For someone with a Return to City ability, and the means to fight endlessly without real cost, like the Traveler Twins, this was heaven.
Swish, swish, swish!
Since both Elemental Skills and Elemental Bursts destroyed the monsters' magic stones along with their bodies (a terrible loss in loot), Renjiro (Aether) and Lumine had been minimizing their use of Anemo powers these past few days.
Instead, they took advantage of the endless waves of monsters to polish their sword style: Foreign Iron Wind · Twin Blade Unity.
Of course, if the number of enemies swelled past a certain threshold, Renjiro would clear the field without hesitation.
And it was just in such a moment that,
"Hmm?"
He noticed Ottar's approach immediately. The man made no attempt to hide his towering frame.
With a casual flourish of the massive sword that would take most men both hands just to lift, Ottar cut through half the swarm in an instant.
The ants' corpses dissolved into black mist, magic stones clattering across the ground.
Renjiro grimaced.
"Damn… kill-stealing mutt."
But knowing Ottar was here with a purpose, he decided it was time for a mid-battle break.
Together, he and Lumine turned, their twin blades flashing silver-gray and red-black.
They cut down the half-dead Killer Ants that had been deliberately left alive to draw more.
At last, the swarm found release.
And now, one could clearly see that the weapons in their hands were no longer the basic Traveler's Blades, but the Traveler's Sword and the Dawn Blade.
These two three-star weapons had been among Renjiro's haul during the week's pulls.
Compared to the one-star starter weapons, they offered both sub-stats and special effects:
Traveler's Sword (Aether's weapon): A red-black blade with dark gray ornaments.
Sub-stat: % Defense
Special Effect: Restores 1% HP upon collecting Elemental Orbs/Particles.
In short: a self-healing sword.
Dawn Blade (Lumine's weapon): A silver-gray longsword.
Sub-stat: Crit Damage
Special Effect: When HP > 90%, Crit Rate +14%.
Renjiro had already learned the terrifying synergy of Crit Rate and Crit Damage, true percentage boosts to raw power.
This only made him more eager to obtain Artifacts in the future.
"Best of all," he mused, "these monsters' magic stones can be used as weapon fodder."
An incredible blessing.
Though upper-floor stones were no better than low-grade enhancement ore, the sheer quantity made up for it.
Thanks to this, in just seven days, both swords had already been raised to Lv.20, faster than leveling his Genshin characters themselves.
Of course, like the clones, weapon caps were tied to Renjiro's Falna Level. For now, Lv.20 was the limit.
Still, with stronger weapons, their leveling efficiency skyrocketed.
Where once a Lv.1 starter blade took several strikes just to pierce an ant's shell, a Lv.20 three-star weapon could kill in a single thrust.
And with the ants' "near-death summon allies" trait drawing even larger swarms…
Renjiro, Lumine, and even Xiao (gaining benched EXP) had now all reached Lv.13.
The week's seven pulls had also brought him:
Two White Tassels (spears)
One Thrilling Tales of Dragon Slayers (catalyst)
One Slingshot (bow)
And most importantly, a four-star Electro character: Fischl.
She currently sat at Lv.9.
By rights, Renjiro should have returned to the surface long ago. But the mind of a true grinder, well, you know how it is.
He'd just met his previous goal, and now a shiny new character had appeared. So naturally…
"Let's push Fischl to Lv.10 before heading back."
When the last of the ants were cleared and Paimon, ever the "support unit," was busy sweeping up loot, Aether and Lumine approached the towering Boaz warrior.
Their blades shimmered gold before vanishing, convenient as ever.
Ottar, one of the few who truly knew a fragment of Renjiro's secret, waited silently.
Well, to be precise, other than Freya herself, only Ottar in all of Orario, even in the world, had witnessed the truth that night: Renjiro's connection to Aether and Lumine.
But even he didn't know the details of Renjiro's three BUG-tier magics. That was Freya's secret alone. And Ottar would never pry.
"Freya-sama sends word," Ottar said at last. "When you leave the Dungeon, return to the Familia headquarters immediately. She wishes to see you."
His gaze flicked briefly toward the floating Paimon, collecting stones nearby…
"That's all. Don't keep Freya-sama waiting."
Without another word, he turned and departed alone.
Such unwavering loyalty and discipline was why Freya trusted him above all others.
Renjiro and Lumine watched his massive frame vanish into the tunnels.
They exchanged a look.
"Let's get Fischl to Lv.10 and wrap up this run."
"Mm," Lumine nodded.
"We'll need to exchange the leftover stones at the Guild for valis."
"With our first bit of capital, we can buy healing potions from the Dian Cecht Familia to support Xiao's combat potential."
"And also…" she added, looking at Aether, "It's time you update your [Status] with Freya."
"True," Aether stretched with a tired smile. "After all this grinding, I'm looking forward to seeing how much my Falna has grown."
"Hopefully… not too little."
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Notes:
Falna – The blessing granted by gods in Orario (from Danmachi). It converts effort and experience into measurable stats and levels.
Magic Stones – Core drops from Dungeon monsters. In Orario, they are used as energy sources and currency material; here, Renjiro also uses them as weapon enhancement fodder.
Dian Cecht Familia – In Danmachi, the familia specializing in medicine and healing items.
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