Amber's expression grew complicated. "So... that's how it is. In order to save your sister, you sacrificed your own freedom... Player, you're such a bad guy!"
"..."
Lumine shook her head and said, "You can't say that. He's the one who gave me a chance to save my sister. Without him, there's no way I could've done it on my own."
"Then… the things you told me earlier… was that you or the Player talking?"
"It was the Player speaking, but it's what we both wanted to say."
Amber's face flushed red. "S-so... it was him who said it…"
Meanwhile, Zephyr was calculating how much EXP Lumine needed to level up. After some quick math, he realized the EXP books he had weren't quite enough to get her to level 20 — they'd only bring her to about level 17.
"Still three levels short for the breakthrough… That's quite a gap."
Thinking it over, Zephyr decided that since Lumine couldn't break through yet, it would be better to get Amber to level 20 first since she was already at level 19 — just one step away from her breakthrough.
Without hesitation, he used the EXP books on Amber. She instantly leveled up to 20, though she couldn't break through yet due to missing materials.
A golden glow flashed around Amber, and she gasped in surprise. "W-what just happened?"
Moments later, she felt a surge of power welling up inside her and exclaimed, "Wow! This is incredible! What's going on?"
"I leveled you up to 20," Zephyr explained.
Amber blinked in disbelief. "Level 20? But... isn't fighting monsters the only way to level up? I've just been sitting here doing nothing. And this was a whole level! Even if I fought Hilichurls every day, it would've taken me months to level up! How did you just poof' me to 20?"
"EXP books," Zephyr said matter-of-factly.
"EXP books?" Amber tilted her head in confusion.
Paimon, equally shocked, stared wide-eyed. "Wait… The Player can actually do that?"
"Standard procedure. Nothing special," Zephyr said casually.
As for the remaining EXP books, Zephyr used them all on Lumine.
> Ding! Lumine shot straight from level 3 to level 15. <
Her first Constellation, Raging Vortex, was also unlocked.
The Palm Vortex skill could now pull enemies and objects within a five-meter radius toward her.
"If only I'd had this skill back when we were chasing that wild boar," Zephyr mused. "We wouldn't have needed Paimon to lure it out — Lumine could've just sucked it over."
Next, Zephyr upgraded his artifacts. Previously, he couldn't enhance them due to a lack of Mora.
Now, he immediately powered up his 5-star Viridescent Venerer Feather to max level 20. As for the other artifacts, since they were only 4-star, he decided to leave them untouched for now.
He also upgraded his weapon to level 20, but like Amber, he couldn't break through due to missing materials.
He checked his inventory — he had:
- 3 Chains of the Dandelion Gladiator
- 3 Chaos Devices
- 3 Slime Condensates
Out of these, only the Slime Condensates were enough. The rest... he was still missing key materials.
Amber, sensing the power surge from Lumine, stared in amazement.
"Lumine... you... this is..."
Lumine clenched her fists tightly. "My power… it's back."
Although it was only a portion of her strength, it gave her hope.
Paimon muttered under her breath, "Why'd you upgrade Amber first and not the Traveler?"
Zephyr explained, "Because Amber was already level 19 — just one level away from a breakthrough. If I gave all the EXP to Lumine, she'd only reach level 17 or 18, and she still wouldn't be able to break through."
"Ohhh, that makes sense," Paimon said, nodding.
Zephyr then took a Sacrificial Bow out of his backpack. "Oh right, Amber, here — this is for you."
Amber's face lit up with excitement, but she didn't accept it.
"Why not? Don't you like it?"
Amber shook her head. "It's not that I don't like it — who would turn down a four-star bow? But in my heart, what I really want is the Favonius Warbow. So… you'd better keep this one."
"Oh, I see. Well then, I hope you get your Favonius Warbow soon!"
"Yeah! I'm sure I will! Now that I'm level 20, the Knights of Favonius will definitely recognize me!"
"Oh, by the way, do you have any artifacts equipped?"
"Yeah, I've got a two-star Adventurer's Set."
