"I've seen you use Zhongli's Planet Befall and Venti's Wind's Grand Ode" Ei said, her tone faintly puzzled.
"But you never once used my Musou no Hitotachi."
She studied Ryen with an expression halfway between curiosity and suspicion.
"Although Musou no Hitotachi requires extreme skill to perfect, its moment of release, the sword draw, is the strongest phase. And it demands the least technique."
"With a sword-draw weapon in your hand, you should excel at that form."
"Even if you only want flashy effects, Musou no Hitotachi is plenty stylish."
She had a vague feeling Ryen was holding a grudge against her.
After all, her Musou no Hitotachi was incredibly cool.
Surely he would enjoy using it.
Unless…
Was he still angry about her hunting the Traveler and Paimon back in Inazuma?
But no, that didn't fit Ryen at all.
He wasn't that petty.
"Well, about that…" Ryen scratched his cheek, looking faintly embarrassed.
"It is cool. But… your version draws the blade from your chest. If I do that, it just feels… weird."
Ei froze.
A heartbeat later, the heat rushed to her cheeks.
"There's no rule that it must be drawn from the chest!" she said quickly.
"You can draw it from any position."
"Any position?" Ryen echoed.
He instinctively lowered his gaze.
A chill crept up his spine.
Any other position…?
Wouldn't that be dangerous?
One mistake and his entire future happiness with Ganyu and the others would be… permanently compromised.
Draw the sword successfully but lose the "brothers"…
That was the kind of stunt one could only do once.
"I think…"
Ryen cleared his throat.
"There's no need to rush. Let me… research that later."
Ningguang and the others nodded so fervently it was almost synchronized.
They clearly had the same mental image.
Not that their relationship with Ryen revolved around physical affection,
but losing that entirely would remove half the flavor of romance.
Love without spice was painfully dull.
Hu Tao and the others might always complain about being exhausted, but…
take it away forever?
Unacceptable.
The joys of the night were not to be discussed lightly.
Sensing Ei was about to continue her "sales pitch" for Musou no Hitotachi, Lisa swiftly changed the subject.
Tonight was her turn, after all, if Ryen ended up traumatized by a botched sword draw, her evening plans would be ruined.
"Shouldn't we start collecting the loot from the Cloud Cottage?"
Ryen's focus immediately shifted.
"Right. The rewards inside aren't exactly amazing, but they're not bad either."
"The most important items are the Armored Giant's Pickaxe and the Mining Giant's Sword."
He led everyone back to the battlefield and picked up the enormous tools, their size easily surpassing any person present.
"This sword looks insanely strong just from its size!" Tartaglia said, eyes shining with admiration.
Ryen raised an eyebrow.
"You want it?"
"Can I?" Tartaglia brightened instantly.
"Why not?" Ryen replied, tossing it casually toward him.
Tartaglia barely had time to celebrate.
The moment the sword touched his hands, the weight nearly crushed him.
He staggered backward, barely managing to brace with both arms.
Face pale, he stared at Ryen in disbelief.
"Why… why is this thing so heavy?"
"Wait, didn't I already get a quarter of your strength? How am I still struggling?!"
The others perked up.
Since arriving in this world, with Ryen's physique shared among them, almost nothing felt heavy anymore.
But this sword, this was the exception.
Ryen shrugged.
"It's a weapon meant for giants. Naturally, its weight is insane."
"Even I feel a little pressure lifting it."
He tapped the blade thoughtfully.
"The sword itself weighs only about a thousand tons or so. But it's also bound with special laws."
"You can think of it as pre-set programming. This sword expects a 'giant' as its default user."
"Even with limitless strength, I need about two seconds to swing it with full force."
He glanced at Tartaglia, smiling.
"You? Maybe ten seconds per swing. If you're lucky."
Tartaglia's face went slack.
"A… a thousand tons…?"
"If I carry this outside, won't I be flattened instantly?"
"Not if you keep it in your inventory," Ryen replied.
"But if you hold it physically, yes, you'd be dragged straight into the ground."
Tartaglia looked ready to cry.
"Then what's even the point of this sword? What advantages does it have?!"
"Advantages?" Ryen repeated.
And that's where the next part begins.
Ryen thought for a moment before explaining quietly:
"In this world, that sword's raw damage is extremely high. It can't quite one-shot a Giant Miner, but zombies and most common mobs can't survive a single hit."
"As for Teyvat…"
"If you can lift it, splitting mountains and rivers isn't impossible.
If you can't lift it…"
He shrugged.
"…then it's essentially a suicide weapon."
"But hey, at least you have a Totem of Undying."
Tartaglia's expression collapsed into utter despair.
"Can I… not take it?"
Diluc gave him a look of calm amusement.
