The battlements flickered with endless cascades of arcane light.
The allied commanders had entered a state of absolute euphoria, grinding wand experience with manic dedication.
The wretched zombies trapped within the outer kill zones were no longer terrifying monsters; they were simply walking progression points.
The joy of leveling was not confined to the combat mages along the upper walls.
Deep within the subterranean bunkers beneath the drop pits, the SlashBlade vanguard squads were equally ecstatic.
Their operational doctrine was beautifully simple: plant their feet and swing their blades rhythmically into the dark.
It was a process they knew intimately.
It was the exact same rhythmic slaughter used to clear automated mob-grinding towers and iron farms.
While the strategy of grinding wand proficiency had only been conceived by Ryen today, the SlashBlade vanguard had been farming the drop pits since the first night of the siege.
Across the first week alone, they had successfully forged and ascended over eight thousand high-tier Odachi blades.
One could only imagine the sheer volume of undead they had slaughtered to achieve that number.
Before the horde evolved into their final, terrifying mutant stages, they served as perfect, compliant experience pinatas.
Atop the battlements, Hu Tao's enthusiastic offer to assist Ryen sparked a wave of sudden guilt among Ganyu and the others.
They had been so absorbed in maximizing their own wand proficiencies that they had completely forgotten Ryen held a massive collection of staves in his inventory.
Without hesitation, Ganyu and the women volunteered to help him level his collection.
Ryen simply smiled and declined.
Hu Tao only carried two wands, and since she already possessed a Master Staff, her progression requirements were minimal. Having capped her secondary ice wand long ago, she was genuinely bored, making her offer to help more of a playful diversion.
Ningguang, Guizhong, and the others, however, held extensive personal inventories.
Wasting this unprecedented farming window on his behalf was unnecessary.
Furthermore, Ryen did not rely on the attribute boosts provided by casting staves for his personal combat strength.
Much like Ryen, Zhongli possessed a vast collection of wands but an even greater supply of devoted subordinates.
Xiao and Bosacius had proactively claimed Zhongli's staves, diligently farming experience on his behalf.
Zhongli accepted their service with graceful ease, happy to rest his hands.
"From a certain perspective, this zombie siege has proven to be a remarkable blessing," Zhongli observed calmly.
Ryen shook his head, a wry smile touching his lips.
"That holds true only for the present phase. Once the horde undergoes a few more evolutionary cycles, the reality of the field will shift drastically."
"Still, I cannot deny the current advantage. If everyone maximizes their farming time, every wand in our armory will reach peak proficiency. Our only bottleneck will be the supply of Arcane Tomes."
Zhongli pondered the logistics, murmuring thoughtfully.
"Yet the material cost to ascend an Advanced Wand into a Master Staff using an Arcane Tome is exorbitantly steep."
"Spectral Dust and Magic Crystals are manageable, but the Arcane Tome itself requires an intact spellbook as a catalyst. We are hardly wealthy enough to burn rare spellbooks on a massive scale."
Ryen waved a hand dismissively.
"We shall adapt as the situation develops. If we uncover enough buried treasure during our expeditions, excellent. If not, we can always deploy trading envoys to barter with wizards residing in the obelisk towers during daylight hours."
"We can sacrifice low-tier, duplicate spellbooks to serve as ascension fuel for the Arcane Tomes."
Zhongli offered a slow nod of agreement, letting the matter rest.
He stood quietly, observing the churning mass of undead below. Under the concentrated arcane bombardment, the dense clusters occasionally shattered into empty pockets, only to be instantly refilled by the surging tide.
Behind the lines, the forging division was operating at maximum capacity, continuously delivering fresh wands to the battlements for the troops to level.
It was unfortunate that they lacked sufficient Spectral Dust and a dedicated Arcane Workbench, rendering them incapable of forging wands of varying elemental affinities.
After a long pause, a thought crossed Zhongli's mind.
"Speaking of unique elements, how progresses your mastery over Imaginary energy?"
Ryen shrugged casually.
"Passable. Synthesizing a few Gnoses is effortless. A trivial matter, truly. Scarcely worth mentioning."
Zhongli fell silent, casting a sidelong glance at Ryen. The sheer arrogance of that casual brag felt incredibly forced.
Ryen cleared his throat. With deliberate clumsiness, he reached into his pocket and accidentally fumbled, allowing four or five glowing Gnoses to spill onto the stone parapet.
