Within just two minutes, the Hilichurls who had been chasing them—along with those drawn in by the ensuing chaos—had completely surrounded the arena. The cacophony of Hilichurlian shouts forced Victor Wang to raise his voice: "The totem's activated, let's get out of here!"
All four exits at the bottom of the platform were now packed. Fortunately, the encirclement was still thin for the moment, though more Hilichurls were quickly converging.
Among the encircling enemies were Mitachurls with wooden shields, Pyro Mitachurls wielding flaming axes, and even Samachurls.
A Dendro Samachurl summoned a wall of brambles that blocked their path, which Bennett promptly ignited.
Then an Anemo Samachurl unleashed three small tornadoes that ended up striking a cluster of its own allies mid-flight.
Fischl loosed three consecutive arrows, one of which pierced the Samachurl clean through the head.
Bennett shouted, "It'll take a full loop around from the other three directions to exit this camp—we should retreat the way we came!"
"Alright, you two, make way! I can carve out a path, but we'll need to run fast!"
"Got it!"
"Shadow, it's on you!"
Bennett and Fischl shifted aside to open a path for Victor Wang.
"Out of my way!"
Victor Wang extended both arms forward. Anemo energy surged at full power, erupting into a gust that blasted away the scorched and electrocuted corpses on the arena as well as a horde of Hilichurls gathered below. They were hurled several meters backward.
Victor Wang had already observed the terrain on the way here—the arena was situated on higher ground, with a small hillside right behind the Hilichurls. Now, every one of them was blown down that slope.
"Let's go!"
Before the Hilichurls could regroup and close in again, the three of them leapt down the slope, vaulting over the Hilichurls' heads, and sprinted toward the camp's entrance.
By the time they crossed the lake where the Sword Cemetery lay, the long column of Hilichurls finally gave up the chase.
"Anemo is amazing."
Bennett said earnestly, "With Anemo, you could probably unlock every elemental totem during an expedition, right?"
"No, no, Geo and Dendro totems don't work that way."
Victor Wang humbly replied. As he said, since Geo and Dendro couldn't be spread through Swirl reactions, totems of those types were off-limits. For the rest, as long as a suitable substance could carry the element, it was solvable.
"With the seal lifted, let's take a look at the treasure."
The Sword Cemetery in Dadaupa Gorge consisted of two massive tree trunks crossed over one another, and the surrounding ground littered with abandoned swords.
The cemetery sat at the edge of a large, shallow lake. With no sign of inflowing streams, Victor Wang guessed it had formed either from rainwater or groundwater seepage.
Whether this lake existed during the ancient battle here was unclear, but by now, all the swords around the outer edge of the cemetery were submerged—only the central mound remained above the waterline.
Originally, the Sword Cemetery had been protected by a triple-layered seal.
According to Doctor Livingstone, this was once an ancient battlefield. After the fight, survivors sealed the site with elemental barriers to prevent their fallen comrades' weapons from falling into the hands of monsters. The swords, and the treasure chest beneath the logs, were relics of those warriors who perished here.
"If they deliberately left behind a chest, then they must have wanted someone worthy to claim it, right?" Even after breaking all three barriers, Bennett still questioned the morality of taking the treasure.
Doctor Livingstone adjusted her glasses. "Of course. We're adventurers who use our wits to conquer the world—not monsters."
Victor Wang rubbed his nose. From a certain angle, the fears of the barrier's creators had indeed come true.
He reassured them, "We've already broken the seals. If we don't take the treasure, it'll just end up in the hands of other adventurers—or Hilichurls."
Fischl had no qualms. 'What Heaven bestows and man declines, he shall surely suffer for.'
Wearing adventurer-grade waterproof boots, Victor Wang walked to the center of the Sword Cemetery. Unlike the ornate chests in the game, what he found here was a plain, rectangular wooden chest.
Its shape reminded Victor Wang of a certain game where treasure chests turned into mimics. A vague sense of unease crept up in his mind.
But then he reminded himself—there were no mimic monsters in Teyvat.
He slowly opened the chest.
Inside was a Northlander Claymore Billet, along with several well-preserved weapons and a modest pile of Mora.
Then Victor Wang understood the source of his anxiety—he had misremembered this reward as a Northlander Sword Billet.
Sensing his hesitation, Bennett asked with concern, "What's wrong? Something not right?"
"No, it's fine..." Victor Wang lifted out the Northlander Claymore Billet. "The rest is yours."
Doctor Livingstone's eyes gleamed as she looked toward Bennett and Fischl. "May I study these weapons? I'll return them after I'm done."
"Accept the blessings from the Twilight Realm."
"What Milady means is, yes."
"Thank you so much."
Victor Wang cradled the Northlander Claymore Billet in his arms, thoughtful. "I've got things to take care of, so I'll head back to Mondstadt first."
"Bye-bye!"
...
"Master Wagner! Could you help me with this weapon?"
