Day 23. Four in the morning.
When the time came for his routine card draw,
[Thin Spring Garb Youth · Xingqiu (Hydro) | ★★★★]
As mentioned before, while in his Starfire's Flowing Light state, Aether didn't need to sleep.
That was one of the perks of his conversion from a flesh-and-blood lifeform into an energy lifeform.
Of course, there were other advantages too, such as a body that suffered no battle damage (never missing limbs, never crippled) and virtually infinite stamina.
No need to list them all here.
Could it be… my system is a bit of a tsundere?
He smirked inwardly. So all I have to do is set up a reverse flag to trigger lucky draws? Got it.
Ahem, anyway,
"Xingqiu, huh. One of the hidden Six-Star Gods, and a true carry in Genshin."
Sitting alone at the mouth of the Great Labyrinth Tree, Aether's eyes lit with quiet awe.
Never expected him to complete the final piece of my 'First Growth Stage' puzzle.
Up until now, Aether, his Falna still only Level 1, could manifest five Genshin Avatars at once.
His initial plan for the "First Growth Stage" was an eight-man party: Paimon + Traveler Twins + five Genshin avatars.
And now,
"Once both Razor and Xingqiu reach Level 20, I can finally start planning the next breakthrough." His gaze sharpened.
"When my Falna advances to Level 2, not only will I be able to manifest one more Avatar, but their level caps will also rise to 40."
Just imagine: six Avatars plus the Traveler Twins, eight warriors, each as strong as a peak Level 4 adventurer.
Add in Paimon, the ultimate supporter…
Even Astraea Familia, who almost became Orario's third great faction years ago, would pale in comparison.
And later, once he hit Level 2 himself, then went on a few "solo expeditions" for experience, he could reach that level of power alone.
And even then, his potential for growth was far from finished.
I'm honestly getting more and more excited for the future.
There was something undeniably satisfying about tangibly feeling himself grow stronger.
Even now,
"Just by gaining one Hydro Avatar, I suddenly have whole new tactics available."
"Electro-Charged, Freeze… even Superconduct, which I've rarely used before. I'll need to practice all these elemental reactions during the rest of this expedition."
He briefly assessed his own current state.
Though still in his Starfire's Flowing Light form, he was channeling the Starry Abyss ability.
The surface hadn't yet seen dawn, which meant, all buffs were active.
And he was deep on the 24th Floor…
When under the Stars, mana regen doubles. Beneath the Night Sky, it doubles again. And nearing the Abyss, in other words, once inside the Dungeon, each floor deeper multiplies recovery efficiency by that floor ×0.2.
So, the math came out to,
2 × 2 × (24 × 0.2) = 19.2× recovery speed.
He'd already tested it: with mana regen ×10, he could keep one Avatar permanently manifested.
Now…
"When I reach the 25th Floor, as long as it's nighttime above, I'll be able to maintain two Avatars simultaneously."
"And later, once my own foundation improves, this efficiency will only get better."
Not to mention, since every Genshin Avatar had their own Personal Info sheet, they were effectively mana batteries in their own right, each with their own regen rate.
For example, yesterday when Fischl unleashed her Bang-Bang-Bang Edition Midnight Phantasmagoria, she used her own stored mana.
And when she ran low, she could draw mana indirectly from Aether.
Likewise, he could siphon off pre-stored mana from any of them.
Just like the Master and Servant system in the Nasuverse.
The only downside: Avatars and the Traveler Twins couldn't benefit from the Starry Abyss boost, since they weren't directly manifested from Aether's body.
Still, being top-tier talents from Teyvat, their base regen far surpassed even elites like Riveria and Lefiya.
All in all,
"My mana bar's crazy long right now."
"And it'll just keep getting longer… ahem."
…Why did that sound so indecent?
Suddenly,
"Aether, I've called Raul and the others for shift change."
From a tent within the Hollow, a beastman adventurer emerged.
Behind him came a bleary-eyed Raul, rubbing at his eyes, along with a slightly sour-looking Anakitty.
Of course, those two hadn't been sharing a tent.
In fact, among Loki Familia, couples were practically unheard of.
So…
"Raul really did oversleep, huh."
Anakitty, a graceful 21-year-old catgirl with long black hair, gave a sigh.
She and Raul had joined the party around the same time, so they were fairly close.
Still, she could never stand some of his flaws, so their relationship had remained firmly in the "friends only" category.
"Yesterday we fought the whole day, and then had to stand watch at night. You really went above and beyond." The brown-haired beastman beside her gave a friendly suggestion:
"Aether it's just the last two hours, but why not get some rest?"
"Thanks, Bussel. I'll head in first, then."
Cruz Bussel, like Raul and Anakitty, was a Level 4.
He and Aether had been on the third watch together before now.
The night was divided into four watches, two hours each.
Truth be told, Aether had volunteered for night duty largely because he wanted to do his card draw as soon as possible.
And since he didn't need sleep in his Starfire's Flowing Light state, it doubled as a way to build goodwill with the expedition.
As for Lumine…
There's no way I'd let my silly little sister stand guard.
Of course she was off cuddling with the girls' squad.
Well, maybe not that exaggerated.
It was, after all, expedition time, and under Finn's, or rather, under "Mama" Riveria's, strict rules, everyone went to bed early.
Their usual bedtime "storytelling sessions" had been canceled.
Tiona had pouted for ages about that.
Lumine herself didn't actually need sleep, but she'd been assigned to a tent with Ais and the Hiryute twins.
At the moment, she was apparently being used as a hug pillow by Tiona, who had terrible sleeping posture.
Tsk tsk…
Aether couldn't help but chuckle.
Guess I really am a "lucky perv," huh?
=============
129+ Advance Chapters Available on Patreon! Patreon.com/Veltoria [remove brackets]
250 Power Stones = Bonus Chapter
Add to Library to support