"Two-star? Just two-star?"
"Two-star artifacts are actually pretty good. Plus, mine's a full set!"
Zephyr couldn't help but feel a little awkward. He decided not to mention that Lumine's weakest artifact was already four-star.
"Doesn't the Knights of Favonius have three-star or four-star artifacts?"
"There aren't any five-star artifacts," Amber explained. "There are some four-star ones, but they're really rare and stored in the Knights' vault. Aside from that, the best artifacts we have are three-star.
"Grandmaster Jean's rule is that only Vision holders above level 20 can apply for a three-star artifact. Since I wasn't level 20 before, I didn't qualify."
"What about weapons?"
"Same deal. There are no five-star weapons, and the four-star ones are kept in the vault too. The standard gear for knights is two-star weapons.
"But with enough contribution points, you can exchange them for a three-star weapon. If you've earned enough recognition from Grandmaster Jean, you can receive one of the Favonius series weapons — a symbol of honor for the Knights of Favonius."
Zephyr sighed. "Wow… The Knights of Favonius sure are broke."
Amber chuckled. "Compared to regular adventurers, our resources are actually pretty generous."
Zephyr thought for a moment, then said, "Here, take this."
He pulled out a full three-star artifact set from his backpack.
"This is… an artifact? And such high quality too?" Amber's eyes widened in shock.
"I'm giving this whole set to you," Zephyr said.
"You're… giving it to me? But what about you?"
"I've already got a set — and mine's even better. Don't worry about me."
"Really?" Amber looked a little doubtful but couldn't hide her desire for the artifacts.
The Favonius Warbow was her ultimate goal, so she didn't want to give up on that. But when it came to artifacts, there were no such personal standards holding her back.
Paimon chimed in, "Don't worry, Amber. The Traveler's telling the truth. You don't know this, but we just did 100 pulls a few days ago — we've got tons of weapons and artifacts now."
"100 pulls?" Amber looked confused.
"Wait… could it be that the Falcon Coast Meteor Incident a few days ago was your doing?"
"The Falcon Coast Meteor Incident? Uh… yeah, that might've been us."
Amber was stunned. "How did you even manage that? I heard there were hundreds of meteors that fell in that area that day!
"Jean was originally planning to send a squad to investigate, but they had to cancel because the rising number of monsters left them shorthanded. How on earth did you pull that off?"
"Oh, it was simple — first you do this, then that, and finally this… Got it?"
Amber stared at him, completely baffled, then shook her head.
"Anyway, the point is, I've got plenty of weapons and artifacts like this, so don't worry about it."
"In that case, I'd better accept it gratefully." Amber happily put the artifacts away.
"Oh, right — Amber, what about your breakthrough? Do you have enough materials?"
Amber nodded. "I've got everything I need, except for one thing — a Agnidus Agate Sliver. That's a rare material that can only be obtained by defeating the legendary Pyro Regisvine.
"Years ago, only Vision holders were allowed to challenge monsters and gather breakthrough materials. But now, that rule has been lifted.
"There should still be some Agnidus Agate Slivers stored in the Knights' vault. If I explain things to Jean, I should be able to get some from there."
"That's great news," Zephyr said.
Since the Knights' vault came up, Zephyr remembered his own weapon upgrades — he'd been stuck without the materials he needed.
"By the way, does the Knights of Favonius have any Chains of the Dandelion Gladiator or Chaos Devices?"
"They do," Amber replied. "Not many, but there are some in storage."
"Phew, that's a relief. Could you help me request a few tomorrow?"
"Sure!"
"Thanks, Amber."
"It's getting late — let's get some rest."
"Yeah."
...
Since they were now sleeping safely in Mondstadt instead of out in the wild, Lumine was secure, and Zephyr could finally relax.
After browsing the web and watching a movie, he was about to go to bed when something caught his eye.
On his desktop, an unfamiliar icon had appeared.
"Infinite Gaming Platform?" Zephyr muttered, then clicked on it.
//END
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