Hearing the call, Wagner paused his forging work and looked up to see Victor Wang holding a gleaming Northlander Claymore Billet.
"Hm... That's a fine piece of material. It's the best quality I can work with. You want it forged into a finished blade?"
"I want it made into a one-handed sword. Is that possible?"
"Huh? This is clearly a Northlander Claymore Billet. You want to turn it into a one-hander?"
"Is it not doable?"
Victor Wang started to panic—if not, he'd have to switch to training in greatsword combat.
"It is doable, but it'll waste some of the material." Wagner picked up a one-handed sword and held it next to the prototype. "See?"
"That's fine—I can't use a claymore anyway."
"What kind of design do you want? Do you have a blueprint?"
Victor Wang had obtained blueprints for the Favonius Sword, Sacrificial Sword, and Royal Longsword from the Knights. Typically, the Knights only crafted four-star weapons for those who held a Vision and had achieved knight rank. But due to material shortages, the logistics department had told him that only three-star weapons or crafting blueprints were currently available.
Still, Victor Wang wasn't planning to use those. He pulled out a blueprint he had drawn himself, modeled from memory after a famous sword.
A blade three feet long, a rectangular crossguard, and a cylindrical grip. The total length just over one meter. No unnecessary ornamentation.
"Will this work?"
Wagner frowned at first, then nodded.
"How much Mora in total?"
"Ten thousand. If you want a leather scabbard, add a thousand more."
"That's cheap." Victor Wang was surprised.
Crafting a blade from a billet required crystal chunks and white iron chunks too, which he clearly hadn't prepared—Wagner must be supplying those himself. Including labor, the price was a bargain.
"What? Not happy if I only make a bit of profit?"
"No, no—I'm thrilled!" Victor Wang handed over the Mora and specifically requested Wagner not to alter the sword's color.
The curse of the unlucky—gold just looked too good.
"Alright. Come pick it up tomorrow afternoon." Wagner waved him off with a gruff hand.
When Victor Wang passed by the Adventurers' Guild again, Bennett and Fischl had just returned, carrying the treasure chest between them.
"Wow, the gods must be smiling—Bennett brought back a real treasure!"
"Must've been Fischl who found it!"
Some adventurers picking up or turning in commissions were clearly shocked by what Bennett had managed to haul back.
"Nope! We almost missed out this time too, but thanks to another adventurer's help, the three of us earned this treasure together."
"After all these years, it's the first real treasure you've brought back. That guy must be your lucky charm!" said one burly adventurer, ruffling Bennett's hair.
Another elder adventurer even wiped away a tear.
"There he is… Dust!" Bennett waved toward Victor Wang.
"You guys are back already? Doctor Livingstone finished her research?"
"Uh… she kinda got an upset stomach."
Huh…
Victor Wang recalled how he had somehow misremembered the Sword Cemetery reward as a one-handed sword. Was it really that terrifying?
There was no "Luck" stat in Genshin Impact, but Victor Wang believed luck did exist—and he firmly believed it was conserved.
Because if luck weren't conserved, how come every time he rolled the gacha, it was always hard pity? But if luck was balanced, then someday he would hit triple golds or a double without pity.
But he couldn't figure out where Bennett's supposed good luck had gone this time.
"Thanks so much for your help this time!"
"No problem. Let's team up again sometime."
The next day, Victor Wang returned to the forge to retrieve his sword.
"This kind of material is rare—I only see it a few times a year. What a shame, I didn't get to hammer it enough," Wagner muttered wistfully, handing over a gleaming, golden one-handed sword.
Whatever method Wagner had used, the guard, grip, and blade all looked like a seamless whole, without any visible joins. The hilt was wrapped in leather to reduce slippage and absorb impact.
Its design was understated yet majestic, the edge was razor-sharp, and its golden hue gleamed. It was Victor Wang's dream sword.
Victor Wang caressed the weapon and sighed, "Thank goodness this is reality. Even a Northlander Claymore Billet can become a one-handed sword."
"What do you mean 'reality'? As long as the material's good, we can forge anything—it just takes effort."
"Haha, true."
Leaving Mondstadt, Victor Wang picked a slightly open spot in Whispering Woods. He couldn't wait any longer—he drew the blade he had named Wentian.
Heaven, fate, providence—are all impossible to question. But I'll ask anyway.
Victor Wang raised Wentian, trying to channel elemental power into it. He found the process noticeably faster. By his personal estimate, the sword enhanced elemental cohesion by about 30%.
According to Understanding Elemental Power, beneath the Archons and other deities, ordinary Vision bearers were like sponges—and elemental power like water. The amount one could store was finite. After using it, one had to passively or actively restore it.
In such cases, two people with equal reserves would be separated by their recharge speed.
Victor Wang wasn't limited in elemental storage, but weapons of special materials could still amplify elemental output and enhance power.
"Hyaaah!"
A Wind Blade flew from the sword, consuming 30% less elemental energy.
"I've got a good sword now. Too bad all I've got is this same old Wind Blade~"