Moments ago, he had regretted not claiming the weapon first.
Now, it seemed, Tartaglia truly was the chosen one.
Who else could so effortlessly inherit a weapon no ordinary being could even wield?
"I thought you were enthusiastic about it," Diluc remarked dryly.
"This sword is Ryen's goodwill. If you could swing this blade properly, you'd instantly reach Archon-level combat strength."
"Perhaps even among Archons, you'd stand near the top."
Tartaglia rolled his eyes.
"Easy for you to say! If I had enough strength to swing it, I'd already be Archon-level without the sword!"
"Hey, Conqueror of Demons, can you use it? Maybe you should take it instead?"
Tartaglia gave Xiao a hopeful smile.
Xiao glanced at him once, expression completely flat.
"I can lift it," he admitted. "But it drains my Adepti energy too quickly. I wouldn't manage more than a few strikes."
"Besides, I specialize in polearms."
Tartaglia turned helplessly toward Zhongli.
Zhongli sighed softly, though not without compassion. Tartaglia had, after all, helped cover his debts for quite some time.
"Give it to Azhdaha," Zhongli said. "His physical strength surpasses all of us. The weight of this sword actually suits him."
"With it, Azhdaha's power will increase considerably."
Tartaglia looked at the towering figure beside Zhongli, more than two meters tall, nearly three, with horns on his head and draconic scales across his arms.
Even in a humanoid form, Azhdaha radiated the raw ferocity of a living mountain.
"Give it here," Azhdaha rumbled.
He reached out and accepted the Giant's Sword.
He couldn't swing it as effortlessly as Ryen, but compared to Tartaglia, he handled it almost comfortably.
"It is heavy…" Azhdaha murmured with a slight frown.
"That's normal," Ryen replied.
"In this world, the sword's weight isn't only physical, its laws are enforcing the idea that it must be difficult to lift."
"Once we return to Teyvat, it should feel much better."
The sword was larger than Azhdaha himself, but once strapped onto his back, it looked surprisingly fitting, like an extension of his own massive form.
Ryen's eyes sparkled with amusement.
"Once we enchant it properly, it'll become your personal signature weapon."
Azhdaha seemed genuinely pleased.
He had collected quite a few weapons recently, diamond swords, magical staves, tridents, but all of them were too small.
A diamond sword in his hand looked like a letter opener.
This, however, this was perfect.
"With this blade, my strength will increase," Azhdaha declared.
No one doubted it.
Azhdaha already commanded multiple elements and dominated ground combat.
In Teyvat, if he swung a sword weighing over a thousand tons…
He would become a walking Archon-level meat grinder.
Aside from Ryen, who could survive a hit from that?
"Unfortunately, the sword still has durability," Azhdaha said with mild regret.
"It may shatter after prolonged use."
Ryen only laughed.
"No worries. As long as the Cloud Cottage exists, Giant Miners and Armored Giants will keep respawning."
"We can always get a new one."
He paused.
"But keep in mind, the thousand-ton estimate is conservative. If you take this sword out in Teyvat, be careful. The ground might not withstand it."
Azhdaha nodded solemnly.
"If there is no Archon-level threat, I will not draw this weapon."
Ryen trusted him.
Azhdaha knew the difference between necessity and recklessness.
"And the Giant's Pickaxe?" Ganyu asked, experimentally tapping the enormous tool.
"That," Ryen said, "is the true prize here."
"It looks like a stone pickaxe, but it isn't."
"It can break a 4×4×4 block area at once, not as convenient as Vein Miner, perhaps, but that's not the point."
"This pickaxe is essential for entering the Final Castle."
"Do you remember the section in the Troll Caverns surrounded by colossal obsidian?" he asked.
Tartaglia instantly replied:
"How could I forget! Venti spent half a day swinging a diamond pickaxe, and we didn't even make a scratch."
Venti glared at him.
Ryen hefted the Giant's Pickaxe with a smile.
"This thing can mine Giant Obsidian."
"And what's sealed inside those obsidian barriers is the Lamp of Cinders."
"To reach the Final Castle, we must cross the Thornlands."
"And only the Lamp of Cinders can burn through the living brambles blocking the path."
"So in truth, the pickaxe, not the sword, is the most important treasure of the Cloud Cottage."
Keqing pressed her lips together.
"So… it's a matryoshka doll again?"
Ryen shrugged.
"This world runs on nested mechanics. Layers inside layers."
"In any case, we're done here. Let this place regenerate its giants."
"To most of you, they're useless, but Azhdaha can treat this whole zone as his personal armory."
Then Ryen turned toward the distant horizon.
Beyond the clouds, the looming silhouette of the Final Castle hovered like a dark continent in the sky.
"Our final destination," he murmured.
"The last stop."
~~----------------------
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