Gu Sanqiu quickly glanced at Albedo, then back at Tartaglia standing atop the altar.
What’s going on? A single draw, and it’s purple? Is he tapping into a ten-pull’s worth of luck early?
“Look alive! Defend yourself—whatever that thing is, it’s bound to be more dangerous!”
Tartaglia’s eyes snapped open at the sight of the purple glow descending toward him. For a moment, he was stunned, but as soon as he heard Gu Sanqiu’s warning, his face lit up with excitement.
“Perfect! This one’s mine!”
“You money-hungry fool…” Gu Sanqiu groaned, palming his forehead. “Who’s the real Liyue local here?”
With a resigned sigh, Gu Sanqiu raised his spear, ready to charge in at the first sign of trouble.
Whoosh!
Mid-air, a sword’s silhouette broke through the purple glow, becoming a gray, piercing streak aimed straight for Tartaglia’s chest!
“Bring it on!” Tartaglia roared, drawing his bow, the sound of a mighty whale’s call resonating through the air.
With a pull, a water-elemental arrow transformed into a miniature whale and shot toward the gray streak, swinging its tail with enough force to bat aside a lesser weapon.
Shnk!
Instead of being smacked away, however, the sword silhouette pierced right through the whale’s tail fin, speeding undeterred toward Tartaglia’s heart.
“Haha, just as I expected!” Tartaglia crowed. Without missing a beat, he split his bow into twin daggers wrapped in lightning, predicting the blade’s trajectory as he crossed them in front of his chest.
Clang!
The impact sent Tartaglia skidding back seven or eight meters, but he broke into a savage grin.
“Hah! You’re not even close to the last one!”
“There’s an opening!”
Tartaglia spotted the single-handed sword frozen mid-air, immediately discarding his daggers and lunging forward. With a swift, calculated swing, he cleaved down hard on the spectral blade.
Boom!
With the force of Tartaglia’s blow, the sword was driven deep into the ground. By the time it hovered back up, it had morphed into a harmless-looking purple orb of light.
“Huh? So weak?”
“Could it be because we used fewer offerings?” Gu Sanqiu lowered his spear, curiosity piqued, and reached out to pick up the orb.
Even though it’s purple, the power it displayed didn’t seem to match the blue light from last time.
So… was it the inherent technique within the orb that made it “purple”?
Seems like this differs from the wishes I’m familiar with. There’s more here worth digging into.
“Hands off! That’s my prize!” Tartaglia slapped Gu Sanqiu’s hand away. “You can’t afford to replace it if you absorb it by accident.”
Gu Sanqiu stared, deadpan. “I supplied the offerings and the setup, and you’re calling this your prize?”
“Obviously. I’m the one who did all the heavy lifting here.” Tartaglia smirked, adding, “By the way, that thing’s form looked similar to your Liyue’s Stonebreaker, but its power only flashed briefly. Even I was surprised at how easy it was to take down.”
“Heh.”
Gu Sanqiu’s smirk was anything but sincere. “Just you wait. Next time, I’ll pile offerings so high you’ll get the fight of your life.”
“Ha! That’s exactly what I want!”
Tartaglia tossed the purple glow and sword back to Gu Sanqiu. “Besides, what good would it do me? Here, take it back.”
“Oh, look at you, having a rare moment of decency.”
Tartaglia shrugged. “When have I ever been selfish? Besides, haven’t I shared all my intel with you?”
“Thanks so much. Really.”
Then Tartaglia turned to Gu Sanqiu. “By the way, could we swap our sparring sessions for whatever comes from using offerings like this? And, obviously, I’ll cover the cost of the offerings.”
“Oh, and what about my labor costs?” Gu Sanqiu arched a brow. “We’ll discuss it later. But remember why we’re in Mondstadt. The sooner we wrap that up, the sooner I can go back to kicking back in Liyue.”
“True, true. Isn’t that Vision Summit tomorrow?”
Tartaglia perked up. “Think there’ll be anything worth getting excited over?”
“Don’t hold your breath. It’s a gathering, not a gladiatorial match. You won’t get far if you’re looking to scrap with that crowd.”
Albedo, who had been quietly observing their conversation, chimed in, “Are you referring to those high-level materials, rumored to be relics of ancient Archons?”
“Oh, so you know about them?”
Tartaglia eyed Albedo with intrigue, then nudged the topic further.
“So… any inside info you could share?”
“Nothing beyond what the Knights and the Adventurers’ Guild are already aware of. They assigned a joint task force for recent disturbances around the Nursery. I assume that’s where you heard of these materials as well.”
Gu Sanqiu’s brow twitched. He remembered that intel… and it was shocking. Sure, Fischl and Amber could handle it, but the way they sent Bennett of all people into an increasingly hazardous area felt like a recipe for disaster!
“Ah, so you don’t have much more on it. Never mind, then.”
The three of them headed back to Mondstadt. Hours later, waves of Treasure Hoarders came streaming toward the explosion site, hoping to scavenge any lingering treasures—a warm bite, as they’d call it.
Whether they got locked up by the Knights afterward, though, would just have to be a matter of luck.
—
“Finally, I can rest.”
Gu Sanqiu sprawled across his bed, absent-mindedly tracing patterns on the sheets while he replayed the details of today’s two summons.
“Hmm… It seems that the quality of the offerings affects the strength of what appears. And it seems each summon brings something totally random… interesting.”
He poured himself a cup of tea, then retrieved the vial containing the purple orb.
Inside, the orb had settled into a viscous, liquid-like substance at the bottom, glowing faintly, almost like Slime Condensate—a convenient enough form, sparing him from needing Albedo to craft a new container.
“What makes this thing so different?”
He drew a dagger and let the liquid slowly drip into the blade, watching as the familiar pulsing and glow gradually filled the weapon. It took nearly half an hour before the transformation was complete.
When it finally settled, Gu Sanqiu tossed the dagger into the air. It zipped around the room, leaving trails of iron-gray energy in its wake as it shot from corner to corner with a flurry of slicing sounds.
“So that’s what it does.”
Gu Sanqiu’s interest piqued. “It’s like some rudimentary, fragmented technique for controlling sword energy. Compared to that ‘Sword Aura Field,’ though, it’s a lot harder to master.”
“So, purple represents some sort of teachable skill within it, rather than the object itself?”
He raised a brow, musing. “Now, if a single purple orb conjured up, say, Bennett himself… would his streak of bad luck be something you could learn and wield?”
“The dagger’s limit didn’t really improve either. Seems these wishes don’t work the way I thought—or maybe it’s something about my own approach.”
“Could it be that the offerings are skipping the enhancement process, causing these differences in strength?”
“Going in without offerings sounds risky, though. If something dangerous were to show up… there’s no telling how that might turn out.”
Already at his desk with several pages of musings jotted down, Gu Sanqiu shook his head. He’d sleep on it and focus on whatever came his way during tomorrow’s Summit.
And if things went sideways… he’d just have to raid Dawn Winery, cornering that ballad-spinning bard with a bottle or two until he talked.
Wine in hand, justice at the ready.
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