"My goodness! How careless of me! I simply manufactured far too many Gnoses and forgot to secure my pockets properly."
"..."
Zhongli drew in a deep, suffering breath, doing his utmost to ignore Ryen's shameless theatrics.
Sensing that posturing for Zhongli yielded little amusement, Ryen dropped the act and spoke in a relaxed tone.
"Imaginary energy cannot be generated from thin air. It represents the foundational lifeblood of the Imaginary Tree. To expand my reserves, I must establish a direct tether with the Tree itself."
"However, my current capacity is sufficient. Being an entity from beyond the outer cosmos, drawing too close to the Imaginary Tree would likely trigger a catastrophic territorial clash."
"In truth, I hold no desperate need for an infinite supply. Setting all boasting aside, the primary utility of Imaginary energy, apart from allowing me to levitate, lies in its absolute versatility."
It functioned much like the underlying source code of the block world that Ryen would eventually command.
The energy of the Imaginary Tree served as the base code for its native universe.
With it, one could arbitrarily rewrite the physical and logical laws of any reality rooted within the Tree.
Naturally, the scale of such alterations depended entirely on the volume of energy expended.
In terms of qualitative purity, it was absolute; outside of the Sea of Quanta, no higher form of energy existed.
Yet rewriting the cosmic logic of an entire world demanded a staggering quantitative investment.
If Ryen possessed a mere hundred units of Imaginary energy, attempting to reverse the flow of time, an act requiring a thousand units, would remain impossible.
Conversely, synthesizing small conceptual vessels like Gnoses required virtually zero energy expenditure.
"My inquiry was directed toward a different application," Zhongli said smoothly, burying his irritation at Ryen's earlier posturing.
"Consider the elemental affinities tied to the staves of the Wizardry module. The attributes they amplify do not perfectly align with the natural elements wielded by our people."
"Ice, Lightning, Earth, and Fire correspond cleanly to five of Teyvat's Seven Elements. However, the Wizardry module possesses no wands aligned with Anemo or Hydro."
Ryen raised an eyebrow, letting out a helpless chuckle.
"You aren't suggesting I use Imaginary energy to rewrite the foundational code of the Wizardry mod, are you? The Imaginary Tree is supreme, but the underlying essence of this block world is no less absolute."
"Using the sword of Mondstadt to execute an official of Liyue; does that strike you as logical?"
"Furthermore, even as the master of this realm, I must respect its foundational logic."
"I cannot simply alter a mod that governs the core mechanics of this world."
Zhongli refused to indulge Ryen's deflections. He knew perfectly well that Ryen understood his actual intent.
Choosing clarity over riddles, Zhongli spoke plainly.
"I am suggesting you approach the discrepancy from the opposite direction."
"The Wizardry module contains Ice, Lightning, Earth, and Fire."
"Yet it also governs Necromancy, Sorcery, Healing, and non-elemental Magic."
"Apply your Imaginary energy to synthesize new Gnoses or Visions perfectly aligned with those specific arcane attributes."
"By distributing those conceptual vessels to our people, they could wield those respective wands to amplify their innate power."
Ryen blinked, staring at Zhongli in genuine surprise.
"You conceived such a brilliant workaround? Why did you not propose this earlier!"
"...The fault is mine alone," Zhongli sighed, utterly unwilling to debate the matter.
Dropping his playful demeanor, Ryen waved a hand thoughtfully.
"Utilizing Imaginary energy to achieve that result is entirely feasible. Fusing the unique mechanics of both worlds could indeed spawn several brand-new sovereign-tier combatants from thin air."
"However, the fundamental laws of Teyvat still apply. The manifestation of a Vision requires the gaze and acknowledgment of a corresponding deity."
Zhongli arched an eyebrow, his tone rich with pointed implication.
"Does that present a barrier for you?"
"None whatsoever!" Ryen spread his hands with a bright grin.
"The gaze of a god! For these four new attributes, I alone dictate who sits upon the divine thrones. Is that not the gaze of a god? I merely need to look upon them with favor."
"...Then why did you bother raising the complication?"
"If I do not raise the complication, how can I properly demonstrate my supreme authority to you?"
"..."
Zhongli fell into a profound, exhausted silence. Ryen laughed loudly, waving his hands to dispel the tension.
"Very well, jokes aside. I can easily forge Gnoses and Visions for Sorcery, Magic, and Healing. Whoever I select shall be crowned as the reigning Archons of those elements."
