"So our next destination is Liyue?"
Rover confirmed the next nation with Paimon. He picked up the map and glanced at it—the journey was quite long. On foot, it would take at least two or three days.
Still, this period would give him time to properly digest his newfound power and refine his combat style.
As Rover mentally planned his next steps, Paimon's response pulled him back to reality.
"Yeah! There are actually some tourists from Liyue in Mondstadt right now. They said the Rite of Descension really is happening in the next few days. But for such a major event, why do the people of Liyue seem so indifferent?"
Paimon rubbed her chin in thought, while Aether speculated.
"Maybe because, for them, the Rite of Descension is just a routine occurrence. What I'm sure of is that the god who took my sister couldn't have been the Anemo Archon. Hopefully, the Geo Archon isn't the one either."
Rover nodded. He wasn't confident in his ability to defeat an Archon, and his reason for seeking them out was simply to find a way back to his own world.
"Look out, monsters again!"
Paimon pointed at the Whopperflowers lurking by the roadside. Over the past few days, Rover had been cramming knowledge about this world's monsters, at least gaining a basic understanding of common ones.
Rover and Aether exchanged a glance before drawing their blades and charging forward. The Pyro Whopperflower immediately burrowed into the ground to create distance.
But the next moment, Aether gathered Anemo energy in his palm and forcibly yanked the Whopperflower out of the soil. Rover swiftly cleaved it in half.
After absorbing the Whopperflower's Echo, Rover turned to Aether.
"Brother Rover, I've been thinking a lot these days about how to use this Anemo power. You told me to adapt it for combat—pulling or repelling as needed, not just rigidly sticking to one approach. See? I did it."
Aether's expression was as bright as a child who'd just received candy, and Rover couldn't help but smile.
At the start of their journey, Aether had seemed deeply motivated, almost as if something had spurred him to ask Rover for guidance on properly wielding his power.
It made sense. After witnessing Rover's battle against the dragon and hearing about his defeat of La Signora, Aether had grown eager to grow stronger. In terms of address, he'd gradually started calling Rover "Big Brother." In a way, Rover's decisiveness and wisdom truly gave him a charisma of his own.
"Then let's keep practicing on the monsters along the way. I think you'll master this power soon."
Rover encouraged Aether to think independently while he himself pondered how to maximize the efficiency of his crossbow.
Over the past few days, Aether had been relentlessly training his abilities. He could now perform basic manipulations of Anemo energy.
For example, when catching fish, he no longer needed to roll up his sleeves and dive in. If a fish stayed still for two or three seconds, he could just pull it straight out of the water—though continuously moving fish still eluded him.
Meanwhile, Rover had gradually developed his own unique combat style. He'd successfully figured out how to imbue his Spectro power into his bolts—now, even a graze from his arrows would freeze the target for a few seconds.
The power of Temporal Sequencing in this world was absurdly potent, with an overwhelming priority. Even Venti had refused to let it touch him, and Dvalin had been frozen for several seconds upon contact.
"Brother Rover."
Rover's thoughts snapped back to reality as he saw the grilled fish being handed to him. He took a bite—Aether's cooking skills were genuinely impressive. The kid had real potential as a chef.
"After we eat, I want to test my progress. I want to see just how big the gap between us still is."
Rover raised an eyebrow, considered it for a moment, then agreed. A post-meal spar sounded like good exercise.
Once they finished eating, Paimon cheered Aether on from the sidelines. Not to be outdone, Abby promptly popped out to lend Rover some moral support.
Rover didn't plan to use his innate powers—just his blade and crossbow.
A breeze brushed past them as the two locked eyes. Rover could clearly see Aether's nervousness, so he spoke softly.
"Don't tense up. Treat this as just a friendly match."
"Got it! Brother Rover—watch out!"
Aether tightened his grip on his Dull Blade and dashed forward. Rover immediately focused, firing several rapid bolts from his crossbow as Aether closed the distance. All of them missed—but Aether soon realized Rover hadn't been aiming at him.
The bolts were meant to box him in, forcing him to charge straight at Rover.
Rover swiftly holstered his crossbow and drew his blade. Under the sunlight, the glint of the edge nearly blinded Aether—but the latter had already gathered Anemo energy in his left hand.
Just as Rover's slash descended, Aether met it with a burst of wind. The Anemo detonated violently.
The shockwave rushed at Rover, his eyes narrowing. He instantly aborted his slash, twisting his body to let the blast skim past his chest.
The next moment, Aether's Dull Blade came swinging from the right. Rover timed it perfectly—his scabbard precisely intercepted the strike at its weakest point.
A crisp clang rang out. Aether staggered back, stunned, replaying in his mind how Rover had disrupted his attack with such precision.
But the spar wasn't over. Rover's onslaught came like a storm, overwhelming Aether in moments.
Soon, Aether was forced to yield.
"As expected… the gap's still huge."
Lying on the ground, Aether laughed bitterly and shook his head. He hadn't even pushed Rover to reveal his true strength—just one exchange had left him utterly outmatched.
Then a hand appeared in his vision. Rover pulled him up.
"You okay?"
Rover checked on him before handing the remaining grilled fish to Abby.
"I'm fine, Brother Rover. But I want to ask—when I swung at you earlier, why did it feel like… my strength just vanished? Like my attack was forcibly interrupted."
Rover pondered for a moment before answering.
"That combat technique is called Blade Deflection."
"Blade Deflection?"
Aether had never heard the term before. Rover didn't elaborate further, instead glancing at Abby, who was lazily patting his full belly.
Not a single skewer of the fish meant for Rover remained. Rover fixed Abby with a reproachful stare.
"You could've left me some."
"Huh? I thought you'd already eaten before giving these to me… Hehe, my bad. Next time, I'll be more considerate."
Abby let out a contented burp, scratching his head sheepishly.
It wasn't until Aether diligently caught another fish that Rover's portion was finally replenished.