddenly felt a weight settle on its spine.
"RAWR!"
The dragon's innate pride surged forth—it couldn't tolerate a two-legged creature climbing onto its back. It thrashed wildly, trying to shake Keqing off.
She gritted her teeth, clutching tightly to the saddle grips.
But the hatchling's tantrum was too much. Both she and the saddle were thrown off with brute force.
"Crap!"
Keqing tucked and rolled to reduce impact, but even before she could get her bearings, a gust of wind—thick with danger—rushed at her.
The hatchling charged, horns lowered like a living battering ram.
"Nature's Blessing!"
Boom!
Keqing raised a hand to defend herself.
A flash of white light rippled across her diamond armor—absorbing most of the blow. The rest was quickly healed by Gong Qu's elemental support.
She shook her head and glanced around, frowning as the other young dragons began to close in.
If this were a regular battle, one elemental burst would probably be enough to bring these flightless hatchlings to their knees. But the goal here was taming—not killing—which made things significantly more complicated.
Thankfully, her armor held up well. She figured she could dance with these little beasts for hours if needed.
"Ah Qing, I'll handle the other two. You focus on taming that one!"
Gong Qu raised his Sharpness IV diamond sword. Years of fighting bulls had forged his killing aura—he charged at the remaining two hatchlings.
Keqing gave a quick nod and tried again, repeating her earlier approach.
This time, she stayed mounted.
Meanwhile, Gong Qu positioned himself between her and the two other dragons.
From their brief exchange earlier, he had a decent idea of the hatchlings' attack strength.
A bit stronger than a grizzly bear, but not by much.
With Keqing's reflexes and armor, even a head-on assault wouldn't do much more than scratch the surface.
"ROAR!"
The two hatchlings scraped their claws across the ground like angry bulls, readying to charge.
Gong Qu chuckled. "Can't let you two interrupt Ah Qing. And lucky for me, this is home turf. Time for a little nap."
"Blue... wait no, Vine Bind!"
He stabbed his sword into the earth.
Unexpectedly, the diamond blade conducted elemental energy far better than expected, amplifying his grass element spell. The ground burst into action—vines shot upward like they'd been waiting for this moment, growing into long tendrils over ten meters long.
And they moved as if alive—snaking toward the dragons.
The hatchlings thrashed violently, snapping some vines.
But there was too much vegetation here—dense, wild, unrelenting. Their resistance only delayed the inevitable.
In no time, the two dragons were bundled up like dumplings, heads poking out with bewildered expressions.
Man and dragons stared at each other. The scene was oddly comical.
"Ahem... hungry? Want something to eat?"
Gong Qu pulled out a few raw beef cuts from his pack.
The two dumb dragons immediately looked eager, eyes gleaming with hunger.
He tossed each of them a piece.
"Rooaarr~"
Their body language radiated gratitude—roughly translated: Big bro, got any more?
"Tsk, your buddy over there's fighting tooth and claw, and you two are already ready to sell your pride for a snack?"
So much for dragon pride—apparently it vanishes with free room and board?
He glanced over at Keqing.
The largest of the hatchlings had calmed significantly. She'd been riding it for over three minutes.
With nothing else to do, Gong Qu sat cross-legged, quietly admiring Keqing's fierce grace.
Ten minutes later—
Keqing strolled over, riding what now looked like a three-meter-tall, four-legged war chariot. The dragon's heavy footfalls thudded against the earth.
"Ah Qu, this taming thing is amazing. It's like... even without reins, I can control it like I'm walking myself."
Just a side note—horses do exist in Teyvat.
So her knowing about reins isn't weird at all.
Right, Cavalry Captain Kaeya? Who's never seen a horse in his life?
Gong Qu stifled the urge to roast Kaeya and patted one of the dragon heads. "These things are huge. I think taming just one is enough. What do you say we butcher the other two? The meat quality in the Savage Raptor Mod is decent, and the scales can be used for armor."
At that, the two vine-wrapped dragons began trembling.
Gong Qu glanced at them, amused.
Huh. So they do understand human speech.
Keqing, kind-hearted and beautiful, chuckled behind her hand. "Ah Qu, don't scare them like that. We just set up a new ranch—should be plenty of space for all three."
The bulls back home: You're the real monster!
Gong Qu nodded.
The ranch wouldn't make much profit in world currency, but it'd serve as a decent meat reserve.
Especially once he started breeding those colossal dragons from the Ice and Fire mod.
Just imagine it—hundreds of dragons clearing the road ahead as he traveled. Now that's a power move.
The thought made him look at the two dumb dragons with fresh disdain.
"Fine. Consider this a practice run."
He untied them. They didn't resist at all—letting themselves be saddled like docile cows.
And so, the three dragons were ridden to the nearest teleport anchor and transported back to the forest cabin.
The Overworld hatchlings were released to roam the western plains—free-range style.