"However, Necromancy... presents a philosophical hurdle."
"I can synthesize the vessels for the first three attributes and distribute them among the ranks without fearing any internal conflict with their existing Visions."
"It essentially grants them a secondary, parallel elemental authority. Naturally, they will have to develop the specific combat applications of those Visions themselves."
"But Necromancy... conceptually speaking, its aesthetic clashes violently with the moral fabric of Teyvat, does it not?"
Ryen furrowed his brow, speaking with measured caution.
"Suppose I grant the Necromancy Gnosis to Hu Tao. She possesses the intellect to master its capabilities, undoubtedly."
"Yet Necromancy commands the souls of the dead and desecrates mortal remains. Do you genuinely believe our people would comfortably accept a sovereign who wields such profane power?"
Zhongli nodded thoughtfully, recognizing the profound social implications.
"It is indeed a thorny complication. We shall set Necromancy aside for the moment and deliberate upon it later."
"As for the Gnoses of the other three attributes..."
Before Zhongli could finish his sentence, radiant light flared across Ryen's palm, condensing rapidly into three brilliant, flawless chess pieces.
"Done."
"..."
Zhongli stared at the glowing artifacts, exhaling a long, weary breath.
"Applying universal principles... the boundless nature of Imaginary energy is utterly absurd."
"Ryen, where did you acquire those Gnoses?"
Ganyu, who had been keeping a watchful eye on Ryen from a nearby bastion, called out with bright curiosity. Her voice drew the attention of the surrounding commanders.
"Oh, these?" Ryen smiled effortlessly.
"I just forged them."
"..."
He had seized the opportunity to show off yet again.
Zhongli sighed inwardly, carrying the quiet melancholy of a man surrounded by incorrigible show-offs.
"What elemental authorities do those Gnoses govern?" Yae Miko asked, her violet eyes gleaming with sharp intrigue.
"Zhongli provided me with an excellent inspiration," Ryen explained cheerfully. "Since the wands of the Wizardry module amplify distinct attributes, and Teyvat lacks native elements for Sorcery and Healing, I decided to synthesize them myself."
"In essence, I am stepping into the role of the Heavenly Principles for a day. I shall select three candidates to be crowned as the primordial Archons of Healing, Sorcery, and Arcane Magic in Teyvat."
Though Ryen's casual assertion of absolute divine authority was staggering, the implications of his words brought immense joy to the assembly.
"Consider it advanced preparation for our eventual reckoning against Celestia. However, since these three elements have never existed within Teyvat, whoever claims them will have to pioneer their martial applications from scratch."
Ryen tossed the glowing pieces lightly in his palm.
"I intend to distribute them after the zombie siege concludes, basing my selections on battlefield merit."
"There is no need for anxiety. While only three individuals can be elevated to the rank of Archon, I will forge equivalent Visions for the rest of the army. You may choose whichever new path suits you."
A wave of electric excitement swept through the commanders. While Zhongli and the ancient gods held little personal desire for a Gnosis, that apathy stemmed from their own intrinsic, overwhelming strength.
For anyone else, a Gnosis was an artifact of unimaginable power.
Moreover, these Gnoses were synthesized directly by Ryen using Imaginary energy.
There was zero risk of Celestia planting corrupting anchors or hidden traps within them, and they knew Ryen harbored no treacherous designs.
"Yet... the laws of Teyvat restrict mortals to wielding a single Vision... and does a Gnosis not demand the administration of a sovereign nation?" Baizhu asked softly, his brow furrowing in thought.
Ryen waved a hand with supreme nonchalance.
"Ah, you need not worry about that. I forged these Gnoses and Visions, which means my word is law. The Heavenly Principles hold zero jurisdiction over my creations. If she wishes to file a grievance, she can submit it directly to the Imaginary Tree."
"..."
The assembly fell into stunned silence. Ningguang drew in a slow, steadying breath, looking intently at the glowing artifacts.
"To be perfectly clear, you intend to birth three brand-new Archons into existence?"
"Essentially, yes. A sovereign Gnosis paired with the amplifying effects of a corresponding Master Staff should elevate the wielder to the threshold of a high-tier god. With sufficient mastery, rivaling the premier Archons is entirely within reach," Ryen clarified effortlessly.
At those words, the collective gaze of the commanders locked onto the three chess pieces resting in Ryen's palm, their eyes burning with unprecedented, ravenous desire.
~~----------------------
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